1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-4.2 earthquake hits San Francisco. 3- C-c-c-cold enough for you? 4-Seven killed as tornado hits US homes. 5-Snow, freezing rain expected for Ont. on Thursday. 6-NOAA outlines dangers of coastal living. 7-Yellowstone hotspot energy goes 150 miles. 8-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 9-Rabbis attempt to resume animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount. 10-Pre-Purim Fast of Esther Today. 11-Barge accident leads to toxic spill in river. 12-Spain and Germany up pressure on EU constitution. 13-I believe that the US economy is healthy. 14-Fears of recession spark further turmoil in markets.
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 Mar 3 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 02,07
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.8 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.2 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAR 01,07
MAP 5.7 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.1 WASHINGTON
MAP 3.6 OREGON
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.3 NEVADA
MAP 4.6 GUERRERO, MEXICO
MAP 3.1 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.3 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 5.7 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
FEB 28,07
MAP 4.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 6.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 5.0 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.9 NEVADA
MAP 3.5 NEVADA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 5.1 CELEBES SEA
MAP 2.5 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.9 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
4.2 earthquake hits San Francisco Fri Mar 2, 12:05 AM ET
SAN FRANCISCO - A magnitude 4.2 earthquake that could be felt throughout the Bay Area struck Thursday night, officials said. The temblor struck 1 mile northeast of Lafayette, the United States Geological Survey Web site said. Residents said it lasted between 10 and 15 seconds.There were no immediate reports of any damage or injuries, but Bay Area Rapid Transit trains were temporarily stopped, authorities said.
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.
MARCH 1, 2007 - 11:54 ET
Environment Canada: Ontario Weather Review
February 2007 - C-c-c-cold enough for you?
TORONTO, ONTARIO (CCNMatthews March 1, 2007) The above-normal temperatures that
have been reported since November of last year have now been replaced with exceptionally cold temperatures.
Across the province, the mean temperatures for the month have now dropped in a range of two to five degrees below normal.Snowfall was also noteworthy this month. The Great Lakes, with most of the surface as open water in the early part of the month, was responsible for high snow reports in some areas. The typical snowbelt areas, and atypically Hamilton, had high accumulations - in the case of Wiarton, it was record breaking. Locations outside these snowbelt areas had near-normal or below-normal amounts.Overall, the trend of precipitation was drier than normal across the province. The colder temperatures reduced the amount of available moisture in these cases.
Severe Weather
Lake-effect snows were the big story to start off the month. On February 1 and 2, a very cold flow of air from the southwest caused snow bands to set up off of Georgian Bay.
These bands ended up dumping approximately 40 centimetres of snow in the North Bay area during these two days. On February 2, a series of snow bands from the southwest moved onshore near the Cobourg area and caused near-whiteout conditions that may have been an important factor in a fatal crash on Highway 401.From February 4-7, the winds shifted and blew the cold air in from the northwest. This shifted snowsquall activity to the more traditional snowbelt areas to the lee of Lake Superior, Lake Huron and Georgian Bay. During this four-day period, Sault Ste Marie received a little more than 70 centimetres of snow and the Barrie area almost 60 centimetres. As well, in less than 12 hours during this timeframe, the Owen Sound area picked up approximately 50 centimetres of fresh snow.
St. Valentine's Day turned out to be more for shovelers than for lovers, especially around the western end of Lake Ontario. A well-developed storm system that moved south of the lower Great Lakes combined with strong lake-effect snow bands generated with a wind from the northeast to give the Hamilton area an official 46 centimetres. This all occurred just between the evening of February 13 and the morning of February 14. However, unofficial estimates of the snow in areas around Hamilton and Burlington were upwards of 60 centimetres, with drifts well over a metre in height. Other parts of Southern Ontario which were not impacted by the off-lake snow received amounts between 10 and 15 centimetres.The last weekend of the month saw another strong storm system pass to the south of the lower Great Lakes, with the biggest impacts in Ontario being felt in the extreme southwestern part of the province. The Windsor, Sarnia and London areas all saw a number of hours of freezing rain from this event on Sunday, February 25. The Golden Horseshoe experienced the whole event as snow, with general accumulations in the five- to 15-centimetre range. The majority of the snow fell between late Sunday and late Monday. Slightly higher amounts were received in the Oakville, Mississauga and Milton areas as east winds off of Lake Ontario added to the available moisture.
Seven killed as tornado hits US homes
By Tom Leonard in New York - GMT 02/03/2007
At least seven people, many of them teenagers, were killed in Alabama yesterday when a huge tornado ripped through the southern state, flattening houses and demolishing a school.Five of the victims were students and teachers who were killed after they were trapped inside a high school in the town of Enterprise which lay right in the path of the supercell storm.Other students were seriously injured after they were buried beneath a collapsing wall inside the building.In the chaotic hours after the storm, reports of the death toll varied wildly, at one point reaching as high as 18 dead. More than 50 people were taken to hospital in Enterprise, some of them seriously injured. Many of them were evacuated by army helicopters sent from a nearby military base.
The thing tore a swathe through town a mile and half, maybe two miles long, said Larry Walker, the deputy director of the local emergency management agency.An Enterprise resident said that the town in the immediate aftermath of the tornado looked like a bomb had dropped.Martha Rodriquez, a 15-year-old, said she had left the school about five minutes before the storm hit. When she returned, a hall at the school had collapsed.The stadium was destroyed and there were cars tipped over in the parking lot and trees were ripped out. There were trees and wood everywhere. It was just horrible, she said.It is complete devastation, Sheriff Russell Thomas said as he helped rescuers in Enterprise. It is very tragic.One volunteer helping to look for survivors told a local television station: I pulled out two dead little girls.
Bob Riley, the Alabama governor, said that he had asked about 100 National Guardsmen to go to Enterprise to assist in recovery efforts and that additional troops were standing by.The tornado was just a small part of an immense storm system, which extended down through the middle of America from Minnesota to the Gulf.It also hit Kansas and Missouri, ripping up power lines and damaging buildings.In Missouri, it was blamed for the death of a seven-year-old girl who had been sheltering with her family.Tornadoes, hailstorms and high winds remained a threat in many parts of the south-eastern United States during the night, said meteorologists.
Snow, freezing rain expected for Ont. on Thursday
toronto.ctv.ca FEB 28,07
The first day of March could be a miserable one for many in southern Ontario as a storm system moving into the region is expected to dump between five and 10 centimetres of snow and then change to freezing rain later in the day. Snow flurries are expected to begin falling in the morning, which could make the commute to work tricky.
But Environment Canada says the drive home could be treacherous with the forecast period of freezing rain. The weather system coming in from the United States is also expected to trigger wind gusts of up to 70 km/hr. Forecasters are calling for a high of 0C. Thursday's winter weather comes as residents in Toronto enjoyed a sunny and mild last day of February. The mercury on Wednesday hit 3C. March couldn't come soon enough for many in southern Ontario, who braved through a bitterly cold February that brought heavy snowfalls at times. Friday's forecast calls for a chance of flurries and a high of 1C, with similar weather predicted over the weekend.
NOAA outlines dangers of coastal living By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, Associated Press Writer Thu Mar 1, 3:58 PM ET
WASHINGTON - The head of the nation's weather and climate research agency says the biggest challenge facing the world is population growth and people's desire to live in coastal areas where they can be endangered by storms. I believe that the population issue is huge, Conrad Lautenbacher said Thursday. And it's not just the U.S., there are six billion ... getting up to seven billion people on the Earth and they all want to live in coastal zones.Lautenbacher is head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency that studies weather and climate and issues storm warnings and forecasts, among other activities.More than half the U.S. population lives in coastal areas and Lautenbacher said that means you have a lot less margin of ability to absorb and to mitigate and to adapt to severe weather events.
We need to be much better at our ability to predict and tell you what's going to happen, he said. We need much better preparation along our coastlines, we need much better building codes, flood insurance, all of the economic issues.Lautenbacher's comments come just months before hurricane season begins in June, with millions of people in coastal areas wondering what the storm season will be like.While 2005 was one of the worst storm years on record, with such massive hurricanes as Katrina and Rita, last year was mild by comparison.Lautenbacher declined to make a prediction for this year, saying only that the National Hurricane Center will issue a forecast in May.However, on Tuesday his agency noted that La Nina conditions appear to be developing in the Pacific Ocean. La Nina is a cooling of the sea along with changes in winds and air pressure that can affect weather worldwide. Typically in La Nina years there are fewer storms in the Pacific and more in the Atlantic.
He said research is continuing in a variety of weather and climate areas.We need better environmental forecasts, Lautenbacher said. That goes all the way from water to drought to air quality to greenhouse gases ... all of the earth systems that we depend on for life.And that includes climate change, he added.The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last month reported that the world is indeed warming and it is most likely because of human activities.I agree with the IPCC report, Lautenbacher said. I know of no reason not to take the IPCC report seriously.On the Net: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www/noaa.gov
Yellowstone hotspot energy goes 150 miles Thu Mar 1, 8:38 PM ET
BILLINGS, Mont. - Scientists studying the giant volcanic hotspot beneath Yellowstone National Park said Thursday that even when the hotspot is inactive, it exerts energy that shapes the landscape 150 miles away.
The findings from the University of Utah defy long-standing beliefs that earthquakes triggered by volcanic activity account for most of the landscape deformations related to Yellowstone's hotspot, a volcanic plume more than 300 miles wide located deep beneath the earth's surface.Instead, much of the deformations were traced to more-constant pressures coming from the plume, said Robert Smith, a professor of geophysics and one of the authors of the study.
Smith said the results, which came out of a broader $2.3 million study of Yellowstone's geophysics, could help in forecasting future earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.Using satellite data to measure movements of the earth's crust over the past 17 years, Smith and his colleagues found the earth's surface was stretching by up to 4 millimeters a year due to energy released by the hotspot. They also found that a giant crater located above the hotspot the Yellowstone caldera rises and falls without always triggering eruptions.The energy that goes into deforming the ground is much greater than the earthquakes, said Christine Puskas, the lead author of the study. Regional deformation even is being experienced as far as the Snake River Valley in Idaho.The study is to be published Friday in the Journal of Geophysical Research - Solid Earth.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
March 1, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Last week I drew your attention to a controversy at Jerusalem's Temple Mount, a place of great importance to both Jews and Muslims. A few years ago a severe storm damaged the pedestrian bridge leading to the Temple Mount, causing government officials to close it.
After very careful planning, Israel recently began replacing the decrepit walkway, with archeologists excavating nearby to ensure that no ancient treasures would be damaged due to the work.This simple act of replacing a walkway has caused an outcry from Muslim radicals, who see it as a conspiracy to destroy the Al-Aksa Mosque, located on top of the Mount—even though the mosque is hundreds of feet from the work itself. Incredibly, there have even been calls for Israel to halt this important work.In last week's Fellowship e-newsletter we asked your opinion—should Israel continue its work to construct the new walkway and protect antiquities in the area, or bow to the Islamist's demands? I am proud to say that you have not been taken in by the anti-Israel propaganda on this issue. More than 98 percent of respondents affirmed that Israel has acted with great sensitivity and should proceed with the work.Here are just a few representative comments, taken from the hundreds we received: More than sensitivity, I believe Israel has acted with utmost respect and has bent over backwards in trying to accommodate and calm the fears of all Muslims who may feel affected—which they aren't.
Unfortunately, the radical Muslims are always finding something to be upset and outraged about. They will try to cause problems anywhere they can. Israel must stand up to them, as must the rest of the sane world.This isn't about the walkway. It's about radical Muslims wanting total control of the Temple Mount, then Jerusalem, then Israel.My family supports Israel in all that she does, not only on this issue, but issues of safety and well being. I am not Jewish, but I know how God feels about the Jewish people, and I am proud to stand with them. It is time that Muslim leaders make an attempt to settle disputes in a civil way. It seems Israel continues … to make peaceful concessions but doesn't receive the same human kindness.How hypocritical that (the Muslim Authority that governs the Temple Mount) would demand work to stop considering the fact that they have destroyed so many ancient Jewish relics from the past.
Israel should invite some world dignitaries and neutral Muslims to see the truth. This should be videoed and sent all through the Muslim and world TV stations, so that the world would see the lies that are being perpetrated against Israel.Our holy sites are just as important to us as the Muslims' sites are to them. We do respect theirs and DO NOT destroy them, but I can't say the same for them.It is a travesty that Muslim leaders are distorting the truth for their own agenda. It is a vicious attempt, yet again, to undermine Israel at a time when they are sensitively dealing with these issues Once again, you have made it clear that you stand with Israel against the oppressive totalitarian regimes and forces that seek to destroy it, and that you are not deceived by the lies propagated by Israel's foes. You have said clearly and in a unified voice that Israel cannot bow to the threats of hateful Islamist fanatics and the forces of intimidation.
Your responses to this survey remind me of something former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said five years ago at our first annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel. In a statement to Christians gathered that day to support Israel in prayer, he said, The great show of solidarity and support for Israel from American Christians offers great encouragement to me, my government and most importantly—the Israeli people.Those words are as true today as they were then. My friends, never underestimate the strength and comfort your prayers, support, and advocacy provide to Israel.
Thank you for you standing with Israel, for praying for her people, and for your continued support of the Fellowship's programs helping Israel and needy Jews around the world.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Headline News
Thursday, March 01, 2007 by Staff Writer
Rabbis attempt to resume animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount
The present-day Sanhedrin Court along with a group of extremist rabbis announced their plans on Wednesday to resume ancient Temple practices of animal sacrifices on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, despite religious bans by Moslems and Jews. The court purchased herds of sheep for ritual sacrifice, which they have planned for the eve of Passover, depending on the situation at the controversial religious site. Regrettably, there are many extremist Israeli groups who want to carry out their plans, said Jerusalem's senior Islamic cleric, Mohammed Hussein. Let them say what they want, Al Aksa is a Moslem mosque.
The 71 members of the Sanhedrin have all the required elements necessary for Temple sacrifice, including the ritual altar, and said they want to begin sacrificing animals again, despite the absence of the Temple. Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, said it is an important step to show that it’s not only talk. Rabbi Dov Stein, secretary of the new Sanhedrin Court, believes Temple sacrifices won’t happen any time soon. We want to do the sacrifice, but we have political problems, Stein said. We hope there will come a time when the government will agree. We will push for that to happen. Not all religious Jews are in favor of the sacrifices however. Animal sacrifice, as a mode of religious worship, stopped for Jews, Christians and Moslems, said Rabbi Daniel Hartman of the Shalom Hartman Institute in Jerusalem. Moving back in that direction is not progress.
Pre-Purim Fast of Esther Today
by Hillel Fendel MAR 01,07
The joyous month of Adar takes a day off to commemorate the fasting and prayers led by Queen Esther against the genocidal decree of the evil Haman. Jews around the world are fasting today, in remembrance of the prayers, fasting and repentance that preceded the Jewish People's miraculous deliverance from Haman's plan to annihilate them some 2,500 years ago.
The story is recounted in the Bible's Book of Esther, which is read aloud on Purim night and morning. The Fast of Esther is generally held the day before Purim. This year, however, Purim falls on Sunday, and since the Sabbath is not a day of fasting (except if it coincides with Yom Kippur), the fast is pushed up to Thursday. The fast began at dawn, and ends shortly after sundown. Special penitential prayers, known as S'lichot, are added to the Fast of Esther morning prayer service, as on every day of fasting. The following are excerpts from the Fast of Esther prayers (translated by the late Rabbi Abraham Rosenfeld): They resolved to sell us, in our helplessness... I raised my eyes toward heaven and called upon Thee to... blot out [my enemy's] memory...Having listened to [Haman's] lying words, [King Ahasuerus] issued a hostile decree and invested himself with priestly garments [seized from the Holy Temple]... and ordered that diverse vessels from the marble Temple be used at the banquet, and Satan also came to take his stand among them.
When the [Jewish] people residing in Shushan partook of their foul repast, he opened his mouth to slander them and to deliver them into the hand [of Haman] who offered a price [to the king] for them; the Al-mighty consented that a document be written to destroy their hope....[The angels cried, and the Torah mourned, and Elijah the Prophet] girt his loins with a plaster of sackcloth and hastened to inform the three Patriarchs, asleep in [the Cave of] Machpelah; then he hastened to the shepherd [Moses, saying], Why are you sleeping so peacefully? Arise, call upon your G-d...[Mordechai] knocked at the gates of the schools, covered himself with sackcloth, and sat on ashes [and fasted and prayed]... On both sides stood the children of my Patriarchs and my great ones; they all cried, and their cries went up to the L-rd... [Moses said], O L-rd, deliver from this wicked enemy those who are doomed to die. Then the All-Merciful's pity was deeply moved... Then the lot was reversed, that [the Jews] should rule over their enemies. The gallows stood ready to receive [Haman] the Agagite; the cloak of power was torn off and cast away from his face, and darkness enveloped the adversaries of our people. Peace and truth were decreed throughout [the realm]... Wherefore they made feasts which were ordained to be kept throughout the generations, and the recitation [of these events] should be read [aloud] O G-d, Thou hast taught us to recite the Thirteen Attributes; remember this day in our favor the Covenant of the Thirteen Attributes [as is written], The L-rd, the L-rd is a merciful and gracious G-d; slow to anger and abundant in kindness and truth; He keeps kindness for thousands [of generations], forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and acquitting; therefore, forgive our iniquity and sin, and take us for Thy inheritance. Forgive us, our Father, for we have sinned.
