1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Two weak quakes shake Greek Peloponnese region, no damage reported. 3-Hurricanes to batter Britain. 4-Floods kill nine in Somalia, death toll climbs to 89. 5-Russia said to deliver arms to Iran. 6-A secret agreement between India and China to slowly build a counter NATO of Asia. 7-U.S. global NATO plan to get summit thumbs-down. 8-Polonium-210 difficult to detect. 9-Region-building should replace nation-building. 10-New savage twist to violence in Baghdad. 11-Palestinians and Israel Say They Are Open to Truce. 12-Prodi, Chirac endorse EU initiative to halt Mideast violence. 13-22 grow-ops in one highrise.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat Nov 25 09:00 AM EDT
NOV 25,2006
MAP 3.4 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.1 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.5 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.1 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 4.6 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
NOV 24,2006
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.9 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.4 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 TONGA REGION
MAP 4.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
MAP 5.7 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 SULAWESI, INDONESIA
MAP 4.5 SICILY, ITALY
MAP 4.6 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.8 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
Two weak quakes shake Greek Peloponnese region, no damage reported Fri Nov 24, 7:58 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - Two tremors measuring 4.1 and 4.2 points on the open-ended Richter scale have shaken the Greek Corinthian Gulf, north of the southern Peloponnese region.The tremors were recorded at 4:58 am (0258 GMT) and 11:03 am (0903 GMT) with
an underwater epicentre around 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Athens, the Athens Observatory's Geodynamic Institute said Friday.
There were no immediate reports of damage in surrounding towns.An institute seismologist declined to say whether the tremors were part of wider activity in what is one of Greece's most active seismic areas, simply saying that colleagues were monitoring the situation.Greece is more affected by seismic activity than any other European country and bears the brunt of half of all earthquakes on the continent.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Hurricanes to batter Britain (THESUN)
By JOHN COLES,November 25, 2006
BRITAIN is bracing itself for a battering today with hurricane-force winds of up to 75mph forecast.Weather experts predict disruption to transport and power supplies, widespread damage to property and flooding.A vigorous autumn storm will hit most of the country from early morning, with the West Country, the South and Eastern England most at risk.The exact path of the storm is uncertain but forecasters warn that Wales, the Midlands and the North will also to be affected.The severe gales will be accompanied by heavy rain.Last night the Environment Agency had flood watches on 11 locations across the South and Midlands.
Forecaster Julian Mayes of MeteoGroup UK predicted that it was likely to be windier than at any time last winter.He added: It’s going to be extremely unsettled and windy, particularly throughout Saturday. All areas are going to be windy. The areas that are most likely to have damaging gales will be dependent on the exact track taken by the depression.The Met Office said gusts of between 65-75mph were expected.Winds above 73mph are classed as hurricane-force on the Beaufort Scale of wind speed.
A Met Office spokesman said: Gusts to this strength are infrequent across the south-east and likely to lead to disruption to transport and power supplies.This will be a vigorous autumn storm which will bring severe gales to many parts of Britain and the public should take extra care.Although the very strong winds are expected to be the main concern, the storm will also bring heavy rain and an increased threat of flooding.The key message to people is to keep up-to-date with the forecast and to make sure they plan ahead for any weekend activities.j.coles@the-sun.co.uk
Floods kill nine in Somalia, death toll climbs to 89 by Mustafa Haji Abdinur Fri Nov 24, 8:38 AM ET
MOGADISHU (AFP) - Raging flood waters killed at least nine people, including five sleeping children, overnight as a third week of heavy rains pounded southern Somalia, bringing the death toll to at least 89.And with no end in sight to unusually heavy seasonal rains that have brought misery to a country already on the brink of war, UN officials said conflict could badly hurt emergency relief efforts for nearly a million Somalis.The children were killed when their homes in villages near the provincial town of Jowhar, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of Mogadishu, were washed away by waters from rivers that burst their banks, local officials said.Five children died after heavy floods swept their homes away while they were sleeping, said Ibrahim Nur Osman, the security commander for Somalia's powerful Islamist movement in Middle Shabelle region where Jowhar is situated.Meanwhile, rescuers recovered the bodies of four people buried in the mud around Mustaqbal village in Lower Shabelle region, where tens of thousands are facing acute food shortages.
Four bodies, one of them an elderly woman, have been discovered dead around Mustaqbal in the mud, said Garad Abukar Mohamed, the secretary for the local Islamic administration.
The water level is rising all the time and thousands of people are trapped in flood-hit areas that nobody can reach, he told AFP, adding that the death toll would likely rise as food stocks had been destroyed.Scores of survivors were clinging to trees, grieving for the loss of their loved ones and property as well as trying to avoid being eaten by crocodiles unleashed by the flooding of the Shabelle and Jubba rivers, residents said.At least 13 of the flood fatalities are known to have been devoured by the crocodiles, which have been on a feeding frenzy in Beledweyne, further north of Jowhar, according to locals.Casualties are increasing day-by-day, Osman told AFP. People are getting killed, others injured, while others are being evacuated. Everybody is grieving from treetops where they have escaped.
The village of Bulo-Warey, where the children died overnight Thursday, was completely inundated, with the surviving residents fleeing as best they could, an official said.I tell you that none of the affected people is in the village because the whole place is covered by water, said Osman Adan Ibrahim, a local Islamist representative.The floods have compounded difficulties for Somalis already on edge fearing an outbreak of all-out war between the Islamists and the country's weak Ethiopian-backed government that many believe could spark a regional conflict.Despite assurances from the rival sides that airlifts of relief supplies necessary because most land routes have been cut will be safe in the event of war, UN officials said they feared fighting would derail aid operations.That is a
disaster and we want to avoid it, Eric Laroche, head of the Kenya-based UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) for Somalia, told reporters in Nairobi.OCHA appealed for 15 million dollars (11.5 million dollars) for its urgent Somali operations, but warned that amount might increase in the coming days as torrential rains continue to pound Somalia.Nearly one million Somalis are estimated to be affected by the flooding, of which at least 336,000 have been forced from their homes, according to the United Nations.Health officials have also sounded the alarm for outbreaks of waterborne diseases, particularly cholera, which has already been confirmed in two areas. The rains have destroyed farmlands, disrupted food supplies, cut off villages and washed away roads, complicating the delivery of aid to the most vulnerable and impoverished in remote areas.
WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL
DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Russia said to deliver arms to Iran By JUDITH INGRAM, Associated Press Writer Fri Nov 24, 8:42 AM ET
MOSCOW - Russia has begun delivery of Tor-M1 air defense missile systems to Iran, a Defense Ministry official said Friday, confirming that Moscow would proceed with arms deals with Tehran in spite of Western criticism.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the issue, declined to specify when the deliveries had been made and how many systems had been delivered.Ministry officials have previously said Moscow would supply 29 of the sophisticated missile systems to Iran under a $700 million contract signed in December, according to Russian media reports.The United States called on all countries last spring to stop all arms exports to Iran, as well as ending all nuclear cooperation with it to put pressure on Tehran to halt uranium enrichment activities.Israel, too, has severely criticized arms deals with Iran.
Tehran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but the United States and its allies suspect Iran is trying to develop weapons.The U.N. Security Council, where Russia is a veto-wielding permanent member, is currently stalemated on the severity of sanctions on Iran for defying its demand to cease enrichment.The Tor-M1 deal, involving conventional weapons, does not violate any international agreements.
Russian officials say the missiles are purely defensive weapons with a limited range.According to the Interfax news agency, the Tor-M1 system can identify up to 48 targets and fire at two targets simultaneously at a height of up to 20,000 feet.Russian media have reported previously that Moscow had conducted talks on selling even more powerful long-range S-300 air defense missiles, but Russian officials have denied that.
A secret agreement between India and China to slowly build a counter NATO of Asia Media Release ,Nov. 23, 2006
All discussion was in hush-hush. Russians are in secret agreement with India and China. It is not clear if Russia will be part of it. The need comes from NATO’s Afghanistan operations. The Iraq invasion and also the dreadful past Vietnam and Afghanistan. India and China has in principle agreed to build a NATO of Asia that may include three formidable militaries India, China and Russia. Any future invasion of Asian soil will have to face formidable challenge. The talks included cooperation in military hardware and software build up. China and India recognizes Military strength in number does not mean much. The warfare is electronic and remote controlled. It is more of a show of strength and capabilities than actual battle. Also in future the wars if any will be fought with command and control center deep in the tectonic plates miles below the earth’s surface and even from space and the moon and other planets.
The cooperation and joint development will be in Research and development. The key lies in being able to develop next generation stealth, communication and seek-scan-neutralize capabilities.India and China have agreed to move ahead with their military ties but the build up is likely to be a slow process.
U.S. global NATO plan to get summit thumbs-down By Mark John
Fri Nov 24, 7:44 AM ET
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A U.S. plan to forge a network of partnerships around NATO from Scandinavia to Asia will get the thumbs-down at a summit next week from members wary of the alliance going global, diplomats said on Friday. NATO leaders meeting in Riga from Tuesday will acknowledge the need to boost contacts with countries such as Sweden,South Korea, and Australia some of whom have troops under NATO command in Afghanistan but will make no offer of formal ties.
The year-old proposal has won a lukewarm response from Asian countries unwilling to have a contractual relationship with NATO. It also hit firm resistance from some European allies and aggravated Russian concerns that NATO was trying to encircle it.Underlining persistent transatlantic differences about how to tackle emerging security threats, a core of west European nations led by France and Germany have sought to fend off U.S.-led moves to broaden NATO's geographic and strategic scope.We don't see the point in creating a mini-United Nations around the alliance, and others share that view, said a senior diplomat from one European NATO member.
Washington argued the September 11, 2001 attacks planned by al Qaeda from bases in Afghanistan showed that threats could emerge from anywhere in the world, and called on NATO to develop a security providers forum of countries keen to combat terror.
Many inside the alliance agree its existing web of post-Cold War partnerships including tie-ups with Russia, former Soviet satellites and fledgling links with Middle East and Gulf states is in need of a revamp.The U.S. initiative assumed countries which have offered troops to NATO operations such as Australia, New Zealand and Sweden in Afghanistan would jump at the chance to have more of a say in the running of alliance missions.But even staunch U.S. ally Australia has made it clear it does not want to be tied in with a partnership accord.I don't think ... we want to be traveling over to Brussels week by week for formal meetings and arrangements. It's just a logistical nightmare for us, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer told reporters during a one-off NATO visit in September.
NO POSSE
New Zealand, which has a small contingent in restive eastern Afghanistan, has also ruled out formal ties with the 26-member alliance, insisting a U.N. mandate rather than other allegiances was the key to whether it did peacekeeping duties.This is not a posse. This is New Zealand fulfilling its role as a good international citizen in line with the principles of the UN charter, Defense Minister Phil Goff noted this year in comments that government sources said still reflected policy.U.S. officials do not see such responses as a rebuff, arguing that practical collaboration on the ground, as in Afghanistan, matters more than formal links.
Both Wellington and Canberra seek better cooperation with NATO such as jointmilitary training and information exchange along the lines of an accord New Zealand signed in February to share classified information.The same applies to Japan, which already has a security alliance with Washington under which U.S. forces have an obligation to defend Japan, but Japanese troops cannot help U.S. counterparts unless there is an attack on Japan.South Korea is also wary, with Seoul concerned any closer relationship with NATO could exacerbate tensions with its nuclear-armed communist neighbor to the north.The feeling in the government is that the proposal will have to be approached very cautiously, keeping in mind how South Korea's position on it will affect relations with North Korea,a foreign ministry official in Seoul said. (Additional reporting by Carsten Lietz in Brussels, Gyles Beckford in Wellington, George Nishiyama in Tokyo, Jack Kim in Seoul and James Grubel in Canberra)
Polonium-210 difficult to detect By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer
NOV 24,2006
LONDON - Polonium-210 the radioactive substance that killed a former Russian spy in London is one of the world's rarest elements, first discovered in the 19th century by scientists Marie and Pierre Curie.It is highly lethal when ingested and extremely hard to detect, experts said Friday.For days doctors struggled to identify the poison that led to the rapid deterioration of Alexander Litvinenko's health, and ultimately his death late Thursday.Britain's Health Protection Agency said Friday that polonium-210 was found in his urine.The agency's chief executive, Pat Troop, said the high level of polonium-210 indicated Litvinenko would either have to have eaten it, inhaled it or taken it in through a wound.Police were investigating, but said they were treating it as an unexplained death for now.This seems to have been a substance carefully chosen for its ability to be hard to detect, said Dr. Philip Walker, a physics professor at the University of Surrey.
Polonium occurs naturally in very low concentrations in the Earth's crust, and experts said small amounts but not enough to kill someone are used legitimately in Britain and elsewhere for industrial purposes.Polonium-210 was a critical component in early nuclear weapons, and the former Soviet Union used polonium in power supply systems for spacecraft in the 1970s. It also is used in industrial devices designed to eliminate static electricity.Professor Dudley Goodhead, a radiation expert at the Medical Research Council, said that to poison someone, much larger amounts are required and this would have to be manmade, perhaps from a particle accelerator or a nuclear reactor.The element can be a byproduct from the chemical processing of uranium, but usually is made artificially in a nuclear reactor or particle accelerator. These nuclear facilities are monitored and tightly regulated under
international agreements.
Chris Lloyd, a British radiation protection adviser, said it would be relatively easy to smuggle polonium into a country, because its alpha radiation would not set off radiation detectors.Polonium is so rare that only about 100 grams is believed to be produced each year, said Dr. Mike Keir, a radiation protection adviser at Royal Victoria Infirmary.Only a very, very small amount of this would need to be ingested to kill, Keir said.
Unless you can remove the material, there's very little you can do except treat the symptoms.Given Litvinenko's symptoms including hair loss, organ failure and immune system breakdown experts said it was understandable why doctors didn't initially recognize polonium-210 as the cause.Trying to identify the exact agent that was making him sick was like looking for a needle in a haystack, said Dr. Alistair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University. Numerous toxins are capable of causing such serious damage without being immediately identified in the body, he said.The alpha rays emitted by polonium are extremely hard to detect, and a fatal dose of the element may have rapidly penetrated his bone marrow without raising immediate suspicion. Earlier this week, doctors said Litvinenko was in need of a bone marrow transplant.
As a result of alpha ray radiation, there are very clear genetic changes in the body,Keir said.But to know for certain that it was polonium radiation, you need to actually find polonium particles. Polonium was discovered in 1898 by Nobel laureates Marie and Pierre Curie as they were searching for the cause of radiation decay in uranium. They named it polonium in honor of her country of origin, Poland. The Health Protection Agency said the use of polonium as a deliberate poisoning would be an unprecedented event. Several experts also said they were unaware of any other known poisonings from the element. I've been in radiation sciences for 30-odd years and I'm not aware of any such incident, said Roger Cox, director of the agency's center for radiation, chemicals and environmental hazards.Associated Press writer Jill Lawless contributed to this report.
