CHINA TYPHOON KILLS 11

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.

Eleven dead as tropical storm pounds Taiwan Fri Jul 18, 10:31 AM ET

TAIPEI (AFP) - Eleven people including a baby girl have been killed and three more are missing in Taiwan as Tropical Storm Kalmaegi brought strong winds and heavy downpours, rescuers said Friday. The one-year-old girl and her teenage uncle were killed when their house in the southern county of Kaohsiung was hit by a mudslide, the National Fire Agency said.The girl's pregnant mother was lightly injured and has been airlifted to safety with her husband.
It happened so fast... I didn't have time to save them, the husband told ERA News.In central Taichung, an army captain fell into a gutter in his barracks amid bad weather and drowned, the fire agency said.One couple died when the boat they were being rescued in capsized, it said.Rescuers have evacuated some 80 people trapped by mudslides or floods in the worst-hit central and southern Taiwan, where electricity and water supplies in hundreds of thousands of households were affected.Television footage showed residents battling rising floods and some roads were blocked or damaged by heavy rain.Kalmaegi also ravaged fields and farms, causing an estimated 111 million Taiwan dollars (3.65 million US) in damage, the government said.The storm was 70 kilometres (55 miles) north of Matsu island at 7:15 pm (1115 GMT), packing winds of up to 83 kilometres an hour, the weather bureau said.Kalmaegi was downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it bore down the east coast Thursday night, the bureau said.Offices and schools in several central counties were shut while some 3,600 fishermen sought shelter at ports, authorities said.The storm also disrupted land and air traffic. Many rail services were cancelled and nearly 20 local and international flights were suspended or delayed.

Weakened typhoon hits China after 6 die in Taiwan Fri Jul 18, 7:49 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Kalmaegi slammed into China's southeastern coast on Friday, after killing six people in neighboring Taiwan. The weakening storm made landfall in Xiapu county in Fujian province at 6:10 p.m. (1010 GMT), bringing winds of up to 90 kph (55 mph) the official Xinhua news agency said.Some 360,000 people in Fujian and the neighboring province of Zhejiang have been evacuated and more than 51,000 fishing vessels called back to harbor prior to the storm's landing, Xinhua said.Kalmaegi, a Korean word meaning seagull, was also expected to affect the country's financial hub Shanghai on Friday and Saturday, it said.

State television said it would then move northwest and further inland over China.Six people were also injured when Kalmaegi swept over northeast Taiwan late on Thursday and early on Friday. It has been downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm since.Kalmaegi, the first typhoon to hit Taiwan this year, was relatively mild, causing minor flooding and crop damage, but still prompting government authorities to issue sea warnings for the areas around the island.The storm resulted in T$86.93 million ($2.9 million) worth of crop damage, and T$20 million in damage to livestock, according to government statistics. It has also led to several flight delays and cancellations.Evening classes were cancelled on parts of the island on Thursday night as the storm approached, but all businesses and schools were open as usual on Friday.Typhoons regularly reach China, Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan from July until the end of the year, gathering strength from the warm waters of the Pacific or the South China Sea before weakening over land.

(Reporting by Guo Shipeng in Beijing; Additional reporting by Doug Young in Taipei; Editing by Ben Blanchard and Alex Richardson)

Fausto nears hurricane strength off western Mexico Fri Jul 18, 6:25 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Fausto could strengthen to a hurricane off Mexico's Pacific coast later on Friday but was moving farther from land, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Another storm farther from the Mexican west coast, Elida, weakened to a tropical storm from a hurricane and could diminish to a tropical depression in the next 48 hours as it encounters cooler waters, the Miami-based center said.Fausto had sustained winds near 70 mph (113 kph) and more strengthening was expected in the next few days, the hurricane center said in its 5 a.m. (0900 GMT) advisory. A tropical storm becomes a hurricane when maximum sustained winds reach 74 mph (119 kph).Fausto's center was about 425 miles south-southwest of Manzanillo, Mexico, and the storm was moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).It is moving away from land, hurricane center forecaster Lixion Avila said.

Hurricane Elida weakens off Mexico Fri Jul 18, 1:01 AM ET

MEXICO CITY - Hurricane Elida weakened to a Category 1 storm off Mexico on Thursday, while Tropical Storm Fausto continued to gain strength. Both storms were well off Mexico's Pacific coast and not expected to threaten land.Tropical Storm Fausto had maximum sustained winds near 70 mph and was expected to become a hurricane as early as Friday, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami.Fausto was centered 430 miles south of Manzanillo and moving west-northwest at 12 mph.Farther off the coast, Hurricane Elida was downgraded to a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 75 mph. The hurricane center said Elida will continue to weaken as it moves over cooler water and could become a tropical storm by Friday.Elida was located about 1,030 miles off the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula Thursday afternoon.In the open Atlantic, Tropical Storm Bertha had maximum sustained winds of 60 mph after pummeling the resort island of Bermuda.

Tropical Storm Bertha continues across Atlantic Thu Jul 17, 11:20 AM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bertha continued to trek across the open waters of the Atlantic on Thursday on its way to possibly becoming one of the longest-lived tropical storms on record. By 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), what had been for a while the first hurricane of the 2008 Atlantic storm season was located around 390 miles east-northeast of Bermuda, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Bertha's top sustained winds were around 60 miles per hour (95 km per hour) and the storm was moving to the east-southeast at 9 mph (15 kph), the Miami-based hurricane center said.The storm was expected to turn directly east later on Thursday and then resume a course to the northeast that would eventually see it lose its tropical characteristics over the cooler waters of the North Atlantic.Bertha has displayed an impressive resilience since forming on July 3, especially for a storm that formed so early in the six-month Atlantic hurricane season. The storm season begins on June 1 but rarely gets into gear before August.Bertha could become one of the top 10 longest-lived storms in history if it survives until the weekend, the hurricane center wrote in a discussion item on the storm.Bertha brushed by the British colony of Bermuda on Monday, knocking out power to thousands of homes but causing no injuries.It briefly grew into a major Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, the same strength that Hurricane Katrina had attained when it came ashore near New Orleans in 2005.

Elsewhere in the tropics, an area of low pressure over the southern Caribbean had become less organized overnight and seemed less likely to become the third tropical depression of the summer, the hurricane center said.That system had been of some concern to energy markets as computer models indicated it had the potential to head toward the oil and gas rigs of the Gulf of Mexico where the United States gets a third of its domestically produced crude.

Another area of disturbed weather near Central America was expected to bring potentially dangerous downpours to Honduras and Nicaragua but was not seen as a threat to the Gulf or the United States.
(Reporting by Michael Christie, Editing by Philip Barbara)

Member states query Barroso's billion for third world farmers LEIGH PHILLIPS JULY 18,08 Today @ 17:23 CET

The European Commission on Friday proposed to deliver €1 billion in emergency funding over the next two years to the developing world to help them grapple with the global food crisis.A number of member states however are critical of the plan, saying that while something must be done to deal with the crisis, Barroso's billion - as one diplomat called emergency fund - is not the way to go about it.The commission proposed the establishment of a special facility for rapid response to soaring food prices in developing countries, operating throughout the rest of 2008 and 2009.The new money would come on top of existing development funds, coming from unused money left over from the European Union's agricultural budget. The aim is not to provide money so that poor people can afford to buy what they need to eat, but instead to give credit and other monies to farmers to help them produce more food and in so doing, bring prices down.Countries most in need would be able to access the fund - to be administered via international and regional organisations, including the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the World Bank and Unicef - which would allow for the purchase of farming inputs such as fertilisers and seeds, although this could be done via credit mechanisms, rather than grants, as well as safety net measures for boost productive farming capacity.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said the ongoing food crisis was putting at risk our progress towards the Millennium Development Goals and exacerbate tensions in poor countries, namely in Africa.[The €1 billion] is an act of solidarity with the world's poorest but also a responsible measure to promote stability. It is aimed at increasing agricultural production in developing countries to combat the effects of soaring food prices. Such an increase in supply is necessary to fight rising food prices world-wide.High agricultural prices have resulted in extra cash in the 2008 EU budget and the commission believes this provides a window of opportunity to provide a temporary facility to help stimulate farming in developing countries.Development groups cautiously welcomed the new fund. Agriculture in the developing world has long suffered from a lack of investment, so this is a welcome sign that the commission has recognised the importance of putting money in this area, said Alexander Woollcombe, a spokesperson for Oxfam.

However, this should not distract attention from the unfair trade and agriculture policies that are what caused the situation in the first place, he added.The idea must first be approved by both the parliament and member states.Some eight member states have said the scheme may not be legal - Austria, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Malta, the Netherlands and Sweden - according to diplomats.One diplomat, speaking to the EUobserver, called the new fund Barroso's billion, saying: Many countries in the council have a lot of sympathy for the thought behind it, but worry whether it is in the EU rulebook financially.The move was first announced by EU agriculture commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel at a Brussels international conference on the food crisis on 3 July. The commission formally announced the proposals on Friday.

Prisoner swap gives Hezbollah domestic kudos: analysts by Rima Abushakra JULY 18,08

BEIRUT (AFP) - As Hezbollah boasted of victory in this week's prisoner swap with Israel, analysts said that the exchange gave the Shiite group increased political leverage at home. On Wednesday Israel handed over its last five Lebanese prisoners, including convicted murderer Samir Kantar, and the bodies of 199 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters.In exchange Hezbollah returned the bodies of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev who were captured on July 12, 2006, sparking a devastating 34-day war.This doesn't change anything in the equation of Hezbollah and Israel, said Timur Goksel, former spokesman for the United Nations peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).It just closes one subject, but there are still other issues. I don't expect peace to break out.Tens of thousands of people attended celebrations on Wednesday after the swap, including Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah making a rare live appearance.In Israel the picture was one of sadness.Israel came out of it looking like the humanitarian country, receiving bodies in mourning and playing the victim, while the other side looked like the aggressors, celebrating death, said Nadim Shehadi, a Lebanon expert at Chatham House in London.This image is far from reality where Lebanon was the victim of Israeli brutality in 2006 and Israel was the aggressor.The 2006 war killed more than 1,200 Lebanese, mostly civilians, and more than 160 Israelis, mostly soldiers.

Israelis were particularly appalled by the welcome for Kantar, who had been serving five life terms for a 1979 triple murder viewed as one of the most brutal attacks in the country's history.The joy that was expressed in Lebanon was mostly psychological and wasn't about one man, Goksel said, however.They don't think very much about the content of the exchange, but the fact that Hezbollah was able to impose its own demands on the Israelis and get away with it. It made people say Hey -- we won something for a change.Kantar belonged to a secular Palestinian faction and was jailed four years before Hezbollah was even formed. He was the longest-serving Arab prisoner in Israel.His release was a major feat for Hezbollah... It is precisely that he is Druze and not a Hezbollah fighter that his release has added value aside from the symbolism of it all, said Amal Saad-Ghorayeb, author of Hezbollah: Politics and Religion.The fact that Hezbollah fought so hard for a prisoner that was not one of their own, who belonged to a secular group... is healing the wounds of the May clashes this year, she said.Fierce sectarian fighting killed 65 people in May after the Hezbollah-led opposition, backed by Syria and Iran, took over large swathes of predominantly Sunni west Beirut.The fighting led to an accord being signed in Qatar that saw the election of Michel Sleiman as president after a six-month vacuum and the later formation of a national unity government. Sleiman joined usually divided political leaders including Prime Minister Fuad Siniora, parliament speaker Nabih Berri and the entire cabinet in presenting a united front to greet the returning prisoners at Beirut airport. The swap burnishes its (Hezbollah's) national credentials, especially since it was able to unify the Lebanese, even on a very cosmetic level, Saad-Ghorayeb said. Hezbollah was able to impose that unity... There was no Lebanese politician that could have possibly not greeted the prisoners. It was because it was Kantar that they all had to show up.