The prayers include references to some of the important themes of Purim: The total reversal of fortunes enjoyed by the Jews and suffered by Haman, as well as the Purim feast and reading aloud of the Book of Esther; the name of Haman, a descendant of Amalek, is wiped out with noise and jeering every time it is heard.
Other Purim obligations include special gifts of charity to the poor, gifts of food to friends, wearing of costumes (emphasizing the reversal theme), and reaching a heightened state of joy - usually by intoxication. Torah scholars and students emphasize the importance of Torah study on this day as well. The atmosphere on Purim in particular, and throughout the month of Adar, is one of great joy and thanksgiving to G-d for the miraculous deliverance. Individual communities that enjoyed similar deliverances throughout history have marked the occasion locally with a holiday called Little Purim.Purim is celebrated in most of the world on the 14th of Adar, this coming Sunday.
In Jerusalem and other cities that were walled during Biblical times, Purim is commemorated on the 15th of Adar.
POISONED WATERS
REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
Barge accident leads to toxic spill in river
Chicago Tribune news services
Published March 1, 2007
BROOKPORT, ILLINOIS -- Thousands of gallons of a toxic chemical spilled into the Ohio River between Illinois and Kentucky after a barge struck a lock wall, environmental officials said Wednesday.The spill, which occurred late Tuesday from a Kirby Inland Marine-owned barge, was as much as 8,000 gallons of a petroleum-based substance called cumene, said the state Environmental Protection Agency. The chemical spill did not appear to pose a serious threat to residents or marine life, the Coast Guard said.
Spain and Germany up pressure on EU constitution
01.03.2007 - 09:26 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER-BRUSSELS Spain has reaffirmed its role of a vocal promotor of the EU
constitution with renewed criticism of the UK, France and the Netherlands, while Germany is also upping the pressure saying it wants a new-style EU treaty before the end of the year. Alberto Navarro, Spanish Europe minister on Wednesday (1 March) reminded London, Paris and The Hague that the majority of 18 member statespresenting also a clear majority of the EU population have now ratified the EU constitution which French and Dutch voters rejected in referendums in 2005.
Mr Navarro reserved the strongest criticism for the UK, which has only recently indicated it wants to see a slimmed-down EU treaty including only some of the constitution's key institutional reforms. UK prime minister Tony Blair and his then foreign secretary Jack Straw in 2004-2005 strongly defended the constitution as a good result for Britain and for Europe, the Spanish minister highlighted. Obviously the position has changed in two years. At that time, they were proud. I don't know what has changed exactly and why they are so many problems now, he said. The remarks led Jim Allister, a unionist Northern Irish MEP, to say that all doesn't mean very much as Mr Blair is yesterday's man, expected to be replaced by his current finance minister Gordon Brown. Mr Brown is generally seen as more eurosceptic and less committed to a new EU treaty as Mr Blair.
Mr Navarro also expressed impatience with the unclear French and Dutch stances on the constitution, despite Paris being seen as paralysed until it has held presidential elections in May and despite the new Dutch government only taking office last week. What alternatives are being prepared by those who have rejected? Until now we haven't heard anything. France and the Netherlands have not told us what they don't like in the treaty.Eighty five percent of the constitutional treaty is already in the current treaty. As far as I understand the French and Dutch no does not lie in this 85 percent, he said.Mr Navarro also reminded Poland and the Czech Republic, who dislike key parts of the constitution text, that they are getting billions of euros of EU subsidies, appearing to suggest that they should be more grateful towards the rest of the EU.
Berlin makes haste
Spain, which approved the EU constitution in a 2005 referendum, has emerged as one of the most active proponents of salvaging the bulk of the charter in the upcoming re-negotiations of the document. Madrid together with Luxembourg organised a controversial friends of the constitution meeting last month to which countries who did not yet ratify the charter could only send observers. While Madrid has taken up a public pro-constitution campaigning role, Berlin is no less impatient to push the charter as the current EU presidency - albeit through confidential rounds of diplomacy with member states behind closed doors. Speaking at a dinner of the Brussels-based CEPS think-tank, German Europe minister Guenter Gloser said a re-negotiated constitution would have to be agreed by the end of 2007 or the beginning of 2008, so there would be a long enough time to ratify by the European elections in 2009.
Berlin is expected to already present a basic deal on the constitution at the EU leaders' gathering at the end of its presidency in June this year. The deal would list the parts of the current constitution which would be left untouched, while also identifying the issues to come up for re-negotiations in a so-called Inter Governmental Conference (IGC) in the second half of the year. The presidency is going into the direction of establishing by June a kind of acquis for everybody – the broader the agreement of course the better, EU regional policy commissioner Danuta Hübner told journalists last week. And then of course we would have a very short IGC for all those hopefully short list of issues that still require an agreement, she added.
Dinner test
Berlin's constitutional drive will be put to the test already next week when German chancellor Angela Merkel is expected at an EU leaders summit dinner on Thursday evening (8 March) to present her ideas for a the Berlin declaration, marking the 50th anniversary of the EU. Berlin wants the solemn declaration, to be signed by EU leaders on 25 March, to include a reference to the need for a new EU treaty - possibly with a deadline for a compromise. But the move is opposed by states like the UK and the Netherlands who are not eager to be pushed on the constitutional issue.
I believe that the US economy is healthy
By David Litterick in New York
Last Updated: 1:09am GMT 02/03/2007
Comment: Experts' complacency cause for concern.Market shake-out points to end of the US era of financial dominance.US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson sought to calm volatile global markets. He insisted that, while he was watching developments carefully, he believed that the US economy is healthy.US Treasury secretary Henry Paulson.His comments yesterday came on another wild day for the markets, sparked by warnings from Japanese officials of higher interest rates that could disrupt the so-called carry trade and reduce liquidity in global markets.Japanese interest rates have recently been so low that investors have borrowed cheap yen then invested the money in higher-yielding assets in other currencies.
But, faced with higher borrowing costs in Japan, investors will find the cost of money more expensive, raising fears of a credit crunch. That prompted a 3pc drop in Shanghai and a near 1pc fall in the Nikkei in Tokyo, which sparked further losses in Europe.As one trader put it: Wednesday's rebound was like kissing your grandmother - somewhat comforting, but not exciting. I suspect there's more downward pressure to come.The Dow Jones initially fell more than 200 points. However, surprisingly strong figures from the US manufacturing sector followed by Mr Paulson's speech and an apparent U-turn from former Fed chief Alan Greenspan, who said a US recession was unlikely, meant the index was registering a 20-point gain by early afternoon.
The FTSE 100, after trading up 50 points at one stage and down as much as 150 points, closed at 6,116, a loss of 55.5 points.In his speech to the Economic Club of New York, Mr Paulson repeated his views that the biggest hurdles the world economy had to face were a return to protectionist trade policies and a reluctance by the Chinese government to move quickly enough to reform its economy.
Even presidential candidate Hillary Clinton waded into the debate, claiming that this week's stock market sell-off should serve as a wake-up call that the US economy was too dependent on foreign -held debt.
Fears of recession spark further turmoil in markets
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 02 March 2007
Fresh anxiety erupted about the health of the world's major economies yesterday after investors in stock markets across Asia, Europe and the United States once again staged significant retreats two days after Tuesday's unexpected global equity sell-off. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 200 points in the first minutes of trading, seeding fears of a repeat of Tuesday's massacre that saw a 416-point collapse on the index.With slowdowns emerging, notably in the housing market and car manufacturing in the United States, signs are building that it economy may be at a pivot point, with some observers worrying about decelerating expansion and possibly a recession looming.The fearful mood was exacerbated by comments from Alan Greenspan, the influential former chairman of the US Federal Reserve, about the possibility of the US entering recession before year's end. He told a conference in Tokyo yesterday: By the end of the year, there is the possibility but not the probability of the US moving into recession. He has argued this week that corporate profit margins appear to be narrowing, indicating that a recent economic expansion has reached a mature phase.
Market watchers warned of several more bumpy days to come, pointing to the renewed erosions in stock markets globally yesterday. The Shanghai stock market slippedan additional 2.9 per cent. The London FTSE index closed down 55.5 points or 1.5 per cent. The Dow later recouped most of its early losses as some more encouraging economic data was released and closed down 34.29 points. But fears remain that there may be worse to come. All the markets have fallen significantly during the course of the week.Senator Hillary Clinton, a candidate for the US presidency, last night called events of recent days a real wake-up call for the United States, saying it was increasingly losing control of its economic sovereignty because of the globalisation of economies and policy-making, including in China.We are in a different environment, she said, noting the $2.2 trillion (£1.1trillion) foreign debt held by the US. Obviously, the level of public debt that is held by central banks and foreign government is a problem and I don't want our government to ignore this wake-up call.A degree of calm was restored to the New York market after indicators were released showing better-than-expected manufacturing numbers for the US. The Institute for Supply Management's index of manufacturing activity registered 52.3 for January, stronger than the 50.0 reading analysts had expected. By convention, a recession is considered to be in the offing if that number falls below the 50-point mark.
The US Commerce Department revealed that seasonally adjusted personal income in the US rose by 1.5 per cent in January, which was also a better result than had been anticipated.
Investors have been spooked by this week's gyrations after enjoying 12 months of almost unbroken growth in stocks. No one was more shocked than the new Chinese investors who watched in dismay on Tuesday as the Shanghai index tumbled almost 9 per cent.US economists are contemplating a change in the balance of power between world markets, where New York can nowadays find itself hostage to foreign market performances.It's kind of the tail wagging the dog, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in New York. There's no stability in Asian markets, and no stability in European markets. We're trading the market as the rest of the globe is.After the Shanghai Sneeze, as some called it, officials tried to sootheinvestors. There was a brief claw-back on Wednesday in New York after Mr Greenspan's successor at the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, said in congressional testimony that there's a reasonable possibility that we'll see some strengthening of the economy sometime during the middle of the year. He played down a report that showed that a 2006 fourth-quarter expansion of the US economy was slower than previously estimated.
There was no saying how the week would end for world markets today. The aftermath of Tuesday's major sell-off will linger for the next couple of days, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at brokerage house Avalon Partners. He added, however, that fear of recession is overblown.That Mr Greenspan is still able to move world markets even in retirement is certain to raise questions about whether he would do better to keep his counsel.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Thursday, March 01, 2007
ORTHODOX SANHEDRIN TO SACRIFICE ON MOUNT
HAPPY PURIM ISRAEL
IT LOOKS LIKE THE PROPHCY OF REBUILDING THE THIRD TEMPLE COULD SOON BECOME REALITY AS THE ORTHODOX SANHEDRIN WANT TO SACRIFICE ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT FOR PASSOVER.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Present-day Sanhedrin court seeks to revive ancient Temple rituals FEB 28,07 By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting.The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week.Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk.Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).
The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple. On Wednesday, the Sanhedrin will hold its main conference, entitled Existential threats and ways to correct them. Rabbi Menachem Froman, far-right activist Moshe Feiglin, and Nativ editor Arieh Stav will participate in the conference. The guest of honor will be Makor Rishon publisher Shlomo Ben-Zvi.
PLANS FOR THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE DEVELOPING
By Joel C. Rosenberg MAR 01,07
1, 2007) -- It's been nearly 2,000 years since Jews celebrated Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem, but that will change soon if a growing Orthodox Jewish movement in Israel has its way. The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday. The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week.
Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk. Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple.
Numerous Biblical prophecies in the Old and New Testaments indicate a new Temple will be built in the last days, suggesting such headlines have been foretold for centuries. Several Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel are currently making preparations to build and outfit the Third Temple.
Some are developing detailed architectural plans for the structure, while others are creating the religious implements and clothing that would be used by Levitical priests to carry out sacrifices once the Temple is in place. Tensions over control of the Temple Mount are running high at the moment, with Palestinians rioting several weeks ago to keep Israelis from building a ramp so visitors can safely access the ancient holy site. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Khartoum on a two-day state visit to forge a military and economic alliance between Iran and Sudan, to denounce Israeli Jews as children of the Devil and to denounce the United States for trying to plant seeds of sectarian discord throughout Iraq and the Middle East.
Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan, Ahmadinejad told a meeting of Islamic scholars. The Iranian leader also told the people of Sudan: There is no place in the world that suffers from divisions and wars unless America or the Zionists fingerprints are seen there.Ahmadinejad met with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to hold wide-ranging talks aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation in agriculture and industry that should culminate Thursday with the signing of a package of agreements, reports Agence France Presse.
Iran has also offered its expertise in the oil industry, an area currently dominated by China, India and Malaysia, but the issue that has also been at the heart of Iran-Sudan ties is military cooperation, with Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein having visited Iran three times over the past year.Ahmadinejad also made known his opposition to U.N. peacekeeping forces being positioned in Sudan to end the genocide underway in the Darfur region and elsewhere. Iran together with China, whose President Hu Jintao visited Khartoum earlier this month is a key ally of Beshir's regime and spoken out against plans for a UN deployment in Darfur, reports AFP. It's bad enough, of course, that two radical Islamic countries are forging ever stronger ties in their jihad against Judeo-Christian civilization. But what is particularly curious about the emergence of an even stronger Iran-Sudan alliance this week is that it was foretold 2,500 years ago by the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39. Ezekiel 38:5 tells us that Persia and a people group known as Cush will be allies with Russia and a group of other Middle Eastern countries in an effort to destroy Israel in what Bible scholars refer to as the War of Gog and Magog. Until 1935, Persia was the official, legal name of the country we now know as Iran. Cush is the upper Nile region that today is Sudan and Ethiopia. One other interesting note: right after the Hebrew prophet describes this War of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39, he goes on to describe the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in Ezekiel 40-48.
YES MOSHE FEIGLIN IS CALLING FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT TO ISRAELIS. GO MOSHE GO.
Israel: Jewish Safe Haven or Death Trap? by Moshe Feiglin MAR 01,07
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Livni have only one significant solution for the Iranian nuclear threat: They suggest that we pressure the international community. Olmert's pressure includes development of the Arrow missile that is supposed to destroy incoming missiles in the sky. But the Arrow missile is a weapon that essentially breaks Israel 's Samson Option its power of deterrence. The Arrow has no chance of successfully protecting Israel if it is attacked at once by several ballistic missiles or by one missile with multiple warheads, or even if our enemy attacks Israel on a cloudy day. Israel just doesn’t have enough of them, and they just are not fool proof. If Israel actually tried to use the Arrow to intercept all the missiles with which its enemies are armed, it will have to invest its entire defense budget exclusively on building enough Arrow missiles.
In other words, we are paying astronomical sums of money for a national sleeping pill. And what are Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu’s plans to deal with the Iranian threat? Like Olmert, Netanyahu puts his main emphasis on shifting the burden to the international community. In addition, Bibi proposes that Israel turn to the international business community and request that businesses transfer their investments out of Iran . This idea is not realistic. No significant international company will give up its profits just to help Israel . As for turning to the international community, if we are lucky, the sheriff from Washington may decide to attack Iran . Most likely Bush's precarious political position will not allow him to open up a new front – and we had best not rely on him.The British and American
bombers that flew over the death factories of World War II allegedly didn't have time to bomb Auschwitz . Built on the ashes of the Holocaust, the State of Israel was supposed to provide security for all Jews. Could it be that instead of creating a safe haven, we have created a death trap?
A world leader who has the audacity to declare that he intends to destroy the State of Israel should automatically become a clear target for assassination by Israel 's special commando forces. If, after taking this action, Iran would continue with the production of nuclear weapons, Israel would have no choice but to destroy Iran ’s entire nuclear program at all costs. To carry out this necessary plan, Israel needs leadership with a strong Jewish backbone. Israel ’s current leadership tells the world, We are no longer Jews. We are Israelis. Take our holiest site, the Temple Mount , and give us a little bit of peace and quiet.And that is exactly what Iran's Ahmadinejad reminds us: You decided to negate your own Jewish legitimacy? You decided to destroy your souls? No problem. I'll help you out. I will destroy your bodies, as well.
To solve this problem at its source, we need leadership that returns to the source. We will not be destroyed if we return to the Temple Mount . Just look at what is happening today. We are being destroyed because we betrayed the Temple Mount . We no longer have the luxury of choosing if we want to have a Jewish State or a state of all its citizens. Our only choice is between a Jewish State – and no state at all.To learn more about Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) and to read their plan for Israel 's future, visit www.jewishisrael.org . Manhigut Yehudit is the largest faction inside the Likud Party in Israel. It strives to turn Israel from The State of the Jews into The Jewish State.Contact: Shmuel Sackett, International Director (516) 330-4922 (cell)
IT LOOKS LIKE THE PROPHCY OF REBUILDING THE THIRD TEMPLE COULD SOON BECOME REALITY AS THE ORTHODOX SANHEDRIN WANT TO SACRIFICE ON THE TEMPLE MOUNT FOR PASSOVER.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Present-day Sanhedrin court seeks to revive ancient Temple rituals FEB 28,07 By Nadav Shragai, Haaretz Correspondent
The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting.The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week.Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk.Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).
The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple. On Wednesday, the Sanhedrin will hold its main conference, entitled Existential threats and ways to correct them. Rabbi Menachem Froman, far-right activist Moshe Feiglin, and Nativ editor Arieh Stav will participate in the conference. The guest of honor will be Makor Rishon publisher Shlomo Ben-Zvi.
