BUSH MORE OIL OPEC

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.

Newfoundland storm closes schools, ices roads
Tue Jan 15, 7:32 AM

Schools in many communities in Newfoundland closed for at least the morning Tuesday as a winter storm made driving conditions treacherous.Authorities ordered schools closed across central, southern and eastern Newfoundland, amid storm warnings and a forecast of gusting winds and snow.Schools in the metro St. John's area remained open. Metrobus, though, warned passengers to expect delays through the day. Traffic in the city was slow during morning commutes and difficult for pedestrians.Environment Canada expects up to 35 centimetres to fall in some areas, although the storm by Tuesday morning had made for slippery roads. Snowfall and winter storm warnings are in effect for most of the island.The storm was passing most of Labrador by, although Environment Canada added parts of southern Labrador to its list of warnings.Marine Atlantic, which runs the ferry service between southern Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, said high winds were causing delays in its schedule.

Several die, 70,000 displaced in Mozambique floods
Mon Jan 14, 8:31 AM

MAPUTO (AFP) - Several people have died while 70,000 others were displaced by floods in central Mozambique and the situation is expected to worsen till mid-February, the National Institute of Natural Disaster Management (INGC) said Monday.The floods have for now claimed several lives, according to an official toll, INGC's deputy director Joao Ribeiro told AFP.On Sunday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) gave a death toll of 50, a figure which Ribeiro said was overestimated.

Mozambique had as far back as November envisaged a heavy downpour during this raining season and had warned its population, a step which has helped to reduce the number of victims.More than 70,000 people have been resettled, particularly in schools and other public buildings.Overall, the southern African country which declared a red alert last January 3, is gearing up to evacuate more than 200,000 people.In Geneva,the Red Cross and Red Crescent warned Monday that much of southern Africa faces potentially disastrous flooding, while the situation in Mozambique was particularly worrying.Heavy rains that started last month in parts of Zimbabwe had provoked flooding there, said a statement from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).That was now spreading to Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland and Zambia, while the large Indian Ocean island of Madagascar, off the Mozambican coast, was also affected.The weather forecast for the next seven days is not good with more rain expected, which could last until April, said Peter Rees, head of the IFRC's operations support department.If this happens, southern Africa will certainly face major flooding with potentially catastrophic consequences, he added.Rees called for immediate action to head off the crisis.

The IFRC statement pointed out that Mozambique was still recovering from flooding and then a cyclone in February 2007.Since late November when the raining season started, the heavy downpour has led to a sharp rise in the levels of rivers Zambezi, Pongue, Buzi and Save.Currently the River Zambezi is almost two metres (six feet) high above the warning level, Ribeiro said.The forecasts we have indicate that the rains would intensify in the coming weeks, to attain a peak in the second half of February.
Thirty people died, while 80,000 others were rendered homeless as a result of flooding last year.In 2001 and 2002, torrential rains swept through the former Portuguese colony still undergoing reconstruction after a long period of civil war (1976-1992). More than 700 people were lost to flooding.More than 3,000 people have been rendered homeless in Zambia, while three people died in Zimbabwe.The local Red Cross had already sent emergency supplies to to affected regions and in Geneva and the IFRC on Friday released one million Swiss francs (980,000 dollars, 660,000 euros).The federation will shortly be launching an appeal for funding to help fund operations in the region.

Nation hit by heavy rain, flood warnings issued Tue Jan 15, 7:46 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Heavy rain is lashing parts of England and Wales on Tuesday, as some of the areas most affected by last summer's flooding prepare to be hit again. The Environment Office currently has 53 flood warnings in place across England and Wales, with defences already prepared in many areas.The Met Office has predicted flash floods and gale-force winds for these parts, threatening more of the devastating scenes that were seen in last July's flooding.The downpour started last night and has so far not let up much, although the Met Office is predicting a brighter and drier spell for many later today before further heavy rain is expected across the southeast.So far, the weather has led to some traffic disruption along the M5. Train services have been cancelled in Hampshire because tracks were under water, and all flights between Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney are seeing delays due to strong winds in the Channel Islands.

In Gloucester, an area that experienced some of the worst of last year's flooding, residents were bracing themselves for more bad weather by moving their possessions upstairs and using sandbags and rolled-up carpets to protect their homes.Kelly Bartlett, of the Longlevens Flood Committee in Gloucester, told the Press Association that residents were keeping an eye on the rising water levels in the brook running by their homes.Everyone in this area has stayed at home, no one has gone to work, she said.You can't live a normal life. Everytime it rains, you have to stay at home.

People have moved their belongings upstairs. Many haven't moved them down since Friday when this spell of bad weather began.Kate Nelmes, a spokeswoman for Gloucestershire Police, said: We're not expecting things to be as serious as last year but we want to make sure we're prepared in case things get worse.In Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, also badly hit last year's floods, pub landlord John Bishop told the Press Association: It's very, very bad news, especially as we are just getting over what happened in the summer. I hope this time won't be as bad but if the water comes up another 16 inches, we will be in trouble.People living in areas where severe weather warnings have been issued, are advised to check the Environment Agency website for updates.

