GUSTAV - HANNA - IKE - JOSEPHINE

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.

WOW NOW WE KNOW WHY JESUS SAID and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS). 4 STORMS DONE OR IN PROGRESS PLUS INDIA IN TROUBLE.

LIKE THE ANGEL TOLD DOCTOR DOCTORIAN THE SEA WOULD BE REVERSING ITS COURSE THE STORMS WOULD BE SO BAD. EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY WITH GUSTAV.

New Orleans largely spared by Hurricane Gustav By ROBERT TANNER and VICKI SMITH, Associated Press Writers SEPT 02,08

NEW ORLEANS - New Orleans evacuees scattered across the country were eager to return home after their city was largely spared by Hurricane Gustav, but Mayor Ray Nagin warned they may have to wait in shelters and motels a few days longer. The city's improved levee system helped avert a disaster like Hurricane Katrina, which flooded most of the city, and officials got an assist from a disorganized and weakened Gustav, which came ashore about 72 miles southwest of the city Monday morning. Eight deaths were attributed to the storm in the U.S. after it killed at least 94 people across the Caribbean.But New Orleans was still a city that took a glancing blow from a hurricane: A mandatory evacuation order and curfew remained in effect. And though few people were left in the city, nearly 80,000 homes remained without power after the storm damaged transmission lines that snapped like rubber bands in the wind and knocked 35 substations out of service.The city's sewer system was damaged, and hospitals were working with skeleton crews on backup power. Drinking water continued to flow in the city and the pumps that keep it dry never shut down — two critical service failings that contributed to Katrina's toll.Gustav was downgraded to a tropical depression early Tuesday, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm's maximum sustained winds had decreased to near 35 mph, but forecasters issued flood warnings for northern Louisiana and East Texas, where up to 8 inches of rain was expected. The storm's center was located about 135 miles northwest of Lafayette and was moving northwest at about 10 mph.Nagin cautioned that Tuesday would be too early for residents to return to New Orleans, but their homecoming was only days away, not weeks.Crews would comb the city Tuesday to fully review the damage, Nagin said, with the goal of having residents return beginning late Wednesday or Thursday.

Retailers and other major companies could start sending workers Wednesday to check on their locations, he said. Buses are in place and ready to bring residents back with instructions to drop them off as close as possible to their homes.The state and city took pride in a massive evacuation effort that succeeded in urging people to leave or catch buses and trains out: Almost 2 million people left coastal Louisiana, and only about 10,000 people rode out the storm in New Orleans.I would not do a thing differently, Nagin said. I'd probably call Gustav, instead of the mother of all storms, maybe the mother-in-law or the ugly sister of all storms.But thousands of people were strained by sleeping in cots in gymnasiums and convention centers, far away from their homes and wondering when they could go back. Fights broke out at an overcrowded shelter in Shreveport. Doctors worried about medications running out and seven people were hospitalized, all in stable condition.People are desperate. They don't know if they are going to have a place to go home to, said Emma McClure, 37, who was at the shelter with her three children, three sisters and some 20 nephews. They had three years to plan this and now I wish I had stayed in the city like I did during Katrina.Though the big city was spared, Gustav devastated parts of Cajun country, destroying homes and flooding parts of the mostly rural, low-lying parishes across the state's southeastern and central coast that are also home to the state's oil and natural gas industries.Four evacuating Louisianans were killed in Georgia when their car struck a tree. A 27-year-old Lafayette man was killed when a tree fell on his house as the storm whipped through, and an Abbeville couple was killed when a tree fell on a home in Baton Rouge. A woman from Jefferson was killed Monday when her vehicle ran off Interstate 10 and struck a tree.A levee in the southeastern part of Louisiana was in danger of collapse, and officials scrambled to fortify it. Roofs were torn from homes, trees toppled and roads flooded. A ferry sunk. More than 1 million homes were without power. And the extent of any damage to the oil and gas industries was unclear.Gov. Bobby Jindal said he heard reports of widespread damage across Terrebonne, Lafourche and St. Mary parishes. He said conditions were still too dangerous Monday night to send teams to assess the damage, but the effort to find injured or killed people would begin before dawn with helicopter crews using night-vision technology.It could be a day or more before oil and natural gas companies can assess the damage to their drilling and refining installations. Jindal said as much as 20 percent of oil and gas production that was stopped because of Gustav could be restored by this weekend, stressing that it was a rough estimate.To the east of the city, Jindal said state officials were planning an aerial tour on Tuesday to gauge damage to Port Fourchon, a vital energy industry hub where huge amounts of oil and gas are piped inland to refineries.The Gulf of Mexico accounts for about 25 percent of domestic oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output. Damage to those installations could cause gasoline prices at the pump to spike, although oil prices declined Monday. Several companies that operate platforms in the area said their platforms remained intact, but they needed to inspect them before they could restart production.

Two houses built up on pilings to avoid flooding were not spared by the wind that tore through Montegut, a small Terrebonne Parish town south of Houma. Across a narrow bayou running past the houses, globs of yellow insulation had collected in a tree and a neighbor's chain-link fence. One of the homes had part of a wall ripped away, exposing a room with two plaques on the wall, one of which read: Ashley Pennison, 2000-2001 honor graduate, 3.5 GPA.The remnants of her childhood lay scattered about the soggy grass, including strung-together letter-shaped pillows spelling out her first name along with an assortment of miniature clowns. Danny Price, the owner of a grocery store across the street, said he stayed home for the storm, but he might not the next time. I got scared, he said. It was bad when the wind started rolling in. This was a picture to see: trees snapping off, fences blowing down and that wind just coming down the driveway over 100 miles per hour. It gets you scared. It's not something to play with. I don't think I'm going to stay for another one.Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer, Cain Burdeau, Allen G. Breed contributed to this report from New Orleans. Janet McConnaughey and Alan Sayre contributed from Hammond. Doug Simpson in Baton Rouge, Michael Kunzelman in Lafayette, La., Vicki Smith in Montegut, La., and Holbrook Mohr in Gulfport, Miss., also contributed.

As Gustav winds down, New Orleans eyes damage By Matthew Bigg and Tim Gaynor
SEPT 02,08

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A still-largely deserted New Orleans on Tuesday prepared to take stock of damage from Hurricane Gustav after rebuilt levees appeared to hold off a repeat of the flooding caused by Katrina three years earlier. Gustav roared through the heart of the U.S. Gulf oil patch but oil and natural gas prices plunged when Gustav weakened before landfall and spared key Gulf oil installations, easing fears of serious supply disruptions.As the hurricane's winds slowed, it also stayed on a westerly track, missing New Orleans in a twist that helped keep it from becoming the monster storm feared just days earlier.By early Tuesday, Gustav had weakened to become a tropical depression as it dumped rain over western Louisiana, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.But the storm surge kicked up by Gustav tested a levee system still being rebuilt after collapsing during Katrina. A tense vigil followed into Monday night for any sign of the kind of deluge of three years ago when 80 percent of New Orleans flooded and thousands were stranded.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers closed massive new floodgates built after Katrina and intended to keep Lake Pontchartrain waters from surging back toward the south into the city and over the banks of two canals.Although water flowed over flood walls and spurted through cracks, a flood barrier system which officials had warned left New Orleans vulnerable appeared to hold up.New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin said residents could begin to return to the city later this week. With the city still under curfew, officials will assess hurricane damage on Tuesday and begin allowing businesses to return as soon as Wednesday.Reentry is only days away and not weeks away, Nagin said.

DODGED A BULLET

Some residents emerged from boarded up homes relieved to find only broken tree branches and toppled signs.We'll still get some nasty weather but we've dodged a big-time bullet with this one, said stockbroker Peter Labouisse, sitting on the porch of his home, which was shuttered and without power.Louisiana officials reported six storm-related deaths, including an elderly couple in Baton Rouge who were killed when a tree fell on their home.In contrast to the widespread lawlessness that followed Katrina, New Orleans police said they had only arrested two people for looting during the storm.Oil companies had shut down nearly all production in the region, which normally pumps a quarter of U.S. oil output and 15 percent of its natural gas.But when early reports showed little damage to the crucial patch of energy infrastructure, oil prices slid to a five-month low and were seen headed toward $100 per barrel on Tuesday.Exxon said it was shutting down its Baton Rouge refinery, the second largest in the United States. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Exxon would ask for crude oil from the U.S. emergency Strategic Petroleum Reserve and Shell Oil Co was expected to make a similar request, as refiners look to ensure gasoline supplies in the wake of Gustav.Mindful of the ravages of Katrina, which killed some 1,500 people, nearly 2 million people had fled the Gulf Coast as Gustav approached. Underscoring continued concern about the fragile flood barriers, officials in rural Plaquemines Parish told the handful of residents remaining to flee as a levee protecting 200 homes had been weakened by water surging over the top. Plaquemines, a fishing hub that sprawls into the Gulf of Mexico, was hammered by a 20-foot (6-meter) storm surge during Katrina.

