SAME SEX LEGAL IN CALIFORNIA

EARTHQUAKES

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

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

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

CHINA QUAKE STORY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7836943&ch=4226714&src=news

China races to bury quake dead and manage survivors By John Ruwitch MAY 15,08

MIANZHU, China (Reuters) - China struggled on Friday to bury the dead and offer relief to those left injured, homeless and without food and water by the earthquake that may have killed more than 50,000 people. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao called on officials to ensure social stability as frustration and exhaustion grew among survivors, many who lost everything and are living in makeshift tents or in the open air.In Mianzhu, in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the area worst hit by Monday's 7.9 magnitude quake, Lin Changfu was staffing a tent collecting relief supplies.What we need most urgently is water, food and tents. We lack tents, he said.

From the heart of the disaster zone, Wen urged rescuers on, but hopes were fading for those still trapped under rubble.Saving lives is still our top priority as long as hope of survival still exists, the official Xinhua news agency quoted Wen as saying.But some expressed frustration at the resources continuing to be devoted to finding survivors among the more than 25,000 who remain buried. Officials said another 20,000 have died in the quake.The focus is on saving lives, and they say food and a place to live are small issues as long as you're alive, said Fan Xiaohua, who was organizing volunteers at a relief coordination centre in Mianzhu.

In fact, they are very big issues right now, she said.President Hu Jintao headed to Sichuan on Friday to meet victims and inspect the rescue and relief effort, Xinhua said. It will be his first trip to the region since the disaster struck.In Sichuan's Yingxiu, where bodies were lined up along the river bank, a Communist Party official warned that epidemics could break out if bodies were not soon buried or cremated.We are in urgent need of body bags, the official, Bai Licheng, told Xinhua.Air-dropped food and drinking water are limited and far from meeting the demand, he added.The Ministry of Health issued a notice ordering bodies to be cleaned where they were found and buried as soon as possible, far from water sources and downwind from populated areas.More than 3,000 soldiers were searching for survivors in Yingxiu, a township of about 6,600 people.Bai said bodies were still trapped in the debris and blocked roads meant that heavy lifting gear could not get through.China has mobilized 130,000 army and paramilitary troops to the disaster area, but the quake buckled roads and triggered mountain landslides, meaning that relief supplies and rescuers have struggled to reach the worst-hit areas.

STRUGGLING TO COPE

In the town of Shifang, a small hospital struggled to cope with injured patients, who were being treated in any space available -- including a under a covered car park at the back of the building and under tents on the pavement. Doctors and nurses rushed around, checking dressings, changing saline drips and administering to the wounded. We've seen nobody come here from the government, said one woman, tending to her injured son. They're trying to help, but they've been so busy, added a young man standing next to her. In Mianzhu alone there's thousands dead, he said, referring to the nearby area. Hundreds of damaged dams have also raised fears of collapse or flooding that could inundate towns and cities that are already struggling to recover from the quake. China has asked the United States for satellite images to help locate victims and identify damaged infrastructure. In Sichuan and neighboring Chongqing, reservoirs have been damaged, some dams have cracked or are leaking water, and officials have warned the full extent of the hazard was as yet unclear.

China was also accepting foreign help to bolster rescue efforts in the disaster, the deadliest since more than 240,000 people were killed in a 1976 earthquake in the northeastern Chinese city of Tangshan. The first foreign rescue team, a group of about 60 people from Japan, reached Sichuan on Friday. China has accepted further offers of rescue teams from Russia, South Korea and Singapore, the Foreign Ministry said. In the epicenter, Wenchuan, Chinese air forces succeeded for the first time on Thursday in dropping equipment, Xinhua said, citing military sources. Such airdrops had earlier been stymied by heavy rain and cloud cover. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Shifang and Emma Graham-Harrison in Yingxiu; Writing by Lindsay Beck; Editing by Ken Wills and David Fox)

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.

Death toll in Burmese cyclone raised by thousands MAY 15,08

More than 43,000 people have died since a deadly cyclone ripped through Burma earlier this month, state television reported Thursday, as government officials threatened legal action against those who interfered with the delivery of aid.The latest death toll from Cyclone Nargis, which tore into the southeast Asian country on May 3, jumped by 5,000 since the last figure was released by Burma's military government Wednesday evening.It was still well below the United Nations estimate of more than 100,000 killed, or a recent tally by the International Red Cross that puts the figure between 68,833 and 127,900.The updated toll was released just hours after the ruling military junta threatened legal action against those who were discovered trading or hoarding international aid, the regime's first tacit concession that there were problems dispersing relief. Recent reports indicate foreign aid is being sold in markets and siphoned off by the army for its own purposes - a charge the government denied on state radio.The government has systematically accepted donations and has distributed the relief goods immediately and directly to the victims, it said.BBC reporter Natalia Antelava, one of few foreign reporters who have gotten into Burma, reached the hardest hit area, the Irrawaddy delta, on a fisherman's boat, and said she saw no evidence any aid had reached the region, which still appears cut off from the outside world.In one village she visited, 20 survivors were huddled in the only remaining structure among the wrecked houses where 400 people had lived. The survivors had subsisted on captured rainwater and a meagre amount of rice for the 10 days since the cyclone hit, she reported.

Criticism over blocked aid, referendum

The Burmese government has come under heavy criticism in the aftermath of the cyclone, accused of dragging its heels on providing aid to the estimated 1.6 million to 2.5 million survivors and neglecting their needs in favour of going ahead with a nationwide referendum last Saturday. Results announced on state radio Thursday indicated voters had overwhelmingly chosen to adopt a pro-military constitution, which critics say is a sham document designed to increase the junta's power. It was approved by 92.4 per cent of voters, according to state radio, which reported a whopping 99 per cent of the 22 million voters turned out for the May 10th vote.Voting in the hardest-hit areas of Rangoon and the Irrawaddy Delta has been postponed until May 24; however, the outcome will be largely symbolic as the government only needed a majority of the 27 million total eligible voters to approve the constitution.To everyone in the delta - in the 47 affected townships where the vote is being delayed - this is basically saying you might as well not turn out, said David Mathieson, a spokesman for Human Rights Watch in Bangkok.The government's announcement that its constitution had been approved is insulting to the people of Burma, he said.There is simply no way that 92 per cent ... would have voted yes on a document that they know very little about and that most have never read, Mathieson said.His concerns were echoed by observers in Canada, who criticized the vote during a press conference in Ottawa Thursday morning.We are deeply troubled by the referendum, said Kevin McLeod, a board member of the organization Canadian Friends of Burma. From what we heard about the way it was handled, it was really a sham and basically a total travesty. People were forced to vote; ballots were printed with the Yes already ticked; and in some cases [there is] evidence of mass intimidation.