Hezbollah's arsenal, which it maintains is necessary to resist Israel, caused great controversy after the May clashes. The swap puts us one small step closer to an extended period in which there will be discussion of Hezbollah's arms, said Paul Salem, head of the Carnegie Middle East Centre. The discussion will be about the relationship between the armed resistance and the state and not about disarmament.Nasrallah said on Wednesday that he was open to dialogue on all issues, including Hezbollah weaponry. Saad-Ghorayeb sees this as evidence that Hezbollah is at the peak of its power.

Now more than ever, Hezbollah feels vindicated regarding its arms, the use of force and the logic of force and resistance, she said. It will be very hard for the other side to persuade the Lebanese or at least the opposition that there is an alternative more effective than resistance in defending Lebanon.

Thousands attend funerals of fighters returned from Israel by Lamia Radi Fri Jul 18, 1:27 PM ET

BEIRUT (AFP) - Thousands of people attended a memorial service in Beirut on Friday for eight Hezbollah fighters killed in the 2006 war with Israel and whose bodies were returned to Lebanon two days earlier. Some 5,000 people gathered in a convention hall in the Hezbollah stronghold of the capital's southern suburbs for the memorial, which was attended by grieving relatives and supporters of the Shiite movement.Eight coffins draped in yellow Hezbollah flags, decorated with floral wreaths and pictures of the deceased, were placed in the hall.These martyrs have defeated the enemy... our enemy who was humiliated yesterday will remain so, by the grace of God, said the head of Hezbollah's executive council, Hashem Safieddine, in a speech.The brothers of these martyrs will confront the enemy if it ever thinks of making the mistake of attacking Lebanon, he added in reference to Israel.They will be buried in this blessed land after their return from the blessed land of Palestine.The remains of the eight were handed over to Hezbollah on Wednesday as part of a swap with Israel that included the return of the remains of 199 fighters from various political factions, along with the release of five Lebanese men held prisoner in Israel.In exchange, Hezbollah handed over the bodies of two Israeli soldiers captured in a cross-border raid on July 12, 2006, that sparked a devastating 34-day war.After the speech, a prayer was recited for the souls of the dead.Relatives kissed and touched the coffins before they were carried through the southern suburbs by uniformed Hezbollah fighters as thousands of people followed.Israel has fallen, read a sign in yellow and red.

The eight bodies were to be handed over to their families for burials later Friday or Saturday in their native villages in southern Lebanon.The other bodies handed over in the exchange were of members of secular Lebanese and Palstinian political parties. Hezbollah, however, dubs itself an Islamic resistance movement.They were turned over to the respective organisations for burial, and some still require DNA testing for identification.Officials from the Palestinian Fatah faction are still in the process of identifying them, a Fatah official told AFP.Among the remains of the returned Palestinian fighters was Dalal al-Moghrabi who was killed in a 1978 attack known in Israel as the Coastal Road Massacre.The 19-year-old female leader of a Fatah commando unit became an icon of the Palestinian resistance.

In Israel, a nation mourns with the families of slain soldiers By Ilene R. Prusher Fri Jul 18, 4:00 AM ET

Nahariya, Israel - For Israelis, their Second Lebanon War, fought in summer 2006, came to a close only on Thursday, when the two soldiers whose capture became the cause for launching the conflict were laid to rest before their families and the eyes of a solemn nation. But even in their return – which transpired a day earlier as part of a swap with Hezbollah, who traded the men's bodies for the remains of some 200 Lebanese plus five Lebanese prisoners – there is still unease about the lopsided trade-off and questions about balancing the interests of affected families against those of the state.Under a sweltering July sky at the Nahariya military cemetery, which overlooks the same Mediterranean that hugs the Beirut coastline where Hezbollah continued victory celebrations Thursday, many family members and friends who eulogized Udi – Ehud Goldwasser – seemed to want to shift the sentiment that Israel had somehow lost to Hezbollah.I stand at attention before you with my eyes lifted toward my people with the request: Stand tall, lift your heads in national pride, mother Miki Goldwasser said at her son's graveside.They say because of you, a war broke out. I hope we can see this war as a victory. Through this, we have discovered that we are a strong people. We have discovered bereaved families with an undefeatable, powerful spirit. We have discovered kindness.

The most powerful words to the gathering of a few thousand came from widow Karnit Goldwasser, who has been the spokeswoman of an international campaign to release her husband and Eldad Regev, then believed to be alive. They say time heals all wounds, she said. But is this really so? Two years have passed since that debilitating moment that cut through our life's thread, the moment in which the worst scenario became a threatening reality that forced us to dive into a dark and convoluted world. I believed and hoped that the moment would come where I would wake up and say it was all just a bad dream.But Israelis have been waking up to find that many of their goals have gone unrealized. The prisoner exchange has Israel feeling like it was played. Some wondered why Israel agreed to the swap, if Hezbollah wasn't straight with Israel about whether the two were alive and whether they had information about Ron Arad, who was captured in Lebanon in 1986 and is considered missing in action.

Groundswell of public pressure
Part of the answer, analysts say, is that the families succeeded in creating a groundswell of public pressure to bring their sons home, dead or alive, even at the cost of releasing Lebanon's Samir Kuntar, convicted of killing four Israelis in a 1979 raid here.What we witnessed in the last two years and more is that the families of those soldiers and the involvement of the Israeli media and public opinion is very strong in affecting the decisionmakers, says Yitzhak Reiter, a professor of political science and Middle Eastern Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.It affects the ability to negotiate on a fair bargain, he says. This is something that Israel should handle differently. Perhaps the government in the near future will make an official decision that dead bodies will be exchanged only for dead bodies, and live soldiers for live soldiers.If the other side doesn't give you complete information about your soldiers, such as whether they are dead or alive, then you just don't do it. The government could put this criteria in place, and then if a situation occurs in the future, the enemy knows our principles and won't expect otherwise, Mr. Reiter says.

Israel's principle is that it is immoral to leave any soldier or citizen on foreign soil. It has, as a result, sometimes traded hundreds of prisoners for the release of one man. This ethos has come under some criticism in recent days. But Defense Minister Ehud Barak, speaking at Goldwasser's funeral, defended it vehemently.We were prepared to pay a high price, even higher than what seemed logical, in order to see our sons sent home, Mr. Barak said. If any of you, God forbid, should be captured, or should anything worse happen in the fight against the terror, Israel, its government, and the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] will do everything just and possible to bring you home.But Aviva Cavaille, a young woman who came to the funeral, said most Israelis could not understand how their government had agreed to a swap that didn't include Cpl. Gilad Shalit, who was abducted by Hamas more than two years ago while on duty close to the Gaza Strip.From the ethical point of view, it's not acceptable that we got the bodies of two men, and for that we released a murderer who is alive and celebrating in Lebanon, says Ms. Cavaille. It creates a greater danger for kidnappings in the future. It shows the weakness of our leadership.

Family persistence
At the same time, many others give Karnit Goldwasser credit for keeping the case of the abducted soldiers on the agenda, traveling globally and trying to force leaders to push for progress on an issue that could have easily have disappeared from the headlines. Among the partners in this were leaders in the American Jewish community, who had made dog tags with the names of the soldiers on them and asked people to wear them in solidarity.Karnit singlehandedly raised this level of awareness through her own public presence, and I think that's what got us to this point, says Lori Klinghoffer, the chairwoman of National Women's Philanthropy in the United Jewish Communities, a US umbrella group. There have been other missing soldiers, and they usually stay in the news for a week or two.Some Israelis bristled at the public's questioning over the way the swap tallied up. Columnis Yair Lapid wrote in the Yediot Ahronoth newspaper that even in Israel's hyperactive democracy people should occasionally assume that the right decision was made. The deal that ended yesterday wasn't good or bad, only necessary. Anyone who thinks there were other options, deludes himself, Mr. Lapid wrote. While it's true that Hezbollah is more calculated in its attitude toward the fate of its people, who would want to be Hezbollah today? The clamorous debate over the question of Did we get a good price or not, should be kept for buying cars.

Blair: Cease-fire should pave way to Mideast peace Fri Jul 18, 11:15AM ET

OSLO, Norway - Mideast envoy Tony Blair is urging the Israelis and Palestinians to use the cease-fire that took effect June 19 as an opportunity to try to reach a peace agreement. The former British prime minister says a two-state solution is the only way to solve the conflict.During a visit to Norway on Friday, Blair also reiterated his calls for a new plan to provide humanitarian help to people in Gaza.Earlier this week Blair called off a planned visit to Hamas-ruled Gaza after Israel's Shin Bet security service warned he might come under attack there.Blair said Friday he wanted to go to Gaza to tell people there that you are not alone.

Saudis praised for calling interfaith conference By CIARAN GILES, Associated Press Writer JULY 18,08

MADRID, Spain - Saudi Arabia won praise Friday for taking a leading role in an interfaith conference, with participants saying it was another sign the conservative Muslim kingdom is opening up. Rabbi David Rosen, the only Israeli who attended the three-day meeting led by Saudi King Abdullah, said he believes the oil-rich Persian Gulf kingdom also wants to reaffirm leadership in the Muslim world for fear of greater instability.The Saudis are definitely opening up, said Rosen, who heads inter-religious relations for the American Jewish Committee and is a former chief rabbi of Ireland. I have heard from the Saudis that this is a culmination of a process that began the moment Abdullah ascended to the throne and that he actually wants to open up Saudi society.The Saudi monarch unexpectedly called the conference about a month ago. It brought together Jews, Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Buddhists among other religions and was hosted by Spain. The meeting ended on Friday.

Critics said the Saudis were the last people who should be leading a conference on religious dialogue given that Wahhabism — the austere strain of Sunni Islam practiced in the kingdom — is considered one of the religion's most conservative. Many believe the conference was held in Spain partly because it would be politically unpalatable for Abdullah to allow Jewish and Christian leaders on Saudi soil.However, Abdullah has made reaching out to other faiths a hallmark of his rule since taking over the country in 2005. He met with Pope Benedict XVI late last year, the first meeting ever between a pope and a reigning Saudi king.And in June, Abdullah held a religious conference at home in Mecca, Islam's holiest city. At that meeting, participants pledged improved relations between Islam's two main branches, Sunni and Shiite, and Abdullah also rejected extremism, saying Muslims must present Islam's good message to the world.It's also believed that he is very concerned about instability in the region obviously in relation to Israel, Palestine, but especially Iraq and even more the ascendancy of Iran and that there is a need to reaffirm what he sees as Saudi Arabia's leadership in the region, said Rosen, who holds dual Israeli-American citizenship.William Baker, president of the U.S. group Christians and Muslims for Peace, said the real significance of the meeting was that it originated in the heart of Islam.This could not come at a better time for the whole world and peace and it could not have come from a better place as Islam is being propagandized against, lied about and distorted in the West for political purposes, said Baker.Saudi Arabia presented the conference as a strictly religious initiative. The World Muslim League, which organized it for the king, was adamant there would be no discussions of political issues such as the war in Iraq, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or Iranian nuclear ambitions.At the conference, delegates dwelt instead on issues such as dialogue within the Islamic world and with other denominations. Other topics debated were the need to protect the family, the role of women in religion and ways to protect the environment. They agreed to try to organize more conferences and involve the United Nations.For Rosen, the fact that the conference took place at all was the most significant thing.There have been interfaith conferences before, but never by the king of Saudi Arabia, he said. This is an incredible advancement.

Tomato scare ending; fears linger for many people By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR, Associated Press Writer JULY 18,08

WASHINGTON - The tomato scare may be over, but it has taken a toll —it's cost the industry an estimated $100 million and left millions of people with a new wariness about the safety of everyday foods. An Associated Press-Ipsos poll finds that nearly half of consumers have changed their eating and buying habits in the past six months because they're afraid they could get sick by eating contaminated food.They also overwhelmingly support setting up a better system to trace produce in an outbreak back to the source, the poll found.The people who feel that way include the growers.Virginia's East Coast Produce, one of the largest tomato growers in the country, has been hammered by slumping demand and falling prices, although Virginia tomatoes were cleared early on, said sales manager Batista Madonia III. He said he's frustrated by the government's inability to find the root cause of the outbreak despite a nearly two-month long investigation.

