1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Snow continues in parts of Plains. 3-Jewish Calendar in Action. 4-Hundreds flock to see Saddam's gravesite. 5-Aussies usher '07 with Sydney fireworks. 6-Another enlargement for the European Union. 7-CHRONOLOGY-Messages attributed to al Qaeda. 8-2006: A year of fear, storms and elections.
MAY THE PROMISE OF A NEW YEAR FILL YOUR HEART WITH HOPE, AND PEACE AND JOY PRAISE THE GOD OF ISRAEL (KING JESUS) FOR EVERY SECOND OF IT. STAN L BOWMAN JR HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007.
DON'T FORGET TO GIVE TO INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS, JACK VAN IMPE, TO WIN SOULS FOR CHRIST AND TO HELP HUNGRY ISRAELIS, AND TO HELP ISRAELIS COME TO ISRAEL.
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.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Mon Jan 01 2007 12:01 AM EDT HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL IN THE WHOLE WORLD
DEC 31,06
MAP 5.5 NEUQUEN, ARGENTINA
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
DEC 30,06
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN ALGERIA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP 3.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OREGON
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.3 GULF OF ADEN
MAP 5.0 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
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.
Snow continues in parts of Plains B. Bernard, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sun Dec 31, 12:13 PM ET
Wind-driven snow continues to coat portions of the Great Plains today. A heavy snow warning has been posted for parts of northwest Iowa and a small portion of southwest Minnesota.
Winter storm warnings extend in a patchwork fashion from north-central Kansas to northeast Minnesota. Four to eight inches of snow are expected to pile up by this evening in the area under the heavy snow warning. Lesser amounts are likely elsewhere. Expect difficult travel over I-70 in northeast Kansas, I-80 in southeast Nebraska and southwest Iowa, and I-29 in northwest Iowa. Another area of concern, but not until late tonight, is in the Northeast. A freezing rain advisory is in effect beginning at midnight for portions of northern New York state and southern Vermont. No major icing is expected, however.
SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE (NOT THE WORLD) THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER.
GENESIS 1:14
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:(ISRAELS HOLY DAYS AND SABBATH STARTS AT 6PM) And for SIGNS (PROPHECY SIGNS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OUR DAY)
Jewish Calendar in Action
By Hillel Fendel (INN) DEC 31,06
Today, the 10th of Tevet, is a day of fasting, commemorating the siege of Jerusalem led by Nebuchadnezzar - the ancient Babylonian despot of whom Saddam Hussein claimed to be a reincarnation. Just a day after the hanging of Saddam Hussein, Jews around the world remember another cruel tyrant - Saddam's self-proclaimed role model - and his murderous plans for the Jewish People. Nebuchadnezzar was more successful than Saddam in this regard, in that he destroyed Jerusalem and the Holy Temple, and put hundreds of thousands of Jews, including the nation's king and leaders, to death with unspeakable cruelty.On this day, the 10th of Tevet, Nebuchadnezzar instated a tight siege on Jerusalem, setting off the chain of events that led to the destruction of the First Holy Temple and a 70-year exile of the Jewish People from their Holy Land. Today, nearly 2,500 years later, Jews around the world - and especially in the modern renewed edition of the Jewish State that Nebuchadnezzar tried to rub out - refrain from eating and drinking until sunset to remember the calamities that occurred at that time.Saddam Hussein, who was hanged yesterday in
Baghdad, just 90 kilometers from Nebuchadnezzar's palace in the ancient city of Babyon, modeled himself in many ways after Nebuchadnezzar.
Much of the brickwork in the throne room of King Nebuchadnezzar's palace, for instance, was built by Saddam Hussein's workers. Just as the original bricks are inscribed with words praising Nebuchadnezzar, the newer ones - 60 million of them! - state that they were fashioned in the era of Saddam Hussein, protector of Iraq, who rebuilt civilization and rebuilt Babylon.
In addition, in his book Saddam Hussein, the Stairway to Heaven and the Return of Planet X, William Henry writes, Saddam is saying he is the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar... He is attempting to recreate and outdo the feats of the biblical king... It is well known that [he] has connected himself with Nebuchadnezzar, spending over $500 million during the 1980s on the reconstruction and the re-establishment of ancient Babylon, the capitol of Nebuchadnezzar.Nebuchadnezzar was Divinely changed into an animal for a period of time - an event that many recalled when the once-opulent Saddam Hussein was captured two and a half years ago living in nearly animal-like conditions.The Tenth of Tevet has also taken on another facet, in connection with the Holocaust. Many bereaved Jews who do not know the date or place of death of their loved ones recite Kaddish, the Jewish prayer for those who have died, on this day. For this reason, some consider this day as a Holocaust remembrance day.Yishai Fleisher contributed to this article.
Hundreds flock to see Saddam's gravesite By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer DEC 31,06
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Hundreds of Iraqis flocked to the village where Saddam Hussein was born on Sunday to see the deposed leader buried in a religious compound 24 hours after his execution. There was no sign of a feared Sunni uprising in retaliation for Saddam's hanging, and the bloodshed on Saturday was not far off the daily average — 92 from bombings and death squads. Also Saturday, a roadside bomb killed one American soldier and wounded two in Baghdad, the U.S. military said Sunday. At least 2,999 U.S. service members have been killed since the war began in 2003, according to an Associated Press count.At Saddam's funeral, dozens of relatives and others, some of them crying and moaning, attended the interment shortly before dawn in Ouja. A few knelt before his flag-draped grave. A large framed photograph of Saddam was propped up on a chair nearby.I condemn the way he was executed and I consider it a crime, said 45-year-old Salam Hassan al-Nasseri, one of Saddam's clansmen who attended the interment in the village just outside Tikrit, 80 miles north of Baghdad. Some 2,000 Iraqis traveled to the village as well.Mohammed Natiq, a 24-year-old college student, said the path of Arab nationalism must inevitably be paved with blood.God has decided that Saddam Hussein should have such an end, but his march and the course which he followed will not end, Natiq said.Police on Saturday blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air and calling for vengeance.
Saddam was captured in an underground hide-out near Ouja on Dec. 13, 2003, eight months after he fled Baghdad ahead of advancing American troops.His burial place is about two miles from the graves of his sons, Odai and Qusai, in the main town cemetery. The sons and a grandson were killed in a gunbattle with the American forces in Mosul in July 2003.
The head of Saddam's Albu-Nassir's clan said the body showed no signs of mistreatment.We received the body of Saddam Hussein without any complications. There was cooperation by the prime minister and his office's director, the clan chief, Sheik al-Nidaa, told state-run Al-Iraqiya television. We opened the coffin of Saddam. He was cleaned and wrapped according to Islamic teachings. We didn't see any unnatural signs on his body.On Saturday, Iraqis watched television images of a noose being slipped over Saddam's neck and his white-shrouded body, the pre-dawn work of black-hooded hangmen.
They went to bed as new video emerged showing Saddam exchanging taunts with onlookers before the gallows floor dropped away and the former dictator swung from the rope.In Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Sadr City on Saturday, victims of his three decades of autocratic rule took to the streets to celebrate, dancing, beating drums and hanging Saddam in effigy. Celebratory gunfire erupted across other Shiite neighborhoods in Baghdad and other predominantly Shiite regions of the country.
Outside the Sunni insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, west of the capital, loyalists marched with Saddam pictures and waved Iraqi flags. Defying curfews, hundreds took to the streets vowing revenge in Samarra, north of Baghdad.Still, authorities imposed curfews sparingly in contrast to the several-day lockdown put in place after Saddam was sentenced to death Nov. 5.
By several accounts, Saddam was calm but scornful of his captors, engaging in a give-and-take with the crowd gathered to watch him die and insisting he was Iraq's savior, not its tyrant and scourge.He said we are going to heaven and our enemies will rot in hell and he also called for forgiveness and love among Iraqis but also stressed that the Iraqis should fight the Americans and the Persians, Munir Haddad, an appeals court judge who witnessed the hanging, told the British Broadcasting Corp.Another witness, national security adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie, told The New York Times that one of the guards shouted at Saddam: You have destroyed us. You have killed us. You have made us live in destitution.
I have saved you from destitution and misery and destroyed your enemies, the Persian and Americans, Saddam responded, al-Rubaie told the Times. God damn you, the guard said. God damn you, responded Saddam. New video, first broadcast by Al-Jazeera satellite television early Sunday, had sound of someone in the group praising the founder of the Shiite Dawa Party, who was executed in 1980 along with his sister by Saddam. Saddam appeared to smile at those taunting him from below the gallows.
He said they were not showing manhood. Then Saddam began reciting the Shahada, a Muslim prayer that says there is no god but God and Muhammad is his messenger, according to an unabridged copy of the same tape, apparently shot with a camera phone and posted on a Web site. Saddam made it to midway through his second recitation of the verse. His last word was Muhammad.
The floor dropped out of the gallows.
The tyrant has fallen, someone in the group of onlookers shouted. The video showed a close-up of Saddam's face as he swung from the rope. Then came another voice: Let him swing for three minutes. The responses within Iraq to Saddam's death echoed the larger reaction across the Middle East, with his enemies rejoicing and his defenders proclaiming him a martyr. While Iranians and Kuwaitis welcomed the death of the leader who led wars against each of their countries, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the execution prevented exposure of the secrets and crimes the former dictator committed during his brutal rule. Some Arab governments denounced the timing the 69-year-old former president's hanging just before the start of the most important holiday of the Islamic calendar, Eid al-Adha. Libya announced a three-day official mourning period and canceled all celebrations for Eid.
Haider Hamed, a 34-year-old candy store owner in east Baghdad, wondered what would really change after Saddam's execution. He's gone, but our problems continue, said the Shiite Muslim, whose uncle was killed in one of Saddam's many brutal purges.
We brought problems on ourselves after Saddam because we began fighting Shiite on Sunni and Sunni on Shiite. Among minority Sunnis there was deep anger, born not only of Saddam's execution but of the loss of their decades-long political and economic
dominance that began with Saddam's ouster in the U.S. invasion nearly four years ago. There were cheers at the cafeteria of a U.S. outpost in Baghdad as soldiers having breakfast learned Saddam had been hanged. But members of the Army's 2nd Battalion, 17th Field Artillery Regiment, on patrol in an overwhelmingly Shiite neighborhood in eastern Baghdad, said the execution wouldn't get them home any faster — and therefore didn't make much difference. Nothing really changes, said Capt. Dave Eastburn, 30. The militias run everything now, not Saddam.
Aussies usher '07 with Sydney fireworks By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer DEC 31,06
SYDNEY, Australia - Wind-swept revelers gathered around London's Big Ben to watch the fireworks, and thousands of Japanese climbed Mount Fuji and other peaks to watch the first sunrise of the New Year.
But the Thai capital sent celebrants home after a series of evening bombs. Police estimated a million people crammed the shore in Sydney, one of the world's first major cities to greet the New Year, for the fireworks and daylong festivities, some staking their claims to the best view before dawn Sunday and pitching tents in case of rain.A series of evening bombings in Bangkok, Thailand, left two people dead and 34 injured, and the city canceled its major New Year's celebration at the Central World Plaza shopping mall complex, where a crowd of about 5,000 dispersed calmly.No, I'm not scared. I'm from England. There are bomb scares all the time, said Keith Waters, who was with his Thai bride to celebrate the New Year.
Farther west, Philippine police tried to curb New Year casualties by threatening to arrest anyone who set off oversize firecrackers. Television networks were encouraged to show gory footage of fireworks accident victims.Despite the warning, 284 people were injured by firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the two weeks ahead of New Year's Day, a 75 percent rise from last year, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.I have campaigned every day against firecrackers, Duque said. But this has become a deeply rooted part of our culture.Many Filipinos believe noisy New Year celebrations drive away evil and misfortune.In Japan, thousands climbed mountains, some scaling the famed Mount Fuji, to greet the first dawn of the year. Police expected crowds at the summits to reach 15,000.Japanese — ranging from families with children to elderly couples — usually start climbing during the night so they can reach the top in time for sunrise.
Japanese police anticipated the country's major Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines to receive nearly 95 million visitors over the first three days of the new year, as people offer prayers for peace, health and prosperity in one of the few religious rites in which most Japanese regularly take part.In Romania and Bulgaria, midnight was to mark a historic milestone, with the two countries becoming the newest members of the European Union. Outdoor parties were taking place in Bucharest and Sofia.Pope Benedict XVI prayed at a New Year's Eve service in Vatican City that 2007 would bring the world peace, comfort, justice.In Belfast, Northern Ireland, however, the threat of gale-force winds canceled an outdoor concert. Glasgow officials said high winds and rain had forced them to cancel traditional Hogmanay New Year's celebrations in the Scottish city, but Edinburgh said it would go ahead with its
Hogmanay party nonetheless.
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).
Things to look for in 2007 from the EU
THE CONSTITUTION TO GET APPROVED.
FOR 10 OR 13 CORE EU COUNTRIES TO LEAD THE EU.
FOR THE 3 COUNTRY 18 MONTH TERM TO BE ADOPTED FROM THE CONSTITUTION.
FOR THE FOREIGN MINISTERS OFFICE TO TALK FOR ALL THE EU IN INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS.
FOR EU TROOPS TO COME INTO GAZA TO PROTECT ISRAEL.
FOR THE EU TO BECOME THE LEADER IN THE ISRAEL-ARAB PEACE PROCESS.
Another enlargement for the European Union
by Valerie Fenech, di-ve news (valfen@di-ve.com)
BRUSSELS / Malta (di-ve news) December 31, 2006 1505CET The European Union is set for another enlargement at midnight on Sunday as Romania and Bulgaria will be joining the Community on January 01.
This enlargement brings the EU to its fifth enlargement, following the last enlargement in May 2004, where Malta joined together with another nine countries, in what was the largest ever EU enlargement. The Union will now consist of 27 member states. Upon entry, Bulgaria and Romania will become part of a common territory of freedom, democracy and respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law, as it is defined by the treaty on European Union. Different festivities are planned in both Romania and Bulgaria serving as celebrations for joining the EU.
WORLD TERRORISM
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;
2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men
LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.
GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.
ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.
JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.
CHRONOLOGY-Messages attributed to al Qaeda
31 Dec 2006 12:05:10 GMT,Source: Reuters
Dec 31 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahri called on insurgents in Iraq to unite, and urged Palestinian Islamists not to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority, according to a Web audio tape posted on Sunday.Following is a chronology of major statements attributed to Osama bin Laden, Zawahri or their allies in the last six months. At least 38 messages have been broadcast since Al Jazeera aired a statement by bin Laden following the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
June 1 - Al Qaeda in Iraq leader Musab al-Zarqawi calls on fellow Sunnis to reject any reconciliation with infidel Shi'ites, in an audiotape.
June 9 - Zawahri urges Palestinians, in a video, to reject a referendum on a statehood proposal that implicitly recognises Israel.
June 22 - Zawahri vows vengeance against the United States for the death of Zarqawi in a U.S. air strike.
June 30 - Bin Laden praises Zarqawi as a lion of jihad, and vows al Qaeda will continue to fight U.S. forces and their allies everywhere, according to an Internet audiotape.
July 1 - Bin Laden warns Iraq's Shi'ite majority of retaliation for attacks on Sunni Arabs and says his group will fight the United States anywhere in the world.
July 7 - A year on from bombings in London, al Qaeda issues a video with comments from Zawahri, bin Laden and one bomber. Zawahri says bombers Shehzad Tanweer and Mohammad Sidique Khan had been trained in al Qaeda camps.