Fraud, intimidation alleged at polls

Local journalists have cited instances of voter intimidation and fraud at polling stations, saying some officials asked voters to place their fingerprint on ballot papers or denied them privacy as they cast their vote.The editor of a respected Burmese news magazine who had correspondents posted around the country said he had information that the vote was not totally free and fair.The essence of secrecy is totally lost in some of the polling booths, said the editor, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.Other journalists witnessed voters carrying three or four national registration cards, which they exchanged for an equal number of ballots, a violation of voting rules.The constitution guarantees that 25 per cent of parliamentary seats go to the military, which has ruled Burma since 1962, while it allows the president to hand over all power to the armed forces in a state of emergency.

Constitution bars Aung San Suu Kyi from politics

It also prohibits the leader of Burma's pro-democracy movement, Aung San Suu Kyi, from entering public office. Her National League for Democracy party won the 1990 general election, but the military government refused to honour the results.The junta has promised a 2010 general election following the constitution vote. Burma has not had a constitution since 1988, when the army brutally suppressed pro-democracy demonstrations and quashed the existing constitution.Two days before the May 10 referendum, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Burma to delay the vote and focus its attention on helping citizens recover from the cyclone.The junta has allowed the UN and some other agencies to distribute aid but is refusing to allow foreign workers to leave the main city of Rangoon.

There is a visible fence around Rangoon that we don't dare cross. A circle has been drawn around Rangoon, and expats are confined there, said Tim Costello of the aid group World Vision.While you are getting aid through, it's like getting it through on a three-inch pipe, not 30-inch pipe.However, Ban said he has now secured support from Burma, its neighbours and key donors to increase the flow of cyclone relief aid and to convene a possible donors' conference this month.Canada is flying 2,000 emergency shelter kits to the area that will be distributed by the International Red Cross after the flight arrives in Thailand on Friday.The junta is also permitting 160 relief workers from India, China, Bangladesh and Thailand to enter Burma, though it was not clear if anyone but the Thais would be permitted to go to the most ravaged parts of the delta.An emergency rapid assessment team from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is also heading into Burma to assess the most critical needs.With files from the Associated Press

Summer storm-like winds gust through Yellowknife
Thu May 15, 6:19 PM

Unusual blasts of wind and rain tore through Yellowknife and surrounding area Thursday afternoon, but meteorologists say the weird weather was little more than summer making an early appearance.Winds gusting as fast as 55 kilometres an hour turned the N.W.T. capital into a swirling dust bowl during the lunch hour, creating clouds of dust and grit.Shortly after the windy spell, Yellowknifers were hit with a short, intense rain shower.It was a weak little disturbance that was running through the Great Slave Lake area, Yvonne Bilan-Wallace, a meteorologist with Environment Canada in Edmonton told CBC News Thursday.Basically, it was one of those localized unstable situations where you had the stronger winds from aloft coming down to the surface.Bilan-Wallace said the structure of Thursday's disturbance is similar to that of a summer storm and is actually more common during the summer season.While the winds were not severe, she said the dust filling the capital made things look and feel worse than they actually were.Some good news for Yellowknifers planning ahead, however: the forecast calls for clear skies and daytime temperatures between 10 C and 16 C over the long weekend.

Storms kill 1 in southern United States, damage Texas state capitol Thu May 15, 6:56 PM By Mary Foster, The Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS - Severe storms with damaging winds and possible tornadoes pounded the South, killing at least one person in Louisiana and shattering windows at the Texas state capitol. In the southern Louisiana town of Grosse Tete, a pecan tree fell onto a camper Thursday, killing a 77-year-old man alone inside it. In nearby St. Martin Parish, a minor injury was reported in a house knocked off its blocks. From the first reports we believe it was a tornado that went through during the storm, said Maj. Ginny Higgins of the St. Martin Parish Sheriff's Department. An overnight storm also knocked down several large trees at the Texas Capitol in Austin and blew out windows in the dome. Broken glass damaged a portrait of the state's first lieutenant governor, Albert Horton.

Some schools in Louisiana cancelled classes, and there were reports of minor flooding throughout the region as already-soaked earth could absorb no more rain. City workers in Hammond filled sandbags for people to use at home. The storm had winds higher than 72 km/h and dumped as much as 100 millimetres of rain, said Jim Vasilj, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service. There were reports of trees downed in parts of southern Mississippi, which closed some roads briefly. In Louisiana, possible tornadoes were reported near Folsom and Pontchatoula in addition to the report in St. Martin Parish, Vasilj said. The worst of the stormy weather, which prompted flash flood watches, minor flooding in areas and slick conditions during morning drives, moved on to Alabama. The weather service issued a flood warning there as streams rose. Record-breaking rainfall began late Tuesday. In northwestern Louisiana, officials reported that more than 250 millimetres of rain deluged the Shreveport area, flooding at least 125 homes. Golf-ball-size hail also was reported as a thunderstorm moved across southeastern Louisiana, said Phil Grigsby, a National Weather Service meteorologist. It's one of the most intense storms we've had down here in quite a few years, he said. About 12,000 people in Louisiana lacked power Thursday morning, Cleco Corp. spokeswoman Susan Broussard said. The utility hoped to restore electricity Thursday but was also getting reports of new failures after storms rolled across central Louisiana, she said.

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.(TRADE 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).

