1-Israel under fire Day 7. 2-Eu will support Lebanon force. 3-Forest fires in Bankok. 4-3 new fires in Winnepeg. 5-Ecuador volcano burys farms in ash. 6-188 dead in China Storms. 7-Indonesia Tsunami kills 300 and climbing. 8-Message from Templemount faithful Gershon Salomon.
ISRAEL UNDER FIRE
18 JULY - DAY SEVEN
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
Some 70 locations in northern Israel hit by Katyushas overnight Monday, continuing on Tuesday morning including strikes on Kiryat Shmona, Nahariya, Afula, Haifa and Acre.
Fresh barrages of rockets hit Haifa and Safed Tuesday afternoon.
Rockets fired for the first time on communities in southern Golan Heights, possibly as a means for Hezbollah to draw Syria directly into the conflict.
Thirty-five people wounded in rocket attacks throughout Monday; two in moderate-to-serious condition, one in moderate condition, 15 lightly wounded and 17 suffering from shock.
An additional three reserve battalions have been called up. A ground offensive is not, however, expected at this time.
IDF thwarts an infiltration attempt Monday night as Hezbollah cell attempts to enter Israel along the central region of the border.
Israeli Air Force bombs launcher holding Iranian Zelzal missile, capable of hitting Tel Aviv, destroying the missile before it could be fired.
PM Ehud Olmert makes major address to Knesset, calling for return of kidnapped soldiers, complete ceasefire, deployment of Lebanese army in all of southern Lebanon, expulsion of Hezbollah from the area and fulfillment of UN Resolution 1559.
www.honestreporting.com
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own 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; but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king 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, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: 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, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
EU will support Lebanon force
17/07/2006 19:22 - (SA)
Brussels - The European Union and its member states would be ready to participate in a UN peacekeeping force for Lebanon, the bloc's presidency said on Monday, while stressing that such a force was only an idea for the moment. I'm confident that the
European Union and its member states... will stand ready to take part if the conditions are there for such a mission, said Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja. But at the moment nothing more can be said, this is only an idea,added Tuomioja, after chairing a meeting with his EU counterparts.
Earlier, the dpa news agency reported from Rome that the UN was considering sending an additional 8 000 peacekeeping troops to southern Lebanon. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said at the G8 summit in St Petersburg that the UN currently had about 2000 people on the Israeli-Lebanese border. These should be increased five-fold, in this way the forces might perhaps be sufficient, Prodi was quoted by the Italian news agency Ansa as saying. The premier said Britain and Italy had pushed hardest for the deployment of a UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon and said his country was ready to play an active role in the operation. Prodi has been asked by G8 leaders to mediate between the Israeli and Lebanese governments in an attempt to reach a cease fire.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Thai provinces report haze from Indonesian forest fires
BANGKOK (AP): Haze from forest fires in Indonesia has reduced visibility in five southern Thai provinces, and residents with respiratory ailments have been advised to avoid outdoor activities, a weather official said Tuesday.Pollution caused by fires burning in the forests of Sumatra island had not reached hazardous levels but had reduced visibility to about 5 kilometers (3 miles), said Jongchit Niranatmetheekul, of the regional meteorological office.Road travel is deemed risky when visibility is under 2 kilometers (1.2 miles), she said, adding that people with allergies and respiratory problems were advised not to exercise outdoors.
The haze is an annual problem for the Thai provinces of Songkhla, Satun, Yala, Pattani and Narathiwat, which are across a strip of the Andaman Sea from Indonesia's Sumatra island, where farmers burn brush or old crops to clear land during dry weather.
Need For Rain as 3 new fires in Winnepeg.
Three new forest fires started in the province yesterday. Two of the fires are burning in the northeast region of the province and the third is east of Bissett. The latest fires bring the year's total to 399. Tom Mirus, head of the province's fire program, said if Manitoba doesn't see some rain, conditions could get worse before they get better. Manitoba experienced some heavy rains last week, which
stabilized fires throughout the province. Authorities were able to lift restrictive bans in most areas on the weekend but the province needs another good soak to get back in the clear, Mirus said. Environment Canada is calling for showers today and tonight while hot weather is expected to dominate the rest of the week. As of yesterday, 55 forest fires were burning in Manitoba.
The fire threat in eastern Manitoba remains high. With two fires out of control in this area and warm weather in the forecast, the threat is expected to turn extreme, Mirus said. Southeastern Manitoba's fire hazard is extreme and travel is restricted in that area. Forest fires are contained to an area south of the Trans-Canada Highway. So far, Manitoba's fires have cost taxpayers $28 million.
GENESIS 6:13
13 for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Ecuador volcano buries farms in ash; 'ready to boil over': expert Mon Jul 17, 4:11 PM ET
QUITO (AFP) - Tungurahua, a volcano in southern Ecuador, erupted for a fourth day, burying thousands of farms in ash and threatening to "boil over" and dump lava on a nearby town, officials said. Explosions were heard for days, said Geophysical Institute engineer Pablo Samaniego, who compared the volcanic activity to a pot of milk waiting to boil over at any moment.Lava threatens to run downhill, toward Banos, with 15,000 residents, he said.This has happened before and could affect Banos,he said.The town will have to make its decisions on whether to evacuate,he said.
So far, a four-kilometer (2.5-mile)-high column of ash has done the most damage, affecting some 100,000 people who live on area farms.Farmers in the region are losing everything, said Patricio Donoso, president of the chamber of farmers.Some 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) are damaged, he told Teleamazonas television news.We need to distribute hay so that the cattle will not die, and help those who are losing everything.Some 5,500 women, children and elderly people have been evacuated from the area, Civil Defense authorities told AFP.The volcano is 5,029 meters (16,500 feet) high and 135 kilometers (85 miles) south of Quito. Since Friday it has released lava and a column of ash.
The volcano erupted in a similar fashion in 1918, with six to eight periods of explosive activity sending lava down its sides, Samaniego said.We have not seen this phenomenon since then,he told Ecuavisa television.President Alfredo Palacio visited the area with five ministers and promised 4.9 million dollars for the emergency.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Death toll from China storm hits 188 1 hour ago
BEIJING - China's death toll from tropical storm Bilis has jumped to 188 after torrential rains swept away houses and triggered devastating mudslides, the government's main news agency said Tuesday.More heavy rains were forecast in Guangdong province, a major economic center that borders Hong Kong, after Bilis flooded farmland, washed out roads and railway lines and cut power supplies, the official Xinhua News Agency said.Hardest hit was the inland province of Hunan, where at least 92 people were killed after Bilis roared ashore Friday, it said. At least 100 people were still missing in Hunan, it said.
Elsewhere, 43 people were killed in coastal Fujian province and 44 in neighboring Guangdong, the report said. Nine people were killed in south China's Guangxi region, it said.Xinhua said Jiangxi and Zhejiang provinces also suffered fatalities, but didn't give details.The rains swelled reservoirs, causing them to overflow and sweep away thousands of homes and destroy crops. Train lines were inundated and mines were flooded with torrents of water.Xinhua said a 10,000-member repair crew was dispatched to fix China's main north-south railway line after it was submerged, delaying thousands of travelers. It was expected to take another few days before the line could resume service.
Typhoons hit China every year in the summer, causing hundreds of deaths.The country expects more storms than usual this year due to an unusually warm current off its Pacific coast and high temperatures on the Tibetan plateau.
Tsunami kills more than 300 in Indonesia By IRWAN FIRDAUS, Associated Press Writer 34 minutes ago
PANGANDARAN, Indonesia - A tsunami crashed into beach resorts and fishing villages on Java island Monday, killing more than 300 people and leaving more than 160 missing after bulletins failed to reach the region because no warning system was in place. The Java coastal area was spared by the devastating Asian tsunami of 2004, but many residents recognized the danger when they saw the sea recede.Frantic tourists and villagers shouted Tsunami! Tsunami! as the wave more than 6 feet high approached.
Some climbed trees or fled to higher ground to escape while others crowded into inland mosques to pray.At least 23,000 people fled their homes, either because they were destroyed or in fear of another tsunami, Dudi Junaidi, an official at an emergency coordination post in the worst-hit area of Pangandaran on Java's southern coast, said Tuesday.We saw a big wall of black water. I ran with my son in my arms when I looked back, the waves were at our house, they destroyed our house,said Ita Anita, who was on the beach with her 11-month-old child and other relatives. The water knocked me down, my son slipped out of my hands and was taken by the water.
Anita, 20, and her husband live 30 feet from the beach in Pangandaran, a resort popular with tourists. Also on the beach were her son, mother, sister, brother, nephews. All except her mother are missing.She said a series of large waves as tall as coconut trees came and then the water began to recede.When the wave receded, there was total panic. Everybody was looking for everybody, Anita said from her hospital bed at the Pangandaran medical clinic. She said she was swept inland by the wave into a rice paddy, tossed around and dragged across asphalt before she managed to climb to safety on the roof of a house.
Early Tuesday, desperate villagers and soldiers dug through destroyed homes and hotels looking for survivors as the death toll rose to at least 306.Junaidi said at least 172 people were killed and 85 others were missing in the Panganderan area. He said a Pakistani national, a Swedish national and a Dutch national were among the dead, but did not give their genders. Most of the victims were believed to be Indonesians.In nearby Cilacap district, at least 77 were killed and more than 70 others were missing, said central Java police chief Dody Sumantiawan. At least 44 others died in Tasikmalaya, said Lina, a district official who like many Indonesians goes by only one name.Another 13 died elsewhere along the coast, local officials said.I don't mind losing any of my property, but please God return my son,said Basril, as he and wife tearfully searched though mounds of debris pile up on the beach at Pangandaran.
Nearby, the body of a woman lay on the beach, covered with a mat.Regional agencies had warned that a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck 150 miles off Indonesia's southern coast was strong enough to create a tsunami on Java. But there was no warning system for those on the southern coast.The waves sent boats, cars and motorbikes crashing into resorts and fishing villages.
Houses and restaurants were flattened along a 110-mile stretch of the densely populated island's southern coast.Jan Boeken, from Antwerp, Belgium, said he was sitting at a bar when his waiter started screaming.I looked back at the beach and saw a big wall of thundering black water coming toward us,said the 53-year-old, who escaped with minor cuts to the head and knees. I ran, but I got trapped in the kitchen, I couldn't get out. I got hit in the body by debris and my lungs filled with water.
A witness told el-Shinta radio station he saw the ocean withdraw 1,500 feet from the beach a half-hour before the powerful wave smashed ashore, a typical phenomenon before a tsunami. I could see fish jumping around on the ocean floor, Miswan said.
Witnesses said the wave came several hundred yards inland in some places. Buildings sit close to the beach in Pangandaran. Pedi Mulyadi, a 43-year-old food vendor, said he was waiting on the beach for customers when the wave struck, killing his wife,
Ratini, 33. The pair were clinging to one another when they were swallowed by the torrent of water and pulled 300 feet inland, he said.Then we were hit, I think by a piece of wood,Mulyadi said. When the water finally pulled away, she was dead. Oh my God, my wife is gone, just like that. Roads were blocked and power cut to much of the area. Damage and casualties were reported at several places along the 110 miles of beach affected, officials and media reports said. All the houses are destroyed along the beach,one woman, Teti, told el-Shinta radio. Small hotels are destroyed and at least one restaurant was washed away.
Indonesia has installed a warning system across much of Sumatra island but not on Java. The government has been planning to extend the warning system there by 2007. Java was hit seven weeks ago by a 6.3-magnitude earthquake that killed more than 5,800 people, but was spared by the 2004 tsunami that killed 216,000 people, nearly half of them in Indonesia's Aceh province. Chris Goldfinger, an earthquake expert at the College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University, said Monday's quake was probably not related to the 2004 tsunami though some of the tremors in the region since then were related. The May earthquake did not affect the part of the island hit by Monday's tsunami, which was spawned by a quake that struck deep beneath the Indian Ocean 150 miles southwest of Java's coast. The quake struck at 3:24 p.m., causing tall buildings to sway hundreds of miles away in the capital, Jakarta. The strength of the temblor was revised upward from magnitude 7.1 after a review by a seismologist, the U.S. Geological Survey said. The quake was followed by a series of powerful aftershocks.
After the quake, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and Japan's Meteorological Agency issued warnings saying there could be a tsunami in the Indian Ocean. The tsunami struck Java about an hour after the quake and its effects could be felt as far as Bali island and near Australia's Coco Islands. Indonesia is on the so-called Pacific "Ring of Fire," an arc of volcanoes and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Israel is Attacked Again by Missiles and Other Weapons With the Backing of Arab and Islamic Countries -
The G-d of Israel and His Faithful Israeli Soldiers Will Win this Battle as Well
As these words are being written Israel is being attacked by two evil terrorist organizations. Israel is being attacked from Gaza in the southwest by the Hamas terrorist organization and from Lebanon in the north by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. These two evil terror organizations are fighting against Israel with the backing of Iran and Syria especially and other nations which arm them with
missiles and other kinds of weapons. Missiles are shot from both sides on Israeli towns and cities. Israel is again paying a price of blood for protecting the holy land of the G-d and the people of Israel and the end-time godly event that is taking place in Israel.
This is another war against Israel with one clear goal. To destroy Israel and to push the Israeli nation into the Mediterranean. These evil terrorist organizations have the backing of the Arab and Islamic countries and other countries in the world. Together they prepare even much more heavy weapons including nuclear bombs and chemical missiles directed at Israel. They know and understand that Israel is the only obstacle before their goal to occupy all the world especially the western world and to make it an Islamic world.
Israel is now again fighting against so many enemies and their terror agents of Hamas and Hezbollah. It is not only a battle for survival and protecting our fathers and mother, sisters and brothers against an inhumane cruel enemy that their religion is calling for murder, hatred and destruction. This is a battle for protecting the major godly event which is taking place in Israel now.
The rebuilding of the Kingdom of G-d, His values and morals in the holy land that G-d gave to His chosen people Israel in an eternal covenant. This is a major godly event which will be an opening for the redemption of all mankind based on G-d's values and morals at a time when it is so needed. Israel will again win this battle. The small Israel will overcome this difficult time. As it was in the biblical times the G-d of Israel, the Creator of the Universe, is fighting together with the Israeli soldiers against the messengers of the devil.
These evil powers want to destroy what G-d is doing with Israel at these critical times and to eliminate not only Israel but the great hope for all the world for a better mankind.They have illusions that they can win the battle against G-d and His people Israel. They never learned from their own experience and experience of other evil powers throughout the history of Israel that believed that they can destroy the G-d and the people of Israel.
They were all defeated by the G-d of Israel and His Israeli soldiers and have disappeared completely under the judgement of G-d from the stage of history. The same will be their destiny now as G-d promised to His people Israel through her great prophets. They have no chance. Who can challenge the G-d of Israel and the Universe and His Israeli soldiers who swore to dedicate and give their lives for their beloved G-d, His Word that He gave them in the Torah and the holy wonderful land that He gave them forever. G-d promised Israel that His eyes, His heart and His attention will be day and night on His people Israel and their Promised Land to
protect and save them from any enemy that will come to destroy His beloved wife Israel.
This is not the first war against Israel and not, as we see, the last of them. This is another stage in the end-time war against Israel that started in 1948 and it is coming closer and closer to its climax. Israel together with the G-d of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is ready to face this actual war and this that is going to come, the end-time war which as G-d called it through His prophet Ezekiel the Gog and Magog War (please read Ezekiel 38 & 39, Zechariah 12 & 14, and Joel 4). The victory belongs to the G-d of Israel and the Universe who is determined to complete His major end-time event which is called Israel and to bring to pass the eternal cause and mission that He gave to His chosen people Israel. To be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests, a treasure and a light to all the nations.
Israel is now experiencing one of the most critical stages in the process of Redemption, the exciting process that the G-d of Israel is leading in the last century, especially since the foundation of the State of Israel in 1948. This is, as I said above, another stage in the beginning of the end-time war, the Gog and Magog War, against Israel. As G-d promised this end-time war against Israel will be the last stage before the climax of this process and the most exciting part of it: The building of the end-time Temple of G-d on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem to be a house of prayer, worship and love for Israel and all mankind and the coming of the end-time Messenger of G-d, Mashiach ben David.
This will open the time of redemption for all mankind. All the friends and the lovers of the G-d of Israel and His people Israel, which is now facing another evil war from evil enemies, are called to stand with and encourage her at this critical moment. All those wonderful brothers and sisters all over the world are called to stand with, help and encourage the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement that fulfills a major part in this campaign and even more so in the near future, and G-d will bless those who bless Israel as He promised.
Gershon Salomon
Chairman, Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
RUSSIA WILL PUT TROOPS IN ISRAEL
1-17.2 Quake in Indonesia. 2-Quake shakes Australias North. 3-86 dead in Indonesia as quake causes Tsunami. 4-Israel under fire.5-Russia considers suppling troops to Mideast.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
7.2 Richter Scale earthquake hits Java Island
17 Jul 2006 13:52:00 GMT
Source: World Emergency Relief (WER) - UK
Amy Whiddett,Website: http://www.wer-uk.org
Java Island in Indonesia has been struck by a series of earthquakes over the last 11 hours, the strongest of which is reported to have measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale. The earthquakes struck between 110 and 150 miles off the south coast of Java Island. WER's local partner aegncy, Hope Worldwide Indonesia, has reported that the earthquake was felt strongly in the southeastern part of West Java Province, around the areas of Pangandaran beach up to Cilacap and Kebumen Districts in Central Java Province. Tremors were also felt in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
There have been reports of tsunami waves of up to 7 metres in some coastal areas in Indonesia. Hope Worldwide Indonesia is currently assessing the needs of communities affected by these latest earthquakes to determine the scale of the response required. Emergency medical supplies and medical teams are ready to move when required. WER has sent a further shipment of medical supplies to Hope Worldwide Indonesia as work continues to bring relief to those affected by an earthquake which struck near Yogyakarta in Java on Saturday May 27 2006. These supplies will arrive in Jakarta on 23rd July 2006 and will be immediately distributed to emergency medical facilities and local hospitals and health clinics through Hope Worldwide Indonesia. [ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters.]
