ISRAEL MAYBE TO BOMB IRAN

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.

2 KILLED IN GREEK QUAKE
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QUAKE SHAKES GREECE
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NO ACCIDENT THIS QUAKE IN GREECE HAPPENED ON SHAV'OT A ISRAELI FEAST OR FAST DAY. PROPHECIES WILL BE FULFILLED ON ISRAELI FEAST AND FAST DAYS.

IS IT NOT INTERESTING THAT THE QUAKE OCCURED AT 3:25 PM, 3 IN THE BIBLE IS THE TRINITY AND 7 IS COMPLETION AND JUDGEMENT. GOD INTERVENING WITH JUDGEMENT ON THE WORLD TODAY ON AN ISRAELI FEAST OR FASR DAY.

Greece Hit by Strong Earthquake; Two People Dead (Update3)
By Maria Petrakis

June 8 (Bloomberg) -- Greece was hit by an earthquake classified as strong on the Richter magnitude scale around 3:25 p.m. local time, the U.S. Geological Survey and Greek scientists said, killing two and sending hundreds of panicked Greeks into the streets. One man was killed when he was hit by falling masonry while an 80-year-old woman suffered a heart attack in hospital after being injured, said Interior Minister Prokopis Pavlopoulos, according to an e-mailed statement. At least 37 people were slightly injured, many as they fled their homes and apartments when the quake hit, and 50 older buildings collapsed. Today's earthquake had a magnitude of 6.1 and occurred 200 kilometers, or 125 miles, west of Athens at a depth of about 7.7 kilometers, the U.S. agency said on its Web site. The tremor was felt in the Greek capital, the most populous city. Athens and Thessaloniki observatories said the earthquake had a magnitude of 6.5 on the Richter scale. There will be a number of aftershocks for several days, Pavlopoulos warned.Some may be as strong at 5.5 Richter.

Strong tremors are common in Greece because the country lies in one of the world's most active earthquake zones, between Europe and Africa. In September 1999, an earthquake measuring 5.9 hit Athens, resulting in the deaths of 143 people. In January this year southern Greece was struck by a quake measured at 6.7 by the USGS and 6.5 by Greek seismologists.

Rescued from Rubble

A family of three and a young child reported trapped in rubble in two villages in the Peloponnese region, which bore the brunt of the tremor, were rescued, Margaritis Mouzas of the country's civil protection agency said on NET. Landslides in the aftermath of the earthquake blocked access on some roads in the region, including between Athens and the port city of Patras, the Athens News Agency reported. OSE, the Greek railway operator, suspended some services after tracks buckled from the quake. Pavlopoulos said special teams would be sent to check the damage suffered by schools in the region. The Greek tourism ministry said in a statement that no hotels or accommodation in the area had been damaged by the quake and that there had been no reports of foreign tourists being injured. To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Petrakis in Athens at mpetrakis@bloomberg.net June 8, 2008 15:43 EDT

NASA WORKS ON QUAKE WARNING SYSTEM
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THE SCIENCE OF EARTHQUAKES
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Earthquake swarm picks up again in northern Nevada By MARTIN GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer Sun Jun 8, 4:35 PM ET

RENO, Nev. - A months-long swarm of earthquakes picked up again Sunday as a string of minor temblors rattled Reno, causing downtown high-rises to sway and knocking items off walls and shelves. There were no immediate reports of injuries or major property damage after about 20 minor quakes reported on the western edge of Reno over 12 hours ending about noon.Magnitude-3.9 and 3.6 quakes struck within a couple minutes of each other shortly before 11 a.m. and were preceded by 3.2 and 3.0 quakes early Sunday, said researchers at the seismological laboratory at the University of Nevada, Reno.

I was thinking, Here we go with the big one,said Daryl DiBitonto, a Reno resident who felt the quake at home. Late in the morning, I thought the whole house was going to come down. Every time I feel a 3, I think it's going to be the big one. Totally, everyone is on edge again.Diane dePolo, a lab seismologist, said it was the strongest sequence of quakes in the past month and signaled a pickup in activity after a recent lull.We had a little pickup in activity on Tuesday and nothing significant until today, dePolo said. We are monitoring them, but we can't say if it'll get better or worse. There is no way to predict earthquakes.Seismologists had urged residents of northern Nevada's largest city to prepare for a bigger event after a 4.7 quake on April 25, the strongest in a swarm that began Feb. 28.That quake swept store shelves clean, cracked walls in homes and dislodged rocks on hillsides, but there were no reports of injuries or widespread, major damage.The swarm, which has produced thousands of mostly minor quakes, had prompted some residents in the densely populated quake zone to spend nights outside in campers and trucks.

We live in earthquake country, and the threat is never over, dePolo said. We encourage people to be prepared.Nevada is the third most seismically active state in the U.S. behind California and Alaska. Reno's last major quake measured 6.1 on April 24, 1914.

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.

MIDWEST REELS IN SEVERE WEATHER
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MIDWEST FLOODING
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SEVERE STORMS TO BLISTERING HEAT
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AND TODAY ALL THIS FLOODING MORE JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DURING THE ISRAELI SHAV'OT DAY 1.

Severe weather kills 5; water rises in Indiana By TOM MURPHY, Associated Press Writer JUNE 8,08

INDIANAPOLIS - Wicked weekend storms pounded the country from the Midwest to the East Coast, forcing hundreds of people to flee flooded communities, spawning tornadoes that tore up houses and killing at least five people. Rescuers in boats continued to pluck people from rising waters in Indiana on Sunday, a day after more than 10 inches of rain deluged much of the state.In Iowa, pumps and thousands of sandbags were sent to the Iowa City area, where officials fear a reservoir could top a spillway and flood the city of about 63,000 by Tuesday.The Indiana flooding killed at least one person, a man who drowned in his vehicle about 50 miles south of Indianapolis, said John Erickson, a spokesman for the state Department of Homeland Security. Another person was reported missing after falling off a boat about 30 miles southwest of Indianapolis.

