1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Texas storms leave 5 dead, 1 missing. 3-China hit by deadly flooding, severe drought. 4-Mudslide, lightning strike kill 43 in China. 5-One killed, hundreds evacuated in France after storms. 6-New museum says dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark. 7-U.S. sends ammunition to Lebanon amid militant threat. 8-About 70 pct of Iran oil income in non-U.S. dollar. 9-Christian arrested for visiting Mecca. 10-Ex-Chief of Staff: Disengagement Led to Lebanon and Gaza Wars.
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 = Sun May 27 12:01 PM EDT
MAY 27,07
MAP 3.0 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 COLOMBIA
MAP 3.6 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SEA OF OKHOTSK
MAY 26,07
MAP 4.8 CASPIAN SEA, OFFSHORE TURKMENISTAN
MAP 3.7 BERING SEA
MAP 4.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.2 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.2 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 2.8 COLORADO
MAP 4.9 FLORES SEA
MAP 5.5 SOUTHEAST OF EASTER ISLAND
MAP 5.4 TONGA REGION
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.
Texas storms leave 5 dead, 1 missing By ANABELLE GARAY, Associated Press Writer Sat May 26, 10:11 AM ET
DALLAS - Forecasters predicted more heavy thunderstorms in the Plains over the holiday weekend after two days of storms and flooding that left five people dead and one missing in central Texas.
Dozens of people were plucked from rising waters on Friday, and Gov. Rick Perry activated National Guard troops to be deployed in Waco, Austin and San Antonio for the weekend.NearFredericksburg, authorities were looking for a man whose sport utility vehicle was swept away during storms that have dumped about 8 inches of rain in the area since Thursday.Lt. Jim Judd of the Gillespie County sheriff's office said about 30 people spent Friday looking for Edgar Garcia, 22, who called his mother after he drove around a barricade blocking a swollen creek and got stuck.
Three people died in Killeen, police said. The bodies of two brothers, ages 5 and 6, were found early Friday in a submerged SUV. The boys were riding with their mother and two siblings Thursday when their vehicle was wiped off the road into a gully.Rescuers saved the mother and two siblings, but the swift-moving water rose too quickly for rescuers to help the boys trapped inside, said Garland Potvin, a Bell County justice of the peace.
Elsewhere in Killeen, the body of a 20-year-old man caught in rushing water was found lodged along a culvert, Potvin said.Outside Copperas Cove, a husband and wife died late Thursday after attempting to cross floodwaters in their vehicle, said Bill Price, a Coryell County justice of the peace.About 100 homes, apartment buildings and businesses sustained minor damage Friday, and a few minor injuries were reported, said Dennis Baker, the Bell County emergency management coordinator.
In Kansas, rivers and creeks continued to rise Friday in the central and south-central parts of the state following a downpour two days earlier. The most serious flooding was expected along the Arkansas River in Harvey County, the National Weather Service said.Floodwaters closed off all roads leading into the central Kansas town of New Cambria, Saline County emergency management officials said Friday. Rising rivers also covered many of the streets in the small town east of Salina.At least 60 homes and businesses were flooded but no injuries were reported, and only voluntary evacuations had been ordered.
China hit by deadly flooding, severe drought Fri May 25, 12:29 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - Torrential rain in southwest China triggered flash floods and mudslides that have left 21 dead, while a neighbouring region is suffering its worst drought in 60 years, state media reported Friday. A further 11 people are missing following the rains in Sichuan province and Chongqing municipality, Xinhua news agency said, in the latest extreme weather to ravage the country.
More than 360 people have been hurt and 112,000 evacuated in the disasters in a region that only last year endured its worst drought in half a century.Meanwhile, more than 1.6 million people in Gansu province to the north face drinking water shortages due to the worst drought there since the 1940s.
The dry spell, which has had no significant rainfall in some areas for more than two months, is endangering crops or delaying planting on 1.46 million hectares (3.6 million acres) of cropland, Xinhua quoted officials with the Gansu provincial flood control and drought relief office as saying.
China last year suffered a range of extreme weather events including exceptionally strong typhoons, floods, and droughts, which meteorological officials have partly attributed to the affects of climate change.Officials warned recently that similar weather is expected in 2007.
Mudslide, lightning strike kill 43 in China MAY 26,07
SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Mudslides and floods caused by torrential rains, and lightning strikes in southwestern China's Sichuan province have killed 43 people and left many homeless over the past week, the Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. Twelve of the deaths took place in the province's Jiulong county, while nine people died when a bus was caught in a landslide on a Sichuan highway.
The bus slid down a 10-meter slope after it was hit by a falling rock, Xinhua said.Another landslide, also triggered by a rainstorm, killed seven in Leibo county, it said.Twelve people were missing after being washed away by mountain torrents or mud slides, Xinhua added.
The rest of the deaths were caused by floods or lightning strikes, Xinhua said.Lightning struck an elementary school in southwest China's Chongqing municipality on Wednesday, killing seven children and injuring 40 pupils and teachers, it said.The Ministry of Civil Affairs has dispatched a rescue team to the province, it said.About 32,000 people had been relocated as rainstorms inundated 500 houses and damaged 5,800 dwellings in Sichuan, Xinhua said, citing the ministry. Farms and some roads and bridges had also been damaged, it said.The rain in Chongqing lasted for 32 hours, forcing the local government to evacuate 112,300 people from their homes which caused a direct economic loss of 573 million yuan ($73.5 million), Xinhua cited the Chongqing government as saying.
One killed, hundreds evacuated in France after storms Sat May 26, 4:15 PM ET
PAU, France (AFP) - One woman died and several hundreds were evacuated in France following storms and flash floods in the country's south-west, officials said Saturday. An elderly woman thought to be around 70 who was alone when her home near the town of Pau was flooded on Friday, drowned to death, local officials said.Some 400 firefighters, police officials and rescue officials were pressed into service in the Ossau valley in the Pyrenees-Atlantiques region where more than 500 people were evacuated from their homes on Friday, they said.Rescuers were on Saturday pressing on with aid work and helping clean up devastated homes in the area, Christian Gueydan, a senior official in the local administration, told AFP.
Gueydan said about 300 homes have been flooded but added that there are certainly many more.He however added that those forced to leave their homes on Friday had all returned as the waters receded.Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie visited the area on Saturday and asked for all possible methods to speed up the work, her ministry said in a statement.Alliot-Marie said fire brigade officials had made more than 1,000 rescue actions in the south-west and the area in and around Paris.
Elsewhere, a house was badly damaged by lightning but there were no deaths or injuries while infrastructure was badly damaged in other places. Roads were cut off in some place but traffic resumed on Saturday.Heavy rains meanwhile lashed parts of north-eastern France.
New museum says dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark By Andrea Hopkins MAY 26,07
PETERSBURG, Ky (Reuters) - Like many modern museums, the newest U.S. tourist attraction includes some awesome exhibits roaring dinosaurs and a life-sized ship. But only at the Creation Museum in Kentucky do the dinosaurs sail on the ship Noah's Ark, to be precise.The Christian creators of the sprawling museum, unveiled on Saturday, hope to draw as many as half a million people each year to their state-of-the-art project, which depicts the Bible's first book, Genesis, as literal truth.While the $27 million (13.6 million pound) museum near Cincinnati has drawn snickers from media and condemnation from U.S. scientists, those who believe God created the heavens and the Earth in six days about 6,000 years ago say their views are finally being represented.What we've done here is to give people an opportunity to hear information that is not readily available ... to challenge them that really you can believe the Bible's history, said Ken Ham, president of the group Answers in Genesis that founded the museum.
Here exhibits show the Grand Canyon took just days to form during Noah's flood, dinosaurs coexisted with humans and had a place on Noah's Ark, and Cain married his sister to people the earth, among other Biblical wonders.Scientists, secularists and moderate Christians have pledged to protest the museum's public opening on Monday. An aircraft trailing a Thou Shalt Not Lie banner buzzed overhead during the museum's opening news conference.Opponents argue that children who see the exhibits will be confused when they learn in school that the universe is 14 billion years old rather than 6,000.Teachers don't deserve a student coming into class saying Gee Mrs. Brown, I went to this fancy museum and it said you're teaching me a lie, Dr. Eugenie Scott, executive director of the National Centre for Science Education, told reporters before the museum opened.A Gallup poll last year showed almost half of Americans believe that humans did not evolve but were created by God in their present form within the last 10,000 years.Three of 10 Republican presidential candidates said in a recent debate that they did not believe in evolution.
U.S. sends ammunition to Lebanon amid militant threat By Nazih Siddiq MAY 26,07
NAHR AL-BARED, Lebanon (Reuters) - The United States sent more ammunition on Saturday to Lebanon, whose army is struggling to defeat a group of heavily armed Islamist militants holed up inside a Palestinian refugee camp.
The militant Fatah al-Islam group, which has vowed to fight to the death, said in a statement the U.S. military supplies included nerve gas and cluster bombs.If they use unconventional weapons against us, we will respond with unconventional attacks everywhere, said the statement, read by the group's spokesman Abu Salim Taha.A military spokesman said he had no reaction to these false allegations which are not worth commenting on.Three U.S. Air Force cargo planes landed at Beirut's airport and unloaded ammunition and other equipment for the army, airport sources said. Six planes carrying similar military aid from the U.S. and Arab allies arrived on Friday.
The shipments, promised months ago but rushed after fighting erupted between the army and Fatah al-Islam on May 20, arrived as Lebanese soldiers beefed up their positions around Nahr al-Bared camp, the militants' main base.Security forces searched buildings and houses in the nearby port city of Tripoli and other villages in search of militants who may have slipped through the cordon, security sources said.A fragile truce between the combatants has held since Tuesday despite sporadic clashes.
The fighting, the worst internal violence since the 1975-1990 civil war, has killed at least 78 people 33 soldiers, 27 militants and 18 civilians.
TRAGIC SITUATION
Thousands who fled the fighting are sheltering in a nearby refugee camp and other areas. Around 150 refugees, mostly women and children, left Nahr al-Bared camp on Saturday.The situation inside is tragic. There is large-scale destruction. Our homes are in ruins, Abdel A'al, a refugee, told Reuters as he left the camp, home to around 40,000 people before the conflict.The International Committee of the Red Cross was delivering 30 tons of food to 12,000 displaced refugees, an ICRC spokesperson said. A 12-truck convoy from the United Arab Emirates also arrived in the area and began distributing aid.Lebanese leaders have vowed to stamp out Fatah al-Islam, which is led by a Palestinian but has little support among Lebanon's Palestinian refugee community of around 400,000.Officials said they were giving mediators a chance to persuade the militants to surrender before ordering the army to move into the camp. The Lebanese army is banned from entering Lebanon's 12 refugee camps under a 1969 Arab agreement.
Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah said on Friday that storming Nahr al-Bared would mark a red line and would plunge the country into an uncontrollable cycle of violence.Shi'ite Hezbollah is the country's most powerful group but is at odds with the country's anti-Syrian ruling majority.An al Qaeda-linked group has threatened to carry out bombings in Lebanon and attacks on Christians unless Beirut withdraws its army from around Nahr al-Bared.Three bombs have hit the Beirut area this week, killing one woman and wounding about 20 people. Anti-Syrian Lebanese leaders say Fatah al-Islam is a tool of Syrian intelligence. Damascus and the group deny the charge. (Additional reporting by Nadim Ladki in Beirut)
About 70 pct of Iran oil income in non-U.S. dollar By Peg Mackey
Sat May 26, 5:56 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran, embroiled in a row with Washington over its nuclear program, has increased the amount of its oil export earnings in currencies other than U.S. dollars to about 70 percent, an Iranian official said on Saturday. The figure is up from 60 percent cited in March for Iran's non-dollar oil export income and reflects the No. 2 OPEC producer's policy of reducing exposure to the greenback.
About 70 percent of our oil export income is now in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, international affairs director of the state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), told Reuters.If the dollar gets weaker, we will increase that percentage, said Ghanimifard, who in March had cited a figure of 60 percent for Iran's oil export income in other currencies.
Iranian officials have said they are seeking to limit dollar-denominated trade. The central bank governor has said Iran was seeking to distance itself from dollars and held just 20 percent of its foreign reserves in the U.S. currency.We are following our government's monetary policy not to depend on the weak U.S. dollar, Ghanimifard said, speaking on the sidelines of a conference in Tehran organized by Iran's Ravand Institute for Economic and International Studies.
The United States has been leading efforts to try to isolate Iran over its nuclear program, which Washington says involves a covert plan to make atomic bombs, a charge Tehran denies.
COMPENSATING FOR SHORTFALL
Washington has slapped sanctions on two Iranian banks, a move that unnerved some international banks working with Iranian businesses and prompted many to halt dollar transactions. U.N. sanctions have added to worries by targeting an Iranian bank.The U.S. administration has tried to deprive NIOC of money. We have found other ways to compensate for the shortfall. Proof of that is that our oil production capacity and production of gas and petrochemical products have increased, Ghanimifard said.A chunk of money came from the Oil Stabilization Fund (OSF) and some from an additional budgetary hard currency allocation to NIOC, he said.Iranian media said this week Iran planned to use foreign exchange reserves to finance a $2 billion development of parts of its South Pars gas field after a French bank pulled out.
The OSF, a fund set up to save windfall oil earnings in times of need, forms part of the country's foreign reserves.Industry sources say Iran now produces about 4 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil and exports about 2.4 million bpd. In the year to March, Iran earned about $53 billion from its oil exports, an oil official said.Ghanimifard said that figure could be higher in the current Iranian year to
March if oil prices continued to rise.Benchmark Brent crude is now hovering around $70 a barrel, within sight of last year's record highs. Iranian crude tends to trade several dollars below Brent prices.
FAITH UNDER FIRE
Christian arrested for visiting Mecca Only Muslims are allowed to enter Islam's holy cityMay 26, 2007- 1:00 a.m. Eastern - WorldNetDaily.com
When Saudi authorities discovered a man working in Mecca was a Christian, they immediately arrested him, highlighting the desert kingdom's law barring non-Muslims from the Islamic holy city.
The Saudi regime's Expatriates Monitoring Committee used a new high-tech finger-print system to identify Nirosh Kamanda of Sri Lanka as a Christian, reported Arab News, the government-approved English-language paper. The Grand Mosque and the holy city are forbidden to non-Muslims, said Col. Suhail Matrafi, head of the department in charge of Expatriates Affairs in Mecca. The new fingerprints system is very helpful and will help us a lot to discover the identity of a lot of criminals and overstayers.Highway sign warns non-Muslims not to stray on wrong path Kamanda came to the Saudi city of Dammam to work as a truck driver and left his sponsor to sell goods near Mecca's Grand Mosque, Arab News reported. The sponsor reportedly denied he knew where Kamanda was working.
He fled six months after coming to the kingdom, the sponsor said. I have no idea how he reached Mecca.Arab News said that after Kamanda's identity became known, he admitted he was a Christian and had come to Mecca to earn money.