The salmonella outbreak has sickened more than 1,200 people in 42 states since the first cases were seen in April.I guarantee in that time frame, more than 1,000 people were injured slipping on a banana peel, said Madonia.Although federal officials lifted the tomato warning Thursday, the cause of the outbreak remains unknown. Hot peppers are under suspicion, and tomatoes have not been cleared everywhere.While the poll found that three in four people remain confident about the overall safety of food, 46 percent said they were worried they might get sick from eating contaminated products. The same percentage said that because of safety warnings, they have avoided items they normally would have purchased.Christy Taylor, a first-grade teacher from Sacramento, Calif., said she has all but given up on supermarket produce and is buying most of her fresh fruits and vegetables at the local farmers' market instead.I see the same farmers every single week, said Taylor, 30, the mother of 2-year-old twin girls. You meet the people and you see where the (produce) is coming from.Her twins love tomatoes, she said, and chomp on them as if they were apples. But until the mystery of the tainted food is solved, I feel a little bit more comfortable, a little more safe, doing the local farmers' market, she said.

Eighty-six percent in the poll said produce should be labeled so it can be tracked through layers of processors, packers and shippers, all the way back to the farm. The lack of such a system frustrated disease detectives working on the salmonella outbreak. However, the industry is divided over mandatory tracing technology, and Congress is running out of time to act on any major food safety changes before the election.The poll found that 80 percent of Americans said they would support new federal standards for fresh produce. Meat and poultry have long been subject to enforceable federal safeguards, but fruits and vegetables are not, although produce increasingly is being implicated in outbreaks.The high level of uneasiness should not be taken lightly, said Michael R. Taylor, a former senior federal food safety official who now teaches at George Washington University.When you have almost half the population avoiding certain foods because of safety concerns, that's very significant from the standpoint of economic impact for the people selling the food, and from the standpoint of peace of mind for consumers, said Taylor.In addition to the salmonella outbreak, this year has seen the largest ground beef recall in history, raising consumer concerns reflected in the poll.The survey found gender, racial and economic gaps on attitudes about food safety. Women, who do most of the shopping, were more concerned than men. For example, 39 percent of men said they were very confident that the food they buy is safe, but only 23 percent of women said they felt that way. However, men and women agreed on the need for better federal oversight. In Congress, a leading advocate of food safety reforms said the industry would do well to listen to consumers on the need for tracing. We live in an age of technology where you can bar-code a banana, said Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill. We've got to work this through with the industry and come up with something that's reasonable. The more confidence consumers have, the more goods they will purchase.The survey was conducted by telephone July 10-14 with 1,000 adults and had a sampling error margin of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. Associated Press polling director Michael Mokrzycki and AP writers Christine Simmons in Washington,and Steve Szkotak in Richmond, Va., contributed to this report. (This version CORRECTS name of company, East Coast Produce.)

8 Signs the Animal Kingdom Is Out of Whack Jasmin Malik Chua
Special to LiveScience LiveScience.com Fri Jul 18, 1:51 PM ET

A polar bear clinging to a melting iceberg may the poster child for global warming, but rising temperatures, pollution and other human activity are also affecting the animal kingdom in far subtler ways. Like the proverbial canary in the coal mine, the natural world could be giving us other signs that human intervention has knocked it way off kilter.

Some recent examples:

1. Earlier Migration: Several bird species are making their annual northward jaunt slightly ahead of schedule in recent springs, as the East Coast of the United States heats up, according to a study detailed in the June issue of the journal Global Change Biology. The report confirms similar studies dating back to 2006. Early birds may not sound like a huge deal, but scientists warn that long-distance migrators who start out in South America, and therefore lack cues about the timing of spring in Northern Hemisphere destinations, will be less able to keep pace with the changing climate. Trees and shrubs are further along in their development, and different groups of insects are out, said lead author Abraham Miller-Rushing of Boston University. Spring is coming earlier for most other plants and animals, but not for the long-distance migratory birds. Thus, these long-distance migrant birds may need to learn to eat different sources of food or face other challenges because of the changes in timing.

2: Jellyfish Rule: An outbreak of jellyfish in oceans across the planet has resulted from the stinging creatures hitching rides on ships that circumnavigate the globe. In fact, studies suggest that almost a quarter of all marine species in international harbors are alien transplants, thanks to human-assisted dispersal.

3: Food Web Contaminated. Scientists said last month that they found toxic pollutants in nine deep-sea species of cephalopods, a class of mollusks that includes octopuses, squid, cuttlefish and nautiluses. Among the contaminants were at least two banned in the United States in the 1970s: dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Scientists say it's further evidence that contaminants make their way deep into the marine food web.

4. Heading for the Hills: Thirty species of reptiles and amphibians have fled uphill to cooler climes as global warming has caused the mercury to rise. We could see a rash of extinctions occurring between 2050 and 2100, scientists say, because higher ground will eventually run out.

5. Penguins in Peril: A rapid population decline among penguins because, in addition to a warming planet, they face the triple whammy of oil pollution, depletion of fisheries and aggressive coastline development. Penguins are among those species that show us that we are making fundamental changes to our world, said Dee Boersma, a University of Washington biology professor who has studied the flightless birds for more than 25 years. The fate of all species is to go extinct, but there are some species that go extinct before their time and we are facing that possibility with some penguins.

6. Sea-Life Shift: Scientists see a notable shift in the composition of coastal marine animal communities, caused in part by changing ocean temperatures, from vertebrates (fish) to invertebrates (lobsters, squid, and crabs), as well as from bottom-feeders to species that feed higher in the water column. Meanwhile, warm-water species have superseded larger, cool-water species in population size.

7. Migrating Parasite: The parasite Angiostronglyus vasorum, commonly known as French heartworm, is migrating northward because of rising temperatures. Normally found in southwestern England, the parasite has been detected in dogs admitted to animal hospitals in Scotland. Climbing temperatures in the country have also resulted in a sudden proliferation of slugs and snails.

8. Food Shortages: Plant-loving animals in extremely seasonal environments such as the Arctic struggle to feed themselves because global warming causes their food supply to peak in availability before they can reach breeding grounds. Think of it like this, said Eric Post, a biologist at Penn State. You've been out on the town with friends, and on the way home you want to stop off for a bite to eat, but the restaurant you've always gone to has closed early. So you try for one around the corner that's always open a little longer. But when you get to that one, it too is closed. For herbivores, the fact that there are several restaurants - their food patches - dispersed across the landscape isn't useful if they all begin closing at the same time in addition to closing earlier in the season.

Hundreds of baby penguins found dead in Brazil By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer JULY 18,08

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil - Hundreds of baby penguins swept from the icy shores of Antarctica and Patagonia are washing up dead on Rio de Janeiro's tropical beaches, rescuers and penguin experts said Friday. More than 400 penguins, most of them young, have been found dead on the beaches of Rio de Janeiro state over the past two months, according to Eduardo Pimenta, superintendent for the state coastal protection and environment agency in the resort city of Cabo Frio.While it is common here to find some penguins — both dead and alive — swept by strong ocean currents from the Strait of Magellan, Pimenta said there have been more this year than at any time in recent memory.Rescuers and those who treat penguins are divided over the possible causes.Thiago Muniz, a veterinarian at the Niteroi Zoo, said he believed overfishing has forced the penguins to swim further from shore to find fish to eat and that leaves them more vulnerable to getting caught up in the strong ocean currents.Niteroi, the state's biggest zoo, already has already received about 100 penguins for treatment this year and many are drenched in petroleum, Muniz said. The Campos oil field that supplies most of Brazil's oil lies offshore.Muniz said he hadn't seen penguins suffering from the effects of other pollutants, but he pointed out that already dead penguins aren't brought in for treatment.

Pimenta suggested pollution is to blame.

Aside from the oil in the Campos basin, the pollution is lowering the animals' immunity, leaving them vulnerable to funguses and bacteria that attack their lungs, Pimenta said, quoting biologists who work with him.But biologist Erli Costa of Rio de Janeiro's Federal University suggested weather patterns could be involved.I don't think the levels of pollution are high enough to affect the birds so quickly. I think instead we're seeing more young and sick penguins because of global warming, which affects ocean currents and creates more cyclones, making the seas rougher, Costa said.

Costa said the vast majority of penguins turning up are baby birds that have just left the nest and are unable to out-swim the strong ocean currents they encounter while searching for food.Every year, Brazil airlifts dozens of penguins back to Antarctica or Patagonia.

Oil prices tumble in biggest weekly drop ever By ADAM SCHRECK, AP Business Writer JULY 18,08

NEW YORK - A stunning sell-off dragged oil prices to their biggest weekly drop ever and gas prices at the pump slipped by the more than they have at any point since February, giving consumers a rare breather in a year of record fuel prices. The national average for a gallon of regular fell by the most since February, AAA data show, and could ease further in the days to come.So is it time to declare the energy bubble popped? Experts won't go that far just yet.

It's too early to say we've seen the worst of it, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. We would be Pollyannish if we believe one week represents a trend.Still industry experts who just days ago thought there was more juice left in oil's meteoric run, are reconsidering.If this is not the bubble's implosion, than it's a reasonable facsimile, analyst and trader Stephen Schork said in his daily market commentary. Time will tell. Nevertheless, for the time being we no longer care to hold a bullish view.Light, sweet crude for August delivery fell 41 cents Friday to settle at $128.88 on the New York Mercantile Exchange — well below its trading record of more than $147 a week earlier.The average price of a gallon of regular gas fell about a penny for the day, to $4.105, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Diesel prices dipped three-tenths of a cent to $4.842 a gallon.

Some analysts said a nationwide average of $4 or even lower could be in the offing — almost unthinkable in a summer when there has seemed to be no relief at the pump — although they cautioned that there is no guarantee prices will stay low.We're going to see some relief from that relentless march higher, Kloza said.Gas may be getting just a bit cheaper, but major changes in how Americans live and drive are already in motion.Car buyers have been fleeing to more fuel-efficient models. U.S. sales of pickups and sport utility vehicles are down nearly 18 percent this year through June, while sales of small cars are up more than 10 percent.While slashing production of more-profitable trucks and SUVs, automakers have been scurrying to build their most fuel-efficient models faster.Toyota Motor Corp., which hasn't been able to keep up with demand for its 46-miles-per-gallon Prius hybrid, said last week it will start producing the Prius in the U.S. and suspend truck and SUV production to meet changing consumer demands.Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. also have announced plans to increase small car production, and GM has said 18 of the 19 vehicles it is launching between now and 2010 are cars or crossovers.Some brave traders used the week's pullback in oil prices as a chance to buy barrels that suddenly seemed to be on sale. But oil analysts were advising investors to beware.Buying here is an opportunity if you are a deep believer in $200 (a barrel), otherwise we think that caution would be better applied, analyst Olivier Jakob of Petromatrix in Switzerland said in a research note. If oil buyers sense that the slide was overdone, you'll probably notice at the pump quickly.

If (oil prices) rebound, you're going to see a quick reaction at the gas station, because their profit margins are so stretched, AAA spokesman Geoff Sundstrom said. They may be very fast bringing prices back up.In other Nymex trade, heating oil futures fell 5.23 cents to settle at $3.6915 a gallon while gasoline futures edged up 0.73 cent to $3.1709 a gallon. Natural gas futures rose 3.3 cents to $10.57 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude futures for September delivery rose 88 cents to settle at $130.19 on the ICE Futures Exchange.

