EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

I WRITE NEWS ABOUT AND PUT NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM PERTAINING TO BIBLE PROPHESY HAPPENINGS.JOEL 3:20 But Judah (ISRAEL) shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.(THATS ISRAEL-JERUSALEM WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED AGAIN)-WE CHRISTIANS ARE ALL WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE TO OCCUR.SO WE CAN GO TO JESUS AND GET OUR NEVER DYING BODIES.SO WE CAN RULE OVER CITIES OURSELVES.WHILE JESUS RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

STORMS HIT IOWA, MINN

EARTHQUAKES

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

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

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

China says 200,000 evacuated because of flood risk By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer Sat May 31, 9:09 AM ET

MIANYANG, China - Chinese authorities had evacuated nearly 200,000 people by early Saturday and warned more than 1 million others to be ready to leave quickly as a lake formed by a devastating earthquake threatened to breach its dam. The confirmed death toll from China's worst quake in three decades was raised Saturday to 68,977, an increase of about 120 people from a day earlier. Another 17,974 people were still missing, the State Council said. The increase was the smallest since the government started issuing a daily death toll shortly after the quake hit.Hundreds of Chinese troops have been working around the clock to drain Tangjiashan lake in Sichuan province. The lake formed above Beichuan town in the Mianyang region when a hillside plunged into a river valley during the May 12 quake that killed more than 68,000 people.The official Xinhua News Agency said work on a runoff channel had been completed. It quoted Yue Xi, deputy chief of the water and electricity section of the People's Armed Police, as saying water was expected to be discharged between Sunday and Tuesday.

Xinhua said 197,477 people were evacuated to safe ground by Saturday morning. It did not say how the exact number was arrived at, and many of the people may have moved just short distances to higher areas.The news agency said Tan Li, the Communist Party chief of Mianyang, had issued another order that calling for all 1.3 million people in the area to be evacuated if the barrier of the quake lake fully opens and floods the area.An official with the press office of Mianyang City Quake Control and Relief Headquarters, who would give only her surname of Chen, said Saturday's drill would involve testing the command system of various levels of government officials to ensure that any order to evacuate — if it comes — would be passed on quickly to everyone in the valley.No public broadcast of the evacuation order would take place.There was no sign that the dam was about to burst. Troops have sealed off Beichuan to the public.Tangjiashan is the largest of more than 30 lakes that have formed behind landslides caused by the quake, which also weakened man-made dams in the mountainous parts of the disaster zone.Millions of people in Sichuan are already living in tent camps and prefabricated housing, which have taken on the tone of new villages.In Mianyang, about 200 families left their camps in flood-prone areas of the city and moved to higher ground in a wooded park on Fule Mountain. Most had camping tents and shelters made of tarp pitched under trees amid ornate gazebos and tea houses with tradition sloping yellow tiled roofs. Red signs on the buildings said, Dangerous building, don't come near.One woman, who only gave her surname, Wang, said life was uncomfortable but fine under the circumstances. We've got all the basics. Those who are out of work are being given food, but my company is taking care of me, said Wang, who was living in a camouflaged camping tent set above the ground on wood planks.

A man who also only gave his surname, Zhang, said his family of three has received no food or shelter since they followed orders to move to the camp two days ago.I had to rig this up myself, he said, pointing to the simple structure of tarps they were living under. We've just been eating instant noodles and bread that we brought ourselves.Nearby, a woman selling tomatoes, green peppers and eggplants along the narrow park road was loading the vegetables back on her three-wheel motorcycle cart. I'm packing things up because no one is buying, she said. They have no pots or pans. No way to cook the food.Xinhua also reported that President Hu Jintao arrived Saturday to check on relief efforts in Shaanxi province. Just to the north of Sichuan, Shaanxi also suffered damage in the May 12 earthquake.

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.

Storm sweeps through Ill.; lawmakers run for cover By CHRISTOPHER WILLS, Associated Press Writer Sat May 31, 1:33 AM ET

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - Tornado warning sirens chased lawmakers to the statehouse basement, a semitrailer was blown from a roadway and homes and an airport building were damaged as severe storms battered parts of Illinois and Indiana on Friday. Illinois lawmakers, lobbyists, reporters and secretaries packed the tunnels beneath the 120-year-old Capitol for about 45 minutes as powerful wind, hail and rain pelted Springfield.It was extremely hot down there ... I was concerned about some people being overheated, said Rep. Bill Black, R-Danville.Aides said Gov. Rod Blagojevich was in a secure location.The National Weather Service had not confirmed several reports of tornado touchdowns in central Illinois. There were no reports of injuries.In Indiana, high winds caused heavy damage to an Indianapolis apartment complex.Rescue workers combed through the apartment building on the city's east side early Saturday looking for residents who might be trapped. Television reports showed injured residents being helped onto stretchers.

High winds were estimated at upward of 70 mph downed trees and power lines throughout the state, leaving tens of thousands without electricity. A teenager in Rochester, about 40 miles south of South Bend, was taken to a hospital after he was struck by lightning, authorities said.In Springfield, the state House returned to work briefly, then canceled the rest of the evening's session amid worries about another storm front in the area. There was no immediate word on the Senate's plans.ComEd said 20,800 customers were without power in northern Illinois, down from a high of 69,000. Duke Energy reports about 7,000 customers are without electricity, with most of the outages in Tippecanoe and Wabash counties.Winds in the region were enhanced by a string of thunderstorms, said weather service meteorologist Stephen Rodriguez. Gusts up to 60 miles per hour were reported near the Wisconsin state line.A semitrailer was blown from a roadway near Marengo, and a building at the Rockford airport lost its roof, he said.Strong wind damaged a gas station and blew a tree onto a house in Tolono, about 130 miles south of Chicago, emergency workers told the weather service.In nearby Sidney, a fertilizer business was damaged and power lines were knocked down, the weather service said.

Emergency workers also reported hail over 4 inches in diameter in the area.In Nebraska, volunteers stacked sandbags in Platte Center, a day after severe storms deluged the town of about 360 people. A swollen Elm Creek spilled over its banks Thursday night, flooding 30homes and 10 businesses.Associated Press writers Caryn Rousseau and Karen Hawkins in Chicago; David Mercer in Champaign; Charles Wilson in Indianapolis; and Nate Jenkins in Aurora, Neb., contributed to this report.

Alma weakens to tropical depression By FILADELFO ALEMAN, Associated Press Writer Sat May 31, 12:24 AM ET

MANAGUA, Nicaragua - The remnants of Tropical Storm Alma dumped rain on Honduras on Friday and led to the death of a child who was swept away by a swollen stream. The 7-year-old girl drowned in the southern province of Choluteca, Honduras' national Emergency Commission said in a news release.The storm also blew down trees, knocking out some electricity lines in the southern region, Honduran national energy company spokeswoman Karla Matute said.

In Nicaragua and Costa Rica, officials cleared trees from roads and repaired roofless homes on Friday.Alma reached land Thursday near the Nicaraguan colonial city of Leon, the first such storm for the eastern Pacific season.The storm blew roofs off homes, knocked out power and telephone service and brought down a light pole at the city's baseball stadium.A 30-year-old man was electrocuted by a power line that snapped under high winds, said Nicaraguan emergency official Flor de Maria Escobar.The wind whipped up the sand, and it lashed your face like sandpaper, said Erasmo Lopez, a fisherman in the coastal hamlet of Poneloya, near where Alma made landfall. The trees were shaking like crazy, cars were shuddering and you couldn't even see in front of you.In Costa Rica, authorities rescued three children and their mother after an embankment collapsed on their house outside the capital, San Jose. A 7-year-old girl was still in critical condition Friday.Along the coast, 200families were evacuated to storm shelters after Alma dumped rain over the country for 24 hours. Landslides blocked a few highways. The eastern Pacific hurricane season began May 15.Associated Press writers Marianela Jimenez in San Jose, Costa Rica; Marcos Aleman in San Salvador, El Salvador; and Freddy Cuevas in Tegucigalpa, Honduras; contributed to this report.

Planalytics sees active 2008 hurricane season By Janet McGurty Fri May 30, 1:59 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Private weather forecaster Planalytics expects a more active Atlantic storm and hurricane activity in 2008 than in the 2007 season, the company said on Friday. We are looking for an active season, with 12 threat periods and up to 16 events, a slightly more active hurricane season than the previous year, the company said in a webcast ahead of the official June 1 start to the season.Planalytics defines a threat period as a meteorological situation that indicates a likely tropical development, which could include an event, or named storm.In 2008, the forecaster expects eight to 11 of the threats to become hurricanes, and three to four of those of turning into intense hurricanes.An active season is projected, said chief forecaster Jim Roullier, adding that the ingredients for an active season were present and expected to continue.Tropical Storm Alma, the first cyclone of the Americas hurricane season, slammed into Nicaragua's Pacific coast on Thursday, killing one person as winds toppled trees and ripped roofs off flimsy homes. But Alma hit land before it could gather enough strength to become a hurricane.In 2007, the U.S. had only one minor storm and none in 2006 after a very active and deadly 2005 hurricane season where Katrina and Rita decimated the Gulf Coast.

Strong storm activity was expected to center on the Western Gulf of Mexico, with less storm activity than normal anticipated in the eastern half of the Gulf, Planalytics said.The Texas coast from Brownsville to Corpus Christi was at risk from two storms beginning in the middle of June to early July. In late August and early September, two more storms could form, the company said.Corpus Christi is home to three oil refineries with a total capacity of 587,000 barrels per day.Below normal storm activity was anticipated in the central Gulf of Mexico to western Florida with most storm activity seen late in the season, from the end of September to early October. The season officially ends November 30.The East Coast was at moderate risk for storms from late July to early August with activity focused in the Carolinas. The threat returns to the region in late August.Planalytics' forecast of 12 to 16 named storms is line with government estimates.Last week, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 12 to 16 named storms this season, with six to nine becoming hurricanes.
(Reporting by Janet McGurty; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Torrential rains sweep western Europe Fri May 30, 10:07 AM ET

ROME (AFP) - Italy declared a state of emergency in the north of the country Friday after flooding and mudslides left at least three people dead in heavy rains that also hit Belgium, Britain, France and Germany. The state of emergency, which will enable aid to be speeded up to the affected regions of Piedmont and Valle d'Aosta, was decided at a cabinet meeting, the ANSA news agency said.In Piedmont, where three people were killed and one was still missing, schools were closed in the town of Saviglano because of mudslides, and 30 people were evacuated from their homes in Demonte.A mudslide in Villar Pelice near the city of Turin swept away a house, killing an old man inside it, civil protection authorities said. A second person was found dead in a car also caught up in the mudslide.Fifty patients were evacuated from a hospital in Turin, but Red Cross official Giuseppe Vernero told the Sky TG-24 television channel the worse seemed to be over.In France the SNCF train operator closed lines overnight between Turin and Lyon, southeastern France, to avoid accidents after heavy rains in the region.Road tunnels linking France and Italy were closed to trucks for several hours after parts were affected by a mudslide. Several highways were blocked or closed for safety in the Alpine districts of Savoie and Isere, local authorities said.In Corsica two hotels were evacuated overnight due to flooding, firefighters said.

