Some Prophecy teachers believe there will be a Orthodox Leader in Power for the Rebuilding of the 3RD TEMPLE. If that would be the case Gaydamaks new Right wing party could be the one or Feiglin is also an Orthodox leader. We will see what comes of this Party if its the one to lead the Rebuilding of the 3RD TEMPLE or not.
Billionaire to set up rightwing party in Israel
Published: February 21 2007 (Financial Times)
Arkadi Gaydamak, a Russian-born billionaire businessman and sports entrepreneur, has decided to enter Israeli politics as a rightwing kingmaker at a time when voters’ respect for their present leaders has plumbed record lows. The controversial 54-year-old last night set out his platform for a new political movement whose main beneficiary might turn out to be Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud opposition leader and a close ally. Emigrating to Israel from Russia in 1972, he spent much of his life after army service in France. He said last night he did not intend to run for the Knesset and preferred to guide the new party from above.Mr Gaydamak, who founded a fortune estimated at up to $4bn (£2bn) on real estate and other businesses, was one of the rare public figures to emerge from Israel’s war in Lebanon last year with his reputation enhanced.
During the conflict he set up tent encampments on the coast for 1,000 people fleeing Hizbollah rockets in the north of the country at a time when the government faced fierce criticism for abandoning civilians to their fate.He said at the time he was popular enough to be elected as prime minister with a large majority. However, he was expected to throw the backing of his new party behind Mr Netanyahu, who has been moving up the opinion polls as the ratings of some government ministers have plummeted to single figures.Mr Netanyahu claims credit for turning round the Israeli economy during his term as finance minister that ended in 2005. Israeli commentators suggested Mr Gaydamak could secure the support of less affluent communities that felt they had lost out from Mr Netanyahu’s market-oriented policies-Russian immigrants, Arabs and ultra-Orthodox Jews.The government of Ehud Olmert generated public discontent with its handling of the Lebanon war, and corruption and other scandals have further dented its popularity. Mr Gaydamak is no stranger to controversy. He has not returned to France since 2000 after the authorities there issued an international warrant to question him in an investigation into illegal arms sales to Angola.The Financial Times Limited 2007
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.
FOLLOWUP STORY FOR FEBRUARY 23,2007
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.
Israeli candidate wants to assassinate Iranian leader
Chad Groening OneNewsNow.com February 22, 2007
The president of Jewish Leadership (Manhigut Yehudit), a pro-Jewish movement and the largest faction within Israel's Likud Party, says that, if he is elected prime minister, he would order the assassination of Iranian strongman Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Shmuel Sackett, international director of the movement, believes that makes Moshe Feiglin a uniquely qualified candidate to lead Israel.Feiglin recently told an Israeli radio program that if he became Israel’s next prime minister, he would try to eliminate Ahmadinejad by dispatching a special operations squad to Iran with orders to assassinate the Iranian dictator. Sackett, who co-founded Jewish Leadership with Feiglin, says the movement’s president is serious about taking out the Iranian leader, who has repeatedly vowed to wipe Israel off the map.
Feiglin wants to send a team in to immediately annihilate this individual and put him into the history books, Sackett notes. And this is significant, he suggests, because [w]e had better take our enemies seriously; no one took a guy named Adolf Hitler too seriously in the 1920's. Moshe Feiglin is the only candidate, the only one in Israel today, from all sides, calling for the immediate assassination of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, the only one saying we must immediately put a bullet in this animal's head. Jewish Leadership’s international director emphasizes. Nobody else is saying that, he asserts, and that shows people [Feiglin is] serious he’s ready to deal with the Iranian threat.Sackett says Feiglin outdid former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a recent poll of support for potential Israeli prime ministerial candidates. The Jewish Leadership Movement believes new elections will occur sometime next fall.American Family News Network
Friday, February 23, 2007
Thursday, February 22, 2007
ROME CONCERNED OVER BLAIRS EXIT
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Turkey earthquake causes slight damage. 3-Indonesia quake trigger tsunami warning. 4-Eastern Newfoundland digs out from blizzard. 5-No end to deadly Bolivian floods. 6-Surprising Solar Storms Rage at Sun’s South Pole. 7-Rain and mountain snow Far West Thursday. 8-US Iran attack plans revealed. 9-NHS pays too much to drug firms. 10-82 killed in Congo cholera epidemic. 11-Hamas Being Asked to Accept Conditions - Just Like Arafat Did. 12-Contact Your Representative In Opposition to HR 254 Today! 13-Temple Mount Re-Opened to Jews. 14-Rise In Western Aliyah In 2006. 15-Rome concerned over Blair's exit impact for EU constitution talks.
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 = Thur Feb 22 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 21,07
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.7 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
FEB 20,07
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.1 GULF OF SANTA CATALINA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 OFFSHORE ATACAMA, CHILE
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.7 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.9 KEPULAUAN SULA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.0 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.7 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
FEB 19,07
MAP 2.9 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.4 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.3 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.8 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 5.4 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 5.6 LAKE ALBERT REGION, DEM REP OF THE CONGO
MAP 4.7 SOUTHERN PERU
Turkey earthquake causes slight damage Wed Feb 21, 9:59 AM ET
ANKARA, Turkey - A moderate earthquake shook southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, injuring a woman who was trapped under rubble in one of several buildings that were damaged, officials said. The quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 and was centered in the town of Sivrice in the province of Elazig, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's preliminary magnitude at 5.7.Rescuers pulled the woman from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in the village of Kayalar in Elazig province, Gov. Muammer Musmal said, adding that she was hospitalized but that her injuries were not serious.The quake caused great panic and partly collapsed a building in the village of Kayapinar while slightly damaging a primary school and a post office in the town of Sivrice, Musmal said.Soldiers and police were trying to reach remote mountain villages while a paramilitary helicopter made an assessment, CNN-Turk television said.
Parents rushed to schools to pick up their children in the region, the broadcaster reported. Authorities suspended classes in Sivrice and Maden after the quake.Five aftershocks, the strongest with a magnitude of 3.6, followed as authorities warned residents not to enter damaged buildings.The area was struck by a magnitude-5.3 quake on Feb. 9. More than two dozen people were injured in that temblor.The latest quake was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Diyarbakir, Tunceli and Malatya, reports said.Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies atop the active North Anatolian fault. Two devastating earthquakes killed about 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey in 1999.In 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in southeastern Bingol province, killing 83 children. The collapse was blamed on poor construction.A magnitude-6.4 quake killed 177 people in Bingol in 1995.
Indonesia quake trigger tsunami warning By GRACE WAKARY, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 20, 6:20 AM ET
MANADO, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake in northeastern Indonesia on Tuesday caused panicked residents to flee shaking buildings on islands in the Maluku Sea and briefly triggered a tsunami warning, officials said.
The 6.5-magnitude quake struck 130 miles from Ternate, the capital of Maluku island, and 233 miles from Manado, the northernmost city on Sulawesi island, the U.S. Geological Survey said.We called local authorities in Ternate and coastal areas to warn them of a potential tsunami, said Fauzi, a seismologist who goes by only one name, adding that it turned out to be a false alarm.One hour after the quake struck, there were no signs of seismically triggered waves.
It was not immediately clear if the quake, which was centered at a depth of around 20 miles, caused any injuries and damage appeared to be largely limited to cracks in buildings.Frightened residents fled their homes and at least one hotel in Ternate was evacuated.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people, including 131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone. A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.Tuesday's quake came less than a month after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit in roughly the same spot, killing at least three people.
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 Newfoundland digs out from blizzard
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 CBC News
Homeowners tackled shoulder-height drifts as crews tried to clear highways and major roads, in the wake of a blizzard that brought eastern Newfoundland to a halt Tuesday.A man shovels out after Newfoundland was walloped with snow on Tuesday, shutting down schools and services even snowplows in eastern parts of the island.(CBC) The blizzard, which started Monday afternoon, continued blowing at full strength through Tuesday morning.The storm dropped more than 30 centimetres of snow in places, but high winds which topped 110 km/h gave the blizzard its punch.
The winds also befuddled crews who worked hard to keep even major roads passable.You're constantly going around and around and around, George Smith, a plow operator with the City of St. John's, said Tuesday morning.You go through your area [and] when you get back it's like you never got through it, because the wind is drifting it all back in again.Whiteout conditions prompted police to urge motorists to stay off the roads in Newfoundland on Tuesday. (CBC) Conditions late Monday and early Tuesday were so treacherous that government plows were pulled off highways. Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway were closed as crews set to work.
The blizzard cancelled flights, closed schools and shut down most normal activities in eastern Newfoundland. Blizzard warnings remained in effect from the Avalon Peninsula to the Bonavista Peninsula until late Tuesday morning.Most schools in the area were closed. In St. John's, provincial government offices, including courts, shut for the day. Numerous agencies, services and businesses closed for at least the morning.Metrobus, which operates the transit system in St. John's, pulled its buses off city roads on Tuesday. Early in the day, even many taxis stayed off St. John's streets.The main road is clear to the hospital that's what they're trying to do, CBC Television's Peter Gullage reported Tuesday morning.Side streets are closed.… Nobody is going anywhere today.
Roads around the St. John's area were dotted with vehicles that had become stuck and been temporarily abandoned.The storm had passed by Tuesday afternoon, giving way to partly cloudy skies and the hum of snowblowers and panting shovellers.It's terrible I'm getting too old for this, said Bill Whittle, 72, as he tackled a five-foot-high drift in his driveway with a shovel. I told my wife this morning this is my last winter here anyway. It's either a condo or an apartment somewhere, you know. It's too much.
No end to deadly Bolivian floods FEB 20,07 BBC
Many communities are completely cut off by the floods .At least 35 people have died and 10 are missing in Bolivia as a result of floods caused by months of heavy rain. Up to 340,000 people are estimated to have been affected, as water levels continue to rise in eastern areas. Roads in the worst-hit departments of Santa Cruz and Beni have been blocked by mudslides, hampering relief efforts.
