CHINA SATELLITE KILLER TEST

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Moderate earthquake strikes El Salvador. 3-Storms in Europe kill 46, disrupt travel. 4-Two winter storms taking shape.5-Three dead after heavy rains hit Angola. 6-Storm hits southern New Mexico; wet, heavy snowfall possible throughout state 7-Concern over China satellite-killer test. 8-Dutch open to new-style EU constitution, poll shows. 9-EU ready for more military operations, Solana says. 10-EU seeks fast, full move on U.N. Iran sanctions. 11-Storm Worm rages across the globe. 12-Israel unfreezes $100M before summit. 13-Peretz Reneges on Promise to Build Maskiot. 14-Religious Persecution Growing Worldwide, Group Says. 15-One third of fish species in Yellow River dead. 16-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 17-Iran, Syria, UN should assist in Iraq settlement - Lavrov.

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 Jan 20 12:09 AM EDT

SAT JAN 20,07 NO QUAKES YET

JAN 19,07
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.9 SOUTH OF JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP 2.6 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.4 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO REGION

JAN 18,07
MAP 4.8 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 2.7 YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 5.9 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.5 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.2 WESTERN TURKEY
MAP 4.1 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 2.5 UTAH
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.1 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.7 ALASKA PENINSULA

Moderate earthquake strikes El Salvador Thu Jan 18, 10:59 PM ET

SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador An earthquake shook parts of El Salvador on Thursday night, but there were no immediate reports of damages or injuries, authorities said.The quake, with a magnitude of 5.4, was centered 35 miles south of the capital, San Salvador, and occurred at 7:43 p.m., the United States Geological Survey in Colorado reported.The temblor was felt in the capital and in several western provinces of the country, but did not affect communications or power, or threaten to create atsunami, national scientists said.Civil protection officials said they had received no reports of injuries.

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.

Storms in Europe kill 46, disrupt travel By DAVID RISING, Associated Press Writer JAN 19,07

BERLIN - Europeans labored Friday to restore services across the continent after hurricane-force winds toppled trees, brought down power lines and damaged buildings, killing at least 46 people and disrupting travel for tens of thousands. Berlin's new main train station was shut down after a two-ton girder fell from the side of the glass facade onto an outdoor staircase. The station was evacuated after the beam plummeted 130 feet Thursday night, but there were no injuries.I can see maybe the glass falling, but not the steel, said Thomas Mueller, an electrician who had stopped by the downtown station to survey the damage. They just built this thing eight months ago.Virtually the entire German national railway system shut down during the storm, with trees over many tracks and overhead power lines down, and services were being restored gradually Friday.We've never had such a situation in Germany, Deutsche Bahn CEO Hartmut Mehdorn said.

Off the coast of France, a coast guard tug was called upon to tow a damaged British container ship containing explosives to safety, a day after its crew of 26 was rescued from the stormy seas.More than 1 million homes had no electricity in the Czech Republic, which was hit by winds of up to 112 mph, another 1 million households in Germany suffered power losses, while tens of thousands in Poland and Austria also were hit with outages.The flow of Russian oil through a Ukrainian pipeline to other parts of Europe was restored Friday after a temporary shutdown caused when the storm knocked out power to a pumping station. The interruption
occurred Thursday night on a section of the Druzhba, or Friendship, pipeline from the city of Brody in western Ukraine to Slovakia and Hungary, but Oleksandr Dikusarov, a spokesman for the Ukrtransnafta pipeline company, said the flow of oil was fully restored Friday afternoon.The storm led to the deaths of at least three people in the Czech Republic, 12 in Germany, 14 in Britain, six in the Netherlands, three in France, two in Belgium and six in Poland.It was the highest death toll from a storm in Europe since 1999, when gales downed trees and driving snow brought on avalanches, killing more than 120 in three days.Climate researchers had been predicting stormy weather this year for parts of Europe, saying that unusually high temperatures in the North Atlantic, around 1 to 2 degrees above normal would allow winds to accumulate more moisture and surge in energy.In times of rapid climactic change, extreme events arise more frequently, said Peter Werner of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Research.Europe has been experiencing an extremely warm winter and has already been hit by several wind storms.Most of the people killed in the storm were motorists, but in Germany they also included two firefighters one hit by a falling tree and the other dying of a heart attack and an 18-month old infant in Munich hit by a terrace door that was ripped from its hinges.In London, a toddler was killed when a brick wall was knocked over by the wind and collapsed on him. Frankfurt Airport reported that flights were again leaving regularly Friday after some morning delays and 200 cancellations Thursday.National carrier Lufthansa canceled 331 flights across Germany on Thursday, affecting nearly 19,000 passengers, but intercontinental flights were largely on time again Friday, spokesman Thomas Jachnow said.British Airways canceled 34 incoming flights to London's Heathrow and Gatwick airports and the two main London-to-Scotland rail routes ran reduced services.

Eurostar was running full service again, after one early Paris-to-London train was canceled. Meanwhile, London Bridge station was reopened after being closed after part of a roof collapsed. British train companies warned of delays through the day as repairs were carried out. Thousands of Dutch commuters were stranded overnight when the service was halted on all trains because of obstructions to the tracks and downed power cables.By early Friday, most Dutch trains were running again after engineers worked through the night to clear debris and repair power lines, the railway said. German subways, trams and buses were largely back in service, but only a few long-distance trains were running. Bringing the service back is like a puzzle it goes bit by bit and we're now at the first pieces, railway spokesman Martin Walden said. The German Weather Service said the storm was the strongest to hit the country since 1999. The highest winds were felt in the southern state of Bavaria, where gusts of up to 126 mph were recorded. Associated Press writers around Europe contributed to this report.

Two winter storms taking shape Wayne Verno and M. Ressler, Meteorologists, The Weather Channel JAN 19,07

South

A developing winter storm increasingly impacts parts of Texas with snow for the west-central counties and the panhandle, sleet and freezing rain from the Davis Mountains to Wichita Falls and rain over the remainder of the state.

As the storm evolves overnight and Saturday, heavy snow will accumulate to a foot in parts of west Texas and advance into western Oklahoma. Sleet and freezing will will expand northward across a diagonal slice of Oklahoma from the southwest to northeast corners including Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Also wintry mix will develop over northern Arkansas. Steady rain will develop through central and east Texas and southeast Oklahoma, moving across the Lower Mississippi River Valley into Sunday. Meanwhile, a few scattered rain showers will impact parts of the Deep South, while most of Florida remains dry.

Northeast

A weather disturbance moving through the Great Lakes is generating areas of snow showers from the Great Lakes, into the Upper Ohio Valley and parts of the Northeast. Meanwhile, a wave of low pressure will move north just off the eastern coast, bringing heavy snow to Maine as the low pressure deepens later today into Saturday. With this deepening low pressure, northwest winds will become strong and gusty across all of the Great Lakes and Northeast today, through Saturday. On Saturday, New England could see occasional wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph. Lake effect snow showers will increase off the Great Lakes tonight through Saturday, and a foot of snow could fall in areas between Cleveland and Buffalo and across the Upstate New York counties southeast of Lake Ontario. By Sunday, the lake effect snow will decrease, but a new winter storm will move into the Tennessee Valley. This will spread a wintry mix into the southern Mid-Atlantic with snow moving up the Ohio River Valley.

Midwest

A reinforcing shot of cold air will move across the Great Lakes today, increasing the ongoing snow showers across the region. Lake effect snow showers and squalls will increase in the favored snow belts, with at 6 to 12 inches possible across parts of Upper Michigan and northwest Lower Michigan. The rest of the Plains will remain dry today, but a developing winter storm over the southern Plains will spread snow from the central Plains to the southern Great Lakes and northern side of the Ohio Valley this weekend with some sleet and freezing rain from southern Missouri to West Virginia. Snow showers will also increase across the northern Plains and into the Great Lakes, as a series of weather disturbances move across those areas. Temperatures will remain chilly, with 20s and 30s common thought the weekend; teens across the far north.

West

A series of weather disturbances will pass just northwest of the Pacific Northwest into the weekend, which will keep the chance for rain and snow in that region. The northern Washington Cascades could pick up an additional foot of new snow. Meanwhile a developing winter storm over the southern mountains will bring rain and snow to parts of Arizona and New Mexico today and Saturday. Parts of New Mexico could see one to two feet of snow. High pressure will build across the remainder of the western states, providing generally dry conditions, and a slow warming of temperatures along the western coast. Morning low temperatures through central California will still remain chilly into the weekend.

