1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Storms, wind cause damage in 4 states. 3-The Nation's Weather. 4-Gassy blast from prehistoric volcanoes heated Earth. 5-Nationwide blackout strikes Colombia. 6-Hot, dry weather worries fire officials. 7-Cancer deaths set to exceed cardiovascular disease: StatsCan. 8-Hawking flies weightless aboard jet. 9-Iran Will Strike Israel with Thousands of Missiles if Attacked. 10-FM Livni: Security Fence Promotes Future PA State. 11-Netanyahu Promises to Repay Debt to Katif Expellees. 12-Feds threaten Texas over superhighway funds plan. 13-Biblical creationist disputes latest proof for evolution. 14-Virginia Tech campus torn between anger, forgiveness.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri Apr 27 12:01 PM EDT
APR 27,07
MAP 3.8 NEVADA
MAP 5.8 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.9 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.9 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
APR 26,07
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 NEVADA
MAP 4.1 KAMCHATKA PENINSULA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.4 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 3.7 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.1 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.9 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 4.9 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 ATACAMA, CHILE
MAP 5.0 MASBATE REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.0 MASBATE REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.3 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 5.4 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.8 OFFSHORE COQUIMBO, CHILE
MAP 3.1 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.9 NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF MYANMAR
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 5.1 SHIKOKU, JAPAN
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.
Storms, wind cause damage in 4 states By TOM COYNE, Associated Press Writer APR 27,07
LAPORTE, Ind. - Storms packing winds strong enough to toss a police cruiser over a fence spawned apparent tornadoes that leveled houses and downed power lines in several states. The storms buffeted parts of Indiana, Tennessee, Illinois and Ohio on Thursday. Tornadoes apparently touched down in Tennessee and Illinois, officials in those states said.Debris injured at least seven people in the northeastern Tennessee town of New Tazewell. At least six homes were destroyed, and as many as 400 homes about one in every five homes in Claiborne County lost power, officials said.
Jason Ellis said his family fled their mobile home when the wind started rocking it back and forth.It felt like the top of the house was fixing to come off. I just didn't want to chance it, he said.By Friday morning, electricity was restored to all but about two dozen homes, and roads had already been cleared of fallen limbs, said David Breeding, the county's deputy emergency management director.
About 100 miles to the southwest, a tornado touched down outside Crossville, Tenn., damaging buildings and peeling the roof off an unoccupied trailer, authorities said. No injuries were reported there.The National Weather Service sent teams Friday to both areas to confirm tornadoes.
Authorities said they expected emergency crews would find more damaged homes and buildings on Friday.In Plainfield, Ill., a small tornado tore off parts of a nursing home's roof, flipped over a minivan and damaged several homes but no injuries were reported, authorities said.
In Indiana, a LaPorte County sheriff's department patrol car was tossed over a 3-foot-high fence, said Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer.I don't think I would have believed it unless I'd seen it, he said.In rural Brown County in southwestern Ohio, Donna Young's front porch was blown about 50 feet from her house, she said.It was a nice, railed, country covered porch, she said. The storm came from the south and just picked the porch to take out.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Fri Apr 27, 5:57 AM ET
Forecasters predicted heavy rain in New England and the Mid-Atlantic, and temperatures were expected to sizzle in southern California.
A few thunderstorms were expected along the East Coast, and heavy rain was forecast for parts of New England and the Mid-Atlantic.Heavy rain was also expected in the eastern Carolinas.In the West, temperatures were expected to be warm, including more than 100 degrees in the deserts of Southern California. Little rain and sunny skies were expected.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday ranged from a low of 18 degrees at Berlin, N.H., to a high of 103 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Gassy blast from prehistoric volcanoes heated Earth By Julie Steenhuysen
Thu Apr 26, 3:17 PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Ancient volcanoes may have caused a dramatic warming of the Earth's atmosphere that raised sea temperatures and killed off many marine species, resulting in a planetary emergency, U.S. and European scientists said on Thursday. The discovery shows the impact of the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and may shed light on planetary changes wrought by more recent causes of global warming, the scientists reported in the journal Science.
The giant prehistoric eruptions, they believe, may have been the catalyst that pushed Greenland and northwest Europe apart to create the North Atlantic Ocean.There has been evidence in the marine record of this period of global warming, and evidence in the geologic record of the eruptions at roughly the same time, but until now there has been no direct link between the two,Robert Duncan of Oregon State University, who worked on the study, said in a statement.
Duncan and a team of international scientists said the volcanoes erupted off the coast of Greenland and in the western British Isles about 55 million years ago, spewing carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere.That triggered a 222,000-year period of warming that raised sea surface temperatures by 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees F) in the tropics and more than 6 degrees Celsius (11 degrees F) in the Arctic and increased the acidity of the oceans.The resulting planetary emergency, as scientists have called it, wiped out 30 percent to 50 percent of the planet's deep sea creatures.We think the first volcanic eruptions began about 61 million years ago and then it took another 5 million years for the mantle to weaken, the continent to thin and the molten material to rise to the surface, Duncan said.
BIRTH OF AN OCEAN
It was like lifting a lid. The plate came apart and gave birth to the North Atlantic Ocean.Scientists made the link between the volcanoes and the warming period, known as the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum, by matching layers of ash in east Greenland with those in marine sediments in the Atlantic Ocean.They think greenhouse gases from lava flows and the heating of organic-rich sediments along the eastern edge of Greenland caused the global warming and changes in ocean chemistry.While these volcanic eruptions caused warming of the atmosphere, they are extremely rare, scientists said.Some more recent volcanoes, such as the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia, actually cooled the Earth by adding more sulfate aerosols to the upper atmosphere, which reflected sunlight back into space, Dr. Ellie Highwood, senior lecturer in climate physics at the University of Reading in Britain, said in a statement.The type of volcano eruption described here has not been seen over the past 1,000 years, and therefore volcanoes are unlikely to have contributed significantly to recent climate change, Highwood said.
POWER OUTAGE
REVELATION 16:10-11
10 And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain,
11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
THE EU IN THE FUTURE WILL HAVE A BLACKOUT LIKE THIS ONE TODAY.
Nationwide blackout strikes Colombia By JOSHUA GOODMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Apr 27, 7:36 PM ET
BOGOTA, Colombia - Colombia's electrical grid collapsed Thursday, causing a nationwide blackout that briefly halted stock trading, trapped people in elevators and left authorities struggling to determine the cause. By midday, power was slowly being restored to homes and companies, and the north of the capital home to many company headquarters was back to normal.President Alvaro Uribe told journalists in the southern city of Cali that the blackout, which began at midmorning, appears to have affected the entire country.Luis Alarcon, manager of state-controlled electricity distributor ISA, issued a statement that the power outage apparently began with an undetermined technical glitch at a substation in Bogota and quickly spread to the rest of the country.Authorities said that 10 people were trapped in elevators during the outage.
He said work crews had re-established power to about 20 percent of the country and hoped to reconnect the rest in a few hours.Bogota's stock exchange resumed trading around noon as power returned.
It said trading would be extended for an hour to make up for the suspension. RCN television reported that power had returned to central Bogota, and to parts of the city's northern districts, where many companies have their headquarters.Rosa Ortiz, who runs a cigarette stand at a busy intersection in Bogota, said that with traffic lights knocked out, we've seen a few near accidents, but so far the drivers seem to be adapting to the situation.There was no indication of a terrorist attack, though leftist rebels routinely sabotage electric transmission lines as part of their four-decade old campaign to overthrow the government.Short-lived localized blackouts are a common occurrence in this South American country.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Hot, dry weather worries fire officials
Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 | 10:25 AM CT - CBC News
Red River Valley residents have been basking in the warmer-than-normal spring sunshine over the past week but the dry conditions have fire officials concerned.Sunny, warm weather is forecast to remain in much of southern Manitoba for most of the weekend and into next week, sending summer-starved Manitobans to patios and parks in droves.The provincial fire service is urging Manitobans to use caution if their outdoor plans involve fire. The fire hazard is already considered high in some areas, and it could get worse if conditions remain dry.Any burning you're going to do, don't do it, said Tom Mirus, spokesman for Manitoba Conservation's fire program.
If you do burn, you need a permit, either from a rural municipality or a fire department. Be careful with simple things like cigarettes. Just be cautious the grass is there, and it's going to light up quickly.Seventeen fires have already burned in the province this year, all of them in eastern Manitoba and the Interlake and all of them human-caused.Last year at this time, 11 fires were burning.
Good for farmers, so far
Meanwhile, the lack of April showers has given farmers the opportunity to seed earlier than usual. Don Caron, a business development specialist for Manitoba Agriculture in the Starbuck area, described conditions as by no means extremely dry, but on the drier side of normal.Caron said seeding will be wrapped up in early May.It's still too early in the season to worry about the dry conditions, Caron said, but most farmers would welcome rain once seeding is completed.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
Cancer deaths set to exceed cardiovascular disease: StatsCan
Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 | 11:46 AM ET - CBC News
Cancer deaths may soon surpass deaths from cardiovascular disease, Statistics Canada said Friday in its report on mortality rates.The two diseases, combined, caused about six out of every 10 Canadian deaths in 2004, the department's health statistics division said in a report called Mortality, Summary of Causes 2004.Both causes of death have been declining over the past 25 years in terms of overall
mortality rates, but the proportion of deaths caused by cardiovascular disease has been falling while the proportion of deaths attributed to cancer has been on the rise.In 1979, cardiovascular diseases were responsible for 47 per cent of all deaths in Canada, but by 2004 this percentage had declined to 32 per cent.The opposite occurred for cancer, Canada's second main cause of death. In 1979, cancer accounted for 23 per cent of all deaths in Canada, but rose to 30 per cent by 2004.The impact of these opposing trends is that the share of deaths due to cancer may soon catch up with, and eventually surpass, the share of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases, the report said. In 2004, 66,947 people died from cancer, up 6.8 per cent from 2000.In contrast, 72,338 died from cardiovascular diseases, a 4.9 per cent decline from 2000.Between 2000 and 2004, male deaths from cardiovascular disease declined at a slightly faster rate, (-5.5 per cent) than female deaths (-4.3 per cent).Female deaths from cancer increased at a slightly faster (8.5 per cent) than male deaths (5.4 per cent) over the five-year period.By 2004, the age-standardized mortality rate for cardiovascular diseases and cancer converged at around 175 deaths for every 100,000 people.The age-standardized mortality rate adjusts for the impact of population aging on death rates.
WORLD TRAVEL AND KNOWLEDGE INCREASED
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be
increased.(COMPUTERS MICROCHIPS ETC)
Hawking flies weightless aboard jet By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer Thu Apr 26, 9:37 PM ET
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Free of his wheelchair and tethered only to heart rate and blood pressure monitors, astrophysicist Stephen Hawking on Thursday fulfilled a dream of floating weightless on a zero-gravity jet, a step he hopes leads to further space adventures. The modified jet carrying Hawking, a handful of his physicians and nurses, and dozens of others first flew up to 24,000 feet over the Atlantic Ocean off Florida. Nurses lifted Hawking and carried him to the front of the jet, where they placed him on his back atop a special foam pillow.The jet then climbed to around 32,000 feet and made a parabolic dive back to 24,000 feet, allowing Hawking and the other passengers to experience weightlessness for about 25 seconds.
Hawking, a mathematics professor at the University of Cambridge who has done groundbreaking work on black holes and the origins of the universe, has the paralyzing disease ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
The 65-year-old was the first person with a disability to experience the flight by Zero Gravity Corp., which has flown about 2,700 people out of Florida since late 2004 and began offering the flights in Las Vegas this week.As you can imagine, I'm very excited, Hawking told reporters before the flight. I have been wheelchair bound for almost four decades. The chance to float free in zero-g will be wonderful.Unable to talk or move his hands and legs, Hawking can only make tiny facial expressions using the muscles around his eyes, eyebrows, cheek and mouth. He uses a computer attached to his wheelchair to talk for him in a synthesized voice by choosing words on a computer screen through an infrared sensor on a headpiece that detects motion in his cheek.He raises an eyebrow to signal yes and tenses his mouth to the side to indicate no.
I want to demonstrate to the public that anybody can participate in this type of weightless experience, Hawking said Thursday.Hawking's personal physicians were on hand to make sure nothing went wrong. The physicist was attached to heart, blood pressure and oxygen-measuring monitors during the flight. Medical equipment sufficient for a mini-intensive care unit also was on board, said Dr. Edwin Chilvers, Hawking's personal physician.I'm anticipating everything to nothing, Chilvers said before the flight.Others on the flight included financial backers of Zero Gravity and passengers who bid a total of $150,000 toward charities to go on the flight.The jet's interior is padded to protect the weightless fliers and equipped with cameras to record their adventure. Normally, the plane conducts 10 to 15 plunges for its passengers, who pay $3,750 for the ride, although that fee was waived for Hawking.
On Hawking's flight, the jet made eight parabolic dives.
We had a wonderful time. It was incredible, far beyond our expectations, said Peter H. Diamandis, the chairman and CEO of Zero Gravity, after he exited the jet with Hawking at his side.As a further safety precaution, Zero Gravity founders Peter H. Diamandis and Byron Lichtenberg, who has flown on the space shuttle, were on either side of Hawking so they could lower him to the ground gently at the end of the parabola. Hawking also took a motion sickness pill as a precaution.
The astrophysicist hopes the zero-gravity flight is a step toward going on a suborbital flight, which may be offered by private space companies by the end of the decade.It's a test to see how well he can handle the g-forces that would be necessary in order to leave the atmosphere, said Sam Blackburn, Hawking's assistant. That is very much one of the major purposes of this flight.On the Net:
Stephen Hawking: http://www.hawking.org.uk/ Zero Gravity Corp.: http://www.gozerog.com
Iran Will Strike Israel with Thousands of Missiles if Attacked ICEJ News April 26th
Iran will attack Israel as well as US interests around the world if attacked over its disputed nuclear program, a senior official was quoted on Thursday by the official IRNA news agency as saying.
Nowhere would be safe for America with (Iran's) long-range missiles ... we can fire tens of thousands of missiles every day, said the Iranian deputy interior minister in security affairs. With long-range missiles Iran can also threaten Israel as America's ally. There is a distinct fear in the West that Iran seeks to create atomic weapons, although Tehran insists its nuclear program is aimed only at generating electricity.
FM Livni: Security Fence Promotes Future PA State
by Hana Levi Julian APR 27,07
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday with United Nations Humanitarian Aid Representative Louis Michel to discuss the security fence being built in Judea and Samaria . The barrier appears to be a de factor border complete with passport control checkpoints constructed along with way, rather than a simple security measure. The Olmert government has claimed it is designed to increase security for Jewish communities by blocking terrorists from Palestinian Authority-controlled areas from entering pre-1967 Israel .The Foreign Minister explained to the U.N. envoy that although local Arabs often complain that the fence will hurt their chances to build a state in the area the fence actually promotes their goal. She also said Arabs are using the fence as another excuse to attack Israelis, and
pointed out that every step made by Israel is answered with violence, regardless of which security measure is taken.
No Reason for Gaza to Become a Terror Nest
Minister Livni also pointed out that there was no reason for Gaza to turn into a terror nest after Israel expelled all Jews from the region in 2005, and that the current situation in which terrorists are revered in Arab society is unacceptable and has to change.
Minister Livni echoed a speech made this week by Israels Ambassador to the United Nations, who said the PA created a prison for its own people in Gaza by turning it into a terror base and launching pad for missiles into Israel .Speaking at a meeting of the U.N. Security Council on Wednesday, Ambassador Gillerman reminded world leaders that the PAs charge that Israel has turned Gaza into a massive prison ignores the fact that Israel left every inch of Gaza nearly two years ago.Ambassador Gillerman added that Speaking of the poor Palestinians as victims is a blatant attempt to portray them as poor victims who were imprisoned for parking violations rather than bloody murderers who committed horrifying acts of murder.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Opposes the Fence
Last month, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon took a helicopter tour of the security fence in order to see for himself how and where it is built. He also inspected the route the rest of the fence will take and how it might impact the populations on both sides of the barrier. During the tour, Secretary-General Ban acknowledged that he understood Israels need for the security fence, which had been declared illegal by the United Nations World Court , despite its acceptance with reservations by Israels Supreme Court. Prior to his tour of the barrier and before a meeting scheduled for later in the day with Israeli leaders in Jerusalem however, the U.N. Secretary-General visited the PA-controlled territories in Judea and Samaria with PA officials.