July 27 - Zawahri, in video statement titled The Zionist-Crusader war on Lebanon and the Palestinians, calls on Muslims to fight attacks on their countries.
Sept. 29 - Zawahri calls U.S. President George W. Bush a lying failure for saying progress had been made in the war on terrorism. He also calls the Pope a charlatan because of his remarks on Islam.
Dec. 20 - Zawahri says that al Qaeda will continue to target Western countries so long as Muslims were under attack. Zawahri says Washington is scrambling for an exit from Iraq and Afghanistan, but is approaching the wrong parties.
-- He also says that elections would not free Palestinian land from Israeli occupation and that any path other than holy war would lead to loss and defeat.
Dec. 31 - Zawahri calls on insurgents in Iraq to unite, and urges Palestinian Islamists not to cooperate with the Palestinian Authority.
-- He also hails any Muslim woman insisting on wearing the Islamic veil despite pressures in some Western countries as a soldier in the battle of Islam against the Zionist-Crusader attack.
2006: A year of fear, storms and elections
By Harry Levins-ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH,12/31/2006
Iraqis protested violence by day, and at night hunted down members of other sects.
(Razak Jaber/AP) A bomb that exploded on Feb. 22 sent shock waves rippling through the rest of the year.The bomb destroyed the dome of a Sunni Muslim shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The damage from that single blast has kept piling up:The explosion detonated a wave of Shiite-Sunni killings. Each tide of bloodshed by one sect generated a retaliatory backlash from the other. The sectarian savagery forced the United States to back away from its earlier musing about a large-scale cut this year in its forces in Iraq. The inability either to win in Iraq or to pull out of Iraq fed growing public unrest. Iraq boiled up as the No. 1 issue in the mid-term congressional elections. Last month, Iraq helped to strip the Republicans of their hold on the Senate and House.On the day after the election, President George W. Bush cashiered the aide with his fingerprints all over the Iraq war, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Soon, White House press briefers stopped saying, Stay the course. On the heels of Rumsfeld’s ouster, the bipartisan Iraq Study Group issued a report that opened with a sobering sentence: The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating. Its theme: Train the Iraqis, and bring the Americans home.Now, Bush is rethinking what to do next, with a decision due after the holidays. Some advisers want a surge in strength in Baghdad, to impose stability. Critics say any such surge would merely hand friendly Iraqis an excuse to procrastinate — and would also hand hostile Iraqis more American targets.
The Republicans also suffered from some self-inflicted wounds.
A campaign finance scandal removed from Congress a big Republican name — Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, former House majority leader. An influence-peddling scandal centering on disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramhoff removed a lesser-known Republican, Ohio’s Bob Ney.But the Republican scandal that grabbed the most eyeballs centered on Rep. Mark Foley of Florida. He quit after publication of his lurid electronic messages to congressional pages.So the Democrats ran up a big edge in the House and a slim one in the Senate. (A footnote to U.S. political history: The Democratic victory will, for the first time, place the House speaker’s gavel in the hands of a woman, Nancy Pelosi of California.)
Also injuring the GOP was grousing by conservatives on two fronts.
First, Bush’s call for a change in immigration laws to accommodate the millions of illegals already here angered many rightist Republicans. They accused Bush of winking at law-breaking. For now, anyway, the issue sits on a back burner.Second, the president’s backing of a plan to let Dubai buy up control over American ports infuriated many on the right — so much so that Bush backed away.Like the immigration melee, the flap over the ports stoked the outrage on talk radio, normally a source of support for Bush. But the president had a bad 12 months — if not an annus horribilis, at least what he recently called a difficult year.
Bad news abroad
Iraq hardly stood alone as source of troubling headlines:In Afghanistan, the once-shattered Taliban pieced themselves together and spun that country into a violently ugly turn.As U.S. prestige ebbed in the Mideast, Iran won new clout — and pressed forward with a nuclear program that could give the Iranians a bomb.North Korea actually tested a nuclear bomb. In terms of physics, the bomb fizzled, mostly. But in terms of international standing, the bomb boosted the Hermit Kingdom into the exclusive club of nuclear powers.Islamists threatened Somalia’s already impotent government. Ethiopia stood up to counter the Islamists — even though their clash could lead to a wider war in the touchy Horn of Africa.When Hezbollah militants snatched a couple of Israeli soldiers, the Israelis reacted with a heavy hand. Weeks of bombing and artillery fire trashed much of Lebanon but failed to bring Hezbollah to heel.Killings, rape and plunder persisted in the Darfur region of Sudan. Despite much talk and more hand-wringing, no outsiders seemed able to stop it.With Israel’s Ariel Sharon stricken from the scene by a stroke, Palestine’s political factions turned on each other. One of them, Hamas, won parliamentary elections. Before long, Hamas was violently battling the other faction, Fatah. At year’s end, nothing to staunch the bloodletting stood at hand. Closer to home, Mexicans remain split in a close election that handed the presidency to a conservative. So far, his populist opponent has refused to recognize the returns.
Home-grown headlines
Domestically, the economy produced a mixed bag of headlines. On the bright side, the Dow Jones average rose to record heights. On the down side, housing values sagged, the auto industry stalled — and the price of gasoline flirted for a time with $3 a gallon.Tighter security rules at airports flustered passengers trying to board with shampoo and sodas. Casualty counts dominated some days’ news ... 12 coal miners killed in West Virginia, for example ... and 49 people killed in Kentucky when an airliner rolled down the wrong runway ... and five Amish girls slain at a schoolhouse in Pennsylvania ...A grander number was 300 million — a milestone mark that the U.S. population surpassed on Oct. 17.
A couple of Americans won first woman status — Washington’s Pelosi, of course, and Katharine Jefferts Schori as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, plus perky Katie Couric as a solo network news anchor.Sexual misdeeds did in evangelical leader Ted Haggard. Despite his squeaky-clean sermonizing, a male prostitute singled out Haggard as a regular customer. And in outer space, the year had a big loser, if we can use the term big to describe a dwarf. Astronomers downgraded Pluto from planet to dwarf planet.
Footnotes of folly
No year runs out without a ration of foolishness — of stories that grabbed a lot more attention than they deserved, thanks in large part to the ravenous appetite of cable news.On a hunting trip in Texas, Vice President Dick Cheney wounded a fellow hunter by firing The Shot Heard ’Round The Clock.We saw, heard and read far too much about the tawdry antics of Britney Spears and about the oddest couple of them all, Donald Trump and Rosie O’Donnell.Then there was that oddest of oddballs, John Mark Karr, who confessed to killing JonBenet Ramsey. After a few days of fame, Karr was found to be fibbing.But when we look back at the footnotes of 2006, we’ll most remember O.J. Simpson and If I Did It — his conditional confession to killing his ex-wife and her friend. A nation gagged in disgust, and the book (plus a related TV interview) faded away remarkably quickly.As has this year ...
Monday, January 01, 2007
Sunday, December 31, 2006
SADAM HUNG FINALLY
Well the butcher of Baghdad is finally put to death. This Murderer of so many is Hung like a Common Criminal he was. It happened at 10:05 PM EDT.
THIS HAS BEEN GREAT BREAKING NEWS. THE SICKO IS FINALLY HIS WORN OUT SHOE NAME.
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Earthquake of 3.5 magnitude recorded in Bar Harbor. 3-Earthquake off Yemen's coast registers 6.3 magnitude but doesn't disturb holiday weekend. 4-Powerful Storm Spins Snow and Flooding Rain. 5-Malaysian floods death toll rises to 12, another missing. 6-Saddam executed for war crimes in Iraq. 7-Indonesian ferry sinks, some 600 missing. 8-Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north. 9-European Union embraces repressive laws. 10-Israel Controls Water Resources in Gaza, West Bank.
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.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = SUN Dec 31 AM EDT
DEC 31 NO QUAKES YET
DEC 30,2006
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 OUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP 3.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OREGON
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.3 GULF OF ADEN
MAP 5.0 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
Earthquake of 3.5 magnitude recorded in Bar Harbor
December 30, 2006 Associated Press
BAR HARBOR, Maine --Another earthquake shook Mount Desert Island on Friday, continuing the string of quakes and aftershocks that have been felt since late September.Friday's rumbling was felt at around 4:20 p.m. and prompted about a dozen phone calls to Bar Harbor police, but no damages or injuries were reported.The latest tremor had a magnitude of 3.5 and was centered in Frenchman Bay just east of Hulls Cove, according to the Weston Observatory at Boston College, which tracks seismic activity in the Northeast.The quake was the second-strongest since the earthquakes and aftershocks began in the Mount Desert Island area on Sept. 22. Besides being felt in Bar Harbor and neighboring towns, the quake was reported being felt as far away as Lincoln and Waterville, which are more than 65 miles from Bar Harbor, according to the Weston Observatory.
The strongest quake since September came on Oct. 2 and had a magnitude of 4.2. It was felt in much of eastern Maine and caused boulders to fall from ledges onto Acadia National Park's loop road.Adam VanWhy, a Bar Harbor police dispatcher, said he felt the shaking on Friday and then received calls from residents asking if another quake had occurred.I guess people are starting to get used to them, VanWhy said.Earthquake experts have warned that aftershocks could be expected for days or weeks after the initial earthquakes. Before Friday, the last tremor in Bar Harbor was recorded on Dec. 18.After the quakes began in September, scientists from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University came to Mount Desert Island to install temporary earthquake monitoring stations around Bar Harbor in an effort to learn more about the seismic activity.
Earthquake off Yemen's coast registers 6.3 magnitude but doesn't disturb holiday weekendThe Associated PressPublished: December 30, 2006
ADEN, Yemen: An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck the Gulf of Aden Saturday, off the coast of southeast Yemen but there were no reports of casualties or damage as Sunni Muslims celebrated the first day of the most important holiday on the Islamic calendar. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), the United States Geological survey reported on its Web site.The quake, at 11:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT), was not felt by people in Aden, Yemen's southern port city.Yemeni officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give statements to the media, said no damage resulted from the temblor.Earthquakes are rarely felt in Yemen, however a temblor in 1982 caused serious damage.
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.
Powerful Storm Spins Snow and Flooding Rain James Wilson, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sat Dec 30, 4:30 AM ET
West
The storm system that pounded the Southwest and Front Range will slide eastward this weekend and the heavy snow will gradually taper down. In the meantime, heavy snow and fierce winds will shift into the high Plains (the Colorado/Kansas border and the New Mexico/Texas border areas). It looks like Denver is done now with any major snow threat as the monster storm lifts away into the Central U.S. slowly today. By Wednesday and Thursday, a Pacific cold front will again bring showery rain, mountain snow and gusty winds to the Northwest, northern California and the central Rockies. Otherwise, much of the West will be in a calm period with only a few showers grazing the Pacific Northwest early next week.
Midwest
Much of the Midwest will be pelted with rain through the weekend east of an advancing storm system but heavy snow will fall west of the storm across western Kansas, the western half of Nebraska and central South Dakota. Snow accumulations by Monday could be as high as 1 to 2 feet. Gusty winds will create huge drifts. Elsewhere, snow will fall across North Dakota and far northern Minnesota. A narrow band of of freezing rain and sleet could glaze areas from west-central Kansas to southeast South Dakota to north-central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Look for significant rainfall spreading eastward from eastern Nebraska and Kansas to Michigan and the Ohio Valley by Saturday night. Finally by Tuesday and Wednesday, the Plains and Midwest will enjoy dry days with no rain or snow. Temperatures will remain above average across most of the region with no significant cold air in sight.
South
Heavy rain will move eastward across the South this weekend. Areas from eastern Texas to northern Georgia could see at least 2 to 4 inches of rain. On Saturday, parts of southeastern Texas and Louisiana could be inundated with over 6 inches of rain.
Strong-to-severe thunderstorms will accompany the deluge starting in southern Oklahoma and southeast Texas overnight and shifting eastward to along the northern Gulf Coast this weekend. Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are the main threats. Meanwhile, parts of western Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle will pick up plenty of wind- driven snow through saturday.
Northeast
Parts of New York and new England were a bit chillier on Friday and the weekend will be relatively cold, as well. A distubance will bring some light snow across northern sections of New York and New England on Saturday giving a feel of winter for a change. Rain will slide into the on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Sunday night and Monday, just in time to ring in the new year. Parts of eastern Upstate New York and New England freezing rain or wintry mix on New Year's Day, especially during the morning hours. Major East Coast cities from Washington to Boston will be in the rain and could see amounts exceed 1 inch. This may cause delays with the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. Cooler air may allow a mixture of snow and rain showers will linger storm Tuesday. Overall, temperatures will remain above average for awhile, however
Malaysian floods death toll rises to 12, another missing Sat Dec 30, 1:11 AM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The death toll from Malaysia's disastrous floods has risen to 12, with another youth missing, but authorities said fears of another round of flooding had been averted. The latest confirmed victim is a five-year-old girl whose body was found late Friday, the official Bernama news agency said.She was swept away when the car her family was travelling in was caught by strong currents. Her father survived, but her mother and three-year-old sister also died.However, an 18-year-old youth is missing after he was lost in floodwaters late Friday, Bernama said.
Malaysia's opposition has called for an inquiry into the floods, the worst in
decades, which have forced nearly 59,0000 people in southern Johor state to flee their homes and take shelter in relief centres.However, Johor chief minister Abdul Ghani Othman said he was confident the situation in the state would be back to normal within the next few days.Abdul Ghani said the second wave of rains predicted by forecasters would not take place as the rain-bearing clouds had been blown towards Singapore and Sabah state on Borneo island.
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.
REVELATION 9:14-15
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)
The Bible verses above will really come into play now that Saddam is hung like a common criminal. I'll give you one Guess (ARABS,MUSLIMS) that will blame the west and Israel bigtime now. We can look for the Violence to increase in IRAQ and around the WORLD from here on in, as the verse above says a total of 1 / 3rd earths population die from the Violence and Nukes in the Mideast.
Saddam executed for war crimes in Iraq By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers DEC 30,06
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners before dawn Saturday.
But as his final moments approached and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm. In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes.Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed.
Now, he is in the garbage of history, said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 109. At least 2,998 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.He said that the execution marks the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops and cautioned that Saddam's death will not halt the violence in Iraq.Within hours of his death, bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq, including one planted on a minibus that exploded in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad.
Ali Hamza, a 30-year-old university professor, said he went outside to shoot his gun into the air after he learned of Saddam's death.Now all the victims' families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence, said Hamza, who lives in Diwaniyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad.But people in the Sunni-dominated city of Tikrit, once a power base of Saddam, lamented his death.The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior, said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at the Saddam Big Mosque.Police blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets of Tikrit, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air, and calling for vengeance.Security forces also set up roadblocks at the entrance to another Sunni stronghold, Samarra, and a curfew was imposed after about 500 people took to the streets protesting the execution of Saddam. A couple hundred people also protested the execution just outside the Anbar capital of Ramadi, and more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Adwar, the village south of Tikrit where Saddam was captured by U.S. troops hiding in an underground bunker.
In a statement, Saddam's lawyers said that in the aftermath of his death, the world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles. He did not lie when he declared his trial null, they said. Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were not hanged along with their former leader as originally planned. Officials wanted to reserve the occasion for Saddam alone. We wanted him to be executed on a special day, National Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told state-run al-Iraqiya television. Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told the AP that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments. He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.
Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.
Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood, al-Askari said. Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab. Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam's neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution. Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighborhood that is home to the Iraqi capital's most important Shiite shrine — the Imam Kazim shrine. Al-Askari said the government had not decided what to do with Saddam's body. Al-Arabiya satellite television reported that a delegation including the governor of Salahuddin Province and the head of Saddam's clan had retrieved his body from Baghdad and was taking it to Tikrit, near the executed dictator's hometown, for burial. The report could not immediately be verified. The Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement that said Saddam's execution was a strong lesson to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.
We strongly reject considering Saddam as a representative of any sect in Iraq because the tyrant only represented his evil soul, the statement said. The door is still open for those whose hands are not tainted with the blood of innocent people to take part in the political process and work on rebuilding Iraq.
The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days. A U.S. judge on Friday refused to stop Saddam's execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge. U.S. troops cheered as news of Saddam's execution appeared on television at the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad. But some soldiers expressed doubt that Saddam's death would be a significant turning point for Iraq. First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial, said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here? At his death, he was in the midst of a second trial, charged with genocide and other crimes for a 1987-88 military crackdown that killed an estimated 180,000 Kurds in northern Iraq. Experts said the trial of his co-defendants was likely to continue despite his execution. Many people in Iraq's Shiite majority were eager to see the execution of a man whose Sunni Arab-dominated regime oppressed them and Kurds. Before the hanging, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Friday called Saddam's execution God's gift to Iraqis. In a farewell message to Iraqis posted Wednesday on the Internet, Saddam said he was giving his life for his country as part of the struggle against the U.S. Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs, he said. One of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, said the letter was written by Saddam on Nov. 5, the day he was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal in the Dujail killings.
Najeeb al-Nauimi, a member of Saddam's legal team, said U.S. authorities maintained physical custody of Saddam until the execution to prevent him being humiliated publicly or his corpse being mutilated, as has happened to previous Iraqi leaders deposed by force.
He said they didn't want anything to happen to further inflame Sunni Arabs. This is the end of an era in Iraq, al-Nauimi said from Doha, Qatar. The Baath regime ruled for 35 years. Saddam was vice president or president of Iraq during those years. For Iraqis, he will be very well remembered. Like a martyr, he died for the sake of his country. Iraq's death penalty was suspended by the U.S. military after it toppled Saddam in 2003, but the new Iraqi government reinstated it two years later, saying executions would deter criminals. Saddam's own regime used executions and extrajudicial killings as a tool of political repression, both to eliminate real or suspected political opponents and to maintain a reign of terror.
In the months after he seized power on July 16, 1979, he had hundreds of members of his own party and army officers slain. In 1996, he ordered the slaying of two sons-in-law who had defected to Jordan but returned to Baghdad after receiving guarantees of safety. Saddam built Iraq into a one of the Arab world's most modern societies, but then plunged the country into an eight-year war with neighboring Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides and wrecked Iraq's economy. When the U.S. invaded in 2003, Iraqis had been transformed from among the region's most prosperous people to some of its most impoverished. Associated Press Writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
1/3RD OF SHIPS DESTROYED
REVELATION 8:8-9
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.
Indonesian ferry sinks, some 600 missing By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer DEC 30,06
SEMARANG, Indonesia - A crowded Indonesian ferry broke apart and sank in the Java Sea during a violent storm that sent towering waves over its deck, and the vast majority of the nearly 640 passengers were still missing a day later, officials said Saturday. Just 59 survivors had been found by late Saturday, many drifting in lifeboats or clinging to driftwood, the transport minister said.
Witnesses reported seeing lifeboats carrying more survivors, he said, and one person on board said that most people had time to don life jackets before the sea's warm waters overtook the boat.
No bodies had been recovered.
Survivors reported panicked passengers scrambling over life jackets as the boat capsized close to midnight Friday after being pounded by heavy waves for more than 10 hours.The crew kept saying relax, relax but it was clear the ship was not stable, Irfan Setiawan told Metro TV station. It suddenly veered to one side and the TV and fridges fell over.Setiawan said he was hit by a piece of debris and sank with the ship, but fought his way to the surface and managed to climb onto a lifeboat along with around 30 others.We all just prayed as the waves got higher, said Cholid, another passenger who survived by clinging to some wooden planks but lost his 18-year-old daughter.I was going upstairs to try to help my daughter, but the ship suddenly broke up and I was thrown out. I lost her, said Cholid, who like many Indonesians uses one name.Another survivor, Budi Susilo said he saw three people drown after losing their grip on an upturned raft.We told them to hold on, but they ran out of energy, he told reporters after arriving on Java island late Saturday.
The ferry was on the final leg of a 48-hour journey from the island of Borneo to the main island of Java when waves of up to 16 feet crashed over its deck, said Slamet Bustam, an official at Semarang port, the ferry's destination, where hundreds of distraught relatives and friends waited for news about their loved ones.We're afraid many have died, Bustam said.Four naval ships, several other vessels and at least two aircraft were searching the area, but poor visibility and heavy seas hindered their search. Water temperatures in tropical Indonesia range from 72 to 84 degrees, and people have been known to survive days at sea.Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said after talks with rescue officials that 638 passengers and crew were on board the vessel and that 59 people had been rescued.He said two navy vessels would search through the night, adding that fisherman had reported seeing several lifeboats. There is still hope, he told reporters.
Ships in Indonesia often carry far more passengers than recorded, making it hard for authorities to say with accuracy how many people are on board. Ferries are a main source of transportation in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with a population of 220 million.
The ferry ran into trouble off Mandalika island, some 190 miles northeast of the capital, Jakarta. In a final radio contact, the captain informed port authorities that the ship was severely damaged and capsizing, said local navy commander Col. Yan Simamora.Worried family members gathered at the main office of ferry operator PT Prima Fista, weeping and demanding details about the fate of their loved ones. I am waiting for my mother, auntie, sister and nephew who were on their way to celebrate New Year's Eve at my house, said Yulis, 25. Seasonal storms have wreaked havoc across Indonesia in recent days, unleashing flash floods and landslides that have killed more than 145 people and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes on Sumatra.
Earlier Friday, a different vessel carrying around 100 people capsized in bad weather off the coast of northwestern Sumatra, killing three and leaving 26 missing, Radjasa said. In 2000, almost 500 people died when a ferry carrying Christians fleeing religious violence in the eastern Maluku islands capsized. A year later, 350 were killed when a boat carrying asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan sank after setting sail from Java to Australia. Associated Press Writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.
Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north By Jeffrey Jones
Fri Dec 29, 4:45 PM ET
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada's far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions and shipping lanes next summer, a researcher said on Friday. Global warming could be one cause of the break of the Ayles Ice Shelf at Ellesmere Island, which occurred in the summer of 2005 but was only detected recently by satellite photos, said Luke Copland, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's geography department.It was the largest such break in nearly three decades, casting an ice floe with an area of 66 square km (25 square miles) adrift in the Arctic Ocean, said Copland, who specializes in the study of glaciers and ice masses. Manhattan has an area of 61 square km (24 square miles).The mass is now 50 square km (19 square miles) in size.
The Arctic is all frozen up for the winter and it's stuck in the sea ice about 50 km (30 miles) off the coast, he said.The risk is that next summer, as that sea ice melts, this large ice island can then move itself around off the coast and one potential path for it is to make its way westward toward the Beaufort Sea, and the Beaufort Sea is where there is lots of oil and gas exploration, oil rigs and shipping.The break went undetected when it happened due primarily to the remoteness of the northern coast of Ellesmere island, which is only about 800 km (500 miles) from the North Pole.The speed of the crack and drift-off shocked scientists.Satellite images showed the 15-km long (9-mile long) crack, then the ice floating about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the coast within about an hour, Copland said.You could stand at one edge and not see the other side, and for something that large to move that quickly is quite amazing, he said.
Copland said the break was likely due to a combination of low accumulations of sea ice around the mass's edges as high winds blew it away, as well as one of the Arctic's warmest temperatures on record. The region was 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees F) above average in the summer of 2005, he said.Ice shelves in Canada's far north have decreased in size by as much as 90 percent since 1906, and global warming likely played a role in the Ayles break, Copland said.It's hard to tie one event to climate change, but when you look at the longer-term trend, the bigger picture, we've lost a lot of ice shelves on northern Ellesmere in the past century and this is that continuing, he said. And this is the biggest one in the last 25 years.
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).
European Union embraces repressive laws
By Laura Petricola,12-30-06, 10:18 am
New, repressive measures will soon be implemented in the European Union in the name of combating terrorism. Critics say the measures are actually aimed at nipping a growing European left-wing radicalism in the bud. The EU Council of Ministers of Justice and of Internal Affairs met Dec. 4-5 to approve a series of new mandates that authorize the gathering and retention of personal data on individuals and the monitoring of their activities, increased coordination between the police and the military, and heightened immigrant and refugee control. Gijs de Vries, coordinator of the EU’s anti-terrorist commission, set the tone for the council meeting.
His report summarized the progress his commission has made since June 2006, and emphasized, The strategic obligation of the EU is to combat terrorism on a worldwide level. The report opens with a focus on strategies against violent radicalization, which is defined by the EU Council as the phenomenon where people adhere to viewpoints, opinions and ideas that may lead to terrorist actions.The Internet was cited as a key conduit for the dissemination of these ideas. Notably, the commission is now funding a series of studies on radicalism, including Causes of radicalization among youth.
The council makes reference to the EU’s anti-terrorist laws, according to which actions carried out by unions and mass movements could theoretically be characterized as terrorist. In a similar vein, because of the vague wording, many labor and community activists could plausibly be labeled terrorists. While the anti-terrorist laws indicate their starting point is extreme Islamic radicalism, they also claim to cover every form of violent radicalism, nationalism, anarchism, autonomous, extreme-left or right-wing action.
Given recent anti-communist measures (e.g. the banning of the Young Communist League in the Czech Republic, and an anti-communist motion in the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe), the new mandates clearly constitute a dangerous threat to all those who challenge the capitalist system, even in the realm of thought. Systems of monitoring and recording personal information of all EU citizens, residents, and now visitors are being perfected and extended. The council plans to centralize in one giant database all information gathered via immigration and visa procedures, and to include biometric data in all EU country passports (only 18 have such data now).
Increased police and military response mechanisms were also approved, especially for border points. The creation of a rapid intervention force which could intervene in any member country if the member government were facing a large-scale crisis is being reconsidered. Special police units are being set up that would permanently patrol the Mediterranean and Aegean coastlines. Critics say these units, when combined with newly enacted immigration laws, will lead to increased persecution against immigrants and refugees. The 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) that have been approved for 2007-2013 exclusively for research relevant to security show what EU rulers’ priorities are, in a vast area where the majority of citizens are trying to survive under a system of never-ending economic austerity. It has become clear that, as capitalist restructuring intensifies, so does repression, police terror and the erosion of democracy, both EU-wide and in each member country.--Laura Petricola (laurajopetricola @ yahoo.com) writes from Athens, Greece. From People's Weekly World
Israel Controls Water Resources in Gaza, West Bank DEC 30,06
DAMASCUS, December 30, 2006 (WAFA)- Israel controls water reserves in Gaza and the West Bank and seeks to control water resources in the Golan Heights and South Lebanon, said a report released by the Arab Water Studies and Water Security Center.
The report said Israel was thus present in major Arab water crises, adding that Israel consumed two billon cubic feet of water of which 65 percent were rechanneled from the Arab areas.Moreover, it said despite limited water resources in the Palestinians territory, Israel took over more that 80 percent of them, noting that large Israeli water projects counted on drawing water from Arab sources.Water, the report said, had always been one of Israel's strategic motives for military operations.The average individual in Israel consumes three to four times as much water as the Palestinian, the report said, stressing that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis was linked to the water issue.The report called for consolidating Arab efforts to face increasing water challenges and to demand that Israel should stop controlling Arab water resources if peace was to be achieved.
THIS HAS BEEN GREAT BREAKING NEWS. THE SICKO IS FINALLY HIS WORN OUT SHOE NAME.
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Earthquake of 3.5 magnitude recorded in Bar Harbor. 3-Earthquake off Yemen's coast registers 6.3 magnitude but doesn't disturb holiday weekend. 4-Powerful Storm Spins Snow and Flooding Rain. 5-Malaysian floods death toll rises to 12, another missing. 6-Saddam executed for war crimes in Iraq. 7-Indonesian ferry sinks, some 600 missing. 8-Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north. 9-European Union embraces repressive laws. 10-Israel Controls Water Resources in Gaza, West Bank.
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.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = SUN Dec 31 AM EDT
DEC 31 NO QUAKES YET
DEC 30,2006
MAP 3.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 OUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP 3.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OREGON
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.3 GULF OF ADEN
MAP 5.0 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 OFF THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
Earthquake of 3.5 magnitude recorded in Bar Harbor
December 30, 2006 Associated Press
BAR HARBOR, Maine --Another earthquake shook Mount Desert Island on Friday, continuing the string of quakes and aftershocks that have been felt since late September.Friday's rumbling was felt at around 4:20 p.m. and prompted about a dozen phone calls to Bar Harbor police, but no damages or injuries were reported.The latest tremor had a magnitude of 3.5 and was centered in Frenchman Bay just east of Hulls Cove, according to the Weston Observatory at Boston College, which tracks seismic activity in the Northeast.The quake was the second-strongest since the earthquakes and aftershocks began in the Mount Desert Island area on Sept. 22. Besides being felt in Bar Harbor and neighboring towns, the quake was reported being felt as far away as Lincoln and Waterville, which are more than 65 miles from Bar Harbor, according to the Weston Observatory.
The strongest quake since September came on Oct. 2 and had a magnitude of 4.2. It was felt in much of eastern Maine and caused boulders to fall from ledges onto Acadia National Park's loop road.Adam VanWhy, a Bar Harbor police dispatcher, said he felt the shaking on Friday and then received calls from residents asking if another quake had occurred.I guess people are starting to get used to them, VanWhy said.Earthquake experts have warned that aftershocks could be expected for days or weeks after the initial earthquakes. Before Friday, the last tremor in Bar Harbor was recorded on Dec. 18.After the quakes began in September, scientists from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University came to Mount Desert Island to install temporary earthquake monitoring stations around Bar Harbor in an effort to learn more about the seismic activity.
Earthquake off Yemen's coast registers 6.3 magnitude but doesn't disturb holiday weekendThe Associated PressPublished: December 30, 2006
ADEN, Yemen: An earthquake of 6.3 magnitude struck the Gulf of Aden Saturday, off the coast of southeast Yemen but there were no reports of casualties or damage as Sunni Muslims celebrated the first day of the most important holiday on the Islamic calendar. The quake occurred at a depth of 10 kilometers (6.21 miles), the United States Geological survey reported on its Web site.The quake, at 11:30 a.m. local time (0830 GMT), was not felt by people in Aden, Yemen's southern port city.Yemeni officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to give statements to the media, said no damage resulted from the temblor.Earthquakes are rarely felt in Yemen, however a temblor in 1982 caused serious damage.
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.
Powerful Storm Spins Snow and Flooding Rain James Wilson, Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sat Dec 30, 4:30 AM ET
West
The storm system that pounded the Southwest and Front Range will slide eastward this weekend and the heavy snow will gradually taper down. In the meantime, heavy snow and fierce winds will shift into the high Plains (the Colorado/Kansas border and the New Mexico/Texas border areas). It looks like Denver is done now with any major snow threat as the monster storm lifts away into the Central U.S. slowly today. By Wednesday and Thursday, a Pacific cold front will again bring showery rain, mountain snow and gusty winds to the Northwest, northern California and the central Rockies. Otherwise, much of the West will be in a calm period with only a few showers grazing the Pacific Northwest early next week.