PLANS FOR THIRD JEWISH TEMPLE DEVELOPING
By Joel C. Rosenberg MAR 01,07
1, 2007) -- It's been nearly 2,000 years since Jews celebrated Passover at the Temple in Jerusalem, but that will change soon if a growing Orthodox Jewish movement in Israel has its way. The present-day Sanhedrin Court decided Tuesday to purchase a herd of sheep for ritual sacrifice at the site of the Temple on the eve of Passover, conditions on the Temple Mount permitting, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported yesterday. The modern Sanhedrin was established several years ago and is headed by Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz. It claims to be renewing the ancient Jewish high court, which existed until roughly 1600 years ago, and meets once a week.
Professor Hillel Weiss, a member of the Sanhedrin, told Haaretz on Tuesday that the action, even if merely symbolic, is designed to demonstrate in a way that is obvious to all that the expectation of Temple rituals will resume is real, and not just talk. Several years ago, a number of members of the various Temple movements performed a symbolic sacrifice on Givat Hananya, which overlooks the Temple Mount from Jerusalem's Abu Tur neighborhood. During the ceremony, participants sacrificed a young goat that was donated by a resident of Tekoa. The participants also built a special two-meter tall oven, in accordance with halakha (Jewish law).The Passover sacrifice is considered a simple ceremony, relative to other works performed in the Temple.
Numerous Biblical prophecies in the Old and New Testaments indicate a new Temple will be built in the last days, suggesting such headlines have been foretold for centuries. Several Orthodox Jewish groups in Israel are currently making preparations to build and outfit the Third Temple.
Some are developing detailed architectural plans for the structure, while others are creating the religious implements and clothing that would be used by Levitical priests to carry out sacrifices once the Temple is in place. Tensions over control of the Temple Mount are running high at the moment, with Palestinians rioting several weeks ago to keep Israelis from building a ramp so visitors can safely access the ancient holy site. Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Khartoum on a two-day state visit to forge a military and economic alliance between Iran and Sudan, to denounce Israeli Jews as children of the Devil and to denounce the United States for trying to plant seeds of sectarian discord throughout Iraq and the Middle East.
Zionists are the true manifestation of Satan, Ahmadinejad told a meeting of Islamic scholars. The Iranian leader also told the people of Sudan: There is no place in the world that suffers from divisions and wars unless America or the Zionists fingerprints are seen there.Ahmadinejad met with Sudanese President Omar al-Beshir to hold wide-ranging talks aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation in agriculture and industry that should culminate Thursday with the signing of a package of agreements, reports Agence France Presse.
Iran has also offered its expertise in the oil industry, an area currently dominated by China, India and Malaysia, but the issue that has also been at the heart of Iran-Sudan ties is military cooperation, with Sudanese Defence Minister Abdel Rahim Mohammed Hussein having visited Iran three times over the past year.Ahmadinejad also made known his opposition to U.N. peacekeeping forces being positioned in Sudan to end the genocide underway in the Darfur region and elsewhere. Iran together with China, whose President Hu Jintao visited Khartoum earlier this month is a key ally of Beshir's regime and spoken out against plans for a UN deployment in Darfur, reports AFP. It's bad enough, of course, that two radical Islamic countries are forging ever stronger ties in their jihad against Judeo-Christian civilization. But what is particularly curious about the emergence of an even stronger Iran-Sudan alliance this week is that it was foretold 2,500 years ago by the Hebrew Prophet Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39. Ezekiel 38:5 tells us that Persia and a people group known as Cush will be allies with Russia and a group of other Middle Eastern countries in an effort to destroy Israel in what Bible scholars refer to as the War of Gog and Magog. Until 1935, Persia was the official, legal name of the country we now know as Iran. Cush is the upper Nile region that today is Sudan and Ethiopia. One other interesting note: right after the Hebrew prophet describes this War of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39, he goes on to describe the rebuilt Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in Ezekiel 40-48.
YES MOSHE FEIGLIN IS CALLING FOR THE TEMPLE MOUNT TO ISRAELIS. GO MOSHE GO.
Israel: Jewish Safe Haven or Death Trap? by Moshe Feiglin MAR 01,07
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Foreign Minister Livni have only one significant solution for the Iranian nuclear threat: They suggest that we pressure the international community. Olmert's pressure includes development of the Arrow missile that is supposed to destroy incoming missiles in the sky. But the Arrow missile is a weapon that essentially breaks Israel 's Samson Option its power of deterrence. The Arrow has no chance of successfully protecting Israel if it is attacked at once by several ballistic missiles or by one missile with multiple warheads, or even if our enemy attacks Israel on a cloudy day. Israel just doesn’t have enough of them, and they just are not fool proof. If Israel actually tried to use the Arrow to intercept all the missiles with which its enemies are armed, it will have to invest its entire defense budget exclusively on building enough Arrow missiles.
In other words, we are paying astronomical sums of money for a national sleeping pill. And what are Benjamin Bibi Netanyahu’s plans to deal with the Iranian threat? Like Olmert, Netanyahu puts his main emphasis on shifting the burden to the international community. In addition, Bibi proposes that Israel turn to the international business community and request that businesses transfer their investments out of Iran . This idea is not realistic. No significant international company will give up its profits just to help Israel . As for turning to the international community, if we are lucky, the sheriff from Washington may decide to attack Iran . Most likely Bush's precarious political position will not allow him to open up a new front – and we had best not rely on him.The British and American
bombers that flew over the death factories of World War II allegedly didn't have time to bomb Auschwitz . Built on the ashes of the Holocaust, the State of Israel was supposed to provide security for all Jews. Could it be that instead of creating a safe haven, we have created a death trap?
A world leader who has the audacity to declare that he intends to destroy the State of Israel should automatically become a clear target for assassination by Israel 's special commando forces. If, after taking this action, Iran would continue with the production of nuclear weapons, Israel would have no choice but to destroy Iran ’s entire nuclear program at all costs. To carry out this necessary plan, Israel needs leadership with a strong Jewish backbone. Israel ’s current leadership tells the world, We are no longer Jews. We are Israelis. Take our holiest site, the Temple Mount , and give us a little bit of peace and quiet.And that is exactly what Iran's Ahmadinejad reminds us: You decided to negate your own Jewish legitimacy? You decided to destroy your souls? No problem. I'll help you out. I will destroy your bodies, as well.
To solve this problem at its source, we need leadership that returns to the source. We will not be destroyed if we return to the Temple Mount . Just look at what is happening today. We are being destroyed because we betrayed the Temple Mount . We no longer have the luxury of choosing if we want to have a Jewish State or a state of all its citizens. Our only choice is between a Jewish State – and no state at all.To learn more about Moshe Feiglin and Manhigut Yehudit (Jewish Leadership) and to read their plan for Israel 's future, visit www.jewishisrael.org . Manhigut Yehudit is the largest faction inside the Likud Party in Israel. It strives to turn Israel from The State of the Jews into The Jewish State.Contact: Shmuel Sackett, International Director (516) 330-4922 (cell)
EU MILITARY WANTS LINKS
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Stormy Thursday looms for Midwest. 3-Residents of erupting Stromboli told to avoid coast. 4-North Korea urged to end nuclear plans. 5-Sanhedrin Conference, Business Expo, Music - All in One. 6-MKs Examine Desecrated Ancient Mt. of Olives Cemetery. 7-EU Military Chief Wants Strong Links with UN, AU and NATO. 8-Israeli Arab group proposes new multi-cultural constitution.
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 Mar 1 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 28,07
MAP 4.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 6.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 5.0 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.9 NEVADA
MAP 3.5 NEVADA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 5.1 CELEBES SEA
MAP 2.5 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.9 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
FEB 27,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 ICELAND REGION
MAP 4.7 ICELAND REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTH OF 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.
Stormy Thursday looms for Midwest, South James Bryant, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 28,07
Midwest
Blizzard or near-blizzard conditions will buffet the eastern Dakotas and much of the Upper Midwest tomorrow as a powerful storm center swirls into the upper Mississippi Valley. Heavy, wind-driven snow is likely in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Rain changing to snow will bluster eastward across Iowa and northern Missouri as the day goes on. Along the southern periphery of the snow shield, freezing rain and sleet will ice southern Wisconsin and central Michigan. As if all this weren't enough, heavy rain will soak eastern Indiana and Ohio while severe thunderstorms with potentially damaging wind gusts rumble through Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southwest Ohio and Kentucky. Isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out, either. High temperatures, meanwhile, will encompass a broad range: from the 20s in much of the Dakotas, northern Minnesota, far northern Wisconsin and the U. P. of Michigan to the 60s in the Ohio Valley and Kentucky.
South
Cloudbursts and severe thunderstorms, including the threat of tornadoes, will make for a nasty day in the South tomorrow as a potent cold front charges eastward. Residents from Arkansas and eastern Texas eastward will watch the storminess slash toward the Southeast coast and Florida, maybe not quite making it to eastern North Carolina by sunset.
The heaviest rain is expected to unload on the Southeast where there could be some localized urban and street flooding. Farther west, however, conditions in Oklahoma and Texas will be sunny or turn sunny. High temperatures are forecast to range from the 50s in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas and western North Carolina to the 80s in far south Texas and most of the Florida Peninsula. Much of the region will be rather breezy, too.
Northeast
Precipitation, the vanguard of a powerhouse storm in the Midwest, will push into portions of the Northeast tomorrow, mainly from New York state southward into Virginia. The precipitation should be mostly rain from Pennsylvania southward, but a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain may launch an attack into New York. Strong southeasterly winds will whip over the region as the precipitation slogs in. High temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in far northern New York and northern New England to the 60s in southeast Virginia.
West
The West from the Pacific Northwest and northern California eastward to the Rocky Mountains will remain unsettled tomorrow. A mix of rain and snow showers will fall west of the Cascades while exclusively snow showers should prevail over and east of mountains. Snow levels west of the Cascades will remain extremely low, probably down to the surface early in the day in western Washington and northwest Oregon. The most frequent showers are likely in western Oregon and northern California. Farther east, the precipitation will be more scattered and found primarily in mountain locations (as far south as northwest New Mexico). High temperatures will be well below average for the first of March with highs ranging from the teens in the higher Rockies to the 60s in Southern California, southwest Arizona and southeast New Mexico. Most of the Great Basin will top out only in the 20s and 30s.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Residents of erupting Stromboli told to avoid coast By Antonio Parrinello Wed Feb 28, 11:18 AM ET
STROMBOLI, Italy (Reuters) - Residents and tourists have been told to move away from the coast of an Italian volcanic island in case its spectacular eruptions cause tidal waves, emergency services said on Wednesday.
Two big lava flows burst out of Stromboli's side on Tuesday, sending up vast plumes of steam as they plunged into the Mediterranean below. Authorities said there was no immediate risk to people living on the island, off the coast of Sicily.The eruption (lava flows) are very well fed, said Enzo Boschi, head of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.
But there's no reason to think that anything extraordinary will happen in the short term. The population is not at risk.Residents fear a repeat of the events of December 2002 when a similar upsurge in volcanic activity caused a massive chunk of rock to fall into the sea, causing a 10-meter (33-foot) tidal wave that ruined houses close to the shore.Emergency sirens sounded on the island when the new
eruption began and local authorities ordered residents to move at least 10 meters above the water line.
We've done evacuation drills, one resident told Sky Italia television. We were ready yesterday when that siren went off, we all gathered in the piazza.The lava was flowing down an uninhabited part of the island and the risk, of a greater eruption or of a tsunami, was not considered serious enough to prompt a full-scale evacuation.In winter only a few hundred people live on Stromboli, but the population swells to several thousand in the summer.
Tourists are drawn to climb to the 924-meter (3,000-ft) summit of the volcano and peer into its crater as molten rock is blasted high into the sky.The island was the setting for a 1950 movie starring Ingrid Bergman and, with other islands in the Aeolian archipelago, has become a favorite location in recent decades for holiday homes for the rich and famous.Designers Dolce & Gabbana, writer Umberto Eco and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano are all reported to have homes on Stromboli.(Additional reporting by Antonella Ciancio in Milan)
North Korea urged to end nuclear plans swiftly By Jack Kim
Wed Feb 28, 6:44 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea urged North Korea on Wednesday to act quickly to end its nuclear arms programme when the rival states met for their first high-level talks since Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests last year. North Korea in turn proposed to resume stalled talks on expanding commercial ties and reopen humanitarian projects, South Korean official Lee Kwan-se was quoted as saying in
Pyongyang, according to South Korean media reports.But the North made no specific request for food and fertilizer aid, and it was not yet clear what humanitarian work it had in mind, Lee said.
There was no word on rice and there was no word on fertilizer, Lee said after the morning session in Pyongyang.In the past humanitarian projects have covered reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War as well as regular shipments of rice and fertilizer aid to North Korea, which suffers chronic food shortages.No details of the humanitarian cooperation were mentioned in an official North Korean media account of the meeting.Kwon Ho-ung, North Korea's chief envoy to the talks, called the cooperation a beautiful trait peculiar to the Korean nation, the North's KCNA news agency said.South Korea proposed that family reunions resume immediately and stalled projects to link railroads and highways across the border be completed before the end of the year.
The projects were suspended after the last round of talks in July when Seoul roundly criticized Pyongyang for test-firing a series of missiles. North Korea stormed out of the meeting insisting that, as a sovereign state, it had a legitimate right to conduct those tests.Relations took a further turn for the worse after North Korea's October 9 nuclear test. But their ties have gained fresh impetus after Pyongyang agreed two weeks ago to take steps to end its nuclear arms programme in return for up to 1 million tonnes of fuel oil or aid from five countries.North Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, was expected in Washington in the next few days for discussions provided for under that agreement on improving ties with the United States.Officials from North Korea and Japan were also to hold separate talks in Hanoi next week on normalizing ties, all part of steps agreed in a February 13
agreement in Beijing.
Analysts said the North's recent diplomatic actions, coming after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions in response to its nuclear test, were encouraging but it was best to be cautious until Pyongyang actually delivered on its pledges.James Schoff of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the vast range of steps needed from all parties to fulfil the agreement needed complicated intra-agency work not only by the North but by other countries involved in those talks.This is not a recipe for success, Schoff wrote in a report.The inter-Korean meeting in Pyongyang began on Tuesday and was scheduled to end on Friday. Foreign media are barred from covering the talks.
Sanhedrin Conference, Business Expo, Music - All in One
by Hillel Fendel FEB 28,07 (INN)
A triple day-long event - featuring the Sanhedrin Conference, a front-lines business fair, and a concert by Aharon Raz'el and Yehuda Glanz - is underway in Jerusalem, sponsored by a new grassroots movement. The event, with the participation of hundreds of people, is being held today(Wednesday) at the Jerusalem Gate Hotel adjacent to the Central Bus Station. The Sanhedrin Conference includes rabbis, academics and politicians such as Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel, Moshe Feiglin, Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz, Prof. Hillel Weiss, and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. It is dedicated to Erez Levanon, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists while praying in a forest near his home in Gush Etzion this week. Among the lectures are: Calling for Peace - A Prerequisite for Victory by Rabbi Menachem Fruman.The Danger of Lack of Education & the Remedy of Jewish Identity by Sanhedrin chairman Rabbi Yoel Schwartz.
The Writings of Shabtai Ben Dov A Torani-Political-Existential Program. by Yehuda Etzion, and The Israeli Economy Perils and Hopes by Prof. Aharon Tziner.
One of the speakers, Temple Institute head Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, was detained by police yesterday and questioned for several hours on suspicion of having called IDF Maj.-Gen. Ya'ir Naveh a rodef. A rodef is one who directly endangers Jewish life and is thus eligible for death. Rabbi Ariel explained to Arutz-7 several weeks ago that he had written a private letter to Naveh to this effect, but that he did not publicize it.
Naveh, an observant Jew, has been censured for having signed administrative orders distancing over 20 young Jews from their homes in Yesha, taken active part in the Disengagement and the Amona destruction, and even for having signed orders giving lands in southern Judea to Arabs.The Yesha Rabbis Council sharply condemned the arrest, terming it religious persecution, shutting of mouths, and a witch-hunt reminiscent of dark periods in our history when rabbis were persecuted for their Torah rulings that did not please the rulers.The Sanhedrin is an organization that says it has re-established the Land of Israel Sanhedrin of the Mishnaic period nearly 2,000 years ago. The Sanhedrin was a council of 71 sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. It continued to function for more than 400 years after the destruction of the Temple in 68 C.E. The current attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin is generally referred to as the nascent Sanhedrin, or the developing Sanhedrin,according to the Sanhedrin's website. At the same time, in another part of the Jerusalem Gate Hotel, a business expo entitled Business at the Forefront: Supporting Business on the Frontlines is being held today.
The fair provides a unique opportunity for over 60 businesses owned by Israel's front-liners - residents of Sderot, Yesha, and the north, as well as expellees from Gush Katif - to sell their products and make business connections. The expo runs from 10 AM to 10 PM. The event will end this evening with a musical concert featuring Aharon Raz'el, Yehuda Glanz and Harpo. They will perform, inter alia, compositions written by the late Erez Levanon.
The event is being coordinated by Tzibur Bnei Yisrael (The Community of the Children of Israel), a new grassroots movement dedicated to Jewish unity and to realizing the collective dreams of the Jewish people.A conference participant, Meir Lapid of Kiryat Arba, told Arutz-7, This is a very important initiative - the start of the filling of the vacuum of the past 2,000 years, in the sense that rabbinical leaders in the Diaspora always led their communities, while now we are seeking national religious leadership that must deal with our national challenges. The Sanhedrin is a type of open organization that unites outlooks and tries to turn them into an answer for the challenges of today - not like the superficial approach that we see reflected in the media.Another participant, Avi Lowell of Tekoa, told Arutz-7 that he was excited to see Jews of all backgrounds, from outwardly not religious to hareidi, coming together to discuss critical issues, and in the Expo, purchasing goods of all types from different areas of the country - including organic wine, Purim food baskets, books, jewelry, paintings, artwork, and much more.
