PERSECUTION IS COMING TO THE WEST

1-EARTHQUAKE JOLTS THE PHILIPPINES. 2-Four quakes, 591 aftershocks rock Luzon. 3-Hurricane Paul strengthens on way to Mexico. 4-Dozens flooded out of homes in Texas. 5-California faces fire warnings. 6-Canada: We won’t remain neutral as Israel battles extremists. 7-Lieberman Cedes Demands in Favor of National Responsibility. 8-PA Educational Campaign to Detach Jews from Jerusalem. 9-Feeling of Europeanness on the rise, study says. 10-5.5 tons of narcotic drugs seized throughout Iran in past week. 11-Persecution is Coming to the West. 12-Russian ship sinks, 18-member crew missing.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

EARTHQUAKE JOLTS THE PHILIPPINES
date: 22 10, 2006

MANILA, OCT. 22, (BNA)--AN EARTHQUAKE MEASURING 4. 7 DEGREES ON RICHTER SCALE STRUCK MANY PARTS OF THE PHILIPPINES TODAY. NO HUMAN OR FINANCIAL LOSSES WERE REPORTED. THE EARTHQUAKES EPICENTER WAS LOCATED NORTH-WEST OF BOAC TOWN IN THE CENTRAL PROVINCE OF MARINDUQUE IN CENTRAL PHILIPPINES, THE PHILIPPINE INSTITUTE OF VOLCANOLOGY AND SEISMOLOGY SAID. PEOPLE IN MANY PROVINCES IN SOUTHERN MANILA FELT THE TREMOR MEASURING 2 TO 3 DEGREES ON RICHTER SCALE. IT IS TO NOTE THAT THE PHILIPPINES, WHICH IS PART OF THE SO CALLED CIRCLE OF FIRE STRETCHING AROUND THE PACIFIC OCEAN, IS SUBJECT TO AROUND 10 EARTHQUAKES ON DAILY BASIS. HOWEVER, ONLY FEW ARE FELT. THE WORST TREMOR THAT EVER HIT THE PHILIPPINES WAS IN 1990 WHICH MEASURED 7. 7 DEGREES ON RICHTER SCALE AND KILLED 2000 PEOPLE ON SOUTHERN LUZON ISLAND. AOQ/ MT

Four quakes, 591 aftershocks rock Luzon

FOUR moderate earthquakes hit the Philippines on Friday up to yesterday, triggering 591 aftershocks but causing hardly any damage, seismologists said. According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, the first earthquake was recorded at a magnitude of 5.2 on Friday. The following day, a 3.7-magnitude earthquake hit followed by another with a magnitude of 4.7.

The institute recorded the last major earthquake at a magnitude of 5.7 yesterday, the strongest of the four. The earthquake struck at 2:23 a.m., and scientists located its epicenter off the northeast coast of the island of Mindoro. Neither the institute nor the US Geological Survey had any immediate reports of any damage or casualties as a result of the earthquakes or the aftershocks that were recorded in between them.

Institute Director Renato Solidum told Standard Today that the last earthquake was not strong enough to cause a tsunami, although the tremor originated under the sea. He said Sunday’s quake came from a 10-km depth in the Lubang Fault and was tectonic in origin. The earthquakes were felt in Marinduque, Oriental Mindoro, Quezon, Batangas and Metro Manila. The Philippines is located in the so-called Ring of Fire, where volcanic activities and earthquakes are common. The last major quake, with a magnitude of more than 7 on the Richter scale, struck Luzon in July 1990, leaving thousands dead and causing billions in property damage. AP, AFP, Jaime Pilapil

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Hurricane Paul strengthens on way to Mexico By Greg Brosnan
13 minutes ago

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Hurricane Paul strengthened as it swept across the Pacific Ocean on Monday toward a beach resort on Mexico's Baja California peninsula and key farming areas on the mainland barely recovering from a battering last month.

The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said the hurricane, a category 2 on a five-step scale, was gaining force. It could become a powerful category 3 storm later in the day, capable of blowing down large trees and destroying mobile homes.Paul was located 455 miles south of Cabo San Lucas, one of two towns that together make up Los Cabos, an exclusive resort popular with U.S. golfers and other tourists. It was expected to pick up forward speed.Forecasters said Paul would pass near the resort sometime on Wednesday before crashing into the Mexican mainland.The Mexican government issued a hurricane watch for the southern tip of Baja California, which extends south from the U.S. state of California.Vacationers in Los Cabos, mostly U.S. visitors, were concerned but there were no evacuations.The guests are asking about it, but for now we're telling them we don't have any solid information and that the weather is very unpredictable,said Patricia Salbana, a receptionist at the Fiesta Americana Grand hotel in Los Cabos.