Midwest
Much of the Midwest will be pelted with rain through the weekend east of an advancing storm system but heavy snow will fall west of the storm across western Kansas, the western half of Nebraska and central South Dakota. Snow accumulations by Monday could be as high as 1 to 2 feet. Gusty winds will create huge drifts. Elsewhere, snow will fall across North Dakota and far northern Minnesota. A narrow band of of freezing rain and sleet could glaze areas from west-central Kansas to southeast South Dakota to north-central Minnesota and northern Wisconsin. Look for significant rainfall spreading eastward from eastern Nebraska and Kansas to Michigan and the Ohio Valley by Saturday night. Finally by Tuesday and Wednesday, the Plains and Midwest will enjoy dry days with no rain or snow. Temperatures will remain above average across most of the region with no significant cold air in sight.
South
Heavy rain will move eastward across the South this weekend. Areas from eastern Texas to northern Georgia could see at least 2 to 4 inches of rain. On Saturday, parts of southeastern Texas and Louisiana could be inundated with over 6 inches of rain.
Strong-to-severe thunderstorms will accompany the deluge starting in southern Oklahoma and southeast Texas overnight and shifting eastward to along the northern Gulf Coast this weekend. Damaging wind gusts and a few tornadoes are the main threats. Meanwhile, parts of western Texas and the Oklahoma Panhandle will pick up plenty of wind- driven snow through saturday.
Northeast
Parts of New York and new England were a bit chillier on Friday and the weekend will be relatively cold, as well. A distubance will bring some light snow across northern sections of New York and New England on Saturday giving a feel of winter for a change. Rain will slide into the on the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Sunday night and Monday, just in time to ring in the new year. Parts of eastern Upstate New York and New England freezing rain or wintry mix on New Year's Day, especially during the morning hours. Major East Coast cities from Washington to Boston will be in the rain and could see amounts exceed 1 inch. This may cause delays with the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia. Cooler air may allow a mixture of snow and rain showers will linger storm Tuesday. Overall, temperatures will remain above average for awhile, however
Malaysian floods death toll rises to 12, another missing Sat Dec 30, 1:11 AM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The death toll from Malaysia's disastrous floods has risen to 12, with another youth missing, but authorities said fears of another round of flooding had been averted. The latest confirmed victim is a five-year-old girl whose body was found late Friday, the official Bernama news agency said.She was swept away when the car her family was travelling in was caught by strong currents. Her father survived, but her mother and three-year-old sister also died.However, an 18-year-old youth is missing after he was lost in floodwaters late Friday, Bernama said.
Malaysia's opposition has called for an inquiry into the floods, the worst in
decades, which have forced nearly 59,0000 people in southern Johor state to flee their homes and take shelter in relief centres.However, Johor chief minister Abdul Ghani Othman said he was confident the situation in the state would be back to normal within the next few days.Abdul Ghani said the second wave of rains predicted by forecasters would not take place as the rain-bearing clouds had been blown towards Singapore and Sabah state on Borneo island.
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.
REVELATION 9:14-15
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)
The Bible verses above will really come into play now that Saddam is hung like a common criminal. I'll give you one Guess (ARABS,MUSLIMS) that will blame the west and Israel bigtime now. We can look for the Violence to increase in IRAQ and around the WORLD from here on in, as the verse above says a total of 1 / 3rd earths population die from the Violence and Nukes in the Mideast.
Saddam executed for war crimes in Iraq By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA and QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writers DEC 30,06
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Saddam Hussein struggled briefly after American military guards handed him over to Iraqi executioners before dawn Saturday.
But as his final moments approached and masked executioners slipped a black cloth and noose around his neck, he grew calm. In a final moment of defiance, he refused a hood to cover his eyes.Hours after Saddam faced the same fate he was accused of inflicting on countless thousands during a quarter-century of ruthless power, Iraqi state television showed grainy video of what it said was his body, the head uncovered and the neck twisted at a sharp angle.A man whose testimony helped lead to Saddam's conviction and execution before sunrise said he was shown the body because everybody wanted to make sure that he was really executed.
Now, he is in the garbage of history, said Jawad Abdul-Aziz, who lost his father, three brothers and 22 cousins in the reprisal killings that followed a botched 1982 assassination attempt against Saddam in the Shiite town of Dujail.The post-execution footage showed the man identified as Saddam lying on a stretcher, covered in a white shroud. His neck and part of the shroud have what appear to be bloodstains. His eyes are closed.In Baghdad's Shiite enclave of Sadr City, hundreds of people danced in the streets while others fired guns in the air to celebrate. The government did not impose a round-the-clock curfew as it did last month when Saddam was convicted to thwart any surge in retaliatory violence.
It was a grim end for the 69-year-old leader who had vexed three U.S. presidents. Despite his ouster, Washington, its allies and the new Iraqi leaders remain mired in a fight to quell a stubborn insurgency by Saddam loyalists and a vicious sectarian conflict.The execution took place during the year's deadliest month for U.S. troops, with the toll reaching 109. At least 2,998 members of the U.S. military have been killed since the Iraq war began in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.President Bush said in a statement issued from his ranch in Texas that bringing Saddam to justice is an important milestone on Iraq's course to becoming a democracy that can govern, sustain and defend itself, and be an ally in the war on terror.He said that the execution marks the end of a difficult year for the Iraqi people and for our troops and cautioned that Saddam's death will not halt the violence in Iraq.Within hours of his death, bombings killed at least 68 people in Iraq, including one planted on a minibus that exploded in a fish market in a mostly Shiite town south of Baghdad.
Ali Hamza, a 30-year-old university professor, said he went outside to shoot his gun into the air after he learned of Saddam's death.Now all the victims' families will be happy because Saddam got his just sentence, said Hamza, who lives in Diwaniyah, a Shiite town 80 miles south of Baghdad.But people in the Sunni-dominated city of Tikrit, once a power base of Saddam, lamented his death.The president, the leader Saddam Hussein is a martyr and God will put him along with other martyrs. Do not be sad nor complain because he has died the death of a holy warrior, said Sheik Yahya al-Attawi, a cleric at the Saddam Big Mosque.Police blocked the entrances to Tikrit and said nobody was allowed to leave or enter the city for four days. Despite the security precaution, gunmen took to the streets of Tikrit, carrying pictures of Saddam, shooting into the air, and calling for vengeance.Security forces also set up roadblocks at the entrance to another Sunni stronghold, Samarra, and a curfew was imposed after about 500 people took to the streets protesting the execution of Saddam. A couple hundred people also protested the execution just outside the Anbar capital of Ramadi, and more than 2,000 people demonstrated in Adwar, the village south of Tikrit where Saddam was captured by U.S. troops hiding in an underground bunker.
In a statement, Saddam's lawyers said that in the aftermath of his death, the world will know that Saddam Hussein lived honestly, died honestly, and maintained his principles. He did not lie when he declared his trial null, they said. Saddam's half-brother Barzan Ibrahim and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, the former chief justice of the Revolutionary Court, were not hanged along with their former leader as originally planned. Officials wanted to reserve the occasion for Saddam alone. We wanted him to be executed on a special day, National Security adviser Mouwafak al-Rubaie told state-run al-Iraqiya television. Sami al-Askari, the political adviser of Prime
Minister Nouri al-Maliki, told the AP that Saddam initially resisted when he was taken by Iraqi guards but was composed in his final moments. He said Saddam was clad in a black suit, hat and shoes, rather than prison garb. His hat was removed and his hands tied shortly before the noose was slipped around his neck.
Saddam repeated a prayer after a Sunni Muslim cleric who was present.
Saddam later was taken to the gallows and refused to have his head covered with a hood, al-Askari said. Before the rope was put around his neck, Saddam shouted: God is great. The nation will be victorious and Palestine is Arab. Iraqi state television showed footage of guards in ski masks placing a noose around Saddam's neck. Saddam appeared calm as he stood on the metal framework of the gallows. The footage cuts off just before the execution. Saddam was executed at a former military intelligence headquarters in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, al-Askari said. During his regime, Saddam had numerous dissidents executed in the facility, located in a neighborhood that is home to the Iraqi capital's most important Shiite shrine — the Imam Kazim shrine. Al-Askari said the government had not decided what to do with Saddam's body. Al-Arabiya satellite television reported that a delegation including the governor of Salahuddin Province and the head of Saddam's clan had retrieved his body from Baghdad and was taking it to Tikrit, near the executed dictator's hometown, for burial. The report could not immediately be verified. The Iraqi prime minister's office released a statement that said Saddam's execution was a strong lesson to ruthless leaders who commit crimes against their own people.
We strongly reject considering Saddam as a representative of any sect in Iraq because the tyrant only represented his evil soul, the statement said. The door is still open for those whose hands are not tainted with the blood of innocent people to take part in the political process and work on rebuilding Iraq.
The execution came 56 days after a court convicted Saddam and sentenced him to death for his role in the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims from Dujail. Iraq's highest court rejected Saddam's appeal Monday and ordered him executed within 30 days. A U.S. judge on Friday refused to stop Saddam's execution, rejecting a last-minute court challenge. U.S. troops cheered as news of Saddam's execution appeared on television at the mess hall at Forward Operating Base Loyalty in eastern Baghdad. But some soldiers expressed doubt that Saddam's death would be a significant turning point for Iraq. First it was weapons of mass destruction. Then when there were none, it was that we had to find Saddam. We did that, but then it was that we had to put him on trial, said Spc. Thomas Sheck, 25, who is on his second tour in Iraq. So now, what will be the next story they tell us to keep us over here? At his death, he was in the midst of a second trial, charged with genocide and other crimes for a 1987-88 military crackdown that killed an estimated 180,000 Kurds in northern Iraq. Experts said the trial of his co-defendants was likely to continue despite his execution. Many people in Iraq's Shiite majority were eager to see the execution of a man whose Sunni Arab-dominated regime oppressed them and Kurds. Before the hanging, a mosque preacher in the Shiite holy city of Najaf on Friday called Saddam's execution God's gift to Iraqis. In a farewell message to Iraqis posted Wednesday on the Internet, Saddam said he was giving his life for his country as part of the struggle against the U.S. Here, I offer my soul to God as a sacrifice, and if he wants, he will send it to heaven with the martyrs, he said. One of Saddam's lawyers, Issam Ghazzawi, said the letter was written by Saddam on Nov. 5, the day he was convicted by an Iraqi tribunal in the Dujail killings.
Najeeb al-Nauimi, a member of Saddam's legal team, said U.S. authorities maintained physical custody of Saddam until the execution to prevent him being humiliated publicly or his corpse being mutilated, as has happened to previous Iraqi leaders deposed by force.
He said they didn't want anything to happen to further inflame Sunni Arabs. This is the end of an era in Iraq, al-Nauimi said from Doha, Qatar. The Baath regime ruled for 35 years. Saddam was vice president or president of Iraq during those years. For Iraqis, he will be very well remembered. Like a martyr, he died for the sake of his country. Iraq's death penalty was suspended by the U.S. military after it toppled Saddam in 2003, but the new Iraqi government reinstated it two years later, saying executions would deter criminals. Saddam's own regime used executions and extrajudicial killings as a tool of political repression, both to eliminate real or suspected political opponents and to maintain a reign of terror.
In the months after he seized power on July 16, 1979, he had hundreds of members of his own party and army officers slain. In 1996, he ordered the slaying of two sons-in-law who had defected to Jordan but returned to Baghdad after receiving guarantees of safety. Saddam built Iraq into a one of the Arab world's most modern societies, but then plunged the country into an eight-year war with neighboring Iran that killed hundreds of thousands of people on both sides and wrecked Iraq's economy. When the U.S. invaded in 2003, Iraqis had been transformed from among the region's most prosperous people to some of its most impoverished. Associated Press Writer Will Weissert contributed to this report.
1/3RD OF SHIPS DESTROYED
REVELATION 8:8-9
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.
Indonesian ferry sinks, some 600 missing By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer DEC 30,06
SEMARANG, Indonesia - A crowded Indonesian ferry broke apart and sank in the Java Sea during a violent storm that sent towering waves over its deck, and the vast majority of the nearly 640 passengers were still missing a day later, officials said Saturday. Just 59 survivors had been found by late Saturday, many drifting in lifeboats or clinging to driftwood, the transport minister said.
Witnesses reported seeing lifeboats carrying more survivors, he said, and one person on board said that most people had time to don life jackets before the sea's warm waters overtook the boat.
No bodies had been recovered.
Survivors reported panicked passengers scrambling over life jackets as the boat capsized close to midnight Friday after being pounded by heavy waves for more than 10 hours.The crew kept saying relax, relax but it was clear the ship was not stable, Irfan Setiawan told Metro TV station. It suddenly veered to one side and the TV and fridges fell over.Setiawan said he was hit by a piece of debris and sank with the ship, but fought his way to the surface and managed to climb onto a lifeboat along with around 30 others.We all just prayed as the waves got higher, said Cholid, another passenger who survived by clinging to some wooden planks but lost his 18-year-old daughter.I was going upstairs to try to help my daughter, but the ship suddenly broke up and I was thrown out. I lost her, said Cholid, who like many Indonesians uses one name.Another survivor, Budi Susilo said he saw three people drown after losing their grip on an upturned raft.We told them to hold on, but they ran out of energy, he told reporters after arriving on Java island late Saturday.
The ferry was on the final leg of a 48-hour journey from the island of Borneo to the main island of Java when waves of up to 16 feet crashed over its deck, said Slamet Bustam, an official at Semarang port, the ferry's destination, where hundreds of distraught relatives and friends waited for news about their loved ones.We're afraid many have died, Bustam said.Four naval ships, several other vessels and at least two aircraft were searching the area, but poor visibility and heavy seas hindered their search. Water temperatures in tropical Indonesia range from 72 to 84 degrees, and people have been known to survive days at sea.Transport Minister Hatta Radjasa said after talks with rescue officials that 638 passengers and crew were on board the vessel and that 59 people had been rescued.He said two navy vessels would search through the night, adding that fisherman had reported seeing several lifeboats. There is still hope, he told reporters.
Ships in Indonesia often carry far more passengers than recorded, making it hard for authorities to say with accuracy how many people are on board. Ferries are a main source of transportation in Indonesia, a vast archipelago of more than 17,000 islands with a population of 220 million.
The ferry ran into trouble off Mandalika island, some 190 miles northeast of the capital, Jakarta. In a final radio contact, the captain informed port authorities that the ship was severely damaged and capsizing, said local navy commander Col. Yan Simamora.Worried family members gathered at the main office of ferry operator PT Prima Fista, weeping and demanding details about the fate of their loved ones. I am waiting for my mother, auntie, sister and nephew who were on their way to celebrate New Year's Eve at my house, said Yulis, 25. Seasonal storms have wreaked havoc across Indonesia in recent days, unleashing flash floods and landslides that have killed more than 145 people and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes on Sumatra.
Earlier Friday, a different vessel carrying around 100 people capsized in bad weather off the coast of northwestern Sumatra, killing three and leaving 26 missing, Radjasa said. In 2000, almost 500 people died when a ferry carrying Christians fleeing religious violence in the eastern Maluku islands capsized. A year later, 350 were killed when a boat carrying asylum seekers from Iraq and Afghanistan sank after setting sail from Java to Australia. Associated Press Writer Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.
