REVELATION 13:1-3
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea,(IN THE BIBLE THE SEA IS THE MEDITERRANEAN SEA) and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU IS THE ONE STARTED THIS TRADE BLOCK JUST LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS HERE).
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
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 shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
TOMORROW THE NEW MIDEAST TRADE BLOC WILL BE BORN. THIS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT TRADE BLOC IN THE WORLD AS THE EU GUARENTEES ISRAELS SCURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY IN THE VERY, VERY NEAR FUTURE.
Sarkozy starts meetings with Mideast leaders By Crispian Balmer Sat Jul 12, 9:00 AM ET
PARIS (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy met his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak on Saturday, kicking off a round of diplomacy with Middle East leaders ahead of an EU-Mediterranean summit on Sunday. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will mark his return to the European stage later in the day when he holds talks with both Sarkozy and Lebanon's new president, Michel Suleiman, a day after a new Lebanese government finally took office.Sarkozy strolled to his meeting with Mubarak in a central Paris hotel but was due to greet Assad and Suleiman with full pomp and ceremony at the Elysee Palace in the afternoon.The three men were due to make a joint declaration at 6.40 p.m. (1640 GMT) along with the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, who helped broker a power-sharing deal among Lebanon's feuding pro-Western and pro-Syrian factions in May.France and many other western countries have shunned Syria in recent years, accusing Assad of destabilizing neighboring Lebanon and fuelling unrest across its borders with Iraq.But following the deal that pulled Lebanon back from the brink of a new civil war, France decided to resume high level contacts with Syria and Sarkozy invited Assad to the EU-Mediterranean summit.
The high-profile gathering will give Assad the chance to hold his first meeting with Suleiman and, in a diplomatic first, take part in the Mediterranean Union summit alongside Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who flies into Paris on Sunday.This is an historic visit for me, an opening towards France and towards Europe, Assad said in an interview with Le Figaro newspaper this week. However, he said it would be premature to hold direct talks with Israel, apparently ruling out a face-to-face meeting with Olmert.
UNCOMFORTABLE
Assad's appearance in Paris, and his invitation to attend Monday's Bastille Day military parade, has been criticized by human rights activists and even French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner has said it doesn't make him especially comfortable.Syria sent troops to Lebanon, a former French protectorate, in 1976 and had a powerful grip on Lebanese politics over the following three decades.
It withdrew its troops in 2005 in the face of international pressure and Lebanese street protests following the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri, which France believes was orchestrated from Damascus.Assad has denied Syria ordered the killing of Hariri, a close friend of former French President Jacques Chirac.French officials say it is important to re-establish high-level ties with Syria and say its recent decision to embark on indirect peace talks with Israel shows that attitudes are changing in Damascus.Sunday's summit will draw more than 40 heads of state and government to Paris and is aimed at breathing new life into the existing Euro-Med partnership, creating a more equal dialogue between countries lining the Mediterranean.-- Additional reporting by Emmanuel Jarry(Editing by Paul Taylor and Jon Boyle)
Sarkozy: Syria and Lebanon will open embassies By ANGELA CHARLTON, Associated Press Writer JULY 12,08
PARIS - France's president affirmed Saturday that Syria and Lebanon will open embassies in each other's countries. However, Syria's leader was more cautious. Syria and Lebanon have not had full-fledged embassies in each other's countries since Lebanon became independent in 1943 and Syria in 1945.Syrian President Bashar Assad said last month that establishing diplomatic ties with Lebanon would be possible if a national unity Cabinet were formed in Beirut.
Such a government, including members of Syria's ally Hezbollah, was formed Friday after weeks of haggling.French President Nicolas Sarkozy met with Assad and with Lebanese President Michel Suleiman, who said he wanted an exchange of ambassadors with Syria.At a joint news conference later, Sarkozy affirmed that the establishment of embassies in Beirut and Damascus was in the works.It's historic. ... Naturally, there are a certain number of legal questions to be resolved on the Syrian side ... that explain delays on the road to realization, Sarkozy said. He did not suggest a time frame.However, Assad seemed a bit more reticent on how quickly the plan might advance. He said he and the Lebanese president discussed the issue but still need to define the steps to take.The Lebanese president arrived at the presidential Elysee Palace with an optimistic tone.We want an exchange of ambassadors and diplomatic relations with Syria, he said before a separate meeting with Sarkozy. He told reporters not to speak of normalizing ties between Lebanon and Syria because they are completely normal.I am very satisfied with relations between the two countries, Suleiman said.
Sarkozy, who wants to create a consequential role for Europe, and France, in the process toward Middle East peace, said he would visit Damascus in September but did not set a date.The leaders all met on the eve of a summit bringing together heads of state or government from 43 nations in Europe and around the Mediterranean rim. Sarkozy sees the initiative as a way of seeding peace in an often hostile region.Associated Press Writer Christine Ollivier in Paris contributed to this report.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Friday, July 11, 2008
FANNIE - FREDDIE WAVE BYE BYE
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
FEARS GROW OVER COLLAPSE OF MORTGAGE GIANTS
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ANXIETY RAISE AT FANNIE - FREDDIE
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Stocks end lower amid worries on Fannie, Freddie By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - Wall Street's angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week Friday — stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country's biggest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones industrial average, which traded down more than 250 points in the session, briefly moved into positive territory Friday before ending down more than 125 points. The blue chips also traded below 11,000 for the first time in two years. And all the major indexes ended with another losing week.A new high for oil prices above $147 a barrel also weighed on stocks.The fate of the government-chartered companies was a focus of trading Friday as it had been earlier in the week. Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell sharply over several sessions on concerns about their stability. Wall Street is worried that a collapse of the two financiers would cause further shock to the financial system, and trigger more losses to banks and brokerages with significant holdings of mortgage-backed securities.
The well-being of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is crucial because they hold or guarantee about $5 trillion worth of mortgages, or about half the outstanding mortgages in the United States. Their troubles are just the latest depressing turn in a year-old credit crisis that shows no sign of ending, disappointing some stock traders who thought just months ago that the worst was perhaps over.
Stocks fluctuated late in the session amid varying reports that the Federal Reserve could aid Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman, raised the prospect that the companies could be given access to emergency Federal Reserve lending. Dodd, who spoke Friday to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said the two are looking at various options for propping up the firms if they ultimately need help. Those include giving them access to the Fed's emergency lending discount window, Dodd said.But a Fed spokeswoman said later the central bank had not talked with Fannie and Freddie about the emergency lending program. She declined to discuss any other options being considered.Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve took the unprecedented step of offering direct loans to investment banks from its discount window.Some observers noted that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae weren't short of cash, but of access to capital.The issue is who is going to make good on the long-term debt, not who is going to provide them with short-term cash, said Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds Inc. in New York.It started with housing but it's now turning into this issue of availability of capital, he said of the overall problems in the financial sector.The concerns left the Dow down 128.48, or 1.14 percent, to end at 11,100.54 after having fallen to 10,977.68. It last traded below 11,000 on July 25, 2006.Broader stock indicators also logged declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.90, or 1.11 percent, to 1,239.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 18.77, or 0.83 percent, to 2,239.08.
Friday's drop meant Wall Street moved squarely into a bear market, which is defined as a 20 percent drop from a recent peak. The Dow is down 21.6 percent from the record closing high of 14,164.53 it reached in October. The S&P 500 is down 20.8 percent and the Nasdaq is off 21.7 percent.For the week, the Dow fell 1.67 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.85 percnet and the Nasdaq declined 0.28 percent. It was the fourth straight weekly decline for the Dow and the sixth consecutive weekly decline for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.The market's other trouble spot, oil, continued its ascent, rising to a trading record of $147.27 amid tensions between the West and Iran. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled up $3.43 at $145.08, slightly below a record close of $145.29 a barrel set more than a week earlier.Bond prices fell sharply as investors worried a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could dent the government's credit rating. Ordinarily, bonds are seen as a safe haven during stock market pullbacks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.96 percent from 3.80percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Worries about financials dominated trading. Freddie Mac fell 25 cents, or 3.1 percent, at $7.75, after trading as low as $3.89 in the session. Fannie Mae tumbled $2.95, or 22 percent, to $10.25 after trading as low as $6.68. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fell $2.87, or 16.6 percent, to $14.43 as traders fretted that the No. 4 investment bank will succumb to soured debt. Citigroup Inc., also struggling with the consequences of failed mortgages, announced it will sell its German retail banking operation to France's Credit Mutuel for $7.7 billion. Global banks and brokerages have scrambled to sell assets and raise capital in an effort to offset nearly $300 billion of write-downs linked to the credit crisis. Citi slipped 9 cents to $16.19.
Investors remain cautious about the entire financial sector, especially ahead of second-quarter reports due next week from major names like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. JPMorgan declined $1.35, or 3.9 percent, to $33.16 and Merrill fell $1.10, or 3.8 percent, to $27.61. I'm almost not worried about what they report, said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management, referring to Wall Street's already low expectations for the companies. How much can they punish these things? Friday's confluence of negative news offset a mostly positive quarterly report from General Electric Co. The industrial and financial conglomerate reported second-quarter profits that met analysts' expectations. The company said the forecast across its business lines was mixed. The stock rose 2 cents to $27.66. In economic news, the United States' trade deficit narrowed in May as exports — including industrial supplies and consumer goods — climbed to all-time highs. The Commerce Department said growing exports drove the trade gap down to $58.8 billion, a 1.2 percent decrease from April and the best showing since March. The good news did little to buoy investors' moods. I don't know if it can get much worse, Stone said of investor sentiment. Usually you get this horrible sentiment and you're due for at least a bounce out of it.Beyond earnings reports, economic figures are due next week on inflation, retail sales and the housing market. Declining issues outnumbered advancers in Friday's session by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a heavy 6.57 billion shares compared with 5.71 billion shares traded Thursday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.51, or 0.67 percent, to 674.95.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.21 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.69 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 2.41 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 3.09 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 188.00, or 1.67 percent, at 11,100.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 23.41, or 1.85 percent, at 1,239.49. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week down 6.30, or 0.28 percent, at 2,239.08. The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 9.17, or 1.38 percent, at 674.95. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index — a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies — ended Friday at 12,635.43, down 180.04 points, or 1.40 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 15,382.73. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
OIL TRADING
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Oil sets new trading record above $147 a barrel By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - It's only July, but it might be time to start loading up on blankets and sweaters. Oil spiked to a new trading record as hostilities rise between the West and Iran — raising the likelihood that this winter's heating bills will be the priciest yet. Crude oil's brief jump past $147 a barrel Friday arrived not only as the United States and Israel view Iran as a growing threat, but also as the U.S. dollar fell and worries erupted over possible supply disruptions in two other major oil-producing nations: Nigeria and Brazil.Those factors contributed to new all-time trading highs in crude, gasoline and heating oil. It looks like $4-a-gallon gasoline might be here to stay, and that heating oil costs might cause further problems for consumers as the weather gets colder. Futures prices for natural gas turned lower Friday, but are still about twice as high as a year ago.If you think your gasoline bills are expensive now, wait till you get your home heating bill this winter, said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa.
Heating oil is used mostly in the Northeast United States; homes in most other parts of the country use natural gas. It's possible for people to cut back on heating as they do on driving, but it's not easy to slash the bill significantly.We've been building these ridiculous McMansions over the past few years. It's harder to trade in a McMansion than it is an SUV, Schork said. But you can turn your thermostat down and throw on a sweater.Political unrest in oil-producing regions — along with production cutbacks by refineries and fairly resilient demand for diesel fuel — have been keeping energy costs high.Iran, which has long been under U.N. scrutiny for its uranium enrichment program, has been testing missiles this week, including a new missile capable of reaching Israel. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the oil-producing nation that the United States will defend its allies, and Iran responded with another missile launch. Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out a military strike on Iran.
Then on Friday, there were rumors of Israeli military exercises taking place in Iraqi air space. The rumors were reportedly denied by Israeli officials.The war of words is quite heated, said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. in Winchester, Mass. And it raises the possibility of some serious problems in the area — either the cutoff of Iranian exports, or Iranian strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.About 40 percent of the world's tanker traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Brazilian oil workers were threatening to go on a five-day strike next week unless the state-run oil firm Petrobras gives them an extra day off at the end of their 14-day shift. Those supply worries added to those sparked Thursday when Nigeria's main militant group said it would resume attacks in the oil-rich region.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery soared to an all-time high of $147.27 a barrel before settling at $145.08, up $3.43. That's slightly below last Thursday's settlement record of $145.29 a barrel.Meanwhile, the dollar weakened against other major currencies Friday. Because oil is bought and sold in dollars, oil's rise has not been as severe for countries with stronger currencies; meanwhile, traders have been using commodities as a hedge against the tumbling dollar.In Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose to a trading record of $4.1586 before settling at $4.0766 a gallon, up 3.92 cents.Gasoline futures also rose to a new trading record of $3.631 a gallon before finishing at $3.5632, up 5.23 cents.The average U.S. retail price for gasoline was at $4.096 a gallon, down slightly from the record $4.108 a gallon reached on Monday, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.Natural gas futures fell 39.6 cents to $11.904 per 1,000 cubic feet, but only after rising as high as $13.694. On London's ICE futures exchange, Brent crude settled at $144.49, up $2.46. Associated Press Writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
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
FEARS GROW OVER COLLAPSE OF MORTGAGE GIANTS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8774464&ch=4226713&src=news
ANXIETY RAISE AT FANNIE - FREDDIE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8760898&ch=4226720&src=news
Stocks end lower amid worries on Fannie, Freddie By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - Wall Street's angst over the ongoing fallout from the credit crisis made for a turbulent end to a volatile week Friday — stocks tumbled, soared and then turned south again as investors tried to assess the dangers faced by the country's biggest mortgage financiers, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The Dow Jones industrial average, which traded down more than 250 points in the session, briefly moved into positive territory Friday before ending down more than 125 points. The blue chips also traded below 11,000 for the first time in two years. And all the major indexes ended with another losing week.A new high for oil prices above $147 a barrel also weighed on stocks.The fate of the government-chartered companies was a focus of trading Friday as it had been earlier in the week. Shares of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac fell sharply over several sessions on concerns about their stability. Wall Street is worried that a collapse of the two financiers would cause further shock to the financial system, and trigger more losses to banks and brokerages with significant holdings of mortgage-backed securities.
The well-being of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is crucial because they hold or guarantee about $5 trillion worth of mortgages, or about half the outstanding mortgages in the United States. Their troubles are just the latest depressing turn in a year-old credit crisis that shows no sign of ending, disappointing some stock traders who thought just months ago that the worst was perhaps over.