In Michigan, two delivery workers for The Grand Rapids Press drowned early Sunday when their car became submerged in a creek that washed out a road near Lake Michigan in Saugatuck Township, the newspaper said.A woman was killed when a small trailer blew onto her about late Sunday afternoon west of Lansing, Sheriff Mike Raines told the Lansing State Journal.And lightning struck a pavilion at a state park in Connecticut, killing one person and injuring four, state environmental spokesman Dennis Schain said.

At least one tornado hit the Omaha, Neb., area with little to no warning as people slept Sunday morning, damaging several dozen homes and businesses. No major injuries were reported.I'd say it was a miracle no one got killed, said Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey as he toured a heavily damaged neighborhood in the west Omaha area of Millard.Paul Higgins, 87, said the front door blew open and he was knocked down when he checked on the storm around 2:30 a.m.At the time you couldn't see anything outside, Higgins said. It was like a fog. So much stuff blowing around.Higgins said he and his wife sought shelter in their basement, emerging to find a tree against a house across the street and a neighboring house missing its roof.

Iowa saw some of its worst flooding in more than a decade, Gov. Chet Culver said in a statement as he declared an emergency in nearly a third of the state's 99 counties, freeing up state resources.A levee broke along the Winnebago River in Mason City, and its water treatment plant was shut down. Residents of the city of nearly 30,000 have been asked to avoid using tap water.Officials said water levels on the Iowa River at Iowa City could be like those during the historic floods of 1993, which put much of the state underwater. The University of Iowa plans to move several classes starting Tuesday.In areas of Minnesota near the Iowa border, officials asked residents in the Winnebago Valley to evacuate. More than 60 people were being taken to a shelter in Caledonia from a campground.In Wisconsin, more than a dozen homes near the swollen Kickapoo River in La Farge were evacuated.In Morgan County, southwest of Indianapolis, about 150 residents were taken out of a flooded nursing home. Floodwaters that were moving south to eventually drain into the Ohio River led officials to move more than 250 patients and employees from Columbus Regional Hospital in southern Indiana. Workers pumped water out of the basement, and a couple inches of mud covered the first floor of the center, which was forced to close. Jack Elkins, 67, said his condominium near the hospital was inundated with water in a matter of minutes Saturday night. Once the storm drains filled up, it took 15 minutes for about 8 inches of water to ruin his place. It looked like a river in front of my house, he said as he took a break from ripping up carpeting and flooring. Hundreds of thousands of customers lacked power across the region, more than 300,000 in Michigan alone. Gov. Mitch Daniels said many of the flood victims told him how quickly floodwaters rose, catching them off guard.

This thing came on fast with such a radical deluge of water that people were describing going from a feeling of security to waist-deep water in a matter or 15 or 20 minutes, he said Sunday. The rising White River also forced officials in the southern city of Seymour to order the evacuation of more than 100 homes. Daniels said that there had been some looting reported in the city but that extra police had been sent to prevent it from happening again. In western Indiana, Terre Haute also was dealing with serious flooding. A Johnson County dam was breached by the high water but had not failed, Erickson said. It's in bad shape, Erickson said.

Residents of Chicago's northern and southern suburbs spent Sunday cleaning up from at least seven tornadoes the night before. The storms tore roofs off homes, toppled power lines and overturned tractor-trailers. Several minor injuries were reported, and stretches of Interstate 57 remained closed for a second day Sunday because of downed power lines. Associated Press writer Timberly Ross in Omaha, Neb., Todd Richmond in Gays Mills, Wis., and Luke Meredith in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed to this report.

One dead, one missing in flooding in Indiana: official Sun Jun 8, 2:53 PM ET

CHICAGO (AFP) - One person died and another was missing as flooding inundated central Indiana, forcing evacuations and numerous boat rescues, a state official said. We have one confirmed casualty, John Erikson, spokesman for the midwestern state's Department of Homeland Security told AFP, saying he did not have more details about the victim.He also said one person was missing as flood waters swamped areas south and west of Indianapolis on Saturday.

A nursing home and hospital were evacuated as rescuers used boats and helicopters to reach those stranded by the high water, according to Erikson.The flooding in low-lying areas came after a torrential downpour on Saturday, with water rushing over major roads, closing parts of Interstate 70 and Interstate 65, and surging over a dam in Johnson County, the Indianapolis Star reported.Governor Mitch Daniels issued a disaster declaration for 41counties on Friday and for another 18 on Saturday.Mother Nature has landed another one on our chin, Daniels told reporters earlier.

About 530 National Guard troops were deployed to help state police and rescue workers with evacuations, searches, sandbagging and traffic control, the Star reported, quoting a state police spokesman.About 1,230 people had taken shelter overnight due to the flooding and a lull in the rain had helped rescue efforts, Erikson said.We've been very successful with boat rescues, he said.

Sandbagging was underway in threatened towns as authorities braced for more possible flooding.We're expecting some rain later in the week, but we're not sure how much it's going to be, Erikson said. We are preparing for whatever comes our way.

Worst rainstorms in 50 years hit southeast China Sun Jun 8, 12:55 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - The heaviest rainstorms in 50 years drenched parts of Guangdong province over the past two days, killing at least 1 student and causing widespread flooding, local media reported on Sunday. The Guangzhou Daily newspaper reported that one primary school student died after being swept away by a flood on Saturday in Maoming in the west of Guangdong province.It said another primary school student and a high school student were missing.The newspaper said more than 6,500 people had to be evacuated from their homes.Torrential rains have affected the province over the past two weeks, with rainfall in some areas measuring more than 400 millimeters (15.7 inches) in just the past two days, the paper reported.The provincial government website forecast more heavy rain for Tuesday.The region normally experiences heavy rainfall about this time every year, but meteorological authorities said this was the worst in five decades.

