1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Magnitude-5.7 quake shakes eastern Congo. 3-Earthquake hits central Greece. 4-Florida citrus industry sees little cold damage. 5-February thaw east of Rockies; West gets wet. 6-Israel Honors Florida Evangelist for Christian Tours Despite Violence. 7-Iran launches large-scale war games. 8-Hevron Jews Suffer Third Religious Attack This Month. 9-U.S. push for Mideast peace talks ends with little progress. 10-EGYPT BECOMES LEADING SOURCE OF FATAH WEAPONS. 11-US missile shield plan risks sowing EU disunity. 12-CHANGING WORLD.
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 = Tue Feb 20 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 19,2007
MAP 2.9 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.5 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.5 VANUATU REGION
MAP 5.2 NORTHERN MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.5 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.1 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.7 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 TONGA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.5 GULF OF ALASKA
MAP 5.7 LAKE ALBERT REGION, DEM REP OF THE CONGO
MAP 4.7 SOUTHERN PERU
FEB 18,07
MAP 5.6 SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP 5.1 TAIWAN REGION
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.9 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.7 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.7 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.5 CERAM SEA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.8 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 4.7 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
Magnitude-5.7 quake shakes eastern Congo Mon Feb 19, 7:04 AM ET
KINSHASA, Congo - A magnitude-5.7 quake shook eastern Congo's Lake Albert region on Monday near the Ugandan border, a preliminary report from the U.S. Geological Survey said. The tremor also was registered by the Volcanic Observatory of Goma in eastern Congo.It was a fairly strong tremor, which was felt in the Congo near the town of Beni, but was quite weak on the Ugandan side, said Celestin Kasereka, who heads the observatory.According to the USGS, the earthquake hit at 4:33 a.m. local time some 1,120 miles from Congo's capital, Kinshasa. Measurements taken by the observatory showed the quake lasted for nearly five seconds.We still don't know if there were any victims since the epicenter is situated inside Lake Albert, Kasereka said.The last earthquake in Congo hit Dec. 5 in the southeastern town of Kalemie. It was a magnitude-6.7 quake and claimed nine lives.
In Uganda, officials said the tremor was almost imperceptible: "We have not received reports of any damage in parts of the country. It was a very slight tremor, I think most people even slept through it, said Uganda's chief fire officer Joseph Mugisa.
Earthquake hits central Greece Mon Feb 19, 5:20 AM ET
ATHENS (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 4.1 points on the Richter scale has shaken central Greece but caused no damage, the Athens Observatory's Geodynamic Institute said. The tremor in the town of Tembi, described by Greek seismologists as weak, was also felt in neighbouring towns, the Greek Ana news agency reported.It was recorded Monday at 08:23 am (0623 GMT), with an epicentre some 250 kilometres (155 miles) north of Athens.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.
Florida citrus industry sees little cold damage Mon Feb 19, 10:16 AM ET
MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida's key citrus producing region has emerged unscathed from its latest weekend night of unusually low temperatures, an industry official said on Monday. There was no frost damage overnight, said Rusty Wiygul, director of grower affairs at the Florida Citrus Mutual trade association.Overall, we're in good shape, added Wiygul, referring to the state's $9 billion a year citrus industry.Wiygul said officials were still assessing damage to groves and trees from Friday night and Saturday, when low temperatures in the citrus belt ranged from the upper 20's to mid-30's Fahrenheit (around zero degrees Celsius).Early indications showed only isolated frost damage, he added.We had very little damage, Wiygul said, said referring to effect of frigid weather on Friday and Saturday.
February thaw east of Rockies; West gets wet Mark Avery, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Mon Feb 19, 10:31 AM ET
Midwest
A weak Alberta clipper will some light snow across the Upper Midwest today, but any accumulations are expected to be light. More importantly to those who have dealt with cold temperatures for much of the last month, warmer temperatures will begin to move into the region starting today, particularly the Mississippi Valley. As the week progresses, above average temperatures will become more widespread and more intense, particularly in the Plains and lower Missouri Valley. A chance of rain will move into the Ohio Valley on Tuesday, with a wintry mix possible from central Illinois to northern Indiana and northern Ohio. By Wednesday and Thursday, much of the region will be dry (except along the Canadian border, where some snow is possible). Another chance of widespread precipitation moves into the region by Friday and into the weekend.
Northeast
After snow fell over the Southern and Central Appalachians on Sunday, the system responsible for this snow will have its last gasp in the Northeast and Northern New England specifically today. Meanwhile, skies will be clearing across the Megalopolis today. Another shot of rain and snow moves into the Northeast Tuesday through Thursday before skies dry out on Friday. Colder than average temperatures are expected again today across the Northeast, but a quick rebound to near or above average temperatures is expected on Tuesday (except in eastern Maine). Much of the Northeast will stay near seasonal averages for temperatures through the remainder of the week and into next weekend, except in portions of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and the District of Columbia.
West
Two storm systems will bring valley rain and mountain snows today across the West, with more sitting over the Pacific to continue the chance of precipitation across the region for much of the week ahead. By Saturday, only the Pacific Northwest and some of the highest elevations in the Rockies will see a chance of precipitation. With the procession of storm systems also comes a return of colder than average temperatures: something that's been rare in the West over the last month. By Thursday, most of the West Coast will have below average temperatures, with the chill spreading inland to the Intermountain and Interior West by the weekend.
South
The South will finally start to thaw this week after shivering with below average temperatures for much of the last month. The Atlantic Coast will still be below average today, but will return to near or above average Tuesday and beyond. Rain will also return to the South on Tuesday, with a few thunderstorms also possible. Showers will linger near the Gulf Coast on Wednesday and Thursday, with a better chance of widespread showers on Friday. Thunderstorms will be possible across the region over the coming weekend.
Israel Honors Florida Evangelist for Christian Tours Despite Violence FEB 19,07
ORLANDO, FL (AP) -- Israel's Ministry of Tourism has honored evangelist Benny Hinn for leading Christian tours to Israel despite last year's Lebanon conflict.At the Israel Tourism Breakfast for Christian broadcasters meeting in Orlando, Florida, Benny Hinn said God blesses those who bless the Jewish nation.Hinn grew up in Israel, but said that until he became a Christian, he didn't know the God of Israel. With Israeli officials at the head table, Benny Hinn prayed in the name of Jesus that the nation of Israel will see their Messiah.Israel's tourism minister said evangelical Christians are some of his country's best friends. Associated Press.
Iran launches large-scale war games By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer Mon Feb 19, 3:34 AM ET
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran began its largest war games in almost a year Monday, just two days ahead of a U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to halt uranium enrichment or face further economic sanctions. The elite Revolutionary Guards began three days of ground maneuvers, state-run media reported Monday.State television said the exercise is the biggest since last March and is taking place in 16 of Iran's 30 provinces. The broadcast said an estimated 60,000 troops are participating in the maneuvers.All weapons possessed by the Guards' ground force ... including new weapons, will be tested during the war games, Gen. Mohammad Reza Zahedi, commander of the Guards' ground force, was quoted by the official Islamic Republic News Agency as saying Monday.The Revolutionary Guards is an elite military corps with more than 200,000 members and its own naval and air forces. It is independent of the regular armed forces and controlled directly by the supreme leader. It oversees vital interests such as oil and natural gas installations and the nation's missile arsenal.
In January, the Guards held three days of war games.
The Security Council approved a resolution against Iran on Dec. 23 that imposed economic sanctions and gave Iran 60 days to halt uranium enrichment, otherwise it will consider additional measures.As tensions mount over Iran's nuclear standoff with the West, the United States and Iran have pursued an escalating series of military moves, with Washington sending more aircraft carrier battle groups to the region and Iran responding with more frequent maneuvers.The United States and several of its Western allies believe that Iran is using its nuclear program to produce an atomic weapon charges Iran denies, saying its aim is to generate electricity.Iran has said it will never give up its right under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel. Enriched to a low level, uranium is used to produce nuclear fuel but further enrichment makes it suitable for use in building an atomic bomb.
Hevron Jews Suffer Third Religious Attack This Month
By Ezra HaLevi (INN) FEB 19,07
The third incident this month of intentional desecration of sacred Jewish objects by Arabs and left-wing activists took place in Hevron over the Sabbath. Sunday morning, resident discovered dozens of pages of Psalm books that had been torn apart and scattered on the road near the Sephardic Jewish cemetery by Hevron’s Tel Rumeida neighborhood. Tel Rumeida has been targeted by left-wing groups for removal and is the site of frequent provocations. Last week, the Tomb of Ruth and Jesse (King David’s father and great-grandmother) was vandalized. The eternal light there was destroyed and the holy ark damaged by vandals attempting to pry it open to reach the Torah scrolls contained therein. Charity boxes were stolen as well. Earlier this month, graves in the same Jewish cemetery the torn Psalms were found near were desecrated, with gravestones strewn about and paint spilled on some of them.
The police and army have yet to apprehend anyone for any of these crimes, said a community statement. This is another incident in a continuing pattern of desecrations of holy sites and articles in Hevron over the past few weeks. Hevron's Jewish community is gravely concerned at the police negligence in dealing with such criminal acts of violence and desecration of Jewish holy sites. Especially noticeable is the disparity between the police action against Jews and their lack of response at Arab crime.The subject of discrimination and law enforcement in Hevron - over-enforcement against the Jews and lack of enforcement against the Arabs - was discussed in the Knesset committee for law and legislation last week.
U.S. push for Mideast peace talks ends with little progress
Last Updated: Monday, February 19, 2007 The Associated Press
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Monday said she would return soon to the Middle East to push forward with attempts to restart peacemaking efforts.Rice spoke after more than two hours of talks with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Expectations were low before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (not pictured) on Monday.(Emilio Morenatti/ Associated Press) The president and prime minister agreed that they would meet together again soon, said Rice. They reiterated their desire for American participation and leadership to overcome obstacles, rally regional and international support, and move forward toward peace. In that vein, I expect to return to the region soon.
All three of us affirmed our commitment to a two-state solution, agreed that a Palestinian state cannot be born of violence and terror, and reiterated our acceptance of previous commitments and obligations, including the road map.The road map is an internationally backed peace plan calling for an independent state alongside Israel.Despite such commitments, Rice reported no progress in restarting talks, which broke down more than six years ago. Neither Abbas nor Olmert joined Rice as she delivered her brief statement, and she left the room without taking questions.
Hamas falls short of demands
The summit had been billed as an attempt to breathe new life into peace efforts, but the talks were overshadowed by Abbas's agreement to form a Palestinian unity government with the Hamas militant group.Israel, the United States and other western countries have said the new government must renounce violence, recognize Israel's right to exist and accept past peace deals.Hamas, which is committed to Israel's destruction, has agreed only to respect past peace agreements, falling short of the international demands.Abbas has said this is the best deal he could wrest from Hamas, and that he would move ahead with forming a coalition. The power-sharing deal is seen as crucial to halting deadly Hamas-Fatah fighting that has killed dozens in recent months.In talks with Rice on Sunday, Abbas portrayed the coalition accord as an achievement, saying it has helped moderate Hamas, whose charter calls for Israel's destruction. Abbas also emphasized that he, not the government, would handle any negotiations with Israel, his aides said.The Canadian Press.
EGYPT BECOMES LEADING SOURCE OF FATAH WEAPONS FEB 19,07
GAZA CITY [MENL] -- Egypt has become a leading source of weapons for the Fatah movement headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas.Egyptian security sources said the regime of President Hosni Mubarak has offered to send thousands of light weapons, ammunition and communications equipment to forces loyal to Abbas. The sources said the weapons, along with training, would be deployed for an estimated 30,000 loyalist troops in the Gaza Strip.On Dec. 27, Egypt sent 2,000 rifles, 20,000 magazines and two million rounds of ammunition to Abbas forces. The sources said the Fatah-aligned troops received Soviet-origin AK-47 assault weapons from Egyptian Army surplus.This demonstrates the Egyptian commitment to law and order in the PA, a security source said. We expect Egypt to send more weapons and equipment as well as trainers.
US missile shield plan risks sowing EU disunity
19.02.2007 - 09:23 CET | By Mark Beunderman (Euobserver)
EU disunity is looming over US plans to build an anti-missile shield in Poland and the Czech republic, with Germany saying over the weekend that Russia should be consulted over the scheme. Washington has asked Warsaw and Prague, two of its strongest allies, to host a system aimed at intercepting ballistic missiles fired from states in the Middle East such as Iran - a plan which has been endorsed by key Polish and Czech politicians. The move, which would include the placing of interceptor missiles in Poland, has sparked strong criticism from Russia, with its president Vladimir Putin telling a Munich security conference this month that the system would completely neutralize' the deterrence threat posed by Russia's own nuclear missiles. Moscow may develop an asymmetric response of its own to overcome' such systems, he added. Germany has now expressed understanding for the Russian position, with German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier telling daily Handelsblatt over the weekend that in view of the strategic nature of these sorts of projects, I am pleading for caution and for an intensive dialogue with all the partners directly and indirectly affected.
Because the sites for the stationing are getting nearer to Russia, one should have talked about it with Russia beforehand, Mr Steinmeier said, with reports indicating that existing US anti-missile facilities are currently limited to bases in the US itself. The remarks of Mr Steinmeier - the former cabinet chief of ex-German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder who maintained close ties with Mr Putin - were echoed by German defence minister Franz Josef Jung, who is a member of the more Russia-critical conservatives. Mr Jung told the daily Neue Osnabruecker Zeitung that Given our common security interests we should make sure that also in the future, NATO and Russia are developing on the basis of partnership.Germany's stance risks colliding with that of Poland and the Czech Republic, which have indicated they are interested in responding positively to the US request. We are preparing an answer that I think we will give to the American administration by diplomatic means within two weeks, Polish defence minister Aleksander Szczyglo told PAP press agency over the weekend.
Polish prime minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski indicated last week that the government, the president and myself, are in favour of the anti-missile shield, according to Reuters. Czech president Vaclav Klaus and foreign minister and Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg have come out in favour of the US scheme, but some Czech politicians are pressing for the bases to come under NATO, not just US command. The issue risks reviving EU rifts over the transatlantic relationship which came to a height in the run-up to the 2003 US invasion of Iraq - supported by ex-communist states in central Europe but opposed by a camp of states led by France and Germany. The planned US missile shield also highlights fundamentally different perceptions within the EU of Russia. Germany, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, is seeking closer ties with Moscow, but Poland in particular deeply mistrusts its Eastern neighbour, with Warsaw also clashing with Berlin over a planned gas pipeline between Russia and Germany bypassing Poland.
CHANGING WORLD
by Mr. Samson Krupnick FEB 19,07
mailto:Krup@012.net.il
www.jewishpostopinion.com
YERUSHALIYIM, Israelite Tribal Territories of Judah and Benjamin, Kingdom of David and Solomon, United Israelite Kingdom of Judah and Joseph, First Day, Twelfth Month (Adar), 5767; Yom Sheini (Second Day of the Week/Mon-day, February 19, 2007), Root & Branch Information Services [mailto:rb@rb.org.il] [www.rb.org.il]:
Two noted Jewish writers appeared in The New York Times, advocating the dissolution of the State of Israel and return of this land to the so-called Arab refugees, 4.6 million in number. Even the Far Left and nutty Peace Now advocate a surrender of the bulk of our land to make peace, but certainly would not endorse a dissolution of the State of Israel.On the 62nd anniversary of the end of the Holocaust (1945-2007), and the 58th anniversary of the birth of the State of Israel (1948-2007), the nation stands firm to prevent again another Holocaust. From the fist day of the announcement of the United Nations in November, 1947 of the vote in favor of a Jewish State, and the proclamation of the establishment of the State of Israel on May 13, 1948, our enemies, seven Arab nations, attacked 600,000 Jews in the Land of Israel.Our casualties were 6,000 dead (1% of the entire Jewish population). Thereafter, including the Six Day War of June, 1967, against Egypt, Syria and Jordan; the Yom Kippur War of October, 1973 and many mass murder (terror) attacks against us, we have lost 22,000 dead. Despite many absorption problems, we became very important among the nations. Even in agriculture we became an outstanding achiever and our specialists were sent by the United Nations to help improve agriculture in many nations.
In science we were among the most important nations. In communications and computers we are number one in the whole world. Our army was considered among the best in the world. As to the Land of Israel, our Bible states specifically that it is assigned to the Jewish nation.Millions of Bible-believing Christians agree and emphasize our right to the Holy Land. At a gathering in the City Hall of Jerusalem we chaired a gathering of Christians. One lady arose and stated, I represent 60 million Christians and we declare that this is your Land and you have no right to give it away to any one else.Our friend Sheikh Professor Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Director of the Cultural Institute of the Italian Islamic Community and Muslim Co-Founder and Co-Chairman of the Islam-Israel Fellowship of the Root & Branch Association, Ltd., stated clearly, The Qur'an states specifically that this Land belongs to the Jews and Arabia belongs to the Arabs.
Professor Amnon Rubenstein, former Minister of Justice, calls it a shame and an outrage for Jews to lean over backwards to favor Arab demands which could lead to our destruction. We face now an open threat by Iran for another Holocaust. Iran is determined to get nuclear weapons and to wipe us off the map. Israel now does not appear on any Arab world maps.The United States and allies are determined to build democracy in an Iraq free from terror. The plan is to bring another 21,000 troops and to concentrate upon Baghdad. A recent mass murder suicide bombing attack murdered 90 people and wounded another 190. This slaughter continues almost daily.In Israel our army did not wait to respond to mass murder attacks. The I.D.F. attacks leaders who plan mass murder attacks, supply arms and who transport attackers. That is a 24 hour battle acting with excellent intelligence. This procedure can also destroy Iranian insurgents and put an end to terror in Iraq.
Waiting to respond is a waste of time in dealing with terror. The internal struggle between Sunni and Shiite Muslims is a tragedy that may continue for years, allowing Iran to develop the nuclear arms. The concentration on offense of the I.D.F. may possibly solve the problem.Another offensive must take into account the plans of Iran and Syria and the major terrorist forces, Shi'ite Hezbollah, Wahhabi Hamas and Wahhabi Al-Qaeda. Israel is (hopefully) prepared with its efficient Arrow missile to deal with Iranian nuclear armed missiles. The United States and the West should prepare an offensive attack on Iran. Israel can deal with Syria easily. This chaos must stop.A step in the right direction is the new arrangement with North Korea and the six neighboring nations whereby the nations will supply millions of tons of food and oil and grant full recognition to North Korea. In 1994 the Clinton agreement turned out to be a bluff by North Korea. This new agreement must be checked carefully for proper enforcement. If it is honest and above board, it may be a very fine model for further agreements in place of war and terror.
