1-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 2-Strong earthquake rattles Peruvian coast. 3-300 evacuated from Ecuador volcano . 4-Indonesia disaster shows risks of mud volcanoes. 5-Death toll from Thai, Myanmar floods reaches 127. 6-Haniyeh: Hamas will not be moved from power. 7-Opening an Embassy for Yesha. 8-New Iranian Threats Set Off Alarm Bells in Israel. 9-U.N.: Number of ocean dead zones rise. 10-Gillerman: Iran is determined to destroy.11-PM Olmert: PA’s Moment of Truth Rapidly Approaching. 12-Ahmadinejad warns Europe it will pay for backing Israel. 13-Speculation mounts over Solana leaving job.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
October 19, 2006
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Too often, Hollywood movie producers spend millions making films that look good, but are so short on substance they aren't long for viewing. On the other hand, people of faith have entered the film market and produced movies that try to tell good stories, but are marred by poor production values. A new movie, One Night with the King, is one that I'm looking forward to seeing when I return from Israel later this month. My friend Michael Medved, a national radio show host and movie reviewer, has called the movie, a very, very powerful testament to how much the American Christian community loves the Jewish community. My staff has confirmed that it is a beautifully filmed production comparable to the best Hollywood has to offer that faithfully recounts the biblical story of Esther, one of the most compelling in the Bible. The King of Persia chooses a beautiful young woman named Esther to be his queen, unaware that she is Jewish. Esther hears from Mordecai, her uncle, that the King has entrusted the fate of Persian Jews to Haman, the King's top adviser. Haman hates the Jews, and issues an order that they all be killed.
At great risk to her own life, Esther reveals to the King that she is Jewish and pleads with him to save her people. He agrees to do so, and, in a fitting twist, gives the evil Haman the same fate Haman himself had planned to give the Jews.The story of Esther is usually associated with the Jewish holiday of Purim, still four months away. But its message is timeless. Esther's bravery and obedience to God inspires in any season. And her willingness to put her own life on the line to save her people teaches us a valuable lesson about self-sacrifice and purpose.Haman, on the other hand, represents a sort all too common today the person who hates the Jews so much that he sees in their destruction the solution to all the world's problems. We hear echoes of Haman in Iranian president Ahamadinejad's call to wipe Israel off the map in the promise by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh that the Palestinian government will never recognize Israel's right to exist in the hateful words of radical Muslim clerics who refer to Jews as descendants of apes and pigs in their sermons.
The power of One Night with the King comes from its strong biblical message. In a world when Hamans often speak the loudest, we need more Esthers seeking to do what is right, to stand humbly before God and defend His people in the face of all difficulties.
Like Esther, perhaps God has indeed raised you and me up for such a time as this (Esther 4:14) a time when true Guardians of Israel are needed to confront anti-Semitism, to give generously to feed Israel's hungry and clothe her poor, and to comfort and bind the wounds of those whose lives have been shattered by war and terrorism. Let's continue in that duty and turn a time of great uncertainty and difficulty for Israel and the Jewish people into a time of joy and celebration.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
Guardians of Israel Donations
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EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Strong earthquake rattles Peruvian coast 2 hours, 5 minutes ago
LIMA, Peru - A strong earthquake rattled Peru's southern coast on Friday, but no damage or injuries were reported. The magnitude 6.4 quake struck at 5:48 a.m. below the floor of the Pacific Ocean, 56 miles northwest of the coastal city of Pisco, according to Peru's Geophysics Institute. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the quake as magnitude 6.5. The earthquake was felt as a long shudder in the capital, Lima, and inland in the Andean provincial city of Huancavelica. But it caused the most alarm in Ica, a coastal city 165 miles to the southeast, where local radio reports said panicked residents rushed from their homes into streets and parks.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
300 evacuated from Ecuador volcano Thu Oct 19, 10:08 PM ET
QUITO, Ecuador - Lava and ash erupted from an Ecuadoran volcano and forced the evacuation of about 300 villagers, a local mayor said Thursday. An eruption two months ago of the Tungurahua volcano killed four people and left two others missing and still unaccounted for.We were able to take them out last night from the most dangerous zones located on the flanks where the explosions occurred Aug. 16,said Juan Salazar, mayor of Penipe, 12 miles from the volcano.The upper slopes of the volcano have been mostly deserted since August. But Salazar said about 80 families had returned to attempt to farm in the ash-encrusted ground.They saw incandescent rocks coming down on the slopes and so they evacuated, he said. No injuries were reported.
In addition to the casualties, nearly 5,000 homes were destroyed or severely damaged and tens of thousands of acres of pasture and crops were also destroyed in the August eruption, according to the Civil Defense.Experts have warned that renewed explosions could come any time from the 16,575-foot volcano located about 85 miles south of the capital, Quito.What we have seen now is evidence that something there could be something similar to the episodes in July and August,said Hugo Yepes, director of Ecuador's Geophysics Institute. Inside the ground there is a chamber of magma much larger than the volcano itself.
Indonesia disaster shows risks of mud volcanoes By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent 1 hour, 45 minutes ago Oct 20,06
OSLO (Reuters) - In a village in Indonesia's East Java province, a man is struggling to watch television with a volcano erupting in his living room. Risks from volcanoes that ooze mud rather than spew lava have long been underestimated worldwide, even with a cataclysmic mudflow in another part of Java that has swamped an area the size of Monaco and forced 10,000 people from their homes.Experts say the disaster, flooding the Sidoarjo region since May 29, highlights lack of knowledge about mud volcanoes, thousands of which have been found from Alaska to Australia. They range from tiny seeps to cones 500 meters (1,640 ft) tall.
In Java nobody ever studied mud volcanoes,said Adriano Mazzini, a leading Italian volcano expert at the University of Oslo who says the Indonesian disaster may signal the first time people have recorded the birth of a mud volcano.In Indonesia they have other priorities magmatic volcanoes, earthquakes, tsunamis,he told Reuters.
On Java, villages about 10-20 km (6-12 miles) north of the mud eruption Gununganyar, Kalanganyar and Pulungan are built on old, near-dormant mud volcanoes that must have seemed attractive-looking mounds to village founders.
Pulungan was the most vivid example of ignoring the risks of mud volcanoes, such as subsidence.We went to one house where a man took us into his living room. He opened the cupboard beneath the television, and there were seeps erupting, Mazzini said after a recent trip.Another home in Pulungan has collapsed and elsewhere many residents are worried by seeps of gas, mud and fluids. The volcano may have been stirred by an earthquake on May 27, two days before the catastrophic mudflow began.
BUILDING LIFTED
In Kalanganyar, the end of one long thin building had been lifted a meter or two over the years by the pressures from a mud volcano bulging beneath.Mud volcanoes need better study,said Antje Boetius, a professor at the International University of Bremen in Germany.She noted that they could cause disasters, ranging from subsidence to tsunamis. They mean something for humans it's not just scientific curiosity,she said.Mud volcanoes are often caused by a build-up of pressure from sediments crushed several kilometers below the surface that release methane and other gases. They are often found near oil and gas deposits, also caused by a crush of organic matter.As in Java, they can also happen near where tectonic plates of the earth's crust rub together. Mazzini said it was impossible to say how long the Sidoarjo flow would last.
He said researchers would probably never know exactly what triggered the catastrophic mudflow at Sidoarjo, releasing the build-up of pressure deep below ground.The trigger might have been a magnitude 4 earthquake two days before the mudflow began, he said, or the drilling of a gas exploration well operated by PT Lapindo Brantas Inc, which is controlled by Pt Energi Mega Persada.
Mud volcanoes are rarely deadly since they more often seep rather than explode. In 1997, an eruption of a mud volcano at Piparo, a farming village in central Trinidad, threw mud 45 meters (150 ft) into the air, covering many homes. No one died. In Azerbaijan, a large mud volcano that erupted in 2001 also released giant flares of methane.
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.
Death toll from Thai, Myanmar floods reaches 127 Fri Oct 20, 4:25 AM ET
BANGKOK (AFP) - The death toll from severe flooding in Thailand and neighboring Myanmar has reached 127 as Thai weather authorities warned of more heavy rains over the weekend in the country's south.
At least 108 people have died in Thailand since severe flooding began in late August in the country's central and northern provinces, the interior ministry said in a statement.
The death toll soared overnight after the ministry confirmed that 25 people reported dead earlier were confirmed to be flood victims.The water that inundated northern Thailand was slowly working its way south, but 16 central provinces were still suffering from the floods, the ministry said.At its peak earlier in the month, the flooding, triggered by heavy rains from Typhoon Xangsane, affected 46 of the nation's 76 provinces.In neighboring Myanmar, 19 people died in floods across central and eastern parts of the country, but in most places there, the water has already subsided.
Haniyeh: Hamas will not be moved from power
Friday 20 October 2006, 17:38 Makka Time, 14:38 GMT
Ismail Haniyeh, the Palestinian prime minister, said in a speech at a mosque on Friday that Hamas would reject any moves by Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to oust Hamas from power.Haniyeh's convoy came under attack as it passed through the Nusseirat refugee camp in central Gaza shortly after the prime minister's speech, but the Hamas leader was unhurt.Hamas officials said the attack did not appear to be an assassination attempt, but it comes at a time of growing tensions between rival Palestinian factions that have sparked fears of civil war.
An official in Haniyeh's office said: The prime minister is alright and he is out of the area which witnessed the gunfire. His car was not attacked. Islam Shawan, a spokesman for Hamas' armed wing, said that the last car in the motorcade was hit and set alight.
There were no reports of injuries.
Pointless
Abbas has hinted that he might fire the Hamas government after efforts to form a unity cabinet foundered over Hamas' refusal to soften its stance toward Israel.Haniyeh said it would be pointless for Abbas to fire the government, suggesting any emergency administration the president appointed would not get the ultimate approval of parliament, where Hamas has an absolute majority.
He also said Hamas would reject other measures such as calling early elections. Haniyeh said: All you have here are options that have no aim but to remove Hamas from government. The wheel of history will not go backward.All these options will not achieve stability and calm and will not represent a way out of the crisis.
Haniyeh did not threaten explicit action to oppose Abbas, such as calling Hamas supporters out onto the streets.
Western sanctions
Abbas said this week that he would make a decision soon on the fate of the government. The president has not explicitly identified his options but his aides have said that he might call fresh elections, appoint an emergency cabinet or hold a referendum to let the Palestinian people decide what to do.A senior Abbas aide told Reuters on Thursday that the president was expected to make his decision several days after the Eid al-Fitr holiday, which marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. Eid this year falls around October 23.Palestinians had hoped that a unity government would lead to a lifting of crippling Western sanctions that were
imposed on Hamas when it assumed office in March.(Reuters)
Opening an Embassy for Yesha
By Stan Goodenough,October 20, 2006
It was an event that went largely unnoticed (or was purposefully ignored) by the news media. For many of those participating, however, it was one of prophetic magnitude and an opportunity to express their unshakeable resolve.On Sunday, October 8, in front of more than 300 visiting Gentiles and invited Israeli guests, the Jerusalem-based pro-Israel Christian organization, the International Christian Zionist Center, officially opened its new offices on the road between Jerusalem and Bethel.According to an ICZC press release, the move to the area in Samaria, behind the controversial security fence and inside the territory earmarked for a future State of Palestine, was made in solidarity with the people of Israel and their undeniable historic link to all their divinely-promised land.
Because every unilateral Israeli withdrawal in the region had only increased the bellicose stand of Israel’s enemies and intensified their terrorism against Israel, with their final aim being to excise the sovereign Jewish state from their Muslim midst, ICZC director Jan Willem van der Hoeven said the Christians represented by the organization believed that Israel needs to spell out to the world as well as to her own, battered, people that this tiny piece of land is theirs and will never be forsaken by them.With members in nations around the globe, the ICZC had committed itself to tirelessly spelling this out to our own gentile leaders and governments.
Van der Hoeven recalled how, in 1981, after 13 embassies crumpled under Arab pressure and fled from Jerusalem to Tel Aviv, he had led a small group of Christians in founding the International Christian Embassy so that Christians around the world could say to Israel, You are not alone.I feel to repeat that action today, Van der Hoeven said, and open an embassy for Yesha (the targeted areas of Judea, Samaria and Gaza) here, to say like Ruth to the Jews in these endangered communities, Your God is our God and we are with you.It is on the hearts of millions of Christians, from China to Brazil, from America to South Africa, as some of you have come to say to the Jewish people, You will never have peace when you give up the land; but you will have peace when you keep it!
The land where the ICZC offices were situated was the very land Jacob had been sleeping when God promised him that the ground on which you are lying, I will give to you.This land, which included Ariel and Bethel and Shiloh and Hebron and Jerusalem, was now under the gun. And if the battle to preserve Bethel and Shiloh was lost, the battle for Jerusalem would also be lost.Among the Israeli guests asked to address the gathering were Ron Nachman, the founder and mayor of Ariel, the biggest Jewish community Samaria, and Hebrew University Professor of Arabic Studies Moshe Sharon.Stepping up to the microphone, Nachman declared: In the Bible there is no West Bank, no Occupied Territories…only the Promised Land.He reminded world leaders that the first deed in real estate was not in Washington DC, not in Paris, not in London, it was in Hebron.
But he bemoaned the fact that the Gentile nations do not see the biggest threat today: the clash of civilizations, Islam against Christianity and Judaism.Nachman said he believed it was important that Christians and Jews stand together in defense of Israel’s land.When visiting the United States, he said, I am not welcomed and not invited to speak by the Jewish establishment, because I am mayor of the biggest Jewish city in the West Bank.So I go to the Christians.The mayor, a former Knesset member, said he sees a great hope in the connection of the Jewish and non-Jewish communities in resisting the world’s efforts to rob the Jews of their land.However, he stressed, while it was good that people prayed against the uprooting of Jewish communities Gush Katif was evacuated despite all the prayers.
The fight was also a political fight and we need to fight it on that front, he said.Moshe Sharon sounded the alarm he has been speaking out for many years but which have mostly fallen on the deaf ears of politicians who believe they have to remain politically correct:The world is caught up in a clash of civilizations and is already in fact embroiled in World War III.The Middle East conflict was part of that war, but it was reaching deep into areas in the Western world.Beware Europe! You are on the way to becoming an Islamic state. There are 4800 mosques in Germany alone!! And right now in the oldest city in Finland, a new mosque is being erected that is so high it will be visible from 50 km away…Muslims were teaching that Europe is the cancer. Islam is the answer!
Sharon, an advisor on Arab affairs to a number of former Israeli prime ministers, said there could never be peace between Israel as a Jewish state and the Arabs, for as far as the Arabs are concerned the establishment of the state of Israel is a reversal of history; it was something that could not happen! The word peace simply does not exist in the Quran, he said.Returning to the podium, Van der Hoeven told the gathering that while the International Christian Zionist Center was the only Christian-led organization to fully support Jews against expulsion from the heartland of Israel by physically locating itself on the endangered land, he believed other pro-Israel groups would one day follow this example.It was the vision of the ICZC to help train the millions of Christians from every nation to stand pro-actively with Israel, spiritually, materially and politically, as Israel’s few remaining friends among the nations faded away.
New Iranian Threats Set Off Alarm Bells in Israel
By Robert Berger ,Jerusalem,20 October 2006
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Israel no longer has any reason to exist and will soon disappear. The latest threats are adding to Israel's already deep concerns about Iran's nuclear program.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers speech after attending anti-Israeli rally Friday, Oct. 20, 2006.