Flooding has affected many cities in the Pearl River Delta -- home to many export manufacturing plants -- and the western part of Guangdong province.(Reporting by Ken Wills; Editing by David Fogarty)

Landslide kills two in Hong Kong: report JUNE 7,08

HONG KONG (AFP) - Two people were killed in Hong Kong on Saturday when their hut was crushed in a landslide triggered by the some of the worst rain here since records began, a report said.The landslide sent a 20-tonne wall crashing onto the hut that the pair, a man and a woman, were sleeping in, local broadcaster RTHK reported on its web site.Emergency workers used cranes to lift the wall and dug a tunnel to reach the pair, but they were dead by the time rescuers reached them, it said.Authorities in the southern Chinese territory warned people to beware of further landslides and opened emergency shelters for people in need of accommodation.The Hong Kong Observatory said more than 200 millimetres (eight inches) of rain was dumped overnight on the city, which experienced winds of up to 70 kilometres (43 miles) an hour.Between 8:00 am and 9:00 am alone it recorded 145.5 millimetres, the highest hourly rainfall since records began.

RTHK said accidents caused by the rain injured 16 people, two of whom were still in hospital.The city's schools and courts were shut and the downpour caused severe flooding across some streets of Hong Kong island, an AFP reporter at the scene said.Water was almost up to the windows of parked cars as people rolled up their trousers and waded through knee-deep floods.People tried to continue their journey on foot as water flowed over pavements in the heavily hit western district of Sheung Wan.Hong Kong is regularly hit by severe rain and even typhoons during the summer months, but residents said Saturday's downpour was particularly severe.This is the heaviest rain I have seen in years, said office worker Edmund Kwan.

Shopkeepers stacked sandbags in an effort to keep the water out. Streets in the city's Wan Chai business district were also under heavy water.The rain caused several delays at Hong Kong's International Airport on Lantau Island, one of the worst-hit spots in the territory, an Airport Authority spokeswoman told AFP.The main road to the airport was closed because of flooding, RTHK said.

Southern Indiana braces for flash flooding after heavy rains Sat Jun 7, 12:59 PM By The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS - Scuba teams are rescuing residents from swamped homes in southern Indiana after storms dumped nearly 250 millimetres of rain on the region. A local official says numerous parts of the county are flooded, closing roads and prompting emergency evacuations. At least two rural bridges have failed because of flooding in Johnson County, where a state of emergency has been declared. County Commissioner Tom Kite told WIBC-FM that water had reached the first floor of Johnson Memorial Hospital in the city of Franklin. The National Weather Service has issued flash-flood warnings in 15 counties, and the weather service says record flooding is possible. Authorities are also cleaning up in northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio, where thunderstorms and gusting winds tore down trees and power lines Friday night. Crews were busy restoring power while survey teams checked reports of funnel clouds and tornadoes.

Tornado cuts through northwestern Minnesota
Fri Jun 6, 6:34 PM

TORONTO (CBC) - A tornado has left an almost kilometre-wide path of destruction in northwestern Minnesota, the U.S. National Weather Service said Friday.No injuries have been reported in the town of Park Rapids, but local officials say there is extensive roof damage and cars were reported to be sitting in a nearby ditch.A resident from nearby Emmaville said all the trees in his yard were uprooted and his mobile home was damaged. A turkey farm near Blueberry Lake was destroyed, a small housing development suffered minor damage and many trees were downed throughout the area.Tornado damage has also been reported in the town of Menahga, south of Park Rapids. No details of the damage were available.Forecasters warned Friday's weather could be packed with strong storms.Runoff from heavy rain early Friday forced the evacuation of about a dozen homes in Cambridge, in central Iowa. Residents fled at about 3 a.m. local time and no injuries were reported.The ground is just fully saturated. The runoff from the community just all comes to that part of town. This is probably the worst it's ever been, said Lori Morrissey, the emergency management co-ordinator for Story County.

Morrissey said more than five centimetres of rain fell in storms that began Thursday night in the region.At least four tornadoes touched down in Kansas Thursday, with others reported in Nebraska and Missouri. Meanwhile, a funnel cloud was reported in Colorado.

One of the Kansas tornados destroyed a house and several other buildings in central Clay County, and toppled trees and power lines.

The twisters spooked a pair of circus elephants that escaped their pen and roamed the town of WaKeeney, Kan. One of the elephants was coaxed into a truck, while the second was tranquilized in the backyard of a home.Both were returned to the circus.With files from the Associated Press

DAMS THREATEN TO BURST IN CHINA
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No flood danger at quake-lake: state media
Sat Jun 7, 9:33 AM

MIANYANG, China (AFP) - A dam blocking a swollen quake lake, which could threaten the lives of 1.3 million people in southwest China, is in no danger of imminent collapse, state media said Saturday, as workers began to drain the water.The Tangjiashan quake lake, which had built up after landslides blocked a river in the May 12 earthquake, had reached critical levels by Friday due to heavy rain.

Earlier Saturday, hundreds of police and soldiers opened a sluice channel to drain water from the lake and then began excavating another, state media said.The dam is in no danger of collapse in the foreseeable period, Xinhua news agency quoted Fan Xiaoguang, deputy commander of the Chengdu Military Area Command, as saying.

The agency also said heavy rainfall, which could heighten the risk of flooding, was unlikely over the next 10 days. The danger of a serious aftershock that could collapse the dam was remote, too, it said.However, the lake's water levels continued to climb slightly after workers opened the channel, said Rao Xiping, head of the government hydrometeorological station in Beichuan -- one of the areas worst-hit by the quake.Rao said the outgoing water flow needed to increase by more than double in order to satisfactorily drain the lake.But the dam is safe now, Rao said, according to Xinhua.The agency had earlier said water levels had risen by nearly 10 centimetres (six inches) from early morning to mid-afternoon on Saturday, adding around 10 million cubic metres of water volume to the lake.Soldiers and police dug the channel to stop the lake from bursting its banks and emptying 220 million cubic metres (700 million cubic feet) of water downstream.The lake has become one of the most pressing issues in the aftermath of the quake that struck mountainous Sichuan province, killing 69,134, according to the latest toll, and leaving millions homeless.The 8.0-magnitude quake triggered massive landslides that blocked rivers and created more than 30 unstable quake lakes, with the Tangjiashan one on the Jianjiang river being considered the most dangerous.Up to 1.3 million people were deemed to be in danger if the vast piles of rock and debris that have blocked the river for the past month burst open, officials had warned.More than 250,000 people have been evacuated from the downstream area, but many others would have to be moved if the dam collapsed due to the pressure of the water, Xinhua said.

