PEOPLE OF THE EPICENTER FACE URGENT NEEDS IN WAKE OF WAR
Joshua Fund sends relief supplies to Israel, Iraq and Sudan.
By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., December 17, 2007) -- Wars and rumors of wars continue to dominate the Middle East as 2007 draws to a close. Consider just a few of these sobering headlines in recent days:
* Israel: US report on Iran may spark war
* Iran says U.S. report a declaration of surrender
* Turkish planes bomb PKK [Kurdish] targets in Iraq
* Triple Car Bombings Kill Dozens in Southern Iraq
* Palestinian Children on Hamas TV: We Will Wipe Out the People of Zion and Will Not Leave a Single One
* 200,000 Gazans Rally in Support of Hamas
* Sudan has still not agreed to U.N. peacekeepers to deal with terrible violence, genocide
In light of the urgent needs in the region, The Joshua Fund plans to dramatically increase the delivery of humanitarian aid to the needy people of Israel, Iraq, Sudan and others in the epicenter in 2008, as well as expand our strategic allies and our prayer partners. We are seeking to recruit at least 100,000 evangelical Christians all over the world who will stand with us in praying knowledgeably and consistently for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6) and for the people of the entire region. By God's grace, we already have more than 40,000 prayer partners signed up. If you would like to join our email list, please click the link below. To see the latest prayer needs for the people of the epicenter, please visit The Joshua Fund weblog.
As we end 2007, we are working hard to complete several specific and important projects in an effort to bless the poor and needy and victims of war and terrorism:
* RELIEF FOR ISRAEL: TJF is funding 50 tons of food for Bridges For Peace to distribute to poor and needy Israelis in the first quarter of 2008 (cost: $110,000)
* RELIEF FOR IRAQ: TJF is sending two trucks filled with more than $300,000 worth of humanitarian relief supplies into Iraq, to be distributed through Iraqi evangelical Christians (cost: $24,000)
* RELIEF FOR SUDAN: TJF is funding two emergency 40-foot containers of desperately-needed food aid for the suffering people of Sudan, who are not only enduring civil war but also genocide. Each container holds 44,000 pounds of food, or about 270,000 servings, at cost of less than forty-two cents per serving. Such aid will be distributed through Sudanese evangelical Christians with whom we are partnering. (cost: $46,000)
If you would like to help us with these and other projects, we would be deeply grateful for a generous year-end financial gift. Our mailing address is:
The Joshua Fund
18950 Base Camp Road
Monument Colorado 80132-8009
You can also make a secure donation on-line at our website, www.joshuafund.net.
FYI: This summer we received from the Internal Revenue Service our official status as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, meaning that every donation to The Joshua Fund is tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. Thanks so much and may the Lord truly bless you and your family as you bless Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus.
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).
Hungary first to ratify new EU treaty
18.12.2007 - 09:02 CET | By Honor Mahony
Hungary on Monday (17 December) became the first of the 27 member states to ratify the bloc's new treaty, making the move just days after the document was formally signed off by EU leaders.A parliamentary vote saw 325 votes in favour, 5 votes against and 14 abstentions for the new set of rules, according to Austrian news agency APA.Reacting to the vote, Hungary's prime minister praised the historic achievement of his country.In taking the ratification step so quickly, Budapest has stolen the crown from Poland and France, both of whom had indicated they were aiming to be the first.French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country rejected the original EU constitution in 2005, had suggested that France should be among the first to prove that the country is back on track in Europe.
Speaking before MEPs in the European Parliament last month, he said that French voters had rejected the constitution because they wanted more from Europe.The new EU treaty takes on most of the features of the rejected European constitution, including a foreign policy chief, a long-term president of the EU, a binding citizens rights charter as well as cutting down on the areas where member states have a right to veto.The new institutional rules, six years in the making, were signed off in a formal ceremony on Thursday (13 December) in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon, with EU leaders happy to draw a line under the negotiations.Each member state has to ratify the treaty for it to come into force, with governments aiming to get it in place by early 2009.Ireland is the only country to have a referendum on the document, while the British government is undergoing strong pressure from opposition conservatives to hold a popular vote.Mr Sarkozy has sidestepped the awkward question of why French voters will not be having a second say on the treaty by suggesting that if France had a referendum then the British government would be forced to follow suit, resulting in a probable rejection of the document.
Last update - 19:55 18/12/2007
Israel signs free-trade accord with South American bloc
By News Agencies
Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, signed a free-trade agreement with Israel on Tuesday, its first pact with a country outside of Latin America. The deal was announced during a two-day summit of Mercosur leaders in the Uruguayan capital and followed two years of negotiations to bolster trade ties between South American countries and Israel. This agreement is an enormous satisfaction that will help develop our links to the Mercosur countries, a statement from the Israeli Embassy in Argentina said.
Trade between Israel and Mercosur countries neared $1.6 billion in 2006. Mercosur is comprised of full members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, with Venezuela awaiting approval to join the trade group. Associate members include Bolivia, Chile, Colombia and Peru. It is something very important because it will be the first trade agreement for Israel in South America, said Itzhak Levanon, Israel's ambassador to international organizations in Geneva. Israel already has a number of trade agreements, including with the United States, European Union, Canada and Mexico. But Mercosur has struggled in attempts to reach a deal with the 27-nation European Union because of disagreements over how much to open up Europe's protected farm markets.
Brazil also was instrumental in thwarting attempts by the U.S. to create a Free Trade Agreement of the Americas that would have stretched from Canada to Chile, becoming the world's largest free commerce zone. Levanon declined to comment on what products or services the agreement would include because talks were ongoing. He said the final treaty would probably be signed in the middle of next month, most likely in Uruguay. The talks in Geneva last month - the eighth round between Israel and Mercosur - built on previous discussions in Brazil, Israel and Uruguay, said Levanon, who represents Israel at the World Trade Organization. It is on the way to being done, barring anything unexpected, which I don't foresee, he said. This shows how important the Israeli
market has become.In 2005, Mercosur started negotiations with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council on a free trade zone that aimed to provide South America access to a lucrative import market. Talks with the group including Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are ongoing.But experts were skeptical from the start on whether the two blocs would be able to look beyond their domestic agendas and resist potential American efforts to lure them away with lucrative bilateral trade deals.
It was not clear if Israel was trying to complete its deal with Mercosur before Venezuela joined the trading group. The oil-rich country's bid to enter Mercosur has already been approved by the legislatures of member nations Argentina and Uruguay. But still to be convinced are lawmakers in Brazil, where President Hugo Chavez has ruffled feathers for suggesting that its Congress was a pirate's parrot of the United States. Chavez also tried to rally world leaders in 2006 to halt the Israeli military offensive in Lebanon, calling it a fascist assault and comparing it to the Holocaust. Countries are increasingly seeking bilateral or regional trade deals, which are seen as the best option for export-driven growth in the absence of a new global pact among the 151 members of the WTO. The United States has been the most active on the bilateral front, racking up over a dozen agreements since the WTO's current round of trade talks began in 2001, mostly with smaller countries. The agreements have caused concern among other governments - including those in Mercosur - and at the WTO that the U.S. was distracted from the multilateral talks, where the potential benefits of a deal are much greater, especially for poorer nations.
US Mideast envoy meets Israeli leaders DEC 18,07
JERUSALEM (AFP) — US General James Jones, overseeing security issues in the revived Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, met senior Israeli officials on Tuesday on his first visit since being appointed to the post.The retired Marine commandant and former NATO commander was named US Mideast security envoy after Israelis and Palestinians relaunched peace talks at a US-hosted conference last month.He met top Israeli military officials before talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.Following Olmert's hour-long meeting with Jones, government spokesman Mark Regev said the prime minister made it very clear that he sees importance in Jones' mission and is committed to support it and cooperate with Jones.
Jones earlier met Defence Minister Ehud Barak, military chief of staff Gabi Ashkenazi and chief of military intelligence Amos Yadlin, a defence ministry statement said.Discussions centred on the manner in which to organise cooperation between the Israeli side and General Jones, as well as a series of regional security and political issues, the statement said.Barak also held a one-on-one meeting with Jones to brief him on Israel's central security interests, it added.Ashkenazi later briefed Jones on the army's efforts to counter Palestinian militant attacks in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, in particular against the planners and perpetrators of Qassam and morter shell attacks on Israel, the army said.Over the past 24 hours, Israel has killed 12 militants, including the head of Islamic Jihad in Gaza, in a series of raids across Gaza aimed at countering the nearly daily rocket fire against southern Israel.Jones was appointed by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to monitor Israel's commitment to freeze all West Bank settlement expansion and the Palestinian's commitment to crack down on militants.
Israel has said it would not implement any future peace deal before the Palestinians put an end to attacks, including nearly daily rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, where the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in June.A senior Israeli official said late on Monday that the general's mandate is to indicate whether Israel and the Palestinans are carrying out their roadmap commitments.The roadmap is an internationally drafted peace blueprint that has made next to no progress since its launch more than four years ago, and which the two sides pledged last month to uphold when they revived their peace talks.Israel has been under fire from Palestinians, Washington and the European Union for announcing tenders for the expansion of a settlement in east Jerusalem a week after the Annapolis conference in November.
Introduction to Parliament of European Union (Amendment) Bill Source: Foreign and Commonwealth Office
Published Monday, 17 December, 2007 - 22:28
On 17 December Jim Murphy MP, Minister for Europe, commented on the introduction to Parliament of the European Union (Amendment) Bill:I am pleased to announce that the Government has today introduced to Parliament the European Union (Amendment) Bill, which will enable the UK to ratify the Lisbon Treaty.The Lisbon Treaty is a good deal for the UK and a positive step forward for the European Union. The reforms contained in the Treaty will enable an EU of 27 or more nation states to respond effectively to the challenges of globalisation and to deliver on key issues like jobs, security and the environment.The Bill also gives Parliament more power in EU decision-making and a veto on any proposal to activate the mechanisms in the Treaty that provide for further moves to qualified majority voting - but which require unanimity.
All 27 EU Heads of Government have agreed that the constitutional concept is abandoned. And by achieving our negotiating objectives and red lines in full, the UK has moved the furthest away from the old Constitution.Of the 27 EU states, only Ireland intends to hold a referendum on the Treaty, because of Ireland's system of governance. Elsewhere in Europe there is a clear recognition that the Reform Treaty is different in intent, content and consequence. Hans-Gert Poettering, the President of the European Parliament and a Conservative, has said:If someone in the UK is calling for a referendum, that is not because the text we have in front of us is a Constitution, it must be for some other reason and I for one would not support it.On 11 December Prime Minister of Denmark Anders Fogh Rasmussen declared:The Lisbon Treaty does not transfer new powers to the EU, as the Justice Ministry's legal analysis confirms, and is an amending treaty that is fundamentally different to the Constitutional Treaty. The government does not, therefore, find it necessary to put the Treaty to a referendum.
The independent Dutch Council of State has studied the Treaty in detail and come to a similar conslusion. And European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has also made clear that, the Treaty, including the hard fought UK red lines, is not the Constitution.We are pursuing ratification of the Lisbon Treaty through Parliament in the same way that Prime Ministers Thatcher, Major and Blair approached the Maastricht, Amsterdam and Nice Treaties. As the Prime Minister has made clear:The Government will recommend that there is sufficient time for debate on the Floor of the House so that the Bill is examined in the fullest of detail and all points of view can be heard.I look forward to the start of that detailed debate in the New Year.
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.
Putin accepts role as prime minister
18.12.2007 - 08:55 CET | By Renata Goldirova
Russian president Vladimir Putin seems set to retain power even after his second presidential term expires next year, as he has accepted an offer to serve as prime minister. If citizens show trust in Dmitry Medvedev and elect him president, I will be ready to head the government without changing the institutional powers of the president and government, Mr Putin said on Monday (17 December), the Moscow Times reports.The announcement was made at a congress of United Russia - the pro-Kremlin party, which won a landslide victory in parliamentary elections earlier this month - shortly before the party endorsed Mr Medvedev as its candidate for the presidential race in March 2008. Mr Medvedev, 42, currently serves as a first deputy prime minister as well as chairman of Russia's state-run gas monopoly Gazprom. We should not be ashamed or afraid of transferring key powers of the country, the destiny of Russia, into the hands of such a man, Mr Putin said, according to the Moscow Times.The power-sharing deal ends speculation on whether the current Russian leader would resort to changing the constitution, which currently bars him from seeking a third presidential term.
It remains unclear, however, what role Mr Putin will play on the country's political scene.I don't have the slightest doubt that Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, in the future, will keep using his enormous political and professional resources, his influence both in our society and in the world, for the benefit of Russia and its citizens, Mr Medvedev himself said, according to AP. According to Leonid Gozman from the opposition Union of Right Forces party, the deal will see a strengthening of the prime minister's role at the expense of the president's. It means either there will be a transfer of functions from the president to the premier or Putin will think of something else, for example, either becoming general secretary of United Russia or changing the constitution to create the position of spiritual leader of the nation, Mr Gozman was cited as saying by AP. Analysts also took a critical tone, with Konstantin Remuchukov from the daily Nezavisimaya Gazeta saying It means one thing: Putin's team will remain in power.This is not an election but the distribution of roles within a single team. There has never before been such a situation in Russia, he added.
Tony Blair sees Mideast solution beyond territory
EJP Updated: 18/Dec/2007 13:37
Tony Blair (C) with French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the international donors' conference in Paris on Monday.
