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.
Central America on flooding alert after storms SEPT 6,07
BILWI, Nicaragua (AFP) - Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexico geared up for flooding from rain-swollen rivers Thursday in the wake of two devastating hurricanes that left at least 80 victims dead and scores more missing. Nicaragua and Honduras in a joint death toll Thursday, said that Hurricane Felix killed at least 71 people in their two countries.In Mexico, meanwhile, nine people were killed in the wake of Hurricane Henriette, which swept across Baja California's popular Cabo tourist areas before plowing into the country's northern regions, slowing as it crossed the US border. Some 5,000 people remained in shelters in Mexico.In Central America low-lying areas were on high alert against flooding as rivers continued to rise following super-storm Felix, which blasted into Nicaragua's northern Mosquito Coast Tuesday, killing at least 38 and leaving 50,000 homeless.The storm at its peak Tuesday reached the highest possible category five strength on the Saffir-Simpson scale.The European Union announced it would send 1.3 million dollars in emergency aid to help the relief effort in Nicaragua.
Nicaragua's disaster chief Ramon Arnesto Sistema said the death toll was likely to rise, with some 120 people missing from the Miskito Cays along the coast of the impoverished North Atlantic Autonomous Region.An aircraft with tonnes of food, blankets and medication landed late Wednesday in Bilwi, the regional capital, and a Venezuelan cargo plane was due to arrive later Thursday.The World Food Program delivered 4.5 tonnes of aid to the Nicaraguan government, while neighboring El Salvador and Honduras also sent assistance.The population worst hit by the storm was without help for a full day due to the remoteness of the jungle region.The bodies of 24 native Miskito Nicaraguans, whose fishing boat had capsized, were found near the Caribbean coast of Honduras in the wake of Felix, an official told reporters Thursday.This morning I was told that a boat was recovered with 24 bodies, 21 men and three women, government representative for the Gracias a Dios region, Carolina Echeverria said.Meanwhile, President Manuel Zelaya said that he had been told of dozens of Miskitos killed, adding that there were 128 more missing, many of whom are likely to have drowned.In the wealthy Valle de Sula farming and industrial region of northwest Honduras, the military, Red Cross and rescue officials pressed thousands of reluctant inhabitants of some 20 local villages to evacuate their homes ahead of surging waters in the Ulua and Chamelecon rivers.The rivers are rising, it is almost certain that they will flood, and we cannot run the risk that there will be deaths because we did not take the situation seriously, El Progresso mayor Jose Martinez told AFP.
On an all-terrain vehicle, Ramon Villeda, head of the firefighters at the San Pedro Sula airport, drove along the river banks to study the situation, calling on residents to leave their homes.It is necessary to leave the area, without a doubt. The people will possibly be able to return to their homes safe and sound on Friday, when the danger has passed, he said.In Guatemala, authorities declared a red alert in Izabal City, some 300 kilometers northeast of the capital, where residents have been evacuated over worries of flooding. Flooding alerts were also sounded, and evacuations launched in El Salvador and Mexico's southern Chiapas state. Two storm victims died in Mexico and one was missing in Guaymas, on the Sonora state coast, adding to seven who died earlier when Henriette swept up Mexico's southern Pacific coast.
Study: Tsunami could kill 1M in S. Asia By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer Wed Sep 5, 4:24 PM ET
BANGKOK, Thailand - At least a million people in South Asia's Bay of Bengal could be swept to their deaths by a tsunami if a giant earthquake hits off the coast of Myanmar, according to a study published Thursday. But the study's author, Phil Cummins, said he does not have enough data to say whether such a cataclysmic event would hit parts of Myanmar and Bangladesh in the next few decades or in several hundred years.I don't want to cause a panic. There is no reason anything like this would happen soon, said Cummins, of Geoscience Australia.The threat of tsunamis has taken on added urgency in recent years after a massive earthquake off Indonesia's Sumatra island in December 2004 triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people and left a half million homeless in a dozen countries.Cummins' study, which appears in Thursday's issue of the journal Nature, is the first time anyone has suggested that an earthquake off the coast of Myanmar could spawn a tsunami that could have pronounced impact on the Chittagong coast and the Ganges-Bhramaputra delta at the northern tip of the Bay of Bengal, it said.
The numbers of people at risk from a tsunami, Cummins wrote, may be over a million given that the region is home to Bangladesh's second largest city of Chittagong and there are tens of millions living just above sea level.Cummins has not presented his findings to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh. Officials from Myanmar and Bangladesh could not immediately be reached for comment.The area Cummins studied is a section of the Sunda Megathrust that stretches all the way from Western Australia to the Himalayas. A rupture of the fault was blamed for the Sumatra earthquake in 2004.Examining historical records, Cummins found evidence that an earthquake estimated at magnitude 8.5 to 9.0 struck off the western Myanmar coast in April 1762. He said it probably produced a tsunami, citing eyewitness accounts of waves washing over nearby Cheduba Island, submerged coasts near Chittagong and rising river levels as far inland as Dhaka.He said future quakes and tsunamis were likely, given the historical accounts and more recent surveys of the area which determined a magnitude 8.5 quake would hit the area every 100 years and a 9.0 every 500 years.
I would hope this spurs further work in confirming these past events, he said. It should be possible to answer how big was this event, how often do these events occur and what kind of tsunamis are generated through further geological investigation.The reaction to Cummins findings has been mixed, with some tsunami experts saying they shed important light on a section of Sunda Megathrust that has received little attention in the past.The main value of the paper is in advertising the danger of the section of the megathrust that no one has worried about, said California Institute of Technology's Kerry Sieh, who has used coral records and GPS networks to predict that a big quake and tsunami are likely to hit parts of Sumatra Island in the coming decades.His point is well taken. This part of the megathrust has produced a larger earthquake in the past and so it could do so in the future too, Sieh said. The effects on the west coast of Myanmar and more importantly Bangladesh would be awful.But Costas Synolakis, director of the Tsunami Research Center at the University of Southern California, said the possibly of a tsunami in the area was previously known and questioned whether the fault would rupture to the extent estimated by Cummins.Synolakis also said in an e-mail interview that the scenario presented by Cummins could lead to a massive panic south of Chennai (India) and possibly a sense of reassurance in Sri Lanka where he said the threat of another tsunami was worse.On the Net: Nature magazine: http://www.nature.com/nature.
Felix toll rises, Henriette hits Mexico By ARIEL LEON, Associated Press Writer SEPT 6,07
PUERTO CABEZAS, Nicaragua - Doctors treated storm casualties in a makeshift clinic Wednesday after powerful Hurricane Felix flooded their hospital and wrecked villages on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast. The death toll rose to at least 18 with dozens more missing. Far to the northwest, Hurricane Henriette plowed into Mexico for the second time in two days, making landfall shortly before 9 p.m. EDT near the port city of Guaymas with top sustained winds of 75 mph. Seven deaths were reported from the Pacific storm, which hit Baja California on Tuesday.Felix came ashore Tuesday in Nicaragua as a Category 5 tempest packing 160 mph winds and heavy rains that caused mudslides, destroyed homes, uprooted trees and devastated villages.Wednesday night, Nicaraguan Civil Defense Department spokesman Alvaro Rivas said the confirmed death toll had doubled to 18. Defense officials said President Daniel Ortega had put the toll at 21. There was no immediate explanation for the discrepancy.Rivas also said at least 60 people were missing: more than 50 in the Matagalpa province in the north and another 10 around hard-hit city of Puerto Cabezas.
The dead included a man who drowned when his boat capsized, a woman killed when a tree fell on her house and a newborn who died shortly after birth because her mother couldn't get medical attention.Among the missing were four fishermen whose small sailboat sank as Felix's center passed overhead. A survivor, Fernando Pereira, 24, said he clung to a piece of wood for 12 hours, despite a dislocated shoulder, and washed ashore at the village of Sandy Bay only hours after Felix made landfall there. He hadn't seen his friends since.I felt horrible, he said. I was drinking salt water, and I thought I was going to die.Others were caught in the sea as well. Jelivaro Climax, 22, said he had to swim through enormous waves to reach shore.
Lightning flashed through a pitch black sky, he said. I don't know how I survived. I swam with everything I had, and I was sure the sea would take me.Felix swept over the Miskito Coast, an impoverished region where about 150,000 people live in jungle settlements. Their hamlets of wooden shacks and coconut groves are remote even in good weather, reachable only by air or flat-bottom boats.The Miskitos, descendants of Indians, European settlers and African slaves, live semiautonomously, much like people on Indian reservations in the U.S.There wasn't enough fuel after the storm for boats to make long trips, and Felix snapped steel cables that guided a small ferry carrying people and cars from Puerto Cabezas to the village of Wawahum.Johana Aliberto Maquiave, 36, was stuck in Puerto Cabezas, trying to get back to her family in Sandy Bay, the village where the eye of the storm hit.I want to know what happened to my three children, she said, fighting tears. The poor kids stayed with their dad. I am here with nothing. I came on Sunday to buy food.The view from a flight over Sandy Bay — a region that includes about 10 Miskito villages, some 30 miles north of Puerto Cabezas — showed swathes of palm tree felled like stalks of grass, homes without roofs and building debris scattered across the tropical landscape.Felix also wiped out crops and damaged most of the 70 tons of food and emergency goods that had been flown in before the storm.On Wednesday, it was hard to find a building that wasn't damaged. Puerto Cabezas' hospital was filled with water, and doctors attended to the injured at an improvised clinic. Ortega flew over the area to survey the damage. He said that the U.S. and Venezuelan offered aid and that Cuban doctors were already on the ground. Nicaragua's military flew in sheets, mattresses, food and first aid materials.
Residents hacked at fallen trees with machetes, trying to uncover the remains of their humble homes. There was very little electricity, running water or telephone service. Larry Hansack, 38, gazed at a sea littered with splintered wood and shattered tin, wondering about his nephew, a fisherman who disappeared at sea. There's no one to help me, and everything is disorganized, he said.Teresa Flores, 34, rode out the storm at a neighbor's house after her wooden home collapsed, injuring her husband and 3-year-old son. Looters later took what was left. They took the clothes, even the barrels where we keep water, she said. Now we have nothing to drink. We lost all our food, the television set, the microwave, even the toilet. Nothing works. We are pretty much in the street.At one point during the storm, she tried to check on her home, but I took a few steps and couldn't move forward. The wind said no.The remains of Felix were still dumping rain Wednesday on Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, and thousands of evacuees anxiously stayed away from shaky hillside slums and swollen rivers. In San Pedro Sula, in northern Honduras, one shantytown filled with water after a river burst its bank. Police rode bulldozers to evacuate slum dwellers from water that was waist-deep and rising, but many refused to leave, fearing their remaining possessions would be stolen.
David Serato, 42, left. Life is more important than personal belongings, he said. If I stayed, I would die.Many had feared a repeat of the 1998 nightmare of Hurricane Mitch, which stalled over Central America for days, causing floods and mudslides that killed nearly 11,000 people and left more than 8,000 missing. On Mexico's western coast, Henriette moved across the Gulf of California. Its center later made its second landfall near the Mexican city of Guaymas in Sonora state, said Jack Beven, a specialist with the Miami-based center. A few hours later the Henriette was downgraded to a tropical storm as it moved inland and its sustained winds dropped to 65 mph. Schools and ports were closed and people evacuated from low-lying areas, but the storm was expected to weaken quickly over the desert before dumping a few inches of rain Thursday on New Mexico. Among the coastal communities sure to get drenched was San Carlos, a beach town packed with American retirees that neighbors Guaymas.
Henriette set off mudslides earlier that killed six people in Acapulco as it moved northward up Mexico's Pacific coast, and a woman drowned in high surf as the storm approached the Baja California peninula. Mexican navy Capt. Leopoldo Mendoza said a navy helicopter was searching the Bay of La Paz for a missing boat carrying two Mexicans and two Japanese. The storm became a hurricane just before its direct hit on the upscale desert resorts of Los Cabos on Baja's southern tip Tuesday. The luxury hotels suffered little damage, but plywood shacks in the surrounding slums were destroyed. Everything is soaked, said Homero Cruz Marcelino, a 28-year-old gardener who rode out the storm with his pregnant wife and son in a shack that was reduced to little more than a wooden frame. He estimated the damage at $500, a small fortune given his income. Associated Press writers Freddy Cuevas in Tegicugalpa, Honduras; Filadelfo Aleman in Managua, Nicaragua; Ioan Grillo in San Pedro Sula, Honduras; Richard Jacobsen in Mexico City; and Paul Kiernan in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, contributed to this report.
OZONE DEPLETION
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
California heatwave ebbs after claiming 25 lives SEPT 5,07
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - At least 25 deaths were blamed on an excessive eight-day heatwave in Southern California that finally started to cool on Wednesday. Temperatures in inland and mountainous areas of Los Angeles dropped by about 20 degrees, bringing most places down below 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 Celsius) for the first time in a week.Power was being restored gradually to some 55,000 people some of whom sweltered without air conditioning, lights or working refrigerators for two days or more because of record demand placed on the grid, power officials said.
Fifteen of the suspected heat-related deaths reported by coroners were in Los Angeles County. Autopsies will determine the exact cause of death.They included a couple in their 80s who were trying to keep costs down by switching off the air conditioning in their apartment. Firefighters who found the bodies said the temperature inside was at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43 Celsius).Some others, including at least one homeless man, were found dead in their cars over the long, hot holiday weekend. A 26 year-old man was found dead in a Los Angeles canyon after becoming separated from friends while riding his dirt bike, the coroner's office said.Seven deaths were reported in Imperial County, two in San Bernardino County and one in Riverside County where temperatures hit triple digits for several days in a row.Temperatures are expected to drop further back to seasonal norms over the next two days.
Airline sacrifices goats to appease sky god
Tue Sep 4, 2007 3:41pm ET
KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Officials at Nepal's state-run airline have sacrificed two goats to appease Akash Bhairab, the Hindu sky god, following technical problems with one of its Boeing 757 aircraft, the carrier said Tuesday.Nepal Airlines, which has two Boeing aircraft, has had to suspend some services in recent weeks due the problem.The goats were sacrificed in front of the troublesome aircraft Sunday at Nepal's only international airport in Kathmandu in accordance with Hindu traditions, an official said.The snag in the plane has now been fixed and the aircraft has resumed its flights, said Raju K.C., a senior airline official, without explaining what the problem had been.Local media last week blamed the company's woes on an electrical fault. The carrier runs international flights to five cities in Asia. It is common in Nepal to sacrifice animals like goats and buffaloes to appease different Hindu deities.Reuters 2007.
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.
Nuclear bombs mistakenly flown over US By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer SEPT 6,07
WASHINGTON - A B-52 bomber was mistakenly armed with six nuclear warheads and flown for more than three hours across several states last week, prompting an Air Force investigation and the firing of one commander, Pentagon officials said Wednesday.
The mistake was so serious that President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert Gates were quickly informed and Gates has asked for daily briefings on the Air Force inquiry, said Defense Department press secretary Geoff Morrell.He said Gates was assured that the munitions were part of a routine transfer between the two bases and at all times they were in the custody and control of Air Force personnel and at no time was the public in danger.Rep. Ike Skelton, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, called the mishandling of the weapons deeply disturbing and said the committee would press the military for details. Rep. Edward J. Markey, a senior member of the Homeland Security Committee, said it was absolutely inexcusable.
Nothing like this has ever been reported before and we have been assured for decades that it was impossible, said Markey, D-Mass., co-chair of the House task force on nonproliferation.The plane was carrying advanced cruise missiles from Minot Air Force Base, N.D., to Barksdale Air Force Base, La., on Aug. 30, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of a Defense Department policy not to confirm information on nuclear weapons.The missiles, which are being decommissioned, were mounted onto pylons on the bomber's wings and it is unclear why the warheads had not been removed beforehand.According to the officials, the weapons are designed with multiple safety features that ensure the warheads don't accidentally detonate.
Arming the weapons requires a number of stringent protocols and authentication codes that must be followed for detonation. And they are designed to withstand a significant impact, including an aircraft crash, without detonating.The Air Combat Command has ordered a command-wide stand down on Sept. 14 to review procedures, officials said. They said there was minimal risk to crews and the public because of safety features designed into the munitions.In addition to the munitions squadron commander who was relieved of his duties, crews involved with the mistaken load — including ground crew workers — have been temporarily decertified for handling munitions, one official said.The investigation is expected to take several weeks.
The incident was first reported by Military Times newspaper group.
There is no more serious issue than the security and proper handling of nuclear weapons, Skelton said in a statement Wednesday. The American people, our friends, and our potential adversaries must be confident that the highest standards are in place when it comes to our nuclear arsenal.Skelton, D-Mo., said his committee will pursue answers on the classified matter to ensure that the Air Force and the Department of Defense address this particular incident and strengthen controls more generally.
UK link to terrorists planning new 9/11 massacre
By ALLAN HALL and DAVID WILLIAMS - 6th September 2007
Islamic terrorists planning a massacre in Germany on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks phoned British contacts as they plotted, it has emerged. They planned to strike at German airports and US bases exactly six years after hijacked planes ploughed into the World Trade Centre. The three suspects, two German converts to Islam and a Turk who had undergone military training at Taliban camps in Pakistan, were caught with 750kg of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical easily transformed into explosives. One suspect was taken away by helicopter in handcuffs.Another of the suspects is led away in handcuffs.
Germany searching for 10 men behind massive al Qaeda plane terror plot.Danish police arrest 8 Muslims in alleged bomb plot.Several calls to British numbers are said to been made from mobile telephones linked to two of the men being questioned in Germany. One is said to have been a known number. Prosecutors and police painted a picture of a ruthless cell of Al-Qaeda-linked fanatics, willing to die in suicide attacks with bombs more powerful than those used in the July 7 attacks in London in 2005. Prosecutors said the attacks were planned at Frankfurt airport, Germany's biggest and busiest, and the Ramstein Airbase - the Pentagon's largest outside of the US. Confiscated canisters labeled as hydrogen peroxide are displayed during this morning's press conference in Germany.Other US bases, civilian airports, a nightclub and pub were on the terrorists' target list. Germany's chief prosecutor, Monika Harms, said the plan was to construct massive car bombs and cause as much loss of life as possible. We have stopped what would certainly have been the worst terror attacks in Germany, he added. The men had been under surveillance for months from agents of the BND, Germany' s MI5, and the elite GSG-9 police commandos who are trained along SAS-lines. American intelligence officials were also in on the surveillance but played no part in the arrests. On Tuesday, authorities swooped at a hideout in the village of Oberschledorn in North Rhine-Westphalia where the bomb factory was located.
