1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Aftershock with magnitude 4.8 jolts central Japan. 3-Cities at risk of rising sea levels. 4-Strong hurricanes to hit U.S. Gulf in 07. 5-Severe storms, wind, and snow. 6-Chlorine bombs wound 15 in Iraq. 7-Livni: No Final Settlement on the Political Horizon. 8-Beloved in Christ Jesus our Lord, 9-Homesh Once Again Empty of Jews. 10-20 Months Without a Home: Gush Katif Report.
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 = Thu Mar 29 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 28,07
MAP 5.0 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.7 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP 4.7 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 3.4 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 4.7 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.8 KYRGYZSTAN
MAP 2.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.9 KURIL ISLANDS
MAR 27,07
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.8 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.6 HONDURAS
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 UTAH
MAP 3.0 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 3.3 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.7 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 PUERTO RICO REGION
Aftershock with magnitude 4.8 jolts central Japan Tue Mar 27, 7:49 PM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.8 jolted the west coast of central Japan on Wednesday, Japan's Meteorological Agency said. It struck at 8:08 a.m. (2308 GMT Tuesday) in the Noto peninsula 300 km (190 miles) west of Tokyo, three days after a powerful earthquake in the same area killed one person, injured over 200 and destroyed hundreds of homes.
No tsunami warning was issued on Wednesday and there were no immediate reports of fresh injuries or damage. There have been hundreds of aftershocks since Sunday's quake, which had a magnitude of 6.9.The focus of Wednesday's tremor was 10 km (6 miles) below ground level on the peninsula.
It was moderately strong on the Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion, measuring lower 5 on a scale of 7.Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater.
In October 2004, an earthquake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region in northern Japan, killing 65 people and injuring more than 3,000.That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400.
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.
Cities at risk of rising sea levels By THOMAS WAGNER, Associated Press Writer Tue Mar 27, 11:08 PM ET
LONDON - More than two-thirds of the world's large cities are in areas vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels, and millions of people are at risk of being swamped by flooding and intense storms, according to a new study released Wednesday. In all, 634 million people live in the threatened coastal areas worldwide — defined as those lying at less than 33 feet above sea level — and the number is growing, said the study published in the journal Environment and Urbanization.More than 180 countries have populations in low-elevation coastal zones, and about 70 percent of those have urban areas of more than 5 million people that are under threat. Among them: Tokyo; New York; Mumbai, India; Shanghai, China; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Dhaka, Bangladesh.The peer-reviewed scientific study said it is the first to identify the world's low-lying coastal areas that are vulnerable to global warming and rising sea levels. It said 75 percent of all people living in vulnerable areas are in Asia, with poorer nations most at risk.
The study gives no time frame for rising sea levels or the potential flooding in individual countries. It warns, however, the solution to the problem will not be cheap and may involve relocating many people and building protective engineering structures. And, it adds, nations should consider halting or reducing population growth in coastal areas.Migration away from the zone at risk will be necessary but costly and hard to implement, so coastal settlements will also need to be modified to protect residents, said Gordon McGranahan of the International Institute for Environment and Development in London, a co-author of the study.IIED publishes the journal Environment and Urbanization. The other two co-authors of the study are Deborah Balk of the City University of New York and Bridget Anderson of Columbia University.Separately, the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change said in a draft copy of a report expected to be released next week that coastlines are already showing the impact of sea-level rise. The draft copy, which was obtained by The Associated Press, said about 100 million people each year could be flooded by rising seas by 2080.
The draft copy warned that two biggest cities in North America — Los Angeles and New York — are at risk of a combination of sea-level rise and violent storms. By 2090, under a worst-case scenario, megafloods that normally would hit North America once every 100 years could occur as frequently as every 3-4 years, the draft said.In February, the IPCC warned of sea-level rises of 7-23 inches by the end of the century due to global warming, making coastal populations vulnerable to flooding and
more intense hurricanes and typhoons.
Asia is particularly vulnerable, the study said. The five nations with the largest total population living in endangered coastal areas are all in Asia: China, India, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia. Between 1994 and 2004, about one-third of the world's 1,562 flood disasters occurred in Asia, with half of the total 120,000 people killed by floods living in that region, the study said. In addition, more than 200,000 people were killed by the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004.Migration away from lowest elevation coastal zones will be important, but can be costly and difficult to implement without causing severe disruptions, the study said. Still, it said, relatively small shifts in settlement location, out of a coastal plain onto more elevated ground, can make a major difference.That is especially true in China, a country with an export-oriented economy that has created special economic zones in coastal locations, such as Shanghai. Fast economic growth has been associated with very rapid coastward migration, with the population in low-lying areas growing at almost twice the national population growth rate between 1990 and 2000, the study said.Unless something is done, there is the possibility that, as well as the people living in the low-elevation coastal zone, China's economic success will be placed at risk, it said.
Strong hurricanes to hit U.S. Gulf in 07: AccuWeather By Janet McGurty
Tue Mar 27, 1:24 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Gulf Coast, which is still rebuilding almost two years after Hurricane Katrina, faces a renewed threat of powerful storms this year, private forecaster AccuWeather said on Tuesday.
After a quiet hurricane season last year, Florida and other Gulf Coast states likely will be hit with fewer storms than during the active 2005 season, which spawned the massive hurricanes Katrina and Rita, AccuWeather said.But the storms forecast for the region will pack a punch.We will not get anywhere near the amount of storms that we did in 2005, but the intensity of the storms we do get will be of major concern, Joe Bastardi, chief hurricane forecaster for AccuWeather.com, said in a statement.
British forecasting group Tropical Storm Risk this month also predicted an active storm season. It forecast four intense hurricanes during the 2007 season, which runs from June through November.
The predictions spell trouble for areas still recuperating from a chain of hurricanes that slammed the Gulf Coast in 2005.The entire region -- including New Orleans and other areas that are still rebuilding after Katrina -- is susceptible to storms, Bastardi said.Katrina killed about 1,500 people along the Gulf Coast in 2005, displaced tens of thousands more and caused billions of dollars in damage.Bastardi also said that storms forecast to hit this year could once again disrupt oil and natural gas operations along the Gulf Coast, driving up energy prices for consumers.This year's stronger storms are likely to be the kind of disruption that will be felt in wallets and pocketbooks, he said.U.S. gasoline prices reached a record high of $3.057 per gallon after Katrina, which caused oil refineries to shut down and companies to evacuate workers from oil and gas producing rigs in the Gulf.
After Hurricane Rita hit the region a month after Katrina, as much as 14 percent of U.S. refinery capacity was shut and about 80 percent of crude oil and 66 percent of natural gas production were down for months.Bastardi also predicted the U.S. Northeast would likely be a target for strong storms for the next 10 years.Last year, the Northeast may have dodged a bullet but, unfortunately, you can only be lucky for so long. We are in a pattern similar to that of the late 1930s through the
1940s, when the Northeast was hit by two major storms, he said.The relative calm of last year's hurricane season, which forecasters had mistakenly predicted would be busy, came on the heels of a record 28 storms and 15 hurricanes in 2005 and only a slightly less furious season in 2004.Bastardi said that, despite the milder 2006 season, the trend was toward strong hurricanes and tropical storms.
We are living in a time of climatic hardship, Bastardi said. We're in a cycle where weather extremes are more the norm and not the exception.
Severe storms, wind, and snow Wayne Verno, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Mar 28, 6:27 AM ET
On Wednesday, severe thunderstorms produced large hail and wind damage across parts of northwest Louisiana, northeast Texas, and southwest Arkansas. Strong gusty winds also impacted parts of southern California and parts of the Western Mountains. Today, the threat for gusty winds will continue through the mountains, as well as spread into the central Plains, while severe thunderstorms will become a concern across the central Plains later this afternoon and evening.
There will also be an increasing threat for heavy snow across the Rockies. Low pressure and an associated cold front will enter the western High Plains later this afternoon, interacting with a strong southerly flow of moisture and a strong upper level disturbance. This will trigger numerous severe thunderstorms with large hail, damaging winds, and tornadoes, from western Texas, through western Oklahoma, western Kansas, western Nebraska, and western South Dakota by late this afternoon and evening. This includes cities such as Midland, Lubbock, Elk City, Dodge City, North Platte, and Rapid City. The thunderstorms may also bring a heavy rain threat to parts of the central Plains overnight, with some locations picking up an inch of more of rainfall. Gusty winds will also be a factor, with south to southeast winds of 20 to 30 mph common across the central Plains, from Oklahoma City, north through Omaha, Minneapolis, and Fargo. Gusty winds of 30 to 40 mph will also impact parts of the Rockies, from Billings and Salt Lake City, south to Albuquerque. The same low pressure responsible for the gusty winds and severe thunderstorms will also bring heavy snow to parts of the central and northern Rockies. The mountains of eastern Colorado, northwest Utah, much of Wyoming, and much of central and eastern Montana, could see more than 2 feet of snow over the next 2 days. Record snowfall will be possible in places like Billings, MT. In addition, gusty winds will combine with this snow to produce blizzard conditions at times, especially across parts of southern Montana and northern Wyoming.
PESTILENCES (CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
Chlorine bombs wound 15 in Iraq MAR 28,07
BAGHDAD - Suicide bombers detonated explosives on trucks carrying highly toxic chlorine in Fallujah on Wednesday, wounding about 15 U.S. and Iraqi security forces, although the attackers were blocked from reaching government buildings, the American military said. The chlorine gas attack was the eighth launched since Jan. 28, when a suicide bomber driving a dump truck filled with explosives and a chlorine tank struck a quick-reaction force and Iraqi police in Ramadi, killing 16 people.The military said Iraqi soldiers and police prevented Wednesday's attackers from setting off the bombs at the Fallujah government center.The statement did not give a breakdown of how many Iraqi and U.S. forces were wounded. Iraqi soldiers and police were being treated for breathing troubles, nausea, skin irritation and vomiting — symptoms of chlorine gas inhalation.No U.S. or Iraqi forces were killed, the military said.
Livni: No Final Settlement on the Political Horizon
by Hana Levi Julian (INN) MAR 28,07
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told party members at a ceremony opening a new Kadima office in Netanya that a final settlement with the Palestinian Authority is simply not in the cards, at least for now.
A permanent agreement with the Palestinians is impossible in the current situation, she said bluntly, but softened the statement by adding that all is not lost. Livni added that the meetings with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice over the past three days had resulted in an agreement to begin diplomatic dialogue that will protect our interests.There are only winners in such a situation, Livni opined. We identified Israels and the Palestinians diplomatic horizon. There will be a return to the first phase of the Road Map, which demands that the Palestinians detach themselves from terror completely.
Rice was in Israel for talks in Jerusalem and Ramallah in which she tried to revive the negotiations which began last December between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and PA Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen). Despite a number of concessions by Israel which included the transfer to Abu Mazens coffers of $100 million in tax revenues collected by Israel on behalf of the PA and removal of dozens of security checkpoints throughout Judea and Samaria, the PA has not reciprocated. Foreign Minister Livni slammed Abbass failure to keep his promise to secure the freedom of captured IDF soldier Gilad Shalit before his faction joined the ruling Hamas terrorist organization in a unity government. Abbas is disappointing us, especially with regard to the issue of Gilad Shalits release. He had a chance to condition the establishment of the unity government on the kidnapped soldiers release but chose not to, she said. Abbas had also vowed not to join such a government unless Hamas agreed to reverse its refusal to accept the three conditions set by the international community in order to resume funding to the PA recognition of the State of Israel, renunciation of terrorism and compliance with existing agreements signed by previous PA administrations.
Livni said Olmert agreed to U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rices urging to meet bi-weekly with Abu Mazen and clarified that those meetings aim to continue dialogue on the conditions for the establishment of a Palestinian state.Rice acknowledged at a news conference Tuesday morning that the PA unity government deal worked out in Mecca last month had complicated the situation vis-a-vis talks with Israel. We regrouped, she told reporters but it raised the question of what we can do together. The answer, she added, is for both parties to continue their talks with the hope of reaching the stage of negotiations in the future. My work wont replace bilateral talks, Rice said.
I am looking for a common approach I can use with both parties. The American Secretary of State added that trilateral talks would also play a part in that process. There is hard work ahead, Rice said, expressing concern about the lack of movement in talks. She urged the PA to end its terrorist attacks against Israel and called upon the Jewish State to resolve the issue of access between Gaza and other PA territories. Confidence between the two parties has to be built, sheacknowledged, but added that the benefits would be two-fold: a state for the PA and security for Israel.
Abbas meanwhile told reporters Tuesday that it was in Israels best interest to accept the 2002 Arab peace plan that was recently pulled out of mothballs in light of the stalemate in the Israel-PA talks. Abbas said the proposal was the best chance for peace in the near future.The 2002 Arab plan calls for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders, thereby giving up most of Judea and Samaria, all of the Golan Heights and half of Jerusalem, including the eastern neighborhoods and the Old City, home to Judaisms holiest site, the Temple Mount (which includes the Western Wall). The plan also calls on Israel to allow millions of Arab descendants of those who abandoned their homes during the 1948 War of Independence to move into to the Jewish State with full immigrant benefits. Their ancestors fled Israel at the behest of the attacking Arab nations who assured them they would soon be able to return after the destruction of the State.
Beloved in Christ Jesus our Lord, MAR 28,07 Jack Van Impe
After more than half a century of ministry, I am deeply troubled by the misconceptions running rampant about prophetic events ... especially the Rapture! Conducting soul-winning crusades in 1,200 cities in 50 nations and producing well over 1,500 TV and radio programs, Rexella and I have received thousands of questions concerning the great prophecies of God’s Word -- many on the single most exciting event in history: the Rapture of the Church.Because of my commitment to providing you with the truth, I want to send you my acclaimed book -- The Great Escape: Preparing for the Rapture!
I had no choice but to write this book the times demanded it. I have heardshockingly inaccurate quotes about the Rapture erroneous teaching which has caused great discouragement and discontent among believers.Its unique question-and-answer format gives you instant, user-friendly access to the biblical facts answers to the most universally asked questions in my 59-years of ministry! Beloved, I want your eyes to be opened, and your heart stirred, with the hundreds of biblical details pointing to that glorious day when Christ appears in the heavens to take His church home to be with Him before the seven-year period of tribulation begins! And, it’s about to happen.What a tragedy for any follower of Christ to be misguided about this single most important part of every believer’s future!
It need not be. My book corrects the disastrously erroneous thinking of millions, including ministers who actually despise the message of the Rapture.In the pages of The Great Escape, you’re going to encounter dozens of reasons we know we will be evacuated before the tribulation hour ... we know we will then return with Christ seven years later to rule and reign with Him for 1,000 years -- and then forever (Revelation 3:10; 20:4; Matthew 5:5; Psalms 37:29).As you support our ongoing global, soul-winning ministry with a generous gift of $15.00 U.S. ($20.00 Canada) today, I want to send you The Great Escape as a personal thank-you from Rexella and me.We do need your help in a special way -- the financial need is great as we press ahead with our proven-effective, soul-winning television programs every week, especially in the late-night hours when so many spiritually needy souls are tuning in to the airwaves, seeking comfort and hope! 250,000 have received Christ as Savior in the past few years. Praise the Lord!
