HUNGARY RATIFIES LISBON TREATY ALREADY

PEOPLE OF THE EPICENTER FACE URGENT NEEDS IN WAKE OF WAR
Joshua Fund sends relief supplies to Israel, Iraq and Sudan.
By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., December 17, 2007) -- Wars and rumors of wars continue to dominate the Middle East as 2007 draws to a close. Consider just a few of these sobering headlines in recent days:

* Israel: US report on Iran may spark war
* Iran says U.S. report a declaration of surrender
* Turkish planes bomb PKK [Kurdish] targets in Iraq
* Triple Car Bombings Kill Dozens in Southern Iraq
* Palestinian Children on Hamas TV: We Will Wipe Out the People of Zion and Will Not Leave a Single One
* 200,000 Gazans Rally in Support of Hamas
* Sudan has still not agreed to U.N. peacekeepers to deal with terrible violence, genocide

In light of the urgent needs in the region, The Joshua Fund plans to dramatically increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy people of Israel, Iraq, Sudan and others in the epicenter in 2008, as well as expand our strategic allies and our prayer partners. We are seeking to recruit at least 100,000 evangelical Christians all over the world who will stand with us in praying knowledgeably and consistently for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and for the people of the entire region. By God's grace, we already have more than 40,000 prayer partners signed up. If you would like to join our email list, please click the link below. To see the latest prayer needs for the people of the epicenter, please visit The Joshua Fund weblog.

As we end 2007, we are working hard to complete several specific and important projects in an effort to bless the poor and needy and victims of war and terrorism:

* RELIEF FOR ISRAEL: TJF is funding 50 tons of food for Bridges For Peace to distribute to poor and needy Israelis in the first quarter of 2008 (cost: $110,000)

* RELIEF FOR IRAQ: TJF is sending two trucks filled with more than $300,000 worth of humanitarian relief supplies into Iraq, to be distributed through Iraqi evangelical Christians (cost: $24,000)

* RELIEF FOR SUDAN: TJF is funding two emergency 40-foot containers of desperately-needed food aid for the suffering people of Sudan, who are not only enduring civil war but also genocide. Each container holds 44,000 pounds of food, or about 270,000 servings, at cost of less than forty-two cents per serving. Such aid will be distributed through Sudanese evangelical Christians with whom we are partnering. (cost: $46,000)

If you would like to help us with these and other projects, we would be deeply grateful for a generous year-end financial gift. Our mailing address is:

The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument Colorado 80132-8009

You can also make a secure donation on-line at our website, www.joshuafund.net.

FYI: This summer we received from the Internal Revenue Service our official status as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, meaning that every donation to The Joshua Fund is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Thanks so much and may the Lord truly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.

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).

Hungary first to ratify new EU treaty
18.12.2007 - 09:02 CET | By Honor Mahony

Hungary on Monday (17 December) became the first of the 27 member states to ratify the bloc's new treaty, making the move just days after the document was formally signed off by EU leaders.A parliamentary vote saw 325 votes in favour, 5 votes against and 14 abstentions for the new set of rules, according to Austrian news agency APA.Reacting to the vote, Hungary's prime minister praised the historic achievement of his country.In taking the ratification step so quickly, Budapest has stolen the crown from Poland and France, both of whom had indicated they were aiming to be the first.French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country rejected the original EU constitution in 2005, had suggested that France should be among the first to prove that the country is back on track in Europe.

Speaking before MEPs in the European Parliament last month, he said that French voters had rejected the constitution because they wanted more from Europe.The new EU treaty takes on most of the features of the rejected European constitution, including a foreign policy chief, a long-term president of the EU, a binding citizens rights charter as well as cutting down on the areas where member states have a right to veto.The new institutional rules, six years in the making, were signed off in a formal ceremony on Thursday (13 December) in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with EU leaders happy to draw a line under the negotiations.Each member state has to ratify the treaty for it to come into force, with governments aiming to get it in place by early 2009.Ireland is the only country to have a referendum on the document, while the British government is undergoing strong pressure from opposition conservatives to hold a popular vote.Mr Sarkozy has sidestepped the awkward question of why French voters will not be having a second say on the treaty by suggesting that if France had a referendum then the British government would be forced to follow suit, resulting in a probable rejection of the document.

