POLONIUM IN A DIRTY BOMB

FOR THOSE WHO NEVER READ THE STORY STEPHANE DION SPEAKS ABOUT JUAN CARLOS KING OF SPAIN, ITS RIGHT AFTER TODAYS STORIES.

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Moderate earthquake hits western Indonesia. 3-Vietnam readies for typhoon Utor. 4-Typhoon roars out of Philippines. 5-The Nation's Weather. 6-FIRES. 7-Israel Agrees to Reopen Mt. Zion Talks with Vatican. 8-Haniyeh says Hamas won't accept Israel. 9-Merkel Says Germany Will Help Renew Middle East Peace Efforts. 10-Shuttle lifts off in night launch. 11-Christmas terror strike highly likely. 12-Concern rises over possible use of polonium in a dirty bomb.

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 = Mon Dec 11 2:20 AM EDT

DEC 11,2006
MAP 2.8 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA

DEC 10,2006
MAP 3.4 NEVADA
MAP 3.7 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.2 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 5.7 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN ITALY
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.3 STATE OF YAP, FED. STATES OF MICRONESIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.7 FIJI REGION

Moderate earthquake hits western Indonesia Sat Dec 9, 5:51 AM ET

JAKARTA (AFP) A moderate earthquake of 5.3 on the Richter scale has struck the northern Sumatra region of Indonesia but there were no immediate reports of damage, geologists said.The quake occurred at 4:24 pm (0924 GMT) and was centred 96 kilometres (60 miles) southwest of the Aceh provincial capital Banda Aceh and 30 kilometres under the seabed Saturday.The tremor was felt in Banda Aceh but there were no immediate reports of damage, Arief from the meteorological office told AFP.The Indonesian archipelago sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates meet, causing frequent seismic and volcanic activity.

Indonesia was the nation worst hit by the earthquake-triggered Asian tsunami in December 2004, which killed some 168,000 people in Aceh province.A 7.7-magnitude earthquake in July on the south coast of the main island of Java also killed more than 600 people.

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.

Vietnam readies for typhoon Utor DEC 11,2006

HANOI (AFP) Vietnam is readying for the possible arrival of typhoon Utor this week as the toll of those dead or missing from severe tropical storm Durian crept up to 94, officials have said.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has ordered ministries and authorities, especially along the central coast, to prepare for mass evacuations and to keep ships in port and tell those at sea to seek shelter.Dung also deployed deputy premier Nguyen Sinh Hung to the central region to oversee the preparations, the state-run Vietnam News Agency said.Typhoon Utor, packing maximum winds of 120 kilometres (74 miles) per hour early Monday, was barreling across the South China Sea after leaving at least seven people dead or missing in the Philippines.

Manila said Utor was the reason it postponed two summits on the central island of Cebu in the first half of the week, although other sources said the real reason may have been a terrorist threat.Forecasters in Vietnam said Monday it was too early to tell whether the typhoon would make landfall in Vietnam, lose strength or hit elsewhere.Severe tropical storm Durian had weakened from a supertyphoon that killed or left missing more than 1,000 people in the Philippines.When it made landfall in southern Vietnam early last week it killed 83 people and left 11 people missing while damaging 240,000 buildings at a cost of more than 440 million dollars, officials said.

Typhoon roars out of Philippines, 4 killed DEC 11,06

MANILA (Reuters) Typhoon Utor thundered out of the Philippines killing four people, including three children, and stranding thousands on Monday after high winds and waves tore up power lines and communication links in the archipelago.Utor, a category 2 typhoon with gusts of up to 150 kph (90 mph), was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm by Friday on a path that peters out south of the Chinese island of Hainan by the weekend, according to www.tropicalstormrisk.com.The National Disaster Coordinating Council (NDCC) said three children were confirmed dead, including a one-year-old girl whose house was struck by a falling tree in central Capiz province. Four were listed as missing.On the resort island of Boracay, the famous white sands were littered with debris after high winds tore up roofs and trees.Some people are crying because they are afraid and in shock, said Roselle Gallano, a waitress at a coffee shop close to the beach front. Many houses were damaged, some have been tilted.

