1ST HURRICANE ON THE WAY

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.

BERTHA BECOMES HURRICAN #1
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BERTHA PICTURE
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First hurricane of 2008 forms in distant Atlantic JULY 7,08

MIAMI (Reuters) - The first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season formed on Monday, hundreds of miles (km) away from the United States and the Caribbean islands, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The Miami-based center said it was still too early to determine if Bertha would hit any land as computer models showed it would eventually start curving to the northwest and then to the north, possibly taking it near Bermuda.Long-range storm track predictions are unreliable, however, and the hurricane center noted, It is still not guaranteed that Bertha will recurve.

By 4:54 a.m. EDT, Hurricane Bertha was about 845 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands of the Caribbean and was moving toward the west-northwest at 17 miles per hour.The storm's top winds had reached near 75 mph, just over the threshold at which tropical storms become hurricanes.The hurricane center said some additional strengthening was expected during the next couple of days but it did not forecast Bertha to become stronger than a minimal Category 1hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity.Energy markets have paid close attention to storms in the Atlantic since the devastating 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons, during which a number of powerful hurricanes ripped through the Gulf of Mexico, toppling oil rigs and severing pipelines.None of the computer models used to predict storm tracks indicated Bertha could steer south, into the Caribbean or toward the Gulf.

Hurricane forecasters have predicted this season, which began on June 1, will be average or above average. An average season has around 10 tropical storms, of which six reach hurricane strength with winds of at least 74 mph.The record 2005 season, which included Katrina, the hurricane that swamped New Orleans and killed 1,500 people on the U.S. Gulf Coast, saw 28 storms form.Bertha formed last Thursday near the Cape Verde islands off Africa. It is unusual for storms to form so far east so early in the season, and when it does happen, it is frequently a harbinger of heightened storm activity.More information about the hurricane is available at the National Hurricane Center's Web site (http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/#BERTHA).(Reporting by Michael Christie, additional reporting by Stacey Joyce, Editing by Eric Beech)

Thailand stages tsunami drill in Phuket Mon Jul 7, 6:17 AM ET

PHUKET, Thailand (AFP) - Sirens blared Monday across the resort isle of Phuket as Thailand tested its new tsunami warning system meant to prevent a repeat of the 2004 Indian Ocean tragedy. Sirens on 79 towers across Phuket and in five neighbouring provinces rang out at 9:45 am (0245 GMT), as more than 1,000 tourists, students and emergency workers joined a brief evacuation of Thailand's world-famous beaches.Ambulances from local hospitals rushed to the shore as medical teams helped mock victims in order to rehearse their response efforts should another tsunami strike.In Phuket town, 1,000 students and other residents ran to high ground at Saphan Hill park, where emergency workers practised treating them for injuries that could be sustained in a real tsunami.Air force Colonel Chitipat Phetburananin, head of the National Disaster Warning Centre in Bangkok, said the drill had been a success and praised residents for joining in the exercise.The full-scale drill today ended successfully. We are satisfied with the drill. Local people are starting to take a greater role in the planning and training, he told AFP.

Phuket and five nearby seaside provinces were hit by the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, which killed 5,400 people in Thailand alone -- half of them foreign holidaymakers.A total of 220,000 people in a dozen countries were killed by the tsunami, which was triggered by an undersea earthquake that struck off Indonesia.Since then, Thailand has installed a high-tech warning system designed to reassure tourists and businesses that the country's beaches are safe.The coastal towers are linked to the National Disaster Warning Centre, where officials monitor reports of earthquakes while studying data from a US-donated deep-sea buoy that registers changes in the sea level.

Tornado hits Iowa park, damaging only trees JULY 7,08

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - A tornado hit a park near Sioux City, but only minor damage to some trees is reported. The tornado hit Stone State Park on the northwest side of the city just before 5 p.m. on Sunday.
Woodbury County emergency services director Gary Brown says there were no injuries and no homes were damaged.A tornado warning was issued for the area as a series of storms moved from Nebraska into Iowa. The storms also produced heavy rain, causing some street flooding in Sioux City.

Tens of thousands uprooted by floods in northeast India Sun Jul 6, 6:06 AM ET

GUWAHATI, India (AFP) - Flash floods triggered by heavy monsoon rains have washed away thousands of homes and displaced more than 50,000 people in India's northeastern state of Assam, officials said Sunday. A government spokesman said the state's eastern district of Lakhimpur was the worst hit, with an estimated 50 villages inundated by flooding that began Saturday.The situation is critical with many parts of the district under waist-deep water, Lakhimpur police chief S.A. Karim told AFP by telephone.A government bulletin said the Brahmaputra river, which flows through Tibet, India and Bangladesh before emptying in the Bay of Bengal, and its tributaries were flowing above the danger mark in at least six places.A first wave of monsoon flooding in Assam last month killed eight people and displaced 400,000 others, most of them also in Lakhimpur district.

Thousands of people are taking shelter in makeshift camps and on embankments and other raised platforms, Karim said, adding that authorities were providing them with food.The swirling waters of the 2,906-kilometre (1,816-mile) Brahmaputra river have been treacherous across the district, breaching more than a dozen embankments and sweeping away road bridges and stretches of highways.Authorities said a railway bridge was also washed away, forcing the suspension of train services in the area.Every year the monsoon causes the river -- one of Asia's longest -- to flood in Assam, a state of 26 million people.In 2004, Assam saw some of its worst floods, which killed at least 200 people and displaced almost half the state's population.

Thousands marooned by heavy rains in Bangladesh Sun Jul 6, 8:28 AM ET

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AFP) - At least 20 people have died and more than 20,000 left marooned as heavy rains over the past week triggered landslides and floods in southeast Bangladesh, an official said Sunday. Three landslides caused by torrential monsoon rains killed 10 people while six others drowned in swirling flood waters in southeastern Cox's Bazar district, said chief administrator Sajjadul Hasan.Four more people died in another landslide in the country's southeastern town of Teknaf on Sunday morning after their tin shack was buried under falling earth, he said.We have promptly taken steps to shift hundreds of people living at the slope of hills to safer places as it has become very risky due to days of incessant heavy rains, he said.Heavy rains since last week has also triggered flash floods in Cox's Bazar district, which is home to the world's largest unbroken beach.

Low-lying areas in the districts have gone under four-five feet (1.3-1.7 metres of) flood water, stranding over 20,000 people, Hasan said.Several rivers in the southeastern hill districts burst their banks and caused the floods, officials said.Bangladesh, which is criss-crossed by over 200 rivers, was hit by major floods last year, when water fed by melting glaciers in the Himalayas and heavy rains inundated more than 40 percent of the land.More than a thousand people were killed in the floods, which left millions more homeless and damage to infrastructure and property was worth over a billion dollars.

WORLD GOVERNMENT

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he 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.

DANIEL 12:4,1
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
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.
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.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
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.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

G8 KICKS OFF WITH AFRICAN PLEDGE
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G8 OPENS WITH ARICAN FOCUS
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G-8 summit opens with spotlight on aid for Africa By MALCOLM FOSTER, Associated Press Writer JULY 7,08

RUSUTSU, Japan - Aid for Africa — and whether enough was coming from the world's major economic powers — was in the spotlight Monday as the Group of Eight nations met with seven African leaders at its annual summit. Activists have accused some G-8 countries, particularly France, Canada and Italy, of skimping on aid to Africa, and urged them to ramp up their contributions. The U.S., Japan, Britain, Germany and Russia make up the other members of the G-8.German Chancellor Angela Merkel also has urged G-8 leaders to take a tough stance on Zimbabwe in the wake of President Robert Mugabe's widely denounced election win. Mugabe was the only candidate in the presidential runoff after his opponent dropped out amid reports of state-sponsored violence.President Bush, arriving Sunday for his eighth and final Group of Eight summit, emphasized the urgency of providing aid for Africa, calling on wealthy nations to provide mosquito nets and other aid to prevent children from needlessly dying from mosquito bites.Now is the time for the comfortable nations to step up and do something about it, Bush said.

African aid was the centerpiece of the G-8 summit three years ago in Gleneagles, Scotland, where leaders pledged to increase foreign aid by $50 billion a year by 2010 — with half of that going directly to Africa — and to cancel the debt of the most heavily indebted poor nations.Collectively, the G-8 has delivered just $3 billion of the $25 billion in additional aid pledged to Africa in 2005, according to DATA, which stands for Debt, AIDS and Trade in Africa, a group founded by U2 singer Bono and music producer Bob Geldof, both of whom are active in campaigns for Africa.Germany, the U.S. and Britain were following through on commitments, while progress from Japan, France, Italy and Canada was either unclear or weak, DATA said.The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reported in April that foreign aid by major donor countries slumped in 2007 as debt-relief plans tapered off and amid a global economic downturn in Japan and some other rich nations.

Japan said there has been no backtracking on the commitments made to Africa.I don't understand the criticism, said Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama. The G-8 leaders are very aware of the commitments they have made to African leaders.Soaring food prices was another key topic on the agenda at the summit, with some experts predicting that the leaders would announce a food aid package and possibly funds to invest in agricultural development in poorer nations.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso proposed Monday spending $1.6 billion that had been set aside for European farm subsidies to support agriculture in the developing world over the next two years.Talks were expected to shift Tuesday and Wednesday to climate change as leaders will try to move forward U.N.-led talks aimed at forging a new global warming accord by the end of 2009. The negotiations have stalled because of deep disagreements over what targets to set for greenhouse gas reductions, and how much developing countries such as China and India should be required to participate.The rift over climate change widened as the head of the European Commission urged leaders of the world's wealthy nations to act first in setting targets for reducing greenhouse gases — putting President Bush in an increasingly lonely position.European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the G-8 nations must reach agreement among themselves on climate change measures and avoid taking the approach that I will do nothing unless you do it first, which he called a vicious circle.If we agree, then we are in a much better position to discuss with our Chinese and Indian partners and others, Barroso said.The U.N. and World Bank chiefs said top industrialized nations need to push forward global talks on climate change and demonstrate their commitment to help poorer nations grapple with rising food prices. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Robert Zoellick said rich nations need to strengthen their efforts to meet poverty reduction, education and other development goals because of instability in the world economy.