Stocks fluctuated late in the session amid varying reports that the Federal Reserve could aid Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., the Senate Banking Committee chairman, raised the prospect that the companies could be given access to emergency Federal Reserve lending. Dodd, who spoke Friday to Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, said the two are looking at various options for propping up the firms if they ultimately need help. Those include giving them access to the Fed's emergency lending discount window, Dodd said.But a Fed spokeswoman said later the central bank had not talked with Fannie and Freddie about the emergency lending program. She declined to discuss any other options being considered.Earlier this year, the Federal Reserve took the unprecedented step of offering direct loans to investment banks from its discount window.Some observers noted that Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae weren't short of cash, but of access to capital.The issue is who is going to make good on the long-term debt, not who is going to provide them with short-term cash, said Jerry Webman, chief economist at Oppenheimer Funds Inc. in New York.It started with housing but it's now turning into this issue of availability of capital, he said of the overall problems in the financial sector.The concerns left the Dow down 128.48, or 1.14 percent, to end at 11,100.54 after having fallen to 10,977.68. It last traded below 11,000 on July 25, 2006.Broader stock indicators also logged declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.90, or 1.11 percent, to 1,239.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 18.77, or 0.83 percent, to 2,239.08.
Friday's drop meant Wall Street moved squarely into a bear market, which is defined as a 20 percent drop from a recent peak. The Dow is down 21.6 percent from the record closing high of 14,164.53 it reached in October. The S&P 500 is down 20.8 percent and the Nasdaq is off 21.7 percent.For the week, the Dow fell 1.67 percent, the S&P 500 lost 1.85 percnet and the Nasdaq declined 0.28 percent. It was the fourth straight weekly decline for the Dow and the sixth consecutive weekly decline for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.The market's other trouble spot, oil, continued its ascent, rising to a trading record of $147.27 amid tensions between the West and Iran. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled up $3.43 at $145.08, slightly below a record close of $145.29 a barrel set more than a week earlier.Bond prices fell sharply as investors worried a bailout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac could dent the government's credit rating. Ordinarily, bonds are seen as a safe haven during stock market pullbacks. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.96 percent from 3.80percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose. Worries about financials dominated trading. Freddie Mac fell 25 cents, or 3.1 percent, at $7.75, after trading as low as $3.89 in the session. Fannie Mae tumbled $2.95, or 22 percent, to $10.25 after trading as low as $6.68. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fell $2.87, or 16.6 percent, to $14.43 as traders fretted that the No. 4 investment bank will succumb to soured debt. Citigroup Inc., also struggling with the consequences of failed mortgages, announced it will sell its German retail banking operation to France's Credit Mutuel for $7.7 billion. Global banks and brokerages have scrambled to sell assets and raise capital in an effort to offset nearly $300 billion of write-downs linked to the credit crisis. Citi slipped 9 cents to $16.19.
Investors remain cautious about the entire financial sector, especially ahead of second-quarter reports due next week from major names like JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Merrill Lynch & Co. JPMorgan declined $1.35, or 3.9 percent, to $33.16 and Merrill fell $1.10, or 3.8 percent, to $27.61. I'm almost not worried about what they report, said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist for PNC Wealth Management, referring to Wall Street's already low expectations for the companies. How much can they punish these things? Friday's confluence of negative news offset a mostly positive quarterly report from General Electric Co. The industrial and financial conglomerate reported second-quarter profits that met analysts' expectations. The company said the forecast across its business lines was mixed. The stock rose 2 cents to $27.66. In economic news, the United States' trade deficit narrowed in May as exports — including industrial supplies and consumer goods — climbed to all-time highs. The Commerce Department said growing exports drove the trade gap down to $58.8 billion, a 1.2 percent decrease from April and the best showing since March. The good news did little to buoy investors' moods. I don't know if it can get much worse, Stone said of investor sentiment. Usually you get this horrible sentiment and you're due for at least a bounce out of it.Beyond earnings reports, economic figures are due next week on inflation, retail sales and the housing market. Declining issues outnumbered advancers in Friday's session by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a heavy 6.57 billion shares compared with 5.71 billion shares traded Thursday. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 4.51, or 0.67 percent, to 674.95.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.21 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.69 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 2.41 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 3.09 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average ended the week down 188.00, or 1.67 percent, at 11,100.54. The Standard & Poor's 500 index finished down 23.41, or 1.85 percent, at 1,239.49. The Nasdaq composite index ended the week down 6.30, or 0.28 percent, at 2,239.08. The Russell 2000 index finished the week up 9.17, or 1.38 percent, at 674.95. The Dow Jones Wilshire 5000 Composite Index — a free-float weighted index that measures 5,000 U.S. based companies — ended Friday at 12,635.43, down 180.04 points, or 1.40 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 15,382.73. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
OIL TRADING
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8770026&ch=4226720&src=news
Oil sets new trading record above $147 a barrel By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - It's only July, but it might be time to start loading up on blankets and sweaters. Oil spiked to a new trading record as hostilities rise between the West and Iran — raising the likelihood that this winter's heating bills will be the priciest yet. Crude oil's brief jump past $147 a barrel Friday arrived not only as the United States and Israel view Iran as a growing threat, but also as the U.S. dollar fell and worries erupted over possible supply disruptions in two other major oil-producing nations: Nigeria and Brazil.Those factors contributed to new all-time trading highs in crude, gasoline and heating oil. It looks like $4-a-gallon gasoline might be here to stay, and that heating oil costs might cause further problems for consumers as the weather gets colder. Futures prices for natural gas turned lower Friday, but are still about twice as high as a year ago.If you think your gasoline bills are expensive now, wait till you get your home heating bill this winter, said Stephen Schork, an analyst and trader in Villanova, Pa.
Heating oil is used mostly in the Northeast United States; homes in most other parts of the country use natural gas. It's possible for people to cut back on heating as they do on driving, but it's not easy to slash the bill significantly.We've been building these ridiculous McMansions over the past few years. It's harder to trade in a McMansion than it is an SUV, Schork said. But you can turn your thermostat down and throw on a sweater.Political unrest in oil-producing regions — along with production cutbacks by refineries and fairly resilient demand for diesel fuel — have been keeping energy costs high.Iran, which has long been under U.N. scrutiny for its uranium enrichment program, has been testing missiles this week, including a new missile capable of reaching Israel. On Thursday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned the oil-producing nation that the United States will defend its allies, and Iran responded with another missile launch. Neither the United States nor Israel has ruled out a military strike on Iran.
Then on Friday, there were rumors of Israeli military exercises taking place in Iraqi air space. The rumors were reportedly denied by Israeli officials.The war of words is quite heated, said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. in Winchester, Mass. And it raises the possibility of some serious problems in the area — either the cutoff of Iranian exports, or Iranian strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.About 40 percent of the world's tanker traffic passes through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Brazilian oil workers were threatening to go on a five-day strike next week unless the state-run oil firm Petrobras gives them an extra day off at the end of their 14-day shift. Those supply worries added to those sparked Thursday when Nigeria's main militant group said it would resume attacks in the oil-rich region.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery soared to an all-time high of $147.27 a barrel before settling at $145.08, up $3.43. That's slightly below last Thursday's settlement record of $145.29 a barrel.Meanwhile, the dollar weakened against other major currencies Friday. Because oil is bought and sold in dollars, oil's rise has not been as severe for countries with stronger currencies; meanwhile, traders have been using commodities as a hedge against the tumbling dollar.In Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose to a trading record of $4.1586 before settling at $4.0766 a gallon, up 3.92 cents.Gasoline futures also rose to a new trading record of $3.631 a gallon before finishing at $3.5632, up 5.23 cents.The average U.S. retail price for gasoline was at $4.096 a gallon, down slightly from the record $4.108 a gallon reached on Monday, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.Natural gas futures fell 39.6 cents to $11.904 per 1,000 cubic feet, but only after rising as high as $13.694. On London's ICE futures exchange, Brent crude settled at $144.49, up $2.46. Associated Press Writers Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, and Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
ISRAEL READY TO ACT AGAINST IRAN
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.
Hurricane Bertha approaches Bermuda JULY 11,08
MIAMI - Forecasters say a tropical storm watch could be issued for Bermuda as Hurricane Bertha moves slowly toward the island.
Forecasters are urging people in Bermuda to monitor the Category 1 storm's progress closely. Bertha is producing large swells and high surf there.If it stays on its current track, Bertha will approach Bermuda on Friday and Saturday. As of 5 a.m. EDT Friday, the center of the storm was about 350 miles southeast of Bermuda, traveling northwest at about 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds are about 85 mph with some gusting higher.
La Nina dissipates in equatorial Pacific: NOAA Thu Jul 10, 9:44 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - La Nina has mostly dissipated in the Pacific Ocean and normal weather should prevail into the fall, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. A transition from La Nina to ... neutral conditions occurred during June 2008, as sea surface temperatures returned to near-average across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean, the CPC said in its monthly update.La Nina means little girl in Spanish and usually results in cooler-than-normal water in the Pacific that helps hurricanes form in the Atlantic basin by suppressing wind shear which tears embryonic storms apart.The more famous El Nino anomaly causes waters in the Pacific to turn abnormally warm and its encouragement of wind shear was said to hinder Atlantic storms which would sweep into the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt oil and gas production in the area.CPC said La Nina continues to linger in the atmospheric circulation, but with diminishing strength.It said normal weather may persist into the northern hemisphere winter of 2008/09.
But, CPC cautioned, The possible development of El Nino or La Nina cannot be ruled out due to uncertainty in model forecasts and because (both) events often form during the second half of the year.
Scientists have observed that El Nino and La Nina would often follow one after the other in the central Pacific.El Nino is more notorious and was named after the Christ child because it was first noticed by Latin American anchovy fishermen in the 19th Century.The worst recent El Nino was in 1997/98 when it sparked drought in countries like Australia and Indonesia while spawning floods in Peru and Ecuador.(Reporting by Rene Pastor, Editing by John Picinich)
Wild weather in southern B.C. knocks out power, downs trees
Thu Jul 10, 10:07 PM
VANCOUVER (CBC) - High winds peaking at 70 km/h buffeted B.C.'s south coast Thursday afternoon, causing extensive power outages and downing trees in Metro Vancouver.More than 35,000 BC Hydro customers were without power at one point. The hardest-hit areas were the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. As many as 4,000 people in Coquitlam were without power for several hours.Trees were toppled in West Vancouver, Vancouver and North Vancouver, including one that hit a small commuter shuttle operated by TransLink on Mount Seymour Parkway in North Vancouver.The tree split open the rear of the bus and a branch smashed the front windshield. The driver and the nine passengers were not seriously injured.The bus lurched forward and I hit the front behind the driver's seat, said Risa Newyear-Ramirez, who was on the bus.I got a little scratch. I didn't know what happened but I heard people screaming. I looked behind me and saw the back of the bus was completely gone, Newyear-Ramirez said.The passengers called the driver, Sabir Kazi, a hero because he spotted the tree as it fell toward his small bus. He sped up and prevented the falling tree from smashing right into the roof of the bus.I just did my job because I just wanted to save everyone, said Kazi, who has been on the job for nine months.
Strong winds hit B.C. Interior
The southern Okanagan and the Interior also experienced a wind storm with gusts up to 109 km/h.In Kelowna, a thunderstorm warning was issued in the afternoon and, within minutes, whitecaps appeared on Okanagan Lake and violent waves began to break over the seawall. Several boats were washed ashore.Stewart Smith, owner of the Kelowna Marina, said he lost about 80 per cent of his rental boats.
Out of the 20 boats, we maybe have four left, he said. Their legs were ripped off or [there were] big holes on the sides of the boats.
CBC meteorologist Claire Martin said the winds had died down by Thursday evening.When you have energy along a front, it's usually spread amongst the clouds, rain-making and the wind. We didn't see much in the way of clouds and there was no rain along the front, ergo the winds were very strong, Martin said.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
CHILE VOLCANO REVS UP
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8760886&ch=6535903
WILDFIRES UPDATE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8762248&src=news
RESIDENTS FLEE WILDFIRES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8765754&ch=4226713&src=news
Calif. National Guard joins firefighting effort By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 11, 4:27 AM ET
ALBION, Calif. - Sweat rolled down Lisa Mirander's forehead as she hacked a tangle of saplings and brush down to bare dirt to prevent a wildfire from spreading. It was a tough job, but no harder than the 13 months she served in Afghanistan. California's wildfire season has become so severe so swiftly that for the first time in more than 30 years, National Guard troops have been deployed to fight the flames on the ground. Many are arriving at the fire line just after returning from combat zones.For Mirander, the two jobs share some similarities.In combat, she said, you worried about the bullets. Here, you got the fire.The Guard is stepping in as crews across the state struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,000 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks.Mirander, a 27-year-old student, left behind her husband and a 7-year-old stepson in Riverside to spend one month working 12-hour days battling the flames.It's pretty awesome, she said of working alongside other troops. We really stand by each other.The first wave of 200 troops took their places Wednesday, providing a breath of fresh air to firefighting crews on the ground, said Dan Burns, an assistant fire chief who was helping integrate the Guard into the firefighting effort.
It'll really relieve a lot of pressure out there, Burns said. The state got hit by so many fires at once — we couldn't staff them all.
Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.We have firefighters who've been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven't seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire, McHale said. It's an incredible challenge.By Thursday, about 1,460 fires had been contained, but more than 320 were still active. For instance, in Butte County, north of Sacramento, more than 50 homes have been destroyed, and another 4,000 are threatened. The flames forced 10,000 residents to evacuate.
Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, preparing for a wind change. The winds expected Friday morning are similar to ones that caused the damaging flare-up Monday night.They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank and reach the town, said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Lloyd Knifong, who has lived in Paradise since 1960, was preparing to spend a sleepless night with his 20-year-old son Kyle, defending their home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked nearby and sprinklers were jerry-rigged to roofs.When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave, he said.Along the scenic Big Sur coast, 27 homes and 31 other structures have burned in a fire that has consumed 140 square miles.
Farther south, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained. Strong winds gusting up to 50 mph also spread wildfires in Washington state, and more than 200 residents were evacuated from the suburban Spokane Valley. Fast-moving flames burned at least four homes there, Gov. Chris Gregoire said. Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the wildfire, which broke out Thursday afternoon and grew to nearly 2 square miles. In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the National Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. On Thursday, he requested more resources from President Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request. We now face extremely high temperatures and increased fuel loads that are exacerbating fire conditions and putting our communities and firefighters and other first responders at risk, the governor wrote. We sit at a critical tipping point in California that requires immediate federal help.Conditions are expected to worsen, with a continuing heat wave and more lightning storms forecast the rest of the week, Schwarzenegger said. Fire officials who trained the Guard members were impressed by the morale of the troops as they prepared to face wildfires for the first time. It feels good — not that it didn't feel good to serve in Iraq. It really feels good to be helping out at home, said Jacques Lewis, 51, a postal worker in San Francisco who spent a year in Iraq training soldiers on safety around nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. About half of the approximately 35 troops training for the wildfires had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, said state fire Capt. Walter Williams, who led the training. But even for troops with combat experience, fighting fires is new, Williams said. They must learn how flames can double back, leap over trenches and surprise even experienced firefighters. They also have to figure out how and where to dig, and how to feed out a fire hose. And they must get accustomed to hard labor in temperatures that peak around 110 degrees.