Three dead after heavy rains hit Angola Thu Jan 18, 4:27 PM ET

LISBON (AFP) - Three people were killed and a fourth is missing in Angola after torrential rains caused flooding in the southwestern African nation's capital Luanda, the Lusa news agency reported. The downpours which hit the city of some 4.5 million people on Wednesday caused over 20 buildings to collapse, knocked down trees and destroyed a key bridge, Luanda fire department spokesman Faustino Sebastiao told the agency.When the rains fell many people were at work and only children were at home so many people lost all their belongings, he said.Firefighters rescued five children from flooded homes, he added.In March 2005 flooding in northern Angola, a former Portuguese colony which is still recovering from a 27-year civil war that shattered most of its infrastructure, left over 10,000 people without shelter.

9:18 am: Storm hits southern New Mexico; wet, heavy snowfall possible throughout state JAN 19,07 By PETE HERRERA | Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - It was literally the calm before the slow poke storm.

The system that readied the snow plows across much of New Mexico paused in a holding pattern over northern Baja California, said Albuquerque meteorologist Ken Drozd.But moisture increased as the storm hit the southern edge of the state and began a slow march that is expected to continue into Sunday.Snow began falling over the southwestern portion of the state late Thursday, and the National Weather Service said it would likely move northward Friday, eventually reaching the Colorado border.The Cobre school district in southwestern New Mexico, as well as schools in Truth or Consequences, Arrey and Hatch, canceled classes Friday.

Hobbs and Silver City delayed the start of school.Anywhere from 3 to 6 inches were forecast for Albuquerque and Las Cruces. Higher amounts were likely along the foothills and other higher elevation areas. Drozd said Valencia County could get higher amounts than Albuquerque. Even El Paso could get from 3 to 5 inches of snow.

Drozd said the storm won't be in a hurry to leave.

We're going to have snow off and on through Saturday, he said. The northern areas will be the last to get it, but it will linger there the longest.Drozd said virtually all areas of the state will get moisture.The scope will be broad across the state, Drozd said.Forecasters issued winter storm warnings and heavy snow warnings into Saturday for southern New Mexico, winter storm warnings through
Saturday for central New Mexico and a winter storm watch through Saturday for northern New Mexico.By Friday night, snow will spread north across the state before tapering off from the southwest Saturday afternoon and evening, the weather service said. The snow often will be moderate to heavy, creating dangerous driving conditions. Winds also are expected to increase Saturday, causing areas of blowing and drifting snow.In advance of the rain and snow, the sun was a no show over much of the state Thursday. The heavy cloud cover was provided by a stream of cold air moving across the state.Temperatures Thursday ranged from the low 20s across the northern mountains to the low 50s across the southeast plains, with most highs in the 30s and 40s. The range was from 23 at Taos to 53 at Hobbs.Morning lows Friday were generally in the teens and 20s, with the range from 3 at Taos to 36 at Truth or Consequences.

This week's storm is the latest to target New Mexico, which still has remnants of the one over the New Year's holiday that left many New Mexicans stranded in their homes, played havoc with travelers and prompted Gov.

Bill Richardson to seek federal assistance.The unsettled and unseasonably cold weather is expected to continue into midweek. Another weather system could bring more snow to parts of the state late Sunday into Tuesday, although the weather service said that system was weaker.State Transportation Department spokesman S.U. Mahesh said the agency opened its Transportation Management Center in Albuquerque and it will be open around the clock until the storm subsides.It's a new tool in our tool box, said Mahesh, explaining that the center will allow the agency to coordinate with law enforcement and emergency management officials as they monitor road conditions around the state.Tim Manning, director of the state's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, urged people to be prepared.

I encourage each family ... to make a preparedness plan and prepare a supply kit for both the home and winter travel, Manning said. Since southern New Mexico has not seen significant snow recently, we especially want to remind residents (there) to be vigilant in their preparations.Supplies at home should include a gallon of water for each family member for at least three days, nonperishable food, first aid supplies, clothing and bedding, tools and emergency supplies, and an additional month's supply of any medications, he said.Manning said additional items to consider include battery-powered radios, flashlights with extra batteries, diapers, baby formula and food for pets.

For travelers, suggested items include sleeping bags or blankets, road flares, maps, a heavy sack of sand or kitty litter for tire traction, a tow rope and windshield scraper.Manning described the list as logical and necessary to survive regardless of the type of emergency.

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)

Concern over China satellite-killer test Agencies JAN 19,2007 (12AM UAE)

Washington: The United States, Japan, Australia and Canada have voiced concerns to China over the first known satellite-killing test in space in more than 20 years, the White House said on Thursday. The successful test means China could now theoretically shoot down spy satellites operated by other nations. The test was first reported by US magazine Aviation Week and Space Technology and confirmed by the White House. The US believes China's development and testing of such weapons is inconsistent with the spirit of cooperation that both countries aspire to in the civil space area, National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said. We and other countries have expressed our concern regarding this action to the Chinese.Using a ground-based medium-range ballistic missile, the test knocked out an aging Chinese weather satellite about 865 km above the Earth on January 11 through kinetic impact, or by slamming into it, Johndroe said. Canada and Australia had joined in voicing concern, he said.

Britain and South Korea were expected to follow suit, an administration official added. Japan also voiced concerns on Friday over the Chinese test and sought explanations from Beijing. From the view of the peaceful use of space and international security, we naturally have concerns about it, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the government spokesman, told a news conference. He said Japan was asking the Chinese foreign ministry to explain details about the test.

On a visit to New York, Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said Australia raised concerns with the Chinese some days ago. So far, the answer from the foreign affairs people in China, including the ambassador in Canberra, is that they are not aware of the incident and they are getting back to us, Downer told reporters. What we don't want to see is some sort of spread, if you like, of an arms race into outer space. The danger there is that you get into a situation where other countries, including the US I suppose, would have to start to look for ways to protect satellites in space, he said. The other concern is that the debris from the destroyed satellite could hit other satellites and damage (them), Downer said. The last US anti-satellite test took place on September 13, 1985. Washington then halted such Cold War-era testing, concerned by debris that could harm civilian and military satellite operations on which the West increasingly relies for everything from pinpoint navigation to Internet access to automated teller machines.

According to David Wright of the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Union of Concerned Scientists, the satellite pulverised by China could have broken into nearly 40,000 fragments from 1 cm to 10 cm or up to 4 inches, roughly half of which would stay in orbit for more than a decade. On the day of the test, a US. defense official said the United States was unable to communicate with an experimental spy satellite launched last year by the Pentagon's National Reconnaissance Office. There was no immediate indication that that was a result of the Chinese test. Aviation Week & Space Technology, the first to report the test, cited space sources as saying a Chinese Feng Yun 1C polar orbit weather satellite, launched in 1999, was destroyed by an antisatellite system launched from or near China's Xichang Space Center in Sichuan Province. The capability demonstrated by China was no surprise to the Bush administration, which revised U.S. national space policy in October to assert a right to deny space access to anyone hostile to U.S. interests. The United States has been researching satellite-killers of its own, experimenting with lasers on the ground that could disable, disrupt and destroy spacecraft.

Marco Caceres, a space expert at the Teal Group, an aerospace consulting firm in Fairfax, Virginia, said China's test could bolster a host of costly military space programs, almost all of which are over budget and behind schedule. They are going to use this for as much as they can, he said, referring to Pentagon officials. Major corporate beneficiaries could be Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Northrop Grumman Corporation, which build US communications, surveillance and early warning satellites, Caceres said.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Dutch open to new-style EU constitution, poll shows
19.01.2007 - 09:23 CET | By Mark Beunderman (Eu Observer)

Dutch voters are increasingly open to the idea of a revised version of the EU constitution, but would still reject the current text of the charter, according to a fresh poll. A survey conducted by polling firm TNS NIPO suggests that the Dutch people's overwhelming rejection of the EU constitution in a 2005 referendum does not mean they are against the general idea of a European constitution.

The poll, released by Dutch RTL television on Wednesday (17 January), shows that 47 percent of the Dutch are positive about the idea of a European constitution - representing a surge of optimism compared to the eve of the June 2005 referendum, when this figure stood at 30 percent. A minority of 18 percent today feels negative about the idea of a constitution whereas 33 percent are neutral and 8 percent do not know, according to the survey. The Dutch poll comes just as Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, is pushing the revival of the constitutional process, planning to present a roadmap towards a new treaty at the end of the German EU presidency in June. When asked by pollsters about Ms Merkel's efforts to revive a [new] European treaty, almost half of the Dutch (47 percent) said they are positive about the German initiative, while 17 percent said they are negative and 36 percent neutral. But the survey is not all good news for Berlin, which wants to stick closely to the current text of the constitution in the upcoming re-negotiations on the charter, with German politicians highlighting that it has already been ratified by 18 member states. If the document remains unchanged, a clear majority of 60 percent of the Dutch would still vote no if a new referendum were held, roughly the same figure as in 2005 (61.5%).

