1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-The Nation's Weather. 3-Scientists monitor undersea volcano. 4-Fog, lower temps take bite out of California wildfires. 5-Wildfire forces evacuations in northwestern Ontario. 6-Livni hints at West Bank pullouts. 7-Israeli Cabinet debates Gaza operation. 8-EU proposes monitoring radical mosques. 9-More Than 1,000 Expected at Joseph's Tomb, With or Without IDF. 10-Report: IDF and UN Soldiers Had Three Incidents in Past Month. 11-Bush to pressure Senate to revive U.N. sea treaty 12-Islamic Extremists Believe God Will Give Jerusalem to Islam. 13-Week of Celebrations in Jerusalem.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sun May 13 13 AM EDT
MAY 13,07
MAP 4.4 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.5 FIJI REGION
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 3.0 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NICARAGUA
MAP 4.4 FIJI REGION
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.9 FIJI REGION
MAP 5.1 WEST CHILE RISE
MAP 4.4 COSTA RICA
MAP 3.1 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.3 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAY 12,07
MAP 4.5 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 WESTERN HONSHU, JAPAN
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.3 SOUTH OF PANAMA
MAP 4.2 GUATEMALA
MAP 4.7 TONGA
MAP 5.5 SERAM, INDONESIA
MAP 3.4 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 5.9 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.3 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC REGION
MAP 3.4 KENAI PENINSULA, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.4 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 2.7 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 4.1 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA 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 May 13, 4:59 AM ET
Showers and some thunderstorms were forecast for Sunday along the Southeast Coast, as a slow-moving frontal system drifts out into the Atlantic Ocean. A high pressure system was expected to move over the Great Lakes toward the Northeast and keep much of the eastern half of the country dry.
Showers and some thunderstorms were expected to develop in parts of the Southwest and Southern Rockies.Temperatures nearing 100 degrees were possible in the Southwest, while the Southeast was to see temperatures in the 80s and 90s. Highs in the 60s and 70s were expected in the Northeast and Northwest.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Saturday ranged from a low of 30 degrees at Lake Yellowstone, Mont., to a high of 107 degrees at Death Valley, Calif.
EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH
GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.
Scientists monitor undersea volcano By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press Writer Sun May 13, 3:18 AM ET
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Researchers have installed a seismometer atop an active volcano called Kick 'em Jenny under the Caribbean Sea to warn of eruptions or earthquake activity, scientists said Saturday. The device allows scientists to collect real-time rumbling from tremors or as bubbling magma and gases are released from the volcano, about 820 feet beneath the sea's surface off Grenada's northwest coast.The system essentially acts as a kind of doctor's stethoscope so we can directly listen to the pulse of the volcano, said Richard Robertson, director of the Seismic Research Unit at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad.He said the seismometer is connected to a flexible hose that runs to a buoy, where a high-frequency radio transmitter sends readings to an observatory in a northern Grenadian village — all within milliseconds.
A team of scientists led by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts attached the monitoring system to the volcano by a remote-controlled underwater craft on May 6.By putting a seismometer right on the volcano we will significantly improve our ability to detect precursory activity before an eruption takes place, said Woods Hole scientist Rob Reves-Sohn.Since its discovery in 1939, when it shot a cloud of ash 900 feet above the sea surface, Kick em Jenny has erupted at least 12 times, most recently in 2001. The volcano, which rises above the sea floor on the steep inner western slope of the Lesser Antilles ridge, has not caused any deaths or injuries.In 2003, scientists discovered a field of five other active underwater volcanos off Grenada's north coast. The largest, nearly one-mile high, was dubbed Kick 'em Jack, after its neighbor.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Fog, lower temps take bite out of California wildfires Sat May 12, 5:16 PM ET
LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Lower temperatures and fog cover on Saturday combined to reduce the virulence of a raging fire that has been blazing in southern California, which is unusually dry for this time of year. Fire officials said the blaze that forced evacuations and consumed 10 percent of Santa Catalina Island, a nature reserve and popular day-trip destination near Los Angeles, was 35 percent contained late Friday and residents were beginning to return.The fire tore through more than 5,000 acres (2,000 hectares) after erupting suddenly on Thursday, just as firefighters were gaining the upper hand on a another blaze that devastated more than 800 acres (300 hectares) of Los Angeles' historic Griffith Park.
The fog cover and lower temperatures on Saturday (65 degrees Fahrenheit, 18 degrees Celsius) followed a drop in winds Friday and increased humidity that allowed firefighters to make significant inroads into the island blaze.No one was reported injured by the fire, though at least one house and several buildings were destroyed, officials said.Los Angeles is in the grip of the driest start to the year since records began in 1877, according to the National Weather Service.Meanwhile, fires continued to rage in the southern state of Florida, causing several highways to close and consuming more than 212,000 acres (86,000 hectares), state and federal agencies said.
Wildfire forces evacuations in northwestern Ontario
Last Updated: Saturday, May 12, 2007 | 7:25 PM ET CBC News
Emergency officials advised hundreds of residents in northwestern Ontario to evacuate their cottages Saturday as a wildfire raged out of control in the region. The fire began at an unattended campsite across the border in Northern Minnesota several days ago.A forest fire burns about 75 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ont. Police and fire officials were going door to door Saturday to ensure people were leaving the area. (CBC) Staff with Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources spent
Saturday checking cottages in the area, about 75 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, making sure people left the danger zone.We're asking individuals to leave the area for public safety reasons, said Dave Jackson, a fire information officer with Natural Resources.I don't think they'll need an awful lot of convincing because there is quite a bit of smoke from the nearby fire.
Ministry officials estimated the fire had scorched about 100 square kilometres on the Canadian side of the border. U.S. officials said it had already burned about 120 square kilometres in Minnesota.An evacuation order was first issued Friday and was expanded Saturday because of fears about changing wind conditions.Jackson said there were no major communities in the border area that is studded with lakes, mostly hunting and fishing lodges and cottages.Officials estimated there were between 200 and 300 people in the area.We're in the process of going door to door and documenting who's in and who's out, Jackson said.Ontario Provincial Police were called in to look for people in the evacuation zone, a time-consuming process because the cottages are spread apart, Jackson said.Roads into the area have been blocked and nobody was being allowed in, he added.A wider area encompassing another 400 to 500 cottages was under evacuation alert in case the fire further expands on the Canadian side.We're constantly assessing it, Jackson said.Ontario officials were in the process of preparing efforts to actually fight the fire, he added.With files from the Canadian Press.
LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)
JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
Livni hints at West Bank pullouts
Associated Press - Saturday, May 12, 2007 (Jerusalem)
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni pledged in comments published on Saturday that Israel would make further withdrawals from the West Bank to facilitate the creation of a Palestinian state.But she said that the process was being hindered by moderate Palestinian leaders' inability to rein in militants.
In an interview with Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram, Livni, who has said she will challenge Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for leadership of their Kadima party, says the 2005 pullback from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements will not be the last Israeli withdrawals from Palestinian areas. I can assure you that Gaza is not the last step, we are convinced that to establish a Palestinian state, we have to withdraw from other areas, she said. We do not want to control the Palestinians.No detail on timing .She did not detail the extent or timing of another round of pullbacks.Violence between rival Palestinian groups and bloody family feuds have spiraled of late.
Palestinians have repeatedly fired rockets from Gaza at Israel in recent weeks, breaching a ceasefire in place along the Gaza-Israel border since November and prompting speculation about a possible large-scale Israeli incursion into the strip.Defence Minister Amir Peretz said on Saturday that an Israeli ground operation in Gaza should only be carried out as a last resort.I think that going into Gaza is an option that should be kept for a situation where there is absolutely no other alternative, he told a public meeting in the Israeli town of Holon.Peretz has said he would step down as Defence Minister but will probably wait until after his Labour Party has held its primaries at the end of the month.
Peretz, along with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and former army chief Lt Gen Dan Halutz, was criticised by an official commission for his handling of last summer's Lebanon war.
Seek Olmert's resignation Livni has called on Olmert to resign.
The latest comments from Livni and Peretz came a day before Jordanian KingAbdullah's scheduled trip to the West Bank town of Ramallah on Sunday for talks withPalestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, the king's first visit in seven years.Olmert is to meet Abdullah in Jordan on Tuesday on the sidelines of a Nobel Laureates conference in Petra.Palestinian and Israeli officials denied reports of a planned trilateral meeting between the king, Olmert and Abbas.
Israeli Cabinet debates Gaza operation By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Sun May 13, 5:34 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's senior ministers were expected on Sunday to approve intensified operations against Gaza Strip rocket squads, but to stop short of authorizing a large-scale operation to try to stop daily attacks on southern Israel, government officials said. The rocket fire generates great panic in areas of southern Israel that are frequent targets, but harsh military action is liable to upset efforts to revive the peace process.
Israeli defense officials have cautioned that the Gaza Strip is becoming a powder keg as militants smuggle in weapons from Egypt and militants affiliated with the ruling Hamas movement become involved in the rocket fire.The rocket fire rarely causes casualties but violates a November cease-fire with Gaza militants. Three missiles were launched early Sunday, but no one was hurt, the army said.Israel's so-called Security Cabinet was debating how to respond to the rocket fire at a time of increased diplomatic activity designed to prod Israel and the Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Jordan's King Abdullah was to pay a rare visit to the West Bank later in the day to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, where the two were likely to discuss an Arab proposal for a comprehensive Mideast peace.
Olmert and Abdullah are to talk about the initiative on Tuesday in a meeting in Petra, Jordan, and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni discussed the plan last week with her Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in Cairo.At Israel's Security Cabinet meeting, senior defense officials were to present a range of options to counter the rocket fire. While senior commanders support a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip, most of the defense establishment does not, defense officials said Sunday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the press.The defense officials will propose increased strikes against rocket-launchers and operations in outlying areas of the Gaza Strip where the projectiles are fired, they said.Israeli ministers, including Defense Minister Amir Peretz, do not at this time support a large operation in Gaza, government officials said Sunday.I think that at this moment a large-scale operation in the Gaza Strip won't bring solutions, said Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz, a member of the security Cabinet and a former defense minister and military chief of staff. Mofaz said he thought pinpoint air strikes against rocket squads and limited ground operations would be more effective.