China and India say it is up to the developed world — the biggest polluters — to take the lead in the fight against climate change. Bush says no, developing nations must also sign on to make any global deal work. It was unclear whether nations would be able to agree to a goal of cutting their emissions by 50 percent by 2050. The Bush administration has not shown any enthusiasm for such a commitment without cooperation from the Chinese and Indians. A more ambitious goal of setting nearer-term targets for 2020 was considered well beyond reach. Going into a G-8 summit — after a separate summit Tuesday with India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico — China has said it is ready to discuss setting medium- and long-term goals for reducing emissions of polluting gases and is open to negotiating targets. But Beijing has not changed its view that the main responsibility still lies with developed countries. India has vowed to keep its emissions below those of developed countries, but is also looking for them to set the pace. Associated Press writers Joseph Coleman and Eric Talmadge contributed to this report. On the Web: http://www.g8summit.go.jp/eng/

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

WORLD TERRORISM

2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men

LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

AFGHAN CAR BOMB KILLS 40
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40 dead in Indian embassy blast in Afghan capital By AMIR SHAH, Associated Press Writer JULY 7,08

KABUL, Afghanistan - A car bomb ripped through the front wall of the Indian Embassy in central Kabul on Monday, killing 40 people in the deadliest attack in Afghanistan's capital since the fall of the Taliban, officials said. The massive explosion detonated by a suicide bomber damaged two embassy vehicles entering the compound, near where dozens of Afghan men line up every morning to apply for visas.President Hamid Karzai condemned the bombing and said it was carried out by militants trying to rupture the friendship between Afghanistan and India.The Afghan Interior Ministry hinted that the attack was carried out with help from Pakistan's intelligence service, saying that terrorists have carried out this attack in coordination and consultation with some of the active intelligence circles in the region. The Foreign Minister of Pakistan, Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi, said Pakistan condemned the attack and terrorism in all forms.

The embassy is located on a busy, tree-lined street near Afghanistan's Interior Ministry in the city center that is protected on both ends by police checkpoints. Several nearby shops were damaged or destroyed in the blast, and smoldering ruins covered the street. The explosion rattled much of the Afghan capital.Shortly after the attack, a woman ran out of a Kabul hospital screaming, crying and hitting her face with both of her hands. Her two children, a girl named Lima and a boy named Mirwais, had been killed.Oh my God! the woman screamed. They are both dead.

Najib Nikzad, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the blast killed 40 people. Earlier, Abdullah Fahim, the spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health, said the explosion killed at least 28 people and wounded 141, but an update of the number of injured was not immediately available. The Interior Ministry said six police officers and three embassy guards were among those killed.In Delhi, India's foreign minister said four Indians, including the military attache and a diplomat, were killed in the attack. Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said India will send a high-level delegation to Kabul in coming days.The blast also killed five Afghan security guards at the nearby Indonesian Embassy, where windows were shattered and doors and gates broken. Two diplomats were slightly wounded, Indonesia's foreign ministry said.In Washington, Gordon Johndroe, a White House national security spokesman, offered condolences to the victims.Extremists continue to show their disregard for all human life and their willingness to kill fellow Muslims as well as others, he said. The United States stands with the people of Afghanistan and India as we face this common enemy.

Afghanistan has seen a sharp rise in violence from Taliban militants in recent months. Insurgents are packing bombs with more explosives than ever, one reason why more U.S. and NATO troops were killed in June than any month since the 2001 invasion.Still, a Taliban spokesman, Zabiullah Mujahid, denied that the militants were behind the bombing. The Taliban tend to claim responsibility for attacks that inflict heavy tolls on international or Afghan troops, and deny responsibility for attacks that primarily kill Afghan civilians.Whenever we do a suicide attack, we confirm it, Mujahid said. The Taliban did not do this one.The 8:30 a.m. explosion was the deadliest attack in Kabul since the fall of the Taliban in 2001 and the deadliest in Afghanistan since a suicide bomber killed more than 100 people at a dog fighting competition in Kandahar province in February.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In Delhi, the Indian Ministry of External Affairs said the attack would not deter the mission from fulfilling our commitments to the government and people of Afghanistan.Afghanistan Foreign Minister Rangeen Dadfar Spanta visited the embassy shortly after the attack, ministry spokesman Sultan Ahmed Baheen said. India and Afghanistan have a deep relationship between each other. Such attacks of the enemy will not harm our relations, Spanta told the embassy staff, according to Baheen. The Indian ambassador and his deputy were not inside the embassy at the time of the blast, Baheen said. Militants have frequently attacked Indian offices and projects around Afghanistan since launching an insurgency after the ouster of the Taliban at the end of the 2001. Many Taliban militants have roots in Pakistan, which has long had a troubled relationship with India.

When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Islamic militia was supported by Pakistan, India's arch-rival. Pakistan today remains wary of strengthening ties between Afghanistan and India. The United Nations' envoy to Afghanistan said that in no culture, no country, and no religion is there any excuse or justification for such acts.The total disregard for innocent lives is staggering and those behind this must be held responsible, the envoy, Kai Eide, said. The U.N. sent an e-mail to its staff advising them to stay off Kabul's roads because of reports that a second suicide car bomber was in the city. The embassy attack was the sixth suicide bombing in Kabul this year. Insurgent violence has killed more than 2,200 people — mostly militants — in Afghanistan this year, according to an Associated Press count of official figures. The embassy in the last several days had beefed up security by installing large, dirt-filled blast walls often used by military forces. While Afghanistan has seen increasing violence in recent months, Kabul has been largely spared the random bomb attacks that Taliban militants use in their fight against Afghan and international troops. In September 2006, a suicide bomber near the gates of the Interior Ministry killed 12 people and wounded 42 others. After that blast, additional guards and barriers were posted on the street. In two separate bombings Monday against police convoys in the country's south, seven officers were killed and 10 others were wounded, officials said. In Uruzgan province, a roadside bomb killed four police on patrol and wounded seven others, said provincial police chief Juma Gul Himat. In the Zhari district of Kandahar, another roadside blast killed three officers and wounded three others, said district chief Niyaz Mohammad Sarhadi. NATO's International Security Assistance Force, meanwhile, said one of its soldiers died in an attack in the south on Sunday.
Associated Press Writer Rahim Faiez contributed to this report.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

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.

Officials predict longer and stronger fire season By SUE MAJOR HOLMES, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 7, 5:10 AM ET

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - In the past few years, Rich Nieto's work has started earlier and lasted longer. The regional fire operations director for the Southwest Coordination Center said the West's fire season used to stretch from May into August or September, starting with blazes flaring up in the Southwest's arid spring.But now fires touch off in April or earlier, and the season sometimes stretches into October, said Nieto, whose job entails allocating and moving ground-based firefighting resources.

We have to adjust accordingly, he said.

A longer fire season can't be blamed solely on climate change or drought. More and more people want out of the cities and into the country — which in the West often means a place in the forest.That raises the potential of more fires started by humans — cigarettes carelessly tossed; campfires that aren't dead; fires meant to burn weeds or garbage that instead get away.In California, drought, high temperatures and lightning storms have contributed to more than 800 square miles being burned since June 20.What we're concerned about now is California is very active at a much earlier date than it usually is, said Don Smurthwaite, a spokesman for the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho.New Mexico's 2008 fire season has been driven partly by plentiful grass that sprang up in wet weather in 2007 but turned to tinder in this year's dry, windy spring.The season began early with successive human-caused grass fires near Hobbs, N.M., in January, February and March that burned tens of thousands of acres, led to evacuations and destroyed several homes.In addition, fire season is just beginning in the Great Basin states of Utah, Nevada, southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. As the summer moves on, the season will flow north into the Pacific Northwest as vegetation there dries out.The fire center's 2008 Wildland Fire Outlook forecasts significant fire activity in California, parts of Nevada, the northern Rocky Mountains, Texas and West Virginia.

What's at risk determines who gets what resources.

Top priority goes to fires with the potential to harm human life, Nieto said. Second, fire managers need to keep enough reserves home to tackle new fires and get them out before they grow. Lastly, they consider the possibility a fire could destroy such things as major power lines, critical communication sites, cultural resources or special habitat.The priorities sometimes prompt federal land managers to fight a smaller fire and send fewer resources to a larger one.A large fire may encompass a lot of area, but are there communities that could be endangered by that? There might not be, said Nieto, who has gone through 25 fire seasons.The U.S. Forest Service prepares for the heavy summer fire season well before it starts, hiring and training crews before it's time to suppress flames. This year, that's meant more than 20,000 seasonal firefighters nationwide.The Forest Service's 11 geographic regions help each other — crews from Montana in the Northern Rockies Region, for example, have battled fires in New Mexico and Arizona this summer. As the Southwest fire season winds down with July rains, Southwest Region firefighters prepare to head north.

That's the normal routine.

But last week, the already fiery 2008 season and a forecast for more hot, dry, windy conditions in parts of the West prompted the National Multi-Agency Coordinating Group, made up of top federal and state fire managers from various agencies, to raise the nationwide preparedness level to 5 — the highest possible. That means looking at national approaches, such as hot shot crews or aircraft, Nieto said. It might mean mobilizing the National Guard because other resources are exhausted, he said. New Mexico called on National Guard Black Hawk helicopters to drop huge water buckets on a Manzano Mountain fires and last week sent two of the helicopters to California to help with its fires. California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered 200 guardsmen to report for training to augment fire lines — the first time troops there have been called to ground-based firefighting duty since 1977. Daily conference calls work out priorities for crews and equipment, and the Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Indian Affairs, state agencies and others cooperate with each other, Nieto said. The new level 5 designation was based on three criteria: major fire activity in three or more of the 11 geographic areas; a large percentage of available fire crews and resources already committed; and an expectation that the fire season is only going to get worse, Smurthwaite said. All three boxes were checked yes, he said. On the Net: National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov/ Southwest Coordination Center: http://gacc.nifc.gov/swcc/

CALIFORNIA RESOURSES STRAINED
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HOME OWNERS FIGHT FIRE TOGETHER
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Weather helps crews battling California wildfires By CHRISTINA HOAG, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 7, 4:47 AM ET

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters took advantage of cooler temperatures and higher humidity overnight to make progress containing a blaze burning through the mountains in Santa Barbara County before hotter, drier conditions return. Crews were expecting a quiet night, weatherwise, Richard Morgantini, a spokesman for Santa Barbara County, said early Monday.Moist air currents from the ocean cooled temperatures to the high 70s Sunday, helping fire crews keep the five-day-old blaze from spreading. The fire, which has been burning since Tuesday, was less than a third contained Sunday night.

We've got a window here with the humid weather that's really helping us. But we know we're in this for the long haul, said Dixie Dies, spokeswoman for the state Incident Management Team.