The governor of nearby Aklan province said one person had been killed on Boracay and at least four were still missing.Authorities evacuated around 90,000 residents, most of them in Albay province, where more than 1,000 people are feared dead after Typhoon Durian wiped out villages in a torrent of landslides and flash flooding in late November.Utor, the fifth typhoon to hit the Philippines since September, did not directly hit Albay but the bereaved remain stranded in schools and makeshift shelters and the province is still without power.On Friday, the Philippines hastily postponed an annual summit of 16 Asian leaders until January, citing concerns the typhoon could wreak havoc at the venue on the central island of Cebu. Utor subsequently swept north of Cebu.The NDCC said over 500 houses were destroyed and electricity was knocked out in wide areas in the Visayas region.Storms regularly hit the Philippines. In one of the worst disasters in recent years, more than 5,000 people died on the central island of Leyte in 1991 in floods triggered by a typhoon.(Additional reporting by Karen Lema in Manila)

The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Sun Dec 10, 5:13 AM ET

More Pacific storm systems were forecast to hit the West Coast on Sunday, bringing snow to the Sierra Nevadas, the Great Basin and the Northern Rockies, while the East was expected to remain mostly dry. A winter storm warning was in effect in the Sierras.

Another major Pacific storm system was expected to slam into the Northwest on Monday.Light showers were possible in the Great Lakes on Sunday.

The Northeast was expected to warm up as Arctic air moves north. New England was expected to rise into the 30s, 40s and some 50s, while the Southeast and the Plains could see temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Parts of the Northern Plains, the Rockies and the Northwest were expected to see temperatures only in the 30s.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of minus 3 degrees at Farson, Wyo., to a high of 78 degrees at Casa Grande, Ariz.

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.

Steve Waldon, Melbourne, Ben Doherty and Kenneth Nguyen, Whitfield
December 11, 2006 FIRES

SMS your photos and video to 0406 THE AGE (0406 843 243) or email scoop@theage.com.au.VICTORIA was on edge late last night as fatigued firefighters battled numerous blazes across the state and fire behaviour remained highly unpredictable.By last night, fires had claimed a home near Stonyford, south-east of Camperdown, a holiday home at Rose River, near Cheshunt, and a house at Bocking, near Kevington in the north-east. Embers were last night reported falling on properties close to fire areas.

Firefighters were battling a blaze in state forest at Tawonga, near Bright, that is believed to have been lit deliberately and flames came within 50 metres of homes in King Valley, in north-east Victoria, as strong southerly winds forced fires back towards the hamlets of Whitfield and Cheshunt.On Melbourne's hottest December day for 53 years — 42.1 degrees — the anticipated loss of private property in the north-east and Gippsland was averted, but authorities warned several fronts were still likely to join and wind shifts could still produce erratic fire behaviour.

CFA deputy chief officer Graham Fountain said towns most vulnerable had been largely untouched, but none of the fires was contained and the threat was imminent.

This is just a two-day event in a three-month fight, and by Thursday we'll be facing high temperatures and northerlies again, he said.Ember attacks and spotting were keeping residents and CFA crews busy, Mr Fountain said.Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon warned the bushfire threat was extreme. We may lose lives, she said. We will lose more assets, but we will have done the best we can to protect people and this whole environment.Department of Sustainability and Environment state duty officer Andrew Graystone said that although little property had been lost so far, it's all very fluid at the moment we're in a changing environment.He said that the northerlies had not developed as strongly as expected, but fire activity had been fierce and was building. What we need to understand is, it's not whether the weather is cooler or hotter, the bush is so dry, it's going to burn, he said.

Fire crews would work through the night on asset protection.

The Princes Highway was closed between Camperdown and Colac in the afternoon after a fire raged through the stony rises. More than 160 firefighters were working to contain the Stonyford fire that was headed towards Pomborneit East near Lake Corangamite.