Pressure on The Hague

The poll results put pressure on the Dutch government to secure changes to the document that would tackle Dutch people's concerns about the EU primarily focusing on European integration being too quick and the loss of Dutch sovereignty.

Outgoing Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot said in November that a new EU treaty should include substantial safeguards against further Brussels powers and uncontrolled enlargement. The Netherlands is currently engaged in talks on the formation of a new centre-left government involving the Christian Democrats, Labour and the protestant Christian Union, to be led by current prime minister Jan-Peter Balkenende.The three parties are also discussing a future government's stance towards a new EU treaty, as well as the possibility to hold a new referendum once a new text is agreed at EU level. A majority of 64 percent of the Dutch believe the EU constitution should play a role in the cabinet formation, according to Wednesday's poll, with Dutch media reporting that a new Balkenende cabinet could take office in March.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING
BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

EU ready for more military operations, Solana says
19.01.2007 - 17:43 CET | By Andrew Rettman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Europe says it is ready for more military action under the EU flag in 2007 after its success in Congo last year, with the German EU presidency putting Kosovo, Bosnia, Lebanon and Afghanistan at the top of its defence agenda for the next six months. We begin 2007 ready to take up our responsibilities if needed - which I sincerely hope won't be the case - but we are in a position of readiness, EU top diplomat Javier Solana said in Brussels on Wednesday (17 January), after recalling that the EU's battle group structure reached full operational capacity on 1 January.

The EU now has two units that can be deployed for crisis-management anywhere in the world 10 days after member states take a unanimous vote, in a decision that would as a rule follow a UN security council resolution but that could also see the EU go it alone. Each group brings together 1,500 soldiers from two or three member states, which hold joint training exercises and wear both national and EU insignia a blue disk with 12 gold stars on the model of EU police missions in Bosnia andMacedonia. Europe can assume very important peacekeeping and peacemaking functions in this world, German defence minister Franz Josef Jung said, while standing next to Mr Solana. Europe is a great peace project and we will continue to make our contribution [to global stability].

EU army by stealth?

No EU battle group has ever been tested in a real operation, but last year saw two major EU military projects: member states coordinated sending 9,000 European peacekeepers under a UN flag to Lebanon and dispatched 1,400 soldiers under an EU flag to Congo.Now we really have the beginning of a European army, French general Christian Damay said in Kinshasa in December, with France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Poland broadly supporting a gradual move toward a permanently standing EU force that could number several thousands of soldiers.Other states, such as the UK and the Netherlands, are more worried about trespassing on NATO turf however, with no high-profile discussion of the concept taking place at EU level for now. An EU army is a very big word, but [any army] would be something very small, an EU official told EUobserver. The notion of an EU army is a red rag to eurosceptic parties in Europe, but some pro-integration politicians such as British liberal MEP Graham Watson also believe the trend toward ever-closer practical defence co-operation should be subject to open discussion on political implications. I don't think governments can go on building a European army by stealth we need a proper public debate, Mr Watson stated, adding that more and more policies are being done in the council [the EU member states' secretariat] and reported after the fact.

Kosovo to dominate 2007 agenda

Apart from building-up battle group capacity, the German EU presidency will focus on managing the EU-dominated force in Lebanon and exploring ways for EU police to support NATO in Afghanistan. A gradual pull-out of the EU police mission from Bosnia is also on the agenda - but a new EU police force will replace NATO soldiers in Kosovo after the region's final status is settled, Germany's Mr Jung said. The EU is currently preparing what is expected to be the biggest-ever security operation in its history in Kosovo, involving policing but also institution-building, due to start this summer at the earliest. Brussels is currently awaiting the result of
Serbian elections on Sunday before UN envoy Marti Ahtisaari presents a proposal for the final status of the territory in February.

EU seeks fast, full move on U.N. Iran sanctions By Sophie Walker JAN 19,07

LONDON (Reuters) - The European Union wants to apply United Nations sanctions on Iran fully and rapidly and may expand the list of people linked to Tehran's nuclear programme targeted by the U.N. resolution, diplomats said on Friday. Tehran maintains that its nuclear ambitions are limited to generating electricity. The European Union and the United States suspect Tehran is secretly seeking to build nuclear bombs.They say it will face harsher sanctions if it ignores the resolution unanimously passed on December 23 at the behest of the United States, Britain, Russia, China and France. The resolution gave Iran 60 days to suspend nuclear fuel-enrichment activity.

Foreign ministers from EU states are due to meet on Monday to coordinate moves to apply the current range of sanctions across Europe. Diplomats said the bloc's 27 members wanted to deliver a strong broadside to Iran urging it to halt enrichment.We are looking at a fast and strict implementation of all of the measures in the resolution, one EU diplomat said.

The U.N. sanctions resolution bans transfers of sensitive nuclear materials to Iran, freezes financial assets of those associated with the nuclear programme and asks countries to pass on information about the whereabouts of individuals on the list.We want the outcome (of the meeting) to reinforce the resolution so that the EU interpretation will not be limited to the names currently on the resolution's annexe, a second diplomatic source said.We will be looking to broaden the resolutions to allow us to impose travel bans and freeze assets of other individuals, the source said.One EU official said the bloc would also look at measures to stop Iranians coming to the EU to study proliferation-sensitive subjects, although not necessarily by outright visa bans.

DOOR REMAINS OPEN

An original proposal to make legally binding the existing EU arrangements which effectively bar arms sales to Iran will not be on the agenda of Monday's meeting, diplomats said.The EU has had a de facto arms ban on Iran for the past 10 years. When and if we now legally formalize it is not important the key issue now is its nuclear programme, said one.The EU has led international diplomacy based on the offer of trade, political and technical incentives for Iran to give up uranium enrichment, and diplomats say that offer remained on the table despite the move toward sanctions.We've always said the door remains open but someone has to go through it, said one diplomat.Iran said earlier this week it was ready to begin installing 3,000 centrifuges for industrial-scale production of nuclear fuel. That prompted a warning from British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett that Tehran's stance was not cost-free.Diplomats confirmed Iran's statement on Thursday, saying it had completed preparations at an underground plant where the 3,000 centrifuges are to be rigged up, expanding what to date has been a limited, research-level enrichment programme.

Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency visited the Natanz enrichment complex over the past week to gather material for an IAEA report due to be issued to the U.N. Security Council on February 21, the 60-day deadline.(With reporting by
Louis Charbonneau, Mark John, Ingrid Melander and Mark Heinrich)

Storm Worm rages across the globe. Worm baits people with timely information about a real-life front in Europe, creating one of the larger attacks in recent years. By Dawn Kawamoto Staff Writer, CNET News.com - January 19, 2007, 8:15 AM PST

update The new Storm Worm is baiting people with timely information about a real-life, deadly front in Europe and is creating one of the larger worm attacks in recent years, security researchers said Friday. Over an eight-hour period Thursday, the worm sent malicious e-mails across the globe to hundreds of thousands of people, who unknowingly were part of a botnet, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer for F-Secure. A botnet serves as an army of commandeered computers, which are used by attackers to distribute malicious payloads without their owners' knowledge. Storm Worm carries the subject line 230 dead as storm batters Europe, Hypponen said, noting the unusual twist to the e-mail. The e-mail was started 15 hours ago, when the storm was peaking in Central Europe, Hypponen said. This is unusual in that it was very timely. The attached file contains malicious code. That e-mail, via the botnet, has quickly spread the worm. The worm is already close to being as large as the bigger ones of 2006, Hypponen said, though it's still smaller than Sasser and Slammer. Hypponen also noted that the worm is unusual because most attacks these days tend to be smaller and targeted, as criminals seek to pilfer personal information for financial gain, rather than fame. Though the worm is widespread, the damage may ultimately be minimal in the U.S. because most tech security companies will have already added the virus to their blocking list before people get into work, he added. Other e-mail subject lines for the worm include U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza… and A killer at 11, he's free at 21 and...Hypponen told Reuters that most people would not notice the malicious software, which creates a back door to a computer that can be exploited later to steal data or to use the computer to post spam.

