JESUS MOCKED AGAIN TROUBLE

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Flash floods kill 14 in Sri Lanka. 3-11 dead in Indonesia landslide, flooding. 4-Arctic cold versus spring-like warmth. 5-East, west, north and city taste flames in tough day. 6-Jesus gay voyeur on NBC's Conan O'Brien. 7-Senate Tired of Your E-mails, Phone Calls; Expected to Pass Bill that Will Keep You From Getting Needed Information. 8-Spain proposes adding Arab participation to Mideast Quartet. 9-Popularity of Israel's Kadima party plummets : polls. 10-SE Asian leaders call for increased anti-terror efforts, seek regional charter. 11-Israel's Flying Anti-Missile System. 12-StrategicThreats Minister: Arabs Don´t Object to Trading Areas. 13-Europe's oil shock ... and opportunity The Monitor's View. 14-Abbas urges: Raise rifles against Israel.

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 Jan 13 12:00 AM EDT

JAN 12,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NEVADA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 OFF THE COAST OF CHIAPAS, MEXICO
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION

JAN 11,07
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.9 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.3 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.9 SERAM, INDONESIA
MAP 3.6 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 VANUATU
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 CASPIAN SEA
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

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.

Flash floods kill 14 in Sri Lanka Fri Jan 12, 11:37 AM ET

COLOMBO (AFP) - At least 14 people were killed and another 61,000 made homeless in south and central Sri Lanka in flash floods caused by heavy monsoon rains. The National Disaster Management Centre said two people were buried alive in a mudslide at Walapane while another was killed in Meepai.Elsewhere local relief workers in Hanguranketha and Nuwara Eliya areas said another 11 were killed when unstable mountain slopes crashed on several homes.A total of 61,281 people were driven out of their flooded homes, the disaster management centre said Friday.Flooding in the south was compounded by irrigation reservoirs which overflowed after the heavy rains and helicopters were deployed to evacuate marooned residents, officials said.Sri Lanka depends on monsoon rains for farming as well as power generation. However, the seasonal downpours frequently also cause loss of life and damage to property in low lying areas.The two main monsoon seasons in Sri Lanka are from May to September and December to February.

11 dead in Indonesia landslide, flooding Fri Jan 12, 12:19 AM ET

JAKARTA, Indonesia /A landslide and floodwaters triggered by heavy rains barreled into a village in northeastern Indonesia on Friday, killing 11 people and leaving more than 20 others missing, officials said. At least 64 houses and two churches were either swept away, buried or badly damaged in the disaster on remote Sangihe Island, said Johannes Mongkaren, a local government disaster relief official.Mongkaren said 11 bodies had been recovered and that 21 people were still missing.Around 2,600 people had been evacuated and were sheltered in local schools, he said.Seasonal downpours cause dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in Indonesia, a vast chain of 17,000 islands, where millions of people live in mountainous areas or near fertile flood plains.

Flooding and landslides last month killed more than 100 people on Sumatra, the country's westernmost island. In June last year, more than 210 people were killed on Sulawesi island, to the east.Sangihe is around 1,640 miles northeast of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta.

Arctic cold versus spring-like warmth M. Ressler, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Fri Jan 12, 3:37 PM ET

Midwest

Arctic air has already conquered the Plains and Upper Midwest. From out of this frigid air mass, much colder air will overspread the rest of the Great Lakes and most of the Ohio Valley by Saturday. The Ohio Valley will see bouts of heavy and potentially flooding rain through the weekend. Meanwhile, a sleet/freezing rain storm is setting up from Kansas to central Illinois. From the St. Louis area to Springfield, Missouri, a major damaging coating of ice is possible. Later Sunday into Monday, some icing will shift eastward across northern portions of Indiana and Ohio while a heavy burst of snow sweeps out across the central Plains, Iowa, northwest Missouri, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and Lower Michigan.

South

Winter is only getting a toehold into the South this weekend as the southern edge of the arctic air mass engulfs most of Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas and parts of northern Texas. Freezing rain will make travel increasingly difficult. Extensive damage to trees and widespread power outages are possible. Sleet will mix with the freezing rain from time to time. Heavy and potentially flooding rain will fall along and east of the freezing rain zone across north-central and northeast Texas, southeast Oklahoma, Arkansas and northwest Tennessee. Some areas could pick up between 3 and 6 inches or possibly more. Areas east of the Mississippi River will be very warm this weekend. Cities like Raleigh, Atlanta and Tampa may near their record highs for Sunday. On Monday and early Tuesday, the cold front and rain will rapidly shift eastward across the South.

Northeast

The cold front will move across the Northeast overnight into Saturday, stalling over Delaware, Maryland and northern West Virginia. Weekend rain will fall along the front with some light snow or mixed precipitation across Upstate New York and both northern and central New England Some freezing rain will develop along the New York-Pennsylvania border and parts of southern New England Sunday. Heavier precipitation will move across the Northeast Monday with low pressure coming out of the Ohio Valley. Heavy snow to a foot or more could fall north of I-90. Sleet and freezing rain may cause travel, tree and power line problems across much of southern New England, southern New York north of New York City, northern Pennsylvania and north Jersey early week. The storm should finally shift away into the Canadian Maritimes and the Atlantic Tuesday.

West

The West will be cold through the weekend. Freezing morning lows will threaten agriculture in Southern California and southwest Arizona both Saturday and Sunday. Gusty winds will continue over parts of the Southwest through the weekend. Snow will continue to fall over southern Wyoming, eastern Nevada and the Four Corners states this weekend before the storm finally exits eastward into the Midwest and Northeast. The West may then be quiet Monday through Thursday with temperatures gradually returning to near average.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

East, west, north and city taste flames in tough day
Dan Oakes - January 12, 2007

FIRE roared through the Gippsland farming community of Tambo Crossing yesterday as Victoria experienced one of the worst days of an already fearsome fire season.Further north, snow-makers were used to beat back flames that came within one kilometre of Mount Buller's alpine village. Fires also began near Portland, in the state's west, at Benalla and bayside Mount Martha, where two aircraft fought a blaze near a scout park.A finger stretching from the massive Great Divide South fire had been threatening towns along the Great Alpine Road for days, but yesterday it moved east with a vengeance, engulfing farms on both sides of the road.

The Department of Sustainability and Environment yesterday afternoon warned that Brookville, Cassilis, Swifts Creek, Doctors Flat, Ensay, Ensay South, Ensay North and Tambo Crossing were all in danger.Farmer Mack Stagg battled alongside firefighters to save his Tambo Crossing farm and was forced to fall back to the farmhouse as strong south-westerly winds pushed the flames to the edge of the garden.

When The Age spoke to Mr Stagg's wife, Robyn, moments after the fire laid waste to the Staggs' 530 hectares of pasture, she did not know whether her son, who had tried to save their hayshed, was safe.

Later, an exhausted Mr Stagg said the area had been razed by the ferocious fire and he did not know what had become of his other property, further north at Ensay, or his cattle. His son was safe, though.It's just been a total wipe at Tambo Crossing, I'd say, apart from the residences. All the pastures, fences, haysheds are gone, two of our haysheds have gone, he said.When it started spotting we gave it a run for its money, but it just slowly beat us. It became too dangerous and we had to fall back to the asset protection, the houses and sheds. It was just a case of bale out.Mr Stagg said the fire front had passed but trees were still burning around the house, and the property was blanketed with pinkish smoke.It just built up like a storm. We would have fought it for nearly an hour. The strike teams and DSE did a fantastic job but in the end it was just too much for them, he said. We'll pick up the pieces in a few days and see what we've got.To the south-west, fire broke containment lines at Clifton Creek, about 30 kilometres north of Bairnsdale, and the Country Fire Authority told residents of Waterholes, Wards Crossing and Clifton Creek to be on high alert and activate their fire plans.At Mount Buller, hotel staff used snow guns to beat back flames coming from the south. Mercure Grand Chalet manager Eric Siewert said the fire had come closer to the village than ever before.We all got a call at four this morning … we started lifts up and snow-making guns to try to edge the fire around it, he said.We always knew it was going to burn, but jeez there were some big flames last night. We're about a kilometre away from there, but under strong winds, ember attack can be from 10 kilometres away.

DSE spokesman Stuart Ord said there was also danger of property losses in the Lake Glenmaggie area north of Heyfield — largely out of the danger zone since before Christmas.There were eight to 10 spot fires there at least. This is coming out into private property, grass-type country again, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a bit of property loss, Mr Ord said.Lightning strikes near Benalla yesterday afternoon started a fire that Mr Ord said was quickly spreading and would cause firefighters some real pain.In the state's far west, four aircraft and 200 firefighters were yesterday battling a 1700-hectare fire near the town of Purnim. Mr Ord said the fire was contained, but not controlled.The Mount Martha fire began late yesterday afternoon and quickly travelled east towards the Joseph Harris scout park, forcing the evacuation of some children.

ISAIAH 14:12-23
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, (SATAN) son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
16 They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms;
17 That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?
18 All the kings of the nations, even all of them, lie in glory, every one in his own house.
19 But thou art cast out of thy grave like an abominable branch, and as the raiment of those that are slain, thrust through with a sword, that go down to the stones of the pit; as a carcase trodden under feet.
20 Thou shalt not be joined with them in burial, because thou hast destroyed thy land, and slain thy people: the seed of evildoers shall never be renowned.
21 Prepare slaughter for his children for the iniquity of their fathers; that they do not rise, nor possess the land, nor fill the face of the world with cities.
22 For I will rise up against them, saith the LORD of hosts, and cut off from Babylon the name, and remnant, and son, and nephew, saith the LORD.
23 I will also make it a possession for the bittern, and pools of water: and I will sweep it with the besom of destruction, saith the LORD of hosts.
24 The LORD of hosts hath sworn, saying, Surely as I have thought, so shall it come to pass; and as I have purposed, so shall it stand.

REVELATION 12:3-4
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon,(SATAN) having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,( 1/3 OF ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN AT THE FALL) and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman (MARY JESUS MOTHER) which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child
as soon as it was born.(JESUS WAS JEWISH,THIS IS PERSECUSSION AGAINST ISRAEL).

REVELATION 20:2
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

REVELATION 9:14-18
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARY) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

GENESIS 6:1-7
1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them,
2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose.
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.
4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God (DEMONIC FALLIN ANGELS) came in unto the daughters of men,(INTERCOURSE WITH HUMAN WOMEN) and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown.
5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

JUDE 6-16
6 And the (DEMONIC FALLIN) angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation,(HAD SEX WITH HUMANS) he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.(THATS OUR DAY NOW)(THESE GET LOOSED AT THE EUPHRATES TO KILL A THIRD PART OF MEN IN WW3).US - IRAQ WAR IS THE UNLOOSING OF THESE DEMONIC DEMONS I BELIEVE.
7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.
8 Likewise also these filthy dreamers defile the flesh, despise dominion, and speak evil of dignities.
9 Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.
10 But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
11 Woe unto them! for they have gone in the way of Cain, and ran greedily after the error of Balaam for reward, and perished in the gainsaying of Core.
12 These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots;
13 Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.(JESUS)
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

NOTICE WHEN SATAN IS BOOTED FROM HEAVEN IT TALKS ABOUT BABYLON (IRAQ TODAY)

THIS CONAN OBRIEN IS A REAL SICKO AND NBC ALSO. NOW WE CAN SEE WHY THE USA IS GOING TO BE DESTROYED IN THE FUTURE, PUTTING JESUS DOWN AND MOCKED LIKE THIS. THIS WORLD IS SICK BIGTIME.