LONDON (EJP)---Tony Blair, the Middle East Quartet envoy, Tony Blair, said the creation of a Palestinian state does not simply amount to defining territory but is also about how the Palestinians manage themselves, particularly on the security front. In an interview with the Financial Times he declared:Having a state is not just a question of territory. It is about the nature of what happens inside the state. So the single most important thing I can do to help the Palestinians is tell them the truth. And the truth is that there will not be a Palestinian state unless the nature of that state is clear.The former British Prime Minister added: I am saying to the Israelis: Yes, I understand why you are concerned by security. But in circumstances where Palestinians have demonstrated this security capability and built it, then you have to give them a chance to let it work. He said a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians could be forged in 2008, and a point could be reached during the year where a minimum threshold of credibility would be achieved, giving both sides the confidence to trade land for peace.
EU Urges China to Let Its Currency Rise
Tuesday December 18, 10:56 am ET
By Aoife White, AP Business Writer
EU Calls on China to Allow Currency Appreciate to Help U.S. Dollar Vs Euro
BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) -- European Union economists urged China to allow its currency to appreciate, saying the move would help the U.S. dollar rise from record lows against the euro -- and help China tackle its own overheating economy.European Union trade statistics showed separately Tuesday that China has now overtaken Britain as the largest source of imports for the 13-nation euro zone.China's massive trade surplus and importance as an exporter means it now plays a major role in global current account imbalances, as it accumulates cash and others pile up debt.The EU's top economy official, Klaus Regling, said in a report published Tuesday that the EU and China agreed last month to take action to avoid drastic movements of exchange rates.But the EU said more action would not only help Europe and the U.S. -- both of which have ballooning trade deficits with China -- but also China itself as well as east Asia.The European Commission's quarterly report on the euro area said a higher value for the Chinese currency would help China regulate its economy and allow Asian currencies rise.China's efforts to curb its overheating economy would be helped by a higher value currency because Beijing's large-scale intervention in foreign exchange markets uses money it needs to deal with other problems, the report said.
More money was flowing around the Chinese economy, fueling inflation and asset price bubbles, it said, pointing to the Shanghai stock index soaring 400 percent since 2006.An appreciation would reduce the need to intervene and free the central bank to pursue its domestic monetary objectives, the EU said.Lifting exchange rates would stop the rapid rate that east Asian exporters are accumulating trade surpluses and would ultimately alleviate pressures on the bilateral exchange rate of the U.S. dollar against the euro, the report said.Europeans have also urged Beijing to stoke domestic demand so that Chinese people enjoy the wealth their country is reaping -- and start buying more expensive goods from the rest of the world.The Chinese yuan's value against the euro has slipped by 9 percent over the last two years. Although it has technically risen 10 percent against the dollar during the same time, the U.S. currency's spectacular drop means that renminbi hardly appreciated in effective terms, the report said.Separately, the EU's statistical agency Eurostat said China sent euro countries 123.5 billion euros ($177.75 billion) worth of goods in the first nine months of the year, pushing past Britain at 122.3 billion euros ($176 billion).
For all 27 EU countries, the yawning trade gap with China grew 25 percent in the first nine months of 2007, from the same period in 2006. The EU trade deficit with China from January to September rose to 115.7 billion euros ($166.5 billion), compared with 92.3 billion euros ($132.8 billion) a year ago.Although Europe is exporting more to China -- exports grew 13 percent from January to September -- it is also importing more, buying 21 percent more from the world's most populous nation.EU officials have repeatedly called on China to speed up efforts to open its markets and resolve trade tensions, warning that Beijing's failure to act would feed calls for protectionism in Europe and the U.S.European companies complain that they face a huge range of problems doing business in China -- such as limits on how much of a Chinese company they can buy and controls on intellectual property rights that allow widespread counterfeiting.
REVELATION 17:2
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)
Vatican says al-Qaeda fears inter-religious talks DEC 18,07
The Vatican has dismissed condemnation by al Qaeda saying the militant group is worried by the historic meeting between the Pope and Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah.Reuters reports al Qaeda’s second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri (pictured) said the Pontiff had insulted Islam and Muslims and critcised the Saudi monarch for meeting with him.Vatican spokesman Fr Federico Lombardi said Zawahri's video-taped comments, posted on the Internet on Sunday, showed al Qaeda is worried about the implications of the meeting, and that they were afraid of inter-religious dialogue.The meeting, held in November, was the first ever between a Pope and a Saudi monarch.Fr Lombardi added the Pope was also pursuing dialogue with a group of prominent Muslim scholars, including Jordanian Prince Ghazi bin Mohammad bin Talal.These people want dialogue and are working toward peace, Fr Lombardi said.This worries those who don't want dialogue, he said.Zawahri has previously denounced the Pope for a speech he made last year when he used a quote that associated Islam with violence.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
FAST IN ISRAEL TODAY
Minor Fasts DEC 19,07
There are five minor fasts on the Jewish calendar. With one exception, these fasts were instituted by the Sages to commemorate some national tragedy. The minor fasts (that is, all fasts except Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av) last from dawn to nightfall, and one is permitted to eat breakfast if one arises before sunrise for the purpose of doing so. There is a great deal of leniency in the minor fasts for people who have medical conditions or other difficulties fasting. The date of the fast is moved to Sunday if the specified date falls on Shabbat. Three of these five fasts commemorate events leading to the downfall of the first commonwealth and the destruction of the first Temple, which is commemorated by the major fast of Tisha B'Av.
Following is a list of minor fasts required by Jewish law, their dates, and the events they commemorate:
The Fast of Tevet, Tevet 10, is the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem. It has also been proclaimed a memorial day for the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust.
The Tenth of Tevet
Yom Ha-Kaddish HaKlali
In the State of Israel, Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the deceased) is recited on this day for people whose date or place of death is unknown. Consequently, many rabbis have designated it as a day of remembrance for the Holocaust.
Historic Significance
And it was in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth (day) of the month, that Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylon came, he and all his hosts, upon Yerushalayim, and he encamped upon it and built forts around it. And the city came under siege till the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu. On the ninth of the month famine was intense in the city, the people had no bread, and the city was breached. (Second Melachim 25).
We see then, that the tenth of Tevet - on which the siege of Yerushalayim began, was the beginning of the whole chain of calamities which finally ended with the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash.
The Purpose of Fasting
The essential significance of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, as well as that of the other fast days, is not primarily the grief and mourning which they evoke. Their aim is rather to awaken the hearts towards repentance; to recall to us, both the evil deeds of our fathers, and our own evil deeds, which caused anguish to befall both them and us and thereby to cause us to return towards the good. As it is said (Vayikra 26): 'And they shall confess their transgressions and the transgressions of their fathers. (Rambam: Hilchot Ta'anit Chapter 5).
The aim of fasting, therefore, is to subjugate our evil inclination by restriction of pleasure; to open our hearts and stir us to repentance and good deeds through which the gates of Divine mercy might be opened for us.(Chayei Adam; Klal 33)
Therefore, each person is obligated to examine his deeds and to repent during these days. As it is written of the people of Nineveh: And the Lord saw their actions (Yonah 3), upon which the Rabbis say: It is not said, He saw their sackcloth and fasting, but rather their actions (Ta'anit 22). We see hence that the purpose of fasting is repentance. (same as above)
Therefore, the people, who fast but engage in pointless activities, grasp what is of secondary importance and miss what is essential. Nevertheless, repentance alone without fasting is also insufficient, because there is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to fast on this day. (same as above)
The Observance of the Fast
The fast begins, as do all the public fasts with the exception of Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur, at alot haShachar, dawn.
These four public fasts: Asarah B'Tevet, Tzom Gedaliah, Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, and Ta'anit Esther, are also alike in that there do not apply any additional physical constraints, such as the prohibition of washing or of wearing leather shoes, etc.
One who is in the category of being ill-even-without-danger, or who is a pregnant or nursing woman, for whom fasting might be difficult, and all children, are exempt from fasting.
All those who are exempt from fasting should not, in any case, eat publicly or indulge in purely pleasurable forms of consumption (such as eating black-'n-whites), but should eat only that which is necessary for good nutrition.
If a public fast falls on Shabbat, it is delayed until after Shabbat since fasting is not permitted on Shabbat. The one exception is Yom Kippur, which, based on a verse in the Torah, is observed even if it falls on Shabbat. The Geonim also write that the same was once true of the tenth of Tevet, since it is written of the tenth of Tevet: On this very day (YechezkeI 2). In our calendar calculation, however, the tenth of Tevet can never fall on Shabbat.
If a public fast occurs on Erev Shabbat, we fast the entire day till the conclusion of the fast, even though it means entering Shabbat while fasting. Neither Avinu Malkeinu nor Tachanun are recited at Mincha. The fast continues until after the completion of Maariv for Shabbat (after the appearance of the stars). One should not eat or drink anything until after Kiddush.
Nowadays our calendar calculation is such that the only public fast which can fall on Erev Shabbat is the tenth of Tevet.
There are five minor fasts on the Jewish calendar. With one exception, these fasts were instituted by the Sages to commemorate some national tragedy. The minor fasts (that is, all fasts except Yom Kippur and Tisha b'Av) last from dawn to nightfall, and one is permitted to eat breakfast if one arises before sunrise for the purpose of doing so. There is a great deal of leniency in the minor fasts for people who have medical conditions or other difficulties fasting. The date of the fast is moved to Sunday if the specified date falls on Shabbat. Three of these five fasts commemorate events leading to the downfall of the first commonwealth and the destruction of the first Temple, which is commemorated by the major fast of Tisha B'Av.
Following is a list of minor fasts required by Jewish law, their dates, and the events they commemorate:
The Fast of Tevet, Tevet 10, is the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem. It has also been proclaimed a memorial day for the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust.
The Tenth of Tevet
Yom Ha-Kaddish HaKlali
In the State of Israel, Kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the deceased) is recited on this day for people whose date or place of death is unknown. Consequently, many rabbis have designated it as a day of remembrance for the Holocaust.
Historic Significance
And it was in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, in the tenth (day) of the month, that Nebuchadnetzar, King of Babylon came, he and all his hosts, upon Yerushalayim, and he encamped upon it and built forts around it. And the city came under siege till the eleventh year of King Tzidkiyahu. On the ninth of the month famine was intense in the city, the people had no bread, and the city was breached. (Second Melachim 25).
We see then, that the tenth of Tevet - on which the siege of Yerushalayim began, was the beginning of the whole chain of calamities which finally ended with the destruction of the Beit Hamikdash.
The Purpose of Fasting
The essential significance of the fast of the Tenth of Tevet, as well as that of the other fast days, is not primarily the grief and mourning which they evoke. Their aim is rather to awaken the hearts towards repentance; to recall to us, both the evil deeds of our fathers, and our own evil deeds, which caused anguish to befall both them and us and thereby to cause us to return towards the good. As it is said (Vayikra 26): 'And they shall confess their transgressions and the transgressions of their fathers. (Rambam: Hilchot Ta'anit Chapter 5).
The aim of fasting, therefore, is to subjugate our evil inclination by restriction of pleasure; to open our hearts and stir us to repentance and good deeds through which the gates of Divine mercy might be opened for us.(Chayei Adam; Klal 33)
Therefore, each person is obligated to examine his deeds and to repent during these days. As it is written of the people of Nineveh: And the Lord saw their actions (Yonah 3), upon which the Rabbis say: It is not said, He saw their sackcloth and fasting, but rather their actions (Ta'anit 22). We see hence that the purpose of fasting is repentance. (same as above)
Therefore, the people, who fast but engage in pointless activities, grasp what is of secondary importance and miss what is essential. Nevertheless, repentance alone without fasting is also insufficient, because there is a positive commandment of Rabbinic origin to fast on this day. (same as above)
The Observance of the Fast
The fast begins, as do all the public fasts with the exception of Tisha B'Av and Yom Kippur, at alot haShachar, dawn.
These four public fasts: Asarah B'Tevet, Tzom Gedaliah, Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, and Ta'anit Esther, are also alike in that there do not apply any additional physical constraints, such as the prohibition of washing or of wearing leather shoes, etc.
One who is in the category of being ill-even-without-danger, or who is a pregnant or nursing woman, for whom fasting might be difficult, and all children, are exempt from fasting.
All those who are exempt from fasting should not, in any case, eat publicly or indulge in purely pleasurable forms of consumption (such as eating black-'n-whites), but should eat only that which is necessary for good nutrition.
If a public fast falls on Shabbat, it is delayed until after Shabbat since fasting is not permitted on Shabbat. The one exception is Yom Kippur, which, based on a verse in the Torah, is observed even if it falls on Shabbat. The Geonim also write that the same was once true of the tenth of Tevet, since it is written of the tenth of Tevet: On this very day (YechezkeI 2). In our calendar calculation, however, the tenth of Tevet can never fall on Shabbat.
If a public fast occurs on Erev Shabbat, we fast the entire day till the conclusion of the fast, even though it means entering Shabbat while fasting. Neither Avinu Malkeinu nor Tachanun are recited at Mincha. The fast continues until after the completion of Maariv for Shabbat (after the appearance of the stars). One should not eat or drink anything until after Kiddush.
Nowadays our calendar calculation is such that the only public fast which can fall on Erev Shabbat is the tenth of Tevet.
Monday, December 17, 2007
VATICAN CHANGES JESUS' LOCATION
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.