One of the suspects broke out of a bathroom window and bolted into woodland, where he wrestled with a police officer and managed to take his gun. A shot was fired but no one was hit. The policeman and his colleagues overpowered the suspect. All three suspects were arrested. Forty other homes and offices across Germany were raided at the same time. As well as the chemical mixtures, police discovered military detonators. Frankfurt Airport. Reports suggest the terror plot targeted civilian and military planes at the airport.The US military base at Ramstein was also believed to have been targeted. German defence minister Franz Josef Jung said: The attacks were planned for the near future. They presented a direct threat to life.The group had been under surveillance ever since one was spotted spying the US barracks at Hanau on New Year's Eve last year. Email traffic between them and others abroad led to the authorities' action five days before the anniversary of 9/11. Der Spiegel, the respected German news magazine, was among media outlets which reported the terrorists were gearing up for attacks on that day. Last night British anti-terror officers were last night checking for links between the men held in Germany and British-Pakistani terror suspects who may have trained with them.
The terror attack that authorities believe was foiled in Germany may have been timed to coincide with the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York
Officers from Scotland Yard flew to Germany to assist the investigation. They want to examine any possible links with UK terror plots. The details of the men are also to be shown to Al Qaeda supergrass Mohammad Babar, who trained with Britons at terror camps, by US officials and to extremists in British jails. Al Qaeda and jihadi bomb makers are known to have taught Britons how to use hydrogen peroxide at camps in Pakistan attended by other Europeans. It has featured as a key component of al Qaeda-linked bombers at least twice in Britain. It was used by the four July 7 suicide bombers in the bombs that killed 52 on the London transport network. It was also to have been used two weeks later in the copycat attacks by four more Islamic fundamentalists intent on bringing slaughter to the capital's streets. But the rucksack bombs failed to go off. The plotters were jailed earlier this year. Germany routinely does not issue the last names of criminal suspects. A man identified as being the group's leader, Fritz G, 28, is from Ulm in southern Germany, where he is understood to have worked at the city's Islamic Information Centre after converting to Islam. The other German, Daniel S, 22, is also a Muslim convert and comes from Saarbruecken on the border with France. The third man is a Turk named Adem Y, 29, who lives in Frankfurt. They were members of a group called Islamic Jihad Union. Spawned in Uzbekistan, it was described by a senior German lawman as a franchise of al Qaeda with close ties to Osama Bin Laden's terror corporation. The men, radicalised over what they saw as the oppression of Muslims worldwide by America and her allies, have apparently been confessing to interrogators.
Jews Want Feiglin - Arabs Want Netanyahu
September 6, 2007
Moshe Feiglin received 25% of the vote in the recent Likud election for head of the party. This was a decisive victory for Feiglin and his ideology of belief-based Jewish leadership even though he has not yet become Likud chairman. This large mandate of support against a candidate - Benjamin Netanyahu - who was formerly Israeli Prime Minister is an indication that the ideology behind Manhigut Yehudit, the Jewish Leadership faction of Likud under Feiglin, has the support of a large and growing segment of the country. A shofar has sounded and Israeli's are awakening to the fact that the way to peace is by staying true to themselves, to their G-d, and to their precious land, and not by giving away their divinely-given land and not by making concessions to and appeasing those who are committing, aiding and abetting terrorism. The Arabs have continually made their murderous agenda known to anyone who is willing to open their eyes. They try their methodology of terrorism and when that doesn't work, they then try to achieve the same ends (pushing the Jewish State into the sea) through diplomatic channels by saying a few nice-sounding words in English which they refute immediately in Arabic. While the Israelis are waking up to this fact and that only Authentic Jewish Leadership under Moshe Feiglin will steer us back on the right course, the Arabs are also waking to the same fact. That is why they have endorsed Bibi Netanyahu to become the next Prime Minister of Israel. The Arabs know that Netanyahu (who continually endorses destroying Jewish settlements and handing the Land of Israel over to the Arab moderates not Feiglin - will help their evil plan come into fruition.
The following article first appeared in YNET on September 2, 2007.
Arabs waiting for Bibi: Palestinians, Arab leaders believe that only Israel ’s right-wing camp can bring peace - Majdi Halabi
The Israeli Right and part of the center of Israel’s political map are not the only ones waiting for Benjamin Netanyahu. The Palestinians are also waiting for Bibi. This impression comes from conversations with senior Palestinian officials and key figures within Palestinian society.The Palestinians are convinced that Benjamin Netanyahu can undertake diplomatic moves more easily than Ehud Olmert and his government which, despite possessing a solid and broad coalition base, loses its majority once withdrawals or outpost evacuations are brought up for discussion.
The analysis offered by the Palestinians is very interesting. They say that the Right is better for peace than the Left and bring up many examples to back this up, ranging from the peace treaty with Egypt signed by the government of the late Menachem Begin to the Hebron deal signed by Netanyahu and the Gaza withdrawal carried out by Ariel Sharon, who the Palestinians viewed as a strong rightist.The Right is good for peace and the Left is good for war – this is the way the Israeli political map is perceived in the eyes of the Palestinian neighbors and Arab leaders. Their analysis is simple. When the Left wishes to pursue peace moves, that is, withdrawals, it is curbed by the Right and religious parties, and at times even the Arab Knesset members’ bloc is not enough to help the Left secure the needed majority.Yet when the Left wishes to undertake a military move, it always enjoys right-wing support that guarantees a majority for such moves. This was particularly noticeable in all the military moves, wars, and campaigns led by leftist and centrist governments, such as the Grapes of Wrath campaign in 1996 and the Second Lebanon War in 2006.
Left is good for talking
On the other hand, say the Palestinians and analysts of Israeli policy in the Arab world, when the Right is in power it is easier to reach agreements because the Right is consistent and honors its pledges. Moreover, it will automatically enjoy the support of the entire leftist bloc the moment it decides on a withdrawal, evacuation, or any other regional peace agreement.Benjamin Netanyahu is viewed in a more credible light by regional Arab leaders than the way he has been portrayed in the media and wide sectors within the Israeli public and political arena. A senior aide for one of the most important regional leaders told me that many of them expect to meet Netanyahu and hear about his plans and the moves he wishes to undertake if and when he is elected prime minister.The aide even expressed an interest in the possibility of meeting Netanyahu, even though there has been no announcement of new general elections at this time.As it turns out, the Arab world views a right-wing ascendancy to power as an opportunity to advance the diplomatic process. This contradicts the common perception that Arab leaders prefer a leftist Israeli government. The Left is good for talking and the planning of agreements, the Arabs say, but the Right is the address for signing agreements as it is the only element that can secure a Jewish majority.It appears that the Arabs are well familiar with the secrets of Israeli politics and it is possible that teams on behalf of Netanyahu and the Right are already talking with the Arab and Palestinian side and attempting to initiate moves on the Palestinian, Syrian and even Lebanese front.
Tova Abadi Media Liaison 917-301-0997 (cell) tova@jewishisrael.org
The Manhigut Yehudit website is www.jewishisrael.org
France considers ways to tackle globalisation
06.09.2007 - 09:27 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
France should work for a much more offensive policy of protection, solidarity and regulation at an EU level in order to better face globalisation, according to a report by former French foreign affairs minister Hubert Vedrine.It should also have the right to protect key or strategic sectors of its economy, Mr Vedrine writes in the 63-page document.I see globalisation neither as a chance, nor as blight, simply as a fact to which one has to adapt, the former minister is quoted as saying by Le Figaro.French president Nicolas Sarkozy in July asked Mr Vedrine to draft a report on how the country should respond to the challenges of globalisation. The report comes at a time when the European Commission is trying to promote more openness and a positive view of globalisation, as well as less national champions. But if the principles in the report are followed, it is set to be a blow to the commission's willingness to embrace globalisation.We still haven't really worked out how to be political about globalisation – except, in most cases, by opposing it. And that's our problem, EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said at a symposium on globalisation on 3 September.
Imposing punitive measures raises a cheer for politicians. It may provide some temporary relief. It is often both justified and right. But if it is inhibiting European companies from pursuing rational production strategies (…) it can also be counterproductive, he added.The French are traditionally hostile to globalisation, due to a number of reasons – an attachment to the protective state, to national identity and a language which they judge threatened by the anglophone tide and Americanisation. There is also a persistent moral disgust for market economy and profit, reads the report.Recent figures even indicate a certain globalophobia, says Mr Vedrine, as two different polls this year showed that 74% of French are worried by globalisation and believe it will have a negative effect on salaried employees.
However, the French are not the only ones who view globalisation with some fear.
While 18% of them favour it, only 17 percent of Spanish and Americans and 15 percent of British citizens view the phenomenon positively, according to a poll published by the Financial times last spring.
Blair meets Olmert on Middle-East peace tour SEPT 6,07
The Middle-East envoy Tony Blair has told the Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that he will focus on practical steps to try to build confidence in the peacemaking process. The former UK premier is in Israel as part of a tour of the Middle-East as envoy of the so-called Quartet - America, the EU, Russia and the UN - with a limited mandate on economic development and building Palestinian institutions in the West Bank.Olmert, and the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have held regular meetings in recent months, though Israel only wants to talk about general principles. The moderate Fatah leader hopes Blair will use his influence to persuade Israel to enter more detailed talks on a Palestinian state, before a US sponsored conference scheduled for November.Israel's Supreme Court has delivered an embarrassing blow to the government, over a controversial barrier between Israel and the West Bank. The court ruled in favour of villagers in Bil'in, who'd argued that the barrier stopped them accessing their fields and orchards. Now planners have to re-route the fence-line.
Abbas asks Blair to press Israel on checkpoints
Thursday September 6, 09:35 PM
By Mohammed Assadi
RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas asked Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Thursday to put pressure on Israel to remove some of the hundreds of checkpoints that restrict travel in the West Bank. Blair is developing a plan that would spell out practical steps that Israeli, Palestinian and business leaders would gradually take to try to boost peace prospects, officials said. Abbas and the Palestinian side asked Blair to really put pressure on Israel to remove the checkpoints because how can you improve the Palestinian economy if you cannot move goods from one area to another, Abbas aide Saeb Erekat told Reuters. The president also asked Blair to press Israel to stop carrying out arrest raids in the occupied West Bank, where Abbas's secular Fatah faction holds sway. Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip in June. Abbas said Blair's action plan should spell out steps to bolster the Palestinian economy. Israel is expected to be asked under the plan to ease travel restrictions in the occupied West Bank, officials involved in the talks said.
Steps for the Palestinian side would focus initially on improving Abbas's security hold on the West Bank, a key Israeli precondition for removing checkpoints, the officials said. Israeli government officials said Prime Minister Ehud Olmert does not want Blair's action plan to set specific dates for implementation. Doing so would raise expectations that may not be achievable due to security developments, one official said. Blair, who started a visit to Israel and the West Bank on Tuesday, made no public comments after his meeting with Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
A Blair spokesman had no immediate comment.
The Quartet of Middle East mediators gave Blair a limited mandate mainly focused on economic development and building governing institutions in the occupied West Bank.
But Abbas's aides hope the former British prime minister will go further and use his influence to get Olmert to enter serious negotiations for a Palestinian state ahead of a U.S.-sponsored conference in November.
Washington declines comment after Syria fires on Israeli planes
Thu Sep 6, 2:26 PM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States on Thursday declined comment on reports that Syria opened fired on Israeli warplanes, which Damascus believes violated its airspace. I have seen those press reports. I don't have anything for you that could substantiate them one way or the other, State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters Thursday.Certainly I don't want to comment on at this point in time, Casey said.A department official who declined to be identified said Washington was not particularly concerned about the incident which could heighten tensions between Israel and Syria.I don't think anybody here is viewing this with any particular or unique concern, the official said.A Syrian cabinet minister confirmed Thursday that his country had launched what Damascus considered a counterattack to perceived Israeli aggression.They intervened in our airspace ... which they should not do -- we are a sovereign country and they should not come into (our) airspace, Expatriate Affairs Minister Bussaina Shaaban said.The standoff comes amid a continuing war of words between Syria and Israel, with each blaming side the other for stoking regional tensions and for the failure to revive peace talks that have been stalled for seven years.
Vatican: Pope meets Israeli president
Castel Gandolfo, 6 Sept. (AKI) - Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday received Israeli president and Nobel peace laureate Shimon Peres at his summer residence outside Rome. Peres also met the Vatican's secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone and Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Oded Ben-Hur.During very cordial meetings, Peres exchanged information with the Vatican on the recent resumption of contact between Israelis and Palestinians inmoves to re-start the stalled Middle East peace process.Washington is sponsoring an international peace conference on the Middle East scheduled for November and in Thursday's talks it was agreed that both sides at the conference should do their utmost to satisfy the aspirations of their peoples, the Vatican said in a statement.
Relations between the Vatican and Israel were also examined during the meetings, in the hope of a rapid conclusion to important negotiations that are still continuing and of constant dialogue between the Israeli authorities and local Christian communities, the Vatican said.Peres - who is on his first trip abroad since becoming Israel's head of state in June. - re-extended an invitation to the pope to visit the Holy Land.Also on Thursday, Peres met Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema in Rome. The two men discussed the prosptect for Arab-Israeli peace, as well as bilateral relations, regional issues. D'Alema was this week West Bank, Egypt and Israel.Benedict VXI on Wednesday received Syria's vice-president Faruq al-Sharaa at the end of the pontiff's weekly general audience, the Vatican said.
EU's Barroso confident at reaching reform treaty deal next month SEP 5,07
BRUSSELS (AFP) — European Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso expressed confidence Wednesday that a new treaty to replace the EU's failed constitution could be agreed at a summit next month.Barroso was speaking at a joint press conference with Portuguese President Anibal Cavaco Silva, who agreed that the negotiations on the treaty should be wrapped up at the EU summit in Lisbon on October 18-19.The head of the EU executive dismissed misgivings in some quarters that elections in Poland on October 21 could lead to a delay in the treaty deal.Poland assumed a commitment as a country and now we have every reason to believe that Poland will stick to its commitments, he said, referring to a June summit during which the outline of a new treaty to streamline the expanded EU's operations was agreed.Barroso added that it was almost impossible to find a period in which none of the EU's 27 member states were involved in elections.
Like the failed constitution, the new treaty aims to simplify the way the expanding EU operates. It will establish a new foreign policy supremo and a more permanent president.EU leaders have pledged to ratify the text by 2009 so that public confidence in the European project is not undermined by the problem during elections to the European Parliament that year.The draft constitution was rejected in referendums in France and the Netherlands two years ago, sparking the EU's worst-ever crisis and ushering in a long period of political limbo.Silva said he was becoming more confident that it would be possible to conclude the reform treaty under the Portuguese EU presidency, which lasts until the end of the year, so that the European Union could concentrate on other pressing matters such as its global role, the economy and climate change.Europe needs more Europe not less Europe, he asserted. Even big countries and rich countries can't go it alone, we have to work together.
An Open Letter and Appeal to All Who Stand Together with the Land and People of Israel, and Who Cherish the G-d of Israel and His Promise of Redemption for All Mankind
For the past several weeks, workers employed by the Islamic Wakf have been excavating on the Temple Mount. This excavation, ostensibly to facilitate improvements to the infrastructure of the Al Aksa Mosque, is being carried out with the approval of the Israeli government. Digging in any archaeologically sensitive area is generally carried out with great care and delicacy, especially if the site is associated with religious traditions or considered holy. However this work is being carried out as it would be at any construction or building project, utilizing heavy machinery such as tractors and bulldozers. The Israel Antiquities Authority, legally empowered by the government to protect all archaeological sites in Israel, is turning a blind eye to this excavation and has not posted supervisors or any representative at the site. Indeed, respected independent archaeologists who have expressed concern over the irreparable damage currently being wrought by this work, and who have attempted to observe the digging firsthand, have been physically prevented from doing so by Israeli police officers, who vigilantly ensure that no one interferes with the work. According to the eye witness reports of these archaeologists, and based on photographs they have studied, irreparable damage is being caused.
Islam maintains that there never was any such thing as the Holy Temple standing on the Temple Mount. For years a concentrated effort was made to obliterate any vestige of evidence from the site. Yet now, as a result of this destructive and wanton bulldozing, a section of the wall of the Holy Temple – in the area universally recognized as the location of the Women’s Court – has been unearthed. This is the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple that actual physical evidence of the Temple has been revealed. But all of the antiquities of the Temple that have been uncovered are in danger of being destroyed by the Wakf. To understand this travesty as merely an archaeological issue would be myopic indeed. It would also be a mistake to consider these actions as nothing more than a heartless and cruel attack against another religion and culture. These atrocities are not being committed solely against the Jewish people and their traditions. This is an attack by enemies of the G-d of Israel against Him, and His plan for all humanity. The Bible consistently emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Temple in the life of mankind; it is none other than the footstool of G-d in this world (Lam 2:1). The purposeful destruction of remnants of the Holy Temple are an attempt to undermine G-d’s sovereignty, and to erase His name from the one place on earth that He has chosen to manifest His presence throughout the saga of human history. Our sages teach us that Adam, the first man, was created from the spot of the altar in the Holy Temple. All of his descendants – the family of man who are created in the Divine image – are therefore under attack, as these enemies seek, through their brazen act of denial and destruction, to unravel the human image and wage war against the Almighty. This callous and brutal destruction is an intolerable crime against all humanity. Why does the government of Ehud Olmert officially condone the vandalism orchestrated against that which is holiest of all to the Jewish people? Why is there no response at all?
There is much more at stake here than simply the destruction of precious remnants of the Holy Temple. It has become clear that the abandonment of the Temple Mount to total Moslem control has been promised by Israel and is guaranteed to figure prominently in any eventual treaty or agreement.Aside from the political implications regarding the future of Jerusalem and Israel – and the direct effect that this will have on the entire world – the spiritual implications of what is now transpiring are enormous.Allowing this sacrilege to continue, or alternatively – expending every effort to stem it, will constitute a direct indication as to how much we are willing to commit to the promises of G-d, and how much are we willing to commit to upholding His honor.
The Bible clearly indicates that all humanity will be uplifted to a new and unparalleled level of unity when the Holy Temple is rebuilt. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the L-rd’s house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all the nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the L-rd… (Isaiah 2). In Isaiah’s messianic prophetic vision of the lion lying with lamb, he further states that They shall not hurt, nor destroy, in all My holy mountain. Yet ironically, this hurt, this destruction of G-d’s holy mountain, is precisely what is taking place at this very moment under our very eyes. Indeed, there is naught but destruction rampant in all My holy mountain.This is the time for action. The government of Mr. Olmert does not represent the true and dedicated people of Israel. Yet he blasphemes, with impunity. He dares to treat the holies of Israel – indeed, the legacy of all those who believe in G-d – as his personal plaything. This government, whose only concern is the advancement of its own self -serving agenda and power, continues to rob the people of Israel of all that is rightly theirs, their G-d given heritage, legacy and responsibility.
