LOTS OF NEWS

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Powerful earthquake kills woman in western Algeria
on Friday, January 11 @ 16:10:00 CST

A woman was killed in a 5.3 magnitude earthquake which rocked Algeria’s western province Oran on Wednesday. The earthquake, which is seen as the strongest one in the region since 1790 stroke at around 11:24 a.m. in the eastern part of Oran, according to the research Centre in astronomy, astrophysics and geophysics (CRAAG).

The old lady who lived in the stricken area died of shock. The earthquake sparked fire at a building and caused partial collapses and cracks in a number of old buildings. Two small tremors hit the same region few hours later. Because of that, panicked residents spent the night in the streets. Official sources reported important partial collapses were recorded in Boufatiss municipality where the old woman died of a heart attack as she was very scared. A crisis cell was set up and 29 shelters were opened for the stricken families.

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.

National Weather Service: Three Confirmed Tornadoes Hit Alabama Friday, 11 Jan 2008, 5:00 PM CST Tuscaloosa County Storm Damage

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- The National Weather Service on Friday confirmed that three tornadoes touched down as storms rumbled across Alabama Thursday. Weather service crews surveying storm damage confirmed twister touchdowns in Tuscaloosa, Lamar and Pickens counties. Crews in Tuscaloosa County confirmed the damage was caused by an F3 tornado, which is rated a sever twister on the Fujita scale, which ranges from F1 to the most devastating at F6.

That twister touched down in the Windham Springs and Wiley area with estimated winds of 140 to 150 miles per hour. Five structures were demolished and about 300 trees were downed along the tornado's nearly five mile path. According to the weather service's Birmingham office, a survey team also confirmed an F2 tornado touched down in Lamar County. In Pickens County, an F1 tornado caused extensive damage to several chicken houses, a barn and knocked down several power poles. Scattered storm damage also was reported throughout the state. Forecasters say a cold front was moving through the state Friday and no severe weather is expected over the weekend.

High winds cause damage in Ala., Miss. By JAY REEVES, Associated Press Writer Thu Jan 10, 10:36 PM ET

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Powerful thunderstorms packing heavy rain and high winds pushed across Alabama and Mississippi on Thursday, causing scattered property damage and at least two traffic deaths.
Several tornado watches or warnings were issued Thursday in both states, but no touchdowns were immediately confirmed.In Mississippi, a motorist was killed after colliding with a Lamar County deputy head-on during the height of the storm, while a single-vehicle accident in Jones County claimed another life.

Authorities there said the vehicles involved in both crashes may have hydroplaned during downpours, though investigations are continuing.In Alabama's Lamar County near the Mississippi line, at least two houses were destroyed in Sulligent, the National Weather Service said.In nearby Vernon, rescuers freed a woman who was pinned in her vehicle after a tree fell on it, said Don Dollar, an administrative assistant with the city. She was taken to a hospital, but her condition was not available Thursday afternoon.
Just across the state line, buildings and buses were damaged at a school in Caledonia, Miss., said Lea Stokes, a spokeswoman for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.To the southwest in Choctaw County, one woman was injured and barns at a large dairy farm were heavily damaged during the peak of the storms Thursday afternoon, county emergency management spokesman Steve Montgomery said. At least one other person in the county was hurt in the storm, but the area hospital said the injuries did not appear to be serious.The severe weather shut down many schools, including the University of Alabama and the University of North Alabama.

In east-central Illinois, meanwhile, days of springlike weather that brought heavy rainfall and melting snow caused severe flooding that forced hundreds of people to evacuate.Floodwaters were as deep as 6 feet in Watseka, were residents left about 235 homes. Fire Chief David Mayotte said officials used a dozen boats to rescue about 535 residents, plus 75 pets, starting shortly after midnight Wednesday and continuing into Thursday morning.Most of the people who have lived here a long time say it's the worst flooding they've seen, said Carl Gerdovich, director of the Iroquois County Emergency Service Disaster Agency. Floodwaters in the area were dropping Thursday.Watseka residents Tracy Hendry and her two daughters spent Wednesday night at Trinity Church. Hendry sent her daughters to stay with relatives on Thursday, but planned to sleep there a second night.She said she recently moved out of her house and her belongings were stored in her mother's garage, which was knee-high in water Thursday.I lost everything, she said. I'm just taking it as it goes.Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared state disaster areas in Iroquois County and Livingston County, where about 200 homes were evacuated when the Vermilion River went over its banks.

In Vancouver, Wash., a rare tornado touched down Thursday in a residential area, downing power lines, uprooting trees and tossing shopping carts into cars. There were no reports of injuries, fire department spokesman Jim Flaherty said.Connie Storey of Vancouver told KGW-TV she was walking her dog when the wind came up and blew me across the street into my neighbor's cyclone fence, where I hung on for dear life. The high winds lasted about 30 seconds, she said. In Creede, Colo., skies cleared and the winds were calm as two helicopters and searchers on skis searched for two snowboarders missing since last weekend amid brutal weather in the southwestern Colorado mountains. Michael George and Kyle Kerschen, both 27 and both from Albuquerque, N.M., were reported missing on Saturday near the Wolf Creek ski resort about 170 miles southwest of Denver.

South told to be ready for flooding as warning upgraded
Fri Jan 11, 1:22 PM

NEW.BRUNSWICK (CBC) - The Emergency Measures Organization has upgraded its ice-jam warning and is asking people in southern New Brunswick to be prepared for possible flooding as warm temperatures continue.Everybody just has to be on their toes and be prepared, said Andy Morton, a spokesman with the provincial organization.The primary concern is around smaller rivers and streams in the southern part of the province, Morton said.They are more volatile, he said. They'll react much quicker and stronger to rainfall events than rivers such as the Saint John, which are very large and can absorb a lot of extra water.It's difficult to predict where the jams could occur, said Morton, but those who live or work in an area where ice-jam flooding has occurred in the past should be vigilant.

Areas of particular concern are along the Kennebecasis, Nashwaak, Magaguadavic and Canaan river systems.The potential for ice movement in central and northern parts of the province is less likely but still possible, Morton said.The weather forecast for Friday night and Saturday calls for rain and above-freezing temperatures that could create localized flooding where normal drainage systems are still blocked by snow and ice dumped during a series of winter storms, he said.Ice jams will also be a concern over the weekend, according to the organization. The jams occur as ice breaks up and begins moving with the mild weather that has hit the province this week.We're talking about keeping an eye out, making sure that loose objects that might float away in your yard are secured or put away and that if you do get water, that you're prepared to deal with it, he said.

Snow day in the sands of Baghdad By CHRISTOPHER CHESTER, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 11, 3:23 PM ET

BAGHDAD - The flakes melted quickly. But the smiles, wonder and excited story-swapping went on throughout the day: It snowed in Baghdad. The morning flurry Friday was the first in memory in the heart of the Iraqi capital. Perhaps more significant, however, was the rare ripple of delight through a city snarled by army checkpoints, divided by concrete walls and ravaged by sectarian killings.For the first time in my life I saw a snow-rain like this falling in Baghdad, said Mohammed Abdul-Hussein, a 63-year-old retiree from the New Baghdad area.When I was young, I heard from my father that such rain had fallen in the early '40s on the outskirts of northern Baghdad, Abdul-Hussein said, referring to snow as a type of rain. But snow falling in Baghdad in such a magnificent scene was beyond my imagination.After weathering nearly five years of war, Baghdad residents thought they'd pretty much seen it all. But as muezzins were calling the faithful to prayer, the people here awoke to something certifiably new.

Snow is common in the mountainous Kurdish areas of northern Iraq, but residents of the capital and surrounding areas could remember just hail. And that, only very occasionally.Summer temperatures in Baghdad are routinely a sweltering 120 degrees and winters generally mild.But this week has been unusually cold and blustery, with overnight temperatures more than 10 degrees below normal. On Thursday morning, the thermometer hovered around freezing after a low of 27, and the Baghdad airport closed because of low visibility.I asked my mother, who is 80, whether she'd ever seen snow in Iraq before, and her answer was no, said Fawzi Karim, a 40-year-old father of five who runs a small restaurant in Hawr Rajab, a village six miles southeast of Baghdad.This is so unusual, and I don't know whether or not it's a lesson from God, Karim said.

Some said they'd seen snow only in movies.