Quake shakes state's north
From: AAP ,July 17, 2006
AN earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale has shaken South Australia's mid-north.Primary Industries and Resources SA seismologist David Love said the quake struck at 12.18am (CST) on Sunday, with an epicentre near Peterborough. The earthquake has woken many residents in the town, some thinking it might have been an explosion,Mr Love said.At a magnitude of 2.8, the vibration and noise would be noticed up to about 25km away. However, for those very close it could be loud and sharp enough to wake people.Mr Love said earthquakes in the Peterborough area were not unusual.In March 1990, Peterborough experienced nine earthquakes in a week, from magnitude two to three,he said.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
86 dead as quake triggers tsunami
Monday, July 17, 2006 Posted: 1711 GMT (0111 HKT)
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A major earthquake off the coast of Java and a tsunami that followed has killed at least 86 people, but the death toll is expected to rise as the search for victims moves ahead, witnesses and officials told The Associated Press.But the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Monday there did not appear to be a widespread tsunami threat in the region.The center's Web site reported that sea level gauge data indicate that a tsunami was generated but it added that based on historical earthquake and tsunami data, plus current sea level readings, a more widespread tsunami threat probably does not exist.Local parliament member Rudi Supriatna Bahro in Ciamis, West Java, appeared on Metro TV Monday saying searchers had recovered 37 bodies but their efforts have been slowed by debris-strewn roads and damaged buildings. (Watch why there's still no tsunami warning system 3:18)
He said the larger hotels around Pangandaran Beach remain standing but many of the smaller buildings along the coast were destroyed.
Indonesian radio interviewed a witness named Teti who said the giant waves as high as trees damaged homes and other buildings, and she reported seeing at least three dead bodies.An entire hotel was also washed away, Teti said, and everyone ran for higher ground.
The International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) issued a tsunami watch after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 rumbled in the Indian Ocean 220 miles south of Jakarta.According to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center Web site, the quake hit at 3:19 p.m. (0819 GMT).Three strong aftershocks followed over the next three hours, according to the USGS and Indonesian radio.The ITIC said the tsunami watch is in effect for parts of Indonesia and Australia.
In May, an earthquake in the Indonesian region of Yogyakarta killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 200,000, according to United Nations figures.A massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December of 2004 killed more than 200,000 people in 12 countries.Copyright 2006 CNN.(AP)
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; but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
ISRAEL UNDER FIRE
17 JULY - DAY SIX
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
1-Syrian-made Farjar missiles strike Haifa on Sunday, killing eight people in a railway depot.
2-Five people wounded Monday afternoon in Haifa after building collapses as a result of a direct Katyusha hit.
3-Magen David Adom reported on Sunday evening that eight people were killed and 39 people wounded, four seriously, nine moderately, eight lightly and 18 suffering shock, since Sunday morning in northern Israel. Since the fighting in the north began, as of Sunday night, a total of 20 Israelis have been killed including IDF troops.
377 have been wounded - seven seriously, 22 moderately, 127 lightly and 201 have suffered shock. Katyushas land Sunday night in Afula, Upper Nazareth, Migdal Hamemek, and Givat Ela - the furthest south that Hezbollah has managed to hit so far. Six people treated for shock in Afula. Four lightly injured Monday morning in Katyusha strike on Mitzpe Tal El in western Galilee; two more injured in attack near Acre. Katyusha barrage falls Monday morning on the western Galilee villages of Julis, Abu Snaan, and Kfar Yasif as well as Tiberias. Karmiel struck by Katyushas on Monday afternoon; a number of people reportedly suffering from shock.
Between 5 and 10 Qassam missiles fired from Gaza at Sderot and its environs - two Sderot residents lightly injured by shrapnel; 2 Qassams land in Ashkelon industrial zone Monday afternoon.
EZEKIEL 38:1-4
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,(TUBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:(Russian Places)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, 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:
Notice here its God himself that forces Russia,Egypt and the Muslims to march so 5 / 6th of the Arab army gets destroyed by God as you read all of Ezekiel 38+39.And Why? Because the Arabs call for Israel to disappear!
PSALMS 83:3-5
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, 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:
Russia to consider Mideast peacekeepers Mon Jul 17, 8:14 AM ET
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia would consider contributing troops to an international peacekeeping force in the Middle East if the United Nations approves its deployment. So far there is no decision yet on sending peacekeeping troops. When there will be a decision we will consider whether to take part,Putin said.Putin said he was not certain that the return of three abducted Israeli soldiers would stop the fighting in the Middle East. Israel is fighting Hezbollah militants operating in Lebanon and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.I don't think the situation has gotten out of control, but I don't have the certainty that the return of the soldiers will stop the conflict,Putin said.Putin spoke at the end of a summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations.
The G-8 leaders on Sunday called for the Israeli soldiers abducted in Gaza and Lebanon to be released.Their statement also called for the shelling of Israeli territory to end; Israeli military operations to cease and Israeli forces to withdraw early from Gaza; and for arrested Palestinian ministers and legislators to be released.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
7.2 Richter Scale earthquake hits Java Island
17 Jul 2006 13:52:00 GMT
Source: World Emergency Relief (WER) - UK
Amy Whiddett,Website: http://www.wer-uk.org
Java Island in Indonesia has been struck by a series of earthquakes over the last 11 hours, the strongest of which is reported to have measured 7.2 on the Richter Scale. The earthquakes struck between 110 and 150 miles off the south coast of Java Island. WER's local partner aegncy, Hope Worldwide Indonesia, has reported that the earthquake was felt strongly in the southeastern part of West Java Province, around the areas of Pangandaran beach up to Cilacap and Kebumen Districts in Central Java Province. Tremors were also felt in Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia.
There have been reports of tsunami waves of up to 7 metres in some coastal areas in Indonesia. Hope Worldwide Indonesia is currently assessing the needs of communities affected by these latest earthquakes to determine the scale of the response required. Emergency medical supplies and medical teams are ready to move when required. WER has sent a further shipment of medical supplies to Hope Worldwide Indonesia as work continues to bring relief to those affected by an earthquake which struck near Yogyakarta in Java on Saturday May 27 2006. These supplies will arrive in Jakarta on 23rd July 2006 and will be immediately distributed to emergency medical facilities and local hospitals and health clinics through Hope Worldwide Indonesia. [ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters.]
Quake shakes state's north
From: AAP ,July 17, 2006
AN earthquake measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale has shaken South Australia's mid-north.Primary Industries and Resources SA seismologist David Love said the quake struck at 12.18am (CST) on Sunday, with an epicentre near Peterborough. The earthquake has woken many residents in the town, some thinking it might have been an explosion,Mr Love said.At a magnitude of 2.8, the vibration and noise would be noticed up to about 25km away. However, for those very close it could be loud and sharp enough to wake people.Mr Love said earthquakes in the Peterborough area were not unusual.In March 1990, Peterborough experienced nine earthquakes in a week, from magnitude two to three,he said.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
86 dead as quake triggers tsunami
Monday, July 17, 2006 Posted: 1711 GMT (0111 HKT)
JAKARTA, Indonesia -- A major earthquake off the coast of Java and a tsunami that followed has killed at least 86 people, but the death toll is expected to rise as the search for victims moves ahead, witnesses and officials told The Associated Press.But the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said Monday there did not appear to be a widespread tsunami threat in the region.The center's Web site reported that sea level gauge data indicate that a tsunami was generated but it added that based on historical earthquake and tsunami data, plus current sea level readings, a more widespread tsunami threat probably does not exist.Local parliament member Rudi Supriatna Bahro in Ciamis, West Java, appeared on Metro TV Monday saying searchers had recovered 37 bodies but their efforts have been slowed by debris-strewn roads and damaged buildings. (Watch why there's still no tsunami warning system 3:18)
He said the larger hotels around Pangandaran Beach remain standing but many of the smaller buildings along the coast were destroyed.
Indonesian radio interviewed a witness named Teti who said the giant waves as high as trees damaged homes and other buildings, and she reported seeing at least three dead bodies.An entire hotel was also washed away, Teti said, and everyone ran for higher ground.
The International Tsunami Information Centre (ITIC) issued a tsunami watch after an earthquake with a magnitude of 7.2 rumbled in the Indian Ocean 220 miles south of Jakarta.According to the U.S. Geological Survey's National Earthquake Information Center Web site, the quake hit at 3:19 p.m. (0819 GMT).Three strong aftershocks followed over the next three hours, according to the USGS and Indonesian radio.The ITIC said the tsunami watch is in effect for parts of Indonesia and Australia.
In May, an earthquake in the Indonesian region of Yogyakarta killed more than 6,000 people and displaced more than 200,000, according to United Nations figures.A massive tsunami in the Indian Ocean in December of 2004 killed more than 200,000 people in 12 countries.Copyright 2006 CNN.(AP)
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; but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
ISRAEL UNDER FIRE
17 JULY - DAY SIX
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS
1-Syrian-made Farjar missiles strike Haifa on Sunday, killing eight people in a railway depot.
2-Five people wounded Monday afternoon in Haifa after building collapses as a result of a direct Katyusha hit.
3-Magen David Adom reported on Sunday evening that eight people were killed and 39 people wounded, four seriously, nine moderately, eight lightly and 18 suffering shock, since Sunday morning in northern Israel. Since the fighting in the north began, as of Sunday night, a total of 20 Israelis have been killed including IDF troops.
377 have been wounded - seven seriously, 22 moderately, 127 lightly and 201 have suffered shock. Katyushas land Sunday night in Afula, Upper Nazareth, Migdal Hamemek, and Givat Ela - the furthest south that Hezbollah has managed to hit so far. Six people treated for shock in Afula. Four lightly injured Monday morning in Katyusha strike on Mitzpe Tal El in western Galilee; two more injured in attack near Acre. Katyusha barrage falls Monday morning on the western Galilee villages of Julis, Abu Snaan, and Kfar Yasif as well as Tiberias. Karmiel struck by Katyushas on Monday afternoon; a number of people reportedly suffering from shock.
Between 5 and 10 Qassam missiles fired from Gaza at Sderot and its environs - two Sderot residents lightly injured by shrapnel; 2 Qassams land in Ashkelon industrial zone Monday afternoon.
EZEKIEL 38:1-4
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,(TUBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal:(Russian Places)
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, 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:
Notice here its God himself that forces Russia,Egypt and the Muslims to march so 5 / 6th of the Arab army gets destroyed by God as you read all of Ezekiel 38+39.And Why? Because the Arabs call for Israel to disappear!
PSALMS 83:3-5
3 They have taken crafty counsel against thy people, 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:
Russia to consider Mideast peacekeepers Mon Jul 17, 8:14 AM ET
ST. PETERSBURG, Russia - President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Russia would consider contributing troops to an international peacekeeping force in the Middle East if the United Nations approves its deployment. So far there is no decision yet on sending peacekeeping troops. When there will be a decision we will consider whether to take part,Putin said.Putin said he was not certain that the return of three abducted Israeli soldiers would stop the fighting in the Middle East. Israel is fighting Hezbollah militants operating in Lebanon and Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip.I don't think the situation has gotten out of control, but I don't have the certainty that the return of the soldiers will stop the conflict,Putin said.Putin spoke at the end of a summit of the Group of Eight industrial nations.
The G-8 leaders on Sunday called for the Israeli soldiers abducted in Gaza and Lebanon to be released.Their statement also called for the shelling of Israeli territory to end; Israeli military operations to cease and Israeli forces to withdraw early from Gaza; and for arrested Palestinian ministers and legislators to be released.
Monday, July 17, 2006
UN EU CALL FOR MIDEAST FORCE
1-Good God & Natures Quirks. 2-UN-EC CALL FOR MIDEAST FORCE. 3-Syria vows to Attack Israel directly if Attacked.
Good God & Nature's Quirks
By Grant Swank on Jul 16, 2006
So many dead. So many grieving. So many distraught. Where is God? Where is the good God? Good God created all things sound and pure. Then He placed our first parents in paradise — the Garden of Eden.
There, however, was a stipulation. They dared not touch a particular tree. That obviously was to test the mortals-with-free-will obedience quotient. All other creatures on Earth were programmed by instinct. Only Adam and Eve were gifted with free will — the awesome power of choice. In that, at least, was their image of deity upon their very own natures — the power to think, to make decisions. Yet, sadly, our first parents disobeyed God to follow the Lie. The Lie told them God really didn’t mean what He said. It was all a ruse. Good God would overlook their eating of the forbidden fruit. After all, He is good God. However, good God is not only mercy but also justice — eternally so. If He were not, none of us would want to know Him let alone worship and obey Him.
In His mercy and justice, God dealt with Adam and Eve’s disobedience. In His mercy, He did not slay them. He permitted them life and forgiving grace — but a temporary span on Earth, not the eternity He had originally planned. In His justice, He disciplined them by casting them out of Eden.
Further, Eve would give birth in pain. Adam would dig out a living by the sweat of his brow. Earth fell when our first parents disobeyed God. In that, mortal’s body and soul fell, hence there being sickness followed by death as well as meanness, madness and murder, anger, animosity and anxiety. Further, when Earth fell due to Adam and Eve falling for the Lie, the globe itself came upon its own calamities. They were not originally intended by good God. They were the result of mortals’ disobedience, hence floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and, yes, earthquakes. Earth’s calamities should then remind us that mortals are indeed frail, fragile creatures in need of the Power above and beyond themselves. Mortals are temporary creatures of a spiritually fallen planet. Mortals are in need of a merciful, comforting God.
Therefore, when earthquakes take lives, spring forth wails of woe, and cover the planet with depression, they remind us of history’s beginnings. They remind us of the awful state the planet is in due to mortal going his and her own way apart from good God. They remind us to call out for mercy, for divine help, and for a hope that is beyond and above the earthquakes, winds and fire. An earthquake is not God’s fault. It is mortals’ fault — from the start, that is. Adam and Eve’s lineage have had to deal with their disobedience ever since they went for the Lie. That should surely underline for all thinking mortals how truly crucial it is to obey an Almighty God, falling at His feet for mercy and grace, beseeching Him to redeem Earth’s tragedies into a meaning that only eternity can fully explain.
The hope? The hope in a spiritually fallen world is still the good God. There really is no other alternative other than despair and finally spiritual and / or physical suicide. Hope comes from reaching out in faith to good God, calling upon His everlasting arms, and finding Him there — no matter the tragedy, the loss, and the perplexity.In that, good God has the last word for those in faith.
In that, good God then is their Almighty One placing His period at their last sentence. God Himself acted out before us how to deal with this spiritually fallen planet. He came to earth in Jesus. He taught and loved and healed. Then the jealous enemy spiked Him to the cross. Murder. Injustice. Madness. Meanness. Cruelty.Yet from that zenith of calamities came His resurrection. And from those lips now alive and loving — come the words: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall not die.
Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with Me. Till the close of Earth’s history, tragedies will continue to spill themselves over the face of the planet — since Adam and Eve first fell for the Lie. But out of every tragedy, faith can lift the arm of hope toward good God. In doing so, even in the earthquake rubble of Iran, victory is assured through the tears. Eternity will prove it to be true.
By Grant Swank on Jul 16, 2006
Editor: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of NewsByUs.
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own 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; but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king 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, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: 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, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Annan, Blair call for Mideast 'stabilization force'
International presence urged as way to curb fighting
Monday, July 17, 2006 Posted: 0729 GMT (1529 HKT)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday called for an international stabilization force to go to the Mideast to help end the cross-border attacks between Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the Israeli military.Fighting continued Monday, with Israeli bombings of Beirut's port, an army barracks and the capital's southern suburbs, following Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern cities in Israel Sunday that left at least eight people dead.
The proposed international force would be the first step in what Annan and Blair said should be a series of actions that would stop the hostilities.The only way we are going to get a cessation of hostilities is the deployment of an international force to stop the bombardment of Israel and get Israel to stop its attacks on Hezbollah,Blair told reporters at a news conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the end of the G-8 summit.Annan said the U.N. Security Council would have to discuss the matter but said such a force would be only a part of a comprehensive plan of action to stop the fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Lebanese internal security forces said the six days of cross-border fighting have killed a total of 142 people in Lebanon and wounded 382.Video of the aftermath of the strike on the port of Beirut showed black smoke billowing into the air amid large shipping containers and the charred remains of a truck.At least two people died in the attack.
About 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Beirut, in the city of Abdeh, three Israeli missiles struck an army barracks, officials said, killing six soldiers and wounding 28.Israeli strikes Monday in the Bekaa Valley killed seven people, authorities said. Forty-three others were wounded and one girl is missing.
Deadly rocket attack in Haifa
The bombardments began Wednesday, following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas in a cross-border raid.Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militia that holds seats in Lebanon's government, has responded by firing volleys of short-range missiles into towns in northern Israel.Eight Israeli civilians died Sunday when one rocket struck a train station in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. Warning sirens sounded across Haifa soon after daybreak Monday, but the rockets landed just off the shoreline, causing no damage, the Israel Defense Forces said.Other rockets fell across northern Israel Monday morning, injuring four people, according to the IDF.
Some of the strikes hit cities 40 km (25 miles) south of the Lebanese border -- the farthest Hezbollah has reached into northern Israel to date.At about the same time, explosions rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut, sending plumes of smoke into the
morning sky. People fleeing those attacks are moving into schools in the capital's center, where local relief agencies are trying to help them.
Israel said 12 civilians and nine soldiers and sailors had been killed since the conflict erupted Wednesday.Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that the Israeli attack had opened "the gates of hell" with what he called a disproportionate response to Hezbollah's Wednesday raid.