Israel unfreezes $100M before summit By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 19, 9:16 AM ET

JERUSALEM Israel said Friday it had paid $100 million in frozen tax funds to the Palestinians and rescinded a contentious decision for a new West Bank settlement, strengthening the hand of moderate President Mahmoud Abbas ahead of crucial weekend
talks in Damascus with his Hamas rivals. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office said the payment, the first such transfer since the militant Islamic Hamas won control of the Palestinian government in March 2006, was made Thursday night.Defense Minister Amir Peretz, meanwhile, ordered plans for the Maskiot settlement frozen indefinitely in order to look carefully at the implications, ministry officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the issue's sensitivity.Israel drew international condemnation with its announcement last month that it had approved the construction of Maskiot to house those settlers removed from the Gaza Strip in Israel's 2005 pullout. It was the first new West Bank settlement officially approved since the early 1990s, when Israel promised to halt such construction as part of interim peace accords.

Israel has been trying to boost Abbas in his struggle with Hamas, which rejects the existence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East. However, such efforts can backfire, as Palestinians of all stripes try to distance themselves from the Israelis.In a development expected to further fan Arab anger, the 10-year-old daughter of a Palestinian peace activist, critically wounded by Israeli security
forces during a demonstration earlier in the week, died of her injuries in a Jerusalem hospital Friday.Abir Aramin's father, Bassam Aramin, was among the founders of Combatants for Peace, a group of former Israeli and Palestinian fighters who work for a peaceful resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He said his daughter's death did not alter his commitment to work for peace.I'm going to continue in this role and not give up, he said.Abbas is to travel to Syria on Saturday for talks with Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal, aiming at forging a coalition government and ending a punishing international aid boycott. Talks have sputtered for months amid clashes between each side's loyalists, which have killed 35 people, but the fact that the two leaders were meeting hinted that an agreement might be finally at hand.

Abbas said Friday if the latest round of talks fails, he will call early elections, but acknowledged that Hamas could emerge the victor once again.We say either there is a (unity) government or elections, he said after a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana in the West Bank town of Ramallah. Elections don't mean we want to throw Hamas into the sea. It has been elected and can be elected again.The financial transfer to Abbas was part of tax money Israel collects for the Palestinian Authority by mutual agreement. Israel halted payments when Hamas won parliamentary elections and set up its Cabinet.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat welcomed the payment, but said it still only represented about 25 percent of Palestinian revenues Israel is holding.We need it badly, and we consider this a step in the right direction, hoping that the whole lot of money withheld will be transferred to the Palestinian Authority, he said.Israel, the United States and the EU define Hamas as a terrorist group because of its suicide bombings against Israelis in the past decade, which have killed hundreds. Since the group took office, the international community has frozen foreign aid that kept the Palestinian Authority afloat since it was created in 1994.

An official in Olmert's office said the funds transferred Thursday were paid directly to Abbas for use in humanitarian efforts and to boost his security force. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been announced, said Israel was satisfied by assurances that the money would not go to the Hamas-controlled Finance Ministry.

The scheduled Abbas-Mashaal meeting would be their first in years. Abbas' Fatah and Hamas are bitter enemies their efforts to form a unity government must overcome deep ideological and political divides.Only the hardships caused by the aid cutoff have pushed them together, forcing them to look for formulas both could live with while satisfying Western demands that the Palestinian government recognize Israel, renounce violence and accept previous peace accords. So far, Hamas has refused. In Gaza, the Popular Resistance Committees, a small local militant group linked to last year's abduction of an Israeli soldier, said it intended to carry out more kidnappings to pressure Israel for the release of what it said were at least 144 bodies of Palestinians killed by the Israeli army and buried around Israel. Kidnapping soldiers will be an effective way, said Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the group, adding that seizing the bodies of dead soldiers to trade for the Palestinian remains was also an option. The PRC is one of three militant groups that tunneled into Israel and captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit in a June 25 raid near the Gaza Strip. Shalit has not been seen since then, but he is believed to be alive, and Egypt has been trying to broker his release in exchange for Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.

Peretz Reneges on Promise to Build Maskiot
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) JAN 19,07

Refugees from the destroyed Gush Katif town of Shirat HaYam received another slap in the face late Thursday after Defense Minister Amir Peretz decided to nix plans for their new home in Maskiot.

The news came in a phone call Thursday afternoon from Defense Minister Amir Peretz’s assistant, Yaakov Bachar, to the head of the Jordan Valley Regional Council, Duby Tal.Minister Peretz has decided to freeze all building in Maskiot until further notice, said Bachar. He did not say why, nor did he say when or if that decision might change.A group of Jews forcibly evicted from their seaside homes have been waiting to move into new homes and rebuild their community in Maskiot for more than a year and a half. The site, established in 1981 as an IDF base, was built with the specific intention of eventually becoming a town for civilians. At present, a handful of families already live in permanent homes in Maskiot, as well as 50 students who attend a pre-military academy there.In an exclusive interview with Arutz-7, Tal said the Regional Council immediately appealed to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to overturn Peretz’s decision. We requested that the Prime Minister intervene in this matter, he said. Olmert was set to make an official announcement on the start of construction at the site next week, according to a report by Channel 2 TV news.We hope the prime minister will keep his word, Tal told Arutz-7 Friday morning.Peretz did not honor his own promise, he added.

Government sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, claimed that Peretz had notified the Council two weeks ago of the freeze, saying he wanted to re-evaluate the project.The quiet notice came despite a public statement by Peretz on December 26th that he had given the final go-ahead for the project after a 14-month process in which the plans advanced through six different phases of approval.

Tal said he believed the decision to nix the community was connected with the upcoming Labor party primary elections scheduled to be held in May.It is a very significant statement that the Minister of Defense is freezing approvals that were already given, he commented. It is a statement about the value of settlement in general, said Tal. Peretz must be against settlement in the Jordan Valley, he added, pointing out that the embattled defense minister is facing a tough fight to retain his leadership of the Labor party in the primary elections scheduled for May. He wants left-wing support said Tal.

Decision May Affect Jordan as Well

Jordan’s Hashemite King Abdullah II may have his own feelings on the matter. The Jordanian monarch expressed adamant opposition two months ago to any peace deal between Israel and the Palestinian Authority that would cause an influx of Palestinian Arabs into the Hashemite kingdom.The king said during a speech to the Jordanian parliament in November that the Israel-PA conflict is the core issue in the Middle East – but added that he would not accept settlement that would include PA residents moving to Jordan.Abdullah would much rather see a Jewish settlement on his border, asserted the Jordan Valley Regional Council head. A hundred percent, he does not want to have to deal with the Palestinian Authority on the Jordanian border.

U.S. Overpowers Israeli Government Approval

The day after Peretz announced his intention to go through with the project, the U.S. State Department registered its objections to the plan, saying it violated the terms of the Road Map plan. U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzo Gallegos told reporters that Israel should meet its Road Map obligations and avoid taking steps that could be viewed as predetermining the outcome of final status negotiations.Olmert spokeswoman Miri Eisen immediately responded to the complaint, saying the new houses do not violate the Road Map plan as it calls only for a halt to new communities in Judea and Samaria. The American-sponsored plan does not refer to existing communities nor to those that had already been approved.But within days after Gallegos’ statement, sources in the Defense Ministry were warning that Peretz was reconsidering his final approval despite Olmert’s clear public support for the plan.

One week later, according to a government source, Peretz did indeed officially notify the Council that he was freezing the development of Maskiot in order to re-evaluate the plan.As to what will now happen to the residents of Shirat HaYam, the Defense Ministry source had no comment.

Israeli Promises to the PA Rate Higher

Meanwhile, Israel opened a new passage for goods produced by the area’s Palestinian Authority farmers on January 10th despite opposition from Jewish residents in the area who were concerned with its effect on security and tourism.The new Bezek crossing came as part of goodwill gestures promised by the prime minister to PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas during their summit on December 23rd – three days before the final approval for the Maskiot community was announced.The newly-built passage in the Jordan Valley allows direct transportation of agricultural produce from Jericho and elsewhere in the Jordan Valley to northern Israel.

Previously, trucks had to make a detour through Jenin and were unable to use Highway 90, a central traffic artery running from Eilat to Metulla through the Jordan Valley. Jewish residents pointed out that Highway 90 is a national road. We as heads of the local authorities that are the main users of the road…ask and demand that you not operate the terminal, they wrote in a letter sent to Deputy Defense Minister Ephraim Sneh.Differentiating between the Jordan Valley and other areas of Judea and Samaria, and limiting Palestinian traffic gives more security to the residents of the Jordan Valley and those passing through it. The opening of the crossing will increase the number of Palestinians in the area and raise the danger level….the operation of the terminal will increase this feeling and will prevent innocent travelers and foreign tourism, which is so needed in our regions, from passing through it. The residents of our regions make their living from this tourism, and such severe harm to it is unacceptable, they objected.Meanwhile, the new crossing raises the standard of living of Arab farmers in the area, who grow mostly tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant, dates and spices, by lowering transportation costs and increasing their profits.Further Jewish development in the region has now been halted with Peretz’s decision to freeze Maskiot.