Jesus gay voyeur on NBC's Conan O'Brien -You touched my heart, but I hope that's where the touchin' ends - January 12, 2007 - Editor's note: The lyrics cited in this story may be offensive. By Bob Unruh WorldNetDaily.com

NBC has plummeted to the level of CBS, with a late-night skit that blatantly mocks Christianity by portraying Jesus as a homosexual voyeur, a stunt that would have been instantly condemned nationwide if it had focused on any subject other than
Christianity, according to a pro-life leader.

The show, an episode of Late Night With Conan O'Brien, was taped and aired this week, and featured a skit with a character called the homophobic country western singer, according to Douglas R. Scott Jr., the president of Life Decisions International. It also was Scott, as WND reported then, who alerted people to the CBS portrayal during the Christmas season of a character singing about sex to the tune of Joy to the World.

The latest exhibition by NBC is just as bad, he said.

The NBC and CBS television networks may be rival corporations, but they have one thing in common, he said. Both networks have allowed programming that blatantly mocks Christianity. He told WND in an interview that the fact that such ridicule is allowed in the U.S. reflects more on Christians than on non-Christians. We've been put in the back of society's bus. The bad thing is we're willing to do it. If we responded like blacks, Jews, you name the different groups, homosexuals… If we responded like they do, only in love, this kind of thing wouldn't happen. It wouldn't be tolerated here, he said. I think God will not be mocked, he continued. But I don't know if Christians who [believe that] think He'll take care of it, and we don't have to do anything. If we speak up for the unborn, if we speak up for any of these issues that have a relationship to Christ, but we don't speak up for Jesus himself, what are we?

Far too many wear Christian t-shirts to church, but wouldn't wear them to the mall, he said. In the latest episode, O'Brien introduces the skit: Our last new character's heart is in the right place, even if he's a complete idiot. Please welcome the homophobic country western singer. Then a middle-aged man wearing western clothes comes out from behind a curtain and starts to play a guitar and sing: Oh I love you Jesus.But only as a friend.You touched my heart but I hope.That's where the touchin' ends.You're always lookin' over me.When I need a higher power.But you better look at somethin' else.When I'm in the shower.The idea that anyone would think about the Son of God in this way is simply appalling, Scott said. The inferences that permeate the song are utterly disgusting.

We wonder if O'Brien's description of the character as a complete idiot is based on the man's homophobic beliefs or if it is because of the inference that Jesus could be sexually interested in seeing the man naked, Scott said. I don't know if the man is a complete idiot, but I do suspect that the writer of the segment is a complete bigot. Scott said he's written to Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, objecting to the airing of this material. I notice the song was not about a Rabbi. I notice the song was not about Buddha. I notice the song was not about Muhammad. If it had been about any of these, the network would surely have disallowed the airing of such garbage, Scott said in the letter. But since the song was about Jesus Christ, nothing was done.

Scott's letter was copied to Mr. Robert C. Wright, chairman & CEO of NBC Universal, which owns NBC Entertainment, as well as Jeffrey R. Immelt, chairman & CEO of General Electric, which owns NBC Universal. He said consumers interested could add their voice to the discussion by contacting: Kevin Reilly, President, NBC Entertainment, 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112; phone: (212) 664-4444.Robert C. Wright, Chairman & CEO, NBC Universal Inc., 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY 10112; phone: (212) 664-4444 Jeffrey R. Immelt, Chairman & CEO, General Electric Company, 3135 Easton Turnpike, Fairfield, CT 06828; phone: (203) 373-2211.

Actors Charlie Sheen, Angus T. Jones, and Jon Cryer (L to R) of Two and a Half Men on CBS .In the earlier attack by CBS, the American Family Association said the network should apologize for tainting the Christmas carol with lyrics that spoke of taking advantage of a woman. On the Dec. 11 episode of Two and a Half Men, actor Charlie Sheen was shown lighting candles and adjusting Christmas decorations, apparently in preparation for a party. He's singing the melody of Joy To The World, but the words have been altered to: Joy to the world .I'm getting laid .I'm getting laid tonight.We'll light the Yule log.Deck the halls.And then we'll play some Jingle balls.It's been a real long wait.This is our second date.It's Christmas Eve.And I'm getting laid.

The Tupelo, Miss.-based AFA said that's unacceptable to the vast majority of Christians. The association, with millions of supporters, takes Christian stands on gambling, gays, pornography and abortion, and many other social issues. Its previous boycott promotions have been credited with having an impact on corporate behavior in America. CBS approved Sheen's adaptation of the favorite Christmas carol, making it into a vulgar sex song, said Donald E. Wildmon, chairman of the group. The network and sponsors paid Sheen to mock Christ, Christmas and Christians. Many in the Christian community are growing tired of this bigotry by the networks and Hollywood.

After Sheen sang the song, his housekeeper/cook comes into the room and asks: Hey, I'm mixing up the eggnog. You want this broad lit up or just slightly glowing?

Well, says Sheen. Let's see. We're celebrating peace on earth and good will towards all mankind, so let's get 'er plowed! Hallelujah! said the cook. Scott had called the song an affront to all of Christendom, and said the network should not have allowed Sheen to change the lyrics of Joy to the World into a song that could be called, Joy to Fornication.

Following that broadcast, LDI asked consumers to contact: Leslie Moonves, CBS Corporation, 51 W. 52nd St., New York, NY 10019; phone: 212-975-4321. Sumner M. Redstone, National Amusements Inc., 200 Elm St., Dedham, MA 02026; phone: 781-461-1600.

It's more of the same, Scott said of the O'Brien stunt. It is not proper to denigrate the belief systems of anyone – except those who believe Jesus Christ is the Son of the Living God. It is time for Christians to speak out and stop being timid when such things occur.

It is time that all people of good will, whether Christian or not, stand up against such bigotry. It is time for this kind of behavior to come to a halt. Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and other groups do not tolerate such prejudice. Christians should not have to do so, either.

Senate Tired of Your E-mails, Phone Calls; Expected to Pass Bill that Will Keep You From Getting Needed Information. JAN 12,07

Dear Stan,Without a doubt, this could be the most important letter I have written you.

The U.S. Senate is poised to pass Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), which would effectively keep AFA and every other pro-family organization in America from providing you information on bills in Congress. Under Senate Bill 1 (Section 220), we would only be able to provide you information on a bill at a high cost and at great danger of being penalized by Congress. To put it bluntly, members of Congress are tired of getting your e-mails and phone calls, and Senate Bill 1(Section 220) is designed to keep information from you that might inspire you to call or write your senator. The new Democratic Senate thinks that if it can keep you from getting information—which is what Senate Bill 1 (Section 220) would do—then it will not be getting e-mails and phone calls from you. Senators favoring this bill are simply tired of hearing from you. That is the bottom line. They don’t want to hear from you.

They don’t want you to be informed. They want to silence you. How? By simply keeping you from receiving information that AFA provides.

I know that language is strong, but Senate Bill 1 (Section 220) will do exactly what I’ve said.

Take Action
1. Send an e-mail to your two senators now!
http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=9231646&type=CO

2. Call your two senators at 202-224-3121. (Simply ask for one senator. Then call the other one at the same number. Ask your senators to vote against Senate Bill 1 (Section 220).

3. Please forward this to your friends and family. It is vitally important that they know what members of the Senate are trying to do.

4. Print this information, and share it with members in your Sunday School class and church and urge them to send an e-mail and call.

Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association

Spain proposes adding Arab participation to Mideast Quartet Fri Jan 12, 11:28 AM ET

MADRID (AFP) Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos has proposed Arab participation in the Middle East Quartet comprising the United Nations, the United States, the European Union and Russia, in order to advance the peace process.

The moment has come to open up (the Quartet) to the Arab world, Moratinos told an international meeting in Madrid to mark 15 years since the Madrid Conference which preceded the 1993 Oslo Accords.Moratinos and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana both expressed the hope that concrete progress could be made in the coming six months to unblock the stalled peace process as Spain lobbies hard to host a new full-blown conference.Solana said he saw the current situation as resembling a train of peace negociations (which) has never left the station.

It is impossible to continue in the current vein, Solana added, as he and Moratinos noted, along with meeting chairman and former Spanish prime minister FelipeGonzalez, that the situation has worsened with the additional regional flashpoint of Iraq.On Thursday, UN chief Ban Ki-moon had annonced that a planned meeting of the Quartet due to take place in Paris later this month had been postponed because of a scheduling conflict.Instead, he expressed the hope that the forum could convene as soon as possible.And US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice said just before leaving for a Middle East tour that her discussions would concentrate on Iran and Iraq rather than the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Since 2003, the Quartet has been backing a roadmap for peace which calls for the creation of an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, but the plan has been stalled.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
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,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

Popularity of Israel's Kadima party plummets : polls JAN 12,2007

Jerusalem, Jan 12: Israel's ruling Kadima party under the leadership of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would badly lose a new election as its popularity has plummeted, according to a poll.The poll results showed that opposition Likud Party would easily win a new election and take control of the government.Kadima was formed by former prime minister Ariel Sharon when he left Likud in 2005.

Only 20 per cent of those who voted for Kadima in the previous election would do so today, while two-thirds of those supporting Likud in the 2006 election would do so again, the poll published in today's daily Haaretz showed.If elections were held now, Kadima, which currently conrols 9 seats in the 120-member parliament, would shrink to only 12 seats, the poll of 500 people showed.

The Likud party, rejected by the voters in the last election, would bounce back from its current 12 seats in parliament to 29, according to the poll.The poll showed that Olmert's approval rating further dropped to 14 percent while Defence Minister Amir Peretz rating slipped to 10 per cent.Support for Olmert has dropped significantly after last year's war against Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.Only Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appears to be holding steady, with a 51 per cent approval rating among those polled. PTI

SE Asian leaders call for increased anti-terror efforts, seek regional charter 1/11/2007 9:52 PM

CEBU, Philippines (AP) Southeast Asian leaders have agreed to begin writing a regional charter to create a more closely integrated regional bloc similar to the European Union and to jointly combat terrorism and cross-border crimes, according to a draft of their final statement obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.The statement, to be issued after the summit concludes Sunday, also includes an agreement on the protection of migrant workers a major issue in the region and a vow to create an ASEAN Economic Community with a free flow of goods, services, investment and capital by 2015.

Implementing the goals remains a difficulty.

The 10 countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have long voiced support for a joint charter, but the process of writing one remains in its initial stages. Officials here say they see the declaration as a starting point for the charter, and have refused to speculate on when it might actually be completed.One sticking point in the charter has been the proposal of a clause to allow member states to sanction others who do not comply with its guidelines. This is seen as a means to influence the military junta ruling Myanmar, which has long lagged behind the rest of the region in its dismal human rights record.Before the ASEAN summit this weekend, ASEAN foreign ministers expressed serious concern over Myanmar's slow progress toward democracy and urged the junta to release all political prisoners.