Mudslides and flooding also cut hit villages and cut secondary roads in eastern France overnight, while other routes were blocked by fallen trees, authorities said.Further north meanwhile, streets were turned to rivers of mud in the eastern Belgian city of Liege after a violent storm, media reports said, but no casualties were reported.Belgian television pictures showed flooded houses and cars swept along in the mud.In southwestern Germany media reports said heavy rain and hail had caused extensive damage, while at Moenchengladbach a woman suffered a severe electric shock when she went into her flooded cellar in bare feet to cut the power.Dozens of motorists had to abandon their cars, while in Baden-Wurtemberg lightning set fire to a farm.A clean-up operation was under way in southwest England Friday after torrential rain caused flash flooding the previous evening.The worst-hit area was the southern part of the county of Somerset. Cars were abandoned on water-logged roads, fire crews had to rescue a number of motorists and hundreds of homes and businesses were flooded out.There were no reports of anyone injured, emergency services said.Southern and central England were hit by some of the most devastating floods in years 12 months ago, but Devon and Somerset Fire Service described Thursday's weather as a typical flash flood.

AP Impact: Hurricane season outlooks of little use By ALLEN G. BREED, AP National Writer MAY 31,08

RALEIGH, N.C. - Each April, weather wizard William Gray emerges from his burrow deep in the Rocky Mountains to offer his forecast for the six-month hurricane season that starts June 1. And the news media are there, breathlessly awaiting his every word. It's a lot like Groundhog Day — and the results are worth just about as much.

The hairs on the back of my neck don't stand up, ho-hums Craig Fugate, director of emergency management for Florida, the state that got raked by four hurricanes — three of them major — in 2004. When it comes to preparing, he says, these long-range forecasts are not useful at all.The AP contacted the emergency management agency in every coastal state from Texas to Maine and asked whether these seasonal forecasts play any role in their preparations for the hurricane season. Their response was unanimous: They're a great way to get people thinking about the upcoming season, but that's about it.Regardless, since the former Colorado State University climatologist pioneered the seasonal predictions in 1984, other forecasters have followed suit.The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Tropical Storm Risk Consortium in London and, most recently, the Coastal Fluid Dynamics Laboratory at North Carolina State University in Raleigh are now among teams attempting to handicap the storm season weeks or months ahead.After high-profile, back-to-back busts by Gray and others, critics have questioned whether these long-range outlooks do more harm than good. But the very question presupposes that Gray, et al., have been promising more than they can deliver.They can pretty accurately predict an above- or below-average season, even predict the likelihood a major storm will hit SOMEWHERE along the U.S. coast. Beyond that, they're not promising anything.

Honestly, I think people get a lot more excited about it than I do in terms of what its usefulness is, says CSU scientist Phil Klotzbach, who has largely taken over the hurricane work of Gray, now semiretired.From the beginning, Gray issued disclaimers with his forecasts, like the one from May 1989 that asserted the forecast can only predict about 50 percent of the total variability in Atlantic seasonal hurricane activity.NC State's Lian Xie says in a boldface disclaimer in his 2008 forecast: Results presented herein are for scientific information exchange only ... Users are at their own risk for using the forecasts in any decision making.

So how did these things become such a big deal?

Fugate thinks part of the problem is that the media and some public officials picked up the cloudy crystal ball and ran with it. Particularly national media has been using these forecasts inappropriately, he says. I'm as guilty as anyone else.Hurricane-prediction researchers are like chefs tinkering with a recipe for the same dish, and working from the same list of ingredients: In this case, decades worth of data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Prediction.Studying past seasons, scientists look for patterns that might explain why one year was more active than another. Teams have developed computer models that emphasize different conditions — everything from ocean salinity and rainfall amounts over West Africa to sunspot cycles and the influences of the Pacific warm-water current known as El Nino.They test their theories by hindcasting — basically, plugging in known conditions from past storm seasons and seeing how well the models recreate the historical results.

When Gray burst onto the scene a quarter century ago, some wondered what business a man nearly 2,000 miles from the Atlantic had predicting hurricanes. Still, writing about his predictions became a rite of spring. (The Associated Press transmits urgent stories for his initial Dec. l forecast, and for the April, June and August updates.) Reporters would note when Gray missed, as in 1989 when he predicted a relatively mild season with only four hurricanes. Instead, a total of seven hurricanes and four tropical storms killed 84 people in the United States. But most years, they have published his forecasts with little or no commentary on his overall record — or even analysis of how he'd fared the season before.

That is, until 2005.

That spring, Gray and Klotzbach forecast 15 named storms, eight of them hurricanes. Instead, there were a record 28 named storms in 2005, including 15 hurricanes — most notably Katrina. The following year, the team overestimated the storm activity. Instead of the predicted 17 storms and nine hurricanes, the final numbers that season were 10 and five. Coincidentally, 2005 was also the year Xie and his students published a groundbreaking paper in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. In it, they suggested that the interplay of sea surface temperatures in the tropical North and South Atlantic, and not El Nino, was responsible for Florida's disastrous 2004 season. The following year, NC State felt confident enough to issue its forecast publicly. In a release, the university's PR department would later crow that its was the only national model to accurately forecast Atlantic hurricane activity in 2006. Unfortunately, NC State's 2007 forecast was as off as anyone's. This season, Xie and master's student Elinor Keith are forecasting 13 to 15 named storms, but again with caveats — the highest probability they offer for any particular number in that range is 11 percent. They predict six to eight of those storms will become hurricanes — but put the probability of seven occurring at just over 14 percent. So even though that's the most likely answer, compared to some other numbers, that's still a small number, right? says Xie. People need to have that in mind.Others have decided that there is need to qualify their forecasts, as well. Klotzbach says his next update will include an extra section that deals with forecast uncertainty.And when NOAA released its 2008 outlook last week, it included for the first time a pie chart showing the likelihood that its prediction of 12 to 16 named storms was accurate. The verdict: About 65 percent for the whole range.

We want to best convey the forecast by telling the people what the forecast is and what it is not, lead forecaster Gerry Bell says. This is NOT a landfall forecast. This does NOT imply levels of activity for any particular region.Gray insists that people DO use these forecasts to make strategic, real-world decisions. Ask him who, and he will suggest the reinsurance and Gulf oil-and-gas industries. Platts, a division of McGraw-Hill that supplies information to the energy industry, publishes the forecasts. But chief economist Larry Chorn can't think of anyone who takes any action based on them. It allows me to gauge what the experts are saying in terms of the likelihood of this being a mild season or a bad season, he says. Beyond that, I don't know how to use them.

There is some concern that average folk may be lulled into complacency by forecasts of a light storm season. They can go one or two ways, Joseph Bruno, commissioner of the New York City's Office of Emergency Management, says of the long-range predictions. They can make people more apathetic than they already are about emergencies, or they can really heighten concern and alarm.But most seem to have figured out that they can't plan their lives around the forecasts. Let's say someone says this is going to be a really horrible hurricane season. Does that mean you close your business, lay off your employees? says Melissa Perlman, who co-owns a small eco-resort in the beach town of Tulum on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. I don't really start paying attention until they are actually on the map.It's like Nostradamus, adds Sonya Strasburg, who works at the Galveston Fishing Pier on the Texas barrier island — site of the nation's deadliest hurricane. I don't believe it.So why keep doing them? Gray and Klotzbach opened this year's forecast paper with that very question. The answer they give: Because they add to the overall understanding of how hurricanes work. You actually learn more when you bust than when you verify, says Gray, who retired from CSU in 2004 but continues to work with Klotzbach.

Another reason: Because people simply want to know.

The truth is, every time I go to a conference, without fail, people come up to me and before they even ask about me or my family, they say, What kind of a season are we going to have? says Max Mayfield, former longtime director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Mayfield, now under contract with a Miami television station, sees no harm in the forecasts, as long as people are aware of their limitations. His favorite example is 1992. Forecasts called for a below-average season that year, and it was — just six storms. The first one just happened to be Hurricane Andrew, which killed 23 people and did $26.5 billion in damage. I think it comes down to how people like you and me in the media portray this ..., Mayfield says. You need to be prepared no matter what the numbers are.
EDITOR'S NOTE: AP reporters Jessica Gresko in Miami, Mike Graczyk in Galveston, Texas, Sara Kugler in New York City and Traci Carl in Mexico City also contributed to this story. On the Net: NOAA Forecast:http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/outlooks/hurricane.shtml CSU Tropical Meteorology Project: http://hurricane.atmos.colostate.edu/Forecasts/

GENERAL OF MYNAMAR OUT OF TOUCH WITH CITZENS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8045595&ch=4226714&src=news

Myanmar warned against premature resettlement MAY 31,08

YANGON, Myanmar - Cyclone victims in Myanmar who leave relief camps may not receive the aid they need, making them even more vulnerable to disease and the elements, a U.N. official said Saturday following reports of forced evictions by the government. Human rights groups have lambasted Myanmar's military rulers, accusing them of kicking homeless cyclone survivors out of shelters. The U.S. defense secretary said the junta's blockage of international help has cost tens of thousands of lives.The sharp criticism came a day after a U.N. official reported the government was evicting cyclone victims from camps and dumping them near their destroyed villages with virtually no supplies a month after the storm unleashed its fury.Anupama Rao Singh, regional director of the United Nations Children's Fund, who recently visited affected areas, warned Saturday against premature resettlement, even if it's voluntary. She did not confirm that evictions had taken place.Many of the villages remain inundated with water, making it difficult to rebuild, she said. There is also a real risk that once they are resettled, they will be invisible to aid workers. Without support and continued service to those affected, there is a risk of a second wave of disease and devastation.An estimated 2.4 million people remain homeless and hungry from this month's cyclone, which left at least 134,000 people dead or missing.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of displaced people also have been expelled from schools, monasteries and public buildings, Human Rights Watch said in a release Saturday. In the nation's biggest city, Yangon, there were eyewitness reports of one such eviction from a Christian church.The forced evictions are part of government efforts to demonstrate that the emergency relief period is over and that the affected population is capable of rebuilding their lives without foreign assistance, Human Rights Watch said.Another group, Refugees International, said authorities appeared to be trying to get villagers back to their land to begin tending their fields and reviving agriculture.While agriculture recovery is indeed vital, forcing people home without aid makes it harder for aid agencies to reach them with assistance, it said.Defense Secretary Robert Gates added his voice Saturday to critics of the junta's handling of the humanitarian crisis, calling the government deaf and dumb over its refusal to accept outside help.We have reached out, frankly, to Myanmar multiple times during this crisis in very direct ways, Gates said during an international security conference in Singapore. We have reached out, they have kept their hands in their pockets.The generals' obstruction of international efforts to help cyclone victims cost tens of thousands of lives, he said.Shortly after the cyclone struck, the U.S., France and Britain sent warships loaded with relief supplies, but the Myanmar regime has refused to let them land, apparently fearing a foreign invasion.

