SATTELITE FALLING TO EARTH

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.

China battles winter weather chaos ahead of holiday By Chris Buckley Sun Jan 27, 4:37 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - China on Sunday ordered urgent steps to fight transport chaos and threats to energy and food supplies caused by brutal winter weather that forecasters said will continue as the nation heads into a major holiday. The cold spell has lashed central, eastern and southern China in recent days, bringing heavy snow and sleet to provinces used to milder winters. Dozens of people have died, and many roads, railways and airports have been paralyzed.Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the chaotic weather was threatening lives and straining supplies of fresh food, coal, oil and electricity ahead of holidays marking the Lunar New Year, which starts on February 7.Urgently mobilize and work as one to wage this tough battle against disaster, Wen told officials, according to the transcript on the government Web site (www.gov.cn). Ensure that the people enjoy a joyful and auspicious Spring Festival.He and other senior officials announced steps aimed at softening the economic blow from the bad weather.

Provinces must share coal and electricity, officials would waive some transport charges for farm goods and they would keep a close eye on price hikes. Train services must also be able to cope with tens of millions of passengers heading home for the holidays, while more coal must be found for power plants.But the government's chief weather forecaster, Yang Guiming, said the harsh weather was likely to continue, the China News Service reported.There's no room for optimism about this abnormal rain and snow weather across the country over the next week, he said.And Wen warned that energy strains could also worsen as power plants' coal reserves run dangerously low.The tense situation for coal, electricity, oil and transport nationwide is continuing to develop and could intensify, Wen said. The most difficult phase has not passed.Ma Kai, the head of the National Development and Reform Commission, which steers industrial policy, ordered officials to create conditions for reopening small coal mines earlier shut down and reorganized for safety violations.

DEATHS, SHUTDOWNS AND CROWDS

The snow and ice have collapsed homes, snapped power lines and destroyed crops.In mountainous Guizhou province in the southwest, three people had been killed, 877 buildings had collapsed and there had been widespread blackouts, Xinhua news agency reported.In Hunan province in the south, accidents sparked by icy rains and cold had killed five people. In neighboring Hubei province, six died on Saturday night in a collision between a truck and a long-distance bus that might have been at least partly due to icy roads.Several regional airports were shut by the weather, including at Nanjing, capital of Jiangsu province. State television also showed highways crowded with trucks paralyzed by the snow.The national forecasting authority said the freezing weather would continue to pummel provinces from west to east over the next week, with heavy snows possible in Shanghai and neighboring provinces -- powerhouses of business and manufacturing.On Sunday, Chinese television news showed railway stations choked with tens of thousands of delayed passengers. In Guangzhou in the far south, more than 100,000 people crammed the main railway station, many of them rural migrant workers eager to return home for the traditional Lunar New Year holiday. Police closed roads around the station and pulled passengers from the dangerous crush of people inside, the Guangzhou Daily reported. Safety is always the top priority, Premier Wen said earlier. The bad weather also threatens to stoke price rises that already had the government worried. Wen warned officials and businesses to keep prices in check as consumer demand rises for the Lunar New Year celebrations. (Reporting by Chris Buckley; Editing by David Fogarty)

3rd avalanche victim found in California JAN 27,08

LOS ANGELES - Winter storms continued to soak Southern California on Sunday and meteorologists warned that wetter weather was on its way. Up to 2 inches of rain fell overnight in valley and coastal areas and about double that in the mountains, National Weather Service specialist Stewart Seto said.The rain appeared not to have triggered any major mudslides, but Seto said thunderstorms were likely later in the day, bringing a threat of torrential rain, tornadoes and an increased likelihood of slides in areas denuded by last year's wildfires.Officials from Los Angeles County and Orange County fire departments were on standby for flash floods and slides but said Sunday there was little damage to report.

Flash flood watches remained in effect through Sunday night for Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.The storm system also soaked parts of Northern California and the weather service posted winter storm warnings for parts of the Sierra Nevada.A series of fierce storms has caused deadly avalanches, flooded streets and set off mud and rock slides in recent days. Some areas have received more moisture in a week than during the entire rainy season last year.Three skiers were killed Friday by a trio of avalanches that swept through canyons outside the trails of Mountain High ski resort at Wrightwood, northeast of Los Angeles in the San Gabriel Mountains.A fourth man escaped the avalanches. Snowboarder Oscar Gonzales Jr., 24, of Westminster, told the Riverside Press-Enterprise that he got lost when he left marked ski trails at the resort. I made the wrong decision about going out of bounds, he said. I hit a rock.Gonzales said he was not hurt but walked at least 13 miles during the night to keep warm. He eventually found an old airplane fuselage and slept there until he was rescued Saturday by the crew of a sheriff's helicopter.Avalanches are unusual in the San Gabriel Mountains, but the peaks had been hit by 3 feet or more of new snow this past week, drawing thousands of skiers and snowboarders.

Bangladesh cyclone survivors struggle with cold, rain Sun Jan 27, 3:47 AM ET

DHAKA (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of people living in tents since a cyclone devastated the southern Bangladesh coast in November are now battling cold and rain, local officials and residents said on Sunday. No deaths had yet been reported from the cold snap, but the number of people lining up at health centers with ailments is rising in the worst-affected Bagerhat and Swarankhola districts, following four days of low temperatures and rain.The pain is no less now than what we went thorough in the aftermath of cyclone, said Delwar Munshi of Bagerhat over telephone.Most of us were living in the shelters made of polythene and plastic sheets, but that too have gone now with the rain and wind, he added.Cyclone Sidr, the worst in Bangladesh since 1991, struck on November 15 with winds of 250 kph (155 mph) and a five-meter sea surge, killing more than 3,300 people.Nearly half a million people are estimated to be living in temporary shelters such as tents made of polythene.

We don't really know where to go. Many of us are now living virtually under the open sky, said Ismail Hossain, a villager in Swarankhola.Officials said they were sending new polythene sheets to the affected areas.The storm in November also washed away around 1 million tons of rice, caused serious damage to Sundarbans, a World Heritage site and the home of Royal Bengal Tigers.The lowest temperature recorded so far is 12 degree Celsius but it may drop to seven degrees in the days ahead, an official said.(Reporting by Azad Majumder; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Mozambique to forcibly evacuate 10,000 from floods
Sun Jan 27, 1:19 PMBy Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO (Reuters) - Mozambique will forcibly evacuate 10,000 people who have defied calls to leave areas at risk of flooding, the government said on Sunday as an advancing tropical cyclone threatened to swell floodwaters.They want to look after their livestock and property, said Joao Ribeiro, deputy director of the National Institute for Disaster Management. Our mission is to remove everybody from any flooded area or those at risk.Floods in the southern African country have already cost at least 18 lives and destroyed homes, livestock and crops. The government says 92,000 people have been rescued. Mozambique said early this month that 200,000 were at risk.Authorities said on Sunday that the Fame storm system had intensified into a full-scale cyclone. Its centre was just off the coast and it was expected to hit flooded river valleys and bring heavy rains to the north and centre.The flooding has put pressure on aid agencies to provide shelter, sanitation and water. It has also heightened fears of cholera and malaria in the country of over 20 million where the average life expectancy at birth is little more than 40 years.Ribeiro told Reuters some families in the central Zambezia and Sofala provinces and in the northern Tete province had refused to abandon flooded homes.

The peak of the rainy season is just two weeks ahead and this is not the time to raise awareness. We will forcibly remove anyone in those areas we declared risky, Ribeiro told Reuters.Men risk their lives in order to save goats and chickens along the Zambezi valley which they treasure as their wealth, but our mission is to save their lives, he said.The United Nations has said the current floods in Mozambique could be worse than those of 2000-2001, which caused the deaths of 700 people.Mozambique's National Emergency Operational Centre warned provincial authorities about the cyclone and advised them to stockpile food and clean water.Keep calm and in a state of alert, the agency said in a statement.(Editing by Muchena Zigomo and Matthew Tostevin)

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

Rain forces culling halt as India battles worst bird flu outbreak Thu Jan 24, 6:44 AM

MURSHIDABAD, India (AFP) - India's battle against its worst-ever outbreak of bird flu suffered a new blow Thursday as rain forced a halt to culling in West Bengal, an official said.The virus has already spread to over half the state and the government there has declared the outbreak a crisis, having already admitted it was falling behind in its fight against the deadly H5N1 strain of avian flu.Culling has been stopped for the time-being because of the rain -- it will start immediately after the rains cease, state animal resources minister Anisur Rahaman told AFP in Murshidabad, 230 kilometres (140 miles) north of the state capital Kolkata.

