HYPOTHETICAL ATTACK ON U.S. BY CHINA

METEORS HIT THE EARTH

REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!

Asteroid will swing by, but won't stop By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Thu Jan 24, 10:33 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - An asteroid at least 500 feet long will make a rare close pass by Earth next week, but there is no chance of an impact, scientists reported Thursday. The object, known as 2007 TU24, is expected to whiz by Earth on Tuesday with its closest approach at 334,000 miles, or about 1.4 times the distance of Earth to the moon.
The nighttime encounter should be bright enough for medium-sized telescopes to get a glimpse, said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which tracks potentially dangerous space rocks.However, next week's asteroid pass has no chance of hitting, or affecting, Earth, Yeomans said.An actual collision of a similar-sized object with Earth occurs on average every 37,000 years.Spotted last October by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, 2007 TU24 is estimated to be between 500 feet and 2,000 feet long. The next time an asteroid this size will fly this close to Earth will be in 2027.

Scientists plan to point the Goldstone radar telescope in California and the Arecibo radar telescope in Puerto Rico at the asteroid and observe its path before and after its closest approach to Earth. Researchers will use instruments to measure its rotation and composition.The 2007 TU24 rendezvous comes a day before another asteroid is projected to pass close to Mars.Scientists have effectively ruled out a collision between the Red Planet and the asteroid 2007 WD5, estimating it will pass at a distance of more than 16,000 miles from the Martian surface. Initial observations of the Mars-bound asteroid put the odds of an impact at 1 in 25, but scientists later dropped the odds to 1 in 10,000.On the Net:
Near Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

BIZNETDAILY
Wall Street ends wild week as Soros eyes recession
Billionaire investor wants to see power shift from U.S. to China, developing world January 25, 2008 By Jerome R. Corsi
2008 WorldNetDaily.com

George Soros

In a wild week on Wall Street that saw an emergency .75 percentage point rate cut by the Federal Reserve, a global stock sell-off and four days of triple digit moves on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the market ended down another 171 points, to close at 12, 207. Meanwhile, billionaire investor George Soros, a strong supporter of MoveOn.org and leftist political candidates, threw cold water on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by warning a recession in the U.S. and UK will be hard to avoid. In a separate interview with the BBC, Soros told reporters he viewed with enthusiasm the prospect that a coming recession could seriously weaken the U.S. I'm not looking for a worldwide recession, Soros said. I'm looking for a significant shift of power and influence away from the United States in particular and a shift in favor of the developing world, particularly China.At the end of last week, the Dow reflected a precipitous loss of nearly 2,000 points from the all-time market high of 14,165 recorded Oct. 9, just four months ago.

Investors today apparently were not cheered by yesterday's bi-partisan congressional agreement to support the Bush administration $150 billion economic stimulus package. The plan would send tax rebates to 117 million families in an effort to boost consumer spending. Gold surged once again, setting a new record as benchmark gold futures for February for delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX metal division hit an all-time high of $924.30 an ounce. Gold ended the day with February futures contracts closing at $914 an ounce on the COMEX, up $ 8.20 on the day. Yesterday, the dollar struggled, registering slight gains against the euro, ending at 75.99 on the U.S. Dollar Index, up only slightly from the all-time low of 74.48 registered on the index in December. Much of the debate at the World Economic Forum centered on the question of decoupling, whether the world economy could disengage from a recession in the U.S. to stay healthy, or whether the ailing American economy would inevitably throw the world into a tailspin.

With annual retail consumption in the U.S. estimated at over $9 trillion, compared to slightly more than $1 trillion in China and India combined, most attendees felt a consequence of the increasing economic globalism could easily be a worldwide recession unless Bush administration stimulus efforts were enough to jumpstart the U.S. economy. Soros, speaking to reporters in Davos, accused Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke of acting in a panicky way, cutting rates as much as .75 percentage points this week, according to the Financial Times. Still, Wall Street investors at market close today strongly encouraged the Fed to cut rates another .25 percentage points at next week's scheduled meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee.