While visiting the Aida community near Bethlehem , Secretary-General Ban commented that the security fence does not serve the peace process between Israel and the PA and said it should be removed.
Jews and Arabs Oppose the Wall
Both Jews and Arabs in Israel and PA territories have fought a non-stop battle against the building of the wall, sometimes in the High Court of Justice and sometimes in the field, at the construction sites themselves.Many politicians on both sides of the political spectrum have charged that the wall is being routed and erected in such a way as to become a de facto border between Israel and a future PA state that benefits no one.Jews have fought the so-called security barrier because many small communities in Judea and Samaria are being left outside the area which is supposed to protect them from terrorism.
Arab farmers have complained they have been cut off from their fields and Arab municipalities have claimed in some cases that the barrier route slices through their villages. Arabs who work in Jewish cities and other communities also say they will be unable to get to their jobs, and for those who can, it will take hours longer to get there, thus jeopardizing their employment.
Environmental Groups Also Oppose the Wall
Environmental groups have also opposed the wall, saying it will disturb and in some cases destroy the delicate ecological balance in key areas around the country. Despite pressure from residents of Judea and environmental groups, however, senior IDF officials have now also decided to push for construction of a security fence in the Judean desert.
Only a physical barrier will protect Jewish communities to the west of the fence from attack, they say. Defense Minister Amir Peretz stopped construction in the area in January, after local residents argued that the fence would harm the environment. Brigadier-General Kobi Barak, who is in charge of construction of the wall, has said he will submit a report to Peretz on the issue in the near future. Some minor changes might be made to make the fence more environmentally friendly, officials said.
Netanyahu Promises to Repay Debt to Katif Expellees
by Hillel Fendel (INN) APR 27,07
Opposition leader MK Binyamin Netanyahu, during a visit to the largest community of former Gush Katif residents, promised to repay the national debt owed to the expellees. Visiting in the pre-fab housing community of Nitzan, just north of Ashkelon, on Wednesday, ex-Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, The country has a national and moral obligation to these people.
The State sent them to Gush Katif in the first place, and then banished them, causing very terrible suffering... This cannot go on.Netanyahu was greeted enthusiastically by many of the residents, some of whom even chanted slogans in support of his candidacy for Prime Minister when national elections are next held.The present Opposition Leader met with leaders of the former communities, as well as with Lior Kalfa, head of the Katif Residents Committee. Netanyahu was appraised of the State's treatment of the residents over the past 20 months since they were expelled from their homes. Netanyahu said he saw families living in very crowded conditions, with great uncertainty, children with psychological problems, formerly self-supporting families that have been reduced to begging for help.
As head of the opposition, Netanyahu said, I will do all that I can, together with my colleagues, to help alleviate these problems. I hope and believe that with G-d's help, the citizens of Israel will return us to national leadership, and we will then work to pay back the debt owed to these people once and for all; I personally feel obligated to this goal.It should be noted that the Katif Residents Committee, with the help of MKs Uri Ariel, Avigdor Yitzchaki, and to a lesser extent, MKs Ze'ev Elkin and Amira Dotan, attained this week over a half-billion shekels in improvements to the existing Compensation Law. Amendments include allocations for children under 4 years old, increased compensation for their destroyed homes in Katif, increased benefits for unemployed salaried workers, compensation for small business owners, and more. Netanyahu resigned in August 2005 as Foreign Minister under then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in protest of the Disengagement - but many felt that this move, coming just a week before the expulsion, was too little, too late.
Feds threaten Texas over superhighway funds plan Transportation Department opposes bills delaying NAFTA project April 27, 2007-1:00 a.m. Eastern-By Jerome R. Corsi-2007 WorldNetDaily.com
The Federal Highway Administration has threatened Texas with the loss of federal highway funds if the state continues with its legislative plan for a two-year funding moratorium on construction of the Trans-Texas Corridor. In the 4-page letter, FHWA Chief Counsel James D. Ray advises Michael Behrens, executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation, some of the pending legislative proposals, if signed into law, could affect the State’s eligibility for receiving Federal-aid highway funds.Ray praises Texas for being the nation's leader in developing new transportation facilities through public private partnerships.But the letter expresses concern that the Texas Legislature is nearing passage of a two-year moratorium blocking planned Trans-Texas Corridor toll-road projects.
We do not see the benefit of a moratorium if the State has already committed to legislation for a continuation of the program, Ray wrote, adding, If Texas looses (sic) the initiative it now has, private funds now flowing to Texas will go elsewhere.We stand ready to work with Texas officials to ensure continued compliance with all of the applicable Federal laws and regulations. We wish to make sure that Texas can continue to receive the full benefits available under the Federal-aid Highway Program, he concluded. David Stall, co-founder of the website CorridorWatch.org, alerted WND the federal agency was preparing the letter. During a Wednesday morning teleconference, James Ray, chief counsel and acting deputy director of the FHWA, reportedly told the Trans-Texas Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee that the federal agency was preparing a letter to place the Texas Department of Transportation on notice that the proposed action by the Texas Legislature would jeopardize access to federal highway funds.
The Trans-Texas Corridor Citizens Advisory Committee is a group of citizens organized by the state transportation department to offer advice on projects concerning the Trans-Texas Corridor. The federal agency did not respond to WND requests for comment, but Stall had an opinion. As you might guess, we greatly object to federal interference in state affairs and the attempt to influence public policy at the state level, Stall told WND via e-mail. Stall told WND that Ray's letter was prompted by a request from Texas Rep. Mike Krusee, Williamson County, who sent a note to the FHWA asking for an opinion specifically on HB1892, the House version of the moratorium. Krusee, a Republican, is a long-time supporter of the TTC toll-road project. In November 2006, he was re-elected with barely 50 percent of the vote in a campaign in which his TTC support was contested.
WND has reported previously that two different bills have passed the Texas House and Senate, and both are aimed at imposing a two-year moratorium on all public-private partnerships that would involve construction of new toll roads financed and operated by private foreign investment groups. The large margins by which the moratorium bills have been approved suggest the legislature has the votes to override an anticipated veto by Gov. Rick Perry.
Biblical creationist disputes latest proof for evolution
Allie Martin-OneNewsNow.com-April 26, 2007
A former evolutionist who now heads a biblical creationist ministry says the recent discovery of DNA in a dinosaur bone does not prove evolution, as many scientists have claimed. Recently, scientific journals and secular news sources reported that bits of protein taken from a dinosaur bone provided the first genetic proof that the T-Rex is a distant cousin to the modern chicken.Dr. Grady McMurtry, president of Creation Worldview Ministries, says the discovery offers proof for a young Earth. Now first of all, let's think about this. Most molecular biologists will tell you that DNA could not possibly exist for more than 10,000 years, he notes. So, since evolutionists believe DNA does not last millions of years, he says the discovery of DNA in a dinosaur bone is consistent with the biblical account of creation. Scientists who discovered the DNA are not telling the entire story, McMurtry asserts. If one really looks at the science behind what they found today, evolutionists talk about chimpanzees and humans being ... 99 percent the same genetically, he says, but what they fail to tell the public is that they're only looking at three percent of the total genome.
Evolutionists failed to report that they only used a small amount of the dinosaur DNA for comparison, that they're only looking at three percent of all the DNA, the scientist contends. And media journalists, he says, often do not check the facts, as most journalists today are not good reporters. They're not investigative reporters even though they will claim to be investigative reporters.
The fact of the matter is that for many reporters, evolution is what they were taught; this is what they believe, McMurtry asserts. So when they get something, they immediately want to accept it and number two write about it as if they had checked into it, and they haven't, he says. So these people are simply into a political agenda.According to the Bible's account in Genesis, Chapter One, dinosaurs were created on day five and day six of creation week and lived with man until the Flood of Noah, McMurtry points out. After the Flood, he says dinosaurs were at a disadvantage for survival and most dinosaur species became extinct during the next several hundred years.American Family News Network
Virginia Tech campus torn between anger, forgiveness
Some say they feel sorry for shooter April 27, 2007
BY SUE LINDSEY - ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLACKSBURG, Va. /Kelly White and her two children visited the semicircle of memorials on the Virginia Tech campus, leaving 32 pink tulips one for each victim in last week's massacre. They also placed a tulip on the stone for gunman Seung-Hui Cho.Forgiveness is part of being freed from anger, said White, a Blacksburg resident with relatives who attended the school. I try to teach my children that God loves everyone.Cho killed 32 people in the worst shooting in modern U.S. history. But there has been surprisingly little outrage directed toward him around campus. He is memorialized alongside his victims, and students preach forgiveness and talk about him like a troubled family member.Caroline Merrey, 22, jumped to safety out a classroom window in the building where Cho killed 30 people and himself. She said she was angry with Cho, but she also feels sorry for him.
I don't know how I can be feeling both of those things at the same time, but I do, she said.Campus leaders, experts and those touched by the tragedy say there are several reasons for the spirit of forgiveness. Many people are too overcome by grief to think about anything else. That Cho killed himself provided enough retribution, some say. Others say the forgiveness is rooted in the strong Christian values of the area.
A rock and a hard place
After a student organization placed the stone memorials in a semicircle last week on the main campus lawn, senior Katelynn Johnson added one for Cho. Johnson said she told almost no one about it because she feared a backlash.
She came forward after someone took it away, because she said she was outraged by the brief removal of the rock.I believe his life had value, no matter what he did, she said.After the first stone for Cho was removed, someone else placed a new one there. The appearance and disappearance of the stone reflects the community's struggle to come to terms with the massacre.Virginia Tech has not included Cho in its memorial services for the 32 victims. A bell chimed 33 times Monday on the campus lawn, but university officials said the first chime was to start the ceremony.
The university so far has had no contact with Cho's family and does not plan to award him a posthumous degree as it will the students he killed, spokesman Mark Owczarski said.The Rev. Scott Russell, an Episcopal minister at Virginia Tech, said he talked to some students who said they feel they need to acknowledge Cho's death because the family deserves compassion.
But he said many others aren't able to forgive.The lack of visible anger also may mean people have not yet reached that stage of grief, said Melissa Brymer, director of terrorism-disaster programs at the UCLA-Duke National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. It's so early on that people are worried about the injured getting healthy, keeping their spirits high, encouraging them, she said Thursday.
Guided by religion
Other mass killers have drawn more anger. For instance, those at Columbine High School were vilified after their rampage. But at Virginia Tech, religion may have guided the response.Jeff Highfield, Virginia Tech campus director for Campus Crusade for Christ, said the students he has been working with are angry and frustrated, but they're able to understand that he must have been hurting and confused in some way and made a horrible decision.The greatest evidence of the forgiveness may be the semicircle of stones. The new stone for Cho is unmarked and slightly apart. But it is adorned with flowers, candles, beads in maroon and orange and a flag.In a letter that lay on Cho's stone Thursday, Erica said she wished she could have helped him:Even though my eyes are tired of crying;Even though my campus, my home will never be the same ...I forgive you.And I love you.
Friday, April 27, 2007
Thursday, April 26, 2007
IRAN - RUSSIA - MIDEAST NEWS TODAY
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Tornado search ends with toll at 10. 3-The Nation's Weather. 4-Progress seen in Iran-EU nuclear talks. 5-Russia Launches First of 8 New Nuclear Subs. 6-Putin says foreigners meddling in Russia. 7-Rice says missiles no threat to Russia. 8-Abbas group rejoices over U.S. deaths in Iraq. 9-MK Shteinitz: Egypt May Be Planning a Pan-Arab Attack. 10-Barroso organising mini-summit on EU constitution.
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 26 9:49 AM EDT
APR 26,07
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 ATACAMA, CHILE
MAP 5.1 MASBATE REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.1 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 5.4 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.8 COQUIMBO, CHILE
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.9 NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF MYANMAR
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 5.1 SHIKOKU, JAPAN
APR 25,07
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 4.0 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
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.
Tornado search ends with toll at 10 By MICHELLE ROBERTS
Thu Apr 26, 4:08 AM ET
EAGLE PASS, Texas - Ricardo Tijerina saw the sky darken and expected a typical spring storm to roll in. I saw some clouds, but I never imagined it was going to be that bad, said Tijerina, who suddenly found himself riding out a series of tornadoes Tuesday night with his six children huddled under beds. At least 10 people were killed in both this community and Piedras Negras, a town on the other side of the Mexican border.
The storm killed two other people in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Neither Eagle Pass nor Piedras Negras had a siren warning system like those that helped people evacuate ahead of the same storm when it flooded streets and peeled roofs off homes in North Texas. No injuries were reported there.After the tornado passed, neighbors poured into Eagle Pass' darkened streets, checking for anyone who needed help, said Eglanteina Alamillo, 20. You could hear everyone was walking around and helping people get out of the trailers, she said.The twisters cut a 4-square-mile swath through the rural community southeast of this city of 26,000 about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio. Two empty elementary schools, a church, business and homes were destroyed, some cut open like dollhouses.Maverick County Judge Jose Aranda said all residents on the Texas side of the border were accounted for, but that 50 to 200 families were left homeless.A family of five a girl, her parents and two other relatives was killed in Eagle Pass when the winds blew their mobile home across the street and into Rosita Valley Elementary School.
It was a whole family, and they were all together, probably like they were huddling, said police Officer Ezekiel Navjas, who arrived Tuesday night just as crews were pulling from the wreckage the body of the girl, believed to be about 5 years old.Gov. Rick Perry, who arrived for a tour Wednesday, said he was pleased with officials' response. The state has asked the federal government for quick assistance and a disaster declaration, which would entitle it to federal aid.It is stunning, the devastation, he said.
Across the Rio Grande, three people were killed and 300 homes were damaged in Piedras Negras. About 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters.The toll in Texas also included one person found in a house, and another died after being taken to a San Antonio hospital, authorities said. More than 80 others were injured, and at least four remained in critical condition Wednesday.Lightning was blamed for a death Wednesday as the huge weather system plowed through the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. The bolt started a fire near Shreveport, La., that killed a 101-year-old man, authorities and the man's family said.A 12th person died in Arkansas when high winds swamped a boat on a lake, officials said.
The sprawling front also spun off tornadoes Tuesday in Oklahoma and Colorado, caused flooding in Iowa and Nebraska and piled snow more than a foot deep in the Rockies.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Thu Apr 26, 5:15 AM ET
A low-pressure system is expected to continue moving through the Plains and into the Ohio Valley before pressing toward the Great Lakes on Thursday, bringing precipitation northward ahead of the storm's cold front. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected east of the Mississippi Valley. There is also a slight chance of severe weather in portions of the Southeast due to these thunderstorms.Light to moderate rain is likely in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region. Rain is also likely in the Northeast.Rain is expected in areas from the Rockies to the Plains. Washington is also expected to get light rain.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s and 60s in the Northeast and to reach into the 80s in the Southeast. In the upper Midwest, they are expected to rise into the 60s, and in the Southwest, temperatures could reach the 90s and triple digits.Temperatures in the lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 20 degrees at Greer, Ariz., to a high of 100 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
Progress seen in Iran-EU nuclear talks By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 25, 6:53 PM ET
ANKARA, Turkey - Senior Iranian and Western envoys signaled Wednesday that they may have made progress in trying to break a deadlock over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. demand to suspend uranium enrichment, saying they planned to meet again in two weeks. In announcing the additional talks, neither European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana nor Ali Larijani, Iran's top international negotiator, revealed details of their two meetings Wednesday, including a previously unscheduled dinner session.But an official based in a European capital said the two touched on having discussions of what would constitute a suspension. A more flexible definition of a freeze acceptable to both sides is the key issue, said the official, who was briefed on the day's talks.
There was also mention of a double time out a simultaneous freeze of Iranian atomic activities in exchange for a commitment not to impose new U.N. sanctions, said the official, who agreed to tell The Associated Press about the private talks only if not quoted by name.Both Solana and Larijani were upbeat after their meetings.We will have some talks tomorrow and in two weeks, Larijani told reporters. He described the discussions as pleasant.Solana spoke of a very constructive dinner, adding that talks will continue tomorrow and in the coming weeks also.Government officials outside Turkey had told AP before the meeting in Ankara that the six powers negotiating with Iran the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany might be willing to allow Iran to keep some of its uranium enrichment program intact, instead of demanding it be dismantled.