I urge all those of you who stand with the people of Israel, who express deep commitment and concern for her fate, who identify with her mission and cherish her G-d, to rise up together with your brethren, the faithful, observant and G-d fearing Jews, and make your voices heard. The government of Ehud Olmert shows disdain for its own constituency. But it is still sensitive to the scrutiny and criticism of the world. The plans are made and set, and the partners – the Israelis, Palestinians, Saudis and other players – are urged on by the President of the United States, Mr. George Bush, who is committed to the unBiblical and immoral two state solution, itself an anti-G-d affront against the Jewish people and G-d’s promise to them.
You are in a unique position, and at a unique time in history, to unsettle these plans. Your immediate action is imperative and crucial for the halting of this evil process. The immoralities being perpetrated by the forces of Islam, if allowed to continue unchecked, will ultimately visit upon all those who remain silent. The die has been cast. While Olmert remains deaf to the cause of his own people, while the abandonment of the Temple Mount and Jerusalem has been promised by the corrupt and G-dless imposters posing as Israel’s leaders, a decisive, unified, unabashed stance can reverse this evil trend. I urge each and every true friend of Israel to personally fulfill the verse For Zion’s sake I will not hold my peace, and for the sake of Jerusalem, I will not be still… (Isaiah 62:1) Do not be silent, do not be still! Make your voices heard in the clearest possible manner. Look deeply into your hearts, seek guidance from our Creator, and decide upon your course of action – a course that will allow you the merit of participating in G-d’s unfolding plan of redemption for all mankind. A course of action that will make it clear in the most unequivocal terms, to Israel’s enemies – from within and without – that you stand for the honor of the G-d of Israel.I urge you to view this video update on the Temple Mount destruction.
http://universaltorah.com/programming/2007/09/05/urgent-message-the-temple-mount.htm
Rabbi Chaim Richman
THE TEMPLE INSTITUTE
PO Box 31876
Jerusalem, Israel 97500
www.templeinstitute.org
Thursday, September 06, 2007
JEWS NEED CHRISTIANS HELP
OK CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD, WE CAN MAKE A GREAT DIFFERENCE FOR ISRAEL NOW. WE MUST FLOOD THE ISRAELI GOVERNMENT WITH E-MAILS TELLING OLMERT TO STOP THE MUSLIMS FROM DESTROYING THE 2ND TEMPLE WALL THAT WAS DISCOVERED. AND ALSO ALSO THE ARTIFACTS FROM THE 1ST AND 2ND TEMPLES.
heres a letter to copy to your e-mail, And israeli Government E-mail to send to.
http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng (LEFT SIDE - Prime Ministers Office)(contacts Imformation)
Dear Mr Olmert and Israeli Government
This nonsense of letting the Muslims destroy 1st and 2nd Temple artifacts must come to an end. We as Christians insist the Muslims get forced to stop the digging and immediately return the Temple Mount to Israels hands so they can discover what and were the 1st and 2nd Temples stood, and then can rebuild the 3rd Temple also while they are at it.
Mr Olmert this has to stop. Let the israeli's discover were the 3rd Temple will be rebuilt so the Israelis can Sacrifice once again to the GOD OF ISRAEL in the 3rd TEMPLE.
A CHRISTIAN FOR ISRAELS SAKE
Stan L Bowman Jr
AND WHILE WE ARE AT IT CHRISTIANS, THERE ARE 1 MILLION 600 THOUSAND ISRAELIS UNDER THE POVERTY LINE AND HALF OF THEM ARE CHILDREN. I ENCOURAGE ALL CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD TO JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN AND JEWS LIKE I DO EVERY MONTH AND DONATE AT LEAST 50.00 A MONTH TO HELP ISRAELIS FROM POVERTY.
GOD WILL BLESS YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR COUNTRY GREATLY IF YOU HELP ISRAEL AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH FOOD AND TO RETURN TO ISRAEL LIKE GOD WANTS ALL ISRAELIS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO DO.
HERE IS THE SITE TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS TO HELP ISRAELIS. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
http://www.ifcj.org/
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Jews urging Christians to save Jewish Temple
Archaeologists kept out as Israel allows Muslims to pulverize antiquities at Judaism's holiest site - September 4, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Possible carved stone from Jewish Temple-era antiquity exposed by digging at Temple Mount in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM – The Christian world and top U.S. Christian leaders are being urged to petition the Israeli government to immediately halt a massive dig Islamic authorities are conducting on the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – that is said to be destroying antiquities and what archaeologists believe is a wall from the Second Jewish Temple. The Israeli government has barred archaeologists from inspecting the Temple-era wall, believed to be from the outer courtyard of the Second Temple. The wall reportedly has been pulverized by bulldozers operated by the Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians. If verified, the wall would be the most significant Jewish Temple find in history. The Christian people must rise up and stand with their brethren in Israel and make their voices heard to stop this travesty, states an open letter from Israel's Temple Institute, an organization seeking to promote awareness of the Temple Mount. We are asking Christians to do everything possible to petition the Israeli government to halt the Waqf destruction and have archaeologists immediately inspect the area. As a result of destructive and wanton bulldozing by the Waqf – with Israeli permission – a section of the wall of the Holy Temple in the area universally recognized as the location of the Women's Court has been unearthed, the letter states. This is the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple that actual physical evidence of the Temple has been revealed. But all of the antiquities of the Temple that have been uncovered are in danger of being destroyed if you don't help.Leading Israeli archaeologists, speaking to WND, also urged the Christian world to act immediately: The Christian world and all those who care about safeguarding the Temple Mount must immediately join us in our efforts to protect the holy site and demand that the Israeli government stop the Waqf construction, prominent, third-generation Temple Mount archaeologist Eilat Mazar said.
Trench dug by Islamic keepers of Temple Mount
The Temple Mount is important to people of all religions. Now is the time to act before more antiquities are erased, said Mazar, a senior fellow at Israel's Shalem Center and member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount. Mazar's much-discussed discovery in the City of David, a neighborhood just south of Jerusalem's Old City Walls, is a massive building that dates to the 10th century BC is believed is the remains of the palace of the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C. This weekend, Islamic authorities using heavy machinery to dig on the Temple Mount were caught red-handed by WND destroying Temple-era antiquities and the purported outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple. Last month, they were given permission by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive trench they say is necessary to replace electrical cables outside mosques on the holy site. The dig, which extends to most of the periphery of the Mount, is being protected by the Israeli police and is supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.
Digging at Temple Mount in Jerusalem
Earlier this month, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard. The Antiquities Authority has not halted the dig and has not inspected the site. The Waqf has continued using bulldozers to blast away at the trench containing the wall and has steadfastly denied it is destroying any antiquities. But WND obtained a photograph of the massive Waqf trench. In view in the picture are concrete slabs broken by Waqf bulldozers and a chopped up carved stone believed to be of Jewish Temple-era antiquity. Mazar analyzed the photo and said the damaged stone displays elements of the second Temple era and might be part of the Jewish Temple wall Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf has been attempting to destroy. She said in order to certify the stone in the photo, she would need to personally inspect it.
But Israel is blocking leading archaeologists from surveying the massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what may be the outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple. The Antiquities Authority tells us to coordinate with the police. The police send us back to the Antiquities Authority, said Mazar.
The Antiquities Authority did not return repeated requests for comment.
Temple Mount dig
It's crucial this wall is inspected. The Temple Mount ground level is only slightly above the original Temple Mount platform, meaning anything found is likely from the Temple itself, the archaeologist said. Fed up, Mazar and other top archaeologists last week ascended the Mount to hold a news conference and inspect the site without government permission, but they were blocked from the trench by the Israeli police.
It is unconscionable that the Israeli government is permitting the Waqf to use heavy equipment to chop away at the most important archaeological site in the country without supervision, Mazar said. The Israeli government is actively blocking us from inspecting the site and what may be a monumental find and is doing nothing while the Waqf destroys artifacts at Judaism's holiest site, she said.
Mount destruction attempt to undermine God's sovereignty
In his group's letter to the Christian world today, Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of the international department at Israel's Temple Institute, pointed out what he said was the significant of the Islamic dig on the Temple Mount. To understand the Waqf destruction as merely an archaeological issue would be myopic. It would also be a mistake to consider these actions as nothing more than a heartless and cruel attack against another religion and culture. These atrocities are not being committed solely against the Jewish people and their traditions. This is an attack on humankind by enemies of the God of Israel. Aside from the political implications regarding the future of Jerusalem and the direct effect that this will have on the entire world, the spiritual implications of what is now transpiring are enormous. The Bible consistently emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Temple in the life of mankind; it is none other than the 'footstool' of God in the world. The destruction of God's holy mountain is precisely what is taking place at this very moment under our very eyes. The purposeful destruction of remnants of the Holy Temple are an attempt to undermine God’s sovereignty and to erase His name from the one place on earth that He has chosen to manifest His presence throughout the saga of human history.
Richman called the Temple Mount central to humanity.
Our sages teach us that Adam, the first man, was created from the spot of the altar in the Holy Temple. All of Adam's descendants – the family of man who are created in the Divine image – are therefore under attack.Richman was among those on the Mount last week with Mazar. He told WND he attempted to take pictures of the damage the bulldozers are allegedly wrecking on the wall, but his digital camera was confiscated by Israeli police at the direction of Waqf officials. If Israel was building a shopping mall and they found what may be an ancient Buddhist structure, the government would stop the construction and have archaeologists go over the area with a fine tooth comb. Here, the holiest site in Judaism is being damaged, a Temple wall was found, and Israel is actively blocking experts from inspecting the site while allowing the destruction to continue, Richman said. Richman charged the Waqf was trying to erase Jewish vestiges from the Temple Mount.
(bold) Muslim custodians have history of destroying Temple artifacts
The last time the Waqf conducted a large dig on the Temple Mount – during construction 10 years ago of a massive mosque at an area referred to as Solomon's Stables – the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods. After the media reported the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to Israeli archaeologists for analysis. The Israeli authorities found scores of Jewish Temple relics in the nearly disposed dirt, including coins with Hebrew writing referencing the Temple, part of a Hasmonean lamp, several other Second Temple lamps, Temple period pottery with Jewish markings, a marble pillar shaft and other Temple period artifacts. The Waqf was widely accused of attempting to hide evidence of the existence of the Jewish Temples.
Temples never existed
Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to the Temple Mount. Speaking to WND in a recent interview, Waqf official and chief Palestinian Justice Taysir Tamimi claimed the Jewish Temples never existed.About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at the Haram Al- Sharif (Temple Mount), said Tamimi, who is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Israel started since 1967 making archaeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s, said Tamimi. The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temples, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and more than 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah. Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even though the wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years. The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah.The Palestinian media also regularly claim the Jewish Temples never existed.
Judaism's holiest site
While the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Muslims say it is their third holiest site. The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries. The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's presence dwelt. The Dome of the Rock now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent. The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact. The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to the farthest mosque and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem.
heres a letter to copy to your e-mail, And israeli Government E-mail to send to.
http://www.pmo.gov.il/PMOEng (LEFT SIDE - Prime Ministers Office)(contacts Imformation)
Dear Mr Olmert and Israeli Government
This nonsense of letting the Muslims destroy 1st and 2nd Temple artifacts must come to an end. We as Christians insist the Muslims get forced to stop the digging and immediately return the Temple Mount to Israels hands so they can discover what and were the 1st and 2nd Temples stood, and then can rebuild the 3rd Temple also while they are at it.
Mr Olmert this has to stop. Let the israeli's discover were the 3rd Temple will be rebuilt so the Israelis can Sacrifice once again to the GOD OF ISRAEL in the 3rd TEMPLE.
A CHRISTIAN FOR ISRAELS SAKE
Stan L Bowman Jr
AND WHILE WE ARE AT IT CHRISTIANS, THERE ARE 1 MILLION 600 THOUSAND ISRAELIS UNDER THE POVERTY LINE AND HALF OF THEM ARE CHILDREN. I ENCOURAGE ALL CHRISTIANS AROUND THE WORLD TO JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIAN AND JEWS LIKE I DO EVERY MONTH AND DONATE AT LEAST 50.00 A MONTH TO HELP ISRAELIS FROM POVERTY.
GOD WILL BLESS YOU, YOUR FAMILY AND YOUR COUNTRY GREATLY IF YOU HELP ISRAEL AND THEIR FAMILIES WITH FOOD AND TO RETURN TO ISRAEL LIKE GOD WANTS ALL ISRAELIS FROM AROUND THE WORLD TO DO.
HERE IS THE SITE TO JOIN INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS TO HELP ISRAELIS. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE.
http://www.ifcj.org/
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Jews urging Christians to save Jewish Temple
Archaeologists kept out as Israel allows Muslims to pulverize antiquities at Judaism's holiest site - September 4, 2007 - By Aaron Klein - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Possible carved stone from Jewish Temple-era antiquity exposed by digging at Temple Mount in Jerusalem
JERUSALEM – The Christian world and top U.S. Christian leaders are being urged to petition the Israeli government to immediately halt a massive dig Islamic authorities are conducting on the Temple Mount – Judaism's holiest site – that is said to be destroying antiquities and what archaeologists believe is a wall from the Second Jewish Temple. The Israeli government has barred archaeologists from inspecting the Temple-era wall, believed to be from the outer courtyard of the Second Temple. The wall reportedly has been pulverized by bulldozers operated by the Waqf, the Mount's Muslim custodians. If verified, the wall would be the most significant Jewish Temple find in history. The Christian people must rise up and stand with their brethren in Israel and make their voices heard to stop this travesty, states an open letter from Israel's Temple Institute, an organization seeking to promote awareness of the Temple Mount. We are asking Christians to do everything possible to petition the Israeli government to halt the Waqf destruction and have archaeologists immediately inspect the area. As a result of destructive and wanton bulldozing by the Waqf – with Israeli permission – a section of the wall of the Holy Temple in the area universally recognized as the location of the Women's Court has been unearthed, the letter states. This is the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple that actual physical evidence of the Temple has been revealed. But all of the antiquities of the Temple that have been uncovered are in danger of being destroyed if you don't help.Leading Israeli archaeologists, speaking to WND, also urged the Christian world to act immediately: The Christian world and all those who care about safeguarding the Temple Mount must immediately join us in our efforts to protect the holy site and demand that the Israeli government stop the Waqf construction, prominent, third-generation Temple Mount archaeologist Eilat Mazar said.
Trench dug by Islamic keepers of Temple Mount
The Temple Mount is important to people of all religions. Now is the time to act before more antiquities are erased, said Mazar, a senior fellow at Israel's Shalem Center and member of the Public Committee for Prevention of the Destruction of Antiquities on Temple Mount. Mazar's much-discussed discovery in the City of David, a neighborhood just south of Jerusalem's Old City Walls, is a massive building that dates to the 10th century BC is believed is the remains of the palace of the biblical King David, the second leader of a united Kingdom of Israel, who ruled from around 1005 to 965 B.C. This weekend, Islamic authorities using heavy machinery to dig on the Temple Mount were caught red-handed by WND destroying Temple-era antiquities and the purported outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple. Last month, they were given permission by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to use bulldozers and other heavy equipment to dig a massive trench they say is necessary to replace electrical cables outside mosques on the holy site. The dig, which extends to most of the periphery of the Mount, is being protected by the Israeli police and is supposed to be supervised by the Israeli government's Antiquities Authority.
Digging at Temple Mount in Jerusalem
Earlier this month, after bulldozers dug a trench 1,300 feet long and five feet deep, the Muslim diggers came across a wall Israeli archaeologists believe may be remains of an area of the Second Jewish Temple known as the woman's courtyard. The Antiquities Authority has not halted the dig and has not inspected the site. The Waqf has continued using bulldozers to blast away at the trench containing the wall and has steadfastly denied it is destroying any antiquities. But WND obtained a photograph of the massive Waqf trench. In view in the picture are concrete slabs broken by Waqf bulldozers and a chopped up carved stone believed to be of Jewish Temple-era antiquity. Mazar analyzed the photo and said the damaged stone displays elements of the second Temple era and might be part of the Jewish Temple wall Israeli archaeologists charge the Waqf has been attempting to destroy. She said in order to certify the stone in the photo, she would need to personally inspect it.
But Israel is blocking leading archaeologists from surveying the massive damage Islamic authorities are accused of causing to what may be the outer wall of the Second Jewish Temple. The Antiquities Authority tells us to coordinate with the police. The police send us back to the Antiquities Authority, said Mazar.
The Antiquities Authority did not return repeated requests for comment.
Temple Mount dig
It's crucial this wall is inspected. The Temple Mount ground level is only slightly above the original Temple Mount platform, meaning anything found is likely from the Temple itself, the archaeologist said. Fed up, Mazar and other top archaeologists last week ascended the Mount to hold a news conference and inspect the site without government permission, but they were blocked from the trench by the Israeli police.
It is unconscionable that the Israeli government is permitting the Waqf to use heavy equipment to chop away at the most important archaeological site in the country without supervision, Mazar said. The Israeli government is actively blocking us from inspecting the site and what may be a monumental find and is doing nothing while the Waqf destroys artifacts at Judaism's holiest site, she said.
Mount destruction attempt to undermine God's sovereignty
In his group's letter to the Christian world today, Rabbi Chaim Richman, director of the international department at Israel's Temple Institute, pointed out what he said was the significant of the Islamic dig on the Temple Mount. To understand the Waqf destruction as merely an archaeological issue would be myopic. It would also be a mistake to consider these actions as nothing more than a heartless and cruel attack against another religion and culture. These atrocities are not being committed solely against the Jewish people and their traditions. This is an attack on humankind by enemies of the God of Israel. Aside from the political implications regarding the future of Jerusalem and the direct effect that this will have on the entire world, the spiritual implications of what is now transpiring are enormous. The Bible consistently emphasizes the centrality of the Holy Temple in the life of mankind; it is none other than the 'footstool' of God in the world. The destruction of God's holy mountain is precisely what is taking place at this very moment under our very eyes. The purposeful destruction of remnants of the Holy Temple are an attempt to undermine God’s sovereignty and to erase His name from the one place on earth that He has chosen to manifest His presence throughout the saga of human history.
Richman called the Temple Mount central to humanity.