Talib Haider, a 19-year-old college student, said a friend of mine called me at 8 a.m. to wake me up and tell me that the sky is raining snow.I rushed quickly to the balcony to see a very beautiful scene, he said. I tried to film it with my cell phone camera. This scene has really brought me joy. I called my other friends and the morning turned out to be a very happy one in my life.An Iraqi who works for The Associated Press said he woke his wife and children shortly after 7 a.m. to have a look at this strange thing. He then called his brother and sister and found them awake, also watching the cotton-like snow drops covering the trees.For a couple of hours anyway, a city where mortar shells routinely zoom across the Tigris River to the Green Zone became united as one big White Zone. There were no reports of bloodshed during the snowstorm. The snow showed no favoritism as it dusted neighborhoods Shiite and Sunni alike, faintly falling (with apologies to James Joyce) upon all the living and the dead.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

GOLD $900.00 AN OUNCE, WHAT WILL PEOPLE DO WHEN THE MARKET COLAPSES AND GOLD AND SILVER IS USELESS AND PEOPLE ARE THROWING IT IN THE STREETS IS MY QUESTION?

Gold hits record $900 an ounce By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer Fri Jan 11, 12:21 PM ET

NEW YORK - Gold futures briefly rose above $900 an ounce Friday for the first time as high oil prices, a weak dollar and fears of a U.S. recession led uneasy investors to keep buying the precious metal. An ounce of gold for February delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange jumped $6.50 to $900.10 in morning trading, an all-time high and a psychologically important milestone. Gold later slipped to $898.70 an ounce on profit-taking but remained in record territory.It's a reflection of market sentiment: Gold is a hedge against uncertainty and right now it's the best bet, said Carlos Sanchez, a precious metals analyst at CPM Group in New York. None of the other investment options look that great and gold does.Still, when adjusted for inflation, gold remains well below its all-time high. An ounce of gold at $875 in 1980 would be worth $2,115 to $2,200 today.Gold has had a meteoric rise the past year — rising nearly 32 percent in 2007 — boosted by a falling dollar, rising prices for oil and other commodities and increased Middle East instability. Those trends have lifted the metal's appeal as a haven; gold is seen as a safe investment in times of political and economic uncertainty around the world.

Also driving gold higher was Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's pledge Thursday to cut interest rates to boost the economy, which some fear may be sliding toward recession amid turmoil in the housing and credit markets.Lower interest rates tend to depress a country's currency and drive investors to shift funds to hard assets, like gold. A cheap dollar can make commodities more attractive as an alternative investment, and can also raise demand from foreign buyers as their currencies gain strength.Concerns of a recession will keep pushing up gold prices, Sanchez said. Depending upon what happens in the economy and in the Middle East, we could see gold testing $1,000 an ounce, maybe even this quarter.Hedge and pension funds, along with other long-term investors, also flocked to gold as the mortgage and credit crisis in the U.S. intensified.The funds are really heavily at play ... The momentum with gold is almost like mania. We keep wondering how high it will go, said Jon Nadler, an analyst with Kitco Bullion Dealers in Montreal.Investors looking to get in on the gold rush can expect continued volatility for the rest of the year, said Nadler, whose firm forecasts a trading range of $750 to $950 an ounce.

The steep rise in precious metals will also mean consumers in the United States — the biggest buyer of gold after India — can expect to pay higher prices for gold earrings, bracelets and other jewelry.People are going to feel that sticker shock when they go down Fifth Avenue, Nadler said. You'll start seeing the increase reflected as early as Valentine's Day.

THE STOCK MARKET HAS BEEN DOWN 200 POINTS OR MORE 4 OF THE 8 DAYS THIS YEAR SO FAR......CAN YOU SAY RECESSION.

Stocks slammed by bad credit fears By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JAN 11,08

NEW YORK - Wall Street plunged again Friday amid renewed fears that the financial sector's troubles with bad credit won't soon end and that some consumers are buckling under the weight of a slowing economy. The major indexes each lost more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrials, which finished down nearly 250points. The arrival of quarterly earnings reports has investors worried about how banks and brokerages have fared after suffering losses in the collapse of the subprime mortgage market. Traders appeared to grow more pessimistic ahead of reports due next week from the nation's biggest financial institutions. Merrill Lynch & Co., Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are slated to weigh in next week.Adding to investors' unease, Merrill Lynch might take a $15 billion hit from its exposure to soured subprime mortgage investments, according to The New York Times. The nation's largest brokerage is also said to be seeking another capital infusion to help shore up its balance sheet.

Investors also grew nervous after American Express Corp. warned that slower spending and more delinquencies on credit card payments will hamper profit throughout 2008. A profit warning from Tiffany & Co. added to Wall Street's unease about the fortitude of the consumer.When Amex comes out and says that some of their well-to-do cardholders are having problems making payments that's just not good news, said Brandon Thomas, chief investment officer of Portfolio Management Consultants, the investment arm of Envestnet Asset Management.Friday's session revealed the extent of misgivings about Wall Street's efforts to sew up its troubles. Bank of America Corp. agreed Friday to buy Countrywide Financial Corp. for $4 billion, a deal that rescues the country's largest mortgage lender but pays less than the company's market value.The agreement comes after word of the move Thursday and just months after BofA invested $2 billion in Countrywide. Some investors apparently hoped Countrywide would fetch a premium, though some observers said a tie-up was a better alternative than bankruptcy, rumors of which dogged the company during the week.Michael Church, portfolio manager at Church Capital Management, said news from the financials is weighing on Wall Street, although he said investors shouldn't be surprised by the extent of the troubles. The financials are going to continue to be a problem, he said.

The Dow fell 246.79, or 1.92 percent, to 12,606.30. The Dow had been down more than 300 points in the last hour.Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.31, or 1.36 percent, to 1,401.02, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 48.58, or 1.95 percent, to 2,439.94.Stocks have skidded lower in the new year, with the Dow often falling by triple digits in a single session amid anxiety about a possible recession as well as the still-unfolding fallout from the mortgage crisis.The Dow is down 4.96 percent for the year, the S&P is off 4.59 percent, and the Nasdaq has lost 8.01 percent.I think we're going to see this volatility at least through the end of the earnings season, Thomas said.Bond prices rose as stocks retreated. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.80 percent from 3.88 percent late Thursday. The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose to a fresh record.Oil prices were pressured by gains for the dollar against the euro and pound. Crude oil is a dollar-denominated commodity and tends to decline in value when the dollar rises. This is because it takes less money to buy the same amount. A barrel of light, sweet crude for February settled down $1.02 at $92.69 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Washington Mutual Inc. jumped 53 cents, or 3.7 percent, to $14.69 after CNBC reported JPMorgan is in talks to acquire the nation's largest savings and loan. JPMorgan fell 47 cents to $40.86.

Bank of America fell 80 cents, or 2 percent, to $38.50, while Countrywide fell $1.42, or 18 percent, to $6.33. American Express fell $4.92, or 10.1 percent, to $44 and was the biggest decliner among the 30 stocks that comprise the Dow industrials. McDonald's Corp., also part of the Dow, fell $3.85, or 6.6 percent, to $54.32 after a Friedman Billings Ramsay analyst expressed doubt about the company's future earnings. Traders showed little reaction to a Commerce Department report that higher energy prices drove the nation's trade deficit in November to its highest level in more than a year. The government said the gap shot up 9.3 percent to $63.1 billion, the widest since September 2006 and up from $57.8 billion in October. Economists surveyed by Thomson/IFR Markets forecast a trade gap of $58.6 billion. Separately, there was good news on inflation in December, when import prices were unchanged, the Labor Department said. Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin said the Fed will act decisively to counter risks to the economy and added that swift rate cuts can hasten the economy's return to normal. But Mishkin also said the financial markets are overly focused on the central bank's actions. Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren said housing price declines could accelerate this year if the economy is not strong. Mishkin and Rosengren followed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who on Thursday made clear in a speech that the central bank is poised to cut interest rates later this month. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.79 billion shares compared with 2.06 billion traded Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 15.56, or 2.16 percent, to 704.65. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed down 1.93 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 0.33 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.06 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.54. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

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).

Royal Watch News King Juan Carlos reigning vow
Spain's King Juan Carlos makes a toast during the dinner to mark his 70th birthday, at Pardo's Palace, nearby Madrid, Spain, 09 January 2008, with the attendance of representatives of most importants Spanish institutions. Spain's King Juan Carlos was born on 05 January 1938. EPA/Alberto Martín Jan 10, 2008, 12:30 GMT

Spain's King Juan Carlos marked his 70th birthday by vowing to continue reigning as the country's monarch. The king - who actually turned 70 on Saturday (05.01.08) - celebrated reaching the landmark age by hosting a gala dinner for 450 people at his royal Madrid residence, the Palacio Real de El Pardo, on Wednesday (09.01.08), where he announced he had no plans to step down as king.He told guests: I want to be king for all Spaniards. All have contributed to supporting the path of the crown. I am proud of all we have achieved together.I have confidence in the future, confidence in our youth and renewed determination to continue working as king with the same passion and commitment as I have always had - in the service of Spain for all Spaniards.