Such action would not constitute a drastic change in Israel's current retaliation practices, but could further unravel the truce Israel and Gaza militants reached in November following a harsh Israeli military campaign that killed hundreds of militants but provoked radicals to increase the rocket fire.
Moderate Arab states are pressing Israel to accept a Saudi Arabian peace plan that would trade a full Israeli withdrawal from areas captured in 1967 for Arab states' recognition of Israel.Abdullah's meetings with Abbas and Olmert this week signified an increased effort to push forward talks on the plan, which had been presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and was revived in March.
Israel and the United States have said the proposal could be a basis for reviving Arab-Israeli peacemaking. But Israel has expressed reservations over many of its provisions, including the call to solve the Palestinian refugee issue.Abdullah's visit to the Palestinian areas was rare, and he was not visiting Israel ahead of his meeting with Olmert, on the sidelines of a conference of Nobel laureates. Abdullah visited the West Bank once before, in 2000. He made a secret trip to Israel in 2004 to visit then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, and paid a public visit in August 2000, a month before the Palestinian uprising against Israel broke out.Abbas was invited to attend the event in Petra, but declined, apparently reluctant to get entangled in a three-way meeting with the king and Olmert that he thinks would not yield the Palestinians any concrete results. Livni said in comments published Saturday that Israel wanted to carry out further withdrawals from the West Bank to facilitate creation of a Palestinian state but the Palestinians' inability to rein in militants has hindered the process.She told the Egyptian newspaper al-Ahram that Israel's 2005 pullback from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements will not be the last withdrawals from Palestinian areas.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
EU proposes monitoring radical mosques By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writer Sat May 12, 4:30 PM ET
VENICE, Italy - Security officials from Europe's largest countries backed a plan Saturday to profile mosques on the continent and identify radical Islamic clerics who raise the threat of homegrown terrorism. The project, to be finished by the fall, will focus on the roles of imams, their training, their ability to speak in the local language and their sources of funding, EU Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Franco Frattini told a news conference after a meeting on terrorism.
Italian Interior Minister Guiliano Amato said Europe had extensive experience with the misuse of mosques, which instead of being places of worship are used for other ends.This is bringing about a situation that involves all of our countries and involves the possibility of attacks and developing of networks that use one country to prepare an attack in another, Amato said.
The transit attacks in Madrid and London along with several thwarted terror plots — have raised concerns across Europe about the susceptibility of disaffected young Muslims to the messages of extremist clerics.British police have said the bombers in the July 2005 London suicide attacks listened to the sermons of Abu Hamza al-Masri, a radical cleric who was sentenced last year to seven years in prison for inciting followers to kill non-Muslims.
Britain also recently ordered the deportation of a Jordanian-born cleric, Abu Qatada, accusing him of links to terrorism and being a threat to national security. Abu Qatada is appealing.Adel Smith, a well-known Muslim activist in Italy, said mosques in Italy are already extensively monitored and called the EU plan discriminatory.I think this is nonsense, I think mosques have been well monitored for some years, he said in a telephone interview. It is a form of religious discrimination.Frattini emphasized the need of deeper dialogue with the Islamic communities to avoid sending messages that incite hate and violence.
Separately, the security officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland also pledged to work with African nations to interrupt a new cocaine route from Colombia across Africa into Europe.They have created bases in Europe and we need to have our counter-bases, Amato said, noting that the Spaniards have seen an influx of cocaine in the south and east of their country coming from beyond the traditional Atlantic route.The officials proposed setting up drug-fighting bases in Portugal to monitor smuggling by sea and in Gibraltar to watch land routes.
More Than 1,000 Expected at Joseph's Tomb, With or Without IDF
by Ezra HaLevi (INN) MAY 13,07
Organizers of the mass entry into PA-assigned Shechem (Nablus) to visit Josephs Tomb say the worshipers are expected to make the pilgrimage despite IDF security warnings. The IDF announced that the entry to Josephs Tomb would endanger civilians and interfere with IDF activities in the region.
Moshe, one of those planning on making the journey regardless of IDF warnings, told Army Radio Sunday morning that, Whereas under former IDF Central Regional Commander Moshe Kaplinsky there were several organized visits to the Tomb, ever since Yair Naveh took the position, there have been almost no organized entries at all.Asked whether he was concerned about endangering his own life and the lives of those entering Shechem due to concrete terror threats reported by the IDF, Moshe said: We have heard the same story of concrete threats by the IDF many times. They know that we know they can handle it, but Central Commander Naveh simply wants to demonstrate his ability to scare us away from Josephs Tomb, which we are supposed to be able to pray at even under the Oslo Accords.Organizers cite the IDF's opposition to recent mass returns to Homesh, which, rather than physically opposing, it stood aside and allowed at the last minute.
Over 1,000 people are expected to attempt to reach the tomb, around which the modern Arab city of Shechem has been built. Sunday night is the date of the 49-day Omer count between Pesach and Shavuot associated most with Joseph, whose undocumented date of death is also observed on that night. Groups of dozens of Breslov Chassidim have in the past succeeded in circumventing IDF checkpoints and praying at the tomb. Organizers have requested that right-wing Knesset Members convince the IDF to allow an organized visit if there truly are security concerns. We are dealing with hundreds of youths, over which there is no control, Moshe told Arutz-7. We are dealing with people who are very angry that for two years they have not been allowed to visit Josephs Tomb. They want to prove to the army that if it cannot succeed in securing entry to the city of Shechem, then they can get along on their own. Most of them have already done this dozens of times.MK Uri Ariel (National Union-NRP) rejected calls to pressure the IDF, and instead called upon Jews considering entering Shechem not to endanger themselves. He also called upon the IDF to begin organizing secured visits as it used to do in the past.
Illegal Entry Probably Not Necessary, Organizers Say After Meeting
After meeting with IDF officials, who promised an organized visit would be granted in the very near future, organizers announced that worshipers should refrain from entering Shechem on their own Sunday night, but should gather at nearby Jewish communities such as Itamar and Yitzhar in order to pressure the IDF to commit to providing safe passage in return for calling off the unauthorized pilgrimage.We are awaiting final notice from the IDF on what their response will be, Moshe told Arutz-7 Sunday afternoon.
Report: IDF and UN Soldiers Had Three Incidents in Past Month
by Ezra HaLevi (INN) MAY 13,07
The IDF and European soldiers serving in a UN peacekeeper force in Lebanon have come close to engaging each other in combat three times in the last month, according to foreign press reports.
German officials confirmed a Rheinische Post report that there had been three incidents recently involving the IDF and UN peacekeepers. The IDF spokesman also confirmed that Israel has investigated two complaints against its army by UN troops. One of the incidents took place on April 30 and involved German and Israeli naval vessels. According to the German press report,Germanys SS Niedersachsen took steps toward attacking an IDF naval vessel traveling toward it because the Israeli vessel did not identify itself. Another incident involved Israeli fighter jets that approached German ships, according to German statements.
A third incident, also reported by Germany, allegedly involved an Israeli Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) approaching a Swedish speedboat, though no complaint was filed by Sweden. Last October, incidents between German forces in Lebanon and IDF forces led to an apology by PM Olmert for misunderstandings. A German naval vessel, at the time, on an unannounced intelligence-gathering mission was targeted by IAF fighter jets, which fired warning shots over the ship. Germanys command center for its peacekeeper troops in Lebanon is located in the German city of Potsdam.
The countrys Foreign Ministry downplayed the incidents, saying they would be worked out with Israel directly.
Bush to pressure Senate to revive U.N. sea treaty
Critics say it would put 70% of Earth under control of global bureaucracy
May 13, 2007 - WorldNetDaily.com
WASHINGTON – In a move that has already angered some of his most ardent supporters, President Bush has asked the Democratic leadership in the U.S. Senate to revive a proposal for ratification of the United Nation's Law of the Sea Treaty, an international agreement defeated two years ago by Republican leadership in the upper house. Critics say ratification would compromise U.S. sovereignty and place 70 percent of the Earth's surface under the control of the U.N. – even providing for a tax that would be paid directly to the international body by companies mining in the world's oceans.
The battle over the Law of the Sea Treaty first began 25 years ago, eventually being vetoed by President Reagan. It resurfaced in 2004 under the sponsorship of Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind., and was successfully defeated by then Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn. President Bush announced his intention to seek reintroduction of LOST for ratification to a small group of trusted Republican grass-roots organizers last week – an announcement that was met with horror and scorn.
Eagle Forum leader Phyllis Schlafly, Center for Security Policy President Frank Gaffney, Leadership Institute President Morton Blackwell, Free Congress Foundation founder Paul Weyrich and leaders of the Heritage Foundation were quick to denounce the idea in forceful terms, calling on their members to begin lobbying the White House immediately.
LOST has long had the support of environmental groups such as the Natural Resources Defense Council. It would establish rules governing the uses of the of the world's oceans – treating waters more than 200 nautical miles off coasts as the purview of a new international U.N. bureaucracy, the International Seabed Authority The ISA would have the authority to set production controls for ocean mining, drilling and fishing, regulate ocean exploration, issue permits and settle disputes in its own new court.Companies seeking to mine or fish would be required to apply for a permit, paying a royalty fee Critics also point out the new U.N. agency would have the right to compete directly with private companies in those profit-making activities. The U.S. would have only one vote of 140 – and no veto power as it has on the U.N. Security Council.
The Bush administration claims the initiative for reintroduction of the treaty comes from the military, which likes the 12-mile territorial limits it places on national claims to waters. Yet, critics point out international law already protects non-aggressive passage, including non-wartime activities of military ships. One of the main authors of LOST not only admired Karl Marx but was an ardent advocate of the Marxist-oriented New International Economic Order.
Elisabeth Mann Borgese, a socialist who ran the World Federalists of Canada, played a critical role in crafting and promoting LOST, as WND reported in 2005. Borgese was hailed by her U.N. supporters as the Mother of the Oceans or First Lady of the Oceans. She died in 2002. The youngest daughter of the German novelist Thomas Mann, Borgese openly favored world government, wrote for the left-wing The Nation magazine and was a member of a Committee to Frame a World Constitution. She served as director of the International Center for Ocean Development and chairman of the International Oceans Institute at Dalhousie University in Canada. The U.N. Environment Program, UNEP, has said that Borgese recognized the oceans as a possible test-bed for ideas she had developed concerning a common global constitution.