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

Plague a growing but overlooked threat: study By Michael Kahn JAN 15,08

LONDON (Reuters) - Plague, the disease that devastated medieval Europe, is re-emerging worldwide and poses a growing but overlooked threat, researchers warned on Tuesday. While it has only killed some 100 to 200 people annually over the past 20 years, plague has appeared in new countries in recent decades and is now shifting into Africa, Michael Begon, an ecologist at the University of Liverpool and colleagues said.A bacterium known as Yersinia pestis causes bubonic plague, known in medieval times as the Black Death when it was spread by infected fleas, and the more dangerous pneumonic plague, spread from one person to another through coughing or sneezing.Although the number of human cases of plague is relatively low, it would be a mistake to overlook its threat to humanity, because of the disease's inherent communicability, rapid spread, rapid clinical course, and high mortality if left untreated, they wrote in the journal Public Library of Science journal PloS Medicine.Rodents carry plague, which is virtually impossible to wipe out and moves through the animal world as a constant threat to humans, Begon said. Both forms can kill within days if not treated with antibiotics.

You can't realistically get rid of all the rodents in the world, he said in a telephone interview. Plague appears to be on the increase, and for the first time there have been major outbreaks in Africa.Globally the World Health Organization reports about 1,000 to 3,000 plague cases each year, with most in the last five years occurring in Madagascar, Tanzania, Mozambique, Malawi, Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The United States sees about 10 to 20 cases each year.More worrying are outbreaks seem on the rise after years of relative inactivity in the 20th century, Begon said. The most recent large pneumonic outbreak comprised hundreds of suspected cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006.Bubonic plague, called the Black Death because of black bumps that sometimes develop on victims' bodies, causes severe vomiting and high fever. Victims of pneumonic plague have similar symptoms but not the black bumps.Begon and his colleagues called for more research into better ways to prevent plague from striking areas where people lack access to life-saving drugs and to defend against the disease if used as a weapon.

We should not overlook the fact that plague has been weaponized throughout history, from catapulting corpses over city walls, to dropping infected fleas from airplanes, to refined modern aerosol formulation, the researchers wrote. (Reporting by Michael Kahn; Editing by Maggie Fox and Ibon Villelabeitia)

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE (NOT THE WORLD) THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER.

GENESIS 1:5,14
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:(ISRAELS HOLY DAYS AND SABBATH STARTS AT 6PM) And for SIGNS (PROPHECY SIGNS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OUR DAY)

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

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.

THIS UFO THING I BELIEVE WILL BE ONE OF THE TWO DELUTIONS THAT THE EARTH IS DECIEVED BY, I BELIEVE THIS UFO SIGHTINGS STUFF IS GOOD BAD ANGELS COMING TO CHECK HOW CLOSE WE ARE TO THE TRIBULATION PERIOD. I BELIEVE WHEN THE EU DICTATOR COMES ON THE SCENE IN THE FUTURE HE WILL SAY THE CRAZY CHRISTIANS WERE TAKIN OUT OF THE WAY BY UFOS (THE RAPTURE) BECAUSE THEY NEVER HAD OUR PEACE BELIEF.

SINCE THE EU DICTATOR WILL BE GODLESS AND FROM THE NEW AGE OR OCCULT OR KABBALAH MOVEMENTS. THE STRONG DELUTION IN THE BIBLE I BELIEVE IS WHEN AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THE 7 YEAR TREATY SIGNING THE EU DICTATOR MURDERES ELIJAH AND MOSES, HE THEN IN TURN IS MURDERED BY AN ISRAELI AND SATAN BRINGS HIM BACK TO LIFE. I BELIEVE THIS WILL TAKE PLACE ON PASSOVER OR EASTER BECAUSE SATAN WILL TRY TO FULFILL THE PROPHECY ON THE SAME DAY JESUS DIED AND 3 DAYS LATER CAME BACK TO LIFE. THE WORLD WILL THEN SAY HE IS GOD HE CAME BACK TO LIFE LIKE JESUS DID 2000 YEARS AGO, THIS I BELIEVE IS THE STRONG DELUTION THE WORLD WILL BELIEVE BECAUSE AFTER THIS EVENT THE EU DICTATOR SETS HIMSELF UP IN THE 3RD TEMPLE CALLING HIMSELF GOD AND GETTING AWAY WITH IT.

Dozens in Texas town report seeing UFO By ANGELA K. BROWN, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 14, 6:37 PM ET

STEPHENVILLE, Texas - In this farming community where nightfall usually brings clear, starry skies, residents are abuzz over reported sightings of what many believe is a UFO. Several dozen people — including a pilot, county constable and business owners — insist they have seen a large silent object with bright lights flying low and fast. Some reported seeing fighter jets chasing it.

People wonder what in the world it is because this is the Bible Belt, and everyone is afraid it's the end of times, said Steve Allen, a freight company owner and pilot who said the object he saw last week was a mile long and half a mile wide. It was positively, absolutely nothing from these parts.While federal officials insist there's a logical explanation, locals swear that it was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane. People in several towns who reported seeing it over several weeks have offered similar descriptions of the object.Machinist Ricky Sorrells said friends made fun of him when he told them he saw a flat, metallic object hovering about 300 feet over a pasture behind his Dublin home. But he decided to come forward after reading similar accounts in the Stephenville Empire-Tribune.You hear about big bass or big buck in the area, but this is a different deal, Sorrells said. It feels good to hear that other people saw something, because that means I'm not crazy.Sorrells said he has seen the object several times. He said he watched it through his rifle's telescopic lens and described it as very large and without seams, nuts or bolts.