Evacuation efforts
Meanwhile, several countries continued with efforts to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.A bus filled with German tourists left a hotel in Beirut Monday, hoping to make it to the Syrian border.France dispatched a ferry from Cyprus late Sunday to help its citizens and others, mostly Europeans, to leave Lebanon. The vessel can carry 1,300 people and could begin taking on passengers Monday afternoon, the French Embassy in Beirut said.U.S. Marine helicopters flew 21 Americans to Cyprus, including a family of four with a sick child and another person needing medical attention, on Sunday, State Department officials said. The officials estimate that about 15 percent of the roughly 25,000 Americans in Lebanon would evacuate. (Watch a family cope with being stranded in Lebanon -- 2:08)Lebanon has called for a cease-fire, but Israel says it will only stop its campaign when its kidnapped troops are freed, Hezbollah withdraws from southern Lebanon and rocket attacks on its territory stop.
Israel is also fighting Palestinian militants in Gaza who kidnapped an Israeli soldier from a border post three weeks ago.Early Monday, one Israeli soldier was killed and six were wounded -- three of them critically -- in the West Bank city of Nablus, the IDF said.The soldiers were conducting an operation to arrest Palestinian militants in the town when an explosive device went off near them, the IDF said.
Militant leader: 'We will humiliate them'
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called on the Lebanese people to support Hezbollah's battle with Israel, which he said was being waged for them. (Watch Beirut airport burn -- 1:25) We are leading the battle for the nation, Nasrallah said. We will humiliate them in the future as we have humiliated them in the past.(What is Hezbollah?) He accused Israel of attacking civilian targets, while insisting that Hezbollah has aimed its rocket attacks only at the Israeli military. The Lebanese towns bombed and shelled by Israel were "civilian homes, with no rockets or bases, he said.CNN's Nic Robertson, John Vause, Paula Hancocks, Barbara Starr and Elise Labott contributed to this report.Copyright 2006 CNN.(AP)
Syria vows to respond directly to any Israel strike by Roueida Mabardi
Sun Jul 16, 12:14 PM ET
DAMASCUS (AFP) -Syria has warned it would respond directly and by all means necessary to any Israeli attack on its territory, in its first official reaction to Israel's offensive on neighboring Lebanon. The warning coincided Sunday with a similar threat by Damascus's key ally Iran, and came amid rising fears that the Middle East is being dragged deeper into the spiraling conflict sparked by the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and militants linked to Hamas in Gaza.Any Israeli attack against Syria will provoke an unlimited, direct and firm response using all means necessary,Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told
the official SANA news agency.Bilal accused Israel of state terrorism and operating above the law ... ignoring UN Security Council resolutions and sabotaging efforts toward Middle East peace, as he vowed Syria's support for Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah
movement.
Syria supports the national Lebanese resistance against Israeli aggression. The resistance will triumph and Israel will be conquered,he said, using a term that refers to Hezbollah.Resistance is a legitimate and sacred right, he added, saying it was necessary to make a distinction between resistance and terrorism.A coalition of Syrian political parties led by the ruling Baath party echoed Bilal's comments and announced a series of measures aimed at supporting the Lebanese people's resistance against Israel.
Damascus will arrange "facilities" for those Lebanese who wish to reside in Syria or pass through the country, send medical and food aid to Lebanon and contribute to the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by the barbaric Israeli raids, the National Progressive Front said.Tehran also warned arch-enemy Israel of unimaginable losses if it makes the mistake of attacking Syria and vowed that it was standing by the Syrian people.
Israel said one of the rockets fired Sunday by Hezbollah guerrillas on Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, killing eight people, may have been Syrian-made.There is a possibility that one of the rockets was made in Syria, a senior military official told reporters following the deadliest cross-border attack in decades.Maybe Hezbollah wants to involve Syria in this mess, he said. It could be a big advantage for Hezbollah to open a third front against Israel.Israel had said a day earlier that Syria was not a target in its offensive, after firing rockets on the Lebanese-Syrian border.Damascus denied its territory had actually been hit.
The escalating Middle East conflict is central to discussions at a G8 summit of world leaders in Saint Petersburg, and Russia has warned of a real threat that the Middle East crisis could widen.Syria's official media on Sunday denounced the silence of Arab countries amid the deadly Israeli offensive in Lebanon, launched Wednesday after two soldiers were captured by militants from Hezbollah.Silence has become the ideal reaction for Arab regimes when they find nothing to say that will satisfy their grand masters,the state daily Ath-Thawra said.Those who have expressed doubts over the actions of the resistance are in one way or another implicated in the (Israeli) aggression against Beirut and Gaza. The newspaper was referring to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan which indirectly criticized Hezbollah for adventurism in provoking Israel's onslaught on Lebanon and putting all Arab nations at risk.
Another Syrian government daily, Tishrin, accused Israel and the United States of waging war in order to gain total control over the region. After having achieved Iraq's destruction and sabotaged all efforts to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict and find a just peace in the region, the US administration has given its green light to the Israeli government of (Prime Minister) Ehud Olmert to burn down the region beginning with Gaza and Lebanon,Tishrin said. This is part of an Israeli-American plan for total hegemony in the region.
Syria, which backs but denies arming Hezbollah, which is also Iranian-backed, was the long-time powerbroker in Lebanon until an international outcry over the assassination of five-time premier Rafiq Hariri forced it to withdraw its troops last year.
Good God & Nature's Quirks
By Grant Swank on Jul 16, 2006
So many dead. So many grieving. So many distraught. Where is God? Where is the good God? Good God created all things sound and pure. Then He placed our first parents in paradise — the Garden of Eden.
There, however, was a stipulation. They dared not touch a particular tree. That obviously was to test the mortals-with-free-will obedience quotient. All other creatures on Earth were programmed by instinct. Only Adam and Eve were gifted with free will — the awesome power of choice. In that, at least, was their image of deity upon their very own natures — the power to think, to make decisions. Yet, sadly, our first parents disobeyed God to follow the Lie. The Lie told them God really didn’t mean what He said. It was all a ruse. Good God would overlook their eating of the forbidden fruit. After all, He is good God. However, good God is not only mercy but also justice — eternally so. If He were not, none of us would want to know Him let alone worship and obey Him.
In His mercy and justice, God dealt with Adam and Eve’s disobedience. In His mercy, He did not slay them. He permitted them life and forgiving grace — but a temporary span on Earth, not the eternity He had originally planned. In His justice, He disciplined them by casting them out of Eden.
Further, Eve would give birth in pain. Adam would dig out a living by the sweat of his brow. Earth fell when our first parents disobeyed God. In that, mortal’s body and soul fell, hence there being sickness followed by death as well as meanness, madness and murder, anger, animosity and anxiety. Further, when Earth fell due to Adam and Eve falling for the Lie, the globe itself came upon its own calamities. They were not originally intended by good God. They were the result of mortals’ disobedience, hence floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, fires and, yes, earthquakes. Earth’s calamities should then remind us that mortals are indeed frail, fragile creatures in need of the Power above and beyond themselves. Mortals are temporary creatures of a spiritually fallen planet. Mortals are in need of a merciful, comforting God.
Therefore, when earthquakes take lives, spring forth wails of woe, and cover the planet with depression, they remind us of history’s beginnings. They remind us of the awful state the planet is in due to mortal going his and her own way apart from good God. They remind us to call out for mercy, for divine help, and for a hope that is beyond and above the earthquakes, winds and fire. An earthquake is not God’s fault. It is mortals’ fault — from the start, that is. Adam and Eve’s lineage have had to deal with their disobedience ever since they went for the Lie. That should surely underline for all thinking mortals how truly crucial it is to obey an Almighty God, falling at His feet for mercy and grace, beseeching Him to redeem Earth’s tragedies into a meaning that only eternity can fully explain.
The hope? The hope in a spiritually fallen world is still the good God. There really is no other alternative other than despair and finally spiritual and / or physical suicide. Hope comes from reaching out in faith to good God, calling upon His everlasting arms, and finding Him there — no matter the tragedy, the loss, and the perplexity.In that, good God has the last word for those in faith.
In that, good God then is their Almighty One placing His period at their last sentence. God Himself acted out before us how to deal with this spiritually fallen planet. He came to earth in Jesus. He taught and loved and healed. Then the jealous enemy spiked Him to the cross. Murder. Injustice. Madness. Meanness. Cruelty.Yet from that zenith of calamities came His resurrection. And from those lips now alive and loving — come the words: I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me shall not die.
Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone will open, I will come in to him and sup with him and he with Me. Till the close of Earth’s history, tragedies will continue to spill themselves over the face of the planet — since Adam and Eve first fell for the Lie. But out of every tragedy, faith can lift the arm of hope toward good God. In doing so, even in the earthquake rubble of Iran, victory is assured through the tears. Eternity will prove it to be true.
By Grant Swank on Jul 16, 2006
Editor: Views are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of NewsByUs.
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences, shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own 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; but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king 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, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces: 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, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many, and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Annan, Blair call for Mideast 'stabilization force'
International presence urged as way to curb fighting
Monday, July 17, 2006 Posted: 0729 GMT (1529 HKT)
BEIRUT, Lebanon (CNN) -- United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan and British Prime Minister Tony Blair on Monday called for an international stabilization force to go to the Mideast to help end the cross-border attacks between Hezbollah militants in Lebanon and the Israeli military.Fighting continued Monday, with Israeli bombings of Beirut's port, an army barracks and the capital's southern suburbs, following Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern cities in Israel Sunday that left at least eight people dead.
The proposed international force would be the first step in what Annan and Blair said should be a series of actions that would stop the hostilities.The only way we are going to get a cessation of hostilities is the deployment of an international force to stop the bombardment of Israel and get Israel to stop its attacks on Hezbollah,Blair told reporters at a news conference in St. Petersburg, Russia, at the end of the G-8 summit.Annan said the U.N. Security Council would have to discuss the matter but said such a force would be only a part of a comprehensive plan of action to stop the fighting across the Israeli-Lebanese border.
Lebanese internal security forces said the six days of cross-border fighting have killed a total of 142 people in Lebanon and wounded 382.Video of the aftermath of the strike on the port of Beirut showed black smoke billowing into the air amid large shipping containers and the charred remains of a truck.At least two people died in the attack.
About 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Beirut, in the city of Abdeh, three Israeli missiles struck an army barracks, officials said, killing six soldiers and wounding 28.Israeli strikes Monday in the Bekaa Valley killed seven people, authorities said. Forty-three others were wounded and one girl is missing.
Deadly rocket attack in Haifa
The bombardments began Wednesday, following the abduction of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah guerrillas in a cross-border raid.Hezbollah, a Shiite Muslim militia that holds seats in Lebanon's government, has responded by firing volleys of short-range missiles into towns in northern Israel.Eight Israeli civilians died Sunday when one rocket struck a train station in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. Warning sirens sounded across Haifa soon after daybreak Monday, but the rockets landed just off the shoreline, causing no damage, the Israel Defense Forces said.Other rockets fell across northern Israel Monday morning, injuring four people, according to the IDF.
Some of the strikes hit cities 40 km (25 miles) south of the Lebanese border -- the farthest Hezbollah has reached into northern Israel to date.At about the same time, explosions rocked the southern suburbs of Beirut, sending plumes of smoke into the
morning sky. People fleeing those attacks are moving into schools in the capital's center, where local relief agencies are trying to help them.
Israel said 12 civilians and nine soldiers and sailors had been killed since the conflict erupted Wednesday.Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora told CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer" that the Israeli attack had opened "the gates of hell" with what he called a disproportionate response to Hezbollah's Wednesday raid.
Evacuation efforts
Meanwhile, several countries continued with efforts to evacuate their citizens from Lebanon.A bus filled with German tourists left a hotel in Beirut Monday, hoping to make it to the Syrian border.France dispatched a ferry from Cyprus late Sunday to help its citizens and others, mostly Europeans, to leave Lebanon. The vessel can carry 1,300 people and could begin taking on passengers Monday afternoon, the French Embassy in Beirut said.U.S. Marine helicopters flew 21 Americans to Cyprus, including a family of four with a sick child and another person needing medical attention, on Sunday, State Department officials said. The officials estimate that about 15 percent of the roughly 25,000 Americans in Lebanon would evacuate. (Watch a family cope with being stranded in Lebanon -- 2:08)Lebanon has called for a cease-fire, but Israel says it will only stop its campaign when its kidnapped troops are freed, Hezbollah withdraws from southern Lebanon and rocket attacks on its territory stop.
Israel is also fighting Palestinian militants in Gaza who kidnapped an Israeli soldier from a border post three weeks ago.Early Monday, one Israeli soldier was killed and six were wounded -- three of them critically -- in the West Bank city of Nablus, the IDF said.The soldiers were conducting an operation to arrest Palestinian militants in the town when an explosive device went off near them, the IDF said.
Militant leader: 'We will humiliate them'
Meanwhile, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah called on the Lebanese people to support Hezbollah's battle with Israel, which he said was being waged for them. (Watch Beirut airport burn -- 1:25) We are leading the battle for the nation, Nasrallah said. We will humiliate them in the future as we have humiliated them in the past.(What is Hezbollah?) He accused Israel of attacking civilian targets, while insisting that Hezbollah has aimed its rocket attacks only at the Israeli military. The Lebanese towns bombed and shelled by Israel were "civilian homes, with no rockets or bases, he said.CNN's Nic Robertson, John Vause, Paula Hancocks, Barbara Starr and Elise Labott contributed to this report.Copyright 2006 CNN.(AP)
Syria vows to respond directly to any Israel strike by Roueida Mabardi
Sun Jul 16, 12:14 PM ET
DAMASCUS (AFP) -Syria has warned it would respond directly and by all means necessary to any Israeli attack on its territory, in its first official reaction to Israel's offensive on neighboring Lebanon. The warning coincided Sunday with a similar threat by Damascus's key ally Iran, and came amid rising fears that the Middle East is being dragged deeper into the spiraling conflict sparked by the capture of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon and militants linked to Hamas in Gaza.Any Israeli attack against Syria will provoke an unlimited, direct and firm response using all means necessary,Information Minister Mohsen Bilal told
the official SANA news agency.Bilal accused Israel of state terrorism and operating above the law ... ignoring UN Security Council resolutions and sabotaging efforts toward Middle East peace, as he vowed Syria's support for Lebanon's Shiite Hezbollah
movement.
Syria supports the national Lebanese resistance against Israeli aggression. The resistance will triumph and Israel will be conquered,he said, using a term that refers to Hezbollah.Resistance is a legitimate and sacred right, he added, saying it was necessary to make a distinction between resistance and terrorism.A coalition of Syrian political parties led by the ruling Baath party echoed Bilal's comments and announced a series of measures aimed at supporting the Lebanese people's resistance against Israel.
Damascus will arrange "facilities" for those Lebanese who wish to reside in Syria or pass through the country, send medical and food aid to Lebanon and contribute to the reconstruction of infrastructure destroyed by the barbaric Israeli raids, the National Progressive Front said.Tehran also warned arch-enemy Israel of unimaginable losses if it makes the mistake of attacking Syria and vowed that it was standing by the Syrian people.
Israel said one of the rockets fired Sunday by Hezbollah guerrillas on Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, killing eight people, may have been Syrian-made.There is a possibility that one of the rockets was made in Syria, a senior military official told reporters following the deadliest cross-border attack in decades.Maybe Hezbollah wants to involve Syria in this mess, he said. It could be a big advantage for Hezbollah to open a third front against Israel.Israel had said a day earlier that Syria was not a target in its offensive, after firing rockets on the Lebanese-Syrian border.Damascus denied its territory had actually been hit.
The escalating Middle East conflict is central to discussions at a G8 summit of world leaders in Saint Petersburg, and Russia has warned of a real threat that the Middle East crisis could widen.Syria's official media on Sunday denounced the silence of Arab countries amid the deadly Israeli offensive in Lebanon, launched Wednesday after two soldiers were captured by militants from Hezbollah.Silence has become the ideal reaction for Arab regimes when they find nothing to say that will satisfy their grand masters,the state daily Ath-Thawra said.Those who have expressed doubts over the actions of the resistance are in one way or another implicated in the (Israeli) aggression against Beirut and Gaza. The newspaper was referring to Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Jordan which indirectly criticized Hezbollah for adventurism in provoking Israel's onslaught on Lebanon and putting all Arab nations at risk.
Another Syrian government daily, Tishrin, accused Israel and the United States of waging war in order to gain total control over the region. After having achieved Iraq's destruction and sabotaged all efforts to resolve the Israeli-Arab conflict and find a just peace in the region, the US administration has given its green light to the Israeli government of (Prime Minister) Ehud Olmert to burn down the region beginning with Gaza and Lebanon,Tishrin said. This is part of an Israeli-American plan for total hegemony in the region.
Syria, which backs but denies arming Hezbollah, which is also Iranian-backed, was the long-time powerbroker in Lebanon until an international outcry over the assassination of five-time premier Rafiq Hariri forced it to withdraw its troops last year.
PRAY FOR ISRAEL
1-Pray for Israel. 2-Flooding could follow wildfires in California. 3-Federal Reserve U.S headed for Bankruptcy.
PSALMS 122:1-9
1 A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
PSALMS 137:1-9
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The Sh'ma at Bedtime,(excerpts from the traditional ritual)
Who Closes My Eyes...: A Blessing at Bedtime
Praised are You,Adonai, our God,Ruler of the universe,
who closes my eyes in sleep,my eyelids in slumber.
May it be Your will,Adonai, My God and the God of my ancestors,
to lie me down in peace and then to raise me up in peace.
Let no disturbing thoughts upset me,no evil dreams nor troubling fantasies.
May my bed be complete and whole in Your sight.Grant me light
so that I do not sleep the sleep of death,for it is You who illumines and enlightens.
Praised are You,Adonai, whose majesty gives light to the universe.
The Sh'ma Itself
(Deuteronomy 6: 4-9)
(God is a Faithful Ruler)
Hear, O Israel, Adonai, our God, Adonai, is One.