The government has declared a state of emergency and is appealing for international aid. Two months of heavy rain have been blamed on what has become known as the El Nino effect, an occasional seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean. Local authorities in the worst-hit areas say many communities have been completely cut off by the floods, and it has been impossible to get aid to them. The governor of Beni has called for helicopters to help distribute food. Ernesto Suarez Sattori said the situation was critical and could get worse in the next five days.
Surprising Solar Storms Rage at Sun’s South Pole (Space.com)
By Ker Than Staff Writer posted: 20 February 2007 12:35 pm ET
Relatively calm weather was the standard forecast for the Sun, which is near the end of another 11-year solar cycle, but raging solar storms just spotted at its south pole now tell a different story.
At the start of a solar cycle, sunspots regions on the Sun marked by cooler temperatures and intense magnetic activity tend to appear near the poles and move towards the equator as the cycle concludes.Scientists were therefore surprised when Ulysses [image], a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft currently embarking on its third tour around the Sun [image] since launch in 1990, spotted intense solar storms near the Sun’s south pole. Solar storms are energetic explosions on the surface of the Sun caused by solar flares or coronal mass ejections, both of which tend to occur near sunspots.
Video: Beneath a Sunspot
Particle events of this kind were seen during the second polar passes in 2000 and 2001, at solar maximum, said Richard Marsden, ESA’s Ulysses Project Scientist and Mission Manager. We certainly didn’t expect to see them at higher latitudes at solar minimum.Ulysses also found that the Sun’s south pole is currently cooler than its north pole. This is a reversal from 10 years ago, when the northern polar coronal hole was about 7 to 8 percent lower than the southern one. Coronal holes are like bald spots on the Sun: they are regions in the Sun’s upper atmosphere, called the corona, where there is less heated gas than average. During solar minimum, coronal holes are mainly found at the Sun’s polar regions; during solar maximum, they can be located anywhere.This implies that the asymmetry between north and south has switched with the change of the magnetic polarity of the Sun, said George Gloeckler, Principal Investigator for the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) aboard Ulysses.The Sun’s magnetic field consists of a north pole, where the field flows out of the Sun, and a south pole, where the field re-enters. During solar maximum, when the Sun’s activity is at a peak in its 11-year cycle [image], the poles exchange places.
Rain and mountain snow Far West Thursday Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 21,07
West
Rain and mountain snow will dampen much of the Far West tomorrow, from the Pacific Northwest and western Montana southward to Southern California (with the exception of the deserts). Much of the precipitation will be showery in nature, but a heavy, steady snow is likely in the Sierras, as is a soaking rain for much of central and Southern California. Travel over Siskiyou Summit on I-5 in extreme southern Oregon will continue to be slowed by snow. And pushing over Donner Summit (I-80) in the Sierras may become difficult, too. Snow levels in the Sierras will drop to 4000 feet or less by late in the day; and in the mountains north of L. A., to 5000 feet or less. High temperatures are predicted to range from the 30s and 40s in much of the Northwest and Montana to the 80s in southwest Arizona.
Northeast
A vigorous little clipper storm will scoot through the Northeast tomorrow bearing rain and snow. Accumulating snow, several inches, is likely in much of Upstate New York and probably Vermont's Green Mountains. Elsewhere, only light snow or a mix of rain and snow showers is expected. Much of Maine and Virginia, however, may escape any precipitation at all. Cold, blustery winds will set in behind the clipper late tomorrow and tomorrow night. Light snow may accompany the gusty winds tomorrow night, especially in parts of New York state and central and southern New England. During the day tomorrow, high temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in far northern New York and northern New England to the 60s in southeast Virginia. Maxima in the 30s will prevail in southern New York, much of Pennsylvania and southern New England.
Midwest
Gusty northwest winds in the wake of a fast-moving clipper storm will sweep over much of the Midwest tomorrow. Scattered snow showers and flurries will whip over areas from the Arrowhead of Minnesota into Michigan and Ohio. Temperatures will be noticeably lower than today's with highs ranging from the upper teens in far northeast North Dakota to the low 60s in extreme southern Kansas and a sliver of southwest Missouri. Maxima around the Great Lakes will be in the 20s and 30s, north
to south.
South
A spring-loaded day is on tap for the South tomorrow. Fore! and service! will be frequently heard words. Temperatures are expected to soar well above late February averages under the influence of abundant sunshine. Highs in the 60s and 70s will be widespread. Readings in the 50s should be confined to northern Tennessee. On the other end of the scale, maxima in the low 80s are possible in the Big Bend country of Texas and in locations near Laredo, Texas, and Miami, Florida.
US Iran attack plans revealed BBC FEB 20,07
USS John C Stennis is being deployed to the Persian Gulf
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned. It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres. The US insists it is not planning to attack, and is trying to persuade Tehran to stop uranium enrichment. The UN has urged Iran to stop the programme or face economic sanctions. But diplomatic sources have told the BBC that as a fallback plan, senior officials at Central Command in Florida have already selected their target sets inside Iran. That list includes Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Facilities at Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list, the sources say.
Two triggers
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon - which it denies.
The Natanz plant is buried under concrete, metal and earth .Alternatively, our correspondent adds, a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran. Long range B2 stealth bombers would drop so-called bunker-busting bombs in an effort to penetrate the Natanz site, which is buried some 25m (27 yards) underground. The BBC's Tehran correspondent Frances Harrison says the news that there are now two possible triggers for an attack is a concern to Iranians. Authorities insist there is no cause for alarm but ordinary people are now becoming a little worried, she says.
Deadline
Earlier this month US officers in Iraq said they had evidence Iran was providing weapons to Iraqi Shia militias. However the most senior US military officer later cast doubt on this, saying that they only had proof that weapons made in Iran were being used in Iraq. Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said he did not know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit in this. At the time, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the accusations were excuses to prolong the stay of US forces in Iraq.
Middle East analysts have recently voiced their fears of catastrophic consequences for any such US attack on Iran. Britain's previous ambassador to Tehran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC it would backfire badly by probably encouraging the Iranian government to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term. Last year Iran resumed uranium enrichment - a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its programme is for civil use only, but Western countries suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The UN Security Council has called on Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium by 21 February. If it does not, and if the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms this, the resolution says that further economic sanctions will be considered.
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
NHS pays too much to drug firms
By Robert Peston Business Editor, BBC News FEB 21,07
The OFT will announce its findings on Tuesday The NHS is paying drug companies hundreds of millions of pounds too much for branded medicines, according to the Office of Fair Trading. Since September 2005, the competition watchdog has been investigating the system by which the Department of Health buys £7bn of branded medicines. It has concluded the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) should be overhauled, the BBC has learned. The OFT has found the scheme does not allow the NHS to get the best prices. The OFT will present its conclusions to the Department of Health and the prime minister on Tuesday. Because they are likely to affect the share prices of the UK's leading drug companies, they will be released to the Stock Exchange at 0700 GMT.
Cap on profits
The Department of Health does not have to accept the OFT's recommendations, but it is highly unlikely to reject them, given that hundreds of millions of pounds of public money are at stake.
However there is likely to be a blazing row with the major drug companies, who frequently complain that the NHS does not spend enough on their products. The PPRS sets a cap on the profits that each drug company can earn on its annual sales of branded medicines to the NHS. It is a voluntary scheme negotiated every five years between the Department of Health and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. The price paid by the NHS for drugs is used by as a benchmark by health services in other countries, but they frequently insist on paying less than the NHS pays.
Expensive research
But a dire warning is likely to come from the pharmaceutical industry. UK drug companies are world beaters, which is not true of all British business.
Those drug companies are likely to argue that their continued success depends on their being properly rewarded for very expensive and risky scientific research. A statement from the Department of Health said: It is important that we have fair prices which give value for money to the taxpayer.However, we recognise the importance of the pharmaceutical industry to healthcare and the development of medical advances and it is in all of our interests to encourage research and reward innovation.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)
82 killed in Congo cholera epidemic Mon Feb 19, 12:23 PM ET
BRAZZAVILLE (AFP) - Eighty-two people have died in a cholera epidemic in the Republic of Congo, according to figures from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The outbreak was officially declared at the end of January in Pointe-Noire, the economic heart of the Congo located in the southwest, and has since spread to the capital, Brazzaville.Figures released by UNICEF Monday compiled from data from local health authorities found that 4,077 people in Pointe-Noire had contracted cholera by February 14, of whom 61 died.North of the town, in the Kouilou area, 106 people have been recorded with cholera, of whom seven died, and in Brazzaville, 14 people have died, and a further 46 have been infected, UNICEF said.A previous survey by the Congolese health ministry, published on February 8, said 65 people had died from the epidemic.Although the number of new cases has reduced markedly in Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville in the last few days, UNICEF warned the disease had appeared in the Mindouli area, between the two towns.
Despite a fall in the fatalities, which shows the good performance of the care of those (infected) cases, it is important to note that the epidemic continues to develop in terms of the number of new registered cases, UNICEF said in its last report on the progress of the disease.Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by a bacteria present in water and dirty food. It causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting
that results in rapid dehydration and can be fatal if not treated.
Hamas Being Asked to Accept Conditions - Just Like Arafat Did
by Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 21,07
Hamas is the winner of this summit, because the sense of this policy is that Hamas is being accepted as a legitimate partner for dialogue. Yoram Ettinger, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations, opines that visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has the mistaken conception that the Israel-PA issue will affect the fate of US efforts against Iran. She wants concessions from both sides, Ettinger said.
A former liaison for Congressional affairs in Israel's Washington embassy, Ettinger spoke with Arutz-7's Yigal Shok following the three-way meetings of Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Fatah chairman Abbas in Jerusalem yesterday (Monday). The end result is the status quo; nothing has changed, Ettinger said. Secretary Rice still hopes that Israel and Fatah will come closer and make concessions to each other, because what's important to her is not the Palestinian issue but the situation in Iraq and Iran; she feels mistakenly, in my opinion - that the Palestinian subject is the heart of everything and causes all the shocks in the Middle East and can determine the effectiveness of any coalition against Iran.