Britain says Mediterranean Union no alternative to EU enlargement 14 May 2008, 16:15 CET

(ANKARA) - British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said Wednesday that French plans to create a Mediterranean Union could not replace the enlargement of the European Union.The Mediterranean Union can and should be a beneficial project for the European Union but it is not, repeat not, an alternative to enlargement of the EU to include Turkey, Miliband told a joint press conference here with his Turkish counterpart Ali Babacan.The EU should pursue Turkey's accession process with full speed, he said.The Mediterranean project, approved by EU leaders in March, aims to improve trade, transport and energy links between southern European countries and nations around the Mediterranean including Morocco, Syria, Israel and Turkey.Critics see it as a way for French President Nicolas Sarkozy to keep Turkey out of the EU.The French leader is a staunch opponent of Turkey's accession to the 27-member bloc and advocates a special partnership rather than full membership -- a proposal Ankara categorically rejects.Sarkozy hopes to push his plans for a Mediterranean Union forward when France assumes the rotating EU presidency on July 1.

Miliband, who is accompanying Queen Elizabeth II on a four-day state visit to Turkey, gave assurances that his government will continue to support Turkey's drive for EU membership.We want to be allies of Turkey inside the European Union, not just proponents of a better dialogue between the EU and Turkey... We commit ourselves to ensure that the accession negotiation process proceeds with full momentum, he said.Ankara began membership negotiations in October 2005, but has opened talks in only six of the 35 policy chapters a candidate country must complete.The EU has frozen negotiations in eight chapters over Turkey's refusal to grant trade privileges to Cyprus, an EU member Ankara does not recognize.Miliband said he and Babacan agreed to launch a special bilateral dialogue to defeat international terrorism, such as threats by Al-Qaeda, which has targeted both countries.Turkey, a secular Muslim-majority democracy, and Britain, with a population of two million Muslims, are living examples that different cultures and different religions can live together, Miliband said.I hope our counter-terrorism relationship will both have practical measures to make our countries safer but also some of the deeper ideological and theological roots of terrorism that need to be tackled, he said.

EU-Latin America-Caribbean Summit to Open in Peru
By VOA News 14 May 2008

Man walks by a sign that reads in Spanish V Summit Peru 2008 at site of Europe-Latin America-Caribbean summit in Lima, 14 May 2008
Leaders from 60 countries in Europe and the Americas will meet in Lima, Peru this Friday for a two-day summit that is expected to focus on poverty, climate change and free trade.The summit marks the fifth meeting among officials from Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. At the talks, European governments are expected to pursue ongoing free trade negotiations with Central America, the Andean Community as well as the South American trade block known as Mercosur.Separately, participants are expected to discuss efforts to reach an agreement in the so-called Doha round of world trade talks. Agricultural disputes between rich and poor countries have blocked a deal on the talks, which began in Doha, Qatar in 2001.

Poor nations have complained that government aid to farmers in rich countries prompts wealthy farmers to overproduce, driving down prices and making it difficult for poor farmers to compete.Wealthy nations say they are willing to reduce farm subsidies if developing nations drop import tariffs and open their markets to manufactured goods from developed nations. Brazil has played a major role in the Doha trade talks by representing the interests of developing countries.Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

Korea-EU Free Trade Negotiations Make Headway MAY 15,08

Negotiations between Korea and the European Union, now in their seventh iteration in Brussels, have been narrowed down to specifics. The two sides have reportedly held meetings on five key issues such as service provisions, barriers on tax exemption, the origin of products, and intellectual property rights. According to Korea's chief negotiator Lee Hye-min, the EU has agreed to propose new rules of origin for some Korean imports. Until now, it has imposed tough rule-of-origin standards for Korean-made machinery, electronics and optical goods. The current EU standard requires Korea to produce at least 60 percent of a finished item at home in order to describe it as Korean-made. However this is likely to change as the EU is indicating it will ease its stance, an improvement according to Korean officials in Brussels, but still a long way to go.

Many more topics on the agenda remain. One of the bigger ones is whether the EU will accept products made at the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex as being made in Korea. The EU is also asking Seoul to revise regulations on European cars to match international standards. As for how serious the two sides are on narrowing their differences, as much as Korea wants to close the deal soon, the EU is unlikely to waste any time. Experts say the EU has the Korea-U.S. trade pact to consider, as once that goes through European goods will have to compete against goods made in U.S.A. on Korean soil. Arirang News.

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)

Poland to beef up European military club
15.05.2008 - 09:19 CET | By Philippa Runner

Poland has opted to become a full member of the EU and NATO-linked military club, Eurocorps, in a move designed to spur on the creation of a significant European defence capability.Warsaw from 2009 is to pledge 3,000 soldiers to the existing 60,000-strong Eurocorps force, hold 15 officer-level posts and forward a deputy director to the Strasbourg-based outfit, Polish media report.The club currently consists of full members France, Germany, Spain, Belgium and Luxembourg as well as eight junior partners, including Poland, who each contribute a handful of technical staff.

Eurocorps is not an EU institution. It was set up as an independent Franco-German project in 1992 to help support EU, NATO and UN operations, seeing active service in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan so far. The organisation has strong political links to the EU, however. Its badge is a sword superimposed on a map of Europe and the EU's golden stars. A Eurocorps unit hoisted the EU flag and played the EU anthem outside the EU parliament in Strasbourg on Europe Day last week.Our decision to fully join Eurocorps comes from the conviction that Europe is becoming the second pillar of our national security alongside NATO, Polish defence minister Bogdan Klich said in Polish daily Rzeczpospolita on Thursday (15 May). We treat NATO as the main security pillar, but we cannot forget Europe is increasing its capabilities and this stands behind our desire to join this process.The EU has a mixed bag of military cooperation projects under its European security and defence policy chapter, with an EU-flag peacekeeping force currently at work in Chad.But the new Lisbon Treaty could deepen military integration with a new article that envisages the progressive framing of a common defence policy [that] will lead to a common defence, when the European Council, acting unanimously, so decides.We have to start a discussion on increasing the planning and operational capabilities of the EU. We expect a serious debate will start under the French [EU] presidency, Poland's Mr Klich said.

NATO nations back cyber defence centre
Wed May 14, 2008 4:38pm

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Seven NATO nations gave their backing on Wednesday to a new cyber defence centre in Estonia, the ex-Soviet state which last year faced weeks of attacks on its Internet structure after a row with Russia.Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Spain agreed to help fund and staff the centre in the Estonian capital Tallinn. The United States will initially send an observer to the project, aimed at boosting defences against such attacks.We have seen in Estonia that a cyber attack can swiftly become an issue of national security. Cyber attacks can cripple societies, NATO spokesman James Appathurai said after a signing ceremony in Brussels.The centre will have some 30 staff when fully operational in August and provide research, consultation, training and development of cyber defences, which will remain the prime responsibility of national governments.