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero took the opportunity to express his own gratitude to the king. He said: All of us here believe this period has been the most fruitful in contemporary Spain. We all believe it's extraordinary what King Juan Carlos has contributed to this common success.Juan Carlos became the King of Spain in 1975 following the death of right-wing dictator General Francisco Franco, and quickly became an extremely popular figure within the country.In a poll carried out by Metroscopia in October 2007, it was found the king had the highest approval rating of any public Spanish figure.He also beat explorer Christopher Columbus, artist Pablo Picasso and writer Miguel Cervantes to be crowned the greatest Spaniard of all time in a separate poll in May last year.(C) BANG Media International

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) 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.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

President Sarkozy said to back Tony Blair for top EU post
EJP Updated: 10/Jan/2008 16:22

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (L) and Tont Blair Sarkozy held talks while both were on holiday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh at the end of December.

BRUSSELS/LONDON (EJP)---Media reports this week suggested that former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is a favourite for the post of EU president. The job will carry a package worth about 266,000 euro and would make its occupant the most influential figure in Eureopean Union affairs. The post was created under the new EU treaty signed in December by the 27 EU leaders in Lisbon.
The treaty, which replaced the EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters, creates an EU president but also a more powerful foreign policy chief. Blair is currently the Mideast Quartet’s representative. The London Daily Telegraph reported on Wednesday that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is actively backing Blair for this post. Sarkozy told the newspaper that he and Blair held talks over Christmas while both were on holiday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheikh.

Last October, Sarkozy said choosing Blair would be a smart move because he remained one of the EU’s most outstanding figures. But other European politicians are also thought likely to throw their hats into the ring, including long-time Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, Former Spanish Prime Minister Jose-Maria Aznar and Irish Bertie Ahern. The new EU post will begin in January 2009 and lasts two and a half years. It will replace the current rotating six-month presidencies between member states.
Detailed discussions over who gets the job are not expected to take place until the second half of this year, under the EU’s six-month French presidency. A spokesman for Blair said he remained fully focused on his job as a Middle East peace envoy for the Quartet of mediators, the EU, United Nations, United States and Russia. But he refused to rule Blair out for the new EU post. Blair will attend a conference of President Sarkozy’s centre-right party UMP (Union for a Popular Movement) next Saturday. The two men will debate Europe. The UMP meeting marks the launch of its pre-electoral campaign before the municipal elections in France in March.

JPost.com Jan 11, 2008 23:23
Britain's Blair says Mideast peace deal possible this year
By ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday he believed a Middle East peace deal was possible before the end of the year. Blair, the Middle East envoy for the so-called Quartet peacemakers - the United States, European Union, United Nations and Russia - agreed with US President George W. Bush that Israelis and Palestinians could reach an agreement in 2008. I think given the determination there is to succeed and given the desire on the part of the American leadership, the Israeli leadership, the Palestinian leadership to see it happen, I think people could be surprised this year, he said.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

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

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

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

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

France says willing to do more for EU Chad force
Thu 10 Jan 2008, 19:12 GMT

PARIS, Jan 10 (Reuters) - France said on Thursday it was willing to increase its contribution to a European Union peacekeeping force in eastern Chad to help make up for a shortfall but it hoped others would chip in too. The force was originally due to deploy from late October but has been delayed because member states have not provided all the support necessary, including helicopters that would enable troops to move around difficult terrain.Defence Ministry spokesman Laurent Teisseire said President Nicolas Sarkozy had decided France would go beyond its original pledge to provide roughly half the soldiers for the force, which Paris hopes will include at least 3,000 troops.The president has authorised the defence minister to make new proposals in the framework of the discussions underway in Brussels in order to fill what has been identified by everyone in the past weeks as the residual gap, Teisseire said.

This residual gap is, as you know, very largely in the area of transport on the theatre, he added.French Defence Minister Herve Morin complained in a newspaper interview last month of other European countries' reluctance to provide troops for the force, which will be headed by an Irish general.The newspaper Le Figaro reported on Thursday that France had decided to unblock the situation by filling the gap itself, providing roughly 10 helicopters and possibly an extra transport plane, plus a further 500 men for logistical support.That would bring France's contribution to the force to more than 2,000 men out of a total of 3,500, the paper said.Teisseire, however, said France had not decided to fill the gap alone and it hoped other countries would join the effort.The president wants us to continue our effort by helping to unblock the situation by offering to go beyond what France has done until now. But we still fervently hope ... that it will be a collective effort, he said.Member states are due to hold a meeting in Brussels tomorrow to deal with the shortfall.There is a decision at the level of the president (to make an extra contribution). There is no decision on numbers. There is a force generation meeting tomorrow, then we'll have to see what is missing, a French diplomat in Brussels said. (Reporting by Francois Murphy; additional reporting by Mark John in Brussels)

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

New ID rules may complicate air travel By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer JAN 11,08

WASHINGTON - Millions of air travelers may find going through airport security much more complicated this spring, as the Bush administration heads toward a showdown with state governments over post-Sept. 11 rules for new driver's licenses. By May, the dispute could leave millions of people unable to use their licenses to board planes, but privacy advocates called that a hollow threat by federal officials.Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who was unveiling final details of the REAL ID Act's rules on Friday, said that if states want their licenses to remain valid for air travel after May 2008, those states must seek a waiver indicating they want more time to comply with the legislation.

Chertoff said that for any state which doesn't seek such a waiver by May, residents of that state will have to use a passport or certain types of federal border-crossing cards if they want to avoid a vigorous secondary screening at airport security.The last thing I want to do is punish citizens of a state who would love to have a REAL ID license but can't get one, Chertoff said. But in the end, the rule is the rule as passed by Congress.The plan's chief critic, the American Civil Liberties Union, called Chertoff's deadline a bluff — and urged state governments to call him on it.Are they really prepared to shut those airports down? Which is what effectively would happen if the residents of those states are going to have to go through secondary scrutiny, said Barry Steinhardt, director of the ACLU's technology and liberty program. This is a scare tactic.So far, 17 states have passed legislation or resolutions objecting to the REAL ID Act's provisions, many due to concerns it will cost them too much to comply. The 17, according to the ACLU, are Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Washington.Maine officials said Friday they were unsure if their own state law even allows them to ask for a waiver.It certainly seems to be an effort by the federal government to create compliance with REAL ID whether states have an interest in doing so or not, said Don Cookson, spokesman for the Maine secretary of state's office.

The Sept. 11 attacks were the main motivation for the changes: The hijacker-pilot who flew into the Pentagon, Hani Hanjour, had four driver's licenses and ID cards from three states.The Homeland Security Department and other officials say the only way to ensure an ID is safe is to check it against secure government data; critics such as the ACLU say that creates a system that is more likely to be infiltrated and have its personal data pilfered.
Congress passed the REAL ID law in 2005, but the effort has been delayed by opposition from states worried about the cost and civil libertarians upset about what they believe are invasions of privacy.Under the rules announced Friday, Americans born after Dec. 1, 1964, will have to get more secure driver's licenses in the next six years, over which time the new requirements would gradually be phased in.A key deadline would come in 2011, when federal authorities hope all states will be in compliance, and the regulations would not take full effect for all Americans until 2017
To make the plan more appealing to cost-conscious states, federal authorities drastically reduced the expected cost from $14.6 billion to $3.9 billion, a 73 percent decline, said Homeland Security officials familiar with the plan.

By 2014, anyone seeking to board an airplane or enter a federal building would have to present a REAL ID-compliant card, with the notable exception of those older than 50, Homeland Security officials said.The over-50 exemption was created to give states more time to get everyone new licenses, and officials say the risk of someone in that age group being a terrorist, illegal immigrant or con artist is much less. By 2017, even those over 50 must have a REAL ID-compliant card to board a plane.

Among other details of the REAL ID plan:

The traditional driver's license photograph would be taken at the beginning of the application instead of the end so that if someone is rejected for failure to prove identity and citizenship, the applicant's photo would be kept on file and checked if that person tried to con the system again. The cards will have three layers of security measures but will not contain microchips as some had expected. States will be able to choose from a menu which security measures they will put in their cards. After Social Security and immigration status checks become nationwide practice, officials plan to move on to more expansive security checks. State DMV offices would be required to verify birth certificates; check with other states to ensure an applicant doesn't have more than one license; and check with the State Department to verify applicants who use passports to get a driver's license. On the Net:
Homeland Security Department: http://www.dhs.gov/
ACLU Web site opposing REAL ID: http://www.realnightmare.org

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.