Hamas Must Merely Make Verbal Commitments
However, he said, Hamas is the winner of this summit, because the sense of this policy is that Hamas is being accepted as a legitimate partner for dialogue. Just like when Arafat as if recognized Israel, and as if abandoned the path of terrorism even though the last 13 years have shown that this was not at all true and now Secretary Rice is trying to get Hamas to do the same thing! Israel is going along as well. All they are asking is that Hamas 'commit itself' to the Quartet conditions. But we have received the same things in the past, and what did we gain? Abu Mazen is now portrayed as a leader of peace' merely for his words. The fact that his commitments are not being implemented in practice is a different story.The purpose of Rice's visit was to rush up the establishment of a Palestinian state and to bring Israel to uproot Jewish communities in Yesha [Judea and Samaria], Ettinger said but this plan failed because of the Mecca summit and the current I emphasize, current problematic stance of Hamas. Rice's anticipations were great, but the reality was not quite that way.Ettinger emphasized that the Israeli political leadership has come around to Rice's way of thinking, namely, that Israel must withdraw to the pre-Six Day War borders and enable the establishment of a Palestinian state. This is either because Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny actually believe this, or because they feel that there is no choice but to dance according to the tune of the State Department even though this is not necessarily the stance of President Bush, and certainly not of Vice President Cheney and the Congress. This shows a genuine lack of understanding on the part of our leaders regarding what goes on in the U.S. and the true status of the Secretary of State.
House of Representatives set to vote on hate crimes giving homosexuals special rights FEB 21,07
Contact Your Representative In Opposition to HR 254 Today!
Dear Stan,
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on HR 254, which establishes hate crime legislation. HR 254 will create new special rights for homosexuals under the guise of enhancing law enforcement. It would make sexual orientation a protected class alongside race, religion and gender.
The only way this bill can be defeated is with a real grassroots uprising by those who care about the future of their children, families and marriages! The intent of this law is to force the acceptance and approval of homosexuality on every American, regardless of their religious views. Here is a short summaryof HR254.
http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=9672&department=CFI&categoryid=papers
Here is a partial list of what homosexual activists are trying to force on every American. While HR 254 will not, in and of itself, accomplish these goals, it will open the door to such regulations. Once the elephant gets its trunk under the tent, the way is open for the elephant to move inside and do whatever he wants. Preaching that homosexuality is a sin from the pulpit will result in the preacher being charged with hate speech.Churches will have their tax-exempt status revoked if they oppose homosexuality.Homosexual marriage will be legalized and recognized in all states.Polygamy will be legalized.Landlords will be forced to rent to homosexuals.Scouts, and all non-profit organizations, will be required to hire homosexuals as leaders.Biblical language used to define homosexuality will be considered hate speech. City officials have already had a billboard removed in Long Island, NY, because it was classified as hate speech. The billboard read: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. (Leviticus 20:13)
Employees will not be allowed to say anything negative about homosexuality in their workplaces. Classes promoting the homosexual lifestyle will be included in school curricula beginning with the lower grades.Employers will be forced to hire homosexuals.Adoption by homosexuals will be legalized in every state. Let me say again: HR 254 will not, in and of itself, accomplish everything the homosexual activist’s desire. But it is the first step is to position their cause where they can achieve all their goals. If they are successful with HR 254, rest assured they will pursue their next goal and will not stop until they achieve all their goals.
Take Action
Send the e-mail to your representative urging him or her to vote AGAINST HR 254. It all boils down to who is dedicated to their cause more homosexual activists or Christians. Right now the homosexual activists are winning.Please forward this to all your friends and family. The only way to stop this onslaught on Christian values and Christianity is a national uprising against HR 254, saying enough is enough! Click Here to Email Your Representative Now!
http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=9395716
If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.
Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
Temple Mount Re-Opened to Jews
by Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 21,07
Israeli excavation works at the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate ramp leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount evoked Arab rioting and criticism of Israel by Arab leaders. Despite Israeli explanations and photos showing that the work had nothing to do with the Temple Mount, Arabs continue to accuse Israel of attempting to destroy the mosques at the site. The instigation came to a climax 12 days ago, when dozens of Arabs and police were injured in rock-throwing clashes and rioting.Now that calm has been restored in the area, and in the wake of strong pressure by Jewish groups, the police have once again opened the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors. The hours are as restricted as before: between 7:30 and 10:30 in the morning, and between 12:30 and 1:30 in the early afternoon. At other times, Jews continue to be forbidden to frequent the holy site.
Rabbis are split over whether Jews are permitted to ascend to the site of the Holy Temples the site the Torah considers to be the holiest in the world. All agree that there are areas on the Mount that are forbidden for entry to those who are impure namely, everyone, until the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) purification ceremony can be performed. However, some rabbis say that because the precise location of those areas is not entirely clear, and because of the fear that some Jews might not even care to find out, the entire Mount area must be forbidden for public entry. Other rabbis say that following careful research and based on archaeological evidence, the forbidden areas can be mapped out, and that proper Jewish-legal precautions, including immersing in a ritual bath before visiting, can and must be taken to prevent errant wandering. These rabbis feel that there is an important national/religious value in visiting the site and perpetuating Jewish national bonds with the site, as opposed to abandoning it to the Moslems.
The monthly March Around the Temple Mount Gates, which is held every Rosh Chodesh (the first day of each Hebrew month), was canceled by police earlier this week, at the beginning of the month of Adar. This, despite or because of the fact that thousands of Jews were expected to show up. As a result, however, a large amount of public pressure was brought to bear by MK Uri Ariel and the Temple Mount organizations.The police then permitted an alternate event this past Sunday evening.
Hundreds of Jews who managed to find out of the change in plans showed up outside the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount. Foreign media often confuse the Western Wall with the Mount it supports, thus giving more credence to Moslem claims than Jewish ones.Kiryat Arba's Chief Rabbi Dov Lior, Chairman of the Yesha Rabbis Council and a leading Halakhic source on Temple Mount matters, told the assembled, The increase of terrorism and anti-Semitism in Israel and around the world stems from our neglect of and weakness regarding the Temple Mount.
The fact that the Mount is closed whenever our enemies begin threatening, and that the hours in which we may ascend are so limited, and that we may not pray there or build a synagogue all this reflects weakness and lack of Jewish control over the most sacred site to the entire Jewish nation.Regarding Moslem claims that the Jews are planning to rebuild the Temple, Rabbi Lior said, I wish this was the case... Plans should be made and the public should be prepared for the building of the Third Temple.
The Mount, not the Wall
He emphasized that the sanctity of the Western Wall, which surrounds and supports the Temple Mount area in which the Holy Temple was built and will be rebuilt, is tens of times less than that of the Mount itself. This must be understood within the Jewish public, and first and foremost, within the religious public.Rabbi David Dudkevich of Yitzhar also addressed the crowd, musician Ariel Zilber provided musical entertainment, and a giant video screen showed an exhibit regarding historic Jewish rights to the Temple Mount, and pictures showing how the Mount looked, looks and will look in the future. Foreign media often confuse the Western Wall with the Mount it supports, thus giving more credence to Moslem claims than Jewish ones. BBC, for instance, in a photo-report on the area posted today, writes, The Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif is the most important religious site in Jerusalem.
Its Western Wall is the holiest site in Judaism.
In another report, Reuters refers to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. Two days ago, however, an AP report corrected this impression by writing that the Mount is Judaism's holiest site, having housed the biblical Jewish temples. The report adds, Jews have gathered for centuries to pray outside the compound at the Western Wall, a remnant of the ancient compound.
Rise In Western Aliyah In 2006
by Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 21,07
Immigration to Israel from several key countries increased in 2006 as compared to 2005. A report released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed a slight rise in the number of immigrants coming from English-speaking countries, with the highest percentage arriving from North America. According to the report, 11.2% of the new olim [immigrants] in 2006 came from North America, an increase over the previous year, in which they comprised 9.7% of new immigrants. CBS statistics indicated that a total of 2,157 North American Jews immigrated in 2006, as opposed to 2,045 the year before. A similar trend was seen from Great Britain whose Jews comprised 3.2% of aliyah in 2006, an increase of 1.3% over 2005. In 2006, 595 British Jews came to live in Israel, as compared to 383 in 2005.
From Ethiopia as well, more Jews came home to Israel in 2006.
The new olim, numbering 3,595, comprised 18.7% of all immigrants, as opposed to 3,571 in 2005. Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union dropped in numbers by 3.9% as compared to 2005. The former USSR nationals, who still comprise the lions share of total immigration to the Jewish State 66.7 percent in 2006, included people from Asian, Eastern European, Russian and Ukrainian countries. Of those, 32.1% came from Eastern Europe. Taking into account the mixed Jewish and non-Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union, the total immigration figures dropped to its lowest levels since 1988, with less than 20,000 people choosing to live in the Jewish State, a drop of nine percent over 2005.
Rome concerned over Blair's exit impact for EU constitution talks
21.02.2007 - 09:29 CET | By Lucia Kubosova (EuObserver)
Italian and Spanish leaders have voiced their full support for salvaging the EU constitution, indicating they could join Germany as the big country frontrunners pushing for the charter's revival. Meeting on the Balearic island of Ibiza on Tuesday (20 February), Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero praised the current German EU presidency for trying to move from a phase of stagnation to a time of initiative on the European constitution.The document, originally signed by all member states, was put on ice after its rejection by French and Dutch voters in spring 2005 but is now back on the political agenda.German chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to come up with a timetable for negotiation of a way out of the constitutional impasse and present it to the whole union in June.
Mr Prodi and Mr Zapatero representing two of the 18 countries that have ratified the charter called for a solution which would preserve the essence of the existing text along with minimum changes making it acceptable to states that have not yet ratified it, according to press reports. Our goal is to maintain the essential idea of achieving a more united and efficient Europe with new ways of working, the Spanish leader said.The new EU constitution streamlines all the previous treaties and introduces changes that are seen as making the enlarged bloc more effective and transparent, such as a simpler voting system and a permanent presidency instead of the current six-month rotating system.