Region-building should replace nation-building
24.11.2006 - 08:57 CET | By Peter Sain ley Berry
EUOBSERVER / COMMENT - My father collected European swords, prompted no doubt by his having been at one time a fencing international.
I still have a few of them. Most are dress swords or late copies of earlier arms. But at least one is a real weapon and for all I know may even have been used in anger.Nothing these days appears quite so obsolete as a fighting sword. Even a longbow manages a semblance of modernity. The sword I am talking about is an eighteenth century shortsword, with a blade about two-thirds of a metre. It is a foot soldier's weapon, cheaply made, hammered out in some little armoury and crudely stamped with a name and what could be a date. All of these observations tally with its alleged provenance as having been retrieved after the Scottish battle of Culloden Moor in April 1746, discarded perhaps by a desperate highlander fleeing the government forces.
This infinitely sad event, fought in a sleeting gale, was the final throw by the grandson of Britain's last Catholic King to overturn the Protestant succession. As battles go it was an insignificant affair, decisively determined in a quarter of an hour, though the long aftermath was attended by great brutality.
Culloden is distinguished, however, for another reason: it was the last pitched battle to have been fought in Britain, though at the time this was of course by no means apparent. But gradually the phenomenon of the pitched battle has been eliminated throughout European territory.While there remains the question of how exactly you define a battle, we may, if we are optimistic, come to regard the Balkan wars of the 1990s as the last battles in Europe.
A creeping state of affairs
And though we don't want to tempt fate, this is the state of affairs in much of the world. Something that has crept up on us almost unnoticed, like the gradual elimination of a disease. While insurgencies and terrorist acts may continue, wars have been eliminated, quite possibly, from the two American continents and, despite the current instability in the Korean peninsula and across the Taiwan strait, from North Asia as well.
Cold war there may be; hot war, I would like to believe, can be avoided henceforward provided we are always vigilant and employ careful diplomacy.But at the same time war continues to be endemic to Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. These regions contain some of the poorest countries of the world and also some of the worst polluters. Forest fires in Africa charge the atmosphere with carbon dioxide at a rate broadly comparable to fossil fuel burn in the United States.They are also regions in which transnational partnerships are either non-existent or else in their very early stages. And where they do exist they are hesitant, weak and under funded.
The African Union, modelled on that of Europe, won't alone be able to resolve the wretched morass of problems on that Continent. But one can see how a stronger, better financed and more effective transnational body, which could speak with authority for Africa on the international stage, might contribute to the process.In addition to the central conflict in its midst the Middle East is clearly a region which shares many common, border-transcending problems. And in South Asia it was the case until very recently that only some 2 per cent of India's trade was with Pakistan, so bitter was the hostility between the two. Yet this state of affairs is in the interests of neither. Both suffer by letting local problems and difficulties prevent the addressing of wider and ultimately graver problems. What is more, cumulating evidence suggests that such wider problems are best addressed by multilateral partnerships co-operating under the rule of law rather than by inter-governmental arrangements.
Region-building
Is this what George Soros, the billionaire financier and political guru meant when he called upon the European Union this week to promote a global open society? His analysis seemed to be suggesting that following the disastrous intervention in Iraq, the project for a New American Century, that planned millennium of American Values, would have now to be postponed for a bit. It was time for Europe to play a more active role, he said.A New European Century, were ever it to be promulgated, might be as hubristically doomed as the American project. That would not be Europe's way at all. But that is not to say that Soros isn't accurate as he so often is in identifying the desirability for Europe to make its influence felt more widely on a global scale.Not necessarily in military or financial interventions in the world's trouble spots, but by promoting those transnational frameworks which allow not nation-building, but region building.Where Soros may be off beam is in imagining, as he does, that the EU can simply brush aside its current constitutional imbroglio; that the treaty could be unbundled and presented piecemeal, while it gets on with its good works on the international stage.Here he seems to be confusing Europe and the United States. Of course, given a federal government and a strong presidency this is perhaps what should be done. But in the absence of any such arrangements here there is simply no mechanism for doing what he suggests.
Even if such a move were not betraying those electorates who have voted for or against the constitution as it stands, unbundling the package would simply unravel every intricately knitted compromise that Mr Ahern did so much to secure in that heady spring of 2004.
Nevertheless, the fact that someone like George Soros agrees that the constitutional reforms are necessary (even if not delivered in a constitutional settlement) should encourage the doubters and give some heart to Mrs Merkel and the German Presidency team on which much now seems to be riding. The clock is ticking. Given the Christmas festivities there remains only three or four weeks to kick-off, as it were. And compared to 2004, when at least all Heads of Government were prepared to defend the process of reform, there is almost as much plurality and indecision among the leaders now as among the voters. It is not a good omen.Before ending I must congratulate Madame Royal on winning the Presidential candidacy for the French Socialists. Should she be elected in the spring she might consider extending her revolutionary idea of supervising cabinet discussions with citizen's juries to meetings of the European Council itself. Being surrounded by a group of sharp-eyed tricoteuses, would surely be enough to frighten any group of leaders into agreement. Even in Europe regions have to be built.The author is editor of EuropaWorld
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
New savage twist to violence in Baghdad By STEVEN R. HURST, Associated Press Writer NOV 24,06
BAGHDAD, Iraq Revenge-seeking militiamen seized six Sunnis as they left Friday prayers and burned them alive with kerosene in a savage new twist to the brutality shaking the Iraqi capital a day after suspected Sunni insurgents killed 215 people in Baghdad's main Shiite district.
Iraqi soldiers at a nearby army post failed to intervene in Friday's assault by suspected members of the Shiite Mahdi Army militia or subsequent attacks that killed at least 19 other Sunnis, including women and children, in the same neighborhood, the volatile Hurriyah district in northwest Baghdad, said police Capt. Jamil Hussein.Most of the thousands of dead bodies that have been found dumped across Baghdad and other cities in central Iraq in recent months have been of victims who were tortured and then shot to death, according to police. The suspected militia killers often have used electric drills on their captives bodies before killing them. The bodies are frequently decapitated.But burning victims alive introduced a new method of brutality that was likely to be reciprocated by the other sect as the Shiites and Sunnis continue killing one another in unprecedented numbers. The gruesome attack, which came despite a curfew in Baghdad, capped a day in which at least 87 people were killed or found dead in sectarian violence across Iraq.
In Hurriyah, the rampaging militiamen also burned and blew up four mosques and torched several homes in the district, Hussein said.Residents of the troubled district claim the Mahdi Army has begun kidnapping and holding Sunni hostages to use in ritual slaughter at the funerals of Shiite victims of Baghdad's raging sectarian war.Such claims cannot be verified but speak to the deep fear that grips Baghdad, where retaliation has become a part of daily life.President Jalal Talabani emerged from lengthy meetings with other Iraqi leaders late Friday and said the defense minister, Abdul-Qader al-Obaidi, indicated that the Hurriyah neighborhood had been quiet throughout the day.But Imad al-Hasimi, a Sunni elder in Hurriyah, confirmed Hussein's account of the immolations.
He told Al-Arabiya television he saw people who were drenched in kerosene and then set afire, burning to death before his eyes.Two workers at Kazamiyah Hospital also confirmed that bodies from the clashes and immolation had been taken to the morgue at their facility. They refused to be identified by name, saying they feared retribution.And the Association of Muslim Scholars, the most influential Sunni organization in Iraq, said even more victims were burned to death in attacks on the four mosques. It claimed a total of 18 people had died in an inferno at the al-Muhaimin mosque.The extreme violence continued to tear at the Iraq's social fabric even after the government had banned pedestrians and cars from the streets and closed the international airport until further notice in anticipation of a storm of retaliation for the five bombings and two mortar rounds which killed 215 in Sadr City on Thursday.The airport closure forced Talabani to delay his planned Saturday departure for Tehran for meetings with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian leader also invited Syrian President Bashar Assad, but it now appeared he would not attend.The chaos also cast a shadow over the Amman, Jordan, summit next week between Shiite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Bush.
Politicians loyal to radical anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to boycott parliament and the Cabinet if al-Maliki went ahead with the meeting. The political bloc, known as Sadrists, is a mainstay of support for al-Maliki. The Mahdi Army is the organization's armed wing.Sadrist lawmaker Qusai Abdul-Wahab blamed U.S. forces for Thursday's attack in Sadr City because they failed to provide security.We say occupation forces are fully responsible for these acts, and we call for the withdrawal of occupation forces or setting a timetable for their withdrawal, Abdul-Wahab said.A U.S. helicopter patrolling above Sadr City came under intense fire from the ground and shot back, wounding two people Friday night, according to police 1st. Lt. Qassim Mohammed and witnesses. The U.S. military said the helicopter had taken fire from six rockets launched from one site and destroyed the launcher. The military statement did not address whether there were casualties. White House spokesman Scott Stanzil said there was no change in the president's plans to meet with al-Maliki on Wednesday and Thursday. Al-Maliki is increasingly at odds with the Bush administration for his refusal to disband militias and associated deaths squads that are believed responsible for killing thousands of Sunnis since an al-Qaida attack last February blew up the Golden Dome Shiite shrine in Samarra, north of Baghdad. Mortar fire rained down again on Sunni Islam's holiest shrine in Baghdad, the Abu Hanifa mosque in the Azamiyah neighborhood, wounding at least five people. Several mortars crashed into the area Thursday night within hours of the attacks in Sadr City, one of them puncturing the dome of the shrine and damaging the interior, including its library.
Also, militia gunmen raided a Sunni mosque in the Amil section of west Baghdad, killing two guards, according to police 1st Lt. Maitham Abdul-Razaq. And in Baqouba, 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, Sunni insurgents blew up the dome of the important Shiite mosque of leading cleric Abdul-Karm al-Madani. In the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar, 23 people were killed and 43 wounded when explosives hidden in a parked car and in a suicide belt worn by a pedestrian detonated simultaneously outside a car dealership, said police Brig.
Khalaf al-Jubouri. Altogether, 56 people were killed across in Iraq on Friday, and police said they found 31 bodies dumped throughout Baghdad, most of them tortured before being shot. In Sadr City, cleanup crews continued removing remains of the dead from wreckage of the car bombs, and tents were erected throughout the ramshackle district for relatives to receive condolences. Hundreds of men, women and children beat their chests, chanted and cried as they walked beside vehicles carrying the caskets of their loved ones toward the holy Shiite city of Najaf for burial. Despite Baghdad's curfew, al-Maliki, himself a Shiite, ordered police to guard the processions. As the funeral processions reached the edge of Sadr City in northeastern Baghdad, the cars and minivans left most of the mourners behind and began the 100-mile drive south to Najaf, a treacherous journey that passes through many checkpoints and areas controlled by Sunni militants in Iraq's so-called Triangle of Death. AP correspondents Thomas Wagner, Bassem Mroue and Qais al-Bashir contributed to this report.
Palestinians and Israel Say They Are Open to Truce (NEW YORK TIMES)
By STEVEN ERLANGER,Published: November 25, 2006
JERUSALEM, Nov. 24 After another surge of violence in and around the Gaza Strip over the past month, Israel and the Palestinians moved gingerly on Friday toward reinstating an often-broken cease-fire between them.In Gaza, Prime Minister Ismail Haniya of Hamas confirmed that the Palestinian factions including Islamic Jihad, which had previously rejected any cease-fire with Israel would halt their rocket fire if Israel halted its military operations in both the West Bank and Gaza. Israel called the offer a media presentation, but said it was open to a more serious, formal proposal. It’s not a question of, You go first, said Miri Eisin, a spokeswoman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. It’s a question of, What are we talking about? A halt to all Israeli military operations in return for a halt to rocket fire alone would be unacceptable, she said.
On Thursday night in Gaza, the Palestinian Authority president, Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, said that since the summer, Palestinians have been victims of a barbaric Israeli offensive that has left more than 400 dead and 1,500 wounded while thousands of homes have been destroyed. But he added, All that on the pretext of homemade rocket fire, and unfortunately we are giving them such a pretext.In fact, Israel re-entered Gaza in late June in response to the capture of a soldier, Cpl. Gilad Shalit, by a group of Palestinian militants that included Hamas. Hamas said that they were responding to Israeli shelling that had killed civilians; Israel said the shelling was in response to Palestinian rocket fire. Since Israel pulled its settlers and troops out of Gaza in September 2005, at least 1,100 rockets have been fired from Gaza, and four Israelis have died two of them in the past 10 days.
Mr. Abbas, aided by Egypt, is negotiating with Hamas over a national-unity government that could meet the conditions for ending an international freeze on direct budget aid, as well as Israel’s withholding of tax and duties collected on behalf of the Palestinians. The government is also held up by disagreements over the release of Corporal Shalit and different demands about the number of Palestinian prisoners to be exchanged for him.
Israel wants the corporal back before releasing prisoners. These issues are holding back the prospect of a meeting between Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to make an unannounced visit here to see both men next week. The United States is eager to break the bloody stalemate and at least have Mr. Olmert and Mr. Abbas talking again.Amid the negotiating, the shooting continued Friday, with Israeli troops in Gaza killing two Palestinians in Beit Lahiya, including a militant who served as a cameraman for Hamas’s military wing. A 10-year-old boy, Abdel Aziz Salman, died from gunshot wounds, hospital workers said. Palestinians said he was hit by an Israeli sniper; the Israeli Army said its troops in Beit Lahiya had no knowledge of the boy’s death.
Prodi, Chirac endorse EU initiative to halt Mideast violence
LUCCA, Italy, Nov 25 (KUNA) Italian Premier Romano Prodi and French President Jacques Chirac Friday called for a greater European role in the Middle East peace process in order to put an end to the tragic situation Palestinians were witnessing due to the continuous Israeli siege on the Gaza strip.The two leaders said in a press conference held after their summit meeting in the Tuscan town of Lucca hoped that such a move would help end the recent bloodshed in the region and pave the way for peace efforts, such as the initiative launched last week by Spain, France and Italy.They also called for the rapid formation of a Palestinian national unity government due to its significance to resume peace talks with Tel Aviv.The initiative calls for an immediate cease-fire, formation of a Palestinian national unity government that could gain international recognition, prisoners exchange, talks between Israel's prime minister and the Palestinian president and deployment of an international mission in Gaza to monitor the cease-fire. (end) mn.hb,KUNA 242040 Nov 06NNNN
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
INIQUITY(great wickedness or injustice) ABOUNDING.