BUSH RESPONSE

Gustav stole the limelight from the Republican Convention to nominate presidential candidate John McCain. It opened on Monday with a bare-bones program. President George W. Bush, who was heavily criticized for the slow Katrina relief efforts, canceled his appearance at the convention and went to Texas to oversee relief effort. A dangerous Category 4 hurricane a few days ago, Gustav hit shore near Cocodrie, Louisiana, about 70 miles southwest of New Orleans, as a Category 2 storm, one step below Katrina's strength at landfall. Initial loss estimates from Gustav were far below those for Katrina, which caused total loses of more than $80 billion, making it the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. EQECAT Inc., which helps insurers model catastrophe risk, said it estimated Gustav's insured losses at $6 billion to $10 billion. AIR Worldwide Corp., another firm that provides models for the financial risk from disasters, estimated that Gustav had caused up to $4.5 billion in losses on land and up to another $4.4 billion to offshore oil and gas installations. Before landfall in Louisiana, Gustav killed at least 97 people in the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Jamaica and Florida. As fears over Gustav eased, Tropical Storm Hanna grew to hurricane strength near the southeast Bahamas, threatening the U.S. east coast from Florida to the Carolinas, and Tropical Storm Ike formed in the Atlantic Ocean. Meanwhile, a new tropical depression formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean south of the Cape Verde Islands and was expected to become a tropical storm later on Tuesday. The depression, which will be dubbed Tropical Storm Josephine once its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour (64 kph), was located 170 miles southeast of the Cape Verde Islands. It marks the 10th tropical depression of this year's busy Atlantic hurricane season. (Additional reporting by Tom Brown in Miami, Lilla Zuill in New York, David Alexander and Sandra Maler in Washington, and Bruce Nichols, Chris Baltimore and Erwin Seba in Houston; Writing by Jim Loney and Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Mary Milliken and Sandra Maler)

Hanna lashes Bahamas, Ike forms over Atlantic By VIVIAN TYSON, Associated Press Writer SEPT 02,08

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos - Hurricane Hanna slumped to tropical storm strength while grinding away at the Bahamas and other Atlantic islands on Tuesday, and forecasters said it still poses a hurricane threat to the U.S. East Coast. The storm snapped trees and kept Providenciales, capital of the Turks and Caicos islands, without power. It hurled rains that caused flooding across Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico, where at least one university student died in a rain-swollen river.

Hanna's maximum sustained winds slipped to 70 mph (110 kph), but the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said it could regain hurricane strength of 74 mph (119 kph) within a day. Forecasters say it could hit the U.S. coast by Friday or Saturday.

Right now, the uncertainty is such that it could hit anywhere from Miami to the outer banks of North Carolina, said Jessica Schauer Clark, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. So people really need to keep an eye on it.But Hanna's movement has been agonizingly slow for people in the tourist magnets of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos, directly under its winds.The storm was close to Great Inagua Island Tuesday morning and was drifting toward the west at about 2 mph (4 kph). The hurricane center said it would move over the southeastern Bahamas Tuesday and then into the central part of the island chain by Wednesday.There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage in the Turks and Caicos or Bahamas, but officials would assess the situation once the storm has cleared, said Stephen Russell, interim director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.Newly formed Tropical Storm Ike was cruising westward across the Atlantic and was projected to near the storm-weary Bahamas by Sunday. It had winds of 50 mph (85 kph) and was expected to grow stronger.Floods caused by Hanna caused flooding that killed a man from Colombia and left a Brazilian woman missing on Monday. The two were students at the University of Puerto Rico on a trip to the island's east.People living near the northwestern Haitian city of Gonaives told Radio Caraibes that floods there sent residents fleeing to their roofs. Officials did not immediately confirm the report.

That region still bears the scars of 2004's Tropical Storm Jeanne, which killed some 3,000 people in Gonaives.More than 8,000 people remain homeless in the wake of Hurricane Gustav, which was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved over central Louisiana late Monday.At least 95 people have been killed by storms in Haiti in the last month alone.Hanna prompted NASA to put off shifting the space shuttle Atlantis from an assembly building at Florida's Kennedy Space Center to the launch pad for at least a day. The move had been scheduled for Tuesday in preparation for an October mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.Tourists Jason and Carolina Volpi were out of luck as they tried to leave the Turks and Caicos on Monday. The Providenciales airport was shut down and all flights were canceled. They couldn't get seats out until Thursday, too late to attend business meetings back in Italy.The situation is very frustrating, Jason Volpi, 36, said as they waited under darkening skies for a taxi back to their hotel.The European Union said Monday it would give euro2 million (US$2.9 million) to help the recovery from Gustav, which killed at least 94 people. The money will pay for clean water, food, medical care, shelter and basic household items in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. In Haiti, 8,000 people are in temporary housing after high winds and floods destroyed homes and farms.

Hurricane Hanna threatens US southeast coast By VIVIAN TYSON, Associated Press Writer SEPT 01,08

PROVIDENCIALES, Turks and Caicos - Hurricane Hanna was moving little early Tuesday as its rains drenched the southeastern Bahamas along with the Turks and Caicos Islands. The hurricane also threatened to hit the southeast United States later in the week.Meanwhile, Tropical Storm Ike was headed toward the Caribbean and another tropical depression emerged as a new threat in the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami.Hanna, with maximum sustained winds near 80 mph (130 kph), lingered for much of Monday near Mayaguana and nearby islands in the southeast Bahamas.There were no immediate reports of injuries or major damage, but emergency teams were standing by and would begin assessing the situation once the storm has cleared, said Stephen Russell, interim director of the Bahamas National Emergency Management Agency.I'm quite certain there is going to be damage, particularly in Mayaguana, he said.Hanna also was bringing strong winds, heavy rain and pounding surf to nearby islands, including Inagua and Crooked Island, and Turks and Caicos Islands to the south.But the hurricane was also on track to hit the United States.Right now, the uncertainty is such that it could hit anywhere from Miami to the outer banks of North Carolina, said Jessica Schauer Clark, a meteorologist at the U.S. National Hurricane Center. So people really need to keep an eye on it.Ike was approaching behind Hanna with maximum sustained winds near 50 mph (85 kph). Ike was centered about 1,235 miles (1,985 kilometers) east of the Leeward Islands and moving west near 15 mph (24 kph) early Tuesday. The tropical storm was expected to gain strength over the next two days.And behind Ike, a new tropical depression formed early Tuesday with maximum sustained winds near 35 mph. The depression was forecast to strengthen and the hurricane center said it would likely become a tropical storm later in the day. The depression was centered about 170 miles south-southeast of the southernmost Cape Verde Islands off the coast of Africa.NASA was not taking any chances — it announced a delay of at least a day in the planned move of the space shuttle Atlantis from an assembly building at Florida's Kennedy Space Center to the launch pad. The move had been scheduled for Tuesday in preparation for an October mission to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Florida state officials also were keeping nervous watch on Hanna and the weather behind it, careful not to overextend the assistance it provides to other Gulf Coast states dealing with Gustav.The storm's on top of us right now and it's blowing really hard," said Miguel Campbell, a mechanic with the Bahamas Electricity Corp. on Mayaguana, where some 300 people were hunkered down.Hanna's winds and rain reached all the way to Haiti, where thousands remain homeless in the wake of Gustav, which was downgraded to a tropical depression as it moved over Louisiana early Tuesday.

In Puerto Rico, authorities said one man from Colombia was killed and a woman from Brazil was missing after they were swept away in a river swollen with rain from Hanna. The two were students at the University of Puerto Rico on a trip to the island's east.The European Union said Monday it would give euro2 million (US$2.9 million) to help the recovery from Gustav, which killed 94 people. The money will pay for clean water, food, medical care, shelter and basic household items in Haiti, Cuba, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. In Haiti, 8,000 people are in temporary housing after high winds and floods destroyed homes and farms.

Another tropical depression forms over Atlantic SEPT 02,08

MIAMI (Reuters) - A new tropical depression formed in the far eastern Atlantic Ocean south of the Cape Verde Islands and was expected to become a tropical storm later on Tuesday, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. The depression, which will be called Tropical Storm Josephine once its maximum sustained winds reach 39 miles per hour (64 kph), was located 170 miles southeast of the Cape Verde Islands, the Miami-based center said.It was the 10th tropical depression of this year's busy Atlantic hurricane season.The center said the cyclone, moving in a northwesterly direction, was expected to steadily intensify over the next 24 hours and could become a hurricane within three days.As Hurricane Gustav was downgraded to a tropical depression after slamming the U.S. Gulf coast, Hurricane Hanna is threatening the U.S. east coast from Florida to the Carolinas, and Tropical Storm Ike formed in the Atlantic Ocean.Hanna, a category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kph), was expected to strengthen on Wednesday when it was likely to become a category 2, the center said.Hanna was dumping heavy rain on the southeastern Bahamas, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Haiti, the NHC said, adding it could cause life-threatening mudslides and flash floods on the north side of the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti and the Dominican Republic.(Reporting by Sandra Maler; Editing by Giles Elgood)

Monsoon misery spreads in India By Biswajyoti Das SEPT 02,08

GUWAHATI, India (Reuters) - Heavy rains and rising floodwaters forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes in northeastern India and sent elephants and rhinos fleeing, as monsoon misery spread in South Asia. In the eastern Indian state of Bihar, desperate flood victims attacked a warehouse and looted food supplies, while in neighboring Bangladesh major rivers rose to danger levels and fresh parts of the country were submerged.In the northeastern state of Assam, heavy rains caused water levels to rise on Tuesday, affecting more than a million people and disrupting road networks for the second consecutive day.Animals fled to higher ground in Kaziranga National Park after the Brahmaputra burst its banks and flooded most of the park, home to more than half of the world's population of one-horned rhinoceros.

