1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Indonesia quake caused huge coral die-off: survey. 3-The Nation's Weather. 4-Indonesia gets new tsunami warning buoy. 5-Pope says evolution can't be proven. 6-Israel scrambles jets to escort U.S. airliner. 7-China and Japan pledge closer ties. 8-Bombing at Iraqi parliament kills 8. 9-American Christians encouraged to bombard heaven with prayers for persecuted Church.
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 Apr 12 11:49 AM EDT
APR 12,07
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 4.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 TONGA
MAP 2.6 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.0 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.2 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
APR 11,07
MAP 2.6 WESTERN MONTANA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 OLYMPIC PENINSULA, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.7 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 SOUTHEAST OF THE LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 3.5 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.4 TONGA
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 KASHMIR-XINJIANG BORDER REGION
MAP 4.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 NEW YORK
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
Indonesia quake caused huge coral die-off: survey Thu Apr 12, 4:32 AM ET
JAKARTA (Reuters) - A strong earthquake that struck Indonesia's Sumatra island two years ago caused one of the biggest coral die-offs ever documented, a study by scientists from two conservation groups found. The quake itself killed nearly 1,000 people on Nias island off the western coast of Sumatra island.The scientists, who surveyed 35 sites on the coastline, found that the earthquake had raised the island of Simeulue near Nias by up to 1.2 meters (3 ft 11 in), exposing most of the coral reefs ringing the island over about 300 km (190 miles) of sea floor, a news statement said.
The scientists were from the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society and the government-backed Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies (ARCCoERS).This is a story of mass mortality on a scale rarely observed, said Dr Stuart Campbell of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Indonesia marine program.In contrast to other threats like coral bleaching, none of the corals uplifted by the earthquake have survived, he said.Campbell said, however, that some sites in Simeulue were now recovering.At many sites, the worst affected species are beginning to decolonize the shallow reef areas. The reefs appear to be returning to what they looked like before the earthquake, although the process may take many years, he said.Dr Andrew Baird of ARCCoERS said the earthquake had provided a one-off chance to study such a phenomenon.
This is a unique opportunity to document a process that occurs maybe once a century and promises to provide new insights into coral recovery processes that until now we could only explore on fossil reefs.
The team said it had documented, for the first time in Indonesian waters, extensive damage to reefs caused by the crown-of-thorns starfish, a coral predator that has inflicted huge damage on reefs in Australia and other parts of the world.People monitoring Indonesian coral reefs now have another threat to watch out for, and not all reef damage should be immediately attributed to human influences, said Baird.Indonesia has some of the richest reef environments in the world, but many have also suffered from human interference.The government has banned the use of chemicals such as cyanide and bombing to catch fish, but such practices still go on in many parts of the huge tropical nation made up of more than 17,000 islands.
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
Thu Apr 12, 6:23 AM ET
A spring storm was forecast to dump several inches of snow on parts of the Northern Plains and Great Lakes region Thursday as it moves north toward Canada. Considerable rain was expected in New England and the Mid-Atlantic region, and a cold front could bring a quick shot of rain as it sweeps through the Southeast.Rain and snow were expected in parts of the Northwest and southern Rockies.Temperatures were expected to rise into the 30s and 40s in the Northeast and the 70s and 80s in the Southeast. The upper Midwest and parts of the Rockies were expected to see temperatures in the 30s, while the Northwest should see temperatures in the 40s and 50s.Temperatures in the lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 3 degrees at Stanley, Idaho, to a high of 94 degrees at Imperial, Calif.
Indonesia gets new tsunami warning buoy Wed Apr 11, 12:50 PM ET
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia began installing its first locally made tsunami warning buoy in the Indian Ocean on Wednesday as part of efforts to protect coastal communities from future killer waves.
The country began setting up an alert network after the 2004 Asian tsunami that killed or left missing at least 230,000 people in a dozen Indian Ocean countries. Two-thirds of the deaths were reported on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.A German-made buoy and one donated by Malaysia are already in place.The $600,000 Indonesian-made device is being installed 160 miles south of the West Java town of Merak, said Ridwan Djamaluddin, chief of Tsunami Buoy Oceanographic Monitoring.
The buoy will be used to detect abnormalities on the surface of the sea the next time an earthquake triggers waves, transmitting data by satellite to officials on land within three minutes, Djamaluddin said.The buoy has been tested and it works well, he said. It will help alert communities on western Java and Sumatra island to tsunamis in the future.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.
LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS, THE FOOOOOOOOOOLISH FOOL SAYS IN HIS OR HER HEART THERE IS NO GOD AND NO CREATION BUT BELIEVES THE LIE OF EVOLUTION.
Pope says evolution can't be proven By MELISSA EDDY Wed Apr 11, 5:47 PM ET
BERLIN - Benedict XVI, in his first extended reflections on evolution published as pope, says that Darwin's theory cannot be finally proven and that science has unnecessarily narrowed humanity's view of creation.
In a new book, Creation and Evolution, published Wednesday in German, the pope praised progress gained by science, but cautioned that evolution raises philosophical questions science alone cannot answer.The question is not to either make a decision for a creationism that fundamentally excludes science, or for an evolutionary theory that covers over its own gaps and does not want to see the questions that reach beyond the methodological possibilities of natural science, the pope said.He stopped short of endorsing intelligent design, but said scientific and philosophical reason must work together in a way that does not exclude faith.
I find it important to underline that the theory of evolution implies questions that must be assigned to philosophy and which themselves lead beyond the realms of science, the pope was quoted as saying in the book, which records a meeting with fellow theologians the pope has known for years.In the book, Benedict reflected on a 1996 comment of his predecessor, John Paul II, who said that Charles Darwin's theories on evolution were sound, as long as they took into account that creation was the work of God, and that Darwin's theory of evolution was more than a hypothesis.The pope (John Paul) had his reasons for saying this, Benedict said. But it is also true that the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory.Benedict added that the immense time span that evolution covers made it impossible to conduct experiments in a controlled environment to finally verify or disprove the theory.We cannot haul 10,000 generations into the laboratory, he said.
Evolution has come under fire in recent years by proponents — mostly conservative Protestants of intelligent design, who believe that living organisms are so complex they must have been created by a higher force rather than evolving from more primitive forms.The book, which was released by the Sankt Ulrich publishing house, includes reflections of the pope and others who attended a meeting of theological scholars at the papal summer estate in Castel Gandolfo in early September.The pope's remarks were consistent with one of his most important themes, that faith and reason are interdependent.Science has opened up large dimensions of reason ... and thus brought us new insights, the pope wrote. But in the joy at the extent of its discoveries, it tends to take away from us dimensions of reason that we still need.Its results lead to questions that go beyond its methodical canon and cannot be answered within it, he said.Associated Press writer Kirsten Grieshaber contributed to this report.
I LOVE THAT THE BOEING 777 , AND 3 SETS OF 7 JUDGEMENTS WILL BE HITTING THE EARTH IN THE FUTURE FOR A TOTAL OF 21 JUDGEMENTS. 7 SEALS - 7 TRUMPET - 7 VIAL OR BOWL, GODS WRATH ON SINNERS JUDGEMENTS.
Israel scrambles jets to escort U.S. airliner Thu Apr 12, 10:10 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel scrambled fighter jets to escort an American commercial passenger plane to landing on Wednesday, Israeli officials said. An Airports Authority spokeswoman said Continental Airlines' Flight 90 was intercepted after it failed to identify itself upon entering Israeli airspace.The plane, a Boeing 777, was on a scheduled flight from Newark, New Jersey in the United States. All passengers and crew disembarked safely, Israeli officials said.The Transportation Ministry said it was investigating whether there was a technical reason for the initial lack of communication between the plane and Israeli ground control.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
China and Japan pledge closer ties By KOZO MIZOGUCHI, Associated Press Writer APR 12,07
TOKYO - Strengthening a fragile detente, Japanese and Chinese leaders meeting in Tokyo pledged Wednesday to work together on North Korea, energy development and the environment, while defusing thorny disputes over history and territory. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao is on the first visit to Japan by a Chinese leader in nearly seven years, building on a trip by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Beijing last year to salvage seriously damaged ties.The two declared firm intentions to move forward on rebuilding relations, signing agreements on energy and the environment and issuing a jointstatement that laid out a series of issues for the countries to cooperate on.
We must build future-oriented and stable Japan-China relations, Abe said at a banquet in Wen's honor. We want to expand our common interests through strengthening dialogue in various fields. Wen said he expected his three-day visit to be a success.We must keep up the momentum toward building friendly ties that have been forged between the governments and peoples of the two countries, he said. Japan and China are at a crossroads where we must inherit the past while opening up the future.They signed a series of agreements. An environmental accord called for the two to work on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol on climate change by 2013. China's emissions are not capped under the Kyoto pact, but they are a rising concern as the economy rapidly expands.The other agreement committed Japan and China to cooperate on developing energy resources.In the joint statement, the two vowed to seek ways to jointly develop gas deposits in disputed waters, pursue the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and cooperate on intellectual property rights.
The declaration also made a veiled reference to the bitter dispute over wartime history. China still nurses resentment over Japanese invasions in the 1930s and 1940s, while Japanese nationalists accuse Beijing of exaggerating accounts of atrocities for political gain.We resolve to face up to history and open up good, forward-looking relations toward a beautiful future, the statement said.Wen maintained that theme as he addressed the Japanese Parliament Thursday, calling on Tokyo not to forget those past military aggressions.Wen the first Chinese leader to address Japan's parliament in 22 years said the past would have to be confronted in order for ties to improve, though he expressed satisfaction that Japanese leaders had shown regret for the wartime past.
Japan's invasions caused tremendous damage to the Chinese, Wen added. The deep scars left in the hearts of the Chinese people cannot be described.To reflect on history is not to dwell on hard feelings but to remember and learn from the past to open a better future, he continued, adding that he hoped Japan's apologies would be turned into actions.He told Parliament that improved ties benefit both nations.
China's opening up and overnight modernization drive benefits from the support and help of the Japanese government and people. The Chinese people will never forget that.In an important nod to Tokyo, Beijing also offered understanding and sympathy for Japan's humanitarian concerns regarding North Korea a reference to Japan's demand for resolution of Pyongyang's kidnappings of Japanese citizens.
The visit was a high-profile follow-up to Abe's landmark summit with Chinese leaders in Beijing in October, which staunched a downward spiral in ties that had troubled the region and Japan's top ally, the United States. The two neighbors have good reasons to grow closer. China, including Hong Kong, is Japan's No. 1 trading partner and Japanese companies are eager for access to Chinese consumers and labor. China, meanwhile, seeks Japanese investment and technology transfers. While the emphasis was on cooperation, both leaders broached areas of concern. Wen, for instance, warned that history could be an obstacle to improved ties if not handled well, while Abe urged China to be more transparent about its troubling surge in military spending. Wen assured Abe that Beijing would use its armed forces only for national security, Japanese officials said. Wen also pointed out the dispute over gas deposits in the East China Sea. The two countries have not demarcated their exclusive economic zones in the area, and Japan has objected to Chinese exploitation of the deposits, saying some of the gas belongs to Japan. Joint talks so far have achieved little.
One of the remaining problems is the issue of the East China Sea, Wen said, quoted by Hiroshige Seko, an Abe adviser. Wen arrived just hours after the two countries signed an accord lifting Beijing's four-year ban on Japanese rice imports. China banned imports in 2003, claiming Japanese rice did not qualify for its tightened quarantine system. The Chinese premier was scheduled to meet with business leaders and the emperor on Thursday, and even join in a game of baseball with college students in western Japan on Friday before returning to China. Abe's predecessor, Junichiro Koizumi, had put China relations into the deep freeze with repeated visits to a Tokyo shrine honoring Japanese war dead, including executed war criminals. Abe moved quickly to repair ties with visits to Beijing and Seoul in October, only weeks after taking office. In his meeting with Wen, Abe said he hoped to visit China again this year, and invited Chinese President Hu Jintao to come to Japan next year, officials said. But the wartime past was still a potentially divisive issue. Earlier this week, Japanese nationalist textbook writers released an open letter to Wen, challenging him to furnish proof of the 1937 Nanking massacre, in which Japanese troops killed thousands of civilians. China claims the death toll reached 300,000. Associated Press writer Chisaki Watanabe in Tokyo also contributed to this report.
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Bombing at Iraqi parliament kills 8 By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer APR 12,07
BAGHDAD - A suspected suicide bomber blew himself up in the Iraqi parliament cafeteria Thursday, killing at least eight people in a stunning assault in the heart of the heavily fortified, U.S.-protected Green Zone.
The blast came hours after a suicide truck bomb exploded on a major bridge in Baghdad, collapsing the steel structure and sending cars tumbling into the Tigris River, police and witnesses said. At least 10 people were killed.The parliament bombing was believed to be the deadliest attack in the Green Zone, the enclave that houses Iraq's leadership as well as the U.S. Embassy, and is secured by American and Iraqi checkpoints.Security officials at parliament, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release the information, said they believed the bomber was a bodyguard of a Sunni member of parliament who was not among the dead. They would not name the member of parliament.
The officials also said two satchel bombs were found inside the building near the dining hall. A U.S. military bomb squad took the explosives away and detonated them without incident.President Bush strongly condemned the attack, saying: My message to the Iraqi government is `We stand with you.
It reminds us, though, that there is an enemy willing to bomb innocent people in a symbol of democracy, he said at the White House.Maj. Gen. William Caldwell told The Associated Press that eight people were killed in the attack, which witness accounts indicated was carried out by a suicide bomber.We don't know at this point who it was. We do know in the past that suicide vests have been used predominantly by al-Qaida, the U.S. military spokesman said.Earlier, Iraqi officials said the bomber struck the cafeteria while several lawmakers were eating lunch, and at least three of them were killed. State television said 30 people were wounded.After the blast, security guards sealed the building and no one including lawmakers was allowed to enter or leave.A spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad said no Americans were hurt.
The bombing came amid the two-month-old security crackdown in Baghdad, which has sought to restore stability in the capital so that the government of Iraq can take key political steps by June 30 or face a withdrawal of American support.
We know that there is a security problem in Baghdad, added Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking at the State Department. This is still early in the process and I don't think anyone expected that there wouldn't be counter-efforts by terrorists to undermine the security presence.One of the dead lawmakers was Mohammed Awad, a member of the Sunni National Dialogue Front, said party leader Saleh al-Mutlaq. A female Sunni lawmaker from the same list was wounded, he said.The other legislator killed was Taha al-Liheibi, of the Sunni Accordance Front that holds 44 seats in parliament, said Mohammed Abu Bakr, who heads the legislature's media department.