At least 600 soldiers and police dug the channel over the past week, and 100 more were airlifted to the dam on Friday to step up preparations, Xinhua said.They were widening the flood channel on Saturday as water began to flow through it. Using dynamite, military engineers blasted a massive bolder that was impeding water flow in the channel and then began carving out a second channel using 30 bulldozers and excavators, Xinhua said.Concern about flooding spread to the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), which said the country's longest oil pipeline could be at risk if the dam burst.The Lanzhou-Chengdu-Chongqing pipeline is 60 kilometres (38 miles) downstream from the Tangjiashan quake lake, CNPC said in a statement on its website.Oil supplies to the disaster-hit zone and neighbouring provinces risk being cut off if the pipeline is damaged and cannot be repaired within three days, CNPC added.Meanwhile, anger grew in the region over the poor construction of schools that collapsed during the quake, killing many children.Parents have held unprecedented protests over the issue, blaming official corruption for the shoddily-built schools.

Heavy storms bring new round of destruction to the U.S. Midwest Fri Jun 6, 7:10 PM By The Associated Press

EMMAVILLE, Minn. - Heavy storms smashed houses, deluged neighbourhoods, toppled trees and left thousands without power across the Midwest on Friday in the latest round of fierce weather. No injuries were reported. A tornado raked an 800-metre-wide path of destruction in northwestern Minnesota, where a house overlooking Pickerel Lake near Emmaville was destroyed, it's contents spilling down the hill. Wooden chairs and tables were floating below. Nearby was a concrete slab the size of a two-car garage, but whatever structure once sat on it was blown away. Flooding forced the evacuation of about a dozen homes in the central Iowa town of Cambridge, while areas to the southwest saw some of their roads and buildings re-emerge from subsiding waters in a much-needed respite from severe weather. Heavy rains that began Thursday night seeped into most basements and at least one foundation collapsed, said Lori Morrissey, Story County's emergency management coordinator.

The ground is just fully saturated, Morrissey said. The run-off from the community just all comes to that part of town. This is probably the worst it's ever been.In Missouri, the Washington County Sheriff's Department said there were reports of a tornado touching down near Richwoods, about 100 kilometres southwest of St. Louis. No damage was immediately reported. Flash flooding forced highways closed in Missouri and Minnesota, where a storm caused widespread damage in Park Rapids and an unincorporated town north of it called Emmaville. No serious injuries were reported. Right now, I can tell you we've been fortunate, Sheriff Gary Mills said.

In Indiana, Gov. Mitch Daniels declared 41 counties disaster areas -the first step to gain federal aid - following severe storms and tornadoes that recently racked the state. One person was killed and at least 10 injured in the round of storms this week.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

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

Wildfire keeps burning NC wildlife refuge Sat Jun 7, 1:37 PM ET

COLUMBIA, N.C. - A wildfire that has burned 30,000 acres in eastern North Carolina may smolder for months as it burns decayed vegetation that makes up the soil in the area, North Carolina Forest Service spokesman Bill Swartley said Saturday. The fire, which was about 30 percent contained, continues to burn in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, about 70 miles south of Norfolk, Va. The spread of the fire has slowed over the past few days and winds remain light, but it continues to threaten about 80 homes and businesses.No injuries or structure damage has been reported.Swartley warned that forecast temperatures near 100 degrees this weekend keep conditions ripe for the blaze, Swartley said. When the fire comes near, the vegetation is that much more ignitable because they are already warm, Swartley said.Gov. Mike Easley has declared a state of emergency in three counties. He warned that driving could be difficult with smoke-filled roads, but officials said none were expected to be closed.For the past few days, smoke from the fire has blown north into heavily populated areas along Virginia's coast. But the winds have shifted, and forecasters expect the smoke to blow east toward the Outer Banks on Saturday.Fire officials told residents that smoke from the blaze could linger in the area for months because the fire may smolder in the decayed vegetation that makes up the peat-filled soil. Peat is flammable, and over millions of years turns into coal, Swartley said.You won't see open flame. The ground is just really hot — you can't walk on it, Swartley said.The only way to stop the fire from burning in the soil is to flood it. Firefighters are pumping water from nearby Phelps Lake to extinguish the ground fire in some areas. However, the only thing that will put all of it out for good would be several inches of rain at one time, like from a tropical storm, Swartley said.

The fire was sparked by lightning a week ago.

In California, a wildfire that briefly threatened 50 homes in the mountains northwest of Los Angeles pass was contained early Saturday. The blaze in the Grapevine area along Interstate 5 in the Tehachapi Mountains had charred about 500 acres — less than a square mile — of grass and brush by the time it was declared surrounded.Residents of about 50 homes in Digier Canyon were advised to leave but the threat ended and the fire basically had stopped growing by Friday evening.Damp weather during the night helped keep the fire down.The cause of that fire had not been determined.

TURKEY HEAD SCARF SITUATION
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FRANCE URGES CALM IN LEBANON
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SARKOZY ARRIVES IN LEBANON
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OIL FUTURES RACE TO RECORD CLOSE
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FAMINE

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

ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
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Oil producers urged to boost output as prices soar By JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 7, 1:47 PM ET

AOMORI, Japan - Leading energy-consuming nations urged oil producers Saturday to boost their output to counter soaring prices threatening the world economy, while they pledged to develop clean energy technologies and improve efficiency. The five nations — the United States, China, Japan, India and South Korea — differed, however, on how urgently oil subsidies should be phased out, with Washington backing bold movement while India and China warned of political and economic instability.Cabinet ministers from the five countries, which account for more than half the world's consumption of energy, agreed that the sharp surge in oil prices was a menace to the world economy, and that more petroleum should be produced to meet rising demand.It's not good for producing nations to see the U.S. struggling economically. They depend on us to be a significant engine in world economic activity, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said.The current president of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, Chakib Khelil, has said that the cartel will make no new decision on production levels until its Sept. 9 meeting in Vienna.Oil prices made their biggest single-day surge on Friday, soaring $11 to $138.54 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, an 8 percent increase. That followed a $5.50 increase the day before, taking oil futures more than 13 percent higher in just two days.