But all emphasized the meeting was preliminary and meant only to establish if there was enough common ground for further talks that could lead to the resumption of formal negotiations.The double time out concept is supported by the chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, and is part of a confidential document shared Wednesday with AP.The one-page document, based on a Swiss initiative, proposes that during such a double-moratorium Iran will not develop any further its enrichment activities and the six powers will not introduce any additional U.N. resolutions and sanctions.Diplomats said the document was opposed by the United States, Britain and France, but said it could nonetheless serve as the basis of a later agreement leading to formal negotiations.Solana was expected to brief Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week, when he attends an EU-U.S. summit in Washington, as well as the foreign ministers of the other five powers.
They, in turn, were likely to set ground rules for his next meeting with Larijani.Iran says it is running more than 1,300 centrifuge machines to enrich uranium at its underground facility at Natanz. Its ultimate goal is to have 50,000 centrifuges. That would be enough to supply fuel for what Tehran says is a planned network of atomic reactors to generate electricity or material for a full-scale nuclear weapons program.The U.S. might accept allowing a limited number of centrifuges to remain assembled in series, but not running, one diplomat said. Iran, he said, would likely push for keeping the machines operating, although perhaps not producing enriched uranium.
The six powers also want to reduce the number of hooked-up centrifuges to less than 1,000.The officials who talked with AP some of them diplomats, others government officials based in their capitals are familiar with the discussions on Iran or specialize in nuclear nonproliferation. All insisted on speaking anonymously because the talks are sensitive. With agreement to strive for a new definition of enrichment, Larijani and Solana may be able to sidestep the issue that for months has thwarted the resumption of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the officials said. Iran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand to suspend all activities linked to enrichment has led to two sets of sanctions against the country.
Iran argues the sanctions are illegal, saying it has the right to enrich uranium for use in power-generating reactors under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iranian officials say that is the only purpose of the program, disputing suspicions they are trying to develop atomic bombs. But the United States and others say Iran's past suspicious nuclear activities, including a program that Tehran kept secret for nearly two decades, set the country apart from others that have signed the treaty.
September talks between Solana and Larijani foundered over the same issue. Solana demanded Iran dismantle not only its fledging enrichment efforts but all linked aspects, including assembling centrifuges for enrichment and facilities to house such plants. Iran refused. Earlier negotiations last year between Iran and the three European powers broke down when Iran refused to suspend enrichment in exchange for a package of economic and political inducements, including help in developing a peaceful nuclear program.
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.
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)
JOEL 2:20,30
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.
Russia Launches First of 8 New Nuclear Subs
By NABI ABDULLAEV, MOSCOW APR 25,07
Russia launched its long-awaited new-generation Borei-class submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, on April 15, its first new nuclear sub produced since the fall of the Soviet Union. Military officials said seven additional Borei-class (Project 955) submarines are expected to be built in the next decade. The subs will be the core of Russia’s naval strategic missile forces, yet the Bulava intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) they are supposed to carry are nowhere near ready for production, let alone deployment.For the first time in 17 years, we are launching such a vessel, Sergei Ivanov, first deputy prime minister in charge of technology, said during a ceremony at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk.
In essence, this is the first Russian nuclear submarine.
The Yuri Dolgoruky was moved April 15 from the Sevmash building berth to a dock at the Severodvinsk submarine base, where construction and testing will continue until it is commissioned in 2008, Adm. Vladimir Masorin, Navy commander, told journalists. The process of building eight Borei-class submarines, expected to be commissioned by 2017, is designed in such a way that beginning from 2008, they should be commissioned by the Navy with minimal intervals, he said.
The Dolgoruky’s crew, under the command of Capt. First Rank Konstantin Mitkin, already has undergone training at the Obninsk center outside Moscow.It took 11 years to build the first submarine due to funding problems. High oil prices that helped to boost the Russian economy in the past several years finally allowed work to accelerate on the Dolgoruky and two other Borei subs under construction.
According to the Kremlin’s Web site, Ivanov on April 16 told President Vladimir Putin that the Dolgoruky is 85 percent completed, and that the second Borei, the Alexander Nevsky, is 50 percent built. The Nevsky is to be commissioned in 2009. Last spring, a keel was laid for the third vessel, the Vladimir Monomakh. All the submarines are named after ancient Russian princes.Putin called the Dolgoruky’s launch an important ... event for our armed forces and the entire nation. Putin often stresses in his speeches that Russia’s nuclear arsenals protect the country’s sovereignty and deter foreign meddling in Russian affairs.The Dolgoruky, 170 meters long and 13.5 meters wide, will be capable of descending to a depth of 450 meters and carrying 107 sailors for 100 days without surfacing. The Interfax news agency, citing unnamed defense officials, reported April 15 that it cost 23 billion rubles ($900 million) to build it.
ICBM Woes
Each Borei submarine is designed to carry 12 Bulava (SS-NX-30) ICBMs, a naval analog of the Topol (SS-27) land-based missile used by the Russian strategic missile forces. Bulava missiles are expected to have an 8,000-kilometer range and carry up to 10 nuclear warheads with individual targeting.But in four of five test launches since September 2005, the Bulavas veered off their trajectories and exploded shortly after takeoff.Masorin told journalists in Severodvinsk the next test launch will be in June.After the latest failed test in December, Anatoly Perminov, head of the Federal Space Agency that oversees work on the missile, told journalists that 12 to 14 test launches will be required before the Bulava is commissioned by the military. This may take three years, given that only two to three missiles are produced each year.
The military’s launch of the Dolgoruky will put more pressure on the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technologies, which designed the Bulava and Topol, to accelerate work on the ICBM to get it ready for deployment, said Ivan Safran-chuk, an analyst at the Moscow branch of the Center for Defense Information, a U.S. think tank.The military just will have no choice, no one will refit the submarine’s launch shafts when it is on the water, he said, referring to the fact that the Dolgoruky already has been refitted once to carry Bulavas. It was initially designed to carry R-39 Bark (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) missiles.Safranchuk and Mikhail Barabanov, a naval analyst with the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a think tank here, agreed that it will be years before the Dolgoruky’s systems are fully operational and fine-tuned.
The reason, Safranchuk said, is that production cycles were hectic over the years as the submarine was built, with teams of technicians and engineers changing and working on and off because of the unsteady financing.Russia’s nuclear sub fleet is second only to the U.S. fleet in size. According to the Center for Arms Control Studies, another think tank here, the Russian Navy included 12 strategic nuclear subs as of July 2006. They carried 180 sea-launched ballistic missiles that can deliver 636 warheads. The vessels are deployed only with the Northern Fleet in the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Fleet. E-mail: nabdullaev@defensenews.com.
Putin says foreigners meddling in Russia By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer APR 26,07
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin charged Thursday that foreigners seeking to thwart Russia's resurgence are increasingly interfering in its affairs. He also declared in his state-of-the-nation address that he will not seek a third term, but refused to suggest a successor and said nothing to quell speculation that he seeks to remain in power behind the scenes.Putin's second term in office ends in 2008, and he is constitutionally barred from running for a third. While many observers have suggested he would try to stay in office, Putin again dismissed the idea.The next state of the nation address will be given by another head of state, he said.He acknowledged expectations that he would take advantage of his speech to reveal his choice for a successor, then drew a laugh by saying it is premature for me to declare a political will.Russia enters a high-stakes political season this year with
parliamentary elections in December, followed by presidential elections in March. Russian officials in recent months have complained that Western countries are trying to meddle in the political process by funding pro-democracy organizations, and Putin echoed those allegations.There is a growth in the flow of money from abroad for direct interference in our internal affairs, Putin said in his address, delivered to members of both houses or parliament.
There are those who, skillfully using pseudo-democratic rhetoric, would like to return to the recent past some to loot the country's national riches, to rob the people and the state; others to strip us of economic and political independence, Putin said.Putin did not cite specific countries as sources of the funding. The Russian Foreign Ministry this month complained extensively about U.S. funding of
democracy-promoting organizations in Russia.Officials contend that such funding aims to provoke mass opposition protests such as those that helped propel pro-Western leaders into power in neighboring Georgia and Ukraine in recent years.Police harshly cracked down on a series of opposition protest marches this year, beating some demonstrators and detaining hundreds.Opposition forces charge that Putin is strangling democracy through an array of measures to centralize power and increase the influence of large political parties such as his allied United Russia party, which dominates the Russian parliament.
This year's parliamentary elections will see seats distributed entirely on a party-list basis, eliminating the opportunity for small parties to win seats through strong local support in particular districts a change that critics say is among the measures to smother opposition.But Putin, in his speech, said it was part of a revolutionary step modernizing the elections system ... (it will) help the opposition widen its representation.The death Monday of Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, drew new attention to complaints that Putin is heading the country away from democracy. Yeltsin, as Russia's first post-Soviet leader, worked changes that encouraged pluralism and nudged the country toward democracy.But Putin clearly aimed to portray himself as the curator of Yeltsin's legacy. He began the speech by calling for deputies to stand in silence in memory of Yeltsin and later called for a national library to be established in his name.Putin also praised the development of Russia's economy, which has soared during his presidency, driven largely by high world oil prices. But he called for more of the country's revenues to be applied to improving the lives of its citizens, many of whom have been left behind in the boom and find themselves with insufficient pensions and unable to afford to move out of deteriorating Soviet housing.He proposed a $10 billion fund to repair housing and resettle residents, saying: It is inadmissible for a country with such reserves accumulated from its oil and gas revenues to be at peace with the fact that millions of its citizens live in Khrushchev-era housing.
So-called Khrushchevki are hastily built blocks of cramped apartments that are among Russia's most widely despised housing. Putin also called for initiating a program under which the government would match every 1,000 rubles, or $40, that citizens put into private pension plans.
Rice says missiles no threat to Russia By PAUL AMES, Associated Press Writer APR 26,07
OSLO, Norway - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday dismissed as ludicrous Russian concerns that Washington's plans to deploy anti-missile defenses in Europe would endanger Moscow's nuclear arsenal. A flurry of high-level talks in recent weeks has failed to soften Russia's public opposition to the U.S. plan to install radar scanners in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.Washington says the deployment is aimed at protecting Europe and North America from a growing threat of missile strike by North Korea, Iran or others in the Middle East. Moscow says those countries do not pose an immediate threat, and claims the U.S. plan aims to target Russia's strategic missile arsenal.Let's be real about this and realistic about this.
The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous and everybody knows it, Rice told reporters ahead of NATO talks with Russia's foreign minister.
The Russians have thousands of warheads. The idea that you can somehow stop the Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesn't make sense.The missile debate was expected to dominate two days of talks among NATO foreign ministers, who also will focus on efforts to back up the alliance's military mission in Afghanistan, and a split between Russia and Western powers over the future of Kosovo.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will join the talks after an opening session among the 26 NATO allies.
Rice said the U.S. would continue efforts to demystify the plan for the Russians by pushing an offer to cooperate with Moscow by sharing data and technology. She insisted that Russia, Europe and the United States shared a common threat from the risk of Iran developing long-range ballistic missiles.We are very happy to continue this dialogue, but we have to continue it on the basis of a realist assessment of what we are proposing, not one that is grounded somehow in the 80s, she told a brief news conference with her Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Stoere.Russian officials and generals have revived Cold War language in criticizing the American plan, threatening to target the installations in Eastern Europe. The rhetoric has unnerved some in Western Europe, who fear the negative impact on relations with the Kremlin may outweigh any benefits of the missile shield.
Stoere said he needed to hear more from the Americans. I remain to be convinced about the nature of the threats and the way to respond to them, he told reporters after his meeting with Rice.However, NATO diplomats said there was growing support for the U.S. plans among European governments.
Ministers should get a report on Iran's nuclear stance from EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, after his talks with Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani. The two met Wednesday and planned more discussions Thursday aimed at breaking the deadlock over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. demand for a freeze on uranium enrichment.
If Iran complies, Rice said the White House is prepared to reverse 27 years of American policy and sit down face-to-face with the Iranians, with our allies, to talk about how Iran can have civil nuclear power.On Afghanistan, Rice is likely to restate U.S. concerns about the refusal of some NATO allies to send troops to the frontline provinces in the south, where Canadian, British and U.S. troops are leading the fight against the Taliban. NATO ministers are expected to discuss plans to back up the military campaign with more political and economic support to the Afghan government.
Western allies are likely to press Lavrov to support a U.N. plan that would grant independence to Kosovo under international supervision. Russia has backed Serbia's opposition to the plan and has threatened to veto the plan. NATO fears that could leave its 17,000 peacekeepers facing the potentially violent consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence by the territory's Albanian majority. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Doug Mellgren contributed to this report.
Abbas group rejoices over U.S. deaths in Iraq 9 American dogs killed in bombing proves the collapse of the big empire is near April 26, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
Mahmoud Abbas
JERUSALEM – Members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah militias are celebrating a suicide car bombing that killed nine U.S. soldiers in Iraq earlier this week, stating the attack bolsters their belief the U.S. will soon be defeated and retreat from Muslim lands.It was a very happy day for us Palestinians to hear nine American dogs were killed in Iraq.
We feel encouraged and we feel great solidarity with our brothers in Iraq, and we consider this heroic operation, which aims to humiliate the Americans, as proof that the will of the our resistance is more powerful than any [big] American war airplanes, Abu Ahmed, the northern Gaza commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, said in a WND interview today. The Brigades is the declared military wing of Abbas' U.S.-backed Fatah party, which American policy largely considers moderate. Abu Ahmed was responding to news Monday of a suicide car bomber that struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20. It was one of the deadliest attacks against American ground forces since the Iraq war started more than four years ago.
The Iraqi people, with the help of the mujahedeen fighters all over the world, are teaching the American dogs a huge lesson that will serve for generations for anybody who will dare attack lands of Muslims, Abu Ahmed said. Iraq will be the beginning of the collapse of the American empire.
The Palestinian terror leader said he believes the U.S. will soon withdraw from Iraq, and he labeled any retreat a victory for resistance.Bush is speaking about bringing more soldiers to Iraq as a way to hide his crisis, but by the end of the day the Americans don't support the occupation and Bush will give up the conflict, which is judged from Allah to fail, he said. This is the era of resistance. Bush is staying [in Iraq] now only because Cheney and the Israelis are pressing on him.Abu Ahmed said Palestinians are learning from the Iraq insurgency for their own war against Israel. The coming victory in Iraq proves the next step is to release Palestine if we speak in one voice, he said. We the Palestinians are learning both on the political and military level from our brothers, the heroes in Iraq. They are a model for us. We can be inspired from them because the challenge the Americans are putting in the Green Zone is similar to the challenge the Zionists are putting on us. Andin spite of Israeli pilotless drones, we are succeeding to shoot rockets and winning.
Asked if his group or other Palestinian organizations received help from Iraqi insurgent elements, Abu Ahmed replied, Thanks to Allah the Palestinian people have enough fighting capacity and don't need outside help, but it is our full right to get assistance from anyone for our fight against Israel.
The Palestinian revolution throughout history witnessed participation of different nationalities, but for the moment we don't need help.The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility together with the Islamic Jihad terror group for every suicide bombing in Israel the past two years. The Brigades recently carried out scores of shootings and rocket attacks against Jewish population centers. The U.S. regularly provides weapons and funds to Fatah militias. Congress earlier this month approved a $59 million aid package to bolster Fatah forces. Many members of the Fatah militias, including dozens recently arrested by Israel, are openly members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Abbas last June appointed senior Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader Mahmoud Damra as commander of Force 17, Fatah's presidential guard units, which are trained by America. Damra, who was arrested by Israel in November, was on the Jewish state's most-wanted list of terrorists. This past January, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Al Aqsa Brigades members firing the missiles from Gaza are not affiliated with Fatah and don't take orders from Abbas. She said the militants are directed by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
But in a WND interview following the spokeman's remarks, Abu Ahmed said his group, including the militants launching rockets, is loyal to Abbas and coordinates resistance operations with the Fatah party. The Al Aqsa Brigades is the military wing of the Fatah and the President Abu Mazen (Abbas) is the chairman of the movement, Abu Ahmed said.