Blessed be the name of his glorious majesty forever and ever.
You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you are sitting at home and when you go on a journey, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. You shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Hashkivenu: Lie Us Down...
Lie us down,Adonai our God,in peace;
and raise us up again,our Ruler,in life.
Spread over us Your Sukkah of peace,
direct us with Your good counsel,
and save us for Your own Name's sake.
Shield us;remove from us every enemy, pestilence, sword, famine, and sorrow.
Remove all adversaries from before us and from behind us,and shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.For You are our guarding and saving God,yes, a gracious and compassionate God and King.Guard our going out and our coming in for life and peace,now and always!
A Prayer for Protection at Night
In the name of Adonai the God of Israel:May the angel Michael be at my right,
and the angel Gabriel be at my left;and in front of me the angel Uriel,
and behind me the angel Raphael...and above my head the Sh'khinah (Divine Presence).
Source: Eisenberg, Ronald L. The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2004; “Prayer Kriat Sh’ma”.
PRAY FOR ISRAEL
How to pray?
1. Pray for God to deflect Hezbollah missiles away from their targets. This happened in the 1991 Gulf War and it can happen again as we pray.
2. Pray for the safety of all Israelis targeted by Hezbollah rockets and missiles.
3. Pray for a revelation of Yeshua as Messiah and atonement to many in Israel right now.
4. Pray for the protection of the many south Lebanese who are soon to become refugees.
5. Pray for those Hezbollah fighting against Israel to either be saved or to be totally crushed.
6. Protection for Israeli soldiers fighting, and especially for those Messianic Jewish believers presently involved in the war. Â
7. Pray for God to reveal and counter Syrian and Iranian strategies to the IDF generals, as He did in 2 Kings 6 in Elisha's day.
8. Ask the God of Israel to hook you up to His prayer request line – to download to you directly and in real time what needs to be prayed for. This is what Rees Howell experienced during WW II, in a time when there were no TVs, no cell phones and no interner.
PLEASE PRAY URGENTLY FOR THESE MATTERS! Â Â Â THANKS SO MUCH FOR CARRYING THIS PRAYER BURDEN WITH
US !
We bless you in Y eshua,
Avner Boskey,www.davidstent.org
GENESIS 6:13
13 For the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Flooding could follow wildfires in California
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Posted: 10:09 a.m. EDT (14:09 GMT)
YUCCA VALLEY, California (CNN) -- Heavy rains are forecast for California's fire ravaged Yucca Valley on Sunday, a welcome relief for firefighters but the monsoon system could cause massive flooding in the desert area, the National Weather Service and a local police official told CNN Radio.People who have just been allowed to return to their homes ... because of the fires may have to quickly be evacuated again,said Cindy Beavers, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Vanderburg in San Diego said the Yucca Valley region is a flood problem to begin with.
The burned terrain makes it even worse,he added.Although firefighters reported some progress in battling two wildfires Saturday, the flames had consumed more acreage, officials said.The Sawtooth Complex fire was estimated to be 40 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Web site. The Millard Fire remained at 5 percent containment, but its acreage had increased, authorities said.The two fires, which merged Friday, had burned a total of more than 71,000 acres as of Saturday. Firefighters battling the flames have been dealing with steep, inaccessible terrain and a lack of steady water resources.Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for some residents of Burns Canyon.
In another development late Saturday, a search-and-rescue team found the body of Gerry Guthrie, 57, who had been missing since Tuesday when he called his wife and told her he was being evacuated from the historic community of Pioneertown, according to the sheriff's department.The exact cause of death has not been confirmed.Beavers said about 20 people searching an area northwest of Guthrie's home found his body near his home.CNN Radio's Lee Garen contributed to this report.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
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.
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 causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Federal Reserve: U.S.headed for bankruptcy,Report: Coming $65.9 trillion fiscal gap 5 times GDP, twice size of national wealth,Posted: July 16, 2006,1:00 a.m. Eastern,© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A newly published paper by a researcher for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warns that a ballooning budget deficit and pension and welfare timebomb is growing into a $65.9 trillion fiscal gap that will force the United States into bankruptcy. Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff.In the view of Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University, the U.S. is already bankrupt – at least the government is. The U.S. government is, indeed, bankrupt, he writes, insofar as it will be unable to pay its creditors, who, in this context, are current and future generations to whom it has explicitly or implicitly promised future net payments of various kinds. While the U.S. budget deficit, currently forecast to be 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product this year, is smaller than that of most European states, Kotlikoff argues the much debated number is not a particularly useful measure of U.S. economic health.
The proper way to consider a country's solvency is to examine the lifetime fiscal burdens facing current and future generations. If these burdens exceed the resources of those generations, get close to doing so, or simply get so high as to preclude their full collection, the country's policy will be unsustainable and can constitute or lead to national bankruptcy. The number that has Kotlikoff's attention is the U.S.'s long-term fiscal gap– the difference between all future government spending and all future receipts.
Not only is the number immense, it will grow wider as the Baby Boom generation leaves the work world – and the burden of paying taxes on earned income – and stakes its claim on government health care and pensions. According to one study, the total fiscal gap could be $65.9 trillion. There are 77 million baby boomers now ranging from age 41 to age 59, Kotlikoff writes. All are hoping to collect tens of thousands of dollars in pension and healthcare benefits from the next generation. These claimants aren't going away.
In three years, the oldest boomers will be eligible for early Social Security benefits. In six years, the boomer vanguard will start collecting Medicare. Our nation has done nothing to prepare for this onslaught of obligation. Instead, it has continued to focus on a completely meaningless fiscal metric – 'the' federal deficit – censored and studiously ignored long-term fiscal analyses that are
scientifically coherent, and dramatically expanded the benefit levels being explicitly or implicitly promised to the baby boomers.
How much is $65.9 trillion dollars?
This figure is more than five times U.S. GDP and almost twice the size of national wealth, writes Kotlikoff. One way to wrap one's head around $65.9 trillion is to ask what fiscal adjustments are needed to eliminate this red hole. The answers are terrifying. One solution is an immediate and permanent doubling of personal and corporate income taxes. Another is an immediate and permanent two-thirds cut in Social Security and Medicare benefits. A third alternative, were it feasible, would be to immediately and permanently cut all federal discretionary spending by 143 percent.Leaving our $65.9 trillion bill for today's and tomorrow's children to pay will roughly double their average lifetime net tax rates. Given the fiscal irresponsibility of both political parties,the professor sees the most likely scenario for maintaining solvency as the government simply printing money to pay its bills.
Kotlikoff explains: This could arise in the context of the Federal Reserve 'being forced' to buy Treasury bills and bonds to reduce interest rates. Specifically, once the financial markets begin to understand the depth and extent of the country's financial insolvency, they will start worrying about inflation and about being paid back in watered-down dollars. This concern will lead them to start dumping their holdings of U.S. Treasuries. In so doing, they'll drive up interest rates, which will lead the Fed to print money to buy up those bonds. The consequence will be more money creation – exactly what the bond traders will have come to fear. This could lead to spiraling expectations of higher inflation, with the process eventuating in hyperinflation.
PSALMS 122:1-9
1 A Song of degrees of David. I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD.
2 Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem.
3 Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:
4 Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD.
5 For there are set thrones of judgment, the thrones of the house of David.
6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee.
7 Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.
8 For my brethren and companions’ sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee.
9 Because of the house of the LORD our God I will seek thy good.
PSALMS 137:1-9
1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
2 We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
3 For there they that carried us away captive required of us a song; and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
4 How shall we sing the LORD’S song in a strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning.
6 If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.
The Sh'ma at Bedtime,(excerpts from the traditional ritual)
Who Closes My Eyes...: A Blessing at Bedtime
Praised are You,Adonai, our God,Ruler of the universe,
who closes my eyes in sleep,my eyelids in slumber.
May it be Your will,Adonai, My God and the God of my ancestors,
to lie me down in peace and then to raise me up in peace.
Let no disturbing thoughts upset me,no evil dreams nor troubling fantasies.
May my bed be complete and whole in Your sight.Grant me light
so that I do not sleep the sleep of death,for it is You who illumines and enlightens.
Praised are You,Adonai, whose majesty gives light to the universe.
The Sh'ma Itself
(Deuteronomy 6: 4-9)
(God is a Faithful Ruler)
Hear, O Israel, Adonai, our God, Adonai, is One.
Blessed be the name of his glorious majesty forever and ever.
You shall love Adonai your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and you shall speak of them when you are sitting at home and when you go on a journey, when you lie down and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be frontlets between your eyes. You shall inscribe them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Hashkivenu: Lie Us Down...
Lie us down,Adonai our God,in peace;
and raise us up again,our Ruler,in life.
Spread over us Your Sukkah of peace,
direct us with Your good counsel,
and save us for Your own Name's sake.
Shield us;remove from us every enemy, pestilence, sword, famine, and sorrow.
Remove all adversaries from before us and from behind us,and shelter us in the shadow of Your wings.For You are our guarding and saving God,yes, a gracious and compassionate God and King.Guard our going out and our coming in for life and peace,now and always!
A Prayer for Protection at Night
In the name of Adonai the God of Israel:May the angel Michael be at my right,
and the angel Gabriel be at my left;and in front of me the angel Uriel,
and behind me the angel Raphael...and above my head the Sh'khinah (Divine Presence).
Source: Eisenberg, Ronald L. The JPS Guide to Jewish Traditions. PA: Jewish Publication Society, 2004; “Prayer Kriat Sh’ma”.
PRAY FOR ISRAEL
How to pray?
1. Pray for God to deflect Hezbollah missiles away from their targets. This happened in the 1991 Gulf War and it can happen again as we pray.
2. Pray for the safety of all Israelis targeted by Hezbollah rockets and missiles.
3. Pray for a revelation of Yeshua as Messiah and atonement to many in Israel right now.
4. Pray for the protection of the many south Lebanese who are soon to become refugees.
5. Pray for those Hezbollah fighting against Israel to either be saved or to be totally crushed.
6. Protection for Israeli soldiers fighting, and especially for those Messianic Jewish believers presently involved in the war. Â
7. Pray for God to reveal and counter Syrian and Iranian strategies to the IDF generals, as He did in 2 Kings 6 in Elisha's day.
8. Ask the God of Israel to hook you up to His prayer request line – to download to you directly and in real time what needs to be prayed for. This is what Rees Howell experienced during WW II, in a time when there were no TVs, no cell phones and no interner.
PLEASE PRAY URGENTLY FOR THESE MATTERS! Â Â Â THANKS SO MUCH FOR CARRYING THIS PRAYER BURDEN WITH
US !
We bless you in Y eshua,
Avner Boskey,www.davidstent.org
GENESIS 6:13
13 For the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Flooding could follow wildfires in California
Sunday, July 16, 2006; Posted: 10:09 a.m. EDT (14:09 GMT)
YUCCA VALLEY, California (CNN) -- Heavy rains are forecast for California's fire ravaged Yucca Valley on Sunday, a welcome relief for firefighters but the monsoon system could cause massive flooding in the desert area, the National Weather Service and a local police official told CNN Radio.People who have just been allowed to return to their homes ... because of the fires may have to quickly be evacuated again,said Cindy Beavers, a spokeswoman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Vanderburg in San Diego said the Yucca Valley region is a flood problem to begin with.
The burned terrain makes it even worse,he added.Although firefighters reported some progress in battling two wildfires Saturday, the flames had consumed more acreage, officials said.The Sawtooth Complex fire was estimated to be 40 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Web site. The Millard Fire remained at 5 percent containment, but its acreage had increased, authorities said.The two fires, which merged Friday, had burned a total of more than 71,000 acres as of Saturday. Firefighters battling the flames have been dealing with steep, inaccessible terrain and a lack of steady water resources.Mandatory evacuations remain in effect for some residents of Burns Canyon.
In another development late Saturday, a search-and-rescue team found the body of Gerry Guthrie, 57, who had been missing since Tuesday when he called his wife and told her he was being evacuated from the historic community of Pioneertown, according to the sheriff's department.The exact cause of death has not been confirmed.Beavers said about 20 people searching an area northwest of Guthrie's home found his body near his home.CNN Radio's Lee Garen contributed to this report.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
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.
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 causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
Federal Reserve: U.S.headed for bankruptcy,Report: Coming $65.9 trillion fiscal gap 5 times GDP, twice size of national wealth,Posted: July 16, 2006,1:00 a.m. Eastern,© 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
A newly published paper by a researcher for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warns that a ballooning budget deficit and pension and welfare timebomb is growing into a $65.9 trillion fiscal gap that will force the United States into bankruptcy. Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff.In the view of Prof. Laurence Kotlikoff of Boston University, the U.S. is already bankrupt – at least the government is. The U.S. government is, indeed, bankrupt, he writes, insofar as it will be unable to pay its creditors, who, in this context, are current and future generations to whom it has explicitly or implicitly promised future net payments of various kinds. While the U.S. budget deficit, currently forecast to be 2.3 percent of the gross domestic product this year, is smaller than that of most European states, Kotlikoff argues the much debated number is not a particularly useful measure of U.S. economic health.
The proper way to consider a country's solvency is to examine the lifetime fiscal burdens facing current and future generations. If these burdens exceed the resources of those generations, get close to doing so, or simply get so high as to preclude their full collection, the country's policy will be unsustainable and can constitute or lead to national bankruptcy. The number that has Kotlikoff's attention is the U.S.'s long-term fiscal gap– the difference between all future government spending and all future receipts.
Not only is the number immense, it will grow wider as the Baby Boom generation leaves the work world – and the burden of paying taxes on earned income – and stakes its claim on government health care and pensions. According to one study, the total fiscal gap could be $65.9 trillion. There are 77 million baby boomers now ranging from age 41 to age 59, Kotlikoff writes. All are hoping to collect tens of thousands of dollars in pension and healthcare benefits from the next generation. These claimants aren't going away.
In three years, the oldest boomers will be eligible for early Social Security benefits. In six years, the boomer vanguard will start collecting Medicare. Our nation has done nothing to prepare for this onslaught of obligation. Instead, it has continued to focus on a completely meaningless fiscal metric – 'the' federal deficit – censored and studiously ignored long-term fiscal analyses that are
scientifically coherent, and dramatically expanded the benefit levels being explicitly or implicitly promised to the baby boomers.
How much is $65.9 trillion dollars?
This figure is more than five times U.S. GDP and almost twice the size of national wealth, writes Kotlikoff. One way to wrap one's head around $65.9 trillion is to ask what fiscal adjustments are needed to eliminate this red hole. The answers are terrifying. One solution is an immediate and permanent doubling of personal and corporate income taxes. Another is an immediate and permanent two-thirds cut in Social Security and Medicare benefits. A third alternative, were it feasible, would be to immediately and permanently cut all federal discretionary spending by 143 percent.Leaving our $65.9 trillion bill for today's and tomorrow's children to pay will roughly double their average lifetime net tax rates. Given the fiscal irresponsibility of both political parties,the professor sees the most likely scenario for maintaining solvency as the government simply printing money to pay its bills.
Kotlikoff explains: This could arise in the context of the Federal Reserve 'being forced' to buy Treasury bills and bonds to reduce interest rates. Specifically, once the financial markets begin to understand the depth and extent of the country's financial insolvency, they will start worrying about inflation and about being paid back in watered-down dollars. This concern will lead them to start dumping their holdings of U.S. Treasuries. In so doing, they'll drive up interest rates, which will lead the Fed to print money to buy up those bonds. The consequence will be more money creation – exactly what the bond traders will have come to fear. This could lead to spiraling expectations of higher inflation, with the process eventuating in hyperinflation.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
QUAKES VOLCANOES FLOODS MIDEAST WAR
1-Quake in Iran. 2-Quake southeast of Idaho. 3-Mayon Volcano erupts in Philippines. 4-Ecudar Volcano spews rocks. 5-Floods, high waves in Phang Nga province. 6-Spain urges, Israel, Lebanon border calm. 7-Eu gives more aid to Arab murderers.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
GENESIS 6:13
13 For the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Moderate earthquake shakes southern Iran, 70 slightly hurt
TEHRAN, Iran A moderate earthquake has caused injuries and damage in Iran.The magnitude five-point-two quake struck near Zarand, about 600 miles southeast of Tehran.The governor of Zarand says more than 70 people were hurt, but most of the injuries were minor.The governor says people panicked when the quake hit and poured into the streets. Some buildings were damaged, as were some roads.Zarand was the scene of a devastating magnitude six-point-four-quake in February of 2005. At least 612 people were killed, more than 14-hundred injured and thousands left homeless.
An earthquake struck southeast Idaho Friday.
It was just like a rumble and it kind of went away, said Diane Lloyd of Grace. “Then I looked at the gal next door, and I said ‘I think that was an earthquake,and she said Yeah that was an earthquake.The earthquake hit shortly after 11 a.m. The center of the quake is about nine miles from Georgetown, and about the same distance from Grace.KIFI has received dozens of phone calls from viewers in Pocatello who say they felt the quake as well.The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured 4.0 on the Richter Scale.
That's large enough for people to feel.It was just a lot of shaking,said Makala Robinson. There were a total of three earthquakes in the same area Friday. Strangely, there was a series of earthquakes in the same area exactly two weeks ago.
Mayon volcano erupts in Philippines By BULLIT MARQUEZ
Sat Jul 15, 4:32 AM ET
LEGAZPI, Philippines - Lava flowed down the slopes of Mayon volcano, prompting authorities to stockpile food and prepared shelters. Officials said they saw no need to evacuate people just yet but warned the 8,118-foot volcano could blow in the weeks to come. The danger zone around the crater was extended from 3.75 miles to 4 miles on the southeastern slope where molten rocks have been rolling down since Friday, said Renato Solidum, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
What is happening now is a mild and quiet type of eruption,Solidum said. If it is faster and stronger, it will lead to more hazardous eruuptions.Volcanologists monitored the number and types of earthquakes for signs of an imminent eruption.
