SAUDIS MAY ATTEND PEACE TALKS

Strong earthquake in Vanuatu AUG 1,07

GOLDEN, Colo. - A strong earthquake struck Thursday off the coast of Vanuatu in the South Pacific, originating far below the ocean floor. The 7.2 quake, which hit at 4:08 a.m. local time, didn't trigger any tsunamis around the archipelago and little damage was expected because it originated 108 miles beneath the ocean's surface, said Waverly Person, a geophysicist with U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center.The earthquake hit 28 miles southeast of the Vanuatu town of Luganville and 1,240 miles northeast of Brisbane, Australia.It was the first earthquake with a magnitude of at least 7 in 122 days, he said. Normally a quake in that range can cause buildings to collapse and deaths in populated areas.

A TROPICAL STORM IS BREWING, SEE WHAT HAPPENS AMERICA, USE ARE PUSHING ISRAEL REALLY HARD NOW SO LOOKOUT.

Heavy Rain in Parts of Northeast Texas Save Email Print
Jul 31, 2007 - Reporter: Associated Press

UNDATED — Flooding is a threat after parts of Texas have been hit with heavy rain today.The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for parts of Fannin, Lamar and Delta counties.Forecasters say more than three inches of rain fell overnight in parts of Fannin County, with additional rain expected.Meanwhile in South Texas, a flood warning is in effect for stretches of the Frio River and the Nueces River.Parts of Texas are still recovering from heavy rain and flooding going back to mid-June.

Tropical heat headed our way
By Tim Harlow, Star Tribune - July 31, 2007 – 9:11 AM

Here we go again. Another round of hot, sticky, steamy, sunny weather is in store for today and Wednesday with highs in the 90s and dew points soaring into the tropical 60s, the National Weather Service said.The mercury is expected to top out at 92 degrees today and Wednesday with a slight reprieve in store for Thursday with a high of 87 degrees. Tonight's low will be a sultry 71 degrees, and lows in the upper 60s are expected the rest of the week, the Weather Service said.

Rain has been in short supply recently, and the best chance for precipitation will come Wednesday night with a 50 percent chance for showers and thunderstorms. A small chance of rain is in the forecast Friday night and Saturday. A slight risk of severe weather is possible over northwest and west central Minnesota Wednesday and Thursday, the Weather Service said.Any precipitation will bring much-needed relief to brown lawns and water-deprived trees and gardens. The seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area is in a severe drought with a precipitation deficit of more than 5 inches since April 1.

As of July 25, Albert Lea was more than 6 inches below normal. Litchfield, in Meeker County, was nearly 7½ inches below normal as was Chaska and many of the western suburbs, the Weather Service said.Some communities, such as Chanhassen, have enacted outdoor watering bans because of the dearth of rainfall.The recent string of sunny, windy days also has escalated the fire danger across the state. With the exception of the southeastern corner of Minnesota, the rest of the state has been placed under a moderate to very high fire danger, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.Tim Harlow • harlow@startribune.com

United Nations sending 26,000 peacekeeping troops to Darfur
Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - 05:32 PM By: 680News staff

Toronto - The United Nations security council has unanymously approved a plan to send a 26,000 troop peacekeeping force to Sudan's Darfur region.The UN force will replace the beleaguered 7,000-strong au force now on the ground in darfur before the end of the year.The decision comes following a speech from British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who described the urgent need to also fight poverty and disease in Africa and around the world.If 30,000 children died needlessly and avoidably evveryday in America or in Britain, we'd call it an emergency, and an emegency is what it is, he stated. The security council backed the peacekeeping force after negotiations secured crucial chinese support.At least 200,000 people have died in Darfur in recent years.

PA Official: Immigration of 40 Paves Way For 18,000
17 Av 5767, August 1, '07

(IsraelNN.com) Following Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s concession, allowing 40 decedents of Arabs who left Israel in 1948 to emigrate to Judea and Samaria, Palestinian Authority officials say they are already working on using the precedent to bring about the immigration of 18,000 Arabs in Iraq to Judea and Samaria.PA Minister of Information Riyad al-Malki told the PA-controlled Maan News Agency that the return of the 40 paves the way for the return of all the Palestinian refugees.

Al-Malki said he contacted Knesset Members and officials in the Olmert regime, but that so far, the Israelis have agreed to let in just a small group of refugees. He promises to continue to work toward allowing tens of thousands more to join them.