Maj. Karl Lewis, a spokesman for the 301st Fighter Wing at the Joint Reserve Base Naval Air Station in Fort Worth, said no F-16s or other aircraft from his base were in the area the night of Jan. 8, when most people reported the sighting.Lewis said the object may have been an illusion caused by two commercial airplanes. Lights from the aircraft would seem unusually bright and may appear orange from the setting sun.I'm 90 percent sure this was an airliner, Lewis said. With the sun's angle, it can play tricks on you.Officials at the region's two Air Force bases — Dyess in Abilene and Sheppard in Wichita Falls — also said none of their aircraft were in the area last week. The Air Force no longer investigates UFOs.One man has offered a reward for a photograph or videotape of the mysterious object.About 200 UFO sightings are reported each month, mostly in California, Colorado and Texas, according to the Mutual UFO Network, which plans to go to the 17,000-resident town of Stephenville to investigate.Fourteen percent of Americans polled last year by The Associated Press and Ipsos say they have seen a UFO.Erath County Constable Lee Roy Gaitan said that he first saw red glowing lights and then white flashing lights moving fast, but that even with binoculars could not see the object to which the lights were attached.I didn't see a flying saucer and I don't know what it was, but it wasn't an airplane, and I've never seen anything like it, Gaitan said. I think it must be some kind of military craft — at least I hope it was.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

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.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

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.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

Stocks fall amid weak economic news By LESLIE WINES, AP Business Writer JAN 15,08

NEW YORK - Stocks skidded Tuesday after weak economic news and a disappointing quarterly report from Citigroup Inc. signaled that Wall Street's worries about the economy are likely to continue unassuaged. The Dow Jones industrials fell almost 200 points.
Investors backed off stocks amid growing concerns that consumer spending will wane this year, contributing to an economic downturn. The latest evidence that consumers are retrenching came from the Commerce Department, which reported retail sales fell in December and revised its November figures lower. Spending by consumers, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, has been key to staving off economic slowdowns in recent years.There is also a growing fear that the Federal Reserve hasn't done enough to keep the economy going — especially as investors continue to see the fallout from the summer's subprime mortgage crisis. Citigroup, the nation's biggest bank, announced on Tuesday a hefty $18.1 billion write-down for bad mortgage assets and slashed its dividend.

When consumers are beaten over the head about how bad things are, pretty soon they believe it and that effects their spending habits, said Scott Wren, equity strategist for A.G. Edwards & Sons. And when there's a lot of uncertainty out there, the Fed needs to be a little more aggressive — I think they need to cut more than just at this next meeting.He said the worrisome fall in retail sales, which also pressures the dollar, builds a case that the cut will be at least 0.50 percentage point. It also increases the likelihood of further cuts after the central bank's Jan. 29-30 meeting.But, hopes for a rate cut weren't enough to calm investors, who have sold stocks lower so far this year on increasing worries about the economy. In midday trading, the Dow fell 193.15, or 1.51 percent, to 12,585.00.Broader stock indicators also lost ground. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 26.44, or 1.87 percent, to 1,389.81, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 46.06, or 1.86 percent, to 2,432.24.Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 623.2 million shares.Bond price rose. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.73 percent from 3.77 percent late Monday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Light, sweet crude fell $2.80 to $91.40 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Through Monday's session, which was only the ninth trading day of 2008, the Dow had fallen 3.67 percent, while the S&P 500 was down 3.55 percent and the Nasdaq was down 6.56 percent.Also among Tuesday's reports, the New York Federal Reserve's Empire State survey of regional manufacturing showed a drop to 9.03 this month from 9.80 in December.But there was some relief about inflation. Producer prices fell 0.1 percent, according to the Labor Department. The result was smaller than the 0.2 percent drop expected by economists, but all declines in price pressure are generally good news. Excluding food and energy, producer prices gained 0.2 percent, matching expectations. Financial services stocks were among the biggest influences on investors during Tuesday's session. Citigroup's drastic efforts to shore up its balance sheet had been widely expected, but it still was a forceful reminder of the serious problems that bad lending practices have created for financial services firms.Citigroup, which lost $9.83 billion in the fourth quarter, also announced a massive $12.5 billion capital injection. Hope that struggling financial firms will bolster their finances also was stirred by news that Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. agreed that three foreign investment funds will invest $6.6 billion in the Wall Street firm.

Citi fell $1.99, or 6.9 percent, to $27.07. Merrill — which reports results on Thursday — fell $1.57, or 2.8 percent, to $54.40.Further evidence of the credit market turmoil came from State Street Corp., which posted a fourth-quarter profit that fell 28 percent after the institutional investment firm took a $279 million charge. Shares fell $5.15, or 6.1 percent, to $79.71.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 11.64, or 1.63 percent, to 700.84. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.98 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 lost 3.06 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 2.65 percent, and France's CAC-40fell 2.14 percent. On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Blair in landmark talks with Jewish settlers JAN 13,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) — International Middle East envoy Tony Blair held landmark talks with Jewish settler representatives this week, their main lobby group announced on Saturday.It's the first time that an international figure of this rank has sat down with settler representatives, the Yesha Council said.The meeting with Yesha secretary general Danny Dayan took place in a Jerusalem hotel and also involved members of the Israeli parliament from the religious and ultra-nationalist right as well as one from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's centre-right Kadima party.The settler representatives told Blair that Olmert had no mandate to negotiate a peace deal with the Palestinians that required the dismantling of settlements in the occupied West Bank, Israeli participants in the meeting said.

The former British premier retorted that nothing can stop the relaunching of the peace process.His meeting with the settlers came hot on the heels of a first visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories by US President George W. Bush during which he said he was very hopeful that a final peace deal could be reached before he leaves office in January next year.Blair represents the so-called Quartet of major players in the Middle East peace process -- the European Union, Russia and the United Nations, as well as the United States.Washington has made clear that any peace agreement will have to take into account realities on the ground although the international community regards all settlements on occupied land as illegal.Some 470,000 Jewish settlers have made their homes in the occupied West Bank since Israel seized the territory in 1967, 200,000 of them in annexed Arab east Jerusalem.

