IRAN INCREASED NUKE ACTIVITY

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Mozambique cyclone kills four. 3-Major storm system unfolding. 4-Australia declares El Nino weather pattern over. 5-Indonesia eyes cement balls to stop mud. 6-Poland to push for dark side to EU birthday text. 7-Israel gripped by Syria war fears. 8-Israel Develops Solar-Powered Unmanned Aircraft. 9-EU establishes single UWB market. 10-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 11-Merkel: Israel must be recognized. 12-World-Wide Blitz against Israel. 13- Iran increased nuke activity, report says.

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 = Sat Feb 24 12:00 AM EDT

FEB 23,07
MAP 5.6 AISEN, CHILE
MAP 3.3 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.0 TRINIDAD REGION, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO
MAP 5.0 ECUADOR
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.4 GUATEMALA
MAP 4.4 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.5 NEVADA

FEB 22,07
MAP 2.5 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.0 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.6 COQUIMBO, CHILE
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

FEB 21,07
MAP 2.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.0 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.7 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA

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.

Mozambique cyclone kills four By Charles Mangwiro
Fri Feb 23, 6:28 AM ET

MAPUTO (Reuters) - A powerful tropical storm killed four people and injured at least 70 in Mozambique's resort town of Vilanculos, where thousands of homes were destroyed along with the hospital and power grid, officials said on Friday. Cyclone Favio was downgraded to a tropical storm on Friday as wind speeds dropped from a peak of 270 kph (170 mph) to between 60-80 kph (37-50 mph), but officials fear rains from the storm could still dramatically worsen an existing flood disaster in the center of the country.Vilanculos Mayor Selmane Amugy said the deaths occurred when Favio crashed ashore early on Thursday, hitting people's homes as they were sleeping.Four people were killed, 70 others seriously injured and some 2,000 homes were destroyed ... there are no words to describe the drama, I haven't seen such a thing in my life, he said by phone the resort town some 800 km (500 miles) north of the capital, Maputo.All 600 prisoners escaped when the local jail was destroyed and we had to evacuate some 120 patients from the rural hospital, he said.Amugy said many key buildings in Vilanculos a popular beach town favored by South African and other foreign tourists were damaged and the local airport was closed.We had to call off all operations at the airport ... trees at Tofo Beach were uprooted and homes destroyed and this worsened erosion, he said.Bazaruto Island, another popular Mozambican tourist destination which is reachable only by boats and helicopters, was still cut off from communications as the regional electricity grid was wrecked.At the peak of the summer season, Bazaruto attracts wealthy tourists from across the world to its upmarket lodges.The government has dispatched an emergency team of medical personnel, engineers and technicians to assess the damage.

Mozambique's national weather agency INAM said the weakened storm was headed northwards toward the port city of Beira, where its outer edges struck on Friday.Officials fear it may take its rains onward toward the Zambezi river basin, where several weeks of severe flooding has already displaced more than 120,000 people.It's no longer a tropical cyclone now, it's a tropical depression meaning it
has weakened but still accompanied by heavy rains ... it has winds of between 60 and 80 kilometers per hour, INAM spokesman Helder Sueia told Reuters.

Sueia said the storm unearthed trees and blew off rooftops in Beira's densely populated suburb of Pontagea on Friday.It's still taking the same direction and it's not as powerful as it was a few hours ago ... but the rains can still impact on the flooding situation, he said.Officials and humanitarian agencies are already battling to keep tens of thousands of flood refugees in central Mozambique supplied with food and fresh water.The former Portuguese colony, rising from a devastating 16 year political conflict, saw its worst disaster on record in 2000-2001 when a series of cyclones compounded widespread flooding in southern and central parts of the country, killing 700 people and driving close to half a million from their homes.