A third dead lawmaker was Niamah al-Mayahi, a member of the Shiite United Iraqi Alliance bloc, said Saleh al-Aujaili, a fellow member.Abu Bakr said he saw the bomber's body amid the ghastly scene. I saw two legs in the middle of the cafeteria and none of those killed or wounded lost their legs which means they must be the legs of the suicide attacker, he said. Several other lawmakers also said they saw the limbs, believed to be those of the bomber. Earlier in the day, security officials used dogs to check people entering the building in a rare precaution apparently concerned that an attack might take place. But a security scanner that checks pedestrians at the entrance to the Green Zone near the parliament building was not working Thursday, Abu Bakr said. People were searched only by hand and had to pass through metal detectors, he said. The brazen bombing was the clearest evidence yet that militants can penetrate even the most secure locations. Masses of U.S. and Iraqi soldiers are on the streets in the ninth week of a security crackdown in the capital and security measures inside the Green Zone have been significantly hardened.
The U.S. military reported April 1 that two suicide vests were found in the Green Zone, also home to the U.S. Embassy and the Iraqi government. A rocket attack last month killed two Americans, a soldier and a contractor. A few days earlier, a rocket landed within 100 yards of a building where U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was holding a news conference. No one was hurt. Khalaf al-Ilyan, one of the three leaders of the Iraqi Accordance Front, which holds 44 seats, said the attack was aimed at everyone all parties our parliament in general being a symbol and a representative of all segments of Iraqi society.
Al-Ilyan, who is in Jordan recovering from knee surgery, said the blast also underlines the failure of the government's security plan.The plan is 100 percent a failure. It's a complete flop. The explosion means that instability and lack of security has reached the Green Zone, which the government boasts is heavily fortified, he said. U.S. Embassy spokesman Lou Fintor said its officials were investigating the nature and source of the explosion. No embassy employees or U.S. citizens were affected.Hadi al-Amiri, head of the parliament's security and defense committee, said the blast shook the building just after legislators ended their main meeting, and broke into smaller committees. A few brothers (fellow lawmakers) happened to be in the cafeteria at the time of the explosion, al-Amiri told Al-Arabiya television. But had they been able to place this bomb inside the meeting hall, it would have been a catastrophe.Al-Amiri said Iraqi forces are in charge of security in the building, and that explosives could have been smuggled in amid restaurant supplies. A television camera and videotape belonging to a Western TV crew was confiscated by security guards moments after the attack.
Attacks in the Green Zone are rare.
The worst known attack inside the enclave occurred Oct. 14, 2004, when insurgents detonated explosives at a market and a popular cafe, killing six people. That was the first bombing in the sprawling region. On Nov. 25, 2004, a mortar attack inside the zone killed four employees of a British security firm and wounded at least 12. On Jan. 29, 2005, insurgents hit the U.S. Embassy compound with a rocket, killing two Americans a civilian and a Navy sailor on the eve of landmark elections.
Four other Americans were wounded. In addition to killing 10 people, Thursday's bombing of the al-Sarafiya bridge wounded 26, hospital officials said, and police were trying to rescue as many as 20 people whose cars plummeted off the span. Waves lapped against twisted girders as patrol boats searched for survivors and U.S. helicopters flew overhead. Scuba divers donned flippers and waded in from the riverbanks. Farhan al-Sudani, a 34-year-old Shiite businessman who lives near the bridge, said the blast woke him at dawn. A huge explosion shook our house and I thought it would demolish our house. Me and my wife jumped immediately from our bed, grabbed our three kids and took them outside, he said. The al-Sarafiya bridge connected two northern Baghdad neighborhoods Waziriyah, a mostly Sunni enclave, and Utafiyah, a Shiite area. Police blamed the attack on a suicide truck bomber, but AP Television News video showed the bridge broken in two places perhaps the result of two blasts.
Cement pilings that support the steel structure were left crumbling. At the base of one lay a charred vehicle engine, believed to be that of the truck bomb. The al-Sarafiya bridge is believed to be at least 75 years old, built by the British in the early part of the 20th century.
It is one of Baghdad's monuments. This is really damaging for Iraq. We are losing a lot of our history every day, said Ahmed Abdul-Karim, who lives nearby. The al-Sarafiya bridge has a duplicate in Fallujah that was built later and made infamous in March 2004 when angry mobs hung the charred bodies of U.S. contractors from its girders. The destroyed span is linked to Baghdad's modern history it is one of our famous monuments, said Haider Ghazala, a 52-year-old Iraqi architect. Attacking this bridge affects the morale of Iraqis and especially Baghdad residents who feel proud of this bridge. They (insurgents) want to demolish everything that connects the people with this land, he said. Before the al-Sarafiya bridge was destroyed, nine spans across the Tigris linked western and eastern Baghdad.
The river now serves as a de facto dividing line between the mostly Shiite east and the largely Sunni west of the city, a reality of more than a year of sectarian fighting that has forced Sunnis to flee neighborhoods where they were a minority and likewise for Shiites.
Baghdad's neighborhoods had been very mixed before the war but hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced since then as militants from both Muslim sects have sought to cleanse their neighborhoods of rivals. There have been unconfirmed reports for months that Sunni insurgents and al-Qaida in Iraq were planning a campaign to blow up the city's bridges. U.S. military headquarters near the Baghdad airport and the Green Zone, site of the U.S. Embassy and Iraqi parliament and government, are both on the west side of the river. Also Thursday, the U.S. military said its troops killed two suspected insurgents and captured 17 in raids across the country. Associated Press Writer Lauren Frayer contributed to this
report.
PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS
JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME
ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
FINAL JUDGEMENT).
WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
American Christians encouraged to bombard heaven with prayers for persecuted Church Allie Martin OneNewsNow.com April 11, 2007
The president of the Dallas, Texas-based ministry Gospel for Asia says Christians in America have an obligation to pray for believers throughout the world who are suffering for their faith. And as reports of persecution against Christians continue to increase throughout India, GFA founder K.P. Yohannan says believers in America must not forget the modern day persecuted Church.Yohannan, who spends half of his time in Asia consulting with missionary leaders and speaking at missionary gatherings, says many American Christians fail to realize the tough, lifethreatening conditions faced by believers in other nations. He encourages Christians in the United States to pray specifically for those who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. I think here we have a greater responsibility here much is given; much shall be required, the GFA spokesman observes. And I wish that every believer would be willing to wake up one hour early every morning and spend that hour before a world map, he says, praying and crying out to God for this generation, some two billion people that wait to hear that Jesus died for them on the cross.Yohannan says many Christians in America are focused on materialism, instead of eternal matters. That is one reason why he urges U.S. believers to pray and fast for the persecuted Church worldwide.
We too, by the grace of God, can make a difference in the world, the ministry founder says, if only we are willing to accept this kind of call from Christ, and not be satisfied with just going to church and hearing good sermons and having a comfortable feeling with our lifestyle. The call of God, Yohannan contends, is much more serious than that.Gospel for Asia currently supports more than 16,000 church planters in ten countries of South Asia in the heart of that part of the world known to missions strategists as the 10/40 window. This area of the Eastern hemisphere, from ten degrees latitude north of the equator to 40 degrees latitude north of the equator, is where most of the people groups as yet unreached by the gospel of Jesus Christ reside.American Family News Network
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
IRAN HELPS IRAQ BUILD BOMBS
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Spring storm hits Saskatchewan. 3-Unsettled weather continues through weekend. 4-North Korea says ready to move on nuclear pledge. 5-Palestinian minister seeks $1.3 billion in aid. 6-Attorney General Did Not Approve Hevron Evacuation. 7-Israel Threatened in North, South 8-Dutch government favours new look treaty for the EU. 9-Trade ministers of G-4 begin talks Thursday 10-Iran may be helping Iraqis build bombs.
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 Apr 11 15 AM EDT
APR 11,07
MAP 3.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.4 TONGA
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 KASHMIR-XINJIANG BORDER REGION
MAP 4.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 NEW YORK
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
APR 10,07
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 WESTERN TURKEY
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.2 NEAR THE COAST OF NICARAGUA
MAP 3.9 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 3.4 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO
MAP 3.0 NEVADA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 3.5 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO
MAP 5.2 GREECE
MAP 5.1 GREECE
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
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.
Spring storm hits Saskatchewan - Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - CBC News
Some Saskatchewan residents who put their parkas away a few weeks ago may be hauling them out again.Environment Canada issued weather warnings Tuesday across the southern edge of the province.It was balmy a few weeks ago, but it appears winter has returned to Saskatchewan.
(CBC) Meterorologist David Wray said the communities of Shaunavon, Maple Creek, Val Marie and Cypress Hills can expect 10 to 15 centimetres of snow over the next 24 hours.Temperatures will plummet from the mid-teens Celsius to near zero.Meanwhile, according to the Highways Department, snow, freezing temperatures and high winds are having an impact on drivers.The department said visibility is reduced because of driving snow in the southern parts of the province around Carlyle, Weyburn, Estevan, Moose Jaw and Assiniboia.
Fog and icy sections are also plaguing drivers in the area around Swift Current in the southwest. In east-central Saskatchewan, around Tisdale and Hudson Bay, the roads are icy and slippery.The icy blast may turn out to be winter's last gasp, however.Milder weather is expected by the weekend, with temperatures in the south expected to hit 12 C or higher.
Unsettled weather continues through weekend Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Apr 11, 4:46 AM ET
Midwest
Snow is the big story in the Midwest today, particularly in the Upper Midwest where some fairly significant snows, especially for April, are expected in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Lower Michigan. Snow will also be possible in metro Chicago, with the greatest accumulations north and west of the city. Snow will be possible again on Thursday after the system passes, while a new storm system moves into the Central Plains. This next system brings rain and wind to the Central Plains on Friday, with snow moving into western Kansas and western Nebraska. Showers and thunderstorms will spread east into the Ohio Valley and into Lower Michigan on Saturday, while snow moves into the Middle and Upper Mississippi Valley. Skies clear in much of the Midwest on Sunday, with snow possible in Ohio and Michigan. Temperatures are expected to remain below average across the region through the weekend.
South
More spring-like weather is making a small comeback in the South today, with spring-like thunderstorms expected across much of the region today. A few storms could also reach severe limits over Alabama and Georgia later today. The main threat from the storms will be heavy rain, particularly over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys during the day today, and reaching the Carolinas and Virginia tonight. More storms are also possible through the day today in Florida, with some locally heavy rain possible. Farther west in Texas, the story is the warmer temperatures after record cold over the weekend and a chilly start to the week. Tomorrow will be a relatively quiet weather day across the South, with above average temperatures expected across much of the region. However, Friday will see the beginning of another big change to the South's weather. Storms (with severe storms possible) will develop over the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley on Friday and spread eastward through the Southeast on Saturday. Showers and thunderstorms will still be possible on Sunday in the Carolinas and Florida, particularly in the morning, with much cooler temperatures making a comeback after the rains over the weekend.
West
Rain and snow will be making its way across a large portion of the West today. Rain will begin falling this morning along the Pacific Northwest and Northern California Coasts, and spread across the Intermountain West as the day progresses, with snow in the higher elevations. Rain and snow is also possible in the Plains of central and eastern Montana. Precipitation will reach the Rockies Front Range on Thursday. As the system pulls out into the Plains on Friday, snow will wrap around and fall over eastern Colorado (including Denver). Also on Friday, another storm system starts to move ashore in the Pacific Northwest that spreads rain and snow across the Interior West over the weekend. Temperatures will be below average today and tomorrow across the region, with temperatures warming to above average in the Rockies and Intermountain West on Friday through the weekend.
Northeast
The Northeast should enjoy a relatively quiet weather day today, but that will change overnight tonight in the Mid-Atlantic. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware will start to see rain increase in intensity and coverage overnight tonight and move through the Megalopolis tomorrow. In the interior Northeast, rain will change to snow, with all snow possible in the higher elevations of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains. A winter storm watch is in effect for parts of Upstate New York and much of New England for Thursday. Some rain and snow showers will be possible in Northern New England on Friday, with the next chance of rain moving into the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. By Sunday, a coastal low will bring a chance of heavy rain to the Megalopolis with a rain and snow possible in the interior Northeast. Temperatures in the Northeast will remain below seasonal averages through the weekend.
WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL
DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA,
MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
I DO NOT THINK NORTH KOREA WILL GIVE IN SO EASY BY THE SCRIPTURES ABOVE THE KINGS OF THE EAST THIS WILL INCLUDE NORTH KOREA MARCH IN THE FUTURE, THEY ARE JUST LEADING ON THE UN AND THE WORLD LIKE IRAN.
North Korea says ready to move on nuclear pledge By Jon Herskovitz APR 11,07
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea says it will start moves to shut its nuclear reactor within a day of receiving millions of dollars blocked for 18 months in a Macau bank, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson told reporters on Wednesday. But Richardson, speaking in Seoul after a trip to the North, said it could be some 30 days before the reactor begins shutting down and that it would require an extraordinary effort to meet Saturday's deadline under a February deal with regional powers to actually start decommissioning the reactor.The North Korean government told us that with that (bank) issue resolved, ... (it) would move promptly, within a day, after receiving the funds, said Richardson, who during his visit had met Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan.
And therefore within that day, (North Korea will) invite the IAEA to Pyongyang and inspectors to draw up the terms for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor.The return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, expelled in 2002, is part of the February 13 deal to give the impoverished state massive energy aid in return for ending its nuclear weapons program, starting with closure of the Yongbyon reactor its source of weapons-grade plutonium.In an offhanded way, a DPRK (North Korean) official mentioned that perhaps 30 additional days would be needed because of the current delay prompted by the blocked funds issue, Richardson said.In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States and other members of the six-party talks on North Korea would see where we are on Saturday, but declined to say whether Pyongyang would face any consequences for missing the deadline.
We would expect the North Koreans to act in such a way that they meet their obligations under the Feb 15 agreement, McCormack told reporters.The United States said on Tuesday Macau authorities had unblocked about $25 million of frozen North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in the southern Chinese city.Richardson said he expected the bank to tell North Korea it could pick up its money later on Wednesday or early on Thursday, meaning Pyongyang would send an invitation to the
IAEA on Friday.
FROZEN SINCE 2005
The impoverished state has demanded that the funds, frozen in the Macau bank since 2005, be released first.Analysts doubted that missing Saturday's deadline would derail the disarmament deal.The deadline will be postponed to some time in the future, but I don't think there will be any kind of fundamental damage to the agreement, said Ruan Zongze, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.The New Mexico governor, who crossed into the South on Wednesday, had gone to North Korea earlier this week to collect the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War.The two Koreas are still technically at war because the truce which halted the 1950-53 conflict never led to a peace treaty.BDA officials in Macau declined to comment on whether the funds had been transferred or whether North Korea had been in contact.U.S. chief negotiator with North Korea, Christopher Hill, told reporters in Seoul he considered the bank issue resolved. We think now it is really an important time to get on with the ever-urgent task of denuclearization, and particularly get on with the implementation of the February agreement," he said. "So I would hope this would happen in a matter of days.
The apparent breakthrough came as several key players in the North Korea issue visited Seoul, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. China is the closest isolated North Korea has to an ally, but relations were strained after Pyongyang defied the international community last October with its first nuclear test. (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul, Lindsay Beck in Beijing and James Pomfret in Macau, and Stuart Grudgings in Washington)
Palestinian minister seeks $1.3 billion in aid By Paul Taylor APR 11,07
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad told the European Union on Wednesday a new national unity government needed more than $1.3 billion in international aid this year to avert a devastating humanitarian crisis. He won a cautious endorsement from EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who promised technical assistance to enable his ministry to receive aid once the Palestinian Authority meets key political conditions.We are looking for external support to bridge a gap of nearly 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) for 2007, Fayyad told a joint news conference, stressing his government's commitment to respect all peace accords with Israel.Asked what would happen if aid was not forthcoming, he said: The consequences are far too grave, quite frankly.