Doctors and veterinarians from neighbouring states were arriving in Kolkata to join the culling teams fanning out across the state, the minister said.But rains, which began early Thursday, had turned many of the rural dirt roads into mud rivers, complicating the battle against the outbreak -- the third and by far the worst to hit India.Although India has so far not had any human cases of bird flu, Rahaman said he feared the disease would spread to humans with hundreds of people reporting flu symptoms and children playing with chickens in affected villages.Shops and market stalls that previously were selling chicken were now selling vegetables in affected areas, witnesses reported.Culling teams initially faced resistance from locals but villagers started handing over their poultry Wednesday after the government began giving out immediate compensation for the dead birds.But farmers still feared deep financial hardship.We have never heard of bird flu, but it has destroyed the economy of the village, said middle-aged poultry farmer Safirul Islam in Margram, 240 kilometres northwest of Kolkata.It's a disaster that has taken away everything from us.

Ten out of West Bengal's 19 districts have been affected by bird flu -- representing more than half of the eastern state of 80 million people.We were not prepared for a such disaster, we're now getting ready to combat the crisis. We've asked human and veterinary doctors in government hospitals to join the culling as well as private doctors, minister Rahaman added.We're on a war-footing, he said from Murshidabad, which is near the border with Bangladesh.It is from Bangladesh that the bird flu is believed to have come from, and authorities there say it has been erupting sporadically since last February.We have targeted the culling of at least 2.2 million chickens, Rahaman said. We have now 650 teams involved in the culling operations. We're trying to get more teams to speed up the culling.People typically catch bird flu by coming into direct contact with infected poultry. Experts fear a pandemic if the H5N1 strain mutates into a form easily transmissible between humans.

METEORS HIT THE EARTH

REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!

THIS IS AN INTERESTING STORY, THE BIBLE MENTIONS SOMETHING ON FIRE FALLING FROM HEAVEN AND POISONING 1/3rd of THE WATERS, I WONDER COULD IT BE RADIATION FROM THESE FALLING SATELLITES THAT POISONS THE WATERS IN THE FUTURE, AS EARLY AS FEBRUARY, WE WILL SOON SEE.

Disabled spy satellite threatens Earth By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer Sat Jan 26, 6:31 PM ET

WASHINGTON - A large U.S. spy satellite has lost power and could hit the Earth in late February or March, government officials said Saturday. The satellite, which no longer can be controlled, could contain hazardous materials, and it is unknown where on the planet it might come down, they said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the information is classified as secret.

Appropriate government agencies are monitoring the situation, said Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council, when asked about the situation after it was disclosed by other officials. Numerous satellites over the years have come out of orbit and fallen harmlessly. We are looking at potential options to mitigate any possible damage this satellite may cause.He would not comment on whether it is possible for the satellite to be perhaps shot down by a missile. He said it would be inappropriate to discuss any specifics at this time.A senior government official said that lawmakers and other nations are being kept apprised of the situation.Such an uncontrolled re-entry could risk exposure of U.S. secrets, said John Pike, a defense and intelligence expert. Spy satellites typically are disposed of through a controlled re-entry into the ocean so that no one else can access the spacecraft, he said.Pike also said it's not likely the threat from the satellite could be eliminated by shooting it down with a missile, because that would create debris that would then re-enter the atmosphere and burn up or hit the ground.

Pike, director of the defense research group GlobalSecurity.org, estimated that the spacecraft weighs about 20,000 pounds and is the size of a small bus. He said the satellite would create 10 times less debris than the Columbia space shuttle crash in 2003.As for possible hazardous material in the spacecraft, Pike said it might contain beryllium, a light metal with a high melting point that is used in the defense and aerospace industries. Breathing beryllium can lead to chronic, incurable respiratory problems.Jeffrey Richelson, a senior fellow with the National Security Archive, said the spacecraft likely is a photo reconnaissance satellite. Such eyes in the sky are used to gather visual information from space about adversarial governments and terror groups, including construction at suspected nuclear sites or militant training camps. The satellites also can be used to survey damage from hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.The largest uncontrolled re-entry by a NASA spacecraft was Skylab, the 78-ton abandoned space station that fell from orbit in 1979. Its debris dropped harmlessly into the Indian Ocean and across a remote section of western Australia.

In 2000, NASA engineers successfully directed a safe de-orbit of the 17-ton Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, using rockets aboard the satellite to bring it down in a remote part of the Pacific Ocean.In 2002, officials believe debris from a 7,000-pound science satellite smacked into the Earth's atmosphere and rained down over the Persian Gulf, a few thousand miles from where they first predicted it would plummet.Associated Press writers Pamela Hess and Deb Riechmann contributed to this report.

MURDER

GENESIS 4:8-11 (THE FIRST MURDER)
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

GENESIS 6:11-13 (EARTH DESTROYED BECAUSE OF TERRORISM,MURDERS)
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

EXODUS 20:13
13 Thou shalt not kill.(Murder)

REVELATION 9:20-21
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils,(OCCULT) and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,(DRUG ADDICTIONS) nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)

LUKE 21:25
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(OZONE DEPLETION) and in the moon,(FIRST MAN ON MOON) and in the stars;(JUPITER BOMBARDED ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;
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.

Kenya death toll near 800 in a month By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,08

NAIVASHA, Kenya - Gangs of youths armed with machetes and clubs fought running battles with police on Sunday and burned tribal rivals alive in their homes in western Kenya, pushing the death toll from a month of escalating ethnic violence to nearly 800. Sunday marked exactly one month since the Dec. 27 disputed president election which sparked the violence that has transformed this once-stable African country, pitting longtime neighbors against each other and turning towns where tourists used to gather for luxury holidays into no-go zones.It also complicated the task of former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the latest international mediator trying to promote talks between President Mwai Kibaki and his chief rival, opposition leader Raila Odinga. The two met Thursday for the first time since the election.
Kibaki and Odinga remain far apart on how to resolve the crisis, the worst the country has seen since its 1963 independence from Britain. Kibaki has said he is open to direct talks with Odinga, but that his position as president is not negotiable. Odinga says Kibaki must step down and new elections are the only alternative.

The clashes have mainly pitted other ethnic groups, which support the opposition because they feel marginalized, against Kibaki's Kikuyu people.Kikuyus were the main victims in the initial eruption of violence, with hundreds killed and more than half of those driven from their homes belonging to Kibaki's tribe. Now, however, it appears the Kikuyus are looking for revenge.We have moved out to avenge the deaths of our brothers and sisters who have been killed, and nothing will stop us, said Anthony Mwangi, hefting a club in the western town of Naivasha. For every one Kikuyu killed, we shall avenge their killing with three.The fighting spread Sunday to Naivasha, 55 miles northwest of Nairobi, a previously quiet tourist town with a stunning freshwater lake.At least 22 people were killed in the town over the weekend, said district commissioner Katee Mwanza. At least five of them were burned to death in their homes, said Willy Lugusa, a police official. Others were hacked to death with machetes, a local reporter told The Associated Press.Kikuyus torched the homes of Luo rivals in the center of Navaisha. Police, apparently overwhelmed, did not intervene. Gunshots rang out into the evening.Looters used iron bars to smash the windows of shops belonging to non-Kikuyu businesspeople, and made off with television sets, groceries and clothing.One woman came screaming down the road from a blazing house.

They set it on fire, they are killing my brother and sister, Alice Okoth said.Mike Aringo, a 27-year-old resident, said hundreds of men swarmed the area Sunday morning.They told us if you are a Luo, you will be killed today, Aringo said. Odinga is a Luo.Soldiers and police reinforcements arrived late Sunday afternoon, firing tear gas and live bullets. Downtown Naivasha quickly became deserted, but on the outskirts, gangs of youths armed with machetes and clubs engaged in running battles with police who chased them down alleyways.In the city of Nakuru, the provincial capital of Kenya's fertile Rift Valley where ethnic clashes erupted late Thursday, some 55 bodies were counted Sunday at the morgue, said a morgue attendant who asked not to be named because he was not authorized to speak to the media.Bodies were still arriving Sunday, although the running battles had largely cooled off. A local newspaper reporter saw another five bodies Sunday in two slums on the outskirts of Nakuru. The latest deaths brought the toll in a month of violence to nearly 800 killed. Odinga met with Annan on Sunday and opposition spokesman Salim Lone said they were asked to name three negotiators for talks, which he said he would hopefully start within a week.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Rising Anti-Americanism in Russia By Alastair Gee
Tue Jan 22, 3:06 PM ET

MOSCOW--Vladimir Dobrovinsky, 33, a teacher at a design school in Moscow, says he's not interested in politics. But bring up America and the well-traveled, university-educated Dobrovinsky holds forth. He criticizes Washington's crude interference in world affairs. He complains that Russia is not treated as an important partner by the Bush administration. A lot of Russians, he says, are angry that America deals with us like we're Thailand.Dobrovinsky is hardly alone in such sentiments. Russia is witnessing a revival of the anti-Americanism that had dissipated with the collapse of the Soviet Union. Taking their cues from President Vladimir Putin and the state-controlled media, almost half of Russians now believe America's objective is the complete destruction of Russia, according to a recent survey by the independent Levada Center. And a poll by the state-owned Russian Public Opinion Research Center suggests that Russians consider the United States to be Russia's greatest enemy (and China its greatest friend). In the last six or seven years, anti-Americanism has been getting worse and worse. It's staggering, says Nina Khrushcheva, a professor of international relations at the New School in New York and the granddaughter of Cold War-era Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