Terrorism is another major problem.

The Philippines was on high alert as leaders from across Southeast Asia arrived Friday for the summit, which was preceded by a series of deadly bombings.More than 8,000 police and soldiers have been mobilized to secure the summit of Southeast Asian leaders, which begins Saturday and is to be followed by a broader summit with ASEAN's Asian dialogue partners on Monday.The need for enhanced counterterrorism efforts was underscored by the three blasts, which ripped through the southern Philippines on Wednesday, killing at least seven and injuring dozens.

Officials condemned the violence, but said it was not directly related to the summit.

We would like to dispel any notion that the bombings are related to the ASEAN meeting, said Marciano Paynor, head of the organizing committee.

They were isolated incidents. Our venues are safe.The other main points of the final document were the expansion of free and fair trade; a switch from fossil fuels to biofuels to enhance energy security; and the reduction of poverty to narrow the development gap.On international issues, the Philippines offered to host the next round of the so-called six-party talks on the denuclearization of North Korea. No place or date for the talks has been decided.The ASEAN leaders were also to call for the successful conclusion of the Doha round of the World Trade Organization talks, saying that success of the round is crucial to the further strengthening of the multilateral trading system.The draft statement added that ASEAN welcomes Vietnam's joining the WTO, and supports the acceptance of Laos into the body as well.The summit brings together the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and their dialogue partners in Australia, China, Japan, India, South Korea and New Zealand.2007 The Associated Press.

Israel's Flying Anti-Missile System - January 12, 2007:

Israel has come up with a unique anti-missile system. It's a large (110 foot wingspan) UAV equipped with a radar and missiles.

Flying at very high altitude, the radar can spot ballistic missiles being launched by, say, Syria, or Hizbollah in Lebanon, and fire a missile that would destroy the ballistic missile as it was still climbing. Ballistic missiles are most vulnerable right after launch, when they require several minutes to reach a very high altitude, after which the warhead turns towards the earth, and returns at very high speed (10,000 kilometers an hour, or faster). The Eitan system is still undergoing development and testing. But, in theory, there's no reason why it should not work.

Strategic-Threats Minister: Arabs Don´t Object to Trading Areas
By Hillel Fendel(INN) JAN 12,07

Minister Avigdor Lieberman says the Arabs agree tacitly to trade Arab-populated areas inside Israel for Jewish-populated ones in Judea and Samaria. Israeli-Arabs are not included in this consensus. Avigdor Lieberman, who led his right-wing party into the center-left government of Ehud Olmert two months ago, continues to adhere to the transfer plan that has earned him infamy among some of his fellow ministers.In a joint interview with Shalom Toronto and Arutz-7's Uzi Baruch and Ruti Avraham, Lieberman said, An exchange of territories and populations has silent consent of the Palestinians as well. They won't express it publicly, but we have heard no objections from their end; no one has expressed objections. They will certainly give silent agreement.Up for grabs to be included in the Palestinian Authority, according to Lieberman's plan, would be the Israeli-Arab city Um el-Fahm (population 42,000) and neighboring villages in Wadi Ara and the Galilee Triangle. They lie in an area bordering the northern Shomron. In addition, some 170,000 Arabs in the greater Jerusalem area would be included in the Palestinian Authority. In exchange, large Jewish settlement blocs in Judea and Samaria, such as Ariel, Maaleh Adumim, Gush Etzion, and others, would come under full Israeli sovereignty. He admitted that the Israeli-Arab public does not like the idea, and therefore there must be an international agreement to this effect.Lieberman faced criticism from the nationalist-camp parties for joining the government instead of joining with them to form a large right-wing opposition bloc. However, he defended his decision by saying, The next military clash is inevitable and I would like to help prepare the country for it as best I can.Explaining what his position as Minister of Strategic Affairs entails, Lieberman said it is to analyze the data and the players, and come to conclusions... The security services are happy to finally have someone on the governmental level they can work with consistently. After all, how much time can a Prime Minister devote to this, when he has to worry about coalition crises, internal political problems and budget issues?

Iran

The chief issue he faces is the Iranian nuclear program. Israel is doing everything it should be, he said. But it must primarily explain to the world that this is not only an Israeli problem, but a world problem. We have seen Iran's involvement in Iraq and Lebanon, and threats on American and French interests. No one can fool himself. We must exhaust all the diplomatic means and try to enlist the international community. In my opinion, if harsh sanctions are emplaced by the whole world, we can stop the Iranians.

Arab MKs

Lieberman continues to have harsh words against the Arab MKs, though he feels that the Israeli-Arab community is more amenable to living peacefully in the Jewish State. During the Second Lebanon War, people began to realize that the Israel-Arab leadership is dangerous and works with Israel's enemies. I'm talking about the trips of MKs Barakeh and Tibi to Damascus right in the middle of the war, and their public solidarity with the enemy... Can you imagine if a US Senator went to Afghanistan to show solidarity with Bin Laden, and then return as if nothing happened?

Just last week, Lieberman said, MK Barakeh led a protest against IDF forces at the partition wall, and even called upon the Palestinians, Hamas and Fatah, to unite against the common enemy, Israel. Fittingly, MK Tibi said just this morning (Friday) on Voice of Israel Radio, I totally identify with the struggle of the Palestinian nation [sic] against the occupation.Regarding the decision by Defense Minister Amir Peretz to nominate Arab MK Raleb Majadele as a Cabinet minister, Lieberman said in a separate interview, I don't have a problem with Majadele as long as does not try to undermine the State. But Peretz should resign for using public tools for the purpose of his personal campaign in Labor. It was widely alleged that Peretz chose Majadele as Science Minister merely to gain support in the party's Arab sector.

Kassams and Zionism

The continuing Kassam rockets fired upon Israel reflect not a military failure, Lieberman feels, but a governmental malfunction. The political echelons must give the order to stop the Kassams, period even if that means to capture ten kilometers within Gaza or the Philadelphi Route.Asked how he defines Zionism after the Disengagement, Lieberman said, Zionism was and remains Aliyah [immigration to Israel] and living here.But it must be made more attractive to live here for those who are used to a high standard of living and it can be done..Zionism means concentrating the Jewish Nation in the Land of Israel. Given current assimilation rates, within two generations there will not only not be Jewish awareness in the Diaspora, but there will be no more people there who are Halakhically [Jewish-legally] recognized as Jews. The only solution is Aliyah.

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.

Europe's oil shock ... and opportunity The Monitor's View Thu Jan 11, 3:00 AM ET

Strongmen make weak partners, as Europe had to learn again this week.

For the second time in a year, Russian leader Vladimir Putin cut off fuel exports to the Continent in a money dispute with a former Soviet satellite that is a pipeline transit state. This is not Europe's idea of energy security or of trusted neighbors.
The latest incident involved a refusal by neighboring Belarus to pay more for the subsidized oil that it has long received from Russia. Last year, it was Ukraine that refused to pay more for Russian natural gas. In both cases, a Moscow eager to end fuel subsidies to states flying out of its orbit of influence decided, unwisely, to play hardball. It temporarily turned off the spigot to the pipeline passing through those countries, sending political shivers through a dependent Europe in the depth of winter.Russia is the world's largest exporter of natural gas and the second-largest of oil, after Saudi Arabia. It provides more than a quarter of the European Union's oil and more than two-fifths of its natural gas. The Continent's heavy dependency on imported fuels, combined with these two energy shocks, helped lead the European Commission (EC) Wednesday to ask its 27 member states and 500 million citizens to develop a new energy strategy.

Germany, most of all, was stunned by this second Russian cutoff. Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is also now the EU president, said this latest case of Russia's energy unreliability hurts trust and it makes it difficult to build a cooperative relationship. She also cast doubt on Germany's decision to close down its 17 nuclear power plants during the next 14 years.

But more than being concerned about its energy future, the EU needs to rethink its kid-gloves diplomacy toward Putin's increasingly authoritarian ways, such as his heavy hand in the oil and gas industries.It can also be alert to the possibility that Belarus may now be ripe for a color revolution like those in Georgia and Ukraine. An end to fuel subsidies will probably stir popular rebellion in the Soviet-style economy and jeopardize the rule of President Alexander Lukashenko (dubbed the last dictator in Europe). Putin appears to have soured on creating a union with Belarus, opening up an opportunity to win over that country's 10 million impoverished people to democracy.

Moscow's attempts to control the former Soviet states with its resource dominance is a failing strategy, as more of those states try to buck Russia's energy yoke. Europe, in turn, can reduce its dependency on Russia by adopting the EC's vision of partnering with other petroleum-rich nations and turning swiftly to alternative fuels, such as biomass, wind, and solar. Europe must lead the world into a new, or maybe one should say, postindustrial revolution, the development of a low-carbon economy, said EU Commission President José Manuel Barroso.Many European governments need to create more competition in their energy and electricity industries. Suppliers, for instance, should not also control transmission networks.

Such steps are necessary because energy security is now as important in foreign policy as terrorism. This latest fuel transit row with Russia should speed up a new energy future for Europe.

Abbas urges: Raise rifles against Israel Media ignore Palestinian leader's call to arms and anti-Semitic claim Jews corrupting world January 11, 2007 3:18 p.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas with President Bush at White House in July 2003. RAMALLAH – In a speech today commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the founding of his Fatah party, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called on Palestinian factions to put an end to weeks of infighting and instead raise rifles against the Israeli occupation. Shooting at your brother is forbidden. Raising rifles against the occupation is our legitimate right, but raising guns against each other is forbidden. We should put our internal fighting aside and raise our rifles only against the Israeli occupation, said Abbas in a speech in Ramallah attended by WND. Abbas' call to arms was not reported by most major media outlets featuring articles on the Palestinian leader's speech. His statements about using rifles against Israel come after WND broke the story this morning the United States, aided by Israel, over the last few weeks provided 7,000 assault rifles and more than 1 million rounds of ammunition to militias associated with Abbas' Fatah party, according to senior Fatah militants. In today's speech, Abbas went on to praise late Hamas spiritual leader Ahmed Yassin, who was assassinated by Israel in March 2004. He also used Quranic verses to claim Jews are corrupting the world. The sons of Israel are mentioned as those who are corrupting humanity on earth, Abbas said during a portion of his speech in which he criticized recent Israeli anti-terror raids in the northern West Bank. Abbas anti-Semitic remarks and his call to arms against the Jewish state were not quoted in hundreds of English-language articles reporting on today's speech or by most major Israeli dailies, which featured pieces on their websites about the Fatah commemoration ceremonies. A widely-circulated Associated Press article, titled Abbas calls for respect at Fatah rally, states Abbas today called for rival factions to respect each other.

The AP quotes Abbas stating, Shooting at your brother is forbidden, but the article stops short of quoting the rest of his sentence in which he recommends Palestinians use their weapons against Israel.