The Next Step

The Jordan Valley Regional Council is now faced with two options, said Tal. First, we are considering filing a petition with the High Court of Justice to freeze the defense minister’s decision to freeze the construction.He noted that it was essential that all opposition to the decision be carried out in a legal manner. We are a legal body, he said, and we cannot act in a manner that contravenes the law.That doesn’t mean that residents of the Jordan Valley will remain silent, he added, noting that the area’s communities would act together as one hand to fight the freeze.Residents here are talking about organizing protests against Peretz’s decision, he said. There are advantages and disadvantages to such a move and we need to consider all our options before taking the next step.

PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS

JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME

ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.

JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.

JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?

PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE FINAL JUDGEMENT).

WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.

JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.

REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Religious Persecution Growing Worldwide, Group Says
Payton Hoegh - CNSNews.com JAN 19,07

At a time when religious persecution prompts growing international concern, Christian advocates in the U.S. marked Religious Freedom Day Tuesday by drawing attention to those who do not have the freedoms enjoyed by Americans.However, some voiced concern that a bill currently before Congress may dilute religious freedom at home too, by threatening free speech under the guise of outlawing hate crimes.Last week, President Bush declared Jan. 16 to be Religious Freedom Day, urging Americans to continue to promote the importance of religious freedom at home and abroad.Jan. 16 is the day in 1786 when Thomas Jefferson's Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom became law.In a statement marking the day, the Institute on Religion and Democracy (IRD) called on Americans Tuesday to be vigilant.Too often in this post-9/11 world, human rights and religious freedom, are sacrificed on the altar of political correctness, diplomacy, and oversensitivity masquerading as tolerance, said IRD's Religious Liberty Director Faith McDonnell.In a world where darkness is increasingly being called light and evil called good, we must insure that this injustice is
revealed, she said.McDonnell said every day brought new reports of religious persecution from around the world.Millions are discriminated against, beaten and tortured, imprisoned, and killed because they follow Jesus Christ or are members of other minority religions, she said.As Americans celebrate their own freedoms, McDonnell said, we must ask God for mercy and justice for those who are persecuted for their faith.

According to a recent report by persecution watchdog Release International, 250 million Christians will be persecuted over the course of 2007.The U.K.-based group said most persecution takes place in parts of the world under Islam, Communism, Hinduism and Buddhism, but that persecution is growing fastest of all in the Islamic world.Governments in even moderate Muslim countries often fail to safeguard the rights of their Christian minorities, Release International said. Abuses suffered by Christians include kidnapping, forced conversion, imprisonment, church destruction, torture, rape and execution.The U.S. government does its part to fight religious persecution through the work of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom. Set up under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, the independent panel compiles a list of the most flagrant offenders of religious freedom. Violators designated as Countries of Particular Concern (CPCs) are eligible for U.S.government sanctions or other action aimed at changing their behavior.Currently, the CPC list comprises Saudi Arabia, China, Iran, Burma, North Korea, Sudan, Eritrea and
Uzbekistan. The State Department removed Vietnam from the list late last year.

Hate crimes concerns

Some Christian advocacy groups worry that religious freedoms may also be at risk in the U.S.Earlier this month Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-Texas) reintroduced a hate crimes bill that has failed to pass several times in the past.Focus on the Family Action in a statement Tuesday linked the controversial measure to Religious Freedom Day.America was founded on religious freedom, and our future greatness as a nation depends on it, said Tom Minnery, the organization's senior vice president of government and public policy.Minnery said the hate crimes bill threatens that future by not aggressively prosecuting criminal acts, but by giving Washington the power to decide what constitutes criminal thought.He said in some states similar legislation had been used to punish peaceful demonstrators who have made politically incorrect statements. Minnery cited a 2004 case in Pennsylvania, when 11 Christians were arrested and five charged under a state hate crimes law after protesting against a homosexual event.A spokeswoman for Jackson-Lee said Tuesday the lawmaker had not issued any statement on her bill.According to the text, the incidence of violence motivated by the actual or perceived race, color, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or disability of the victim poses a serious national problem.It argues that violence of this type disrupts the tranquility and safety of communities and is deeply divisive and says existing federal law is inadequate to address this problem.All original CNSNews.com material, copyright 1998-2007 Cybercast News Service.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

One third of fish species in Yellow River dead By Clifford Coonan in Beijing Published: 19 January 2007

Human encroachment, pollution, overfishing and dam-building have killed one third of fish species in the Yellow River, China's second-longest waterway.

Its increasingly desperate plight is also threatening economic growth. The mighty Yellow River once made its away along 3,395 miles through nine provinces, supplying water to more than 150 million people and watering 15 per cent of China's scarce agricultural land.Where once the river teemed with many different types of fish, it now is a graveyard. The Yellow River used to be host to more than 150 species of fish, but a third of them are now extinct, including precious ones, an official from the Agriculture Ministry told the People's Daily newspaper.The basin was the cradle of Chinese civilisation more than 5,000 years ago, but the river's fate is closely linked to China's future because without water, economic development in the north of the country cannot continue at its current breakneck pace.The river runs from the Qinghai-Tibet plateau in the west across the parched northern provinces of China, through the flood plains of Shaanxi, where it passes through the coal district picking up hefty quantities of pollutants, and into Henan and Shandong provinces.The Yellow River was known as China's sorrow because it would regularly burst its banks and flood surrounding farmland. It is sometimes called the world's muddiest river because of the amount of silt it carries.These days environmental degradation means the river often runs dry before it reaches the sea at the Gulf of Bohai. Its flow hit historic lows for 10 months last year. Fishing catches have fallen by 40 per cent.It can be mainly blamed on hydropower projects that block fish migration routes, declining water flow caused by scarce rainfall, overfishing and severe pollution, the ministry official told the newspaper.What fish there are in the river are often inedible. In November, parts of eastern China banned the sale of turbot after carcinogenic residues were discovered inside some of the species.Last month engineers diverted water from the Yellow River into Baiyangdian Lake the pearl of north China and the largest freshwater lake in the northern region as part of efforts to restore the river's ecological functions.

Recent years have seen a frenzy of dam-building in China as the country seeks to shift away from dirty, expensive coal-fired power plants towards hydroelectricity. The Three Gorges dam on the Yangtze, which opened last year, is the world's biggest. Hundreds of smaller projects are being built on other rivers, including the Yellow River.

Dams also help to check flooding during the rainy seasons.Controlling the flooding has long been a problem for the Chinese. At some points along its course, the Yellow River's bed is 15 metres higher than the surrounding fields because of the constant building and rebuilding of dykes along its route. Chinese history celebrates a man called Da Yu, who mobilised villagers after a flood to build a dyke and drainage canals, before sinking an ox in the river to tame the flow.Government experts acknowledge the harm that dams can do to the environment but say that the economic benefits and the environmentally positive aspects of hydropower outweigh the negative impact caused to the surrounding land.As you travel along China's rivers, you come across factories, seemingly at random, pumping out poisonous clouds and filling the water with pollutants. Pollution now means that more than two thirds of the water is undrinkable in the Yellow River.The government says it has tried to curb pollution by investing in waste treatment plants and closing major polluting plants along the river.This week the Agriculture Ministry set up an integrated fishing resources committee to save the river from further problems by introducing protection plans and saying it would tackle serious incidents.The Yangtze, too, is having problems with fish. Last month it was feared that the the white-fin dolphin had become extinct.

This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
January 18, 2007

Dear Friend of The Fellowship,

Melanie Phillips is a Jewish writer from England. She is a bold, outspoken advocate for Israel, and a strong voice warning of the dangers posed to the West by radical Islam.During a recent visit to Israel, Mrs. Phillips was interviewed by The Jerusalem Post. The interviewer told her of recent statistics released by the Jewish Agency for Israel, which showed that the number of Jews making aliyah (emigrating to Israel) from Great Britain had risen by nearly half in 2006.Mrs. Phillips' response to this news is worth noting.

