EU WANTS CLARITY ON NUKES

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Powerless again. 3-Residents await monster fire. 4-Bushfires scorch south Australia. 5-A MESSAGE FROM RABBI ECKSTEIN (THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL). 6-Annan rebukes UN members, quartet on Mideast peace. 7-Global economy reaches turning point: World Bank. 8-Iran: $250 Million to PA. 9-Russia. 10-European Parliament approves new EU commissioners. 11-New Europe threatens space centre veto. 12-Europe is losing faith in its most successful policy. 13-Helsinki urges clarity from Israel on nukes remark.

I WILL BE TAKING THE WEEKEND OFF, I AM VISITING FAMILY, WHEN I GET BACK I'll GET THE STORIES CAUGHT UP.

DECEMBER 14,2006 STAN. SEE ALL IN A FEW DAYS.. I AM PUTTING ON THURSDAYS AND FRIDAYS STORIES.

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.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = Thu Dec 14 12:53 AM EDT

DEC 14,2006
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

DEC 13,2006
MAP 3.4 NORTH OF THE VIRGIN ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 PENNSYLVANIA
MAP 4.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 TAIWAN REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN IDAHO
MAP 4.9 STATE OF YAP, FED. STATES OF MICRONESIA
MAP 5.1 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.7 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.4 ALAMAGAN REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.2 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.2 KURIL ISLANDS

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.

Powerless again ,By —Frank Bucholtz, Dec 13 2006 Langley Times

People in Langley who lost their power on Monday must be wondering what’s going on. The third major power outage of the past month took place when a strong wind storm came through. Other such storms are predicted later this week.

The first storm came on Nov. 14, when high winds brought down many trees and branches. Some Langley residents had no power for more than three days. Then on Nov. 26, a heavy blanket of snow hit the area. This also caused some power outages, although not as extensive.

However, side roads remained in an icy state for more than a week, until the weather started to warm up. The delayed thaw was actually a blessing, as it allowed the snow to melt much more gradually and prevented serious flooding from occurring.

Then came Monday’s wind storm.

Power was knocked out in many areas of Langley, including Langley City, Aldergrove, Brookswood and Murrayville. While some customers had fairly brief power outages, others were still in the dark on Tuesday. One elementary school was closed because of the power outage. For people who have already had plans at this very busy time of year disrupted, this is yet another blow. Yet it isn’t unexpected. We live near the ocean, and powerful wind storms are common at this time of year. Our love of big trees in this region is well-known. That’s why development and clear-cutting of trees is always a hot topic. Yet big trees are a significant contributing factor to power outages, as they topple or send branches tumbling onto power lines. While power lines could be buried, BC Hydro advises that it costs about nine times as much to bury the lines as to string them on poles. In addition, when there is a problem underground, it is very hard to pinpoint it — and thus any such outage would likely last much longer than most of the outages experienced in this area recently. People whose power frequently goes out know the need to be well-prepared — it’s essential.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

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.

Residents await monster fire,The Age,Dec 13,06
Renee Switzer

UNDER THREAT Glencairn, Castleburn, Dargo, Valencia Creek, Briagolong, Crooked River, Gaffney's Creek and A1 Mine Settlement, Howqua Hills.

NEWS UPDATE Environment Protection Authority issues alert over poor air quality due to smoke over metropolitan Melbourne.

Residents of Glencairn in Victoria's north-east are preparing to fight for their homes as they nervously await a monster fire to come roaring down from the charred flanks of Mt Terrible.You can see this fire trickling along at the moment but by jingoes when it comes out it's going to come out in force, Glencairnresident Kevin Coleman said.Mr Coleman's property is between Glencairn and Licola.

Glencairn has been put on high alert as the Mt Terrible bushfire bears down, fuelled by strengthening winds.Tomorrow the monster will rear its ugly head. Most of the people in the area have done as much as we can. We've backburned around the assets. We've all come to the conclusion that the properties themselves are going to burn.It really is a threat that we can't play down.

PM visits fire zone

Prime Minister John Howard has offered his Government's support to Victorians affected by the bushfires during a visit to the town of Whitfield, which has been threatened by fires for more than a week.Mr Howard said he wanted firefighters and residents to know that their fellow Australians are thinking of them, they feel for them, they worry that these fires are starting so early and in such a large number of areas.Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd also interrupted a visit to Melbourne to fly to Bairnsdale, in Gippsland, to visit volunteer firefighters.