Russia names hawkish Nato envoy JAN 10,08

Mr Rogozin is opposed to Kosovo breaking away from Serbia
Russian President Vladimir Putin has appointed a nationalist politician as Russia's new ambassador to Nato. Dmitry Rogozin will become Moscow's permanent representative to the military alliance.
A foreign policy hawk, Mr Rogozin is a former head of the anti-immigration Russian Motherland party. He has previously warned Moscow the Western military alliance poses a threat and called for Russia to stand firm against independence for Kosovo. Mr Rogozin has also served as Russia's representative to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (Pace), a multi-national Strasbourg-based human rights body. In 2005, Russia's Supreme Court banned Motherland from taking part in elections to the Moscow City Council. The court ruled that a campaign advertisement in which Mr Rogozin appeared was racist.

Mr Rogozin's appointment is a reflection of Russia's more assertive stance towards the West, the BBC's James Rodgers reports from Moscow. Nato is viewed with great suspicion in Russia - politicians and ordinary people alike see the alliance's post-Cold War eastward expansion as blatantly hostile, our correspondent says. Mr Rogozin has previously called for Russia to rearm to counter the perceived threat.

Palestinians little moved by Bush visit By Ilene R. Prusher and Joshua Mitnick Fri Jan 11, 3:00 AM ET

JERUSALEM; and Ramallah, West Bank - While President Bush stood in Ramallah Thursday speaking of plans for a way out of the conflict that defines daily life for millions of Palestinians, many of the people he hoped to convince that a peace deal with Israel is on the horizon simply dismissed his promises as kalam fadi – empty words.Not far from the Palestinian Authority offices where Mr. Bush met President Mahmoud Abbas, men sat huddled at a popular local cafe watching the two stand side by side for the first time on Palestinian soil.For us, the Bush visit failed even before he arrived. This visit worked in favor of Israeli interests, not for the Palestinians, says Khader Dibs, a middle-age father and manager of the local sanitation office who was among many who sat watching the speeches on new flat-screen television hanging on the wall, which turns the Abu Kheir Cafe in the Shuafat Refugee Camp into something of a town square. Men came to discuss the politics of the day and women stopped in to eavesdrop while they picked up a tub of the freshest hummus in town.Palestinians here say they wish Bush would come to their neck of the woods, too, to see what it means to have their freedom of movement constantly curtailed.

Our whole life is waiting at checkpoints. It's a humiliation, Mr. Dibs says. I didn't hear Bush talk about Israel's recent assassinations, incursions, and killings, either. The money spent on his visit would have been better spent on development.Dibs's views were echoed by many average Palestinians Thursday as Bush pledged to see the signing of a treaty leading to a Palestine state before his term ends. His visit was the first US presidential visit to the PA headquarters in the West Bank, but few were impressed with the intended symbolism.Shortly after a press conference between Bush and Mr. Abbas ended, an increasingly influential Islamist group arrived to share its take on the American push for a deal heard – a point of view that seemed to garner more interest.The activist from Hizb ut-Tahrir (the Party of Liberation), an international Islamic movement, began passing out professional-looking photocopies of a statement denouncing Bush and discouraging Palestinians from putting any hope in peace with Israel.Palestinians say Hizb ut-Tahrir, which argues that now is not the time to make jihad, or holy war, is beginning to gain in popularity against Hamas, the Islamist militants who won at polls here two years ago and recently wrested control of Abbas's Fatah faction in Gaza last summer.

Hizb ut-Tahrir's message has appeal, the men say, because too many here have long lost hope for the establishment of a Palestinian state: whether because they don't think Israel is serious about enabling that to happen, or because their own Palestinian brethren are not willing to compromise on their claims to what is now Israel proper.And, because Bush's name is synonymous with the post-9/11 war on terror, many Palestinians treat the US president as if he's the last person who would be able to make Palestinian independence a reality.The whole world lost confidence in Bush after the Iraq war. We worry that what he did in Iraq, he'll do in Iran, says Abdul-Fatah Julani, another cafe patron.A younger man chimes in: He makes peace out of killing Muslims.Just a few blocks away from Abbas's presidential compound, about 40 protesters chanted, Bush, Bush, Out, Out and Palestine, Freedom, Freedom, before being chased away by billy-club swinging policemen. Demonstrators complained that a curfew imposed by police officers on the residents of central Ramallah to secure the city for Bush had prevented more demonstrators from joining the protest.We are against everything that is happening in the Muqata, says Fares Fares, referring to Abbas's compound. Bush won't stand with us. We don't like Bush because he destroyed the world – Iraq, Afghanistan, and Lebanon. And look how he's imposed a closure on Gaza.Mustafa Barghouti, a Palestinian parliamentarian, tried to mediate between security forces and the demonstrators.The officer said we don't have a permit and that we shouldn't be in the streets, says Mr. Barghouti, who complained that the Palestinian casualties from Israeli attacks have doubled since the Annapolis, Md., peace conference that launched the peace initiative.

We would be the first to be happy if this were a historic day, and if we achieve a Palestinian state. But the president of the United States of America must stop being biased toward Israel. We are not against the visit, but we are against the bias. We want [Bush] to become better, he says. Though in the minority, some Palestinians say they did, in fact, detect an evolution in the American position toward the peace process. This is not like the [President] Clinton visit, when he visited Gaza and was welcomed in the streets with his picture and American flags. The political weather is different now, says Hafez Barghouti, an editor of the daily newspaper Al-Hayat Al-Jedidah. For the first time Bush spoke about the settlements as an obstacle to peace, and not just the illegal outposts. When the Americans talk about a Palestinian state and building the infrastructure for the Palestinian state, it's very important.Barghouti also said he was encouraged by Bush's trip from Jerusalem to Ramallah. Heavy fog forced the president to forgo a helicopter and drive by the Israeli military checkpoints that frustrate Palestinians on a daily basis. At least, he remarked, the weather may have helped the Palestinian people.

Join Us in Lifting Up Israel in Prayer January 10, 2008
Dear Friend of Israel,

Throughout her history, Israel has held to a dream of peaceful coexistence with her Arab neighbors. Tragically, though she has offered the olive branch to those neighbors many times, her offers of peace have not been accepted.This week, as U.S. President Bush pays his first visit to Israel, talk of peace continues to be in the air. President Bush speaks of the U.S. playing a role in realizing a new opportunity for peace here in the Holy Land and for freedom across the region. It is a noble dream, and one worth working toward - certainly, it is one that Israel has been working toward since declaring her independence in 1948.But, we must balance our hope for peace with realism. Israel's neighbors still refuse to accept the reality of a Jewish state in their midst. This, despite what Israel's enemies say, is the primary obstacle to Israeli-Arab peace.

Our Fellowship supporters often ask me what they can do to help support Israel in its struggle for peace and security. What possible impact can one person have on global events? I am quick to remind them that, as Christians and Jews, we have access to One Whose strength is far beyond any earthly power. Each of us, as individuals, has the ability to come before Almighty God in prayer, and to appeal to Him on behalf of His children.On Sunday, January 27, on The Fellowship's 2008 Day of Prayer for Israel, you will have an opportunity to join with Christians worldwide to do just that. As it has in years past, the 2008 Day of Prayer will unite Christians worldwide in raising a chorus of prayer to God for Israel's security, well-being, and protection. It is a tremendous source of encouragement to Israel and her people, especially at this time when Israel faces crises on multiple fronts, and her dream of peace seems in many ways more elusive than ever.I hope you will join us in praying for Israel on January 27. If you have not already, take a moment to download our Day of Prayer Action Kit, which will help you take a stand for Israel on this important day. On behalf of the people of Israel, I thank you for your prayers and heartfelt concern for them. As we lift up Israel on the Day of Prayer, let us take to heart these words that express the deepest hopes of Jews and Christians alike: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem; may those who love you be secure. May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels (Psalm 122: 6-7).

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *
BUSH PREDICTS PEACE TREATY BY END OF 2008
But first, don't divide Jerusalem. Stop the rockets from Gaza. Protect Palestinian Christians. By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., January 10, 2007) -- A comprehensive Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty by the end of 2008? Is President Bush dreaming? Is this merely wishful thinking? Or are the parties actually that close? While skeptics abound -- and many an American president has believed he could finally bring security and stability to a troubled region -- we should not write off this possibility too quickly. Behind the scenes, the Arab-Israeli peace process actually has been accelerating in a strange sort of way for several reasons:

* the death of Yasser Arafat and the rise of Mahmoud Abbas, a slightly-more moderate tactician who seems intent on striking a deal with the Israelis if he can first survive assassination at the hands of Hamas or other radicals;

* the sudden demise of Ariel Sharon due to a stroke and the improbable rise of Ehud Olmert, a man who seems almost desperate for a peace deal with the Palestinians, even if that means dividing Jerusalem (a terrible idea we should strongly oppose -- sign Natan Sharansky's petition to keep Jerusalem the eternal, undivided capital of the Jewish State);

* the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime and the rise of a moderate if currently weak regime in Baghdad that does not threaten Israel directly;

* the rising threat that Iran and other radical Muslims pose to moderate reformers in the region (a dynamic that is reminding the moderates who their real enemies are, and Israel is not really on that list);

* and finally the determination of President Bush to get a deal done before he leaves office, as evidenced in part by his current trip to the epicenter.

