SARKOZY - JOINT EU COMMISSIONERS

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

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.

Powerful Quake Shakes Sichuan After Torch Relay Associated Press August 6, 2008

BEIJING -- A powerful earthquake hit China on Tuesday in the same region where almost 70,000 people were killed in May, and on a day the Olympic torch relay passed through. The quake killed one person and injured 23 others, local media reported.Panicked residents fled into the streets from swaying buildings, China's Xinhua news agency reported, when the shock measured by the U.S. Geological Survey at magnitude 6.0 struck shortly before 6 p.m. local time.Xinhua said Tuesday's quake struck Qingchuan county in southwest Sichuan and also shook buildings in the cities of Hanzhong and Xi'an in neighboring Shaanxi province, as well as in Chongqing city.The earthquake occurred a few hours after the Olympic torch relay was held in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, its last stop before the opening ceremony of the Games on Friday. There were no reports that the quake was felt in Chengdu.The temblor was the latest of scores of aftershocks from the 7.9 quake that struck Sichuan on May 12, killing almost 70,000 people and leaving 5 million homeless.The U.S. seismic service said the epicenter of Tuesday's quake was 48 kilometers northwest of Guangyuan town at a depth of 10 kilometers. On Friday, an aftershock with the same magnitude as Tuesday's hit Pingwu and Beichuan in Sichuan, injuring 231 people.After the May 12 quake, Beijing Olympic organizers rescheduled the torch's run through Sichuan to support relief efforts, and the two days of events became the final stops on the flame's global tour. In the provincial capital of Chengdu, the torch was paraded through about 13 kilometers of an industrial part of the city, rather than a more historic section of the city that houses Tibetan communities.The route was changed because of safety concerns, according to an official with the Chengdu Public Security Bureau who only gave his surname, Wang, as is common with Chinese officials.

Quake rocks eastern Indonesia August 07 2008 at 11:42AM

Jakarta - A magnitude-6.6 undersea earthquake shook parts of eastern Indonesia on Thursday, injuring at least three people and heavily damaging hundreds of buildings, officials said.The quake struck at 5.41am (22h41 GMT on Wednesday, local time 12.41am on Thursday ) and was centred 51 kilometres north-east of Sumbawa Island, the Meteorological and Geophysical Agency in Jakarta said.

The quake struck 10 kilometres below the seabed but triggered no tsunami, officials said in reporting the latest of a series of earthquakes to strike Indonesia in recent days.A series of aftershocks followed with the latest, measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale, coming four hours after the initial quake.An official at the Dompu district town of West Nusa Tenggara province, about 1 400 kilometres east of Jakarta, said nearly 900 homes and other buildings were destroyed or damaged in the Pekat subdistrict the worst-hit area.The homeless residents were sheltered at emergency tents on the roadside or in open fields, said Dimyati, an official at Dompu district's social agency who like many Indonesians uses only one name.We have also deployed food supplies and other necessities for the homeless residents.Antara, Indonesia's state-run news agency, reported that three people were injured on the tiny island of Moyo, off the northern coast of Sumbawa island - closest to the epicentre - where dozens of buildings were destroyed.

MetroTV reported that in addition, dozens of buildings and schools collapsed or were heavily damaged in Sumbawa district town, prompting residents and schoolchildren to flee their homes and classrooms in fear of being hit by falling debris.We have received no reports of casualties from the quake. We continue monitoring for more possible injuries or fatalities from the disaster, Dimyati said, adding that many frightened residents opted to stay outdoors hours after the initial quake.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago nation, sits atop the Pacific Ocean's Ring of Fire, where a meeting of continental plates causes high volcanic and seismic activity.In December 2004, a magnitude-9.1 quake triggered a tsunami that killed 230 000 people across the Indian Ocean. The waves killed 177 000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone. - Sapa-dpa

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.

Tropical Storms Hernan and Kika James Wilson
Thu Aug 7, 6:05 AM ET

Tropical Depression Edouard has moved well inland over northern Texas and is dissipating slowly with some locally heavy rain. There is a brand new tropical wave and low off the coast of Africa that will be monitored over the next few days to see if it can develop. A tropical wave is generating showers and thunderstorms in the Bahamas, but no development is expected. In the eastern Pacific, 640 miles south-southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Tropical Storm Hernan is steadily strengthening and could become a minimal hurricane before reaching cooler waters. It is forecast to move westward away from any land, just a threat to open-sea mariners. In the central Pacific, Tropical Depression 1-C continues to become better organized and has become Tropical Storm Kika, 805 miles well southeast of Hilo. It is forecast to stay well south of the any of the islands as it heads west-northwestward. In the western Pacific, the final advisory has been issued for Kammuri as it weakens to a tropical depression and heads westward into northern Viet Nam.