Fayyad, a respected independent technocrat, was on the first visit to Brussels by a member of the new government after the EU boycotted the former Hamas-led administration due to the Islamic movement's refusal to recognize Israel or renounce violence.Ferrero-Waldner praised his personal commitment to peace but made clear the EU's engagement would be selective, gradual and dependent on the government's words and actions.I've made very clear that possible financial engagement would not mean resuming direct financial assistance overnight, she said, pledging that a temporary aid system created to bypass the Hamas-led government would remain for as long as necessary.The Finance Ministry will take time to meet international standards for absorbing aid, and the EU will also need time to come to a decision then on this political issue, she said.
SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT
The EU, the Palestinians' biggest donor, increased aid from 500 million to 700 million euros last year, paying subsistence allowances to 150,000 families and keeping essential services going through the Temporary International Mechanism.Fayyad told Reuters he had inherited public finances in disrepair and the EU should keep that lifeline going and develop it until his ministry was able to receive foreign transfers, which would require the lifting of U.S. banking restrictions.Asked how long it would take before the ministry was ready to receive direct aid, he said: Insofar as setting up a system or re-establishing a central treasury is concerned, I think we are there now, but for the restrictions which make it not possible for us to receive international assistance.The Quartet of Middle East peace brokers the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas formed a government last year.
While Fayyad presented the Palestinian Authority as a single team committed to the same platform, Ferrero-Waldner made clear the EU would work with non-Hamas members such Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr and Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi. Fayyad said the Palestinian Authority was operating on a quarter of the funds it needs to provide essential services.
Even once a properly functioning finance ministry was restored, economic recovery would require the lifting of Israeli restrictions on trade, movement and access, tightened as part of a securitycrackdown on the Hamas government, he said.He met the EU's Middle East peace envoy, Marc Otte, and European Parliament leaders and was to travel on to Norway, which brokered a landmark 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.The parliamentary leaders said they respected Fayyad's integrity and told him it was vital the Palestinians build transparent financial management and avoid past errors. We want to be able to see, prove, check, where the money went. It's a special problem of the Palestinian Authority after the recent years, but it's also a general problem of the aid of the European Union, budget committee chairman Herbert Boesch told Reuters. (additional reporting by Ingrid Melander)
Attorney General Did Not Approve Hevron Evacuation
by Hillel Fendel (INN) APR 11,07
Contrary to reports issued this morning by Defense Minister Amir Peretz's office, it is now clear that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has not approved the evacuation of Peace House in Hevron. It was similarly announced that Peretz had instructed the Coordinator of IDF Activities in Judea and Samaria, Maj.-Gen. Yosef Mishlav, to prepare for the evacuation. The Justice Ministry confirmed this afternoon that Mazuz had found no reason to order an immediate evacuation, but rather that the residents must be informed in advance of the intentions to evacuate them, and be allowed a hearing and a court appeal if necessary.It is not clear why Peretz's office released the mistaken information regarding Mazuz; Arutz-7 has submitted a query to the Defense Minister's office as to why this announcement was made, and on what basis Mishlav was given the above order.
In response, the Defense Minister's spokesman relayed a copy of the original announcement, which reads: Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed [Gen. Mishlav] this evening [Tuesday] to evacuate the settlers who occupied the building in Hevron without a permit.
The orders come as a result of [or, following] the summation of a meeting and legal opinion that was received today [Tuesday] from Attorney General Mazuz on the matter. It should be emphasized that the evacuation order is being issued because populating the building was done without the legally required permit.As of late Wednesday afternoon, no evacuation orders had been ordered to the new residents.The Defense Minister's spokesman also relayed a transcript of Peretz's remarks today on Voice of Israel, in which the interviewer asked, I must tell you, Mr. Defense Minister, that I don't feel at ease. I hear that the Attorney General says that there is no reason at all - not in terms of security nor in terms of legal issues - to evacuate these people. I hear from the Interior Minister that you can't do it because you're not the government and you don't have the mandate to do it. And you're telling me totally different things.
Another reporter then interrupted and said, Could it be that the reason for the evacuation is political? Peretz responded, It is not at all connected with political considerations. There is a policy [regarding settlement]... It's not at all political, but rather a question of authority and the rule of law. Wherever the law must be enforced, I will do so in the legal ways at my disposal. I am acting according to the conclusions [that were reached]. The representatives of the Defense Ministry's legal counsel were also at the meeting, and also those of the Military Prosecution, and we are acting according to instructions that were concluded at the meeting led by the Attorney General.
History, Location, Size
The house in question was purchased by a Jewish group via a Jordanian businessman for $700,000. Though opponents of the deal say they question its legality, no substantial claim has been made that it is fraudulent. In fact, the PA has issued an arrest warrant for the Arabs who sold the building. The new Jewish residence, with some 4,000 square meters of floor space, is set to house at least 20 new Jewish families. This will ease somewhat the housing crunch for Jews who wish to join the existing 500+ Jews who currently live in Hevron. The building is strategically located - on the eastern edge of Hevron, overlooking Kiryat Arba, and on the route along which Jews walk and drive daily from Kiryat Arba to the Machpelah Cave and the Jewish areas in Hevron. The Attorney General held a meeting regarding Peretz's desire to evacuate the buildings last night (Tuesday). Mazuz said that neither of the two reasons that would justify an immediate evacuation exist. For one thing, there is no security danger inherent in a Jewish presence there; the IDF is not against it, and in fact has had a position on the building's roof in the past years. In addition, the new Jewish residents cannot be termed squatters or infiltrators because the sale has not been shown to be illegal.
On the other hand, Mazuz told Peretz that if he wants to evacuate the building, he must implement a longer process that will allow the Jews who purchased it to appeal to the Supreme Court. This route involves the claim that every acquisition in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) must be approved in advance. It is widely agreed that this is a process that could easily take months, and the residents currently there are preparing either to remain for the long haul, or to make way for others who will. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) advised Peretz today to back down from his desire to evacuate the building.
For one thing, Ariel said on the Knesset Channel, it's not Peretz's decision to make, but rather the entire government's. [Interior Minister Roni Bar-On of Kadima made the same point in a different interview ed.] The Cabinet must discuss it and approve it, and I don't believe it will give its OK to Peretz's political needs. Peretz may soon find himself totally isolated and disgraced if he doesn't backtrack. Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) visited the building today, and expressed his support for the Jewish presence there.
Israel Threatened in North, South
by Hillel Fendel (INN) APR 11,07
Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Tzvika Fogel, in the clearest warning yet of his long-running series of such warnings, says that though Israel chooses to ignore it, war can be expected in Gaza by this summer - and possibly within a month. Fogel, a former chief of staff for the Southern Command, spoke this morning on Channel Ten television. He warned of two scenarios. One is that Israel will continue its ostrich-like stance until military/terrorist forces in Gaza surprise-attack Israel. A second alternative, if this does not happen by the summer, is that Israel will have no choice but to begin a full-scale offensive against the increasingly-strengthened Hamas-Fatah military capacity. Gen. Fogel noted, as he and others have done many times in the past, the wide-scale smuggling network into Gaza that has been developed since Israel quit Gaza during the Disengagement in 2005. During this period, the Palestinians have brought in anything they wanted through the tunnels they dug, he said, and Hamas has built up its army in this time in preparation for the conflict with Israel.Yet Israel does nothing, and would rather deal with prisoner exchanges and reinforcing communities.
The repeated PA declarations of insistence on the full right of return for millions of Arabs to Israel, together with PA war readiness, were also cited by Fogel as indications that war appears close.
He had strong criticism of official Israel: In the face of this Palestinian threat, Israel chooses to reinforce [its buildings], to close its eyes and hide it head in the sand... Ever since the ceasefire with Abu Mazen went into effect some four months ago, about 200 Kassam rockets have been fired from Gaza - almost two a day. Yet Israel does nothing, and would rather deal with prisoner exchanges and reinforcing communities.
Hizbullah, Too
On Israel's northern border, a high-ranking Hizbullah official says there is a possibility of war with Israel this summer. Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassam told The Guardian of London that the U.S. is pushing Israel towards a violent clash.
Dutch government favours new look treaty for the EU APR 11,07
11.04.2007 - 09:25 CET | By Honor Mahony and Helena Spongenberg
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The Dutch government has said the renewed talks on an EU treaty should focus on the current shortcomings in the system rather than aiming to become an overarching constitutional treaty.Speaking to MEPs on Tuesday (10 April), Europe minister Frans Timmermans said his government is not prepared to present to the Dutch electorate the same document it rejected in June 2005.We will simply not put to ratification a treaty that was rejected by a large majority of the Dutch population, he stated.But he said The Hague was willing to play a constructive role in the talks adding that the 27-member union needs a new set of rules for it to function properly.We cannot continue to function with 27 member states and with the agenda Europe has in front of it in the coming decade on the basis of the Nice treaty, he explained.
Mr Timmermans suggested that Europe should focus on the shortcomings of the current system - the Nice Treaty – and top up where it cannot answer the bloc's challenges such as on dealing with more member states, climate change, energy security and terrorism.What we are looking for is a new treaty amending existing treaties rather than a constitutional treaty replacing all former treaties, he stated.Many of the elements in the constitutional treaty can be extremely useful in this process, said Mr Timmermans pointing to the reformed decision-making system.The Europe minister also said the Charter of Fundamental Rights should just be referred to in one article rather than the whole document being included in the treaty and said that social aspects such as housing and healthcare should remain national policies.With Dutch voters sceptical about further EU enlargement – the issue is thought to have contributed to the EU constitution No votes both in The Netherlands and France - the minister also said expansion criteria should be included in any new treaty.
There is merit in defining very clearly the criteria applied to membership, and perhaps good merit in incorporating the criteria for membership into a new treaty.Speaking to EUobserver after the meeting, the minister said that it was too early to say whether there would be another Dutch referendum on a new treaty but indicated that any decision on the matter would depend on the size and the scope of
the document.
French contribution
Meanwhile, leading member of the French centre right UMP and head of the Europe committee in the national assembly, Pierre Lequiller, also appeared before the constitutional affairs committee.He presented a concrete outline for a new look treaty and how to revive it, with interest in views from France increasing by the day as 22 April presidential elections draws closer.Mr Lequiller favours a simplified treaty including the first part of the constitution - dealing with institutional reform - plus six articles from the rest of the treaty.The six articles concern the creation of an EU diplomatic service, qualified majority voting in foreign and security issues; updating the bloc' humanitarian tasks in security and defence; structured cooperation on defence issues; rules on drawing up the annual budget; and the procedure for reviewing the treaty.
Three additional protocols would then sum up the EU's policies where qualified majority voting is applied.This would reduce the treaty from its current 448 articles by over a third to 116 articles, said Mr Lequiller, but rejected that it would be a mini-treaty along the lines of what Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right front-runner in the French presidential elections has proposed.MEPs greeted the text with caution, with several pointing out that French citizens should be asked their opinion again in a referendum to avoid an enormous crisis of confidence.The EU constitution has been largely ratified by 18 member states but the shock rejection in mid 2005 by the two founding member states put the issue on political ice for well over a year.Renewed talks on the issue started again this year but have run into difficulty already with tough stances taken by Poland and the Czech Republic and political uncertainty in France and the UK.
Trade ministers of G-4 begin talks Thursday By IANS - Tuesday April 10
New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) Trade ministers of the G-4 group of countries - India, Brazil, the United States and the European Commission (EC) - are scheduled to meet here Thursday to review the progress of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
The Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been suspended in July 2006 due to a lack of consensus, largely on domestic support and market access in agriculture. It resumed in February this year. This will be the first formal meeting of the trade ministers of this grouping since the negotiations were resumed.
Ministers of the G-6 (G-4 plus Japan and Australia) will meet the same day. The ministers are expected to discuss areas of emerging convergence among the countries as well as steps to contribute to the multilateral process, so as to enable a successful conclusion of the Doha Round.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO
MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame
burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
YOU CAN BE SURE RUSSIA AND IRAN ARE BEHIND THE SCENES HELPING IRAQIS BUILD THE BOMBS AS WELL AS OTHER NATIONS MENTIONED ABOVE.
Iran may be helping Iraqis build bombs By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer APR 11,07
BAGHDAD - Iranian intelligence operatives have been training Iraqi fighters inside Iran on how to use and assemble deadly roadside bombs known as EFPs, the U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.
Commanders of a splinter group inside the Shiite Mahdi Army militia have told The Associated Press that there are as many as 4,000 members of their organization that were trained in Iran and that they have stockpiles of EFPs, a weapon that causes great uneasiness among U.S. forces here because they penetrate heavily armored vehicles.U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell would not say how many militia fighters had been trained in Iran but said that questioning of fighters captured as recently as this month confirmed many had been in Iranian training camps.We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them. We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees debriefs, Caldwell said at a weekly briefing.
EFP stands for explosively formed penetrator, deadly roadside bombs that hurl a fist-size lump of molten copper capable of piercing armor.In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. soldiers had been killed by EFPs.Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters.We also know that training still is being conducted in Iran for insurgent elements from Iraq. We know that as recent as last week from debriefing personnel, he said.The do receive training on how to assemble and employ EFPs, Caldwell said, adding that fighters also were trained in how to carry out complex attacks that used explosives followed by assaults with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.There has been training on
specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive also training on general tactics in terms of how to take and employ and work what we call a more complex kind of attack where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an explosion to small arms fire to being done in multiple places, he said.
The general would not say specifically which arm of the Iranian government was doing the training but called the trainers surrogates of Iran's intelligence agency. Caldwell opened the briefing by showing photographs of what he said were Iranian-made mortar rounds, RPG rounds and rockets that were found in Iraq.
Also Wednesday, Iraqi Cabinet ministers allied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to quit the government to protest the prime minister's lack of support for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.Such a pullout by the very bloc that put Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in office could collapse his already perilously weak government. The threat comes two months into a U.S. effort to pacify Baghdad in order to give al-Maliki's government room to function.Meanwhile, bodies lay scattered across two central Baghdad neighborhoods after a raging battle left 20 suspected insurgents and four Iraqi soldiers dead, and 16 U.S. soldiers wounded, witnesses and officials said.
The fighting Tuesday in Fadhil and Sheik Omar, two Sunni enclaves, was the most intense since a massive push to pacify the capital began two months ago.Al-Sadr's political committee issued a statement a day after al-Maliki rejected an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can, al-Maliki said on his four-day trip to Japan, where he signed loan agreements for redevelopment projects in Iraq. To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process, he said, adding that achievements on the ground would dictate how long American troops remain.
Al-Maliki spoke a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, on al-Sadr's orders, to protest the U.S. presence in their country. The rally marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad at the hands of American forces.