While there are echoes of old Soviet-style antagonisms in the Putin-era anti-Americanism, there are differences. Earlier, the clash was in large part ideological and seemed to herald a fight to the death--We will bury you, Khrushchev warned western nations in 1956. Today, Putin is using anti-American rhetoric to boost his own popularity, tapping into widespread resentment of western-backed economic reforms made during the rapacious 1990s as well as of U.S. foreign policy. Borrowing from the same playbook as Hugo Ch�vez and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, he has accused the Bush administration of trying to tilt the outcome of parliamentary elections, and he blames Washington for all manner of misdeeds including plunging the world into an abyss of permanent conflicts.This attitude has carried over into Russia's foreign policy, and the compliant partner that Washington had hoped for has become a belligerent opponent that fosters ties with Iran and China. The Kremlin's opposition to Washington's proposed European missile defense system and its hosting of Hamas leaders in Moscow early last year may provoke ire in the United States, though they improve Putin's ratings at home. It's a far cry from the warm U.S.-Russia relations that seemed in store in 2001, when Bush met Putin for the first time and said, I looked the man in the eye. I found him to be very straightforward and trustworthy.

As the repressive Soviet regime crumbled in the late 1980s, antipathy to America fell away. There was a belief that if we opted for western values and civil liberties, life would become better, says Masha Lipman, an analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Center. After western-backed economic shock therapy reforms, however, when Soviet-era price and currency controls were removed, inflation rocketed and people's savings were wiped out. Oligarchs close to Boris Yeltsin later bought up Russia's prime assets at fire-sale prices. The United States, as well as Russia's liberal parties, have consequently lost face.In its foreign policy, meanwhile, Washington is seen as marginalizing Russia. Russia opposed the war in Iraq and resents the proposed missile system and the expansion of NATO into eastern Europe as an encroachment on its strategic backyard. The U.S. views these as its zones of interest, but for Russia they're vitally important, argues Mikhail Leontyev, the anchor of a political talk show on one of Russia's most popular television channels.Putin has cultivated Russians' resentments, making strident nationalism and bitter anti-westernism a regular part of his public addresses. Before the parliamentary elections, he said in a nationally televised speech that his liberal opponents scavenge like jackals at foreign embassies. Meanwhile, billboards around Moscow proclaimed that Putin's Plan Is Russia's Victory. His message is reinforced by Russia's state-owned television channels, which dominate the airwaves, and many of Russia's major papers. The enlargement of NATO, America's actions in Iraq and Georgia--they irritate people, and they want an explanation, explains Andrei Baranov, a political editor at Putin-friendly Komsomolskaya Pravda, one of Russia's largest papers.

Russians are evidently sympathetic to Putin. His United Russia party took a landslide 64 percent of the parliamentary vote with a 63 percent turnout, an election his party would have won easily even without repressing his opponents, judging by opinion polls. He has attracted a devoted, nationalistic following among students--Kremlin-linked youth groups supervised the December voting to prevent a feared U.S.-funded revolution.If there's any consolation for Washington, it's that, as bitter as it may be, this sentiment is not universal. It is in part fostered by Putin, and, as Condoleezza Rice suggested on a visit to Moscow last year, talk of a new Cold War seems premature. Russia may have withdrawn in July from a 1990 treaty limiting military-force numbers in Europe, but it continues to cooperate with Washington on counterterrorism, among other issues. Americans and Russians have more in common than differences, says Alexander Lebedev, a former Duma deputy and billionaire part owner of the airline Aeroflot. They're not facing each other across the Berlin Wall any more.Moreover, Russia's presidential elections take place in March, and the politician backed by Putin as his successor, Dmitry Medvedev, is considered to be sympathetic toward the West (he is expected to win). Medvedev has said Russia should position itself as part of Europe and that confrontation with the United States is unnecessary. At any rate, if Russia does have a change of heart, it would not be unprecedented. The Russian mentality is of dashing from one extreme to another, says Khrushcheva. The embrace of the West turns into the embrace of anti-Americanism and back again.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

Microchips everywhere: A future vision By TODD LEWAN, AP National Writer Sat Jan 26, 12:16 PM ET

Here's a vision of the not-so-distant future: Microchips with antennas will be embedded in virtually everything you buy, wear, drive and read, allowing retailers and law enforcement to track consumer items — and, by extension, consumers — wherever they go, from a distance.A seamless, global network of electronic sniffers will scan radio tags in myriad public settings, identifying people and their tastes instantly so that customized ads, live spam, may be beamed at them.In Smart Homes, sensors built into walls, floors and appliances will inventory possessions, record eating habits, monitor medicine cabinets — all the while, silently reporting data to marketers eager for a peek into the occupants' private lives.

Science fiction?

In truth, much of the radio frequency identification technology that enables objects and people to be tagged and tracked wirelessly already exists — and new and potentially intrusive uses of it are being patented, perfected and deployed.Some of the world's largest corporations are vested in the success of RFID technology, which couples highly miniaturized computers with radio antennas to broadcast information about sales and buyers to company databases.
Already, microchips are turning up in some computer printers, car keys and tires, on shampoo bottles and department store clothing tags. They're also in library books and contactless payment cards (such as American Express' Blue and ExxonMobil's Speedpass.)

Companies say the RFID tags improve supply-chain efficiency, cut theft, and guarantee that brand-name products are authentic, not counterfeit. At a store, RFID doorways could scan your purchases automatically as you leave, eliminating tedious checkouts.At home, convenience is a selling point: RFID-enabled refrigerators could warn about expired milk, generate weekly shopping lists, even send signals to your interactive TV, so that you see personalized commercials for foods you have a history of buying. Sniffers in your microwave might read a chip-equipped TV dinner and cook it without instruction.We've seen so many different uses of the technology, says Dan Mullen, president of AIM Global, a national association of data collection businesses, including RFID, and we're probably still just scratching the surface in terms of places RFID can be used.The problem, critics say, is that microchipped products might very well do a whole lot more.With tags in so many objects, relaying information to databases that can be linked to credit and bank cards, almost no aspect of life may soon be safe from the prying eyes of corporations and governments, says Mark Rasch, former head of the computer-crime unit of the U.S. Justice Department.By placing sniffers in strategic areas, companies can invisibly rifle through people's pockets, purses, suitcases, briefcases, luggage — and possibly their kitchens and bedrooms — anytime of the day or night, says Rasch, now managing director of technology at FTI Consulting Inc., a Baltimore-based company.

In an RFID world, You've got the possibility of unauthorized people learning stuff about who you are, what you've bought, how and where you've bought it ... It's like saying, Well, who wants to look through my medicine cabinet? He imagines a time when anyone from police to identity thieves to stalkers might scan locked car trunks, garages or home offices from a distance. Think of it as a high-tech form of Dumpster diving, says Rasch, who's also concerned about data gathered by spy appliances in the home.It's going to be used in unintended ways by third parties — not just the government, but private investigators, marketers, lawyers building a case against you ...Presently, the radio tag most commercialized in America is the so-called passive emitter, meaning it has no internal power supply. Only when a reader powers these tags with a squirt of electrons do they broadcast their signal, indiscriminately, within a range of a few inches to 20 feet. Not as common, but increasing in use, are active tags, which have internal batteries and can transmit signals, continuously, as far as low-orbiting satellites. Active tags pay tolls as motorists to zip through tollgates; they also track wildlife, such as sea lions.

Retailers and manufacturers want to use passive tags to replace the bar code, for tracking inventory. These radio tags transmit Electronic Product Codes, number strings that allow trillons of objects to be uniquely identified. Some transmit specifics about the item, such as price, though not the name of the buyer. However, once a tagged item is associated with a particular individual, personally identifiable information can be obtained and then aggregated to develop a profile, the U.S. Government Accountability Office concluded in a 2005 report on RFID. Federal agencies and law enforcement already buy information about individuals from commercial data brokers, companies that compile computer dossiers on millions of individuals from public records, credit applications and many other sources, then offer summaries for sale. These brokers, unlike credit bureaus, aren't subject to provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970, which gives consumers the right to correct errors and block access to their personal records.

