WIND - RAIN HIT LOUISIANA HARD

VIDEO - STATIONS

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

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.

AT 8:30 AM THE WIND AND RAIN ARE PULVERISING ALREADY NEW ORLEANS AND THE WORST IS YET TO COME. GUSTAV IS CLOSE TO COMING ON LAND NOW, 10 MILES AWAY.

Gustav's eye closes in on Louisiana coastline By MICHAEL KUNZELMAN and MARY FOSTER, Associated Press Writer 8:57 AM SEPT 01,08

NEW ORLEANS - Hurricane Gustav steamed toward the Louisiana coast early Monday on track to hit west of New Orleans as the few remaining in the city watched nervously and hoped levees only partly reinforced in the three years since Katrina would hold.

Those who heeded days of warnings to get out watched from shelters and hotel rooms hundreds of miles away, praying the powerful Category 3 storm and its 115-mph winds would pass without the same deadly toll.We're nervous, but we just have to keep trusting in God that we don't get the water again, said Lyndon Guidry, who hit the road for Florida just a few months after he was able to return to his home in New Orleans. We just have to put our faith in God.Water gushed off buildings and flags hung in tatters, ripped to shreds in the high winds. But there were no reports of serious flooding, and only scattered clusters of power outages.The painful memories of Katrina, which flooded 80 percent of New Orleans and killed more than 1,600 along the Gulf Coast, led officials to aggressively insist that everyone in Gustav's path flee from shore. As the storm grew near, the streets of the city were empty — save for National Guardsmen and just about every officer on the city's police force standing watch for looters.In all, nearly 2 million people left south Louisiana, as did tens of thousands from coastal Mississippi, Alabama and southeastern Texas.

Even presidential politics bowed to the storm, as the Republican Party scaled back its convention plans in deference to Gustav's threat. Mindful of the government's inept response to Katrina, President Bush scrapped his Monday appearance at the convention and instead headed to Texas, where emergency response personnel were getting ready.It's amazing. It makes me feel really good that so many people are saying, We as Americans, we as the world, have to get this right this time, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said. We cannot afford to screw up again.Asked what lessons he learned during Katrina that were being applied now, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told CBS: Planning, preparation and moving early.Gustav killed at least 94 people as it tore through the Caribbean and it will test three years of planning and rebuilding on the Gulf Coast following Katrina's wrath. Billions of dollars were at stake, as Gustav threatened industries ranging from sugar to shipping. If production is significantly interrupted from the region's refineries and offshore oil and gas platforms, price spikes could hit all Americans at the pump.

Officials promised they were ready to respond this time. Chertoff said search and rescue would be the top priority once the storm passed: high-water vehicles, helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft, Coast Guard cutters and a Navy vessel that is essentially a floating emergency room were posted around the strike zone.I feel a little nervous about the storm and exactly where it's going to end up, but I also feel real good about the resources, Nagin said. Man, if we have resources, we can move mountains.Forecasters had expected Gustav to strengthen further before making landfall around midday, but early Monday they said the storm would hold steady as a Category 3. Katrina also made landfall as a strong Category 3, which carries sustained winds of between 111 mph and 130 mph.At 8 a.m. EDT, the storm's center was located about 85 miles south of New Orleans and was moving northwest at 16 mph.The city of Franklin, about 100 miles west of New Orleans, was bracing for a direct hit if Gustav stays on its current track. Dozens of sheriff's deputies, along with state troopers and guardsmen, waited at an emergency operations center inside the courthouse.We don't rely on backup. If it comes, great, but we don't trust the federal government. They can never get it quite right, said state Rep. Sam Jones.He estimated that at least three-quarters of the city's roughly 9,000 residents evacuated for Gustav. For good reason: Three years ago, Hurricane Rita flooded up to 200 homes in the city.Tropical storm-force winds reached the southeastern tip of the state early Monday morning, but local officials said they had not received any distress calls or reports of unexpected flooding. In Plaquemines Parish, south of New Orleans, officials built an emergency levee to prevent flooding along a highway that runs along the Mississippi River, sheriff's spokesman Maj. John Marie said. But it was extremely quiet. It's really remarkable, we got almost everybody out, he said. In New Orleans, officials were anxiously watching to see what kind of storm surge the city would face: If forecasts hold, the city could experience a storm surge of only 4 to 6 feet, compared to a surge of 10 to 14 feet at the site of landfall, said Corey Walton, a hurricane support meteorologist with the National Hurricane Center. Katrina, by comparison, brought a storm surge of 25 feet, causing levees to break. While the Army Corps of Engineers has shored up some of the city's levee system since then, fears this time center on the city's West Bank, where levee repairs have not been completed. City officials were pleased so many residents heeded warnings to leave. They estimated only about 100,000 along the coast decided to tough it out. When the 911 calls start coming in, we'll know how many people are left in town, said police superintendent Warren Riley. The city's emergency medical service had received only 26 calls as of midnight Monday, a fraction of what they received on the night before Katrina, spokesman Jeb Tate said. Adam Woods didn't need to be told to leave. A Coast Guard helicopter plucked him off his roof after Katrina, and this time, he and his lab mix Mandela headed to the city's Union Station for a ride out of town.