Israeli officials say the saber-rattling from Iran is another warning to the international community that the Islamic regime must not be allowed to get a nuclear bomb. At a pro-Palestinian rally in Tehran, Iran's president said Israeli leaders are a group of terrorists, and he threatened any country that supports the Jewish state. He also said Israel is a fake regime that would soon disappear. It was a similar statement to one a year ago, when he threatened to wipe Israel off the map.
Since then, Israel has watched the Iranian nuclear program with growing alarm. Foreign Minister Tzippe Livni says the leaders of Iran pose a threat to regional and global stability.They speak proudly and openly of their desire to wipe Israel off the map, she said. And now, by their actions, they pursue the weapons to achieve this objective, to imperil the region and to threaten the world.
So what now?
The world faces a critical test.,she noted.Israel believes the international community is moving too slowly to stop Iran, and that the U.N. must change course and quickly impose sanctions.
Ehud Olmert
However, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert visited Russia this week to urge a tougher stand on Iran, but came away empty handed from talks with President Vladimir Putin. Russia is building Iran's first nuclear reactor and opposes sanctions on Tehran.So Mr. Olmert warned that Iran would have a price to pay if it does not back down from its nuclear ambitions. It was a broad hint that if the international community does not act, Israel might launch a pre-emptive strike against Iran's nuclear facilities on its own.
POISONED WATERS
REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)
REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
U.N.: Number of ocean dead zones rise By JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 20 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Scientists have found 200 dead zones in the world's oceans places where pollution threatens fish, other marine life and the people who depend on them.
The United Nations report Thursday showed a 34 percent jump in the number of such zones from just two years ago. Pollution-fed algae, which deprives other living marine life of oxygen, is the cause of most of the world's dead zones that cover tens of thousands of square miles of waterways. Scientists chiefly blame fertilizer and other farm run-off, sewage and fossil-fuel burning.Those contain an excess of nutrients, particularly phosphorous and nitrogen, that cause explosive blooms of tiny plants known as phytoplankton. When they die, they sink to the bottom, where they are eaten by bacteria that use up the oxygen in the water.
The low levels of oxygen in the water make it difficult for fish, oysters and other marine creatures to survive as well as important habitats such as sea grass beds,U.N. officials said. These areas are fast becoming major threats to fish stocks and thus to the people who depend upon fisheries for food and livelihoods.By 2030, the world's rivers will pump 14 percent more nitrogen into seas and oceans than that found in the mid-1990s, according to new U.N. research released at a meeting in Beijing.Researchers led by Robert Diaz, a marine scientist at Virginia's College of William and Mary, said they found new dead zones at the Archipelago Sea in Finland; Fosu Lagoon in Ghana; Pearl River estuary and Changjiang River in China; and Mersey River estuary in Britain.Other new zones found were at the Elefsis Bay and Aegean Sea in Greece; Paracas Bay in Peru; Mondego River in Portugal; Montevideo Bay in Uruguay; and in the western Indian Ocean.
The United Nations marine experts said the number and size of oxygen-deprived zones has grown each decade since the 1970s.Not all the dead zones persist year-round; some return seasonally, depending on winds that bring nutrient-rich water to the surface.
It seems like a big jump in two years,said Nancy Rabalais, executive director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, who was not part of the U.N. research. She said an important factor has been the huge increase in pollution from fast-developing countries.Rabalais, who has studied the Gulf of Mexico's massive dead zone that is now the size of New Jersey, said marine creatures that swim fast enough can usually escape.The things that are left behind are the ones that usually can't survive, she said.
When you consider the size of some of these areas, it's removing what's considered the essential habitat for fishes and crustaceans.Other U.N. scientific findings released Thursday, however, raised hopes for the recovery of damaged coral reefs, which serve as the ocean's nurseries. It found that reefs bleached in the late 1990s by high surface sea temperatures are affected by how polluted the waters are.Coral reefs recovering faster are generally those living in marine protected areas and coastal waters where the levels of pollution, dredging and other kinds of human-induced disturbance are considered low,the U.N. said.
On the Net:U.N. report: http://www.gpa.unep.org/bin/php/igr/igr2/supporting.php
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)
JOEL 2:20,30-31
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.
Gillerman: Iran is determined to destroy
Yitzhak Benhorin Published: 10.19.06
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Gillerman took advantage of the monthly UN discussion on the situation in the Middle East Thursday to warn the members of the Security Council on the threat posed by Iran. Gillerman said Iran paid Hamas USD 50 million in order to torpedo efforts to release Gilad Shalit. Today I learned that Iran had paid USD 50 million to Hamas in order to torpedo the deal to the release of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.
If Iran is willing to pay so much money to solve a humanitarian issue, it is frightening how much they will be willing to pay to torpedo any diplomatic initiative to block their nuclear efforts,Gillerman said, referring to an item first published by Yedioth Ahronoth Thursday morning. Although the speech was part of a routine discussion held monthly at the UN, this time it was held before the Security Council. During the meeting, UN special envoy to the Middle East Alvaro de-Soto presented his report and said that since the kidnapping of Gilad Shalit in late June, 295 Palestinians were killed by IDF forces, including 66 children, and another 1,113 were injured.
During his speech Gillerman praised the decision to impose sanctions on North Korea but warned that North Korea is only the prelude to a more disturbing story, the emergence of a nuclear Iran, armed and willing to share its state terrorist capabilities with the other unholy extremists who yearn to destroy us. He added that Israel sees the Iranian threat as an existential one, not solely to itself but to the entire world as well. The international community must be determined, clear, and unequivocal in its plan of action.
There is only one choice: the world must ensure that Iran does not attain nuclear weapons.
Are you doing everything you can?
Gilerman added that although the real, most urgent threat to stability and peace in the Middle East is Iran, We are bolstered by the surfacing of moderate voices in the region, voices that recognize the true threats facing us.Now these moderates are joining together to form an alliance against the extremists and for a historical reconciliation and mutual advancement. Ambassador Gillerman also criticized the fact that the kidnapped IDF soldiers have not been freed yet and the failure to enforce the arms embargo from Syria into Lebanon.This Council, in its unanimous adoption of resolution 1701, took upon itself the responsibility to secure the unconditional release of our boys, the Israeli soldiers Gilad Shalit, Udi Goldwasser, and Eldad Regev. I ask you now, as I did then, to do your utmost to alleviate this humanitarian crisis and bring them home.
Gillerman added that two and a half weeks after the last Israeli soldier left southern Lebanon, the situation along the northern border has begun to stabilize, but it is still early to declare it as a success. Success will be determined only to the extent to which resolution 1701 is fully implemented. There is reason to be concerned about the smuggling of arms across the border between Lebanon and Syria. Hizbullah’s rearming not only violates the essence and strength of resolution 1701, it places the entire region in immediate peril. There can be no ambiguity in policy here. The embargo must be enforced, and its violators must be held accountable,he said.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
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,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL
DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
PM Olmert: PA’s Moment of Truth Rapidly Approaching
By Yechiel Spira(INN)
Upon his return from Moscow on Thursday evening, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced the PA’s moment of truth is rapidly approaching.
The prime minister stated that PA (Palestinian Authority) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) must make some critical decisions. Decisions, he said, that will determine the future of the region. If Abu Mazen does not take the required steps, we will all be losers,Olmert said.While negotiations between Abu Mazen’s Fatah and the ruling Hamas movement continue, fighting between rival factions has sharply increased, with daily shootouts taking place in Gaza this week as the two terror organizations struggle for control.
Hamas emerged the victor in the PA’s general elections, but Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah is now isolated by the western community which is demanding recognition of Israel, resulting in an economic boycott of the Hamas government.
Reaching an agreement with Abu Mazen whereby a new coalition government would recognize Israel in some regard would result in international acceptance of the PA government, a move that would unlock donor nation funds for the PA and its institutions. Regarding Iran, Olmert added the clock is running out, adding that today, things are happening and the situation has changed. While stating I did not threaten Iran,the prime minister added, Iran must not realize who it is up against .Iran should be afraid.Seeking to exhibit an air of success upon his return from Moscow, the prime minister added that Russian President Vladimir Putin opposes a nuclear independent Iran. This despite the fact that during a meeting between the two, Olmert failed to receive the assurances he was seeking a stronger Russian position against Iran’s ongoing nuclear program.
Russian technology has played a strong influence in the area with regard to Iran’s nuclear development; advanced weapon sales to Syria and indirect assistance to Hizbullah. Nonetheless, Olmert attempted to exhibit an atmosphere of cooperation between Jerusalem and Moscow.The London-based Arabic Al-Hayat newspaper, quoting Hamas sources, reports progress regarding efforts to obtain IDF soldier Gilad Shalit’s release from his PA captors. Israel’s Yediot Achronot daily reported on Thursday that a deal which would have led to Shalit’s release next week was thwarted by Iran. According to the report, a deal was reached in which Shalit would have been released during the Muslim holiday of Eid el-Fitr, marking the end of the month of Ramadan. In exchange, Israel agreed to release Arab prisoners - not all at once, but in a number of waves.
According to the report, Iranian officials arrived in Damascus and with a $50 million gift for Hamas politburo Khaled Meshal, succeeding in bringing the plans to a halt. Meshal upped his demands, calling upon Israel to release terrorists who he knew the Olmert government could not release. This gave him the ability to cancel the deal, placing the blame on Israel. Regarding Shalit, who was taken captive on June 25th, Abu Mazen stated on numerous occasions that he will not enter into a coalition agreement with Hamas until Shalit is released. He also told western media sources that he insists that Hamas recognize Israel’s right to exist and declare the government’s commitment to abide by previously signed agreements.In interviews with the Arab media however, Abu Mazen stated his Fatah Party needn’t recognize Israel.
Ahmadinejad warns Europe it will pay for backing Israel
Robert Tait in Tehran,Friday October 20, 2006,Guardian Unlimited
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran added a threatening edge to his verbal onslaught on Israel today by warning European governments to withdraw their support or face getting hurt in a storm of retaliation.He also called Britain and the United States enemies of Iran whose attempts to block the country's nuclear programme at the UN security council were illegitimate.Mr Ahmadinejad was speaking in Tehran at the annual Qods [Jerusalem] day rally, staged by Iran's Islamic regime to propagate its ideological opposition to Israel. He repeated predictions that Israel would soon disappear but, in a fresh warning, said European countries could pay a much higher price than the US for their backing.
We have advised the Europeans that the Americans are far away, but you are the neighbours of the nations in this region, he said. We inform you that the nations are like an ocean that is welling up, and if a storm begins, the dimensions will not stay limited to Palestine, and you may get hurt. It is in your own interest to distance yourself from these criminals ... This is an ultimatum. Don't complain tomorrow.Mr Ahmadinejad, who last year called for Israel to be wiped off the map and dismissed the holocaust as a myth, has not previously made such a clear distinction between US and European support for Israel.
The UN security council is poised to consider sanctions in response to Iran's refusal to suspend uranium enrichment.
But Mr Ahmadinejad dismissed the security council because of the presence of America and Britain as permanent veto-wielding powers.What sort of security council is this, he asked. You want to be the judge, the jury and the enforcer.Mr Ahmadinejad's outburst came amid a carnival atmosphere in which throngs of children carrying balloons milled among the crowds. Dozens swapped paintings depicting the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for T-shirts donated by Tehran city council.A display of banners featured one bearing the phrase Israel must be wiped off the map in Hebrew. Others accused companies such as Coca-Cola, McDonald's, Nestlé and Marks and Spencer of being pro-Israel. A stall recruiting potential martyrs was selling DVDs showing volunteers from the Palestinian militant organisation Hamas preparing suicide attacks against Israel.
Speculation mounts over Solana leaving job
19.10.2006 - 17:36 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Speculation is mounting that Javier Solana, the EU's top diplomat, will step down for health reasons with the former Swedish, Slovak and Austrian prime ministers reportedly first in line to succeed him. Intense rumours about an end to the Solana era have been circulating in Brussels for the last couple of weeks, with several reasons being cited for his possible imminent retirement. One version says it became clear to the Spaniard during the Lebanon crisis in the summer that he could never really act on behalf of the EU, with member states refusing to give him a clear mandate.Mr Solana also had to recently admit that his efforts to get Iran to halt uranium enrichment which he had exceptionally handled on behalf of all UN veto powers have stalled.
On top of this, the deadlock on the EU constitution means that Mr Solana will not get the job as official EU foreign minister foreseen for November in the shelved charter.
Highly-skilled diplomat
Generally, the Spanish socialist is seen as a highly skilled diplomat who has managed to survive seven years in the gruelling position without facing much political flak. He is seen as at least having given a positive face to EU foreign policy despite the domain being still very much in member state hands. But Austrian paper Der Kurier on Wednesday (18 October) reported that the 64-year old Mr Solana could nevertheless soon step down for health reasons.
German chancellor Angela Merkel reportedly had a long phone call with the Spaniard last week in which he said he would follow his doctor's advice and soon quit the job, otherwise he would be dead in twelve months even if this is not visible in his appearance and in his statements. A press officer in Mr Solana's office however denied the report saying there was not such a phone call. Mr Solana's mandate expires in 2009 and his post is not available,she stated, adding that the Spanish diplomat jogs every day before work.
Verheugen not interested
The Austrian paper writes that Ms Merkel, whose country will hold the EU presidency in the first half of next year, has shortlisted two favourites to succeed Mr Solana: Slovakia's former prime minister Miklas Dzurinda and Austria's outgoing leader Wolfgang Schussel. The report contradicts earlier speculation saying that Berlin has its own candidate EU industry commissioner Guenter Verheugen.Mr Verheugen however told Germany's Die Welt on Thursday that he is not interested in the post, saying he consciously said farewell to foreign policy when he left the commission's enlargement department in 2004.Another strong candidate who has been doing the rounds is Sweden's former prime minister Carl Bildt, who is back on the EU stage since he was appointed foreign minister in the new Swedish centre-right government.
Insiders say Mr Bildt is not hiding his ambitions to obtain the top job, while also having a huge network in international affairs. The chances of the rumoured candidates is set to depend to a large extent on their ability to bridge the gap between atlanticist states such as the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and new member states and proponents of distance to Washington notably France.Mr Dzurinda is known as a strong pro-US politician and therefore difficult to accept by Paris. Mr Schussel, on the other hand, makes no secret of his opposition to Turkish EU accession which would put him at odds with the UK.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
TERRORISM THREAT
1-Scientists say Hawaii hit by two quakes. 2-3 micro quakes rattle Winston-Salem. 3-Three people dead after storms lash the Aegean. 4-NFL dirty-bomb threat defused. 5-Iran atomic aide warns of retaliation to sanctions. 6-Putin assures Olmert of support for Mideast peace process. 7-Canada supports Israel: PM. 8-King of Spain Kills Drunk Pet Bear at Russian Hunt — Report. 9-IDF Returns to Gaza-Egypt Border, Destroys Smuggling Tunnels. 10-Israel cannot survive: Ahmadinejad. 11-Brussels to defend core of EU constitution in treaty talks.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Scientists say Hawaii hit by two quakes By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
HONOLULU - Scientists are investigating whether a magnitude-6.0 earthquake that rocked Hawaii within minutes of Sunday's 6.7 temblor was a separate quake and not an aftershock.
The lead scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory and a seismologist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Wednesday they were two independent events. Others aren't so sure.The 6.7-magnitude quake struck 12.5 miles northeast of the Big Island's Kona airport at a depth of 24 miles at 7:07 a.m. Sunday. Seven minutes later, the 6.0-magnitude quake struck 27 miles north of the airport at a depth of about 12.5 miles.