At least two rhino calves were drowned and a herd of 100 elephants were swept away by floodwaters, forest officials said.We are now worried the poachers will take advantage and kill rhinos and elephants as they are moving out of the protected areas to safer ground, said chief warden S. N. Buragohain.In Bihar, the floods have already displaced about three million people and killed at least 90.Hundreds of stick-wielding villagers ransacked a food warehouse in Madhepura district and looted food packets while police guarding the warehouse ran for cover. Government vehicles carrying food were also looted.We cannot stop incidents despite our best efforts, Bijendra Prasad Yadav, a state relief official, told Reuters. These are very common during flood time.Many villagers in impoverished Bihar have been marooned on rooftops for days with nothing to eat, while some have taken to eating plants and leaves to survive.The Kosi river burst a dam in Nepal late last month flooding hundreds of villages across the state and destroying 100,000 ha (250,000 acres) of farmlands.Television images showed desperate villagers driving their livestock into the Kosi river because they had no food for them.Since the monsoon began in South Asia in June, more than 1,000 people have died in floods, with most of the casualties recorded in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh in July.Some experts have blamed the floods on heavier monsoon rains caused by global warming, while others say authorities have failed to take preventive measures and improve infrastructure.

NOT WELCOME HERE

Although floodwaters are rising in Assam and Bangaldesh, water levels in Bihar are receding and the government aims to evacuate all stranded villagers within the next three days.Aid agencies have criticized the government's handling of the crisis saying they should have done more to anticipate the disaster and plan relief operations since the region is hit by monsoon flooding every year.In Bihar, more than 560,000 people have been evacuated so far, and some 200,000 have been moved to government relief camps, officials said. Local media reported that the first train carrying Bihar flood victims reached New Delhi on Monday, complaining of having received little or no government help. The fields are flooded. There's no way I can sustain my family in the next six months, Gopal Punia, a farmer from Madhepura was quoted as saying by the Indian Express newspaper. I will try to find work here in Delhi.Bihar state officials have also said flood refugees would not be welcomed in Patna, the state capital. They should return to their respective places by the same trains, said Raj Kumar Singh, a disaster management official. (Additional reporting by Ruma Paul in Dhaka; Writing by Melanie Lee; Editing by Simon Denyer and Bill Tarrant)

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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

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

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

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

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

Oil prices crumble as global economic outlook dims By PABLO GORONDI, Associated Press Writer SEPT 02,08

Oil prices tumbled more than $8 Tuesday to levels last seen five months ago as investors shifted their focus from hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico to slowing global demand. By afternoon in Europe, light, sweet crude for October delivery was down $8.06 a barrel to $107.40 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The last time prices hovered in that range was in early April before a historic run-up above $147 per barrel. Earlier in the session prices had dropped as low as $105.46.On Friday, the contract settled at $115.46 a barrel as Gustav approached the U.S. Gulf coast, a key region for oil drilling and refining. But traders were relieved that Gustav weakened as it neared the offshore oil rigs and Louisiana refineries, and appeared to have caused less damage than expected in New Orleans and surrounding areas.As Hurricane Gustav petered out, traders quickly turned their attention to slowing global economic growth, speculating that demand for crude will be dampened even in rapidly expanding China and India.The market continues to be weighed down by worries of a global economic downturn and slowing oil demand in developing markets, said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore. Action by OPEC and supply side concerns should put a backstop to any sharp price drop.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries is scheduled to meet Sept. 9 in Vienna and has indicated it may take action to defend the $100 a barrel level.

Ahead of Gustav, there was some disruption to oil supplies as oil companies shut down production and evacuated facilities. Altogether, about 2.4 million barrels of refining capacity was halted, roughly 15 percent of the U.S. total, according to figures from Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. The Gulf Coast is home to nearly half of the nation's refining capacity.It could be a day or more before oil and natural gas companies can assess the damage to their drilling and refining installations. Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said as much as 20 percent of oil and gas production that was stopped because of Gustav could be restored by this weekend, stressing that it was a rough estimate.Traders are also keeping an eye on other storms brewing in the region.Tropical Storm Hanna was predicted to come ashore in Georgia and South Carolina late in the week and could regain hurricane strength later in the day. Tropical Storm Ike formed late Monday in the Atlantic Ocean and may become a hurricane in the next 36 hours as it approaches the Bahamas.September is the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. After Gustav, there are two more now on the radar screen. The storms are likely to provide some upside risks to the oil futures market, Shum said.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 20.8 cents to $3.9839 a gallon, while gasoline prices lost 20.44 cents to $2.6498 a gallon. Natural gas for October delivery fell 68.7 cents to $7.256 per 1,000 cubic feet.In London, October Brent crude fell $2.97 to $106.44 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.Associated Press writers Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur and Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

US stock futures jump as oil prices tumble By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer SEPT 02,08

NEW YORK - U.S. stocks headed for a sharply higher open Tuesday as oil fell by nearly $9 per barrel after it appeared the Gulf Coast and its oil facilities were spared heavy damage from Hurricane Gustav. Beyond a broad pullback in commodities, investors also examined the financial sector after the head of Korea Development Bank confirmed the bank is interested taking part in a possible acquisition of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Such a move could allay some of Wall Street's worries about the troubled banking sector.Investors also awaited a report from a trade group of purchasing executives on the manufacturing sector. The Institute for Supply Management is expected to report that the manufacturing sector saw virtually flat activity in August compared with July, according to the median estimate of economists polled by Thomson Financial/IFR. The report is due at 10 a.m. EDT.

Investors focused on the drop in oil, however, as fears that Gustav would leave a wide swath of heavy damage across the Gulf began to subside. Light, sweet crude fell $8.77 to $106.69 per barrel in premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Beyond investors' relief over the early reports on damage from Gustav, commodity investors also appear to be questioning whether a slowing global economy will damp demand for oil and other commodities.Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 143, or 1.24 percent, to 11,684. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 13.10, or 1.02 percent, to 1,295.70 and Nasdaq 100 index futures rose 26.50, or 1.41 percent, to 1,901.50.The jump in stock futures follows a decline of 171 points in the Dow on Friday.Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.87 percent from 3.82 percent late Friday. The dollar rose against most other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

Lehman Brothers rose 7 percent in percent in premarket trading after the governor of the state-owned Korea Development Bank said discussions were under way to set up a consortium with private banks to acquire Lehman. The comments follow weeks of speculation that the investment bank could be acquired as it struggles amid tightness in the credit markets.The drop in oil prices sent stocks in sectors like airlines higher. In premarket trading, American Airlines parent AMR Corp. jumped 15 percent, Delta Air Lines Inc. rose 16 percent and JetBlue Airways Corp. advanced 10 percent.In other corporate news, technology shares advanced after Google Inc. said it is releasing its own Internet browser to counter Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer. Google shares rose more than 2 percent in premarket trading.Investors also awaited an auction of at least $3 billion in long-term debt Tuesday morning from mortgage finance company Freddie Mac. The sale should give insights into investors' level of confidence in the government-chartered company. A Freddie Mac auction last month showed that investors were worried the company and Fannie Mae would need a government bailout over souring mortgage debt. Freddie shares rose 13 percent in premarket trading.Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock fell 1.75 percent. In morning trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.22 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 1.64 percent, and France's CAC-40 advanced 1.49 percent.On the Net:New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.

Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.

ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

TEMPLE MOUNT IS JEWISH - MUSLIMS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/127428

Israel to get more land, not less September 02, 2008 1:00 am Eastern By Bill Salus 2008 WND

America the beautiful, but rapidly becoming less bountiful, has presently found itself in a precarious position. Economic misery, coupled with bad Middle East company, has the Bush administration feverishly focused on forcing the infamous Roadmap to Peace into immediate implementation.While Condoleezza Rice is scurrying about in an attempt to open escrow on a performance-based two-state solution in the Holy Land, the ancient enemies of Israel are restocking their deadly arsenals.

Undoubtedly, the time has come for the United States to get in with the theopolitical program or get out of the geopolitical theater. Although short sales run rampant in America, foreclosing on Israel in the end times is not biblically endorsed! Modern-day Israel miraculously exists in fulfillment of Bible prophecy, and unless the Judeo-Christian Jehovah fibbed about Abraham's future fortunes in Genesis 15:18, portions of Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia belong to, and are about to be possessed by, the modern-day Jewish state.As a student of prophecy and author of the new book Isralestine, I believe I can say without equivocation that Israel's peace in results from their piece of the Promised Land.