I've got oxygen in my lungs, the 53-year-old landscaper said. Remember, you've got to be alive to have problems.Jeffrey Carreras was among those staying behind. Looters wreaked havoc in his neighborhood restaurant in the days after Katrina struck and despite promises of police protection, he wasn't willing to leave his business a second time. I have shotguns, rifles. I collect guns actually, Carreras said. So I have plenty of guns in there, plenty of ammo.Gustav was the seventh named storm in the Atlantic hurricane season. The eighth, Tropical Storm Hanna, was strengthening about 100 miles from the Bahamas. Though a storm's track and intensity are difficult to predict days in advance, long-term projections showed the storm could come ashore along the border of Georgia and South Carolina late in the week.
Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer, Janet McConnaughey, Robert Tanner, Cain Burdeau, Alan Sayre, and Allen G. Breed contributed to this report from New Orleans. Vicki Smith in Houma and Doug Simpson in Baton Rouge also contributed. Michael Kunzelman reported from Lafayette, La.

Hurricane Gustav hits US coast by Glenn Chapman SEPT 01,08

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana (AFP) - Hurricane Gustav lashed the US state of Louisiana with torrential rain and gale force winds Monday after forcing nearly two million people to flee. Fearing a repeat of the Hurricane Katrina disaster, hundreds of troops were sent into New Orleans after what is being called the biggest evacuation in US history.Three critically ill people were reported to have died as they were being moved from the danger zone. Oil production platforms were shut down, the Republican party suspended the start of its presidential election convention and President George W. Bush headed for Texas to monitor emergency preparations for Gustav which has killed more than 80 people in Dominican Republic, Haiti and Jamaica.

Reports of power outages in New Orleans started after wind and rain began hitting the city -- still struggling from Katrina, which struck almost exactly three years ago.Louisiana officials said there were about 750 National Guard troops in New Orleans if a new rescue operation was needed. Mayor Ray Nagin on Sunday ordered a curfew and vowed to throw looters into prison.The edge of the storm has crossed the Mississippi Delta, lashing New Orleans, said National Hurricane Center meteorologists.At 0900 GMT, the eye of the hurricane was 185 kilometers (115 miles) southeast of New Orleans moving towards the coast at 26km (16 miles) an hour.Storm force winds from Gustav extended as far as 370km (230 miles) from the eye, the center said.A category three hurricane, Gustav packed sustained winds of 185km (115 miles) per hour.No significant change in strength is likely before landfall, the US National Hurricane Center said in its latest advisory.This is a serious storm, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal said in a final appeal to the people who remained in New Orleans despite government warnings.People in the state capital of Baton Rouge and other inland areas have been warned to watch for storm-spawned tornados.Gustav forced US President George W. Bush to cancel plans to appear at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota. The US leader said Sunday that he would instead travel to Texas to monitor the storm.Republican presidential hopeful John McCain drastically scaled back the program for the first day of the convention Monday, saying all activities would be suspended except for those absolutely necessary.