Temperatures are forecast to start climbing Monday and to reach the 90s by Thursday. The moist air currents are expected to dissipate, causing drier conditions, Dies said. Lightning strikes also were possible as a new weather system moves in, forecasters said.The fire, 30 percent contained Sunday night, had consumed about 15 square miles of Los Padres National Forest.Nearly 2,700 homes were in jeopardy earlier in the weekend, but by Sunday night some of the evacuation orders were lifted or downgraded to warnings.People are filtering back to their neighborhoods and they're very happy, said forest spokesman John Ahlman. Some mandatory evacuations remained in scattered mountain communities south of Highway 154 and in areas on the west end of the fire, Ahlman said. He did not have exact numbers of how many homes were affected.The fire has been blazing through 15 to 20-foot tall forest in extremely steep, rocky terrain. Crews are relying mainly on drops of flame retardant by helicopters and DC-10s to control the burning ridges and canyons, Dies said. So far, 68,000 tons have been dropped.Officials decided Sunday that the nearly 1,200 firefighters, who come from 22 states and the District of Columbia, are sufficient to combat the blaze, Dies said. They're working incredibly hard, she said.The fire still had the potential to roll through a hilly area of ranches, housing tracts and orchards between the town of Goleta and Santa Barbara.

Investigators suspect the fire, which began Tuesday, was started by humans. The U.S. Forest Service has asked for public help in determining how it was set.Sunday's cooler weather also helped firefighters advance on a two-week-old blaze that has destroyed 22 homes in Big Sur, at the northern end of the Los Padres forest.The fog held on a little bit stronger than was originally anticipated, which was great for the crews out working on the lines, said Sarah Gibson, a spokeswoman for the command post in charge of fighting the blaze.The improved weather did have some drawbacks. Fog made the takeoff of firefighting aircraft more difficult and hampered efforts to start controlled burns to clear out brush ahead of the advancing wildfire, Gibson said.The fire, which has charred 117 square miles, was 11 percent contained, a slight jump from the day before. Fire officials said crews were burning out brush between the fire's edge and Big Sur's famed restaurants and hotels and cutting more lines to halt flames creeping down from ridge tops.

The biggest challenge is whether or not the containment lines that they're building now and continuing to improve are going to hold as the fire approaches, said Rolf Larsen, a spokesman for the U.S. Forest Service.Wildfires have burned more than 800 square miles of land and destroyed at least 69 homes throughout California, mainly in the northern part of the state, in the past two weeks. One firefighter died of a heart attack while digging fire lines. About 1,450 fires have been contained, but more than 330 still burned out of control Sunday night. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who on Saturday visited a command post in the coastal region of Santa Barbara County, ordered 400 National Guard troops to be trained in wildfire fighting so they could help fight the state's blazes. They were to join firefighters in Mendocino County on Monday. He also urged lawmakers to adopt his budget plan for a $70 million emergency surcharge on home and business insurance policies to buy more firefighting equipment. California now has a year-round fire season and needs the money from the fee, which should cost the average homeowner about $1 a month, Schwarzenegger has said.

Associated Press writers Samantha Young in Sacramento, Christopher Weber and Robert Jablon in Los Angeles, Lisa Leff and Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco and Amanda Fehd in Berkeley contributed to this report.

Gaza mortar fire hits Israel JULY 7,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) - A mortar round fired from the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip struck southern Israel on Monday without causing any casualties or damage in what the military slammed as a new breach of a two-week-old truce. We identified that a mortar round was fired from the northern Gaza Strip. It landed south of Karni in Israeli territory, an Israeli army spokeswoman said, referring to the Karni border crossing near Gaza City.The army said on Sunday that a gunshot from Gaza had hit a farmer's tractor driving near the fenced-off border but on Monday said that further investigation had revealed that no shots were fired.There was a rock that got stuck in one of the tractor wheels, the army spokeswoman said.

Palestinian militants have fired several rockets and mortar rounds at southern Israel despite an Egyptian-brokered truce that came into effect on June 19, although violence in and around the impoverished territory has dropped substantially.Palestinian and UN officials have accused Israeli troops too of firing into the Gaza Strip since the truce came into effect, although the Israeli army has said it fired only warning shots.The Islamist Hamas movement, which seized power in Gaza in June 2007, has said its own fighters are adhering to the truce and has vowed to arrest anyone who violates it.

Israel to receive report on long-missing airman By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer Mon Jul 7, 4:21 AM ET

JERUSALEM - An Israeli negotiator was in Europe on Monday to pick up a report compiled by Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas on a long-missing Israeli airman, part of a prisoner-swap deal between the two sides, defense officials said. Negotiator Ofer Dekel is to receive the report from a U.N.-appointed German official who mediated the deal. It is supposed to detail efforts the Iranian-backed Hezbollah made to find out what happened to airman Ron Arad after his plane crashed in Lebanon in 1986.Arad was captured alive by Shiite militants and changed hands several times before disappearing without a trace two decades ago. There have been reports that Arad was transferred to Hezbollah and then to Iran, but no reliable evidence of his fate has ever surfaced.In exchange for the report on Arad, Israel is to provide information on four Iranian diplomats who disappeared in Lebanon in 1982. Iran claims they were kidnapped by Lebanese militiamen allied with Israel, who delivered them to Israeli troops. Israel has long denied holding them, and Samir Geagea, former head of the disbanded Lebanese Forces, has said militiamen killed them.Israel invaded Lebanon in 1982, taking over large areas as part of a military blitz to expel Palestinian guerrillas.The exchange of reports is part of a wider deal in which Israel is to hand over to Hezbollah four Lebanese prisoners in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers. The soldiers' capture in a July 2006 cross-border raid touched off Israel's second war in Lebanon.

Hezbollah has never allowed Red Cross access to the servicemen and there has been no sign of life from them since their capture. But Hezbollah's leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, called reports of their death speculation ... not based on anything tangible.One of the Lebanese convicts to be freed in the deal has been held in an Israeli prison nearly 30 years for his role in a 1979 attack that Israelis perceive as one of the cruelest in their history.Samir Kantar dragged a man and his 4-year-old daughter from their apartment to the beach below, and according to witness testimony, shot the man to death in front of his child, then crushed her head against a rock with his rifle butt. He also was convicted of killing a policeman. The man's wife accidentally smothered their 2-year-old daughter in an effort to keep her from crying out and disclosing their hiding place in a crawl space in the apartment.

Kantar has denied killing the older child or crushing her skull.

Israel had hoped Kantar would be a bargaining chip to wrest information from Hezbollah about Arad's fate, but recently concluded that Hezbollah has no new information about the airman. Last week, the Israeli Cabinet voted to trade Kantar for the bodies of the Israeli servicemen, Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.On Sunday, Israel TV showed video of tractors beginning the process of exhuming the bodies of Hezbollah fighters that also are to be handed over as part of the deal.No firm timetable for carrying out the swap has been announced, but Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah has said it would take place in mid-July.

Israel successfully tests missile interceptor: report Sun Jul 6, 3:34 AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israel has successfully tested a new defence system designed to intercept rockets fired from southern Lebanon and the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, public radio reported on Sunday.

The Iron Dome system is expected to be fully operational within a year and will be able to intercept the military-grade Katyusha rockets used by Lebanon's Hezbollah militia and the cruder Qassam rockets favoured by Hamas.Citing Israeli security officials, public radio said the system would also be effective against mortar fire which has a much smaller window of warning.In January Prime Minister Ehud Olmert viewed a prototype of the 200-million-dollar (140-million-euro) system, which is being developed under contract by Rafael Advanced Defence Systems, an Israeli arms manufacturer.

Iron Dome is part of a multi-layered defence system aimed at protecting Israel from both short-range missiles fired by militants in Gaza or Lebanon and longer-range missiles in the arsenals of regional foes Iran and Syria.Since the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising in 2000 Israeli communities near the border with the Gaza Strip have come under frequent rocket and mortar attack, leaving them in a constant state of fear.The attacks have slowed since a truce between Israel and Hamas came into force on June 19, but the fragile Egyptian-brokered agreement has been tested by occasional rockets and mortar rounds fired by smaller armed groups.Israel also came under sustained attack during its 2006 war with Hezbollah, when more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets were launched at northern Israel in 34 days, sending hundreds of thousands of residents fleeing south.

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.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Paris in the EU's chair on economic policy
LUCIA KUBOSOVA JULY 7,08 Today @ 09:25 CET

France is due to make its first appearance in the EU's economic policy chair today (7 July) as EU ministers meet to tackle two issues where Paris has previously sparked controversy: the European Central Bank's interest rate moves and measures to freeze oil prices.Finance ministers from the 15 eurozone countries are meeting on Monday, followed on Tuesday by the first economic ministerial session conducted by France, which has just taken on the six-month presidency over the 27-nation European Union.The eurogoup gathering comes after last week's move by the European Central Bank (ECB) to raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point to 4.25, following a record rise of inflation in the single currency area to 4 percent in June.While that figure is double the Frankfurt-based bank's goal of keeping the bloc's inflation close to 2 percent, the eurozone has at the same time recorded a slump in economic growth, with major European exporters saying that a stronger euro will harm their businesses.Speaking at a meeting of his centre-right UMP party over the weekend, French president Nicolas Sarkozy said that while he did not regret that he had in the past voted in favour of the ECB's monetary policy being independent, he has doubts about its current policy.Without compromising everything I believe in, I have the right as president of the French Republic to wonder if it is reasonable to raise the European rates to 4.25 percent while the Americans have rates of 2.0 percent, Mr Sarkozy said, according to press reports.But although Germany and Spain also voiced concerns about the consequences of interest rate hikes for the eurozone's economy, Berlin, in particularly, remains keen to stress its continued support for the Frankfurt bank's independence.

Support has also come from Brussels.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso openly gave his support to the bank late last week while Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi - critical of the ECB in the past - has said that the bank was right to have raised rates to fight inflation.I have had a lot of positive remarks on the rate rise, ECB chief Jean Claude Trichet told a press conference in Aix-en-Provence on Sunday (6 July), adding that there is a global consensus that price stability is a necessary condition for sustained growth and job creation.

Energy prices

Just like in its attempts to raise dissent over the ECB's monetary policy, France also appears isolated in its approach to tackling the rising energy prices.After a summit of EU leaders in June, President Sarkozy failed to get strong support for his proposal to introduce VAT caps to freeze oil prices.Although the French presidency is expected to push forward with the idea, it is facing opposition both from the European Commission and most member states, including Germany. German finance minister Peer Steinbruck has said that the key response to the current situation is energy efficiency - one of the goals of the EU's policy package on energy security and climate change. Governments should avoid any distortional fiscal measures because the prices have to contribute to these adjustments, which are necessary. I think we shouldn't prevent these adjustments, he said in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday.