MATTHEW 24:12
12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
ROMANS 1:29-32
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
22 grow-ops in one highrise
Police say filthy apartments were potential fire threats
Nov. 24, 2006. 05:57 AM,PHINJO GOMBU,STAFF REPORTER
When Toronto's drug-squad detectives arrived at an apartment building on Jane St. just north of Sheppard Ave. W. yesterday morning armed with search warrants for five apartments, they knew they'd have a busy day.
But nothing prepared them for what they found when they started searching the other apartments in the building.By 6 p.m. yesterday, stunned detectives had uncovered a $6.6 million marijuana grow-operation with some 6,600 plants being grown in 22 apartments.The grow-ops, scattered throughout nine floors of 2600 Jane St. ,a 13-storey building with roughly 117 units on the northwest corner of a busyintersection anchored by strip-mall businesses and the Jane-Sheppard Mall is one of the largest discovered in Toronto.From what we can tell, they all appear to be built the same way, said Det. Sgt. Dave Malcolm of the Toronto police drug squad. They all appear to be soil-based, they all appear to be filthy and they all appear to be fire threats.
By the time officers finished breaking down doors with battering rams, they'd tallied a massive operation in apartments from the fourth to 12th floors.Police believe the operation has been in place for one year.They say an Asian-Canadian group is involved in the operation. So far two men have been arrested, but police are remaining tight-lipped about their connection, if any, with the group.
Investigators today will continue examining every rental agreement in the building to find out who rented the apartments, Malcolm said.No one was living in the two-bedroom units. Police say growers had planted about 300 plants in each unit, unplugging the ovens and using the 220-volt outlets to power 1,000-watt grow lights.The plants were grown in pots and toxic fertilizer was strewn across the various apartments.It's a soil-based operation, not a true hydroponic grow, Malcolm said. It's not a matter of if there's going to be a fire, it's a matter of when.
A rough calculation of the street value of the plants told detectives that what they had smashed was a $6.6 million operation.Late into the evening, officers gowned in protective suits and face masks continued to haul away such things as lampshades, power cables, light bulbs and paper bags full of marijuana plants, which were carefully marked with stickers.Among the items seized by police were fans used to exhaust air out the windows and help clear the apartments of chemicals that were being used to make the plants grow quicker.It was a streamlined operation yesterday as officers commandeered one of the elevators, while residents used the remaining elevator to get to their apartments.Well past 9 p.m. officers were still systematically going through the apartments, including Unit 1202 on the 12th floor. Inside the apartment, placed on the kitchen floor, were rows upon rows of potted baby marijuana plants. Above the plants was a powerful 1,000-watt bulb. The entrance to the kitchen was shut off from the living room with black garbage bags. The living room itself had a couch, a bed, a television set, and a bunch of DVD and VCR players stacked neatly one on top of the other.
Landlords need the tools to countermeasure these things.Harry Birman, senior building manager. In order to prevent police from using a battering ram to break open doors, the building manager called in three locksmiths to open the apartment doors with master keys.Many residents said they weren't surprised by the discovery of grow-ops in the building, but some were taken aback by the scale of the operation.Denis Sanchez, 25, a machinist who lives on the 11th floor, where some of the grow-ops were located, said he knew something was going on because the building had been plagued by power outages in the summer.I guess they were using a lot of electricity, Sanchez said.Toronto police were first alerted to the existence of a grow-op in the building when a fire broke out in April in one of the apartments where marijuana had been grown.Malcolm, however, said that was not what tipped off police, resulting in yesterday's raid in five apartments.
The officer said police are aware that enterprising growers have used apartment buildings for some time.It's not ingenious, it's an extremely lucrative business growing marijuana indoors, Malcolm said. This is unusual in the number of apartments in the same building.One of the biggest draws to Toronto apartment buildings by growers is that many have a single hydro meter for the entire building, enabling extraordinary hydro use in an apartment without ready detection.Building owners have to be more vigilant and notice if their hydro bills go up, Malcolm noted.Harry Birman, a senior manager for the building, however, said that owners are hamstrung by tenant protection laws, which prohibit them from entering apartments when they suspect there is a grow-op. He said they have to give 24 hours' notice. By then they can clear up, these guys are very sophisticated.
This is very upsetting for us, Birman said, adding that the cleanup bill would cost the owners more than $250,000. Landlords need the tools to countermeasure these things. And one of them is the ability to inspect suites when we suspect there are marijuana grow-ops. According to provincial property records, the building is owned by 667661 Ontario Inc., and signs posted in the building said it was being operated by Cando Property Management, 25 Duncanwoods Dr., North York. The company operates numerous apartment buildings in the Greater Toronto Area.Ironically, Birman had just received some signs yesterday that he was going to put up in the lobby saying that management would be inspecting rooms for marijuana grow-ops.When the police arrived, he had to send the guy who was going to put up the signs home.
Oscar Henriquez, 52, who works in a neon sign shop, said he'd smelled marijuana from time to time but didn't think much of it because a lot of people around the building smoked and sold the drug. I try not to know anybody because I'm afraid of the people. I have two kids, Henriquez said.Other residents said the building is located in an area where trouble breaks out routinely. Just last year, a man was shot in the parking lot in front of the building, and one resident said there had been a drive-by shooting at a nearby convenience store this past summer.We've never noticed anything, said an 18-year-old man who lives on the second floor and gave his name as Oscar. Kids smoke in the stairwells, but that's about it.Toronto police planned to hold a news conference today at 11 a.m. to provide further details about the bust.
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
CANADA DEFINITION OF NATION
The rest of the days news after this story.
WELL AS WE SEE UNDER NATION (KINGDOM IS IN THERE). I AM NOT SURE WHAT THIS MEANS IN LIGHT OF PROPHECY,BUT IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS KINGDOM, MAYBE THE WORLD WILL ALL DECIDE ON WHAT THE WORD NATION MEANS.
MAYBE THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONS WILL BE CALLED KINGDOMS LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS IN DANIEL. THIS ONE I WILL BE WATCHING CLOSELY TO SEE IF KINGDOMS WILL BE USED INSTEAD OF NATION OR NATION STATE.
SINCE I BELIEVE THE WORLD WILL BE PUT IN TO 10 WORLD REGIONS OR TRADING BLOCKS. MAYBE THE COUNTRIES IN THESE BLOCKS WILL ALL BE CLASSIFIED AS KINGDOM(S) INSTEAD OF NATION ALSO.
NATION
--noun 1. a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to
possess. a givernment peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
2. the territory or country itself: the nations of Central America.
3. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation. 4. an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
(Origin: 1250-1300; ME < L nation-(s. of nation) birth, tribe, equiv. to nat(us) (ptp. of nasci to be born) + ion- -ion)
--Synonyms 1. See race 2. 2. state, commonwealth, kingdom, realm.
NATION STATE
--noun a sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous group of people who share a feeling of common nationality.
Canadians quick to weigh in on Quebec nationhood
Why then do we not have a German Nation, Ukrainian Nation, Russian Nation? Quebec is not a distinct nation, one man asks
Last Updated: Thursday, November 23, 2006,CBC News
Canadians were quick to respond to the federal Conservatives motion that the Québécois form a nation within Canada, with most telling CBC.ca they don't support the idea.Many said they believed the motion, introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the House of Commons on Wednesday and due for a vote next week, could be the beginning of a slippery slope of demands.Why then do we not have a German Nation, Ukrainian Nation, Russian Nation? Quebec is not a distinct nation. They are Canadians just like the rest of us, wrote Terry Marak.Peter Swire said the prime minister's motion was less than helpful for the building of a better Canada.
How long will it be for other parts of Canada to ask to be considered a nation? The West? Toronto? Newfoundland and Labrador? What is fair is fair, isn't it? Others reacted with outrage, saying they are tired of an issue that never seems to go away.This is so absurd! The placation, mollification and accommodation of Quebec always becomes Job One whenever there is some federal political volatility whether it's a tenuous minority government trying to hang on, or a major party electing a leader, wrote Tim Elliott, from Calgary.Mark Cascella questioned how Harper's motion appeases Quebec residents that identify with Canada as their nation.
The separatist movement is pure fantasy, ignorant of the reality that we live in a global village, and to become a small sovereign nation defined by a culture of insularity would lead to socio-economic catastrophe, wrote Cascella.Recognize the obvious, others urge,Others seemed to feel that change could be in the air.
Tolerance can only go so far and then you end up with a fractured nation that does not know who it is, wrote Peter Chalker.I feel that recognizing Quebec as a nation is stating the obvious and should have been done years ago.Halifax man Unfortunately, this may mean a very different Canada in the future but if you want to live here and benefit from Canadian institutions conform.A reader from Halifax said Harper's motion reflects a more evolved sense of national unity.I feel that recognizing Quebec as a nation is stating the obvious and should have been done years ago, he wrote.However, I'm also inclined to think that comes with a price. Canada will ultimately have to change, but maybe we need to. The question becomes how much, and can we a logical and comprehensive constitutional debate in this country right now.
Some questioned the wording of the prime minister's motion.
The motion refers to recognizing the Québécois (people) as a nation within Canada. It does not refer to the recognizing of Quebec(province) as a nation, wrote Ron White.Griffin, a reader from Halifax, quotes comedian Rick Mercer in looking for the perfect solution.Let Quebec separate. Then all the other provinces will separate and join with Quebec. We can all become the country of Quebec. Then we can have a referendum and change the name back to Canada.
ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS
First Nations seek clarity on Harper's motion on nationhood
OTTAWA, Nov. 23 /CNW Telbec/ - In reference to the motion made by Prime Minister Harper yesterday, the Assembly of First Nations calls upon the Prime Minister to clarify his position in a way that does justice to the status and role of First Nations in Quebec and within Canada as a whole.National Chief Phil Fontaine commented that mindful as we are of our own history and identity, we want to be respectful of other communities and traditions in Canada. The AFN has been, and remains, open to recognition of the nature of Quebec society that acknowledges features such as the French speaking majority in that province. It is important, however, that such recognition be carried out in a way that does not dismiss or diminish in any way, the nationhood of First Nations in Quebec and throughout Canada.
AFN Regional Chief of Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard added that the First Nations of Quebec reserve the right to assert and affirm our status as Nations regardless of what other governments may imply.Furthermore,Picard stated that the recognition by one government of another is only meaningful through a process of negotiation to confirm mutual understandings of the relationship.The Aboriginal and Treaty rights of First Nations peoples, as referenced in the Constitution Act (1982), already provide for the unique status of First Nations in law. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which delivered its final report 10 years ago this week, provided a comprehensive affirmation of our rights and title, as well as a clear path forward for First Nations and all Canadians. Yet, Canada has failed to act and failed to respond in a manner consistent with Aboriginal and Treaty rights and title.Indeed, First Nations across Canada are expressing frustration at the lack of action and attention to First Nations issues.
At the same time, as putting forward this motion, the Government of Canada is actively opposing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada's opposition to this non-binding Declaration that would set only minimum standards for dignity, survival and well-being of the world's Indigenous Peoples is unprincipled and inconsistent.The announcement of a larger than anticipated surplus and more tax-cuts by Minister Flaherty today is yet another blow to First Nations noted the National Chief.
In the full awareness of the growing socio-economic crises in First Nation communities across Canada, First Nations receive neither recognition nor investment.Despite this, we believe that Canadians do care, and, if given the chance, Canadians would support our plans to overcome the disproportionate problems in health, education and housing in our communities, said the National Chief. The challenge is for the Government of Canada to finally act,to finally recognize First Nations, and work with us in the best interest of First Nations peoples and all Canadians.
It would be a very sad comment that unless you constitute a block of potential swing ridings, your voice,regardless of your legal entitlements and rights, is meaningless in this country.There is space for all in Canada, concluded the National Chief. The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and all subsequent governments must seek a balance of the rights of the Quebecois, First Nations, and the rest of Canadians to ensure the prosperity of this country we all share.The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.For further information: Bryan Hendry, A/Director of Communications,
(613) 241-6789, ext. 229, Cell (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca
WELL AS WE SEE UNDER NATION (KINGDOM IS IN THERE). I AM NOT SURE WHAT THIS MEANS IN LIGHT OF PROPHECY,BUT IN THE BIBLE IT SAYS KINGDOM, MAYBE THE WORLD WILL ALL DECIDE ON WHAT THE WORD NATION MEANS.
MAYBE THE INDIVIDUAL NATIONS WILL BE CALLED KINGDOMS LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS IN DANIEL. THIS ONE I WILL BE WATCHING CLOSELY TO SEE IF KINGDOMS WILL BE USED INSTEAD OF NATION OR NATION STATE.
SINCE I BELIEVE THE WORLD WILL BE PUT IN TO 10 WORLD REGIONS OR TRADING BLOCKS. MAYBE THE COUNTRIES IN THESE BLOCKS WILL ALL BE CLASSIFIED AS KINGDOM(S) INSTEAD OF NATION ALSO.
NATION
--noun 1. a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to
possess. a givernment peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
2. the territory or country itself: the nations of Central America.
3. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation. 4. an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
(Origin: 1250-1300; ME < L nation-(s. of nation) birth, tribe, equiv. to nat(us) (ptp. of nasci to be born) + ion- -ion)
--Synonyms 1. See race 2. 2. state, commonwealth, kingdom, realm.
NATION STATE
--noun a sovereign state inhabited by a relatively homogeneous group of people who share a feeling of common nationality.
Canadians quick to weigh in on Quebec nationhood
Why then do we not have a German Nation, Ukrainian Nation, Russian Nation? Quebec is not a distinct nation, one man asks
Last Updated: Thursday, November 23, 2006,CBC News
Canadians were quick to respond to the federal Conservatives motion that the Québécois form a nation within Canada, with most telling CBC.ca they don't support the idea.Many said they believed the motion, introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in the House of Commons on Wednesday and due for a vote next week, could be the beginning of a slippery slope of demands.Why then do we not have a German Nation, Ukrainian Nation, Russian Nation? Quebec is not a distinct nation. They are Canadians just like the rest of us, wrote Terry Marak.Peter Swire said the prime minister's motion was less than helpful for the building of a better Canada.
How long will it be for other parts of Canada to ask to be considered a nation? The West? Toronto? Newfoundland and Labrador? What is fair is fair, isn't it? Others reacted with outrage, saying they are tired of an issue that never seems to go away.This is so absurd! The placation, mollification and accommodation of Quebec always becomes Job One whenever there is some federal political volatility whether it's a tenuous minority government trying to hang on, or a major party electing a leader, wrote Tim Elliott, from Calgary.Mark Cascella questioned how Harper's motion appeases Quebec residents that identify with Canada as their nation.
The separatist movement is pure fantasy, ignorant of the reality that we live in a global village, and to become a small sovereign nation defined by a culture of insularity would lead to socio-economic catastrophe, wrote Cascella.Recognize the obvious, others urge,Others seemed to feel that change could be in the air.