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Jack Van Impe
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Homesh Once Again Empty of Jews
by Hana Levi Julian and Aryeh Haffner (INN) MAR 28,07
At 7:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, police began expelling the some 300 Jews who had stayed since Monday at the site of the destroyed northern Samarian hilltop community of Homesh. The operation was all but completed within three hours, though it was feared that some activists had run from the soldiers towards Arab-populated areas.Three officers assigned to every activist used force, but no violence, to evict those who refused to go on their own. Teenagers were singing and dancing as the officers approached to take them out.IDF and police officials had correctly estimated earlier that most of the crowd would take advantage of the buses that had been provided instead of facing a forceful evacuation. Some 1,000 police officers deployed at the site spent the night and early morning hours trying to convince the holdouts to leave the ruins peacefully. Some activists spent hours setting up stone roadblocks overnight, in an attempt to frustrate the efforts of the evacuation forces.Homesh was one of four northern Samaria Jewish communities that Israel's government destroyed in the Disengagement in the summer of 2005. The army allowed protestors to return to Homesh on Monday, but demanded that they leave the area when ordered to do so.
Some 3,500 activists marched to the site on Monday, many equipped with tents and sleeping bags with the intention of staying in Homesh as long as possible.More than half had left the area by midday Tuesday. Shortly afterwards, the IDF allowed two busloads of guests to pass through the security forces' blockade to attend the brit milah (ritual circumcision) of Limor Har-Melekh Sohns baby boy.
Limor and her late husband Shuli were founding members of the Torani core group that attempted, in 2001-2, to give new life to the town of Homesh, which had begun to lose families in the wake of the Oslo War terrorism. Shuli was murdered by Palestinian Authority terrorists in 2003, and Limor has since re-married. The guests left the area after the ceremony was concluded.A core group of former residents and other supporters have vowed to return, again and again, until they are able to rebuild the destroyed community.
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
THIS IS AGAINST GODS WORD TO FORCE ISRAELIS OFF THEIR GOD GIVEN LAND. TROUBLE WILL MOUNT IF IT CONTINUES AND FINALLY WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED, THEN WORLD WAR THREE OCCURS AFTER THAT.
20 Months Without a Home: Gush Katif Report
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAR 28,07
Over 1,400 Gush Katif families are living in 26 temporary sites - and for most of them, permanent homes are still a far-off dream.
A report issued by the Gush Katif Residents Committee this month tells the sad, though slowly improving, story:Out of 1,667 families expelled from Gush Katif in August 2005 by the Ariel Sharon government, 1,405 are living together in 26 temporary sites. Not one permanent home has begun to be built.In order to turn a temporary site into a permanent one, a contract must be signed between the government, the residents, and the permanent community already there or the owners. Out of 26 sites, only 6 such agreements have been signed.Infrastructures have begun to be prepared for a third of the families - those living in Nitzan (north of Ashkelon), Bat Hadar (just southeast of Ashkelon), and the Halutza Sands (Yated and Yevul, due south of southern Gaza along the Israel-Egypt border).
The reasons for the lack of a contract, the report explains, differ from place to place - but the bottom-line fact that the State is not finding solutions causes great difficulties, and leads to a great lack of confidence, directly influencing other areas of life.It is now clear that the caravan sites will be home for the uprooted residents for at least five years.The problems encountered by the government and the residents in their attempt to rebuild their communities are so complex, varied and time-consuming that they increasingly put the lie to the government's 2005 promise A [housing] solution for every resident.For instance, Nitzanim, north of Ashkelon, is now home to 460 families who mainly hail from five former Gush Katif communities. An agreement to turn the area into fa full-fledged town in the framework of the government's flagship project to resettle ex-Gush Katif
residents has been signed, but its implementation has been held up by several issues. Chief among them is the fact that the land was only recently purchased by the government. The government has also reneged on promises to grant the area preferred status. No solution has yet been found for a packing plant to serve the residents' agricultural industries, an agreed-upon price for land for expellees who are now coming of age [known as the next generation], and the transfer of the municipal area from Ashkelon to the Shikmim Regional Council.Other would-be communities are waiting for the government to order the Defense Ministry to free up areas used for firing ranges, to purchase the land, budgeting of infrastructure connections, access roads, and more.
Unemployment
Unemployment was almost unknown in Gush Katif, yet now, 20 months after the expulsion, joblessness is still high and stands at 37%. Before the expulsion, the great majority of residents were employed in agriculture, industry, education, and local services, and contributed significantly to the Israeli economy. Of 2,200 who were employed, some 400 people of age 50 and over have essentially given up looking for work. These 400 were not taken into account when the Employment Bureau recently announced that 75% of Gush Katif's employees had returned to the work pool.Eligibility for unemployment payments and adjustment funds has long expired. Self-employed workers were never eligible for these funds, and most of them have had no income for the past 18 months... Some 80 non-agricultural businesses have returned to operation, out of 180, but many of them are in dire straits... The State decided on a one-time grant to small business owners, but over 85% of them are not eligible...
Farmers
Some 30% of the families of Gush Katif ran 400 agricultural businesses, raising tomatoes, celery, flowers, and much more. Only 33 of them have received land to resume operations. The upcoming Shemittah year, when many religious farmers do not work the land, will lead to a situation of four consecutive unproductive years for many of them, from 2004 (when the Disengagement was announced) until 2008.
Emotional Difficulties
Families face hardships and psychological pressures caused by financial difficulties, forced unemployment, an uncertain future, loss of community and friends, tight living quarters, bureaucracy, and the like. The financial compensation provided by the government for new housing - only 30% of the families have received the full amount; almost all have received partial compensation - is being used by some for day-to-day living. Some 500 families are aided by welfare organizations. Of late, an increasing number of families are receiving help from government-provided psychological services.
The implementation of the Evacuation/Compensation Law has shown that it includes many injustices and unfair restrictions. MKs Uri Ariel (National Union) and Avigdor Yitzchaki (Kadima) are leading a drive in the Knesset to legislate changes and improvements to the existing law. It appears that there is a willingness in the Prime Minister's Bureau to go along with most of the proposed changes.
Conclusion
The situation is wretched, and the State has failed tremendously. Despite this, the communities of Gush Katif continue to work and accomplish, and it is clear that once they receive the necessary tools once again - progress on their permanent communities and improvements in the Evacuation/ Compensation Law - they will once again be an asset to Israel - active, productive and giving.The communities of Gush Katif are a paradigm of mutual responsibility and concern for the collective.
Most of the expellees have remained in the communal framework, hoping to perpetuate their values, ideals and vision that existed in Gush Katif. Their support for each other is something to be admired.
With the understanding that the community is made up of its members, they are not willing to give up on any one of their members who are considered ineligible for whatever reason by the government.
They also are concerned for their next generation, make sure to maintain rich communal life in their temporary sites, and work to ensure the existence of public buildings in their new communities. The communal strength has greatly enabled them to struggle with the various difficulties - but there are no guarantees. The continuing uncertainty seeps through, and makes every aspect of life more difficult. The Gush Katif Residents Committee posits that the rehabilitation of the expellees is largely dependent on the granting of national-priority status to the treatment of the expellees, including detouring the various bureaucratic wrangles that are involved. The government must make a comprehensive change in its approach to these problems in order to bring an end to this sad chapter as quickly as possible and ease the difficulties of this sector that has suffered greatly.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
TOP 50 RABBIS IN AMERICA
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Greek island antiquities damaged by quake. 3-Western weather turns wild. 4-Israeli, Palestinian leaders to meet. 5-Sewage flood in northern Gaza kills 4. 6-London to send satellite into space. 7-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 8-The Top 50 Rabbis in America.
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 = Wed Mar 28 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 27,07
MAP 2.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.8 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.6 HONDURAS
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAR 26,07
MAP 3.2 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.1 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.8 MONA PASSAGE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MAP 4.8 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.5 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.6 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 4.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.2 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.6 GUAM REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
Greek island antiquities damaged by quake Mon Mar 26, 4:00 PM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - The archaeological museum of the Greek Ionian Sea island of Cephalonia was closed on Monday after a weekend of seismic activity damaged the building and smashed items, the culture ministry said. An undersea tremor measuring 5.9 points on the open-ended Richter scale on Sunday toppled a number of exhibits at Argostoli Museum, smashing three of them, the ministry said without offering further details.The museum building itself sustained minor damage, with cracks appearing in its walls.The ministry said the museum, which displays antiquities from Prehistoric to Roman times and includes a valuable Mycenaean collection, will remain closed until the seismic activity is over.
A number of aftershocks up to 5.1 points Richter were recorded on Monday.There were reports on Sunday of minor damage to homes and limited rock slides on roads, but no injuries.Government engineers have been dispatched to Cephalonia to inspect schools and other public buildings in addition to the island's roads, many of which are built along steep cliffs.The Argostoli Museum was entirely destroyed in a 1953 earthquake that devastated the island.Greece is the most seismically active country in Europe, accounting for half the number of earthquakes recorded 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.
Western weather turns wild Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Tue Mar 27, 5:14 AM ET
West
The West will get a taste of just about all the seasons today: thunderstorms will be possible in the Intermountain West, mountainous areas of the Rockies and Sierra Nevada Mountains will get snow, rain will fall over many valley areas, winds crank up all across the region, and a high fire danger (with a red flag warning) is up in southern New Mexico (which is expected to remain precipitation-free). Winter storm, heavy snow, and high wind warnings are posted across many areas of the West today. Snow and wind will be likely from the High Plains of Montana southward into the New Mexico Rockies on Wednesday and Thursday. The West Coast, including the Pacific Northwest, dries out before another round of rain hits Washington Friday through the weekend. Temperatures will be below average today generally west of the Continental Divide, with the Interior West having highs below seasonal averages on Wednesday. Temperatures moderate near the West Coast on Thursday, with the Interior West staying cool before temperatures warm back above seasonal averages over the weekend.
South
The heavy rain that has been plaguing West and Central Texas will move eastward today, bringing the chance of rain and thunderstorms into East Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana today. The area of rain will ride around the ridge parked over the Southeast, moving into the Tennessee Valley to Virginia and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday. Under the ridge in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, more record highs will be possible through the end of the week. Another chance of rain, with some severe storms possible, will develop over the Plains on Wednesday and move slowly eastward through the weekend. Highs will be above near or average across most of the South through the weekend, except in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Texas where temperatures will cool on Thursday and Friday with some below average highs possible then.
Midwest
Showers and thunderstorms will move into portions of the Mississippi Valley and near the Great Lakes today, with a few pockets of heavy rain possible. Near the Ohio River, a few record highs will be threatened again before some slightly cooler (and not near record warm) temperatures return region-wide. Those slightly cooler but still above temperatures will be felt across portions of the Upper Midwest today after several records were shattered yesterday in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A chance of severe thunderstorms moves into the Plains on Wednesday with thunderstorm chances moving slightly to the east on Thursday, generally along I-35 from Minneapolis to Wichita. Thunderstorm chances creep slowly to the east through the weekend, reaching the Mississippi Valley on Friday and Saturday, then the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Sunday. Despite the arrival of cooler temperatures, highs will still be well above average through the weekend.
Northeast
Showers will continue to move off the coast of the Northeast today, with drier weather arriving on Wednesday. Washington will flirt with a record high today before an area of high pressure wedges down the East Coast on Thursday, bringing a reinforcement of cooler air to the region. Showers with a few thunderstorms will be possible in the Mid-Atlantic Wednesday and Thursday. Sunny and seasonal weather will return to the region on Friday, with rain returning to western Pennsylvania and New York on Sunday.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-40
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.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Israeli, Palestinian leaders to meet By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer MAR 27,07
JERUSALEM - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, in a quickening diplomatic pace that eventually could spur talks on a final peace settlement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Tuesday. After shuttling between the two sides for the past three days, Rice also said that her envoy will try to set benchmarks for implementing a cease-fire, including the halting of rocket fire from Gaza, and for improving the flow of Palestinian travelers and goods through Israeli crossings.The secretary said doors had been opened during her visit to the region and that she was laying the ground work for future peace talks.
She said she believed it was still possible for a peace deal to be reached during President Bush's term and that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas showed flexibility.They achieved something, which is the very regularized meetings between the two of them, in which they will not just talk about their day-to-day issues, but also about a political horizon, Rice said, speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem.But a senior Israeli government official said that for now, Olmert will only talk to Abbas about security and humanitarian issues, as well as a general political horizon, which was not further defined by Rice or Israeli officials. Olmert will not discuss specifics, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.Olmert could start addressing final status issues once there is no more rocket fire from Gaza and Hamas-allied militants release an Israeli soldier they captured nine months ago, added the official.
Rice called on Arab states to hold contacts with Israel, and said peacemaking was made more complex by Hamas' presence in the government with Abbas. Israel, the United States and the European Union count Hamas as a terror group.She called on Arab states to hold contacts with Israel, and called a dormant 2002 Arab peace proposal a welcome example of such new thinking.
Rice, whose visit was timed before a critical Arab League summit later this week in Saudi Arabia, wants Arab states to reissue the broad 2002 land-for-peace offer to Israel, and be willing to negotiate with the Jewish state. Some version of the plan is expected to be part of the upcoming summit in Riyadh.Applause at the end of the road will be welcome, but help now in moving down that road is far more important, Rice told reporters.
She arrived in the region Saturday for her fourth visit in four months. Rice has defined modest initial goals as she tries to push Israeli and Palestinian leaders closer to resuming peace talks and recruit help from Arab states, and said Tuesday she is delighted with the results so far.I don't think four visits in four months is going to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Rice said, but she said she has made a start toward developing a common agenda that could be the basis for substantive peace talks.I think we've achieved what we set out to achieve, Rice told reporters, adding that the two leaders surprised her by agreeing to hold more regular and fulsome discussions.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Rice had managed to keep the door open between us and Israel.Notwithstanding the Israeli position on limiting discussions to humanitarian and security issues, Erekat said Rice envisioned that talks would be broader.
Today the secretary succeeded in maintaining the channel of political communication between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, Erekat said.It was not clear when Olmert and Abbas might meet, although Palestinian officials had said U.S. diplomats proposed a date in mid-April. Rice said the initial talks between the two leaders will be on practical questions, not the so-called final status issues defining peace and security between Israel and an independent Palestine. But she did not rule out formal negotiations those hard questions before Bush leaves office in less than two years.
The most difficult issues dividing Israel and the Palestinians include the borders of an eventual Palestinian state, the fate of disputed Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinians and their descendants who left land when Israel was formed in 1948. The new Palestinian government, a coalition between the Islamist Hamas group and the more moderate Fatah, was inaugurated last week. Rice said a path to cooperation with the new government exists, but that it must first renounce terrorism. Abbas has called the deal the best he could get from the politically formidable militants, and a necessary step to end deadly internal Palestinian violence.
Olmert, who once had called Abbas a partner for peace, had said the deal meant he would limit talks with the Palestinian leader to humanitarian or similar immediate concerns. He initially ruled out more detailed discussions or negotiations. Olmert's reconsideration of that initial stance was a small step, since Olmert held several sessions with Abbas before the Hamas deal, but a sign of fresh and surprising traction toward peace talks despite the complication posed by Hamas. U.S. and Israeli negotiators haggled behind closed doors for several hours Monday night, apparently stuck over the scope of talks Olmert would permit with Abbas. Rice held two sessions apiece with Abbas and Olmert, including a lengthy evening meeting with Olmert in her Jerusalem hotel on Monday. The agreement for new meetings with Abbas apparently came then. On Monday, Olmert said he wouldn't hesitate to take part in a regional summit. Palestinian officials cautiously endorsed the idea. Any such meeting — especially if Saudi and Israeli officials were to publicly meet — would be a huge symbolic breakthrough. Saudis and Israelis are believed to have held private meetings in the last year. Rice said Monday it is premature to talk about any specific kind of meeting, but another U.S. official said the idea of a large group meeting is one proposal among several under discussion. Nothing has been scheduled.