I heard that Mecca is a safe place, where I could hide my identity, he said. The U.S. State Department, in its annual reports on human rights worldwide, consistently has stated religious freedom does not exist in Saudi Arabia, which is dominated by the strict Wahhibist interpretation of Islam. In the kingdom, the State Department says, non-Muslim worshippers risk arrest, imprisonment, lashing, deportation and sometimes torture for engaging in religious activity that attracts official attention.The Saudi royal family has stated it permits non-Muslims to practice their own religion in the privacy of their homes, but many arrests have been made of worshippers in house churches. In 2004, for the first time, the State Department named Saudi Arabia a country of particular concern, subjecting it to possible sanctions for egregious and ongoing violations of religious freedom.
In the U.S., an estimated 80 percent of mosques are supported largely with funds and imams from Saudi Arabia. As WorldNetDaily reported, the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings in 2005 in response to a yearlong study by a Washington human-rights group asserting the government of Saudi Arabia is disseminating propaganda through American mosques that teaches hatred of Jews and Christians and instructs Muslims that they are on a mission behind enemy lines in a land ofunbelievers.
Responding to the report by the Center for Religious Freedom at Freedom House, 15 senators, including Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice demanding the Bush administration take stronger action against Riyadh.
Ex-Chief of Staff: Disengagement Led to Lebanon and Gaza Wars
by Ezra HaLevi (INN) MAY 27,07
Former IDF Chief of Staff Moshe Ya'alon said Saturday that Ariel Sharon's 2005 Disengagement Plan is what led to the Second Lebanon War and brought southern Israel under fire from Gaza.
Yaalon, who was replaced as Chief of Staff just before the Disengagement Plan's implementation due to his semi-public disapproval of the plan, said on Channel 2s Meet the Press program that the only solution to Israels current situation is a return of the IDF to Gaza. The unilateral approach that drove the Disengagement Plan has failed and Israel must abandon it, he said. The Disengagement is seen by the other side as Israel fleeing, he added.Yaalon said that no solution other than reversing the IDFs departure from Gaza is tenable. The problems in Gaza won't go away, he said. Nobody can solve it for us - not Egypt and not an international force You have to be blind to think entering Gaza in unnecessary.
In order to get the other side to recognize our right to exist as an independent Jewish State, we have to come off forceful.We have to strike the terrorists, hit their workshops and hit their infrastructure, Ya'alon continued. We did it in [2002s] Operation Defensive Shield, although we had our reservations before launching that operation as well.Yaalon qualified his statements, saying he was not talking about staying in Gaza or reestablishing the Jewish towns there destroyed during the Disengagement.
I'm not talking about going in and staying there. I'm talking about cleaning the place up, he said. I'm not talking about ruling the city, but if we do not go in now, when they are firing at Sderot we will soon find ourselves with rockets in Ashdod.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Saturday, May 26, 2007
N KOREA TESTS SHORT RANGE MISSLES
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-SoCal community rattled by small quake. 3-4.7-magnitude quake shakes Hawaii island. 4-Spain evaluating scale of flood damage. 5-Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico 6-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein 7-Vietnam confirms human bird flu case 8-Hamas: Islam Will Rule the World, Destroy Israel and the Jews. 9-Fatwa Against Hamas for Having Jewish Characteristics. 10-Sabbath-Sunday Bill Survey Shows Support. 11-Eurozone outracing US on economic growth. 12-Pentagon worries about China weapon test. 13-Iran: no halt to nuclear program. 14-N. Korea test fires short-range missiles.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat May 26 9:00 PM EDT
MAY 26,07
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.8 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.4 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
MAP 5.6 SALTA, ARGENTINA
MAP 5.2 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 BANDA SEA
MAY 25,07
MAP 3.9 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.7 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 CHUKOTKA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
SoCal community rattled by small quake Thu May 24, 3:54 AM ET
DEVORE, Calif. - A light earthquake followed by a slightly stronger aftershock rattled part of Southern California, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey. The initial magnitude 3.8 temblor struck at 11:11 p.m. Wednesday and was centered two miles southeast of Devore, about 50 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.The magnitude 3.9 aftershock hit at 11:15 p.m. in the same area, the U.S.G.S. reported.There have been no reports of structural damage or injuries.
4.7-magnitude quake shakes Hawaii island Thu May 24, 9:01 PM ET
HILO, Hawaii - The largest earthquake to hit a part of Volcanoes National Park in nearly 50 years shook up visitors Thursday, but no injuries or damage were reported, officials said. The earthquake was centered near the Kilauea volcano, on Hawaii's Big Island, where lava flows to the ocean.
The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the temblor was the largest in that area for at least 50 years. Since 1998, only a few earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.0 have occurred there, at shallow depths.The park is warning visitors to be careful near Halemaumau Crater, at the summit of Kilauea. The earthquake widened cracks and existing fractures, leading to dangerous conditions near the rim, said Mardie Lane, park spokeswoman.The area is one of the most popular parts of the park and is revered by Native Hawaiians as the home of Pele, goddess of the volcano.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck in October near the Big Island, causing millions of dollars in damage but no deaths or serious injuries.
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.
Spain evaluating scale of flood damage Fri May 25, 3:05 PM ET
MADRID (AFP) - The Spanish government on Friday said it had agreed a process to calculate the extent of severe flood damage and get emergency aid to the areas worst affected after several days of heavy rain in much of the country. Six regions in south, central including Madrid and southeast Spain were badly hit and the cabinet approved an immediate evaluation of the damage and formulated measures to provide financial aid.
However, First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said it was too early to put a figure on such aid.Spain's agricultural sector has borne the brunt of the damage with flooding swamping 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of vineyards in the central region of Castille-La Mancha.On Friday, agricultural unions estimated some 500,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of crops had been affected.The rain also caused travel misery for thousands of commuters Wednesday and Thursday with mainline rail services between the capital and the major southeastern cities of Valencia and Murcia interrupted all day while some roads were closed.On the plus side, the rains fell after three years of intensive drought affecting much of the country.
Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer MAY 25,07
MEXICO CITY - Archaeologists diving into a lake in the crater of a snowcapped volcano found wooden scepters shaped like lightning bolts that match 500-year-old descriptions by Spanish priests and conquerors writing about offerings to the Aztec rain god. The lightning bolts — along with cones of copal incense and obsidian knives — were found during scuba-diving expeditions in one of the twin lakes of the extinct Nevado de Toluca volcano, at more than 13,800 feet above sea level.
Scientists must still conduct tests to determine the age of the findings, but the writings after the Spanish conquest in 1521 have led them to believe the offerings were left in the frigid lake west of Mexico City more than 500 years ago.
Lightning bolt scepters were used by Aztec priests when they were doing rites associated with the god Tlaloc, said Johan Reinhard, an anthropologist and explorer-in-residence for National Geographic Society who took part in more dives Thursday at the Lake of the Moon. We think it is pretty clear that the Aztecs considered this one of the more important places of Tlaloc.The research, which also involves the volcano's Lake of the Sun, is being led by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Stanislaw Iwaniszewski, an archaeology professor at the institute, said Aztec iconography often associates Tlaloc with lightning bolts.They were left in the lake to bring rain storms, Iwaniszewski said. Copal incense was burned to form clouds, and sharp spines from the maguey cactus which does not grow at that altitude indicated worshippers brought them there to draw blood from themselves as part of the sacrifice.Luis Alberto Martos, the institute's director of archaeological studies, said other artifacts found in the clear 32-degree waters of the lake indicate the ritual may have started about 100 B.C. long before the Aztecas settled in the area in 1325.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
May 25, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Yesterday began the observance of the Jewish festival of Shavuot, a holiday with dual significance.
The Bible states, From the day after the Sabbath … count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord(Leviticus 23:15-16) Thus, on Shavuot, which falls fifty days after Passover, Jews commemorate the time, in ancient days, when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the holy Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God.The second event commemorated on Shavuot is the giving of the Torah (the first five books of what Christians call the Old Testament) to Moses on Mount Sinai. God’s law, as expressed in the Torah, is the source of the unique character, faith and destiny of the Jewish people.
It also forms the moral foundation of Western civilization and its institutions, which makes it of critical importance not just for Jews, but for Christians and indeed the entire world.
There is an added historical dimension to Shavuot this year. As I discussed last week, Israel has just marked the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Shavuot that year fell just six days after the Holy City was reclaimed, and on that holiday thousands of grateful Jewish pilgrims were able to see the holy sites they had so long been denied access to. One Israeli
magazine described the extraordinary scene on Shavuot, 1967:For the first time since the Dispersion in the year 70 C.E. a pilgrimage numbering two hundred thousand persons moved under the Flag of Israel through the streets of King David’s City to the last surviving relic of the Second Temple. Every section of the population was represented, kibbutz members and soldiers in tallitot (prayer shawls) rubbing shoulders with ultra-orthodox rabbis. Mothers came with children in prams, and old men trudged steeply up Mount Zion, supported by youngsters on either side, to see the Wall of the Temple before the end of their days … Some wept, but most faces were wreathed in smiles.Every year now on Shavuot people from all over Jerusalem stream to the Western Wall in early morning to pray at a sunrise service. It is a fitting way to observe this significant Jewish festival, to honor their biblical commitment, and to give thanks to God for the gift of his Law.
Today, I ask you to please say a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that the Jewish people will always be able to celebrate the festival of Shavuot in Jerusalem, the holiest city of all Judaism and the capital of the sovereign Jewish State. And, if you have not already, please respond to our action alert by signing our petition in support of the resolutions pending in the House and Senate requiring the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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)
Vietnam confirms human bird flu case MAY 25,07
HANOI (AFP) - Health officials in Vietnam on Friday confirmed a farmer has been infected with the deadly bird flu virus, the first human case in the country since late 2005. Two recent tests for the 30-year-old man from Vinh Phuc province showed that he was positive to the H5N1 virus, said a doctor from the National Institute of Epidemiology in Hanoi who refused to be named.State-run Vietnam News Agency also quoted deputy head of the ministry's Preventive Healthcare department Nguyen Van Binh confirming the test results.The ministry of health has not directly confirmed the case and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was still waiting for confirmation from its own laboratory tests.The man, who is in critical condition in a Hanoi hospital, helped slaughter chickens for a wedding about a month ago from a neighbouring farm, where several birds later died.
This is the first human infection since November 2005 in Vietnam, which was one of the countries hardest hit by the virus with 42 human fatalities between 2003 and November 2005.
The virus has remained endemic to wild and domestic bird populations, and struck again this month with several outbreaks of the H5N1 strain in eight provinces killing thousands of unvaccinated ducks and some chickens.Bird flu outbreaks have now been reported in provinces from the far north of the country to the Mekong river delta in the south, according to the latest online report from the national animal health department.Vietnam says it has vaccinated more than 120 million poultry in 60 provinces in efforts to combat the virus.The News newspaper quoted Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as criticising on Thursday local authorities for their lack of responsibility in monitoring the situation.
He also urged them to apply all possible measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic to both poultry and humans.The WHO representative in Vietnam, Hans Troedsson, said the new developments were not surprising.The virus was pushed back by the measures Vietnam has taken, with the mass vaccinations and cullings, he said, but it has never been eradicated.However, the Vietnamese authorities are doing the right things, he said, adding the situation was not alarming.
According to World Health Organisations figures, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has infected at least 306 people worldwide and killed about 185 of them, mostly in southeast Asia.
Hamas: Islam Will Rule the World, Destroy Israel and the Jews
by Hana Levi Julian MAY 25,07 (INN)
The Hamas terrorist organization is conducting a simultaneous battle against Israel and its coalition partner, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Fatah faction, but not without a higher purpose. According to the Palestinian Media Watch, the Hamas charter specifically mandates the murder of Jews in compliance with what it believes is Divine will. Violence and terror, which Hamas refers to as resistance, are considered legitimate tools to be used for this purpose. Hamas has worked hard to promote this ideology and to train the current and future generations toward this end, using a Mickey Mouse-like character to teach the precepts to PA Arab children and other TV and radio programs to reach the adults. The PA population has, for the most part, responded enthusiastically to this campaign. Others who are frightened by the fanaticism and culture of murder are doing their best to flee. Branch offices of foreign ministries from various Arab countries report they have been besieged with tens of thousands of applications by PA Arabs who are desperate to take their families out of the madness.
Islamic clerics, meanwhile, exhort them to remain, resorting even to religious legal rulings that it is forbidden to leave the Palestinian Authority territories and abandon what they insist is their land. It is clear that Hamas has no intention of ever recognizing the State of Israels right to exist. Nor does it intend to end its terrorism, regardless of international mandates to do so. We will liberate Palestine, all of Palestine... Palestine will not be liberated by negotiations, committees and decisions. It will only be liberated by the rifle and the al-Kassam [rocket -ed.]. Therefore, prepare yourselves, declared Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan in an April interview with the Hamas-controlled Al-Risalah newspaper.
Ultimately, states former Foreign Minister and Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar in a March interview with the Arabic Al-Ayyam newspaper, Our position is the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine. This is the final and strategic solution for us. Anyone who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.
Fatwa Against Hamas for Having Jewish Characteristics
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (INN) MAY 25,07
A Muslim cleric, apparently from the Palestinian Authority, has released a fatwa (religious ruling) permitting the killing of members of the Hamas terrorist organization. In support of his position, the heretofore unknown sheikh declared Hamas to have Jewish characteristics, but added that the Jews have more mercy on the Arabs than Hamas. You should kill them cold-bloodedly. Sheikh Al-Hiran The fatwa and accompanying argumentation appeared in two articles, one in the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan and the other published on the website of the Fatah terrorist organization, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. According to a report and translation of the articles provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Islamic cleric, identified as Sheikh Shaker Al-Hiran, labeled Hamas Khawarij. This term is a reference to a group of Muslims that rebelled against the leadership of seventh-century Islam.
Among other affronts, the Fatah-backed sheikh declared, Hamas is willing to ally itself with non-Muslims and to battle co-religionists. Al-Hiran then said that Hamas-backed scholars should be confronted about the activities of their organization. If the scholars say that what they [Hamas members] do is prohibited, then you should kill them cold-bloodedly, [and you will] be rewarded by Allah for ridding Muslims of their influence and evil. Jews have more mercy towards our nation than [Hamas]. If the scholars The article is titled The Common Characteristics of Hamas and the Jews.
say that their conduct is permitted, then kill their scholars.... They are all the same.
In his article entitled The Common Characteristics of Hamas and the Jews, Al-Hiran wrote that the Islamist group has Jewish characteristics. For the PA sheikh, this means hypocrisy and a lack of trustworthiness, including breaking agreements reached with the Fatah leadership of the PA. MEMRI analysts noted, The articles triggered condemnation, such as a statement by Palestinian Authority Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, who labeled Al-Hiran's articles as a clear call for fitna (civil strife). In particular, MEMRI reported that the article comparing Hamas to the Jews triggered harsh reactions and prompted online messages from readers questioning Al-Hiran's existence.
Sabbath-Sunday Bill Survey Shows Support
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAY 25,07
MK Zevulun Orlev (NRP) has announced the findings of a poll showing a 56% support rate for his proposed legislation making Sunday a day of rest and allowing some public transportation and entertainment on the Sabbath. Orlev's bill would change the official approach to Sabbath as the country's day of rest. Though businesses and government offices would continue to be closed, places of entertainment would be permitted to open - and public transportation, now banned in most cities on the Sabbath, would be available for that purpose. The bill stipulates that such transportation and entertainment would be carried out with maximum sensitivity to the religious public. A survey commissioned by Orlev finds that 56% of the public support his initiative, while 30% object. The poll was carried out by Brain Base (Maagar Mochot) Institute, headed by Prof. Yitzchak Katz.