Winter storm hits N.L., as cleanup begins in central, eastern Canada Mon Dec 17, 11:13 AM
By The Canadian Press
HALIFAX - Parts of the Maritimes were paralyzed Monday after a blast of wintry weather forced the closure of schools, made driving treacherous and left thousands of people in the dark. The massive storm, which also heaved near-record amounts of snow on Southern Ontario and Quebec, lashed Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday, where up to 25 centimetres of snow was predicted. Even after the snow, wind and rain subsided in the Maritimes, the wintry blast continued to cause trouble for electricity customers, especially in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. About 3,900 homes and businesses remained without power in New Brunswick by late-morning, mostly in the Moncton and Shediac areas. The province's electric utility said strong winds in the Moncton area were hampering restoration efforts. We restore some customers only to have the wind come along and cause an outage again, NB Power spokeswoman Heather MacLean said in a statement. Nova Scotia Power said it hoped to restore power to about 4,500 customers by Monday afternoon, the vast majority of whom were in Cape Breton and Pictou County. Higher wind gusts were in coastal areas, and that pretty much lines up with where the damage is, said NS Power spokeswoman Margaret Murphy, adding that crews were mostly able to work through the night and restore outages as they occurred.
Schools were also closed in many parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as drivers struggled to deal with the messy mixture of heavy snow and rain. The storm continued to create travel headaches, with whiteouts in some areas and icy roads in others.
Treacherous travel may have played a part in a fatal car crash on slippery roads in Nova Scotia. Police say a 16-year-old boy who was a passenger in one vehicle died at the scene Sunday afternoon on Highway 101 in the Kentville area. The 17-year-old boy who was driving was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Meanwhile, dozens of flights in and out of Halifax's airport had been cancelled since Sunday, stranding thousands of passengers, with disruptions expected to continue well into Monday. The storm hit the Maritime region around midday Sunday, after the heavy weather battered Ontario and Quebec. Darin Borgel, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the storm system hit the Maritimes pretty much as predicted. Most people were pretty adequately warned, Borgel said from Dartmouth, N.S. This storm got a lot of attention as it went through Ontario and Quebec ... so I think most people were expecting some pretty nasty conditions here.Across the Maritime provinces, snowfall amounts of between 10 and 20 centimetres were reported before the snow changed over to rain in many places. In northern New Brunswick, however, there was no changeover to rain, meaning a total of 30 centimetres of snow or more by day's end Monday. Wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour were typical in the region, although one gust of 165 km/h was reported near Cheticamp in western Cape Breton.
Latest wintry blast lashes U.S. from the Great Lakes to New England Mon Dec 17, 10:21 AM
By David N. Goodman, The Associated Press
DETROIT - A blend of snow, sleet and freezing rain cut visibility and iced over highways from the Great Lakes to New England on the weekend, dumping up to 45 centimetres of snow and stranding air and road travellers. School districts across the region - including Michigan's largest, in Detroit - cancelled Monday classes. Slippery roads were blamed for four weekend deaths in Indiana, two in Michigan and one each in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. AAA Michigan said it helped more than 3,000 motorists Sunday. Most had spun out, got stuck or couldn't start their vehicles, spokeswoman Nancy Cain said. The northern New York state community of Peru received 45 centimetres of snow, whipped up by high winds, the U.S. National Weather Service said. In Michigan, Ann Arbor reported 27 centimetres, while parts of Indiana got up to 36 centimetres of snow. It's winter, said Ann Arbor resident Linda Thelen, 53, as she and her husband dug out their home. I expect a couple of these each year.In Rhode Island, a U.S. Airways Express Flight from Philadelphia carrying 31 passengers and three crew members slid off the runway when it landed at T.F. Green Airport, which got nearly 20 centimetres of snow. No injuries were reported, but the airport had to close its runways for about 2 1/2 hours.
The storm cancelled hundreds of flights at airports in Chicago and about 300 flights at Boston's busy Logan International Airport. Flights were also cancelled at airports in Portland, Maine; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Manchester, N.H. Few major problems - though plenty of delays - were reported at airports in Philadelphia and the New York area, which had braced for plenty of snow but got mostly sleet and rain. Every available plow truck was at work in Vermont, said Reggie Brown, highway department dispatcher in Montpelier. Everybody's out and running, he said. Braving the elements Sunday in New York were fans of teen singer Hannah Montana, whose concert in Rochester drew Jolene Horton and her eight-year-old daughter, Paxtyn Brown. They spent five hours on the road from Schuyler County in the Finger Lakes. "Normally it would have taken 2 1/2 hours, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world, Horton said. The storm also didn't keep fans away from the New England Patriots-New York Jets game at Foxborough, Mass., but they had to shovel off their seats in the stadium. A video of a fire roaring in a fireplace was shown on the scoreboards. The weekend storm came less than a week after an ice storm in the Midwest and Northeast that was blamed for at least 38 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents. Up to a million homes and businesses lost power in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. On Monday, Oklahoma utilities said just more than 126,000 customers were still waiting for electricity, most in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.
Among those waiting for service to be restored, Choctaw resident Beverly Smith said her trailer had been without power for seven consecutive days as of Sunday. We don't have anywhere to go, said Smith, who lives with her 15-year-old son. We're out of money. Christmas is nine days away, and I have no hope of giving my family a Christmas all.
Fla. storm overturns cars, damages jail Sun Dec 16, 10:12 AM ET
LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - An apparent tornado demolished a jail building and overturned vehicles early Sunday in central Florida, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The storm was reported about 5:15 a.m. in Pasco County, the National Weather Service said.One of two minimum-security annex buildings at the Pasco County Jail in Land O' Lakes was destroyed, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said. The approximately 125 female inmates it housed had been evacuated moments earlier to the main jail.A few seconds after shutting the door is when that structure basically collapsed, Tobin said.The destroyed building was a temporary structure used to ease overcrowding and designed to withstand winds up to 110 miles per hour, according to a county Web site.
A second annex, housing about 100 male inmates, did not sustain any serious damage, Tobin said. The roof was damaged on the main prison building, which holds about 950 inmates.Pasco County is north of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.
Global donors pledge 7.4 bln dlrs for Palestinians by Christophe de Roquefeuil DEC 17,07
PARIS (AFP) - International donors pledged 7.4 billion dollars to the Palestinians Monday at a conference described by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the last hope to save their government from bankruptcy. Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad had formally asked donors meeting in Paris for 5.6 billion dollars by 2010 to help fulfil his plan to develop a viable economy for a future state.The real winner is the Palestinian state, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told AFP as he announced that a total of 7.4 billion dollars (5.15 billion euros) had been promised.The pledges were made at a one-day conference convened to agree a package of aid to stabilise the Palestinian economy and shore up the peace process with Israel -- jumpstarted in the US city of Annapolis last month.
We see this conference as an important vote of confidence on the part of the international community, Fayyad said as the conference wrapped up.But Islamist group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June and was not invited to Paris or the Annapolis meeting, labelled it a dangerous conspiracy aimed at dividing the Palestinians.We support all forms of aid, financial or otherwise, to the Palestinian people. But the Paris conference is coating poison with honey and is a dangerous conspiracy, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement released in Gaza.Some humanitarian groups questioned the benefit of such a massive aid package.In London, the development charity Oxfam warned donors were pouring cash into a leaking bucket, arguing that aid efforts already in place were being seriously hampered by Israeli restrictions on movement.The challenge is to fix the leak, not pour faster... Due to Israel's movement restrictions and the blockade of Gaza, millions of dollars of aid for Palestinians are being lost, Oxfam's Middle East director Adam Leach said.But Tony Blair, Middle East envoy for the diplomatic Quartet, said the money would be used for building the capacity and the institutions for the (Palestinian) state.Over the next few months what we have got to show to people is that we are capable of making the difference on the ground, he said.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had earlier warned the almost 90 delegations that the West Bank and Gaza were facing a total catastrophe without their aid.
Pledges quickly came pouring in with Rice announcing a US donation of 555 million dollars for 2008, including 150 million dollars for budget support.The Palestinian Authority is experiencing a serious budgetary crisis. This conference is literally the government's last hope to avoid bankruptcy, Rice said.The European Commission pledged to donate 650 million dollars in aid for 2008 alone while Britain and Saudi Arabia announced three-year aid packages of 490 million dollars and at least 500 million dollars respectively.
Opening the conference earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged 300 million dollars over three years. Germany promised 200 million dollars by 2010 and Sweden offered 300 million dollars in 2007 and 2008.Some 3.4 billion dollars of Monday's pledges was to go to the Palestinians in 2008, the first year of Fayyad's three-year recovery plan, a final statement at the end of the conference said. This support will be essential for accompanying the political process launched in Annapolis at the end of November, the statement added. As the conference kicked off, Abbas urged Israel -- represented by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- to freeze all settlement activity in the Palestinian territories to allow the newly-relaunched peace drive to gain a foothold.
I expect a complete halt of all settlement activities without exception, Abbas said, also calling for the dismantling of 127 wildcat settlements, the lifting of military checkpoints, a halt to construction of the separation barrier and prisoner releases.
Around 70 countries, as well as all the major international organisations, were attending the Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State, a month after Israel and the Palestinians relaunched negotiations frozen for seven years. The takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, which won a majority in 2006 parliamentary elections, effectively split the Palestinian territories in half. Hamas -- pledged to Israel's destruction and shunned by the West -- rules in Gaza, while the Western-backed Abbas controls the West Bank.
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.(WORLD TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
GBCORP chief says-Europe-Mideast trade can bridge the cultural divide Moussa Ahmad BI-ME 14 December 2007
BAHRAIN. Mark Hanson, Chief Executive of Bahrain-based Global Banking Corporation (GBCORP), today outlined his vision for increased Middle East-European trade partnerships as an effective method of bridging the two regions’ cultural divides, in his keynote speech to the UCI Global Investor Window conference in London.Hanson was addressing some of the world’s leading investment bankers at London’s Institute of Directors, where he highlighted the increasing potential of Sharia’a-compliant banking products as the key to future financing in the US$4.4 billion UK-GCC trade sector.
The combined GDP of the six GCC member states will reach US$957 billion in 2007, a rapid 100% growth in the past five years, with economists predicting GCC expansion will continue to outpace Western economies in the coming years. This allows the investment banking industry to grasp the opportunities presented by joint Arabian Gulf, UK and European business ventures and, in my experience, trade is the most effective way for cultures to come to greater understanding of one another, commented GBCORP CEO Hanson.While sectors such as energy, real estate, telecommunications and technology continue to represent the majority of the Middle East’s 2,800 major infrastructure projects, significant investment in education and training is creating a region increasingly recognised for the quality of its intellectual capital.There are currently more than 200 UK/Saudi joint ventures with an estimated total investment of US$14.5 billion and foreign investors can own up to 100% of Saudi companies in certain sectors. Bahrain-based companies have invested in the UK for 40 years, taking stakes in the McClaren Formula One racing team, acquiring utility companies and recently bidding for Peacocks, one of the UK’s largest discount fashion retailers.
We live in a world in which negative stereotypes abound, especially when it comes to perceptions of the Middle East. Yet my experiences living and working in predominantly Muslim countries has helped me understand just how outdated and inaccurate so many of these negative images are, continued Hanson. Commercially, the Global Investor Window conference acts as a bridge for potential investors, with more than half of Europe’s 387 million futures contracts traded in the City of London. Culturally, it acts as a bridge between people of different traditions seeking opportunities to work together in pursuit of a greater good.Global Banking Corporation is a fast-growing Islamic investment bank with a global vision. I hope my speech will help convey the potential of Sharia’a-compliant banking and how our team at Global Banking Corporation offers a high-return, Sharia’a-compliant environment, leading investment banking into a new era, added Hanson.
REVELATION 17:2-3
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.(WOMAN=VATICAN)(7HEADS=THE 7 HILLS OF ROME(VATICAN)AND 10 HORNS=10 KINGS FROM THE EU THAT WILL BE WORKING HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE VATICAN.
Israel, Vatican agree to pick up negotiating pace
Jerusalem, Dec. 14, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Israeli and Vatican negotiators promised to accelerate their talks, aimed at finalizing an economic accord, during a meeting in Jerusalem this week. The two sides concluded their latest round of talks on December 13, issuing a statement that said the negotiations had been marked by cordiality, mutual understanding, and good will. The next talks were scheduled for May 2008, to take place in Rome.
Israel and the Holy See have not yet concluded the economic agreement called for by their original agreement struck in 1993, which led to Vatican recognition of Israel. Church spokesmen have indicated a mounting interest in finalizing the long-delayed pact.
ISAIAH 9:6-7
6 For unto us a child is born,(JESUS' FIRST COMING) unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:(JESUS' 2ND COMING TO RULE AND REIGN) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,(JERUSALEM) to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.(JERUSALEM BECOMES WORLD CAPITAL)(ALL NATIONS WORSHIP KING JESUS IN JERUSALEM)
THIS IS REDICULAS BUSH REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE JERUSALEM AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL OR THE EMBASSY WOULD BE IN JERUSALEM QUICK. ESCPECIALLY SINCE HE CLAIMS TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND CHRISTIANS KNOW IN THE FUTURE JERUSALEM WILL BE THE WORLD CAPITAL.