The cause of the fire is being treated as suspicious.A large support crew of 35 CFA and two DSE tankers, bulldozers and fire-bombing aircraft were involved.Bushfires threatened the rural districts of Germantown in the alpine north-east and Waterford in Gippsland.A bushfire was headed south-east about three kilometres from Germantown and a fire that was burning over 41,000 hectares was bearing down on Waterford.

Premier Steve Bracks warned Victorians the bushfire danger would be critical for at least two weeks. He is expected to visit fire-affected areas today.I want to really congratulate the 3000-plus people who are out there fighting fires on the front line, he said.Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Terry Ryan said rain was the only way the fires would be stopped.There's a front coming up Thursday. Some showers and thunderstorms are going to happen with that probably, and that will extend to the north-east on Friday. There is hope there.with AAP

Israel Agrees to Reopen Mt. Zion Talks with Vatican
By Hillel Fendel (INN)

PM Olmert will meet in the Vatican this week with Pope Benedict - two weeks after Israeli diplomats confirmed the reopening of talks over the status of church property on Mt. Zion and elsewhere. In a move that surprised observers, CatholicNews.com reports, Israel has agreed to re-launch negotiations with the Holy See over church status in the Holy Land that have been stalled since the Olmert government came to power.A year ago, Arutz-7 reported that a Foreign Ministry official admitted that a blueprint of an agreement with the Vatican giving it control of parts of Mt. Zion in Jerusalem also known as King David's burial site had been received. The proposed contract read as follows:

The State of Israel hands over to the Holy See the use of the Cenacle [the room of the event known as the Last Supper, above King David's tomb - ed.], of the access path to it, and of the spaces adjacent to it... It is the Holy See's intention to inform the Bishops - and through them the world's Priests - that the Catholic Church has been given the use of the Cenacle, inviting them to visit the Holy Place together with their faithful... The Holy See hands over this use of the Cenacle to the Custody of the Holy Land [which acts on behalf of the Holy See]... [which] will keep the Cenacle open from 6 AM to 8 AM for the celebration of the Holy Mass... Official liturgical celebrations of non-Catholic Churches can take place only upon prior written permission by the Custody of the Holy Land.

At the time, President Moshe Katzav was about to embark on a visit to the Vatican. In the face of increasing public pressure, he was forced to deny any plans to sign away the King David's complex in Jerusalem. It now appears, however, that this option has once again surfaced.AsiaNews reported late last month that Israel and the Holy See have agreed to hold negotiating sessions of their Bilateral Permanent Working Commission' in December and in January - after the Olmert Government had, in effect, declined to do so ever since taking office last spring... The news is being received with relief, and with cautious optimism, in Church circles.The paper reported that there were apprehensions that the protracted negotiations (begun on 11 March 1999) required by the 1993 Fundamental Agreement between the Holy See and the State of Israel, might be suspended indefinitely - with incalculable consequences, both for the Catholic institutions in Israel and for the bilateral relationship.

Church's Steady and Discreet Efforts Pay Off

It is not known precisely what caused [Israel's] sudden change of attitude, AsiaNews reported, though it is understood that the Vatican had never given up on its steady (though characteristically discreet) diplomatic efforts.

Furthermore, it has often been reported in the media that both the American Catholic Church and influential components of the U.S. Government at the Department of State, in the Congress, and in the White House itself have been encouraging Israel constantly to make sure it is faithful to its international commitments vis-a-vis the Holy See and the Catholic Church.

At present, since shortly after the Six-Day War in 1967, the Diaspora Yeshiva is located on Mt. Zion, and has long warned of the catastrophic implications for Israel if the deal goes through. This is an enormous issue that is being pushed through without any public debate whatsoever, Yeshiva Director Rabbi Shabtai Herman told Arutz-7 last year. Rabbi Herman explained that if the Catholic Church receives control of the area, just a few hundred yards from the Temple Mount and adjacent to the Old City walls, it will turn it into the international center for Catholics all
around the world and if the pope just gives the word, Christians will be flocking over here en masse.