Libya made such an agreement and it proved successful. Can this procedure apply to Iran? The general response is that as long as we have limited sanctions Iran will not make much changes. If on the other hand the sanctions of the U.N. Security Council are increased considerably, there may be a change in the Iranian attitude toward the destruction of Israel and of the West.There should be some move made to indict Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for incitement to genocide, following his calls to destroy Israel, despite the provisions of the Genocide Convention. The Mecca arrangement of Fatah and Hamas unity is a puzzle. The forthcoming meeting of the Trio might be a puzzle for the Quartet as well. Time will tell.Meanwhile, the U.S. Congress voted to remove troops and then voted unanimously 81-0 to send General David Petraeus to Baghdad. It reminds us of the movie The Magnificent Seven. The leader of the opposition declares, Shoot, shoot, don't talk! That must be the real hope of Congress in Iraq.
Shalom and Chodesh Tov from Yerushaliyim,
Mr. Samson Krupnick
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
SYRIA - IRAN MEET
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-The Nation's Weather. 3-Avalanches block highways in Colo. 4-Israel, U.S. to shun Palestinian unity govt: Olmert. 5-Pre-Summit Clash: Olmert Says Yes, PA Says No. 6-Israeli Archeologist Discloses Muslim Room Under Disputed Ramp. 7-Syrian and Iranian Presidents Meet in Tehran.
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 19 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 18,07
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.9 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.7 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.5 CERAM SEA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.8 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 4.7 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.4 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 NEW IRELAND REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 SOUTH OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN 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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Sun Feb 18, 7:51 AM ET
Cold temperatures were forecast for the Northeast and Southwest on Sunday, while rain and snow were expected in the Northwest. Light snow showers were forecast for the East, with heavier snow expected in the Great Lakes region. A low-pressure system could bring moderate accumulations to coastal Maine.An approaching Pacific storm was to bring rain to the valleys and snow to higher elevations in the West. Clear skies were forecast for the central and southern Plains and the South.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of minus 5 degrees at West Yellowstone, Mont., to a high of 89 degrees at Oceanside, Calif.On the Net:Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com.National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov.Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
Avalanches block highways in Colo. By CHASE SQUIRES, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 17, 8:47 PM ET
DENVER Thousands of travelers heading to ski areas for the holiday weekend were stalled by giant traffic jams Saturday as highways were blocked by crews removing snow slides. One avalanche at Berthoud Pass on U.S. 40, the main road to the Winter Park ski resort, knocked a state maintenance vehicle off the road during the night, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
The pass reopened Saturday afternoon.That pass was the scene of an avalanche last month that knocked two vehicles off the road and stranded several motorists. No injuries were reported because of snow slides or avalanche mitigation.Elsewhere, avalanche crews firing explosive charges to break up potential avalanches dislodged a massive slide that buried Interstate 70, the main access from Denver and the urban Front Range corridor to many of the state's major ski resorts, including Vail and Aspen.
We've just gotten so much snow up there in the last two days, Stegman said. This is one of the biggest ski weekends of the year. We would love to keep the highway open. It's just so much snow.By the time officials reopened I-70 shortly after 10 a.m., the traffic jam stretched east for 10 miles, Stegman said.The storm, which had moved out of the state Saturday, piled up as much as 18 inches of snow in the mountains, Stegman said.The storm also blasted the metropolitan area with wind as high as 100 mph. At Denver International Airport, officials were still baffled Saturday by cracks that formed during the storm in the windshields of 12 airliners, airport spokesman Steve Snyder said.
Investigators had found no evidence of wind-blown debris that could have caused the cracks, which delayed some flights, Snyder said. No emergencies were declared and no injuries were reported.Elsewhere, a twin-engine Cessna crashed during a snowstorm southeast of the airport at Council Bluffs, Iowa, killing at least three people late Friday, officials said. The cause of the crash was not yet known.In Pennsylvania, three major interstate highways reopened Saturday after crews cleared them of ice and snow following a storm that left hundreds of motorists stranded. Speed limits on interstates 78, 80 and 81 were reduced to 45 mph until authorities deem it safe to drive at regular speeds.At least 24 deaths were blamed on the storm system and accompanying cold: six in Ohio; three in Nebraska; two each in Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey and Delaware; and one each in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire and Louisiana.
Israel, U.S. to shun Palestinian unity govt: Olmert Sun Feb 18, 6:58 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday he and President Bush agreed to shun a Palestinian unity government unless it accepted international demands on policy toward Israel. A Palestinian government that does not accept the Quartet's conditions, cannot receive recognition and there will not be cooperation with it, Olmert said, referring to calls by international mediators for a unity government to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing interim peace accords.I spoke about this on Friday with the President of the United States, and I can tell you the Israeli and U.S. positions are completely identical, Olmert said in broadcast remarks before talks later in the day with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Pre-Summit Clash: Olmert Says Yes, PA Says No
By Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 18,07
PM Olmert says PA gov't must abide by agreements with Israel, or else Israel and U.S. won't recognize it while PA spokesman says the new gov't is obligated to no one.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today that both the U.S. and Israel agree that there would be no recognition of a Palestinian Authority government that would not abide by the Quartet's conditions. Olmert said he had talked with U.S. President George Bush over the weekend, and that both agreed to this ultimatum.The Quartet the U.S., Russia, European Union and United Nations has long stated that it would not grant recognition or funding to a PA government that would not renounce terrorism, recognize Israel and abide by past Israeli-PA agreements.
The Fatah terror organization publicly accepted the above conditions, while Hamas did not - and failure of the two to agree led to civil-war violence and killings, mainly in Gaza, over the past several months. An agreement on a Fatah-Hamas unity government reached in Mecca earlier this month raised hopes that the conditions would be met but in vain.
Razi Hamad, spokesman for the current, outgoing PA government, said today that the new government is not required to recognize Israel or to abide by agreements made with Israel. Speaking on BBC's Arabic broadcasts, Hamas said that if the US Administration refuses to recognize the unity government, it is as if it it is standing up against the entire Palestinian nation [sic].U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who arrived in the Middle East over the weekend, also reiterated the Quartet's demands.
It is reasonable to obligate [the PA] to renounce violence, to recognize [Israel's] right to exist and honor international agreements, Rice told reporters. The White House spokesman took a slightly less aggressive approach, saying that final decisions would not be made until the unity government is actually formed. Rice, Olmert and Fatah PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to meet tomorrow (Monday) for a three-way summit. She and Abbas were to hold a joint press conference this afternoon, but it was abruptly canceled yesterday for unspecified reasons. The cancellation may be linked, however, to the apparent refusal of Hamas to adhere to the required conditions. Abbas warned U.S. Middle East envoy David Welch in preparatory talks on Saturday that there would be no major policy changes in the new PA unity government. This agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it, a PA official quoted Abbas as telling Welch.
Israeli Archeologist Discloses Muslim Room Under Disputed Ramp
By VOA News 18 February 2007
Israeli workers dig with bulldozers a walkway to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in east Jerusalem's Old City (8 Feb 2007) An Israeli archeologist says a Muslim prayer room has been found underneath a ramp near Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.The disclosure, by Israeli government archeologist Yuval Baruch, has fueled new controversy over Israeli excavations at the site. Writing on an Israeli government website, the archeologist says the room was discovered in 2004, when the ramp leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque collapsed. He says the room may have been part of an ancient Muslim school.
An Israeli newspaper (Yediot Aharonot) says the room dates to the 11th century.
The director Adnan Husseini of the Islamic group (Waqf) that overseas Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, has criticized Israel for not having told Muslim authorities about the find. Israeli excavations alongside the Mughrabi ramp have sparked Muslim protests. Islamic officials fear Israeli excavations could damage the foundations below the mosques.Israel has said there is no danger to the Muslim sites. Last week, Israel postponed plans for a new ramp while continuing controversial excavations.The al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam's third holiest site. It sits on an ancient esplanade, which Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. Jews call it the Temple Mount because it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.Jews pray below the esplanade at the Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Roman period temple. The site has been a flash point between Israel and the Palestinians. Muslim worshippers have frequently clashed with Israeli troops during controversies over the site. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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)
Syrian and Iranian Presidents Meet in Tehran
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 18,07
Iranian and Syrian leaders met in Tehran Saturday to discuss the situations in their mutual arenas of influence Lebanon and Iraq.Syrian President Bashar Assad was greeted with the red carpet treatment upon his arrival in Tehran Saturday for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian and Syrian leaders focused their discussions on the situations in Lebanon and Iraq. Iran has helped escalate instability in both countries by generously funding and rearming terrorists who oppose the current governments. The U.S. has accused both Syria and Iran of increasing the violence in Iraq by allowing terrorists to infiltrate the border and funding their activities. Officials in Iraq shut down the border with both Iran and Syria for a three-day period this past week in order to rearrange border control outposts and implement more stringent security measures. Iran is also responsible for supplying Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon with sophisticated weaponry as well as funding for training camps in which Palestinian Authority terrorists are being taught to wage war against Israel. The Iranian aid is smuggled into Lebanon through the Syrian border.
The Israeli port city of Haifa and other northern cities, including Nahariya, Tzfat and Kiryat Shmonah, were bombed by Iranian long-range missiles fired at the Jewish State by Hizbullah terrorists during last summer’s war.
In a related matter, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed Saturday that Tehran was being forced to develop nuclear energy in order to replace diminishing oil and gas reserves. Iranian state television quoted Khamenei as saying the Islamic republic would become dependent on domination-seeking powers if it didn’t develop nuclear fuel, which it says it needs for peaceful purposes.Iran owns the second largest natural gas reserve in the world. It is also the second largest exporter of crude oil among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but experts have said their current reserves will be depleted in 15 years. Israel and the U.S. have long suspected the Iranians of gearing their nuclear development activities toward building a weapon of mass destruction, which poses an existential threat to the Jewish State as well as other nations. A recent internal paper circulated among the European Union nations confirmed Jerusalem’s fears, documenting that Iranian scientists are working to develop a nuclear bomb. The United Nations Security Council imposed limited sanctions on Iran, forbidding transfer of nuclear technology to Iran.
Both the U.S. and Israel have been pressuring the world body to tighten the noose by including economic sanctions as well.
SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS
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.
METEORS HIT THE EARTH
REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!
UN urged to take action on asteroid threat By Irene Klotz
Sat Feb 17, 8:03 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday. Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue, Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.
Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.
The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the U.N. in 2009, he said.Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures for assessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.The favored approach to dealing with a potentially deadly space rock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter the asteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut Ed Lu, a veteran of the International Space Station.The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near the threatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, would deflect the asteroid.An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.
Mission costs are estimated at $300 million.
Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce the amount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances of a successful outcome, Schweickart said.
NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot (140-meter) object hitting the Earth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle of impact.Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, which studies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroid could take out an entire city or region.
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 19 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 18,07
MAP 2.5 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.9 VANUATU REGION
MAP 4.7 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 4.5 CERAM SEA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.4 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KORYAKIA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.8 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 4.7 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.0 NIAS REGION, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.6 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.4 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 NEW IRELAND REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 SOUTH OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN 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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Sun Feb 18, 7:51 AM ET
Cold temperatures were forecast for the Northeast and Southwest on Sunday, while rain and snow were expected in the Northwest. Light snow showers were forecast for the East, with heavier snow expected in the Great Lakes region. A low-pressure system could bring moderate accumulations to coastal Maine.An approaching Pacific storm was to bring rain to the valleys and snow to higher elevations in the West. Clear skies were forecast for the central and southern Plains and the South.
Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of minus 5 degrees at West Yellowstone, Mont., to a high of 89 degrees at Oceanside, Calif.On the Net:Weather Underground: http://www.wunderground.com.National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov.Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
Avalanches block highways in Colo. By CHASE SQUIRES, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 17, 8:47 PM ET
DENVER Thousands of travelers heading to ski areas for the holiday weekend were stalled by giant traffic jams Saturday as highways were blocked by crews removing snow slides. One avalanche at Berthoud Pass on U.S. 40, the main road to the Winter Park ski resort, knocked a state maintenance vehicle off the road during the night, said Colorado Department of Transportation spokeswoman Stacey Stegman.
The pass reopened Saturday afternoon.That pass was the scene of an avalanche last month that knocked two vehicles off the road and stranded several motorists. No injuries were reported because of snow slides or avalanche mitigation.Elsewhere, avalanche crews firing explosive charges to break up potential avalanches dislodged a massive slide that buried Interstate 70, the main access from Denver and the urban Front Range corridor to many of the state's major ski resorts, including Vail and Aspen.
We've just gotten so much snow up there in the last two days, Stegman said. This is one of the biggest ski weekends of the year. We would love to keep the highway open. It's just so much snow.By the time officials reopened I-70 shortly after 10 a.m., the traffic jam stretched east for 10 miles, Stegman said.The storm, which had moved out of the state Saturday, piled up as much as 18 inches of snow in the mountains, Stegman said.The storm also blasted the metropolitan area with wind as high as 100 mph. At Denver International Airport, officials were still baffled Saturday by cracks that formed during the storm in the windshields of 12 airliners, airport spokesman Steve Snyder said.
Investigators had found no evidence of wind-blown debris that could have caused the cracks, which delayed some flights, Snyder said. No emergencies were declared and no injuries were reported.Elsewhere, a twin-engine Cessna crashed during a snowstorm southeast of the airport at Council Bluffs, Iowa, killing at least three people late Friday, officials said. The cause of the crash was not yet known.In Pennsylvania, three major interstate highways reopened Saturday after crews cleared them of ice and snow following a storm that left hundreds of motorists stranded. Speed limits on interstates 78, 80 and 81 were reduced to 45 mph until authorities deem it safe to drive at regular speeds.At least 24 deaths were blamed on the storm system and accompanying cold: six in Ohio; three in Nebraska; two each in Illinois, Indiana, New York, New Jersey and Delaware; and one each in Missouri, Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire and Louisiana.
Israel, U.S. to shun Palestinian unity govt: Olmert Sun Feb 18, 6:58 AM ET
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Sunday he and President Bush agreed to shun a Palestinian unity government unless it accepted international demands on policy toward Israel. A Palestinian government that does not accept the Quartet's conditions, cannot receive recognition and there will not be cooperation with it, Olmert said, referring to calls by international mediators for a unity government to recognize Israel, renounce violence and abide by existing interim peace accords.I spoke about this on Friday with the President of the United States, and I can tell you the Israeli and U.S. positions are completely identical, Olmert said in broadcast remarks before talks later in the day with visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Pre-Summit Clash: Olmert Says Yes, PA Says No
By Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 18,07
PM Olmert says PA gov't must abide by agreements with Israel, or else Israel and U.S. won't recognize it while PA spokesman says the new gov't is obligated to no one.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said today that both the U.S. and Israel agree that there would be no recognition of a Palestinian Authority government that would not abide by the Quartet's conditions. Olmert said he had talked with U.S. President George Bush over the weekend, and that both agreed to this ultimatum.The Quartet the U.S., Russia, European Union and United Nations has long stated that it would not grant recognition or funding to a PA government that would not renounce terrorism, recognize Israel and abide by past Israeli-PA agreements.
The Fatah terror organization publicly accepted the above conditions, while Hamas did not - and failure of the two to agree led to civil-war violence and killings, mainly in Gaza, over the past several months. An agreement on a Fatah-Hamas unity government reached in Mecca earlier this month raised hopes that the conditions would be met but in vain.
Razi Hamad, spokesman for the current, outgoing PA government, said today that the new government is not required to recognize Israel or to abide by agreements made with Israel. Speaking on BBC's Arabic broadcasts, Hamas said that if the US Administration refuses to recognize the unity government, it is as if it it is standing up against the entire Palestinian nation [sic].U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who arrived in the Middle East over the weekend, also reiterated the Quartet's demands.
It is reasonable to obligate [the PA] to renounce violence, to recognize [Israel's] right to exist and honor international agreements, Rice told reporters. The White House spokesman took a slightly less aggressive approach, saying that final decisions would not be made until the unity government is actually formed. Rice, Olmert and Fatah PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas are to meet tomorrow (Monday) for a three-way summit. She and Abbas were to hold a joint press conference this afternoon, but it was abruptly canceled yesterday for unspecified reasons. The cancellation may be linked, however, to the apparent refusal of Hamas to adhere to the required conditions. Abbas warned U.S. Middle East envoy David Welch in preparatory talks on Saturday that there would be no major policy changes in the new PA unity government. This agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it, a PA official quoted Abbas as telling Welch.
Israeli Archeologist Discloses Muslim Room Under Disputed Ramp
By VOA News 18 February 2007
Israeli workers dig with bulldozers a walkway to the Al Aqsa Mosque compound in east Jerusalem's Old City (8 Feb 2007) An Israeli archeologist says a Muslim prayer room has been found underneath a ramp near Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem.The disclosure, by Israeli government archeologist Yuval Baruch, has fueled new controversy over Israeli excavations at the site. Writing on an Israeli government website, the archeologist says the room was discovered in 2004, when the ramp leading to the al-Aqsa Mosque collapsed. He says the room may have been part of an ancient Muslim school.
An Israeli newspaper (Yediot Aharonot) says the room dates to the 11th century.
The director Adnan Husseini of the Islamic group (Waqf) that overseas Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem, has criticized Israel for not having told Muslim authorities about the find. Israeli excavations alongside the Mughrabi ramp have sparked Muslim protests. Islamic officials fear Israeli excavations could damage the foundations below the mosques.Israel has said there is no danger to the Muslim sites. Last week, Israel postponed plans for a new ramp while continuing controversial excavations.The al-Aqsa Mosque is Islam's third holiest site. It sits on an ancient esplanade, which Muslims call the Noble Sanctuary. Jews call it the Temple Mount because it was the site of two ancient Jewish temples.Jews pray below the esplanade at the Western Wall, a retaining wall of the Roman period temple. The site has been a flash point between Israel and the Palestinians. Muslim worshippers have frequently clashed with Israeli troops during controversies over the site. Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP and Reuters.