US-IRANIAN RELATIONS
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Senior US envoy joins Iran nuclear talks By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer JULY 18,08

VIENNA, Austria - A senior U.S. envoy will sit eye-to-eye for the first time Saturday with a top Iranian nuclear negotiator, a sharp reversal in U.S. policy that aims to entice Tehran into ending activities that could be used to make atomic weapons. The move to send Undersecretary of State William Burns to the Geneva nuclear talks has raised the hackles of Washington hardliners who say it signals U.S. weakness. But supporters insist because both Tehran and the United States want to ease tensions, the move could breathe life into deadlocked nuclear talks.On the eve of the meeting, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said the talks offered hope for a peaceful solution to the standoff over Tehran's nuclear program. But he also expects no quick changes from Iran, which has said the essentials — an apparent reference to suspending uranium enrichment — will not be on the table.After the Geneva meeting, we must not hope for an improvement, a change of attitude, right away, he said in Paris.Initially, supporters of the negotiations say, the U.S and its allies could agree to stop pushing for new U.N. sanctions if Tehran stops expanding its uranium-enrichment capacities — setting the stage for fuller negotiations and what the West hopes will be agreement from Tehran to dismantle its enrichment program.

Uranium enrichment can produce both reactor fuel and the core of nuclear warheads. Iran says it has a right to enrich for peaceful uses and continues expanding its program despite three sets of U.N. Security Council sanctions sparked by concern that Iran's ultimate goal is to make weapons.The Americans are part of a six-nation effort — the permanent Security Council members plus Germany — trying to encourage Iran to suspend its nuclear efforts in exchange for economic and political incentives.The venue of Saturday's talks reflects the potential significance of the meeting.The Hotel de Ville, or city hall, stands at the top of Geneva's Old Town. Its neoclassical rooms have hosted important international negotiations since 1872, when an arbitration tribunal ordered Britain to pay the United States $15.5 million in Civil War damages. It was also the first home of the League of Nations, predecessor of today's United Nations.The all-day talks, formally led by EU envoy Javier Solana and Iranian negotiator Saeed Jalili, start at 11 a.m.American officials have insisted that Burns' presence will be a one-time event and he will listen to the Iranians but will not be negotiating. They also say the U.S. continues to demand that Iran fully freeze uranium enrichment — a point Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice again drove home Friday.Sending Burns to Geneva is a strong signal that the United States is serious about diplomacy, but the U.S. continues to insist the start of negotiations with Iran is contingent on the verifiable suspension of Iran's enrichment and reprocessing activities, she told reporters at the State Department.Policy hawks disagree. John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and undersecretary of state in charge of Tehran's nuclear file, said the move represents a U-turn in the U.S. stance on Iran.To the Iranians, it will send a sign of the political weakness of a (U.S.) administration in its last days and desperate for a deal, he told The Associated Press.The United States and its five partners (Britain, France, Germany, Russia and China) have insisted all along that they want a full halt to Iranian enrichment. Still, Burns' decision to attend the Geneva talks shows that Washington may accept something less than full suspension, at least as a first step, to achieve its ultimate goal under a freeze-for-freeze proposal.The freeze-for-freeze idea envisions a six-week commitment from both sides. Preliminary talks meant to lead to formal nuclear negotiations would start, Iran could continue enrichment but only at its present level, and the U.S. and its allies would stop pushing for new U.N. sanctions.If that results in the start of formal talks, the Iranians would stop all enrichment temporarily. Those talks, in turn, are meant to secure Tehran's commitment for an indefinite ban on enrichment.

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking in Ankara on Friday, said the talks could also result in agreements to open a U.S. interest-protection bureau in Iran and establish have direct flights between the two nations. U.S. interests in Iran are now represented by the Swiss Embassy in Tehran. Iran and the United States broke off diplomatic relations after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and hostage crisis at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. Official contacts between the two countries are extremely rare. If the Geneva talks make little progress, the White House will have some tough decisions to make, now that it has at least stretched — if not broken — its own rules on engaging the Iranians face to face on the nuclear issue. The administration could decide to pull out of the six-nation group trying to entice Iran into negotiations.

That would surely cripple the diplomatic effort to engage Tehran on the nuclear front — and increase fears of a U.S. military option, something the Bush administration has refused to rule out. Tensions over Iran's nuclear activities began five years ago, with revelations that it had hidden enrichment activities for nearly two decades. A U.S. intelligence estimate last year says Iran tried to make nuclear weapons at least until 2003 — allegations Tehran vehemently denies. Iran suspended enrichment that year but resumed in 2005 after rejecting EU incentives for a long-term halt to enrichment. The Geneva talks are based on a revamped version of the 2005 incentive package. Associated Press writers Bradley S. Klapper in Geneva and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed to this report.

ISRAEL MUST ACT ALONE AGAINST IRAN

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.

Tropical Storm Fausto expected to strengthen Thu Jul 17, 6:17 AM ET

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Fausto is expected to strengthen in the Pacific and forecasters say it could soon become a hurricane.

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, the storm had maximum sustained winds near 60 mph early Thursday.The storm is moving west near 16 mph and its center is located about 530 miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico.Farther out in the Pacific, Hurricane Elida is beginning to feel the effects of cooler waters and its cloud pattern has become less distinct. The storm's center is about 795 miles west-southwest of the tip of Baja California, Mexico. The hurricane's maximum sustained winds are near 100 mph.And in the Atlantic, Tropical Storm Bertha has weakened to near 60 mph as it moves southeastward away from the U.S. mainland.

Bertha becomes longest lived July storm By ELIZABETH ROBERTS, Associated Press Writer Tue Jul 15, 11:23 PM ET

HAMILTON, Bermuda - Tropical Storm Bertha headed back out over open ocean and away from the U.S. mainland Tuesday after it battered Bermuda, knocking out electricity to thousands on the Atlantic tourist island. It is the longest-lived July tropical storm in history, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. Bertha became the Atlantic season's first hurricane, before weakening into a tropical storm. It is expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours, forecasters said.The previous longest-lived storm, known as Storm No. 2, occurred in 1960 and lasted just over 12 days, according to forecaster Daniel Brown. Bertha is entering its 13th day.The storm was centered 360 miles (580 kilometers) northeast of Bermuda Tuesday night, with sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kph), the center said. It was moving northeast at 6 mph (9 kph).In Bermuda, the government dispatched cleanup crews and expected to restore power to 200 remaining customers by the end of the day. Bertha's heavy rains flooded roads and its winds felled utility poles, leaving up to 7,500 without electricity on Monday. There were no reports of injuries.Bertha whipped up dangerous rip currents along the U.S. East Coast from the Carolinas through southern New England, contributing to at least one drowning Saturday along a New Jersey beach, officials said.Elida became the second hurricane of the Eastern Pacific region's season on Monday, scattering rains across Mexico's central coast.The storm, with winds of nearly 75 mph (120 kph), was headed away from land Tuesday night and was expected to gradually weaken during the next 48 hours. Elida was centered about 530 miles (850 kilometers) south-southwest of the southern tip of the Baja California peninsula, and was moving west about 12 mph (19 kph).

Tropical Storm Bertha moves east across Atlantic Wed Jul 16, 11:45 AM ET

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Bertha strengthened on Wednesday as it moved eastward across the Atlantic, away from the British colony of Bermuda and over open ocean, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The storm, which for a while became the 2008 Atlantic storm season's first hurricane, raked Bermuda with stiff winds and heavy rains on Monday. It was expected to turn to the southeast and then northeast over the coming days.Bertha formed near the Cape Verde islands off Africa on July 3 and is already the longest-lived July tropical storm since records began in 1851, a potentially ominous signal that this six-month Atlantic hurricane season could be a busy one.It still has a number of days of life in it before it reaches cooler waters in the northern Atlantic and fades away, the Miami-based hurricane center said.By 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), Bertha was around 380 miles (610 km) northeast of Bermuda and moving eastward at 3 miles per hour (6 km per hour).Its top sustained winds had increased to 70 mph (110 kph), a shade short of the 74 mph (119 kph) threshold at which tropical storms are reclassified as hurricanes.

Bertha is expected to move toward the southeast later today and turn back to (the) east on Thursday, the hurricane center said in an advisory.Bertha was less of a potential threat to U.S. oil and gas rigs in the Gulf of Mexico than an area of disturbed weather 225 miles east of the Windward Islands of the Caribbean, which the hurricane center said could become a tropical depression later on Wednesday.A U.S. Air Force hurricane hunter aircraft would fly out to investigate the disturbance later in the day, the center said.

Computer models used to predict the paths of storms showed the weather system, which would be called Cristobal if it became a tropical storm or hurricane, would most likely take a southerly track through the Caribbean sea toward Central America and the Gulf.
(Reporting by Michael Christie, Editing by Vicki Allen)

California mountain towns clean up mud flows Tue Jul 15, 10:40 PM ET

LAKE ISABELLA, Calif. - Bulldozers worked Tuesday to reopen roads and clear tons of mud left by flash floods after thunderstorms unleashed downpours on mountain slopes burned bare by California wildfires. An evacuation warning remained in effect for about 80 homes in the Erskine Creek area of Lake Isabella, a community near a forest fire about 90 miles north of Los Angeles.It's safer if they just stay out till the threat ... is over, said fire spokeswoman Barbara Dougan.The National Weather Service issued a flash flood warning for the fourth day in row for the town, downslope from the fire.After about an hour of rain Tuesday, a creek swelled over a road, said Kern County Fire Department spokesman Chris Stroub.Today it wasn't so bad because the rain fell on the eastern, desert side, Stroub said. That drainage is less inhabited and people were prepared for it because it's been going on for a couple days now.Earlier rainstorms left streets covered by ash and mud Monday afternoon.Donna Campbell, who works in the town, said the mud covered one block of Lake Isabella Boulevard nearly 3 feet deep, she said, and has people's belongings in it.No major damage was reported, but flows that began during the weekend had dirtied creeks, Dougan said.Afternoon thunderstorms over the mountains have dumped about an hour of heavy rain daily, said Eric Boldt, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Oxnard.A flash flood watch was in effect until late Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada and other areas. Wednesday was expected to be drier, said Gary Sanger, a Weather Service meteorologist in Hanford.

Cleanup crews were still busy in the Inyo County town of Independence, below the eastern flank of the Sierra, where rain falling on the scars of wildfires last year triggered flash floods Saturday, damaging homes and covering U.S. 395 — the major artery of eastern California — with debris.Cars were escorted through a single lane of the highway, about 200 miles north of Los Angeles.

Mud badly damaged at least 25 structures and many outbuildings. Residents were sent to a shelter.The damage is devastating. It's amazing to me that no lives were lost, truly, because there was no warning, Inyo County sheriff's spokeswoman Carma Roper said.In some areas, there's feet of silt and debris that has washed down, she said.

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.

Bush set to survey Northern California wildfires By JULIANA BARBASSA, Associated Press Writer Thu Jul 17, 7:15 AM ET

SAN FRANCISCO - The White House said President Bush will visit Northern California on Thursday to get a first-hand look at the wildfires that have ravaged hundreds of square miles and strained the state's firefighting resources. The president was expected to travel to Redding to get a briefing on the wildfires, then take an aerial tour to survey fire damage in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to White House officials. Bush also plans to attend a private Republican fundraising event in Napa.Firefighters continued to battle dozens of blazes around the state, most sparked by a massive lightning storm three weeks ago. The more than 2,000 wildfires that have burned nearly 1,400 square miles since June 21 have combined to create what officials are calling the single largest fire event recorded in California history.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency in 12 counties affected by the wildfires and called in the California National Guard to help.Schwarzenegger met Wednesday with Air Force Gen. Gene Renuart, the chief of the U.S. Northern Command, to discuss federal and state military cooperation in fighting fires and the resources necessary.Given the size and intensity of the fire threat facing California, it is only through working together on a local, regional and national level that we will stay prepared to fight future fires, the governor said in a statement.Despite burning a record number of acres for a single fire event, there have been few deaths and injuries so far compared to previous disasters, including what officials consider one of the worst series of fires in October 2003, during which 1,155 square miles burned. Those blazes killed 24 people and destroyed thousands of homes.Considering the number of acres that burned, there was so much more potential for injuries and fatalities than occurred, said Daniel Berlant, a state fire department spokesman.The second-degree burn suffered Monday by a firefighter who fell into a hole created by tree roots in Butte County was among the most serious injuries. The only firefighter death so far has been attributed to a heart attack, Berlant said.Among residents, accidents have also been few. A man whose body was found Friday in a burned-out house in rural Butte County was identified Wednesday as a 61-year-old man who didn't heed evacuation requests from sheriffs' deputies.