Tolerance can only go so far and then you end up with a fractured nation that does not know who it is, wrote Peter Chalker.I feel that recognizing Quebec as a nation is stating the obvious and should have been done years ago.Halifax man Unfortunately, this may mean a very different Canada in the future but if you want to live here and benefit from Canadian institutions conform.A reader from Halifax said Harper's motion reflects a more evolved sense of national unity.I feel that recognizing Quebec as a nation is stating the obvious and should have been done years ago, he wrote.However, I'm also inclined to think that comes with a price. Canada will ultimately have to change, but maybe we need to. The question becomes how much, and can we a logical and comprehensive constitutional debate in this country right now.
Some questioned the wording of the prime minister's motion.
The motion refers to recognizing the Québécois (people) as a nation within Canada. It does not refer to the recognizing of Quebec(province) as a nation, wrote Ron White.Griffin, a reader from Halifax, quotes comedian Rick Mercer in looking for the perfect solution.Let Quebec separate. Then all the other provinces will separate and join with Quebec. We can all become the country of Quebec. Then we can have a referendum and change the name back to Canada.
ASSEMBLY OF FIRST NATIONS
First Nations seek clarity on Harper's motion on nationhood
OTTAWA, Nov. 23 /CNW Telbec/ - In reference to the motion made by Prime Minister Harper yesterday, the Assembly of First Nations calls upon the Prime Minister to clarify his position in a way that does justice to the status and role of First Nations in Quebec and within Canada as a whole.National Chief Phil Fontaine commented that mindful as we are of our own history and identity, we want to be respectful of other communities and traditions in Canada. The AFN has been, and remains, open to recognition of the nature of Quebec society that acknowledges features such as the French speaking majority in that province. It is important, however, that such recognition be carried out in a way that does not dismiss or diminish in any way, the nationhood of First Nations in Quebec and throughout Canada.
AFN Regional Chief of Quebec and Labrador, Ghislain Picard added that the First Nations of Quebec reserve the right to assert and affirm our status as Nations regardless of what other governments may imply.Furthermore,Picard stated that the recognition by one government of another is only meaningful through a process of negotiation to confirm mutual understandings of the relationship.The Aboriginal and Treaty rights of First Nations peoples, as referenced in the Constitution Act (1982), already provide for the unique status of First Nations in law. The Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, which delivered its final report 10 years ago this week, provided a comprehensive affirmation of our rights and title, as well as a clear path forward for First Nations and all Canadians. Yet, Canada has failed to act and failed to respond in a manner consistent with Aboriginal and Treaty rights and title.Indeed, First Nations across Canada are expressing frustration at the lack of action and attention to First Nations issues.
At the same time, as putting forward this motion, the Government of Canada is actively opposing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Canada's opposition to this non-binding Declaration that would set only minimum standards for dignity, survival and well-being of the world's Indigenous Peoples is unprincipled and inconsistent.The announcement of a larger than anticipated surplus and more tax-cuts by Minister Flaherty today is yet another blow to First Nations noted the National Chief.
In the full awareness of the growing socio-economic crises in First Nation communities across Canada, First Nations receive neither recognition nor investment.Despite this, we believe that Canadians do care, and, if given the chance, Canadians would support our plans to overcome the disproportionate problems in health, education and housing in our communities, said the National Chief. The challenge is for the Government of Canada to finally act,to finally recognize First Nations, and work with us in the best interest of First Nations peoples and all Canadians.
It would be a very sad comment that unless you constitute a block of potential swing ridings, your voice,regardless of your legal entitlements and rights, is meaningless in this country.There is space for all in Canada, concluded the National Chief. The Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, and all subsequent governments must seek a balance of the rights of the Quebecois, First Nations, and the rest of Canadians to ensure the prosperity of this country we all share.The Assembly of First Nations is the national organization representing First Nations citizens in Canada.For further information: Bryan Hendry, A/Director of Communications,
(613) 241-6789, ext. 229, Cell (613) 293-6106, bhendry@afn.ca
PANDEMIC MAY COST 623 BILLION
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Three quakes jolt Afghanistan, eight hurt 3-4.1 Earthquake Hits Saudi Arabia. 4-Earthquake hits Hawaii's Big Island. 5-Death toll climbs to 80 as floods ravage Somalia. 6-Modeller warns of worse storms to come. 7-Kinder weather helps fight against Australia fires. 8-American Billionaire Urges European Union to Proceed Piecemeal. 9-Poll: Netanyahu next prime minister. 10-Tehran vows to press ahead with reactor after IAEA denies aid. 11-China, Pakistan To Ink Free Trade Deal. 12-Company Takes Robot Realism to New Level. 13-Nefesh b Nefesh Launches Push for Mega-Aliyah. 14-MIDEAST: PRODI, BOTH SIDES MUST ACCEPT PEACE INITIATIVES. 15-Palestinian factions agree on limited ceasefire with Israel. 16-Personal Issues Bog Down Olmert-Peretz Cooperation. 17-Vancouver boil-water advisory reaches one week. 18-Flu Pandemic May Cost $623 Billion, World Bank Says.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri Nov 24 10:00 PM EDT
NOV 24,2006
MAP 3.3 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
NOV 23,2006
MAP 5.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.4 NORTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
MAP 3.8 VIRGINIA
MAP 3.8 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 SLOVAKIA-UKRAINE BORDER REGION
MAP 4.5 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
Three quakes jolt Afghanistan, eight hurt
23 Nov, 2006 ISTAFP
MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Afghanistan): Three minor earthquakes shook Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday with eight people wounded in a scramble to flee buildings, an official said. Eight people were admitted to hospitals in the city with injuries after the quakes, the head of the city's hospitals Mirwais Radie said. Some were hurt jumping out of buildings or from crushes as people rushed to evacuate buildings, he said. There was minor damage such as mirrors being cracked by the tremors. No immediate measurement of the strength of the quakes was available as the war-damaged country does not have systems for recording seismic activity.The first quake struck around 5:00 am local time (0600 IST). I was asleep. There was a bad earthquake and we fled from the house into the streets, said university student Nilofar, who uses only one name. All my neighbours were t here.
We waited for about 20 minutes before going back in. The second quake was hours later and less powerful, but one at around 11:00 am sent people back into the streets fearing that buildings might collapse. Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush mountain range that is near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, where seismic activity is high.
4.1 Earthquake Hits Saudi Arabia
23/11/2006,By Ali Mateer
Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat- An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook the city of Haradh in Eastern Saudi Arabia, Wednesday.
The earthquake struck at 3.30pm local time. This time last year, an earthquake of similar magnitude was recorded in the same region. The national network of seismic monitoring in the Saudi Geological Survey, the official legal authority that monitors earthquakes in the kingdom recorded the earthquake and its activity.Hani Zahran, an engineer and the director of the National Center for Earthquakes of the Geological Survey told Asharq Al Awsat that residents in the region of Haradh felt the tremor, however, there were no human or material damages incurred. The earthquake monitoring stations that are deployed in Saudi Arabia record earthquakes of varying degrees and in locations of seismic activity, however, the majority of these earthquakes have not been felt by residents.He added.
Geologists told Asharq Al Awsat that the cause of frequent earthquakes in recent years in the Arabian Peninsula is attributed to the fact that the region is located near active seismic borders on both the north-eastern and western borders. They stated that the Arab plate which includes the GCC states, Yemen and parts of Iran and Greater Syria collides with the Iranian plate (the Zagros Mountains) and the Turkish plate (the mountains of Anatolia).
In turn, this causes the movement of the Arab plate by two centimetres annually causing an expansion to the Red Sea area and causing friction between the two plates in the eastern region of the Arab plate.In September 2005, an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale shook Mecca and caused panic amongst the citizens of Otaibah, a neighbourhood situated near the Holy Mosque. Official statements regarding the intensity of the tremor contradicted each other and this led to a decision by the Saudi cabinet to assign the responsibility of monitoring seismic activity to the Saudi Geological Survey, which is to include all centres affiliated to King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, King Abdul Aziz University, King Saud University and King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals under the umbrella of the Geological Survey.
Earthquake hits Hawaii's Big Island Thu Nov 23, 6:41 PM ET
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.5 struck off the northwest coast of the Big Island on Thursday in the same area where two stronger temblors struck last month. The quake, centered about 11 miles northwest of Puuanahulu, shook homes on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu, but it did not produce a tsunami threat, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.The U.S. Geological Survey estimated its magnitude at 5.0; the Tsunami Warning Center estimated it at 4.5.Boulders and other debris forced the temporary closure of Highway 19 near Laupahoehoe on the Big Island, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.There were isolated power outages in Kona on the Big Island, but no other damages were immediately reported.Magnitude 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes shook the islands Oct. 15, causing power outages, bridge collapses and road closures. Those quakes caused an estimated $200 million in damages.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Death toll climbs to 80 as floods ravage Somalia by Mustafa Haji Abdinur
Thu Nov 23, 3:32 PM ET
MOGADISHU (AFP) Heavy flooding in Somalia killed at least seven people overnight, bringing the death toll to 80 from three weeks of torrential rains, witnesses and aid workers have said. With the emergence of cholera cases, humanitarian groups raced to southern Somalia Thursday to avert a possible disaster that would be exacerbated by fears of war between the Islamic fighters and government forces backed by Ethiopian troops.Of the casualties, four were mauled by crocodiles lurking in floodwater in Mustahil district of Somalia's Hiraan region, where the River Shabelle broke its banks and swept through villages, they said.We were told by the villagers that four bodies were recovered floating on the floods, said Abdulahi Mao Nur, an elder in the region's capital Beledweyne, told AFP.Crocodiles killed them because they had serious injuries. Two of them had their legs eaten, Nur told AFP by
telephone.
We don't know how to overcome this problem because every day, we are getting information about crocodiles killing and wounding livestock and human beings, he added.Last week, crocodiles killed nine people in the same district, forcing tens of thousands to flee to higher ground, where they are surviving on wild fruit and face an outbreak of waterborne diseases.Humanitarian workers said three other people died when their hut collapsed under heavy flooding in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, one of the most affected regions in the country.Three people were found dead after the hut they lived in collapsed. They couldn't manage to escape and nobody was there to rescue them, said Abdulkadir Hudo, a local aid worker.As heavy downpours continued to wreak havoc in Somalia, which is already beset by years of conflict, relief organisations scrambled to rescue the flood-affected people, estimated at nearly one million.The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday launched a massive emergency relief operation to the Somalia's Juba, Gedo, Shabelle and Hiraan regions where floods have washed farmlands and roads, disrupted food supplies and cut off villages.The ICRC airlifted tarpaulins to assist 324,000 people in those areas while the UN's World Food Programme said a large Ilyushin-76 aircraft and two heavy-lift helicopters would airdrop food.The Somali government has warned of an imminent disaster if aid agencies do not rapidly deliver food and other essential items to the most remote regions, most of which are inaccessible.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million, has lacked any disaster response mechanism since the country was plunged into anarchy after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.In addition to the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by years of droughts, famine, floods and absence of permanent humanitarian operations.In neighbouring Kenya, a man drowned in Rift Valley's Keiyo region, a provincial commissioner said, bringing the death toll to 38 people killed while around 200,000 others, including 80,000 refugees, require urgent relief supplies.Southern Ethiopia is still reeling from flash floods in August and September, which left 639 dead and affected over 350,000 people, again chiefly hitting the ethnic Somali region.Aid groups have warned that the situation in the three eastern Africa countries is expected to worsen over the coming weeks as the torrential rain continues.
According to the UN, between 1.5 million and 1.8 million people in the three nations have been affected by the flooding, which has altered the way of life for the largely agricultural and pastoral communities.
Thursday, November 23, 2006 ,Royal Gazette
Modeller warns of worse storms to come
NEW YORK (Reuters) The 2006 hurricane season is ending on November 30 with US homeowners and insurers unscathed, but forecasters warn that the years ahead will not be so calm.
While the first predictions for 2007 are due in early December, Risk Management Solutions, a firm that models damages from hurricanes, sees annual storm losses for the next five years rising 40 percent in the US Gulf and up to 30 percent in the Atlantic.2006 was only a respite, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist of the
Insurance Information Institute. The trend is for more hurricane activity, not less.Insurers are awaiting a first look at the 2007 season, which starts on June 1 and ends on November30, from Colorado State University hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray and his team on December 8.
The Climate Prediction Center of the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is due to give its end-of-season report on November 30.Forecasters were wrong in 2006, unanimously predicting an above-average season for hurricanes based on warmer-than-usual Atlantic waters that often fuel hurricanes.But wind patterns and dust storms in the Sahara squelched tropical disturbances before they started, forecasters said. As a result, there were only nine storms that got names this year. That compares with 28 in 2005, including the trio of Katrina, Rita and Wilma that caused more than $100 billion in losses.One season does not set a trend, however. Yes, we got off easy, but our expectation is that 2007 will be another tough year, said Robert Blumber, a managing director in Marsh Inc.’s global property group, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., the world’s largest insurance brokerage firm.
Insurance premiums for catastrophe-exposed areas such as Florida have gone up by 50 percent to 100 percent in some areas. Deductibles, the amount an insured pays before coverage kicks in, have risen to 5 percent from 2 percent in past years, Blumber
said.
This has as much to do with growth in storm-ridden areas as the weather itself, according to companies who predict what future catastrophe losses could look like.Florida’s population is growing by two percent a year, said Tom Larsen, a vice president with Eqecat Inc. As a result, the disaster modeller sees the loss potential in the Sunshine State doubling every 15 to 20 years.Risk Management Solutions said its view that damage will be 40 percent higher in 2007 to 2011 is based on comparison to its statistics compiled starting in 1900.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Kinder weather helps fight against Australia fires
24 November 2006 (Reuters)
SYDNEY: Milder weather has helped firefighters make significant inroads against dozens of bushfires burning across southeast Australia but authorities said the danger was not over. More than 50 fires were still burning across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with tens of thousands of hectares of tinder-dry land already burnt out. Three firefighters were injured as they battled one of the biggest blazes near the township of Molong, about 250km west of Sydney. One was injured from smoke inhalation and two were injured by trees that fell, Rural Fire Service spokesman Simon Heemstra said, adding that none of the injuries was serious.The body of an elderly man had been found tangled in a wire fence on Tuesday after a small grassfire south of Sydney which was not related to the major blazes.
Firefighters say Australia faces an extreme fire danger this summer after a worsening drought left rural areas bone dry. Scientists fear that climate change will bring more frequent higher temperatures and less rainfall. Winds of up to 100 kph fanned a major blaze in the Blue Mountains on Sydney's western outskirts on Wednesday.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut cooler, calmer weather on Thursday helped firefighters who lit backburning fires to consume some of the tinder-dry undergrowth as well as steer the blazes away from townships.The flames were only about 2.5km from the township of Mount Tomah and were still burning out of control but officials said mild weather was forecast for the next two days.The threat from fires flared again in the southwest of neighbouring Victoria state, where one blaze had already burnt out 10,000 hectares since it began 10 days ago.