World oil production has stalled at about 85 million barrels a day since 2005, while global economic growth — boosted by spectacular surges in China and India — has pushed demand to unprecedented levels.Analysts also have cited the decline of the U.S. dollar, fears about the long-term supply of oil and aggressive speculation as factors in rising prices.The five consumer countries, meeting before an energy conference of the Group of Eight industrialized nations and Russia on Sunday, argued that the unprecedented prices were against the interests of both producers and consumers, and imposed a heavy burden on developing countries.The ministers also vowed to diversify their sources of energy, invest in alternative and renewable fuels, ramp up cooperation in strategic oil stocks in case of a supply shortage, and improve the quality of data on production and inventories available to markets.The group diverged somewhat over oil subsidies. The International Energy Agency has estimated that oil subsidies in China, India and the Middle East totaled about $55 billion in 2007.The United States, which has its own energy subsidies, urged countries such as China to lower its oil supports, which enable domestic consumers to enjoy cheaper gasoline. Subsidies shield consumers from higher prices, meaning consumption does not decline despite rising expenses.But China and India, while signing onto a statement recognizing the need to eventually phase out such subsidies, argued that removing such supports quickly could trigger political and economic instability.

We are taking very precise and delicate measures so we will not destabilize the government, said Zhang Guibao, China's delegate. If we face such problems in a country such as China, with a large population ... there would be adverse impacts felt throughout the world.India is already facing such effects. The government on Wednesday hiked gasoline and diesel prices, triggering protests by angry consumers who blocked rail tracks and roads and shut down businesses.There were also differences of opinion over the cause of the wild rise in oil prices. Bodman argued the surge was largely a simple problem of supply and demand.We're in a difficult position where we have a lid on production and we have increasing demand in the world, he told a small group of reporters before the meeting, dismissing the idea that speculation was fueling price increases.

China, however, insisted that rising demand largely fueled by its own dramatic economic growth was not the sole factor driving prices. Zhang said hedge funds and hot money were flooding into the energy sector, distorting the market. Underlying the meeting was growing concern about the effect of rising prices on the economy. The U.S., for instance, reported on Friday its unemployment rate rose to 5.5 percent in May, a monthly rise of half a percentage point, the biggest in 22 years. Bodman conceded that even quick action would not pull down prices immediately. There are relatively few things we can do short term, he said. This has been a long time in coming ... this is going to take a long time to accomplish.

ISRAEL - IRAN AND OIL
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Israeli minister: Israel prepared to attack Iran By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 6, 4:35 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel will attack Iran if it doesn't abandon its nuclear program, a Cabinet minister hoping to replace embattled Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was quoted Friday as saying. Shaul Mofaz, a former chief of staff and defense minister, also said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called for Israel's destruction, will disappear before Israel does, the Yediot Ahronot daily reported.Mofaz's spokeswoman did not return a call seeking comment on the remarks, which were more explicit than what Olmert has said.Olmert has gone no further than hinting Israel was prepared to use force against Iranian nuclear facilities, saying this week that the Iranian threat must be stopped by all means.

According to the newspaper report, Mofaz — who is now transportation minister — has concluded international sanctions haven't curbed Tehran's nuclear ambitions.If Iran continues its nuclear arms program — we will attack it, he was quoted as saying. The sanctions aren't effective. There will be no choice but to attack Iran to halt the Iranian nuclear program.There is a precedent for Israeli military action: In 1981, Israeli planes destroyed an unfinished Iraqi reactor.Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful and designed to produce energy.In Washington this week, Iran dominated Olmert's meetings with President Bush, the prime minister told reporters.Bush sought to reassure Israelis who are worried about the U.S. commitment to keeping Iran from obtaining a nuclear bomb, saying, It's very important for the world to take the Iranian threat quite seriously, which the United States does.Mofaz's bellicose comments on Iran coincide with the launching of his campaign to replace Olmert as head of the Kadima Party if a corruption probe pushes Olmert out of office.A recent poll of Kadima members showed Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni easily besting Mofaz in a party leadership race.

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.

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.

Israelis, Palestinians to start writing peace pact By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer JUNE 7,08

JERUSALEM - Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to start drafting sections of a proposed peace accord that address the main issues of their conflict, the chief Palestinian negotiator said. Ahmed Qureia, the veteran negotiator heading the Palestinian team, said the decision did not mean agreement had been reached on the major issues that have tormented peace talks for years: final borders, the status of disputed Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees.But it is the first time since negotiations resumed more than six months ago that anything will be put to paper on these divisive questions.We agreed with the Israelis to begin writing the positions, Qureia told reporters late Friday. He did not say what issue the two sides would start with.

Israeli government officials declined to comment.

Should negotiators agree on an issue, they will draft a single provision, Qureia said. If not, they will lay out on paper their divergent views, he added. On Saturday, he said negotiations were going through a difficult period because of tense discussions on Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees.Israel and the Palestinians resumed peace talks in November at a U.S.-sponsored conference in Annapolis, Md. Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded negotiations, and both sides have expressed doubt about achieving the declared goal of finalizing an accord by the end of the year.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is headed to the region next week in an effort to push negotiations forward.Qureia did not explain why the two sides agreed at this point to begin addressing core issues in writing.

