CANADA - US DIG OUT

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Series of quakes rock Indonesia. 3-Eastern US and Canada digs out of snowstorm. 4-Major winter storm blasts the Northeast. 5-PUTIN'S VALENTINE TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD. 6-Temple Mount Bridge Dig Yielding Multiple Historical Finds. 7-Lieberman Says Israel is On Its Own With Iran. 8-Christian law firm promoting stand for purity in public schools. 9-Southern Baptist Convention warns Christians about teachings of Mormonism. 10-Israel's new army chief sworn in. 11-Israel: No Final Status Talks at Summit.

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 Feb 15 12:37:06 UTC 2007

FEB 15,07
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

FEB 14,07
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.5 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.2 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.5 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN PERU
MAP 4.9 OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN TALAUD, INDONESIA
MAP 3.2 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.1 OFF THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.7 IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 2.5 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.7 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.4 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.9 EASTER ISLAND REGION
MAP 3.4 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON

FEB 13,07
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.5 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.3 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.1 BANDA SEA
MAP 5.5 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 3.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 OREGON
MAP 2.9 OREGON
MAP 4.5 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.2 ECUADOR
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.7 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 4.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 OKLAHOMA CITY URBAN AREA, OKLAHOMA

Series of quakes rock Indonesia Wed Feb 14, 4:51 PM ET

JAKARTA (AFP) - A series of moderate earthquakes rocked Indonesia, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or casualties. A 5.5-magnitude quake, in the Nias region, hit at 3:46 am (2046 GMT Wednesday). It was centred 206 kilometres (128 miles) southwest of Sibolga, on Sumatra, at a depth of 30 km, the US Geological Survey said.

Earlier, at 2:49 am, another 5.5-magnitude quake struck nearby at a depth of just 4.7 km.And a 5.2-magnitude quake struck off Indonesia's North Sumatra at 3:11 am, 115km southwest of Banda Aceh.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 alone.

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.

Eastern US and Canada digs out of snowstorm by Veronica Smith FEB 15,07

WASHINGTON (AFP) - Residents in the eastern United States and parts of Canada have driven on treacherously icy roads and dug out of the first major snow storm to hit the region this year. The massive weather system started in the US southwest, then swept through the US midwest, said Dennis Feltgen, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. The storm then regained strength off the Virginia coast and lumbered up the US east coast, dumping snow along the way.The low pressure center behind the storm was climbing up the eastern US seaboard and expected to reach Canada's maritime provinces late Thursday, Feltgen said.Things will get worse today before they get better, he said.Blizzard warnings were out in the northeastern United States, the NWS said, amid warnings that with the wind chill factor temperatures on Thursday could drop below minus 20 Fahrenheit (-29 Celsius) in New York state and Vermont, with arctic winds sweeping in from the north.

The National Weather Service said that heavy ice combined with wind gusts of up to 40 miles (64 kilometers) an hour downed trees and power lines across the affected region.According to CNN early Thursday, the storm killed 13 people in six states, while some 300,000 others were without power across seven states.

In Washington on Thursday, area school districts remained closed for a second day, and the US government announced its area employees could take an unscheduled day off if they could not make it to work.The US capital awoke Wednesday to an icy mix of snow and sleet that closed airports and slowed the federal government. Bus routes were cancelled and residents urged not to drive, stalling commuters.Temperatures in the region plunged overnight, freezing the snow slush and turning streets Thursday into dangerously slippery ice rinks.

Heavy snow and freezing rain forced flight cancellations and delays at major airports in Washington, New York and Boston, Massachusetts. Hundreds of flights were also cancelled at Chicago's O'Hare airport, the country's busiest.In New York City, meteorologists warned of freezing rain and sleet, with snow accumulating one to three inches (2.5-7.5 centimeters).At New York's John F. Kennedy airport, passengers aboard a Jet Blue flight bound for Cancun, Mexico were trapped inside the plane for eight hours as the pilot awaited clearing to depart.There was very little food, a passenger told CNN, describing his ordeal among screaming infants and stressed-out adults inside the airplane. It was just a nightmare.The crew had to open the actual plane doors to get some air, said another passenger.The airline eventually cancelled the flight and issued a written apology that acknowledged they had no excuse for why we allowed passengers to sit on the tarmac, according to CNN,The weather also played havoc with the heating-up 2008 presidential race.

Republican Mitt Romney, who announced the bid for his party's presidential nomination Tuesday, was forced to cancel a campaign stop in the northeastern state of New Hampshire. In Canada, the worst snowstorm of the season blanketed southern Ontario, forcing several flight cancellations and school closures, and tormenting drivers as it swept eastward. In Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, dozens of flights, mostly to large US cities, were cancelled, according to airport authorities. It's the first big storm of the year. It's not commonplace, but at the same time, it's not the end of the world, Denis Heroux, an Environment Canada meteorologist at Montreal airport, told AFP. It's almost as much snow in one day as has fallen since the beginning of winter, said Heroux, noting that Montreal received only 70 centimeters (27.5 inches) of snow this year, half the normal snowfall.