Sewage flood in northern Gaza kills 4 By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer MAR 27,07
UMM NASER, Gaza Strip - An earth embankment around a cesspool collapsed Tuesday, spewing a river of sewage and mud that killed four people and forced residents to flee from this village in the northern Gaza Strip, officials said. A local official blamed shoddy infrastructure in Umm Naser, a town of 3,000. A 70-year-old woman, two small children and a teenager died in the sudden flood, and 25 people were injured, said Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Many of the village's houses were submerged or seriously damaged.Fadel Kawash, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the level of sewage in the pool had increased over the past few days, creeping up the earth embankments around the pool until one collapsed, causing the sewage to pour toward the village.Ziad Abu Farya, head of the village council, described the scene as our tsunami.Rescue crews and gunmen from the militant Muslim group Hamas rushed to the area to search for people feared buried under the slide of sewage and mud. Most residents fled or were evacuated. Three children left on a cart pulled by a donkey, heading toward the nearby town of Beit Lahiya.Angry residents drove reporters out of the area and mobbed government officials who arrived at the scene. When Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh arrived to survey the damage, his bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
We lost everything. Everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster, said Amina Afif, 65, whose small shack was destroyed.The Water Authority's Kawash said Gaza's poor infrastructure was to blame for the accident.Several major sewage treatment projects funded by foreign donors, including one near Umm Naser, were frozen after Hamas won elections last year. The U.S. and EU consider Hamas a terrorist group.We had a project to treat sewage in north Gaza, it was worked on for two years, Kawash said. We built a pressure pipe line and pumping station, he added. But it was stopped after ... troubles began.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum blamed the sanctions against Palestinians, including Gaza and the West Bank for the condition of Gaza's infrastructure.The Israeli army offered humanitarian assistance to help clean up the spill. There was no word on whether the offer had been accepted.
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.
SIGNS IN THE SUN,MOON,STARS
LUKE 21:25,11
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
London to send satellite into space Mon Mar 26, 2:38 PM ET
LONDON (AFP) - London is planning to invest in sending a satellite into space to cut out the need for mobile phone masts and possibly monitor motorists from space, local authorities confirmed Monday. The British capital is set to spend 12 million pounds (24 million dollars, 18 million euros) on the satellite project after the London Development Agency (LDA) board voted overwhelmingly in favour of giving backing to Inmarsat.The southeast and eastern England regional bodies are also putting in 12 million pounds.Inmarsat, the firm behind the scheme already has several satellites in orbit.
We are keen to get involved in this from the beginning, said a spokesman from the LDA, which is responsible for developing London's economy.It is important to stay at the forefront of new technology, he added.But Bob Blackman, economic development spokesman for the Conservatives on the London Assembly, said: This is an utter waste of taxpayers' money.The satellite, due to be launched in 2011, would have the capacity to handle mobile and Internet communications -- but worryingly for motorists around the country, could be used to monitor drivers from space he said.
Inner London is already surrounded by a ring of security cameras checking whether motorists driving in have paid the eight-pound (15.80-dollar, 11.80-euro) levy.The launch, on a European Space Agency rocket, is being earmarked for French Guiana.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
March 23, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Last week, I discussed the threats facing Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah, and the fear expressed by some Israelis that these two terrorist groups are using this period of relative calm to regroup and rearm for even greater attacks.The possibility is all too real. Hezbollah and Hamas—and Iran, the Israel-hating country that funds these terrorists—are firmly committed to destroying the Jewish state, and seem willing to do anything to further their evil aims. But, while they pose the most immediate threat and the greatest danger to Israel's safety, they are by no means her only enemies.Israel's enemies have gathered against her in other arenas as well. Worldwide, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Harsh and unfair criticism of Israel has become acceptable and even fashionable on college campuses, within mainline church groups allied with radical Palestinians, and in some left-wing political circles. Issuing anti-Israel resolutions seems to be a priority activity of the United Nations.
Indeed, when I think of Israel today, I think of the biblical words, All the nations surrounded me…they surrounded me like bees (Psalm 118:10-12). Both literally and figuratively, Israel is an embattled country, surrounded by hostile forces that would like nothing more than to see her—in the chilling words of the Iranian president—wiped off the map.Facing this situation, people like you who love Israel often ask me how they can help. Fortunately, there is much you can do. We are launching an effort to get Israel's friends to add their names to a petition that we will forward to President Bush and other world leaders. This strongly-worded petition urges all people who love peace, freedom, and democracy to stand in strong solidarity with Israel. We think this petition sends a critical message—and we know you will too.
On Monday, March 26, we will begin running a powerful, new 60 second TV spot on FOX News Channel to help launch a grass roots, word-of-mouth movement to invite people to sign this petition. Since we know your love for Israel, we want you to be able to see it before it airs. I urge you to click here to view the new ad and sign the petition today
http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageServer?pagename=swarmingbees&s_subsrc=E7CGBR
—then please help us build a groundswell of support for Israel by forwarding the link to this petition to friends and family. After you have reviewed this ad, I also ask you to please consider helping us with a contribution to purchase additional spots. As of today, we have enough money to air this second spot for one-week. We would like to expand this urgently needed awareness building campaign significantly. With help from you and other generous donors, we believe it is possible to create word-of-mouth movement that could mobilize hundreds of thousands, even more than a million people who would join this petition and send a powerful message of solidarity with Israel at a time when she needs it most.
The Bible speaks of the watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem—watchmen that will never be silent day or night. On behalf of The Fellowship and Israelis and Jewish people everywhere, my deepest thanks for watching over Israel with your prayers and support.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
The Top 50 Rabbis in America
In their spare time, three good friends got together over a labor of love: ranking the country's rabbis.
April 2, 2007 issue - Last fall, Sony Pictures CEO and Chairman Michael Lynton got together with his good friends and fellow power brokers Gary Ginsberg, of Newscorp., and Jay Sanderson, of JTN Productions and started working on a list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. They had a scoring system: Are the rabbis known nationally/internationally? (20 points.) Do they have a media presence? (10 points.) Are they leaders within their communities? (10 points.) Are they considered leaders in Judaism or their movements? (10 points.) Size of their constituency? (10 points.) Do they have political/social influence? (20 points.) Have they made an impact on Judaism in their career? (10 points.) Have they made a greater impact? (10 points.) This system, though helpful, is far from scientific; the men revised and rejiggered their list for months, and all three concede that the result is subjective. Here, then, published for the first time, the top 50 rabbis in America:
1. Marvin Hier (Orthodox)
Hier is one phone call away from almost every world leader, journalist and Hollywood studio head. He is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Museum of Tolerance and Moriah Films.
2. Yehuda Krinsky (Lubavitch)
Krinsky has truly built a shul on every corner and brought the Chabad movement mainstream prominence. He is the leader of Chabad and its CEO.
3. Uri D. Herscher (Reform)
Herscher has built arguably America’s most culturally relevant Jewish institution and his passion has already touched hundreds of thousands of Jews and non-Jews of all ages. He is the founding president and CEO of the Skirball Cultural Center.
4. Yehuda Berg (Orthodox)
Berg has made wearing the red string a popular phenomena in America and around the world and turned on everyone from Madonna to club-hopping young Jews to the power of the Kabbalah. He is an author and spiritual adviser at the Kabbalah Centre.
5. Harold Kushner (Conservative)
Kushner has written nine inspirational books including the international best seller that helped millions grapple with "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." He is one of America’s truly gifted speakers and teachers.
6. David Ellenson (Reform)
Ellenson is a trailblazer committed to bringing this generation’s Reform Jewish rabbis and teachers closer to traditional Judaism. He is the president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
7. Robert Wexler (Conservative)
Wexler has re-envisioned Jewish education and created the largest Jewish continuing-education program in America while building a premier rabbinical school and liberal arts college. He is the president of the University of Judaism.
8. Irwin Kula (Conservative)
Kula is committed to “taking Jewish public” and reshaping America’s spiritual landscape. He is the copresident of CLAL, a public television host and the author of "Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life."
9. Shmuley Boteach (Orthodox)
Boteach has been called “the most famous rabbi in America” and his 17 books, TLC television series and celebrity friends help make that case. His book "Kosher Sex " introduced this Hasidic rabbi as a cultural phenomena.
10. M. Bruce Lustig (Reform)
Each year on Yom Kippur, Lustig has an audience that even the president of the United States would envy. He is the rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation, the largest congregation in Washington, D.C.
11.Peter J. Rubinstein (Reform)
Rubinstein is the spiritual leader of New York’s Central Synagogue.
12. Eric Yoffie (Reform)
Yoffie is the president of the Union of Reform Judaism.
13. Harold M. Schulweis (Conservative)
Schulweis is considered the leading Conservative rabbi of his generation.
14. Saul J. Berman (Orthodox)
Berman is considered one of the most forward thinking Jewish scholars of his generation.
15. Zalman Teitelbaum (Hasidim)
Teitelbaum is the new leader of the Satmar Hasidic community in Williamsburg.
16. David Saperstein (Reform)
Saperstein is the director of the Religious Action Center and a leading Washington lobbyist.
17. J. Rolando Matalon (Conservative)
Matalon is the spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun.
18. David Wolpe (Conservative)
Wolpe is now considered one of the most dynamic pulpit rabbis in America (also an author).
19. Sharon Kleinbaum (Reform)
Kleinbaum is the senior rabbi of the world’s largest synagogue for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews.
20. Dan Ehrenkrantz (Reconstructionist)
Ehrenkrantz is the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
21. Joseph Telushkin (Orthodox)
Telushkin is a best-selling author and speaker.
22. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Renewal)
Schacter-Shalomi founded the Jewish renewal movement in America.
23. David M. Posner (Reform)
Posner is the spiritual leader for New York’s Temple Emanuel, the largest congregation in America.
24. Ephraim Buchwald (Orthodox)
Buchwald is the founder of the National Jewish Outreach Program.
25. Avraham Weiss (Orthodox)
Weiss is known as the Orthodox’s leading activist and leader of the Modern Orthodox community.
26. Irving Greenberg (Orthodox)
Greenberg is the president of Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation and the founder of CLAL.
27. Kerry M. Olitzky (Reform)
Olitzky is one of the leading rabbinical advocates for outreach to interfaith and unaffiliated families in America.
28. Michael Lerner (Reform)
Lerner is the editor of Tikkun and a leading progressive political activist.
29. Abraham Cooper (Orthodox)
Cooper is the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
30. Elliot Dorff (Conservative)
Dorff is the leader of the top lawmaking body in Conservative Judaism.
31. Marc Gellman (Reform)
Gellman is an author and television personality.
32. Rachel B. Cowan (Reform)
Cowan is the director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
33. Marc Schneier (Orthodox)
Schneier is the president and founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and Chairman of the World Jewish Congress.
34. Janet Marder (Reform)
Marder is the first woman to ever head the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
35. Arthur Waskow (Renewal)
Controversial activist, author and founder of the Shalom Center.
36. Nachum Braverman (Orthodox)
Braverman is Aish Hatorah’s leading American leader.
37. Bradley Hirschfield (Orthodox)
Hirschfeld is the copresident of CLAL and an outspoken proponent of interfaith dialogue.
38. Hayim Herring (Conservative)
Herring is executive director of STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal).
39. Daniel Lapin (Orthodox)
Lapin is a radio host, conservative commentator and cochair of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians.
40. Lawrence A. Hoffman (Reform)
Hoffman is the Reform movement’s leader in spirituality and prayer.
41. Sidney Schwarz (Reconstructionist)
Schwarz is the founder and President of panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values.
42. Naomi Levy (Conservative)
Levy is a popular author and a leading woman in the Conservative movement.
43. Lawrence Kushner (Reform)
Kushner is a leading teacher, writer and the innovator behind the Havurah movement.
44. Norman Lamm (Orthodox)
Lamm is the chancellor of Yeshiva University.
45. Nosson Scherman (Orthodox)
Scherman is the general editor for ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, one of the largest publishers and sellers of Jewish books in the world.
46. Stephen Pearce (Reform)
Pearce is the leader of San Francisco’s largest congregation with 2,700 families.
47. Harold Loss (Reform)
Loss is the leader of the largest synagogue in the Midwest (Detroit, 3,200 families).
48. Toba Spitzer (Reconstructionist)
Spitzer became the first openly lesbian rabbi to head a national Rabbinic Association in March 2007.
49. Michael Paley (Conservative)
Paley is the scholar in residence and director of the Jewish Resource Center of the UJA-Federation of New York.
50. Mordecai Finley (Reform)
Finley is the founder and Co-CEO of Ohr HaTorah, an innovative and progressive synagogue.
2007 Newsweek, Inc.
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 = Wed Mar 28 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 27,07
MAP 2.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.8 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.6 HONDURAS
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
MAP 2.5 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAR 26,07
MAP 3.2 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.1 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN YUKON TERRITORY, CANADA
MAP 3.8 MONA PASSAGE, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MAP 4.8 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.5 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.6 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 NEVADA
MAP 4.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.2 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.6 GUAM REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
Greek island antiquities damaged by quake Mon Mar 26, 4:00 PM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - The archaeological museum of the Greek Ionian Sea island of Cephalonia was closed on Monday after a weekend of seismic activity damaged the building and smashed items, the culture ministry said. An undersea tremor measuring 5.9 points on the open-ended Richter scale on Sunday toppled a number of exhibits at Argostoli Museum, smashing three of them, the ministry said without offering further details.The museum building itself sustained minor damage, with cracks appearing in its walls.The ministry said the museum, which displays antiquities from Prehistoric to Roman times and includes a valuable Mycenaean collection, will remain closed until the seismic activity is over.
A number of aftershocks up to 5.1 points Richter were recorded on Monday.There were reports on Sunday of minor damage to homes and limited rock slides on roads, but no injuries.Government engineers have been dispatched to Cephalonia to inspect schools and other public buildings in addition to the island's roads, many of which are built along steep cliffs.The Argostoli Museum was entirely destroyed in a 1953 earthquake that devastated the island.Greece is the most seismically active country in Europe, accounting for half the number of earthquakes recorded 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.
Western weather turns wild Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Tue Mar 27, 5:14 AM ET
West
The West will get a taste of just about all the seasons today: thunderstorms will be possible in the Intermountain West, mountainous areas of the Rockies and Sierra Nevada Mountains will get snow, rain will fall over many valley areas, winds crank up all across the region, and a high fire danger (with a red flag warning) is up in southern New Mexico (which is expected to remain precipitation-free). Winter storm, heavy snow, and high wind warnings are posted across many areas of the West today. Snow and wind will be likely from the High Plains of Montana southward into the New Mexico Rockies on Wednesday and Thursday. The West Coast, including the Pacific Northwest, dries out before another round of rain hits Washington Friday through the weekend. Temperatures will be below average today generally west of the Continental Divide, with the Interior West having highs below seasonal averages on Wednesday. Temperatures moderate near the West Coast on Thursday, with the Interior West staying cool before temperatures warm back above seasonal averages over the weekend.
South
The heavy rain that has been plaguing West and Central Texas will move eastward today, bringing the chance of rain and thunderstorms into East Texas, eastern Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana today. The area of rain will ride around the ridge parked over the Southeast, moving into the Tennessee Valley to Virginia and the Carolinas on Wednesday and Thursday. Under the ridge in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia, more record highs will be possible through the end of the week. Another chance of rain, with some severe storms possible, will develop over the Plains on Wednesday and move slowly eastward through the weekend. Highs will be above near or average across most of the South through the weekend, except in Virginia, the Carolinas, and Texas where temperatures will cool on Thursday and Friday with some below average highs possible then.