The Sadrist movement strongly rejects the statements of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in which he stood by the continued presence of occupation forces despite the will of the Iraqi people, said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. The Sadrist movement is studying the option of withdrawing from the Iraqi government — a government that has not fulfilled its promises to the people, it said. We are serious about withdrawing, it added. It would not be the first time the Sadrists, who hold six seats in the Cabinet, left al-Maliki's government. Al-Sadr's ministers and 30 legislators boycotted the government and parliament for nearly two months to protest a November meeting between al-Maliki and President Bush in Jordan. The statement expressed anger over the Baghdad security plan launched Feb. 14, calling it unfair. Iraqi and U.S. troops have been targeting members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been blamed for sectarian killings. Later in the day, the head of al-Sadr's bloc in parliament, Nassar al-Rubaie, said U.S. troops had taken over al-Sadr's office in the city of Diwaniyah, the scene of weekend clashes between U.S. and Iraqi troops and al-Sadr's militiamen.
We say that this matter is very dangerous and we put the blame on the Iraqi government for the American destruction of the country, he said. We have thought before that sovereignty in Iraq is incomplete, but now we say that sovereignty doesn't exist in Iraq, al-Rubaie said.
Caldwell said he has no information about the alleged takeover of the office. Iraqi soldiers held a security cordon around Fadhil, and residents hid frightened in their homes, a witness told the AP by telephone, on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
The Muslim Scholars Association, a Sunni group, issued a statement quoting witnesses as saying Tuesday's battle began after Iraqi troops entered a mosque and executed two young men in front of other worshippers. Ground forces used tear gas on civilians, it said. The association condemns this horrible crime carried out by occupiers and the government, the statement said. But the witness in Fadhil said the two men were executed in an outdoor vegetable market, not in the mosque. The Iraqi military was not immediately available to comment on the claim. The U.S. military said the battle began after American and Iraqi troops came under fire around 7 a.m. during a routine search operation. Helicopter gunships then swooped in, engaging insurgents with machine gun fire, the military said. Some Arab TV stations reported a U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify. Caldwell said four helicopters sustained minor damage but were able to return to base. He confirmed that one Apache gunship had dropped a missile pod as it left the area.
Caldwell said 13 of the 16 wounded Americans had returned to duty and that 20 suspected insurgents were killed and 30 wounded, he said. Associated Press writers Lauren Frayer and Hamid Ahmed contributed to this 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 = Wed Apr 11 15 AM EDT
APR 11,07
MAP 3.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.3 PHILIPPINE ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.4 TONGA
MAP 2.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.9 REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 KASHMIR-XINJIANG BORDER REGION
MAP 4.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 LOYALTY ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 NEW YORK
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 GULF OF ALASKA
APR 10,07
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 WESTERN TURKEY
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.2 NEAR THE COAST OF NICARAGUA
MAP 3.9 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 3.4 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO
MAP 3.0 NEVADA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 3.5 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO
MAP 5.2 GREECE
MAP 5.1 GREECE
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
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.
Spring storm hits Saskatchewan - Tuesday, April 10, 2007 - CBC News
Some Saskatchewan residents who put their parkas away a few weeks ago may be hauling them out again.Environment Canada issued weather warnings Tuesday across the southern edge of the province.It was balmy a few weeks ago, but it appears winter has returned to Saskatchewan.
(CBC) Meterorologist David Wray said the communities of Shaunavon, Maple Creek, Val Marie and Cypress Hills can expect 10 to 15 centimetres of snow over the next 24 hours.Temperatures will plummet from the mid-teens Celsius to near zero.Meanwhile, according to the Highways Department, snow, freezing temperatures and high winds are having an impact on drivers.The department said visibility is reduced because of driving snow in the southern parts of the province around Carlyle, Weyburn, Estevan, Moose Jaw and Assiniboia.
Fog and icy sections are also plaguing drivers in the area around Swift Current in the southwest. In east-central Saskatchewan, around Tisdale and Hudson Bay, the roads are icy and slippery.The icy blast may turn out to be winter's last gasp, however.Milder weather is expected by the weekend, with temperatures in the south expected to hit 12 C or higher.
Unsettled weather continues through weekend Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Wed Apr 11, 4:46 AM ET
Midwest
Snow is the big story in the Midwest today, particularly in the Upper Midwest where some fairly significant snows, especially for April, are expected in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Lower Michigan. Snow will also be possible in metro Chicago, with the greatest accumulations north and west of the city. Snow will be possible again on Thursday after the system passes, while a new storm system moves into the Central Plains. This next system brings rain and wind to the Central Plains on Friday, with snow moving into western Kansas and western Nebraska. Showers and thunderstorms will spread east into the Ohio Valley and into Lower Michigan on Saturday, while snow moves into the Middle and Upper Mississippi Valley. Skies clear in much of the Midwest on Sunday, with snow possible in Ohio and Michigan. Temperatures are expected to remain below average across the region through the weekend.
South
More spring-like weather is making a small comeback in the South today, with spring-like thunderstorms expected across much of the region today. A few storms could also reach severe limits over Alabama and Georgia later today. The main threat from the storms will be heavy rain, particularly over the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys during the day today, and reaching the Carolinas and Virginia tonight. More storms are also possible through the day today in Florida, with some locally heavy rain possible. Farther west in Texas, the story is the warmer temperatures after record cold over the weekend and a chilly start to the week. Tomorrow will be a relatively quiet weather day across the South, with above average temperatures expected across much of the region. However, Friday will see the beginning of another big change to the South's weather. Storms (with severe storms possible) will develop over the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley on Friday and spread eastward through the Southeast on Saturday. Showers and thunderstorms will still be possible on Sunday in the Carolinas and Florida, particularly in the morning, with much cooler temperatures making a comeback after the rains over the weekend.
West
Rain and snow will be making its way across a large portion of the West today. Rain will begin falling this morning along the Pacific Northwest and Northern California Coasts, and spread across the Intermountain West as the day progresses, with snow in the higher elevations. Rain and snow is also possible in the Plains of central and eastern Montana. Precipitation will reach the Rockies Front Range on Thursday. As the system pulls out into the Plains on Friday, snow will wrap around and fall over eastern Colorado (including Denver). Also on Friday, another storm system starts to move ashore in the Pacific Northwest that spreads rain and snow across the Interior West over the weekend. Temperatures will be below average today and tomorrow across the region, with temperatures warming to above average in the Rockies and Intermountain West on Friday through the weekend.
Northeast
The Northeast should enjoy a relatively quiet weather day today, but that will change overnight tonight in the Mid-Atlantic. Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware will start to see rain increase in intensity and coverage overnight tonight and move through the Megalopolis tomorrow. In the interior Northeast, rain will change to snow, with all snow possible in the higher elevations of the Adirondacks and Green Mountains. A winter storm watch is in effect for parts of Upstate New York and much of New England for Thursday. Some rain and snow showers will be possible in Northern New England on Friday, with the next chance of rain moving into the Mid-Atlantic on Saturday. By Sunday, a coastal low will bring a chance of heavy rain to the Megalopolis with a rain and snow possible in the interior Northeast. Temperatures in the Northeast will remain below seasonal averages through the weekend.
WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL
DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA,
MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.
The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
I DO NOT THINK NORTH KOREA WILL GIVE IN SO EASY BY THE SCRIPTURES ABOVE THE KINGS OF THE EAST THIS WILL INCLUDE NORTH KOREA MARCH IN THE FUTURE, THEY ARE JUST LEADING ON THE UN AND THE WORLD LIKE IRAN.
North Korea says ready to move on nuclear pledge By Jon Herskovitz APR 11,07
SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea says it will start moves to shut its nuclear reactor within a day of receiving millions of dollars blocked for 18 months in a Macau bank, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson told reporters on Wednesday. But Richardson, speaking in Seoul after a trip to the North, said it could be some 30 days before the reactor begins shutting down and that it would require an extraordinary effort to meet Saturday's deadline under a February deal with regional powers to actually start decommissioning the reactor.The North Korean government told us that with that (bank) issue resolved, ... (it) would move promptly, within a day, after receiving the funds, said Richardson, who during his visit had met Pyongyang's chief nuclear negotiator, Kim Kye-gwan.
And therefore within that day, (North Korea will) invite the IAEA to Pyongyang and inspectors to draw up the terms for shutting down the Yongbyon reactor.The return of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors, expelled in 2002, is part of the February 13 deal to give the impoverished state massive energy aid in return for ending its nuclear weapons program, starting with closure of the Yongbyon reactor its source of weapons-grade plutonium.In an offhanded way, a DPRK (North Korean) official mentioned that perhaps 30 additional days would be needed because of the current delay prompted by the blocked funds issue, Richardson said.In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States and other members of the six-party talks on North Korea would see where we are on Saturday, but declined to say whether Pyongyang would face any consequences for missing the deadline.
We would expect the North Koreans to act in such a way that they meet their obligations under the Feb 15 agreement, McCormack told reporters.The United States said on Tuesday Macau authorities had unblocked about $25 million of frozen North Korean funds at Banco Delta Asia (BDA) in the southern Chinese city.Richardson said he expected the bank to tell North Korea it could pick up its money later on Wednesday or early on Thursday, meaning Pyongyang would send an invitation to the
IAEA on Friday.
FROZEN SINCE 2005
The impoverished state has demanded that the funds, frozen in the Macau bank since 2005, be released first.Analysts doubted that missing Saturday's deadline would derail the disarmament deal.The deadline will be postponed to some time in the future, but I don't think there will be any kind of fundamental damage to the agreement, said Ruan Zongze, a senior fellow at the China Institute of International Studies.The New Mexico governor, who crossed into the South on Wednesday, had gone to North Korea earlier this week to collect the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed during the Korean War.The two Koreas are still technically at war because the truce which halted the 1950-53 conflict never led to a peace treaty.BDA officials in Macau declined to comment on whether the funds had been transferred or whether North Korea had been in contact.U.S. chief negotiator with North Korea, Christopher Hill, told reporters in Seoul he considered the bank issue resolved. We think now it is really an important time to get on with the ever-urgent task of denuclearization, and particularly get on with the implementation of the February agreement," he said. "So I would hope this would happen in a matter of days.
The apparent breakthrough came as several key players in the North Korea issue visited Seoul, including Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. China is the closest isolated North Korea has to an ally, but relations were strained after Pyongyang defied the international community last October with its first nuclear test. (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Seoul, Lindsay Beck in Beijing and James Pomfret in Macau, and Stuart Grudgings in Washington)
Palestinian minister seeks $1.3 billion in aid By Paul Taylor APR 11,07
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad told the European Union on Wednesday a new national unity government needed more than $1.3 billion in international aid this year to avert a devastating humanitarian crisis. He won a cautious endorsement from EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, who promised technical assistance to enable his ministry to receive aid once the Palestinian Authority meets key political conditions.We are looking for external support to bridge a gap of nearly 1 billion euros ($1.34 billion) for 2007, Fayyad told a joint news conference, stressing his government's commitment to respect all peace accords with Israel.Asked what would happen if aid was not forthcoming, he said: The consequences are far too grave, quite frankly.
Fayyad, a respected independent technocrat, was on the first visit to Brussels by a member of the new government after the EU boycotted the former Hamas-led administration due to the Islamic movement's refusal to recognize Israel or renounce violence.Ferrero-Waldner praised his personal commitment to peace but made clear the EU's engagement would be selective, gradual and dependent on the government's words and actions.I've made very clear that possible financial engagement would not mean resuming direct financial assistance overnight, she said, pledging that a temporary aid system created to bypass the Hamas-led government would remain for as long as necessary.The Finance Ministry will take time to meet international standards for absorbing aid, and the EU will also need time to come to a decision then on this political issue, she said.
SELECTIVE ENGAGEMENT
The EU, the Palestinians' biggest donor, increased aid from 500 million to 700 million euros last year, paying subsistence allowances to 150,000 families and keeping essential services going through the Temporary International Mechanism.Fayyad told Reuters he had inherited public finances in disrepair and the EU should keep that lifeline going and develop it until his ministry was able to receive foreign transfers, which would require the lifting of U.S. banking restrictions.Asked how long it would take before the ministry was ready to receive direct aid, he said: Insofar as setting up a system or re-establishing a central treasury is concerned, I think we are there now, but for the restrictions which make it not possible for us to receive international assistance.The Quartet of Middle East peace brokers the United States, Russia, the United Nations and the European Union suspended direct aid to the Palestinian Authority after Hamas formed a government last year.
While Fayyad presented the Palestinian Authority as a single team committed to the same platform, Ferrero-Waldner made clear the EU would work with non-Hamas members such Foreign Minister Ziad Abu Amr and Information Minister Mustafa Barghouthi. Fayyad said the Palestinian Authority was operating on a quarter of the funds it needs to provide essential services.
Even once a properly functioning finance ministry was restored, economic recovery would require the lifting of Israeli restrictions on trade, movement and access, tightened as part of a securitycrackdown on the Hamas government, he said.He met the EU's Middle East peace envoy, Marc Otte, and European Parliament leaders and was to travel on to Norway, which brokered a landmark 1993 Israeli-Palestinian peace deal.The parliamentary leaders said they respected Fayyad's integrity and told him it was vital the Palestinians build transparent financial management and avoid past errors. We want to be able to see, prove, check, where the money went. It's a special problem of the Palestinian Authority after the recent years, but it's also a general problem of the aid of the European Union, budget committee chairman Herbert Boesch told Reuters. (additional reporting by Ingrid Melander)
Attorney General Did Not Approve Hevron Evacuation
by Hillel Fendel (INN) APR 11,07
Contrary to reports issued this morning by Defense Minister Amir Peretz's office, it is now clear that Attorney General Menachem Mazuz has not approved the evacuation of Peace House in Hevron. It was similarly announced that Peretz had instructed the Coordinator of IDF Activities in Judea and Samaria, Maj.-Gen. Yosef Mishlav, to prepare for the evacuation. The Justice Ministry confirmed this afternoon that Mazuz had found no reason to order an immediate evacuation, but rather that the residents must be informed in advance of the intentions to evacuate them, and be allowed a hearing and a court appeal if necessary.It is not clear why Peretz's office released the mistaken information regarding Mazuz; Arutz-7 has submitted a query to the Defense Minister's office as to why this announcement was made, and on what basis Mishlav was given the above order.
In response, the Defense Minister's spokesman relayed a copy of the original announcement, which reads: Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Amir Peretz instructed [Gen. Mishlav] this evening [Tuesday] to evacuate the settlers who occupied the building in Hevron without a permit.
The orders come as a result of [or, following] the summation of a meeting and legal opinion that was received today [Tuesday] from Attorney General Mazuz on the matter. It should be emphasized that the evacuation order is being issued because populating the building was done without the legally required permit.As of late Wednesday afternoon, no evacuation orders had been ordered to the new residents.The Defense Minister's spokesman also relayed a transcript of Peretz's remarks today on Voice of Israel, in which the interviewer asked, I must tell you, Mr. Defense Minister, that I don't feel at ease. I hear that the Attorney General says that there is no reason at all - not in terms of security nor in terms of legal issues - to evacuate these people. I hear from the Interior Minister that you can't do it because you're not the government and you don't have the mandate to do it. And you're telling me totally different things.