Orlev's bill, which he proposed last week, also calls for a second day of rest during the week - Sunday - during which businesses and offices would be closed. This would enable Sabbath observant families to spend more time together, Orlev explains. Work hours lost to Sunday would be made up largely by increasing the workday on Mondays through Fridays from 8 to 9 hours. The survey divides the respondents into religious categories, such as secular, hareidi-religious, etc.
However, it lumps together the religious-Zionist public with those who consider themselves traditional, i.e., minimally observant. The poll finds that 64% of this joint sector supports the new bill. The two groups were combined in the poll, despite the expectation that the two would not have similar views of the issue. Other findings of the poll show, in fact, that support for the bill increases as
level of religious observance decreases. For instance, 64% of the secular public supports the bill, compared to only 6% of the hareidi-religious public. Asked to explain, Orlev's spokesman Moshe Inbar told Arutz-7 that the breakdown was determined by the pollster, in consultation with me. Inbar said that lumping the two sectors together is in keeping with the NRP's new policy of opening its gates to the traditional community. Arutz-7: But information is missing from the poll, in that we do not know how many of the mainstream NRP voters - the religious-Zionist public - supports this bill.
In response, Inbar first suggested that you can commission your own poll, but then added, You can extrapolate from the other findings...Orlev said his bill was formulated with the help of leading religious-Zionist rabbis, and does not openly permit activities that are forbidden by the Torah, but rather does not mention them.MK Yitzchak Levy of the National Union party said the bill paves the way for further deterioration in the character of the Sabbath in the State of Israel. The National Union and the NRP joined forces for the last national election, merging into one electoral list.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS)
Eurozone outracing US on economic growth
24.05.2007 - 17:20 CET | By Andrew Rettman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The eurozone will in 2007 take over from the US as the driver of world economic growth, according to Paris-based think tank the OECD, with a strong performance by Germany giving Europe the edge.
The 13-state strong European currency union will see 2.7 percent GDP growth this year compared to 2.1 percent in the US, the OECD predicted in a report out Thursday (24 May). Last year the euro states lagged 0.5 percent behind the US. Europe [is] taking over the baton from the United States, OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said. A vibrant German-led recovery has remained on track...[and] the so-far lagging Italian economy has been sharing in the upswing.The bounce-back stems from a gradual increase in household and corporate spending, as well as robust exports. Falling unemployment - from 7.8 percent last year to 7.1 percent this year - is another noticeable bright spot, the study says. By contrast, US results are being held back by problems in the housing market, which is suffering from an excess of supply. But the OECD predicts a progressive return to economic normality that should see America again nose ahead of the eurozone in 2008.
The European upswing could spell good news for political projects, such as Germany's attempt to revive the EU constitution - at the time of the EU's 50th birthday in March, some analysts said stagnating economies had contributed to euroscepticism in recent years.
But the European picture is not entirely rosy: unemployment still remains much higher than in the US; inflation risks are likely to see the European Central Bank hike rates again this year and an ageing population is increasing pressure on the public purse. The balance of risks to inflation is towards the upside, the OECD says, recommending another 0.5 percent increase in the cost of borrowing in two tranches of 0.25 percent by the end of the year. Looking at the economic dangers of ageing, the think tank forecasts that Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain will all be spending over 10 percent of their GDP on pensions and geriatric health care by 2050.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Pentagon worries about China weapon test By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer MAY 25,07
WASHINGTON - China is improving its capacity for launching surprise military attacks along its border areas, reflecting its view that preemption is necessary when confronting a more powerful enemy, the Pentagon said Friday. In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also said China's recent success at destroying a satellite in low-Earth orbit is a threat to the interests of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight.In a section titled Is China Developing a Preemptive Strategy? the report cited as evidence the fact that the People's Liberation Army has been acquiring long-endurance submarines, unmanned combat aircraft, additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, and long-distance military communications systems.Attempting to capture the essence of China's strategy, the report quoted former supreme leader Deng Xiaoping's guidance, known as the 24-character maxim, which says in part, hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile.
It suggests both a short-term desire to downplay China's capabilities and avoid confrontation, and a long-term strategy to build up China's power to maximize options for the future, the Pentagon report said.
Peter Rodman, who until early this year was the Pentagon's top Asia policy official, said in an interview Friday that there is reason for concern that China's long-range aim is to revise the existing balance of power in the world, but they are patient and they are just doing this quietly; they think long term.Rodman added that because U.S. officials are carefully and closely monitoring China's growing military strength and sophistication, We can handle this, we're no slouches ourselves at maintaining our capability. Rodman is now a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
The report said China's near-term focus is on preparing for a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait, where it continues to emplace more short-range ballistic missiles.However, analysis of China's military acquisitions and strategic thinking suggests Beijing is also generating capabilities for other regional contingencies, such as conflict over resources or territory, the report said.Chinese military training that focuses on no-notice, long-range air strikes could also indicate planning for preemptive military options in advance of regional crises, the report said.The Pentagon highlighted its concern about Beijing's anti-satellite test in which a missile was used to destroy one of China's old weather satellites in low-Earth polar orbit; the January test was China's first.The test put at risk the assets of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris, the report said, adding that this is an important expansion of China's pursuit of weaponry and strategies that are designed to deny U.S. forces access to areas in Asia.
Rodman said the Bush administration knew in advance that China planned to conduct the January test but it chose not to address it with the Chinese because U.S. officials were convinced Beijing would go ahead with it regardless.The anti-satellite capability demonstrated in the test is only one element of a multidimensional program to develop a capability to deny other nations access to outer space, the Pentagon asserted.China has purchased UHF-band satellite communications jammers and is developing other technologies and concepts for weapons with anti-satellite missions, the report said.
It also is improving its ability to identify and track satellites, a prerequisite for effective, precise physical attacks, the report added.The report was presented to Congress on Friday, just days before Defense Secretary Robert Gates travels to Singapore to address an international conference on Asian security issues, where China is likely to be a key topic.In previewing the report's release, Gates told
reporters on Thursday that some of China's new capabilities are of concern to the United States but he did not provide details.We wish that there were greater transparency, that they would talk more about what their intentions are, what their strategies are, Gates said. It would be nice to hear firsthand from the Chinese how they view some of these things.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO
MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame
burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Iran: no halt to nuclear program By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 24, 11:00 PM ET
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out even a brief halt in Iran's nuclear program, saying Thursday it would hand a victory to the country's enemies and undercut the Islamic state's goal of becoming a world power. Ahmadinejad's latest salvo apparently aimed at Washington and Western allies ollowed Wednesday's report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that said Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment program in defiance of U.N. demands for a suspension. The finding could set the stage for a third round of Security Council sanctions.The enemy wants Iran to surrender so it won't have any say in the world, Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. If we stop for a while, they (Iran's enemies) will achieve their goals.
Iran insists its nuclear program seeks only to develop energy, and has touted it as a sign of technological prowess. The United States and allies contend Iran is secretly aiming to develop nuclear arms.But there are international divisions on how to handle the standoff.The current rumblings have reached Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency, after he suggested that Iran be allowed to keep some elements of its uranium enrichment program.
The United States has lodged a complaint against ElBaradei, and Britain and France are expected to follow suit, said diplomats familiar with proceedings at the Vienna-based agency. The diplomats demanded anonymity because their information was confidential.The United States and others worry that ElBaradei's comments could undermine efforts to pressure Iran into scrapping the program.In Washington, President Bush said Thursday he would work with allies to beef up sanctions on Iran.
He told a Rose Garden news conference that Iran's leaders continue to be defiant as to the demands of the free world.Bush's remarks came against a mixed backdrop: new tensions but also groundbreaking diplomatic overtures.
The Pentagon has moved two aircraft carriers and seven other ships into the Persian Gulf in a show of force. Iran, meanwhile, has detained at least two prominent American-Iranian citizens On Monday, however, U.S. and Iranian diplomats are scheduled to hold direct talks in Baghdad on efforts to stabilize Iraq. The meeting offers a very rare one-on-one diplomatic forum between the nations, which broke off formal relations after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.The agenda of the talks is limited to Iraqi affairs and should not spill over into the nuclear impasse. But it hangs over any interplay between Iran and the United States.Ahmadinejad again drove home Iran's message. He said opponents of Iran's nuclear program want to hit at the source of the (Iranian) regime's progress in attempting to thwart Iran's exploitation of peaceful nuclear technology.The Security Council has demanded Iran suspend enrichment because it can produce both reactor fuel and — at higher levels weapons-grade material. The council first imposed sanctions on Iran on Dec. 23 for rejecting its demands, then modestly increased them in March.
Experts from the United States and five other powers plan to meet within the week to consider the next steps after ElBaradei's report Wednesday. The talks will focus on how to bring Iran back to negotiations and what the Security Council could do if Tehran doesn't budge, said China's deputy U.N. ambassador, Liu Zhenmin.ElBaradei said Thursday that Iran can only be kept away from nuclear arms through a comprehensive dialogue.One way to do that, rather than to continue the rhetoric, is to ... sit down together, he said in Luxembourg, while also agreeing with U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran is three to eight years from being able to make nuclear arms.
ElBaradei's report detailed the expansion of Iran's enrichment program and for the first time noted that the agency's knowledge of Iran's nuclear activities is shrinking. Tehran's has blocked inspections of a heavy water reactor under construction at Arak and facilities linked to it. Once completed, the Arak complex will produce plutonium, which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei has said he feels it is too late to force Iran to abandon enrichment and has argued instead for implementing inspection safeguards to prevent an expansion of the program. But U.S. , French and British diplomats at the International Atomic Energy Agency are apparently concerned ElBaradei's statements could exacerbate their divisions with the other two permanent Security Council members, Russia and China. Both nations have watered down previous measures against Tehran over its nuclear
defiance.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin urged Iran to take a constructive approach to the nuclear dispute and called on other nations to step up diplomatic efforts with the aim of producing a balanced approach.Russia has close economic and political ties with Tehran and, over objections from the United States and others, is helping to build the country's first nuclear power plant. Iran's top nuclear inspector, Ali Larijani, defended Iran's imposing limits on IAEA inspections.
He said Iran had entered voluntarily into the agreement allowing the inspections at Arak, and so it has right to revise that decision to bar the inspections. Larijani and Javier Solana, the EU's top foreign policy official, are to meet May 31 to explore whether there's room to resume negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Also Thursday, Ahmadinejad — known for his 2005 comment that the Jewish state should be wiped off the map — criticized Israel for its attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
If you think that by bombing and assassinating Palestinian leaders you are preparing ground for new attacks on Lebanon in the summer, I am telling you that you are seriously wrong, Ahmadinejad said. Ocean of nations of the region will get angry and will cut the root of the Zionist regime from its stem.
Israeli experts have been talking for months about the possibility of another war with Lebanon in the summer; officials have denied planning such a conflict. After the inconclusive outcome of last summer's war, when Hezbollah guerrillas fired almost 4,000 rockets at Israel, the Israelis are seen as unlikely to launch another one unless they felt they could emerge clearly victorious.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said that Ahmadinejad funds, trains and arms the most extreme anti-peace elements in the region if there is any real threat to regional security it comes from an expansionist fundamentalist Iran. Associated Press writers Terence Hunt in Washington, George Jahn in Vienna and Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
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.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
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.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
N. Korea test fires short-range missiles By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer MAY 26,07
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea test fired several short-range guided missiles Friday into the sea that separates it from Japan, South Korean officials and media reports said.
Analysts and media reports said the North's test was in response to South Korea's launch of its first destroyer equipped with high-tech Aegis radar technology developed by the U.S. South Korea is now one of only five countries armed with the technology, which will make it easier to track and shoot down North Korean aircraft and missiles. This shows North Korea, whose navy is rather small, is extremely alarmed, said Toshimitsu Shigemura, an expert on North Korean issues at Japan's Waseda University.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the missile launches.
The short-range missile launches are believed to be part of a routine exercise that North Korea has conducted annually on the east and the west coasts in the past, the statement said.The missiles were fired from the communist country's east coast into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, a Joint Chiefs official said on condition of anonymity, citing official protocol.Japan's public broadcaster and other media, citing Japanese and U.S. sources, reported the missiles were surface-to-ship. Japan's Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry could not immediately confirm the reports.North Korea's missile program has been a constant concern to the region, along with its pursuit of nuclear weapons.The hard-line regime test-fired a series of missiles in July last year, including its latest long-range model, known abroad as the Taepodong-2, which experts believe could reach parts of the United States. The North rattled the world again in October by conducting its first-ever test of a nuclear device. However, experts believe it does not have a bomb design advanced
enough to be placed on a missile.
In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States sees the test as a routine exercise that they do from time to time. U.S. officials, eager to make progress on a nuclear disarmament accord with the North that has been stalled over a financial dispute, have been hesitant to criticize Pyongyang.European Union officials said they were concerned North Korea's short-range missile tests posed a further risk to stability in Asia and urged the isolated nation to seek dialogue to
ease tensions with its neighbors.
In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the tests extremely regrettable, but added: We do not consider (the missile firing) as a serious threat to Japan's national security.South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified Unification Ministry official as saying the tests would not strain ties because they were apparently part of regular exercises. North and South Korea are planning Cabinet level talks on reconciliation efforts next week in Seoul.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the missiles were shorter-range, and were not North Korea's existing Rodong or Taepodong I ballistic missiles.Kyodo News agency said the missiles were launched from Hamgyong Namdo on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and are considered modified silkworm or miniaturized Scuds with a range of 60-125 miles.Mobile missile carriers, communication equipment and personnel were seen in the area before the launch, but they left after the missiles were fired, Kyodo said.Last month, North Korea displayed a newly developed ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam during a military parade, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified South Korean government official familiar with an analysis of U.S. satellite images.Associate Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat May 26 9:00 PM EDT
MAY 26,07
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.8 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.4 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
MAP 5.6 SALTA, ARGENTINA
MAP 5.2 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.3 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 BANDA SEA
MAY 25,07
MAP 3.9 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.7 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 CHUKOTKA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
SoCal community rattled by small quake Thu May 24, 3:54 AM ET
DEVORE, Calif. - A light earthquake followed by a slightly stronger aftershock rattled part of Southern California, according to a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey. The initial magnitude 3.8 temblor struck at 11:11 p.m. Wednesday and was centered two miles southeast of Devore, about 50 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles.The magnitude 3.9 aftershock hit at 11:15 p.m. in the same area, the U.S.G.S. reported.There have been no reports of structural damage or injuries.
4.7-magnitude quake shakes Hawaii island Thu May 24, 9:01 PM ET
HILO, Hawaii - The largest earthquake to hit a part of Volcanoes National Park in nearly 50 years shook up visitors Thursday, but no injuries or damage were reported, officials said. The earthquake was centered near the Kilauea volcano, on Hawaii's Big Island, where lava flows to the ocean.