Sarkozy urges Polish president not to block Lisbon treaty
ELITSA VUCHEVA JULY 7,08 Today @ 09:31 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy on Saturday pressed his Polish counterpart, Lech Kaczynski, to sign the EU's Lisbon Treaty despite Ireland's rejection of the document, which Mr Kaczynski has indicated puts further ratification into question.President Kaczynski is an honest man and a head of state. He signed [the treaty] in Brussels, he must ratify it in Warsaw. It's a moral question, said the French president, speaking at a meeting of the centre-right UMP party near Paris.Mr Kaczynski last week said that following the Irish No vote, The treaty question is pointless, before softening his position and stating that Poland would not oppose the ratification process, provided that the Irish change their mind, [but] not under pressure.I have confidence in the Polish president. We will go on, we will find solutions ... and get to a point where we convince the Czechs to ratify as well, Mr Sarkozy said at the UMP meeting, according to French news agency AFP.Meanwhile, French daily Le Figaro reported that Mr Sarkozy spoke by phone with his Polish counterpart on Friday and, according to the French president's office, Mr Kaczynski said his country would not be an obstacle to ratifying the treaty.

In Poland, both houses of parliament completed ratification of the Lisbon Treaty in April, but the president needs to sign off on the document for the process to be finalised.

The Czech Republic is another country that has shown reluctance to continue ratification of the Lisbon Treaty after the Irish No. It is also awaiting a decision by its Constitutional Court on whether the treaty contradicts the Czech constitution or not.Additionally, German President Horst Koehler last week also refused to sign the document until the German Constitutional Court rules on two legal challenges by right-wing MP Peter Gauweiler and leftist party Die Linke, who argue the document undermines democracy and people's rights.Meanwhile, two countries – the UK and Cyprus – have pushed ahead with ratification since Irish voters rejected the document on 12 June, bringing the total number of member states to have approved it to 20.

Barroso attempts to woo Germany on nuclear energy
RENATA GOLDIROVA JULY 7,08 Today @ 09:24 CET

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has once again made the case for nuclear power, a controversial source of electricity generation in several EU member states, adding to the already heated debate in Germany on whether the country should allow a nuclear comeback.In an interview with the German newspaper Bild am Sonntag (6 July), Mr Barroso acknowledged that nuclear energy is a delicate issue in Germany.On the other hand, he said, more and more countries see in nuclear energy an at least temporary solution to stop climate change and to reduce our dependency on oil and gas.Germany's previous Green-Social-Democrat coalition government under the leadership of Gerhard Schroeder committed itself to a gradual phase-out of all 17 nuclear power plants in the country by 2021.But the commitment is now being questioned by the Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel, the senior partners in the coalition government with the Social Democrats.

Technology minister Annette Schavan from the CDU said that Germany needs to exit the exit resolution, referring to the phase-out. We urgently need the life-span extension - as a contribution to global climate protection and for a lasting energy supply, she told Bild am Sonntag.But the Social Democrats reject the idea of prolonging the life-span of existing power plants, pointing to remaining question marks over how to safely store the nuclear waste. It is irresponsible so long as the question of the disposal of highly radioactive waste is not solved, the party top figure, Peter Struck, was cited as saying by Der Tagesspiegel on Sunday (6 July).

The same message came from transportation minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, speaking to Welt am Sonntag. We believe in renewable energy and not in nuclear energy, he said, pointing to plans to build some 30 offshore windfarms in the Baltic and North seas.It is up to each EU state to choose its own energy mix. But the current European Commission, headed by Mr Barroso, has not shied away from supporting the nuclear path. Brussels says that nuclear energy has a role to play in meeting the EU's growing concerns about security of supply and CO2 emission reductions.

THIRD TEMPLE PREPS BEGIN

REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE (THE EU DICTATORS TEMPLE)

REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

REBUILT 4TH TEMPLE (THE TRUE MESSIAHS TEMPLE)

ZECHARIAH 6:12-13
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

ISAIAH 60:9-10
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

ISAIAH 2:1-5
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

MARK 11:9-10,15-17
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

EZEKIEL 40 TO 48 IS THIS 4TH TEMPLE TO BIG FOR THE MOUNT I BELIEVE TO BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM JERUSALEM.

MYSTERY OF THE COPPER SCROLL AND THE ARK
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/347306.aspx

Third Temple preparations begin with priestly garb
By DANIELLE KUBES JULY 3,08

Wearing a turban and a light blue tunic threaded with silver, a man stands in a workshop in Jerusalem's Old City beside spools of white thread affixed to sewing machines. A painting of high priests performing an animal sacrifice beside the First Temple illustrates the function of the room. A workshop for making priestly garments is inaugurated in the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem's Old City on Monday.

On Monday, the Temple Institute started preparing to build a Third Temple on Jerusalem's Mount Moriah, the site of the Dome of the Rock and the Aksa mosque, by inaugurating a workshop that manufactures priestly garments. After Efrat Chief Rabbi Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, a Kohen himself, gets measured for his own set of Kohanim garments, Aviad Jeruffi, the clothing's designer, strums To Ascend to the Temple Mount on his guitar in celebration. Priestly garments have not been worn since the destruction of the Second Temple by Rome in 70 CE and cannot be functional until a Third Temple is constructed. Kohanim, priests directly descended from Moses's brother Aaron, are recognized by the Institute as such if their paternal grandfather observed the tradition. Today, they have special religious responsibilities; in days of yore they performed the most significant duties within the Temple. Approximately one-third of the commandments in the Torah cannot be accomplished without a temple, including the obligations of the Kohanim. But a Third Temple seems a flighty dream with nightmarish political implications to many, as both a shrine, the Dome of the Rock, and the Aksa mosque, Islam's third holiest structure, currently stand on the Temple Mount. Rabbi Yehuda Glick, director of the Temple Institute, says he assumes Muslims will be supportive when the Temple is ready to be built: We already have some Muslims who are secretly in touch with us, he says. When the Temple is rebuilt, Kohanim must wear the proper outfit to perform their obligations, Glick continues. Each set has a turban, tunic pants and belt and is individually tailored at a cost of NIS 2,500.

If it were a bathrobe for watching SNL [Saturday Night Live], it would not be worth it. But we're talking about people who have a very strong yearning for working in the Beit Hamikdash [Temple], says Glick. Years of diligent research was needed to create the garments in conformance with Jewish law. Special flaxen thread was imported from India and overseas travel was necessary to obtain the correct colors for the clothes, including to Istanbul, to purchase mountain worms from which the correct shade of crimson is derived.

The secret of the correct shade of blue has been lost since the destruction of the Second Temple, as the identity of chilazon, the snail from which it was extracted, was uncertain until the Ptil Tekhelet nonprofit organization identified it as the murex trunculus, aka hexaplex trunculus, the banded dye-murex found near the Mediterranean Sea. The Temple is not a message [just for] the Jewish people. It reunites the world all around one central prayer house. All the prophets say that at the End Times all the nations will be coming to Jerusalem and take part of building [the Temple], Glick says.

FALSE TEACHERS,PROPHETS,DECIEVERS

MATTHEW 24:4-5,11,24-25
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

MARK 13:22-23
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Thousands Follow Ex-Traffic Cop Who Says He's Jesus JULY 6,08

Two white robed men were standing there among them and said, Men of Galilee, why are you standing here staring the sky? Jesus has gone away to heaven. And some day, just as He went, He will return! — Acts 1:10-11

Deep in the heart of Siberia's birch forests lies one of the largest and most remote religious communes of the planet. More than 5,000 people have left their families and their homes to move here and join the Church of the Last Testament, which has more than 10,000 followers worldwide. The church centers on one man. He is known simply as Vissarion, meaning he who gives new life, or simply as the teacher, and he claims that he is Jesus Christ.I had heard about a self-proclaimed messiah in Siberia and I decided to try to find him myself. Getting to Vissarion's commune is not easy. From Moscow, the Russian capital, it is more than 2,000 miles and four time zones away. One begins by flying to Abakan, a bleak city near the Mongolian border, dotted with crumbling tsarist buildings and Soviet-style blocks. Driving through, I decided to ask residents whether they had heard of Vissarion and what they thought of him. Most people knew who he was, but they didn't seem to like him much.

It's a sect … He presents himself as a demi-God and it's all lies in my opinion, Sergei told me. Lena was equally skeptical: I heard they don't eat properly there. They grow vegetables and that's all they eat.Once you drive out of the city, the drab concrete of Abakan gives way to rich rolling plains, sparkling rivers and tiny hamlets. After a few hours on the road, we finally reached Petropavlovka, where more than 80 percent of the residents are members of the Church of the Last Testament.Life here is very basic. Vissarion's followers are strict vegetarians and they don't smoke or drink. The houses and churches are built from wood by hand and most of the energy comes from windmills and solar panels. At the followers' school, little boys are taught how to build model ships and young girls learn crochet and singing. With all the beautiful nature, it seemed an idyllic setting for a child to grow up in. But the portraits of Vissarion that adorned every wall were difficult to ignore. The Church of the Last Testament has abolished Christmas and replaced it with a new celebration on Vissarion's birthday. The biggest holiday of the year is Aug. 18, the anniversary of the teacher's first sermon. And a new calendar has been introduced which dates from the year of his birth, making this year 48.Vissarion was born Sergei Torop in 1961 and worked as a traffic cop up until his revelation. He started the Church of the Last Testament in 1991, the same year as the collapse of the Soviet Union. It was a desperate and chaotic time for people. And after decades of religious oppression, suddenly thousands of new religions and sects burst onto the scene, all claiming to have the answers that people were so hungrily craving.

My Body Was Shivering Nonstop

The next day we continued driving, bumping along rutted roads thick with butterflies. Stopping at a river for a break, we met Siegfried Werner, who left his home in Germany to move here. Many of Vissarion's followers are educated people from different European countries. Some of them used to work as doctors, teachers and engineers. One was even the former Belorussian deputy railway minister. Werner explained to me, It's all about Vissarion. I had an experience when I went from Italy, he embraced me very warmly. He took my hands and then my heart spoke and that was the time when I never doubted again that he was the Christ.After three hours in the car the road ended and the journey on foot began. The four-mile trek through Siberian forest, or taiga as it is known, was brutal. Mosquitoes swarmed menacingly overhead and ticks were everywhere. Unsurprisingly, almost two-thirds of Vissarion's followers have been infected with Lyme disease. The group eschews modern medicine, relying instead on holistic remedies. One of Vissarion's 60 commandments declares, in most cases, illness is punishment for an inability to keep one's flesh in harmony with nature. During the 1990s there were reports that some of his followers had died after refusing medical attention.After hours of walking, we finally reach Abode of Dawn, a small settlement where 250 of Vissarion's most devout followers live. It's four miles to the nearest road and just a couple of miles below the teacher himself. At this point we were assigned minders who monitored our movements until we left. The villagers in the Abode of Dawn follow an almost entirely vegan diet, largely based on what they can grow themselves. When they move here, they give the church their pensions and whatever possessions they may have. In return they receive basics such as sugar, buckwheat and flour. No money is used within the community but they are given an allowance of 300 rubles, about $12, a month.