Last update - 19:55 18/12/2007
Israel signs free-trade accord with South American bloc
By News Agencies

Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, signed a free-trade agreement with Israel on Tuesday, its first pact with a country outside of Latin America. The deal was announced during a two-day summit of Mercosur leaders in the Uruguayan capital and followed two years of negotiations to bolster trade ties between South American countries and Israel. This agreement is an enormous satisfaction that will help develop our links to the Mercosur countries, a statement from the Israeli Embassy in Argentina said.

Trade between Israel and Mercosur countries neared $1.6 billion in 2006. Mercosur is comprised of full members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela awaiting approval to join the trade group. Associate members include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Peru. It is something very important because it will be the first trade agreement for Israel in South America, said Itzhak Levanon, Israel's ambassador to international organizations in Geneva. Israel already has a number of trade agreements, including with the United States, European Union, Canada and Mexico. But Mercosur has struggled in attempts to reach a deal with the 27-nation European Union because of disagreements over how much to open up Europe's protected farm markets.

Brazil also was instrumental in thwarting attempts by the U.S. to create a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas that would have stretched from Canada to Chile, becoming the world's largest free commerce zone. Levanon declined to comment on what products or services the agreement would include because talks were ongoing. He said the final treaty would probably be signed in the middle of next month, most likely in Uruguay. The talks in Geneva last month - the eighth round between Israel and Mercosur - built on previous discussions in Brazil, Israel and Uruguay, said Levanon, who represents Israel at the World Trade Organization. It is on the way to being done, barring anything unexpected, which I don't foresee, he said. This shows how important the Israeli
market has become.In 2005, Mercosur started negotiations with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council on a free trade zone that aimed to provide South America access to a lucrative import market. Talks with the group including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are ongoing.But experts were skeptical from the start on whether the two blocs would be able to look beyond their domestic agendas and resist potential American efforts to lure them away with lucrative bilateral trade deals.

It was not clear if Israel was trying to complete its deal with Mercosur before Venezuela joined the trading group. The oil-rich country's bid to enter Mercosur has already been approved by the legislatures of member nations Argentina and Uruguay. But still to be convinced are lawmakers in Brazil, where President Hugo Chavez has ruffled feathers for suggesting that its Congress was a pirate's parrot of the United States. Chavez also tried to rally world leaders in 2006 to halt the Israeli military offensive in Lebanon, calling it a fascist assault and comparing it to the Holocaust. Countries are increasingly seeking bilateral or regional trade deals, which are seen as the best option for export-driven growth in the absence of a new global pact among the 151 members of the WTO. The United States has been the most active on the bilateral front, racking up over a dozen agreements since the WTO's current round of trade talks began in 2001, mostly with smaller countries. The agreements have caused concern among other governments - including those in Mercosur - and at the WTO that the U.S. was distracted from the multilateral talks, where the potential benefits of a deal are much greater, especially for poorer nations.

US Mideast envoy meets Israeli leaders DEC 18,07

JERUSALEM (AFP) — US General James Jones, overseeing security issues in the revived Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, met senior Israeli officials on Tuesday on his first visit since being appointed to the post.The retired Marine commandant and former NATO commander was named US Mideast security envoy after Israelis and Palestinians relaunched peace talks at a US-hosted conference last month.He met top Israeli military officials before talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.Following Olmert's hour-long meeting with Jones, government spokesman Mark Regev said the prime minister made it very clear that he sees importance in Jones' mission and is committed to support it and cooperate with Jones.

Jones earlier met Defence Minister Ehud Barak, military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and chief of military intelligence Amos Yadlin, a defence ministry statement said.Discussions centred on the manner in which to organise cooperation between the Israeli side and General Jones, as well as a series of regional security and political issues, the statement said.Barak also held a one-on-one meeting with Jones to brief him on Israel's central security interests, it added.Ashkenazi later briefed Jones on the army's efforts to counter Palestinian militant attacks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in particular against the planners and perpetrators of Qassam and morter shell attacks on Israel, the army said.Over the past 24 hours, Israel has killed 12 militants, including the head of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, in a series of raids across Gaza aimed at countering the nearly daily rocket fire against southern Israel.Jones was appointed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to monitor Israel's commitment to freeze all West Bank settlement expansion and the Palestinian's commitment to crack down on militants.

Israel has said it would not implement any future peace deal before the Palestinians put an end to attacks, including nearly daily rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June.A senior Israeli official said late on Monday that the general's mandate is to indicate whether Israel and the Palestinans are carrying out their roadmap commitments.The roadmap is an internationally drafted peace blueprint that has made next to no progress since its launch more than four years ago, and which the two sides pledged last month to uphold when they revived their peace talks.Israel has been under fire from Palestinians, Washington and the European Union for announcing tenders for the expansion of a settlement in east Jerusalem a week after the Annapolis conference in November.