The AP article was featured on such top websites at the WashingtonPost.com and CBSNews.com Articles by other news agencies and local Israeli papers also failed to quote Abbas' anti-Israel and anti-Semitic remarks. WND reported today the recent U.S. shipments of rifles and ammunition were provided to bolster Fatah against rival Hamas factions, the Fatah militants said. Fatah and Hamas have engaged in weeks of deadly firefights since Abbas last month called for new Palestinian elections in a move widely seen as an attempt to dismantle the Hamas-led PA. Abu Yousuf, a Fatah militant from Abba's Force 17 security forces, told WND while some of the weapons may be used in confrontations against Hamas, the bulk of the American arms would be utilized to hit the Zionists. He said if there is a major conflict with Israel, U.S. weapons provided to Fatah may be shared with other Palestinian resistance organizations. According to documents revealed Friday, the Bush administration will provide $86.4 million to strengthen security forces loyal to Abbas, including Force 17, Abbas' security detail, which also serves as de facto police units in the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Some members of Force 17 also are openly members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization, Fatah's declared military wing.

U.S. officials confirmed the financial aid is set to be transferred to Fatah.

The multi-million-dollar grant will be used to assist the Palestinian Authority presidency in fulfilling PA commitments under the Road Map (peace plan) to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza, a U.S. government document said. Force 17 members told WND the ammunition and 7,000 assault rifles they say were delivered the past few weeks reached Fatah security forces in the Gaza Strip and in Ramallah in the West Bank. It was unclear if the arms were part of the $86 million in U.S. aid. Like other recent confirmed arms transfers from Egypt and the U.S., the latest American weapons shipments were driven through Israeli checkpoints by convoys protected by the Israeli Defense Forces, according to sources familiar with the transfers. In Gaza, the weapons were accepted by Fatah strongman Mahmoud Dahlan, the sources said. A spokeswoman for the IDF refused to deny the latest purported U.S. weapons shipments. This is a matter for the state (of Israel) and the prime minister's office, the IDF spokeswoman said. Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, could not immediately provide confirmation or denial of the American weapons shipment, saying Olmert's visit today to China is keeping the staff fully busy. The U.S. State Department did not return a request for comment before press time. In an interview with WND, Fatah Force 17 security officer Abu Yousuf said some of the U.S. weapons his group received would be used against Hamas.

The first place of these U.S. weapons will be to defend the Palestinian national project, which is reflected by the foundation of the Palestinian Authority. If Hamas or any other group under the influence of Iran and Syria wants to make a coup de tat against our institution, these weapons are there to defend the PA, said Abu Yousuf. We don't want to go to civil war with Hamas, because this is what both the U.S. and Israel want. This is our last option. We hope our brothers in Hamas won't oblige us to find ourselves in confrontation, Abu Yousuf said. But the Fatah militant said the new American weapons may also be used to target Israelis. He admitted previous American arms supplied to Fatah were used in resistance operations against the Jewish state. If Israel will deliver what it promised to Abu Mazen (Abbas), [meaning a] withdrawal from Palestinian lands, including east Jerusalem and the Temple Mount, remove all the checkpoints in the West Bank, release our prisoners, and find a clear solution for our refugees, we'll control our forces and the distribution of weapons.

But if Israel doesn't deliver, and we find ourselves manipulated by Israel, we cannot guarantee members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades and Force 17 will not use these weapons against Israel.

Our goal is to change the occupation, said Abu Yousuf. It's unnatural to think these American weapons won't be used against the Israelis, he said. Like some other Force 17 members, Abu Yousuf is openly also a member of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. The Brigades, together with Islamic Jihad, has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the past two years, including an attack in Tel Aviv in April that killed American teenager Daniel Wultz and nine Israelis. The Brigades also has carried out scores of deadly shooting and rocket attacks against Israeli civilians in recent months. All Brigades leaders are also members of Fatah. Abbas last June appointed senior Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader Mahmoud Damra as commander of Force 17. Damra, who was arrested by Israel in November, was on the Jewish state's most-wanted list of terrorists. Abu Yousuf said the American weapons shipments may be shared with other Palestinian terror groups. He said that during large confrontations with Israel, such as the Jewish state's 2002 anti-terror raid in Jenin, Fatah distributed weapons to Hamas and Islamic Jihad. We don't look where this piece or that piece of weapon came from when fighting the Israelis, Abu Yousuf said.

He also pointed to what he said was Hamas' infiltration of some of Fatah's security forces as a possible mechanism Hamas can use to obtain Fatah's American-supplied weapons. Our organizations are infiltrated (by Hamas). In the last elections campaign, our Fatah party was astonished at how many of our security members votes for Hamas we thought our own forces would vote 95 percent vote for us, but it was 70 percent for Fatah and 30 percent for Hamas, Abu Yousuf said. A senior Fatah security official, speaking yesterday to WND on condition his name be withheld, says Fatah has a significant problem of its militia members in Gaza joining Hamas. Sources close to Hamas said the Fatah militants, including members of Force 17, worked with Hamas after receiving larger paychecks from the terror group. When they join Hamas, they bring along their new weapons, said a Hamas source.

During a WND interview earlier this week, Hamas spokesman Abu Oubaida told WND his terror group will obtain any American weapons transferred to Fatah militias or purchased by Fatah using the incoming $86.4 million in U.S. aid. I am sure that like in the past, this $86 million from America will find its way to the Hamas resistance via the honorable persons in the Fatah security organizations, including in Force 17. I can confirm 100 percent that this money and purchased weapons will find its way to Hamas, said Abu Oubaida. The last confirmed American arms shipment to Fatah took place in May. At first, it was denied by the U.S. and Israel, but Olmert in June admitted the transfer took place, telling reporters, I needed to approve the shipment to help bolster Abbas. The U.S. weapons were delivered to Gaza and Ramallah by the IDF, according to reports.

U.S. weapons prompting Palestinian arms race?

Meanwhile, Abu Abdullah, considered one of the most important operational members of Hamas' so-called military wing, told WND the U.S. aid and weapons shipments have prompted a Palestinian arms race.

The Hamas leader said weapons procured as a result of the U.S. shipment will be used against Israel. The more the Americans give Abu Mazen (Abbas) weapons, the more we will have in the future weapons to use against the Israelis, because it incites the different organizations to intensify their own supply of weapons, said Abu Abdullah of Hamas' Izzedine al-Qassam Martyrs Brigades, Hamas' declared resistance department. According to Palestinian security sources, the increased drive by Hamas to obtain new weapons has raised the price of arms in Egypt and Jordan. An M-16 that sold for 6,000 Jordanian dinar now is worth 10,000 dinar, because Hamas is trying to get more weapons, a Palestinian security source told WND. Like Hamas spokesman Abu Oubaida, Hamas' Abu Abdullah said U.S. weapons to Fatah would eventually fall into the hands of Hamas: These American weapons will be one day the property of all the Palestinian people and its resistance, including Hamas, Abu Abdullah said. The U.S. gives weapons to Fatah during internal Palestinian clashes, but one day when we go back to carrying out operations together, these [weapons] will be shared.

MPP BACK TO SPAIN 15 YRS LATER

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Winter blast slams Western Canada. 3-Storm sinks Irish trawler, disrupts travel in northwest Europe. 4-Behind the Headlines: Six months in terrorist captivity. 5-Iranian Jews Reject Urgent Warnings to Leave. 6-New Torah Ark Dedicated at Hebron´s Tomb of the Patriarchs. 7-Advocacy Groups Report Escalating Christian Persecution in China, India. 8-New Comet is Brightest in 30 Years. 9-US-made calf reopens clone debate. 10-Scorpions on planes not terror, say feds. 11-Madrid conference opens to mark 1991 Mideast peace talks

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 = Fri Jan 12 12:05 AM EDT

JAN 12,07
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA

JAN 11,07
MAP 5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.3 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.9 SERAM, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 VANUATU
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 CASPIAN SEA
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

JAN 10,07
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.1 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.8 CENTRAL 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.

Winter blast slams Western Canada Wed Jan 10, 7:42 PM ET

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Rescue Crews used helicopters and snowmobiles on Wednesday to search for drivers stranded by a blizzard that rolled through northeastern British Columbia and other large swathes of Western Canada. At least 16 vehicles were located with people in them on a road between Dawson Creek and Fort St. John, British Columbia, but no injuries were reported despite a windchill that made it feel like it was -40 Celsius (-40 Fahrenheit).To the east, two people were reported to have frozen to death on the boundary between Alberta and Saskatchewan as bone-chilling cold returned to the Prairie region after a month of unseasonably mild temperatures.Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported a 17-year-old boy and a 38-year-old woman appeared to have died of exposure overnight after their car got stuck in the snow and they tried to walk to safety.Temperatures in the
region, about 50 km (31 miles) north of Lloydminster, Alberta, were forecast to fall to -29 C (-20 F) on Wednesday. With the wind, it will feel like -38 C (-36 F), Environment Canada said.

In the British Columbia storm, stranded motorists were urged to stay with their vehicles until help arrived and emergency officials had set up a special facility to help warm up drivers as they were brought in by rescue crews.The winter blast created hazardous driving conditions on highways throughout Western Canada.For the second time in a week, an avalanche closed the Trans-Canada Highway in eastern British Columbia on Tuesday. It was slated to reopen late Wednesday afternoon.The Alberta government reported poor driving conditions on most highways in central and northern areas of the province due to blowing snow.

Storm sinks Irish trawler, disrupts travel in northwest Europe by Andrew Bushe Thu Jan 11, 7:19 AM ET

DUBLIN (AFP) - A storm packing gale-force winds has sunk an Irish trawler leaving five crew members missing, while sea and air traffic were disupted in the Netherlands and Britain, which issued flood warnings. Irish coastguards were battling winds of up to 130 kilometers (80 miles) per hour in a major air and sea search for the five fishermen, whose trawler the Pere Charles went down in heavy seas southeast of Ireland.The storm severely disrupted sea traffic across the English Channel, with departures shut down entirely for several hours between Calais and the English port of Dover, while only large ships were using the French port of Dunkirk.

The English Channel is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, particularly over the 25-mile (40-kilometre) stretch between Dover and Calais on the northeast French coast.In Calais, there is no traffic, but the port has not been closed, the harbour master said.

The port at Dover more fully exposed to the gale-force winds -- was closed from 5:30 a.m. (0530 GMT) to 8:00 a.m., he added Thursday.Regional traffic control authorities in France forecast a surge in cargo traffic through the Eurotunnel as trucks scheduled to cross the Channel by sea divert to rail instead.Elsewhere in Britain, winds reached 90 miles (144 kilometres) per hour in Scotland and low-lying eastern English counties were put on flood alert.In the Netherlands, the gathering stormfront disrupted air traffic at the Schiphol International airport, one of Europe's busiest.The number of planes allowed to take off and land was cut back to 50 from the normal flow of 70, airport authorities said according to Dutch news agency ANP.

The rest of the day should be calmer, an airport spokesman was quoted as saying.In Ireland, coastguards searching for the missing fishermen said a gas cylinder and life ring have been recovered since the vessel disappeared from radar screens Wednesday night, after which a nearby trawler was alerted by its emergency radio beacon.The French-built trawler had been fishing for herring off Hook Head in County Wexford and had been due to return to the nearby fishing port of Dunmore East in County Waterford.Conditions in the area are horrendous. The winds have been up to storm force 10. They will be gale force all day today, a coastguard spokesman told AFP.Hopes were fading for the men, four Irishmen and a Ukrainian, but there was a chance they could have taken to a life raft, he said.That is the hope, although there was a vessel very close by that had her on the radar. When she disappeared they were over very quickly and they found nothing, said the coastguard spokesman.