Major winter storm blasts the Northeast C. Dolce, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Feb 14, 9:08 PM ET

A furious winter storm has pounded the Northeast today with everything from heavy snow to serious icing to heavy rain. Flooding has even been a problem in portions of Rhode Island including Providence. As of early evening, the main area of the snow had shifted to northern New York State and Northern New England. Several more inches of accumulation are possible before the snow ends tonight. Blizzard warnings remain posted from eastern and northern Upstate New York to western Maine with considerable blowing and drifting of snow expected. Further south, wrap-around snow showers were rotating through New York City and Philadelphia this evening. Only minor accumulations are expected with this area of snow as it exits off the coast. Snow amounts have been over a foot in portions of New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. In fact, many locations have approached or topped the 2 foot mark. Isolated amounts of just over 3 feet have been reported in central New York State (Otsego County). Bitterly cold winds will sweep over the Northeast tonight and tomorrow in the wake of today's blockbuster storm. Snow showers and flurries will dot the landscape from northern New England through much of New York State into western Pennsylvania and the mountains of West Virginia. Lake-effect snows will stream southeastward off Lakes Erie (with a Huron connection) and Ontario. In the West, snow will taper off over New Mexico. But not before dumping up to 7 inches over parts of Albuquerque (Sandia Heights), while up to 8 inches have fallen near Gallup.

PUTIN'S VALENTINE TO THE ISLAMIC WORLD
By Joel C. Rosenberg

(WASHINGTON, D.C., February 14, 2007) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has had a busy week courting Islamic leaders and threatening the West. In Munich, he blasted U.S. foreign policy in terms so harsh that many analysts wonder if he is trying to trigger a new Cold War. From there, he headed to Saudia Arabia, Qatar and Jordan, and continued pursuing his aggressive agenda of dramatically expanding Moscow's military alliances throughout the Arab and Islamic world. Along the way, he:

* negotiated a $1 billion arms deal with the Saudis
* signalled willingness to help the Saudis become a nuclear power
* agreed to work with Iran and the Gulf States on creating an OPEC-style gas cartel to control international sales and prices of natural gas
* visited the Jordan River, looking westward towards the mountains of Israel

Based on Ezekiel's intelligence, we should expect Russian influence throughout the Islamic world to increase significantly as the time of the War of Gog and Magog approaches. And that is precisely what is happening. Over the past year, he has met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, delivered Russian missiles to the Iranians, continued building nuclear facilities in Iran, and promised to deliver enriched uranium to Iran next month. What's more, he has moved to strengthen ties with Syria, Hezbollah and Hamas, and even sent Russian military advisors into Lebanon. Does any of this mean conclusively that the prophecies of Ezekiel 38-39 are imminent or that Putin himself is the Gog of the Scriptures? No. But as Putin continues to send valentines to the Islamic world and distance himself from the Western alliance, it should give all of us pause. Just what are his motives? Where is he headed?

Temple Mount Bridge Dig Yielding Multiple Historical Finds
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (INN) FEB 14,07

An archaeologist from the Antiquities Authority said Tuesday that the dig underway at the site of the Rambam (Mughrabim) Gate bridge is yielding finds from multiple historical periods. The archaeologist, Yuval Baruch, expressed his estimation of the value of the preservation dig to a delegation of Knesset Members from the National Union-National Religious Party faction. The MKs were on a tour of the site of the archaeological dig, which is being carried out alongside the women's section of the Western Wall Plaza. Digs initiated by the Antiquities Authority at the site have already turned up ruins from the Muslim Umayyad (7th-8th centuries CE), Christian Byzantine (3rd-7th centuries CE), and Jewish Herodian (1st Century BCE – 1st Century CE) periods.

The Israeli Antiquities Authority is conducting the dig as part of the reconstruction of a bridge leading up to the Temple Mount's Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate. The dig, common to any major construction in the ancient city of Jerusalem, is meant to uncover and salvage antiquities that might otherwise have been further covered or destroyed by the construction work. Baruch emphasized that any finds, from any ancient historical period, will be treated with care and preserved. The archaeologist told the MKs that a small earthquake and heavy snows in 2004 led to the collapse of the Rambam Gate bridge, an earthen ramp up to the Temple Mount, on its northern side. That collapse, Baruch said, constituted an immediate threat to people at the Western Wall. In addition, the women's section of the Western Wall has been severely restricted by the need for extensive retaining walls and support beams to protect the worshipers there.

