IRAN IS ROOT OF ALL EVIL

North France tornado kills three AUG 4,08 The tornado wreaked havoc as it tore through Hautmont.

A tornado has wreaked havoc in a small town in northern France, killing three people and injuring nine. A woman in her 70s died when her house collapsed late on Sunday in Hautmont. A deputy mayor and his wife were also crushed in their own home. The storm devastated two streets in Hautmont, which has 16,000 residents.

Roofs were ripped off, trees uprooted and cars overturned. Rescuers are still picking through the rubble in case any more residents were buried alive. There was a deep roaring sound, like a bombing raid Erick Filleur, Hautmont resident.

In pictures: French tornado

The tornado also swept through three other small towns nearby, where the damage was not so severe: Maubeuge, Neuf-Mesnil and Boussieres-sur-Sambre. A 76-year-old man committed suicide after his house was demolished by the storm, AFP news agency quoted Suzanne Thiefaine, an official with the Hautmont mayor's office, as saying.

Deep roaring sound

The tornado tore through 10km (six miles) of the Nord region of France on Sunday at around 2300 local time (2100 GMT). It cut a swathe through Hautmont, where hundreds of homes were damaged within minutes, said Ms Thiefaine. Five hundred homes in Hautmont alone were damaged, 100 of those were uninhabitable, she said.

Another 200 homes were damaged in the other three affected towns, she added. My roof blew off, all the windows are broken, 75-year-old Leon Denoyelle told the French news agency AFP in Hautmont. There was a deep roaring sound, like a bombing raid, local resident Erick Filleur was quoted as saying. Red Cross volunteers handed out blankets and food to shocked residents, as 200 rescue workers used sniffer dogs to scour the affected area for survivors. France's Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie was heading to the area to survey the damage, ministry officials said.

Houston, Sabine ship channels open with limits AUG 5,08

HOUSTON (Reuters) - The Houston and Sabine Pass ship channels were open Wednesday but with restrictions on ship size after being shut Monday by Tropical Storm Edouard, the U.S. Coast Guard and ship pilots said. The limits will allow most ships to transit the Houston channel, according to the Coast Guard. Bulk crude carriers will be prevented from moving through Sabine Pass channel, ship pilots said.A total of 33 ships were waiting to enter the 53-mile (85-km) waterway to Houston, the busiest U.S. petrochemical port, and two ships were waiting to exit, according to the Coast Guard.

Ships with a draft of 38 feet or less can move in or out of the Houston Ship Channel, while ships with a draft of 35 feet or less can move to the port of Texas City, according to the Coast Guard.At the Sabine Pass Channel, which serves refineries at Beaumont and Port Arthur, Texas, ships with a draft of 30 feet or less can enter or exit the waterway, according to the Sabine Pass ship pilots association.It could be Friday before the restrictions are lifted at the Sabine Pass channel, the ship pilots association said.At Houston, a survey by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for the Houston channel's construction and maintenance, must take place before the restrictions will be lifted.The limits allow for checks for possible damage or debris that the storm moved into the waterways as it passed over the Texas coast on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Erwin Seba and Richard Valdmanis Editing by John Picinich)

Stormy day today; cooler weather coming Mark Avery AUG 6,08

Midwest

A cold front moving through the Midwest will bring more clusters of thunderstorms from the Central Plains through the Ohio Valley today. These thunderstorm complexes will bring the potential for locally heavy rain, damaging winds, and large hail from the Nebraska Panhandle to the coal fields of eastern Kentucky. Near the Great Lakes, an upper level trough will be digging in, enhancing the chance of showers and thunderstorms near the Lakes. As the front heads southward, shower and thunderstorm chances move south with it; by tomorrow, rain will be limited to areas near the front from Kansas through Missouri's Ozarks and into Kentucky. Behind the front, cooler temperatures will spread across the region. Friday should be mainly dry with near or below average temperatures. A few showers and storms will return to the Plains over the weekend. Highs today will range from the 70s in northern Minnesota through Upper Michigan to the upper 90s in southwestern Kansas.

South

A few strong storms are also possible in portions of the Tennessee Valley today as that front moving southward from the Midwest begins to impact the Southeast. In Texas, scattered thunderstorms will develop and move around the remnant surface low and upper level disturbance from former Tropical Storm Edouard. Some locally heavy rains are possible, but the limited coverage from rainfall will lead to only spotty drought help. As the cold front continues to sink south, the chance of strong storms will extend from the Carolinas westward to the Oklahoma and Texas Panhandles. The front will reach the Gulf Coast by late week, with rain chances being limited to the Florida Peninsula over the weekend. Highs today will range from the 80s in the Southern Appalachians and in areas of Texas being impacted by any Edouard-associated rains, to the 100s from South Georgia through South Carolina.

West

Unseasonably warm weather will continue in the Pacific Northwest today. Elsewhere in the West, scattered thunderstorms will develop with locally heavy rain possible especially in the Four Corners. A few storms, particularly in Oregon and Northern California, may produce dry lightning that will start wildfires. An upper level trough will be moving into the Northwest late in the week and over the weekend, bringing an end to the unseasonably warm weather in the Pacific Northwest. Shower and thunderstorm chances will lull some on Friday, being confined mainly to the Southwest, before increasing in the Rockies and High Plains as the Northwest trough heads east. Highs today will range from the 60s along the Northern and Central California Coast to the 100s in the Desert Southwest.

Northeast

A cold front and upper level trough will bring the chance of heavy rain and cool temperatures over much of New England and the eastern third of New York State today. After the cold front moves off the coast, the upper trough will continue to dig into the region, keeping the chance of rain and cooler temperatures in the forecast through the weekend. The trough will begin to lift out on Sunday bringing a return to near average highs. Highs today will range from the 60s in much of New England to the 90s in southern New Jersey and areas south of the Mason-Dixon Line.

South China evacuates nearly 400,000 as storm approaches AUG 6,08

BEIJING (AFP) - China evacuated nearly 400,000 people and called thousands of vessels back to port as a severe tropical storm lashed its southern coast late Wednesday, state media and government agencies said. Severe Tropical Storm Kammuri made landfall in China's Guangdong province, packing strong winds, the local weather observatory was quoted as saying by the official Xinhua news agency.

There were no immediate reports of damage, Xinhua said.

The storm was expected to later head west along the densely populated coast, according to the website of the China Meteorological Administration.Kammuri hit Hong Kong earlier Wednesday, unleashing winds of 110 kilometres (68 miles) per hour at its centre, according to the Hong Kong Observatory.The ferocity prompted Chinese officials to step up the emergency response level.

Guangdong, along with neighbouring Hainan island and Guangxi's Zhuang region, decided to evacuate 388,000 people from their homes, Xinhua said.The three areas also ordered a total of 57,800 vessels back to port, according to Xinhua.(We should) ensure all these people be evacuated to safe places in order to guarantee the people's lives, Chen Lei, the minister for water resources, said in a statement on the department's website.Torrential rain has affected huge parts of southern and central China in recent months, taking a heavy toll in life and material damage.

Quiet in Atlantic, but Pacific stirring a bit Buzz Bernard
AUG 6,08

The Atlantic Basin, now that Edouard has moved inland over Texas and is dissipating, is quiet. But forecasters are tracking a couple of disturbances in the tropical Pacific. In the eastern Pacific, a fairly well organized cluster of thunderstorms and showers several hundred miles south of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, could form into a depression at any time as it pushes toward the WNW at 10 to 15 mph. In the central Pacific, a disturbance about 950 miles southeast of Hilo, Hawaii, is moving westward at about 10 mph and being monitored for further development. That does not appear to be imminent, however. In the western Pacific, Tropical Storm Kammuri has spun inland over Mainland China west of Hong Kong. Steady weakening will ensue.

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.

FULL CONTAINMENT
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=9121240&src=news

Weather sparks new Calif. wildfire worries AUG 6,08

FORBESTOWN, Calif. - A wildfire threatening rural homes in northern California more than doubled in size as flames were driven by unpredictable wind, forcing firefighters to briefly retreat. The loss of valuable firefighting time allowed the two-day-old blaze near Forbestown in the picturesque Feather Falls area to grow from 1,000 acres to more than 2,500 acres in just a few hours Tuesday, said Anthony Brown, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Elsewhere in Northern California, four firefighters were injured when their helicopter went down late Tuesday while fighting the remnants of a wildfire, said Shasta-Trinity National Forest spokesman Mike Odle. Two of them were in critical condition Wednesday at the University of California Medical Center in Sacramento and the others were in serious condition at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, he said.They were working a wildfire that mostly contained after covering nearly 25 square miles in Trinity County. The crash site was about 15 miles northwest of Junction City, west of Redding.Containment of the blaze near Forbestown fell from 30 percent to 20 percent, Brown said.All the work of the fire crews came to a cease because of safety reasons, Brown said. When they retreated, it allowed the fire to consume a bigger area.People were evacuated from homes between the middle and southern forks of the Feather River, which feeds into Lake Oroville, about 70 miles north of Sacramento.

Temperatures were expected to reach the triple digits Wednesday, Brown said.Outside Yosemite National Park, the blaze that charred about 53 square miles, or 34,000 acres, was nearly completely contained by Tuesday evening, fire officials said. It had destroyed at least 28 homes and cost nearly $37 million to fight.

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).

Iran delivers message to European Union - Summary
Posted : Tue, 05 Aug 2008 17:53:34 GMT Author : DPA

Tehran - Iran on Tuesday delivered a message to the European Union in Brussels and allowed the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send an inspection team to Tehran, ISNA news agency reported. An unnamed Iranian official confirmed that a message was delivered to the EU officials in Brussels through Iranian ambassador Ali-Asghar Khaji but said that the message was not, as initially reported by the local media, a reply to the world powers offer. The official told ISNA that the delivered message was just the text of Sunday's phone contact between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeid Jalili.

EU officials confirmed they had received a letter from Iran, but refrained from commenting on its contents. Letter from Iran received, a curt message from the office of the EU's highest foreign policy official, Javier Solana, said. So far phone contacts between Solana and Jalili - and his predecessor Ali Larijani - have never been forwarded by Iran to the EU side or at least never reported by the local state media. The official added that Iran and the 5+1 (five United Nations veto powers plus Germany) would continue their talks upon previous agreements reached between the two sides. Tehran insists that there has been no deadline by the 5+1 for Iran to deliver a clear response to the world powers' offer and just wants the talks to be continued and settled through both the 5+1 and Iranian proposals. ISNA further reported that IAEA chief inspector Olli Heinonen will come to Tehran on Thursday for a three-day visit for holding talks with Iranian officials on behalf of IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. ISNA did not say whether Heinonen and his team would inspect nuclear sites in Iran.

Fars news agency had earlier Tuesday reported that Iran has presented its reply to an offer by world powers to resolve the dispute over its nuclear activities. The offer by the five United Nations veto powers plus Germany is for far-reaching economic cooperation with Iran, including the field of civilian-sector nuclear power, in return for a pledge by Tehran to refrain from uranium enrichment activities. On Monday, the United States warned that Iran would face new Security Council sanctions if it did not accept the offer of fresh talks and incentives. US State Department acting deputy spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said Tuesday that the US government had received a copy of the Iranian response but could not provide details of its content. The United States and other major powers including Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia will hold talks on how to proceed, and Tehran could face more sanctions. We are looking for a clear, positive response from Iran. And in the absence of that, we are going to have no choice but to pursue further measures against them, Gallegos said. The Security Council's five permanent members - Britain, China, France, Russia and the US - plus Germany were united in their threat to slap additional economic and diplomatic sanctions on Iran if its reaction to the new offer was not positive, Gallegos said. Iran met with a delegation of the permanent Security Council members plus Germany on July 19 in Geneva. Meanwhile the commander of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guards on Monday reiterated his warning that if Iranian nuclear sites were attacked by either the US or Israel, Iran would close the Strait of Hormuz for an unlimited time period. General Mohammad-Ali Jafari has several times warned in recent months that Iran would use all possible options if militarily attacked, including a blockade of the main oil routes in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz. A major part of regional oil exports are piped through the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, and a blockade could trigger a worldwide energy crisis.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

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

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

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

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

Estonia urges EU peacekeepers for Georgia
PHILIPPA RUNNER 05.08.2008 @ 07:28 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Estonia has called for EU soldiers to be sent to Georgia after a flare up in fighting in the country's breakaway South Ossetia region, with the European Union increasingly keen to get involved in Georgian peacemaking.I talked with my colleagues from Sweden and Finland. We think...the current president of the European Union, and the European Commission should closely follow the developments and react if necessary, Estonian foreign minister Urmas Paet said in a statement on Monday (4 August). Peacekeeping in these regions is a suitable undertaking for the European Union, he added, noting that the French foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, will visit Georgia shortly.The Estonian statement comes after a shoot out between the Georgian army and separatist forces in South Ossetia over the weekend left six people dead and 22 wounded, with the Russian foreign ministry warning that the threat of large-scale hostilities...is growing real.Rebel authorities in South Ossetia said the casualty figures were higher and that they are evacuating thousands of women and children to the neighbouring Russian province of North Ossetia, in claims rubbished by the Georgian government. Actions are being undertaken to create an illusion of large-scale armed conflict, as if we were on the brink of war...The Russian foreign ministry is obviously orchestrating and facilitating this process, Georgian re-integration minister, Temur Yakobashvili, said. All this is being done to derail the peace process in which the international community is becoming increasingly involved.