I hope and pray we will be able to resume some of our normal operations as quickly as possible, he told reporters from St. Louis, after returning from a tour of relief preparations in Mississippi.Military and civilian disaster relief operations were prepared, with memories still fresh of the destruction wrought by Katrina, and the government's botched response.Katrina made landfall near New Orleans on August 29, 2005, smashing poorly-built levees surrounding the city and causing massive floods that destroyed tens of thousands of homes and killed nearly 1,800.New Orleans mayor Nagin told local television that the city had become a ghost town after a massive evacuation campaign, and that only about 10,000 residents remained. Some of those who left said they felt reassured. The mayor assured us our property will be safe, Wilson Patterson, 48, said as he prepared to board a bus with wheelchair-bound 84-year-old Earline Martin. We don't want to get caught up in the Katrina craziness, he said, recalling the lawlessness that swept New Orleans in 2005. Jindal said rescue teams were in place. We will begin search-and-rescue operations as soon as we safely can. That would be when winds are below 140 miles per hour, he said, which probably will occur late Monday.We've got ... boots on the ground, eyes on the ground. So before that, even before we can get into the air, before we can get boats on the water, we do have people on the ground to make sure that we're doing everything that we can to save every single life.Jindal told reporters there were unconfirmed reports that three critically ill patients died while being transported to safer ground. They had to weigh the risk between sheltering in place and evacuating and made the decision they thought was best for their patients, he said.

Gulf oil fields idled ahead of Gustav By Erwin Seba SEPT 01,08

HOUSTON (Reuters) - U.S. energy companies shut nearly all offshore Gulf oil and gas production and raced to bring down flood-prone Louisiana refineries on Sunday ahead of Hurricane Gustav, which threatens to rival the wrath of 2005's Katrina. Gustav is set to hit the Louisiana coast west of New Orleans on Monday morning as a Category 3 hurricane with wind speeds up to 125 mph (200 kmh) in the first major test of the energy industry's preparedness since the devastating 2005 hurricane season.In the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, which normally pumps a quarter of all U.S. oil production and 15 percent of its natural gas output, energy companies had shut in more than 96 percent of the area's oil output and 82 percent of gas as of Sunday afternoon, the U.S. Minerals Management Service said.At least nine refineries with a combined capacity of 2.2 million bpd, or 12.5 percent of U.S. refining capacity, were shut down along the south Louisiana coast ahead of Gustav.More than half a dozen other plants, including Exxon Mobil's Baytown, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, facilities, the two biggest in the United States, were reducing processing rates, sources and industry officials said.This is Katrina's legacy, said Phil Flynn of Alaron Trading in Chicago. The industry is much more prepared and taking things much more seriously. That's why so much has been shut down so quickly.Despite Gustav's course through the heart of the U.S. oil patch, oil prices rose a modest 91 cents or 0.8 percent to $116.37 a barrel by 1:12 a.m. EDT in electronic trading, with traders waiting to see if it would leave lasting damage in its wake.U.S. RBOB gasoline futures climbed 2.2 percent.This is definitely a dangerous storm, but I think most of the market is in a wait-and-see mode, waiting to see (if there are) disruptions to oil facilities and pipeline infrastructure before they make a big move, said Gerard Burg, a commodities analyst at the National Bank of Australia in Melbourne.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita wrecked more than 100 oil platforms in 2005, shutting down a quarter of U.S. oil production and closing several large refineries for months. Katrina was a Category 3 when its 28-foot (8.5 meter) storm surge hit the coast.The Gulf normally pumps 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil -- approximately 1.5 percent of world supply -- and 7.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas.This could be potentially the most dangerous storm for the energy sector we've ever seen, said Chris Jarvis, senior analyst at Caprock Risk Management in Hampton Falls, New Hampshire. It is going right across the most important areas.