On the streets of Legazpi city, capital of Albay province close to the volcano, 210 miles southeast of Manila, some residents watched as boulders and other debris cascaded from the crater, stirring up brownish-grey clouds of volcanic dust in their wake.
Late Friday, a 1.25-mile-long streak of lava snaked down the southeastern slope, said Jukes Nunez, an operations officer with the provincial disaster officer.Nunez said an eruption warning system already is in place for quick evacuation of nearby communities. He said radio stations also will broadcast emergency evacuation calls.Cedric Daep, Albay provincial disaster action officer, said relief officials were stockpiling food and putting evacuation centers on standby to see what needs to be repaired or added.
Mayon, one of the country's 22 active volcanos, last came to life in a series of eruptions in 2001, forcing the evacuation of about 50,000 people. Mayon has erupted about 50 times since 1616.More recently Mayon's most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried an entire town in volcanic mud. An eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.The Philippines is i n the Pacific Ring of Fire, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. Bulusan volcano, about 30 miles south of Mayon, has ejected ash in about five minor explosions since March.In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo exploded in the northern Philippines in one of the world's biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century. About 800 people were killed.
Ecuador volcano spews rocks, villages evacuated Fri Jul 14, 11:09 PM ET
QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano spewed ash, gases and molten rocks on Friday, forcing authorities to
evacuate four nearby villages after the crater registered its most volatile activity since a 1999 eruption. Tungurahua, located about 81 miles south of Quito, has been increasingly active since May when it shot out large clouds of hot gas and prompted officials to renew a limited state of emergency in nearby towns.Civil defense authorities ordered evacuations in four small villages in the areas surrounding the volcano, whose name means throat of fire in local indigenous Quichua language.It is one of the eight active volcanoes in Ecuador.
The volcano has been active for some time, but this is an eruption that goes beyond the sustained and moderate... and has become an eruption of much more energy, said Hugo Yepez, director of a local geophysics institute.Local television stations showed images of molten rocks blasting from the crater while radio reported ash raining down on the Andean provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo.Authorities have not yet declared a red alert, which would trigger a forced evacuation of all neighboring areas, one official said.The volcano's crater is little over a mile south of the tourist town of Banos whose 17,000 residents were forced to evacuate in
1999 after loud explosions and huge plumes of ash billowed out of the volcano. Emergency centers were set up in Banos to receive any residents fleeing from nearby villages.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Floods, high waves forecast
Phang Nga Province has declared an emergency after three consecutive days of heavy rains put major portions of several districts under water.Heavy downpours are forecast to continue throughout Thailand this weekend, but the South faces possible flash floods and mudslides, a disaster service official warned. Director General Anucha Mokhavet of the Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the southwest monsoons over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand are quite strong, and could bring heavy rain to as much as 60-to-70& of the country.
People living near waterways in the southern provinces of Phang Nga, Krabi, Satun and Trang, as well as the northern provinces of Mae Hong Son, Tak and Uttaradit must prepare for evacuation to high ground, Mr Anucha said. All these provinces are currently vulnerable to flash floods, water runoff and mudslides, today through Sunday.Fishermen were also warned to be most careful when being offshore or, better still, to remain ashore as the ocean storms in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand may be as high as two to three metres.
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Spain urges Israel, Lebanon to calm border conflict
The Spanish government on Thursday called on Lebanon's militia group Hezbollah to release two Israeli soldiers it had captured a day before and urged Israel to act with moderation. Spain's Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ministry issued a statement on Thursday, saying that the Spanish government expresses its unreserved condemnation of the armed attack and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah (or Party of God) militants.The attack took place on Wednesday on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli aircraft carried out attacks on Beirut's international airport and launched air strikes on southern Lebanon. The statement said that Israel's response had increased regional instability and brought about a deterioration in the Israel-Palestine peace process. Spain urged Lebanon to immediately and unconditionally release the captured soldiers and stop the attacks on Israel, while calling on Israel to act moderately and avoid escalating the violence. The statement said Spain was in permanent contact with international players, aiming to reduce the tension and help seek a solution to the crisis. Israeli forces have been attacking Lebanon for two days, targeting strategic installations, bridges, army bases and roads, after Hezbollah's cross-border raid
on Wednesday morning. Source: Xinhua
EU Lashes Israel, Announces New Aid to PA
17:31 Jul 14, '06 / 18 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) The European Union (EU) Friday continued to lash out at Israel for its reprisals against the Hizbullah terrorist infrastructure and also announced another $63 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority (PA). The money is earmarked for food distribution, basic health services and water and sanitation, according to a EU commission statement. The EU has set up a mechanism to bypass the Hamas government, which the United States has blacklisted because it is a terrorist organization.
Louis Michel, commissioner for the aid, said he condemned the escalating violence but emphasized that civilians in the Gaza region and in Lebanon are casualties of the Israeli blockades and incursions.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
GENESIS 6:13
13 For the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Moderate earthquake shakes southern Iran, 70 slightly hurt
TEHRAN, Iran A moderate earthquake has caused injuries and damage in Iran.The magnitude five-point-two quake struck near Zarand, about 600 miles southeast of Tehran.The governor of Zarand says more than 70 people were hurt, but most of the injuries were minor.The governor says people panicked when the quake hit and poured into the streets. Some buildings were damaged, as were some roads.Zarand was the scene of a devastating magnitude six-point-four-quake in February of 2005. At least 612 people were killed, more than 14-hundred injured and thousands left homeless.
An earthquake struck southeast Idaho Friday.
It was just like a rumble and it kind of went away, said Diane Lloyd of Grace. “Then I looked at the gal next door, and I said ‘I think that was an earthquake,and she said Yeah that was an earthquake.The earthquake hit shortly after 11 a.m. The center of the quake is about nine miles from Georgetown, and about the same distance from Grace.KIFI has received dozens of phone calls from viewers in Pocatello who say they felt the quake as well.The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake measured 4.0 on the Richter Scale.
That's large enough for people to feel.It was just a lot of shaking,said Makala Robinson. There were a total of three earthquakes in the same area Friday. Strangely, there was a series of earthquakes in the same area exactly two weeks ago.
Mayon volcano erupts in Philippines By BULLIT MARQUEZ
Sat Jul 15, 4:32 AM ET
LEGAZPI, Philippines - Lava flowed down the slopes of Mayon volcano, prompting authorities to stockpile food and prepared shelters. Officials said they saw no need to evacuate people just yet but warned the 8,118-foot volcano could blow in the weeks to come. The danger zone around the crater was extended from 3.75 miles to 4 miles on the southeastern slope where molten rocks have been rolling down since Friday, said Renato Solidum, chief of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology.
What is happening now is a mild and quiet type of eruption,Solidum said. If it is faster and stronger, it will lead to more hazardous eruuptions.Volcanologists monitored the number and types of earthquakes for signs of an imminent eruption.
On the streets of Legazpi city, capital of Albay province close to the volcano, 210 miles southeast of Manila, some residents watched as boulders and other debris cascaded from the crater, stirring up brownish-grey clouds of volcanic dust in their wake.
Late Friday, a 1.25-mile-long streak of lava snaked down the southeastern slope, said Jukes Nunez, an operations officer with the provincial disaster officer.Nunez said an eruption warning system already is in place for quick evacuation of nearby communities. He said radio stations also will broadcast emergency evacuation calls.Cedric Daep, Albay provincial disaster action officer, said relief officials were stockpiling food and putting evacuation centers on standby to see what needs to be repaired or added.
Mayon, one of the country's 22 active volcanos, last came to life in a series of eruptions in 2001, forcing the evacuation of about 50,000 people. Mayon has erupted about 50 times since 1616.More recently Mayon's most violent eruption, in 1814, killed more than 1,200 people and buried an entire town in volcanic mud. An eruption in 1993 killed 79 people.The Philippines is i n the Pacific Ring of Fire, where volcanic activity and earthquakes are common. Bulusan volcano, about 30 miles south of Mayon, has ejected ash in about five minor explosions since March.In June 1991, Mount Pinatubo exploded in the northern Philippines in one of the world's biggest volcanic eruptions of the 20th century. About 800 people were killed.
Ecuador volcano spews rocks, villages evacuated Fri Jul 14, 11:09 PM ET
QUITO, Ecuador (Reuters) - Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano spewed ash, gases and molten rocks on Friday, forcing authorities to
evacuate four nearby villages after the crater registered its most volatile activity since a 1999 eruption. Tungurahua, located about 81 miles south of Quito, has been increasingly active since May when it shot out large clouds of hot gas and prompted officials to renew a limited state of emergency in nearby towns.Civil defense authorities ordered evacuations in four small villages in the areas surrounding the volcano, whose name means throat of fire in local indigenous Quichua language.It is one of the eight active volcanoes in Ecuador.
The volcano has been active for some time, but this is an eruption that goes beyond the sustained and moderate... and has become an eruption of much more energy, said Hugo Yepez, director of a local geophysics institute.Local television stations showed images of molten rocks blasting from the crater while radio reported ash raining down on the Andean provinces of Tungurahua and Chimborazo.Authorities have not yet declared a red alert, which would trigger a forced evacuation of all neighboring areas, one official said.The volcano's crater is little over a mile south of the tourist town of Banos whose 17,000 residents were forced to evacuate in
1999 after loud explosions and huge plumes of ash billowed out of the volcano. Emergency centers were set up in Banos to receive any residents fleeing from nearby villages.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Floods, high waves forecast
Phang Nga Province has declared an emergency after three consecutive days of heavy rains put major portions of several districts under water.Heavy downpours are forecast to continue throughout Thailand this weekend, but the South faces possible flash floods and mudslides, a disaster service official warned. Director General Anucha Mokhavet of the Ministry of Interior's Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation said the southwest monsoons over the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand are quite strong, and could bring heavy rain to as much as 60-to-70& of the country.
People living near waterways in the southern provinces of Phang Nga, Krabi, Satun and Trang, as well as the northern provinces of Mae Hong Son, Tak and Uttaradit must prepare for evacuation to high ground, Mr Anucha said. All these provinces are currently vulnerable to flash floods, water runoff and mudslides, today through Sunday.Fishermen were also warned to be most careful when being offshore or, better still, to remain ashore as the ocean storms in the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand may be as high as two to three metres.
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Spain urges Israel, Lebanon to calm border conflict
The Spanish government on Thursday called on Lebanon's militia group Hezbollah to release two Israeli soldiers it had captured a day before and urged Israel to act with moderation. Spain's Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Ministry issued a statement on Thursday, saying that the Spanish government expresses its unreserved condemnation of the armed attack and the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah (or Party of God) militants.The attack took place on Wednesday on the Israel-Lebanon border.
Earlier on Thursday, Israeli aircraft carried out attacks on Beirut's international airport and launched air strikes on southern Lebanon. The statement said that Israel's response had increased regional instability and brought about a deterioration in the Israel-Palestine peace process. Spain urged Lebanon to immediately and unconditionally release the captured soldiers and stop the attacks on Israel, while calling on Israel to act moderately and avoid escalating the violence. The statement said Spain was in permanent contact with international players, aiming to reduce the tension and help seek a solution to the crisis. Israeli forces have been attacking Lebanon for two days, targeting strategic installations, bridges, army bases and roads, after Hezbollah's cross-border raid
on Wednesday morning. Source: Xinhua
EU Lashes Israel, Announces New Aid to PA
17:31 Jul 14, '06 / 18 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) The European Union (EU) Friday continued to lash out at Israel for its reprisals against the Hizbullah terrorist infrastructure and also announced another $63 million in aid for the Palestinian Authority (PA). The money is earmarked for food distribution, basic health services and water and sanitation, according to a EU commission statement. The EU has set up a mechanism to bypass the Hamas government, which the United States has blacklisted because it is a terrorist organization.
Louis Michel, commissioner for the aid, said he condemned the escalating violence but emphasized that civilians in the Gaza region and in Lebanon are casualties of the Israeli blockades and incursions.
PROPHECY ABOUT MIDEAST
1-First half of 2006 sets heat record. 2-Prophecy about mideast. 3-Any Chance for Peacemaking? What the Players Want Much has changed in the Mideast since the U.S. choreographed an end to the 1996 Israel-Lebanon flare-up. A look at the competing agendas at work now .
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Scorching U.S.: First Half of 2006 Sets Heat Record Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com ,1 hour, 53 minutes ago
The average temperatures of the first half of 2006 were the highest ever recorded for the continental United States, scientists announced today.Temperatures for January through June were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri experienced record warmth for the period, while no state experienced cooler than average temperatures, reported scientists from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Scientists have previously said that 2005 was the warmest year on record for the entire globe.Last month the United States experienced the second warmest June since weather record keeping began in 1895.
Goldilocks and the Greenhouse What makes Earth habitable? This LiveScience original video explores the science of global warming and explains how, for now, conditions here are just right.This warming coupled with less than average precipitation caused moderate to extreme droughts in almost 45 percent of the contiguous United States. However, some areas, such as the Northeast of the country experienced record rainfalls and severe floods. Many experts believe that such weather anomalies are the result of global warming, an average increase in the Earth's atmospheric temperature caused at least in part by human activities.
Other studies reveal consequences of a warmer climate.
According to one study, the amount of land damaged by rising temperature-induced droughts more than doubled in the last 30 years. Meanwhile, dry conditioned have contributed to more than 50,000 wildfires in the first half of this year, an unusually high number. A study earlier this month suggests climate change has in recent years contributed to more wildfires in the Western United States.Other studies suggest that warmer oceans and increased moisture could make for stronger hurricanes for many years to come.
MIDEAST PROPHECY.
Chuck Pierce: On January 29, 2006, the Lord suddenly said, "WATCH LEBANON!" and "OUT OF DAMASCUS WILL COME A NEW MOVE OF MY SPIRIT!"
Bulletin: Intercessors Call for Urgent Prayer
Jessica L. Miller, Monday, June 12, 2006
I had a very tumultuous weekend in intercession. I had a borderline terror (all weekend) that a really bad war is about to erupt in Israel involving nuclear and or chemical warfare. We must sound the alarm to mobilize people to pray. Let's pray with urgency, but not in fear.
Be Blessed--and Pray On!
Jessica L. Miller ,Personal Assistant to Steve Shultz,jmiller@elijahlist.net
Lisa Cooke Doyle, Tuesday, June 13, 2006
In intercession in the early hours of the morning, I saw a nuclear bomb go off. So I inquired of the Lord, and I saw a vision of a man who kept saying, "Jihad," over and over again. And then, I was taken to the area known as Jezreel. I really felt this area was strategic, and that there were known and unknown terrorists located in that region. The terrorists hearts were against Israel, the U.S., England, and other opposing allies, and they had plans of retaliation.
Prayer Warriors, Let's Keep Praying!
Much Love and Blessings,Lisa Cooke Doyle,lisadoyle555@elijahlist.net
Watch Lebanon!
On January 29, 2006, when I was speaking in a church service at Jubilee Church in Camarillo, CA., the Lord began to speak to me about Lebanon.
One of the things they do at Jubilee is pray for the nations each Sunday. When I saw the flag of Lebanon, it was lit up by the Holy Spirit for me to see. The Lord then began to quicken a prophetic word to me. He said, "Watch Lebanon!"
Not only was He speaking to that church and the people there, as a personal call for them to watch over the nation of Lebanon, but I felt like He was speaking to us as His people, that Lebanon would become a real prayer focus and issue this year. I was hesitant to interrupt the service and give this word, because I was not confident about who in the service would understand the concept of Lebanon today. However, I am glad that I heeded the Lord's voice that He was calling us to pray for Lebanon this year.
Chuck Pierce's Word--Prophesied on January 29, 2006 in Camarillo, CA
In the midst of the summer at the hottest point, you will begin to see the snow of Lebanon melt. Watch as Palestine and Syria form an ungodly alliance with Lebanon. For Lebanon is at the end of the fork of the road of change for the Middle East. Lebanon will become an issue that causes the Middle East to go one way or the other.In the midst of the beauty and grandeur of this place, I will begin to write a new script over how the nations will realign.Out of Lebanon, a new wineskin will form, and a new river will begin to rise.I will bring conflict into Lebanon, because it is the boundary that I will deal with this year concerning My promised land of Israel. The warlike tribes of Lebanon will once again arise. But in the end, I will win this war, and the riches that have been withheld from My Kingdom plan will be released.
Watch and see, for there is a new vision. For in the days ahead, you will hear a cry arise from the deep affliction and mourning that comes out of Lebanon. Out of the ancient city of Damascus, you will see a caravan arise. I, 'Ancient of Days,' will create a conflict in Damascus. My power will be displayed to the world, when I break the confederation of demonic hosts that are aligned against My covenant plan. Out of Damascus will come a new move of My Spirit. Many conversions and miracles will occur in the region that surrounds Damascus. Watch, because I am realigning the nations of this region. I will send angelic forces to guard My plan. No matter how Syria arises against that plan at this time, I will have warring angelic forces that will counteract the plan of men that are aligned with evil forces to create havoc. Sing the songs of the Ancient of Days for it is those songs that will create the sound of victory over the lands of this region.
Blessings,Chuck D. Pierce,Glory of Zion International Ministries,www.glory-of-zion.org
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Any Chance for Peacemaking? What the Players Want
Much has changed in the Mideast since the U.S. choreographed an end to the 1996 Israel-Lebanon flare-up. A look at the competing agendas at work now Posted Friday, Jul. 14, 2006
The flare-up in violence across Israel's border with Lebanon is a graphic reminder that none of the Middle East's individual conflicts can be isolated from the region's other flashpoints, making episodes like this one much more difficult to manage, let alone resolve. And at a moment where much of the region's traditional architecture of power — from Iraq through Lebanon to the Palestinian territories — has been demolished or critically weakened but not necessarily replaced, the challenge of containing a crisis in the region is even more daunting.