Midwest
Showers and thunderstorms will move into portions of the Mississippi Valley and near the Great Lakes today, with a few pockets of heavy rain possible. Near the Ohio River, a few record highs will be threatened again before some slightly cooler (and not near record warm) temperatures return region-wide. Those slightly cooler but still above temperatures will be felt across portions of the Upper Midwest today after several records were shattered yesterday in portions of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. A chance of severe thunderstorms moves into the Plains on Wednesday with thunderstorm chances moving slightly to the east on Thursday, generally along I-35 from Minneapolis to Wichita. Thunderstorm chances creep slowly to the east through the weekend, reaching the Mississippi Valley on Friday and Saturday, then the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley on Sunday. Despite the arrival of cooler temperatures, highs will still be well above average through the weekend.
Northeast
Showers will continue to move off the coast of the Northeast today, with drier weather arriving on Wednesday. Washington will flirt with a record high today before an area of high pressure wedges down the East Coast on Thursday, bringing a reinforcement of cooler air to the region. Showers with a few thunderstorms will be possible in the Mid-Atlantic Wednesday and Thursday. Sunny and seasonal weather will return to the region on Friday, with rain returning to western Pennsylvania and New York on Sunday.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-40
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.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
Israeli, Palestinian leaders to meet By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer MAR 27,07
JERUSALEM - Israeli and Palestinian leaders have agreed to meet every two weeks to discuss day-to-day issues, in a quickening diplomatic pace that eventually could spur talks on a final peace settlement, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice announced Tuesday. After shuttling between the two sides for the past three days, Rice also said that her envoy will try to set benchmarks for implementing a cease-fire, including the halting of rocket fire from Gaza, and for improving the flow of Palestinian travelers and goods through Israeli crossings.The secretary said doors had been opened during her visit to the region and that she was laying the ground work for future peace talks.
She said she believed it was still possible for a peace deal to be reached during President Bush's term and that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas showed flexibility.They achieved something, which is the very regularized meetings between the two of them, in which they will not just talk about their day-to-day issues, but also about a political horizon, Rice said, speaking at a news conference in Jerusalem.But a senior Israeli government official said that for now, Olmert will only talk to Abbas about security and humanitarian issues, as well as a general political horizon, which was not further defined by Rice or Israeli officials. Olmert will not discuss specifics, such as the borders of a future Palestinian state, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity.Olmert could start addressing final status issues once there is no more rocket fire from Gaza and Hamas-allied militants release an Israeli soldier they captured nine months ago, added the official.
Rice called on Arab states to hold contacts with Israel, and said peacemaking was made more complex by Hamas' presence in the government with Abbas. Israel, the United States and the European Union count Hamas as a terror group.She called on Arab states to hold contacts with Israel, and called a dormant 2002 Arab peace proposal a welcome example of such new thinking.
Rice, whose visit was timed before a critical Arab League summit later this week in Saudi Arabia, wants Arab states to reissue the broad 2002 land-for-peace offer to Israel, and be willing to negotiate with the Jewish state. Some version of the plan is expected to be part of the upcoming summit in Riyadh.Applause at the end of the road will be welcome, but help now in moving down that road is far more important, Rice told reporters.
She arrived in the region Saturday for her fourth visit in four months. Rice has defined modest initial goals as she tries to push Israeli and Palestinian leaders closer to resuming peace talks and recruit help from Arab states, and said Tuesday she is delighted with the results so far.I don't think four visits in four months is going to solve the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Rice said, but she said she has made a start toward developing a common agenda that could be the basis for substantive peace talks.I think we've achieved what we set out to achieve, Rice told reporters, adding that the two leaders surprised her by agreeing to hold more regular and fulsome discussions.Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said Rice had managed to keep the door open between us and Israel.Notwithstanding the Israeli position on limiting discussions to humanitarian and security issues, Erekat said Rice envisioned that talks would be broader.
Today the secretary succeeded in maintaining the channel of political communication between President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert, Erekat said.It was not clear when Olmert and Abbas might meet, although Palestinian officials had said U.S. diplomats proposed a date in mid-April. Rice said the initial talks between the two leaders will be on practical questions, not the so-called final status issues defining peace and security between Israel and an independent Palestine. But she did not rule out formal negotiations those hard questions before Bush leaves office in less than two years.
The most difficult issues dividing Israel and the Palestinians include the borders of an eventual Palestinian state, the fate of disputed Jerusalem and the rights of Palestinians and their descendants who left land when Israel was formed in 1948. The new Palestinian government, a coalition between the Islamist Hamas group and the more moderate Fatah, was inaugurated last week. Rice said a path to cooperation with the new government exists, but that it must first renounce terrorism. Abbas has called the deal the best he could get from the politically formidable militants, and a necessary step to end deadly internal Palestinian violence.
Olmert, who once had called Abbas a partner for peace, had said the deal meant he would limit talks with the Palestinian leader to humanitarian or similar immediate concerns. He initially ruled out more detailed discussions or negotiations. Olmert's reconsideration of that initial stance was a small step, since Olmert held several sessions with Abbas before the Hamas deal, but a sign of fresh and surprising traction toward peace talks despite the complication posed by Hamas. U.S. and Israeli negotiators haggled behind closed doors for several hours Monday night, apparently stuck over the scope of talks Olmert would permit with Abbas. Rice held two sessions apiece with Abbas and Olmert, including a lengthy evening meeting with Olmert in her Jerusalem hotel on Monday. The agreement for new meetings with Abbas apparently came then. On Monday, Olmert said he wouldn't hesitate to take part in a regional summit. Palestinian officials cautiously endorsed the idea. Any such meeting — especially if Saudi and Israeli officials were to publicly meet — would be a huge symbolic breakthrough. Saudis and Israelis are believed to have held private meetings in the last year. Rice said Monday it is premature to talk about any specific kind of meeting, but another U.S. official said the idea of a large group meeting is one proposal among several under discussion. Nothing has been scheduled.
Sewage flood in northern Gaza kills 4 By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer MAR 27,07
UMM NASER, Gaza Strip - An earth embankment around a cesspool collapsed Tuesday, spewing a river of sewage and mud that killed four people and forced residents to flee from this village in the northern Gaza Strip, officials said. A local official blamed shoddy infrastructure in Umm Naser, a town of 3,000. A 70-year-old woman, two small children and a teenager died in the sudden flood, and 25 people were injured, said Dr. Muawiya Hassanin of the Palestinian Health Ministry. Many of the village's houses were submerged or seriously damaged.Fadel Kawash, head of the Palestinian Water Authority, said the level of sewage in the pool had increased over the past few days, creeping up the earth embankments around the pool until one collapsed, causing the sewage to pour toward the village.Ziad Abu Farya, head of the village council, described the scene as our tsunami.Rescue crews and gunmen from the militant Muslim group Hamas rushed to the area to search for people feared buried under the slide of sewage and mud. Most residents fled or were evacuated. Three children left on a cart pulled by a donkey, heading toward the nearby town of Beit Lahiya.Angry residents drove reporters out of the area and mobbed government officials who arrived at the scene. When Interior Minister Hani Kawasmeh arrived to survey the damage, his bodyguards fired in the air to disperse the crowd.
We lost everything. Everything was covered by the flood. It's a disaster, said Amina Afif, 65, whose small shack was destroyed.The Water Authority's Kawash said Gaza's poor infrastructure was to blame for the accident.Several major sewage treatment projects funded by foreign donors, including one near Umm Naser, were frozen after Hamas won elections last year. The U.S. and EU consider Hamas a terrorist group.We had a project to treat sewage in north Gaza, it was worked on for two years, Kawash said. We built a pressure pipe line and pumping station, he added. But it was stopped after ... troubles began.Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum blamed the sanctions against Palestinians, including Gaza and the West Bank for the condition of Gaza's infrastructure.The Israeli army offered humanitarian assistance to help clean up the spill. There was no word on whether the offer had been accepted.
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.
SIGNS IN THE SUN,MOON,STARS
LUKE 21:25,11
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring;
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
London to send satellite into space Mon Mar 26, 2:38 PM ET
LONDON (AFP) - London is planning to invest in sending a satellite into space to cut out the need for mobile phone masts and possibly monitor motorists from space, local authorities confirmed Monday. The British capital is set to spend 12 million pounds (24 million dollars, 18 million euros) on the satellite project after the London Development Agency (LDA) board voted overwhelmingly in favour of giving backing to Inmarsat.The southeast and eastern England regional bodies are also putting in 12 million pounds.Inmarsat, the firm behind the scheme already has several satellites in orbit.
We are keen to get involved in this from the beginning, said a spokesman from the LDA, which is responsible for developing London's economy.It is important to stay at the forefront of new technology, he added.But Bob Blackman, economic development spokesman for the Conservatives on the London Assembly, said: This is an utter waste of taxpayers' money.The satellite, due to be launched in 2011, would have the capacity to handle mobile and Internet communications -- but worryingly for motorists around the country, could be used to monitor drivers from space he said.
Inner London is already surrounded by a ring of security cameras checking whether motorists driving in have paid the eight-pound (15.80-dollar, 11.80-euro) levy.The launch, on a European Space Agency rocket, is being earmarked for French Guiana.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
March 23, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Last week, I discussed the threats facing Israel from Hamas and Hezbollah, and the fear expressed by some Israelis that these two terrorist groups are using this period of relative calm to regroup and rearm for even greater attacks.The possibility is all too real. Hezbollah and Hamas—and Iran, the Israel-hating country that funds these terrorists—are firmly committed to destroying the Jewish state, and seem willing to do anything to further their evil aims. But, while they pose the most immediate threat and the greatest danger to Israel's safety, they are by no means her only enemies.Israel's enemies have gathered against her in other arenas as well. Worldwide, anti-Semitism is on the rise. Harsh and unfair criticism of Israel has become acceptable and even fashionable on college campuses, within mainline church groups allied with radical Palestinians, and in some left-wing political circles. Issuing anti-Israel resolutions seems to be a priority activity of the United Nations.
Indeed, when I think of Israel today, I think of the biblical words, All the nations surrounded me…they surrounded me like bees (Psalm 118:10-12). Both literally and figuratively, Israel is an embattled country, surrounded by hostile forces that would like nothing more than to see her—in the chilling words of the Iranian president—wiped off the map.Facing this situation, people like you who love Israel often ask me how they can help. Fortunately, there is much you can do. We are launching an effort to get Israel's friends to add their names to a petition that we will forward to President Bush and other world leaders. This strongly-worded petition urges all people who love peace, freedom, and democracy to stand in strong solidarity with Israel. We think this petition sends a critical message—and we know you will too.
On Monday, March 26, we will begin running a powerful, new 60 second TV spot on FOX News Channel to help launch a grass roots, word-of-mouth movement to invite people to sign this petition. Since we know your love for Israel, we want you to be able to see it before it airs. I urge you to click here to view the new ad and sign the petition today
http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageServer?pagename=swarmingbees&s_subsrc=E7CGBR
—then please help us build a groundswell of support for Israel by forwarding the link to this petition to friends and family. After you have reviewed this ad, I also ask you to please consider helping us with a contribution to purchase additional spots. As of today, we have enough money to air this second spot for one-week. We would like to expand this urgently needed awareness building campaign significantly. With help from you and other generous donors, we believe it is possible to create word-of-mouth movement that could mobilize hundreds of thousands, even more than a million people who would join this petition and send a powerful message of solidarity with Israel at a time when she needs it most.
The Bible speaks of the watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem—watchmen that will never be silent day or night. On behalf of The Fellowship and Israelis and Jewish people everywhere, my deepest thanks for watching over Israel with your prayers and support.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
The Top 50 Rabbis in America
In their spare time, three good friends got together over a labor of love: ranking the country's rabbis.
April 2, 2007 issue - Last fall, Sony Pictures CEO and Chairman Michael Lynton got together with his good friends and fellow power brokers Gary Ginsberg, of Newscorp., and Jay Sanderson, of JTN Productions and started working on a list of the 50 most influential rabbis in America. They had a scoring system: Are the rabbis known nationally/internationally? (20 points.) Do they have a media presence? (10 points.) Are they leaders within their communities? (10 points.) Are they considered leaders in Judaism or their movements? (10 points.) Size of their constituency? (10 points.) Do they have political/social influence? (20 points.) Have they made an impact on Judaism in their career? (10 points.) Have they made a greater impact? (10 points.) This system, though helpful, is far from scientific; the men revised and rejiggered their list for months, and all three concede that the result is subjective. Here, then, published for the first time, the top 50 rabbis in America:
1. Marvin Hier (Orthodox)
Hier is one phone call away from almost every world leader, journalist and Hollywood studio head. He is the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Museum of Tolerance and Moriah Films.
2. Yehuda Krinsky (Lubavitch)
Krinsky has truly built a shul on every corner and brought the Chabad movement mainstream prominence. He is the leader of Chabad and its CEO.
3. Uri D. Herscher (Reform)
Herscher has built arguably America’s most culturally relevant Jewish institution and his passion has already touched hundreds of thousands of Jews and non-Jews of all ages. He is the founding president and CEO of the Skirball Cultural Center.
4. Yehuda Berg (Orthodox)
Berg has made wearing the red string a popular phenomena in America and around the world and turned on everyone from Madonna to club-hopping young Jews to the power of the Kabbalah. He is an author and spiritual adviser at the Kabbalah Centre.
5. Harold Kushner (Conservative)
Kushner has written nine inspirational books including the international best seller that helped millions grapple with "When Bad Things Happen to Good People." He is one of America’s truly gifted speakers and teachers.
6. David Ellenson (Reform)
Ellenson is a trailblazer committed to bringing this generation’s Reform Jewish rabbis and teachers closer to traditional Judaism. He is the president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
7. Robert Wexler (Conservative)
Wexler has re-envisioned Jewish education and created the largest Jewish continuing-education program in America while building a premier rabbinical school and liberal arts college. He is the president of the University of Judaism.
8. Irwin Kula (Conservative)
Kula is committed to “taking Jewish public” and reshaping America’s spiritual landscape. He is the copresident of CLAL, a public television host and the author of "Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life."
9. Shmuley Boteach (Orthodox)
Boteach has been called “the most famous rabbi in America” and his 17 books, TLC television series and celebrity friends help make that case. His book "Kosher Sex " introduced this Hasidic rabbi as a cultural phenomena.
10. M. Bruce Lustig (Reform)
Each year on Yom Kippur, Lustig has an audience that even the president of the United States would envy. He is the rabbi of Washington Hebrew Congregation, the largest congregation in Washington, D.C.
11.Peter J. Rubinstein (Reform)
Rubinstein is the spiritual leader of New York’s Central Synagogue.
12. Eric Yoffie (Reform)
Yoffie is the president of the Union of Reform Judaism.
13. Harold M. Schulweis (Conservative)
Schulweis is considered the leading Conservative rabbi of his generation.
14. Saul J. Berman (Orthodox)
Berman is considered one of the most forward thinking Jewish scholars of his generation.
15. Zalman Teitelbaum (Hasidim)
Teitelbaum is the new leader of the Satmar Hasidic community in Williamsburg.
16. David Saperstein (Reform)
Saperstein is the director of the Religious Action Center and a leading Washington lobbyist.
17. J. Rolando Matalon (Conservative)
Matalon is the spiritual leader of Congregation B’nai Jeshurun.
18. David Wolpe (Conservative)
Wolpe is now considered one of the most dynamic pulpit rabbis in America (also an author).
