1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Minor tremors under Vancouver Island end. 3-340,000 flee deadly floods in Indonesia's capital. 4-Lots of lake-effect snow, dangerous cold. 5-30 vehicles in deadly Hwy. 401 crash, OPP confirm. 6-IDF on Stand-By as Fatah and Hamas Clash. 7-Israel restricts access to Jerusalem mosque compound.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Mon Feb 5 1:00 AM EDT
FEB 05,07
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 4.7 POTOSI, BOLIVIA
FEB 04,07
MAP 5.0 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.1 CUBA REGION
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 LA PAZ, BOLIVIA
MAP 5.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.3 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
FEB 03,07
MAP 4.4 BRAZIL BORDER REGION
MAP 5.2 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.3 SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SAIPAN REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 NIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 AISEN, CHILE
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
Minor tremors under Vancouver Island end
Last Updated: Sunday, February 4, 2007 | 11:11 AM ET CBC News
The latest episode of subterranean tremors beneath Vancouver Island has ended earlier than expected, seismologists at the Pacific Geoscience Centre in Sidney, B.C., said Saturday.Things have quietened down very quickly. We don’t know why, Natural Resources Canada seismologist John Cassidy told the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper.The minor earth tremors under the floor of the Pacific Ocean indicate that stress is being placed on the shallow, locked part of the Cascadia fault line.The tremors are caused by the slipping of the bottom plate in the fault, which runs off the west coast of the island and beneath it. If the plate gives way, a major earthquake would result.Scientists say they began picking up the low-level shaking in 2003 with sensitive equipment. The episodes seem to occur every 14 months, with the latest detected on Jan. 31. The next expected episode of tremor and slip is expected to occur in April 2008.The tremor activity has, in the past, lasted for a week or two, moving along the fault line from Puget Sound in Washington state to Vancouver Island.Cassidy told the newspaper the seismic activity usually travels across Juan de Fuca Strait up the island to Lake Cowichan and on to the Alberni Inlet, but this time, it appeared to stop north of Duncan.
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.
340,000 flee deadly floods in Indonesia's capital by Bhimanto Suwastoyo FEB 04,07
JAKARTA (AFP) - Rescuers and volunteers have struggled to help nearly 340,000 Indonesians left homeless by devastating floods, triggered by heavy rains in and around Jakarta, which have killed 20 people. With more rain forecast, authorities put the capital on high alert and police deployed 12,600 extra personnel equipped with helicopters, inflatable boats and rafts to assist with evacuation efforts across the city.Many residents escaped their homes on inner tubes, children's inflatable paddling pools and makeshift rafts, or by wading through the floods rather than wait for help to arrive.Water levels reached rooftops in some areas as rivers and canals that criss-cross the city burst their banks following days of torrential downpours.The number of our personnel is enough, but what we are lacking are rubber boats for the evacuation of residents, said Jakarta police spokesman Untung Yoga Ana.Ana said the floods in the capital and surrounding areas had so far left 20 people dead and one missing.The victims died because of disease, cold, electrocution or were swept away by the floods, Ana told the state Antara news agency.
Health ministry officials said 18 were killed and two missing.
At least 122 areas were seriously flooded in the city of 10 million people and the surrounding towns of Tanggerang Depok and Bekasi, Ana said.Some 339,138 people in Jakarta, Tanggerang and Bekasi had left their homes to seek shelter, health ministry official Rustam Pakaya said.It was a dramatic increase from the 190,000 reported displaced earlier in the day.Television stations showed footage of inundated areas around the capital, mainly along the Ciliwung, Pesangrahan and Krukut rivers, with people being evacuated from their roofs or the second floors of their homes.
Helicopters dropped supplies to people stranded in the north of the city.
A key floodgate in East Jakarta could no longer block water flowing in from outside the city, staff there said, causing the city's main canal to burst its banks.Members of the Indonesian Red Cross and other volunteers were delivering food to thousands of people stranded in their flooded homes, sheltering on roadsides or in public buildings and mosques turned into temporary shelters.The floods have also forced the closures of several main roads across Jakarta, while at least two hospitals had to move patients to upper floors.Many train services were cancelled or delayed.Power and fresh water supplies were also cut to many areas, adding to the misery of people who opted to stay in their flooded homes. More than 670,000 people were without electricity. This weather pattern will continue until at least the end of February, said Edison Gurning of the Meteorology and Geophysics Agency.
With rain continuing to fall in water catchment areas south of the city, Gurning said the floods could spread even further. Residents of Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta a vast residential and commercial area inundated in 2002 by floods that killed 40 people said the latest disaster was far worse. Last time, the water was only knee deep, but yesterday it had already reached my midriff when I left, said 48-year-old Brahmanta, who managed to leave his two-storey house with his car when water levels were still low. I could stay on the second floor of the house, but there is no food, no electricity, no clean water, and the toilets cannot flush, Brahmanta said. Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar has blamed the floods on excessive construction on natural drainage areas, Antara reported, but Jakarta governor Sutiyoso said it was a cyclical natural phenomenon.Witoelar said many developers had not paid enough attention to the ecological impact of their construction projects. Old Batavia, the former colonial port under the Dutch from where Jakarta has expanded, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital are below sea level. Floods also hit other regions of Java island and neighbouring Sumatra, causing five deaths and forcing at least 3,000 to flee their homes.
Lots of lake-effect snow, dangerous cold Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sun Feb 4, 4:28 AM ET
Northeast
Areas downwind of Lakes Erie and Ontario continue to be slammed with lake-effect snows again today. The heaviest snow is expected in northwestern Pennsylvania and southwestern New York (from Erie to the southern suburbs of Buffalo) and between Utica and Watertown, New York. Some areas could see in access of two feet of new snow by Monday evening. Elsewhere in the Northeast, breezy conditions are possible including in the Megalopolis today and Monday. Lake-effect snows will continue to affect areas near the Lakes for the next several days, while snow should stay out of the Megalopolis at least until mid-week. Everybody, however, will share below average temperatures through the week ahead.
Midwest
Michigan continues to see lake-effect snows on its shores today and for much of the week ahead. The heaviest snows are expected to fall across the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and western Lower Michigan. Otherwise, extreme cold is the big story across the Midwest today. Wind chill advisories are posted for much of the Midwest today, with wind chill warnings#for the most extreme cold wind chills in parts of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan. Winds should subside some over the coming days, and the cold should abate slightly, but the coldest temperatures of the season so far will continue throughout the week ahead with temperatures staying below seasonal averages all week. Light snow will be possible over the Northern Plains on Monday, spreading into the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys by Tuesday, with more snow in the Plains by Wednesday and Thursday. A light wintry mix is possible in the Black Hills and Missouri River Valley on Tuesday, then the Central Plains and Ozarks on Wednesday and Thursday.
South
The South continues to stay cold and dry, with the exception of Florida where scattered showers are possible today generally south of I-4. A few showers are possible around Miami late this afternoon and this evening. A few snow showers are possible in Kentucky and bordering counties in Tennessee, mainly this morning, before moving into the mountains in West Virginia, Virginia, and northwestern North Carolina. A few showers will be possible again on Monday near Miami, with much of the South remaining dry on Monday. A few showers move into Arkansas and the Tennessee Valley on Tuesday. Rain will be possible across much of the Southern Plains and lower Mississippi Valley on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will remain near or below seasonal averages for the next few days, with warmer temperatures returning to the Southern Plains for Tuesday and Wednesday before more cool air returns by the end of the week.
West
The Pacific Northwest will see a variety of precipitation, but most of it should be on the light side today. Snow will be possible above 8000 feet in the Olympic Mountains today and tonight, above 6000 feet today and around 5000 feet tonight in the Washington Cascades, and around 5000 feet in the mountains of Idaho tonight. Elsewhere in the West, warmth is the big story with temperatures approaching record highs in many parts of California and Nevada over the next few days. By Wednesday, rain starts to move on shore on the West Coast and temperatures return to near seasonal averages. Rain will be possible along the West coast through Friday, with snow in the Rockies on Thursday and Friday.
AUTOMOBILES
NAHUM 2:3-4
3 The shield of his mighty men is made red, the valiant men are in scarlet: the chariots (AUTOMOBILES) shall be with flaming torches in the day of his preparation,(LIGHTS) and the fir trees shall be terribly shaken.
4 The chariots shall rage in the streets,(DRIVE FAST) they shall justle(ACCIDENTS) one against another in the broad ways: they shall seem like torches, they shall run like the lightnings.(LIGHTS AND FAST)
30 vehicles in deadly Hwy. 401 crash, OPP confirm
At least one eastbound lane opened Friday evening
Friday, February 2, 2007 CBC News
Thirty vehicles were involved in the deadly crash on a stretch of Canada's busiest highway near the central Ontario town of Cobourg, police confirmed Friday afternoon.The Highway 401 crash involved 23 passenger vehicles and seven transport trucks, including the tanker that exploded, Insp. Mike Johnston of Northumberland Ontario Provincial Police said at a news conference.A blizzard contributed to the multi-vehicle accident on Highway 401 near Cobourg, Ont., on Thursday. More than a dozen vehicles were involved, including a fuel-laden tanker truck that exploded and burned.
(Lars Hagberg/Canadian Press) Slow traffic drove on a single westbound lane, open since early morning. At least one eastbound lane opened Friday evening.Two died in the fiery crash on the eastbound lane of the snow-swept highway at about 12:20 p.m. ET Thursday near Cobourg, about 100 kilometres east of Toronto.Police have not yet released the victims' names. Autopsies are scheduled to be performed in Toronto on Saturday.Thirteen others were injured in the accident, and one remained in hospital, Johnston said.
Truckers stuck on highway all night
Crews worked through the night to clear the road of wreckage, including rolls of heavy metal that fell from a flatbed truck involved in the crash and the charred remains of vehicles.Enough debris had been cleared from the eastbound highway by mid-morning to allow 108 frustrated truckers, who had waited in their vehicles overnight and were running low on fuel, to drive through.Three kilometres of tractor-trailers had been lined up on the highway since the accident, unable to turn around or move forward.There's been no information passed on, nothing. We've been here since noon yesterday [Thursday], said one trucker.
Road needs repaving because of fire
OPP Sgt. Bob Patterson made an impassioned plea for motorists to slow down and refrain from passing when driving through small communities such as Cobourg.Heaven forbid we have another accident on a detour road.—OPP Sgt. Bob Patterson"Everyone is just going to have to be patient, said Patterson about detours set up on the 401. Heaven forbid we have another accident on a detour road.A section of the eastbound lanes where the crash occurred must be repaved after the burning tanker melted the road's surface and other vehicles left tremendous gouge marks, Patterson said.
Ontario Ministry of Transportation experts are assessing the damage, but police said it could take days to complete the more extensive repairs to the asphalt.
Passerby helps injured find help
Johnston said police heard many witness accounts of passersby racing to help people from cars.
There are tremendous side-stories in terms of heroism and we will do our best to recognize those people.Stratford resident Joanne Benham Rennick, who came across the crash while driving in the opposite direction, told CBC News about how she and her husband tried to help the injured and confused people stumbling from cars.Her first sight of the accident was a green tractor-trailer with one side of the cab virtually sheared off, then flames that flashed up farther down the road.I said, Gee, I don't know how you even got out of the car, because it was by then completely in the fire and being consumed by flames.Passerby Joanne Benham Rennick Traffic had ground to a halt, and Rennick and her husband decided to clamber over the median and try to help those in the wreckage.
Walking past the vehicles, she began directing the injured to others who could treat them or give them a warm place to sit down.One man had his face and hand covered in blood, and another came out of his vehicle with a dislocated shoulder.Another woman told Rennick how she stopped behind the accident and a car hit her from behind, pushing her into the crush of vehicles. She escaped before her car was engulfed in flames.I said, 'Gee, I don't know how you even got out of the car, because it was by then completely in the fire … and being consumed by flames, Rennick said.And she said I don't want to think about that or I'll freak out.
How to avoid pileups
Officials won't know what caused the accident for several weeks, but witnesses said heavy snow causing zero visibility was undoubtedly a factor.Whiteouts don't often fall like a curtain across a stage. They come on gradually, at least in terms of giving a driver a few seconds to respond. Driving school owner Doug Annett.Doug Annett, who runs a school that teaches drivers how to negotiate roads in treacherous weather, said expert opinions differ on how drivers should react in such incidents.Some say cars should turn on their hazard lights to alert those behind them to an accident on the road ahead.But Annett warned that some drivers interpret the hazard lights as a vehicle pulled over on the side of the road and swerve to avoid them, ending up involved in the pileup.He said motorists should only use their hazards temporarily to alert others and, if they are stopped, they should stay as far off the road as possible.Most importantly, though, drivers need to start responding immediately in whiteout conditions, he said.Whiteouts don't often fall like a curtain across a stage, said Annett. They come on gradually, at least in terms of giving a driver a few seconds to respond.
IDF on Stand-By as Fatah and Hamas Clash
By Hillel Fendel and Gil Ronen (INN) FEB 04,07
As Fatah-Hamas fighting escalates, the IDF is thinking ahead of a possible re-conquest of Gaza to halt the terrorists' massive weapon stockpiling for a Hizbullah-style war against Israel. If and when such an offensive does take place, the large-scale incursion is likely to be similar in scope to Operation Defensive Shield, which the IDF carried out in Judea and Samaria in 2002. The operation is currently on hold, however, with all Israeli officials in agreement that Israel need not intervene while Fatah and Hamas are killing each other.We have to sit on the side, Vice Premier Shimon Peres said. If we were to get involved, it would draw their mutual fire towards us.Infrastructures Minister Eli Yishai (Shas) agreed, but added that Israel must be prepared to attack: "When the Hamas-Fatah fighting ends, we will have to act to destroy the terrorist infrastructure there, which continues to grow.
The IDF concern is that Hamas is accumulating a large stockpile of improved Kassam rockets, with upgraded accuracy and more powerful warheads. Hamas is also putting an effort into smuggling anti-tank weapons through the Egyptian border, and building an array of bunkers and tunnels throughout Gaza. Hamas appears to be implementing lessons learned from the Hizbullah’s successful use of bunkers against Israeli forces in the 2006 Lebanon War.PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas, who heads Fatah, and Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh are to meet in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to try and reach yet another ceasefire accord and form a unity government in the PA. Senior Fatah men expressed the fear that if the summit fails, Hamas could begin to use suicide bombings against Fatah.The Deputy Director of Israel's Shabak (General Security Service) told the government today that he does not expect the peace talks to succeed. Saturday night, Hamas terrorists killed a leading Fatah man and kidnapped another -the nephew of PA strongman Muhammed Dahlan. Hamas also fired several mortar shells at Abbas' presidential palace. Fatah forces went on the offensive in several other incidents. Residents in Gaza are reported to be both terrified to set foot out of their homes, and in despair at the crisis that seems to have no solution.
Gaza University Torched Again
Fatah gunmen torched the Islamic University, a Hamas stronghold, in Gaza City for the second time in recent days, accusing Hamas of using the campus to store and distribute weapons. Several explosions caused millions of dollars in damage, and a university official said gun battles prevented emergency services from reaching the blazes. Three campuses of the Al-Quds University also were set on fire in Gaza City, Rafiah to the south and in northern Gaza.Iran and the Islamic Jihad denied reports that seven Iranians, including a military general, had been taken captive in a Fatah raid on the Hamas-affiliated Islamic University in Gaza. In a joint press conference held by Iranian and Islamic Jihad officials in Iran, Iranian National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani called the report a gross lie, and Islamic Jihad's Secretary-General Ramadan Abdullah Shalah said it was a joke. The Shabak Deputy Director, whose identity is not publicly known, said today that Israel cannot confirm that Iranians were arrested.Despite this, Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim (Kadima) said that Iran's involvement in fueling the conflict must be emphasized to the world.
Israel restricts access to Jerusalem mosque compound Sun Feb 4, 6:54 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) -Israel has imposed restrictions on access to Islam's third holiest site for fear of demonstrations against building work near east Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound. Only Muslim men who are married, over 45 years old, and who have a blue Israeli identity card, in addition to all Muslim women, will have access to the Temple Mount on Sunday, police spokesman Mickey Rosenfeld told AFP.On their side, Jews and tourists will also not be allowed to visit the site. Rosenfeld was using the Israeli term for the mosque compound, which is also revered by Jews as the site of their ancient Temple, destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.Muslim leaders have called for protests against planned work on the nearby Dung Gate to the Old City that they say threatens the foundations of the mosque compound.The compound, also known as the Haram al-Sharif or Noble Sanctuary, is the Holy Land's most sensitive site. A visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon in 2000 sparked the latest Palestinian uprising.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Sunday, February 04, 2007
BIRD FLU IN SUFFOLK
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Experts warn of major quake in western Canada. 3-Toll hits 20 in Florida's deadliest storm in nearly 10 years. 4-Five dead, 100,000 displaced by floods in Indonesian capital. 5-Imam leads Democrats in prayer of conversion. 6-U.S. to support up to 10,000 extra Abbas troops 7-EU financial market chief backs Merkel's trade plan 8-Bird flu virus is Asian strain.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sun Feb 4 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 4,2007 NO QUAKES YET
FEB 3,2007
MAP 5.2 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.3 SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SAIPAN REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 AISEN, CHILE
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
FEB 02,2007
MAP 3.2 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
MAP 5.2 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 4.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.4 EL SALVADOR
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 GREECE
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 2.5 OREGON
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
Experts warn of major quake in western Canada Sat Feb 3, 3:55 PM ET
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - Seismologists warned that a catastrophic earthquake could strike the southwestern coast of British Columbia soon, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reported. The experts noted rumblings from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, along Vancouver Island, which could foretell a giant quake. But they said the probability of a quake was still low.Everyone drives their car every day, and the probability of getting in a car accident is small although it rises during rush hour, Garry Rogers, a seismologist at the Pacific Geoscience Centre on Vancouver Island, told the Globe and Mail.Well, Vancouver Island is now driving in rush hour, he said.The newspaper said the activity, known to scientists as episodic tremor and slip, emanates from the crush of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate beneath the North American Plate, which is Canada's shoreline.The Juan de Fuca plate runs from Vancouver Island on Canada's West Coast south to Northern California in the United States.