That, and the ever-increasing volume of data collected on consumers, is worrisome, says Mike Hrabik, chief technology officer at Solutionary, a computer-security firm in Bethesda, Md. Are companies using that information incorrectly, and are they giving it out inappropriately? I'm sure that's happening. Should we be concerned? Yes.Even some industry proponents recognize risks. Elliott Maxwell, a research fellow at Pennsylvania State University who serves as a policy adviser to EPCglobal, the industry's standard-setting group, says data broadcast by microchips can easily be intercepted, and misused, by high-tech thieves. As RFID goes mainstream and the range of readers increases, it will be difficult to know who is gathering what data, who has access to it, what is being done with it, and who should be held responsible for it, Maxwell wrote in RFID Journal, an industry publication.

The recent growth of the RFID industry has been staggering: From 1955 to 2005, cumulative sales of radio tags totaled 2.4 billion; last year alone, 2.24 billion tags were sold worldwide, and analysts project that by 2017 cumulative sales will top 1 trillion —generating more than $25 billion in annual revenues for the industry. Heady forecasts like these energize chip proponents, who insist that RFID will result in enormous savings for businesses. Each year, retailers lose $57 billion from administrative failures, supplier fraud and employee theft, according to a recent survey of 820 retailers by Checkpoint Systems, an RFID manufacturer that specializes in store security devices. Privacy concerns, some RFID supporters say, are overblown. One, Mark Roberti, editor of RFID Journal, says the notion that businesses would conspire to create high-resolution portraits of people is simply silly.Corporations know Americans are sensitive about their privacy, he says, and are careful not to alienate consumers by violating it. Besides, All companies keep their customer data close to the vest ... There's absolutely no value in sharing it. Zero.Industry officials, too, insist that addressing privacy concerns is paramount. As American Express spokeswoman Judy Tenzer says, Security and privacy are a top priority for American Express in everything we do.But industry documents suggest a different line of thinking, privacy experts say. A 2005 patent application by American Express itself describes how RFID-embedded objects carried by shoppers could emit identification signals when queried by electronic consumer trackers. The system could identify people, record their movements, and send them video ads that might offer incentives or even the emission of a scent.

RFID readers could be placed in public venues, including a common area of a school, shopping center, bus station or other place of public accommodation, according to the application, which is still pending — and which is not alone. In 2006, IBM received patent approval for an invention it called, Identification and tracking of persons using RFID-tagged items. One stated purpose: To collect information about people that could be used to monitor the movement of the person through the store or other areas.Once somebody enters a store, a sniffer scans all identifiable RFID tags carried on the person, and correlates the tag information with sales records to determine the individual's exact identity. A device known as a person tracking unit then assigns a tracking number to the shopper to monitor the movement of the person through the store or other areas.But as the patent makes clear, IBM's invention could work in other public places, such as shopping malls, airports, train stations, bus stations, elevators, trains, airplanes, restrooms, sports arenas, libraries, theaters, museums, etc. (RFID could even help follow a particular crime suspect through public areas.)

Another patent, obtained in 2003 by NCR Corp., details how camouflaged sensors and cameras would record customers' wanderings through a store, film their facial expressions at displays, and time — to the second — how long shoppers hold and study items. Why? Such monitoring allows one to draw valuable inferences about the behavior of large numbers of shoppers, the patent states. Then there's a 2001 patent application by Procter & Gamble, Systems and methods for tracking consumers in a store environment. This one lays out an idea to use heat sensors to track and record where a consumer is looking, i.e., which way she is facing, whether she is bending over or crouching down to look at a lower shelf.The system could space sensors 8 feet apart, in ceilings, floors, shelving and displays, so they could capture signals transmitted every 1.5 seconds by microchipped shopping carts. The documents raise the hair on the back of your neck, says Liz McIntyre, co-author of Spychips, a book that is critical of the industry. The industry has long promised it would never use this technology to track people. But these patent records clearly suggest otherwise.Corporations take issue with that, saying that patent filings shouldn't be used to predict a company's actions. We file thousands of patents every year, which are designed to protect concepts or ideas, Paul Fox, a spokesman for Procter & Gamble, says. The reality is that many of those ideas and concepts never see the light of day.And what of his company's 2001 patent application? I'm not aware of any plans to use that, Fox says.

Sandy Hughes, P&G's global privacy executive, adds that Procter & Gamble has no intention of using any technologies — RFID or otherwise — to track individuals. The idea of the 2001 filing, she says, is to monitor how groups of people react to store displays, not individual consumers.NCR and American Express echoed those statements. IBM declined to comment for this story. Not every element in a patent filing is necessarily something we would pursue...., says Tenzer, the American Express spokeswoman. Under no circumstances would we use this technology without a customer's permission.

McIntyre has her doubts.

In the marketing world of today, she says, data on individual consumers is gold, and the only thing preventing these companies from abusing technologies like RFID to get at that gold is public scrutiny.RFID dates to World War II, when Britain put transponders in Allied aircraft to help radar crews distinguish them from German fighters. In the 1970s, the U.S. government tagged trucks entering and leaving secure facilities such as the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and a decade later, they were used to track livestock and railroad cars. In 2003, the U.S. Department of Defense and Wal-Mart gave RFID a mammoth push, mandating that suppliers radio tag all crates and cartons. To that point, the cost of tags had simply been too high to make tagging pallets — let alone individual items —viable. In 1999, passive tags cost nearly $2 apiece. Since then, rising demand and production of microchips — along with technological advances — have driven tag prices down to a range of 7 to 15 cents. At that price, the technology is well-suited at a case and pallet level, says Mullen, of the industry group AIM Global. John Simley, a spokesman for Wal-Mart, says tracking products in real-time helps ensure product freshness and lowers the chances that items will be out of stock. By reducing loss and waste in the supply chain, RFID allows us to keep our prices that much lower.Katherine Albrecht, founder of CASPIAN, an anti-RFID group, says, Nobody cares about radio tags on crates and pallets. But if we don't keep RFID off of individual consumer items, our stores will one day turn into retail 'zoos' where the customer is always on exhibit. So, how long will it be before you find an RFID tag in your underwear? The industry isn't saying, but some analysts speculate that within a decade tag costs may dip below a penny, the threshold at which nearly everything could be chipped. To businesses slammed by counterfeiters — pharmaceuticals, for one — that's not a bad thing. Sales of fake drugs cost drug makers an estimated $46 billion a year. In 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommended that RFID be incorporated throughout the supply chain as a way of making sure consumers get authentic drugs.

In the United States, Pfizer has already begun chipping all 30- and 100-count bottles of Viagra, one of the most counterfeited drugs.
Chips could be embedded in other controlled or potentially dangerous items such as firearms and explosives, to make them easier to track. This was mentioned in IBM's patent documents. Still, the idea that tiny radio chips might be in their socks and shoes doesn't sit well with Americans. At least, that's what Fleishman-Hillard Inc., a public-relations firm in St. Louis, found in 2001 when it surveyed 317 consumers for the industry. Seventy-eight percent of those queried reacted negatively to RFID when privacy was raised. More than half claimed to be extremely or very concerned, the report said, noting that the term Big Brother was used in 15 separate cases to describe the technology.It also found that people bridled at the idea of having Smart Tags in their homes. One surveyed person remarked: Where money is to be made the privacy of the individual will be compromised.In 2002, Fleishman-Hillard produced another report for the industry that counseled RFID makers to convey (the) inevitability of technology, and to develop a plan to neutralize the opposition, by adopting friendlier names for radio tags such as Bar Code II and Green Tag.And in a 2003 report, Helen Duce, the industry's trade group director in Europe, wrote that the lack of clear benefits to consumers could present a problem in the real world, particularly if privacy issues were stirred by negative press coverage.

(Though the reports were marked Confidential, they were later found archived on an industry trade group's Web site.) The Duce report's recommendations: Tell consumers that RFID is regulated, that RFID is just a new and improved bar code, and that retailers will announce when an item is radio tagged, and deactivate the tags at check-out upon a customer's request. Actually, in the United States, RFID is not federally regulated. And while bar codes identify product categories, radio tags carry unique serial numbers that — when purchased with a credit card, frequent shopper card or contactless card — can be linked to specific shoppers. And, unlike bar codes, RFID tags can be read through almost anything except metal and water, without the holder's knowledge. EPCglobal, the industry's standard-setting body, has issued public policy guidelines that call for retailers to put a thumbnail-sized logo — EPC, for Electronic Product Code — on all radio tagged packaging. The group also suggests that merchants notify shoppers that RFID tags can be removed, discarded or disabled. Critics say the guidelines are voluntary, vague and don't penalize violators. They want federal and state oversight — something the industry has vigorously opposed — particularly after two RFID manufacturers, Checkpoint Systems and Sensormatic, announced last year that they are marketing tags designed to be embedded in such items as shoes.

Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, says, I don't think there's any basis ... for consumers to have to think that their clothing is tracking them.
On the Web: http://www.epcglobalinc.org
http://www.spychips.com
http://epic.org/
http://www.idtechex.com/

HYPOTHETICAL ATTACK ON U.S. BY CHINA

METEORS HIT THE EARTH

REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?

REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!