19. Sharon Kleinbaum (Reform)
Kleinbaum is the senior rabbi of the world’s largest synagogue for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews.
20. Dan Ehrenkrantz (Reconstructionist)
Ehrenkrantz is the president of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
21. Joseph Telushkin (Orthodox)
Telushkin is a best-selling author and speaker.
22. Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (Renewal)
Schacter-Shalomi founded the Jewish renewal movement in America.
23. David M. Posner (Reform)
Posner is the spiritual leader for New York’s Temple Emanuel, the largest congregation in America.
24. Ephraim Buchwald (Orthodox)
Buchwald is the founder of the National Jewish Outreach Program.
25. Avraham Weiss (Orthodox)
Weiss is known as the Orthodox’s leading activist and leader of the Modern Orthodox community.
26. Irving Greenberg (Orthodox)
Greenberg is the president of Jewish Life Network/Steinhardt Foundation and the founder of CLAL.
27. Kerry M. Olitzky (Reform)
Olitzky is one of the leading rabbinical advocates for outreach to interfaith and unaffiliated families in America.
28. Michael Lerner (Reform)
Lerner is the editor of Tikkun and a leading progressive political activist.
29. Abraham Cooper (Orthodox)
Cooper is the associate dean of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
30. Elliot Dorff (Conservative)
Dorff is the leader of the top lawmaking body in Conservative Judaism.
31. Marc Gellman (Reform)
Gellman is an author and television personality.
32. Rachel B. Cowan (Reform)
Cowan is the director of the Institute for Jewish Spirituality.
33. Marc Schneier (Orthodox)
Schneier is the president and founder of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding and Chairman of the World Jewish Congress.
34. Janet Marder (Reform)
Marder is the first woman to ever head the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
35. Arthur Waskow (Renewal)
Controversial activist, author and founder of the Shalom Center.
36. Nachum Braverman (Orthodox)
Braverman is Aish Hatorah’s leading American leader.
37. Bradley Hirschfield (Orthodox)
Hirschfeld is the copresident of CLAL and an outspoken proponent of interfaith dialogue.
38. Hayim Herring (Conservative)
Herring is executive director of STAR (Synagogues: Transformation and Renewal).
39. Daniel Lapin (Orthodox)
Lapin is a radio host, conservative commentator and cochair of the American Alliance of Jews and Christians.
40. Lawrence A. Hoffman (Reform)
Hoffman is the Reform movement’s leader in spirituality and prayer.
41. Sidney Schwarz (Reconstructionist)
Schwarz is the founder and President of panim: The Institute for Jewish Leadership and Values.
42. Naomi Levy (Conservative)
Levy is a popular author and a leading woman in the Conservative movement.
43. Lawrence Kushner (Reform)
Kushner is a leading teacher, writer and the innovator behind the Havurah movement.
44. Norman Lamm (Orthodox)
Lamm is the chancellor of Yeshiva University.
45. Nosson Scherman (Orthodox)
Scherman is the general editor for ArtScroll/Mesorah Publications, one of the largest publishers and sellers of Jewish books in the world.
46. Stephen Pearce (Reform)
Pearce is the leader of San Francisco’s largest congregation with 2,700 families.
47. Harold Loss (Reform)
Loss is the leader of the largest synagogue in the Midwest (Detroit, 3,200 families).
48. Toba Spitzer (Reconstructionist)
Spitzer became the first openly lesbian rabbi to head a national Rabbinic Association in March 2007.
49. Michael Paley (Conservative)
Paley is the scholar in residence and director of the Jewish Resource Center of the UJA-Federation of New York.
50. Mordecai Finley (Reform)
Finley is the founder and Co-CEO of Ohr HaTorah, an innovative and progressive synagogue.
2007 Newsweek, Inc.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
EU IN 2027
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Aftershocks keep quake-hit Japan on edge . 3-The Nation's Weather. 4-Iraqi Police Foil Chlorine Dirty Bomb Attack in Ramadi. 5-Pope criticises EU for excluding Christianity. 6-Hundreds of Activists Unfurl Israeli Flag at Homesh. 7-Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human. 8-Merkel seeks treaty giving EU more powers by 2009. 9-We had no time to philosophise about this revolution. 10-The EU in 2027.
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 = Tue Mar 27 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 26,07
MAP 4.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.2 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.6 GUAM REGION
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAR 25,07
MAP 2.7 OREGON
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.5 VANUATU
MAP 5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.5 GREECE
MAP 3.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.7 GREECE
MAP 4.7 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 VANUATU
MAP 5.5 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN COLOMBIA
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.0 VANUATU
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 7.2 VANUATU
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Aftershocks keep quake-hit Japan on edge By Issey Kato
Mon Mar 26, 5:46 AM ET
WAJIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Aftershocks kept residents of central Japan on edge on Monday, more than a day after a strong earthquake that killed one person, injured about 200 and flattened homes.
Sunday's 6.9 magnitude quake, which struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 km (190 miles) west of Tokyo, destroyed houses, buckled roads and cut off water and electricity supplies to thousands of homes.A 5.3 magnitude tremor, one of more than 200 aftershocks, struck early on Monday, and a 4.4 magnitude quake jolted the area in the early evening, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.Officials warned that more could occur.About 2,600 people spent the night in evacuation shelters and many were set to do so again on Monday.
The aftershocks kept me awake and I only slept about an hour, said Yoko Yamashita, 60, who spent Sunday night in a shelter in the hard-hit rural city of Wajima.About 5,600 households lacked tap water in Ishikawa on Monday afternoon and drinking water was being distributed.I wanted water to clean my face and wash the rice (before cooking), but there wasn't enough, Yamashita said.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary panel in Tokyo that 68 houses, many of them old wooden structures with heavy tile roofs, had been destroyed and another 164 badly damaged.The government's disaster agency put the total number of damaged houses at 564.An emergency relief team of firefighters that had been searching the rubble of collapsed houses confirmed that no one was trapped, an Ishikawa prefecture official said.Shogoro Hashimura, 81, hid under a table at the office of his sawmill in Wajima when Sunday's quake struck.When I looked outside, my truck was trapped under the rubble
and woodchips and lumber were strewn all over, he said.
EARLY WARNING
The plight of Wajima's elderly highlights the vulnerability of Japan's aging population when disasters strike.I'm worried because there aren't many young people in this neighborhood and I don't know how I'll cope with this mess, said 76-year-old Kazuko Kakuda, who had returned from an evacuation center with her husband Tsunetaro, 77, to try to clean up the toppled furniture and broken dishes in their home.The Meteorological Agency, using an early warning system that detects smaller tremors before a main quake hits, issued a tsunami alert on Sunday about 100 seconds after the quake, about two minutes faster than previously.The tsunami warning was lifted the same day after small waves hit some areas. The agency was also able to send an emergency earthquake flash to monitors about 50 km (30 miles) from the focus about five seconds before the strong quake rattled the region.
But hard-hit Wajima failed to receive the warning before the tremor struck because it was too close to the focus. The agency plans to use the system, in place for tsunami warnings to a limited number of subscribers since October, for earthquake announcements starting later this year.
Electricity was restored to most homes after outages on Sunday affected around 160,000 households, Noto airport on the peninsula reopened after cracks on the runway were repaired, and train services were back to normal, officials and media said. Earthquakes are common in Japan, which accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. (Additional reporting by Toshi Maeda in Wajima, and Teruaki Ueno and Linda Sieg in Tokyo)
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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Mon Mar 26, 5:41 AM ET
Storms raked the Pacific Northwest, eastern Great Lakes and Northeast early Monday, while thunderclouds swirled over Texas and mild temperatures held in the Southeast. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms were forecast across the Great Lakes, Northeast and portions of the northern mid-Atlantic region.High pressure was to keep skies mostly clear across the southern Ohio Valley, much of the Tennessee Valley, the remainder of the mid-Atlantic region, the Southeast and Florida.
The greatest threat for severe thunderstorms was across Texas, where a low pressure
system slowly gliding across the southern U.S. was to bring another day of wet weather gusty winds and hail.A Pacific storm was forecast to slam into the California and Oregon coast, bringing moderate to heavy rain north of Southern California.Highs will be in the mid 40s to upper 60s across the Northeast, and the upper 50s to low 80s in the mid-Atlantic states; the upper 60s to upper 70s in the
southern Plains; and the 40s to lower 60s for the Pacific Northwest.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states on Sunday ranged from a low of 10 degrees at Presque Isle, Maine, to a high of 95 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 and there shall be famines, and pestilences,(DISEASES AND CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS) and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
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)
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.
Iraqi Police Foil Chlorine Dirty Bomb Attack in Ramadi
By VOA News 25 March 2007
The U.S. military says Iraqi authorities have foiled a suicide chemical bomb attack in the western city of Ramadi.
A statement issued Sunday says Iraqi police detained a suicide bomber Friday, before he could detonate two tons of explosives aboard his truck that was also loaded with nearly 20,000 liters of chlorine. U.S. officials say the truck was stopped near a police station about 150 meters from a water treatment plant in the predominantly Sunni city. Insurgents have carried out seven chlorine bomb attacks in Iraq this year. Meanwhile, Iraqi police said Sunday gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque south of Baghdad. Officials say at least two people were wounded. Mosques are frequent targets of attack in Iraq were sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite muslims has become commonplace.
On Saturday, a series of suicide bombings in Iraq killed at least 47 people, many of them Iraqi policemen.Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters
IT HAS TO BE GODLESS THE, EU TO FULFILL PROPHECY, THATS WHY NO MENTION OF GOD IN THE CONSTITUTION, THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR BLASPHEMS GOD AND EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND CLAIMS TO BE GOD HIMSELF AND GETS AWAY WITH IT, THATS WHY THE EU HAS TO BE GODLESS AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY.
REVELATION 13:1-10
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.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
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.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU
DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
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.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.
WAY TO GO POPE BENEDICT FOR COMING AGAINST IT, THE GODLESSNESS OF THE EU. THIS POPE IS A TRUE GOSPEL PREACHER, BUT WAIT TILL HE RETIRES A GODLESS POPE ALSO COMES ON THE SCENE. TO LEAD A ONE WORLD RELIGION AND PROMOTES THE GODLESS EU DICTATOR IN THE FUTURE.
Pope criticises EU for excluding Christianity
Web posted at: 3/25/2007 4:10:35 REUTERS
vatican city - Pope Benedict strongly criticised the European Union yesterday for excluding a mention of God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.
In a toughly-worded speech to European bishops, Benedict said Europe was committing a form of apostasy of itself and was thus doubting its own identity. The Pope, who like his predecessor John Paul often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the very soul of the continent. If on the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the governments of the union want to get closer to their citizens, how can they exclude an element as essential to the identity of Europe as Christianity, in which the vast majority of its people continue to identify, he said.
It is no surprise that today's Europe, while it purports to be a community of values, seems to increasingly contest the existence of absolute and universal values, he said. Does not this unique form of apostasy of itself, even before God, lead it (Europe) to doubt its very identity?
Apostasy is a total desertion of or departure from one's religion.
One of the Pope's compatriots, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to relaunch the EU constitution and last month made a plea for the bloc to include references to Christian roots. Plans to include such a reference in the original EU treaty, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, were blocked by French President Jacques Chirac. Merkel, as holder of the EU's rotating presidency, is now in the process of reviving the constitution. Comments from Merkel, the daughter of a pastor, have encouraged religious leaders around Europe to redouble efforts to modify the constitution.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also said he had pushed for inclusion of Catholic roots in the European Constitution, but that the main task ahead for Catholics was to carry on a dialogue with religions like Islam and Judaism. I fought silently and for long for the insertion of Christian roots in the European Constitution, Prodi said on Saturday.
In his address to the European bishops, Pope Benedict said the European Union was headed up a slippery slope of indifference if it did not recognise religion and God. A community that builds itself without respecting the true dignity of the human being, forgetting that each person is created in the image of God, ends up doing good for no one, he said. He called for a realistic but not cynical Europe and said the continent's leaders could not deny it had a historical, cultural and moral identity that Christianity helped forge.
Hundreds of Activists Unfurl Israeli Flag at Homesh
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAR 26,07
Hundreds of young activists, and some of their families, have arrived at the site of the destroyed Samaria community of Homesh- unfurling an Israeli flag at the site for the first time in a year and a half.
Hundreds more are on the way, having reached Shavei Shomron by bus and marching the remaining seven kilometers by foot. The IDF is guarding the marchers, but blocking vehicles from entering the area.In an abrupt about-face, the security forces - army and police - decided last night (Sunday) that instead of mass arrests, threats to sue for law-enforcement costs, and possible violence, they would enable thousands of orange activists to reach Homesh today. They are considering allowing protestors to spend the night there as well.IDF sources were later quoted as saying they would dry them out, planning to prevent large supplies from reaching the protestors.
They would thus wait for the activists to break down because of the difficult conditions and leave.Boaz HaEtzni, one of the organizers, told Arutz-7's Ruti Avraham in response, I love this chain of events. First they said they wouldn't let us go up, and now they say they will wait us out. The ball is in our court, and we see it as a challenge, under good conditions. The weather is good and the army is not stopping us. If there are a million people in Israel who feel really strongly about this, then despite the holiday, or maybe because of it, and if everyone realizes that it is in his hands, Homesh will be rebuilt.Activist leaders have said over the past few days that even if they are not permitted to remain this time, they will try again in the future. Uncounted numbers of people began making their way to the area yesterday and this morning, and dozens of buses were scheduled to set off around noon from various locations around the country. Many of them have sleeping bags, hoping to remain there for as long as possible. As of mid-morning, many people were gathered in nearby Shavei Shomron, preparing to ascend together with others who are expected to arrive throughout the day, The ultimate goal: to rebuild the destroyed Jewish town.
Homesh was the site of a Jewish community in the Shomron from 1981 until it was destroyed - along with 24 others in Gush Katif and the Shomron - by Ariel Sharon in the Disengagement.
It is now nothing more than several piles of ruins where homes used to stand. Unlike Gush Katif, from which the army retreated and handed over to Arab control, Homesh and nearby Sa-Nur are still under full Israeli control - and yet Jews have not been permitted there since the destruction of 2005. Refusing to accept a situation in which Israeli-controlled land is arbitrarily forbidden to Jews, concerned citizens of the orange (anti-Disengagement) camp publicly and widely announced a plan to resettle Homesh a month ago - almost daring the army to try and stop them. The army forces responded last week with an unusual threat to clamp down hard on those trying to reach the area, and even threatened to sue the many expected arrestees for the financial costs incurred in the operation.
As it became clear that the 2,000 soldiers amassed for the operation would not suffice, and with the fear that the orange activists might endanger themselves by attempting to evade soldiers by walking through or near Arab villages, and with the additional fear of Amona-type violent clashes between soldiers and citizens - the army made an about-face.
In a meeting last night with leaders of the Return to Homesh operation, it was decided that the soldiers would not try to stop the activists, but would rather protect the two routes by which they are expected to arrive. However, the army said that no one would be permitted to remain later than tonight or possibly tomorrow - and expects the protestors to cooperate. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, speaking at joint press conference today with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said, I understand that there was an agreement reached between the defense officials and the organizers, according to which they will visit Homesh and then leave. I expect that the organizers will stand by their word and that we will not not have to use other means to cause them to leave. We have no intention of repopulating unauthorized outposts.
EVIL INVENTIONS ARE PREDICTED IN THE BIBLE.
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.
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).
Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human
By CLAUDIA JOSEPH - 21:26pm on 24th March 2007
Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells - and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer.
Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada, has spent seven years and £5million perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into a sheep's foetus. Chimera: sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells He has already created a sheep liver which has a large proportion of human cells and eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep.
The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep's foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant. We would take a couple of ounces of bone marrow cells from the patient, said Prof Zanjani, whose work is highlighted in a Channel 4 programme tomorrow. We would isolate the stem cells from them, inject them into the peritoneum of these animals and then these cells would get distributed throughout the metabolic system into the circulatory system of all the organs in the body. The two ounces of stem cell or bone marrow cell we get would provide enough stem cells to do about ten foetuses. So you don't just have one organ for transplant purposes, you have many available in case the first one fails.
At present 7,168 patients are waiting for an organ transplant in Britain alone, and two thirds of them are expected to die before an organ becomes available. Scientists at King's College, London, and the North East Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle have now applied to the HFEA, the Government's fertility watchdog, for permission to start work on the chimeras. But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God, with the possibility of silent viruses, which are harmless in animals, being introduced into the human race. Dr Patrick Dixon, an international lecturer on biological trends, warned: Many silent viruses could create a biological nightmare in humans. Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV.Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep. But Prof Zanjani said: Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all.
DANIEL 7:23-24 (EU CONTROLS THE WHOLE EARTH)
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).
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.(EU LEADER DICTATOR)
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.(EU DICTATOR)
Merkel seeks treaty giving EU more powers by 2009
By Stephen Castle in Berlin 26 March 2007
Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has seized the initiative over the European constitution by outlining ambitious plans to clinch an end-of-year deal on a fresh treaty that would include new powers for the EU.
Ms Merkel used celebrations for the 50th birthday of the EU yesterday to speed up the timetable for salvaging parts of a constitution that has been in limbo since French and Dutch voters rejected it in a referendum in 2005.A summit in Berlin paved the way for an inter-governmental conference - the only body that can re-write the EU's rule book - that could be wound up by the end of the year. That would enable each of the 27 nations to ratify the new agreement next year, allowing it to come into force before the next European elections in 2009.
Ms Merkel, who holds the EU's rotating presidency, made it clear that she foresees a treaty giving the EU new powers over energy policy and one in which fewer decisions on justice and interior matters are subject to national vetoes.EU leaders broadly backed the fast-track approach but remain divided on the content of the treaty which will take the place of the constitution. Britain has made it clear that it agrees with the timetable only so long as it involves a slimmed down text that does not trigger a referendum in the UK - though it has yet to lay down what this means.The constitution would have reformed decision-making for an enlarged EU, creating a slimmer European Commission, a full time president of the European Council, where governments meet, an EU foreign minister and creating a voting system based on population size.
Tony Blair said that the reforms need to be resolved, adding: I think the sooner it is resolved the better, actually. But he also reminded supporters of the constitution that there were two no votes in France and Holland and we have to be realistic about that.
The Dutch government this week insisted a new treaty must, in content, scope and name, convincingly differ from the constitution. The Poles and Czechs are also sceptical and Ireland's premier, Bertie Ahern, called for a dose of reality around the table.Ms Merkel's plan envisages a decision in June to open an inter-governmental conference in the second half of the year, when the Portuguese hold the rotating presidency of the EU.People feel we have to take a decision in June about a road map with a certain content - without prejudging anything in the IGC, she said. We have often said that the IGC should ... be short and concentrated. As part of the celebrations, European leaders endorsed a three-page Berlin Declaration setting a mid-2009 deadline for establishing a renewed common basis for the EU, while leaving out theword constitution.
Even though Ms Merkel is ready to drop the use of the c word when discussing the new treaty, the Chancellor faces acute difficulties in getting the agreement of all 27 member states on the contents of a new text.The Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, said that ratifying a new treaty to reform European Union institutions in place of the stalled EU constitution in 2009 was unachievable.Berlin is hamstrung until France has elected a new president in May and faces the added difficulty of a change of premiership in Britain. The likely new prime minister, Gordon Brown, is generally more Eurosceptical than Mr Blair. Both the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, and his Danish counterpart, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said that a deal by the end of the year was essential if the EU was to hit its 2009 deadline.
The Italian premier, Romano Prodi, said that Germany would press for a very tight calendar for negotiating a new treaty when the leaders next meet in June. Yesterday's meeting was held against the background of two days of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to what became the EU. In her ceremonial speech, Ms Merkel recalled Britain's scepticism about the prospects of European integration in the run-up to the signing of the treaty.She quoted a British official, Russell Bretherton, who is reported to have told a key meeting in Messina: The future treaty you are discussing has no chance of being agreed: if it was agreed, it would have no chance of being ratified; and if it was ratified, it would have no chance of being applied.
We had no time to philosophise about this revolution
24.03.2007 - 19:48 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / INTERVIEW - It was during a trip to a destroyed Germany in 1947 when Max Kohnstamm, a Dutchman working as a private secretary for queen Wilhelmina, became deeply convinced that Europe should take common responsibility for its post-war future. That journey made a great impression on me, says Mr Kohnstamm who just a few years later became one of the pioneers of European integration and a close collaborator of EU founding father Jean Monnet. I was especially overwhelmed by the unimaginable destruction of Germany, the now 92 year-old tells EUobserver in his home in the Belgian Ardennes. When you saw children crawling out of the from the ruins it appeared hard to defend that these children were guilty of Auschwitz, he states. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Mr Kohnstamm himself had spent periods in the concentration camp of Amersfoort and the prisoner camp of Sint-Michielsgestel.
But seeing Germany's despair, it became evident to him that the reconstruction of the Dutch economy would lead to nothing if at the other side of the border, the desert would start.On the other hand, Dutch memories of Nazi aggression were still very fresh. What sense does it make to have the Ruhr area in full swing if used to produce bombs which can be thrown at Rotterdam? When Mr Kohnstamm worked as a foreign ministry official in 1948-1949, political circles in The Hague were already searching for solutions for the difficult German question, mooting plans to integrate Germany in some sort of pan-European economic structure.
This step had to succeed
But it was France's foreign minister Robert Schuman who in May 1950 presented - in Mr Kohnstamm's words - a revolutionary plan to put Franco-German production of coal and steel under a common High Authority, in a scheme open to other countries that might be interested. Immediately inspired by the Schuman plan, Mr Kohnstamm became a member of the Dutch delegation in negotiations between six nations on what was to become a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC talks were chaired by another Frenchman who had been the real brain behind the Schuman plan - Jean Monnet, at that time the head of the French General Planning Commission.
At the opening of the negotiations, Monnet very clearly stressed the revolutionary nature of this process, Mr Kohnstamm recalls on the first round of the talks, which he describes as to a large extent informal with a small number of people. On the nature of the revolution, we did not philosophise a lot.
There was no time for that. We made this step and it had to succeed. If it failed, there would not be much more left to think about.Meanwhile, West Germany was an equal partner in the talks - something which was not that self-evident, even if the upcoming Soviet threat made re-engagement of the Germans a matter of urgency. One close Monnet aide, Etienne Hirsch, had lost his parents in Auschwitz. But he negotiated with the German delegation on the basis of equality. That was proof of a greatness of vision.Meanwhile for the Netherlands - strongly oriented towards the UK and the US - it was hard to swallow that the British had chosen to stay out of the talks. The Germans were hated by a large part of the population, the Italians we had never really taken seriously, we did not trust the French and we didn't really trust the Belgians either, Mr Kohnstamm describes the early post-war atmosphere in the Netherlands.
Monnet's view on the world
But the revolutionary negotiations succeeded, and Mr Kohnstamm was rewarded in 1952 with a job as the first Secretary of the High Authority - the executive body - of the European Coal and Steel Community.
Mr Kohnstamm worked directly under Jean Monnet who served as the ECSC's first president, leading to a close working and personal relationship between the two. The Dutchman also followed Monnet when he switched from the ECSC to the so-called Action Committee for the United States of Europe, a pressure group lobbying for further European integration from 1956 onwards.
During those years, he gradually developed an understanding of Monnet's deeper motivations, which the Frenchman did not often share with others.Monnet had no end-goal in sight for the European project, but rather saw it as a process without an end, Mr Kohnstamm says. For Monnet, terms like federation or confederation – those were words. But the process was clear – a process through which people started to realise that they had a common responsibility. One of the rare times when our
conversations did go in-depth, Monnet said: look, freedom of goods, services, people, capital is very important and necessary, but what this is really about is to get people to understand that it's not about my interest against your interest, but that in this world, only common solutions are possible.
Message for the future
This was, according to Mr Kohnstamm, Monnet's view on the world - a view which the Dutchman wants to pass on to younger generations. His message on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday is directed to world leaders rather than to Europe alone. Mr Kohnstamm says he is not very worried about the EU's current constitutional crisis and believes the integration process is continuing.The essential element of it is the common decision-making and the European Court in Luxembourg. The greatest triumph has been that in these 50 years, not a single government has said – well, the heck with it.But on the level of world politics, we are busy returning to the balance of power as the regulating principle, he says expressing deep concern about the power politics of the US in particular, citing various examples such as Washington's recent coalition-building efforts with Japan and Australia against China. We know from our own history what that leads to...If you want to put it in a very dark way: the European Community was created not before, but only after 40 million people were killed.
March 2007 | The EU in 2027
As the European Union celebrates its 50th birthday, one Europe-watcher imagines its next 20 years - Charles Grant
Charles Grant is director of the Centre for European Reform. Parts of this article are based on a contribution to European Union: the next 50 years, a book published recently by FT Business, Agora and the London School of Economics. Given how much respect most Europeans feel for the EU today in March 2027, one can easily forget that when it celebrated its 50th birthday, in 2007, it was widely mistrusted. When given the chance to vote on the EU in referendums, people usually gave it the thumbs down. The EU passed through its darkest moments at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.Britain and France caused many of the problems. The British, under successive governments led by Gordon Brown and David Cameron, blocked significant changes to the EU treaties, even where there was a clear need for institutional reform. Britain thus marginalised itself from mainstream European debates, but the others moved on, setting up avant-garde groups without the British. France also proved destructive, blocking freer trade, deregulation, enlargement and farm policy reform.
But around 2010, the EU’s fortunes started to revive, for four reasons. The first of these was economic. The root of the earlier malaise had been the high unemployment and slow growth in many countries that made people fearful of change—whether market liberalisation, more open trade, EU enlargement or new treaties.
But the Italian crisis of 2009 proved a turning point. After the collapse of the centre-left government led to political chaos, financial markets started to fear that Italy was incapable of structural economic reform. With its exports decreasingly competitive, Italy’s current account deficit and foreign debt soared. Foreign investors insisted on a hefty premium before lending to Italy. Leaders on the nationalist right and the hard left called for the country to quit the euro, devalue and repudiate foreign debt. With that outcome looking likely, financial markets started to view Greece, Spain and Portugal—which had also lost much competitiveness—as potential quitters of the euro.Then Mario Monti, the former EU commissioner, formed a government of technocrats, backed by moderates of left and right. The trade unions tried to block Monti’s radical programme of economic reform, but despite mass demonstrations and civil unrest, he faced them down and won.
Business confidence, foreign investment and economic growth all picked up. Inspired by Italy’s example, other members of the eurozone found the political will to fulfil the promises on economic reform that they had made in Lisbon in 2000.
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy had begun his term of office cautiously, fearing that if he revealed his true ultra-liberal colours he would provoke social unrest. But Monti’s success inspired Sarkozy to liberalise labour markets, reform public services and cut back the role of the state. France responded to firm leadership, and the left, still in disarray after three successive presidential election defeats, proved an ineffective opposition.
The economic reform agenda gathered pace across the EU, with member states learning from each others’ examples: British centres of excellence in higher education, Nordic active labour market policies, Baltic incentives for entrepreneurialism and French policies to encourage childbirth all proved attractive models. So at the special summit to mark the tenth anniversary of the Lisbon agenda—held in Lisbon in 2010—European leaders were able to celebrate its qualified success. With most EU economies growing at more than 3 per cent a year, popular hostility to economic openness and further enlargement began to wane.
The second cause of the EU’s revival is that its institutions have undergone dramatic reform over the past 20 years. Because of the commission’s slow, inflexible and cumbersome procedures, it was ill suited to spend money. So its spending departments were turned into independent agencies, accountable to the European parliament. The commission still drafts laws, sets objectives for the spending agencies and studies long-term challenges. It also polices the single market, negotiates with third parties and has the important task of explaining to citizens how the EU works. Official documents are translated into all EU languages, but since 2012, English has been the only spoken language within the commission. This has led to huge savings on interpretation. The commission is much smaller and nimbler than it was, its staff having dropped from 28,000 in 2007 to 8,000 today.
The EU’s budget was radically transformed in 2014, when the member states decided to take full financial responsibility for supporting their own farmers. The budget is now spent in roughly equal measure on R&D, aid for poorer EU regions, assistance for neighbours and foreign policy (including defence missions). But its overall level—about 1 per cent of EU GDP—has stayed constant for the past 20 years.
The most dramatic institutional change came in 2019, with the first direct elections for European commissioners. The electorate of each member state chooses a commissioner for a non-renewable term.
The European parliament then chooses one of those elected as commission president and another as EU foreign minister. The president picks ten of the remainder as full commissioners, the others becoming deputies. Critics of this reform argued that it would encourage commissioners to promote national rather than EU interests. But they had always done that. What did change was that voters started taking a bit more of an interest in the EU. And the commission—blessed with democratic legitimacy—gained the authority to stand up to the member states that tried to break the rules.Third, ever since the presidency of José Manuel Barroso (2004-09), the commission has repeated the mantra that the EU should focus on delivering benefits in the areas that matter to citizens.
And the union has done a pretty good job on that front. Its Climate Change Agency—as independent as the European Central Bank—is a popular institution. It decides on the levels of greenhouse gases that the EU should emit each year, and divides up quotas among the member states. This has cut the union’s carbon emissions significantly, enabling it to lead by example in international talks on tackling climate change. Many other countries have joined the EU’s emissions trading scheme.
Other EU agencies are also respected. Europol now co-ordinates the counter-terrorist work of the national intelligence agencies. Frontex, the border management agency, fights illegal immigration by deploying fleets off north Africa and undercover agents on either side of the union’s eastern border. Energy security is another area where EU action—under the commission’s leadership—is generally popular. The EU has linked up the various national grids, and adopted rules requiring each government to store gas and share it with those suffering shortages. Fourth, the EU has developed a more effective and coherent foreign policy, thanks in part to Vladimir Putin, who returned to office for a third—and increasingly authoritarian—presidential term in 2012. Russia’s illiberal political system, military build-up and threatening behaviour towards its neighbours made the member states see the value in sticking together when dealing with Russia.Russia proved difficult but not impossible to deal with. The Europeans discovered that, so long as they remained united, they had some cards to play: Russia wanted to stay in the Council of Europe and the G20 (which had replaced the G8); it eventually learned that it needed foreign investment in its ageing gas and oil industries, to prevent a severe fall in production; and it wanted its energy firms to have the right to buy western firms.
International competition spurred Gazprom to modernise its corporate governance and transform itself into a true multinational. After Gazprom bought Gaz de France and E.ON Ruhrgas, it became easier for western firms and governments to deal with. In 2014, when the Kremlin seemed to be preparing to invade Georgia, EU foreign minister Carl Bildt warned Russia that it risked losing a seat at European tables, foreign investment and access to the single market. This démarche worked, and the Kremlin pulled its troops back from the frontier.