We're going to find out how much stamina we all have, Williams said. Because the troops are new to the task, instructors are careful to keep them safe and drinking plenty of water. They won't carry chain saws and will only work alongside more experienced firefighters, Burns said. This is the first time, but I can see this as the future — utilizing the National Guard when our resources are tapped out, he said. Associated Press writers Don Thompson in Paradise and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Wash., contributed to this report.
Wildfires advance in Calif., destroy Wash. homes By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer JULY 11,08
PARADISE, Calif. - Firefighters battling a raging wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California braced for strong winds Friday they feared could blow hot embers toward thousands of homes, while residents in Washington state's Spokane Valley fled a fire that destroyed several houses. The winds forecast for Friday morning were expected to be similar to ones that caused the blaze in Butte County to flare up earlier this week, destroying about 50 homes and forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate.We're hoping to get things under control to be ready for that wind change, said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, where a wildfire last month forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes.They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank and reach the town, Edmonds said.In Washington, strong winds gusting up to 50 mph spread a wildfire that erupted Thursday in a heavily wooded part of the Spokane Valley, forcing 200 residents to evacuate.Fast-moving flames burned at least four homes, said Gov. Chris Gregoire, who flew to Spokane late Thursday, passing over numerous fires in eastern Washington.Virtually from Wenatchee east, it's a pretty smoky cloud, she said.
Gregoire said she approved requests by Spokane and Ferry counties for emergency declarations to make state resources available to help fight the fires.We have planes ready to go first thing in the morning, depending on winds, she said.Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the suburban Spokane wildfire, which remained out of control. The cause of that blaze, which grew to nearly 2 square miles, was not immediately known.In California, about 40 fires ignited by lightning storms have burned more than 76 square miles in Butte County alone in the past two weeks. By Thursday, about 15 of the fires were active.Lloyd Knifong, 47, and his son Kyle, 20, were preparing to spend a sleepless night defending their Paradise home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked nearby and sprinklers were jerry-rigged to roofs.
When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave, Knifong said.In Concow, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, firefighters intentionally burned brush to keep the flames away from houses. Evacuations orders remained in place, but some residents were allowed back on Thursday to check on their homes.I think my place is gone, said Rachael Davidson, 37. When we left, there were flames all around.
Along the scenic Big Sur coast, 27 homes and 31 other structures have burned in a fire that has consumed 140 square miles and was about 40 percent contained.Farther south, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained. The National Guard has stepped in as crews across California struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,100 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks. Some 1,460 fires had been contained by Thursday, but more than 320 still were active, authorities said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. On Thursday, he requested more resources from President Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request. California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger, the governor wrote. Associated Press writers Juliana Barbassa in Albion, Calif., and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Wash., contributed to this report.
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)
OIL THIS MORNING GOES TO ANOTHER RECORD HIGH OF $145.98 A $9.00 JUMP IN THE LAST 2 DAYS.
BIG OIL TURNS ON IRAN
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8760370&ch=4226720&src=news
Oil hits new record as supply fears intensify By Santosh Menon JULY 11,08
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil jumped over $4 to a new record high near $146 a barrel on Friday, spurred by growing worries of threats to supplies from Iran and Nigeria and a strike of Brazilian oil workers next week. U.S. crude was $4.17 at $145.82 a barrel by 6:56 a.m. EDT, off highs of $145.98, after jumping $5.60 or 4 percent a barrel in late trading on Thursday.London Brent crude was up $4.25 at $146.28 a barrel.Leading the oil complex was ICE gas oil futures which climbed to a new record high of $1,335 a tonne amid strong demand for diesel and aviation fuel.Oil, which had been on the retreat for much of early part of the week, reversed course on Thursday as fears of supply disruptions from potential hot-spots, OPEC members Iran and Nigeria, resurfaced.A spate of missile tests by Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, in the last two days against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel and the United States has left the oil markets worried.Iran has threatened to strike back at Tel Aviv as well as U.S. interests in and a key oil shipping route if it is attacked over its nuclear program, which Israel and the West fears is aimed at making nuclear weapons.
The United States reminded Tehran it was ready to defend its allies.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing region, said it was abandoning a ceasefire to protest against a British offer to help tackle lawlessness in the region.Rebel attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, the world's eighth biggest exporter, have also been partly responsible for the nearly 50 percent rise in prices this year.Workers at Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) threatened to launch a five-day strike next week that would affect all 42 Campos basin offshore platforms, which account for more than 80 percent of daily oil output of around 1.8 million barrels.Oil has also risen due to persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar. Investors have flocked to oil and other commodities this year as a hedge against rising inflation and the weak dollar.Oil has continued rising despite efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia to raise production to its highest rate in three decades in an effort to tame oil prices.Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters on Friday that he saw no demand for the additional crude that Saudi Arabia has pledged to pump.(Additional reporting by Felicia Loo in Singapore; Editing by William Hardy)
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
US stocks lower as GE fails to motivate investors By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - Wall Street headed for a moderately lower open Friday after General Electric Co.'s quarterly report failed to motivate investors anxious about the financial industry and a new record oil price. GE, the conglomerate that owns everything from television network NBC to jet engine plants, reported second-quarter profits that met analysts' expectations. However, the outlook across its business lines was mixed — and overall results were not convincing enough to send futures higher.The results were not enough to distract investors from broader worries that continued to depress the market, including oil prices, which on Friday vaulted to a new intraday record of $145.98 a barrel.And financial companies with exposure to mortgage bonds will continue to be under investor scrutiny. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have plunged in the past few sessions, and there is growing speculation on the Street that the government might have to step in to prevent a collapse.Citigroup Inc. announced it will sell its German retail banking operation to France's Credit Mutuel for $7.7 billion. After the deal closes, Citi said it will book a $4 billion gain — an amount that could be badly needed as the company is expected to take further write-downs during the second quarter.Investors are also awaiting economic data including a report on the trade deficit in May and a reading on consumer confidence for July.
Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 62, or 0.61 percent, to 11,155. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 7.70, or 0.61 percent, to 1,246.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 9.50, or 0.52 percent, to 1,834.75.Light, sweet crude rose $3.53 to $1456.30 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Behind the rise are concerns about a disruption to tight global supplies amid tensions over Iran's launch of test missiles and the possible renewal of oil-related violence in Nigeria.Bond prices edged lower ahead of the economic reports. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.82 percent from 3.80 percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index, which sits at multiyear lows, is expected to drop further amid higher gasoline prices and a weakening employment market. The report is due at 10 a.m. EDT.And, economists expect that the Commerce Department will report that the U.S. trade deficit increased in May due to soaring oil prices and higher imports of consumer goods. The trade gap is forecast to rise to $62.1 billion from $60.9 billion in April, according to Thomson/IFR. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.21 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.87 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 1.53 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.36 percent.On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
OZONE DEPLETION
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
EPA: Smog could get worse with global warming By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 10, 8:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Global warming could worsen smog and stretch what typically is a summer pollution problem into the spring and fall, government scientists predicted Thursday. Smog is most likely to get worse in the Northeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions of the country, where numerous counties and cities are already struggling to clean up the air, according to a draft analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency.But in Texas and Southern California, already among the smoggiest areas in the country, the science is unclear, even conflicting. Smog there could get slightly better or become more severe, the analysis said.Nonetheless, researchers said state officials should be factoring in the impact of global warming as they make plans to try to reduce smog, calling it a climate penalty.These findings also indicate, that, where climate-change-induced increases in (smog) do occur, damaging effects on ecosystems, agriculture, and health will be especially pronounced, due to increases in the frequency of extreme pollution events, the analysis concluded. However, the prediction came with a caveat: the researchers did not take into account efforts to reduce smog that are already under way because of stricter environmental regulations.EPA stressed that the document did not represent the agency's policies or position on global warming. On Friday, the agency is scheduled to officially respond to a Supreme Court ruling that said greenhouse gases could be regulated under the Clean Air Act if they pose a risk to human health or welfare.The Bush administration has resisted linking global warming to public health problems.
The ill-effects of smog, however, have been long been recognized. Smog is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds released from cars, industry and plants mix in sunlight. It can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung capacity and aggravate asthma. Global warming would make smog worse because it would cause plants to release more smog-forming organic compounds and spark more lightning storms, which create nitrogen oxides naturally.Barry Wallerstein, executive director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates air pollution in Orange County, Calif., and parts of Los Angeles, said the link between global warming and smog should compel EPA to control greenhouse gas emissions.On the Net:EPA http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid181744
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).
SALMONELLA MYSTERY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8762181&ch=4226723&src=news
More suspects in frustrating salmonella probe By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Thu Jul 10, 10:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Think of your favorite recipe for salsa. Three common ingredients now are suspects in the salmonella poisonings that have become the nation's largest foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. And therein lies the frustration. Seven weeks into their investigation, federal health officials aren't shortening the list of potential culprits but adding to it. Now jalapeno pepper producers are being probed alongside tomato distributors, and even fresh cilantro is under suspicion, too.I wish I could have a crystal ball and say it's one of those three things, Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, told AP Television on Thursday.This has gone on longer and has been more complicated than anything I've worked on at FDA.Indeed, it's quite a departure from the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach, a mystery solved in about two weeks.We really, really got spoiled, if you will, with the spinach outbreak, Dr. Robert Tauxe, food safety chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.There aren't as many spinach lovers as tomato lovers. And the spinach consumers remembered eating came in bags, often still left in their refrigerators — that bore bar codes that were as good a clue as a fingerprint in helping investigators race to the very field that had been contaminated.This time around, the suspects seldom are left over in the refrigerator or bear individual bar codes. Also, the victims are having a harder time remembering.
They say, Well, I'm not sure, I may have had guacamole, or a garnish, Tauxe said.But this outbreak is lasting an unusually long time, with a record 1,065 cases confirmed by Thursday — the first of whom fell sick April 10 and the latest so far on June 26.That makes the toll of the current salmonella outbreak far surpass recent large outbreaks of any foodborne disease: salmonella linked to peanut butter in 2006 and hepatitis A from green onions in 2003. It's not quite as big as one caused by cyclospora-tainted raspberries in the mid-1990s.The scope is bad both for public health and a battered tomato industry that estimates losses at $100 million. Yet it is giving federal investigators some apparently valuable new clues.Early on, lots of individuals got sick, not clusters of people who all ate at the same restaurant or catered picnic. But by mid-May and continuing well into last month, those clusters of a few people sickened in the same spot were appearing. That's helpful for disease detectives, who find it easier to trace suppliers for a few restaurants than hundreds of stores and markets.
Plus, the CDC just finished comparing 144 people who got sick in June with 287 people who live near them but didn't fall ill.That study of the June cases shows the sick are far more likely than the well to have eaten either raw tomatoes, raw jalapeno peppers or fresh cilantro. In one of the largest clusters, those sickened had consumed fresh tomatoes and fresh jalapenos mixed together. In two other large clusters, illnesses were linked only to a dish that contained fresh jalapenos but no tomatoes.
What does that mean?
We are quite sure that neither tomatoes nor jalapenos explain the entire outbreak at this point. ... We're presuming that both of them have caused illness, Tauxe said.That has the FDA looking furiously for intersections between peppers and tomatoes. Perhaps there are farms that grew tomatoes earlier in the spring and then switched to pepper harvesting, or distribution centers that handled both types of produce and contaminated incoming produce, Acheson said. The government's advice for now is to continue avoiding certain raw tomatoes — red round, plum and Roma — unless they were grown in areas cleared of suspicion. Plus, people at highest risk of severe illness from salmonella should not eat raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, the CDC advised. The most vulnerable are the elderly, people with weak immune systems and infants. Serranos are on the list because they're hard to distinguish from jalapenos.
Did the CDC just miss a pepper connection early on?
It's very hard for us to say that peppers were absolutely not part of the problem initially. They may have been part of the problem initially but not large enough to catch the attention of the investigations, Tauxe acknowledges. But there are clusters of illness where jalapenos simply were not on the menu, he added. And Acheson stressed Thursday: There was and is very compelling evidence that tomatoes were contaminated with salmonella.The geography offers a potentially good clue too. Patients live in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and even Canada — where three people got sick while traveling to the U.S. and a fourth case is under investigation. Most of the sick are in the Southwest, while parts of the Northwest have no cases and parts of the Southeast few. That begs the question is there something about the distribution of the product that contributes to that, Acheson said. We've been trying to tease that apart.On the Net: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
KNOWLEGE AND WORLD TRAVEL INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
Northwest Airlines to cut 2,500 jobs By JOSHUA FREED, AP Business Writer Wed Jul 9, 5:20 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines Corp. said on Wednesday it will cut 2,500 jobs because of high oil prices, and will soon begin charging $15 to check luggage and up to $100 to redeem a frequent-flier award ticket. The airline said it expects the new fees to add $250 million to $300 million a year in revenue.Northwest said the job cuts — which represent about 8.3 percent of its work force — will include front-line and management workers. It said it will start with voluntary departures and leaving open jobs unfilled before moving to furloughs to reach the 2,500 total.Northwest had said previously it would have fewer workers after it cuts 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent of mainline flying in the fourth quarter of this year. It has said overall capacity would shrink 3 percent to 4 percent because it is adding regional seats. As of the end of 2007, Northwest employed about 30,000 people.President and Chief Executive Doug Steenland said Northwest's fuel costs have more than doubled in the past year.
These reductions are the direct result of our extraordinary fuel costs and the necessary actions we must take to right-size our airline and eliminate unprofitable flying, Steenland said in a written statement.Northwest also said it would begin charging $15 for the first checked bag, matching a fee announced earlier this year by US Airways, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Northwest's new fee applies to tickets sold after Thursday for travel starting Aug. 28 in the U.S. or to Canada.Northwest also announced a fee for issuing frequent-flier tickets beginning Sept. 15. It said it will charge $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for trans-Atlantic tickets and $100 for trans-Pacific tickets. Steenland called the service fee temporary.As fuel comes down, we will re-visit this decision, he said.Last month Delta Air Lines Inc. announced a $25 surcharge for redeeming frequent flier tickets for domestic travel and $50 for international. Delta, which is buying Northwest, has not added a fee for the first checked bag.American Airlines was the first major U.S. carrier to announce a fee on first checked bags. Spokesman Tim Smith said Northwest's moves clearly show they are facing the same extreme challenges all airlines are dealing with these days. American also charges $50 to $100 to book a frequent-flier ticket within less than 21 days.