With U.S. ships off Myanmar's coast poised to leave because they have been blocked from delivering assistance to the ravaged country, Gates vowed that the U.S. will keep trying to deliver aid.
A day earlier Teh Tai Ring, also from UNICEF, reported at a meeting of U.N. and private aid agency workers that eight camps set up for homeless survivors in the hard-hit Irrawaddy River delta town of Bogalay were totally empty as authorities continued to move people out of them.After his statement was reported, UNICEF issued a statement saying the remarks referred to unconfirmed reports by relief workers on the relocation of displaced people affected by the May 2-3 storm.Separately, at a church in Yangon, more than 400 cyclone victims from a delta township, Labutta, were evicted Friday following orders from authorities a day earlier. It was a scene of sadness, despair and pain, said a church official at the Yangon Karen Baptist Home Missions in Yangon, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of official reprisals. All the refuge seekers except some pregnant women, two young children and those with severe illnesses left the church in 11 trucks Friday morning. The authorities told church workers that the victims would first be taken to a government camp in Myaung Mya — a mostly undamaged town in the Irrawaddy delta — but it was not immediately clear when they would be resettled in their villages. Aid groups, meanwhile, said Myanmar's military government was continuing to hinder foreign assistance for victims of the cyclone, despite a promise to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to ease travel restrictions. Some foreign aid workers were still awaiting visas, and the government was taking 48 hours to process requests to enter the Irrawaddy delta, the groups said. Aid workers who have reached some of the remote villages say little remained that could sustain the former residents. Houses were destroyed, livestock were dead and food stocks have virtually run out. Medicines were nonexistent. Our teams are still encountering people who have not seen any aid workers and still have not received any assistance. Some of the villages that are only accessible by foot are particularly vulnerable, said the aid group Doctors Without Borders.

UBC HELPS UNCOVER SECRETS OF SUPER VOLCANOES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8072032&ch=1329521

NHL PLAYER LUC BOURDON DIES IN ACCIDENT
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8069548&ch=1329521

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)

High gas prices hit consumers worldwide By ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press Writer Sat May 31, 2:12 AM ET

PARIS - Feeling woozy about the fortune you've just pumped into your gas tank? Drivers around the world share the sensation.

Consumers, gas retailers and governments are wrestling with a new energy order, where rising oil prices play a larger role than ever in the daily lives of increasingly mobile people. But as the cost of crude mounts, the effect on the price at the pump varies startlingly — from Venezuela, where gas is cheaper than water, to Turkey, where a full tank can cost more than a domestic plane ticket.Taxes and subsidies are the main reasons for the differences, along with lesser factors such as limited oil refining capacity and hard-to-reach geography that push up prices.I don't know why it is but... it hurts, says Marie Penucci, a violinist filling up her Volkswagen at an Esso station on the bypass that rings Paris.As she pumped gas worth $9.66 a gallon she looked wistfully at a commuter climbing onto one of the city's cheap rent-a-bikes, an option not open to her since she travels long distances to perform.High taxes in Europe and Japan have long accustomed consumers to staggering pump prices, which now are testing new pain thresholds — and it could have been even worse, if a strong euro hadn't cushioned some of the blow. As a result, plenty of European adults never even bother to learn to drive, preferring cheap mass transit to cumbersome cars.Subsidies in emerging economies such as China and India, meanwhile, shield consumers but hurt governments, which must find a way to afford rising market prices for oil.

Increasingly, they can't. Indonesians are staging protests against shrinking gasoline subsidies in a nation where nearly half the population of 235 million lives on less than $2 a day. And there are now 887 million vehicles in the world, up from 553 million vehicles just 15 years ago, and on track to nearly double to a billion by 2012, according to London-based consultancy Global Insight.In Europe, taxes are often the focus, since the high tax burden means crude itself is a smaller part of the burden.The pain of a rise in prices is much less in Europe, because we may be paying a lot more here, but the rise in a percentage sense is a lot smaller, said Julius Walker, oil analyst at the Paris-based International Energy Agency.The United States, with its relatively low taxes, is considered to have retail prices closer to what energy data charts call the real cost of gasoline — which is closely linked to the price of oil.So as oil prices have soared, average U.S. prices have gone up 144 percent in the past five years — from $1.67 in May 2003 to $4.02 a gallon this month, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Over the same period, gas prices in France went up 117 percent to $9.66 a gallon.Proposals by U.S. presidential candidates John McCain and Hillary Clinton to suspend federal gas taxes this summer would lower the price tag — but have little effect on the underlying oil price. French President Nicholas Sarkozy has urged the EU to cut value-added tax on fuel.

French fishermen and farmers, who need fuel for their trawlers and tractors, say their livelihoods are threatened by soaring prices and have blocked oil terminals around France and shipping traffic on the English Channel to demand government help. Italian, Portuguese and Spanish fisherman joined them and went on strike Friday. British and Bulgarian truckers are staging fuel protests, too.Russia is proof that big oil-producing nations are not in any better shape when it comes to gasoline prices. Gas in the world's No. 2 oil producer runs about $3.68 a gallon — nearly that in the United States, where the average wage is about six times higher.

Much of the Russian cost comes from taxes, which run between 60 and 70 percent. Limited refining capacity and the costs of transporting gasoline across the country's vast expanse also push up prices.

Turkey faces similar problems — and even higher prices — $11.29 a gallon, which for a full tank in a midsize car can reach nearly $200, enough for a domestic plane ticket.In China, government-mandated low retail gasoline prices have helped farmers and China's urban poor but also have hurt conservation. In the first four months of 2008, gasoline consumption was up 5.5 percent from the same period last year. Venezuela, too, is a gas-guzzler's wonderland. A gallon costs just 12 cents and consumers are snapping up SUVs even as Americans are shunning them. Thanks to long-held government subsidies and plenty of oil, Venezuelans see cheap fuel as a birthright. Some policymakers in less oil-flush nations look to Brazil's use of ethanol as a potential solution. Ethanol from sugarcane is widely available in the world's No. 1 sugar producer and its 190 million people. Eight out of every 10 new cars sold are flex-fuel models that run on pure ethanol, gas or any combination of the two. The price for ethanol in Sao Paulo is currently running about half the price of gas, which runs $5.67 per gallon. In Japan, gas station owners say some customers aren't filling up their tanks all the way.

It's been tough. I had to switch to regular gasoline from premium class, said Hiroyuki Kashiwabara, a company employee in his 50s whose monthly spending on gasoline has increased by nearly 10,000 yen ($96) over the last couple of months. My salary doesn't change and I can't cut back on my spending on food or anything else.

Americans, too, are beginning to trim their hearty gas appetites.

We're beginning to see a slowdown in the U.S. in gasoline demand in particular. That's not so visible in other parts of the world, the IEA's Walker said. Jean-Marc Jancovici, a French engineer and co-author of a philosophical treatise called Fill It Up, Please! despairs rising thirst in the developing world for shrinking oil resources. The real question is ... how to save peace and democracy in this context, he asks. His answer? To rich-country consumers, at least, he says: Pick up your bike and stop being petroleum slaves.
Associated Press writers David Nowak in Moscow; Robin McDowell in Jakarta, Indonesia; Ian James in Caracas, Venezuela; Alan Clendenning in Brasilia, Brazil; Joe McDonald in Beijing; Mari Yamaguchi and Shino Yuasa in Tokyo; Ashok Sharma in New Delhi; and Franziska Scheven and A.J. Goldmann in Berlin contributed to this report.

Friday, May 30, 2008

PACIFIC TROPICAL STORM

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

TORNADOE RECORD COULD BE BROKEN

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.

Death toll expected to top 80,000 in Chinese quake
Wed May 28, 5:37 AM

VANCOUVER (CBC) - As the death toll in China continues to soar, the government is warning that rebuilding the earthquake-ravaged central province of Sichuan will be an arduous task.The number of confirmed dead from the massive May 12 quake rose to 68,109 on Wednesday, up 1,000 from the day before, China's cabinet confirmed. Another 19,851 people are reported missing, and the government says it now fears the final death toll will be more than 80,000.

Survivors are struggling to find shelter. An estimated 15 million people have seen their homes reduced to rubble, or have been forced to abandon their homes due to fears of flooding and aftershocks. Roads and infrastructure are severely damaged.The government says those trying to rebuild the country face a trying time due to the high level of damage, and the large number of survivors in need of immediate help.Due to the immense magnitude of loss resulted from the quake, production recovery and reconstruction of the quake-hit region will be arduous in the near future, China's National Development and Reform Commission said in a statement.As China tries to recover, new threats continually emerge. On Tuesday, two large aftershocks struck the country, causing more than 420,000 houses to collapse in the Qingchuan county of the Sichuan province.

Meanwhile, 158,000 were forced to abandon their homes in dozens of villages downstream from the newly formed Tangjiashan lake. It was created when landslides triggered by the May 12 earthquake sent piles of debris into the Jianhe River, causing it to clog.More than 1,800 police and soldiers arrived at the site Monday and have been working ever since to pull the debris from the lake, which contains 128 million cubic metres of water and is on the brink of overflowing.With files from the Associated Press

Chinese soldiers evacuate villages under flood threat from quake-created dams Tue May 27, 6:11 PM By Audra Ang, The Associated Press

MIANYANG, China - About 80,000 people were evacuated Tuesday from downstream of an unstable earthquake-created dam that is threatening to collapse, and troops rushed to carve a trench to drain the water before it floods the valley. The threat of flooding from dozens of lakes swelling behind walls of mud and rubble that have plugged narrow valleys in parts of the disaster zone is adding a new worry for millions of survivors. More than 30 villages were emptied and the people were being sent to camps like the one outside Jiangyou, where an Associated Press reporter saw 12-15 people crammed into each of about 40 government-issued tents pitched on a hillside overlooking the river. We were told that so far it is the safest place for us to stay if the dam of the lake crashes, said Liu Yuhua, whose village of Huangshi was one of those emptied. But we will have to move farther uphill if the situation turns out to be worse.Troops on Tuesday used explosives to blow up tree stumps that were hampering heavy-duty excavators that were airlifted by helicopter in recent days to the newly formed Tangjiashan lake near the town of Beichuan, the official Xinhua News Agency reported. The magnitude-7.9 quake that struck Sichuan province May 12 sent a mass of dirt and rocks tumbling in the valley about three kilometres above the town in a spot not reached by roads, plugging a river that is now forming the lake. Elsewhere in the region, workers also used explosives to level some buildings that were left teetering by the quake, a further sign that officials have stopped rescue and recovery efforts in some places.

The number of deaths from the quake climbed toward an expected toll of 80,000 or more. China's cabinet said Tuesday that 67,183 people were confirmed killed, with 20,790 still missing. Aftershocks continued to rattle the region, causing more damage and injuries and jangling the already-frayed nerves of survivors. Two temblors Tuesday caused more than 420,000 houses to collapse in Qingchuan county, Xinhua reported. Sixty-three people were injured, including six who were critically hurt. The U.S. Geological Survey measured a magnitude-5.2 aftershock just after 4 p.m. and one measuring 5.7 about a half-hour later. In a live broadcast, state television showed heavy earth-moving equipment being used to carve a 180-metre channel to drain the water from the Tangjiashan lake. We are prepared to get rid of the trees by chopping and explosion. After that, the second batch of equipment will be moved in, Liu Ning, chief engineer at the Ministry of Water Resources, was quoted as saying on CCTV. Downstream, officials rushed to evacuate people in the path of potential floodwaters. Xinhua said emergency workers laboured into the night to try to get 80,000 people out. Another group of about 80,000 have already been moved out of the valley, it said. At Tangjiashan lake, hundreds of troops were working around the clock to dig a channel that would divert the rising waters before they breach the top of the rubble wall. Officials fear the loose soil and debris wall could crumble easily if the water starts cascading over the top, and send a torrent flooding down into the valley. The lake now holds 130 million cubic metres of water and was rising by more than one metre every 24 hours, Xinhua reported.