Jim Kauahikaua, the scientist-in-charge at the observatory, said the difference in depths establishes that the two are independent. But Egill Hauksson, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology, said it's too early to categorize the magnitude-6.0 event.Scientists still need to analyze the pattern of aftershocks in the coming months before determining whether the smaller event was an aftershock or a triggered earthquake, Hauksson said.There's more research to be done,he said.Seismologist Vindell Hsu, of the tsunami center, said it's not uncommon for earthquakes to trigger others and it has happened in Alaska and at California's San Andreas Fault.A major earthquake may trigger or activate a neighboring fault and start another good-sized earthquake, Hsu said.
Kauahikaua expects several opinions.
Some of these earthquakes get worked on for years. Different techniques come up. People have different points of view, he said. This is our assessment within the first three days after the earthquake. If somebody can make a powerful argument the other way, fine.Aftershocks are a series of smaller earthquakes that occur after the main shock and in the same geographic area. Aftershocks can rock a region for months or years. Generally, the bigger the main shock, the more intense the aftershocks will be.Dozens of aftershocks have been recorded since the initial quake.Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, who served decades as the Big Island's civil defense chief, said the latest quakes came after a long stretch of seismic calm.Kim said a third to half of the population had never experienced a quake of Sunday's magnitude.Since 1960, the Big Island has been hit with 31 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 4.0. But Sunday's first earthquake was the largest recorded since a 6.7 occurred under the east flank of Mauna Loa Volcano on November 16, 1983.
The island also experienced a 7.2-magnitude quake on November 29, 1975,and an estimated 7.9 temblor on April 2, 1868.The vast island spread across more than 4,000-square miles of lava fields, rain forests and pasture lands was formed by several volcanoes.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, spewing lava and expanding the island's surface. Preliminary damage estimates from the earthquake hit $73 million and President Bush declared a major disaster, ordering federal aid to help state and local recovery efforts. Kim said one of the reasons the island didn't sustain more damage than it did was the strict building codes that have evolved over decades of natural disasters. Buildings on the Big Island must meet the strictest level of any of the Hawaiian Islands. There are no buildings taller than 100 feet. There are also no highway overpasses. Associated Press Writer Gillian Flaccus in Hilo, Hawaii, and AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Wed, Oct. 18, 2006
LARGEST WAS 2.6-MAGNITUDE-3 micro quakes rattle Winston-Salem
Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM - Three small earthquakes rattled a city in central North Carolina on Tuesday, shaking dishes in kitchen cabinets and surprising residents unaccustomed to tremors.There were no immediate reports of injuries or structure damage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The first quake, a 2.6-magnitude tremor classified as micro, hit at 4:56 a.m. with an epicenter estimated three miles east-northeast of Winston-Salem, about 80 miles northeast of Charlotte.One resident said the quake felt like a large boom that lasted just a second or two.Another quake registering 1.5 was recorded about four miles west of the city just before 8 p.m. A third quake registering at 2.4 rattled the same area as the first quake at 9:11 p.m., according to the Geological Survey.
Winston-Salem police reported getting around 150 calls after the first quake from locals wondering what happened, and local media outlets were flooded with calls after the next two.Some residents said vibrations came through the floors of their homes and shook dishes in cabinets. Others said the rumbling sounded like a garbage truck.They reported a loud explosion and ground shaking, said Winston-Salem police Lt. David Kiger. They just want to know what was going on.Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist with the U.S.
Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said quakes that small typically don't result in damage or injury. She said the earthquakes were unusual for North Carolina, though quakes of the same magnitude would not be noticed in earthquake-prone California.
On June 15, a 3.1-magnitude earthquake shook buildings and rattled dishes in at least four Western North Carolina counties. That quake was centered 28 miles north of Franklin and felt from Maggie Valley to Bryson City to Cashiers.The biggest earthquake to shake North Carolina was on Feb. 21, 1916. The 5.2-magnitude quake centered near Waynesville, also in the western part of the state, toppled chimneys and sent people rushing into the street, according to the USGS.An earthquake Sunday in Hawaii registered a 6.7 magnitude, the strongest to hit the islands in more than two decades. No deaths or serious injuries were reported but preliminary damage estimates hit $46 million Tuesday.
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.
Three people dead after storms lash the Aegean AP
A couple of tourists look at the sea in Almyrida, near Hania in Crete, yesterday, as two overturned cars lie in the water behind them. A British tourist is missing in Crete after storms hit the island. Three people were reported killed and one missing yesterday after heavy storms lashed several islands in the southern Aegean, where winds reached 10 Beaufort, causing extensive flooding and road damage.
A British couple drowned yesterday after going swimming off the island of Rhodes despite a storm warning. Witnesses said they said they saw the pair struggling in 2-meter waves.Meanwhile on Crete, a truckdriver was killed late on Tuesday after being
swept away by a mudslide near the port of Hania. Rescue workers in Hania yesterday located the vehicle of a 54-year-old Briton, missing since Tuesday night after floodwaters washed his car off the road, but there was no sign of the motorist.
The bad weather caused extensive flood damage to homes, stores and hotels on both Crete and Rhodes, where the fire service received dozens of calls to drain water from buildings and rescue motorists trapped in their cars. On Rhodes, raging floodwaters swept 10 parked cars into the sea, wrecked roads and provoked landslides.Authorities yesterday declared a state of emergency in the Cretan prefecture of Hania as well as the islands of Leros and Astypalaia in the Dodecanese, which were also badly hit by storms.
On Astypalaia, landslides blocked local roads and police reportedly rescued an elderly man who had been carried off by floodwaters. Roads on Leros were seriously damaged.The Civil Protection Agency urged authorities and citizens to be vigilant today as the bad weather is set to continue, particularly in the Aegean, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades.Those who have booked ferry tickets should check with their local port authority before traveling.
If this is credible,there could be big trouble.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(TERRORISM)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence(TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(EARTHQUAKES,HURRICANES,STORMS,VOLCANOES ETC)
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Originally posted: October 18, 2006
NFL dirty-bomb threat defused
Posted by Frank James at 4:20 pm CDT
So what are we to make of this news that the Homeland Security Department has shared with National Football League teams information about a web site threat to explode dirty bombs outside seven stadiums this weekend? Not much, based on how quickly DHS is moving to play down the information. William Knocke, DHS’s press secretary, told me the threat was not credible. Matter of fact, it’s a web site posting we view with strong skepticism. One, there’s no credible intelligence and that’s the consensus of the entire intelligence community as well as or law enforcement partners to suggest such attacks. Another reason why we view it with strong skepticism is the spectacular nature of the threat that was in this web site posting. The fact is there’s simply no credible intelligence to support these claims.
Knocke called the sharing of the information routine. Last year, DHS issued about 1,500 products according to Knocke. Those would be alerts and other informational memos sent to state, local and private sector security officials. So the sharing of such information is very routine.The timing of the alert however, less than three weeks before the mid-term elections, will be met with a lot of skepticism, especially by Bush Administration critics.
Just a few minutes ago on CNN, Paul Begala, the former Clinton White House aide who’s a political analyst for the cable news channel said, It is interesting these things always seem to spike right before an election.. A lot of people are going to be deeply skeptical.I asked Knocke about the timing of the DHS alert given the level of cynicism that’s out there as reflected by Begala's comment. In recent years, there've been allegations that the Bush administration has used threat information for political purposes and those suspicions obviously are very strong.
It’s one thing for people to make those claims, those claims are certainly basis. But it would be another if the department took the opposite approach and the department chose not to share specific information. And then later that story gets out. That would be irresponsible on the part of the department.We have a very clear mission. We have a very serious responsibility… Anytime there’s specific information we’re going to provide that to our state and local partners and private sector officials…It does seem like this would be a lame approach to an October surprise. If the point were to raise voter fears and cause them to stampede to the polls to vote for Republicans, then why immediately pour cold water on the threat if you're DHS?
Anyway, when there’s something based on real intelligence reporting or law-enforcement information, DHS usually sends out joint bulletins with the FBI that are often classified. But this was considered so low on the credibility scale, that wasn’t done.It went out even as an unclassified document. It’s just simply relaying the specific information out there. It would be irresponsible for us to do anything other. The department strongly recommends that the American public continues to go about their plans, to not alter their daily lives, to go to large public gatherings, go to football games… Absolutely, the public should go to football games, this weekend, and other weekends.Below, is the text from a document about the threat from the U.S. government’s Open Source Center web site which is restricted to federal employees.Terrorism: The Friend Society Website Posting Claims 22 October Dirty Bomb Plot
Targeting Football Stadiums in Seven US Cities
On 16 October 2006, a posting on an English-language website located at www.thefriendsociety.com said that dirty bombs, delivered in trucks, will be detonated outside stadiums at NFL games in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, and Cleveland on 22 October. The content of the website, which requires registration to post, is sometimes crude and contains none of the hallmarks of jihadist websites.The threat appeared as part of a thread entitled New Attack on America Be Afraid that included a rambling conversation on a variety of topics. The thread began on 18 September at 3:22 AM. when a participant called ALEX posted
the following comment:http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/...iams091606.htm an interview w/ Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan Abu says: He is an American and a friend of Muhammad Atta, who led 9/11 attacks five years ago.
We call him Jaffer al Tayyar [Jafer the Pilot]; he is very brave and intelligent. Bush is aware that brother Adnan has smuggled deadly materials inside America from the Mexican border. Bush is silent about him, because he doesn't want to panic his people. Sheikh Osama bin Laden has completed his cycle of warnings. On 12 October at 9:31 PM, a participant called javness posted comment #36 which contained the threat. The text of the posting follows:On Sunday, October 22nd, 2006, there will be seven dirty explosive devices detonated in seven different U.S. cities; Miami, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland. The death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout.
The bombs themselves will be delivered via trucks. These trucks will pull up to stadiums hosting NFL games in each respective city. All stadiums to be targeted are open air arenas, excluding Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the only enclosed stadium to be hit. Due to the open air, the radiological fallout will destroy those not killed in the initial explosion. The explosions will be near simultaneous, with the cities specifically chosen in different time zones to allow for multiple attacks at the same time.The 22nd of October will mark the final day of Ramadan as it would fall in Mecca. Al-Qaida will automatically be blamed for the attacks. Later, through Al-Jazeera, Osama bin Laden will issue a video message claiming responsibility for what he dubbed America's Hiroshima.In the aftermath civil wars will erupt across the world, both in the Middle East and within the United States.
Global economies will screech to a halt. General chaos will rule. The posting prompted the following comments. No subsequent comments were posted on this discussion string as of 1620 EDT on 16 October 2006.
On 12 October at 9:55 PM, ALEX posted comment #37: did you make that up or is there like a source for that.
On 12 October at 10:47 PM, radicum posted comment #38: Football arenas are an unlikely target. They seem to go for things that are strictly government / global capitalism related.
On 12 October at 11:01 PM, radicum posted comment #39: and whose to say oakland blowing up isnt a good thing On 12 October at 11:17 PM, Kim Possible posted comment #40:[quote of javness quote #36, followed by the comment:] This isn't something you should joke about, if you are srs about this may I see your sources Unless you're a psychic
On 13 October at 2:09 PM, javness posted comment #41: [quote of ALEX quote #37, followed by the comment:] you already know too much
On 13 October at 7:14 PM, Pseudonym posted comment #42: Yeah it better be a joke, I work near one of those stadiums.
On 13 October at 8:08 PM, Moo the Magic Cow posted comment #43:lol cia watch list
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)
JOEL 2:20,30-31
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 atomic aide warns of retaliation to sanctions By Ali Ronaghi
Wed Oct 18, 1:12 PM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator threatened retaliation on Wednesday possibly by suspending international atomic inspections if the United Nations imposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. Ali Larijani's comments, quoted by state television, came a day after the European Union backed limited Security Council sanctions against Iran for not halting uranium enrichment, a condition for starting talks on an atomic incentives package.Iran will not stand idle if pressured to ignore its nuclear rights. The path of the Security Council, sanctions and illegal (imposition of) hardship is such a path in which the other side should expect a reciprocal act by .Iran,Larijani said.The (Iranian) parliament has prepared a plan based on which the inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency will be suspended in the face of the West's adventurous behavior,he added, according to the television report.
Larijani, whose voice was not broadcast by the television, stopped short of stating outright that IAEA inspections would be halted if the sanctions went through.Diplomats say France, Britain and Germany plan to put forward a draft Security Council resolution this week providing for graduated sanctions, though details have yet to be agreed.Measures that have been suggested include travel
bans on officials, diplomats and scientists, freezing assets of individuals and firms, and embargoes on the sale of items that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.The United States has taken the hardest line, but Russia and China, both holding vetoes in the Security Council, have been holding back on the scope of sanctions and the speed at which they would be imposed, diplomats say.The West accuses Iran of seeking to enrich uranium to build atomic bombs, but Tehran insists it only wants to master the technology to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
CARROT AND STICK
The five permanent Security Council members the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany have offered Iran political and economic incentives if it first stops enrichment.But talks between Iran and the European Union have led nowhere and Tehran ignored an August 31 deadline set by an earlier U.N. resolution for it to suspend enrichment something Iran says is its right.Although the EU has said its incentives offer remains on the table, Larijani said if the sanctions were passed the nature of possible negotiations will definitely be different, because the conditions would have been changed.Earlier, he told the semi-official Mehr news agency that European states would be the losers if they pushed through a sanctions resolution.
If it is imagined that it is possible to simultaneously use the policy of carrot and stick, it is an error in calculation,Larijani said. One Iranian lawmaker was more explicit. If any sanction against Iran is ratified, parliament will oblige the government to have minimum cooperation with the IAEA, Hamidreza Haji Babaie was quoted as saying by Mehr, adding that this would start with barring inspectors.Inspections by the Vienna-based IAEA, whose role includes checking that nuclear fuel from civil programs is not being diverted for making weapons, are the main handle that Western powers have on Iran's nuclear activities.It was not the first time Larijani has warned of retaliation in the event of sanctions. In August, he even hinted at a cut in oil exports, a threat that was greeted with caution since Tehran receives 80 percent of its export earnings from energy.
Putin assures Olmert of support for Mideast peace process
dpa German Press Agency,Published: Wednesday October 18, 2006
Moscow- President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Kremlin Wednesday that Russia would do all it could to bring peace to the Middle East, Russian news agencies reported. Russia is ready to do all in [its] power to contribute to normalcy in the Middle East, Itar-Tass quoted Putin as saying. Olmert said he hoped Russia would always treat the countries of the Middle East as equals.I remember your personal promise that relations ... would never again be one-sided,Olmert said, recalling a conversation between Putin and Olmert's predecessor, Ariel Sharon, in 2005.
Olmert also said he relied on Russia to help the situation in Iran. Russia's influence is important ... for helping stabilization in the Middle East, especially with the Iranian atomic question,Olmert said in remarks reported by Itar-Tass. Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear reactor, has been slow to criticize the country's controversial uranium enrichment programme. The visit came 15 years after Moscow reinstated relations with Israel, broken 24 years before.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
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.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
Canada supports Israel: PM
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands prior to speaking at an annual awards dinner of the B'Nai Brith in Toronto on Wednesday,
Oct. 18, 2006. ,Chris Wattie, CanWest News Service; National Post,Thursday, October 19, 2006
TORONTO -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper mounted a vigorous defence on Wednesday of his government's Middle East policy, saying support for Israel is fundamental to what this nation has always stood for.Speaking to a B'nai Brith dinner in Toronto, Harper made no apologies for his government siding with the Jewish state during this summer's fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.When it comes to dealing with a war between Israel and a terrorist organization, this country and this government cannot and will never be neutral, Harper said in a speech that drew several standing ovations from the more than 1,000 members of the Jewish human rights group. This position is rooted in what we have long stood for as a country.