As in previous years, Moscow deems the month of August propitious for staging military incidents in Georgia, while European officials take their vacations, Vladimir Socor, an analyst for US-based NGO, Jamestown, said. Georgia is strategically important to the European Union due to plans to bring in extra oil and gas from Central Asia through the South Caucasus to reduce energy dependency on Russia, with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline already supplying Caspian oil to Europe since 2006.Georgia, a former Soviet republic, has also started inching toward NATO membership and hopes to eventually join the EU.But its tiny South Ossetia enclave - home to between 40,000 and 70,000 people - has the potential to spark wider instability. Russia has given passports to most of the inhabitants and maintains its own peacekeepers in the hotspot, while rebels in Georgia's larger breakaway territory of Abkhazia have already pulled out of German-sponsored conflict resolution talks due to the South Ossetia skirmish. German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in July floated a new peace plan for Abkhazia and Georgia that might inject a greater European presence into the current negotiating format, which is dominated by Russia and has done little to calm tensions over the past few years. Also last month, EU South Caucasus envoy Peter Semneby explained the EU would not deploy soldiers in Georgia until hostilities calmed down and all parties, including Russia and the rebel leaders, requested an EU force. But at the same time, if there is a request, if there is an interest I believe that the European Union, given the importance that we pay to Georgia and to this region, would be willing to consider making a contribution, he said.

Some analysts believe the situation is beginning to thaw after some 15 years of tense ceasefire, as separatist authorities weigh up the option of semi-autonomous rule in a prosperous Georgia against continued isolation and increasing Russian domination.That's why they have quietly reached out to Western capitals. An EU high representative, with a significant staff and peacekeeping contingent, would likely be welcomed by the Abkhaz, Brussels' Institute for Strategic Studies experts Borut Grgic and Alexandros Petersen wrote in the Wall Street Journal on Tuesday.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Olmert, Abbas to review progress made in Washington talks AUG 5,08

(RTTNews) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will meet in Jerusalem Wednesday to discuss the outcome of the U.S.-mediated Middle East peace talks held between the two sides in Washington last week.Olmert will host the meeting in his house, reports quoting Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Tuesday.The meeting comes in line with Olmert's pledge to continue with the peace process despite his decision to resign, which was announced last week.Israel's foreign minister Tzipi Livni, who led the Israeli delegation during the Washington talks, also vowed that the political turmoil in her country would in no way affect the fate of the peace talks.Reports quoting Palestinian sources said that during the negotiations, Livni and her Palestinian counterpart Ahmed Quriea reached an understanding on several permanent status issues and on declaring an agreement reached between the two sides before the year-end.For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Israel to free Palestinian prisoners to Abbas By Adam Entous AUG 6,08

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed on Wednesday to the release of 120 to 150 Palestinian prisoners later this month as a gesture to President Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian officials said. The meeting between the two leaders was the first since Olmert, dogged by a corruption scandal, threw U.S.-sponsored peace talks into turmoil by announcing that he would resign as prime minister once his centrist Kadima party chooses a new leader in September.Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Abbas wanted the prisoner release, slated for August 25, to include long-serving inmates, women and children as well as political leaders, a reference to uprising leader Marwan Barghouthi, who is seen as a possible successor as president.Israel declined to say how many of the 11,000 or so Palestinians in its custody would be released. Erekat said Israel agreed to release 120 to 150, and possibly more.

In response to a request by Abu Mazen (Abbas),... the Israeli side will be releasing Palestinian prisoners towards the end of August as a sign of good faith and a confidence-building measure towards the Palestinians, Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said after the meeting at the prime minister's residence.Israeli sources said releasing Barghouthi was an option but stressed that no decisions had been made.The Hamas Islamist group, which controls the Gaza Strip, included Barghouthi, Hamas leaders and hundreds of other prisoners on its list of Palestinians it wants freed in exchange for Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, captured by Gaza militants in a cross-border raid two years ago.Some Israeli officials see the release of Barghouthi to Abbas as preferable to freeing him to Hamas as part of a deal over Shalit that Egypt is trying to help broker.I'm not talking about names, Regev said when asked if Barghouthi could be among those freed to Abbas.

STATEHOOD GOAL

Israel released 429 Palestinians as a gesture to Abbas after the resumption of peace negotiations in November at a conference in Annapolis, Maryland.At their meeting on Wednesday, Olmert and Abbas discussed how to press ahead with the peace talks that had set a goal of reaching a Palestinian statehood agreement by the end of 2008.It could take months for a new Kadima leader to form a new government, leaving Olmert in the role of caretaker prime minister. He has vowed to press ahead with talks with Abbas and indirect negotiations with Syria until he leaves office.But with Olmert on his way out and rivals jockeying to replace him, few see much chance of a breakthrough before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office in January.From a political standpoint, Olmert is looking for an honorable way to get off the stage,... trying to create an atmosphere that shows he did all he could, said Shmuel Sandler of the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies.Gaza-based analyst Hani Habib said: Talking about a Palestinian state now is like selling illusions to the people.Abbas's authority has been undermined by the violent loss of the Gaza Strip to his Islamist rivals in Hamas.Months of meetings, closely shepherded by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, have produced little visible progress on key issues such as control of Jerusalem and the future of millions of Palestinian refugees. The talks have been hampered by continuing violence, mainly in Gaza but also in the West Bank, and by continuing expansion of Jewish settlements in and around Jerusalem. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah, Nidal al-Mughrabi in Gaza, and Ori Lewis, Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Joseph Nasr in Jerusalem; Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Samia Nakhoul)

Iran is root of all evil: Israel PM contender Wed Aug 6, 4:23 AM ET

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli cabinet minister Shaul Mofaz, a contender to succeed the prime minister, denounced his native Iran on Wednesday as the root of all evil and said its nuclear program constituted a threat to world peace. Mofaz was speaking a day after he launched a campaign for a party leadership election next month that will lead to the replacement of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

Opinion polls show that Mofaz, a deputy prime minister and transport minister, is a frontrunner in the contest to lead the centrist Kadima party but trails Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

Olmert, dogged by a corruption probe, said last week he would step down once a successor for the party leadership was chosen.The Iranians are the root of all evil, Mofaz said in a live interview on Israel Radio, adding that Tehran's nuclear program would pose a threat to Israel's existence.He urged the West anew to impose stiffer sanctions on Tehran to pressure Iran to stop a nuclear program that Israel believes is intended to produce atomic weapons. Iran says the developments are for civilian purposes only, to produce energy.Israel is widely believed to have assembled the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal which experts say comprises as many as 200 warheads.Israel does not discuss its nuclear capabilities under a strategic ambiguity policy designed to ward off enemies while avoiding the sort of provocation that can trigger arms races.Mofaz, who was born in Tehran before many Iranian Jews moved to the new state of Israel, accused his native country of trying simply to bide its time, by rejecting Western proposals to stop enriching uranium.This has been the Iranian strategy for years, to bide their time and continue with their enrichment, Mofaz said.

Mofaz, a former head of the Israeli military, has been one of Israel's most outspoken ministers against Iran.While he supports diplomacy to resolve the standoff with Tehran, Mofaz said in June an Israeli attack to halt the project may be unavoidable unless a deal was reached.Israel's security cabinet met behind closed doors on Wednesday to discuss its intelligence assessments that Iranian-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon have been rearming with rockets since a 2006 war.Some 1,200 Lebanese and 159 Israelis died in that month-long war. Israel launched an air campaign and then invasion after Hezbollah staged a lethal cross-border raid against a military patrol.Security officials said ministers discussed reports the guerrillas were seeking to obtain anti-aircraft missiles to fire at Israeli warplanes that fly over Lebanese territory on reconnaissance missions.(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Editing by Alastair Macdonald and Samia Nakhoul)

Israel's Barak predicts more strikes on Gaza Tue Aug 5, 6:43AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak said Israel will return to its pattern of military strikes on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip despite the ongoing month-old truce, army radio reported on Tuesday. Those who miss the operations in the Gaza Strip, don't worry, they will come, Barak told a Labour party event in Jerusalem, without elaborating.A spokesman for Hamas, which violently seized power in Gaza in June 2007 and is pledged to Israel's destruction, called the remarks ridiculous and said the Islamist movement was prepared for all options.Barak's remarks reflect the state of confusion of the Israeli occupation in dealing with Hamas and the Gaza Strip, and the vacillation between an aggressive escalation and the truce, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told AFP.In June, Israel agreed to an Egyptian-brokered truce with Palestinian militants in Gaza that has virtually halted the near daily rocket and mortar attacks launched from the impoverished territory on southern Israel.But Israeli officials remain wary of the deal and suspect Gaza's Hamas rulers and other armed groups are using the calm to train and rearm with weapons smuggled through a vast network of tunnels under the border with Egypt.Israel had also said the truce depended on progress in releasing Gilad Shalit, an Israeli corporal seized by Gaza militants in a deadly cross-border raid on June 25, 2006.Israel's army chief said on Monday that the military knows Shalit's location and the identity of those holding him, raising the possibility that Israel could seek to extract him through military means.

The army later insisted that General Gabi Ashkenazi meant only that Israel knew Shalit was being held by Hamas in Gaza.Israeli officials have in the past ruled out a rescue mission, saying that Shalit's exact location was unclear and that such an operation would be extremely risky.Israel and Hamas have been holding indirect negotiations through Egyptian mediation on a prisoner swap expected to include the release of hundreds of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons in exchange for Shalit.But Israel has so far refused to release the prisoners demanded by Hamas, who include several people implicated in deadly attacks on Israelis.

Libya says Mediterranean Union will divide Africa
RENATA GOLDIROVA 05.08.2008 @ 07:29 CET

Libya's leader Muammar Gaddafi has reaffirmed his critical stance towards the Union for the Mediterranean - the brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy - saying it will divide the 53-nation African Union. We have good relations with European countries, with the European Union, but I do not accept integration into the Union for the Mediterranean, Colonel Gaddafi said on Monday (4 July), AFP reports.Libya's head of state - once isolated by the West - added he did not agree with cutting up Africa for hypothetical prospects with Europe referring to a possible split between north African countries and the rest of the African Union. Muammar Gaddafi was the only leader who refused to attend the launch of the Mediterranean union in Paris in July. Mr Sarkozy's plan brings together 43 states - the 27-member EU as well as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Turkey, Israel, Albania, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Monaco and Mauritania.

The aim is to boost ties between the EU and its southern neighbours. At the moment, it is focussed on six specific projects, including the cleaning up of Mediterranean pollution, the development of maritime and land highways and the setting up of a joint civil protection programme on prevention and response to disasters.But Muammar Gaddafi, who came to power in 1969 and has become the Arab world's longest serving leader, has labelled the participation of African countries in the Mediterranean project a violation of resolutions by the African Union.In addition, he has accused the EU of wanting to dominate its southern partners, once under European colonial rule.

[Comment] The thorny question of the EU treaty and the Czech Republic ELINE DE RIDDER 05.08.2008 @ 07:32 CET

EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - On the first of May 2004 the Czech Republic joined the European Union. Although this festive day lies more than four years ago, reality still needs to sink in with many Czech politicians. A large segment of the Czech political elite makes no secret of its discontentment with EU membership. These politicians fiercely oppose further European integration, and consider the whole European project a major threat to Czech sovereignty. The most ardent Euro-sceptics are to be found in the Civic Democratic Party (CDP). Following the example of their charismatic leader President Klaus, several party members are fighting a battle on a new front: Over the Treaty of Lisbon.Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty has encountered serious delay in the Czech Republic. While the lower house of parliament has voted in favour of the document, the Upper House seems to cause a problem. In April a group of CDP-Senators decided to put the Lisbon Treaty to the Constitutional Court. As a result the ratification process in Prague has been suspended. But the verdict of the Constitutional Court is not the only element which could put a spoke in the wheels of Czech ratification. The upcoming vote in the Czech Senate and the signature of the president – both necessary for the Treaty to become law - constitute a bigger threat.