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.
Like the Bible says disaster will hit like a Thief in the night. And the Bible says also Gods word (the Bible) will not be distroyed but the world will be. I find this very prophetic in the Tornado destruction in Florida yesterday. The Tornado happened at 3 in the morning, and in about 6 or 7 cases the people that were looking for Bibles found them in tact not destroyed. Gods word went right through disaster and prevails, guess whos in control of World events, Praise the GOD (JESUS) KING MESSIAH OF ISRAEL.
Toll hits 20 in Florida's deadliest storm in nearly 10 years FEB 03,07
LADY LAKE, United States (AFP) - The toll from Florida's deadliest storm in almost a decade rose to 20, reports said, as homeowners returned to pick through the rubble of hundreds of tornado-shredded homes.
US President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in four counties in the central part of the southern state in the wake of pre-dawn storms Friday that carved a trail of destruction and death, wrapping metal around trees and launching some victims into neighboring homes.Whatever federal response is needed, we will make it quick and sure, Bush said during a speech in Williamsburg, Virginia.CNN television network reported that 20 people had died, one more than the officially reported toll of 19 on Friday, as rescue crews ended their search for victims.
The storm also wiped out a flock of 18 rare whooping cranes, all juveniles which had only a month earlier been guided to western Florida on their migration from Canada by an ultralight aircraft.My heart is aching both for the young birds we lost and for the dedicated people who have devoted so much of themselves to this project, only to see the lives of these cranes end in this devastating manner, said John Christian, co-chair of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, in a statement.It's amazing to see how destructive and how surgical the intensity of a tornado, said Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who also declared an emergency in the four counties.The emergency declarations release disaster assistance funds to help stricken people with temporary housing, rebuilding and other costs. They also help local governments fund their rescue and recovery efforts.Crist said Florida residents had pulled together.They have poured out their hearts to help their fellow man, he told reporters.
Our search and rescue are completed and we are now in the recovery stage, making sure we're getting needs met, Jennifer Stan, of Florida emergency operations, told AFP.Some 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed and an estimated 13,000 people were left without electricity after the line of storms tore through, uprooting trees and felling power lines.
The storms hit around 3:30 am (0830 GMT) Friday, as most people slept. Because few had any warning, many residents were stunned the toll was not higher.An area of some 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) was ravaged. Residents likened the storms to a freight train that roared and slammed into their homes.It woke me out of a dead sleep, local resident David Wholly told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. I heard the noise, and it sounded like a train coming, and I ran to the bathroom. The tree went right through the bedroom window where my head was.Residents sifted through the remains of their splintered homes Saturday, desperate to find any souvenir, a family memento or a picture frame.The Federal Emergency Management Agency, so criticized for its performance when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, made sure that Bush signed an emergency measure for the four Florida counties, releasing needed funds, said FEMA director David Paulison.He said FEMA trailers were on their way with food, water and other supplies, but stressed that FEMA cannot work alone. It's neighbors helping neighbors, he said. If we work together, we can do this. Friday's storms struck on the ninth anniversary of Florida's ferocious Groundhog Day Storm of 1998, when seven tornadoes and fierce storms killed 42 people in Florida. In December, more than a dozen people were injured and more than 200 homes destroyed when storms and tornadoes ripped through the same area of central Florida. The area of devastation is northwest of the Walt Disney World Resort, which was not affected by the bad weather.
Five dead, 100,000 displaced by floods in Indonesian capital by Nabiha Shahab Sat Feb 3, 7:34 AM ET
JAKARTA (AFP) - At least five people have been killed in floods in Jakarta with more than 100,000 others forced to camp out at roadsides and in emergency shelters after days of torrential downpours. With more rain forecast, disaster officials said they were struggling to cope. Hundreds of troops and navy personnel equipped with inflatable boats and rafts were deployed to help the capital's worst-hit areas.We have done the optimum effort to evacuate people but because of the number and the vast area to cover we hope people understand (the problems we are facing), Sugeng Triutomo from the national disaster management body (Bakornas) told ElShinta radio.More than 100,000 people had been displaced by the rainy-season floods, the state Antara news agency reported, citing Bakornas figures.Bakornas official Sunardi said five people were killed and tens of thousands of homes flooded.We have yet to count offices, school buildings and hospitals inundated by the floods because we are still focusing on evacuating flood victims, he told Antara as the rains started again Saturday evening.
Hundreds of families were seen huddled together by roads on higher ground after fleeing their flooded homes in the city, which is criss-crossed by 13 rivers.Water up to two metres (more than six feet) submerged areas of the city, including the upmarket Kelapa Gading housing complex in the north, which is usually less prone to flooding.I had to put my motorcycle in the university out there and walk in the floods to my house last night (Friday), Kelapa Gading resident Najmi said.The water in front of my house is about one metre. We have been trapped here since yesterday morning, he told AFP Saturday.Several other Kelapa Gading residents called ElShinta, saying some old people and pregnant women were trapped in their houses and needed evacuation.Water, electricity supplies and telecommunications have been cut in several areas of the city due to the floods.Search and rescue workers and nurses in inflatable boats were offering medical help to flood victims along the main Ciliwung river, Hadianto, head of the independent Jakarta Rescue group said.
Areas that we go to are very far from the reach of cars. We have to hop from roof to roof of people's houses, he told AFP.Hadianto said the main complaints so far were diarrhoea and skin problems, with children and old people suffering the most.Indonesian Red Cross and other volunteers were cooking and delivering food to the thousands of people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering at the side of roads.City water control officials warned that the floods could worsen, with continuing rains in nearby Bogor city expected to exacerbate the situation by nightfall.Katulampa watergate is 70 centimetres (28 inches) above normal and the water level is rising, a Jakarta water control officer told AFP, referring to the main sluice gate controlling the flow of water from Bogor, which is at a higher
elevation.
More rain was forecast over the weekend.
Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar blamed the floods on excessive construction in water catchment areas, Antara reported. There are too many malls in the capital city, he said, complaining that many developers had not paid enough attention to the ecological impact of construction projects. Old Batavia, the former colonial port under the Dutch from where Jakarta has expanded, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital are below sea level. In 2002, floods killed up to 40 people and some 300,000 were forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries.
Imam leads Democrats in prayer of conversion
Muslim leader at party's winter meeting
also asks Allah to stop the occupation
Posted: February 3, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Husham Al-Husainy
With heads bowed reverently, Democrats were led in prayer yesterday by a Muslim imam who essentially asked Allah to assist in converting the party members to Islam, according to a scholar and author. Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and author of The Truth about Muhammad, took note of the prayer given at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting by Husham Al-Husainy, imam of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a shiite mosque in Dearborn, Mich.
According to a transcript of the prayer, which can be seen on a video clip provided by HotAir.com, the imam said: In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us God to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.Spencer, in a post on his Jihad Watch website, said he found it interesting to see the Muslim leader praying, in veiled terms to be sure, for their conversion to Islam, and, oh yes, for the destruction of Israel (And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation). Imagine if a Christian priest or minister had prayed at a DNC meeting that those attending be guided away from the path of those doomed by God, Spencer said. He explained the imam was echoing the Fatiha, the first sura, or chapter, of the Quran and the most common prayer of Islam. It asks Allah: Show us the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast favored; not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
The traditional Islamic understanding is that the straight path is Islam, Spencer points out. On the other hand, he continued, the path of those who have earned Allah's anger are the Jews, and those who have gone astray are the Christians. Spencer cited the classic Quranic commentator Ibn Kathir, who says: Allah asserted that the two paths He described here are both misguided when He repeated the negation not. These two paths are the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer should beware of so that he avoids them. The path of the believers is knowledge of the truth and abiding by it. In comparison, the Jews abandoned practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is why anger descended upon the Jews, while being described as led astray is more appropriate of the Christians. Those who know, but avoid implementing the truth, deserve the anger, unlike those who are ignorant. The Christians want to seek the true knowledge, but are unable to find it because they did not seek it from its proper resources. This is why they were led astray. We should also mention that both the Christians and the Jews have earned the anger and are led astray, but the anger is one of the attributes more particular of the Jews. Allah said about the Jews, (Those (Jews) who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath) (5:60). The attribute that the Christians deserve most is that of being led astray, just as Allah said about them, (Who went astray before and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path) (5:77).
U.S. to support up to 10,000 extra Abbas troops By Adam Entous Sat Feb 3, 5:36 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States will expand assistance to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to include about 8,500 members of his national security forces and possibly 1,000 Fatah fighters based in Jordan, U.S. documents show. Providing non-lethal equipment and training to units of Abbas's National Security Forces, and possibly the Jordan-based Badr Brigade could increase Washington's role in the power struggle between Abbas's Fatah faction and the governing Hamas movement.U.S. assistance has largely been limited until now to around 4,000 members of Abbas's presidential guard.But documents obtained by Reuters on Saturday showed that the U.S. government's $86.4 million security assistance program could cover at least 13,500 troops loyal to Abbas.The National Security Forces (NSF) is the largest security force under Abbas's control and is viewed by many Palestinians to be the equivalent of an army, though it is poorly trained and equipped compared to the smaller presidential guard.
Under the U.S. security program, $76.4 million will fund projects to transform and strengthen elements of the Palestinian Authority's security structure, specifically the National Security Forces and Presidential Guard in an effort to improve public order and fight terror in the West Bank and Gaza, the documents said.These projects have been developed in coordination with the office of the PA president (Abbas), and the overall plan enjoys the support of the government of Israel, said the documents, marked sensitive but unclassified.Another $10 million would fund security improvements at the Karni commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza.Western officials involved in the program said security service members who participate in the U.S.-funded program will undergo a vetting process to ensure they are qualified and have no ties to militant groups.Hamas has denounced U.S. security assistance as part of a coup against its government. Hamas gunmen on Thursday attached a truck convey in Gaza that it said was meant to resupply Abbas's presidential guard, triggering a wave of fighting.
U.S. officials say they will only provide training and non-lethal equipment to forces loyal to Abbas. Guns and ammunition are being supplied by key U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, with Israeli approval, Israeli officials say.Under the $86.4 million U.S. program, $35.5 million will be used to provide non-lethal equipment, including riot gear and communications equipment, to about 8,500 members of Abbas's National Security Forces.
Another $15 million in U.S. funds would provide at least one NSF unit, estimated to have 668 members, with an initial six months of training to counter civil disorder, most likely at a facility in Jordan, the documents say.The funds will be used in support of NSF deployment throughout the West Bank and Gaza so that the NSF may establish a visible public presence, improve public order and help improve border security, the documents said.The United States expected other donors to provide extra training, the documents said, but gave no further details.Palestinian officials estimate that the National Security Forces have as many as 40,000 members. Western diplomats say the number of active members is closer to 20,000.
BADR BRIGADE
The $86.4 million also includes $25.9 million to provide non-lethal equipment to Abbas's elite presidential guard, which is expected to grow to 4,700 members with U.S. help near-term.
Palestinian officials say the force could eventually top 10,000. The documents said up to $8 million of these funds may be used to provide equipment to the Badr Brigade, a Fatah-dominated force, in the event of a deployment in Gaza. Badr would fall under the presidential guard's operational command. The United States and Israel have backed a proposal by Abbas to let about 1,000 members of the Badr Brigade, into the Palestinian territories, though no date has been set. Diplomats say Abbas's military build-up was meant to counter strides by Hamas in smuggling more powerful weapons into Gaza for its fast-growing Executive Force and armed wing. Some analysts have warned that fighting between Hamas and Fatah could turn into a proxy war, with the United States supporting Abbas and Iran backing Hamas.
EU financial market chief backs Merkel's trade plan FEB 02,07
bbj.hu - Charlie McCreevy, the European Union's financial markets chief, backed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal for more open trans-Atlantic trade.Merkel suggested reducing trade barriers with the US last month as she took over the rotating leadership of the 27-nation European Union and the Group of Eight biggest economic countries. The initiative would build on five years of talks between the EU and US to whittle away differences in financial services rules. „Initiatives like the Merkel initiative provoke new thinking, McCreevy told a Brussels news conference yesterday. „In a globalized world, we have to find new ways of doing things.
McCreevy, a former Irish finance minister, told EU lawmakers earlier this week he will visit the US next month to discuss rules on accounting, securities, banking and insurance. McCreevy didn't specify how he would introduce Merkel's plan into the US negotiations. The EU is working with the US on a plan to recognize each other's accounting rules, letting companies list their shares on both sides without having to keep two sets of books.McCreevy also is pushing US regulators to make it easier for foreign companies to exit US markets, and to implement a global overhaul of capital rules for banks. McCreevy is pressing US state regulators to let European reinsurers do business in their markets without posting collateral or being subject to local supervision. The projects are part of a 5-year-old „Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue, which was spurred in part by a dispute over corporate governance rules enacted by the US after the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.
McCreevy, who overseers internal market matters at the European Commission, also presented a report showing EU governments improved their performance during the past half year in enacting the region's business and market laws.
Italy held its place as the country sanctioned the most for breaching EU rules. As of January 11, the country faced 161 warnings or lawsuits, either for failing to enact required measures or maintaining local laws running counter to EU decisions. Spain was second with 109 such cases.Estonia was the least cited, subject to 11 open procedures. McCreevy said only two countries the UK and new EU member Bulgaria met Wednesday's deadline to enact an overhaul of securities rules known as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. He expects Ireland to finish its work next week. Last week, he said other countries would be delayed only a short time. The rules are due to take effect November 1. It's worrying, McCreevy said of the pace of governments writing Mifid into national laws. The longer they take, the more likely that these countries won't hit the November deadline.(Bloomberg)
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).
Saturday, 3 February 2007, 22:16 GMT
Bird flu virus is Asian strain
The avian flu which killed 2,600 turkeys at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk has been confirmed as the Asian strain of the H5N1 virus. The virus can be fatal if it is passed on to humans but experts said the outbreak was being contained and posed little danger to people's health. The Veterinary Laboratories Agency carried out the tests which confirmed the outbreak in Holton. The slaughter of nearly 160,000 turkeys has begun at the farm as a precaution. A spokeswoman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the birds were being gassed in containers and the operation would continue through the night. The government department earlier said the flu was the highly pathogenic Asian strain, similar to a virus that was found in Hungary in January.
In that incident, the first time bird flu had re-occurred in the European Union since August 2006, a flock of 3,000 geese were killed. A three-kilometre protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have now been set up around Holton, which is approximately 27km south-west of Lowestoft.
What each zone means
It is the first case on a UK commercial farm of an H5N1 infection. The strain has killed 164 people worldwide - mainly in south-east Asia since 2003. However, the virus is not thought to be able to pass easily from human to human at present. A spokesman for Bernard Matthews, which runs the farm in Holton, said none of the affected birds had entered the food chain and there was no risk to public health. So far, all those who have been infected worldwide have come into intimate contact with infected birds.
Vaccinations
Fred Landeg, Britain's Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, said an investigation was under way but the most likely source of the outbreak was wild birds.
He told BBC News that vaccinations for poultry were not currently being considered. There are a number of problems with vaccination in that it takes about three weeks to get immunity.Mr Landeg said the turkeys at the farm had been too young to enter the food chain and no birds or produce had moved off the site. Dr Maria Zambon, from the Health Protection Agency, said farm workers who had come into contact with infected birds, and those involved in the culling process, would be offered the anti-viral drug tamiflu as a precaution. She stressed that nobody had developed symptoms of bird flu following similar outbreaks among farm birds in continental Europe. Vets were called to the Bernard Matthews farm on Thursday night. The company said it was confident the outbreak had been contained and there was no risk to consumers.
How bird flu became global
National Farmers Union president Peter Kendall told BBC News 24 the priority would be eradicating the outbreak. [We will be] making sure we get the message across about how well this will be managed and controlled. We're encouraging all farmers to be incredibly vigilant, look at their flocks carefully and we do need to reassure consumers that this is not an issue about the safety of poultry - it's completely safe to eat.Defra has revoked the national general licence on bird gatherings and bird shows and pigeon racing will not be permitted.
Detergent
Professor John Oxford, a virologist at the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, said he was confident the outbreak could be contained. He said: I don't think it has made any difference as a threat to the human population. The most likely explanation is that a small bird has come in through a ventilation shaft. One good thing about this virus is that it's easily destroyed. You can kill it with a bit of detergent.Dr Oxford also said that while four strains of the H5N1 virus have
been identified so far, all are deadly to birds and show potential of being harmful to humans.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sun Feb 4 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 4,2007 NO QUAKES YET
FEB 3,2007
MAP 5.2 GUAM REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.3 SOUTHWESTERN SIBERIA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 CENTRAL MEDITERRANEAN SEA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SAIPAN REGION, NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.1 AISEN, CHILE
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.3 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
FEB 02,2007
MAP 3.2 MONA PASSAGE, PUERTO RICO
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
MAP 5.2 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 4.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 4.4 EL SALVADOR
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 GREECE
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 2.5 OREGON
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
Experts warn of major quake in western Canada Sat Feb 3, 3:55 PM ET
VANCOUVER, Canada (AFP) - Seismologists warned that a catastrophic earthquake could strike the southwestern coast of British Columbia soon, Canada's Globe and Mail newspaper reported. The experts noted rumblings from deep beneath the Pacific Ocean, along Vancouver Island, which could foretell a giant quake. But they said the probability of a quake was still low.Everyone drives their car every day, and the probability of getting in a car accident is small although it rises during rush hour, Garry Rogers, a seismologist at the Pacific Geoscience Centre on Vancouver Island, told the Globe and Mail.Well, Vancouver Island is now driving in rush hour, he said.The newspaper said the activity, known to scientists as episodic tremor and slip, emanates from the crush of the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate beneath the North American Plate, which is Canada's shoreline.The Juan de Fuca plate runs from Vancouver Island on Canada's West Coast south to Northern California in the United States.