The U.S. Geological Survey's Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said the temblor was the largest in that area for at least 50 years. Since 1998, only a few earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.0 have occurred there, at shallow depths.The park is warning visitors to be careful near Halemaumau Crater, at the summit of Kilauea. The earthquake widened cracks and existing fractures, leading to dangerous conditions near the rim, said Mardie Lane, park spokeswoman.The area is one of the most popular parts of the park and is revered by Native Hawaiians as the home of Pele, goddess of the volcano.
A 6.7-magnitude earthquake struck in October near the Big Island, causing millions of dollars in damage but no deaths or serious injuries.
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.
Spain evaluating scale of flood damage Fri May 25, 3:05 PM ET
MADRID (AFP) - The Spanish government on Friday said it had agreed a process to calculate the extent of severe flood damage and get emergency aid to the areas worst affected after several days of heavy rain in much of the country. Six regions in south, central including Madrid and southeast Spain were badly hit and the cabinet approved an immediate evaluation of the damage and formulated measures to provide financial aid.
However, First Deputy Prime Minister Maria Teresa Fernandez de la Vega said it was too early to put a figure on such aid.Spain's agricultural sector has borne the brunt of the damage with flooding swamping 100,000 hectares (247,000 acres) of vineyards in the central region of Castille-La Mancha.On Friday, agricultural unions estimated some 500,000 hectares (1.3 million acres) of crops had been affected.The rain also caused travel misery for thousands of commuters Wednesday and Thursday with mainline rail services between the capital and the major southeastern cities of Valencia and Murcia interrupted all day while some roads were closed.On the plus side, the rains fell after three years of intensive drought affecting much of the country.
Possible Aztec offerings found in Mexico By MARK STEVENSON, Associated Press Writer MAY 25,07
MEXICO CITY - Archaeologists diving into a lake in the crater of a snowcapped volcano found wooden scepters shaped like lightning bolts that match 500-year-old descriptions by Spanish priests and conquerors writing about offerings to the Aztec rain god. The lightning bolts — along with cones of copal incense and obsidian knives — were found during scuba-diving expeditions in one of the twin lakes of the extinct Nevado de Toluca volcano, at more than 13,800 feet above sea level.
Scientists must still conduct tests to determine the age of the findings, but the writings after the Spanish conquest in 1521 have led them to believe the offerings were left in the frigid lake west of Mexico City more than 500 years ago.
Lightning bolt scepters were used by Aztec priests when they were doing rites associated with the god Tlaloc, said Johan Reinhard, an anthropologist and explorer-in-residence for National Geographic Society who took part in more dives Thursday at the Lake of the Moon. We think it is pretty clear that the Aztecs considered this one of the more important places of Tlaloc.The research, which also involves the volcano's Lake of the Sun, is being led by Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History.
Stanislaw Iwaniszewski, an archaeology professor at the institute, said Aztec iconography often associates Tlaloc with lightning bolts.They were left in the lake to bring rain storms, Iwaniszewski said. Copal incense was burned to form clouds, and sharp spines from the maguey cactus which does not grow at that altitude indicated worshippers brought them there to draw blood from themselves as part of the sacrifice.Luis Alberto Martos, the institute's director of archaeological studies, said other artifacts found in the clear 32-degree waters of the lake indicate the ritual may have started about 100 B.C. long before the Aztecas settled in the area in 1325.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
May 25, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Yesterday began the observance of the Jewish festival of Shavuot, a holiday with dual significance.
The Bible states, From the day after the Sabbath … count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the Lord(Leviticus 23:15-16) Thus, on Shavuot, which falls fifty days after Passover, Jews commemorate the time, in ancient days, when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the holy Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to God.The second event commemorated on Shavuot is the giving of the Torah (the first five books of what Christians call the Old Testament) to Moses on Mount Sinai. God’s law, as expressed in the Torah, is the source of the unique character, faith and destiny of the Jewish people.
It also forms the moral foundation of Western civilization and its institutions, which makes it of critical importance not just for Jews, but for Christians and indeed the entire world.
There is an added historical dimension to Shavuot this year. As I discussed last week, Israel has just marked the 40th anniversary of the liberation of the city of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Shavuot that year fell just six days after the Holy City was reclaimed, and on that holiday thousands of grateful Jewish pilgrims were able to see the holy sites they had so long been denied access to. One Israeli
magazine described the extraordinary scene on Shavuot, 1967:For the first time since the Dispersion in the year 70 C.E. a pilgrimage numbering two hundred thousand persons moved under the Flag of Israel through the streets of King David’s City to the last surviving relic of the Second Temple. Every section of the population was represented, kibbutz members and soldiers in tallitot (prayer shawls) rubbing shoulders with ultra-orthodox rabbis. Mothers came with children in prams, and old men trudged steeply up Mount Zion, supported by youngsters on either side, to see the Wall of the Temple before the end of their days … Some wept, but most faces were wreathed in smiles.Every year now on Shavuot people from all over Jerusalem stream to the Western Wall in early morning to pray at a sunrise service. It is a fitting way to observe this significant Jewish festival, to honor their biblical commitment, and to give thanks to God for the gift of his Law.
Today, I ask you to please say a prayer for the peace of Jerusalem. Pray that the Jewish people will always be able to celebrate the festival of Shavuot in Jerusalem, the holiest city of all Judaism and the capital of the sovereign Jewish State. And, if you have not already, please respond to our action alert by signing our petition in support of the resolutions pending in the House and Senate requiring the U.S. to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.
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)
Vietnam confirms human bird flu case MAY 25,07
HANOI (AFP) - Health officials in Vietnam on Friday confirmed a farmer has been infected with the deadly bird flu virus, the first human case in the country since late 2005. Two recent tests for the 30-year-old man from Vinh Phuc province showed that he was positive to the H5N1 virus, said a doctor from the National Institute of Epidemiology in Hanoi who refused to be named.State-run Vietnam News Agency also quoted deputy head of the ministry's Preventive Healthcare department Nguyen Van Binh confirming the test results.The ministry of health has not directly confirmed the case and the World Health Organisation (WHO) said it was still waiting for confirmation from its own laboratory tests.The man, who is in critical condition in a Hanoi hospital, helped slaughter chickens for a wedding about a month ago from a neighbouring farm, where several birds later died.
This is the first human infection since November 2005 in Vietnam, which was one of the countries hardest hit by the virus with 42 human fatalities between 2003 and November 2005.
The virus has remained endemic to wild and domestic bird populations, and struck again this month with several outbreaks of the H5N1 strain in eight provinces killing thousands of unvaccinated ducks and some chickens.Bird flu outbreaks have now been reported in provinces from the far north of the country to the Mekong river delta in the south, according to the latest online report from the national animal health department.Vietnam says it has vaccinated more than 120 million poultry in 60 provinces in efforts to combat the virus.The News newspaper quoted Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung as criticising on Thursday local authorities for their lack of responsibility in monitoring the situation.
He also urged them to apply all possible measures to prevent the spread of the epidemic to both poultry and humans.The WHO representative in Vietnam, Hans Troedsson, said the new developments were not surprising.The virus was pushed back by the measures Vietnam has taken, with the mass vaccinations and cullings, he said, but it has never been eradicated.However, the Vietnamese authorities are doing the right things, he said, adding the situation was not alarming.
According to World Health Organisations figures, the H5N1 strain of bird flu has infected at least 306 people worldwide and killed about 185 of them, mostly in southeast Asia.
Hamas: Islam Will Rule the World, Destroy Israel and the Jews
by Hana Levi Julian MAY 25,07 (INN)
The Hamas terrorist organization is conducting a simultaneous battle against Israel and its coalition partner, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas Fatah faction, but not without a higher purpose. According to the Palestinian Media Watch, the Hamas charter specifically mandates the murder of Jews in compliance with what it believes is Divine will. Violence and terror, which Hamas refers to as resistance, are considered legitimate tools to be used for this purpose. Hamas has worked hard to promote this ideology and to train the current and future generations toward this end, using a Mickey Mouse-like character to teach the precepts to PA Arab children and other TV and radio programs to reach the adults. The PA population has, for the most part, responded enthusiastically to this campaign. Others who are frightened by the fanaticism and culture of murder are doing their best to flee. Branch offices of foreign ministries from various Arab countries report they have been besieged with tens of thousands of applications by PA Arabs who are desperate to take their families out of the madness.
Islamic clerics, meanwhile, exhort them to remain, resorting even to religious legal rulings that it is forbidden to leave the Palestinian Authority territories and abandon what they insist is their land. It is clear that Hamas has no intention of ever recognizing the State of Israels right to exist. Nor does it intend to end its terrorism, regardless of international mandates to do so. We will liberate Palestine, all of Palestine... Palestine will not be liberated by negotiations, committees and decisions. It will only be liberated by the rifle and the al-Kassam [rocket -ed.]. Therefore, prepare yourselves, declared Hamas spokesman Dr. Ismail Radwan in an April interview with the Hamas-controlled Al-Risalah newspaper.
Ultimately, states former Foreign Minister and Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahhar in a March interview with the Arabic Al-Ayyam newspaper, Our position is the liberation of Palestine, all of Palestine. This is the final and strategic solution for us. Anyone who denies it must check his faith and his Islam.
Fatwa Against Hamas for Having Jewish Characteristics
by Nissan Ratzlav-Katz (INN) MAY 25,07
A Muslim cleric, apparently from the Palestinian Authority, has released a fatwa (religious ruling) permitting the killing of members of the Hamas terrorist organization. In support of his position, the heretofore unknown sheikh declared Hamas to have Jewish characteristics, but added that the Jews have more mercy on the Arabs than Hamas. You should kill them cold-bloodedly. Sheikh Al-Hiran The fatwa and accompanying argumentation appeared in two articles, one in the Saudi newspaper Al-Watan and the other published on the website of the Fatah terrorist organization, headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. According to a report and translation of the articles provided by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), the Islamic cleric, identified as Sheikh Shaker Al-Hiran, labeled Hamas Khawarij. This term is a reference to a group of Muslims that rebelled against the leadership of seventh-century Islam.
Among other affronts, the Fatah-backed sheikh declared, Hamas is willing to ally itself with non-Muslims and to battle co-religionists. Al-Hiran then said that Hamas-backed scholars should be confronted about the activities of their organization. If the scholars say that what they [Hamas members] do is prohibited, then you should kill them cold-bloodedly, [and you will] be rewarded by Allah for ridding Muslims of their influence and evil. Jews have more mercy towards our nation than [Hamas]. If the scholars The article is titled The Common Characteristics of Hamas and the Jews.
say that their conduct is permitted, then kill their scholars.... They are all the same.
In his article entitled The Common Characteristics of Hamas and the Jews, Al-Hiran wrote that the Islamist group has Jewish characteristics. For the PA sheikh, this means hypocrisy and a lack of trustworthiness, including breaking agreements reached with the Fatah leadership of the PA. MEMRI analysts noted, The articles triggered condemnation, such as a statement by Palestinian Authority Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Hussein, who labeled Al-Hiran's articles as a clear call for fitna (civil strife). In particular, MEMRI reported that the article comparing Hamas to the Jews triggered harsh reactions and prompted online messages from readers questioning Al-Hiran's existence.
Sabbath-Sunday Bill Survey Shows Support
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAY 25,07
MK Zevulun Orlev (NRP) has announced the findings of a poll showing a 56% support rate for his proposed legislation making Sunday a day of rest and allowing some public transportation and entertainment on the Sabbath. Orlev's bill would change the official approach to Sabbath as the country's day of rest. Though businesses and government offices would continue to be closed, places of entertainment would be permitted to open - and public transportation, now banned in most cities on the Sabbath, would be available for that purpose. The bill stipulates that such transportation and entertainment would be carried out with maximum sensitivity to the religious public. A survey commissioned by Orlev finds that 56% of the public support his initiative, while 30% object. The poll was carried out by Brain Base (Maagar Mochot) Institute, headed by Prof. Yitzchak Katz.
Orlev's bill, which he proposed last week, also calls for a second day of rest during the week - Sunday - during which businesses and offices would be closed. This would enable Sabbath observant families to spend more time together, Orlev explains. Work hours lost to Sunday would be made up largely by increasing the workday on Mondays through Fridays from 8 to 9 hours. The survey divides the respondents into religious categories, such as secular, hareidi-religious, etc.
However, it lumps together the religious-Zionist public with those who consider themselves traditional, i.e., minimally observant. The poll finds that 64% of this joint sector supports the new bill. The two groups were combined in the poll, despite the expectation that the two would not have similar views of the issue. Other findings of the poll show, in fact, that support for the bill increases as
level of religious observance decreases. For instance, 64% of the secular public supports the bill, compared to only 6% of the hareidi-religious public. Asked to explain, Orlev's spokesman Moshe Inbar told Arutz-7 that the breakdown was determined by the pollster, in consultation with me. Inbar said that lumping the two sectors together is in keeping with the NRP's new policy of opening its gates to the traditional community. Arutz-7: But information is missing from the poll, in that we do not know how many of the mainstream NRP voters - the religious-Zionist public - supports this bill.
In response, Inbar first suggested that you can commission your own poll, but then added, You can extrapolate from the other findings...Orlev said his bill was formulated with the help of leading religious-Zionist rabbis, and does not openly permit activities that are forbidden by the Torah, but rather does not mention them.MK Yitzchak Levy of the National Union party said the bill paves the way for further deterioration in the character of the Sabbath in the State of Israel. The National Union and the NRP joined forces for the last national election, merging into one electoral list.
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS)
Eurozone outracing US on economic growth
24.05.2007 - 17:20 CET | By Andrew Rettman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The eurozone will in 2007 take over from the US as the driver of world economic growth, according to Paris-based think tank the OECD, with a strong performance by Germany giving Europe the edge.
The 13-state strong European currency union will see 2.7 percent GDP growth this year compared to 2.1 percent in the US, the OECD predicted in a report out Thursday (24 May). Last year the euro states lagged 0.5 percent behind the US. Europe [is] taking over the baton from the United States, OECD chief economist Jean-Philippe Cotis said. A vibrant German-led recovery has remained on track...[and] the so-far lagging Italian economy has been sharing in the upswing.The bounce-back stems from a gradual increase in household and corporate spending, as well as robust exports. Falling unemployment - from 7.8 percent last year to 7.1 percent this year - is another noticeable bright spot, the study says. By contrast, US results are being held back by problems in the housing market, which is suffering from an excess of supply. But the OECD predicts a progressive return to economic normality that should see America again nose ahead of the eurozone in 2008.
The European upswing could spell good news for political projects, such as Germany's attempt to revive the EU constitution - at the time of the EU's 50th birthday in March, some analysts said stagnating economies had contributed to euroscepticism in recent years.
But the European picture is not entirely rosy: unemployment still remains much higher than in the US; inflation risks are likely to see the European Central Bank hike rates again this year and an ageing population is increasing pressure on the public purse. The balance of risks to inflation is towards the upside, the OECD says, recommending another 0.5 percent increase in the cost of borrowing in two tranches of 0.25 percent by the end of the year. Looking at the economic dangers of ageing, the think tank forecasts that Belgium, Greece, Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and Spain will all be spending over 10 percent of their GDP on pensions and geriatric health care by 2050.