Clouds over June summit
Berlin has launched a series of confidential talks with government officials to find out where the problem areas are with Mrs Merkel planning to present the revival plan at the EU's June summit just before Portugal takes over the bloc's chair.But while European leaders are set to be joined at the meeting by a new French president the winner of the April and May elections it could also be the last Brussels session for the UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair.The British leader has announced he will step down from office before the new parliamentary elections in his country, with finance minister Gordon Brown most likely to replace him, leading other countries to speculate on what this will mean for the constitution negotiations.Italian interior minister Giuliano Amato said the June summit would probably not produce more than a mandate for a future inter-governmental conference on a new treaty.
One of the reasons why I'm not sure whether this dream of mine might come true in June is the British transition, because the British prime minister on that occasion might meet some difficulty committing his country for the future, Mr Amato said at the London School of Economics on Tuesday (20 February), according to Reuters.People are not ready as yet to come out with their real arguments. So there is a general goodwill in restoring the debate and see[ing] where we can go from here, but the final destination is still in my view obscure, he added.Mr Amato said the UK's position is crucial for Europe, stressing These islands are an essential part of Europe. They should stop thinking of themselves as the Highlanders. Like it or not, they [the British] are Europeans.
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 = Thur Feb 22 12:00 AM EDT
FEB 21,07
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.7 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.9 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.7 EASTERN TURKEY
MAP 4.8 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.9 ANDAMAN ISLANDS, INDIA REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.9 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 3.2 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 5.5 HALMAHERA, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
FEB 20,07
MAP 5.1 SOUTH OF SUMBAWA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.8 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.1 GULF OF SANTA CATALINA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 OFFSHORE ATACAMA, CHILE
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.7 OFFSHORE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.9 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 5.9 KEPULAUAN SULA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.0 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.7 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 EAST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 3.3 SOUTH OF ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN IRAN
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 6.7 KEPULAUAN OBI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
FEB 19,07
MAP 2.9 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.4 ANTOFAGASTA, CHILE
MAP 2.9 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.3 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 5.8 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 5.4 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 5.6 LAKE ALBERT REGION, DEM REP OF THE CONGO
MAP 4.7 SOUTHERN PERU
Turkey earthquake causes slight damage Wed Feb 21, 9:59 AM ET
ANKARA, Turkey - A moderate earthquake shook southeastern Turkey on Wednesday, injuring a woman who was trapped under rubble in one of several buildings that were damaged, officials said. The quake registered a preliminary magnitude of 5.9 and was centered in the town of Sivrice in the province of Elazig, the Istanbul-based Kandilli observatory said. The U.S. Geological Survey put the quake's preliminary magnitude at 5.7.Rescuers pulled the woman from beneath the rubble of a collapsed building in the village of Kayalar in Elazig province, Gov. Muammer Musmal said, adding that she was hospitalized but that her injuries were not serious.The quake caused great panic and partly collapsed a building in the village of Kayapinar while slightly damaging a primary school and a post office in the town of Sivrice, Musmal said.Soldiers and police were trying to reach remote mountain villages while a paramilitary helicopter made an assessment, CNN-Turk television said.
Parents rushed to schools to pick up their children in the region, the broadcaster reported. Authorities suspended classes in Sivrice and Maden after the quake.Five aftershocks, the strongest with a magnitude of 3.6, followed as authorities warned residents not to enter damaged buildings.The area was struck by a magnitude-5.3 quake on Feb. 9. More than two dozen people were injured in that temblor.The latest quake was also felt in the neighboring provinces of Diyarbakir, Tunceli and Malatya, reports said.Earthquakes are frequent in Turkey, much of which lies atop the active North Anatolian fault. Two devastating earthquakes killed about 18,000 people in northwestern Turkey in 1999.In 2003, an earthquake measuring 6.4 magnitude collapsed a school dormitory in southeastern Bingol province, killing 83 children. The collapse was blamed on poor construction.A magnitude-6.4 quake killed 177 people in Bingol in 1995.
Indonesia quake trigger tsunami warning By GRACE WAKARY, Associated Press Writer Tue Feb 20, 6:20 AM ET
MANADO, Indonesia - A powerful earthquake in northeastern Indonesia on Tuesday caused panicked residents to flee shaking buildings on islands in the Maluku Sea and briefly triggered a tsunami warning, officials said.
The 6.5-magnitude quake struck 130 miles from Ternate, the capital of Maluku island, and 233 miles from Manado, the northernmost city on Sulawesi island, the U.S. Geological Survey said.We called local authorities in Ternate and coastal areas to warn them of a potential tsunami, said Fauzi, a seismologist who goes by only one name, adding that it turned out to be a false alarm.One hour after the quake struck, there were no signs of seismically triggered waves.
It was not immediately clear if the quake, which was centered at a depth of around 20 miles, caused any injuries and damage appeared to be largely limited to cracks in buildings.Frightened residents fled their homes and at least one hotel in Ternate was evacuated.Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago, is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.In December 2004, a massive earthquake struck off Indonesia's Sumatra island and triggered a tsunami that killed more than 230,000 people, including 131,000 people in Indonesia's Aceh province alone. A tsunami off Java island last year killed nearly 5,000.Tuesday's quake came less than a month after a magnitude-7.3 earthquake hit in roughly the same spot, killing at least three people.
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 Newfoundland digs out from blizzard
Last Updated: Tuesday, February 20, 2007 CBC News
Homeowners tackled shoulder-height drifts as crews tried to clear highways and major roads, in the wake of a blizzard that brought eastern Newfoundland to a halt Tuesday.A man shovels out after Newfoundland was walloped with snow on Tuesday, shutting down schools and services even snowplows in eastern parts of the island.(CBC) The blizzard, which started Monday afternoon, continued blowing at full strength through Tuesday morning.The storm dropped more than 30 centimetres of snow in places, but high winds which topped 110 km/h gave the blizzard its punch.
The winds also befuddled crews who worked hard to keep even major roads passable.You're constantly going around and around and around, George Smith, a plow operator with the City of St. John's, said Tuesday morning.You go through your area [and] when you get back it's like you never got through it, because the wind is drifting it all back in again.Whiteout conditions prompted police to urge motorists to stay off the roads in Newfoundland on Tuesday. (CBC) Conditions late Monday and early Tuesday were so treacherous that government plows were pulled off highways. Parts of the Trans-Canada Highway were closed as crews set to work.
The blizzard cancelled flights, closed schools and shut down most normal activities in eastern Newfoundland. Blizzard warnings remained in effect from the Avalon Peninsula to the Bonavista Peninsula until late Tuesday morning.Most schools in the area were closed. In St. John's, provincial government offices, including courts, shut for the day. Numerous agencies, services and businesses closed for at least the morning.Metrobus, which operates the transit system in St. John's, pulled its buses off city roads on Tuesday. Early in the day, even many taxis stayed off St. John's streets.The main road is clear to the hospital that's what they're trying to do, CBC Television's Peter Gullage reported Tuesday morning.Side streets are closed.… Nobody is going anywhere today.
Roads around the St. John's area were dotted with vehicles that had become stuck and been temporarily abandoned.The storm had passed by Tuesday afternoon, giving way to partly cloudy skies and the hum of snowblowers and panting shovellers.It's terrible I'm getting too old for this, said Bill Whittle, 72, as he tackled a five-foot-high drift in his driveway with a shovel. I told my wife this morning this is my last winter here anyway. It's either a condo or an apartment somewhere, you know. It's too much.
No end to deadly Bolivian floods FEB 20,07 BBC
Many communities are completely cut off by the floods .At least 35 people have died and 10 are missing in Bolivia as a result of floods caused by months of heavy rain. Up to 340,000 people are estimated to have been affected, as water levels continue to rise in eastern areas. Roads in the worst-hit departments of Santa Cruz and Beni have been blocked by mudslides, hampering relief efforts.
The government has declared a state of emergency and is appealing for international aid. Two months of heavy rain have been blamed on what has become known as the El Nino effect, an occasional seasonal warming of parts of the Pacific Ocean. Local authorities in the worst-hit areas say many communities have been completely cut off by the floods, and it has been impossible to get aid to them. The governor of Beni has called for helicopters to help distribute food. Ernesto Suarez Sattori said the situation was critical and could get worse in the next five days.
Surprising Solar Storms Rage at Sun’s South Pole (Space.com)
By Ker Than Staff Writer posted: 20 February 2007 12:35 pm ET
Relatively calm weather was the standard forecast for the Sun, which is near the end of another 11-year solar cycle, but raging solar storms just spotted at its south pole now tell a different story.
At the start of a solar cycle, sunspots regions on the Sun marked by cooler temperatures and intense magnetic activity tend to appear near the poles and move towards the equator as the cycle concludes.Scientists were therefore surprised when Ulysses [image], a joint European Space Agency (ESA) and NASA spacecraft currently embarking on its third tour around the Sun [image] since launch in 1990, spotted intense solar storms near the Sun’s south pole. Solar storms are energetic explosions on the surface of the Sun caused by solar flares or coronal mass ejections, both of which tend to occur near sunspots.
Video: Beneath a Sunspot
Particle events of this kind were seen during the second polar passes in 2000 and 2001, at solar maximum, said Richard Marsden, ESA’s Ulysses Project Scientist and Mission Manager. We certainly didn’t expect to see them at higher latitudes at solar minimum.Ulysses also found that the Sun’s south pole is currently cooler than its north pole. This is a reversal from 10 years ago, when the northern polar coronal hole was about 7 to 8 percent lower than the southern one. Coronal holes are like bald spots on the Sun: they are regions in the Sun’s upper atmosphere, called the corona, where there is less heated gas than average. During solar minimum, coronal holes are mainly found at the Sun’s polar regions; during solar maximum, they can be located anywhere.This implies that the asymmetry between north and south has switched with the change of the magnetic polarity of the Sun, said George Gloeckler, Principal Investigator for the Solar Wind Ion Composition Spectrometer (SWICS) aboard Ulysses.The Sun’s magnetic field consists of a north pole, where the field flows out of the Sun, and a south pole, where the field re-enters. During solar maximum, when the Sun’s activity is at a peak in its 11-year cycle [image], the poles exchange places.