Sleeping giant

There are about six homes in Glencairn, 20 kilometres north of Licola.Mr Coleman's brother Mark has an 809-hectare property in the area and is waiting with a mate ready to fight the fire.The hard part about this and this is where the problem has been last week you just can't see where the fire is, he said.It's like a sleeping giant sneaking up on you - you don't know where it's at.Mr Coleman said he had been preparing for the fires for months and had burnt off around the area.

We worked 20 hours a day

We basically had half a day off yesterday and a night off but up until then for the last seven days we worked 20 hours a day, we did two days of 24 hours a day where we didn't sleep. We had to help not just ourselves but help our neighbours out.His biggest concern is losing his fences.It's funny what people call assets... you could do the same job out of a caravan for 12 months - our biggest asset is our fencing. Once our fencing is burnt it would take three people probably 18 months to two years to replace it.

Without our fencing you haven't got a workable property.It took me probably nine years to build the fencing that was there and to see it all gone in a matter of days, there will be a few tears.

Very vulnerable

Julie Bryer and her partner Noel Bransden own Glencairn Mountain Hideaway but live in Heyfield. Ms Bryer said they were not prepared to return to the property during the fire danger period.It's very vulnerable at the moment but there's nothing we can do we just have to hang in there and hope everything will be alright, she said.It's very scary and I think people in Melbourne don't realise how bad it is here.Fires ravage 400,000ha.DSE spokesman Kevin Monk said infrared images taken from aircraft showed the fires, sparked by lightning 11 days ago, had so far ripped through 408,000 hectares.The largest blaze spans 370,000 hectares after the Alpine and Gippsland fires merged yesterday.The DSE is continuing efforts to protect the Thomson Dam, which supplies water to Melbourne, with construction of containment lines.Winds shifting north to north westerly were fanning the fire and pushing a pall of smoke over Melbourne’s skyline, Mr Monk said.There's drift across Melbourne ... it's dirty outside, he said.

Extreme weather ahead

Weather conditions were expected to worsen tomorrow.Winds turn over the fire area to the north and temperatures are increasing. More than 4000 firefighters are working to consolidate fire breaks and containment lines in preparation for tomorrow’s extreme weather.Townships south of the fires would be under threat when conditions deteriorated, he said.The fires should continue to burn in a southerly direction ... pushing the fire towards the private properties in the Gippsland plains, so that's why a lot of work has been done in the forest areas in the last few days north of these towns to give them some protection, Mr Monk said.theage.com.au, with AAP

Bushfires scorch south Australia
POSTED: 0220 GMT (1020 HKT), December 12, 2006

CANBERRA, Australia (Reuters) Bushfires burned across three Australian states on Tuesday, destroying houses and blackening an area larger than Luxembourg, with one major fire front stretching 250 km (155 miles).A firestorm on the southern island state of Tasmania struck the east coast town of Scamander, destroying up to 23 houses, although hard-pressed firefighters had little time to assess the damage as gusting winds opened fresh fronts. You could hear houses exploding and trees going down, you could see the flames roaring up over the hill, resident Sue Brown told local media.In Victoria, bushfires sparked by lightning strikes continued to burn in rugged bushland in the northeast of the state, destroying more than 280,000 hectares (692,000 acres).

Two of the largest fires had linked to form a 250-km front, although cooler weather was assisting a 2,000-strong force of firefighters, troops and 45 water-bombing aircraft before the forecast return of soaring temperatures later in the week.Towards the end of the week we will be back in to having higher fire danger indexes and potentially extreme fire conditions, Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) spokesman Craig Ferguson told local radio.In New South Wales state, a blaze lit by firefighters to rob bushfires of fuel leapt containment lines to destroy an ancient protected Blue Gum forest in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney.

And southwest of the Australian capital, Canberra, firefighters were struggling to contain a wildfire fanned by strong winds near the mountain town of Tumut.

Firefighters say Australia faces an extreme fire danger this summer after a drought that has turned many rural areas into tinder boxes. Scientists fear climate change will bring more frequent higher temperatures and less rainfall to the country.Bushfires are a regular feature of Australia's summer. In January 2005, the deadliest bushfires in 22 years killed nine people in South Australia. Over the past 40 years, more than 250 people have been killed in bushfires in Australia.Reuters.

A MESSAGE FROM RABBI ECKSTEIN (THE LOST TRIBES OF ISRAEL)

Dear Stan,

I have always spoken of what a privilege it is for The Fellowship and its partners to be part of the prophetic return of the Jewish people to Israel from around the globe.That is why it is with such joy I ask you to again help us act as God's hands in fulfillment of the biblical promise to gather the exiles of Israel…from the four corners of the earth You can do this by helping the Bnei Menashe, descendants of one of Israel's 10 lost tribes living in a remote corner of India, realize their dream of returning to Israel.