Our sages teach us that Adam, the first man, was created from the spot of the altar in the Holy Temple. All of Adam's descendants – the family of man who are created in the Divine image – are therefore under attack.Richman was among those on the Mount last week with Mazar. He told WND he attempted to take pictures of the damage the bulldozers are allegedly wrecking on the wall, but his digital camera was confiscated by Israeli police at the direction of Waqf officials. If Israel was building a shopping mall and they found what may be an ancient Buddhist structure, the government would stop the construction and have archaeologists go over the area with a fine tooth comb. Here, the holiest site in Judaism is being damaged, a Temple wall was found, and Israel is actively blocking experts from inspecting the site while allowing the destruction to continue, Richman said. Richman charged the Waqf was trying to erase Jewish vestiges from the Temple Mount.
(bold) Muslim custodians have history of destroying Temple artifacts
The last time the Waqf conducted a large dig on the Temple Mount – during construction 10 years ago of a massive mosque at an area referred to as Solomon's Stables – the Wafq reportedly disposed truckloads of dirt containing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temple periods. After the media reported the disposals, Israeli authorities froze the construction permit given to the Wafq, and the dirt was transferred to Israeli archaeologists for analysis. The Israeli authorities found scores of Jewish Temple relics in the nearly disposed dirt, including coins with Hebrew writing referencing the Temple, part of a Hasmonean lamp, several other Second Temple lamps, Temple period pottery with Jewish markings, a marble pillar shaft and other Temple period artifacts. The Waqf was widely accused of attempting to hide evidence of the existence of the Jewish Temples.
Temples never existed
Most Palestinian leaders routinely deny well-documented Jewish ties to the Temple Mount. Speaking to WND in a recent interview, Waqf official and chief Palestinian Justice Taysir Tamimi claimed the Jewish Temples never existed.About these so-called two Temples, they never existed, certainly not at the Haram Al- Sharif (Temple Mount), said Tamimi, who is considered the second most important Palestinian cleric after Muhammad Hussein, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. Israel started since 1967 making archaeological digs to show Jewish signs to prove the relationship between Judaism and the city, and they found nothing. There is no Jewish connection to Israel before the Jews invaded in the 1880s, said Tamimi. The Palestinian cleric denied the validity of dozens of digs verified by experts worldwide revealing Jewish artifacts from the First and Second Temples, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and more than 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah. Asked about the Western Wall, Tamimi said the structure was a tying post for Muhammad's horse and that it is part of the Al Aqsa Mosque, even though the wall predates the mosque by more than 1,000 years. The Western Wall is the western wall of the Al Aqsa Mosque. It's where Prophet Muhammad tied his animal which took him from Mecca to Jerusalem to receive the revelations of Allah.The Palestinian media also regularly claim the Jewish Temples never existed.
Judaism's holiest site
While the Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism, Muslims say it is their third holiest site. The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries. The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's presence dwelt. The Dome of the Rock now sits on the site and the Al Aqsa Mosque is adjacent. The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition. Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact. The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark where Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to the farthest mosque and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
2ND COMING OF MAHDI
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.
Hurricane Felix's rains threaten Central America By Noel Randewich
SEPT 5,07
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) - Rains from Hurricane Felix soaked the hill country of Honduras on Wednesday and threatened to trigger dangerous mudslides and flooding after killing four people in neighboring Nicaragua. The storm, which was a powerful Category 5 when it struck the Caribbean coast of Central America on Tuesday, revived memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 10,000 people in Central America in 1998, many of them in Honduras.The government evacuated 30,000 people as Felix weakened to a tropical storm and swept westward along the length of the country.
Almost half of the Honduran capital's 800,000 residents live in areas the government considers dangerous, mostly on the sides of mountains prone to mudslides and avalanches of rock.Others live near rivers that can easily overflow. The city has a history of severe flooding.Here it rains for two hours and the city floods. They're saying it could rain for 18 hours and we're preparing for the worst, Tegucigalpa Mayor Ricardo Alvarez told Reuters.Felix damaged the Puerto Cabezas port on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast and killed at least four people. Winds tore the roofs off houses and uprooted trees, but the damage was not as bad as expected.My house felt like it was moving with the wind, resident Julio Mena said. Street lights and phone cables lay on the ground.Thousands sheltered in two schools in the port, home to some 30,000 mostly Miskito Indians.
STORMY TIME
Felix came on the heels of another Category 5 storm, the most powerful type. Last month, Hurricane Dean killed 27 people in the Caribbean and Mexico.It was the first time on record that two Atlantic hurricanes made landfall as Category 5 storms in the same season, and the fourth time since records began in 1851 that more than one Category 5 formed in a year.In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Henriette lashed Mexico's Los Cabos resort on the Baja California peninsula on Tuesday with winds and rain, after killing a foreign tourist on its approach.Despite growing consensus that global warming may spawn stronger tropical cyclones, weather experts believe it is too soon to blame climate change for the back-to-back hurricanes.Felix was due to pass through Honduras on its way to Guatemala, where electoral officials said they had no plans to postpone Sunday's presidential election.Normally busy shopping malls were nearly empty in Tegucigalpa. Stores and businesses closed early so their employees could prepare for the storm.
This scares me because when Hurricane Mitch came, a whole lot of water fell on us, 36-year-old waitress Larisa Flores said.Honduran coffee producers said they did not expect much impact on their crops if Felix keeps to its predicted route, which would take it through the country into Guatemala and then onto Chiapas in southern Mexico. Nicaraguan exporters feared pounding rains could damage their coffee crops. Felix was unlikely to hit the southern Gulf of Mexico, the home of Mexico's major offshore oil fields. Elsewhere in the region, a magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Gulf of California near the tip of the Baja California peninsula late on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. It was centered about 100 miles from Los Cabos, close to the site of a magnitude 6.3 quake that hit on Saturday.
FAMINE
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(THIS SAYS A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD).
Wheat Rises Limit to Record on Increased Demand, Supply Concern
By Madelene Pearson and William Bi
Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat prices, which have more than doubled in the past year, surged to a record in Asian trading on demand for the grain and forecasts that global supplies will drop to a 26-year low. Wheat futures for December delivery rose as much as 30 cents, the maximum daily move allowed by the exchange, to $8.355 a bushel in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract was at $8.305 a bushel at 12:59 p.m. in Sydney. Prices also rose in China and Australia. It's a combination of continued strong demand globally and locally, together with production concerns around the world, Mark Lewis, a grain trader with Lempriere Grain Pty, said today from Victoria state, Australia. Globally the situation is quite tight.Prices have surged 66 percent this year as global consumption outpaces supply, eroding inventories. World supplies are expected to decline to the lowest since 1982 as unusual weather hurt crops in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Australia. India this week bought 795,000 metric tons of wheat from unknown suppliers for a record average price of $389.45 a ton, while Japan said yesterday it plans to buy 175,000 tons. Concern over crops in Australia and Argentina is helping drive prices higher, Lewis said. Harvest forecasts for Australia, vying with Canada to be the world's biggest wheat exporter after the U.S., have fallen as dry weather cuts yields. Output may be 18.5 million tons according to the median estimate of eight analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg News this week. That's 18 percent lower than the 22.5 million tons forecast by the government in June.
Western Australia
Grain production in Western Australia state, which usually provides one third of the nation's wheat exports, may be as low as last year's drought-ravaged crop unless there's significant rain, CBH Group said today. In Argentina, South America's biggest producer, output is expected to be 14 million tons by May 31, 7.9 percent less than a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Aug. 10. It's fairly scary in terms of global production, Lempriere's Lewis said. There's no reason why prices couldn't go higher if conditions remain dry in Australia, he said.
In China, wheat futures surged as much as 0.9 percent to a record, amid speculation higher global prices may prompt the country to ship more of its higher-grade wheat overseas. There's talk in the market that some state-owned trading firms are eager to export some wheat, because global prices are twice as high as domestic prices, Sun Rui, a Beijing-based trader with Cofco Ltd., said. Wheat for delivery in May 2008, the most active contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, gained 18 yuan to 2,046 yuan ($271) a ton, the highest since the contract started in April, 2006. It was at 2,023 yuan a ton at the end of morning trading.
Global Supplies
Global supplies of wheat are expected to decline to 114.8 million tons by the end of the marketing year on May 31, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last month. In Australia, milling wheat futures for January delivery on the Australian Stock Exchange surged as much as A$16.50, or 4.1 percent, to A$420.50 ($348) a ton. The contract traded at A$417 a ton at 1:17 p.m. in Sydney. Corn for December delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade gained as much as 4.25 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $3.575 a bushel and traded at $3.56 a bushel at 1:33 p.m. in Sydney. Corn futures have gained 56 percent in the past year. Soybeans for November delivery added as much as 5.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $9.1325 a bushel before falling to $9.015.
To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne on mpearson1@bloomberg.net ; William Bi in Beijing at wbi@bloomberg.net
EVIL INVENTIONS ARE PREDICTED IN THE BIBLE.
ROMANS 1:29-32
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Human-animal embryo ruling due SEPT 5,07
Scientists say such research is essential Regulators are due to make a decision whether to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is expected to give the plan the go-ahead in principle - but each case will still be judged individually. An HFEA consultation showed the public were at ease with the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. But a leading opponent said many people would be horrified by such a move.
No good reasons for banning this research have been identified
Dr Evan Harris, Lib Dem MP
Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and have the potential to become any tissue, making them essential for research.
At the moment, scientists have to rely on human eggs left over from fertility treatment, but they are in short supply and are not always good quality. Two teams from Kings College London and Newcastle University have already applied to the HFEA to use hybrid embryos. If the HFEA does agree human-animal embryo research can go ahead, there would be individual hearings for these two applications, probably in November. Other scientists are also expected to follow suit.
Reversed decision
Dr Lyle Armstrong, of Newcastle University, said: It does seem a little abhorrent at first analysis, but you have to understand we are using very, very little information from the cow in order to do this reprogramming idea. It's not our intention to create any bizarre cow-human hybrid, we want to use those cells to understand how to make human stem cells better. The embryo is deprived not only of its life, but of any human parents Dr Helen Watt Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics. And Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris, a member of the House of Commons science and technology committee which has already called for such research to be allowed, said: No good reasons for banning this research have been identified. The HFEA must now clear the way for their research licence committee to grant permission for some of our top scientists to continue their world-leading medical research using hybrid embryos.
The HFEA decision comes amid government moves to lay down regulations covering such research - the law governing embryo research is out of date and does not cover the issue. The government originally proposed banning the technique in a White Paper, but reversed its decision this year in a bill which proposed allowing hybrid embryos which were 99.9% human and 0.1% animal, following a backlash by scientists and patient groups. But the HFEA has carried out its own review ahead of parliament passing the legislation so as not to hold back research. The regulator can grant licences to scientists to pursue such research, but would then have to change its criteria if future rules contradicted its own practices.
Dehumanised
Dr Helen Watt, from the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, said the technique was a further violation of the rights of the embryo. The embryo is deprived not only of its life in the course of the experiment, but of any human parents, she said. Using hybrid embryos has never been acceptable - it offends the dignity of humans and animals Josephine Quintavalle
It is further dehumanised by the very method of its creation.
And Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the HFEA was wrong to be pushing ahead with a decision which should be left to parliament. Using hybrid embryos has never been acceptable - it offends the dignity of humans and animals. Many people will be horrified if this is allowed.But Parkinson's sufferer Frank Brooks backed the use of hybrid embryos in the search to find a cure for the disease. It would be an enormous benefit if that cure was developed to the people who are young enough to benefit from it, because it's going to be a few years before it's here, Mr Brooks said. But if we don't start now we're never going to get there.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Sep 4, 2007 20:26 | Updated Sep 4, 2007 20:26
Right On!: Stumbling toward catastrophe
By MICHAEL FREUND
Is anyone out there awake? I'm beginning to suspect that the recent end-of-summer heat wave has lulled many of us into a peaceful snooze, so much so that we have become virtually oblivious to some rather important and far-reaching developments.
By any standards, the headlines of the past few weeks should have sparked a furious public outcry, accompanied by stormy demonstrations, irate parliamentary debates and massive protests and letter-writing campaigns. But there has been none of that, nary a peep, as the prime minister of the State of Israel secretly negotiates away much of the country and its strategic assets. What has happened to our sense of outrage? In the wake of his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week, reports surfaced that Ehud Olmert had discussed wide-ranging concessions such as dividing Jerusalem, uprooting dozens of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and forgoing Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount.
The media even published what was said to be a copy of a two-page document outlining Olmert's willingness to cross the few remaining red lines Israel still has in what is clearly a transparent attempt to salvage his increasingly shaky political career.
With corruption investigations swirling around him and the final Winograd report on last summer's Lebanon war due out relatively soon, Olmert seems to have concluded that the only way to rescue himself from political oblivion is at the country's expense. THINK ABOUT this for a second. We have a prime minister about as popular as acute inflammatory acne going behind the nation's back, making fateful decisions that will endanger the future of the state and agreeing to establish a Palestinian terrorist entity alongside our country's shrunken borders. And he's doing this not because it is in the nation's interest, but for his own narrow political gain.
And yet, it has been greeted by little more than a yawn. Instead, we sit back quietly, go on with our lives and do nothing as our government accelerates its head-long rush toward disaster. Even the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks against Israeli towns and villages seem to evoke barely more than passing public interest. On Monday, Islamic Jihad fired over half a dozen Kassams into southern Israel, mockingly describing them as a gift for the opening of the school year. One of those gifts slammed into the courtyard of a day care center for toddlers in Sderot, nearly causing a disaster. This kind of incident should have shocked us to the very core of our being, but the fact is Palestinian rocket attacks have become so common, thanks to the government's lack of response, that they hardly register on our collective conscience any more. AND WHILE we are on the subject of remaining silent, how about the hush that has come over us as we watch the Muslim Wakf rip apart the Temple Mount and bulldoze our nation's priceless religious and cultural heritage? Israel may be sovereign on the Mount, but it is clear from our television screens who runs the show. In defiance of the law, the Wakf has been openly and brazenly digging a trench three foot deep from north to south along the Mount, in the process destroying precious artifacts that may date back to the First Temple period.
Our holiest site is being vandalized in broad daylight, while our government and police look on, refusing to step in and halt the destruction. Were an Israeli newspaper to publish a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, it would invariably elicit a greater outcry than that which has greeted the wanton physical devastation being carried out by Muslims on the Temple Mount. It is as if the people of Israel have gone off to a slumber party, tucking themselves snugly into sleeping bags and wiling away the hours as though we have not a care in the world. But the truth is that everything this nation holds dear is coming under attack. Our freedom, our future, our land and our legacy are all being pummeled and no one seems ready to stand up and do anything about it. IF YOU aren't walking around outraged, then you must not be paying attention. So put down the sports pages, put aside those DVDs and start following the news. We must take to the streets and rouse ourselves from this slumber. Our apathy and indifference are what enable this failed government to continue to stumble toward catastrophe. Today it is Sderot under fire. But don't be surprised when Kfar Saba, Netanya and even Tel Aviv come under attack. The alarm clock is ringing, if only we will hear. Now, more than ever, is the time to get up and put the nightmare of terror, weakness and retreat behind us, once and for all.
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
New Europeans ready to join Schengen passport-free zone
04.09.2007 - 09:26 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
Member states from central and eastern Europe have passed the technical tests necessary to get the green light for joining the bloc's Schengen borderless area without further delays early next year.Despite previous problems in some countries, nine states have successfully set up the necessary equipment to join the Schengen's central database with information shared by police and border officials.
There is a separate procedure for Cyprus.
We're very delighted about this, Manuel Carvalho from the Portuguese presidency told the Polish PAP agency, confirming the positive development.Already before the summer break, diplomats also suggested that the EU's inspections of the external borders - set to be managed by these countries - had proved there is a sufficient control on the ground.The two provisions - a functioning information system and a secure external border - were the final conditions imposed by the European Commission and the member countries of the Schengen area for the lifting border controls from the citizens from central and eastern Europe.The plan is - after final political confirmation by EU ministers and leaders in the coming months - to stop border checks on land starting by 31 December this year and at airports by 29 March 2008.
Some states, like Austria, have hinted they could ask for a short provisional period before they fully lift controls.Moreover, several old Schengen countries earlier came across problems with the newest version of the information system - to be put in place in a bid to provide for the new countries to join in. But European Commission officials suggested such tests were carried out exactly so that possible technical shortcomings are tackled and that they should not have any effect on the projected date of the Schengen zone's enlargement.
Portugal's plan proves big success
It is also positive news for Portugal which championed the process.Around this time last year, there were strong concerns over the timetable and whether it would be delayed caused by backlogs in the completion of a new Schengen central database.
The database is designed to store and provide data on people or stolen cars, it is available to police and border officials across the bloc.Instead Lisbon suggested that the new countries could join the existing database before the new and more modern one is finalised – a plan that was eventually accepted.At the moment, thirteen EU member states (excluding Britain and Ireland), plus Norway and Iceland are part of the Schengen zone.
EU neighbourhood policy divisions exposed
04.09.2007 - 09:18 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Ministers from within the EU and from its neighbouring countries gathered for the first time on Monday (3 September) to discuss the bloc's neighbourhood policy, but the meeting highlighted the strong divisions about what such a policy should mean. Ukraine, which has made no secret of its EU membership ambitions, refused to see the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as the sole means of bilateral relations with Brussels.The ENP cannot be accepted as an adequate basis for EU-Ukrainian relations, Ukraine ambassador Roman Shpek said at the conference.
Designed with the objective of offering EU neighbours closer – or privileged – cooperation with the bloc, the ENP does not offer EU membership – something clearly underlined by Germany.The ENP is a separate issue from EU membership. It doesn't open any doors, German state minister Gunter Gloser stated.
Newer member states took up Ukraine's side, however. Poland - one of Kiev's most loyal allies within the EU, underlined both Ukraine and Moldova's European identity and the fact that the ENP should not stop European countries from pursuing [their] EU ambition.Countries like Ukraine and Moldova have this vocation, Polish foreign minister Anna Fotyga said.We have to keep the door open, even if it's on the long term, Hungarian foreign minister Kinga Goncz added.
Criticism from within
Some of the strongest criticisms of the policy from within the EU came from Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. We need to get beyond the rather limited framework in which we operate with our neighbours. I think the ENP needs to have a genuine political dimension. It cannot be limited to a mix of different instruments, he said.As with France, which recently proposed a Mediterranean Union, Spain's focus is much more on the states neighbouring Europe's southern borders. But beyond their differences in priorities and views, most participants seemed to agree that cooperation between the EU and its neighbours should be increased in energy security and that more should be done on trade liberalisation.In addition, many neighbouring countries said they wanted more progress on visa facilitation making it possible for certain categories of people – businessmen and students for instance – to enter the EU more easily.For its part, the European Commission proposed a new system of so-called Mobility Partnerships, making it easier for non-EU nationals to legally work in the EU. Countries such as Algeria and Morocco stressed the positive aspects of migration, saying it should not be seen exclusively as a threat.