Rain and mountain snow Far West Thursday Senior Meteorologist, The Weather Channel FEB 21,07
West
Rain and mountain snow will dampen much of the Far West tomorrow, from the Pacific Northwest and western Montana southward to Southern California (with the exception of the deserts). Much of the precipitation will be showery in nature, but a heavy, steady snow is likely in the Sierras, as is a soaking rain for much of central and Southern California. Travel over Siskiyou Summit on I-5 in extreme southern Oregon will continue to be slowed by snow. And pushing over Donner Summit (I-80) in the Sierras may become difficult, too. Snow levels in the Sierras will drop to 4000 feet or less by late in the day; and in the mountains north of L. A., to 5000 feet or less. High temperatures are predicted to range from the 30s and 40s in much of the Northwest and Montana to the 80s in southwest Arizona.
Northeast
A vigorous little clipper storm will scoot through the Northeast tomorrow bearing rain and snow. Accumulating snow, several inches, is likely in much of Upstate New York and probably Vermont's Green Mountains. Elsewhere, only light snow or a mix of rain and snow showers is expected. Much of Maine and Virginia, however, may escape any precipitation at all. Cold, blustery winds will set in behind the clipper late tomorrow and tomorrow night. Light snow may accompany the gusty winds tomorrow night, especially in parts of New York state and central and southern New England. During the day tomorrow, high temperatures are expected to range from the 20s in far northern New York and northern New England to the 60s in southeast Virginia. Maxima in the 30s will prevail in southern New York, much of Pennsylvania and southern New England.
Midwest
Gusty northwest winds in the wake of a fast-moving clipper storm will sweep over much of the Midwest tomorrow. Scattered snow showers and flurries will whip over areas from the Arrowhead of Minnesota into Michigan and Ohio. Temperatures will be noticeably lower than today's with highs ranging from the upper teens in far northeast North Dakota to the low 60s in extreme southern Kansas and a sliver of southwest Missouri. Maxima around the Great Lakes will be in the 20s and 30s, north
to south.
South
A spring-loaded day is on tap for the South tomorrow. Fore! and service! will be frequently heard words. Temperatures are expected to soar well above late February averages under the influence of abundant sunshine. Highs in the 60s and 70s will be widespread. Readings in the 50s should be confined to northern Tennessee. On the other end of the scale, maxima in the low 80s are possible in the Big Bend country of Texas and in locations near Laredo, Texas, and Miami, Florida.
US Iran attack plans revealed BBC FEB 20,07
USS John C Stennis is being deployed to the Persian Gulf
US contingency plans for air strikes on Iran extend beyond nuclear sites and include most of the country's military infrastructure, the BBC has learned. It is understood that any such attack - if ordered - would target Iranian air bases, naval bases, missile facilities and command-and-control centres. The US insists it is not planning to attack, and is trying to persuade Tehran to stop uranium enrichment. The UN has urged Iran to stop the programme or face economic sanctions. But diplomatic sources have told the BBC that as a fallback plan, senior officials at Central Command in Florida have already selected their target sets inside Iran. That list includes Iran's uranium enrichment plant at Natanz. Facilities at Isfahan, Arak and Bushehr are also on the target list, the sources say.
Two triggers
BBC security correspondent Frank Gardner says the trigger for such an attack reportedly includes any confirmation that Iran was developing a nuclear weapon - which it denies.
The Natanz plant is buried under concrete, metal and earth .Alternatively, our correspondent adds, a high-casualty attack on US forces in neighbouring Iraq could also trigger a bombing campaign if it were traced directly back to Tehran. Long range B2 stealth bombers would drop so-called bunker-busting bombs in an effort to penetrate the Natanz site, which is buried some 25m (27 yards) underground. The BBC's Tehran correspondent Frances Harrison says the news that there are now two possible triggers for an attack is a concern to Iranians. Authorities insist there is no cause for alarm but ordinary people are now becoming a little worried, she says.
Deadline
Earlier this month US officers in Iraq said they had evidence Iran was providing weapons to Iraqi Shia militias. However the most senior US military officer later cast doubt on this, saying that they only had proof that weapons made in Iran were being used in Iraq. Gen Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said he did not know that the Iranian government clearly knows or is complicit in this. At the time, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the accusations were excuses to prolong the stay of US forces in Iraq.
Middle East analysts have recently voiced their fears of catastrophic consequences for any such US attack on Iran. Britain's previous ambassador to Tehran, Sir Richard Dalton, told the BBC it would backfire badly by probably encouraging the Iranian government to develop a nuclear weapon in the long term. Last year Iran resumed uranium enrichment - a process that can make fuel for power stations or, if greatly enriched, material for a nuclear bomb. Tehran insists its programme is for civil use only, but Western countries suspect Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The UN Security Council has called on Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium by 21 February. If it does not, and if the International Atomic Energy Agency confirms this, the resolution says that further economic sanctions will be considered.
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
NHS pays too much to drug firms
By Robert Peston Business Editor, BBC News FEB 21,07
The OFT will announce its findings on Tuesday The NHS is paying drug companies hundreds of millions of pounds too much for branded medicines, according to the Office of Fair Trading. Since September 2005, the competition watchdog has been investigating the system by which the Department of Health buys £7bn of branded medicines. It has concluded the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) should be overhauled, the BBC has learned. The OFT has found the scheme does not allow the NHS to get the best prices. The OFT will present its conclusions to the Department of Health and the prime minister on Tuesday. Because they are likely to affect the share prices of the UK's leading drug companies, they will be released to the Stock Exchange at 0700 GMT.
Cap on profits
The Department of Health does not have to accept the OFT's recommendations, but it is highly unlikely to reject them, given that hundreds of millions of pounds of public money are at stake.
However there is likely to be a blazing row with the major drug companies, who frequently complain that the NHS does not spend enough on their products. The PPRS sets a cap on the profits that each drug company can earn on its annual sales of branded medicines to the NHS. It is a voluntary scheme negotiated every five years between the Department of Health and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry. The price paid by the NHS for drugs is used by as a benchmark by health services in other countries, but they frequently insist on paying less than the NHS pays.
Expensive research
But a dire warning is likely to come from the pharmaceutical industry. UK drug companies are world beaters, which is not true of all British business.
Those drug companies are likely to argue that their continued success depends on their being properly rewarded for very expensive and risky scientific research. A statement from the Department of Health said: It is important that we have fair prices which give value for money to the taxpayer.However, we recognise the importance of the pharmaceutical industry to healthcare and the development of medical advances and it is in all of our interests to encourage research and reward innovation.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE)
82 killed in Congo cholera epidemic Mon Feb 19, 12:23 PM ET
BRAZZAVILLE (AFP) - Eighty-two people have died in a cholera epidemic in the Republic of Congo, according to figures from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
The outbreak was officially declared at the end of January in Pointe-Noire, the economic heart of the Congo located in the southwest, and has since spread to the capital, Brazzaville.Figures released by UNICEF Monday compiled from data from local health authorities found that 4,077 people in Pointe-Noire had contracted cholera by February 14, of whom 61 died.North of the town, in the Kouilou area, 106 people have been recorded with cholera, of whom seven died, and in Brazzaville, 14 people have died, and a further 46 have been infected, UNICEF said.A previous survey by the Congolese health ministry, published on February 8, said 65 people had died from the epidemic.Although the number of new cases has reduced markedly in Pointe-Noire and Brazzaville in the last few days, UNICEF warned the disease had appeared in the Mindouli area, between the two towns.
Despite a fall in the fatalities, which shows the good performance of the care of those (infected) cases, it is important to note that the epidemic continues to develop in terms of the number of new registered cases, UNICEF said in its last report on the progress of the disease.Cholera is an intestinal infection caused by a bacteria present in water and dirty food. It causes severe diarrhoea and vomiting
that results in rapid dehydration and can be fatal if not treated.
Hamas Being Asked to Accept Conditions - Just Like Arafat Did
by Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 21,07
Hamas is the winner of this summit, because the sense of this policy is that Hamas is being accepted as a legitimate partner for dialogue. Yoram Ettinger, an expert on U.S.-Israel relations, opines that visiting U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice has the mistaken conception that the Israel-PA issue will affect the fate of US efforts against Iran. She wants concessions from both sides, Ettinger said.
A former liaison for Congressional affairs in Israel's Washington embassy, Ettinger spoke with Arutz-7's Yigal Shok following the three-way meetings of Rice, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Fatah chairman Abbas in Jerusalem yesterday (Monday). The end result is the status quo; nothing has changed, Ettinger said. Secretary Rice still hopes that Israel and Fatah will come closer and make concessions to each other, because what's important to her is not the Palestinian issue but the situation in Iraq and Iran; she feels mistakenly, in my opinion - that the Palestinian subject is the heart of everything and causes all the shocks in the Middle East and can determine the effectiveness of any coalition against Iran.
Hamas Must Merely Make Verbal Commitments
However, he said, Hamas is the winner of this summit, because the sense of this policy is that Hamas is being accepted as a legitimate partner for dialogue. Just like when Arafat as if recognized Israel, and as if abandoned the path of terrorism even though the last 13 years have shown that this was not at all true and now Secretary Rice is trying to get Hamas to do the same thing! Israel is going along as well. All they are asking is that Hamas 'commit itself' to the Quartet conditions. But we have received the same things in the past, and what did we gain? Abu Mazen is now portrayed as a leader of peace' merely for his words. The fact that his commitments are not being implemented in practice is a different story.The purpose of Rice's visit was to rush up the establishment of a Palestinian state and to bring Israel to uproot Jewish communities in Yesha [Judea and Samaria], Ettinger said but this plan failed because of the Mecca summit and the current I emphasize, current problematic stance of Hamas. Rice's anticipations were great, but the reality was not quite that way.Ettinger emphasized that the Israeli political leadership has come around to Rice's way of thinking, namely, that Israel must withdraw to the pre-Six Day War borders and enable the establishment of a Palestinian state. This is either because Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzippy Livny actually believe this, or because they feel that there is no choice but to dance according to the tune of the State Department even though this is not necessarily the stance of President Bush, and certainly not of Vice President Cheney and the Congress. This shows a genuine lack of understanding on the part of our leaders regarding what goes on in the U.S. and the true status of the Secretary of State.