Executives of American parent AMR Corp. said last week they expect to cut 8 percent of the work force, or about 6,800 jobs. Continental Airlines Inc. has announced 3,000 job cuts.Frequent flier programs have been around since the early 1980s. The idea has always been that airlines would reward customer loyalty with a free, repeat, free ticket, said Tim Winship, who runs mileage program tracking Web site frequentflier.com. That to me is a pretty clear-cut promise. And the free part is at the center of that promise.Randy Petersen, editor of FrequentFlyer magazine, said U.S. airlines have actually been later than their European and Asian counterparts in adding fees for frequent-flier awards.If this is how the industry is gong to stay in business so our awards are available to use one or two years from now, we don't like it, but we're going to live with it, he said.Northwest shares fell $1.17, or almost 16 percent, to close at $6.30.AP Business Writers David Koenig in Dallas and Harry R. Weber in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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
Bush signs new rules on government wiretapping By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 11, 2:08 AM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a bill Thursday that overhauls rules about government eavesdropping and grants immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the U.S. spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases. He called it landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people.Bush signed the measure in a Rose Garden ceremony a day after the Senate sent it to him, following nearly a year of debate in the Democratic-led Congress over surveillance rules and the warrantless wiretapping program Bush initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was a battle that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks and Democrats' fears of being portrayed as weak when it comes to protecting the country.
Its passage was a major victory for Bush, an unpopular lame-duck president who nevertheless has been able to prevail over Congress on most issues of national security and intelligence disputes.Bush said the 9/11 attack changed our country forever and taught the intelligence community that it must know who America's enemies are talking to and what they are saying.In the aftermath of 9/11, Bush said, few would have imagined that we would be standing here seven years later without another attack on American soil. The fact that the terrorists have failed to strike our shores again does not mean that our enemies have given up.Even before Bush signed the legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge the new law in court.The president said the bill gives the government anti-terror tools it needs without compromising Americans' civil liberties.Bush was joined at the ceremony by Vice President Dick Cheney, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and more than a dozen members of Congress.The ACLU's lawsuit was filed on behalf of several civil rights groups. It wants a federal judge in New York to rule that the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech and the right against unlawful search and seizure. It also asks that the judge permanently block intelligence officials from conducting surveillance under the law.The new law gives the government the power to conduct dragnet surveillance that has no connection to terrorism or criminal activity of any kind, said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, in a conference call to reporters.A law like this is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and with the most basic democratic values, he said.
Roger Atwood, communications director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization for the region, said the new law will impede the group's work.The mere suspicion that information provided to us, to our staff, will be accessed by the U.S. government can seriously affect WOLA's credibility and our effectiveness in Latin America in moving our work forward, Atwood said in the conference call.Associated Press writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report.
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.
Lebanese army occupies abandoned Shebaa Farm: witness JULY 11,08
SHEBAA, Lebanon (AFP) - The Lebanese army moved on Friday into Bastara Farm, the only one of the occupied Shebaa Farms that the Israeli army evacuated when it pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000, an AFP correspondent said. Lebanese army vehicles and bulldozers could be seen moving for the first time into the farm, which lies some 300 metres (yards) away from other farms which Israel has occupied for more than 40 years.A road has been reconstructed to link this new position to other Lebanese army posts in the southeast of the country.The Shebaa Farms, a mountainous sliver of land rich in water resources measuring 25 square kilometres (10 square miles), are located at the junction of southeast Lebanon, southwest Syria and northern Israel.Israel seized the Farms from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war when it captured the neighbouring Golan Heights which it later annexed.Ever since, the Farms have been caught in a tug-of-war over ownership. Lebanon claims them, with the backing of Damascus, while Israel says they are part of Syria.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to Beirut last month, called for an end to the standoff.The United States believes that the time has come to deal with the Shebaa Farms issue... in accordance with (UN Security Council Resolution) 1701, Rice said.Resolution 1701 brought an end to a devastating 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in summer 2006 and called for the UN secretary general to propose a border demarcation for the Shebaa Farms.Israel occupied south Lebanon for nearly 20 years until withdrawing its troops in May 2000, but it remained in the Shebaa. The United Nations ruled at the time that the withdrawal was complete and that the Farms were Syrian.A seven-point plan drawn up by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and adopted by the United Nations envisages placing the territory under UN administration while waiting for the three countries to resolve the issue.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
OK FINALLY, THIS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT TRADE BLOCK IN THE WORLD AS THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE DEAL IN THE VERY , VERY NEAR FUTURE.
Mediterranean Union to be launched
ELITSA VUCHEVA JULY 11,08 Today @ 09:52 CET
France will on Sunday (13 July) launch the Union for the Mediterranean – the brainchild of President Nicolas Sarkozy, which will bring together EU member states and a number of North African and Middle East countries.Do you know how moving it is for us to see the Arab heads of state sitting at the same table as the Israeli head of state, in a European capital? Mr Sarkozy told journalists on Thursday.Libya's leader has said the Mediterranean Union has imperialist designs (Photo: Wikipedia.org)
For me, the presence of all these European and Mediterranean heads of state in Paris in the name of Europe and the Mediterranean is something deeply moving and it's the best news for peace in the Middle East … I hope we will be able to note a number of advancements, he added.But there is already scepticism about what the new union can achieve after the original most exclusive and grander vision by Mr Sarkozy was watered down, predominantly at Berlin's behest.In addition, up until the last minute, there was uncertainty over some leaders' attendance at the summit.After much foot-dragging, Algeria and Turkey both finally confirmed this week that they will be present. But Jordan's King Abdullah has declined the invitation for personal reasons, while Libya's Muammar Gaddafi –who has called it another Roman empire and spoken of its imperialist design – will also not attend.
The Union for the Mediterranean was proposed by France last year to boost economic, political and cultural ties with the EU's southern neighbours .In March, the bloc's leaders agreed on a final and more general version of the project, which is to include 44 countries – the EU's 27 members, plus Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey – as well as Mauritania, Monaco, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.The launch will be co-presided over by Mr Sarkozy and Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, in Paris' grandiose glass-domed Grand Palais.
Added value?
Already there has been some tension about what the summit can and should achieve, however.In June, Arab leaders voiced concern about what it would mean for them to participate in the high-level meeting together with Israel, fearing it would imply a normalisation of bilateral relations.Turkey has also expressed reluctance since the beginning, fearing the project would be an alternative for its EU membership bid. But the French government, which remains set against Turkey's full membership in the EU, has sought to work out the differences between the two sides.Turkish daily Zaman on Friday (11 July) quotes a senior Turkish diplomat as saying: When Turkey's place is mentioned in the final declaration, we want Turkey to be defined as Turkey, which is conducting membership negotiations with the EU … And we have already received a positive signal on this matter.Critics of the Mediterranean Union also note that controversial issues such as immigration and terrorism have been left out of the scope of the new set-up. They also question its added value when compared to the current Barcelona Process – an initiative started in 1995 with similar ambitions to the new project, but which has stalled due to political apathy.
France launching watered-down Mediterranean union By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 10, 2:55 PM ET
PARIS - At Sunday's launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, the president of Syria and the prime minister of Israel are to sit down at the same table for the first time. But French officials say no group photo is planned. Expectations are low that a new spirit of friendship will blossom over canapes and toasts — either between those mutually suspicious Mideast neighbors or in other rivalries among the 40 or so leaders at the summit.President Nicolas Sarkozy's ambitious pet project to join the nations around the Mediterranean Sea in a cooperative union based on shared projects has been so watered down over the past year that critics now deride it as Club Med — suggesting it will be big on blather and low on substance.The burning question surrounding the inaugural meeting is whether Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad will talk or even shake hands.Optimists see the union's launch as an unprecedented occasion to propel recently resumed peace talks between the two nations, conducted indirectly through Turkey, with a one-on-one meeting or an announcement of direct negotiations between the leaders.Sarkozy has said any meeting between the two leaders would mark formidable progress in Israel-Syria relations. Alon Liel, a former Israeli Foreign Ministry director and lobbyist for Israeli-Syrian peace talks, said even a handshake would be a sensation.
But Syrian officials have not spoken encouragingly of a handshake or a meeting. Israeli officials aren't expecting much, because of Syria's traditional resistance to holding talks at the very highest level before a sound basis for success emerges.The seating arrangement at the table, said to be round, has not been made public. However, it is unlikely Olmert and Assad would be seated together or even face each other across the table.Their nations have a long, bitter divide. Syria wants Israel to return the Golan Heights, seized in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel wants Syria to sever its ties with Iran and stop backing Lebanese and Palestinian militants committed to the Jewish state's destruction.
Other tensions underpin the summit.
Algeria's president and Morocco's king are coming, despite the long rivalry between their nations. In one upbeat note, Assad says he will meet with Lebanon's new president, Michel Suleiman, a notable encounter given Syria's long interference in that country's affair.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who issued a passionate denunciation of Sarkozy's initiative, refused to come. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which sees the project as a way to keep Turks linked to but outside the European Union, has said he will try to attend.Friction with France's EU partners has also undermined the union.Sarkozy's plan to transform the volatile Mediterranean basin into a region of peace and prosperity was supposed to be the pillar of his presidency and a symbol of France's leadership of the EU, which it holds until the end of the year.But the union he envisioned overlapped expensive European projects in progress and was largely gutted, and effectively usurped, by the EU before even taking seed.Ideally, you should measure an initiative by its results ... but the measure of success has been shifted to who will be there on Sunday, said Jose Ignacio Toreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations.A grandiose venue, the glass-domed Grand Palais, has been chosen for the gathering with rooms set aside for private talks. The event will be capped Monday with dozens of leaders attending France's national Bastille Day military parade as special guests.Yet the summit falls short of the vision that Sarkozy laid out as a presidential candidate — ironically because it will be so well attended. The union is to be made up of 44 nations — 27 from Europe and 17 from North Africa and the Middle East — a compromise pushed by the EU that watered down Sarkozy's original vision of only the five European nations on the Mediterranean joining their southern neighbors. Tough issues like immigration or terrorism are giving way to feel-good projects. Among those to be put forward Sunday are a student exchange modeled on an EU program, development of solar energy and a clean-up of the polluted Mediterranean. At the end of the day, the particular projects that have been identified are very wise because they are uncontroversial, said Toreblanca. There is a need for a happy ending and the credits at the end of the movie saying Thank you, Sarkozy.Associated Press writer Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this story.
France to deliver solution to Lisbon psycho-drama by end of 2008 ELITSA VUCHEVA 10.07.2008 @ 17:38 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned Europe against falling into institutional paralysis in the wake of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty and said he hopes to propose a solution to the situation before the end of this year.
In a passionate speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday (10 July), Mr Sarkozy said that nothing was worse for him than immobility and stressed the EU should not let itself be paralysed because of yet another institutional psycho-drama.Europe has a duty to act now. We are not condemned to inaction, the French president said, adding that this would be the main message of his country's EU presidency.He said that he would go to Ireland on 21 July to listen and talk and try to find solutions.The French presidency is going to propose a method and I hope for a solution in the month of October or in December, he told MEPs.Irish voters rejected the EU's Lisbon treaty on 12 June. While the document has been approved by parliaments in 20 other member states so far, it must be ratified by all 27 to enter into force.Mr Sarkozy said he did not want to put pressure on our Irish friends, but said that at the same time, it must be clear whether the European Parliament elections next June will be based on the current Nice Treaty or the Lisbon Treaty.We have [still] a little time, but not a lot, the president said, reiterating that negotiating a new treaty is not an option.
The French priorities remain
The ambitious agenda of the French EU presidency – which started on 1 July and will continue until the end of the year – will not be affected by this institutional problem, Mr Sarkozy said.
Paris' absolute priority in the next six months will be tackling climate change, notably by pushing for the adoption of legislative proposals on how to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 – a goal agreed by EU leaders last year.Harmonising the 27 member states' immigration policies and strengthening the bloc's defence capacity are the other main policy areas outlined by the president.
If Europe is not able to defend itself, how can you want it to be a political power? asked Mr Sarkozy, underlining that his plans did not aim to undermine NATO, but to develop the EU's defence capacities parallel to those of the North Atlantic alliance.France also plans to defend European agriculture in the name of common sense.In 2050, there will be 9 billion people on this planet … This is not the time to scale down Europe's food production, the French leader said.
An outstanding debate
Mr Sarkozy's presentation in the European parliament was followed by a lengthy debate with MEPs, which in the end resulted in the president staying three and a half hours in the plenary session.I have been in the European parliament for 29 years and this today was one of the most outstanding meetings … The president responded to all the contributions [by the MEPs], taking them all seriously, the visibly pleased parliament's president, Hans-Gert Poettering, told journalists following the debate.Most political groups in the parliament backed the French presidency's priorities, and most MEPs gave the French president a standing ovation at the end of his speech.German Liberal Werner Langen compared Mr Sarkozy's presentation to that of former UK premier Tony Blair three years ago, saying it had been just as convincing – a comparison that appeared to please the French president.
Olympics controversy
But Mr Sarkozy also drew some criticism for his decision to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.Mr President, it is a shame, it is pathetic to go to the opening ceremony, Green leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said.The possibility of boycotting the Olympics' opening was first raised after China's crackdown in Tibet, following riots and protests there in March.
But Mr Sarkozy defended his position, arguing that humiliating Beijing would be the wrong approach.I want to go and I want to speak. I want to speak about human rights and defend them … I don't think you can boycott a quarter of humanity, he said.For his part, Mr Poettering announced on Wednesday that he will not attend the event.
Italy rejects accusations of racism from EU assembly
LUCIA KUBOSOVA JULY 11,08 Today @ 09:28 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Italy has rejected criticism by the European Parliament of the country's move to fingerprint Roma people, including children. MEPs on Thursday (10 July) adopted a resolution calling the practise discriminatory and against EU rules. Meanwhile, Rome is defending its actions as a mechanism to protect Roma children from abuse.Italy dismissed accusation of racism for its plans to fingerprint Roma children (Photo: Amnesty International)
The statement was adopted with 336 votes in favour, 220 against and 77 abstentions. Pushed by the left-leaning and centrist political groups, the Greens and Liberals, the resolution was opposed mainly by centre-right MEPs, who argued Rome should be given a chance to explain its policy.Several deputies brought up the issue during a debate with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, urging him to press Italy's right-wing leadership to shelve the controversial measures.German deputy Martin Schultz, chairperson of the Socialist group in the parliament, called the fingerprinting of Roma people a serious breach of fundamental rights in Europe. He demanded of Mr Sarkozy: Can I ask you to appeal to curb the government of Silvio Berlusconi and remind him that this is against the rule of law.