Rabbi Mordechai Goldstein, who founded and still runs the Diaspora Yeshiva, officially known as Yeshiva Toras Yisrael, elaborated in a follow-up discussion with Arutz-7:According to their bible, the land is to return to the Christians, and 144,000 Jews are to return to Mt. Zion. So their plan is for them to take control of the site, and then to announce that they are holding a mass reenactment of the Last Supper, with [all types of religious rituals], and to invite millions of Christians to come to Jerusalem and celebrate.

He said that this means much tourism money for Israel, and that someone in the Israeli government is apparently very interested in making this happen.The King David's Tomb complex is a complex of buildings of some 100,000 square feet where David and Solomon, and kings of Judea, are said to be buried. It is certainly one of the holiest spots in the Land of Israel, Rabbi Herman said. We've already given away the Temple Mount and the Machpelah Cave, except for here and there when we're allowed in; now they want to give Mt. Zion away as well? For thousands of years, this area was almost always totally closed off to Jews. G-d gave it back to us in 1948, but parts of it were still in range and sight of Jordanian snipers and were not in full use. After 1967, Rabbi Goldstein founded the Diaspora Yeshiva here - and it became an island of holiness, the first yeshiva for baalei teshuvah [newly religious] in Israel; we were there day and night learning Torah. Rabbi Goldstein was almost prophetic in establishing this yeshiva at that time at that spot; destiny from above intertwined him with Mt. Zion.

Rabbi Herman said that the above plan is merely the first step of a larger plan to turn all of Mt. Zion into a Christian site. He explained that the lower level of the complex, containing many chambers, rooms, passageways and the like, has long been under the control of Israeli bodies such as the Lands Authority, and that half of the area was assigned to the Diaspora Yeshiva. MK Benny Elon (National Union), who served twice as Minister of Tourism, told Arutz-7's Hebrew newsmagazine, This issue was raised several years ago. When I was Tourism Minister, I made it clear to a representative of the Pope that we would allow them to use one room with a side entrance that would not bother the yeshiva. But under no circumstances would we allow the transfer of ownership. But they said they want ownership, and that the Pope sees this place as the second-holiest, after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

We have to be very strong and not give in to the Vatican on this.

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.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
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.

Haniyeh says Hamas won't accept Israel
From Times Wire Reports,December 9, 2006

Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh told thousands of Iranians at Tehran University that his government would never recognize Israel and would continue to fight for the liberation of Jerusalem. Making his first visit abroad since the militant group Hamas took power in March, Haniyeh criticized the U.S. for demanding that Hamas recognize Israel as a basis for renewed peace talks and before international aid to the Palestinians resumes. Haniyeh called Iran, a longtime ally of Hamas, the Palestinians strategic depth because they are bound together in their fight against Israel.

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).

Merkel Says Germany Will Help Renew Middle East Peace Efforts
By Kenneth Wongdec 9,06

Bloomberg) German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she will use the presidency of the European Union next year to renew efforts toward securing peace in the Middle East. The so-called Middle East Quartet, consisting of the U.S., the United Nations,
Russia and the European Union, introduced a Middle East road map' in 2003 to revive talks for long-term peace in the region.

Germany will seize the initiative during the EU presidency, Merkel said in an Internet broadcast today.We believe that the Middle East Quartet should be revived and the European Union has an active role here. U.S. President George W. Bush said this week he would take the advice of an Iraq Study Group seriously.

The group said that progress in the Middle East depended on a sustained commitment to a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinian territories, and resolving Israel's differences with neighbors Lebanon and Syria. I particularly support an extensive diplomatic initiative, in which Iraq would involve its neighboring states and therefore could make a contribution toward stabilizing the Middle East region, Merkel said today. To contact the reporter on this story: Kenneth Wong in Berlin at kwong11@bloomberg.net.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

LUKE 21:11,25
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations.