For all these reasons, it is not entirely out of the question that some sort of treaty could be struck by year end, despite -- or perhaps because of -- the growing Iranian, Syrian and Hizbullah threat to Israel. What's more, while Bible prophecies such as Matthew 24 and Luke 21 indicate that there will be wars, rumors of wars and revolutions in the Middle East in the last days, Ezekiel 38 also indicates that for a season at least the Jews will be living "securely" in the land prior to the apocalyptic War of Gog & Magog (the Russian-Iranian alliance to destroy Israel).

This could suggest the possibility of some sort of treaty being agreed to in the not-too-distant future, though it should be noted that no treaty is specifically mentioned in the text and the word peace -- shalom -- is never used in Ezekiel 38. Separately, the prophecies of Daniel 9 actually do indicate that Israel and her neighbors will sign a peace treaty -- albeit a false, deceptive and short-lived one -- in the last days, though Bible scholars are not clear as to which prophecy will come true first, Ezekiel's or Daniel's.

Bottom line #1: Expect all manner of contradictions and cross-currents in the epicenter in the years ahead -- wars and rumors of wars, as well as intense efforts to bring peace, prosperity and security. Which brings me back to our operating motto at The Joshua Fund these days: Pray for peace, but prepare for war. For no one but the Lord Himself knows for sure what 2008 holds.

Bottom line #2: We must urge President Bush and Prime Minister Olmert to protect -- not divide -- Jerusalem. We must also urge the President, Prime Minister and Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas to aggressively fight radical Palestinian terrorism, and specifically stop the rockets that keep getting fired from Gaza into southern Israeli border towns and cities such as Sderot and Ashkelon (2,500 since 2005, and 25 just since President Bush arrived in Israel). What's more, we must urge all of these leaders to fight to protect the human rights, civil rights, freedom of the press and religious freedom of all Israelis and Palestinians, especially Palestinian evangelical Christians in the West Bank and Gaza who are being targeted, threatened and attacked on a daily and weekly basis.

Excerpt from Haaretz: U.S. President George W. Bush said Thursday that he is confident that the Israelis and the Palestinians will reach a peace deal in 2008.Bush was speaking in Ramallah after meeting with Palestinan President Mahmoud Abbas. The U.S. president is on a three-day visit to Israel and the West Bank to show support for renewed Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.He arrived at Abbas' headquarters on Thursday for his first-ever visit to the Palestinian territories. Abbas greeted Bush as he emerged from his car in the walled compound. The two men walked side by side along a red carpet, flanked by Palestinian security in olive-and-gold uniforms. In order for there to be lasting peace, President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert have to come together and make tough choices, Bush said at a joint press conference after meeting with Abbas. And I'm convinced they will. And I believe it's possible - not only possible, I believe it's going to happen - that there be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office (in January 2009). That's what I believe.

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.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)

US ambassador cites strong ties with Vatican

Vatican, Jan. 10, 2008 (CWNews.com) - The US ambassador to the Holy See, Francis Rooney, met with Pope Benedict XVI (bio - news) in a farewell visit before leaving Rome. After his talk with the Holy Father, the American envoy told Vatican Radio that relations between the US and the Holy See today are stronger than ever, both from a policy point of view and a personal point of view. The US, he said, regularly supports Vatican policy initiatives, since both are committed to protecting human dignity and essential freedoms. On the personal level he reported a warm friendship between Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush. Rooney, who has served at the Vatican since October 2005, will soon return to the US. He will be replaced by Mary Ann Glendon, a Harvard Law professor whose nomination to the Vatican post was recently confirmed by the US Senate.

Israeli opposition leader poses strongly on Jerusalem status www.chinaview.cn 2008-01-10 21:02:31
Special report: Palestine-Israel Relations

JERUSALEM, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu Thursday told visiting U.S. President George W.Bush that Jerusalem belongs to the Jewish people and will remain under Israeli sovereignty for eternity.The chairman of Likud party made the remarks during a meeting with Bush at the King David hotel in Jerusalem early morning, before the president headed for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah, local media reported. Earlier this week, Shas leader Eli Yishai threatened to quit the coalition if Jerusalem is raised on the agenda of peace talks with the Palestinians. Israel's housing ministry announced in December the plans to build 307 homes in a settlement in East Jerusalem, drawing swift condemnation from Palestinian officials.

In the Six-Day War in 1967, Israel captured the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip from Egypt, and East Jerusalem including the Old City and its holy sites, which Israel annexed and reunited with the western part of Jerusalem. The status of the city as Israel's self-claimed capital and the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has remained a source of bitter conflict. Meanwhile, the Palestinians also have claimed Jerusalem as the capital of their future state and demanded that Israel freeze all settlement activity in the West Bank as well as in east Jerusalem.
However, Jerusalem is regarded by Jewish people as the holiest city in Judaism and the spiritual center of the Jewish communities since the 10th century BC. To illustrate Bush the history, Netanyahu brought forth an ancient coin discovered in Jerusalem that dates from the third year of the great Judean revolt against the Romans in the first century AD. The coin bears Hebrew writing, signaling that the Jewish people's connection to Jerusalem has lasted thousands of years. Bush arrived in Israel on Wednesday noon to start visiting Israel, the first leg of his eight-day Middle East trip in a bid to boost Middle East peace. At a U.S.-sponsored international conference on Mideast peace process in November in Annapolis, Maryland, Israel and the Palestinians pledged to strive for a final-status agreement before the end of 2008 at the Annapolis conference.

Rice: Don't expect sudden support for peace deal from Arab states Associated Press - January 11, 2008 11:23 AM ET

KUWAIT CITY (AP) - While President Bush is in Kuwait seeking Arab support for a Mideast peace deal, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is warning that such support won't come overnight.Rice is traveling with the president on his trip across the Middle East. She says it's unrealistic to expect Arab leaders to suddenly reach out to their historic enemy, Israel.Rice says there isn't going to be a blinding flash of support from the Arab nations, but adds that the process is moving forward.She says the Arab states took a big step in attending the Israeli-Palestinian peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland. And she says as talks progress, the Arab states will do more and more.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:20,30
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

We still differ with Russia over missile defence: Poland
11 Jan 2008, 2340 hrs IST,AP

WARSAW: Poland's foreign minister said on Friday that his country and Russia still have fundamental differences on US plans for a missile defence shield after they held their first consultations on the issue, the national news agency reported. Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski's comments to Polish lawmakers came a day after he held discussions with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Kislyak. It was a matter-of-fact discussion, even with a dose of kind feelings, Sikorski said, the news agency reported. I came away with the impression that our neighbour is happy that we are finally talking, Sikorski was quoted as saying. But he added that fundamental differences in views on the system remain between Warsaw and Moscow. Sikorski and Kislyak discussed a US proposal to place 10 interceptors in northern Poland as part of a global system Washington says is needed to protect the US and Europe from emerging threats from so-called rogue states like Iran. The plan also calls for a radar base in the neighbouring Czech Republic.

Russia has vociferously opposed the plan, saying that such an installation so close to its border threatens its security, and has warned it could target the base in Poland with missiles. The Russian Foreign Ministry said the discussions helped clarify each other's positions.The sides were in agreement about the usefulness of continuing a candid exchange of opinions before decisions on sensitive security issues are taken, the ministry said in a statement.

BUSH IN ISRAEL - TORNADOS IN USA - HINT BUSH

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.

AS OF 2PM TODAY (JAN 10,08) GEORGE W THERES 12 TORNADO SCARES IN TENNESEE, MISSISSIPPI AND VARIOUS OTHER PLACES. THE MORE GEORGE COMES AGAINST ISRAEL IN THE MIDEAST THE WORSE THE STORMS GET IN AMERICA. BUSH YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED NUMBEROUS TIMES ABOUT GOING AGAINST GODS WILL FOR JERUSALEM AND ISRAEL. HOW MANY TIMES DO PEOPLE HAVE TO SAY JERUSALEM IS ISRAELS CAPITAL, GOD GAVE THE LAND OF ISRAEL TO ISRAEL NOT TO BE DIVIDED TO THE PALESTINIANS (ARABS). JUST LOOK GEORGE W AT THE WORLD DESTRUCTION IN THE LAST 2 DAYS SINCE YOU HAVE BEEN IN ISRAEL TRYING TO FORCE YOUR ROADMAP DOWN ISRAELS THROAT.