Please make an online donation today in support of their prophetic return.
https://secure2.convio.net/ifcj/site/Donation?ACTION=SHOW_DONATION_OPTIONS&CAMPAIGN_ID=6161&s_subsrc=E6L2&S_SILAS1
=text1&JServSessionIdr011=7jhokufln2.app7b

A few days ago, I was at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv to witness the historic arrival of the first planeload of Bnei Menashe. As I greeted them, I thought how blessed they were to be returning to the promised land of Zion.

But this day also marked the beginning of a challenging period of transition for these émigrés. Life in fast-paced, modern Israel is drastically different from rural, northeast India. It will take about one year for the Bnei Menashe to become self-sufficient citizens of Israel. At the request of the Israeli government, we have promised to support their resettlement through our On Wings of Eagles program by funding housing, job training, child care, language training, food, and medical care.

It is a huge commitment - and we need your help to fulfill it. Today, I ask you to be a part of God's work by giving generously to this project. We need every friend like you to lend a hand in this golden opportunity that God has placed in our hands! Make an online donation today. Bless you, dear friend for your compassionate support.

With prayers for shalom, peace,

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Annan rebukes UN members, quartet on Mideast peace
12 Dec 2006 18:49:26 GMT,Reuters,By Evelyn Leopold

UNITED NATIONS, Dec 12 (Reuters) U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan rebuked General Assembly members as well as leading international players on Tuesday for failing to come to grips with the escalating Israeli-Palestinian conflict.In his last address on the Middle East to the U.N. Security Council, Annan said a settlement had defied several generations of world leaders and I, too, will leave office without an end to the prolonged agony.Annan ends 10 years on the job on Dec. 31 to be succeeded by South Korean Ban Ki-moon.Mistrust between Israelis and Palestinians has reached new heights, he said. We need a new and urgent push for peace.Annan chastised supporters of the Palestinians for their criticism of Security Council actions, where the United States has vetoed most measures critical of Israel, when their own conduct in the 192-member General Assembly helped no one.

Some may feel satisfaction at repeatedly passing General Assembly resolutions or holding conferences that condemn Israel's behavior, Annan said. But one should also ask whether such steps bring any tangible relief or benefit to the Palestinians.Describing decades of resolutions and a proliferation of special committees, Annan asked if this had any effect on Israel other than to strengthen the belief that this great organization is too one-sided to be allowed a significant role in the Middle East peace process.

Even worse, some of the rhetoric used in connection with the issue implies a refusal to concede the very legitimacy of Israel's existence, let alone the validity of its security concerns, Annan said. What was done to Jews and others by the Nazis remains an undeniable tragedy, unique in human history.As for the so-called quartet of advisers, Annan said the group had to engage the parties directly and be clearer at the outset on the parameters of an end-game deal.He said quartet members -- the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations -- needed to do more to restore faith in its own serious and effectiveness.

In remarks made during a daylong debate on the conflict, Annan delivered advice and criticism to both sides, saying Palestinians had been miserably abused and exploited by Israel, by the Arab world, sometimes by their own leaders and perhaps even, at times by the international community.

Palestinians, he said, have suffered for decades of military occupation by Israel, new Israeli settlers added every month, a heavy presence of Israeli soldiers and 500 checkpoints to control their movement. And now the Palestinian Authority, paralyzed by a debilitating political and financial crisis, was no longer able to provide security or basic services.Israelis may reply that they are merely protecting themselves from terrorism, which they have every right to do, he said. But he said that argument carries less weight as long as the occupation in the West Bank becomes more burdensome and the settlement expansion continues.Israel will receive more understanding if its actions were clearly designed to help end an occupation rather than to entrench it, he said. Israel's democracy can thrive only if the occupation over another people ends.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Global economy reaches turning point: World Bank By Lesley Wroughton Wed Dec 13, 1:59 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Global economic growth has reached a turning point with a slowdown now clearly under way, led by the United States, the World Bank said on Wednesday.

In its annual Global Economic Prospects report, the Washington-based development lender said global growth was expected to reach 5.1 percent this year, slow to 4.5 percent in 2007, then rise slightly to 4.6 percent in 2008.It said developing countries were in the driving seat, with growth reaching 7 percent in 2006, twice as fast as developed countries, then falling to 6.4 percent in 2007 and 6.1 percent in 2008.In comparison, developed economies would expand by 3.1 percent this year, slow to 2.4 percent in 2007 and strengthen to 2.8 percent in 2008.The gap between developing countries and high income countries is widening, World Bank economist Hans Timmer told reporters. Developing countries are able to accelerate while high income countries are not doing that, he added.He said growth in the world's developing countries would remain strong, boosted by improved policies and favorable financial conditions.