President Klaus - by far the most outspoken eurosceptic in Central-Europe - made no secret of his pleasure at the Irish No. While the office of the Czech president is largely honorary, his signature is needed to round up the ratification process of the Lisbon Treaty. But Mr Klaus's bark is often worse than his bite. It is very unlikely he will risk being scapegoat of the entire EU by blocking the ratification after a positive vote in parliament. More significant however is the fact the president still has considerable influence on a large segment of the Civic Democratic Party. After the Irish referendum the harsh language of Mr Klaus was echoed by several party members. CDP holds a majority in the Czech Senate where voting on the Lisbon Treaty still needs to take place. The vote in the Czech Senate is scheduled at the end of the year, after the Constitutional Court has ruled on the compatibility of the Lisbon Treaty with the Czech constitution. Even if its verdict is positive, it is hard to predict the outcome of the vote in the Upper House. Czech senators however might want to think about the consequences of a No vote – something that would lead to serious repercussions for the Czech Republic itself.

Prague's presidency of the European Union

A No vote would severely damage the credibility of the Czech Republic as a valuable and constructive European partner. The Czech Prime Minister signed the Treaty in Lisbon last year and pledged to get it ratified in his country. Going back on this promise would make Brussels and other European capitals question the reliability of Czech declarations. A decision not to ratify the Treaty would lead to the isolation of the Czech Republic inside the European Union. This political fall-out would be particularly difficult to handle during Prague's presidency of the European Union in the first half of 2009. A lack of allies among other national capitals would lessen the chances for the Czechs to make a success of their presidency. It is possible to argue that without the Lisbon Treaty entering into force, the Czech Republic will be free to actually represent the European Union for half a year, instead of standing around watching while an EU President takes over the job. This new post is one of key innovations of the treaty, while the six monthly rotating presidencies will have a less prominent role, under the charter.But with no treaty in place, the Czechs will have to lead the Union in its search for an alternative. This is a task difficult to perform convincingly when the presiding country itself has voted down the Treaty. Last but not least, the Czech EU debate could easily mark the end of the incumbent Czech government. While the senior coalition party CDP is known for its Euro-sceptic stance, the Christian-Democrat and Green coalition parties are more moderate. As a result, Prime Minister Topolánek has to balance on a tight rope in an attempt to keep his government together. In case one of the parties carries out its threat of leaving the cabinet, the survival chances of the Czech Government – which does not have a majority in parliament – are minimal. Presiding over the EU without a government would further damage the credibility of the Czech Republic inside the EU. In short, the price to pay for rejecting the Lisbon Treaty will be high. While a delay in the ratification process can be dismissed as the growing pains of a junior EU member state, torpedoing the Lisbon project will not be easily forgotten. Therefore, Prague might think twice before consolidating its image as a European troublemaker.

MUSLIM NATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

Russia appoints senior general as new envoy to NATO Mon Aug 4, 7:42 AM ET

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia has appointed one of its most senior generals as new chief military envoy to NATO, the Defense Ministry said on Monday, stressing the importance of Moscow's ties with the Atlantic military alliance. Army General Alexei Maslov, chief commander of Russia's Ground Forces, will become the new chief military envoy to NATO, a Defense Ministry official told Reuters.

His appointment is meant to underline the importance Moscow attaches to its relations with NATO.Moscow fiercely opposes NATO's eastward expansion and views membership bids made by its ex-Soviet neighbors Ukraine and Georgia as a threat to Russia's national security.In January Russia's then president Vladimir Putin appointed firebrand nationalist Dmitry Rogozin as Russian ambassador to NATO. Before his appointment, Rogozin had called for Russia to re-arm to counter the threat from NATO.In June Russia's new president, Dmitry Medvedev, proposed reviewing the whole philosophy of maintaining security in Europe to provide equal security to all states without divisions into blocs.The 54-year-old Maslov, a career officer who has risen from tank platoon commander, will replace Vice-Admiral Valentin Kuznetsov, posted to Brussels since 2002.Army General Vladimir Boldyrev, until now the commander of Russia's Volga-Urals military district, will replace Maslov as new ground forces chief, the Defense ministry official said.(Reporting by Dmitry Solovyov; Editing by Robert Hart)

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Last update - 02:54 04/08/2008 Netanyahu: Kadima is selling Jerusalem to our enemies By Yair Ettinger and Mazal Mualem, Haaretz Correspondents

Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday accused rival faction Kadima of planning to make sweeping concessions over Jerusalem to the Palestinians. For the first time in the history of our nation, we come upon a development that we are unfamiliar with and that we cannot remember whereby the ruling party in our midst will come and offer up Jerusalem even to the worst of our enemies, Netanyahu said during an appearance at a Jerusalem conference commemorating 70 years since the founding of the Rabbi Kook Institute. Also in attendance at the event was Shas spiritual leader Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who uncharacteristically showered praise on the Likud chairman. Yosef referred to Netanyahu as my dear, beloved friend who does a great deal for the Torah.

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz (Kadima) on Sunday vowed to form a coalition government before local authority elections on November 11. Israel does not need general elections now, in light of the existential challenges facing us, Mofaz said, during his speech at an election rally for the Kiryat Ono municipal elections. Mofaz, who is locked in what is widely regarded to be a two-person race for the Kadima chairmanship against Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, said last Friday that the latest poll numbers indicating an advantage in favor of his rival in the Kadima Party primaries in September are bound to change. I wouldn't advise anyone to base the future on polls, Mofaz said on Friday. [The polls] are a mood, and this will change. I'm sure that I will win the primaries.Livni would lead Kadima to victory over Likud if elections were held today, according to a special poll conducted by Dialog last Thursday on behalf of Haaretz. For all the bitter struggle between Livni and Mofaz, Thursday's poll, conducted a day after Olmert announced that he would not seek re-election as Kadima's leader, shows that the foreign minister is the only politician who currently has enough public support to defeat Likud Chairman Benjamin Netanyahu. The poll of 503 Israelis, which has a margin of error of 4.1 percent, showed that in national elections, Kadima headed by Livni would win 26 seats in the Knesset, compared to 25 for Likud under Netanyahu. Netanyahu has consistently led in the polls for the past two years, but Thursday's survey seems to indicate that the political arena is changing.

Kadima members fuming at Livni
Senior Kadima members have harsh words for Livni for refusing to make a public promise to stay in Kadima even if she loses the party's leadership race. It is very strange that Livni, who prides herself on being among the party's founders, is unwilling to state explicitly that this is her home. It raises questions and looks really bad from a public standpoint, one prominent party member said. The issue arose in the past few days, prompted by a candidate declaration being drafted by Knesset Speaker Dalia Itzik and MK Tzachi Hanegbi, the latter of whom who heads Kadima's committee for party affairs. The declaration includes a commitment to remain in the party, as well as a promise to reserve the second spot on the list for the candidate who takes second place in the primary.

Associates of Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz said he is expected to support the document, and in any event intends to stay in Kadima, as he has announced previously. By contrast, Livni's confidants took the line that she intends to win, and isn't dealing with other things.Kadima's Knesset faction convenes Tuesday for the first time since Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's announced he would not seek reelection, and will discuss the candidate declaration.

At a campaign rally last night in Kiryat Ono a few hours after Mofaz returned from a visit to the United States, he announced that after winning the primary he would form a national unity government, even before the municipal elections scheduled for November 11. We don't need [general] elections at a time like this when such complex matters are on the agenda. We must form a national unity government and contend with these challenges, Mofaz said. The rally, which was held for Kadima's candidate for mayor of Kiryat Ono, Ami Kahlon, was attended by ministers and Knesset members, including Livni, who entered the hall only after Mofaz had exited by another door. Associates of both candidates said it was a mere coincidence, not an effort to prevent their meeting. Mofaz and Livni both showered praise on the young Kahlon, who is among the party's former Likudniks. Others who praised him at the rally were ministers Gideon Ezra, Roni Bar-On, and Ruhama Avraham-Balila, as well as MKs Hanegbi, Yohanan Plesner and Abraham Hirchson. Livni and Mofaz have been busy recruiting support from faction members, and have more meetings lined up with all of its ministers and MKs, with their eyes on the quadruple prize: Vice Premier Haim Ramon, Bar-On, Itzik and Hanegbi. These four have the power to influence the party rank-and-file, and the word is that all are still on the fence.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE AUG 5,08

The past three newsletters dealt with the Person, the presence, and the power of the Holy Spirit. We now want to discuss the program of the Holy Spirit for believers.

First, I want to make it unquestionably clear that ALL - ALL - of God's children are born into the family of God and BAPTIZED by the Holy Spirit the moment Christ is received. John 3:5 states: . . . Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. This second birth makes all the newlyborn ones members of the family of God. John 1:12 says: But as many as received [Christ], to them gave he power to become the sons [and daughters] of God. Since one can only be a son or daughter through birth, it is clear that the placing into God's family by a second birth takes place at salvation. However, there is more to it because one is also BAPTIZED into the Body of Christ as the birth occurs. First Corinthians 12:13 states: For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . . .. This baptism takes place at salvation and happens to every believer. Theological accurateness will not allow the BAPTISM to be a subsequent or second work of grace but the original work of grace that occurs at salvation. It is erroneous for one who is saved to seek the BAPTISM when one's salvation produced the BAPTISM. In fact, . . . if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his (Romans 8:9) and we . . . have been all made to drink into one Spirit (I Corinthians 12:13). Since ALL means ALL and since this text has to do with salvation, then ALL who are saved have the Spirit or they are lost. This Holy Spirit dwells in every believer, but He does not necessarily control each believer. Hence, there is a filling of the Spirit which every believer, after salvation, may enjoy many times. There is one BAPTISM, but many fillings. That is why the literal Greek for Ephesians 5:18 is: Be being filled with the Spirit.

Now the filling and the baptism are two distinct things. The BAPTISM is the placing of a redeemed sinner into the Body of Christ at salvation, and the FILLING is one's yielding to the INDWELLING Spirit's control. Let's delve deeper into the subject. Not only does every believer receive the BAPTISM at salvation, but he receives one or more of the GIFTS as well. Much is heard today about the Charismatic Movement. May I shock you and boldly say that every Christian is a charismatic! You see, the word charismatic or charisma only means a gift from the Holy Spirit. Every believer is a partaker of the Holy Spirit at salvation when the Holy Spirit baptizes him into Christ's body. It is at this baptism that the Spirit bestows a gift or His charisma upon every newborn child of God. Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, and Ephesians 4 are the charismatic or gift chapters. Ephesians 4:11 describes gifted or charismatic ministers: And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers. The apostles were first because the church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:20). Once the foundation was laid and the original apostles died, this gift ceased. Prophets were next and the gift was not only foretelling the future but forth telling the facts of the gospel. Today gifted preachers giving forth the good news manifest this evidence of the Spirit. Evangelists, pastors, and teachers are self explanatory and are also recipients of the Spirit's gifts. This often explains the failures of men who seek the ministry as a vocation. They have never been called and charismatized by the Spirit and therefore fail. It is not a job, it is a holy calling.

Gifts For All Believers

The gifts that follow are signs all believers possess. I want to again emphasize that every believer receives at least one of the gifts of the Spirit. They are freely presented to all believers as a result of the BAPTISM that placed the gifted believer into the Body of Christ. Romans 12 speaks about this Body into which all God's children are placed and states in verses 4-8: For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office: so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another. Having then gifts differing [yes, differing] according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity [or liberality]; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.

Now verse 3 states: . . . God hath dealt to EVERY man the measure of faith (emphasis mine.) Some have one of the gifts mentioned already. Others must find theirs in I Corinthians 12:8-11: For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: BUT ALL THESE [Hear it again: ALL THESE] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to EVERY MAN [How many? - EVERY MAN] severally as he [the Holy Spirit] will (emphasis mine).

It is not the gift one seeks that is important but the gift the Holy Spirit wills to give by grace. Please stay with the Book.

Different Gifts For All Believers

It is not God's will that all members of the Body should have the same gift. When one has three eyes or seven fingers, he is a misfit. So it is with the Body of Christ when there is an improper balance of gifts. That is why Paul says in I Corinthians 12:15-18: If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, l am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, l am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye, where were the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where were the smelling? But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.