July 31, 2007 - Perverse - ARLENE KUSHNER

According to Al-Hayat in London, which cited an Israeli senior government source, Olmert and Abbas have set up a secret channel for discussing final status issues. These include establishment of an independent Palestinian state, the refugee issue, the question of settlements and the future of Jerusalem, although -- according to the report -- there have been no breakthroughs.Olmert's office is denying this. But I have picked up similar inklings from another source and I consider this within the realm of possibility. Those of us who have been monitoring Olmert are aware that he is focused on this: a desire to give away part of the land. He came into office speaking of realignment, which was to be the Judea-Samaria version of the Gaza disengagement. When that didn't play because of the political situation, he pulled back temporarily. Now, with peace talk in the air, he may believe he has the opportunity to give our land to the Palestinians more directly.

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After considerable publicity about Olmert's possible readiness to allow Jordanian regular army forces from the Badr Brigade -- which consists of Bedouins with experience in fighting terrorists -- into Judea and Samaria to help the PA, Jordan has responded: Nothing doing. Said a Jordanian spokesman: To discuss such a notion is shooting down Palestinian aspirations of independent statehood and implies that the Palestinians aren't capable of taking responsibility for their own security. We aren't contemplating anything like that.Translation: We have no intention of getting involved at this level now.

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Round and round we go... But there's no clarity, no sense of anything really happening (because in truth nothing is happening):

The Arab states -- which had presumably been promoting peace via the Arab League initiative (from which the Saudis have since withdrawn) -- are now saying that they're not terribly enthusiastic about Bush's plans for a peace conference. Such an effort, they are saying, should be all-inclusive, meaning that it should work on peace between Syria and Israel at the same time. A new wrinkle. When the Arab governments met in Cairo on Monday to discuss their response to Bush's proposed conference, representatives of Syria stormed out, angry that fellow Arabs would even discuss it. It would, they said, liquidate the Palestinian cause.So much for that. Let's hope.

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A number of terrorist Palestinian groups -- most notably the Palestinian Resistance Committees -- have expressed fury with PA Prime Minister Fayad for dropping the term armed struggle (mukawama) from his newly announced platform. One PRC representative, Abu Abir, said they would target Fayad and his treacherous gang.
We will target them in the field the same way we attack Israel. We promise to put an end to all the American-backed Palestinian personalities in the near future because of their decision to side with the Israeli enemy.And so, guess what?

When Fayad was at the Arab League meeting in Cairo on Monday, he held a press conference and further explained his stand: Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation even if the word mukawama didn't appear in his platform (for semantic reasons and because of the possibility of misunderstandings): What is the essence of resistance, especially in light of the current occupation? Does it not begin with all possible efforts to strengthen the permanence of the Palestinian citizens on their land? That is precisely the government's agenda.Oh. Right. That was a close one for Fayad.

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Word came out from the Lebanese paper An-Nahar the other day that one of the two Israeli soldiers being held by Hezbollah is dead. This information reportedly came from Germans who had been in touch with Christian Lebanese Michael Aoun, an ally of Hezbollah.Israel is not giving this undocumented report credibility. In truth, we just don't know.

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It would seem that Bush has made pretty much of a mess of things with his latest diplomatic gambit. Over the weekend the US announced that it is planning to sell Saudi Arabia $20 billion in advanced weapons systems, including JDAMs that turn regular bombs into smart bombs, which present a potential strategic threat to Israel.

He is doing this to secure Saudi cooperation in Iraq. But it seems fairly short-sighted (exceedingly myopic?) to establish such a policy made in the expectation of an alliance with the Saudis. Of late, they promoted the unity government in Mecca, favoring Hamas; then they withdrew support for the Arab League peace initiative, instead pushing renewed negotiations between Fatah and Hamas, something that the US solidly opposes.

Far more significantly, Saudi Arabia -- home of radical fundamentalist, virulently anti-Shiite Islamic Wahhabism -- is directly connected to terrorism in Iraq. Saudi Arabia has permitted Sunni radicals to cross into Iraq, and has provided funding for them; Wahhabi clerics have encouraged them. The New York Times reports that Of an estimated 60 to 80 foreign fighters who enter Iraq each month, American military and intelligence officials say that nearly half are coming from Saudi Arabia.

And Bush has failed to notice this?

Addressing the issue of how the American government views the Saudis, Stephen Schwartz, a senior policy analyst with the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, writes, The (Saudi) kingdom is an unwavering nerve center of ideological indoctrination, incitement, and terrorist financing...Washington needs to end its delusion that the Saudi royal family is a moderating force Saudi Arabia has never been subjugated by the West, instead it has only been cuddled and bribed to ridiculous extremes. And in turn the West has received a torrent of violence and hateful venom.