EU should be a player, not simply a payer
Representatives of the civil society, academics and the media from the neighbouring countries were also present at the conference and gave their opinions and ideas during workshops in the afternoon.Professor Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, director of the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs, said she often heard that the EU is a payer, not a player during her stay in the Middle East. She said the EU could change this by introducing certain conditions - such as reforms of the judiciary system - in exchange for aid.In many places expectations are high about a more important role of the EU", she said. The EU has the instruments, but it has to have courage and not to be ashamed to be an actor.The European Neighbourhood Policy covers 16 countries – Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine.
European parliament struggles to baptise new buildings
03.09.2007 - 17:45 CET | By Helena Spongenberg
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – While the finishing touches on the new extensions of the European Parliament complex in Brussels are being done, the name - or the names - of the new buildings are slowly beginning to be discussed.And of course it's not just a name. It's political. It's about where the person comes from, what political party they belong to and what they did to deserve having a Brussels edifice named after them.The buildings – currently named the rather prosaic D4 and D5 – are situated on Luxembourg Square and attached with walkways to the main parliament building named Altiero Spinelli - who was an Italian anti-fascist and an advocate of European unification.D4 has already since July been occupied by the MEPs from the extreme rightwing political group ITS and the euro-sceptic Ind/Dem group as well as the parliament's directorate-general for external affairs in some of the 375 offices.
D5, which has yet to be finished, will house 5 conference rooms and new press facilities.The old entrance to the former Leopold Quarter Station will become a public information office while the complex also will include a museum of Europe.
The mentioning of names for the new buildings started already in 2005 when centre-right Polish MEPs tried to get the new buildings named after pope John Paul II who had recently died.They argued the pope had contributed to the collapse of communism and the re-union of Europe.
What's in a name?
However, several liberal, socialists and green MEPs argued that the parliament building should be named after those who contributed to the foundation of the European Parliament and giving the name of a religious leader to these buildings would contradict principles of secularism.In a recent poll on the parliaments internal network on naming the D4 building, nearly 32 percent of 324 voters favoured naming it after former German socialist chancellor and MEP from 1979-1983, Willy Brandt.Although the poll was utterly unserious – as one parliament insider described it – it featured other suggestions, such as Nelson Mandela (former president of South Africa), Olof Palme (former Swedish prime minister), Karol Josef Wojtyla (pope John Paul II), Vaclav Havel (first president of the Czech Republic) and the Kaczynski Towers - after the current leaders of Poland.The only female to be suggested was former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, most famous in Brussels for her fight in the 1980s to get a rebate on the UK's contribution to the EU budget paid back to London by the EU.
From a new member state?
It is the parliament's body dealing with budget, administration, organisation and staff - the so-called Bureau – who will finally decide the name – or the names – of the new complex.It was in 1998 that the body decided to start naming their work buildings after well-known European historical figures who represent the different currents of ideas which marked the initial years of European integration.The decision of a new name is not scheduled at any of the Bureau's two meetings this week. The Bureau is composed of the president of the European Parliament along with all 14 vice-presidents and 6 consultative Quaestors.There will at least be one name of a person from a new member state, French green MEP Gerard Onesta told EUobserver. He explained that the Bureau has also yet to decide whether there should be one name for the whole new building complex or whether BD4, BD5 and the old station would have different names.I prefer a name for each building and at least one of them named after a woman, Mr Onesta added.A parliament building in Strasbourg was in July named after the former parliament president and long-time Strasbourg mayor Pierre Pflimlin - after the name was proposed by the parliament's biggest group, centre-right EPP-ED.Another parliament insider told EUobserver that it was about time that parliament buildings were named after persons from some of the smaller groups as the big groups always get their people.The other buildings in Brussels are already named after Paul Henri Spaak – a Belgian socialist politician, and Bertha Von Suttner - an Austrian writer and pacifist born in Prague and a keen believer in a united Europe as the only means of keeping the peace.
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).
More Transparent Trade Offers Big Gains For APEC - World Bank SEPT 3,07
CANBERRA -(Dow Jones)- Improving trade transparency by stopping such practices as unofficial payments could boost regional trade by simplifying it and making it more predictable, according to a study by The World Bank issued Monday.Indeed, gains from improving transparency of trade among members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum are valued at least US$148 billion or 7.5% of baseline 2004 trade in APEC with gains spread widely through the region, the study found.
When considering trade with members outsider the of the region, the gains from increased transparency would be significantly larger, according to the report entitled Transparency and Trade Facilitation in the Asia Pacific: Estimating the Gains from Reform.The report was issued ahead of an annual APEC ministerial meeting of more than 40 ministers Sept. 5-6, which is ahead of a meeting of leaders of the 21 member nations of APEC Sept 8-9, both in Sydney.The report was commissioned from the bank to support work in APEC on trade facilitation and investment, Australia's Trade Minister Warren Truss said in a statement.APEC members have made a commitments to cut trade transaction costs by 5% in the four years to 2010, building on an original 5% cut in costs, the study found.APEC members have made considerable progress but further gains are possible by reducing hidden trade barriers and controlling unofficial payments, it said.
Making trade more predictable reduces uncertainty and costs for business through such policy reform measures as binding tariffs, moving to flatter tariff structures, making import and export delays less variable, lowering uncertainty about unofficial payments and reducing favoritism in administrative decision making, it said.Truss said greater transparency and predictability boost trade and reduce costs to business and to the consumer.Simplifying trade policy makes it easier for importers and exporters to identify, assess and comply with regulation, also reducing costs, he said.There is still more APEC could do to enhance free and open trade and investment, he said.Truss also issued a report entitled Reducing Behind-the-Border Barriers to Investment, which he said will inform APEC's growing work on investment and structural reform.The reduction of these behind-the-border barriers to investment offers considerable potential for economic growth, he said in a separate statement.
If investors in APEC economies faced fewer barriers, investment would be higher and of better quality, economic growth would rise and the incidence of poverty across APEC would fall, the report said.Behind-the-border barriers to investment encompass domestic policies, rules, procedures and laws that might include excessive regulation, unclear property rights and poor legal systems, the report said.These increase costs and risks and limit business competition leading to lower productivity and growth, according to the report, prepared for the APEC investment export group by Canberra-based Center for International Economics.-By Ray Brindal, Dow Jones Newswires; 612-6208-0902; ray.brindal@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires - 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
A new opening for Mideast peace
By James Moran and Marc Gopin
September 4, 2007
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Furl Google Newsvine Reddit Spurl Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: There is much to be said for President Bush's plans to host a fall conference on the future of Palestine.First, it gives an important boost to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, as well as Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. If there is ever a chance for a broad spectrum of Israeli society to agree to negotiate, it is with these leaders at the helm. This is also the right team to engage bipartisan American leadership.Second, the administration's new engagement gives a needed boost to surrounding moderate Arab states that are paying a heavy price for supporting a comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. Syria's recent announcement that it plans to attend the conference shows the efficacy of such a boost.
Emphasizing the importance of a political horizon, President Bush is calling for a final settlement that will not be sidetracked by attempts to derail it with terrorism. Instead of heaping conditions on Israel and the Palestinians, which would guarantee that spoilers on all sides could disrupt the delicate peace process, he is directing attention to the endgame - a first for any American president.This is an important step, yet two critical components are missing from the American approach: a strategy to persuade a majority of Palestinians to embrace the peace process and reject violent resistance, and a strategy to deprive of regional sponsorship any militants intent on derailing the process.Convincing most Palestinians is certainly possible. Polls have always indicated that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis were in favor of a two-state solution. According to a recent survey by Fafo, a polling and research firm based in Norway, most Palestinians want reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas as well as new elections. Consequently, if the administration wants to convince the majority, it must speak to the majority - not simply to Fatah, as it has been wont to do.
The Palestinian people also need evidence that their dignity, freedom and basic human needs will be addressed by a new Israeli approach to the Palestinian economy and by freedom of movement that will make economic opportunity and an improved quality of life possible. Only this will compete successfully with militancy. Research suggests that a key benefit of the Oslo process was the opening up of the Palestinian private sector and the steady increase in opportunities for young people. What stood in the way of further progress in this arena were the lack of political will and economic generosity to truly transform Palestinian life for the majority.Thus, we need a mini-Marshall Plan for Palestine that will appeal to secular and religious Palestinians alike. The roughly $200 million offered by the administration is inadequate to this task, as most of it was already promised and thus represents no new investment. True economic opportunity is essential in order to fully realize the Abrahamic ideals of social justice.Depriving militants of regional sponsorship, the second of the two strategies, is also within reach. The peace process must become enticing for all parties in the region that would otherwise be spoilers, or supporters of spoilers, such as Iran and Syria.
Ultimately, the administration must earnestly engage these countries so that, at the very least, they do not support these opponents of a Palestinian-Israeli peace process. This can be done without bowing to unreasonable demands of either Syria or Iran. America can stand firm against these geopolitical escalations while simultaneously extending an enticing olive branch. Israeli security has begun to recognize the importance of such a move and is calling for direct negotiations with Syria. Similarly, America needs to encourage all parties to become part of the future peace.We no longer can afford in this region the kind of peacemaking that excludes an honest engagement with those who are impoverished, nor can we afford to leave out nations that can undo the delicate process of rapprochement between enemies. Truly comprehensive peace is the order of the day. Rep. James Moran, a Virginia Democrat, is senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. He may be contacted at www.moran.house.gov. Rabbi Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue professor at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. His e-mail is mgopin@gmu.edu.
THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR AND ISLAMS MAHDI ARE A PERFECT MATCH, ISLAM WILL BE DECIEVED BIGTIME BY THE EU PRESIDENT TO BELIEVE HE IS THEIR MAHDI.
The Second Coming of the Mahdi
By Michael D. Evans
Published: August 30, 2007
In March 2006, Rakan bin Williams, an al-Qaeda commander stated: I will not give any more clues; this is enough as a wake-up call. Perhaps the American people will start thinking about the magnitude of the danger that is coming their way.The heart of the battle between darkness and light centers around the Islamic belief that an apocalyptic event will usher in the second coming of the Islamic messiah, the Mahdi.
The subject of the Second Coming is the most important subject in evangelical theology, outside the cross. Christians have not generally been exposed to the theological belief system of the second coming as it relates to the gravest threat faced by the world-an atomic Iran. Why is that such a grave threat? The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wants to usher in the second coming of the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi through nuclear war.The beliefs of the Iranian Twelvers-the followers of the Twelfth Imam who believe that the world must teeter on an apocalyptic precipice before their savior (the Mahdi) will return, may well impact our world dramatically long before Christ returns.These Twelvers, as they are sometimes called, number over ten million. With the ascension of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the position of power in Iran, we have heard much about the last known descendant of Hussein, Muhammad al-Mahdi, or the Mahdi. Al-Mahdi was the Twelfth Imam in the line of Ali who disappeared down a well at the age of four.Refusing to believe that he was dead, his followers imbued him with timelessness. They declared him to be merely hidden,and that on some future date he would suddenly appear to reestablish an Islamic caliphate worldwide. Their eschatology, however, proved problematic; it espoused an apocalyptic upheaval in order for the Mahdi, or Hidden Imam, to ascend to his rightful place of leadership. These Twelvers championed the belief that every individual, regardless of their religious belief, would one day bow to Islam-or die.
The President of Iran believes this so strongly that he subtlety mentioned this in two U.N. speeches:O, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause. (First UN address, September 19, 2006) And, invoking the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful during a second U.N. address, Ahmadinejad said: O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being [the Mahdi] promised to all by You, and make us among his followers. (Second U.N. Address, November 29, 2006) While the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was a hero to Ahmadinejad, his true mentor is Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi. It is this man who has shaped much of Ahmadinejad's worldview. Yazdi is the director of the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom. He is also a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts. Reputedly, the hard-liner Yazdi believes, If anyone insults the Islamic sanctity, Islam has permitted for his blood to be spilled, no court needed.30
In my interview with James Woolsey, he touched on the subject of Yazdi and his influence over Ahmadinejad:Ahmadinejad believes that the Twelfth Imam, the Hidden Imam, the Mahdi, went into occlusion, as he would put it-disappeared in the eighth century-and is waiting to come back. [Ahmadinejad] goes off every week or two to sort of commune with the Hidden Imam and get his instructions. [Ahmadinejad's] mentor is an Ayatollah named Mesbah Yazdi, who runs a school in Qom, in the holy city in Iran. The reason Mesbah Yazdi was exiled there in 1979 by the Ayatollah Khomeini was because Khomeini thought he was too radical. So Ahmadinejad's mentor was too radical for Khomeini.The beliefs that surround their worldview have to do with working hard to get a lot of people killed as quickly as possible. So the prize of pain will summon the Mahdi. And then they also believe once the Mahdi comes, the world will only exist for a brief period of time. So Ahmadinejad is effectively on a campaign to see if he can't get the world to end.What weapons are effective against an enemy such as this? Will those Muslims that do not share this Iranian president's worldview be enticed to take up arms against him? Can we even convince them that they are in as much danger as any infidel on the globe? Or will we simply sit idly by and allow the madmen, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the mullahs in Iran who support him, to take the world by nuclear storm? As with all false religions, there are parallels to the Scripture. For instance, the theology being taught by the Twelvers in madrassas in Iran is this:
-If a suicide bomber commits an act of martyrdom, they will feel neither pain nor fear. Bible parallel: I Corinthians 15:55: O death, where [is] your sting? O grave, where [is] your victory?
-The suicide bomber believes he/she will not die; all souls go into the ground awaiting the resurrection except the souls of martyrs. They go directly into paradise. This is an attempt to parallel the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and certainly parallels the statement of Christ to the thief on the cross: Luke 23:43: And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.
-Once in paradise, a crown of glory with the jewel of the wealth of the world is placed on the head of the martyr. Biblical parallel: Revelation 2:10c: . . . be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
-They believe that they will be given not one mansion, but 72 mansions. The mansions will be inhabited by 72 black-eyed virgins (incorruptible.) Biblical parallel: John 14:2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
-The martyr is taught that he will be invited to a wedding. Biblical parallel: Revelation 19:9: And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
- Another teaching is that the shedding of the blood of the martyr will atone for the sins of 70 of their relatives, thus exempting them from the horrors of hell. Biblical parallel: Hebrews 9:22: In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.This is the heart of the spiritual battle that believers face.Now as He [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3)
Just as there are specific signs in the Scriptures that alert the child of God to watch for the return of our Lord, so there are specific signs in Islam. The difference is that Jesus admonishes us to, Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36) While Christians believe that God controls the events of the Second Coming of Jesus, Muslims believe that it is they who will orchestrate the apocalyptic events surrounding the second coming of the Muslim Messiah.This is why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is so intent in his efforts to achieve nuclear capability; he believes that it will be his mushroom cloud that calls forth the Mahdi to rule over a Muslim caliphate that extends worldwide.
What are the signs Muslim fundamentalists believe will signal the arrival of the Muslim messiah? What will announce the time when every creature worldwide will supposedly bow before Allah and declare that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet?
The signs that, according to Islamic fundamentalists, will usher in the Islamic messiah are:
> War
> Greater Materialism
> Decrease in knowledge of religious things
> Men outnumbered by women
> Acid rain
> Increased illegitimacy
> Rampant homosexuality
> Mothers ignored
> Increase in female singers
> Dancing into the night
> Taller and taller buildings
> Women in the workplace
> Women will look like men, and men like women
> Women will not bear children
> Increased earthquakes
> Time will seem shorter
> Smog
> People will prefer death to life
The word Islam is translated submission, literally, submission to the will of Allah. Predestination is the fundamental basis of Islam. The Koran records, Allah verily sends whom he will astray, and guides whom he will. (Koran 35:8)
Allah pulls the strings that control the faithful; man has no free will. His only choice is to bow before Allah in total submission... not out of love, but out of divine necessity. Jehovah God calls us first to love Him and then to love our neighbor: So he answered and said, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
The Muslim Antichrist or Dajjal is characterized as a red-faced Cyclops with unruly hair. His mode of transportation is a white ass that will bear him from place to place at lightning speed. The world - except for true Muslim adherents - will be led astray by the Dajjal. His despotic rule will extend worldwide until, Muslims believe, Jesus will return to a mosque in Damascus. He will slaughter all pigs, destroy all crosses and embrace Islam as the one true religion.According to Muslim belief, Jesus and the Mahdi will join forces to fight and destroy the hated Dajjal. Following the victorious battle, Jesus and the Mahdi will create a worldwide caliphate under shariah, or Islam rule of law.After the defeat of the Dajjal, the sound of a trumpet will be heard around the world; the sun will be extinguished; stars will plummet to earth; mountains will become piles of debris and the seas will erupt into a blazing inferno. The earth's inhabitants will be slain, only to be resurrected to stand before Allah and be judged. Man will be consigned to hell - a place of either excruciating heat or freezing cold. The favored Muslims, strict adherents to Islam, will be given glorious gowns laden with jewels. Of course, the seventh heaven will be the resting place for martyrs who battled the Great Satan and the Little Satan.
There are those among Islam's adherents who believe that George Bush is the Dajjal (Antichrist) and Osama bin Laden the Mahdi (Islamic messiah.) In fact, bin Laden has begun to sign his name, Osama bin Mohammed bin Laden. Many among bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization point to the fact that their leader has the features attributed to the Mahdi- distinctive forehead, protruding nose, gapped teeth, a black mole. Bin Laden is descended from Mohammad's daughter, Fatima, and was called forth from his cave in Afghanistan to fight the Dajjal. In fact, bin Laden refers to President Bush as al-Dajjal and the United States as Dabbah (the beast that must be slain.)Radical Muslims believe that Islam will prevail, not only over the United States, but over the entire world. They believe that history has been written by Allah, and that mankind is predestined to bow to Islam.
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
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.
Hurricane Felix's rains threaten Central America By Noel Randewich
SEPT 5,07
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (Reuters) - Rains from Hurricane Felix soaked the hill country of Honduras on Wednesday and threatened to trigger dangerous mudslides and flooding after killing four people in neighboring Nicaragua. The storm, which was a powerful Category 5 when it struck the Caribbean coast of Central America on Tuesday, revived memories of Hurricane Mitch, which killed more than 10,000 people in Central America in 1998, many of them in Honduras.The government evacuated 30,000 people as Felix weakened to a tropical storm and swept westward along the length of the country.