Call it ridiculous or illogical, but it is an inheritance dating back 4,000 years. In fact, it is this title deed that the ancient enemies of Israel have contested from time immemorial. The tiny small notch of land the world calls Israel today is nowhere near the size and scope their G-d intended homeland.For 60 years, the international community has unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a Middle East solution, and a flimsy, inflammatory Roadmap is its best foot forward. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, the days of antiquated declarations, partition plans and politically brokered real estate deals have concluded for the Chosen.In Isralestine: The Ancient Blueprints of the Future Middle East, I present the seldom discussed prophecies that declare the time to step aside has come! Futile attempts to reconcile irreconcilable differences are about to fail, and the world is about to witness ancient tribes duke it out, or even worse, nuke it out.

Throw all the wealth of the world at the enemies of Israel and they will not change their adversarial attitudes. This issue must be dealt with at its root level, and that is exactly what the Hebrew prophets were instructed to tell us.The ancient enemies of Israel have left their G-d no other option but to flex His muscles in the Middle East. The world cries heaven forbid, but heaven foreknows that a climactic Arab-Israeli conflict is on the nearby horizon. While the world desperately seeks a final solution, the terrorists and their state sponsors have become alarmingly armed and dangerous.One need not be a religious person to realize that forcing the Jews to sit alongside those Islamic fundamentalists opposed to their ethnic existence is an extremely unreasonable request. In these troubled times it may not be easier, but it is certainly wiser to be prophetically sound than politically correct.The time has come to roadblock the Roadmap, open the Bible and watch the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob restore the fortunes of the Jewish people. They belong right where they are and then some. Their Arab enemies, in fulfillment of Psalm 83, will mount a final attempt to destroy the nation Israel, and quoting Yul Brynner, in the 1956 Cecil B. Demille movie The Ten Commandments, so let it be written, so let it be done.
These are the days when the Jewish people need not negotiate, but rather remember their heroic stories like David defeating Goliath, Daniel the lion tamer and Joshua fighting off the giants. The sands of time have run out in the Cradle of Civilization for political solutions to religiously rooted jihadist problems.

Isralestine, available through WorldNetDaily, opens up the ancient prophecies before the investigative eyes of the world and challenges them to dust for Divine Fingerprints.

Sep 1, 2008 9:21 Dutch intel: US to strike Iran in coming weeks By JPOST.COM STAFF

The Dutch intelligence service, the AIVD, has called off an operation aimed at infiltrating and sabotaging Iran's weapons industry due to an assessment that a US attack on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program is imminent, according to a report in the country's De Telegraaf newspaper on Friday. Slideshow: Pictures of the week The report claimed that the Dutch operation had been extremely successful, and had been stopped because the US military was planning to hit targets that were connected with the Dutch espionage action.The impending air-strike on Iran was to be carried out by unmanned aircraft within weeks, the report claimed, quoting well placed sources.The Jerusalem Post could not confirm the De Telegraaf report.

General: Attack on Iran would cause WWIII
According to the report, information gleaned from the AIVD's operation in Iran has provided several of the targets that are to be attacked in the strike, including parts for missiles and launching equipment.Information from the AIVD operation has been shared in recent years with the CIA, the report said. On Saturday, Iran's Deputy Chief of Staff General Masoud Jazayeri warned that should the United States or Israel attack Iran, it would be the start of another World War. On Friday, Ma'ariv reported that Israel had made a strategic decision to deny Iran military nuclear capability and would not hesitate to take whatever means necessary to prevent Teheran from achieving its nuclear goals. According to the report, whether the United States and Western countries succeed in thwarting the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions diplomatically, through sanctions, or whether a US strike on Iran is eventually decided upon, Jerusalem has begun preparing for a separate, independent military strike.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Israel's latest solution to Gaza mess: Arab troops Egypt, Saudi Arabia to protect Jewish state's borders? September 01, 2008
9:58 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

JAFFA, Israel – Israel and Egypt have embarked on serious discussions about the deployment of an Arab force in the Gaza Strip consisting largely of Egyptian and some Saudi troops, senior defense officials told WND.The officials said Defense Minister Ehud Barak last week discussed the Israeli proposal for Arab forces in Gaza during a meeting he held in Alexandria with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.The officials said Barak and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert eventually would like to expand the deployment of Arab and international forces to the West Bank as well, with those troops consisting largely of Jordanian forces, according to an Israeli plan.Ahmed Yousef, Hamas' top political adviser in the Gaza Strip, confirmed to WND he is aware of the recent talks of sending an Arab force into Gaza. He said his terrorist organization strongly opposes the plan.Hamas' position is resisting this idea strongly because there is no need for such things. We can handle security and don't need to bring forces and internationalized solutions, said Yousef, speaking on his cell phone from Gaza.We don't understand the significance of bringing in Arab forces. What are they going to do? Create a buffer zone to protect Israel? Our experience with international forces is that they don't work, Yousef said.In perhaps a more direct response, Abu Abdullah, a senior leader of Hamas' so-called military wing, told WND his group would target any international forces in Gaza.That sentiment was also echoed by Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesman and senior leader of the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror group, who accused Egypt of serving the Zionist conspiracy to take over our land.Our resistance will reach any Arab forces who think they have the right to deploy in Gaza, Abdel-Al told WND.

Israel in June agreed to a cease-fire with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. A largely unreported final stage of the truce called for international troops eventually to deploy in Gaza and also in the West Bank.The cease-fire outlined several stages: First, Hamas would halt attacks against Israel in exchange for an end to Israeli anti-terror military operations in Gaza; then a deal would be reached to free kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit; a third stage called for the spreading of the cease-fire from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank; finally international troops would be deployed.Israeli security officials told WND said the issue of Arab forces in Gaza is being treated very seriously in more talks with Egypt in the coming days. But the officials conceded Hamas' objections could halt the plan unless Israel carried out a massive ground operation targeting Hamas in Gaza and clearing the way for the deployment of international troops.The Israeli officials said there have been no direct discussions with Saudi Arabia about that country deploying troops in Gaza, but that it was understood through Egyptian contacts the Saudis were open to contributing forces.A top defense official knowledgeable of the plan said many defense officials oppose international troops being deployed along Israel's borders, arguing such forces will not protect Israel and will only stand in the way of any needed Israeli military operations.He pointed to the deployment of international troops in Lebanon following Israel's war there against the Hezbollah terror group in 2006. Hezbollah reportedly has rearmed and regrouped in areas in which international forces are deployed, and those international forces are expected to hinder any possible future Israeli operation against Hezbollah.

DISEASES

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

Officials working to link P.E.I. listeriosis to outbreak SEPT 02,08

Health officials on P.E.I. are trying to determine if a case of listeriosis is linked to a massive recall of products from a Maple Leaf Foods plant in Toronto.The case, reported on the weekend, is the first in the Maritimes since the recall, and the first on P.E.I. in two years. Officials are saying little about the case: the patient is male and in stable condition in a Prince Edward Island hospital.Dr. Mitchell Zelman, acting chief health officer, said there may never be definitive proof that this case is linked to the recall.[With] about half of the positive blood cultures for listeria, there may not be a definite history of eating the recalled products, said Zelman.Eleven Canadians have died from the listeriosis outbreak, and dozens more have gotten sick. Samples from the P.E.I. case will be sent to a lab in Winnipeg to determine if it is the same strain that caused the recall.Zelman reminded Islanders to be careful about any prepared meat products purchased before the recall.The public needs to be very vigilant about the products that are in their fridges and freezers, he said.Make sure to go through these fridges and freezers and get rid of everything that's stamped establishment 97B.That's the identifying number of the Toronto plant that was affected by listeriosis. A complete list of recalled products is available through the link in the right-hand column of this page.All doctors and emergency departments on P.E.I. have been reminded of the symptoms of listeriosis. This is only the sixth case on the Island in the past 14 years.

Plague threatens prairie dogs, endangered ferrets By CHET BROKAW, Associated Press Writer Sat Aug 30, 1:44 PM ET

INTERIOR, S.D. - On the grasslands a few miles from the pinnacles and spires of Badlands National Park, federal wildlife officials have been waging a war since spring to save one of the nation's largest colonies of endangered black-footed ferrets. The deadly disease sylvatic plague was discovered in May in a huge prairie dog town in the Conata Basin. The black-tailed prairie dog is the main prey of ferrets, and the disease quickly killed up to a third of the area's 290 ferrets along with prairie dogs.The disease stopped spreading with the arrival of summer's hot, dry weather, but it poses a serious threat to efforts to establish stable populations of one of the nation's rarest mammals, said Scott Larson of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Pierre.The plague, which is carried by fleas, is the biggest danger to ferrets' survival in the Conata Basin and other sites that still have ferrets, said Larson, who is coordinating ferret conservation efforts among five federal agencies.It has the capacity to take out more ferret habitat than anything we've run up against, and do it in such a short order, Larson said. For ferrets, it's the most challenging issue we face.The ferrets were once considered extinct. But one colony was discovered in Wyoming in 1981, and a captive breeding program succeeded in increasing their numbers. Since then, ferrets have been reintroduced at 17 sites in South Dakota, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Utah, Kansas and Mexico, said Nancy Warren, endangered species program leader in the Rocky Mountain Region of the U.S. Forest Service.