The followers here were even more zealous when talking about their teacher. I sat down with a group of women and asked about their first time meeting Vissarion.When I saw him the first time my soul recognized him. I could not cope with my emotions and my soul cried, It's him, it's him. He is on earth! Galina told me.It was as if a flood came down from the sky and my body was shivering nonstop! Tatyana added.Every day the women pore over his 10 volumes of teachings and five times a day a bell rings whereupon the followers turn to pray towards the mountaintop where Vissarion lives.Life here seemed visibly more cut off from society. The children are homeschooled. Every year a representative from the nearest school board visits to make sure that the children are being educated according to the national curriculum. The local government is tacitly supportive of Vissarion's group, although the Orthodox church has denounced them as a sect. In Siberia, where there is terrible alcoholism and a declining population, Vissarion's community is one of the very few that is healthy, hard-working and growing fast.

A Man of Few Words

On Sunday the community congregates early to begin the rituals of the holy day. Followers from Petropavlovka and other villages make the journey to see their teacher for the day. People dress up for the occasion.The day begins with a steep walk up the mountain to where Vissarion lives. At the top of the mountain, the followers gather at an altar and sing songs and pray. Standing amongst them, the intensity of their fervour was palpable.As the liturgy drew to a close I felt excited. We were getting closer to meeting Vissarion. It was finally time.My first impression seeing the teacher was that he did actually look how one might imagine Jesus. With his long hair, flowing white robes and kind smile, he looked the part. But as the interview began, my feelings soon changed.

I asked him to tell me some of the principals of his religion. After a good 20 second pause, he replied, The same as all other religions have. People should learn how to love each other. I asked him what he enjoyed to do every day and what he thought the most important philosophy to live by was. Each question provoked the same long pause followed by a monosyllabic reply.Finally I asked him the question I had traveled all this way to ask: Are you Jesus Christ?

It's not necessary to answer this, he told me.

I asked whether he believed in Judgment Day,

There is a time, a certain period of time, during which the destiny of the whole human society will be decided. This period is going on already.He would not elaborate on what will happen at the end of the period of judgment, nor on when that would be.The next few questions I asked provoked the same truculent answer, That doesn't interest me. So I finished by asking if he had anything that did interest him that he would like to communicate to our viewers and to Americans.His reply, I am not interested to tell them anything. Their time has not yet come.It seemed that the interview was over before it began. I hadn't expected Jesus to be a man of so few words. Leaving, I noticed a quad bike parked in front of his house. It seemed ironic that he was zipping around while his followers trekked up and down the mountain. Traveling back to civilization, I marvelled at the zeal of Vissarion's followers. What did they see that I did not? Or what did I see that they did not? I felt inexplicably disappointed.Yet the numbers of Vissarion's followers continues to grow as more and more people abandon their lives and flock to this remote corner of the world, and to this chameleon of a man. Vissarion? The Teacher? Jesus Christ? Or perhaps just Sergei Torop, the self-proclaimed messiah of Siberia.

WELL MY BIBLE TELLS ME THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER, 2012 IS JUST ANOTHER DATE, ITS SURE NOT THE END OF THE WORLD LIKE THESE FALSIES CLAIM.

Will the World End in 2012? Thousands Worldwide Prepare for the Apocalypse, Expected in 2012 By CHRISTINE BROUWER July 3, 2008

Two years ago, Patrick Geryl, then 51, quit his job as a laboratory worker for a French oil company. He'd saved up just enough money to last him until December 2012. After that, he thought, he wouldn't need it anyway. Unprecedented catastrophe will precede the end of the world in 2012, believers say, such as massive earthquakes, tidal waves and volcanic eruptions, among other calamities.
(ABC News Photo Illustration)Instead, Geryl, a soft-spoken man who had studied chemistry in his younger years, started preparing for the apocalypse. He founded a survival group for likeminded men and women, aimed at living through the catastrophe he knew was coming.

He started gathering materials necessary to survive — water purifiers, wheelbarrows (with spare tires), dust masks and vegetable seeds. His list of survival goods runs 11 pages long. You have to understand, there will be nothing, nothing left, Geryl told ABC News from his home in Antwerp, Belgium. We will have to start an entire civilization from scratch.Drop in Penguin Pop. a Sign of Ocean WoesEarth 2100: This Century Our Last?Cult Leader Gains Trust, Steals WivesThat's because Geryl believes the world as we know it will end in 2012. He points to the ancient Mayan cyclical calendars, the longest of which last renewed itself approximately 5,125 years ago and is set to end again, supposedly with catastrophic consequences, in 2012. He speaks of the ancient Egyptians, who, he claims, saw 2012 as a year of great change too. And he points to science: NASA predicts a sharp increase in the number of sunspots and sun flares for 2012, he said, sure to cause electrical failures and satellite disruptions. All this adds up, Geryl said, to unprecedented catastrophe. First, a polar reversal will cause the north to become the south and the sun to rise in the west. Shattering earthquakes, massive tidal waves and simultaneous volcanic eruptions will follow. Nuclear reactors will melt, buildings will crumble, and a cloud of volcanic dust will block out the sun for 40 years. Only the prepared will survive, Geryl said, and not even all of them. These may sound like the ravings of a madman, or perhaps the head of a small apocalyptic sect. But Geryl is not the only one who believes in the apocalypse. Thousands of people worldwide seem to be preparing, in one way or another, for the end of days in 2012. Survival groups exist in Europe, Canada and the United States. A simple Google search for 2012 and the end of the world brings up nearly 300,000 hits. And the video-sharing Web site YouTube hosts more than 65,000 clips informing and warning viewers about their fate in 2012.

It's bigger than Y2K, said Mark van Stone, a specialist of Mayan hieroglyphic writings and author of a forthcoming book on 2012. The year is like a pop song or a popular movie. You type in 2012, and you get hundreds of thousands of hits.Dennis McClung, 28, a project manager for Home Depot from Phoenix, Ariz., runs one of the Web sites dedicated to 2012, an online survival supply store, which sells gas masks, knife kits, bullet-proof vests and more. I'm not a firm believer in one specific prophecy, said McClung, who runs his site with his wife, Danielle. But I think we ought to be prepared for anything.Even with December 2012 still 4½ years away, McClung said business is booming. His Web site, which features an official 2012 countdown clock and exhorts customers to be smart, be ready, averages several thousand visitors a week. McClung's best-sellers, he said, are emergency medical supplies and water purifiers. I get a lot of hits from India. I get a lot of hits from the Netherlands, McClung said. But my No. 1 customer is the U.S.

Teens Taken From N.M. Doomsday ChurchRussian Cult Members Holed Up in CaveABC News Reporting Cited As Evidence In Congressional Hearing On Global WarmingOne of those customers is Thomas Lehmann, a 25-year-old factory worker from Cape Girardeau, Mo. Lehmann said he started researching 2012 when he was 12 years old, and still spends about two hours a day reading about the topic both online and in books. He said he is saving money for survival gear.

Whatever happens, I'm just trying to be prepared for it, Lehmann said. I'm just learning to be independent of the system. I mean electricity, vehicles, alternate sources of energy. I'm learning to live without gas, basically be self-reliant.If this stuff does happen, Lehmann said, adding, I have a way to eat. I can hunt, I can fish and I can purify water. I think it's people in the big cities that need to be worried. People that can't provide for themselves.But for all the hype, there is little evidence the ancient Maya ever intended for the end of their calendar to be read as a portent for disaster. These prophecies of doom really don't have any basis in what we know about the Maya, said Stephen Houston, a professor of anthropology at Brown University and a specialist of Maya hieroglyphic writing. The Maya descriptions barely talk about this event.Instead, Houston said, the Maya saw their long count — the longest of their cyclical calendars — coming to an end in 2012 but also beginning anew on that date, without disastrous consequences. Really, it's a conversion of people's anxieties about our times, and finding some remote mythological precedent or prediction of it, Houston said about the origins of the current 2012 myths. People like to believe that ancient wisdom is somehow predicting this time of upheaval.John Hall, a professor of sociology at the University of California Davis who is writing a book on the history of apocalyptic ideas, agreed. He said movements predicting the end of the world often reflect a much larger nervousness about the state of our society. Terrorism, 9/11, ecological disasters, floods and earthquakes, Hall said. [There is] a sense that modern civilization has had its run. Those kinds of anxieties are much more widely shared than simply among people who believe in the exact date.To Lehmann, though, those very events are warnings of what's to come. We had Hurricane Katrina, the recent cyclone in Myanmar, Lehmann said. We've got major flooding in Iowa. We're always going to have natural disasters. But they are picking up quite frequently now.Lehmann said he eventually hoped to move away from Cape Girardeau, built on the banks of the Mississippi River, to the higher plains of southwest Missouri to keep safe from the floods sure to follow the earthquakes of 2012. Geryl and his Belgian and Dutch followers have similar intentions, though their plan will take them much farther from home. They are looking to buy a plot of land high up in African mountains, where they'll be able to withstand the monstrous tidal waves and wait out the cloud of volcanic dust that they said would block out the sun. Geryl said the group has recently zeroed in on a location, but won't reveal his find for fear of tipping off rival survival groups in the United States and Canada. On that land, Geryl's group, whose core membership consists of 16 people but whose wait list supposedly lists hundreds, will build concrete dwellings or outfit caves for survival.

After the cloud clears, Geryl said, they will attempt to create a new, better civilization. A guiding principle will be to keep the world population as small as possible so as not to get into the same problems we face now, Geryl said, adding that the group is currently looking for sponsors and hopes to move to Africa in 2011. There is too little oil, too little grain in the world now. Those are the kinds of problems we want to avoid.

Forget 6-6-06: Every Day Is Doomsday 6/6/06: Is This the End?Uganda: Religion That KillsOne of the group's members, Jan, a 57-year-old carpenter from Amsterdam whose name has been changed because he doesn't want to be identified in the press, recently drove five hours to attend one of Geryl's meetings in Antwerp. I thought, if there's a chance that we can start a new civilization, I want to contribute, Jan told ABC News. Because whether I make it or not, and there's only a small chance I will, this is important. Jan, who has never been married and has no children, said he has lost friends over 2012. All the people I've ever told about this have declared me crazy, he said. It makes people feel uncomfortable. Now I just keep it to myself.Geryl said he found comfort in sharing his knowledge with others. Since discovering what the future holds, he has written three books on 2012 and maintains a Web site on the subject. When asked what would happen if December 2012 were to come and go without the earthquakes and tsunamis of his predictions, Geryl fell silent. I don't really contemplate that possibility, he said. [My predictions] are so spectacular, they can't possibly be wrong.