Asteroid will swing by, but won't stop By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer Thu Jan 24, 10:33 PM ET

LOS ANGELES - An asteroid at least 500 feet long will make a rare close pass by Earth next week, but there is no chance of an impact, scientists reported Thursday. The object, known as 2007 TU24, is expected to whiz by Earth on Tuesday with its closest approach at 334,000 miles, or about 1.4 times the distance of Earth to the moon.
The nighttime encounter should be bright enough for medium-sized telescopes to get a glimpse, said Don Yeomans, manager of the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which tracks potentially dangerous space rocks.However, next week's asteroid pass has no chance of hitting, or affecting, Earth, Yeomans said.An actual collision of a similar-sized object with Earth occurs on average every 37,000 years.Spotted last October by the NASA-funded Catalina Sky Survey in Arizona, 2007 TU24 is estimated to be between 500 feet and 2,000 feet long. The next time an asteroid this size will fly this close to Earth will be in 2027.

Scientists plan to point the Goldstone radar telescope in California and the Arecibo radar telescope in Puerto Rico at the asteroid and observe its path before and after its closest approach to Earth. Researchers will use instruments to measure its rotation and composition.The 2007 TU24 rendezvous comes a day before another asteroid is projected to pass close to Mars.Scientists have effectively ruled out a collision between the Red Planet and the asteroid 2007 WD5, estimating it will pass at a distance of more than 16,000 miles from the Martian surface. Initial observations of the Mars-bound asteroid put the odds of an impact at 1 in 25, but scientists later dropped the odds to 1 in 10,000.On the Net:
Near Earth Object Program: http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov/

BIZNETDAILY
Wall Street ends wild week as Soros eyes recession
Billionaire investor wants to see power shift from U.S. to China, developing world January 25, 2008 By Jerome R. Corsi
2008 WorldNetDaily.com

George Soros

In a wild week on Wall Street that saw an emergency .75 percentage point rate cut by the Federal Reserve, a global stock sell-off and four days of triple digit moves on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the market ended down another 171 points, to close at 12, 207. Meanwhile, billionaire investor George Soros, a strong supporter of MoveOn.org and leftist political candidates, threw cold water on the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by warning a recession in the U.S. and UK will be hard to avoid. In a separate interview with the BBC, Soros told reporters he viewed with enthusiasm the prospect that a coming recession could seriously weaken the U.S. I'm not looking for a worldwide recession, Soros said. I'm looking for a significant shift of power and influence away from the United States in particular and a shift in favor of the developing world, particularly China.At the end of last week, the Dow reflected a precipitous loss of nearly 2,000 points from the all-time market high of 14,165 recorded Oct. 9, just four months ago.

Investors today apparently were not cheered by yesterday's bi-partisan congressional agreement to support the Bush administration $150 billion economic stimulus package. The plan would send tax rebates to 117 million families in an effort to boost consumer spending. Gold surged once again, setting a new record as benchmark gold futures for February for delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange's COMEX metal division hit an all-time high of $924.30 an ounce. Gold ended the day with February futures contracts closing at $914 an ounce on the COMEX, up $ 8.20 on the day. Yesterday, the dollar struggled, registering slight gains against the euro, ending at 75.99 on the U.S. Dollar Index, up only slightly from the all-time low of 74.48 registered on the index in December. Much of the debate at the World Economic Forum centered on the question of decoupling, whether the world economy could disengage from a recession in the U.S. to stay healthy, or whether the ailing American economy would inevitably throw the world into a tailspin.

With annual retail consumption in the U.S. estimated at over $9 trillion, compared to slightly more than $1 trillion in China and India combined, most attendees felt a consequence of the increasing economic globalism could easily be a worldwide recession unless Bush administration stimulus efforts were enough to jumpstart the U.S. economy. Soros, speaking to reporters in Davos, accused Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke of acting in a panicky way, cutting rates as much as .75 percentage points this week, according to the Financial Times. Still, Wall Street investors at market close today strongly encouraged the Fed to cut rates another .25 percentage points at next week's scheduled meeting of the Federal Open Markets Committee.

Dear Supporter of Israel,January 24, 2008
Action Alert: Stop U.N. Bias Against Israel

A draft statement that is deeply unfair to the State of Israel is currently being considered by the U.N. Security Council, and we need Israel's friends to act now to ensure it does not pass.The resolution - drafted by Libya, current President of the Security Council and a country with an abysmal human rights record and links to past terrorist attacks - condemns Israeli military action in Gaza and demands that the Jewish state end its blockade of the area. What it does not mention is the incessant rocket fire directed at civilians in southern Israel that made the military action and blockade necessary in the first place. Palestinian terrorists operating from Gaza have fired more than 4,000 rockets at the Jewish state since Israel's disengagement from Gaza in 2005 -hundreds in the last month alone.

Economic life in the Israeli communities bordering Gaza has been hard hit as businesses shut down or leave and residents - particularly children - suffer both physical injury and deep psychological trauma due to the continued attacks.The U.N is infamous for its anti-Israel bias. Earlier today, the U.N. Human Rights Council - another body dominated by well-known human rights violators such as Syria, Saudi Arabia, and China - condemned Israel for its military action in Gaza, again without mentioning rocket fire from Gaza that has made life a nightmare for citizens of Israeli cities like Sderot.As supporters of Israel, freedom, democracy and fairness, we dare not stand by and watch this happen again.Please call the Libyan Mission to the U.N., which is a member of the U.N. Security Council and tell them that any resolution which does not take into account Israel's legitimate need for security is not worthy of their consideration, and that you won't stand for another blatantly anti-Israel resolution from the world's foremost governing body.The Libyan Mission can be reached at 212-752-5775 or to send an email message click here.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

The CARMEL ALERT Jan 24th 2008
A compilation of news reports from the past week for theinformation of those committed to praying for Israel and the salvation of the Jewish people.

David's Comment: Time to Exercise Our Faith and Pray With Authority
Psalm 149:1-9 Praise the LORD! Sing to the LORD a new song, and His praise in the assembly of saints. Let Israel rejoice in their Maker; let the children of Zion be joyful in their King. Let them praise His name with the dance; let them sing praises to Him with the timbrel and harp. For the LORD takes pleasure in His people; he will beautify the humble with salvation. Let the saints be joyful in glory; let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment-- this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD!

The last two Carmel Comments have resulted in the largest number of responses from our readers we have received in a long time. Almost every person who responded, wrote to say how they were encouraged by the scriptures that I included in the comment. I titled the article last week, only prayer can change the situation in the Middle East. Truth is that only prayer can change any serious situation in the world today that is in need of change. That goes for any situation that needs to be changed in your life or in the lives of those who are dear to you. The Bible confirms this in James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.Unlike my wife Josie, I am not spiritually gifted as an intercessor or prayer warrior, but I surely do understand the power of prayer. Hence the inclusion of the scriptures for us all to pray in agreement in the recent comments. Since well before the disasterous Gaza withdrawal, most of my weekly comments have focused on the worsening political situation here in Israel, the lies and distortions of the media, and the increasing pressure of the world's politicians on Israel's leaders to forego God's promises and bow down to their demands - demands that originate in the halls of Hell.

The reason that I almost relentlessly maintain the focus on the political situation is to offset the constant barrage of the media lies and distortions. For instance the media constantly proclaims that according to International law Israel is illegally occupying Palestinian lands. That simply is not true. Apart from the facts that God gave the disputed land to the Jewish people, and that before 1967 there was no such thing as a Palestinian people, International law states that land conquered in the act of responding to an offensive attack, is seen as legitimate spoils of war. The second and more important reason is to ensure there is much prayer concerning Israel's issues rising up to the throne room. Even though I don't usually include the relevant scriptures to pray, it was always my goal to inspire you to pray. Josie and I want to thank everyone who has risen to the call and faithfully prays for the situation in Israel as it unfolds week by week and we do pray that you will know the Lord's blessings upon your life and upon the lives of all who are dear to you.

The purpose of my comment this week is to encourage you to begin to if you dont already, or if you do, to continue to pray pure scripture back to the Lord. Not just for Israel, but for your own lives, for your family and friends, and for any situation that the Lord lays on your heart. Maybe I have said this before, but I believe that most of us totally under estimate the authority and power that God has invested in us. So many saints seek out the super-saints for prayer and ministry, when the most humble Christian you know has the same authority and the same potential anointing.Back to the open passage ........ Yes it is speaking to Israel, but if you are truly born again, then you have been grafted in to become a fully fledged fellow citizen of the Lord's Israel, and therefore everything in that verse applies to you. the first few verses hold the key to the authority and the anointing. We are to praise Him, sing new songs to Him, rejoice and dance before Him and to be thankful, and to sing to Him on our beds. If we allow the high praises of God to come out of our mouths, and we wield the double edge sword of His word in our hands, then we should all be doing the following

To execute vengeance on the nations, and punishments on the peoples; this is our authority to get involved in curent events and politics To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron; today the kings and nobles are the spiritual powers and principalities To execute on them the written judgment the authority to do this comes when we proclaim the Word this honor have all His saints. Praise the LORD! Are you are saint of YHVH ? Then you have the honour and the authority and the power to carry out all of those above activities.