It's important that people listen, Berlant said. When we put an evacuation notice out, there's a reason. People want to defend their property, but they're not trained, they don't have safety gear.Three men and a teenager trapped by flames in a Northern California forest were rescued on a closed road by fire crews Wednesday and treated for burns, authorities said.Jose Alcazar Fernandez, 25, received third-degree burns and was flown to a burn center in the Sacramento area. Sylvestre Carrillo, 25, and Miguel Alcazar Carillo, 24, were arrested for being in a closed area and then transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.The teenager's name was not released. He was treated at a hospital for minor burns, ticketed for being in a closed area and released, said Jim Richardson, chief ranger at the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area.Meanwhile, controlled burns designed to clear brush from the hills skirting the Big Sur coast were going well, officials said.

Mandatory evacuation orders remained in place Wednesday for about 20 homes along the heavily wooded ridges near Carmel Valley, said Ruby Urueta, spokeswoman with the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center. Another 200 houses were emptied in the nearby rural community of Cachagua because of the fire danger.The complex of fires in Butte County is 75 percent contained after burning through 84 square miles and destroying dozens of homes.Also Wednesday, investigators looking into the cause of another fire in Butte County in early June, before the lightning storm, said they believed that blaze was intentionally set. The fire forced thousands of people in and around the town of Paradise to flee and destroyed more than 80 homes. In Washington state, authorities lifted an evacuation advisory Wednesday for some 2,300 homes east of Spokane threatened by a blaze that has scorched 1,006 acres. The fire was 90 percent contained Wednesday, and crews hoped to fully contain it by Thursday morning. Despite gusty winds and warm temperatures the past few days, fire crews continued to gain ground Wednesday on several blazes burning in eastern Washington. A fire near Mount Adams has burned nearly 12 square miles in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest and on the Yakama Indian Reservation. No homes were threatened. Associated Press writer Amanda Fehd contributed to this report.

FAMINE

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

FAMINE

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

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

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

Honey bee crisis could lead to higher food prices By STEPHANIE S. GARLOW, Associated Press Writer Thu Jun 26, 7:42 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Food prices could rise even more unless the mysterious decline in honey bees is solved, farmers and businessmen told lawmakers Thursday. No bees, no crops, North Carolina grower Robert D. Edwards told a House Agriculture subcommittee. Edwards said he had to cut his cucumber acreage in half because of the lack of bees available to rent.About three-quarters of flowering plants rely on birds, bees and other pollinators to help them reproduce. Bee pollination is responsible for $15 billion annually in crop value.

In 2006, beekeepers began reporting losing 30 percent to 90 percent of their hives. This phenomenon has become known as Colony Collapse Disorder. Scientists do not know how many bees have died; beekeepers have lost 36 percent of their managed colonies this year. It was 31 percent for 2007, said Edward B. Knipling, administrator of the Agriculture Department's Agricultural Research Service.If there are no bees, there is no way for our nation's farmers to continue to grow the high quality, nutritious foods our country relies on, said Democratic Rep. Dennis Cardoza of California, chairman of the horticulture and organic agriculture panel. This is a crisis we cannot afford to ignore.Food prices have gone up 83 percent in three years, according to the World Bank.

Edward R. Flanagan, who raises blueberries in Milbridge, Maine, said he could be forced to increase prices tenfold or go out of business without the beekeeping industry. Every one of those berries owes its existence to the crazy, neurotic dancing of a honey bee from flower to flower, he said.The cause behind the disorder remains unknown. Possible explanations include pesticides; a new parasite or pathogen; and the combination of immune-suppressing stresses such as poor nutrition, limited or contaminated water supplies and the need to move bees long distances for pollination.Ice cream maker Haagen-Dazs and natural personal care products company Burt's Bees have pledged money for research and begun efforts to help save the bees.The problem affects about 40 percent of Haagen-Dazs' 73 flavors, including banana split and chocolate peanut butter, because ingredients such as almonds, cherries and strawberries rely on honey bees for pollination.Katty Pien, brand director for Haagen-Dazs, said those ingredients could become too scarce or expensive if bees keep dying. It could force the company to discontinue some of its most popular flavors, Pien said.Haagen-Dazs has developed a new limited-time flavor, vanilla honey bee, and will use some of the proceeds for research on the disorder. Burt's Bees has introduced Colony Collapse Disorder Lip Balm to soften your lips while saving honeybees.The House Appropriations Committee approved $780,000 on Thursday for research on the disorder and $10 million for bee research. The money awaits approval by the full House and Senate.
On the Net:Haagan-Dazs Help the Honey Bees campaign: http://www.helpthehoneybees.com/Burt's Bees: http://www.burtsbees.com Pollinator Partnership: http://www.polinator.org/ House Committee on Agriculture: http://agriculture.house.gov/index.shtml

OZONE DEPLETION

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Some U.S. weather models forecast late July heat wave By Christine Stebbins Wed Jul 16, 2:25 PM ET

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Some U.S. weather forecasting models suggested a high pressure ridge would move into the western Midwest by late July which could mean hot and dry weather when corn is in the midst of pollination, meteorologists said Wednesday. The U.S. weather model, also referred to as the Global Forecast System (GFS) model, is forecasting a heat wave for the 11- to 16-day period but several U.S. agricultural forecasters doubted whether the heat wave would materialize.There maybe some heat in the 11-16 day forecast but that's way out there and I don't see that happening, said John Dee, meteorologist for Global Weather Monitoring, Mohawk, Michigan.Just the hint of drier weather sent Chicago Board of Trade corn and soybean markets higher on Wednesday as the market is ultra-sensitive to anything that could affect crop yields, grain traders said.New-crop November soybean futures were up 36 cents at $15.52 a bushel and December corn climbed 8 cents to $6.74-3/4 a bushel near the close.

If you took the GFS model at face value it would support some much hotter temperatures in the northwest, said Joel Widenor, meteorologist with Cropcast in Rockville, Maryland.The Cropcast 11- to 15- day Midwest forecast is for above-normal temperatures -- highs in the mid to low 90s degrees Fahrenheit -- but the GFS model is calling for much-above normal temperatures.We're just not going to be that aggressive, Widenor said. The extended forecasts have been hot but it never seems to materialize.Drew Lerner, meteorologist and president of World Weather Inc in Kansas City, concurred, A ridge of higher pressure will be present over the Plains and portions of the western Corn Belt in the last days of July, but not this intense.Lerner added, I stand by our forecast from this morning that said there would still be some scattered showers occurring underneath the ridge and downstream from it.
(Additional reporting by Sam Nelson and Julie Ingwersen; Editing by John Picinich)

ISRAELIS BURY SOLDIER
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Freed Lebanese say they will keep fighting Israel By ZEINA KARAM, Associated Press Writer JULY 17,08

BEIRUT, Lebanon - Five militants freed as part of a prisoner swap with Israel prayed Thursday at the grave of a slain Hezbollah military commander, pledging to follow in his footsteps and keep fighting Israel. Wearing military fatigues, the five men walked a red carpet laid out for them outside Imad Mughniyeh's burial site at a cemetery south of Beirut. They placed wreaths at the grave and gave a military salute as supporters showered them with rice.

Mughniyeh, a shadowy figure Israel and the West accused of masterminding terrorist bombings in the 1980s and 1990s, was killed in a car bomb in neighboring Syria in February.Hezbollah and its supporters regard him as a hero of almost mythical stature. The militant group dubbed Wednesday's prisoner exchange Operation Radwan in reference to Mughniyeh's nom de guerre, Hajj Radwan.We swear by God ... to continue on your same path and not to retreat until we achieve the same stature that God bestowed on you, said Samir Kantar, who had been the longest-held Lebanese prisoner in Israel.Kantar had been convicted of a notorious 1979 attack where he allegedly killed a father in front of his 4-year-old daughter, and then killed the girl by crushing her skull with a rifle butt. The girl's 2-year-old sister was accidentally smothered by her mother, who held her hand over the toddler's mouth to stifle her cries while the two hid in a crawl space.Kantar referred to Mughniyeh's martyrdom, saying, This is our great wish. We envy you and we will achieve it, God willing.A member of the Druse minority sect, Kantar and four Shiite Muslim guerrillas were freed in exchange for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers captured by Hezbollah in 2006. Their capture sparked a 34-day war between Israel and Hezbollah.Thousands of Israelis mourned at the burials of the two soldiers Thursday.Later in the day, hundreds of people welcomed Kantar in his hometown of Abey, a mountain hamlet 10 miles south of Beirut.

This time yesterday, I was in the hands of the enemy (Israelis). But at this moment, I am yearning more than before to confront them, Kantar said.Israel also returned to Lebanon the bodies of nearly 200 Lebanese and Palestinian fighters who were killed fighting Israel over the past three decades.Eight tractor-trailers loaded with coffins carrying their remains were driven Thursday from south Lebanon to Beirut. The convoy was stopped often along the way by throngs of supporters in the port cities of Tyre and Sidon, as well as in other towns.In Sidon, a wooden platform set up as a viewing stand for onlookers as the convoy rolled by collapsed, injuring at least 10 people, including four news photographers, security officials said.Villagers showered rice and rose petals on the coffins wrapped in Lebanese and Hezbollah flags and covered with wreaths. A banner on one of the trucks read, The Martyrs of Victory.Also Thursday, many Lebanese complained they were receiving recorded phone messages from Israel promising harsh retaliation to any future Hezbollah attack. The automated messages also warned against allowing Hezbollah to form a state within a state in Lebanon. The speaker signs off at the end of the phone messages with the words: The State of Israel.There was no immediate confirmation from Israel, though reports surfaced of similar Israeli phone campaigns during the 2006 war.Israel has never confirmed involvement in such calls, but it is known to use a variety of propaganda and psychological techniques to try to reach Lebanese residents and persuade them not to support Hezbollah.

Lebanon's official National News Agency said residents in south and eastern Lebanon as well as the capital Beirut reporting receiving the calls. It said Telecommunications Minister Jibran Bassil contacted the United Nations to complain, calling it a flagrant aggression against Lebanese sovereignty.

Israel's Prisoner Swap: Pain, Closure By TIM MCGIRK / ROSH HANIKRA Thu Jul 17, 1:30 AM ET

For two years, the father of Israeli soldier Eldad Regev never lost hope that his son might return home alive. But on Wednesday morning, sitting with his wife and relatives, Tzvi Regev watched on TV as a Lebanese vehicle pulled up at the Israeli border post. Red Cross workers unloaded two black lacquered coffins, confirming the terrible truth: Eldad Regev was dead.To see it on TV, watching them put the coffins on the ground was dreadful, says Regev. I asked them to turn off the TV set. For two years, we were driven by the hope that our son might still be alive.In two years of bargaining over the return of Regev and Ehud Goldwasser - the two Israeli soldiers whose capture by Hizballah in a cross-border raid in the summer of 2006 triggered a month-long war - the Shi'ite militia had never let on that their two hostages might be dead. This cruel game had allowed the Regev and Goldwasser families to hope against hope that their loved ones might come bounding out of the Lebanese Red Cross van that instead was carrying their coffins. Hizballah's macabre tough tactics with the Israelis had worked: The Jewish State's primal yearning for the return of its two boys, dead or alive, forced Prime Minister Ehud Olmert into a prisoner exchange that many Israelis saw as necessary but unsavory: In exchange for the caskets containing the remains of Regev and Goldwasser, Israel released five Lebanese prisoners - including Samir Kuntar, who had been responsible for the death of an Israeli father and his two children in 1979 - and the bodies of more than 190 dead Lebanese and Palestinian fighters. Early in the war, Israeli authorities concluded that the two soldiers had most probably died from wounds sustained in the original ambush, and Israeli commandos had staged a fruitless raid on a hospital in the Bekaa Valley in the hope of recovering their remains.