I'm not surprised by the fact that it has jumped, she said, because Britain's Jews are beginning to think in an increasing number that there is no future for the new generation of Jews in Britain.One of the main factors leading to this, she went on to explain, is the growth of radical Islam in Great Britain. A disturbingly high number of British Muslims have adopted this hate-filled ideology. They are open in their contempt for the West, Jews, and Israel, and use the freedoms granted them by British law - freedom of speech, and the freedom to criticize the government - to attack the very society of which they are privileged to be a part. Those attacks have, in some cases, gone beyond words - the terrorists who bombed London's transit system in 2005 were, in fact, British-born Muslims.

This is a sobering reality. The British Jews considering aliyah are doing so not simply for the joy of returning to their biblical homeland, or to escape poverty. It is because they recognize the rise of a culture hostile to the values they hold dear both as Jews and as Westerners. They fear for their children's future. And if this can happen in Great Britain, what about the rest of Europe, where similar demographic and ideological shifts are occurring?

Growing hostility toward Jews in Great Britain is just one other example of why The Fellowship is committed to supporting aliyah through our On Wings of Eagles program, which brings Jews to Israel from countries of distress around the world. While some Jewish people have the means to make aliyah, many do not and it is only through the help of generous partners like you that The Fellowship is able to give those in need the opportunity to do so. Your support of aliyah is one of the best ways to ensure the survival of the next generation of Jews, some of whom may be growing up in countries where large numbers of the population are hostile to their very existence. And I would add that aliyah is one of the best ways to strengthen the State of Israel.Your gift today will help fulfill the biblical promise to gather the people of Israel from the nations where they have been scattered (Ezekiel 28:25), and ensure that Jews young and old alike are given the chance to live freely as Jews in Israel.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

09:30 GMT, Jan 19, 2007
Iran, Syria, UN should assist in Iraq settlement - Lavrov

MOSCOW. Jan 19 (Interfax) Iran, Syria and the UN should be involved in the Iraq settlement process, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

We hope our U.S. partners have not said their final word on the Iraq settlement,where there has been a long-time need for the involvement of the UN, and all Iraq's neighbors, including Iran and Syria, and leading regional organizations, to support the national reconciliation of all Iraqi people, Lavrov said in an article published in the Moscow News newspaper on Friday.The realistic adjustment of the course of the coalition in Iraq might help implement the common objective of Washington's and Tehran's interests in the country, he said.This might mark a beginning of moves towards normalizing U.S.-Iranian relations, which in its turn would create a favorable background for the settlement of the situation surrounding the Iran's nuclear program, he said. EKk pr la

STORMS SWEEP NORTHERN EUROPE

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Moderate quake shakes New Zealand Island. 3-Calif. hospitals won't meet deadline. 4-Snow in southern California as cold snap grips US. 5-Severe storms claim first victim in Germany. 6-Snow and ice heading to southern Plains feedlots. 7-Huge storms sweep northern Europe. 8-Comoros island shakes, volcano still a threat. 9-Rice will face expectations gap in Mideast. 10-EU wants boost to Mideast peace efforts.11-Israel to build bomb shelters near Gaza. 12-PM Eyes Winograd C´tee, Promises New IDF Chief Within Days. 13-France's Royal wants new EU constitution referendum. 14-Barroso lists top five values for EU birthday text.

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 = Fri Jan 19 12:02 AM EDT

FRI JAN 19 NO QUAKES YET

JAN 18,07
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 5.9 SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.5 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.2 WESTERN TURKEY
MAP 4.1 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 2.5 UTAH
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.1 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.7 ALASKA PENINSULA

JAN 17,07
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.2 CARLSBERG RIDGE
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 5.6 DRAKE PASSAGE
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAP 3.7 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 ROMANIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.5 ARKANSAS
MAP 5.4 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.8 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 2.5 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.0 PAPUA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.8 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.9 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.5 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION

Moderate quake shakes New Zealand Island Thu Jan 18, 12:58 AM ET

WELLINGTON, New Zealand - A magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook New Zealand's central North Island Thursday, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage. The temblor was centered near Taihape, 150 miles north of the capital, Wellington, at a depth of 30 miles, the Institute of Geological and Nuclear Sciences reported.New Zealand sits above an area of the Earth's crust where the Pacific and Australian tectonic plates are colliding and records more than 14,000 earthquakes a year but only about 150 are felt by residents. Fewer than 10 a year do any damage.

Calif. hospitals won't meet deadline By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer
Thu Jan 18, 9:18 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - Nearly half of California hospital buildings in danger of collapsing during a major earthquake will not meet a state deadline for safety improvements, according to a study released Thursday.

Tough standards passed after the deadly 1994 Northridge earthquake required that vulnerable buildings be retrofitted or replaced by 2008, a deadline that was extended to 2013. By 2030, all hospitals must be able to stay open and treat patients after a disaster.The report projected that nearly half of some 900 hospital buildings statewide will not meet the retrofitting deadline, even by 2030. Complicating the matter is that the majority of weak buildings more than 80 percent are in the densely populated San Francisco Bay area and greater Los Angeles region. Hospitals that buckle during a quake in those areas would severely disrupt delivery of care and put patients at risk.The study, funded by the California HealthCare Foundation and conducted by Rand Corp., does not single out hospitals, but notes the buildings are on over 300 hospital campuses across the state.The study also projects that quake-proofing the hospital buildings by the deadlines would cost between $40 billion to $110 billion.

Although the law was well-intentioned, following through has proved to be a headache as half of the hospitals in the state are operating in the red, said Jan Emerson, spokeswoman for the California Hospital Association, which represents about 500 hospitals and health care systems.If policymakers stay the course, the state could be forced to close noncompliant hospitals. If the state loosens some of the requirements or provides money for hospitals to comply, it would put those that have spent millions of dollars in upgrades and construction costs at a disadvantage, the report noted.

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 in southern California as cold snap grips US JAN 18,2007

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Snow has fallen in normally balmy southern California, as Americans coped with a deadly nationwide cold snap that has left hundreds of thousands in the dark and caused billions in crop damage. More than 60 deaths across nine states were blamed on the harsh weather, US media reported Thursday, mostly in car accidents as drivers lost control of their vehicles on icy roads.A layer of snow on Wednesday blanketed hills in Malibu, a seaside town near Los Angeles popular with entertainment industry celebrities. The town is situated by the Pacific Ocean and is famous for its beaches and year-round sunshine.

Snow also fell on parts of metropolitan Los Angeles, with the upmarket neighborhood of Westwood receiving a dusting of flakes as the unseasonably low temperatures continued across California.The six-day regional cold snap took a surreal turn with the snow, the Los Angeles Times said, adding that chilly temperatures were forecast for Thursday.

The weather even forced transport authorities to close portions of a major California highway that links Los Angeles to the state capital Sacramento. The stretch remained close early Thursday.California's temperatures have plunged to near-record lows, prompting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to declare a state of emergency.The cold snap has devastated California's citrus fruit industry, with authorities forecasting losses of more than one billion dollars because of the damage to crops.Unusually low temperatures hit most of the southwestern state of Texas, with up to 7.6 centimeters (three inches) of snow accumulating in Dallas,
and ice and freezing rain forcing schools to close in San Antonio and Houston.A quarter of all flights from the busy Dallas airport were canceled Wednesday due to the low temperatures, local media reported, with service expected to resume normally on Thursday.Ice was the most dangerous regional culprit: accumulated snow and hail that melted during the day would freeze at night, creating treacherous roads.Low temperatures are expected to remain for the next days, weather forecasters said.

Meanwhile some 300,000 people in the midwest and northeastern US were without power, including about 100,000 in Missouri and 92,000 in Oklahoma, CNN reported.President George W. Bush declared an emergency in Oklahoma on Sunday and in Misouri on Monday, freeing up federal funding for recovery efforts.Oklahoma state governor Brad Henry toured areas hit by the ice storm, The Oklahoman newspaper reported Thursday.It looks like a war zone, Henry told the newspaper.It's hard to imagine ice could cause so much damage.Recovery is expected to last for weeks or months, the newspaper reported.Ice is expected to cause serious problems Thursday in South Carolina and as far south as Atlanta, forecasters said, with National Weather Service posting ice and freezing rain advisories across the region. In the northwestern states of Oregon and Washington, thousands stayed home on Wednesday after a heavy snowfall a day earlier but forecasts Thursday called for snow and freezing rain. Portland city crews worked around the clock plowing, sanding and de-icing streets, though most streets are expected to remain icy and snow-covered for days, the Portland Oregonian newspaper reported Thursday.