Water-bombing aircraft joined firefighters trying to control that blaze but their efforts were being hampered by hot, dry conditions and inaccessible terrain.The fire had escaped containment lines and officials were concerned no rain was expected. If you could order it for me, I would take buckets full of it, firefighting official Bill Spears told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. In January 2004, the deadliest bushfires in 22 years killed nine people injured in South Australia. Four people were killed and 530 homes destroyed in Canberra in 2003. That same year, bushfires fuelled by drought ravaged a slice of Australia three times the size of Britain.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN
CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
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:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) 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:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) 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 (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships;
and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
American Billionaire Urges European Union to Proceed Piecemeal
By John F. McManus ,2006-11-22
TO READ THE ARTICLE http://euobserver.com/?aid=22915
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:
Speaking in Brussels at the European Policy Center, leftist U.S. philanthropist George Soros urged Europe's leaders to shelve the European Constitution and proceed toward what he terms an open society by a step by step building process.
COMMENTARY:
Knowing that the EU Constitution had been rejected by voters in France and The Netherlands, American billionaire George Soros recommended that Europe's leaders cease forcing the Constitution down people's throats and, instead, implement its various steps piecemeal. His recommendation remarkably parallels the call for piece by piece erosion of the U.S. Constitution stated by Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) guru Richard N. Gardner, and the same advice given by CFR member Zbigniew Brzezinski who called for piecemeal transfer of power from the U.S. to a world government in one of his books.
The EU Constitution quietly favored by Soros, who is also a CFR member, states that it shall have primacy over member states. Though rejected by voters in a few formerly independent nations, its various provisions are, in fact, being enacted as Soros recommended. He is pleased with this method of compromising sovereignty because he feared that forcing the Constitution down people's throats would create a backlash that would imperil the drive toward the open society he favors. His open society, however, is a clever term used to disguise the goal of world government that he seeks. Revealingly, the EU Constitution is full of references expressing subservience to the United Nations.
It can only be hoped that more people in the 25 formerly independent nations that are already entangled in the EU will awaken and remove their country from this obvious path to world government. It can also be hoped that the American people will awaken before leaders here take our nation into the carbon copy of the EU known as the North American Union.John F. McManus.John F.
McManus is President of The John Birch Society.
Poll: Netanyahu next prime minister
By Ynetnews,November 23, 2006
A poll conducted by Israel's largest newspaper this week revealed that if elections were held today, Binyamin Netanyahu would be Israel's next prime minister.Disappointed with the performance of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government, Israeli voters would give Netanyahu's Likud 20 Knesset seats, up considerably from its current 12.Olmert's Kadima Party would drop from 29 seats to 15, the same number the Labor Party would receive, compared to the 19 it holds today.Rightist immigrant party Israel Our Home, led by Avigdor Lieberman, would receive 10 mandates, and popular Israeli-Russian industrialist Arcadi Gaydamak would win 13 seats if he decided to run.Together with Lieberman, Gaydamak and the religious parties, Netanyahu would be able to form a right-wing coalition enjoying of a firm 69-seat majority.The only fear is that the ultra-leftist Meretz Party, which is expected to increase from five seats to eight, will merge with Labor, making it the largest Knesset faction.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Tehran vows to press ahead with reactor after IAEA denies aid
Compiled by Daily Star staff ,Friday, November 24, 2006
Iran said Thursday that it would continue with the construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor even after the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors indefinitely blocked Tehran's bid for technical aid.But diplomats said the ruling, which the International Atomic Energy Agency's board adopted by consensus after days of haggling between industrialized and developing nations, left a theoretical possibility of revisiting in the future Iran's request for expert advice on the construction of a reactor in Arak.In reaction, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the IAEA was legally required to provide technical assistance to Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.It is the duty of the IAEA to help. If they help, we will appreciate it. If not, we will do it on our own, Mottaki told reporters in Tehran.
The Arak reactor, according to Iranian officials, is to replace a smaller light-water research reactor in Tehran, built by the United States before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. In a compromise hammered out in negotiations ahead of the IAEA board meeting, Iranian requests for IAEA technical assistance on six other nuclear energy projects judged not to pose a risk of being diverted to bomb-making were approved by the board.The decision is that the [Arak] project will be definitely put on hold, IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters. Obviously, if matters [with Iran] move in a different direction in future, the board might consider to revisit the decision.Iran sought on-site IAEA safety advice at the Arak complex under construction. It said the IAEA had a duty to ensure all nations nuclear programs were safe, but vowed to complete the reactor by 2009 whether granted IAEA expertise or not.http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Gregory Schulte, the US ambassador to the IAEA, told reporters the Arak item was not deferred, not put on hold, it was removed entirely from the IAEA program.But Ali Asghar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian representative, said Iran would not be deterred, telling reporters: The Iranian government is determined to continue the construction of this heavy-water reactor. The session of the 35-nation IAEA board also debated a November report by ElBaradei describing Iran's evasions of investigations dating to 2003.
ElBaradei chided Iran for not fully cooperating with agency experts trying to establish that its nuclear program is not being used to make weapons. We have reached a period of standstill, he told reporters.But he said that Iran had recently compromised on two issues agreeing to provide access to the operating records of its pilot uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and allowing inspectors to take more samples from a facility that had yielded suspicious traces of enriched uranium.These are important steps in the right direction, he said of Iran's gestures, possibly made to help blunt Western pressure for tough UN Security Council sanctions.What we really require from Iran is a full explanation of the development of its nuclear program from start to finish, ElBaradei said. Agencies
China, Pakistan To Ink Free Trade Deal
Agreement Would Increase Bilateral Trade By $15 Billion In Five Years
(CBS/AP) China's visiting President Hu Jintao will sign a free trade deal with Pakistan that will more than triple bilateral trade to $15 billion in five years, a Pakistani diplomat said Thursday. Hu, who arrived in Islamabad on the first visit to Pakistan by a Chinese leader in 10 years, will sign a raft of economic and energy deals on Friday aimed at expanding a burgeoning bilateral trade relationship that grew 39 percent last year to $4.26 billion.
Salman Bashir, Pakistan's envoy to China, said a free trade agreement will be the most important document signed during Hu's four-day visit, the first by a Chinese leader to this Muslim nation in 10 years. We are expecting to take volume of bilateral trade to $15 billion within the next five years with the implementation of the FTA (free trade agreement), Bashir told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
The Chinese leader was greeted at Islamabad's international airport by Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the entire Cabinet as well as the heads of each of the defense services. Artillery blasted a 21-round salute, a brass band played China's national anthem, drum-beating musicians performed traditional songs and scores of school children waved miniature Chinese and Pakistani flags. Hu was later driven in a heavily guarded convoy for a banquet at Pakistan's presidency building. In an arrival statement, Hu said his visit was aimed at deepening friendship, expanding cooperation and planning the future of our relationship. China already provides Pakistan nuclear and defense industry assistance and is its third-largest trading partner, after the United States and the European Union. Pakistan is expected to buy large-ticket weapons worth at least $10 billion in the next five years at least 4 billion from China alone. The weapons include the Chinese-Pakistani produced JF-17 fighter planes, the F-22 Chinese frigates and Chinese components for the Pakistani military’s new main battle tank known as Al-Khalid, reported CBS
Farhan Bokhari from Islamabad.
In New Delhi, Hu offered his assistance, if asked, to help resolve lingering disputes between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed archrival India, but added that he would not choose sides between the neighbors, who have fought three wars since their 1947 independence, including two over the Himalayan Kashmir region. I look forward to having in-depth exchange of views with President Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders (on) bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest, state-run Pakistani TV quoted Hu as saying.
In what is expected to be the first of several economic deals made during Hu's trip, Pakistan and Chinese officials agreed to establish a joint investment company, involving the China Development Bank, to undertake urban and rural infrastructure projects in Pakistan. Dr. Salman Shah, finance adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, said the agreement was reached during talks he held Thursday with the vice governor of the China Development Bank, the state-run agency reported. China will provide necessary financial support in the industrial, services, agricultural, health care and education sectors, Shah said.
Pakistan is an impoverished country of 160 million people which has been seeking increased foreign investment to help boost its infrastructure and industry demands, as well as expand much-needed energy sources.
Bashir, the ambassador, said China and Pakistan have established a framework to expand energy cooperation. They will investigate building an energy corridor providing Beijing access to oil and gas resources of Central and Western Asia and developing oil refining and storage facilities in Pakistani coastal areas. China's official Xinhua news agency has reported that China would conclude an accord with Pakistan in November to sell Islamabad reactors for six nuclear power plants to be built during the next 10 years. Pakistan has been seeking U.S. support to boost its nuclear energy program, calling for a deal along the lines of one between Washington and New Delhi. That deal allows U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India in exchange for Indian safeguards, and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear plants. Eight military plants would be off-limits.
But the Bush administration has rejected Pakistan's call amid lingering concerns about Islamabad's past suspect nuclear dealings led by disgraced atomic scientist and black market trader A.Q. Khan.
Pakistan’s track record arouses much concern in Washington. This is the bottom line, a U.S. official in Washington told CBS News on condition of anonymity. China has already provided funding and expertise to help build a 300-megawatt nuclear power station in 1999 at Chashma in the eastern province of Punjab. In April last year, the two countries began building a second nuclear power plant near the old one. On Friday, Hu holds talks with Musharraf and Aziz before delivering a live televised address to the nation. On Saturday, he travels to the eastern city of Lahore for further talks with political and business leaders.
POSSIBLE ROBOT (EU LEADER LOOKALIKE)
KNOWLEDGE INCREASE (COMPUTERS) AND TRAVEL.
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
REVELATION 13:13-15
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
REVELATION 14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Company Takes Robot Realism to New Level
Email Print Normal font Large font November 23, 2006 - 9:50AM
David Hanson's robots can creep people out. Their heads are so lifelike, their skin so textured and realistic, that Candy Sidner, a competing roboticist, called his Albert Einstein robot spookily cool .a giant step forward.Hanson, who started his career as an artist and spent time working in Disney's Imagineering Lab, said he flirts with being too realistic for comfort. His work, he said, poses an identity challenge to the human being.If you make it perfectly realistic, you trigger this body-snatcher fear in some people, he said.
Making realistic robots is going to polarize the market, if you will. You will have some people who love it and some people who will really be disturbed.Hanson's robotics company in Dallas is the flip side of an industry focused on making robots more human on the inside. Hanson makes conversational character robots. They are mostly human-looking heads using a skin-like material that he invented called Frubber. They are battery-powered, walk and are expressive, but from the neck down they don't look human at all.
The issue of being too human-looking is called uncanny valley syndrome, and Hanson embraces it with the passion and line-crossing of an avant-garde artist, which he also is.
Hanson made a robot head modeled on his own, but it wasn't for use as a robot. It was part of an art show where he made his self-portrait robot a large homeless robot figure in a box.The idea was to go out of the comfort zone of science, he said.But Hanson is also a businessman who is designing entertainment robots for the home. He hopes to have two-foot robots with human-looking heads that are more cartoonish than uncannily accurate that can dance, make eye contact, talk and recognize your face. The idea is to price them at $3,000 and get them on the market in about a year.It would be very much like Astro Boy in the old TV series, Hanson said.
On the Net:Hanson Robotics: http://www.hansonrobotics.com/index.php%emph_
ISRAEL WILL BECOME A NATION. LITERALY IN THE SPRING.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,(CHANGED TO ABRAHAM LATER) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:(PALESTINE,ISRAEL)
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
EZEKIEL 36:24
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
EZEKIEL 37:9-28
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds,(ALL THE WORLD) O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.(COME TO LIFE)
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.(ISRAEL WILL HAVE A POWERFUL ARMY)
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.(BURNED BY HITLER)
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.(THE DRY BONES COME TO LIFE IN ISRAEL)
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
MATTHEW 24:32
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:(ISRAEL WAS LITERALLY REBORN JUST BEFORE SUMMER,MAY 14,1948).
MARK 13:28
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
DANIEL 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LAST GENERATION.
LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Nefesh b Nefesh Launches Push for Mega-Aliyah
By Ezra HaLevi (INN)
The Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah assistance organization is holding three mega-events in the coming weeks aimed at educating the larger Jewish public about immigration to Israel.The half-day programs are part of a series of specially tailored programs, events and individual counseling sessions taking place throughout the U.S., Canada and UK this winter, the organization says. The programming is designed for those already actively planning their immigration, as well as those merely contemplating Aliyah. Pre-and Post-Aliyah guidance and strategies will be discussed as well as services and benefits offered by Nefesh B’Nefesh (NbN). The events will include seminars, videos and other presentations focusing on specific issues such as children, families, education and networking in Israel.
There will also be individual sessions run by a team of experts who will fly in from Israel to offer first-hand professional advice to participants.By enabling participants to tailor sessions according to their own specific interests, Nefesh B’Nefesh aims to bring more relevant and helpful information on Aliyah to local communities, an NbN statement said. The personally tailored sessions will include: Employment, Healthcare, Community options, The Aliyah process, the Education system, Retirement, Taxes and Aliyah and others.Nefesh B’Nefesh’s specially designed mega-events respond to the need for on-site personal guidance by experienced professionals who can offer more useful and practical information and guidance on Aliyah, explained Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass. We hope this enhanced service will make it that much easier for people to actualize their dreams and make living in Israel a reality.
The Toronto mega-event will take place on Thursday, November 30, at the Novotel North York Hotel, 3 Park Home Avenue, Toronto between 7:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
The New Jersey MEGA will take place on Sunday, December 3, at the Crowne Plaza Englewood, 401 South Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ between 10:15 AM and 2:00 PM. The New York MEGA will be held on the same day at the Holiday Inn at JFK Airport, 144-02 135th Ave. Jamaica, NY between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM.Nefesh B’Nefesh ran information events in 2005 attended by more than 12,000 participants. NbN, working together with the Jewish Agency, has successfully brought close to 10,000 new Olim (immigrants) to Israel since 2002.
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
MIDEAST: PRODI, BOTH SIDES MUST ACCEPT PEACE INITIATIVES
(AGI) - Rome, Nov. 23 - For the peace process in the Middle East, Italy, France and Spain have simply shared the idea of re-launching it, starting from the positive experience of their collaboration in Lebanon and of their shared sensibility of Mediterranean countries. In any case, all the European initiatives, in order to be successful, must be extended to the other E.U. partners and contain elements able to be accepted by all the conflicting sides.This was stated by the President of the Council Romano Prodi to France Presse. Prodi continued, Together with France, we recognize the necessity of an ambitious Mediterranean policy and we have direct cooperation. We are working together, even with Spain, for the re-launching of financial cooperation in the Mediterranean with the creation of a fund primarily for small and medium companies.(AGI).