She must have gone down very quickly. The other vessel saw her lights and had her on radar and when they turned round to look for her again she was gone, he added.Two search and rescue helicopters, two lifeboats, local trawlers and fishing boats and four coastguard shore crews resumed the search at first light.Officials said Ireland's Marine Casualty Investigation Board had begun an inquiry into the tragedy. Irish Transport Minister Pat the Cope Gallagher, who is responsible for the coastguard, said police and navy divers were on standby to try and locate the sunken trawler when the weather improves. Hopefully we might find some survivors but as the hours move on there is less and less chance, he told RTE state radio. We have to now concentrate on retrieving bodies. I am sad to say that, Gallagher said.

ARABS FREE THE ISRAELI SOLDIERS NOW.

Behind the Headlines: Six months in terrorist captivity - 11 Jan 2007

Six months have passed since the unprovoked abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border, and of Gilad Shalit on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza. Six months have passed since the unprovoked abduction of Eldad Regev and Ehud Goldwasser on the Israeli side of the Lebanese border, an action that precipitated widespread confrontation between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist organization. To date no word has been heard from the two captive soldiers, and neither their families nor the government of Israel have any knowledge of their whereabouts or their current state of health. Two weeks prior to their abduction, another soldier, Gilad Shalit, was abducted as well, this time on the Israeli side of the border with Gaza. His family, too, anxiously awaits news from him. Especially grave is the fact that these unprovoked abductions were carried out on sovereign Israeli territory.

Taken from their families six months ago, these captive soldiers are denied the most basic of human rights as enshrined in the Geneva Convention. In a gross breach of U.N. Resolution 1701, the terrorist organizations that carried out these abductions, and Syria and Iran who support them, behave as if these human rights are nothing more than a bargaining chip in their game of negotiation, refusing even to transmit messages to the captives from their families. International bodies who met with the captives' families have also tried to forward messages and letters, but they have been met with a negative response as well. The Israel Foreign Ministry is active in efforts to gain their release on all levels: Foreign Ministry Tzipi Livni and her fellow ministers, alongside Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, raise the issue at the highest levels in their diplomatic meetings, in Israel and abroad - as do the Foreign Ministry's director-general and other senior officials. The Foreign Ministry also assists the families of the kidnapped soldiers in their meetings, both abroad and with visiting dignitaries in Israel, in an effort to keep the cause of the abducted soldiers on the international public agenda.

Israel's embassies abroad are also taking part in this effort, with emphasis on the humanitarian aspect: the families await a clear sign that their sons are alive and well. Those with influence, whether direct or indirect, on Syria and Iran are being asked to exert this influence on these countries. Thus, it is hoped, Syria and Iran, which sponsor the terrorist organizations holding the abducted soldiers, will be forced by growing international pressure to bring their influence to bear to obtain the hoped-for news and their eventual release.Neither Israel nor any other civilized, law abiding country can accept this situation. We urge you to support us in our endeavor - to bring our soldiers home.

Iranian Jews Reject Urgent Warnings to Leave
By Hana Levi Julian and Gil Zohar(INN) JAN 11,07

Iranian Jews are ignoring urgent warnings by American Jewish community leaders and the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS) to quit the Islamic Republic.The campaign to convince Iran’s 25,000 Jews to flee for their lives has stalled. According to statistics compiled by HIAS, only 152 Jews left Iran in the year between October 2005 and September 2006, down 40 percent from the same period in 2004-5. The year before that only 183 Jews left Iran.Sources said those Jews who left Iran in the past several years cited economic and family concerns as their primary reasons for leaving – not political considerations.It would appear that the repeated threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to wipe Israel off the map have not raised an alarm among the 25,000 Jews who still live in his country.

Nor has a recent Holocaust denial conference hosted by the Iranian president seemed to have made much of a dent in the Jewish community’s unwillingness to move.Last year’s contest by a leading Iranian newspaper soliciting Holocaust cartoons as a response to the uproar caused by a Danish caricature contest of the founder of Islam, Mohammed, has also had no noticeable effect.Other minority groups in Iran are not wasting time, however. HIAS workers in Vienna have noted a substantial increase in the number of refugees from Iran of other faiths, including the Bahai.

New Torah Ark Dedicated at Hebron´s Tomb of the Patriarchs
By Alex Traiman(INN) JAN 11,07

A Torah Ark was installed this week in the holy city of Hevron (Hebron) at the Cave of the Patriarchs, the ancient monument housing the graves of the Jewish Patriarchs and Matriarchs.The Ark strengthens the Jewish presence at the holy site called Me'arat HaMachpela, a double cave which the Torah (Genesis 23) records Abraham purchased from the Hittites for 400 silver shekels to use as a burial cave for his wife Sarah.Donated by New York financier and philanthropist Ira Rennert, the new Holy Ark was designed by Avraham Avargel - the same architect who constructed the large Ark at the Western Wall plaza.Standing more than four meters tall and three meters wide, the Ark will house handwritten Torah scrolls read on Monday, Thursday, Sabbath and holiday services.

The ark, featuring an etched wooden facade flanked by stone, stands in the large open courtyard that connects the smaller Jewish prayer rooms, each built in memory of one of the holy couples Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, and Jacob and Leah.

(Rachel's Tomb is located in Bethlehem, between Jerusalem and Hebron.).The addition of the Ark is one of a series of uniquely Jewish improvements made to the site in recent years. Worshippers have noticed the additions of numerous prayer and study books and libraries, as well as several framed wall pieces with prayers for recitation at the site.This coming summer, a roof will be constructed over the courtyard where Jewish worshippers come to pray, rain or shine.Hevron spokesman David Wilder believes it is important to beautify the site, which is one of the holiest in Jewish history.

Every day when we pray to the G-d of Abraham, the G-d of Isaac, and the G-d of Jacob, he said, we have to understand that this is where these people have been for almost 4,000 years.The monumental Cave of the Patriarchs complex was built over the caves 2,000 years ago by Herod the Great, then King of Judea. Since then, both Christians and Muslims have added onto the structure, at many points claiming the site belonged to them.

Arabs kept Jews from entering the holy site for 700 years between 1267 and 1967, when the IDF liberated Hevron together with the rest of Judea and Samaria during the Six Day War.Today both Jewish and Muslim worshippers pray regularly at the site, entering through separate gates, and praying in separate areas. Except for special days, neither Jews nor Arabs are allowed full access to the entire site. Muslims pray in the large room memorializing the Jewish forefather Isaac. The room bears the only entrances to the actual burial caves, and can house more than 1,000 worshippers. Jews are relegated to an outdoor courtyard, and the much smaller adjacent rooms.

Relations between Jews and Muslims at the site remain tense.

They continue to claim that the site belongs to them, said Wilder. If they controlled the site they would again declare it off limits.One of the ways to maintain our possession of the site, he said, and to show how important it is to us, is to bring such beautiful objects of sanctity into the building such as this beautiful aron kodesh (Holy Ark). Originally, when we came back to the site in 1967, we weren’t allowed to bring in anything that showed any permanence. Everything had to be movable because the Arabs claimed that it didn’t belong to us, it belonged to them, and they wanted to expel us at any given moment.By bringing in such beautiful works of art, such holy objects, we show both the Jewish people and people around the world that this is the second holiest site in the world for the Jewish people and we have no intentions of [leaving it].Wilder and the Hebron community are grateful that members of the Jewish community worldwide are aiding in the efforts to help build-up Jewish presence at the holy site.

I think that it is very noteworthy that people from all over the world have taken part in trying to beautify such a site because Me'arat HaMachpela doesn’t belong to me any more than it belongs to any other Jew in the world, Wilder says.It belongs to all the Jewish people from throughout all of the generations in the past to the present and in the future, and I am very happy that people around the world take such interest and want to partake in honoring such an important and significant site.

Advocacy Groups Report Escalating Christian Persecution in China, India JAN 11,07

Persecution continues to increase against Christians throughout India and in Communist China, AgapePress reports.

Representatives of organizations that minister to and advocate for believers in those countries say government authorities in both nations are severely oppressing Christians and limiting their religious freedom. Late last month, Hindu extremists torched a church in the Indian state of Orissa after members had decorated and prepared the sanctuary for Christmas services. The Global Council of Indian Christians is investigating the church burning. Ten Indian Christian missionaries along with a pastor were beaten and arrested for singing Christmas carols. An expert on Christian persecution within communist China says believers in that country will face increasing scrutiny from authorities.

New Comet is Brightest in 30 Years Robert Roy Britt
Senior Science Writer - SPACE.com - Wed Jan 10, 2:30 PM ET

A newfound comet has backyard skywatchers buzzing about its incredible brightness even though it is a challenge to spot.Comet McNaught, named for Australian astronomer Robert McNaught who found it last year, is about to circle the Sun. It sets right after the Sun, making it visible in the West [sky map] for only a few minutes in twilight. Tonight (Wednesday, Jan. 10) may be the best chance for Northern Hemisphere viewers to spot it.Comet McNaught has become the brightest comet in 30 years, according to the International Comet Quarterly at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.The comet, dazzling in pictures, is brighter than was Hale-Bopp in 1995.

But this comet remains a challenge to see. You need a very clear view of a very flat horizon and good sky conditions. Look for it moments after sunset from high ground or tall buildings if possible. Binoculars can help to first detect the comet, but it is visible to the naked eye, several observers have reported. On Jan. 12, Comet McNaught's orbit [video] will take it closer to the Sun than the planet Mercury. Solar radiation could cause the comet to become even brighter. During its trip around the Sun, the comet will be visible on the Internet in images from the SOHO spacecraft.

Comet McNaught Viewer's Guide
Images: Comet McNaught Gallery
More Images: Great Comets
Original Story: New Comet is Brightest in 30 Years - Visit SPACE.com

US-made calf reopens clone debate JAN 10,07
The Holstein calf could grow up to be a productive dairy cow

A calf grown from an embryo taken from a cloned cow has been born on a British farm for the first time. The calf, named Dundee Paradise, was born on a farm near Wolverhampton after being created by scientists in the US. As the Holstein calf is not itself a clone, the environment department (Defra) says no health and welfare rules have been broken. Some animal rights groups say cloning causes suffering to animals and warns against buying their offspring. Dundee Paradise began life in a US laboratory, where scientists created an embryo from a normal bull and the clone of a prize-winning dairy cow. She was then flown to the UK as an embryo and implanted into a cow on a farm near Wolverhampton.

Novel food

A Defra spokeswoman said the animal's health was not of particular concern as the calf had not been genetically modified. Any offspring from a cloned animal is considered to be the same as any other naturally-born cow, she said. The animal was born as the majority of the 220,000 animals that we register in the UK every year are born - as a result of artificial insemination.