Another reporter then interrupted and said, Could it be that the reason for the evacuation is political? Peretz responded, It is not at all connected with political considerations. There is a policy [regarding settlement]... It's not at all political, but rather a question of authority and the rule of law. Wherever the law must be enforced, I will do so in the legal ways at my disposal. I am acting according to the conclusions [that were reached]. The representatives of the Defense Ministry's legal counsel were also at the meeting, and also those of the Military Prosecution, and we are acting according to instructions that were concluded at the meeting led by the Attorney General.
History, Location, Size
The house in question was purchased by a Jewish group via a Jordanian businessman for $700,000. Though opponents of the deal say they question its legality, no substantial claim has been made that it is fraudulent. In fact, the PA has issued an arrest warrant for the Arabs who sold the building. The new Jewish residence, with some 4,000 square meters of floor space, is set to house at least 20 new Jewish families. This will ease somewhat the housing crunch for Jews who wish to join the existing 500+ Jews who currently live in Hevron. The building is strategically located - on the eastern edge of Hevron, overlooking Kiryat Arba, and on the route along which Jews walk and drive daily from Kiryat Arba to the Machpelah Cave and the Jewish areas in Hevron. The Attorney General held a meeting regarding Peretz's desire to evacuate the buildings last night (Tuesday). Mazuz said that neither of the two reasons that would justify an immediate evacuation exist. For one thing, there is no security danger inherent in a Jewish presence there; the IDF is not against it, and in fact has had a position on the building's roof in the past years. In addition, the new Jewish residents cannot be termed squatters or infiltrators because the sale has not been shown to be illegal.
On the other hand, Mazuz told Peretz that if he wants to evacuate the building, he must implement a longer process that will allow the Jews who purchased it to appeal to the Supreme Court. This route involves the claim that every acquisition in Yesha (Judea and Samaria) must be approved in advance. It is widely agreed that this is a process that could easily take months, and the residents currently there are preparing either to remain for the long haul, or to make way for others who will. MK Uri Ariel (National Union) advised Peretz today to back down from his desire to evacuate the building.
For one thing, Ariel said on the Knesset Channel, it's not Peretz's decision to make, but rather the entire government's. [Interior Minister Roni Bar-On of Kadima made the same point in a different interview ed.] The Cabinet must discuss it and approve it, and I don't believe it will give its OK to Peretz's political needs. Peretz may soon find himself totally isolated and disgraced if he doesn't backtrack. Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) visited the building today, and expressed his support for the Jewish presence there.
Israel Threatened in North, South
by Hillel Fendel (INN) APR 11,07
Brig.-Gen. (ret.) Tzvika Fogel, in the clearest warning yet of his long-running series of such warnings, says that though Israel chooses to ignore it, war can be expected in Gaza by this summer - and possibly within a month. Fogel, a former chief of staff for the Southern Command, spoke this morning on Channel Ten television. He warned of two scenarios. One is that Israel will continue its ostrich-like stance until military/terrorist forces in Gaza surprise-attack Israel. A second alternative, if this does not happen by the summer, is that Israel will have no choice but to begin a full-scale offensive against the increasingly-strengthened Hamas-Fatah military capacity. Gen. Fogel noted, as he and others have done many times in the past, the wide-scale smuggling network into Gaza that has been developed since Israel quit Gaza during the Disengagement in 2005. During this period, the Palestinians have brought in anything they wanted through the tunnels they dug, he said, and Hamas has built up its army in this time in preparation for the conflict with Israel.Yet Israel does nothing, and would rather deal with prisoner exchanges and reinforcing communities.
The repeated PA declarations of insistence on the full right of return for millions of Arabs to Israel, together with PA war readiness, were also cited by Fogel as indications that war appears close.
He had strong criticism of official Israel: In the face of this Palestinian threat, Israel chooses to reinforce [its buildings], to close its eyes and hide it head in the sand... Ever since the ceasefire with Abu Mazen went into effect some four months ago, about 200 Kassam rockets have been fired from Gaza - almost two a day. Yet Israel does nothing, and would rather deal with prisoner exchanges and reinforcing communities.
Hizbullah, Too
On Israel's northern border, a high-ranking Hizbullah official says there is a possibility of war with Israel this summer. Hizbullah's Deputy Secretary-General Naim Kassam told The Guardian of London that the U.S. is pushing Israel towards a violent clash.
Dutch government favours new look treaty for the EU APR 11,07
11.04.2007 - 09:25 CET | By Honor Mahony and Helena Spongenberg
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The Dutch government has said the renewed talks on an EU treaty should focus on the current shortcomings in the system rather than aiming to become an overarching constitutional treaty.Speaking to MEPs on Tuesday (10 April), Europe minister Frans Timmermans said his government is not prepared to present to the Dutch electorate the same document it rejected in June 2005.We will simply not put to ratification a treaty that was rejected by a large majority of the Dutch population, he stated.But he said The Hague was willing to play a constructive role in the talks adding that the 27-member union needs a new set of rules for it to function properly.We cannot continue to function with 27 member states and with the agenda Europe has in front of it in the coming decade on the basis of the Nice treaty, he explained.
Mr Timmermans suggested that Europe should focus on the shortcomings of the current system - the Nice Treaty – and top up where it cannot answer the bloc's challenges such as on dealing with more member states, climate change, energy security and terrorism.What we are looking for is a new treaty amending existing treaties rather than a constitutional treaty replacing all former treaties, he stated.Many of the elements in the constitutional treaty can be extremely useful in this process, said Mr Timmermans pointing to the reformed decision-making system.The Europe minister also said the Charter of Fundamental Rights should just be referred to in one article rather than the whole document being included in the treaty and said that social aspects such as housing and healthcare should remain national policies.With Dutch voters sceptical about further EU enlargement – the issue is thought to have contributed to the EU constitution No votes both in The Netherlands and France - the minister also said expansion criteria should be included in any new treaty.
There is merit in defining very clearly the criteria applied to membership, and perhaps good merit in incorporating the criteria for membership into a new treaty.Speaking to EUobserver after the meeting, the minister said that it was too early to say whether there would be another Dutch referendum on a new treaty but indicated that any decision on the matter would depend on the size and the scope of
the document.
French contribution
Meanwhile, leading member of the French centre right UMP and head of the Europe committee in the national assembly, Pierre Lequiller, also appeared before the constitutional affairs committee.He presented a concrete outline for a new look treaty and how to revive it, with interest in views from France increasing by the day as 22 April presidential elections draws closer.Mr Lequiller favours a simplified treaty including the first part of the constitution - dealing with institutional reform - plus six articles from the rest of the treaty.The six articles concern the creation of an EU diplomatic service, qualified majority voting in foreign and security issues; updating the bloc' humanitarian tasks in security and defence; structured cooperation on defence issues; rules on drawing up the annual budget; and the procedure for reviewing the treaty.
Three additional protocols would then sum up the EU's policies where qualified majority voting is applied.This would reduce the treaty from its current 448 articles by over a third to 116 articles, said Mr Lequiller, but rejected that it would be a mini-treaty along the lines of what Nicolas Sarkozy, the centre-right front-runner in the French presidential elections has proposed.MEPs greeted the text with caution, with several pointing out that French citizens should be asked their opinion again in a referendum to avoid an enormous crisis of confidence.The EU constitution has been largely ratified by 18 member states but the shock rejection in mid 2005 by the two founding member states put the issue on political ice for well over a year.Renewed talks on the issue started again this year but have run into difficulty already with tough stances taken by Poland and the Czech Republic and political uncertainty in France and the UK.
Trade ministers of G-4 begin talks Thursday By IANS - Tuesday April 10
New Delhi, April 10 (IANS) Trade ministers of the G-4 group of countries - India, Brazil, the United States and the European Commission (EC) - are scheduled to meet here Thursday to review the progress of the Doha Round of multilateral trade negotiations.
The Doha Round of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been suspended in July 2006 due to a lack of consensus, largely on domestic support and market access in agriculture. It resumed in February this year. This will be the first formal meeting of the trade ministers of this grouping since the negotiations were resumed.
Ministers of the G-6 (G-4 plus Japan and Australia) will meet the same day. The ministers are expected to discuss areas of emerging convergence among the countries as well as steps to contribute to the multilateral process, so as to enable a successful conclusion of the Doha Round.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO
MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame
burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
YOU CAN BE SURE RUSSIA AND IRAN ARE BEHIND THE SCENES HELPING IRAQIS BUILD THE BOMBS AS WELL AS OTHER NATIONS MENTIONED ABOVE.
Iran may be helping Iraqis build bombs By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA, Associated Press Writer APR 11,07
BAGHDAD - Iranian intelligence operatives have been training Iraqi fighters inside Iran on how to use and assemble deadly roadside bombs known as EFPs, the U.S. military spokesman said Wednesday.
Commanders of a splinter group inside the Shiite Mahdi Army militia have told The Associated Press that there are as many as 4,000 members of their organization that were trained in Iran and that they have stockpiles of EFPs, a weapon that causes great uneasiness among U.S. forces here because they penetrate heavily armored vehicles.U.S. military spokesman Maj. Gen. William Caldwell would not say how many militia fighters had been trained in Iran but said that questioning of fighters captured as recently as this month confirmed many had been in Iranian training camps.We know that they are being in fact manufactured and smuggled into this country, and we know that training does go on in Iran for people to learn how to assemble them and how to employ them. We know that training has gone on as recently as this past month from detainees debriefs, Caldwell said at a weekly briefing.
EFP stands for explosively formed penetrator, deadly roadside bombs that hurl a fist-size lump of molten copper capable of piercing armor.In January, U.S. officials said at least 170 U.S. soldiers had been killed by EFPs.Caldwell also said the U.S. military had evidence that Iranian intelligence agents were active in Iraq in funding, training and arming Shiite militia fighters.We also know that training still is being conducted in Iran for insurgent elements from Iraq. We know that as recent as last week from debriefing personnel, he said.The do receive training on how to assemble and employ EFPs, Caldwell said, adding that fighters also were trained in how to carry out complex attacks that used explosives followed by assaults with rocket-propelled grenades and small arms.There has been training on
specialized weapons that are used here in Iraq. And then we do know they receive also training on general tactics in terms of how to take and employ and work what we call a more complex kind of attack where we see multiple types of engagements being used from an explosion to small arms fire to being done in multiple places, he said.
The general would not say specifically which arm of the Iranian government was doing the training but called the trainers surrogates of Iran's intelligence agency. Caldwell opened the briefing by showing photographs of what he said were Iranian-made mortar rounds, RPG rounds and rockets that were found in Iraq.
Also Wednesday, Iraqi Cabinet ministers allied to radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to quit the government to protest the prime minister's lack of support for a timetable for U.S. withdrawal.Such a pullout by the very bloc that put Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in office could collapse his already perilously weak government. The threat comes two months into a U.S. effort to pacify Baghdad in order to give al-Maliki's government room to function.Meanwhile, bodies lay scattered across two central Baghdad neighborhoods after a raging battle left 20 suspected insurgents and four Iraqi soldiers dead, and 16 U.S. soldiers wounded, witnesses and officials said.
The fighting Tuesday in Fadhil and Sheik Omar, two Sunni enclaves, was the most intense since a massive push to pacify the capital began two months ago.Al-Sadr's political committee issued a statement a day after al-Maliki rejected an immediate U.S. troop withdrawal.We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can, al-Maliki said on his four-day trip to Japan, where he signed loan agreements for redevelopment projects in Iraq. To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process, he said, adding that achievements on the ground would dictate how long American troops remain.
Al-Maliki spoke a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, on al-Sadr's orders, to protest the U.S. presence in their country. The rally marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad at the hands of American forces.
The Sadrist movement strongly rejects the statements of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, in which he stood by the continued presence of occupation forces despite the will of the Iraqi people, said the statement, a copy of which was obtained by the AP. The Sadrist movement is studying the option of withdrawing from the Iraqi government — a government that has not fulfilled its promises to the people, it said. We are serious about withdrawing, it added. It would not be the first time the Sadrists, who hold six seats in the Cabinet, left al-Maliki's government. Al-Sadr's ministers and 30 legislators boycotted the government and parliament for nearly two months to protest a November meeting between al-Maliki and President Bush in Jordan. The statement expressed anger over the Baghdad security plan launched Feb. 14, calling it unfair. Iraqi and U.S. troops have been targeting members of al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia, which has been blamed for sectarian killings. Later in the day, the head of al-Sadr's bloc in parliament, Nassar al-Rubaie, said U.S. troops had taken over al-Sadr's office in the city of Diwaniyah, the scene of weekend clashes between U.S. and Iraqi troops and al-Sadr's militiamen.
We say that this matter is very dangerous and we put the blame on the Iraqi government for the American destruction of the country, he said. We have thought before that sovereignty in Iraq is incomplete, but now we say that sovereignty doesn't exist in Iraq, al-Rubaie said.
Caldwell said he has no information about the alleged takeover of the office. Iraqi soldiers held a security cordon around Fadhil, and residents hid frightened in their homes, a witness told the AP by telephone, on condition of anonymity out of fear for his safety.
The Muslim Scholars Association, a Sunni group, issued a statement quoting witnesses as saying Tuesday's battle began after Iraqi troops entered a mosque and executed two young men in front of other worshippers. Ground forces used tear gas on civilians, it said. The association condemns this horrible crime carried out by occupiers and the government, the statement said. But the witness in Fadhil said the two men were executed in an outdoor vegetable market, not in the mosque. The Iraqi military was not immediately available to comment on the claim. The U.S. military said the battle began after American and Iraqi troops came under fire around 7 a.m. during a routine search operation. Helicopter gunships then swooped in, engaging insurgents with machine gun fire, the military said. Some Arab TV stations reported a U.S. helicopter was shot down in the fight, and showed video of a charred piece of mechanical wreckage that was impossible to identify. Caldwell said four helicopters sustained minor damage but were able to return to base. He confirmed that one Apache gunship had dropped a missile pod as it left the area.
Caldwell said 13 of the 16 wounded Americans had returned to duty and that 20 suspected insurgents were killed and 30 wounded, he said. Associated Press writers Lauren Frayer and Hamid Ahmed contributed to this report.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
TEXT POPE EASTER MESSAGE
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Snowy across the North; South temps moderate. 3-Eastern Canada digs out from late winter storm. 4-16 killed by female bomber in Iraq. 5-19 Palestinians arrested in bombing plot 6-Ancient pharaoh's hair returns to Egypt. 8-Hamas Prisoner Swap List is Who's Who of Terror 9-Christian hate sites blasted by Hindus. 10-Text of Pope Benedict's Easter speech.
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 Apr 10 11:00 AM EDT
APR 10,07
MAP 5.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 3.4 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 NEVADA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 3.5 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.2 GREECE
MAP 5.1 GREECE
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
APR 09,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.4 WESTERN XIZANG
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.6 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 FIJI REGION
MAP 5.4 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
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.