Estonia's decision last year to remove the bronze statue of a Red Army soldier from the centre of Tallinn sparked rioting by mainly Russian-speaking youth, a row with Moscow and four weeks of cyber attacks which its president blamed on Russia.Moscow has denied any involvement in the flood of data which overloaded servers and caused computers to crash, with Estonian officials saying its banks were briefly targeted.While some analysts see cyber war as one of the world's emerging security risks, many NATO nations are reluctant to recognize it as such by explicitly stating that such attacks could be grounds for invoking the alliance's mutual defence clause -- the pledge to defend other allies under attack.Last month's NATO summit included an agreement to study any request for help by any ally facing a cyber attack.(Reporting by Mark John; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

EU ministers beef up financial market supervisors
Wed May 14, 2008 7:55am

BRUSSELS, May 14 (Reuters) - National market watchdogs must take into account European Union-wide consequences of their actions from 2009 under measures adopted by the bloc's finance ministers on Wednesday in response to financial turmoil.Financial supervisors in the EU member states should intensify work towards enhanced European supervisory convergence, conclusions adopted by ministers said.The enhanced EU dimension would in particular allow financial supervisory authorities to consider financial stability concerns in other member states.Cross-border integration among banks, stock exchanges and brokers has outgrown market oversight, which is still nationally based in the 27-country EU.The credit crunch which began rattling investors last August due to defaults on U.S. home loans highlighted flaws in how cross-border financial institutions are supervised.Another key aim of improving day-to-day supervision is to apply EU financial regulation more consistently across the bloc. Ministers also agreed to speed up some actions, many of them agreed with G7 partners, as part of wider efforts to apply lessons learned from the credit crunch.

The focus is on beefing up three EU committees made up of national insurance, securities and banking supervisors:The measures have raised some concerns about the erosion of national regulatory sovereignty and stoked suspicions that the ultimate goal is a single pan-EU superwatchdog.Regarding wider financial market stability, EU ministers, central bankers and financial supervisors agreed last month to update a memorandum of understanding to improve how they tackle cross-border financial crises.Ministers on Wednesday agreed to an EU-wide crisis simulation exercise in spring 2009 to see how the updated MOU works. There was also agreement to look at how deposit guarantee schemes can be improved to bolster public confidence in banks. (Editing by David Holmes)

EU transport mega-projects threaten nature sites
15.05.2008 - 09:15 CET | By Leigh Phillips

EU transport mega-projects are threatening over a thousand protected nature sites in Europe, according to a coalition of European environmental groups.Some of the most rare birds in Europe, including the Red-breasted Goose and the Dalmatian Pelican, as well as a range of biodiverse habitats could be put at risk by 21planned priority projects that are part of the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) package.The TEN-T is the EU's transport infrastructure framework. Originally adopted in 1990, TEN-T is engaged aims to connect up tens of thousands or roads, railways and waterways across Europe by 2020. In one example, a project that aims to remove some 1,600 km of bottlenecks on the Rhine-Main-Danube corridor to improve its navigability could negatively affect some 83 different natural sites in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Hungary, and another 48 important bird areas in Bulgaria and Romania.

The threats are highlighted in a new report from Birdlife International, who, together with Transport & Environment (T&E), the European Environment Bureau and the CEE Bankwatch Network, presented their findings in the European Parliament on Tuesday (13 May)Jos Dings, director of Transport and Environment, a transport campaign group said: The story of Europe's priority transport infrastructure projects is a classic example of old-fashioned political horse-trading. The projects were chosen behind closed doors and pushed through without consideration of the economic and environmental risks.It's now time for a root and branch review of how these megaprojects get picked, he added. Clairie Papazoglou, regional director of BirdLife Interantional's European division, said that the threat went further than just a few projects.

This new analysis highlights the magnitude of the threat to Natura 2000 [Europe's network of protected nature sites] from transport development. The 21 Priority Projects analysed are just the tip of the iceberg, implementation of TEN-T network as a whole could have much more severe impacts. The vast majority of these impacts can be avoided if Natura 2000 areas are taken into account in the early stages of planning. This is required by EU environmental law, said Ms Papazoglou. As a minimum, EU funding needs to be denied to all projects which do not fully comply with EU legislation, she continued.In the main, the groups see the problem being resolved through the enforcement of existing EU nature laws.But additionally, the groups are demanding that biodiversity considerations be taken into account at the earliest stage of work, and call for the establishment of a strong mechanism to resolve conflicts between TEN-T and Natura 2000 and a system that can scrutinise spending on transport projects to ensure that EU funding is not provided for projects that damage nature sites.

LEBANON STORY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7836995&ch=4226714&src=news

STRONG GROWTH IN EUROPE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7835660&ch=4226720&src=news

May 15, 2008
Dear Friend of Israel,

Earlier today, during his second visit to Israel since attaining office, U.S. President Bush addressed Israel's parliament, the Knesset. While many significant speeches have been given in this chamber since Israel's founding 60 years ago, I truly believe that the President's will stand as one of the most memorable.In his speech, President Bush described Israel as the redemption of an ancient promise given to Abraham and Moses and David, reaffirmed that the alliance between our governments is unbreakable, yet the source of our friendship runs deeper than any treaty, and recognized Israel as free and modern society based on the love of liberty, a passion for justice, and a respect for human dignity. It was a stirring address, one that demonstrated that the President understands well the religious, moral, political, and strategic reasons why Israel and America must and will stand together.

We have posted the President's speech on our website. I urge you to read it in full today. And, as you do, reflect upon the strong ties that bind these two great nations, America and Israel — and pray that God will continue to bless our partnership, as He always has in the past.