Colder weather ices flood fears in Quebec
Thu Jan 10, 10:25 AM

ST..JOHNS (CBC) - The fear of flooding from unseasonably warm weather across Quebec has abated after the mercury dropped on Wednesday night.Public security officials were monitoring several engorged rivers in the Mont?r?gie and Beauce regions where two communities were temporarily evacuated this week because of flooding - but water levels have stabilized in waterways under watch.However, gale-force winds as high as 100 kilometres an hour caused a major blackout across the province, leaving more than 100,000 Hydro-Qu?bec customers without electricity late into Wednesday night.About 53,000 clients in Quebec City and the Eastern Townships were still without power Thursday morning, Hydro-Qu?bec said.

In Ste-Brigitte-de-Laval, east of Quebec City, about 200 people were forced to leave their homes as a precaution after a large chunk of ice fell into the Montmorency River, causing the water level to rise rapidly.In Huntingdon, southwest of Montreal, about 10 households were given evacuation orders Wednesday morning when floods from two nearby rivers inched towards their homes. But they were allowed to return home a few hours later when water level subsided, Mayor St?phane Gendron said.A school bus filled with children also got a scare Wednesday night outside Huntingdon when the driver lost control on a flooded highway and careened into a water-filled ditch.A nearby farmer helped rescue the 481 children on the bus, and then towed the vehicle out of the ditch with his tractor.The town will remain under flood watch until at least Friday, but it seems a crisis has been averted, Gendron said.Any victims of flooding will be compensated, assured Quebec Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Beno?t Pelletier, during a brief stop in Huntingdon on Wednesday.

Violent winds tear through the province

Several Quebec rivers spilled their banks Wednesday when temperatures reached as high as 10 C.Wind gusts caused by the rapid temperature rise left a trail of damage across Quebec. A century-old tree was uprooted and crushed a car on St. Denis St. in Montreal's Rosemont district.On Montreal's South Shore, there were reports a roof blew off a co-op distribution centre, while windows on several older buildings were blown in.At least half a dozen transport trucks flipped over on the highway, Transport Quebec confirmed. Trucks carrying light loads in strong winds are vulnerable to tipping, said spokesman Mario St-Pierre.With files from the Canadian Press

Wind storm leaves 100,000 without power in New York
Wed Jan 9, 6:07 PM

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Utilities in New York restored electric service to more than 20,000 customers in the northern part of the state on Wednesday after a fast-moving wind storm interrupted power to more than 100,000 customers throughout the day, companies said.The National Weather Service reported winds exceeding 50 mph (80 kph) and gusts of 75 mph at the airport in Rochester, New York early Wednesday. High winds snapped power poles and toppled trees, knocked limbs into power lines and cutting service to homes and businesses.Syracuse-based National Grid had about 50,000 customers without power Wednesday afternoon, down from 70,000 earlier in the day, said spokesman Al Bianchetti.The company, which normally posts outage information on its Web site, blamed the sustained high winds during the day for an inability to disclose county-by-county outage numbers in a timely manner.Energy East's Rochester Gas and Electric unit said 33,000 customers lacked power in the afternoon, said spokesman Dick Marion.Crews were out all day working to restore power and they will be out all night, Marion said.He could not predict how long restoration work would take.
(Reporting by Eileen O'Grady; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Strong winds lash southern Ontario
Wed Jan 9, 3:36 PM

CALGARY (CBC) - Strong winds roared through southern Ontario on Wednesday, downing power lines, damaging homes, delaying flights and flipping over a tractor-trailer and two planes.Hydro One estimated that at the peak of the storm, 140,000 customers across the province were without power, as winds gusted violently in communities from Windsor to Cornwall.The worst winds were recorded in Point Petre, near Belleville, where gusts hit 133 km/h. Port Colborne on Lake Erie saw winds gusting at 117 km/h, while in Toronto the gusts hit 107 km/h.CBC meteorologist Nick Czernkovich said the winds in Toronto nearly broke a record set in 1978, when winds gusted at 115 km/hour.The winds caused destruction across the province, knocking down a house under construction in the Toronto-area city of Whitby and wrecking the roofs of homes and buildings in Prescott, east of Kingston.

Near Prescott, on the international bridge between Johnstown, Ont., and Ogdensburg, N.Y., the wind flipped a tractor-trailer. No one was seriously injured, but the bridge was closed to traffic in the morning.Meanwhile, two small airplanes at the Buttonville airport, near Toronto, were knocked over by gusting winds, while 20flights were delayed at Toronto Pearson International Airport after winds closed runways.Go Trains transporting commuters into Toronto were also delayed when wind blew debris, including a chain-link fence, onto the tracks.

Changing temperatures cause winds

Czernkovich said the winds were the result of the drastic change in temperature, as Tuesday's warm weather was replaced by Wednesday's cooler temperatures. In Toronto, for example, temperatures rose to 15 C on Tuesday, then plunged to 3 C on Wednesday.Usually big changes in temperature in a short period of time often go hand-in-hand with strong winds, Czernkovich said.He said the winds were expected to die down Wednesday night.Emergency hydro crews were assessing the damage Wednesday evening, especially in the hard-hit areas of Strathroy, Peterborough, Kingston and the cottage country north of Toronto, said Hydro One spokeswoman Danielle Gauvin.The utility expected to restore power to most customers by the end of the day, but warned that some remote areas might be without electricity until later in the week.
With files from the Canadian Press

At least 34 killed in Afghan snowfalls
Wed Jan 9, 9:14 AM

HERAT, Afghanistan (AFP) - Authorities said Wednesday that at least 34 people had been killed in days of heavy snowfall across trouble-torn Afghanistan.Hundreds of isolated communities were cut off after days of constant snowfall and rain blocking their roads to the major cities, authorities said.Afghan health officials meanwhile have called on tens of thousands of health workers to stay on a state of alert.In the worst incident, eight members of one family died when their mud-brick house collapsed under the weight of snow in western Herat province Monday night, Nooruddin Ahmadi, head of the Afghan Red Crescent in Herat, said.Among others killed were six shepherds from a mountainous region in the province and two people in an avalanche nearby, he added.Seven others, including two female health workers, were killed in another avalanche in central Ghor province, an official said, while five others perished in another avalanche in neighbouring Farah province.

Most parts of poverty-stricken Afghanistan is mountainous and extremely vulnerable in winter.Officials in western, central and northern parts of the country said that most roads leading to small towns and villages were closed.Our roads are blocked and we can't access communities in the districts, Sultan Uruzgani, the governor of the central province of Daikondi, said. He said two people were killed from cold and heavy snowfall there.The Red Crescent's Ahmadi called on the Kabul government and the international community for urgent support before it turns into a real disaster.

Swollen rivers receding in hard-hit Ind. By KEN KUSMER, Associated Press Writer Wed Jan 9, 11:10 PM ET

MONTICELLO, Ind. - Troy Nice looked out over the swollen Tippecanoe River and the houses surrounded by its spilled water. He wondered how his own home had fared as the water began its slow retreat on Wednesday. I didn't think it would come up like this, said Nice, 39. I managed to get my guitar, dog, and I got my cell phone charger, and some little things. This is the worst it's ever been.Nice returned to this stretch of river a day after fleeing the rising water with hundreds of other residents. The Tippecanoe reached record levels along the 20-mile stretch from a storm that dumped as much as 7 inches of rain in parts of northern Indiana.

The National Weather Service estimated that it could be three days before the Tippecanoe retreats within its banks.Seven deaths in all were blamed on flooding and tornadoes across the Midwest as unseasonable temperatures fueled severe weather on Monday and Tuesday.Snow in the forecast for Thursday hastened cleanup efforts in southeastern Wisconsin, where tornadoes destroyed or damaged more than 100 homes.It's pretty hard now with this snow coming, said Brent Spiewak, who lives near where a tornado hit in the town of Wheatland. Once that snow falls, what's not in your house could be gone for a while, maybe forever.Volunteers and friends and relatives of homeowners were working to clear debris and salvage what they could, said Fire Chief Alan Kaddatz.In Indiana, roads were still blocked by water in the Monticello area, said White County emergency management director Gordon Cochran. He had no immediate estimate for how many homes were damaged.About 200 homes were damaged in nearby Carroll County, according to the estimates of Dave McDowell, the county's emergency management director.