Heres an awesome place because this Mount of Olives is were JESUS and the Raptured Christians return to EARTH at the end of the future 7 year peace treaty of DANIEL 9:27.
MKs Examine Desecrated Ancient Mt. of Olives Cemetery
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz FEB 28,07 (INN)
Legislators serving on the Knesset's State Control Committee were given a tour Tuesday of the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem's Old City. The purpose of the tour was to examine first-hand the many complaints registered with the authorities over extensive desecration of graves at the site, including graffiti and smashed headstones. MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party-National Union), chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee, expressed bitterness over the destruction he saw at the ancient cemetery: If such vandalism as the smashing of headstones and the desecration of graves had occurred in a Jewish cemetery in Europe, I am convinced that the entire Jewish world would be shocked and the law enforcement authorities would attempt to capture the guilty parties.MK Orlev noted that, in contrast to the case of a European Jewish cemetery desecration, such shocking phenomena are taking place in the heart of the capital of Israel, adjacent to the Western Wall, [yet] the sovereign Jewish regime remains apathetic.
Representatives of the Development Authority responsible for eastern Jerusalem, who accompanied the parliamentarians on their fact-finding tour of the Mt. of Olives, promised to implement government decisions to preserve and restore the desecrated Jewish cemetery.
Among other measures, the development authority is to establish effective security arrangements for the area, repair the damaged headstones, and assure general cleanliness, waste collection and disposal.MK Orlev announced that the committee he heads will request State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to examine the conduct of the relevant state authorities responsible for the Mt. of Olives site. In three months, Orlev said, the State Control Committee would hold a follow-up meeting on the issue. The cemetery on the Mt. of Olives includes approximately 150,000 graves, dating from the First Temple period through modern times. Among the many graves there are those of many famous Jewish historical figures such as Rabbi Moshe Ben-Nachman (Ramban), former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Shlomo Goren, the codifier of modern Hebrew Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, author and Nobel Prize laureate S. Y. Agnon, British Chief Rabbi and Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, and media mogul Robert Maxwell. Many Jews through the ages have sought burial on the Mt. of Olives because the site is mentioned in the Bible as the first spot from which the dead will be revivified.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
Defense | 28.02.2007
EU Military Chief Wants Strong Links with UN, AU and NATO
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The EU says it wants a global military role, but with help from partners.The European Union's drive for a stronger global military role includes upgrading ties with the United Nations, NATO and the African Union, the bloc's top military official said on Wednesday.General Henri Bentegeat, head of the influential military body which advises EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana, said the 27-nation European Union was determined to tackle flashpoints in all parts of the world. He made the remarks in an interview with the German news agency dpa ahead of a meeting of EU defense ministers in the German city of Wiesbaden on March 1-2.
With 16 civilian and military missions currently deployed across the world - including in Bosnia, Darfur, the Palestinian territories and Iraq - slowly but surely, the EU is preparing, organizing itself to play a global role, said Bentegeat.Bildunterschrift: General Henri Bentegeat.However, EU governments want to do this in partnership with the UN, the 26-nation NATO military alliance and the African Union.Bentegeat, who was previously French Army chief of staff, said all EU operations required the legitimacy of a UN mandate. Having worked closely with the UN during last year's military operations supervising national elections in Congo, the bloc is determined to improve coordination with the global body, he said.
NATO vs. EU?
Close cooperation with NATO is also a priority, said Bentegeat. Referring to rivalries between the two organizations, the general said both the EU and NATO had to go beyond unease and frustrations and focus on the resolution of problems in Afghanistan and Kosovo.Fears that a powerful NATO would suffocate Europe's nascent defense identity or that Europe's security ambitions were a threat to the alliance were unfounded, said Bentegeat.In reality, the EU's military capability was modest and not comparable to NATO, he said.
Also, the EU's military role was now well-established enough to withstand any so-called risk of suffocation from NATO.While formal EU-NATO contacts were hampered by a dispute between Turkey (in NATO but not in the EU) and Cyprus (in the EU but not in NATO), the two organizations were engaged in a real dialogue at all levels, including staff-to-staff contacts, said Bentegeat.Regular discussions between EU security chief Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer were also a guarantee of a strong partnership between the two organizations, he said.This is important for the Balkans. Working in Kosovo will require practical agreements between NATO forces and a future EU civilian mission, he said.NATO currently has an estimated 16,000 troops in Kosovo as part of the UN administration of the breakaway Serbian province. The EU has said it will help police reform and rule of law projects in the territory once there is a UN resolution confirming Kosovo's future status.
African Union
Bentegeat said the EU was determined to help the African Union's efforts to tackle a growing number of crises on the continent.African governments want to do this themselves. But they need our help ... the EU cannot ignore the impact of these crises on the (economic) development of Africa, he said.
In addition to last year's military mission in Congo and logistical help for African Union forces in Darfur, Bentegeat said the EU wanted to help an ambitious AU program to create a standby force for peacekeeping missions.What made the EU's role as world security actor unique was its capacity to combine military and civilian operations when tackling crises, he said.The EU's main advantage compared to other international organizations is its capacity to simultaneously mobilize a range of components - military, financial, law and order and administrative, said the general.This capacity to act in parallel on the military and civilian fronts gave the EU a special role and force on the global stage, he said.
Lessons from international military operations show that military solutions alone cannot solve modern crises, said Bentegeat. This was currently the case in Afghanistan where the US and NATO were demanding a better coordination of military action and aid, he said.The EU also realized the importance of contributing to the long-term reform of the security sector in crisis zones, said Bentegeat. The end of the EU military operation in Congo for instance had been followed up by efforts to reform the Congolese police force and army.Such actions would be boosted by the setting up of rapid civilian crisis response teams allowing the swift dispatch of EU police officers,magistrates and administrators to crisis zones, he said.
EU battlegroups
Bentegeat said such teams would be in addition to EU battlegroups aimed at taking on crisis-management tasks worldwide.Two battlegroups, including an estimated 1,500 soldiers, each are currently operational. The general said Germany, Portugal and Slovenia had suggested that the ground forces should be backed up by marine and air forces to improve the deployability and sustainability of EU military operations.We realized that in real life, one cannot just act with ground troops - we need air and navy forces to transport them, protect them, and provide logistical support, said
Bentegeat.DW staff / dpa (jam)
Israeli Arab group proposes new multi-cultural constitution
by Yoav Stern Feb 28, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/831400.html
A proposed constitution written by the Israeli Arab advocacy center, Adalah, states that Arab Knesset members will be able to bring about the disqualification of bills that impinge on the rights of Arabs, and classifies the State of Israel as a bilingual and multicultural country rather than a Jewish state.
The proposal, entitled The Democratic Constitution, also calls for majority and minority groups to split control of the government in such a way that will strengthen the Arab minority on issues relating to the character of the state.Adalah's version of the constitution essentially abolishes the Jewish
elements of Israel, but allows the Jewish majority to maintain its character through educational and cultural institutions. The proposal invalidates the Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to people with at least one Jewish grandparent, and states that citizenship will be granted to those who come to Israel for humanitarian reasons, regardless of their religion.
The document states that the internal refugees Arab residents and their descendants expelled in 1948 and whose number is estimated at about a quarter of today's Israeli Arab citizens will return to the area where they used to live and receive compensation. The introduction to the proposed constitution demands that Israel recognize its responsibility for the historical injustices that it caused the Palestinian nation in its entirety, withdraw from the territories and recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. The proposal sets the state's borders along the 1967 cease-fire lines.The proposed constitution grants citizenship to all descendants of Israeli citizens, whether they were born here or abroad, as well as to all spouses of Israeli citizens thereby undermining Israeli efforts to limit marriages between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians living in the territories. Instead of dealing with the issue of who is a Jew, says Adalah, the proposal deals with the issue of who is a citizen.
Adalah's constitution is the first one proposed by an Arab institution, though there have been many proposed by various Jewish ones. Adalah chairman Prof. Marwan Dwairy said the other proposals are not based on democratic values.
They relate to Arab citizens like foreigners in this homeland, in which history, memory and collective rights are the legacy of Jews alone, he wrote.Adalah hopes that its proposal will spur public discourse on the legal and cultural standing of Israeli Arabs.If this Democratic Constitution succeeds in highlighting the large gaps that exist between it and the other proposals, and generates dialogue and topical public discussion on the nature of the freedoms and rights in the this country, we will see it as an important step, wrote Dwairy.According to the proposed constitution, all assets of the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust) that were expropriated after 1948 and all assets seized by the state from Arabs will be returned to their original owners, who will also receive compensation for the period of expropriation. The state must also immediately recognize all unrecognized Arab villages, the proposal states.
The document does not state what the symbols of the country should be, but says that they will be determined either by a Knesset committee, half of whose members will be Arab, or by agreement of 75 percent of Arab MKs.All official publications, court rulings and media reports will be in both Hebrew and Arabic, according to Adalah. The proposal states that every cultural group, whether religious or ethnic, will be able to run their own institutions, and that national minorities can choose their own representative body, at the state's expense.The proposed constitution grants the judicial system the authority to overturn any laws that contradict the constitution. Adalah says that many of its sections are based on international declarations of human rights, and has consulted with legal experts from around the world, including some who were involved in South Africa's changeover from an apartheid state to a democratic one.
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 Mar 1 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 28,07
MAP 4.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 6.2 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 5.0 KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 2.9 NEVADA
MAP 3.5 NEVADA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 5.1 CELEBES SEA
MAP 2.5 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.9 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
FEB 27,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 ICELAND REGION
MAP 4.7 ICELAND REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTH OF 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.
Stormy Thursday looms for Midwest, South James Bryant, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 28,07
Midwest
Blizzard or near-blizzard conditions will buffet the eastern Dakotas and much of the Upper Midwest tomorrow as a powerful storm center swirls into the upper Mississippi Valley. Heavy, wind-driven snow is likely in Minnesota, northern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Rain changing to snow will bluster eastward across Iowa and northern Missouri as the day goes on. Along the southern periphery of the snow shield, freezing rain and sleet will ice southern Wisconsin and central Michigan. As if all this weren't enough, heavy rain will soak eastern Indiana and Ohio while severe thunderstorms with potentially damaging wind gusts rumble through Missouri, southern Illinois, southern Indiana, southwest Ohio and Kentucky. Isolated tornadoes can't be ruled out, either. High temperatures, meanwhile, will encompass a broad range: from the 20s in much of the Dakotas, northern Minnesota, far northern Wisconsin and the U. P. of Michigan to the 60s in the Ohio Valley and Kentucky.
South
Cloudbursts and severe thunderstorms, including the threat of tornadoes, will make for a nasty day in the South tomorrow as a potent cold front charges eastward. Residents from Arkansas and eastern Texas eastward will watch the storminess slash toward the Southeast coast and Florida, maybe not quite making it to eastern North Carolina by sunset.
The heaviest rain is expected to unload on the Southeast where there could be some localized urban and street flooding. Farther west, however, conditions in Oklahoma and Texas will be sunny or turn sunny. High temperatures are forecast to range from the 50s in the Texas Panhandle, Oklahoma, northwest Arkansas and western North Carolina to the 80s in far south Texas and most of the Florida Peninsula. Much of the region will be rather breezy, too.
Northeast
Precipitation, the vanguard of a powerhouse storm in the Midwest, will push into portions of the Northeast tomorrow, mainly from New York state southward into Virginia. The precipitation should be mostly rain from Pennsylvania southward, but a mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain may launch an attack into New York. Strong southeasterly winds will whip over the region as the precipitation slogs in. High temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in far northern New York and northern New England to the 60s in southeast Virginia.
West
The West from the Pacific Northwest and northern California eastward to the Rocky Mountains will remain unsettled tomorrow. A mix of rain and snow showers will fall west of the Cascades while exclusively snow showers should prevail over and east of mountains. Snow levels west of the Cascades will remain extremely low, probably down to the surface early in the day in western Washington and northwest Oregon. The most frequent showers are likely in western Oregon and northern California. Farther east, the precipitation will be more scattered and found primarily in mountain locations (as far south as northwest New Mexico). High temperatures will be well below average for the first of March with highs ranging from the teens in the higher Rockies to the 60s in Southern California, southwest Arizona and southeast New Mexico. Most of the Great Basin will top out only in the 20s and 30s.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Residents of erupting Stromboli told to avoid coast By Antonio Parrinello Wed Feb 28, 11:18 AM ET
STROMBOLI, Italy (Reuters) - Residents and tourists have been told to move away from the coast of an Italian volcanic island in case its spectacular eruptions cause tidal waves, emergency services said on Wednesday.
Two big lava flows burst out of Stromboli's side on Tuesday, sending up vast plumes of steam as they plunged into the Mediterranean below. Authorities said there was no immediate risk to people living on the island, off the coast of Sicily.The eruption (lava flows) are very well fed, said Enzo Boschi, head of Italy's National Institute of Geophysics and Vulcanology.
But there's no reason to think that anything extraordinary will happen in the short term. The population is not at risk.Residents fear a repeat of the events of December 2002 when a similar upsurge in volcanic activity caused a massive chunk of rock to fall into the sea, causing a 10-meter (33-foot) tidal wave that ruined houses close to the shore.Emergency sirens sounded on the island when the new
eruption began and local authorities ordered residents to move at least 10 meters above the water line.
We've done evacuation drills, one resident told Sky Italia television. We were ready yesterday when that siren went off, we all gathered in the piazza.The lava was flowing down an uninhabited part of the island and the risk, of a greater eruption or of a tsunami, was not considered serious enough to prompt a full-scale evacuation.In winter only a few hundred people live on Stromboli, but the population swells to several thousand in the summer.
Tourists are drawn to climb to the 924-meter (3,000-ft) summit of the volcano and peer into its crater as molten rock is blasted high into the sky.The island was the setting for a 1950 movie starring Ingrid Bergman and, with other islands in the Aeolian archipelago, has become a favorite location in recent decades for holiday homes for the rich and famous.Designers Dolce & Gabbana, writer Umberto Eco and Italian President Giorgio Napolitano are all reported to have homes on Stromboli.(Additional reporting by Antonella Ciancio in Milan)
North Korea urged to end nuclear plans swiftly By Jack Kim
Wed Feb 28, 6:44 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea urged North Korea on Wednesday to act quickly to end its nuclear arms programme when the rival states met for their first high-level talks since Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests last year. North Korea in turn proposed to resume stalled talks on expanding commercial ties and reopen humanitarian projects, South Korean official Lee Kwan-se was quoted as saying in
Pyongyang, according to South Korean media reports.But the North made no specific request for food and fertilizer aid, and it was not yet clear what humanitarian work it had in mind, Lee said.
There was no word on rice and there was no word on fertilizer, Lee said after the morning session in Pyongyang.In the past humanitarian projects have covered reunions of families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War as well as regular shipments of rice and fertilizer aid to North Korea, which suffers chronic food shortages.No details of the humanitarian cooperation were mentioned in an official North Korean media account of the meeting.Kwon Ho-ung, North Korea's chief envoy to the talks, called the cooperation a beautiful trait peculiar to the Korean nation, the North's KCNA news agency said.South Korea proposed that family reunions resume immediately and stalled projects to link railroads and highways across the border be completed before the end of the year.
The projects were suspended after the last round of talks in July when Seoul roundly criticized Pyongyang for test-firing a series of missiles. North Korea stormed out of the meeting insisting that, as a sovereign state, it had a legitimate right to conduct those tests.Relations took a further turn for the worse after North Korea's October 9 nuclear test. But their ties have gained fresh impetus after Pyongyang agreed two weeks ago to take steps to end its nuclear arms programme in return for up to 1 million tonnes of fuel oil or aid from five countries.North Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Kim Kye-gwan, was expected in Washington in the next few days for discussions provided for under that agreement on improving ties with the United States.Officials from North Korea and Japan were also to hold separate talks in Hanoi next week on normalizing ties, all part of steps agreed in a February 13
agreement in Beijing.
Analysts said the North's recent diplomatic actions, coming after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions in response to its nuclear test, were encouraging but it was best to be cautious until Pyongyang actually delivered on its pledges.James Schoff of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said the vast range of steps needed from all parties to fulfil the agreement needed complicated intra-agency work not only by the North but by other countries involved in those talks.This is not a recipe for success, Schoff wrote in a report.The inter-Korean meeting in Pyongyang began on Tuesday and was scheduled to end on Friday. Foreign media are barred from covering the talks.
Sanhedrin Conference, Business Expo, Music - All in One
by Hillel Fendel FEB 28,07 (INN)
A triple day-long event - featuring the Sanhedrin Conference, a front-lines business fair, and a concert by Aharon Raz'el and Yehuda Glanz - is underway in Jerusalem, sponsored by a new grassroots movement. The event, with the participation of hundreds of people, is being held today(Wednesday) at the Jerusalem Gate Hotel adjacent to the Central Bus Station. The Sanhedrin Conference includes rabbis, academics and politicians such as Rabbi Moshe Tzuriel, Moshe Feiglin, Rabbi Adin
Steinsaltz, Prof. Hillel Weiss, and Rabbi Yisrael Ariel. It is dedicated to Erez Levanon, who was murdered by Palestinian terrorists while praying in a forest near his home in Gush Etzion this week. Among the lectures are: Calling for Peace - A Prerequisite for Victory by Rabbi Menachem Fruman.The Danger of Lack of Education & the Remedy of Jewish Identity by Sanhedrin chairman Rabbi Yoel Schwartz.