Have you been taking up that authority ? If not repent - tell the Lord you are sorry and begin to take up that honour and privilege.
When you pray dont ask the Lord to do things - you do it - in Yeshua's name. He has called us to do it For example dont pray Lord please set my family free to serve you, but you take the authority and pray like this I set my family free to serve the Lord - in the name of Yeshua.One last key to see the anointing when you step out in to the authority that has been given to you, apply it to Israel first. Pray and intercede for Israel's situation, and then apply the same authority to your situation or the situation of others, and see how the Holy One of Israel will pour out His anointing upon you and cause His power to flow through you.

The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much - this honor have all His saints. The Lord bless you as you bless Israel by standing in defense of her right to exist on the land given to the Jewish people by the God of Israel . Lets pray that Israel will turn back to their God. Do not be silent, but share this with your fellow Christians, share it with your pastors, and with anyone you have a chance to speak to. Lets also pray for that breakthrough to the Muslims, and please remember to pray for our son Jordan, and all of his fellow soldiers in the IDF.

Shabbat Shalom ... David & Josie Silver.

* * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *
OLMERT'S GOVERNMENT IN DANGER OF COLLAPSE Netanyahu waiting in the wings. Will he be the next PM? By Joel C. Rosenberg

(Washington, D.C., January 23, 2008) -- Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's government is increasingly in danger of collapse. Last week, Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman resigned the cabinet and pulled his Yisrael Beiteinu party out of Olmert's coalition. Another major coalition member, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, is now threatening to bolt as well. What's more, the final, official Winograd Commission Report will be released Wednesday, January 30th. It's expected to contain harsh criticism of Olmert's handling of the Second Lebanon War in 2006, criticism that will undoubtedly unleash an intensified new wave of calls for his resignation. Lieberman's departure brought Olmert's coalition down from 78 to only 67 members of the 120 member parliament. If Shas leaves with its 12 members, Olmert won't have the 60 members sufficient to hold his government. Should that happen, buckle your seatbelts. The battle inside the Knesset for control will be fierce. Early elections could be triggered. Either way, former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could wind up back on top as premier.

My Joshua Fund colleagues and I met with Lieberman at the Knesset last November, just as he first issued his threat to step down. His concerns then: Olmert's apparent readiness, almost eagerness, to divide Jerusalem; negotiate over the so-called right of return; and give away the West Bank -- known in Israel by the Biblical names, Judea and Samaria -- to the Hamas-dominated Palestinian government. The situation has only worsened since then, Lieberman believes. Olmert seems absolutely determined to cut a deal that Lieberman and his allies believe will endanger the national security of the Jewish state. Land for peace didn't work on the Gaza border, he argues. Nor did it work on the Lebanon border. Why should it work elsewhere?

Negotiations on the basis of land for peace are a critical mistake...and will destroy us, Lieberman told reporters last week. It is clear to everyone that these talks will lead to nothing.Now all eyes are on Industry, Trade, and Labor Minister Eli Yishai, the Shas leader, who told Olmert this morning that dividing Jerusalem is a deal-killer for him. Yishai told Israel Radio that the party would make its move the day that Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Palestinian negotiator Ahmed Qurei sit down to discuss the issue, reports the Jerusalem Post. Netanyahu, meanwhile, is waiting in the wings, talking tough on Gaza and Iran, saying Olmert should strike hard and fast with disproportionate force against Palestinian terrorists who have fired hundreds of rockets and mortars at Israeli towns like Sderot in recent weeks.

In a war of attrition the enemy strikes and you react, the enemy strikes harder and you retaliate harder, Netanyahu said about the constant missile strikes against Israel's southern border. This gradual increase in violence is the antithesis of deterrence..Deterrence always means using disproportionate force. We need to move from a concept of attrition to one of tough deterrence that will eventually lead to the removal of the Hamas regime, because as long as it exists it will continue arming itself and continue its attacks.Netanyahu is also warning against dividing Jerusalem or giving away the West Bank and thus creating potential terror bases for Iran. We must not repeat this mistake [of the South Lebanon and Gaza withdrawals], he said Monday. This time we're going to have an Iranian base facing Jerusalem and the Dan Bloc, which includes Tel Aviv. We have to prevent Iran's armament and not let it establish new bases on our territory.Bibi currently leads the field of potential contenders should snap elections be held soon. Fully 33% of Israelis favor him to be the next premier. The closest rival is Ehud Barak at 17%. What's more, Bibi's Likud party would soundly defeat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's centrist Kadima party if elections were held now, reports Agence France Presse, according to a poll taken last Friday. The poll said that Olmert's party would win only 10 seats, far behind Likud with 28, the centre-left Labour party with 21, and the ultra-Orthodox Shas party with 11.

A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM DR. JACK VAN IMPE
Will Russia invade Israel? If so, under what circumstances? Also, clarify the importance of the Israeli capture of Jerusalem in 1967.

One of the most significant prophecies about the Middle East and the Rapture of the Church concerns Russia's imminent invasion of Israel. In the previous newsletter, we addressed the issue of Israel becoming a nation. Why is that reality so vital to our discussion? Because eighteen times in Ezekiel 38-39, the prophet states that Russia will wage war against Israel. For nearly nineteen hundred years, there was no nation called Israel-thus no government and no specific piece of Middle East real estate that the Jews of the diaspora could call their own. Now you and I have lived to see Israel become a mighty nation, a people to be reckoned with in the commonwealth of nations. Therefore, when God's Word foretells a Russian invasion of Israel, and we know that such a nation now exists, we can only assume that the coming of the Lord must be near. Ezekiel 38:1-2 states, And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him. Since we will study these names in detail later, I will not spend time attempting to prove that this refers to Russia. I simply want you to see, for now, that this is a northern enemy, for they come from the north (see Ezekiel 38:15; 39:2). Remember, Russia is due north of Israel. If one draws a line northward from Israel, he passes directly through Moscow. As this great end-time invasion begins, they will come against the mountains of Israel (Ezekiel 38:8). Verse 16 says, Thou shalt come up against my people of Israel. Verse 19: Surely in that day there shall be a great shaking in the land of Israel. Ezekiel 39:2 says, I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts, and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel. Verse 4: Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel. Verse 12: And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of them.

Let me repeat that Russia's invasion of Israel could not occur until Israel became a nation. There was no such nation, for two thousand years, until 1948. Thus, this event could not have occurred in times past. However, since Israel now exists as a viable, powerful nation (and has recaptured Jerusalem after twenty-five hundred years of dominance by Gentiles), and because Russia will move against Israel only when she is a nation, here is the thrilling scenario to follow-something that is already beginning to happen in front of our eyes today. Follow me closely. Ezekiel 36 and 37 describe the Jew returning to his own land and setting up his government. This occurred in 1948. In Ezekiel chapters 40-48, Messiah is back on earth-and that is when you and I have returned with Him to rule and reign for one thousand years (Revelation 20:4). Between Israel's becoming a nation-which you and I have lived to see-and Messiah's return to earth, a war with Russia takes place in the Middle East (read Ezekiel 38 and 39). The Jews are now home. Today Israel has its own government, monetary system, and well-fortified and -trained armed forces. Russia marches when Israel is a nation, followed by Messiah's return. There is no doubt that we are living at the very edge of this hour when the sign concerning Russia's march to the Middle East is about to be fulfilled. It could happen at any moment, followed by Christ's return. This ancient Jewish teaching is found in Avoda Zara 3B. The clock is ticking toward midnight. Jesus is coming again, and the day of His return is at hand.

What Is the Importance of the Jews Finally Reclaiming Jerusalem?

Since 400 B.C. the city of Jerusalem has been handed over to one Gentile superpower after another. Here are a few of those transference dates since A.D. 70 concerning Jerusalem: A.D. 70, the Romans; 614, the Persians; 637, Caliph Omar; 1099, the Crusaders; 1187, Saladin; 1250, the Egyptian Mamelukes; 1517, the Turks; 1917, the British; and finally, in 1967, the Jews captured Jerusalem. The event took place during the Six-Day War, from June 5 to 10 of that year, The Jewish control of Jerusalem is a most important sign because of Jesus' statement in Luke 21:24. The disciples had asked Him, When are you going to return to this earth? Jesus replied, [Jerusalem] shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. What was the Savior saying? Simply that the Jews would be scattered throughout the world and the city of Jerusalem controlled by Gentile powers until the time of His return. All the various Gentile groups-the Romans, the Persians, the Crusaders, the Egyptians, the Turks, and the English-controlled Jerusalem from A.D. 70 until May 1967.