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)
Syrian and Iranian Presidents Meet in Tehran
By Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 18,07
Iranian and Syrian leaders met in Tehran Saturday to discuss the situations in their mutual arenas of influence Lebanon and Iraq.Syrian President Bashar Assad was greeted with the red carpet treatment upon his arrival in Tehran Saturday for talks with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Iranian and Syrian leaders focused their discussions on the situations in Lebanon and Iraq. Iran has helped escalate instability in both countries by generously funding and rearming terrorists who oppose the current governments. The U.S. has accused both Syria and Iran of increasing the violence in Iraq by allowing terrorists to infiltrate the border and funding their activities. Officials in Iraq shut down the border with both Iran and Syria for a three-day period this past week in order to rearrange border control outposts and implement more stringent security measures. Iran is also responsible for supplying Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon with sophisticated weaponry as well as funding for training camps in which Palestinian Authority terrorists are being taught to wage war against Israel. The Iranian aid is smuggled into Lebanon through the Syrian border.
The Israeli port city of Haifa and other northern cities, including Nahariya, Tzfat and Kiryat Shmonah, were bombed by Iranian long-range missiles fired at the Jewish State by Hizbullah terrorists during last summer’s war.
In a related matter, Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei claimed Saturday that Tehran was being forced to develop nuclear energy in order to replace diminishing oil and gas reserves. Iranian state television quoted Khamenei as saying the Islamic republic would become dependent on domination-seeking powers if it didn’t develop nuclear fuel, which it says it needs for peaceful purposes.Iran owns the second largest natural gas reserve in the world. It is also the second largest exporter of crude oil among the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), but experts have said their current reserves will be depleted in 15 years. Israel and the U.S. have long suspected the Iranians of gearing their nuclear development activities toward building a weapon of mass destruction, which poses an existential threat to the Jewish State as well as other nations. A recent internal paper circulated among the European Union nations confirmed Jerusalem’s fears, documenting that Iranian scientists are working to develop a nuclear bomb. The United Nations Security Council imposed limited sanctions on Iran, forbidding transfer of nuclear technology to Iran.
Both the U.S. and Israel have been pressuring the world body to tighten the noose by including economic sanctions as well.
SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS
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.
METEORS HIT THE EARTH
REVELATION 6:12-17
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
REVELATION 8:12-13
12 And the fourth angel sounded, and the third part of the sun was smitten, and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the stars; so as the third part of them was darkened, and the day shone not for a third part of it, and the night likewise.
13 And I beheld, and heard an angel flying through the midst of heaven, saying with a loud voice, Woe, woe, woe, to the inhabiters of the earth by reason of the other voices of the trumpet of the three angels,which are yet to sound!
UN urged to take action on asteroid threat By Irene Klotz
Sat Feb 17, 8:03 PM ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - An asteroid may come uncomfortably close to Earth in 2036 and the United Nations should assume responsibility for a space mission to deflect it, a group of astronauts, engineers and scientists said on Saturday. Astronomers are monitoring an asteroid named Apophis, which has a 1 in 45,000 chance of striking Earth on April 13, 2036.Although the odds of an impact by this particular asteroid are low, a recent congressional mandate for NASA to upgrade its tracking of near-Earth asteroids is expected to uncover hundreds, if not thousands of threatening space rocks in the near future, former astronaut Rusty Schweickart said.It's not just Apophis we're looking at. Every country is at risk. We need a set of general principles to deal with this issue, Schweickart, a member of the Apollo 9 crew that orbited the moon in March 1969, told an American Association for the Advancement of Science conference in San Francisco.
Schweickart plans to present an update next week to the U.N. Committee on Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on plans to develop a blueprint for a global response to an asteroid threat.
The Association of Space Explorers, a group of former astronauts and cosmonauts, intends to host a series of high-level workshops this year to flesh out the plan and will make a formal proposal to the U.N. in 2009, he said.Schweickart wants to see the United Nations adopt procedures for assessing asteroid threats and deciding if and when to take action.The favored approach to dealing with a potentially deadly space rock is to dispatch a spacecraft that would use gravity to alter the asteroid's course so it no longer threatens Earth, said astronaut Ed Lu, a veteran of the International Space Station.The so-called Gravity Tractor could maintain a position near the threatening asteroid, exerting a gentle tug that, over time, would deflect the asteroid.An asteroid the size of Apophis, which is about 460 feet long, would take about 12 days of gravity-tugging, Lu added.
Mission costs are estimated at $300 million.
Launching an asteroid deflection mission early would reduce the amount of energy needed to alter its course and increase the chances of a successful outcome, Schweickart said.
NASA says the precise effect of a 460-foot (140-meter) object hitting the Earth would depend on what the asteroid was made of and the angle of impact.Paul Slovic, president of Oregon-based Decision Research, which studies judgment, decision-making and risk analysis, said the asteroid could take out an entire city or region.
Sunday, February 18, 2007
APOCALYPSE BUSH ON DOWN
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Five quakes hit off Solomon Islands. 3-Two quakes rock northern Japan. 4-Eastern snow and new western storm. 5-B’ezrat HaShem, With the help of G–d. 6-Jews hope unity springs from Israel trip. 7-Abbas presses U.S. to soften stance on unity deal. 8-Rice finds huge gaps between Israel, Palestinians. 9-Over 90 percent of Mali women circumcised says report. 10-Solar flares might knock out cell phones. 11-Talk of Apocalypse reaches from US President down.
2 Corrections I have to make on my site now. The first correction was on my story about Zechariah 13 were 2/3rds of people get killed in Israel. Well this can not be 2/3RDS of all Israelis that die in Armageddon like I said, This has to be 2/3RDS of the nations that come against Israel at the time of Armageddon. Because the Bible says the Israelis will be protected for 3 1/2 years so there is no way two-Thirds of all Israelis will be destroyed in WW3. Some will die, yes but not no 2/3RDS for sure, so I oppologize to Israelis and all who read that on my site.
And the 2ND correction is on February 12th when I put a story about Polluted waters in India on my site. I thought it was about polluted water but it was about the Hindu or buddist religion. I never read the story till today and realized it was not a Christian story for my Site, So to whoever thought I was promoting Indian Cultism I was not. Its only by the Blood of Jesus were saved by grace not by going in and Worshipping water like in that story. So I oppologize to whoever who thought I was promoting a false Religion, Sorry, and i will now be reading all the stories before I put them on my site so I am not decieved by the headline.
In both these cases I took the stories off the site that pertain to them.
If I put stories on that people have bad thoughts about E-mail me and let me know about it at: stan120032000@yahoo.ca
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 18 12:01 AM EDT
FEB 18,07
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.4 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 NEW IRELAND REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 SOUTH OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
FEB 16,07
MAP 4.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
Five quakes hit off Solomon Islands Sat Feb 17, 9:42 AM ET
HONIARA (AFP)Five moderate earthquakes have struck off the Solomon Islands, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The first quake, measuring 5.6, hit at 06:43 pm (0743 GMT) Saturday off thenorthwest tip of the main island in the Solomon Sea, the US Geological Survey said.
It struck 116 kilometres (72 miles) southwest of the town of Chirovanga at a depth of 50 kilometres.The second struck four minutes later in the same area with a magnitude of 5.3 at a depth of 60 kilometres, according to the USGS.A third 5.0-magnitude tremblor hit nine minutes later also in the same location at a depth of 59 kilometres.
Less than two hours later in the same area, another struck, 49 kilometres deep and measuring 5.1 while the fifth hit at 11:43 pm measuring 5.5.A tsunami warning has not been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.The Pacific nation, 2,575 kilometres east of Australia, has just fewer than 500,000 people living on dozens of islands.It is part of the Pacific ring of fire, and frequently experiences volcanic and seismic activity.
Two quakes rock northern Japan Fri Feb 16, 11:27 PM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Two earthquakes, measuring 6.6 and 4.9 on the Richter scale, have rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido within a space of 19 minutes, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Japan Meteorological Agency ruled out fears of tsunami tidal waves resulting from the quakes which occurred at 9:03 and 9:22 am (0003 and 0022 GMT).There may be some minimal change in the sea level but there is no fear of damage, the agency said in a statement following the first quake which was bigger in magnitude.The epicenters of the two quakes were located close to each other, at a point some 50 kilometers (30 miles) off Cape Erimo on the island's southern tip.The focuses of the tremors were both 50 kilometers below the surface of the sea, the agency said.
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.
Eastern snow and new western storm M. Ressler, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sat Feb 17, 12:38 PM ET
As the clipper storm heads eastward, snow continues to fall from parts of the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys into the central and southern Appalachians. Snow advisories remain in effect as 1 to 3 inches of snow make for messy travel. In the mountains of West Virginia and North Carolina, snow accumulations could reach 6 inches in spots so heavy snow warnings and winter storm warnings have been issued through Sunday. East of the Appalachians, any snow will be of the flurry variety. The clipper is also causing gusty northwest winds in the southern half of the Plains and the Mississippi River Valley. Some gusts are in the 20-to-40-mph range. These gusty winds will shift toward the Eastern Seaboard Sunday. The winds will cause blowing and drifting snow, especially in the Appalachians. The lake-effect snows continue across eastern Upper Michigan and across Upstate New York east of Lake Ontario. Areas east of Marquette, Michigan, could pick up an additional foot of snow by late Sunday. East of Lake Ontario, Watertown, New York, received 6 inches of snow in a matter of hours Saturday morning. Winds across Lake Ontario will shift from southwest to northwest over the next 12 to 18 hours causing the snow band to shift from Watertown southward to Oswego and even Syracuse. As the band moves south through the Tug Hill later today and overnight, some additional accumulations may approach 12 inches. The lake effect should shut off by Monday as high pressure moves over the area and then milder air begins to move into the Great Lakes. In the West, an offshore flow has brought locally strong winds to the mountains around Los Angeles and San Diego. Some of the passes and canyons have experienced gusts between 40 and 65 mph. These winds are quite warm. Los Angeles may come close to its record high of 89 degrees this afternoon. A new storm will move into the Pacific Northwest tonight and Sunday. Rainfall amounts will be on the moderate side ranging from between .25 and .5 inches in the valleys of western Washington and western Oregon to between .75 and 1.5 inches in the coastal range and lower windward flanks of the Cascades. Snow levels will range from 3500 feet in the northern Cascades to 4500 feet in the Siskiyou falling to between 2000 and 3500 feet Sunday. The higher elevations of the Washington Cascades could pick up an additional foot of snow by late Sunday.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
B’ezrat HaShem, With the help of G–d FEB 17,07
Dear Friends,
We are so glad to send you our 2006/2007 Winter Edition magazine. You will find here a lot of information about the activities of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement and the progress of her work for the rebuilding of the Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem and to renew the worship on the Holy Temple Mount where G-d chose to dwell among His people Israel and all mankind, His creation. We feel and know the time is short and despite the very critical situation in Israel and all the world the day that the House of G-d will again stand on Mount Moriah is behind the door. So much depends on what we shall do to make this great day a reality in our lifetime. G-d is ready and we can hear His calling to His people Israel on the mountains and valleys of Jerusalem not to wait more but to move, to build His house and to become a biblical nation with a biblical mission: To be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests and a light to the nations (Exodus 19: 5-6).
The Temple Mount Faithful Movement answered this call of G-d from the first moment that we heard it 40 years ago when the G-d of Israel led His Israeli soldiers to liberate His Holy Temple Mount and to immediately rebuild His Temple. For forty years the Temple Mount Faithful Movement has acted, struggled and fought in Jerusalem, and all over Israel and the world to educate everyone about the urgent need to answer this call of G-d in the life of our generation as He is expecting from us to do so. We swore not to rest day and night until the Holy Hill of G-d is purified from foreign Arab Islamic pagan presence and the godly end-time vision of Isaiah is fulfilled in our lifetime. This is the right time for this prophesy to be fulfilled:
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2: 1-5)
Dear friends, we are living in a great time in the history of Israel and all mankind. All the prophets of Israel prophesied with a deep desire about this time and our generation was chosen by G-d to be the generation of the fulfillment and redemption. We should not fear from the critical events in Israel and all over the world. We should just trust G-d and His promises. Those who do so will have the
privilege to be a part of this godly vision. The prophets of Israel taught us that those critical events and the others still to come will be a sign for the complete redemption soon to come in the near future. Together we shall continue our great godly campaign and soon we shall experience this great day. We are looking forward to hearing from you and your response to this magazine which was prepared for you with great efforts and expenses. We shall so much appreciate your help which will allow us to continue our holy work. Thank you so much for standing with the Faithful Movement for such a long time and with a great devotion. We could not even imagine how we could do this work without your devoted standing. Those who would also like to receive this magazine in its regular (printed) format are asked to e-mail or write and give us your mailing address and we shall be more than glad to send it to you.
May the G-d of Israel bless you and shine His love upon you.
Your friend and brother in Jerusalem,
Gershon Salomon
Chairman, Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement
Jews hope unity springs from Israel trip
Saturday, February 17, 2007 By JOHN CHADWICK - STAFF WRITER Northjersey.com
More than 300 North Jersey Jews are heading to Israel today on a special one-week trip that organizers say will help foster unity among the diverse Jewish community.Members of all three major branches of Judaism Reform, Conservative and Orthodox are participating, as well as unaffiliated Jews. About one-third of the travelers have never visited Israel.The challenge we've always faced is, What do Jews in Kinnelon have in common with people who belong to a synagogue in Fort Lee? said Miriam Allenson, spokeswoman for the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Northern New Jersey, which organized and is subsidizing the trip. Yet, we are all one community, and we see this as a community builder.The trip, the first major one for the organization since the conflict in Lebanon last summer, is also a show of solidarity with Israel.
Participants will see the usual tourist sites museums, archeological sites and the Western Wall but also will meet with military and government officials.
And they can choose from several optional itineraries, including a trip to the border Israel shares with the Gaza Strip and Egypt and a crash course in the issues that led to Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and the dismantling of Jewish settlements.Participants paid $2,250 for the trip. The federation kicked in several hundred thousand dollars to cover expenses.Sandy Herrick, a Ho-Ho-Kus man who is co-chairman for the trip, said the federation sees the expense as an investment in the community's future.One of the best ways to get people involved is to foster a love of Israel, Herrick said. If people at the end of the week are moved by Israel, moved by federation, and they want to get involved in some way, I personally would be very happy.The journey will also serve as a final chapter in the life of the Elmwood Park Jewish Center. The Conservative synagogue, which is planning to close its doors and merge with a Fair Lawn congregation, is donating one of its Torah scrolls to an Israeli naval base. With the chief rabbi for the Israeli Defense Forces on hand, the Torah will be carried into the base and formally turned over to the military.We wanted to do something that would perpetuate our name, said Muriel Weinreb, the synagogue president, who will be making her first visit to Israel.
We've been around for 50 years.E-mail: chadwick@northjersey.com
Abbas presses U.S. to soften stance on unity deal
Saturday February 17, 08:35 PM By Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Washington on Saturday to soften objections to his Palestinian unity government with Hamas, telling a top envoy he had cut the best deal he could, aides said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive later on Saturday to try to lay the groundwork for a three-way summit on Monday with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In preparatory meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas told the American envoy, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, to give the unity government a chance, Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said. We told him that this agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it, said another Palestinian official who took part in the meetings but declined to be identified. A threatened American and Israeli boycott of the power-sharing government between Abbas's Fatah and Hamas Islamists has overshadowed Monday's summit, set to take place in Jerusalem. Initially billed as a chance to discuss establishing a Palestinian state, Israeli officials said the talks would focus instead largely on disagreements over the unity deal.
After a surprise trip to Iraq, Rice will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem on Saturday night. She will hold separate talks with Abbas and Olmert on Sunday. Rice said Washington would wait to see how the unity government takes shape before deciding on U.S. policy. Earlier this week, however, senior Palestinian officials and Western diplomats said Washington had warned Abbas it would shun the new government, including non-Hamas ministers, if it does not recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals as called for by the Quartet of Middle East mediators. Abu Rdainah said on Saturday: The American position has not been crystalised.
A QUIET CHANNEL
Senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the goal of the three-way summit was to launch a quiet channel, as President Abbas has requested, to explore how to get to our objective of a Palestinian state.
We want to define the objective and to define the way to get there.Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said on Friday he hoped to form the unity government with Abbas's Fatah faction within three weeks, but its future looked bleak because of opposition from the United States and Israel. Rice acknowledged prospects for Monday's summit were more complicated due to the planned Hamas-Fatah coalition. The unity agreement, signed by Abbas after talks with Hamas leaders in Mecca, makes no explicit commitment to recognise Israel or renounce violence. A letter from Abbas reappointing Haniyeh as prime minister contains a vague call to Hamas to abide by Palestinian and Arab resolutions that include recognition of Israel, and to respect past agreements and international law. The United States has struggled to maintain a united front within the Quartet, which also includes the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. Even if some Arab and European countries resume aid, Western diplomats said the impact would be limited. Without U.S. support, regional and international banks will be reluctant to resume transfers to the Palestinian government, Palestinian bank executives said. Israeli government sources said the Jewish state will likewise refuse to hand over any additional Palestinian tax revenues to Abbas. (Reuters) Westbank.
Rice finds huge gaps between Israel, Palestinians by David Millikin
Sat Feb 17, 3:47 PM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Israel vowing to press ahead with a risky summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders embroiled in a bitter feud over the presence of Islamist radicals in a soon-to-be-formed Palestinian government. Rice, arriving from an unannounced visit to Iraq, went straight into talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at a Jerusalem hotel
before planned separate meetings Sunday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the moderate, US-backed Palestinian president, Mahmud Abbas.The highlight of Rice's mission was to be her first three-way meeting with Abbas and Olmert on Monday. She has billed that as the kick-off of a long-awaited US initiative to revive negotiations on a peace deal and the creation of a Palestinian state.
But the Rice plan has been overshadowed by controversy over a power-sharing deal reached last week between Abbas' Fatah party and the radical Islamist group Hamas, which the US and Israel consider a terrorist group.
Speaking alongside Rice, Livni insisted Israel will not deal with the new government until its Hamas members recognise the Jewish state's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace agreements.Those principles are supported by Washington and its Western partners but have so far been consistently rejected by Hamas.These requirements are not obstacles for peace but they are the basic conditions and foundations for any kind of vision of a two-state solution, Livni said.I think that the moderates in the Palestinian side need to understand that a path towards a Palestinian state needs to go though renunciation of violence and terrorism and not by compromising with terror, Livni said.