Almost half of the Honduran capital's 800,000 residents live in areas the government considers dangerous, mostly on the sides of mountains prone to mudslides and avalanches of rock.Others live near rivers that can easily overflow. The city has a history of severe flooding.Here it rains for two hours and the city floods. They're saying it could rain for 18 hours and we're preparing for the worst, Tegucigalpa Mayor Ricardo Alvarez told Reuters.Felix damaged the Puerto Cabezas port on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast and killed at least four people. Winds tore the roofs off houses and uprooted trees, but the damage was not as bad as expected.My house felt like it was moving with the wind, resident Julio Mena said. Street lights and phone cables lay on the ground.Thousands sheltered in two schools in the port, home to some 30,000 mostly Miskito Indians.
STORMY TIME
Felix came on the heels of another Category 5 storm, the most powerful type. Last month, Hurricane Dean killed 27 people in the Caribbean and Mexico.It was the first time on record that two Atlantic hurricanes made landfall as Category 5 storms in the same season, and the fourth time since records began in 1851 that more than one Category 5 formed in a year.In the Pacific Ocean, Hurricane Henriette lashed Mexico's Los Cabos resort on the Baja California peninsula on Tuesday with winds and rain, after killing a foreign tourist on its approach.Despite growing consensus that global warming may spawn stronger tropical cyclones, weather experts believe it is too soon to blame climate change for the back-to-back hurricanes.Felix was due to pass through Honduras on its way to Guatemala, where electoral officials said they had no plans to postpone Sunday's presidential election.Normally busy shopping malls were nearly empty in Tegucigalpa. Stores and businesses closed early so their employees could prepare for the storm.
This scares me because when Hurricane Mitch came, a whole lot of water fell on us, 36-year-old waitress Larisa Flores said.Honduran coffee producers said they did not expect much impact on their crops if Felix keeps to its predicted route, which would take it through the country into Guatemala and then onto Chiapas in southern Mexico. Nicaraguan exporters feared pounding rains could damage their coffee crops. Felix was unlikely to hit the southern Gulf of Mexico, the home of Mexico's major offshore oil fields. Elsewhere in the region, a magnitude 5 earthquake hit the Gulf of California near the tip of the Baja California peninsula late on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties. It was centered about 100 miles from Los Cabos, close to the site of a magnitude 6.3 quake that hit on Saturday.
FAMINE
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(THIS SAYS A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD).
Wheat Rises Limit to Record on Increased Demand, Supply Concern
By Madelene Pearson and William Bi
Sept. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat prices, which have more than doubled in the past year, surged to a record in Asian trading on demand for the grain and forecasts that global supplies will drop to a 26-year low. Wheat futures for December delivery rose as much as 30 cents, the maximum daily move allowed by the exchange, to $8.355 a bushel in after-hours electronic trading on the Chicago Board of Trade. The contract was at $8.305 a bushel at 12:59 p.m. in Sydney. Prices also rose in China and Australia. It's a combination of continued strong demand globally and locally, together with production concerns around the world, Mark Lewis, a grain trader with Lempriere Grain Pty, said today from Victoria state, Australia. Globally the situation is quite tight.Prices have surged 66 percent this year as global consumption outpaces supply, eroding inventories. World supplies are expected to decline to the lowest since 1982 as unusual weather hurt crops in Europe, the U.S., Canada and Australia. India this week bought 795,000 metric tons of wheat from unknown suppliers for a record average price of $389.45 a ton, while Japan said yesterday it plans to buy 175,000 tons. Concern over crops in Australia and Argentina is helping drive prices higher, Lewis said. Harvest forecasts for Australia, vying with Canada to be the world's biggest wheat exporter after the U.S., have fallen as dry weather cuts yields. Output may be 18.5 million tons according to the median estimate of eight analysts and traders surveyed by Bloomberg News this week. That's 18 percent lower than the 22.5 million tons forecast by the government in June.
Western Australia
Grain production in Western Australia state, which usually provides one third of the nation's wheat exports, may be as low as last year's drought-ravaged crop unless there's significant rain, CBH Group said today. In Argentina, South America's biggest producer, output is expected to be 14 million tons by May 31, 7.9 percent less than a year earlier, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Aug. 10. It's fairly scary in terms of global production, Lempriere's Lewis said. There's no reason why prices couldn't go higher if conditions remain dry in Australia, he said.
In China, wheat futures surged as much as 0.9 percent to a record, amid speculation higher global prices may prompt the country to ship more of its higher-grade wheat overseas. There's talk in the market that some state-owned trading firms are eager to export some wheat, because global prices are twice as high as domestic prices, Sun Rui, a Beijing-based trader with Cofco Ltd., said. Wheat for delivery in May 2008, the most active contract on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange, gained 18 yuan to 2,046 yuan ($271) a ton, the highest since the contract started in April, 2006. It was at 2,023 yuan a ton at the end of morning trading.
Global Supplies
Global supplies of wheat are expected to decline to 114.8 million tons by the end of the marketing year on May 31, 2008, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said last month. In Australia, milling wheat futures for January delivery on the Australian Stock Exchange surged as much as A$16.50, or 4.1 percent, to A$420.50 ($348) a ton. The contract traded at A$417 a ton at 1:17 p.m. in Sydney. Corn for December delivery on the Chicago Board of Trade gained as much as 4.25 cents, or 1.2 percent, to $3.575 a bushel and traded at $3.56 a bushel at 1:33 p.m. in Sydney. Corn futures have gained 56 percent in the past year. Soybeans for November delivery added as much as 5.75 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $9.1325 a bushel before falling to $9.015.
To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne on mpearson1@bloomberg.net ; William Bi in Beijing at wbi@bloomberg.net
EVIL INVENTIONS ARE PREDICTED IN THE BIBLE.
ROMANS 1:29-32
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Human-animal embryo ruling due SEPT 5,07
Scientists say such research is essential Regulators are due to make a decision whether to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is expected to give the plan the go-ahead in principle - but each case will still be judged individually. An HFEA consultation showed the public were at ease with the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. But a leading opponent said many people would be horrified by such a move.
No good reasons for banning this research have been identified
Dr Evan Harris, Lib Dem MP
Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and have the potential to become any tissue, making them essential for research.
At the moment, scientists have to rely on human eggs left over from fertility treatment, but they are in short supply and are not always good quality. Two teams from Kings College London and Newcastle University have already applied to the HFEA to use hybrid embryos. If the HFEA does agree human-animal embryo research can go ahead, there would be individual hearings for these two applications, probably in November. Other scientists are also expected to follow suit.
Reversed decision
Dr Lyle Armstrong, of Newcastle University, said: It does seem a little abhorrent at first analysis, but you have to understand we are using very, very little information from the cow in order to do this reprogramming idea. It's not our intention to create any bizarre cow-human hybrid, we want to use those cells to understand how to make human stem cells better. The embryo is deprived not only of its life, but of any human parents Dr Helen Watt Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics. And Lib Dem MP Dr Evan Harris, a member of the House of Commons science and technology committee which has already called for such research to be allowed, said: No good reasons for banning this research have been identified. The HFEA must now clear the way for their research licence committee to grant permission for some of our top scientists to continue their world-leading medical research using hybrid embryos.
The HFEA decision comes amid government moves to lay down regulations covering such research - the law governing embryo research is out of date and does not cover the issue. The government originally proposed banning the technique in a White Paper, but reversed its decision this year in a bill which proposed allowing hybrid embryos which were 99.9% human and 0.1% animal, following a backlash by scientists and patient groups. But the HFEA has carried out its own review ahead of parliament passing the legislation so as not to hold back research. The regulator can grant licences to scientists to pursue such research, but would then have to change its criteria if future rules contradicted its own practices.
Dehumanised
Dr Helen Watt, from the Linacre Centre for Healthcare Ethics, said the technique was a further violation of the rights of the embryo. The embryo is deprived not only of its life in the course of the experiment, but of any human parents, she said. Using hybrid embryos has never been acceptable - it offends the dignity of humans and animals Josephine Quintavalle
It is further dehumanised by the very method of its creation.
And Josephine Quintavalle, of the campaign group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, said the HFEA was wrong to be pushing ahead with a decision which should be left to parliament. Using hybrid embryos has never been acceptable - it offends the dignity of humans and animals. Many people will be horrified if this is allowed.But Parkinson's sufferer Frank Brooks backed the use of hybrid embryos in the search to find a cure for the disease. It would be an enormous benefit if that cure was developed to the people who are young enough to benefit from it, because it's going to be a few years before it's here, Mr Brooks said. But if we don't start now we're never going to get there.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
Sep 4, 2007 20:26 | Updated Sep 4, 2007 20:26
Right On!: Stumbling toward catastrophe
By MICHAEL FREUND
Is anyone out there awake? I'm beginning to suspect that the recent end-of-summer heat wave has lulled many of us into a peaceful snooze, so much so that we have become virtually oblivious to some rather important and far-reaching developments.
By any standards, the headlines of the past few weeks should have sparked a furious public outcry, accompanied by stormy demonstrations, irate parliamentary debates and massive protests and letter-writing campaigns. But there has been none of that, nary a peep, as the prime minister of the State of Israel secretly negotiates away much of the country and its strategic assets. What has happened to our sense of outrage? In the wake of his meeting with Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas last week, reports surfaced that Ehud Olmert had discussed wide-ranging concessions such as dividing Jerusalem, uprooting dozens of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria and forgoing Israeli sovereignty on the Temple Mount.
The media even published what was said to be a copy of a two-page document outlining Olmert's willingness to cross the few remaining red lines Israel still has in what is clearly a transparent attempt to salvage his increasingly shaky political career.
With corruption investigations swirling around him and the final Winograd report on last summer's Lebanon war due out relatively soon, Olmert seems to have concluded that the only way to rescue himself from political oblivion is at the country's expense. THINK ABOUT this for a second. We have a prime minister about as popular as acute inflammatory acne going behind the nation's back, making fateful decisions that will endanger the future of the state and agreeing to establish a Palestinian terrorist entity alongside our country's shrunken borders. And he's doing this not because it is in the nation's interest, but for his own narrow political gain.
And yet, it has been greeted by little more than a yawn. Instead, we sit back quietly, go on with our lives and do nothing as our government accelerates its head-long rush toward disaster. Even the ongoing Palestinian rocket attacks against Israeli towns and villages seem to evoke barely more than passing public interest. On Monday, Islamic Jihad fired over half a dozen Kassams into southern Israel, mockingly describing them as a gift for the opening of the school year. One of those gifts slammed into the courtyard of a day care center for toddlers in Sderot, nearly causing a disaster. This kind of incident should have shocked us to the very core of our being, but the fact is Palestinian rocket attacks have become so common, thanks to the government's lack of response, that they hardly register on our collective conscience any more. AND WHILE we are on the subject of remaining silent, how about the hush that has come over us as we watch the Muslim Wakf rip apart the Temple Mount and bulldoze our nation's priceless religious and cultural heritage? Israel may be sovereign on the Mount, but it is clear from our television screens who runs the show. In defiance of the law, the Wakf has been openly and brazenly digging a trench three foot deep from north to south along the Mount, in the process destroying precious artifacts that may date back to the First Temple period.
Our holiest site is being vandalized in broad daylight, while our government and police look on, refusing to step in and halt the destruction. Were an Israeli newspaper to publish a cartoon deemed offensive to Islam, it would invariably elicit a greater outcry than that which has greeted the wanton physical devastation being carried out by Muslims on the Temple Mount. It is as if the people of Israel have gone off to a slumber party, tucking themselves snugly into sleeping bags and wiling away the hours as though we have not a care in the world. But the truth is that everything this nation holds dear is coming under attack. Our freedom, our future, our land and our legacy are all being pummeled and no one seems ready to stand up and do anything about it. IF YOU aren't walking around outraged, then you must not be paying attention. So put down the sports pages, put aside those DVDs and start following the news. We must take to the streets and rouse ourselves from this slumber. Our apathy and indifference are what enable this failed government to continue to stumble toward catastrophe. Today it is Sderot under fire. But don't be surprised when Kfar Saba, Netanya and even Tel Aviv come under attack. The alarm clock is ringing, if only we will hear. Now, more than ever, is the time to get up and put the nightmare of terror, weakness and retreat behind us, once and for all.
THE EU DICTATOR
REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
New Europeans ready to join Schengen passport-free zone
04.09.2007 - 09:26 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
Member states from central and eastern Europe have passed the technical tests necessary to get the green light for joining the bloc's Schengen borderless area without further delays early next year.Despite previous problems in some countries, nine states have successfully set up the necessary equipment to join the Schengen's central database with information shared by police and border officials.
There is a separate procedure for Cyprus.
We're very delighted about this, Manuel Carvalho from the Portuguese presidency told the Polish PAP agency, confirming the positive development.Already before the summer break, diplomats also suggested that the EU's inspections of the external borders - set to be managed by these countries - had proved there is a sufficient control on the ground.The two provisions - a functioning information system and a secure external border - were the final conditions imposed by the European Commission and the member countries of the Schengen area for the lifting border controls from the citizens from central and eastern Europe.The plan is - after final political confirmation by EU ministers and leaders in the coming months - to stop border checks on land starting by 31 December this year and at airports by 29 March 2008.
Some states, like Austria, have hinted they could ask for a short provisional period before they fully lift controls.Moreover, several old Schengen countries earlier came across problems with the newest version of the information system - to be put in place in a bid to provide for the new countries to join in. But European Commission officials suggested such tests were carried out exactly so that possible technical shortcomings are tackled and that they should not have any effect on the projected date of the Schengen zone's enlargement.
Portugal's plan proves big success
It is also positive news for Portugal which championed the process.Around this time last year, there were strong concerns over the timetable and whether it would be delayed caused by backlogs in the completion of a new Schengen central database.
The database is designed to store and provide data on people or stolen cars, it is available to police and border officials across the bloc.Instead Lisbon suggested that the new countries could join the existing database before the new and more modern one is finalised – a plan that was eventually accepted.At the moment, thirteen EU member states (excluding Britain and Ireland), plus Norway and Iceland are part of the Schengen zone.
EU neighbourhood policy divisions exposed
04.09.2007 - 09:18 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Ministers from within the EU and from its neighbouring countries gathered for the first time on Monday (3 September) to discuss the bloc's neighbourhood policy, but the meeting highlighted the strong divisions about what such a policy should mean. Ukraine, which has made no secret of its EU membership ambitions, refused to see the European Neighbourhood Policy (ENP) as the sole means of bilateral relations with Brussels.The ENP cannot be accepted as an adequate basis for EU-Ukrainian relations, Ukraine ambassador Roman Shpek said at the conference.
Designed with the objective of offering EU neighbours closer – or privileged – cooperation with the bloc, the ENP does not offer EU membership – something clearly underlined by Germany.The ENP is a separate issue from EU membership. It doesn't open any doors, German state minister Gunter Gloser stated.
Newer member states took up Ukraine's side, however. Poland - one of Kiev's most loyal allies within the EU, underlined both Ukraine and Moldova's European identity and the fact that the ENP should not stop European countries from pursuing [their] EU ambition.Countries like Ukraine and Moldova have this vocation, Polish foreign minister Anna Fotyga said.We have to keep the door open, even if it's on the long term, Hungarian foreign minister Kinga Goncz added.
Criticism from within
Some of the strongest criticisms of the policy from within the EU came from Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. We need to get beyond the rather limited framework in which we operate with our neighbours. I think the ENP needs to have a genuine political dimension. It cannot be limited to a mix of different instruments, he said.As with France, which recently proposed a Mediterranean Union, Spain's focus is much more on the states neighbouring Europe's southern borders. But beyond their differences in priorities and views, most participants seemed to agree that cooperation between the EU and its neighbours should be increased in energy security and that more should be done on trade liberalisation.In addition, many neighbouring countries said they wanted more progress on visa facilitation making it possible for certain categories of people – businessmen and students for instance – to enter the EU more easily.For its part, the European Commission proposed a new system of so-called Mobility Partnerships, making it easier for non-EU nationals to legally work in the EU. Countries such as Algeria and Morocco stressed the positive aspects of migration, saying it should not be seen exclusively as a threat.
EU should be a player, not simply a payer
Representatives of the civil society, academics and the media from the neighbouring countries were also present at the conference and gave their opinions and ideas during workshops in the afternoon.Professor Lena Kolarska-Bobinska, director of the Warsaw-based Institute of Public Affairs, said she often heard that the EU is a payer, not a player during her stay in the Middle East. She said the EU could change this by introducing certain conditions - such as reforms of the judiciary system - in exchange for aid.In many places expectations are high about a more important role of the EU", she said. The EU has the instruments, but it has to have courage and not to be ashamed to be an actor.The European Neighbourhood Policy covers 16 countries – Algeria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Georgia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Moldova, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Ukraine.
European parliament struggles to baptise new buildings
03.09.2007 - 17:45 CET | By Helena Spongenberg
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – While the finishing touches on the new extensions of the European Parliament complex in Brussels are being done, the name - or the names - of the new buildings are slowly beginning to be discussed.And of course it's not just a name. It's political. It's about where the person comes from, what political party they belong to and what they did to deserve having a Brussels edifice named after them.The buildings – currently named the rather prosaic D4 and D5 – are situated on Luxembourg Square and attached with walkways to the main parliament building named Altiero Spinelli - who was an Italian anti-fascist and an advocate of European unification.D4 has already since July been occupied by the MEPs from the extreme rightwing political group ITS and the euro-sceptic Ind/Dem group as well as the parliament's directorate-general for external affairs in some of the 375 offices.
D5, which has yet to be finished, will house 5 conference rooms and new press facilities.The old entrance to the former Leopold Quarter Station will become a public information office while the complex also will include a museum of Europe.
The mentioning of names for the new buildings started already in 2005 when centre-right Polish MEPs tried to get the new buildings named after pope John Paul II who had recently died.They argued the pope had contributed to the collapse of communism and the re-union of Europe.
What's in a name?
However, several liberal, socialists and green MEPs argued that the parliament building should be named after those who contributed to the foundation of the European Parliament and giving the name of a religious leader to these buildings would contradict principles of secularism.In a recent poll on the parliaments internal network on naming the D4 building, nearly 32 percent of 324 voters favoured naming it after former German socialist chancellor and MEP from 1979-1983, Willy Brandt.Although the poll was utterly unserious – as one parliament insider described it – it featured other suggestions, such as Nelson Mandela (former president of South Africa), Olof Palme (former Swedish prime minister), Karol Josef Wojtyla (pope John Paul II), Vaclav Havel (first president of the Czech Republic) and the Kaczynski Towers - after the current leaders of Poland.The only female to be suggested was former UK prime minister Margaret Thatcher, most famous in Brussels for her fight in the 1980s to get a rebate on the UK's contribution to the EU budget paid back to London by the EU.