Israeli intelligence experts told TIME that Wednesday's prisoner swap will complicate negotiations currently underway, via Egyptian intermediaries, for the release of another Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, held captive by Hamas somewhere in Gaza. This was a big mistake, one officer said. Next time, we'll have to pay more.Not that Prime Minister Olmert had much choice. He had launched the Lebanon war ostensibly to rescue Regev and Goldwasser, but also - with the Bush Administration's prodding - to destroy the military capability of the Iran-backed Hizballah movement. Olmert's invasion failed on both counts. And it was only by securing the release of the two soldiers, even at a high cost, that Olmert and the Israeli people could achieve closure on the debacle of the Lebanese war. Also, the Regev and Goldwasser families, through low-key but eloquent lobbying in Israel, the U.S. and in Europe, had created a groundswell of public pressure for a hostage exchange that Olmert could not ignore, despite warnings against it from his military and intelligence advisers. The scorecard may have been best summarized by a banner stretched across the road on the Lebanese side of the border, which read: Lebanon is shedding tears of joy, Israel is shedding tears of pain. The Lebanese government declared a national holiday to celebrate the prisoner exchange, and Kuntar was singled out as a hero. In 1979, he and three other guerrillas had rowed ashore in a dinghy and raided an apartment building in the Israeli coastal town of Nahariya, carrying out the brutal killings. I don't know what world I'm coming out into, Kuntar apparently told his Israeli jailors. Kuntar was only 16 when he participated in the deadly guerrilla raid; now he's a stocky 45-year-old with a mustache. Israeli military officials waited until after conducting identification tests on the two bodies of Goldwasser and Regev before notifying the grieving families. Afterwards, Goldwasser's father, Shlomo, in a voice of ice-edged fury, asked the Lebanese people to consider the sacrifices they made during the war sparked by Hizballah's kidnapping of Regev and his own son. They've lost some 800 men and their entire economy, and for what? For someone who killed a four-year old? Can someone like that be called a hero? He's nothing more than a bastard. Many Israelis agreed, but the high price of freeing Kuntar was worth it, they say, to bring home Israel's two lost sons for burial. - With reporting by Aaron. J. Klein/Rosh HanikraTime.com

Stocks trade mixed on earnings reports, rising oil By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JULY 17,08

NEW YORK - Stocks traded mixed Thursday as investors parsed stronger-than-expected quarterly reports from JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Technologies Corp. that gave Wall Street some reassurance about the health of the economy. But a rise in oil prices appeared to erode some of the enthusiasm. The major indexes at times dipped into negative territory but advancing stocks outnumbered decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. The modest moves come a day after falling oil prices and surprising bank results swept Wall Street to a huge rally.A flurry of quarterly results are offering investors some insights into the well-being of the economy. Three components of the Dow Jones industrial average — Coca-Cola Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and United Technologies Corp. — issued comments that generally indicated that their businesses are holding up despite sometimes difficult economic conditions.Wall Street also appeared placated by economic figures. A Commerce Department report showed construction of homes and apartments rose in June by 9.1 percent. The gain follows a change in New York laws that has given a boost to apartment building. Construction of single-family homes fell by 5.3 percent to the slowest pace in 17 years. Applications for building permits, one indicator of future activity, rose by 11.6 percent.The reports arriving Thursday at times investors put aside some of their worst fears about the economy. To be sure, many companies have yet to report quarterly results and there are still trouble spots, such as the banking sector.

But oil prices rebounded after trading lower early Thursday. Light, sweet crude rose $1.27 to $135.87 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Oil fell more than $4 Wednesday and more than $6 Tuesday, offering investors some hope that perhaps commodity prices will begin to decline.In late morning trading, the Dow rose 5.62, or 0.05 percent, to 11,344.90 after jumping more than 110 points early in the session. The Dow on Wednesday surged 276 points, or 2.5 percent, logging its best daily gain in three months.Broader stock indicators declined Thursday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.31, or 0.27 percent, to 1,242.05, and the Nasdaq composite index declined 9.91, or 0.43 percent, to 2,274.94.Advancing issues outpaced decliners by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 468.2 million shares.Stocks soared Wednesday after better-than-expected quarterly results from Wells Fargo & Co. helped ease some of investors' worries about the health of the banking sector. Wall Street has grown concerned that souring mortgage debt would force some banks to go under.Bond prices declined Thursday as investors turned away from the safety of government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.98 percent from 3.94 percent late Wednesday.The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.A drop in oil — or even oil remaining off its highs — would be welcome news for nearly all parts of the economy. Consumers, in particular, have been hard-pressed by higher fuel and food costs. Wall Street is worried they will pare their spending on discretionary items to make room in their budgets for the higher-priced necessities. A pullback could be troublesome as consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.

In other economic news, the Labor Department reported that the number of newly laid-off people seeking unemployment benefits rose by 18,000 last week to 366,000. However, the increase was below the number economists expected.Investors appeared undeterred by a reading from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve showing another decrease in regional manufacturing.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.31, or 0.34 percent, to 684.44.Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average closed up 1.00 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 2.93 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 2.30 percent, and France's CAC-40 surged 3.12 percent.
On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

E. coli linked to beef now reported in 5 states Tue Jul 15, 6:58 PM ET

ATLANTA - An E. coli outbreak traced to recalled beef in Michigan and Ohio has spawned cases in three other states, U.S. health officials said Tuesday. New York, Kentucky and Indiana each have one lab-confirmed case of a bacterial infection that matches the 41 previously reported cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The outbreak has been traced to beef sold in Kroger supermarkets in Michigan and Ohio. The Kroger Co. last month recalled ground beef sold in Michigan and Ohio stores, then this month expanded it to include other states. Nebraska Beef Ltd. supplied the meat, ultimately recalling 5.3 million pounds of beef.

The Kentucky patient lives near Ohio, but the New York and Indiana patients did not travel to either of the states where the outbreak began, said Mark Sotir, a CDC investigator working on the outbreak.

All 44 illnesses in the outbreak are attributed to the same type of E. coli, one that causes a potentially deadly bacterial infection. The illnesses began between May 30 and June 24. CDC officials say 21of the victims have been hospitalized and one developed kidney failure, but no one has died.On the Net:The CDC's E. coli site: http://cdc.gov/ecoli

PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS

JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME

PSALMS 14:1
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.

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

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

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

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

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

WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.

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

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

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

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

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

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

THEIR GOVERNMENT AT WORK Offend a homosexual ... Go to prison for 5 years.Teachers, pastors facing criminalization of homophobia JUlY 16,08 2008 WorldNetDaily

Christians will face prison for speaking out against homosexuality if Brazil's Senate passes a bill approved unanimously by its House of Representatives.The measure is considered the country's newest attempt to promote homosexuality, disguised as an act to combat discrimination, the Catholic News Agency reports.If anyone prevents actions of homosexual affection in public or private locations open to the public, they could face up to five years in prison for doing so, the Association of the Defense of Life reports.The bill also seeks to penalize private and public school administrators with up to three years in prison if they refuse to hire openly gay teachers.

According to the CNA, the measure will force prison time for any moral, ethical, philosophical or psychological expression that questions homosexual practices.The ADL claims the bill could spell disaster for churches and teachers.[A] priest, a pastor, a teacher or even an average citizen who says in a sermon, a classroom or public conversation that homosexual acts are sinful, disordered or an illness could be denounced and detained, the association said.Only weeks ago, WND reported the president of Brazil said opposing homosexuality makes you a sick person, and he believes such thoughts need to be criminalized.Brazilian chief Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who won a narrow re-election following a cash-for-votes scandals, held the First National Conference of Gays, Lesbians, Bisexuals, Transvestites and Transsexuals to condemn the biblical belief that homosexuality is wrong.Lulu, on June 5, not only officially opened the event to promote homosexuality across his nation but also issued a presidential sanction for the conference.Calling for the criminalization of homophobia, he said opposition to homosexuality is perhaps the most perverse disease impregnated in the human head.He said prejudiced people need to open their minds and clean them. Other speakers encouraged homosexuals to claim to be part of a civil rights campaign that already has brought reforms for treatment of blacks, the elderly and the disabled. They also announced the nation's public hospitals soon would begin to perform sex changes on people.

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).

Britain ratifies beleaguered EU treaty Thu Jul 17, 7:17 AM ET

LONDON (AFP) - Britain has formally ratified the European Union's beleaguered new reform treaty, whose future was plunged into doubt when Irish voters rejected it last month, a spokesman said Thursday. The final stage in approving the Lisbon Treaty was completed when the instruments of ratification were filed in Rome, some four weeks after it was passed by parliament in London.The documents were lodged in Rome yesterday, said a Foreign Office spokesman, referring to the official papers, sealed and bound in blue leather, which were handed to the Italian foreign ministry.

The Lisbon Treaty, which is designed to streamline decision-making in the expanding bloc, was thrown into limbo after Irish voters rejected it in a referendum on June 12.Leaders of the 27-nation bloc are grappling with how to salvage the treaty after the Irish No vote, since it has to be ratified by all member states to come into force.Britain's parliament passed the treaty on June 18, and it was given Royal Assent the next day, despite fierce opposition by the main opposition Conservative Party and other eurosceptic critics.The final stage in ratification was to deposit the instruments of ratification in Rome, since the Lisbon Treaty is formally an amendment to the 1957 Rome Treaty which founded the European club.(REVIVED ROMAN EMPIRE - MY ADD FROM DANIEL 2 + 7)

The British approval comes as French President Nicolas Sarkozy faces possible protests in Ireland when he travels to Dublin next Monday, in his role as current EU presidency holder.EU leaders met in Brussels shortly after the June 12 Irish No vote, and agreed to discuss the issue again in October.A key adviser to the French president said Wedesday that Sarkozy could ask Ireland to hold a second referendum on the document, but with some minor changes.

Sarkozy's comments were described as deeply insulting by Sinn Fein's Aengus O Snodaigh, who speaks for the party on international affairs. Sinn Fein was the only major political party in Ireland to oppose the Lisbon Treaty.In the month since the Irish people voted overwhelmingly to reject the Lisbon Treaty, we have listened to a succession of EU leaders lining up to try and bully and coerce us into doing what they want, O Snodaigh said.The fact is that the people have spoken and the Lisbon Treaty is dead.Eamon Gilmore, leader of Ireland's opposition Labour Party which backed the treaty, told the Irish Independent that Sarkozy should be told in blunt terms that Irish leaders needed time and space to consider their options.French and Dutch voters torpedoed the EU constitution by voting against it in popular votes in 2005. The Lisbon Treaty replaced it, but critics say it is basically the same document with a different name.

Sarkozy says Ireland will have to vote again
HONOR MAHONY 16.07.2008 @ 08:56 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that Ireland will have to vote once more on the EU treaty, in a move bound to ruffle feathers in Dublin, which has yet to say publicly how it plans to react to last month's treaty rejection.According to a report in the Irish Times, Mr Sarkozy told a meeting of deputies from his UMP party in Paris on Tuesday (15 July): The Irish will have to vote again.Mr Sarkozy will visit Dublin next week to discuss the treaty options (Photo: EUobserver)

The phrase was repeated to journalists by several deputies leaving the meeting.The remark comes ahead of Mr Sarkozy's visit to Ireland on Monday (21 July) to discuss Ireland's options with Prime Minister Brian Cowen.Speculation has been high about the political room for manuoeuvre open to Mr Cowen since Irish voters rejected the treaty on 12 June. Most analysts suggest that Dublin will have to opt for a second vote with France and Germany, in particular, keen to get the document put in place.But this is the first time that this line of thought has been so directly connected to the Elysee Palace, which is currently also running the EU as presidency country until the end of the year.Reacting to the comments - which were downplayed but not denied by the French government - Irish foreign minister Micheal Martin said that Mr Sarkozy will listen but not impose a solution during the planned five-hour talks next week.He stressed that Ireland would take its own decision on the matter but it was too early to speculate on what this would be, reports state broadcaster RTE.Mr Sarkozy's comments are set to raise the political stakes at next week's Dublin meeting, parts of which are also to be attended by representatives from the pro- and anti-treaty camps.So far, Mr Cowen has refused to speculate on what his political options are. Instead, he has said he will come with further analysis of the situation at an October meeting of EU leaders.