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Resistance to this sale has been stiffer than Bush had anticipated, for the prospect of increased risk to Israel does not sit well here in Jerusalem or among supporters of Israel in Congress; there is no adequate Israeli defense for these smart bombs.

In an attempt to sweeten the situation, the US has announced an increase in military aid to Israel, from $2.4 to $3 billion annually. Along with this came promises of continuing US commitment to Israel's qualitative military edge and guarantees that limits would be put on the Saudis regarding use of their equipment (restrictions on the range, size and location of the satellite-guided bombs, including a commitment not to store the weapons at air bases close to Israeli territory). Whether the US is truly committed to Israel's qualitative edge remains to be seen. Israel's request to buy the US's most sophisticated stealth bomber has been denied. As to restrictions on the use of the equipment, a report today indicated that this may make it more difficult for Condoleezza Rice to get the Saudis to cooperate publicly with supporting the Israeli-Palestinian process. Is this not unreal?

Reps. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) and Robert Wexler (D-Fla.) have announced that they will introduce a joint resolution to block the deal when Congress is formally notified. Said Weiner, The reputation of the Saudis has taken quite a beating since 9/11, and despite the fact that the administration has done everything to portray them as part of the moderate Arab world, members of Congress of both parties are increasingly skeptical.

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A Palestinian Arab was caught at a checkpoint (yup! one of those checkpoints again) near Shechem with 22 pounds of explosives.

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This is an interesting news item: The Prison Service has decided to cancel matriculation exams for Palestinian Arabs in Israeli prisons. Seems there have been several incidents in which Arabs brought in to administer the tests attempted to bring letters to, or accept letters from, the prisoners.

Matriculation exams for Palestinians in Israeli prisons? see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info

THE BIBLE SAYS THAT SAUDI ARABIA WOULD BE WITH THE WEST IN THE LAST DAYS. BUT THE ONLY REASON I BELIEVE IS THE OIL SITUATION, THE SAUDIS ARE GETTING RICH...RICH...RICH OF THE WEST.

Saudis may attend Mideast peace talks By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Wed Aug 1, 1:25 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Saudi Arabia said Wednesday it would seriously consider attending a Middle East peace conference proposed by the Bush administration for later this year, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice began laying the ground work for the regional meeting. The proposed gathering is intended to revive the peace process and would include Israel, the Palestinians and Arab states viewed as moderate by the United States.Speaking during a rare joint visit by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates in Jeddah, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said his government would look very closely and very hard at attending if the conference dealt with issues of real substance, not form.

Saud also said Saudi Arabia would explore opening diplomatic relations with the Shiite-led government in Iraq, an endorsement long sought by Washington. Saudi Arabia's Sunni rulers have had frosty relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government and has not hidden its suspicions that al-Maliki does not have the interests of Iraq's Sunni minority at heart.A meeting between Israeli and Saudi representatives would be a major diplomatic breakthrough. Though Israel and Saudi Arabia are both U.S. allies, representatives of the countries have never officially met and Saudi Arabia has never recognized the Jewish state.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said in a statement Wednesday that Israel hopes many Arab countries will attend this international meeting, including Saudi Arabia.At a news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem later Wednesday, Rice said she was encouraged by the attitude that I have seen here among all of the parties about the prospects of this international meeting.
However, Rice said in response to a question about Saudi participation, I think it's too early ... to issue invitations and certainly too early to expect people to say whether they will attend.

Rice's visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories, part of a wider tour of the U.S.'s regional allies, is her first since the Islamic group Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip in mid-June. Since then, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has run the West Bank with a moderate government led by his Fatah movement, and has won broad international backing while Hamas remains largely isolated.Olmert's office said a regional peace conference would also be able to grant an umbrella to the bilateral talks between Israel and the Palestinians.Before his meeting with Rice, Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, invited President Bush to visit Israel during its 60th anniversary celebrations next year, saying I truly hope we shall celebrate it in an atmosphere of peace.Rice meets with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem on Wednesday and with leaders of Abbas' U.S.-backed Palestinian government in the West Bank on Thursday.