Huge ice shelf breaks free in Canada's far north By Jeffrey Jones
Fri Dec 29, 4:45 PM ET
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A chunk of ice bigger than the area of Manhattan broke from an ice shelf in Canada's far north and could wreak havoc if it starts to float westward toward oil-drilling regions and shipping lanes next summer, a researcher said on Friday. Global warming could be one cause of the break of the Ayles Ice Shelf at Ellesmere Island, which occurred in the summer of 2005 but was only detected recently by satellite photos, said Luke Copland, assistant professor at the University of Ottawa's geography department.It was the largest such break in nearly three decades, casting an ice floe with an area of 66 square km (25 square miles) adrift in the Arctic Ocean, said Copland, who specializes in the study of glaciers and ice masses. Manhattan has an area of 61 square km (24 square miles).The mass is now 50 square km (19 square miles) in size.
The Arctic is all frozen up for the winter and it's stuck in the sea ice about 50 km (30 miles) off the coast, he said.The risk is that next summer, as that sea ice melts, this large ice island can then move itself around off the coast and one potential path for it is to make its way westward toward the Beaufort Sea, and the Beaufort Sea is where there is lots of oil and gas exploration, oil rigs and shipping.The break went undetected when it happened due primarily to the remoteness of the northern coast of Ellesmere island, which is only about 800 km (500 miles) from the North Pole.The speed of the crack and drift-off shocked scientists.Satellite images showed the 15-km long (9-mile long) crack, then the ice floating about 1 km (0.6 miles) from the coast within about an hour, Copland said.You could stand at one edge and not see the other side, and for something that large to move that quickly is quite amazing, he said.
Copland said the break was likely due to a combination of low accumulations of sea ice around the mass's edges as high winds blew it away, as well as one of the Arctic's warmest temperatures on record. The region was 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees F) above average in the summer of 2005, he said.Ice shelves in Canada's far north have decreased in size by as much as 90 percent since 1906, and global warming likely played a role in the Ayles break, Copland said.It's hard to tie one event to climate change, but when you look at the longer-term trend, the bigger picture, we've lost a lot of ice shelves on northern Ellesmere in the past century and this is that continuing, he said. And this is the biggest one in the last 25 years.
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).
European Union embraces repressive laws
By Laura Petricola,12-30-06, 10:18 am
New, repressive measures will soon be implemented in the European Union in the name of combating terrorism. Critics say the measures are actually aimed at nipping a growing European left-wing radicalism in the bud. The EU Council of Ministers of Justice and of Internal Affairs met Dec. 4-5 to approve a series of new mandates that authorize the gathering and retention of personal data on individuals and the monitoring of their activities, increased coordination between the police and the military, and heightened immigrant and refugee control. Gijs de Vries, coordinator of the EU’s anti-terrorist commission, set the tone for the council meeting.
His report summarized the progress his commission has made since June 2006, and emphasized, The strategic obligation of the EU is to combat terrorism on a worldwide level. The report opens with a focus on strategies against violent radicalization, which is defined by the EU Council as the phenomenon where people adhere to viewpoints, opinions and ideas that may lead to terrorist actions.The Internet was cited as a key conduit for the dissemination of these ideas. Notably, the commission is now funding a series of studies on radicalism, including Causes of radicalization among youth.
The council makes reference to the EU’s anti-terrorist laws, according to which actions carried out by unions and mass movements could theoretically be characterized as terrorist. In a similar vein, because of the vague wording, many labor and community activists could plausibly be labeled terrorists. While the anti-terrorist laws indicate their starting point is extreme Islamic radicalism, they also claim to cover every form of violent radicalism, nationalism, anarchism, autonomous, extreme-left or right-wing action.
Given recent anti-communist measures (e.g. the banning of the Young Communist League in the Czech Republic, and an anti-communist motion in the Parliamentary Assembly of Europe), the new mandates clearly constitute a dangerous threat to all those who challenge the capitalist system, even in the realm of thought. Systems of monitoring and recording personal information of all EU citizens, residents, and now visitors are being perfected and extended. The council plans to centralize in one giant database all information gathered via immigration and visa procedures, and to include biometric data in all EU country passports (only 18 have such data now).
Increased police and military response mechanisms were also approved, especially for border points. The creation of a rapid intervention force which could intervene in any member country if the member government were facing a large-scale crisis is being reconsidered. Special police units are being set up that would permanently patrol the Mediterranean and Aegean coastlines. Critics say these units, when combined with newly enacted immigration laws, will lead to increased persecution against immigrants and refugees. The 1.4 billion euros ($1.8 billion) that have been approved for 2007-2013 exclusively for research relevant to security show what EU rulers’ priorities are, in a vast area where the majority of citizens are trying to survive under a system of never-ending economic austerity. It has become clear that, as capitalist restructuring intensifies, so does repression, police terror and the erosion of democracy, both EU-wide and in each member country.--Laura Petricola (laurajopetricola @ yahoo.com) writes from Athens, Greece. From People's Weekly World
Israel Controls Water Resources in Gaza, West Bank DEC 30,06
DAMASCUS, December 30, 2006 (WAFA)- Israel controls water reserves in Gaza and the West Bank and seeks to control water resources in the Golan Heights and South Lebanon, said a report released by the Arab Water Studies and Water Security Center.
The report said Israel was thus present in major Arab water crises, adding that Israel consumed two billon cubic feet of water of which 65 percent were rechanneled from the Arab areas.Moreover, it said despite limited water resources in the Palestinians territory, Israel took over more that 80 percent of them, noting that large Israeli water projects counted on drawing water from Arab sources.Water, the report said, had always been one of Israel's strategic motives for military operations.The average individual in Israel consumes three to four times as much water as the Palestinian, the report said, stressing that resolving the Israeli-Palestinian crisis was linked to the water issue.The report called for consolidating Arab efforts to face increasing water challenges and to demand that Israel should stop controlling Arab water resources if peace was to be achieved.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
POSSIBLE DISASTERS 2007
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Death toll in Indonesian floods rises. 3-Malaysian flood toll rises to 11. 4-Learn more about the Day of Prayer. 5-Planeload of US Jews Arrive in Israel on One-Way Ticket. 6-Dollar Slides; U.A.E. Says Selling U.S. Currency, Buying Euros. 7-Israel won't free Palestinian prisoners. 8-Olmert OKs pinpoint attacks on militants in Gaza. 9-China's Hu calls for powerful, combat-ready navy. 10-North Korea grave threat after nuclear test: Seoul. 11-Risks, Perils and Potential Disasters of 2007.
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.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat Dec 30 12:02 AM EDT
DEC 30,06 NO QUAKES YET
DEC 29,06
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 MAINE
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
DEC 28,06
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 TAIWAN REGION
MAP 2.8 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
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 in Indonesian floods rises By FAKHRURRADZIE GADE, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 29, 4:54 AM ET
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Rescuers reached remote villages, delivering food and medicine Friday to thousands of people displaced by floods and rain-induced landslides that have claimed at least 126 lives on Indonesia's Sumatra island. In neighboring Malaysia, which is experiencing its most severe weather in a century, authorities found the body of a 14-year-old boy floating in a flood-swollen canal, bringing the death total there to 11.Days of torrential rain have forced more than 400,000 people from their homes in Indonesia and displaced nearly 90,000 in Malaysia.Heavy rain continued to fall over the hardest-hit areas of Sumatra, complicating relief efforts and adding to the misery of survivors, said local government spokesman Nadir Musa.
Most affected was the northernmost province of Aceh, where helicopters dropped food, tents and medicines while volunteers in dinghies distributed aid, Musa said.At least 76 people were killed in Aceh, said Jabad, an official in the area who goes by only one name. That was 70 less than he had reported earlier in the day. Jabad said he mistakenly added some of then 150 people listed as missing to his count of the dead.At least 50 others have died in neighboring North Sumatra province, said Edy Sofyan, the provincial spokesman.Seasonal downpours cause of dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in the sprawling archipelagic nation where millions of people live in mountainous areas or in fertile flood plains.Aceh was the hardest hit province in the 2004 tsunami, losing an estimated 167,000 people, but the floods and landslides have affected inland regions that were untouched by that disaster.
Malaysian flood toll rises to 11 Fri Dec 29, 12:08 AM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The death toll from Malaysia's worst floods in decades has risen to 11, officials have said, and the government has warned of further flooding with more heavy rain forecast. The latest victim was a 14-year-old boy whose body was found floating in a canal, the official Bernama news agency said.A five-year-old girl is also missing, after the car her family was travelling in was swept away by strong currents. Her father survived but the bodies of her mother and three-year-old sister have been retrieved.The number of people forced to flee their homes and shelter in relief centres in southern Johor state, which has been hardest-hit, rose to 61,352 on Friday from 55,212 the day before, Bernama said.The government has urged rescuers to brace themselves for another round of the disaster after forecasters perdicted more bad weather for Johor and central Pahang state until Sunday.If it doesn't occur, then thank God, but if it does, we must be in a state of readiness so that the necessary operations can be carried out efficiently, deputy premier Najib Razak said Thursday
Dear Stan, PRAYER DAY
Learn more about the Day of Prayer
Each year, during The Fellowship’s annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, millions of Christians in thousands of churches worldwide gather to pray for Israel’s peace and security. I always feel a deep sense of blessing when I consider how much this event has done to rally Christian support for Israel and lift up a passionate chorus of prayer to our heavenly Father. It is with a great sense of urgency that I invite you to involve your church in The Fellowship’s 2007 International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, which will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2007.
As a true friend of Israel, you know very well that 2006 has been a difficult year for her. Last summer’s war launched by Hezbollah took a devastating toll on Israel’s people and economy. Iran’s radical Islamic president continues to call for Israel’s destruction, even as he pursues the development of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, even Israel’s attempts at self-defense are criticized by an international community all too ready to blame the Jewish state for all the Middle East’s ills.
Clearly, the need to uphold Israel in prayer has never been greater -- and I hope you will answer the call to fulfill the biblical command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). I invite you to join with thousands of churches around the world to lift Israel up in prayer on January 28, 2007. When you register online, we will send you a FREE Day of Prayer Church Action Kit with sermon notes, music suggestions, a DVD, and other resources to help equip your church to be a part of the 2007 Day of Prayer.
I thank you in advance for standing solidly with Israel and the Jewish people and for praying for the peace of Jerusalem!
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and jews.
ISRAEL WILL BECOME A NATION. LITERALLY IN THE SPRING.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,(CHANGED TO ABRAHAM LATER) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:(PALESTINE,ISRAEL)
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
EZEKIEL 36:24
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
EZEKIEL 37:9-28
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds,(ALL THE WORLD) O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.(COME TO LIFE)
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.(ISRAEL WILL HAVE A POWERFUL ARMY)
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.(BURNED BY HITLER)
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.(THE DRY BONES COME TO LIFE IN ISRAEL)
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
MATTHEW 24:32
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:(ISRAEL WAS LITERALLY REBORN JUST BEFORE SUMMER,MAY 14,1948).
MARK 13:28
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
DANIEL 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LAST GENERATION.
LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Planeload of US Jews Arrive in Israel on One-Way Ticket
By Hana Levi Julian (INN DEC 29,06)
Despite Kassam rockets, suicide bombers, a recent war with Hizbullah, and economic hardships, 220 North American immigrants stepped off this year's 8th NBN Aliyah airlift Wednesday morning. Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN), the leading organization that facilitates aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from western countries, realized a dream with this flight as their 10,000th oleh (immigrant) stepped off the plane.Most of the new arrivals were so overwhelmed, they could barely speak. This is where we belong, was the single most-often repeated comment heard from the lips of those who braved storms and sleet and freezing rain – not to mention terrorists – to make their homes in the Land. It’s really exciting, said new immigrant Dan O’Dwyer. I’m kind of tingling all over. Rain in Israel when I arrive; I actually find it fitting.When we began this organization, 10,000 was our landmark. This is a very exciting day for us, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass told the new Israelis and those who had come to greet them.
Fass and co-founder Tony Gelbart said their new goal is to bring 5,000 new immigrants each year, a benchmark they believe will be reached within the next two years. More than 3,000 immigrants from the United States, Canada and Britain made aliyah with NBN’s assistance in 2006.These people coming off the plane in the rain, it’s like a double blessing, Bat El Michel declared exuberantly, referring to the long-awaited rains and new immigrants.Bat El came out in the cold rain to meet the newcomers, including a few of her favorite friends. Two and a half years after her own arrival with Nefesh b’Nefesh, now she too waved a poster that announced to the new arrivals, Welcome Home!I think it’s very special to see so many people connected to Israel in such a special way, said Nadav, an Israeli who was there to greet his Canadian girlfriend, Lana. I know there are olim already here that made aliyah a year ago, or a few years ago, and they’re still connected to all the aliyah process and welcoming all the guys…It’s really heartwarming to see it.
Nadav added that as an Israeli, he is more optimistic about the future after watching an NBN aliyah flight touch down. It’s nice to know there are still people who still care about Israel, he said. That makes me feel better about the future.Former Prisoner of Zion and former Deputy Prime Minister and Knesset member Natan Sharansky was invited to speak to the new immigrants and the loved ones who came despite the frigid temperatures to greet them at Ben Gurion International Airport.Sharansky praised NBN for its innovative grassroots approach to encouraging aliyah. It’s not accidental that the most successful programs which happen with American Jewry… came not as a part of establishment policy, but part of a grassroots initiative…… that is the right way to deal with this.
Asked about whether he thought the majority of American Jews would choose to come to live in Israel or remain in the U.S, Sharansky indicated that the question is not whether US Jews will remain in America, but whether they will remain Jews at all:
At this moment, unfortunately, the majority of Jews is disappearing not only in America, but all over the world through assimilation.
For the Jews of the world, said Sharansky, Israel remains the most basic, strongest connection to their Jewish identity.Shalom Woodrow, until Wednesday a resident of Toronto, spoke for the countless generations of his family who had remained outside the Holy Land. Now it’s our time to make it grow, to make our family grow and prosper and to enjoy the Land of Israel....in the place where we’re supposed to be. This is the place that we came to, to do more than we can in chutz (abroad), and Baruch Hashem (thank G-d) we’re here to thrive.He and his wife brought their five children, including a new seven-and a-half-week-old infant named Shlomo Zalmen, he added, to make [our] family grow and prosper, and to enjoy the Land of Israel.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
Dollar Slides; U.A.E. Says Selling U.S. Currency, Buying Euros
By Kabir Chibber
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped the most in a week against the euro as the United Arab Emirates said it will convert some of its reserves of U.S. assets into the European currency. The dollar also had its biggest decline versus the yen this month before a U.S. report that may show consumer confidence fell for a third straight month, fueling bets the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next year. The U.S. currency has slipped 9.9 percent versus the euro this year, its first slide since 2004. The U.A.E.'s decision to relocate its reserves is part of a theme that means that U.S. dollar holdings in global currency reserves are decreasing,' said Hans Guenter Redeker, head of currency strategy in London at BNP Paribas SA. The dollar is going to lose support as we see Fed rate cuts next year. The dollar fell to 118.63 yen at 7:17 a.m. in New York, from 119.15 late yesterday. The currency slid to $1.3158 versus the euro, from $1.3098. The euro traded at 156.09 yen, from 156.04, after touching a record 156.43 on Dec. 21. The dollar has risen 0.8 percent against the Japanese currency this year.
The U.A.E. will switch 8 percent of its reserves from dollars into euros before September, Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in a Dec. 24 interview in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. has started in a limited way to sell its dollar reserves, he said. The Gulf state is among oil exporters including Iran, Venezuela and Indonesia that are looking to shift their currency reserves into euros or price their oil products in the 12-nation currency.