Snowy across the North; South temps moderate Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Tue Apr 10, 5:17 AM ET
South
The South's temperatures are finally rising, after a weekend of record-setting cold across the region. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible across much of the region today and tonight: the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast today, and into the Southeast and the Florida Peninsula tonight. Temperatures also will not be as cold, with above average highs returning to Texas and near average temperatures over the Florida Peninsula, while the remainder of the region stays below average. More rain is possible over the Southeast on Wednesday, reaching the Southeast Coast on Thursday. Temperatures WILL go back above average across much of the region on Wednesday (except in the Tennessee Valley to the Carolinas) and Thursday (region-wide), before some cooler air returns to West Texas on Friday and spreading across the region over the weekend. More rain and thunderstorms will affect the region Friday through the weekend.
Midwest
Cold continues its grip on the Midwest today. Snow also will become an issue today over the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with some significant accumulations possible over the Dakotas eastward through Minnesota to Wisconsin. Snow advisories are in effect over the Dakotas and southwestern Minnesota, with a winter storm watch for much of rest of Minnesota and most of Wisconsin. Snow will move eastward tonight into Wednesday, reaching the Great Lakes by Wednesday afternoon. The next storm system begins to affect the Central Plains on Thursday into Friday, with a chance of rain and snow in Kansas and Nebraska. Rain and wind picks up in the Mississippi Valley on Friday, with some thunderstorms possible as well. Rain and storms push eastward with this system on Saturday, moving up the Ohio Valley; some snow will be possible in the cold air behind the cold front. On Sunday, snow will be possible near the Great Lakes once again. Afternoon highs should stay below average across the region through the weekend, with some moderation in the southern half of Missouri and along the Ohio River. Temperatures in the Northern Plains are expected to be above average on Sunday.
West
Showers will again fall across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies today, with more rain and snow possible in the Central Rockies. The Southwest continues to be dry, and winds will complicate matters today by increasing the fire danger today. Tomorrow, a new storm system moves onshore in Northern California and southern Oregon and spread rain and snow across the West from the California Coast to the Rockies Front Range. Rain will move south into Southern California by Thursday morning, bringing a slight chance of rain to the Los Angeles area. Rain and snow will also be possible over the Intermountain West, before moving into the Central Rockies and Plains on Friday. Friday evening, another system will be moving ashore in the Pacific Northwest, bringing a chance of rain (and mountain snow) across the West over the weekend. Afternoon highs will remain above average near the Mexican border today and Wednesday, with the entire region being near or below average Thursday. High temperatures will warm to slightly above average in the Rockies on Friday through the weekend.
Northeast
Scattered flurries and light snow showers are possible in the interior Northeast today, with cool temperatures expected once again. Rain and snow moves into western New York and western Pennsylvania on Wednesday, with rain moving into the Megalopolis. Rain and snow will be possible again across the region on Thursday. More rain moves into the region over the weekend. High temperatures are expected to remain below average through the weekend.
Eastern Canada digs out from late winter storm Mon Apr 9, 7:32 PM ET
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Easter weekend looked more like Christmas in parts of Canada as the Atlantic provinces dug themselves out of a weekend storm and Eastern Canada shivered. Environment Canada, the national weather service, issued snowfall and wind warnings for Newfoundland and Labrador and wind warnings for the Western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the Arctic territory of Nunavut.The storm in Atlantic Canada, which began on Saturday, battered New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with winds up to 70 kilometers per hour (48 miles per hour) and as much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow.
Hundreds of travelers were stranded on Sunday when flights were delayed at Halifax Airport, the region's largest, and power outages were reported throughout Nova Scotia.We're getting strong winds from the North, bringing down that cold polar air, said Danny Harvey, a geography professor at the University of Toronto.Temperatures in Quebec and Ontario were around 0C (32F), which is close to the average minimum temperatures, but that's down steeply from balmy spring days last month.
Environment Canada says this winter has been 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, and was the second-warmest winter since national records began in 1948.
16 killed by female bomber in Iraq By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer APR 10,07
BAGHDAD - A woman with explosives hidden beneath her black abaya detonated them Tuesday in a crowd of about 200 police recruits northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 16 people, police and hospital officials said. The woman walked into the crowd at the main gate of the Muqdadiyah police station and blew herself up, according to a police officer at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.At least 16 people were killed and 33 wounded in the mostly Sunni Muslim city about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Dr. Abdul Salam al-Jibour at Muqdadiyah General Hospital.Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi army forces were engaged in fierce fighting with gunmen in two Sunni-dominated neighborhoods of the capital, Fadhil and Sheik Omar, police and witnesses said.
An American helicopter in the battle came under ground fire but was not shot down, a senior U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because U.S. officials were still investigating.Police said six people, including an Iraqi soldier, were killed and 21 wounded. Repeated artillery fire rang out across Baghdad at midday, but the target was unclear.A parked car bomb exploded at a checkpoint near Baghdad University, killing at least six people and wounding 11, police said. The bomb was packed into a yellow taxi cab near campus, and all of those hurt were civilians, police said.A Katyusha rocket hit a basketball court at a boys school in eastern Baghdad, killing a 6-year-old boy and wounding 17 others 15 students and two teachers, police said.The U.S. military announced the deaths Monday of four U.S. soldiers three killed by a roadside bomb and a secondary explosion in southeastern Baghdad and another killed in combat in western Anbar province.The unit with the three dead soldiers had been conducting raids against militants in the area, and had recently captured five suspects, it said.
The fourth soldier was killed during combat operations in Iraq's western Anbar province, another statement said.At least 3,285 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, on a four-day trip to Japan, said there was no need to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from his country.We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can, al-Maliki said. To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process.What counts, he added, are achievements on the ground.His comments came a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, demanding that U.S. forces leave the country. The massive rally, called for by rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
Al-Sadr, who remains in seclusion and did not attend, ordered up the march as a show of strength not only to Washington but to Iraq's establishment Shiite ayatollahs as well.He issued a statement Sunday urging his Mahdi Army militia to redouble efforts to expel U.S. forces and for the police and army to join the struggle against your archenemy.While he was in Japan, al-Maliki's office issued a statement saying he would travel to Egypt on April 20 for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. It would be al-Maliki's first visit to Egypt the Arab world's most populous nation. Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said it captured more than 150 suspected insurgents in a nearly two-week operation north of Baghdad. Rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, automatic machine guns, sniper rifles and anti-tank mines were also seized, it said.
19 Palestinians arrested in bombing plot APR 10,07
JERUSALEM - Israeli authorities on Tuesday said they have arrested 19 Palestinian militants for planning to set off a huge car bomb in Tel Aviv over the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspects are all were Hamas members from the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, the Shin Bet security agency said in a statement.The agency said the arrests took place in late March, but details were only cleared for publication on Tuesday, the day after the weeklong holiday ended.Hamas officials in Qalqiliya denied the account and said they were not involved in any plot.Shin Bet said a Palestinian man who apparently intended to blow himself up drove a car packed with 220 pounds of explosives into the Tel Aviv area, then, for reasons not yet clear, returned to Qalqiliya where the car later exploded through a technical malfunction. No one was hurt.
The would-be bomber was able to enter Israel unhindered because he has an Israeli Arab stepmother and holds an Israeli identity card, Shin Bet said. It said the car had Israeli license plates.The Israeli daily Haaretz said the plot was ordered by Hamas renegades in the Gaza Strip who are displeased with the movement's November cease-fire with Israel and its acceptance of the more moderate Fatah movement into a coalition government.Hamas, the senior member in the new Palestinian government, continues to pursue a terror-laden agenda and refuses to abandon the terror option. The Palestinian government is one to be shunned until it forsakes terror and recognizes Israel, said David Baker, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office.Palestinian police officials in the town said the 19 suspects weren't connected to any bombing. They said the militants were rounded up at a Hamas ceremony marking the third anniversary of the Israeli assassination of the group's founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin.Police said the car held less than 2 pounds of explosives and that it was unlikely Hamas was connected because the bomb was so small. However, they said it remained unclear why the car was carrying explosives.
THIS IS THE VERY PHARAOH THAT GOD DONE THE 10 PLAGUES AGAINST IN THE BIBLE. RAMSES THE SECOND.
Ancient pharaoh's hair returns to Egypt By SETARREH MASSIHZADEGAN, Associated Press Writer APR 10,07
CAIRO, Egypt - Locks of 3,200-year-old hair from the pharaoh Ramses II were unveiled at the Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, returned to Egypt after being stolen 30 years ago in France and put up for sale on the Internet. The small tufts of brown hair were displayed alongside pieces of linen bandages and 11 pieces of resin used in the mummification of Ramses and his son Merneptah in a glass display case. Photographers mobbed the case as Egypt's culture minister and antiquities chief showed off the returned items.The hair will eventually be put on display next to Ramses' mummy at the museum.
The theft of the items was discovered when the pieces of hair were put up for sale on a Web site last November by a French postman, Jean-Michel Diebolt, who gave the hair a price tag of $2,600.Diebolt is the son of a French researcher who examined the 3,200-year-old mummy when it was brought to France in 1976 for treatment to stop the spread of a rare fungus. Diebolt is being investigated in France for allegedly possessing stolen goods.Egyptian antiquities official Ahmed Saleh traveled to Paris early last week to retrieve the stolen items.It was wonderful mission. I felt very great when I had the lock of hair of Ramses II in my hand, said Saleh.Ramses II, who ruled from 1270 to 1213 B.C., is one of ancient Egypt's most famous pharaohs, known for building some of its grandest monuments. Some believe him to be the pharaoh at the time of Moses.
Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, said the retrieval of the items was made possible by the strong diplomatic relations between Egypt and France.Hawass, who has pressed several countries for the return of Egyptian antiquities, said the Internet is playing an important role in the search for other stolen relics.We open the Internet everyday, and the most important source you have are my spies, Hawass said. I have spies all over the world, and those spies, they inform me every day of things you would not believe.Hawass has sought — without success — the return of such finds as the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the bust of Nefertiti at Berlin's Egyptian Museum and a pharaonic mask at the St. Louis Art Museum.But he said Egypt is awaiting the arrival of a statue coming from Spain, another artifact from Mexico and duck-shaped lamps that were stolen from Saqqara and will be retrieved from Paris.If Egypt has its way, more artifacts will follow. Saleh added: When one country gives you back your artifact, other countries will do the same.
Hamas Prisoner Swap List is Who's Who of Terror
by Gil Ronen APR 10,07 (INN)
The list of 45 terrorists the Hamas is demanding be freed in return for kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Shalit reads like a Who's Who of terror, and includes men responsible for intentionally murdering scores of Israeli men, women, children and babies and wounding hundreds of others. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will convene a meeting this evening, the first of its kind, to deal with the Hamas demands. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Shabak chief Yuval Diskin, and Ofer Dekel, who oversees the terrorist-release issue, will take part.The most prominient name on the list of terrorists whose release is demanded is that of Hamas super-terrorist Abdullah Barghouti, who is serving 67 life sentences for the murder of dozens of Israelis and for his part in numerous suicide bombings. He was implicated in the Sbarro horror of August 2001, the triple suicide attack in Ben Yehuda Street in December 2001, the Café Moment atrocity and the Hebrew University attack of June 2002.
Also on the list is Hassan Salameh, who is serving numerous life sentences for the murder of dozens of Israelis. He is the man behind a wave of suicide bombings in 1995 and 1996 that followed the assassination of terror engineer Yihya Ayash. Salameh headed the cell that carried out two suicide attacks on number 18 buses in Jerusalem and at a hitchhiking station in Ashkelon Junction in February 1996. These attacks alone took 46 Israeli lives. The list of those whose release Hamas demands also includes the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Saadat, who ordered the 2001 assassination of cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi, and leading Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced to five life sentences for his involvement in terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Additional names include Fuad Shubaki, the Yasser Arafat aide who was responsible for financing the Karine A arms-smuggling ship which was intercepted by Israel; Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a member of the Palestinian Authority parliament; Sheikh Abd al-Halk al-Natsha, from Hamas' political leadership; Rouhi Mashaha, one of the founders of Hamas terror network, who has been imprisoned for over 20 years; Nail Barghouti, responsible for bombings carried out in 2002, and Bassam A-Sa'adi, a top Islamic Jihad leader.
Christian hate sites blasted by Hindus
Southern Baptists, Gospel for Asia, CBN targeted in published report
April 10, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - By Bob Unruh - WorldNetDaily.com
A new report published by a Hindu foundation is blasting Christian organizations across the nation, including the Southern Baptists' missions board, Gospel for Asia and the Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries, which aims its ministry at teaching Christians about their beliefs, for having Internet hate sites.The proliferation of websites promoting religious hatred is an unfortunate consequence of the universality of access to the internet, said Vinay Vallabh, the lead author of the report by the Hindu American Foundation. We must vigorously identify, condemn and counter those who use the Internet to espouse chauvinism and bigotry over the principles of pluralism and tolerance, he said.
Jan Markell, who has been with the Olive Tree Ministries since 1977, has written eight books and hundreds of articles about Christians and their beliefs, at first wondered why she would be listed among ministries hated by a Hindu organization. Then she remembered a series of articles warning Christians against participating in yoga, a Hindu form of worship. I'm big on it [opposing yoga for Christians], she told WND. I talk about it on the radio, and I write about it. And the irony of it all is, like Hindus, we don't want Christians practicing yoga either. Hindus are saying basically, Wait, this is our thing, this is not for you [Christians], Markell told WND. The Hindus get it more right than the Christians on this issue.She said her work involves teaching Christians and encouraging their discernment. There are [many] different issues that Christians are falling for. They have no excuse except they have no discernment, she said. [With Christian yoga], they are trying to sanctify divination. There's no such thing.When Christians invite it [yoga] into their life, they don't seem to know they're inviting in Hinduism, she said. We alert people to those dangers.
Olive Tree Ministries wants you to see how you fit into His grand plan of things as the end of the age draws near, the ministry says. We won't be sensational. We will, however, look to the Bible as our guide. We call on solid, dispensational teachers to speak into this ministry, who minister in a balanced way, just as we strive to do. We find it grievous that the attitude today is that when Jesus and the end-times come, they will come, but in the meantime, I have to live my life in the real world. Bible prophecy is for living in the real world right now.Her site, along with Bible Study Lessons from Antioch, Ill., The Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Answers of Gilbert, Ariz., Mission Frontiers of Pasadena, Calif., and many others, however, were identified by the Hindu foundation as Internet hate sources. This is the first of what the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) hopes will be an annual report on anti-Hindu hatred found on the Internet, said the report, which was from a group that provides a voice for the 2 million strong Hindu American community.
Hate is an ugly thing, and its ugliness is well illustrated in its various manifestations on the Internet, including those detailed in this report, wrote Jeffery Long, of Elizabethtown College, in the forward.
The Internet, this tool of knowledge and communications, is regularly abused, becoming a vehicle for the worst human impulses, as reflected in the pervasiveness of pornographic websites and websites devoted to fomenting hatred and violence against particular religious and ethnic groups, he wrote. Many of the websites described in this report claim to speak from religious perspectives. But is the greatness of traditions like Christianity or Islam served by denigrating Hinduism or spreading false information about it? This report is a wake-up call to all Americans to work for a society in which all religions are respected, and in which the practitioners of all religions can feel safe and included.The report, called Hyperlink to Hinduphobia: Online Hatred, Extremism and Bigotry Against Hindus, describes how demonic and satanic are the terms most commonly used today to describe Hinduism by numerous anti-Hindu websites easily accessible on the Internet.