But the French leader repeatedly refused to give lessons to his Italian counterpart, arguing that it was not he who had voted Silvio Berlusconi in power.In their resolution, MEPs referred to recent Eurobarometer surveys that report that Roma are one of the main targets of racism and discrimination in some European countries. They also highlighted incidents involving attacks and aggression against Roma in Italy and Hungary. They expressed concern that a 12-month state of emergency could be justified in Italy by the presence of Romany camps, and urged the EU executive to check whether the Italian measures comply with the bloc's law.
But Roberto Maroni, the Italian interior minister from the anti-immigration Northern League, dismissed such suggestions, arguing Rome is trying to rescue children stolen from other countries and that the fingerprinting is to be carried out only in illegal camps in Rome, Milan and Naples and only of people without documents.The Council of Europe estimates Italy's roma population as between 90,000 and 110,000.UNICEF, the UN organisation for children rights, recently expressed shock and deep concern and called the Italian proposal provocative.
Sarkozy backs Barroso for second go as EU commission president HONOR MAHONY 10.07.2008 @ 17:26 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has backed Jose Manuel Barroso to be president of the European Commission for a second term.Mr Sarkozy, who has just taken on the EU's six month presidency, told a joint press conference with Mr Barroso: If the question is Do I have a candidate?, the answer is Yes. If the question is Is he sitting at the same table as me?, the answer is also Yes.The European Commission HQ in Brussels (Photo: EUobserver.com)Sitting at the same podium in Strasbourg on Thursday (10 July), European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering also threw his weight behind Mr Barroso, saying: I also have a candidate: He's in this room.All three politicians come from the centre-right European People's Party, currently the biggest political family in Europe.For his part, Mr Barroso did not acknowledge the endorsement directly but still managed to set out his political stall in a winding answer in which he concluded that he was not a bureaucrat or a technocrat but (…) a democrat.
The Portuguese former prime minister, who has made no secret of his desire to see through another five-year term as commission president after his mandate expires in autumn 2009, appeared to appeal to other political parties to look for consensus on nominating the next commission chief rather than concentrating on the fact that he comes from a particular political party.The different political forces have to put forward their positions - and their divergent positions - but not in such a way as to jeopardise the need for consensus, said Mr Barroso.He went on to remind his political foes that the commission is not like a national government, often with one political force, but will always necessarily be a broad coalition with all the different parties represented in numbers because they come from different governments.We have to be careful in our interpretation of this as having anything to do with my position individually, said Mr Barroso.
Who's up for the job
The question of who will be next commission president is about the only area where governments can out aloud speculate about possible candidates, as other major posts – such as the EU foreign minister and EU president – have been put on hold since the Irish last month rejected the treaty that would create these positions.The commission president is set to be chosen in light of the result of the European elections – meaning that EU leaders are likely to nominate a candidate from the political family that wins the most seats in the European Parliament in June 2009, a provision contained in the Lisbon Treaty that MEPs are keen to see used.While the EPP will be battling to maintain its electoral supremacy, the Socialists – currently second biggest party – will be hoping to tear down their throne by cashing in on the fears that EU citizens have shown about globalisation and what it could mean for their jobs and livelihoods.Mr Barroso is likely to be pleased by the support from a major country, but is also likely to remember that his nomination in 2004 only came about as an afterthought when Britain blocked the will of France and Germany to get their favoured candidate in.In addition, Mr Sakorzy has proved fickle in the past. Earlier this year, he supported Tony Blair for EU president but then later changed his mind.But the French president's comments will crank up the Brussels rumour mill as the political hue of the commission president will have knock-on effects for the other posts - particularly the EU president and EU foreign minister, which could still see the light of day if Paris and Berlin eventually succeed in getting the next EU treaty in place despite Ireland's referendum rejection on 12 June.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
EU military capabilities still depend on UK, French co-operation - report LEIGH PHILLIPS 10.07.2008 @ 09:29 CET
Any moves to enhance European military capacity requires co-operation between France and the UK, according to a report published on Wednesday, despite the ambitions of some leaders to develop a strategy to orchestrate autonomous EU operations.A three-year investigation by the International Institute for Strategic Studies argues that of the European Union member states' 2 million active personnel, only some 2.7 percent are sufficiently equipped and trained to meet the demands of current and expected overseas deployment.EU militaries will face increased demands for targeted operations, says a report. (Photo: NATO)
The report, European Military Capabilities, argues that the future will see ever greater demands put on the various European forces - not large-scale wars, but growing number of targeted actions. The EU collectively spent €204 billion on its militaries in 2006, notes the report, but this has delivered a glut of infantry soldiers, while soldiers with more specialised skills are lacking.The report also argues that there is too much overlap as countries devote monies to domestic firms producing military equipment, while research and development does not receive an adequate provision of funds.Ahead of France taking over the helm of the European Union's six-month rotating presidency, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced his ambitions for a substantial beefing up of Europe's military capacity. He wants the EU to be able to simultaneously deploy 60,000troops.The IISS report however says that any such expansion remains dependent on Franco-British military co-operation. France and the UK are the bloc's most significant military spenders.It's notable that Britain has given a general welcome to Sarkozy's approach, said the group's editorial director, Alexander Nicoll, and that the United States now argues that the world needs a stronger Europe, with a strong European Security and Defence Policy.
Last week, the UK's foreign secretary, David Miliband, gave a speech to the British parliament in support of French plans for EU military capabilities, arguing that increased military co-operation at the European level does not undermine NATO.Mr Miliband said, in speech responding to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland last month, that EU military operations can be one of three main areas - alongside dealing with economic and environmental concerns - that should make up the substance of what the union can deliver to its citizens.The British foreign secretary also welcomed Mr Sarkozy's plans to have France rejoin NATO's integrated military command.
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 warns Israel, US would regret any attack JULY 11,08
TEHRAN (AFP) - A senior Iranian cleric on Friday warned Israel and the United States that they would be made to regret any attack against Iran, but denied any aggressive intent towards the Jewish state.You liar Israel and you liar the White House... if you want to make an invasion we will give you such a response that you will regret your move, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said in a Friday prayers sermon broadcast on state radio.Tensions over the nuclear standoff have again surged in the past two days after Iran test-fired a broadside of missiles -- including the Shahab-3 which it says puts Israel within range -- in war games that provoked international concern.The Shahab-3 is advertised as having a 2,000 kilometre range (1,250 miles), which would put Israel, Saudi Arabia, and US military installations throughout the Middle East within striking distance.But Emami Kashani also shrugged off concerns about the perceived threatening nature of the Islamic republic's war exercise.Iran does not recognise Israel because it is an occupier... But Iran does not want to get involved in a war with it and does not want to shoot its missiles to Tel Aviv, the conservative cleric said.
Report: Iran, EU to meet on nuclear issue JULY 11,08
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official news agency says the country's top nuclear negotiator will meet European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana next week to address Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The report says Saeed Jalili will go to Brussels to meet with Solana on July 19. Their talks will focus on a package of economic and technological incentives presented to Iran by permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.Last week, Iran responded to the European Union but indicated that it has no plans to stop enriching uranium — a key Western demand. The process can be used to generate electricity or build nuclear weapons.European officials have said they are studying the Iranian response, and consulting with the United States, Russia and China on what to do next.
Israel ready to act over Iran JULY 10,08
Ehud Barak said Israel was the strongest country in the region
Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened. Ehud Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, said Israel had proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake. He spoke as Iran's testing of missiles that could reach Israel stoked tensions between the two, and with the US. But Mr Barak added that diplomatic solutions should be pursued before other options were taken up. Currently the focus is international sanctions and vigorous diplomatic activity, and these avenues should be exhausted, he said.
US warning
Over the past two days, the Iranian military has tested missiles, including one that it says could reach Israel. State media said the tests included the first night launch of the Shahab-3 missile, said to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), along with shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be confused about US capabilities.
Israel has responded to the missile tests by putting on display one of its aircraft that it says can spy on Iran. The state-run Israel Aerospace Industries says it has equipped its Eitam aeroplane, unveiled a year ago, with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems. Mr Barak spoke of the potential for accords, particularly with the Palestinians and the Syrians, but stressed that the situation was very complex. Quoted by Israeli news website Ynet, Mr Barak said: We must work towards an accord - but if not, then we must strike our enemy when it is required.He also warned that Israel must consider the reactions from other nations in the region that could be provoked by action against Iran. The responses of our adversaries must be taken into account. Hamas and Hezbollah and the Syrians and the Iranians - there is activity all around us. And there exists a potential for confrontation.Iran has been accused of doctoring an image from its missile tests.Meanwhile, the AFP news agency has issued a warning that a still image of the missiles being launched, one of several distributed by Iran, was apparently digitally altered.
The photograph, published on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards website and reproduced by media organisations - including the BBC News website - showed four missiles taking off from a desert launch-pad. But a similar image, issued by the Associated Press, shows one of the missiles still in its launcher after apparently failing to fire. The BBC News website's picture editor, Phil Coomes, said: Having examined the photograph from AFP, it can be seen that parts have been edited, with smoke trails and parts of the foreground being cloned.In recent weeks, both Israel and Iran have been testing and showing off their military hardware, each saying that in the event of provocation it is more than capable of defending itself. The Israeli air force recently carried out a large-scale exercise over the Mediterranean - regarded by many observers as a dress rehearsal should the order be given to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel believes Iran is building nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy. Western leaders have been trying to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium, which it has continued doing despite sanctions from the UN and the European Union.
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.
Hurricane Bertha approaches Bermuda JULY 11,08
MIAMI - Forecasters say a tropical storm watch could be issued for Bermuda as Hurricane Bertha moves slowly toward the island.
Forecasters are urging people in Bermuda to monitor the Category 1 storm's progress closely. Bertha is producing large swells and high surf there.If it stays on its current track, Bertha will approach Bermuda on Friday and Saturday. As of 5 a.m. EDT Friday, the center of the storm was about 350 miles southeast of Bermuda, traveling northwest at about 7 mph. Maximum sustained winds are about 85 mph with some gusting higher.
La Nina dissipates in equatorial Pacific: NOAA Thu Jul 10, 9:44 AM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - La Nina has mostly dissipated in the Pacific Ocean and normal weather should prevail into the fall, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said Thursday. A transition from La Nina to ... neutral conditions occurred during June 2008, as sea surface temperatures returned to near-average across the central and east-central equatorial Pacific Ocean, the CPC said in its monthly update.La Nina means little girl in Spanish and usually results in cooler-than-normal water in the Pacific that helps hurricanes form in the Atlantic basin by suppressing wind shear which tears embryonic storms apart.The more famous El Nino anomaly causes waters in the Pacific to turn abnormally warm and its encouragement of wind shear was said to hinder Atlantic storms which would sweep into the Gulf of Mexico and disrupt oil and gas production in the area.CPC said La Nina continues to linger in the atmospheric circulation, but with diminishing strength.It said normal weather may persist into the northern hemisphere winter of 2008/09.
But, CPC cautioned, The possible development of El Nino or La Nina cannot be ruled out due to uncertainty in model forecasts and because (both) events often form during the second half of the year.
Scientists have observed that El Nino and La Nina would often follow one after the other in the central Pacific.El Nino is more notorious and was named after the Christ child because it was first noticed by Latin American anchovy fishermen in the 19th Century.The worst recent El Nino was in 1997/98 when it sparked drought in countries like Australia and Indonesia while spawning floods in Peru and Ecuador.(Reporting by Rene Pastor, Editing by John Picinich)
Wild weather in southern B.C. knocks out power, downs trees
Thu Jul 10, 10:07 PM
VANCOUVER (CBC) - High winds peaking at 70 km/h buffeted B.C.'s south coast Thursday afternoon, causing extensive power outages and downing trees in Metro Vancouver.More than 35,000 BC Hydro customers were without power at one point. The hardest-hit areas were the Lower Mainland and the Sunshine Coast. As many as 4,000 people in Coquitlam were without power for several hours.Trees were toppled in West Vancouver, Vancouver and North Vancouver, including one that hit a small commuter shuttle operated by TransLink on Mount Seymour Parkway in North Vancouver.The tree split open the rear of the bus and a branch smashed the front windshield. The driver and the nine passengers were not seriously injured.The bus lurched forward and I hit the front behind the driver's seat, said Risa Newyear-Ramirez, who was on the bus.I got a little scratch. I didn't know what happened but I heard people screaming. I looked behind me and saw the back of the bus was completely gone, Newyear-Ramirez said.The passengers called the driver, Sabir Kazi, a hero because he spotted the tree as it fell toward his small bus. He sped up and prevented the falling tree from smashing right into the roof of the bus.I just did my job because I just wanted to save everyone, said Kazi, who has been on the job for nine months.
Strong winds hit B.C. Interior
The southern Okanagan and the Interior also experienced a wind storm with gusts up to 109 km/h.In Kelowna, a thunderstorm warning was issued in the afternoon and, within minutes, whitecaps appeared on Okanagan Lake and violent waves began to break over the seawall. Several boats were washed ashore.Stewart Smith, owner of the Kelowna Marina, said he lost about 80 per cent of his rental boats.
Out of the 20 boats, we maybe have four left, he said. Their legs were ripped off or [there were] big holes on the sides of the boats.
CBC meteorologist Claire Martin said the winds had died down by Thursday evening.When you have energy along a front, it's usually spread amongst the clouds, rain-making and the wind. We didn't see much in the way of clouds and there was no rain along the front, ergo the winds were very strong, Martin said.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
CHILE VOLCANO REVS UP
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/index.php?rn=222561&cl=8760886&ch=6535903
WILDFIRES UPDATE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8762248&src=news
RESIDENTS FLEE WILDFIRES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8765754&ch=4226713&src=news
Calif. National Guard joins firefighting effort By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 11, 4:27 AM ET
ALBION, Calif. - Sweat rolled down Lisa Mirander's forehead as she hacked a tangle of saplings and brush down to bare dirt to prevent a wildfire from spreading. It was a tough job, but no harder than the 13 months she served in Afghanistan. California's wildfire season has become so severe so swiftly that for the first time in more than 30 years, National Guard troops have been deployed to fight the flames on the ground. Many are arriving at the fire line just after returning from combat zones.For Mirander, the two jobs share some similarities.In combat, she said, you worried about the bullets. Here, you got the fire.The Guard is stepping in as crews across the state struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,000 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks.Mirander, a 27-year-old student, left behind her husband and a 7-year-old stepson in Riverside to spend one month working 12-hour days battling the flames.It's pretty awesome, she said of working alongside other troops. We really stand by each other.The first wave of 200 troops took their places Wednesday, providing a breath of fresh air to firefighting crews on the ground, said Dan Burns, an assistant fire chief who was helping integrate the Guard into the firefighting effort.
It'll really relieve a lot of pressure out there, Burns said. The state got hit by so many fires at once — we couldn't staff them all.