The report said a soft economic landing remains likely, but warned that a cooling U.S. housing market could spark a sharper than-expected downturn and even a recession, which could have a major impact on developing nations.It said much slower growth would cause commodity prices to weaken, potentially placing many developing countries that have so far avoided current account problems in difficulty.The World Bank said so far inflationary effects of strong world growth had been largely confined to markets for global goods, such as commodity sectors.The report forecast that high global oil prices were likely to ease to $56 a barrel in 2007 and fall further to just below $53 in 2008 as supplies rise and demand growth eases.But it warned that if measures to slow growth in key developing nations such as China, Argentina and India fail, inflation in those countries could pick up.On China, the report said the economic outlook for the world's fastest-growing economy was still favorable and growth would likely slow under 10 percent for the first time in several years to 9.6 percent in 2007 and 8.7 percent in 2008.For the moment, signs of overheating are limited to specific sectors and regions, the report said.

Production capacity continues to expand in line with demand, inflation remains low and the current account is in surplus -- all of which augurs well for a soft landing, it added.

GLOBALIZATION

Further ahead, the World Bank said globalization would spur faster growth in average incomes in the next 25 years. But unless managed carefully, that growth could spur growing inequality and potentially severe environmental pressures.It said gains from growth and globalization could be undermined by environmental side effects and called on developing countries to participate in global solutions. As developing countries enlarge their role on the global stage, their integration as full partners in multilateral solutions to global problems will be essential, the bank said. Mitigating climate change, containing infectious diseases and preserving marine fisheries were three key areas where more global cooperation was needed on the environment, it said.

It forecast that the global economy could expand to $72 trillion by 2030 from $35 trillion in 2005, driven more than ever by strong economies in the developing world. The World Bank said incomes of developing countries would probably still be less than one-quarter of those of rich countries by 2030 but will converge more with rich nations. This would imply that countries like China, Mexico and Turkey would have average living standards roughly comparable to Spain today, the report said. And the number of people living below the poverty line of $1 a day would likely fall to 550 million by 2030 from 1.1 billion today, but Africa would still suffer the highest poverty levels.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
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.

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)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

Iran: $250 Million to PA DEC 12,06
By Hillel Fendel (INN)

Iran has promised a quarter of a billion dollars to the Hamas Authority, says Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniyeh, turning the PA into a form of Iranian dependency.

Haniyeh returned yesterday from a visit to Tehran, his first visit outside Israel since he took office nearly a year ago.

He told a Hamas internet site that the promised aid includes the following:$100 million during the course of 2007$45 million for aid to terrorist prisoners and their families.$60 million for 100,000 unemployed for six months.$20 million to rebuild destroyed houses.$15 million for public libraries.employees salaries in three PA government offices for the next six months.$4.5 million for an airplane, refurbishing two more, and the purchase of 300 cars money to build three hospitals and ten health clinics in Judea, Samaria and Gaza over the next ten years. The PA's annual budget is 6-8 times the above amount. Until Hamas came to power earlier this year, the European Union used to support the Palestinian Authority to the tune of $600 million, and the U.S. used to give $420 million. The two cut off the aid when Hamas refused to renounce terrorism or recognize Israel. However, they have given close to $400 million in humanitarian aid, routing it through UN agencies to prevent it from reaching the Hamas government.

Most of the relatively little money promised by Arab nations over the past several years to the Palestinian Authority has not arrived. Iran and Qatar have each promised in the past to give the PA $50 million, enough for about three weeks of PA salary needs. Qatar later upped its offer to $30 million a month.

A report by the Council of Foreign Relations asserts that considering historical precedent, experts say the aid is not likely to come. The CFR report says, Members of the Arab League promised the PA $55 million per month in 2002, but Saudi Arabia is the only country that has paid its part of the commitment regularly. Kuwait and other Persian Gulf countries have paid, but not the entire amount they promised, and other Arab League nations like Algeria paid once or twice, or not at all. And experts say donations from other Muslim nations came with their own strings. Contributions from Arab countries weren't necessarily tied to need, but more about gaining influence and jockeying for position with other Arab leaders, says Edward Sayre, an assistant professor of economics at Agnes Scott College and an expert on Palestinian labor markets. It had very little to do with PA needs and wants.

On the other hand, the PA's acting finance minister Samir Abu Aisha said last week that Arab governments had increased their direct payments to the government from $20 million a month before Hamas came to power to $45 million.