Major storm system unfolding Wayne Verno, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Fri Feb 23, 6:29 AM ET

Midwest

Today will be the calm before the storm across the Upper Midwest and central Plains. As a storm system begins to organize across the eastern Rockies, clouds and winds will be on the increase across the central Plains and Upper Midwest. A few rain showers may develop by late day from Kansas City to Omaha, with a light wintry mix across the Upper Midwest from Fargo to Minneapolis. Areas from Chicago and St. Louis to Louisville and Cleveland should remain dry today. Overnight into Saturday, the storm system will track into the central Plains, with heavy snow developing from the northern Plains, into the western Great Lakes. Strong gusty winds in these areas will also create blizzard conditions. A wintry mix will develop south of this area from Omaha to Chicago. On the south side of the storm severe thunderstorms will erupt from the central Plains, and spread into the Middle Mississippi Valley. The threat for tornadoes, damaging winds, and large hail will impact areas from Goodland to Kansas City to St. Louis. Heavy rain will be likely across the Midwest and Ohio valley. The threat for heavy snow and gusty winds will remain across the western Great Lakes and Upper Midwest into Sunday, with rain and snow spreading across the Midwest and Ohio Valley. The entire system should move east of the area by early next week, but scattered snow showers will remain.

South

High pressure will briefly build across the South today, resulting in dry weather conditions. Afternoon highs today will range from the 60s across the Atlanta, Memphis, and Dallas areas, to the 70s from Houston to Orlando. Highs in the 80s will be confined to southern Florida.

Changeable weather conditions will be underway across the southern Plains and Texas today, as a storm system begins to take shape over the eastern Rockies. Winds and clouds will be on the increase from Houston to Oklahoma City, with a few rain showers possible by late day. Overnight into Saturday, numerous severe thunderstorms with tornadoes, hail, and damaging winds will erupt across northern Texas into the southern Plains. These will track east toward the Lower Mississippi Valley into Saturday. Areas from Oklahoma City and Houston, east to Memphis and New Orleans, will all be in line for potential severe thunderstorms Friday night into Saturday. By Sunday the threat for widespread severe thunderstorms will diminish, but showers and a few scattered strong thunderstorms will track east across the rest of the Southern states. The storm system responsible for this active weather will move away from the area by early next week.

Northeast

Snow showers and gusty winds will linger across parts of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic today, in the wake of a Clipper storm that moved across the area yesterday. Afternoon highs will range from the teens across Buffalo and Burlington, to the 20s across the Pittsburgh area. Highs in the 30s will be common from Boston and New York, to Washington, DC. Gusty winds of 20 to 30 mph will also remain across most areas today, pushing wind chills in the teens and 20s. On Saturday, lingering snow showers will shift into northern New England, mainly from Buffalo north through Burlington, with dry conditions expected elsewhere. By Sunday, a storm system will begin to approach the area from the west, spreading a mix of snow and ice into the Upper Ohio Valley and Mid-Atlantic area.

Areas from Pittsburgh and Buffalo, to Philadelphia and Washington, DC will be in line to see the wintry precipitation first. Sunday night into Monday, the threat for wintry weather will spread across the New England states, as cold temperatures will remain across the entire are over the next several days.

West

Unsettled weather will remain across the west through the weekend, as a series of weather systems continue to impact the area.

Today, low pressure will be tracking across the central Rockies, increasing the rain and snow across the Rockies. In the wake of this system, scattered rain and snow showers will remain across the west coast, from Seattle and Portland, south through San Francisco and Los Angeles. By Saturday, weather conditions will improve across the interior Rockies and Southwest, but begin to become more unsettled across the Pacific Northwest. A new storm system will bring some heavy rain and higher elevation snow to the Pacific Northwest through the day, with the activity spreading through the rest of the west coast into early next week.

Australia declares El Nino weather pattern over Wed Feb 21, 11:16 PM ET

SYDNEY (AFP) Australian forecasters said Thursday that the El Nino weather pattern blamed for the worst drought in a century had ended, and expressed cautious optimism much-needed rain was on the way. The Bureau of Meteorology said there was no guarantee the drought was over but the end of the El Nino meant there was reason to be hopeful.The 2006/07 El Nino has ended, the bureau said in a statement.While the end of the El Nino would normally be associated with a return to more normal rainfall patterns, it should not be seen as a precursor to drought-breaking rains.Nonetheless, we can be cautiously optimistic that there will be a general easing of dry conditions in drought-affected areas over the next one to two seasons.El Nino is occasional warming of the central and eastern Pacific

Ocean that typically happens every four to seven years and disrupts weather patterns from the western seaboard of Latin America to East Africa for 12-18 months.It has been blamed for flooding in the Horn of Africa and Bolivia, more severe winter monsoons in South Asia, and the lengthy drought in Australia.More often than not, El Nino events result in reduced rainfall across parts of eastern and northern Australia, particularly during winter, spring and early summer, the bureau said.However, the precise nature of the impact differs quite markedly from one event to another, even with similar changes and patterns in the Pacific Ocean.