A decade ago, for example, the U.S. together with France was able to act as an honest broker between Israel, Syria and Lebanon to put an end to a similar flare-up. But back then, Syria was in control of Lebanon and participating in U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel over the fate of the Golan Heights; Iraq was still ruled by Saddam Hussein's tyranny which also functioned to limit Iran's regional ambitions; and the Oslo peace process offered Israel and the Palestinians the prospect of peace. Today dialogue amongst the various parties is rare, even as the prospects for U.S. success on key issues such as stabilizing Iraq, fighting al-Qaeda and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may hinge in no small part on its ability to stop the Israel-Hizballah crisis from spinning out of control. But having dispensed with the traditional U.S. role of shuttling between warring parties, the Bush administration finds its ability to keep a lid on their clashes quite limited.
A quick look at the agendas of the various players in the latest conflict underscores the difficulty facing any would-be peacemaker:
Hizballah
By opening a second front against the Israelis, Hizballah is showing support for the Palestinians of Gaza, who have been under siege by the Israelis for two weeks since they seized an Israeli captive of their own. Moderate Arab governments like Egypt and Jordan appear unable to ease the plight of the Palestinians, and Hizballah may be helping its main sponsor, Iran, burnish its claims to be standing up to Israel and the U.S. on behalf of the whole region. The movement gained a kind of pan-Arab hero status in 2000, when Israel quit Lebanon and Hizballah was acclaimed as the only Arab army ever to have forced an Israeli retreat. It had become a role model and tutor to Palestinian radical groups such as Hamas, which sought to emulate not only Hizballah's art of combining welfare work, politics and military activities, but also its principle of using violence to extract concessions from Israel. In fact, the Hamas militants that seized Corporal Gilad Shalit at Kerem Shalom may have been hoping to emulate Hizballah by forcing the release of large numbers of prisoners for the Israeli's freedom. But Palestinian analysts suggest they were also trying to sabotage any move toward moderation and negotiation with Israel by the Hamas parliamentary leadership.
But Hizballah also has a domestic agenda, which includes hanging onto the private army that gives it disproportionate power in Lebanon. Ever since international pressure forced its ally and enabler, Syria, to retreat from Lebanon last year in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hizballah has faced a mounting clamor from the other Lebanese political parties to give up its weapons — in line with U.N. Security Council demands — and confine itself to democratic politics. But the Lebanese government has been powerless to enforce that demand. By picking a fight with Israel and provoking harsh military retribution felt by all of Lebanese society, Hizballah may be perversely trying to make a case for maintaining its army, given the clear inability of the Lebanese army to stand up to the Israelis. It also, ironically, eclipses even the Damascus-based leadership of Hamas by demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of its price for freeing Hizballah's Israeli captives.
Syria
Syria's departure left a power vacuum in Lebanon that gave Hizballah even greater freedom of action. Before 2000, Syria, which lacks the military strength to go head-to-head with Israel, saw Hizballah's guerrilla war in southern Lebanon as the key leverage behind its own demands that Israel hand back the Golan Heights. It transferred weapons sent from Iran to Hizballah's forward positions along the Israeli border, and created a defensive shield behind which its fighters trained in the Bekaa Valley. But that relationship both enabled and restrained Hizballah, because Israeli or U.S. pressure on and incentives to Syria could prompt it to rein in the Lebanese guerrilla army. Syria's departure from Lebanon may have diminished some of its direct influence over Hizballah, and Damascus may have less will to restrain it while Syria remains in Washington's diplomatic dog-house. While some statements from the Bush administration appear to hold Syria accountable for the flare-up, others are less accusatory, couched more in terms of encouraging Syria to use its influence to help resolve the crisis.
Iran
Having created Hizballah in 1982 and maintaining close ties with the organization ever since, Iran may also see its interests served by the escalation of violence in Lebanon and Gaza — regardless of whether or not Hizballah actually coordinated its decision with Tehran. Iran's regional influence has grown substantially as a result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which removed its arch-enemy, Saddam Hussein, and brought to power a Shi'ite coalition government dominated by elements allied with Tehran. Prospects for averting the slide towards civil war in Iraq appear to be grim without active support from Iran, which retains considerable influence over the main Shi'ite militias.
The U.S. vulnerability in Iraq, as well as the ability of Hizballah to make life difficult on Israel's northern border, may have emboldened Iran's leaders to play hardball in nuclear negotiations with the West. Iran's growing reach may also raise the incentives for Washington to seek a "grand bargain" with Tehran that would stabilize relations based on addressing Iran's demand for a normalization of its diplomatic status and security guarantees if it satisfactorily addresses Western concerns over its nuclear program and support for the likes of Hizballah and Hamas. (In a spurned Iranian overture to Washington in 2003 revealed by former National Security Council Middle East director Flynt Leverett and also by Colin Powell's former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson, Iran reportedly offered to discuss ways in which Hizballah could be converted into a purely political organization.) With the U.S. and its European allies moving the Iran nuclear issue back to the UN Security Council in exasperation over Tehran's tardy response to their incentives package, Iran could use the violence in Lebanon either to change the subject, or eventually as an opportunity to demonstrate responsible behavior by quietly prevailing on Hizballah to accept some form of truce.
Israel
The events in Gaza and Lebanon clearly took the Israeli leadership by surprise, and the first instinct of a government that by Israeli standards has a notable lack of military experience has been to retaliate harshly in order to reestablish Israel's deterrent power. The Palestinians and the Lebanese must be made to pay a heavy price for tolerating the militants in their midst, goes the thinking, and Israel is reportedly considering a ground invasion aimed at dismantling Hizballah's military capability.
But the two-week operation in Gaza has thus far failed to yield either the return of Corporal Shalit or an end to Palestinian rocket fire, and Hamas appears to be more popular than ever. The Israelis insist that they must erase the threat to their citizenry by taking down the leadership of Hamas and Hizballah, and that a failure to do so would simply invite further provocations. But the track record suggests that military means may be unable to accomplish that goal, and the militants know this. They are clearly betting they can withstand the Israeli offensive as the civilian casualty toll and the destruction of infrastructure inevitably bring calls for restraint from the West.
The domestic political damage to Israel's government may be more enduring. With every escalation of the current crisis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plans to make a unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank along the same lines that Israel quit Gaza last year look less realistic. Opinion polls show as much as half the population is now opposed to going ahead with the plan that had been the centerpiece of Olmert's election campaign.
The Diplomatic Conundrum
If, as history suggests is likely, the Israelis can't achieve their objectives militarily, Washington is in a tough position. The escalation threatens not only long-term U.S. goals in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, but also Washington's ability to secure a consensus over Iran and Iraq. But to the extent that this administration has distinguished itself from predecessors by its reluctance both to impose restraints on Israel and to deal with actors it deems beyond the pale, such as Hamas, Hizballah, Syria and Iran, its ability to quickly contain the crisis may be limited.
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Scorching U.S.: First Half of 2006 Sets Heat Record Sara Goudarzi
LiveScience Staff Writer
LiveScience.com ,1 hour, 53 minutes ago
The average temperatures of the first half of 2006 were the highest ever recorded for the continental United States, scientists announced today.Temperatures for January through June were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri experienced record warmth for the period, while no state experienced cooler than average temperatures, reported scientists from NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Scientists have previously said that 2005 was the warmest year on record for the entire globe.Last month the United States experienced the second warmest June since weather record keeping began in 1895.
Goldilocks and the Greenhouse What makes Earth habitable? This LiveScience original video explores the science of global warming and explains how, for now, conditions here are just right.This warming coupled with less than average precipitation caused moderate to extreme droughts in almost 45 percent of the contiguous United States. However, some areas, such as the Northeast of the country experienced record rainfalls and severe floods. Many experts believe that such weather anomalies are the result of global warming, an average increase in the Earth's atmospheric temperature caused at least in part by human activities.
Other studies reveal consequences of a warmer climate.
According to one study, the amount of land damaged by rising temperature-induced droughts more than doubled in the last 30 years. Meanwhile, dry conditioned have contributed to more than 50,000 wildfires in the first half of this year, an unusually high number. A study earlier this month suggests climate change has in recent years contributed to more wildfires in the Western United States.Other studies suggest that warmer oceans and increased moisture could make for stronger hurricanes for many years to come.
MIDEAST PROPHECY.
Chuck Pierce: On January 29, 2006, the Lord suddenly said, "WATCH LEBANON!" and "OUT OF DAMASCUS WILL COME A NEW MOVE OF MY SPIRIT!"
Bulletin: Intercessors Call for Urgent Prayer
Jessica L. Miller, Monday, June 12, 2006
I had a very tumultuous weekend in intercession. I had a borderline terror (all weekend) that a really bad war is about to erupt in Israel involving nuclear and or chemical warfare. We must sound the alarm to mobilize people to pray. Let's pray with urgency, but not in fear.
Be Blessed--and Pray On!
Jessica L. Miller ,Personal Assistant to Steve Shultz,jmiller@elijahlist.net
Lisa Cooke Doyle, Tuesday, June 13, 2006
In intercession in the early hours of the morning, I saw a nuclear bomb go off. So I inquired of the Lord, and I saw a vision of a man who kept saying, "Jihad," over and over again. And then, I was taken to the area known as Jezreel. I really felt this area was strategic, and that there were known and unknown terrorists located in that region. The terrorists hearts were against Israel, the U.S., England, and other opposing allies, and they had plans of retaliation.
Prayer Warriors, Let's Keep Praying!
Much Love and Blessings,Lisa Cooke Doyle,lisadoyle555@elijahlist.net
Watch Lebanon!
On January 29, 2006, when I was speaking in a church service at Jubilee Church in Camarillo, CA., the Lord began to speak to me about Lebanon.
One of the things they do at Jubilee is pray for the nations each Sunday. When I saw the flag of Lebanon, it was lit up by the Holy Spirit for me to see. The Lord then began to quicken a prophetic word to me. He said, "Watch Lebanon!"
Not only was He speaking to that church and the people there, as a personal call for them to watch over the nation of Lebanon, but I felt like He was speaking to us as His people, that Lebanon would become a real prayer focus and issue this year. I was hesitant to interrupt the service and give this word, because I was not confident about who in the service would understand the concept of Lebanon today. However, I am glad that I heeded the Lord's voice that He was calling us to pray for Lebanon this year.
Chuck Pierce's Word--Prophesied on January 29, 2006 in Camarillo, CA
In the midst of the summer at the hottest point, you will begin to see the snow of Lebanon melt. Watch as Palestine and Syria form an ungodly alliance with Lebanon. For Lebanon is at the end of the fork of the road of change for the Middle East. Lebanon will become an issue that causes the Middle East to go one way or the other.In the midst of the beauty and grandeur of this place, I will begin to write a new script over how the nations will realign.Out of Lebanon, a new wineskin will form, and a new river will begin to rise.I will bring conflict into Lebanon, because it is the boundary that I will deal with this year concerning My promised land of Israel. The warlike tribes of Lebanon will once again arise. But in the end, I will win this war, and the riches that have been withheld from My Kingdom plan will be released.
Watch and see, for there is a new vision. For in the days ahead, you will hear a cry arise from the deep affliction and mourning that comes out of Lebanon. Out of the ancient city of Damascus, you will see a caravan arise. I, 'Ancient of Days,' will create a conflict in Damascus. My power will be displayed to the world, when I break the confederation of demonic hosts that are aligned against My covenant plan. Out of Damascus will come a new move of My Spirit. Many conversions and miracles will occur in the region that surrounds Damascus. Watch, because I am realigning the nations of this region. I will send angelic forces to guard My plan. No matter how Syria arises against that plan at this time, I will have warring angelic forces that will counteract the plan of men that are aligned with evil forces to create havoc. Sing the songs of the Ancient of Days for it is those songs that will create the sound of victory over the lands of this region.
Blessings,Chuck D. Pierce,Glory of Zion International Ministries,www.glory-of-zion.org
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Any Chance for Peacemaking? What the Players Want
Much has changed in the Mideast since the U.S. choreographed an end to the 1996 Israel-Lebanon flare-up. A look at the competing agendas at work now Posted Friday, Jul. 14, 2006
The flare-up in violence across Israel's border with Lebanon is a graphic reminder that none of the Middle East's individual conflicts can be isolated from the region's other flashpoints, making episodes like this one much more difficult to manage, let alone resolve. And at a moment where much of the region's traditional architecture of power — from Iraq through Lebanon to the Palestinian territories — has been demolished or critically weakened but not necessarily replaced, the challenge of containing a crisis in the region is even more daunting.
A decade ago, for example, the U.S. together with France was able to act as an honest broker between Israel, Syria and Lebanon to put an end to a similar flare-up. But back then, Syria was in control of Lebanon and participating in U.S.-brokered peace talks with Israel over the fate of the Golan Heights; Iraq was still ruled by Saddam Hussein's tyranny which also functioned to limit Iran's regional ambitions; and the Oslo peace process offered Israel and the Palestinians the prospect of peace. Today dialogue amongst the various parties is rare, even as the prospects for U.S. success on key issues such as stabilizing Iraq, fighting al-Qaeda and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons may hinge in no small part on its ability to stop the Israel-Hizballah crisis from spinning out of control. But having dispensed with the traditional U.S. role of shuttling between warring parties, the Bush administration finds its ability to keep a lid on their clashes quite limited.
A quick look at the agendas of the various players in the latest conflict underscores the difficulty facing any would-be peacemaker:
Hizballah
By opening a second front against the Israelis, Hizballah is showing support for the Palestinians of Gaza, who have been under siege by the Israelis for two weeks since they seized an Israeli captive of their own. Moderate Arab governments like Egypt and Jordan appear unable to ease the plight of the Palestinians, and Hizballah may be helping its main sponsor, Iran, burnish its claims to be standing up to Israel and the U.S. on behalf of the whole region. The movement gained a kind of pan-Arab hero status in 2000, when Israel quit Lebanon and Hizballah was acclaimed as the only Arab army ever to have forced an Israeli retreat. It had become a role model and tutor to Palestinian radical groups such as Hamas, which sought to emulate not only Hizballah's art of combining welfare work, politics and military activities, but also its principle of using violence to extract concessions from Israel. In fact, the Hamas militants that seized Corporal Gilad Shalit at Kerem Shalom may have been hoping to emulate Hizballah by forcing the release of large numbers of prisoners for the Israeli's freedom. But Palestinian analysts suggest they were also trying to sabotage any move toward moderation and negotiation with Israel by the Hamas parliamentary leadership.
But Hizballah also has a domestic agenda, which includes hanging onto the private army that gives it disproportionate power in Lebanon. Ever since international pressure forced its ally and enabler, Syria, to retreat from Lebanon last year in the wake of the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, Hizballah has faced a mounting clamor from the other Lebanese political parties to give up its weapons — in line with U.N. Security Council demands — and confine itself to democratic politics. But the Lebanese government has been powerless to enforce that demand. By picking a fight with Israel and provoking harsh military retribution felt by all of Lebanese society, Hizballah may be perversely trying to make a case for maintaining its army, given the clear inability of the Lebanese army to stand up to the Israelis. It also, ironically, eclipses even the Damascus-based leadership of Hamas by demanding the release of Palestinian prisoners as part of its price for freeing Hizballah's Israeli captives.
Syria
Syria's departure left a power vacuum in Lebanon that gave Hizballah even greater freedom of action. Before 2000, Syria, which lacks the military strength to go head-to-head with Israel, saw Hizballah's guerrilla war in southern Lebanon as the key leverage behind its own demands that Israel hand back the Golan Heights. It transferred weapons sent from Iran to Hizballah's forward positions along the Israeli border, and created a defensive shield behind which its fighters trained in the Bekaa Valley. But that relationship both enabled and restrained Hizballah, because Israeli or U.S. pressure on and incentives to Syria could prompt it to rein in the Lebanese guerrilla army. Syria's departure from Lebanon may have diminished some of its direct influence over Hizballah, and Damascus may have less will to restrain it while Syria remains in Washington's diplomatic dog-house. While some statements from the Bush administration appear to hold Syria accountable for the flare-up, others are less accusatory, couched more in terms of encouraging Syria to use its influence to help resolve the crisis.
Iran
Having created Hizballah in 1982 and maintaining close ties with the organization ever since, Iran may also see its interests served by the escalation of violence in Lebanon and Gaza — regardless of whether or not Hizballah actually coordinated its decision with Tehran. Iran's regional influence has grown substantially as a result of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, which removed its arch-enemy, Saddam Hussein, and brought to power a Shi'ite coalition government dominated by elements allied with Tehran. Prospects for averting the slide towards civil war in Iraq appear to be grim without active support from Iran, which retains considerable influence over the main Shi'ite militias.
The U.S. vulnerability in Iraq, as well as the ability of Hizballah to make life difficult on Israel's northern border, may have emboldened Iran's leaders to play hardball in nuclear negotiations with the West. Iran's growing reach may also raise the incentives for Washington to seek a "grand bargain" with Tehran that would stabilize relations based on addressing Iran's demand for a normalization of its diplomatic status and security guarantees if it satisfactorily addresses Western concerns over its nuclear program and support for the likes of Hizballah and Hamas. (In a spurned Iranian overture to Washington in 2003 revealed by former National Security Council Middle East director Flynt Leverett and also by Colin Powell's former chief of staff Lawrence Wilkerson, Iran reportedly offered to discuss ways in which Hizballah could be converted into a purely political organization.) With the U.S. and its European allies moving the Iran nuclear issue back to the UN Security Council in exasperation over Tehran's tardy response to their incentives package, Iran could use the violence in Lebanon either to change the subject, or eventually as an opportunity to demonstrate responsible behavior by quietly prevailing on Hizballah to accept some form of truce.
Israel
The events in Gaza and Lebanon clearly took the Israeli leadership by surprise, and the first instinct of a government that by Israeli standards has a notable lack of military experience has been to retaliate harshly in order to reestablish Israel's deterrent power. The Palestinians and the Lebanese must be made to pay a heavy price for tolerating the militants in their midst, goes the thinking, and Israel is reportedly considering a ground invasion aimed at dismantling Hizballah's military capability.