Introduction to Parliament of European Union (Amendment) Bill Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Published Monday, 17 December, 2007 - 22:28

On 17 December Jim Murphy MP, Minister for Europe, commented on the introduction to Parliament of the European Union (Amendment) Bill:I am pleased to announce that the Government has today introduced to Parliament the European Union (Amendment) Bill, which will enable the UK to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.The Lisbon Treaty is a good deal for the UK and a positive step forward for the European Union. The reforms contained in the Treaty will enable an EU of 27 or more nation states to respond effectively to the challenges of globalisation and to deliver on key issues like jobs, security and the environment.The Bill also gives Parliament more power in EU decision-making and a veto on any proposal to activate the mechanisms in the Treaty that provide for further moves to qualified majority voting - but which require unanimity.

All 27 EU Heads of Government have agreed that the constitutional concept is abandoned. And by achieving our negotiating objectives and red lines in full, the UK has moved the furthest away from the old Constitution.Of the 27 EU states, only Ireland intends to hold a referendum on the Treaty, because of Ireland's system of governance. Elsewhere in Europe there is a clear recognition that the Reform Treaty is different in intent, content and consequence. Hans-Gert Poettering, the President of the European Parliament and a Conservative, has said:If someone in the UK is calling for a referendum, that is not because the text we have in front of us is a Constitution, it must be for some other reason and I for one would not support it.On 11 December Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared:The Lisbon Treaty does not transfer new powers to the EU, as the Justice Ministry's legal analysis confirms, and is an amending treaty that is fundamentally different to the Constitutional Treaty. The government does not, therefore, find it necessary to put the Treaty to a referendum.

The independent Dutch Council of State has studied the Treaty in detail and come to a similar conslusion. And European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has also made clear that, the Treaty, including the hard fought UK red lines, is not the Constitution.We are pursuing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty through Parliament in the same way that Prime Ministers Thatcher, Major and Blair approached the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. As the Prime Minister has made clear:The Government will recommend that there is sufficient time for debate on the Floor of the House so that the Bill is examined in the fullest of detail and all points of view can be heard.I look forward to the start of that detailed debate in the New Year.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

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

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

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

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Putin accepts role as prime minister
18.12.2007 - 08:55 CET | By Renata Goldirova

Russian president Vladimir Putin seems set to retain power even after his second presidential term expires next year, as he has accepted an offer to serve as prime minister. If citizens show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him president, I will be ready to head the government without changing the institutional powers of the president and government, Mr Putin said on Monday (17 December), the Moscow Times reports.The announcement was made at a congress of United Russia - the pro-Kremlin party, which won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections earlier this month - shortly before the party endorsed Mr Medvedev as its candidate for the presidential race in March 2008. Mr Medvedev, 42, currently serves as a first deputy prime minister as well as chairman of Russia's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom. We should not be ashamed or afraid of transferring key powers of the country, the destiny of Russia, into the hands of such a man, Mr Putin said, according to the Moscow Times.The power-sharing deal ends speculation on whether the current Russian leader would resort to changing the constitution, which currently bars him from seeking a third presidential term.

It remains unclear, however, what role Mr Putin will play on the country's political scene.I don't have the slightest doubt that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, in the future, will keep using his enormous political and professional resources, his influence both in our society and in the world, for the benefit of Russia and its citizens, Mr Medvedev himself said, according to AP. According to Leonid Gozman from the opposition Union of Right Forces party, the deal will see a strengthening of the prime minister's role at the expense of the president's. It means either there will be a transfer of functions from the president to the premier or Putin will think of something else, for example, either becoming general secretary of United Russia or changing the constitution to create the position of spiritual leader of the nation, Mr Gozman was cited as saying by AP. Analysts also took a critical tone, with Konstantin Remuchukov from the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta saying It means one thing: Putin's team will remain in power.This is not an election but the distribution of roles within a single team. There has never before been such a situation in Russia, he added.

Tony Blair sees Mideast solution beyond territory
EJP Updated: 18/Dec/2007 13:37

Tony Blair (C) with French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the international donors' conference in Paris on Monday.