House of Representatives set to vote on hate crimes giving homosexuals special rights FEB 21,07
Contact Your Representative In Opposition to HR 254 Today!
Dear Stan,
The U.S. House of Representatives will soon vote on HR 254, which establishes hate crime legislation. HR 254 will create new special rights for homosexuals under the guise of enhancing law enforcement. It would make sexual orientation a protected class alongside race, religion and gender.
The only way this bill can be defeated is with a real grassroots uprising by those who care about the future of their children, families and marriages! The intent of this law is to force the acceptance and approval of homosexuality on every American, regardless of their religious views. Here is a short summaryof HR254.
http://www.cwfa.org/articledisplay.asp?id=9672&department=CFI&categoryid=papers
Here is a partial list of what homosexual activists are trying to force on every American. While HR 254 will not, in and of itself, accomplish these goals, it will open the door to such regulations. Once the elephant gets its trunk under the tent, the way is open for the elephant to move inside and do whatever he wants. Preaching that homosexuality is a sin from the pulpit will result in the preacher being charged with hate speech.Churches will have their tax-exempt status revoked if they oppose homosexuality.Homosexual marriage will be legalized and recognized in all states.Polygamy will be legalized.Landlords will be forced to rent to homosexuals.Scouts, and all non-profit organizations, will be required to hire homosexuals as leaders.Biblical language used to define homosexuality will be considered hate speech. City officials have already had a billboard removed in Long Island, NY, because it was classified as hate speech. The billboard read: If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. (Leviticus 20:13)
Employees will not be allowed to say anything negative about homosexuality in their workplaces. Classes promoting the homosexual lifestyle will be included in school curricula beginning with the lower grades.Employers will be forced to hire homosexuals.Adoption by homosexuals will be legalized in every state. Let me say again: HR 254 will not, in and of itself, accomplish everything the homosexual activist’s desire. But it is the first step is to position their cause where they can achieve all their goals. If they are successful with HR 254, rest assured they will pursue their next goal and will not stop until they achieve all their goals.
Take Action
Send the e-mail to your representative urging him or her to vote AGAINST HR 254. It all boils down to who is dedicated to their cause more homosexual activists or Christians. Right now the homosexual activists are winning.Please forward this to all your friends and family. The only way to stop this onslaught on Christian values and Christianity is a national uprising against HR 254, saying enough is enough! Click Here to Email Your Representative Now!
http://www3.capwiz.com/afanet/issues/alert/?alertid=9395716
If you think our efforts are worthy, would you please support us with a small gift? Thank you for caring enough to get involved.
Sincerely, Donald E. Wildmon, Founder and Chairman
American Family Association
Temple Mount Re-Opened to Jews
by Hillel Fendel (INN) FEB 21,07
Israeli excavation works at the Rambam (Mughrabi) Gate ramp leading from the Western Wall plaza to the Temple Mount evoked Arab rioting and criticism of Israel by Arab leaders. Despite Israeli explanations and photos showing that the work had nothing to do with the Temple Mount, Arabs continue to accuse Israel of attempting to destroy the mosques at the site. The instigation came to a climax 12 days ago, when dozens of Arabs and police were injured in rock-throwing clashes and rioting.Now that calm has been restored in the area, and in the wake of strong pressure by Jewish groups, the police have once again opened the Temple Mount to Jewish visitors. The hours are as restricted as before: between 7:30 and 10:30 in the morning, and between 12:30 and 1:30 in the early afternoon. At other times, Jews continue to be forbidden to frequent the holy site.
Rabbis are split over whether Jews are permitted to ascend to the site of the Holy Temples the site the Torah considers to be the holiest in the world. All agree that there are areas on the Mount that are forbidden for entry to those who are impure namely, everyone, until the Parah Adumah (Red Heifer) purification ceremony can be performed. However, some rabbis say that because the precise location of those areas is not entirely clear, and because of the fear that some Jews might not even care to find out, the entire Mount area must be forbidden for public entry. Other rabbis say that following careful research and based on archaeological evidence, the forbidden areas can be mapped out, and that proper Jewish-legal precautions, including immersing in a ritual bath before visiting, can and must be taken to prevent errant wandering. These rabbis feel that there is an important national/religious value in visiting the site and perpetuating Jewish national bonds with the site, as opposed to abandoning it to the Moslems.
The monthly March Around the Temple Mount Gates, which is held every Rosh Chodesh (the first day of each Hebrew month), was canceled by police earlier this week, at the beginning of the month of Adar. This, despite or because of the fact that thousands of Jews were expected to show up. As a result, however, a large amount of public pressure was brought to bear by MK Uri Ariel and the Temple Mount organizations.The police then permitted an alternate event this past Sunday evening.
Hundreds of Jews who managed to find out of the change in plans showed up outside the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount. Foreign media often confuse the Western Wall with the Mount it supports, thus giving more credence to Moslem claims than Jewish ones.Kiryat Arba's Chief Rabbi Dov Lior, Chairman of the Yesha Rabbis Council and a leading Halakhic source on Temple Mount matters, told the assembled, The increase of terrorism and anti-Semitism in Israel and around the world stems from our neglect of and weakness regarding the Temple Mount.
The fact that the Mount is closed whenever our enemies begin threatening, and that the hours in which we may ascend are so limited, and that we may not pray there or build a synagogue all this reflects weakness and lack of Jewish control over the most sacred site to the entire Jewish nation.Regarding Moslem claims that the Jews are planning to rebuild the Temple, Rabbi Lior said, I wish this was the case... Plans should be made and the public should be prepared for the building of the Third Temple.
The Mount, not the Wall
He emphasized that the sanctity of the Western Wall, which surrounds and supports the Temple Mount area in which the Holy Temple was built and will be rebuilt, is tens of times less than that of the Mount itself. This must be understood within the Jewish public, and first and foremost, within the religious public.Rabbi David Dudkevich of Yitzhar also addressed the crowd, musician Ariel Zilber provided musical entertainment, and a giant video screen showed an exhibit regarding historic Jewish rights to the Temple Mount, and pictures showing how the Mount looked, looks and will look in the future. Foreign media often confuse the Western Wall with the Mount it supports, thus giving more credence to Moslem claims than Jewish ones. BBC, for instance, in a photo-report on the area posted today, writes, The Temple Mount or Haram al-Sharif is the most important religious site in Jerusalem.
Its Western Wall is the holiest site in Judaism.
In another report, Reuters refers to the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site. Two days ago, however, an AP report corrected this impression by writing that the Mount is Judaism's holiest site, having housed the biblical Jewish temples. The report adds, Jews have gathered for centuries to pray outside the compound at the Western Wall, a remnant of the ancient compound.
Rise In Western Aliyah In 2006
by Hana Levi Julian (INN) FEB 21,07
Immigration to Israel from several key countries increased in 2006 as compared to 2005. A report released Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) revealed a slight rise in the number of immigrants coming from English-speaking countries, with the highest percentage arriving from North America. According to the report, 11.2% of the new olim [immigrants] in 2006 came from North America, an increase over the previous year, in which they comprised 9.7% of new immigrants. CBS statistics indicated that a total of 2,157 North American Jews immigrated in 2006, as opposed to 2,045 the year before. A similar trend was seen from Great Britain whose Jews comprised 3.2% of aliyah in 2006, an increase of 1.3% over 2005. In 2006, 595 British Jews came to live in Israel, as compared to 383 in 2005.
From Ethiopia as well, more Jews came home to Israel in 2006.
The new olim, numbering 3,595, comprised 18.7% of all immigrants, as opposed to 3,571 in 2005. Jewish and non-Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union dropped in numbers by 3.9% as compared to 2005. The former USSR nationals, who still comprise the lions share of total immigration to the Jewish State 66.7 percent in 2006, included people from Asian, Eastern European, Russian and Ukrainian countries. Of those, 32.1% came from Eastern Europe. Taking into account the mixed Jewish and non-Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union, the total immigration figures dropped to its lowest levels since 1988, with less than 20,000 people choosing to live in the Jewish State, a drop of nine percent over 2005.
Rome concerned over Blair's exit impact for EU constitution talks
21.02.2007 - 09:29 CET | By Lucia Kubosova (EuObserver)
Italian and Spanish leaders have voiced their full support for salvaging the EU constitution, indicating they could join Germany as the big country frontrunners pushing for the charter's revival. Meeting on the Balearic island of Ibiza on Tuesday (20 February), Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi and his Spanish counterpart Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero praised the current German EU presidency for trying to move from a phase of stagnation to a time of initiative on the European constitution.The document, originally signed by all member states, was put on ice after its rejection by French and Dutch voters in spring 2005 but is now back on the political agenda.German chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to come up with a timetable for negotiation of a way out of the constitutional impasse and present it to the whole union in June.
Mr Prodi and Mr Zapatero representing two of the 18 countries that have ratified the charter called for a solution which would preserve the essence of the existing text along with minimum changes making it acceptable to states that have not yet ratified it, according to press reports. Our goal is to maintain the essential idea of achieving a more united and efficient Europe with new ways of working, the Spanish leader said.The new EU constitution streamlines all the previous treaties and introduces changes that are seen as making the enlarged bloc more effective and transparent, such as a simpler voting system and a permanent presidency instead of the current six-month rotating system.
Clouds over June summit
Berlin has launched a series of confidential talks with government officials to find out where the problem areas are with Mrs Merkel planning to present the revival plan at the EU's June summit just before Portugal takes over the bloc's chair.But while European leaders are set to be joined at the meeting by a new French president the winner of the April and May elections it could also be the last Brussels session for the UK's Prime Minister Tony Blair.The British leader has announced he will step down from office before the new parliamentary elections in his country, with finance minister Gordon Brown most likely to replace him, leading other countries to speculate on what this will mean for the constitution negotiations.Italian interior minister Giuliano Amato said the June summit would probably not produce more than a mandate for a future inter-governmental conference on a new treaty.