Dear Supporter of Israel,January 24, 2008
Action Alert: Stop U.N. Bias Against Israel

A draft statement that is deeply unfair to the State of Israel is currently being considered by the U.N. Security Council, and we need Israel's friends to act now to ensure it does not pass.The resolution - drafted by Libya, current President of the Security Council and a country with an abysmal human rights record and links to past terrorist attacks - condemns Israeli military action in Gaza and demands that the Jewish state end its blockade of the area. What it does not mention is the incessant rocket fire directed at civilians in southern Israel that made the military action and blockade necessary in the first place. Palestinian terrorists operating from Gaza have fired more than 4,000 rockets at the Jewish state since Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005 -hundreds in the last month alone.

Economic life in the Israeli communities bordering Gaza has been hard hit as businesses shut down or leave and residents - particularly children - suffer both physical injury and deep psychological trauma due to the continued attacks.The U.N is infamous for its anti-Israel bias. Earlier today, the U.N. Human Rights Council - another body dominated by well-known human rights violators such as Syria, Saudi Arabia, and China - condemned Israel for its military action in Gaza, again without mentioning rocket fire from Gaza that has made life a nightmare for citizens of Israeli cities like Sderot.As supporters of Israel, freedom, democracy and fairness, we dare not stand by and watch this happen again.Please call the Libyan Mission to the U.N., which is a member of the U.N. Security Council and tell them that any resolution which does not take into account Israel's legitimate need for security is not worthy of their consideration, and that you won't stand for another blatantly anti-Israel resolution from the world's foremost governing body.The Libyan Mission can be reached at 212-752-5775 or to send an email message click here.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The CARMEL ALERT Jan 24th 2008
A compilation of news reports from the past week for theinformation of those committed to praying for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people.

David's Comment: Time to Exercise Our Faith and Pray With Authority
Psalm 149:1-9 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; he will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment-- this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!

The last two Carmel Comments have resulted in the largest number of responses from our readers we have received in a long time. Almost every person who responded, wrote to say how they were encouraged by the scriptures that I included in the comment. I titled the article last week, only prayer can change the situation in the Middle East. Truth is that only prayer can change any serious situation in the world today that is in need of change. That goes for any situation that needs to be changed in your life or in the lives of those who are dear to you. The Bible confirms this in James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.Unlike my wife Josie, I am not spiritually gifted as an intercessor or prayer warrior, but I surely do understand the power of prayer. Hence the inclusion of the scriptures for us all to pray in agreement in the recent comments. Since well before the disasterous Gaza withdrawal, most of my weekly comments have focused on the worsening political situation here in Israel, the lies and distortions of the media, and the increasing pressure of the world's politicians on Israel's leaders to forego God's promises and bow down to their demands - demands that originate in the halls of Hell.

The reason that I almost relentlessly maintain the focus on the political situation is to offset the constant barrage of the media lies and distortions. For instance the media constantly proclaims that according to International law Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian lands. That simply is not true. Apart from the facts that God gave the disputed land to the Jewish people, and that before 1967 there was no such thing as a Palestinian people, International law states that land conquered in the act of responding to an offensive attack, is seen as legitimate spoils of war. The second and more important reason is to ensure there is much prayer concerning Israel's issues rising up to the throne room. Even though I don't usually include the relevant scriptures to pray, it was always my goal to inspire you to pray. Josie and I want to thank everyone who has risen to the call and faithfully prays for the situation in Israel as it unfolds week by week and we do pray that you will know the Lord's blessings upon your life and upon the lives of all who are dear to you.

The purpose of my comment this week is to encourage you to begin to if you dont already, or if you do, to continue to pray pure scripture back to the Lord. Not just for Israel, but for your own lives, for your family and friends, and for any situation that the Lord lays on your heart. Maybe I have said this before, but I believe that most of us totally under estimate the authority and power that God has invested in us. So many saints seek out the super-saints for prayer and ministry, when the most humble Christian you know has the same authority and the same potential anointing.Back to the open passage ........ Yes it is speaking to Israel, but if you are truly born again, then you have been grafted in to become a fully fledged fellow citizen of the Lord's Israel, and therefore everything in that verse applies to you. the first few verses hold the key to the authority and the anointing. We are to praise Him, sing new songs to Him, rejoice and dance before Him and to be thankful, and to sing to Him on our beds. If we allow the high praises of God to come out of our mouths, and we wield the double edge sword of His word in our hands, then we should all be doing the following

To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; this is our authority to get involved in curent events and politics To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; today the kings and nobles are the spiritual powers and principalities To execute on them the written judgment the authority to do this comes when we proclaim the Word this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD! Are you are saint of YHVH ? Then you have the honour and the authority and the power to carry out all of those above activities.