The money is often smuggled in - with no official control over where it ultimately goes.Last May, Albawaba.com reports, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri was caught attempting to smuggle nearly $900,000 in cash across the border... Despite the smuggling attempts, many of which have no doubt gone unnoticed by authorities, the funds have yet to be used to pay salaries of the general population, most of which has struggled for nine months without pay. Rather than ending up in the hands of Palestinians, donations from Iran have reportedly been transferred to those close to Hamas and to strengthen the da'wa [outreach] mechanism of the Islamic Resistance Movement. Neither do Arab nations support UNRWA - the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East - in a major way. UNRWA's largest donors in 2005 were the European Commission, the United States, Sweden and Norway. As of 31 October 2006, the Agency's largest contributors were the United States, the European Commission, Sweden, Norway the United Kingdom and Canada. UN chief Kofi Annan has issued a call for increased international funding for UNRWA.

Russia DEC 13,06 (Global Politician)

There were key developments regarding Russia over the past two months. For example, Jane’s Defense Weekly reported that a Russian listening post was used by the Syrians to assist Hezbollah during their recent conflict with Israel. After the conflict ended, over 500 Russian military engineers entered Lebanon to rebuild infrastructure. Among the forces were two battalions of Russian Muslims, including Chechens, and a former Chechen rebel commander. This now becomes a big issue for an analyst. With Muslims, particularly Chechens, inside the Russian military, how likely is it that some of these are radical Muslims who will pass training, information, or weapons to terrorist groups?

Another point that should be noted is that, although most would dismiss this possibility, are Chechens and Muslims being used by the Russian military for strategic purposes? That question must be asked because it is clear now that the Russians use Muslim recruits to build relations with unsavory regimes (like Syria) and groups (like Hezbollah). We must also determine how it is possible that a former Chechen rebel commander could be converted to work for the Russians. The answer to that question will likely reveal dozens of more questions.

Alexander Litvinenko, a high-level FSB defector involved in top-secret units, was poisoned this month as he was investigating the death of the Russian journalist, Anna Politkovskaya, a frequent critic of Russian President Putin. Politkovskaya was mysteriously shot while investigating Putin. Litvinenko was poisoned with thallium after meeting with a former colleague at a sushi bar.

The most senior KGB defector to Britain, Oleg Gordievsky, has stated that he believes (as did Litvinenko) that the Russian leadership was behind the poisoning. He points to the sophistication of the poison, his knowledge of secret Russian operations, and claims that the person who put the poison in was recruited at a prison by the FSB and, was a former friend of Litvinenko.We could learn a lot about Russia by examining these recent developments. What was Politkovskaya onto that very likely led her murder? What was Politkovskaya about to reveal that could unnerve the Russian regime so?

That the Chechen government was secretly financed by the Russians?
That the covert structures of the former Soviet Union never collapsed and are still very much in control in the current Russian regime?

A lot of people are investigating Politkovskaya’s death, so why would Litvinenko be targeted? We must delve into what he attempted to reveal in the past. While some of his allegations can be debated, no one can doubt that his death by poisoning enhances his credibility. We should also remember that his book, Blowing Up Russia: Terror From Within was confiscated by the Russian authorities. What had Litvinenko alleged, in his book, that the Russians did not want to ever see the light of day?

That the 1999 bombings that provoked the invasion of Chechnya were carried out by the FSB?
That active covert Russian operations, involving assassination, bribery, kidnapping, and other criminal acts to oppress dissent, are ongoing?
That Russia in the past trained and sponsored terrorists around the world, and still does?
That leaders of terrorist groups and states, such as Carlos The Jackal, Yasser Arafat, and Saddam Hussein, were KGB agents, or at the very least, were supported by the Russians?
That Ayman al-Zawahiri, the #2-in-command of Al-Qaeda, was trained by the FSB in 1998 on the Russian territory of Dagestan and then sent to Afghanistan to link up with Al-Qaeda?

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).

European Parliament approves new EU commissioners
12.13.2006 - 13:39 CET | By Helena Spongenberg

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG The European Parliament has with an overwhelming majority given its final seal of approval to the EU's two newest commissioners from Bulgaria and Romania in the last official hurdle before they join their 25 colleagues in
Brussels in three weeks time.

Meglena Kuneva from Bulgaria received 583 votes (plus 21 against and 28 abstentions) while her Romanian colleague Leonard Orban pulled in 595 votes (plus 16 against and 29 abstentions) on Tuesday (12 December). Some MEPs did, however, still question Mr Orban's portfolio as the EU commissioner for multilingualism saying his job tasks are not clear.The post has been carved out of the portfolio of EU culture and education commissioner Jan Figel.Mr Orban will be responsible for three directorate-generals in the commission: translation, interpretation and the office for official publications of the European communities and will oversee around 3,400 civil servants.He has said he supported the ongoing commission mother tongue + 2 initiative to increase EU citizens language abilities and has spoken in favour of subtitling movies instead of dubbing them, which will expose viewers to other languages.