Blair speech kindles speculation over EU presidency By Nick Antonovics Sat Jan 12, 9:10 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair kindled speculation he was running to be the first president of the European Union by praising the bloc in a speech in Paris as France prepares to oversee the appointment process.

PUBLICIDAD

At the invitation of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Blair told a conference of France's centre-right ruling UMP party on Saturday that EU countries could achieve more in key policy areas by acting together rather than as individual nation states.Europe is not a question of left or right, but a question of the future or the past, of strength or weakness, said Blair, speaking in French.
Terrorism, security, immigration, organized crime, energy, the environment, science, biotechnology and higher education. In all these areas, and others, we are much stronger and able to deliver what our citizens expect from us as individual nations if we are part of a strong and united Europe, Blair said.The post of president of the European Council -- which meets at head of state and government level usually four times a year -- is due to be created by the 27-nation grouping in the second half of 2008, when France will chair EU ministerial meetings.

Sarkozy already said in October that Blair or Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker were obvious candidates. A UMP party grandee, Jean-Pierre Rafarin, wrote in Saturday's Le Monde newspaper that Blair's experience in Europe positioned him well for the European institutions of the future.Speaking to the UMP conference immediately after Blair, Sarkozy described him as one of Europe's greats and praised his role in persuading Britain to sign up to the bloc's new reform treaty.But he stopped short of offering Blair public backing for the post, which will not be created until the treaty has been ratified by all EU countries.
When we appoint this president of the European Union, I want us to set the bar high and not aim for the lowest common denominator, Sarkozy said.Sarkozy said he hoped he would be the last person to hold the bloc's existing six-month rotating presidency before the new president, with a two-and-a-half-year term in office, took over.Sarkozy said he wanted a political Europe with common energy, immigration and environment policies, but in comments that could create tensions with Blair's successor in Downing Street, Gordon Brown, also pleaded for common agricultural and defense policies.

Europe can't be an area of 450 million people and one of the richest in the world and rely for its protection on either chance or the United States, Sarkozy said.I am a friend of the United States but I insist that Europe give itself autonomous means to defend itself because if one is not capable of this, one is not capable of assuming one's independence, Sarkozy added.In his speech, Blair praised Sarkozy's leadership and joked that he could quite easily fit in with his government.In another comment that drew laughter from delegates, Blair cited Sarkozy's energy, in all areas -- a reference to the recently-divorced French leader's love affair with a former top model and singer.(Editing by Caroline Drees)

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

EU's Barroso says 'political will' needed to boost bloc following treaty deal

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said leaders from 27 member states must show political leadership so Europe can face key future economic, social and environmental challenges following a deal on the bloc's reform treaty.Speaking from Lisbon, Portugal, as leaders gathered to formally sign the so-called Treaty of Lisbon, Barroso said: We need increased coherence, which can only be achieved if we are able to match the new capacity to act with a renewed political will.The Treaty of Lisbon gives the Union this capacity to act. But the determination to act requires political will and committed leadership, he said.Barroso said political agreement on the treaty -- secured following drawn-out talks at a two-day summit in October -- was vital.The Treaty of Lisbon will reinforce the Union's capacity to act and the ability to achieve those goals in an effective way. As such, it will help the Union to deliver better results to European citizens.He also said the text has a very special political significance.

It is the Treaty of an enlarged Europe from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Black sea. A Europe that shares common values and common ambitions.The treaty -- replacing the defunct EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005 -- was finally brokered after objections from Poland and Italy were overcome.Agreement on it was seen as vital to streamline the workings of a bloc which has expanded to 27 member states, from 15 in 2004.The treaty, amending rather than repealing existing texts, was agreed after talks, chaired by Portuguese president Jose Socrates, overcame opposition on wide-ranging issues from, amongst others, Poland and Italy.It includes plans for a long-term president of the European Council chosen for a 2-1/2-year term, a new voting system phased in between 2014 and 2017, a foreign affairs head combing the role of the existing EU foreign affairs chief and the commissioner for external relations, fewer national veto powers, more powers for the European Parliament, new powers for EU institutions in justice and home affairs matters and a slimmed-down commission from 2014 with only two-thirds of member states represented at any one time.

The bloc will have a legal personality, allowing it to sign up to international treaties. In addition, a charter of fundamental rights, for which the UK has secured an opt-out, will be legally binding.Following a signing of the treaty in Lisbon this week, a ratification process in all 27 member states will take place. It is up to each country to determine how this is done -- either by parliamentary vote or referendum.Ratification, needed by every member state, is expected in 2008 with the treaty seen entering into force in January 2009, before European elections in June of that year.Tomorrow, leaders will return to hold a one-day summit here when thoughts will turn to future challenges of globalisation such as energy, climate change and trade. simon.zekaria@thomson.com sz/am

Four major EU states to discuss global economy
15.01.2008 - 09:13 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Italy are to meet at the end of the month to discuss the recent turbulence in the global financial markets.UK prime minister Gordon Brown has invited his counterparts from three other major member states in the European Union to come to London on 29 January to discuss the economic situation in world.The meeting is to examine how we all work together and work to harmonise to better deal with the financial situation, a British government spokesperson told AFP last week, with governments round the world jittery following the collapse of the US housing market last year.