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Pentagon worries about China weapon test By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer MAY 25,07
WASHINGTON - China is improving its capacity for launching surprise military attacks along its border areas, reflecting its view that preemption is necessary when confronting a more powerful enemy, the Pentagon said Friday. In its annual report to Congress on Chinese military developments, the Pentagon also said China's recent success at destroying a satellite in low-Earth orbit is a threat to the interests of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight.In a section titled Is China Developing a Preemptive Strategy? the report cited as evidence the fact that the People's Liberation Army has been acquiring long-endurance submarines, unmanned combat aircraft, additional precision-guided air-to-ground missiles, and long-distance military communications systems.Attempting to capture the essence of China's strategy, the report quoted former supreme leader Deng Xiaoping's guidance, known as the 24-character maxim, which says in part, hide our capacities and bide our time; be good at maintaining a low profile.
It suggests both a short-term desire to downplay China's capabilities and avoid confrontation, and a long-term strategy to build up China's power to maximize options for the future, the Pentagon report said.
Peter Rodman, who until early this year was the Pentagon's top Asia policy official, said in an interview Friday that there is reason for concern that China's long-range aim is to revise the existing balance of power in the world, but they are patient and they are just doing this quietly; they think long term.Rodman added that because U.S. officials are carefully and closely monitoring China's growing military strength and sophistication, We can handle this, we're no slouches ourselves at maintaining our capability. Rodman is now a foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.
The report said China's near-term focus is on preparing for a military crisis in the Taiwan Strait, where it continues to emplace more short-range ballistic missiles.However, analysis of China's military acquisitions and strategic thinking suggests Beijing is also generating capabilities for other regional contingencies, such as conflict over resources or territory, the report said.Chinese military training that focuses on no-notice, long-range air strikes could also indicate planning for preemptive military options in advance of regional crises, the report said.The Pentagon highlighted its concern about Beijing's anti-satellite test in which a missile was used to destroy one of China's old weather satellites in low-Earth polar orbit; the January test was China's first.The test put at risk the assets of all space-faring nations and posed dangers to human space flight due to the creation of an unprecedented amount of debris, the report said, adding that this is an important expansion of China's pursuit of weaponry and strategies that are designed to deny U.S. forces access to areas in Asia.
Rodman said the Bush administration knew in advance that China planned to conduct the January test but it chose not to address it with the Chinese because U.S. officials were convinced Beijing would go ahead with it regardless.The anti-satellite capability demonstrated in the test is only one element of a multidimensional program to develop a capability to deny other nations access to outer space, the Pentagon asserted.China has purchased UHF-band satellite communications jammers and is developing other technologies and concepts for weapons with anti-satellite missions, the report said.
It also is improving its ability to identify and track satellites, a prerequisite for effective, precise physical attacks, the report added.The report was presented to Congress on Friday, just days before Defense Secretary Robert Gates travels to Singapore to address an international conference on Asian security issues, where China is likely to be a key topic.In previewing the report's release, Gates told
reporters on Thursday that some of China's new capabilities are of concern to the United States but he did not provide details.We wish that there were greater transparency, that they would talk more about what their intentions are, what their strategies are, Gates said. It would be nice to hear firsthand from the Chinese how they view some of these things.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO
MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame
burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Iran: no halt to nuclear program By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Thu May 24, 11:00 PM ET
TEHRAN, Iran - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ruled out even a brief halt in Iran's nuclear program, saying Thursday it would hand a victory to the country's enemies and undercut the Islamic state's goal of becoming a world power. Ahmadinejad's latest salvo apparently aimed at Washington and Western allies ollowed Wednesday's report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog that said Iran has expanded its uranium enrichment program in defiance of U.N. demands for a suspension. The finding could set the stage for a third round of Security Council sanctions.The enemy wants Iran to surrender so it won't have any say in the world, Ahmadinejad told a gathering of Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards. If we stop for a while, they (Iran's enemies) will achieve their goals.
Iran insists its nuclear program seeks only to develop energy, and has touted it as a sign of technological prowess. The United States and allies contend Iran is secretly aiming to develop nuclear arms.But there are international divisions on how to handle the standoff.The current rumblings have reached Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the U.N. nuclear agency, after he suggested that Iran be allowed to keep some elements of its uranium enrichment program.
The United States has lodged a complaint against ElBaradei, and Britain and France are expected to follow suit, said diplomats familiar with proceedings at the Vienna-based agency. The diplomats demanded anonymity because their information was confidential.The United States and others worry that ElBaradei's comments could undermine efforts to pressure Iran into scrapping the program.In Washington, President Bush said Thursday he would work with allies to beef up sanctions on Iran.
He told a Rose Garden news conference that Iran's leaders continue to be defiant as to the demands of the free world.Bush's remarks came against a mixed backdrop: new tensions but also groundbreaking diplomatic overtures.
The Pentagon has moved two aircraft carriers and seven other ships into the Persian Gulf in a show of force. Iran, meanwhile, has detained at least two prominent American-Iranian citizens On Monday, however, U.S. and Iranian diplomats are scheduled to hold direct talks in Baghdad on efforts to stabilize Iraq. The meeting offers a very rare one-on-one diplomatic forum between the nations, which broke off formal relations after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution.The agenda of the talks is limited to Iraqi affairs and should not spill over into the nuclear impasse. But it hangs over any interplay between Iran and the United States.Ahmadinejad again drove home Iran's message. He said opponents of Iran's nuclear program want to hit at the source of the (Iranian) regime's progress in attempting to thwart Iran's exploitation of peaceful nuclear technology.The Security Council has demanded Iran suspend enrichment because it can produce both reactor fuel and — at higher levels weapons-grade material. The council first imposed sanctions on Iran on Dec. 23 for rejecting its demands, then modestly increased them in March.
Experts from the United States and five other powers plan to meet within the week to consider the next steps after ElBaradei's report Wednesday. The talks will focus on how to bring Iran back to negotiations and what the Security Council could do if Tehran doesn't budge, said China's deputy U.N. ambassador, Liu Zhenmin.ElBaradei said Thursday that Iran can only be kept away from nuclear arms through a comprehensive dialogue.One way to do that, rather than to continue the rhetoric, is to ... sit down together, he said in Luxembourg, while also agreeing with U.S. intelligence estimates that Iran is three to eight years from being able to make nuclear arms.
ElBaradei's report detailed the expansion of Iran's enrichment program and for the first time noted that the agency's knowledge of Iran's nuclear activities is shrinking. Tehran's has blocked inspections of a heavy water reactor under construction at Arak and facilities linked to it. Once completed, the Arak complex will produce plutonium, which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make nuclear weapons.
ElBaradei has said he feels it is too late to force Iran to abandon enrichment and has argued instead for implementing inspection safeguards to prevent an expansion of the program. But U.S. , French and British diplomats at the International Atomic Energy Agency are apparently concerned ElBaradei's statements could exacerbate their divisions with the other two permanent Security Council members, Russia and China. Both nations have watered down previous measures against Tehran over its nuclear
defiance.
In Moscow, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin urged Iran to take a constructive approach to the nuclear dispute and called on other nations to step up diplomatic efforts with the aim of producing a balanced approach.Russia has close economic and political ties with Tehran and, over objections from the United States and others, is helping to build the country's first nuclear power plant. Iran's top nuclear inspector, Ali Larijani, defended Iran's imposing limits on IAEA inspections.
He said Iran had entered voluntarily into the agreement allowing the inspections at Arak, and so it has right to revise that decision to bar the inspections. Larijani and Javier Solana, the EU's top foreign policy official, are to meet May 31 to explore whether there's room to resume negotiations over Iran's nuclear program. Also Thursday, Ahmadinejad — known for his 2005 comment that the Jewish state should be wiped off the map — criticized Israel for its attacks on Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip.
If you think that by bombing and assassinating Palestinian leaders you are preparing ground for new attacks on Lebanon in the summer, I am telling you that you are seriously wrong, Ahmadinejad said. Ocean of nations of the region will get angry and will cut the root of the Zionist regime from its stem.
Israeli experts have been talking for months about the possibility of another war with Lebanon in the summer; officials have denied planning such a conflict. After the inconclusive outcome of last summer's war, when Hezbollah guerrillas fired almost 4,000 rockets at Israel, the Israelis are seen as unlikely to launch another one unless they felt they could emerge clearly victorious.
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said that Ahmadinejad funds, trains and arms the most extreme anti-peace elements in the region if there is any real threat to regional security it comes from an expansionist fundamentalist Iran. Associated Press writers Terence Hunt in Washington, George Jahn in Vienna and Ian Deitch in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
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.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
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.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
N. Korea test fires short-range missiles By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer MAY 26,07
SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea test fired several short-range guided missiles Friday into the sea that separates it from Japan, South Korean officials and media reports said.
Analysts and media reports said the North's test was in response to South Korea's launch of its first destroyer equipped with high-tech Aegis radar technology developed by the U.S. South Korea is now one of only five countries armed with the technology, which will make it easier to track and shoot down North Korean aircraft and missiles. This shows North Korea, whose navy is rather small, is extremely alarmed, said Toshimitsu Shigemura, an expert on North Korean issues at Japan's Waseda University.South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff confirmed the missile launches.
The short-range missile launches are believed to be part of a routine exercise that North Korea has conducted annually on the east and the west coasts in the past, the statement said.The missiles were fired from the communist country's east coast into the sea between Japan and the Korean peninsula, a Joint Chiefs official said on condition of anonymity, citing official protocol.Japan's public broadcaster and other media, citing Japanese and U.S. sources, reported the missiles were surface-to-ship. Japan's Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry could not immediately confirm the reports.North Korea's missile program has been a constant concern to the region, along with its pursuit of nuclear weapons.The hard-line regime test-fired a series of missiles in July last year, including its latest long-range model, known abroad as the Taepodong-2, which experts believe could reach parts of the United States. The North rattled the world again in October by conducting its first-ever test of a nuclear device. However, experts believe it does not have a bomb design advanced
enough to be placed on a missile.
In Washington, White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the United States sees the test as a routine exercise that they do from time to time. U.S. officials, eager to make progress on a nuclear disarmament accord with the North that has been stalled over a financial dispute, have been hesitant to criticize Pyongyang.European Union officials said they were concerned North Korea's short-range missile tests posed a further risk to stability in Asia and urged the isolated nation to seek dialogue to
ease tensions with its neighbors.
In Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe called the tests extremely regrettable, but added: We do not consider (the missile firing) as a serious threat to Japan's national security.South Korea's Yonhap news agency cited an unidentified Unification Ministry official as saying the tests would not strain ties because they were apparently part of regular exercises. North and South Korea are planning Cabinet level talks on reconciliation efforts next week in Seoul.
Japanese public broadcaster NHK said the missiles were shorter-range, and were not North Korea's existing Rodong or Taepodong I ballistic missiles.Kyodo News agency said the missiles were launched from Hamgyong Namdo on the east coast of the Korean Peninsula and are considered modified silkworm or miniaturized Scuds with a range of 60-125 miles.Mobile missile carriers, communication equipment and personnel were seen in the area before the launch, but they left after the missiles were fired, Kyodo said.Last month, North Korea displayed a newly developed ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. territory of Guam during a military parade, the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reported, citing an unidentified South Korean government official familiar with an analysis of U.S. satellite images.Associate Press Writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report from Tokyo.
Friday, May 25, 2007
NO ONE IS STOPPING IRAN , ISRAEL
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Undersea quake strikes Indonesia. 3-Rain puts parts of Kansas under water 4-WILDFIRES UPDATE. 5-Body found in Iraq is Calif. soldier. 6-Israel grabs Hamas leaders in West Bank. 7-Are you ready Book to buy. 8-Catholic League blasts HBO's Bill Maher for his comments about Falwell. 9-North American union plan headed to Congress in fall. 10-Concern in Israel: No One is Stopping Iran!
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 May 25 10:00 PM EDT
MAY 25,07
MAP 3.9 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 CHUKOTKA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
MAY 24,07
MAP 4.7 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.6 GULF OF MEXICO
MAP 4.8 FIJI REGION
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.4 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NEW MEXICO
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.4 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
Undersea quake strikes Indonesia
POSTED: 0221 GMT (1021 HKT), May 24, 2007
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A strong undersea earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia on Thursday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert, the country's meteorological and geophysics agency said. Indonesian scientists gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 6.5. The United States Geological Survey said its initial estimate was a more modest 5.5. Such discrepancies are common in the immediate aftermath of a quake.
There were no immediate reports of damage as a result of the quake 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Sumbawa island, said Muhammad Yusuf, a staffer at Indonesia's meteorological and geophysics agency.The agency initially said the quake had the potential to cause a tsunami and issued a warning to coastal towns close to the epicenter. It lifted the warning an hour later, saying no waves had hit shorelines.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh alone. A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.
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.
Rain puts parts of Kansas under water Thu May 24, 11:28 AM ET
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Torrential rainfall hit parts of the Plains and Midwest, flooding towns in Kansas Thursday, toppling trees and power lines and pelting the countryside with hail. Some central Kansas towns recorded as much as 7 inches of rain in some places up to 2 inches per hour starting Wednesday.The deluge closed dozens of roads, some flooded for the second time in three weeks, said Dean Speaks, deputy emergency management director for Saline County.It's taken out the roads that we fixed (after the first flooding), Speaks said. Numerous government facilities, homes and businesses in the Salina area were flooded.
Everyone in the Saline County towns of Bavaria and Hedville — about 80 people — evacuated their homes overnight. Fifty homes in Ogden, near Fort Riley, were being voluntarily evacuated as area creeks rose.In Hutchinson, many motorists had to be helped from their cars as water flooded streets.
In some places, there are people with water up to their porches, Hutchinson Fire Chief Kim Forbes said. Fire trucks were used to help move people to higher ground or to shelters.The storms also spawned tornadoes and funnel clouds, but no significant tornado damage was reported. Toppled trees and power lines were reported in Minnesota and Wisconsin.The National Weather Service posted a flood warning for the Big Nemaha River in southeastern Nebraska. It was expected to crest three feet over flood stage late Thursday evening or night, and rain was forecast through midafternoon.
May 24, 2007 WILDFIRES UPDATE
Firefighters continue to make progress on the 14 large fires in Georgia and Florida. Fire crews in Florida are working to improve fireslines and mop-up within the perimeter. In Georgia, wildland fires have burned more than 571 square miles, an area more than four times the size of Atlanta. Current information about road closures in Georgia is available through the Georgia Department of Transportation (404-656-5267). In Florida, dial 511 from a cell phone or visit the Florida Highway
Patrol web site. Weather Discussion: Gusty winds and low relative humidity will continue over southern Georgia and northern Florida. Winds will decrease across northern California with generally warmer and drier weather across California, Arizona and the Great Basin. Central Alaska will be partly cloudy and not as windy.