Borgese received UNEP's Environment Prize in 1987 and was credited with organizing the conferences that served to lay the foundation for the United Nations Convention of the Law of the Sea, according to Dalhousie University, which houses her archives. In a 1995 speech, pro-U.N. Democratic Sen. Claiborne Pell said Borgese's ideas were embodied in the negotiated texts of the Law of the Sea Convention.Her ideas included recognizing the oceans as the common heritage of mankind and creating an International Seabed Authority to charge U.S. and foreign companies for the right to mine the ocean floor. In a January 1999 speech, Borgese declared, The world ocean has been, and is, so to speak, our great laboratory for the making of a new world order.
In an article titled, The New International Economic Order and the Law of the Sea, she argued that the pact could reinforce the goals of the NIEO by giving Third World countries a role in managing access to the oceans. In a 1997 interview, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation broadcaster Philip Coulter asked Borgese about the collapse of Soviet-style communism and the triumph of the elites.Borgese replied there is a strong counter-trend. It's not called socialism, but it's called sustainable development, which calls ... for the eradication of poverty. There is that trend and that is the trend that I am working on.The concept of sustainable development, considered a euphemism for socialism or communism, has been embraced in various pronouncements by the U.N. and even the U.S. government.
In her book, The Oceanic Circle: Governing the Seas as a Global Resource, she approvingly cites Karl Marx, the father of communism, as someone with amazing foresight about the problems faced by urban and rural societies.
The book is available from the liberal Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C. In an article co-authored with an international lawyer, Borgese noted how LOST stipulates that the oceans shall be reserved for peaceful purposes and that any threat or use of force, inconsistent with the United Nations Charter, is prohibited.She argued LOST prohibits the ability of nuclear submarines from the U.S. and other nations to rove freely through the world's oceans.
Islamic Extremists Believe God Will Give Jerusalem to Islam
May 12, 2007 12:27 PM EST
Sheikh Raad Salah has promised Islamic radicals that the Holy City, Jerusalem, will be obtained by Muslims per commission from deity, according to Nissan Ratzlay-Katz of Artuz-Sheva.Salah has received the heavenly promise.
Therefore, he is urging Muslims to flood the Temple Mount—clans, families, individuals, whomever. The more Muslims who appear there every day to pray in the Al-Aksa mosque, the more Jews will realize they don’t stand a chance.The Temple Mount is the site of the original temple’s site. It is also where the Muslims’ Dome of the Rock is located. Therefore, the tussle between Jews and Muslims goes on endlessly. Unfortunately, years ago the Jewish government gave oversight of the area to Muslims. Since then they have made it very difficult for Christians and Jews to even appear at the Temple Mount. Muslims have restrictions that state that no Jew or Christian can appear as doing anything spiritual on the Temple Mount. No copy of the Bible.
No bowing the head in prayer. No talk about the faith. All secular unless Muslim.
Sheikh Raad Salah, the head of the northern branch of the Islamic Movement, has been working hard to ensure that thousands of Muslims will arrive in Jerusalem's Old City every day to pray in the Al-Aksa mosque, located on the Temple Mount.
Salah has been talking with Arab clan leaders from Jerusalem and its environs in an effort to convince them to take turns bringing their entire extended families to the mosque. Salah also said that he plans to see to it that Jerusalem mosques are closed on Friday, the Muslim day of rest, in order to force all those who wish to take part in group prayers to travel to the Al-Aksa mosque. He has talked to Muslim leaders in other parts of Israel, asking them to tell their followers to visit the Jerusalem mosque in order to demonstrate a strong Muslim presence there. Such a presence, Salah is telling local Muslims, is the best defense against Israeli aggression.
Muslims have already put bulldozers on the Temple Mount by which to rid the locale of anyantiquities dating back to Old Testament times, particularly anything having to do with King Solomon, the monarch who constructed the original temple. For instance, Solomon’s stables have been obliterated.
All the while religious Jews are quite irritated at secular Jews seemingly not caring enough to do anything truly major in order to stave off Muslim activity.Salah expressed his conviction that Jerusalem will fall into Muslim hands by Heavenly promise. He also said that in such a conquest, no sign of a Jewish presence will remain.Several months ago, Jerusalem police initiated an investigation of Salah for incitement-filled, anti-Israel speeches he made in Nazareth and Wadi Joz. Earlier, he was banned from Jerusalem for several days after inciting violent mobs against Israeli policemen. Salah claimed that Israel was trying to destroy the mosques on the Temple Mount. He was also accused of attacking a police officer during the anti-Israel demonstrations. The Islamic Movement is a branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, as is Hamas. Group members call Salah the leader of the 1948 branch.
It is the Muslim Brotherhood that has brought havoc to Egypt’s political leadership. In fact, in a recent nationwide election, Egyptian police thwarted Muslim Brotherhood members from getting to the polls.
The police were afraid Brotherhood candidates would gain a powerful block within Egyptian government.Christians believe that at the Second Coming of Christ, Christ will rule from Jerusalem. His worldwide reign will be holy. Along with Him will be saints of all ages. They will rule in politics and religion with Him. The Book of Revelation speaks of Christ’s emissaries as kings (politics) and priests (religion) while He is regarded as King of Kings (politics) and Lord of Lords (religion).
Christ’s reign will be for a thousand years while Satan is bound in the Bottomless Pit; however, Satan’s demons will still be operative on the planet. The purity of heaven will not come about until Earth is dissolved at the close of the millennium. Perfection will only be realized by the redeemed in the eternal New Heaven and the New Earth.In the meantime, the fight over the Temple Mount symbolizes the conflict between the devotees of the biblical deity and the deity of the Koran.
ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LASTGENERATION. (A GENERATION IN THE BIBLE CAN BE FROM 40 TO 51 YEARS)INTERESTING THIS IS THE 40TH YEAR SINCE ISRAEL RECAPTURED JERUSALEM.
LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.(1967)
AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TRIBULATION, THE TRUE MESSIAH JESUS RETURNS TO EARTH BODILY TO RULE AND REIGN FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM.
ACTS 1:10-11
10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;
11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
ZECHARIAH 14:4
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.
REVELATION 19:11-16
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
JUDE 14-16
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage.
Week of Celebrations in Jerusalem
by Hillel Fendel (INN) MAY 13,07
Israel and world Jewry celebrate the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem's unification in the Six Day War this week. The European Union plans to boycott.Though Jerusalem Day is celebrated on the 28th day of the Jewish month of Iyar, which falls this year on Wednesday, May 16, the celebrations will take place all week. The government's weekly Cabinet session today (Sunday) will be largely dedicated to Jerusalem, as will a special Knesset session tomorrow, which will be followed by a musical festival featuring Avihu Medina, Shuli Natan and others.The walls of the Old City will be lit up in a unique manner, as will the streets, overpasses and central sites. On Tuesday evening, some 10,000 people are expected to take part in a farmers' parade, which will feature exhibits, floats, tractors, bands, dancers and even acrobats.
Also Tuesday evening, beginning at 7 PM, actors from the Jerusalem street theater Virtuoso will enact scenes from the period of the establishment of the State. Interspersed with their acts will be circus tricks of various kinds, musicians, drummers' circles, dancers and field games. A giant park festival will conclude the evening.Asked about the lack of religious-oriented municipal festivities, Deputy
Mayor Yehoshua Pollack told Arutz-7, the religious public celebrates in the syngagogues and Torah study halls.
Traditional Merkaz HaRav Kook Celebration
On Tuesday night, the central religious-thanksgiving celebration will be held in Yeshivat Merkaz HaRav Kook in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood. Leading politicians such as the Prime Minister often participated, but of late, secular politicians have not been invited.
It is not yet clear what the plans are for this year.On Wednesday, thousands of youngsters and others will march in the now-traditional Rikudgalim (Flag Dance) March, from downtown Jerusalem to the Western Wall. Roads in the capital will be closed as the marchers advance towards the Old City. In addition, a marathon of musicians in various locations and short Maaleh Film School movies will occupy much of Wednesday.
Admission will be free to the Israel Museum, the Science Museum and other sites. On Wednesday night, a main event featuring the Paratroopers Brigade that liberated the Old City will be held at Sultan's Pool. Thursday will see a Tour de Jerusalem bicycle event, as well as an afternoon of cycling at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel in the southern part of the city.Putting a slight damper on the festivities, even if not unexpected, is the European Union's boycott. German's Ambassador to Israel has informed the Knesset that the European Union plans to boycott all Jerusalem Day celebrations, including the special Knesset session. He explained that the EU cannot take part in an event that implies recognition of the current borders of Jerusalem. Despite this, some 20 ambassadors from around the world have said that they will take part, and some EU ambassadors have hinted that they might participate as well.
Sunday, May 13, 2007
Saturday, May 12, 2007
CONTINGENCIES FOR TERRORIST ATTACK
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-The Nation's Weather 3-31 people killed as storm slams northern India. 4-Hundreds of firefighters battling US wildfires. 5-Arab officials to take peace plan to Israel. 6-Pope: God will punish drug dealers. 7-U.S., Europe seek passenger data deal. 8-Citizens more ambitious than leaders on future EU policies. 9-Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat May 12 11:30 AM EDT
APR 12,07
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.7 TONGA
MAP 5.6 SERAM, INDONESIA
MAP 5.9 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.1 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
APR 11,07
MAP 5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 BATAN ISLANDS REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.6 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.9 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 5.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 PUGET SOUND REGION, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.3 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN IDAHO
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
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
Sat May 12, 5:30 AM ET
Showers and thunderstorms were forecast from Virginia to eastern Texas on Saturday, while the Southwest and Great Basin were forecast to be hot. A high-pressure system drifting southeastward from Canada was expected to pull cold Arctic air into the Great Lakes and Northeast and dampen temperatures in the region.Low pressure pushing toward the West Coast was expected to bring rain from the Northwest through the Intermountain West. It was also expected to bring cool air to the West Coast. Daytime showers were forecast for the Rockies.Parts of the Southwest were expected to rise into the 90s and 100s, while the Southern Plains and parts of the Southeast were to see similar temperatures. The Northeast and Northwest could rise into the 60s.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Friday ranged from a low of 28 degrees at Leadville, Colo., to a high of 107 degrees at Bullhead City, Ariz.