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

ALL EYES ON THE EPICENTER Bush, Obama, and Dobson are riveted on Israel and Iran. They're not alone. By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., May 15, 2008) -- The eyes of the world are riveted today on Israel, the epicenter of the momentous events that are shaking our world and shaping our future. President Bush delivered an important and controversial address to the Israeli parliament this morning. A few excerpts worth noting: Some seem to believe we should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along, the President noted. We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: Lord, if only I could have talked to Hitler, all of this might have been avoided. We have an obligation to call this what it is - the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history. Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly. Israel's population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you. America stands with you in breaking up terrorist networks and denying the extremists sanctuary. And America stands with you in firmly opposing Iran's nuclear weapons ambitions. Permitting the world's leading sponsor of terror to possess the world's deadliest weapon would be an unforgivable betrayal of future generations. For the sake of peace, the world must not allow Iran to have a nuclear weapon.Sen. Barack Obama -- sounding quite defensive, in my judgment -- quickly fired back, though the President did not mention the junior Illinois Senator by name, and may very well have been thinking more of former President Jimmy Carter.

It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 6Oth anniversary of Israel's independence to launch a false political attack, Sen. Obama replied. It is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel. Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power -- including tough, principled, and direct diplomacy - to pressure countries like Iran and Syria. George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the President's extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.Meanwhile, Dr. James Dobson -- the most-listened-to evangelical Christian on radio anywhere on the planet, with more than 9 million listeners a week in North America alone -- begins the first of two programs on God, evangelicals and Israel. Today, he, author Tom Doyle and I explore the Biblical theology of the miraculous and prophetic rebirth of the modern State of Israel 60 years ago this week, God's everlasting and unconditional love and plan for the Jewish people and all the people of the epicenter, and the prophecies concerning Israel's future. Tomorrow, we will focus on the work of The Joshua Fund, Tom's organization, and some of the ways that evangelical Christians can pray for the people of the epicenter and bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus. Please tune in on your local Christian radio station, or go to our weblog for a link to listen on-line.

At the same time, hundreds of churches, conferences and radio stations around the country are also focusing on Israel over the next few weeks. This weekend, for example, more than 500 radio stations will be airing the Epicenter Radio Special, a two-hour broadcast of the major speeches and key moments from the Epicenter Conference we held in Jerusalem last month. Please check local listings, or listen on-line at www.epicenter08.com. On Saturday, May 17, Tim LaHaye and I will address the Southern California Strategic Issues Conference in Los Angeles. My subject will be, All Eyes on the Epicenter: Russia, Iran and The Future of Israel.

On Sunday, May 18, I will will speak on God's plan and purpose for the nation of Israel at Calvary Chapel of Chino Valley, California.

On Saturday, May 24, I will have the privilege of serving as the closing night speaker at the Past, Present & Future Conference at the Tucson Convention Center in Arizona, before an expected audience of some 10,000 people. The event has been organized by pastors from all over the Tucson metro area. Randy Travis is the headlining musical act. Pastors Skip Heitzig and Robert Furrow will speak the first two nights. I will talk about Bible prophecy, Israel, and how we can know the God who knows the future. For details on any of these events, please check on our weblog. Please keep my family, my team, and me in your prayers, if you would, as we have these remarkable opportunities to help millions of people to better understand God's heart for the Israel and her neighbors at this critical moment in world history. Thanks so much.

Web site: Bin Laden to release Israel message MAY 15,08

NEW YORK - Osama bin Laden, who has threatened to extend al-Qaida's terror to Israel, will release a new Internet message dealing with Israelis and Palestinians, a terrorism monitoring group said Thursday. The announcement of the impending comments by the head of al-Qaida was posted on Web sites often used by Islamic militant groups, the SITE Intelligence Group said.Bin Laden's statement, The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the Establishment of the State of Israeli Occupation and will be addressed to the Western peoples, SITE said.Israel has been celebrating the anniversary of its independence, but the occasion has also been mourned by many Palestinians as a reminder of their uprooting.

The Internet message — expected to appear within 72 hours of the advertisement — will be bin Laden's second this year and the seventh since the start of 2007, part of an overall increase by al-Qaida in the pace of Internet statements.In a December, the terror leader offered an unusually direct attack on Israel and stepped up al-Qaida's attempts to use the Israeli-Arab conflict to rally supporters.We intend to liberate Palestine, the whole of Palestine from the (Jordan) river to the sea, he said, threatening blood for blood, destruction for destruction.Israel has warned of growing al-Qaida activity in Palestinian territory, though terror network is not believed to have taken a strong role there so far.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Bush leaves it to Olmert to push Mideast peace May 15, 2:08 PM (ET)By TERENCE HUNT

JERUSALEM (AP) - President Bush gently urged Mideast leaders to make the hard choices necessary for peace, leaving it to embattled Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to stand before a divided parliament Thursday and forcefully declare that this war-weary nation is ready for a historic agreement with Palestinians.On a day mourned by Palestinians as the 60th anniversary of their uprooting by Israel's independence, Bush mentioned the Palestinians only once in a 23-minute speech to the Knesset - and then only in the context of what a Palestinian state would look like six decades from now.

Some Israelis and Palestinians were disappointed that Bush failed to use his high-profile appearance to push the two sides to take the concrete steps to achieve his own goal of a peace deal before the end of his presidency.Most notably, Bush's speech ignited a political uproar on the campaign trail back home.Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama lashed back after Bush condemned the false comfort of appeasement and said that some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.The White House insisted the remark was not aimed at Obama and that Bush was repeating standard U.S. policy. But Obama issued a statement accusing Bush of using the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding to launch a false political attack" against him. Obama has said that as president he would be willing to meet personally with the leaders of such U.S. adversaries as Iran, Syria and Cuba.Five months after Bush launched the first serious Mideast peace talks in seven years, the effort seems to have run out of steam. Olmert, facing his fifth criminal investigation in two years, is weak and unpopular and his support in parliament is unclear. The Palestinians are weak and divided, as well, and decades-old disputes remain unsettled.

Bush, in his remarks, did not delve into the obstacles but skipped to a rosy scenario 60 years ahead.Israel will be celebrating the 120th anniversary as one of the world's great democracies, a secure and flourishing homeland for the Jewish people, Bush forecast. The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserve - a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror. From Cairo to Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy and tourism and trade.He did not explain how that would be achieved. Bush predicted Iran and Syria would be peaceful nations and that the Islamic militant groups al-Qaida, Hezbollah and Hamas would be defeated.On a five-day Mideast trip, Bush flies to Saudi Arabia on Friday and to Egypt on Saturday.Bush's speech was seen as a missed opportunity by some on both sides.