Severe storms claim first victim in Germany JAN 18,2007

BERLIN (AFP) - The violent storms lashing Germany claimed their first victim when a motorist was killed after his car collided with a fallen tree in the southwest of the country. The incident Thursday took place in the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg where winds of up to 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour) were recorded, the state interior ministry said.The storm was sweeping across the country from west to east, meteorologists said.It was set to be the most severe storm to hit Germany in four or five years and authorities warned people only to go outside in exceptional circumstances.Heavy rain was also falling on much of the country.

The conditions were causing flight cancellations at the country's busiest airport, Frankfurt, a spokesman for its operators Fraport said.At least 17 flights were cancelled by 1000 GMT.Forecasters also warned of severe flooding along the coast.The highest wind speed recorded was 169 kph (105 mph) on the Brocken mountain in the Harz range in the centre of the country, the national weather bureau in Offenbach said.The head of the German rescue services (THW), Albrecht Broemme, said tens of thousands of emergency workers were on standby.If this hits all of Germany, things could become pretty bad, he said.The stormy weather was expected to continue on Friday.Britain and other parts of northern Europe have also been affected.

Snow and ice heading to southern Plains feedlots JAN 18,07

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Snow and ice are headed to cattle feedlots in the U.S. southern Plains starting Friday, a private forecaster predicted Thursday. The storm should start in the west Texas feedlot areas then spread further north and into Kansas on Saturday.The heaviest amounts will be in west Texas 1/4 to 1.0 inch of precipitation. That could be worth 4 to 8 inches of snow depending on temperatures, said forecaster Mike Palmerino of DTN Meteorlogix.Further north into western Kansas, 0.10 to 0.50 inch of precipitation or 2 to 4 inches of snow should fall.It doesn't look good for west Texas areas. It could be quite stressful promoting sloppier conditions in the feedlots, Palmerino said.Further north it's just more moisture that they don't need right now, he added.

This weekend's expected ice and snow come on top of a series of storms that began in early December. While the dormant hard red winter wheat crop was soaking up all the moisture, it has turned feedlots muddy and added stress to animals.The six- to 10-day forecast offered some hope to livestock feeders as it was expected to turn drier and warmer, with the weather forecasting models in agreement on Thursday morning, Palmerino said.The Meteorlogix forecast for the U.S. Plains, Tuesday through Saturday, called for near to above-normal temperatures and normal to mostly below-normal precipitation.I don't have significant confidence in the forecast since it's a break from the past month and a half, Palmerino added.

Huge storms sweep northern Europe JAN 18,07

People in Germany have been advised to stay indoors.At least 15 people have been killed as violent storms lashed northern Europe, causing travel chaos across the region. Britain was the worst hit with seven people killed as heavy downpours and gales of up to 70mph swept the country. Hurricane-force winds battering Germany have claimed at least three lives. The other deaths were reported in the Netherlands and France. The severe weather has forced hundreds of flight and ferry cancellations and prompted road and school closures. The first fatality was reported in Shropshire, England, where a 54-year-old man died after his car was crushed by a falling branch. Three other people died on the roads in the UK. A two-year-old boy also died when a wall collapsed on him in the capital, London. One man was killed on a road in south-western Germany when he crashed into another vehicle as he tried to avoid a fallen tree, police said. In Bavaria, a 73-year-old man was killed when he was struck by debris. In Munich, an 18-month-old child died after being crushed by a door that blew off its hinges. Three people were killed by falling trees in the Netherlands, and one person was killed the same way in Roubaix, France. A 30-year-old man was also killed in a motoring accident in the Somme.

Stay indoors

The BBC's Steve Rosenberg in Berlin says schools have been shut and emergency services have mobilised extra staff. The weather system is moving across western German states. German radio says more than 40,000 volunteers are on standby, as widespread damage is expected.The crew of MSC Napoli abandoned ship in the English Channel Low-lying areas of northern Germany are preparing for possible flooding. In the Netherlands, as in Germany, people have been advised to stay indoors. Our country has not had a storm like this in years. We advise you to follow weather alarms and messages to the letter, the Netherlands Royal Weather Service said. Austria forecast winds of up to 170kph (105 mph) at higher altitudes in the Alps, and officials warned skiers to get off the mountains and seek shelter well before nightfall.

In other developments:

A British container ship is listing in the English Channel almost 50 miles (80km) off Cornwall - all 26 crew of the MSC Napoli abandoned ship.US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice cuts short her visit to Berlin in order to leave for London before weather worsened London's Heathrow Airport, Europe's largest, cancels 123 flights. Other major airports including Frankfurt, Munich, Amsterdam and Vienna report delays and cancellations Ferries are cancelled or delayed in Britain, Ireland, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland - where minor floods are reported near Helsinki Residents along the North Sea coast are warned to expect storm swells up to 3.5m (11.5ft) higher than normal Traffic on the Eurostar, the train service connecting Britain with continental Europe, is suspended after an electrical cable holder fell onto tracks near the French city of Lille

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.

Comoros island shakes, volcano still a threat JAN 18,2007

MORONI (Reuters) - Comoros' largest island shook twice on Thursday, residents said, and experts said there was still a threat of eruption from the Indian Ocean archipelago's Mount Karthala volcano despite the tremors weakening. Comorian authorities have made emergency plans to help as many as 30,000 people in case the 2,361 meter (7,746 ft) volcano, which dominates the main island of Grand Comore, blows.I felt very faint tremors in the morning and at three o'clock, resident Mounira Boba said. But I'm not so worried.The volcano seemed to have settled since the weekend when strong tremors thought to have been caused by lava trying to escape forced thousands of people to sleep outside for fear their homes might collapse.Mount Karthala, one of the world's largest active volcanoes, began glowing red and emitting fumes last week.Scientific equipment has continued to record more than a thousand small tremors every day, officials at the Karthala observation center said. Residents cannot feel such tremors.Patrick Bachelery, a vulcanologist and academic from the nearby island of Reunion, warned Grand Comore residents not to drop their guard.Even if activity quietens down, it could be a sign of eruption, he said.Karthala's eruptions have happened every 11 years on average, but have rarely caused a major disaster.In 1903, 17 people died when noxious fumes seeped from cracks in the mountain, and the last big eruption was in April 2005 when thousands fled in fear of poisonous gas and lava.

Wed, Jan. 17, 2007
Rice will face expectations gap in Mideast.She'll negotiate talks with Abbas and Olmert - BY RICHARD BOUDREAUX - Los Angeles Times

JERUSALEM /A day after agreeing with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on a way to move toward peace with the Palestinians, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert toured along the West Bank separation barrier Tuesday.His talking points demonstrated the gap of expectations Rice will face when she returns to the region next month for three-way talks with Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

The concrete barrier is reviled by Palestinians as a unilateral attempt by Israel to define its border with a future Palestinian state.Speaking at the wall's Ephraim crossing, Olmert ignored that explosive issue. Instead, he pressed Israeli inspectors to speed up scanning procedures so more cargo trucks could enter Israel from the West Bank.There is a large population whose quality of life will decide what kind of neighbors they will be, the prime minister said.During Rice's visit to Israel and the West Bank, Abbas had asked her to arrange the three-way meeting so he could start talking to Olmert about the core issues of a final settlement. These include the delineation of a new Palestinian state, the status of Jerusalem and the claims of Palestinian refugees to return to homes they abandoned in 1948 in what is now Israel.

In agreeing to Rice's proposal, Olmert made it clear he had a more modest agenda. His aides said he would approach the encounter as part of a pre-negotiation stage in which the two sides might build trust through initial steps, such as Israel's easing of cargo restrictions, a halt to Palestinian rocket attacks and an exchange of prisoners.We're still at the early stages of building the confidence necessary to open peace negotiations, said Miri Eisen, the prime minister's spokeswoman. We're not there yet, and we're not going to be cutting corners.Small deals between the two men have come to naught, including Olmert's December pledge to release $100 million in frozen funds to the Palestinian Authority and Abbas' November commitment to prevent militant groups from firing rockets from the Gaza Strip.Abbas most likely will not accept another round of confidence-building with Olmert unless there are tangible results, one of the Palestinian leader's aides said Tuesday. He wants to go beyond minor issues and sign an accord, along with the Israelis and the Americans, laying out a timetable for creating an independent Palestinian state.

Further complicating matters, the Palestinians are suspicious of the Bush administration's intentions as it wades deeper into Mideast diplomacy.If you look at the last six years, the only thing we see the Bush administration doing is trying to manage the conflict, not to resolve it, said Diana Buttu, a former legal adviser to the Palestinian Authority. You don't see any real pressure on Israel to live up to its agreements. Israel is allowed to use peace talks to buy time and is given carte blanche to torpedo any progress if it feels its security threatened.Rice's three-day visit, which ended Monday, marked the deepest U.S. engagement in the conflict in four years. Whether she can push both sides toward a resolution remains to be seen.