31 people killed as storm slams northern India MAY 12,07
LUCKNOW, India (AFP) - At least 31 people died as a storm hammered northern India, officials said on Saturday. All the deaths were reported from the worst-hit state of Uttar Pradesh, they added.
Scores of others were injured in the storm, late Friday, which was accompanied by hail and driving rain, officials said in the state capital of Lucknow.Fifteen people died in storm-related incidents in the district of Sultanpur, a state government spokesman said.Nine others were killed when trees came down on their homes in the district, he added.District administrator Sanjay Kumar said the storm also sparked fires and added some 100 houses were burnt during the bad weather in the district.Lightning strikes killed three in the hilly Pratapgarh district while four people were buried alive when their homes collapsed in the district of Barabanki, the official in Lucknow said.The state administration reported widespread damage from the storm, which lashed several northern Indian states including national capital Delhi, where rains flooded parts of the city and disrupted rush-hour traffic.
Hundreds of firefighters battling US wildfires Fri May 11, 11:44 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) - Firefighters on Friday battled to contain wildfires that scorched thousands of acres of tinder-dry parkland and forced large scale evacuations across the United States. Several hundred firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes in Florida and California, where record dry weather and high temperatures have forced authorities to maintain a state of near-perpetual alert.Around 500 firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire on Santa Catalina Island, a nature reserve and popular destination for day-trippers off the coast of southern California near Los Angeles.The fire tore through more than 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) after erupting suddenly on Thursday. Initial efforts to contain the blaze were hampered by rugged terrain which rendered many of the hotspots inaccessible.However a drop in winds Friday and increased humidity allowed firefighters to make significant inroads into the blaze.
Speaking shortly after 5pm (0000 GMT), a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman said the fire was now 35 percent contained, up from 10 percent earlier on Friday.We've made some good progress and we are now allowing all evacuated residents to return home, the spokesman said.Around 1,000 people were evacuated after the fire reached the borders of the island's main town Avalon on Thursday.One home, a commercial property and several outbuildings were destroyed in the fire, which was being bombarded by 10 water-dropping helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft. There were no reports of injuries.Firefighting equipment had been brought in overnight by US Navy hovercrafts from the US Marines Camp Pendleton base in San Diego County.The fire came after a blaze devastated more than 800 acres (300 hectares) of Los Angeles' historic Griffith Park earlier this week.City fire officials said they expected the fire in the park to be declared 100 percent contained later Friday.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who shot scenes from the Terminator movies in the park -- expressed shock after inspecting the damaged areas. To see those great, same places where we were, where we filmed, destroyed was very hard to take, Schwarzenegger said.The Los Angeles Times reported that an emergency plan to repair the park was expected to cost around 50 million dollars.Los Angeles is in the grip of the driest start to the year since records began in 1877, according to recent figures from the National Weather Service.A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the drought meant the fire season had begun earlier than usual.This year has been an extremely dry year and because of that the moisture levels in the vegetation have decreased, Daniel Berlant told AFP.We're seeing dry vegetation that we normally don't see until June or July. However, the blazes were not evidence of an increasing threat of fires, Berlant said. If you look through history, weather patterns go in and out -- you have dry periods and wet periods, he said. Right now we're in one of those dry periods.
Meanwhile firefighters battled with brush fires across drought-plagued Florida. Officials say more than 220 fires raged across the state, destroying six homes and blanketing much of the southeastern state with a smoky haze. The smoke also forced the closure of several highways. Weather forecasters had hoped a subtropical storm that formed offshore earlier in the week would bring some relief, but the weather system fizzled out without bringing the much needed rain.
Arab officials to take peace plan to Israel
Meeting in Cairo lays groundwork, touches on Gaza
Michael Slackman, Mona el-Naggar, New York Times - Friday, May 11, 2007
(05-11) 04:00 PDT Cairo -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday and agreed that a team of Arab officials would soon visit Israel to discuss a Saudi peace proposal endorsed by the members of the Arab League. The meetings in Cairo are Israel's first with high-level officials of Arab countries since the Arab League reaffirmed its support in March for the peace initiative, which it first approved in 2002. The initiative sets out principles that would give Israel full recognition and normal relations with its Arab neighbors in return for its withdrawal to 1967 borders and creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The proposal also calls for an agreed, just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. No details were available about the timing of the visit to Israel or the composition of the Arab League delegation, but it is expected to consist of Egyptian and Jordanian officials.
Livni and Mubarak also discussed the security situation in the Gaza Strip and the problems of growing Hamas military capabilities and the continual firing of Qassam rockets into Israel, said a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. After meeting with Mubarak, Livni also spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel, and they have served as the official diplomatic bridge to other Arab capitals. As events in the Middle East have become more turbulent, there have been some back-channel communications, including talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia. There is a problem now, said Emad Gad, editor of Israeli Digest magazine, published by Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Egypt's premier research center.
The initiative is presented to the Israelis, he said, and the initiative has very clear words, and it doesn't even demand the right of return but refers to resolving the issue of the refugees, so there is room to talk. But you have an Israeli government that is in a very precarious position.In Jerusalem, Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Livni had called the prime minister to tell him about the meeting with Mubarak. Let me just say that there is no pressure on us from our neighbors who have peace with us to take new drastic steps, she said. So countries with relations with us are willing to use those relations to bring their ideas forward, and not impose them on us.The efforts to discuss the Arab League plan reflect a sense among officials in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia that pursuing a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis is the most important step toward stabilizing a region that is increasingly volatile and countering the growing support for radical Islamist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. In 2002, Israel rejected the Arab initiative, but recently it has yielded to pressure to discuss the plan from the United States, which in turn was responding to pressure from Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. There has been little public expression of optimism over the latest effort, but officials have said they are committed to keeping peace efforts moving.
It's not a big step, said Adnan Abu-Odeh, a former adviser to King Abdullah II of Jordan. It's a good step. It is one step forward, but not enough to make me believe that this is a prelude to a peaceful settlement, because the other side has not and will not respond the way we want or expect it to respond. And let's wait and see.Also Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Assad dismissed rumors of secret peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, saying Israel was too weak to make a deal. There is no progress in the peace process and no contacts with Israel over the issue, neither in secret or overtly, because Israel is not ready for a just and comprehensive peace, Assad said in a televised speech as he opened a session of parliament. Peace efforts have faltered, he said, because a peace agreement would require strong leadership that could make decisive decisions, an apparent allusion to the political crisis in Israel. The speech was Assad's first public appearance since a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem last week.
Pope: God will punish drug dealers By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer MAY 12,07
GUARATINGUETA, Brazil - Pope Benedict XVI warned drug traffickers Saturday that they would face divine justice for the scourge of illegal narcotics across Latin America, telling them that, God will call you to account for your deeds.Speaking before a crowd of 6,000 at a drug treatment center, Benedict urged the drug-dealers to reflect on the grave harm they are inflicting on countless young people and on adults from every level of society.Brazil is the second-largest consumer of cocaine after the United States, according to the U.S. State Department, and big cities across Latin America's largest nation are plagued by drug violence.Driven by gangs that control street-corner dealing, the problem is particularly acute in the teeming slums of Rio de Janeiro, where gangs lure children into lives of violence and engage in near-daily shootouts with police that kill innocent bystanders.Human dignity cannot be trampled upon in this way, the pope said.
The treatment center where the pope spoke was founded by a Franciscan friar and claims an 80 percent success rate, giving addicts spiritual guidance as they milk cows, tend apple orchards and work as beekeepers.It is just a short distance away from the shrine city of Aparecida, where Benedict on Sunday will open a conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops aimed at finding ways to reverse the erosion of the church in the region.Addicts who listened to the pontiff said his visit was important because Brazilian drug users are often ostracized and left to beg on the streets for drug money.We are excluded from society, but we are the ones the pope is coming to see, said Diego Cleto, a 19-year-old who started taking drugs at age 13.The Garatingueta treatment center in a remote hilly region at the end of a dirt road was founded by Friar Hanz Stapel in 1983. There are now 31 similar farm/ treatment centers in Brazil and 10 more in countries such as Russia, Mexico and Mozambique.
Before traveling from Sao Paulo Friday night to the hallowed Catholic religious site of Aparecida, Benedict lamented difficult times for the church in Brazil amid aggressive proselytizing by born-again Protestant congregations.Brazil's census shows the percentage of citizens characterizing themselves as Catholics plunged to 74 percent in 2000 from 89 percent in 1980, while those calling themselves evangelical Protestants rose to 15 percent from 7 percent.The backdrop to the bishops' conference is Aparecida, 100 miles east of Sao Paulo, and home to the mammoth Basilica of Aparecida — as well as the three-foot-tall statue of a black Virgin Mary, called Our Lady Who Appeared, the patron saint of Brazil.The statue was pulled from a river in the 18th century by poor fishermen who were not catching any fish, and then caught loads in their nets. Miracles were subsequently attributed to the statue, and so many pilgrims flocked to Aparecida that the church built the basilica and inaugurated it as a shrine in 1955.
On Friday, the pope canonized Brazil's first native-born saint in a Mass before about a million people. He held up 18th century Friar Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao as a model of rectitude and humility in an age so full of hedonism.Benedict was cheered by flag-waving crowds in the world's largest Catholic nation as he canonized the new saint, continuing a push for saints in the developing world that began under John Paul II, who sought role models as part of the church's worldwide reach. John Paul canonized more saints than all of his predecessors combined.Benedict also called on Catholics to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage, picking a tough crowd to confront about hedonism and permissiveness.More than 70 percent of Brazil's 190 million citizens may be Catholics, but sex before marriage is common. Scantily clad actresses are the norm on hugely popular TV soap operas, and women on the beaches wear bikinis that leave little to the imagination. Plastic surgery to reshape breasts and buttocks is nearly as popular as orthodontia. The pope may be popular among Brazilian Catholics but most probably will not heed his call when it comes to sex, said David Gibson, author of The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.This is enormously frustrating to Benedict or any pope; they want to have more impact, Gibson added. But how do you go against a culture like that? It's tough. While polls show Brazilians oppose expanding access to abortion, they overwhelmingly support using condoms to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases — in firm opposition to church doctrine. The government, in fact, hands out millions of condoms for free every year, especially ahead of the debauchery that is an integral part of Brazil's pre-Lent carnival. Nothing could be more countercultural than his message in Brazil, the land of the thong, said Gibson, a former Vatican Radio reporter. Associated Press Writer Vivian Sequera contributed to this report.