The EU’s enhanced role in foreign and defence policy has won broad public approval. Thanks to the creation of the EU foreign minister and diplomatic service, and the abolition of the rotating presidency, other countries generally treat the union with more respect than they did in 2007.
The EU makes a pretty good job of combining its diplomatic, economic and military means to promote security, good governance and prosperity in many unstable regions. While the EU has 50,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine and Somalia, it has hundreds of thousands of judges, policemen, aid workers and other civilian staff in difficult places. These external actions have boosted awareness among European citizens of their shared interests and values.These four factors transformed the popularity of the EU, even in the more sceptical countries such as Britain. By 2020, the British had opted in to most of the avant-garde groups they had excluded themselves from. The pundits who had predicted that enlargement would stop after the accession of Croatia in 2012 were proved wrong. The mood of optimism in Europe helped the cause of enlargement. Not only Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia joined the EU, but also Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
However, France has voted twice in referendums to keep out Turkey, while a Serb referendum defeated the membership hopes of Albania and Kosovo. Spain has blocked membership talks with Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine because its EU partners said no to Moroccan membership.
The slow pace of further enlargement has spurred the union to offer several neighbours participation in most EU policies. For example Israel, inside the European Economic Area, takes part in everything the EU does bar foreign and defence policy. Meanwhile, the French are preparing to vote for a third time on Turkish accession. They are starting to look more favourably on the Turks. Per capita incomes in Turkey have overtaken those of the poorer French regions; the Kurdish assembly in southeast Turkey has won autonomy over most areas of domestic policy; Turkey provides more troops for EU military missions than any other country; and French companies are having to tackle labour shortages at home by recruiting directly in Turkey. Opinion polls suggest that this time France will vote oui. Meanwhile in Britain, David Miliband’s government is promising a referendum on joining the single currency.
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 = Tue Mar 27 12:00 AM EDT
MAR 26,07
MAP 4.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.2 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.4 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.2 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 SOUTHEASTERN IRAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.6 GUAM REGION
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAR 25,07
MAP 2.7 OREGON
MAP 5.1 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 5.5 VANUATU
MAP 5.2 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.5 GREECE
MAP 3.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.7 GREECE
MAP 4.7 CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 VANUATU
MAP 5.5 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.2 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN COLOMBIA
MAP 2.7 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.0 VANUATU
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.7 NEAR THE WEST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 7.2 VANUATU
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Aftershocks keep quake-hit Japan on edge By Issey Kato
Mon Mar 26, 5:46 AM ET
WAJIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Aftershocks kept residents of central Japan on edge on Monday, more than a day after a strong earthquake that killed one person, injured about 200 and flattened homes.
Sunday's 6.9 magnitude quake, which struck the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa prefecture, about 300 km (190 miles) west of Tokyo, destroyed houses, buckled roads and cut off water and electricity supplies to thousands of homes.A 5.3 magnitude tremor, one of more than 200 aftershocks, struck early on Monday, and a 4.4 magnitude quake jolted the area in the early evening, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.Officials warned that more could occur.About 2,600 people spent the night in evacuation shelters and many were set to do so again on Monday.
The aftershocks kept me awake and I only slept about an hour, said Yoko Yamashita, 60, who spent Sunday night in a shelter in the hard-hit rural city of Wajima.About 5,600 households lacked tap water in Ishikawa on Monday afternoon and drinking water was being distributed.I wanted water to clean my face and wash the rice (before cooking), but there wasn't enough, Yamashita said.Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told a parliamentary panel in Tokyo that 68 houses, many of them old wooden structures with heavy tile roofs, had been destroyed and another 164 badly damaged.The government's disaster agency put the total number of damaged houses at 564.An emergency relief team of firefighters that had been searching the rubble of collapsed houses confirmed that no one was trapped, an Ishikawa prefecture official said.Shogoro Hashimura, 81, hid under a table at the office of his sawmill in Wajima when Sunday's quake struck.When I looked outside, my truck was trapped under the rubble
and woodchips and lumber were strewn all over, he said.
EARLY WARNING
The plight of Wajima's elderly highlights the vulnerability of Japan's aging population when disasters strike.I'm worried because there aren't many young people in this neighborhood and I don't know how I'll cope with this mess, said 76-year-old Kazuko Kakuda, who had returned from an evacuation center with her husband Tsunetaro, 77, to try to clean up the toppled furniture and broken dishes in their home.The Meteorological Agency, using an early warning system that detects smaller tremors before a main quake hits, issued a tsunami alert on Sunday about 100 seconds after the quake, about two minutes faster than previously.The tsunami warning was lifted the same day after small waves hit some areas. The agency was also able to send an emergency earthquake flash to monitors about 50 km (30 miles) from the focus about five seconds before the strong quake rattled the region.
But hard-hit Wajima failed to receive the warning before the tremor struck because it was too close to the focus. The agency plans to use the system, in place for tsunami warnings to a limited number of subscribers since October, for earthquake announcements starting later this year.
Electricity was restored to most homes after outages on Sunday affected around 160,000 households, Noto airport on the peninsula reopened after cracks on the runway were repaired, and train services were back to normal, officials and media said. Earthquakes are common in Japan, which accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or greater. (Additional reporting by Toshi Maeda in Wajima, and Teruaki Ueno and Linda Sieg in Tokyo)
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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Mon Mar 26, 5:41 AM ET
Storms raked the Pacific Northwest, eastern Great Lakes and Northeast early Monday, while thunderclouds swirled over Texas and mild temperatures held in the Southeast. Scattered rain showers and isolated thunderstorms were forecast across the Great Lakes, Northeast and portions of the northern mid-Atlantic region.High pressure was to keep skies mostly clear across the southern Ohio Valley, much of the Tennessee Valley, the remainder of the mid-Atlantic region, the Southeast and Florida.
The greatest threat for severe thunderstorms was across Texas, where a low pressure
system slowly gliding across the southern U.S. was to bring another day of wet weather gusty winds and hail.A Pacific storm was forecast to slam into the California and Oregon coast, bringing moderate to heavy rain north of Southern California.Highs will be in the mid 40s to upper 60s across the Northeast, and the upper 50s to low 80s in the mid-Atlantic states; the upper 60s to upper 70s in the
southern Plains; and the 40s to lower 60s for the Pacific Northwest.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states on Sunday ranged from a low of 10 degrees at Presque Isle, Maine, to a high of 95 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 and there shall be famines, and pestilences,(DISEASES AND CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL
WEAPONS) and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
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)
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.
Iraqi Police Foil Chlorine Dirty Bomb Attack in Ramadi
By VOA News 25 March 2007
The U.S. military says Iraqi authorities have foiled a suicide chemical bomb attack in the western city of Ramadi.
A statement issued Sunday says Iraqi police detained a suicide bomber Friday, before he could detonate two tons of explosives aboard his truck that was also loaded with nearly 20,000 liters of chlorine. U.S. officials say the truck was stopped near a police station about 150 meters from a water treatment plant in the predominantly Sunni city. Insurgents have carried out seven chlorine bomb attacks in Iraq this year. Meanwhile, Iraqi police said Sunday gunmen attacked a Sunni mosque south of Baghdad. Officials say at least two people were wounded. Mosques are frequent targets of attack in Iraq were sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite muslims has become commonplace.
On Saturday, a series of suicide bombings in Iraq killed at least 47 people, many of them Iraqi policemen.Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters
IT HAS TO BE GODLESS THE, EU TO FULFILL PROPHECY, THATS WHY NO MENTION OF GOD IN THE CONSTITUTION, THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR BLASPHEMS GOD AND EVERYTHING IN HEAVEN AND CLAIMS TO BE GOD HIMSELF AND GETS AWAY WITH IT, THATS WHY THE EU HAS TO BE GODLESS AT THIS TIME IN HISTORY.
REVELATION 13:1-10
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.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
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.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU
DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
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.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.
WAY TO GO POPE BENEDICT FOR COMING AGAINST IT, THE GODLESSNESS OF THE EU. THIS POPE IS A TRUE GOSPEL PREACHER, BUT WAIT TILL HE RETIRES A GODLESS POPE ALSO COMES ON THE SCENE. TO LEAD A ONE WORLD RELIGION AND PROMOTES THE GODLESS EU DICTATOR IN THE FUTURE.
Pope criticises EU for excluding Christianity
Web posted at: 3/25/2007 4:10:35 REUTERS
vatican city - Pope Benedict strongly criticised the European Union yesterday for excluding a mention of God and Europe's Christian roots in declarations marking the 50th anniversary of its founding.
In a toughly-worded speech to European bishops, Benedict said Europe was committing a form of apostasy of itself and was thus doubting its own identity. The Pope, who like his predecessor John Paul often calls for a mention of God and Christianity in the European Constitution, said leaders could not exclude values that helped forge the very soul of the continent. If on the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome the governments of the union want to get closer to their citizens, how can they exclude an element as essential to the identity of Europe as Christianity, in which the vast majority of its people continue to identify, he said.
It is no surprise that today's Europe, while it purports to be a community of values, seems to increasingly contest the existence of absolute and universal values, he said. Does not this unique form of apostasy of itself, even before God, lead it (Europe) to doubt its very identity?
Apostasy is a total desertion of or departure from one's religion.
One of the Pope's compatriots, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, aims to relaunch the EU constitution and last month made a plea for the bloc to include references to Christian roots. Plans to include such a reference in the original EU treaty, rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005, were blocked by French President Jacques Chirac. Merkel, as holder of the EU's rotating presidency, is now in the process of reviving the constitution. Comments from Merkel, the daughter of a pastor, have encouraged religious leaders around Europe to redouble efforts to modify the constitution.
Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi also said he had pushed for inclusion of Catholic roots in the European Constitution, but that the main task ahead for Catholics was to carry on a dialogue with religions like Islam and Judaism. I fought silently and for long for the insertion of Christian roots in the European Constitution, Prodi said on Saturday.
In his address to the European bishops, Pope Benedict said the European Union was headed up a slippery slope of indifference if it did not recognise religion and God. A community that builds itself without respecting the true dignity of the human being, forgetting that each person is created in the image of God, ends up doing good for no one, he said. He called for a realistic but not cynical Europe and said the continent's leaders could not deny it had a historical, cultural and moral identity that Christianity helped forge.
Hundreds of Activists Unfurl Israeli Flag at Homesh
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAR 26,07
Hundreds of young activists, and some of their families, have arrived at the site of the destroyed Samaria community of Homesh- unfurling an Israeli flag at the site for the first time in a year and a half.
Hundreds more are on the way, having reached Shavei Shomron by bus and marching the remaining seven kilometers by foot. The IDF is guarding the marchers, but blocking vehicles from entering the area.In an abrupt about-face, the security forces - army and police - decided last night (Sunday) that instead of mass arrests, threats to sue for law-enforcement costs, and possible violence, they would enable thousands of orange activists to reach Homesh today. They are considering allowing protestors to spend the night there as well.IDF sources were later quoted as saying they would dry them out, planning to prevent large supplies from reaching the protestors.
They would thus wait for the activists to break down because of the difficult conditions and leave.Boaz HaEtzni, one of the organizers, told Arutz-7's Ruti Avraham in response, I love this chain of events. First they said they wouldn't let us go up, and now they say they will wait us out. The ball is in our court, and we see it as a challenge, under good conditions. The weather is good and the army is not stopping us. If there are a million people in Israel who feel really strongly about this, then despite the holiday, or maybe because of it, and if everyone realizes that it is in his hands, Homesh will be rebuilt.Activist leaders have said over the past few days that even if they are not permitted to remain this time, they will try again in the future. Uncounted numbers of people began making their way to the area yesterday and this morning, and dozens of buses were scheduled to set off around noon from various locations around the country. Many of them have sleeping bags, hoping to remain there for as long as possible. As of mid-morning, many people were gathered in nearby Shavei Shomron, preparing to ascend together with others who are expected to arrive throughout the day, The ultimate goal: to rebuild the destroyed Jewish town.
Homesh was the site of a Jewish community in the Shomron from 1981 until it was destroyed - along with 24 others in Gush Katif and the Shomron - by Ariel Sharon in the Disengagement.
It is now nothing more than several piles of ruins where homes used to stand. Unlike Gush Katif, from which the army retreated and handed over to Arab control, Homesh and nearby Sa-Nur are still under full Israeli control - and yet Jews have not been permitted there since the destruction of 2005. Refusing to accept a situation in which Israeli-controlled land is arbitrarily forbidden to Jews, concerned citizens of the orange (anti-Disengagement) camp publicly and widely announced a plan to resettle Homesh a month ago - almost daring the army to try and stop them. The army forces responded last week with an unusual threat to clamp down hard on those trying to reach the area, and even threatened to sue the many expected arrestees for the financial costs incurred in the operation.
As it became clear that the 2,000 soldiers amassed for the operation would not suffice, and with the fear that the orange activists might endanger themselves by attempting to evade soldiers by walking through or near Arab villages, and with the additional fear of Amona-type violent clashes between soldiers and citizens - the army made an about-face.
In a meeting last night with leaders of the Return to Homesh operation, it was decided that the soldiers would not try to stop the activists, but would rather protect the two routes by which they are expected to arrive. However, the army said that no one would be permitted to remain later than tonight or possibly tomorrow - and expects the protestors to cooperate. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, speaking at joint press conference today with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said, I understand that there was an agreement reached between the defense officials and the organizers, according to which they will visit Homesh and then leave. I expect that the organizers will stand by their word and that we will not not have to use other means to cause them to leave. We have no intention of repopulating unauthorized outposts.
EVIL INVENTIONS ARE PREDICTED IN THE BIBLE.
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.
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).
Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human
By CLAUDIA JOSEPH - 21:26pm on 24th March 2007
Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs. The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells - and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer.
Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada, has spent seven years and £5million perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into a sheep's foetus. Chimera: sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells He has already created a sheep liver which has a large proportion of human cells and eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep.
The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep's foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant. We would take a couple of ounces of bone marrow cells from the patient, said Prof Zanjani, whose work is highlighted in a Channel 4 programme tomorrow. We would isolate the stem cells from them, inject them into the peritoneum of these animals and then these cells would get distributed throughout the metabolic system into the circulatory system of all the organs in the body. The two ounces of stem cell or bone marrow cell we get would provide enough stem cells to do about ten foetuses. So you don't just have one organ for transplant purposes, you have many available in case the first one fails.
At present 7,168 patients are waiting for an organ transplant in Britain alone, and two thirds of them are expected to die before an organ becomes available. Scientists at King's College, London, and the North East Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle have now applied to the HFEA, the Government's fertility watchdog, for permission to start work on the chimeras. But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God, with the possibility of silent viruses, which are harmless in animals, being introduced into the human race. Dr Patrick Dixon, an international lecturer on biological trends, warned: Many silent viruses could create a biological nightmare in humans. Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV.Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep. But Prof Zanjani said: Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all.
DANIEL 7:23-24 (EU CONTROLS THE WHOLE EARTH)
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).
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.(EU LEADER DICTATOR)
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.(EU DICTATOR)
Merkel seeks treaty giving EU more powers by 2009
By Stephen Castle in Berlin 26 March 2007
Germany's Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has seized the initiative over the European constitution by outlining ambitious plans to clinch an end-of-year deal on a fresh treaty that would include new powers for the EU.
Ms Merkel used celebrations for the 50th birthday of the EU yesterday to speed up the timetable for salvaging parts of a constitution that has been in limbo since French and Dutch voters rejected it in a referendum in 2005.A summit in Berlin paved the way for an inter-governmental conference - the only body that can re-write the EU's rule book - that could be wound up by the end of the year. That would enable each of the 27 nations to ratify the new agreement next year, allowing it to come into force before the next European elections in 2009.