The Writings of Shabtai Ben Dov A Torani-Political-Existential Program. by Yehuda Etzion, and The Israeli Economy Perils and Hopes by Prof. Aharon Tziner.
One of the speakers, Temple Institute head Rabbi Yisrael Ariel, was detained by police yesterday and questioned for several hours on suspicion of having called IDF Maj.-Gen. Ya'ir Naveh a rodef. A rodef is one who directly endangers Jewish life and is thus eligible for death. Rabbi Ariel explained to Arutz-7 several weeks ago that he had written a private letter to Naveh to this effect, but that he did not publicize it.
Naveh, an observant Jew, has been censured for having signed administrative orders distancing over 20 young Jews from their homes in Yesha, taken active part in the Disengagement and the Amona destruction, and even for having signed orders giving lands in southern Judea to Arabs.The Yesha Rabbis Council sharply condemned the arrest, terming it religious persecution, shutting of mouths, and a witch-hunt reminiscent of dark periods in our history when rabbis were persecuted for their Torah rulings that did not please the rulers.The Sanhedrin is an organization that says it has re-established the Land of Israel Sanhedrin of the Mishnaic period nearly 2,000 years ago. The Sanhedrin was a council of 71 sages who constituted the supreme court and legislative body in Judea during the Roman period. It continued to function for more than 400 years after the destruction of the Temple in 68 C.E. The current attempt to re-establish the Sanhedrin is generally referred to as the nascent Sanhedrin, or the developing Sanhedrin,according to the Sanhedrin's website. At the same time, in another part of the Jerusalem Gate Hotel, a business expo entitled Business at the Forefront: Supporting Business on the Frontlines is being held today.
The fair provides a unique opportunity for over 60 businesses owned by Israel's front-liners - residents of Sderot, Yesha, and the north, as well as expellees from Gush Katif - to sell their products and make business connections. The expo runs from 10 AM to 10 PM. The event will end this evening with a musical concert featuring Aharon Raz'el, Yehuda Glanz and Harpo. They will perform, inter alia, compositions written by the late Erez Levanon.
The event is being coordinated by Tzibur Bnei Yisrael (The Community of the Children of Israel), a new grassroots movement dedicated to Jewish unity and to realizing the collective dreams of the Jewish people.A conference participant, Meir Lapid of Kiryat Arba, told Arutz-7, This is a very important initiative - the start of the filling of the vacuum of the past 2,000 years, in the sense that rabbinical leaders in the Diaspora always led their communities, while now we are seeking national religious leadership that must deal with our national challenges. The Sanhedrin is a type of open organization that unites outlooks and tries to turn them into an answer for the challenges of today - not like the superficial approach that we see reflected in the media.Another participant, Avi Lowell of Tekoa, told Arutz-7 that he was excited to see Jews of all backgrounds, from outwardly not religious to hareidi, coming together to discuss critical issues, and in the Expo, purchasing goods of all types from different areas of the country - including organic wine, Purim food baskets, books, jewelry, paintings, artwork, and much more.
Heres an awesome place because this Mount of Olives is were JESUS and the Raptured Christians return to EARTH at the end of the future 7 year peace treaty of DANIEL 9:27.
MKs Examine Desecrated Ancient Mt. of Olives Cemetery
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz FEB 28,07 (INN)
Legislators serving on the Knesset's State Control Committee were given a tour Tuesday of the ancient Jewish cemetery on the Mt. of Olives, overlooking Jerusalem's Old City. The purpose of the tour was to examine first-hand the many complaints registered with the authorities over extensive desecration of graves at the site, including graffiti and smashed headstones. MK Zevulun Orlev (National Religious Party-National Union), chairman of the Knesset State Control Committee, expressed bitterness over the destruction he saw at the ancient cemetery: If such vandalism as the smashing of headstones and the desecration of graves had occurred in a Jewish cemetery in Europe, I am convinced that the entire Jewish world would be shocked and the law enforcement authorities would attempt to capture the guilty parties.MK Orlev noted that, in contrast to the case of a European Jewish cemetery desecration, such shocking phenomena are taking place in the heart of the capital of Israel, adjacent to the Western Wall, [yet] the sovereign Jewish regime remains apathetic.
Representatives of the Development Authority responsible for eastern Jerusalem, who accompanied the parliamentarians on their fact-finding tour of the Mt. of Olives, promised to implement government decisions to preserve and restore the desecrated Jewish cemetery.
Among other measures, the development authority is to establish effective security arrangements for the area, repair the damaged headstones, and assure general cleanliness, waste collection and disposal.MK Orlev announced that the committee he heads will request State Comptroller Micha Lindenstrauss to examine the conduct of the relevant state authorities responsible for the Mt. of Olives site. In three months, Orlev said, the State Control Committee would hold a follow-up meeting on the issue. The cemetery on the Mt. of Olives includes approximately 150,000 graves, dating from the First Temple period through modern times. Among the many graves there are those of many famous Jewish historical figures such as Rabbi Moshe Ben-Nachman (Ramban), former Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Rabbi Avraham Yitzchak Kook, Chief Rabbi of the State of Israel Shlomo Goren, the codifier of modern Hebrew Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, author and Nobel Prize laureate S. Y. Agnon, British Chief Rabbi and Lord Immanuel Jakobovits, and media mogul Robert Maxwell. Many Jews through the ages have sought burial on the Mt. of Olives because the site is mentioned in the Bible as the first spot from which the dead will be revivified.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
Defense | 28.02.2007
EU Military Chief Wants Strong Links with UN, AU and NATO
Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The EU says it wants a global military role, but with help from partners.The European Union's drive for a stronger global military role includes upgrading ties with the United Nations, NATO and the African Union, the bloc's top military official said on Wednesday.General Henri Bentegeat, head of the influential military body which advises EU foreign and security chief Javier Solana, said the 27-nation European Union was determined to tackle flashpoints in all parts of the world. He made the remarks in an interview with the German news agency dpa ahead of a meeting of EU defense ministers in the German city of Wiesbaden on March 1-2.
With 16 civilian and military missions currently deployed across the world - including in Bosnia, Darfur, the Palestinian territories and Iraq - slowly but surely, the EU is preparing, organizing itself to play a global role, said Bentegeat.Bildunterschrift: General Henri Bentegeat.However, EU governments want to do this in partnership with the UN, the 26-nation NATO military alliance and the African Union.Bentegeat, who was previously French Army chief of staff, said all EU operations required the legitimacy of a UN mandate. Having worked closely with the UN during last year's military operations supervising national elections in Congo, the bloc is determined to improve coordination with the global body, he said.
NATO vs. EU?
Close cooperation with NATO is also a priority, said Bentegeat. Referring to rivalries between the two organizations, the general said both the EU and NATO had to go beyond unease and frustrations and focus on the resolution of problems in Afghanistan and Kosovo.Fears that a powerful NATO would suffocate Europe's nascent defense identity or that Europe's security ambitions were a threat to the alliance were unfounded, said Bentegeat.In reality, the EU's military capability was modest and not comparable to NATO, he said.
Also, the EU's military role was now well-established enough to withstand any so-called risk of suffocation from NATO.While formal EU-NATO contacts were hampered by a dispute between Turkey (in NATO but not in the EU) and Cyprus (in the EU but not in NATO), the two organizations were engaged in a real dialogue at all levels, including staff-to-staff contacts, said Bentegeat.Regular discussions between EU security chief Solana and NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer were also a guarantee of a strong partnership between the two organizations, he said.This is important for the Balkans. Working in Kosovo will require practical agreements between NATO forces and a future EU civilian mission, he said.NATO currently has an estimated 16,000 troops in Kosovo as part of the UN administration of the breakaway Serbian province. The EU has said it will help police reform and rule of law projects in the territory once there is a UN resolution confirming Kosovo's future status.
African Union
Bentegeat said the EU was determined to help the African Union's efforts to tackle a growing number of crises on the continent.African governments want to do this themselves. But they need our help ... the EU cannot ignore the impact of these crises on the (economic) development of Africa, he said.
In addition to last year's military mission in Congo and logistical help for African Union forces in Darfur, Bentegeat said the EU wanted to help an ambitious AU program to create a standby force for peacekeeping missions.What made the EU's role as world security actor unique was its capacity to combine military and civilian operations when tackling crises, he said.The EU's main advantage compared to other international organizations is its capacity to simultaneously mobilize a range of components - military, financial, law and order and administrative, said the general.This capacity to act in parallel on the military and civilian fronts gave the EU a special role and force on the global stage, he said.
Lessons from international military operations show that military solutions alone cannot solve modern crises, said Bentegeat. This was currently the case in Afghanistan where the US and NATO were demanding a better coordination of military action and aid, he said.The EU also realized the importance of contributing to the long-term reform of the security sector in crisis zones, said Bentegeat. The end of the EU military operation in Congo for instance had been followed up by efforts to reform the Congolese police force and army.Such actions would be boosted by the setting up of rapid civilian crisis response teams allowing the swift dispatch of EU police officers,magistrates and administrators to crisis zones, he said.
EU battlegroups
Bentegeat said such teams would be in addition to EU battlegroups aimed at taking on crisis-management tasks worldwide.Two battlegroups, including an estimated 1,500 soldiers, each are currently operational. The general said Germany, Portugal and Slovenia had suggested that the ground forces should be backed up by marine and air forces to improve the deployability and sustainability of EU military operations.We realized that in real life, one cannot just act with ground troops - we need air and navy forces to transport them, protect them, and provide logistical support, said
Bentegeat.DW staff / dpa (jam)
Israeli Arab group proposes new multi-cultural constitution
by Yoav Stern Feb 28, 2007 http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/831400.html
A proposed constitution written by the Israeli Arab advocacy center, Adalah, states that Arab Knesset members will be able to bring about the disqualification of bills that impinge on the rights of Arabs, and classifies the State of Israel as a bilingual and multicultural country rather than a Jewish state.
The proposal, entitled The Democratic Constitution, also calls for majority and minority groups to split control of the government in such a way that will strengthen the Arab minority on issues relating to the character of the state.Adalah's version of the constitution essentially abolishes the Jewish
elements of Israel, but allows the Jewish majority to maintain its character through educational and cultural institutions. The proposal invalidates the Law of Return, which grants automatic citizenship to people with at least one Jewish grandparent, and states that citizenship will be granted to those who come to Israel for humanitarian reasons, regardless of their religion.
The document states that the internal refugees Arab residents and their descendants expelled in 1948 and whose number is estimated at about a quarter of today's Israeli Arab citizens will return to the area where they used to live and receive compensation. The introduction to the proposed constitution demands that Israel recognize its responsibility for the historical injustices that it caused the Palestinian nation in its entirety, withdraw from the territories and recognize the Palestinian people's right to self-determination. The proposal sets the state's borders along the 1967 cease-fire lines.The proposed constitution grants citizenship to all descendants of Israeli citizens, whether they were born here or abroad, as well as to all spouses of Israeli citizens thereby undermining Israeli efforts to limit marriages between Israeli Arabs and Palestinians living in the territories. Instead of dealing with the issue of who is a Jew, says Adalah, the proposal deals with the issue of who is a citizen.
Adalah's constitution is the first one proposed by an Arab institution, though there have been many proposed by various Jewish ones. Adalah chairman Prof. Marwan Dwairy said the other proposals are not based on democratic values.
They relate to Arab citizens like foreigners in this homeland, in which history, memory and collective rights are the legacy of Jews alone, he wrote.Adalah hopes that its proposal will spur public discourse on the legal and cultural standing of Israeli Arabs.If this Democratic Constitution succeeds in highlighting the large gaps that exist between it and the other proposals, and generates dialogue and topical public discussion on the nature of the freedoms and rights in the this country, we will see it as an important step, wrote Dwairy.According to the proposed constitution, all assets of the Waqf (the Muslim religious trust) that were expropriated after 1948 and all assets seized by the state from Arabs will be returned to their original owners, who will also receive compensation for the period of expropriation. The state must also immediately recognize all unrecognized Arab villages, the proposal states.
The document does not state what the symbols of the country should be, but says that they will be determined either by a Knesset committee, half of whose members will be Arab, or by agreement of 75 percent of Arab MKs.All official publications, court rulings and media reports will be in both Hebrew and Arabic, according to Adalah. The proposal states that every cultural group, whether religious or ethnic, will be able to run their own institutions, and that national minorities can choose their own representative body, at the state's expense.The proposed constitution grants the judicial system the authority to overturn any laws that contradict the constitution. Adalah says that many of its sections are based on international declarations of human rights, and has consulted with legal experts from around the world, including some who were involved in South Africa's changeover from an apartheid state to a democratic one.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
CHINA MARKETS DROP 9%
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Earthquake shakes rural California area. 3-La Nina's brewing, forecasters warn 4-Winter storm woes hit central, eastern U.S 5-Italy launches emergency plan as volcano erupts. 6-Erupting Vesuvius kills 300,000 in simulation. 7-Lost Tomb of Jesus tries to turn fiction into believability, minister warns. 8-European Union: An emerging world model. 9-Russia Moves in Support of Syria, Iran, Hamas-Led PA. 10-Devastating response if Iran nukes attacked.11-China stock markets suffer biggest fall in ten years. 12-Shanghai posts biggest drop in decade.
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 = Wed Feb 28 2:28:48 UTC 2007
FEB 28,07
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
FEB 27,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 ICELAND REGION
MAP 4.7 ICELAND REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTH OF ALASKA
FEB 26,07
MAP 5.7 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 2.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 ETHIOPIA
MAP 3.0 OFF THE COAST OF SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 GUERRERO, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.8 OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN PERU
Earthquake shakes rural California area Mon Feb 26, 9:19 AM ET
EUREKA,Calif. An earthquake off the coast shook a rural area in northern California Monday morning. There were no reports of damage or injury.The magnitude-5.4 struck Monday at 4:20 a.m. about 38 miles west-southwest of Eureka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.A dispatcher with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said the quake was felt at the department's station, but they had not received any reports of damage or injuries.
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.
La Nina's brewing, forecasters warn By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer FEB 27,07
WASHINGTON - Forecasters warned Tuesday that a La Nina weather pattern the nasty flip side of El Nino is brewing, bringing with it the threat of more hurricanes for the Atlantic.
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the official end of a brief and mild El Nino that started last year. That El Nino was credited with partially shutting down last summer's Atlantic hurricane activity in the midst of what was supposed to be a busy season.We're seeing a shift to the La Nina, it's clearly in the data, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said. La Nina, a cooling of the mid-Pacific equatorial region, has not officially begun because it's a process with several months with specific temperature thresholds, but the trend is obvious based on satellite and ocean measurement data, he said.
It certainly won't be welcome news for those living off the coast right now, Lautenbacher said. But he said that doesn't mean Atlantic seaboard residents should sell their homes.Forecasters don't know how strong this La Nina will be. However, it typically means more hurricanes in the Atlantic, fewer in the Pacific, less rain and more heat for the already drought-stricken South, and a milder spring and summer in the north, Lautenbacher said. The central plains of the United States tend be drier in the fall during La Ninas, while the Pacific Northwest tends to be wetter in the late fall and early winter.Of special concern is west Texas which is already in a long-term drought, which during a La Nina will likely get worse, Lautenbacher said.La Ninas tend to develop from March to June and reach peak intensity at the end of the year and into the next February, according to Vernon Kousky, NOAA's top El Nino/La Nina expert. La Nina winters tend to be warmer than normal in the Southeast and colder than normal in the Northwest.The last lengthy La Nina, from 1998 to 2001, helped cause a serious drought in much of the West, according to NOAA drought specialist Douglas Lecomte.There are winners and losers, people tend to concentrate on the losers, Lautenbacher said.On the Net:
La Nina page:http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml
Winter storm woes hit central, eastern U.S. Mon Feb 26, 2:48 PM ET
DES MOINES (Reuters) Tens of thousands were without power and schools were closed across parts of the central United States on Monday after a storm dumped as much as 2 1/2 feet of snow on some areas. The eastern two-thirds of Iowa were among the hardest hit areas, with Gov. Chet Culver declaring a state of emergency in 58 counties. Officials warned it could take days to restore power in some areas.Ice and heavy, wet snow downed power lines across the region. In Iowa, more than 100,000 people were still without power on Monday.Some of the heaviest snow fell at Winona in southeastern Minnesota, with 30 inches on the ground.The storm moved across the Northeast and over the Atlantic on Monday, causing air travel delays along the East Coast. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which canceled more than 500 flights on Sunday, struggled to get stranded travelers on their way, with some delays and cancellations reported again on Monday because of snow and ice to the east.
JetBlue Airways Corp., which was heavily criticized this month because of weather-snarled flights, canceled about 20 percent of its flights arriving or leaving in New York.Other airlines also reported canceled New York flights on Monday.Heavy rains that fell south of the snow area caused flooding along rivers in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Italy launches emergency plan as volcano erupts Tue Feb 27, 10:55 AM ET
ROME (Reuters) An Italian volcanic island popular with tourists has started to erupt more violently than usual, sending a flow of lava into the sea, emergency services said on Tuesday, advising locals to keep away from the danger areas. There's a general alert, said a member of the Civil Protection for the Aeolian Islands, off Sicily. The emergency services are monitoring the situation, clearing zones at risk
But at the moment we don't foresee an evacuation.Stromboli, a classic cone-shaped island, is a constantly active volcano, attracting thousands of visitors every year to climb to its summit and admire the regular blasts of molten rock, but more powerful eruptions can be dangerous.The last time, in December 2002, a large eruption caused the island to be closed to visitors for months.