Sunday, 10 December 2006, 05:12 GMT
Shuttle lifts off in night launch

The launch

The space shuttle Discovery has lifted off from Cape Canaveral - the first night shuttle launch in four years. Discovery launched at 2047 (0147 GMT on Sunday), two days after poor weather forced a lift-off to be cancelled. Rocket flares from the shuttle were visible in the night sky across much of the south-eastern United States. The shuttle is heading to the International Space Station (ISS), which Nasa is racing to complete before the shuttle fleet is retired in 2010. This is the third shuttle mission in six months and first night launch since the Columbia disaster in 2003.While in orbit with the space station, Discovery astronauts will carry out three spacewalks and will rewire electrical systems inside the ISS.

Change of fortune

Cloudy skies earlier on Sunday cleared as night fell in Florida, allowing mission controllers to proceed with the launch. There were no reported complications on launch as Discovery soared away from the Kennedy Space Center. The curved ascent left a fiery trail in the Florida sky It quickly reached a speed of 6,500 mph (10,500 km/h) as it headed through the Earth's atmosphere. Acknowledging a message of congratulations from the ground, commander Mark Polansky replied: There are a lot of happy, smiling faces up here.Forty-eight hours makes a tremendous difference, launch director Mike Leinbach told the crew. Everything just clicked. Everything felt good today, he said later. Two days earlier the crew of two women and five men were seated inside the shuttle at the scheduled launch time of 2135 (0235 GMT), but low clouds prevented lift-off.

Rookies

A British-born astronaut, Nicholas Patrick, is among Discovery's crew.The mission may be one of the hardest yet for Nasa astronauts Five of the astronauts on the mission are going on their first shuttle flight. One of the seven, US astronaut Sunita Williams, will stay on at the ISS when Discovery heads home, taking German Thomas Reiter back to Earth. Nasa has described the construction mission as one of the most complex to date. At least 14 more missions are needed to finish the $100bn (£50bn) station.Discovery's flight is scheduled to last 12 days, with a landing targeted for 21 December back at the Kennedy Space Center.

Discovery's crew consists of Commander Mark Polansky, pilot William Oefelein and mission specialists Robert Curbeam, Joan Higginbotham, Nicholas Patrick, Sunita Williams and the European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang.

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men

LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Christmas terror strike highly likely
By John Steele, Crime Correspondent
Last Updated: 1:36am GMT 11/12/2006 Telegraph

The risk from terrorists in the Christmas period is very high indeed and the struggle against Muslim terrorism will last at least 30 years, John Reid, the Home Secretary, said yesterday.Mr Reid echoed the view of MI5 that there are around 30 major terrorist plots under way and the terrorists only have to be lucky once.He told the GMTV Sunday Programme that an attempted attack over the Christmas period was highly likely, adding: We know that the number of conspiracies of a major type are in the tens — 30 or round about that.We can never guarantee that we will get 100 per cent success but we do get 100 per cent effort from the security services.Mr Reid said the current UK terror assessment posted on the Government's intelligence website was severe, the second highest level, one short of the level at which an attack is imminent.The Home Secretary said he did not think an attack was inevitable but added: The terrorists only have to get through once, as they did on July 7, for us to see the terrible carnage that it causes. Our security services have to be successful on every occasion to prevent that happening.

I try to walk the tightrope between being truthful and honest about the threat to the public but, on the other hand, to say we are doing everything possible to combat it and to try to keep our lifestyle as near as possible to the British way of life. Mr Reid added: When it came to the struggle against republican terrorism in Ireland and in the mainland here, that lasted 30 years, and there is no indication to me that this is going to be resolved any quicker than that.He suggested that it was important to resolve the issue of Israel and Palestine because it fuelled international terrorism.If terrorism is to be defeated here in this country, the whole community has to be united against them.The aim of the terrorists is to divide the community, to pretend that this is a war between Muslims and everyone else, when it isn't. In a funny way they reflect the views of the extreme Right of politics who argue the same thing — that the big division is between Islam and everyone else.It isn't it's between the terrorists and everyone else and only with that unity can we ultimately defeat them.The head of MI5, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, warned recently that groups linked to al-Qa'eda were recruiting teenagers to carry out suicide attacks and would use chemical, biological or nuclear weapons if they got the chance.