One of the reasons why I'm not sure whether this dream of mine might come true in June is the British transition, because the British prime minister on that occasion might meet some difficulty committing his country for the future, Mr Amato said at the London School of Economics on Tuesday (20 February), according to Reuters.People are not ready as yet to come out with their real arguments. So there is a general goodwill in restoring the debate and see[ing] where we can go from here, but the final destination is still in my view obscure, he added.Mr Amato said the UK's position is crucial for Europe, stressing These islands are an essential part of Europe. They should stop thinking of themselves as the Highlanders. Like it or not, they [the British] are Europeans.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
UN TO POISON PEOPLE CONTROL FOOD
UN TO POISON PEOPLE THROUGH CODEX BILL ON JAN 01,2010
I got the site on mine just before the A's start under UN to Poison people.
THE UN HAS TO GO FOLKS WE ARE IN FOR BIG TROUBLE IF IT DOES NOT FOLD.
Codex Alimentarius Summarized in 7 Points
HealthFreedomUSA.org, the website of the Natural Solutions Foundation, is beholden to no one: our only interest is health freedom. Rima E. Laibow, MD, successful natural medicine physician since the 1970s, has studied 16,000 pages of Codex documentation. Her conclusion is that people who say that Codex is consumer protection, voluntary, or harmless are, at best, seriously mistaken.
1) Started in 1962 by UN, Imposed by WTO Sanctions
Codex Alimentarius was created in 1962 as a trade Commission by the UN to control the international trade of food. Its initial intentions may have been altruistic but it has been taken over by corporate interests, most notably the pharmaceutical, pesticide, biotechnology and chemical industries.Codex Alimentarius is backed up by the crippling trade sanctions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Any non Codex-compliant nation would face huge economic punishment since they would automatically lose in any food-trade dispute with a Codex compliant country.
2) Nutrients are Toxins Is Junk Science
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has two committees which impact nutrition.One of them, the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), is chaired by Dr. Rolf Grossklaus, a physician who believes that nutrition has no role in health.
This is the top-guy for Codex nutritional policy, and he has stated that nutrition is not relevant to health.As unbelievable as it may sound, Dr. Grossklaus actually declared nutrients to be toxins in 1994 and instituted the use of toxicology (Risk Assessment) to prevent nutrients from having any impact on humans who take supplements! It is worth mentioning that Dr. Grossklaus happens to own the Risk Assessment company advising CCNFSDU and Codex on this issue. This company makes money when its toxicology services are used for the assessment of nutrients. Here in the U.S. we call that a conflict of interest.
Codex is made up of thousands of standards and guidelines. One of them, the Vitamin and Mineral Guideline (VMG), is designed to permit only ultra low doses of vitamins and minerals (and make clinically effective nutrients illegal). How can the VMG restrict dosages of vitamins and minerals? By using Risk Assessment (toxicology) to assess nutrients.While Risk Assessment is a legitimate science (it is a branch of toxicology), it is the wrong science for assessing nutrients! In fact, in this context, it is actually junk science. Biochemistry, the science of life processes, is the correct science for assessing nutrients. Codex Alimentarius treats nutrients as toxins, which is literally insane.
Nutrients are not toxins - they are essential for life.
No matter what Codex Alimentarius officials say to convince you that Risk Assessment is a science-based approach to nutrients, it is not.And it is worth repeating that Dr. Grossklaus, the head of Codex Alimentarius, owns the Risk Assessment company advising CCNFSDU and Codex on the benefit of using Risk Assessment to assess nutrients.
3) Not Consumer Protection - That’s Propaganda
Contrary to the propaganda, Codex Alimentarius has nothing to do with consumer protection. Nothing! Codex is about the economic ambitions of multi-national corporations, in particular, the pharmaceutical industry.Using their multi billion-dollar marketing budgets, these industries have launched a massive media propaganda campaign to paint Codex Alimentarius as a benevolent tool of consumer protection, as well as to negatively taint the image of natural health options and mislead people to fear them as dangerous, so they will take drugs (which really are dangerous). Natural health products and options have an amazing safety record and are remarkably effective, especially when compared to pharmaceutical drugs.
Unfortunately, one-time defenders of health freedom such as National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) and Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) have joined the propaganda bandwagon and are spreading false information saying that Codex Alimentarius is either harmless or benevolent consumer protection. Neither is true.
The membership of these one-time defenders of health freedom has become permeated by people from the pharmaceutical industry (for example, CRN counts as its members corporations such as Monsanto and Bayer).
4) Codex: Serious Threat to Health and Health Freedom
If Codex Alimentarius is implemented in the United States of America, therapeutic dosages of vitamins and minerals (and all other nutrients soon to follow) will become unavailable because they will literally become illegal.
Here’s how it would work, in a nut-shell:
Due to the junk science use of Risk Assessment (toxicology) to assess supposedly toxic nutrients, a false belief is being engineered saying that nutritional supplements are dangerous to people’s health.Using this false belief generates calls to protect people from these toxic nutrients.
After the calls come the bills to set ultra low permissible dosages (remember, nutrients are deemed dangerous toxins under this false belief). If enough of us and our Congressional delegates buy this nonsense, we and Congress would blindly comply with Codex Alimentarius’ VMG. And blind compliance is what the industries behind Codex Alimentarius intend.Blind compliance goes hand-in-hand with lack of activism. This lack of activism allows our protective laws, classifying nutrients as foods with no upper limits (such as DSHEA), to be easily repealed and replaced with draconian laws to classify nutrients as toxins. And harmonization with the pro-illness, pro-pharmaceutical industry Vitamin and Mineral Guideline is there to fill the void.
Only intentionally ineffective, ultra low dose supplements would be legal, with or without a prescription, on the VMG list. If enough people do not take action, we can expect to watch nutritional supplement manufacturers and, thus health food stores, to go out of business, in a domino effect.
The only player left standing would be Big Pharma.Therapeutic grade vitamins, minerals, and amino acids would be eliminated from the marketplace (although a few low-dose supplements would be allowed by Codex, as a symbolic measure to avoid suspicion about their ulterior motive).Natural health professionals would lose the tools of their trade (nutritional supplements) and health conscious people would be unable to choose natural health options for health promotion and disease treatment.
And that is, in a nutshell, how Codex Alimentarius is poised to make Natural and Nutritional Medicine (NNM) disappear from the legal health world and go underground. Who benefits? Big Pharma.It would take a few years for the above scenarios to be feasible (Codex Alimentarius is meant to go into full global effect by 2010). The slower the process takes, the less alarmed people will be. That’s probably the logic of the architects of Codex Alimentarius.
5) Serves Economic Interests of Sickness Industries Through WTO and Napoleonic Code
More and more people are turning to natural health products globally. The wellness trend is a major trend in today’s society. The more natural health products people use, the fewer drugs they buy. The pharmaceutical industry, which is part of the Sickness Industry, fears the inevitable shift toward natural health care.Instead of accepting the will of the people and rethinking the future of the pharmaceutical industry, the industry has decided upon an unethical course of action: the use of
deception and deceit to eliminate natural health products completely.Codex Alimentarius is a shrewd vehicle for protecting the pharmaceutical industry from the loss of income it stands to suffer due to the inevitable growth of natural healthcare.Codex Alimentarius is the resistance of the dinosaurs to inevitability: the burgeoning desire of humanity for a healthier, saner, and more sustainable way of life.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) intends to force Codex Alimentarius upon the nations of the world, including the U.S. This would be done under the threat of massive economic sanctions if WTO-countries do not comply with Codex Alimentarius. Furthermore, Codex is based in the Napoleonic Code, not Common Law. That means that under Codex Alimentarius, anything not explicitly permitted is forbidden. Under Common Law, we hold that anything not explicitly forbidden is permitted.
The difference is the difference between health freedom and health tyranny. Codex
Alimentarius would be able to ban supplements by default.
6) DSHEA Protects America From Codex Alimentarius
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA, 1994), an American law classifying our supplements and herbs as foods (which can have no upper limit set on their use), was passed by unanimous Congressional consent following massive grass-roots support organized by health food stores. Millions of American activists told Congress, in no uncertain terms:Protect nutritional supplements as foods or we will remove you from office.
Congress listened and carried out the will of the people.
DSHEA appropriately classifies nutritional supplements as foods which can have no upper limits set on their use. DSHEA recognizes that people use nutrients safely to deal with their individually differing needs for nutrients. The concept of biochemical individuality means that people have different needs for nutrients at different times. Are nutrients toxins? No, they are not toxins. They are substances
essential to prevent, treat and cure any chronic condition, in differing doses at different times in different people.DSHEA protects the US from Codex Alimentarius’ deadly Vitamin and Mineral Guideline. We must reach our Congressional members, educate them about the facts on Codex Alimentarius and direct them to vote against anything that would threaten DSHEA.Congress holds the keys to our health freedom. And it is their job to listen to us. Let’s not allow cynicism to tell us otherwise. We did it for DSHEA in 1994. We can do it again in 2005.
7) Your Action is Needed Now!
DSHEA is under significant legislative attack right now. Your letter-writing is crucial: if the members of Congress know that voting against health freedom means losing their jobs come election time, they will listen. Our job is to make sure they get the message loud and clear. Take action via our 3 easy steps and send personalized emails to Congress right now.
After taking action on HealthFreedomUSA.org, consider getting together with others in your area and visit your Congressional members in their home offices. If we wait, we lose our health freedoms. Once we HARMonize with Codex, by the way, we no longer have the right, while we belong to the WTO, to repeal or change that HARMonization!
Conclusion
The objective of the pro-Codex Alimentarius multi nationals is to boil the frog slowly so that we do not wake up to it in time to avoid Codex.Once we have HARMonize to Codex Alimentarius, as long as we are in the WTO, we cannot amend or change what we’ve been HARMonize to.Codex Alimentarius will go into global implementation by December 31, 2009, unless We, the People, avert it. We must act now because right now, with $758 Million spent on declared Congressional lobbying by Big Pharma last year, there are members of Congress who are trying to overturn DSHEA and allow Pharma-friendly free reign for Codex. If protective laws like DSHEA are destroyed, the sanctioning power of the autocratic WTO kicks in, and it will be impossible to get out from under Codex Alimentarius. We can protect our access to high potency nutrients and stave off an adulterated food supply only by putting pressure on Congress.