INFRASTRUCTURE CLOSURES

Besides closing oil and gas fields and refineries, energy companies were also shutting down important fuel transportation systems.The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only U.S. port capable of offloading the biggest oil tankers and a major conduit for U.S. crude imports, halted all operations on Sunday.It's coming right at us, said LOOP spokeswoman Barb Hestermann of Gustav's forecast path. It looks like we're Ground Zero.Gustav was forecast to slam into the coast just west of the LOOP's onshore operations center at Galliano, Louisiana.The Sabine Pipeline, which includes the delivery point for U.S. natural gas futures, shut at noon CST (1:00 p.m. EDT). The move led the NYMEX to declare force majeure on its August and September natural gas futures contracts, meaning sellers were not contractually bound to make physical delivery. Mississippi River traffic south of New Orleans closed Saturday night. Ship channels into Lake Charles in west Louisiana as well as Houston, Beaumont and Port Arthur in Texas planned to shut by Sunday night, cutting off crude oil shipments to refineries. The region's largest offshore producer, Shell Oil Co, said all of its Gulf production would be shut by Sunday night. All 1,300 of the company's workers were onshore. Rival energy giants BP, Chevron had shut almost all production. ConocoPhillips, and Exxon were also shutting off production as they evacuate workers. (Reporting by Erwin Seba, Bruce Nichols, Robert Campbell and Haitham Haddadin, and Fayen Wong in Perth; Editing by Chris Baltimore, Gunna Dickson and Ben Tan)

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.

Rescuers appeal for tents after deadly China quake By ANITA CHANG, Associated Press Writer SEPT 01,08

BEIJING - Rescuers appealed for temporary housing and tents Monday after a weekend earthquake in southwest China killed at least 36 people, injured hundreds and left tens of thousands of homes in ruins. The temblor Saturday in Sichuan province, which the U.S. Geological Survey measured at magnitude 5.7, struck along the same fault line as a May 12 earthquake that killed nearly 70,000.We need temporary houses ... we need more than 10,000 tents, said Zhang Hai, head of the foreign liaison office of the Communist Party propaganda department in Panzhihua city. This is a mountainous place and so we can't build temporary houses everywhere.The beginning of the school year, which was supposed to be Monday, was postponed for a week because authorities were inspecting damage in classrooms, he said.We still can't bring all kids back to their previous classrooms, Zhang said.China is still basking in the glory of hosting an extravagant and widely viewed Olympic Games that International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge called truly exceptional. But the earthquake underscores the country's need to turn its attention back to pressing domestic issues such as high inflation, pollution, and now disaster relief.The quake killed five people in Panzhihua and surrounding rural areas, and the death toll also included 25 victims in Sichuan province's Huili county, local officials said. Authorities in the Chuxiong Yi Autonomous Prefecture in neighboring Yunnan province reported six deaths.

We are trying to maintain order and make sure that there's enough supply. The disaster relief office has sent 17 medical teams made up of over 200 people, said Song Ming, an official in the propaganda department of Liangshan prefecture, which includes Huili county.Saturday's quake killed 33 people, state broadcaster China Central Television said on its noon newscast. The temblor destroyed 258,000 homes, damaged major bridges and cracked three reservoirs, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.Local officials told The Associated Press they did not have any information on the reservoirs or whether the damage might place people in danger.Xinhua said 467 people were injured by the earthquake, which struck 20 miles southeast of Panzhihua city in the southwestern corner of Sichuan. A 5.6-magnitude aftershock struck just one minute later, the USGS said.About 152,000 people were evacuated in Sichuan province and relief efforts were under way, despite being hampered by heavy rains and the region's rugged terrain, Xinhua said. It said 6,200 tents, 3,500 quilts and 55,000 pounds of rice had been sent to the quake zone.Since the 7.9-magnitude May 12 temblor, the region has been hit by scores of aftershocks.