Bush delays embassy move Published: 12/14/2007
President Bush extended a delay on moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. I hereby determine that it is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States to suspend for a period of six months the embassy move mandated in a 1995 law, Bush said Wednesday in a memorandum to Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state. My administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.Bush and his predecessor, President Clinton, have routinely exercised their prerogative to delay the move, citing the difficulties such an action would impose on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Blair calls for Palestinian-Israeli action to reach agreement within certain time www.chinaview.cn 2007-12-15 05:30:09
CAIRO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair called Friday for an action to reach an political agreement between the Palestinians and Israel within certain time, reported Qatar's al-Jazerra satellite news channel. Blair, who is currently on a tour in the Middle East region seeking to speed up the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, made the call in an interview with al-Jazerra. The Palestinian and Israeli sides should not take any measures that could hinder the final status negotiations, Blair told al-Jazerra. Meanwhile, the former British premier called for international assistance for the Palestinians to build their educational, health and security institutions. The international donors will pledge to support the Palestinians in their conference in Paris next week, during which the donors will grant some 5.6 billion U.S. dollars to Palestinians, Blair hoped.
Earlier on Thursday, Blair expressed his confidence in solving the final-status issues such as the borders of a future Palestinian state, and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, saying they were resolvable if the two sides had confidence in each others' intentions. The real challenge was convincing sceptical Israelis and Palestinians that a peace deal could be reached, he told Israel's Channel 10 television. Negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian National Authority(PNA) held their first meeting of peace negotiations on Wednesday with little progress but an agreement about a next meeting. In the U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis in late November, PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched the talks aimed at reaching a statehood agreement next year, before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009.Editor: Mu Xuequan
Report: Hamas to escalate attacks on Israel
Kuwait based Al-Jarida newspaper reports Hamas' Khaled Mashaal met with Iranian officials, asked for backing when organization exacerbates attacks on Israel Roee Nahmias Published: 12.14.07, 13:24 / Israel News
Hamas has asked Iran to allow the organization to escalate its altercations with Israel, carry out more suicide attacks and if need be – threaten kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit with execution, Kuwait's Al-Jarida newspaper reported Friday. The report, citing senior Hamas officials, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal recently met with a senior Iranian intelligence official, who accompanied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his visit to Qatar last week.
Hard Bargain
The two reportedly discussed Hamas' retaliation to a possible large-scale IDF operation in Gaza, which may leave Hamas debilitated. Mashaal, said the report, told the Iranians Hamas will need their political support, as well as Iran and Syria's go-ahead to carry out a series of major attacks on Israel. Al-Jarida further reported that Mashaal told the Iranians Hamas wants to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, as well as threaten Gilad Shalit's well-being in order to stir Israeli public opinion, pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and hinder the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.
REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
WOW THE VATICAN IS CHANGING THE SCENERY OF JESUS' BIRTH. BAD MOVE VATICAN. COULD THIS BE THE START OF THE GODLESS FUTURE VATICAN, ONLY TIME WILL TELL.
Vatican rewrites nativity scene to put baby Jesus in a carpenter's shop By MICHAEL DAY 14:17pm on 15th December 2007
Baby Jesus was not born in a Bethlehem stable but above the carpenter shop owned his father Joseph in Nazareth, according to an unusual nativity scene being prepared by the Vatican. The unconventional depiction that Pope Benedict XVI will see in Saint Peter's Square this Christmas, is supposed reflect a return to the story of the nativity as told by Matthew, according to a Vatican spokesman. In Matthew's Gospel, Joseph's role in events is given greater emphasis. He learns of the impending birth of Jesus in a dream and is told by angel to take Mary to his house in preparation. Both Gospels state however, that Jesus was finally born in Bethlehem near, Jerusalem. And the Vatican says moving Christ's crib is really a way of reflecting the experience of ordinary people.
According Luke's well known version of the nativity, when Mary was due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travelled 100 miles south from their house in Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem, in order to register in a census ordered by Emperor Augustus. Having found no place for themselves in the inn, they lodged in stable where animals were kept. It was here that Mary gave birth to Jesus. An alternative nativity scene is also being prepared in the nearby church of Santa Anna, inside the Leonine Wall. In this scene Jesus's birth is set in the ruins of a Roman aqueduct. It will be a strong representation of the impact poverty had in the time of the Nativity, said parish priest Padre Silvestrini who was responsible for the design.
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.
Israel: US Report on Iran May Spark War
By LAURIE COPANS – DEC 15,07
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S. intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.In his remarks — Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report — Avi Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.
The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened, Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv, according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat.Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to attack by the Islamic regime.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance of Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran, said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence, Dichter said.Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point, Dichter said.
Africa: EU is Using Bully Tactics to Push Through EPAs
Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)15 December 2007
Aileen Kwa Cape Town
We succumbed, lamented a diplomat from Namibia. We signed on the 12th of December. The pressure was too much. The private sector felt that they would be disproportionately affected. In terms of markets, they would be losing access for beef, grapes, fish and fish products.The political and economic strength of the European Commission (EC) is in itself a threat and a pressure in the negotiations, he explained on condition of anonymity to IPS.When negotiating with a stronger partner, you end up only being on the receiving end. Bully tactics are used with the threat 'you either sign or you don't have the market', he said.Up to the last moment, Namibia's government had tried to resist the pressures from both their own private sector and the EU. Until late last week, trade minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko had categorically stated that the demands the EPA placed on Namibia were not acceptable.
He insisted that the EPA should be helping with regional integration and not to disintegrate the region.We made a lot of mistakes, the diplomat told IPS. There was no proper coordination amongst the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The EC has successfully fragmented the ACP, not only in terms of regions, but also within regions.The Southern African Development Community (SADC) consists of 15 countries. While we used to get EU development aid for the region as a whole, now only seven SADC countries (those party to the SADC EPA) will get development aid that is related to the EPAs. This will have ramifications.The intra-SADC free trade area is also supposed to be formalized by 2008. How this will play out, with some countries being signatories to the EPAs while a country such as Angola chose not to sign the EPA, remains to be seen.The Namibian diplomat was quick to add that whilst the country had signed the interim EPA on December 12, it had done so with explicit reservations on certain clauses. If these concerns are not satisfactorily addressed in the next phase of negotiations, then we can say that we are not in a position to ratify the final agreement and opt out. But in the meantime, we need to do other things, such as finding alternative markets.
The problem is that Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa have a common customs union -- the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), established in 1910. Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland have signed the SADC EPA which contains clauses that Namibia is not comfortable with.One of these clauses restricts local content requirements in the manufacturing sector. In order to support local industries, Namibia does not want to abolish any legislation that requires investors to use locally produced inputs. Another clause deals with the freezing of export taxes. The EC does not want ACP countries to put in place export taxes. Namibia, however, wants the freedom to use export taxes to discourage the export of raw materials and to encourage local industries to add value to their products before export.The EC has asked SADC countries to provide it with the same level of market access SADC gives to other significant trade partners. SADC is currently negotiating free trade agreements with India and with the MERCOSUR. MERCOSUR is the Southern Common Market trade area which includes Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.If more favourable terms of market access are provided in these and other future trade agreements, the same level of liberalization will have to be extended to the European Union (EU).The SADC EPA also states that goods entering any one of the SADC EPA signatories should be allowed to move freely to the other signatory countries. However, SADC has yet to formalize its own regional customs union. There are still issues to be sorted out internally.
In contrast to countries which have caved in and signed the interim EPAs, Senegal in West Africa remains steadfastly opposed to the EPAs. An expert from Senegal, who declined to be named, commented on President Abdoulaye Wade's firm stance taken at the Africa-EU Summit in Lisbon earlier this week.He was simply reflecting the national position. The private sector, civil society, parliament and the opposition are all opposed to the EPAs. To have an EPA right now will create a lot of problems for our economy. It will open our markets to products from the EU, some of which are subsidized, said the Senegalese trade expert.
Senegal is a least developed country. The industry and agricultural sectors are not ready to compete with the EU on a level playing field. In the next phase of EPA negotiations, we would also have to bring in investment, competition and government procurement, issues which have been rejected at the WTO (World Trade Organisation).So the EPAs are WTO-plus. On the other side, in development cooperation, we are not sure that what is on the table can offset any negative liberalization impact, said the expert.He also underscored the problems the EPA poses for the West African region, in particular the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAMU / UMOA). The monetary union consists of eight members -- Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Togo and Guinea-Bissau.Of these, Cote d'Ivoire is the only country which has signed the interim EPA in an attempt to safeguard its banana exports to the EU. The country is the main economic powerhouse within WAMU, accounting for 40 percent of the union's gross domestic product.
According to the Senegalese expert, Cote d'Ivoire's signing of the interim EPA will definitely have an impact on WAMU. Given the high level of economic integration in that region, EU products flowing into Cote d'Ivoire can easily find their way into the other WAMU countries.I don't think they (the EU) did an impact assessment on regional integration, he said.He also underscored the tensions the EPA negotiations have created for the WTO negotiations. They have put the LDCs (least developed countries) in a very bad position in the WTO. Since the 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting, LDCs have asked for duty-free and quota-free market access to all developed countries.Under the EPA, the duty-free and quota-free market access is reciprocal. Now other countries will say, 'You have given this to the EU, now you will also have to give me something in return', he said.So there are many unanswered questions and a lot of uncertainty, he concluded.Kenya has also signed an EPA, together with others from the East African Community. A trade diplomat from Nairobi, alluding to the threats the EPAs pose for Africa, summed the position up in the following way: They say love is blind. This must be real love because we are going along without knowing where we are going.
Kenyan civil society groups are working hard to make the EPAs a major issue in Kenya's national elections taking place later this month.According to Ezekiel Mpapale of the Initiatives for Community and Enterprise Development, One of the things we are doing is to make sure that Dr Mukhisa Kituyi (the current trade and industry minister) is not re-elected. We think he has betrayed us Kenyans.
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.
Hamas supporters rally to show strength By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 15, 3:08 PM ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinians flooded the streets of the Gaza Strip Saturday in the biggest show of support for Hamas since the Islamic militants seized the territory in June. Leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed in speeches on the 20th anniversary of the movement's founding that Hamas will not compromise its hardline views despite growing isolation, poverty and popular support for the rival West Bank government of President Mahmoud Abbas.Since Hamas wrested control from Abbas' Fatah forces, Gaza's 1.5 million residents have been virtually cut off from the outside world, with Israel and Egypt refusing to fully reopen crossings with the coastal territory. Unemployment has risen to about 50 percent, forcing poverty up to 75 percent, Palestinian officials say.The message from you today is that Hamas and these masses will not yield before the sanctions, Haniyeh told the cheering onlookers who waved green Islamic flags at the rally in Gaza City.
The crowd shouted in response, To you we come, Haniyeh!
Haniyeh lambasted the renewal of peace talks between Israel and Abbas' administration in the United States last month, warning they will not bring about a cessation of Israeli settlement construction on disputed land or yield any other Israeli concessions.As for the fruits of the other track, the track of negotiations, normalization and bargaining, all can see that it is the consolidating of settlements ... injustice and oppression for the Palestinian people, Haniyeh said. It is bitter fruits.The Hamas leader warned Abbas against conceding in peace talks on the Palestinian demand that refugees who fled past wars with Israel and their descendants be allowed to return to their homes. Their fate is a key sticking point in the talks that are meant to iron out a final peace agreement.There is no such thing as a just solution to the right of return, Haniyeh said. It is the right of every refugee ... to return to the land.The throngs of Hamas supporters gathered in a sandy lot and along nearby streets. There appeared to be several thousand more people than attended a rally by backers of Hamas' rival, Fatah, who gathered on the same spot in November in what was seen as a major challenge to Hamas. That rally, which an Associated Press reporter estimated at more than 250,000 people, ended in mayhem with Hamas police opening fire and protesters hurling rocks or running for cover. Seven civilians were killed and dozens were wounded in the violence between Palestinian factions.
This is the real referendum on the popularity of resistance, the people converging behind Hamas, said Zayed Herzallah, a 28-year old merchant, who brought a van full of young relatives Saturday. Hamas today, after 20 years and after thousands of martyrs, is graduating the fourth generation (of supporters).Large pictures of Hamas leaders, both in Gaza and in exile, were draped across the speakers' podium. A black banner hanging from a nearby building read, in Arabic, English and French: We will not recognize Israel.
In the crowd were dozens of members of the Hamas military wing, among them armed men carrying replicas of homemade Qassam rockets. Some 50 female members of the military wing also marched, dressed in long robes and sporting military-style ammunition vests. Some covered their faces with veils, others with ski masks.In an anniversary message to Hamas TV, the group's top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, said Hamas will not abandon violence.This is our real choice, our trump card, which causes the enemy to succumb to us, he said.He said Abbas does not have the mandate to negotiate with Israel.Our people are able to launch a third and fourth uprising until the dawn of victory arrives, he warned.After the Hamas takeover, Abbas set up a moderate government in the West Bank, winning strong international support and opening the way to the resumption of peace talks with Israel last week.
In his speech, Haniyeh rejected Abbas' conditions for negotiations between the rival movements, including that Hamas give up its power in Gaza. Hamas was founded in Gaza in December 1987, after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt and is seen as the mother of all fundamentalist factions in the Arab Sunni world. Abbas' government was hoping on Monday at an international conference in Paris to receive pledges toward its goal of raising $5.6 billion over three years to bolster its economy. The United States said Friday it will pledge about $500 million. Donors warned that unless Israel eases physical and administrative obstacles, the money may go to waste.
From 2004 to 2009
16 December 2007 - Issue : 760
And while the discussions on the quasi-Constitution were the main issue of the December 14 summit in Brussels, President Jose Barroso was acting to capitalise on the signature of the new Treaty and secure a new appointment as Commission president in 2009. Mr. Barroso has been able to maintain a pretty good equilibrium in Euro-American relations and this is one of his major assets in his present mandate.