It might change direction, said Omar Muro, a spokesman at the nearby Inter Continental hotel. We don't want to give guests a false alarm.The state of Sinaloa, which took a hit from Hurricane Lane in September, was in the path of the latest storm. Lane missed Los Cabos before crashing into Sinaloa on Mexico's Pacific Coast, leaving a path of destruction that killed three.Paul could even throw a curveball at central bank economists in Mexico City if it destroys crops in Sinaloa, creating food shortages and pushing up inflation.Lane devastated key tomato crops in Sinaloa. That helped pushed September's inflation to its highest monthly rate in six years.If it hit there, inflation could continue to be impacted,said Mario Correa, an economist at Scotiabank Inverlat.

Farmers in the state were keeping a close eye on the storm.Obviously people are really alarmed,said Manuel Ortiz, a meteorologist at the Confederation of Agricultural Associations of Sinaloa state.(Additional reporting by Jason Lange and Gunther Hamm)

Dozens flooded out of homes in Texas 2 hours, 59 minutes ago

VIDOR, Texas - Floodwater surrounded dozens of homes and FEMA trailers in Southeast Texas on Monday after heavy rain sent the Neches River spilling over its banks.

The river was about 8 feet above flood stage Monday and was expected to remain at that level through Thursday, said Jeff Kelley, Orange County emergency management coordinator.Kelley estimated about 40 homes had been destroyed.The damage varied home to home because some had been built on stilts while others sit at ground level. In some cases, water was up to the roof lines. The area had been hit hard by Hurricane Rita last year, and Kelley said a number of Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers were still in the area. The flooding, from water flowing down stream after last week's heavy rain, damaged homes in the communities of Lakeview, Connely Road and Four Oaks Ranch Road north of Vidor, about 90 miles east of Houston.All Interstate

10 ramps between Beaumont and Vidor were closed, he said.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

California faces fire warnings

OAKLAND, Calif., Oct. 22 (UPI) The National Weather Service has issued fire danger warnings for several counties in northern California, the Oakland Tribune reported. The warning was spurred by a combination of gusty winds, low humidity and a series of power outages. High temperatures were also said to be adding to the threat. The Tribune reported that firefighters in Oakland and Contra Costa County were called to several small grass fires. Although the National Weather Service lifted its red flag warning for the East Bay hills late Saturday afternoon, many firefighters and weather authorities remain wary, the newspaper said.

COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL

EZEKIEL 38:10-19
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel

Canada: We won’t remain neutral as Israel battles extremists
Ynetnews

Week after Liberal party candidate accuses Israel of war crimes, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper shows unequivocal support for Israel. Harper: When dealing with war between Israel and terrorist organization, this country cannot and will never be neutral.Canada won’t remain neutral while Israel is fighting to defend itself against extremists, promised Candian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in a speech Wednesday to the Jewish community of Toronto. He emphasized that Israel will enjoy full support and friendship from the Canadian government.

When it comes to dealing with a war between Israel and a terrorist organization, this country and this government cannot and will never be neutral,said Harper. Those who seek to destroy the Jews, who seek to destroy Israel, will ultimately seek to destroy us all.

It is why Canada’s new government has reacted with speed and spoken with clarity on the recent events in the Middle East. Political Upheaval Israel war crime charge roils Canada politics / Reuters Leading candidate to head Canada’s opposition Liberal Party says Israel committed war crime when it bombarded Lebanese village of Qana in July Harper was one of the first to show support for Israel last July when the IDF went to war in southern Lebanon.

During the war he even spoke with his Israeli counterpart Ehud Olmert and expressed his support for action against Hizbullah.Alongside his support of Israel, Harper emphasized that the Palestinians also deserve a fair and just future and that he hopes a two-state solution can be found so that Israelis and Palestinian can live in peace alongside one another.