But the invitee list is notable for including only the major EU economic players, leaving out the 23 other member states as well as any representative of the European Commission.The commission, charged with overseeing economic governance and with a commissioner specifically responsible for economic and monetary affairs, is normally present at regular EU finance minister meetings and participates in G8 meetings, gatherings of the world's most industrialised countries.On Monday (14 January), a commission spokesperson played down the potential political significance of the meeting saying that according to the information it had received, the format of the meeting in London on January 29 has not yet been decided.But the commission admitted that monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia was not attending the preparatory meeting at finance minister level on Thursday (17 January).For his part, Mr Brown has warned that the world is set to face economic turbulence following the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the US - where lenders gave money to people with poor credit histories sparking a global credit crunch towards the end of 2007.

He has said the meeting should look at greater transparency in global financial markets and has indicated the meeting is not meant to leave Brussels out of the loop and that commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will be kept informed of the discussions.Some member states have already expressed displeasure at the meeting however.Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt said, according to AFP, that Europe is not made only for the big nations but for all European citizens, states and populations, including the small ones.The meeting is likely to raise extra pique as it is being hosted at head-of-state and government level by Britain, traditionally seen as more ambivalent towards the EU and not a member of the 13 nation eurozone.But this will not be the only forum where big member states have gathered to discuss topical issues. Interior ministers of the UK, France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Poland regularly meet to discuss internal security and immigration issues. 2008 EUobserver.

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)

Ex-NATO top brass urge security directorate
Mon Jan 14, 2008 10:11am EST

BRUSSELS, Jan 14 (Reuters) - Five former Western military chiefs are urging the 32 members of NATO and the European Union to team up in a single security directorate to deal with the terrorism threat and security challenges from China and Iran.In a report to be presented in Brussels on Wednesday, they argue that neither NATO, the EU, or any individual state can handle new security threats alone, but that developing new security institutions would take too long.A cursory glance at our international organisations leads us to ask whether we have a proper basis for coordinated action. Unfortunately, it would appear that we do not, they conclude.We propose, as a first step towards a new and wider transatlantic bargain, the establishment of a U.S., EU, NATO steering directorate at the highest political level, they said in the report to be presented at the German Marshall Fund thinktank.

The five authors are former NATO Military Committee chief Klaus Naumann, former UK chief of defence staff Peter Inge, ex-chairman of the U.S. joint chiefs of staff John Shalikashvili, French ex-chief of defence staff Jacques Lanxade and Dutch ex-chief of defence staff Henk van den Breemen.The proposal comes before April's NATO summit when Western leaders will review alliance efforts to forge a post-Cold War role, something that has often provoked tensions with the EU and other players.The authors did not detail how such a directorate would function. The double-vote granted to the United States -- on the forum as itself and as a NATO member -- would encourage the U.S. to become more involved in the international debate, they said.

WEAKENED BY DISUNITY

The report notes that most EU nations have only limited military firepower while NATO is short on civilian know-how. The United Nations' military power is hamstrung by insurmountable political disunities and executive incapacity, it adds.There is a great mismatch between the interconnected list of dangers and the international and national capabilities to respond to them -- capabilities that are weakened by their disunity, it said.New threats range from terrorism to the risk that conflicts are triggered as states jostle for scarce energy resources.China is in a position to use the finance weapon for geopolitical leverage in Africa, and is gaining the capability to use it more widely -- if it chooses to do so, it warned.The authors further cited the risk of Iran's growing influence in its region, particularly if it acquired the atom bomb -- a goal Tehran denies having.An Iranian nuclear weapon could mean the end of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and thus transform the regional conflict into a global crisis, it said.The authors played down the threat posed by Russia, noting a mismatch between the aggressive statements of President Vladimir Putin and its armed might, estimating that barely 20 percent of Russian military equipment could be called modern.

However they added: It will be important for the West to maintain a partnership with Russia, if an escalation of future tensions is to be averted.Despite having 21 members in common, cooperation between NATO and the EU is patchy both at their headquarters in Brussels and on the ground in Afghanistan, where the two have to combine military and reconstruction efforts. (Editing by Richard Balmforth)

MUSLIM NATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

400 groups sign charter for European Muslims
14.01.2008 - 09:13 CET | By Teresa Küchler and Leigh Philips

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Some 400 Muslim groups met in Brussels on Thursday (10 January) to sign a charter for the Muslims of Europe, describing the rights and responsibilities of Muslims within European society.The charter is a message to government and the rest of society, but also directed at Muslims within Europe, said Ibrahim Elzayat, a spokesperson for the Federation of Islamic Organisations in Europe (FIOE), the co-ordinator of the process that resulted in the historic document.It describes how we should act as positive citizens in the societies in which we live and not be a threat, he continued. The groups hope that the charter will help correct negative images of Islam and improve relations between Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe.The charter has been in development since 2000, when FIOE launched a debate on the establishment of such a document. The attacks on New York and Washington of 11 September, 2001, gave the process added impetus, and FIOE formed a committee to draft a charter that would set out the general principles for a better understanding of Islam by non-Muslim Europeans and the bases for integration of Muslims in European society.

Leadership representatives from many of FIOE's member organisations discussed the charter, which was then presented to the groups at a seminar in Brussels in 2002. The project was then widely disseminated in order to incorporate the opinions of as many organisations and Muslim individuals as possible. The process took almost six years.Representatives of the European Parliament welcomed the Charter.The charter amounts to a code of good conduct for Muslims in Europe which commits them to taking part in building a united society, said parliament vice-president Mario Mauro.Mr Mauro, of the conservative Forza Italia party, is responsible for relations between the parliament and religious groups. It pledges Muslims to helping create harmony and well-being in our societies and to fully playing the role of citizens in upholding justice, equal rights and respect for difference.The document contains 26 separate points, with a number of clauses that undoubtedly are aimed at dispelling myths about links between Islam and violence, as well as clarifying the meaning of terms such as jihad.The term Jihad that occurs in Islamic texts means to exert all efforts towards good, starting from reforming oneself to spreading truth and justice between people, reads the document.
Jihad in its understanding as warfare is regarded as one of the means available to any sovereign state when it needs to defend itself against aggression. The teachings of Islam, in this respect, are in line with international law.Based on such an understanding of Jihad, Islam rejects violence and terrorism, supports just causes and affirms the right of all people to defend themselves by legitimate means.FIOE represents some 29 mostly Sunni Muslims organisations and more than 1000 local groups, including the Muslim Association of Britain (MAB), the Union des organisations islamiques de France (UOIF) and the Islamische Gemeinschaft in Deutschland (IGD).