The prime minister said he was not deterred by criticism from the opposition parties, who this summer called the Conservative government's unqualified support for Israel a repudiation of Canada's traditional role in the Middle East.That is simply not accurate, he said. Rather than charting a new (policy) course, we are restoring Canada to its traditional and true role: Principled leadership in world affairs ... a Canada that knows where it stands.And Harper said it is ultimately in Canada's best interests to support Israel.
Those who attacked Israel and those who sponsor such attacks ... seek what they and those like them have always sought the destruction of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people, he said. Those who seek to destroy the Jews ... will for the same reason ultimately seek to destroy us all and that my friends is why Canada's new government has reacted with speed and spoken with clarity on recent events in the Middle East.Harper also said he believes Israel must seek a peaceful accommodation with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours.Our government believes in a two-state solution in a secure, democratic and prosperous Israel living beside a viable, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state.National Post,cwattie@nationalpost.com
King of Spain Kills Drunk Pet Bear at Russian Hunt — Report
Created: 19.10.2006 16:24 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:33 MSK, 2 hours 19 minutes ago,MosNews
Authorities are probing a violation of hunting regulations in the Central Russian region of Vologda where Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, allegedly shot a harmless pet bear this August.Hunting was a part of the entertainment program for Juan Carlos, who paid a visit to the region in summer, Interfax reports.However local media, citing a hunting watchdog, claim that the bear the monarch killed at the hunt was by no means a wild beast, but a tame, timid creature made drunk.Organizers of the royal hunt allegedly took the good-natured bear called Mitrofan to the hunting base in a cage.The animal was given honey mixed with vodka and forced to go out into the field. The heavy clumsy bear was easy prey for Juan Carlos, who killed it with one shot.
IDF Returns to Gaza-Egypt Border, Destroys Smuggling Tunnels
By Ezra HaLevi(INN)
The IDF has returned to the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt. Leaving the security zone was one of the most contentious aspects of the Disengagement - even among the plan's supporters. IDF soldiers returned to the corridor Wednesday, one year after it was abandoned as then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s final step in the implementation of his unilateral surrender of Gaza.
Five tunnels were identified and destroyed on Wednesday alone.We found four tunnels within 500-meter strip, the commander of the mission said, so you can imagine how many there are in total.The Philadelphi Corridor is roughly 15 kilometers long, running between the Mediterranean Sea and the former Jewish communities of Rafiah Yam and Pe'at Sadeh in the north, to the Kerem Shalom border point in the south.The openings of the tunnels are well camouflaged, with one of them opening up inside a tomato greenhouse.
The Philadelphi strip was the location of smuggling tunnels throughout the years. Special IDF units were assigned to detecting and destroying the tunnels in order to disrupt the flow of weapons, drugs, terrorists and prostitutes. Following the Disengagement from Gaza, in which 21 Jewish communities (and another four in the northern Shomron) were destroyed and their residents evicted, the corridor’s tunnels were rebuilt.
The Rafah Crossing itself was placed under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and European Union representatives. The border lay open for week-long periods after various terror factions bulldozed or blasted holes in the fence.Two large tunnels were exposed and two other tunnel openings were identified in Rafah on Tuesday. In recent weeks, 20 such tunnels have been discovered in the area. A recent attack on the IDF’s Kerem Shalom lookout was carried out by use of a tunnel from Gaza deep underneath the security fence.The government’s decision to send the IDF back to the corridor was a reluctant one, as much effort and US pressure had been invested in hammering out an agreement under which the European Union would oversee the border together with the Palestinian Authority. In reality, with Hamas running the PA and Egypt overseeing security on its side of the border, the smuggling has mushroomed to a level exceeding any other time in history.Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles, which were used against IDF tanks effectively in Lebanon, have been transported in large quantities into Gaza, according to IDF intelligence briefings to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The missiles were responsible for a third of the casualties suffered in the recent war with Hizbullah. Explosives, guns, ammunition and even anti-aircraft missiles are also being smuggled into the region.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s aids have been hinting that Israel is preparing to launch its largest operation in the entire Gaza region since the expulsion took place just over a year ago. Peretz himself said earlier this week that Gaza must be prevented from becoming a second Lebanon. The IDF's return this week to Rafah and the corridor met little resistance from local terror groups.
Israel cannot survive: Ahmadinejad 1 hour, 44 minutes ago
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called Israel a counterfeit and illegitimate regime that cannot survive, in a live broadcast on state television. The Zionist regime is counterfeit and illegitimate and cannot survive, he said in a speech to a crowd in the town of Islamshahr in southwestern Tehran.The big powers have created this fraud regime and allowed it to commit all kind of crimes to guarantee their interests,he added.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Brussels to defend core of EU constitution in treaty talks
19.10.2006 - 09:25 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is starting to take a position in the expected re-negotiations of the EU constitution, with communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom saying the core of the current text should be the departure point.
Commissioner Wallstrom said on Wednesday (18 October) that the commission would not like to depart too much from the constitutional treaty amid a slowly re-emerging debate on the fate of the charter, after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005.
The departure point should be keeping the core of the constitution, she said speaking at the presentation of a constitution revival plan by UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff. The commissioner argued that carefully negotiated deals in the current text should not be opened up for discussion, mentioning majority voting rules, the EU's foreign affairs minister, increased powers for the European Parliament, the possibility for citizens to demand action from the commission, as well as the charter of fundamental rights. There are a number of things which were achieved through very difficult negotiations by member states…and which if you start to open up,you open everything, she told EUobserver after the meeting.
Challenge to Kaczynski, Sarkozy
The remarks of Ms Wallstrom, who is also a member of the EU 'wise' group on the constitution led by Italian interior minister Guliano Amato, come after a long period of silence on the part of the commission over the content of a future EU treaty. Brussels has been careful not to offend any EU capital on the sensitive issue but it has now made clear it will stand firm on the key parts of the current text of the constitution.
Ms Wallstrom's remarks challenge the stance of Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski who has indicated he wants to re-negotiate member states' voting rights one of the carefully negotiated deals referred to by the commissioner. By mentioning the charter of fundamental rights as a part of the core of the charter, Ms Wallstrom is also at odds with French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy who is ready to ditch this part in his proposed mini-treaty.Ms Wallstrom indicated however that outside what she sees as the core of the constitutional text, changes are inevitable. The union cannot afford a second
failure,she stated.
Duff's Plan B
The commissioner said it is too early to go into any detai on ideas on how to win more popular support for the treaty in France, the Netherlands and elsewhere. But she did speak out on some of the ideas presented by the liberal MEP Andrew Duff, who in his Plan B suggests a new-look version of the constitution should include clauses on issues which are of direct concern to EU citizens.Ms Wallstrom expressed sympathy for Mr Duff's proposal to include the fight against climate change as a policy goal into the constitution, but she rejected the idea of a voluntary Protocol on a Social Union only for those member states wishing to further harmonise their social policies. I'm afraid this will be seen as division [between member states] rather than inclusion, she said.
The commissioner also expressed skepticism for Mr Duff's idea to enshrine a reformed budget system into a new EU treaty.She said that talks on a new budgetary structure for the EU will require intense and very difficult negotiations, adding that a realistic timeframe should be kept in mind with member states wanting to finalise a new treaty by 2009. But Mr Duff called upon European politicians not to underestimate their own negotiating skills. We've been too timid to actually take the plunge, he said.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Scientists say Hawaii hit by two quakes By JAYMES SONG, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 38 minutes ago
HONOLULU - Scientists are investigating whether a magnitude-6.0 earthquake that rocked Hawaii within minutes of Sunday's 6.7 temblor was a separate quake and not an aftershock.
The lead scientist at the U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcanoes Observatory and a seismologist at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Wednesday they were two independent events. Others aren't so sure.The 6.7-magnitude quake struck 12.5 miles northeast of the Big Island's Kona airport at a depth of 24 miles at 7:07 a.m. Sunday. Seven minutes later, the 6.0-magnitude quake struck 27 miles north of the airport at a depth of about 12.5 miles.
Jim Kauahikaua, the scientist-in-charge at the observatory, said the difference in depths establishes that the two are independent. But Egill Hauksson, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology, said it's too early to categorize the magnitude-6.0 event.Scientists still need to analyze the pattern of aftershocks in the coming months before determining whether the smaller event was an aftershock or a triggered earthquake, Hauksson said.There's more research to be done,he said.Seismologist Vindell Hsu, of the tsunami center, said it's not uncommon for earthquakes to trigger others and it has happened in Alaska and at California's San Andreas Fault.A major earthquake may trigger or activate a neighboring fault and start another good-sized earthquake, Hsu said.
Kauahikaua expects several opinions.
Some of these earthquakes get worked on for years. Different techniques come up. People have different points of view, he said. This is our assessment within the first three days after the earthquake. If somebody can make a powerful argument the other way, fine.Aftershocks are a series of smaller earthquakes that occur after the main shock and in the same geographic area. Aftershocks can rock a region for months or years. Generally, the bigger the main shock, the more intense the aftershocks will be.Dozens of aftershocks have been recorded since the initial quake.Hawaii County Mayor Harry Kim, who served decades as the Big Island's civil defense chief, said the latest quakes came after a long stretch of seismic calm.Kim said a third to half of the population had never experienced a quake of Sunday's magnitude.Since 1960, the Big Island has been hit with 31 earthquakes with a magnitude greater than 4.0. But Sunday's first earthquake was the largest recorded since a 6.7 occurred under the east flank of Mauna Loa Volcano on November 16, 1983.
The island also experienced a 7.2-magnitude quake on November 29, 1975,and an estimated 7.9 temblor on April 2, 1868.The vast island spread across more than 4,000-square miles of lava fields, rain forests and pasture lands was formed by several volcanoes.
Kilauea is one of the most active volcanoes in the world, spewing lava and expanding the island's surface. Preliminary damage estimates from the earthquake hit $73 million and President Bush declared a major disaster, ordering federal aid to help state and local recovery efforts. Kim said one of the reasons the island didn't sustain more damage than it did was the strict building codes that have evolved over decades of natural disasters. Buildings on the Big Island must meet the strictest level of any of the Hawaiian Islands. There are no buildings taller than 100 feet. There are also no highway overpasses. Associated Press Writer Gillian Flaccus in Hilo, Hawaii, and AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
Wed, Oct. 18, 2006
LARGEST WAS 2.6-MAGNITUDE-3 micro quakes rattle Winston-Salem
Associated Press
WINSTON-SALEM - Three small earthquakes rattled a city in central North Carolina on Tuesday, shaking dishes in kitchen cabinets and surprising residents unaccustomed to tremors.There were no immediate reports of injuries or structure damage, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.The first quake, a 2.6-magnitude tremor classified as micro, hit at 4:56 a.m. with an epicenter estimated three miles east-northeast of Winston-Salem, about 80 miles northeast of Charlotte.One resident said the quake felt like a large boom that lasted just a second or two.Another quake registering 1.5 was recorded about four miles west of the city just before 8 p.m. A third quake registering at 2.4 rattled the same area as the first quake at 9:11 p.m., according to the Geological Survey.
Winston-Salem police reported getting around 150 calls after the first quake from locals wondering what happened, and local media outlets were flooded with calls after the next two.Some residents said vibrations came through the floors of their homes and shook dishes in cabinets. Others said the rumbling sounded like a garbage truck.They reported a loud explosion and ground shaking, said Winston-Salem police Lt. David Kiger. They just want to know what was going on.Amy Vaughan, a geophysicist with the U.S.
Geological Survey in Golden, Colo., said quakes that small typically don't result in damage or injury. She said the earthquakes were unusual for North Carolina, though quakes of the same magnitude would not be noticed in earthquake-prone California.
On June 15, a 3.1-magnitude earthquake shook buildings and rattled dishes in at least four Western North Carolina counties. That quake was centered 28 miles north of Franklin and felt from Maggie Valley to Bryson City to Cashiers.The biggest earthquake to shake North Carolina was on Feb. 21, 1916. The 5.2-magnitude quake centered near Waynesville, also in the western part of the state, toppled chimneys and sent people rushing into the street, according to the USGS.An earthquake Sunday in Hawaii registered a 6.7 magnitude, the strongest to hit the islands in more than two decades. No deaths or serious injuries were reported but preliminary damage estimates hit $46 million Tuesday.
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.
Three people dead after storms lash the Aegean AP
A couple of tourists look at the sea in Almyrida, near Hania in Crete, yesterday, as two overturned cars lie in the water behind them. A British tourist is missing in Crete after storms hit the island. Three people were reported killed and one missing yesterday after heavy storms lashed several islands in the southern Aegean, where winds reached 10 Beaufort, causing extensive flooding and road damage.
A British couple drowned yesterday after going swimming off the island of Rhodes despite a storm warning. Witnesses said they said they saw the pair struggling in 2-meter waves.Meanwhile on Crete, a truckdriver was killed late on Tuesday after being
swept away by a mudslide near the port of Hania. Rescue workers in Hania yesterday located the vehicle of a 54-year-old Briton, missing since Tuesday night after floodwaters washed his car off the road, but there was no sign of the motorist.
The bad weather caused extensive flood damage to homes, stores and hotels on both Crete and Rhodes, where the fire service received dozens of calls to drain water from buildings and rescue motorists trapped in their cars. On Rhodes, raging floodwaters swept 10 parked cars into the sea, wrecked roads and provoked landslides.Authorities yesterday declared a state of emergency in the Cretan prefecture of Hania as well as the islands of Leros and Astypalaia in the Dodecanese, which were also badly hit by storms.
On Astypalaia, landslides blocked local roads and police reportedly rescued an elderly man who had been carried off by floodwaters. Roads on Leros were seriously damaged.The Civil Protection Agency urged authorities and citizens to be vigilant today as the bad weather is set to continue, particularly in the Aegean, the Dodecanese and the Cyclades.Those who have booked ferry tickets should check with their local port authority before traveling.
If this is credible,there could be big trouble.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(TERRORISM)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence(TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.(EARTHQUAKES,HURRICANES,STORMS,VOLCANOES ETC)
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
Originally posted: October 18, 2006
NFL dirty-bomb threat defused
Posted by Frank James at 4:20 pm CDT
So what are we to make of this news that the Homeland Security Department has shared with National Football League teams information about a web site threat to explode dirty bombs outside seven stadiums this weekend? Not much, based on how quickly DHS is moving to play down the information. William Knocke, DHS’s press secretary, told me the threat was not credible. Matter of fact, it’s a web site posting we view with strong skepticism. One, there’s no credible intelligence and that’s the consensus of the entire intelligence community as well as or law enforcement partners to suggest such attacks. Another reason why we view it with strong skepticism is the spectacular nature of the threat that was in this web site posting. The fact is there’s simply no credible intelligence to support these claims.
Knocke called the sharing of the information routine. Last year, DHS issued about 1,500 products according to Knocke. Those would be alerts and other informational memos sent to state, local and private sector security officials. So the sharing of such information is very routine.The timing of the alert however, less than three weeks before the mid-term elections, will be met with a lot of skepticism, especially by Bush Administration critics.
Just a few minutes ago on CNN, Paul Begala, the former Clinton White House aide who’s a political analyst for the cable news channel said, It is interesting these things always seem to spike right before an election.. A lot of people are going to be deeply skeptical.I asked Knocke about the timing of the DHS alert given the level of cynicism that’s out there as reflected by Begala's comment. In recent years, there've been allegations that the Bush administration has used threat information for political purposes and those suspicions obviously are very strong.