The Hamas takeover in Gaza has spurred a flurry of peacemaking efforts in the past month aimed at shoring up Palestinian moderates, including a first visit to the region by international Mideast peace envoy Tony Blair and an unprecedented visit to Israel by a delegation from the 22-nation Arab League. That delegation urged Israel to accept an Arab plan offering peace in return for a withdrawal from all land captured in the 1967 Mideast War.Further helping the mood of conciliation are the fears in moderate Arab states about the influence of Hamas' hardline backers in Iran and about al-Qaida's brand of extremist Islam.Israel has carried out several gestures to bolster Abbas, including renewing the transfer of millions of dollars in taxes collected from Palestinians and releasing several hundred Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails.Bush's July 16 announcement of a Mideast conference was meant to build on the new momentum and work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Palestinian officials said it was time to move from gestures to discussing the core issues of the conflict — the borders of the future Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees who lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's creation in 1948.The main topic will be the political negotiations, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Rice's upcoming meetings with Abbas and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. We don't want a new initiative.Besides Livni and Peres, Rice is scheduled to meet Wednesday with Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak. In Rice's meeting with Barak, the two are slated to discuss American plans for a major arms sale to Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, and a parallel boost in defense aid to Israel, Israeli defense officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press. Israel loudly opposed such arms sales in the past but has offered no resistance this time, saying the weapons were needed to offset Iran's military strength.

August 1, 2007 - Snake in the Grass - ARLENE KUSHNER

When it comes to twisting arms, Condoleezza Rice is a world champion, and right now she's on a roll. In Saudi Arabia, at the beginning of her current Middle East tour, she managed, after all, to get the ruling regime to say they would participate in the US-inspired peace conference in the fall. Rice and Secretary of Defense Gates, who is traveling with her, then made a showing at Sharm el-Sheikh for a meeting of the foreign ministers of the Gulf Co-operation Council. At the press conference at the end of the meeting, she participated in a joint communiqué with Egypt, Jordan and six Persian Gulf states that recognized the Arab initiative as one of the foundations for Middle East peace.

Her duplicity is breathtaking. The Arab initiative calls for return to pre-67 borders, return of refugees to Israel, and a Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. She would gladly sell us down the river if she imagined this would motivate the Arabs to help extricate the US from Iraq.

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Currently she's here, and meeting with various officials. More arm-twisting. Her goal while in Israel is to get Olmert to make more concessions to strengthen Abbas and advance peace. Or, as one official put it, to move to the next level, which, we've been told, means that Washington is eager to expand the range of things discussed between Olmert and Abbas. Explained an Israeli official, They're more than testing the waters. The Americans are trying to see how much they can expand the envelope of political horizon.Not surprisingly, the US government has been very pleased with recent Israeli government indications of a willingness to pull out of major parts of Judea and Samaria. Now it's a question of just how far Olmert will go.

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I'm waiting, and will wait a very long time, for balanced arm-twisting, with Rice insisting that Abbas has to really dismantle the terrorist infrastructure and stop incitement.

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Said President Shimon Peres today: When Condoleezza Rice arrives in the region she brings hope and freshness, this time more than ever. He declared that because of Rice we are now closer to peace with the Palestinians than ever.

If this weren't so terribly pathetic, it would be funny. A quintessential alternate universe statement that shows total lack of awareness of what's happening on the ground. When Rice arrives in the region, my blood pressure goes up several points.

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Remember all of the material and data that Hamas seized from Fatah in Gaza when they took over? It was inevitable that this would be used to weaken Fatah, and, while it has taken time, indeed, the process is under way.

Hamas official Mahmoud Zahar has just released to the Arabic press evidence of the corruption of the PA under Fatah. There will be more to follow, but the documents released now primarily show bribes, payoffs and similar improper use of funds authorized by Yasser Arafat from 1994 - 2004. There was $40,000 given to a Fatah official for his son's wedding, artwork worth $66,000 given to someone in Paris, etc.

Most damning for the current situation is that fact that some of these improprieties took place while Salaam Fayad, currently PA prime minister, was serving as finance minister under Arafat. Fayad is routinely touted as the cleanest of the PA officials.

Fatah offered two defenses. First, they claimed that the documents were forged. But Arab journalists who were permitted to exam the documents indicated that they seemed quite legitimate, as, I am quite sure they are.

Then a Fatah spokesman charged Hamas with not being able to account for monies it had received. This is a case of the pot calling the kettle black, if ever there was one. Even if Hamas is guilty of corruption (and all indications are that Hamas is considerably less corrupt than Fatah), this does not remotely absolve Fatah.

What I'm interested in is how the international community will continue to justify support for a Fatah-run PA in the face of such documentation. This, most certainly, is just the beginning.See my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info

OUT of ZION Ministries
A Messianic Ministry Based on Mt Carmel
Address: Apt # 2, 9 Sachlav St, Ramat Almogi, Haifa 34792, ISRAEL.
Tel: 972 4 8245590 Email: kiwi@netvision.net.il Website: www.out-of-zion.com

Shalom, shalom dear Friends, Partners and Intercessors.................................................