Issues of human dignity, of giving people the opportunity to build their community, to realize their own dreams as long as they respect the rights and dignity of others are values we also share, Harper added in regards to the relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

One week ago

Harper’s warm statements came a week after the leading candidate for the Liberal party in Canada, Michael Ignatieff, accused Israel of committing war crimes in Lebanon. Ignatieff, a human rights activist, has sparked a political storm in Canada after claiming that the IDF bombing of the village of Qana was a war crime.

Ignatieff’s comments were criticized by Harper, who said that Liberal party
leadership candidates are anti-Israel.Ignatieff denied Harper’s claims and said that he sees himself as a lifelong friend of Israel and that there is no basis for Harper’s accusations that the Liberal party is anti-Semitic.Wednesday, the organization Canada-Israel, who had invited Ignatieff for a visit to Jerusalem, decided to cancel the planned trip. We decided to wait until the political storm
subsides, said Canada-Israel National Chair Marc Gold.These kinds of visits are of an educational nature. There goal is to expose parliament members to a wide range of issues. There is no doubt that this objective won’t be achieved if everyone focuses on who said what,he added.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

Lieberman Cedes Demands in Favor of National Responsibility
By Hillel Fendel(INN)

MK Avigdor Lieberman (Yisrael Beiteinu) says he hopes to complete negotiations for his entry into the government this week. Party MKs say national responsibility overrides their original demands. Lieberman met with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this afternoon, in a meeting to summarize the principles of the Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) party into the coalition. Technical details still need to be ironed out, Olmert said afterwards, but announced that Lieberman would serve as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategic Threats.The way was paved for the party's entry into the coalition after the Cabinet voted narrowly yesterday to approve Lieberman's proposed legislation for a change in the country's political system. At least one minister Rafi Eitan (Pensioners) voted for the plan merely to enable Lieberman's party to enter and thus strengthen the coalition; Eitan explained that he actually objects to the proposed legislation, but voted for it because he is confident that it has no chance of passing in the Knesset.

Lieberman just last week named five conditions that must be fulfilled before he would enter the government yet none of them appear to be likely to be fulfilled. The conditions were:
* An official end to Prime Minister Olmert's convergence (unilateral withdrawal) plan must be announced.
* Jewish outpost neighborhoods in Judea and Samaria must not be uprooted.
* Legislation must be passed to change the government system to a presidential one.
* A Supreme Court-appointed public commission of inquiry to investigate the mismanagement of the recent war with Hizbullah must be established, in place of the current Winograd Commission, appointed by the same ministers it is supposed to investigate.
* Civil marriages must be allowed.

Regarding the withdrawal, Olmert has announced that it is currently not on the agenda, but has not stated that it will not return to the agenda when conditions are ripe. Similarly, Defense Minister Amir Peretz has announced that he plans to uproot unauthorized outposts in Yesha, and has met with Yesha leaders on the topic.The legislation regarding the new political system is not felt to have a chance to pass in the Knesset, at least not the way it is currently formulated. Prime Minister Olmert has even said that he himself does not favor a changeover to a presidential system. The Yisrael Beiteinu bill also calls for a minimum electoral threshold of 10%, below which a political party cannot be represented; support for this clause in the Knesset is practically nil. The call for a state commission of inquiry into the war has basically dropped from public awareness, and the Shas Party a coalition member of equal size to Yisrael Beiteinu objects strongly to civil marriages.

Arutz-7 spoke today with MK Sofa Landver of Yisrael Beiteinu (Israel Our Home) and asked her why the party had given up on practically all its demands only a few days after declaring them. Our sense of national responsibility leads us to take this position, she said. In the special situation in which our country finds itself after the war in the north, where the state of affairs is still dangerous, and with the Iranian threats to destroy us we feel that this is the time to be inside the government and influence. Now is the time to strengthen the country.A-7: Do you mean strengthening the country, or the government?

Landver: It's been just a half-year since a new government and a new Knesset were elected, and now is not the time to topple the government. The country does not need new elections now.A-7: This appears to be a major turnabout for a party that is known to be right-wing not to want to topple a government coalition that is leftist-based! Landver: No, it's not a major turnabout. We have a responsibility towards the government and towards the country.A-7: "How is it that your party gave up on nearly all its demands of just a week ago?

Landver: We will be judged on whether this is true or not afterwards, not now.

A-7: Why are you accepting only one ministerial portfolio, when Shas which has 11 MKs, just like you has four? How will you be able to have an influence in such a manner? Landver: We don't think that now is the time to add more ministers to the government; this will be too heavy of a burden on the state's resources. We will be able to have an influence in any event.