As we all know, murderous rampages have been inspired by anti-Semitic and racist websites, said Long. And it is not necessary for a website to exhort its readers to actual, physical violence for it to lead to such violence.It is our hope that this report will encourage ISP's to voluntarily restrict sites that wantonly promote hatred and intolerance towards Hindus and Hinduism or any other religion – a necessary step as we continue our balancing act between free speech and licentious speech that leads to violence in the electronic age, said Vallabh. Attacks on Hindus and their institutions are a daily reality in countries such as Bangladesh, said the report. Last year, even within the United States, a newly completed Hindu temple in Minnesota was desecrated by vandals that went on to destroy deities within the inner sanctum. The hate sites reflected in this report inspire and justify such violence.It advocated blocking content on the Internet judged to be hate speech. Effective solutions require … the cooperation of hosting providers … [who] are companies that maintain and run Web servers which rent space for websites. They may be required to check disturbing content and either remove it or make it inaccessible, the report said.
The report was being distributed to members of Congress, non-governmental organizations, journalists, Hindu leaders and others, and was available for purchase from the organization. A WND reader said it appeared to be nothing more than an attempt to blacklist and ban popular Christian sites as hate sites.The Hindu American Foundation earlier sued the California State Board of Education because it viewed its procedures used to adopt school textbooks as unfair. It demanded that experts have expertise in the specific subject area and be screened for potential conflicts of interest.It also last year condemned remarks made by U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., when she told the Florida State Baptist Convention that, If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin.America is a pluralistic, tolerant society, one in which Ms. Harris's remarks clearly are out of the mainstream, the organization said.
Text of Pope Benedict's Easter speech By The Associated Press
Sun Apr 8, 4:54 PM ET
The Vatican's official English-language translation of Pope Benedict XVI's Urbi et Orbi Easter Day address, delivered in Italian from the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica.
Dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world,
Men and women of good will!
Christ is risen! Peace to you! Today we celebrate the great mystery, the foundation of Christian faith and hope: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, has risen from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We listen today with renewed emotion to the announcement proclaimed by the angels on the dawn of the first day after the Sabbath, to Mary of Magdala and to the women at the sepulcher: Why do you search among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, he is risen! (Luke 24:5-6)
It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of these women at that moment: feelings of sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true. But the tomb was open and empty: the body was no longer there. Peter and John, having been informed of this by the women, ran to the sepulcher and found that they were right. The faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross. At his arrest, his condemnation and death, they were dispersed. Now they are together again, perplexed and bewildered. But the Risen One himself comes in response to their thirst for greater certainty. This encounter was not a dream or an illusion or a subjective imagination; it was a real experience, even if unexpected, and all the more striking for that reason. "Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you! (John 20:19)
At these words their faith, which was almost spent within them, was rekindled. The Apostles told Thomas who had been absent from that first extraordinary encounter: Yes, the Lord has fulfilled all that he foretold; he is truly risen and we have seen and touched him! Thomas however remained doubtful and perplexed. When Jesus came for a second time, eight days later in the Upper Room, he said to him: Put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing! The Apostles response is a moving profession of faith: My Lord and my God! (John 20:27-28)
My Lord and my God! We too renew that profession of faith of Thomas. I have chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because humanity today expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ; it needs to encounter him and to know him as true God and true man. If we can recognize in this Apostle the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for us. This faith, handed down through the centuries by the successors of the Apostles, continues on because the Risen Lord dies no more. He lives in the Church and guides it firmly toward the fulfillment of his eternal design of salvation.
We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting him risen. His faith was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.
By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24). This is the message Peter addressed to the early converts. Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas' faith, being a sign of Jesus apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: My Lord and my God! Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith.
How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking. My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world. I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence, which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons. I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa. In Darfur and in the neighboring countries there is a catastrophic, and sadly to say underestimated, humanitarian situation. In Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the violence and looting of the past weeks raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of the country. In Somalia the renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms. Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the Bishops of that country in a recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward.
Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere, too, peace is sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability; in the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the paralysis of the country's political institutions threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy. Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression of my spiritual closeness.
Dear brothers and sisters, through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope. In fact, by his rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace. He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love. He has left us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. Even as I have loved you he said to his disciples before his death so you must also love one another (cf. John 13:34).
Brothers and sisters in faith, who are listening to me from every part of the world, Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future. As we say with Thomas: My Lord and my God! May we hear again in our hearts the beautiful yet demanding words of the Lord: If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him (John 12:26). United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers (cf. 1 John 3:16), let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that do not fear pain, the joy of the Resurrection. May Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift. Happy Easter to you all.Vatican Publishing House
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 Apr 10 11:00 AM EDT
APR 10,07
MAP 5.5 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 3.4 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 NEVADA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 3.5 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.2 GREECE
MAP 5.1 GREECE
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 GREECE
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
APR 09,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.4 WESTERN XIZANG
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.6 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 AZORES ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 FIJI REGION
MAP 5.4 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
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.
Snowy across the North; South temps moderate Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Tue Apr 10, 5:17 AM ET
South
The South's temperatures are finally rising, after a weekend of record-setting cold across the region. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible across much of the region today and tonight: the Southern Plains and Gulf Coast today, and into the Southeast and the Florida Peninsula tonight. Temperatures also will not be as cold, with above average highs returning to Texas and near average temperatures over the Florida Peninsula, while the remainder of the region stays below average. More rain is possible over the Southeast on Wednesday, reaching the Southeast Coast on Thursday. Temperatures WILL go back above average across much of the region on Wednesday (except in the Tennessee Valley to the Carolinas) and Thursday (region-wide), before some cooler air returns to West Texas on Friday and spreading across the region over the weekend. More rain and thunderstorms will affect the region Friday through the weekend.
Midwest
Cold continues its grip on the Midwest today. Snow also will become an issue today over the Northern Plains and Upper Midwest, with some significant accumulations possible over the Dakotas eastward through Minnesota to Wisconsin. Snow advisories are in effect over the Dakotas and southwestern Minnesota, with a winter storm watch for much of rest of Minnesota and most of Wisconsin. Snow will move eastward tonight into Wednesday, reaching the Great Lakes by Wednesday afternoon. The next storm system begins to affect the Central Plains on Thursday into Friday, with a chance of rain and snow in Kansas and Nebraska. Rain and wind picks up in the Mississippi Valley on Friday, with some thunderstorms possible as well. Rain and storms push eastward with this system on Saturday, moving up the Ohio Valley; some snow will be possible in the cold air behind the cold front. On Sunday, snow will be possible near the Great Lakes once again. Afternoon highs should stay below average across the region through the weekend, with some moderation in the southern half of Missouri and along the Ohio River. Temperatures in the Northern Plains are expected to be above average on Sunday.
West
Showers will again fall across the Pacific Northwest and Northern Rockies today, with more rain and snow possible in the Central Rockies. The Southwest continues to be dry, and winds will complicate matters today by increasing the fire danger today. Tomorrow, a new storm system moves onshore in Northern California and southern Oregon and spread rain and snow across the West from the California Coast to the Rockies Front Range. Rain will move south into Southern California by Thursday morning, bringing a slight chance of rain to the Los Angeles area. Rain and snow will also be possible over the Intermountain West, before moving into the Central Rockies and Plains on Friday. Friday evening, another system will be moving ashore in the Pacific Northwest, bringing a chance of rain (and mountain snow) across the West over the weekend. Afternoon highs will remain above average near the Mexican border today and Wednesday, with the entire region being near or below average Thursday. High temperatures will warm to slightly above average in the Rockies on Friday through the weekend.
Northeast
Scattered flurries and light snow showers are possible in the interior Northeast today, with cool temperatures expected once again. Rain and snow moves into western New York and western Pennsylvania on Wednesday, with rain moving into the Megalopolis. Rain and snow will be possible again across the region on Thursday. More rain moves into the region over the weekend. High temperatures are expected to remain below average through the weekend.
Eastern Canada digs out from late winter storm Mon Apr 9, 7:32 PM ET
TORONTO (Reuters) - The Easter weekend looked more like Christmas in parts of Canada as the Atlantic provinces dug themselves out of a weekend storm and Eastern Canada shivered. Environment Canada, the national weather service, issued snowfall and wind warnings for Newfoundland and Labrador and wind warnings for the Western provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan, as well as the Arctic territory of Nunavut.The storm in Atlantic Canada, which began on Saturday, battered New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island with winds up to 70 kilometers per hour (48 miles per hour) and as much as 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow.
Hundreds of travelers were stranded on Sunday when flights were delayed at Halifax Airport, the region's largest, and power outages were reported throughout Nova Scotia.We're getting strong winds from the North, bringing down that cold polar air, said Danny Harvey, a geography professor at the University of Toronto.Temperatures in Quebec and Ontario were around 0C (32F), which is close to the average minimum temperatures, but that's down steeply from balmy spring days last month.
Environment Canada says this winter has been 3 degrees Celsius (5 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than normal, and was the second-warmest winter since national records began in 1948.
16 killed by female bomber in Iraq By SINAN SALAHEDDIN, Associated Press Writer APR 10,07
BAGHDAD - A woman with explosives hidden beneath her black abaya detonated them Tuesday in a crowd of about 200 police recruits northeast of Baghdad, killing at least 16 people, police and hospital officials said. The woman walked into the crowd at the main gate of the Muqdadiyah police station and blew herself up, according to a police officer at the scene who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.At least 16 people were killed and 33 wounded in the mostly Sunni Muslim city about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, said Dr. Abdul Salam al-Jibour at Muqdadiyah General Hospital.Meanwhile, U.S. and Iraqi army forces were engaged in fierce fighting with gunmen in two Sunni-dominated neighborhoods of the capital, Fadhil and Sheik Omar, police and witnesses said.
An American helicopter in the battle came under ground fire but was not shot down, a senior U.S. military official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because U.S. officials were still investigating.Police said six people, including an Iraqi soldier, were killed and 21 wounded. Repeated artillery fire rang out across Baghdad at midday, but the target was unclear.A parked car bomb exploded at a checkpoint near Baghdad University, killing at least six people and wounding 11, police said. The bomb was packed into a yellow taxi cab near campus, and all of those hurt were civilians, police said.A Katyusha rocket hit a basketball court at a boys school in eastern Baghdad, killing a 6-year-old boy and wounding 17 others 15 students and two teachers, police said.The U.S. military announced the deaths Monday of four U.S. soldiers three killed by a roadside bomb and a secondary explosion in southeastern Baghdad and another killed in combat in western Anbar province.The unit with the three dead soldiers had been conducting raids against militants in the area, and had recently captured five suspects, it said.
The fourth soldier was killed during combat operations in Iraq's western Anbar province, another statement said.At least 3,285 members of the U.S. military have died since the beginning of the war in 2003, according to an Associated Press count. The figure includes seven military civilians.Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, on a four-day trip to Japan, said there was no need to set a timetable for the withdrawal of U.S. troops from his country.We see no need for a withdrawal timetable. We are working as fast as we can, al-Maliki said. To demand the departure of the troops is a democratic right and a right we respect. What governs the departure at the end of the day is how confident we are in the handover process.What counts, he added, are achievements on the ground.His comments came a day after tens of thousands of Iraqis took to the streets of two Shiite holy cities, demanding that U.S. forces leave the country. The massive rally, called for by rebel cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, marked the fourth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad.
Al-Sadr, who remains in seclusion and did not attend, ordered up the march as a show of strength not only to Washington but to Iraq's establishment Shiite ayatollahs as well.He issued a statement Sunday urging his Mahdi Army militia to redouble efforts to expel U.S. forces and for the police and army to join the struggle against your archenemy.While he was in Japan, al-Maliki's office issued a statement saying he would travel to Egypt on April 20 for talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the head of the Arab League, Amr Moussa. It would be al-Maliki's first visit to Egypt the Arab world's most populous nation. Also Tuesday, the U.S. military said it captured more than 150 suspected insurgents in a nearly two-week operation north of Baghdad. Rocket-propelled grenades and launchers, automatic machine guns, sniper rifles and anti-tank mines were also seized, it said.
19 Palestinians arrested in bombing plot APR 10,07
JERUSALEM - Israeli authorities on Tuesday said they have arrested 19 Palestinian militants for planning to set off a huge car bomb in Tel Aviv over the Jewish holiday of Passover. The suspects are all were Hamas members from the West Bank town of Qalqiliya, the Shin Bet security agency said in a statement.The agency said the arrests took place in late March, but details were only cleared for publication on Tuesday, the day after the weeklong holiday ended.Hamas officials in Qalqiliya denied the account and said they were not involved in any plot.Shin Bet said a Palestinian man who apparently intended to blow himself up drove a car packed with 220 pounds of explosives into the Tel Aviv area, then, for reasons not yet clear, returned to Qalqiliya where the car later exploded through a technical malfunction. No one was hurt.
The would-be bomber was able to enter Israel unhindered because he has an Israeli Arab stepmother and holds an Israeli identity card, Shin Bet said. It said the car had Israeli license plates.The Israeli daily Haaretz said the plot was ordered by Hamas renegades in the Gaza Strip who are displeased with the movement's November cease-fire with Israel and its acceptance of the more moderate Fatah movement into a coalition government.Hamas, the senior member in the new Palestinian government, continues to pursue a terror-laden agenda and refuses to abandon the terror option. The Palestinian government is one to be shunned until it forsakes terror and recognizes Israel, said David Baker, an official in the Israeli prime minister's office.Palestinian police officials in the town said the 19 suspects weren't connected to any bombing. They said the militants were rounded up at a Hamas ceremony marking the third anniversary of the Israeli assassination of the group's founder, Sheik Ahmed Yassin.Police said the car held less than 2 pounds of explosives and that it was unlikely Hamas was connected because the bomb was so small. However, they said it remained unclear why the car was carrying explosives.
THIS IS THE VERY PHARAOH THAT GOD DONE THE 10 PLAGUES AGAINST IN THE BIBLE. RAMSES THE SECOND.
Ancient pharaoh's hair returns to Egypt By SETARREH MASSIHZADEGAN, Associated Press Writer APR 10,07
CAIRO, Egypt - Locks of 3,200-year-old hair from the pharaoh Ramses II were unveiled at the Egyptian Museum on Tuesday, returned to Egypt after being stolen 30 years ago in France and put up for sale on the Internet. The small tufts of brown hair were displayed alongside pieces of linen bandages and 11 pieces of resin used in the mummification of Ramses and his son Merneptah in a glass display case. Photographers mobbed the case as Egypt's culture minister and antiquities chief showed off the returned items.The hair will eventually be put on display next to Ramses' mummy at the museum.