Tangjiashan is the largest of some 35 lakes created by rubble blocking rivers in the quake zone. Some rising floodwaters have already swallowed villages, though only Tangjiashan was posing a risk of another big catastrophe. Adding to the urgency, thunderstorms were forecast for parts of Sichuan this week, a foretaste of the summer rainy season that accounts for more than 70 per cent of the 60 centimetres of rain that falls on the area each year. Man-made dams in the mountainous region were also weakened by the quake, although officials said there is no major threat. At one dam site near the town of Mianyang, villagers workings in nearby rice fields said cracks had appeared in the dam wall after the quake but that government workers had reinforced it with steel rods. In the town of Yingxiu, explosives were used to demolish some damaged buildings, a new element to the massive cleanup operation. Teams have been pulling down creaky buildings across Sichuan using mostly excavators, bulldozers and other heavy machinery. Also Tuesday, health officials said higher-than-normal rates of stomach pains and fever had been reported among the millions of quake survivors, but that no major disease outbreaks had occurred. About five million people were left homeless by the quake, and many are living in tents or makeshift camps clustered throughout the disaster zone. Qi Xiaoqiu, the director of disease prevention at the Health Ministry, said the quake had knocked out much of the region's health infrastructure. He said 12 field hospitals had been erected and tens of thousands of health professionals sent into the zone. With the destruction by the quake, the living and sanitary conditions have worsened for the local population, Qi said in Beijing. Their physical conditions are weakened, (they are) more vulnerable to disease.Diseases such as tuberculosis, hepatitis and diarrhea remained a threat, but so far no outbreaks had been reported, he said.

Heavy pollution warning issued in Beijing Tue May 27, 7:42 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - Pollution levels rose sharply in Beijing on Tuesday, just 2- months before the Olympic Games in the city, prompting authorities to warn residents with respiratory problems to stay inside. Air quality in the capital was rated as heavily polluted due to a sandstorm from Mongolia, the Beijing Environmental Protection Bureau said on its website (www.bjepb.gov.cn).The bureau advised people susceptible to particles in the air to avoid outdoor activities.Such sandstorms usually hit the city in March and April.Beijing's pollution has already proved a major concern for athletes, with twice Olympic champion Haile Gebrselassie, who suffers from asthma, pulling out of the men's marathon out of concern for his health.In addition to shutting down high polluters within city limits, Beijing has demanded five surrounding provinces scale back or stop production to ensure blue skies hang over Olympic venues for the Games in August.

State media also reported China had launched a second weather satellite on Tuesday to help improve forecasts for the Beijing Games.Detailed weather predictions are important because climatic conditions can have a major impact on Beijing's attempts to rid the skies of pollution for the Games.The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said that some endurance events might have to be shifted if the air quality is not good enough and the earlier they know about that possibility, the easier it is to re-schedule.

There are also concerns that rain, which is common in early August in the Chinese capital, might ruin the opening ceremony at the roof-less Bird's Nest National Stadium on August 8.Attempts to counter the threat by weather manipulation are also reliant on accurate forecasts. Beijing authorities have claimed some success in stopping rain over limited areas by firing chemicals into clouds. The 2,295-kg satellite Fengyun-3 will provide mid-range forecasts over 10 to 15 days, Xinhua news agency reported.(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney and Guo Shipeng; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)
(Take a look at the Countdown to Beijing blog at http://blogs.reuters.com/china. For more on the Olympics go to http://www.reuters.com/news/sports/2008olympics)

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.

TALKING TORNADOES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7974188&ch=4226717&src=news

US on track to break record for tornadoes By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer MAY 27,08

WASHINGTON - Another week, another rumbling train of tornadoes that obliterates entire city blocks, smashing homes to their foundations and killing people even as they cower in their basements. With the year not even half done, 2008 is already the deadliest tornado year in the United States since 1998 and seems on track to break the U.S. record for the number of twisters in a year, according to the National Weather Service. Also, this year's storms seem to be unusually powerful.But like someone who has lost all his worldly possessions to a whirlwind, meteorologists cannot explain exactly why this is happening.There are active years and we don't particularly understand why, said research meteorologist Harold Brooks at the National Severe Storms Lab in Norman, Okla.Over the weekend, an extraordinarily powerful twister ripped apart Parkersburg, Iowa, destroying 288 homes in the town of about 1,000 residents, said Gov. Chet Culver. At least four people were killed there. Among the buildings destroyed were City Hall, the high school, and the lone grocery store and gas station. Some of those killed were in basements.The brutal numbers for the U.S. so far this year: at least 110 dead, 30 killer tornadoes and a preliminary count of 1,191 twisters (which, after duplicate sightings are removed, is likely to go down to around 800). The record for the most tornadoes in a year is 1,817 in 2004. In the past 10 years, the average number of tornadoes has been 1,254.Right now we're on track to break all previous counts through the end of the year," said warning meteorologist Greg Carbin at the Storm Prediction Center, also in Norman.

And it's not just more storms. The strongest of those storms — those in the 136-to-200 mph range — have been more prevalent than normal, and lately they seem to be hitting populated areas more, he said. At least 22 tornadoes this year have been in the top part of the new Enhanced Fujita scale, rating a 3 (for severe) or a 4 (devastating) on the 1-to-5 scale.The twister that devastated Parkersburg was a 5 — the first in the U.S. since a tornado nearly obliterated Greensburg, Kan., just over a year ago. The Parkersburg tornado was the strongest to hit Iowa in 32 years.So far, more than 50 of the deaths this year have been in mobile homes, the wrong place to be during a tornado. They have been a factor in nearly half of all tornado fatalities in recent years.And if that's not bad enough, computer models show that the conditions that make tornadoes ripe are going to stick around Tornado Alley for about another week, according to Brooks.

The nagging question is why.

Global warming cannot really explain what is happening, Carbin said. While higher temperatures could increase the number of thunderstorms, which are needed to trigger tornadoes, they also would tend to push the storm systems too far north to form some twisters, he said.La Nina, the cooling of parts of the Central Pacific that is the flip side El Nino, was a factor in the increased activity earlier this year — especially in February, a record month for tornado activity — but it can't explain what is happening now, according to Carbin.Carbin explained the most recent tornadoes with just one word: May. May is typically the busiest tornado month of the year.A short-term answer is that the nation's heartland is stuck in a tornado rut with usually temporary weather conditions that can lead to tornadoes parked over the Plains, said Adam Houston, a professor of meteorology at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Cooler air at high altitudes and warmer moist air coming from the Gulf of Mexico are combining and settling over the region.You get day after day of severe weather and day after day of tornadoes until the pattern changes, Houston said.But why that happens, Houston doesn't know. While scientists can forecast hurricane seasons, predicting their land-bound cousins is much harder, Brooks said. While tornadoes, like hurricanes, rely on large-scale weather phenomena, the crucial triggers are extremely local weather conditions. On top of that, tornadoes have a Goldilocks issue. To make a tornado, the conditions have to be just right. Too much or too little of one ingredient and there is no tornado. For example, wind shear — when upper and lower winds are at different speeds or coming from different directions — is crucial to create a funnel cloud. Too little and there is no spin. Too much and the tornado falls apart. And tornadoes form most often in late afternoon, between 5 and 9 p.m., so if a thunderstorm starts up early in the morning, it's far less likely to throw off a tornado, Brooks said. As for why so many people are getting killed, Brooks suggests thinking of the landscape as a dartboard: We're throwing more darts and throwing bigger darts than normal.

More people are living in mobile homes in the past few decades, and that has shown up in tornado fatality statistics. In 1970, about one-quarter of all tornado deaths were in mobile homes; now it's about half, Brooks said. In 1970, Census data showed that 3 percent of the U.S. population lived in mobile homes; now it is 7.6 percent, with a higher rate in the Southeast and other parts of Tornado Alley, such as Oklahoma, Brooks said. But as deadly as this year has been, it used to be far worse in the United States. In 1925, tornadoes killed 794 people. From 1916 to 1936, tornadoes killed an average of nearly 280 Americans a year. That's because tornado warnings were not as good, people couldn't hear them and housing was not as sturdy, Brooks said. Even with a busy tornado year, meteorologists are getting the word out. Of the 110 deaths so far this year, 101 came while there was a tornado watch in effect, according to the National Weather Service. Storm Prediction Center: http://www.spc.noaa.gov

Iowa tornado rated state's strongest in 32 years By JAMES BELTRAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 27,08

DES MOINES, Iowa - A tornado that leveled half a town in northeast Iowa and killed seven people was the strongest to hit the state in 32 years, the National Weather Service said Tuesday. Sunday's twister, three-quarters of a mile wide with winds of up to 205 mph, tore a path through Parkersburg and nearby towns. The weather service ranked it an EF5 — at the top of its scale.You just don't see many of these around, said Steve Teachout, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Johnston. There was nothing to hold that storm down. It just blew up.The nation's last EF5 tornado flattened Greensburg, Kan., and killed 11 people on May 4, 2007. Iowa's last tornado of that size hit June 13, 1976, in the town of Jordan. No one was killed — a rarity for storms of that magnitude, Teachout said.When you're talking about that strong a tornado, there's not a lot of structures that will save people, Teachout said. Really, the only thing left of a house is the foundation.An estimated 350 homes in and near Parkersburg were destroyed Sunday, and another 100 suffered major damage, Gov. Chet Culver said. About 50 people were injured.President Bush and Culver have declared Butler County a disaster area, freeing up federal and state aid for tornado victims.Sunday's death toll could have been much worse, said Butler County spokeswoman Holly Fokkena.A siren was installed about 10 days ago in southeastern Parkersburg — the area worst hit by the tornado, Fokkena said. Sirens from elsewhere in Parkersburg weren't always audible in that part of town, she said.(This version corrects that no one was killed, not injured, in 1976 tornado.)

Iowa town measures the loss after deadly tornado By JAMES BELTRAN, Associated Press Writer Tue May 27, 2:03 PM ET

PARKERSBURG, Iowa - Fred Everts held back tears as he surveyed the pile of splintered wood and metal scraps that had been his and his wife's home. Nearby, a makeshift sign amid the rubble reminded Everts and others that they were in Russell Circle, once their street.We have no place yet, the 85-year-old said. We were trying to get it cleaned up and save the stuff that's precious to us.

Everts was among hundreds of people who lost homes and belongings when a tornado ripped apart a stretch of northern Iowa.Iowa's death toll from Sunday's storm rose to seven with the death of a person who was hospitalized, Gov. Chet Culver announced Tuesday in Des Moines. In neighboring Minnesota, a child was killed by violent weather Sunday in a suburb of St. Paul.Culver announced federal and state disaster declarations for the region, and said he would continue a curfew in Parkersburg for safety reasons and to allow residents to survey their losses.We want to give families time to sort through their belongings privately so they can figure out what they can keep and what needs to be destroyed, said Culver. That's going to take some time and we want to be respectful of the families here involved in that difficult process.Altogether, 350 homes were destroyed by the twister, the governor said. The damage in Parkersburg alone was staggering: 222 homes destroyed in a town of some 1,000 residents, 21 businesses destroyed and more than 400 homes damaged. Among the buildings destroyed were the city hall, the high school and the town's sole grocery store and gas station.

Warning sirens sounded early enough to give residents time to seek shelter, Parkersburg Mayor Bob Haylock said.Without that, we would have a tremendous amount of injuries and loss of life, Haylock said. People were down in their basements and waiting it out.