Moving up the EU's political agenda

The role of Muslims in Europe and European attitudes towards Islam has moved up the political agenda in the European Union, with the bloc officially celebrating the year of intercultural dialogue this year.One of the first personalities to mark the year is Ahmad Badr Al-Din Hassoun, the Grand Mufti of Syria, who will talk to MEPs on Tuesday (15 January).Meanwhile, centre-right euro-deputies discussed EU-Islam relations last week. Focusing on religious education in schools, EU culture commissioner Jan Figel said that in most European schools, students are separated according to faith and are taught separately and only about their own religion.
He said Brussels would try and encourage member states to review school curricula, as well as mobility in their educational systems.
Swedish Conservative MEP and vice chairman of the EPP-ED group, Gunnar Hökmark, told EUobserver that even in countries that are not very religious, such as his native Sweden, people should know more about religion, if for no other reason than to be able to distinguish what is not religion. People wrongly link violence and terrorism to Islam, the MEP said. 2008 EUobserver.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Bush urges OPEC to output more oil By TERENCE HUNT and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers JAN 15,08

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - President Bush urged OPEC nations on Tuesday to put more oil on the world market, warning that soaring prices could cause an economic slowdown in the United States. Don't get me wrong — paying more for gasoline hurts some of the American families, Bush told a small group of reporters before heading into more talks with Saudi King Abdullah. And I'll make that clear to him.Shortly after Bush spoke, the Saudi oil minister said the kingdom, responsible for almost one-third of the cartel's total output, would raise oil production when the market justified it.In a stern warning to Iran days after a Jan. 6 confrontation with U.S. warships in the Persian Gulf, Bush said his decision to impose serious consequences will be the same whether an attack against an American vessel resulted from an order by the government in Tehran or a rash decision by an Iranian boat captain.

It's not going to matter who made the decision, Bush said. If they hit our ships, we will hold Iran responsible.U.S. officials claim Iranian speedboats swarmed three Navy warships in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that is the only entry and exit to the Persian Gulf. They said U.S. Navy commanders were considering firing warning shots, before the retreat of the five Iranian speedboats, which the Pentagon said were operated by the elite Revolutionary Guards.Iran has denied that its boats threatened the U.S. vessels, saying the incident was a normal occurrence, and accused Washington of fabricating video and audio it released. Iran's government has released its own video, which appeared to be shot from a small boat bobbing at least 100 yards from the American warships.The president spoke to reporters before meeting late Tuesday with Abdullah, whose country holds the world's largest supply of oil. Oil prices topped $100 a barrel this month. When consumers have less purchasing power, it could cause the economy to slow down, Bush said.He said I hope OPEC nations put more supply on the market.It would be helpful, Bush said.

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries next meets Feb. 1 in Vienna, Austria, to consider increasing output. OPEC oil accounts for about 40 percent of the world's needs, and OPEC ministers often follow the lead of the Saudis.At the same time, Bush acknowledged that there is little excess capacity in the marketplace. A lot of these oil producing countries are full out in terms of what they can produce, he said.And he said a growing demand for oil, especially from fast-growing India and China, is helping to strain supply and lift prices. Many economists agree, saying that oil prices may not fall much even if Saudi Arabia and other OPEC countries raise production.Asked whether he thought the U.S. economy was sliding toward recession, as some economists predict, Bush said, These are times of economic uncertainty, but I have confidence in the future.In Washington, two government reports released Tuesday added to fears of a recession: Wholesale inflation shot up in 2007 by the largest amount in 26 years and retail sales fell in December. Bush's administration and Congress are looking at ways, such as tax cuts, tax rebates or other incentives, to give the economy a boost. Bush declined to discuss specific steps. We're going to watch very carefully, he said.The Saudi oil minister, Ali Naimi, said the U.S. economy is significant to the oil market and demand. All our effort is to maintain prosperity and growth in all countries, particularly the number one consuming nation in the world, he said.But, the minister said, The concern for the U.S. economy is valid, but what affects the U.S. economy is more than the supply of oil.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, traveling with Bush in the Mideast, slipped away from the Saudi capital at 6:40 a.m. Tuesday for a quick trip to Iraq. Bush said he had been encouraged by signs of legislative progress in Baghdad and decided that she could help push the momentum by her very presence.She congratulated the prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, on the passage of U.S.-sought legislation that reinstates former Saddam Hussein loyalists to government jobs and pushed for progress on other benchmark laws. At a Baghdad news conference, she said political progress has moved along quite remarkably and shows that last year's increase of U.S. troops in the country was paying dividends.Bush dismissed widespread speculation that he would go to Iraq while traveling in the region, saying he decided to send Rice instead. One of the primary objectives of his eight-day Mideast trip is to build support for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. He said that Abdullah asked him why he was optimistic about securing an agreement before his White House term ends in January 2009. Part of my mission was to make clear why talks failed in the past. There wasn't participation by the neighbors, Bush said, referring to Arab countries that have kept an arm's length from the negotiations. Bush said he was convinced that the Arab leaders want to see the creation of a Palestinian state in a peace agreement with Israel. They want to see a deal done, he said. The issue frustrates them.But, he added: They questioned the seriousness of the United States to remain involved in what has been a long and frustrating process.Bush spoke to the group of reporters while sitting in a chair under a gold and crystal chandelier in an ornate room of the kingdom's guest palace. Bush said he has faced persistent questions during his trip about a new U.S. intelligence estimate that said Iran had abandoned a secret nuclear weapons program in 2003. That conclusion contradicted Bush's claim that Iran is actively pursuing nuclear weapons now and raised questions in the Mideast about U.S. intentions toward Iran.