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.
Like the Bible says disaster will hit like a Thief in the night. And the Bible says also Gods word (the Bible) will not be distroyed but the world will be. I find this very prophetic in the Tornado destruction in Florida yesterday. The Tornado happened at 3 in the morning, and in about 6 or 7 cases the people that were looking for Bibles found them in tact not destroyed. Gods word went right through disaster and prevails, guess whos in control of World events, Praise the GOD (JESUS) KING MESSIAH OF ISRAEL.
Toll hits 20 in Florida's deadliest storm in nearly 10 years FEB 03,07
LADY LAKE, United States (AFP) - The toll from Florida's deadliest storm in almost a decade rose to 20, reports said, as homeowners returned to pick through the rubble of hundreds of tornado-shredded homes.
US President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in four counties in the central part of the southern state in the wake of pre-dawn storms Friday that carved a trail of destruction and death, wrapping metal around trees and launching some victims into neighboring homes.Whatever federal response is needed, we will make it quick and sure, Bush said during a speech in Williamsburg, Virginia.CNN television network reported that 20 people had died, one more than the officially reported toll of 19 on Friday, as rescue crews ended their search for victims.
The storm also wiped out a flock of 18 rare whooping cranes, all juveniles which had only a month earlier been guided to western Florida on their migration from Canada by an ultralight aircraft.My heart is aching both for the young birds we lost and for the dedicated people who have devoted so much of themselves to this project, only to see the lives of these cranes end in this devastating manner, said John Christian, co-chair of the Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership, in a statement.It's amazing to see how destructive and how surgical the intensity of a tornado, said Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who also declared an emergency in the four counties.The emergency declarations release disaster assistance funds to help stricken people with temporary housing, rebuilding and other costs. They also help local governments fund their rescue and recovery efforts.Crist said Florida residents had pulled together.They have poured out their hearts to help their fellow man, he told reporters.
Our search and rescue are completed and we are now in the recovery stage, making sure we're getting needs met, Jennifer Stan, of Florida emergency operations, told AFP.Some 1,500 homes were damaged or destroyed and an estimated 13,000 people were left without electricity after the line of storms tore through, uprooting trees and felling power lines.
The storms hit around 3:30 am (0830 GMT) Friday, as most people slept. Because few had any warning, many residents were stunned the toll was not higher.An area of some 51 square kilometers (20 square miles) was ravaged. Residents likened the storms to a freight train that roared and slammed into their homes.It woke me out of a dead sleep, local resident David Wholly told the Orlando Sentinel newspaper. I heard the noise, and it sounded like a train coming, and I ran to the bathroom. The tree went right through the bedroom window where my head was.Residents sifted through the remains of their splintered homes Saturday, desperate to find any souvenir, a family memento or a picture frame.The Federal Emergency Management Agency, so criticized for its performance when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, made sure that Bush signed an emergency measure for the four Florida counties, releasing needed funds, said FEMA director David Paulison.He said FEMA trailers were on their way with food, water and other supplies, but stressed that FEMA cannot work alone. It's neighbors helping neighbors, he said. If we work together, we can do this. Friday's storms struck on the ninth anniversary of Florida's ferocious Groundhog Day Storm of 1998, when seven tornadoes and fierce storms killed 42 people in Florida. In December, more than a dozen people were injured and more than 200 homes destroyed when storms and tornadoes ripped through the same area of central Florida. The area of devastation is northwest of the Walt Disney World Resort, which was not affected by the bad weather.
Five dead, 100,000 displaced by floods in Indonesian capital by Nabiha Shahab Sat Feb 3, 7:34 AM ET
JAKARTA (AFP) - At least five people have been killed in floods in Jakarta with more than 100,000 others forced to camp out at roadsides and in emergency shelters after days of torrential downpours. With more rain forecast, disaster officials said they were struggling to cope. Hundreds of troops and navy personnel equipped with inflatable boats and rafts were deployed to help the capital's worst-hit areas.We have done the optimum effort to evacuate people but because of the number and the vast area to cover we hope people understand (the problems we are facing), Sugeng Triutomo from the national disaster management body (Bakornas) told ElShinta radio.More than 100,000 people had been displaced by the rainy-season floods, the state Antara news agency reported, citing Bakornas figures.Bakornas official Sunardi said five people were killed and tens of thousands of homes flooded.We have yet to count offices, school buildings and hospitals inundated by the floods because we are still focusing on evacuating flood victims, he told Antara as the rains started again Saturday evening.
Hundreds of families were seen huddled together by roads on higher ground after fleeing their flooded homes in the city, which is criss-crossed by 13 rivers.Water up to two metres (more than six feet) submerged areas of the city, including the upmarket Kelapa Gading housing complex in the north, which is usually less prone to flooding.I had to put my motorcycle in the university out there and walk in the floods to my house last night (Friday), Kelapa Gading resident Najmi said.The water in front of my house is about one metre. We have been trapped here since yesterday morning, he told AFP Saturday.Several other Kelapa Gading residents called ElShinta, saying some old people and pregnant women were trapped in their houses and needed evacuation.Water, electricity supplies and telecommunications have been cut in several areas of the city due to the floods.Search and rescue workers and nurses in inflatable boats were offering medical help to flood victims along the main Ciliwung river, Hadianto, head of the independent Jakarta Rescue group said.
Areas that we go to are very far from the reach of cars. We have to hop from roof to roof of people's houses, he told AFP.Hadianto said the main complaints so far were diarrhoea and skin problems, with children and old people suffering the most.Indonesian Red Cross and other volunteers were cooking and delivering food to the thousands of people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering at the side of roads.City water control officials warned that the floods could worsen, with continuing rains in nearby Bogor city expected to exacerbate the situation by nightfall.Katulampa watergate is 70 centimetres (28 inches) above normal and the water level is rising, a Jakarta water control officer told AFP, referring to the main sluice gate controlling the flow of water from Bogor, which is at a higher
elevation.
More rain was forecast over the weekend.
Environment Minister Rachmat Witoelar blamed the floods on excessive construction in water catchment areas, Antara reported. There are too many malls in the capital city, he said, complaining that many developers had not paid enough attention to the ecological impact of construction projects. Old Batavia, the former colonial port under the Dutch from where Jakarta has expanded, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital are below sea level. In 2002, floods killed up to 40 people and some 300,000 were forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries.
Imam leads Democrats in prayer of conversion
Muslim leader at party's winter meeting
also asks Allah to stop the occupation
Posted: February 3, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com
Husham Al-Husainy
With heads bowed reverently, Democrats were led in prayer yesterday by a Muslim imam who essentially asked Allah to assist in converting the party members to Islam, according to a scholar and author. Robert Spencer, director of Jihad Watch and author of The Truth about Muhammad, took note of the prayer given at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting by Husham Al-Husainy, imam of the Karbalaa Islamic Education Center, a shiite mosque in Dearborn, Mich.
According to a transcript of the prayer, which can be seen on a video clip provided by HotAir.com, the imam said: In the name of God the most merciful, the most compassionate. We thank you, God, to bless us among your creations. We thank you, God, to make us as a great nation. We thank you God, to send us your messages through our father Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad. Through you, God, we unite. So guide us to the right path. The path of the people you bless, not the path of the people you doom. Help us God to liberate and fill this earth with justice and peace and love and equality. And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation. Ameen.Spencer, in a post on his Jihad Watch website, said he found it interesting to see the Muslim leader praying, in veiled terms to be sure, for their conversion to Islam, and, oh yes, for the destruction of Israel (And help us to stop the war and violence, and oppression and occupation). Imagine if a Christian priest or minister had prayed at a DNC meeting that those attending be guided away from the path of those doomed by God, Spencer said. He explained the imam was echoing the Fatiha, the first sura, or chapter, of the Quran and the most common prayer of Islam. It asks Allah: Show us the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast favored; not the (path) of those who earn Thine anger nor of those who go astray.
The traditional Islamic understanding is that the straight path is Islam, Spencer points out. On the other hand, he continued, the path of those who have earned Allah's anger are the Jews, and those who have gone astray are the Christians. Spencer cited the classic Quranic commentator Ibn Kathir, who says: Allah asserted that the two paths He described here are both misguided when He repeated the negation not. These two paths are the paths of the Christians and Jews, a fact that the believer should beware of so that he avoids them. The path of the believers is knowledge of the truth and abiding by it. In comparison, the Jews abandoned practicing the religion, while the Christians lost the true knowledge. This is why anger descended upon the Jews, while being described as led astray is more appropriate of the Christians. Those who know, but avoid implementing the truth, deserve the anger, unlike those who are ignorant. The Christians want to seek the true knowledge, but are unable to find it because they did not seek it from its proper resources. This is why they were led astray. We should also mention that both the Christians and the Jews have earned the anger and are led astray, but the anger is one of the attributes more particular of the Jews. Allah said about the Jews, (Those (Jews) who incurred the curse of Allah and His wrath) (5:60). The attribute that the Christians deserve most is that of being led astray, just as Allah said about them, (Who went astray before and who misled many, and strayed (themselves) from the right path) (5:77).
U.S. to support up to 10,000 extra Abbas troops By Adam Entous Sat Feb 3, 5:36 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - The United States will expand assistance to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to include about 8,500 members of his national security forces and possibly 1,000 Fatah fighters based in Jordan, U.S. documents show. Providing non-lethal equipment and training to units of Abbas's National Security Forces, and possibly the Jordan-based Badr Brigade could increase Washington's role in the power struggle between Abbas's Fatah faction and the governing Hamas movement.U.S. assistance has largely been limited until now to around 4,000 members of Abbas's presidential guard.But documents obtained by Reuters on Saturday showed that the U.S. government's $86.4 million security assistance program could cover at least 13,500 troops loyal to Abbas.The National Security Forces (NSF) is the largest security force under Abbas's control and is viewed by many Palestinians to be the equivalent of an army, though it is poorly trained and equipped compared to the smaller presidential guard.
Under the U.S. security program, $76.4 million will fund projects to transform and strengthen elements of the Palestinian Authority's security structure, specifically the National Security Forces and Presidential Guard in an effort to improve public order and fight terror in the West Bank and Gaza, the documents said.These projects have been developed in coordination with the office of the PA president (Abbas), and the overall plan enjoys the support of the government of Israel, said the documents, marked sensitive but unclassified.Another $10 million would fund security improvements at the Karni commercial crossing between Israel and Gaza.Western officials involved in the program said security service members who participate in the U.S.-funded program will undergo a vetting process to ensure they are qualified and have no ties to militant groups.Hamas has denounced U.S. security assistance as part of a coup against its government. Hamas gunmen on Thursday attached a truck convey in Gaza that it said was meant to resupply Abbas's presidential guard, triggering a wave of fighting.
U.S. officials say they will only provide training and non-lethal equipment to forces loyal to Abbas. Guns and ammunition are being supplied by key U.S. allies Jordan and Egypt, with Israeli approval, Israeli officials say.Under the $86.4 million U.S. program, $35.5 million will be used to provide non-lethal equipment, including riot gear and communications equipment, to about 8,500 members of Abbas's National Security Forces.
Another $15 million in U.S. funds would provide at least one NSF unit, estimated to have 668 members, with an initial six months of training to counter civil disorder, most likely at a facility in Jordan, the documents say.The funds will be used in support of NSF deployment throughout the West Bank and Gaza so that the NSF may establish a visible public presence, improve public order and help improve border security, the documents said.The United States expected other donors to provide extra training, the documents said, but gave no further details.Palestinian officials estimate that the National Security Forces have as many as 40,000 members. Western diplomats say the number of active members is closer to 20,000.
BADR BRIGADE
The $86.4 million also includes $25.9 million to provide non-lethal equipment to Abbas's elite presidential guard, which is expected to grow to 4,700 members with U.S. help near-term.
Palestinian officials say the force could eventually top 10,000. The documents said up to $8 million of these funds may be used to provide equipment to the Badr Brigade, a Fatah-dominated force, in the event of a deployment in Gaza. Badr would fall under the presidential guard's operational command. The United States and Israel have backed a proposal by Abbas to let about 1,000 members of the Badr Brigade, into the Palestinian territories, though no date has been set. Diplomats say Abbas's military build-up was meant to counter strides by Hamas in smuggling more powerful weapons into Gaza for its fast-growing Executive Force and armed wing. Some analysts have warned that fighting between Hamas and Fatah could turn into a proxy war, with the United States supporting Abbas and Iran backing Hamas.
EU financial market chief backs Merkel's trade plan FEB 02,07
bbj.hu - Charlie McCreevy, the European Union's financial markets chief, backed German Chancellor Angela Merkel's proposal for more open trans-Atlantic trade.Merkel suggested reducing trade barriers with the US last month as she took over the rotating leadership of the 27-nation European Union and the Group of Eight biggest economic countries. The initiative would build on five years of talks between the EU and US to whittle away differences in financial services rules. „Initiatives like the Merkel initiative provoke new thinking, McCreevy told a Brussels news conference yesterday. „In a globalized world, we have to find new ways of doing things.
McCreevy, a former Irish finance minister, told EU lawmakers earlier this week he will visit the US next month to discuss rules on accounting, securities, banking and insurance. McCreevy didn't specify how he would introduce Merkel's plan into the US negotiations. The EU is working with the US on a plan to recognize each other's accounting rules, letting companies list their shares on both sides without having to keep two sets of books.McCreevy also is pushing US regulators to make it easier for foreign companies to exit US markets, and to implement a global overhaul of capital rules for banks. McCreevy is pressing US state regulators to let European reinsurers do business in their markets without posting collateral or being subject to local supervision. The projects are part of a 5-year-old „Financial Markets Regulatory Dialogue, which was spurred in part by a dispute over corporate governance rules enacted by the US after the bankruptcy of Enron Corp.
McCreevy, who overseers internal market matters at the European Commission, also presented a report showing EU governments improved their performance during the past half year in enacting the region's business and market laws.
Italy held its place as the country sanctioned the most for breaching EU rules. As of January 11, the country faced 161 warnings or lawsuits, either for failing to enact required measures or maintaining local laws running counter to EU decisions. Spain was second with 109 such cases.Estonia was the least cited, subject to 11 open procedures. McCreevy said only two countries the UK and new EU member Bulgaria met Wednesday's deadline to enact an overhaul of securities rules known as the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. He expects Ireland to finish its work next week. Last week, he said other countries would be delayed only a short time. The rules are due to take effect November 1. It's worrying, McCreevy said of the pace of governments writing Mifid into national laws. The longer they take, the more likely that these countries won't hit the November deadline.(Bloomberg)
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).
Saturday, 3 February 2007, 22:16 GMT
Bird flu virus is Asian strain
The avian flu which killed 2,600 turkeys at a Bernard Matthews farm in Suffolk has been confirmed as the Asian strain of the H5N1 virus. The virus can be fatal if it is passed on to humans but experts said the outbreak was being contained and posed little danger to people's health. The Veterinary Laboratories Agency carried out the tests which confirmed the outbreak in Holton. The slaughter of nearly 160,000 turkeys has begun at the farm as a precaution. A spokeswoman for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said the birds were being gassed in containers and the operation would continue through the night. The government department earlier said the flu was the highly pathogenic Asian strain, similar to a virus that was found in Hungary in January.
In that incident, the first time bird flu had re-occurred in the European Union since August 2006, a flock of 3,000 geese were killed. A three-kilometre protection zone and a 10km surveillance zone have now been set up around Holton, which is approximately 27km south-west of Lowestoft.
What each zone means
It is the first case on a UK commercial farm of an H5N1 infection. The strain has killed 164 people worldwide - mainly in south-east Asia since 2003. However, the virus is not thought to be able to pass easily from human to human at present. A spokesman for Bernard Matthews, which runs the farm in Holton, said none of the affected birds had entered the food chain and there was no risk to public health. So far, all those who have been infected worldwide have come into intimate contact with infected birds.
Vaccinations
Fred Landeg, Britain's Deputy Chief Veterinary Officer, said an investigation was under way but the most likely source of the outbreak was wild birds.
He told BBC News that vaccinations for poultry were not currently being considered. There are a number of problems with vaccination in that it takes about three weeks to get immunity.Mr Landeg said the turkeys at the farm had been too young to enter the food chain and no birds or produce had moved off the site. Dr Maria Zambon, from the Health Protection Agency, said farm workers who had come into contact with infected birds, and those involved in the culling process, would be offered the anti-viral drug tamiflu as a precaution. She stressed that nobody had developed symptoms of bird flu following similar outbreaks among farm birds in continental Europe. Vets were called to the Bernard Matthews farm on Thursday night. The company said it was confident the outbreak had been contained and there was no risk to consumers.
How bird flu became global
National Farmers Union president Peter Kendall told BBC News 24 the priority would be eradicating the outbreak. [We will be] making sure we get the message across about how well this will be managed and controlled. We're encouraging all farmers to be incredibly vigilant, look at their flocks carefully and we do need to reassure consumers that this is not an issue about the safety of poultry - it's completely safe to eat.Defra has revoked the national general licence on bird gatherings and bird shows and pigeon racing will not be permitted.
Detergent
Professor John Oxford, a virologist at the London Queen Mary's School of Medicine and Dentistry, said he was confident the outbreak could be contained. He said: I don't think it has made any difference as a threat to the human population. The most likely explanation is that a small bird has come in through a ventilation shaft. One good thing about this virus is that it's easily destroyed. You can kill it with a bit of detergent.Dr Oxford also said that while four strains of the H5N1 virus have
been identified so far, all are deadly to birds and show potential of being harmful to humans.