But the decision comes at a time when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's political survival has been thrust into question over suspicions he accepted illicit cash payments, in part to fuel a luxurious lifestyle. Olmert has denied any wrongdoing and promised to resign if indicted.Should Olmert's legal woes push Israel into early elections, polls show Benjamin Netanyahu, who opposes major territorial concessions to the Palestinians, becoming Israel's next premier.Positions drafted during previous rounds of peace talks have not always been preserved for future negotiators.Qureia also confirmed that Israeli negotiators have offered the Palestinians land in exchange for territory where major West Bank settlements stand, but termed their offer unacceptable.Palestinians want to incorporate all of the West Bank into a future state, but their moderate president, Mahmoud Abbas, has acknowledged that Israel, with U.S. backing, likely would hold on to blocs where tens of thousands of settlers live. In exchange, Abbas is prepared to relinquish some West Bank land for an equal amount of Israeli territory.In Gaza on Saturday, the Islamic militant Hamas claimed responsibility for a string of attacks in Israel carried out several years ago.A Hamas Web site listed nine attacks that killed 26 people, most of them Israelis, from 2002 until 2005, and said all the attackers came from the West Bank. Other Palestinian groups claimed responsibility for some of those attacks when they happened, though it is possible they were joint operations.Hamas said it kept quiet about its role in the attacks until now for security reasons. It was not immediately clear whether Hamas really committed the attacks or was making the claim to signal its West Bank gunmen were still active.In related news, the Israeli military said the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be sealed at midnight for the Jewish Shavuot holiday, which begins at sundown Sunday. Holiday closures, which bar nearly all Palestinians from entering Israel, are a routine part of an effort to minimize the possibility of a Palestinian attack. The closure is to last until midnight Monday.
Associated Press Writer Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed to this report.

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

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.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Obama's Jerusalem divide Posted by Dion Nissenbaum
Fri Jun 6, 6:50 AM ET

One line in Barack Obama's homage to Israel at this week's AIPAC convention has dominated the post-speech coverage:Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel - and it must remain undivided, Obama told the cheering crowd.Hard-line and moderate Palestinian leaders found something they could agree on in denouncing Obama's stand as, well, divisive.When pressed on the issue after the speech, Obama said the fate of Jerusalem would really have to be up to the Israelis and Palestinians to decide, a statement that was presented by some as Obama backtracking.ABC's Jake Tapper challenges that assertion and notes that Obama was restating his already declared views.As noted here before, Jerusalem is, in many ways, the third rail of Israeli politics.The city boundaries are, like the contentious borders that cut across the Middle East, artificial and modern creations.After seizing East Jerusalem in the 1967 Six Day War, Israel set about expanding the city boundaries to encompass vast stretches of the surrounding hillsides that makes the city map look like a gerrymandered congressional district.For a good look at the city's current demographics and dividing lines check out this map that shows a failed proposal in the 2000 Camp David peace talks to carve up Jerusalem.

The irony is that even Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who stood firmly against dividing Jerusalem when he was the city's mayor, has said that it may be time to think about giving up parts of the city.Last fall, Olmert raised the possibility of abandoning claims to at least some of the outlying, predominantly-Arab neighborhoods and refugee camps that were absorbed by Israel after the Six Day War.Was it necessary to include the Shufat Refugee Camp, Arab Es-Sawahra, Walaja and other villages and declare: This, too, is Jerusalem? Olmert said in a speech to the Israeli parliament last fall. Of this, I must confess, I am not convinced.

Olmert even received unlikely support for dividing Jerusalem from conservative cabinet member Avigdor Lieberman, a longtime advocate of swapping Arab communities in Israel for Jewish settlements in the West Bank. We are willing to swap, Lieberman said last fall. And when I look at the demography, I don't think the state of Israel has to subsidize refugee camps, whether they are in Nablus or in Gaza or in Jerusalem.(Reuters photo/Kevin Lamarque)

Europeans already looking beyond Bush presidency By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer Sat Jun 7, 1:58 PM ET

WASHINGTON - President Bush's motorcade will speed through European capitals next week, but for many Europeans, the Bush presidency already is in their rearview mirrors. Trans-Atlantic relations are on the upswing as European leaders have moved beyond their anger over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. Still, anti-Bush sentiment runs high on the streets, though that is being mollified by Europeans' excitement about the race for Bush's successor.Like many Americans, Europeans have Bush fatigue. Many believe Barack Obama and John McCain will have different positions — perhaps more favorable — than Bush on issues important to Europe. The president continues promoting his agenda on climate change, Mideast peace and world trade issues, yet his influence has ebbed.I'm sure there will be some protests, but I think people are just looking past this guy at this point and they're interested in what comes next, said James M. Goldgeier, an expert on Europe at the Council on Foreign Relations.

There's no reason for any leader to give him anything because he's on the way out. You have a presidency that's losing energy, is consumed by Iraq and a president who is unpopular, in general, in Europe and people are looking beyond him, Goldgeier said.Bush's weeklong farewell trip to Slovenia, Germany, Italy, France and the United Kingdom is not Bush's final goodbye to his European counterparts. He sees them again at a summit next month in Japan.

Yet as he completes the final leg of his presidency, the trip to Central and Western Europe is one of Bush's last chances to lay the groundwork for U.S.-European relations for his successor.The trip is not expected to yield any new deals.Bush will ask for Europe's help in Afghanistan and push for stronger penalties against Iran to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. Europe will nudge Bush forward on a blueprint for global warming. Talks also will touch on humanitarian aid, the world food crisis, Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, Lebanon and economic integration of both sides of the Atlantic.Europeans know more about McCain, a longtime senator who frequently has traveled abroad, than they do about Obama, a newcomer to the world stage.Obama has stirred curiosity. After he clinched enough delegates for the Democratic presidential nomination, The Times of London said in an editorial that his campaign has rekindled America's faith in its prodigious powers of reinvention — and the world's admiration for America.