The president said he made clear that the new finding was a judgment by independent intelligence agencies and that all options are on the table for dealing with Iran. At the same time, he said he has told leaders — who want the U.S. to keep Tehran in check but are nervous about the impact of any military confrontation — that he wants a diplomatic solution. Tensions flared anew with the incident last week in the Gulf. Bush said it would be up to the captains of the American ships to determine if their vessels are in jeopardy from Iranian boats. These are judgment calls and there are clear rules of engagement, he said. Still, he warned the Iranians: If they hit one of our ships there are going to be serious consequences. ... Whoever made the — is in control of these boats, best be careful.Earlier, Bush spoke before meeting with Saudi business owners, many of them young and educated in the United States. He then visited al-Murabba Palace and The National Museum, stopping in a gallery describing the Prophet Muhammad's life. Later, Bush rode out in the desert to the king's weekend retreat and farm where 260 Arabian horses are kept in air-conditioned stables. On a chilly afternoon, the two men sat in a glass-enclosed viewing room and watched as a trainer paraded sleek horses around a showing ring outside. The excursion repays the two visits that the king, while crown prince, made to Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, in 2002 and 2005. Arriving for dinner later, Bush wore a full-length fur-lined robe, and a sweater underneath against the cold temperatures. The president was preceded by an incense-bearer who left a trail of pungent smoke. Bush was spending the night at the ranch and having breakfast with the king before leaving for Egypt.

BUSH SAUDI KING MAKE ARMS DEAL By AP JAN 14,08

RIYADH -- President George W. Bush delivered a sophisticated weapons sale for Saudi Arabia yesterday, trying to bolster defences against threats from Iran and muster support in this oil-rich kingdom for a long-stalled Mid-east peace agreement. Bush received a warm embrace from King Abdullah, whose family wields almost absolute rule. Among ordinary Saudis and across much of the Mideast, Bush is unpopular, particularly because of the Iraq war and unflinching U.S. support for Israel. Bush and Abdullah were going to some lengths over two days to emphasize their strong personal ties. Saudi Arabia holds the world's largest oil reserves and surging fuel costs are putting a strain on the U.S. economy.

ALTERNATE FUELS

But White House officials said it was unclear if Bush raised the subject with the king. The issue has come up in earlier stops on Bush's eight-day trip, largely in the context of his quest for alternate fuels and sources of energy, the officials said. Bush held extensive talks with the king in the walled compound of his opulent palace. Its marble floors and walls contain sheets of gold, coloured with precious stones and embedded jewels.

SMART BOMB

In a show of hospitality, the king invited Bush for a visit today to his lavish horse farm where 150 Arabian stallions are stabled. The overnight visit is a payback for the president hosting Abdullah at his Texas ranch. Coinciding with Bush's arrival, his administration officially notified the U.S. Congress it will offer Saudi Arabia joint direct attack munitions -- or smart bomb -- technology and related equipment. The deal envisions the transfer of 900 of the precision-guided bomb kits, worth $123 million. The U.S. has notified Congress of five other packages to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, including Patriot missiles. The total amount of sales as part of the Gulf security plan is estimated at $20 billion.

France Signs UAE Military Base Agreement
By LAURENT PIROT – JAN 15,08

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — France will set up a permanent military base of up to 500 troops in the United Arab Emirates, the French government announced Tuesday during a visit by President Nicolas Sarkozy.The military base deal will make France one of the first Western countries other than the United States to have a base in the Persian Gulf region. The presence would give Paris the ability to project its forces into a crucial oil-producing region where many countries are wary of Iran's rising influence.France and the United Arab Emirates also signed a civilian nuclear cooperation agreement Tuesday would be a first step toward building a nuclear reactor in the oil-rich Emirates with an estimated price tag of up to $6 billion.

France already has long-standing military cooperation accords with countries in the Persian Gulf region, including the Emirates and Qatar. Sarkozy's office said the base in Abu Dhabi would have 400 to 500 permanent personnel.France responds to its friends, Sarkozy told journalists following the signing of the military accord. France and the Emirates signed a reciprocal defense accord in 1995. Our friends from the Emirates asked that this accord be prolonged and asked that a base with 400 personnel be opened.The deal is a sign to all that France is participating in the stability of this region of the world, he said.French Vice Admiral Jacques Mazars, who heads the project, said the base would include members of the French navy, army and air force.Outside of Iraq, the United States has about 40,000 U.S. troops on bases across the Gulf — including the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain. The British military also has a small presence in the Gulf. The Royal Air Force operates out of Al Udeid, a U.S. air force base in Qatar, and the military is part of the coalition naval task force based in Bahrain.