Shalom Stan JULY 7,08 MESSIANIC BIBLE PROJECT

Persecution in Israel: I just spoke with Howard Bass, the leader of the congregation in Beer Sheva. They are waiting for the pre-trial court date in order to bring justice to their congregation being desecrated. The chief rabbi of the city of Beer Sheva along with Yad L’achim (an organization that persecutes Messianic Jews) instigated a riot of about 500 angry religious fanatical Jews who rampaged and destroyed the inside of a Messianic congregation; and some of the congregants were injured. Can you imagine a church in your city being rioted against and destroyed because people in your city were against your faith? An Israeli Believer who lives on a Moshav in the Judean Hills was recently threatened because of her faith. When she came home one day, there was the decapitated bloody head of a goat placed in front of her house to frighten her. When she saw the goat head, she also heard gunfire from rubber bullets being fired at her home to warn her to stop sharing the Gospel.There are three Scriptures in Matthew where Yeshua talks about being

persecuted because of Him. (Matthew: 5:9-13, 10:22-24, 24:9).

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Matthew 5:11

Children standing at front of Messianic congregation in front or worship team at Tel Aviv congregation. New Congregations: There are six new congregations south of Tel Aviv in various surrounding cities and suburbs. These are all Russian outgrowths from a Hebrew speaking congregation. As the Messianic congregations grow, there is the natural progression for cell groups to split off and become their own congregations. The Russian Jewish Believers are very active in Israel.Telemarketer solicits a Believer and ends up accepting Yeshua: Galit picked up the phone as it rang while she was eating dinner. On the other end was an Israeli telemarketer (phone calls you don’t enjoy receiving). Galit ended up witnessing to the telemarketer who accepted the Lord, and then this telemarketer led other Israelis to the Lord.

Oversight Board : Pastor Mike Fryer, Sid Roth - Messianic Vision, Motte Sircus The CARMEL ALERT July 4th 2008 A compilation of news reports from the past week for the information of those committed to praying for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people.

David's Comment: Will the Israeli Government Ever Act Like a Government ?

For how much longer do the people of Israel have to live in fear and shame ? In daily fear of happened in the heart of Jerusalem on Wednesday when the lives of 3 Jerusalemites came to a sudden and violent end, as a hate crazed Muslim Arab went on a rampage. The murderous rampage began when the Arab resident of East Jerusalem using the bulldozer he used in his job, to charge at buses and other vehicles on the always busy Jaffa Rd. The terrorist operating the bulldozer chose his victims deliberately - even starting his attack by motioning for a woman driver to precede him, before crushing her vehicle with his shovel. He went on to run-down pedestrians, ram two buses, and crush a number of civilian cars. Among his innocent victims is an infant, who was injured in the attack and taken to hospital. Eyewitnesses told police that the murdered mother saved her baby, by throwing the child out the car window, just before the bulldozer crushed her to death. As soon as people realised the situation was not an accident but a terror attack, a large number of them ran after the tractor. After armed police and a security guard failed to shoot him, an off duty soldier finally shooting the rogue driver dead. As if the fact that there are thousands of potential Arab terrorists already on the streets of Israel is not bad enough, the main political issue facing Israel this week is the prisoner exchange with Hizbollah and Hamas. The Olmert government is ready to exchange the two IDF soldiers whose capture ignited the 2nd Lebanon war in 2006. The two Israeli soldiers are thought to be dead, so if that is the case, in exchange for the two soldiers remains Olmert will release a number of live Hizbollah terrorists. One of the men that Israel plans to release is Samir Kuntar - a evil cold blooded murderer. He was involved in a terror attack in 1979. in which a mother and her two children, Danny and Einat were savagely murdered. According to eyewitnesses, one of them shot Danny in front of Einat so that his death would be the last sight she would ever see. Then he smashed the little girl’s skull in against a rock with his rifle butt. That terrorist was Samir Kuntar. In spite of the fact that Kuntar has pledged to go back to terrorism if released, Israeli politicians are prepared to set him free.

And in the south Hamas is demanding hundreds of convicted terrorists to be set free in exchange for Gilad Shalit, the other IDF soldier who has been held hostage for more than 2 years. Seeing that Gilad is definately alive, I have no problem with a one for one hostage deal or even 2 for one, but any more than that seems to me to be massively giving in to the enemy. What ever happened to the Western world's policy of refusing to negotiate with terrorists ? Apart from the fact that Israel's once victorious reputation will be further tarnished, giving into the terrorists only encourages them to kidnap other soldiers, knowing they will be able to use them as bargaining chips as well. It is downright foolish ! Having sons in the IDF, I fully identify with the families of the kidnapped soldiers, but we are in a war. As much as I want to see our precious soldiers back, even if it just their remains, I also believe that the Israeli government must be strong and resolute in its policies to defend the State of Israel. Sadly the present corrupt and politically inept Olmert is totally unsuitable for the job as Israel's leader as he does not have the moral backbone or the experience to do so. It is well over the time that Israel has a government who knows how to be a real government !! Please pray with many thousands of us here in Israel and many more thousands around the world that the Holy One of Israel will send Olmert packing - before he can do any more damage to OUR nation ! We need Bibi Netanyahu to be re-elected as the prime minister of Israel.The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom ... David & Josie

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

U.K. to Begin Microchipping Prisoners
by David Gutierrez

(NaturalNews) The British government is developing a plan to track current and former prisoners by means of microchips implanted under the skin, drawing intense criticism from probation officers and civil rights groups.As a way to reduce prison crowding, many British prisoners are currently released under electronic monitoring, carried out by means of an ankle bracelet that transmits signals like those used by mobile phones. Now the Ministry of Justice is exploring the possibility of injecting prisoners in the back of the arm with a radio frequency identification (RFID) chip that contains information about their name, address and criminal record. Such chips, which contain a built-in antenna, could be scanned by special readers. The implantation of RFID chips in luggage, pets and livestock has become increasingly popular in recent years.In addition to monitoring incarcerated prisoners, the ministry hopes to use the chips on those who are on probation or other conditional release. By including a satellite uplink system in the chip, police would be able to use global positioning system (GPS) technology to track subjects' exact locations at all times. According to advocates of such a measure, this could help keep sex offenders away from forbidden zones like schools.Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of the National Association of Probation Officers, blasted the measure as degrading to the people chipped and of no benefit to probation officers.Knowing where offenders like pedophiles are does not mean you know what they are doing, Fletcher said. Treating people like pieces of meat does not seem to represent an improvement in the system to me.Shami Chakrabarti of the civil rights group Liberty had even stronger words:If the Home Office doesn't understand why implanting a chip in someone is worse than an ankle bracelet, they don't need a human-rights lawyer; they need a common-sense bypass.

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.

How many missiles will be fired from Iran, Syria, Lebanon in the next war? By Yossi Melman

How many missiles will be fired from Iran, Syria and Lebanon against Israel in the next war? This question, as well as the various future war scenarios, was the subject of an enlightening lecture early in the week by the commander of the Israel Air Force from 1996 to 2000, Major General (res.) Eitan Ben Eliahu. His lecture surveyed the changes in Israel's national security doctrine amid the changing nature of wars, technology and the threats posed by the country's enemies. The lecture was initiated by an organization established after the Second Lebanon War, when the Israeli home front was hit by thousands of Hezbollah rockets. The Israel Missile Defense Association (www.imda.org.il) was founded by Avi Schnurr, a senior engineer who worked for many years in the United States military industries, immigrated to Israel and served as the voice of missile defense in Israel.A number of senior former defense officials - experts on missiles and advanced weapons systems - are active in the association, such as Uzi Eilam, the former director general of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission; David Ivry, the former commander of the Israel Air Force and a former director general of the Defense Ministry; and Uzi Rubin, who was involved in the development of the Arrow missile.

Their presence gives the association prestige and credibility, but because its members are linked to the defense establishment and some are even dependent on it financially, their freedom to express their views is limited, as is their willingness to criticize the system. Eitan Ben Eliahu began his speech by defining the national security doctrine and the changes it has undergone. Since it was formulated in the early 1950s, the concept on exercising military force has advocated the following:

* An initiated war (a preventive strike). But if that is impossible then at least:

* A preemptive strike to disrupt the enemy's war preparations. But if war does break out, the Israel Defense Forces must conduct: b A holding operation after which it will go over to: Aerial superiority.

* A breakthrough in order to achieve:

* Final lines and a defeat of the enemy.

This doctrine outlined a scenario in which Israel would find itself at war on two or three familiar fronts (Egypt, Syria and Jordan). For that purpose, up until the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the military force was built up with a budget of $30 billion to $35 billion for buying planes, armored vehicles and a few ships, emphasizing that these weapons systems would be varied and allow for flexibility.

Two major lessons

According to the security doctrine, the process of defeating the enemy was based on weapons systems that would enable surprise, movement and initiative on the ground. In the air it was based on weapons that would make it possible to attack and destroy airfields and win aerial battles, and on the development of precise weaponry that would destroy ground-to-air missiles. The War of Attrition (1968-1970) and the Yom Kippur War disrupted these basic assumptions. The Arabs drew two major lessons from their failure in the Six-Day War. They concealed their planes in underground hangars and purchased anti-aircraft missiles. As a result, the IAF suffered a severe blow (about 100 of its planes were downed or damaged - nearly 1.5 percent of its overall sorties), and at the time there was talk of the missile that bends the wing of the plane. The IAF thus decided to operate against batteries of ground-to-air missiles and to induce enemy planes to leave their hiding places and take off, and then to bring them down. According to the data presented by Ben Eliahu, during the War of Attrition, 104 enemy planes were downed. In the Yom Kippur War, 277 were downed, and in the first Lebanon war the IAF brought down 99 (Syrian) planes and hit 17 Syrian missile batteries, using electro-optical air-to-ground missiles. The new needs have led to a 15 to 20 percent increase in the defense budget to between $35 billion and $40 billion. But from the end of the 1980s, and particularly after the 1991 Gulf War, during which Iraq launched 40 Scud missiles, Israel found itself facing new and additional threats:

* strikes against the home front

* a short warning time (for beginning a war and adding a front)

* a prolonging- of the fighting

* non-conventional weapons (chemical and nuclear)

Some of these threats became even more acute during the Second Lebanon War and in the Gaza Strip. As a result, Israel was forced to increase the security budget sharply, to $50 billion, and to update its national defense doctrine to prepare for scenarios of wars against Iran, Syria, Lebanon (and additional countries?) and terror with a strategic dimension. To assess the intensity of these scenarios, Ben Eliahu presented figures from the Second Lebanon War. Hezbollah's missile inventory included about 14,000 missiles. About 4,200 missiles were launched, including about 200 medium-range missiles. The IAF carried out 11,870 sorties during the war's 34 days (an average of 340 sorties a day). During these sorties the IAF destroyed 93 missile launchers - 50 of them in sorties based on precise intelligence on the first day of the war. The IAF also destroyed 33 pipes (simple launchers) using the hunting method (planes remained in the air to search for and find the launchers).