Then, in June 1967 the Jews took control of Jerusalem for the first time in more than nineteen hundred years. When we tie this historical information to Ezekiel’s bones coming to life, the Jews returning from the Gentile nations, and the earlier prophecies already outlined, there can be only one conclusion: Christ must come to earth soon, primarily because during the third and final invasion of the Armageddon campaign, all nations come against Jerusalem to battle and to take it back from the Jews (Zechariah 14:2). This would have been impossible before 1967 since the Jewish people did not possess Jerusalem until that Six-Day War fought June 5-10,1967. Thus, when the final invasion during Armageddon occurs, Christ descends to the Mount of Olives to end the atrocities committed against Israel at Jerusalem and to then set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4).

What signs exist in Israel today that provide clues
to a rapidly approaching Tribulation period?

Of the hundreds of questions I am asked, issues related to the Great Tribulation always seem to top the list. To review, there is going to be a terrible period of tribulation. Jeremiah 30:7 says, Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it. Daniel 12:1 warns, There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, and Jesus Himself said in Matthew 24:21, For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. Although this event will not be the end of the world, it will bring death to one-half of our planet's inhabitants: By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone (Revelation 9:18). When one combines the cumulative facts and figures from the Book of Revelation in 9:18 and 6:8, he discovers that nearly one-half of the earth's population will be destroyed in the greatest fiery conflagration and pestilential judgment that have ever occurred in the history of mankind.

Again, however, let me remind you: This great war signals the coming of Jesus Christ to the earth, when He reveals Himself to the entire world and stops the carnage (Revelation 11:18). As we learned earlier, this event is called the Revelation, and it is the second phase of the Second Coming. We have also learned that prior to the Revelation, a Rapture-the evacuation of all saints, dead and living, from the earth-will occur (Revelation 4:1). Immediately following the Rapture, the Tribulation Hour, that period of seven years of unprecedented turmoil and trouble, begins. Then, at the end of the seven years, Jesus Christ comes back to the earth to set up His kingdom for a thousand years-called the Millennium.

Remember that all the signs of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 17 and 21 point directly to the second phase of the Second Coming, and not to the Rapture. If there were not one sign in existence anywhere at this moment, we could still go home to be with our Lord, because all the signs could occur during the seven-year period described in chapters 6-18 of the Book of Revelation. However, since all the signs point to Christ's return to the earth-not His coming in the clouds (Revelation 4:1) but His coming to the earth (Revelation 19:11), and since you and I as Christians return with Him to the earth-then every sign in Revelation 6-18 points to our coming back to the earth as well. This glorious event must occur soon since all signs are already in place.

Three Signs in Israel

For many decades Orthodox Jewish rabbis said: When three signs appear in the Holy Land, it will be the hour for Messiah to return. What are these three signs?

Horseless carriages, or modern automobiles, running through the streets of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem being defended by airplanes.
The desert of Israel blossoming as a rose.
Have these things happened? I will leave the answers to you. When my wife, Rexella, and I last visited the Holy Land, we had an opportunity to preach, teach, and spend time with Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. So what I am about to share with you regarding the signs in Israel is not theoretical. As I began to observe them, I said, Rexella, these are the signs that point to our return with Jesus Christ. Since they are already in progress and are now being fulfilled, Jesus must be coming soon for His church in that glorious event called the Rapture. Let's investigate these three signs that the rabbis have so long awaited.

Nahum 2:3-4 states, The chariots shall be with flaming torches in the day of his [Messiah's] preparation. . . . The chariots shall rage in the streets, they shall justle one against another [accidents] in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches [headlights and taillights], they shall run like the lightnings [the speed of these vehicles running through the streets of Jerusalem]. This phenomenon is presently occurring!

Isaiah 31:5 tells us, As birds flying, so will the LORD of hosts defend Jerusalem. Since A.D. 70 the much beleaguered city of Jerusalem has passed from one Gentile power to another. In 1517, the Turks took control and maintained their authority for exactly four hundred years. Then, in 1917, General Allenby of England marched into Jerusalem with his troops. The British had just discovered airplanes, and as they flew overhead, the Turks, never having seen such machines, became frightened, dropped their guns, and fled the city. Britain's conquest of Jerusalem was one of the few battles in history won without weapons. Why? Because the Turks saw men flying as birds over Jerusalem. This event was the beginning of the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy. Today, as one stands anywhere in the Holy Land, he sees jets flying overhead daily. There is no end to it. The prophecy is here. It is being fulfilled now!

Isaiah 35:1 promises, The desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. During our first visit to the Holy Land in the late 1950s, Rexella and I noticed that everywhere we looked the ground was dry, arid, barren, rocky, and mountainous. Today, however, when one visits the Holy Land, it is anything but arid. It has been wondrously transformed into hundreds of square miles of fertile, blooming, productive land. Truly, Isaiah's promise has become a reality; the third major sign pointing to Messiah's coming.

Lisbon treaty fails to simplify EU rules for citizens, MEPs say 24.01.2008 - 09:28 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Parliament's constitutional committee has given a green light to the new EU Lisbon treaty, suggesting it will make the bloc's rules more democratic and suitable for the future, while remaining less clear and readable for its citizens.MEPs in the key parliamentary body dealing with institutional affairs of the 27-strong union gave their political blessing to the document, with 20 votes in favour and 6 against on Wednesday (23 January).The report accompanying the vote by Spanish centre-right MEP Iñigo Mendez de Vigo and British Labour MEP Richard Corbett highlights the key positive features of the treaty, adopted on 13 December by EU leaders and set for a ratification in each member state this year.The report argues that the new treaty will make the EU more democratic by boosting the role of European and national parliaments as well as strengthening the citizens' rights through a brand new Charter of Fundamental Rights attached to the document.

However, the MEPs criticise the special arrangements for the UK and Ireland in the area of police cooperation, and Britain and Poland's opt-out from the charter of rights.Deputies also praise more effective rules for decision-making among EU institutions and the treaty having more clearly defined which of the bloc's policy areas to focus on.On the other hand, they regret that the Lisbon treaty does not take the form of a constitution, as with the European Constitutional Treaty, which first introduced the key institutional changes but was rejected in 2005 by French and Dutch voters.They suggest the new text is less clear and readable than the failed EU constitution, despite EU leaders originally stating they want a new rulebook to be more approachable to ordinary citizens.In a bid to solve the problem, parliamentarians urge national authorities to prepare short explanatory versions of the treaty as part of information campaigns ahead of the ratification process in individual countries. The constitutional committee pointed out that member states should do their best to adopt the document in their national parliaments or by a referendum in Ireland by June 2009 – before the next elections to the European Parliament.So far, only Hungary has ratified the treaty. 2008 EUobserver.

EU officials to begin work on treaty
21.01.2008 - 17:17 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU diplomats are to start work in the coming days on clearing up the loose ends in the new EU treaty so that it can come into force without any technical glitches once it has been ratified.An internal document circulated by Slovenia, the current holder of the EU presidency, and seen by EUobserver sets out 33 areas that need to be examined this year if the treaty is to come into force on 1 January 2009 as planned.The document says it takes into account the legimate concerns of the institutions and member states that all the necessary preparations be ready in good time to allow for a smooth entry into force of the Treaty.It notes that EU ambassadors are to start examining the technical and legal aspects at the end of January, while Slovenia will assess whether different arrangements are necessary at a later stage for some of the more sensitive and political points.

Separately, the paper also notes that the new institutional set-up under the Lisbon treaty - it establishes a foreign minister, a long-term president as well as giving the European Parliament a far greater say in law-making - has raised a whole series of pressing questions.These include the support structures for the president of the European Council.At the moment, it is not clear whether the president's post - essentially representing the European Union externally - should have some sort of staff. There are currently no provisions for this in the treaty.In addition, there is the thorny issue of all the pending EU laws that may be affected by the fact that the entry into force of the treaty will see MEPs have full co-decision rights.Pending laws in the area of justice and home affairs, agriculture, fisheries, transport and structural funds could all be affected as MEPs gain new powers in these areas.EU officials must also consider what to do with the monthly meeting of EU foreign affairs ministers, which under the new treaty will be chaired by the EU foreign minister. Traditionally, this meeting also covers development and trade issues but this would - in the commission's eyes - hand unwanted powers to the foreign minister as the Brussels executive traditionally has strong rights in this area.

The budget will also come up for discussion as the new treaty rules will give the European Parliament the right to approve the whole of the annual EU budget and the seven-year long-term budget.Under current EU rules, member states alone decide on spending in certain areas such as agriculture.The Slovene document also lists several other areas, including activating the citizens initiative – whereby EU citizens can petition the commission on issues of their choice – as well as nominating the new president and foreign minister and initial discussions on the setting up of a European public prosecutor.The new treaty also shakes up how the EU handles its monthly meetings of sectoral ministers in areas such as energy, competitiveness or agriculture.The current system sees the EU presidency country chair all meetings for the duration of the six-month rotating presidency. But the new system promises to lead to all sorts of political haggling as the meetings are to be chaired by ministers from a team of three member states for a period of 18 months. 2008 EUobserver.