Palestinian factions agree on limited ceasefire with Israel
A senior Palestinian official affirmed on Thursday that the armed Palestinian factions have agreed on a limited ceasefire with Israel.
Khader Habib, Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, told reporters that representatives of national and Islamic factions, who met with Prime Minister Ismail Haneya in Gaza on Thursday night, has agreed on a limited ceasefire with Israel. He stressed that the ceasefire is mutual and synchronous, noting that Israel stops its military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, while Palestinian militants stop firing rockets at Israel.The agreement also needs the acceptance of both Fatah and Hamas movements, he added. On Monday, the Israeli army launched a ground military operation into northern Gaza Strip, where 12 Palestinians have been killed and more than 20 others wounded in the latest Israeli operation. As Palestinian militants continued to launch rockets against southern Israeli cities, Israel decided on Wednesday to continue its military operations in Gaza. Source: Xinhua
Personal Issues Bog Down Olmert-Peretz Cooperation
By Hana Levi Julian (INN)
Thursday's weekly meeting between PM Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz is unlikely to mend the rift between the two, but it may at least keep matters of state on the front burner.The two men have been sniping at each other for days, but a recent telephone conversation between Peretz and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas set off a firestorm between the two.
Olmert accused Peretz of exceeding his authority by making contact with Abbas to discuss possiblities for peace. He also claimed that Peretz had damaged existing contacts with the PA and accused the defense minister of not providing a full, detailed report of the conversation.Peretz told Olmert that his own previous contacts with Abbas constituted the same faux pas of maintaining contact with PA officials without informing him. The Defense Minister added Abbas had initiated the conversation and that he had simply returned the call.
Amir won't put down the phone on anyone who calls him, said an associate of Peretz, according to the Haaretz news service. He is the defense minister and chairman of the Labor party and will advance peace issues. That is why he was elected, he said.It is believed by political observers that Peretz's days as Defense Minister are numbered, and that Olmert may use Thursday's meeting to further his goal of ousting him.
Peretz is facing similar troubles within his own party, with calls by Labor members for him to step down from the Defense Ministry and hand his job over to someone within the ranks who has more military expertise.Unofficially, it is being reported that today’s meeting with the prime minister will lead to a respectful formula that will permit Peretz to resign, possibly to take another senior post in the government. In that scenario, former prime minister and retired IDF chief of staff, Ehud Barak, will be brought in to take over the Defense Ministry.According to a Geocartography poll released last Tuesday, some 60% of the nation is calling for Peretz’s resignation, with even more calling on IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to step down as well.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Vancouver boil-water advisory reaches one week
Updated Thu. Nov. 23 2006 9:30 PM ET,CTV.ca News Staff
Almost a million people are still waiting for clean tap water in the Vancouver area, and officials have shut off supply from one of three reservoirs to speed up disinfection. Meanwhile, health officials said it could take until Friday to confirm possible E. coli contamination.
A water sample taken at the University of British Columbia tested positive for the harmful bacteria. Because the water had a high level of chlorine that would have killed E. coli, it's possible the sample was contaminated by the tester. One official believed a nearby compost site affected the water.(The test water) was sitting low, and unfortunately some water run-off from a compost pile that was near it came over, and had been sitting around the water test station, the university's Gordon Apperley told CTV Vancouver.
About 1,000 tests have been taken since the boil-water advisory came into effect last Thursday, and not a single person has become sick. High turbidity levels the amount of cloudiness in the water, caused by silt prompted the advisory after torrential rains. The turbidity makes it difficult for officials to effectively chlorinate the water. That advisory remains in effect for the City of Vancouver,
North Vancouver, Burnaby and parts of West Vancouver.
In those communities, boiled water or bottled water should be used for drinking, brushing teeth and washing food.The advisory will end when Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) officials determine the turbidity levels are low enough. Most people in the Vancouver area get their water from the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs.Turbidity levels in Capilano's water supply were dropping so slowly that officials took it off line, although the gradual addition of clean water is helping the situation.
Levels are also changing slowly in Seymour's water, but the supply has more exposure to chlorine. We have about 45 minutes in the Capilano system for the chlorine to work on those bugs before you hit the first customer, whereas in the Seymour system we have about three hours, Paul Archibald, water supply operations manager for the Greater Vancouver Regional District, told The Canadian Press.
Vivianna Zanocco of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority said Seymour is also being helped by the gradual addition of fresh water.What we're seeing in Seymour is that the turbidity at the lower levels is quite high, but at the upper levels, where there's new water coming in either from rain or from fresh streams, it's actually very clean, she told CTV Vancouver. Officials said it could take at least another week to clean the Seymour reservoir, and several weeks to clean the Capilano reservoir. With a report by CTV Vancouver's Jill Bennett and files from The Canadian Press
Flu Pandemic May Cost $623 Billion, World Bank Says
By Jason Gale
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) A severe influenza pandemic would cost the U.S. $623 billion, or about 60 times more than an average flu season, and constitute a major global recession, the World Bank said.
Economists at the Washington-based World Bank estimated a contagion capable of killing more than 1 percent of people worldwide could cause losses of $1.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion globally. The spread of the H5N1 avian influenza strain has put the world closer to another pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three major outbreaks occurred, according to the World Health Organization. The Bank, which funds projects to alleviate poverty, is working with countries to improve hospitals and laboratories to bolster disease surveillance and management of avian flu. Human fatalities from the H5N1 strain of the virus this year have surpassed the previous two years combined, providing more chances for the virus to mutate into a lethal pandemic form. Even with such efforts, an eventual human pandemic at some unknown point in the future is virtually inevitable, the Bank said in an e-mailed report today. Because such a pandemic would spread very quickly, substantial efforts need to be put into place to develop effective strategies and contingency plans that could be enacted at short notice.
Deadly Virus
The H5N1 virus is known to have infected 258 people in 10 countries in the past three years, killing 153 of them, the WHO said on Nov. 13. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as easily transmissible between people as season flu. Seasonal flu causes the deaths of as many as 500,000 people annually. In the U.S., the disease results in about 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year, costing more than $10 billion, the White House said in a statement last year. Egypt reported a suspected new H5N1 human case in the central city of Sohag, the Al-Ghomhuria newspaper reported today, without saying where it got the information. A 25-year-old woman was transferred to the hospital for treatment, the paper said. The country's health ministry said it found a new outbreak of avian influenza in poultry in the northern governorate of Mounifiya, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. The ministry slaughtered all the poultry in the area and took samples from people who cam in contact with the infected birds, MENA reported.
1918 Pandemic
A pandemic can start when a novel influenza A-type virus, to which almost no one has natural immunity, emerges and begins spreading.
Experts believe that a pandemic in 1918, which may have killed as many as 50 million people, began when an avian flu virus jumped to people from birds. Disease trackers are monitoring for signs the virus is becoming adept at infecting humans, not just birds. The H5N1 strain was first detected in a farmed goose a decade ago in Guangdong, the same province of China where severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, was reported in 2003. During SARS, air travel to Hong Kong plunged by as much as 75 percent during the worst four months of the epidemic and retail sales fell by an average of 9 percent, the World Bank said in its report, Evaluating the Economic Consequences of Avian Influenza, by Andrew Burns, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe and Hans Timmer.
Economic Model
The World Bank's economic modeling for a flu pandemic assumed a 20 percent decline on an annualized basis in air travel and other mass transportation, as well as in services such as restaurant dining, tourism and non-essential retail shopping. Pandemics are typically experienced in at least two waves, with infections peaking in winter, the authors said. That could cause the world economy to shrink by 3.1 percent, while gross domestic product could be cut by as much as 4.4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, the study said. Developing countries would be hardest hit because higher population densities and poverty accentuate the economic impacts in some countries, the authors said. The world economy may contract by 4.8 percent during the first year of a severe pandemic, 2 percent in a moderate outbreak and less than 1 percent in the event of a mild pandemic.
Purely Illustrative
Given the tremendous uncertainties surrounding the possibility and eventual nature of a pandemic inflation, these simulations must be viewed as purely illustrative, the World Bank said. They provide a sense of the overall magnitude of potential costs. Actual costs, both in terms of human lives and economic losses, are likely to be very different. Poultry farmers in infected countries have already suffered because of outbreaks.
The World Bank in January estimated the cost at $10 billion in Asia alone. The virus has since been found in wild birds and domestic poultry in at least 38 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. South Korean health inspectors are testing poultry for H5N1 on a farm where 6,000 birds died this week in the southwest of the Korean peninsula, the agricultural ministry said in a briefing today. In Somalia, dozens of bird carcasses have been found in Elbaraf, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of the town of Johwar, raising fears of an H5N1 outbreak in the Horn of Africa, Reuters reported today, citing Ali Hamud, a local veterinarian.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri Nov 24 10:00 PM EDT
NOV 24,2006
MAP 3.3 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
NOV 23,2006
MAP 5.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.4 NORTHERN XINJIANG, CHINA
MAP 3.8 VIRGINIA
MAP 3.8 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 SLOVAKIA-UKRAINE BORDER REGION
MAP 4.5 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
Three quakes jolt Afghanistan, eight hurt
23 Nov, 2006 ISTAFP
MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Afghanistan): Three minor earthquakes shook Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif on Thursday with eight people wounded in a scramble to flee buildings, an official said. Eight people were admitted to hospitals in the city with injuries after the quakes, the head of the city's hospitals Mirwais Radie said. Some were hurt jumping out of buildings or from crushes as people rushed to evacuate buildings, he said. There was minor damage such as mirrors being cracked by the tremors. No immediate measurement of the strength of the quakes was available as the war-damaged country does not have systems for recording seismic activity.The first quake struck around 5:00 am local time (0600 IST). I was asleep. There was a bad earthquake and we fled from the house into the streets, said university student Nilofar, who uses only one name. All my neighbours were t here.
We waited for about 20 minutes before going back in. The second quake was hours later and less powerful, but one at around 11:00 am sent people back into the streets fearing that buildings might collapse. Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, especially around the Hindu Kush mountain range that is near the collision of the Eurasian and Indian tectonic plates, where seismic activity is high.
4.1 Earthquake Hits Saudi Arabia
23/11/2006,By Ali Mateer
Jeddah, Asharq Al-Awsat- An earthquake measuring 4.1 on the Richter scale shook the city of Haradh in Eastern Saudi Arabia, Wednesday.
The earthquake struck at 3.30pm local time. This time last year, an earthquake of similar magnitude was recorded in the same region. The national network of seismic monitoring in the Saudi Geological Survey, the official legal authority that monitors earthquakes in the kingdom recorded the earthquake and its activity.Hani Zahran, an engineer and the director of the National Center for Earthquakes of the Geological Survey told Asharq Al Awsat that residents in the region of Haradh felt the tremor, however, there were no human or material damages incurred. The earthquake monitoring stations that are deployed in Saudi Arabia record earthquakes of varying degrees and in locations of seismic activity, however, the majority of these earthquakes have not been felt by residents.He added.
Geologists told Asharq Al Awsat that the cause of frequent earthquakes in recent years in the Arabian Peninsula is attributed to the fact that the region is located near active seismic borders on both the north-eastern and western borders. They stated that the Arab plate which includes the GCC states, Yemen and parts of Iran and Greater Syria collides with the Iranian plate (the Zagros Mountains) and the Turkish plate (the mountains of Anatolia).
In turn, this causes the movement of the Arab plate by two centimetres annually causing an expansion to the Red Sea area and causing friction between the two plates in the eastern region of the Arab plate.In September 2005, an earthquake measuring 3.7 on the Richter scale shook Mecca and caused panic amongst the citizens of Otaibah, a neighbourhood situated near the Holy Mosque. Official statements regarding the intensity of the tremor contradicted each other and this led to a decision by the Saudi cabinet to assign the responsibility of monitoring seismic activity to the Saudi Geological Survey, which is to include all centres affiliated to King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, King Abdul Aziz University, King Saud University and King Fahd University for Petroleum and Minerals under the umbrella of the Geological Survey.
Earthquake hits Hawaii's Big Island Thu Nov 23, 6:41 PM ET
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii - An earthquake with a magnitude of at least 4.5 struck off the northwest coast of the Big Island on Thursday in the same area where two stronger temblors struck last month. The quake, centered about 11 miles northwest of Puuanahulu, shook homes on the Big Island, Maui and Oahu, but it did not produce a tsunami threat, according to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.The U.S. Geological Survey estimated its magnitude at 5.0; the Tsunami Warning Center estimated it at 4.5.Boulders and other debris forced the temporary closure of Highway 19 near Laupahoehoe on the Big Island, said state Department of Transportation spokesman Scott Ishikawa.There were isolated power outages in Kona on the Big Island, but no other damages were immediately reported.Magnitude 6.7 and 6.0 earthquakes shook the islands Oct. 15, causing power outages, bridge collapses and road closures. Those quakes caused an estimated $200 million in damages.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Death toll climbs to 80 as floods ravage Somalia by Mustafa Haji Abdinur
Thu Nov 23, 3:32 PM ET
MOGADISHU (AFP) Heavy flooding in Somalia killed at least seven people overnight, bringing the death toll to 80 from three weeks of torrential rains, witnesses and aid workers have said. With the emergence of cholera cases, humanitarian groups raced to southern Somalia Thursday to avert a possible disaster that would be exacerbated by fears of war between the Islamic fighters and government forces backed by Ethiopian troops.Of the casualties, four were mauled by crocodiles lurking in floodwater in Mustahil district of Somalia's Hiraan region, where the River Shabelle broke its banks and swept through villages, they said.We were told by the villagers that four bodies were recovered floating on the floods, said Abdulahi Mao Nur, an elder in the region's capital Beledweyne, told AFP.Crocodiles killed them because they had serious injuries. Two of them had their legs eaten, Nur told AFP by
telephone.
We don't know how to overcome this problem because every day, we are getting information about crocodiles killing and wounding livestock and human beings, he added.Last week, crocodiles killed nine people in the same district, forcing tens of thousands to flee to higher ground, where they are surviving on wild fruit and face an outbreak of waterborne diseases.Humanitarian workers said three other people died when their hut collapsed under heavy flooding in Lower Shabelle region in southern Somalia, one of the most affected regions in the country.Three people were found dead after the hut they lived in collapsed. They couldn't manage to escape and nobody was there to rescue them, said Abdulkadir Hudo, a local aid worker.As heavy downpours continued to wreak havoc in Somalia, which is already beset by years of conflict, relief organisations scrambled to rescue the flood-affected people, estimated at nearly one million.The United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross on Wednesday launched a massive emergency relief operation to the Somalia's Juba, Gedo, Shabelle and Hiraan regions where floods have washed farmlands and roads, disrupted food supplies and cut off villages.The ICRC airlifted tarpaulins to assist 324,000 people in those areas while the UN's World Food Programme said a large Ilyushin-76 aircraft and two heavy-lift helicopters would airdrop food.The Somali government has warned of an imminent disaster if aid agencies do not rapidly deliver food and other essential items to the most remote regions, most of which are inaccessible.