U.S., Europe seek passenger data deal By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writer Sat May 12, 6:55 AM ET
VENICE, Italy - The U.S. Homeland Security secretary met with top European security officials Saturday to work out the details of a new agreement to share airline passenger data for terrorism investigations. Secretary Michael Chertoff also was expected to discuss changes to the U.S. visa-waiver program during the meeting with security officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland.A deal on the airline data must be reached by July to avoid problems for both airlines and U.S.-bound passengers.European governments are worried about protecting their strict privacy laws, a legacy of the continent's history with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.The two sides disagree on how long U.S. authorities can use data, when it should be destroyed and which agencies should have access to the information. The United States also wants the authority to pull data directly from airline computers, but European countries insist airlines must transmit the information.Chertoff travels to Brussels, Belgium, on Monday where he will address the EU Parliament.
Citizens from 15 of the 27 EU nations can enter the United States without applying for a travel visa. U.S. officials say Greece and most of the newer EU members still fail to meet criteria for joining the visa-waiver program.The EU allows Americans to travel to all its member countries without visas and has long insisted on full reciprocity.Poland is especially adamant, arguing that it should be admitted in recognition of its contributions to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States rejects 22 percent of Polish visa applicants — a rate that far exceeds the 3 percent benchmark required for entry into the waiver program.Legislation pending in the Congress would allow the program to admit new countries, while requiring all participating countries to impose closer scrutiny of their passports to ensure they are not lost, stolen or easily counterfeited.President Bush has said he favors adding countries to the visa-waiver list. All but four countries now on the list are European.
Peres says Israel ready for serious peace talks with Arabs Sat May 12, 9:01 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Saturday that Israel is ready for serious discussions with Arab nations over a revived peace proposal, as shuttle diplomacy in the region continued apace. If the Arab side puts forth serious proposals, Israel will in turn offer its own proposals with a view to holding serious negotiations and to finding common ground, Peres was quoted by army radio as saying.We should be careful not to miss out on this opportunity, Peres stressed. Peres was speaking amid efforts to advance the peace plan, first presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and revived at an Arab League summit in March.The plan would offer a normalisation of relations in return for full withdrawal from Arab lands seized in 1967, the creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees.
The league tasked Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries that have made peace with Israel, to work to convince the Jewish state to accept the plan.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met her Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in Cairo on Thursday, and stressed the important role the Arab world could play in helping to achieve peace.On Saturday, Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr met his Jordanian counterpart Abdel Ilah Khatib and other officials in Amman to discuss the initiative.
The two reviewed bilateral relations as well as ways to advance the peace process to where the Palestinian people's ambitions of an independent state are achieved, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported.Abu Amr, an independent and the first Palestinian foreign minister to visit Jordan since the Islamist group Hamas formed a government in March 2006, thanked King Abdullah II for his efforts on behalf of the Palestinians.He is to travel to Brussels on Sunday for talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Khatib stressed the need for Arabs and the wider world to make every effort... to relaunch the peace process through negotiations between the two sides and to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.
On Sunday, King Abdullah will visit the West Bank town of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.A palace official said the king will discuss Arab and international efforts aimed at bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to negotiations on the Arab peace plan and a two-state solution.A Palestinian official called it an important visit to discuss political developments in the region, Arab efforts to relaunch the peace process and the Arab peace initiative.The king's visit will come just two days before he meets Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a gathering of Nobel peace laureates in Jordan's ancient city of Petra.Olmert last met the king in December, and both leaders are expected to discuss the renewed Arab initiative at their meeting on Tuesday.Israel rejected the Arab peace plan when it was first launched in Beirut in 2002. Recently, however, it has said the proposal could provide a basis for talks, provided there are amendments on the refugee issue.
Citizens more ambitious than leaders on future EU policies
11.05.2007 - 09:41 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – EU citizens are more ambitious about what Europe should do in the future than its political leaders, a new report summing up a series of popular debates shows.The debates with EU citizens were carried out across the bloc following the shock rejection of the draft EU constitution in both France and the Netherlands two years ago – an event that was interpreted as a clear signal of the gap between the bloc's citizens and its institutions.The report, published on Thursday (10 May), refers to the main conclusions of all national debates and shows that citizens in most countries favour action in social policy where Europe does not hold key powers and which is generally not foreseen as an area for major future initiatives.We believe that improving the social and economic conditions for families should be a European policy goal, because most of our panels think families in Europe need better protection and support, and the problem of low birth rates is apparent, stated the document.
Many panels suggested specific measures both at national and European level to address issues such as improved availability of rights to child care, working time flexibility for parents or job protection for those returning from parental leave.Another important subject on the citizens' wish-list is better job protection. People in central and eastern European member states in particular are calling for harmonised minimum work-related standards, such as a common definition of a minimum wage.
Similarly, a majority of participants in the debates - altogether attended by 1,800 randomly selected people - expect the EU to set standards ensuring accessible, dignified, high-quality and affordable health care treatment.When asked how to achieve this goal, the Irish and Greeks suggested open competition of health services, the Dutch, Italians and Cypriots stressed the need for cross-border access to patients while the Danes and Portuguese favour the idea of free health services across Europe.Citizens from several countries can also imagine much more uniform action and standards in education, saying that qualifications could be determined at EU level, while the specific content for comparable and compatible degrees would be dealt with at national and regional levels. There was also broad agreement that the resulting education system should be free and accessible to all.
High political goals
In terms of a common European foreign policy, citizens desire that the EU takes on an active role in protecting and promoting peace, democracy, human rights and justice in the world. They argue the bloc should use both peacekeeping forces and its diplomacy to provide a strong role model across the world in this field, with the French panellists adding the EU could be a force capable of providing a counterbalance to the trend towards a unipolar world dominated by the US.Only the French citizens favour future European cooperation in defence policy, according to the report, while most other countries highlight foreign and security areas for joint EU action.On the other hand, only the German panel specifically supported the idea of a European foreign minister - included in the set of institutional changes proposed by the disputed EU constitution - and it also called for a shared EU seat in the UN's security council.Finally, citizens also broadly favour a pan-European response to immigration and tackling the integration of immigrants, as well as a greater use of external relations policy tools such as development aid and border controls.The EU should also be given stronger powers to develop a common energy policy and ensure that member states live up to the commitments they have made at European level, according to the summary report.The results come just weeks before EU leaders are to gather in Brussels to try and hammer out the bones of a new treaty for the bloc.
Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack
Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city
James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer - Friday, May 11, 2007
As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension of some civil liberties. Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order. The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors in Washington for a day-long workshop.
The session, called The Day After, was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program. One of the participants, retired Vice Adm. Roger Rufe, is a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security who is currently designing the government's nuclear attack response plan. The organizers of the nonpartisan project, Stanford's William Perry, a secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, and Harvard's Ashton Carter, a senior Defense Department official during the Clinton years, assumed the detonation of a bomb similar in size to the weapon that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II.
Such a weapon, with a force of around 10 to 15 kilotons, is small compared with most Cold War-era warheads, but is roughly the yield of a relatively simple bomb. That would be considerably more powerful and lethal than a so-called dirty bomb, which is a conventional explosive packed with some dangerous radioactive material that would be dispersed by the explosion.
The 41 participants -- including the directors of the country's two nuclear weapons laboratories, Homeland Security officials, a number of top military commanders and former government officials -- discussed how all levels of government ought to respond to protect the country from a second nuclear attack, to limit health problems from the radioactive fallout and to restore civil order. Comments inside the session were confidential, but a number of the participants described their views and the ideas exchanged. A paper the organizers are writing, summarizing their recommendations, urges local governments and individuals to build underground bomb shelters, much as people did in the early days of the Cold War; encourages authorities who survive to prevent evacuation of at least some of the areas attacked for three days to avoid roadway paralysis and damage from exposure to radioactive fallout; and proposes suspending regulations on radiation exposure so that first responders would be able to act, even if that caused higher cancer rates.
The public at large will expect that their government had thought through this possibility and to have planned for it, Carter said in an interview. This kind of an event would be unprecedented. We have had glimpses of something like this with Hiroshima, and glimpses with 9/11 and with Katrina. But those are only glimpses. Perhaps the most sobering issue discussed was the possibility of a chaotic, long-term crisis triggered by fears that the attackers might have more bombs. Such uncertainty could sow panic nationwide. If one bomb goes off, there are likely to be more to follow, Carter said. This fact, that nuclear terrorism will appear as a syndrome rather than a single episode, has major consequences. It would, he added, require powerful government intervention to force people to do something many may resist -- staying put. Fred Ikle, a former Defense Department official in the Reagan administration who authored a book last year urging attack preparation, Annihilation from Within, said that the government should plan how it could restrict civil liberties and enforce a sort of martial law in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, but also have guidelines for how those liberties could be restored later. That prospect underscored a central divide among participants at the recent meeting, several said.
Some participants argued that the federal government needs to educate first responders and other officials as quickly as possible on how to act even if transportation and communication systems break down, as seems likely, and if the government is unable to issue orders. There was a clear consensus that a nuclear bomb detonated in the United States or a friendly country would be an earth-shaking event, and we need to know how we will respond beforehand, said Ikle. I wish we had started earlier, because this kind of planning can make an important difference.But others said the meeting made it clear that the results of any attack would be so devastating and the turmoil so difficult to control, if not impossible, that the lesson should have been that the U.S. government needs to place a far greater emphasis on prevention. Your cities would empty and people would completely lose confidence in the ability of the government to protect them, said Steve Fetter, dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. You'd have nothing that resembles our current social order. I'm not sure any preparation can be sufficient to deal with that.Fetter added, We have to hold current policymakers more responsible" for taking all out measures to prevent a nuclear attack.