Every part of the body is needed and every member in Christ's body has a gift that fits into the program as needed. So we again find in verse 28: And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues.We will consider the gifts in their totality before concluding the book. The point I want to make now is that every believer has at least one gift, and each believer's gift differs. Verses 29-31: Are all apostles? [The answer is obviously No!] are all prophets? [No!] are all teachers? [No!] are all workers of miracles? [No!] Have all the gifts of healing? [No!] do all speak with tongues? [No!] do all interpret? [No!] But covet earnestly the best gifts . . . .The gifts described as apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers lead to prophesying, ministering, teaching, exhorting, giving, ruling, and showing mercy. Clergy and laymen may experience these gifts. These are so understandable that we will only explain the final listing of nine gifts, described in I Corinthians 12:8-10.

The gift of wisdom or the ability to speak with discretion. One may have an earned doctorate and be unwise in the usage of accumulated intelligence. On the other hand, one with a minimum of acquired textbook knowledge may have the ability to say the right thing at the proper moment.

The gift of knowledge or the ability to delve into the deep things of God and then communicate them with simplicity to hungry hearts.

The gift of faith or the ability to attempt the impossible for God. Joshua believed God and the sun stood still. Peter believed God and walked on the water. Since this is not a gift for all, do not foolishly launch out on some gigantic project for the kingdom and fall flat on your face. Be sure the venture is in the will of God (I John 5:14-15).

The gifts of healing are given to some, at times, who have the faith to trust God for miraculous healings. In Christ's day, healing generally was not produced by any virtue of the person healed but entirely through the gift of the healer. The dead were raised. What faith did they have? Nevertheless, they were resuscitated. On the other hand, there are times when the gift of healing is impossible, even though the healer may be very sincere. The problem? He has not sought the will of God for the one he is attempting to heal. First John 5:14 states: And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us. When one has not sought God's will and attempts to heal, it is all in vain. One goes through the motions and all is futile and hopeless. The Apostle Paul understood this well. That is why he left his helper, Trophimus, sick at Miletum (II Timothy 4:20). Epaphroditus also was left behind sick - nigh unto death (Philippians 2:27). Remember, God can heal anytime and anywhere when it is His will. The one enabled to heal will be given the faith to do the job properly, once God's will is made plain to him through prayer and the Word for each case.

The gift of miracles is the ability to win the lost for Christ. Do you know of any greater miracle than getting a man saved for all eternity? This is the reason: . . . ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me . . . (Acts 1:8).

The gift of prophecy is the ability to tell forth the good news with power.

The gift of discernment is the ability to judge whether the message is from God or Satan. I John 4:1 says: . . . try the spirits . . . .

and 9. The gift of tongues and the interpretation of tongues was the ability to speak in unlearned, foreign languages. Acts 2, verses 4, 6 and 8, state respectively: . . . they . . . began to speak with other tongues. Also: . . . every man heard them speak in his own language . . . and . . . how hear we every man in our own tongue, wherein we were born? And again: . . . we do hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful works of God . . . (verse 11). Some 14 or more languages were spoken and understood. In I Corinthians 14 the word unknown is in italics, meaning that it cannot be found in the original Greek text. Think of what could happen if missionaries received the original gift as they went to China, Japan, Germany, etc. Again, the point I want to make in closing this chapter is: All of God's people have the BAPTISM, and ALL HAVE ONE OF THE GIFTS - therefore, we are ALL CHARISMATICS. You do not believe it? The manifestation of the Spirit is given to EVERY MAN to profit withal (I Corinthians 12:7). Verse 11 states: But all these [gifts] worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to EVERY MAN severally AS HE WILL (emphasis mine). Again: . . . unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ (Ephesians 4:7). If you, dear Christian, have still not located your gift, try helps in I Corinthians 12:28. If you help as a counselor, an usher, a choir member, a nursery worker, a bus captain, or a youth worker, and if God has given you a special knack in knowing how to do it, you have a gift. Because you have the baptism and the evidence, you are one who has the Holy Spirit and the evidence.

In the next newsletter I will discuss the filling of the Spirit. Although we have all of the Holy Spirit, He does not always have all of us. When He does, holy living becomes the believer's experience. One can have the baptism and the gifts and still be carnal because he does not have the filling. One can minister the gifts and be out of fellowship with God - evangelists, pastors, and teachers often do. It takes a Spirit-filled Christian to minister properly. The gift is for service; the filling is for spiritual service.

ITALY CITIES PATROLLED

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.

EDUOARD AIMS FOR TEXAS
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9117766&ch=4226717&src=news

GALVESTAN PREPARES FOR EDUOARD
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=9111743&src=news

Tropical Storm Edouard heads for Texas-La. coast By JUAN A. LOZANO, Associated Press Writer AUG 4,08

GALVESTON, Texas - Beth Bronson said Monday she's determined not to have her trip ruined as the second severe storm in two weeks approached a Texas Gulf Coast vacation hotspot at the height of tourist season. Tropical Storm Edouard was expected to come ashore Tuesday morning anywhere from western Louisiana to Port O'Connor, Texas. But tourism officials in Galveston said many vacationers were planning to stay, hoping the area isn't hit as hard as South Padre Island was by Hurricane Dolly on July 23.We spend money to come here with our families. It's an inexpensive place to stay. If they were to say evacuate, then yeah we would do it. But otherwise no,said Bronson, 49, who was vacationing from Allen.Still, officials in Texas and Louisiana were busy Monday preparing just in case Edouard intensified. It could reach near-hurricane strength as it churns in the warm Gulf waters before making landfall.Gov. Rick Perry issued a disaster declaration for 17 Texas counties that could be in Edouard's path. The state activated a number of emergency teams, including calling up 1,200 Texas military forces and six UH-60 helicopters, the State Operations Center said.In Louisiana, Gov. Bobby Jindal declared a statewide emergency. Cameron Parish told up to 3,000 residents to evacuate low-lying coastal areas that are prone to flooding. Vermilion Parish, also in western Louisiana, advised people in mobile homes or FEMA trailers along the coast to leave.

For vacationers, the timing of the storm couldn't be worse: The Texas coast banks on tourism at this time of year, with much of the state baking in 100-degree weather. About 50 million visitors to the Texas coast spent about $15 billion in 2006.Since Dolly, South Padre has regained electric power but its four biggest full-service hotels remain closed as well as the convention center in the community about 260 miles down the coast from Galveston. Dolly hit the coast with winds up to 100 mph, tearing off roofs and knocked down signs on the island.At 5 p.m. EDT, Edouard had maximum sustained winds near 45 mph, with higher gusts. The storm's center was located about 135 miles south-southeast of Lafayette, La., and 215 miles east-southeast of Galveston, Texas.The storm was moving west near 7 mph, and forecasters said conditions were in place for the storm to intensify and approach hurricane strength with winds of 74 mph or more.This is not the time of year for anyone along the Texas coast to be interrupted by these storms, said Dan Quandt, executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.Forecasters say Edouard's center could make landfall near Galveston, which is in the peak of its tourist season, when the city's population of about 60,000 doubles. No evacuations were ordered and local officials in the storm-seasoned town were merely urging caution.Galveston was hoping its successful tourist season wouldn't be derailed. Hotel occupancy rates and sales tax figures this summer are 10 to 15 percent higher than last year, the city's best for tourist-related income.Edouard is not going to have that large of an affect on tourism because it's not expected to cause (severe) damage, said Roshelle Gaskins, spokeswoman for the Galveston Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. She added a lot of tourists were staying.As Edouard approached, oil and gas companies in the Gulf of Mexico evacuated workers from 23 production platforms and six rigs, according to the U.S. Minerals Management Service, which monitors offshore activity. The Gulf of Mexico has 717 manned platforms and 125 operating rigs, the MMS said.Edouard is not likely to disrupt production, according to one financial firm that specializes in the energy industry. He'll just be (a) little tropical storm tike compared to big mammas that rip things up and spike gas prices, the Houston-based securities firm Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. said in a note to investors Monday.Shell Oil Co. said Monday morning it had begun evacuating about 40 workers from some of its operations in the western Gulf. The company said no further evacuations were planned based on the current forecast and that it expected no impact on production.Exxon Mobil Corp. said Monday afternoon it was preparing for heavy weather associated with Edouard, preparing platforms and other structures for heavy wind and rain and identifying workers for potential evacuation. But the company said no evacuations had taken place and production had not been affected. A tropical storm warning was in effect from the mouth of the Mississippi River westward to Port O'Connor in Texas. A hurricane watch was in effect from west of Intracoastal City, La. to Port O'Connor. Associated Press Writers John Porretto in Houston, Jamie Stengle in Dallas, Christopher Sherman in McAllen and Mary Foster in New Orleans contributed to this report.

Storm Edouard shuts refinery, hits shipping By Erwin Seba
AUG 4,08

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Edouard disrupted shipping, cut refinery production and shut some offshore oil and natural gas output on Monday as it churned across the Gulf of Mexico toward landfall along the upper Texas Coast on Tuesday U.S. crude oil futures hit a three-month low of $119.50 a barrel on Monday before settling down $3.69 at $121.41 as signs of a slowing U.S. economy and rising supply from OPEC outweighed storm fears.So far, Edouard has closed only 0.9 percent of crude oil production and 7.2 percent of natural gas output, according the U.S. Minerals Management Service.The Gulf of Mexico supplies about a quarter of U.S. crude oil output and 15 percent of its natural gas, while Gulf Coast refiners make about a quarter of domestic gasoline.Energy companies evacuated staff from offshore platforms due to Edouard, the second named storm of the season to threaten oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico, with Apache shutting a small amount of output.Apache shut 8,600 barrels per day of oil output and 130 million cubic feet per day of natural gas production after evacuating 110 personnel from facilities off Louisiana.

Marathon shut its 76,000 bpd Texas City, Texas refinery and Valero Energy Corp said production was cut at its 245,000 bpd Texas City and 100,000 bpd Houston refineries because crude tankers couldn't reach the ports of Houston and Port Arthur.We have started an orderly shut-down in preparation for the storm, said Marathon spokeswoman Angela Graves.The Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, the only deep-water U.S. oil port and a major conduit for the country's crude oil imports, temporarily suspended offloading oil tankers in the Gulf of Mexico due to high waves and winds.The port's onshore storage continued to supply refiners with crude on-hand, however, a spokeswoman said.Packing 50 miles per hour (85 kph) winds, Edouard swept across the northern Gulf of Mexico about 80 miles south-southwest of Grand Isle, Louisiana.The storm has a 20 percent chance of reaching hurricane speeds of 74 mph before it makes landfall on Tuesday near Galveston, Texas, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.At its predicted strength, Edouard is unlikely to do much damage to coastal area refineries that were swamped by the storm surge from hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005, said Kenneth Medlock, an energy fellow with Rice University's Baker Institute.Some refineries are on the dirty side of the storm's projected landfall, where winds are the most damaging. But I do not think it will matter much, Medlock said. The swell won't likely be big enough to do sustained damage.A series of powerful hurricanes in 2004 and 2005, including Hurricane Katrina, toppled oil rigs and severed pipelines in the Gulf, pushing oil prices to then-record highs.(Reporting by Erwin Seba, Chris Baltimore, Haitham Haddadin, Richard Valdmanis, Robert Campbell; Editing by Marguerita Choy)

Lebanon govt adopts manifesto, paving way for confidence vote Mon Aug 4, 4:52 PM ET

BEIRUT (AFP) - Lebanon's national unity government on Monday adopted a manifesto that affirms the authority of the state over all matters, including the weaponry held by Hezbollah, a minister said. The document was approved unanimously, Information Minister Tareq Mitri said at the end of a cabinet meeting chaired by President Michel Sleiman.Parliament would soon hold a vote of confidence so that the government can begin to function officially.