Tropical Storm Hernan gains strength in Pacific Thu Aug 7, 4:52 AM ET

MIAMI - Forecasters say Tropical Storm Hernan has gained strength since forming far off Mexico's Pacific coast. According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the storm's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 50 mph. Additional strengthening is expected and the storm could become a hurricane within the next few days.As of 5 a.m. EDT Thursday, Hernan's center was located about 640 miles south-southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico. The storm was moving toward the west-northwest near 14 mph.

Hernan is the eighth named storm of the Pacific hurricane season.

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

Sarkozy floats idea of joint commissioners
LISBETH KIRK AUG 7,08 Today @ 07:31 CET

French president Nicolas Sarkozy is considering proposals that countries of similar culture and language circle should share a commissioner in the new model European Commission, according to German daily Die Welt, quoting high-level diplomatic sources.The question has arisen following Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in June, with work now ongoing behind the scenes to solve practical problems, such as the number of commissioners in the new Brussels secreteriat to take office in November 2009.Under the current Nice Treaty the commission must include a national of each member state, but the treaty also says that when the union consists of 27 countries the commission shall be less than the number of member states.With the accession of Romania and Bulgaria the European Union has reached the magic number of 27 member states, and the Nice Treaty foresees a rotation system for commissioners to kick in based on the principle of equality and provided member states agree unanimously.If the Lisbon Treaty is put in place after a potential second Irish referendum, the number of commissioners would automatically be reduced to two-thirds of member states from 2014. Based on the current 27 member states, this would result in nine EU countries no longer having a national representative in the union's engine room.

Reaching agreement on a new system will be a hard nut to crack, as member states zealously guard their influence in the legislative body of the European Union.The French idea proposes that countries which share a common cultural heritage, such as Germany and Austria, Great Britain and Ireland or the Benelux countries could share a common commissioner, the German newspaper reports.Austrian foreign minister Ursula Plassnik came out as the first with a negative reaction, telling Austrian press that It can not be a serious French proposal.The idea of combi-commissioners or half-half commissioners is not even a bad summer joke, she said.

Secret EU report moots sharing personal data with US
LUCIA KUBOSOVA AUG 7,08 Today @ 07:31 CET

A secret report prepared by experts from six European Union member states suggests creating an anti-terrorist pact with Washington which would include sharing intelligence across the 27-strong bloc.

The 53-page report drafted by the interior and justice ministers from Germany, France, Sweden, Portugal, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic - recent, current and future EU presidency countries - argues that the stronger link with the US is needed to boost the fight against terrorism, UK daily The Guardian reported.The document puts together ideas on how the EU's security policy should develop over the next five years (Photo: EUPM)The new initiative is dubbed as Euro-Atlantic area of cooperation and it should involve the transfer of huge amounts of information on EU citizens and travellers to the US. Negotiations over such a pact have so far been unsuccessful due to privacy concerns in some European countries and institutions but the new report - handed over to all governments last month - suggests that it should be finalised by 2014 at the latest.

The EU should make up its mind with regard to the political objective of achieving a Euro-Atlantic area of cooperation with the United States in the field of freedom, security and justice, said the report.In addition, the document argues that anti-terrorist campaigns can only be effective if maximum information flow between [EU] member states is guaranteed, adding Relevant security-related information should be available to all security authorities in the member states.Among other proposals, the document suggests setting up networks of anti-terrorist centres as well as boosting powers of security-related European agencies and institutions, such as Europol [police body], Frontex [external frontiers body], and Sitcen [joint intelligence centre].The document puts together ideas on how the EU's security policy should develop over the next five years. Its preparation was launched by Germany last year.