Have you been taking up that authority ? If not repent - tell the Lord you are sorry and begin to take up that honour and privilege.
When you pray dont ask the Lord to do things - you do it - in Yeshua's name. He has called us to do it For example dont pray Lord please set my family free to serve you, but you take the authority and pray like this I set my family free to serve the Lord - in the name of Yeshua.One last key to see the anointing when you step out in to the authority that has been given to you, apply it to Israel first. Pray and intercede for Israel's situation, and then apply the same authority to your situation or the situation of others, and see how the Holy One of Israel will pour out His anointing upon you and cause His power to flow through you.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much - this honor have all His saints. The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom ... David & Josie Silver.

* * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *
OLMERT'S GOVERNMENT IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE Netanyahu waiting in the wings. Will he be the next PM? By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., January 23, 2008) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government is increasingly in danger of collapse. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman resigned the cabinet and pulled his Yisrael Beiteinu party out of Olmert's coalition. Another major coalition member, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, is now threatening to bolt as well. What's more, the final, official Winograd Commission Report will be released Wednesday, January 30th. It's expected to contain harsh criticism of Olmert's handling of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, criticism that will undoubtedly unleash an intensified new wave of calls for his resignation. Lieberman's departure brought Olmert's coalition down from 78 to only 67 members of the 120 member parliament. If Shas leaves with its 12 members, Olmert won't have the 60 members sufficient to hold his government. Should that happen, buckle your seatbelts. The battle inside the Knesset for control will be fierce. Early elections could be triggered. Either way, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could wind up back on top as premier.

My Joshua Fund colleagues and I met with Lieberman at the Knesset last November, just as he first issued his threat to step down. His concerns then: Olmert's apparent readiness, almost eagerness, to divide Jerusalem; negotiate over the so-called right of return; and give away the West Bank -- known in Israel by the Biblical names, Judea and Samaria -- to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. The situation has only worsened since then, Lieberman believes. Olmert seems absolutely determined to cut a deal that Lieberman and his allies believe will endanger the national security of the Jewish state. Land for peace didn't work on the Gaza border, he argues. Nor did it work on the Lebanon border. Why should it work elsewhere?

Negotiations on the basis of land for peace are a critical mistake...and will destroy us, Lieberman told reporters last week. It is clear to everyone that these talks will lead to nothing.Now all eyes are on Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai, the Shas leader, who told Olmert this morning that dividing Jerusalem is a deal-killer for him. Yishai told Israel Radio that the party would make its move the day that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei sit down to discuss the issue, reports the Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is waiting in the wings, talking tough on Gaza and Iran, saying Olmert should strike hard and fast with disproportionate force against Palestinian terrorists who have fired hundreds of rockets and mortars at Israeli towns like Sderot in recent weeks.

In a war of attrition the enemy strikes and you react, the enemy strikes harder and you retaliate harder, Netanyahu said about the constant missile strikes against Israel's southern border. This gradual increase in violence is the antithesis of deterrence..Deterrence always means using disproportionate force. We need to move from a concept of attrition to one of tough deterrence that will eventually lead to the removal of the Hamas regime, because as long as it exists it will continue arming itself and continue its attacks.Netanyahu is also warning against dividing Jerusalem or giving away the West Bank and thus creating potential terror bases for Iran. We must not repeat this mistake [of the South Lebanon and Gaza withdrawals], he said Monday. This time we're going to have an Iranian base facing Jerusalem and the Dan Bloc, which includes Tel Aviv. We have to prevent Iran's armament and not let it establish new bases on our territory.Bibi currently leads the field of potential contenders should snap elections be held soon. Fully 33% of Israelis favor him to be the next premier. The closest rival is Ehud Barak at 17%. What's more, Bibi's Likud party would soundly defeat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's centrist Kadima party if elections were held now, reports Agence France Presse, according to a poll taken last Friday. The poll said that Olmert's party would win only 10 seats, far behind Likud with 28, the centre-left Labour party with 21, and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party with 11.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE
Will Russia invade Israel? If so, under what circumstances? Also, clarify the importance of the Israeli capture of Jerusalem in 1967.