Simon Gee Holstein UK .However, the Food Standards Agency said it was in discussions about the legal requirements relating to offspring of cloned animals. Any products taken from Dundee Paradise could need authorisation from an EU committee of experts and labelled a novel food. Simon Gee, of Holstein UK, an organisation that represents the Holstein and British Friesian breeds, said the calf was created using conventional breeding technology. The animal was born as the majority of the 220,000 animals that we register in the UK every year are born - as a result of artificial insemination. The difference here is that the embryos were imported into the UK, frozen in liquid nitrogen and then implanted into recipient cows here.

REVELATION 9:1-11
1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
2 And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.
3 And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.
4 And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads.
5 And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months: and their torment was as the torment of a scorpion, when he striketh a man.
6 And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them.
7 And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.
8 And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions.
9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.
10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there were stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months.
11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

Scorpions on planes not terror, say feds Pair of deadly creatures attacks passengers on American, United flights in same week January 10, 2007 - 9:35 p.m. Eastern - By Joe Kovacs - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

It's not Snakes on a Plane causing concern among the traveling public, but scorpions, as two of the deadly creatures have attacked passengers on separate U.S. flights in the past week. Yet federal officials are downplaying the possibility the events are related to terrorism. We have no reason to believe there is any connection to any kind of terrorist activity, said Nico Melendez, a spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration, a division on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The first incident took place Jan. 3 as David Sullivan of Stowe, Vt., was stung twice on a trip home from San Francisco. He and his wife, Helena, boarded a United Air Lines connecting flight in Chicago, and were just minutes from their destination in Burlington, Vt., when he first noticed a problem with his right leg, feeling as if it had gone to sleep. After the plane landed, Sullivan was waiting for his luggage, and again felt a strange sensation, but this time it was his left shin.

It was getting more intense. It felt like a small electric shock, Sullivan told the Burlington Free Press. I could feel the venom work its way through my body. When he pulled up his pants leg to investigate, an inch-and-a-half-long scorpion scooted down his leg and onto the floor, where a fellow passenger stepped on it. The feeling of electrical shock remained in Sullivan's legs for 36 hours, and he suffered flu symptoms for several days afterward. The second incident took place Sunday, as a Canadian college student was returning to Toronto on an American Airlines flight out of Miami. Anthony Harris, 21, who had been in Costa Rica prior to stopping in Miami, suddenly felt as if someone were tearing the hair out of his leg. He told the Toronto Star that when the sharp pain dulled to a throbbing ache, he thought his leg had simply cramped up.

Then I looked down and there was a scorpion crawling up my leg, he said. Harris was unsure if the arachnid snuck into his knapsack in Costa Rica, or if it came with someone else, but he used his school textbook to kill the creature. I scooped it up and sort of smooshed it closed, he said. Though Harris and Sullivan didn't suffer any serious complications from their encounters, the fact that two scorpions made it onto U.S. commercial flights and stung two passengers in the same week is raising eyebrows.

Melendez at the TSA, which was created as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on America, told WND this is the first time he's ever heard of incidents involving scorpions, let alone two within four days of each other. But he adds the scorpions have not changed the way the agency is handling security. As far as TSA is concerned, nothing [different] is being done. We're looking for prohibited items such as knives and bombs and guns, Melendez said. We don't have a prohibition on God's creatures going on planes. When WND contacted the Federal Aviation Administration, officials there had not even heard of the scorpion incidents, but later indicated airlines are not mandated to inform the agency of such cases unless they create serious problems. There's no requirement to report such an occurrence to the FAA unless there's a medical emergency that requires the plane to divert or to declare an emergency and land, or if the animal or bug or whatever causes damage to the aircraft that results in a system malfunction, said Les Dorr, an FAA spokesman. Officials at American and United have not commented on how they believe the scorpions got aboard their respective flights, nor any measures they might have in place to preclude such incidents in the future.

But United spokeswoman Robin Urbanski told the Associated Press the Sullivan case is something that we will investigate and look into. We're very sorry for what happened. Our customer safety and security is our No. 1 priority. The airlines tell you you can't bring water or shampoo on a plane, Helena Sullivan told AP, referring to recent security restrictions. All the security we go through apparently didn't apply to the scorpion, she said. While healthy adults can normally withstand scorpion stings, the venom can be lethal to the young, elderly, infirm or those allergic to the venom.

Madrid conference opens to mark 1991 Mideast peace talks JAN 11,07

An international conference began on Wednesday to commemorate the 1991 peace talks which brought Israeli and Arab leaders together for the first time and paved way for the Oslo Accords.

The Madrid conference aimed to bring new vigor to the stalled Mideast peace process. Some leaders involved in past efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict sent letters to voice their support for the conference, which is sponsored by private peace foundations. Messages from former U.S. President Bill Clinton, former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev and ex-U.S. Secretary of State James Baker III were read out at the opening session. The convening of this conference 15 years later could not be more timely, wrote Baker, who helped arranged the 1991 talks. It offers an opportunity to assist the possibility of moving forward toward Arab-Israeli conflict resolution. Clinton underlined the importance of the 1991 talks in his letter, saying It was the first time that Israeli and Arabs met at the conference table rather than on the battlefield. He said the new meeting showed there was still hope for the future. The two-day conference brought together foreign ministers from Denmark, Norway and Sweden, and experts from the United Nations, the United States, Russia and the Middle East. The Madrid conference in October 1991 set the framework for a peace process which ultimately led to the Oslo Accords, which in 1993 outlined a plan for a Palestinian state. Source: Xinhua

EU CLIMATE CHANGE

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Moderate earthquake hits Aleutians. 3-Typhoon Muifa creating battering waves. 4-Another winter storm lurks for the weekend. 5-Firefighters face horror day. 6-Killer bees tracked near New Orleans. 7-Report: Hamas Boasts it Will Obtain US Funds and Arms. 8-Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and Hamas Are Gaining Strength. 9-Mideast quartet paralyzed, restart sought: Merkel. 10-Nato chief extends term. 11-New Year’s Bible Study in Communist Party School Raided in China. 12-Police in Vietnam Detain Members of Pastor’s Family. 13-Iran smog kills 3,600 in month. 14-EU: Climate change will transform the face of the continent.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. (USGS)

Update time = Thu Jan 11 12:00 AM EDT

JAN 11,07
MAP 5.3 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 CASPIAN SEA

JAN 10,07
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.8 CENTRAL ALASKA

JAN 09,07
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 OWEN FRACTURE ZONE REGION
MAP 3.4 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.5 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.6 BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 WYOMING
MAP 5.3 MYANMAR
MAP 4.9 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA

Moderate earthquake hits Aleutians Wed Jan 10, 11:36 AM ET

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A magnitude 5.4 earthquake shook Alaska's seismically active Aleutian Islands on Wednesday. No damage was reported in the island chain, which extend southwestward from Alaska into the northern Pacific. The quake was centered 39 miles west of Unalaska and likely was felt along the state's western coast, the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center said.

On Tuesday, another moderate earthquake with a magnitude of about 5.7 jolted Southeast Alaska and was widely felt throughout the Panhandle. That tremor was centered 57 miles west of Haines, about 1,300 miles east of Unalaska.

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.

Typhoon Muifa creating battering waves Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Jan 10, 5:23 PM ET

What started Tuesday innocently enough as a moderate tropical storm has become a small, but potent, typhoon east of the Philippines. Typhoon Muifa (Moy-fa) became worthy of its prefix today when winds were estimated at near 105 mph. Muifa is at best meandering to the north while churning in the Philippine Sea just east of Manila. In fact, for all intents and purposes, the typhoon has stalled. Though forecast to move west over the islands, forward progression will be slow. Bad news for the island chain as flooding and mudslides will result from the copious amounts of rain expected to fall over the next 48 hours. There is no doubt that the large and powerful waves have been battering the eastern coast of the northern Philippines. The system is forecasted to weaken gradually over the next 5 days as it heads towards southern Vietnam. The Atlantic and eastern Pacific Basins remain quiet.

Another winter storm lurks for the weekend Jonathan Erdman, Sr. Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Jan 10, 4:31 PM ET

West

Continuing a saga whose first chapter began just after the middle of December, another deep, cold storm system will congeal over the Rockies and Great Basin through the next few days. The result will be plentiful snow in the Rockies, and cold temperatures for most everybody else.

The initial cold invasion brought snow and colder air into the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies Wednesday. Light snow fell along much of the I-5 corridor from Puget Sound to Oregon's Willamette Valley. Even the coast joined in the act, as an inch of snow with pea-size hail was reported just west of Washington's Olympic National Park. Thursday's cold will be felt moist acutely in the northern Rockies and Great Basin. Highs along the Canadian border in far northern Montana may not rise above zero. Single digits and teens will be the rule elsewhere in the northern Rockies and adjacent High Plains. Twenties will dominate much of the northern Great Basin. California won't escape the cold either. Highs in the Bay area will struggle to reach 50#. Following Tuesday's record highs in the 80s in parts of Southern California, 50s or low 60s will be the rule Thursday, with some patchy drizzle or showers possible. Behind the cold front, snow levels could lower to 1000 feet in Southern California by Friday morning, bringing flakes to rather unfamiliar territory. Snow will continue in the northern Rockies Thursday, slowly shifting southward into the Wasatch and Colorado Rockies. A winter storm watch continues for the Salt Lake Valley, benches, and Wasatch. A second upper-level low that spread mainly high cloudiness into the Desert Southwest Wednesday, will become a bit more proficient precipitation generator tonight into Thursday. Showers, falling as snow in the higher terrain, are expected in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas' Big Bend. This northern and southern storm will combine into one lumbering storm Friday, lingering over the Four Corners through at least Saturday, perhaps Sunday. This will continue to manufacture snow, heavy at times, in the central and southern Rockies this weekend. Heavier snow will eventually spread out into the central High Plains this weekend, potentially including the beleaguered, snow-weary Colorado Front Range Urban Corridor (Denver metro). By Sunday, travel could again become difficult in the eastern Colorado, including the Front Range.

Midwest

As lake-effect snow winds down, attention then turns to a developing messy multi-faceted winter storm taking shape this weekend. The Arctic air will be a blunt reality check for the northern Plains Thursday. Highs won't get out of the single digits in parts of North Dakota, and teens may be the warmest parts of western South Dakota get. Keep in mind many locations from the Upper Midwest and Plains states haven't had a day colder than average in a month or more.

This front will plunge through the Plains and Upper Midwest Thursday, then stall out from the Great Lakes to the Southern Plains Friday. Warm, and increasingly moist air will intersect and override this front late Thursday into Friday. While most precipitation will fall as light rain in the Missouri and Mississippi Valleys Thursday, a thin area of light freezing rain is possible Thursday night into Friday from southern and eastern Nebraska into Lower Michigan. This would only be the opening act in this wintry play. A more significant snowstorm may emerge into the Plains states Saturday, spreading snow, possibly heavy over some of the same areas that are still recovering from a crippling blizzard or ice storm just before the New Year's holiday. Heavy snow may then spread into the Upper Midwest Sunday and Monday, possibly bringing some the first snow of the season (Des Moines, for example) and others their first significant snow in over a month (Wisconsin, northern Illinois, for example). A zone of icing is also possible as the main storm pulls out later this weekend. Not to be overshadowed, a zone of significant, persistent rainfall should set up near the sluggish frontal boundary from the Ozarks to the Ohio Valley. The first wave of moderate to, at times, heavy rainfall, can be expected Friday. A second enhancement to the rainfall could lift into the above areas Saturday night into Sunday. Flood watches have already been hoisted over parts of southeast Missouri, southern Illinois, southwest Indiana, and western Kentucky. Some rivers remain near or even above flood stage Wednesday in Indiana, Illinois and western Kentucky. Rainfall amounts from 2-4" are possible, with locally higher amounts, through Monday.