Abbas, who Rice and President George W. Bush have long hailed as the key partner for peace in the Arab-Israeli standoff, insists the power-sharing understanding meets the international conditions.Earlier Saturday, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said we will say to the Americans and to the Israelis that they must give a chance to this government.The world must work with this agreement, Abu Rudeina added, speaking after a meeting between Abbas and Rice's top Middle East aide, Assistant Secretary David Welch.While Israeli media reported that Bush backed the hardline Israeli stance in a telephone conversation with Olmert on Friday, Rice declined to publicly take sides.
She insisted that the three conditions remain the foundational principles for a two-state solution and in fact for the formation of a leadership that can lead to that two-state solution.But she added that Washington will await the formation of a (Palestinian) government before making any decisions about it, she said as Livni watched on.If one waited for the perfect time to come to the Middle East, you
would never get on an airplane, she said.
The West and Israel have refused critical financial aid to the Palestinian government since Hamas took control of the administration after unexpectedly trouncing Fatah in legislative elections a year ago.Abbas was elected separately and has significant executive powers under the Palestinian constitution.The aid embargo has exacerbated an economic crisis in the Palestinian areas and fueled tensions that erupted into deadly violence between Fatah and Hamas supporters in recent weeks. Abbas says the understandings reached with Hamas meet the West's principles by stating that the new government will respect Arab and international agreements and past accords signed with Israel by the Fatah-led PLO steps that imply recognition of Israel according to this view. Regardless of the outcome of her meetings here, Rice could come under pressure to ease the boycott from Washington's partners in the so-called Quartet of mediators who first laid down the principles the European Union, United Nations and Russia. Rice is due to meet her counterparts from the other three powers on Wednesday in Berlin.
Over 90 percent of Mali women circumcised says report
By IANS - Saturday February 17, 04:49 PM
Luanda (Mali), Feb 17 (Prensa Latina) Over 90 percent of women in Mali in the age group of 15-49 years are circumcised by witch doctors in utter unhygienic condition, a World Bank report has revealed.
Over 12 million women worldwide have been subjected to genital mutilation by quacks who have little surgical skill, equipment or awareness of the dangers of such practices making the women vulnerable to infections, haemorrhage, pre-natal and post-natal complications and psychological disorders, the report said. Many women ultimately die from complications, the report added.Awareness campaigners say the fight against the evil has a long way to go but the scenario does offer encouraging signs in that people have now started recognising the uselessness and danger of the practice, Aissata Diakite, director of one organisation in Mali engaged in the awareness drive, said.Various African governments have stepped up their campaign against female circumcision vigorously, he said.
Solar flares might knock out cell phones
Activity building to crescendo some scientists say could be cataclysmic
Posted: February 17, 2007
Editor's note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND. Annual subscriptions are $99 and include a free copy of Farah's latest book, Taking America Back. Monthly trial subscriptions are just $9.95 for credit card users. WorldNetDaily.com
Solar flares
Solar flare activity is expected to build for the next three years to a crescendo that some scientists say could be cataclysmic, causing a telecommunication blackout that would down mobile phones and navigational systems. The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010, Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, told the Hindu News. These solar flares and Coronoal Mass Ejections from the sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a black-out of cellular phone services and navigational systems like the GPS. Solar flares and CMEs occur when magnetic energy built up in the Sun's atmosphere is suddenly released. The flares carrying high amount of energy, travel at high speeds and reach the Earth in a matter of hours.
If a solar flare or a CME collides with the Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm, Aschwanden said, adding large geomagnetic storms have caused electrical power outages and damaged communication satellites. A few years back, these solar flares destroyed the satellite Galaxy 4.That outage in 1998 resulted in widespread loss of pager service and numerous other communication problems.
Talk of Apocalypse reaches from US President down
Thomas Horn February 16, 2007
NEW BOOK SAYS TIME HAS RUN OUT! Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End
Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and the threat of a deadly flu pandemic: Are global events unfolding something bigger?
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; the sea and the waves roaring (Like 21:25).Several years of epic events have witnessed a growing number of the world's population wondering if something prophetic is transpiring.First came 9/11 and the beginning of the war on terror.
Then a tsunami in Asia killed approximately 250,000 people. Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and an earthquake In South Asia followed, which claimed tens of thousands more lives. 2006 witnessed leaders of countries referencing terms like Apocalypse and Armageddon to describe the uneasy times. 2007 has started out with record snowfalls in parts of the US, the national weather service is predicting even more blizzards, and experts warn that a deadly avian flu virus could pass over to the human population at any time in a full-blown pandemic, potentially bringing global markets to their knees.It's enough to make anybody wonder what in the world is going on.For many folk, these are the signs of the End Times.
Over at RaptureReady.com, a popular website that serves as a kind of Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, the Rapture Index is hovering at 160, a rating meant to indicate when loyal Christians will disappear from earth just before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The website keeps tally of a wide variety of world events based on reflection to Bible prophecy, and anything above a score of 145 means Fasten your seatbelt for departure. The website's owner, Terry James, has a new book called The Rapture Dialogues that is endorsed by Dr. Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind series of books. Rapture Dialogues envisions an imminent great deception in which aliens deceive the world following the Rapture of the Church. A sequel to the book is planned for later this year.Another book due out this month purports to explain current global events as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. Published by Anomalos Publishing, Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End documents recent history in light of the books of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and concludes that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have started their destructive ride. The book is already the subject of two made for television documentaries.
So close is the correlation between recent events and end times prophecy, that even President George W. Bush was asked last year following a speech on the War on Terror whether he believed the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism were signs of the Apocalypse. Bush said he hadn't thought of it that way, but author Bob Woodward noted in his book Bush at War, that just three days after 9/11, the president during the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington seemed to act as if he had found himself within a fantastic cosmic scheme, declaring that the nation’s responsibility to history was already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil (1).
By taking up the language of good vs. evil, Woodward said, the president was casting his vision and that of the country in the grand vision of God’s master plan (2).
According to Woodward, the prophetic context for war in the very land associated with future Armageddon (and against Saddam Hussein, no less, the man who claimed to be the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar) held for Bush the Manichean language necessary to play out a divine mission while earning him admiration from certain supporters who saw the reconstruction efforts of Babylon under Saddam Hussein -- followed by the War on Terror -- as signs pointing to the Apocalypse.Biblical scholar Bruce Lincoln’s examination of a speech delivered by Bush to the nation on October 7, 2001, announcing the U.S. attack on Afghanistan (3) produced redundant references from Apocalyptic books of the Bible concerning the End Times. Lincoln's research seemed to support Woodward's claims, that the president's word craft was a strategy of double coding to secretly appeal to people who saw Bush as a devout Christian standing up to the enemies of God in an unfolding event in the Middle East, which they believed was foretold in the books of Revelation, Isaiah, et al.
Of course George W. was not the first American president to use language associated with end times prophecy. Who can forget Ronald Reagan’s view of the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire and his feeling that war in the Middle East might draw Gog into nuclear war and fulfill biblical prophecy. In his 1984 debate with Walter Mondale, Reagan admitted, No one knows whether those prophecies mean that Armageddon is a thousand years away or the day after tomorrow.Democrats too have been known to employ language that could be seen as coded to appeal to the beliefs of devout persons or patriots.
When Rep. Nancy Pelosi on January 4, 2007 assumed her roll as speaker of the House at the opening of the 110th Congress, she stated that the founding fathers were so confident in the America they were advancing, they put on the seal, the great seal of the United States, novus ordo seclorum a new order for the centuries.The new speaker did not go into detail as to why the phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum was important dialectic during the momentous changeover of the control of congress. Nor did she explain why Novus Ordo Seclorum exists beneath the unfinished pyramid and the All Seeing Eye in the Great Seal of the United States. Her reference may have been a simple coincidence, but the origins of the motto Novus Ordo Seclorum and the use of it in this historic speech was interesting in light of possible prophetic events happening around the world.
The term Novus Ordo Seclorum (A New Order of the Ages) was adapted by Charles Thomson in 1782 when he was designing the Great Seal of the United States. According to the official record, Thomson created the phrase from inspiration he found in a line in Virgil’s Eclogue IV: Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur ordo [Virgil's Eclogue IV (line 5)], the interpretation of the original Latin being, and the majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew.
Ironically, Christians since the middle ages have held that the Cumaean Sibyl of Virgil’s Ecologue IV prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ and that it was this arrival of the Savior that gave rise to the majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew, or New Order of the Ages. Virgil himself was believed to be a prophet in this regard, and that is why Dante Alighieri selected him as his guide through the underworld in The Divine Comedy. The Cumaean Sibyl is also prominently featured alongside the Old Testament prophets in Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Some say this fact played a role in Thomson’s inspiration for Novus Ordo Seclorum taken from Virgil’s Ecologue IV. Yet upon reading Virgil’s text, the divine son that comes of the Sibyl’s prophecy is a savior unknown to Biblical theology. He is to be spawned of a new breed of men sent down from heaven who receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling. According to the Sibyl’s prediction, this messiah would be the son of Jupiter and come when the Roman god Saturn returned to reign over the earth in a new golden age (the Novus Ordo Seclorum), when Apollo rises again through mystical life power given to him from the gods.
From the beginning of the poem we read (4):Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl sung Has come and gone, and the majestic roll Of circling centuries begins anew: Justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign, With a new breed of men sent down from heaven. Only do thou, at the boy's birth in whom The iron shall cease, the golden race arise, Befriend him, chaste Lucina; 'tis thine own Apollo reigns. …He shall receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling, and himself Be seen of them, and with his father's worth Reign o'er a world…Assume thy greatness, for the time draws nigh, Dear child of gods, great progeny of Jove!
See how it totters- the world's orbed might, Earth, and wide ocean, and the vault profound, All, see, enraptured of the coming time! Ah! might such length of days to me be given, And breath suffice me to rehearse thy deeds, Nor Thracian Orpheus should out-sing me then, Nor Linus, though his mother this, and that His sire should aid- Orpheus Calliope, And Linus fair Apollo. Nay, though Pan, With Arcady for judge, my claim contest, With Arcady for judge great Pan himself Should own him foiled, and from the field retire. Begin to greet thy mother with a smile, O baby-boy! ten months of weariness For thee she bore: O baby-boy, begin! For him, on whom his parents have not smiled, Gods deem not worthy of their board or bed.
Therefore according to the Sibyl, the New Order of the Ages occurs when a special son is born on earth, a new messiah who comes of a new breed of men sent down from heaven when heroes and gods are blended together. This sounds eerily similar to what the Watchers did during the creation of Nephilim; to what scientists are doing this century through the creation of transgenic human-animal chimeras, and to what the Bible actually describes as the Antichrist being the son of perdition(2 Th 2:3, Apoleia, from which we make Apollyon, the demon destroyer). Note the similarity of the names Apollo and Apollyon.Patrick Heron believes the pagan Sibyl may actually have pointed to a false Christ who appears during the end times Apocalypse, and that the Novus Ordo Seclorum prophecy of a coming special son who leads mankind to a New World Order could be fulfilled anytime.
According to scripture, Heron says, the near future will produce a man of superior intelligence, wit, charm, and diplomacy who will emerge on the world scene as a savior. He will seemingly possess transcendent wisdom that enables him to solve problems and to offer solutions to many of today’s most perplexing issues. One of his most important accomplishments at the very outset will be to broker a peace treaty between the Jews and Palestinians. He will also lead the charge in rebuilding the long awaited Jewish Temple. This is especially interesting given that, just this month, an Israeli archaeologist and Hebrew professor claims to have pinpointed the exact location of the original Jewish Temple, a potentially important step toward the fulfillment of the Temple reconstruction prophecy.
According to some, this Antichrist will appear at first to be a man of distinguished character, but will ultimately become a king of fierce countenance (Dan. 8:23). With imperious decree he will facilitate a one-world government, a universal religion, and global socialism.
Those who refuse his New World Order will inevitably be imprisoned or destroyed, until at last he exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4).When asked why he believes prophetic signs at this point in history could be pointing to the Antichrist and the end of times, Patrick Heron says, I believe God is warning people, giving them one last chance to believe before the judgments of God, as revealed in the Book of Revelation, begin to fall on earth. Grizzly Adams Productions, a well known producer of family-friendly television shows who has created original programming for Discovery, PAX, NBC, CBS, the Learning Channel and other networks, found the insights presented in Heron's new book, Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End engaging enough that in 2006 they acquired the worldwide television and DVD rights to the work. Their first documentary based on the book was titled, End Times: How Close Are We and was broadcast nationwide during sweeps weeks in 2006.
The show connected with viewers, and the DVD has become the all-time bestseller at such places as WorldNetDaily.com.
A second documentary based on the book Apocalypse and the End Times aired in October and has done equally well.Throughout human history, cultures from the Hopi Indians to biblical prophets have shared stories about the end of the world, notes David W. Balsiger, a producer on the Apocalypse and the End Times special. We sought to examine these legends and look to modern scientific findings to get to the truth behind current events and these ancient stories.Even the mainstream press picked up the Apocalypse theme in 2006. CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Times, BBC and others ran feature stories on the US presence in the Middle East, focusing on the possibility that it signaled the End Times Armageddon spoken of in scripture. CNN devoted several entire news segments with Paula Zahn concerning the possibility that the biblical Apocalypse might actually be here. More recently, however, language of the Apocalypse was raised again when the Doomsday Clock was pushed forward at The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by two minutes, marking 11:55 before midnight, five minutes before the figurative end of civilization.Like Judaism and Christianity, Shiite Islam also gives credence to an end times event involving the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam. Devout believers in Iran assume the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam will occur when he emerges from a well at the Jamkaran mosque. Iran's president, Ahmadinejad gave $17 million of government funds to support the shrine and has said that the mission of the Islamic Revolution is to pave the way for the coming of the Twelfth Imam. Some believe Iran is on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons and that Ahmadinejad has little inhibition about using them to start Armageddon. President Bush has reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, and he has not ruled out using force to accomplish this goal. Students of prophecy see this as potentially more than saber rattling between the two countries. They believe it could trigger the final Apocalypse.
As for Dr. Heron, he begins in Apocalypse Soon by focusing on scientific evidence showing a sharp increase in bizarre weather patterns including a 500 percent increase in tornadoes last year, record-setting earthquake activity, the threat of a worldwide bird flu pandemic, growing famine, disease, and the exponentially higher risk of all-out nuclear war involving lands identified in the Bible as central to End Times prophecies.
In the middle of his book, he analyzes this data and determines that it aligns perfectly with the ancient prophecies, which he believes points to the imminent appearing of the great man of sin, the Antichrist.Finally, Heron concludes with America and Europe in prophecy. He looks at the famous dream of the ancient king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who saw what many believe to be the final global kingdom a revived Roman Empire. But a careful examination of the prophecies relating to this future government specifically state that it will be a global confederacy, Heron says. It is not confined to one geographic area. It will be a club of ten members ruled by ten kings who will serve the interests of the Antichrist. I have no doubt that Europe and the USA will play prominent roles in these future alignments.
(1) President's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, Office of the Press Secretary, September 14, 2001 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-2.html
(2) Bob Woodward, Bush at War (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002), p. 67
3. Bruce Lincoln, Holy Terrors (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), pp 30-32
4. Translation by John Dryden, as published by Georgetown University,
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/gendersextexts/texts/eclog4.html
2 Corrections I have to make on my site now. The first correction was on my story about Zechariah 13 were 2/3rds of people get killed in Israel. Well this can not be 2/3RDS of all Israelis that die in Armageddon like I said, This has to be 2/3RDS of the nations that come against Israel at the time of Armageddon. Because the Bible says the Israelis will be protected for 3 1/2 years so there is no way two-Thirds of all Israelis will be destroyed in WW3. Some will die, yes but not no 2/3RDS for sure, so I oppologize to Israelis and all who read that on my site.
And the 2ND correction is on February 12th when I put a story about Polluted waters in India on my site. I thought it was about polluted water but it was about the Hindu or buddist religion. I never read the story till today and realized it was not a Christian story for my Site, So to whoever thought I was promoting Indian Cultism I was not. Its only by the Blood of Jesus were saved by grace not by going in and Worshipping water like in that story. So I oppologize to whoever who thought I was promoting a false Religion, Sorry, and i will now be reading all the stories before I put them on my site so I am not decieved by the headline.
In both these cases I took the stories off the site that pertain to them.
If I put stories on that people have bad thoughts about E-mail me and let me know about it at: stan120032000@yahoo.ca
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 18 12:01 AM EDT
FEB 18,07
MAP 2.5 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.2 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 2.5 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.5 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.4 OFFSHORE EL SALVADOR
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 4.6 OFF THE COAST OF CENTRAL AMERICA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 5.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.9 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.9 NEW IRELAND REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 SOUTH OF THE MARIANA ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.1 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
FEB 16,07
MAP 4.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 PUERTO RICO
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
Five quakes hit off Solomon Islands Sat Feb 17, 9:42 AM ET
HONIARA (AFP)Five moderate earthquakes have struck off the Solomon Islands, seismologists said, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The first quake, measuring 5.6, hit at 06:43 pm (0743 GMT) Saturday off thenorthwest tip of the main island in the Solomon Sea, the US Geological Survey said.
It struck 116 kilometres (72 miles) southwest of the town of Chirovanga at a depth of 50 kilometres.The second struck four minutes later in the same area with a magnitude of 5.3 at a depth of 60 kilometres, according to the USGS.A third 5.0-magnitude tremblor hit nine minutes later also in the same location at a depth of 59 kilometres.
Less than two hours later in the same area, another struck, 49 kilometres deep and measuring 5.1 while the fifth hit at 11:43 pm measuring 5.5.A tsunami warning has not been issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center.The Pacific nation, 2,575 kilometres east of Australia, has just fewer than 500,000 people living on dozens of islands.It is part of the Pacific ring of fire, and frequently experiences volcanic and seismic activity.
Two quakes rock northern Japan Fri Feb 16, 11:27 PM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - Two earthquakes, measuring 6.6 and 4.9 on the Richter scale, have rocked the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido within a space of 19 minutes, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The Japan Meteorological Agency ruled out fears of tsunami tidal waves resulting from the quakes which occurred at 9:03 and 9:22 am (0003 and 0022 GMT).There may be some minimal change in the sea level but there is no fear of damage, the agency said in a statement following the first quake which was bigger in magnitude.The epicenters of the two quakes were located close to each other, at a point some 50 kilometers (30 miles) off Cape Erimo on the island's southern tip.The focuses of the tremors were both 50 kilometers below the surface of the sea, the agency said.
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.