U.S. Slowdown
The U.S. Conference Board's index of sentiment due tomorrow will probably drop to 102 this month from 102.9 in November, according to the median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. MasterCard Advisors also said holiday retail sales this year grew at a slower pace this year than in 2005. The data are likely to add to an economic slowdown scenario that may prompt a rate cut in the first quarter, said Masashi Kurabe, a currency manager in Tokyo at Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., a unit of Japan's largest lender by assets. The bias is to sell the dollar. The Fed has left borrowing costs at 5.25 percent for the past four policy meetings, after a two-year cycle of rate increases. The European Central Bank has raised rates six times in a year, to 3.5 percent. The Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark in July for the first time in almost six years, to 0.25 percent. Interest-rate futures show traders see a 28 percent chance the Fed will lower its overnight target lending rate between banks by a quarter point to 5 percent in March, up from a 17 percent likelihood a week ago.
Japanese Rates
The yen's gains accelerated against the dollar after a Jiji Press report suggested the BOJ will push rates higher at its January meeting because of better-than-expected data yesterday. Japan's government bonds fell the most in three weeks after the Jiji article. Reports yesterday showed an unexpected fall in the unemployment rate and a smaller-than-expected decline in household spending. The Jiji report is spurring yen buying, said Nobuo Ibaraki, deputy general manager of foreign exchange at Nomura Trust & Banking Co. Ltd., a unit of Japan's largest brokerage.
Expectations for an interest-rate hike had receded. So the Jiji report will have a big impact on the yen. Japan's currency may strengthen to 118 per dollar today, he said. Jiji correctly predicted 10 days before the BOJ's meeting last week that policy makers would keep rates unchanged. The central bank will consider lifting the benchmark to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent when it announces its next decision on Jan. 18, Jiji Press reported, citing unnamed sources.
Retail Sales
Governor Toshihiko Fukui told business leaders on Dec. 25 that the central bank will adjust policy if prices and the economy perform in line with forecasts. Gains in the yen may be limited after a government report showed retail sales rose less than expected last month. The currency is set for a second straight annual decline as interest rates in Japan, which are the lowest among major economies, prompt investors to seek higher returns offshore. Traders have still cut bets that the Japanese central bank will raise borrowing costs in January. The household spending report showed an 11th month of declines and gains in consumer prices failed to beat forecasts. It's hard to find a reason to buy the yen, said Stephen Halmarick, co-head of economic and market analysis at Citigroup Australia in Sydney. This is yet another set of disappointing numbers out of Japan. The dollar may extend declines after MasterCard Advisors said retail sales in the holiday season rose 3 percent, a slower pace than last year's 5.2 percent increase, as a cooling housing market and higher energy costs cut into spending. The National Association of Manufacturers in the U.S. predicts slower economic growth will prompt the Fed to lower rates by a half-percentage point by the middle of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on its Web site, citing the Associated Press. To contact the reporters on this story: Kabir Chibber in London at kchibber@bloomberg.net .
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)
Israel won't free Palestinian prisoners
Updated 12/29/2006 10:27 AM ET By Nasser Shiyoukhi, AP
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has rebuffed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request to free Palestinian prisoners ahead of a major Muslim holiday, insisting that Palestinian militants first agree to release a captured Israeli soldier.The decision was at odds with recent overtures by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to bolster the moderate Abbas in the eyes of the Palestinian people, who voted the militantly anti-Israel Hamas group into power nearly one year ago.Separately, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported that Olmert was prepared to hold back-channel talks on a blueprint for a final peace deal, as Abbas has proposed. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin had no comment on the report.The estimated 8,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails enjoy iconic status in Palestinian society, and Israel usually frees a small number at Muslim holiday time in a goodwill gesture. Last week, at their first official meeting, Abbas asked Olmert to do the same before the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins on Saturday.
Olmert said he would consider it, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said, but just hours before the Muslim holiday and the Jewish Sabbath were to begin, no release had been announced. Right now, it's not on the agenda, so long as Cpl. Gilad Shalit remains in captivity, Eisin said.Erekat interpreted Olmert's reluctance to mean he was unwilling to risk the wrath of Israeli public opinion by releasing Palestinian prisoners without assuring Hamas-linked militants would free Shalit, seized in a June 25 cross-border raid.
It's unfortunate, Erekat said of the decision, adding that it would hurt Abbas' standing.Olmert has said repeatedly since Shalit's capture that he would not free Palestinians before the soldier was released.One of the Hamas-linked groups holding Shalit said Thursday that progress has been made toward a prisoner exchange, and media reports cited Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as saying the soldier would be released soon. But neither said when a swap might take place, and such claims of progress have been made in the past.
In their landmark meeting on Saturday, Olmert agreed to ease restrictions on Palestinian travel in the West Bank and to release $100 million in frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority — moves that prompted outcries among hard-liners in Israel. Releasing prisoners before Shalit was freed would likely have angered Olmert's opponents even further.I think that a gesture that in normal times is accepted at holiday time must not happen today because it would be misinterpreted, Israeli Cabinet minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio.Shalit's father, Noam, who has been critical of the Israeli government's conduct regarding his son, said he advocated a pre-holiday release of Palestinian prisoners.I thought it might generate some positive momentum toward a final deal to free Gilad and other prisoners, he told Israel Radio.In a letter in Arabic that appeared Friday in an East Jerusalem newspaper, Al-Quds, Shalit's parents assured their son they were doing everything to win his release and appealed to his captors to treat him well.
With regard to the peace talks, Yediot said Olmert had no intention of abandoning the internationally backed road map peace plan that Israel and the Palestinians agreed to in June 2003. The plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, stalled shortly after it was presented.In Egypt on Wednesday, Abbas said he'd like the two sides to start closed-door talks on some of their most intractable disputes, including final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. He said he proposed such backdoor negotiations to Olmert at their weekend meeting, and that the Israeli leader promised to consider the suggestion.Abbas did not spell out why he sought backdoor talks. But as one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, negotiated secretly, he is known to champion quiet, informal diplomacy.Palestinian militants, meanwhile, fired eight rockets at Israel on Friday, the highest number in a single day since a Nov. 26 truce went into effect. On Wednesday, Olmert ordered the military to attack rocket squads, abandoning the policy of restraint it had adopted since the cease-fire.So far, Israel, which waged a five-month campaign against rocket squads before the truce took hold, has not carried out any attacks.The Associated Press.
Olmert OKs pinpoint attacks on militants in Gaza
By Richard Boudreaux,Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times,December 28, 2006
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instructed the army Wednesday to resume pinpoint attacks against militants firing rockets from the Gaza Strip, abandoning a policy of restraint against repeated Palestinian violations of a month-old cease-fire.
But in a statement that appeared to rule out a large-scale return of ground troops to Gaza, Israel said it remains committed to the truce and will work with the Palestinian leadership so that immediate steps are taken to halt the rain of crude Qassam rockets.
The decision reflected conflicting pressures on Olmert. Just four days earlier, with U.S. encouragement, he had opened negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and was worried that mounting violence could spoil the first joint effort in nearly two years to revive talks on a final peace settlement.
Olmert acted after eight rockets landed in Israel on Tuesday, the most fired in one day since the truce was declared Nov. 26. One of the rockets wounded two teenagers in Sderot, the town on the Gaza border that has suffered most of the attacks.The defense establishment has been instructed to take pinpoint action against the rocket-launching cells, said the statement issued by Olmert's office after he met Wednesday with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and senior military officials.At the same time, Israel will continue to abide by the cease-fire, the statement said.Most of the rockets, including the one that wounded the two teenagers, have been fired by Islamic Jihad, a radical group backed by Iran that does not participate in Palestinian politics. In a statement Wednesday, the group said it would keep firing rockets in retaliation for attacks on its militants in the West Bank.Islamic Jihad fired a rocket into southern Israel shortly after Wednesday's announcement, causing no casualties.The Israeli army was given a green light to conduct air or artillery strikes at rocket squads in Gaza before, during or immediately after a launch, officials said, but not to attack them with ground troops or resume targeted killings of militants thought to have fired rockets in the past.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the policy reversal should not undermine the cease-fire.As long as operations are prudent and pinpointed, there is no reason for things to degenerate, she said in Jerusalem.Separately, despite the Israeli announcement, Abbas proposed Wednesday that he start closed-door talks with Israel on some of their most difficult disputes, including the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees, The Associated Press reported.It is the right time to talk, Abbas said after he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Abbas did not spell out why he was proposing that the negotiations with Israel be back-door. But as one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, he is known to champion quiet, informal diplomacy.We have the idea of a back-door channel between us and the Israelis, with the participation of one or all members of the Quartet to discuss all the issues of the final status, Abbas said, referring to the Western powers that oversee the Mideast peace process.Chicago Tribune
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)
China's Hu calls for powerful, combat-ready navy
Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:23pm ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese president and commander-in-chief Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared at any time" for military struggle, state media reported on Thursday.At a meeting of delegates to a Communist Party meeting of the navy on Wednesday, Hu said China, whose military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved.We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military's historical mission in this new century and at this new stage, he said in comments splashed on the front pages of the party mouthpiece People's Daily and the People's Liberation Army Daily. We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure that the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time, said Hu, pictured in green military garb for the occasion.
China's naval expansion includes a growing submarine fleet and new ships with blue water capability, fuelling fears in the United States that its military could alter the balance of power in Asia with consequences for Taiwan.
China has said it would attack if the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own formally declares independence.Analysts say China sees a stronger navy as a way to secure energy supplies and seaborne trade routes to help ease security fears over supplies of resources and oil it needs to feed its booming economy.Hu also called for the strict management of the navy according to law, a possible reference to a scandal in which a vice admiral was jailed for life on a charge of embezzlement.Wang Shouye was convicted by a military court earlier this month, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po reported, making him the most senior Chinese military officer to be jailed for corruption.Earlier this year, Wang was sacked as navy deputy commander for bad morals and using his position to demand and accept bribes and violate laws and discipline, the report said.
North Korea grave threat after nuclear test: Seoul Fri Dec 29, 4:35 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Friday termed North Korea a grave threat, a further sign of the deepening chill in relations between the two since Pyongyang's nuclear test nearly three months ago. A defense white paper used some of the harshest language to describe its communist neighbor since the South tried to set aside decades of outright hostility toward the North with the diplomacy of what Seoul dubbed its sunshine policy.North Korea's conventional forces, its nuclear test, weapons of mass destruction and the forward deployment of its troops are a grave threat to our security, the white paper said.Two years ago, the term it used was direct military threat.The ministry said the October 9 test along with the development of other weapons of mass destruction, a standing army of almost two million and the forward deployment of conventional weapons made the threat from the communist state more serious.North Korea has deployed more than 70 percent of its ground troops in the southern third of the country along the border, making it possible to mount a surprise attack against the South without a major realignment of forces, the white paper said.
It has also deployed 40 percent of its 820 jet fighters in the southern region, and a fleet of transport planes can push special units deep into the South in wartime, it said.North Korea has probably extracted more than 50 kg (110 lb) of plutonium since 1994, with more than 30 kg obtained during the past three years when it was negotiating with regional powers to end its nuclear program, a ministry official said.The two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China failed in their latest round of talks last week to make any progress in suspending the North's nuclear programs in exchange for aid and better ties with Washington and Tokyo.
Estimates of the North's nuclear arsenal have ranged from one or two weapons to 10 or more. Its plutonium stockpile is believed to be enough to make 13 bombs, according to some estimates.North Korea announced on October 9 it had successfully conducted a nuclear test, triggering a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the test and applying financial and trade sanctions.At the end of six-way talks last week, the North's top nuclear envoy said his country would continue to increase what he called its military deterrent in face of U.S. pressure.
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
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.
2006-12-29 09:50:53
Risks, Perils and Potential Disasters of 2007
From the worsening of the Middle East to the worsening in the horn of Africa; from the potential of an Israeli-American attack on Iran to the overarching anarchy from a lack of global leaders with vision and influence, Patrick Seale offers a dire look at the problems in the New Year.Although peering into the fog of the future is always a hazardous business, it would not be rash to say that, of all the potential man-made catastrophes that might afflict the world this coming year, for sheer destructiveness none would surpass an American/Israeli attack on Iran. Is such an attack probable, or even possible? Regrettably, it is. In the current confrontation with Iran, the military option remains very much on the table. In both the United States and Israel, the same military planners, political lobbyists and armchair strategists that pressed America to attack Iraq are now urging it to strike Iran -- and for much the same reasons. These reasons may be briefly summarized as the need to control the Middle East’s oil resources and deny them to potential rivals, such as China; the wish to demonstrate to friend and foe alike America’s unique ability to project military power across the globe; and, last but not least, Israel’s determination to maintain its supremacy over any regional challenger, especially one as recklessly provocative as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
To be effective, an American/Israeli strike against Iran would have to destroy not only its nuclear facilities but also its ability to hit back, that is to say its entire military-industrial complex. The attack would have to be so devastating as to rob Iran of the will and the means to retaliate. This could take weeks of air and missiles attacks and, because of the size of the country and the dispersal of its military assets, would be exceedingly difficult to achieve.It seems more than likely that, if attacked, Iran will, one way or another, manage to strike back -- against U.S. troops in Iraq, against Israel, and against U.S. bases and U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Of all these targets, the Arab states of the Gulf -- the most prosperous, modern and forward-looking of the entire Arab world -- are perhaps the most vulnerable and could go up in flames. The impact on the future of Arab society would be incalculable.The impact would also be devastating on U.S.-Arab relations, on Israel’s long-term security, on the flow of oil from the Gulf, on the oil price, on the economies of the industrial world and on the already highly fragile dollar. And yet, some influential voices argue that the only way the United States can hope to ‘win’ in Iraq is to destroy Iran.
President George W. Bush is due to make a statement of his Middle East strategy early in the New Year. All the indications are that he will reject the advice of the Iraq Study Group, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton, to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, to engage Iran and Syria in a dialogue and to give top priority to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead, Bush seems to be heading in the opposite direction.There is talk of sending more troops to Iraq, of tightening sanctions against Iran and Syria, of mobilising ‘moderate’ Arab states against ‘extremists’, of arming the Fuad Siniora government in Lebanon against Hizbullah, and the Fatah forces of Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, against the democratically elected Hamas government. In the Horn of Africa, the United States is lending its tacit support to Ethiopia in its war against Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts, all this in the name of the ill-conceived Global War on Terrorism, which continues to create more terrorists than it eliminates.Instead of calming passions and bringing peace to a deeply troubled region, American policies are feeding the flames of civil war in Iraq, exposing American troops to still greater danger, forcing Iran and Syria to look to their defences, exacerbating conflicts in Lebanon and Palestine and opening a new front in Somalia, which risks destabilising much of East Africa.
Still in the grip of the neo-con cabal, which has destroyed his presidency by its insane belligerence, Bush continues to see the Tehran-Damascus-Hizbullah-Hamas axis as the main enemy to confront and bring down. The real danger this coming year is that Saudi Arabia, alarmed at the rise of Iran and at the self-assertion of Shi‘a communities in Lebanon and the Gulf region, will be persuaded to side with the United States against Tehran. It would be wiser for the Kingdom to engage Tehran in a wide-ranging dialogue leading to an agreement on mutual interests, and even to the conclusion of a Saudi-Iranian security pact which alone could stabilise the region without the interference of external powers. Meanwhile, Israel continues to play cat-and-mouse with the international community, pretending to make concessions to Mahmud Abbas, like removing a few checkpoints and releasing a fraction of the funds it has sequestered, while blatantly establishing a new illegal settlement in the Jordan valley and pressing ahead with its infamous separation wall. The message is clear: Israel’s land grab on the West Bank will continue whatever Washington or anyone else might say.Last summer’s war in Lebanon confronted Israel with a clear choice: whether to continue to seek to dominate the region by military force and to expand its territory at the expense of the Palestinians, or to make peace with the entire Arab world on the basis of something like its 1967 borders.