Saturday, February 03, 2007
ISRAEL MISSLE DEFENCE
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Weak earthquake hits Greek-Albanian border region. 3-Tornado tears through Florida, kills 19. 4-Floods paralyse Indonesian. 5-Bitter cold for Plains; snow moving Northeast 6-Day of Prayer Highlights. 7-Ten years left to avert catastrophe. 8-EU: Quartet must decide on Gaza role. 9-EU divisions on constitution grow. 10-Iran president vows to push nuke program. 11-Condoleezza Rice Urges Mideast Peace Talks to Continue. 12-Jewish Holiday. 13-Peretz Chooses Israeli Anti-Missile Defense System.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat Feb 3 12:00 AM EDT
SAT FEB 03,07 NO QUAKES YET
FEB 02,07
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
MAP 5.2 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 4.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 GREECE
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 OREGON
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
FEB 01,07
MAP 3.4 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 WASATCH FRONT URBAN CORRIDOR, UTAH
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 3.0 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
Weak earthquake hits Greek-Albanian border region Fri Feb 2, 10:09 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - A weak earthquake measuring 4.8 points on the open-ended Richter scale has been recorded in the northwestern Greek region of Thesprotia, near the border with Albania, the Athens Observatory's Geodynamic Institute said. The tremor was recorded Friday at 2:08 pm (1208 GMT) near the town of Paramythia with an epicentre 315 kilometres (195 miles) northwest of Athens, the institute said.There were no immediate reports of damage in surrounding towns from the tremor, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported from the area.Greece is more affected by seismic activity than any other European country, registering half of all earthquakes on the continent.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Tornado tears through Florida, kills 19 By Barbara Liston FEB 02,06
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms and at least one tornado killed 19 people on Friday when they ripped through Florida in the dead of night, tearing homes to shreds, toppling heavy trucks and leaving a trail of rubble. More than 1,500 homes, buildings and churches were damaged or destroyed across a wide area of central Florida north of the tourism region around Orlando. But two of the area's biggest attractions, Walt Disney Co.'s Disney World and Universal Studios Florida, were not affected.Rescue teams fanned out to search for people who might still be trapped under flattened homes.Crunched cars were flung onto porches, and battered sofas and fridges stood in piles of debris scattered over the exposed concrete foundations of houses. Dusk till dawn curfews were put into effect in two areas to deter looters.
The storm hit at 3:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) and a spokesman for the Lake County sheriff's office said at least one and perhaps two tornadoes touched down in a state that ranks only behind the infamous Tornado Alley in the U.S. Midwest for the number of tornado strikes. Most, such as a twister near Orlando on Christmas Day last year, cause no fatalities.The death toll is up to 19 now, said Kevin Lenhart, spokesman for the Lake County emergency operations center. Another 19 people were in hospital.The emergency center said six were killed in Lady Lake, about 40 miles northwest of Orlando, and 13 in nearby Paisley, on the edge of the Ocala National Forest.Pastor Howard Roszak of the First Baptist Church in Paisley said two teenage boys who belonged to his church were killed. One of the boys died along with his father, while both parents of the other teen were killed.
NOTHING LEFT
I know all these kids real good. I love these kids. I hear there is nothing left ... just absolutely nothing, Roszak said, referring to the home of one of the boys.Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Democrat, compared the devastation to a total war zone about 300 yards wide, about three football fields.The last thing we saw before lifting off was a little fawn whose rear leg was just dangling, limping off on three legs into the woods, he said after a helicopter tour.About 1,000 tornadoes hit the United States annually, killing on average 80 people a year, and winter tornadoes appear to be more prevalent during El Nino years, when the waters of the eastern Pacific become unusually warm.This is something that we've seen here in the past in our state when we've had El Nino conditions in place, said state meteorologist Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record).In February 1998, another El Nino year, a swarm of tornadoes killed more than 40 people in central Florida and injured scores more. One narrowly missed the crowded tourist area that includes Disney, Universal Studios and Sea World.
The National Weather Service said it believed more than one tornado touched down on Friday but had yet to ascertain that.Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said the tornado blew over five tractor-trailer rigs at about 3:45 a.m.We saw tractor-trailers littered all over the interstate, she told CNN. We had a few cars mixed into that.The storm knocked out power to more than 42,000 customers but only 7,800 were still without electricity by mid-afternoon, an official with the local utility, Progress Energy, said. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in four affected counties and the Red Cross opened shelters for people left homeless. (Additional reporting by Michael Christie, Jim Loney and Tom Brown in Miami, Ed Stoddard in Dallas and Michael Peltier in Tallahassee)
Floods paralyse Indonesian capital FEB 02,07
JAKARTA (AFP) - Floods blocked roads and railways in Jakarta and thousands of people abandoned their homes in low-lying areas as torrential downpours virtually paralysed the Indonesian capital. Streets normally jammed with traffic were quiet as floods brought public transport to a near-standstill, preventing many people from getting to work or school.I have been waiting for my bus for almost an hour. They are very few and far between and, when it comes, it is packed, said Hana, waiting in Kampung Melayu bus terminal for a bus to her office in central Jakarta.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also reportedly working from home.Floods more than a metre (three feet) deep have forced thousands of people to flee homes in lower-lying areas and districts along river banks, following heavy rains that have lashed the capital since Wednesday.Indonesian Red Cross volunteers were cooking and delivering food to people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering on the side of streets.
We opened a public kitchen on Wednesday in East Jakarta for 2,300 people and in South Jakarta for 4,500 people, Indra from the Red Cross crisis centre told AFP.Teams in inflatable boats rescued women clutching their babies from flooded houses in the worst-hit districts, television pictures showed.In other areas people waded through waist-deep floods trying to get to work while children played in the muddy brown waters, making the most of a day off school.The key M. H. Thamrin highway, which runs north to south through the city, was flooded up to half a metre, causing traffic jams.The Meteorology and Geophysics office said Jakarta could expect still more rain over the next few days.There is the potential for more heavy rains this month such as what we are experiencing these past few days in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang, meteorologist Puguh told AFP.
He said the rainy season had arrived late and was expected to end in March.The situation is not as bad as during 2002 because there is only moderate rain in Bogor and Depok, Puguh said.Nearby Bogor and Depok are at a higher elevation and rain falling on there could exacerbate the floods in Jakarta.In 2002, floods killed as many as 40 Jakartans and some 300,000 were forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries.State news agency Antara reported the main toll road connecting the capital with Bogor was blocked, with Jakarta-bound traffic forced to turn back 13 kilometres (eight miles) from the capital.The main toll road connecting Jakarta and Tangerang was also closed and most train services were cancelled or running very infrequently. Batavia, the former Dutch colonial port from which Jakarta grew, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital remain below sea level.
Bitter cold for Plains; snow moving Northeast Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 02,07
A cold front and wave of low pressure with a very strong jet stream ahead focused severe thunderstorms across central Florida early Friday. These storms produced damaging wind gusts and tornadoes, causing severe damage to homes and buildings and killing at least 19 people across parts of central Florida. A survey team has rated the tornado that struck at 3:15 a.m. from Wildwood to The Villages an EF3 with winds of 150 mph. The EF scale is the new enhanced Fujita Scale put online on February 1, 2007. An EF3 is a very powerful tornado that did tremendous damage from Wildwood to The Villages. Meanwhile, a weather disturbance in combination with an arctic front produced light-to-moderate, 1-to-3-inch snow from the eastern Ohio Valley and Appalachians and is expected to swirl through the Northeast later tonight. As for the big cities look for a mix of mainly light rain and snow will occur from Washington, DC, into the Philadelphia, New York and Boston areas with little accumulation. Lake effect snow is on the increase off of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, affecting the Marquette and Traverse City areas while spreading into the Grand Rapids area. Lake effect snow will develop over the eastern Great Lakes Saturday, with areas from Cleveland, through Erie, into the Buffalo, Watertown, and Syracuse areas being affected. Heavy Lake Snow Warnings have been posted across the favored Lake-Effect snow belts. Into the weekend, snow accumulations will locally reach 2 feet in northwest Upper Michigan, as much as 12 to 15 inches over western Lower Michigan, locally near 1 foot across northwest Pennsylvania and westernmost New York and up to 18 inches in the Tug Hill Plateau. Bitter cold temperatures and gusty winds are targeting the northern and central Rockies and the north-central states, and will expand across the Great Lakes, mid-Mississippi/Ohio Valleys and Northeast through the weekend. High temperatures below zero will be common across a large part of the Upper Midwest with single digits spreading across the Great Lakes into the Northeast by Sunday. Windy conditions will produce wind chills in the 20-to-40-below-zero range across the upper Midwest.
Day of Prayer Highlights FEB 02,07
Dear Friend of Israel,
This past Sunday, on the fifth annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, I was privileged to be a guest of Pastor Lamarr Mooneyham and The Tabernacle in Danville, Virginia, one of our faithful supporting churches. It was an inspirational time of prayer and fellowship. I was deeply moved to see that a congregation of 2,000 had come to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As I told them, this show of support could not have come at a better time.Threats are pressing in on Israel from all sides. In Lebanon, Hezbollah continues its grab for power. Terrorists continue to fire rockets from Gaza at Israel’s cities. The looming threat from Iran grows graver with each passing day.The seriousness of the threat to Israel hit home Monday morning in the city of Eilat, at Israel’s southern tip, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a bakery, killing 3 innocent people. It was the first time such an attack has occurred in this resort town on the Red Sea--a terrible reminder that the battle against terrorism is with us daily.
Given the current situation, what a blessing it is to know that millions of people around the world spent time on Sunday focusing on prayers for Israel! Now, I ask you to help us share your blessing with others by telling us your story of how you and your church marked The Fellowship’s Day of Prayer.http://www.ifcj.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=4480&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&JServ
SessionIdr001=7huwc2wkj1.app7b
We’ll publish as many of these comments as we can on our website, so that Israel and the world will know that Bible-believing Christians like you around the world stand for her right to exist in peace and security.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
OZONE DEPLETION
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Ten years left to avert catastrophe
By Steve Connor, Science Editor Published: 02 February 2007
For the past six years, more than 2,000 scientists from around the world have been writing the most definitive and up-to-date assessment of climate change. It is the fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since it was set up by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organisation in 1988. The first volume of this assessment - called Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis - will be published today at a meeting in Paris. It will be followed later in the year by two more volumes concerned with what we can expect this century in terms of climate change effects, and what we can do to minimise the impact that those effects will have on our way of life.It is clear from the draft version of the IPCC's fourth assessment report on the science of climate change there is little doubt that global warming is a reality, and increases in the man-made emissions of carbon dioxide over the past 250 years are largely responsible.
There are still many uncertainties surrounding the issue of climate change, but these uncertainties should not be allowed to cloud the facts. The first is that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in average global temperatures are higher than at any time over the past 650,000 years - and we know one can exacerbate the other.It is also virtually certain that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal is responsible for the observed rise in carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas in terms of global warming.The IPCC has therefore concluded that the global warming we have observed in recent decades is the likely result of human activity.The IPCC will point out that 11 of the 12 warmest years since 1850 have occurred since 1995. It expects global temperatures to rise by a further 3C by 2100.Today's report is also expected to warn that sea levels will continue to rise this century, and the century after that, whatever we do to curb carbon dioxide levels. This is because of the inherent inertia of the climate system - the oceans contain about 1,000 times more heat than the atmosphere and so they respond more slowly to changes in global temperature.
If we want to avoid catastrophic increases in sea levels we must attempt to limit the melting of the giant ice sheets off Greenland and west Antarctica.If one or both of the ice sheets disintegrate, sea levels would rise disastrously to inundate most of the major cities of the world as well as low-lying and densely populated countries such as Bangladesh.Many scientists believe that we have about 10 years left to enact policies that will curb dangerous climate change.
Feb. 2, 2007 4:13 EU: Quartet must decide on Gaza role
By HERB KEINON
The Quartet will need to discuss the role it should play in the internal Palestinian strife, in addition to dealing with the standard road map issues, senior European officials said prior to Friday's much-anticipated Quartet meeting in Washington. The Quartet, according to the officials, would have to decide whether it thought Hamas-Fatah strife was something that in the long term would be beneficial to moving the diplomatic process forward, or whether it would be better to back Saudi and Egyptian efforts to mediate in the crisis. One official said that there were some in the US administration who favored a clash in the hope that this would lead to an end to Hamas's PA rule. US President George W. Bush announced this week that the US would provide some $86 million to strengthen Fatah-affiliated security forces. The US has stressed, however, that this money would go for the purchase of non-lethal equipment. As to those who think the Quartet should do what it can to assist the mediation efforts, the group will have to decide how far it is willing to go to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian unity government.
In other words, the Quartet will have to decide whether it should be flexible regarding the international community's three conditions for granting Hamas legitimacy: recognition of Israel, forswearing terrorism, and accepting previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. Greater international flexibility on this issue would make it easier for the Palestinians to set up a unity government. The US will be represented at the meeting by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Russia by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; the UN by new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and the EU by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and European Commissioner for External relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The last Quartet meeting took place in September, and this one is taking place amid expectations that the US will take a more active role in trying to move the diplomatic process forward. Rice, who was here last month, is expected during the second half of the month to hold trilateral talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Neither a date nor a venue has yet been established.
Israeli officials said that they expected that the Quartet would issue a statement that would discuss the need for a political horizon to be folded into the road map. The idea behind the political horizon is to start Palestinian-Israel discussions about the final-status issues - the contours of a Palestinian state, Jerusalem and the refugee issue - in order to empower the moderates by showing the Palestinians what they had to gain were the PA-government to accept the international community's three criteria and crack down on terrorism. Despite calls for the international community to stop boycotting Hamas, a call that Russia has made clear it would bring up at the meeting, Israeli officials said there were no indications that this position would be accepted, or that the three criteria would be watered down.
It was also unlikely, diplomatic officials said, that the Quartet would place much pressure on Israel at this point because of Olmert's weak political situation, and the desire not to do anything that could make his domestic political situation any more difficult than it already was.
EU divisions on constitution grow
01.02.2007 - 09:23 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite Germany's efforts to conduct negotiations on the EU constitution discreetly, the rifts between member states are spilling out into the open.The UK Times reported on Thursday that London will refuse to sign up to any institutional changes if it does not secure a pledge that there will be no revival of the EU constitution.According to the newspaper, prime minister Tony Blair only wants a mini-treaty that would include changes to the voting system and introducing a more permanent president of the bloc instead of the current rotating system.Gordon Brown, the chancellor and prime-minister-in-waiting, is reportedly wanting to pursue a tougher line still, insisting that any changes that require a referendum should be taken off the negotiating table.
The UK's comments on the constitution are not isolated. The Czech Republic has also laid out its red lines indicating that it wants to re-open core parts of the text and curb the powers of the EU.On the other side of the fence, Spain, having ratified the text by referendum, wants to extend its powers in areas such as immigration and the fight against climate change, a plea that has not been met with much enthusiasm by the other 17 countries that have ratified the text.Meanwhile in France, the two main contenders for the presidential elections have set out their stalls on the constitution with socialist Segolene Royal calling for more social Europe to be put into the text and centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy arguing that it should be slimmed down.In the Netherlands, the other country that rejected the constitution in 2005, there is also strong talk of putting the lid on the EU's powers.
The obvious differences between the 27 member states have emerged early in Germany's EU presidency although the real period of negotiation is only likely to be in four months time, when it is clear who is in the driving seat in France and who is negotiating for the UK.German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier acknowledged the small window of opportunity during a visit to Warsaw yesterday indicating that a compromise package will only be on the table shortly before the end of Berlin's presidency on 30 June.It is clear to us that the corridor for finding a solution is relatively narrow, he said after meeting his Polish counterpart Anna Fotyga.In the meantime, though, Germany is to continue its bilateral meetings with governments on the constitution, with chancellor Angela Merkel recently saying that the bloc would have an historic failure on its hands if it failed to secure a deal on the treaty.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Iran president vows to push nuke program By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer FEB 02,07
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched anniversary celebrations Thursday for Iran's Islamic Revolution with a defiant promise to push ahead with the country's controversial nuclear program. Ahmadinejad suggested Tehran would announce next week that it is beginning to install a new assembly of 3,000 centrifuges in an underground portion of its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz that the U.S. has warned could bring further sanctions against the country.The Iranian leader said his government is determined to continue with its nuclear program, despite U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel to generate electricity or for the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
Kicking off 10 days of celebrations to mark the 28th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought hard-line clerics to power, Ahmadinejad said Iran will celebrate next week the stabilization and the establishment of its full right to enrich uranium at the facility.The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said last week that he expected Iran to announce they are going to build up their 3,000 centrifuge facility in February. There had been speculation the announcement could come during the revolution anniversary.U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Iran would face universal international opposition over the step. If they think they can get away with 3,000 centrifuges without another Security Council resolution and additional international pressure, then they are very badly mistaken, Burns said last week
The installation would be a major jump in Iran's uranium enrichment program, though it could take months to set up the 3,000 centrifuges and get them working. In the process, uranium gas is spun at supersonic speeds in a connected array of centrifuges to purify it. Uranium enriched to around 5 percent is used for fuel for a nuclear reactor; enriched to 95 percent, it can be used to build a warhead.Iran now has two cascades of 164 centrifuges each. Tens of thousands are needed for a continuous program. The status of the new centrifuges has been unclear as Iranian officials gave contradictory statements over the past month. Tehran originally said last year that the installation would begin by the end of 2006, but January came and there was no word the work had started.
On Sunday, an Iranian lawmaker said installation had begun, but he was quickly contradicted by officials from the country's Atomic Energy Organization. Mohammad Saeedi, the agency's deputy head, said, If we begin to install centrifuges, we will publicly announce it.