It’s one thing for people to make those claims, those claims are certainly basis. But it would be another if the department took the opposite approach and the department chose not to share specific information. And then later that story gets out. That would be irresponsible on the part of the department.We have a very clear mission. We have a very serious responsibility… Anytime there’s specific information we’re going to provide that to our state and local partners and private sector officials…It does seem like this would be a lame approach to an October surprise. If the point were to raise voter fears and cause them to stampede to the polls to vote for Republicans, then why immediately pour cold water on the threat if you're DHS?
Anyway, when there’s something based on real intelligence reporting or law-enforcement information, DHS usually sends out joint bulletins with the FBI that are often classified. But this was considered so low on the credibility scale, that wasn’t done.It went out even as an unclassified document. It’s just simply relaying the specific information out there. It would be irresponsible for us to do anything other. The department strongly recommends that the American public continues to go about their plans, to not alter their daily lives, to go to large public gatherings, go to football games… Absolutely, the public should go to football games, this weekend, and other weekends.Below, is the text from a document about the threat from the U.S. government’s Open Source Center web site which is restricted to federal employees.Terrorism: The Friend Society Website Posting Claims 22 October Dirty Bomb Plot
Targeting Football Stadiums in Seven US Cities
On 16 October 2006, a posting on an English-language website located at www.thefriendsociety.com said that dirty bombs, delivered in trucks, will be detonated outside stadiums at NFL games in New York, Miami, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland, and Cleveland on 22 October. The content of the website, which requires registration to post, is sometimes crude and contains none of the hallmarks of jihadist websites.The threat appeared as part of a thread entitled New Attack on America Be Afraid that included a rambling conversation on a variety of topics. The thread began on 18 September at 3:22 AM. when a participant called ALEX posted
the following comment:http://www.canadafreepress.com/2006/...iams091606.htm an interview w/ Abu Dawood, the newly appointed commander of the al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan Abu says: He is an American and a friend of Muhammad Atta, who led 9/11 attacks five years ago.
We call him Jaffer al Tayyar [Jafer the Pilot]; he is very brave and intelligent. Bush is aware that brother Adnan has smuggled deadly materials inside America from the Mexican border. Bush is silent about him, because he doesn't want to panic his people. Sheikh Osama bin Laden has completed his cycle of warnings. On 12 October at 9:31 PM, a participant called javness posted comment #36 which contained the threat. The text of the posting follows:On Sunday, October 22nd, 2006, there will be seven dirty explosive devices detonated in seven different U.S. cities; Miami, New York City, Atlanta, Seattle, Houston, Oakland and Cleveland. The death toll will approach 100,000 from the initial blasts and countless other fatalities will later occur as result from radioactive fallout.
The bombs themselves will be delivered via trucks. These trucks will pull up to stadiums hosting NFL games in each respective city. All stadiums to be targeted are open air arenas, excluding Atlanta's Georgia Dome, the only enclosed stadium to be hit. Due to the open air, the radiological fallout will destroy those not killed in the initial explosion. The explosions will be near simultaneous, with the cities specifically chosen in different time zones to allow for multiple attacks at the same time.The 22nd of October will mark the final day of Ramadan as it would fall in Mecca. Al-Qaida will automatically be blamed for the attacks. Later, through Al-Jazeera, Osama bin Laden will issue a video message claiming responsibility for what he dubbed America's Hiroshima.In the aftermath civil wars will erupt across the world, both in the Middle East and within the United States.
Global economies will screech to a halt. General chaos will rule. The posting prompted the following comments. No subsequent comments were posted on this discussion string as of 1620 EDT on 16 October 2006.
On 12 October at 9:55 PM, ALEX posted comment #37: did you make that up or is there like a source for that.
On 12 October at 10:47 PM, radicum posted comment #38: Football arenas are an unlikely target. They seem to go for things that are strictly government / global capitalism related.
On 12 October at 11:01 PM, radicum posted comment #39: and whose to say oakland blowing up isnt a good thing On 12 October at 11:17 PM, Kim Possible posted comment #40:[quote of javness quote #36, followed by the comment:] This isn't something you should joke about, if you are srs about this may I see your sources Unless you're a psychic
On 13 October at 2:09 PM, javness posted comment #41: [quote of ALEX quote #37, followed by the comment:] you already know too much
On 13 October at 7:14 PM, Pseudonym posted comment #42: Yeah it better be a joke, I work near one of those stadiums.
On 13 October at 8:08 PM, Moo the Magic Cow posted comment #43:lol cia watch list
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)
JOEL 2:20,30-31
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 atomic aide warns of retaliation to sanctions By Ali Ronaghi
Wed Oct 18, 1:12 PM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran's chief nuclear negotiator threatened retaliation on Wednesday possibly by suspending international atomic inspections if the United Nations imposed sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear program. Ali Larijani's comments, quoted by state television, came a day after the European Union backed limited Security Council sanctions against Iran for not halting uranium enrichment, a condition for starting talks on an atomic incentives package.Iran will not stand idle if pressured to ignore its nuclear rights. The path of the Security Council, sanctions and illegal (imposition of) hardship is such a path in which the other side should expect a reciprocal act by .Iran,Larijani said.The (Iranian) parliament has prepared a plan based on which the inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency will be suspended in the face of the West's adventurous behavior,he added, according to the television report.
Larijani, whose voice was not broadcast by the television, stopped short of stating outright that IAEA inspections would be halted if the sanctions went through.Diplomats say France, Britain and Germany plan to put forward a draft Security Council resolution this week providing for graduated sanctions, though details have yet to be agreed.Measures that have been suggested include travel
bans on officials, diplomats and scientists, freezing assets of individuals and firms, and embargoes on the sale of items that could be used in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.The United States has taken the hardest line, but Russia and China, both holding vetoes in the Security Council, have been holding back on the scope of sanctions and the speed at which they would be imposed, diplomats say.The West accuses Iran of seeking to enrich uranium to build atomic bombs, but Tehran insists it only wants to master the technology to make fuel for nuclear power plants.
CARROT AND STICK
The five permanent Security Council members the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France and Germany have offered Iran political and economic incentives if it first stops enrichment.But talks between Iran and the European Union have led nowhere and Tehran ignored an August 31 deadline set by an earlier U.N. resolution for it to suspend enrichment something Iran says is its right.Although the EU has said its incentives offer remains on the table, Larijani said if the sanctions were passed the nature of possible negotiations will definitely be different, because the conditions would have been changed.Earlier, he told the semi-official Mehr news agency that European states would be the losers if they pushed through a sanctions resolution.
If it is imagined that it is possible to simultaneously use the policy of carrot and stick, it is an error in calculation,Larijani said. One Iranian lawmaker was more explicit. If any sanction against Iran is ratified, parliament will oblige the government to have minimum cooperation with the IAEA, Hamidreza Haji Babaie was quoted as saying by Mehr, adding that this would start with barring inspectors.Inspections by the Vienna-based IAEA, whose role includes checking that nuclear fuel from civil programs is not being diverted for making weapons, are the main handle that Western powers have on Iran's nuclear activities.It was not the first time Larijani has warned of retaliation in the event of sanctions. In August, he even hinted at a cut in oil exports, a threat that was greeted with caution since Tehran receives 80 percent of its export earnings from energy.
Putin assures Olmert of support for Mideast peace process
dpa German Press Agency,Published: Wednesday October 18, 2006
Moscow- President Vladimir Putin told Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in the Kremlin Wednesday that Russia would do all it could to bring peace to the Middle East, Russian news agencies reported. Russia is ready to do all in [its] power to contribute to normalcy in the Middle East, Itar-Tass quoted Putin as saying. Olmert said he hoped Russia would always treat the countries of the Middle East as equals.I remember your personal promise that relations ... would never again be one-sided,Olmert said, recalling a conversation between Putin and Olmert's predecessor, Ariel Sharon, in 2005.
Olmert also said he relied on Russia to help the situation in Iran. Russia's influence is important ... for helping stabilization in the Middle East, especially with the Iranian atomic question,Olmert said in remarks reported by Itar-Tass. Russia, which is building Iran's first nuclear reactor, has been slow to criticize the country's controversial uranium enrichment programme. The visit came 15 years after Moscow reinstated relations with Israel, broken 24 years before.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
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.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
Canada supports Israel: PM
Prime Minister Stephen Harper stands prior to speaking at an annual awards dinner of the B'Nai Brith in Toronto on Wednesday,
Oct. 18, 2006. ,Chris Wattie, CanWest News Service; National Post,Thursday, October 19, 2006
TORONTO -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper mounted a vigorous defence on Wednesday of his government's Middle East policy, saying support for Israel is fundamental to what this nation has always stood for.Speaking to a B'nai Brith dinner in Toronto, Harper made no apologies for his government siding with the Jewish state during this summer's fighting between Israeli troops and Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon.When it comes to dealing with a war between Israel and a terrorist organization, this country and this government cannot and will never be neutral, Harper said in a speech that drew several standing ovations from the more than 1,000 members of the Jewish human rights group. This position is rooted in what we have long stood for as a country.
The prime minister said he was not deterred by criticism from the opposition parties, who this summer called the Conservative government's unqualified support for Israel a repudiation of Canada's traditional role in the Middle East.That is simply not accurate, he said. Rather than charting a new (policy) course, we are restoring Canada to its traditional and true role: Principled leadership in world affairs ... a Canada that knows where it stands.And Harper said it is ultimately in Canada's best interests to support Israel.
Those who attacked Israel and those who sponsor such attacks ... seek what they and those like them have always sought the destruction of Israel and the destruction of the Jewish people, he said. Those who seek to destroy the Jews ... will for the same reason ultimately seek to destroy us all and that my friends is why Canada's new government has reacted with speed and spoken with clarity on recent events in the Middle East.Harper also said he believes Israel must seek a peaceful accommodation with the Palestinians and its Arab neighbours.Our government believes in a two-state solution in a secure, democratic and prosperous Israel living beside a viable, democratic and peaceful Palestinian state.National Post,cwattie@nationalpost.com
King of Spain Kills Drunk Pet Bear at Russian Hunt — Report
Created: 19.10.2006 16:24 MSK (GMT +3), Updated: 16:33 MSK, 2 hours 19 minutes ago,MosNews
Authorities are probing a violation of hunting regulations in the Central Russian region of Vologda where Juan Carlos I, King of Spain, allegedly shot a harmless pet bear this August.Hunting was a part of the entertainment program for Juan Carlos, who paid a visit to the region in summer, Interfax reports.However local media, citing a hunting watchdog, claim that the bear the monarch killed at the hunt was by no means a wild beast, but a tame, timid creature made drunk.Organizers of the royal hunt allegedly took the good-natured bear called Mitrofan to the hunting base in a cage.The animal was given honey mixed with vodka and forced to go out into the field. The heavy clumsy bear was easy prey for Juan Carlos, who killed it with one shot.
IDF Returns to Gaza-Egypt Border, Destroys Smuggling Tunnels
By Ezra HaLevi(INN)
The IDF has returned to the Philadelphi Corridor between Gaza and Egypt. Leaving the security zone was one of the most contentious aspects of the Disengagement - even among the plan's supporters. IDF soldiers returned to the corridor Wednesday, one year after it was abandoned as then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s final step in the implementation of his unilateral surrender of Gaza.
Five tunnels were identified and destroyed on Wednesday alone.We found four tunnels within 500-meter strip, the commander of the mission said, so you can imagine how many there are in total.The Philadelphi Corridor is roughly 15 kilometers long, running between the Mediterranean Sea and the former Jewish communities of Rafiah Yam and Pe'at Sadeh in the north, to the Kerem Shalom border point in the south.The openings of the tunnels are well camouflaged, with one of them opening up inside a tomato greenhouse.
The Philadelphi strip was the location of smuggling tunnels throughout the years. Special IDF units were assigned to detecting and destroying the tunnels in order to disrupt the flow of weapons, drugs, terrorists and prostitutes. Following the Disengagement from Gaza, in which 21 Jewish communities (and another four in the northern Shomron) were destroyed and their residents evicted, the corridor’s tunnels were rebuilt.
The Rafah Crossing itself was placed under the supervision of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and European Union representatives. The border lay open for week-long periods after various terror factions bulldozed or blasted holes in the fence.Two large tunnels were exposed and two other tunnel openings were identified in Rafah on Tuesday. In recent weeks, 20 such tunnels have been discovered in the area. A recent attack on the IDF’s Kerem Shalom lookout was carried out by use of a tunnel from Gaza deep underneath the security fence.The government’s decision to send the IDF back to the corridor was a reluctant one, as much effort and US pressure had been invested in hammering out an agreement under which the European Union would oversee the border together with the Palestinian Authority. In reality, with Hamas running the PA and Egypt overseeing security on its side of the border, the smuggling has mushroomed to a level exceeding any other time in history.Russian-made Kornet anti-tank missiles, which were used against IDF tanks effectively in Lebanon, have been transported in large quantities into Gaza, according to IDF intelligence briefings to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. The missiles were responsible for a third of the casualties suffered in the recent war with Hizbullah. Explosives, guns, ammunition and even anti-aircraft missiles are also being smuggled into the region.
Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s aids have been hinting that Israel is preparing to launch its largest operation in the entire Gaza region since the expulsion took place just over a year ago. Peretz himself said earlier this week that Gaza must be prevented from becoming a second Lebanon. The IDF's return this week to Rafah and the corridor met little resistance from local terror groups.
Israel cannot survive: Ahmadinejad 1 hour, 44 minutes ago
TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called Israel a counterfeit and illegitimate regime that cannot survive, in a live broadcast on state television. The Zionist regime is counterfeit and illegitimate and cannot survive, he said in a speech to a crowd in the town of Islamshahr in southwestern Tehran.The big powers have created this fraud regime and allowed it to commit all kind of crimes to guarantee their interests,he added.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Brussels to defend core of EU constitution in treaty talks
19.10.2006 - 09:25 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is starting to take a position in the expected re-negotiations of the EU constitution, with communication commissioner Margot Wallstrom saying the core of the current text should be the departure point.
Commissioner Wallstrom said on Wednesday (18 October) that the commission would not like to depart too much from the constitutional treaty amid a slowly re-emerging debate on the fate of the charter, after French and Dutch voters rejected it in 2005.
The departure point should be keeping the core of the constitution, she said speaking at the presentation of a constitution revival plan by UK liberal MEP Andrew Duff. The commissioner argued that carefully negotiated deals in the current text should not be opened up for discussion, mentioning majority voting rules, the EU's foreign affairs minister, increased powers for the European Parliament, the possibility for citizens to demand action from the commission, as well as the charter of fundamental rights. There are a number of things which were achieved through very difficult negotiations by member states…and which if you start to open up,you open everything, she told EUobserver after the meeting.
Challenge to Kaczynski, Sarkozy
The remarks of Ms Wallstrom, who is also a member of the EU 'wise' group on the constitution led by Italian interior minister Guliano Amato, come after a long period of silence on the part of the commission over the content of a future EU treaty. Brussels has been careful not to offend any EU capital on the sensitive issue but it has now made clear it will stand firm on the key parts of the current text of the constitution.
Ms Wallstrom's remarks challenge the stance of Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski who has indicated he wants to re-negotiate member states' voting rights one of the carefully negotiated deals referred to by the commissioner. By mentioning the charter of fundamental rights as a part of the core of the charter, Ms Wallstrom is also at odds with French presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy who is ready to ditch this part in his proposed mini-treaty.Ms Wallstrom indicated however that outside what she sees as the core of the constitutional text, changes are inevitable. The union cannot afford a second
failure,she stated.