Reintroduction efforts failed in some locations, and plague has hit most of the ferret colonies to some degree, Larson said.Establishing many reintroduction sites helps protect the overall ferret population from being wiped out by plague, Larson said. I guess it's the old risk management of having your eggs spread out among many baskets.Representatives of federal agencies and some conservation groups have taken a double-barreled approach to try to stop the spread of plague and save prairie dogs and ferrets in the 20-mile-long Conata Basin, a portion of the Buffalo Gap National Grasslands that lies just south of the Badlands in southwestern South Dakota.This summer, a crew of four has buzzed across the prairie on all-terrain vehicles, pausing frequently to spray white insecticide dust into prairie dog burrows to kill fleas.After dark, another crew moved into the area during part of the summer to shine spotlights across the grasslands, trap ferrets and vaccinate them against the plague.Officials want to dust about 11,000 acres with insecticide by this fall, and have covered about two-thirds of that area so far. More than 60 ferrets have been vaccinated, with 15 of them already getting the desired two doses.Of the 25,000 acres of prairie dog habitat managed for ferrets in the basin, the plague had spread to about 9,700 acres before its growth halted in August. Officials expect the plague might start spreading again this fall or next spring. The disease has not been found inside Badlands National Park itself.Warren said the insecticide appears to be effective, but it's too early to tell if it will save the ferrets.

We're learning as we go. We really don't know the answer to that yet, Warren said. We're hopeful with the dusting, which is something new we're doing now, we'll be able to at least contain the extent of this plague.The basin also has been the focus of controversy as the Forest Service tries to balance the protection of prairie dogs and ferrets with the needs of ranchers who graze cattle on leased sections of the national grasslands.Prairie dogs once were routinely poisoned as pests. However, the rodents expanded rapidly in the region, moving from federal land to private ranches, during an extended drought and a halt to poisoning on federal land while government officials considered whether they should be protected under the Endangered Species Act. The Fish and Wildlife Service decided in 2004 not to protect prairie dogs, but the agency is now reconsidering the issue.Jonathan Proctor, Great Plains representative for Defenders of Wildlife, a conservation group, said the Conata Basin is the last remaining large complex of black-tailed prairie dogs on the Great Plains since the plague destroyed two in Montana and Wyoming. Prairie dogs must be protected because they are important not only to ferrets, but also to hawks, burrowing owls and many other species, he said. Even with the loss of almost 10,000 acres of prairie dogs, Conata Basin still remains the largest and most important prairie dog complex on federal lands in the Great Plains. It's worth all these efforts to save it, Proctor said. But Shirley Kudma, who ranches in the basin with her husband, Donald, said the prevalence of plague confirms the predictions of ranchers overrun by prairie dogs in the past decade. They argued more should have been done to limit the spread of prairie dogs because the hungry rodents strip the ground of grass and leave little for cattle. Nature took care of it, didn't it? Shirley Kudma said. There's the plague and the prairie dogs, and that's nature taking care of the expansion.

Ranchers don't want to wipe out prairie dogs, she said.

I think we want to get along. We want to be able to survive just the same as the prairie dogs want to survive. We don't want to annihilate them. We don't. Just get them under control so they're not sick. Give the ferrets something healthy to eat.
About 5 to 15 people are infected by plague in the United States each year, but it can be cured with antibiotics if treatment is prompt. On the Net:
Fish & Wildlife Service: http://tinyurl.com/5bx97e

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

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

NO WORRY ABOUT THIS, THE EARTH GOES ON FOREVER AND EVER AMEN AND AMEN.

Scientists sue to stop black hole from sucking up Earth. Fear experiments could create vacuum and consume planet. September 01, 2008 8:20 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

A European court says the idea a new supercollider project could create a celestial vacuum and eventually consume the Earth is worth discussing, but the project can move forward on schedule anyway.

The Large Hadron Collider

At dispute is what could happen should planned experiments at the supercollider built near Geneva by the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, go awry when the massive atomic particle smasher is fired up about this time next week.

Several scientists led by spokesman Otto Rossler, a German chemist, have filed a case in the European Court of Human Rights seeking a delay in the project's opening while the potential problems are studied further.Rossler said in a report in the Telegraph that the sponsoring organization has admitted its work will create black holes – but it doesn't think that will be a risk. He has another opinion.My own calculations have shown it is quite plausible that these little black holes survive and will grow exponentially and eat the planet from the inside. I have been calling for CERN to hold a safety conference to prove my conclusions wrong but they have not been willing, he said.WND also reported on an earlier lawsuit over whether the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, which is built to slam protons together at an unprecedented peak energy of 14 trillion electron volts, could spark, literally, the end of the world.Critics at that time had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. government and the CERN. A hearing is scheduled later this week in the case.

Co-plaintiffs Walter Wagner and Luis Sancho said the collider could create black holes – or strangelets – that would grow and eventually consume Earth. A black hole is a region of space so dense that light cannot escape its gravitational pull. Scientists have not proved the existence of strangelets, a hypothetical cosmological object containing an exotic form of matter.Physicists at CERN and similar research facilities dismiss the doomsday claims as nonsense.And a spokeswoman for the European Court of Human Rights told the Telegraph the latest lawsuit, brought by Rossler and others, had been lodged but a petition for an emergency injunction against the project was rejected.There will therefore be no bar to CERN carrying out these experiments but the applicants can continue with this case here at the ECHR, she said.The goal of the project is to re-create the conditions scientists believe existed in a fraction of a second after the universe was created. They are looking for evidence of the building blocks of life.The nearly $9 billion project has been funded by more than a dozen nations, and CERN spokesman James Gillies said extensive safety assessments have been completed.The Large Hadron Collider will not be producing anything that does not happen routinely in nature due to cosmic rays, he told the Sunday Telegraph. If they were dangerous we would know about it already.

Other colliders already have been operating for years, but the CERN project is raising questions anew because of its size. It is a circular tunnel about 300 feet underground that runs for about 18 miles. The more than 5,000 magnets inside are expected to accelerate tiny particles almost to the speed of light, dispatching them around the tunnel in one-11,000th of a second, according to the Daily Mail.The particles then will smash headon in collisions that will generate enough heat to melt a small car. Scientists hope the collisions will produce new scientific information.Rossler said the scientists sought court help because CERN operators are not taking all the precautions they should be in order to protect human life.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

FAREWELL TO WORLD PEACE
http://news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20080829/cm_csm/ykurzman;_ylt=AoiUpAh66Z1bxrZq5mUEPDSs0NUE

Irish Parliament could pass parts of the Lisbon Treaty without a referendum
VALENTINA POP SEPT 02,08 Today @ 09:50 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Parts of the Lisbon Treaty might be passed by the Irish lower chamber without a referendum, said Prime Minister Brian Cowen on Monday night (1 September) while in Brussels for an EU summit on the Georgia crisis.Mr Cowen sees this as an option for his government after the No vote on the Lisbon Treaty in June. But he rejected as speculation any discussion at this stage on how the government will proceed, according to the Irish Independent newspaper.The advice to government was that a referendum was required. We put the usual, general question to people and it was rejected, Cowen said while speaking to reporters, adding that his government was putting together plans for cross-party discussions on the future of the treaty.

The Irish premier and his foreign affairs minister also informed some of their European counterparts present at the EU summit that the Irish government was set to receive the results of its research on the referendum defeat, results that would be reported back to the European Council in October.Meanwhile, the leader of the Irish No campaign, Declan Ganley, is scheduled to meet with some members of the European Parliament today.On Monday, the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering, called on all member states to ratify the Lisbon Treaty as quickly as possible, saying that the Georgian crisis proved why it is important for the EU to be united.

More undecided Irish voters

The number of the undecided Irish voters has increased by seven percent, according to a fresh poll from the Irish Sunday Independent. The poll has found that if a referendum were to be held again, 44 per cent would vote No - a drop of eight per cent since the last poll four weeks ago; 42 per cent would vote Yes, a one per cent increase; while 14 per cent now say they do not know how they would vote, a seven per cent increase.