In his estimation, Israel must prepare for the next war according to the following script:

* One to three fronts

* Crush the enemy on one front

* Containing the Palestinian front

* Long-range punishment or response (Iran)

What should Israel's aim be in the next war?

On the basis of the precedent of the Gulf War, Ben Eliahu estimates that in the next war, Syria and Iran might launch between 250 and 300 long-range missiles at Israel (Shihab and Scud missiles) and another 5,000 short-range missiles (mainly from Lebanon). To intercept a single long-range missile, one needs an average of two intercepting missiles and between 500 and 700 missiles in all. In addition, Israel must keep another 200 intercepting missiles in reserve. To destroy the short-range missiles, Israel will need mainly ground forces. Israel must prepare for a war that will last up to 20 days. Vis-a-vis Syria it must attain aerial superiority and embark on a ground attack for a strategic purpose, attack the missile and launcher sites and attack strategic targets.

Zooming in on an aerial attack

Vis-a-vis Lebanon, Israel has aerial superiority and will therefore have to focus only on an aerial attack against medium-range missiles and carry out a ground attack against short-range missiles. On the Gaza front, the threat of Qassam rockets and mortar shells is, according to this analysis, limited, exhausting and indirect, and the response must consist mainly of providing shelters for the civilians, developing more efficient warning and alarm systems - which will be able to identify launched missiles - and launching a ground offensive against the Palestinian guerrillas. And above all Israel must grant high priority to development methods for confronting the chemical and nuclear threat.

WORLD GOVERNMENT

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he 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.

DANIEL 12:4,1
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
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.
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.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
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.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

Weak dollar is global concern: EU's Barroso By William Schomberg Fri Jul 4, 7:42 AM ET

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The dollar's fall is a source of global concern and the European Union wants a better balance between the U.S. unit and other major currencies, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on Friday. Speaking to a group of journalists before departing for the annual Group of Eight industrial nations' summit in Japan next week, Barroso endorsed the European Central Bank's decision to raise its key interest rate despite warnings from some EU governments, notably France.I believe it is important we show at European level that we are committed to fighting inflation, he said.Inflation is a real threat, he said, adding it would have been very difficult to understand any other decision by the ECB, which raised its key rate by 25 basis points to 4.25 percent on Thursday.In an indirect rebuke to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who had warned publicly that a rate hike would harm a slowing euro zone economy, Barroso said: When it comes to inflation, I have more confidence in the positions of the central banks than of politicians.The head of the European Union executive said he did not expect the G8 leaders to take a stand on currencies but added: This is a matter of global concern, the falling dollar.We would like to see a more balanced relationship between the dollar and other major currencies, including the euro.

Climate change and soaring fuel and food prices are likely to be the main themes of the G8 summit at a luxury hotel in Hokkaido, northern Japan.Barroso also said he hoped President George W. Bush would show more ambition than in the past about curbing emissions of greenhouse gases blamed for global warming.(Reporting by William Schomberg; Writing by Paul Taylor; Editing by Dale Hudson)

Who runs the world? Wrestling for influence
Jul 3rd 2008 From The Economist print edition

The post-war global institutions have largely worked well. But rising countries and growing threats are challenging their pre-eminence.THE powerful, like the victorious, do not just write history. They grab the seats at the top tables, from the United Nations Security Council to the boards of the big international economic and financial institutions. They collude behind closed doors. They decide who can join their cosy clubs and expect the rest of the world to obey the instructions they hand down.That is how many outsiders, not just in the poor world, will see the summit that takes place from July 7th to 9th of the G8, the closest the world has to an informal (ie, self-appointed) steering group. Leaders of seven of the world’s richest democracies, plus oil-and gas-fired Russia, gather this year in Toyako, on Hokkaido in northern Japan, to ruminate on climate change, rising food and energy prices, and the best way to combat global scourges from disease to nuclear proliferation.But in an age when people, money and goods move around as never before, this little group no longer commands the heights of the global economy and the world’s financial system as the core G7 used to do when their small, purposeful gatherings of the democratic world’s consenting capitalists first got going in the 1970s. Nowadays summits produce mostly lengthy communiqués and photo-opportunities. And Russia’s slide from democracy into state-directed capitalism has lowered the club’s political tone.

In an effort to show that the G8 is still up with the times, Japan, like Germany last year, has invited along for a brief chat leaders from five outreach countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa. Yet this handshake between those who did best out of the 20th century and some potential shapers of the 21st leaves hanging the question of how the old world order should be adapting to the new.Might the world be better managed by such a G13? Or a G15 or G16, to include a couple of weighty Islamic states too? Or, to preserve the group’s original globe-steering purpose, by a G12 of the world’s biggest economies? Meanwhile, the global institutions set up after the second world war are also having to look hard at their own futures. Unlike the G7/8, which takes on a bit of everything, these institutions basically divide into two sorts: economic and financial, and political.At the pinnacle of world political management, but looking increasingly anachronistic, is the UN Security Council. Of its 15 members, ten rotate at the whim of the various UN regional groupings. The other five, which wield vetoes and are permanent, are America, Russia, China, Britain and France, roughly speaking the victors of the last long-ago world war. Alongside them is a secretary-general (currently Ban Ki-Moon from South Korea; this job, too, tends to go by regional turn), a vast bureaucracy at UN headquarters in New York, and hundreds of specialised agencies and offshoots (see table).The world had to be saved not just from another war, but from a repeat of the Great Depression of the 1930s. That job went to a clutch of institutions: the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), jointly known as the Bretton Woods institutions after the place of their creation; the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, a rich-country think-tank set up in 1961; the much older central bankers’ Bank for International Settlements; and the World Trade Organisation (WTO, formerly the GATT).They have been buttressed too by conventions, conferences, courts, declarations, dispute-mechanisms, special mandates and treaties governing everything from human rights to anti-dumping complaints. The whole elaborate architecture has had extra underpinning from strong regional organisations, such as the European Union, and less elaborate ones like the African Union and the various talking-shops of Latin America, the Arab world and Asia, as well as from steadying alliances, such as NATO. As a result, there has been no return to the disastrous global conflicts of the first half of the 20th century.

Yet that very success has become one of three powerful pressures to adjust the way the world is run, as new economic winners (and some new losers) demand a say. Pressure also stems from intensifying resentment and frustration. After ringing declarations on human rights and even the adoption by a UN world summit in 2005 of a responsibility to protect against genocide and crimes against humanity, the UN Security Council still finds itself unable to agree to do much to protect the people of Darfur, Zimbabwe, Myanmar and others from the murderous contempt of their rulers—just as in the 1990s the UN failed the genocide victims in Rwanda.If the Security Council, with a charter of high principles at its back, shows such feebleness towards tyrants (or to those who cavalierly flout nuclear treaties), doesn’t it deserve to be bypassed? John McCain, the Republican candidate for president of the United States, supports the creation of a new League of Democracies which, its boosters argue, would have not only the moral legitimacy but also the will to right the world’s wrongs effectively.The third impetus to rejig the way the world organises itself is a dawning realisation on the part of governments, rich and poor, that the biggest challenges shaping their future—climate change, the flaws and the forces of globalisation, the scramble for resources, state failure, mass terrorism, the spread of weapons of mass destruction—often need global, not just national or regional, solutions. The shift in 21st-century economic power alone is justification for rebalancing influence in the top clubs. Much harder to figure out is which bits of the global architecture need mere tweaking, which need retooling or replacing—and who should have the right to decide.

After decades of dividing the world into the rich and powerful West and the developing (or emerging) rest, China’s rapid growth and the economic dynamism of East Asia had led to talk of a new Pacific century well before the old Atlantic one had ended. On present trends, somewhere between 2025 and 2030 three of the world’s four largest economies will be from Asia. China will just pip America to top the global league, with India and Japan, both determined but so far unsuccessful campaigners for permanent seats on the UN Security Council, following on (though Chinese and Indians will still be, on average, much poorer than Americans or Japanese).

Not unipolar but what?
Yet talk of an Asian century sounds quaint. Despite America’s brief unipolar moment as its rival pole, the Soviet Union, collapsed, Russia has recovered to join a rising China, America, Europe and Japan in a new constellation of big powers that is based on far more than the old boot-and-rocket counts of the cold war. Bring India into the snapshot, and you capture 54% of the world’s population and 70% of GDP. Whether the leaders of this multipolar world will rub along or bash elbows remains to be seen.

Globalisation’s increasingly unfettered flow of information, technology, capital, goods, services and people has helped spread opportunity and influence far and wide. To re-emergent China and Russia, add not just India but Brazil (these four bracketed by Goldman Sachs in 2001 as the upcoming BRICs), Mexico, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea and Australia, to name just some of the new winners as money changes pockets and the world turns faster.

A modern map of power and influence should also include transformational tools such as the internet; manipulators from lobbying NGOs to terrorist groups; profit-takers such as global corporations and sovereign wealth funds; and unpredictable forces such as global financial flows. The principal characteristic of this world, argues Richard Haass of the Council on Foreign Relations in a recent Foreign Affairs article, is not multipolarity but nonpolarity. Dozens of actors, exercising different kinds of power, vastly complicate the effort to find a better balance of influence and responsibility. But the excuse of complexity is no answer to the demand for equity.Some clubs have proved more responsive than others. China got a new economic start simply by ditching Marx, Lenin and Mao. But its reformers were able to tap the liberal rules-based system codified in the rules of the IMF and the World Bank (and later the WTO) for ideas as well as cash. China rejoined the bank in 1980 (the Nationalist government on Taiwan had been a founder member) just as its reforms got under way. Ironically, Communist-run China has since been one of the system’s biggest beneficiaries. But it is by no means the only one. Despite the latest stockmarket dips and credit squeezes, world income per head has increased by more over the past five years than during any other similar period on record.