Ahmadinejad's remarks Thursday signaled that Iran would begin the installation before Feb. 11 — the final day of nationwide celebrations in memory of the Islamic revolution. He has also called people to the streets that day to show support for the nuclear program.Enemies of the Iranian nation ... must know that their wrongful beliefs will be revealed once again during Feb. 11 rallies by the great Iranian nation, he said, according to the state-run news agency.The United States and many Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The Security Council has threatened to impose further sanctions on Iran if it continues to refuse to roll back its program.Iran insists its program is peaceful. It ultimately plans to expand it to 54,000 centrifuges, a large operation enriching more uranium within a shorter period of time.So far, its two linked chains of 164 machines have been operating sporadically at the above-ground portion of the Natanz facility, producing small quantities of non-weapons grade enriched uranium, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors say.
Two smaller assemblies underground have been dry testing without gas since November, they say.
Iranian officials have turned down a request from IAEA inspectors to install cameras in the underground Natanz facility, a U.N. official familiar with Iran's nuclear dossier said in Vienna.
Ahmadinejad, whose hard-line tactics have faced criticism from both reformists and conservatives at home, also hinted Thursday that key decisions in Iran are made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not him.The general policies of the system are made by the Exalted Supreme Leader, and the government is required to carry them out, the state news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. The president, as the head of the country's executive body, pursues and announces the nuclear position.
Condoleezza Rice Urges Mideast Peace Talks to Continue
Friday, February 02, 2007
WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over Moscow's suggestion that Syria should be included in efforts to advance an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.Syria could play a constructive role, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after a meeting of world powers to discuss Mideast strategy.However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed little enthusiasm for such a prospect. I hope that it (Syria) will in fact try and play a positive role rather than a negative one, she told reporters.The Bush administration has resisted expanding diplomatic ties with Syria, which it blames for lending support to radical Islamic groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.The U.S. has also expressed reluctance to reach out to Syria and Iran in a regional effort to reduce violence in Iraq, arguing that both countries' actions show they have little interest in stabilizing the area.Still, said Lavrov, It is counterproductive to isolate anybody.
Bush Administration to Freeze Assets of 3 Syrian Entities Linked to Weapons of Mass Destruction Rice said that dormant Mideast peace talks should resume despite an outbreak of violence among Palestinian factions.It doesn't help to talk about a timetable, but it does help to talk about a commitment, Rice said after her meeting at the State Department with foreign ministers from the United Nations, the European Union and Russia.The gathering of would-be peacemakers came amid renewed fighting between Hamas militants and security forces loyal to the former ruling Fatah Party that has raised new alarm about a possible Palestinian civil war.More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in internal violence since Hamas won parliamentary elections last year and formed a Cabinet.
Despite that violence, there's simply no reason to avoid the subject of how we get to a Palestinian state, Rice said.The international leaders reiterated the conditions they set for the Hamas-led Palestinian government to receive vital overseas financial aid and international political recognition.
Those include recognition of Israel, renouncing violence and embracing prior agreements between Israel and the Palestinians to work toward peace.That statement was signed a year ago, days after Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian elections.Hamas has refused to meet the terms, however, leading to a cutoff of direct international aid and a breakdown of services and order in the Palestinian territories.
World powers have largely abandoned hope that Hamas radicals will drop the anti-Israel positions and are looking for a new approach.Rice was asked about the violence in Gaza and other Palestinian areas.We expressed our concern about events on the ground in the Palestinian territories. Obviously innocent people are being caught up in this violence and it needs to stop, she said.But, she said, The Palestinian people have waited a long time for a state and the Israeli people have waited a long time for the peace and security that would come from having a democratic neighbor.The four-way meeting, convened by Rice, risked appearing irrelevant in light of the internal Palestinian disarray.Any eventual political accommodation with Israel would require a Palestinian government unified and capable enough to negotiate lasting terms.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the internal divisions are issues for the Palestinians alone to resolve.The United States is looking for ways to revive peace efforts partly as a way to reassure Arab allies that it wants to improve the Palestinians' plight and solidify those allies against Iran.Shiite Iran has close ties to Hamas, which the West considers a terrorist organization.One goal of the session was to demonstrate tangible support for secular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The international community is going to do everything it can to settle the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before the meeting. He attended the session because Germany currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.
Cease-fires between the two sides in recent weeks and months have quickly fallen apart the most recent was announced early Tuesday.In the latest fighting, gunmen waged battles in the streets with mortar shells, rockets and heavy machine guns.Abbas appealed Friday for calm.I call on all parties in Gaza to stop these actions that harm the Palestinian people, he said.
Jewish Holiday
International Fellowship of Christians and jews. FEB 02,07
Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat, is a holiday also known as the New Year of the Trees. (The word Tu is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew.) Judaism has several different new years. Tu B'Shvat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. (Leviticus 19:23-25 states that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for God and the fruit can be eaten after that.) Tu B'Shvat is not mentioned in the Torah, and there are few observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day. Some people plant trees on this day, and many Jewish children collect money for planting trees for Israel at this time of year.
One reason for the festive mood of the New Year of the Trees is that it recalls the praise of the Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the land is renewed. With reference to the fruits of the trees and the produce of the soil, the Torah praises the Land of Israel: A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey (Deuteronomy 8:8).Another reason for the special observance of the 15th of Shvat is that the time of Rosh Hashanah for the trees is also a time of prayer and judgment concerning the trees. Whenever any of His creatures begins to grow, God surveys its entire future. So it is proper, at such a time, to pray that the new creature or being might prosper. The Torah has compared Man to a tree of the field; hence this day also recalls the Divine judgment upon man.
Tu B'Shvat will be celebrated on the following dates:
February 3, 2007 (Jewish Year 5767)
January 22, 2008 (Jewish Year 5768)
February 9, 2009 (Jewish Year 5769)
January 30, 2010 (Jewish Year 5770)
January 20, 2011 (Jewish Year 5771)
Peretz Chooses Israeli Anti-Missile Defense System
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 02,07
Defense Minister Amir Peretz has chosen Israel’s next anti-rocket defense system. The decision will go to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for final approval on Sunday. Peretz has reportedly settled on the Rafael Armament Development Authority’s Iron Dome interception system, which intercepts short-range rockets such as Kassams and short-range Katyushas.Defense Ministry officials said the project will cost approximately NIS1 billion and will require separate, external funding. Following some tension over whether Peretz had made a unilateral decision without consulting Olmert, it has been agreed that Olmert and Peretz will meet with defense officials on Sunday to discuss the decision.
The government considered or tested at least four different anti-missile systems over the past several months. Three of the four are produced in Israel and all are expensive.The government has been searching for ways to protect western Negev communities against the constant barrage of Kassam rockets fired by Gaza terrorists that will not require deployment of ground troops.
Both Kassam and Katyusha short-range rockets were fired last summer during the double-front war fought with Hizbullah and Hamas terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza. Kassams fired from Gaza have continued to threaten Israeli communities in the western Negev, and their ranges have gradually expanded. The front-line community of Sderot has suffered constant barrages over the past year. Hundreds of residents have been injured as a result of the deadly attacks and at least three were killed during that time. Damage to the industrial zone has cost millions of dollars in lost business revenue and many manufacturers are considering leaving the area.Anti-missile defense on Israeli airliners has also become a top priority. Prime Minister Olmert ordered the Finance Ministry last December to transfer some $5 million to equip El Al planes with defense systems against shoulder-fired missiles.
Gaza terrorists have claimed they have rockets capable of downing Israeli aircraft, and reports indicated they smuggled in a propellant used for surface-to-air missiles.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat Feb 3 12:00 AM EDT
SAT FEB 03,07 NO QUAKES YET
FEB 02,07
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 NORTHERN QINGHAI, CHINA
MAP 5.2 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 4.8 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.8 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 4.8 GREECE
MAP 2.7 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 OREGON
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
FEB 01,07
MAP 3.4 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 WASATCH FRONT URBAN CORRIDOR, UTAH
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.5 HINDU KUSH REGION, AFGHANISTAN
MAP 5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 3.0 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
Weak earthquake hits Greek-Albanian border region Fri Feb 2, 10:09 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - A weak earthquake measuring 4.8 points on the open-ended Richter scale has been recorded in the northwestern Greek region of Thesprotia, near the border with Albania, the Athens Observatory's Geodynamic Institute said. The tremor was recorded Friday at 2:08 pm (1208 GMT) near the town of Paramythia with an epicentre 315 kilometres (195 miles) northwest of Athens, the institute said.There were no immediate reports of damage in surrounding towns from the tremor, the semi-state Athens News Agency reported from the area.Greece is more affected by seismic activity than any other European country, registering half of all earthquakes on the continent.
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Tornado tears through Florida, kills 19 By Barbara Liston FEB 02,06
ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - Severe thunderstorms and at least one tornado killed 19 people on Friday when they ripped through Florida in the dead of night, tearing homes to shreds, toppling heavy trucks and leaving a trail of rubble. More than 1,500 homes, buildings and churches were damaged or destroyed across a wide area of central Florida north of the tourism region around Orlando. But two of the area's biggest attractions, Walt Disney Co.'s Disney World and Universal Studios Florida, were not affected.Rescue teams fanned out to search for people who might still be trapped under flattened homes.Crunched cars were flung onto porches, and battered sofas and fridges stood in piles of debris scattered over the exposed concrete foundations of houses. Dusk till dawn curfews were put into effect in two areas to deter looters.
The storm hit at 3:15 a.m. (0815 GMT) and a spokesman for the Lake County sheriff's office said at least one and perhaps two tornadoes touched down in a state that ranks only behind the infamous Tornado Alley in the U.S. Midwest for the number of tornado strikes. Most, such as a twister near Orlando on Christmas Day last year, cause no fatalities.The death toll is up to 19 now, said Kevin Lenhart, spokesman for the Lake County emergency operations center. Another 19 people were in hospital.The emergency center said six were killed in Lady Lake, about 40 miles northwest of Orlando, and 13 in nearby Paisley, on the edge of the Ocala National Forest.Pastor Howard Roszak of the First Baptist Church in Paisley said two teenage boys who belonged to his church were killed. One of the boys died along with his father, while both parents of the other teen were killed.
NOTHING LEFT
I know all these kids real good. I love these kids. I hear there is nothing left ... just absolutely nothing, Roszak said, referring to the home of one of the boys.Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record), a Florida Democrat, compared the devastation to a total war zone about 300 yards wide, about three football fields.The last thing we saw before lifting off was a little fawn whose rear leg was just dangling, limping off on three legs into the woods, he said after a helicopter tour.About 1,000 tornadoes hit the United States annually, killing on average 80 people a year, and winter tornadoes appear to be more prevalent during El Nino years, when the waters of the eastern Pacific become unusually warm.This is something that we've seen here in the past in our state when we've had El Nino conditions in place, said state meteorologist Ben Nelson (news, bio, voting record).In February 1998, another El Nino year, a swarm of tornadoes killed more than 40 people in central Florida and injured scores more. One narrowly missed the crowded tourist area that includes Disney, Universal Studios and Sea World.
The National Weather Service said it believed more than one tornado touched down on Friday but had yet to ascertain that.Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Miller said the tornado blew over five tractor-trailer rigs at about 3:45 a.m.We saw tractor-trailers littered all over the interstate, she told CNN. We had a few cars mixed into that.The storm knocked out power to more than 42,000 customers but only 7,800 were still without electricity by mid-afternoon, an official with the local utility, Progress Energy, said. Florida Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in four affected counties and the Red Cross opened shelters for people left homeless. (Additional reporting by Michael Christie, Jim Loney and Tom Brown in Miami, Ed Stoddard in Dallas and Michael Peltier in Tallahassee)
Floods paralyse Indonesian capital FEB 02,07
JAKARTA (AFP) - Floods blocked roads and railways in Jakarta and thousands of people abandoned their homes in low-lying areas as torrential downpours virtually paralysed the Indonesian capital. Streets normally jammed with traffic were quiet as floods brought public transport to a near-standstill, preventing many people from getting to work or school.I have been waiting for my bus for almost an hour. They are very few and far between and, when it comes, it is packed, said Hana, waiting in Kampung Melayu bus terminal for a bus to her office in central Jakarta.President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was also reportedly working from home.Floods more than a metre (three feet) deep have forced thousands of people to flee homes in lower-lying areas and districts along river banks, following heavy rains that have lashed the capital since Wednesday.Indonesian Red Cross volunteers were cooking and delivering food to people stranded in their flooded homes or sheltering on the side of streets.
We opened a public kitchen on Wednesday in East Jakarta for 2,300 people and in South Jakarta for 4,500 people, Indra from the Red Cross crisis centre told AFP.Teams in inflatable boats rescued women clutching their babies from flooded houses in the worst-hit districts, television pictures showed.In other areas people waded through waist-deep floods trying to get to work while children played in the muddy brown waters, making the most of a day off school.The key M. H. Thamrin highway, which runs north to south through the city, was flooded up to half a metre, causing traffic jams.The Meteorology and Geophysics office said Jakarta could expect still more rain over the next few days.There is the potential for more heavy rains this month such as what we are experiencing these past few days in Jakarta, Bekasi and Tangerang, meteorologist Puguh told AFP.
He said the rainy season had arrived late and was expected to end in March.The situation is not as bad as during 2002 because there is only moderate rain in Bogor and Depok, Puguh said.Nearby Bogor and Depok are at a higher elevation and rain falling on there could exacerbate the floods in Jakarta.In 2002, floods killed as many as 40 Jakartans and some 300,000 were forced to seek refuge in mosques, schools and even cemeteries.State news agency Antara reported the main toll road connecting the capital with Bogor was blocked, with Jakarta-bound traffic forced to turn back 13 kilometres (eight miles) from the capital.The main toll road connecting Jakarta and Tangerang was also closed and most train services were cancelled or running very infrequently. Batavia, the former Dutch colonial port from which Jakarta grew, was built on marshland and some areas of the capital remain below sea level.
Bitter cold for Plains; snow moving Northeast Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 02,07
A cold front and wave of low pressure with a very strong jet stream ahead focused severe thunderstorms across central Florida early Friday. These storms produced damaging wind gusts and tornadoes, causing severe damage to homes and buildings and killing at least 19 people across parts of central Florida. A survey team has rated the tornado that struck at 3:15 a.m. from Wildwood to The Villages an EF3 with winds of 150 mph. The EF scale is the new enhanced Fujita Scale put online on February 1, 2007. An EF3 is a very powerful tornado that did tremendous damage from Wildwood to The Villages. Meanwhile, a weather disturbance in combination with an arctic front produced light-to-moderate, 1-to-3-inch snow from the eastern Ohio Valley and Appalachians and is expected to swirl through the Northeast later tonight. As for the big cities look for a mix of mainly light rain and snow will occur from Washington, DC, into the Philadelphia, New York and Boston areas with little accumulation. Lake effect snow is on the increase off of Lake Superior and Lake Michigan, affecting the Marquette and Traverse City areas while spreading into the Grand Rapids area. Lake effect snow will develop over the eastern Great Lakes Saturday, with areas from Cleveland, through Erie, into the Buffalo, Watertown, and Syracuse areas being affected. Heavy Lake Snow Warnings have been posted across the favored Lake-Effect snow belts. Into the weekend, snow accumulations will locally reach 2 feet in northwest Upper Michigan, as much as 12 to 15 inches over western Lower Michigan, locally near 1 foot across northwest Pennsylvania and westernmost New York and up to 18 inches in the Tug Hill Plateau. Bitter cold temperatures and gusty winds are targeting the northern and central Rockies and the north-central states, and will expand across the Great Lakes, mid-Mississippi/Ohio Valleys and Northeast through the weekend. High temperatures below zero will be common across a large part of the Upper Midwest with single digits spreading across the Great Lakes into the Northeast by Sunday. Windy conditions will produce wind chills in the 20-to-40-below-zero range across the upper Midwest.
Day of Prayer Highlights FEB 02,07
Dear Friend of Israel,
This past Sunday, on the fifth annual International Day of Prayer and Solidarity with Israel, I was privileged to be a guest of Pastor Lamarr Mooneyham and The Tabernacle in Danville, Virginia, one of our faithful supporting churches. It was an inspirational time of prayer and fellowship. I was deeply moved to see that a congregation of 2,000 had come to pray for the peace of Jerusalem. As I told them, this show of support could not have come at a better time.Threats are pressing in on Israel from all sides. In Lebanon, Hezbollah continues its grab for power. Terrorists continue to fire rockets from Gaza at Israel’s cities. The looming threat from Iran grows graver with each passing day.The seriousness of the threat to Israel hit home Monday morning in the city of Eilat, at Israel’s southern tip, where a suicide bomber detonated his explosives at a bakery, killing 3 innocent people. It was the first time such an attack has occurred in this resort town on the Red Sea--a terrible reminder that the battle against terrorism is with us daily.
Given the current situation, what a blessing it is to know that millions of people around the world spent time on Sunday focusing on prayers for Israel! Now, I ask you to help us share your blessing with others by telling us your story of how you and your church marked The Fellowship’s Day of Prayer.http://www.ifcj.org/site/Survey?SURVEY_ID=4480&ACTION_REQUIRED=URI_ACTION_USER_REQUESTS&JServ
SessionIdr001=7huwc2wkj1.app7b
We’ll publish as many of these comments as we can on our website, so that Israel and the world will know that Bible-believing Christians like you around the world stand for her right to exist in peace and security.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
OZONE DEPLETION
ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:
REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.
Ten years left to avert catastrophe
By Steve Connor, Science Editor Published: 02 February 2007
For the past six years, more than 2,000 scientists from around the world have been writing the most definitive and up-to-date assessment of climate change. It is the fourth report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since it was set up by the United Nations and the World Meteorological Organisation in 1988. The first volume of this assessment - called Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis - will be published today at a meeting in Paris. It will be followed later in the year by two more volumes concerned with what we can expect this century in terms of climate change effects, and what we can do to minimise the impact that those effects will have on our way of life.It is clear from the draft version of the IPCC's fourth assessment report on the science of climate change there is little doubt that global warming is a reality, and increases in the man-made emissions of carbon dioxide over the past 250 years are largely responsible.