But he is bound to be feeling the pressure, as 23 of the 27 member states have now ratified the treaty, which needs to be passed by all countries before it can go into force.Adding to his discomfort, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso told the Italian parliament on Tuesday:"There has only been one No to the ratification of the treaty, and I do not expect any more.Bloomberg reports him as saying that Polish President Lech Kaczynski had told him his country would not block treaty ratification. Mr Barroso also said the Czech Republic would not pose a problem.Meanwhile, an article in French daily Le Monde on Tuesday suggests that as a sop to Ireland, all member states in the future will continue to have a permanent EU commissioner - instead of the reduced commission planned under the Lisbon Treaty.This, as well as reassurances that abortion, taxation and neutrality issues will not be affected could be debated as part of an Ireland package at the October summit and adopted by EU leaders in December paving the way for a possible second Irish vote next year.

Croatia's EU membership will not be delayed, says president
ELITSA VUCHEVA 16.07.2008 @ 09:18 CET

Croatia will be ready to join the EU in 2009 and its membership is not going to be delayed by the EU's current institutional crisis, Croatian President Stjepan Mesic has said.I understand European countries, including France, which intend to solve the EU's institutional problems before proceeding to any new accessions … [But] we will speed up the rhythm of our reforms and be ready in 2009 to join the EU as its 28th member, Mr Mesic told French daily Le Figaro in an interview published on Tuesday (15 July).The current situation will not discourage us, he added.Following Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon treaty last month, some EU leaders – including French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel – have said that no further EU enlargement will take place until the document is ratified.I will veto any enlargement as long as there will be no new institutions, Mr Sarkozy said again on Tuesday.Asked if he could imagine his country joining the EU without the bloc having dealt with the Irish No, Mr Mesic said: No, the EU will find a way out of this crisis. If 26 EU states ratify Lisbon [traty]… they will find a solution for the 27th … The European institutional crisis will be solved.For his part, Slovenia's foreign minister, Dmitrij Rupel, expressed doubts earlier this week that Zagreb will manage to close all the chapters of its EU accession negotiations package by the end of the term of the current European Commission, in October 2009, as planned.

With regards to opening the chapters, probably there will be no problems, but as regards closing the chapters probably there will be as they concern complicated issues, he was quoted as saying by Croatian daily Javno.But Mr Mesic promised that the planned timetable can still be respected.For our part, we intend to close all negotiations chapters before the end of 2009. Our efforts will be rewarded, he said.Accession talks were launched with Croatia in 2005, and the country is hoping to become full EU member by 2011 at the latest.It has so far opened 20 out of its 35-chapter EU negotiations package, while two have been provisionally closed.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE JULY 17,08

Pneumatology, the doctrine of the Person and work of the blessed Holy Spirit, has often been misunderstood and abused. This is particularly true in our 21st century. The basis for the present confusion is a lack of knowledge of the Word of God. This situation is totally unnecessary because hundreds of scriptural portions describe in detail the Person and work of this wonderful third Person of the Trinity. Our study will take into consideration scores of these verses. In discussing this blessed third member of the Trinity, let us consider (1) His divinity, and (2) His personality.

HIS DIVINITY

The Holy Spirit is divine - that is, He is God. He is as much God as the Father or the Son. The fifth chapter of Acts makes this emphatically clear. Ananias and Sapphira plotted to cheat the Lord. As they were about to enact their hypocritical deed, Peter cried out in verse 3: Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost . . . ? Then in verse 4 Peter continued: . . . thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. The Holy Spirit of verse 3 is the God mentioned in verse 4.

This God is also called the spirit of the Lord in Isaiah 11:2, and His attributes are gloriously described in such terminology as: . . . the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. He is called the Spirit of God in Genesis 1:2 and the Spirit of Christ in Romans 8:9. We see then that the SPIRIT who is so closely identified with the Father and the Son is GOD, the third member of the Trinity He is also the Eternal Spirit (Hebrews 9:14). He always was, is, and shall be.

Genesis 1:1, 2 reads: In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. The word God in the clause In the beginning God created . . . is the Hebrew word Elohim, a plural noun, meaning more than one or simply a trinity We find this same plural in Ecclesiastes 12:1 which states in the original Hebrew Old Testament: Remember now thy Creators in the days of thy youth . . . This same Trinity creates man in Genesis 1:26, for God said: . . . Let us make man in our image.

Most people agree that God the Father created the world and mankind, but argue angrily when one suggests that Christ and the Holy Spirit were part of the plurals just mentioned. However, let's allow the Word of God to speak for itself. We know that Christ helped create the world and mankind because John 1:10 states: [Christ] was in the world, and the world was made by him . . . . And Colossians 1:16 adds: For by [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth . . . . The Holy Spirit also was a partner in this creation, for Job 26:13 declares: By his spirit he hath garnished the heavens . . . . So we see the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as coequal laborers in the beginning. It is as plain as the nose on one's face. Because of their limited grasp of spiritual truths, men mock the doctrine of the Trinity. God says: But the natural [or unsaved] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned (I Corinthians 2:14). True believers are enlightened by the Holy Spirit, who wrote in I Corinthians 2:12: Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.

The Holy Spirit Wrote the Bible

Continued evidence that the Holy Spirit is God is found in the fact that the Holy Spirit wrote the Holy Bible. Second Timothy 3:16 states: All scripture is given by inspiration of God . . . . Who is this God? Which member of the Trinity is given the credit for writing the Holy Book? Second Peter 1:21 answers this question: For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. Yes . . . God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God (I Corinthians 2:10).

Peter, in the great Pentecostal address, declares that David's prophecy concerning Judas came by the Holy Spirit. He says: Men and brethren, this scripture must needs have been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost by the mouth of David spake before concerning Judas, which was guide to them that took Jesus (Acts 1:16). There is no doubt about it - the Old and New Testaments were written by God and this God was and is the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit's Titles and Attributes

Further proof of the Holy Spirit's deity is found in His titles and attributes. He is called the Spirit of Grace, Holiness, Judgment, Knowledge, Life, Love, Might, Promise, Prophecy, Revelation, Supplication, Truth, Understanding, and Wisdom. He is described as omnipotent (all powerful) as to Christ's resurrection, because Christ was quickened (made alive) by the Spirit (I Peter 3:18). He is also omniscient (knowing all things) because I Corinthians 2:10, 11 states: . . . the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. He is also omnipresent (everywhere at all times). The psalmist cries out in Psalm 139:7-10: Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. It is clear that the reference is directly pointing to the Holy Spirit in this contextual setting.

This same Spirit, like Christ, is Truth, for the Spirit is truth (I John 5:6) and also Holiness. His name the Holy Spirit, certainly verifies this attribute. Because of this title, it is He who copes directly with the sin nature in the believer and is the only existing power by which that nature is ever controlled. This does not imply superior holiness over the Father and the Son. It is impossible for the inner character of one Person in the Godhead to be more holy than that of another; distinction must lie then within the sphere of that which is the official responsibility of the Spirit. This third Person undoubtedly has a special appointment to manifest, as well as defend, the infinite holiness of God. This holiness of each member of the Trinity is praised by God's angels in Isaiah 6:3 as they cry: Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. There is no doubt about it - all these, and other scriptures clearly define His divinity and His standing as God the Holy Spirit.

HIS PERSONALITY

Second, let us consider the Person or personality of the Holy Spirit. He is definitely a person, distinct from the Father and the Son. He is not an energy or an influence but is distinctly personal, as are the Father and the Son. One of the reasons for not clearly understanding this truth is an unfortunate translation of the original Greek text into the English Bible. For instance, I refer to Romans 8:16, where we read: The Spirit ITSELF beareth witness with our spirit . . . (emphasis mine). Because the impersonal pronoun it is used instead of he many have regarded this blessed third Person as a mere influence. However, the majority of texts use the correct personal pronouns, as in John 16:13, 14: Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. In discussing His departure, Christ informed the world that He would send another to take His place upon the earth. One can readily see that Christ was not sending an influence but another Person. John 14:16,17: And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Attributes of a Person

This same Holy Spirit has all the attributes of a person, as you and I do. He can speak (Acts 13:2). He strives with sinners (Genesis 6:3) and can be resisted (Acts 7:51). He can be vexed (Isaiah 63:10) and tested (Acts 5:9). He has feelings because Ephesians 4:30 states: And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. It is abundantly clear, then, that He does what other persons do.

Many people still have a difficult time thinking of the Holy Spirit as a person because of the term spirit. Religionists believe that the Father is a Person, as well as the Son, but reject this truth when it comes to the third member of the Trinity because of the label spirit. If this has been your theological interpretation, listen to this. The Father was and is a Spirit (John 4:24). The Lord Jesus Christ was a spirit who became flesh to die for sinners. Philippians 2:5-8 states that He was in the form of God (spirit form) but took upon himself the form of flesh. So originally all three were in spirit form. Presently, the Father and Holy Spirit - along with innumerable angels - are still in spirit form. Are they [the angels] not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation? (Hebrews 1:14). On this basis, God the Father is not a person, Christ was not a person, and the Holy Spirit is not a person, nor are the myriads of angels personalities if spirit means a mere emanation from God. We now have only three emanations in eternity past and no source from which to emanate. Perish the thought! All three are persons. Just because human eyes cannot presently visualize the spirit world is no proof that the spirit world cannot be seen with spiritual eyes. We will possess these when the dead shall be raised incorruptible and we shall be changed (I Corinthians 15:52). There are three Persons presently in heaven - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father and the Holy Spirit are still in spirit form. Only Christ is in the heavenlies with a human body. That is why Colossians 2:9 states: For in [Christ] dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. This does not mean that the other two are not as much a reality as Christ. It only means that one of the three was chosen to take a body containing blood in order to die for sinners because without shedding of blood is no remission [for sin] (Hebrews 9:22).

The Holy Spirit is God

In conclusion, I trust that you will realize that the Holy Spirit is God, that He is not a mere influence or emanation from the Father or the Son but a real person. When the Bible speaks about Him being the Spirit of God and of Christ, it means that He is the Spirit of the Father because He is sent of the Father. He is also the Spirit of Christ because He is sent by the Saviour. This blessed Holy Spirit is also received at the moment Christ is received. Listen to the Word of God. John 3:5 says: . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Romans 8:9 says: . . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. One receives the Holy Spirit when he believes - in fact, it is impossible to believe and be saved apart from the Holy Spirit. This is why I Corinthians 12:13 declares: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . . . Every Bible scholar will tell you that the placing of an individual into Christ's body accompanies salvation. Notice that it is the Holy Spirit's baptism which produces the miracle. This baptism is not a second experience, but a transformation into Christ's body performed by the Holy Spirit at salvation. Call your experience by other descriptive titles if you so desire but do not call it the baptism because that is a once-for-all experience which the Holy Spirit administers at salvation.

The promise of the Saviour takes place at salvation. Jesus said: . . .I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever . . . he . . . shall be in you (John 14:16,17). Paul could say: . . . the Holy Ghost . . . is given. unto us (Romans 5:5). This text in context teaches that the Spirit is given alike to all who are saved. The word us is not a select group of believers, but all who have been washed in the blood. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God . . . (I Corinthians 2:12). No consideration could even be given for a moment to the assumption that the Spirit is intended only for a restricted company among the saved. No, we have all been made to drink into one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13). If you have salvation you have the Spirit; if you have not the Spirit you have never been saved. . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9). Now, the Spirit can have more of us and that is called the filling of the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) which we shall study in a later chapter. However, let's get one thought straight: If you are saved, you have the Spirit; if you are lost, you do not. If you receive Christ today, the Father and Spirit will also become a part of you, as you become a partaker of the divine nature (II Peter 1:4). Do it now let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit into your life.