Shahram Chubin, an expert in the Middle East and Iran at the Geneva Center for Security Policy in Switzerland, said the deals give France a shop window in the Persian Gulf, while the Emirates get an alternative Western supplier for such technology.Most of the states in the Gulf are not terribly happy (with) — but have no alternative to reliance on — the U.S., and this diversifies it, or at least gives the appearance of diversifying it, he said.The civilian nuclear accord was the third France has signed recently with Arab nations, after Libya and Algeria. Sarkozy also offered Saudi Arabia nuclear assistance during Sunday's visit to the conservative Islamic kingdom.Iran's progress in building its nuclear facilities has sparked a rush among Arab countries to look at programs of their own.A recent U.S. intelligence report indicated Iran halted its nuclear weapons design in 2003 under international pressure but continued to enrich uranium — meaning it could still develop a weapon between 2010 and 2015. Iran says its nuclear program is only peaceful purposes including generating electricity.Chubin said the base and nuclear technology deal are consistent with Sarkozy's more activist policies against Iran and closer ties with the U.S.This 500-man base is not going to be much of a deterrent, but it's a symbolic indicator ... that France wants to do more and doesn't want to leave the region to the U.S. alone, he said.Sarkozy's visit to Abu Dhabi marked the end of a three-day tour of Gulf countries that also included stops in Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:20,30
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

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

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

NATO, Russia to hold theater missile defense exercise
www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-15 10:04:33

BRUSSELS, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- NATO and Russia are going to conduct a joint Theater Missile Defense (TMD) exercise next week in Germany, the alliance said in a press release Monday. The computer-assisted exercise will be the fourth in a series of joint NATO-Russia TMD exercises. While previous exercises have focused on command and control of the TMD forces and the execution of operations in a joint theater of operations, this exercise will concentrate on the planning processes required to enable an effective and efficient employment of such forces, NATO said. The three previous exercises were held in 2004 in the United States, in 2005 in the Netherlands and in 2006 in Russia. According to the release, more than 60 representatives from 11 NATO nations and Russia will participate in the exercise. Editor: Yao Siyan.

After two years in a coma, Ariel Sharon is now a symbol in the hall of heroesSheera Frenkel in Jerusalem

Two years have passed since Ariel Sharon fell into the coma from which he has yet to recover. No memorials have been built or statues dedicated to the leader who many say shaped the modern face of Israel but, in the intensive care wing of the Sheba Medical Centre, staff have taken to calling his hallway Israel’s history book. In three rooms rest a police officer who was shot in the line of duty, a former head of the Shin Bet, and Mr Sharon, the former Prime Minister known as the Bulldozer for his aggressive style of leadership. It is a hallway of heroes, said one nurse who works in his ward. In his long career as statesman and general, Mr Sharon has carried the titles of both hero and villain, and his complex legacy has remained a topic of debate in Israel’s political corridors. The Kadima party, which he founded as a broad centrist movement, continues to hold power with Ehud Olmert at the helm. Mr Sharon’s portrait presides over all party meetings, while his name is invoked by MPs from across the political spectrum.

Doctors failing to wake Sharon from coma

At just the moment when his voice is most needed, Ariel Sharon is silenced .There is no doubting the influence of Arik on every politician in the Knesset, said Shai Hermesh, a Kadima MP who was a neighbour to Mr Sharon’s sycamore ranch in the southern Israeli desert. His name has become a symbol of strong leadership, of a powerful leader, and of a legend. He was a walking history book of this country.Mr Sharon was elected Prime Minister in 2001, bolstered by his reputation as a decorated general and as a father of the settler movement, which encouraged Jews to move into areas of the Gaza Strip and West Bank. In office, however, he underwent a dramatic shift, announcing that Israel would unilaterally withdraw from the Gaza Strip. The move, completed in 2005, divided his coalition and threw the country into early elections. Mr Sharon created the Kadima party and opinion polls suggested that he would sweep back into power with a landslide. Just as campaigning began, however, he had a minor stroke. Several weeks later he had a more serious attack, causing a cerebral haemorrhage that threw him into a coma.

His condition has changed little since he was brought to the Shebal Medical Centre at the age of 77 two years ago today. He has not been in deep coma since his admission and throughout this period there have been some signs of response to several kinds of stimuli, the hospital said. Two plain-clothes police officers guard his door at all times, and visitors are limited to reduce his exposure to disease. His sons, Omri and Gilad, visit nearly every day. Over the past two years the Sharon family have been beleaguered by a succession of fraud trials. Omri was sentenced to jail but his imprisonment was deferred because of his father’s condition. Mr Sharon’s sons tell of slight changes in his breathing patterns and other signals they believe tell of his awareness to their presence. Friends said that they often remind one another of the stories of coma patients who awake years after doctors have given up hope for their revival. Raanan Gissin, one of Mr Sharon’s closest friends and a former adviser, said he may yet emerge from the coma but any hope that he might return to politics is unrealistic. Even so, recent polls show that if Mr Sharon awoke tomorrow, more than two thirds of the Israeli public would vote for him – without even knowing his political platform or his medical condition.

Since the stroke . . .

— Kadima party wins control of Knesset in March 2006. Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert asked to form government

— The Lebanese war begins after Hezbollah aggression against Israel in July 2006 and ends in a UNbrokered ceasefire 34 days later

— Hamas-led unity Government dissolved and state of emergency announced, June 2007. Hamas fighters take control of Abbas’s presidential compound in Gaza

— America ends 15-month embargo on Palestinian Authority in an attempt to prop up Abbas’s West Bank Government

— Tony Blair confirmed as Middle East envoy for the Quartet group

— Middle East summit in Annapolis, Maryland: Israelis and Palestinians agree to implement a road map under US supervision and achieve final settlement by end of this year
Source: www.mideastweb.org; Times archives