The new cabinet was formed on July 11, but negotiations on a manifesto were hampered by disputes on the key issue of the arms of Hezbollah, the powerful Shiite Muslim political movement and militia.The Hezbollah-led opposition insisted on the right to resist Israel, while the ruling bloc, which is supported by the West and most Arab states, insisted that only the state can make decisions on war and peace.Mitri said that four ministers had expressed reservations over the clause related to resistance against Israel.The manifesto, he added, insists on the right of Lebanon, its people, its army and its resistance to liberate its land in the Shebaa Farms, Kfarshuba Hill and Ghajar which are occupied by Israel.It stresses that the the unity and the authority of the state would be the guiding principle of all government decisions and actions.The controversy in Lebanon over Hezbollah's weapons intensified after its militants captured two Israeli soldiers in a cross-border raid in July 2006 that sparked a devastating 34-day war.It boiled over again when Hezbollah led an armed takeover of large swathes of predominantly Sunni west Beirut in fierce fighting in May that left 65 people dead and sparked fears of a return to all-out civil war.The new cabinet, in which the opposition has the right of veto, was formed after weeks of bickering despite a May power-sharing agreement struck in Qatar that ended a protracted political dispute.The committee that drafted the new government manifesto comprised ministers from the parliamentary majority as well as ministers from a Syria- and Iran-backed coalition.The Western-backed parliamentary majority has 16 seats in the new cabinet and the opposition 11, including the post of labour minister which is held by a Hezbollah MP.Three portfolios are held by nominees of President Sleiman who is considered to be neutral.

CORRECTED: Peace push with Syria should go on: Israel's Mofaz By Dan Williams Mon Aug 4, 11:06 AM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Israel's peace efforts with Syria should continue, without preconditions, after Prime Minister Ehud Olmert steps down, a candidate to succeed him said on Friday. My opinion and my goal will be to continue to speak to the Syrians without preconditions, Deputy Israeli Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said in a speech. The way is - peace for peace.Olmert and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad announced in May they we holding Turkish-mediated negotiations. But Olmert, dogged by corruption scandals, said earlier this week he would resign after his party picks a new leader in September.Public statements suggested the sides remain divided on core issues like Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights and Syria's ties to Iran, Lebanese Hezbollah and Palestinian Hamas.Syria has made clear it wants a return of the occupied Golan Heights to be on the agenda of any serious peace talks. Mofaz, a former defense minister, has come out against any plan by Olmert to return the Golan. Olmert says he had made no such undertaking to the Syrians.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni has the edge in the ruling Kadima party race to replace Olmert, but Mofaz is her closest rival within the party, and contenders in other parties are vying for the job as well.Though Mofaz, as chief of Israel's armed forces, led crackdowns on a Palestinian revolt that erupted in 2000, on Wednesday he cast himself as a potential peacemaker.As a father who has three children in the military, I want peace for them, he said.I will do my best to achieve peace with our neighbors ... Our first priority should be the Palestinians but there are some problems, some obstacles, he said, alluding mainly to the 2007 takeover of Gaza by Hamas.(Editing by Anthony Boadle)

Greenspan warns governments may have to bail out more banks AUG 4,08

LONDON (AFP) - Former US Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan has warned that governments the world over may have to bail out more banks before the current financial crisis is over. Writing in the Financial Times on Tiesday, Greenspan also warned of the awesome cost of a move towards protectionism by governments, arguing that globalisation was at the root of economic growth around the world over the past decade.Fears of insolvency have not, as yet, been fully set aside, Greenspan wrote.There may be numbers of banks and other financial institutions that, at the edge of defaulting, will end up being bailed out by governments.British mortgage lender Northern Rock and American bank Bear Stearns both averted bankruptcy over the past year when they were given backing to varying degrees by their respective governments.Greenspan also extolled the virtues of globalisation, describing it as having been at the root of the past decade's unprecedented surge in world economic activity.The past decade has seen mounting global forces ... quietly displacing government control of economic affairs, he wrote.He concluded: The danger is that some governments, bedevilled by emerging inflationary forces, will endeavour to reassert their grip on economic affairs. If that becomes widespread, globalisation could reverse -- at awesome cost.

Oil prices drop nearly $4 after storm threat eases By STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Business Writer Mon Aug 4, 4:39 PM ET

NEW YORK - Oil prices plunged to a three-month low Monday, briefly tumbling below $120 a barrel in another huge sell-off after Tropical Storm Edouard seemed less likely to disrupt oil and natural gas output in the Gulf of Mexico. Crude's steep drop — prices fell more than $5 at one point during the day — dragged down other commodities from corn to copper and mimicked the big nosedives of the past three weeks, adding to growing beliefs that the oil bubble is at least temporarily deflating.What this means is that we're going to see some more relief at the pump. We're probably looking at another 10 cents of downside in retail gas prices, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief analyst at Oil Price Information Service in Wall, N.J. A gallon of regular gas fell on average about half a penny overnight to $3.881.Also weighing on oil prices Monday was a report by the Commerce Department that consumer spending after adjusting for inflation fell in June as shoppers dealt with higher prices for gasoline, food and other items. That fed investors' expectations that a U.S. economic slowdown is sharply curbing U.S. demand for fossil fuels.Light, sweet crude for September delivery fell $3.69, or 2.9 percent, to settle at $121.41 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It was crude's lowest settlement price since May 5. Earlier, prices plummeted to $119.50, the lowest level since May 6. Crude has now fallen in six of the last nine sessions and has shaved 18 percent off its trading record of $147.27 reached July 11.

The dramatic dive came after traders learned that Edouard, aiming for the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, likely would not damage offshore oil and natural gas drilling platforms that sit in the storm's path.Natural gas futures also fell sharply, dropping 66.3 cents, or 7.1 percent, to settle at $8.726 per 1,000 cubic feet. And gasoline futures fell 8.41 cents, or 2.7 percent, to settle at $3.0002 a gallon. Other commodities including gold, copper, corn and soybeans also traded lower.That has taken a lot of pressure off the market. It looks like the thinking is that we dodged another bullet, said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. in Chicago.

Still, oil market traders expressed surprise that a potential hurricane in the Gulf coupled with escalating tensions with Iran didn't send prices higher — an almost certainty just a few weeks ago.Any market that really doesn't respond to seemingly bullish news is often a tip off that we're going lower, said Jim Ritterbusch, president of energy consultancy Ritterbusch and Associates in Galena, Ill.He and other analysts have predicted that, barring any surprises, crude could tilt toward $100 a barrel by the end of the year.Meanwhile, retail gas prices kept falling, reflecting the continuing price-driven drop in U.S. fuel demand. Gas has fallen 5.6 percent since hitting an-all time high above $4 a gallon on July 17, but so far hasn't kept up with oil's steep descent, suggesting struggling filling stations are still saddled with gas bought when crude prices were higher.They still have expensive gas to feed into the system, so they're reluctant to drop prices, Ritterbusch said. Prices never come down as fast as they go up.Still, Monday's drop in crude was expected to help make retail gas cheaper.Adding to the bearish sentiment around oil, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama on Monday proposed that the government sell 70 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserves to help lower gasoline prices. He had previously opposed tapping the supplies, but said in a major energy speech that past releases from the reserve have lowered gas prices within two weeks.

The Illinois senator also reiterated his statement Friday that he could now support limited new offshore drilling in the U.S. if needed to enact a compromise energy policy that would foster fuel-efficient autos and alternative energy sources.Following Obama's remarks, the market is increasing the odds now that the drilling deal will get done and we will see more production coming out of the Gulf of Mexico, Flynn said.Oil prices began the day trading mostly lower after the Commerce Department said inflation-adjusted consumer spending fell by 0.2 percent in June. That was the worst showing since February and gave energy market traders another reason to sell on beliefs that people will further cut back on their driving to cope with near $4-a-gallon gasoline. Edouard was threatening to pick up strength from warm Gulf waters and gain near-hurricane speeds over the next 24 hours, prompting Shell Oil Co. to begin evacuating about 40 workers from some of its operations in the western Gulf. But Edouard is not likely to disrupt production, according to one financial firm that specializes in the energy industry. He'll just be (a) little tropical storm tike compared to big mamma's that rip things up and spike gas prices, the Houston-based securities firm Tudor Pickering Holt & Co. said in a note Monday. Crude's drop came as traders ignored mounting tensions between the West and Iran. The Bush administration said Monday the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed to seek more sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program after it failed to meet a weekend deadline to respond to an incentives package aimed at diffusing the standoff. On Sunday, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said diplomacy was the only way out of the standoff. Those comments came a day after he asserted his oil-producing country would not give up its nuclear rights, signaling that it would refuse demands to stop enriching uranium or at least not to expand its enrichment work. In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 8.67 cents to settle at $3.3501 a gallon. In London, Brent crude for September delivery fell $3.50 cents to settle at $120.68 a barrel, after earlier falling to a contract-low of $118.80. Associated Press writers Janet McConnaughey in New Orleans and Tom Raum, Mathew Lee and Martin Crutsinger in Washington contributed to this report.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

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

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

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

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

Hundreds of African migrants arrive amid Italy emergency ELITSA VUCHEVA 01.08.2008 @ 07:29 CET

Some 800 immigrants arrived in Southern Italy on Thursday (31 July), just a few days after the country declared a national state of emergency over what it describes as the exceptional and persistent influx of irregular immigrants.A boat with some 400 hundred people on board was guided by Italian Coast Guard officers into the port of Lampedusa – a small island south of the Italian mainland, the Associated Press reports.Subsequently, a series of smaller boats bearing some 400 additional people were intercepted by the Coast Guard, bringing the total number of detainees to 876, according to Italian news agency Adnkronos.The migrants include women and children, with most reported to be of African origin.

Their arrival has raised concerns that the additional migrants will overcrowd the Lampedusa holding centre, as it has practically reached its capacity of 1,500 people.The news comes just a few days after Italy declared a state of emergency over what it sees as an exceptional and persistent influx of clandestine immigrants.Prior to this latest migrant interception, the country recently passed another controversial law that would make undocumented migration a criminal offence punishable by between six months and four years in prison. It would also make it possible for property rented to such an immigrant to be confiscated.

New Italian measures may spur xenophobia

The strict measures drew criticism both at home – from the centre-left opposition parties – and abroad.On Tuesday, the Council of Europe – Europe's human rights watchdog – released a report criticising that Italy's recent immigration policies, saying they lack human rights and humanitarian principles and may spur further xenophobia.It also expressed concern at the way the country treated representatives of ethnic Roma origins, following plans announced in July to conduct a census and fingerprint all Roma people, including children.These measures may make it more difficult for refugees to ask for asylum, and is likely to result in a further social stigmatisation and marginalisation of all immigrants, including Roma, the organisation warned.Italy, however, says it needs the measures to respond to and control the growing numbers of migrants coming to its territory, and insists the concern expressed on lack of respect for human rights is totally unfounded.

Deaths at sea

Separately, some 80 would-be immigrants were rescued off Malta's shores this week, German news agency DPA reports.But three women – one of which was pregnant – died in their attempt to reach the island.Earlier in July, 15 African immigrants, including nine children, died from heat exposure while trying to reach Spanish coasts in a small overcrowded boat.In a response to what he called an almost unbearable tragedy, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said: We are in an alarming situation.Either we help Africa, either we help fight poverty and desperation, or our future as a region of well-being and progress falls into question, he added, urging all EU states to meet the target they have set of donating 0.7 percent of their income to development aid, Deutsche Welle reports.

THIS SHOULD BE HOW THE EU WILL COME INTO ISRAEL AND GUARENTEE THEIR SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YR TREATY. AND THIS COULD BE WHAT SETS IN MOTION THE EU ARMY. INTERESTING ITS IN ROME ITSELF WERE THE EU ARMY MAY COME INTO BEING.

Troops deployed in Italian cities against crime and illegal immigration By Elisabetta Povoledo Published: August 4, 2008

ROME: Soldiers were deployed throughout Italy on Monday to control embassies, subway and railroad stations and centers for illegal immigrants as part of broader government measures to fight crime.

By the time it is fully in effect next week, the effort will place about 3,000 soldiers alongside regular police and military police officers, a visible signal to citizens that the government has responded to their demands for greater security, Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa said in an interview on the Italian Sky News channel.The conservative government of Silvio Berlusconi won elections in April promising to crack down on petty crime and illegal immigration, which polls have indicated are primary concerns here.Security is something concrete, La Russa said Monday. And the troops will be a concrete deterrent to criminals, though they cannot make arrests.Critics have condemned the deployment as a superfluous measure that could prove counterproductive.

Today in Europe
Solzhenitsyn, 20th-century oracle, diesTwo ways of looking at the Lisbon Treaty.Anglicans agree to seek accord to stave off schism
Putting troops on the street sends a dramatic message that the situation is more serious than it is in reality, the leader of the opposition party Democratic Left, Marco Minniti, said in a telephone interview.Instead of instilling a sense of security, he asserted, militarizing Italian cities will do quite the opposite.On Monday, soldiers began patrolling dozens of cities. In Milan, troops were stationed around the Gothic cathedral, and in Naples they kept an eye on the American Consulate.Television news stations showed military officials searching immigrants' suitcases at subway stations.In the capital, troops will be stationed around embassies, consulates and centers for illegal immigrants in outlying neighborhoods.They will not be securing the city's historic monuments. Local officials said they felt that a military presence could scare off tourists.They will only be in areas where they have no impact on normal citizens, said Rome's mayor, Gianni Alemmano.