Eastern snow and new western storm M. Ressler, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sat Feb 17, 12:38 PM ET
As the clipper storm heads eastward, snow continues to fall from parts of the Ohio and Tennessee River Valleys into the central and southern Appalachians. Snow advisories remain in effect as 1 to 3 inches of snow make for messy travel. In the mountains of West Virginia and North Carolina, snow accumulations could reach 6 inches in spots so heavy snow warnings and winter storm warnings have been issued through Sunday. East of the Appalachians, any snow will be of the flurry variety. The clipper is also causing gusty northwest winds in the southern half of the Plains and the Mississippi River Valley. Some gusts are in the 20-to-40-mph range. These gusty winds will shift toward the Eastern Seaboard Sunday. The winds will cause blowing and drifting snow, especially in the Appalachians. The lake-effect snows continue across eastern Upper Michigan and across Upstate New York east of Lake Ontario. Areas east of Marquette, Michigan, could pick up an additional foot of snow by late Sunday. East of Lake Ontario, Watertown, New York, received 6 inches of snow in a matter of hours Saturday morning. Winds across Lake Ontario will shift from southwest to northwest over the next 12 to 18 hours causing the snow band to shift from Watertown southward to Oswego and even Syracuse. As the band moves south through the Tug Hill later today and overnight, some additional accumulations may approach 12 inches. The lake effect should shut off by Monday as high pressure moves over the area and then milder air begins to move into the Great Lakes. In the West, an offshore flow has brought locally strong winds to the mountains around Los Angeles and San Diego. Some of the passes and canyons have experienced gusts between 40 and 65 mph. These winds are quite warm. Los Angeles may come close to its record high of 89 degrees this afternoon. A new storm will move into the Pacific Northwest tonight and Sunday. Rainfall amounts will be on the moderate side ranging from between .25 and .5 inches in the valleys of western Washington and western Oregon to between .75 and 1.5 inches in the coastal range and lower windward flanks of the Cascades. Snow levels will range from 3500 feet in the northern Cascades to 4500 feet in the Siskiyou falling to between 2000 and 3500 feet Sunday. The higher elevations of the Washington Cascades could pick up an additional foot of snow by late Sunday.
REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE
REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.
DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one
week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
B’ezrat HaShem, With the help of G–d FEB 17,07
Dear Friends,
We are so glad to send you our 2006/2007 Winter Edition magazine. You will find here a lot of information about the activities of the Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement and the progress of her work for the rebuilding of the Temple of G-d on Mount Moriah in Jerusalem and to renew the worship on the Holy Temple Mount where G-d chose to dwell among His people Israel and all mankind, His creation. We feel and know the time is short and despite the very critical situation in Israel and all the world the day that the House of G-d will again stand on Mount Moriah is behind the door. So much depends on what we shall do to make this great day a reality in our lifetime. G-d is ready and we can hear His calling to His people Israel on the mountains and valleys of Jerusalem not to wait more but to move, to build His house and to become a biblical nation with a biblical mission: To be a holy nation, a kingdom of priests and a light to the nations (Exodus 19: 5-6).
The Temple Mount Faithful Movement answered this call of G-d from the first moment that we heard it 40 years ago when the G-d of Israel led His Israeli soldiers to liberate His Holy Temple Mount and to immediately rebuild His Temple. For forty years the Temple Mount Faithful Movement has acted, struggled and fought in Jerusalem, and all over Israel and the world to educate everyone about the urgent need to answer this call of G-d in the life of our generation as He is expecting from us to do so. We swore not to rest day and night until the Holy Hill of G-d is purified from foreign Arab Islamic pagan presence and the godly end-time vision of Isaiah is fulfilled in our lifetime. This is the right time for this prophesy to be fulfilled:
The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow to it. And many people shall go and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths; for from Zion shall go forth Torah, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and shall decide for many people; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, nor shall they learn war any more. O house of Jacob, come, and let us walk in the light of the Lord. (Isaiah 2: 1-5)
Dear friends, we are living in a great time in the history of Israel and all mankind. All the prophets of Israel prophesied with a deep desire about this time and our generation was chosen by G-d to be the generation of the fulfillment and redemption. We should not fear from the critical events in Israel and all over the world. We should just trust G-d and His promises. Those who do so will have the
privilege to be a part of this godly vision. The prophets of Israel taught us that those critical events and the others still to come will be a sign for the complete redemption soon to come in the near future. Together we shall continue our great godly campaign and soon we shall experience this great day. We are looking forward to hearing from you and your response to this magazine which was prepared for you with great efforts and expenses. We shall so much appreciate your help which will allow us to continue our holy work. Thank you so much for standing with the Faithful Movement for such a long time and with a great devotion. We could not even imagine how we could do this work without your devoted standing. Those who would also like to receive this magazine in its regular (printed) format are asked to e-mail or write and give us your mailing address and we shall be more than glad to send it to you.
May the G-d of Israel bless you and shine His love upon you.
Your friend and brother in Jerusalem,
Gershon Salomon
Chairman, Temple Mount and Land of Israel Faithful Movement
Jews hope unity springs from Israel trip
Saturday, February 17, 2007 By JOHN CHADWICK - STAFF WRITER Northjersey.com
More than 300 North Jersey Jews are heading to Israel today on a special one-week trip that organizers say will help foster unity among the diverse Jewish community.Members of all three major branches of Judaism Reform, Conservative and Orthodox are participating, as well as unaffiliated Jews. About one-third of the travelers have never visited Israel.The challenge we've always faced is, What do Jews in Kinnelon have in common with people who belong to a synagogue in Fort Lee? said Miriam Allenson, spokeswoman for the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Northern New Jersey, which organized and is subsidizing the trip. Yet, we are all one community, and we see this as a community builder.The trip, the first major one for the organization since the conflict in Lebanon last summer, is also a show of solidarity with Israel.
Participants will see the usual tourist sites museums, archeological sites and the Western Wall but also will meet with military and government officials.
And they can choose from several optional itineraries, including a trip to the border Israel shares with the Gaza Strip and Egypt and a crash course in the issues that led to Israel's 2005 withdrawal from Gaza and the dismantling of Jewish settlements.Participants paid $2,250 for the trip. The federation kicked in several hundred thousand dollars to cover expenses.Sandy Herrick, a Ho-Ho-Kus man who is co-chairman for the trip, said the federation sees the expense as an investment in the community's future.One of the best ways to get people involved is to foster a love of Israel, Herrick said. If people at the end of the week are moved by Israel, moved by federation, and they want to get involved in some way, I personally would be very happy.The journey will also serve as a final chapter in the life of the Elmwood Park Jewish Center. The Conservative synagogue, which is planning to close its doors and merge with a Fair Lawn congregation, is donating one of its Torah scrolls to an Israeli naval base. With the chief rabbi for the Israeli Defense Forces on hand, the Torah will be carried into the base and formally turned over to the military.We wanted to do something that would perpetuate our name, said Muriel Weinreb, the synagogue president, who will be making her first visit to Israel.
We've been around for 50 years.E-mail: chadwick@northjersey.com
Abbas presses U.S. to soften stance on unity deal
Saturday February 17, 08:35 PM By Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, President Mahmoud Abbas appealed to Washington on Saturday to soften objections to his Palestinian unity government with Hamas, telling a top envoy he had cut the best deal he could, aides said. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will arrive later on Saturday to try to lay the groundwork for a three-way summit on Monday with Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. In preparatory meetings in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Abbas told the American envoy, Assistant Secretary of State David Welch, to give the unity government a chance, Abbas's spokesman, Nabil Abu Rdainah, said. We told him that this agreement was the best we could get. We cannot change it. You either take it or leave it, said another Palestinian official who took part in the meetings but declined to be identified. A threatened American and Israeli boycott of the power-sharing government between Abbas's Fatah and Hamas Islamists has overshadowed Monday's summit, set to take place in Jerusalem. Initially billed as a chance to discuss establishing a Palestinian state, Israeli officials said the talks would focus instead largely on disagreements over the unity deal.
After a surprise trip to Iraq, Rice will meet Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Jerusalem on Saturday night. She will hold separate talks with Abbas and Olmert on Sunday. Rice said Washington would wait to see how the unity government takes shape before deciding on U.S. policy. Earlier this week, however, senior Palestinian officials and Western diplomats said Washington had warned Abbas it would shun the new government, including non-Hamas ministers, if it does not recognise Israel, renounce violence and accept interim peace deals as called for by the Quartet of Middle East mediators. Abu Rdainah said on Saturday: The American position has not been crystalised.
A QUIET CHANNEL
Senior Abbas aide Saeb Erekat said the goal of the three-way summit was to launch a quiet channel, as President Abbas has requested, to explore how to get to our objective of a Palestinian state.
We want to define the objective and to define the way to get there.Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas said on Friday he hoped to form the unity government with Abbas's Fatah faction within three weeks, but its future looked bleak because of opposition from the United States and Israel. Rice acknowledged prospects for Monday's summit were more complicated due to the planned Hamas-Fatah coalition. The unity agreement, signed by Abbas after talks with Hamas leaders in Mecca, makes no explicit commitment to recognise Israel or renounce violence. A letter from Abbas reappointing Haniyeh as prime minister contains a vague call to Hamas to abide by Palestinian and Arab resolutions that include recognition of Israel, and to respect past agreements and international law. The United States has struggled to maintain a united front within the Quartet, which also includes the European Union, Russia and the United Nations. Even if some Arab and European countries resume aid, Western diplomats said the impact would be limited. Without U.S. support, regional and international banks will be reluctant to resume transfers to the Palestinian government, Palestinian bank executives said. Israeli government sources said the Jewish state will likewise refuse to hand over any additional Palestinian tax revenues to Abbas. (Reuters) Westbank.
Rice finds huge gaps between Israel, Palestinians by David Millikin
Sat Feb 17, 3:47 PM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice flew into Israel vowing to press ahead with a risky summit with Israeli and Palestinian leaders embroiled in a bitter feud over the presence of Islamist radicals in a soon-to-be-formed Palestinian government. Rice, arriving from an unannounced visit to Iraq, went straight into talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni at a Jerusalem hotel
before planned separate meetings Sunday with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and the moderate, US-backed Palestinian president, Mahmud Abbas.The highlight of Rice's mission was to be her first three-way meeting with Abbas and Olmert on Monday. She has billed that as the kick-off of a long-awaited US initiative to revive negotiations on a peace deal and the creation of a Palestinian state.
But the Rice plan has been overshadowed by controversy over a power-sharing deal reached last week between Abbas' Fatah party and the radical Islamist group Hamas, which the US and Israel consider a terrorist group.
Speaking alongside Rice, Livni insisted Israel will not deal with the new government until its Hamas members recognise the Jewish state's right to exist, renounce violence and accept past peace agreements.Those principles are supported by Washington and its Western partners but have so far been consistently rejected by Hamas.These requirements are not obstacles for peace but they are the basic conditions and foundations for any kind of vision of a two-state solution, Livni said.I think that the moderates in the Palestinian side need to understand that a path towards a Palestinian state needs to go though renunciation of violence and terrorism and not by compromising with terror, Livni said.
Abbas, who Rice and President George W. Bush have long hailed as the key partner for peace in the Arab-Israeli standoff, insists the power-sharing understanding meets the international conditions.Earlier Saturday, Abbas spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeina said we will say to the Americans and to the Israelis that they must give a chance to this government.The world must work with this agreement, Abu Rudeina added, speaking after a meeting between Abbas and Rice's top Middle East aide, Assistant Secretary David Welch.While Israeli media reported that Bush backed the hardline Israeli stance in a telephone conversation with Olmert on Friday, Rice declined to publicly take sides.
She insisted that the three conditions remain the foundational principles for a two-state solution and in fact for the formation of a leadership that can lead to that two-state solution.But she added that Washington will await the formation of a (Palestinian) government before making any decisions about it, she said as Livni watched on.If one waited for the perfect time to come to the Middle East, you
would never get on an airplane, she said.
The West and Israel have refused critical financial aid to the Palestinian government since Hamas took control of the administration after unexpectedly trouncing Fatah in legislative elections a year ago.Abbas was elected separately and has significant executive powers under the Palestinian constitution.The aid embargo has exacerbated an economic crisis in the Palestinian areas and fueled tensions that erupted into deadly violence between Fatah and Hamas supporters in recent weeks. Abbas says the understandings reached with Hamas meet the West's principles by stating that the new government will respect Arab and international agreements and past accords signed with Israel by the Fatah-led PLO steps that imply recognition of Israel according to this view. Regardless of the outcome of her meetings here, Rice could come under pressure to ease the boycott from Washington's partners in the so-called Quartet of mediators who first laid down the principles the European Union, United Nations and Russia. Rice is due to meet her counterparts from the other three powers on Wednesday in Berlin.
Over 90 percent of Mali women circumcised says report
By IANS - Saturday February 17, 04:49 PM
Luanda (Mali), Feb 17 (Prensa Latina) Over 90 percent of women in Mali in the age group of 15-49 years are circumcised by witch doctors in utter unhygienic condition, a World Bank report has revealed.
Over 12 million women worldwide have been subjected to genital mutilation by quacks who have little surgical skill, equipment or awareness of the dangers of such practices making the women vulnerable to infections, haemorrhage, pre-natal and post-natal complications and psychological disorders, the report said. Many women ultimately die from complications, the report added.Awareness campaigners say the fight against the evil has a long way to go but the scenario does offer encouraging signs in that people have now started recognising the uselessness and danger of the practice, Aissata Diakite, director of one organisation in Mali engaged in the awareness drive, said.Various African governments have stepped up their campaign against female circumcision vigorously, he said.
Solar flares might knock out cell phones
Activity building to crescendo some scientists say could be cataclysmic
Posted: February 17, 2007
Editor's note: The following report is excerpted from Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND. Annual subscriptions are $99 and include a free copy of Farah's latest book, Taking America Back. Monthly trial subscriptions are just $9.95 for credit card users. WorldNetDaily.com
Solar flares
Solar flare activity is expected to build for the next three years to a crescendo that some scientists say could be cataclysmic, causing a telecommunication blackout that would down mobile phones and navigational systems. The solar flares are expected to be at its maximum intensity by the year 2010, Markus Aschwanden, a solar physicist at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center, told the Hindu News. These solar flares and Coronoal Mass Ejections from the sun have the ability to travel all the way to the earth and create a black-out of cellular phone services and navigational systems like the GPS. Solar flares and CMEs occur when magnetic energy built up in the Sun's atmosphere is suddenly released. The flares carrying high amount of energy, travel at high speeds and reach the Earth in a matter of hours.
If a solar flare or a CME collides with the Earth, it can cause a geomagnetic storm, Aschwanden said, adding large geomagnetic storms have caused electrical power outages and damaged communication satellites. A few years back, these solar flares destroyed the satellite Galaxy 4.That outage in 1998 resulted in widespread loss of pager service and numerous other communication problems.
Talk of Apocalypse reaches from US President down
Thomas Horn February 16, 2007
NEW BOOK SAYS TIME HAS RUN OUT! Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End
Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, and the threat of a deadly flu pandemic: Are global events unfolding something bigger?
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; the sea and the waves roaring (Like 21:25).Several years of epic events have witnessed a growing number of the world's population wondering if something prophetic is transpiring.First came 9/11 and the beginning of the war on terror.
Then a tsunami in Asia killed approximately 250,000 people. Hurricanes Katrina, Wilma, and an earthquake In South Asia followed, which claimed tens of thousands more lives. 2006 witnessed leaders of countries referencing terms like Apocalypse and Armageddon to describe the uneasy times. 2007 has started out with record snowfalls in parts of the US, the national weather service is predicting even more blizzards, and experts warn that a deadly avian flu virus could pass over to the human population at any time in a full-blown pandemic, potentially bringing global markets to their knees.It's enough to make anybody wonder what in the world is going on.For many folk, these are the signs of the End Times.
Over at RaptureReady.com, a popular website that serves as a kind of Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, the Rapture Index is hovering at 160, a rating meant to indicate when loyal Christians will disappear from earth just before the beginning of the Great Tribulation. The website keeps tally of a wide variety of world events based on reflection to Bible prophecy, and anything above a score of 145 means Fasten your seatbelt for departure. The website's owner, Terry James, has a new book called The Rapture Dialogues that is endorsed by Dr. Tim LaHaye, co-author of the Left Behind series of books. Rapture Dialogues envisions an imminent great deception in which aliens deceive the world following the Rapture of the Church. A sequel to the book is planned for later this year.Another book due out this month purports to explain current global events as the fulfillment of ancient prophecy. Published by Anomalos Publishing, Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End documents recent history in light of the books of Revelation, Ezekiel, and Daniel, and concludes that the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have started their destructive ride. The book is already the subject of two made for television documentaries.
So close is the correlation between recent events and end times prophecy, that even President George W. Bush was asked last year following a speech on the War on Terror whether he believed the war in Iraq and the rise of terrorism were signs of the Apocalypse. Bush said he hadn't thought of it that way, but author Bob Woodward noted in his book Bush at War, that just three days after 9/11, the president during the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance at the National Cathedral in Washington seemed to act as if he had found himself within a fantastic cosmic scheme, declaring that the nation’s responsibility to history was already clear: to answer these attacks and rid the world of evil (1).
By taking up the language of good vs. evil, Woodward said, the president was casting his vision and that of the country in the grand vision of God’s master plan (2).
According to Woodward, the prophetic context for war in the very land associated with future Armageddon (and against Saddam Hussein, no less, the man who claimed to be the reincarnated Nebuchadnezzar) held for Bush the Manichean language necessary to play out a divine mission while earning him admiration from certain supporters who saw the reconstruction efforts of Babylon under Saddam Hussein -- followed by the War on Terror -- as signs pointing to the Apocalypse.Biblical scholar Bruce Lincoln’s examination of a speech delivered by Bush to the nation on October 7, 2001, announcing the U.S. attack on Afghanistan (3) produced redundant references from Apocalyptic books of the Bible concerning the End Times. Lincoln's research seemed to support Woodward's claims, that the president's word craft was a strategy of double coding to secretly appeal to people who saw Bush as a devout Christian standing up to the enemies of God in an unfolding event in the Middle East, which they believed was foretold in the books of Revelation, Isaiah, et al.