The chances for Mr. Barroso to get the job are substantial after the Spanish and the Italians refused to consider former British prime minister Tony Blair for the position. The basic arguments of those who align with Spain and Italy are the facts that Britain had not approved the Constitutional Treaty, does not participate in the Eurozone and has not signed the Schenghen agreement. Furthermore, they consider Mr. Blair’s dependence on Washington excessive and claim that dragging the United Kingdom into the Iraq war was a major political mistake that also reflects on Europe. Alternatively to Mr. Barroso’s reappointment, Germany, Italy and Belgium are considering for the position of President of the European Commission or to one of the best qualified for the new position of Foreign Minister of the EU the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean Claude Junker.
For the position of Foreign Minister, the case of former Italian Prime Minister Massimo Dalema is also being discussed and Italy is emphasising his role in the Lebanon and Afghanistan crises, but both the UK and USA along with their followers are contrary to such a possibility, for his particular relations with Hezbollah. Candidates for the position of the Foreign Minister are also considered to be German Socialist Frank Walter-Steinmeier, the Conservatives Swedish Carl Bildt and the Austrian Ursula Plassnik. A strong candidate for the position of Foreign Minister, however, remains the present High Representative Javier Solana, an all-color Spanish politician with a meteoric career who enjoys the full support of the Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zappatero, other Socialist governments as well as the British and Americans. Mr. Solana, began his career from the extra-Parliamentary Spanish communists, where he was leading street demonstrations against the US Torejon military base. He became Foreign Minister of Spain with the Socialists, subsequently was appointed Secretary General of NATO responsible after bombing Serbia with Depleted Uranium Ordinance for becoming after Council’s High Representative. A high political position in the European making will be reserved by Germany to the President of the European Parliament Hans Didriech Poetering who in 2009 it is highly likely to be replaced in the two-and-a-half year rotation by the rising Socialist star Mr. Martin Schulz.
In the European Parliament, the European People’s Party, after the addition of the Romanians and the enrollment of the British MEP Saj Karim who left the declining ALDE group to join EPP, emerge stronger. In the next Parliament, the number of MEPs will be reduced from 785 to 751. In 2009, the Tories EPP is likely to suffer a major loss with the British Tories under Mr. David Cameron planning to withdraw from EPP and form their own group. This is a logical development given the ultra Eurosceptical stance of the Tories under Mr. Cameron, which are vertically opposite to that of the European People’s Party. EPP was crucial in the selection of Mr. Barroso to President of the Commission in 2004, an appointment which was the result of a compromise thanks to the efforts of EPP President Wilfried Martens and Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis who made the mediations for the compromise.
Greece, despite its endemic problems, as a result of 20 years of socialist mal administration, is taking major steps in sustaining European policies, in particular Greece’s enhanced relations with Russia in matters of energy and pipelines, which are crucial for Europe. The bottom line is, in 2007, The EU-27 proved more active and more involved in world affairs in all serious issues starting with, but not limited to, climate change, and strengthened its relations and presence in Africa, China and Latin America, proving a world player. The most important political changes in Europe during 2007 were the election of Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy to the French presidency with the redefinition of Franco-German relations, the French opening to the United States and the new French business approach to world markets, which reflects Europe’s performance in matters of international trade.
The fallout from The Sarkozy election came at the just-concluded European Summit marking the finale of The Portuguese Presidency in Brussels where the leaders decided to put up a face-saving agreement with the launch of Reflection Group, headed by Spain’s former premier Felipe Gonzalez, with Latvia’s former president Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila as his deputies. According to reliable sources, the two deputies were inducted to get a consensus and avoid collapse of talks, thus weakening the very purpose for which the group was launched.
Putting Turkish membership onto the agenda without naming Turkey is the sticking point in the mandate for the group to take into account likely developments within and outside Europe and examine in particular how the stability and prosperity of both the Union and of the wider region might best be served.
Livni to try to prevent Quartet condemnation of East Jerusalem construction By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will try in the coming days to avoid Quartet condemnation of Israel over its decision to build new homes in a controversial East Jerusalem neighborhood. The so-called Quartet of Middle East negotiators ? the United States, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations ? are expected to meet at the foreign minister level on the sidelines of Monday's conference of Palestinian Authority donor states in Paris, France.
According to information obtained by the Foreign Ministry, the Palestinians are pushing for the Quartet to issue a statement condemnation of Israel's decision to build some 300 new homes in Har Homa. Senior Israeli officials held contacts Thursday and Friday with representatives of the Quartet members, in an attempt to calm concerns and reduce the international criticism of Israel.
Livni met Thursday with the new UN special envoy to the Middle East, Robert Serry, who according to diplomatic sources expressed concern over the planned construction.
Serry warned the construction could hamper negotiations. Livni for her part sought to clarify that the construction is legal, and that the approval does not represent a change in the government's policy on settlement construction. Israeli officials also met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Walsh, in which Walsh briefed the officials on his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Walsh said the Palestinians maintain it is difficult for them to conduct negotiations while Israel continues construction in the West Bank. Walsh said the Bush administration is interested to know whether Israel intends to approve any further tenders. The Israeli officials said they understand that this bothers the Palestinians, but the political echelon was not involved in the tender in any way.The donor state conference will seek to raise billions of dollars for PA institutions. Jerusalem sources said Israel wants to preserve the conference as a mechanism to push the political process forward. We want the conference to focus on the positive momentum and not negative issues, said one source. These are crises that have happened and will happen and they should not bring negotiations to a halt each time.
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.
Winter storm hits N.L., as cleanup begins in central, eastern Canada Mon Dec 17, 11:13 AM
By The Canadian Press
HALIFAX - Parts of the Maritimes were paralyzed Monday after a blast of wintry weather forced the closure of schools, made driving treacherous and left thousands of people in the dark. The massive storm, which also heaved near-record amounts of snow on Southern Ontario and Quebec, lashed Newfoundland and Labrador on Monday, where up to 25 centimetres of snow was predicted. Even after the snow, wind and rain subsided in the Maritimes, the wintry blast continued to cause trouble for electricity customers, especially in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. About 3,900 homes and businesses remained without power in New Brunswick by late-morning, mostly in the Moncton and Shediac areas. The province's electric utility said strong winds in the Moncton area were hampering restoration efforts. We restore some customers only to have the wind come along and cause an outage again, NB Power spokeswoman Heather MacLean said in a statement. Nova Scotia Power said it hoped to restore power to about 4,500 customers by Monday afternoon, the vast majority of whom were in Cape Breton and Pictou County. Higher wind gusts were in coastal areas, and that pretty much lines up with where the damage is, said NS Power spokeswoman Margaret Murphy, adding that crews were mostly able to work through the night and restore outages as they occurred.
Schools were also closed in many parts of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick as drivers struggled to deal with the messy mixture of heavy snow and rain. The storm continued to create travel headaches, with whiteouts in some areas and icy roads in others.
Treacherous travel may have played a part in a fatal car crash on slippery roads in Nova Scotia. Police say a 16-year-old boy who was a passenger in one vehicle died at the scene Sunday afternoon on Highway 101 in the Kentville area. The 17-year-old boy who was driving was taken to hospital with serious injuries. Meanwhile, dozens of flights in and out of Halifax's airport had been cancelled since Sunday, stranding thousands of passengers, with disruptions expected to continue well into Monday. The storm hit the Maritime region around midday Sunday, after the heavy weather battered Ontario and Quebec. Darin Borgel, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, said the storm system hit the Maritimes pretty much as predicted. Most people were pretty adequately warned, Borgel said from Dartmouth, N.S. This storm got a lot of attention as it went through Ontario and Quebec ... so I think most people were expecting some pretty nasty conditions here.Across the Maritime provinces, snowfall amounts of between 10 and 20 centimetres were reported before the snow changed over to rain in many places. In northern New Brunswick, however, there was no changeover to rain, meaning a total of 30 centimetres of snow or more by day's end Monday. Wind gusts up to 100 kilometres per hour were typical in the region, although one gust of 165 km/h was reported near Cheticamp in western Cape Breton.
Latest wintry blast lashes U.S. from the Great Lakes to New England Mon Dec 17, 10:21 AM
By David N. Goodman, The Associated Press
DETROIT - A blend of snow, sleet and freezing rain cut visibility and iced over highways from the Great Lakes to New England on the weekend, dumping up to 45 centimetres of snow and stranding air and road travellers. School districts across the region - including Michigan's largest, in Detroit - cancelled Monday classes. Slippery roads were blamed for four weekend deaths in Indiana, two in Michigan and one each in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. AAA Michigan said it helped more than 3,000 motorists Sunday. Most had spun out, got stuck or couldn't start their vehicles, spokeswoman Nancy Cain said. The northern New York state community of Peru received 45 centimetres of snow, whipped up by high winds, the U.S. National Weather Service said. In Michigan, Ann Arbor reported 27 centimetres, while parts of Indiana got up to 36 centimetres of snow. It's winter, said Ann Arbor resident Linda Thelen, 53, as she and her husband dug out their home. I expect a couple of these each year.In Rhode Island, a U.S. Airways Express Flight from Philadelphia carrying 31 passengers and three crew members slid off the runway when it landed at T.F. Green Airport, which got nearly 20 centimetres of snow. No injuries were reported, but the airport had to close its runways for about 2 1/2 hours.
The storm cancelled hundreds of flights at airports in Chicago and about 300 flights at Boston's busy Logan International Airport. Flights were also cancelled at airports in Portland, Maine; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Manchester, N.H. Few major problems - though plenty of delays - were reported at airports in Philadelphia and the New York area, which had braced for plenty of snow but got mostly sleet and rain. Every available plow truck was at work in Vermont, said Reggie Brown, highway department dispatcher in Montpelier. Everybody's out and running, he said. Braving the elements Sunday in New York were fans of teen singer Hannah Montana, whose concert in Rochester drew Jolene Horton and her eight-year-old daughter, Paxtyn Brown. They spent five hours on the road from Schuyler County in the Finger Lakes. "Normally it would have taken 2 1/2 hours, but we wouldn't have missed it for the world, Horton said. The storm also didn't keep fans away from the New England Patriots-New York Jets game at Foxborough, Mass., but they had to shovel off their seats in the stadium. A video of a fire roaring in a fireplace was shown on the scoreboards. The weekend storm came less than a week after an ice storm in the Midwest and Northeast that was blamed for at least 38 deaths, mostly in traffic accidents. Up to a million homes and businesses lost power in parts of Oklahoma, Kansas and Missouri. On Monday, Oklahoma utilities said just more than 126,000 customers were still waiting for electricity, most in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa areas.
Among those waiting for service to be restored, Choctaw resident Beverly Smith said her trailer had been without power for seven consecutive days as of Sunday. We don't have anywhere to go, said Smith, who lives with her 15-year-old son. We're out of money. Christmas is nine days away, and I have no hope of giving my family a Christmas all.
Fla. storm overturns cars, damages jail Sun Dec 16, 10:12 AM ET
LAND O' LAKES, Fla. - An apparent tornado demolished a jail building and overturned vehicles early Sunday in central Florida, authorities said. No injuries were reported. The storm was reported about 5:15 a.m. in Pasco County, the National Weather Service said.One of two minimum-security annex buildings at the Pasco County Jail in Land O' Lakes was destroyed, sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said. The approximately 125 female inmates it housed had been evacuated moments earlier to the main jail.A few seconds after shutting the door is when that structure basically collapsed, Tobin said.The destroyed building was a temporary structure used to ease overcrowding and designed to withstand winds up to 110 miles per hour, according to a county Web site.
A second annex, housing about 100 male inmates, did not sustain any serious damage, Tobin said. The roof was damaged on the main prison building, which holds about 950 inmates.Pasco County is north of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast.
Global donors pledge 7.4 bln dlrs for Palestinians by Christophe de Roquefeuil DEC 17,07
PARIS (AFP) - International donors pledged 7.4 billion dollars to the Palestinians Monday at a conference described by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice as the last hope to save their government from bankruptcy. Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad had formally asked donors meeting in Paris for 5.6 billion dollars by 2010 to help fulfil his plan to develop a viable economy for a future state.The real winner is the Palestinian state, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told AFP as he announced that a total of 7.4 billion dollars (5.15 billion euros) had been promised.The pledges were made at a one-day conference convened to agree a package of aid to stabilise the Palestinian economy and shore up the peace process with Israel -- jumpstarted in the US city of Annapolis last month.
We see this conference as an important vote of confidence on the part of the international community, Fayyad said as the conference wrapped up.But Islamist group Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip in June and was not invited to Paris or the Annapolis meeting, labelled it a dangerous conspiracy aimed at dividing the Palestinians.We support all forms of aid, financial or otherwise, to the Palestinian people. But the Paris conference is coating poison with honey and is a dangerous conspiracy, Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said in a statement released in Gaza.Some humanitarian groups questioned the benefit of such a massive aid package.In London, the development charity Oxfam warned donors were pouring cash into a leaking bucket, arguing that aid efforts already in place were being seriously hampered by Israeli restrictions on movement.The challenge is to fix the leak, not pour faster... Due to Israel's movement restrictions and the blockade of Gaza, millions of dollars of aid for Palestinians are being lost, Oxfam's Middle East director Adam Leach said.But Tony Blair, Middle East envoy for the diplomatic Quartet, said the money would be used for building the capacity and the institutions for the (Palestinian) state.Over the next few months what we have got to show to people is that we are capable of making the difference on the ground, he said.Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas had earlier warned the almost 90 delegations that the West Bank and Gaza were facing a total catastrophe without their aid.