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.

17 July 2008 0:53 Moscow Time. The Moscow Times » Issue 3945 » News Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov opening a meeting Tuesday with the country's ambassadors at the Foreign Ministry as Medvedev rises to make his address.

Putin Gets a Role in Foreign Policy
16 July 2008

President Dmitry Medvedev on Tuesday unveiled a new foreign policy strategy that grants unprecedented rights to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and shows that the Kremlin will maintain the tough course set during Putin's presidency.The foreign policy strategy, signed by Medvedev on Saturday but released Tuesday to coincide with a keynote speech to ambassadors, says the prime minister will be allowed for the first time to implement foreign policy measures, a right previously assumed to be monopolized by the president. Amid speculation that presidential powers would be weakened after Putin left the Kremlin, Medvedev said immediately after his election in March that he would retain the presidential right to control foreign policy.A Kremlin spokesman declined to comment on the redivision of foreign policy powers Tuesday, and the Kremlin did not release further details about the prime minister's new role in foreign policy.Other than this and several other differences, the new strategy strongly resembles one approved by then-President Putin in 2000, reiterating Russia's interest in reasserting itself as an international player in a multipolar world where UN and international law reign supreme and unilateral actions by countries like the United States are unwelcome. The vague and somewhat incomprehensible expectations that there might be some kind of liberalization in foreign policy under Medvedev have proven unfounded, said Dmitry Trenin, political analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center.

Medvedev himself reiterated the continuity of Putin's foreign policy course in his Tuesday address to dozens of Russian ambassadors flown in from all corners of the world for an annual Kremlin meeting. Medvedev criticized U.S. plans to deploy parts of a missile-defense shied in Eastern Europe and Western nations' failure to ratify the revised Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. This common [security] heritage cannot survive if one side selectively destroys isolated elements of the strategic regime. This does not satisfy us, Medvedev told the envoys.

Medvedev also said Russia cannot rely on oral promises by other countries on national security, in an apparent reference to the reluctance of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration to sign or extend new arms treaties or allow Russia to closely monitor its planned missile-defense shield in Eastern Europe.The 2008 foreign policy meticulously lists Russia's grievances vis-a-vis the United States and NATO, including not only missile defense and the CFE treaty, but also NATO's plan to expand to include Georgia and Ukraine. Russia has suspended its participation in CFE after a number of NATO members failed to ratify it. The strategy also calls for a new comprehensive security pact to be developed and adopted by European countries to prevent further erosion of existing arms controls. It also reiterates Moscow's idea to transform the U.S.-Russian Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, which bans medium-range nuclear-capable missiles, into an international treaty. Previously, this proposal was considered more of a bargaining chip in negotiations with the United States over an entire spectrum of arms-control issues. The inclusion of it into the foreign policy strategy demonstrates that Moscow is serious about trying to convince other nations to scrap their medium-range missiles, which is unrealistic, said Alexander Golts, an independent defense and foreign policy analyst.Interestingly, while the 2000 strategy devotes only two paragraphs to relations with the United States and speaks of the need to overcome formidable differences in relations, the new strategy elaborates much more on these ties. Despite the fact that relations have deteriorated in recent years, the new strategy speaks of great potential for cooperation in security, economic and other spheres and calls for a strategic partnership. It calls for retiring strategic principles of the past and focusing on real threats while also working to resolve differences in the spirit of mutual respect.The new strategy strongly emphasizes the importance of international law, which should come as no surprise given Medvedev's background as a lawyer, Trenin said.Another key difference from the 2000 strategy is that it does not refer to the long-delayed creation of the Russia-Belarus Union as a priority. The new strategy only notes that the union should be based on principles of a market economy. The new document also does not repeat the 2000 assertion that there are good prospects for the development of relations with Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Instead, it refers to the European Union as a long-term economic and foreign policy partner and singles out France, Germany and Italy among the countries that Russia wants to advance relations with. It also says Russia would like to develop relations with Britain — a sign that Moscow wants to normalize ties strained by the murder of former KGB agent Alexander Litvinenko and the treatment of British investors at TNK-BP.

Russia in recent years has sought to develop ties with key EU member states, drawing accusations from the others that it is seeking to play EU members off one another. The mentioning of individual countries sends a signal to the countries that are not mentioned that Russia doesn't view them as partners because of their unfriendly conduct, Trenin said.Significantly, the new strategy no longer implies or asserts that the Commonwealth of Independent States is a vehicle for the integration of former Soviet republics. Rather, it speaks of the importance of developing ties with individual CIS members while giving priority to integration with select neighbors, such as those in the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Commonwealth.

Unlike the old strategy, the new one also refers to the need to fight fascism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism, but it identifies no countries where these phenomena need to be addressed. Both Medvedev and Putin have repeatedly accused the Baltic states of violating the rights of Russian-speaking minorities and wrongly collaborating with Nazi Germany in World War II. Medvedev noted that his strategy also differs in its list of priorities. At the top of the list is ensuring national security, followed by creating the foreign conditions needed to modernize Russia and protect its economic rights. It also vows that Russia will not allow itself to be dragged into a new arms race that could prove devastating for the national economy. These two key assumptions, if observed, would lay the cornerstone for a normal foreign policy, Trenin said.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU WorldNetDaily Exclusive
Israel must act alone against Iran,Jordanian internal assessment says U.S. worried about oil-price explosion July 15, 2008
12:37 am Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Any Israeli attack on Iran will not be aided by the U.S., according to an internal assessment by the Jordanian embassy in Washington obtained by WND.The U.S. policy on Iran is driven by economic concerns. Washington is worried about an explosion in oil prices in the event of any attack and so it wants to minimize all public involvement or U.S. coordination should Israel act, states the Jordanian assessment, according to a Jordanian security official speaking to WND.The Jordanian official said Israel will not be allowed to use U.S. bases in Iraq as a staging ground for attacking Iran.The official said Israel is frustrated the U.S. refuses to aid any attack militarily and that the Jewish state is looking into attacking Iran alone.This should not be interpreted as a lack of a green light from Washington. Israel can get the green light to attack, but it is being told it will need to act by itself, the official said.The official said Jordan believes Israel is waiting to see whether the new leadership of the European Union, now steered by France, will embark on a tougher approach toward sanctioning Iran.Israel is giving the EU one last chance, said the official.

The official said if EU sanctions don't deter Iran, Israeli plans for a possible strike would take into account U.S. presidential elections, which could see the White House occupied by Sen. Barack Obama, who has spelled out a clear diplomatic policy in dealing with Tehran.The Jordanian assessment comes amid a media frenzy speculating whether Israel will attack Iran.Yesterday, Syrian President Bashar Assad warned of grave consequences for Israel and the U.S. if Iran is indeed targeted.It will cost the United States and the planet dear, Assad said in an interview with a French radio network, adding any attack, if it occurred, would have an impact on Israel.Israel will pay directly the price of this war. Iran has said so. The problem is not the action and reaction. The problem is that when one starts such action in the Middle East, one cannot manage the reactions that can spread out over years or even decades, he said.Last week, an official from the elite Iranian Revolutionary Guards warned if the U.S. or Israel attacks Iran, Tehran will retaliate by burning down Tel Aviv and U.S. naval forces in the Persian Gulf.Last month it was reported the Jewish state held a major military exercise over the Mediterranean Sea involving more than 100 aircraft. The drill was widely seen as Israeli preparations for a possible bombing of Iran's nuclear installations.According to some reports last week, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Adm. Michael Mullen, who visited Israel last month, told the Jewish state it does not have a green light from the U.S. to attack Iranian nuclear facilities.

Earlier this month, WND conducted an exclusive interview with Meir Amit, a former head of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency, who said Israel should use force to stop Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.The comments from Amit, one of the most esteemed figures in the Israeli intelligence establishment, are significant, since he previously had refused to support an attack against Iran.I am in favor of using the power of force against Iran, because if we let things go as they are we will find ourselves in a very dangerous situation, Amit said. We have good intelligence, and we shall decide what is the right timing for any attack.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)

EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK)

REVELATION 18:10
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.

Russia vows to react to U.S. missile shield
The Associated PressPublished: July 15, 2008

President Dmitri Medvedev of Russia echoed his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, in a gritty foreign policy speech Tuesday, vowing to respond if Washington places missiles in Central Europe.He also promoted an idea he already has made a hallmark of his two-month-old presidency: calling for a new European security treaty he claims would remove the divisions Russia says that NATO has created.

Medvedev signaled that Russia would not back down on a series of disputes with the West and in particular the United States. He called Kosovo's Western-backed independence declaration a sad episode that violated international law and said the proposed deployment of U.S. missile defense facilities in Central Europe would undermine security.The head of the U.S. missile defense agency said Tuesday that Russia should justify its increasingly aggressive statements against the proposed missile shield.

Today in Europe
Windmills coming around again in the NetherlandsItalian climber believed dead after fall on Pakistani peakSpanish Supreme Court upholds acquittal of top suspect in 2004 Madrid bombingsLieutenant General Henry Obering 3rd, director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, said interceptors that the United States hopes to place in Poland would not carry explosives or warheads, suggesting that they would not be a threat to Russia.There is absolutely no justification in our eyes for some of their statements and some of their concerns about these sites, he said.

FROM JOSEPH FARAH'S G2 BULLETIN The weapons of World War III
It will be fought in the electromagnetic spectrum: July 08, 2008
11:20 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

Editor's Note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium online newsletter published by the founder of WND. Subscriptions are $99 a year or, for monthly trials, just $9.95 per month for credit card users, and provide instant access for the complete reports.

Did the Chinese military cause the largest blackout in the history of North America? That is the assertion of Tim Bennett, the former president of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance, who says U.S. intelligence officials confirmed to him the People's Liberation Army gained access to a network that controlled electric power systems serving the northeastern U.S. in 2003, according to a report in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin.Some 50 million people were affected by the 9,300-square-mile blackout that hit parts of New York, Canada, Michigan and Ohio.The official explanation for the power outage was that overgrown trees came into contact with strained high-voltage lines in Ohio. But the story of this possible skirmish in the electromagnetic spectrum is widely whispered about in defense and intelligence circles. It is referred to by some as the first battle of World War III – a conflict to be fought asymmetrically in cyberspace and with weapons that might seem like science fiction.

The Moscow newspaper Zavtra reported only a week ago that Russia has developed special powerful electromagnetic impulse generators that may be used in design of new type radars and as a basis of electromagnetic weapons that will render enemy electronics inoperable.The U.S. Army is convinced meanwhile that the Russians have already designed kinetic weapons and directed energy weapons (apparently lasers) for ASAT warfare, the article continued. In any event, the Americans suspect that the recent episode with the Chinese laser that damaged an American spysat became possible precisely because Moscow had made this technology available to China.The superweapons being developed for the next global conflict began coming into sharper focus last winter when China destroyed one of its own aging, low-Earth-orbit weather satellites while it was circling at an altitude of 500 miles, using a ground-based, direct ascent anti-satellite weapon.This year, the U.S., using its sea-based Aegis missile defense system, shot down a disabled American intelligence satellite at 100 or so miles altitude as it tumbled uncontrollably toward the planet.The Defense Department says China is developing non-kinetic means of attacking satellites, such as jamming and blinding, and using lasers, microwave, particle beam and electromagnetic pulse weapons.Cyber-warfare, one of the proven strengths of the Chinese military, can also be used as an anti-satellite capability. In congressional testimony this year, the director of national intelligence stated, Counter-command, control and sensor systems, to include communications satellite jammers and ASAT weapons, are among Beijing's highest military priorities.Bennett, meanwhile, told the National Journal he believes Chinese cyber-hackers were also responsible for another U.S. blackout last February in Florida – one that affected 3 million customers.Bennett told the National Journal he decided to speak publicly about the incidents to point out that security for the nation's critical electronic infrastructures is weak and to emphasize that government and company officials haven't sufficiently acknowledged these vulnerabilities.