Duff's Plan B
The commissioner said it is too early to go into any detai on ideas on how to win more popular support for the treaty in France, the Netherlands and elsewhere. But she did speak out on some of the ideas presented by the liberal MEP Andrew Duff, who in his Plan B suggests a new-look version of the constitution should include clauses on issues which are of direct concern to EU citizens.Ms Wallstrom expressed sympathy for Mr Duff's proposal to include the fight against climate change as a policy goal into the constitution, but she rejected the idea of a voluntary Protocol on a Social Union only for those member states wishing to further harmonise their social policies. I'm afraid this will be seen as division [between member states] rather than inclusion, she said.
The commissioner also expressed skepticism for Mr Duff's idea to enshrine a reformed budget system into a new EU treaty.She said that talks on a new budgetary structure for the EU will require intense and very difficult negotiations, adding that a realistic timeframe should be kept in mind with member states wanting to finalise a new treaty by 2009. But Mr Duff called upon European politicians not to underestimate their own negotiating skills. We've been too timid to actually take the plunge, he said.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
CHANGES COMING IN ISRAEL
1-Quake near Pacific island of Vanuatu. 2-Small quake rumbles north Calif. 3-Two Greek islands declared disaster areas after night of floods. 4-HAWAI'I BRIEFS,Severe storms hit Big Island, Kaua'i. 5-Ignatieff, Harper and Israel,CBC News Viewpoint. 6-No Agreement on Lieberman´s Five Points. 7-PM Sets His Sights on Nobel Laureate Wiesel for the Presidency. 8-North Korea calls UN sanctions a declaration of war. 9-Europe fears RFID privacy threat. 10-EU Foreign Ministers Approve 2007 Entry for Bulgaria, Romania. 11-Big Powers Split on Proposed Arms Trade Treaty.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Quake near Pacific island of Vanuatu 2 minutes ago
SYDNEY, Australia - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rumbled deep below the earth's surface off the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Wednesday, but no damage or injuries were reported. The quake struck 86 miles below the seabed off the coast of Vanuatu at 9:45 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered about 195 miles northwest of the capital, Port Vila. No tsunami warning was issued.Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides Islands, is made up of 13 main islands located about 1,400 miles east of Australia.The archipelago nation is part of the Pacific ring of fire, and earthquakes of this magnitude are common in the region.
Earlier this month, another magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near Vanuatu, but caused no damage or injuries.
Small quake rumbles north Calif. coast Wed Oct 18, 12:21 AM ET
EUREKA, Calif. - A small earthquake about 90 miles off the northern California coast Tuesday generated no reports of damage or injuries, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said.
We didn't feel a thing, said Brenda Godsey, a sheriff's department spokeswoman in Eureka.The magnitude-4.9 quake's epicenter was located about 260 miles northwest of San Francisco, according to a preliminary report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.The USGS said it received reports from people who felt the temblor in the San Francisco Bay area, including San Jose.
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.
Two Greek islands declared disaster areas after night of floods
Wed Oct 18, 7:08 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - Two Greek Aegean islands and an entire prefecture in northwestern Crete were in a state of emergency after overnight storms flooded homes, businesses and hotels across the region, the Greek Civil Protection Authority has said. The Greek fire department was called out Wednesday to drain water from dozens of buildings and rescue people trapped inside their cars in Hania prefecture on Crete, a major tourist destination attracting thousands of visitors every year.Flood-related damage was also reported across the northern coast of Crete in the cities of Heraklion and Rethymnon, and on the islands of Astypalaia and Leros, the civil protection authority told AFP.
With the amount of mud that washed down, it is fortunate that we do not have any victims, Aegean Minister Aristotelis Pavlidis told NET state television.On Astypalaia, local police rescued an elderly man carried away by rushing water, and local authorities said landslides had clogged some of the island's roads.The road network has been damaged, some parts are actually dangerous to drive on,Astypalaia mayor Panormitis Kontaratos told NET state television.A planned damage-assessing visit by the minister was delayed on Wednesday because of poor weather, which also forced the cancellation of a local flight between the islands of Rhodes and Kastellorizo, NET reported.The southern Aegean was struck by a storm front on Tuesday with gale-force winds that reached 10 points on the Beaufort scale, disrupting traffic between the Greek islands and forcing many ships to port.Most scheduled services from the Athens ports of Piraeus and Rafina were cancelled on Wednesday, with an exception made for ships sailing to the Saronic Gulf islands a short distance from the capital, the merchant marine ministry said.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
HAWAI'I BRIEFS,Severe storms hit Big Island, Kaua'i
Flooding forced the partial closure last night of a section of the Big Island's Akoni Pule Highway, the major coastal roadway in North Kohala.Troy Kindred, Hawai'i County Civil Defense administrator, said at 8:45 p.m. there was 3 feet of water on the highway at the 5-mile marker, where a bridge was damaged in Sunday's earthquake. Officials kept one lane of the highway open.Hilo and Puna, meanwhile, were experiencing heavy rains and lightning.At 10:43 p.m. last night the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Kaua'i. The warning said the storm could produce nickel-sized hail and winds of more than 60 mph.The weather service said the storm would affect Kaua'i from Barking Sands to Polihale.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
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.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.
LARRY ZOLF: Politics
Ignatieff, Harper and Israel,CBC News Viewpoint,October 17, 2006
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Veteran journalist and Canadian political expert Larry Zolf is a regular contributor to CBC News Online. Larry has been a critic, reporter, producer and consultant for CBC news and current affairs since he joined the CBC in 1962. Born and raised in North End Winnipeg, the hotbed of general strikes and socialism, Larry has covered stories such as integration in Mississippi and the October Crisis in Quebec. He was one of the hosts of the CBCs flagship current affairs television show This Hour Has 7 Days.He is now retired.
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When Michael Ignatieff recently described an Israeli bombing that killed at least 28 civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana as a war crime, he launched another row about Israel in the midst of the Liberal leadership race. The leadership front-runner had earlier aroused a controversy by saying the deaths in Qana wouldn't cost him any sleep. Then he made the war crimes comment during an interview with Radio-Canada, the CBC's French-language network. Although he apologized for it repeatedly, the comment was to say the least insensitive towards Israel and the Canadian Jewish community that so consistently supports it. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Ignatieff on it, alleging that most of the candidates vying for the leadership of the Liberal party hold an anti-Israeli position.
Harper is right.
Catering to Liberal party's left wing
Ignatieff made the comment to cater to the left wing of the federal Liberal party, where he doesn't have strong support. That wing is definitely not pro-Israel it sees Israel as being in bed with U.S. President George W. Bush to the tune of billions in aid and high-tech weaponry.
The left wing feels Israel was way too disproportionate in launching weeks of air strikes and land invasions in Lebanon in the summer in response to the shelling of its own towns and cities by the Lebanon-based militant organization Hezbollah These left-of-centre Liberals feel Israel is not doing enough to help create a Palestinian state. It is the left wing of the Liberal party that is most similar to the NDP, whose bias against Israel is blatant. To the New Democrats, everything Israel does is wrong. The NDP and these left Liberals see Israel not as a democracy but as an American branch plant in the Middle East.
Bashing Israel to expand his Quebec base?
Ignatieff may also have been catering to another group with his comment, albeit perhaps subconsciously. Ignatieff has been campaigning hard on a pro-Quebec ticket, where his policy to recognize Quebec as a nation has put him in the lead. And anti-Israel feelings are extraordinarily high in Quebec. Many people in the province seem to view Israel as a Bush puppet state and sympathy for Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict was high in the province, with anti-Israel feelings bordering on the anti-Semitic.
Ignatieff may be unconsciously playing crude, crass politics with Israel and with the Jewish Canadian community that supports it, bashing Israel to help expand his Quebec base.
Harper a true friend of Israel
Viewed from that perspective, Harper's comments about the Liberal left and Israel make sense. Harper is a true friend of Israel. To Harper, there is a difference between terrorists like Hezbollah and Hamas, which have both been listed by Canada as terrorist organizations, and the democratic state of Israel. Harper was once again merely rising to the defence of Israel as he had recently done at the La Francophonie summit when he opposed a proposed resolution that would have recognized the suffering of only the people of Lebanon. He forced the organization to adopt a resolution that also recognized Israel's suffering. Harper is doing more than just playing politics. Certainly, by attacking Liberals on their soft stand on Israel, the prime minister is painting the Conservatives as the only party that truly recognizes Israel's worth and welcoming the Canadian Jewish community to join them.
Harper understands and agrees with the Canadian Jewish community's loyalty toward Israel and its outrage at Ignatieff's remarks. Harper agrees with Israel that the attack on Qana was a mistake the Israeli military later admitted it had made an error and thought all the civilians had fled the village and was anything but a war crime.
Harper not afraid to take unpopular stance
Israel's linkage with Bush and Harper in the war against terrorism and its massive bombing of Lebanon has not made Israel popular in Quebec and other parts of Canada but Harper has embraced Israel nonetheless. What Ignatieff and the left Liberals have proved to the Canadian Jewish community and Israel is that Harper and Bush are really Israel's best friends. The outraged cries of the Liberal candidates Harper has described as mostly anti-Israel are really the cries of a party that has played fast and loose with Israel.
Unlike Ignatieff, who is bending himself into a pretzel over his Israel fiasco, Harper has never played fast and loose with Israel and the Canadian Jewish community.Unlike Ignatieff, Harper does not have to plan sudden trips to Israel and Palestine as a fact-finding, face-saving exercise. Harper is a man of his word. Harper's friends and allies are his friends and allies. Israel is Canada's friend and ally and Harper is not afraid to say so.
No Agreement on Lieberman´s Five Points
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz(INN)
Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni said Tuesday that Jewish unauthorized outposts will be destroyed, regardless of demands by prospective coalition partner Avigdor Lieberman. Destroying the outposts is on the government's agenda and Lieberman must come to terms with that,Livni told reporters. While she said she would be happy to see the government widening and becoming more stable, it would have to be based on its own principles.Not uprooting the outposts is one of five preconditions Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party has laid down to joining the Olmert government. The othera of his five points are:
- Changing the government to one of direct presidential elections, including a constitution;
- Establishing a state commission of inquiry to investigate what is felt to be the mismanagement of the recent war with Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon;
- Officially ending Olmert's convergence (unilateral withdrawal) plan; and
- Passing a law that would allow civil marriage.
Yisrael Beiteinu's bill calling for election reform and a change in the structure of government will undergo a preliminary vote in the Knesset plenum next Wednesday. Lieberman has said that his party would not enter the coalition government if the bill does not pass.There is no doubt that if the bill passes it will eliminate many points of contention [with coalition leaders],Lieberman told reporters on Monday. However, he added that there are no negotiations currently underway between his party and the Kadima-led coalition: We have no ideology to sit in the coalition. and I am not looking for excuses to sit in the opposition. Everything is open.
Meanwhile, the Shas party has threatened to quit the coalition if Olmert agrees to Yisrael Beiteinu's precondition regarding a change in the current marriage laws to permit civil administrative marriages.Vice Premier Shimon Peres (Kadima) said Sunday that he is not opposed to Yisrael Beiteinu joining the government as long as there are no changes to the government's coalition guidelines.
In an interview with Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio on Tuesday, MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (National Union-NRP) said he was convinced Lieberman's party would not enter the government, particularly in light of the prime minister's comments yesterday that he is committed to the current coalition guidelines. I am surprised at Lieberman, who wants to be a national-camp leader. It looks like he is rushing and crawling to get in, and that he wants to be on the inside.MK Levy added that the discussion of Yisrael Beiteinu joining the coalition appears to him to be more of a political manipulation than a serious plan. If Lieberman were to join the government, Levy added, it would only harm him, because within a year, there will be reports from the committees investigating the war [in Lebanon], which will obligate everyone sitting in the government. Furthermore, MK Levy estimated that if Labor remains in the coalition, Lieberman's influence in such a coalition would be minimal. This government is unfit to lead the country, Levy said, and we must wait for further developments and create a better government.
PM Sets His Sights on Nobel Laureate Wiesel for the Presidency
By Yechiel Spira(INN)
In a surprise move, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suggesting a new candidate for president not an Israeli, but Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel.In a surprise move, the prime minister suggested Wiesel as a possible candidate to replace President Moshe Katzav.
While Mr. Olmert has been careful not to publicly undermine the president, it is now apparent that Mr. Katzav will likely be compelled to step down from office in the near future. Katzav will likely be facing a multi-count criminal indictment and his future will be determined by the outcome of the judicial proceedings against him.Olmert has made it clear that he prefers a president who does not emerge from the ranks of the political arena, as was the case with Katzav and others. Wiesel, who is internationally acclaimed, has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize and is widely respected internationally.
Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, would be compelled to move to Israel if he accepts the nomination and is elected, and would immediately be granted Israeli citizenship. Olmert pointed out that selecting a non-Israeli for the post is not without precedent; Albert Einstein was encouraged to move to Israel to serve as Israel's president in its early days, but he turned down the offer.Mr. Wiesel speaks Hebrew, along with a number of other languages, making him even more suited for the post, the prime minister explains.Mr. Olmert is also considering throwing his support behind former Prisoner of Zion Natan Sharansky, who recently announced his resignation from politics. He has accepted a position in Jerusalem’s prestigious Shalem Center.
Sharansky served in the past as a cabinet minister and is respected worldwide for his published views regarding issues of human rights and terrorism. He sat in Soviet prison for close to a decade because of his struggle to emigrate from the former USSR to Israel.Other candidates on the horizon include Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. A child survivor of the atrocities of the Holocaust like Wiesel, Rabbi Lau is perhaps best know for his ability to articulate traditional Jewish views and his tenacious efforts to bridge the gap between Jews. While identified with the ultra-Orthodox world and uncompromising in his observance, Rabbi Lau continues to exhibit a policy of tolerance and respect, preferring to utilize dialogue and understanding as his weapons.
Other names of likely candidates include former Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who enjoys wide support in the Knesset. However, the prime minister is unlikely to support Rivlin, who remained in the Likud Party when Olmert and his supporters left to join Ariel Sharon’s Kadima Party. Since the break-away from Likud, Rivlin and Olmert have been political rivals. Senior Labor Party official Minister Binyamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer is also a candidate, but few believe he has a realistic chance.Vice Premier Shimon Peres has already signaled he too may run for the post. Peres lost to Katzav six years ago in the secret Knesset vote.
Many analysts believe that despite being among the most respected politicians in the world, Peres would not take a chance on running once again for office. Peres, 83, is widely known in Israel as The Loser, barely ever having won an election. The president, Israel’s head of state, is elected to a five-year term by a majority of the Knesset in a secret ballot. The president can be reelected for only one more consecutive term.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:20,30-31
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES
NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
North Korea calls UN sanctions a declaration of war
PM - Tuesday, 17 October , 2006 18:26:00,Reporter: Shane McLeod
MARK COLVIN: There's a growing fear among North Korea's neighbours that the world's newest nuclear power is about to conduct a second atomic test.The US, using what's assumed to be sensitive chemical-sniffing satellite technology, has now let it be known that last Monday's underground blast was indeed a nuclear device.But there's been persistent speculation that it didn't deliver the explosive power that the North Korean leadership had been hoping for.While diplomacy continues, an official statement from North Korea called the UN Sanctions Resolution a declaration of war.