However, Haylock said most of those killed in Parkersburg were in basements. All were adults, he said.Diane Goodrich rode out the storm in her basement with her husband and three neighbors.The noise was just unbelievable, Goodrich said Monday as she searched through the ruins of her home. Our ears were popping. We could hear trees flying over us. We could hear every piece of furniture that left the house.Sunday's storm followed an east-to-west path just a few miles north of the Waterloo area. It hit Parkersburg, New Hartford and then Dunkerton, about 50 miles east of Parkersburg.

North of St. Paul, Minn., the tornado that struck the town of Hugo on Sunday killed 2-year-old Nathaniel Prindle and injured his young sister, Washington County officials said. The boy's father was hospitalized in stable condition, while his 4-year-old sister was in critical condition, and his mother was released after treatment, authorities said.The Red Cross said 27 homes were destroyed and 16 had major damage.Storms also killed at least two people Friday in Kansas.About 100 people have been killed by U.S. twisters so far this year, the worst toll in a decade, according to the National Weather Service, and the danger has not passed yet. Tornado season typically peaks in the spring and early summer, then again in the late fall. Associated Press writers Mike Glover in Des Moines, Iowa, and Joshua Freed in Hugo, Minn., contributed to this report.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

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.

NEW MARS PICTURES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8000004&src=news

HAS MARS LANDER FOUND ICE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7983395&ch=4226713&src=news

TELECTROSCOPE ALLOWS VIEW ACROSS THE ATLANTIC
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7950150&ch=4226722&src=news

PUPPIES CLONED
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7950150&ch=4226722&src=news

STOCKS RALLY ON LOWER OIL
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8001224&ch=6535903

WORLD TERRORISM

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
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 through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men

LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

New al Qaeda video to urge WMDs against West: FBI MAY 27,08

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Groups that monitor Islamic Web sites say al Qaeda will post a new video in the next 24 hours urging jihadists to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons to attack the West, the FBI said on Tuesday. Spokesman Richard Kolko said FBI sent out an alert to U.S. law enforcement agencies about the expected video.

We got information the tape is coming, said Kolko. We sent out an alert to law enforcement (agencies) to let them know the tape was coming.Kolko said the alert was a routine precaution sent to 1,800 U.S. law enforcement agencies.According to an ABC News report, the FBI bulletin said there is no evidence of any direct threat.Kolko said the information about the al Qaeda call to jihadists was gleaned from organizations that monitor Islamic militant Web sites.

Osama bin Laden and al Qaeda are linked to the September 11 attacks in New York and Washington that killed around 3,000 people, the October 12, 2002 attack when 202 people died in blasts on the tourist island of Bali. (Reporting by Joanne Allen; Writing by Philip Barbara)

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

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

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:20,30
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.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

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.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Treaty seeks to ban cluster bombs within 8 years By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer MAY 28,08

DUBLIN, Ireland - Diplomats from more than 100 nations agreed on a treaty Wednesday to ban current types of cluster bombs and require the destruction of stockpiles within eight years. However, the talks did not involve the biggest makers and users of cluster bombs: the United States, Russia, China, Israel, India and Pakistan. And the pact leaves the door open for new types that could pick targets more precisely and contain self-destruct technology.Cluster munitions, fired by artillery or dropped from aircraft, scatter dozens or hundreds of bomblets across an area as big as two football fields to attack concentrations of troops and vehicles.They have been used with devastating impact on battlefields around the globe. But critics complain the explosives often fail to detonate and later inflict a terrible cost on civilians, from farmers who strike bomblets in their fields to children who mistake them for playthings.The breakthrough on a ban capped more than a year of negotiations begun in Norway and pressed home over the past 10 days in Dublin. Nations are expected to sign the document in December in the Norwegian capital, Oslo.Ireland and other lead sponsors plan to unveil the treaty Friday after it is translated into several languages.A draft — obtained by The Associated Press as talks wound down with no major issues outstanding — declares that a signatory nation undertakes never under any circumstances to use cluster munitions nor develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions.Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said all 111 participating nations backed a draft treaty he called a real contribution to international humanitarian law. He said it is a very strong and ambitious text which nevertheless was able to win consensus among all delegations.

Martin predicted that the widespread support within the world community would put pressure on the U.S. and the other leading cluster-bomb makers to give them up, too.In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said such weapons are an important part of the American arsenal.While the United States shares the humanitarian concerns of those in Dublin, cluster munitions have demonstrated military utility, and their elimination from U.S. stockpiles would put the lives of our soldiers and those of our coalition partners at risk, he said.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown welcomed the treaty, saying it was in line with British interests and values, and makes the world a safer place.Brown helped propel negotiators to a speedier deal by confirming earlier Wednesday that Britain would discontinue its use of two cluster munitions: one an Israeli-designed artillery shell, the other a U.S.-made rocket system for use on Apache attack helicopters. Britain previously had sought an exemption to continue using the helicopter-based weapon in particular.Nonetheless, the draft treaty contains several concessions sought by the United States — a key absentee that still cast the biggest shadow over deliberations.

The pact would allow countries that sign the treaty to keep cooperating militarily with those that do not. Earlier drafts sought to prohibit such cooperation, but the U.S. and its NATO allies opposed that idea on the grounds it would complicate joint peacekeeping operations.That section — nearly at the end of the 18-page document — makes it likely U.S. forces based in Europe will be able to maintain stocks of cluster bombs even in nations like Britain that sign the treaty.A British diplomat, speaking to the AP on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the negotiations, said British officials had been in regular contact with U.S. counterparts throughout the Dublin talks. He said Britain intended to work with Washington to seek a gradual reduction in the U.S. military's heavy reliance on cluster munitions.The treaty's detailed definition of what a cluster bomb is — and isn't — also will allow development of more advanced weapons. It specifies that designs are permitted if each weapon contains fewer than 10 bomblets. Each bomblet would have to weigh more than 8.8 pounds, contain targeting technology designed to single out a target, and have built-in security measures that would defuse duds. The self-destruct rule is meant to reduce the number of civilians killed or maimed by bomblets. Rights groups say tens of thousands of people have stumbled across unexploded bomblets and accidentally detonated them. The treaty says any future cluster bomb must meet all of those requirements to avoid indiscriminate area effects and the risks posed by unexploded submunitions.

Campaigners against the use of cluster bombs welcomed the treaty's commitment requiring signatories to fund projects that will clear up unexploded bomblets and support families and communities victimized by cluster munitions. We think this will make a huge difference to people around the world and it will save many lives and limbs, said Simon Conway, a former British soldier and mine-clearance expert who directs an umbrella group called the Cluster Munitions Coalition. But they also expressed worries that the treaty concedes too many loopholes. We do feel some disappointment, because we have the feeling we missed the chance to make clear that (treaty supporters) should not assist other counties that are using cluster munitions, said Hildegarde Vansintjan, spokeswoman for Handicap International. But Vansintjan, whose group has spent more than a decade helping people who have lost limbs, sight or other faculties in cluster-bomb explosions, is happy the pact provides for governments to help victims of cluster munitions. We are confident that many nations now will provide what the victims really need, she said On the Net: Irish government site with treaty text: http://tinyurl.com/54fqjj

ISRAELS PM FATE IN QUESTION
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8016531&ch=224106

BARACK OLMERT MUST RESIGN
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8014841&ch=4226714&src=news

WE HAVE ISRAEL FALLING APART LOOKOUT FOR THE EU TO STEP IN AND HELP OUT.

Israeli defense chief says Olmert must step down By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer Wed May 28, 6:06 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Israel's powerful defense minister on Wednesday called on Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to step down amid a burgeoning corruption scandal and threatened to bring down the government if the Israeli leader does not comply. The ultimatum was the latest in a string of career-threatening challenges that Olmert has weathered during his two years in office.If Labor Party leader Ehud Barak carries out his promise to withdraw from Olmert's fragile coalition, new elections could usher in a government opposed to current peace talks with the Palestinians and Syria.Israeli prosecutors have been investigating tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions that Olmert collected from American donors in the years before he became prime minister in 2006.Calls for Olmert's resignation gained volume this week after a key witness, U.S. businessman Morris Talansky, testified he had given $150,000 of his own money to Olmert over the years, before he was premier. Talansky said the payments, often cash-stuffed envelopes, helped fund Olmert's expensive lifestyle that included luxury hotels and first-class travel.Olmert has denied any wrongdoing and promised to resign if indicted.

At a news conference, Barak said that because of the criminal investigation, Olmert could not focus on peace efforts and Israel's pressing security needs.I don't think the prime minister can at the same time lead the government and handle his own affairs. Therefore, acting out of concern for the good of the country ... I believe the prime minister must disconnect himself from the day-to-day running of the government, he said.He said Olmert could suspend himself, resign or even go on vacation.He promised to consider cooperating with a new leader from Olmert's Kadima Party, but vowed to pull Labor out of the government soon if Olmert doesn't step aside. Without Labor, Olmert would lose his parliamentary majority, and new elections would probably be forced two years ahead of schedule.Polls forecast a poor performance for Labor if elections are held now. Polls have signaled that hard-line opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu, a fierce critic of Olmert's peace overtures, would win. That could deter Barak from following through on his threat to bring down the government.In Washington, State Department spokesman Tom Casey declined to speculate on the possible effect of a change in Israeli leadership on the U.S.-backed peace process.

I'll leave it to the Israelis to have their own internal political debate and discussions, Casey said. We are committed to continuing to work with both sides to move the peace process forward and that's what we're going to continue to do.Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said the prime minister was maintaining his regular schedule. The prime minister is convinced that as this investigation continues, it will be clearly demonstrated that he did nothing wrong, he said.Olmert held a series of meetings, including a session with the visiting Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley. He seemed his usual relaxed and charming self. He seemed focused and very much looking toward the future, O'Malley told The Associated Press.Olmert — a canny and capable politician — could still hang on. In Israel's frenetic news environment, headlines fade quickly in the public consciousness as they are overtaken by events, which could work in Olmert's favor.Olmert, a master political survivor, has weathered repeated scandals throughout his three-decade political career. The new police investigation is the fifth opened into his affairs since he was elected, and he was widely seen to have botched Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.In the aftermath of that war, Barak issued an ultimatum similar to the one he issued Wednesday but never followed through. Doubts about Barak's credibility appeared to be Olmert's best hope for survival.

Barak's comments fit the public mood and fit what his voters want him to say, but whether he will act on anything is a different question, said Asher Arian, a fellow at the Israel Democracy Institute. If Olmert decides to step aside, his deputy, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, would serve as a caretaker. She could then try to keep the current coalition together until Olmert officially steps down or is vindicated and returns. Olmert's other option is to resign. If that happens, his government falls and Israel's ceremonial president, Shimon Peres, would select a lawmaker from Kadima — probably Livni — and give her a chance to form a new government without new elections. In recent months, Livni has emerged as one of Israel's most popular politicians. If she takes over from Olmert, she would become Israel's second female prime minister, after Golda Meir. But Livni faces other rivals for the Kadima leadership who will certainly try to oust her once Olmert is gone. With no one else in a strong position to form a majority coalition in the fragmented 120-seat parliament, that would likely set the stage for new elections. Livni and other Kadima leaders remained conspicuously silent Wednesday, although one junior Kadima lawmaker, Amira Dotan, urged Olmert to resign. Kadima is in a leadership crisis that has to be solved, she said. Olmert is the latest in a long line of Israeli leaders plagued by scandal. Former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was accused of campaign funding violations, as was Barak himself when he was prime minister in 2000. Israeli President Moshe Katsav was forced to resign in June 2007 under a cloud of rape and sexual assault charges. With U.S. backing, Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have set a year-end target for forging the outline of a final peace deal. Last week, Olmert also said he was resuming peace talks with archenemy Syria after an eight-year break. With Olmert embroiled in scandal, however, and the prospect of a Netanyahu government down the road, peace prospects are suddenly murky. In a statement, Abbas said he considered the matter an internal Israeli issue. We deal with any Israeli government that commits to the peace process." Abbas's aides, however, say they are worried about the effect Olmert's woes will have on peacemaking. In Israel, Talansky's dramatic courtroom testimony painting Olmert as a money-loving politician with a fondness for the good life dominated Wednesday's headlines. Olmert's lawyers are scheduled to cross-examine Talansky on July 17. The testimony exposed a dark side of the close alliance between Israeli leaders and wealthy American Jews. Many U.S. Jews donate to Israeli charities and causes, and some — like Talansky — go further, giving directly to Israeli politicians or political movements they identify with.