Gov. Mitch Daniels viewed the flooding from a helicopter Wednesday, stopping in Monticello and talking with local officials in a county government building where there were still cots and blankets used by evacuees the night before.We're talking about a big area here, but even a few miles south of here they seem to have escaped significant damage, Daniels said.Utility workers were trying to repair a leak in a gas main that runs beneath the Tippecanoe River. Some 400 customers in Burnettsville were without service, said Jim Fitzer, spokesman for Northern Indiana Public Service Co.We have crews on site monitoring the gas, and there are no dangerous levels of gas in that area, he said.As remnants of the storm system moved eastward, thunderstorms early Wednesday knocked out electricity to at least 127,000 homes and businesses in western New York. Gusts as high as 85 mph were clocked at the Thousand Islands Bridge in northern New York, the National Weather Service said.An empty U.S. Airways regional airliner briefly lifted off the ground at the Rochester, N.Y., airport as wind gusted to 75 mph. The 50-passenger aircraft's tail and front landing gear were damaged, airport officials said.The same system produced wind gusts to 63 mph during the night in Ohio, where at least 50,000 customers were blacked out Wednesday.

Flood warnings remained in effect Wednesday in parts of Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin and Missouri, the weather service said. In Illinois, Gov. Rod Blagojevich declared two counties state disaster areas and directed the Illinois Emergency Management Agency to work with local authorities elsewhere to provide help where it was needed. This is one of the worst floods to hit this part of the state in the past 30 to 40 years, Blagojevich said in a statement. Elsewhere, search teams set out in a snowstorm Wednesday in the southwest Colorado mountains to look for two snowboarders missing since Saturday, but helicopters were grounded. You can't see; it's snowing, the wind is blowing, Mineral County sheriff's spokeswoman Sandy Kroll said. The area got more than 4 feet of snow during the weekend. Spokane, Wash., was expected to get heavy snow again Thursday after more than 7 inches fell Tuesday and Wednesday, a record amount. The city declared a condition red snow emergency Wednesday, meaning crews will be plowing snow 24 hours a day, seven days a week until they remove the snow from streets. Associated Press writers Emily Udell and Tom Davies in Indianapolis, Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Ark., Ben Dobbin in Rochester, N.Y., and Michael Virtanen in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.

Powerful storms, tornadoes hit Midwest By Bob Burgdorfer
Tue Jan 8, 1:32 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. Midwest was battered by rain, thunderstorms, and tornadoes late on Monday and early on Tuesday, while the central Plains was spared much of the harsh weather, which was a relief for cattle already stressed by previous storms.
The National Weather Service on Tuesday had a tornado watch and severe thunderstorm warnings for parts of southwest Arkansas and flood warnings for much of northern Illinois and northern Indiana.
This is a dangerous storm. If you are in its path, prepare immediately for damaging winds, destructive hail, and deadly cloud to ground lightning, the NWS' Web site said of southwest Arkansas early on Tuesday.A tornado reportedly killed one person in Arkansas and demolished some houses. Tornadoes were also sighted or suspected in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin, according to TV and news reports.

Considerable rain fell overnight in central and northern Illinois, northern Indiana, and western Ohio flooding some roads. More rain was due through the day on Tuesday, before the storm moves out, said Mike Palmerino, meteorologist for DTN Meteorlogix.Pork production was briefly halted on Monday at Cargill Inc's pork plant in Beardstown, Illinois, when thunderstorms knocked out power to the plant, said Cargill spokesman Mark Klein.

KANSAS CATTLE AREAS GET LIGHT SNOW

Cattle feedlots in central Kansas and western Oklahoma, already soggy from previous storms, had been bracing for three to six inches of snow, but by Tuesday morning the actual amounts ranged from one to two inches.It was very minimal. The only accumulating snow was in Dodge City (Kansas), which picked up an inch, said Palmerino.That is a relief for many Kansas feedlots, where cattle had been stressed by having to trudge through the mud caused by the previous storms.The sun is shining and it is melting already, said a receptionist at one western Kansas feedlot.The ground was white, but no big accumulation, said a staffer at another Kansas feedlot.The storm system should vacate the central United States late on Tuesday, followed by mostly dry weather and normal to above normal temperatures, said Palmerino. There may be instances of light snow or rain in the Midwest later this week, he said.

Essentially, we are looking at fairly dry conditions for the next week or so, with temperatures at or above normal. It looks like the whole central part of the country is going to be under pattern that is going to be drier, he said.(Reporting by Bob Burgdorfer; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Floods displace more than 30,000 in east Sri Lanka
Thu Jan 10, 12:32 AM

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Monsoon flooding has forced more than 30,000 people in eastern Sri Lanka from their homes, with many taking refuge in temporary shelters like huts, schools and mosques, officials said on Thursday.Flooding and ensuing mass displacement are common in Sri Lanka, fuelled by monsoon rains. In December, 175,000 people took refuge in welfare centers and temples in the eastern and central parts of the country following flash floods.

The latest flooding hit the eastern district of Ampara, a largely flat agricultural area with a coastline that was hammered by the 2004 tsunami and where infrastructure has long been neglected because of a protracted war between the state and Tamil Tigers, after heavy rains began on Monday.Due to the activation of the northeastern monsoon, 31,042 people have been displaced and of that 10,869 people are in 20 IDP camps, said H. Dharmapriya, assistant director at the National Disaster Management Centre, referring to shelters for Internally Displaced People.The water levels are receding and there are no heavy rains as such at the moment, he added, saying one third of the displaced were in temporarily shelters while the rest were housed with relatives.The Meteorology Department forecast continued rainfall in coming days, but said it would not be heavy.Flooding and drought are cyclical in Sri Lanka, where a southern monsoon batters the island between May and September, and a northeastern monsoon runs from December to February.In early December 20,000 people were displaced in Ampara as a depression over the Bay of Bengal compounded monsoon rains.(Reporting by Ranga Sirilal, Editing by Simon Gardner and Sanjeev Miglani)

Rare winter tornadoes in Midwest flatten houses, knock railroad cars off tracks Tue Jan 8, 5:28 AMBy The Associated Press

WHEATLAND, Wis. - A freak cluster of tornadoes raked across an unseasonably warm Midwest, demolishing houses, knocking railroad cars off their tracks and even temporarily halting justice in one courthouse. Record temperatures were reported across much of the country Monday, and storms continued to pummel the nation's midsection as darkness fell. More warmth and storms were in store for Tuesday. Tornadoes were reported or suspected Monday in southwest Missouri, southeastern Wisconsin, Arkansas, Illinois and Oklahoma. Two people were killed in Missouri. Eleven houses in Wisconsin's Kenosha County were destroyed, five others had heavy damage and four had moderate damage, authorities said. About 13 people were injured, none seriously. I have never seen damage like this in the summertime when we have potential for tornadoes, Sheriff David Beth said. To see something like this in January is mind-boggling to me. This is just unimaginable to me.

Tim Carpentier was among the Kenosha residents whose homes had tornado damage. He said he and his daughters, 13 and 15 years old, heard storm warnings just after getting home. Then he heard a roar. I was just running down the stairs as the front windows blew out, he said. The front of his house was flipped over the roof, and neighboring houses had collapsed roofs and natural gas leaks.
Kenosha County Circuit Judge Bruce E. Schroeder, presiding over opening testimony in a murder trial, said he couldn't believe it when a deputy said the courtroom had to be evacuated because of a tornado warning. It's a first, he said while waiting with 300 people in the basement. I've actually had.... warnings occur during jury trials before and frankly I just ignored them. But not in January.Beckie Gilbert, a secretary who works in Wheatland, watched from her company's back door as wispy funnel clouds grew and the tornado uprooted about five trees. We saw it in the distance, which wasn't far, and it was pretty scary, she said. We were watching as it picked up dirt and got really dark, and then it disappeared over some trees.Meteorologists said the unusual weather was the result of warm, moist air moving from the south. It brought temperatures hovering near 70 degrees on Sunday and Monday. It's very unseasonable for this time of year, said National Weather Service meteorologist Benjamin Sipprell. The atmosphere is just right.