Other critics of the measure, part of a larger anti-crime package pushed through Parliament last month, argued that Italy's military was better suited to dealing with emergencies in Lebanon, Afghanistan and Iraq than with domestic urban crises.You need to be specially trained to carry out some kinds of controls, said Nicola Tanzi, the secretary of a trade union that represents the police. Soldiers just aren't qualified.He also questioned whether the cost of the operation, put at €60 million, or $93 million, might not have been better spent increasing the budgets for the police and military police.Structures and qualified people already exist, and they do an excellent job with dwindling means at their disposal, Tanzi said. This is not the right way to create security.The armed forces have been used in domestic security missions in the past, in particular in fighting Mafia violence. In 1992, after the anti-Mafia magistrates Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino were killed in Mafia bombings, the government sent 20,000 troops to Sicily where they remained until 1998.Troops also have been sent to fight organized crime in Campania and Calabria, and they were deployed to protect airports, electricity power stations and potential terrorist targets after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.IHT

Italy deploys 3,000 soldiers in city centres by Martine Nouaille Mon Aug 4, 1:52 PM ET

ROME (AFP) - Italy deployed 3,000 troops to patrol major cities and sensitive areas Monday in a controversial move by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's right wing government to boost security.

Dressed in shirt-sleeve order and equipped with handguns, some 1,000soldiers joined local police in Rome, Naples, Milan and other urban centres.Another 1,000 were deployed around potential targets ranging from embassies to railway stations and churches, while a similar number were guarding holding centres for illegal migrants.

But mayor of Rome Gianni Alemanno said no soldier would patrol in the historic city centre where most tourists are concentrated.On the island of Lampedusa, where thousands of migrants have arrived from Africa in recent months seeking to enter Europe, 70 air force troops were supplementing police who patrol the perimeter of a reception centre.They are part of another 1,000 troops meant to be deployed around immigration centres.The Italian left and police unions have criticised the use of troops, accusing Berlusconi's government of seeking to militarize city centres and cover up cuts in spending on defence and security.Interior Minister Roberto Maroni, of the anti-immigrant Northern League, said he wanted to give the public a better perception of security.The government which took office in April has linked crime and illegal immigration and passed a series of measures aimed at cracking down on both.

But officials Monday played down the decision to draft in troops.

In 1992, 20,000 men were sent to Sicily alone to allow police to concentrate on fighting the Mafia after attacks on judges, deputy chief of the general staff General Mario Buscemi was quoted by Monday's daily La Repubblica as saying.The support provided by 3,000troops spread across Italy would be minor and essentially symbolic, he said.Defence Minister Ignazio La Russa announced in June that troops would be put at the disposal of regional governments for anti-crime missions. Parliament gave its backing to the measure last week.Thousands of African migrants seeking to enter Europe have arrived in Lampedusa in recent months.Of the 11,949 people who landed in Italy in the first six months of 2008, 10,402 arrived in Lampedusa, around double the number for the same period in 2007.

About 1,200 arrived on the holiday island off Sicily last Wednesday and Thursday.

Italy deploys troops to fight street crime Story Highlights
Soldiers deployed around sensitive sites in Rome, Milan, Naples, Bologna, Palermo.Defense Ministry: 3,000 to be deployed as part of a security package Measure, proposed by Silvio Berlusconi's govt., to remain for six months.Critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities

ROME, Italy (AP) -- The Defense Ministry says hundreds of soldiers have been deployed in cities across Italy as part of government measures to fight street crime.Italian soldiers on patrol outside the U.S. embassy to the Holy See in Rome. 1 of 2 In Rome, some 400 men and women are deployed at subway and railway stations and at an immigrant center. They are not expected to be immediately deployed in the capital's historic center.In Milan, some 150 soldiers were patrolling the Duomo cathedral and sensitive sites such as the U.S. consulate and the city's synagogue. Soldiers were also deployed in Naples, Bologna and Palermo, Italian reports said.More soldiers will be deployed in coming days, reaching an overall total of 3,000, said Lt. Col. Mario Busi of the Defense Ministry.Premier Silvio Berlusconi's conservative government had proposed the measure as part of a security package that also toughens rules for illegal immigrants, whom some Italians link to crime. The measure, recently approved by parliament, remains in effect for six months.Defense Minister Ignazio La Russa dismissed criticism that the soldiers would scare residents, saying that instead they could help address citizens' concerns on security. The people more likely to be afraid, he said, were the thieves, the rapists, the criminals.

Berlusconi has made law and order a priority after winning April elections on promises to crack down on crime.Some critics say the deployments will end up militarizing the cities, while others bring up the opposite argument that a deployment of 3,000 soldiers is little more than a show.In the 1990s, soldiers were sent into Sicily to help free up police for investigations of the Mafia.

IRAN STILL INSISTS NO WAY

I JUST LOVE THE WAY GOD IS GETTING PEOPLES ATTENTION WHO DENY THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. PRAISE KING JESUS.

PICTURES FROM WND
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71386

MUCH ABOUT HISTORY Old Testament proof: Royal seal discovered. Archaeologists unearth ancient relic from prince mentioned in Jeremiah August 03, 2008 7:35 pm Eastern By Joe Kovacs
2008 WorldNetDaily

A team of archaeologists in Israel has unearthed what's believed to be the royal seal of an Old Testament prince who is said to have tossed the prophet Jeremiah down a well.Royal seal bears name of Gedaliah, a prince to Judah's King Zedekiah, mentioned in the Old Testament Book of Jeremiah. (courtesy Dr. Eilat Mazar)The stamped engraving, known as a bulla, was discovered earlier this year about 600 feet south of the Temple Mount, but is just now making headlines.

Team leader Dr. Eilat Mazar of Jerusalem's Hebrew University says the imprint was found in clay, astonishingly well-preserved, bearing the name of Gedaliah, the son of Pashur.How absolutely fantastic and special this find is can only be realized when you hold in your hand this magnificent one-centimeter piece of clay and know that it survived 2,600 years in the debris of the destruction, and came to us complete and in perfect condition, Mazar said.

Gedaliah is mentioned by name in Jeremiah 38:1 as he served Judah's King Zedekiah in the final days before Jerusalem was conquered by Babylon's King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 B.C.The excavation area in the section of Jerusalem known as the City of David, looking east. (courtesy Dr. Eilat Mazar) The prophet's writings tell of the actions that Gedaliah and his fellow princes took against him:

Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire. (Jeremiah 38:6)

The prophet was rescued after an Ethiopian eunuch pleaded with the king on Jeremiah's behalf, saying, he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city. (38:9)The king then ordered 30 men to hoist up the prophet before the city fell to the Babylonians.A 19th century Bible depicts the prophet Jeremiah being lifted out of a well.The letters on the seal are in ancient Hebrew, and Mazar told WND the relic was recovered through a wet-sifting process. She says the method was learned after the illegal excavations by the Waqf, the Islamic custodians of the Temple Mount, who have been dumping debris in huge mounds.

Dr. Eilat Mazar

The wet sifting that we did for the destruction debris from our excavations indeed allowed us to uncover hundreds of different kinds of small finds such as tiny fish bones, Phoenician glass beads, Hebrew, Babylonian and Egyptian bullae and seals, pits and seeds, hematite and limestone weights, arrowheads, figurines, jewelry and more, she said.This is actually the second recent discovery of an ancient bulla from the time of Jeremiah.In 2005, Mazar found another seal with the name of Jehucal the son of Shelemiah, who is mentioned twice in the prophet's book. That artifact was found in a stone structure Mazar believes was part of King David's ancient palace.She added, It is not very often that such a discovery happens to archaeologists in which real figures of the past shake off the dust of history and so vividly revive the stories of the Bible.

INTERESTING THINGS COMMIN OUT NOW, WHAT IS THE TRUTH. ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

ELECTION 2008 Book links Obama to massacre of Christians
Senator's continuing ally launches genocidal tribal violence
August 03, 2008 9:35 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

CHURCH VIOLENCE VIDEO
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=71383

Barack Obama and Raila Odinga

U.S. Sen. Barack Obama has continued to support Kenya's Raila Odinga, even after Odinga has been blamed for inciting tribal violence and slaughtering Christians, according to an explosive new book written by WND senior staff reporter Jerome R. Corsi.In The Obama Nation: Leftist Politics and the Cult of Personality, Corsi argues that Odinga's protests following his loss to U.S.-backed Mwai Kibaki in Kenya's 2007 presidential election led to a wave of tribal and religious violence aimed against Kibaki's majority Kikuyu tribe.The violence Obama's ally was blamed for included the slaughter of some 50 Pentecostal Christians.As WND reported earlier, during his first visit to Kenya as a U.S. Senator in 2006, Obama openly campaigned for Odinga, to the point where Kenyan government spokesman Alfred Mutua accused Obama of meddling inappropriately in Kenyan presidential politics. Mutua charged during a television news video that Obama had become a stooge to Odinga during the Kenyan presidential election campaign. Obama's father belonged to the same Luo tribe as Odinga.In the disputed Dec. 27, 2007, presidential vote, Odinga charged he was denied winning the presidency by voter fraud.After the election, Odinga pressed for a power-sharing arrangement in which he would be the prime minister in a government where Kibaki was president, with the two factions sharing a 50-50 power split in the cabinet.Odinga's claim led to widespread fighting that killed more than 1,000 people in the weeks after the election, leaving more than 350,000 Kenyans displaced.While proving involvement is difficult, many in Kenya assumed the post-election violence was supported, if not organized, behind the scenes by Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement party.

In a horrifying incident following the election, at least 50 people, including women and children, were killed when an angry mob forced Kikuyu Christians into an Assemblies of God Pentecostal church and set fire to the church, hacking with machetes any of the Christians who tried to escape the flames.The violence occurred in the village of Eldoret, about 185 miles northwest of Nairobi. The massacre in the church was part of youth gang violence aimed at harassing the Kikuyu Christian minority, which before the election numbered around 20 percent of Eldoret's 500,000 people.After the church burning, the vast majority of Eldoret’s Kikuyu Christian minority fled the city, in fear of their lives.Christian missionaries report over 300 Christian churches were severely damaged or destroyed in the violence that swept the country, but mosques were left undisturbed.Another horrific report came from the Telegram in London, reporting the wave of post-election violence involved members of President Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe being attacked in Nairobi slums by ethnic groups including gangs of Luo tribe youth and men who were engaging in gang rapes of women and sodomizing boys as young as five years of age.The Telegraph reported the vast majority of the victims were assaulted in their homes and all had been targeted because of their Kikuyu tribe membership.Mobs slashed their way into homes, attacking everyone they found with machetes and clubs. Youths raped women in front of their husbands and many wives were then dragged from their homes and killed.In the final days of the New Hampshire Democratic Party primary, after the post-election violence in Kenya, Obama told reporters he had telephoned Raila Odinga by telephone.Obama sided with Odinga, indicating Odinga was willing to meet with Kibaki.

Obviously he [Odinga] believes that the votes were not tallied properly, Obama told reporters, almost as if he were running for election in Kenya. But what I urged was that all the leaders there, regardless of their position on the election, tell their supporters to stand down, to desist with the violence and resolve it in a peaceful way with Kenyan laws.Reporters asked if Obama had telephoned Kenyan President Kibaki.I have not spoken to President Kibaki as yet, the senator answered, but I hope to get in touch with him some time soon. I want to see if I can be helpful.It is unclear whether Obama ever spoke with Kibaki, after a rough initial meeting during Obama’s 2006 Kenyan trip.

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.

WELL THE BIBLE CLEARLY SAYS BEHEADINGS WILL BE COMMON PLACE, WE SEE ITS GOIN WORLDWIDE NOW NOT JUST IN THE MIDEAST AND MUSLIM COUNTRIES.