It was an embarrassing speech, a collection of slogans that somebody wrote for him in order to be nice to Israel, or what he thinks is Israel, and to steer well clear of anything concrete, said Israeli lawmaker Yossi Beilin, a member of the dovish Meretz party and one of the prime architects of the Oslo peace accords. It's a shame and a scandal, in my opinion.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said of Bush: He could have been much different. We expected the president to really tell the Israelis that to really live in peace and security ... the occupation must end and an independent Palestinian state must be created. This would have been the speech we expected but unfortunately we didn't hear it.White House press secretary Dana Perino said the speech was intended as a celebration of Israel's founding. It's not meant to be a kitchen-sink speech, she said.It was left to Olmert to make the most forceful case for a peace agreement as Bush listened a few feet away.Olmert spoke of an accord based on two states for two people, a Jewish state and a Palestinian state, living side by side in peace. This agreement will be approved in the Knesset by a large majority and will be supported by the vast majority of the Israeli public, Olmert said.

There were murmurs and stirring among some lawmakers at Olmert's prediction. The prime minister turned to Bush and joked that the president's aides had probably told him the Knesset is calm and tranquil. Bush chuckled. Two hardline lawmakers walked out in protest during Olmert's address.Israel has no stronger desire than to achieve peace with our Palestinian neighbors, Olmert said.Olmert also cautioned Bush about Iran. The threat is not aimed at Israel alone, he said.Most Israelis favor a peace agreement and the idea of an independent Palestinian state. However, the public is skeptical about reaching a deal under current conditions.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is widely seen as being too weak to carry out an agreement, and many Israelis fear that if Israel withdraws from the West Bank, it would follow the same fate as Gaza, which was taken over by the Hamas militant group last June and is now a launching ground for rocket attacks. Most Israelis also oppose dividing the holy city of Jerusalem, a key Palestinian demand.Olmert also has suffered from low popularity since Israel's inconclusive war in Lebanon in 2006 and, more recently, a new corruption investigation. A poll this week showed 60 percent of Israelis think Olmert cannot promote peacemaking because of the latest police investigation into his conduct. The same number think he should resign.Palestinians marked the day with rallies, sirens and black balloons, recalling the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who either fled or were driven out of their homes during the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Palestinians call it their nakba, Arabic for catastrophe.Before appearing before the Knesset, Bush toured Masada, the ancient fortress on a plateau in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is said to be the place where Jewish rebels killed themselves and each other 2,000 years ago rather than fall into slavery under the advancing Romans army. Thursday night, Bush hosted a reception at the Israel Museum, which houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, the oldest biblical manuscripts in the world.Associated Press writers Dalia Nammari in Ramallah and Josef Federman in Jerusalem contributed to this report

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.

GLOBAL JIHAD Bush urged to address Muslim hate in books
Republican leader wants president to take on Saudi anti-West lessons
May 14, 2008 9:40 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

New York City in the moments after the Sept. 11. 2001, attack led mostly by Saudi nationals .A Republican leader of Congress has urged President Bush to press the Saudi government to reform its textbooks during his visit tomorrow with Saudi King Abdullah. In a letter to Bush, Rep. Sue Myrick, R-N.C., founder of the Congressional Anti-Terrorism Caucus, warned that the kingdom is still spreading a dangerous ideology that attacked us on 9/11 and continues to threaten the United States and its allies around the world.I strongly urge you to raise my concerns regarding the use of textbooks that are sanctioned by the Saudi government for use within the country and around the world that preach hatred and violence toward non-Muslims and Western ideals of liberty, she said in the May 5 missive.Despite Abdullah's post-9/11 promises of reforms, Saudi school texts used for Islamic studies still encourage violence and hatred toward infidels, according to a recent comprehensive review by the Freedom House.

The nonprofit group says indoctrination begins as early as first grade and expands each year, culminating in a 12th-grade text teaching teens that their religious duty includes waging jihad against the infidel to spread the faith.Here are relevant passages from the Saudi textbooks, by grade level:First Grade: Every religion other than Islam is false.Fourth Grade: True belief means ... that you hate the polytheists and infidels but do not treat them unjustly.Fifth Grade: It is forbidden for a Muslim to be a loyal friend to someone who does not believe in Allah and His Prophet.Sixth Grade: Just as Muslims were successful in the past when they came together in a sincere endeavor to evict the Christian crusaders from Palestine, so will the Arabs and Muslims emerge victorious, Allah willing, against the Jews and their allies if they stand together and fight a true jihad for Allah, for this is within Allah's power.Eighth Grade: The apes are the Jews, the people of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christians, the infidels of the communion of Jesus.Ninth Grade: The clash between this (Muslim) community and the Jews and Christians has endured, and it will continue as long as Allah wills.

Myrick worries the hateful religious indoctrination could translate into violence against the West. Of immediate concern, she notes, are the thousands of young Saudi men scheduled to immigrate to the U.S. on student visas.The State Department plans to double the number of student visas issued to young Saudi men from 15,000 to 30,000 – despite the fact that nearly all of the 9/11 hijackers were Saudi nationals who immigrated to the U.S. on visas.We aim to increase their numbers to 30,000 over the next five years, U.S. Ambassador Ford Fraker last month told Saudi officials at the Al-Jouf Chamber of Commerce and Industry.In the past, a large number of Saudi students have failed to show up for classes, coast to coast, and have overstayed their visas. Many of them have been caught up in terrorism investigations.As more young Saudi citizens take part in the scholarship student visa program, we must be sure that we are not permitting Saudi citizens into our country who seek to do us harm, as we saw with the 15 hijackers from Saudi Arabia who attacked us on 9/11, Myrick said.The congresswoman also asked Bush to press the Saudi government to allow non-Muslim clergy to visit the kingdom as part of a reciprocal exchange under the U.S. R-1/R-2 religious visa program.I believe it is essential to a true dialogue between religions to allow clergy to come and speak to foreign audiences, she told the president. No one should be prohibited from entering a country based on their religious beliefs.
Myrick plans to introduce a bill to restrict R-1 religious visas for Muslim clerics who come from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and other countries that do not allow reciprocal visits by non-Muslim clergy.