Pledges quickly came pouring in with Rice announcing a US donation of 555 million dollars for 2008, including 150 million dollars for budget support.The Palestinian Authority is experiencing a serious budgetary crisis. This conference is literally the government's last hope to avoid bankruptcy, Rice said.The European Commission pledged to donate 650 million dollars in aid for 2008 alone while Britain and Saudi Arabia announced three-year aid packages of 490 million dollars and at least 500 million dollars respectively.
Opening the conference earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy pledged 300 million dollars over three years. Germany promised 200 million dollars by 2010 and Sweden offered 300 million dollars in 2007 and 2008.Some 3.4 billion dollars of Monday's pledges was to go to the Palestinians in 2008, the first year of Fayyad's three-year recovery plan, a final statement at the end of the conference said. This support will be essential for accompanying the political process launched in Annapolis at the end of November, the statement added. As the conference kicked off, Abbas urged Israel -- represented by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni -- to freeze all settlement activity in the Palestinian territories to allow the newly-relaunched peace drive to gain a foothold.
I expect a complete halt of all settlement activities without exception, Abbas said, also calling for the dismantling of 127 wildcat settlements, the lifting of military checkpoints, a halt to construction of the separation barrier and prisoner releases.
Around 70 countries, as well as all the major international organisations, were attending the Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State, a month after Israel and the Palestinians relaunched negotiations frozen for seven years. The takeover of the Gaza Strip by Hamas, which won a majority in 2006 parliamentary elections, effectively split the Palestinian territories in half. Hamas -- pledged to Israel's destruction and shunned by the West -- rules in Gaza, while the Western-backed Abbas controls the West Bank.
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.(WORLD TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
GBCORP chief says-Europe-Mideast trade can bridge the cultural divide Moussa Ahmad BI-ME 14 December 2007
BAHRAIN. Mark Hanson, Chief Executive of Bahrain-based Global Banking Corporation (GBCORP), today outlined his vision for increased Middle East-European trade partnerships as an effective method of bridging the two regions’ cultural divides, in his keynote speech to the UCI Global Investor Window conference in London.Hanson was addressing some of the world’s leading investment bankers at London’s Institute of Directors, where he highlighted the increasing potential of Sharia’a-compliant banking products as the key to future financing in the US$4.4 billion UK-GCC trade sector.
The combined GDP of the six GCC member states will reach US$957 billion in 2007, a rapid 100% growth in the past five years, with economists predicting GCC expansion will continue to outpace Western economies in the coming years. This allows the investment banking industry to grasp the opportunities presented by joint Arabian Gulf, UK and European business ventures and, in my experience, trade is the most effective way for cultures to come to greater understanding of one another, commented GBCORP CEO Hanson.While sectors such as energy, real estate, telecommunications and technology continue to represent the majority of the Middle East’s 2,800 major infrastructure projects, significant investment in education and training is creating a region increasingly recognised for the quality of its intellectual capital.There are currently more than 200 UK/Saudi joint ventures with an estimated total investment of US$14.5 billion and foreign investors can own up to 100% of Saudi companies in certain sectors. Bahrain-based companies have invested in the UK for 40 years, taking stakes in the McClaren Formula One racing team, acquiring utility companies and recently bidding for Peacocks, one of the UK’s largest discount fashion retailers.
We live in a world in which negative stereotypes abound, especially when it comes to perceptions of the Middle East. Yet my experiences living and working in predominantly Muslim countries has helped me understand just how outdated and inaccurate so many of these negative images are, continued Hanson. Commercially, the Global Investor Window conference acts as a bridge for potential investors, with more than half of Europe’s 387 million futures contracts traded in the City of London. Culturally, it acts as a bridge between people of different traditions seeking opportunities to work together in pursuit of a greater good.Global Banking Corporation is a fast-growing Islamic investment bank with a global vision. I hope my speech will help convey the potential of Sharia’a-compliant banking and how our team at Global Banking Corporation offers a high-return, Sharia’a-compliant environment, leading investment banking into a new era, added Hanson.
REVELATION 17:2-3
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.(WOMAN=VATICAN)(7HEADS=THE 7 HILLS OF ROME(VATICAN)AND 10 HORNS=10 KINGS FROM THE EU THAT WILL BE WORKING HAND IN GLOVE WITH THE VATICAN.
Israel, Vatican agree to pick up negotiating pace
Jerusalem, Dec. 14, 2007 (CWNews.com) - Israeli and Vatican negotiators promised to accelerate their talks, aimed at finalizing an economic accord, during a meeting in Jerusalem this week. The two sides concluded their latest round of talks on December 13, issuing a statement that said the negotiations had been marked by cordiality, mutual understanding, and good will. The next talks were scheduled for May 2008, to take place in Rome.
Israel and the Holy See have not yet concluded the economic agreement called for by their original agreement struck in 1993, which led to Vatican recognition of Israel. Church spokesmen have indicated a mounting interest in finalizing the long-delayed pact.
ISAIAH 9:6-7
6 For unto us a child is born,(JESUS' FIRST COMING) unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:(JESUS' 2ND COMING TO RULE AND REIGN) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom,(JERUSALEM) to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.(JERUSALEM BECOMES WORLD CAPITAL)(ALL NATIONS WORSHIP KING JESUS IN JERUSALEM)
THIS IS REDICULAS BUSH REFUSES TO ACKNOWLEDGE JERUSALEM AS THE CAPITAL OF ISRAEL OR THE EMBASSY WOULD BE IN JERUSALEM QUICK. ESCPECIALLY SINCE HE CLAIMS TO BE A CHRISTIAN AND CHRISTIANS KNOW IN THE FUTURE JERUSALEM WILL BE THE WORLD CAPITAL.
Bush delays embassy move Published: 12/14/2007
President Bush extended a delay on moving the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem for another six months. I hereby determine that it is necessary to protect the national security interests of the United States to suspend for a period of six months the embassy move mandated in a 1995 law, Bush said Wednesday in a memorandum to Condoleezza Rice, the U.S. secretary of state. My administration remains committed to beginning the process of moving our embassy to Jerusalem.Bush and his predecessor, President Clinton, have routinely exercised their prerogative to delay the move, citing the difficulties such an action would impose on Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking.
Blair calls for Palestinian-Israeli action to reach agreement within certain time www.chinaview.cn 2007-12-15 05:30:09
CAIRO, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Mideast Quartet envoy Tony Blair called Friday for an action to reach an political agreement between the Palestinians and Israel within certain time, reported Qatar's al-Jazerra satellite news channel. Blair, who is currently on a tour in the Middle East region seeking to speed up the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, made the call in an interview with al-Jazerra. The Palestinian and Israeli sides should not take any measures that could hinder the final status negotiations, Blair told al-Jazerra. Meanwhile, the former British premier called for international assistance for the Palestinians to build their educational, health and security institutions. The international donors will pledge to support the Palestinians in their conference in Paris next week, during which the donors will grant some 5.6 billion U.S. dollars to Palestinians, Blair hoped.
Earlier on Thursday, Blair expressed his confidence in solving the final-status issues such as the borders of a future Palestinian state, and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees, saying they were resolvable if the two sides had confidence in each others' intentions. The real challenge was convincing sceptical Israelis and Palestinians that a peace deal could be reached, he told Israel's Channel 10 television. Negotiators from Israel and the Palestinian National Authority(PNA) held their first meeting of peace negotiations on Wednesday with little progress but an agreement about a next meeting. In the U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis in late November, PNA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert launched the talks aimed at reaching a statehood agreement next year, before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January 2009.Editor: Mu Xuequan
Report: Hamas to escalate attacks on Israel
Kuwait based Al-Jarida newspaper reports Hamas' Khaled Mashaal met with Iranian officials, asked for backing when organization exacerbates attacks on Israel Roee Nahmias Published: 12.14.07, 13:24 / Israel News
Hamas has asked Iran to allow the organization to escalate its altercations with Israel, carry out more suicide attacks and if need be – threaten kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit with execution, Kuwait's Al-Jarida newspaper reported Friday. The report, citing senior Hamas officials, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Mashaal recently met with a senior Iranian intelligence official, who accompanied Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his visit to Qatar last week.
Hard Bargain
The two reportedly discussed Hamas' retaliation to a possible large-scale IDF operation in Gaza, which may leave Hamas debilitated. Mashaal, said the report, told the Iranians Hamas will need their political support, as well as Iran and Syria's go-ahead to carry out a series of major attacks on Israel. Al-Jarida further reported that Mashaal told the Iranians Hamas wants to kidnap more Israeli soldiers, as well as threaten Gilad Shalit's well-being in order to stir Israeli public opinion, pressure Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and hinder the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
A FALSE PROPHET COMES FROM THE VATICAN ALSO AT THIS TIME.
REVELATION 13:11-18
11 And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:1-18
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.
15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.
16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.
17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.
WOW THE VATICAN IS CHANGING THE SCENERY OF JESUS' BIRTH. BAD MOVE VATICAN. COULD THIS BE THE START OF THE GODLESS FUTURE VATICAN, ONLY TIME WILL TELL.
Vatican rewrites nativity scene to put baby Jesus in a carpenter's shop By MICHAEL DAY 14:17pm on 15th December 2007
Baby Jesus was not born in a Bethlehem stable but above the carpenter shop owned his father Joseph in Nazareth, according to an unusual nativity scene being prepared by the Vatican. The unconventional depiction that Pope Benedict XVI will see in Saint Peter's Square this Christmas, is supposed reflect a return to the story of the nativity as told by Matthew, according to a Vatican spokesman. In Matthew's Gospel, Joseph's role in events is given greater emphasis. He learns of the impending birth of Jesus in a dream and is told by angel to take Mary to his house in preparation. Both Gospels state however, that Jesus was finally born in Bethlehem near, Jerusalem. And the Vatican says moving Christ's crib is really a way of reflecting the experience of ordinary people.
According Luke's well known version of the nativity, when Mary was due to give birth, she and her husband Joseph travelled 100 miles south from their house in Nazareth to Joseph's ancestral home, Bethlehem, in order to register in a census ordered by Emperor Augustus. Having found no place for themselves in the inn, they lodged in stable where animals were kept. It was here that Mary gave birth to Jesus. An alternative nativity scene is also being prepared in the nearby church of Santa Anna, inside the Leonine Wall. In this scene Jesus's birth is set in the ruins of a Roman aqueduct. It will be a strong representation of the impact poverty had in the time of the Nativity, said parish priest Padre Silvestrini who was responsible for the design.
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.
Israel: US Report on Iran May Spark War
By LAURIE COPANS – DEC 15,07
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's public security minister warned Saturday that a U.S. intelligence report that said Iran is no longer developing nuclear arms could lead to a regional war that would threaten the Jewish state.In his remarks — Israel's harshest criticism yet of the U.S. report — Avi Dichter said the assessment also cast doubt on American intelligence in general, including information about Palestinian security forces' crackdown on militant groups. The Palestinian action is required as part of a U.S.-backed renewal of peace talks with Israel this month.Dichter cautioned that a refusal to recognize Iran's intentions to build weapons of mass destruction could lead to armed conflict in the Middle East.He compared the possibility of such fighting to a surprise attack on Israel in 1973 by its Arab neighbors, which came to be known in Israel for the Yom Kippur Jewish holy day on which it began.
The American misconception concerning Iran's nuclear weapons is liable to lead to a regional Yom Kippur where Israel will be among the countries that are threatened, Dichter said in a speech in a suburb south of Tel Aviv, according to his spokesman, Mati Gil. Something went wrong in the American blueprint for analyzing the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat.Dichter didn't elaborate on the potential scenario but seemed to imply that a world that let its guard down regarding Iran would be more vulnerable to attack by the Islamic regime.Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had disputed the U.S. intelligence assessment this month, saying that Iran continues its efforts to obtain components necessary to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran still poses a major threat to the West and the world must stop it, Olmert said.Israel has for years been warning that Iran is working on nuclear weapons and backed the United States in its international efforts to exert pressure on Iran to stop the program. Israel considers Iran a significant threat because of its nuclear ambitions, its long-range missile program and repeated calls by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for the disappearance of Israel.
Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful purposes.
Israel will work to change the American intelligence agencies' view of Iran, said Dichter, a former chief of Israel's Shin Bet secret service agency.A misconception by the world's leading superpower is not just an internal American occurrence, Dichter said.Any future faulty U.S. intelligence on the actions of Palestinian security forces could damage peace efforts, Dichter said.Those same (intelligence) arms in the U.S. are apt to make a mistake and declare that the Palestinians have fulfilled their commitments, which would carry with it very serious consequences from Israel's vantage point, Dichter said.
Africa: EU is Using Bully Tactics to Push Through EPAs
Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)15 December 2007
Aileen Kwa Cape Town
We succumbed, lamented a diplomat from Namibia. We signed on the 12th of December. The pressure was too much. The private sector felt that they would be disproportionately affected. In terms of markets, they would be losing access for beef, grapes, fish and fish products.The political and economic strength of the European Commission (EC) is in itself a threat and a pressure in the negotiations, he explained on condition of anonymity to IPS.When negotiating with a stronger partner, you end up only being on the receiving end. Bully tactics are used with the threat 'you either sign or you don't have the market', he said.Up to the last moment, Namibia's government had tried to resist the pressures from both their own private sector and the EU. Until late last week, trade minister Immanuel Ngatjizeko had categorically stated that the demands the EPA placed on Namibia were not acceptable.