Israel is a small country where fundraising opportunities are limited, and some politicians have found that Israel's supporters abroad are a potentially lucrative alternate source of money. Foreign donations are not illegal, but prosecutors suspect Olmert may have exceeded legal limits or even accepted bribes. Talansky, 75, said he never received anything in return for the money. He said he was motivated by an admiration for Olmert. Commentators said that while there was no clear evidence of criminal activity, the moral implications were troubling. In a headline, the Yediot Ahronot daily described Olmert's high-flying lifestyle as disgusting.

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.

If Olmert is toast, so is Bush bid to broker peace deal By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer MAY 28,08

WASHINGTON - If Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is toast in a corruption scandal, so is President Bush's effort to broker a Mideast peace deal by the time he leaves office. Time and patience were running short for U.S.-backed peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians before Olmert's simmering political troubles boiled over this week. If Olmert is forced out, there will be little time and perhaps even less appetite among all sides to start over.Israel's powerful defense minister, Ehud Barak, who is presumed to want Olmert's job, said Wednesday the prime minister should step aside because of his political or legal distractions. Barak threatened to bring down the government if Olmert doesn't comply.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice refused comment to Wednesday on the unfolding political drama, and the State Department put on a game face.We firmly believe and are fully committed to helping the Israelis and Palestinians achieve a peace agreement by the end of the year, State Department spokesman Tom Casey said. We have committed to supporting their efforts. They have committed to reaching that agreement. That is where we were yesterday, that's where we were today, and I expect that's where we'll be tomorrow.Students of previous, failed negotiations said Olmert's precarious position could let the Bush administration off the hook if the current talks go nowhere.If Israeli politics are in meltdown, that's certainly not the time to lock in an agreement that breaks new ground, said Jonathan Alterman, Mideast scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.Israeli prosecutors are looking into tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions that Olmert collected from American donors in the years before he became prime minister in 2006.Pressure for Olmert to resign, or at least go on vacation, as Barak put it, grew louder after a key witness, U.S. businessman Morris Talansky, testified this week that he had given $150,000 to Olmert. Talansky said the payments, often cash-stuffed envelopes, helped fund Olmert's expensive lifestyle that included luxury hotels and first-class travel.Olmert has denied any wrongdoing and promised to resign if indicted.

Olmert's government was built on the premise that cutting a deal with the Palestinians is in Israel's best long-term interest. If Barak carries out his threat, new elections could bring a government opposed to those high-level negotiations as well as new, low-level talks with Syria.Even if there were a deep bench of peace-minded politicians behind him, Olmert's personal relationship with his Palestinian counterpart and his direct involvement in talks would be difficult to replicate quickly.Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meet regularly, shake hands warmly and act as billboard advertising for closed-door talks that both men say are confronting the toughest issues in the six-decade Israeli-Palestinian conflict.Aaron David Miller, a former U.S. negotiator and author of a recent history of U.S. peace efforts, The Much Too Promised Land, likens the current talks to a car with three flat tires. The Palestinian Authority is still a mess, Olmert's in trouble and the U.S. doesn't seem reconciled to the kind of arduous diplomacy and hard political choices that a successful U.S.-brokered settlement would require, Miller said.The fourth tire is the only one with any air, and that's Abbas and Olmert. They like each other, and seem to work well together, Miller said. But the car can't really go where it needs to go.Olmert and Abbas inaugurated the negotiations last fall, after seven years of violence, with the goal of sketching a separate Palestinian state before Bush's term ends in January 2009. The talks have produced no clear public accomplishments.Rice had been pushing both sides to demonstrate some progress, perhaps through the drawing of a new West Bank border, to give Israelis and Palestinians confidence that the talks are getting somewhere.Rice was visibly rattled by questions about Olmert's political future during a visit to Jerusalem this month, and his fortunes were a hot topic during her private meetings with both Israelis and Palestinians. As she often does, Rice also met with Barak on that trip. Olmert, a master political survivor, has weathered repeated scandals throughout his three-decade political career. The new police investigation is the fifth opened into his affairs since he was elected, and he was widely seen to have botched Israel's 2006 war in Lebanon.

He could hang on, but would probably be a diminished figure with less political capital to spend selling the unpopular concessions that would be required of Israel under a real land-for-peace settlement. Our goal here is not to achieve an agreement based on the personalities of President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, Casey said. Our goal here is to achieve an agreement that serves the interests of the Palestinian people and of the Israeli people.
EDITOR'S NOTE — Anne Gearan covers diplomacy and foreign affairs for The Associated 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.

Iran-Syria sign defence pact Wed May 28, 10:33 AM ET

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran and its close ally Syria have signed a new defence cooperation pact, Iranian media reported on Wednesday, just a week after news broke that Israel had begun indirect peace talks with Damascus. The two countries pledge their mutual support regarding territorial independence and integrity in terms of international and regional authorities, the state-run IRNA news agency reported.The accord, signed during a visit by Syrian Defence Minister Hassan Turkmani, also called for the withdrawal of foreign and occupation forces, which are the source of insecurity and instability in the region.Last Wednesday, Israel and Syria announced they had launched peace talks through Turkish mediators, after the last round of negotiations broke off in 2000 over the fate of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.The United States, which has forces in Iraq and several oil-rich Gulf monarchies, has said it hopes the revival of the Israel-Syria peace track could help isolate archfoe Iran.Syria has however rejected an Israeli demand that it breaks its three-decade alliance with Iran and end support for Lebanese and Palestinian militant groups as a condition for progress in the talks.Iran does not recognise Israel and its President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has drawn international condemnation by saying the Jewish state should be wiped from the map.

VAST CRACKS IN ARTIC ICE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7950682&ch=4226724&src=news

WHY IS THE ARTIC SO BUSY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7963919&ch=4226724&src=news

Summit seeks accord on Arctic sovereignty by Slim Allagui
Wed May 28, 6:27 PM ET

ILULISSAT, Greenland (AFP) - The five nations that ring the Arctic Ocean affirmed their willingness to cooperate to protect its environment, at the end of a day-long ministerial summit in Greenland. We will take steps in accordance with international law... to ensure the protection and the preservation of the fragile environment of the Arctic Ocean, said a statement agreed Wednesday by envoys from Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States.We intend to work together, including through the International Maritime Organization, to strengthen existing measures and to develop new measures to improve the safety of maritime navigation and prevent or reduce the risk of ship-based pollution in the Arctic Ocean, it added.The five nations went on to pledge to strengthen cooperation over the Arctic Ocean -- including scientific research -- based on mutual trust and transparency.The summit in Ilulissat, on Greenland's west coast, was the first to be held at ministerial level between the five regional powers.It was aimed at easing recent tensions as each nation seeks to extend its sovereignty to the Arctic waters that could hold 25 percent of the world's undiscovered oil and gas, according to the US Geological Survey.The race for the North Pole has been cancelled, said Swedish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moeller, hailing the outcome.Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov said: The declaration reflects the will of all participants to resolve the issue through negociations in a spirit of cooperation and on the basis of international law.But concern was expressed by a prominant Inuit spokesman, who said the indigenous peoples of the Arctic were being marginalised.

Inuit have their own definition of sovereignty, said Aqqaluk Lynge, the Greenlandic politician who is president of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference, which speaks for 150,000 Inuit.Lynge said Inuit leaders would gather in the northern Canadian town of Kuujjuaq in November for their own summit on how to collectively respond to the main forces -- state, industry and others -- that are debating questions of ownership of our lands and seas without us having a meaningful voice.Rivalry between the five Arctic neighbours has heated up as the melting polar ice makes the region more accessible.Denmark and Canada, for instance, have a longstanding disagreement over who owns the tiny, uninhabited, ice-covered Hans island, which straddles Nares Strait between Greenland and Canada's Ellesmere Island.Canada and the United States are meanwhile at odds over the sovereignty of the Northwest Passage, which links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Scientists say the Northwest Passage could open up to year-round shipping by 2050.

Last year, Russian explorers claimed to have planted their national flag at the bottom of the ocean, at a depth of more than 4,000 metres (yards), after an expedition aimed at underlining Moscow's aspirations to Arctic territory.According to international law, each of the countries bordering the Arctic hold sovereignty over a zone measuring 200 nautical miles (370 kilometres). That leaves 1.2 million square kilometres (465,000 square miles) of unclaimed territory.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

CRUDE REALITY OF ENERGY STOCKS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8011949&ch=4226720&src=news

Inflation-wary Fed looks ahead to rate hikes By Ros Krasny
MAY 28,08

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Two Federal Reserve policy-makers warned on Wednesday that interest rate increases might be needed before too long to curb inflation, even as the United States struggles with a weak economy. The remarks solidified expectations that the Federal Open Market Committee has ended an aggressive rate-cutting campaign and could start to reverse its policy course late this year.Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher and Minneapolis Fed President Gary Stern, both voting members of the FOMC in 2008, said they are keeping a close eye on the level of inflation expectations being dialed into financial markets.If inflationary developments and, more important, inflation expectations, continue to worsen, I would expect a change of course in monetary policy to occur sooner rather than later, Fisher said in San Francisco.Rate increases could be made even in the face of an anemic economic scenario, Fisher told the Commonwealth Club of California.Earlier, Stern vowed that the Fed would act in an appropriate and timely way.The key to maintaining low inflation and inflation expectations is likely to be the timeliness and magnitude of decisions we make to reverse course on interest rates, Stern told a local business group in Altoona, Wisconsin.

SO FAR SO GOOD?

The Fed monitors inflation expectations as a test of what assumptions are priced into markets and, by implication, consumer behavior.Central bank officials have expressed concern recently that the United States faces a hint of stagflation, the damaging combination of weak growth and wage-price spiral that hit the economy in the late 1970s and early 1980s, also at a time of rapidly rising oil prices.Janet Yellen, the president of the San Francisco Fed and typically one of the central bank's more dovish members who focuses more on the need to spur economic growth, said on Tuesday that Fed policy must be the barrier to a recurrence of 1970s-style problems.Stern suggested the Fed has been successful to date.Inflation expectations have remained reasonably well anchored so far, which is encouraging, he said.Headline inflation, which includes food and energy prices, is clearly to rapid for comfort, he said, adding that core measures have been better behaved.