Eurosceptic media

An internal briefing document of the European Commission seen by the Irish Times has criticised Ireland's media for becoming more eurosceptic since the second Nice Treaty referendum. In particular, the document attacks the presence in the of Republic of Ireland editions of UK newspapers, such as the Irish Sun, Irish Mirror, Irish News of the World, and the Irish edition of The Sunday Times.Editorial is highly critical of the European Union and even more so of the Lisbon Treaty. What has changed is that these papers were previously printed in the UK, but now they are printed in Ireland. Also more of its editorial content is produced by Irish journalists on Irish issues - but subject to the London editorial line, it said.The Irish Sun, which has 309,000 mostly young male readers, has taken a campaigning Europhobic stance in line with its sister title in the United Kingdom.The launch of the Irish Mail on Sunday and Irish Daily Mail has also affected Irish opinions on the EU, since they have run intense Eurosceptic campaigns and employ a variety of right-wing journalists. These target primarily middle-class, middle-aged females, who tend to be a demographic that is widely more Euro-hesitant.

The document also highlights the importance of the Internet in the Lisbon No campaign.Apart from official websites, the internet has largely been a space left to anti-European feeling. Given the ability to reach an audience at a much lower cost, and given the simplicity of the No campaign messages, it has proven to be easily malleable during the campaign and pre-campaign period, the document reads.

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.

EU-Russia talks suspended until Moscow withdraws troops
ELITSA VUCHEVA 01.09.2008 @ 21:21 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – EU leaders on Monday (1 September) agreed to postpone talks on a new EU-Russia partnership until Russian troops withdraw from Georgia following the insistence of a bloc of member states.As long as the withdrawal of the [Russian] troops [from Georgia] is not completed, all meetings on the partnership agreement are postponed, European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said at a press conference following the emergency summit in Brussels.We are postponing all meetings on the [EU-Russia] partnership agreement, confirmed French President Nicolas Sarkozy whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency.This crisis means that we have to re-examine our relations with Russia, he said. It takes two to tango.The talks on a new treaty defining the EU relations with Russia were scheduled to take place later this month, but pressed by the demand of several member states, it was decided this would be tied to Russian withdrawal from Georgia.The postponement modifies a previously circulated draft version of the summit's conclusion that took a softer stance on the issue of talks.

Poland not alone

Poland – one of the countries pushing for the suspension – hailed the final declaration as a victory and insisted its position was not isolated.We were not alone, we were acting within a group, including also the Czech Republic, the Baltic States - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia, the UK and Sweden, Polish President Lech Kaczynski told journalists.He added that the EU's further approach would very much depend on another visit by Mr Sarkozy to Moscow on 8 September, but in any case did not exclude considering further measures if Russia does not pull out of Georgia.If troops are not pulled out of Georgia by 15 October [the next meeting of EU leaders], we will have to launch different actions, he said.Additionally, EU states agreed to strongly condemn Russia's unilateral decision to recognise the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. This decision is unacceptable and the European Union calls on other states not to recognise this proclaimed independence.Moscow recognised Georgia's breakaway provinces of Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states last week, but to date remains alone in doing so and the move has prompted strong criticism worldwide.

No need for cold war

However, as expected, EU leaders also stopped short of imposing formal sanctions on Russia with Mr Sarkozy ruling out such a possibility at this stage, and the summit's conclusion stressing that there is no desirable alternative to a strong relationship, based on co-operation, trust and dialogue.Let's not start a cold war like this, let's not show the biceps, the demonstrations of force, blustering behaviour, the sanctions, the counter-sanctions, all that will be useful to no one, Mr Sarkozy said.[The EU has to] give a chance to the diplomacy on 8 September. If it works, the EU will have proven its efficiency, if it does not, we will gather and take other decisions, he added.For her part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel underlined that Russian President Dmitry Medvedev told Mr Sarkozy Russian forces would withdraw from Georgia in what she called a very constructive phone call.

Special representative

The EU has also decided to appoint an EU special representative for the crisis in Georgia and to send immediately a fact-finding mission to gather information on the ground.If preparatory works are done promptly, the Council could take the decision to send this mission on 15 September. The bloc also expressed its willingness to aid Georgian reconstruction in the aftermath of the conflict, and decide[d] to step up its relations with Georgia, including visa facilitation measures and the possible establishment of a full and comprehensive free trade zone as soon as the conditions are met.The European Commission has already put aside €6 million in humanitarian aid for Georgia, with member states promising some €8.4 million more.Additionally, the EU will take the initiative of convening an international conference shortly to assist reconstruction in Georgia, the document reads.

Russia has already withdrawn all troops

Lado Gurgenidze, the prime minister of Georgia told reporters after the summit his government was pleased with the results: We are encouraged by the firm and principled stance taken by the European Council. We neither demanded nor expected sanctions, he added, highlighting the disposition of the Council to an EU observer mission as undoubtedly important to a durable solution.Russia, for its part, suggested the suspension of talks was no big deal. We had waited for 18 months for talks to start, so we're accustomed to being patient, Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the EU, told the EUobserver.We are disappointed, yes, but we do not need the talks any more than the EU does.However, the ambassador denied that Russia continued to maintain troops within Georgian territory. The EU is mistaken in its assuptions of the situation on the ground. Russia has already withdrawn all additional troops. There is only a detachment of peacekeepers that remains in buffer zone totalling 500 men - in full accordance with the six-point agreement.Mr Chizhov did however issue a warning to Europe. Speaking of closer relations between the EU and Georgia, the ambassador said: We will certainly monitor whatever the EU does with Georgia to ensure it does not lead to an aggravation of the situation.With additional reporting from Renata Goldirova, Lucia Kubosova, Leigh Phillips and Valentina Pop.

Russian threats loom over historic EU summit
RENATA GOLDIROVA 01.09.2008 @ 09:27 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders are holding an emergency summit on EU-Russia relations on Monday (1 September) - the first such meeting since the 9/11 attacks in the US. But the union is split on how to handle Moscow, with the Kremlin threatening to retaliate against Europe if it adopts punitive sanctions.The French EU presidency called the summit after Russia launched a military incursion into Georgia in response to its attack on the rebel-held town of Tskhinvali in South Ossetia. Russia subsequently recognised Georgia's two breakaway regions - South Ossetia and Abkhazia - as independent states. Europe has already condemned Moscow's actions, but the majority of EU states is not in the mood to go beyond words, with France, Italy, Spain, Finland, Austria, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Greece and Cyprus all speaking out against punitive measures before the summit began.The French EU presidency will on Monday table a balanced and firm text that falls short of sanctions, AFP reports. It will not propose sanctions, but very precise undertakings, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said over the weekend. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a statement in The Observer on Sunday, called on EU colleagues to review - root and branch - our relationship with Russia, however. He suggested excluding Russia from the Group of Eight leading industrialised nations.British diplomats also told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper that London will push for mini-sanctions, such as an EU visa ban on South Ossetia and Abkhazia officials as well as Russian citizens active in politics in the two Georgian regions.Poland, Sweden, the Czech republic, the Baltic States - Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia - are also keen to take a tough line, diplomats say.But Poland's position is ambiguous, with Prime Minister Donald Tusk telling Newsweek magazine there should be no more EU-Russia summits until Russia pulls soldiers from Georgia, then adding he does not want Warsaw to become isolated in a radical stance. Meanwhile, Germany is locked in an internal dispute. The Conservative party in Germany's coalition government backs the British G8 suggestion as long as Russia is not prepared to find a solution under the framework of the United Nations, the IHT reports.

But the Social Democrats have warned against cornering Russia. Moscow deserves criticism for its behaviour, but that doesn't change the fact that security and stability in Europe can only be achieved with and not against Russia, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said, according to Reuters. Europe would only be hurting itself if we were to get full of emotion and slam all the doors shut.The last time the EU imposed sanctions on Russia was following its invasion of Chechnya in 1994, with Europe freezing the ratification of a Partnership and Co-operation Agreement, which entered into force in 1997.

Russian warning

In the run up to the EU summit, the Kremlin - which controls some 25 percent of EU oil and gas imports - issued a number of hostile messages to the West.President Dmitry Medvedev said on Russian TV on Sunday: We do not favour sanctions on the whole and only resort to them in extreme circumstances. [But] if required, we could pass the relevant legislation.Mr Medvedev added that his country was set to restore its influence in what he labelled regions of privileged interest and to defend the life and dignity" of Russian citizens no matter where they are located, raising fears of further Russian interventions in Moldova or Ukraine. The EU is not in a position to throw Russia out of anywhere, Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told Reuters, describing any attempt to isolate Russia as short-sighted and unrealistic.Moscow stands alone on recognising the breakaway Georgia territories so far. Venezuela, Belarus and Central Asian states have given rhetorical support but stopped short of recognition. Two other separatist enclaves - Transniestria in Moldova and Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan - are the only other entities tohave recognised South Ossetia and Abkhazia.Russia has also taken a financial hit from the crisis, with French bank BNP Paribas estimating investors recently pulled €17 billion out of the country. The Russian stock market has plunged since fighting began.

High hopes

Expectations for the EU summit are high in Georgia, where up to 30,000 people are expected to take part in an anti-Russia demonstration in Tbilisi on Monday. Demonstrations in Brussels and across Europe are also planned for the afternoon.The Georgian prime minister, foreign minister and integration minister are to meet with EU officials in Brussels on Monday but will not take part in the summit itself.