Reactions on the Right

MK Esterina Tartman (Yisrael Beiteinu) invited the National Union/National Religious Party (NU/NRP) faction to join the coalition as well but the invitation was not well-received. NU/NRP Knesset Members commented as follows: MK Tzvi Hendel: This [Lieberman's entry] is a strange, not understandable move.MK Yitzchak Levy: Lieberman painted himself as very right-wing, and attracted many right-wing votes and now he will be there to allow Peretz to remove outposts.MK Nissan Slomiansky: What can he do in the government? Nothing. He didn't even save his party's honor by getting them an extra ministerial portfolio.MK Benny Elon: A childish move, as if he thinks that he can save the country all by himself, just by his own personal magic. He doesn't even need any other ministers from his party in the government!... I call either for Olmert to form a national unity government with Netanyahu and the Likud, or for Lieberman not to fall prey to this foolishness.

Lieberman met afterwards with the NU/NRP faction.

MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy later told Arutz-7, He told us that the right-wing has not succeeded in stopping withdrawals and that a new methodology is needed. He hopes to influence from within the security cabinet, and said that now is not the time for new elections. But we told him that he is making a bitter mistake, that he will not be able to influence, and he will thus lose his position of leadership within the right-wing. We also said that he had caused harm to the unity of the right-wing camp, and that if he felt it was so important to join, he should have tried to enlist all of us to enter together.

MK Uri Ariel said, Israel Our Home has given up on its principles and is joining a left-wing government. It is irresponsible to try to save a government in which the public, the army and the simple soldiers have no confidence.

Labor Will Have to Swallow its Pride

Yisrael Beiteinu's imminent entry into the government is very awkward for Labor, whose party guidelines are opposite those of Lieberman's party in many aspects. Labor leader Amir Peretz has expressed strong opposition to sitting together with Yisrael Beiteinu, though other party leaders disagree. The Labor Knesset faction will debate the issue this afternoon. MK Orit Noked has proposed that Lieberman himself be invited to the meeting today and speak directly with the Labor MKs.Tourism Minister Yitzchak Herzog (Labor) said today that he agrees with Peretz in principle, but Labor has no choice but to remain in the government.He said that the country cannot now afford a coalition crisis that could lead to new elections. In response to the claim that Yisrael Beiteinu will not permit diplomatic progress towards an agreement with the Palestinian Authority which Lieberman and others see as another way of saying withdrawal and surrender Herzog said he believes that the diplomatic stance of Kadima and Labor will continue to lead.

MK Tartman: It's All About Iran

Lieberman is expected to receive a ministerial post created just for him: Minister for Strategic Threats, especially the Iranian threat.

His party colleague MK Esterina Tartman told Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine that Lieberman's entry into the Cabinet will enable Israel to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat.Explaining the party's decision to enter the government, Tartman said, The party chairman [Lieberman] presented the situation and the dilemmas... Logic dictates one thing, while the butterflies in our stomach say something else, but in the end, almost everyone allowed logic to win out and said that despite all, we must enter the coalition... Our intention is not to save the government from falling, but to save the State of Israel from destruction... I suggest to the entire public to listen carefully to what our enemies, such as the Persian tyrant, are saying; they aren't joking, and we are truly in existential danger... Our sense of responsibility says that we need a leader that can make decisions.Tartman bitingly dismissed the Labor Party as weak and not united. Asked if she thinks Olmert would consult more with Lieberman or with Peretz, Tartman said, How can you compare a Rolls-Royce with a [jalopy]?

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

JOEL 2:20,30-31
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

PA Educational Campaign to Detach Jews from Jerusalem
By Hillel Fendel(INN)

Palestinian Media Watch (PMW) reports on a PA campaign to teach its youngsters that Jews have no historical connection to Jerusalem or the Holy Land.

PMW, which carefully monitors the Palestinian Authority media for its messages of hatred and incitement against Jews and Israel, reports that the religious themes prevalent in the media during the holy Moslem month of Ramadan also include messages of anti-Israel violence.One significant message that has been strongly emphasized by repeated broadcasting of the same programs, write PMW's Itamar Marcus and Barbara Crook, is the denial of Israel’s right to exist. One program, which recently appeared on PA TV three times in the course of a single week, features Dr. Hassan Khader, founder of the Al Quds Encyclopedia, who argues that the Jews have no ancient historical connection to the Western Wall of the Temple.