Daily statistics 5/23/07
Number of new large fires 4 States currently reporting large fires:
Number of active large fires 18 California (1)
Florida (7)
Georgia (7)
North Carolina (1)
Nevada (1)
Tennessee (1)
Acres from active fires 574,028
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) fires 0
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) acres 0
Fires contained on 5/22/07 2
Year-to-date large fires contained 314
Year-to-date statistics
2007 (1/1/07 - 5/23/07) Fires: 34,314 Acres: 1,087,696
2006 (1/1/06 - 5/23/06) Fires: 40,732 Acres: 2,503,742
2005 (1/1/05 - 5/23/05) Fires: 22,189 Acres: 348,163
2004 (1/1/04 - 5/23/04) Fires: 30,893 Acres: 499,319
2003 (1/1/03 - 5/23/03) Fires: 20,206 Acres: 384,685
2002 (1/1/02 - 5/23/02) Fires: 29,512 Acres: 715,875
2001 (1/1/01 - 5/23/01) Fires: 32,038 Acres: 611,178
2000 (1/1/00 - 5/23/00) Fires: 40,297 Acres: 1,026,401
8-year average
2000 - 2007 Fires: 31,007 Acres: 828,614
Source: National Interagency Coordination Center
REVELATION 9:14-18
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARY) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WW3 BEGINS AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER. WHETHER IT WAS THE US INVASION OF IRAQ. THE MOSQUE BOMBING LAST YEAR NEAR THE EUPHRATES OR MAYBE THIS MURDER IN THE EUPHRATES THAT MIGHT BE THE KICKOFF TO WW3. ONLY GOD KNOWS BUT THE BIBLE SAYS 1/3 OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE IN WW3 STARTED AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER.
Body found in Iraq is Calif. soldier By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 24,07
BAGHDAD - Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops fanned out across the fields of southern Iraq in scorching temperatures Thursday as the military said it remained determined to find two missing U.S. soldiers after the body of a third was pulled from a river. Also Thursday, a car bomb targeting a funeral procession in the turbulent city of Fallujah killed at least 26 people, police and medical officials
said.The military confirmed that the body found Wednesday in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad was that of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., of Torrance, Calif., who had been missing since militants ambushed his unit nearly two weeks ago.
A commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but DNA tests were still pending, military officials told Anzack's family.They told us, 'We're sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe, said the soldier's aunt, Debbie Anzack. I'm in disbelief.Anzack, 20,vanished along with the two other soldiers after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.The attack triggered a massive search operation in the area south of Baghdad known as the triangle of death for the insurgent activity there.On Thursday, soldiers proceeded with their mission, despite Anzack's death. One unit searched chicken coops and trudged through mud, canals and tall reeds in the brutal heat.The search continues, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman.
Members of Anzack's platoon choked back tears at news of his death and said they would not stop looking for the other two missing soldiers.We can't leave them behind. I just hope that they have enough faith to keep them going. What they're going through right now, I can't imagine, said Pfc. Sammy Rhodes, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M.Spc. Daniel Seitz, 22, of Pensacola, Fla., said he was trying to stay strong and push ahead with the search.It just angers me that it's just another friend I've got to lose and deal with, because I've already lost 13 friends since I've been here and I don't know if I can take any more of this, he said.Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle denied reports that a second body had been found and was being examined to determine if it was that of another of the missing soldiers. The reports of a second set of remains being found is a false report, the spokeswoman said.
The U.S. military also said two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday during combat operations in Iraq's volatile Anbar province. Those deaths, along with the deaths of nine other troopers announced Wednesday, brought the American death toll for the month to at least 82.
Last month, 104 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq.The increase in U.S. deaths come at a difficult moment for Washington, where the Bush administration and congressional Democrats have been wrangling for weeks on how long American troops should stay.On Thursday, President Bush said he supports a $120 billion Iraq war spending bill on track to pass Congress later in the day. The bill funds the war through September as Bush wanted and does not set a date for troop withdrawals. In exchange for dropping restrictions on the military, Bush agreed to some $17 billion in spending added by Democrats to fund domestic and military-related projects.By voting for this bill, members of both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our country will support our service men and women in harm's way, Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference.
While the measure does not include a timetable on the war, it does threaten to withhold U.S. aid dollars for Iraq if Baghdad fails to make progress on political and security reforms. The president, however, could waive that restriction. Bush said Iraq's ability to meet the benchmarks outlined in the bill would be difficult. It's going to be hard work for this young government, he said. After all, the Iraqis are recovering from decades of brutal dictatorship.In other violence, a parked car bomb exploded Thursday morning in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, as a funeral procession passed by for a man who worked against al-Qaida in Iraq. The blast killed 26 people and wounded 45 others, police and medical officials said. The funeral was being held for Alaa Zuwaid, a 60-year-old restaurant owner who was part of a tribe that had formed an alliance with other tribal leaders against al-Qaida.
Zuwaid was killed earlier Thursday when unknown militants shot him in front of his house, police said. His 25-year-old son was killed by militants nearly a month ago as he walked down the street. On the outskirts of Baghdad, gunmen ambushed a minibus near the Shiite-dominated district of al-Hussainya, killing 11 passengers, police said. The attackers then planted a bomb on the bus, which blew up when police arrived, injuring four of them, police said. A suicide bomber detonated a bomb aboard another minibus driving through Baghdad, killing three civilians and injuring eight others, police said. In Sulaiman Bek, 75 miles south of the northern city of Kirkuk, a roadside bomb an Iraqi police convoy killed six police officers Thursday morning, Iraqi police said. Nationwide, at least 104 people were killed in sectarian violence or found dead Wednesday, including 32 who died in suicide bombings.
Insurgents in Baghdad also attacked a convoy of U.S. diplomats and their military escort with small arms fire on Wednesday, the U.S. military said. Apache helicopters fired at several of the armed attackers, the military said. U.S. troops then arrived to secure the area and allow the convoy to leave, the military said.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces have been involved in the search for the soldiers ambushed and captured May 12. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the remains, later identified as those of Anzack, were recovered by Iraqi police. Witnesses said police using civilian boats searched for other bodies on the river in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, and U.S. troops intensified their presence on a nearby bridge as helicopters flew overhead, witnesses said. Hassan al-Jibouri, 32, said he saw the body with head wounds and whip marks on its back floating on the river Wednesday. He and others then alerted police. The remaining missing soldiers are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. At Jimenez's father's home, a yellow ribbon also was tied on the front door. Ramon Jimenez, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator in a cell phone conversation that he has been helped by the support of friends and family. The hope is very high that God is going to give Alex back to him, said Wendy Luzon, a family friend who translated and has been serving as a spokeswoman. AP writers Maya Alleruzzo in Youssifiyah, Iraq, Lolita Baldor in Washington, Glen Johnson in Lawrence, Mass., David Aguilar in Commerce Township, Mich., and Jeremiah Marquez in Torrance, Calif., contributed to this report.
Israel grabs Hamas leaders in West Bank By ALI DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer MAY 24,07
NABLUS, West Bank - Israel rounded up a Palestinian Cabinet minister and 32 other Hamas leaders in the West Bank before dawn Thursday, trying a new tactic in its campaign to pressure the Islamic militant group into halting rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian president condemned the arrests, saying they would hinder his efforts to restore a truce with Israel, while Hamas threatened to retaliate with attacks inside the Jewish state.The arrests reflected an Israeli decision to target the Hamas political leadership — but not necessarily with the lethal airstrikes it has staged over the past week on Hamas targets.On Thursday, Israel carried out several airstrikes in Gaza, all directed at Hamas training bases and command posts. A huge plume of black smoke rose over Gaza City after an afternoon attack, but there were no serious injuries, Palestinian medics said.At sundown, two mortar shells fired from Gaza exploded at Erez, the main crossing for people between the Palestinian territory and Israel. No was hurt, but there was considerable damage to two of the processing lanes, and Israel closed the crossing, the military said.
More than 40 Palestinians died in Israeli air raids over the past 10 days, and a rocket killed an Israeli woman Monday. The rocket barrages have severely disrupted life in the southern Israel area near Gaza, and thousands of frightened residents have fled.Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the arrests in the West Bank were part of Israel's attempt to neutralize Hamas and lessen the bloodshed.
Arrests are better than shooting, he told Israeli Army Radio. The arrest of these Hamas leaders sends a message to the military organizations that we demand that this (rocket) firing stop.But Hamas remained defiant: We will chase the occupation soldiers and the settlers in every inch of our occupied land, and we announce that we give free hand to our cells to strike against the enemy in every place in Palestine a term the Islamic group uses to include Israel.The office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a member of Hamas, demanded the immediate release of the detainees and urged the United Nations and European Union to impose sanctions on Israel.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and called for both sides to halt the violence. The rockets and the Israeli response have to stop, he told reporters after the meeting.Abbas, a moderate in the Fatah movement, said that the arrests by Israel hurt peace efforts and that airstrikes weren't stopping the rocket salvos.But he also condemned what he called the absurd rocket fire by Palestinian extremists and said he was trying to persuade militant groups to halt. They must stop so we can reach a truce with Israel, Abbas said.Just after the meeting, Israeli aircraft carried out two more attacks, hitting an empty Hamas base in Gaza City and a base in central Gaza, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said only that it struck Hamas emplacements. Four civilians suffered slight injuries from flying glass and debris in the Gaza City attack, medics said. No one was hurt in the second strike.
The most prominent Hamas leader arrested overnight was Education Minister Nasser Shaer, considered a pragmatist. His wife, Huda, said soldiers knocked on the door of their home in Nablus and took him away, along with his computer. Israel also detained Shaer for a month last year, before a judge ordered his release.Israel already held 40 Palestinian lawmakers from Hamas, including parliament speaker Abdel Aziz Duaik. They were detained after Hamas-linked gunmen abducted an Israeli soldier last June. The idea was to trade the lawmakers for the soldier, but no deal took place.
Also among those rounded up Thursday were former Cabinet minister Abdel Rahman Zeidan, legislators Hamed Bitawi and Daoud Abu Ser, the mayors of the towns of Nablus, Qalqiliya and Beita, and the head of the main Islamic charity in Nablus. Israel has failed to quell rocket fire over the years, despite large-scale ground offensives that caused multiple casualties and widespread damage in areas used by militants. Abbas' security forces have made few visible efforts to halt rocket salvos.
Instead, the rocket attacks diminish when Palestinian militants decide to lower the flame. Intentionally or not, the latest flare-up with Israel stopped a month of bloody internal clashes between Hamas and Fatah security forces in Gaza. Israel's military said Hamas fired six rockets into Israel on Thursday, though Hamas claimed firing 14, still less than previous days. Alone Ben-David, military analyst for Israel's Channel 10 TV, said the decrease in rocket fire was a hint that Hamas might have achieved its goals and was ready to wind down the crisis. Ben-David added, however, that firing would likely escalate if Israel killed a top Hamas commander in an airstrike.
Are you ready Book to buy MAY 25,07
Dear Friend,
The horror of that terrible day -- the day we have come to call 9/11 who saw it coming? Illegal aliens? The media isn’t telling you the whole story. The U.S. dollar is on its way out. Coming next: the amero that’s what you’ll spend after the unification of Canada, the USA, and Mexico. Who has the facts? Someone in President Bush’s inner circle is reported to be promoting Israel-Palestinian policies that contradict biblical prophecy. What’s going on behind closed doors?
Beloved, I want to send you an amazing new book that reveals the answers to these and innumerable other fascinating questions of our day -- and of your future -- entitled: ARE YOU READY?
Truly one of the finest books I’ve read in years, ARE YOU READY? by Paul McGuire, reveals astonishing inside facts about Al Qaeda’s nuclear war plans for America ... an electromagnetic pulse weapon that could wipe out all electric and communication systems in the U.S. and starve millions ... the banning of the book of Revelation in China ... and much more!
Do you realize there are secret Executive Orders on the books right now which allow the government to declare martial law and take over all modes of transportation, food resources and farms, health education and welfare functions, electrical power and fuel resources, all airports and airplanes, and the flow of money including salaries? What could this mean? This book answers the questions! Do you realize the Postmaster General is authorized to conduct a national registration of all people? What prophecy does this sound like? This book shows you the truth!
Do you realize that weapons existing today could create a nuclear winter? Revelation 16:21 is at hand: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
ARE YOU READY? offers an astounding array of inside facts:
7,000 U.S. nuclear warheads pointed at Russia
Russia’s early warning computer systems crumbling and imprecise
Modern plagues, such as sexual immorality and child pornography, fulfilling prophecy today
The intertwining of Israel’s future with America’s
Modern evangelical preachers straying from the historical Gospel of Jesus Christ and the book of Revelation (Why? Because it confronts mankind with self-destructive sin!)
Multitudes of Christians now biblically illiterate!
America emerging as the Laodicean Church of Revelation 3:15,16,20
The Satan’s Seat, reproduced by Hitler, moving from Russia to Germany in our lifetime!
Most crucial of all, ARE YOU READY? paints a picture of the future of North America -- and I guarantee you, this is a picture you have never imagined! As you give a gift of $20 (U.S.), $25 (Canada) or more, I want to send you this shocking book. I urge you to give even more generously, request two copies, and share one with a friend. They will thank you for the incredible experience of absorbing this fascinating, fast-paced volume.Meanwhile, your generous gift will help Rexella and me to press ahead in this soul-winning work around the entire world, leading multitudes to faith in Christ before it’s eternally too late!
DONATE AND GET BOOK ARE YOU READY $20 US OR $25 CAN OR MORE.
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Please let me hear from you soon. Thank you!
Yours in world evangelism,
Jack Van Impe
P.S. Your gift will help me be there for you and for your unsaved loved ones. Thank you again!
JUDE 14-16
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them (Bill Maher, Rosie Odonnell) of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.(JESUS)
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
THIS BILL MAHER IS THE GODLESS OF THE GODLESS LEFT. GET HIM OFF THE AIR.
Catholic League blasts HBO's Bill Maher for his comments about Falwell
Chad Groening OneNewsNow.com May 25, 2007
A Catholic civil rights organization is absolutely outraged at recent comments made by entertainer Bill Maher following the death of Dr. Jerry Falwell. During his May 18 broadcast of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, the host said, Now I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but I think we can make an exception. Kiera McCaffrey with the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights notes, The absolute hate that Bill Maher shows is just unbelievable. I mean, it's not surprising that just a couple days after Jerry Falwell's death, [Maher] goes on and is mocking his death, laughing about it, saying he's glad about it.McCaffrey says following his comments about Falwell, Maher launched into a vile assault on Catholicism, including mocking and profane references to the Virgin Mary, Mass, and the Eucharist. She believes Maher would never have said such things about Muslims.
Absolutely this would not happen to Muslims because there would be a violent reaction, the Catholic spokeswoman insists. And it would not happen to other groups, she asserts, because with Jews and blacks, there would be a quicker outcry from people saying, That's not fair. In the United States, however, most people don't even react when this happens to Christians.The really unfortunate thing, however, is that a lot of Christians don't react either, McCaffrey observes. They think, 'Oh well, it's Christian to turn the other cheek. But Christians should not have to tolerate this sort of behavior, she insists. McCaffrey says her organization has sent letters to all 14 board members of Time Warner, HBO's parent company, asking whether Bill Maher's highly offensive attack on Jesus Christ merits the same punishment afforded Don Imus for his racist remark about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.American Family News Network
North American union plan headed to Congress in fall
Powerful think tank prepares report on benefits of integration between U.S., Mexico, Canada May 24, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – A powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn and guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen and Henry Kissinger, is in the final stages of preparing a report to the White House and U.S. Congress on the benefits of integrating the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one political, economic and security bloc.