America's image around the world has taken a bruising under Bush's watch. But while there will be a new president in January, some of the country's chief concerns probably continue along.Once President Bush is out of the White House, there will be huge expectations in Europe that a new rosy dawn of peace and love is appearing over the Atlantic and they're liable to be somewhat disappointed because America is still going to look after its own interests and the fundamental interests may not have changed that much, said Reginald Dale, Europe program director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.On Iran, for instance, Europeans may not be that comfortable with the candidates' stances.McCain favors tougher penalties against Iran and opposes direct high-level talks with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.Obama initially said he would meet Ahmadinejad without preconditions. Now, the Illinois senator says he is not sure that Ahmadinejad is the right person to meet with right now. Obama says he thinks direct diplomacy with Iranian leaders, if that approach is in the national security interests of the U.S. and its allies, would give Washington more credibility to press for more international penalties.But he also told a pro-Israel lobby group in Washington recently: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally, Israel.The Europeans also should not think they can ignore Bush's pleas for more financial and military aid for Afghanistan. Obama and McCain have said they want Europe to send more troops to Afghanistan and have hinted they want to see Europe spend a larger share of its money on defense. On global warming, Europe expects it will have more common ground with Bush's successor.

Dan Price, deputy national security adviser for international affairs, said that is not necessarily true. He said Bush administration officials have argued that any future U.S. administration probably would not sign a new climate treaty that did not include binding commitments from the major emerging economies to address their own emissions. Bush has insisted that fast-growing countries such as China and India be involved in a negotiated solution. On trade, Price said the administration is not hearing that the Europeans are looking beyond Bush. On the Net:
U.S.-European Union summit: http://tinyurl.com/3vwqog

Medvedev calls for EU-US-Russia peace treaty
PHILIPPA RUNNER 06.08.2008 @ 09:24 CET

Russian president Dmitry Medvedev in Berlin on Thursday (5 June) called for a new EU-US-Russia security treaty in a conciliatory speech, even as EU diplomats landed in Georgia to help avert the risk of armed conflict on Europe's fringe.The new deal - a legally-binding European Security Treaty - should cover arms control, illegal immigration and poverty, on the model of the 1928 multilateral Kellogg-Briand Pact, which renounced war as a foreign policy tool.Medvedev in Berlin: brought a new tone to Russia's political rhetoric (Photo: kremlin.ru)

The agreement would be negotiated at a European summit including Russia, the EU, all of Europe's non-EU states, the US and Canada in order to embrace the whole Euro-Atlantic space from Vancouver to Vladivostok.It would clarify, finally, the meaning of the power factor in relations within the Euro-Atlantic community, Mr Medvedev said, calling for truly equal cooperation between Russia, the European Union and North America.The new Russian leader complained about US missile shield plans and NATO expansion, saying tendencies towards a weakening of mutual understanding worry us.But he struck a milder note in Berlin than his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, did in his famous Munich speech of February 2007, where he denounced US attempts to create a unipolar world order. If I may use the language of [Cold War era spy novelist John] Le Carre, Russia has come in from the cold, Mr Medvedev said on his first state trip to Europe since his appointment in May. He called for more European-Russian consortiums to operate gas and oil pipelines in future and tried to soothe German investors' worries over Russia's scary corporate ownership track record.[We must] establish genuine respect for the law, to overcome legal nihilism, which seriously impedes development, the president said.

Warm words and frozen conflicts

Mr Medvedev's warm words contrasted with the situation in the South Caucasus however, where escalating tensions between Russia and EU-ally Georgia threaten to plunge the region back into armed conflict.
The UN recently confirmed that Russia shot down a Georgian drone over Georgia's breakaway Abkhazia region, with Moscow also sending 300 extra soldiers to bolster its 2,500-strong peacekeeping force in the territory.Moscow and Tbilisi need to cease military preparations in and around Abkhazia and cool rhetoric lest their increasingly dangerous confrontation brings war, NGO the International Crisis Group has warned.Russia's actions were also condemned this week by NATO and a European Parliament resolution, which states Russian troops have lost their role of neutral and impartial peacekeepers.The last Russian measures don't contribute to a lower temperature, EU top diplomat Javier Solana said on arriving in Georgia on Thursday morning. I came here in the name of the EU, to again show the friendship, the deep ties, which Georgia has with the EU.Mr Solana plans to meet with rebel leaders in Abkhazia on Friday, but EU diplomats told Reuters there is little chance for a peacekeeping mission under an EU flag in the disputed zone.

Environment ministers agree GMO approval overhaul
LEIGH PHILLIPS 06.08.2008 @ 09:20 CET

EU environment ministers have supported a proposal from France to overhaul Europe's approval process for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).Meeting in Luxembourg on Thursday (5 June), the ministers decided that the risk assessment procedures within the GMO evaluation and authorisation system needed to be improved and there needs to be a longer-term discussion of their impact on the environment.Member states have called for a reform of the scientific expertise involved in GMO risk assessment (Photo: Wikipedia)

The scientific advice provided by the European Food Safety Agency [the body that carries out the evaluation procedure] is of high quality, said European environment commissioner Stavros Dimas speaking to reporters after the meeting. However, we need to strengthen EFSA's capacity to evaluate the risks and take into account changes in agricultural practices and local geographic conditions.This decision will help decision-making on GMOs, he added.The member states called for a reform of the scientific expertise involved in GMO risk assessment and for further discussions on the long-term impacts of the controversial agricultural products.France presented proposals that would see a re-evaluation of the food safety body's expertise, which were accepted unanimously by other environment ministers and supported by the European Commission, the EU's executive body.An expert group will be formed to develop ideas which will then be considered by a later meeting of environment ministers, either in October or at the end of the year, according to Jean-Louis Borloo the French environment minister.

However, the minister stressed that such a review would not lead to the banning of genetically-modified food.Changing the expertise is not saying we want to ban GMOs, he said.We want to see their commercialisation – except where the product presents a clear danger to health, following a detailed analysis of the risks, he added.Mr Dimas also clarified that the meeting had only seen an initial discussion on the matter, saying ministers were at the moment putting their thoughts on the table, while a more thorough discussion will take place when France takes on the six-month rotating EU presidency in the second half of this year.The review will, however, likely result in a greater role for member states. Member states must be more involved and take greater responsibility in assessing the safety of GMOs, said the commissioner.