The Olmert government in Israel has chosen the first option: It has rejected Syria’s offer to reopen peace negotiations for the return of the Golan Heights; it is not ready to end its occupation of Palestinian territory or allow the creation of a viable Palestinian state; it is rearming and retraining its forces in anticipation of a second round against Hizbullah in Lebanon; it continues its cruel war of attrition against the Hamas movement in Gaza; and, it is determined to maintain its regional monopoly of weapons of mass destruction. Various influential Israelis have stated that if the United States does not strike Iran to destroy its nuclear facilities, Israel must do so itself. If one considers the likely impact of these American and Israeli policies, it is clear that the coming year is likely to be a hot one in the region. The real problem is a world-wide lack of leadership. There is hardly anyone around with the power or the vision to end the current state of international anarchy.George W. Bush has de-legitimised himself and squandered American authority by his blunders. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has managed to hoist his country back into the front rank of international powers, but his focus is still on reasserting Russian state control over oil and gas resources, while keeping neighbours like Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia firmly within Russia’s orbit.
The European Union is a magnificent example of how 27 nations can, by mutual agreement and by means of carefully crafted laws, give 500 million people a life of peace, stability and considerable prosperity. But in terms of a common foreign policy, the Union has been a failure. Its members have pulled in different directions.Britain’s Tony Blair has marginalised himself and his country by his slavish attachment to the United States. He will, in any event, be leaving office in 2007. President Jacques Chirac of France -- an experienced and sober Middle East hand -- will be out of office by May. Neither of his potential successors has much foreign affairs experience, and both are committed to mistaken policies. The right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy wants to keep Turkey out of the European Union -- a mistake of strategic proportions -- while the socialist Ségolène Royal has pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear technology, even for peaceful purposes. Of the two, Sarkozy is the more dangerous, because he is likely to depart from Chirac’s independent posture in international affairs and align himself with the United States and Israel.In the Middle East, three men will bear a heavy burden of responsibility in the coming year. They are King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. They all have great problems at home, but if they were to get together, pool their considerable resources and jointly exert their political influence, they could protect the region from some of the risks, perils and potential catastrophes of the year ahead.Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the Middle East, and the author of The Struggle for Syria; also, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East; and Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire.Patrick Seale
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.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat Dec 30 12:02 AM EDT
DEC 30,06 NO QUAKES YET
DEC 29,06
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 MAINE
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF BALI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
DEC 28,06
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 TAIWAN REGION
MAP 2.8 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
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 in Indonesian floods rises By FAKHRURRADZIE GADE, Associated Press Writer Fri Dec 29, 4:54 AM ET
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia - Rescuers reached remote villages, delivering food and medicine Friday to thousands of people displaced by floods and rain-induced landslides that have claimed at least 126 lives on Indonesia's Sumatra island. In neighboring Malaysia, which is experiencing its most severe weather in a century, authorities found the body of a 14-year-old boy floating in a flood-swollen canal, bringing the death total there to 11.Days of torrential rain have forced more than 400,000 people from their homes in Indonesia and displaced nearly 90,000 in Malaysia.Heavy rain continued to fall over the hardest-hit areas of Sumatra, complicating relief efforts and adding to the misery of survivors, said local government spokesman Nadir Musa.
Most affected was the northernmost province of Aceh, where helicopters dropped food, tents and medicines while volunteers in dinghies distributed aid, Musa said.At least 76 people were killed in Aceh, said Jabad, an official in the area who goes by only one name. That was 70 less than he had reported earlier in the day. Jabad said he mistakenly added some of then 150 people listed as missing to his count of the dead.At least 50 others have died in neighboring North Sumatra province, said Edy Sofyan, the provincial spokesman.Seasonal downpours cause of dozens of landslides and flash floods each year in the sprawling archipelagic nation where millions of people live in mountainous areas or in fertile flood plains.Aceh was the hardest hit province in the 2004 tsunami, losing an estimated 167,000 people, but the floods and landslides have affected inland regions that were untouched by that disaster.
Malaysian flood toll rises to 11 Fri Dec 29, 12:08 AM ET
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The death toll from Malaysia's worst floods in decades has risen to 11, officials have said, and the government has warned of further flooding with more heavy rain forecast. The latest victim was a 14-year-old boy whose body was found floating in a canal, the official Bernama news agency said.A five-year-old girl is also missing, after the car her family was travelling in was swept away by strong currents. Her father survived but the bodies of her mother and three-year-old sister have been retrieved.The number of people forced to flee their homes and shelter in relief centres in southern Johor state, which has been hardest-hit, rose to 61,352 on Friday from 55,212 the day before, Bernama said.The government has urged rescuers to brace themselves for another round of the disaster after forecasters perdicted more bad weather for Johor and central Pahang state until Sunday.If it doesn't occur, then thank God, but if it does, we must be in a state of readiness so that the necessary operations can be carried out efficiently, deputy premier Najib Razak said Thursday
Dear Stan, PRAYER DAY
Learn more about the Day of Prayer
Each year, during The Fellowship’s annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, millions of Christians in thousands of churches worldwide gather to pray for Israel’s peace and security. I always feel a deep sense of blessing when I consider how much this event has done to rally Christian support for Israel and lift up a passionate chorus of prayer to our heavenly Father. It is with a great sense of urgency that I invite you to involve your church in The Fellowship’s 2007 International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, which will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2007.
As a true friend of Israel, you know very well that 2006 has been a difficult year for her. Last summer’s war launched by Hezbollah took a devastating toll on Israel’s people and economy. Iran’s radical Islamic president continues to call for Israel’s destruction, even as he pursues the development of nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, even Israel’s attempts at self-defense are criticized by an international community all too ready to blame the Jewish state for all the Middle East’s ills.
Clearly, the need to uphold Israel in prayer has never been greater -- and I hope you will answer the call to fulfill the biblical command to pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6). I invite you to join with thousands of churches around the world to lift Israel up in prayer on January 28, 2007. When you register online, we will send you a FREE Day of Prayer Church Action Kit with sermon notes, music suggestions, a DVD, and other resources to help equip your church to be a part of the 2007 Day of Prayer.
I thank you in advance for standing solidly with Israel and the Jewish people and for praying for the peace of Jerusalem!
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and jews.
ISRAEL WILL BECOME A NATION. LITERALLY IN THE SPRING.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,(CHANGED TO ABRAHAM LATER) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:(PALESTINE,ISRAEL)
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
EZEKIEL 36:24
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
EZEKIEL 37:9-28
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds,(ALL THE WORLD) O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.(COME TO LIFE)
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.(ISRAEL WILL HAVE A POWERFUL ARMY)
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.(BURNED BY HITLER)
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.(THE DRY BONES COME TO LIFE IN ISRAEL)
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
MATTHEW 24:32
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:(ISRAEL WAS LITERALLY REBORN JUST BEFORE SUMMER,MAY 14,1948).
MARK 13:28
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
DANIEL 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LAST GENERATION.
LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Planeload of US Jews Arrive in Israel on One-Way Ticket
By Hana Levi Julian (INN DEC 29,06)
Despite Kassam rockets, suicide bombers, a recent war with Hizbullah, and economic hardships, 220 North American immigrants stepped off this year's 8th NBN Aliyah airlift Wednesday morning. Nefesh B'Nefesh (NBN), the leading organization that facilitates aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel) from western countries, realized a dream with this flight as their 10,000th oleh (immigrant) stepped off the plane.Most of the new arrivals were so overwhelmed, they could barely speak. This is where we belong, was the single most-often repeated comment heard from the lips of those who braved storms and sleet and freezing rain – not to mention terrorists – to make their homes in the Land. It’s really exciting, said new immigrant Dan O’Dwyer. I’m kind of tingling all over. Rain in Israel when I arrive; I actually find it fitting.When we began this organization, 10,000 was our landmark. This is a very exciting day for us, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass told the new Israelis and those who had come to greet them.
Fass and co-founder Tony Gelbart said their new goal is to bring 5,000 new immigrants each year, a benchmark they believe will be reached within the next two years. More than 3,000 immigrants from the United States, Canada and Britain made aliyah with NBN’s assistance in 2006.These people coming off the plane in the rain, it’s like a double blessing, Bat El Michel declared exuberantly, referring to the long-awaited rains and new immigrants.Bat El came out in the cold rain to meet the newcomers, including a few of her favorite friends. Two and a half years after her own arrival with Nefesh b’Nefesh, now she too waved a poster that announced to the new arrivals, Welcome Home!I think it’s very special to see so many people connected to Israel in such a special way, said Nadav, an Israeli who was there to greet his Canadian girlfriend, Lana. I know there are olim already here that made aliyah a year ago, or a few years ago, and they’re still connected to all the aliyah process and welcoming all the guys…It’s really heartwarming to see it.
Nadav added that as an Israeli, he is more optimistic about the future after watching an NBN aliyah flight touch down. It’s nice to know there are still people who still care about Israel, he said. That makes me feel better about the future.Former Prisoner of Zion and former Deputy Prime Minister and Knesset member Natan Sharansky was invited to speak to the new immigrants and the loved ones who came despite the frigid temperatures to greet them at Ben Gurion International Airport.Sharansky praised NBN for its innovative grassroots approach to encouraging aliyah. It’s not accidental that the most successful programs which happen with American Jewry… came not as a part of establishment policy, but part of a grassroots initiative…… that is the right way to deal with this.
Asked about whether he thought the majority of American Jews would choose to come to live in Israel or remain in the U.S, Sharansky indicated that the question is not whether US Jews will remain in America, but whether they will remain Jews at all:
At this moment, unfortunately, the majority of Jews is disappearing not only in America, but all over the world through assimilation.
For the Jews of the world, said Sharansky, Israel remains the most basic, strongest connection to their Jewish identity.Shalom Woodrow, until Wednesday a resident of Toronto, spoke for the countless generations of his family who had remained outside the Holy Land. Now it’s our time to make it grow, to make our family grow and prosper and to enjoy the Land of Israel....in the place where we’re supposed to be. This is the place that we came to, to do more than we can in chutz (abroad), and Baruch Hashem (thank G-d) we’re here to thrive.He and his wife brought their five children, including a new seven-and a-half-week-old infant named Shlomo Zalmen, he added, to make [our] family grow and prosper, and to enjoy the Land of Israel.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
Dollar Slides; U.A.E. Says Selling U.S. Currency, Buying Euros
By Kabir Chibber
Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- The dollar dropped the most in a week against the euro as the United Arab Emirates said it will convert some of its reserves of U.S. assets into the European currency. The dollar also had its biggest decline versus the yen this month before a U.S. report that may show consumer confidence fell for a third straight month, fueling bets the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates next year. The U.S. currency has slipped 9.9 percent versus the euro this year, its first slide since 2004. The U.A.E.'s decision to relocate its reserves is part of a theme that means that U.S. dollar holdings in global currency reserves are decreasing,' said Hans Guenter Redeker, head of currency strategy in London at BNP Paribas SA. The dollar is going to lose support as we see Fed rate cuts next year. The dollar fell to 118.63 yen at 7:17 a.m. in New York, from 119.15 late yesterday. The currency slid to $1.3158 versus the euro, from $1.3098. The euro traded at 156.09 yen, from 156.04, after touching a record 156.43 on Dec. 21. The dollar has risen 0.8 percent against the Japanese currency this year.
The U.A.E. will switch 8 percent of its reserves from dollars into euros before September, Sultan Bin Nasser al-Suwaidi said in a Dec. 24 interview in Abu Dhabi. The U.A.E. has started in a limited way to sell its dollar reserves, he said. The Gulf state is among oil exporters including Iran, Venezuela and Indonesia that are looking to shift their currency reserves into euros or price their oil products in the 12-nation currency.
U.S. Slowdown
The U.S. Conference Board's index of sentiment due tomorrow will probably drop to 102 this month from 102.9 in November, according to the median forecast of 48 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. MasterCard Advisors also said holiday retail sales this year grew at a slower pace this year than in 2005. The data are likely to add to an economic slowdown scenario that may prompt a rate cut in the first quarter, said Masashi Kurabe, a currency manager in Tokyo at Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., a unit of Japan's largest lender by assets. The bias is to sell the dollar. The Fed has left borrowing costs at 5.25 percent for the past four policy meetings, after a two-year cycle of rate increases. The European Central Bank has raised rates six times in a year, to 3.5 percent. The Bank of Japan lifted its benchmark in July for the first time in almost six years, to 0.25 percent. Interest-rate futures show traders see a 28 percent chance the Fed will lower its overnight target lending rate between banks by a quarter point to 5 percent in March, up from a 17 percent likelihood a week ago.
Japanese Rates
The yen's gains accelerated against the dollar after a Jiji Press report suggested the BOJ will push rates higher at its January meeting because of better-than-expected data yesterday. Japan's government bonds fell the most in three weeks after the Jiji article. Reports yesterday showed an unexpected fall in the unemployment rate and a smaller-than-expected decline in household spending. The Jiji report is spurring yen buying, said Nobuo Ibaraki, deputy general manager of foreign exchange at Nomura Trust & Banking Co. Ltd., a unit of Japan's largest brokerage.
Expectations for an interest-rate hike had receded. So the Jiji report will have a big impact on the yen. Japan's currency may strengthen to 118 per dollar today, he said. Jiji correctly predicted 10 days before the BOJ's meeting last week that policy makers would keep rates unchanged. The central bank will consider lifting the benchmark to 0.5 percent from 0.25 percent when it announces its next decision on Jan. 18, Jiji Press reported, citing unnamed sources.
Retail Sales
Governor Toshihiko Fukui told business leaders on Dec. 25 that the central bank will adjust policy if prices and the economy perform in line with forecasts. Gains in the yen may be limited after a government report showed retail sales rose less than expected last month. The currency is set for a second straight annual decline as interest rates in Japan, which are the lowest among major economies, prompt investors to seek higher returns offshore. Traders have still cut bets that the Japanese central bank will raise borrowing costs in January. The household spending report showed an 11th month of declines and gains in consumer prices failed to beat forecasts. It's hard to find a reason to buy the yen, said Stephen Halmarick, co-head of economic and market analysis at Citigroup Australia in Sydney. This is yet another set of disappointing numbers out of Japan. The dollar may extend declines after MasterCard Advisors said retail sales in the holiday season rose 3 percent, a slower pace than last year's 5.2 percent increase, as a cooling housing market and higher energy costs cut into spending. The National Association of Manufacturers in the U.S. predicts slower economic growth will prompt the Fed to lower rates by a half-percentage point by the middle of 2007, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday on its Web site, citing the Associated Press. To contact the reporters on this story: Kabir Chibber in London at kchibber@bloomberg.net .
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)
Israel won't free Palestinian prisoners
Updated 12/29/2006 10:27 AM ET By Nasser Shiyoukhi, AP
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel has rebuffed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' request to free Palestinian prisoners ahead of a major Muslim holiday, insisting that Palestinian militants first agree to release a captured Israeli soldier.The decision was at odds with recent overtures by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to bolster the moderate Abbas in the eyes of the Palestinian people, who voted the militantly anti-Israel Hamas group into power nearly one year ago.Separately, the Yediot Ahronot newspaper reported that Olmert was prepared to hold back-channel talks on a blueprint for a final peace deal, as Abbas has proposed. Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisin had no comment on the report.The estimated 8,000 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails enjoy iconic status in Palestinian society, and Israel usually frees a small number at Muslim holiday time in a goodwill gesture. Last week, at their first official meeting, Abbas asked Olmert to do the same before the Eid al-Adha holiday, which begins on Saturday.