DISEASES

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

11 deaths confirmed in listeriosis outbreak
Sun Aug 31, 8:10 PM

VANCOUVER (CBC) - Listeriosis, which has triggered a series of recalls of processed meat products, was the underlying or contributing cause in 11 deaths, up from 10, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada.The death most recently linked to the food-bourne illness was in Ontario and likely occurred in the past several weeks, Dr. Mark Raizenne of the Public Health Agency of Canada said Sunday.Since news of an outbreak emerged two weeks ago, Listeria monocytogenes has been the underlying or contributing cause in 11 deaths, including nine in Ontario, one in B.C. and one in Alberta, according to the agency.Another six deaths are suspected and still under investigation, including four in Ontario, one in Quebec and one in Saskatchewan, the agency said.A total of 33 cases across the country have been conclusively linked to the outbreak, up from the 31 cases reported in the agency's update Saturday. An additional 25 suspected cases are still under investigation, down from Saturday's update of 32.Public health officials have warned the public to expect more confirmed or suspected cases to emerge because of the bacterium's long incubation period of up to 70 days.The infection is of most concern to individuals who have weakened immune systems, the elderly, pregnant women and young children, the Public Health Agency of Canada said in newspaper advertisements published Saturday.Last Saturday, as a precaution, Maple Leaf Foods expanded a recall of meat products to include everything that's processed at its Toronto plant after government lab tests conclusively linked the bacterium in the outbreak to some of the company's products. Several more products were added to the list of items Friday night.Dr. Brian Evans, executive vice president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, said while it may seem that the list of recalled products is growing, the additional recalls reflect the fact that several different products were made from the recalled meat.Many of our recalls relate to products such as sandwiches and pre-packaged meats carrying best-before dates that have now already expired, Evans said at a news conference Saturday afternoon.Nevertheless, in the public interest and in the interest of openness, we feel it is important that such info is visible.On Saturday, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency warned people against eating certain roast beef sub and kaiser bun sandwiches by King Bean Wholesalers sold in B.C. stores in Surrey, New Westminster and Langley because they may be contaminated with the bacterium.With files from the Canadian Press.

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.


Georgia crisis defines new Russian defense policy By Oleg Shchedrov SEPT 01,008

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's decision to send troops to Georgia has set a new standard for defending its national interests and the United States must learn to live with it, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday.Russia crushed its southern neighbor in a brief war last month after Georgia tried to recapture by force its pro-Moscow, separatist region of South Ossetia. It drew Western condemnation by pushing far beyond the disputed area, bombing and deploying troops deep inside Georgia proper.Through its response to the Georgian aggression, Russia has set a kind of standard for reaction, which fully complies with international law, Lavrov told students of Moscow's diplomatic college in a speech to mark the start of the new academic year.Russia has returned to the world stage as a responsible state which can defend its citizens.Any doubts about this should have been dispelled by its action in Georgia and recognition of two pro-Russian provinces as independent states, said Lavrov, whose harshest words were addressed to Washington and NATO.America needs to acknowledge the reality of the post-American world and start adapting to it, Lavrov said. An attempt to live in its own unipolar world has gone on too long, and this is dangerous in every respect.He added: There is a feeling that NATO again needs frontline states to justify its existence.owever, he reiterated Moscow's commitment to continue dialogue with the United States.We will deal with any America, Lavrov said, urging Washington to exercise reciprocity and absolute honesty in ties. We will continue talking to Washington as long as there is a tiny hope of understanding each other and making a deal.

MOMENT OF TRUTH

The speech, focused on new relations between Russia and the West, was made hours before EU leaders were due to gather in Brussels to discuss a common stance in the Georgian crisis. Lavrov made clear Russia would not bow to any pressure.He was expounding new foreign policy guidelines set by President Dmitry Medvedev, who despite Western expectations of a softer line has formalized the assertive stance of his predecessor Vladimir Putin.Medvedev said in a television interview on Sunday that Russia would adhere to international law but not accept a U.S.-led unipolar world, and laid claim to specific spheres of national interest that Russia would defend.Over the past few years, the West has been watching with alarm the increasingly assertive policy of a resurgent Russia, fearing a revival of Soviet-era imperialism.Russia, in turn, has accused the West of building new lines of division in the world by failing to treat it as an equal.Lavrov said the conflict in Georgia had come as a long-cherished moment of truth, adding that today's clarity is better than any ambiguity.Europe's inability to produce a new collective security system, open for everyone and taking into account everyone's interests, was to blame for the Georgia crisis, he said.Something should be done because otherwise Euro-Atlantic affairs will keep returning to square one.Russia has proposed calling a security conference in Europe, to create new arrangements for neutralizing threats in the continent.It views NATO's eastward expansion and the deployment of parts of a U.S. missile defense system in Eastern Europe as a direct threat to its security. Plans to grant NATO membership to ex-Soviet Georgia and Ukraine are anathema for Moscow.