However, Mr Orban cannot force member states to take action on multilingualism, as education and intercultural issues – areas important for his portfolio – are essentially under national control.From 2007, the European bloc will have a total of 23 official languages adding to the already-existing tensions between administrative efficiency and the right of citizens to linguistic diversity.

Ms Kuneva – who as Europe minister guided Bulgaria into the EU – has seen less questions raised about her future responsibilities. She will be the EU commissioner for consumer protection – a portfolio taken from commissioner Markos Kyprianou who will now focus only on health in the EU.Ms Kuneva has said she supports harmonisation of consumer protection standards and has pledged she will also focus on areas where consumer protection faces great challenges, such as in electronic communications.Both commissioners will be received in the commission at a welcoming event in Brussels on 4 January 2007.

New Europe threatens space centre veto
By Stephen Castle in Brussels ,13 December 2006

Divisions between old and new Europe were reignited yesterday as the Czech Republic went into battle against western European countries over the site of an EU space agency. The dispute, which threatens to derail a summit of European leaders tomorrow, has echoes of previous bitter arguments over the allocation of EU bodies - which bring prestige as well as millions in revenue.This time the authorities in Prague have threatened to veto any decision which hands the new authority supervising Galileo, the EU's satellite navigation project, to an old EU country.Cardiff is a front-runner from old Europe - one of 11 potential sites including Barcelona and Munich.The horse-trading that surrounds the siting of European agencies is legendary and has provoked spectacular bust-ups.

On one occasion the former Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, blocked Finland from gaining a European food safety agency, claiming Finns don't even know what prosciutto is.After deadlock over the site for the Galileo supervisory authority at a meeting yesterday, Prague accused old EU countries of reneging on a deal under which the new, mainly former Communist, nations were promised priority over future decisions.The Czech Prime Minister, Mirek Topolanek, plans to raise Prague's candidacy for the agency at tomorrow's meeting of the European Council, where all 25 EU heads of government will gather. He points to a pledge made by EU heads of government in 2003, when they agreed to carve up sites of a host of agencies among themselves, shortly before the 10 new member states joined the union.At the time, the EU leaders said that as far as future decisions were concerned, they would agree to give priority to acceding states.The Czech Transport minister, Ales Rebicek, said yesterday the deal had been called into question by all of the countries that are candidates and by a group of old member countries. Jana Reinisova, the deputy ambassador of the Czech Republic to the EU, said that in some way it will be raised at the [European] council.

Two other new member states have put forward potential sites for the authority: Slovenia, which proposed Ljubljana, and Malta, which bid for Valletta. Jan Kohout, the Czech ambassador to the EU, said Cardiff's bid was the strongest from old Europe.The Czechs are angry that some old member states have raised the issue of security for the agency. Galileo is the rival to the US global satellite navigation system and the inference is that the new member states might allow America access to secret information.Finland, which holds the EU presidency, said it would try to avoid making Galileo a summit issue. It knows that debate could degenerate into an angry dispute.Susanna Huovinen, Finland's Transport minister, said the 2003 decision to prioritise the new nations should apply unless EU heads of government overturned it.The matter will not be on the agenda of this week's summit, she said.Though the presidency can control the agenda, it cannot prevent a head of government raising any issue he or she wants.

Europe is losing faith in its most successful policy
By George Parker and Daniel Dombey ,December 13 2006

Jean Monnet, one of the European Union’s 1950s founding fathers, foretold that in a globalised era, size would count. Our countries have become too small for the world...measured against America and Russia today and China and India tomorrow, he once said. Europe’s leaders have since sought to expand the EU in line with this vision. But enlargement, often cited as the club’s most successful policy, has become a political liability. On Thursday, at a summit in Brussels, the EU’s member governments will clash over how much further – and how quickly – the Union can extend to the east.The debate will raise questions about what it means to be European and whether the EU can carry on growing without grinding to a halt or further alienating its citizens. The outcome and tone of the talks will have hard-edged consequences: is it going to become even tougher for candidates to join the club?

Senior EU officials say this is a dangerous moment. If the bloc sends out negative signals to future members, what consequences could it have for reformers in Turkey, the politically unstable Balkans or former Soviet republics such as Belarus or Ukraine? The world has a stake in the message that comes out of Brussels.The end-of-year summit gives European leaders a chance to take stock of the club’s big bang expansion of May 2004, which saw it expand from 15 to 25 members. By the time Bulgaria and Romania join on New Year’s day, the EU will have taken in 10 former communist countries and increased its population to 490m, almost half as big again as the US.So what went wrong with the latest enlargement? The simple answer is: not very much. While some western European countries, including Britain and Ireland, experienced unexpectedly high levels of immigration from Poland and other new member states, economic studies say the migrants filled skills shortages.