Buildings around the coast were damaged when a huge chunk of rock broke off and plunged into the sea, causing a 10-meter (33 feet) tsunami.
Erupting Vesuvius kills 300,000 in simulation By Phil Stewart
Tue Feb 27, 1:42 PM ET
ROME (Reuters) At least 300,000 Italians living near the Vesuvius volcano would be killed the next time it erupted if they were not evacuated beforehand, according to the first 3-dimensional super-computer simulation.
But, in a surprise, up to 200,000 others living in the north-northwestern areas of the high-risk Red Zone could have more time to escape thanks to the volcano's towering Mount Somma rim, which acts as a natural barrier, scientists say.For the first time, we have seen that these flows could be substantially diverted, Augusto Neri, of the National Geophysical and Vulcanolgy Institute in Pisa, who led the research, said on Tuesday.It seems that Mount Somma acts as an effective barrier. But this doesn't mean that they're safe.Although Vesuvius has slept for more than six decades, scientists fear the next big eruption could rival the one in AD 79, which suffocated the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killed about 16,000 people.Authorities have a plan to evacuate the more than half a million civilians living in the 18 towns within a 7 km (about 4 mile) radius of Vesuvius who face the highest risk. They estimate they can get everyone to safety within a week.Neri's research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, could give authorities a greater understanding of how the volcano will behave in the event of a big eruption and which of those 18 communities need to be evacuated first.We've already passed the civil protection authorities these results. They are going to consider some of the results of this simulation in the revision of their emergency plan, he said.
POMPEII AGAIN?
Peter Baxter, at Cambridge University's Institute of Public Health, who also participated in the study, said history looked set to repeat itself by pummeling modern-day communities around the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.The pyroclastic flows are going to be pushed to the south-side, toward the sea, he said, adding that's where Pompeii and Herculaneum are.Neri said the Vesuvius computer simulation was the first in 3-D that showed what a big eruption would look like over a period time, factoring in complex variables such as topography.The scientists specifically tried to simulate the effects of a collapse of the eruption column - what happens when the exploding mushroom cloud is too heavy for the air, and the material comes crashing down the sides of the volcano.The crater sits some 1,280 meters (4,200 feet) above and 20 km (13 miles) away from the Naples,Italy's third largest city.The simulation calculated the temperature of magma would be 950 degrees Celsius (1,742 degrees Fahrenheit) as it left the crater and 200 C at the outer edge of the Red Zone, 7 km away.Carlo Cavazzoni, who helped developed the code that allowed the super-computer to interpret the data, said the team partly based its research on an eruption in 1631 that killed 4,000 people.Neri said many more simulations were needed but said the first 3-D model was a major step forward.It's the first time that such a complete model has been applied at Vesuvius, he said.
HERE WE GO AGAIN MORE HOGWASH FROM THE GODLESS. THIS NONSENSE IS CONTINUED ON FROM THE DE VINCI CODE NONSENSE. THESE DECIEVERS ARE WANTING US TO BELIEVE THE LIE THAT JESUS AND MARY WERE MARRIED AND HAD A CHILD. NOW THE BONES OF THE THREE ARE SUPPOSIVLY FOUND.
JESUS BONES ARE IN HIS RESURRECTED BODY IN HEAVEN WERE HE IS READY TO RETURN TO EARTH TO RULE FROM HIS THRONE IN JERUSALEM, NOT IN A SMALL BOX. THE GODLESS WILL DO ANYTHING TO TAKE GOD (JESUS) OUT OF THE WORLD. SATAN THE DECIEVER IS LEADING THESE LIERS TO BELIEVE THE LIE. WE ARE DEFINATELY LIVING IN THE LATTER YEARS OF THE AGE OF GRACE. NEXT ON THE SCENE IS THE ULTIMATE DECIEVER HIMSELF THE GODLESS OF ALL THE GODLESS, SATAN IN HUMAN FLESH, THE FUTURE EU PRESIDENT.
I REFUSE TO LET THE GODLESS TAKE THE DIVINITY OF GOD OUT OF JESUS. JESUS CAME TO EARTH TO DIE FOR EVERYONES SIN, NOT TO MARRY MARY AND HAVE A CHILD. GOD SENT HIS SON TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR US.
Lost Tomb of Jesus tries to turn fiction into believability, minister warnsAllie Martin and Jenni Parker OneNewsNow.com February 27, 2007
Christian clergy leader and activist Rob Schenck is blasting an upcoming television special that claims archaeologists have uncovered a coffin that once contained the remains of Jesus Christ.
The program titled The Lost Tomb of Jesus premieres March 4 on the Discovery Channel, and Schenck warns that it is full of misleading and incorrect information. The TV special airing Sunday was executive-produced by Hollywood director James Cameron (Titanic, True Lies, The Terminator ) and directed by documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (The Exodus Decoded, James: Brother of Jesus),whose work includes a number of films about controversies in Jewish history. While Cameron is best known for his fictional films, his collaboration with Jacobovici is being touted as a feature documentary that makes a strong case, allegedly based on scientific analysis of ancient artifacts, for the notion that the two-millennia-old Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries actually belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the presentation, Cameron features archaeologists and supposed DNA experts discussing what is purportedly the latest historical evidence supporting the assertion that contrary to the biblical account of Christ's death, burial and resurrection Jesus was buried along with his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene (Mariamene), and a supposed son, Judah. But according to National Clergy Council
president Rob Schenck, a Hollywood director is among the people least qualified to render any determination of Biblical truth. Cameron is a man whose job is to turn fiction into believability, Schenck points out. Meanwhile, he notes, The man [the well-known moviemaker] has partnered with Simcha Jacobovici has been completely discredited by the scholarly community as nothing more than a modern-day, self-proclaimed Indiana Jones.Furthermore, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, is full of inaccuracies, the National Clergy Council spokesman asserts. The documentary claims to present scientific analysis of limestone ossuaries (bone boxes) and physical evidence found in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Talpiot, Jerusalem, that some experts claim may have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family; but Schenck insists there is nothing here of any substance.
Nor is there anything remarkable about finding bone boxes inscribed with the names of Yeshua, Miriam or Mary, the Christian clergy leader asserts. This is especially the case since Yeshua was one of the most popular male names of that period, he adds, and 30 percent of women were named Mary at that time.And Mariamene, which some scholars believe was Mary Magdalene's original name, was as popular as Jill or Sally is today in our culture, Schenck says. Speculating about the bone boxes depicted in The Lost Tomb of Jesus based simply on the names they bear, the minister contends, is like finding [an artifact with the name] Bill Smith and saying, which Bill Smith is it? There's just nothing here.Through the years, Schenck observes, Hollywood has attacked and mocked the Christian faith, and he suspects the makers of The Lost Tomb of Jesus may have similar intentions.
However, the clergy leader notes, he tends to agree with critics who claim this new documentary makes a mockery of the archaeological profession.
Camden Conference keynote FEB 25,07
European Union: An emerging world model
By Lynda Clancy Staff Reporter
ROCKPORT (Feb 25): The age of one nation leading the world is coming to a close, and it’s time, according to leading thinkers, to seek different theories of international relations, theories that advance nations as independent, yet cooperatively interdependent.
Perhaps that next evolution of coexistence is before the world right now as the European Union, according to David Calleo, Dean Acheson professor and director of European studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland.Despite its problems and growing pangs, The European Union is the most advanced political achievement of our time, said Calleo.Calleo delivered the 2007 Camden Conference keynote address Friday night at the Strom Auditorium at Camden Hills Regional High School. This marks the 20th anniversary of the conference, first held in the winter of 1988 in a meeting room at the Camden Public Library.
Calleo’s talk initiated two days of scrutiny of Europe, Old Continent in a New World, as the weekend conference unfolded first at the Strom, and then with panel discussions and more lectures by scholars and diplomats at the Camden Opera House.Ranging from a deeper analysis of the European Union, its economics and dynamics, to the rising Islamic challenge in Europe, to the issues and anxieties
between Russia and the continent, the talks covered aspects of Europe not often considered by the United States, which is so often disengaged from the lands of its ancestors by familiarity or ignorance, noted the conference's speakers.So many of our cultural and historical roots lie in Europe, yet we have often ignored or overridden Europeans as the U.S. has defined its role in the world, said Camden Conference President and Director Bland Banwell in her welcoming statement.
Banwell opened the conference at the Strom by deliberately not giving her name, but saying the conference resulted from the volunteer work of many; this year, in particular, she honored former conference board member Roy Salzman, who died in December, for his dedication and vision.Roy led the conference for several years during a critical period of growth and change, and it was his vision that made the Camden Conference what it is today, she said. The conference devotes a weekend each February to exploring global issues.
In 1988, the assembled group of academics, politicians and diplomats focused on The Making of American Foreign Policy … Myth and Reality.
In 2002, it was The Politics of Energy and Water, and last year it was China on the World Stage.Next year, the conference will be Religion and Its Impact on World Affairs, and organizers are exploring partnerships in other cities to expand on the event.While the retired swell the loyal ranks of the conference, it increasingly draws a strong student contingent, as well as a number of visitors from across the country. During Calleo’s post-talk discussion, questions were posed by residents of
Washington, D.C., Vermont and Europe, with some people wondering whether the EU has the power and will to exist as an entity.Given the roles of India, China and Russia in the world, does the EU even matter in the future, asked one participant? Well, it’s there, said Calleo, who, with understated humor, offered the crowd wisdom collected over his decades of studies.With an economy about the same size as that of the United States, he said, the European Union has a track record of not only screwing up, but of surviving.Calleo is considered to be one of the country’s leading intellectuals and political economists, and Friday night he repeated several of his theories laid out in some of his books, including Beyond American Hegemony: The Future of the Western Alliance" (1987) and Rethinking Europe's Future (2001).The unipolar vision that has held the world in its grip for centuries the notion of one world leader influencing global politics — has become unrealistic, he said. What is needed, given the pluralistic nature of the nations, is an interdependent weave of states that can peacefully and cooperatively coexist.
The European Union has no federal sovereign at its center and remains a free association of states, Calleo said. Furthermore, the EU provides the machinery and mindset to favor this new confederal reality.The question will be whether the rest of the world can accomplish the European model without experiencing its suffering, said Calleo. And the EU has its own challenges: To preserve its welfare state in today’s competitive markets, and refine its organization as it continues to grow with new members.Likewise, the United States must offer its own support to the EU, which is unlikely to succeed if we oppose it, said Calleo.James Matlack, Camden Conference volunteer, and David Calleo, professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, field questions after Calleo's keynote address Friday night during the first day of the annual Camden Conference. Both the U.S. and Europe are suffering from frozen historic imaginations, said Calleo, yet neither could have survived without each other. It’s time for the United States to be less assertive and become more self-confident. With a dangerous concentration of power in Washington, the United States must be contained by its friends, he said.The balancing will be done better among friends than enemies, said Calleo.Based in Camden, Staff Reporter Lynda Clancy can be reached at 207-236-8468 or by e-mail at lclancy@villagesoup.com.
Russia Moves in Support of Syria, Iran, Hamas-Led PA
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz FEB 27,07 (INN)
Russia's announcement Tuesday that it would work to promote international support for the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, its intention to supply missiles to Syria and its opposition to sanctions against Iran present a worrying trend for Israel. Russian officials said that the agreement reached between the leaders of Hamas and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to incorporate the latter's Fatah terrorist organization in the PA governing coalition is sufficient cause to end the international boycott of the PA. The Western nations imposed the financial boycott of the PA in January of last year, when the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas organization swept the majority of the seats in the PA parliament in a landslide election victory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the agreement reached in Mecca earlier this month between Fatah and Hamas shows wisdom, reason and responsibility before the Palestinian people. He made the statement prior to meeting with Damascus -based Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal. The agreement has not yet been implemented.
According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to transfer thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles to Syria.We are pushing for all members of the international community to support this process and make it irreversible, including efforts to lift the blockade, Lavrov added.Speaking to Russian reporters on Tuesday, Mashaal reiterated the Hamas position that it does not recognize the State of Israel, saying, First of all, Israel should stop the occupation of Palestine territories and put an end to the suffering of Palestinians.The Hamas charter, as well as all of its official statements and documents, defines all of Israel, in both its pre- and post-1967 borders, as occupied Palestine.The Russian move towards funding the Hamas regime found an echo in a report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which suggested that that the Western-led economic boycott of the PA must be lifted in order to fight poverty in the Gaza area.
Backing Syria and Iran, Too
The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority is not the only entity hostile to Jews and Israel behind which Russia has been throwing its support. According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to conclude a deal, worth several hundred million dollars, to transfer thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles to Syria. Such missiles were used by Hizbullah during Israel's war in Lebanon this
past summer and caused a large proportion of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military confrontation.Russian nuclear fuel deliveries to Iran's Bushehr plant are set to begin in March 2007.
Syria's ally, Iran, is also a beneficiary of Russian support. The ongoing assistance Russia provides for construction and operation of the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran is soon to take a dangerous turn, with the start of nuclear fuel deliveries in March 2007. Russia has continued to oppose increasing UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has continued to insist that the Security Council confine its attempts to limit, not end, Iran's nuclear development activities.
In protest over Russia's assistance to Iran, the Magshimey Herut (Freedom Makers) organization will be holding a protest on Thursday afternoon in Jerusalem's Paris Square.
The group is demanding that the Israeli government cut off diplomatic and economic ties with Russia. Israel must take a moral stand and send a clear message to the global community that we will not pursue diplomacy or commerce with nations working towards our annihilation, a statement from the group said. The Jewish People must find the moral courage to stand up to super-powers in such situations, Eli Yosef of Magshimei Herut told IsraelNationalRadio's Yishai Fleisher.Magshimey Herut is a new youth movement operating in coordination with the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund. It is not a part of the right-wing Herut party, but the party has expressed its support of the youth movement's Zionist goals and aims.
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Devastating response if Iran nukes attacked
Terrorists say Tehran providing instructions in case U.S., Israel strike atomic facilities February 26, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – Iran is anticipating a U.S. or Israeli military strike on its nuclear facilities and has been providing Palestinian terrorists and other regional allies with contingency plans for attacks against the Jewish state and American regional interests in the event of war, according to Palestinian terrorist leaders. A senior leader of the Islamic Jihad terror group, which Israel says is backed by Iran, told
WND Tehran is expecting to be attacked, but he didn't provide a time frame in which Iran anticipates a strike. He claimed during any attack his organization has been directed by Iran to wreak havoc on Israel with suicide bombings, rocket attacks and special surprises. He said rocket attacks would be launched from both the Gaza Strip and from the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem.
He threatened his terror group will target American interests in the Middle East whether any purported strike against Tehran is carried out by Israel or the U.S. The Zionists and the Americans are coordinated 100 percent.
It doesn't matter who attacks Iran, we are planning to hit them both, said the Islamic Jihad leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he said the topic was very sensitive.He said overall Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah has been coordinating war plans with Iran, Syria and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Lebanese militia. Shallah resides in Damascus and travels frequently to Tehran. Abu Ahmed, the northern West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization, told WND all major Palestinian militant organizations are preparing to work together in the event Iran is attacked. Our strategy is not to leave the Islamic alliance (Iran) alone against the enemy. All Palestinian organizations will work together in shooting rockets, suicide bomb attacks and other steps and actions decided closely.
The Brigades is the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. Together with Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last two years, including a bombing last month in Eilat and an attack in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz. Israel says major
Brigades cells in the Gaza Strip and West Bank receive Iranian funding through contacts with Hezbollah. Abu Ahmed said in his terror group's estimation Iran will indeed be attacked. It's not a question of if, but when. The campaign now in the American media is just like the campaign before the invasion of Iraq, he charged. A senior leader of the Popular Resistance Committees terror group, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND his group has also been preparing for what he called the upcoming war.
The Committees is a coalition of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank responsible for hundreds of anti-Israel rocket and shooting attacks. It is accused of bombing a U.S. convoy in Gaza in 2003 in which three American government contractors were killed. We are preparing the tomb that Allah is digging for the Zionists and Americans, said the Committees leader. He claimed during any U.S. or Israeli military strike against Tehran, a response will be directed against Israel and American interests by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists. The war will be a war on more than one front. It will be everybody against everybody. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian organizations will work together. War with Iran is coming and it means the Middle East will not remain the same after it, the Committees leader said. Syria and Iran signed a military agreement in which either will respond if the other is attacked. Israeli security officials told WND Israel is not currently planning to strike Iran. Speaking theoretically, they said if any war breaks out involving Iran, they expect Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists to join the fray and attack Israel.
The security officials said the greatest threat Syria poses to the Jewish state are the country's missiles. They noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles were armed with. In addition to longer range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter range missiles such as 220mm and 305mm rockets, some of which have been passed on to Hezbollah. According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to conclude a deal worth several hundred million dollars transferring thousands of advanced antitank missiles to Syria. Antitank missiles used by Hezbollah during Israel's war in Lebanon this past summer devastated Israeli tanks and caused the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military
confrontations. Last week, a senior officer from the intelligence unit of the Israeli Defense Forces announced Hezbollah is stronger today than before the 2006 Lebanon war.