North Asia Correspondent Shane McLeod.
SHANE McLEOD: Intelligence sources in the United States quoted by the New York Times say last week's test was a nuclear device, and most likely used plutonium.
That's given some analysts cause for hope because plutonium would have come from North Korea's older nuclear program, and not enriched uranium process it's believed to have started using technology imported from Pakistan.But the news came along with reports that North Korea may be planning another test of its nuclear capability.
US intelligence sources have spotted truck movements near a site in the northern Hamyong province that could be preparations for another test.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading for Tokyo today and she says another test would be provocative.
CONDOLEEZA RICE: I think it goes to say that that would further deepen the isolation of North Korea and I hope they would not take such a provocative act.Because people went out of their way in this resolution, to have a strong and firm hand, and strong and firm response, but to leave open a door for North Korea to take a different course if it wishes to do so.
SHANE McLEOD: Speculation about another test has been confirmed by South Korea and Japan.In Tokyo, Government
Spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki wouldn't go into detail.
(Sounds of Yasuhisa Shiozaki speaking) We know there are many media reports, he says. But we are continuously exchanging intelligence, so I shouldn't go into detail.After conducting its first nuclear test a week ago Pyongyang has been widely expected to follow it up with another.Dr Lee Sang-Hyun is the Director of Security Studies at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. He believes another nuclear test is North Korea's most probable response, to the imposition of sanctions by the UN Security Council.
LEE SANG-HYUN: Of course there are other options as well, for example, North Korea may intentionally increase the tension around the Korean peninsula. For example, a minor clash in (inaudible).Or some minor provocation along the demilitarized zone.
But I think in the context of a nuclear crisis, probably a second nuclear test will be most probable and likely option that North Korea can do.
SHANE McLEOD: The diplomatic effort is focused on a united approach to implementing the Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang.China's opposition to a cargo inspection regime is well known but reports out of China suggest that Beijing may be imposing other controls aimed at punishing North Korea.One news agency says that banks in areas along the border have told customers they've stopped all foreign exchange with North Korea.And there have been signs of stepped up inspections of trucks heading across the border.The US chief negotiator on North Korea, Christopher Hill, has set out what the diplomatic deal making is now focused on.Not North Korea's return to the six country talks on its nuclear programs, but for Pyongyang to start implementing a deal it agreed to at those talks more than a year ago.
CHRISTOPHER HILL: We want this Security Council resolution to be effective in bringing North Korea around to implementing its obligations under the joint statement.
SHANE McLEOD: It's a position the other countries lined up against North Korea can be expected to endorse.But their cohesion may disappear if North Korea proceeds with another demonstration of its nuclear technology.This is Shane McLeod reporting for
PM.
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
Europe fears RFID privacy threat Tuesday October 17, 04:12 PM By Tom Espiner, ZDNet UK
Many individuals and organisations are concerned about the privacy implications of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, according to the European Commission.
A six-month study into RFID, which culminated on Monday, found that people worry their privacy may be infringed through loss of control of the data collected via the use of radio tags.Information and Media Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said Europeans needed assurance that radio tags would not be used for large-scale surveillance, and said she would consider legislation concerning RFID andprivacy.The overriding message that comes out of the consultation is that citizens have concerns over privacy issues,said Reding, in a speech on Monday.
The large majority are willing to be convinced that RFID can bring benefits but they want to be reassured that it will not compromise their privacy. This is the deal that we have to strike if we want RFID to be accepted and widely taken up. This is the deal I am looking to make,Reding added. Almost 2,200 people took part in the survey. Seventy percent thought it was important to label tags and give consumers the opportunity to disable or destroy them. RFID tags can be used in supply chains to help companies track their stock from the supplier to the shop floor, and possibly beyond. They are being tested by many retailers, and are also being trialled in a range of environments. One kind of tag has been recently developed to track passengers at airports.
The RFID industry has argued that self-regulation will prevent radio-tagging being abused. But this has not inspired confidence in the survey participants, with just 15 percent of respondents believing industry would do well to regulate its use of RFID.Over half of survey participants said that legislation was needed to that ensure RFID tags and any information harvested by governments and organisations were not misused.
EU Foreign Ministers Approve 2007 Entry for Bulgaria, Romania
By VOA News ,17 October 2006
European Union foreign ministers have formally endorsed the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the bloc on January 1, 2007.The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, urged Sofia and Bucharest to continue judicial reforms and improve efforts for dealing with organized crime and corruption. Earlier this year, the European Commission suggested what it called a series of safeguard measures,which give the 25-member bloc financial leverage over the two countries. The measures will allow the EU's top executive body to limit Bulgarian or Romanian access to European funds if they lag in implementing reforms.The entry of the two countries will enlarge the European Union to 27 members.
Big Powers Split on Proposed Arms Trade Treaty Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service (IPS) Tue Oct 17, 11:56 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - The United Nations is responding positively to a call from peace activists and human rights organisations for a new international treaty to monitor the world's growing 1.1-trillion-dollar global arms trade. A resolution calling for the creation of a group of governmental experts to explore the feasibility of starting work on such a treaty has been gathering strong support.
As of last week, more than 80 governments (out of 192) have co-sponsored the resolution, and many more are telling us they will support it, Anna Macdonald, the manager of the Control Arms Campaign for Oxfam International, told IPS.
The momentum behind the arms trade treaty is building.The lobbying is being led by Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). The campaign, which is supported by 20 Nobel Peace laureates, has been working towards this vote for three years.The world's major arms manufacturers described as the worst culprits are also the most powerful in the United Nations, namely the five permanent members (P-5) of the Security Council: the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.Asked what support the campaign has from the P-5, MacDonald said: The permanent five are split on the treaty.She pointed out that Britain and France are 100 percent behind the treaty.Although Britain has been described as the world's second biggest arms exporter after the United States, it is also one of the resolution's co-sponsors.
However, Russia, China and the United States are among the key sceptics on the treaty, she added.Macdonald also said that three emerging arms exporters Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania have come out in support of the arms trade treaty for the first time.Other first time supporters include countries that have been devastated by armed violence, including Colombia, East Timor, Haiti, Liberia and Rwanda, she added.
The resolution will come up for a vote sometime next week in the U.N.'s committee on disarmament and international security, and will later go before the 192-member General Assembly for ratification, perhaps by late November or early December. Clearly, there's another week of discussions to go,Macdonald told IPS, But as it stands, the groundswell of support for the resolution is growing with every day that passes.In a statement released Monday, IANSA's U.N. Representative Mark Marge said: Since we started the Control Arms Campaign three years ago, it is estimated that over a million people have been killed by guns and other small arms. Governments must get behind the Arms Trade Treaty.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in June this year that U.S. military spending in both Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to push global military expenditures to a new high in 2006: far above the current 1.1 trillion dollars.According to SIPRI, the United States accounted for 48 percent of total military spending worldwide in 2005.The United States, France and Britain, three of the big powers at the United Nations, are all involved in costly overseas military operations, while the fourth big power, namely China, is modernising its armed forces.In these circumstances, there is a strong likelihood that the current upward trend in world military spending will be sustained in 2006,SIPRI said.Meanwhile, in a report released Monday, the London-based Amnesty International said that lax arms controls fuel conflict and suffering worldwide.
U.N. arms embargoes are like dams against tidal waves; alone they cannot stop weapons flooding in. Only a tough global Arms Trade Treaty could stem the flow of arms to the world's war zones, said Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International. The study points out that bullets from Greece, China, Russia and United States have been found in rebel hands in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).This is believed to be the first time that U.S. and Greek bullets have been recovered from rebel groups in eastern DRC, highlighting the global sources of the arms fuelling fighting in the region, AI said. AI's research, conducted last month, also reveals the origins of a sample of arms and ammunition recovered from rebel groups since the imposition of the U.N. arms embargo in 2003.
Small arms made in Russia, China, Serbia and South Africa were also found.
The study also said an estimated 3.9 million people have been killed as a result of conflict in the DRC since 1998.
Fighting continues in eastern DRC despite a peace deal in 2002, fuelled by weapons and ammunition from around the world. Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, said that rebel groups in the eastern DRC have an appalling track record of rape, torture and killing of civilians as well as a history of using children as soldiers.That bullets from so many countries have fuelled these abuses is yet another indication that an Arms Trade Treaty must become a reality, Khan added.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Quake near Pacific island of Vanuatu 2 minutes ago
SYDNEY, Australia - A magnitude 6.2 earthquake rumbled deep below the earth's surface off the Pacific island of Vanuatu on Wednesday, but no damage or injuries were reported. The quake struck 86 miles below the seabed off the coast of Vanuatu at 9:45 p.m., according to the U.S. Geological Survey. It was centered about 195 miles northwest of the capital, Port Vila. No tsunami warning was issued.Vanuatu, formerly the New Hebrides Islands, is made up of 13 main islands located about 1,400 miles east of Australia.The archipelago nation is part of the Pacific ring of fire, and earthquakes of this magnitude are common in the region.
Earlier this month, another magnitude 6.2 earthquake struck near Vanuatu, but caused no damage or injuries.
Small quake rumbles north Calif. coast Wed Oct 18, 12:21 AM ET
EUREKA, Calif. - A small earthquake about 90 miles off the northern California coast Tuesday generated no reports of damage or injuries, the Humboldt County Sheriff's Department said.
We didn't feel a thing, said Brenda Godsey, a sheriff's department spokeswoman in Eureka.The magnitude-4.9 quake's epicenter was located about 260 miles northwest of San Francisco, according to a preliminary report issued by the U.S. Geological Survey.The USGS said it received reports from people who felt the temblor in the San Francisco Bay area, including San Jose.
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.
Two Greek islands declared disaster areas after night of floods
Wed Oct 18, 7:08 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - Two Greek Aegean islands and an entire prefecture in northwestern Crete were in a state of emergency after overnight storms flooded homes, businesses and hotels across the region, the Greek Civil Protection Authority has said. The Greek fire department was called out Wednesday to drain water from dozens of buildings and rescue people trapped inside their cars in Hania prefecture on Crete, a major tourist destination attracting thousands of visitors every year.Flood-related damage was also reported across the northern coast of Crete in the cities of Heraklion and Rethymnon, and on the islands of Astypalaia and Leros, the civil protection authority told AFP.
With the amount of mud that washed down, it is fortunate that we do not have any victims, Aegean Minister Aristotelis Pavlidis told NET state television.On Astypalaia, local police rescued an elderly man carried away by rushing water, and local authorities said landslides had clogged some of the island's roads.The road network has been damaged, some parts are actually dangerous to drive on,Astypalaia mayor Panormitis Kontaratos told NET state television.A planned damage-assessing visit by the minister was delayed on Wednesday because of poor weather, which also forced the cancellation of a local flight between the islands of Rhodes and Kastellorizo, NET reported.The southern Aegean was struck by a storm front on Tuesday with gale-force winds that reached 10 points on the Beaufort scale, disrupting traffic between the Greek islands and forcing many ships to port.Most scheduled services from the Athens ports of Piraeus and Rafina were cancelled on Wednesday, with an exception made for ships sailing to the Saronic Gulf islands a short distance from the capital, the merchant marine ministry said.
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
HAWAI'I BRIEFS,Severe storms hit Big Island, Kaua'i
Flooding forced the partial closure last night of a section of the Big Island's Akoni Pule Highway, the major coastal roadway in North Kohala.Troy Kindred, Hawai'i County Civil Defense administrator, said at 8:45 p.m. there was 3 feet of water on the highway at the 5-mile marker, where a bridge was damaged in Sunday's earthquake. Officials kept one lane of the highway open.Hilo and Puna, meanwhile, were experiencing heavy rains and lightning.At 10:43 p.m. last night the weather service issued a severe thunderstorm warning for Kaua'i. The warning said the storm could produce nickel-sized hail and winds of more than 60 mph.The weather service said the storm would affect Kaua'i from Barking Sands to Polihale.
COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL
EZEKIEL 38:10-19
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.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel.
LARRY ZOLF: Politics
Ignatieff, Harper and Israel,CBC News Viewpoint,October 17, 2006
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Veteran journalist and Canadian political expert Larry Zolf is a regular contributor to CBC News Online. Larry has been a critic, reporter, producer and consultant for CBC news and current affairs since he joined the CBC in 1962. Born and raised in North End Winnipeg, the hotbed of general strikes and socialism, Larry has covered stories such as integration in Mississippi and the October Crisis in Quebec. He was one of the hosts of the CBCs flagship current affairs television show This Hour Has 7 Days.He is now retired.
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When Michael Ignatieff recently described an Israeli bombing that killed at least 28 civilians in the Lebanese village of Qana as a war crime, he launched another row about Israel in the midst of the Liberal leadership race. The leadership front-runner had earlier aroused a controversy by saying the deaths in Qana wouldn't cost him any sleep. Then he made the war crimes comment during an interview with Radio-Canada, the CBC's French-language network. Although he apologized for it repeatedly, the comment was to say the least insensitive towards Israel and the Canadian Jewish community that so consistently supports it. Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Ignatieff on it, alleging that most of the candidates vying for the leadership of the Liberal party hold an anti-Israeli position.
Harper is right.
Catering to Liberal party's left wing
Ignatieff made the comment to cater to the left wing of the federal Liberal party, where he doesn't have strong support. That wing is definitely not pro-Israel it sees Israel as being in bed with U.S. President George W. Bush to the tune of billions in aid and high-tech weaponry.
The left wing feels Israel was way too disproportionate in launching weeks of air strikes and land invasions in Lebanon in the summer in response to the shelling of its own towns and cities by the Lebanon-based militant organization Hezbollah These left-of-centre Liberals feel Israel is not doing enough to help create a Palestinian state. It is the left wing of the Liberal party that is most similar to the NDP, whose bias against Israel is blatant. To the New Democrats, everything Israel does is wrong. The NDP and these left Liberals see Israel not as a democracy but as an American branch plant in the Middle East.
Bashing Israel to expand his Quebec base?
Ignatieff may also have been catering to another group with his comment, albeit perhaps subconsciously. Ignatieff has been campaigning hard on a pro-Quebec ticket, where his policy to recognize Quebec as a nation has put him in the lead. And anti-Israel feelings are extraordinarily high in Quebec. Many people in the province seem to view Israel as a Bush puppet state and sympathy for Lebanon during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict was high in the province, with anti-Israel feelings bordering on the anti-Semitic.
Ignatieff may be unconsciously playing crude, crass politics with Israel and with the Jewish Canadian community that supports it, bashing Israel to help expand his Quebec base.
Harper a true friend of Israel
Viewed from that perspective, Harper's comments about the Liberal left and Israel make sense. Harper is a true friend of Israel. To Harper, there is a difference between terrorists like Hezbollah and Hamas, which have both been listed by Canada as terrorist organizations, and the democratic state of Israel. Harper was once again merely rising to the defence of Israel as he had recently done at the La Francophonie summit when he opposed a proposed resolution that would have recognized the suffering of only the people of Lebanon. He forced the organization to adopt a resolution that also recognized Israel's suffering. Harper is doing more than just playing politics. Certainly, by attacking Liberals on their soft stand on Israel, the prime minister is painting the Conservatives as the only party that truly recognizes Israel's worth and welcoming the Canadian Jewish community to join them.
Harper understands and agrees with the Canadian Jewish community's loyalty toward Israel and its outrage at Ignatieff's remarks. Harper agrees with Israel that the attack on Qana was a mistake the Israeli military later admitted it had made an error and thought all the civilians had fled the village and was anything but a war crime.