He insisted that the EPA should be helping with regional integration and not to disintegrate the region.We made a lot of mistakes, the diplomat told IPS. There was no proper coordination amongst the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. The EC has successfully fragmented the ACP, not only in terms of regions, but also within regions.The Southern African Development Community (SADC) consists of 15 countries. While we used to get EU development aid for the region as a whole, now only seven SADC countries (those party to the SADC EPA) will get development aid that is related to the EPAs. This will have ramifications.The intra-SADC free trade area is also supposed to be formalized by 2008. How this will play out, with some countries being signatories to the EPAs while a country such as Angola chose not to sign the EPA, remains to be seen.The Namibian diplomat was quick to add that whilst the country had signed the interim EPA on December 12, it had done so with explicit reservations on certain clauses. If these concerns are not satisfactorily addressed in the next phase of negotiations, then we can say that we are not in a position to ratify the final agreement and opt out. But in the meantime, we need to do other things, such as finding alternative markets.
The problem is that Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa have a common customs union -- the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), established in 1910. Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland have signed the SADC EPA which contains clauses that Namibia is not comfortable with.One of these clauses restricts local content requirements in the manufacturing sector. In order to support local industries, Namibia does not want to abolish any legislation that requires investors to use locally produced inputs. Another clause deals with the freezing of export taxes. The EC does not want ACP countries to put in place export taxes. Namibia, however, wants the freedom to use export taxes to discourage the export of raw materials and to encourage local industries to add value to their products before export.The EC has asked SADC countries to provide it with the same level of market access SADC gives to other significant trade partners. SADC is currently negotiating free trade agreements with India and with the MERCOSUR. MERCOSUR is the Southern Common Market trade area which includes Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay.If more favourable terms of market access are provided in these and other future trade agreements, the same level of liberalization will have to be extended to the European Union (EU).The SADC EPA also states that goods entering any one of the SADC EPA signatories should be allowed to move freely to the other signatory countries. However, SADC has yet to formalize its own regional customs union. There are still issues to be sorted out internally.
In contrast to countries which have caved in and signed the interim EPAs, Senegal in West Africa remains steadfastly opposed to the EPAs. An expert from Senegal, who declined to be named, commented on President Abdoulaye Wade's firm stance taken at the Africa-EU Summit in Lisbon earlier this week.He was simply reflecting the national position. The private sector, civil society, parliament and the opposition are all opposed to the EPAs. To have an EPA right now will create a lot of problems for our economy. It will open our markets to products from the EU, some of which are subsidized, said the Senegalese trade expert.
Senegal is a least developed country. The industry and agricultural sectors are not ready to compete with the EU on a level playing field. In the next phase of EPA negotiations, we would also have to bring in investment, competition and government procurement, issues which have been rejected at the WTO (World Trade Organisation).So the EPAs are WTO-plus. On the other side, in development cooperation, we are not sure that what is on the table can offset any negative liberalization impact, said the expert.He also underscored the problems the EPA poses for the West African region, in particular the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAMU / UMOA). The monetary union consists of eight members -- Senegal, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Togo and Guinea-Bissau.Of these, Cote d'Ivoire is the only country which has signed the interim EPA in an attempt to safeguard its banana exports to the EU. The country is the main economic powerhouse within WAMU, accounting for 40 percent of the union's gross domestic product.
According to the Senegalese expert, Cote d'Ivoire's signing of the interim EPA will definitely have an impact on WAMU. Given the high level of economic integration in that region, EU products flowing into Cote d'Ivoire can easily find their way into the other WAMU countries.I don't think they (the EU) did an impact assessment on regional integration, he said.He also underscored the tensions the EPA negotiations have created for the WTO negotiations. They have put the LDCs (least developed countries) in a very bad position in the WTO. Since the 2005 Hong Kong ministerial meeting, LDCs have asked for duty-free and quota-free market access to all developed countries.Under the EPA, the duty-free and quota-free market access is reciprocal. Now other countries will say, 'You have given this to the EU, now you will also have to give me something in return', he said.So there are many unanswered questions and a lot of uncertainty, he concluded.Kenya has also signed an EPA, together with others from the East African Community. A trade diplomat from Nairobi, alluding to the threats the EPAs pose for Africa, summed the position up in the following way: They say love is blind. This must be real love because we are going along without knowing where we are going.
Kenyan civil society groups are working hard to make the EPAs a major issue in Kenya's national elections taking place later this month.According to Ezekiel Mpapale of the Initiatives for Community and Enterprise Development, One of the things we are doing is to make sure that Dr Mukhisa Kituyi (the current trade and industry minister) is not re-elected. We think he has betrayed us Kenyans.
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.
Hamas supporters rally to show strength By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer
Sat Dec 15, 3:08 PM ET
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Palestinians flooded the streets of the Gaza Strip Saturday in the biggest show of support for Hamas since the Islamic militants seized the territory in June. Leader Ismail Haniyeh vowed in speeches on the 20th anniversary of the movement's founding that Hamas will not compromise its hardline views despite growing isolation, poverty and popular support for the rival West Bank government of President Mahmoud Abbas.Since Hamas wrested control from Abbas' Fatah forces, Gaza's 1.5 million residents have been virtually cut off from the outside world, with Israel and Egypt refusing to fully reopen crossings with the coastal territory. Unemployment has risen to about 50 percent, forcing poverty up to 75 percent, Palestinian officials say.The message from you today is that Hamas and these masses will not yield before the sanctions, Haniyeh told the cheering onlookers who waved green Islamic flags at the rally in Gaza City.
The crowd shouted in response, To you we come, Haniyeh!
Haniyeh lambasted the renewal of peace talks between Israel and Abbas' administration in the United States last month, warning they will not bring about a cessation of Israeli settlement construction on disputed land or yield any other Israeli concessions.As for the fruits of the other track, the track of negotiations, normalization and bargaining, all can see that it is the consolidating of settlements ... injustice and oppression for the Palestinian people, Haniyeh said. It is bitter fruits.The Hamas leader warned Abbas against conceding in peace talks on the Palestinian demand that refugees who fled past wars with Israel and their descendants be allowed to return to their homes. Their fate is a key sticking point in the talks that are meant to iron out a final peace agreement.There is no such thing as a just solution to the right of return, Haniyeh said. It is the right of every refugee ... to return to the land.The throngs of Hamas supporters gathered in a sandy lot and along nearby streets. There appeared to be several thousand more people than attended a rally by backers of Hamas' rival, Fatah, who gathered on the same spot in November in what was seen as a major challenge to Hamas. That rally, which an Associated Press reporter estimated at more than 250,000 people, ended in mayhem with Hamas police opening fire and protesters hurling rocks or running for cover. Seven civilians were killed and dozens were wounded in the violence between Palestinian factions.
This is the real referendum on the popularity of resistance, the people converging behind Hamas, said Zayed Herzallah, a 28-year old merchant, who brought a van full of young relatives Saturday. Hamas today, after 20 years and after thousands of martyrs, is graduating the fourth generation (of supporters).Large pictures of Hamas leaders, both in Gaza and in exile, were draped across the speakers' podium. A black banner hanging from a nearby building read, in Arabic, English and French: We will not recognize Israel.
In the crowd were dozens of members of the Hamas military wing, among them armed men carrying replicas of homemade Qassam rockets. Some 50 female members of the military wing also marched, dressed in long robes and sporting military-style ammunition vests. Some covered their faces with veils, others with ski masks.In an anniversary message to Hamas TV, the group's top leader in exile, Khaled Mashaal, said Hamas will not abandon violence.This is our real choice, our trump card, which causes the enemy to succumb to us, he said.He said Abbas does not have the mandate to negotiate with Israel.Our people are able to launch a third and fourth uprising until the dawn of victory arrives, he warned.After the Hamas takeover, Abbas set up a moderate government in the West Bank, winning strong international support and opening the way to the resumption of peace talks with Israel last week.
In his speech, Haniyeh rejected Abbas' conditions for negotiations between the rival movements, including that Hamas give up its power in Gaza. Hamas was founded in Gaza in December 1987, after the outbreak of the first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation. It is an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood, which was founded in Egypt and is seen as the mother of all fundamentalist factions in the Arab Sunni world. Abbas' government was hoping on Monday at an international conference in Paris to receive pledges toward its goal of raising $5.6 billion over three years to bolster its economy. The United States said Friday it will pledge about $500 million. Donors warned that unless Israel eases physical and administrative obstacles, the money may go to waste.
From 2004 to 2009
16 December 2007 - Issue : 760
And while the discussions on the quasi-Constitution were the main issue of the December 14 summit in Brussels, President Jose Barroso was acting to capitalise on the signature of the new Treaty and secure a new appointment as Commission president in 2009. Mr. Barroso has been able to maintain a pretty good equilibrium in Euro-American relations and this is one of his major assets in his present mandate.
The chances for Mr. Barroso to get the job are substantial after the Spanish and the Italians refused to consider former British prime minister Tony Blair for the position. The basic arguments of those who align with Spain and Italy are the facts that Britain had not approved the Constitutional Treaty, does not participate in the Eurozone and has not signed the Schenghen agreement. Furthermore, they consider Mr. Blair’s dependence on Washington excessive and claim that dragging the United Kingdom into the Iraq war was a major political mistake that also reflects on Europe. Alternatively to Mr. Barroso’s reappointment, Germany, Italy and Belgium are considering for the position of President of the European Commission or to one of the best qualified for the new position of Foreign Minister of the EU the Prime Minister of Luxembourg Jean Claude Junker.
For the position of Foreign Minister, the case of former Italian Prime Minister Massimo Dalema is also being discussed and Italy is emphasising his role in the Lebanon and Afghanistan crises, but both the UK and USA along with their followers are contrary to such a possibility, for his particular relations with Hezbollah. Candidates for the position of the Foreign Minister are also considered to be German Socialist Frank Walter-Steinmeier, the Conservatives Swedish Carl Bildt and the Austrian Ursula Plassnik. A strong candidate for the position of Foreign Minister, however, remains the present High Representative Javier Solana, an all-color Spanish politician with a meteoric career who enjoys the full support of the Spanish Prime Minister Rodriguez Zappatero, other Socialist governments as well as the British and Americans. Mr. Solana, began his career from the extra-Parliamentary Spanish communists, where he was leading street demonstrations against the US Torejon military base. He became Foreign Minister of Spain with the Socialists, subsequently was appointed Secretary General of NATO responsible after bombing Serbia with Depleted Uranium Ordinance for becoming after Council’s High Representative. A high political position in the European making will be reserved by Germany to the President of the European Parliament Hans Didriech Poetering who in 2009 it is highly likely to be replaced in the two-and-a-half year rotation by the rising Socialist star Mr. Martin Schulz.
In the European Parliament, the European People’s Party, after the addition of the Romanians and the enrollment of the British MEP Saj Karim who left the declining ALDE group to join EPP, emerge stronger. In the next Parliament, the number of MEPs will be reduced from 785 to 751. In 2009, the Tories EPP is likely to suffer a major loss with the British Tories under Mr. David Cameron planning to withdraw from EPP and form their own group. This is a logical development given the ultra Eurosceptical stance of the Tories under Mr. Cameron, which are vertically opposite to that of the European People’s Party. EPP was crucial in the selection of Mr. Barroso to President of the Commission in 2004, an appointment which was the result of a compromise thanks to the efforts of EPP President Wilfried Martens and Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis who made the mediations for the compromise.
Greece, despite its endemic problems, as a result of 20 years of socialist mal administration, is taking major steps in sustaining European policies, in particular Greece’s enhanced relations with Russia in matters of energy and pipelines, which are crucial for Europe. The bottom line is, in 2007, The EU-27 proved more active and more involved in world affairs in all serious issues starting with, but not limited to, climate change, and strengthened its relations and presence in Africa, China and Latin America, proving a world player. The most important political changes in Europe during 2007 were the election of Mr. Nicolas Sarkozy to the French presidency with the redefinition of Franco-German relations, the French opening to the United States and the new French business approach to world markets, which reflects Europe’s performance in matters of international trade.
The fallout from The Sarkozy election came at the just-concluded European Summit marking the finale of The Portuguese Presidency in Brussels where the leaders decided to put up a face-saving agreement with the launch of Reflection Group, headed by Spain’s former premier Felipe Gonzalez, with Latvia’s former president Vaira Vike-Freiberga and Nokia chairman Jorma Ollila as his deputies. According to reliable sources, the two deputies were inducted to get a consensus and avoid collapse of talks, thus weakening the very purpose for which the group was launched.
Putting Turkish membership onto the agenda without naming Turkey is the sticking point in the mandate for the group to take into account likely developments within and outside Europe and examine in particular how the stability and prosperity of both the Union and of the wider region might best be served.
Livni to try to prevent Quartet condemnation of East Jerusalem construction By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni will try in the coming days to avoid Quartet condemnation of Israel over its decision to build new homes in a controversial East Jerusalem neighborhood. The so-called Quartet of Middle East negotiators ? the United States, European Union, Russia, and the United Nations ? are expected to meet at the foreign minister level on the sidelines of Monday's conference of Palestinian Authority donor states in Paris, France.
According to information obtained by the Foreign Ministry, the Palestinians are pushing for the Quartet to issue a statement condemnation of Israel's decision to build some 300 new homes in Har Homa. Senior Israeli officials held contacts Thursday and Friday with representatives of the Quartet members, in an attempt to calm concerns and reduce the international criticism of Israel.
Livni met Thursday with the new UN special envoy to the Middle East, Robert Serry, who according to diplomatic sources expressed concern over the planned construction.