Since 9/11, several foreign imams have been prosecuted or deported for soliciting jihad, including a Pakistani cleric in Lodi, Calif.
Myrick also plans as part of her 10-point Wake Up America anti-terror legislative agenda to introduce a bill to cancel U.S. contracts to train Saudi police and other security forces in U.S. counterterrorism tactics until the Saudis certify the prosecution of designated al-Qaida financiers – such as wealthy Saudi businessman Yasin al-Kadi – as well as the detention of repatriated Guantanamo terrorists whom the Saudis have released back into the general population after being rehabilitated.Some Gitmo detainees repatriated to Saudi Arabia have rejoined the jihad against U.S. troops overseas.As we continue to work with the Saudi government, it is essential that they end their practice of exporting terrorism, Myrick said. Reports claim that the Saudi rehabilitation program of released Guantanamo detainees conditions the release on agreement not to attack within Saudi Arabia.If true, she added, this is obviously detrimental to defeating the jihadist ideology that inspires our enemies.

Nuclear Weapons May Spread to Middle East from Iran: Henry Kissinger 14.05.08 13:52

Israel, Jerusalem, 14 May / corr. TrendNews R. Abddullayev/ The former Secretary of State of the United States Henry Kissinger believes that if Iran becomes a nuclear power, the nuclear weapon will spread to the Middle East. If Iran becomes nuclear power, the nuclear weapon will disseminate and it will spread to a number of fundamental regimes of the Middle East, Henry Kissinger, the former Secretary of State of the United States, stated in Jerusalem on 14 May in an opening ceremony of the international conference Lets Look Forward to Future dedicated to the Independence Day of Israel.

According to Kissinger, the fundamental radical Iran is one of the major sources of Jihad. We should combat Jihad. The challenge of Jihad is assuming a special international significance, said Kissinger. The danger from the nuclear Iran is not only threat to the national security of Israel, but also to the viability of the entire international and world security system, Kissinger added.

Last week, the president of Israel Shimon Peres, organizer of the conference, said in a press conference that some 13 head of state, 5 former presidents, 3 Premiers, 4 foreign ministers, 8 Nobel Prize laureate and 800 delegates more from 30 leading countries of the world, will take part in the conference in Jerusalem.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

India, Russia, China FMs hold talks MAY 15,08

Yekaterinburg (Russia) (PTI): India, Russia and China today kicked off a trilateral meeting here to discuss a wide range of regional and global issues including counter- terrorism, food and energy security and the rapidly unfolding economic scenario on the backdrop of US subprime crisis. Welcoming External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Chinese colleague Yang Jiechi, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov invited them for informal discussions on the issues touched upon in their earlier Vladivostok, New Delhi and Harbin meetings. At the end of RIC ministerial meeting, a joint communique stating the common stand of India, Russia and China will be issued. According to sources, for the first time, the three nations are expected to express a common stand on the nuclear issues of Iran, North Korea and the situation in Afghanistan. Mukherjee arrived here Wednesday on a three-day visit. Earlier on Thursday morning, he met his Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. Yang described the bilateral Sino-Indian relations as steady.

Remarks by the President in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ICC Jerusalem International Convention Center

9:20 P.M. (Local)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. President Peres, thank you, sir, for your hospitality. Mr. Prime Minister and Mrs. Olmert, it's great to be with you. We consider you friends. Heads of state, thank you all for coming. I think it's a great tribute to this conference, as well as to Israel that some so many heads of state have come. Ex-heads of state and ex-leaders, thanks for being here. Save a seat in the ex-leader's club. (Laughter and applause.) Citizens of Israel, Laura and I loved coming to your beautiful country, and thank you for your warm hospitality. Citizens of the United States, my fellow Americans -- (applause) -- spend freely and behave yourselves. (Laughter.)

Distinguished guests, I really appreciate your warm welcome. And we are thrilled to be here with one of America's closest friends. Laura and I are honored to represent the American people on the 60th anniversary of your independence. Happy birthday. (Applause.)

As we celebrate the anniversary, it is useful to look back at the story of your founding. It is the story of how faith guided the Jewish people through centuries of bitter exile. It is a story of how those living behind ghetto walls and barbed wire never lost sight of Jerusalem. And it is a story of how brave pioneers risked everything to redeem the promise of this land. It is a marvelous story.

When Israel's founders gathered in Tel Aviv to sign your declaration of independence, the threat of war loomed. But it could not overshadow the joy of people who had lived to see their prayers answered. Celebrations broke out all across this land, and of course they broke out in America, as well. In New York, young men and women danced the hora in the streets. In Washington, a crowd gathered to watch a flag-raising ceremony outside the building that would become Israel's first embassy. After one man saw the flag bearing the Star of David, he said, I never thought I'd live to see this day.

Looking back 60 years later, it is important to remember what the founders of Israel had to overcome at every stage of the journey. They established one of the world's great democracies in a region where democracy had few roots. They formed a unified army out of immigrants and refugees from many different countries. They planted the seeds of a modern economy in the sands of an ancient desert. In these accomplishments, we see the visionary leadership of men and women like Herzl and Weizmann and Ben-Gurion and Golda Meir and Rabin and Sharon -- and we honor each of them this evening. (Applause.)

And looking back 60 years later, we've also got to remember the courage of Harry S. Truman. As Israel prepared to declare independence, President Truman faced a tough choice over whether to recognize a new state. The future of Israel hung in the balance. As Chaim Weizmann told the President, he said, History and providence have placed this issue in your hands. And today we know that the forces of Providence could not have chosen a better man than America's 33rd President. (Applause.)

Eleven minutes after Israel came into existence, the United States became the first nation to recognize its independence. And because Harry Truman did what was right instead of following the conventional wisdom, we can say today that America is Israel's oldest and best friend in the world. (Applause.)

With every passing year, the bonds of friendship between America and Israel have grown stronger. America stands for peace, and so does Israel. And as we stand in peace, we must understand the realities of the world in which we live. We must be steadfast, and we must be strong in the face of those who murder the innocent to achieve their objectives. (Applause.) And in the long run, we share a powerful belief in a powerful weapon against the terrorists. We believe that the surest way to defeat the enemies of hatred is to advance the cause of hope through the cause of freedom; liberty as the great alternative to tyranny and terror. (Applause.)