One of the most significant prophecies about the Middle East and the Rapture of the Church concerns Russia's imminent invasion of Israel. In the previous newsletter, we addressed the issue of Israel becoming a nation. Why is that reality so vital to our discussion? Because eighteen times in Ezekiel 38-39, the prophet states that Russia will wage war against Israel. For nearly nineteen hundred years, there was no nation called Israel-thus no government and no specific piece of Middle East real estate that the Jews of the diaspora could call their own. Now you and I have lived to see Israel become a mighty nation, a people to be reckoned with in the commonwealth of nations. Therefore, when God's Word foretells a Russian invasion of Israel, and we know that such a nation now exists, we can only assume that the coming of the Lord must be near. Ezekiel 38:1-2 states, And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Since we will study these names in detail later, I will not spend time attempting to prove that this refers to Russia. I simply want you to see, for now, that this is a northern enemy, for they come from the north (see Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2). Remember, Russia is due north of Israel. If one draws a line northward from Israel, he passes directly through Moscow. As this great end-time invasion begins, they will come against the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:8). Verse 16 says, Thou shalt come up against my people of Israel. Verse 19: Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. Ezekiel 39:2 says, I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. Verse 4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel. Verse 12: And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them.

Let me repeat that Russia's invasion of Israel could not occur until Israel became a nation. There was no such nation, for two thousand years, until 1948. Thus, this event could not have occurred in times past. However, since Israel now exists as a viable, powerful nation (and has recaptured Jerusalem after twenty-five hundred years of dominance by Gentiles), and because Russia will move against Israel only when she is a nation, here is the thrilling scenario to follow-something that is already beginning to happen in front of our eyes today. Follow me closely. Ezekiel 36 and 37 describe the Jew returning to his own land and setting up his government. This occurred in 1948. In Ezekiel chapters 40-48, Messiah is back on earth-and that is when you and I have returned with Him to rule and reign for one thousand years (Revelation 20:4). Between Israel's becoming a nation-which you and I have lived to see-and Messiah's return to earth, a war with Russia takes place in the Middle East (read Ezekiel 38 and 39). The Jews are now home. Today Israel has its own government, monetary system, and well-fortified and -trained armed forces. Russia marches when Israel is a nation, followed by Messiah's return. There is no doubt that we are living at the very edge of this hour when the sign concerning Russia's march to the Middle East is about to be fulfilled. It could happen at any moment, followed by Christ's return. This ancient Jewish teaching is found in Avoda Zara 3B. The clock is ticking toward midnight. Jesus is coming again, and the day of His return is at hand.

What Is the Importance of the Jews Finally Reclaiming Jerusalem?

Since 400 B.C. the city of Jerusalem has been handed over to one Gentile superpower after another. Here are a few of those transference dates since A.D. 70 concerning Jerusalem: A.D. 70, the Romans; 614, the Persians; 637, Caliph Omar; 1099, the Crusaders; 1187, Saladin; 1250, the Egyptian Mamelukes; 1517, the Turks; 1917, the British; and finally, in 1967, the Jews captured Jerusalem. The event took place during the Six-Day War, from June 5 to 10 of that year, The Jewish control of Jerusalem is a most important sign because of Jesus' statement in Luke 21:24. The disciples had asked Him, When are you going to return to this earth? Jesus replied, [Jerusalem] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. What was the Savior saying? Simply that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world and the city of Jerusalem controlled by Gentile powers until the time of His return. All the various Gentile groups-the Romans, the Persians, the Crusaders, the Egyptians, the Turks, and the English-controlled Jerusalem from A.D. 70 until May 1967.

Then, in June 1967 the Jews took control of Jerusalem for the first time in more than nineteen hundred years. When we tie this historical information to Ezekiel’s bones coming to life, the Jews returning from the Gentile nations, and the earlier prophecies already outlined, there can be only one conclusion: Christ must come to earth soon, primarily because during the third and final invasion of the Armageddon campaign, all nations come against Jerusalem to battle and to take it back from the Jews (Zechariah 14:2). This would have been impossible before 1967 since the Jewish people did not possess Jerusalem until that Six-Day War fought June 5-10,1967. Thus, when the final invasion during Armageddon occurs, Christ descends to the Mount of Olives to end the atrocities committed against Israel at Jerusalem and to then set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4).