Because this fire season started so early, the firefighting conditions have been among the worst in memory, even among longtime crews, said Terence McHale, policy director for CDF Firefighters of Cal Fire, the union representing the firefighters.We have firefighters who've been working nonstop since mid-May, who haven't seen their families or homes, who are working 24-hour shifts, 21 days on, sometimes putting in 36 hours in the initial attack of a fire, McHale said. It's an incredible challenge.By Thursday, about 1,460 fires had been contained, but more than 320 were still active. For instance, in Butte County, north of Sacramento, more than 50 homes have been destroyed, and another 4,000 are threatened. The flames forced 10,000 residents to evacuate.
Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, preparing for a wind change. The winds expected Friday morning are similar to ones that caused the damaging flare-up Monday night.They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank and reach the town, said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Lloyd Knifong, who has lived in Paradise since 1960, was preparing to spend a sleepless night with his 20-year-old son Kyle, defending their home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked nearby and sprinklers were jerry-rigged to roofs.When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave, he said.Along the scenic Big Sur coast, 27 homes and 31 other structures have burned in a fire that has consumed 140 square miles.
Farther south, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained. Strong winds gusting up to 50 mph also spread wildfires in Washington state, and more than 200 residents were evacuated from the suburban Spokane Valley. Fast-moving flames burned at least four homes there, Gov. Chris Gregoire said. Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the wildfire, which broke out Thursday afternoon and grew to nearly 2 square miles. In California, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the National Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. On Thursday, he requested more resources from President Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request. We now face extremely high temperatures and increased fuel loads that are exacerbating fire conditions and putting our communities and firefighters and other first responders at risk, the governor wrote. We sit at a critical tipping point in California that requires immediate federal help.Conditions are expected to worsen, with a continuing heat wave and more lightning storms forecast the rest of the week, Schwarzenegger said. Fire officials who trained the Guard members were impressed by the morale of the troops as they prepared to face wildfires for the first time. It feels good — not that it didn't feel good to serve in Iraq. It really feels good to be helping out at home, said Jacques Lewis, 51, a postal worker in San Francisco who spent a year in Iraq training soldiers on safety around nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. About half of the approximately 35 troops training for the wildfires had served in Iraq or Afghanistan, said state fire Capt. Walter Williams, who led the training. But even for troops with combat experience, fighting fires is new, Williams said. They must learn how flames can double back, leap over trenches and surprise even experienced firefighters. They also have to figure out how and where to dig, and how to feed out a fire hose. And they must get accustomed to hard labor in temperatures that peak around 110 degrees.
We're going to find out how much stamina we all have, Williams said. Because the troops are new to the task, instructors are careful to keep them safe and drinking plenty of water. They won't carry chain saws and will only work alongside more experienced firefighters, Burns said. This is the first time, but I can see this as the future — utilizing the National Guard when our resources are tapped out, he said. Associated Press writers Don Thompson in Paradise and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Wash., contributed to this report.
Wildfires advance in Calif., destroy Wash. homes By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer JULY 11,08
PARADISE, Calif. - Firefighters battling a raging wildfire in the Sierra Nevada foothills of California braced for strong winds Friday they feared could blow hot embers toward thousands of homes, while residents in Washington state's Spokane Valley fled a fire that destroyed several houses. The winds forecast for Friday morning were expected to be similar to ones that caused the blaze in Butte County to flare up earlier this week, destroying about 50 homes and forcing 10,000 residents to evacuate.We're hoping to get things under control to be ready for that wind change, said Tobie Edmonds, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Firefighters on Thursday positioned themselves on the banks of the Feather River opposite the town of Paradise, where a wildfire last month forced thousands of evacuations and destroyed 74 homes.They're monitoring that fire and trying to keep it on the east side so it doesn't cross over to the west bank and reach the town, Edmonds said.In Washington, strong winds gusting up to 50 mph spread a wildfire that erupted Thursday in a heavily wooded part of the Spokane Valley, forcing 200 residents to evacuate.Fast-moving flames burned at least four homes, said Gov. Chris Gregoire, who flew to Spokane late Thursday, passing over numerous fires in eastern Washington.Virtually from Wenatchee east, it's a pretty smoky cloud, she said.
Gregoire said she approved requests by Spokane and Ferry counties for emergency declarations to make state resources available to help fight the fires.We have planes ready to go first thing in the morning, depending on winds, she said.Officials said heavy smoke and tree cover made it difficult to assess the damage from the suburban Spokane wildfire, which remained out of control. The cause of that blaze, which grew to nearly 2 square miles, was not immediately known.In California, about 40 fires ignited by lightning storms have burned more than 76 square miles in Butte County alone in the past two weeks. By Thursday, about 15 of the fires were active.Lloyd Knifong, 47, and his son Kyle, 20, were preparing to spend a sleepless night defending their Paradise home and several others lined on two sides by 70-foot pine trees. A fire engine was parked nearby and sprinklers were jerry-rigged to roofs.
When we see it coming, I'm going to empty my pool and get everything nice and wet. Then we'll leave, Knifong said.In Concow, about 90 miles north of Sacramento, firefighters intentionally burned brush to keep the flames away from houses. Evacuations orders remained in place, but some residents were allowed back on Thursday to check on their homes.I think my place is gone, said Rachael Davidson, 37. When we left, there were flames all around.
Along the scenic Big Sur coast, 27 homes and 31 other structures have burned in a fire that has consumed 140 square miles and was about 40 percent contained.Farther south, a separate blaze in the Santa Ynez Mountains had blackened more than 15 square miles and was 75 percent contained. And at the southern tip of Sequoia National Forest, 90 miles north of Los Angeles, a 54-square-mile blaze was almost a third contained. The National Guard has stepped in as crews across California struggle to contain hundreds of lightning-sparked fires that have burned more than 1,100 square miles and destroyed nearly 100 homes in the last three weeks. Some 1,460 fires had been contained by Thursday, but more than 320 still were active, authorities said. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered the Guard to the front lines and expects to call up more troops. On Thursday, he requested more resources from President Bush, and officials at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security said they were reviewing the request. California is in the midst of battling unprecedented wildfires that have stretched our state's firefighting resources to their limit and placed thousands of Californians in immediate danger, the governor wrote. Associated Press writers Juliana Barbassa in Albion, Calif., and Nicholas K. Geranios in Spokane, Wash., contributed to this report.
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)
OIL THIS MORNING GOES TO ANOTHER RECORD HIGH OF $145.98 A $9.00 JUMP IN THE LAST 2 DAYS.
BIG OIL TURNS ON IRAN
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8760370&ch=4226720&src=news
Oil hits new record as supply fears intensify By Santosh Menon JULY 11,08
LONDON (Reuters) - Oil jumped over $4 to a new record high near $146 a barrel on Friday, spurred by growing worries of threats to supplies from Iran and Nigeria and a strike of Brazilian oil workers next week. U.S. crude was $4.17 at $145.82 a barrel by 6:56 a.m. EDT, off highs of $145.98, after jumping $5.60 or 4 percent a barrel in late trading on Thursday.London Brent crude was up $4.25 at $146.28 a barrel.Leading the oil complex was ICE gas oil futures which climbed to a new record high of $1,335 a tonne amid strong demand for diesel and aviation fuel.Oil, which had been on the retreat for much of early part of the week, reversed course on Thursday as fears of supply disruptions from potential hot-spots, OPEC members Iran and Nigeria, resurfaced.A spate of missile tests by Iran, the world's fourth-largest oil exporter, in the last two days against a backdrop of rising tensions with Israel and the United States has left the oil markets worried.Iran has threatened to strike back at Tel Aviv as well as U.S. interests in and a key oil shipping route if it is attacked over its nuclear program, which Israel and the West fears is aimed at making nuclear weapons.
The United States reminded Tehran it was ready to defend its allies.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in Nigeria's oil-producing region, said it was abandoning a ceasefire to protest against a British offer to help tackle lawlessness in the region.Rebel attacks on oil infrastructure in Nigeria, the world's eighth biggest exporter, have also been partly responsible for the nearly 50 percent rise in prices this year.Workers at Brazil's Petrobras (PETR4.SA)(PBR.N) threatened to launch a five-day strike next week that would affect all 42 Campos basin offshore platforms, which account for more than 80 percent of daily oil output of around 1.8 million barrels.Oil has also risen due to persistent weakness in the U.S. dollar. Investors have flocked to oil and other commodities this year as a hedge against rising inflation and the weak dollar.Oil has continued rising despite efforts by top exporter Saudi Arabia to raise production to its highest rate in three decades in an effort to tame oil prices.Qatar Oil Minister Abdullah al-Attiyah told Reuters on Friday that he saw no demand for the additional crude that Saudi Arabia has pledged to pump.(Additional reporting by Felicia Loo in Singapore; Editing by William Hardy)
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
US stocks lower as GE fails to motivate investors By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer JULY 11,08
NEW YORK - Wall Street headed for a moderately lower open Friday after General Electric Co.'s quarterly report failed to motivate investors anxious about the financial industry and a new record oil price. GE, the conglomerate that owns everything from television network NBC to jet engine plants, reported second-quarter profits that met analysts' expectations. However, the outlook across its business lines was mixed — and overall results were not convincing enough to send futures higher.The results were not enough to distract investors from broader worries that continued to depress the market, including oil prices, which on Friday vaulted to a new intraday record of $145.98 a barrel.And financial companies with exposure to mortgage bonds will continue to be under investor scrutiny. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have plunged in the past few sessions, and there is growing speculation on the Street that the government might have to step in to prevent a collapse.Citigroup Inc. announced it will sell its German retail banking operation to France's Credit Mutuel for $7.7 billion. After the deal closes, Citi said it will book a $4 billion gain — an amount that could be badly needed as the company is expected to take further write-downs during the second quarter.Investors are also awaiting economic data including a report on the trade deficit in May and a reading on consumer confidence for July.
Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 62, or 0.61 percent, to 11,155. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 7.70, or 0.61 percent, to 1,246.80, while Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 9.50, or 0.52 percent, to 1,834.75.Light, sweet crude rose $3.53 to $1456.30 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Behind the rise are concerns about a disruption to tight global supplies amid tensions over Iran's launch of test missiles and the possible renewal of oil-related violence in Nigeria.Bond prices edged lower ahead of the economic reports. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.82 percent from 3.80 percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index, which sits at multiyear lows, is expected to drop further amid higher gasoline prices and a weakening employment market. The report is due at 10 a.m. EDT.And, economists expect that the Commerce Department will report that the U.S. trade deficit increased in May due to soaring oil prices and higher imports of consumer goods. The trade gap is forecast to rise to $62.1 billion from $60.9 billion in April, according to Thomson/IFR. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT.Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.21 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.87 percent, Germany's DAX index declined 1.53 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.36 percent.On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
OZONE DEPLETION
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
EPA: Smog could get worse with global warming By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 10, 8:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Global warming could worsen smog and stretch what typically is a summer pollution problem into the spring and fall, government scientists predicted Thursday. Smog is most likely to get worse in the Northeast, lower Midwest, and mid-Atlantic regions of the country, where numerous counties and cities are already struggling to clean up the air, according to a draft analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency.But in Texas and Southern California, already among the smoggiest areas in the country, the science is unclear, even conflicting. Smog there could get slightly better or become more severe, the analysis said.Nonetheless, researchers said state officials should be factoring in the impact of global warming as they make plans to try to reduce smog, calling it a climate penalty.These findings also indicate, that, where climate-change-induced increases in (smog) do occur, damaging effects on ecosystems, agriculture, and health will be especially pronounced, due to increases in the frequency of extreme pollution events, the analysis concluded. However, the prediction came with a caveat: the researchers did not take into account efforts to reduce smog that are already under way because of stricter environmental regulations.EPA stressed that the document did not represent the agency's policies or position on global warming. On Friday, the agency is scheduled to officially respond to a Supreme Court ruling that said greenhouse gases could be regulated under the Clean Air Act if they pose a risk to human health or welfare.The Bush administration has resisted linking global warming to public health problems.
The ill-effects of smog, however, have been long been recognized. Smog is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds released from cars, industry and plants mix in sunlight. It can irritate the respiratory system, reduce lung capacity and aggravate asthma. Global warming would make smog worse because it would cause plants to release more smog-forming organic compounds and spark more lightning storms, which create nitrogen oxides naturally.Barry Wallerstein, executive director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, which regulates air pollution in Orange County, Calif., and parts of Los Angeles, said the link between global warming and smog should compel EPA to control greenhouse gas emissions.On the Net:EPA http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/cfm/recordisplay.cfm?deid181744
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).
SALMONELLA MYSTERY
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8762181&ch=4226723&src=news
More suspects in frustrating salmonella probe By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer Thu Jul 10, 10:30 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Think of your favorite recipe for salsa. Three common ingredients now are suspects in the salmonella poisonings that have become the nation's largest foodborne outbreak in at least a decade. And therein lies the frustration. Seven weeks into their investigation, federal health officials aren't shortening the list of potential culprits but adding to it. Now jalapeno pepper producers are being probed alongside tomato distributors, and even fresh cilantro is under suspicion, too.I wish I could have a crystal ball and say it's one of those three things, Dr. David Acheson, the Food and Drug Administration's food safety chief, told AP Television on Thursday.This has gone on longer and has been more complicated than anything I've worked on at FDA.Indeed, it's quite a departure from the 2006 E. coli outbreak in spinach, a mystery solved in about two weeks.We really, really got spoiled, if you will, with the spinach outbreak, Dr. Robert Tauxe, food safety chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told The Associated Press.There aren't as many spinach lovers as tomato lovers. And the spinach consumers remembered eating came in bags, often still left in their refrigerators — that bore bar codes that were as good a clue as a fingerprint in helping investigators race to the very field that had been contaminated.This time around, the suspects seldom are left over in the refrigerator or bear individual bar codes. Also, the victims are having a harder time remembering.
They say, Well, I'm not sure, I may have had guacamole, or a garnish, Tauxe said.But this outbreak is lasting an unusually long time, with a record 1,065 cases confirmed by Thursday — the first of whom fell sick April 10 and the latest so far on June 26.That makes the toll of the current salmonella outbreak far surpass recent large outbreaks of any foodborne disease: salmonella linked to peanut butter in 2006 and hepatitis A from green onions in 2003. It's not quite as big as one caused by cyclospora-tainted raspberries in the mid-1990s.The scope is bad both for public health and a battered tomato industry that estimates losses at $100 million. Yet it is giving federal investigators some apparently valuable new clues.Early on, lots of individuals got sick, not clusters of people who all ate at the same restaurant or catered picnic. But by mid-May and continuing well into last month, those clusters of a few people sickened in the same spot were appearing. That's helpful for disease detectives, who find it easier to trace suppliers for a few restaurants than hundreds of stores and markets.