From a new member state?
It is the parliament's body dealing with budget, administration, organisation and staff - the so-called Bureau – who will finally decide the name – or the names – of the new complex.It was in 1998 that the body decided to start naming their work buildings after well-known European historical figures who represent the different currents of ideas which marked the initial years of European integration.The decision of a new name is not scheduled at any of the Bureau's two meetings this week. The Bureau is composed of the president of the European Parliament along with all 14 vice-presidents and 6 consultative Quaestors.There will at least be one name of a person from a new member state, French green MEP Gerard Onesta told EUobserver. He explained that the Bureau has also yet to decide whether there should be one name for the whole new building complex or whether BD4, BD5 and the old station would have different names.I prefer a name for each building and at least one of them named after a woman, Mr Onesta added.A parliament building in Strasbourg was in July named after the former parliament president and long-time Strasbourg mayor Pierre Pflimlin - after the name was proposed by the parliament's biggest group, centre-right EPP-ED.Another parliament insider told EUobserver that it was about time that parliament buildings were named after persons from some of the smaller groups as the big groups always get their people.The other buildings in Brussels are already named after Paul Henri Spaak – a Belgian socialist politician, and Bertha Von Suttner - an Austrian writer and pacifist born in Prague and a keen believer in a united Europe as the only means of keeping the peace.
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).
More Transparent Trade Offers Big Gains For APEC - World Bank SEPT 3,07
CANBERRA -(Dow Jones)- Improving trade transparency by stopping such practices as unofficial payments could boost regional trade by simplifying it and making it more predictable, according to a study by The World Bank issued Monday.Indeed, gains from improving transparency of trade among members of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation, or APEC, forum are valued at least US$148 billion or 7.5% of baseline 2004 trade in APEC with gains spread widely through the region, the study found.
When considering trade with members outsider the of the region, the gains from increased transparency would be significantly larger, according to the report entitled Transparency and Trade Facilitation in the Asia Pacific: Estimating the Gains from Reform.The report was issued ahead of an annual APEC ministerial meeting of more than 40 ministers Sept. 5-6, which is ahead of a meeting of leaders of the 21 member nations of APEC Sept 8-9, both in Sydney.The report was commissioned from the bank to support work in APEC on trade facilitation and investment, Australia's Trade Minister Warren Truss said in a statement.APEC members have made a commitments to cut trade transaction costs by 5% in the four years to 2010, building on an original 5% cut in costs, the study found.APEC members have made considerable progress but further gains are possible by reducing hidden trade barriers and controlling unofficial payments, it said.
Making trade more predictable reduces uncertainty and costs for business through such policy reform measures as binding tariffs, moving to flatter tariff structures, making import and export delays less variable, lowering uncertainty about unofficial payments and reducing favoritism in administrative decision making, it said.Truss said greater transparency and predictability boost trade and reduce costs to business and to the consumer.Simplifying trade policy makes it easier for importers and exporters to identify, assess and comply with regulation, also reducing costs, he said.There is still more APEC could do to enhance free and open trade and investment, he said.Truss also issued a report entitled Reducing Behind-the-Border Barriers to Investment, which he said will inform APEC's growing work on investment and structural reform.The reduction of these behind-the-border barriers to investment offers considerable potential for economic growth, he said in a separate statement.
If investors in APEC economies faced fewer barriers, investment would be higher and of better quality, economic growth would rise and the incidence of poverty across APEC would fall, the report said.Behind-the-border barriers to investment encompass domestic policies, rules, procedures and laws that might include excessive regulation, unclear property rights and poor legal systems, the report said.These increase costs and risks and limit business competition leading to lower productivity and growth, according to the report, prepared for the APEC investment export group by Canberra-based Center for International Economics.-By Ray Brindal, Dow Jones Newswires; 612-6208-0902; ray.brindal@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires - 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
A new opening for Mideast peace
By James Moran and Marc Gopin
September 4, 2007
Digg Del.icio.us Facebook Furl Google Newsvine Reddit Spurl Yahoo Print Single page view Reprints Reader feedback Text size: There is much to be said for President Bush's plans to host a fall conference on the future of Palestine.First, it gives an important boost to Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, as well as Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. If there is ever a chance for a broad spectrum of Israeli society to agree to negotiate, it is with these leaders at the helm. This is also the right team to engage bipartisan American leadership.Second, the administration's new engagement gives a needed boost to surrounding moderate Arab states that are paying a heavy price for supporting a comprehensive settlement between Israel and the Palestinians. Syria's recent announcement that it plans to attend the conference shows the efficacy of such a boost.
Emphasizing the importance of a political horizon, President Bush is calling for a final settlement that will not be sidetracked by attempts to derail it with terrorism. Instead of heaping conditions on Israel and the Palestinians, which would guarantee that spoilers on all sides could disrupt the delicate peace process, he is directing attention to the endgame - a first for any American president.This is an important step, yet two critical components are missing from the American approach: a strategy to persuade a majority of Palestinians to embrace the peace process and reject violent resistance, and a strategy to deprive of regional sponsorship any militants intent on derailing the process.Convincing most Palestinians is certainly possible. Polls have always indicated that the majority of Palestinians and Israelis were in favor of a two-state solution. According to a recent survey by Fafo, a polling and research firm based in Norway, most Palestinians want reconciliation between Fatah and Hamas as well as new elections. Consequently, if the administration wants to convince the majority, it must speak to the majority - not simply to Fatah, as it has been wont to do.
The Palestinian people also need evidence that their dignity, freedom and basic human needs will be addressed by a new Israeli approach to the Palestinian economy and by freedom of movement that will make economic opportunity and an improved quality of life possible. Only this will compete successfully with militancy. Research suggests that a key benefit of the Oslo process was the opening up of the Palestinian private sector and the steady increase in opportunities for young people. What stood in the way of further progress in this arena were the lack of political will and economic generosity to truly transform Palestinian life for the majority.Thus, we need a mini-Marshall Plan for Palestine that will appeal to secular and religious Palestinians alike. The roughly $200 million offered by the administration is inadequate to this task, as most of it was already promised and thus represents no new investment. True economic opportunity is essential in order to fully realize the Abrahamic ideals of social justice.Depriving militants of regional sponsorship, the second of the two strategies, is also within reach. The peace process must become enticing for all parties in the region that would otherwise be spoilers, or supporters of spoilers, such as Iran and Syria.
Ultimately, the administration must earnestly engage these countries so that, at the very least, they do not support these opponents of a Palestinian-Israeli peace process. This can be done without bowing to unreasonable demands of either Syria or Iran. America can stand firm against these geopolitical escalations while simultaneously extending an enticing olive branch. Israeli security has begun to recognize the importance of such a move and is calling for direct negotiations with Syria. Similarly, America needs to encourage all parties to become part of the future peace.We no longer can afford in this region the kind of peacemaking that excludes an honest engagement with those who are impoverished, nor can we afford to leave out nations that can undo the delicate process of rapprochement between enemies. Truly comprehensive peace is the order of the day. Rep. James Moran, a Virginia Democrat, is senior member of the House Appropriations Committee. He may be contacted at www.moran.house.gov. Rabbi Marc Gopin is the James H. Laue professor at George Mason University's Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution. His e-mail is mgopin@gmu.edu.
THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR AND ISLAMS MAHDI ARE A PERFECT MATCH, ISLAM WILL BE DECIEVED BIGTIME BY THE EU PRESIDENT TO BELIEVE HE IS THEIR MAHDI.
The Second Coming of the Mahdi
By Michael D. Evans
Published: August 30, 2007
In March 2006, Rakan bin Williams, an al-Qaeda commander stated: I will not give any more clues; this is enough as a wake-up call. Perhaps the American people will start thinking about the magnitude of the danger that is coming their way.The heart of the battle between darkness and light centers around the Islamic belief that an apocalyptic event will usher in the second coming of the Islamic messiah, the Mahdi.
The subject of the Second Coming is the most important subject in evangelical theology, outside the cross. Christians have not generally been exposed to the theological belief system of the second coming as it relates to the gravest threat faced by the world-an atomic Iran. Why is that such a grave threat? The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wants to usher in the second coming of the Twelfth Imam or Mahdi through nuclear war.The beliefs of the Iranian Twelvers-the followers of the Twelfth Imam who believe that the world must teeter on an apocalyptic precipice before their savior (the Mahdi) will return, may well impact our world dramatically long before Christ returns.These Twelvers, as they are sometimes called, number over ten million. With the ascension of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to the position of power in Iran, we have heard much about the last known descendant of Hussein, Muhammad al-Mahdi, or the Mahdi. Al-Mahdi was the Twelfth Imam in the line of Ali who disappeared down a well at the age of four.Refusing to believe that he was dead, his followers imbued him with timelessness. They declared him to be merely hidden,and that on some future date he would suddenly appear to reestablish an Islamic caliphate worldwide. Their eschatology, however, proved problematic; it espoused an apocalyptic upheaval in order for the Mahdi, or Hidden Imam, to ascend to his rightful place of leadership. These Twelvers championed the belief that every individual, regardless of their religious belief, would one day bow to Islam-or die.
The President of Iran believes this so strongly that he subtlety mentioned this in two U.N. speeches:O, Almighty God, all men and women are your creatures and you have ordained their guidance and salvation. Bestow upon humanity that thirsts for justice, the perfect human being promised to all by you, and make us among his followers and among those who strive for his return and his cause. (First UN address, September 19, 2006) And, invoking the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful during a second U.N. address, Ahmadinejad said: O, Almighty God, bestow upon humanity the perfect human being [the Mahdi] promised to all by You, and make us among his followers. (Second U.N. Address, November 29, 2006) While the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was a hero to Ahmadinejad, his true mentor is Ayatollah Mohammad Taghi Mesbah Yazdi. It is this man who has shaped much of Ahmadinejad's worldview. Yazdi is the director of the Imam Khomeini Education and Research Institute in Qom. He is also a member of the Iranian Assembly of Experts. Reputedly, the hard-liner Yazdi believes, If anyone insults the Islamic sanctity, Islam has permitted for his blood to be spilled, no court needed.30
In my interview with James Woolsey, he touched on the subject of Yazdi and his influence over Ahmadinejad:Ahmadinejad believes that the Twelfth Imam, the Hidden Imam, the Mahdi, went into occlusion, as he would put it-disappeared in the eighth century-and is waiting to come back. [Ahmadinejad] goes off every week or two to sort of commune with the Hidden Imam and get his instructions. [Ahmadinejad's] mentor is an Ayatollah named Mesbah Yazdi, who runs a school in Qom, in the holy city in Iran. The reason Mesbah Yazdi was exiled there in 1979 by the Ayatollah Khomeini was because Khomeini thought he was too radical. So Ahmadinejad's mentor was too radical for Khomeini.The beliefs that surround their worldview have to do with working hard to get a lot of people killed as quickly as possible. So the prize of pain will summon the Mahdi. And then they also believe once the Mahdi comes, the world will only exist for a brief period of time. So Ahmadinejad is effectively on a campaign to see if he can't get the world to end.What weapons are effective against an enemy such as this? Will those Muslims that do not share this Iranian president's worldview be enticed to take up arms against him? Can we even convince them that they are in as much danger as any infidel on the globe? Or will we simply sit idly by and allow the madmen, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the mullahs in Iran who support him, to take the world by nuclear storm? As with all false religions, there are parallels to the Scripture. For instance, the theology being taught by the Twelvers in madrassas in Iran is this:
-If a suicide bomber commits an act of martyrdom, they will feel neither pain nor fear. Bible parallel: I Corinthians 15:55: O death, where [is] your sting? O grave, where [is] your victory?
-The suicide bomber believes he/she will not die; all souls go into the ground awaiting the resurrection except the souls of martyrs. They go directly into paradise. This is an attempt to parallel the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and certainly parallels the statement of Christ to the thief on the cross: Luke 23:43: And Jesus said to him, Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.
-Once in paradise, a crown of glory with the jewel of the wealth of the world is placed on the head of the martyr. Biblical parallel: Revelation 2:10c: . . . be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
-They believe that they will be given not one mansion, but 72 mansions. The mansions will be inhabited by 72 black-eyed virgins (incorruptible.) Biblical parallel: John 14:2: In my Father's house are many mansions: if [it were] not [so], I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
-The martyr is taught that he will be invited to a wedding. Biblical parallel: Revelation 19:9: And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed [are] they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb.
- Another teaching is that the shedding of the blood of the martyr will atone for the sins of 70 of their relatives, thus exempting them from the horrors of hell. Biblical parallel: Hebrews 9:22: In fact, we can say that according to the law of Moses, nearly everything was purified by sprinkling with blood. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.This is the heart of the spiritual battle that believers face.Now as He [Jesus] sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3)
Just as there are specific signs in the Scriptures that alert the child of God to watch for the return of our Lord, so there are specific signs in Islam. The difference is that Jesus admonishes us to, Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man. (Luke 21:36) While Christians believe that God controls the events of the Second Coming of Jesus, Muslims believe that it is they who will orchestrate the apocalyptic events surrounding the second coming of the Muslim Messiah.This is why Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is so intent in his efforts to achieve nuclear capability; he believes that it will be his mushroom cloud that calls forth the Mahdi to rule over a Muslim caliphate that extends worldwide.
What are the signs Muslim fundamentalists believe will signal the arrival of the Muslim messiah? What will announce the time when every creature worldwide will supposedly bow before Allah and declare that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet?
The signs that, according to Islamic fundamentalists, will usher in the Islamic messiah are:
> War
> Greater Materialism
> Decrease in knowledge of religious things
> Men outnumbered by women
> Acid rain
> Increased illegitimacy
> Rampant homosexuality
> Mothers ignored
> Increase in female singers
> Dancing into the night
> Taller and taller buildings
> Women in the workplace
> Women will look like men, and men like women
> Women will not bear children
> Increased earthquakes
> Time will seem shorter
> Smog
> People will prefer death to life
The word Islam is translated submission, literally, submission to the will of Allah. Predestination is the fundamental basis of Islam. The Koran records, Allah verily sends whom he will astray, and guides whom he will. (Koran 35:8)
Allah pulls the strings that control the faithful; man has no free will. His only choice is to bow before Allah in total submission... not out of love, but out of divine necessity. Jehovah God calls us first to love Him and then to love our neighbor: So he answered and said, You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. (Luke 10:27)
The Muslim Antichrist or Dajjal is characterized as a red-faced Cyclops with unruly hair. His mode of transportation is a white ass that will bear him from place to place at lightning speed. The world - except for true Muslim adherents - will be led astray by the Dajjal. His despotic rule will extend worldwide until, Muslims believe, Jesus will return to a mosque in Damascus. He will slaughter all pigs, destroy all crosses and embrace Islam as the one true religion.According to Muslim belief, Jesus and the Mahdi will join forces to fight and destroy the hated Dajjal. Following the victorious battle, Jesus and the Mahdi will create a worldwide caliphate under shariah, or Islam rule of law.After the defeat of the Dajjal, the sound of a trumpet will be heard around the world; the sun will be extinguished; stars will plummet to earth; mountains will become piles of debris and the seas will erupt into a blazing inferno. The earth's inhabitants will be slain, only to be resurrected to stand before Allah and be judged. Man will be consigned to hell - a place of either excruciating heat or freezing cold. The favored Muslims, strict adherents to Islam, will be given glorious gowns laden with jewels. Of course, the seventh heaven will be the resting place for martyrs who battled the Great Satan and the Little Satan.
There are those among Islam's adherents who believe that George Bush is the Dajjal (Antichrist) and Osama bin Laden the Mahdi (Islamic messiah.) In fact, bin Laden has begun to sign his name, Osama bin Mohammed bin Laden. Many among bin Laden's al-Qaeda organization point to the fact that their leader has the features attributed to the Mahdi- distinctive forehead, protruding nose, gapped teeth, a black mole. Bin Laden is descended from Mohammad's daughter, Fatima, and was called forth from his cave in Afghanistan to fight the Dajjal. In fact, bin Laden refers to President Bush as al-Dajjal and the United States as Dabbah (the beast that must be slain.)Radical Muslims believe that Islam will prevail, not only over the United States, but over the entire world. They believe that history has been written by Allah, and that mankind is predestined to bow to Islam.
For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. (Matthew 24:24)
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
WORLD ABIDES FOREVER
THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER
Ecclesiasties 1:4
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Psalms 104:5
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
Isaiah 45:17
17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Ephesians 3:21
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The Mayan Calender is very interesting it ends on December 23,2012. The Mayans thought this was a catostophic date, not the end of the world.
WHAT COULD THE MAYANS HAVE IN MIND FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT DATE? COULD IT BE THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? EASILY SO, BECAUSE EVERY SIGN IS NOW WITH US LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WE WILL NOT KNOW THE DAY AND HOUR, BUT WE WILL KNOW ITS CLOSE BY ALL THE SIGNS BEING LITERALLY FULFILLED BEFORE OUR EYES UPON THE EARTH.
Matthew 24:36,33-35
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,( SIGNS,Happening literally on the earth) know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
WOULD IT NOT BE FANTASTIC IF IT WAS THE DATE FOR THE RAPTURE OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS TO HEAVEN,THIS WOULD BE MARVELOUS FOR US WHO ARE WAITING FOR HIS APPEARING TO MEET US IN THE CLOUDS BEFORE THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD OF HELL ON EARTH. AFTER ALL SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT AND THE TRUE BELIEVERS WILL NOT WRATH THROUGH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD BECAUSE WE WILL BE IN HEAVEN WITH OUR SAVIOR KING JESUS THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD.
Felix nears Honduras' Miskito Coast By ESTEBAN FELIX, Associated Press Writer SEPT 4,07
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras - Hurricane Felix strengthened into a Category 5 monster storm early Tuesday, forecasters said, just as it prepared to make landfall near the Nicaragua-Honduras border, home to thousands of stranded Miskito Indians. Meanwhile, off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Henriette strengthened into a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said, with winds of 75 mph. It is on a path that would take it near or over Mexico's southern Baja Peninsula by Tuesday afternoon.In the hours before Felix — which the National Hurricane Center said reached Category 5 — was to make landfall early Tuesday, Grupo Taca Airlines frantically airlifted tourists from the Honduran island of Roatan, popular for its pristine reefs and diving resorts.About 1,000 people were taken off the island, including 19 Americans evacuated by a U.S. Chinook helicopter sent from the Soto Cano Air Base on mainland Honduras. Another 1,000 people were removed from low-lying coastal areas and smaller islands.