What signs exist in Israel today that provide clues
to a rapidly approaching Tribulation period?

Of the hundreds of questions I am asked, issues related to the Great Tribulation always seem to top the list. To review, there is going to be a terrible period of tribulation. Jeremiah 30:7 says, Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. Daniel 12:1 warns, There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, and Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:21, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Although this event will not be the end of the world, it will bring death to one-half of our planet's inhabitants: By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone (Revelation 9:18). When one combines the cumulative facts and figures from the Book of Revelation in 9:18 and 6:8, he discovers that nearly one-half of the earth's population will be destroyed in the greatest fiery conflagration and pestilential judgment that have ever occurred in the history of mankind.

Again, however, let me remind you: This great war signals the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, when He reveals Himself to the entire world and stops the carnage (Revelation 11:18). As we learned earlier, this event is called the Revelation, and it is the second phase of the Second Coming. We have also learned that prior to the Revelation, a Rapture-the evacuation of all saints, dead and living, from the earth-will occur (Revelation 4:1). Immediately following the Rapture, the Tribulation Hour, that period of seven years of unprecedented turmoil and trouble, begins. Then, at the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ comes back to the earth to set up His kingdom for a thousand years-called the Millennium.

Remember that all the signs of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21 point directly to the second phase of the Second Coming, and not to the Rapture. If there were not one sign in existence anywhere at this moment, we could still go home to be with our Lord, because all the signs could occur during the seven-year period described in chapters 6-18 of the Book of Revelation. However, since all the signs point to Christ's return to the earth-not His coming in the clouds (Revelation 4:1) but His coming to the earth (Revelation 19:11), and since you and I as Christians return with Him to the earth-then every sign in Revelation 6-18 points to our coming back to the earth as well. This glorious event must occur soon since all signs are already in place.

Three Signs in Israel

For many decades Orthodox Jewish rabbis said: When three signs appear in the Holy Land, it will be the hour for Messiah to return. What are these three signs?

Horseless carriages, or modern automobiles, running through the streets of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem being defended by airplanes.
The desert of Israel blossoming as a rose.
Have these things happened? I will leave the answers to you. When my wife, Rexella, and I last visited the Holy Land, we had an opportunity to preach, teach, and spend time with Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. So what I am about to share with you regarding the signs in Israel is not theoretical. As I began to observe them, I said, Rexella, these are the signs that point to our return with Jesus Christ. Since they are already in progress and are now being fulfilled, Jesus must be coming soon for His church in that glorious event called the Rapture. Let's investigate these three signs that the rabbis have so long awaited.

Nahum 2:3-4 states, The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his [Messiah's] preparation. . . . The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another [accidents] in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches [headlights and taillights], they shall run like the lightnings [the speed of these vehicles running through the streets of Jerusalem]. This phenomenon is presently occurring!

Isaiah 31:5 tells us, As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Since A.D. 70 the much beleaguered city of Jerusalem has passed from one Gentile power to another. In 1517, the Turks took control and maintained their authority for exactly four hundred years. Then, in 1917, General Allenby of England marched into Jerusalem with his troops. The British had just discovered airplanes, and as they flew overhead, the Turks, never having seen such machines, became frightened, dropped their guns, and fled the city. Britain's conquest of Jerusalem was one of the few battles in history won without weapons. Why? Because the Turks saw men flying as birds over Jerusalem. This event was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Today, as one stands anywhere in the Holy Land, he sees jets flying overhead daily. There is no end to it. The prophecy is here. It is being fulfilled now!

Isaiah 35:1 promises, The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. During our first visit to the Holy Land in the late 1950s, Rexella and I noticed that everywhere we looked the ground was dry, arid, barren, rocky, and mountainous. Today, however, when one visits the Holy Land, it is anything but arid. It has been wondrously transformed into hundreds of square miles of fertile, blooming, productive land. Truly, Isaiah's promise has become a reality; the third major sign pointing to Messiah's coming.