The Fed lowered its benchmark federal funds rate to 2 percent in April, the seventh in a string of rate cuts started in mid-September, when the fed funds rate was at 5.25 percent, to shield the United States economy from a housing and credit crisis.Fisher has been one of the Fed's most vocal policy hawks this year, urging a greater focus on quelling inflation, which on Wednesday he termed a sinister beast and the enemy of capitalism.He has tallied three straight dissents against the FOMC'S decisions to lower interest rates.Growth cannot be sustained if markets are undermined by inflation, Fisher said. Stable prices go hand in hand with achieving sustainable economic growth.But Stern said the Fed is still walking a policy tightrope given the combination of weak growth and rising inflation pressures, that demands delicate action. We are seeing challenges on both sides of that and I think we are simply going to have to navigate the minefield, he said.

In particular, Stern said it was unclear if federal tax rebate checks now being mailed to millions of Americans as part of the Bush Administration's plan to stimulate economic growth, would have an impact beyond one or two quarters. Some forecasters fear that the United States faces a double-dip slowdown, with growth likely to pick up in the next few quarters on the back of the stimulus package, before fading again in late 2008 or early 2009.

ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST

Separately, the FOMC will lose a voting member with the departure of Frederic Mishkin, whose resignation after less than two years, effective August 31, was announced on Wednesday. The Fed's usual lineup of seven governors, including the chairman and vice chairman, will dwindle to four because of two other vacancies that have been unfilled for months. This will mean the departure of an influential (policy) dove, said David Sloan, analyst at 4CAST Ltd in New York. Mishkin, seen as an ally to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke in his support of formal inflation targets, will return to his post as a Columbia University economics professor. Rick's contributions to the intellectual underpinnings of monetary policy at the Federal Reserve have been invaluable, Bernanke said in a statement. (Additional reporting by Alister Bull in Altoona, Wisconsin, and Mark Felsenthal in Washington; Editing by Leslie Adler)

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).

Gut superbug causing more illnesses, deaths By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer Wed May 28, 7:03 PM ET

ATLANTA - The number of people hospitalized with a dangerous intestinal superbug has been growing by more than 10,000 cases a year, according to a new study. The germ, resistant to some antibiotics, has become a regular menace in hospitals and nursing homes. The study found it played a role in nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in 2005, more than double the number in 2000.The infection, Clostridium difficile, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. But the spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or antibacterial soap.C-diff, as it's known, has grown resistant to certain antibiotics that work against other colon bacteria. The result: When patients take those antibiotics, competing bacteria die off and C-diff explodes.This virulent strain of C-diff was rarely seen before 2000.The nature of this infection is changing. It's more severe, said Dr. L. Clifford McDonald, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expert who was not part of the study.

There are other factors that play into the rise of C-diff cases as well, including a larger of number of patients who are older and sicker. And there may be some overuse and inappropriate use of antibiotics, said Dr. Marya Zilberberg, a University of Massachusetts researcher and lead author of the study.The Zilberberg study was based on a sample of more than 36 million annual discharges from non-governmental U.S. hospitals. That data was used to generate the study's national estimates.The research is being published in the June issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, a CDC publication.Using other scientists' estimates, the study concluded that 2.3 percent of the cases in 2004 were fatal — about 5,500 deaths. That was nearly double the percentage of C-diff-related cases that ended in death in 2000.Many of the people who died had other health problems. The study did not try to determine if Clostridium difficile was the main cause of death in each case, Zilberberg said.But earlier research concluded the infection is the underlying cause of thousands of deaths annually, and the problem is getting worse.C-diff has become an acute health concern in Canada, where it was blamed for 260 deaths at seven Ontario hospitals recently, and 2,000 deaths in Quebec since 2002.The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology is currently working with U.S. hospitals to study prevalence of the infection and what infection control measures seem to work best.

This is not a time for alarm, but more a time for educating health professionals to understand this particular pathogen, said Kathy Warye, chief executive of the Washington, D.C.-based association.On the Net:The CDC publication: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/index.htm

3 shark attacks have Mexico resort area in panic By ALEXANDRA OLSON, Associated Press Writer MAY 28,08

ZIHUATANEJO, Mexico - No one could even remember a shark attack along this resort-studded stretch of Mexican coast popular with surfers and Hollywood's elite. Many of the large predators had been pulled from the ocean by fishermen. So when sharks attacked three surfers in less than a month, two fatally, it was unthinkable. The latest attack came Saturday, when a shark chomped down on the arm of surfing enthusiast Bruce Grimes, an American expat who runs a surf shop in Zihuatanejo.Grimes and a handful of other surfers were out on dark, choppy waters when he felt something lift his board. He managed about five strokes before teeth sank into his arm. Shark! he screamed, wresting his arm back. Grimes made it to shore, escaping with a few gashes.There wasn't any time to panic, he said. I thought: Don't want to die. Don't want to lose my arm.Only later did the 49-year-old Florida native learn a local surfer had been killed by a shark at a neighboring beach the previous day. Less than a month before that, a visitor from San Francisco was killed while surfing another nearby beach.Before that, shark attacks were unheard of here. University of Florida expert George Burgess was in the area Wednesday interviewing witnesses, going over autopsy reports and checking out beaches to find out why the sharks had suddenly become so aggressive.Burgess' International Shark Attack File records an average of only four fatal shark attacks around the world each year. This year, there has been at least one other recorded shark fatality outside Mexico — a 66-year-old triathlete killed at Solana Beach, Calif.The attacks around Zihuatanejo have puzzled experts and, alarmingly for local businesses, the mayhem is keeping tourists away.After the first fatality, panicked officials strung lines of baited hooks offshore and slaughtered dozens of sharks, drawing international criticism. Authorities planned to meet Thursday to seek Burgess' advice.

Marine biologist Chris Lowe, who runs the shark lab at California State University, Long Beach, said there is little officials can do beyond trying to keep people out of the water and studying why sharks have suddenly turned so aggressive. Hunts don't usually help, he said.Lowe also said officials should keep the attacks in perspective.People have a much better chance of dying of food poisoning going to Mexico than being bitten by a shark, he said. It's far more dangerous driving to the beach than it is getting in the water.The International Shark File has found that attacks have been increasing over the past century, mostly because of the growing popularity of water sports like surfing.That's part of the reason experts say shark hunting is futile: Even as shark populations are declining, the number people swimming in the ocean is increasing.Finding the killer shark is nearly impossible, said Jose Leonardo Castillo, the chief shark investigator for Mexico's National Fishing Institute.Mexican experts are planning a catch-and-release study to determine the species of sharks that has been attacking. And maritime officials, stung by the backlash over the shark hunt, have switched to conducting sea and aerial patrols to watch for sharks near shore.After repeated appeals by environmentalists, officials have promised to post large warning signs on beaches where sharks have attacked — a dreaded prospect for some in the surfing business.Those signs will be the worst thing for us, said Herberto Perez Yanez, who teaches surfing and rents out boards at Troncones beach, where 24-year-old Adrian Ruiz of San Francisco was killed April 28. Plenty of fishermen out here hunt sharks, and no one says anything. The ecologists say they don't want the hunt, but they're just sitting in their offices while we have to be here, he said. Perez Yanez was interviewed while giving surfing lessons to a couple from Texas — the only two people in the water at Troncones and his first clients since Ruiz died. He usually teaches three groups a week. Lisa Rabon, of Walnut Springs, Texas, said she and her husband came to celebrate her 50th birthday and fulfill her lifelong dream of learning to surf. She didn't learn of the attacks until after arriving and said she has seen hardly anyone else in the water. I've been hearing about the attacks, but I didn't ask for any details. I didn't want it to be part of my experience, she said. If I think about sharks, I'll never learn.Leon Perez Yanez, brother of Herberto and president of the Guerrero state surfers association, said at least three groups canceled surfing lessons with him since the weekend attacks. Grimes said he was worried about his own business — a surf shop he opened six months ago when he decided to move to Zihuatanejo permanently after 25 years of visiting. But he said he will soon be back on his board, and is sure most surfers won't stay away long because they accept the risks of their sport. I'll go right back. Yeah, I'm that stupid, Grimes said, examining his bandaged arm outside the hospital where he just had his daily cleaning. I'll go right back out as soon as I'm able to. That is part of the problem, said Lowe, an avid surfer himself. With more people in the water, in more remote locations, attacks are inevitable. For every shark we take out of the water, we put 10 people in, he said. The bottom line is the ocean is a wild environment and people just have to accept the risks when they go in it.International Shark Attack File: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)

EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK)

REVELATION 18:10
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

BUSH SAID SOME INTERESTING STUFF IN THIS SPEECH, LIKE GET READY TO ATTACK IRAN AND HAMAS INSINUATIONS.

Text Of President Bush's Speech At Air Force Academy
May 28, 2008 10:15 A.M. MDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Mr. Secretary, thank you for the kind introduction. General Moseley, General Regni; Mr. Congressman, thank you. Academy staff and faculty, distinguished guests, and proud family members. I am so pleased to stand before the future leaders of the United States Air Force.

I have something I'd like to say to the Cadet Wing: Class of 2008! (Applause.) Yes, that's good. I was a little worried you we're going to yell: Give him the Bird! (Laughter.)

You're the 50th graduating class in the history of the Air Force Academy. Each of you has worked hard to reach this moment. You survived Beast, Terazzo Sailing -- (applause) -- fatty bags at Mitch's. (Laughter.) You earned your prop and wings at Pinnacle -- (applause) -- and today you will receive your degree and commission as Air Force officers. Your teachers are proud of you, your parents are proud of you -- and so is your Commander-in-Chief. Job well done. (Applause.)

The Superintendent informs me that some of you are still on restriction. (Laughter.) It might be because you were caught running from the Lightning Van. (Laughter.) Or it might be because of Jimmy Chad's apple. (Laughter and applause.) Whatever the reason you got your Form-10, help has arrived. In keeping with longstanding tradition, I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. (Applause.) As for your grades, well, some things are even beyond the powers of the President. (Laughter.)

In becoming officers of the United States Air Force, you have chosen a vocation that is both hazardous and rewarding. As a former F-102 pilot, I know the exhilaration of flight. As the son of an aviator who was shot down in combat, I know its perils. Whether you serve in the skies above or on the ground below, each of you has stepped forward to defend your country. You've chosen to face danger in foreign lands so your fellow citizens do not have to face danger in our own land. And I want to thank you for making this courageous choice. And all of America is grateful to the Class of 2008. (Applause.)

When you put on your Second Lieutenant bars in a few moments, you will become part of a great history -- a history that is still only beginning to unfold. By any standard, air power is still a relatively new phenomena. Men have been fighting on land and at sea for thousands of years -- yet there are still Americans among us who were born before man ever flew. In the lifetime of one generation, our nation has seen aviation progress from that first tentative liftoff at Kitty Hawk to an age of supersonic flight and space exploration.

And as flight has progressed it changed the face of war. In the 20th century, air power helped make possible freedom's victory in great ideological struggles with fascism and communism. In those struggles, our nation faced evil men with territorial ambitions and totalitarian aims, who murdered the innocent to achieve their political objectives. Through a combination of military strength and national resolve, and faith in the power of freedom, we defeated these adversaries -- and secured the peace for millions across the world.

And now, in the 21st century, our nation is once again contending with an ideology that seeks to sow anger and hatred and despair -- the ideology of Islamic extremism. In today's struggle, we are once again facing evil men who despise freedom, and despise America, and aim to subject millions to their violent rule. And once again, our nation is called to defeat these adversaries -- and secure the peace for millions across the world. And once again, our enemies will be no match for the men and women of the United States Air Force. (Applause.)