We are committed to our leadership, to Abu Mazen. All our activity is in accordance with the political line of Fatah, which consists of fighting the occupation until the creation of a Palestinian state. The rocket-shooting is part of this vision.Most rockets fired recently from Gaza have been launched from the northern part of the territory, which falls within Abu Ahmed's jurisdiction in the Brigades. Asked why Abbas distances himself from Al Aqsa's rocket firing, Abu Ahmed told WND, Listen, we are aware of our president's (Abbas') declarations, but we are also aware of the international political system that brings the president to adopt this position.
MK Shteinitz: Egypt May Be Planning a Pan-Arab Attack
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (INN) APR 26,07
Even as an Egyptian delegation has brought a supposed ceasefire offer from Palestinian Authority terrorist factions to Israeli officials, Knesset Member Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) warns that Egypt's strategy is to drain IDF energy and resources by quietly promoting The Likud MK claimed that Egypt is cooperating with Syria and Iran.continued fighting with PA terrorists. In fact, Shteinitz warns, it is not unreasonable to assume that Egypt is planning for another pan-Arab attack on the Jewish State.
According to the message conveyed to Israel on Thursday by an Egyptian delegation of military officials, which met with terrorist leaders in Gaza, the armed PA factions would agree to a new calm (tahadeya) provided Israel cease all counter-terrorist activities in PA-controlled territories in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The supposed offer from PA terrorist groups comes in the wake of intimations by Israeli officials that a large IDF operation in Gaza is in the offing. No PA faction has publicly admitted to agreeing to the Egyptian formula and there has been a steep increase in rocket attacks on Jewish towns in the Negev in recent days.
One of the Egyptian envoys, Burhan Hammad, informed the Israelis of the new commitment by the [PA] factions and at same time stressed that factions demanded the calm be reciprocal and simultaneous, according to a source quoted by Reuters. MK Shteinitz, a former head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Wednesday that the covert Egyptian strategy is to facilitate continued fighting between Israel and PA-based Arab terrorists.
To that end, Shteinitz charged, Egyptian forces are allowing continued smuggling of weapons and men from Sinai into Gaza. Egypt is not afraid of an Arab terrorist entity in Gaza, Shteinitz explained, which Egyptian leaders believe will serve to weaken the IDF. The Likud MK further claimed that Egypt is cooperating with Syria and Iran in an anti-Israel coalition. Furthermore, Shteinitz did not reject the possibility that Egypt is The covert Egyptian strategy is to facilitate continued fighting between Israel and PA-based Arab terrorists.currently planning a pan-Arab attack against Israel. The possibility is particularly worrisome due to the weakness of the current government, he said, which he believes is the weakest government in 30 years.
In an interview with Arutz-7 on Wednesday, MK Shteinitz said that Israel must ignore pleas for a ceasefire from the PA and launch a large-scale defensive operation in Gaza, similar to Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
He called on the government to return the security situation to what it was before the Oslo Accord agreements by expelling the terrorist leadership of the PA from the country and retaking control of all areas of Judea and Samaria. Any planned Israeli operation, MK Shteinitz emphasized, must also target senior Hamas officials, such as Ismail Haniyeh, despite their inclusion in the PA government. As an example, he noted, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon isolated Fatah terrorist and former PA leader Yasser Arafat in his Mukata compound, and even considered expelling him from the country.
Barroso organising mini-summit on EU constitution
25.04.2007 - 11:05 CET | By Honor Mahony and Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS/European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is in the
process of organising a mini-summit brainstorming on a new-look EU constitution with the aim of giving momentum to the ongoing talks on the future treaty.The informal meeting is to take place next month, soon after the second round of the French elections with 12-13 May being slated as the date.Exactly who will be coming remains unclear, with only a select number of EU leaders expected to be invited.Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reports that Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende has already been invited and that German chancellor Angela Merkel and Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates are also set to attend.Sources have told EUobserver the upcoming EU presidencies until 2009 the end of Mr Barroso's current mandate have been invited.
The next EU presidency is Portugual in the second half of this year, followed by Slovenia, France and the Czech Republic. Sweden, who has the presidency in the second half of 2009, has reportedly also been invited as has Poland and the UK, with Mr Blair already having accepted to go.
Meanwhile, Finland, Belgium and Ireland are not invited.European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told this website that Mr Barroso is keen to inject momentum into the talks.Mr Laitenberger played down the significance of the meeting, which is supposed to take place in Sintra in Portugal.[Mr Barroso] is preparing a brainstorming session with a few personalities, he said, adding that the president is engaged in a series of informal contacts and has discussions in different settings with a whole range of people.
France?
But the meeting is bound to take on political significance coming just weeks before the June summit, where all EU leaders are supposed to sign up to a time plan and a skeletal outline for the a new institutional settlement.
It remains unclear whether France will be present with a French diplomat saying it is constitutionally inconceivable that a newly elected president attends such a meeting before being sworn in something that will not take place until after the Barroso gathering.If the new French president does attend the elections are on 6 May it will be the first time that France sits round an EU table with a leader that will have to take a position on the future treaty since French voters rejected the constitution two years ago. The constitutional question has largely been left on ice since then, with Brussels waiting for elections in both France and the Netherlands who also voted no to the draft EU charter in mid-2005. The recently-formed Dutch government has in the meantime started indicating what it wants in the new document saying that a starting point should be the current Treaty of Nice and that any constitutional elements should be dropped.The UK's Tony Blair has shown support for the Dutch view, with most leaders in EU countries with eurosceptical popular sentiment now keen to see a pared-down document that will not have to be put to a referendum.In this respect, whether Mr Sarkozy or Ms Royal wins the election will be crucial to the treaty talks. The latter has promised a referendum on the new treaty, while Mr Sarkozy falls more into the same referendum-avoiding camp as London and The Hague.For its part, the European Commission and its president support the principles, values and substance of the draft constitution, but recognise that the text as is, is not going to enter into force.The commission has also said it will organise more such meetings, probably next year, and that they will cover a range of issues to do with the future of the EU.
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 26 9:49 AM EDT
APR 26,07
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 ATACAMA, CHILE
MAP 5.1 MASBATE REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.1 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 5.0 VANUATU REGION
MAP 5.4 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.8 COQUIMBO, CHILE
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.9 NEAR THE SOUTH COAST OF MYANMAR
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 4.5 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 5.1 SHIKOKU, JAPAN
APR 25,07
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 4.0 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.1 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
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.
Tornado search ends with toll at 10 By MICHELLE ROBERTS
Thu Apr 26, 4:08 AM ET
EAGLE PASS, Texas - Ricardo Tijerina saw the sky darken and expected a typical spring storm to roll in. I saw some clouds, but I never imagined it was going to be that bad, said Tijerina, who suddenly found himself riding out a series of tornadoes Tuesday night with his six children huddled under beds. At least 10 people were killed in both this community and Piedras Negras, a town on the other side of the Mexican border.
The storm killed two other people in Louisiana and Arkansas.
Neither Eagle Pass nor Piedras Negras had a siren warning system like those that helped people evacuate ahead of the same storm when it flooded streets and peeled roofs off homes in North Texas. No injuries were reported there.After the tornado passed, neighbors poured into Eagle Pass' darkened streets, checking for anyone who needed help, said Eglanteina Alamillo, 20. You could hear everyone was walking around and helping people get out of the trailers, she said.The twisters cut a 4-square-mile swath through the rural community southeast of this city of 26,000 about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio. Two empty elementary schools, a church, business and homes were destroyed, some cut open like dollhouses.Maverick County Judge Jose Aranda said all residents on the Texas side of the border were accounted for, but that 50 to 200 families were left homeless.A family of five a girl, her parents and two other relatives was killed in Eagle Pass when the winds blew their mobile home across the street and into Rosita Valley Elementary School.
It was a whole family, and they were all together, probably like they were huddling, said police Officer Ezekiel Navjas, who arrived Tuesday night just as crews were pulling from the wreckage the body of the girl, believed to be about 5 years old.Gov. Rick Perry, who arrived for a tour Wednesday, said he was pleased with officials' response. The state has asked the federal government for quick assistance and a disaster declaration, which would entitle it to federal aid.It is stunning, the devastation, he said.
Across the Rio Grande, three people were killed and 300 homes were damaged in Piedras Negras. About 1,000 people sought refuge in shelters.The toll in Texas also included one person found in a house, and another died after being taken to a San Antonio hospital, authorities said. More than 80 others were injured, and at least four remained in critical condition Wednesday.Lightning was blamed for a death Wednesday as the huge weather system plowed through the Mississippi and Ohio valleys. The bolt started a fire near Shreveport, La., that killed a 101-year-old man, authorities and the man's family said.A 12th person died in Arkansas when high winds swamped a boat on a lake, officials said.
The sprawling front also spun off tornadoes Tuesday in Oklahoma and Colorado, caused flooding in Iowa and Nebraska and piled snow more than a foot deep in the Rockies.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Thu Apr 26, 5:15 AM ET
A low-pressure system is expected to continue moving through the Plains and into the Ohio Valley before pressing toward the Great Lakes on Thursday, bringing precipitation northward ahead of the storm's cold front. Heavy rain and thunderstorms are expected east of the Mississippi Valley. There is also a slight chance of severe weather in portions of the Southeast due to these thunderstorms.Light to moderate rain is likely in the Ohio Valley and Great Lakes region. Rain is also likely in the Northeast.Rain is expected in areas from the Rockies to the Plains. Washington is also expected to get light rain.
Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s and 60s in the Northeast and to reach into the 80s in the Southeast. In the upper Midwest, they are expected to rise into the 60s, and in the Southwest, temperatures could reach the 90s and triple digits.Temperatures in the lower 48 states Wednesday ranged from a low of 20 degrees at Greer, Ariz., to a high of 100 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
Progress seen in Iran-EU nuclear talks By GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press Writer Wed Apr 25, 6:53 PM ET
ANKARA, Turkey - Senior Iranian and Western envoys signaled Wednesday that they may have made progress in trying to break a deadlock over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. demand to suspend uranium enrichment, saying they planned to meet again in two weeks. In announcing the additional talks, neither European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana nor Ali Larijani, Iran's top international negotiator, revealed details of their two meetings Wednesday, including a previously unscheduled dinner session.But an official based in a European capital said the two touched on having discussions of what would constitute a suspension. A more flexible definition of a freeze acceptable to both sides is the key issue, said the official, who was briefed on the day's talks.
There was also mention of a double time out a simultaneous freeze of Iranian atomic activities in exchange for a commitment not to impose new U.N. sanctions, said the official, who agreed to tell The Associated Press about the private talks only if not quoted by name.Both Solana and Larijani were upbeat after their meetings.We will have some talks tomorrow and in two weeks, Larijani told reporters. He described the discussions as pleasant.Solana spoke of a very constructive dinner, adding that talks will continue tomorrow and in the coming weeks also.Government officials outside Turkey had told AP before the meeting in Ankara that the six powers negotiating with Iran the United States, China, Russia, France, Britain and Germany might be willing to allow Iran to keep some of its uranium enrichment program intact, instead of demanding it be dismantled.
But all emphasized the meeting was preliminary and meant only to establish if there was enough common ground for further talks that could lead to the resumption of formal negotiations.The double time out concept is supported by the chief of the U.N. atomic watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, and is part of a confidential document shared Wednesday with AP.The one-page document, based on a Swiss initiative, proposes that during such a double-moratorium Iran will not develop any further its enrichment activities and the six powers will not introduce any additional U.N. resolutions and sanctions.Diplomats said the document was opposed by the United States, Britain and France, but said it could nonetheless serve as the basis of a later agreement leading to formal negotiations.Solana was expected to brief Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice next week, when he attends an EU-U.S. summit in Washington, as well as the foreign ministers of the other five powers.
They, in turn, were likely to set ground rules for his next meeting with Larijani.Iran says it is running more than 1,300 centrifuge machines to enrich uranium at its underground facility at Natanz. Its ultimate goal is to have 50,000 centrifuges. That would be enough to supply fuel for what Tehran says is a planned network of atomic reactors to generate electricity or material for a full-scale nuclear weapons program.The U.S. might accept allowing a limited number of centrifuges to remain assembled in series, but not running, one diplomat said. Iran, he said, would likely push for keeping the machines operating, although perhaps not producing enriched uranium.
The six powers also want to reduce the number of hooked-up centrifuges to less than 1,000.The officials who talked with AP some of them diplomats, others government officials based in their capitals are familiar with the discussions on Iran or specialize in nuclear nonproliferation. All insisted on speaking anonymously because the talks are sensitive. With agreement to strive for a new definition of enrichment, Larijani and Solana may be able to sidestep the issue that for months has thwarted the resumption of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, the officials said. Iran's defiance of a U.N. Security Council demand to suspend all activities linked to enrichment has led to two sets of sanctions against the country.
Iran argues the sanctions are illegal, saying it has the right to enrich uranium for use in power-generating reactors under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iranian officials say that is the only purpose of the program, disputing suspicions they are trying to develop atomic bombs. But the United States and others say Iran's past suspicious nuclear activities, including a program that Tehran kept secret for nearly two decades, set the country apart from others that have signed the treaty.
September talks between Solana and Larijani foundered over the same issue. Solana demanded Iran dismantle not only its fledging enrichment efforts but all linked aspects, including assembling centrifuges for enrichment and facilities to house such plants. Iran refused. Earlier negotiations last year between Iran and the three European powers broke down when Iran refused to suspend enrichment in exchange for a package of economic and political inducements, including help in developing a peaceful nuclear program.
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.
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)
JOEL 2:20,30
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.
Russia Launches First of 8 New Nuclear Subs
By NABI ABDULLAEV, MOSCOW APR 25,07
Russia launched its long-awaited new-generation Borei-class submarine, the Yuri Dolgoruky, on April 15, its first new nuclear sub produced since the fall of the Soviet Union. Military officials said seven additional Borei-class (Project 955) submarines are expected to be built in the next decade. The subs will be the core of Russia’s naval strategic missile forces, yet the Bulava intercontinental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) they are supposed to carry are nowhere near ready for production, let alone deployment.For the first time in 17 years, we are launching such a vessel, Sergei Ivanov, first deputy prime minister in charge of technology, said during a ceremony at the Sevmash plant in Severodvinsk.
In essence, this is the first Russian nuclear submarine.
The Yuri Dolgoruky was moved April 15 from the Sevmash building berth to a dock at the Severodvinsk submarine base, where construction and testing will continue until it is commissioned in 2008, Adm. Vladimir Masorin, Navy commander, told journalists. The process of building eight Borei-class submarines, expected to be commissioned by 2017, is designed in such a way that beginning from 2008, they should be commissioned by the Navy with minimal intervals, he said.
The Dolgoruky’s crew, under the command of Capt. First Rank Konstantin Mitkin, already has undergone training at the Obninsk center outside Moscow.It took 11 years to build the first submarine due to funding problems. High oil prices that helped to boost the Russian economy in the past several years finally allowed work to accelerate on the Dolgoruky and two other Borei subs under construction.
According to the Kremlin’s Web site, Ivanov on April 16 told President Vladimir Putin that the Dolgoruky is 85 percent completed, and that the second Borei, the Alexander Nevsky, is 50 percent built. The Nevsky is to be commissioned in 2009. Last spring, a keel was laid for the third vessel, the Vladimir Monomakh. All the submarines are named after ancient Russian princes.Putin called the Dolgoruky’s launch an important ... event for our armed forces and the entire nation. Putin often stresses in his speeches that Russia’s nuclear arsenals protect the country’s sovereignty and deter foreign meddling in Russian affairs.The Dolgoruky, 170 meters long and 13.5 meters wide, will be capable of descending to a depth of 450 meters and carrying 107 sailors for 100 days without surfacing. The Interfax news agency, citing unnamed defense officials, reported April 15 that it cost 23 billion rubles ($900 million) to build it.
ICBM Woes
Each Borei submarine is designed to carry 12 Bulava (SS-NX-30) ICBMs, a naval analog of the Topol (SS-27) land-based missile used by the Russian strategic missile forces. Bulava missiles are expected to have an 8,000-kilometer range and carry up to 10 nuclear warheads with individual targeting.But in four of five test launches since September 2005, the Bulavas veered off their trajectories and exploded shortly after takeoff.Masorin told journalists in Severodvinsk the next test launch will be in June.After the latest failed test in December, Anatoly Perminov, head of the Federal Space Agency that oversees work on the missile, told journalists that 12 to 14 test launches will be required before the Bulava is commissioned by the military. This may take three years, given that only two to three missiles are produced each year.