The bureau said there was a higher-than-average chance of the El Nino being followed by a La Nina weather pattern, which occurs when the Pacific cools, offering hope of drought-breaking rains.La Nina events are generally associated with wetter-than-normal conditions across much of the eastern half of the country from about autumn, it said.The bureau said El Nino was a natural phenomenon that was extremely difficult to predict.El Nino is not a freak of climate, it's not a rogue weather phenomenon, and it isn't in any way abnormal, it said.Furthermore it is not a scourge, and as far as Australia is concerned, it shouldn't be thought of as a synonym for drought, although it's often linked to reduced rainfall in eastern and northern Australia.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
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 (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Indonesia eyes cement balls to stop mud Thu Feb 22, 7:41 PM ET

SURABAYA, Indonesia - Indonesian authorities will drop hundreds of giant concrete balls into a fissure Friday to try to stem a gushing mud eruption that has inundated villages and factories, an official said. The hot, noxious mud enough to fill 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools has flowed from the hole each day for the last nine months, forcing at least 11,000 people from their homes. Four villages and 25 factories have been buried under a 30-foot layer of mud.The chained cement balls, weighing up to 550 pounds each, will be dropped from a scaffolding into the so-called mud volcano on the island of Java starting Friday, said Rudi Novrianto, a spokesman for a national task force handling the disaster.If successful, the project will decrease by up to 70 percent the volume of the mud now being channeled by a system of dams into a nearby river and out to sea.

Mud fissures are fairly common along volatile tectonic belts like that one running below Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago.Opinions differ about the cause of the mudflow, the largest on record in Indonesia, but experts agree it could flow for years.Some scientists suggest the rupture was triggered by faulty gas exploration techniques by operator PT Lapindo Brantas, which created fissures in a bed of porous limestone. Other research suggests it was the result of increased seismic activity following a major earthquake two days before the mud began flowing.The government has said PT Lapindo Brantas must pay about $420 million in damages, including $276 million to the victims, by next month.

Lapindo is controlled by the family of Welfare Minister Aburizal Bakrie. He has repeatedly claimed the geyser was sparked by a May 27 earthquake and that his company bears no financial liability.An attempt last year to channel the mud to the sea triggered an explosion that killed 13 people when a natural gas pipeline cracked under the weight of a dam.

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).

Poland to push for dark side to EU birthday text
22.02.2007 - 09:19 CET | By Andrew Rettman

EUOBSERVER-WARSAW Poland wants the EU's upcoming 50th birthday declaration to
mention the dark side of recent European history such as Communism and the Balkan wars, while hinting that changes to the EU voting system could become a Polish red line in future talks on the new EU constitution. It shouldn't simply be a self-celebration by the old member states. It should include our part of Europe as a parallel process experienced after WWII Warsaw's lead negotiator or sherpa on the birthday declaration, Marek Cichocki, said in Warsaw on Tuesday (21 February).It should also make mention of the dark legacy of European policy. During the great successes of extending the European Union in the 1990s, we had parallel to that a serious war in the Balkans, he added, saying the German EU presidency has a responsibility to address the tough issues. The declaration will be drafted in English by an official in the chancellery of German leader Angela Merkel. It will have three parts on EU history, EU values and the EU's future. It should be written in plain language and be no more than three pages long, the Polish negotiator said.

The dark events should go into the history section alongside the successes of setting up the single market. The history paragraphs should also state the historical truth of the EU's Christian origins, but Christianity should be kept out of the EU values chapter. Mr Cichocki warned that only values with a universal character such as human rights and rule of law should go in.

It should not represent all the values that we find in our national constitutions, because then we will have a very long list, he said. The sherpa also suggested openness as a key value a term to be understood as openness to future enlargement but also in a broader sense as openness to the influence of other cultures, including Islam, to immigration and other aspects of globalisation. The EU future section should talk about Europe as a provider of security for member states, both in terms of energy security and in the military sense. The aspect of security is very appealing, he said, referring to the Pleven Plan of 1950, which called for the creation of an EU defence community. We should recall these old ideas.