The theft of the items was discovered when the pieces of hair were put up for sale on a Web site last November by a French postman, Jean-Michel Diebolt, who gave the hair a price tag of $2,600.Diebolt is the son of a French researcher who examined the 3,200-year-old mummy when it was brought to France in 1976 for treatment to stop the spread of a rare fungus. Diebolt is being investigated in France for allegedly possessing stolen goods.Egyptian antiquities official Ahmed Saleh traveled to Paris early last week to retrieve the stolen items.It was wonderful mission. I felt very great when I had the lock of hair of Ramses II in my hand, said Saleh.Ramses II, who ruled from 1270 to 1213 B.C., is one of ancient Egypt's most famous pharaohs, known for building some of its grandest monuments. Some believe him to be the pharaoh at the time of Moses.
Egypt's antiquities chief, Zahi Hawass, said the retrieval of the items was made possible by the strong diplomatic relations between Egypt and France.Hawass, who has pressed several countries for the return of Egyptian antiquities, said the Internet is playing an important role in the search for other stolen relics.We open the Internet everyday, and the most important source you have are my spies, Hawass said. I have spies all over the world, and those spies, they inform me every day of things you would not believe.Hawass has sought — without success — the return of such finds as the Rosetta Stone at the British Museum, the bust of Nefertiti at Berlin's Egyptian Museum and a pharaonic mask at the St. Louis Art Museum.But he said Egypt is awaiting the arrival of a statue coming from Spain, another artifact from Mexico and duck-shaped lamps that were stolen from Saqqara and will be retrieved from Paris.If Egypt has its way, more artifacts will follow. Saleh added: When one country gives you back your artifact, other countries will do the same.
Hamas Prisoner Swap List is Who's Who of Terror
by Gil Ronen APR 10,07 (INN)
The list of 45 terrorists the Hamas is demanding be freed in return for kidnapped Cpl. Gilad Shalit reads like a Who's Who of terror, and includes men responsible for intentionally murdering scores of Israeli men, women, children and babies and wounding hundreds of others. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will convene a meeting this evening, the first of its kind, to deal with the Hamas demands. Defense Minister Amir Peretz, Shabak chief Yuval Diskin, and Ofer Dekel, who oversees the terrorist-release issue, will take part.The most prominient name on the list of terrorists whose release is demanded is that of Hamas super-terrorist Abdullah Barghouti, who is serving 67 life sentences for the murder of dozens of Israelis and for his part in numerous suicide bombings. He was implicated in the Sbarro horror of August 2001, the triple suicide attack in Ben Yehuda Street in December 2001, the Café Moment atrocity and the Hebrew University attack of June 2002.
Also on the list is Hassan Salameh, who is serving numerous life sentences for the murder of dozens of Israelis. He is the man behind a wave of suicide bombings in 1995 and 1996 that followed the assassination of terror engineer Yihya Ayash. Salameh headed the cell that carried out two suicide attacks on number 18 buses in Jerusalem and at a hitchhiking station in Ashkelon Junction in February 1996. These attacks alone took 46 Israeli lives. The list of those whose release Hamas demands also includes the leader of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine Ahmed Saadat, who ordered the 2001 assassination of cabinet minister Rehavam Ze'evi, and leading Fatah figure Marwan Barghouti, who was sentenced to five life sentences for his involvement in terror attacks against Israeli civilians.
Additional names include Fuad Shubaki, the Yasser Arafat aide who was responsible for financing the Karine A arms-smuggling ship which was intercepted by Israel; Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a member of the Palestinian Authority parliament; Sheikh Abd al-Halk al-Natsha, from Hamas' political leadership; Rouhi Mashaha, one of the founders of Hamas terror network, who has been imprisoned for over 20 years; Nail Barghouti, responsible for bombings carried out in 2002, and Bassam A-Sa'adi, a top Islamic Jihad leader.
Christian hate sites blasted by Hindus
Southern Baptists, Gospel for Asia, CBN targeted in published report
April 10, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - By Bob Unruh - WorldNetDaily.com
A new report published by a Hindu foundation is blasting Christian organizations across the nation, including the Southern Baptists' missions board, Gospel for Asia and the Minnesota-based Olive Tree Ministries, which aims its ministry at teaching Christians about their beliefs, for having Internet hate sites.The proliferation of websites promoting religious hatred is an unfortunate consequence of the universality of access to the internet, said Vinay Vallabh, the lead author of the report by the Hindu American Foundation. We must vigorously identify, condemn and counter those who use the Internet to espouse chauvinism and bigotry over the principles of pluralism and tolerance, he said.
Jan Markell, who has been with the Olive Tree Ministries since 1977, has written eight books and hundreds of articles about Christians and their beliefs, at first wondered why she would be listed among ministries hated by a Hindu organization. Then she remembered a series of articles warning Christians against participating in yoga, a Hindu form of worship. I'm big on it [opposing yoga for Christians], she told WND. I talk about it on the radio, and I write about it. And the irony of it all is, like Hindus, we don't want Christians practicing yoga either. Hindus are saying basically, Wait, this is our thing, this is not for you [Christians], Markell told WND. The Hindus get it more right than the Christians on this issue.She said her work involves teaching Christians and encouraging their discernment. There are [many] different issues that Christians are falling for. They have no excuse except they have no discernment, she said. [With Christian yoga], they are trying to sanctify divination. There's no such thing.When Christians invite it [yoga] into their life, they don't seem to know they're inviting in Hinduism, she said. We alert people to those dangers.
Olive Tree Ministries wants you to see how you fit into His grand plan of things as the end of the age draws near, the ministry says. We won't be sensational. We will, however, look to the Bible as our guide. We call on solid, dispensational teachers to speak into this ministry, who minister in a balanced way, just as we strive to do. We find it grievous that the attitude today is that when Jesus and the end-times come, they will come, but in the meantime, I have to live my life in the real world. Bible prophecy is for living in the real world right now.Her site, along with Bible Study Lessons from Antioch, Ill., The Christian Broadcasting Network, Christian Answers of Gilbert, Ariz., Mission Frontiers of Pasadena, Calif., and many others, however, were identified by the Hindu foundation as Internet hate sources. This is the first of what the Hindu American Foundation (HAF) hopes will be an annual report on anti-Hindu hatred found on the Internet, said the report, which was from a group that provides a voice for the 2 million strong Hindu American community.
Hate is an ugly thing, and its ugliness is well illustrated in its various manifestations on the Internet, including those detailed in this report, wrote Jeffery Long, of Elizabethtown College, in the forward.
The Internet, this tool of knowledge and communications, is regularly abused, becoming a vehicle for the worst human impulses, as reflected in the pervasiveness of pornographic websites and websites devoted to fomenting hatred and violence against particular religious and ethnic groups, he wrote. Many of the websites described in this report claim to speak from religious perspectives. But is the greatness of traditions like Christianity or Islam served by denigrating Hinduism or spreading false information about it? This report is a wake-up call to all Americans to work for a society in which all religions are respected, and in which the practitioners of all religions can feel safe and included.The report, called Hyperlink to Hinduphobia: Online Hatred, Extremism and Bigotry Against Hindus, describes how demonic and satanic are the terms most commonly used today to describe Hinduism by numerous anti-Hindu websites easily accessible on the Internet.
As we all know, murderous rampages have been inspired by anti-Semitic and racist websites, said Long. And it is not necessary for a website to exhort its readers to actual, physical violence for it to lead to such violence.It is our hope that this report will encourage ISP's to voluntarily restrict sites that wantonly promote hatred and intolerance towards Hindus and Hinduism or any other religion – a necessary step as we continue our balancing act between free speech and licentious speech that leads to violence in the electronic age, said Vallabh. Attacks on Hindus and their institutions are a daily reality in countries such as Bangladesh, said the report. Last year, even within the United States, a newly completed Hindu temple in Minnesota was desecrated by vandals that went on to destroy deities within the inner sanctum. The hate sites reflected in this report inspire and justify such violence.It advocated blocking content on the Internet judged to be hate speech. Effective solutions require … the cooperation of hosting providers … [who] are companies that maintain and run Web servers which rent space for websites. They may be required to check disturbing content and either remove it or make it inaccessible, the report said.
The report was being distributed to members of Congress, non-governmental organizations, journalists, Hindu leaders and others, and was available for purchase from the organization. A WND reader said it appeared to be nothing more than an attempt to blacklist and ban popular Christian sites as hate sites.The Hindu American Foundation earlier sued the California State Board of Education because it viewed its procedures used to adopt school textbooks as unfair. It demanded that experts have expertise in the specific subject area and be screened for potential conflicts of interest.It also last year condemned remarks made by U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris, R-Fla., when she told the Florida State Baptist Convention that, If you're not electing Christians, then in essence you are going to legislate sin.America is a pluralistic, tolerant society, one in which Ms. Harris's remarks clearly are out of the mainstream, the organization said.
Text of Pope Benedict's Easter speech By The Associated Press
Sun Apr 8, 4:54 PM ET
The Vatican's official English-language translation of Pope Benedict XVI's Urbi et Orbi Easter Day address, delivered in Italian from the balcony in St. Peter's Basilica.
Dear Brothers and Sisters throughout the world,
Men and women of good will!
Christ is risen! Peace to you! Today we celebrate the great mystery, the foundation of Christian faith and hope: Jesus of Nazareth, the Crucified One, has risen from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. We listen today with renewed emotion to the announcement proclaimed by the angels on the dawn of the first day after the Sabbath, to Mary of Magdala and to the women at the sepulcher: Why do you search among the dead for one who is alive? He is not here, he is risen! (Luke 24:5-6)
It is not difficult to imagine the feelings of these women at that moment: feelings of sadness and dismay at the death of their Lord, feelings of disbelief and amazement before a fact too astonishing to be true. But the tomb was open and empty: the body was no longer there. Peter and John, having been informed of this by the women, ran to the sepulcher and found that they were right. The faith of the Apostles in Jesus, the expected Messiah, had been submitted to a severe trial by the scandal of the cross. At his arrest, his condemnation and death, they were dispersed. Now they are together again, perplexed and bewildered. But the Risen One himself comes in response to their thirst for greater certainty. This encounter was not a dream or an illusion or a subjective imagination; it was a real experience, even if unexpected, and all the more striking for that reason. "Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, peace be with you! (John 20:19)
At these words their faith, which was almost spent within them, was rekindled. The Apostles told Thomas who had been absent from that first extraordinary encounter: Yes, the Lord has fulfilled all that he foretold; he is truly risen and we have seen and touched him! Thomas however remained doubtful and perplexed. When Jesus came for a second time, eight days later in the Upper Room, he said to him: Put your finger here and see my hands; and put out your hand and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing! The Apostles response is a moving profession of faith: My Lord and my God! (John 20:27-28)
My Lord and my God! We too renew that profession of faith of Thomas. I have chosen these words for my Easter greetings this year, because humanity today expects from Christians a renewed witness to the resurrection of Christ; it needs to encounter him and to know him as true God and true man. If we can recognize in this Apostle the doubts and uncertainties of so many Christians today, the fears and disappointments of many of our contemporaries, with him we can also rediscover with renewed conviction, faith in Christ dead and risen for us. This faith, handed down through the centuries by the successors of the Apostles, continues on because the Risen Lord dies no more. He lives in the Church and guides it firmly toward the fulfillment of his eternal design of salvation.
We may all be tempted by the disbelief of Thomas. Suffering, evil, injustice, death, especially when it strikes the innocent such as children who are victims of war and terrorism, of sickness and hunger, does not all of this put our faith to the test? Paradoxically the disbelief of Thomas is most valuable to us in these cases because it helps to purify all false concepts of God and leads us to discover his true face: the face of a God who, in Christ, has taken upon himself the wounds of injured humanity. Thomas has received from the Lord, and has in turn transmitted to the Church, the gift of a faith put to the test by the passion and death of Jesus and confirmed by meeting him risen. His faith was almost dead but was born again thanks to his touching the wounds of Christ, those wounds that the Risen One did not hide but showed, and continues to point out to us in the trials and sufferings of every human being.
By his wounds you have been healed (1 Peter 2:24). This is the message Peter addressed to the early converts. Those wounds that, in the beginning were an obstacle for Thomas' faith, being a sign of Jesus apparent failure, those same wounds have become in his encounter with the Risen One, signs of a victorious love. These wounds that Christ has received for love of us help us to understand who God is and to repeat: My Lord and my God! Only a God who loves us to the extent of taking upon himself our wounds and our pain, especially innocent suffering, is worthy of faith.
How many wounds, how much suffering there is in the world! Natural calamities and human tragedies that cause innumerable victims and enormous material destruction are not lacking. My thoughts go to recent events in Madagascar, in the Solomon Islands, in Latin America and in other regions of the world. I am thinking of the scourge of hunger, of incurable diseases, of terrorism and kidnapping of people, of the thousand faces of violence, which some people attempt to justify in the name of religion, of contempt for life, of the violation of human rights and the exploitation of persons. I look with apprehension at the conditions prevailing in several regions of Africa. In Darfur and in the neighboring countries there is a catastrophic, and sadly to say underestimated, humanitarian situation. In Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo the violence and looting of the past weeks raises fears for the future of the Congolese democratic process and the reconstruction of the country. In Somalia the renewed fighting has driven away the prospect of peace and worsened a regional crisis, especially with regard to the displacement of populations and the traffic of arms. Zimbabwe is in the grip of a grievous crisis and for this reason the Bishops of that country in a recent document indicated prayer and a shared commitment for the common good as the only way forward.
Likewise the population of East Timor stands in need of reconciliation and peace as it prepares to hold important elections. Elsewhere, too, peace is sorely needed: in Sri Lanka only a negotiated solution can put an end to the conflict that causes so much bloodshed; Afghanistan is marked by growing unrest and instability; in the Middle East, besides some signs of hope in the dialogue between Israel and the Palestinian authority, nothing positive comes from Iraq, torn apart by continual slaughter as the civil population flees. In Lebanon the paralysis of the country's political institutions threatens the role that the country is called to play in the Middle East and puts its future seriously in jeopardy. Finally, I cannot forget the difficulties faced daily by the Christian communities and the exodus of Christians from that blessed Land which is the cradle of our faith. I affectionately renew to these populations the expression of my spiritual closeness.
Dear brothers and sisters, through the wounds of the Risen Christ we can see the evils which afflict humanity with the eyes of hope. In fact, by his rising the Lord has not taken away suffering and evil from the world but has vanquished them at their roots by the superabundance of his grace. He has countered the arrogance of evil with the supremacy of his love. He has left us the love that does not fear death, as the way to peace and joy. Even as I have loved you he said to his disciples before his death so you must also love one another (cf. John 13:34).
Brothers and sisters in faith, who are listening to me from every part of the world, Christ is risen and he is alive among us. It is he who is the hope of a better future. As we say with Thomas: My Lord and my God! May we hear again in our hearts the beautiful yet demanding words of the Lord: If any one serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one serves me, the Father will honor him (John 12:26). United to him and ready to offer our lives for our brothers (cf. 1 John 3:16), let us become apostles of peace, messengers of a joy that do not fear pain, the joy of the Resurrection. May Mary, Mother of the Risen Christ, obtain for us this Easter gift. Happy Easter to you all.Vatican Publishing House
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