THE ONLY DIFFERENCE IN THIS STORY I WOULD JUST REPLACE CHINA'S NAME WITH RUSSIA THEN YOU GOT THE RIGHT SCENARIO.

Hypothetical attack on U.S. outlined by China
By Patrick Winn - Staff writer
Friday Jan 25, 2008 13:41:27 EST

In a hypothetical future scenario, the U.S. and China are poised to clash — likely over Taiwan.

The democratic Republic of China, commonly called Taiwan — which America backs and the communist People’s Republic of China considers part of its territory — frequently irritates Chinese leaders with calls for greater independence from the mainland. But while the American military mulls its options, Chinese missiles hit runways, fuel lines, barracks and supply depots at U.S. Air Force bases in Japan and South Korea. Long-range warheads destroy American satellites, crippling Air Force surveillance and communication networks. A nuclear fireball erupts high above the Pacific Ocean, ionizing the atmosphere and scrambling radars and radio feeds.

This is China’s anti-U.S. sucker punch strategy.

It’s designed to strike America’s military suddenly, stunning and stalling the Air Force more than any other service. In a script written by Chinese military officers and defense analysts, a bruised U.S. military, beholden to a sheepish American public, puts up a small fight before slinking off to avoid full-on war.This strategic outlook isn’t hidden in secret Chinese documents. It’s printed in China’s military journals and textbooks. And for much of last year, Mandarin literates and defense experts — working for the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Rand Corp. on an Air Force contract — combed through a range of Chinese military sources.They emerged with Entering the Dragon’s Lair, a lengthy report on how the Chinese People’s Liberation Army would likely confront the U.S. military and how the Air Force in particular can brace itself. In many cases, the theoretical enemy nation China’s officers discuss in these scenarios isn’t explicitly named but is unmistakably the U.S.These aren’t war plans, said report co-author Roger Cliff, a former Defense Department strategist and China military specialist who spoke to Air Force Times from Taiwan. This is the military talking to itself. It’s not designed for foreigners or even China’s general public to read.

Element of surprise

When it comes to conflict with the U.S., Chinese military analysts favor age-old schoolyard wisdom: Throw the first punch and hit hard.
Future conflicts are likely to be short, intense affairs that might consist of a single campaign, Cliff said. They’re thinking about ways to get the drop on us. Most of our force is not forward-deployed.China’s experts concede its army would lose a head-on fight, with one senior colonel comparing such a scenario to throwing an egg against a rock. Instead, the Chinese would attempt what Rand calls an anti-access strategy: slowing the deployment of U.S. forces to the Pacific theater, damaging operations within the region and forcing the U.S. to fight from a distance.Taking the enemy by surprise, one Chinese military expert wrote, would catch it unprepared and cause confusion within and huge psychological pressure on the enemy and help [China] win relatively large victories at relatively small costs. Another military volume suggests feigning a large-scale military training exercise to conceal the attack’s buildup.

The Dragon’s Lair

Striking U.S. air bases — specifically command-and-control facilities, aircraft hangars and surface-to-air missile launchers — would be China’s first priority if a conflict arose, according to Rand’s report.U.S. facilities in South Korea and Japan, even far-south Okinawa, sit within what Rand calls the Dragon’s Lair: a swath of land and sea along China’s coast. This is an area reachable by cruise missiles, jet-borne precision bombs and local covert operatives. Air Force bases within this area include Osan and Kunsan in South Korea, as well as Misawa, Yokota and Kadena in Japan. And in a conflict over Taiwan, any nation allowing an intervening superpower such as the U.S. to operate inside its territory can expect a Chinese attack, according to China’s defense experts.China is designing ground-launched cruise missiles capable of nailing targets more than 900 miles away — well within striking range of South Korea and much of Japan, according to the report. Cruise missiles able to reach Okinawa — home to Kadena Air Base — are in development.The Chinese would first launch concentrated and unexpected” attacks on tarmacs using runway-penetrating missiles and, soon after, would target U.S. aircraft. Saboteurs would play a role in reconnaissance, harassing operations and even assassinating key personnel, according to another military expert.

Chinese fighter jets would scramble to intercept aerial refueling tankers and cargo planes sent to shuttle in fuel, munitions, supplies or troops. High-explosive cluster bombs would target pilot quarters and other personnel buildings.Because the American public is abnormally sensitive about military casualties, according to an article in China’s Liberation Army Daily, killing U.S. airmen or other personnel would spark a domestic anti-war cry on the home front and possibly force early withdrawal of U.S. forces. (The U.S. experience in Somalia is usually cited in support of this assertion, according to the Rand report.) Once this hard-and-fast assault on U.S. bases commenced, the Chinese army would swiftly divert its forces and guard vigilantly against enemy retaliation, according to a Chinese expert.Dumb and blind The PLA also would likely use less conventional attacks on the American military’s vital communications network. The goal, as one Chinese expert put it: leaving U.S. combat capabilities blind,deaf and paralyzed.
Losing early-warning systems designed to detect incoming missiles would be, for the Air Force, the most devastating setback — one that could force the service to exit the region altogether, according to Rand.China could also launch a nuclear e-bomb, or electromagnetic explosive, that would fry U.S. communication equipment while ionizing the atmosphere for minutes to hours, according to the report. This would likely jam radio signals in a 900-mile diameter beneath the nuclear fireball.The PLA could also employ long-range anti-satellite missiles — similar to one successfully tested last January — to destroy one or more American satellites. However, the PLA has a host of less dramatic options: short-range jammers hidden in suitcases or bombs and virus attacks on Air Force computer networks.

U.S. Air Force options

Shielding against a swift Chinese onslaught is, according to Rand, as simple as reinforcing a runway or as complex as cloaking the orbit of military satellites.In the short term, U.S. air bases inside the Dragon’s Lair should add an extra layer of concrete to their runways and bury fuel tanks underground. All aircraft, the report said, should be parked in hardened shelters, especially fighter jets.Parking larger aircraft — bombers, tankers and E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems jets — in hard-shell hangars would be expensive and difficult but likely worth the cost, according to the report.U.S. fighter jets remain the best defense against incoming Chinese missile attacks. But, given China’s taste for sudden attacks, surface-launched missile defense systems must be installed long before a conflict roils. Because the PLA is expected to strike quickly, the report said, waiting for the first tremors of conflict is not an option.The Air Force also should fortify itself against Chinese hackers by using software encryption, isolating critical computer systems and preparing contingency plans to communicate without a high-bandwidth network. Though China maintains a no first use nuclear bomb policy, the U.S., according to Rand, should warn China that nuclear electromagnetic pulse attacks will be considered acts of nuclear aggression and could prompt nuclear retaliation.

Rand insists the Air Force must defend satellites — which support communication, reconnaissance, bomb guidance and more — against China’s proven satellite-killing missiles. This could be accomplished in the Cold War tradition of mutually assured destruction by threatening to retaliate in kind if the PLA blasts U.S. satellites.That might be the one restraining factor, Cliff said. They might not want to start that space war.Or, Rand suggests, the U.S. could invest heavily in satellite protection or evasion techniques, including stealth, blending in with other satellite constellations or perhaps developing and deploying microsatellites capable of swarming to defend larger satellites, which the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is working toward.Could this really happen? The Chinese first-strike strategy is more than hypothetical, according to the report. But in the near term, at least, it’s considered unlikely.If the most contentious issue is Taiwan, Cliff said, then the likely trigger would be Taiwanese elections, where assertions of complete independence from the mainland can infuriate Chinese leaders. China’s current president, Hu Jintao, has built up China’s military but also its ties with America. In 2012, however, when Taiwan holds an election and mainland China’s leadership is expected to turn over, perhaps for the worse, the risk of conflict could increase.

It really depends on the circumstances, Cliff said. Would Taiwan be the provocateur? If so, it might be hard for the American public to support intervention.However, if China moves to capture control of the island, Cliff said he believes the U.S. would face a rocky dilemma.Are we really going to let a small, democratic country get snuffed out by a huge authoritarian country — especially when you think about how our own country came into existence? Cliff said.As China pours more resources into its evolving and expanding military, it buys the power to more strongly assert itself against America. In November, China denied U.S. Navy minesweepers shelter from a storm and, in another incident that month, turned down an Air Force C-17 flight shuttling supplies to the American consulate in Hong Kong. Experts speculate this was a rebuff to American arms sales to Taiwan, as well as President Bush’s autumn meeting with the Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of another state China claims, Tibet.If this conflict happened today, I’m certain we’d prevail, Cliff said. But as time goes on, that’s not a given.