Plus, the CDC just finished comparing 144 people who got sick in June with 287 people who live near them but didn't fall ill.That study of the June cases shows the sick are far more likely than the well to have eaten either raw tomatoes, raw jalapeno peppers or fresh cilantro. In one of the largest clusters, those sickened had consumed fresh tomatoes and fresh jalapenos mixed together. In two other large clusters, illnesses were linked only to a dish that contained fresh jalapenos but no tomatoes.
What does that mean?
We are quite sure that neither tomatoes nor jalapenos explain the entire outbreak at this point. ... We're presuming that both of them have caused illness, Tauxe said.That has the FDA looking furiously for intersections between peppers and tomatoes. Perhaps there are farms that grew tomatoes earlier in the spring and then switched to pepper harvesting, or distribution centers that handled both types of produce and contaminated incoming produce, Acheson said. The government's advice for now is to continue avoiding certain raw tomatoes — red round, plum and Roma — unless they were grown in areas cleared of suspicion. Plus, people at highest risk of severe illness from salmonella should not eat raw jalapeno and serrano peppers, the CDC advised. The most vulnerable are the elderly, people with weak immune systems and infants. Serranos are on the list because they're hard to distinguish from jalapenos.
Did the CDC just miss a pepper connection early on?
It's very hard for us to say that peppers were absolutely not part of the problem initially. They may have been part of the problem initially but not large enough to catch the attention of the investigations, Tauxe acknowledges. But there are clusters of illness where jalapenos simply were not on the menu, he added. And Acheson stressed Thursday: There was and is very compelling evidence that tomatoes were contaminated with salmonella.The geography offers a potentially good clue too. Patients live in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and even Canada — where three people got sick while traveling to the U.S. and a fourth case is under investigation. Most of the sick are in the Southwest, while parts of the Northwest have no cases and parts of the Southeast few. That begs the question is there something about the distribution of the product that contributes to that, Acheson said. We've been trying to tease that apart.On the Net: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/salmonella Food and Drug Administration: http://www.fda.gov
KNOWLEGE AND WORLD TRAVEL INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
Northwest Airlines to cut 2,500 jobs By JOSHUA FREED, AP Business Writer Wed Jul 9, 5:20 PM ET
MINNEAPOLIS - Northwest Airlines Corp. said on Wednesday it will cut 2,500 jobs because of high oil prices, and will soon begin charging $15 to check luggage and up to $100 to redeem a frequent-flier award ticket. The airline said it expects the new fees to add $250 million to $300 million a year in revenue.Northwest said the job cuts — which represent about 8.3 percent of its work force — will include front-line and management workers. It said it will start with voluntary departures and leaving open jobs unfilled before moving to furloughs to reach the 2,500 total.Northwest had said previously it would have fewer workers after it cuts 8.5 percent to 9.5 percent of mainline flying in the fourth quarter of this year. It has said overall capacity would shrink 3 percent to 4 percent because it is adding regional seats. As of the end of 2007, Northwest employed about 30,000 people.President and Chief Executive Doug Steenland said Northwest's fuel costs have more than doubled in the past year.
These reductions are the direct result of our extraordinary fuel costs and the necessary actions we must take to right-size our airline and eliminate unprofitable flying, Steenland said in a written statement.Northwest also said it would begin charging $15 for the first checked bag, matching a fee announced earlier this year by US Airways, American Airlines, and United Airlines. Northwest's new fee applies to tickets sold after Thursday for travel starting Aug. 28 in the U.S. or to Canada.Northwest also announced a fee for issuing frequent-flier tickets beginning Sept. 15. It said it will charge $25 for domestic tickets, $50 for trans-Atlantic tickets and $100 for trans-Pacific tickets. Steenland called the service fee temporary.As fuel comes down, we will re-visit this decision, he said.Last month Delta Air Lines Inc. announced a $25 surcharge for redeeming frequent flier tickets for domestic travel and $50 for international. Delta, which is buying Northwest, has not added a fee for the first checked bag.American Airlines was the first major U.S. carrier to announce a fee on first checked bags. Spokesman Tim Smith said Northwest's moves clearly show they are facing the same extreme challenges all airlines are dealing with these days. American also charges $50 to $100 to book a frequent-flier ticket within less than 21 days.
Executives of American parent AMR Corp. said last week they expect to cut 8 percent of the work force, or about 6,800 jobs. Continental Airlines Inc. has announced 3,000 job cuts.Frequent flier programs have been around since the early 1980s. The idea has always been that airlines would reward customer loyalty with a free, repeat, free ticket, said Tim Winship, who runs mileage program tracking Web site frequentflier.com. That to me is a pretty clear-cut promise. And the free part is at the center of that promise.Randy Petersen, editor of FrequentFlyer magazine, said U.S. airlines have actually been later than their European and Asian counterparts in adding fees for frequent-flier awards.If this is how the industry is gong to stay in business so our awards are available to use one or two years from now, we don't like it, but we're going to live with it, he said.Northwest shares fell $1.17, or almost 16 percent, to close at $6.30.AP Business Writers David Koenig in Dallas and Harry R. Weber in Atlanta contributed to this report.
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
Bush signs new rules on government wiretapping By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jul 11, 2:08 AM ET
WASHINGTON - President Bush signed a bill Thursday that overhauls rules about government eavesdropping and grants immunity to telecommunications companies that helped the U.S. spy on Americans in suspected terrorism cases. He called it landmark legislation that is vital to the security of our people.Bush signed the measure in a Rose Garden ceremony a day after the Senate sent it to him, following nearly a year of debate in the Democratic-led Congress over surveillance rules and the warrantless wiretapping program Bush initiated after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. It was a battle that pitted privacy and civil liberties concerns against the desire to prevent terrorist attacks and Democrats' fears of being portrayed as weak when it comes to protecting the country.
Its passage was a major victory for Bush, an unpopular lame-duck president who nevertheless has been able to prevail over Congress on most issues of national security and intelligence disputes.Bush said the 9/11 attack changed our country forever and taught the intelligence community that it must know who America's enemies are talking to and what they are saying.In the aftermath of 9/11, Bush said, few would have imagined that we would be standing here seven years later without another attack on American soil. The fact that the terrorists have failed to strike our shores again does not mean that our enemies have given up.Even before Bush signed the legislation, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge the new law in court.The president said the bill gives the government anti-terror tools it needs without compromising Americans' civil liberties.Bush was joined at the ceremony by Vice President Dick Cheney, Attorney General Michael Mukasey, Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell and more than a dozen members of Congress.The ACLU's lawsuit was filed on behalf of several civil rights groups. It wants a federal judge in New York to rule that the law is an unconstitutional violation of free speech and the right against unlawful search and seizure. It also asks that the judge permanently block intelligence officials from conducting surveillance under the law.The new law gives the government the power to conduct dragnet surveillance that has no connection to terrorism or criminal activity of any kind, said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU's National Security Project, in a conference call to reporters.A law like this is fundamentally inconsistent with the Constitution and with the most basic democratic values, he said.
Roger Atwood, communications director for the Washington Office on Latin America, a human rights organization for the region, said the new law will impede the group's work.The mere suspicion that information provided to us, to our staff, will be accessed by the U.S. government can seriously affect WOLA's credibility and our effectiveness in Latin America in moving our work forward, Atwood said in the conference call.Associated Press writer Christine Simmons contributed to this report.
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.
Lebanese army occupies abandoned Shebaa Farm: witness JULY 11,08
SHEBAA, Lebanon (AFP) - The Lebanese army moved on Friday into Bastara Farm, the only one of the occupied Shebaa Farms that the Israeli army evacuated when it pulled out of south Lebanon in 2000, an AFP correspondent said. Lebanese army vehicles and bulldozers could be seen moving for the first time into the farm, which lies some 300 metres (yards) away from other farms which Israel has occupied for more than 40 years.A road has been reconstructed to link this new position to other Lebanese army posts in the southeast of the country.The Shebaa Farms, a mountainous sliver of land rich in water resources measuring 25 square kilometres (10 square miles), are located at the junction of southeast Lebanon, southwest Syria and northern Israel.Israel seized the Farms from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war when it captured the neighbouring Golan Heights which it later annexed.Ever since, the Farms have been caught in a tug-of-war over ownership. Lebanon claims them, with the backing of Damascus, while Israel says they are part of Syria.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, during a visit to Beirut last month, called for an end to the standoff.The United States believes that the time has come to deal with the Shebaa Farms issue... in accordance with (UN Security Council Resolution) 1701, Rice said.Resolution 1701 brought an end to a devastating 33-day war between Israel and Hezbollah in summer 2006 and called for the UN secretary general to propose a border demarcation for the Shebaa Farms.Israel occupied south Lebanon for nearly 20 years until withdrawing its troops in May 2000, but it remained in the Shebaa. The United Nations ruled at the time that the withdrawal was complete and that the Farms were Syrian.A seven-point plan drawn up by Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Siniora and adopted by the United Nations envisages placing the territory under UN administration while waiting for the three countries to resolve the issue.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
OK FINALLY, THIS WILL BE THE MOST IMPORTANT TRADE BLOCK IN THE WORLD AS THE EU WILL GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE DEAL IN THE VERY , VERY NEAR FUTURE.
Mediterranean Union to be launched
ELITSA VUCHEVA JULY 11,08 Today @ 09:52 CET
France will on Sunday (13 July) launch the Union for the Mediterranean – the brainchild of President Nicolas Sarkozy, which will bring together EU member states and a number of North African and Middle East countries.Do you know how moving it is for us to see the Arab heads of state sitting at the same table as the Israeli head of state, in a European capital? Mr Sarkozy told journalists on Thursday.Libya's leader has said the Mediterranean Union has imperialist designs (Photo: Wikipedia.org)
For me, the presence of all these European and Mediterranean heads of state in Paris in the name of Europe and the Mediterranean is something deeply moving and it's the best news for peace in the Middle East … I hope we will be able to note a number of advancements, he added.But there is already scepticism about what the new union can achieve after the original most exclusive and grander vision by Mr Sarkozy was watered down, predominantly at Berlin's behest.In addition, up until the last minute, there was uncertainty over some leaders' attendance at the summit.After much foot-dragging, Algeria and Turkey both finally confirmed this week that they will be present. But Jordan's King Abdullah has declined the invitation for personal reasons, while Libya's Muammar Gaddafi –who has called it another Roman empire and spoken of its imperialist design – will also not attend.
The Union for the Mediterranean was proposed by France last year to boost economic, political and cultural ties with the EU's southern neighbours .In March, the bloc's leaders agreed on a final and more general version of the project, which is to include 44 countries – the EU's 27 members, plus Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, the Palestinian Authority, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey – as well as Mauritania, Monaco, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania.The launch will be co-presided over by Mr Sarkozy and Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak, in Paris' grandiose glass-domed Grand Palais.
Added value?
Already there has been some tension about what the summit can and should achieve, however.In June, Arab leaders voiced concern about what it would mean for them to participate in the high-level meeting together with Israel, fearing it would imply a normalisation of bilateral relations.Turkey has also expressed reluctance since the beginning, fearing the project would be an alternative for its EU membership bid. But the French government, which remains set against Turkey's full membership in the EU, has sought to work out the differences between the two sides.Turkish daily Zaman on Friday (11 July) quotes a senior Turkish diplomat as saying: When Turkey's place is mentioned in the final declaration, we want Turkey to be defined as Turkey, which is conducting membership negotiations with the EU … And we have already received a positive signal on this matter.Critics of the Mediterranean Union also note that controversial issues such as immigration and terrorism have been left out of the scope of the new set-up. They also question its added value when compared to the current Barcelona Process – an initiative started in 1995 with similar ambitions to the new project, but which has stalled due to political apathy.
France launching watered-down Mediterranean union By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 10, 2:55 PM ET
PARIS - At Sunday's launch of the Union for the Mediterranean, the president of Syria and the prime minister of Israel are to sit down at the same table for the first time. But French officials say no group photo is planned. Expectations are low that a new spirit of friendship will blossom over canapes and toasts — either between those mutually suspicious Mideast neighbors or in other rivalries among the 40 or so leaders at the summit.President Nicolas Sarkozy's ambitious pet project to join the nations around the Mediterranean Sea in a cooperative union based on shared projects has been so watered down over the past year that critics now deride it as Club Med — suggesting it will be big on blather and low on substance.The burning question surrounding the inaugural meeting is whether Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Syrian President Bashar Assad will talk or even shake hands.Optimists see the union's launch as an unprecedented occasion to propel recently resumed peace talks between the two nations, conducted indirectly through Turkey, with a one-on-one meeting or an announcement of direct negotiations between the leaders.Sarkozy has said any meeting between the two leaders would mark formidable progress in Israel-Syria relations. Alon Liel, a former Israeli Foreign Ministry director and lobbyist for Israeli-Syrian peace talks, said even a handshake would be a sensation.
But Syrian officials have not spoken encouragingly of a handshake or a meeting. Israeli officials aren't expecting much, because of Syria's traditional resistance to holding talks at the very highest level before a sound basis for success emerges.The seating arrangement at the table, said to be round, has not been made public. However, it is unlikely Olmert and Assad would be seated together or even face each other across the table.Their nations have a long, bitter divide. Syria wants Israel to return the Golan Heights, seized in the 1967 Mideast war. Israel wants Syria to sever its ties with Iran and stop backing Lebanese and Palestinian militants committed to the Jewish state's destruction.
Other tensions underpin the summit.
Algeria's president and Morocco's king are coming, despite the long rivalry between their nations. In one upbeat note, Assad says he will meet with Lebanon's new president, Michel Suleiman, a notable encounter given Syria's long interference in that country's affair.
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who issued a passionate denunciation of Sarkozy's initiative, refused to come. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey, which sees the project as a way to keep Turks linked to but outside the European Union, has said he will try to attend.Friction with France's EU partners has also undermined the union.Sarkozy's plan to transform the volatile Mediterranean basin into a region of peace and prosperity was supposed to be the pillar of his presidency and a symbol of France's leadership of the EU, which it holds until the end of the year.But the union he envisioned overlapped expensive European projects in progress and was largely gutted, and effectively usurped, by the EU before even taking seed.Ideally, you should measure an initiative by its results ... but the measure of success has been shifted to who will be there on Sunday, said Jose Ignacio Toreblanca of the European Council on Foreign Relations.A grandiose venue, the glass-domed Grand Palais, has been chosen for the gathering with rooms set aside for private talks. The event will be capped Monday with dozens of leaders attending France's national Bastille Day military parade as special guests.Yet the summit falls short of the vision that Sarkozy laid out as a presidential candidate — ironically because it will be so well attended. The union is to be made up of 44 nations — 27 from Europe and 17 from North Africa and the Middle East — a compromise pushed by the EU that watered down Sarkozy's original vision of only the five European nations on the Mediterranean joining their southern neighbors. Tough issues like immigration or terrorism are giving way to feel-good projects. Among those to be put forward Sunday are a student exchange modeled on an EU program, development of solar energy and a clean-up of the polluted Mediterranean. At the end of the day, the particular projects that have been identified are very wise because they are uncontroversial, said Toreblanca. There is a need for a happy ending and the credits at the end of the movie saying Thank you, Sarkozy.Associated Press writer Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this story.