Israel's Livni boosted in Kadima leadership bid AUG 7,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni won the the support of a minister close to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday, boosting her bid to lead the ruling Kadima party and possibly become premier. I will support Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in her candidacy to lead Kadima and the next government, said Finance Minister Roni Bar-On, a key member of the centrist Kadima and close Olmert ally.Over the past 10 years she has had an impressive political career... In the past three years she has been at the heart of Israel's decision-making process in political and security issues. I consider her apt and worthy of the job, he said at a news conference.Olmert, who is facing multiple corruption investigations, announced last week he would step down after Kadima elects a new leader in a September 17 primary election.Bar-On urged other party members to get off the fence and announce their support for one of the candidates.Livni appears to have garnered strong backing among Kadima MPs, but faces stiff competition from her main rival in the race, Transport Minister Shaul Mofaz, a former chief of staff who is running on a security ticket.Public Security Minister Avi Dichter on Thursday insisted that although he is trailing behind the two front-runners in opinion polls, he will still run in the primary.

It might seem that I am alone in this race, but I am not. I have many supporters, the former chief of the Shin Beth internal security service said.The winner of the primary will be formally asked by President Shimon Peres to form a government, although analysts say the new Kadima leader might find it impossible to form a strong enough coalition.That would force a general election, and opinion polls indicate that right-wing Likud leader and former premier Benjamin Netanyahu, who has called for snap elections, is the favourite to take over the helm of government.Israelis are not scheduled to go to the polls until 2010.

KNOWLEGE AND WORLD TRAVEL INCREASED

DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)

IRAN NUKES BY 2010
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9160289&ch=9052301&src=news

Bulgarian archaeologists discover ancient chariot By VESELIN TOSHKOV, Associated Press Writer AUG 7,08

SOFIA, Bulgaria - Archaeologists have unearthed a 1,900-year-old well-preserved chariot at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Thursday. Daniela Agre said her team found the four-wheel chariot during excavations near the village of Borisovo, around 180 miles east of the capital, Sofia.This is the first time that we have found a completely preserved chariot in Bulgaria, said Agre, a senior archaeologist at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.She said previous excavations had only unearthed single parts of chariots — often because ancients sites had been looted.At the funerary mound, the team also discovered table pottery, glass vessels and other gifts for the funeral of a wealthy Thracian aristocrat.In a separate pit, they unearthed skeletons of two riding horses apparently sacrificed during the funeral of the nobleman, along with well preserved bronze and leather objects, some believed to horse harnesses.

The Culture Ministry confirmed the find and announced $3,900 in financial assistance for Agre's excavation.Agre said an additional amount of $7,800 will be allocated by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences for an initial restoration and conservation of the chariot and the other Thracian finds.The Thracians were an ancient people that inhabited the lands of present day Bulgaria and parts of modern Greece, Turkey, Macedonia and Romania between 4,000 B.C. and the 6th century, when they were assimilated by the invading Slavs.

Some 10,000 Thracian mounds — some of them covering monumental stone tombs — are scattered across Bulgaria.

Trial to begin in suit against Joel Osteen's wife By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer AUG 7,08

HOUSTON - She's the wife of a renowned evangelical pastor and one of the leaders of a Houston megachurch, but Victoria Osteen is being accused of behavior that wasn't very Christian. Opening arguments were set for Thursday in a civil lawsuit that accuses Victoria Osteen of assaulting Continental Airlines flight attendant Sharon Brown before the start of a 2005 flight from Houston to Vail, Colo.The lawyer for Victoria Osteen called the lawsuit silly and denied that her client assaulted Brown. Brown's attorney, Reginald McKamie, said he hopes the trial will show that celebrity status doesn't take precedence.Victoria Osteen is co-pastor at Lakewood Church, where her husband, Joel Osteen, preaches and where about 42,000 people flock each week. Joel Osteen's weekly television address is broadcast nationally and internationally.

Brown alleges Victoria Osteen threw her against a bathroom door and elbowed her in the left breast during an outburst over a stain on her first-class seat. The Federal Aviation Administration fined Victoria Osteen $3,000 for interfering with a crew member.Victoria Osteen clearly was angry on this flight, McKamie said.Brown wants an apology and punitive damages amounting to 10 percent of Victoria Osteen's net worth as part of her suit.A 12-person jury was seated Wednesday after lawyers spent several hours questioning a pool of 130 people. The questioning touched on religious beliefs, celebrity and the public's perception of preachers and televangelists.Many of those in the jury pool said they had been to Lakewood Church and acknowledged holding the Osteens in high regard and being star-struck by them.But other potential jurors said they didn't like preachers or televangelists and that ministers can lie.