The IMF and the World Bank, pragmatic institutions from the outset, have adapted already, in fits and starts. In April the IMF reformed the peculiar formula by which it allocates votes and financial contributions according to economic size, reserves and other measures (see chart). China’s share of votes will increase to 3.81%, still far short of its weight in the world economy. Meanwhile, old power patterns still determine who holds the two top jobs: the bank is run by an American, the fund by a European. But a bigger problem for both organisations is relevance. Until the late 1990s the IMF, monitor of exchange rates and lender of last resort to struggling governments, had plenty of work. But emerging economies, once its chief clients and source of earnings in repaid interest and loans, are these days often awash with their own cash. Earlier this year the IMF board voted to cut staff and sell off about an eighth of its gold reserves (some 400 tonnes) to meet expected future funding shortfalls. With no obvious role in coping with the aftermath of the recent banking and stockmarket turbulence, its future role may be more as an expert economic adviser.Some worry that the world may still need a lender of last resort. Critics think the fund’s days should be numbered and its reserves put to better use for development. Still others muse that what is needed is a World Investment Organisation, to set basic rules and better track the huge and complex flows of cash that now wash around in hedge funds, sovereign wealth funds, banks and financial markets.

The World Bank has a more certain future, but still needs to retool. Competition has stiffened from private capital markets. Many governments that once needed the bank’s help for dams, roads and other big projects are earning plenty from the sale of raw materials. Even in Africa, the readiness of China and India to spend liberally without strings in pursuit of oil and minerals means that the Sudans and the Congos can take the bank’s cash and ignore the conditions attached. Yet the bank still has a role lending to unfashionable causes, or countries which donors neglect. It could also provide global public goods: funding energy-infrastructure and climate-change projects are two examples, agriculture another.

A bit too equal
While the bank and the fund are steered by their biggest shareholders, the WTO, though relying on a representative caucus of states to hammer out deals, belongs to all its members: India and Brazil, for example, are at the heart of the Doha round of trade talks. But egalitarianism can be a weakness as well as a strength.

Much admired, at least by government lawyers, are the 60,000 pages of jurisprudence that govern the workings of the WTO dispute mechanism, which has helped resolve many a trade spat. The WTO ensures that members do not discriminate among each other—the best deal they offer to anyone must be extended to everyone. This has helped level the playing field and expand world trade. Russia’s is the only large economy still outside the WTO, and that is its choice.Yet those wanting to join must strike deals with each of the existing members—now a daunting 152. Operating by consensus means that the Doha development round has bogged down in disputes between developed and developing countries over complex, reciprocal cuts in farm subsidies and tariff barriers. The prospects for moving on to services look dim. Slow progress has helped push many to forge bilateral or regional deals instead. And if the Doha round fails completely, the recriminations could run far and wide—threatening any attempt, for example, to get agreement between the developed and developing world on new mechanisms to deal with climate change.

Economic and financial power is to some extent up for bids by governments with a stake in the game, and trade rules are (arduously) negotiable. Yet the distribution of political power has proved stubbornly—debilitatingly—resistant to change.Most bitterly contested is membership of the UN Security Council, which has the right (whether exclusively or not is hotly debated) to decide what constitutes a threat to world peace and security, and what to do about it. In the UN’s other big decision-making institution, the General Assembly, all the world can have its say, and does. But here outsiders take their revenge: a caucus of mostly developing countries called the G77 (but these days comprising 130 members including China) tends to dominate and filibuster. Might it assuage resentment and improve the council’s authority and the UN’s effectiveness if America, Britain, France Russia and China invited other permanent members to join them—and considered giving up their veto? When the P5, as they are called, first grabbed the most powerful slots, the UN had 51 members; decades of decolonisation and splintering self-determination later, it has 192. The obstacles to reform grow no smaller either. Most recently a concerted effort by Brazil, Germany, India and Japan (a self-styled G4) to join the council’s permanent movers and shakers was thwarted by a combination of foot-dragging, jealousy and stiff-arming. African countries failed to agree on which of their several aspirants should join the bid. Regional rivals—Argentina and Mexico, Italy, Indonesia, Pakistan and others—lobbied to block the front-runners. China made it clear it would veto Japan; America, in supporting only Japan, helped destroy its friend’s chances.

New permanent members would broaden the regional balance. That could add authority and legitimacy to council decisions. Bringing in not only nuclear-armed India, but soft-powered Japan and the rest, would undercut the notion, perpetuated by the P5, that to be a winner you need first to crash the nuclear club. But might the price of a larger, permanently more diverse council be more potential spanner-tossers and thus greater deadlock? The hope would be that once difficult outsiders got their feet permanently under the table, sharing the responsibility for managing the world would stop them protecting bad elements, as South Africa (currently a rotating member) has been doing with Zimbabwe, in part to defy the permanent five.Prising the P5 from their vetoes might, however, have adverse effects. It was dependable veto power, ensuring their vital interests were never overridden, that kept America and Russia talking at the UN—and Nikita Khrushchev shoe-banging—through the darkest episodes of the cold war. Russia will not forget the mistake of the brief Soviet boycott of the council that led to force being authorised to repel North Korea at the start of the Korean war in 1950. China shows no sign of veto self-effacement, either. But staying at the table does not guarantee agreement. The UN is deliberately an organisation of states, and states differ for reasons good and bad. George Bush went to war in Iraq without explicit backing from the Security Council (just as NATO went to war to end ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, despite Russia’s certain veto had the issue come to a council vote). But the council’s divisions on the most contentious issues have not prevented responsible stewardship elsewhere. A Security Council summit in 1992agreed that the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was a threat to peace and security to be dealt with forcibly if need be. After the attacks of September 11th 2001, new resolutions were passed to curb terrorists’ finance and keep nuclear, chemical and biological weapons out of their hands.

There has been a huge increase over the past 15 years in the numbers of blue helmets, with 100,000 soldiers and police currently deployed. This is credited with helping to reduce the number of conflicts between states, as well as calming civil wars from Bosnia to Haiti, from Cambodia to Sudan, from Congo to Lebanon. Acceptance, at least politically, of a responsibility to protect takes the council towards territory which, earlier this decade, it would not have approached: an International Criminal Court, for example, separate from the UN but able to take its referrals, and ready to prosecute the worst crimes. Yet divisions among the P5 have often slowed deployment of peacekeepers where they are most needed, such as in Sudan’s war-torn province of Darfur. Pessimists doubt that China and Russia, both arch-defenders of the Westphalian principle that state sovereignty trumps all, will ever seriously contemplate authorising forceful intervention even to end a genocide. A new UN Human Rights Council has yet to prove it is any better than its discredited predecessor at bringing brutal governments to book. Meanwhile it took years, and North Korea’s 2006 bomb test, for China to condemn Kim Jong Il’s nuclear cheating and let the Security Council pass judgment on it. The P5 plus Germany have worked together over the past three years, slapping a series of UN resolutions and sanctions on the regime in Iran for defiance over its suspect nuclear work, yet Russia and China have doggedly watered down each text, line by line.

Doing it for themselves
There is much the UN Security Council will never be able to do, no matter who occupies its plushest seats. And there are lots of other ways to get useful things done these days. The internet helps campaigners on human rights, as on other issues, to get their message round the world rather effectively. Stung by constant exposure and criticism of its policy in Sudan and Darfur, China appointed a special envoy (who soon found he had a lot of explaining to do) and shifted ground on the need for a UN force, even though deployment is agonisingly slow. In some cases, regional organisations are better equipped to take the strain. Enlargement of the EU and NATO has helped stabilise Europe’s borderlands, with mostly European troops and police these days in the Balkans. Russia may protest, but its western frontier has never been more peaceful.

On a similar principle of African solutions to African problems, the African Union has provided troops in Sudan and elsewhere. But devolving security jobs to the neighbours can be a disaster: the AU delegated the problem of what to do about Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe to a southern African grouping, SADC, which left it to South Africa’s Thabo Mbeki, who did nothing. The hard-pressed people of Zimbabwe are still waiting for relief.East Asia, the other big potential battlefront in the cold war, used to look very different from Europe, which has long had more than its share of shock-absorbing regional clubs and institutions. Now, alongside the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), a still limited talking-shop, other regional conversations are starting up. The ASEAN Regional Forum draws in not only China, Japan and Korea, but Americans, Russians and Europeans; ASEAN-plus-three summits are clubbier, involving only regional rivals China, Japan and Korea. A new East Asian Summit excludes America but brings in India and Australia, among others; Americans naturally prefer to boost the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation forum (APEC). Meanwhile Russia, China and their Central Asian neighbours have founded the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation, in part to counter Western influence in the region as NATO battles on in Afghanistan, but in part so that Russia and China can keep an eye on each other. Annual joint military exercises are a new feature.Problem-solving groups come in all shapes and sizes, from quartets (for promoting Middle East peace or trying to settle the future of Kosovo) to entire posses. Some 80 countries in the Proliferation Security Initiative (an activity not an organisation) exchange information and train together to sharpen skills for blocking illicit shipments of nuclear or other weapons materials. Like the P5 plus 1 talks on Iran (sometimes called the E3 plus 3 by Europeans), there are six-party talks hosted by China on North Korea (and including America, South Korea, Japan and Russia), which could yet evolve into a formal north-east Asian security dialogue.More countries are taking the initiative. China, Japan and South Korea, East Asia’s rival powers, will meet this year for a first 3-minus-ASEAN summit. China, India and Russia meet from time to time to re-swear allegiance to multipolarity. They may have little more in common than an ambition to put Europe and America in the shade, but earlier this year the foreign ministers of the four BRIC countries got together for the first time; their economic and finance ministers will soon meet too. And with a wary eye to China’s growing economic and military weight, America, Australia and Japan have formed something of a security threesome, though Japan’s plan to include India too was deemed a bit provocative.

Quirky but familiar globe-spanning organisations include the Commonwealth, which knits together Britain’s former colonies plus other volunteers and does good works in all sorts of out-of-the-way places, and the Non-Aligned Movement, a cold-war hold-over with 116 members and communiqués that leave no prejudice unrecorded. But what of Mr McCain’s endorsement of a League of Democracies?The notion isn’t new. An American sponsored Community of Democracies got going with fanfare in 2000. There is nothing wrong with mobilising freedom-loving governments to speak up for democracy. But there are difficulties.Last time, America found it hard to say no to friends, and not all its friends are democrats. The new League (or Concert) of Democracies would have clearer rules for ins and outs. Supporters see it as potentially an alternative source of legitimacy, should the Security Council be hopelessly divided: a two-thirds majority of the roughly 60 countries that might qualify could even authorise the use of force to deal with threats to peace or to uphold the principle of a responsibility to protect. But would a group of countries that spans all continents from Botswana to Chile, and Israel to the Philippines, ever manage to agree on much? A supposed democracy caucus at the UN has achieved little. Dividing the world ideologically again seems a step backwards to some. Nor could such a club solve pressing global problems. Coping with climate change needs China as well as India; energy security needs Saudi Arabia and Russia, as well as oil-dependent Japan or the Europeans. The good news, given the rise of lots of new powers and players, is that this is not the 19th century. Then governments had few means other than gunboats to settle their differences. There are plenty of guns about these days, but also many other ways to settle the world’s disputes.