Ms Merkel, who holds the EU's rotating presidency, made it clear that she foresees a treaty giving the EU new powers over energy policy and one in which fewer decisions on justice and interior matters are subject to national vetoes.EU leaders broadly backed the fast-track approach but remain divided on the content of the treaty which will take the place of the constitution. Britain has made it clear that it agrees with the timetable only so long as it involves a slimmed down text that does not trigger a referendum in the UK - though it has yet to lay down what this means.The constitution would have reformed decision-making for an enlarged EU, creating a slimmer European Commission, a full time president of the European Council, where governments meet, an EU foreign minister and creating a voting system based on population size.
Tony Blair said that the reforms need to be resolved, adding: I think the sooner it is resolved the better, actually. But he also reminded supporters of the constitution that there were two no votes in France and Holland and we have to be realistic about that.
The Dutch government this week insisted a new treaty must, in content, scope and name, convincingly differ from the constitution. The Poles and Czechs are also sceptical and Ireland's premier, Bertie Ahern, called for a dose of reality around the table.Ms Merkel's plan envisages a decision in June to open an inter-governmental conference in the second half of the year, when the Portuguese hold the rotating presidency of the EU.People feel we have to take a decision in June about a road map with a certain content - without prejudging anything in the IGC, she said. We have often said that the IGC should ... be short and concentrated. As part of the celebrations, European leaders endorsed a three-page Berlin Declaration setting a mid-2009 deadline for establishing a renewed common basis for the EU, while leaving out theword constitution.
Even though Ms Merkel is ready to drop the use of the c word when discussing the new treaty, the Chancellor faces acute difficulties in getting the agreement of all 27 member states on the contents of a new text.The Polish President, Lech Kaczynski, said that ratifying a new treaty to reform European Union institutions in place of the stalled EU constitution in 2009 was unachievable.Berlin is hamstrung until France has elected a new president in May and faces the added difficulty of a change of premiership in Britain. The likely new prime minister, Gordon Brown, is generally more Eurosceptical than Mr Blair. Both the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, and his Danish counterpart, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said that a deal by the end of the year was essential if the EU was to hit its 2009 deadline.
The Italian premier, Romano Prodi, said that Germany would press for a very tight calendar for negotiating a new treaty when the leaders next meet in June. Yesterday's meeting was held against the background of two days of celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, which gave birth to what became the EU. In her ceremonial speech, Ms Merkel recalled Britain's scepticism about the prospects of European integration in the run-up to the signing of the treaty.She quoted a British official, Russell Bretherton, who is reported to have told a key meeting in Messina: The future treaty you are discussing has no chance of being agreed: if it was agreed, it would have no chance of being ratified; and if it was ratified, it would have no chance of being applied.
We had no time to philosophise about this revolution
24.03.2007 - 19:48 CET | By Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / INTERVIEW - It was during a trip to a destroyed Germany in 1947 when Max Kohnstamm, a Dutchman working as a private secretary for queen Wilhelmina, became deeply convinced that Europe should take common responsibility for its post-war future. That journey made a great impression on me, says Mr Kohnstamm who just a few years later became one of the pioneers of European integration and a close collaborator of EU founding father Jean Monnet. I was especially overwhelmed by the unimaginable destruction of Germany, the now 92 year-old tells EUobserver in his home in the Belgian Ardennes. When you saw children crawling out of the from the ruins it appeared hard to defend that these children were guilty of Auschwitz, he states. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, Mr Kohnstamm himself had spent periods in the concentration camp of Amersfoort and the prisoner camp of Sint-Michielsgestel.
But seeing Germany's despair, it became evident to him that the reconstruction of the Dutch economy would lead to nothing if at the other side of the border, the desert would start.On the other hand, Dutch memories of Nazi aggression were still very fresh. What sense does it make to have the Ruhr area in full swing if used to produce bombs which can be thrown at Rotterdam? When Mr Kohnstamm worked as a foreign ministry official in 1948-1949, political circles in The Hague were already searching for solutions for the difficult German question, mooting plans to integrate Germany in some sort of pan-European economic structure.
This step had to succeed
But it was France's foreign minister Robert Schuman who in May 1950 presented - in Mr Kohnstamm's words - a revolutionary plan to put Franco-German production of coal and steel under a common High Authority, in a scheme open to other countries that might be interested. Immediately inspired by the Schuman plan, Mr Kohnstamm became a member of the Dutch delegation in negotiations between six nations on what was to become a European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). The ECSC talks were chaired by another Frenchman who had been the real brain behind the Schuman plan - Jean Monnet, at that time the head of the French General Planning Commission.
At the opening of the negotiations, Monnet very clearly stressed the revolutionary nature of this process, Mr Kohnstamm recalls on the first round of the talks, which he describes as to a large extent informal with a small number of people. On the nature of the revolution, we did not philosophise a lot.
There was no time for that. We made this step and it had to succeed. If it failed, there would not be much more left to think about.Meanwhile, West Germany was an equal partner in the talks - something which was not that self-evident, even if the upcoming Soviet threat made re-engagement of the Germans a matter of urgency. One close Monnet aide, Etienne Hirsch, had lost his parents in Auschwitz. But he negotiated with the German delegation on the basis of equality. That was proof of a greatness of vision.Meanwhile for the Netherlands - strongly oriented towards the UK and the US - it was hard to swallow that the British had chosen to stay out of the talks. The Germans were hated by a large part of the population, the Italians we had never really taken seriously, we did not trust the French and we didn't really trust the Belgians either, Mr Kohnstamm describes the early post-war atmosphere in the Netherlands.
Monnet's view on the world
But the revolutionary negotiations succeeded, and Mr Kohnstamm was rewarded in 1952 with a job as the first Secretary of the High Authority - the executive body - of the European Coal and Steel Community.
Mr Kohnstamm worked directly under Jean Monnet who served as the ECSC's first president, leading to a close working and personal relationship between the two. The Dutchman also followed Monnet when he switched from the ECSC to the so-called Action Committee for the United States of Europe, a pressure group lobbying for further European integration from 1956 onwards.
During those years, he gradually developed an understanding of Monnet's deeper motivations, which the Frenchman did not often share with others.Monnet had no end-goal in sight for the European project, but rather saw it as a process without an end, Mr Kohnstamm says. For Monnet, terms like federation or confederation – those were words. But the process was clear – a process through which people started to realise that they had a common responsibility. One of the rare times when our
conversations did go in-depth, Monnet said: look, freedom of goods, services, people, capital is very important and necessary, but what this is really about is to get people to understand that it's not about my interest against your interest, but that in this world, only common solutions are possible.
Message for the future
This was, according to Mr Kohnstamm, Monnet's view on the world - a view which the Dutchman wants to pass on to younger generations. His message on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday is directed to world leaders rather than to Europe alone. Mr Kohnstamm says he is not very worried about the EU's current constitutional crisis and believes the integration process is continuing.The essential element of it is the common decision-making and the European Court in Luxembourg. The greatest triumph has been that in these 50 years, not a single government has said – well, the heck with it.But on the level of world politics, we are busy returning to the balance of power as the regulating principle, he says expressing deep concern about the power politics of the US in particular, citing various examples such as Washington's recent coalition-building efforts with Japan and Australia against China. We know from our own history what that leads to...If you want to put it in a very dark way: the European Community was created not before, but only after 40 million people were killed.
March 2007 | The EU in 2027
As the European Union celebrates its 50th birthday, one Europe-watcher imagines its next 20 years - Charles Grant
Charles Grant is director of the Centre for European Reform. Parts of this article are based on a contribution to European Union: the next 50 years, a book published recently by FT Business, Agora and the London School of Economics. Given how much respect most Europeans feel for the EU today in March 2027, one can easily forget that when it celebrated its 50th birthday, in 2007, it was widely mistrusted. When given the chance to vote on the EU in referendums, people usually gave it the thumbs down. The EU passed through its darkest moments at the end of the first decade of the 21st century.Britain and France caused many of the problems. The British, under successive governments led by Gordon Brown and David Cameron, blocked significant changes to the EU treaties, even where there was a clear need for institutional reform. Britain thus marginalised itself from mainstream European debates, but the others moved on, setting up avant-garde groups without the British. France also proved destructive, blocking freer trade, deregulation, enlargement and farm policy reform.
But around 2010, the EU’s fortunes started to revive, for four reasons. The first of these was economic. The root of the earlier malaise had been the high unemployment and slow growth in many countries that made people fearful of change—whether market liberalisation, more open trade, EU enlargement or new treaties.
But the Italian crisis of 2009 proved a turning point. After the collapse of the centre-left government led to political chaos, financial markets started to fear that Italy was incapable of structural economic reform. With its exports decreasingly competitive, Italy’s current account deficit and foreign debt soared. Foreign investors insisted on a hefty premium before lending to Italy. Leaders on the nationalist right and the hard left called for the country to quit the euro, devalue and repudiate foreign debt. With that outcome looking likely, financial markets started to view Greece, Spain and Portugal—which had also lost much competitiveness—as potential quitters of the euro.Then Mario Monti, the former EU commissioner, formed a government of technocrats, backed by moderates of left and right. The trade unions tried to block Monti’s radical programme of economic reform, but despite mass demonstrations and civil unrest, he faced them down and won.
Business confidence, foreign investment and economic growth all picked up. Inspired by Italy’s example, other members of the eurozone found the political will to fulfil the promises on economic reform that they had made in Lisbon in 2000.
France’s President Nicolas Sarkozy had begun his term of office cautiously, fearing that if he revealed his true ultra-liberal colours he would provoke social unrest. But Monti’s success inspired Sarkozy to liberalise labour markets, reform public services and cut back the role of the state. France responded to firm leadership, and the left, still in disarray after three successive presidential election defeats, proved an ineffective opposition.
The economic reform agenda gathered pace across the EU, with member states learning from each others’ examples: British centres of excellence in higher education, Nordic active labour market policies, Baltic incentives for entrepreneurialism and French policies to encourage childbirth all proved attractive models. So at the special summit to mark the tenth anniversary of the Lisbon agenda—held in Lisbon in 2010—European leaders were able to celebrate its qualified success. With most EU economies growing at more than 3 per cent a year, popular hostility to economic openness and further enlargement began to wane.
The second cause of the EU’s revival is that its institutions have undergone dramatic reform over the past 20 years. Because of the commission’s slow, inflexible and cumbersome procedures, it was ill suited to spend money. So its spending departments were turned into independent agencies, accountable to the European parliament. The commission still drafts laws, sets objectives for the spending agencies and studies long-term challenges. It also polices the single market, negotiates with third parties and has the important task of explaining to citizens how the EU works. Official documents are translated into all EU languages, but since 2012, English has been the only spoken language within the commission. This has led to huge savings on interpretation. The commission is much smaller and nimbler than it was, its staff having dropped from 28,000 in 2007 to 8,000 today.
The EU’s budget was radically transformed in 2014, when the member states decided to take full financial responsibility for supporting their own farmers. The budget is now spent in roughly equal measure on R&D, aid for poorer EU regions, assistance for neighbours and foreign policy (including defence missions). But its overall level—about 1 per cent of EU GDP—has stayed constant for the past 20 years.
The most dramatic institutional change came in 2019, with the first direct elections for European commissioners. The electorate of each member state chooses a commissioner for a non-renewable term.
The European parliament then chooses one of those elected as commission president and another as EU foreign minister. The president picks ten of the remainder as full commissioners, the others becoming deputies. Critics of this reform argued that it would encourage commissioners to promote national rather than EU interests. But they had always done that. What did change was that voters started taking a bit more of an interest in the EU. And the commission—blessed with democratic legitimacy—gained the authority to stand up to the member states that tried to break the rules.Third, ever since the presidency of José Manuel Barroso (2004-09), the commission has repeated the mantra that the EU should focus on delivering benefits in the areas that matter to citizens.
And the union has done a pretty good job on that front. Its Climate Change Agency—as independent as the European Central Bank—is a popular institution. It decides on the levels of greenhouse gases that the EU should emit each year, and divides up quotas among the member states. This has cut the union’s carbon emissions significantly, enabling it to lead by example in international talks on tackling climate change. Many other countries have joined the EU’s emissions trading scheme.
Other EU agencies are also respected. Europol now co-ordinates the counter-terrorist work of the national intelligence agencies. Frontex, the border management agency, fights illegal immigration by deploying fleets off north Africa and undercover agents on either side of the union’s eastern border. Energy security is another area where EU action—under the commission’s leadership—is generally popular. The EU has linked up the various national grids, and adopted rules requiring each government to store gas and share it with those suffering shortages. Fourth, the EU has developed a more effective and coherent foreign policy, thanks in part to Vladimir Putin, who returned to office for a third—and increasingly authoritarian—presidential term in 2012. Russia’s illiberal political system, military build-up and threatening behaviour towards its neighbours made the member states see the value in sticking together when dealing with Russia.Russia proved difficult but not impossible to deal with. The Europeans discovered that, so long as they remained united, they had some cards to play: Russia wanted to stay in the Council of Europe and the G20 (which had replaced the G8); it eventually learned that it needed foreign investment in its ageing gas and oil industries, to prevent a severe fall in production; and it wanted its energy firms to have the right to buy western firms.
International competition spurred Gazprom to modernise its corporate governance and transform itself into a true multinational. After Gazprom bought Gaz de France and E.ON Ruhrgas, it became easier for western firms and governments to deal with. In 2014, when the Kremlin seemed to be preparing to invade Georgia, EU foreign minister Carl Bildt warned Russia that it risked losing a seat at European tables, foreign investment and access to the single market. This démarche worked, and the Kremlin pulled its troops back from the frontier.
The EU’s enhanced role in foreign and defence policy has won broad public approval. Thanks to the creation of the EU foreign minister and diplomatic service, and the abolition of the rotating presidency, other countries generally treat the union with more respect than they did in 2007.
The EU makes a pretty good job of combining its diplomatic, economic and military means to promote security, good governance and prosperity in many unstable regions. While the EU has 50,000 troops deployed in Afghanistan, Nigeria, Palestine and Somalia, it has hundreds of thousands of judges, policemen, aid workers and other civilian staff in difficult places. These external actions have boosted awareness among European citizens of their shared interests and values.These four factors transformed the popularity of the EU, even in the more sceptical countries such as Britain. By 2020, the British had opted in to most of the avant-garde groups they had excluded themselves from. The pundits who had predicted that enlargement would stop after the accession of Croatia in 2012 were proved wrong. The mood of optimism in Europe helped the cause of enlargement. Not only Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Macedonia joined the EU, but also Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.
However, France has voted twice in referendums to keep out Turkey, while a Serb referendum defeated the membership hopes of Albania and Kosovo. Spain has blocked membership talks with Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine because its EU partners said no to Moroccan membership.
The slow pace of further enlargement has spurred the union to offer several neighbours participation in most EU policies. For example Israel, inside the European Economic Area, takes part in everything the EU does bar foreign and defence policy. Meanwhile, the French are preparing to vote for a third time on Turkish accession. They are starting to look more favourably on the Turks. Per capita incomes in Turkey have overtaken those of the poorer French regions; the Kurdish assembly in southeast Turkey has won autonomy over most areas of domestic policy; Turkey provides more troops for EU military missions than any other country; and French companies are having to tackle labour shortages at home by recruiting directly in Turkey. Opinion polls suggest that this time France will vote oui. Meanwhile in Britain, David Miliband’s government is promising a referendum on joining the single currency.
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