Raymond Jeanloz, a nuclear weapons expert at UC Berkeley and a government adviser on nuclear issues, said that California might be better prepared than most states because of long-standing plans for dealing with earthquakes and other natural disasters. Those plans, he said, could be a useful model for first responders. He added, as others did, that the dislocation and panic caused by a nuclear strike could make any responses unpredictable. The most difficult thing is the fear that this kind of planning, even talking about it, can cause, Jeanloz said. Michael May, a former director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, defended the survival planning, saying that people should get used to the idea that such a crisis, while dire, could be managed -- a key step in restoring calm. You have to demystify the nuclear issue, said May, who now teaches at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation. By talking about this, you take away the feeling of helplessness.E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Sat May 12 11:30 AM EDT
APR 12,07
MAP 3.8 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 4.7 TONGA
MAP 5.6 SERAM, INDONESIA
MAP 5.9 EASTERN NEW GUINEA REG, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.2 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 3.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.6 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 5.1 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 3.5 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.1 VANCOUVER ISLAND, CANADA REGION
APR 11,07
MAP 5.2 MINDANAO, PHILIPPINES
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 3.0 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 4.6 BATAN ISLANDS REGION, PHILIPPINES
MAP 3.6 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.9 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.0 CHANNEL ISLANDS REGION, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 5.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 PUGET SOUND REGION, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.3 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN IDAHO
MAP 3.1 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
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
Sat May 12, 5:30 AM ET
Showers and thunderstorms were forecast from Virginia to eastern Texas on Saturday, while the Southwest and Great Basin were forecast to be hot. A high-pressure system drifting southeastward from Canada was expected to pull cold Arctic air into the Great Lakes and Northeast and dampen temperatures in the region.Low pressure pushing toward the West Coast was expected to bring rain from the Northwest through the Intermountain West. It was also expected to bring cool air to the West Coast. Daytime showers were forecast for the Rockies.Parts of the Southwest were expected to rise into the 90s and 100s, while the Southern Plains and parts of the Southeast were to see similar temperatures. The Northeast and Northwest could rise into the 60s.Temperatures in the Lower 48 states Friday ranged from a low of 28 degrees at Leadville, Colo., to a high of 107 degrees at Bullhead City, Ariz.
31 people killed as storm slams northern India MAY 12,07
LUCKNOW, India (AFP) - At least 31 people died as a storm hammered northern India, officials said on Saturday. All the deaths were reported from the worst-hit state of Uttar Pradesh, they added.
Scores of others were injured in the storm, late Friday, which was accompanied by hail and driving rain, officials said in the state capital of Lucknow.Fifteen people died in storm-related incidents in the district of Sultanpur, a state government spokesman said.Nine others were killed when trees came down on their homes in the district, he added.District administrator Sanjay Kumar said the storm also sparked fires and added some 100 houses were burnt during the bad weather in the district.Lightning strikes killed three in the hilly Pratapgarh district while four people were buried alive when their homes collapsed in the district of Barabanki, the official in Lucknow said.The state administration reported widespread damage from the storm, which lashed several northern Indian states including national capital Delhi, where rains flooded parts of the city and disrupted rush-hour traffic.
Hundreds of firefighters battling US wildfires Fri May 11, 11:44 PM ET
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) - Firefighters on Friday battled to contain wildfires that scorched thousands of acres of tinder-dry parkland and forced large scale evacuations across the United States. Several hundred firefighters were deployed to tackle blazes in Florida and California, where record dry weather and high temperatures have forced authorities to maintain a state of near-perpetual alert.Around 500 firefighters were trying to extinguish a fire on Santa Catalina Island, a nature reserve and popular destination for day-trippers off the coast of southern California near Los Angeles.The fire tore through more than 4,200 acres (1,700 hectares) after erupting suddenly on Thursday. Initial efforts to contain the blaze were hampered by rugged terrain which rendered many of the hotspots inaccessible.However a drop in winds Friday and increased humidity allowed firefighters to make significant inroads into the blaze.
Speaking shortly after 5pm (0000 GMT), a Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman said the fire was now 35 percent contained, up from 10 percent earlier on Friday.We've made some good progress and we are now allowing all evacuated residents to return home, the spokesman said.Around 1,000 people were evacuated after the fire reached the borders of the island's main town Avalon on Thursday.One home, a commercial property and several outbuildings were destroyed in the fire, which was being bombarded by 10 water-dropping helicopters and five fixed-wing aircraft. There were no reports of injuries.Firefighting equipment had been brought in overnight by US Navy hovercrafts from the US Marines Camp Pendleton base in San Diego County.The fire came after a blaze devastated more than 800 acres (300 hectares) of Los Angeles' historic Griffith Park earlier this week.City fire officials said they expected the fire in the park to be declared 100 percent contained later Friday.
California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger -- who shot scenes from the Terminator movies in the park -- expressed shock after inspecting the damaged areas. To see those great, same places where we were, where we filmed, destroyed was very hard to take, Schwarzenegger said.The Los Angeles Times reported that an emergency plan to repair the park was expected to cost around 50 million dollars.Los Angeles is in the grip of the driest start to the year since records began in 1877, according to recent figures from the National Weather Service.A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the drought meant the fire season had begun earlier than usual.This year has been an extremely dry year and because of that the moisture levels in the vegetation have decreased, Daniel Berlant told AFP.We're seeing dry vegetation that we normally don't see until June or July. However, the blazes were not evidence of an increasing threat of fires, Berlant said. If you look through history, weather patterns go in and out -- you have dry periods and wet periods, he said. Right now we're in one of those dry periods.
Meanwhile firefighters battled with brush fires across drought-plagued Florida. Officials say more than 220 fires raged across the state, destroying six homes and blanketing much of the southeastern state with a smoky haze. The smoke also forced the closure of several highways. Weather forecasters had hoped a subtropical storm that formed offshore earlier in the week would bring some relief, but the weather system fizzled out without bringing the much needed rain.
Arab officials to take peace plan to Israel
Meeting in Cairo lays groundwork, touches on Gaza
Michael Slackman, Mona el-Naggar, New York Times - Friday, May 11, 2007
(05-11) 04:00 PDT Cairo -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met Thursday and agreed that a team of Arab officials would soon visit Israel to discuss a Saudi peace proposal endorsed by the members of the Arab League. The meetings in Cairo are Israel's first with high-level officials of Arab countries since the Arab League reaffirmed its support in March for the peace initiative, which it first approved in 2002. The initiative sets out principles that would give Israel full recognition and normal relations with its Arab neighbors in return for its withdrawal to 1967 borders and creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. The proposal also calls for an agreed, just solution to the issue of Palestinian refugees. No details were available about the timing of the visit to Israel or the composition of the Arab League delegation, but it is expected to consist of Egyptian and Jordanian officials.
Livni and Mubarak also discussed the security situation in the Gaza Strip and the problems of growing Hamas military capabilities and the continual firing of Qassam rockets into Israel, said a statement issued by the Israeli Foreign Ministry. After meeting with Mubarak, Livni also spoke with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit and Jordanian Foreign Minister Abdul-Ilah al-Khatib. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries that have signed peace treaties with Israel, and they have served as the official diplomatic bridge to other Arab capitals. As events in the Middle East have become more turbulent, there have been some back-channel communications, including talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia. There is a problem now, said Emad Gad, editor of Israeli Digest magazine, published by Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, Egypt's premier research center.
The initiative is presented to the Israelis, he said, and the initiative has very clear words, and it doesn't even demand the right of return but refers to resolving the issue of the refugees, so there is room to talk. But you have an Israeli government that is in a very precarious position.In Jerusalem, Miri Eisin, spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, said Livni had called the prime minister to tell him about the meeting with Mubarak. Let me just say that there is no pressure on us from our neighbors who have peace with us to take new drastic steps, she said. So countries with relations with us are willing to use those relations to bring their ideas forward, and not impose them on us.The efforts to discuss the Arab League plan reflect a sense among officials in Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia that pursuing a settlement to the Palestinian-Israeli crisis is the most important step toward stabilizing a region that is increasingly volatile and countering the growing support for radical Islamist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas. In 2002, Israel rejected the Arab initiative, but recently it has yielded to pressure to discuss the plan from the United States, which in turn was responding to pressure from Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. There has been little public expression of optimism over the latest effort, but officials have said they are committed to keeping peace efforts moving.
It's not a big step, said Adnan Abu-Odeh, a former adviser to King Abdullah II of Jordan. It's a good step. It is one step forward, but not enough to make me believe that this is a prelude to a peaceful settlement, because the other side has not and will not respond the way we want or expect it to respond. And let's wait and see.Also Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Assad dismissed rumors of secret peace negotiations between Israel and Syria, saying Israel was too weak to make a deal. There is no progress in the peace process and no contacts with Israel over the issue, neither in secret or overtly, because Israel is not ready for a just and comprehensive peace, Assad said in a televised speech as he opened a session of parliament. Peace efforts have faltered, he said, because a peace agreement would require strong leadership that could make decisive decisions, an apparent allusion to the political crisis in Israel. The speech was Assad's first public appearance since a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem last week.
Pope: God will punish drug dealers By VICTOR L. SIMPSON, Associated Press Writer MAY 12,07
GUARATINGUETA, Brazil - Pope Benedict XVI warned drug traffickers Saturday that they would face divine justice for the scourge of illegal narcotics across Latin America, telling them that, God will call you to account for your deeds.Speaking before a crowd of 6,000 at a drug treatment center, Benedict urged the drug-dealers to reflect on the grave harm they are inflicting on countless young people and on adults from every level of society.Brazil is the second-largest consumer of cocaine after the United States, according to the U.S. State Department, and big cities across Latin America's largest nation are plagued by drug violence.Driven by gangs that control street-corner dealing, the problem is particularly acute in the teeming slums of Rio de Janeiro, where gangs lure children into lives of violence and engage in near-daily shootouts with police that kill innocent bystanders.Human dignity cannot be trampled upon in this way, the pope said.