Bob Shearer, 54, from Butler, Pa., said he was disappointed his family's scuba diving trip to Roatan was cut short by the evacuation order. I only got seven dives in. I hope they didn't jump the gun too soon, he said as he waited for a flight home in the San Pedro Sula airport.Felix's top winds were at 160 mph as it headed west early Tuesday, and forecasters warned it could strengthen again before landfall along the Miskito Coast. From there, it was projected to rake northern Honduras, slam into southern Belize on Wednesday and then cut across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, well south of Texas.Its massive storm surge could devastate Indian communities along the Miskito Coast, an isolated region straddling the Honduras-Nicaragua border where Miskito Indians live in wooden shacks, get around on canoes and subsist on fish, beans, rice, cassava and plantains. Thousands were stranded along the coast late Monday.The only path to safety is up rivers and across lakes that are too shallow for regular boats, but many lack gasoline for long journeys. Provincial health official Efrain Burgos estimated that 18,000 people must find their own way to higher ground.The storm was following the same path as 1998's Hurricane Mitch, a sluggish storm that stalled for a week over Central America, killing nearly 11,000 people and leaving more than 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Felix could dump up to 12 inches of rain in isolated parts of northern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua, possibly bringing flash floods and mudslides. As far away as the highland capital of Tegucigalpa, more than 100 miles inland, authorities cleared vendors from markets prone to flooding.
Across the border in Belize City, skies grew increasingly cloudy and winds kicked up as residents boarded windows and lined up for gas. Tourists competed for the last seats on flights to Atlanta and Miami. Police went door-to-door forcing evacuations.
This is only the fourth Atlantic hurricane season since 1886 with more than one Category 5 hurricane, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Only 31 such storms have been recorded in the Atlantic, including eight in the last five seasons.At 5 a.m. EDT, Felix remained a fearsome hurricane. It was centered 65 miles southeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border, moving west at 16 mph.Off Mexico's Pacific coast, meanwhile, Hurricane Henriette was on a path to hit the resort-studded tip of the Baja California Peninsula on Tuesday.The hurricane center said it was expected to be near or over the southern Baja Peninsula by Tuesday afternoon or evening.Earlier, Henriette caused flooding and landslides that killed six people in Acapulco. On Monday, police in Cabo San Lucas said high surf stirred up by Henriette led to the drowning of an unidentified woman.Associated Press writers Paul Kiernan in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Olga Rodriguez in Belize City; Diego Mendez in San Salvador, El Salvador; and Freddy Cuevas en Tegicugalpa, Honduras contributed to this report. On the Net: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Russian bombers launch missiles over Arctic
By Richard Holt - 2:03am BST 04/09/2007
Twelve Russian strategic bombers are taking part in military exercises above the Arctic involving the launching of tactical cruise missiles. David Blair: Putin's Bear is not a frightening beast. In pictures: President Putin reveals even more
The Russian air force spokesman did not specify the exact location of the exercises but confirmed that the TU-95MC bombers would take off from five air bases stretching from the Volga River city of Engels to Anadyr on the Chukotka Peninsula overlooking the United States.
Russian bomber being shadowed by a RAF jet last month
The planes will also practise mid-air refuelling from Il-78 transport planes, he said. President Vladimir Putin announced last month that Russia has resumed long-range patrols by its bomber planes for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
Mr Putin said the resumption of patrols was needed to guarantee national security. In August RAF fighter jets were sent to intercepts a Russian bomber which was heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic.The Arctic exercises follow a widely advertised scientific expedition to the North Pole last month with the task of finding justification for Russia's claims for a bigger slice of the Arctic zone, believed to have rich mineral resources. Relations with both Europe and the United States have been deteriorating as Russia, buoyed by booming energy prices, has shaken off the post-Soviet malaise of the 1990s. Western criticism has mounted as Mr Putin curtailed freedoms in Russia and imposed economic punishments on ex-Soviet neighbours who had pursued a pro-Western course.
In June The Kremlin was angered by US plans to move missile systems into eastern Europe. Mr Putin threatened to aim Russian nuclear missiles at European cities in retaliation. While Washington insists that the missiles are directed at the growing threat of Iran and North Korea, the Kremlin is convinced they are directed at Russia. Earlier this month Sergei Ivanov, the hawkish Russian defence minister seen as a possible successor to Mr Putin when he stands down next year, announced an eight-year £100 billion military upgrade. Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in May 2000.
China hacked into Pentagon computer network: report Tue Sep 4, 12:02 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China's military successfully hacked into the Pentagon's computer network, raising fears it could disrupt the US defence department's systems, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The Chinese military's cyber attack was carried out in June following months of efforts, the London-based newspaper said, citing unnamed current and former US officials.While the Pentagon declined to say who was behind the hacking, which led to the shutdown of a computer system serving the office of Defence Secretary Robert Gates, officials told the paper it was China's People's Liberation Army.The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system, the paper quoted a former US official as saying.One senior US official reportedly said the Pentagon had pinpointed the exact origin of the attack.
The paper quoted another person familiar with the event as saying there was a very high level of confidence... trending towards total certainty that the PLA was responsible.The paper said both the US and Chinese militaries were widely assumed to conduct computer espionage on each other.But US officials said the penetration in June raised concerns to a new level because of fears that China had shown it could disrupt systems at critical times, the Financial Times reported.A spokesman for the Chinese defence ministry declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP on Tuesday.China's foreign ministry also declined to comment immediately, asking for questions to be faxed through.Reports of China hacking into German government systems were also raised last week between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.German weekly Der Spiegel reported that espionage programmes traced to the PLA had been detected in computer systems at Merkel's office, the foreign ministry and other government agencies in Berlin.We in the government took (the reports) as a matter of grave concern, Wen said after meeting Merkel.
Court: Israel must re-route barrier By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer SEPT 4,07
BILIN, West Bank - In an embarrassing blow to Israel, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw the route of its West Bank separation barrier near a Palestinian village that has come to symbolize opposition to the enclosure.
Residents of the village of Bilin went to court arguing that the current route, built on village land, kept them from their fields and orchards, which remained on the other side of the barrier. Villagers and their Israeli and foreign supporters have protested at the barrier every Friday for the past 2 1/2 years, routinely sparring with police in clashes that have wounded dozens.The Israeli government argued that the route was necessary to protect residents of the nearby settlement of Modiin Illit, and completed the section of fence that cut through Bilin's lands despite the protests.
A three-judge Supreme Court panel unanimously rejected the government's argument Tuesday, ordering defense planners to change the barrier's route so it causes less harm to the village's residents.We were not convinced that it is necessary for security-military reasons to retain the current route that passes on Bilin's lands, Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote in the decision.The judges specified that this will require destroying the existing fence in certain places and building a new one, and ordered the government to come up with a new route in a reasonable period of time.Israel's Supreme Court has made several such rulings in the past, ordering authorities to move the fence in several parts of the West Bank.As word of the ruling got out, elated Bilin residents poured out of homes and schools and headed toward the fence. Gathering near several army jeeps, they chanted We won, and They demolished the Berlin wall, we want to demolish the Bilin wall.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, one of the leaders of the weekly protest, jubilantly honked the horn of his Honda jeep.We went to court, hired the best lawyers in Israel and we won, he said. Abu Rahma termed the ruling wonderful, but said villagers would keep fighting until the fence was moved entirely off Bilin's land.The Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement that it would study the ruling and respect it.Israel began building the 425-mile barrier — a combination of concrete walls, fences, trenches and patrol roads — along the West Bank in 2002, saying it was a necessary weapon in its war against Palestinian suicide bombers. But the barrier juts into West Bank territory, provoking Palestinian claims that Israel is using security arguments to mask a land grab.
Ecclesiasties 1:4
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
Psalms 104:5
5 Who laid the foundations of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.
Isaiah 45:17
17 But Israel shall be saved in the LORD with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.
Ephesians 3:21
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The Mayan Calender is very interesting it ends on December 23,2012. The Mayans thought this was a catostophic date, not the end of the world.
WHAT COULD THE MAYANS HAVE IN MIND FOR SUCH AN IMPORTANT DATE? COULD IT BE THE COMING OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST? EASILY SO, BECAUSE EVERY SIGN IS NOW WITH US LADIES AND GENTLEMEN. WE WILL NOT KNOW THE DAY AND HOUR, BUT WE WILL KNOW ITS CLOSE BY ALL THE SIGNS BEING LITERALLY FULFILLED BEFORE OUR EYES UPON THE EARTH.
Matthew 24:36,33-35
36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only.
33 So likewise ye, when ye shall see all these things,( SIGNS,Happening literally on the earth) know that it is near, even at the doors.
34 Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass, till all these things be fulfilled.
35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.
WOULD IT NOT BE FANTASTIC IF IT WAS THE DATE FOR THE RAPTURE OF THE TRUE BELIEVERS TO HEAVEN,THIS WOULD BE MARVELOUS FOR US WHO ARE WAITING FOR HIS APPEARING TO MEET US IN THE CLOUDS BEFORE THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION PERIOD OF HELL ON EARTH. AFTER ALL SALVATION IS A FREE GIFT AND THE TRUE BELIEVERS WILL NOT WRATH THROUGH THE TRIBULATION PERIOD BECAUSE WE WILL BE IN HEAVEN WITH OUR SAVIOR KING JESUS THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD.
Felix nears Honduras' Miskito Coast By ESTEBAN FELIX, Associated Press Writer SEPT 4,07
SAN PEDRO SULA, Honduras - Hurricane Felix strengthened into a Category 5 monster storm early Tuesday, forecasters said, just as it prepared to make landfall near the Nicaragua-Honduras border, home to thousands of stranded Miskito Indians. Meanwhile, off Mexico's Pacific coast, Tropical Storm Henriette strengthened into a hurricane, the National Hurricane Center said, with winds of 75 mph. It is on a path that would take it near or over Mexico's southern Baja Peninsula by Tuesday afternoon.In the hours before Felix — which the National Hurricane Center said reached Category 5 — was to make landfall early Tuesday, Grupo Taca Airlines frantically airlifted tourists from the Honduran island of Roatan, popular for its pristine reefs and diving resorts.About 1,000 people were taken off the island, including 19 Americans evacuated by a U.S. Chinook helicopter sent from the Soto Cano Air Base on mainland Honduras. Another 1,000 people were removed from low-lying coastal areas and smaller islands.
Bob Shearer, 54, from Butler, Pa., said he was disappointed his family's scuba diving trip to Roatan was cut short by the evacuation order. I only got seven dives in. I hope they didn't jump the gun too soon, he said as he waited for a flight home in the San Pedro Sula airport.Felix's top winds were at 160 mph as it headed west early Tuesday, and forecasters warned it could strengthen again before landfall along the Miskito Coast. From there, it was projected to rake northern Honduras, slam into southern Belize on Wednesday and then cut across northern Guatemala and southern Mexico, well south of Texas.Its massive storm surge could devastate Indian communities along the Miskito Coast, an isolated region straddling the Honduras-Nicaragua border where Miskito Indians live in wooden shacks, get around on canoes and subsist on fish, beans, rice, cassava and plantains. Thousands were stranded along the coast late Monday.The only path to safety is up rivers and across lakes that are too shallow for regular boats, but many lack gasoline for long journeys. Provincial health official Efrain Burgos estimated that 18,000 people must find their own way to higher ground.The storm was following the same path as 1998's Hurricane Mitch, a sluggish storm that stalled for a week over Central America, killing nearly 11,000 people and leaving more than 8,000 missing, mostly in Honduras and Nicaragua.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center said Felix could dump up to 12 inches of rain in isolated parts of northern Honduras and northeastern Nicaragua, possibly bringing flash floods and mudslides. As far away as the highland capital of Tegucigalpa, more than 100 miles inland, authorities cleared vendors from markets prone to flooding.
Across the border in Belize City, skies grew increasingly cloudy and winds kicked up as residents boarded windows and lined up for gas. Tourists competed for the last seats on flights to Atlanta and Miami. Police went door-to-door forcing evacuations.
This is only the fourth Atlantic hurricane season since 1886 with more than one Category 5 hurricane, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Only 31 such storms have been recorded in the Atlantic, including eight in the last five seasons.At 5 a.m. EDT, Felix remained a fearsome hurricane. It was centered 65 miles southeast of the Nicaragua-Honduras border, moving west at 16 mph.Off Mexico's Pacific coast, meanwhile, Hurricane Henriette was on a path to hit the resort-studded tip of the Baja California Peninsula on Tuesday.The hurricane center said it was expected to be near or over the southern Baja Peninsula by Tuesday afternoon or evening.Earlier, Henriette caused flooding and landslides that killed six people in Acapulco. On Monday, police in Cabo San Lucas said high surf stirred up by Henriette led to the drowning of an unidentified woman.Associated Press writers Paul Kiernan in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico; Olga Rodriguez in Belize City; Diego Mendez in San Salvador, El Salvador; and Freddy Cuevas en Tegicugalpa, Honduras contributed to this report. On the Net: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov
Russian bombers launch missiles over Arctic
By Richard Holt - 2:03am BST 04/09/2007
Twelve Russian strategic bombers are taking part in military exercises above the Arctic involving the launching of tactical cruise missiles. David Blair: Putin's Bear is not a frightening beast. In pictures: President Putin reveals even more
The Russian air force spokesman did not specify the exact location of the exercises but confirmed that the TU-95MC bombers would take off from five air bases stretching from the Volga River city of Engels to Anadyr on the Chukotka Peninsula overlooking the United States.
Russian bomber being shadowed by a RAF jet last month
The planes will also practise mid-air refuelling from Il-78 transport planes, he said. President Vladimir Putin announced last month that Russia has resumed long-range patrols by its bomber planes for the first time since the end of the Cold War.
Mr Putin said the resumption of patrols was needed to guarantee national security. In August RAF fighter jets were sent to intercepts a Russian bomber which was heading towards British air space over the North Atlantic.The Arctic exercises follow a widely advertised scientific expedition to the North Pole last month with the task of finding justification for Russia's claims for a bigger slice of the Arctic zone, believed to have rich mineral resources. Relations with both Europe and the United States have been deteriorating as Russia, buoyed by booming energy prices, has shaken off the post-Soviet malaise of the 1990s. Western criticism has mounted as Mr Putin curtailed freedoms in Russia and imposed economic punishments on ex-Soviet neighbours who had pursued a pro-Western course.
In June The Kremlin was angered by US plans to move missile systems into eastern Europe. Mr Putin threatened to aim Russian nuclear missiles at European cities in retaliation. While Washington insists that the missiles are directed at the growing threat of Iran and North Korea, the Kremlin is convinced they are directed at Russia. Earlier this month Sergei Ivanov, the hawkish Russian defence minister seen as a possible successor to Mr Putin when he stands down next year, announced an eight-year £100 billion military upgrade. Defence spending has quadrupled since Mr Putin came to power in May 2000.
China hacked into Pentagon computer network: report Tue Sep 4, 12:02 AM ET
BEIJING (AFP) - China's military successfully hacked into the Pentagon's computer network, raising fears it could disrupt the US defence department's systems, the Financial Times reported Tuesday. The Chinese military's cyber attack was carried out in June following months of efforts, the London-based newspaper said, citing unnamed current and former US officials.While the Pentagon declined to say who was behind the hacking, which led to the shutdown of a computer system serving the office of Defence Secretary Robert Gates, officials told the paper it was China's People's Liberation Army.The PLA has demonstrated the ability to conduct attacks that disable our system, the paper quoted a former US official as saying.One senior US official reportedly said the Pentagon had pinpointed the exact origin of the attack.
The paper quoted another person familiar with the event as saying there was a very high level of confidence... trending towards total certainty that the PLA was responsible.The paper said both the US and Chinese militaries were widely assumed to conduct computer espionage on each other.But US officials said the penetration in June raised concerns to a new level because of fears that China had shown it could disrupt systems at critical times, the Financial Times reported.A spokesman for the Chinese defence ministry declined to comment on the report when contacted by AFP on Tuesday.China's foreign ministry also declined to comment immediately, asking for questions to be faxed through.Reports of China hacking into German government systems were also raised last week between Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and visiting German Chancellor Angela Merkel.German weekly Der Spiegel reported that espionage programmes traced to the PLA had been detected in computer systems at Merkel's office, the foreign ministry and other government agencies in Berlin.We in the government took (the reports) as a matter of grave concern, Wen said after meeting Merkel.
Court: Israel must re-route barrier By MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH, Associated Press Writer SEPT 4,07
BILIN, West Bank - In an embarrassing blow to Israel, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the state to redraw the route of its West Bank separation barrier near a Palestinian village that has come to symbolize opposition to the enclosure.
Residents of the village of Bilin went to court arguing that the current route, built on village land, kept them from their fields and orchards, which remained on the other side of the barrier. Villagers and their Israeli and foreign supporters have protested at the barrier every Friday for the past 2 1/2 years, routinely sparring with police in clashes that have wounded dozens.The Israeli government argued that the route was necessary to protect residents of the nearby settlement of Modiin Illit, and completed the section of fence that cut through Bilin's lands despite the protests.
A three-judge Supreme Court panel unanimously rejected the government's argument Tuesday, ordering defense planners to change the barrier's route so it causes less harm to the village's residents.We were not convinced that it is necessary for security-military reasons to retain the current route that passes on Bilin's lands, Chief Justice Dorit Beinish wrote in the decision.The judges specified that this will require destroying the existing fence in certain places and building a new one, and ordered the government to come up with a new route in a reasonable period of time.Israel's Supreme Court has made several such rulings in the past, ordering authorities to move the fence in several parts of the West Bank.As word of the ruling got out, elated Bilin residents poured out of homes and schools and headed toward the fence. Gathering near several army jeeps, they chanted We won, and They demolished the Berlin wall, we want to demolish the Bilin wall.
Abdullah Abu Rahma, one of the leaders of the weekly protest, jubilantly honked the horn of his Honda jeep.We went to court, hired the best lawyers in Israel and we won, he said. Abu Rahma termed the ruling wonderful, but said villagers would keep fighting until the fence was moved entirely off Bilin's land.The Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement that it would study the ruling and respect it.Israel began building the 425-mile barrier — a combination of concrete walls, fences, trenches and patrol roads — along the West Bank in 2002, saying it was a necessary weapon in its war against Palestinian suicide bombers. But the barrier juts into West Bank territory, provoking Palestinian claims that Israel is using security arguments to mask a land grab.
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