Georgia estimates the conflict caused around €1.4 billion in damage to its infrastructure, with Georgia's entire annual state budget running to just €2 billion. The UN says the five-day war affected 160,000 people. The European Commission has already put aside €6 million in humanitarian aid, with member states promising some €8.4 million more. The EU's summit package for Georgia is expected to feature proposals for a major donors conference and an EU monitoring team to take part in an international peacekeeping force in the conflict zones.The EU is also set to strengthen political and economic relations with Georgia, a French diplomat said, including moves toward a free-trade deal and easier visa regulations for Georgian people traveling to Europe.

Russia calls for arms embargo on Georgia
LEIGH PHILLIPS 01.09.2008 @ 15:52 CET

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov has called for an international arms embargo to be placed on Georgia.It would be right to impose an embargo on weapons to this regime, until different authorities turn Georgia a normal state, Mr Lavrov said on Monday (1 September) in a speech to foreign policy students in Russia.He also warned the European Union and the United States against backing Georgian leader Mikheil Sakaashvili.If instead of choosing their national interests and the interests of the Georgian people, the United States and its allies choose the Saakashvili regime, this will be a mistake of truly historic proportions, he said, according to a report from the Associated Press.Additionally, Moscow has also accused the US of supplying Georgia with weapons hidden aboard ships delivering humanitarian aid to the embattled Caucasian republic.Speaking to reporters, Andrei Nesterenko, a Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, said his government suspected the ships of also containing military components.

Meanwhile in Brussels on Monday, deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs Matthew Bryza, speaking at a debate with the Russian ambassador to the EU and the Temur Yakobashvili, the Georgian minister for reintegration, and the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, rubbished the idea that the US was arming Georgia either since the conflict or in the lead-up to hostilities.The Georgia Train-and-Equip Programme delivered uniforms, boots, kalashnikovs and side-arms, said Mr Bryza, referring to GTEP, a series of activities launched by the Bush Administration in 2002. There were no heavy weapons.We did not arm Georgia militarily, he added.

COUNTRIES WITH ISRAEL

EZEKIEL 38:10-19
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.
13 Sheba, and Dedan,(SAUDIA ARABIA) and the merchants of Tarshish,(ENGLAND) with all the young lions thereof,(USA,CANADA,AUSTRALIA,NEW ZEALAND,EU,ENGLISH SPEAKING shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil?
14 Therefore, son of man, prophesy and say unto Gog, Thus saith the Lord GOD; In that day when my people of Israel dwelleth safely, shalt thou not know it?
15 And thou shalt come from thy place out of the north parts, thou, and many people with thee, all of them riding upon horses, a great company, and a mighty army:
16 And thou shalt come up against my people of Israel, as a cloud to cover the land; it shall be in the latter days, and I will bring thee against my land, that the heathen may know me, when I shall be sanctified in thee, O Gog, before their eyes.
17 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Art thou he of whom I have spoken in old time by my servants the prophets of Israel, which prophesied in those days many years that I would bring thee against them?
18 And it shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that my fury shall come up in my face.
19 For in my jealousy and in the fire of my wrath have I spoken, Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel;

EU Talks Tough on Russia By LEO CENDROWICZ / BRUSSELS SEPT 02,08

Like so many gatherings of European Union leaders, the Georgia crisissummit held in Brussels Monday was flush with grandiose rhetoric but in theend short on substance.

The leaders found the words to describe Russia's disproportionate reaction to the violence in its Caucasian neighbor, and to firmly condemn Moscow'srecognition of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. But apart from suspending talkson a trade pact, they shied away from sanctions, conceding that the E.U. andRussia's interdependence meant there is no desirable alternative to astrong relationship.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, holding the E.U.'s six-month rotatingpresidency, promised that ties with Russia would have to re-examined. Youneed two for a partnership, he said. Sarkozy will lead an E.U. delegationto Moscow on September 8 to ensure Russia complies with the peace plan hehelped broker last month. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there could be no more business asusual with Moscow, and said all 27 member states were united in theircondemnation of Russia's aggression against its smaller neighbor. The E.U. is prepared to send monitors, but not a peacekeepingforce, to South Ossetia. And it will send humanitarian aidto help rebuild the war-torn regions. But officials did not even pretendthat this would be enough to send a strong message to Russia about theE.U.'s vigilance. The limited E.U. response was partly due to splits amongst the leaders.Britain and most of the new E.U. members from the east wanted toughsanctions to punish Moscow. However, even the most bullish amongst themrecognized the limited impact of possible measures like blocking Russia'splans to join the World Trade Organization, or throwing it out of the G8.

Germany, France and Italy were more conciliatory, warning that the E.U.needed Russia too much to risk any rash retribution - especially givenhow reliant much of the E.U. is on Russian gas and oil. We are economicallyinterdependent with the Russians: Russians need our market, we need theRussian market, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said. The result was familiar fudge: a common statement that tried to sound toughwithout actually threatening real damage. The fiercest it got was to say,In the meantime, the Union will not take any action to reinforce therelationship with Russia. Instead of projecting common resolve in the faceof Russian it seemed to reinforce the sense of impotence felt by the E.U. - like the U.N. and NATO and other international organizations - in theface of Russia's actions. One veteran E.U. official said the Brussels summit underlined how weak theE.U. is. It is like the chorus in a Greek tragedy, says Pierre Defraigne,the European Commission's former deputy director-general for trade. Thelesson to be drawn from this is that the E.U. needs its own defensecapabilities, and it needs a common purpose on energy.But there was at least a new recognition that the E.U. had reached acrossroads in its relationship with Russia. Russia's actions have seriouslychallenged the E.U.'s long-held belief in soft power, its ability toinfluence other nations by non-military means. The E.U.'s own defense capabilities are almost non-existent, even when itsmember countries sing together on foreign policy issues. But since the fallof the Berlin Wall, this has had only limited consequences: there have beenfew external threats to lay bare the E.U.'s lack of foreign policycredibility. Now E.U. leaders recognize that the bright, peaceful future promised by theend of the Cold War was perhaps illusory. The holidays from history have ended, Polish Foreign Minister RadowlawSikorski said, adding that Russia's imperialism had been a wake-up call.He also warned that the E.U. - and NATO - had to be serious about itssecurity pledges: they could no longer think of membership as cost-free, butbeing backed by force.

Even if their Brussels summit produced familiar posturing, the E.U. leadershave learned a bit more to appreciate that unless they show unity andpurpose in the face of threats, they will be seen as a pushover by the likesof Russia. View this article on Time.com

Polish and US officials rebuke mistaken Georgia and illegal Russia
VALENTINA POP 01.09.2008 @ 16:49 CET

EUOSERVER / BRUSSELS – Russia breached international law when attacking Georgia, therefore it must face consequences, not sanctions, said Eckart von Klaeden, foreign policy spokesperson for the German conservatives at a debate ahead of the EU summit on Georgia. A common European position could only be based on the founding principle of the EU – the rule of law, argued Mr von Klaeden.In Germany in the last few years, we used double standards about Russia, because we judged it too mildly. We have to adjust our policies, he said during a debate in Brussels between the Russian ambassador to the EU and Georgia's minister for reintegration organised by the German Marshall Fund.One of the possible consequences could concern the visa liberalisation regime for Russia, but the Polish foreign minister, Radoslaw Sikorski, rejected that idea. Another consequence, in Mr Von Klaeden's view, could be directed at foreign investments in Russia, as the credibility of Russian authorities obeying the law and following the treaties is questionable now and we cannot protect our businesses.

Georgia's attack, deeply unwise

Contrary to Russia's claims, the US did not give Georgia the green light to use military force, said a US diplomat present at the debate.The decision to attack Tskhinvali was deeply unwise. We urged Georgian not to do it, but it is a sovereign country with a democratically elected government, whose officials have to make their own decisions in a way that they believe is protecting their national interest, said Matthew Bryza, the American deputy assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian affairs.The Polish foreign minister also criticised Georgia's decision.I agree with Matt that the Georgian authorities allowed themselves to be provoked. I personally told Georgian officials: You are being provoked. Be careful, because if you do allow yourselves to be provoked, you'll not find much real support.Mr von Klaeden reinforced his position, saying: Every participant has its responsibility for the outbreak and the escalation of this conflict.On the Georgian side, however, the decision is still seen as a conscious choice, not a trap set out by Moscow. We made a choice, to resist the Russian aggression. Not as in 1921 when we didn't, said Temur Yakobashvili, the Georgian minister for reintegration, referring to Bolshevik-Menshevik battles in Georgia during the Russian Civil War.

Second Cold War

The Russian ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov rejected any comparisons with the Cold War.The debate over a Second Cold War is misplaced, he said. With the original Cold War, there was a clash of ideologies more than anything else.The ideologies are no longer there.Mr Sikorski however felt the Second Cold War analogy was more apt than the Russian ambassador: The holidays from history have ended, he declared.I wondering if we don't actually have a clash of ideologies, he said. The EU is in the business of opening borders ... whereas Russia has a more traditional idea of borders. He added that Europe's respect for the rule of law and the way it protects its citizens also suggested philosophical differences.We all protect our citizens abroad, but we do it by consular means, not force, he said.Mr Bryza accused Moscow of exaggerating the number of deaths resulting from the initial Georgian attack. There were not 2000 victims in South Ossetia, but between 80-140, he said, roughly quoting figures that have been suggested by Human Rights Watch. The US official also called for international investigations into human rights violations of all belligerents.