The security proposal reflects the Polish government's closeness to the hawkish world view of US president George W. Bush's Republican party, with Warsaw just a few days away from agreeing to a US plan to build an anti-ballistic missile base in Poland in a project reminiscent of the Cold War. Mr Cichocki envisaged the birthday declaration as a text that would provide a reference for many years, as a symbol of basic agreement between member states...We would be very happy if this document plays the same role as the Messina declaration.The Messina declaration by the foreign ministers of France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in 1955 was a statement of intention to create the European economic community. It paved the way for the signing of the EU's founding treaty, the treaty of Rome, in 1957.(REVIVED ROME)

The Messina comparison depicts the EU birthday text as a precursor of a new EU treaty, with the German EU presidency keen to get agreement by June on how to revive the EU constitution after French and Dutch referendums in 2005 derailed the existing constitution document. The new constitution is to be put in place by 2010.

Red lines sketched

Mr Cichocki who is also Poland's sherpa in the constitution talks said negotiations on the new treaty will not start in earnest until after French presidential elections in April or May, adding that it is too early to talk about Poland's red lines.But he hinted that Warsaw will reject any text that does not change the current proposal for a new EU voting system, which ties member states' votes more
strongly to population size giving Germany more power to force through EU projects disliked by Poland. There is broad political consensus in Poland that this double majority system in the present constitution is not acceptable, Mr Cichocki said. It is as yet unclear what alternative voting rules the Polish government might come up with, but speculation is mounting that Warsaw will put forward voting-weights based on the 1949 ideas of British mathematician Lionel Penrose. The Penrose square root law says voting weight should be based not on the simple population size of individual member states, but on the square roots of national populations in a complex piece of game theory that would help Poland resist German pressure. Frankly, I don't see how any government could sell this kind of square root model in a popular referendum, Pawel Swieboda, a former high-ranking Polish diplomat who now runs the demosEUROPA think-tank in Warsaw, told EUobserver. Perhaps this will just be an interim proposal and the government will end up aiming for something different down the line such as placing a cap on the maximum voting weight that anybody could have, effectively counting Germany as, say, 70 million people instead of 82 million, he said.

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

Israel gripped by Syria war fears by Jacques Pinto FEB 22,07

JERUSALEM (AFP) A reported Syrian troop build-up near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights has fuelled speculation in Israel about a future conflict, more than three decades after the two enemies last went to war. Syrian armed forces appear to be moving closer to the armistice line as Damascus spearheads an unprecendented armaments drive, shrieked Israel's Haaretz newspaper from its front page Thursday.The Syrian armed forces are being strengthened in a way unprecedented in recent memory with the help of generous funding from Iran, wrote military affairs correspondent Zeev Schiff.Brigadier General Yossi Beidatz, the head of military intelligence research, has also warned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is preparing for conflict with Israel, possibly through Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel last year.

Haaretz said the main thrust of Syria's armaments drive was missiles and long-range rockets, with its navy being bolstered by an Iranian missile similar to one fired by Hezbollah, killing four Israeli sailors last summer.Syria is also close to concluding a deal with Russia to procure thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles, of the sort Hezbollah used to such lethal effect against Israeli armour last year,
Haaretz reported.It appears that the Syrians have moved forces closer to the border (armistice line) with Israel on the Golan Heights, wrote Schiff, noting similar movements prior to the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.Three decades ago, a coordinated Egyptian and Syrian assault caught Israel totally off guard on the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, triggering its deadliest conflict since independence in 1948.Syria has test-fired ballistic missiles, such as a Scud-D surface-to-surface missile, which would put most of Israel within range, Haaretz reported.

Israel is still smarting from its deadly pounding by more than 4,000 Hezbollah rockets that killed some 40 civilians last summer.But Defence Minister Amir Peretz was quoted by journalists as telling military officials to avoid making unnecessary comments on Syria and asking officers to steer clear of a war of words with Damascus.The situation in the field will be examined according to facts and the Israel Defence Force will prepare itself accordingly, he was quoted as saying.One aide, Amos Gilad, said he saw no immediate danger of war but that Syrian weapons purchases highlighted the need for Israel to remain combat-ready.The fact that Syria is strengthening its military capabilities does not mean we're going to be attacked tomorrow but certainly we need to be prepared, Gilad told public radio.There is no danger of war. There is no deployment of forces indicating that Israel would be threatened by an offensive tomorrow.A northern command source agreed that Syria had beefed up its troops along the armistice line as Israel did following the outbreak of war in Lebanon.