About six homes were destroyed in the small town of Poplar Grove, Ill., where authorities rescued motorists trapped by downed, live electrical lines and crews searched damaged structures to make sure no one was trapped. Three people suffered minor injuries, Boone County Sheriff's Lt. Perry Gay said. About 24 kilometres away in Harvard, Ill., a suspected tornado derailed one locomotive and 12 freight cars. A tank car containing shock fluid leaked for hours before it was contained, and another derailed car contained ethylene oxide, a flammable material widely used to sterilize medical supplies, but was not leaking, Union Pacific spokesman Mark Davis said. Authorities ordered about 500 residents to evacuate the nearby unincorporated town of Lawrence, said Capt. David Shepherd with the McHenry County Sheriff's Office. No injuries were reported, he said. Elsewhere, the heat was making history. By about noon Monday, Chicago's temperature already had hit 18 degrees, breaking a previous record-high of 15 degrees set on Jan. 7, 1907, according to the weather service. The high in 15 N.Y., of 59 degrees beat the old record for the date by 5 degrees. The high was 19 in Toledo, Ohio, a record that led some University of Toledo students to stroll to class in T-shirts, flip-flops and shorts. In New Jersey, the Atlantic City International Airport recorded a high of 20 degrees, breaking a 10-year-old record by 10 degrees.

Six snowmobilers missing in the Colorado mountains for 2½ days while a howling blizzard swirled around them were rescued Monday - hungry and cold but unhurt - after taking shelter in a cozy cabin and calling 911 on a cell phone when the storm eased up. The group, consisting of two couples and two teenagers, broke into the cabin, where they huddled around a gas grill and dined on popcorn and chicken bouillon they found inside. We counted 18 blankets. We were cozy, 31-year-old Shannon Groen said after rescue crews on snowmobiles brought the group to safety. God was looking out for us.

Australians battle fires and floods By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer Mon Jan 7, 2:42 AM ET

CANBERRA, Australia - Australians battled both fires and some of the worst flooding in decades Monday that stranded residents in several communities after days of intense summer heat and storms.
Bureau of Meteorology hydrologist Gordon McKay said some parts of New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, had experienced their worst floods in more than 50 years after a week of rain.
Those trapped included 1,000 music fans attending a four-day music festival in the state, officials said.Flood waters also isolated several communities in Queensland and the Northern Territory, which was lashed by a cyclone over the weekend, emergency services reported.The major highway from the east to the west coast city of Perth remained closed Monday because of a blaze that remained out of control, eight days after three truck drivers died in an attempt to drive through a wall of fire.

Federal lawmaker Barry Haase, whose 890,000-square mile Outback electorate is described as the largest in the world, called for the Great Eastern Highway to be reopened despite the danger so interstate trade could resume.But state official Peter Keppel said the fire, which has burned 101,300 acres of scrubland since it started Dec. 28, remained dangerous.With temperatures expected to reach 104 degrees Monday and northerly winds forecast, the fire could again cross the highway, he said.In southeast Australia, water-dropping aircraft were used Monday to attack a 25-acre fire in steep terrain in a national park in Victoria state.North of Victoria in New South Wales state, thousands of people could remain cut off by floods for up to a week, State Emergency Service spokesman Phil Campbell said.About 1,000 music fans attending the music festival near Tenterfield would remain trapped by a washed-away bridge until Tuesday, Campbell said.Further north in Queensland state, flood waters were receding from weekend peaks.
Emergency volunteers were being airlifted to Queensland farms isolated by floods to deliver supplies to stranded residents, the State Emergency Service reported.

Nigerian militants threaten more attacks By BASHIR ADIGUN, Associated Press Writer JAN 10,08

ABUJA, Nigeria - Nigeria's main militant group said Thursday it fired on six oil industry ships and threatened an attack that will cause an economic tsunami in the world's oil market. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, whose attacks have crippled oil production in Africa's top exporter, said it fired at the ships Tuesday on the Bonny River, but provided no details.The group, known as MEND, also warned in an e-mail sent to journalists that an attack on the Nigeria oil industry that will cause an economic tsunami in the world oil markets is imminent.Militant groups in Nigeria's oil-producing states say they are fighting for a greater share of the country's oil wealth. Although the Niger Delta produces billions of dollars in crude oil a year, its people live on an average of less than $1 a day.

MEND said a few days earlier it was receiving training from U.S. and European mercenaries on ambush techniques and the use of anti-aircraft surface-to-air missiles.The group said Thursday that, for now, our tactics of attack on these enemies of peace and freedom will be limited to remote explosive devices.But it warned Niger Delta residents living under the flight paths of military helicopters to be vigilant because the aircraft could be shot down.
We will not spare helicopters from oil companies as they have been used for military surveillance and logistics support, MEND said.
Militant tactics have included kidnapping expatriate oil workers and attacks on oil installations and government buildings. Copycats have jumped into the fray led by criminal gangs seeking ransoms.Nigeria is Africa's leading oil producer and the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports. Militant attacks have cut production by 20 percent, helping keep oil prices high.

Bush predicts Mideast peace treaty before he leaves White House By Anne Gearan, The Associated Press JAN 10,08

RAMALLAH, West Bank - U.S. President George W. Bush, summing up meetings with both sides in the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, said Thursday that a peace accord will require painful political concessions by each. Resolving the status of Jerusalem will be hard, he said, and he called for the end of the occupation of Arab land by the Israeli military. Now is the time to make difficult choices, Bush said after a first-ever visit to the Palestinian territories, which followed separate meetings with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem the day before. Bush is in the Mideast for eight days, trying to bolster his goal of achieving a long-elusive peace agreement by the end of his presidency in a year. Speaking at his hotel in Jerusalem, he said again that he thinks that is possible.

I am committed to doing all I can to achieve it, Bush said. Within minutes, Bush's national security adviser Stephen Hadley said the president would return to the Middle East at least once and maybe more over the next year. He wouldn't elaborate on possible destinations, but another White House official said Bush is likely to attend Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations in May. Bush gave his most detailed summation yet of what a final peace should include, including U.S. expectations for the resolution of some of the hardest issues in the violent conflict, one of the world's longest-running and most intractable. He used tough language intended to put both sides on notice that he sees no reason they cannot get down to serious business, starting right now.In his set of U.S. bottom lines were security for Israel, a contiguous state for the Palestinians and the expectation that final borders will be negotiated to accommodate territorial changes since Israel's formation. He also suggested international compensation for Palestinians and their descendants who claim a right to return to land they held before Israel's formation. He made a point of using a loaded term - occupation - to describe Israeli control over land that would eventually form the bulk of an independent Palestinian state. That he did so in Jerusalem underscored that he is trying not to seem partial to Israel.

On borders, Bush said any peace agreement will require mutually agreed adjustments to the lines drawn for Israel in the late 1940s. He was referring primarily to Israeli neighbourhoods on disputed lands that Israel would keep when an independent Palestinian state is formed. Earlier in the day, Bush had said Palestinians deserve better than a Swiss cheese state fitted around Israeli land and security bulwarks. The point of departure for permanent status negotiations to realize this vision seems clear, he said. There should be an end to the occupation that began in 1967. The agreement must establish a Palestine as a homeland for the Palestinian people just as Israel is a homeland for the Jewish people.White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush was referring to the West Bank when he spoke of occupation. Bush offered no specifics to resolve the fate of disputed Jerusalem, but urged both sides to work toward a solution in what he said could be the most difficult issue to settle in a long list of them.

I know Jerusalem is a tough issue, Bush said. Both sides have deeply felt political and religious concerns.It is vital that each side understands that satisfying the other's fundamental objectives is key to a successful agreement, the president said. Security for Israel and viability for the Palestinian state are in the mutual interests of both parties.Hadley said that Bush wasn't announcing new U.S. policy with any of his statements, but was trying to reiterate the American position all in one place. The important thing ... is what he's beginning to hear from the Palestinian and the Israeli side, he said. Bush spent most of his day in the Palestinian West Bank, seeking to counter Palestinians' skepticism about his commitment to Mideast peace. He undercut that message somewhat by saying it may not be possible to resolve this year the current, violent split in Palestinian leadership - vital to a deal establishing an independent state. The militant group Hamas took over the Gaza Strip in June, meaning the Palestinian people - and the land that could eventually form an independent Palestine - are split between governance by Hamas there and by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah-led government in the West Bank. The president is not stopping in Gaza. Bush had harsh criticism for Hamas, which does not recognize Israel's right to exist. Hamas, he said, was elected to help improve the lot of Palestinians, but has delivered nothing but misery.

The question is whether or not hard issues can be resolved and the vision emerges, so that the choice is clear amongst the Palestinians, Bush said at Abbas' side at his government's headquarters in Ramallah. The choice being, 'Do you want this state? Or do you want the status quo? Do you want a future based upon a democratic state? Or do you want the same old stuff?We want a state, of course, Abbas said in English. Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri called Bush's comments a declaration of war.Bush's visit and remarks today have indicated that his visit came to support the occupation and has brought nothing to the Palestinian people but evil, the Hamas spokesman said.