Lisbon treaty fails to simplify EU rules for citizens, MEPs say 24.01.2008 - 09:28 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament's constitutional committee has given a green light to the new EU Lisbon treaty, suggesting it will make the bloc's rules more democratic and suitable for the future, while remaining less clear and readable for its citizens.MEPs in the key parliamentary body dealing with institutional affairs of the 27-strong union gave their political blessing to the document, with 20 votes in favour and 6 against on Wednesday (23 January).The report accompanying the vote by Spanish centre-right MEP Iñigo Mendez de Vigo and British Labour MEP Richard Corbett highlights the key positive features of the treaty, adopted on 13 December by EU leaders and set for a ratification in each member state this year.The report argues that the new treaty will make the EU more democratic by boosting the role of European and national parliaments as well as strengthening the citizens' rights through a brand new Charter of Fundamental Rights attached to the document.

However, the MEPs criticise the special arrangements for the UK and Ireland in the area of police cooperation, and Britain and Poland's opt-out from the charter of rights.Deputies also praise more effective rules for decision-making among EU institutions and the treaty having more clearly defined which of the bloc's policy areas to focus on.On the other hand, they regret that the Lisbon treaty does not take the form of a constitution, as with the European Constitutional Treaty, which first introduced the key institutional changes but was rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters.They suggest the new text is less clear and readable than the failed EU constitution, despite EU leaders originally stating they want a new rulebook to be more approachable to ordinary citizens.In a bid to solve the problem, parliamentarians urge national authorities to prepare short explanatory versions of the treaty as part of information campaigns ahead of the ratification process in individual countries. The constitutional committee pointed out that member states should do their best to adopt the document in their national parliaments or by a referendum in Ireland by June 2009 – before the next elections to the European Parliament.So far, only Hungary has ratified the treaty. 2008 EUobserver.

EU officials to begin work on treaty
21.01.2008 - 17:17 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU diplomats are to start work in the coming days on clearing up the loose ends in the new EU treaty so that it can come into force without any technical glitches once it has been ratified.An internal document circulated by Slovenia, the current holder of the EU presidency, and seen by EUobserver sets out 33 areas that need to be examined this year if the treaty is to come into force on 1 January 2009 as planned.The document says it takes into account the legimate concerns of the institutions and member states that all the necessary preparations be ready in good time to allow for a smooth entry into force of the Treaty.It notes that EU ambassadors are to start examining the technical and legal aspects at the end of January, while Slovenia will assess whether different arrangements are necessary at a later stage for some of the more sensitive and political points.

Separately, the paper also notes that the new institutional set-up under the Lisbon treaty - it establishes a foreign minister, a long-term president as well as giving the European Parliament a far greater say in law-making - has raised a whole series of pressing questions.These include the support structures for the president of the European Council.At the moment, it is not clear whether the president's post - essentially representing the European Union externally - should have some sort of staff. There are currently no provisions for this in the treaty.In addition, there is the thorny issue of all the pending EU laws that may be affected by the fact that the entry into force of the treaty will see MEPs have full co-decision rights.Pending laws in the area of justice and home affairs, agriculture, fisheries, transport and structural funds could all be affected as MEPs gain new powers in these areas.EU officials must also consider what to do with the monthly meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers, which under the new treaty will be chaired by the EU foreign minister. Traditionally, this meeting also covers development and trade issues but this would - in the commission's eyes - hand unwanted powers to the foreign minister as the Brussels executive traditionally has strong rights in this area.

The budget will also come up for discussion as the new treaty rules will give the European Parliament the right to approve the whole of the annual EU budget and the seven-year long-term budget.Under current EU rules, member states alone decide on spending in certain areas such as agriculture.The Slovene document also lists several other areas, including activating the citizens initiative – whereby EU citizens can petition the commission on issues of their choice – as well as nominating the new president and foreign minister and initial discussions on the setting up of a European public prosecutor.The new treaty also shakes up how the EU handles its monthly meetings of sectoral ministers in areas such as energy, competitiveness or agriculture.The current system sees the EU presidency country chair all meetings for the duration of the six-month rotating presidency. But the new system promises to lead to all sorts of political haggling as the meetings are to be chaired by ministers from a team of three member states for a period of 18 months. 2008 EUobserver.

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN THIS STORY I WOULD JUST REPLACE CHINA'S NAME WITH RUSSIA THEN YOU GOT THE RIGHT SCENARIO.