Dr. Khader's lesson states: The first connection of the Jews to this site began in the 16th Century... The Jewish connection to this site is a recent connection not ancient… like the roots of the Islamic connection… Who would have believed that the Israelis would arrive 1400 years [after the beginning of Islam], conquer Jerusalem and make [the Western Wall] into their special place of worship, where they worship and pray? The PA scholar emphasizes that the real name of the Holy Jewish Temple's Western Wall is Al Buraq, after Muhammad’s horse which was tied to the wall. Khader teaches that the name was given by Allah and the Prophet Muhammed.Most significant, PMW reports, is that Khader has only praise for the violence and death the Palestinians have initiated to prevent Jews’ access to the Western Wall and Temple Mount, from the beginning of the 20th century until now.Similarly, Khader indicates that [the violence] will continue if Jews insist on their right to the Western Wall.

Marcus and Crook note that the Al-Aqsa mosque mentioned in the Koran was initially understood to mean heaven; it only took up its Jerusalem connotation after the Islamic conquest of Jerusalem. Sheikh Prof. Abdul Hadi Palazzi has written that the Koran recognizes Jerusalem as the Jewish direction of prayer.Despite this, TV viewers in the PA were taught this month that the Western Wall is the single wall from among the Al-Aqsa walls for which [a Moslem] revolution took place in the past century.

Everyone knows the Al-Buraq revolution that took place on August 23, 1929 [in which Arabs rioted around the country, murdering 133 Jews]... [Some may argue:] The Al-Buraq Wall is simply a small wall, a few meters long, a number of bricks, what is it worth? What we are interested in is the Al-Aqsa Mosque, and we can give it [the Wall] to the Jews, they have no [other] religious sites.This is a highly significant matter! This site currently represents the heart of the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is the most essential point in the Arab-Israeli conflict. No one can ignore it anymore. As we said, revolutions took place for the sake of [the Wall], and for its sake revolutions are still taking place today. The first revolution in the past century was named after Al-Buraq and Al-Aqsa, and the last revolution, the last Intifada, the Al-Aqsa Intifada, we are still living it until today.[PA TV, October 13, 2006]

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Feeling of Europeanness on the rise, study says
23.10.2006 - 09:28 CET | By Mark Beunderman

Despite gloomy analyses over the EU's failure to connect to its citizens, Europe's younger generations are increasingly feeling

European next to their national identities, according to a new study. In an article in the journal Science, published last Friday (20 October), a team of Austrian sociologists found that older generations of citizens who only feel attachment to their nation not to Europe are dying out.The sociologists studied the European Commission's Eurobarometer studies from 1996 to 2004, which contain the question whether respondents feel, for example, only Italian; Italian and European; European and Italian; or only European.

The answers of all respondents who said they had at least a partial sense of Europeanness where grouped under the heading of multiple identities and revealed that this group is on the rise while those who feel they only have a national identity are on the decline.In 2004, 58 percent of those surveyed had some sense of feeling European, a number which is set to rise to 68.5 percent by 2030 if the current trend continues, according to the study.

Media and student exchanges

We show that the younger generations ... of Europeans are more likely to have a European identity in addition to their national one. And since the younger citizens will eventually replace the older, more nationally-oriented ones, the European demos will likely change accordingly, the authors say in a statement. The sociologists said that the Europeanisation trend has a number of causes, including expanding media impact coming from and reporting about the European level, the increasing free movement of people across European borders either for tourism or work, the increasing number of students in university exchange programmes as well as the fast-growing day-to-day communication across borders.But they emphasized that the inclination to feel more European does not come at the expense of national identity.Contrary to common belief, the development of a European identity does not have to be accompanied by the decline of a national identity,they said.

Partial picture

But the results of the Austrian study may not boost the cause of the European Commission and MEPs who are seeking to re-connect to citizens, as the study only covers the period up until 2004.After that year, the union saw two failed referenda on the EU constitution in France and the Netherlands as well as increasing public hostility to further enlargement of the union. Perhaps more importantly, the study presents only a partial picture as it only covers the old EU of 15 member states before enlargement in May 2004.Within the EU-15, Luxembourgers were the most European, with a 78 percent average between 1996-2004 admitting they felt at least a partial sense of European identity.Italians came second at 72 percent, followed by the French (68%) and the Spanish (64%) while at the other end of the scale Swedes (45%), Finns (43%) and Britons (40%) felt less European.