Hezbollah has reinforced and it is stronger today than it was before the war in Lebanon, General Yossi Beidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research department, told the Knesset. During the war in Lebanon, Hezbollah fired more than 3,000 rockets into northern Israel, killing 39 civilians and devastating many northern towns. Beidatz also said Syria is reinforcing its military to prepare for the possibility of a new armed conflict in the region. According to reports in the Israeli media, Syria, aided by Iranian officers, has been boosting its army and navy. The reports, denied by Damascus, claimed Syria last week was moving troops closer to the border with Israel. The claim by Palestinian terrorists Iran is preparing for war come as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday his country's nuclear program cannot stop while a deputy foreign minister vowed Tehran was prepared for any eventuality, even for war.
Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran's move is like a train ... which has no brake and no reverse gear, Ahmadinejad said, according to Iranian state media.
Manouchehr Mohammadi, a deputy at Iran's foreign ministry commented, We have prepared ourselves for any situation, even for war.Iranian military commanders have said recent war games, the latest of which involved testing several missiles this month, show Iran's readiness to counter any attack. Meanwhile U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said over the weekend Iran's atomic ambitions must be curbed. He told reporters all options were on the table. During a visit to Australia, Cheney said it would be a serious mistake to allow Iran to become a nuclear power. An Australian newspaper quoted Cheney endorsing comments by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the only thing worse than a military confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran ignored last week's United Nations deadline to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to fuel for nuclear power plants or produce material for warheads. Tehran claims it wants to negotiate but has repeatedly ruled out suspending its atomic program.
DOCTOR SAMUEL DOCTORIAN ANGEL ONE
Then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
China stock markets suffer biggest fall in ten years
Malaysia Sun Tuesday 27th February, 2007 - (Daniel Schearf )
China's stock markets have dropped by about nine percent as investors sold shares to cash in on record high share prices. The sharp slump is the biggest loss in 10 years and highlights the volatility of the Chinese stock markets.
China's Shanghai Composite Index fell Tuesday by 8.8 percent, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index sank by 8.5 percent.The selloff, the biggest one-day fall in a decade, came as investors dumped shares for quick profit from Monday's record high, when the Shanghai index surpassed 3,000 points for the first time closing at 3,040.The Shanghai index closed Tuesday at 2,771 points, down 269 points. Tony Tong is an analyst at Everbright Research in Hong Kong. He says higher interest rates may also have encouraged investors to take money out of China's unpredictable stock markets and put it into safer investments in state-run banks.
The market is thinking that there may be another hike in the reserve ratio and even interest rates. So the credit-tightening issue would be a major concern, he said. I would say in the coming few weeks the market will remain under pressure.China's economy and the stock markets have boomed over the past few years, prompting fears that excess investment could lead to problems such as inflation or excess industrial and property capacity. Those problems could trigger a market collapse or a recession.The government, hoping to gently cool down the economy, in the past year has repeatedly raised interest rates and restricted bank loans.However, those measures appear to have had little deterrent effect on investors. China's stock markets doubled in value last year, leading to concerns of a market bubble that could collapse.Stock markets around Asia Tuesday were down as well, with many investors concerned about a possible slowdown in the U.S. economy. Most indexes fell one to three percent. Indexes in South Korea, Australia and Singapore dropped from record highs. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index of blue chip stocks fell 1.8 percent to a four-week low, partly in reaction to the mainland drop in stock value.
Stocks end sharply lower on China
Shanghai posts biggest drop in decade
Carrie Tait, Financial Post - Tuesday, February 27, 2007
TORONTO Toronto's main stock index closed sharply lower on Tuesday, as commodity issues led a broad-based retreat after a sharp selloff in Chinese stocks sparked concerns about growth in the Asian might.The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 364.35 points, or 2.7%, at 13,040.11. But the market correction is expected to wash over the Canadian market without any long-term pain, experts said. In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 416.02 points, or 3.3%, at 12,216.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 50.33 points, or 3.5%, at 1,399.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 96.65 points, or
3.9%, at 2,407.87.
These markets are not alone. Last night’s 9% drop in the Shanghai stock index sent jitters through international markets.Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.8%, while Singapore's Straits Times index sank 2.3%. Markets in Japan and Taiwan, however, registered only modest declines.In London, the FTSE-100 dropped 2.31%, France's CAC 40 dropped 3.02% and Germany's DAX lost 2.96%.
I suspect the biggest impact may be the flow of money away from emerging markets to safer jurisdictions, said Bart Melek, a senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. I suspect that’s probably the more lasting effect.Strength in the Canadian stock market is closely tied to China’s mammoth economy, one that has grown about 9.6% in the past five years. China demands more copper than any other country and it is the second-largest consumer of oil.
With a stock market stacked with mining and oil companies, the TSX has climbed as China grew into the fourth-largest economy in the world.And so when China stumbles, Canadian investors get nervous.
On the TSX today, the hardest hit were the materials, financials and energy groups. Alcan Inc., a major aluminum producer, is the biggest drag on the benchmark index.I will be willing to bet that this will not be particularly long-lasting, said Marc Levesque, chief economic strategist at TD Securities. The correction, he said, could be gone by the end of the day. This could just be a knee-jerk reaction and not much more than that.China’s woes are being blamed on a government to crack down on illegal share offerings. In turn, the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index dropped 9.2%, a loss of about US$107.8-billion. I think this unwinding is one event. There might be trending lower, but I don’t think that’s going to upset the fundamental performance of that economy, Mr. Melek said.And it is the performance of China’s overall economy not the performance of its stock market that influences the health of the Canadian market.In the grand scheme of things, a correction in the Chinese stock market doesn’t have massive implications for Canadian markets, TD’s Mr. Levesque said. Notably, the Chinese market has roughly doubled in the past year, making a correction seem less shocking. Metals prices have remained relatively stable today, indicating investors believe there will still be demand. Nothing fundamental has happened, Mr. Melek said. The rough day, however, hasn’t been all grim. With money scooting out of emerging markets, there is a big rally in U.S. Treasuries, bonds are rallying and traders are already combing the Chinese rubble, looking for bargains. There’s an ongoing debate now whether it is time to buy China or not, Mr. Levesque said.
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 = Wed Feb 28 2:28:48 UTC 2007
FEB 28,07
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
FEB 27,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SAMOA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.2 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA REG, LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 ICELAND REGION
MAP 4.7 ICELAND REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN MISSOURI
MAP 3.5 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTH OF ALASKA
FEB 26,07
MAP 5.7 PRINCE EDWARD ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 2.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 ETHIOPIA
MAP 3.0 OFF THE COAST OF SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 GUERRERO, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 4.8 OFF THE COAST OF NORTHERN PERU
Earthquake shakes rural California area Mon Feb 26, 9:19 AM ET
EUREKA,Calif. An earthquake off the coast shook a rural area in northern California Monday morning. There were no reports of damage or injury.The magnitude-5.4 struck Monday at 4:20 a.m. about 38 miles west-southwest of Eureka, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.A dispatcher with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said the quake was felt at the department's station, but they had not received any reports of damage or injuries.
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.
La Nina's brewing, forecasters warn By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer FEB 27,07
WASHINGTON - Forecasters warned Tuesday that a La Nina weather pattern the nasty flip side of El Nino is brewing, bringing with it the threat of more hurricanes for the Atlantic.
Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the official end of a brief and mild El Nino that started last year. That El Nino was credited with partially shutting down last summer's Atlantic hurricane activity in the midst of what was supposed to be a busy season.We're seeing a shift to the La Nina, it's clearly in the data, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher said. La Nina, a cooling of the mid-Pacific equatorial region, has not officially begun because it's a process with several months with specific temperature thresholds, but the trend is obvious based on satellite and ocean measurement data, he said.
It certainly won't be welcome news for those living off the coast right now, Lautenbacher said. But he said that doesn't mean Atlantic seaboard residents should sell their homes.Forecasters don't know how strong this La Nina will be. However, it typically means more hurricanes in the Atlantic, fewer in the Pacific, less rain and more heat for the already drought-stricken South, and a milder spring and summer in the north, Lautenbacher said. The central plains of the United States tend be drier in the fall during La Ninas, while the Pacific Northwest tends to be wetter in the late fall and early winter.Of special concern is west Texas which is already in a long-term drought, which during a La Nina will likely get worse, Lautenbacher said.La Ninas tend to develop from March to June and reach peak intensity at the end of the year and into the next February, according to Vernon Kousky, NOAA's top El Nino/La Nina expert. La Nina winters tend to be warmer than normal in the Southeast and colder than normal in the Northwest.The last lengthy La Nina, from 1998 to 2001, helped cause a serious drought in much of the West, according to NOAA drought specialist Douglas Lecomte.There are winners and losers, people tend to concentrate on the losers, Lautenbacher said.On the Net:
La Nina page:http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/enso.shtml
Winter storm woes hit central, eastern U.S. Mon Feb 26, 2:48 PM ET
DES MOINES (Reuters) Tens of thousands were without power and schools were closed across parts of the central United States on Monday after a storm dumped as much as 2 1/2 feet of snow on some areas. The eastern two-thirds of Iowa were among the hardest hit areas, with Gov. Chet Culver declaring a state of emergency in 58 counties. Officials warned it could take days to restore power in some areas.Ice and heavy, wet snow downed power lines across the region. In Iowa, more than 100,000 people were still without power on Monday.Some of the heaviest snow fell at Winona in southeastern Minnesota, with 30 inches on the ground.The storm moved across the Northeast and over the Atlantic on Monday, causing air travel delays along the East Coast. Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, which canceled more than 500 flights on Sunday, struggled to get stranded travelers on their way, with some delays and cancellations reported again on Monday because of snow and ice to the east.
JetBlue Airways Corp., which was heavily criticized this month because of weather-snarled flights, canceled about 20 percent of its flights arriving or leaving in New York.Other airlines also reported canceled New York flights on Monday.Heavy rains that fell south of the snow area caused flooding along rivers in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Italy launches emergency plan as volcano erupts Tue Feb 27, 10:55 AM ET
ROME (Reuters) An Italian volcanic island popular with tourists has started to erupt more violently than usual, sending a flow of lava into the sea, emergency services said on Tuesday, advising locals to keep away from the danger areas. There's a general alert, said a member of the Civil Protection for the Aeolian Islands, off Sicily. The emergency services are monitoring the situation, clearing zones at risk
But at the moment we don't foresee an evacuation.Stromboli, a classic cone-shaped island, is a constantly active volcano, attracting thousands of visitors every year to climb to its summit and admire the regular blasts of molten rock, but more powerful eruptions can be dangerous.The last time, in December 2002, a large eruption caused the island to be closed to visitors for months.
Buildings around the coast were damaged when a huge chunk of rock broke off and plunged into the sea, causing a 10-meter (33 feet) tsunami.
Erupting Vesuvius kills 300,000 in simulation By Phil Stewart
Tue Feb 27, 1:42 PM ET
ROME (Reuters) At least 300,000 Italians living near the Vesuvius volcano would be killed the next time it erupted if they were not evacuated beforehand, according to the first 3-dimensional super-computer simulation.
But, in a surprise, up to 200,000 others living in the north-northwestern areas of the high-risk Red Zone could have more time to escape thanks to the volcano's towering Mount Somma rim, which acts as a natural barrier, scientists say.For the first time, we have seen that these flows could be substantially diverted, Augusto Neri, of the National Geophysical and Vulcanolgy Institute in Pisa, who led the research, said on Tuesday.It seems that Mount Somma acts as an effective barrier. But this doesn't mean that they're safe.Although Vesuvius has slept for more than six decades, scientists fear the next big eruption could rival the one in AD 79, which suffocated the ancient cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum and killed about 16,000 people.Authorities have a plan to evacuate the more than half a million civilians living in the 18 towns within a 7 km (about 4 mile) radius of Vesuvius who face the highest risk. They estimate they can get everyone to safety within a week.Neri's research, published in Geophysical Research Letters, could give authorities a greater understanding of how the volcano will behave in the event of a big eruption and which of those 18 communities need to be evacuated first.We've already passed the civil protection authorities these results. They are going to consider some of the results of this simulation in the revision of their emergency plan, he said.
POMPEII AGAIN?
Peter Baxter, at Cambridge University's Institute of Public Health, who also participated in the study, said history looked set to repeat itself by pummeling modern-day communities around the ruins of Pompeii and Herculaneum.The pyroclastic flows are going to be pushed to the south-side, toward the sea, he said, adding that's where Pompeii and Herculaneum are.Neri said the Vesuvius computer simulation was the first in 3-D that showed what a big eruption would look like over a period time, factoring in complex variables such as topography.The scientists specifically tried to simulate the effects of a collapse of the eruption column - what happens when the exploding mushroom cloud is too heavy for the air, and the material comes crashing down the sides of the volcano.The crater sits some 1,280 meters (4,200 feet) above and 20 km (13 miles) away from the Naples,Italy's third largest city.The simulation calculated the temperature of magma would be 950 degrees Celsius (1,742 degrees Fahrenheit) as it left the crater and 200 C at the outer edge of the Red Zone, 7 km away.Carlo Cavazzoni, who helped developed the code that allowed the super-computer to interpret the data, said the team partly based its research on an eruption in 1631 that killed 4,000 people.Neri said many more simulations were needed but said the first 3-D model was a major step forward.It's the first time that such a complete model has been applied at Vesuvius, he said.
HERE WE GO AGAIN MORE HOGWASH FROM THE GODLESS. THIS NONSENSE IS CONTINUED ON FROM THE DE VINCI CODE NONSENSE. THESE DECIEVERS ARE WANTING US TO BELIEVE THE LIE THAT JESUS AND MARY WERE MARRIED AND HAD A CHILD. NOW THE BONES OF THE THREE ARE SUPPOSIVLY FOUND.
JESUS BONES ARE IN HIS RESURRECTED BODY IN HEAVEN WERE HE IS READY TO RETURN TO EARTH TO RULE FROM HIS THRONE IN JERUSALEM, NOT IN A SMALL BOX. THE GODLESS WILL DO ANYTHING TO TAKE GOD (JESUS) OUT OF THE WORLD. SATAN THE DECIEVER IS LEADING THESE LIERS TO BELIEVE THE LIE. WE ARE DEFINATELY LIVING IN THE LATTER YEARS OF THE AGE OF GRACE. NEXT ON THE SCENE IS THE ULTIMATE DECIEVER HIMSELF THE GODLESS OF ALL THE GODLESS, SATAN IN HUMAN FLESH, THE FUTURE EU PRESIDENT.
I REFUSE TO LET THE GODLESS TAKE THE DIVINITY OF GOD OUT OF JESUS. JESUS CAME TO EARTH TO DIE FOR EVERYONES SIN, NOT TO MARRY MARY AND HAVE A CHILD. GOD SENT HIS SON TO DIE ON THE CROSS FOR US.
Lost Tomb of Jesus tries to turn fiction into believability, minister warnsAllie Martin and Jenni Parker OneNewsNow.com February 27, 2007
Christian clergy leader and activist Rob Schenck is blasting an upcoming television special that claims archaeologists have uncovered a coffin that once contained the remains of Jesus Christ.
The program titled The Lost Tomb of Jesus premieres March 4 on the Discovery Channel, and Schenck warns that it is full of misleading and incorrect information. The TV special airing Sunday was executive-produced by Hollywood director James Cameron (Titanic, True Lies, The Terminator ) and directed by documentary filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici (The Exodus Decoded, James: Brother of Jesus),whose work includes a number of films about controversies in Jewish history. While Cameron is best known for his fictional films, his collaboration with Jacobovici is being touted as a feature documentary that makes a strong case, allegedly based on scientific analysis of ancient artifacts, for the notion that the two-millennia-old Tomb of the Ten Ossuaries actually belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.
In the presentation, Cameron features archaeologists and supposed DNA experts discussing what is purportedly the latest historical evidence supporting the assertion that contrary to the biblical account of Christ's death, burial and resurrection Jesus was buried along with his mother Mary, Mary Magdalene (Mariamene), and a supposed son, Judah. But according to National Clergy Council
president Rob Schenck, a Hollywood director is among the people least qualified to render any determination of Biblical truth. Cameron is a man whose job is to turn fiction into believability, Schenck points out. Meanwhile, he notes, The man [the well-known moviemaker] has partnered with Simcha Jacobovici has been completely discredited by the scholarly community as nothing more than a modern-day, self-proclaimed Indiana Jones.Furthermore, The Lost Tomb of Jesus, is full of inaccuracies, the National Clergy Council spokesman asserts. The documentary claims to present scientific analysis of limestone ossuaries (bone boxes) and physical evidence found in a 2,000-year-old tomb in Talpiot, Jerusalem, that some experts claim may have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family; but Schenck insists there is nothing here of any substance.
Nor is there anything remarkable about finding bone boxes inscribed with the names of Yeshua, Miriam or Mary, the Christian clergy leader asserts. This is especially the case since Yeshua was one of the most popular male names of that period, he adds, and 30 percent of women were named Mary at that time.And Mariamene, which some scholars believe was Mary Magdalene's original name, was as popular as Jill or Sally is today in our culture, Schenck says. Speculating about the bone boxes depicted in The Lost Tomb of Jesus based simply on the names they bear, the minister contends, is like finding [an artifact with the name] Bill Smith and saying, which Bill Smith is it? There's just nothing here.Through the years, Schenck observes, Hollywood has attacked and mocked the Christian faith, and he suspects the makers of The Lost Tomb of Jesus may have similar intentions.
However, the clergy leader notes, he tends to agree with critics who claim this new documentary makes a mockery of the archaeological profession.