Hypothetical attack on U.S. outlined by China
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Friday Jan 25, 2008 13:41:27 EST

In a hypothetical future scenario, the U.S. and China are poised to clash — likely over Taiwan.

The democratic Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan — which America backs and the communist People’s Republic of China considers part of its territory — frequently irritates Chinese leaders with calls for greater independence from the mainland. But while the American military mulls its options, Chinese missiles hit runways, fuel lines, barracks and supply depots at U.S. Air Force bases in Japan and South Korea. Long-range warheads destroy American satellites, crippling Air Force surveillance and communication networks. A nuclear fireball erupts high above the Pacific Ocean, ionizing the atmosphere and scrambling radars and radio feeds.

This is China’s anti-U.S. sucker punch strategy.

It’s designed to strike America’s military suddenly, stunning and stalling the Air Force more than any other service. In a script written by Chinese military officers and defense analysts, a bruised U.S. military, beholden to a sheepish American public, puts up a small fight before slinking off to avoid full-on war.This strategic outlook isn’t hidden in secret Chinese documents. It’s printed in China’s military journals and textbooks. And for much of last year, Mandarin literates and defense experts — working for the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Rand Corp. on an Air Force contract — combed through a range of Chinese military sources.They emerged with Entering the Dragon’s Lair, a lengthy report on how the Chinese People’s Liberation Army would likely confront the U.S. military and how the Air Force in particular can brace itself. In many cases, the theoretical enemy nation China’s officers discuss in these scenarios isn’t explicitly named but is unmistakably the U.S.These aren’t war plans, said report co-author Roger Cliff, a former Defense Department strategist and China military specialist who spoke to Air Force Times from Taiwan. This is the military talking to itself. It’s not designed for foreigners or even China’s general public to read.

Element of surprise

When it comes to conflict with the U.S., Chinese military analysts favor age-old schoolyard wisdom: Throw the first punch and hit hard.
Future conflicts are likely to be short, intense affairs that might consist of a single campaign, Cliff said. They’re thinking about ways to get the drop on us. Most of our force is not forward-deployed.China’s experts concede its army would lose a head-on fight, with one senior colonel comparing such a scenario to throwing an egg against a rock. Instead, the Chinese would attempt what Rand calls an anti-access strategy: slowing the deployment of U.S. forces to the Pacific theater, damaging operations within the region and forcing the U.S. to fight from a distance.Taking the enemy by surprise, one Chinese military expert wrote, would catch it unprepared and cause confusion within and huge psychological pressure on the enemy and help [China] win relatively large victories at relatively small costs. Another military volume suggests feigning a large-scale military training exercise to conceal the attack’s buildup.

The Dragon’s Lair

Striking U.S. air bases — specifically command-and-control facilities, aircraft hangars and surface-to-air missile launchers — would be China’s first priority if a conflict arose, according to Rand’s report.U.S. facilities in South Korea and Japan, even far-south Okinawa, sit within what Rand calls the Dragon’s Lair: a swath of land and sea along China’s coast. This is an area reachable by cruise missiles, jet-borne precision bombs and local covert operatives. Air Force bases within this area include Osan and Kunsan in South Korea, as well as Misawa, Yokota and Kadena in Japan. And in a conflict over Taiwan, any nation allowing an intervening superpower such as the U.S. to operate inside its territory can expect a Chinese attack, according to China’s defense experts.China is designing ground-launched cruise missiles capable of nailing targets more than 900 miles away — well within striking range of South Korea and much of Japan, according to the report. Cruise missiles able to reach Okinawa — home to Kadena Air Base — are in development.The Chinese would first launch concentrated and unexpected” attacks on tarmacs using runway-penetrating missiles and, soon after, would target U.S. aircraft. Saboteurs would play a role in reconnaissance, harassing operations and even assassinating key personnel, according to another military expert.