But the two-week operation in Gaza has thus far failed to yield either the return of Corporal Shalit or an end to Palestinian rocket fire, and Hamas appears to be more popular than ever. The Israelis insist that they must erase the threat to their citizenry by taking down the leadership of Hamas and Hizballah, and that a failure to do so would simply invite further provocations. But the track record suggests that military means may be unable to accomplish that goal, and the militants know this. They are clearly betting they can withstand the Israeli offensive as the civilian casualty toll and the destruction of infrastructure inevitably bring calls for restraint from the West.
The domestic political damage to Israel's government may be more enduring. With every escalation of the current crisis, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's plans to make a unilateral withdrawal from parts of the West Bank along the same lines that Israel quit Gaza last year look less realistic. Opinion polls show as much as half the population is now opposed to going ahead with the plan that had been the centerpiece of Olmert's election campaign.
The Diplomatic Conundrum
If, as history suggests is likely, the Israelis can't achieve their objectives militarily, Washington is in a tough position. The escalation threatens not only long-term U.S. goals in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, but also Washington's ability to secure a consensus over Iran and Iraq. But to the extent that this administration has distinguished itself from predecessors by its reluctance both to impose restraints on Israel and to deal with actors it deems beyond the pale, such as Hamas, Hizballah, Syria and Iran, its ability to quickly contain the crisis may be limited.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
OIL AT 77 DOLLARS A BARREL
1-500,000 evacuated in China as tropical storm hits. 2-Monsoon Rain kills 25 in Pakistan. 3-wildfires continue in California 4-Lava seen out of Volcano in Philippines. 5-Israeli Dm we will break Hizb'allah. 6-Un security council debates lebanon crisis. 7-Oil settles at $77.00 a barrel.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Half million evacuated as tropical storm hits China by Cindy Sui
Fri Jul 14, 9:21 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - More than half a million people have been evacuated as severe tropical storm Bilis hit southeast China after killing 14 people in the northern Philippines.The storm landed around midday in Fujian province's Xiapu county, Xinhua news agency said Friday, citing sources with Fujian's meteorological observatory. Over 256,000 evacuees, many of whom are seafood farmers and fishermen, were moved from their coastal homes in Fujian early Thursday, the Fujian water resources department website said.
Some 42,000 fishing boats were also directed back to harbor, Xinhua said. Another 260,000 people were evacuated from dangerous areas of neighboring Zhejiang province, according to the Zhejiang water resources department's website.The storm was
heading northwest at around 15-20 kilometers (10-13 miles) per hour and packing winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour near its center, Xinhua said.Fujian's education bureau ordered schools to suspend classes and cancel outdoor activities. All parks also were closed.
Passenger liners in the province had suspended services, and flights to Hong Kong and elsewhere have been cancelled while those to Beijing have been delayed, state television CCTV said.Fifteen rescue teams have been mobilized to rescue people who might be stranded, CCTV said.Television footage showed large waves craching on coastlines. In urban areas, residents continued to ride their bicycles and walk through flooded streets.The storm brought heavy rain to Fujian, with the provincial capital Fuzhou getting as much as 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain from Thursday night, Xinhua said.Meanwhile, workers were checking reservoirs in preparation for
flooding due to the rain, Xinhua added.Nearby provinces were also bracing for the storm.
In Zhejiang, in addition to evacuating 260,000 residents, officials called 22,540 boats and ships back to shore as of Friday morning, the water department said.The storm brought strong winds to Zhejiang measuring 10-12 degrees on the Beaufort Scale on the sea and 8-10 degrees on land, said Xinhua.Bilis lashed the northern Philippines Thursday. The 14 victims were killed by falling trees, flashfloods and landslides, officials said.The storm also hit Taiwan after moving from the Philippines and before heading to mainland China.Taiwan's TVBS news channel reported that a soldier was killed by a falling tree in southern Pingtung county due to strong winds. Bilis also slightly injured two people in Taipei and caused some 3.64 million Taiwan dollars (113,750 US dollars) in damage to crops and flooded fields, authorities said. The storm is expected to reach China's Jiangxi province, just west of Fujian, late Friday.
Also due to weather conditions, Beijing's Capital International Airport (BCIA) decided to cut its domestic flights between July 15 to September 25 due to frequent thunder storms, the General Administration of Civil Aviation was reported saying Friday. The administration said a total of 584 flights will be cut, mainly those due to depart between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, when thunderstorms are most likely to occur, Xinhua said. BCIA is the busiest airport in China and accounts for one quarter of the country's flights.
Monsoon rains kill 25 in Pakistan Fri Jul 14, 7:40 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - At least 25 people have died as torrential monsoon rains lashed Pakistan, flooding roads and disrupting communications in several cities. Six members of a gypsy family including two children were killed as they slept Thursday night when the sodden wall of a neighbouring house collapsed on them, police and newspapers said Friday.Three people were electrocuted in the eastern city of Lahore by poorly maintained powerlines, officials said.
Another six people died in house collapses in Punjab, while further casualties were reported from the province's rural areas, they said.A total of 25 people have died over the past two days, health ministry official Amir Arsalan said.About 170 millimeters (6.9 inches) of rain had fallen on Islamabad since Wednesday, meteorological officials said.The monsoon rains follow a scorching heat wave when temperatures neared 50 degrees celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in some areas, claiming dozens of lives.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
California wildfires may merge to one.
Washington - Two California wildfires moved closer to merging into a huge inferno Friday as authorities evacuated hundreds of residents from a valley east of Los Angeles. Up to 2,000 firefighters were working around the clock to contain the blazes, which have claimed more than 40 square kilometres of scrub and dry trees in the desert heat and winds of San Bernardino county, forestry officials said.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the county a disaster area and residents were fleeing the hard-hit Morongo Valley. Firefighters had only 20 per cent of the wildfire area under control Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported. No one has died,
but the newspaper said the main fire has destroyed 45 homes and 100 other structures, and was threatening some 3,000 more. Both fires were set off Sunday by lightning.Among the threatened sites is Pioneertown, a 1946-vintage stage set for Hollywood Western movies, about 200 kilometres east of Los Angeles. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Lava seen oozing out of Philippine volcano Fri Jul 14, 1:12 PM ET
LEGASPI, Philippines (AFP) - Lava was seen trickling from the crater of Mayon volcano, raising fears that a dangerous eruption could be imminent, government vulcanologists said. Lava pieces steamed out of the crater,said an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), while stressing it was not yet a hazardous eruption.There is a possibility of a hazardous eruption if the volcano's activity increases, an institute official said.Officials said they were preparing to raise the third level of a five-step alert around the 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) tall volcano, indicating it could erupt within weeks if the trend of increasing unrest continued.A six-kilometer (3.75-mile) danger zone had been set around the volcano, which no one was to enter, Phivolcs said, adding that the lava flows should pose no threat to anyone outside the danger zone.
Residents in the city of Legaspi, close to the volcano, said that at about 6:00 pm (1000 GMT) Friday they could see glowing, red lava accumulating at the top of Mayon's crater.The volcano, about 300 kilometers (176 miles) southeast of Manila, last had a major eruption in July 2001, Phivolcs said.Over a thousand people are believed to have perished when the volcano erupted in 1814.
Israeli DM: We'll break Hizb'allah
Peretz says terrorist broke rules, now will be broken
By Ryan Jones,July 14, 2006
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Thursday said the Lebanese terror group Hizb'allah had broken the rules of the game by striking a major Israeli population center, and would now pay a price it had not expected.Following a Hizb'allah missile attack on the coastal city of Haifa, Peretz told reporters:We expected Hizb'allah to break the rules and now we are going to break them.Peretz hinted that Israel would also take action against those regimes that harbor and support Hizb'allah and its terrorist allies.
All sovereign regimes in the region must know that they too bear responsibility, and we have no intention of letting any element responsible for this crisis off the hook.The defense minister called on his countrymen to prepare for some difficult days as Israel fights to ensure the future security of the state.I say to Israel’s citizens: We may be in for a number of difficult days, but we must remain strong so that after this period is over we will not be in a position in which Israeli children and citizens are threatened by any element in the Middle East.Earlier in the day, Peretz got to experience the Hizb'allah threat up close when a meeting he was attending at IDF Northern Command Headquarters was interrupted by a Katyusha barrage in the area. Peretz was whisked away to a safe room under the base.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
JEREMIAH 30:7-8
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
UN Security Council debates Lebanon crisis; US blames Iran, Syria by Giles Hewitt 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Lebanon has urged the UN Security Council to help end ongoing Israeli airstrikes on its territory, but received short shrift from the United States, which blamed the crisis on Iran and Syria. Eschewing any call for Israeli restraint, US Ambassador John Bolton said Friday the escalating violence in both Lebanon and the Gaza strip was a direct result of the killing and abduction of Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups.Syria and Iran must be held to account for supporting regional terrorism and their role in the current crisis, Bolton told an emergency Security Council meeting.Syria provides safe haven
for Hamas and provides material support for Hezbollah, which also maintains an active presence in Syria. Iran's extensive sponsorship and financial and other support of Hezbollah is well known and is ongoing for decades, Bolton said.
He called for the immediate disarmament and disbanding of all militias in Lebanon to allow the Lebanese government to extend and exercise sole and exclusive control over its territory.He also reiterated a call for Syria to arrest Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who currently lives in Damascus.The special council debate had been requested by the Lebanese government as Israeli planes launched fresh attacks on Hezbollah's command headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs.According to Lebanese police, more than 60 civilians have been killed since Israel began its offensive two days ago in retaliation for the capture of two soldiers and the killing of eight others by Hezbollah.
Lebanese representative Nouhad Mahmoud called on council members to make an immediate, clear decision calling for a comprehensive ceasefire, the lifting of the air and sea blockades imposed upon Lebanon and an end to the airstrikes.We are meeting in the shadow of a widespread barbaric aggression waged by Israel against my nation, Mahmoud said.Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, responded by calling Lebanon a breeding ground for terror and said Israel had no choice but to react to the attack on its soldiers and repeated rocket firing from inside southern Lebanon.Israel's reactions were a direct response to an act of war from Lebanon, Gillerman said. I believe that most members around this table, as well as many in this chamber, including our neighbours, realise this reality.
The Security Council was later expected to adopt a presidential statement voicing support for the three-man crisis team sent by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the Middle East on Thursday to try to defuse the situation.The team, led by Annan's special political adviser, Vijay Nambiar, will begin its week-long mission in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian officials and Arab League foreign ministers.
They are then expected to travel to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria.The United States on Thursday had vetoed a UN resolution calling on Israel to halt military operations in Gaza, sparked by the June 25 abduction by Palestinian militant groups of an Israeli soldier.Bolton said the veto was a response to the unbalanced nature of the draft text, which he argued laid a disproportionate amount of blame on Israel for the current crisis.The Arab-backed draft resolution had condemned Israel's retaliatory assault and called for an end to military operations and the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. Ten of the 15-member council voted in favour, while four abstained.
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Oil prices settle at $77 a barrel By BRAD FOSS, AP Business Writer
31 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The price of oil briefly surpassed $78 a barrel Friday and finished 4 percent higher for the week after Israeli attacks against militants in Lebanon stoked fears of a wider Middle East conflict and possible oil-supply disruption. The run-up in oil raised concerns about inflation and the economy at large, sending stock prices tumbling.OPEC tried to reassure the market by stressing its commitment to order and stability, but at the same time said it has no influence over the geopolitical turmoil underlying today's volatility.Because oil accounts for more than 50 percent of the cost of gasoline, U.S. pump prices, now averaging $2.96 a gallon nationwide, are likely to climb some more, analysts said.
On Friday, light sweet crude for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange soared as high as a record $78.40 a barrel in electronic trading before settling at a record $77.03, an increase of 33 cents from Thursday's record close.Gasoline futures rose by 2.36 cents to settle at $2.3249 a gallon — the highest level since late September of last year, when U.S. refinery output was sharply curtailed by hurricane damage.In London, Brent crude futures gained 58 cents to settle at $77.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.We've reached a level where we've put all the scare premium into the market that we can, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading in Tampa, Fla. At this point, we have to have a disruption to move smartly higher from here.Cordier said that while fuel demand in the U.S. is still strong, rising energy costs appear to be dampening consumer spending in other areas and that could eventually slow the economy enough to help cool energy prices.
But there won't be any significant decline until at least the end of the summer, and that assumes that the Gulf Coast sustains no serious hurricane damage this year. Israel widened its offensive on Lebanon on Friday, with fighter bombers blasting the airport for a second day and cutting off the main highway to Syria. Hezbollah has fired more than 100 rockets into Israel. More than 80 people have died, most in Lebanon, in three days of violence sparked by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants.While Israel and Lebanon are not major oil suppliers, the fear is that the conflict could expand in the region, which produces nearly a third the world's oil and has almost two-thirds of its untapped reserves.Iran has threatened to use oil as a weapon if the United Nations invokes sanctions in its dispute with Tehran over its nuclear program. While OPEC's No. 2 supplier has not raised the issue of withholding oil from the market in a sign of solidarity with Hezbollah, the possibility — while deemed unlikely — weighs on the market's psychology, analysts said.
I don't think we're done on the upside, said BNP Paribas Commodity Futures broker Tom Bentz, referring to the rise in oil prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries issued a statement in which it blamed geopolitical factors beyond its control for the recent price volatility. The group emphasized that the market is well-supplied with crude.Indeed, oil prices did not arrive at the doorstep of $80 a barrel overnight. The combination of rising global demand, limited excess production capacity and concerns about supply interruptions from Nigeria to the Gulf of Mexico have all played a part, analysts said. So, too, has the influx of billions of dollars into oil markets in recent years by hedge funds and other financial institutions angling for profits amid global instability.
Brent for August delivery at London's ICE Futures exchange, which expires at the close of trading Friday, jumped as high as $78.03, but then fell back to $77.46, up 77 cents.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell less than a penny to settle at $2.076 a gallon and natural gas futures advanced 21.8 cents to settle at $6.347 per 1,000 cubic feet.
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; the sea and the waves roaring;
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.
Half million evacuated as tropical storm hits China by Cindy Sui
Fri Jul 14, 9:21 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - More than half a million people have been evacuated as severe tropical storm Bilis hit southeast China after killing 14 people in the northern Philippines.The storm landed around midday in Fujian province's Xiapu county, Xinhua news agency said Friday, citing sources with Fujian's meteorological observatory. Over 256,000 evacuees, many of whom are seafood farmers and fishermen, were moved from their coastal homes in Fujian early Thursday, the Fujian water resources department website said.
Some 42,000 fishing boats were also directed back to harbor, Xinhua said. Another 260,000 people were evacuated from dangerous areas of neighboring Zhejiang province, according to the Zhejiang water resources department's website.The storm was
heading northwest at around 15-20 kilometers (10-13 miles) per hour and packing winds of up to 108 kilometers per hour near its center, Xinhua said.Fujian's education bureau ordered schools to suspend classes and cancel outdoor activities. All parks also were closed.
Passenger liners in the province had suspended services, and flights to Hong Kong and elsewhere have been cancelled while those to Beijing have been delayed, state television CCTV said.Fifteen rescue teams have been mobilized to rescue people who might be stranded, CCTV said.Television footage showed large waves craching on coastlines. In urban areas, residents continued to ride their bicycles and walk through flooded streets.The storm brought heavy rain to Fujian, with the provincial capital Fuzhou getting as much as 25 centimeters (10 inches) of rain from Thursday night, Xinhua said.Meanwhile, workers were checking reservoirs in preparation for
flooding due to the rain, Xinhua added.Nearby provinces were also bracing for the storm.
In Zhejiang, in addition to evacuating 260,000 residents, officials called 22,540 boats and ships back to shore as of Friday morning, the water department said.The storm brought strong winds to Zhejiang measuring 10-12 degrees on the Beaufort Scale on the sea and 8-10 degrees on land, said Xinhua.Bilis lashed the northern Philippines Thursday. The 14 victims were killed by falling trees, flashfloods and landslides, officials said.The storm also hit Taiwan after moving from the Philippines and before heading to mainland China.Taiwan's TVBS news channel reported that a soldier was killed by a falling tree in southern Pingtung county due to strong winds. Bilis also slightly injured two people in Taipei and caused some 3.64 million Taiwan dollars (113,750 US dollars) in damage to crops and flooded fields, authorities said. The storm is expected to reach China's Jiangxi province, just west of Fujian, late Friday.
Also due to weather conditions, Beijing's Capital International Airport (BCIA) decided to cut its domestic flights between July 15 to September 25 due to frequent thunder storms, the General Administration of Civil Aviation was reported saying Friday. The administration said a total of 584 flights will be cut, mainly those due to depart between 5:00 pm and 8:00 pm, when thunderstorms are most likely to occur, Xinhua said. BCIA is the busiest airport in China and accounts for one quarter of the country's flights.
Monsoon rains kill 25 in Pakistan Fri Jul 14, 7:40 AM ET
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - At least 25 people have died as torrential monsoon rains lashed Pakistan, flooding roads and disrupting communications in several cities. Six members of a gypsy family including two children were killed as they slept Thursday night when the sodden wall of a neighbouring house collapsed on them, police and newspapers said Friday.Three people were electrocuted in the eastern city of Lahore by poorly maintained powerlines, officials said.
Another six people died in house collapses in Punjab, while further casualties were reported from the province's rural areas, they said.A total of 25 people have died over the past two days, health ministry official Amir Arsalan said.About 170 millimeters (6.9 inches) of rain had fallen on Islamabad since Wednesday, meteorological officials said.The monsoon rains follow a scorching heat wave when temperatures neared 50 degrees celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in some areas, claiming dozens of lives.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
California wildfires may merge to one.