Northeast

Following a brief reminder that this is indeed January, we'll continue to turn the calendar ahead to spring as we head into the upcoming weekend. This roughly month-long stretch of warm weather was briefly interrupted Wednesday in the wake of a cold front earlier this week. Heavy lake-effect snow fell in areas to the east of Lake Ontario, with up to 19 measured in Highmarket, N.Y. Eight inches blanketed Syracuse, N.Y. Daytime temperatures struggled in the 30s in New York City and Washington, D.C. These highs are par for the January course, but haven't been witnessed since early December! One rogue snow shower Wednesday brought the first flakes of the season to New York City. This was the latest first flakes of the season (defined as a trace of snow) at Central Park on record, besting the previous latest date by 6 days (Jan. 4, 1878). That said, Boston's significantly behind on snow as well, only measuring 0.8 so far this season at Logan International Airport. High pressure will rule the roost on Thursday. Only a shield of high clouds moving through Upstate New York and northern New England will blemish what's otherwise a pleasant January day. Much of the Middle Atlantic states should see highs at least in the low 40s, including New York City. Southern New England and Upstate New York should manage 30s. Twenties will hang on in northern New England. Light snow should spread into Upstate New York and northern New England Friday. There may be a zone of light sleet or freezing rain early Friday in parts of interior New York State into parts of southern New England. For the Big Apple, the Keystone State southward, this looks to be a rain event Friday, lingering into early next week.

South

Even as high pressure shifts into the Atlantic Ocean Thursday, its influence will still be sufficient to keep the weather quiet for most in the Southeast Thursday. Only a few nuisance easterly-flow sprinkles or light showers along the Southeast coast will blot an otherwise tranquil day. Highs will be at or above seasonal averages. Fifties can be expected in much of the Carolinas and Tennessee Valley. Sixties will cover much of the Deep South.

Seventies will greet a lucky few along the Texas Coastal Bend and also in the Sunshine State. A developing storm system in the western U.S. will slowly trend the weather wetter by late Thursday into the weekend. Due to the sluggish, slow nature of the attendant frontal system, an area of heavy rainfall may set up Thursday night into Friday from northeast Texas and eastern Oklahoma into Arkansas, western Kentucky and western Tennessee. Rainfall of 2 inches or more may be measured as repeated impulses in the upper atmosphere sweep across this quasi-stationary boundary from late Thursday into the weekend. Flood watches are already hoisted for parts of western Kentucky in advance of this storm. A few t-storms Friday could become severe from northeast Texas into western Tennessee. This sluggish front doesn't appear to clear this rain-soaked region until Monday. On the brighter side of this storm, warm air ahead of the front should send temperatures back into the 60s and 70s from the Virginia Tidewater region to the Gulf Coast this weekend. Eighties will return to central and South Florida.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Firefighters face horror day
Email Print Normal font Large font January 11, 2007 - 6:57AM
Total fire ban statewide

A cool change moving slowly across Victoria could worsen bushfires raging in eastern Victoria.Temperatures around the state hovered near 30 celsius overnight, with the mercury tipped to reach the high 30s, with gusty north winds and extremely low humidity ahead of a cool change expected to reach Melbourne this morning and the Gippsland region by mid-afternoon.A total fire ban has been declared across Victoria today for the second consecutive day.More than 300 firefighters worked through the night to reinforce containment lines around a fire burning near Tambo Crossing, 30 km north of Bruthen, in East Gippsland to try and stop the fire advancing south and east.Department of Sustainability and Environment (DSE) and Country Fire Authority (CFA) crews spent yesterday backburning in the south and west edges of private property in Tambo Crossing to extend the control line.But DSE spokesman Pat Groenhaut said there was no rain with the change and erratic winds.There will some be some fairly unpredictable fire behaviour, so we are bracing ourselves for that a bit, he said.We're seeing the change coming through with a bit of lightning, moving fairly slowly through the west of the state, but there's no rain at all with it.You get a build-up of erratic conditions (ahead of the change) and that's what we're really worried about.The best thing we can hope for is cooler conditions.Lightning with the change could spark further bushfires, Mr Groenhaut said.

Residents in the Brookville, Doctors Flat, Ensay, Ensay North and Ensay South areas have been told to remain vigilant and activate their fire plans.The CFA has crews in those areas to help protect private property.The Red Cross opened a relief centre yesterday at the Swifts Creek Secondary School for residents who had left their homes in the Tambo Valley and Ensay.The Great Alpine Road has been closed north of Bruthen to Ensay, but Omeo Highway north of Ensay remained open.A 2000-hectare fire at Boulder Creek, near Orbost, has been contained but the CFA has warned residents and communities near Club Terrace, Goolengook, McKenzie River, Bemm River, Bellbird Creek and Cabbage Tree Creek to plan for possible fire outbreaks that could spread rapidly with the high winds.Fires are again threatening the alpine resort at Mt Buller, in the state's north-east, Mr Groenhaut said.Mt Buller has fires on three sides of it at the moment, which we're watching pretty closely. They have had a very nervous night because there is still a lot of activity up there, he said.Conditions in Victoria's south-west, which threatened to fan a blaze in the Framlingham Forest, east of Warrnambool, have eased, a CFA spokesman said.The 1000-hectare fire, which had burned 75 per cent of the forest, has moved on to private property.About 140 firefighters worked through the night, the spokesman said.The change reached the area about 2am and initially the fire flared up, but crews kept the fire from jumping a road and spreading, he said.AAP

Killer bees tracked near New Orleans Mon Jan 8, 6:01 PM ET

ARABI, La. - The residents of flood-damaged St. Bernard Parish, still recovering from Hurricane Katrina, have a new concern: killer bees. Agriculturalists began setting traps around a half-mile radius of a storm-wrecked home Monday that authorities have confirmed was infested with aggressive Africanized honey bees.The hybrids first drove away contractors hired to tear the house down. Then they drove off beekeepers called in to catch them.Finally mosquito workers killed the bees. The state agriculture department confirmed in late December that they were hybrids with the aggressive African strain, Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Bob Odom said.The traps are to determine if more Africanized bees are lurking in the area. So far, this is an isolated find in the New Orleans area, Odom said.

The bees probably were descendants of stowaways who arrived in New Orleans on a ship, said Jimmy Dunkley, the department's coordinator of nursery and apiary programs.Nine swarms have been intercepted at state ports since 1988, some in shipping containers, some in barges, and some in the ships themselves, Dunkley said.Africanized bees are the result of an experiment to increase honey production in Brazil. A swarm of the small, aggressive bees escaped the lab in 1957 and headed north. When they mated with native strains, the offspring turned out to be as aggressive as the African parents. They are sometimes called killer bees because their intense attacks can be fatal.

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)

Report: Hamas Boasts it Will Obtain US Funds and Arms (INN) JAN 10,07

According to a report by WorldNetDaily's Aaron Klein, Hamas officials are expecting to receive a portion of the $86.4 million allocated by the US to bolster Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah organization.

Klein quotes a spokesman for Hamas, referred to as Abu Oubaida, as saying, I am sure that, like in the past, this $86 million from America will find its way to the Hamas resistance via the honorable persons in the Fatah security organizations, including in Force 17. I can confirm 100 percent that this money and purchased weapons will find its way to Hamas.The US last week pledged to provide the grant to those Fatah-affiliated militias loyal to Abbas, the current Palestinian Authority chairman, in order to strengthen his hand against the Islamist terrorist groups such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad. The monies are to be transferred despite the clear involvement of Fatah militias, such as Force 17 and the Al-Aksa Martyrs Brigades, in ongoing anti-Israeli terrorism. A US government document quoted from in the WND article says that the US expects its generous funding of the Fatah forces to be used "to dismantle the infrastructure of terrorism and establish law and order in the West Bank and Gaza.In addition, the US and Egypt recently transferred rifles and ammunition to Fatah's Force 17.

A leader of the Popular Resistance Committees (PRC), a multi-factional terrorist group, told WND, We vow to show the Israelis very soon [that] the weapons lately channeled to the Presidential Guards [Force 17] and to the Fatah security services will be directed against the occupation. In all the security services, including in Force 17, there are activists affiliated with all the Palestinian groups, including ours, and Hamas. We vow that there will be no use [of these arms] in a civil war, as we promise that should these arms reach us, we will use them against the occupation and the Zionist enemy.A terrorist from Hamas said of the US-supplied weapons, The US gives weapons to Fatah during internal Palestinian clashes, but one day, when we go back to carrying out operations together, these [weapons] will be shared. When the attacks occur, the PRC will announce that foreign weapons were used, Klein wrote. We will obtain the US weapons, the PRC leader said.Hamas and Fatah sources explained that members of Force 17 and other Fatah-affiliated militias are also joining Hamas in Gaza. A Hamas source told WND, When they join Hamas, they bring along their new weapons. Abu Yousuf, a senior member of Fatah's Force 17, which received Egyptian and American weapons, told WND, During our official service and during our job hours, we are soldiers [in Force 17]. What we do in our free time - it is our business.

Al-Qaeda, Hizbullah and Hamas Are Gaining Strength
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz(INN) JAN 10,07

The international terrorist organization Al-Qaeda is boosting its presence in three Arab states bordering Israel, while Hizbullah and Hamas are also getting stronger, a Knesset committee is told. Maj.-Gen. Amos Yadlin, commander of the IDF Intelligence Corps, told the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that Lebanon, Syria and Egypt have all seen an increase in Al-Qaeda activity in recent months. The IDF assessment is that Ayman Al-Zawahiri, assumed to be Al-Qaeda's current second-in-command, has given the order for the organization's operatives to spread out in the three Arab countries. In addition, a small number of Al-Qaeda terrorists reached Gaza, Yadlin said. IDF forces were said to have arrested several Al-Qaeda members in the Shechem area in Samaria, as well. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of Al-Qaeda men have reached Lebanon, said Yadlin. The men are trained and possess terrorist knowledge. Al-Qaeda in Lebanon poses a threat mostly to UNIFIL and Western interests, the IDF Intelligence Corps commander explained.

Addressing another Islamist threat to Israel from Lebanon, Maj.-Gen. Yadlin told the Knesset committee that the Hizbullah is steadily increasing its strength there, despite the presence of UN peacekeepers trying to implement UN Resolution 1701. While there are confrontations between UNIFIL and Hizbullah fighters, it doesn't prevent Hizbullah from revitalizing itself, Yadlin said.