The construction and archaeological dig in the Western Wall area have been seized upon for widespread incitement by Muslim leaders throughout the world, who are spreading rumors to the effect that the Jewish State is undermining the mosques on the Temple Mount. In Jerusalem, violence by Arabs led to the suspension of the bridge construction by Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski. The archaeological dig will continue, however. The Chairman of the National Union-NRP Knesset faction, MK Uri Ariel, commented to the press that the Arabs apparently fear that Jewish remains will be found in the excavations, which will strengthen, in the eyes of Israeli society and in the eyes of the world, the Jewish people's connection to its land.Ariel also chastised sectors of the Israeli-Arab community, saying that their provocations and violence amount to the behavior of a fifth column. On Monday, MK Ariel initiated a debate in the Knesset Internal Affairs Committee on the behavior of the Islamic Movement's leaders in inciting violence over the Rambam Gate construction. MK Eli Gabbai (NU-NRP), a former Jerusalem city councilman, said, The State of Israel must not give in to hostile elements. Every submission to an Islamic provocation brings about further submissions and extortion.

The State of Israel must defend the Israeli interest in the Temple Mount.The Temple Mount, the site of the First and Second Holy Temples, is the holiest site in Judaism and has been the focus of all Jewish prayer worldwide for thousands of years. Muslim rulers built two major mosques atop the Mount during periods of Islamic conquest. Even though the Mount was brought under Jewish sovereignty in the 1967 Six Day War, the sole religious authority at the site, with Israeli assent, has been Muslim.

Lieberman Says Israel is On Its Own With Iran
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 14,07

Israel will have to face the Iranian threat on its own, warned a cabinet minister on Tuesday. Strategic Affairs Minister Avigdor Lieberman, chairman of Russian immigrant party Yisrael Beiteinu, said that the Jewish State will not be able to depend on the international community to protect Israel from the Iranian threat.

Lieberman said bluntly that the world will not defend Israel against a nuclear Iran. We will have to face the Iranians alone, Lieberman said in an interview broadcast on Voice of Israel Radio. Israel cannot remain with its arms folded, waiting patiently for Iran to develop non-conventional weapons.European Union Admits Diplomacy Is Ineffective An internal European Union report leaked to the media this week documented that diplomatic interventions have been ineffective and probably will continue to be so. In practice, the report read, ...the Iranians have pursued their program at their own pace, the limiting factor being technical difficulties rather than resolutions by the United Nations or the International Atomic Energy Agency... The problems with Iran will not be resolved through economic sanctions alone. Iran has shown great resilience to outside pressure in the past... At some point we must expect that Iran will acquire the capacity to enrich uranium on the scale required for a weapons program.Nonetheless, EU sources hurried to deny that it was despairing of a negotiated solution. A senior diplomat complained to the Reuters news agency, What we don’t like is the implication that sanctions are not going to work and that we are [therefore] contemplating military action.

Until now, the U.N. has imposed sanctions which ban the transfer of nuclear technology to the Islamic Republic. The world body threatened to tighten the diplomatic noose if Iran has not ended its nuclear activities by February 21st. Minister Lieberman has criticized the EU report. Any surrender to Iran can only encourage the aggressiveness and unbridled aspirations of this country, which wants to foist its power on the Middle East, he said pointedly. Continued UN Opposition to Stronger Measures The French Foreign Ministry has strongly opposed a military response to the growing nuclear threat from Iran despite its continued defiance of a U.N. Security Council mandate to end uranium enrichment activities. We have faith in diplomacy and believe a united international community can convince Iran to retreat, whether through diplomacy or sanctions, said French Ambassador to Israel Jean-Michel Casa. Although Casa reiterated his country’s stance that we will absolutely not accept a situation in which Iran becomes a nuclear power, he offered no alternatives to the measures which have proved ineffective. Moreover, France is still offering to assist Iran’s civilian nuclear program under tight international supervision, on condition that they abandon their uranium enrichment program and any military program.

Russia has been equally adamant in limiting sanctions against the Islamic Republic, expressing its support two weeks ago for an initiative to offer a time-out proposal to hold off sanctions. The International Atomic Agency suggested at the time that the United Nations delay its plan to impose the sanctions. Although the United States has urged the UN for the past year to impose heavy sanctions against Iran in an effort to stop the Iranians, it too has offered little else. U.S. President George W. Bush said in November 2006 he would understand if Israel attacked the Islamic Republic, but said that America would not help the Jewish State to do so. A New Threat From Iran.Iran has also been sharing its largess with terrorist organizations to the immediate north and south of Israel – Hizbullah and the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority. PA Foreign Minister Mahmoud al-Zahar met with the head
of Iranian national security at approximately the same time the US announced its reluctance to step up the severity of its response to Iran’s nuclear activities. Iran has handed out, until now, over $120 million and says it will supply more aid, al-Zahar informed reporters in November 2006. Its support is very important for us.