Josie and I have something that we believe to be very important to share with you all

It is not our normal practise to make appeals for finances. Praise the Lord, that through some of you making regular support donations, He provides for our monthly family needs and ministry expenses. We are deeply grateful for this of course as it enables us to fulfill what the Lord has called us to be and to do.

However this email is an appeal for finances, but not for ourselves. We dont want to tell you what or to where you should give, but we do believe it is scriptually correct to make offerings to Israel. Romans 15:27 For if the Gentiles have been partakers of their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister to them in material things. (NKJ) and of course Genesis 12:3 is relevant also. Would you please prayerfully consider assisting one of the following projects that are close to our hearts, particularly if you are not already blessing our ministry or any other ministries here in Israel.

Below you will read about 3 very different projects that are in need of your prayers and financial input. They are known to us personally and we can vouch for their integrity.

If you feel led to partner with Pastor Leon in this outreach please email me & I will send you more details - David

Possible Attack on the U.S. Within Ninety Days
FSM Editors - Author: The Editors
Source: The Family Security Foundation, Inc.
Date: July 30, 2007

Veteran Israeli Intelligence expert, Juval Aviv, said in recent media interviews that his sources on terror plots directed at the United States indicate that multiple attacks on our homeland are in the final stages of preparation. Read the details.

Counterterrorism expert Juval Aviv met recently with reporters at Fox News and revealed information, which he believes is accurate, concerning an imminent Al Qaeda attack on five to seven American cities simultaneously. I predict, based primarily on information that is floating in Europe and the Middle East, that an event is imminent and around the corner here in the United States. It could happen as soon as tomorrow, or it could happen in the next few months. Ninety days at the most, said Mr. Aviv.Mr. Aviv knows of that which he speaks. He is a former Israeli Counterterrorism Intelligence Officer and has also served as a special consultant to the U.S. Congress on issues of terrorism and security. He is best known as the source of the 1984 book, Vengeance: The True Story of an Israeli Counter-Terrorist Team by George Jonas, on which Steven Spielberg's film Munich was based. He is also the author of The Complete Terrorism Survival Guide: How to Travel, Work and Live in Safety (2003); and Staying Safe: The Complete Guide to Protecting Yourself, Your Family, and Your Business (2004).

Currently, Aviv is the president of Interfor, Inc., a corporate investigations firm in New York City.So it is clear that Aviv has the background and experience in global terror and its operating methods to warrant taking his current warnings seriously. It would be foolish to ignore or minimize this counterterrorism veteran’s expert prognosis. Mr. Aviv told Fox that, from what his sources have been relating, sleeper cells that already have been placed inside the continental United States are on the verge of carrying out major attacks.What they’re going to do, he explained, is hit six, seven or eight cities simultaneously to show sophistication and really hit the public. This time, which is the message of the day, it will not only be big cities. They’re going to try to hit rural America. They want to send a message to rural America: You’re not protected. If you figured out that if you just move out of New York and move to Montana or to Pittsburgh, you’re not immune. We’re going [to] get you wherever we can and it’s easier there than in New York.

While this prediction leaves most Americans feeling helpless, fearful and frustrated, Juval Aviv recommends that we at least do what we can. He suggests that for the next few months, if we are traveling by public transportation, we should equip ourselves with a bottle of water, a hand towel and a flashlight. He reminds us that many fatalities in the London tube and Madrid train attacks occurred from victims who breathed in the lethal fumes from bomb components and burning gasoline. Had these people had wet towels to cover their mouths and noses, they would have had a much better chance of survival.

Mr. Aviv is a very strong proponent of If you See Something – Say Something school of preparedness. He stated that a great number of potentially lethal terror attacks in Israel have been – and still are – thwarted by the intelligent actions on the part of alert, aware and watchful citizens.Americans must do the same, he advises. The global war on terror is not somewhere over there in the Middle East. It is here on our own soil. If ever there were a time to be especially vigilant, the time is now. Let us hope and pray that these vicious enemies and their depraved plans against our citizens and our country, which come out of a wicked ideological brew, will be forestalled and prevented, and the perpetrators apprehended. So far, our law enforcement, military, counter-terrorism and intelligence personnel have done a stellar job. At the same time, and as we all know, we have to be lucky 100% of the time, and the terrorists have to be lucky only once. So stay alert…stay away from crowds…and if you see something, say something! You could save hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.