Since the end of the war, tension has remained high on both sides and at a much higher level than it was before the war. There is much more Israeli and Syrian daily military presence along the border today, the official said.But a source in the UN force in the Golan Heights charged with monitoring the armistice denied any Syrian troop build-up and lashed out an alarmist Israeli media that repeatedly brings up the topic. On Wednesday, Israel launched war games on the Golan Heights that Peretz flatly denied were connected to fears of a new conflict with Syria. Damascus has repeatedly demanded the return of the Golan, a strategic plateau which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war and unilaterally annexed in 1981. It is now home to more than 15,000 settlers. Peace talks between Israel and Syria collapsed in 2000, in part because of disputes over the return of the territory.

DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

Israel Develops Solar-Powered Unmanned Aircraft
by Ezra HaLevi (INN) FEB 22,07

Israels defense industry continues to develop innovative technologies in the fields of unmanned surveillance and anti-missile protection. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is unveiling several new technologies, eagerly sought and purchased by Western armies. The latest IAI innovation is a solar-powered UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), which it will unveil at an aeronautics show Friday.

The UAV runs off solar power and stores the power to continue to operate during night-time operations as well. IAI has also developed a system called Computerized Fluid Dynamics (CFD) that helps determine the aerodynamics of a plane or UAV.

British Need Israeli UAVs

Globes reported Thursday that British forces in Iraq and Afghanistan may begin using UAVs produced by another Israeli company, Elbit. Elbit is reportedly negotiating with British Defense contractors for the leasing of Hermes 450 UAVs, for which the British Army units stationed in Afghanistan and Iraq have a great need. The deal is reportedly worth $100 million and is being expedited due to the failure of Britain's current UAVs to operate correctly under the desert conditions of the Middle East.

US Wants Tank-Protection Replicated For Choppers

According to Globes, US Army officials have approached Israels Rafael Armament Development Authority with the request that it develop a version of its Trophy Active Protection System for helicopters, in addition to tanks. The system has proven successful in detonating rockets and missiles shot at tanks before they can impact the vehicle. The US officials hope a version can be designed that would protect helicopters from similar weapons. Seven US Army helicopters in Iraq have been shot down in the last two months by machine gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire from the ground.

POSSIBLE ROBOT

DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.

REVELATION 13:13-15
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.

REVELATION 14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

EU establishes single UWB market
Email articleComment on this articlePublished: 22 February 2007 10:40 AM
Industry Channel: Communications Source: The Engineer Online

The European Commission has today adopted a decision which outlines the mandatory conditions for using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology in next generation wireless devices across the EU.

The decision brings a step closer a single market for consumer electronics such as laptops, mobile phones, digital cameras and televisions that can exchange data wirelessly at very high rates over short distances.By removing the cables that link the electronic devices we use in everyday life, ultra-wideband technology can extend the information society in many areas of society,’ said EU Telecoms and Media Commissioner Viviane Reding. However, to benefit our citizens, it is important that we establish a functioning single market for these devices in the European Union. By adopting a harmonising decision today, the Commission allows innovators to use this new technology throughout the EU, while ensuring no interference takes place with other wireless users.UWB devices can transmit data at very high rates by spreading the signal over very broad ranges of the radio spectrum. With rates comparable to devices connected by cable, UWB is an attractive technology for the increasingly bandwidth-hungry consumer electronics industry.While the spectrum is already used by many sectors, such as mobile operators, broadcasters and the aviation community, the extremely low transmission powers of UWB signals ensure that harmful interference with these applications is avoided.With UWB, many electronic devices so far linked by cable will have a wireless alternative offering the same data rates of up to 480Mbit/s, or the speed of USB wired connections available today. Devices will therefore be able to seamlessly speak to each other whenever in range.

UWB will provide this ease-of-use to users while operating in the existing spectrum, which is currently a scarce and often very expensive resource.This decision implements the Commission's strategy to make the use of the radio spectrum in the European Union more flexible and more efficient.The technical conditions in this decision, which must be applied within the next six months throughout the EU's 27 member states, were developed following extensive compatibility studies between UWB and all other spectrum users that could potentially have been affected. The European Conference of Postal and Telecommunications Administrations (CEPT) did the studies for the Commission.