Indeed, the creation of a mobile pool of labour – giving Europe’s economy some of the flexibility taken for granted in the US – seems to have played a role in pushing EU economic growth above 2.5 per cent, outstripping America. Unemployment across the bloc has at last started falling.

While there has been political instability in central Europe and Poland has proved an awkward partner, 10 dynamic new member states are being integrated. Europe is using its soft power to spread democratic and economic transformation and stability. Even France, the most vocal advocate of slowing the pace of enlargement, has in an official paper called this ambitious reunification of east and west Europe a remarkable success.Yet this week’s summit takes place against a backdrop of public anxiety, typified by fears that western companies will relocate jobs and production to the east and that cheap eastern workers will take jobs in the west. A Eurobarometer poll this year found that only 45 per cent of EU citizens want to see other countries join, a proportion that falls to less than one in three in France, Germany, Luxembourg and Austria.

Concerns about the pace of enlargement were cited by both French and Dutch voters as reasons for their rejection of the EU’s proposed constitutional treaty in 2005. Sergey Stanishev, Bulgaria’s prime minister, admits the atmosphere has soured. He says: Enlargement is a great success story for Europe but has been very badly communicated.To allay public concerns, some European politicians want the EU to agree its final political borders now, arguing that the club risks getting so big it will no longer be able to act. A Europe without borders will become a subset of the United Nations, Nicolas Sarkozy, the French centre-right presidential candidate, has said. Wolfgang Schüssel, Austria’s chancellor, argues that former Soviet-bloc countries such as Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia and Armenia should be told now to forget about full membership and develop other forms of partnerships with Europe instead.

Most advocates of a final borders strategy also share the view of Mr Sarkozy and Mr Schüssel that the line should be drawn west of the Bosphorus, excluding 80m largely Muslim Turks, whose European destiny will dominate summit headlines. We have to say emphatically who is a European and who is not, Mr Sarkozy has said.

Mr Sarkozy’s proposal would have legal teeth because of an existing EU treaty declaration that says: Any European state may apply to become a member of the Union. If it meets the club’s political and economic rules and its human rights standards, it should be able to join, although it needs unanimous support from existing member states: each has a veto.

Defining what is a European country is therefore both vital and elusive. Only once has the EU denied membership to an applicant country on such grounds, when in 1993 Morocco was told that it was not a European country, in spite of its historic and cultural links. Europe’s eastern boundaries are notoriously imprecise.Geographically the continent’s boundary is usually put at the Urals – a huge post was once erected on the main trail across the mountains to mark the boundary with Asia, a poignant sight for prisoners en route to Siberia. Turkey’s prospects for EU membership have been acknowledged since 1963, in spite of the vast majority of its land mass being in Asia.

Cyprus was admitted in 2004, in spite of its being only 150 miles from Syria and 500 miles from the European continent. Olli Rehn, the EU’s enlargement commissioner, argues that the term European combines geographical, historical and cultural elements. This cannot be condensed into a simple timeless formula – it is subject to review by each succeeding generation, he said in a recent policy paper. But even supporters of fixing Europe’s final borders admit that this will not be possible this week. Instead they are looking for other tools to master – or slow – the accession process.

European diplomats say the summiteers will agree on at least one key point: the EU should honour its commitments to Turkey and Croatia, which have started membership talks, and to the countries of the western Balkans, whose membership aspirations are officially recognised. But one ambassador admits the club is split down the middle over the pace at which membership talks with Turkey and the Balkan states should proceed, or indeed whether they will ever end in success. France, the Netherlands and Austria are among those who want to define the EU’s absorption capacity, including whether an expanded Union can deliver the deeper integration envisaged by Monnet. It would also look at the impact of enlargement on the Union’s budget and its institutions.Mr Rehn prefers to talk of integration capacity, a phrase that he argues applies equally to the candidate country and the Union itself. But he insists it should not become a new condition for entry, a view supported by pro-enlargement countries such as Britain, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Poland.