Of course George W. was not the first American president to use language associated with end times prophecy. Who can forget Ronald Reagan’s view of the Soviet Union as the Evil Empire and his feeling that war in the Middle East might draw Gog into nuclear war and fulfill biblical prophecy. In his 1984 debate with Walter Mondale, Reagan admitted, No one knows whether those prophecies mean that Armageddon is a thousand years away or the day after tomorrow.Democrats too have been known to employ language that could be seen as coded to appeal to the beliefs of devout persons or patriots.
When Rep. Nancy Pelosi on January 4, 2007 assumed her roll as speaker of the House at the opening of the 110th Congress, she stated that the founding fathers were so confident in the America they were advancing, they put on the seal, the great seal of the United States, novus ordo seclorum a new order for the centuries.The new speaker did not go into detail as to why the phrase Novus Ordo Seclorum was important dialectic during the momentous changeover of the control of congress. Nor did she explain why Novus Ordo Seclorum exists beneath the unfinished pyramid and the All Seeing Eye in the Great Seal of the United States. Her reference may have been a simple coincidence, but the origins of the motto Novus Ordo Seclorum and the use of it in this historic speech was interesting in light of possible prophetic events happening around the world.
The term Novus Ordo Seclorum (A New Order of the Ages) was adapted by Charles Thomson in 1782 when he was designing the Great Seal of the United States. According to the official record, Thomson created the phrase from inspiration he found in a line in Virgil’s Eclogue IV: Magnus ab integro seclorum nascitur ordo [Virgil's Eclogue IV (line 5)], the interpretation of the original Latin being, and the majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew.
Ironically, Christians since the middle ages have held that the Cumaean Sibyl of Virgil’s Ecologue IV prophesied the birth of Jesus Christ and that it was this arrival of the Savior that gave rise to the majestic roll of circling centuries begins anew, or New Order of the Ages. Virgil himself was believed to be a prophet in this regard, and that is why Dante Alighieri selected him as his guide through the underworld in The Divine Comedy. The Cumaean Sibyl is also prominently featured alongside the Old Testament prophets in Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel. Some say this fact played a role in Thomson’s inspiration for Novus Ordo Seclorum taken from Virgil’s Ecologue IV. Yet upon reading Virgil’s text, the divine son that comes of the Sibyl’s prophecy is a savior unknown to Biblical theology. He is to be spawned of a new breed of men sent down from heaven who receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling. According to the Sibyl’s prediction, this messiah would be the son of Jupiter and come when the Roman god Saturn returned to reign over the earth in a new golden age (the Novus Ordo Seclorum), when Apollo rises again through mystical life power given to him from the gods.
From the beginning of the poem we read (4):Now the last age by Cumae's Sibyl sung Has come and gone, and the majestic roll Of circling centuries begins anew: Justice returns, returns old Saturn's reign, With a new breed of men sent down from heaven. Only do thou, at the boy's birth in whom The iron shall cease, the golden race arise, Befriend him, chaste Lucina; 'tis thine own Apollo reigns. …He shall receive the life of gods, and see Heroes with gods commingling, and himself Be seen of them, and with his father's worth Reign o'er a world…Assume thy greatness, for the time draws nigh, Dear child of gods, great progeny of Jove!
See how it totters- the world's orbed might, Earth, and wide ocean, and the vault profound, All, see, enraptured of the coming time! Ah! might such length of days to me be given, And breath suffice me to rehearse thy deeds, Nor Thracian Orpheus should out-sing me then, Nor Linus, though his mother this, and that His sire should aid- Orpheus Calliope, And Linus fair Apollo. Nay, though Pan, With Arcady for judge, my claim contest, With Arcady for judge great Pan himself Should own him foiled, and from the field retire. Begin to greet thy mother with a smile, O baby-boy! ten months of weariness For thee she bore: O baby-boy, begin! For him, on whom his parents have not smiled, Gods deem not worthy of their board or bed.
Therefore according to the Sibyl, the New Order of the Ages occurs when a special son is born on earth, a new messiah who comes of a new breed of men sent down from heaven when heroes and gods are blended together. This sounds eerily similar to what the Watchers did during the creation of Nephilim; to what scientists are doing this century through the creation of transgenic human-animal chimeras, and to what the Bible actually describes as the Antichrist being the son of perdition(2 Th 2:3, Apoleia, from which we make Apollyon, the demon destroyer). Note the similarity of the names Apollo and Apollyon.Patrick Heron believes the pagan Sibyl may actually have pointed to a false Christ who appears during the end times Apocalypse, and that the Novus Ordo Seclorum prophecy of a coming special son who leads mankind to a New World Order could be fulfilled anytime.
According to scripture, Heron says, the near future will produce a man of superior intelligence, wit, charm, and diplomacy who will emerge on the world scene as a savior. He will seemingly possess transcendent wisdom that enables him to solve problems and to offer solutions to many of today’s most perplexing issues. One of his most important accomplishments at the very outset will be to broker a peace treaty between the Jews and Palestinians. He will also lead the charge in rebuilding the long awaited Jewish Temple. This is especially interesting given that, just this month, an Israeli archaeologist and Hebrew professor claims to have pinpointed the exact location of the original Jewish Temple, a potentially important step toward the fulfillment of the Temple reconstruction prophecy.
According to some, this Antichrist will appear at first to be a man of distinguished character, but will ultimately become a king of fierce countenance (Dan. 8:23). With imperious decree he will facilitate a one-world government, a universal religion, and global socialism.
Those who refuse his New World Order will inevitably be imprisoned or destroyed, until at last he exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, so that he, as God, sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God (2 Thess. 2:4).When asked why he believes prophetic signs at this point in history could be pointing to the Antichrist and the end of times, Patrick Heron says, I believe God is warning people, giving them one last chance to believe before the judgments of God, as revealed in the Book of Revelation, begin to fall on earth. Grizzly Adams Productions, a well known producer of family-friendly television shows who has created original programming for Discovery, PAX, NBC, CBS, the Learning Channel and other networks, found the insights presented in Heron's new book, Apocalypse Soon: The Beginning of the End engaging enough that in 2006 they acquired the worldwide television and DVD rights to the work. Their first documentary based on the book was titled, End Times: How Close Are We and was broadcast nationwide during sweeps weeks in 2006.
The show connected with viewers, and the DVD has become the all-time bestseller at such places as WorldNetDaily.com.
A second documentary based on the book Apocalypse and the End Times aired in October and has done equally well.Throughout human history, cultures from the Hopi Indians to biblical prophets have shared stories about the end of the world, notes David W. Balsiger, a producer on the Apocalypse and the End Times special. We sought to examine these legends and look to modern scientific findings to get to the truth behind current events and these ancient stories.Even the mainstream press picked up the Apocalypse theme in 2006. CNN, MSNBC, The Washington Times, BBC and others ran feature stories on the US presence in the Middle East, focusing on the possibility that it signaled the End Times Armageddon spoken of in scripture. CNN devoted several entire news segments with Paula Zahn concerning the possibility that the biblical Apocalypse might actually be here. More recently, however, language of the Apocalypse was raised again when the Doomsday Clock was pushed forward at The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists by two minutes, marking 11:55 before midnight, five minutes before the figurative end of civilization.Like Judaism and Christianity, Shiite Islam also gives credence to an end times event involving the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam. Devout believers in Iran assume the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam will occur when he emerges from a well at the Jamkaran mosque. Iran's president, Ahmadinejad gave $17 million of government funds to support the shrine and has said that the mission of the Islamic Revolution is to pave the way for the coming of the Twelfth Imam. Some believe Iran is on the verge of obtaining nuclear weapons and that Ahmadinejad has little inhibition about using them to start Armageddon. President Bush has reaffirmed his commitment to keeping Iran from possessing nuclear weapons, and he has not ruled out using force to accomplish this goal. Students of prophecy see this as potentially more than saber rattling between the two countries. They believe it could trigger the final Apocalypse.
As for Dr. Heron, he begins in Apocalypse Soon by focusing on scientific evidence showing a sharp increase in bizarre weather patterns including a 500 percent increase in tornadoes last year, record-setting earthquake activity, the threat of a worldwide bird flu pandemic, growing famine, disease, and the exponentially higher risk of all-out nuclear war involving lands identified in the Bible as central to End Times prophecies.
In the middle of his book, he analyzes this data and determines that it aligns perfectly with the ancient prophecies, which he believes points to the imminent appearing of the great man of sin, the Antichrist.Finally, Heron concludes with America and Europe in prophecy. He looks at the famous dream of the ancient king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, who saw what many believe to be the final global kingdom a revived Roman Empire. But a careful examination of the prophecies relating to this future government specifically state that it will be a global confederacy, Heron says. It is not confined to one geographic area. It will be a club of ten members ruled by ten kings who will serve the interests of the Antichrist. I have no doubt that Europe and the USA will play prominent roles in these future alignments.
(1) President's Remarks at National Day of Prayer and Remembrance, Office of the Press Secretary, September 14, 2001 http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2001/09/20010914-2.html
(2) Bob Woodward, Bush at War (New York: Simon & Schuster, 2002), p. 67
3. Bruce Lincoln, Holy Terrors (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003), pp 30-32
4. Translation by John Dryden, as published by Georgetown University,
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/gendersextexts/texts/eclog4.html
Saturday, February 17, 2007
PUTIN PROMOTES DEFENCE MINISTER
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Quake rattles WA. 3-The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND. 4-La Nina could mean dry summer in Midwest and Plains. 5-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein. 6-Rice Pushing PA State as Leaders Prepare for Summit. 7-Evangelist Graham Seeks to Convert Sudan’s Muslim President. 8-Report: January hottest on record. 9-Putin promotes defense minister. 10-Palestinian unity deal under way. 11-Tight security averts feared Jerusalem mosque protests.
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 17 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
FEB 16,07
MAP 4.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
FEB 15,07
MAP 3.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.7 COSTA RICA
MAP 4.9 WESTERN AUSTRALIA
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 PERU-BRAZIL BORDER REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Quake rattles WA
February 16, 2007
The strong 5.2-magnitude earthquake was centred off Shark Bay about 50km south-west of the popular tourist town of Monkey Mia, Geoscience Australia said.
The quake, recorded at 2.38am (AEDT) would have been felt at Monkey Mia, as well as the nearby town of Denham and on Dirk Hartog Island, a spokesman for the national geoscience research agency said.While people would have felt this earthquake up to 150 kilometres away from the epicentre, it was not a structurally damaging earthquake, Geoscience Australia Duty Seismologist Dr Mark Leonard said.He said the quake was of significant magnitude for Australia, but unlikely to have caused any major damage.In Denham, Shark Bay Caravan Park residents and campers were woken by theearthquake. Manager and owner, Trish Rochford, told theage.com.au that she woke up to find everything shaking inside the house.I had just dozed off and it woke me up and the bed and the house were shaking and there was a bit of a rumble. So yeah, it was over and done with before we realised.
Ms Rochford said the earthquake scared a few people who were staying at the caravan park.Yeah a few people in the caravans said they didn't know what was going on, but it didn't really go that long, only for about five seconds.It's been fairly windy here so I thought it had been just a big gust of wind coming through.Another Denham resident reported his house shaking.The whole house started shaking. Crockery in the cupboard started rattling ... and the bed started shaking, the resident told ABC Radio.The resident said many people were woken by the earthquake.People were out in the streets.The dogs were barking. People were saying: What was that? The resident said he thought a truck had crashed.Dr Leonard said the earthquake was the biggest recorded in the area in 50 years.
On average, Australia has an earthquake of this size or larger every two years and they can occur anywhere in Australia.In 1989, a 5.6- magnitude earthquake at Newcastle, on the New South wales central coast, killed 13 people and injured 160.Australia's largest known onshore earthquake occcured in 1941. It was a 6.9 magnitude tremor at Meeberrie, 250km southeast of Shark Bay.theage.com.au, with AAP
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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Fri Feb 16, 6:23 AM ET
Forecasters predicted more snow from the Plains to the Northeast on Friday, while temperatures were expected to rise into the 70s in parts California. Lakes Erie and Ontario were expected to receive heavy snowfall, and parts of the Northeast already inundated with more than 100 inches of snow in recent days could see another 2 feet through the weekend.Conditions were expected to be clear but cold in much of the rest of the East.The northern and central Plains were expected to get up to 4 inches of snow.Heavy snow was expected from the Rockies to the Northwest and parts of western Colorado are expected to pick up a foot or more of new snow.California was expected to be mostly clear with warm temperatures. Southern California was expected to experience temperatures in the 70s with clear conditions.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday ranged from a low of minus 34 degrees at Bismarck, N.D., to a high of 78 degrees at Thermal, Calif.On the Net:Weather
Underground: http://www.wunderground.com.National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov
Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
La Nina could mean dry summer in Midwest and Plains FEB 16,07
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A La Nina weather pattern could be in store for spring and summer, which could make it a dry growing season for grains and soybeans in the US Midwest and Plains, a private forecaster predicted Friday. The CFS forecasting model, a leading indicator of long-term weather, on Friday showed that La Nina an abnormal weather pattern of cooling sea surface waters in the Pacific Ocean would begin in April.This was the first decisive run suggesting that La Nina would evolve in April and last the rest of the year, said Drew Lerner, agricultural meteorologist and president of World Weather Inc. in Kansas City.The forecast ignited a rally in Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean markets on Friday, traders said.La Nina can trigger below-normal rainfall but doesn't necessarily mean drought, though there's already a bias for a drier summer, he said.
You throw a La Nina into it, it tends to make the drier biases more significant for the Corn Belt and Plains, Lerner said.Grain markets react to La Ninas as there's a general mentality among traders that the weather anomaly creates summer droughts, he added.All the major drought years tend be La Nina 1988 was a La Nina, he pointed out.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
February 15, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Palestinian leaders recently met in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to discuss how to curb fighting between rival Fatah and Hamas factions that has brought Gaza to the brink of civil war.
At the meeting, representatives of the two groups came to an agreement the Mecca Agreement that calls for a ceasefire and requires the two groups to form a unity Palestinian government.For some, this agreement raises hopes that a new Palestinian leadership coalition has emerged that may be willing to make peace with Israel. They argue that Hamas, the more radical of the two Palestinian groups, will now be forced to moderate its virulently anti-Israel positions.The problem is that the Mecca Agreement does not require either Palestinian group to recognize Israel or renounce terrorism—two steps that are absolutely necessary for a lasting peace. How can Israel be expected to coexist with a neighbor whose founding document, the Hamas Charter, refers to the Jewish state as the Zionist invaders and declares that Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it?
From Hamas' standpoint, the Mecca Agreement is a win-win situation. It can retain its founding principles and, by clothing itself with a false air of respectability, possibly regain hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support from the West that was withdrawn nearly a year ago when Hamas first came to power.
Just how serious is Hamas about making peace? You can judge for yourself. Shortly after the Mecca Agreement was announced, one Hamas leader was quoted as saying, Our battle with the Israeli enemy is still on…. We will be the spearhead of jihad … to defend Arab and Muslim nations.These are not the words of someone interested in making peace. Quite the contrary. These words reflect the heart of Hamas and give testimony why past agreements and cease fires have been quickly broken. The fact is, no agreement will bring peace to this region of the Middle East until Palestinian leadership commits itself to ending terrorism and recognizing Israel's right to exist. And, until this happens, Israel has every right to remain skeptical and refuse to recognize the new Palestinian government. As I have said on several occasions in this newsletter since the beginning of the 2007, I believe that this is a watershed year for Israel. The response of the European Union to the Mecca Agreement could well tip the scales. If they accept the new Palestinian government's claims and release aid to them, the Palestinians may be emboldened to strike against Israel. Given these and other circumstances that pose great peril to Israel and her people, it is with a heartfelt passion that I ask you to join with me and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Rice Pushing PA State as Leaders Prepare for Summit
By Hana Levi Julian and Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 16,07
Trilateral talks will focus on the broader political issues, says U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, still withholding support for the PA unity government.Rice will arrive in Israel on Saturday to hold preliminary discussions with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prior to Monday’s three-way summit in Jerusalem.Rice has already announced that she hopes the establishment of a Palestinian Authority state will be on the agenda. She has told both Olmert and Abbas that they should begin discussing this issue.
Ramifications of a Palestinian State
The dangers of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan have been outlined and detailed by countless experts. Such a state would be the world's worst nightmare, writes Middle East analyst Emanuel A. Winston, and the last link in a string of terrorist states that will stretch from Algeria through Sudan, soon Egypt and then [others]... They will not only incubate new terror groups but will also increase
their linkage and operational efficiency for major strikes against America as well as Israel.Rafael Israeli has edited a book entitled, Dangers of a Palestinian State, which features articles by Israel's leading political analysts outlining the strategic threat of such an entity. From the demographic angle, Michael Wise, co-author of The 1.5-Million-Arab Population Gap, writes that, PA control of any part
of the West Bank could result in the arrival of 2-2.5 million Palestinian 'refugees' over the course of 3-5 years. The first to arrive, Wise feels, would be the more than 400,000 who have been living in abject poverty in Lebanon, to be followed soon after by up to millions more in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and elsewhere. The opportunity to be resettled in Palestine with enormous global financial and political support will be very attractive and immediately accepted by those refugees.
Though a breakthrough in PA unity government talks between Hamas and Fatah was announced in Mecca last week, the new government has still not been formed, as major issues have still not been resolved. Contrary to earlier threats, however, Hamas leader Abu Haniye did resign yesterday, partially paving the way for the new government to be installed.Rice was careful to reiterate the American wait-and-see theme throughout a news conference, dodging questions about whether the U.S. would indeed recognize the new PA unity government.We’re not going to jump the gun here, she said repeatedly.
We’re not going to make a judgment here until we have something that’s firm.But Rice did not deny a report that Middle East envoy David Welch called Abbas this week to warn him that the U.S. will not recognize the new PA unity government because its leading faction, Hamas, has not recognized the State of Israel. You know that I’m not going to talk about what we’ve done diplomatically, she said. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was equally cautious about commenting on the report. Back up! he told journalists Thursday when asked about Bush administration plans to boycott the new Hamas-Fatah PA government. McCormack, like Rice, said no decisions had yet been made on an American response either way. You don’t have a government of national unity, he told reporters. You don’t know who’s in that government. You don’t know the platform of that government... On the basis of that lack of facts, I can’t offer you an answer.