This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
February 22, 2007

Dear Friend of The Fellowship,

There is bitter controversy in Israel right now concerning the Temple Mount, a place of great importance to both Jews and Muslims. This site in Jerusalem's Old City was the location of the two ancient Jewish temples, and is the holiest site for Judaism. But it is also the location of the Al-Aksa Mosque, and is considered by Muslims the third holiest site in the world after Mecca and Medina.

This has made it a flashpoint of conflict between Jews and Muslims.A few years ago a severe storm damaged the pedestrian bridge leading to the Temple Mount, leading government officials to close it. After very careful planning, Israel recently began replacing the decrepit walkway, with Israeli archeologists excavating nearby to ensure that no ancient treasures would be damaged due to the work.

Reasonable people call this good stewardship. Recognizing that its land contains some of the great treasures of antiquity, the Israeli government has always sought to preserve the relics of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam alike. In fact, at the founding of the modern State of Israel, a governmental agency, now called the Israel Antiquities Authority, was created for this specific purpose part of the fulfillment of the Declaration of the State of Israel's promise to safeguard the Holy Places of all religions.But Muslim radicals see things differently.

They say the repair work is Israel's attempt to destroy the Al Aksa Mosque even though the work is taking place several hundred feet away from the mosque itself, and numerous experts have said it poses no threat to the Muslim holy site. The Islamists are using this event to incite hatred against Israel and Jews. Some have even called for violence Iran's Supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said that it was time to make the Zionists regret their actions. And, just last Friday, during a rally to protest the construction work and excavation, a radical Muslim cleric preached a hate-filled sermon calling for a third intifada to save al-Aksa Mosque, free Jerusalem and end the occupation.

Time and again Israel has restated that the excavation is meant to preserve treasures, not to destroy them. To calm Muslim fears, the Israeli government has been very open about its activities at the construction site. They have opened the site to the press and have even set up webcams focused on it 24 hours a day in an effort to allow anyone in the world with Internet access to see exactly what is
being done at the site. In the midst of Muslim criticism, many have also pointed out the double

standard of criticizing Israel for simple repair work in which great care is taken to preserve irreplaceable historical artifacts. The Muslim authority that oversees the Temple Mount has routinely thrown away antiquities with little regard for their value.But all this matters little to the Muslim radicals. For them, Israel's guilt is a given, and her every action even such a simple thing as repairing a walkway is another opportunity to create and spread a negative image of the Jewish state. We want to help you review the facts and see what is happening at the Temple Mount site. Visit our blog to find a number of resources related to the Temple Mount, including a link to the webcams set up at the site, a short video made by an Israeli archeologist that cuts through the Islamists' deception, and other articles and news resources.

You can also make your opinion on this issue known in our blog comments section, and then forward this message to a friend—so that more people can know the truth of Israel's struggle for peace and security. Thank you for your continued commitment and support for Israel and her people. It is friends like you who provide encouragement in the midst of such adversity.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

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Merkel: Israel must be recognized By DAVID McHUGH, Associated Press Writer Fri Feb 23, 6:17 AM ET

BERLIN - Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday welcomed a proposed Palestinian coalition but firmly underlined in talks with President Mahmoud Abbas the European Union stance that any new government must recognize Israel.

Abbas, on a European tour to build support for an eventual lifting of a crippling international aid embargo, said Palestinians were suffering under the cutoff, but held out hope that the new government will satisfy the donors' conditions.Merkel, whose country holds the rotating EU presidency, said the power-sharing deal reached between Abbas' Fatah faction and the Islamic Hamas was positive because it stopped the fighting between the two factions that had cost some 130 lives in the past few months.It is good that the bloodletting, especially in Gaza, has been stopped but there is a difficult stretch in front of us,Merkel said after meeting with Abbas in Berlin.