There are still many uncertainties surrounding the issue of climate change, but these uncertainties should not be allowed to cloud the facts. The first is that levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and increases in average global temperatures are higher than at any time over the past 650,000 years - and we know one can exacerbate the other.It is also virtually certain that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal is responsible for the observed rise in carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas in terms of global warming.The IPCC has therefore concluded that the global warming we have observed in recent decades is the likely result of human activity.The IPCC will point out that 11 of the 12 warmest years since 1850 have occurred since 1995. It expects global temperatures to rise by a further 3C by 2100.Today's report is also expected to warn that sea levels will continue to rise this century, and the century after that, whatever we do to curb carbon dioxide levels. This is because of the inherent inertia of the climate system - the oceans contain about 1,000 times more heat than the atmosphere and so they respond more slowly to changes in global temperature.
If we want to avoid catastrophic increases in sea levels we must attempt to limit the melting of the giant ice sheets off Greenland and west Antarctica.If one or both of the ice sheets disintegrate, sea levels would rise disastrously to inundate most of the major cities of the world as well as low-lying and densely populated countries such as Bangladesh.Many scientists believe that we have about 10 years left to enact policies that will curb dangerous climate change.
Feb. 2, 2007 4:13 EU: Quartet must decide on Gaza role
By HERB KEINON
The Quartet will need to discuss the role it should play in the internal Palestinian strife, in addition to dealing with the standard road map issues, senior European officials said prior to Friday's much-anticipated Quartet meeting in Washington. The Quartet, according to the officials, would have to decide whether it thought Hamas-Fatah strife was something that in the long term would be beneficial to moving the diplomatic process forward, or whether it would be better to back Saudi and Egyptian efforts to mediate in the crisis. One official said that there were some in the US administration who favored a clash in the hope that this would lead to an end to Hamas's PA rule. US President George W. Bush announced this week that the US would provide some $86 million to strengthen Fatah-affiliated security forces. The US has stressed, however, that this money would go for the purchase of non-lethal equipment. As to those who think the Quartet should do what it can to assist the mediation efforts, the group will have to decide how far it is willing to go to facilitate the establishment of a Palestinian unity government.
In other words, the Quartet will have to decide whether it should be flexible regarding the international community's three conditions for granting Hamas legitimacy: recognition of Israel, forswearing terrorism, and accepting previous Israeli-Palestinian agreements. Greater international flexibility on this issue would make it easier for the Palestinians to set up a unity government. The US will be represented at the meeting by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice; Russia by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov; the UN by new Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon; and the EU by German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the UN, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and European Commissioner for External relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner. The last Quartet meeting took place in September, and this one is taking place amid expectations that the US will take a more active role in trying to move the diplomatic process forward. Rice, who was here last month, is expected during the second half of the month to hold trilateral talks with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Neither a date nor a venue has yet been established.
Israeli officials said that they expected that the Quartet would issue a statement that would discuss the need for a political horizon to be folded into the road map. The idea behind the political horizon is to start Palestinian-Israel discussions about the final-status issues - the contours of a Palestinian state, Jerusalem and the refugee issue - in order to empower the moderates by showing the Palestinians what they had to gain were the PA-government to accept the international community's three criteria and crack down on terrorism. Despite calls for the international community to stop boycotting Hamas, a call that Russia has made clear it would bring up at the meeting, Israeli officials said there were no indications that this position would be accepted, or that the three criteria would be watered down.
It was also unlikely, diplomatic officials said, that the Quartet would place much pressure on Israel at this point because of Olmert's weak political situation, and the desire not to do anything that could make his domestic political situation any more difficult than it already was.
EU divisions on constitution grow
01.02.2007 - 09:23 CET | By Honor Mahony
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Despite Germany's efforts to conduct negotiations on the EU constitution discreetly, the rifts between member states are spilling out into the open.The UK Times reported on Thursday that London will refuse to sign up to any institutional changes if it does not secure a pledge that there will be no revival of the EU constitution.According to the newspaper, prime minister Tony Blair only wants a mini-treaty that would include changes to the voting system and introducing a more permanent president of the bloc instead of the current rotating system.Gordon Brown, the chancellor and prime-minister-in-waiting, is reportedly wanting to pursue a tougher line still, insisting that any changes that require a referendum should be taken off the negotiating table.
The UK's comments on the constitution are not isolated. The Czech Republic has also laid out its red lines indicating that it wants to re-open core parts of the text and curb the powers of the EU.On the other side of the fence, Spain, having ratified the text by referendum, wants to extend its powers in areas such as immigration and the fight against climate change, a plea that has not been met with much enthusiasm by the other 17 countries that have ratified the text.Meanwhile in France, the two main contenders for the presidential elections have set out their stalls on the constitution with socialist Segolene Royal calling for more social Europe to be put into the text and centre-right Nicolas Sarkozy arguing that it should be slimmed down.In the Netherlands, the other country that rejected the constitution in 2005, there is also strong talk of putting the lid on the EU's powers.
The obvious differences between the 27 member states have emerged early in Germany's EU presidency although the real period of negotiation is only likely to be in four months time, when it is clear who is in the driving seat in France and who is negotiating for the UK.German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier acknowledged the small window of opportunity during a visit to Warsaw yesterday indicating that a compromise package will only be on the table shortly before the end of Berlin's presidency on 30 June.It is clear to us that the corridor for finding a solution is relatively narrow, he said after meeting his Polish counterpart Anna Fotyga.In the meantime, though, Germany is to continue its bilateral meetings with governments on the constitution, with chancellor Angela Merkel recently saying that the bloc would have an historic failure on its hands if it failed to secure a deal on the treaty.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
Iran president vows to push nuke program By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer FEB 02,07
TEHRAN, Iran - President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad launched anniversary celebrations Thursday for Iran's Islamic Revolution with a defiant promise to push ahead with the country's controversial nuclear program. Ahmadinejad suggested Tehran would announce next week that it is beginning to install a new assembly of 3,000 centrifuges in an underground portion of its uranium enrichment facility at Natanz that the U.S. has warned could bring further sanctions against the country.The Iranian leader said his government is determined to continue with its nuclear program, despite U.N. Security Council sanctions imposed over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel to generate electricity or for the fissile core of an atomic bomb.
Kicking off 10 days of celebrations to mark the 28th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution that brought hard-line clerics to power, Ahmadinejad said Iran will celebrate next week the stabilization and the establishment of its full right to enrich uranium at the facility.The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, said last week that he expected Iran to announce they are going to build up their 3,000 centrifuge facility in February. There had been speculation the announcement could come during the revolution anniversary.U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said Iran would face universal international opposition over the step. If they think they can get away with 3,000 centrifuges without another Security Council resolution and additional international pressure, then they are very badly mistaken, Burns said last week
The installation would be a major jump in Iran's uranium enrichment program, though it could take months to set up the 3,000 centrifuges and get them working. In the process, uranium gas is spun at supersonic speeds in a connected array of centrifuges to purify it. Uranium enriched to around 5 percent is used for fuel for a nuclear reactor; enriched to 95 percent, it can be used to build a warhead.Iran now has two cascades of 164 centrifuges each. Tens of thousands are needed for a continuous program. The status of the new centrifuges has been unclear as Iranian officials gave contradictory statements over the past month. Tehran originally said last year that the installation would begin by the end of 2006, but January came and there was no word the work had started.
On Sunday, an Iranian lawmaker said installation had begun, but he was quickly contradicted by officials from the country's Atomic Energy Organization. Mohammad Saeedi, the agency's deputy head, said, If we begin to install centrifuges, we will publicly announce it.
Ahmadinejad's remarks Thursday signaled that Iran would begin the installation before Feb. 11 — the final day of nationwide celebrations in memory of the Islamic revolution. He has also called people to the streets that day to show support for the nuclear program.Enemies of the Iranian nation ... must know that their wrongful beliefs will be revealed once again during Feb. 11 rallies by the great Iranian nation, he said, according to the state-run news agency.The United States and many Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. The Security Council has threatened to impose further sanctions on Iran if it continues to refuse to roll back its program.Iran insists its program is peaceful. It ultimately plans to expand it to 54,000 centrifuges, a large operation enriching more uranium within a shorter period of time.So far, its two linked chains of 164 machines have been operating sporadically at the above-ground portion of the Natanz facility, producing small quantities of non-weapons grade enriched uranium, International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors say.
Two smaller assemblies underground have been dry testing without gas since November, they say.
Iranian officials have turned down a request from IAEA inspectors to install cameras in the underground Natanz facility, a U.N. official familiar with Iran's nuclear dossier said in Vienna.
Ahmadinejad, whose hard-line tactics have faced criticism from both reformists and conservatives at home, also hinted Thursday that key decisions in Iran are made by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, not him.The general policies of the system are made by the Exalted Supreme Leader, and the government is required to carry them out, the state news agency quoted Ahmadinejad as saying. The president, as the head of the country's executive body, pursues and announces the nuclear position.
Condoleezza Rice Urges Mideast Peace Talks to Continue
Friday, February 02, 2007
WASHINGTON — The United States and Russia clashed on Friday over Moscow's suggestion that Syria should be included in efforts to advance an Israeli-Palestinian peace settlement.Syria could play a constructive role, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after a meeting of world powers to discuss Mideast strategy.However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice expressed little enthusiasm for such a prospect. I hope that it (Syria) will in fact try and play a positive role rather than a negative one, she told reporters.The Bush administration has resisted expanding diplomatic ties with Syria, which it blames for lending support to radical Islamic groups Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in the Palestinian territories.The U.S. has also expressed reluctance to reach out to Syria and Iran in a regional effort to reduce violence in Iraq, arguing that both countries' actions show they have little interest in stabilizing the area.Still, said Lavrov, It is counterproductive to isolate anybody.
Bush Administration to Freeze Assets of 3 Syrian Entities Linked to Weapons of Mass Destruction Rice said that dormant Mideast peace talks should resume despite an outbreak of violence among Palestinian factions.It doesn't help to talk about a timetable, but it does help to talk about a commitment, Rice said after her meeting at the State Department with foreign ministers from the United Nations, the European Union and Russia.The gathering of would-be peacemakers came amid renewed fighting between Hamas militants and security forces loyal to the former ruling Fatah Party that has raised new alarm about a possible Palestinian civil war.More than 100 Palestinians have been killed in internal violence since Hamas won parliamentary elections last year and formed a Cabinet.
Despite that violence, there's simply no reason to avoid the subject of how we get to a Palestinian state, Rice said.The international leaders reiterated the conditions they set for the Hamas-led Palestinian government to receive vital overseas financial aid and international political recognition.
Those include recognition of Israel, renouncing violence and embracing prior agreements between Israel and the Palestinians to work toward peace.That statement was signed a year ago, days after Hamas won a surprise victory in Palestinian elections.Hamas has refused to meet the terms, however, leading to a cutoff of direct international aid and a breakdown of services and order in the Palestinian territories.
World powers have largely abandoned hope that Hamas radicals will drop the anti-Israel positions and are looking for a new approach.Rice was asked about the violence in Gaza and other Palestinian areas.We expressed our concern about events on the ground in the Palestinian territories. Obviously innocent people are being caught up in this violence and it needs to stop, she said.But, she said, The Palestinian people have waited a long time for a state and the Israeli people have waited a long time for the peace and security that would come from having a democratic neighbor.The four-way meeting, convened by Rice, risked appearing irrelevant in light of the internal Palestinian disarray.Any eventual political accommodation with Israel would require a Palestinian government unified and capable enough to negotiate lasting terms.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the internal divisions are issues for the Palestinians alone to resolve.The United States is looking for ways to revive peace efforts partly as a way to reassure Arab allies that it wants to improve the Palestinians' plight and solidify those allies against Iran.Shiite Iran has close ties to Hamas, which the West considers a terrorist organization.One goal of the session was to demonstrate tangible support for secular Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
The international community is going to do everything it can to settle the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said before the meeting. He attended the session because Germany currently holds the European Union's rotating presidency.
Cease-fires between the two sides in recent weeks and months have quickly fallen apart the most recent was announced early Tuesday.In the latest fighting, gunmen waged battles in the streets with mortar shells, rockets and heavy machine guns.Abbas appealed Friday for calm.I call on all parties in Gaza to stop these actions that harm the Palestinian people, he said.
Jewish Holiday
International Fellowship of Christians and jews. FEB 02,07
Tu B'Shvat, the 15th day of the Jewish month of Shvat, is a holiday also known as the New Year of the Trees. (The word Tu is not really a word; it is the number 15 in Hebrew.) Judaism has several different new years. Tu B'Shvat is the new year for the purpose of calculating the age of trees for tithing. (Leviticus 19:23-25 states that fruit from trees may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is for God and the fruit can be eaten after that.) Tu B'Shvat is not mentioned in the Torah, and there are few observances related to this holiday. One custom is to eat a new fruit on this day. Some people plant trees on this day, and many Jewish children collect money for planting trees for Israel at this time of year.
One reason for the festive mood of the New Year of the Trees is that it recalls the praise of the Land of Israel, for on this day the strength of the soil of the land is renewed. With reference to the fruits of the trees and the produce of the soil, the Torah praises the Land of Israel: A land of wheat and barley and vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey (Deuteronomy 8:8).Another reason for the special observance of the 15th of Shvat is that the time of Rosh Hashanah for the trees is also a time of prayer and judgment concerning the trees. Whenever any of His creatures begins to grow, God surveys its entire future. So it is proper, at such a time, to pray that the new creature or being might prosper. The Torah has compared Man to a tree of the field; hence this day also recalls the Divine judgment upon man.
Tu B'Shvat will be celebrated on the following dates:
February 3, 2007 (Jewish Year 5767)
January 22, 2008 (Jewish Year 5768)
February 9, 2009 (Jewish Year 5769)
January 30, 2010 (Jewish Year 5770)
January 20, 2011 (Jewish Year 5771)
Peretz Chooses Israeli Anti-Missile Defense System
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 02,07
Defense Minister Amir Peretz has chosen Israel’s next anti-rocket defense system. The decision will go to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for final approval on Sunday. Peretz has reportedly settled on the Rafael Armament Development Authority’s Iron Dome interception system, which intercepts short-range rockets such as Kassams and short-range Katyushas.Defense Ministry officials said the project will cost approximately NIS1 billion and will require separate, external funding. Following some tension over whether Peretz had made a unilateral decision without consulting Olmert, it has been agreed that Olmert and Peretz will meet with defense officials on Sunday to discuss the decision.
The government considered or tested at least four different anti-missile systems over the past several months. Three of the four are produced in Israel and all are expensive.The government has been searching for ways to protect western Negev communities against the constant barrage of Kassam rockets fired by Gaza terrorists that will not require deployment of ground troops.
Both Kassam and Katyusha short-range rockets were fired last summer during the double-front war fought with Hizbullah and Hamas terrorists in Lebanon and Gaza. Kassams fired from Gaza have continued to threaten Israeli communities in the western Negev, and their ranges have gradually expanded. The front-line community of Sderot has suffered constant barrages over the past year. Hundreds of residents have been injured as a result of the deadly attacks and at least three were killed during that time. Damage to the industrial zone has cost millions of dollars in lost business revenue and many manufacturers are considering leaving the area.Anti-missile defense on Israeli airliners has also become a top priority. Prime Minister Olmert ordered the Finance Ministry last December to transfer some $5 million to equip El Al planes with defense systems against shoulder-fired missiles.
Gaza terrorists have claimed they have rockets capable of downing Israeli aircraft, and reports indicated they smuggled in a propellant used for surface-to-air missiles.
Friday, February 02, 2007
MUSLIMS TEMPLE MOUNT
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-THE DIVISION OF JERUSALEM. 3-Wintry weather impacts the South. 4-War protesters allowed to spray paint the U.S. Capitol. 4-Rabbi Slams Back At Jews For Jesus. 5-Report: US May Back 40,000-Man Fatah Army. 6-Proof Temple Mount belongs to Muslims.
The Division of Jerusalem
[Dee Ann a Messianic Jew ] The Bible tells us that in the Day of the Lord (Joel 1:15, 2:1, Zechariah 14:1) (a term which describes the days of tribulation) that the land of Israel will be divided (Joel 3:2) by removing Jews from their borders (homes) (Joel 3:6) when the enemy would say that the mountains of Israel (West Bank) (Ezekiel 36:1-2) would be theirs by dividing the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2) (by making East Jerusalem the capital of a PLO state).
Pat Robertson on his show said this will be the year for the battle of Jerusalem, when the World will try to divide it.
If this is the case we will really see trouble as we get closer to the 7 year tribulation period. Pats exact quote is - As I was in my time of Prayer at the end of the year, what the Lord was telling me: this is going to be a major push to take Jerusalem away from the Jews, this year. And quote it would signal the end of the Gentile Powers. Where talking about a clash of Civilizations. Where talking about a vision, either the Christian view announced by Jesus Christ or were going to have the view of Radical Islam. But theres no way that some minor concession for property along the way is going to appease Ahmadinejad and his followers to say this is the end. The only end will be when they control and rule the earth or else they are soundly defeated in that quest, nothing else is going to do it.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri Feb 2 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 02,07
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
FOB 01,07
MAP 3.4 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 WASATCH FRONT URBAN CORRIDOR, UTAH
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 3.0 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
JAN 31,07
MAP 2.9 WESTERN KENTUCKY
MAP 2.7 WASHINGTON
MAP 3.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.8 JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 2.9 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.1 NEAR THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 4.4 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KYRGYZSTAN
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.9 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 6.5 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP 5.2 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Wintry weather impacts the South Wayne Verno, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 01,07
South
A winter mess will impact parts if the south as a low pressure tracks from the northern Gulf of Mexico, into the Southeastern States today.
Snow and sleet will move across the Tennessee Valley, into the Carolinas, affecting areas from Tulsa and Little Rock, through Memphis and Nashville to Raleigh and Charlotte. Accumulations will generally range from 1 to 3 inches, with locally higher amounts in the mountains. Freezing rain and sleet will impact areas around the northern suburbs of Atlanta, changing to rain later in the day. The snow and sleet across parts of the Carolinas may change over to freezing rain during the afternoon. In these areas, a coating of ice will be possible.