You know, what's remarkable about this class is that each of you knows the stakes in the war on terror. You applied to this Academy after seeing the attacks of September the 11th, 2001. You came to this Academy knowing that the responsibility of our military is to protect the American people. And you now leave this Academy to take your place in this great struggle. Today, I've come to talk to you about the battle you're about to join, the lessons we can learn from the conflicts of the past, and what they can teach us about the challenges we face in the war on terror that will dominate your military careers.

The first lesson is this: In both the 20th century and today, defeating hateful ideologies requires all elements of national power, including the use of military power. The military power that you will wield in your military careers is much more precise and effective than in past generations. When the United States entered World War II, the age of long-range bombing was just beginning. There were no computer guidance, no GPS targeting, or laser-guided munitions. The allied bombing raids against Germany and Japan resulted in horrific civilian casualties and widespread destruction. It took nearly four years before the regimes in Berlin and Tokyo finally capitulated -- with difficult battles from the deserts of North Africa to the forests of France, to the islands of the Pacific.

Today, revolutionary advances in technology are transforming warfare. During Operation Iraqi Freedom, for example, we employed military capabilities so precise that coalition air crews could take out a tank hiding under a bridge without damaging the bridge. With this military technology, we can now target a regime without targeting an entire nation. We've removed two cruel regimes in weeks instead of years. In Afghanistan, coalition forces and their Afghan allies drove the Taliban from power in less than two months. In Iraq, with the help of the United States Air Force, our troops raced across 350 miles of enemy territory to liberate Baghdad in less than one month -- one of the fastest armored advances in military history.

These facts create both opportunities and challenges. One opportunity is that, if we have to fight our enemies, we can now do so with greater precision and greater humanity. In the age of advanced weapons, we can better strike -- we can better target strikes against regimes and individual terrorists. Sadly, there will be civilian casualties in war. But with these advances, we can work toward this noble goal: defeating the enemies of freedom while sparing the lives of many more innocent people -- which creates another opportunity, and that is, by making war more precise, we can make war less likely.

For hostile dictators, it is a powerful deterrent to know that America is willing and able to target their regimes directly. When rulers know we can strike their regime while sparing their populations, they realize they cannot hide behind the innocent -- and that means they are less likely to start conflicts in the first place.

Our unmatched military power also creates challenges. Because no adversary can confront and defeat our military directly, the enemies of the 21st century will increasingly turn to the use of asymmetric warfare. We've seen this in Afghanistan and Iraq. In those countries, our adversaries did not lay down their arms after the regime had been removed. Instead, they blended into the civilian population and -- with the help of stateless terrorist networks -- continued the fight through suicide bombings and attacks on innocent people. In the 21st century, this nation must be prepared to fight this new kind of warfare.

To meet this new challenge, we need to continue to develop technologies that put unprecedented speed and precision and power in your hands. And that's what we're doing. Since 2002, the number of unmanned aerial vehicles in our arsenal has increased nearly 40-fold to more than 5,000 -- and we're increasing them even more. We've transformed the Special Operations Command and more than doubled its budget. We're improving our intelligence and surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities. We're transforming our ground forces for the wars of the 21st century -- making them faster and more agile and more lethal.

And you'll see the impact of these changes in your own Air Force careers. Instead of serving at 10,000 feet, some of you will serve on the ground as battlefield airmen -- deploying behind enemy lines and using laser technology to fix targets for aviators circling above. Instead of sitting in jet fighter cockpits, some of you will sit before computer consoles at bases here in the United States, where you'll guide Predator UAVs half a world away and use them to strike terrorist hideouts. These and other changes will increase your ability to prevail in asymmetric warfare. They will make you more effective in the defense of freedom.

Another challenge of asymmetric warfare is that it requires patience. Our new enemies know they can't defeat us militarily. So their strategy is to cause us to lose our nerve and retreat before the job is done. They take advantage of the information age and the 24-hour news cycles, creating images of chaos and suffering for the cameras, in the hope that these images will horrify the American people and undermine resolve and morale here at home. This means that to win the first war of the 21st century, we need to prevail not just in the battle of arms, but also in the battle of wills. And we need to recognize that the only way America can lose the war on terror is if we defeat ourselves. (Applause.)

The second lesson is this: In both the 20th century and today, defeating hateful ideologies requires using our national resources to strengthen free institutions in countries that are fighting extremists. We must help these nations govern their territorial -- territory effectively so they can deny safe haven to our common enemies. And in Afghanistan and Iraq, where we removed regimes that threatened our people, we have a special obligation to help these nations build free and just societies that are strong partners in the fight against these extremists and terrorists.

We've assumed this obligation before. After World War II, we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies. These efforts took time and patience, and as a result, Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity. Germany and Japan, once mortal enemies, are now allies of the United States. And people across the world have reaped the benefits from that alliance. Today, we must do the same in Afghanistan and Iraq. By helping these young democracies grow in freedom and prosperity, we'll lay the foundation of peace for generations to come.

We face a number of challenges in undertaking this vital work. One challenge is that in the past, in Germany and Japan, the work of rebuilding took place in relative quiet. Today, we're helping emerging democracies rebuild under fire from terrorist networks and state sponsors of terror. This is a difficult and unprecedented task -- and we're learning as we go. For example, in Iraq we learned from hard experience that newly liberated people cannot make political and economic progress unless they first have some measure of security. In 2006, Iraqis did not have this security, and we all watched as their capital descended into sectarian violence.

So this year we changed our strategy. Instead of retreating, instead of pulling back and hoping for the best, I made the decision to send in 30,000 additional troops with a new mission: Protect the American people -- Iraqi people from terrorists and insurgents and illegal militias. Together, U.S. and Iraqi forces launched new offensives across the country to clear the enemy out of its strongholds. And as this military surge brought security to neighborhoods that were once in the grip of terror, it was followed by a civilian surge -- with Provincial Reconstruction Teams deploying to work with Iraqis to ensure military progress was quickly followed by real improvements in daily life.

Today we're seeing the fruits of the new strategy. Violence in Iraq is down to the lowest point since March of 2004. Civilian deaths are down. Sectarian killings are down. And as security has improved, the economy has improved as well. Political reconciliation is taking place at the grassroots and national level. The surge is working. Our men and women in Iraq are performing with skill and valor -- and they have earned the respect of the people of the United States of America. (Applause.)

This experience will help shape your careers as officers in the United States Air Force. During your time in uniform, some of you will have to help young democracies build free institutions amid chaos and confusion. You'll have to work with civilians on the battlefield in ways generations never imagined. To support your efforts, to help you make young democracies transition from tyranny to freedom, one thing is for certain: The United States Congress better make sure you have all the resources you need to do your job. (Applause.)

Another challenge in this new and unprecedented era is defining success. In the past, that was relatively easy to do. There were public surrenders, a signing ceremony on the deck of a battleship, victory parades in American cities. Today, when the war continues after the regime has fallen, the definition of success is more complicated. So in Iraq and Afghanistan, we set a clear definition of success: Success will come when al Qaida has no safe haven in those countries and the people can protect themselves from terror. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are economically viable. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are democracies that govern themselves effectively and respond to the will of their people. Success will come when Iraq and Afghanistan are strong and capable allies on the war on terror. Men and women of the Air Force: These successes will come -- and when they do, our nation will have achieved victory, and the American people will be more secure. (Applause.)

The third lesson is this: For all the advanced military capabilities at our disposal, the most powerful weapon in our arsenal is the power of freedom. We can see this story in the 20th century. In 1941, when Nazi bombers pounded London and Imperial Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the future of freedom appeared bleak. There were only about a dozen democracies in the world -- it seemed that tyranny, not liberty, was on the march. And even after Japan and Germany were defeated in World War II, freedom's victory was far from clear. In Europe, the advance of Nazi tyranny was replaced by the advance of Soviet tyranny. In Asia, the world saw the Japanese Empire recede and communism claim most of its former territory -- from China to Korea, to Vietnam.

Imagine if a President had stood before the first graduating class of this Academy five decades ago, and told the Cadet Wing that by the end of the 20th century, the Soviet Union would be no more, communism would stand discredited, and the vast majority of the world's nations would be democracies. The Cadets probably would have said he had done one too many Chariot Races. (Laughter.)

Many throughout history have underestimated the power of freedom to overcome tyranny and transform whole societies. Yet in the end, despite challenges and setbacks, freedom ultimately prevails, because the desire for liberty is written by our Creator in every human heart. (Applause.) We see that desire in the citizens of Georgia and Ukraine who stood up for their right to free and fair elections. We see that desire in the people of Lebanon who took to the streets to demand their independence. We see that desire in the Afghans who emerged from the tyranny of the Taliban to choose a new president and a new parliament. We see that desire in the jubilant Iraqis who held up ink-stained fingers, and celebrated their freedom. And in these scenes, we see an unmistakable truth: Whenever men and women are given a real choice, they choose to live in freedom.

The enemies of freedom understand this -- and that is why they're fighting desperately to deny this choice to men and women across the Middle East. But we understand some things, too: We understand that freedom helps replace the conditions of hopelessness that extremists exploit to recruit terrorists and suicide bombers. We understand that free societies are peaceful societies, and that people who live in liberty and hope do not turn to ideologies of hatred and fear. And that is why, for the security of America and the peace for the world, the great mission of your generation is to lead the cause of freedom. (Applause.)

This is the last time I'll address a military Academy commencement as the President. Over the past eight years, from Annapolis to West Point, to New London, to Colorado Springs, I have looked out at the best young men and women our nation has to offer -- and I have stood in awe. And I stand in awe again today. (Applause.) Each of you is a volunteer who stepped forward to accept the burdens of war, knowing all the dangers you would face upon graduation. You willingly risk your lives and futures so that our country can have a future of freedom and peace. Our enemies say that America is weak and decadent, and does not have the stomach for the long fight. Our enemies have never set foot on the campus of the United States Air Force Academy. (Applause.)

A nation that produces citizens of virtue and character and courage like you can overcome any challenge and defeat any adversary. So I'll leave this campus today filled with the confidence in the course of our struggle and the fate of our country, because I've got confidence in each of you.

We see the strength and spirit of this class in a Cadet named Erik Mirandette. In 2003, Erik felt a tug at his heart from the Almighty to take time off from the Academy and do humanitarian work in Morocco. After nearly two years there, Erik, and his brother Alex and two childhood friends, decided to ride across the African continent on dirt bikes. The last stop in their journey was Cairo -- where a suicide bomber attacked them by exploding a bucket filled with nails. The blast killed Erik's brother, injured his two friends, and left Erik bleeding on the street. Doctors did not think he'd ever walk again. He never gave up his dream of coming back to this Academy. And 14 months ago, after surviving the blast, Erik returned to this campus. Today he begins his career as a proud officer in the greatest Air Force known to man. (Applause.)

He still has got dozens of nails in his body. But he has a fierce determination in his heart -- to protect his country, defeat the forces of terror. Erik puts it this way: I'll live the rest of my life scarred inside and outside. But I've got a sense of calling. I want to prevent attacks on other good people.

Each of you gathered here this morning has answered that same call. I want to thank you for stepping forward to serve. The security of our citizens and the peace of the world will soon be in your hands -- the best of hands. Be officers of character and integrity. Keep your wings level and true. Never falter; do not fail. And always know that America stands behind you.

Thank you. May God bless, and congratulations to the Class of 2008. (Applause.)

END 10:41 A.M. MDT