The military’s launch of the Dolgoruky will put more pressure on the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technologies, which designed the Bulava and Topol, to accelerate work on the ICBM to get it ready for deployment, said Ivan Safran-chuk, an analyst at the Moscow branch of the Center for Defense Information, a U.S. think tank.The military just will have no choice, no one will refit the submarine’s launch shafts when it is on the water, he said, referring to the fact that the Dolgoruky already has been refitted once to carry Bulavas. It was initially designed to carry R-39 Bark (SS-N-20 Sturgeon) missiles.Safranchuk and Mikhail Barabanov, a naval analyst with the Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a think tank here, agreed that it will be years before the Dolgoruky’s systems are fully operational and fine-tuned.
The reason, Safranchuk said, is that production cycles were hectic over the years as the submarine was built, with teams of technicians and engineers changing and working on and off because of the unsteady financing.Russia’s nuclear sub fleet is second only to the U.S. fleet in size. According to the Center for Arms Control Studies, another think tank here, the Russian Navy included 12 strategic nuclear subs as of July 2006. They carried 180 sea-launched ballistic missiles that can deliver 636 warheads. The vessels are deployed only with the Northern Fleet in the Arctic Ocean and the Pacific Fleet. E-mail: nabdullaev@defensenews.com.
Putin says foreigners meddling in Russia By JIM HEINTZ, Associated Press Writer APR 26,07
MOSCOW - President Vladimir Putin charged Thursday that foreigners seeking to thwart Russia's resurgence are increasingly interfering in its affairs. He also declared in his state-of-the-nation address that he will not seek a third term, but refused to suggest a successor and said nothing to quell speculation that he seeks to remain in power behind the scenes.Putin's second term in office ends in 2008, and he is constitutionally barred from running for a third. While many observers have suggested he would try to stay in office, Putin again dismissed the idea.The next state of the nation address will be given by another head of state, he said.He acknowledged expectations that he would take advantage of his speech to reveal his choice for a successor, then drew a laugh by saying it is premature for me to declare a political will.Russia enters a high-stakes political season this year with
parliamentary elections in December, followed by presidential elections in March. Russian officials in recent months have complained that Western countries are trying to meddle in the political process by funding pro-democracy organizations, and Putin echoed those allegations.There is a growth in the flow of money from abroad for direct interference in our internal affairs, Putin said in his address, delivered to members of both houses or parliament.
There are those who, skillfully using pseudo-democratic rhetoric, would like to return to the recent past some to loot the country's national riches, to rob the people and the state; others to strip us of economic and political independence, Putin said.Putin did not cite specific countries as sources of the funding. The Russian Foreign Ministry this month complained extensively about U.S. funding of
democracy-promoting organizations in Russia.Officials contend that such funding aims to provoke mass opposition protests such as those that helped propel pro-Western leaders into power in neighboring Georgia and Ukraine in recent years.Police harshly cracked down on a series of opposition protest marches this year, beating some demonstrators and detaining hundreds.Opposition forces charge that Putin is strangling democracy through an array of measures to centralize power and increase the influence of large political parties such as his allied United Russia party, which dominates the Russian parliament.
This year's parliamentary elections will see seats distributed entirely on a party-list basis, eliminating the opportunity for small parties to win seats through strong local support in particular districts a change that critics say is among the measures to smother opposition.But Putin, in his speech, said it was part of a revolutionary step modernizing the elections system ... (it will) help the opposition widen its representation.The death Monday of Putin's predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, drew new attention to complaints that Putin is heading the country away from democracy. Yeltsin, as Russia's first post-Soviet leader, worked changes that encouraged pluralism and nudged the country toward democracy.But Putin clearly aimed to portray himself as the curator of Yeltsin's legacy. He began the speech by calling for deputies to stand in silence in memory of Yeltsin and later called for a national library to be established in his name.Putin also praised the development of Russia's economy, which has soared during his presidency, driven largely by high world oil prices. But he called for more of the country's revenues to be applied to improving the lives of its citizens, many of whom have been left behind in the boom and find themselves with insufficient pensions and unable to afford to move out of deteriorating Soviet housing.He proposed a $10 billion fund to repair housing and resettle residents, saying: It is inadmissible for a country with such reserves accumulated from its oil and gas revenues to be at peace with the fact that millions of its citizens live in Khrushchev-era housing.
So-called Khrushchevki are hastily built blocks of cramped apartments that are among Russia's most widely despised housing. Putin also called for initiating a program under which the government would match every 1,000 rubles, or $40, that citizens put into private pension plans.
Rice says missiles no threat to Russia By PAUL AMES, Associated Press Writer APR 26,07
OSLO, Norway - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Thursday dismissed as ludicrous Russian concerns that Washington's plans to deploy anti-missile defenses in Europe would endanger Moscow's nuclear arsenal. A flurry of high-level talks in recent weeks has failed to soften Russia's public opposition to the U.S. plan to install radar scanners in the Czech Republic and 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.Washington says the deployment is aimed at protecting Europe and North America from a growing threat of missile strike by North Korea, Iran or others in the Middle East. Moscow says those countries do not pose an immediate threat, and claims the U.S. plan aims to target Russia's strategic missile arsenal.Let's be real about this and realistic about this.
The idea that somehow 10 interceptors and a few radars in Eastern Europe are going to threaten the Soviet strategic deterrent is purely ludicrous and everybody knows it, Rice told reporters ahead of NATO talks with Russia's foreign minister.
The Russians have thousands of warheads. The idea that you can somehow stop the Russian strategic nuclear deterrent with a few interceptors just doesn't make sense.The missile debate was expected to dominate two days of talks among NATO foreign ministers, who also will focus on efforts to back up the alliance's military mission in Afghanistan, and a split between Russia and Western powers over the future of Kosovo.Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will join the talks after an opening session among the 26 NATO allies.
Rice said the U.S. would continue efforts to demystify the plan for the Russians by pushing an offer to cooperate with Moscow by sharing data and technology. She insisted that Russia, Europe and the United States shared a common threat from the risk of Iran developing long-range ballistic missiles.We are very happy to continue this dialogue, but we have to continue it on the basis of a realist assessment of what we are proposing, not one that is grounded somehow in the 80s, she told a brief news conference with her Norwegian counterpart, Jonas Gahr Stoere.Russian officials and generals have revived Cold War language in criticizing the American plan, threatening to target the installations in Eastern Europe. The rhetoric has unnerved some in Western Europe, who fear the negative impact on relations with the Kremlin may outweigh any benefits of the missile shield.
Stoere said he needed to hear more from the Americans. I remain to be convinced about the nature of the threats and the way to respond to them, he told reporters after his meeting with Rice.However, NATO diplomats said there was growing support for the U.S. plans among European governments.
Ministers should get a report on Iran's nuclear stance from EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, after his talks with Iran's chief negotiator, Ali Larijani. The two met Wednesday and planned more discussions Thursday aimed at breaking the deadlock over Tehran's defiance of a U.N. demand for a freeze on uranium enrichment.
If Iran complies, Rice said the White House is prepared to reverse 27 years of American policy and sit down face-to-face with the Iranians, with our allies, to talk about how Iran can have civil nuclear power.On Afghanistan, Rice is likely to restate U.S. concerns about the refusal of some NATO allies to send troops to the frontline provinces in the south, where Canadian, British and U.S. troops are leading the fight against the Taliban. NATO ministers are expected to discuss plans to back up the military campaign with more political and economic support to the Afghan government.
Western allies are likely to press Lavrov to support a U.N. plan that would grant independence to Kosovo under international supervision. Russia has backed Serbia's opposition to the plan and has threatened to veto the plan. NATO fears that could leave its 17,000 peacekeepers facing the potentially violent consequences of a unilateral declaration of independence by the territory's Albanian majority. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Doug Mellgren contributed to this report.
Abbas group rejoices over U.S. deaths in Iraq 9 American dogs killed in bombing proves the collapse of the big empire is near April 26, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - WorldNetDaily.com
Mahmoud Abbas
JERUSALEM – Members of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah militias are celebrating a suicide car bombing that killed nine U.S. soldiers in Iraq earlier this week, stating the attack bolsters their belief the U.S. will soon be defeated and retreat from Muslim lands.It was a very happy day for us Palestinians to hear nine American dogs were killed in Iraq.
We feel encouraged and we feel great solidarity with our brothers in Iraq, and we consider this heroic operation, which aims to humiliate the Americans, as proof that the will of the our resistance is more powerful than any [big] American war airplanes, Abu Ahmed, the northern Gaza commander of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, said in a WND interview today. The Brigades is the declared military wing of Abbas' U.S.-backed Fatah party, which American policy largely considers moderate. Abu Ahmed was responding to news Monday of a suicide car bomber that struck a patrol base northeast of Baghdad, killing nine U.S. soldiers and wounding 20. It was one of the deadliest attacks against American ground forces since the Iraq war started more than four years ago.
The Iraqi people, with the help of the mujahedeen fighters all over the world, are teaching the American dogs a huge lesson that will serve for generations for anybody who will dare attack lands of Muslims, Abu Ahmed said. Iraq will be the beginning of the collapse of the American empire.
The Palestinian terror leader said he believes the U.S. will soon withdraw from Iraq, and he labeled any retreat a victory for resistance.Bush is speaking about bringing more soldiers to Iraq as a way to hide his crisis, but by the end of the day the Americans don't support the occupation and Bush will give up the conflict, which is judged from Allah to fail, he said. This is the era of resistance. Bush is staying [in Iraq] now only because Cheney and the Israelis are pressing on him.Abu Ahmed said Palestinians are learning from the Iraq insurgency for their own war against Israel. The coming victory in Iraq proves the next step is to release Palestine if we speak in one voice, he said. We the Palestinians are learning both on the political and military level from our brothers, the heroes in Iraq. They are a model for us. We can be inspired from them because the challenge the Americans are putting in the Green Zone is similar to the challenge the Zionists are putting on us. Andin spite of Israeli pilotless drones, we are succeeding to shoot rockets and winning.
Asked if his group or other Palestinian organizations received help from Iraqi insurgent elements, Abu Ahmed replied, Thanks to Allah the Palestinian people have enough fighting capacity and don't need outside help, but it is our full right to get assistance from anyone for our fight against Israel.
The Palestinian revolution throughout history witnessed participation of different nationalities, but for the moment we don't need help.The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility together with the Islamic Jihad terror group for every suicide bombing in Israel the past two years. The Brigades recently carried out scores of shootings and rocket attacks against Jewish population centers. The U.S. regularly provides weapons and funds to Fatah militias. Congress earlier this month approved a $59 million aid package to bolster Fatah forces. Many members of the Fatah militias, including dozens recently arrested by Israel, are openly members of the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades. Abbas last June appointed senior Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades leader Mahmoud Damra as commander of Force 17, Fatah's presidential guard units, which are trained by America. Damra, who was arrested by Israel in November, was on the Jewish state's most-wanted list of terrorists. This past January, a spokesman for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the Al Aqsa Brigades members firing the missiles from Gaza are not affiliated with Fatah and don't take orders from Abbas. She said the militants are directed by the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah militia.
But in a WND interview following the spokeman's remarks, Abu Ahmed said his group, including the militants launching rockets, is loyal to Abbas and coordinates resistance operations with the Fatah party. The Al Aqsa Brigades is the military wing of the Fatah and the President Abu Mazen (Abbas) is the chairman of the movement, Abu Ahmed said.
We are committed to our leadership, to Abu Mazen. All our activity is in accordance with the political line of Fatah, which consists of fighting the occupation until the creation of a Palestinian state. The rocket-shooting is part of this vision.Most rockets fired recently from Gaza have been launched from the northern part of the territory, which falls within Abu Ahmed's jurisdiction in the Brigades. Asked why Abbas distances himself from Al Aqsa's rocket firing, Abu Ahmed told WND, Listen, we are aware of our president's (Abbas') declarations, but we are also aware of the international political system that brings the president to adopt this position.
MK Shteinitz: Egypt May Be Planning a Pan-Arab Attack
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (INN) APR 26,07
Even as an Egyptian delegation has brought a supposed ceasefire offer from Palestinian Authority terrorist factions to Israeli officials, Knesset Member Yuval Shteinitz (Likud) warns that Egypt's strategy is to drain IDF energy and resources by quietly promoting The Likud MK claimed that Egypt is cooperating with Syria and Iran.continued fighting with PA terrorists. In fact, Shteinitz warns, it is not unreasonable to assume that Egypt is planning for another pan-Arab attack on the Jewish State.
According to the message conveyed to Israel on Thursday by an Egyptian delegation of military officials, which met with terrorist leaders in Gaza, the armed PA factions would agree to a new calm (tahadeya) provided Israel cease all counter-terrorist activities in PA-controlled territories in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The supposed offer from PA terrorist groups comes in the wake of intimations by Israeli officials that a large IDF operation in Gaza is in the offing. No PA faction has publicly admitted to agreeing to the Egyptian formula and there has been a steep increase in rocket attacks on Jewish towns in the Negev in recent days.
One of the Egyptian envoys, Burhan Hammad, informed the Israelis of the new commitment by the [PA] factions and at same time stressed that factions demanded the calm be reciprocal and simultaneous, according to a source quoted by Reuters. MK Shteinitz, a former head of the Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, said Wednesday that the covert Egyptian strategy is to facilitate continued fighting between Israel and PA-based Arab terrorists.
To that end, Shteinitz charged, Egyptian forces are allowing continued smuggling of weapons and men from Sinai into Gaza. Egypt is not afraid of an Arab terrorist entity in Gaza, Shteinitz explained, which Egyptian leaders believe will serve to weaken the IDF. The Likud MK further claimed that Egypt is cooperating with Syria and Iran in an anti-Israel coalition. Furthermore, Shteinitz did not reject the possibility that Egypt is The covert Egyptian strategy is to facilitate continued fighting between Israel and PA-based Arab terrorists.currently planning a pan-Arab attack against Israel. The possibility is particularly worrisome due to the weakness of the current government, he said, which he believes is the weakest government in 30 years.
In an interview with Arutz-7 on Wednesday, MK Shteinitz said that Israel must ignore pleas for a ceasefire from the PA and launch a large-scale defensive operation in Gaza, similar to Operation Defensive Shield in 2002.
He called on the government to return the security situation to what it was before the Oslo Accord agreements by expelling the terrorist leadership of the PA from the country and retaking control of all areas of Judea and Samaria. Any planned Israeli operation, MK Shteinitz emphasized, must also target senior Hamas officials, such as Ismail Haniyeh, despite their inclusion in the PA government. As an example, he noted, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon isolated Fatah terrorist and former PA leader Yasser Arafat in his Mukata compound, and even considered expelling him from the country.
Barroso organising mini-summit on EU constitution
25.04.2007 - 11:05 CET | By Honor Mahony and Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER BRUSSELS/European commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is in the
process of organising a mini-summit brainstorming on a new-look EU constitution with the aim of giving momentum to the ongoing talks on the future treaty.The informal meeting is to take place next month, soon after the second round of the French elections with 12-13 May being slated as the date.Exactly who will be coming remains unclear, with only a select number of EU leaders expected to be invited.Dutch newspaper Volkskrant reports that Dutch leader Jan Peter Balkenende has already been invited and that German chancellor Angela Merkel and Portuguese prime minister Jose Socrates are also set to attend.Sources have told EUobserver the upcoming EU presidencies until 2009 the end of Mr Barroso's current mandate have been invited.
The next EU presidency is Portugual in the second half of this year, followed by Slovenia, France and the Czech Republic. Sweden, who has the presidency in the second half of 2009, has reportedly also been invited as has Poland and the UK, with Mr Blair already having accepted to go.
Meanwhile, Finland, Belgium and Ireland are not invited.European Commission spokesman Johannes Laitenberger told this website that Mr Barroso is keen to inject momentum into the talks.Mr Laitenberger played down the significance of the meeting, which is supposed to take place in Sintra in Portugal.[Mr Barroso] is preparing a brainstorming session with a few personalities, he said, adding that the president is engaged in a series of informal contacts and has discussions in different settings with a whole range of people.
France?