Iran has also been supplying Hizbullah with weapons and financial support. Iranian long-range missiles were fired by Hizbullah at the Jewish State during last summer’s war with Lebanon, and intelligence reports indicate that the Islamic Republic has already re-supplied the Lebanese terrorists. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has repeatedly threatened to wipe Israel off the map. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has in turn repeatedly warned that Iran is building a nuclear weapon of mass destruction. He has pointed out in numerous speeches at various forums that this poses a threat not only to the Middle East, but in fact to the entire world. Israel has also warned the international community that Israel will not tolerate an existential threat from the Islamic Republic.

Christian law firm promoting stand for purity in public schools FEB 14,07

For the fourth straight year, Liberty Counsel is helping public school students take a stand for purity this Valentine's Day. The Day of Purity is designed to help those students educate their peers on the value of remaining sexually pure one benefit being the avoidance of contracting an incurable, sexually-transmitted disease.

Southern Baptist Convention warns Christians about teachings of Mormonism FEB 14,07

Rob Bowman with the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) says Christians need to be aware that the beliefs of the Mormon Church are inconsistent with biblical Christianity. As one Mormon candidate launches his White House bid, the Southern Baptist official is urging Christians to take advantage of materials his denomination offers that teach the truth about Mormonism.

Israel's new army chief sworn in Wed Feb 14, 7:03 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) -Israel's new army chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi has been sworn in, a month after his predecessor resigned over the failures from the war in Lebanon. Assuming a four-year mandate, instead of the customary three, Ashkenazi takes charge of an army in crisis after a disappointing performance in last summer's 34-day war against the Shiite Hezbollah militia.We are committed to the implementation of the lessons learned from the conflict in Lebanon, the 52-year-old general wrote in a letter to soldiers.Ashkenazi faces looming threats on three fronts: the possibility of renewed hostilities in the volatile Gaza strip, against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon and the mounting Iranian nuclear threat.Despite our yearning for peace as we reach out to our neighbors, the time has not yet come to sheath our sword, he wrote. It must remain sharpened and honed, prepared to face any enemy.Askenazi, Israel's 19th chief of staff, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and formally handed command of the military in the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with Defence Minister Amir Peretz, top brass and MPs also in attendance.He joined the elite Golani infantry brigade in 1972, rising through the ranks to become its commander in 1986.In 1976 he took part in a daring commando raid that rescued Jewish passengers taken hostage after an Air France flight was hijacked and flown to Entebbe, Uganda. He was wounded in 1978 in a military operation in Lebanon.He was named commander of Israel's northern military region in 1998 and deputy chief of staff in 2002. He resigned from that post three years later when Halutz was given the top job, and moved to the defence ministry.The married father of two has a degree in political sciences and is a graduate of Harvard University's Business Management program.

Israel: No Final Status Talks at Summit
By Gil Ronen (INN) FEB 14,07

PM, FM think talk of refugees, Jerusalem and 1967 borders may lead to violence.

As U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice prepares to convene a three-way summit with the leaders of Israel and the PA, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is sticking to his refusal to discuss three major elements of any final-status agreement: Arab refugees from 1948, the status of Jerusalem and an Israeli withdrawal to the pre-1967 armistice lines.

Raising any of these issues would doom the talks to failure, Olmert told the Knesset's Foreign Affairs and Security Committee Monday. Olmert also believes that the US-brokered summit is not a substitute for direct bilateral negotiations, which should be the main route for progress. The summit meeting between Olmert, PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Secretary Rice is to take place in Jerusalem next Monday. Rice wants to hold the meeting in order to demonstrate progress in Israel-PA relations, but Abbas and Olmert cannot agree on the agenda for the talks. Abbas said over the weekend that he had agreed with [Secretary] Rice that it is necessary to discuss a final-status arrangement and to begin negotiations on permanent borders, the settlements and the refugee problem. He reiterated his opposition to any discussion of an Arab state with temporary borders.

Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni also believes that final-status issues should not be discussed now. A failure of the talks on these issues, she says, could spark renewed violence, as occurred after the Camp David summit of July 2000. The FM would prefer to focus on establishing a PA state within temporary borders, as outlined in the second stage of the Road Map to Peace plan. PA spokesmen conducted a massive diplomatic campaign Saturday, in an attempt to convince world leaders to support their unity government and lift economic sanctions on the PA. However, Western governments and Israel have shown little enthusiasm for the agreement signed Thursday by Hamas and Fatah leaders in Mecca. World leaders said they would have to study the deal and see how it changes the situation, before lifting sanctions.The Quartet of Mideast mediators – the U.S., U.N., Russia and the European Union – had demanded that Hamas recognize Israel's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace deals. However the Mecca accord says only that the new PA government pledges to respect the previous deals.