The final report, published in English, Spanish and French, is scheduled for submission to all three governments by Sept. 30, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. CSIS boasts of playing a large role in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 – a treaty that set in motion a political movement many believe resembles the early stages of the European
Community on its way to becoming the European Union.
The results of the study will enable policymakers to make sound, strategic, long-range policy decisions about North America, with an emphasis on regionalintegration, explains Armand B. Peschard-Sverdrup, director of CSIS' Mexico Project.
Specifically, the project will focus on a detailed examination of future scenarios, which are based on current trends, and involve six areas of critical importance to the trilateral relationship: labor mobility, energy, the environment, security, competitiveness and border infrastructure and logistics.
The data collected for the report is based on seven secret roundtable sessions involving between 21 and 45 people and conducted by CSIS. The participants are politicians, business people, labor leaders and academics from all three countries with equal representation.
All of this is described in a CSIS report, North American Future 2025 Project.The free flow of people across national borders will undoubtedly continue throughout the world as well as in North America, as will the social, political and economic challenges that accompany this trend, says the report. In order to remain competitive in the global economy, it is imperative for the twenty-first century North American labor market to possess the flexibility necessary to meet industrial labor demands on a transitional basis and in a way that responds to market forces.As WND reported last week, the controversial Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which would grant millions of illegal aliens the right to stay in the U.S. under certain conditions, contains provisions for the acceleration of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, a plan for North American economic and defense integration with remarkable similarities to the CSIS plan.
The bill, as worked out by Senate and White House negotiators, cites the SPP agreement signed by President Bush and his counterparts in Mexico and Canada March 23, 2005 – an agreement that has been criticized as a blueprint for building a European Union-style merger of the three countries of North America.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States and Mexico should accelerate the implementation of the Partnership for Prosperity to help generate economic growth and improve the standard of living in Mexico, which will lead to reduced migration, the draft legislation states on page 211 on the version time-stamped May 18, 2007 11:58 p.m. Since agreement on the major provisions of the bill was announced late last week, a firestorm of opposition has ignited across the country.
Senators and representatives are reporting heavy volumes of phone calls and e-mails expressing outrage with the legislation they believe represents the largest amnesty program ever contemplated by the federal government.
Meanwhile, while many continue to express skepticism about a plot to integrate North America along the lines of the European Union, WND reported last week that 14 years ago, one of world's most celebrated economists and management experts said it was already on the fast track – and nothing could stop it. Peter F. Drucker, in one of his dozens of best-selling books, Post Capitalist Society, published in 1993, wrote that the European Community, the progenitor of the European Union, triggered the attempt to create a North American economic community, built around the United States but integrating both Canada and Mexico into a common market. So far this attempt is purely economic in its goal, wrote the Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree. But it can hardly remain so in the long run.Drucker describes in his book the worldwide trends toward globalization that were evident back then – the creation and empowerment of transnational organizations and institutions, international environmental goals regarding carbon dioxide and agreements to fight terrorism long
before 9/11.
Concern in Israel: No One is Stopping Iran!
by Hillel Fendel (MAY 24,07 INN)
The International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) released a report on Wednesday showing that not only has Iran not fulfilled its international demands, but it has also expanded the scope of its uranium enrichment. Iran is speeding towards a nuclear bomb, lamented an unnamed senior Israeli diplomatic figure, and no one is stopping her. So reported Maariv. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded to the report with a show of diplomatic concern: The international community must concentrate on preventing Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. The report shows that the time element is critical, and the entire world must be united in understanding that we must not stray from this goal.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assumed a more undaunted pose. Iran's continued uranium enrichment is a source of concern, according to a statement from Prime Minister Olmert's Bureau, even though it is insufficient to indicate that Iran has already achieved an industrial-level enrichment capability.The statement expressed Israel's regret at Iran's systematic and open violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA... We view with utmost gravity the continuing deterioration in the level of Iranian cooperation with the IAEA's inspectors.
IRNA, the Iranian press agency, reported today that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran, backed by its nation, has no fear of enemies' hue and cry and psychological warfare. We have got closer to our final goals with the grace of Allah, he told commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. The report reveals that instead of freezing the uranium enrichment program, Iran has widened its scope, with 1,300 centrifuges in operation in various nuclear facilities
throughout the country. Less than a year ago, an Iranian opposition group warned that hundreds of centrifuges could be operative by the following year [2007] if steps were not taken by the international community. We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich, IAEA chief Mohammed El-Baradei told The New York Times almost two weeks ago. From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but thats a fact. Today, however, he backed off a bit, saying that Iran is still three to eight years away from achieving nuclear arms.Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, formerly Israel's Defense Minister, is scheduled to begin a round of talks in Washington on the matter in two weeks' time. A UN-imposed ultimatum demanding that Iran suspend its nuclear plans expires tomorrow, Friday.
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 May 25 10:00 PM EDT
MAY 25,07
MAP 3.9 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.3 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.2 BONIN ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.1 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 4.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 CHUKOTKA, RUSSIA
MAP 3.1 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 SUMBAWA REGION, INDONESIA
MAY 24,07
MAP 4.7 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.6 GULF OF MEXICO
MAP 4.8 FIJI REGION
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 3.6 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.4 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 NEAR ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.4 NEW MEXICO
MAP 2.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.4 GULF OF CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
Undersea quake strikes Indonesia
POSTED: 0221 GMT (1021 HKT), May 24, 2007
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A strong undersea earthquake struck off eastern Indonesia on Thursday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert, the country's meteorological and geophysics agency said. Indonesian scientists gave the quake a preliminary magnitude of 6.5. The United States Geological Survey said its initial estimate was a more modest 5.5. Such discrepancies are common in the immediate aftermath of a quake.
There were no immediate reports of damage as a result of the quake 160 kilometers (100 miles) southeast of Sumbawa island, said Muhammad Yusuf, a staffer at Indonesia's meteorological and geophysics agency.The agency initially said the quake had the potential to cause a tsunami and issued a warning to coastal towns close to the epicenter. It lifted the warning an hour later, saying no waves had hit shorelines.
Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people in a dozen countries, including 160,000 people in Indonesia's westernmost province of Aceh alone. A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.
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.
Rain puts parts of Kansas under water Thu May 24, 11:28 AM ET
HUTCHINSON, Kan. - Torrential rainfall hit parts of the Plains and Midwest, flooding towns in Kansas Thursday, toppling trees and power lines and pelting the countryside with hail. Some central Kansas towns recorded as much as 7 inches of rain in some places up to 2 inches per hour starting Wednesday.The deluge closed dozens of roads, some flooded for the second time in three weeks, said Dean Speaks, deputy emergency management director for Saline County.It's taken out the roads that we fixed (after the first flooding), Speaks said. Numerous government facilities, homes and businesses in the Salina area were flooded.
Everyone in the Saline County towns of Bavaria and Hedville — about 80 people — evacuated their homes overnight. Fifty homes in Ogden, near Fort Riley, were being voluntarily evacuated as area creeks rose.In Hutchinson, many motorists had to be helped from their cars as water flooded streets.
In some places, there are people with water up to their porches, Hutchinson Fire Chief Kim Forbes said. Fire trucks were used to help move people to higher ground or to shelters.The storms also spawned tornadoes and funnel clouds, but no significant tornado damage was reported. Toppled trees and power lines were reported in Minnesota and Wisconsin.The National Weather Service posted a flood warning for the Big Nemaha River in southeastern Nebraska. It was expected to crest three feet over flood stage late Thursday evening or night, and rain was forecast through midafternoon.
May 24, 2007 WILDFIRES UPDATE
Firefighters continue to make progress on the 14 large fires in Georgia and Florida. Fire crews in Florida are working to improve fireslines and mop-up within the perimeter. In Georgia, wildland fires have burned more than 571 square miles, an area more than four times the size of Atlanta. Current information about road closures in Georgia is available through the Georgia Department of Transportation (404-656-5267). In Florida, dial 511 from a cell phone or visit the Florida Highway
Patrol web site. Weather Discussion: Gusty winds and low relative humidity will continue over southern Georgia and northern Florida. Winds will decrease across northern California with generally warmer and drier weather across California, Arizona and the Great Basin. Central Alaska will be partly cloudy and not as windy.
Daily statistics 5/23/07
Number of new large fires 4 States currently reporting large fires:
Number of active large fires 18 California (1)
Florida (7)
Georgia (7)
North Carolina (1)
Nevada (1)
Tennessee (1)
Acres from active fires 574,028
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) fires 0
Number of Wildland Fire Use (WFU) acres 0
Fires contained on 5/22/07 2
Year-to-date large fires contained 314
Year-to-date statistics
2007 (1/1/07 - 5/23/07) Fires: 34,314 Acres: 1,087,696
2006 (1/1/06 - 5/23/06) Fires: 40,732 Acres: 2,503,742
2005 (1/1/05 - 5/23/05) Fires: 22,189 Acres: 348,163
2004 (1/1/04 - 5/23/04) Fires: 30,893 Acres: 499,319
2003 (1/1/03 - 5/23/03) Fires: 20,206 Acres: 384,685
2002 (1/1/02 - 5/23/02) Fires: 29,512 Acres: 715,875
2001 (1/1/01 - 5/23/01) Fires: 32,038 Acres: 611,178
2000 (1/1/00 - 5/23/00) Fires: 40,297 Acres: 1,026,401
8-year average
2000 - 2007 Fires: 31,007 Acres: 828,614
Source: National Interagency Coordination Center
REVELATION 9:14-18
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARY) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WW3 BEGINS AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER. WHETHER IT WAS THE US INVASION OF IRAQ. THE MOSQUE BOMBING LAST YEAR NEAR THE EUPHRATES OR MAYBE THIS MURDER IN THE EUPHRATES THAT MIGHT BE THE KICKOFF TO WW3. ONLY GOD KNOWS BUT THE BIBLE SAYS 1/3 OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE IN WW3 STARTED AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER.
Body found in Iraq is Calif. soldier By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 24,07
BAGHDAD - Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi troops fanned out across the fields of southern Iraq in scorching temperatures Thursday as the military said it remained determined to find two missing U.S. soldiers after the body of a third was pulled from a river. Also Thursday, a car bomb targeting a funeral procession in the turbulent city of Fallujah killed at least 26 people, police and medical officials
said.The military confirmed that the body found Wednesday in the Euphrates River south of Baghdad was that of Pfc. Joseph Anzack Jr., of Torrance, Calif., who had been missing since militants ambushed his unit nearly two weeks ago.
A commanding officer identified the remains recovered from the river, but DNA tests were still pending, military officials told Anzack's family.They told us, 'We're sorry to inform you the body we found has been identified as Joe, said the soldier's aunt, Debbie Anzack. I'm in disbelief.Anzack, 20,vanished along with the two other soldiers after their combat team was ambushed May 12 about 20 miles outside Baghdad. Five others, including an Iraqi, were killed in the ambush, subsequently claimed by al-Qaida.The attack triggered a massive search operation in the area south of Baghdad known as the triangle of death for the insurgent activity there.On Thursday, soldiers proceeded with their mission, despite Anzack's death. One unit searched chicken coops and trudged through mud, canals and tall reeds in the brutal heat.The search continues, said Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman.
Members of Anzack's platoon choked back tears at news of his death and said they would not stop looking for the other two missing soldiers.We can't leave them behind. I just hope that they have enough faith to keep them going. What they're going through right now, I can't imagine, said Pfc. Sammy Rhodes, 25, of Albuquerque, N.M.Spc. Daniel Seitz, 22, of Pensacola, Fla., said he was trying to stay strong and push ahead with the search.It just angers me that it's just another friend I've got to lose and deal with, because I've already lost 13 friends since I've been here and I don't know if I can take any more of this, he said.Lt. Col. Josslyn Aberle denied reports that a second body had been found and was being examined to determine if it was that of another of the missing soldiers. The reports of a second set of remains being found is a false report, the spokeswoman said.
The U.S. military also said two U.S. soldiers were killed Wednesday during combat operations in Iraq's volatile Anbar province. Those deaths, along with the deaths of nine other troopers announced Wednesday, brought the American death toll for the month to at least 82.
Last month, 104 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq.The increase in U.S. deaths come at a difficult moment for Washington, where the Bush administration and congressional Democrats have been wrangling for weeks on how long American troops should stay.On Thursday, President Bush said he supports a $120 billion Iraq war spending bill on track to pass Congress later in the day. The bill funds the war through September as Bush wanted and does not set a date for troop withdrawals. In exchange for dropping restrictions on the military, Bush agreed to some $17 billion in spending added by Democrats to fund domestic and military-related projects.By voting for this bill, members of both parties can show our troops and the Iraqis and the enemy that our country will support our service men and women in harm's way, Bush said in a Rose Garden news conference.
While the measure does not include a timetable on the war, it does threaten to withhold U.S. aid dollars for Iraq if Baghdad fails to make progress on political and security reforms. The president, however, could waive that restriction. Bush said Iraq's ability to meet the benchmarks outlined in the bill would be difficult. It's going to be hard work for this young government, he said. After all, the Iraqis are recovering from decades of brutal dictatorship.In other violence, a parked car bomb exploded Thursday morning in Fallujah, 40 miles west of Baghdad, as a funeral procession passed by for a man who worked against al-Qaida in Iraq. The blast killed 26 people and wounded 45 others, police and medical officials said. The funeral was being held for Alaa Zuwaid, a 60-year-old restaurant owner who was part of a tribe that had formed an alliance with other tribal leaders against al-Qaida.
Zuwaid was killed earlier Thursday when unknown militants shot him in front of his house, police said. His 25-year-old son was killed by militants nearly a month ago as he walked down the street. On the outskirts of Baghdad, gunmen ambushed a minibus near the Shiite-dominated district of al-Hussainya, killing 11 passengers, police said. The attackers then planted a bomb on the bus, which blew up when police arrived, injuring four of them, police said. A suicide bomber detonated a bomb aboard another minibus driving through Baghdad, killing three civilians and injuring eight others, police said. In Sulaiman Bek, 75 miles south of the northern city of Kirkuk, a roadside bomb an Iraqi police convoy killed six police officers Thursday morning, Iraqi police said. Nationwide, at least 104 people were killed in sectarian violence or found dead Wednesday, including 32 who died in suicide bombings.
Insurgents in Baghdad also attacked a convoy of U.S. diplomats and their military escort with small arms fire on Wednesday, the U.S. military said. Apache helicopters fired at several of the armed attackers, the military said. U.S. troops then arrived to secure the area and allow the convoy to leave, the military said.