But the meeting is bound to take on political significance coming just weeks before the June summit, where all EU leaders are supposed to sign up to a time plan and a skeletal outline for the a new institutional settlement.
It remains unclear whether France will be present with a French diplomat saying it is constitutionally inconceivable that a newly elected president attends such a meeting before being sworn in something that will not take place until after the Barroso gathering.If the new French president does attend the elections are on 6 May it will be the first time that France sits round an EU table with a leader that will have to take a position on the future treaty since French voters rejected the constitution two years ago. The constitutional question has largely been left on ice since then, with Brussels waiting for elections in both France and the Netherlands who also voted no to the draft EU charter in mid-2005. The recently-formed Dutch government has in the meantime started indicating what it wants in the new document saying that a starting point should be the current Treaty of Nice and that any constitutional elements should be dropped.The UK's Tony Blair has shown support for the Dutch view, with most leaders in EU countries with eurosceptical popular sentiment now keen to see a pared-down document that will not have to be put to a referendum.In this respect, whether Mr Sarkozy or Ms Royal wins the election will be crucial to the treaty talks. The latter has promised a referendum on the new treaty, while Mr Sarkozy falls more into the same referendum-avoiding camp as London and The Hague.For its part, the European Commission and its president support the principles, values and substance of the draft constitution, but recognise that the text as is, is not going to enter into force.The commission has also said it will organise more such meetings, probably next year, and that they will cover a range of issues to do with the future of the EU.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
SADR - TEAR DOWN THIS WALL
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-At least nine dead after tornado on southern Texas border. 3-The Nation's Weather. 4-On Israeli Independence Day, help stop the threat of Iran. 5-Germany sends letter to salvage EU constitution. 6-NATO, EU Working Harder To Coordinate Efforts. 7-Israel rules out major Gaza offensive. 8-Scientists discover super-Earth planet. 9-EU commissioner backs Royal in French election 10-Sadr calls for demonstration.
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 25 11:30 AM EDT
APR 25,07
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.7 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 4.0 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
APR 24,07
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.0 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NEVADA
MAP 5.3 COLOMBIA
MAP 4.9 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.8 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.7 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.3 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
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.
At least nine dead after tornado on southern Texas border APR 25,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A tornado ripped across the US-Mexico border, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more, local authorities and media said on Wednesday. Six people were killed in the small Texas town of Eagle Pass, officials said. Three others were killed in Mexico a few miles (kilometers) away, television station KDFW in Dallas reported.
The tornado struck Eagle Pass, at about 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) on Tuesday evening, destroying some 20 homes, an elementary school and a sewage treatment plant, local television stations reported.We have six confirmed fatalities, a spokeswoman for the mayor, Chad Foster, told AFP. Some 81 people were treated for injuries at a local hospital, including four who suffered critical injuries, the mayor's office said.State authorities deployed National Guard units to help with search and clean-up efforts, local media reported.
The mayor's office said three shelters had been opened for those who lost their homes.The same storm system that produced the tornado also had caused flash flooding elsewhere in Texas, with television footage showing people wading through waist-deep water after being rescued from flooded cars or homes.Numerous flights were delayed or cancelled in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to the storm.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Wed Apr 25, 5:59 AM ET
A storm system that has dumped rain on parts of the Plains will cause more severe weather in the central and eastern parts of the country on Wednesday. Severe thunderstorms are likely through the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys, with high winds, hail and even tornadoes possible.Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected along a front stretching from the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to the northern Mid-Atlantic region and southern New England.Light rain and high mountain snow is expected in the Northwest, and rain is expected in the northern Rockies and Plains.
Warm, dry weather is expected in the Southeast and Southwest.Temperatures in the lower 48 states Tuesday ranged from a low of 21 degrees at Stonington, Mich., to a high of 93 degrees at Thermal, Calif.
On Israeli Independence Day, help stop the threat of Iran APR 24,07
Don't let history repeat itself.A rogue nation in the 1930s was ignored until it was too late to save Europe's Jews.Act now before Ahmadinejad has a chance to carry out a second Holocaust.
Dear Stan
As we celebrate Israel's Independence Day, Israel's enemies are openly advocating its destruction. Ahmadinejad's plan to wipe Israel off the map is not much different than Hitler's was in the 1930's.While global leaders are practicing the politics of appeasement, the menace of Iran armed with nuclear weapons is gathering strength. A nuclear Iran poses a threat not only to Israel but to the entire free world.Will you sit on the sidelines or will you do your part to get the world to act? No one wants to think the unthinkable, but those who bury their heads in the sand and simply count on others to do the right thing are relying on hope. But when lives are at stake, hope is a poor planning tool.At The Israel Project (TIP), we have a plan to make sure the world knows the threat a nuclear Iran poses to Israel and the world.
With your continued support, TIP will focus on the following activities which are imperative if Israel and the world are to remain safe from nuclear rogue nations like Iran. http://www.theisraelproject.org/donate.
Your tax-deductible gift to TIP in the amount of at least $25 will allow us to continue defending Israel and the world by: Educating the public about the threat of a nuclear Iran to the entire world, including Israel, through a full-scale global media relations effort.
Gathering public support to compel Hamas to agree to the 3 R's: Recognize Israel, Renounce terror and Respect previous agreements. Reminding the public about the sacrifices Israel has made for peace and focusing on the continuing terrorism emanating from Gaza and beyond. Focusing attention on the threat of Hezbollah and the need to implement UN resolutions on Lebanon. Israel's enemies have poured of tens of millions of dollars into a global media campaign to destroy Israel's image in the world. They have staged tragedies and doctored photos to position Israel as an aggressor with no regard for human suffering.That's why TIP's efforts to reach out to the global media with the truth are so important.
The Israel Project has now become the go-to place in the pro-Israel community for message research and communications strategies proven effective in the war for the hearts and minds of the public. TIP's research is made available free of charge to Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Relations Councils and other Jewish groups throughout the country as well as to officials in Israel. TIP's research team includes the best and brightest in strategic communications: Stan Greenberg, PhD; Neil Newhouse; Anna Greenberg, PhD; Ari Fleischer; and Dan Hazelwood.
But we must do more.
The current threat posed by rogue nuclear states bent on attacking Israel and the rest of the world demands that TIP increase its efforts to educate the global media on this threat and what it means to Israel and the rest of the world.This will mean creating and executing a communications effort to educate the public and media on a global scale.That is why your tax deductible gift is needed now before it is too late!http://www.theisraelproject.org/donate.
We were too late once before when the world turned its back to the threat of a rogue nation bent on destruction in the 1930's. With your continued support, The Israel Project will make sure the same mistake is not made again.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Founder and President
The Israel Project
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
Germany sends letter to salvage EU constitution
23.04.2007 - 17:45 CET | By Honor Mahony
German chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated Berlin is going to leave as much of the EU constitution intact as possible making only the minimum changes needed to get sceptical nations such as the UK, Poland and the Czech Republic on board.
British media over the weekend gave details of a leaked letter by Mrs Merkel in which she says Every effort will have to be made to restrict change to what is absolutely necessary to reach an overall agreement and to ensure ratification by all member states.The letter, quoted in The Times, shows the pragmatic line that Berlin is taking in an effort to get reluctant nations on board but also to make sure that the 18 countries that have already largely ratified the document are catered for.For its part, the German government has denied reports of a letter from Mrs Merkel. There is no such letter from the chancellor to her counterparts, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said on Saturday, according to Spiegel Online.But it has not denied asking 12 crucial questions of national governments, with a summit fast approaching in June where member states will be asked to lay their cards on the political table and agree a timetable and a basic frame of reference for the treaty.
The 12 questions attempt to put together some of the suggestions that member states have made for altering the constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago. Some of the questions include purely cosmetic changes such as altering the name of the proposed EU foreign minister the Czech government recently brought this issue up as well as dropping the symbols of the EU the flag, hymn and logo something which the Dutch are in favour of.
Berlin also asks if enlargement criteria should be included in a future treaty and if there should be a reference to the social dimension of Europe France strongly supports this as well as whether countries should be able to opt in or out of future provisions of the treaty.This model has been used in previous treaties with Denmark being granted an opt out from the single currency, defence policy, EU citizenship and justice and home affairs after it rejected the Maastricht treaty in 1992.The chancellor's questions, reported in the Swedish website Europaportalen, also ask whether to replace the full text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by a short cross reference having the same legal value.Taking up an important suggestion by UK prime minister Tony Blair, question number two indirectly asks whether the constitution could be presented as a document that is amending the 2001 Nice Treaty.
How do you assess in that case the proposal made by some Member States that the consolidated approach of part 1 of the Constitutional Treaty is preserved, with the necessary presentational changes resulting from the return to the classical method of treaty changes? asks the chancellor.
The German leader has upped the tempo around the constitution and is due to meet EU leaders bilaterally over the coming weeks to see if she can smooth out as many of the difficulties as possible before the June summit.Under Berlin's timetable, there will be a short intergovernmental conference in the second half of this year, with ratification by member states planned in 2008 and the whole exercise wrapped up by the European elections in mid 2009.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
NATO, EU Working Harder To Coordinate Efforts
By BROOKS TIGNER, BRUSSELS APR 24,07
Dialogue and cooperation between NATO and the European Union appear to be on the mend, several years after tension flared over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.NATO and the union are working more tightly than ever — for example, to orchestrate a peaceful transition of Kosovo to independence and to coordinate military and civil security reforms in Afghanistan. Just as important, the uneasy rhetorical competition about who should do what regarding security policy in Europe is subsiding. Accommodation and a flexible division of security tasks are now the operative concepts.
The EU needs a partnership, a strategic partnership, with NATO, and it is very important to accept the challenge of cooperating with it, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung told an audience of German officials here April 10. We must not consider NATO or the U.N. as competitors. They and the EU are complementary to each other and it is obvious we should now work closely together. At the very least, we do not have the financial means to compete with each other.
Though EU sensitivities remain about cozying up too publicly to NATO, the two sides are consulting closely on a wide range of practical matters, albeit behind closed doors. NATO and EU military planners are carefully synchronizing the timing of the drawdown of EU peacekeeping troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina with contingency planning in nearby Kosovo, in case of security problems linked to Kosovo’s imminent detachment from Serbia. Alliance and union experts meet regularly on civil reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, where an EU civil security mission soon will be established to train and reform the country’s police sector. The two blocs also coordinate logistics assistance to African Union forces in Darfur, Sudan, and may be asked to do the same in Somalia.Finally, NATO military planners are working more closely with EU counterparts than in the past to avoid duplication or competing claims on rapid-reaction capabilities as the union creates its 1,500-strong rapid-reaction battle groups. Two of the battle groups are close to operational readiness and another 13 will be created in the coming years.
Jung is not alone in pushing for a change of stance in EU-NATO relations. NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer has repeatedly called on the union to establish healthier consultations with the alliance. EU officialdom has not formally echoed de Hoop Scheffer’s appeal, but there is a growing recognition in its military and security policy circles that institutional competition with NATO will do more harm than good.Avoiding competition between the EU battle groups and the NATO Response Force is a good example. We are not going to duplicate the NATO Response Force, French Gen. Henri Bentégeat, EU Military Committee chairman, told reporters here in March during an EU-flagged naval exercise. He is widely seen as supporting closer coordination with NATO.Lt. Gen. David Leakey, head of the union’s Military Staff, the operational and planning wing that reports to the committee, holds a similar view: Look at all the EU member states that are double-hatted; it’s not as if each side [NATO and the EU] doesn’t know what the other is doing, he said, referring to European security and military personnel who shuttle between the two organizations. We talk to NATO and we coordinate planning.
One potentially sharp disturbance to EU-NATO relations, however, is the U.S. offer to extend its missile defense shield across Europe by setting up radar tracking and interceptor sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Both are NATO and EU members.Washington’s discussion of the subject with capitals outside the framework of NATO or the union has upset member states in both organizations.
EU leaders are nervous about public opposition to missile deployment in Eastern Europe as well as Russian hostility to the U.S. system, while alliance politicians want debate on missile defense in Europe placed within a NATO context, not bilaterally between Washington and selected partners.If Washington is going to build a missile shield across Europe, it needs to be discussed within NATO, and you cannot leave Russia out of the talks, Jung said.E-mail: btigner@defensenews.com.
Israel rules out major Gaza offensive By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer APR 25,07
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday authorized the army to carry out limited operations against militants in the Gaza Strip, but ruled out a large-scale ground offensive in response to a new round of Hamas rocket attacks, Israeli officials said.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting that Olmert held with senior security officials following the fresh rocket fire. The violence has threatened to unravel a five-month cease-fire.Two meeting participants said Olmert agreed to allow the army to carry out pinpoint operations to halt the rocket fire, but decided against a widespread offensive, essentially continuing current Israeli policy in Gaza. There have been growing calls in military circles for tougher action in Gaza.
The participants spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.On Tuesday, the Islamic militant group said its members fired 41 rockets and 54 mortar shells in response to Israeli raids.The Israeli military said it could confirm the launching of only six rockets and eight shells. Just two rockets reached Israel, causing no casualties or injuries, the
army said.The head of an Egyptian security delegation in Gaza, Maj. Gen. Burhan Hamad, called a meeting of all Palestinian factions Wednesday morning, urging them to maintain the calm to avert any possible Israeli invasion of Gaza.He condemned the rocket barrages, as well as the Israeli raids earlier in the week that killed nine Palestinians, most of them militants. Egypt frequently acts as a mediator between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Hamas is a partner in the Palestinian coalition government, whose platform calls for a long-term truce with Israel.Israeli media, citing military officials, said the rocket bombardment apparently had been intended to create a diversion in order to capture an Israeli soldier near the Gaza border. The military refused to comment on the reports.Hamas-linked militants have been holding a 20-year-old Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit, captive since capturing him in a cross-border raid last June.Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the Gaza truce in late November, declaring an end to Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli attacks, including airstrikes at Gaza militants and invasions of towns in northern Gaza.Israel has stopped most of military activity but kept Gaza in a stranglehold by frequently closing its vital border crossings, citing security threats. While Hamas rocket squads stayed on the sidelines, other groups, like Islamic Jihad, have kept up fire of homemade rockets almost daily at Israeli towns and villages just outside Gaza.Tuesday's rocket barrage, coinciding with Israeli Independence Day, was the first sign Hamas was backing away from the truce.The cease-fire has been over for a long time, and Israel is responsible for that, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, told the Voice of Palestine radio station.
On a visit to Rome, Abbas called on Israel to exercise the necessary self-control and said the truce violation is an exceptional act which will not last.Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas appeared to defend the attack.We made great efforts at keeping the truce and there was a positive Palestinian position, but unfortunately this position was met by expanding (Israeli) aggression and escalating it against the Palestinian people, he said. Haniyeh's spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, also blamed Israel, but said the Palestinian government affirms the importance of maintaining the truce and protecting it.Peretz told Israel Radio late Tuesday that the Hamas claim of responsibility for the rockets attack was a very serious matter, and we will have to deal with it.Also Wednesday, the army ended a general closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The closure, put in place on Sunday for Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day, had barred virtually all Palestinians from entering Israel. Thousands of Palestinians enter Israel each day for work, medical care and family visits.
KNOWLEDGE INCREASE (COMPUTERS) AND TRAVEL.
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
FEARFUL SIGHTS AND GREAT SIGNS FROM HEAVEN
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.
Scientists discover super-Earth planet Wed Apr 25, 6:35 AM ET
PARIS (AFP) - Astronomers reported on Wednesday they had discovered a super-Earth more than 20 light years away that is the most intriguing world found so far in the search for extraterrestrial life.
About five times the mass of Earth, the planet orbits a cool, dim red dwarf star located in the constellation of Libra, the team from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release.The star, Gliese 581, has already been identified as hosting a planet similar in size to Neptune, the frigid gas giant on the edge of our own Solar System.The new planet is 14 times closer to Gliese 581 than the Earth is to the Sun. But because Gliese 581 is so cool, the planet is not scorched by solar radiation. It zips around the star at express speed, making just 13 days to complete an orbit.
We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius (32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit), and water would thus be liquid, said lead researcher Stephane Udry of Switzerland's Geneva University.Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky like our Earth or covered with oceans.Liquid water is critical to life as we know it, said Xavier Delfosse, a team member from France's Grenoble University.Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extra terrestrial life.He added: On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X.