The Quartet comprised of the U.S., Russia, the United Nations and the European Union has until now continued to demand that Hamas recognize Israel, renounce terrorism and uphold agreements with Israel signed by previous PA governments. Whether they will stand by those demands in light of the new Fatah alliance with Hamas, however, remains a question. Rice ducked the issue. I can’t begin to predict what the international reaction is going to look like right now, she said. Despite her efforts to put a positive spin on the upcoming summit, it is clear that Rice has begun to realize that never often simply means wait a bit in the PA. For example, Abbas long claimed that he would never join a Hamas government that does not meet the Quartet demands but this quickly dissolved when he signed on to the pact in Mecca last week. We are going to await the formation of that government before we make any decisions about it, she told reporters before setting out for Jerusalem. Eventually you’re going to have to get to a Palestinian government that accepts that it is to live side by side in peace with an Israeli neighbor.
Evangelist Graham Seeks to Convert Sudan’s Muslim President FEB 16,07
The Christian Post reports that Franklin Graham met with Sudan’s Muslim president Omar Hassan al-Bashir this week and confirmed his aim of converting the leader whom many say is behind the Darfur genocide. Graham affirmed that he still believes Islam is an evil and wicked religion, and that I would like to convert every person I meet... through persuasion. Graham first met al-Bashir in December 2003 when Graham told the Sudanese president that he wanted to lead him to Christ. Bashir had responded that he wanted to make Graham a Muslim. Proselytizing by both parties continued on Monday and religious differences remained strong. However, Graham had a softer opinion of Bashir and the Darfur situation following the meeting.
Report: January hottest on record
February 16, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) It may be cold comfort during a frigid February, but last month was by far the hottest January ever.
The broken record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world, according to U.S. scientists who reported the data Thursday. Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880. Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) warmer than a normal January, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. That didn't just nudge past the old record set in 2002, but broke that mark by 0.81 degrees Fahrenheit (0.56C), which meteorologists said is a lot, since such records often are broken by hundredths of a degree at a time. That's pretty unusual for a record to be broken by that much, said the data center's scientific services chief, David Easterling. I was very surprised.The scientists went beyond their normal double checking and took the unusual step of running computer climate models just to make sure that what we're seeing was real, Easterling said.
It was.
From one standpoint it is not unusual to have a new record because we've become accustomed to having records broken, said Jay Lawrimore, climate monitoring branch chief. But January, he said, was a bigger jump than the world has seen in about 10 years. The temperature of the world's land and water combined the most effective measurement was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit (0.96C) warmer than normal, breaking the old record by more than one-quarter of a degree.
Ocean temperatures alone didn't set a record. In the Northern Hemisphere, land areas were 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4C) warmer than normal for January, breaking the old record by about three-quarters of a degree. But the United States was about normal. The nation was 0.94 degrees Fahrenheit (0.63C) above normal for January, ranking only the 49th warmest since 1895.The world's temperature record was driven by northern latitudes. Siberia was on average 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5.1C) warmer than normal. Eastern Europe had temperatures averaging 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.55C) above normal. Canada on average was more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.88C) warmer than normal. Larger increases in temperature farther north, compared to mid-latitudes, is sort of the global warming signal, Easterling said. It is what climate scientists predict happens and will happen more frequently with global warming, according to an authoritative report by hundreds of climate scientists issued this month. Meteorologists aren't blaming the warmer January on global warming alone, but they said the higher temperature was consistent with climate change.Easterling said a weakening El Nino a warming of the central Pacific Ocean that tends to cause changes in weather across the globe was a factor, but not a big one. But Kevin Trenberth, director of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said El Nino made big changes worldwide that added up. Temperature records break regularly with global warming, Trenberth said, but with a little bit of El Nino thrown in, you don't just break records, you smash records.As much of the United States already knows, February doesn't seem as unusually warm as January was. Even with global warming, you're not going to keep that cold air bottled up in Alaska and Canada forever, Easterling said.The Associated Press.
Putin promotes defense minister Updated 2/15/2007
THE NEXT RUSSIAN PRESIDENT?
The leading contenders to succeed Russian President Vladimir Putin next year:
SERGEI IVANOV: Defense minister since 2001, Ivanov was a colleague of Putin's in the Soviet-era KGB in the mid-1970s in St. Petersburg. After working in foreign intelligence in Africa and Scandinavia, he rose through the ranks of Soviet and later Russian intelligence.
He eventually became the deputy head of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main KGB successor agency, in 1998 when Putin was its chief. ... The first civilian defense minister in Russia, the English-speaking Ivanov, 54, is seen as a hawkish figure shaped by Cold War thinking. ... Had been deputy prime minister since November 2005. He is married with two children.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: The 41-year-old law school graduate taught at St. Petersburg University from 1990 to 1999. ... Met Putin while serving as a legal adviser to the St. Petersburg mayor's office. ... Became deputy chief of staff in the Kremlin in 2000 and then chief of staff in 2003. ... Chairman of state gas giant Gazprom's board of directors since 2002. ... A loyal member of Putin's group of friends and loyalists from St. Petersburg, he was appointed first deputy prime minister in November 2005.Source: Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin promoted hawkish Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to first deputy prime minister Thursday in a move that strengthens his position as a top contender to replace the Kremlin leader in next year's election.
The shift puts Ivanov in the same post as Dmitry Medvedev, who is regarded as a market reformer and liberal.
The two men are seen as the leading candidates to succeed Putin.Anatoly Serdyukov, until now head of the federal tax agency, replaces Ivanov as defense minister.Putin praised Ivanov in an announcement on the NTV network, saying his close ally has fulfilled the tasks he faced as defense minister and fulfilled them successfully. He said Ivanov's duties would be broadened to include oversight of defense and some civilian industries, but that he could not hold both positions at the same time.He cannot carry out the defense minister's responsibilities it's impossible to sit in two chairs, said Putin, who came out with further praise of a beaming Ivanov in a meeting with top Defense Ministry officials shown on state-run television.
Putin said he named Serdyukov, a longtime tax collection official with no military experience, as defense minister because a sweeping arms modernization program planned through 2015 requires an appointee with strong economic and financial experience.Ivanov, who like Putin formerly worked in the Soviet KGB, had previously served as one of several deputy prime ministers, while Medvedev was the sole first deputy prime minister.Both Ivanov and Medvedev have in recent months received wide exposure in the Russian media, where coverage is heavily influenced by the Kremlin. Some analysts say their prominence shows they are the top candidates to become Putin's anointed successor in the March 2008 election.
Putin is enormously popular but barred by law from seeking a third term.
Ivanov's promotion elevates him to the same level with Medvedev and could also boost his image by distancing him from the bloated military, which is plagued by hazing of young conscripts by older soldiers.But Ivanov would apparently remain in charge of Russia's lucrative arms industry, widely criticized for supplying weapons to Iran and to Hezbollah militants.Ivanov, who also serves as chairman of the state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, is regarded by some Russians as the stronger of the two candidates. Ivanov was named defense minister in March 2001.
Analysts comment on Russian leadership shuffle
Ivanov has not won kudos as defense minister, said Yevgeny Volk, the head of the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation think tank's Moscow office. Now he has finally gotten rid of these nets that dragged him to the bottom and has been given a good, clean job.Volk said the reshuffle signaled Putin's apparent intention to level the playing field in the competition between Ivanov and Medvedev, whose once-low profile has been boosted since the president put him in charge of national projects, such as housing improvements and funding increases for education and health care.Volk said that Ivanov's oversight of the weapons trade would allow the Kremlin to consolidate financial flows. Arms trade, along with energy revenues, will be a major source for the election campaign, and it's essential (for Putin) to have his own person here, Volk said.Medvedev, a lawyer, became first deputy prime minister in November 2005.Yuri Korgunyuk, a top analyst with the independent INDEM think tank, said the reshuffle was Putin's way of reaffirming his dominance of the political scene.
Formally speaking, it's a promotion for Ivanov, but he remains just a pawn, he said. It will be up to Putin to decide whether to make this pawn a queen.Volk also said it was too early to say whether Putin was inclined to anoint Ivanov as a preferred successor. It's all unpredictable; we may see other candidates, he said.Korgunyuk said that by shifting the tax chief Serdyukov to the defense minister's job, Putin wanted to tighten controls over the top brass accused of corruption and inefficiency.Putin put the tax man in charge of the Defense Ministry to combat theft, he said.
Chechen president dismissed, replaced
Putin also dismissed the president of the war-battered republic of Chechnya and named its widely feared prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov as acting president, according to the Kremlin press office. The dismissal of Alu Alkhanov came after days of speculation that he was engaged in an intense power struggle with Kadyrov, who is alleged by human rights groups to be responsible for abductions and detention of civilians and suspected separatist rebels.The Associated Press.
Palestinian unity deal under way FEB 15,07
Ismail Haniya (left) and Mahmoud Abbas sealed the deal in Mecca Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya has resigned his post and has been asked by President Mahmoud Abbas to form a new national unity government. The move came after the pair ironed out last-minute problems from the power-sharing deal sealed last week. Factional fighting between Mr Abbas's Fatah and Mr Haniya's Hamas has claimed more than 90 Palestinian lives between December and this month. Doubts remain as to whether the US will end its boycott of the government. A ban on Western financial aid has crippled the Palestinian Authority since Hamas, which has refused to recognise Israel, won elections in January last year.
Last-minute problems
Mr Haniya tendered his resignation at the meeting with Mr Abbas in Gaza.
Scores have been killed in factional fighting Brother Ismail Haniya presented me with his government's resignation and I charged him with forming his new cabinet, Mr Abbas said. He said he hoped the new administration would inaugurate a new Palestinian era in which people live in peace and security. Mr Haniya will have five weeks to get the new cabinet accepted by the Hamas-dominated parliament. Mr Abbas had called off a national address on Thursday because of last-minute problems over the new power-sharing deal. Hamas was reportedly unhappy about moves to dissolve a security force that it has established. There were also disputes over appointments to key cabinet posts. The Americans have informed us that they will be boycotting the new government headed by Hamas Senior Palestinian official On Thursday it was unclear whether the US would back the new government. Aides to Mr Abbas said Washington would continue its boycott unless the government met international demands over Israel. The aides said the US position had been conveyed by Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in a phone call and in person to Mr Abbas by US consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles. US state department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington would not make a judgement until the government was formed. As part of the power-sharing deal it was reported that Hamas had agreed to respect past Palestinian agreements that recognise Israel. However, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says the Americans are expected to demand an explicit statement of recognition and a renunciation of violence. Other nations, he says, will argue that the Palestinians have done enough and there could be a split among countries that recognise the new government. A three-way summit between Mr Abbas, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is scheduled for Jerusalem on Monday.
Tight security averts feared Jerusalem mosque protests by Mehdi Lebouachera FEB 16,07
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Thousands of Muslims have attended prayers at the holy Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem under heavy police guard amid fears of protests against contested Israeli works that were slammed from the pulpit.However, worshippers dispersed peacefully on Friday and, although police arrested 15 people in east Jerusalem, isolated skirmishes came in stark contrast to riots last week that saw Israeli police storm the revered mosque compound.Adnan al-Husseini, director of the Waqf religious trust, said 2,500 worshippers attended the prayers amid stringent police restrictions although police put the number at 6,000. Normally tens of thousands attend.Palestinians and Muslims all over the world have condemned nearby Israeli archaeological excavations and repair work, since stalled, which they claim endanger the foundations of Islam's third holiest site.The Israeli work poses great danger to our mosque and we demand a complete halt because it heralds destruction and death, said cleric Yussef Abu Sneineh.No one with any sense plays with fire, he added from the pulpit, taking a stab at the Israeli authorities.
Accusing police of transforming the revered compound into a battleground last Friday, when Palestinian stonethrowers clashed with the riot squad, he urged worshippers to go quietly this week to avoid further troubles.Israel boosted police deployments around Jerusalem's Old City to 3,000 on Friday and tightened restrictions on those attending prayers.
Only Muslim men aged over 50 and in possession of Israeli identity cards were granted entrance to the main weekly service, compared to those over 45 last week, although there remained no restrictions on women's access.Isolated clashes broke out after the prayers between Israeli police, who used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse protestors, witnesses said.Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded by Palestinian gunfire during a protest at Qalandiya, the main checkpoint between Jerusalem and the the West Bank town of Ramallah, an army spokeswoman said.
Last week, Israeli riot police armed with stun grenades stormed the compound amid clashes with Palestinian stonethrowers that left 15 policemen and at least 20 Palestinians wounded in protests over the public works.
The excavations, which started on February 6, have angered Muslims across the world and provoked violent protests.Israel denies the work poses any risk to the holy site, also venerated as the location of the ancient Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.The head of Israel's Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, banned by an Israeli court from approaching the Old City, led his own prayers in east Jerusalem and delivered a fiery speech before hundreds of supporters.The authorities say the excavations are a vital prerequisite to construction work to replace a damaged wooden ramp leading to the compound with a stone bridge, work that the Jerusalem mayor has suspended because of Arab protests.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday agreed to allow Turkish officials to inspect the work, following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a visit to Ankara, the Jewish state's closest Muslim ally.Israel is also broadcasting a live webcast of the excavation site 24 hours a day in a further bid to appease Muslim anger. The fate of Jerusalem and its holy sites is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has long triggered deadly disturbances. The compound, which houses both the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is where the second Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000 after a controversial visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon. In 1996, more than 80 people were killed in three days of Palestinian riots after then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a new entrance to a controversial archaeological tunnel near the holy sites.
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 17 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 17,07
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 6.0 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
FEB 16,07
MAP 4.6 NEAR THE EAST COAST OF KAMCHATKA, RUSSIA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 5.0 NEAR THE COAST OF SOUTHERN PERU
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 5.1 SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION
FEB 15,07
MAP 3.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.9 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.0 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.7 COSTA RICA
MAP 4.9 WESTERN AUSTRALIA
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 PERU-BRAZIL BORDER REGION
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.4 SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS
MAP 5.3 KERMADEC ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.5 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
Quake rattles WA
February 16, 2007
The strong 5.2-magnitude earthquake was centred off Shark Bay about 50km south-west of the popular tourist town of Monkey Mia, Geoscience Australia said.
The quake, recorded at 2.38am (AEDT) would have been felt at Monkey Mia, as well as the nearby town of Denham and on Dirk Hartog Island, a spokesman for the national geoscience research agency said.While people would have felt this earthquake up to 150 kilometres away from the epicentre, it was not a structurally damaging earthquake, Geoscience Australia Duty Seismologist Dr Mark Leonard said.He said the quake was of significant magnitude for Australia, but unlikely to have caused any major damage.In Denham, Shark Bay Caravan Park residents and campers were woken by theearthquake. Manager and owner, Trish Rochford, told theage.com.au that she woke up to find everything shaking inside the house.I had just dozed off and it woke me up and the bed and the house were shaking and there was a bit of a rumble. So yeah, it was over and done with before we realised.
Ms Rochford said the earthquake scared a few people who were staying at the caravan park.Yeah a few people in the caravans said they didn't know what was going on, but it didn't really go that long, only for about five seconds.It's been fairly windy here so I thought it had been just a big gust of wind coming through.Another Denham resident reported his house shaking.The whole house started shaking. Crockery in the cupboard started rattling ... and the bed started shaking, the resident told ABC Radio.The resident said many people were woken by the earthquake.People were out in the streets.The dogs were barking. People were saying: What was that? The resident said he thought a truck had crashed.Dr Leonard said the earthquake was the biggest recorded in the area in 50 years.
On average, Australia has an earthquake of this size or larger every two years and they can occur anywhere in Australia.In 1989, a 5.6- magnitude earthquake at Newcastle, on the New South wales central coast, killed 13 people and injured 160.Australia's largest known onshore earthquake occcured in 1941. It was a 6.9 magnitude tremor at Meeberrie, 250km southeast of Shark Bay.theage.com.au, with AAP
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.
The Nation's Weather By WEATHER UNDERGROUND, For The Associated Press
Fri Feb 16, 6:23 AM ET
Forecasters predicted more snow from the Plains to the Northeast on Friday, while temperatures were expected to rise into the 70s in parts California. Lakes Erie and Ontario were expected to receive heavy snowfall, and parts of the Northeast already inundated with more than 100 inches of snow in recent days could see another 2 feet through the weekend.Conditions were expected to be clear but cold in much of the rest of the East.The northern and central Plains were expected to get up to 4 inches of snow.Heavy snow was expected from the Rockies to the Northwest and parts of western Colorado are expected to pick up a foot or more of new snow.California was expected to be mostly clear with warm temperatures. Southern California was expected to experience temperatures in the 70s with clear conditions.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Thursday ranged from a low of minus 34 degrees at Bismarck, N.D., to a high of 78 degrees at Thermal, Calif.On the Net:Weather
Underground: http://www.wunderground.com.National Weather Service: http://iwin.nws.noaa.gov
Intellicast: http://www.intellicast.com
La Nina could mean dry summer in Midwest and Plains FEB 16,07
CHICAGO (Reuters) - A La Nina weather pattern could be in store for spring and summer, which could make it a dry growing season for grains and soybeans in the US Midwest and Plains, a private forecaster predicted Friday. The CFS forecasting model, a leading indicator of long-term weather, on Friday showed that La Nina an abnormal weather pattern of cooling sea surface waters in the Pacific Ocean would begin in April.This was the first decisive run suggesting that La Nina would evolve in April and last the rest of the year, said Drew Lerner, agricultural meteorologist and president of World Weather Inc. in Kansas City.The forecast ignited a rally in Chicago Board of Trade grain and soybean markets on Friday, traders said.La Nina can trigger below-normal rainfall but doesn't necessarily mean drought, though there's already a bias for a drier summer, he said.
You throw a La Nina into it, it tends to make the drier biases more significant for the Corn Belt and Plains, Lerner said.Grain markets react to La Ninas as there's a general mentality among traders that the weather anomaly creates summer droughts, he added.All the major drought years tend be La Nina 1988 was a La Nina, he pointed out.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
February 15, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Palestinian leaders recently met in Mecca, Saudi Arabia to discuss how to curb fighting between rival Fatah and Hamas factions that has brought Gaza to the brink of civil war.
At the meeting, representatives of the two groups came to an agreement the Mecca Agreement that calls for a ceasefire and requires the two groups to form a unity Palestinian government.For some, this agreement raises hopes that a new Palestinian leadership coalition has emerged that may be willing to make peace with Israel. They argue that Hamas, the more radical of the two Palestinian groups, will now be forced to moderate its virulently anti-Israel positions.The problem is that the Mecca Agreement does not require either Palestinian group to recognize Israel or renounce terrorism—two steps that are absolutely necessary for a lasting peace. How can Israel be expected to coexist with a neighbor whose founding document, the Hamas Charter, refers to the Jewish state as the Zionist invaders and declares that Israel will rise and will remain erect until Islam eliminates it?