But she returned to the conditions imposed by the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators from the EU, U.N., U.S., and Russia that any new government must give up violence, recognize Israel and accept existing agreements reached with Israel. The power-sharing deal skirts those issues, and Hamas still refuses to recognize the Jewish state.That has left the Quartet in a holding pattern, waiting to see what kind of government emerges, amid a sense that the more moderate Abbas is not entirely in control of the situation. Analysts say that the best Abbas can do on this trip is convince European governments they should remain open to the possibility of recognizing a government that includes Hamas. On Wednesday, Abbas met with British Prime Minister Tony Blair.Merkel said the two had extensive discussions but she showed no wiggle room on the international demands.

We welcome the formation of a national unity government, under the condition that certain measures are fulfilled, Merkel said. That would mean that Israel's right to exist would be recognized, that violence would end and that international negotiations, as they already exist, be accepted.She added that a lot of work is yet to be done.The Quartet has met twice this month after a dormant period, after a push from Merkel and the United States. But Israel has said it won't deal with Abbas on a long-term peace deal if he goes ahead with a coalition with Hamas, limiting immediate prospects for progress toward a solution.Abbas underlined his hopes that foreign aid which formerly made up half the budget of the Palestinian authority could begin flowing again under a new government.For eight or nine months our people have been suffering under this boycott, Abbas said. We hope that by the time a new government is formed several things will happen that will improve the situation. He didn't elaborate.Abbas restated his position that Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, abducted by Palestinian militants, be released, and that Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails be set free.

World-Wide Blitz against Israel
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (INN) FEB 23,07

The United Nations, Russia, Arab states and the media have escalated an international broadside against Israel while touting the Hamas-Fatah coalition. A report by the U.N. Human Rights Council has provided the background for the Arab position, backed by Russia, that the Western-led economic boycott of Hamas must be lifted in order to fight poverty in the Gaza area.

The council report was commissioned to John Dugard, who formerly campaigned against South Africa apartheid and who concluded that the racist policy is similar to that of Israel. He defined Jews as a race and charged that the Israeli army is guilty of terror worse than that of Arab terrorists. Dugard's draft is to be published next month in a full report by the U.N. Dugard wrote that Israel's laws and practices in the [Palestinian Authority (PA)] certainly resemble aspects of apartheid. Can it seriously be denied that the purpose of such action is to establish and maintain domination by one racial group, Jews, over another racial group, Palestinians, and systematically oppress them? The report accuses Israel of terror by flying jets that set off sonic booms, forcing residents to live in fear of settler terror. Dugard also alleges that Israel still is occupying the Gaza region despite the expulsion of Jewish residents from their communities and the handover of the land to the PA. Gaza became a sealed off, imprisoned and occupied territory, he wrote. He cited Arabs for committing war crimes by attacking Israel with Kassam rockets, but added that the IDF has committed such crimes on a much greater scale.

U.N. Report Ignores Economic Aid to PA

Media throughout the world have headlined the report's assertion that Israeli restrictions on trade and movement have created conditions where the poorest families are now living a meager existence totally reliant on assistance, with no electricity or heating and eating food prepared with water from bad sources.The report's timing is especially sensitive, coming to light after both Israel and the U.S. indicated that they will maintain the boycott after the planned Fatah-Hamas coalition cabinet takes office unless it clearly commits itself to recognition of Israel, renunciation of violence and adherence to previous agreements with Israel, noted the London Independent. The report ignores aid that has been redirected through the offices of PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in order to bypass Hamas, leaving the PA as one of the world's largest recipients of foreign economic aid. The International Monetary Fund (International Monetary Fund (IMF) has reported that the PA received $709 million in aid in 2006, double the amount received in 2005.

The aid figures do not include hundreds of millions of dollars invested by various U.N. agencies in Gaza.In addition, Hamas leaders have smuggled more than $60 million into Gaza. Another report by a U.N. agency and published by Reuters News Agency blames Israel's attack on Gaza's only power station for leaving the Occupied Palestinian Territories without electricity. However, Dugard does not mention that Israel's Ashkelon power plant also provides electricity to many PA residents.

Britain To Deal with Moderate Hamas Elements

The increasing blame on Israel for problems in the PA, along with the mounting pressure from Russia have contributed to a change in the policy of British Prime Minister Tony Blair, who has indicated he is prepared to deal with Hamas. It is far easier to deal with the situation in Palestine if there is a national unity government, he said. I hope we can make progress, including even with the more
sensible elements of Hamas.The United States has been the staunchest opponent of lifting the sanctions against Hamas, but American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has conceded that Abbas out-maneuvered Israel by collaborating with Hamas to form a unity government, which she stated has made the situation more complicated.The result was a meeting this week between her, Abbas and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, that analysts agreed was an exercise in rhetoric, although the conversation included angry shouts between the Israeli and PA leaders.