Washington - Two California wildfires moved closer to merging into a huge inferno Friday as authorities evacuated hundreds of residents from a valley east of Los Angeles. Up to 2,000 firefighters were working around the clock to contain the blazes, which have claimed more than 40 square kilometres of scrub and dry trees in the desert heat and winds of San Bernardino county, forestry officials said.
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declared the county a disaster area and residents were fleeing the hard-hit Morongo Valley. Firefighters had only 20 per cent of the wildfire area under control Friday, the Los Angeles Times reported. No one has died,
but the newspaper said the main fire has destroyed 45 homes and 100 other structures, and was threatening some 3,000 more. Both fires were set off Sunday by lightning.Among the threatened sites is Pioneertown, a 1946-vintage stage set for Hollywood Western movies, about 200 kilometres east of Los Angeles. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur.
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Lava seen oozing out of Philippine volcano Fri Jul 14, 1:12 PM ET
LEGASPI, Philippines (AFP) - Lava was seen trickling from the crater of Mayon volcano, raising fears that a dangerous eruption could be imminent, government vulcanologists said. Lava pieces steamed out of the crater,said an official of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs), while stressing it was not yet a hazardous eruption.There is a possibility of a hazardous eruption if the volcano's activity increases, an institute official said.Officials said they were preparing to raise the third level of a five-step alert around the 2,462-meter (8,077-foot) tall volcano, indicating it could erupt within weeks if the trend of increasing unrest continued.A six-kilometer (3.75-mile) danger zone had been set around the volcano, which no one was to enter, Phivolcs said, adding that the lava flows should pose no threat to anyone outside the danger zone.
Residents in the city of Legaspi, close to the volcano, said that at about 6:00 pm (1000 GMT) Friday they could see glowing, red lava accumulating at the top of Mayon's crater.The volcano, about 300 kilometers (176 miles) southeast of Manila, last had a major eruption in July 2001, Phivolcs said.Over a thousand people are believed to have perished when the volcano erupted in 1814.
Israeli DM: We'll break Hizb'allah
Peretz says terrorist broke rules, now will be broken
By Ryan Jones,July 14, 2006
Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz Thursday said the Lebanese terror group Hizb'allah had broken the rules of the game by striking a major Israeli population center, and would now pay a price it had not expected.Following a Hizb'allah missile attack on the coastal city of Haifa, Peretz told reporters:We expected Hizb'allah to break the rules and now we are going to break them.Peretz hinted that Israel would also take action against those regimes that harbor and support Hizb'allah and its terrorist allies.
All sovereign regimes in the region must know that they too bear responsibility, and we have no intention of letting any element responsible for this crisis off the hook.The defense minister called on his countrymen to prepare for some difficult days as Israel fights to ensure the future security of the state.I say to Israel’s citizens: We may be in for a number of difficult days, but we must remain strong so that after this period is over we will not be in a position in which Israeli children and citizens are threatened by any element in the Middle East.Earlier in the day, Peretz got to experience the Hizb'allah threat up close when a meeting he was attending at IDF Northern Command Headquarters was interrupted by a Katyusha barrage in the area. Peretz was whisked away to a safe room under the base.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
JEREMIAH 30:7-8
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him:
UN Security Council debates Lebanon crisis; US blames Iran, Syria by Giles Hewitt 2 hours, 26 minutes ago
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Lebanon has urged the UN Security Council to help end ongoing Israeli airstrikes on its territory, but received short shrift from the United States, which blamed the crisis on Iran and Syria. Eschewing any call for Israeli restraint, US Ambassador John Bolton said Friday the escalating violence in both Lebanon and the Gaza strip was a direct result of the killing and abduction of Israeli soldiers by the Hezbollah and Hamas militant groups.Syria and Iran must be held to account for supporting regional terrorism and their role in the current crisis, Bolton told an emergency Security Council meeting.Syria provides safe haven
for Hamas and provides material support for Hezbollah, which also maintains an active presence in Syria. Iran's extensive sponsorship and financial and other support of Hezbollah is well known and is ongoing for decades, Bolton said.
He called for the immediate disarmament and disbanding of all militias in Lebanon to allow the Lebanese government to extend and exercise sole and exclusive control over its territory.He also reiterated a call for Syria to arrest Hamas leader Khaled Meshal, who currently lives in Damascus.The special council debate had been requested by the Lebanese government as Israeli planes launched fresh attacks on Hezbollah's command headquarters in Beirut's southern suburbs.According to Lebanese police, more than 60 civilians have been killed since Israel began its offensive two days ago in retaliation for the capture of two soldiers and the killing of eight others by Hezbollah.
Lebanese representative Nouhad Mahmoud called on council members to make an immediate, clear decision calling for a comprehensive ceasefire, the lifting of the air and sea blockades imposed upon Lebanon and an end to the airstrikes.We are meeting in the shadow of a widespread barbaric aggression waged by Israel against my nation, Mahmoud said.Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Dan Gillerman, responded by calling Lebanon a breeding ground for terror and said Israel had no choice but to react to the attack on its soldiers and repeated rocket firing from inside southern Lebanon.Israel's reactions were a direct response to an act of war from Lebanon, Gillerman said. I believe that most members around this table, as well as many in this chamber, including our neighbours, realise this reality.
The Security Council was later expected to adopt a presidential statement voicing support for the three-man crisis team sent by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to the Middle East on Thursday to try to defuse the situation.The team, led by Annan's special political adviser, Vijay Nambiar, will begin its week-long mission in Cairo, meeting with Egyptian officials and Arab League foreign ministers.
They are then expected to travel to Israel, the Palestinian territories, Lebanon and Syria.The United States on Thursday had vetoed a UN resolution calling on Israel to halt military operations in Gaza, sparked by the June 25 abduction by Palestinian militant groups of an Israeli soldier.Bolton said the veto was a response to the unbalanced nature of the draft text, which he argued laid a disproportionate amount of blame on Israel for the current crisis.The Arab-backed draft resolution had condemned Israel's retaliatory assault and called for an end to military operations and the immediate withdrawal of Israeli troops. Ten of the 15-member council voted in favour, while four abstained.
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
Oil prices settle at $77 a barrel By BRAD FOSS, AP Business Writer
31 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The price of oil briefly surpassed $78 a barrel Friday and finished 4 percent higher for the week after Israeli attacks against militants in Lebanon stoked fears of a wider Middle East conflict and possible oil-supply disruption. The run-up in oil raised concerns about inflation and the economy at large, sending stock prices tumbling.OPEC tried to reassure the market by stressing its commitment to order and stability, but at the same time said it has no influence over the geopolitical turmoil underlying today's volatility.Because oil accounts for more than 50 percent of the cost of gasoline, U.S. pump prices, now averaging $2.96 a gallon nationwide, are likely to climb some more, analysts said.
On Friday, light sweet crude for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange soared as high as a record $78.40 a barrel in electronic trading before settling at a record $77.03, an increase of 33 cents from Thursday's record close.Gasoline futures rose by 2.36 cents to settle at $2.3249 a gallon — the highest level since late September of last year, when U.S. refinery output was sharply curtailed by hurricane damage.In London, Brent crude futures gained 58 cents to settle at $77.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.We've reached a level where we've put all the scare premium into the market that we can, said James Cordier, president of Liberty Trading in Tampa, Fla. At this point, we have to have a disruption to move smartly higher from here.Cordier said that while fuel demand in the U.S. is still strong, rising energy costs appear to be dampening consumer spending in other areas and that could eventually slow the economy enough to help cool energy prices.
But there won't be any significant decline until at least the end of the summer, and that assumes that the Gulf Coast sustains no serious hurricane damage this year. Israel widened its offensive on Lebanon on Friday, with fighter bombers blasting the airport for a second day and cutting off the main highway to Syria. Hezbollah has fired more than 100 rockets into Israel. More than 80 people have died, most in Lebanon, in three days of violence sparked by the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants.While Israel and Lebanon are not major oil suppliers, the fear is that the conflict could expand in the region, which produces nearly a third the world's oil and has almost two-thirds of its untapped reserves.Iran has threatened to use oil as a weapon if the United Nations invokes sanctions in its dispute with Tehran over its nuclear program. While OPEC's No. 2 supplier has not raised the issue of withholding oil from the market in a sign of solidarity with Hezbollah, the possibility — while deemed unlikely — weighs on the market's psychology, analysts said.
I don't think we're done on the upside, said BNP Paribas Commodity Futures broker Tom Bentz, referring to the rise in oil prices. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries issued a statement in which it blamed geopolitical factors beyond its control for the recent price volatility. The group emphasized that the market is well-supplied with crude.Indeed, oil prices did not arrive at the doorstep of $80 a barrel overnight. The combination of rising global demand, limited excess production capacity and concerns about supply interruptions from Nigeria to the Gulf of Mexico have all played a part, analysts said. So, too, has the influx of billions of dollars into oil markets in recent years by hedge funds and other financial institutions angling for profits amid global instability.
Brent for August delivery at London's ICE Futures exchange, which expires at the close of trading Friday, jumped as high as $78.03, but then fell back to $77.46, up 77 cents.In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell less than a penny to settle at $2.076 a gallon and natural gas futures advanced 21.8 cents to settle at $6.347 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Friday, July 14, 2006
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
1-day of fasting marked by war in Israel. 2-France,Eu,Russia appose. 3-California wildfires.
Day of Fasting Marked by War in Israel
By Hillel Fendel(Aruts-7 INNEWS)
Jews around the world mark the beginning of a three-week commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temples with a day of fasting today. The Three Weeks begin on the 17th of Tammuz, and end on the 9th of Av - both of which are days of fasting, according to Jewish Law and custom. Both Holy Temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av, some 2000 and 2500 years ago, respectively. The 17th of Tammuz is a day of mourning because it marks the day the Romans broke down Jerusalem's walls, shortly before they laid waste to the city. In addition, it was the day that:
* Moses broke the tablets at Mount Sinai following the sin of the Golden Calf;
* the Priests were forced to suspend the First Temple's daily offerings, for lack of lambs;
* at some point during the Second Temple, a Roman general named Apustamos burned a Torah scroll;
* and an idolatrous image was brazenly placed in the Holy Temple.
"The purpose of a fast day, writes Rabbi Shraga Simmons for Aish HaTorah , is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed
Temple - and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile. Eating and drinking is not permitted until evening today, while some of the laws of mourning - such as no joyous public events or haircuts - are observed with increasing severity as the Three Weeks proceed.
Special prayers known as S'lichot are recited on the Fast of the 17 of Tammuz; on Tisha B'Av, they are known as Kinot and are much more numerous. Most of today's S'lichot recall the suffering of the Jewish People during the First Temple periods of conquest and destruction. Some of the passages have taken on timely significance in light of the latest war forced upon Israel: I was ill and trembling when... the viper of the north overran me...
Rebuild the Temple, and bring us back within the borders of Carmel and Bashan, open Your eyes and take vengeance... Judge the cause of the mute, so that the destroyer shall pay for the day when the enemy prevailed and the city was breached...
We rebelled against Him Who dwells in Heaven, therefore we were scattered in all directions, and our dancing was turned into lamentations.
"Let truth and peace cause the Fasts to be erased and turned into days of joy and gladness and festive occasions.
France, European Union, Russia Oppose Israeli Reprisals
17:41 Jul 13, '06 / 17 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) European countries have denounced the Israeli retaliation in Lebanon as disproportionate, and France called on Lebanon to defend itself. The European Union, Russia and Italy criticized the extent of the operations. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also condemned the Hizbullah attack on Israel.
American President George W. Bush, who is traveling to Germany for discussions, recognized Israel's right to defend itself. An American official added, We have to remember how this started with the Hizbullah attacks across the border and the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Hizbullah's activities are working against the interests of the Lebanese people.He noted that Syria and Iran share responsibility for protecting Hizbullah terrorists.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. Jul 13, 2006 (AP)— Firefighters dug in for another day of blistering heat Thursday as they struggled to keep a string of desert wildfires from spreading toward the mountain resort community of Big Bear Lake. The lightning sparked flames had already destroyed nearly 100 homes and other structures and chased about 1,000 people from Rimrock, Burns Canyon, Gamma Gulch, Flamingo Heights, Little Morongo Canyon and the Wild West movies community of Pioneertown, officials said. We're talking about steep hills that make progress by hand crews and engines slow and difficult, San Marcos Fire Battalion Chief Rick Vogt told CNN Thursday morning. That, combined with the weather, makes it a challenging fire.
A 37,000-acre blaze threatening Pioneertown was one of several fires started by dry lightning that moved through the area earlier this week, Vogt said. Fire officials worried that if the fires continued west toward the San Bernardino National Forest, they could grow
rapidly in the steep terrain and get dangerously close to Big Bear Lake, a community of summer lake and winter ski resorts and about 5,500 residents. A severe bark beetle infestation has killed many trees in recent years, and that would fuel the flames. If it starts in there it will be almost impossible to stop, said California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Karen Guillemin.
At least 42 houses, 55 other buildings and 91 vehicles have burned in around the high desert communities about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, authorities said. Most of the historic buildings that made Pioneertown famous, old west saloons and storefronts that once were props for movie cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, were spared. Temperatures hit 108 degrees Wednesday as 2,500 firefighters attacked flames devouring Joshua trees, pinon pines and brush in hills and canyons. Highs in the 100s are forecast for the Pioneertown area through the weekend, with winds 5 to 15 mph. Higher up at Big Bear Lake, temperatures in the mid-80s were forecast for Thursday.
Day of Fasting Marked by War in Israel
By Hillel Fendel(Aruts-7 INNEWS)
Jews around the world mark the beginning of a three-week commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem and the Holy Temples with a day of fasting today. The Three Weeks begin on the 17th of Tammuz, and end on the 9th of Av - both of which are days of fasting, according to Jewish Law and custom. Both Holy Temples were destroyed on the 9th of Av, some 2000 and 2500 years ago, respectively. The 17th of Tammuz is a day of mourning because it marks the day the Romans broke down Jerusalem's walls, shortly before they laid waste to the city. In addition, it was the day that:
* Moses broke the tablets at Mount Sinai following the sin of the Golden Calf;
* the Priests were forced to suspend the First Temple's daily offerings, for lack of lambs;
* at some point during the Second Temple, a Roman general named Apustamos burned a Torah scroll;
* and an idolatrous image was brazenly placed in the Holy Temple.
"The purpose of a fast day, writes Rabbi Shraga Simmons for Aish HaTorah , is to awaken our sense of loss over the destroyed
Temple - and the subsequent Jewish journey into exile. Eating and drinking is not permitted until evening today, while some of the laws of mourning - such as no joyous public events or haircuts - are observed with increasing severity as the Three Weeks proceed.
Special prayers known as S'lichot are recited on the Fast of the 17 of Tammuz; on Tisha B'Av, they are known as Kinot and are much more numerous. Most of today's S'lichot recall the suffering of the Jewish People during the First Temple periods of conquest and destruction. Some of the passages have taken on timely significance in light of the latest war forced upon Israel: I was ill and trembling when... the viper of the north overran me...
Rebuild the Temple, and bring us back within the borders of Carmel and Bashan, open Your eyes and take vengeance... Judge the cause of the mute, so that the destroyer shall pay for the day when the enemy prevailed and the city was breached...
We rebelled against Him Who dwells in Heaven, therefore we were scattered in all directions, and our dancing was turned into lamentations.
"Let truth and peace cause the Fasts to be erased and turned into days of joy and gladness and festive occasions.
France, European Union, Russia Oppose Israeli Reprisals
17:41 Jul 13, '06 / 17 Tammuz 5766
(IsraelNN.com) European countries have denounced the Israeli retaliation in Lebanon as disproportionate, and France called on Lebanon to defend itself. The European Union, Russia and Italy criticized the extent of the operations. Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema also condemned the Hizbullah attack on Israel.
American President George W. Bush, who is traveling to Germany for discussions, recognized Israel's right to defend itself. An American official added, We have to remember how this started with the Hizbullah attacks across the border and the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers. Hizbullah's activities are working against the interests of the Lebanese people.He noted that Syria and Iran share responsibility for protecting Hizbullah terrorists.
CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES
By CHRISTINA ALMEIDA
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. Jul 13, 2006 (AP)— Firefighters dug in for another day of blistering heat Thursday as they struggled to keep a string of desert wildfires from spreading toward the mountain resort community of Big Bear Lake. The lightning sparked flames had already destroyed nearly 100 homes and other structures and chased about 1,000 people from Rimrock, Burns Canyon, Gamma Gulch, Flamingo Heights, Little Morongo Canyon and the Wild West movies community of Pioneertown, officials said. We're talking about steep hills that make progress by hand crews and engines slow and difficult, San Marcos Fire Battalion Chief Rick Vogt told CNN Thursday morning. That, combined with the weather, makes it a challenging fire.
A 37,000-acre blaze threatening Pioneertown was one of several fires started by dry lightning that moved through the area earlier this week, Vogt said. Fire officials worried that if the fires continued west toward the San Bernardino National Forest, they could grow
rapidly in the steep terrain and get dangerously close to Big Bear Lake, a community of summer lake and winter ski resorts and about 5,500 residents. A severe bark beetle infestation has killed many trees in recent years, and that would fuel the flames. If it starts in there it will be almost impossible to stop, said California Department of Forestry spokeswoman Karen Guillemin.
At least 42 houses, 55 other buildings and 91 vehicles have burned in around the high desert communities about 100 miles east of Los Angeles, authorities said. Most of the historic buildings that made Pioneertown famous, old west saloons and storefronts that once were props for movie cowboys like Gene Autry and Roy Rogers, were spared. Temperatures hit 108 degrees Wednesday as 2,500 firefighters attacked flames devouring Joshua trees, pinon pines and brush in hills and canyons. Highs in the 100s are forecast for the Pioneertown area through the weekend, with winds 5 to 15 mph. Higher up at Big Bear Lake, temperatures in the mid-80s were forecast for Thursday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)