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.

REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication,(Sex amoung Singles outside of Marriage) nor of their thefts.

5.5 tons of narcotic drugs seized throughout Iran in past week Tehran, Oct 23,

IRNA Iran-Drug-Seizure Anti-drug police squads seized 5.55 tons of various illicit drugs throughout the country in the past week (Oct 14-20), it was announced here Monday. Police 110 Commander Eskandar Mo'meni told IRNA the haul included 5.138 tons of opium, 317kg of hashish, 19.405kg of morphine and some 102.5kg of heroin. The police last week also rounded up 229 drug smugglers and 591 addicts who were handed over to judicial officials for prosecution, Mo'meni said. Iran, despite its unceasing anti-drug efforts, remains a key route for southwest Asian drugs on their way to lucrative markets in Europe and Persian Gulf countries. Domestic narcotics consumption continues to be a persistent problem with at least two million drug addicts in the country.

PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS

REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Persecution is Coming to the West (Crosswalk.com)
Wolfgang Polzer - Concealed Affliction May Soon Turn Into Open Persecution

BLANKENBURG /Persecution is coming to the West.

Under the guise of tolerance, Bible believing Christians of all confessions are subjected to suppressive intolerance, warns a declaration issued at the Ecumenical Confessional Convention in Blankenburg, East Germany.The event, with 130 Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox representatives, was convened by the evangelical missiologist
Prof. Peter Beyerhaus. The so-called Blankenburg Proclamation speaks of a dangerous anti-Christian influence on legislation, academic life and school education.

Scientists who believe in God as the creator were subjected to public defamation. Christians, not willing to compromise their faith, had to face ridicule, intolerance, stigmatization and career obstacles.The declaration refers specifically to the plight of German homeschoolers. Approximately 150 families were subjected to fines or jail because they refused to send their children to state registered schools and thus broke the German law.According to the proclamation this concealed affliction may soon turn into open persecution. The threat could come from several directions from globalization favoring the formation of totalitarian regimes, from growing syncretism, and from Islam.Europe could be subjected to an enforced Islamization accompanied by the introduction of Sharia law. This danger was increased by the fact that the indigenous population is shrinking.The proclamation also makes reference to the correlation between faith and suffering. It was part of the nature of the Christian faith to endure disadvantages and persecution for Christ’s sake. The 20th century had been the bloodiest in church history.According to estimates by human rights organizations, 200 million Christians suffer discrimination for their faith.

Every year 170,000 Christians die a martyr’s death.

Wolfgang Polzer is senior news editor of the Evangelical News Agency idea, Wetzlar (Germany), which he joined in 1981. In all, he has spent 30 years in Christian media. Wolfgang can be contacted by e-mail at: Wolfgang.Polzer@idea.de.

1/3RD OF SHIPS DESTROYED

REVELATION 8:8-9
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.

IN THE SEA OF JAPAN
Russian ship sinks, 18-member crew missing
10/23/2006

The Sinegorye, carrying timber from Russia's Far East to China, sent an SOS earlier in the day. The captain said some of the cargo had broken loose in a storm and damaged the ship's hull.A Russian cargo ship sank on Monday in the Sea of Japan off South Korea's northeastern coast and the fate of its 18-strong crew was unknown, Russian news agencies and television quoted officials as saying.The Sinegorye, carrying timber from Russia's Far East to China, sent an SOS earlier in the day. The captain said some of the cargo had broken loose in a storm and damaged the ship's hull, agencies quoted Transport Ministry officials as saying.

The captain said the listing ship was drifting towards South Korea, after which all communication was lost. NTV, quoting a rescue service chief in Russia's Far Eastern port of Vladivostok, said the crew had not been in contact for 11 hours.Agencies quoted Transport Ministry officials as saying about 20 rescue vessels were on their way to the area.NTV cited preliminary information saying the ship was some 80 miles (128 km) off the Korean peninsula when the disaster happened. It said waves up to 7 metres (23 feet) high and nearly zero visibility hampered the search and rescue operation.It is late night here already, and the active phase of the operation will start tomorrow at dawn,NTV said.