Somalia, a nation of about 10 million, has lacked any disaster response mechanism since the country was plunged into anarchy after the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.In addition to the conflict, hundreds of thousands of people have been affected by years of droughts, famine, floods and absence of permanent humanitarian operations.In neighbouring Kenya, a man drowned in Rift Valley's Keiyo region, a provincial commissioner said, bringing the death toll to 38 people killed while around 200,000 others, including 80,000 refugees, require urgent relief supplies.Southern Ethiopia is still reeling from flash floods in August and September, which left 639 dead and affected over 350,000 people, again chiefly hitting the ethnic Somali region.Aid groups have warned that the situation in the three eastern Africa countries is expected to worsen over the coming weeks as the torrential rain continues.
According to the UN, between 1.5 million and 1.8 million people in the three nations have been affected by the flooding, which has altered the way of life for the largely agricultural and pastoral communities.
Thursday, November 23, 2006 ,Royal Gazette
Modeller warns of worse storms to come
NEW YORK (Reuters) The 2006 hurricane season is ending on November 30 with US homeowners and insurers unscathed, but forecasters warn that the years ahead will not be so calm.
While the first predictions for 2007 are due in early December, Risk Management Solutions, a firm that models damages from hurricanes, sees annual storm losses for the next five years rising 40 percent in the US Gulf and up to 30 percent in the Atlantic.2006 was only a respite, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist of the
Insurance Information Institute. The trend is for more hurricane activity, not less.Insurers are awaiting a first look at the 2007 season, which starts on June 1 and ends on November30, from Colorado State University hurricane forecaster Dr. William Gray and his team on December 8.
The Climate Prediction Center of the US government’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is due to give its end-of-season report on November 30.Forecasters were wrong in 2006, unanimously predicting an above-average season for hurricanes based on warmer-than-usual Atlantic waters that often fuel hurricanes.But wind patterns and dust storms in the Sahara squelched tropical disturbances before they started, forecasters said. As a result, there were only nine storms that got names this year. That compares with 28 in 2005, including the trio of Katrina, Rita and Wilma that caused more than $100 billion in losses.One season does not set a trend, however. Yes, we got off easy, but our expectation is that 2007 will be another tough year, said Robert Blumber, a managing director in Marsh Inc.’s global property group, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos. Inc., the world’s largest insurance brokerage firm.
Insurance premiums for catastrophe-exposed areas such as Florida have gone up by 50 percent to 100 percent in some areas. Deductibles, the amount an insured pays before coverage kicks in, have risen to 5 percent from 2 percent in past years, Blumber
said.
This has as much to do with growth in storm-ridden areas as the weather itself, according to companies who predict what future catastrophe losses could look like.Florida’s population is growing by two percent a year, said Tom Larsen, a vice president with Eqecat Inc. As a result, the disaster modeller sees the loss potential in the Sunshine State doubling every 15 to 20 years.Risk Management Solutions said its view that damage will be 40 percent higher in 2007 to 2011 is based on comparison to its statistics compiled starting in 1900.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Kinder weather helps fight against Australia fires
24 November 2006 (Reuters)
SYDNEY: Milder weather has helped firefighters make significant inroads against dozens of bushfires burning across southeast Australia but authorities said the danger was not over. More than 50 fires were still burning across New South Wales, Australia's most populous state, with tens of thousands of hectares of tinder-dry land already burnt out. Three firefighters were injured as they battled one of the biggest blazes near the township of Molong, about 250km west of Sydney. One was injured from smoke inhalation and two were injured by trees that fell, Rural Fire Service spokesman Simon Heemstra said, adding that none of the injuries was serious.The body of an elderly man had been found tangled in a wire fence on Tuesday after a small grassfire south of Sydney which was not related to the major blazes.
Firefighters say Australia faces an extreme fire danger this summer after a worsening drought left rural areas bone dry. Scientists fear that climate change will bring more frequent higher temperatures and less rainfall. Winds of up to 100 kph fanned a major blaze in the Blue Mountains on Sydney's western outskirts on Wednesday.AdvertisementAdvertisementBut cooler, calmer weather on Thursday helped firefighters who lit backburning fires to consume some of the tinder-dry undergrowth as well as steer the blazes away from townships.The flames were only about 2.5km from the township of Mount Tomah and were still burning out of control but officials said mild weather was forecast for the next two days.The threat from fires flared again in the southwest of neighbouring Victoria state, where one blaze had already burnt out 10,000 hectares since it began 10 days ago.
Water-bombing aircraft joined firefighters trying to control that blaze but their efforts were being hampered by hot, dry conditions and inaccessible terrain.The fire had escaped containment lines and officials were concerned no rain was expected. If you could order it for me, I would take buckets full of it, firefighting official Bill Spears told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio. In January 2004, the deadliest bushfires in 22 years killed nine people injured in South Australia. Four people were killed and 530 homes destroyed in Canberra in 2003. That same year, bushfires fuelled by drought ravaged a slice of Australia three times the size of Britain.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN
CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
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:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) 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:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) 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 (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships;
and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
American Billionaire Urges European Union to Proceed Piecemeal
By John F. McManus ,2006-11-22
TO READ THE ARTICLE http://euobserver.com/?aid=22915
ARTICLE SYNOPSIS:
Speaking in Brussels at the European Policy Center, leftist U.S. philanthropist George Soros urged Europe's leaders to shelve the European Constitution and proceed toward what he terms an open society by a step by step building process.
COMMENTARY:
Knowing that the EU Constitution had been rejected by voters in France and The Netherlands, American billionaire George Soros recommended that Europe's leaders cease forcing the Constitution down people's throats and, instead, implement its various steps piecemeal. His recommendation remarkably parallels the call for piece by piece erosion of the U.S. Constitution stated by Council of Foreign Relations (CFR) guru Richard N. Gardner, and the same advice given by CFR member Zbigniew Brzezinski who called for piecemeal transfer of power from the U.S. to a world government in one of his books.
The EU Constitution quietly favored by Soros, who is also a CFR member, states that it shall have primacy over member states. Though rejected by voters in a few formerly independent nations, its various provisions are, in fact, being enacted as Soros recommended. He is pleased with this method of compromising sovereignty because he feared that forcing the Constitution down people's throats would create a backlash that would imperil the drive toward the open society he favors. His open society, however, is a clever term used to disguise the goal of world government that he seeks. Revealingly, the EU Constitution is full of references expressing subservience to the United Nations.
It can only be hoped that more people in the 25 formerly independent nations that are already entangled in the EU will awaken and remove their country from this obvious path to world government. It can also be hoped that the American people will awaken before leaders here take our nation into the carbon copy of the EU known as the North American Union.John F. McManus.John F.
McManus is President of The John Birch Society.
Poll: Netanyahu next prime minister
By Ynetnews,November 23, 2006
A poll conducted by Israel's largest newspaper this week revealed that if elections were held today, Binyamin Netanyahu would be Israel's next prime minister.Disappointed with the performance of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government, Israeli voters would give Netanyahu's Likud 20 Knesset seats, up considerably from its current 12.Olmert's Kadima Party would drop from 29 seats to 15, the same number the Labor Party would receive, compared to the 19 it holds today.Rightist immigrant party Israel Our Home, led by Avigdor Lieberman, would receive 10 mandates, and popular Israeli-Russian industrialist Arcadi Gaydamak would win 13 seats if he decided to run.Together with Lieberman, Gaydamak and the religious parties, Netanyahu would be able to form a right-wing coalition enjoying of a firm 69-seat majority.The only fear is that the ultra-leftist Meretz Party, which is expected to increase from five seats to eight, will merge with Labor, making it the largest Knesset faction.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Tehran vows to press ahead with reactor after IAEA denies aid
Compiled by Daily Star staff ,Friday, November 24, 2006
Iran said Thursday that it would continue with the construction of a heavy-water nuclear reactor even after the UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors indefinitely blocked Tehran's bid for technical aid.But diplomats said the ruling, which the International Atomic Energy Agency's board adopted by consensus after days of haggling between industrialized and developing nations, left a theoretical possibility of revisiting in the future Iran's request for expert advice on the construction of a reactor in Arak.In reaction, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the IAEA was legally required to provide technical assistance to Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.It is the duty of the IAEA to help. If they help, we will appreciate it. If not, we will do it on our own, Mottaki told reporters in Tehran.
The Arak reactor, according to Iranian officials, is to replace a smaller light-water research reactor in Tehran, built by the United States before Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution. In a compromise hammered out in negotiations ahead of the IAEA board meeting, Iranian requests for IAEA technical assistance on six other nuclear energy projects judged not to pose a risk of being diverted to bomb-making were approved by the board.The decision is that the [Arak] project will be definitely put on hold, IAEA director Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters. Obviously, if matters [with Iran] move in a different direction in future, the board might consider to revisit the decision.Iran sought on-site IAEA safety advice at the Arak complex under construction. It said the IAEA had a duty to ensure all nations nuclear programs were safe, but vowed to complete the reactor by 2009 whether granted IAEA expertise or not.http://www.dailystar.com.lb
Gregory Schulte, the US ambassador to the IAEA, told reporters the Arak item was not deferred, not put on hold, it was removed entirely from the IAEA program.But Ali Asghar Soltanieh, the chief Iranian representative, said Iran would not be deterred, telling reporters: The Iranian government is determined to continue the construction of this heavy-water reactor. The session of the 35-nation IAEA board also debated a November report by ElBaradei describing Iran's evasions of investigations dating to 2003.
ElBaradei chided Iran for not fully cooperating with agency experts trying to establish that its nuclear program is not being used to make weapons. We have reached a period of standstill, he told reporters.But he said that Iran had recently compromised on two issues agreeing to provide access to the operating records of its pilot uranium enrichment plant at Natanz and allowing inspectors to take more samples from a facility that had yielded suspicious traces of enriched uranium.These are important steps in the right direction, he said of Iran's gestures, possibly made to help blunt Western pressure for tough UN Security Council sanctions.What we really require from Iran is a full explanation of the development of its nuclear program from start to finish, ElBaradei said. Agencies
China, Pakistan To Ink Free Trade Deal
Agreement Would Increase Bilateral Trade By $15 Billion In Five Years
(CBS/AP) China's visiting President Hu Jintao will sign a free trade deal with Pakistan that will more than triple bilateral trade to $15 billion in five years, a Pakistani diplomat said Thursday. Hu, who arrived in Islamabad on the first visit to Pakistan by a Chinese leader in 10 years, will sign a raft of economic and energy deals on Friday aimed at expanding a burgeoning bilateral trade relationship that grew 39 percent last year to $4.26 billion.
Salman Bashir, Pakistan's envoy to China, said a free trade agreement will be the most important document signed during Hu's four-day visit, the first by a Chinese leader to this Muslim nation in 10 years. We are expecting to take volume of bilateral trade to $15 billion within the next five years with the implementation of the FTA (free trade agreement), Bashir told the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan.
The Chinese leader was greeted at Islamabad's international airport by Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and the entire Cabinet as well as the heads of each of the defense services. Artillery blasted a 21-round salute, a brass band played China's national anthem, drum-beating musicians performed traditional songs and scores of school children waved miniature Chinese and Pakistani flags. Hu was later driven in a heavily guarded convoy for a banquet at Pakistan's presidency building. In an arrival statement, Hu said his visit was aimed at deepening friendship, expanding cooperation and planning the future of our relationship. China already provides Pakistan nuclear and defense industry assistance and is its third-largest trading partner, after the United States and the European Union. Pakistan is expected to buy large-ticket weapons worth at least $10 billion in the next five years at least 4 billion from China alone. The weapons include the Chinese-Pakistani produced JF-17 fighter planes, the F-22 Chinese frigates and Chinese components for the Pakistani military’s new main battle tank known as Al-Khalid, reported CBS
Farhan Bokhari from Islamabad.
In New Delhi, Hu offered his assistance, if asked, to help resolve lingering disputes between Pakistan and its nuclear-armed archrival India, but added that he would not choose sides between the neighbors, who have fought three wars since their 1947 independence, including two over the Himalayan Kashmir region. I look forward to having in-depth exchange of views with President Pervez Musharraf and other Pakistani leaders (on) bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of mutual interest, state-run Pakistani TV quoted Hu as saying.
In what is expected to be the first of several economic deals made during Hu's trip, Pakistan and Chinese officials agreed to establish a joint investment company, involving the China Development Bank, to undertake urban and rural infrastructure projects in Pakistan. Dr. Salman Shah, finance adviser to Pakistan's prime minister, said the agreement was reached during talks he held Thursday with the vice governor of the China Development Bank, the state-run agency reported. China will provide necessary financial support in the industrial, services, agricultural, health care and education sectors, Shah said.
Pakistan is an impoverished country of 160 million people which has been seeking increased foreign investment to help boost its infrastructure and industry demands, as well as expand much-needed energy sources.
Bashir, the ambassador, said China and Pakistan have established a framework to expand energy cooperation. They will investigate building an energy corridor providing Beijing access to oil and gas resources of Central and Western Asia and developing oil refining and storage facilities in Pakistani coastal areas. China's official Xinhua news agency has reported that China would conclude an accord with Pakistan in November to sell Islamabad reactors for six nuclear power plants to be built during the next 10 years. Pakistan has been seeking U.S. support to boost its nuclear energy program, calling for a deal along the lines of one between Washington and New Delhi. That deal allows U.S. civilian nuclear trade with India in exchange for Indian safeguards, and inspections at its 14 civilian nuclear plants. Eight military plants would be off-limits.
But the Bush administration has rejected Pakistan's call amid lingering concerns about Islamabad's past suspect nuclear dealings led by disgraced atomic scientist and black market trader A.Q. Khan.
Pakistan’s track record arouses much concern in Washington. This is the bottom line, a U.S. official in Washington told CBS News on condition of anonymity. China has already provided funding and expertise to help build a 300-megawatt nuclear power station in 1999 at Chashma in the eastern province of Punjab. In April last year, the two countries began building a second nuclear power plant near the old one. On Friday, Hu holds talks with Musharraf and Aziz before delivering a live televised address to the nation. On Saturday, he travels to the eastern city of Lahore for further talks with political and business leaders.