Camden Conference keynote FEB 25,07
European Union: An emerging world model
By Lynda Clancy Staff Reporter
ROCKPORT (Feb 25): The age of one nation leading the world is coming to a close, and it’s time, according to leading thinkers, to seek different theories of international relations, theories that advance nations as independent, yet cooperatively interdependent.
Perhaps that next evolution of coexistence is before the world right now as the European Union, according to David Calleo, Dean Acheson professor and director of European studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Maryland.Despite its problems and growing pangs, The European Union is the most advanced political achievement of our time, said Calleo.Calleo delivered the 2007 Camden Conference keynote address Friday night at the Strom Auditorium at Camden Hills Regional High School. This marks the 20th anniversary of the conference, first held in the winter of 1988 in a meeting room at the Camden Public Library.
Calleo’s talk initiated two days of scrutiny of Europe, Old Continent in a New World, as the weekend conference unfolded first at the Strom, and then with panel discussions and more lectures by scholars and diplomats at the Camden Opera House.Ranging from a deeper analysis of the European Union, its economics and dynamics, to the rising Islamic challenge in Europe, to the issues and anxieties
between Russia and the continent, the talks covered aspects of Europe not often considered by the United States, which is so often disengaged from the lands of its ancestors by familiarity or ignorance, noted the conference's speakers.So many of our cultural and historical roots lie in Europe, yet we have often ignored or overridden Europeans as the U.S. has defined its role in the world, said Camden Conference President and Director Bland Banwell in her welcoming statement.
Banwell opened the conference at the Strom by deliberately not giving her name, but saying the conference resulted from the volunteer work of many; this year, in particular, she honored former conference board member Roy Salzman, who died in December, for his dedication and vision.Roy led the conference for several years during a critical period of growth and change, and it was his vision that made the Camden Conference what it is today, she said. The conference devotes a weekend each February to exploring global issues.
In 1988, the assembled group of academics, politicians and diplomats focused on The Making of American Foreign Policy … Myth and Reality.
In 2002, it was The Politics of Energy and Water, and last year it was China on the World Stage.Next year, the conference will be Religion and Its Impact on World Affairs, and organizers are exploring partnerships in other cities to expand on the event.While the retired swell the loyal ranks of the conference, it increasingly draws a strong student contingent, as well as a number of visitors from across the country. During Calleo’s post-talk discussion, questions were posed by residents of
Washington, D.C., Vermont and Europe, with some people wondering whether the EU has the power and will to exist as an entity.Given the roles of India, China and Russia in the world, does the EU even matter in the future, asked one participant? Well, it’s there, said Calleo, who, with understated humor, offered the crowd wisdom collected over his decades of studies.With an economy about the same size as that of the United States, he said, the European Union has a track record of not only screwing up, but of surviving.Calleo is considered to be one of the country’s leading intellectuals and political economists, and Friday night he repeated several of his theories laid out in some of his books, including Beyond American Hegemony: The Future of the Western Alliance" (1987) and Rethinking Europe's Future (2001).The unipolar vision that has held the world in its grip for centuries the notion of one world leader influencing global politics — has become unrealistic, he said. What is needed, given the pluralistic nature of the nations, is an interdependent weave of states that can peacefully and cooperatively coexist.
The European Union has no federal sovereign at its center and remains a free association of states, Calleo said. Furthermore, the EU provides the machinery and mindset to favor this new confederal reality.The question will be whether the rest of the world can accomplish the European model without experiencing its suffering, said Calleo. And the EU has its own challenges: To preserve its welfare state in today’s competitive markets, and refine its organization as it continues to grow with new members.Likewise, the United States must offer its own support to the EU, which is unlikely to succeed if we oppose it, said Calleo.James Matlack, Camden Conference volunteer, and David Calleo, professor of European studies at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, field questions after Calleo's keynote address Friday night during the first day of the annual Camden Conference. Both the U.S. and Europe are suffering from frozen historic imaginations, said Calleo, yet neither could have survived without each other. It’s time for the United States to be less assertive and become more self-confident. With a dangerous concentration of power in Washington, the United States must be contained by its friends, he said.The balancing will be done better among friends than enemies, said Calleo.Based in Camden, Staff Reporter Lynda Clancy can be reached at 207-236-8468 or by e-mail at lclancy@villagesoup.com.
Russia Moves in Support of Syria, Iran, Hamas-Led PA
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz FEB 27,07 (INN)
Russia's announcement Tuesday that it would work to promote international support for the Hamas-led Palestinian Authority, its intention to supply missiles to Syria and its opposition to sanctions against Iran present a worrying trend for Israel. Russian officials said that the agreement reached between the leaders of Hamas and PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to incorporate the latter's Fatah terrorist organization in the PA governing coalition is sufficient cause to end the international boycott of the PA. The Western nations imposed the financial boycott of the PA in January of last year, when the Islamic fundamentalist Hamas organization swept the majority of the seats in the PA parliament in a landslide election victory. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the agreement reached in Mecca earlier this month between Fatah and Hamas shows wisdom, reason and responsibility before the Palestinian people. He made the statement prior to meeting with Damascus -based Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal. The agreement has not yet been implemented.
According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to transfer thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles to Syria.We are pushing for all members of the international community to support this process and make it irreversible, including efforts to lift the blockade, Lavrov added.Speaking to Russian reporters on Tuesday, Mashaal reiterated the Hamas position that it does not recognize the State of Israel, saying, First of all, Israel should stop the occupation of Palestine territories and put an end to the suffering of Palestinians.The Hamas charter, as well as all of its official statements and documents, defines all of Israel, in both its pre- and post-1967 borders, as occupied Palestine.The Russian move towards funding the Hamas regime found an echo in a report issued by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which suggested that that the Western-led economic boycott of the PA must be lifted in order to fight poverty in the Gaza area.
Backing Syria and Iran, Too
The Hamas-controlled Palestinian Authority is not the only entity hostile to Jews and Israel behind which Russia has been throwing its support. According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to conclude a deal, worth several hundred million dollars, to transfer thousands of advanced anti-tank missiles to Syria. Such missiles were used by Hizbullah during Israel's war in Lebanon this
past summer and caused a large proportion of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military confrontation.Russian nuclear fuel deliveries to Iran's Bushehr plant are set to begin in March 2007.
Syria's ally, Iran, is also a beneficiary of Russian support. The ongoing assistance Russia provides for construction and operation of the Bushehr nuclear plant in southern Iran is soon to take a dangerous turn, with the start of nuclear fuel deliveries in March 2007. Russia has continued to oppose increasing UN Security Council sanctions against Iran. Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has continued to insist that the Security Council confine its attempts to limit, not end, Iran's nuclear development activities.
In protest over Russia's assistance to Iran, the Magshimey Herut (Freedom Makers) organization will be holding a protest on Thursday afternoon in Jerusalem's Paris Square.
The group is demanding that the Israeli government cut off diplomatic and economic ties with Russia. Israel must take a moral stand and send a clear message to the global community that we will not pursue diplomacy or commerce with nations working towards our annihilation, a statement from the group said. The Jewish People must find the moral courage to stand up to super-powers in such situations, Eli Yosef of Magshimei Herut told IsraelNationalRadio's Yishai Fleisher.Magshimey Herut is a new youth movement operating in coordination with the World Zionist Organization, the Jewish National Fund. It is not a part of the right-wing Herut party, but the party has expressed its support of the youth movement's Zionist goals and aims.
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Devastating response if Iran nukes attacked
Terrorists say Tehran providing instructions in case U.S., Israel strike atomic facilities February 26, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – Iran is anticipating a U.S. or Israeli military strike on its nuclear facilities and has been providing Palestinian terrorists and other regional allies with contingency plans for attacks against the Jewish state and American regional interests in the event of war, according to Palestinian terrorist leaders. A senior leader of the Islamic Jihad terror group, which Israel says is backed by Iran, told
WND Tehran is expecting to be attacked, but he didn't provide a time frame in which Iran anticipates a strike. He claimed during any attack his organization has been directed by Iran to wreak havoc on Israel with suicide bombings, rocket attacks and special surprises. He said rocket attacks would be launched from both the Gaza Strip and from the West Bank, which borders Jerusalem.
He threatened his terror group will target American interests in the Middle East whether any purported strike against Tehran is carried out by Israel or the U.S. The Zionists and the Americans are coordinated 100 percent.
It doesn't matter who attacks Iran, we are planning to hit them both, said the Islamic Jihad leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he said the topic was very sensitive.He said overall Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah has been coordinating war plans with Iran, Syria and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah Lebanese militia. Shallah resides in Damascus and travels frequently to Tehran. Abu Ahmed, the northern West Bank chief of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror organization, told WND all major Palestinian militant organizations are preparing to work together in the event Iran is attacked. Our strategy is not to leave the Islamic alliance (Iran) alone against the enemy. All Palestinian organizations will work together in shooting rockets, suicide bomb attacks and other steps and actions decided closely.
The Brigades is the declared military wing of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah Party. Together with Islamic Jihad, the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last two years, including a bombing last month in Eilat and an attack in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz. Israel says major
Brigades cells in the Gaza Strip and West Bank receive Iranian funding through contacts with Hezbollah. Abu Ahmed said in his terror group's estimation Iran will indeed be attacked. It's not a question of if, but when. The campaign now in the American media is just like the campaign before the invasion of Iraq, he charged. A senior leader of the Popular Resistance Committees terror group, speaking on condition of anonymity, told WND his group has also been preparing for what he called the upcoming war.
The Committees is a coalition of terror organizations operating in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank responsible for hundreds of anti-Israel rocket and shooting attacks. It is accused of bombing a U.S. convoy in Gaza in 2003 in which three American government contractors were killed. We are preparing the tomb that Allah is digging for the Zionists and Americans, said the Committees leader. He claimed during any U.S. or Israeli military strike against Tehran, a response will be directed against Israel and American interests by Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists. The war will be a war on more than one front. It will be everybody against everybody. Iran, Syria, Hezbollah and the Palestinian organizations will work together. War with Iran is coming and it means the Middle East will not remain the same after it, the Committees leader said. Syria and Iran signed a military agreement in which either will respond if the other is attacked. Israeli security officials told WND Israel is not currently planning to strike Iran. Speaking theoretically, they said if any war breaks out involving Iran, they expect Syria, Hezbollah and Palestinian terrorists to join the fray and attack Israel.
The security officials said the greatest threat Syria poses to the Jewish state are the country's missiles. They noted Syria recently test-fired two Scud-D surface-to-surface missiles, which have a range of about 250 miles, covering most Israeli territory. The officials said the Syrian missile test was coordinated with Iran and is believed to have been successful. It is not known what type of warhead the missiles were armed with. In addition to longer range Scuds, Syria is in possession of shorter range missiles such as 220mm and 305mm rockets, some of which have been passed on to Hezbollah. According to information received by Israel, Russia is set to conclude a deal worth several hundred million dollars transferring thousands of advanced antitank missiles to Syria. Antitank missiles used by Hezbollah during Israel's war in Lebanon this past summer devastated Israeli tanks and caused the highest number of Israeli troop casualties during the 34 days of military
confrontations. Last week, a senior officer from the intelligence unit of the Israeli Defense Forces announced Hezbollah is stronger today than before the 2006 Lebanon war.
Hezbollah has reinforced and it is stronger today than it was before the war in Lebanon, General Yossi Beidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research department, told the Knesset. During the war in Lebanon, Hezbollah fired more than 3,000 rockets into northern Israel, killing 39 civilians and devastating many northern towns. Beidatz also said Syria is reinforcing its military to prepare for the possibility of a new armed conflict in the region. According to reports in the Israeli media, Syria, aided by Iranian officers, has been boosting its army and navy. The reports, denied by Damascus, claimed Syria last week was moving troops closer to the border with Israel. The claim by Palestinian terrorists Iran is preparing for war come as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday his country's nuclear program cannot stop while a deputy foreign minister vowed Tehran was prepared for any eventuality, even for war.
Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran's move is like a train ... which has no brake and no reverse gear, Ahmadinejad said, according to Iranian state media.
Manouchehr Mohammadi, a deputy at Iran's foreign ministry commented, We have prepared ourselves for any situation, even for war.Iranian military commanders have said recent war games, the latest of which involved testing several missiles this month, show Iran's readiness to counter any attack. Meanwhile U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney said over the weekend Iran's atomic ambitions must be curbed. He told reporters all options were on the table. During a visit to Australia, Cheney said it would be a serious mistake to allow Iran to become a nuclear power. An Australian newspaper quoted Cheney endorsing comments by U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that the only thing worse than a military confrontation with Iran would be a nuclear-armed Iran. Iran ignored last week's United Nations deadline to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to fuel for nuclear power plants or produce material for warheads. Tehran claims it wants to negotiate but has repeatedly ruled out suspending its atomic program.
DOCTOR SAMUEL DOCTORIAN ANGEL ONE
Then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
China stock markets suffer biggest fall in ten years
Malaysia Sun Tuesday 27th February, 2007 - (Daniel Schearf )
China's stock markets have dropped by about nine percent as investors sold shares to cash in on record high share prices. The sharp slump is the biggest loss in 10 years and highlights the volatility of the Chinese stock markets.
China's Shanghai Composite Index fell Tuesday by 8.8 percent, while the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index sank by 8.5 percent.The selloff, the biggest one-day fall in a decade, came as investors dumped shares for quick profit from Monday's record high, when the Shanghai index surpassed 3,000 points for the first time closing at 3,040.The Shanghai index closed Tuesday at 2,771 points, down 269 points. Tony Tong is an analyst at Everbright Research in Hong Kong. He says higher interest rates may also have encouraged investors to take money out of China's unpredictable stock markets and put it into safer investments in state-run banks.
The market is thinking that there may be another hike in the reserve ratio and even interest rates. So the credit-tightening issue would be a major concern, he said. I would say in the coming few weeks the market will remain under pressure.China's economy and the stock markets have boomed over the past few years, prompting fears that excess investment could lead to problems such as inflation or excess industrial and property capacity. Those problems could trigger a market collapse or a recession.The government, hoping to gently cool down the economy, in the past year has repeatedly raised interest rates and restricted bank loans.However, those measures appear to have had little deterrent effect on investors. China's stock markets doubled in value last year, leading to concerns of a market bubble that could collapse.Stock markets around Asia Tuesday were down as well, with many investors concerned about a possible slowdown in the U.S. economy. Most indexes fell one to three percent. Indexes in South Korea, Australia and Singapore dropped from record highs. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index of blue chip stocks fell 1.8 percent to a four-week low, partly in reaction to the mainland drop in stock value.
Stocks end sharply lower on China
Shanghai posts biggest drop in decade
Carrie Tait, Financial Post - Tuesday, February 27, 2007
TORONTO Toronto's main stock index closed sharply lower on Tuesday, as commodity issues led a broad-based retreat after a sharp selloff in Chinese stocks sparked concerns about growth in the Asian might.The Toronto Stock Exchange S&P/TSX composite index unofficially closed down 364.35 points, or 2.7%, at 13,040.11. But the market correction is expected to wash over the Canadian market without any long-term pain, experts said. In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 416.02 points, or 3.3%, at 12,216.24. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 50.33 points, or 3.5%, at 1,399.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 96.65 points, or
3.9%, at 2,407.87.
These markets are not alone. Last night’s 9% drop in the Shanghai stock index sent jitters through international markets.Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index lost 1.8%, while Singapore's Straits Times index sank 2.3%. Markets in Japan and Taiwan, however, registered only modest declines.In London, the FTSE-100 dropped 2.31%, France's CAC 40 dropped 3.02% and Germany's DAX lost 2.96%.
I suspect the biggest impact may be the flow of money away from emerging markets to safer jurisdictions, said Bart Melek, a senior economist at BMO Nesbitt Burns. I suspect that’s probably the more lasting effect.Strength in the Canadian stock market is closely tied to China’s mammoth economy, one that has grown about 9.6% in the past five years. China demands more copper than any other country and it is the second-largest consumer of oil.
With a stock market stacked with mining and oil companies, the TSX has climbed as China grew into the fourth-largest economy in the world.And so when China stumbles, Canadian investors get nervous.
On the TSX today, the hardest hit were the materials, financials and energy groups. Alcan Inc., a major aluminum producer, is the biggest drag on the benchmark index.I will be willing to bet that this will not be particularly long-lasting, said Marc Levesque, chief economic strategist at TD Securities. The correction, he said, could be gone by the end of the day. This could just be a knee-jerk reaction and not much more than that.China’s woes are being blamed on a government to crack down on illegal share offerings. In turn, the Shanghai and Shenzhen 300 Index dropped 9.2%, a loss of about US$107.8-billion. I think this unwinding is one event. There might be trending lower, but I don’t think that’s going to upset the fundamental performance of that economy, Mr. Melek said.And it is the performance of China’s overall economy not the performance of its stock market that influences the health of the Canadian market.In the grand scheme of things, a correction in the Chinese stock market doesn’t have massive implications for Canadian markets, TD’s Mr. Levesque said. Notably, the Chinese market has roughly doubled in the past year, making a correction seem less shocking. Metals prices have remained relatively stable today, indicating investors believe there will still be demand. Nothing fundamental has happened, Mr. Melek said. The rough day, however, hasn’t been all grim. With money scooting out of emerging markets, there is a big rally in U.S. Treasuries, bonds are rallying and traders are already combing the Chinese rubble, looking for bargains. There’s an ongoing debate now whether it is time to buy China or not, Mr. Levesque said.
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