Mr. President, and Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for inviting me to speak at the Knesset tomorrow. I hear it's a place of many a sharp elbow. (Laughter.) I'm looking forward to giving my speech. (Laughter.) I'm not going to be throwing any elbows. But I will talk about the day when I believe every child in the Middle East can live in peace and live in freedom. (Applause.) With trust in the Rock of Israel, we know that day will come. And when it does, the United States of America will be by at your side.

God bless Israel, and God bless America. (Applause.)

END 9:28 P.M. (Local)

California's top court legalizes gay marriage By LISA LEFF, Associated Press Writer Thu May 15, 9:15 PM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - California's Supreme Court declared that gay couples in the nation's biggest state can marry — a monumental but perhaps short-lived victory for the gay rights movement Thursday that was greeted with tears, hugs, kisses and at least one instant proposal of matrimony. Same-sex couples could tie the knot in as little as a month. But the window could close soon after — religious and social conservatives are pressing to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot in November that would undo the Supreme Court ruling and ban gay marriage.Essentially, this boils down to love. We love each other. We now have equal rights under the law, declared a jubilant Robin Tyler, a plaintiff in the case along with her partner. She added: We're going to get married. No Tupperware, please.A crowd of people raised their fists in triumph inside City Hall, and people wrapped themselves in the rainbow-colored gay-pride flag outside the courthouse. In the Castro, long the center of the gay community in San Francisco, Tim Oviatt wept as he watched the news on TV.I've been waiting for this all my life. This is a life-affirming moment, he said.By the afternoon, gay and lesbian couples had already started lining up at San Francisco City Hall to make appointments to get marriage licenses. In West Hollywood, supporters planned to serve wedding cake at an evening celebration.James Dobson — chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family, which has spent thousands of dollars to get the measure on the ballot — called the ruling an outrage.

It will be up to the people of California to preserve traditional marriage by passing a constitutional amendment. ... Only then can they protect themselves from this latest example of judicial tyranny, he said in an e-mailed statement.In its 4-3 ruling, the Republican-dominated high court struck down state laws against same-sex marriage and said domestic partnerships that provide many of the rights and benefits of matrimony are not enough.In contrast to earlier times, our state now recognizes that an individual's capacity to establish a loving and long-term committed relationship with another person and responsibly to care for and raise children does not depend upon the individual's sexual orientation, Chief Justice Ronald George wrote for the majority in ringing language that delighted gay rights activists.Massachusetts in 2004 became the first, and so far only, state to legalize gay marriage; more than 9,500 couples have taken advantage of the law. But the California ruling is considered monumental by virtue of the state's size — 38 million out of a U.S. population of 302 million — and its historical role as the vanguard of many social and cultural changes that have swept the country since World War II.California has an estimated 108,734 same-sex households, according to 2006 census figures.

It's about human dignity. It's about human rights. It's about time in California, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, pumping his fist in the air, told a roaring crowd at City Hall. As California goes, so goes the rest of the nation. It's inevitable. This door's wide open now. It's going to happen, whether you like it or not.Unlike Massachusetts, California has no residency requirement for obtaining a marriage license, meaning gays nationwide are likely to flock to the state to be wed, said Jennifer Pizer, an attorney who worked on the case.The ultimate reach of the ruling could be limited, however, since most states do not recognize same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. Nor does the federal government.The conservative Alliance Defense Fund said it would ask the justices for a stay of the decision until after the fall election in hopes of adding California to the list of 26 states that have approved constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage.We're obviously very disappointed in the decision. The remedy is a constitutional amendment. The constitution defines marriage as a union between one man and one woman, said Glen Lavy, senior counsel for the organization.Opponents of gay marriage could also ask the high court to reconsider. If the court rejects such a request, same-sex couples could start getting married in 30 days, the time it typically takes for the justices' opinions to become final.

Attorney General Jerry Brown, whose office had argued to uphold the ban, said Brown will work with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and state agencies to implement the ruling. The case was set in motion in 2004 when the mayor of San Francisco — the unofficial capital of gay America — threw City Hall open to gay couples to get married in a calculated challenge to California law. Four thousand wed before the Supreme Court put a halt to the practice after a month. Two dozen gay couples then sued, along with the city and gay rights organizations. Thursday's ruling could alter the dynamics of the presidential race, as well as state and congressional contests in California and beyond, by causing a backlash among conservatives and drawing them to the polls in large numbers. A spokesman for Republican John McCain, who opposes gay marriage, said the Arizona senator doesn't believe judges should be making these decisions. The campaigns of Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton said they believe that the issue of marriage should be left to the states. Ten states now offer some form of legal recognition to same-sex couples — in most cases, domestic partnerships or civil unions. In the past few years, the courts in New York, New Jersey and Washington state have refused to allow gay marriage. Outside the San Francisco courthouse, gay marriage supporters cried and cheered as news of the decision spread. Jeanie Rizzo, one of the plaintiffs, called Pali Cooper, her partner of 19 years, via cell phone and asked, Pali, will you marry me? California already offers same-sex couples who register as domestic partners many of the legal rights and responsibilities afforded to married couples, including the right to divorce and to sue for child support.

Citing a 1948 California Supreme Court decision that overturned a ban on interracial marriages, the justices struck down the state's 1977 one-man, one-woman marriage law, as well as a similar, voter-approved law that passed with 61 percent in 2000. The chief justice was joined by Justices Joyce Kennard and Kathryn Werdegar, all three of whom were appointed by Republican governors, and Justice Carlos Moreno, the only member of the court appointed by a Democrat. In a dissent, Justice Marvin Baxter agreed with many arguments of the majority but said that the court overstepped its authority and that changes to marriage laws should be decided by the voters. Justices Ming Chin and Carol Corrigan also dissented.

California's secretary of state is expected to rule by the end of June whether the sponsors gathered enough signatures to put the amendment on the ballot. Schwarzenegger, a Republican who has twice vetoed legislation that would have granted marriage to same-sex couples, said in a statement that he respected the court's decision and will not support an amendment to the constitution that would overturn this state Supreme Court ruling.Associated Press writers Terence Chea, Jason Dearen, Juliana Barbassa and Evelyn Nieves in San Francisco and Liz Sidoti in Washington contributed to this report.