In 1995, two astronomers, also at Geneva, spotted the first extrasolar planet, a term for a planet orbiting a star other than our own. Since then, 227 such planets have been spotted, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (http://exoplanet.eu/).Gliese 581 is among the 100 closest stars to us. Its red dwarf monicker comes from the fact that it is only one-third of the mass of the Sun.
Because such stars emit far less heat, they offer a far greater chance of having planets in the so-called Goldilocks zone where liquid water and thus the potential for life can exist.The search for extrasolar planets has thrown up very few potential home-from-homes.The finds are typically uninhabitable, gassy giant planets, rather than small rocky ones. Or they orbit so close to their star that their atmosphere is stripped away by solar radiation or, alternatively, at such a distance that they are ice balls.
Two years ago, the same ESO team found a Neptune-sized planet around Gliese 581, and their observations that time gave them a hint that a smaller planet, closer to Earth in size, might also encircle the star.Not only did they find the super-Earth, they also found indications of another planet, eight times the size of Earth, that completes an orbit in 84 days a discovery that makes Gliese 581 quite a remarkable system, ESO said.The discovery is being reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.It came thanks to a highly sensitive instrument at ESO's facility at Silla, Chile. The detection technique works by measuring the so-called radial velocity of the star. A planet orbiting around a star produces changes in the star's position relative to Earth. This causes a measurable wobble in the starlight, from which the orbiting object and its size can be inferred. Even though Gliese 581 offers such promise, it would be impossible for mankind to reach it or even send an unmanned scout probe using current technology. Chemical rockets generate only a fraction of the light speed needed to get there within a human timescale.
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he
shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
WELL IS THIS NOT INTERESTING THE EU WANTS ROYAL TO WIN THE FRENCH ELECTION JUST LIKE I FIGURE TO KEEP THE EU A GODLESS DICTATORSHIP LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS IT HAS TO BE.
EU commissioner backs Royal in French election
24.04.2007 - 15:54 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Although Brussels is formally keeping quiet on who it would like to see win the French elections, certain individual commissioners have been less discreet.Margot Wallstrom, the EU communications commissioner, has made an all-out plug for socialist candidate Segolene Royal in her blog.In an entry posted on Monday, the day after presidential elections that saw Ms Royal go through to the second round run-off on 6 May against Nicolas Sarkozy, the commissioner wrote that she cheered the achievements of her fellow socialist politician.Continuing her blog in French, Ms Wallstrom says that maybe more than anything else, I was so happy to see that a woman will take part in the second round of the presidential elections.
Noting that there are women ministers in several governments, particularly in Finland, she emphasizes that this is the first time a woman has made it through to the second round in France.
It's historic and I wanted, as a woman involved in politics, to pay homage to Segolene Royal and wish her good luck for what comes.A spokesperson said her comments were personal but they reflect the increasing trend towards politicisation of the European Commission.Dutch commissioner Neelie Kroes sparked criticism in 2005 when just days before the elections, she openly supported Angela Merkel to become chancellor of Germany.In addition, blogs also raise the question of where the line is drawn between the personal and the public. Last year, Ms Wallstrom's comments in her blog in support of scrapping the European Parliament's seat in Strasbourg were widely reported as news.
Not above a little politics
In previous years, the commission and its commissioners often ex-politicians themselves tended to keep a distance between Brussels and national politics, hovering somewhat above the domestic fray.
The treaty itself says that commissioners should be impartial and work for the European cause, stipulating they must be completely independent in the performance of their duties in the general interest of the European community. But as the European Union has evolved, the commission has sought to rebrand itself as more of a political entity. This is partially as a reaction to its own commissioners, some of whom have found the corridors of power in the commission stultifying when compared to the cut and thrust of domestic politics.At the moment, Louis Michel, the EU's commissioner for development, is on unpaid leave because he is taking part in Belgium's federal elections.
During the last commission Italian prime minister Romano Prodi actively campaigned in the general elections in Italy while still head of the Brussels executive and Greek commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou also took a leave of absence for domestic elections and then resigned after winning a seat.
The commission says this is part and parcel of the job, that its commissioners are politicians and that they do not exist in a vacuum.Its revised code of conduct for commissioners allows them to be active members of political parties or trade unions. If they are to play an active role in an election campaign they have to withdraw from the work of the commission for the duration of the campaign.
Connecting with citizens
Some also say, including Mr Michel himself, that it is part of reconnecting with Europe's citizens.But critics argue the practice undermines both the commission and the portfolio concerned. For their part, MEPs in the development committee have asked for a legal opinion on Mr Michel's electioneering, saying it violates the EU's treaty.He is expected to be called before the MEPs at the beginning of next month to justify why he should be able to remain as commissioner when running in the 10 June
elections.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WALL WILL COME DOWN IN IRAQ, BUT IN ISRAEL THE BIBLE SAYS THE WALLS WILL BE COMING DOWN WHEN THE EU SECURES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND TRADEOFF. WHICH SEEMS TO BE COMING TOGETHER QUICK NOW. THE ARABS ARE CRYING FOR THEIR LAND BACK AND ISRAEL IS WILLING TO GIVE UP LAND FOR PEACE. BUT THE FINAL TREATY HAS TO BE A 7 YEAR TREATY IT CAN NOT BE ANYTHING ELSE AND THE EU NOT THE U.S.A WILL BE THE PROTECTOR OF ISRAEL.
WE SEE THE US FADING INTO WORLD DEPLETION THANKS TO THE IRAQ WAR, NOW WE SEE HOW THE EU WILL STEP IN AND BE THE WORLD POWER OF THE WEST AND GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR LAND IN THE PEACE PROCESS BECAUSE THE US IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY ANYMORE OF HANDLING THE WORLDS TROUBLES. TOO MANY LIES ARE COMING FROM THE GOVERNMENT ON BOTH SIDES.
EZEKIEL 38:11-12
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.(THIS IS WHEN THE RUSSIA,MUSLIM HORDE MARCH TO ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE WHILE ISRAEL IS SECURED BY THE EU).
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Sadr calls for demonstration By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer APR 25,07
BAGHDAD - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of the evil will of American occupiers.The remarks, in a statement read by an aide, were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen.Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as No to the sectarian wall and Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls.In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide Sunnis and Shiites.I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall, he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killing of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites.This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people, al-Sadr said in the statement. We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us.
We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land.The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads.A leading Sunni Muslim group accused the Shiite-led government of turning a blind eye to sectarian death squads allegedly run by the Mahdi Army.The return of the militias and death squads to target Sunni areas, the attempts to chain these areas with walls to make them soft targets for militias, and the arrest campaigns against Sunnis, especially mosque imams, are all part of a plan to empty Baghdad of Sunnis, the Conference for the People of Iraq said in a statement.The group, which is led by prominent Sunni politician Adnan al-Dulaimi, called on the government to stop what it called sectarian projects that target Sunnis, warning our patience is running out.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow a separation wall, but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire.
Following al-Maliki's comments, the new American ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, defended the barrier plan, saying it was an effort to protect the Sunni community from surrounding Shiite areas, not to segregate it. Crocker said security measures were implemented in coordination with the Iraqi government.Obviously, we will respect the wishes of the government and the prime minister, he said, although he did not say construction would halt.Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq.Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is. Sayyed Muqtada is with the people and feels their suffering.The Mahdi Army, that launched two uprising against U.S. troops in 2004, has been one of the main targets of a security plan in Baghdad launched two months ago. Last week, al-Sadr ordered his six Cabinet ministers to leave the government after al-Maliki refused to put a timetable for foreign troops withdrawal.
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 25 11:30 AM EDT
APR 25,07
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 6.3 VANUATU
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.7 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 4.0 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
APR 24,07
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.0 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.8 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 5.3 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.7 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NEVADA
MAP 5.3 COLOMBIA
MAP 4.9 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.8 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 5.0 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.7 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 IZU ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.3 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 4.8 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
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.
At least nine dead after tornado on southern Texas border APR 25,07
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A tornado ripped across the US-Mexico border, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more, local authorities and media said on Wednesday. Six people were killed in the small Texas town of Eagle Pass, officials said. Three others were killed in Mexico a few miles (kilometers) away, television station KDFW in Dallas reported.
The tornado struck Eagle Pass, at about 6:00 pm (2200 GMT) on Tuesday evening, destroying some 20 homes, an elementary school and a sewage treatment plant, local television stations reported.We have six confirmed fatalities, a spokeswoman for the mayor, Chad Foster, told AFP. Some 81 people were treated for injuries at a local hospital, including four who suffered critical injuries, the mayor's office said.State authorities deployed National Guard units to help with search and clean-up efforts, local media reported.
The mayor's office said three shelters had been opened for those who lost their homes.The same storm system that produced the tornado also had caused flash flooding elsewhere in Texas, with television footage showing people wading through waist-deep water after being rescued from flooded cars or homes.Numerous flights were delayed or cancelled in and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport due to the storm.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Wed Apr 25, 5:59 AM ET
A storm system that has dumped rain on parts of the Plains will cause more severe weather in the central and eastern parts of the country on Wednesday. Severe thunderstorms are likely through the lower Mississippi and Tennessee Valleys, with high winds, hail and even tornadoes possible.Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms are expected along a front stretching from the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys to the northern Mid-Atlantic region and southern New England.Light rain and high mountain snow is expected in the Northwest, and rain is expected in the northern Rockies and Plains.
Warm, dry weather is expected in the Southeast and Southwest.Temperatures in the lower 48 states Tuesday ranged from a low of 21 degrees at Stonington, Mich., to a high of 93 degrees at Thermal, Calif.
On Israeli Independence Day, help stop the threat of Iran APR 24,07
Don't let history repeat itself.A rogue nation in the 1930s was ignored until it was too late to save Europe's Jews.Act now before Ahmadinejad has a chance to carry out a second Holocaust.
Dear Stan
As we celebrate Israel's Independence Day, Israel's enemies are openly advocating its destruction. Ahmadinejad's plan to wipe Israel off the map is not much different than Hitler's was in the 1930's.While global leaders are practicing the politics of appeasement, the menace of Iran armed with nuclear weapons is gathering strength. A nuclear Iran poses a threat not only to Israel but to the entire free world.Will you sit on the sidelines or will you do your part to get the world to act? No one wants to think the unthinkable, but those who bury their heads in the sand and simply count on others to do the right thing are relying on hope. But when lives are at stake, hope is a poor planning tool.At The Israel Project (TIP), we have a plan to make sure the world knows the threat a nuclear Iran poses to Israel and the world.
With your continued support, TIP will focus on the following activities which are imperative if Israel and the world are to remain safe from nuclear rogue nations like Iran. http://www.theisraelproject.org/donate.
Your tax-deductible gift to TIP in the amount of at least $25 will allow us to continue defending Israel and the world by: Educating the public about the threat of a nuclear Iran to the entire world, including Israel, through a full-scale global media relations effort.
Gathering public support to compel Hamas to agree to the 3 R's: Recognize Israel, Renounce terror and Respect previous agreements. Reminding the public about the sacrifices Israel has made for peace and focusing on the continuing terrorism emanating from Gaza and beyond. Focusing attention on the threat of Hezbollah and the need to implement UN resolutions on Lebanon. Israel's enemies have poured of tens of millions of dollars into a global media campaign to destroy Israel's image in the world. They have staged tragedies and doctored photos to position Israel as an aggressor with no regard for human suffering.That's why TIP's efforts to reach out to the global media with the truth are so important.
The Israel Project has now become the go-to place in the pro-Israel community for message research and communications strategies proven effective in the war for the hearts and minds of the public. TIP's research is made available free of charge to Jewish Federations, Jewish Community Relations Councils and other Jewish groups throughout the country as well as to officials in Israel. TIP's research team includes the best and brightest in strategic communications: Stan Greenberg, PhD; Neil Newhouse; Anna Greenberg, PhD; Ari Fleischer; and Dan Hazelwood.
But we must do more.
The current threat posed by rogue nuclear states bent on attacking Israel and the rest of the world demands that TIP increase its efforts to educate the global media on this threat and what it means to Israel and the rest of the world.This will mean creating and executing a communications effort to educate the public and media on a global scale.That is why your tax deductible gift is needed now before it is too late!http://www.theisraelproject.org/donate.
We were too late once before when the world turned its back to the threat of a rogue nation bent on destruction in the 1930's. With your continued support, The Israel Project will make sure the same mistake is not made again.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi
Founder and President
The Israel Project
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
Germany sends letter to salvage EU constitution
23.04.2007 - 17:45 CET | By Honor Mahony
German chancellor Angela Merkel has indicated Berlin is going to leave as much of the EU constitution intact as possible making only the minimum changes needed to get sceptical nations such as the UK, Poland and the Czech Republic on board.
British media over the weekend gave details of a leaked letter by Mrs Merkel in which she says Every effort will have to be made to restrict change to what is absolutely necessary to reach an overall agreement and to ensure ratification by all member states.The letter, quoted in The Times, shows the pragmatic line that Berlin is taking in an effort to get reluctant nations on board but also to make sure that the 18 countries that have already largely ratified the document are catered for.For its part, the German government has denied reports of a letter from Mrs Merkel. There is no such letter from the chancellor to her counterparts, deputy government spokesman Thomas Steg said on Saturday, according to Spiegel Online.But it has not denied asking 12 crucial questions of national governments, with a summit fast approaching in June where member states will be asked to lay their cards on the political table and agree a timetable and a basic frame of reference for the treaty.
The 12 questions attempt to put together some of the suggestions that member states have made for altering the constitution, which was rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago. Some of the questions include purely cosmetic changes such as altering the name of the proposed EU foreign minister the Czech government recently brought this issue up as well as dropping the symbols of the EU the flag, hymn and logo something which the Dutch are in favour of.
Berlin also asks if enlargement criteria should be included in a future treaty and if there should be a reference to the social dimension of Europe France strongly supports this as well as whether countries should be able to opt in or out of future provisions of the treaty.This model has been used in previous treaties with Denmark being granted an opt out from the single currency, defence policy, EU citizenship and justice and home affairs after it rejected the Maastricht treaty in 1992.The chancellor's questions, reported in the Swedish website Europaportalen, also ask whether to replace the full text of the Charter of Fundamental Rights by a short cross reference having the same legal value.Taking up an important suggestion by UK prime minister Tony Blair, question number two indirectly asks whether the constitution could be presented as a document that is amending the 2001 Nice Treaty.
How do you assess in that case the proposal made by some Member States that the consolidated approach of part 1 of the Constitutional Treaty is preserved, with the necessary presentational changes resulting from the return to the classical method of treaty changes? asks the chancellor.
The German leader has upped the tempo around the constitution and is due to meet EU leaders bilaterally over the coming weeks to see if she can smooth out as many of the difficulties as possible before the June summit.Under Berlin's timetable, there will be a short intergovernmental conference in the second half of this year, with ratification by member states planned in 2008 and the whole exercise wrapped up by the European elections in mid 2009.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
NATO, EU Working Harder To Coordinate Efforts
By BROOKS TIGNER, BRUSSELS APR 24,07
Dialogue and cooperation between NATO and the European Union appear to be on the mend, several years after tension flared over the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.NATO and the union are working more tightly than ever — for example, to orchestrate a peaceful transition of Kosovo to independence and to coordinate military and civil security reforms in Afghanistan. Just as important, the uneasy rhetorical competition about who should do what regarding security policy in Europe is subsiding. Accommodation and a flexible division of security tasks are now the operative concepts.
The EU needs a partnership, a strategic partnership, with NATO, and it is very important to accept the challenge of cooperating with it, German Defense Minister Franz Josef Jung told an audience of German officials here April 10. We must not consider NATO or the U.N. as competitors. They and the EU are complementary to each other and it is obvious we should now work closely together. At the very least, we do not have the financial means to compete with each other.
Though EU sensitivities remain about cozying up too publicly to NATO, the two sides are consulting closely on a wide range of practical matters, albeit behind closed doors. NATO and EU military planners are carefully synchronizing the timing of the drawdown of EU peacekeeping troops in Bosnia-Herzegovina with contingency planning in nearby Kosovo, in case of security problems linked to Kosovo’s imminent detachment from Serbia. Alliance and union experts meet regularly on civil reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, where an EU civil security mission soon will be established to train and reform the country’s police sector. The two blocs also coordinate logistics assistance to African Union forces in Darfur, Sudan, and may be asked to do the same in Somalia.Finally, NATO military planners are working more closely with EU counterparts than in the past to avoid duplication or competing claims on rapid-reaction capabilities as the union creates its 1,500-strong rapid-reaction battle groups. Two of the battle groups are close to operational readiness and another 13 will be created in the coming years.