In the absence of a reasonable multilateral dialogue we will be forced to react unilaterally, Lavrov said. But we would indeed prefer joint work on European security issues.(Editing by Jon Boyle and Mark Trevelyan)

Russia says US may have sent weapons to Georgia SEPT 01,08

MOSCOW - Russia is suggesting U.S. ships that brought humanitarian aid to Georgia may have also carried weapons. Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said such suspicions are among the motives for Russia's call for an arms embargo against Georgia.Nesterenko told a news conference there are suppositions that the cargo of U.S. military ships that have brought aid for war-battered Georgia may also have included military components.Nesterenko also said that Russia would welcome an international police presence and more Western military observers in what is now a Russian-controlled zone around South Ossetia, the focus of the war earlier this month. But he indicated it will be a long time before Russia is ready to reduce its military presence.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia warned the West on Monday against supporting Georgia's leadership and called for an arms embargo against the ex-Soviet republic nation until a different government is in place.Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's remarks are likely to anger the United States and Europe and enrage Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili. He made it clear Moscow wants Saakashvili out of power in Georgia.If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions, he said.For a start it would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia a normal state, he said in an address at Russia's top foreign policy graduate school.Lavrov spoke as the European Union prepared for a summit Monday to discuss the Georgia crisis and further relations with Russia.Today's EU summit should clear up a great deal. We hope the choice they make will be based on Europe's fundamental interests, he said. He said Russia's relations with NATO are facing a moment of truth.Russia's ties to the West have been driven to their lowest point since the Soviet collapse of 1991 by the war last month in Georgia, where Saakashvili angered Moscow by courting the West and seeking NATO membership.

Russia repelled a Georgian offensive against the breakaway Georgian province of South Ossetia and sent troops, tanks and bombers deep into undisputed Georgian territory, where some still maintain positions. Moscow last week recognized South Ossetia and another breakaway region, Abkhazia, as independent countries.The U.S. and Europe have accused Russia of using disproportionate force and of violating the terms of a cease-fire that called for the sides to withdraw their forces to pre-conflict positions. They have also denounced Russia's recognition of the separatist regions, saying Georgia's borders must remain intact.Russia says it was provoked. Russian peacekeeping forces were stationed in South Ossetia before the war and Moscow had given most of South Ossetia's residents Russian passports in recent years, enabling the Kremlin to argue that it was defending its citizens when it responded to Georgia's Aug. 7 offensive in the separatist province.With its reaction to the Georgian aggression, Russia has set a certain standard of responding that fully complies with international law, Lavrov said. Russian soldiers, he said, followed our deeply Christian tradition of dying for our friends.The reactions of some Western countries to the crisis illustrates a deficit of morality, he said. It's high time for Europe to get back to simple, non-politicized and non-geopolitical values, Lavrov said.Lavrov reserved particular criticism for the United States, which has trained Georgian troops, saying such aid had failed to give the U.S. sufficient leverage to restrain the Georgian government. Instead, he said, It encouraged the irresponsible and unpredictable regime in its gambles.While Western governments have expressed regret at the Georgian offensive targeting South Ossetia, the Russian call for an arms embargo on a nation still bristling with Russian forces is likely to irritate the U.S. and Europe.

Lavrov's remarks will likely deepen Georgian suspicions that Russia's aim throughout the crisis has been to remove the pro-Western Saakashvili from power. European Union leaders seeking to punish Russia for its war with Georgia and its recognition of independence for two breakaway Georgian provinces have few options and are likely to choose diplomatic pressure to isolate Moscow at their summit Monday. Lavrov's implication that continued support for Saakashvili would further undermine relations with Russia were the latest in a bitter back-and-forth between Moscow and the West, with each saying it is up to the other to avoid plunging the world into a new Cold War. It's up to Russia today to make a fundamental choice and to engage neighbors and partners in settling disputes peacefully, French President Nicolas Sarkozy wrote in a pre-summit letter to EU leaders. Russia's commitment to a relationship of understanding and cooperation with the rest of Europe is in doubt.Also on Monday, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said that member nations are preparing to send hundreds of civilian monitors to Georgia to verify whether Russian forces are complying with a cease-fire agreement. He said the observers would be deployed initially across areas controlled by Georgian forces. We would like to have the ... mission deployed soon, Solana said, adding he hoped EU nations approve the plan in the coming weeks. Associated Press reporter Constant Brand in Brussels contributed to this report.