From Hamas' standpoint, the Mecca Agreement is a win-win situation. It can retain its founding principles and, by clothing itself with a false air of respectability, possibly regain hundreds of millions of dollars in financial support from the West that was withdrawn nearly a year ago when Hamas first came to power.
Just how serious is Hamas about making peace? You can judge for yourself. Shortly after the Mecca Agreement was announced, one Hamas leader was quoted as saying, Our battle with the Israeli enemy is still on…. We will be the spearhead of jihad … to defend Arab and Muslim nations.These are not the words of someone interested in making peace. Quite the contrary. These words reflect the heart of Hamas and give testimony why past agreements and cease fires have been quickly broken. The fact is, no agreement will bring peace to this region of the Middle East until Palestinian leadership commits itself to ending terrorism and recognizing Israel's right to exist. And, until this happens, Israel has every right to remain skeptical and refuse to recognize the new Palestinian government. As I have said on several occasions in this newsletter since the beginning of the 2007, I believe that this is a watershed year for Israel. The response of the European Union to the Mecca Agreement could well tip the scales. If they accept the new Palestinian government's claims and release aid to them, the Palestinians may be emboldened to strike against Israel. Given these and other circumstances that pose great peril to Israel and her people, it is with a heartfelt passion that I ask you to join with me and pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Rice Pushing PA State as Leaders Prepare for Summit
By Hana Levi Julian and Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 16,07
Trilateral talks will focus on the broader political issues, says U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, still withholding support for the PA unity government.Rice will arrive in Israel on Saturday to hold preliminary discussions with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas prior to Monday’s three-way summit in Jerusalem.Rice has already announced that she hopes the establishment of a Palestinian Authority state will be on the agenda. She has told both Olmert and Abbas that they should begin discussing this issue.
Ramifications of a Palestinian State
The dangers of a Palestinian state west of the Jordan have been outlined and detailed by countless experts. Such a state would be the world's worst nightmare, writes Middle East analyst Emanuel A. Winston, and the last link in a string of terrorist states that will stretch from Algeria through Sudan, soon Egypt and then [others]... They will not only incubate new terror groups but will also increase
their linkage and operational efficiency for major strikes against America as well as Israel.Rafael Israeli has edited a book entitled, Dangers of a Palestinian State, which features articles by Israel's leading political analysts outlining the strategic threat of such an entity. From the demographic angle, Michael Wise, co-author of The 1.5-Million-Arab Population Gap, writes that, PA control of any part
of the West Bank could result in the arrival of 2-2.5 million Palestinian 'refugees' over the course of 3-5 years. The first to arrive, Wise feels, would be the more than 400,000 who have been living in abject poverty in Lebanon, to be followed soon after by up to millions more in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, and elsewhere. The opportunity to be resettled in Palestine with enormous global financial and political support will be very attractive and immediately accepted by those refugees.
Though a breakthrough in PA unity government talks between Hamas and Fatah was announced in Mecca last week, the new government has still not been formed, as major issues have still not been resolved. Contrary to earlier threats, however, Hamas leader Abu Haniye did resign yesterday, partially paving the way for the new government to be installed.Rice was careful to reiterate the American wait-and-see theme throughout a news conference, dodging questions about whether the U.S. would indeed recognize the new PA unity government.We’re not going to jump the gun here, she said repeatedly.
We’re not going to make a judgment here until we have something that’s firm.But Rice did not deny a report that Middle East envoy David Welch called Abbas this week to warn him that the U.S. will not recognize the new PA unity government because its leading faction, Hamas, has not recognized the State of Israel. You know that I’m not going to talk about what we’ve done diplomatically, she said. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack was equally cautious about commenting on the report. Back up! he told journalists Thursday when asked about Bush administration plans to boycott the new Hamas-Fatah PA government. McCormack, like Rice, said no decisions had yet been made on an American response either way. You don’t have a government of national unity, he told reporters. You don’t know who’s in that government. You don’t know the platform of that government... On the basis of that lack of facts, I can’t offer you an answer.
The Quartet comprised of the U.S., Russia, the United Nations and the European Union has until now continued to demand that Hamas recognize Israel, renounce terrorism and uphold agreements with Israel signed by previous PA governments. Whether they will stand by those demands in light of the new Fatah alliance with Hamas, however, remains a question. Rice ducked the issue. I can’t begin to predict what the international reaction is going to look like right now, she said. Despite her efforts to put a positive spin on the upcoming summit, it is clear that Rice has begun to realize that never often simply means wait a bit in the PA. For example, Abbas long claimed that he would never join a Hamas government that does not meet the Quartet demands but this quickly dissolved when he signed on to the pact in Mecca last week. We are going to await the formation of that government before we make any decisions about it, she told reporters before setting out for Jerusalem. Eventually you’re going to have to get to a Palestinian government that accepts that it is to live side by side in peace with an Israeli neighbor.
Evangelist Graham Seeks to Convert Sudan’s Muslim President FEB 16,07
The Christian Post reports that Franklin Graham met with Sudan’s Muslim president Omar Hassan al-Bashir this week and confirmed his aim of converting the leader whom many say is behind the Darfur genocide. Graham affirmed that he still believes Islam is an evil and wicked religion, and that I would like to convert every person I meet... through persuasion. Graham first met al-Bashir in December 2003 when Graham told the Sudanese president that he wanted to lead him to Christ. Bashir had responded that he wanted to make Graham a Muslim. Proselytizing by both parties continued on Monday and religious differences remained strong. However, Graham had a softer opinion of Bashir and the Darfur situation following the meeting.
Report: January hottest on record
February 16, 2007
WASHINGTON (AP) It may be cold comfort during a frigid February, but last month was by far the hottest January ever.
The broken record was fueled by a waning El Nino and a gradually warming world, according to U.S. scientists who reported the data Thursday. Records on the planet's temperature have been kept since 1880. Spurred on by unusually warm Siberia, Canada, northern Asia and Europe, the world's land areas were 3.4 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) warmer than a normal January, according to the U.S. National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina. That didn't just nudge past the old record set in 2002, but broke that mark by 0.81 degrees Fahrenheit (0.56C), which meteorologists said is a lot, since such records often are broken by hundredths of a degree at a time. That's pretty unusual for a record to be broken by that much, said the data center's scientific services chief, David Easterling. I was very surprised.The scientists went beyond their normal double checking and took the unusual step of running computer climate models just to make sure that what we're seeing was real, Easterling said.
It was.
From one standpoint it is not unusual to have a new record because we've become accustomed to having records broken, said Jay Lawrimore, climate monitoring branch chief. But January, he said, was a bigger jump than the world has seen in about 10 years. The temperature of the world's land and water combined the most effective measurement was 1.53 degrees Fahrenheit (0.96C) warmer than normal, breaking the old record by more than one-quarter of a degree.
Ocean temperatures alone didn't set a record. In the Northern Hemisphere, land areas were 4.1 degrees Fahrenheit (2.4C) warmer than normal for January, breaking the old record by about three-quarters of a degree. But the United States was about normal. The nation was 0.94 degrees Fahrenheit (0.63C) above normal for January, ranking only the 49th warmest since 1895.The world's temperature record was driven by northern latitudes. Siberia was on average 9 degrees Fahrenheit (5.1C) warmer than normal. Eastern Europe had temperatures averaging 8 degrees Fahrenheit (4.55C) above normal. Canada on average was more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit (2.88C) warmer than normal. Larger increases in temperature farther north, compared to mid-latitudes, is sort of the global warming signal, Easterling said. It is what climate scientists predict happens and will happen more frequently with global warming, according to an authoritative report by hundreds of climate scientists issued this month. Meteorologists aren't blaming the warmer January on global warming alone, but they said the higher temperature was consistent with climate change.Easterling said a weakening El Nino a warming of the central Pacific Ocean that tends to cause changes in weather across the globe was a factor, but not a big one. But Kevin Trenberth, director of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said El Nino made big changes worldwide that added up. Temperature records break regularly with global warming, Trenberth said, but with a little bit of El Nino thrown in, you don't just break records, you smash records.As much of the United States already knows, February doesn't seem as unusually warm as January was. Even with global warming, you're not going to keep that cold air bottled up in Alaska and Canada forever, Easterling said.The Associated Press.
Putin promotes defense minister Updated 2/15/2007
THE NEXT RUSSIAN PRESIDENT?
The leading contenders to succeed Russian President Vladimir Putin next year:
SERGEI IVANOV: Defense minister since 2001, Ivanov was a colleague of Putin's in the Soviet-era KGB in the mid-1970s in St. Petersburg. After working in foreign intelligence in Africa and Scandinavia, he rose through the ranks of Soviet and later Russian intelligence.
He eventually became the deputy head of the Federal Security Service, or FSB, the main KGB successor agency, in 1998 when Putin was its chief. ... The first civilian defense minister in Russia, the English-speaking Ivanov, 54, is seen as a hawkish figure shaped by Cold War thinking. ... Had been deputy prime minister since November 2005. He is married with two children.
DMITRY MEDVEDEV: The 41-year-old law school graduate taught at St. Petersburg University from 1990 to 1999. ... Met Putin while serving as a legal adviser to the St. Petersburg mayor's office. ... Became deputy chief of staff in the Kremlin in 2000 and then chief of staff in 2003. ... Chairman of state gas giant Gazprom's board of directors since 2002. ... A loyal member of Putin's group of friends and loyalists from St. Petersburg, he was appointed first deputy prime minister in November 2005.Source: Associated Press
MOSCOW (AP) — President Vladimir Putin promoted hawkish Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov to first deputy prime minister Thursday in a move that strengthens his position as a top contender to replace the Kremlin leader in next year's election.
The shift puts Ivanov in the same post as Dmitry Medvedev, who is regarded as a market reformer and liberal.
The two men are seen as the leading candidates to succeed Putin.Anatoly Serdyukov, until now head of the federal tax agency, replaces Ivanov as defense minister.Putin praised Ivanov in an announcement on the NTV network, saying his close ally has fulfilled the tasks he faced as defense minister and fulfilled them successfully. He said Ivanov's duties would be broadened to include oversight of defense and some civilian industries, but that he could not hold both positions at the same time.He cannot carry out the defense minister's responsibilities it's impossible to sit in two chairs, said Putin, who came out with further praise of a beaming Ivanov in a meeting with top Defense Ministry officials shown on state-run television.
Putin said he named Serdyukov, a longtime tax collection official with no military experience, as defense minister because a sweeping arms modernization program planned through 2015 requires an appointee with strong economic and financial experience.Ivanov, who like Putin formerly worked in the Soviet KGB, had previously served as one of several deputy prime ministers, while Medvedev was the sole first deputy prime minister.Both Ivanov and Medvedev have in recent months received wide exposure in the Russian media, where coverage is heavily influenced by the Kremlin. Some analysts say their prominence shows they are the top candidates to become Putin's anointed successor in the March 2008 election.
Putin is enormously popular but barred by law from seeking a third term.
Ivanov's promotion elevates him to the same level with Medvedev and could also boost his image by distancing him from the bloated military, which is plagued by hazing of young conscripts by older soldiers.But Ivanov would apparently remain in charge of Russia's lucrative arms industry, widely criticized for supplying weapons to Iran and to Hezbollah militants.Ivanov, who also serves as chairman of the state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, is regarded by some Russians as the stronger of the two candidates. Ivanov was named defense minister in March 2001.
Analysts comment on Russian leadership shuffle
Ivanov has not won kudos as defense minister, said Yevgeny Volk, the head of the U.S.-based Heritage Foundation think tank's Moscow office. Now he has finally gotten rid of these nets that dragged him to the bottom and has been given a good, clean job.Volk said the reshuffle signaled Putin's apparent intention to level the playing field in the competition between Ivanov and Medvedev, whose once-low profile has been boosted since the president put him in charge of national projects, such as housing improvements and funding increases for education and health care.Volk said that Ivanov's oversight of the weapons trade would allow the Kremlin to consolidate financial flows. Arms trade, along with energy revenues, will be a major source for the election campaign, and it's essential (for Putin) to have his own person here, Volk said.Medvedev, a lawyer, became first deputy prime minister in November 2005.Yuri Korgunyuk, a top analyst with the independent INDEM think tank, said the reshuffle was Putin's way of reaffirming his dominance of the political scene.
Formally speaking, it's a promotion for Ivanov, but he remains just a pawn, he said. It will be up to Putin to decide whether to make this pawn a queen.Volk also said it was too early to say whether Putin was inclined to anoint Ivanov as a preferred successor. It's all unpredictable; we may see other candidates, he said.Korgunyuk said that by shifting the tax chief Serdyukov to the defense minister's job, Putin wanted to tighten controls over the top brass accused of corruption and inefficiency.Putin put the tax man in charge of the Defense Ministry to combat theft, he said.
Chechen president dismissed, replaced
Putin also dismissed the president of the war-battered republic of Chechnya and named its widely feared prime minister Ramzan Kadyrov as acting president, according to the Kremlin press office. The dismissal of Alu Alkhanov came after days of speculation that he was engaged in an intense power struggle with Kadyrov, who is alleged by human rights groups to be responsible for abductions and detention of civilians and suspected separatist rebels.The Associated Press.
Palestinian unity deal under way FEB 15,07
Ismail Haniya (left) and Mahmoud Abbas sealed the deal in Mecca Palestinian PM Ismail Haniya has resigned his post and has been asked by President Mahmoud Abbas to form a new national unity government. The move came after the pair ironed out last-minute problems from the power-sharing deal sealed last week. Factional fighting between Mr Abbas's Fatah and Mr Haniya's Hamas has claimed more than 90 Palestinian lives between December and this month. Doubts remain as to whether the US will end its boycott of the government. A ban on Western financial aid has crippled the Palestinian Authority since Hamas, which has refused to recognise Israel, won elections in January last year.
Last-minute problems
Mr Haniya tendered his resignation at the meeting with Mr Abbas in Gaza.
Scores have been killed in factional fighting Brother Ismail Haniya presented me with his government's resignation and I charged him with forming his new cabinet, Mr Abbas said. He said he hoped the new administration would inaugurate a new Palestinian era in which people live in peace and security. Mr Haniya will have five weeks to get the new cabinet accepted by the Hamas-dominated parliament. Mr Abbas had called off a national address on Thursday because of last-minute problems over the new power-sharing deal. Hamas was reportedly unhappy about moves to dissolve a security force that it has established. There were also disputes over appointments to key cabinet posts. The Americans have informed us that they will be boycotting the new government headed by Hamas Senior Palestinian official On Thursday it was unclear whether the US would back the new government. Aides to Mr Abbas said Washington would continue its boycott unless the government met international demands over Israel. The aides said the US position had been conveyed by Assistant Secretary of State David Welch in a phone call and in person to Mr Abbas by US consul general in Jerusalem, Jacob Walles. US state department spokesman Sean McCormack said Washington would not make a judgement until the government was formed. As part of the power-sharing deal it was reported that Hamas had agreed to respect past Palestinian agreements that recognise Israel. However, the BBC's Alan Johnston in Gaza says the Americans are expected to demand an explicit statement of recognition and a renunciation of violence. Other nations, he says, will argue that the Palestinians have done enough and there could be a split among countries that recognise the new government. A three-way summit between Mr Abbas, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Israeli PM Ehud Olmert is scheduled for Jerusalem on Monday.
Tight security averts feared Jerusalem mosque protests by Mehdi Lebouachera FEB 16,07
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Thousands of Muslims have attended prayers at the holy Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem under heavy police guard amid fears of protests against contested Israeli works that were slammed from the pulpit.However, worshippers dispersed peacefully on Friday and, although police arrested 15 people in east Jerusalem, isolated skirmishes came in stark contrast to riots last week that saw Israeli police storm the revered mosque compound.Adnan al-Husseini, director of the Waqf religious trust, said 2,500 worshippers attended the prayers amid stringent police restrictions although police put the number at 6,000. Normally tens of thousands attend.Palestinians and Muslims all over the world have condemned nearby Israeli archaeological excavations and repair work, since stalled, which they claim endanger the foundations of Islam's third holiest site.The Israeli work poses great danger to our mosque and we demand a complete halt because it heralds destruction and death, said cleric Yussef Abu Sneineh.No one with any sense plays with fire, he added from the pulpit, taking a stab at the Israeli authorities.
Accusing police of transforming the revered compound into a battleground last Friday, when Palestinian stonethrowers clashed with the riot squad, he urged worshippers to go quietly this week to avoid further troubles.Israel boosted police deployments around Jerusalem's Old City to 3,000 on Friday and tightened restrictions on those attending prayers.
Only Muslim men aged over 50 and in possession of Israeli identity cards were granted entrance to the main weekly service, compared to those over 45 last week, although there remained no restrictions on women's access.Isolated clashes broke out after the prayers between Israeli police, who used stun grenades and water cannons to disperse protestors, witnesses said.Two Israeli soldiers were lightly wounded by Palestinian gunfire during a protest at Qalandiya, the main checkpoint between Jerusalem and the the West Bank town of Ramallah, an army spokeswoman said.
Last week, Israeli riot police armed with stun grenades stormed the compound amid clashes with Palestinian stonethrowers that left 15 policemen and at least 20 Palestinians wounded in protests over the public works.
The excavations, which started on February 6, have angered Muslims across the world and provoked violent protests.Israel denies the work poses any risk to the holy site, also venerated as the location of the ancient Jewish temple destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.The head of Israel's Islamic Movement, Sheikh Raed Salah, banned by an Israeli court from approaching the Old City, led his own prayers in east Jerusalem and delivered a fiery speech before hundreds of supporters.The authorities say the excavations are a vital prerequisite to construction work to replace a damaged wooden ramp leading to the compound with a stone bridge, work that the Jerusalem mayor has suspended because of Arab protests.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Thursday agreed to allow Turkish officials to inspect the work, following talks with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, on a visit to Ankara, the Jewish state's closest Muslim ally.Israel is also broadcasting a live webcast of the excavation site 24 hours a day in a further bid to appease Muslim anger. The fate of Jerusalem and its holy sites is one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and has long triggered deadly disturbances. The compound, which houses both the Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock, is where the second Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000 after a controversial visit by then Israeli opposition leader Ariel Sharon. In 1996, more than 80 people were killed in three days of Palestinian riots after then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu opened a new entrance to a controversial archaeological tunnel near the holy sites.
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