Environmental campaigners welcomed the move, with Greenpeace saying it was glad EU ministers recognised [the GMO approval process] needs to be repaired.It is now clear that the authorisation process must be halted until risk assessment procedures are truly independent and compliant with EU legal requirements, said Marco Contiero, a GMO campaigner with Greenpeace Europe.The green group, together with partner Friends of the Earth, in May called for EFSA to be reformed, complaining that the agency was understaffed without the appropriate expertise and did not act impartially. A number of member states have in the past accused EFSA of bias and said it gives the nod to GMOs without the necessary research.In May, the commission asked EFSA to review three strains of GM products – one potato and two varieties of maize – the third time the EU executive had asked the agency to review them. In previous assessments, EFSA had stated the strains were safe.

Latest Irish poll shows EU treaty heading for defeat
HONOR MAHONY 06.08.2008 @ 09:25 CET

The latest poll in Ireland has revealed a shock swing to the no side ahead of next week's vote on the EU's Lisbon treaty.Carried out for the Irish Times, the TNS/mrbi poll shows that those saying they intend to vote no has almost doubled to 35 percent (up 17 points) since their last survey three weeks ago.The Irish go to the polls on Thursday 12 June (Photo: EUobserver.com)

The yes side has seen a drop of five points to 30 percent, while those undecided clock in at 28 percent (down 12 points) and seven percent do not intend to vote.According to a detailed break down by the Irish Times of the 1,000-strong survey, the reason most often cited for voting no - 30 percent - is that voters say they do not know what is in the treaty or they do not understand the treaty. Only five percent cited domestic reasons for voting no.Those planning to vote yes said they would do so to keep Ireland closely involved in the EU. Yes supporters also said they wanted to enable the bloc to work more effectively.The poll revealed a clear socio-economic divide, with a majority of better-off voters intending to vote yes, and a majority among the working class planning a no vote. Meanwhile, older voters tended to be more positive towards the treaty, but there was only a majority of yes supporters among the over-50s.The survey's result comes despite the fact that Ireland's main political parties all support the treaty, and shows there will have to be a large swing before the 12 June vote if it is to result in a yes.Ireland is the only one of the 27 member states to hold a referendum on the EU treaty and is facing enormous pressure to secure a yes vote, with a rejection likely to scupper the ratification process in the rest of the bloc.But Dublin has had a hard time trying to sell the treaty, as it has struggled to find a headline reason for voting for the charter that the ordinary voter perceives as directly affecting them.

Reading the treaty

In addition, senior politicians, including prime minister Brian Cowen, have admitted to not reading the entire document, while deputy prime minister Mary Coughlan when questioned gave an inaccurate answer on the future number of EU commissioners foreseen under the treaty.On top of this, a government book explaining the treaty differs in important ways to a summary of the pact produced by the referendum commission, an independent body that manages referendums in Ireland.Instead of focussing on the detail, the government has relied on appealing to Irish citizens' generally pro-European stance, with warnings about disasters if the country votes no.The no side has concentrated on single issues, saying the treaty will mean Ireland loses it powers over taxes and abortion while its traditional neutrality will be undermined – all of which the government has categorically denied.Most of Europe will be focussed on Ireland when voters go to the polls next Thursday. Some, however, are already planning for a possible no vote.According to reports, the Czech Republic, which takes over the EU presidency on 1 January as the EU treaty is supposed to come into force, has prepared two papers how the EU should work in the first half of 2009 - one with the EU treaty in place and one without.

A LOOK BACK AT CLINTONS RUN FOR THE PRESIDENCY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8208058&ch=4226716&src=news

CLINTON CONCESSION SPEECH P1
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8208680&ch=4226716&src=news

CLINTON CONCESSION SPEECH P2
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8208694&ch=4226716&src=news

BUSH URGES WAR FUNDING
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8206386&ch=4226713&src=news

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.

Israel ministers to meet on possible Gaza assault: radio Sat Jun 7, 1:48 PM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is to hold talks on Tuesday with Defence Minister Ehud Barak and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni on a possible Gaza offensive, public radio said. It said the meeting would decide on whether Israel mounts a large-scale assault against rocket-firing Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip or agree to a truce with the Islamist movement Hamas which controls the territory.Olmert said on Thursday that a major Israeli military operation in Gaza was more likely than a ceasefire agreement, after the killing of an Israeli civilian in a mortar attack from Gaza.As it seems now, we are closer to a military operation than to another arrangement, he said at the end of a visit to the United States, referring to Egyptian efforts to mediate a truce. We are nearing the decision point.Violence between Israeli forces and Palestinian militant groups has continued in and around the impoverished coastal territory despite Egypt's mediation.

According to Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper, the Israeli army has readied for an offensive but does not plan to re-occupy the territory, from which the Jewish state withdrew in 2005.

Egypt deploys hundreds of policemen on Gaza border Fri Jun 6, 9:12 AM ET

RAFAH, Egypt (Reuters) - Egypt deployed hundreds of riot police along the border with the Gaza Strip on Friday, fearing hundreds of Palestinian protestors may try to storm the Rafah crossing, security officials said. One official said 500 policemen as well as scores of border guards were deployed at Rafah border crossing and along a concrete wall separating Sinai and the coastal strip.

Hundreds of Palestinians are starting to gather in front of the main gate of the crossing on the Palestinian side demanding it to be opened, the official told Reuters on a customary condition of anonymity.Another security official put the number of policemen at around 1,000, along with 500 border guards.The Rafah crossing is the Gazans' main point of contact with the outside world because few of them are allowed through the passenger terminal at the Erez crossing with Israel.All of Gaza's crossings have largely been shut since the Islamist group Hamas seized control of the coastal strip last June when its fighters routed the forces of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement.Palestinian militants blew holes in the border wall with Egypt in January, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to flock into Sinai to stock up on food and fuel supplies.Egypt has been trying without much success to broker a truce between Israel and Palestinian militant groups in Gaza. Hamas has repeatedly urged Cairo to open the Rafah crossing unilaterally if the truce talks broke down.(Reporting by Yusri Mohamed in Ismailia and Mohamed Youssef in Rafah; Writing by Alaa Shahine; Editing by Timothy Heritage)