I got the site on mine just before the A's start under UN to Poison people.
THE UN HAS TO GO FOLKS WE ARE IN FOR BIG TROUBLE IF IT DOES NOT FOLD.
Codex Alimentarius Summarized in 7 Points
HealthFreedomUSA.org, the website of the Natural Solutions Foundation, is beholden to no one: our only interest is health freedom. Rima E. Laibow, MD, successful natural medicine physician since the 1970s, has studied 16,000 pages of Codex documentation. Her conclusion is that people who say that Codex is consumer protection, voluntary, or harmless are, at best, seriously mistaken.
1) Started in 1962 by UN, Imposed by WTO Sanctions
Codex Alimentarius was created in 1962 as a trade Commission by the UN to control the international trade of food. Its initial intentions may have been altruistic but it has been taken over by corporate interests, most notably the pharmaceutical, pesticide, biotechnology and chemical industries.Codex Alimentarius is backed up by the crippling trade sanctions of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Any non Codex-compliant nation would face huge economic punishment since they would automatically lose in any food-trade dispute with a Codex compliant country.
2) Nutrients are Toxins Is Junk Science
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) has two committees which impact nutrition.One of them, the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU), is chaired by Dr. Rolf Grossklaus, a physician who believes that nutrition has no role in health.
This is the top-guy for Codex nutritional policy, and he has stated that nutrition is not relevant to health.As unbelievable as it may sound, Dr. Grossklaus actually declared nutrients to be toxins in 1994 and instituted the use of toxicology (Risk Assessment) to prevent nutrients from having any impact on humans who take supplements! It is worth mentioning that Dr. Grossklaus happens to own the Risk Assessment company advising CCNFSDU and Codex on this issue. This company makes money when its toxicology services are used for the assessment of nutrients. Here in the U.S. we call that a conflict of interest.
Codex is made up of thousands of standards and guidelines. One of them, the Vitamin and Mineral Guideline (VMG), is designed to permit only ultra low doses of vitamins and minerals (and make clinically effective nutrients illegal). How can the VMG restrict dosages of vitamins and minerals? By using Risk Assessment (toxicology) to assess nutrients.While Risk Assessment is a legitimate science (it is a branch of toxicology), it is the wrong science for assessing nutrients! In fact, in this context, it is actually junk science. Biochemistry, the science of life processes, is the correct science for assessing nutrients. Codex Alimentarius treats nutrients as toxins, which is literally insane.
Nutrients are not toxins - they are essential for life.
No matter what Codex Alimentarius officials say to convince you that Risk Assessment is a science-based approach to nutrients, it is not.And it is worth repeating that Dr. Grossklaus, the head of Codex Alimentarius, owns the Risk Assessment company advising CCNFSDU and Codex on the benefit of using Risk Assessment to assess nutrients.
3) Not Consumer Protection - That’s Propaganda
Contrary to the propaganda, Codex Alimentarius has nothing to do with consumer protection. Nothing! Codex is about the economic ambitions of multi-national corporations, in particular, the pharmaceutical industry.Using their multi billion-dollar marketing budgets, these industries have launched a massive media propaganda campaign to paint Codex Alimentarius as a benevolent tool of consumer protection, as well as to negatively taint the image of natural health options and mislead people to fear them as dangerous, so they will take drugs (which really are dangerous). Natural health products and options have an amazing safety record and are remarkably effective, especially when compared to pharmaceutical drugs.
Unfortunately, one-time defenders of health freedom such as National Nutritional Foods Association (NNFA) and Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) have joined the propaganda bandwagon and are spreading false information saying that Codex Alimentarius is either harmless or benevolent consumer protection. Neither is true.
The membership of these one-time defenders of health freedom has become permeated by people from the pharmaceutical industry (for example, CRN counts as its members corporations such as Monsanto and Bayer).
4) Codex: Serious Threat to Health and Health Freedom
If Codex Alimentarius is implemented in the United States of America, therapeutic dosages of vitamins and minerals (and all other nutrients soon to follow) will become unavailable because they will literally become illegal.
Here’s how it would work, in a nut-shell:
Due to the junk science use of Risk Assessment (toxicology) to assess supposedly toxic nutrients, a false belief is being engineered saying that nutritional supplements are dangerous to people’s health.Using this false belief generates calls to protect people from these toxic nutrients.
After the calls come the bills to set ultra low permissible dosages (remember, nutrients are deemed dangerous toxins under this false belief). If enough of us and our Congressional delegates buy this nonsense, we and Congress would blindly comply with Codex Alimentarius’ VMG. And blind compliance is what the industries behind Codex Alimentarius intend.Blind compliance goes hand-in-hand with lack of activism. This lack of activism allows our protective laws, classifying nutrients as foods with no upper limits (such as DSHEA), to be easily repealed and replaced with draconian laws to classify nutrients as toxins. And harmonization with the pro-illness, pro-pharmaceutical industry Vitamin and Mineral Guideline is there to fill the void.
Only intentionally ineffective, ultra low dose supplements would be legal, with or without a prescription, on the VMG list. If enough people do not take action, we can expect to watch nutritional supplement manufacturers and, thus health food stores, to go out of business, in a domino effect.
The only player left standing would be Big Pharma.Therapeutic grade vitamins, minerals, and amino acids would be eliminated from the marketplace (although a few low-dose supplements would be allowed by Codex, as a symbolic measure to avoid suspicion about their ulterior motive).Natural health professionals would lose the tools of their trade (nutritional supplements) and health conscious people would be unable to choose natural health options for health promotion and disease treatment.
And that is, in a nutshell, how Codex Alimentarius is poised to make Natural and Nutritional Medicine (NNM) disappear from the legal health world and go underground. Who benefits? Big Pharma.It would take a few years for the above scenarios to be feasible (Codex Alimentarius is meant to go into full global effect by 2010). The slower the process takes, the less alarmed people will be. That’s probably the logic of the architects of Codex Alimentarius.
5) Serves Economic Interests of Sickness Industries Through WTO and Napoleonic Code
More and more people are turning to natural health products globally. The wellness trend is a major trend in today’s society. The more natural health products people use, the fewer drugs they buy. The pharmaceutical industry, which is part of the Sickness Industry, fears the inevitable shift toward natural health care.Instead of accepting the will of the people and rethinking the future of the pharmaceutical industry, the industry has decided upon an unethical course of action: the use of
deception and deceit to eliminate natural health products completely.Codex Alimentarius is a shrewd vehicle for protecting the pharmaceutical industry from the loss of income it stands to suffer due to the inevitable growth of natural healthcare.Codex Alimentarius is the resistance of the dinosaurs to inevitability: the burgeoning desire of humanity for a healthier, saner, and more sustainable way of life.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) intends to force Codex Alimentarius upon the nations of the world, including the U.S. This would be done under the threat of massive economic sanctions if WTO-countries do not comply with Codex Alimentarius. Furthermore, Codex is based in the Napoleonic Code, not Common Law. That means that under Codex Alimentarius, anything not explicitly permitted is forbidden. Under Common Law, we hold that anything not explicitly forbidden is permitted.
The difference is the difference between health freedom and health tyranny. Codex
Alimentarius would be able to ban supplements by default.
6) DSHEA Protects America From Codex Alimentarius
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA, 1994), an American law classifying our supplements and herbs as foods (which can have no upper limit set on their use), was passed by unanimous Congressional consent following massive grass-roots support organized by health food stores. Millions of American activists told Congress, in no uncertain terms:Protect nutritional supplements as foods or we will remove you from office.
Congress listened and carried out the will of the people.
DSHEA appropriately classifies nutritional supplements as foods which can have no upper limits set on their use. DSHEA recognizes that people use nutrients safely to deal with their individually differing needs for nutrients. The concept of biochemical individuality means that people have different needs for nutrients at different times. Are nutrients toxins? No, they are not toxins. They are substances
essential to prevent, treat and cure any chronic condition, in differing doses at different times in different people.DSHEA protects the US from Codex Alimentarius’ deadly Vitamin and Mineral Guideline. We must reach our Congressional members, educate them about the facts on Codex Alimentarius and direct them to vote against anything that would threaten DSHEA.Congress holds the keys to our health freedom. And it is their job to listen to us. Let’s not allow cynicism to tell us otherwise. We did it for DSHEA in 1994. We can do it again in 2005.
7) Your Action is Needed Now!
DSHEA is under significant legislative attack right now. Your letter-writing is crucial: if the members of Congress know that voting against health freedom means losing their jobs come election time, they will listen. Our job is to make sure they get the message loud and clear. Take action via our 3 easy steps and send personalized emails to Congress right now.
After taking action on HealthFreedomUSA.org, consider getting together with others in your area and visit your Congressional members in their home offices. If we wait, we lose our health freedoms. Once we HARMonize with Codex, by the way, we no longer have the right, while we belong to the WTO, to repeal or change that HARMonization!
Conclusion
The objective of the pro-Codex Alimentarius multi nationals is to boil the frog slowly so that we do not wake up to it in time to avoid Codex.Once we have HARMonize to Codex Alimentarius, as long as we are in the WTO, we cannot amend or change what we’ve been HARMonize to.Codex Alimentarius will go into global implementation by December 31, 2009, unless We, the People, avert it. We must act now because right now, with $758 Million spent on declared Congressional lobbying by Big Pharma last year, there are members of Congress who are trying to overturn DSHEA and allow Pharma-friendly free reign for Codex. If protective laws like DSHEA are destroyed, the sanctioning power of the autocratic WTO kicks in, and it will be impossible to get out from under Codex Alimentarius. We can protect our access to high potency nutrients and stave off an adulterated food supply only by putting pressure on Congress.
CHANGING WORLD
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
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
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.
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