Mashaal To Visit Moscow

The Quartet so far has insisted Hamas meet international demands, but the terrorist organization continues to drum up international support, starting with Russia, one of the members of the Quartet. Syrian-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal is scheduled to visit Moscow from Sunday to Tuesday, as Moscow continues to ignore Israeli pleas that international powers not conduct talks with leaders of the Hamas organization. Abbas, the leader of the Fatah movement, has been courting European nations, claiming that the unity government is committed to meeting international conditions even though Hamas explicitly refuses to do so. Fatah has paid lip-service to the conditions, but terrorist attacks by Fatah terrorists continue almost daily. Abbas also has conditioned his recognition of Israel on demands, which every recent Israeli government has categorically stated are unreasonable. Abbas has said a Jewish state could be recognized only after Jerusalem becomes the capital of a new Arab country and millions of Arabs in foreign countries are allowed to live in Israel. Abbas's problem is that Hamas is considered to be more powerful than Fatah, according to Turi Munthe, associate fellow at the Royal United Service Institute in London.

Muslim States Pressuring Quartet

A group of 57 Muslim countries meeting in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia has agreed to step up pressure and try to force the Quartet to lift the economic sanctions against Hamas. The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) also continues to accuse Israel of endangering the Al Aksa mosque by conducting archaeological operations near the Temple Mount. In light of the positive developments in Palestine and formation of the national unity government, the international embargo against Palestinians has no justification, said Ekmel Al Deen Ihsanoglu, Secretary-General of the OIC. He called on the Arab countries, including oil-rich kingdoms, to provide financial and moral support to Jerusalem Arabs and the Palestinian Authority (PA).

Iran increased nuke activity, report says Nations meeting next week on sanctions Friday, February 23, 2007 George Jahn ASSOCIATED PRESS

VIENNA, Austria Iran has ignored a U.N. Security Council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment a possible pathway to nuclear arms and has instead expanded its program by setting up hundreds of centrifuges, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency said yesterday. The finding paves the way for new U.N. sanctions. Hours later, the United States said key countries would meet next week to try to develop new U.N. sanctions against Iran.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report to the Security Council and its 35-nation board that Tehran also has continued to build a heavy-water reactor and related facilities which, along with enrichment, could help it develop nuclear arms. In addition, the report said Iran ignored a Security Council call to cooperate with the agency in its efforts to shed light on suspicious nuclear activities. The conclusions, while widely expected, were important because they could serve as the trigger for the council to start deliberating on new sanctions meant to punish Iran for its nuclear intransigence. In Washington, Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said he will travel to London on Monday to meet with the United States’ negotiating partners to try to draft a new resolution to sanction Iran. Burns said he hopes the United States and other permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, can quickly draft a resolution to see Iran repudiated again.In Tehran, the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Mohammed Saeedi, ruled out suspending enrichment, saying such demands were against Iran’s rights, the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and international regulations.Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Iran’s chief delegate to the U.N. agency, said sanctions against the Islamic republic create only more solidarity of the Iranian nation to protect their inalienable rights.

The Security Council issued three demands to Iran on Dec. 23 freeze uranium enrichment, stop building heavy-water facilities and fully cooperate with the agency.

It introduced limited sanctions and gave Iran 60 days to comply a deadline that expired Wednesday. The agency report prepared by director Mohamed ElBaradei showed Iran has instead expanded its enrichment efforts setting up nearly 1,000 uranium-spinning centrifuges in and above an underground bunker, enriching minute amounts of uranium and bringing nearly 9 tons of the gaseous feedstock into its underground nuclear facility at Natanz in preparation for enrichment. Iranian officials also informed the agency that they would expand their centrifuge installations to close to 3,000 by May, the report said. Iran’s stated goal is running 54,000 centrifuges at Natanz to churn out enriched uranium enough for dozens of nuclear weapons a year. Iran maintains it wants to develop enrichment only to generate power. Even before the agency’s report was issued, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the U.S. and its allies would use the Security Council to bring Iran back to negotiations over its nuclear program.