Thousands of U.S. and Iraqi forces have been involved in the search for the soldiers ambushed and captured May 12. Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the chief U.S. military spokesman in Iraq, said the remains, later identified as those of Anzack, were recovered by Iraqi police. Witnesses said police using civilian boats searched for other bodies on the river in Musayyib, about 40 miles south of Baghdad, and U.S. troops intensified their presence on a nearby bridge as helicopters flew overhead, witnesses said. Hassan al-Jibouri, 32, said he saw the body with head wounds and whip marks on its back floating on the river Wednesday. He and others then alerted police. The remaining missing soldiers are Spc. Alex R. Jimenez, 25, of Lawrence, Mass., and Pvt. Byron W. Fouty, 19, of Waterford, Mich. At Jimenez's father's home, a yellow ribbon also was tied on the front door. Ramon Jimenez, who speaks Spanish, said through a translator in a cell phone conversation that he has been helped by the support of friends and family. The hope is very high that God is going to give Alex back to him, said Wendy Luzon, a family friend who translated and has been serving as a spokeswoman. AP writers Maya Alleruzzo in Youssifiyah, Iraq, Lolita Baldor in Washington, Glen Johnson in Lawrence, Mass., David Aguilar in Commerce Township, Mich., and Jeremiah Marquez in Torrance, Calif., contributed to this report.
Israel grabs Hamas leaders in West Bank By ALI DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer MAY 24,07
NABLUS, West Bank - Israel rounded up a Palestinian Cabinet minister and 32 other Hamas leaders in the West Bank before dawn Thursday, trying a new tactic in its campaign to pressure the Islamic militant group into halting rocket barrages from the Gaza Strip. The Palestinian president condemned the arrests, saying they would hinder his efforts to restore a truce with Israel, while Hamas threatened to retaliate with attacks inside the Jewish state.The arrests reflected an Israeli decision to target the Hamas political leadership — but not necessarily with the lethal airstrikes it has staged over the past week on Hamas targets.On Thursday, Israel carried out several airstrikes in Gaza, all directed at Hamas training bases and command posts. A huge plume of black smoke rose over Gaza City after an afternoon attack, but there were no serious injuries, Palestinian medics said.At sundown, two mortar shells fired from Gaza exploded at Erez, the main crossing for people between the Palestinian territory and Israel. No was hurt, but there was considerable damage to two of the processing lanes, and Israel closed the crossing, the military said.
More than 40 Palestinians died in Israeli air raids over the past 10 days, and a rocket killed an Israeli woman Monday. The rocket barrages have severely disrupted life in the southern Israel area near Gaza, and thousands of frightened residents have fled.Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz said the arrests in the West Bank were part of Israel's attempt to neutralize Hamas and lessen the bloodshed.
Arrests are better than shooting, he told Israeli Army Radio. The arrest of these Hamas leaders sends a message to the military organizations that we demand that this (rocket) firing stop.But Hamas remained defiant: We will chase the occupation soldiers and the settlers in every inch of our occupied land, and we announce that we give free hand to our cells to strike against the enemy in every place in Palestine a term the Islamic group uses to include Israel.The office of Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh, a member of Hamas, demanded the immediate release of the detainees and urged the United Nations and European Union to impose sanctions on Israel.
The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and called for both sides to halt the violence. The rockets and the Israeli response have to stop, he told reporters after the meeting.Abbas, a moderate in the Fatah movement, said that the arrests by Israel hurt peace efforts and that airstrikes weren't stopping the rocket salvos.But he also condemned what he called the absurd rocket fire by Palestinian extremists and said he was trying to persuade militant groups to halt. They must stop so we can reach a truce with Israel, Abbas said.Just after the meeting, Israeli aircraft carried out two more attacks, hitting an empty Hamas base in Gaza City and a base in central Gaza, Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said only that it struck Hamas emplacements. Four civilians suffered slight injuries from flying glass and debris in the Gaza City attack, medics said. No one was hurt in the second strike.
The most prominent Hamas leader arrested overnight was Education Minister Nasser Shaer, considered a pragmatist. His wife, Huda, said soldiers knocked on the door of their home in Nablus and took him away, along with his computer. Israel also detained Shaer for a month last year, before a judge ordered his release.Israel already held 40 Palestinian lawmakers from Hamas, including parliament speaker Abdel Aziz Duaik. They were detained after Hamas-linked gunmen abducted an Israeli soldier last June. The idea was to trade the lawmakers for the soldier, but no deal took place.
Also among those rounded up Thursday were former Cabinet minister Abdel Rahman Zeidan, legislators Hamed Bitawi and Daoud Abu Ser, the mayors of the towns of Nablus, Qalqiliya and Beita, and the head of the main Islamic charity in Nablus. Israel has failed to quell rocket fire over the years, despite large-scale ground offensives that caused multiple casualties and widespread damage in areas used by militants. Abbas' security forces have made few visible efforts to halt rocket salvos.
Instead, the rocket attacks diminish when Palestinian militants decide to lower the flame. Intentionally or not, the latest flare-up with Israel stopped a month of bloody internal clashes between Hamas and Fatah security forces in Gaza. Israel's military said Hamas fired six rockets into Israel on Thursday, though Hamas claimed firing 14, still less than previous days. Alone Ben-David, military analyst for Israel's Channel 10 TV, said the decrease in rocket fire was a hint that Hamas might have achieved its goals and was ready to wind down the crisis. Ben-David added, however, that firing would likely escalate if Israel killed a top Hamas commander in an airstrike.
Are you ready Book to buy MAY 25,07
Dear Friend,
The horror of that terrible day -- the day we have come to call 9/11 who saw it coming? Illegal aliens? The media isn’t telling you the whole story. The U.S. dollar is on its way out. Coming next: the amero that’s what you’ll spend after the unification of Canada, the USA, and Mexico. Who has the facts? Someone in President Bush’s inner circle is reported to be promoting Israel-Palestinian policies that contradict biblical prophecy. What’s going on behind closed doors?
Beloved, I want to send you an amazing new book that reveals the answers to these and innumerable other fascinating questions of our day -- and of your future -- entitled: ARE YOU READY?
Truly one of the finest books I’ve read in years, ARE YOU READY? by Paul McGuire, reveals astonishing inside facts about Al Qaeda’s nuclear war plans for America ... an electromagnetic pulse weapon that could wipe out all electric and communication systems in the U.S. and starve millions ... the banning of the book of Revelation in China ... and much more!
Do you realize there are secret Executive Orders on the books right now which allow the government to declare martial law and take over all modes of transportation, food resources and farms, health education and welfare functions, electrical power and fuel resources, all airports and airplanes, and the flow of money including salaries? What could this mean? This book answers the questions! Do you realize the Postmaster General is authorized to conduct a national registration of all people? What prophecy does this sound like? This book shows you the truth!
Do you realize that weapons existing today could create a nuclear winter? Revelation 16:21 is at hand: And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent: and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great.
ARE YOU READY? offers an astounding array of inside facts:
7,000 U.S. nuclear warheads pointed at Russia
Russia’s early warning computer systems crumbling and imprecise
Modern plagues, such as sexual immorality and child pornography, fulfilling prophecy today
The intertwining of Israel’s future with America’s
Modern evangelical preachers straying from the historical Gospel of Jesus Christ and the book of Revelation (Why? Because it confronts mankind with self-destructive sin!)
Multitudes of Christians now biblically illiterate!
America emerging as the Laodicean Church of Revelation 3:15,16,20
The Satan’s Seat, reproduced by Hitler, moving from Russia to Germany in our lifetime!
Most crucial of all, ARE YOU READY? paints a picture of the future of North America -- and I guarantee you, this is a picture you have never imagined! As you give a gift of $20 (U.S.), $25 (Canada) or more, I want to send you this shocking book. I urge you to give even more generously, request two copies, and share one with a friend. They will thank you for the incredible experience of absorbing this fascinating, fast-paced volume.Meanwhile, your generous gift will help Rexella and me to press ahead in this soul-winning work around the entire world, leading multitudes to faith in Christ before it’s eternally too late!
DONATE AND GET BOOK ARE YOU READY $20 US OR $25 CAN OR MORE.
https://ww2.micahtek.com/nexolive/nJVISelector.cfm?rDATA1=SHOPPING&rDATA3=B249
Please let me hear from you soon. Thank you!
Yours in world evangelism,
Jack Van Impe
P.S. Your gift will help me be there for you and for your unsaved loved ones. Thank you again!
JUDE 14-16
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them (Bill Maher, Rosie Odonnell) of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.(JESUS)
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.
THIS BILL MAHER IS THE GODLESS OF THE GODLESS LEFT. GET HIM OFF THE AIR.
Catholic League blasts HBO's Bill Maher for his comments about Falwell
Chad Groening OneNewsNow.com May 25, 2007
A Catholic civil rights organization is absolutely outraged at recent comments made by entertainer Bill Maher following the death of Dr. Jerry Falwell. During his May 18 broadcast of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, the host said, Now I know you're not supposed to speak ill of the dead, but I think we can make an exception. Kiera McCaffrey with the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights notes, The absolute hate that Bill Maher shows is just unbelievable. I mean, it's not surprising that just a couple days after Jerry Falwell's death, [Maher] goes on and is mocking his death, laughing about it, saying he's glad about it.McCaffrey says following his comments about Falwell, Maher launched into a vile assault on Catholicism, including mocking and profane references to the Virgin Mary, Mass, and the Eucharist. She believes Maher would never have said such things about Muslims.
Absolutely this would not happen to Muslims because there would be a violent reaction, the Catholic spokeswoman insists. And it would not happen to other groups, she asserts, because with Jews and blacks, there would be a quicker outcry from people saying, That's not fair. In the United States, however, most people don't even react when this happens to Christians.The really unfortunate thing, however, is that a lot of Christians don't react either, McCaffrey observes. They think, 'Oh well, it's Christian to turn the other cheek. But Christians should not have to tolerate this sort of behavior, she insists. McCaffrey says her organization has sent letters to all 14 board members of Time Warner, HBO's parent company, asking whether Bill Maher's highly offensive attack on Jesus Christ merits the same punishment afforded Don Imus for his racist remark about the Rutgers University women's basketball team.American Family News Network
North American union plan headed to Congress in fall
Powerful think tank prepares report on benefits of integration between U.S., Mexico, Canada May 24, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – A powerful think tank chaired by former Sen. Sam Nunn and guided by trustees including Richard Armitage, Zbigniew Brzezinski, Harold Brown, William Cohen and Henry Kissinger, is in the final stages of preparing a report to the White House and U.S. Congress on the benefits of integrating the U.S., Mexico and Canada into one political, economic and security bloc.
The final report, published in English, Spanish and French, is scheduled for submission to all three governments by Sept. 30, according to the Center for Strategic & International Studies. CSIS boasts of playing a large role in the passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement in 1994 – a treaty that set in motion a political movement many believe resembles the early stages of the European
Community on its way to becoming the European Union.
The results of the study will enable policymakers to make sound, strategic, long-range policy decisions about North America, with an emphasis on regionalintegration, explains Armand B. Peschard-Sverdrup, director of CSIS' Mexico Project.
Specifically, the project will focus on a detailed examination of future scenarios, which are based on current trends, and involve six areas of critical importance to the trilateral relationship: labor mobility, energy, the environment, security, competitiveness and border infrastructure and logistics.
The data collected for the report is based on seven secret roundtable sessions involving between 21 and 45 people and conducted by CSIS. The participants are politicians, business people, labor leaders and academics from all three countries with equal representation.
All of this is described in a CSIS report, North American Future 2025 Project.The free flow of people across national borders will undoubtedly continue throughout the world as well as in North America, as will the social, political and economic challenges that accompany this trend, says the report. In order to remain competitive in the global economy, it is imperative for the twenty-first century North American labor market to possess the flexibility necessary to meet industrial labor demands on a transitional basis and in a way that responds to market forces.As WND reported last week, the controversial Secure Borders, Economic Opportunity and Immigration Reform Act of 2007, which would grant millions of illegal aliens the right to stay in the U.S. under certain conditions, contains provisions for the acceleration of the Security and Prosperity Partnership, a plan for North American economic and defense integration with remarkable similarities to the CSIS plan.
The bill, as worked out by Senate and White House negotiators, cites the SPP agreement signed by President Bush and his counterparts in Mexico and Canada March 23, 2005 – an agreement that has been criticized as a blueprint for building a European Union-style merger of the three countries of North America.
It is the sense of Congress that the United States and Mexico should accelerate the implementation of the Partnership for Prosperity to help generate economic growth and improve the standard of living in Mexico, which will lead to reduced migration, the draft legislation states on page 211 on the version time-stamped May 18, 2007 11:58 p.m. Since agreement on the major provisions of the bill was announced late last week, a firestorm of opposition has ignited across the country.
Senators and representatives are reporting heavy volumes of phone calls and e-mails expressing outrage with the legislation they believe represents the largest amnesty program ever contemplated by the federal government.
Meanwhile, while many continue to express skepticism about a plot to integrate North America along the lines of the European Union, WND reported last week that 14 years ago, one of world's most celebrated economists and management experts said it was already on the fast track – and nothing could stop it. Peter F. Drucker, in one of his dozens of best-selling books, Post Capitalist Society, published in 1993, wrote that the European Community, the progenitor of the European Union, triggered the attempt to create a North American economic community, built around the United States but integrating both Canada and Mexico into a common market. So far this attempt is purely economic in its goal, wrote the Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree. But it can hardly remain so in the long run.Drucker describes in his book the worldwide trends toward globalization that were evident back then – the creation and empowerment of transnational organizations and institutions, international environmental goals regarding carbon dioxide and agreements to fight terrorism long
before 9/11.
Concern in Israel: No One is Stopping Iran!
by Hillel Fendel (MAY 24,07 INN)
The International Atomic Energy Commission (IAEA) released a report on Wednesday showing that not only has Iran not fulfilled its international demands, but it has also expanded the scope of its uranium enrichment. Iran is speeding towards a nuclear bomb, lamented an unnamed senior Israeli diplomatic figure, and no one is stopping her. So reported Maariv. Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni responded to the report with a show of diplomatic concern: The international community must concentrate on preventing Iran from attaining nuclear weapons. The report shows that the time element is critical, and the entire world must be united in understanding that we must not stray from this goal.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert assumed a more undaunted pose. Iran's continued uranium enrichment is a source of concern, according to a statement from Prime Minister Olmert's Bureau, even though it is insufficient to indicate that Iran has already achieved an industrial-level enrichment capability.The statement expressed Israel's regret at Iran's systematic and open violation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council and the IAEA... We view with utmost gravity the continuing deterioration in the level of Iranian cooperation with the IAEA's inspectors.
IRNA, the Iranian press agency, reported today that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran, backed by its nation, has no fear of enemies' hue and cry and psychological warfare. We have got closer to our final goals with the grace of Allah, he told commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps. The report reveals that instead of freezing the uranium enrichment program, Iran has widened its scope, with 1,300 centrifuges in operation in various nuclear facilities
throughout the country. Less than a year ago, an Iranian opposition group warned that hundreds of centrifuges could be operative by the following year [2007] if steps were not taken by the international community. We believe they pretty much have the knowledge about how to enrich, IAEA chief Mohammed El-Baradei told The New York Times almost two weeks ago. From now on, it is simply a question of perfecting that knowledge. People will not like to hear it, but thats a fact. Today, however, he backed off a bit, saying that Iran is still three to eight years away from achieving nuclear arms.Transportation Minister Sha'ul Mofaz, formerly Israel's Defense Minister, is scheduled to begin a round of talks in Washington on the matter in two weeks' time. A UN-imposed ultimatum demanding that Iran suspend its nuclear plans expires tomorrow, Friday.
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