Olmert said he would consider it, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said, but just hours before the Muslim holiday and the Jewish Sabbath were to begin, no release had been announced. Right now, it's not on the agenda, so long as Cpl. Gilad Shalit remains in captivity, Eisin said.Erekat interpreted Olmert's reluctance to mean he was unwilling to risk the wrath of Israeli public opinion by releasing Palestinian prisoners without assuring Hamas-linked militants would free Shalit, seized in a June 25 cross-border raid.
It's unfortunate, Erekat said of the decision, adding that it would hurt Abbas' standing.Olmert has said repeatedly since Shalit's capture that he would not free Palestinians before the soldier was released.One of the Hamas-linked groups holding Shalit said Thursday that progress has been made toward a prisoner exchange, and media reports cited Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas as saying the soldier would be released soon. But neither said when a swap might take place, and such claims of progress have been made in the past.
In their landmark meeting on Saturday, Olmert agreed to ease restrictions on Palestinian travel in the West Bank and to release $100 million in frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority — moves that prompted outcries among hard-liners in Israel. Releasing prisoners before Shalit was freed would likely have angered Olmert's opponents even further.I think that a gesture that in normal times is accepted at holiday time must not happen today because it would be misinterpreted, Israeli Cabinet minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio.Shalit's father, Noam, who has been critical of the Israeli government's conduct regarding his son, said he advocated a pre-holiday release of Palestinian prisoners.I thought it might generate some positive momentum toward a final deal to free Gilad and other prisoners, he told Israel Radio.In a letter in Arabic that appeared Friday in an East Jerusalem newspaper, Al-Quds, Shalit's parents assured their son they were doing everything to win his release and appealed to his captors to treat him well.
With regard to the peace talks, Yediot said Olmert had no intention of abandoning the internationally backed road map peace plan that Israel and the Palestinians agreed to in June 2003. The plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside Israel, stalled shortly after it was presented.In Egypt on Wednesday, Abbas said he'd like the two sides to start closed-door talks on some of their most intractable disputes, including final borders, the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees. He said he proposed such backdoor negotiations to Olmert at their weekend meeting, and that the Israeli leader promised to consider the suggestion.Abbas did not spell out why he sought backdoor talks. But as one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, negotiated secretly, he is known to champion quiet, informal diplomacy.Palestinian militants, meanwhile, fired eight rockets at Israel on Friday, the highest number in a single day since a Nov. 26 truce went into effect. On Wednesday, Olmert ordered the military to attack rocket squads, abandoning the policy of restraint it had adopted since the cease-fire.So far, Israel, which waged a five-month campaign against rocket squads before the truce took hold, has not carried out any attacks.The Associated Press.
Olmert OKs pinpoint attacks on militants in Gaza
By Richard Boudreaux,Tribune Newspapers: Los Angeles Times,December 28, 2006
JERUSALEM -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert instructed the army Wednesday to resume pinpoint attacks against militants firing rockets from the Gaza Strip, abandoning a policy of restraint against repeated Palestinian violations of a month-old cease-fire.
But in a statement that appeared to rule out a large-scale return of ground troops to Gaza, Israel said it remains committed to the truce and will work with the Palestinian leadership so that immediate steps are taken to halt the rain of crude Qassam rockets.
The decision reflected conflicting pressures on Olmert. Just four days earlier, with U.S. encouragement, he had opened negotiations with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and was worried that mounting violence could spoil the first joint effort in nearly two years to revive talks on a final peace settlement.
Olmert acted after eight rockets landed in Israel on Tuesday, the most fired in one day since the truce was declared Nov. 26. One of the rockets wounded two teenagers in Sderot, the town on the Gaza border that has suffered most of the attacks.The defense establishment has been instructed to take pinpoint action against the rocket-launching cells, said the statement issued by Olmert's office after he met Wednesday with Defense Minister Amir Peretz and senior military officials.At the same time, Israel will continue to abide by the cease-fire, the statement said.Most of the rockets, including the one that wounded the two teenagers, have been fired by Islamic Jihad, a radical group backed by Iran that does not participate in Palestinian politics. In a statement Wednesday, the group said it would keep firing rockets in retaliation for attacks on its militants in the West Bank.Islamic Jihad fired a rocket into southern Israel shortly after Wednesday's announcement, causing no casualties.The Israeli army was given a green light to conduct air or artillery strikes at rocket squads in Gaza before, during or immediately after a launch, officials said, but not to attack them with ground troops or resume targeted killings of militants thought to have fired rockets in the past.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the policy reversal should not undermine the cease-fire.As long as operations are prudent and pinpointed, there is no reason for things to degenerate, she said in Jerusalem.Separately, despite the Israeli announcement, Abbas proposed Wednesday that he start closed-door talks with Israel on some of their most difficult disputes, including the status of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees, The Associated Press reported.It is the right time to talk, Abbas said after he met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.Abbas did not spell out why he was proposing that the negotiations with Israel be back-door. But as one of the architects of the 1993 Oslo peace accord between Israel and the Palestinians, he is known to champion quiet, informal diplomacy.We have the idea of a back-door channel between us and the Israelis, with the participation of one or all members of the Quartet to discuss all the issues of the final status, Abbas said, referring to the Western powers that oversee the Mideast peace process.Chicago Tribune
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)
China's Hu calls for powerful, combat-ready navy
Wed Dec 27, 2006 10:23pm ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - Chinese president and commander-in-chief Hu Jintao urged the building of a powerful navy that is prepared at any time" for military struggle, state media reported on Thursday.At a meeting of delegates to a Communist Party meeting of the navy on Wednesday, Hu said China, whose military build-up has been a source of friction with the United States, was a major maritime country whose naval capability must be improved.We should strive to build a powerful navy that adapts to the needs of our military's historical mission in this new century and at this new stage, he said in comments splashed on the front pages of the party mouthpiece People's Daily and the People's Liberation Army Daily. We should make sound preparations for military struggles and ensure that the forces can effectively carry out missions at any time, said Hu, pictured in green military garb for the occasion.
China's naval expansion includes a growing submarine fleet and new ships with blue water capability, fuelling fears in the United States that its military could alter the balance of power in Asia with consequences for Taiwan.
China has said it would attack if the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own formally declares independence.Analysts say China sees a stronger navy as a way to secure energy supplies and seaborne trade routes to help ease security fears over supplies of resources and oil it needs to feed its booming economy.Hu also called for the strict management of the navy according to law, a possible reference to a scandal in which a vice admiral was jailed for life on a charge of embezzlement.Wang Shouye was convicted by a military court earlier this month, Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po reported, making him the most senior Chinese military officer to be jailed for corruption.Earlier this year, Wang was sacked as navy deputy commander for bad morals and using his position to demand and accept bribes and violate laws and discipline, the report said.
North Korea grave threat after nuclear test: Seoul Fri Dec 29, 4:35 AM ET
SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea on Friday termed North Korea a grave threat, a further sign of the deepening chill in relations between the two since Pyongyang's nuclear test nearly three months ago. A defense white paper used some of the harshest language to describe its communist neighbor since the South tried to set aside decades of outright hostility toward the North with the diplomacy of what Seoul dubbed its sunshine policy.North Korea's conventional forces, its nuclear test, weapons of mass destruction and the forward deployment of its troops are a grave threat to our security, the white paper said.Two years ago, the term it used was direct military threat.The ministry said the October 9 test along with the development of other weapons of mass destruction, a standing army of almost two million and the forward deployment of conventional weapons made the threat from the communist state more serious.North Korea has deployed more than 70 percent of its ground troops in the southern third of the country along the border, making it possible to mount a surprise attack against the South without a major realignment of forces, the white paper said.
It has also deployed 40 percent of its 820 jet fighters in the southern region, and a fleet of transport planes can push special units deep into the South in wartime, it said.North Korea has probably extracted more than 50 kg (110 lb) of plutonium since 1994, with more than 30 kg obtained during the past three years when it was negotiating with regional powers to end its nuclear program, a ministry official said.The two Koreas, the United States, Japan, Russia and China failed in their latest round of talks last week to make any progress in suspending the North's nuclear programs in exchange for aid and better ties with Washington and Tokyo.
Estimates of the North's nuclear arsenal have ranged from one or two weapons to 10 or more. Its plutonium stockpile is believed to be enough to make 13 bombs, according to some estimates.North Korea announced on October 9 it had successfully conducted a nuclear test, triggering a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning the test and applying financial and trade sanctions.At the end of six-way talks last week, the North's top nuclear envoy said his country would continue to increase what he called its military deterrent in face of U.S. pressure.
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
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.
2006-12-29 09:50:53
Risks, Perils and Potential Disasters of 2007
From the worsening of the Middle East to the worsening in the horn of Africa; from the potential of an Israeli-American attack on Iran to the overarching anarchy from a lack of global leaders with vision and influence, Patrick Seale offers a dire look at the problems in the New Year.Although peering into the fog of the future is always a hazardous business, it would not be rash to say that, of all the potential man-made catastrophes that might afflict the world this coming year, for sheer destructiveness none would surpass an American/Israeli attack on Iran. Is such an attack probable, or even possible? Regrettably, it is. In the current confrontation with Iran, the military option remains very much on the table. In both the United States and Israel, the same military planners, political lobbyists and armchair strategists that pressed America to attack Iraq are now urging it to strike Iran -- and for much the same reasons. These reasons may be briefly summarized as the need to control the Middle East’s oil resources and deny them to potential rivals, such as China; the wish to demonstrate to friend and foe alike America’s unique ability to project military power across the globe; and, last but not least, Israel’s determination to maintain its supremacy over any regional challenger, especially one as recklessly provocative as Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
To be effective, an American/Israeli strike against Iran would have to destroy not only its nuclear facilities but also its ability to hit back, that is to say its entire military-industrial complex. The attack would have to be so devastating as to rob Iran of the will and the means to retaliate. This could take weeks of air and missiles attacks and, because of the size of the country and the dispersal of its military assets, would be exceedingly difficult to achieve.It seems more than likely that, if attacked, Iran will, one way or another, manage to strike back -- against U.S. troops in Iraq, against Israel, and against U.S. bases and U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Of all these targets, the Arab states of the Gulf -- the most prosperous, modern and forward-looking of the entire Arab world -- are perhaps the most vulnerable and could go up in flames. The impact on the future of Arab society would be incalculable.The impact would also be devastating on U.S.-Arab relations, on Israel’s long-term security, on the flow of oil from the Gulf, on the oil price, on the economies of the industrial world and on the already highly fragile dollar. And yet, some influential voices argue that the only way the United States can hope to ‘win’ in Iraq is to destroy Iran.
President George W. Bush is due to make a statement of his Middle East strategy early in the New Year. All the indications are that he will reject the advice of the Iraq Study Group, led by James Baker and Lee Hamilton, to withdraw combat troops from Iraq, to engage Iran and Syria in a dialogue and to give top priority to resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Instead, Bush seems to be heading in the opposite direction.There is talk of sending more troops to Iraq, of tightening sanctions against Iran and Syria, of mobilising ‘moderate’ Arab states against ‘extremists’, of arming the Fuad Siniora government in Lebanon against Hizbullah, and the Fatah forces of Mahmud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority president, against the democratically elected Hamas government. In the Horn of Africa, the United States is lending its tacit support to Ethiopia in its war against Somalia’s Union of Islamic Courts, all this in the name of the ill-conceived Global War on Terrorism, which continues to create more terrorists than it eliminates.Instead of calming passions and bringing peace to a deeply troubled region, American policies are feeding the flames of civil war in Iraq, exposing American troops to still greater danger, forcing Iran and Syria to look to their defences, exacerbating conflicts in Lebanon and Palestine and opening a new front in Somalia, which risks destabilising much of East Africa.
Still in the grip of the neo-con cabal, which has destroyed his presidency by its insane belligerence, Bush continues to see the Tehran-Damascus-Hizbullah-Hamas axis as the main enemy to confront and bring down. The real danger this coming year is that Saudi Arabia, alarmed at the rise of Iran and at the self-assertion of Shi‘a communities in Lebanon and the Gulf region, will be persuaded to side with the United States against Tehran. It would be wiser for the Kingdom to engage Tehran in a wide-ranging dialogue leading to an agreement on mutual interests, and even to the conclusion of a Saudi-Iranian security pact which alone could stabilise the region without the interference of external powers. Meanwhile, Israel continues to play cat-and-mouse with the international community, pretending to make concessions to Mahmud Abbas, like removing a few checkpoints and releasing a fraction of the funds it has sequestered, while blatantly establishing a new illegal settlement in the Jordan valley and pressing ahead with its infamous separation wall. The message is clear: Israel’s land grab on the West Bank will continue whatever Washington or anyone else might say.Last summer’s war in Lebanon confronted Israel with a clear choice: whether to continue to seek to dominate the region by military force and to expand its territory at the expense of the Palestinians, or to make peace with the entire Arab world on the basis of something like its 1967 borders.
The Olmert government in Israel has chosen the first option: It has rejected Syria’s offer to reopen peace negotiations for the return of the Golan Heights; it is not ready to end its occupation of Palestinian territory or allow the creation of a viable Palestinian state; it is rearming and retraining its forces in anticipation of a second round against Hizbullah in Lebanon; it continues its cruel war of attrition against the Hamas movement in Gaza; and, it is determined to maintain its regional monopoly of weapons of mass destruction. Various influential Israelis have stated that if the United States does not strike Iran to destroy its nuclear facilities, Israel must do so itself. If one considers the likely impact of these American and Israeli policies, it is clear that the coming year is likely to be a hot one in the region. The real problem is a world-wide lack of leadership. There is hardly anyone around with the power or the vision to end the current state of international anarchy.George W. Bush has de-legitimised himself and squandered American authority by his blunders. Russia’s Vladimir Putin has managed to hoist his country back into the front rank of international powers, but his focus is still on reasserting Russian state control over oil and gas resources, while keeping neighbours like Ukraine, Belarus and Georgia firmly within Russia’s orbit.
The European Union is a magnificent example of how 27 nations can, by mutual agreement and by means of carefully crafted laws, give 500 million people a life of peace, stability and considerable prosperity. But in terms of a common foreign policy, the Union has been a failure. Its members have pulled in different directions.Britain’s Tony Blair has marginalised himself and his country by his slavish attachment to the United States. He will, in any event, be leaving office in 2007. President Jacques Chirac of France -- an experienced and sober Middle East hand -- will be out of office by May. Neither of his potential successors has much foreign affairs experience, and both are committed to mistaken policies. The right-wing Nicolas Sarkozy wants to keep Turkey out of the European Union -- a mistake of strategic proportions -- while the socialist Ségolène Royal has pledged to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear technology, even for peaceful purposes. Of the two, Sarkozy is the more dangerous, because he is likely to depart from Chirac’s independent posture in international affairs and align himself with the United States and Israel.In the Middle East, three men will bear a heavy burden of responsibility in the coming year. They are King Abdallah bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. They all have great problems at home, but if they were to get together, pool their considerable resources and jointly exert their political influence, they could protect the region from some of the risks, perils and potential catastrophes of the year ahead.Patrick Seale is a leading British writer on the Middle East, and the author of The Struggle for Syria; also, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East; and Abu Nidal: A Gun for Hire.Patrick Seale
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