The treatment center where the pope spoke was founded by a Franciscan friar and claims an 80 percent success rate, giving addicts spiritual guidance as they milk cows, tend apple orchards and work as beekeepers.It is just a short distance away from the shrine city of Aparecida, where Benedict on Sunday will open a conference of Latin American and Caribbean bishops aimed at finding ways to reverse the erosion of the church in the region.Addicts who listened to the pontiff said his visit was important because Brazilian drug users are often ostracized and left to beg on the streets for drug money.We are excluded from society, but we are the ones the pope is coming to see, said Diego Cleto, a 19-year-old who started taking drugs at age 13.The Garatingueta treatment center in a remote hilly region at the end of a dirt road was founded by Friar Hanz Stapel in 1983. There are now 31 similar farm/ treatment centers in Brazil and 10 more in countries such as Russia, Mexico and Mozambique.
Before traveling from Sao Paulo Friday night to the hallowed Catholic religious site of Aparecida, Benedict lamented difficult times for the church in Brazil amid aggressive proselytizing by born-again Protestant congregations.Brazil's census shows the percentage of citizens characterizing themselves as Catholics plunged to 74 percent in 2000 from 89 percent in 1980, while those calling themselves evangelical Protestants rose to 15 percent from 7 percent.The backdrop to the bishops' conference is Aparecida, 100 miles east of Sao Paulo, and home to the mammoth Basilica of Aparecida — as well as the three-foot-tall statue of a black Virgin Mary, called Our Lady Who Appeared, the patron saint of Brazil.The statue was pulled from a river in the 18th century by poor fishermen who were not catching any fish, and then caught loads in their nets. Miracles were subsequently attributed to the statue, and so many pilgrims flocked to Aparecida that the church built the basilica and inaugurated it as a shrine in 1955.
On Friday, the pope canonized Brazil's first native-born saint in a Mass before about a million people. He held up 18th century Friar Antonio de Sant'Anna Galvao as a model of rectitude and humility in an age so full of hedonism.Benedict was cheered by flag-waving crowds in the world's largest Catholic nation as he canonized the new saint, continuing a push for saints in the developing world that began under John Paul II, who sought role models as part of the church's worldwide reach. John Paul canonized more saints than all of his predecessors combined.Benedict also called on Catholics to oppose those elements of the media that ridicule the sanctity of marriage and virginity before marriage, picking a tough crowd to confront about hedonism and permissiveness.More than 70 percent of Brazil's 190 million citizens may be Catholics, but sex before marriage is common. Scantily clad actresses are the norm on hugely popular TV soap operas, and women on the beaches wear bikinis that leave little to the imagination. Plastic surgery to reshape breasts and buttocks is nearly as popular as orthodontia. The pope may be popular among Brazilian Catholics but most probably will not heed his call when it comes to sex, said David Gibson, author of The Rule of Benedict: Pope Benedict XVI and His Battle with the Modern World.This is enormously frustrating to Benedict or any pope; they want to have more impact, Gibson added. But how do you go against a culture like that? It's tough. While polls show Brazilians oppose expanding access to abortion, they overwhelmingly support using condoms to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases — in firm opposition to church doctrine. The government, in fact, hands out millions of condoms for free every year, especially ahead of the debauchery that is an integral part of Brazil's pre-Lent carnival. Nothing could be more countercultural than his message in Brazil, the land of the thong, said Gibson, a former Vatican Radio reporter. Associated Press Writer Vivian Sequera contributed to this report.
U.S., Europe seek passenger data deal By COLLEEN BARRY, Associated Press Writer Sat May 12, 6:55 AM ET
VENICE, Italy - The U.S. Homeland Security secretary met with top European security officials Saturday to work out the details of a new agreement to share airline passenger data for terrorism investigations. Secretary Michael Chertoff also was expected to discuss changes to the U.S. visa-waiver program during the meeting with security officials from Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Poland.A deal on the airline data must be reached by July to avoid problems for both airlines and U.S.-bound passengers.European governments are worried about protecting their strict privacy laws, a legacy of the continent's history with totalitarian and authoritarian regimes.The two sides disagree on how long U.S. authorities can use data, when it should be destroyed and which agencies should have access to the information. The United States also wants the authority to pull data directly from airline computers, but European countries insist airlines must transmit the information.Chertoff travels to Brussels, Belgium, on Monday where he will address the EU Parliament.
Citizens from 15 of the 27 EU nations can enter the United States without applying for a travel visa. U.S. officials say Greece and most of the newer EU members still fail to meet criteria for joining the visa-waiver program.The EU allows Americans to travel to all its member countries without visas and has long insisted on full reciprocity.Poland is especially adamant, arguing that it should be admitted in recognition of its contributions to U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The United States rejects 22 percent of Polish visa applicants — a rate that far exceeds the 3 percent benchmark required for entry into the waiver program.Legislation pending in the Congress would allow the program to admit new countries, while requiring all participating countries to impose closer scrutiny of their passports to ensure they are not lost, stolen or easily counterfeited.President Bush has said he favors adding countries to the visa-waiver list. All but four countries now on the list are European.
Peres says Israel ready for serious peace talks with Arabs Sat May 12, 9:01 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres said on Saturday that Israel is ready for serious discussions with Arab nations over a revived peace proposal, as shuttle diplomacy in the region continued apace. If the Arab side puts forth serious proposals, Israel will in turn offer its own proposals with a view to holding serious negotiations and to finding common ground, Peres was quoted by army radio as saying.We should be careful not to miss out on this opportunity, Peres stressed. Peres was speaking amid efforts to advance the peace plan, first presented by Saudi Arabia in 2002 and revived at an Arab League summit in March.The plan would offer a normalisation of relations in return for full withdrawal from Arab lands seized in 1967, the creation of a Palestinian state and the return of Palestinian refugees.
The league tasked Egypt and Jordan, the only two Arab countries that have made peace with Israel, to work to convince the Jewish state to accept the plan.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni met her Egyptian and Jordanian counterparts in Cairo on Thursday, and stressed the important role the Arab world could play in helping to achieve peace.On Saturday, Palestinian foreign minister Ziad Abu Amr met his Jordanian counterpart Abdel Ilah Khatib and other officials in Amman to discuss the initiative.
The two reviewed bilateral relations as well as ways to advance the peace process to where the Palestinian people's ambitions of an independent state are achieved, Jordan's state news agency Petra reported.Abu Amr, an independent and the first Palestinian foreign minister to visit Jordan since the Islamist group Hamas formed a government in March 2006, thanked King Abdullah II for his efforts on behalf of the Palestinians.He is to travel to Brussels on Sunday for talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Khatib stressed the need for Arabs and the wider world to make every effort... to relaunch the peace process through negotiations between the two sides and to achieve a just and comprehensive peace.
On Sunday, King Abdullah will visit the West Bank town of Ramallah for talks with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas.A palace official said the king will discuss Arab and international efforts aimed at bringing Israel and the Palestinians back to negotiations on the Arab peace plan and a two-state solution.A Palestinian official called it an important visit to discuss political developments in the region, Arab efforts to relaunch the peace process and the Arab peace initiative.The king's visit will come just two days before he meets Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a gathering of Nobel peace laureates in Jordan's ancient city of Petra.Olmert last met the king in December, and both leaders are expected to discuss the renewed Arab initiative at their meeting on Tuesday.Israel rejected the Arab peace plan when it was first launched in Beirut in 2002. Recently, however, it has said the proposal could provide a basis for talks, provided there are amendments on the refugee issue.
Citizens more ambitious than leaders on future EU policies
11.05.2007 - 09:41 CET | By Lucia Kubosova
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – EU citizens are more ambitious about what Europe should do in the future than its political leaders, a new report summing up a series of popular debates shows.The debates with EU citizens were carried out across the bloc following the shock rejection of the draft EU constitution in both France and the Netherlands two years ago – an event that was interpreted as a clear signal of the gap between the bloc's citizens and its institutions.The report, published on Thursday (10 May), refers to the main conclusions of all national debates and shows that citizens in most countries favour action in social policy where Europe does not hold key powers and which is generally not foreseen as an area for major future initiatives.We believe that improving the social and economic conditions for families should be a European policy goal, because most of our panels think families in Europe need better protection and support, and the problem of low birth rates is apparent, stated the document.
Many panels suggested specific measures both at national and European level to address issues such as improved availability of rights to child care, working time flexibility for parents or job protection for those returning from parental leave.Another important subject on the citizens' wish-list is better job protection. People in central and eastern European member states in particular are calling for harmonised minimum work-related standards, such as a common definition of a minimum wage.
Similarly, a majority of participants in the debates - altogether attended by 1,800 randomly selected people - expect the EU to set standards ensuring accessible, dignified, high-quality and affordable health care treatment.When asked how to achieve this goal, the Irish and Greeks suggested open competition of health services, the Dutch, Italians and Cypriots stressed the need for cross-border access to patients while the Danes and Portuguese favour the idea of free health services across Europe.Citizens from several countries can also imagine much more uniform action and standards in education, saying that qualifications could be determined at EU level, while the specific content for comparable and compatible degrees would be dealt with at national and regional levels. There was also broad agreement that the resulting education system should be free and accessible to all.
High political goals
In terms of a common European foreign policy, citizens desire that the EU takes on an active role in protecting and promoting peace, democracy, human rights and justice in the world. They argue the bloc should use both peacekeeping forces and its diplomacy to provide a strong role model across the world in this field, with the French panellists adding the EU could be a force capable of providing a counterbalance to the trend towards a unipolar world dominated by the US.Only the French citizens favour future European cooperation in defence policy, according to the report, while most other countries highlight foreign and security areas for joint EU action.On the other hand, only the German panel specifically supported the idea of a European foreign minister - included in the set of institutional changes proposed by the disputed EU constitution - and it also called for a shared EU seat in the UN's security council.Finally, citizens also broadly favour a pan-European response to immigration and tackling the integration of immigrants, as well as a greater use of external relations policy tools such as development aid and border controls.The EU should also be given stronger powers to develop a common energy policy and ensure that member states live up to the commitments they have made at European level, according to the summary report.The results come just weeks before EU leaders are to gather in Brussels to try and hammer out the bones of a new treaty for the bloc.