LONDON (EJP)---Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet envoy, Tony Blair, said the creation of a Palestinian state does not simply amount to defining territory but is also about how the Palestinians manage themselves, particularly on the security front. In an interview with the Financial Times he declared:Having a state is not just a question of territory. It is about the nature of what happens inside the state. So the single most important thing I can do to help the Palestinians is tell them the truth. And the truth is that there will not be a Palestinian state unless the nature of that state is clear.The former British Prime Minister added: I am saying to the Israelis: Yes, I understand why you are concerned by security. But in circumstances where Palestinians have demonstrated this security capability and built it, then you have to give them a chance to let it work. He said a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians could be forged in 2008, and a point could be reached during the year where a minimum threshold of credibility would be achieved, giving both sides the confidence to trade land for peace.

EU Urges China to Let Its Currency Rise
Tuesday December 18, 10:56 am ET
By Aoife White, AP Business Writer
EU Calls on China to Allow Currency Appreciate to Help U.S. Dollar Vs Euro

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European Union economists urged China to allow its currency to appreciate, saying the move would help the U.S. dollar rise from record lows against the euro -- and help China tackle its own overheating economy.European Union trade statistics showed separately Tuesday that China has now overtaken Britain as the largest source of imports for the 13-nation euro zone.China's massive trade surplus and importance as an exporter means it now plays a major role in global current account imbalances, as it accumulates cash and others pile up debt.The EU's top economy official, Klaus Regling, said in a report published Tuesday that the EU and China agreed last month to take action to avoid drastic movements of exchange rates.But the EU said more action would not only help Europe and the U.S. -- both of which have ballooning trade deficits with China -- but also China itself as well as east Asia.The European Commission's quarterly report on the euro area said a higher value for the Chinese currency would help China regulate its economy and allow Asian currencies rise.China's efforts to curb its overheating economy would be helped by a higher value currency because Beijing's large-scale intervention in foreign exchange markets uses money it needs to deal with other problems, the report said.

More money was flowing around the Chinese economy, fueling inflation and asset price bubbles, it said, pointing to the Shanghai stock index soaring 400 percent since 2006.An appreciation would reduce the need to intervene and free the central bank to pursue its domestic monetary objectives, the EU said.Lifting exchange rates would stop the rapid rate that east Asian exporters are accumulating trade surpluses and would ultimately alleviate pressures on the bilateral exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the euro, the report said.Europeans have also urged Beijing to stoke domestic demand so that Chinese people enjoy the wealth their country is reaping -- and start buying more expensive goods from the rest of the world.The Chinese yuan's value against the euro has slipped by 9 percent over the last two years. Although it has technically risen 10 percent against the dollar during the same time, the U.S. currency's spectacular drop means that renminbi hardly appreciated in effective terms, the report said.Separately, the EU's statistical agency Eurostat said China sent euro countries 123.5 billion euros ($177.75 billion) worth of goods in the first nine months of the year, pushing past Britain at 122.3 billion euros ($176 billion).

For all 27 EU countries, the yawning trade gap with China grew 25 percent in the first nine months of 2007, from the same period in 2006. The EU trade deficit with China from January to September rose to 115.7 billion euros ($166.5 billion), compared with 92.3 billion euros ($132.8 billion) a year ago.Although Europe is exporting more to China -- exports grew 13 percent from January to September -- it is also importing more, buying 21 percent more from the world's most populous nation.EU officials have repeatedly called on China to speed up efforts to open its markets and resolve trade tensions, warning that Beijing's failure to act would feed calls for protectionism in Europe and the U.S.European companies complain that they face a huge range of problems doing business in China -- such as limits on how much of a Chinese company they can buy and controls on intellectual property rights that allow widespread counterfeiting.

REVELATION 17:2
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)

Vatican says al-Qaeda fears inter-religious talks DEC 18,07

The Vatican has dismissed condemnation by al Qaeda saying the militant group is worried by the historic meeting between the Pope and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.Reuters reports al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri (pictured) said the Pontiff had insulted Islam and Muslims and critcised the Saudi monarch for meeting with him.Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Zawahri's video-taped comments, posted on the Internet on Sunday, showed al Qaeda is worried about the implications of the meeting, and that they were afraid of inter-religious dialogue.The meeting, held in November, was the first ever between a Pope and a Saudi monarch.Fr Lombardi added the Pope was also pursuing dialogue with a group of prominent Muslim scholars, including Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad bin Talal.These people want dialogue and are working toward peace, Fr Lombardi said.This worries those who don't want dialogue, he said.Zawahri has previously denounced the Pope for a speech he made last year when he used a quote that associated Islam with violence.