On Saturday, French soldiers in Lebanon exchanged fire with members of Hizbullah. The clash ended only with the intervention of the Lebanese army.At the same time, Yadlin noted that the Hizbullah patron Syria has stepped down from its high level of military alert, instituted at the start of the war in Lebanon over the summer. Maj.-Gen. Yadlin admitted to the MKs that he was uncertain if Syrian President Bashar Assad was sincere in seeking a diplomatic agreement with Israel at this stage. Regarding the Iranian backers of Hizbullah, the IDF intelligence chief said that they may be able to produce a nuclear bomb by mid-2009, or earlier, if they can obtain enriched materials from outside Iran. As for now, Yadlin said, Iran is using the UN Security Council's ultimatum countdown for uranium enrichment. Iran is trying to convey the message that it is too late, he said.

Like Hizbullah and Al-Qaeda, the Hamas terrorist organization and its Palestinian Authority government is also gaining strength, Yadlin said. Thanks to massive smuggling across the Egypt-Gaza border and other forms of money transfer, Yadlin explained, the Hamas government is stabilizing economically.

An additional factor in its stabilization is the international legitimacy Hamas leaders are given in many countries, including invitations extended to PA prime minister Ismail Haniyeh. On the other hand, last month, Al-Qaeda's Al-Zawahiri attacked the leaders of Egypt and the Palestinian Authority as betrayers of Islam and collaborators with the United States and Israel. Referring to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and to a senior member of the Fatah organization, Al-Zawahiri asked: How is it possible for Mahmoud Abbas to be a brother of ours, or for Muhammad Dahlan to be a brother of ours, when they have grown fat on the bribes of the Jews and gifts of the Americans? ...Do not recognize their legitimacy... Don't sit with them... and do not sign with them the documents that will make you lose Palestine. Responding to the Al-Qaeda charges that the Fatah leadership consists of enemies to the Muslims, PA spokesman Jamal Nazal said that Al-Qaeda was trying to drive a wedge between Fatah and Hamas, whose militias clashed violently last month. Both Hamas and Fatah forces admit to collaboration in using foreign aid and weapons against Israeli and Jewish targets.

Mideast quartet paralyzed, restart sought: Merkel Wed Jan 10, 9:11 AM ET

MILAN (Reuters) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will see if conditions are right for a meeting of four-party Mideast peace mediators, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Rice leaves for the Middle East and Europe on Friday to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts and to seek Arab help in stabilizing Iraq. The Mideast peace quartet groups the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia.Merkel told Italy's La Stampa newspaper in an interview that President Bush agrees with us on the fact that the quartet should take back its leading role.The quartet, as is known, is paralyzed in the face of recent developments, but it remains the most effective institutional possibility for coordinating international efforts in the region.

She added, We have agreed that Condoleezza Rice, in a trip this weekend, should check if the conditions are there for a new meeting of the quartet, because we cannot intervene as mediators if the region's protagonists do not show a clear will to put an end to conflicts.Germany assumed the six-month rotating presidency of the European Union at the start of the year.In London, British Prime Minister Tony Blair told parliament he hoped there would be a quartet meeting within the next few weeks.But I think what is very important now is to create the situation in which we build the capacity of the Palestinian Authority, that we ensure that the Palestinian people have their suffering alleviated and the proper money gets through to the Palestinians for the basic services they need, Blair said.

Palestinian armed factions have demanded Israel release more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for an Israeli soldier, Corporal Gilad Shalit, held captive by Palestinian militants in Gaza.Blair said it was important that if at all possible we are able to get the release not just of Corporal Shalit but of the Palestinian prisoners likewise, and that in addition to that we are able to set out a framework for political negotiation leading to a negotiated solution between Israel and Palestine.I hope very much in the next few weeks we will be able to announce some progress on that issue, he said.(Additional reporting by Adrian Croft in London)

Nato chief extends term JAN 10,07

Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, second left, hopes to bring more Eastern European nations into Nato [AFP] Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has agreed to a two-year extension of his term as Nato secretary-general into 2009, an alliance official has said.The official said the Dutch diplomat, who began his term in 2004, would stay on to prepare and preside over a series of high-profile events marking the 60th anniversary of the Western military alliance in 2009.He accepted today, the official said.

He also said that the exact run-down of the anniversary events - and therefore de Hoop Scheffer's new departure date - had not yet been fixed.He had been due to leave at the end of this year.The 26 ambassadors endorsed the extension of his mandate, which will end during 2009, at a weekly meeting of the North Atlantic Council held in his presence, the Nato official said.Scheffer, 58, has sought to transform the 26-nation alliance that was the Cold War role guarantor of Europe's security into a body able to launch operations worldwide at short notice.He oversaw the deployment of Nato troops into southern Afghanistan last year in what has become the alliance's toughest conflict so far.Source: Agencies

PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS

JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME

ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE FINAL JUDGEMENT).

WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

New Year’s Bible Study in Communist Party School Raided in China JAN 10,07 (Crosswalk.com)

The new year got off to a difficult start for some Christians in China, ASSIST News Service reports. According to China Aid Association (CAA), the local police in Baoding city attacked a Christian Bible Study held in a Communist Party School. On Jan. 1 a group of Christians had gotten together in an office in the Party School to celebrate New Year by studying the Bible. However, the meeting was raided by local law enforcement officials. According to CAA, more than 40 attendees were subsequently interrogated.

Most of them, CAA reported, were not released until 6 p.m. that night. Those questioned included Dr. Li Baiguang, a well known Christian legal activist from Beijing.

Police in Vietnam Detain Members of Pastor’s Family JAN 10,07 (Crosswalk.com)

Police burst into the Vietnam Mennonite church and residence of the Rev. Nguyen Hong Quang at 8:20 this morning, broke up a prayer meeting and arrested 17 people, including his son and elderly mother-in-law, Compass Direct News reports. They were all released at 5 p.m. – after officials had demolished part of the family’s church/residence. The 17 people had complied with authorities’ request to halt the prayer meeting and exited the building, but nevertheless they were taken into custody and detained at the police station of Binh Khanh Ward, District 2. While virtually all buildings in the area were constructed irregularly without proper building permits more than 20 years ago, ward authorities have long singled out the Mennonite church and residence for selective enforcement because of Pastor Quang’s advocacy activities.

Iran smog kills 3,600 in month JAN 10,07

Tehran is one of the world's most polluted cities Air pollution is estimated to have killed nearly 10,000 people in Tehran over a one-year period, including 3,600 in a month, Iranian officials say. Most of the deaths were caused by heart attacks and respiratory illnesses brought on by smog, they said. The scale of the problem led one senior official to say living in the Iranian capital was like collective suicide. Cheap fuel encourages car use in Iran, correspondents say, and many vehicles do not meet global emissions standards. It is a very serious and lethal crisis, a collective suicide, the director of Tehran's clean air committee, Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, told an Iranian newspaper. A real revolution is needed to resolve this problem. He said air quality had worsened and was linked to some 3,600 deaths in October. Many of the deaths were caused by heart attacks brought on by the air pollution.

New figures showed a sharp rise in pollution-related deaths in Iran, where 9,900 people died of pollution in the previous Iranian year (March 2005 to March 2006). The latest assessments were based on World Bank figures which extrapolate mortality rates according to certain levels of pollution.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

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

EU: Climate change will transform the face of the continent
By Michael McCarthy and Stephen Castle 10 January 2007

Europe, the richest and most fertile continent and the model for the modern world, will be devastated by climate change, the European Union predicts today. The ecosystems that have underpinned all European societies from Ancient Greece and Rome to present-day Britain and France, and which helped European civilisation gain global pre-eminence, will be disabled by remorselessly rising temperatures, EU scientists forecast in a remarkable report which is as ominous as it is detailed.Much of the continent's age-old fertility, which gave the world the vine and the olive and now produces mountains of grain and dairy products, will not survive the climate change forecast for the coming century, the scientists say, and its wildlife will be devastated.Europe's modern lifestyles, from summer package tours to winter skiing trips, will go the same way, they say, as the Mediterranean becomes too hot for holidays and snow and ice disappear from mountain ranges such as the Alps - with enormous economic consequences. The social consequences will also be felt as heat-related deaths rise and extreme weather events, such as storms and floods, become more violent.

The report, stark and uncompromising, marks a step change in Europe's own role in pushing for international action to combat climate change, as it will be used in a bid to commit the EU to ambitious new targets for cutting emissions of greenhouse gases.The European Commission wants to hold back the rise in global temperatures to 2C above the pre-industrial level (at present, the level is 0.6C). To do that, it wants member states to commit to cutting back emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, to 30 per cent below 1990 levels by 2020, as long as other developed countries agree to do the same.

Failing that, the EU would observe a unilateral target of a 20 per cent cut.The Commission president, José Manuel Barroso, gave US President George Bush a preview of the new policy during a visit to the White House this week.The force of today's report lies in its setting out of the scale of the continent-wide threat to Europe's ecosystem services.That is a relatively new but powerful concept, which recognises essential elements of civilised life - such as food, water, wood and fuel - which may generally be taken for granted, are all ultimately dependent on the proper functioning of ecosystems in the natural world. Historians have recognised that Europe was particularly lucky in this respect from the start, compared to Africa or pre-Columbian America - and this was a major reason for Europe's rise to global pre-eminence.

Climate change will alter the supply of European ecosystem services over the next century, the report says. While it will result in enhancement of some ecosystem services, a large portion will be adversely impacted because of drought, reduced soil fertility, fire, and other climate change-driven factors.Europe can expect a decline in arable land, a decline in Mediterranean forest areas, a decline in the terrestrial carbon sink and soil fertility, and an increase in the number of basins with water scarcity. It will increase the loss of biodiversity.The report predicts there will be some European winners from climate change, at least initially. In the north of the continent, agricultural yields will increase with a lengthened growing season and a longer frost-free period. Tourism may become more popular on the beaches of the North Sea and the Baltic as the Mediterranean becomes too hot, and deaths and diseases related to winter cold will fall.But the negative effects will far outweigh the advantages. Take tourism. The report says the zone with excellent weather conditions, currently located around the Mediterranean (in particular for beach tourism) will shift towards the north.

And it spells out the consequences.

The annual migration of northern Europeans to the countries of the Mediterranean in search of the traditional summer 'sun, sand and sea' holiday is the single largest flow of tourists across the globe, accounting for one-sixth of all tourist trips in 2000. This large group of tourists, totalling about 100 million per annum, spends an estimated €100bn (£67bn) per year. Any climate-induced change in these flows of tourists and money would have very large implications for the destinations involved.While they are losing their tourists, the countries of the Med may also be losing their agriculture. Crop yields may drop sharply as drought conditions,
exacerbated by more frequent forest fires, make farming ever more difficult. And that is not the only threat to Europe's food supplies. Some stocks of coldwater fish in areas such as the North Sea will move northwards as the water warms.There are many more direct threats, the report says. The cost of taking action to cope with sea-level rise will run into billions of euros. Furthermore, for the coming decades, it is predicted the magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events will increase, and floods will likely be more frequent and severe in many areas across Europe.The number of people affected by severe flooding in the Upper Danube area is projected to increase by 242,000 in a more extreme 3C temperature rise scenario, and by 135,000 in the case of a 2.2C rise. The total cost of damage would rise from €47.5bn to €66bn in the event of a 3C increase.Although fewer people would die of cold in the north, that would be more than offset by increased mortality in the south. Under the more extreme scenario of a 3C increase in 2071-2100 relative to 1961-1990, there would be 86,000 additional deaths.