France to deliver solution to Lisbon psycho-drama by end of 2008 ELITSA VUCHEVA 10.07.2008 @ 17:38 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – French President Nicolas Sarkozy has warned Europe against falling into institutional paralysis in the wake of Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty and said he hopes to propose a solution to the situation before the end of this year.
In a passionate speech in the European Parliament in Strasbourg on Thursday (10 July), Mr Sarkozy said that nothing was worse for him than immobility and stressed the EU should not let itself be paralysed because of yet another institutional psycho-drama.Europe has a duty to act now. We are not condemned to inaction, the French president said, adding that this would be the main message of his country's EU presidency.He said that he would go to Ireland on 21 July to listen and talk and try to find solutions.The French presidency is going to propose a method and I hope for a solution in the month of October or in December, he told MEPs.Irish voters rejected the EU's Lisbon treaty on 12 June. While the document has been approved by parliaments in 20 other member states so far, it must be ratified by all 27 to enter into force.Mr Sarkozy said he did not want to put pressure on our Irish friends, but said that at the same time, it must be clear whether the European Parliament elections next June will be based on the current Nice Treaty or the Lisbon Treaty.We have [still] a little time, but not a lot, the president said, reiterating that negotiating a new treaty is not an option.
The French priorities remain
The ambitious agenda of the French EU presidency – which started on 1 July and will continue until the end of the year – will not be affected by this institutional problem, Mr Sarkozy said.
Paris' absolute priority in the next six months will be tackling climate change, notably by pushing for the adoption of legislative proposals on how to reduce CO2 emissions by 20 percent by 2020 – a goal agreed by EU leaders last year.Harmonising the 27 member states' immigration policies and strengthening the bloc's defence capacity are the other main policy areas outlined by the president.
If Europe is not able to defend itself, how can you want it to be a political power? asked Mr Sarkozy, underlining that his plans did not aim to undermine NATO, but to develop the EU's defence capacities parallel to those of the North Atlantic alliance.France also plans to defend European agriculture in the name of common sense.In 2050, there will be 9 billion people on this planet … This is not the time to scale down Europe's food production, the French leader said.
An outstanding debate
Mr Sarkozy's presentation in the European parliament was followed by a lengthy debate with MEPs, which in the end resulted in the president staying three and a half hours in the plenary session.I have been in the European parliament for 29 years and this today was one of the most outstanding meetings … The president responded to all the contributions [by the MEPs], taking them all seriously, the visibly pleased parliament's president, Hans-Gert Poettering, told journalists following the debate.Most political groups in the parliament backed the French presidency's priorities, and most MEPs gave the French president a standing ovation at the end of his speech.German Liberal Werner Langen compared Mr Sarkozy's presentation to that of former UK premier Tony Blair three years ago, saying it had been just as convincing – a comparison that appeared to please the French president.
Olympics controversy
But Mr Sarkozy also drew some criticism for his decision to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.Mr President, it is a shame, it is pathetic to go to the opening ceremony, Green leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit said.The possibility of boycotting the Olympics' opening was first raised after China's crackdown in Tibet, following riots and protests there in March.
But Mr Sarkozy defended his position, arguing that humiliating Beijing would be the wrong approach.I want to go and I want to speak. I want to speak about human rights and defend them … I don't think you can boycott a quarter of humanity, he said.For his part, Mr Poettering announced on Wednesday that he will not attend the event.
Italy rejects accusations of racism from EU assembly
LUCIA KUBOSOVA JULY 11,08 Today @ 09:28 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Italy has rejected criticism by the European Parliament of the country's move to fingerprint Roma people, including children. MEPs on Thursday (10 July) adopted a resolution calling the practise discriminatory and against EU rules. Meanwhile, Rome is defending its actions as a mechanism to protect Roma children from abuse.Italy dismissed accusation of racism for its plans to fingerprint Roma children (Photo: Amnesty International)
The statement was adopted with 336 votes in favour, 220 against and 77 abstentions. Pushed by the left-leaning and centrist political groups, the Greens and Liberals, the resolution was opposed mainly by centre-right MEPs, who argued Rome should be given a chance to explain its policy.Several deputies brought up the issue during a debate with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country currently holds the six-month rotating EU presidency, urging him to press Italy's right-wing leadership to shelve the controversial measures.German deputy Martin Schultz, chairperson of the Socialist group in the parliament, called the fingerprinting of Roma people a serious breach of fundamental rights in Europe. He demanded of Mr Sarkozy: Can I ask you to appeal to curb the government of Silvio Berlusconi and remind him that this is against the rule of law.
But the French leader repeatedly refused to give lessons to his Italian counterpart, arguing that it was not he who had voted Silvio Berlusconi in power.In their resolution, MEPs referred to recent Eurobarometer surveys that report that Roma are one of the main targets of racism and discrimination in some European countries. They also highlighted incidents involving attacks and aggression against Roma in Italy and Hungary. They expressed concern that a 12-month state of emergency could be justified in Italy by the presence of Romany camps, and urged the EU executive to check whether the Italian measures comply with the bloc's law.
But Roberto Maroni, the Italian interior minister from the anti-immigration Northern League, dismissed such suggestions, arguing Rome is trying to rescue children stolen from other countries and that the fingerprinting is to be carried out only in illegal camps in Rome, Milan and Naples and only of people without documents.The Council of Europe estimates Italy's roma population as between 90,000 and 110,000.UNICEF, the UN organisation for children rights, recently expressed shock and deep concern and called the Italian proposal provocative.
Sarkozy backs Barroso for second go as EU commission president HONOR MAHONY 10.07.2008 @ 17:26 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - French President Nicolas Sarkozy has backed Jose Manuel Barroso to be president of the European Commission for a second term.Mr Sarkozy, who has just taken on the EU's six month presidency, told a joint press conference with Mr Barroso: If the question is Do I have a candidate?, the answer is Yes. If the question is Is he sitting at the same table as me?, the answer is also Yes.The European Commission HQ in Brussels (Photo: EUobserver.com)Sitting at the same podium in Strasbourg on Thursday (10 July), European Parliament President Hans-Gert Poettering also threw his weight behind Mr Barroso, saying: I also have a candidate: He's in this room.All three politicians come from the centre-right European People's Party, currently the biggest political family in Europe.For his part, Mr Barroso did not acknowledge the endorsement directly but still managed to set out his political stall in a winding answer in which he concluded that he was not a bureaucrat or a technocrat but (…) a democrat.
The Portuguese former prime minister, who has made no secret of his desire to see through another five-year term as commission president after his mandate expires in autumn 2009, appeared to appeal to other political parties to look for consensus on nominating the next commission chief rather than concentrating on the fact that he comes from a particular political party.The different political forces have to put forward their positions - and their divergent positions - but not in such a way as to jeopardise the need for consensus, said Mr Barroso.He went on to remind his political foes that the commission is not like a national government, often with one political force, but will always necessarily be a broad coalition with all the different parties represented in numbers because they come from different governments.We have to be careful in our interpretation of this as having anything to do with my position individually, said Mr Barroso.
Who's up for the job
The question of who will be next commission president is about the only area where governments can out aloud speculate about possible candidates, as other major posts – such as the EU foreign minister and EU president – have been put on hold since the Irish last month rejected the treaty that would create these positions.The commission president is set to be chosen in light of the result of the European elections – meaning that EU leaders are likely to nominate a candidate from the political family that wins the most seats in the European Parliament in June 2009, a provision contained in the Lisbon Treaty that MEPs are keen to see used.While the EPP will be battling to maintain its electoral supremacy, the Socialists – currently second biggest party – will be hoping to tear down their throne by cashing in on the fears that EU citizens have shown about globalisation and what it could mean for their jobs and livelihoods.Mr Barroso is likely to be pleased by the support from a major country, but is also likely to remember that his nomination in 2004 only came about as an afterthought when Britain blocked the will of France and Germany to get their favoured candidate in.In addition, Mr Sakorzy has proved fickle in the past. Earlier this year, he supported Tony Blair for EU president but then later changed his mind.But the French president's comments will crank up the Brussels rumour mill as the political hue of the commission president will have knock-on effects for the other posts - particularly the EU president and EU foreign minister, which could still see the light of day if Paris and Berlin eventually succeed in getting the next EU treaty in place despite Ireland's referendum rejection on 12 June.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
EU military capabilities still depend on UK, French co-operation - report LEIGH PHILLIPS 10.07.2008 @ 09:29 CET
Any moves to enhance European military capacity requires co-operation between France and the UK, according to a report published on Wednesday, despite the ambitions of some leaders to develop a strategy to orchestrate autonomous EU operations.A three-year investigation by the International Institute for Strategic Studies argues that of the European Union member states' 2 million active personnel, only some 2.7 percent are sufficiently equipped and trained to meet the demands of current and expected overseas deployment.EU militaries will face increased demands for targeted operations, says a report. (Photo: NATO)
The report, European Military Capabilities, argues that the future will see ever greater demands put on the various European forces - not large-scale wars, but growing number of targeted actions. The EU collectively spent €204 billion on its militaries in 2006, notes the report, but this has delivered a glut of infantry soldiers, while soldiers with more specialised skills are lacking.The report also argues that there is too much overlap as countries devote monies to domestic firms producing military equipment, while research and development does not receive an adequate provision of funds.Ahead of France taking over the helm of the European Union's six-month rotating presidency, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced his ambitions for a substantial beefing up of Europe's military capacity. He wants the EU to be able to simultaneously deploy 60,000troops.The IISS report however says that any such expansion remains dependent on Franco-British military co-operation. France and the UK are the bloc's most significant military spenders.It's notable that Britain has given a general welcome to Sarkozy's approach, said the group's editorial director, Alexander Nicoll, and that the United States now argues that the world needs a stronger Europe, with a strong European Security and Defence Policy.
Last week, the UK's foreign secretary, David Miliband, gave a speech to the British parliament in support of French plans for EU military capabilities, arguing that increased military co-operation at the European level does not undermine NATO.Mr Miliband said, in speech responding to the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland last month, that EU military operations can be one of three main areas - alongside dealing with economic and environmental concerns - that should make up the substance of what the union can deliver to its citizens.The British foreign secretary also welcomed Mr Sarkozy's plans to have France rejoin NATO's integrated military command.
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 warns Israel, US would regret any attack JULY 11,08
TEHRAN (AFP) - A senior Iranian cleric on Friday warned Israel and the United States that they would be made to regret any attack against Iran, but denied any aggressive intent towards the Jewish state.You liar Israel and you liar the White House... if you want to make an invasion we will give you such a response that you will regret your move, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said in a Friday prayers sermon broadcast on state radio.Tensions over the nuclear standoff have again surged in the past two days after Iran test-fired a broadside of missiles -- including the Shahab-3 which it says puts Israel within range -- in war games that provoked international concern.The Shahab-3 is advertised as having a 2,000 kilometre range (1,250 miles), which would put Israel, Saudi Arabia, and US military installations throughout the Middle East within striking distance.But Emami Kashani also shrugged off concerns about the perceived threatening nature of the Islamic republic's war exercise.Iran does not recognise Israel because it is an occupier... But Iran does not want to get involved in a war with it and does not want to shoot its missiles to Tel Aviv, the conservative cleric said.
Report: Iran, EU to meet on nuclear issue JULY 11,08
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's official news agency says the country's top nuclear negotiator will meet European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana next week to address Tehran's disputed nuclear program. The report says Saeed Jalili will go to Brussels to meet with Solana on July 19. Their talks will focus on a package of economic and technological incentives presented to Iran by permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.Last week, Iran responded to the European Union but indicated that it has no plans to stop enriching uranium — a key Western demand. The process can be used to generate electricity or build nuclear weapons.European officials have said they are studying the Iranian response, and consulting with the United States, Russia and China on what to do next.
Israel ready to act over Iran JULY 10,08
Ehud Barak said Israel was the strongest country in the region
Israel's defence minister has warned of his country's readiness to act against Iran if it feels threatened. Ehud Barak, speaking in Tel Aviv, said Israel had proved in the past that it won't hesitate to act when its vital security interests are at stake. He spoke as Iran's testing of missiles that could reach Israel stoked tensions between the two, and with the US. But Mr Barak added that diplomatic solutions should be pursued before other options were taken up. Currently the focus is international sanctions and vigorous diplomatic activity, and these avenues should be exhausted, he said.
US warning
Over the past two days, the Iranian military has tested missiles, including one that it says could reach Israel. State media said the tests included the first night launch of the Shahab-3 missile, said to have a range of 2,000km (1,240 miles), along with shore-to-sea, surface-to-surface and sea-to-air missiles. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the US had increased its security in the region and Iran should not be confused about US capabilities.
Israel has responded to the missile tests by putting on display one of its aircraft that it says can spy on Iran. The state-run Israel Aerospace Industries says it has equipped its Eitam aeroplane, unveiled a year ago, with sophisticated intelligence-gathering systems. Mr Barak spoke of the potential for accords, particularly with the Palestinians and the Syrians, but stressed that the situation was very complex. Quoted by Israeli news website Ynet, Mr Barak said: We must work towards an accord - but if not, then we must strike our enemy when it is required.He also warned that Israel must consider the reactions from other nations in the region that could be provoked by action against Iran. The responses of our adversaries must be taken into account. Hamas and Hezbollah and the Syrians and the Iranians - there is activity all around us. And there exists a potential for confrontation.Iran has been accused of doctoring an image from its missile tests.Meanwhile, the AFP news agency has issued a warning that a still image of the missiles being launched, one of several distributed by Iran, was apparently digitally altered.
The photograph, published on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards website and reproduced by media organisations - including the BBC News website - showed four missiles taking off from a desert launch-pad. But a similar image, issued by the Associated Press, shows one of the missiles still in its launcher after apparently failing to fire. The BBC News website's picture editor, Phil Coomes, said: Having examined the photograph from AFP, it can be seen that parts have been edited, with smoke trails and parts of the foreground being cloned.In recent weeks, both Israel and Iran have been testing and showing off their military hardware, each saying that in the event of provocation it is more than capable of defending itself. The Israeli air force recently carried out a large-scale exercise over the Mediterranean - regarded by many observers as a dress rehearsal should the order be given to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel believes Iran is building nuclear weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy. Western leaders have been trying to convince Iran to stop enriching uranium, which it has continued doing despite sanctions from the UN and the European Union.
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