POSSIBLE ROBOT (EU LEADER LOOKALIKE)
KNOWLEDGE INCREASE (COMPUTERS) AND TRAVEL.
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
REVELATION 13:13-15
13 And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give life unto the image of the beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed.
REVELATION 14:9-11
9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
11 And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.
Company Takes Robot Realism to New Level
Email Print Normal font Large font November 23, 2006 - 9:50AM
David Hanson's robots can creep people out. Their heads are so lifelike, their skin so textured and realistic, that Candy Sidner, a competing roboticist, called his Albert Einstein robot spookily cool .a giant step forward.Hanson, who started his career as an artist and spent time working in Disney's Imagineering Lab, said he flirts with being too realistic for comfort. His work, he said, poses an identity challenge to the human being.If you make it perfectly realistic, you trigger this body-snatcher fear in some people, he said.
Making realistic robots is going to polarize the market, if you will. You will have some people who love it and some people who will really be disturbed.Hanson's robotics company in Dallas is the flip side of an industry focused on making robots more human on the inside. Hanson makes conversational character robots. They are mostly human-looking heads using a skin-like material that he invented called Frubber. They are battery-powered, walk and are expressive, but from the neck down they don't look human at all.
The issue of being too human-looking is called uncanny valley syndrome, and Hanson embraces it with the passion and line-crossing of an avant-garde artist, which he also is.
Hanson made a robot head modeled on his own, but it wasn't for use as a robot. It was part of an art show where he made his self-portrait robot a large homeless robot figure in a box.The idea was to go out of the comfort zone of science, he said.But Hanson is also a businessman who is designing entertainment robots for the home. He hopes to have two-foot robots with human-looking heads that are more cartoonish than uncannily accurate that can dance, make eye contact, talk and recognize your face. The idea is to price them at $3,000 and get them on the market in about a year.It would be very much like Astro Boy in the old TV series, Hanson said.
On the Net:Hanson Robotics: http://www.hansonrobotics.com/index.php%emph_
ISRAEL WILL BECOME A NATION. LITERALY IN THE SPRING.
GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,(CHANGED TO ABRAHAM LATER) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:(PALESTINE,ISRAEL)
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
EZEKIEL 36:24
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.
EZEKIEL 37:9-28
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds,(ALL THE WORLD) O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.(COME TO LIFE)
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.(ISRAEL WILL HAVE A POWERFUL ARMY)
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.(BURNED BY HITLER)
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.(THE DRY BONES COME TO LIFE IN ISRAEL)
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.
MATTHEW 24:32
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:(ISRAEL WAS LITERALLY REBORN JUST BEFORE SUMMER,MAY 14,1948).
MARK 13:28
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:
DANIEL 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.
ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LAST GENERATION.
LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.
Nefesh b Nefesh Launches Push for Mega-Aliyah
By Ezra HaLevi (INN)
The Nefesh B’Nefesh Aliyah assistance organization is holding three mega-events in the coming weeks aimed at educating the larger Jewish public about immigration to Israel.The half-day programs are part of a series of specially tailored programs, events and individual counseling sessions taking place throughout the U.S., Canada and UK this winter, the organization says. The programming is designed for those already actively planning their immigration, as well as those merely contemplating Aliyah. Pre-and Post-Aliyah guidance and strategies will be discussed as well as services and benefits offered by Nefesh B’Nefesh (NbN). The events will include seminars, videos and other presentations focusing on specific issues such as children, families, education and networking in Israel.
There will also be individual sessions run by a team of experts who will fly in from Israel to offer first-hand professional advice to participants.By enabling participants to tailor sessions according to their own specific interests, Nefesh B’Nefesh aims to bring more relevant and helpful information on Aliyah to local communities, an NbN statement said. The personally tailored sessions will include: Employment, Healthcare, Community options, The Aliyah process, the Education system, Retirement, Taxes and Aliyah and others.Nefesh B’Nefesh’s specially designed mega-events respond to the need for on-site personal guidance by experienced professionals who can offer more useful and practical information and guidance on Aliyah, explained Nefesh B’Nefesh Co-Founder and Executive Director, Rabbi Yehoshua Fass. We hope this enhanced service will make it that much easier for people to actualize their dreams and make living in Israel a reality.
The Toronto mega-event will take place on Thursday, November 30, at the Novotel North York Hotel, 3 Park Home Avenue, Toronto between 7:00 PM and 10:30 PM.
The New Jersey MEGA will take place on Sunday, December 3, at the Crowne Plaza Englewood, 401 South Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ between 10:15 AM and 2:00 PM. The New York MEGA will be held on the same day at the Holiday Inn at JFK Airport, 144-02 135th Ave. Jamaica, NY between 7:00 PM and 10:00 PM.Nefesh B’Nefesh ran information events in 2005 attended by more than 12,000 participants. NbN, working together with the Jewish Agency, has successfully brought close to 10,000 new Olim (immigrants) to Israel since 2002.
ISRAELS TROUBLE
JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.
DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)
MIDEAST: PRODI, BOTH SIDES MUST ACCEPT PEACE INITIATIVES
(AGI) - Rome, Nov. 23 - For the peace process in the Middle East, Italy, France and Spain have simply shared the idea of re-launching it, starting from the positive experience of their collaboration in Lebanon and of their shared sensibility of Mediterranean countries. In any case, all the European initiatives, in order to be successful, must be extended to the other E.U. partners and contain elements able to be accepted by all the conflicting sides.This was stated by the President of the Council Romano Prodi to France Presse. Prodi continued, Together with France, we recognize the necessity of an ambitious Mediterranean policy and we have direct cooperation. We are working together, even with Spain, for the re-launching of financial cooperation in the Mediterranean with the creation of a fund primarily for small and medium companies.(AGI).
Palestinian factions agree on limited ceasefire with Israel
A senior Palestinian official affirmed on Thursday that the armed Palestinian factions have agreed on a limited ceasefire with Israel.
Khader Habib, Islamic Jihad leader in Gaza, told reporters that representatives of national and Islamic factions, who met with Prime Minister Ismail Haneya in Gaza on Thursday night, has agreed on a limited ceasefire with Israel. He stressed that the ceasefire is mutual and synchronous, noting that Israel stops its military operations in Gaza and the West Bank, while Palestinian militants stop firing rockets at Israel.The agreement also needs the acceptance of both Fatah and Hamas movements, he added. On Monday, the Israeli army launched a ground military operation into northern Gaza Strip, where 12 Palestinians have been killed and more than 20 others wounded in the latest Israeli operation. As Palestinian militants continued to launch rockets against southern Israeli cities, Israel decided on Wednesday to continue its military operations in Gaza. Source: Xinhua
Personal Issues Bog Down Olmert-Peretz Cooperation
By Hana Levi Julian (INN)
Thursday's weekly meeting between PM Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Amir Peretz is unlikely to mend the rift between the two, but it may at least keep matters of state on the front burner.The two men have been sniping at each other for days, but a recent telephone conversation between Peretz and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas set off a firestorm between the two.
Olmert accused Peretz of exceeding his authority by making contact with Abbas to discuss possiblities for peace. He also claimed that Peretz had damaged existing contacts with the PA and accused the defense minister of not providing a full, detailed report of the conversation.Peretz told Olmert that his own previous contacts with Abbas constituted the same faux pas of maintaining contact with PA officials without informing him. The Defense Minister added Abbas had initiated the conversation and that he had simply returned the call.
Amir won't put down the phone on anyone who calls him, said an associate of Peretz, according to the Haaretz news service. He is the defense minister and chairman of the Labor party and will advance peace issues. That is why he was elected, he said.It is believed by political observers that Peretz's days as Defense Minister are numbered, and that Olmert may use Thursday's meeting to further his goal of ousting him.
Peretz is facing similar troubles within his own party, with calls by Labor members for him to step down from the Defense Ministry and hand his job over to someone within the ranks who has more military expertise.Unofficially, it is being reported that today’s meeting with the prime minister will lead to a respectful formula that will permit Peretz to resign, possibly to take another senior post in the government. In that scenario, former prime minister and retired IDF chief of staff, Ehud Barak, will be brought in to take over the Defense Ministry.According to a Geocartography poll released last Tuesday, some 60% of the nation is calling for Peretz’s resignation, with even more calling on IDF Chief of Staff Dan Halutz to step down as well.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Vancouver boil-water advisory reaches one week
Updated Thu. Nov. 23 2006 9:30 PM ET,CTV.ca News Staff
Almost a million people are still waiting for clean tap water in the Vancouver area, and officials have shut off supply from one of three reservoirs to speed up disinfection. Meanwhile, health officials said it could take until Friday to confirm possible E. coli contamination.
A water sample taken at the University of British Columbia tested positive for the harmful bacteria. Because the water had a high level of chlorine that would have killed E. coli, it's possible the sample was contaminated by the tester. One official believed a nearby compost site affected the water.(The test water) was sitting low, and unfortunately some water run-off from a compost pile that was near it came over, and had been sitting around the water test station, the university's Gordon Apperley told CTV Vancouver.
About 1,000 tests have been taken since the boil-water advisory came into effect last Thursday, and not a single person has become sick. High turbidity levels the amount of cloudiness in the water, caused by silt prompted the advisory after torrential rains. The turbidity makes it difficult for officials to effectively chlorinate the water. That advisory remains in effect for the City of Vancouver,
North Vancouver, Burnaby and parts of West Vancouver.
In those communities, boiled water or bottled water should be used for drinking, brushing teeth and washing food.The advisory will end when Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) officials determine the turbidity levels are low enough. Most people in the Vancouver area get their water from the Capilano, Seymour and Coquitlam reservoirs.Turbidity levels in Capilano's water supply were dropping so slowly that officials took it off line, although the gradual addition of clean water is helping the situation.
Levels are also changing slowly in Seymour's water, but the supply has more exposure to chlorine. We have about 45 minutes in the Capilano system for the chlorine to work on those bugs before you hit the first customer, whereas in the Seymour system we have about three hours, Paul Archibald, water supply operations manager for the Greater Vancouver Regional District, told The Canadian Press.
Vivianna Zanocco of the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority said Seymour is also being helped by the gradual addition of fresh water.What we're seeing in Seymour is that the turbidity at the lower levels is quite high, but at the upper levels, where there's new water coming in either from rain or from fresh streams, it's actually very clean, she told CTV Vancouver. Officials said it could take at least another week to clean the Seymour reservoir, and several weeks to clean the Capilano reservoir. With a report by CTV Vancouver's Jill Bennett and files from The Canadian Press
Flu Pandemic May Cost $623 Billion, World Bank Says
By Jason Gale
Nov. 23 (Bloomberg) A severe influenza pandemic would cost the U.S. $623 billion, or about 60 times more than an average flu season, and constitute a major global recession, the World Bank said.
Economists at the Washington-based World Bank estimated a contagion capable of killing more than 1 percent of people worldwide could cause losses of $1.5 trillion to $1.8 trillion globally. The spread of the H5N1 avian influenza strain has put the world closer to another pandemic than at any time since 1968, when the last of the previous century's three major outbreaks occurred, according to the World Health Organization. The Bank, which funds projects to alleviate poverty, is working with countries to improve hospitals and laboratories to bolster disease surveillance and management of avian flu. Human fatalities from the H5N1 strain of the virus this year have surpassed the previous two years combined, providing more chances for the virus to mutate into a lethal pandemic form. Even with such efforts, an eventual human pandemic at some unknown point in the future is virtually inevitable, the Bank said in an e-mailed report today. Because such a pandemic would spread very quickly, substantial efforts need to be put into place to develop effective strategies and contingency plans that could be enacted at short notice.
Deadly Virus
The H5N1 virus is known to have infected 258 people in 10 countries in the past three years, killing 153 of them, the WHO said on Nov. 13. Millions could die if H5N1 becomes as easily transmissible between people as season flu. Seasonal flu causes the deaths of as many as 500,000 people annually. In the U.S., the disease results in about 36,000 deaths and more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year, costing more than $10 billion, the White House said in a statement last year. Egypt reported a suspected new H5N1 human case in the central city of Sohag, the Al-Ghomhuria newspaper reported today, without saying where it got the information. A 25-year-old woman was transferred to the hospital for treatment, the paper said. The country's health ministry said it found a new outbreak of avian influenza in poultry in the northern governorate of Mounifiya, the state-run Middle East News Agency reported. The ministry slaughtered all the poultry in the area and took samples from people who cam in contact with the infected birds, MENA reported.
1918 Pandemic
A pandemic can start when a novel influenza A-type virus, to which almost no one has natural immunity, emerges and begins spreading.
Experts believe that a pandemic in 1918, which may have killed as many as 50 million people, began when an avian flu virus jumped to people from birds. Disease trackers are monitoring for signs the virus is becoming adept at infecting humans, not just birds. The H5N1 strain was first detected in a farmed goose a decade ago in Guangdong, the same province of China where severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, was reported in 2003. During SARS, air travel to Hong Kong plunged by as much as 75 percent during the worst four months of the epidemic and retail sales fell by an average of 9 percent, the World Bank said in its report, Evaluating the Economic Consequences of Avian Influenza, by Andrew Burns, Dominique van der Mensbrugghe and Hans Timmer.
Economic Model
The World Bank's economic modeling for a flu pandemic assumed a 20 percent decline on an annualized basis in air travel and other mass transportation, as well as in services such as restaurant dining, tourism and non-essential retail shopping. Pandemics are typically experienced in at least two waves, with infections peaking in winter, the authors said. That could cause the world economy to shrink by 3.1 percent, while gross domestic product could be cut by as much as 4.4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, the study said. Developing countries would be hardest hit because higher population densities and poverty accentuate the economic impacts in some countries, the authors said. The world economy may contract by 4.8 percent during the first year of a severe pandemic, 2 percent in a moderate outbreak and less than 1 percent in the event of a mild pandemic.
Purely Illustrative
Given the tremendous uncertainties surrounding the possibility and eventual nature of a pandemic inflation, these simulations must be viewed as purely illustrative, the World Bank said. They provide a sense of the overall magnitude of potential costs. Actual costs, both in terms of human lives and economic losses, are likely to be very different. Poultry farmers in infected countries have already suffered because of outbreaks.
The World Bank in January estimated the cost at $10 billion in Asia alone. The virus has since been found in wild birds and domestic poultry in at least 38 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and Europe. South Korean health inspectors are testing poultry for H5N1 on a farm where 6,000 birds died this week in the southwest of the Korean peninsula, the agricultural ministry said in a briefing today. In Somalia, dozens of bird carcasses have been found in Elbaraf, 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of the town of Johwar, raising fears of an H5N1 outbreak in the Horn of Africa, Reuters reported today, citing Ali Hamud, a local veterinarian.To contact the reporter on this story: Jason Gale in Singapore at j.gale@bloomberg.net
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