Rain, heavy at times, will move across the southern states from New Orleans to Jacksonville, with a few thunderstorms possible along the northern Gulf Coast. By Friday, the storm system will move northeast of the area, with showers lingering across Florida. Partly cloudy skies will dominate the rest of the southeast, while a few snow showers linger over the southern Plains. High pressure will build across the southern Plains, into the South Saturday, resulting in dry conditions. Rain showers will linger across southern Florida.
Midwest
Snow showers will move across the southern Plains, into the Ohio Valley region today, as low pressure tracks across the southern states.
This will impact areas from St. Louis, through Louisville to Cleveland. Another arctic cold front will be moving into the High Plains and Upper Midwest, which will generate windy conditions along with snow showers from Rapid City to Fargo. On Friday, the front will move southeast into the Great Lakes, increasing the chance of snow showers and windy conditions from the Dakotas through the Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Chicago areas. Temperatures will be the big story over the next few days, as highs in the single digits and teens over the Upper Midwest today, spread into the western Great Lakes Friday and toward the Upper Ohio Valley by Saturday. With the windy conditions expected, wind chills may become dangerous, especially during the morning hours, when temperatures drop well below zero into the weekend.
Northeast
An area of low pressure tracking across the Southeastern States, in combination with a cold front approaching from the Great Lakes will spread wintry precipitation into the southern Mid-Atlantic today.
Snow showers will spread across Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, reaching into the Philadelphia and New York areas by late day. A wintry mix will impact across further south. By Friday, low pressure will track northeast, off the eastern coast, being close enough to bring some rain and snow to eastern areas from Baltimore and Philadelphia, north through New York and Boston, with light snow further inland from Pittsburgh and Buffalo, north to Burlington. On Saturday, much colder air will spill across the Northeastern States, with highs in the teens and 20s along and west of the Appalachian Mountains, with 30s along the eastern areas. Lake effect snow showers will also increase off Lakes Erie and Ontario, with snow showers and flurries spreading as far east as the Appalachians.
West
A surge of arctic air will spill into the northern and eastern Rockies today and Friday, behind a cold front moving through that area. Upslope flow will also increase the chance for snow and snow showers from the Front Range, into the northern Rockies today. A few inches of snow may accumulate in the Denver area, with up to a foot in the higher elevations. Snow showers will linger into the weekend over the central Rockies, but in general, high pressure will build across the entire west. Dry conditions will develop along the west coast, from Portland and Seattle, south to Los Angeles. Afternoon highs will range from the 20s and 30s north, warming into the 60s and 70s south.
War protesters allowed to spray paint the U.S. Capitol FEB 01,07
Capitol Chief of Police tell officers not to arrest anyone
Dear Stan,
During last Saturday's Washington rally protesting the war in Iraq, hundreds of anti-war protesters were allowed to desecrate government property by spray painting the Capitol with anarchist symbols.
I did not see or hear any report of this in any of the mainline media outlets! Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse ordered his officers to fall back and allow the protesters to exercise what he called their First Amendment rights to spray paint the Capitol steps with graffiti. Defending his actions, Morse said, The graffiti was easily removed by the staff. It is our duty and responsibility to protect the Capitol complex, while allowing the public to exercise their freedom of speech. He even ordered his officers not to arrest anyone! The war protesters were given access and leniency to deface government property. According to Family Research Council, public employees had to come in on their day off, at taxpayers' expense, to clean up the mess the protesters left behind.
To see comments on this issue by Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado.
http://allard.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Print&PressRelease_id=232108&SuppressLayouts=True
The Capitol Chief of Police takes his orders directly from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, one of the demonstrators' most outspoken allies!
Take Action
E-mail Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi - (https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/takeaction.asp?id=233) and ask that she take action to have those who spray painted our Capitol arrested. Furthermore, she should publicly state that this kind of activity will not be condoned in the future. If you desire to speak with her office in addition to sending the e-mail, her direct number is 202-225-4965.
If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
ZECHARIAH 13:7-9,14:1-21
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts (2/3RDS) therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.(1/3RD)
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name,(JESUS) and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I (GOD) will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled,(TRASHED) and the women ravished; (RAPED)and half of the city (JERUSALEM) shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD (JESUS) go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
Rabbi Slams Back At Jews For Jesus
By Baruch Gordon (INN) FEB 01,07
Radio Show Host Rabbi Tovia Singer Fires Back at Missionaries Targeting Jews for Conversion with Educational Audio Series Now Made Available Free Online Outreach Judaism, a leading counter-missionary organization based in New York, has launched a new website, www.OutreachJudaism.org, offering a free, exhaustive library of information regarding Jews for Jesus’ multimillion dollar worldwide missionary campaigns, including a point-by-point audio response to their plans to convert Jews to Christianity.
In the last year alone, Jews for Jesus engaged in a 65-city tour any city that has more than 25,000 Jews within it primarily targeting Jewish youth and the elderly for conversion.
To combat this aggressive assault, Rabbi Tovia Singer, founder of Outreach Judaism and show host on Israel National Radio, is now making available his 20-part tape series, Let’s get Biblical free via mp3 download to anyone seeking answers to questions posed by Christian missionaries.The tape series, which has been available until now for cost, has hit the missionary effort head-on. Rabbi Singer has numerous letters from Messianic Jews who after hearing his series returned to authentic Judaism.
Threatened by Singer's initiative, Jews For Jesus formulated a plan to mitigate the impact of Singer's audio series: the organization dedicated part of its website to answering points that Singer raises. Rabbi Singer, in return, refutes their counter arguments on his Outreach Judaism site.Jews for Jesus has launched a deceptive campaign to convert the most susceptible segments of our community to their ranks, said Rabbi Singer. In their spiritual assault on Jewish communities in the US, Israel and Europe, Jews for Jesus deliberately blurs the distinctions between Judaism and Christianity in order to lure Jews who would otherwise resist a straightforward Christian message. Now, Jews worldwide finally have the answers to Jews for Jesus’ claims at their fingertips.
Jews for Jesus has declared their staggering goals, stated Rabbi Singer.
According to their marketing materials, Jews for Jesus exists, To make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide. As part of their recent effort to convert the Jewish elderly in New York, Jews for Jesus distributed more than 80,000 copies of a conversionist film translated into Yiddish to homes in Brooklyn, Queens and Monsey, New York. Jews for Jesus is expanding its efforts to convert survivors of the Holocaust. The testimonials of those who managed to survive the Holocaust, yet became ensnared by the Baptist missionary group are broadcast on the Jews for Jesus website.This spiritual war against the most vulnerable members of our community is deeply troubling, and cannot go unanswered, says Rabbi Singer. Outreach Judaism is responding to Jews for Jesus’ unyielding assault upon the Jewish faith with point-by-point answers to their arguments. This is an all-out, no-holds-barred spiritual war instigated by Jews for Jesus that Outreach Judaism is responding to with an effective response.The audio series is available for free mp3 download at www.OutreachJudaism.org
Report: US May Back 40,000-Man Fatah Army
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (INN) FEB 01,07
The U.S. is quietly entrenching itself deeper in the sands of Gaza with a plan to back the entire Fatah-led security force. Hamas and some analysts warn the Americans will get stuck in a quagmire. The Bush administration already has committed itself to give $86 million to finance training and equipment for the personal Presidential Guard of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. However, it now is considering to fund all of the PA security forces in order to counter the Hamas militia, Reuters News Agency reported Thursday. Israel, the PA and the U.S. government have not commented.The security forces include at least 40,000 members, more than twice the number allowed by the Oslo agreements, and include many convicted terrorists whom Israel has freed. It also is common for Fatah security officers to simultaneously be members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Extending aid to all of Abbas's forces and weeding out known terrorists could create havoc for Abbas, but officials maintain that a review process would ensure that the PA forces who receive American training have no ties to terrorist groups, Reuters added.The rival Hamas terrorist organization, which comprises the majority of the PA legislature, as well as independent analysts, have warned that the U.S. may be setting itself up to appear as an enemy and not a friend of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.Hamas media spokesman Ghazi Hamda charged that the American aid is aimed to promote conflict between Hamas and Fatah in order to allow the Bush administration and American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the dominant force in the area. A second Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan, was more blunt. Whenever the United States sees that the Palestinians are about to achieve a unity agreement, it sends Condoleezza Rice to the region, or publicly announces sending weapons and money to Abbas, because it does not want unity among the Palestinians, he asserted. Political analyst Bassem Zubeide of Ramallah's Bier Zeit University said, Most Palestinians will think that the United States is getting heavily involved, and that will definitely weaken the Abbas point of view.
The U.S. has committed $86 million for the Presidential Guard and another $42 million to promote programs aimed to counter Hamas. The Americans maintain that its aid does not go for weapons but instead is used for training and for uniforms, radios and other equipment. However, massive American aid to Egypt and Jordan has made it easier for those countries to ship rifles, with Israel's approval, to Abbas.Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the special American military envoy to the PA, claims that the training by American army officers is meant to build up the Presidential Guard and not for the purpose of fighting Hamas. However, the guard has been the main fighting force in the Fatah-Hamas force militia war that broke out two months ago. Regardless of the source of the weapons, Hamas has vowed they will be used against Israel. The more weapons Americans give to Abbas, the more we will have to use against the Israelis when we go back to carrying out operations together, one Hamas leader predicted.Abbas himself has urged fighting factions to stop warring with each other and to aim their rifles at the occupation, the same phrase used by Islamic Jihad terrorists who took responsibility for this week's suicide bakery bombing in Eilat.American State Secretary Rice remains optimistic.
She recently said at a press conference, I want everyone to know how much we admire the leadership of President Abbas. We have made a lot of progress because of [his] hard work.
Proof Temple Mount belongs to Muslims
Head custodian says site will never be returned to Jewish sovereignty
Posted: January 31, 2007 6:04 p.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – The replacement tomorrow in the Al Aqsa Mosque of a key podium transported with the coordination of Israeli security forces is proof the Temple Mount belongs only to Muslims and will never be returned to Jewish sovereignty, according to the leader of the Wafq – the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount. This historic occasion proves that the extremist Jews will never achieve their goals of taking over the [Temple Mount.] It shows that we are much closer to liberating the Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem from Israeli occupation, said Waqf chief Adnan Husseini.
Temple Mount in Jerusalem
At a ceremony in the Al Aqsa Mosque, the podium is set to be unveiled and installed at the exact spot Waqf officials state the prophet Muhammad went up to heaven to receive revelations from Allah. The podium will be used by Al Aqsa preachers to deliver sermons. The new stand replaces a 1,000-year-old podium believed to have been shipped to Jerusalem by the Islamic conqueror Saladin. That stand was destroyed in 1969, when an Australian tourist set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque. The replacement stand, a near replica of the original, was funded by the Jordanian and Saudi governments. It took craftsmen four years to construct. The podium's nearly assembled parts were shipped to Waqf offices on the Temple Mount earlier this month with help from the Israeli police, and will be installed at the center of the Al Aqsa Mosque tomorrow. According to a Waqf official speaking to WND, the theme for tomorrow's installation ceremony will focus on exclusive Islamic domination of the Temple Mount. The official reason for the ceremony is to mark the installation, but unofficially it will be a celebration that this podium is proof we are the rightful owners of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount). This podium solidifies our eternal presence here, the Waqf official said.
Al Aqsa Mosque built by angels?
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims say it is their third holiest site. The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries. The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's presence dwelt. The Al Aqsa Mosque now resides on the site. The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition.
Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.
The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark what Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Mohammed took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia to the farthest mosque and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem. Most Waqf officials deny the Jewish temples ever existed in spite of what many call overwhelming archaeological evidence, including the discovery of Temple-era artifacts linked to worship, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and over 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah.
According to the website of the Palestinian Authority's Office for Religious Affairs, the Temple Mount is Muslim property. The site claims the Western Wall, which it refers to as the Al-Boraq Wall, previously was a docking station for horses. It states Muhammed tied his horse, named Boraq, to the wall before ascending to heaven.
In an interview with WND, Kamal Hatib, vice-chairman of the Islamic Movement, which will take part in the podium installation ceremonies, claimed the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and that a Jewish Temple may have existed, but not in Jerusalem. The Movement, which works closely with the Waqf, is the Muslim group in Israel most identified with the Temple Mount. When the First Temple was built by Solomon – God bless him – Al Aqsa was already built. We don't believe that a prophet like Solomon would have built the Temple at a place where a mosque existed, said Hatib. And all the historical and archaeological facts deny any relation between the temples and the location of Al Aqsa. We must know that Jerusalem was occupied and that people left many things, coins and other things everywhere. This does not mean in any way that there is a link between the people who left these things and the place where these things were left, Hatib said.
Al Aqsa official to WND: Jewish Temples existed
Last June, in a widely circulated WND interview, a former senior leader of the Waqf contradicted his colleagues, saying he has come to believe the first and second Jewish Temples existed and stood at the current location of the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The leader, who was dismissed from his Waqf position after he quietly made his beliefs known, said Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories for centuries from generation to generation indicating the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish temples. He said the Muslim world's widespread denial of the existence of the Jewish temples is political in nature and is not rooted in facts. Prophet Solomon built his famous Temple at the same place that later the Al Aqsa Mosque was built. It cannot be a coincidence that these different holy sites were built at the same place. The Jewish Temple Mount existed, said the former senior Waqf leader, speaking to WorldNetDaily from an apartment in an obscure alley in Jerusalem's Old City. The former leader, who is well known to Al Aqsa scholars and Waqf officials, spoke on condition his name be withheld, claiming an on-the-record interview would endanger his life. He told WND true Islamic tradition relates the Jewish temples once stood at the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque. [The existence of the Jewish Temple at the site is obvious] according to studies, researches and archaeological signs that we were also exposed to. But especially according to the history that passed from one generation to another we believe Al Aqsa was built on the same place were the Temple of the Jews the first monotheistic religion existed.
He cited samples of some stories he said were related orally by Islamic leaders:
We learned that the Christians, especially those who believed that Jesus was crucified by the Jews, used to throw their garbage at the Temple Mount site. They used to throw the pieces of cotton and other material Christian women used in cleaning the blood of their monthly cycle.
Doing so they believed that they were humiliating, insulting and harming the Jews at their holiest site. This way they are hurting them like Jews hurt Christians when crucifying Jesus. It is known also that most of the first guards of Al Aqsa when it was built were Jews. The Muslims knew at that time that they could not find any more loyal and faithful than the Jews to guard the mosque and its compound. They knew that the Jews have a special relation with this place.
Temple Mount: No-prayer zone
Currently, even though the Jewish state controls Jerusalem, the Waqf serve as the custodians of the Temple Mount under a deal made with the Israeli government that restricts non-Muslim prayer at the site. The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area. Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians. The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered sensitive by the Waqf.
During open days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any holy objects to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.
The Division of Jerusalem
[Dee Ann a Messianic Jew ] The Bible tells us that in the Day of the Lord (Joel 1:15, 2:1, Zechariah 14:1) (a term which describes the days of tribulation) that the land of Israel will be divided (Joel 3:2) by removing Jews from their borders (homes) (Joel 3:6) when the enemy would say that the mountains of Israel (West Bank) (Ezekiel 36:1-2) would be theirs by dividing the city of Jerusalem (Zechariah 14:2) (by making East Jerusalem the capital of a PLO state).
Pat Robertson on his show said this will be the year for the battle of Jerusalem, when the World will try to divide it.
If this is the case we will really see trouble as we get closer to the 7 year tribulation period. Pats exact quote is - As I was in my time of Prayer at the end of the year, what the Lord was telling me: this is going to be a major push to take Jerusalem away from the Jews, this year. And quote it would signal the end of the Gentile Powers. Where talking about a clash of Civilizations. Where talking about a vision, either the Christian view announced by Jesus Christ or were going to have the view of Radical Islam. But theres no way that some minor concession for property along the way is going to appease Ahmadinejad and his followers to say this is the end. The only end will be when they control and rule the earth or else they are soundly defeated in that quest, nothing else is going to do it.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri Feb 2 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 02,07
MAP 2.8 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
FOB 01,07
MAP 3.4 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.8 WASATCH FRONT URBAN CORRIDOR, UTAH
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.2 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 4.6 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.7 MOLUCCA SEA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.4 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 3.0 MAUI REGION, HAWAII
MAP 4.8 KURIL ISLANDS
JAN 31,07
MAP 2.9 WESTERN KENTUCKY
MAP 2.7 WASHINGTON
MAP 3.0 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.8 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.8 JAVA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.5 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.4 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 3.4 RAT ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.7 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 2.9 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.1 NEAR THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 4.4 OFF THE COAST OF OREGON
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.3 KYRGYZSTAN
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.0 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.9 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
MAP 6.5 KERMADEC ISLANDS, NEW ZEALAND
MAP 5.2 VANUATU
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES
LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
Wintry weather impacts the South Wayne Verno, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 01,07
South
A winter mess will impact parts if the south as a low pressure tracks from the northern Gulf of Mexico, into the Southeastern States today.
Snow and sleet will move across the Tennessee Valley, into the Carolinas, affecting areas from Tulsa and Little Rock, through Memphis and Nashville to Raleigh and Charlotte. Accumulations will generally range from 1 to 3 inches, with locally higher amounts in the mountains. Freezing rain and sleet will impact areas around the northern suburbs of Atlanta, changing to rain later in the day. The snow and sleet across parts of the Carolinas may change over to freezing rain during the afternoon. In these areas, a coating of ice will be possible.
Rain, heavy at times, will move across the southern states from New Orleans to Jacksonville, with a few thunderstorms possible along the northern Gulf Coast. By Friday, the storm system will move northeast of the area, with showers lingering across Florida. Partly cloudy skies will dominate the rest of the southeast, while a few snow showers linger over the southern Plains. High pressure will build across the southern Plains, into the South Saturday, resulting in dry conditions. Rain showers will linger across southern Florida.