THE LUKEWARM LEFT GODLESS DEMOCRATES ARE JUST TRYIN TO DESTROY PALIN WITH THIS CHILD SCANDLE, EVERY OTHER STORY ON CNN IS ABOUT IT. JELOUSY I PRESUME BECAUSE THE REPUBLICANS GET A WOMAN VP TO TAKE WOMANS VOTES FROM THE DEMOCRATES.

Alaska's Jewish Community on Palin Selection SEPT 02,08

Sarah Palin has established a great relationship with the Jewish community over recent years, and has attended several of our Jewish cultural gala events, said Rabbi Yossel Greenberg, Chabad emissary in Alaska. Shturem.net The Chabad-Lubavitch emissary in Alaska, Rabbi Yossi Greenberg, said that Alaka's Governor Sarah Palin has established a great relationship with the Jewish community over recent years, and has attended several of our Jewish cultural gala events, he told Lubavitch.com

Palin has shown solidarity with Israel by signing a State of Alaska Resolution recognizing Israel's 60th Anniversary and its relationship with Alaska. In the resolution, Governor Palin pointed to Alaska’s special connection to Israel dating back to Alaska Airlines’ participation in the rescue of 40,000 Yemenite Jews when it airlifted them from Yemen to Tel Aviv during 1948 and 1949. Drafted by members of the Alaska Legislation and heavily supported by Speaker of the House, Representative John Harris, Governor Palin signed the resolution in the presence of Alaska’s Jewish community leaders this June. According to Greenberg, Governor Palin had plans to visit Israel with members of the Jewish community, which did not happen yet because of scheduling conflicts.On a personal level, Greenberg was impressed by Governor Palin’s remarks of hope and faith when she gave birth to a child with special needs. Her words, he observed, were completely aligned with Judaism’s traditional views on embracing the birth of child with special needs as a gift of G-d, no less than is the birth of any baby.Though Greenberg was unequivocal in stating that Chabad representatives do not endorse political candidates, and as spiritual leaders reach out to anyone regardless of political affiliation, he did say, We all feel that the Governor is a remarkable, energetic, and good person.

In a special interview with Shturem.net Greenberg was asked about the rumors that she had supported Pat Buchanan in the past, Greenberg said, I heard about it now for the first time. It happened many years ago when she was mayor, she was very young and a newcomer to politics, people change, and knowing her, if it is true, she did it not because she was attracted to his anti-Semitc or anti-Israel views but to the positive elements in Buchanan's outlook. I can tell you this, from the time she became governor she has always supported the Jewish community and Israel and even sponsored a bill on behalf of Israel. She always comes to our events and she is really a very amazing woman.She may lack a lot of knowledge on matters pertaining to foreign policy but she is a quick learner, and besides, every president has advisers around him. She is a very good person, she is very honest, a very dedicated and wonderful mother.Asked if being elected will force her to neglect her children, Greenberg said absolutely not, she is a remarkable woman. She takes her baby that was born with Downs Syndrome to all of her meetings. She is a mother first.(After the interview with Rabbi Greenberg, Shturem.net was informed that Governor Palin had actually supported Buchanan's competitor Steve Forbes at the time).

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)

NOW THE REAL RUSSIA SHOWS ITS FRUIT, THE WEST HAS BEEN DECIEVED SINCE 1989 INTO BELIEVING RUSSIA IS A DEMOCRACY. WHEN ALL YOU HAD TO DO IS READ THE BIBLE AND IT WOULD TELL YOU RUSSIA HAS ALWAYS BEEN A DICTATORSHIP TILL GOD IN THE FUTURE DOES AWAY WITH MOST OF ITS ARMY.

Putin vows an answer to NATO ships near Georgia By MIKE ECKEL, Associated Press Writer SEPT 02,08

MOSCOW - Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that Russia will respond calmly to an increase in NATO ships in the Black Sea in the aftermath of the short war with Georgia, but promised that there will be an answer.Russia has repeatedly complained that NATO has too many ships in the Black Sea. Foreign Ministry official Andrei Nesterenko said Tuesday that currently there are two U.S., one Polish, one Spanish and one German ship there.Russian officials say the United States could have delivered weapons to Georgia under the guise of humanitarian aid.We don't understand what American ships are doing on the Georgian shores, but this is a question of taste, it's a decision by our American colleagues, he reportedly said. The second question is why the humanitarian aid is being delivered on naval vessels armed with the newest rocket systems.He said Russia's reaction to NATO ships will be calm, without any sort of hysteria. But of course, there will be an answer, Interfax quoted Putin as saying during a visit to Uzbekistan.Asked by exactly what measures Russia would take, Putin was quoted as answering You'll see.

Separately, Russian officials criticized European threats to postpone talks on a partnership deal over the war in Georgia, but the Russian envoy to the EU said he was not surprised that the bloc declined to impose sanctions on Russia.We are too interdependent, Vladimir Chizhov told reporters in Moscow. Russia and the European Union are bound by destiny to be close partners.EU officials said Monday that unless Russian troops pull back from positions in Georgia, talks on the wide-ranging political and economic agreement would be put off.Britain and Eastern European nations held out for a tougher line, but Europe's dependence on Russian oil and natural gas deterred stronger sanctions.The partnership with the European Union should not be a hostage to the conflict over Georgia, Foreign Ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko told reporters Tuesday.Nesterenko also claimed efforts were under way to rebuild Georgia's armed forces, and said Georgian military forces were behind protests against Russian troops stationed in the country.There are active attempts to restore the activity of Georgian troops, he said. Yesterday, there were rallies and provocations near the town of Kapoleti targeting Russian troops. We believe they were organized by Georgian special services.Georgian officials could not be immediately reached for comment on the claim.Naturally, we cannot agree with a number of biased statements regarding Russia in the final declaration of the summit, including the assertion that our reaction to the Georgian aggression was disproportionate, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.The main thing, however, is that they are in the minority and the majority of EU countries have manifested a responsible approach and confirmed their intention to continue the partnership with Russia, the ministry said.On Aug. 7, Georgian forces attacked South Ossetia, hoping to retake the province, which broke away from Georgia in the early 1990s. Russian forces repelled the offensive and pushed into Georgia. Both sides signed a cease-fire deal in mid-August, but Russia has ignored its requirement for all forces to return to prewar positions.Moscow insists the cease-fire accord lets it run checkpoints in security zones of up to 4 miles into Georgian territory.

Finland and Sweden revive debates on NATO membership
VALENTINA POP 01.09.2008 @ 09:27 CET

Until recently, discussion of possible NATO membership has not been a lively political topic in neutral Finland and Sweden, but Russia's actions in Georgia have encouraged those who back membership to become more vocal. We need to reconsider our security policy, said the Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb in an interview with Austria's Die Presse on Saturday (30 August). Mr Stubb - Russia's actions have changed the context of the NATO debate (Photo: European Parliament)Traditional conflicts are making a comeback in the post-9/11 era - he argued - saying Finland needs to begin to consider NATO membership, that the Georgian conflict has highlighted the UN's problems and the need for a more active security policy. The talk about how nothing has changed is inconceivable to me, said the conservative Mr Stubb, who represents the smaller coalition party in the government.It makes sense now to take into consideration a NATO bid. The time for a decision in this regard has not come yet, but we need to be flexible and quickly adapt our security policy. This must not take place in slow motion.In Sweden, the liberal People's Party – a government coalition partner - is also trying to launch a NATO membership debate.

Allan Widman, the party's foreign policy spokesman, championed his country's membership to NATO in an interview with the Dagens Nyheter newspaper. The People's Party has always been in favour of membership, but respected the coalition agreement not to place the topic on the public agenda. This has changed since the Russian invasion of Georgia.The leader of the Social-Democrat opposition strongly rejects Sweden's NATO bid, however. The Scandinavian country has had a long tradition of being a neutral country, even though neighbours Denmark and Norway are part of the Western security alliance.

Finnish NATO split

In Finland, Mr Stubb was appointed earlier this year as foreign minister, after being a member of the European Parliament for four years. He is a vocal supporter of his country's membership in NATO but promised to be reserved on the issue in his new job, due to internal division within the governing coalition. The Centre Party lead by Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen is split on the issue, as are the Social Democrats. The current president, Social Democrat Tarja Halonen, is a strong opponent of the NATO bid. Her mandate ends in 2012.Finland has a 1,200 km long border with Russia, something that caused much consternation for Finnish foreign policy during the Cold War. The country inched closer to NATO in March when it announced its intention to join future operations of the alliance's rapid reaction force. It has developed technical capacities alongside NATO for several years and would be ready to join quickly if the decision was made.