Serry warned the construction could hamper negotiations. Livni for her part sought to clarify that the construction is legal, and that the approval does not represent a change in the government's policy on settlement construction. Israeli officials also met with U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Walsh, in which Walsh briefed the officials on his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Walsh said the Palestinians maintain it is difficult for them to conduct negotiations while Israel continues construction in the West Bank. Walsh said the Bush administration is interested to know whether Israel intends to approve any further tenders. The Israeli officials said they understand that this bothers the Palestinians, but the political echelon was not involved in the tender in any way.The donor state conference will seek to raise billions of dollars for PA institutions. Jerusalem sources said Israel wants to preserve the conference as a mechanism to push the political process forward. We want the conference to focus on the positive momentum and not negative issues, said one source. These are crises that have happened and will happen and they should not bring negotiations to a halt each time.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
70 COUNTRIES AT DONOR SUMMIT
I wrote a comment to a story on Haaretz. If you want to read the story and leave your own comment go to link below.
Last update - 21:10 13/12/2007
Document shows progress on core issues at Camp David summit
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934110.html
MY COMMENT TO THE STORY
Well in my take on Bible Prophecy it says the 3RD TEMPLE has to be rebuilt before the final 7 year treaty of Daniels 70TH WEEK (Dan 9:24-27). In Daniel 9:26 it says the Romans (THE EU) will make this final treaty not the (U.S.A). In Daniel 9:27 it has to be a 7 year contract and the European Union has to Guarentee Israels security. (Daniel 8;23-25, Daniel 11;36-39). So I believe the EU will take control of the Peace process Bring Nato troops into Israel to Guarentee their security. I believe the Vatican will be given control of the Holy sites since the VATICAN and the EU will be working in unison in the MIDEAST. I believe in the final status talks ISRAEL will be able to rebuild their 3RD TEMPLE by the dome of the Spirits (all kinds of room their) and it will not destroy the dome of the rock. THE EU will then some time in the very near future sign the 7 yr treaty to usher in the 70TH WEEK of Daniel 9:24 and the final 7 years before the MESSIAH comes to the Mount of Olives. Zech 14:4.
GENESIS 11:1-9 King James Bible
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.(today with interprters the world is one language again).
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.(notice the words let us)(todays world leaders, judges and men in power say let us also do our will not GODS WILL.)
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.(God warns us here once every nation is in unison no Sin will be out of mind. The world will deny theres a God and will think they have all the answers. Sounds like this Generation to me.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.(When Jesus returns to earth he will once again stop the Sinners and bring in righteousness to the World.)
9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
THE ISRAELIS BELIEVE GOD SPLIT THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH INTO 70 NATIONS AND LANGUAGES. THIS IS INTERESTING THAT THE NEW WORLD ORDER (ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT IS COMING TOGETHER AND 70 NATIONS WILL BE AT THIS DONOR SUMMIT. AND SINCE THE BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL LEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. BIBLE PROPHECY IS QUICKLY COMING TO PASS LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WOULD HAPPEN. THE CULMINATION OF PROPHECY WILL BE LIKE A WOMAN IN LABOUR, THE PAIN STARTS OUT MINUTES BETWEEN LABOUR PAINS UNTIL WHEN THE CHILD COMES OUT THE PAIN IS INTENSE AND CONSTANT. THIS IS HOW LAST DAYS PROPHECIES WILL BE COMING TO PASS AFTER ISRAEL IS IN THEIR OWN LAND AND RECAPTURED JERUSALEM AS THEIR CAPITAL. SINCE 67 TILL NOW HAS BEEN 40 YRS A BIBLE GENERATION, AND THE BIBLE CLEARLY SAYS ALL PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE WILL BE COMPLETED IN THE LAST GENERATION TO SEE ISRAEL IN THEIR OWN LAND AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM. ITS NO ACCIDENT THAT JERUSALEM IS BEING DIVIDED TO CAUSE WW3 TO OCCUR BECAUSE THE BIBLE HAS TO BE FULFILLED IN THIS FINAL GENERATION AND USHER IN THE MESSIAHS (JESUS) RETURN TO EARTH BODILY ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WERE HE WAS TAKEN TO HEAVEN AFTER HIS RESURRECTION.
70 Nations at Day-Long Conference for Palestinian Stateby Hillel Fendel DEC 16,07
(IsraelNN.com) Representatives of some 70 nations and another 20 international delegations will convene in Paris on Monday in a one-day Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State. The goal is to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, on behalf of a Palestinian state adjoining, crowding - and threatening - the State of Israel. The event is being held as a continuation of sorts of last month's Annapolis Summit, at which Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to begin final-status talks. The agreement flew in the face of the U.S.-sponsored Road Map plan, which specified that the PA must stop anti-Israel terrorism from within the areas under its control before final-status talks could begin.Among the international representatives taking part in the Monday conference in Paris are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Quartet Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, who recently stepped down as Britain's Prime Minister, will co-chair the event. Participating organizations include the European Commission, the Arab League, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and European and Arab financial funds. All 27 members of the European Union will be represented, as will be Middle East countries, the Group of Eight industrialized nations, Brazil, China, India and Norway.
Houses for Arabs - But Not for Jews
PA chairman Mahmud Abbas, who also heads the Fatah terrorist organization, is seeking $5.6 billion dollars over the coming three years for various needs of a state-in-the-making. Among them are thousands of Arab housing units to be built throughout Judea and Samaria - to which Israel has already reportedly agreed.
At the same time, Israel has imposed a ban - under American pressure - on Jewish construction in these areas.The PA is asking for money for development projects for education, health, business, and more. Some 30-40% of the projects are to be in Hamas-controlled Gaza, with guarantees to ensure that the funds do not reach Hamas. Such guarantees have been only partially effective in the past. Analysts expect a common thread to run through many of the speeches at the conference: Pressure and demands upon Israel to remove security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. This, despite the fact that they actually aid the PA in fulfilling its commitment to fight terrorism; Israeli soldiers frequently detect would-be terrorists who attempt to smuggle weapons or explosives into Israel via the checkpoints.
The Dangers of a Palestinian State
Though it is the position of world opinion, the Bush Administration and Prime Minister Olmert's government that a Palestinian state is necessary, many analysts feel otherwise. Objections include military, religious and political considerations. Even Shimon Peres, in his book, Tomorrow is Now, resounding opposed a Palestinian state, writing, During a war, the borders of the Palestinian state will serve as an ideal springboard for mobile forces to immediately breach Israeli defenses towards the infrastructure vital to Israel's existence, to limit the freedom of action of the Israeli Air Force in Israeli skies, and to shed the population's blood through masses of artillery positions proximity to the border. In the absence of defensible borders, Israel will be annihilated in a war.Yitzchak Rabin wrote in his memoirs, Palestine will rise upon the ruins of the State of Israel.Shmuel Katz, co-founder of the Herut Party with Menachem Begin and an MK of the First Knesset, wrote, If the Arabs were given a state in a part of Palestine, they would surely accept it as the next of the 'phases' for attaining the rest of the country – which they have been forecasting for years. It would inevitably make a serious contribution to the grievous weakening of Israel, strategically and politically. It is illusory in the extreme – and shockingly misleading – to suggest that it will bring peace.
Last update - 21:10 13/12/2007
Document shows progress on core issues at Camp David summit
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz Correspondent
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934110.html
MY COMMENT TO THE STORY
Well in my take on Bible Prophecy it says the 3RD TEMPLE has to be rebuilt before the final 7 year treaty of Daniels 70TH WEEK (Dan 9:24-27). In Daniel 9:26 it says the Romans (THE EU) will make this final treaty not the (U.S.A). In Daniel 9:27 it has to be a 7 year contract and the European Union has to Guarentee Israels security. (Daniel 8;23-25, Daniel 11;36-39). So I believe the EU will take control of the Peace process Bring Nato troops into Israel to Guarentee their security. I believe the Vatican will be given control of the Holy sites since the VATICAN and the EU will be working in unison in the MIDEAST. I believe in the final status talks ISRAEL will be able to rebuild their 3RD TEMPLE by the dome of the Spirits (all kinds of room their) and it will not destroy the dome of the rock. THE EU will then some time in the very near future sign the 7 yr treaty to usher in the 70TH WEEK of Daniel 9:24 and the final 7 years before the MESSIAH comes to the Mount of Olives. Zech 14:4.
GENESIS 11:1-9 King James Bible
1 And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.(today with interprters the world is one language again).
2 And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there.
3 And they said one to another, Go to, let us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for mortar.
4 And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth.(notice the words let us)(todays world leaders, judges and men in power say let us also do our will not GODS WILL.)
5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.(God warns us here once every nation is in unison no Sin will be out of mind. The world will deny theres a God and will think they have all the answers. Sounds like this Generation to me.
7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.(When Jesus returns to earth he will once again stop the Sinners and bring in righteousness to the World.)
9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.
THE ISRAELIS BELIEVE GOD SPLIT THE NATIONS OF THE EARTH INTO 70 NATIONS AND LANGUAGES. THIS IS INTERESTING THAT THE NEW WORLD ORDER (ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT IS COMING TOGETHER AND 70 NATIONS WILL BE AT THIS DONOR SUMMIT. AND SINCE THE BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL LEAD THIS WORLD GOVERNMENT. BIBLE PROPHECY IS QUICKLY COMING TO PASS LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WOULD HAPPEN. THE CULMINATION OF PROPHECY WILL BE LIKE A WOMAN IN LABOUR, THE PAIN STARTS OUT MINUTES BETWEEN LABOUR PAINS UNTIL WHEN THE CHILD COMES OUT THE PAIN IS INTENSE AND CONSTANT. THIS IS HOW LAST DAYS PROPHECIES WILL BE COMING TO PASS AFTER ISRAEL IS IN THEIR OWN LAND AND RECAPTURED JERUSALEM AS THEIR CAPITAL. SINCE 67 TILL NOW HAS BEEN 40 YRS A BIBLE GENERATION, AND THE BIBLE CLEARLY SAYS ALL PROPHECIES OF THE BIBLE WILL BE COMPLETED IN THE LAST GENERATION TO SEE ISRAEL IN THEIR OWN LAND AND IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM. ITS NO ACCIDENT THAT JERUSALEM IS BEING DIVIDED TO CAUSE WW3 TO OCCUR BECAUSE THE BIBLE HAS TO BE FULFILLED IN THIS FINAL GENERATION AND USHER IN THE MESSIAHS (JESUS) RETURN TO EARTH BODILY ON THE MOUNT OF OLIVES WERE HE WAS TAKEN TO HEAVEN AFTER HIS RESURRECTION.
70 Nations at Day-Long Conference for Palestinian Stateby Hillel Fendel DEC 16,07
(IsraelNN.com) Representatives of some 70 nations and another 20 international delegations will convene in Paris on Monday in a one-day Conference of Donors for a Palestinian State. The goal is to raise hundreds of millions of dollars, or more, on behalf of a Palestinian state adjoining, crowding - and threatening - the State of Israel. The event is being held as a continuation of sorts of last month's Annapolis Summit, at which Israel and the Palestinian Authority agreed to begin final-status talks. The agreement flew in the face of the U.S.-sponsored Road Map plan, which specified that the PA must stop anti-Israel terrorism from within the areas under its control before final-status talks could begin.Among the international representatives taking part in the Monday conference in Paris are UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, and Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Quartet Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair, who recently stepped down as Britain's Prime Minister, will co-chair the event. Participating organizations include the European Commission, the Arab League, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and European and Arab financial funds. All 27 members of the European Union will be represented, as will be Middle East countries, the Group of Eight industrialized nations, Brazil, China, India and Norway.
Houses for Arabs - But Not for Jews
PA chairman Mahmud Abbas, who also heads the Fatah terrorist organization, is seeking $5.6 billion dollars over the coming three years for various needs of a state-in-the-making. Among them are thousands of Arab housing units to be built throughout Judea and Samaria - to which Israel has already reportedly agreed.
At the same time, Israel has imposed a ban - under American pressure - on Jewish construction in these areas.The PA is asking for money for development projects for education, health, business, and more. Some 30-40% of the projects are to be in Hamas-controlled Gaza, with guarantees to ensure that the funds do not reach Hamas. Such guarantees have been only partially effective in the past. Analysts expect a common thread to run through many of the speeches at the conference: Pressure and demands upon Israel to remove security checkpoints in Judea and Samaria. This, despite the fact that they actually aid the PA in fulfilling its commitment to fight terrorism; Israeli soldiers frequently detect would-be terrorists who attempt to smuggle weapons or explosives into Israel via the checkpoints.
The Dangers of a Palestinian State
Though it is the position of world opinion, the Bush Administration and Prime Minister Olmert's government that a Palestinian state is necessary, many analysts feel otherwise. Objections include military, religious and political considerations. Even Shimon Peres, in his book, Tomorrow is Now, resounding opposed a Palestinian state, writing, During a war, the borders of the Palestinian state will serve as an ideal springboard for mobile forces to immediately breach Israeli defenses towards the infrastructure vital to Israel's existence, to limit the freedom of action of the Israeli Air Force in Israeli skies, and to shed the population's blood through masses of artillery positions proximity to the border. In the absence of defensible borders, Israel will be annihilated in a war.Yitzchak Rabin wrote in his memoirs, Palestine will rise upon the ruins of the State of Israel.Shmuel Katz, co-founder of the Herut Party with Menachem Begin and an MK of the First Knesset, wrote, If the Arabs were given a state in a part of Palestine, they would surely accept it as the next of the 'phases' for attaining the rest of the country – which they have been forecasting for years. It would inevitably make a serious contribution to the grievous weakening of Israel, strategically and politically. It is illusory in the extreme – and shockingly misleading – to suggest that it will bring peace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)