Chinese fighter jets would scramble to intercept aerial refueling tankers and cargo planes sent to shuttle in fuel, munitions, supplies or troops. High-explosive cluster bombs would target pilot quarters and other personnel buildings.Because the American public is abnormally sensitive about military casualties, according to an article in China’s Liberation Army Daily, killing U.S. airmen or other personnel would spark a domestic anti-war cry on the home front and possibly force early withdrawal of U.S. forces. (The U.S. experience in Somalia is usually cited in support of this assertion, according to the Rand report.) Once this hard-and-fast assault on U.S. bases commenced, the Chinese army would swiftly divert its forces and guard vigilantly against enemy retaliation, according to a Chinese expert.Dumb and blind The PLA also would likely use less conventional attacks on the American military’s vital communications network. The goal, as one Chinese expert put it: leaving U.S. combat capabilities blind,deaf and paralyzed.
Losing early-warning systems designed to detect incoming missiles would be, for the Air Force, the most devastating setback — one that could force the service to exit the region altogether, according to Rand.China could also launch a nuclear e-bomb, or electromagnetic explosive, that would fry U.S. communication equipment while ionizing the atmosphere for minutes to hours, according to the report. This would likely jam radio signals in a 900-mile diameter beneath the nuclear fireball.The PLA could also employ long-range anti-satellite missiles — similar to one successfully tested last January — to destroy one or more American satellites. However, the PLA has a host of less dramatic options: short-range jammers hidden in suitcases or bombs and virus attacks on Air Force computer networks.

U.S. Air Force options

Shielding against a swift Chinese onslaught is, according to Rand, as simple as reinforcing a runway or as complex as cloaking the orbit of military satellites.In the short term, U.S. air bases inside the Dragon’s Lair should add an extra layer of concrete to their runways and bury fuel tanks underground. All aircraft, the report said, should be parked in hardened shelters, especially fighter jets.Parking larger aircraft — bombers, tankers and E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems jets — in hard-shell hangars would be expensive and difficult but likely worth the cost, according to the report.U.S. fighter jets remain the best defense against incoming Chinese missile attacks. But, given China’s taste for sudden attacks, surface-launched missile defense systems must be installed long before a conflict roils. Because the PLA is expected to strike quickly, the report said, waiting for the first tremors of conflict is not an option.The Air Force also should fortify itself against Chinese hackers by using software encryption, isolating critical computer systems and preparing contingency plans to communicate without a high-bandwidth network. Though China maintains a no first use nuclear bomb policy, the U.S., according to Rand, should warn China that nuclear electromagnetic pulse attacks will be considered acts of nuclear aggression and could prompt nuclear retaliation.

Rand insists the Air Force must defend satellites — which support communication, reconnaissance, bomb guidance and more — against China’s proven satellite-killing missiles. This could be accomplished in the Cold War tradition of mutually assured destruction by threatening to retaliate in kind if the PLA blasts U.S. satellites.That might be the one restraining factor, Cliff said. They might not want to start that space war.Or, Rand suggests, the U.S. could invest heavily in satellite protection or evasion techniques, including stealth, blending in with other satellite constellations or perhaps developing and deploying microsatellites capable of swarming to defend larger satellites, which the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working toward.Could this really happen? The Chinese first-strike strategy is more than hypothetical, according to the report. But in the near term, at least, it’s considered unlikely.If the most contentious issue is Taiwan, Cliff said, then the likely trigger would be Taiwanese elections, where assertions of complete independence from the mainland can infuriate Chinese leaders. China’s current president, Hu Jintao, has built up China’s military but also its ties with America. In 2012, however, when Taiwan holds an election and mainland China’s leadership is expected to turn over, perhaps for the worse, the risk of conflict could increase.

It really depends on the circumstances, Cliff said. Would Taiwan be the provocateur? If so, it might be hard for the American public to support intervention.However, if China moves to capture control of the island, Cliff said he believes the U.S. would face a rocky dilemma.Are we really going to let a small, democratic country get snuffed out by a huge authoritarian country — especially when you think about how our own country came into existence? Cliff said.As China pours more resources into its evolving and expanding military, it buys the power to more strongly assert itself against America. In November, China denied U.S. Navy minesweepers shelter from a storm and, in another incident that month, turned down an Air Force C-17 flight shuttling supplies to the American consulate in Hong Kong. Experts speculate this was a rebuff to American arms sales to Taiwan, as well as President Bush’s autumn meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of another state China claims, Tibet.If this conflict happened today, I’m certain we’d prevail, Cliff said. But as time goes on, that’s not a given.