MI5 is monitoring some 200 groupings or networks comprising more than 1,600 individuals who are actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist acts here and overseas.The cost of fighting terrorism has been illustrated by figures showing that the Metropolitan Police, the force which leads British police efforts against terror, spent £505 million last year on its Specialist Operations department.

SO includes the anti-terrorist and special branches, now merged, and squads protecting politicians, members of the royal family, diplomats and locations believed to be at risk, such as Westminster and Buckingham Palace.The Foreign Office has advised Government ministers, ambassadors and officials to avoid the phrase war on terror, and similar belligerent terms, as they risk angering British Muslims and generating tensions in the wider Islamic world.It said it wanted to avoid re-inforcing the terrorists world view of conflict between the West and the Muslim world by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive.

Concern rises over possible use of polonium in a dirty bomb
By William J. Broad International Herald tribune.Sunday, December 10, 2006

Nuclear regulators in Washington and abroad are studying whether to tighten security on polonium 210 in case terrorists seek the deadly material for so-called dirty bombs that spew radioactivity, officials and diplomats said in recent interviews.The evaluation is based on longstanding fears about the possible terrorist threat as well as the polonium 210 poisoning that killed a former Russian spy living in exile in Britain on Nov. 23 and stirred public unease. The British authorities traced the risk of radioactive contamination to a dozen sites around London and commercial jets carrying more than 33,000 people. The poisoning was an apparent first that caught the authorities by surprise.Groups considering tighter controls include the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, which sets global standards for radiation safety.There are no sirens wailing, said a senior European diplomat familiar with the agency's polonium 210 reassessment. But there's a sense that we need to rethink how it is categorized, and thus controlled.

Officials and diplomats, some of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the delicacy of the deliberations, said the agencies were monitoring developments in London and Moscow.

Meanwhile, private experts called tighter controls a potentially important step for public safety.It's very wise to put fairly strict limits on the commercially available amounts of polonium, said Thomas Tenforde, president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, a congressionally chartered group in Bethesda, Maryland, that advises the U.S. government on radiation safety.He called the amounts of polonium 210 now available on the commercial market not trivial and said the contemplation of tighter controls was prudent given the risk of terrorists using polonium 210, a radioactive material, in urban attacks meant to sow disease and death.Commercially, polonium 210 is used to make static eliminators that remove dust from film, lenses and laboratory balances, as well as from paper and textile plants. The radioactive material is sealed tightly to make it hard to remove.A dirty bomb uses ordinary explosives in its core and radioactive materials on the outside. If detonated in a city, it could scatter radioactive dust and debris that, in the worst case, might kill hundreds and sicken thousands of people.Nuclear experts say polonium 210 is one of the most toxic materials known to science. A tiny speck can kill.

Even so, experts initially saw the highly radioactive material as a poor candidate for dirty bombs because skin or paper can easily stop its distinctive rays.

It must be inhaled, injected or ingested to do harm. Moreover, its short half-life, just 138 days, means it loses potency relatively fast. On the other hand, its rays are hard to detect compared with those of most other radioactive materials, making it difficult to track.After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Washington looked anew at the deadliness of polonium 210 and decided that the material warranted more scrutiny as a potential weapon of terrorists.In May 2003, a team from the Energy Department, which runs the U.S. nuclear arms complex, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a lengthy dirty- bomb report that called polonium 210 one of 10 radioactive materials of greatest concern. The 10, the report said, should be given first priority for consideration of increased security measures.In November 2003, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission began an interim effort to track the sources. But it took three more years, until Nov. 8, before the commission issued a final rule spelling out the workings of its program, officially called National Source Tracking of Sealed Sources. The rule is to take effect early next year.

In theory, the system can track polonium 210 sources. But in interviews, commission officials said the reporting threshold was so high 16 curies, which translates in standard risk estimates into more than 5,000 lethal doses that it exceeded all known industry sources and products.A senior commission official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said his agency was considering lowering the threshold for tracking polonium by a factor of 10, to 1.6 curies. But its first priority, he said, was to get better reporting and security for materials even more dangerous for dirty bombs.