Joel Osteen was at his wife's side Wednesday in court. McKamie said he expected to call the couple as witnesses.According to an FAA report, Victoria Osteen pushed and elbowed Brown in an attempt to get to the plane's cockpit after two other attendants had not cleaned a liquid on her armrest.Brown's suit claims the flight attendants asked to have Victoria Osteen removed from the plane. Victoria Osteen's lawyer, Rusty Hardin, says his client and her family left voluntarily. The incident delayed the flight about 2 1/2hours.Hardin asked that the FAA report's findings not be allowed in the trial, saying the agency's investigation was incomplete. State District Judge Patricia Hancock said she would make a decision later.Brown had previously claimed she was attacked in another incident by an airport employee, according to a deposition she gave in the case.According to court documents, Brown claims that she suffers from anxiety and hemorrhoids because of the incident involving Victoria Osteen and said her faith was affected. She is also suing Victoria Osteen for medical expenses for counseling.
Lakewood Church: http://www.lakewood.cc/

Stocks pare losses on rise in pending home sales By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer AUG 7,08

NEW YORK - Stocks have pared their losses following a report that pending U.S. home sales rose in June, rather than declining as expected. The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted index of pending sales for existing homes rose 5.3 percent to 89 from 84.5 for May. The reading for May was revised downward in this latest report.Despite the June increase, the index sits 12 percent below year-ago levels.Economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR had predicted the index would fall to 84.3.Stocks tumbled early Thursday after weekly unemployment claims jumped to a six-year high and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and other retailers reported disappointing sales.On the Net:New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Oil prices rise after pipeline fire in Turkey By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer AUG 7,08

NEW YORK - Oil prices jumped back above $120 a barrel Thursday, rising for the first time in four days after Kurdish rebels reportedly admitted causing a fire at an oil pipeline in Turkey.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery advanced $1.64 to $120.20 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after earlier rising as high as $121.78. Prices fell to $118.58 on Wednesday.Pro-Kurdish news agency Firat said Kurdish rebels have claimed responsibility for fire on a Turkish section of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline. The fire, which was still burning Thursday, forced workers to shut down two valves along the pipeline as a precaution, halting the flow of all oil being sent to Ceyhan terminal from the east. But officials said shipments were not affected.Still, the report raised the possibility of a long shutdown of the U.S.-backed 1,100-mile pipeline, which can pump slightly more than 1 million barrels of crude oil per day, or more than 1 percent of the world's daily crude output.If it's down for a month, that would delay shipment of as much as 30 million barrels of juice, which is a huge chunk even amid this demand destruction we're seeing, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.The market was also eyeing more tension over Iran's nuclear program. The five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany agreed Wednesday to pursue new sanctions against Iran, which will probably take months to implement.Tehran has refused to curb its uranium enrichment and may be trying to run out the clock on the Bush administration in hopes of getting a better offer from a new U.S. president next year, the State Department said.Iran says it isn't seeking nuclear weapons and won't scale back what it calls a legitimate energy-production program.

Before the rebound, Nymex front-month crude futures had fallen around 20 percent, or about $30, since reaching a record high of $147.27 on July 11.The U.S. Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said Wednesday that crude supplies rose 1.7 million barrels in the week ended Aug. 1, slightly more than the 1.2 million-barrel increase expected by analysts surveyed by energy research firm Platts.The EIA said inventories of distillate fuel, which include diesel and heating oil, jumped 2.8 million barrels. The analysts had expected an increase of 2.3 million barrels.

Meanwhile, EIA data showed gasoline stockpiles fell 4.4 million barrels last week, much more than the 1.4 million drop expected by analysts. The big drop in gasoline stocks surprised some oil market traders, but analysts said it likely signals that gas distributors have taken more deliveries from refiners as the summer driving season enters its last month — not that motorists are suddenly driving more in response to recent pullbacks in pump prices.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 1.86 cents to $3.2565 a gallon, while gasoline prices gained 5.57 cents to $3.005 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose by 1.1 cents to $8.78 per 1,000 cubic feet.In London, September Brent crude added $1.45 to $118.51 a barrel.Associated Press Writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.