Police tape: Canada bus killer ate victim's flesh
Internal communication leaked on Internet; suspect charged in beheading

James Turner / AP Vince Weiguang Li, 40, is led into the Manitoba Provincial Court in Portage La Prairie on Friday. updated 8:55 p.m. ET, Sat., Aug. 2, 2008 TORONTO - A police officer at the scene of a grisly beheading on a Canadian bus reported seeing the attacker hacking off pieces of the victim's body and eating them, according to a police tape leaked on the Internet Saturday. In the tape of radio transmissions, a Royal Canadian Mounted Police officer refers to the attacker as Badger and says he is armed with a knife and scissors and is defiling the body at the front of the bus as we speak.On the tape, which lasts about 80 seconds, officers continue to detail the attacker's movements until one reports, Badger's at the back of the bus, hacking off pieces and eating it. The RCMP described the tapes as operational police communications and, as such, are not meant for public consumption. Police said permission had not been given to use the radio transmission, which was posted on LiveLeak.com and picked up by other Web sites. Officers were responding to a desolate stretch of the TransCanada Highway about 12 miles from Portage La Prairie, Manitoba, after the bloody attack late Wednesday on the bus traveling from Edmonton, Alberta to Winnipeg, Manitoba. Vince Weiguang Li, 40, faces second-degree murder charges for the murder of a 22-year-old man, who friends and family identified as Tim McLean. Police have not confirmed the victim's identity.

Suspect called model employee
Passengers said they had just reboarded the bus following a break when the suspect — for no apparent reason — stabbed the man sitting next to him dozens of times as passengers fled in horror. He then severed the man's head, displayed it and began hacking at the body.

Li's employer said in an interview Saturday that he was shocked to learn that his model employee had been accused of the grisly attack. Vincent Augert, an independent contractor who distributes newspapers in Edmonton, said that Li was one of his most reliable carriers. He was very punctual and always cleanly dressed, he told The Associated Press. He was a very nice, polite guy. We would've had no reason to let him go before all this happened.Augert said Li had worked for him since last July and caused no problems. I had no odd suspicions about him at all, said Augert. Augert said that Li called him two weeks ago to say he needed a day or two off to go to Winnipeg for a job interview at the end of July. He said Li called him back and left a message with the dates, but never followed up after that. That was unusual for him not to call back and then when he didn't show up for work on Tuesday we got worried, said Augert, who said it was sometimes difficult to understand Li because he spoke quickly and had a strong Chinese accent.Ken Gigliotti / AP
Canadian police inspect the Greyhound bus.Augert said he called Li's cell phone on Thursday and his wife answered. She told him that she hadn't heard from Li, who had told her he had to leave for a few days because of a family emergency. Li, who shuffled into a courtroom Friday in Portage la Prairie with his head bowed and feet shackled, appeared before the court without a lawyer. He did not reply when the judge asked him whether he was going to get a lawyer, and only nodded slightly when asked whether he was exercising his right not to speak. He was not required to enter a plea. The prosecutor asked for a psychiatric assessment, but the judge said he wanted to give Li a chance to meet with his lawyer. Li's next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday. The RCMP said Li has no known criminal record.

Victim's family speaks out
McLean's family spoke publicly Saturday for the first time since the brutal attack. He was a little guy with a heart bigger than you could know, McLean's uncle, Alex McLean, told reporters in a prepared statement from the family. Tim spent his life traveling and meeting new people and always saw the good in everyone. He had the most infectious giggle. You could hear him laughing a mile away, said Alex McLean. It didn't matter what kind of a day you were having, because when you heard him laugh, you couldn't help but join in.William Caron, 23, said McLean was quiet, though he liked to socialize with friends. He was small — about 5-foot-4 and 130 pounds — and tended to stay away from a fight, Caron said. All the time I've known Tim, he's never been the type of guy to get into a fight with. He always kept to himself when there's strangers around, Caron said. The killing has spawned a vast online community, with tens of thousands showing support for McLean's family and expressing disgust for the attack. One of the many groups on the social networking site Facebook has accumulated over 40,000 members with more than 2,000 wall posts. It's something right out of a horror movie, said Sheena in Edmonton.

Santorini butcher gravely ill By Malcolm Brabant BBC News, Athens

A man who decapitated his girlfriend and paraded the head around a village on the Greek island of Santorini is now fighting for his life in hospital. Athanassios Arvanitis, a 31-year-old chef, was shot five times by police before his arrest. He has wounds to his lungs and is in intensive care. The authorities believe the deadly rampage was triggered by his dismissal as a chef in a hotel. Three women injured during the police chase are said to be out of danger.

The trail of violence began when the man used a butcher's knife to decapitate his girlfriend's dog on the balcony of their home in the village of Vourvoulos, near Santorini's main town Thira. Next, Mr Arvanitis allegedly killed his girlfriend, a 25-year-old teacher called Adamantia Karkali, by stabbing her in the armpit. He then cut her head off and began parading it around the streets. During a dramatic chase, Mr Arvanitis tried and failed to behead a policeman. He was then shot five times and arrested. Doctors at Santorini's medical centre say that despite his injuries they found it almost impossible to restrain him. Two women doctors knocked from their motorbike by Mr Arvanitis as he tried to get away in a police jeep are said to be out of danger, as is a Greek woman tourist who was hit by a ricocheting bullet as she watched the sunset. People living in Santorini say they have not witnessed such savagery on this iconically beautiful island since the Germans carried out executions during the World War II occupation.

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.

Iran defiant on nuclear deadline AUG 3,08

Mr Ahmadinejad remains adamant Iran's nuclear programme is peaceful
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said his country will not retreat one iota on its nuclear programme. He was speaking after meeting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is on a two-day visit to Tehran. The meeting coincided with an informal deadline set by Western officials in a dispute over Tehran's uranium enrichment plans. Mr Assad had promised France he would use his ties with Iran to help resolve its nuclear stand-off with the West. In a statement published on the Iranian president's website, Mr Ahmadinejad said: In whichever negotiation we take part... it is unequivocally with the view to the realisation of Iran's nuclear right, and the Iranian nation would not retreat one iota from its rights.He said that international agreements meant Iran, like every other country, had the right to engage in uranium enrichment and possess nuclear power stations. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier had earlier urged Iran to give a clear answer on a deal offered by the international community, telling it to stop dallying. But Iran had said it had no intention of observing the 14-day deadline attached to the offer, a deadline that ran out on Saturday. The offer pledged not to impose new sanctions in return for halting uranium enrichment.

Assad pledge

Tehran has claimed consistently that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US and its allies believe it could be used to develop a nuclear weapon. During a visit to Paris in July, Mr Assad had promised French President Nicolas Sarkozy he would try to persuade Iran to offer proof it is not developing nuclear weapons.


Iran appears to be pressing ahead with its nuclear programme

But, says the BBC's Jon Leyne in Tehran, it would be hard to see him persuading Mr Ahmadinejad to meet Western demands on the nuclear issue. With Israel and Syria holding indirect peace talks, our correspondent adds, it is more likely that Mr Assad's visit is aimed at reassuring Tehran about the alliance between Iran and Syria. Iran was set the informal deadline on 19 July after its chief nuclear negotiator met officials from the UN, EU and the US in Geneva. It was the first time senior officials from the US and Iran had held face-to-face talks on the issue. In an interview with the weekly Der Spiegel, Mr Steinmeier appealed to the Iranians to provide an answer to the offer. I appeal again to the Iranian side no longer to play for time, but to give us a usable answer to our offers - stop dallying, he said. But Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Iran's representative at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said no deadline had been agreed. We have not had any discussion [or] agreement of the so-called timeline of two weeks, he said.

Sanctions

Meanwhile, Israel's deputy prime minister warned that Iran was near a breakthrough in its nuclear programme. Shaul Mofaz, a frontrunner to succeed Ehud Olmert as prime minister later in the year, said Iran could be capable of producing uranium for military use by 2010. The UN Security Council has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran. The US has hinted that a fourth could follow if the current offer is rejected by Tehran. On the face of it, our correspondent says, Iran is pressing ahead with its nuclear programme with no immediate prospect of new sanctions, but the Iranian government must be worried that it faces the danger of steadily growing international isolation.

US: Major powers to seek new sanctions on Iran By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer AUG 4,08

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration says the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and Germany have agreed to pursue further sanctions against Iran over its suspect nuclear program after it failed to meet a weekend deadline to respond to an incentives package designed to defuse the dispute. The State Department said the group decided in a high-level phone call on Monday that it had no choice but to seek additional punitive measures on Iran. Iran has told the lead European negotiator that it will provide a written response to the offer on Tuesday but a State Department spokesman said sanctions would come in the absence of a proper reply.

EU, Iran in new nuclear talks as answer awaited by Farhad Pouladi AUG 4,08

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran's nuclear negotiator and the EU foreign policy chief Monday held their latest talks on the atomic standoff amid growing pressure on Tehran to give a clear answer to an offer to end the crisis. Iran's Saeed Jalili and the EU's Javier Solana agreed in a telephone conversation to continue talks, Iranian state television reported.The talks, the first contact between the two men since they met in Geneva last month, came a day after an apparent deadline passed for Iran to give its answer to the package presented by world powers.Six weeks after the offer was first proposed, Iran has yet to give a final response to the package which offers Tehran technological incentives if it suspends the sensitive process of uranium enrichment.The conversation took place and Solana will report on it to the representatives of the group of six world powers, a Solana spokesman told AFP, referring to Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States.

The spokesman for Solana -- who is negotiating on behalf of the six powers -- gave no details of the conversation or how long the two men talked.Iranian television merely added that the pair also emphasised that preserving this path (of talks) needs a positive and constructive atmosphere.The United States had insisted that Iran meet a weekend deadline to respond to the package but Tehran has so far refused to give any ground on the key demand that it suspend uranium enrichment.Iran has also not given any answer to an additional offer to start pre-negotiations under which it would not expand its enrichment capacities any further while further UN sanctions proposals would be frozen.World powers fear that Iran could use enrichment to make a nuclear weapon but Tehran insists it only wants nuclear energy for a growing population whose fossil fuels will eventually run out.Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi dismissed the idea of a deadline, saying that negotiations are an ongoing process and the question of a deadline is media speculation.At the last Jalili-Solana meeting in Geneva on July 19, Solana asked for a response in two weeks to the package which aims to draw the line under a crisis that has sent oil prices spiralling and raised fears of regional conflict.But an EU diplomat said: If it's in 16 days instead of 14, it's not a problem. We are not obsessed with a date.Solana had presented the offer of economic and trade incentives in mid-June, while Iran has put forward its own proposal, an all-embracing package of suggestions to resolve the problems of the world, including the nuclear issue.Iran has so far been slapped with three sets of UN Security Council sanctions for its refusal halt uranium enrichment but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has defiantly insisted that Tehran will not budge an inch.

The United States has warned that more sanctions loom if Iran does not give a positive response to the package.Along with its regional ally Israel, Washington has warned that the option of military action against Iran remains open if Tehran sticks to its defiant line.Amid the continued tensions, Iran announced on Monday that it had successfully test-fired an anti-ship missile with a range of 300kilometres (180 miles) that it had developed with homegrown technology. No enemy vessels would be able to escape it within a 300-kilometre radius from the borders of Iran, the commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards, General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said on state television. Iran has in recent months frequently boasted of developing new weapons and military hardware but the claims have often met with scepticism from Western defence analysts. World oil prices -- which have been driven to record levels by worries over a possible military strike on OPEC's number two producer -- were mixed on Monday. New York's main contract, light sweet crude for September delivery, fell 16 cents to 124.94 dollars a barrel in electronic trading, reversing earlier gains.

Iran: New weapon for use at sea tested 5h 4m ago AUG 4,08

Yahoo! Buzz Digg Newsvine Reddit FacebookWhat's this?TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has tested a new weapon for use at sea, the chief of the country's elite Revolutionary Guards was quoted Monday as saying by the official IRNA news agency.The commander, Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari, claimed the new marine weapon is unique in the world and has a range of 300 kilometers (186 miles).The report provided no further details and didn't say when or where the weapon was tested, but it quoted Jafari as saying that there is no similar weapon in the service of armies in the world.The alleged new weapon's range indicated it may be some type of torpedo.Iran and the West are locked in a standoff on the country's disputed uranium enrichment program, which the U.S. and its allies fear is aimed at making nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge and says the program is only for producing electricity.Both the U.S. and Israel have said they would prefer a diplomatic solution to the standoff, but have not ruled out other options, including a military one.To show their readiness to defend, the Guards test fired missiles and torpedoes in the Persian Gulf last month, and Tehran claimed it tested a new Shahab missile with a range of 2,012 kilometers (1,250 miles).In case of a possible strike on Iran, Jafari said the country will respond in every way it can. The enemy, he said, would prefer to make the duration of the war as short as possible.
But, we will prolong it, Jafari said.The Associated Press

Oil jumps above $126 in Asia on Iran AUG 4,08

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices jumped above US$126 a barrel Monday in Asia on concern that a showdown over Iran's nuclear program could threaten crude supplies out of the Middle East.