EU wants boost to Mideast peace efforts JAN 18,07

CAIRO (AFP) - European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana has said that Middle East diplomacy should move from crisis management to negotiations towards a final peace deal. If possible, the first months of 2007 can signify mobilisation, impulse in the dossiers which are important, especially the peace process, he told reporters in Cairo after meeting Arab League Secretary General Amr Mussa.He also met Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.Solana kicked off a tour of the region days after US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came for talks with regional leaders, in a bid to revive moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.My trip was started in Egypt to measure the temperature, see how people are feeling and see if we can put together some things that may push the process forward, Solana said.I think the peace process, the manner in which it has been handled, has been a crisis management type of tactic, he said.We can't forget that the standard of living of people has to change for the better. We have to begin to project those elements into the political process.

Embattled Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas' allies including Egypt and Jordan have also pushed for a jump to the so-called endgame, a resumption of final settlement talks between Israel and the Palestinians.We are trying to build around the consensus. We feel the Americans are understanding a need to reach a political process, Solana's spokeswoman Christina Gallach told reporters.There has been so much crisis management that we have not been able to concentrate on the real effort, she said.The Middle East quartet which groups the European Union, the United States, Russia and the United Nations is due to meet in Washington on February 2, Gallach said.The quartet drew up the roadmap for peace in 2003 with the aim of establishing a viable Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel. But the blueprint has largely remained a dead letter.

1/18/2007 8:30:00 AM -0500
Israel to build bomb shelters near Gaza

TEL AVIV, Israel, Jan. 18 (UPI) Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced Thursday in Tel Aviv Israel will spend $70 million to build bomb shelters near the Gaza border. Olmert told a group of municipal leaders he made the decision after determining six years of rocket attacks by Palestinian militants in Gaza was threatening the inner balance of the communities, YNetNews reported. He said homes up to five miles away from the Gaza Strip will be eligible for bomb shelters in the near future. In the West Bank, Palestinian sources said Israeli soldiers had shot and killed a member of Fatah's armed-wing, the al-Aqsa Brigades, and three other militants were injured in a shootout near Nablus. The Israeli military also reported it had apprehended 13 wanted Palestinians before dawn Thursday.

PM Eyes Winograd C´tee, Promises New IDF Chief Within Days
By Ezra HaLevi (INN) JAN 18,07

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says a new IDF Chief of Staff will be appointed in the coming days. Defense Minister Amir Peretz has already begun meeting with prospective candidates. The country’s 19th Chief of Staff will either be Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Moshe Kaplinsky, Maj.-Gen. (res.) Gabi Ashkenazi or Ground Forces Commander Maj.-Gen. Benny Ganz, according to media reports.Peretz held meetings with both leading candidates, and others, on Wednesday.Ashkenazi is reported to be favored over Kaplinsky due to the likelihood that the latter will be criticized by the Winograd Commission once it publishes its findings on last summer’s war with Hizbullah in Lebanon. Northern Command OC Maj.-Gen. Benny Ganz is considered by others to be too young and inexperienced for the job.Ashkenazi was passed over for the post in favor of Halutz by former Defense Minister Sha'ul Mofaz in 2005. Halutz succeeded Moshe Yaalon, who was released to early retirement due to his opposition to the Disengagement Plan.

Prime Minister Olmert said that although it is Peretz’s job to make the decision, but Peretz said he intends to set up a clear process, in order to choose the best possible Chief of Staff.Olmert’s aides say the PM plans on consulting with the Winograd Commission, which he appointed, to see whether its conclusions might implicate any of the candidates.

Ganz, Kaplinsky and Ashkenazi all appeared, or are scheduled to appear, before the Commission.The government intended to keep the Commission’s findings under wraps, but the Supreme Court ordered the state on Wednesday to explain, within five days, why the hearings are not open to the public and the protocols of testimony not published.The Supreme Court petition was filed by Meretz MK Zahava Gal-On. Gal-On sought to add to the request a provision delaying the appointment of a new Chief of Staff, on the grounds that Olmert and Peretz are not ethically authorized to appoint one. The request was rejected on the grounds that it was not filed with the original petition.

France's Royal wants new EU constitution referendum
18.01.2007 - 09:22 CET | By Mark Beunderman (Eu Observer)

Segolene Royal, the socialist candidate to become France's next president, has said she is in favour of holding a new referendum on a revised EU constitution in 2009, proposing to make the treaty more attractive to the French by attaching a social declaration. I want the French people to be consulted once again in a referendum in 2009, Ms Royal said after meeting Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker on Wednesday (17 January), according to press reports. My idea is that this referendum would take place at the same time as the European elections, she indicated. Wednesday's remarks, made ahead of the French presidential elections with first and second rounds in April and May, distance Ms Royal from her main centre-right rival for the presidency, Nicolas Sarkozy. Mr Sarkozy has called for a simplified mini-treaty for the EU containing key elements of the constitution, which could be ratified by the French parliament without a referendum. By contrast, Ms Royal said a new version of the text should add a fresh social declaration on workers' rights and public services, in order to avoid a repetition of the 2005 referendum when almost 55 percent of French voters rejected the charter.

I do not want the French to punish the European countries which have already expressed themselves [on the constitution]. What I wish is that there is a social aspect and that the rights of workers are taken into consideration in Europe, she said. Without being specific about the content of the proposed declaration, she said that with this, I think that the French people will regain confidence and I will be able to bring them along, those who voted yes and those who voted no.

What they want is not less Europe, but a Europe which will better protect social rights, fundamental freedoms and progress for all.Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker said he backed the idea of attaching a social declaration to the EU constitution, explaining that it could contain principles like a minimum wage - the level of which would be up to national governments - and minimum lay-off standards. The idea of a social declaration is likely to be viewed with scepticism by free market-oriented states like the UK, the Czech Republic and Poland which have put ratification of the constitution on ice.

Risky

But it is likely to be backed by German chancellor Angela Merkel who last year proposed to add a social declaration to the constitutional treaty herself, vowing to keep most of the charter's existing text unchanged. Ms Merkel is however likely to be less happy by Ms Royal's push for a second French referendum, which carries the risk of a second French no and which complicates Germany's main EU presidency goal of reaching a quick deal on a revised constitution. Ms Royal admitted that a new referendum is risky, saying I am prepared to take political risks in this matter...and explain to the French that if Europe wants to stand on its feet, we have the task of giving it the institutional means to function.

Barroso lists top five values for EU birthday text
17.01.2007 - 17:01 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said Brussels should be included in the preparation of a highly symbolic 50 year anniversary declaration on the future of Europe.The statement should look ahead to the next 50 years of the EU and must fully involve the Parliament and the Commission, Mr Barroso said before MEPs and in the presence of german chancellor Angela Merkel, currently heading the bloc.Talking animatedly, the Portuguese politician presented the statement as the next significant step in the EU's history, comparing it to when the founding fathers of the union, Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman, first considered their vision for the continent over half a century ago.I think today's leaders should stand on the shoulders of the founding fathers, and look ahead to the next 50 years. To the challenges which could not be imagined in 1957 but which Europe must face in 2007.The commission president went on to outline five points he thought should be covered in the statement, including: solidarity, accountability, security of European citizens and promoting European values in the world.

Green convert

A recent convert to the importance of fighting climate change - it is said because of the long-term economic benefits it will bring - Mr Barroso also put environmental matters in his five points to be included in the 50th anniversary declaration.The fight against climate change, through energy and other policies, should be a defining mission for Europe's future, said the commission president.

He has also asked for the climate change issue to be inserted into the EU's constitutional treaty with talks soon to start between member states on how to revive the document, in political limbo since it was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005.The commission's sudden interest in matters green has seen it strike a unilateral note on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (proposing a 20% decrease for the bloc by 2020), tackling pollution emissions from all airplanes coming in to the EU from 2012 and making a strong commitment to biofuels.However, Mr Barroso's aim to put the climate change battle into the constitution raises it to a new status.It is reminiscent of a recent proposal by Liberal MEP Andrew Duff to include issues that specifically address citizens' concerns in the document, making it more accessible For her part, chancellor Merkel was supportive of Mr Barroso's ideas for the declaration.I can assure him [Mr Barroso] I will back him up on these points, she said.She added the declaration would be shaped by the parliament, commission and the council but did not say concretely how MEPs and the commission would be involved, with Berlin keen to keep the numbers of people directly working on the anniversary document at a minimum so the exercise does not become too unwieldy.