Midwest
Snow showers will move across the southern Plains, into the Ohio Valley region today, as low pressure tracks across the southern states.
This will impact areas from St. Louis, through Louisville to Cleveland. Another arctic cold front will be moving into the High Plains and Upper Midwest, which will generate windy conditions along with snow showers from Rapid City to Fargo. On Friday, the front will move southeast into the Great Lakes, increasing the chance of snow showers and windy conditions from the Dakotas through the Minneapolis, Green Bay, and Chicago areas. Temperatures will be the big story over the next few days, as highs in the single digits and teens over the Upper Midwest today, spread into the western Great Lakes Friday and toward the Upper Ohio Valley by Saturday. With the windy conditions expected, wind chills may become dangerous, especially during the morning hours, when temperatures drop well below zero into the weekend.
Northeast
An area of low pressure tracking across the Southeastern States, in combination with a cold front approaching from the Great Lakes will spread wintry precipitation into the southern Mid-Atlantic today.
Snow showers will spread across Pittsburgh and Washington, DC, reaching into the Philadelphia and New York areas by late day. A wintry mix will impact across further south. By Friday, low pressure will track northeast, off the eastern coast, being close enough to bring some rain and snow to eastern areas from Baltimore and Philadelphia, north through New York and Boston, with light snow further inland from Pittsburgh and Buffalo, north to Burlington. On Saturday, much colder air will spill across the Northeastern States, with highs in the teens and 20s along and west of the Appalachian Mountains, with 30s along the eastern areas. Lake effect snow showers will also increase off Lakes Erie and Ontario, with snow showers and flurries spreading as far east as the Appalachians.
West
A surge of arctic air will spill into the northern and eastern Rockies today and Friday, behind a cold front moving through that area. Upslope flow will also increase the chance for snow and snow showers from the Front Range, into the northern Rockies today. A few inches of snow may accumulate in the Denver area, with up to a foot in the higher elevations. Snow showers will linger into the weekend over the central Rockies, but in general, high pressure will build across the entire west. Dry conditions will develop along the west coast, from Portland and Seattle, south to Los Angeles. Afternoon highs will range from the 20s and 30s north, warming into the 60s and 70s south.
War protesters allowed to spray paint the U.S. Capitol FEB 01,07
Capitol Chief of Police tell officers not to arrest anyone
Dear Stan,
During last Saturday's Washington rally protesting the war in Iraq, hundreds of anti-war protesters were allowed to desecrate government property by spray painting the Capitol with anarchist symbols.
I did not see or hear any report of this in any of the mainline media outlets! Capitol Police Chief Phillip Morse ordered his officers to fall back and allow the protesters to exercise what he called their First Amendment rights to spray paint the Capitol steps with graffiti. Defending his actions, Morse said, The graffiti was easily removed by the staff. It is our duty and responsibility to protect the Capitol complex, while allowing the public to exercise their freedom of speech. He even ordered his officers not to arrest anyone! The war protesters were given access and leniency to deface government property. According to Family Research Council, public employees had to come in on their day off, at taxpayers' expense, to clean up the mess the protesters left behind.
To see comments on this issue by Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado.
http://allard.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Print&PressRelease_id=232108&SuppressLayouts=True
The Capitol Chief of Police takes his orders directly from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, one of the demonstrators' most outspoken allies!
Take Action
E-mail Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi - (https://secure.afa.net/afa/activism/takeaction.asp?id=233) and ask that she take action to have those who spray painted our Capitol arrested. Furthermore, she should publicly state that this kind of activity will not be condoned in the future. If you desire to speak with her office in addition to sending the e-mail, her direct number is 202-225-4965.
If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.
Sincerely,
Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
ZECHARIAH 13:7-9,14:1-21
7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
8 And it shall come to pass, that in all the land, saith the LORD, two parts (2/3RDS) therein shall be cut off and die; but the third shall be left therein.(1/3RD)
9 And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried: they shall call on my name,(JESUS) and I will hear them: I will say, It is my people: and they shall say, The LORD is my God.
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I (GOD) will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled,(TRASHED) and the women ravished; (RAPED)and half of the city (JERUSALEM) shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD (JESUS) go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.
10 All the land shall be turned as a plain from Geba to Rimmon south of Jerusalem: and it shall be lifted up, and inhabited in her place, from Benjamin’s gate unto the place of the first gate, unto the corner gate, and from the tower of Hananeel unto the king’s winepresses.
11 And men shall dwell in it, and there shall be no more utter destruction; but Jerusalem shall be safely inhabited.
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
14 And Judah also shall fight at Jerusalem; and the wealth of all the heathen round about shall be gathered together, gold, and silver, and apparel, in great abundance.
15 And so shall be the plague of the horse, of the mule, of the camel, and of the ass, and of all the beasts that shall be in these tents, as this plague.
16 And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall even go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles.
17 And it shall be, that whoso will not come up of all the families of the earth unto Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, even upon them shall be no rain.
18 And if the family of Egypt go not up, and come not, that have no rain; there shall be the plague, wherewith the LORD will smite the heathen that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
19 This shall be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all nations that come not up to keep the feast of tabernacles.
20 In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD’S house shall be like the bowls before the altar.
21 Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.
Rabbi Slams Back At Jews For Jesus
By Baruch Gordon (INN) FEB 01,07
Radio Show Host Rabbi Tovia Singer Fires Back at Missionaries Targeting Jews for Conversion with Educational Audio Series Now Made Available Free Online Outreach Judaism, a leading counter-missionary organization based in New York, has launched a new website, www.OutreachJudaism.org, offering a free, exhaustive library of information regarding Jews for Jesus’ multimillion dollar worldwide missionary campaigns, including a point-by-point audio response to their plans to convert Jews to Christianity.
In the last year alone, Jews for Jesus engaged in a 65-city tour any city that has more than 25,000 Jews within it primarily targeting Jewish youth and the elderly for conversion.
To combat this aggressive assault, Rabbi Tovia Singer, founder of Outreach Judaism and show host on Israel National Radio, is now making available his 20-part tape series, Let’s get Biblical free via mp3 download to anyone seeking answers to questions posed by Christian missionaries.The tape series, which has been available until now for cost, has hit the missionary effort head-on. Rabbi Singer has numerous letters from Messianic Jews who after hearing his series returned to authentic Judaism.
Threatened by Singer's initiative, Jews For Jesus formulated a plan to mitigate the impact of Singer's audio series: the organization dedicated part of its website to answering points that Singer raises. Rabbi Singer, in return, refutes their counter arguments on his Outreach Judaism site.Jews for Jesus has launched a deceptive campaign to convert the most susceptible segments of our community to their ranks, said Rabbi Singer. In their spiritual assault on Jewish communities in the US, Israel and Europe, Jews for Jesus deliberately blurs the distinctions between Judaism and Christianity in order to lure Jews who would otherwise resist a straightforward Christian message. Now, Jews worldwide finally have the answers to Jews for Jesus’ claims at their fingertips.
Jews for Jesus has declared their staggering goals, stated Rabbi Singer.
According to their marketing materials, Jews for Jesus exists, To make the messiahship of Jesus an unavoidable issue to our Jewish people worldwide. As part of their recent effort to convert the Jewish elderly in New York, Jews for Jesus distributed more than 80,000 copies of a conversionist film translated into Yiddish to homes in Brooklyn, Queens and Monsey, New York. Jews for Jesus is expanding its efforts to convert survivors of the Holocaust. The testimonials of those who managed to survive the Holocaust, yet became ensnared by the Baptist missionary group are broadcast on the Jews for Jesus website.This spiritual war against the most vulnerable members of our community is deeply troubling, and cannot go unanswered, says Rabbi Singer. Outreach Judaism is responding to Jews for Jesus’ unyielding assault upon the Jewish faith with point-by-point answers to their arguments. This is an all-out, no-holds-barred spiritual war instigated by Jews for Jesus that Outreach Judaism is responding to with an effective response.The audio series is available for free mp3 download at www.OutreachJudaism.org
Report: US May Back 40,000-Man Fatah Army
By Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu (INN) FEB 01,07
The U.S. is quietly entrenching itself deeper in the sands of Gaza with a plan to back the entire Fatah-led security force. Hamas and some analysts warn the Americans will get stuck in a quagmire. The Bush administration already has committed itself to give $86 million to finance training and equipment for the personal Presidential Guard of Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. However, it now is considering to fund all of the PA security forces in order to counter the Hamas militia, Reuters News Agency reported Thursday. Israel, the PA and the U.S. government have not commented.The security forces include at least 40,000 members, more than twice the number allowed by the Oslo agreements, and include many convicted terrorists whom Israel has freed. It also is common for Fatah security officers to simultaneously be members of Hamas and other terrorist organizations.
Extending aid to all of Abbas's forces and weeding out known terrorists could create havoc for Abbas, but officials maintain that a review process would ensure that the PA forces who receive American training have no ties to terrorist groups, Reuters added.The rival Hamas terrorist organization, which comprises the majority of the PA legislature, as well as independent analysts, have warned that the U.S. may be setting itself up to appear as an enemy and not a friend of Arabs in Judea, Samaria and Gaza.Hamas media spokesman Ghazi Hamda charged that the American aid is aimed to promote conflict between Hamas and Fatah in order to allow the Bush administration and American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to be the dominant force in the area. A second Hamas spokesman, Ismail Radwan, was more blunt. Whenever the United States sees that the Palestinians are about to achieve a unity agreement, it sends Condoleezza Rice to the region, or publicly announces sending weapons and money to Abbas, because it does not want unity among the Palestinians, he asserted. Political analyst Bassem Zubeide of Ramallah's Bier Zeit University said, Most Palestinians will think that the United States is getting heavily involved, and that will definitely weaken the Abbas point of view.
The U.S. has committed $86 million for the Presidential Guard and another $42 million to promote programs aimed to counter Hamas. The Americans maintain that its aid does not go for weapons but instead is used for training and for uniforms, radios and other equipment. However, massive American aid to Egypt and Jordan has made it easier for those countries to ship rifles, with Israel's approval, to Abbas.Lt. Gen. Keith Dayton, the special American military envoy to the PA, claims that the training by American army officers is meant to build up the Presidential Guard and not for the purpose of fighting Hamas. However, the guard has been the main fighting force in the Fatah-Hamas force militia war that broke out two months ago. Regardless of the source of the weapons, Hamas has vowed they will be used against Israel. The more weapons Americans give to Abbas, the more we will have to use against the Israelis when we go back to carrying out operations together, one Hamas leader predicted.Abbas himself has urged fighting factions to stop warring with each other and to aim their rifles at the occupation, the same phrase used by Islamic Jihad terrorists who took responsibility for this week's suicide bakery bombing in Eilat.American State Secretary Rice remains optimistic.
She recently said at a press conference, I want everyone to know how much we admire the leadership of President Abbas. We have made a lot of progress because of [his] hard work.
Proof Temple Mount belongs to Muslims
Head custodian says site will never be returned to Jewish sovereignty
Posted: January 31, 2007 6:04 p.m. Eastern By Aaron Klein WorldNetDaily.com
JERUSALEM – The replacement tomorrow in the Al Aqsa Mosque of a key podium transported with the coordination of Israeli security forces is proof the Temple Mount belongs only to Muslims and will never be returned to Jewish sovereignty, according to the leader of the Wafq – the Muslim custodians of the Temple Mount. This historic occasion proves that the extremist Jews will never achieve their goals of taking over the [Temple Mount.] It shows that we are much closer to liberating the Al Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem from Israeli occupation, said Waqf chief Adnan Husseini.
Temple Mount in Jerusalem
At a ceremony in the Al Aqsa Mosque, the podium is set to be unveiled and installed at the exact spot Waqf officials state the prophet Muhammad went up to heaven to receive revelations from Allah. The podium will be used by Al Aqsa preachers to deliver sermons. The new stand replaces a 1,000-year-old podium believed to have been shipped to Jerusalem by the Islamic conqueror Saladin. That stand was destroyed in 1969, when an Australian tourist set fire to the Al Aqsa Mosque. The replacement stand, a near replica of the original, was funded by the Jordanian and Saudi governments. It took craftsmen four years to construct. The podium's nearly assembled parts were shipped to Waqf offices on the Temple Mount earlier this month with help from the Israeli police, and will be installed at the center of the Al Aqsa Mosque tomorrow. According to a Waqf official speaking to WND, the theme for tomorrow's installation ceremony will focus on exclusive Islamic domination of the Temple Mount. The official reason for the ceremony is to mark the installation, but unofficially it will be a celebration that this podium is proof we are the rightful owners of the Haram al-Sharif (Temple Mount). This podium solidifies our eternal presence here, the Waqf official said.
Al Aqsa Mosque built by angels?
The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. Muslims say it is their third holiest site. The First Jewish Temple was built by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. It was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of about four centuries. The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's presence dwelt. The Al Aqsa Mosque now resides on the site. The temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place in Israel during Jewish holidays. The Temple Mount compound has remained a focal point for Jewish services over the millennia. Prayers for a return to Jerusalem have been uttered by Jews since the Second Temple was destroyed, according to Jewish tradition.
Jews worldwide pray facing toward the Western Wall, a portion of an outer courtyard of the Temple left intact.
The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. Al Aqsa was meant to mark what Muslims came to believe Muhammad, the founder of Islam, ascended to heaven. Jerusalem is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Mohammed took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia to the farthest mosque and from a rock there ascended to heaven. The farthest mosque later became associated with Jerusalem. Most Waqf officials deny the Jewish temples ever existed in spite of what many call overwhelming archaeological evidence, including the discovery of Temple-era artifacts linked to worship, tunnels that snake under the Temple Mount and over 100 ritual immersion pools believed to have been used by Jewish priests to cleanse themselves before services. The cleansing process is detailed in the Torah.
According to the website of the Palestinian Authority's Office for Religious Affairs, the Temple Mount is Muslim property. The site claims the Western Wall, which it refers to as the Al-Boraq Wall, previously was a docking station for horses. It states Muhammed tied his horse, named Boraq, to the wall before ascending to heaven.
In an interview with WND, Kamal Hatib, vice-chairman of the Islamic Movement, which will take part in the podium installation ceremonies, claimed the Al-Aqsa Mosque was built by angels, and that a Jewish Temple may have existed, but not in Jerusalem. The Movement, which works closely with the Waqf, is the Muslim group in Israel most identified with the Temple Mount. When the First Temple was built by Solomon – God bless him – Al Aqsa was already built. We don't believe that a prophet like Solomon would have built the Temple at a place where a mosque existed, said Hatib. And all the historical and archaeological facts deny any relation between the temples and the location of Al Aqsa. We must know that Jerusalem was occupied and that people left many things, coins and other things everywhere. This does not mean in any way that there is a link between the people who left these things and the place where these things were left, Hatib said.
Al Aqsa official to WND: Jewish Temples existed
Last June, in a widely circulated WND interview, a former senior leader of the Waqf contradicted his colleagues, saying he has come to believe the first and second Jewish Temples existed and stood at the current location of the Al Aqsa Mosque.
The leader, who was dismissed from his Waqf position after he quietly made his beliefs known, said Al Aqsa custodians passed down stories for centuries from generation to generation indicating the mosque was built at the site of the former Jewish temples. He said the Muslim world's widespread denial of the existence of the Jewish temples is political in nature and is not rooted in facts. Prophet Solomon built his famous Temple at the same place that later the Al Aqsa Mosque was built. It cannot be a coincidence that these different holy sites were built at the same place. The Jewish Temple Mount existed, said the former senior Waqf leader, speaking to WorldNetDaily from an apartment in an obscure alley in Jerusalem's Old City. The former leader, who is well known to Al Aqsa scholars and Waqf officials, spoke on condition his name be withheld, claiming an on-the-record interview would endanger his life. He told WND true Islamic tradition relates the Jewish temples once stood at the site of the Al Aqsa Mosque. [The existence of the Jewish Temple at the site is obvious] according to studies, researches and archaeological signs that we were also exposed to. But especially according to the history that passed from one generation to another we believe Al Aqsa was built on the same place were the Temple of the Jews the first monotheistic religion existed.
He cited samples of some stories he said were related orally by Islamic leaders:
We learned that the Christians, especially those who believed that Jesus was crucified by the Jews, used to throw their garbage at the Temple Mount site. They used to throw the pieces of cotton and other material Christian women used in cleaning the blood of their monthly cycle.
Doing so they believed that they were humiliating, insulting and harming the Jews at their holiest site. This way they are hurting them like Jews hurt Christians when crucifying Jesus. It is known also that most of the first guards of Al Aqsa when it was built were Jews. The Muslims knew at that time that they could not find any more loyal and faithful than the Jews to guard the mosque and its compound. They knew that the Jews have a special relation with this place.
Temple Mount: No-prayer zone
Currently, even though the Jewish state controls Jerusalem, the Waqf serve as the custodians of the Temple Mount under a deal made with the Israeli government that restricts non-Muslim prayer at the site. The Temple Mount was opened to the general public until September 2000, when the Palestinians started their intifada by throwing stones at Jewish worshipers after then-candidate for prime minister Ariel Sharon visited the area. Following the onset of violence, the new Sharon government closed the Mount to non-Muslims, using checkpoints to control all pedestrian traffic for fear of further clashes with the Palestinians. The Temple Mount was reopened to non-Muslims in August 2003. It still is open but only Sundays through Thursdays, 7:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., and not on any Christian, Jewish or Muslim holidays or other days considered sensitive by the Waqf.
During open days, Jews and Christian are allowed to ascend the Mount, usually through organized tours and only if they conform first to a strict set of guidelines, which includes demands that they not pray or bring any holy objects to the site. Visitors are banned from entering any of the mosques without direct Waqf permission. Rules are enforced by Waqf agents, who watch tours closely and alert nearby Israeli police to any breaking of their guidelines.
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