A fuel price board at a petrol station in Manila.

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Saturday that the United States would have no choice but to begin again to prepare sanctions resolutions for the (U.N.) Security Council if Iran did not halt the development of its uranium enrichment program.Rice said that given the U.N.'s current scheduling, sanctions probably could not be expected in the next few weeks, but the U.S. will begin working with allies toward that goal.There's concern about a potential confrontation down the line, said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with Purvin & Gertz consultancy in Singapore.Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose US$1.20 to US$126.30 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The contract gained US$1.02 on Friday to settle at US$125.10 a barrel.In London, September Brent crude was up 96 cents at US$125.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Don't Miss
Iran says diplomacy key to nuke dispute
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that diplomacy is the only way out of his country's standoff with the West as an informal deadline expired on an offer of economic and other incentives by six world powers if Iran agreed to curb enrichment.

Iran's leader made the comments a day after asserting that his country would not give up its nuclear rights, signaling that it would refuse demands to stop enriching uranium or at least not to expand its enrichment work.The United States and its European allies fear Iran intends to use the technology to develop material for nuclear weapons under the cloak of a civilian nuclear power program. Iran denies the accusation.On Friday, oil shot up as much as US$4 after news reports quoted Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz as saying that Iran's nuclear program was nearing a major breakthrough and that his country must be prepared for every option.Mofaz, a hawkish former defense minister and military chief, is a top contender to succeed Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who announced last week he will resign in September amid a corruption probe.Oil prices also rose Monday in Asia on concern Tropical Storm Edouard may disrupt oil operations in the Gulf of Mexico.The National Hurricane Center issued a hurricane watch Sunday for the coast of western Louisiana and eastern Texas, which means that hurricane conditions are possible from Edouard within the next 24 hours in the area.The fifth named storm of the 2008 hurricane season has sustained maximum winds of about 50 miles (80 kilometers) per hour. By Sunday night, Edouard was located about 80 miles (129 kilometers) east-southeast off the mouth of the Mississippi River and about 390 miles (630 kilometers) east of Galveston, Texas.It's expected to strengthen before making landfall Tuesday morning in Texas.In Nigeria, two French oil workers were kidnapped in country's volatile southern oil region Sunday. A statement released by France's Foreign Ministry confirmed the kidnappings of the French nationals, but did not provide additional details about the two or say for which company they worked.You've got three supply-side worries pushing oil higher today: Iran, the storm and Nigeria, Shum said.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures rose 2.82 cents to US$3.465 a gallon (3.8 liters) while gasoline prices gained 4.57 cents to US$3.13 a gallon. Natural gas futures increased 8.9 cents to US$9.478 per 1,000 cubic feet.

OLYMPIC STORMS PREDICTED

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.

At least 9 killed in torrential Togo floods Sat Aug 2, 12:50PM ET

LOME, Togo - At least nine people have been killed as torrential floods have submerged entire villages in Togo, the country's Minister for Transport and Highways said Saturday in a televised address. Nine major bridges have been wiped out, stranding villagers in flooded hamlets, Ekpao Talaki said. As many as 5,000 people have been rendered homeless, according to the government's web site, but aid workers say the number could be much higher.

Ghana, Togo's neighbor, sent in helicopters to rescue villagers trapped in their flooded homes. France sent a disaster crew Friday from its peacekeeping mission in nearby Ivory Coast.But Togo's main opposition party criticized the government for not doing enough and called for an emergency session of Parliament to address the disaster.President Faure Gnassingbe is holding an emergency Cabinet meeting Saturday — the third this week — to come up with ways to combat the floods. The flooding, which shows no sign of abating, was brought on by heavy monsoon rains.

Rain, thunder, typhoons forecast for Beijing Games Sun Aug 3, 1:48 AM ET

BEIJING (AFP) - Weather forecasters on Sunday predicted thunder and rain in Beijing on the day of the Olympic opening ceremony and warned that typhoons could disrupt events in other host cities.

Organisers have repeatedly said rain is their biggest worry ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, which will feature more than 10,000 performers and a massive fireworks display.But top officials from the Beijing Meteorological Bureau confirmed that bad weather was certain for the August 8, although they held out hope that the skies may clear for the evening ceremony.Before and immediately after August 8, we will not see persistent heavy rainfall, said Wang Jianjie, deputy director of the bureau.Specifically on the 8th, the weather in Beijing will be cloudy and overcast and we will see some rain showers and thunder showers.She said that forecasting technology was not accurate enough to predict exactly when rain would actually fall on any particular day or whether it would disrupt the evening opening ceremony.It is impossible to tell at what time the rain will fall on August 8, but we cannot exclude that there will be periodic rain then, she told a press conference.

As for typhoons, she said that two or three were expected to blow in from the Pacific Ocean during the August 8-24 Games and that they would be tracked and monitored throughout the period.The storms could hit Hong Kong, affecting the staging of the Olympic equestrian events there, and could also disrupt parts of the Olympic football tournament that is being staged in coastal Shanghai.Wang also said that the port city of Qingdao in northeastern China, where the Olympic sailing competition is being held, could also be affected.However, she said any disruption that the typhoons could bring to the Olympic events would be contained.

Normally a typhoon can affect an area for one or two days, she said. It would not have a long-term effect but would only have an effect for a limited period.

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.

The heat goes on John Desjardins AUG 3,08

South

It will be another day of triple-digit temps across the south-central U.S. today. The mercury will eclipse the century mark across much of Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and most of Louisiana. More record highs temperatures will likely be broken, possibly including Dallas (forecast of 108) and Shreveport (forecast of 105). Combined with high humidity, heat indices will be pushing 110 in many areas. Heat advisories and excessive heat warnings are posted across much of the area, from Texas to Mississippi. Residents of this area should exercise extreme caution in dealing with this dangerous heat. Farther east, high temperatures will generally be in the low to mid 90s. Afternoon showers will flare up in parts of the Deep South and Florida. While a few storms may turn severe, it is not expected to be nearly as widespread as Saturday's activity.

Midwest

The northern tier of the country continues to be active, particularly from the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest. This morning's showers and thunderstorms across the Dakotas will continue to move east with a strong upper-level disturbance. Showers and thunderstorms -- some severe -- will push into Minnesota this afternoon. These storms could produce strong winds and large hail. Highs from the Dakotas into the Ohio Valley will mostly be in the low-to-mid 80s, with a few areas around the Great Lakes clinging to the 70s. The central Plains will continue to roast with highs above 100 in much of Nebraska and Kansas. Dangerously high heat indices will also extend into Missouri. Some relief is expected in these areas by midweek.

Northeast

A pesky storm system will continue to swirl across the Northeast and keep the threat of showers in New England. Although showers are spotty this morning, the activity is expected to increase into the afternoon. Many of these areas are soaked from recent rain, so additional rainfall will not be beneficial. Flood watches are posted from northern Vermont through northern Maine. Farther south, rain will not be much of an issue. A few showers or thunderstorms may pop up this afternoon from central New York State into Massachusetts. Otherwise, most of the region will be dry. High temperatures will be in the 70s from central Pennsylvania into Northern New England. Parts of Maine will not get out of the 60s. From the New York City metro area through Virginia, look for highs in the mid to upper 80s.

West

Much of the West will see sunny skies this Sunday. This includes the Pacific Northwest, Great Basin and, as usual, most of California. A few afternoon showers and thunderstorms will fire up over the Rockies from Montana into New Mexico. A few of these storms could contain locally heavy rain, which could result in flash flooding. Highs across the region will be generally seasonable. Expect 70s in western Washington down the coast. Portions of the Intermountain West will be in the 80s with a few pockets of 90s. The Desert Southwest will peak in the 100s. The Front Range of the Rockies will continue to be hot, flirting with triple digits.

SECULARISM IN TURKEY : SENSITIVE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=6222227&ch=4226714&src=news

ISRAEL SENDS FATAHS BACK TO GAZA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9104884&ch=4226714&src=news

TENNESSEE CHURCH RALIES AFTER SHOOTING
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=9103923&ch=4226713&src=news

Jordan tells Abbas infighting threatens Palestinian state AUG 3,08

AMMAN (AFP) - Jordan's King Abdullah II warned visiting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on Sunday that Palestinian infighting threatens their efforts to form an independent state, the palace said. Continued factional infighting harms the Palestinian cause and threatens efforts to help establish an independent Palestinian state, the king said according to a palace statement.The king also expressed concerns about developments in the territories, saying that the Palestinians should resort to dialogue to resolve their differences.Palestinian unity is key to tackling the current challenges, he added.Israel on Sunday began returning Fatah members who had fled deadly clashes in the Gaza Strip to the Hamas-ruled territory following a request by Abbas.On Saturday Abbas had asked that about 180 people be allowed out of Gaza after nine people were killed during the day in the deadliest internal fighting with Hamas since the Islamists seized power in June 2007.It followed a July 21 bombing that killed five Hamas militants and a little girl, which the Islamists blamed on Fatah's Helis clan.Abbas said meanwhile that Egypt plans to invite Palestinians for talks in Cairo.

Dialogue is important. We have called for it. Egypt has agreed to invite Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo, he was quoted in the statement as saying.We can't lose hope. We disagree and fight, but we have to work together to bridge the big gap created unfortunately by Hamas.Abbas urged the Islamists to resort to reason and logic and accept the law.

Anglican leader urges ban on gay bishops By RACHEL ZOLL, AP Religion Writer AUG 3,08

NEW YORK - The spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans urged church leaders Sunday not to consecrate any other gay bishops for now, as he ended a once-a-decade Anglican assembly that was dedicated to preventing schism in the troubled fellowship. In his final speech at the Lambeth Conference, Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams said the Anglican Communion needs space for study and free discussion without pressure about whether to accept changes in the traditional biblical understanding of same-sex relationships.A fellow Christian may believe they have a profound fresh insight. They seek to persuade others about it. A healthy church gives space for such exchanges, he told the 650 bishops at the meeting in Canterbury, England. But the Christian with the new insight can't claim straight away that this is now what the Church of God believes or intends.The 77-million-member Anglican Communion has been splintering since 2003, when the U.S. Episcopal Church consecrated the first openly gay bishop, V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire.Williams barred Robinson and a few other bishops from the assembly, and designed the event without legislation or votes, instead focusing on rebuilding frayed relationships.

Still, more than 200 theologically conservative bishops boycotted Lambeth, which ran for 20 days. In June, just before Lambeth began, these same bishops formed a new global network within the communion that challenges Williams' authority but Williams does not have the authority to force any agreement among the conflicted groups. stops just short of a permanent split. The 38 Anglican national churches, including the U.S. Episcopal Church, are self-governed and loosely connected by shared roots in the missionary work of the Church of England.But the bishops at Lambeth said Sunday in a statement that they called their reflections on the meeting that there is widespread support across the communion for an extended moratorium on gay bishops and on blessing ceremonies for same-gender couples.

Williams and the bishops also indicated support for an extended moratorium on church leaders taking oversight of breakaway parishes in an Anglican territory that is not their own.Since Robinson was consecrated, conservative Anglican leaders from Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya and elsewhere have taken authority for seceding Episcopal parishes in the U.S.Although the exact figure is in dispute, Episcopal officials say that fewer than 100 of the more than 7,000 U.S. Episcopal parishes have voted to split off.Still, the entire Diocese of San Joaquin, based in Fresno, Calif., voted to withdraw from the denomination and align with another Anglican province, sparking a lawsuit. The Dioceses of Pittsburgh and Fort Worth, Texas, are poised to vote on whether to break away this fall.

Robinson traveled to Canterbury even though he wasn't invited, trying to meet with overseas bishops and be what he called a constant and friendly reminder of gays in the church.On Sunday, the advocacy group Integrity, which represents gay and lesbian Episcopalians, said in a statement that there is no theological defense for sacrificing a minority of the baptized for the sake of unity.No one expected the Lambeth Conference to definitively heal the divisions among Anglicans.The bishops did discuss a proposed global covenant that would set some requirements for membership in the communion. Williams said Sunday he plans to convene a meeting of the 38 Anglican national leaders, or primates, early next year. But it could be years before any agreement on a covenant is reached.

We may not have put an end to all our problems, Williams said, but the pieces are on the board.On the Net:
Lambeth Conference: http://www.lambethconference.org/index.cfm