This is likely to be the subject of skirmishes at the Brussels summit. Paris wants the European Commission, as the executive arm, to conduct fuller impact assessments and to take more account of political developments and public opinion during the entry negotiations. What they are trying to do is build up an armoury of tools to stop any enlargement they don’t like, says one senior EU official. France also has a nuclear weapon to halt future expansions: each new member after Croatia will be able to join only if French voters say Yes in a referendum.But France is not alone in wanting to increase political control over enlargement. The Netherlands has been particularly vocal, while Austria and other neighbours in what is dubbed in Brussels the Habsburg bloc have concerns over Turkish accession. The pace of enlargement depends on the absorption capacity of the Union and not only on the preparations of the candidate country, says one French official. In Paris they talk of putting a pilot in the cockpit, to reassure people that someone is in control of enlargement.That position is seen as ironic in Brussels, where officials argue it was French President Jacques Chirac himself who put the process on autopilot when he insisted that Bulgaria and Romania should be guaranteed entry by 2008 at the latest, regardless of whether they were ready, so that the two, both linguistic affiliates, could inject a dose of Francophonie into the latest expansion.

Dutch officials meanwhile say that although Europe has a strategic interest in extending membership into unstable regions, that has to be balanced against the risk of enlargement creating instability inside the Union. That could take the form of a breakdown in integration or the rise of xenophobic political parties in the west.There is also wide support for the idea that future expansion can take place only after the EU has updated its institutions – a task that involves reviving parts of the stalled constitutional treaty. A painful review of the club’s budget, including the farm subsidy regime, is also seen as essential.The problem for potential EU members is that these all appear to be hurdles over which they have no control. The message seems to be: you can meet all the criteria but, if the EU has not sorted out its budget, or its constitution, or if public opinion is hostile, then you cannot come in. Of course, that is the conclusion some member states will take from the summit, says one EU diplomat. Others will argue that all of this is blah, blah, blah and there are no new conditions. The truth is probably somewhere in between.Whatever the final summit text, equally important will be the political signal sent to the countries in Europe’s waiting room. It is unlikely to be positive. Turkey’s refusal to open its ports to shipping from Cyprus, a 2004 entrant, will result in its membership talks being partially suspended.

Although Mr Rehn points out that some parts of the negotiations can continue, there will be some at the summit who believe or hope these will never be concluded. Mr Rehn fears the negative mood, whether expressed in the legalese of a summit communiqué or by the likes of Mr Chirac in closing press conferences, will also send a message to others – including the 25m people of the western Balkans – that their path towards the Union is uncertain.

With Kosovo’s future status due to be determined next year, Mr Rehn argues Europeans have a major responsibility for providing stability in the region – including keeping open the possibility of membership for countries such as Serbia and Bosnia.Matti Vanhanen, the Finnish prime minister and summit host, as his country holds the EU’s rotating presidency, had also hoped to insert a line into the communiqué hinting that the door was still ajar for other future members, but he was rebuffed by a number of member states. But does this mean that Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia – and possibly Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan – will be denied their claim to be European for ever? As Mr Rehn notes, different generations have different perspectives.Napoleon Bonaparte, whose imperial ambitions stretched well beyond the eastern limits of today’s EU, also took a wider view. Brooding in exile on St Helena, he wrote: I wished to found a European system, a European code of laws, a European judiciary. There would be but one people in Europe.The Financial Times Limited 2006

Helsinki urges clarity from Israel on nukes remark
13.12.2006 - 09:27 CET | By Mark Beunderman

The Finnish EU presidency has called upon Israel to clarify its apparent acknowledgement that it has nuclear weapons, with Finland's defence minister saying he hopes the issue will not impair the international peace mission in Lebanon. Finnish defence minister Seppo Kaariainen told Germany's Berliner Zeitung on Wednesday (13 December) that it is up to Ehud Olmert, Israel's prime minister, to explain what is widely seen as a slip-of-the-tongue made on Monday. Mr Olmert in an interview with German TV, grouped Israel - which has never publicly admitted that it has nuclear weapons - together with states which openly run nuclear arsenals. The Israeli leader said Iran, openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is the same level, when they are aspiring to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?

I believe Mr Olmert should further explain what this information really means, said Mr Kaariainen, who was apparently speaking on behalf of the European Union, adding that the EU will watch very closely which reactions the Israeli statement will cause in the region. I hope above all that the international crisis management which started last summer in Lebanon can be continued without interference, the Finnish minister said, referring to a UN peacekeeping mission in southern Lebanon which was launched after a bloody summer war between Israel and Hezbullah.

EU states provide around half of the 15,000 troops of the UN force, with Italy and France being the largest contributors. The Finnish presidency during last summer's conflict pushed a critical EU line towards Israel, calling Israeli operations disproportionate while promoting EU conclusions calling for an immediate ceasefire. Some EU states like the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and the Czech Republic however objected to Helsinki's line and took a more pro-Israel stance.