Harper not afraid to take unpopular stance
Israel's linkage with Bush and Harper in the war against terrorism and its massive bombing of Lebanon has not made Israel popular in Quebec and other parts of Canada but Harper has embraced Israel nonetheless. What Ignatieff and the left Liberals have proved to the Canadian Jewish community and Israel is that Harper and Bush are really Israel's best friends. The outraged cries of the Liberal candidates Harper has described as mostly anti-Israel are really the cries of a party that has played fast and loose with Israel.
Unlike Ignatieff, who is bending himself into a pretzel over his Israel fiasco, Harper has never played fast and loose with Israel and the Canadian Jewish community.Unlike Ignatieff, Harper does not have to plan sudden trips to Israel and Palestine as a fact-finding, face-saving exercise. Harper is a man of his word. Harper's friends and allies are his friends and allies. Israel is Canada's friend and ally and Harper is not afraid to say so.
No Agreement on Lieberman´s Five Points
By Nissan Ratzlav-Katz(INN)
Foreign Minister Tzippy Livni said Tuesday that Jewish unauthorized outposts will be destroyed, regardless of demands by prospective coalition partner Avigdor Lieberman. Destroying the outposts is on the government's agenda and Lieberman must come to terms with that,Livni told reporters. While she said she would be happy to see the government widening and becoming more stable, it would have to be based on its own principles.Not uprooting the outposts is one of five preconditions Lieberman's Yisrael Beiteinu party has laid down to joining the Olmert government. The othera of his five points are:
- Changing the government to one of direct presidential elections, including a constitution;
- Establishing a state commission of inquiry to investigate what is felt to be the mismanagement of the recent war with Hizbullah terrorists in southern Lebanon;
- Officially ending Olmert's convergence (unilateral withdrawal) plan; and
- Passing a law that would allow civil marriage.
Yisrael Beiteinu's bill calling for election reform and a change in the structure of government will undergo a preliminary vote in the Knesset plenum next Wednesday. Lieberman has said that his party would not enter the coalition government if the bill does not pass.There is no doubt that if the bill passes it will eliminate many points of contention [with coalition leaders],Lieberman told reporters on Monday. However, he added that there are no negotiations currently underway between his party and the Kadima-led coalition: We have no ideology to sit in the coalition. and I am not looking for excuses to sit in the opposition. Everything is open.
Meanwhile, the Shas party has threatened to quit the coalition if Olmert agrees to Yisrael Beiteinu's precondition regarding a change in the current marriage laws to permit civil administrative marriages.Vice Premier Shimon Peres (Kadima) said Sunday that he is not opposed to Yisrael Beiteinu joining the government as long as there are no changes to the government's coalition guidelines.
In an interview with Arutz-7 Hebrew Radio on Tuesday, MK Rabbi Yitzchak Levy (National Union-NRP) said he was convinced Lieberman's party would not enter the government, particularly in light of the prime minister's comments yesterday that he is committed to the current coalition guidelines. I am surprised at Lieberman, who wants to be a national-camp leader. It looks like he is rushing and crawling to get in, and that he wants to be on the inside.MK Levy added that the discussion of Yisrael Beiteinu joining the coalition appears to him to be more of a political manipulation than a serious plan. If Lieberman were to join the government, Levy added, it would only harm him, because within a year, there will be reports from the committees investigating the war [in Lebanon], which will obligate everyone sitting in the government. Furthermore, MK Levy estimated that if Labor remains in the coalition, Lieberman's influence in such a coalition would be minimal. This government is unfit to lead the country, Levy said, and we must wait for further developments and create a better government.
PM Sets His Sights on Nobel Laureate Wiesel for the Presidency
By Yechiel Spira(INN)
In a surprise move, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is suggesting a new candidate for president not an Israeli, but Nobel Prize Laureate Elie Wiesel.In a surprise move, the prime minister suggested Wiesel as a possible candidate to replace President Moshe Katzav.
While Mr. Olmert has been careful not to publicly undermine the president, it is now apparent that Mr. Katzav will likely be compelled to step down from office in the near future. Katzav will likely be facing a multi-count criminal indictment and his future will be determined by the outcome of the judicial proceedings against him.Olmert has made it clear that he prefers a president who does not emerge from the ranks of the political arena, as was the case with Katzav and others. Wiesel, who is internationally acclaimed, has been awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize and is widely respected internationally.
Wiesel, a Holocaust survivor, would be compelled to move to Israel if he accepts the nomination and is elected, and would immediately be granted Israeli citizenship. Olmert pointed out that selecting a non-Israeli for the post is not without precedent; Albert Einstein was encouraged to move to Israel to serve as Israel's president in its early days, but he turned down the offer.Mr. Wiesel speaks Hebrew, along with a number of other languages, making him even more suited for the post, the prime minister explains.Mr. Olmert is also considering throwing his support behind former Prisoner of Zion Natan Sharansky, who recently announced his resignation from politics. He has accepted a position in Jerusalem’s prestigious Shalem Center.
Sharansky served in the past as a cabinet minister and is respected worldwide for his published views regarding issues of human rights and terrorism. He sat in Soviet prison for close to a decade because of his struggle to emigrate from the former USSR to Israel.Other candidates on the horizon include Tel Aviv Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau. A child survivor of the atrocities of the Holocaust like Wiesel, Rabbi Lau is perhaps best know for his ability to articulate traditional Jewish views and his tenacious efforts to bridge the gap between Jews. While identified with the ultra-Orthodox world and uncompromising in his observance, Rabbi Lau continues to exhibit a policy of tolerance and respect, preferring to utilize dialogue and understanding as his weapons.
Other names of likely candidates include former Knesset Speaker Reuven Rivlin, who enjoys wide support in the Knesset. However, the prime minister is unlikely to support Rivlin, who remained in the Likud Party when Olmert and his supporters left to join Ariel Sharon’s Kadima Party. Since the break-away from Likud, Rivlin and Olmert have been political rivals. Senior Labor Party official Minister Binyamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer is also a candidate, but few believe he has a realistic chance.Vice Premier Shimon Peres has already signaled he too may run for the post. Peres lost to Katzav six years ago in the secret Knesset vote.
Many analysts believe that despite being among the most respected politicians in the world, Peres would not take a chance on running once again for office. Peres, 83, is widely known in Israel as The Loser, barely ever having won an election. The president, Israel’s head of state, is elected to a five-year term by a majority of the Knesset in a secret ballot. The president can be reelected for only one more consecutive term.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:20,30-31
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES
NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
North Korea calls UN sanctions a declaration of war
PM - Tuesday, 17 October , 2006 18:26:00,Reporter: Shane McLeod
MARK COLVIN: There's a growing fear among North Korea's neighbours that the world's newest nuclear power is about to conduct a second atomic test.The US, using what's assumed to be sensitive chemical-sniffing satellite technology, has now let it be known that last Monday's underground blast was indeed a nuclear device.But there's been persistent speculation that it didn't deliver the explosive power that the North Korean leadership had been hoping for.While diplomacy continues, an official statement from North Korea called the UN Sanctions Resolution a declaration of war.
North Asia Correspondent Shane McLeod.
SHANE McLEOD: Intelligence sources in the United States quoted by the New York Times say last week's test was a nuclear device, and most likely used plutonium.
That's given some analysts cause for hope because plutonium would have come from North Korea's older nuclear program, and not enriched uranium process it's believed to have started using technology imported from Pakistan.But the news came along with reports that North Korea may be planning another test of its nuclear capability.
US intelligence sources have spotted truck movements near a site in the northern Hamyong province that could be preparations for another test.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is heading for Tokyo today and she says another test would be provocative.
CONDOLEEZA RICE: I think it goes to say that that would further deepen the isolation of North Korea and I hope they would not take such a provocative act.Because people went out of their way in this resolution, to have a strong and firm hand, and strong and firm response, but to leave open a door for North Korea to take a different course if it wishes to do so.
SHANE McLEOD: Speculation about another test has been confirmed by South Korea and Japan.In Tokyo, Government
Spokesman Yasuhisa Shiozaki wouldn't go into detail.
(Sounds of Yasuhisa Shiozaki speaking) We know there are many media reports, he says. But we are continuously exchanging intelligence, so I shouldn't go into detail.After conducting its first nuclear test a week ago Pyongyang has been widely expected to follow it up with another.Dr Lee Sang-Hyun is the Director of Security Studies at the Sejong Institute in Seoul. He believes another nuclear test is North Korea's most probable response, to the imposition of sanctions by the UN Security Council.
LEE SANG-HYUN: Of course there are other options as well, for example, North Korea may intentionally increase the tension around the Korean peninsula. For example, a minor clash in (inaudible).Or some minor provocation along the demilitarized zone.
But I think in the context of a nuclear crisis, probably a second nuclear test will be most probable and likely option that North Korea can do.
SHANE McLEOD: The diplomatic effort is focused on a united approach to implementing the Security Council sanctions on Pyongyang.China's opposition to a cargo inspection regime is well known but reports out of China suggest that Beijing may be imposing other controls aimed at punishing North Korea.One news agency says that banks in areas along the border have told customers they've stopped all foreign exchange with North Korea.And there have been signs of stepped up inspections of trucks heading across the border.The US chief negotiator on North Korea, Christopher Hill, has set out what the diplomatic deal making is now focused on.Not North Korea's return to the six country talks on its nuclear programs, but for Pyongyang to start implementing a deal it agreed to at those talks more than a year ago.
CHRISTOPHER HILL: We want this Security Council resolution to be effective in bringing North Korea around to implementing its obligations under the joint statement.
SHANE McLEOD: It's a position the other countries lined up against North Korea can be expected to endorse.But their cohesion may disappear if North Korea proceeds with another demonstration of its nuclear technology.This is Shane McLeod reporting for
PM.
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
Europe fears RFID privacy threat Tuesday October 17, 04:12 PM By Tom Espiner, ZDNet UK
Many individuals and organisations are concerned about the privacy implications of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags, according to the European Commission.
A six-month study into RFID, which culminated on Monday, found that people worry their privacy may be infringed through loss of control of the data collected via the use of radio tags.Information and Media Society Commissioner Viviane Reding said Europeans needed assurance that radio tags would not be used for large-scale surveillance, and said she would consider legislation concerning RFID andprivacy.The overriding message that comes out of the consultation is that citizens have concerns over privacy issues,said Reding, in a speech on Monday.
The large majority are willing to be convinced that RFID can bring benefits but they want to be reassured that it will not compromise their privacy. This is the deal that we have to strike if we want RFID to be accepted and widely taken up. This is the deal I am looking to make,Reding added. Almost 2,200 people took part in the survey. Seventy percent thought it was important to label tags and give consumers the opportunity to disable or destroy them. RFID tags can be used in supply chains to help companies track their stock from the supplier to the shop floor, and possibly beyond. They are being tested by many retailers, and are also being trialled in a range of environments. One kind of tag has been recently developed to track passengers at airports.
The RFID industry has argued that self-regulation will prevent radio-tagging being abused. But this has not inspired confidence in the survey participants, with just 15 percent of respondents believing industry would do well to regulate its use of RFID.Over half of survey participants said that legislation was needed to that ensure RFID tags and any information harvested by governments and organisations were not misused.
EU Foreign Ministers Approve 2007 Entry for Bulgaria, Romania
By VOA News ,17 October 2006
European Union foreign ministers have formally endorsed the entry of Bulgaria and Romania into the bloc on January 1, 2007.The ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, urged Sofia and Bucharest to continue judicial reforms and improve efforts for dealing with organized crime and corruption. Earlier this year, the European Commission suggested what it called a series of safeguard measures,which give the 25-member bloc financial leverage over the two countries. The measures will allow the EU's top executive body to limit Bulgarian or Romanian access to European funds if they lag in implementing reforms.The entry of the two countries will enlarge the European Union to 27 members.
Big Powers Split on Proposed Arms Trade Treaty Thalif Deen, Inter Press Service (IPS) Tue Oct 17, 11:56 AM ET
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 17 (IPS) - The United Nations is responding positively to a call from peace activists and human rights organisations for a new international treaty to monitor the world's growing 1.1-trillion-dollar global arms trade. A resolution calling for the creation of a group of governmental experts to explore the feasibility of starting work on such a treaty has been gathering strong support.
As of last week, more than 80 governments (out of 192) have co-sponsored the resolution, and many more are telling us they will support it, Anna Macdonald, the manager of the Control Arms Campaign for Oxfam International, told IPS.
The momentum behind the arms trade treaty is building.The lobbying is being led by Oxfam International, Amnesty International and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). The campaign, which is supported by 20 Nobel Peace laureates, has been working towards this vote for three years.The world's major arms manufacturers described as the worst culprits are also the most powerful in the United Nations, namely the five permanent members (P-5) of the Security Council: the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia.Asked what support the campaign has from the P-5, MacDonald said: The permanent five are split on the treaty.She pointed out that Britain and France are 100 percent behind the treaty.Although Britain has been described as the world's second biggest arms exporter after the United States, it is also one of the resolution's co-sponsors.
However, Russia, China and the United States are among the key sceptics on the treaty, she added.Macdonald also said that three emerging arms exporters Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania have come out in support of the arms trade treaty for the first time.Other first time supporters include countries that have been devastated by armed violence, including Colombia, East Timor, Haiti, Liberia and Rwanda, she added.
The resolution will come up for a vote sometime next week in the U.N.'s committee on disarmament and international security, and will later go before the 192-member General Assembly for ratification, perhaps by late November or early December. Clearly, there's another week of discussions to go,Macdonald told IPS, But as it stands, the groundswell of support for the resolution is growing with every day that passes.In a statement released Monday, IANSA's U.N. Representative Mark Marge said: Since we started the Control Arms Campaign three years ago, it is estimated that over a million people have been killed by guns and other small arms. Governments must get behind the Arms Trade Treaty.The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) said in June this year that U.S. military spending in both Iraq and Afghanistan is expected to push global military expenditures to a new high in 2006: far above the current 1.1 trillion dollars.According to SIPRI, the United States accounted for 48 percent of total military spending worldwide in 2005.The United States, France and Britain, three of the big powers at the United Nations, are all involved in costly overseas military operations, while the fourth big power, namely China, is modernising its armed forces.In these circumstances, there is a strong likelihood that the current upward trend in world military spending will be sustained in 2006,SIPRI said.Meanwhile, in a report released Monday, the London-based Amnesty International said that lax arms controls fuel conflict and suffering worldwide.
U.N. arms embargoes are like dams against tidal waves; alone they cannot stop weapons flooding in. Only a tough global Arms Trade Treaty could stem the flow of arms to the world's war zones, said Jeremy Hobbs, Director of Oxfam International. The study points out that bullets from Greece, China, Russia and United States have been found in rebel hands in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).This is believed to be the first time that U.S. and Greek bullets have been recovered from rebel groups in eastern DRC, highlighting the global sources of the arms fuelling fighting in the region, AI said. AI's research, conducted last month, also reveals the origins of a sample of arms and ammunition recovered from rebel groups since the imposition of the U.N. arms embargo in 2003.
Small arms made in Russia, China, Serbia and South Africa were also found.
The study also said an estimated 3.9 million people have been killed as a result of conflict in the DRC since 1998.
Fighting continues in eastern DRC despite a peace deal in 2002, fuelled by weapons and ammunition from around the world. Irene Khan, secretary general of Amnesty International, said that rebel groups in the eastern DRC have an appalling track record of rape, torture and killing of civilians as well as a history of using children as soldiers.That bullets from so many countries have fuelled these abuses is yet another indication that an Arms Trade Treaty must become a reality, Khan added.
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