Jung is not alone in pushing for a change of stance in EU-NATO relations. NATO Secretary-General Jaap De Hoop Scheffer has repeatedly called on the union to establish healthier consultations with the alliance. EU officialdom has not formally echoed de Hoop Scheffer’s appeal, but there is a growing recognition in its military and security policy circles that institutional competition with NATO will do more harm than good.Avoiding competition between the EU battle groups and the NATO Response Force is a good example. We are not going to duplicate the NATO Response Force, French Gen. Henri Bentégeat, EU Military Committee chairman, told reporters here in March during an EU-flagged naval exercise. He is widely seen as supporting closer coordination with NATO.Lt. Gen. David Leakey, head of the union’s Military Staff, the operational and planning wing that reports to the committee, holds a similar view: Look at all the EU member states that are double-hatted; it’s not as if each side [NATO and the EU] doesn’t know what the other is doing, he said, referring to European security and military personnel who shuttle between the two organizations. We talk to NATO and we coordinate planning.
One potentially sharp disturbance to EU-NATO relations, however, is the U.S. offer to extend its missile defense shield across Europe by setting up radar tracking and interceptor sites in Poland and the Czech Republic. Both are NATO and EU members.Washington’s discussion of the subject with capitals outside the framework of NATO or the union has upset member states in both organizations.
EU leaders are nervous about public opposition to missile deployment in Eastern Europe as well as Russian hostility to the U.S. system, while alliance politicians want debate on missile defense in Europe placed within a NATO context, not bilaterally between Washington and selected partners.If Washington is going to build a missile shield across Europe, it needs to be discussed within NATO, and you cannot leave Russia out of the talks, Jung said.E-mail: btigner@defensenews.com.
Israel rules out major Gaza offensive By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer APR 25,07
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday authorized the army to carry out limited operations against militants in the Gaza Strip, but ruled out a large-scale ground offensive in response to a new round of Hamas rocket attacks, Israeli officials said.
The decision was made at an emergency meeting that Olmert held with senior security officials following the fresh rocket fire. The violence has threatened to unravel a five-month cease-fire.Two meeting participants said Olmert agreed to allow the army to carry out pinpoint operations to halt the rocket fire, but decided against a widespread offensive, essentially continuing current Israeli policy in Gaza. There have been growing calls in military circles for tougher action in Gaza.
The participants spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.On Tuesday, the Islamic militant group said its members fired 41 rockets and 54 mortar shells in response to Israeli raids.The Israeli military said it could confirm the launching of only six rockets and eight shells. Just two rockets reached Israel, causing no casualties or injuries, the
army said.The head of an Egyptian security delegation in Gaza, Maj. Gen. Burhan Hamad, called a meeting of all Palestinian factions Wednesday morning, urging them to maintain the calm to avert any possible Israeli invasion of Gaza.He condemned the rocket barrages, as well as the Israeli raids earlier in the week that killed nine Palestinians, most of them militants. Egypt frequently acts as a mediator between Israel and Palestinian militants.
Hamas is a partner in the Palestinian coalition government, whose platform calls for a long-term truce with Israel.Israeli media, citing military officials, said the rocket bombardment apparently had been intended to create a diversion in order to capture an Israeli soldier near the Gaza border. The military refused to comment on the reports.Hamas-linked militants have been holding a 20-year-old Israeli corporal, Gilad Shalit, captive since capturing him in a cross-border raid last June.Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced the Gaza truce in late November, declaring an end to Palestinian rocket fire and Israeli attacks, including airstrikes at Gaza militants and invasions of towns in northern Gaza.Israel has stopped most of military activity but kept Gaza in a stranglehold by frequently closing its vital border crossings, citing security threats. While Hamas rocket squads stayed on the sidelines, other groups, like Islamic Jihad, have kept up fire of homemade rockets almost daily at Israeli towns and villages just outside Gaza.Tuesday's rocket barrage, coinciding with Israeli Independence Day, was the first sign Hamas was backing away from the truce.The cease-fire has been over for a long time, and Israel is responsible for that, Hamas spokesman Abu Obeida, told the Voice of Palestine radio station.
On a visit to Rome, Abbas called on Israel to exercise the necessary self-control and said the truce violation is an exceptional act which will not last.Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas appeared to defend the attack.We made great efforts at keeping the truce and there was a positive Palestinian position, but unfortunately this position was met by expanding (Israeli) aggression and escalating it against the Palestinian people, he said. Haniyeh's spokesman, Ghazi Hamad, also blamed Israel, but said the Palestinian government affirms the importance of maintaining the truce and protecting it.Peretz told Israel Radio late Tuesday that the Hamas claim of responsibility for the rockets attack was a very serious matter, and we will have to deal with it.Also Wednesday, the army ended a general closure of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The closure, put in place on Sunday for Israeli Memorial Day and Independence Day, had barred virtually all Palestinians from entering Israel. Thousands of Palestinians enter Israel each day for work, medical care and family visits.
KNOWLEDGE INCREASE (COMPUTERS) AND TRAVEL.
DANIEL 12:4
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
FEARFUL SIGHTS AND GREAT SIGNS FROM HEAVEN
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.
Scientists discover super-Earth planet Wed Apr 25, 6:35 AM ET
PARIS (AFP) - Astronomers reported on Wednesday they had discovered a super-Earth more than 20 light years away that is the most intriguing world found so far in the search for extraterrestrial life.
About five times the mass of Earth, the planet orbits a cool, dim red dwarf star located in the constellation of Libra, the team from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) said in a press release.The star, Gliese 581, has already been identified as hosting a planet similar in size to Neptune, the frigid gas giant on the edge of our own Solar System.The new planet is 14 times closer to Gliese 581 than the Earth is to the Sun. But because Gliese 581 is so cool, the planet is not scorched by solar radiation. It zips around the star at express speed, making just 13 days to complete an orbit.
We have estimated that the mean temperature of this super-Earth lies between 0 and 40 degrees Celsius (32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit), and water would thus be liquid, said lead researcher Stephane Udry of Switzerland's Geneva University.Moreover, its radius should be only 1.5 times the Earth's radius, and models predict that the planet should be either rocky like our Earth or covered with oceans.Liquid water is critical to life as we know it, said Xavier Delfosse, a team member from France's Grenoble University.Because of its temperature and relative proximity, this planet will most probably be a very important target of the future space missions dedicated to the search for extra terrestrial life.He added: On the treasure map of the Universe, one would be tempted to mark this planet with an X.
In 1995, two astronomers, also at Geneva, spotted the first extrasolar planet, a term for a planet orbiting a star other than our own. Since then, 227 such planets have been spotted, according to the Extrasolar Planets Encyclopaedia (http://exoplanet.eu/).Gliese 581 is among the 100 closest stars to us. Its red dwarf monicker comes from the fact that it is only one-third of the mass of the Sun.
Because such stars emit far less heat, they offer a far greater chance of having planets in the so-called Goldilocks zone where liquid water and thus the potential for life can exist.The search for extrasolar planets has thrown up very few potential home-from-homes.The finds are typically uninhabitable, gassy giant planets, rather than small rocky ones. Or they orbit so close to their star that their atmosphere is stripped away by solar radiation or, alternatively, at such a distance that they are ice balls.
Two years ago, the same ESO team found a Neptune-sized planet around Gliese 581, and their observations that time gave them a hint that a smaller planet, closer to Earth in size, might also encircle the star.Not only did they find the super-Earth, they also found indications of another planet, eight times the size of Earth, that completes an orbit in 84 days a discovery that makes Gliese 581 quite a remarkable system, ESO said.The discovery is being reported in the journal Astronomy and Astrophysics.It came thanks to a highly sensitive instrument at ESO's facility at Silla, Chile. The detection technique works by measuring the so-called radial velocity of the star. A planet orbiting around a star produces changes in the star's position relative to Earth. This causes a measurable wobble in the starlight, from which the orbiting object and its size can be inferred. Even though Gliese 581 offers such promise, it would be impossible for mankind to reach it or even send an unmanned scout probe using current technology. Chemical rockets generate only a fraction of the light speed needed to get there within a human timescale.
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he
shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
WELL IS THIS NOT INTERESTING THE EU WANTS ROYAL TO WIN THE FRENCH ELECTION JUST LIKE I FIGURE TO KEEP THE EU A GODLESS DICTATORSHIP LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS IT HAS TO BE.
EU commissioner backs Royal in French election
24.04.2007 - 15:54 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Although Brussels is formally keeping quiet on who it would like to see win the French elections, certain individual commissioners have been less discreet.Margot Wallstrom, the EU communications commissioner, has made an all-out plug for socialist candidate Segolene Royal in her blog.In an entry posted on Monday, the day after presidential elections that saw Ms Royal go through to the second round run-off on 6 May against Nicolas Sarkozy, the commissioner wrote that she cheered the achievements of her fellow socialist politician.Continuing her blog in French, Ms Wallstrom says that maybe more than anything else, I was so happy to see that a woman will take part in the second round of the presidential elections.
Noting that there are women ministers in several governments, particularly in Finland, she emphasizes that this is the first time a woman has made it through to the second round in France.
It's historic and I wanted, as a woman involved in politics, to pay homage to Segolene Royal and wish her good luck for what comes.A spokesperson said her comments were personal but they reflect the increasing trend towards politicisation of the European Commission.Dutch commissioner Neelie Kroes sparked criticism in 2005 when just days before the elections, she openly supported Angela Merkel to become chancellor of Germany.In addition, blogs also raise the question of where the line is drawn between the personal and the public. Last year, Ms Wallstrom's comments in her blog in support of scrapping the European Parliament's seat in Strasbourg were widely reported as news.
Not above a little politics
In previous years, the commission and its commissioners often ex-politicians themselves tended to keep a distance between Brussels and national politics, hovering somewhat above the domestic fray.
The treaty itself says that commissioners should be impartial and work for the European cause, stipulating they must be completely independent in the performance of their duties in the general interest of the European community. But as the European Union has evolved, the commission has sought to rebrand itself as more of a political entity. This is partially as a reaction to its own commissioners, some of whom have found the corridors of power in the commission stultifying when compared to the cut and thrust of domestic politics.At the moment, Louis Michel, the EU's commissioner for development, is on unpaid leave because he is taking part in Belgium's federal elections.
During the last commission Italian prime minister Romano Prodi actively campaigned in the general elections in Italy while still head of the Brussels executive and Greek commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou also took a leave of absence for domestic elections and then resigned after winning a seat.
The commission says this is part and parcel of the job, that its commissioners are politicians and that they do not exist in a vacuum.Its revised code of conduct for commissioners allows them to be active members of political parties or trade unions. If they are to play an active role in an election campaign they have to withdraw from the work of the commission for the duration of the campaign.
Connecting with citizens
Some also say, including Mr Michel himself, that it is part of reconnecting with Europe's citizens.But critics argue the practice undermines both the commission and the portfolio concerned. For their part, MEPs in the development committee have asked for a legal opinion on Mr Michel's electioneering, saying it violates the EU's treaty.He is expected to be called before the MEPs at the beginning of next month to justify why he should be able to remain as commissioner when running in the 10 June
elections.
I DON'T KNOW IF THIS WALL WILL COME DOWN IN IRAQ, BUT IN ISRAEL THE BIBLE SAYS THE WALLS WILL BE COMING DOWN WHEN THE EU SECURES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND TRADEOFF. WHICH SEEMS TO BE COMING TOGETHER QUICK NOW. THE ARABS ARE CRYING FOR THEIR LAND BACK AND ISRAEL IS WILLING TO GIVE UP LAND FOR PEACE. BUT THE FINAL TREATY HAS TO BE A 7 YEAR TREATY IT CAN NOT BE ANYTHING ELSE AND THE EU NOT THE U.S.A WILL BE THE PROTECTOR OF ISRAEL.
WE SEE THE US FADING INTO WORLD DEPLETION THANKS TO THE IRAQ WAR, NOW WE SEE HOW THE EU WILL STEP IN AND BE THE WORLD POWER OF THE WEST AND GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR LAND IN THE PEACE PROCESS BECAUSE THE US IS NOT TRUSTWORTHY ANYMORE OF HANDLING THE WORLDS TROUBLES. TOO MANY LIES ARE COMING FROM THE GOVERNMENT ON BOTH SIDES.
EZEKIEL 38:11-12
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.(THIS IS WHEN THE RUSSIA,MUSLIM HORDE MARCH TO ISRAEL IN THE FUTURE WHILE ISRAEL IS SECURED BY THE EU).
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.
Sadr calls for demonstration By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer APR 25,07
BAGHDAD - Radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr strongly condemned construction of a wall around a Sunni neighborhood in Baghdad, calling for demonstrations against the plan as a sign of the evil will of American occupiers.The remarks, in a statement read by an aide, were the first by the anti-American cleric since the U.S. military announced last week that it was building a three-mile long 12-foot high concrete wall in Azamiyah, a Sunni stronghold that has been targeted by mortar and rocket attacks by Shiite militiamen.Many Sunnis also protested the plan, saying they felt like they were being herded into a prison. Protesters in Azamiyah carried banners Monday with slogans such as No to the sectarian wall and Azamiyah children want to see Baghdad without walls.In the statement, al-Sadr said the protests showed that Iraqis reject the sectarian, racist and unjust wall that seeks to divide Sunnis and Shiites.I am confident that such honorable voices will bring down the wall, he said.
Al-Sadr, whose Mahdi Army militia was blamed for much of the sectarian killing of Sunnis, has been trying to make overtures to the Sunni minority and draw a difference between ordinary Sunnis and extremists who target Shiites.This wall shows the evil will of the occupier and its sectarian and terrorist projects against our people, al-Sadr said in the statement. We the people of Iraq will defend Azamiyah and other neighborhoods that you (Americans) want to segregate from us.
We will stand hand in hand with you (Sunnis) to demonstrate and protect our holy land.The U.S. and Iraqi military said they plan to construct barriers in other neighborhoods too to protect people from sectarian death squads.A leading Sunni Muslim group accused the Shiite-led government of turning a blind eye to sectarian death squads allegedly run by the Mahdi Army.The return of the militias and death squads to target Sunni areas, the attempts to chain these areas with walls to make them soft targets for militias, and the arrest campaigns against Sunnis, especially mosque imams, are all part of a plan to empty Baghdad of Sunnis, the Conference for the People of Iraq said in a statement.The group, which is led by prominent Sunni politician Adnan al-Dulaimi, called on the government to stop what it called sectarian projects that target Sunnis, warning our patience is running out.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said he would not allow a separation wall, but then he said that the subject would be discussed. He said he would not rule out all barriers, such as barbed wire.
Following al-Maliki's comments, the new American ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker, defended the barrier plan, saying it was an effort to protect the Sunni community from surrounding Shiite areas, not to segregate it. Crocker said security measures were implemented in coordination with the Iraqi government.Obviously, we will respect the wishes of the government and the prime minister, he said, although he did not say construction would halt.Iraq's chief military spokesman indicated that some type of barrier would go up, saying al-Maliki was responding to exaggerated reports about the wall.
An aide to al-Sadr, Sheik Salah al-Obaidi, told reporters in the holy Shiite city of Najaf that they plan two demonstrations in eastern and western Baghdad to condemn the wall. He did not give a date for the demonstrations but said that if the security situation permits, al-Sadr's followers will be happy to join demonstrators in Azamiyah.The U.S. military has said that al-Sadr is currently in neighboring Iran, a claim that his aides denied in the past week saying he is in Iraq.Al-Obaidi said al-Sadr's disappearance is for security reasons and ... it is not necessary to know where he is. Sayyed Muqtada is with the people and feels their suffering.The Mahdi Army, that launched two uprising against U.S. troops in 2004, has been one of the main targets of a security plan in Baghdad launched two months ago. Last week, al-Sadr ordered his six Cabinet ministers to leave the government after al-Maliki refused to put a timetable for foreign troops withdrawal.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)