Contingencies for nuclear terrorist attack
Government working up plan to prevent chaos in wake of bombing of major city
James Sterngold, Chronicle Staff Writer - Friday, May 11, 2007
As concerns grow that terrorists might attack a major American city with a nuclear bomb, a high-level group of government and military officials has been quietly preparing an emergency survival program that would include the building of bomb shelters, steps to prevent panicked evacuations and the possible suspension of some civil liberties. Many experts say the likelihood of al Qaeda or some other terrorist group producing a working nuclear weapon with illicitly obtained weapons-grade fuel is not large, but such a strike would be far more lethal, frightening and disruptive than the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Not only could the numbers killed and wounded be far higher, but the explosion could, experts say, ignite widespread fires, shut down most transportation, halt much economic activity and cause a possible disintegration of government order. The efforts to prepare a detailed blueprint for survival took a step forward last month when senior government and military officials and other experts, organized by a joint Stanford-Harvard program called the Preventive Defense Project, met behind closed doors in Washington for a day-long workshop.
The session, called The Day After, was premised on the idea that efforts focusing on preventing such a strike were no longer enough, and that the prospect of a collapse of government order was so great if there were an attack that the country needed to begin preparing an emergency program. One of the participants, retired Vice Adm. Roger Rufe, is a senior official at the Department of Homeland Security who is currently designing the government's nuclear attack response plan. The organizers of the nonpartisan project, Stanford's William Perry, a secretary of defense in the Clinton administration, and Harvard's Ashton Carter, a senior Defense Department official during the Clinton years, assumed the detonation of a bomb similar in size to the weapon that destroyed Hiroshima in World War II.
Such a weapon, with a force of around 10 to 15 kilotons, is small compared with most Cold War-era warheads, but is roughly the yield of a relatively simple bomb. That would be considerably more powerful and lethal than a so-called dirty bomb, which is a conventional explosive packed with some dangerous radioactive material that would be dispersed by the explosion.
The 41 participants -- including the directors of the country's two nuclear weapons laboratories, Homeland Security officials, a number of top military commanders and former government officials -- discussed how all levels of government ought to respond to protect the country from a second nuclear attack, to limit health problems from the radioactive fallout and to restore civil order. Comments inside the session were confidential, but a number of the participants described their views and the ideas exchanged. A paper the organizers are writing, summarizing their recommendations, urges local governments and individuals to build underground bomb shelters, much as people did in the early days of the Cold War; encourages authorities who survive to prevent evacuation of at least some of the areas attacked for three days to avoid roadway paralysis and damage from exposure to radioactive fallout; and proposes suspending regulations on radiation exposure so that first responders would be able to act, even if that caused higher cancer rates.
The public at large will expect that their government had thought through this possibility and to have planned for it, Carter said in an interview. This kind of an event would be unprecedented. We have had glimpses of something like this with Hiroshima, and glimpses with 9/11 and with Katrina. But those are only glimpses. Perhaps the most sobering issue discussed was the possibility of a chaotic, long-term crisis triggered by fears that the attackers might have more bombs. Such uncertainty could sow panic nationwide. If one bomb goes off, there are likely to be more to follow, Carter said. This fact, that nuclear terrorism will appear as a syndrome rather than a single episode, has major consequences. It would, he added, require powerful government intervention to force people to do something many may resist -- staying put. Fred Ikle, a former Defense Department official in the Reagan administration who authored a book last year urging attack preparation, Annihilation from Within, said that the government should plan how it could restrict civil liberties and enforce a sort of martial law in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, but also have guidelines for how those liberties could be restored later. That prospect underscored a central divide among participants at the recent meeting, several said.
Some participants argued that the federal government needs to educate first responders and other officials as quickly as possible on how to act even if transportation and communication systems break down, as seems likely, and if the government is unable to issue orders. There was a clear consensus that a nuclear bomb detonated in the United States or a friendly country would be an earth-shaking event, and we need to know how we will respond beforehand, said Ikle. I wish we had started earlier, because this kind of planning can make an important difference.But others said the meeting made it clear that the results of any attack would be so devastating and the turmoil so difficult to control, if not impossible, that the lesson should have been that the U.S. government needs to place a far greater emphasis on prevention. Your cities would empty and people would completely lose confidence in the ability of the government to protect them, said Steve Fetter, dean of the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland. You'd have nothing that resembles our current social order. I'm not sure any preparation can be sufficient to deal with that.Fetter added, We have to hold current policymakers more responsible" for taking all out measures to prevent a nuclear attack.
Raymond Jeanloz, a nuclear weapons expert at UC Berkeley and a government adviser on nuclear issues, said that California might be better prepared than most states because of long-standing plans for dealing with earthquakes and other natural disasters. Those plans, he said, could be a useful model for first responders. He added, as others did, that the dislocation and panic caused by a nuclear strike could make any responses unpredictable. The most difficult thing is the fear that this kind of planning, even talking about it, can cause, Jeanloz said. Michael May, a former director of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, defended the survival planning, saying that people should get used to the idea that such a crisis, while dire, could be managed -- a key step in restoring calm. You have to demystify the nuclear issue, said May, who now teaches at Stanford's Center for International Security and Cooperation. By talking about this, you take away the feeling of helplessness.E-mail James Sterngold at jsterngold@sfchronicle.com.
Friday, May 11, 2007
IS IT 1938 ALL OVER AGAIN
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS.2-Flooding causes state of emergency in Uruguay. 3-Wildfire spreads through Los Angeles suburbs. 4-Iran seeks improved ties with N. Korea. 5-SKorea and EU hail initial free trade talks as success. 6-Koreas adopt military agreement. 7-Voting and veto issues to dominate EU constitution discussions. 8-My love of Jerusalem. 9-This Week with Rabbi Eckstein.
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri May 11 12:34 PM EDT
MAY 11,07
MAP 2.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.9 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 5.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 PUGET SOUND REGION, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.3 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN IDAHO
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
MAY 10,07
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.3 KEPULAUAN KAI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHWEST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.0 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.3 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.6 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.6 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.7 VALPARAISO, CHILE
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.0 OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
MAP 4.4 TONGA
MAP 4.3 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
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.
Flooding causes state of emergency in Uruguay by Kirsty McCabe MAY 11,07
Uruguay has declared a national disaster after experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years. An exceptionally wet few months combined with a week of heavy rainfall has forced around 12,000 people to leave their homes. The floods have affected more than 110,000 people, destroying crops and infrastructure amounting to millions of dollars in damage.The central city of Duranzo has been hit the hardest, with 20% of the population being evacuated as the torrential rain continues. The Yi River rose to 14 metres above its average level resulting in flash floods and landslides, and leaving 30,000 people without access to clean water. As water is being pumped in from other cities, concerns are now being raised over the spread of diseases such as Malaria and the levels of sanitation. With the South American Met Office predicting the onset of more extreme weather, the number of people affected is expected to rise, with many now vulnerable communities fearing the worst.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfire spreads through Los Angeles suburbs. by Tomasz Schafernaker MAY 11,07
Fire fighters in Los Angeles have been battling a blaze which has been tearing through the bush covered hills of Hollywood over the past two days. The state is in the grip of the driest start to the year since records began in 1877, with the combination of high temperatures and drought conditions sparking the wildfire outbreak. The fire erupted Tuesday afternoon in Griffin Park, a mixture of wilderness and cultural sites set between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley; already destroying the popular terraced garden of Dante’s View.
Although there have been no deaths or destruction of any homes, around 300 people have been evacuated. Councilman Tom LaBonge said it’s overwhelming, spreading through thick bush that hasn’t burned down in years.Across the state, fire fighters in northern Georgia have also been battling with wild fire for a fourth consecutive week. Deemed the largest blaze in state history, the fire has consumed over 100,000 acres of the Okefenokee National Wildfire Refuge. Conditions had begun to improve, with a drop in overnight temperatures enabling fire fighters to contain 40% of the 600 acre blaze. However with the National Weather Service stating they expect the weather reprieve to be short lived, the Los Angeles fire services may have a fight on their hands.
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)
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Iran seeks improved ties with N. Korea By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer MAY 11,07
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister said North Korea's debts stand in the way of improving ties between the two countries — both U.S. foes under international pressure over their nuclear programs.
It was the first time an official of either country referred to their dealings, which go back to at least the 1980s but are not publicly known. The extent of North Korea's debts to Iran remain unknown.North Korea's debts to Tehran are among the obstacles in the way of cooperation, the official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying Friday. The two countries can find a formula to remove this obstacle.Mottaki met late Thursday with North Korean acting Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il. He added that Iran was still interested in improving ties with North Korea in the fields of politics, economics and culture with North Korea.Kim said his country was ready to cooperate with Iran in various economic fields and support the country on the international level.
On Friday, Vice President Dick Cheney issued a warning to Iran while aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, saying the United States would join allies to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed two sets of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or the material for atomic bombs. Iran, which denies it is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, has another deadline later this month to freeze enrichment or face tighter sanctions.The Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea last year for conducting its first nuclear weapons test. North Korea has since refused to act on a February pledge to start dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and political concessions.The North Korean government is believed to have cooperated with Iran militarily since early 1980s, when Saddam Hussein waged an eight-year war against Iran. Officials of the two countries regularly meet.
SKorea and EU hail initial free trade talks as success by Lim Chang-Won MAY 11,07
SEOUL (AFP) - Initial talks between South Korea and the European Union on forging a free trade agreement have been a success, both sides said Friday at the end of the first round. Seoul's chief negotiator Kim Han-Soo called the five days of talks highly successful while his EU counterpart Ignacio Garcia Bercero said discussions were very constructive.
Asia's third largest economy and the world's biggest trading bloc began talks Monday, focusing on rules and principles. Bercero said they aim for a very ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement.The first round was highly successful, said Kim, the deputy trade minister. Mutual trust was built considerably between negotiators of the two sides.He said they have agreed in principle to scrap about 95 percent of each other's tariffs on merchandise. A draft text on tariff concessions would be exchanged by the end of June, with a second round of talks starting July 16 in Brussels.South Korea's average tariff is 11.2 percent compared to the EU's 4.2 percent, according to Kim's office.
South Korea has said it wants to conclude a pact within a year. Kim said it was too early to say when an agreement would be sealed, but I hope we will be able to conclude the deal as quickly as possible.South Korea, fresh from a landmark trade pact with the United States, hopes to become a free trade hub linking America and Europe and to steal a march on its export rivals China and Japan.
The European Union sees an agreement as giving it a bridgehead in Northeast Asia.The EU was South Korea's second largest trading partner after China last year, with trade reaching 78.56 billion dollars. It is the biggest single foreign investor, committing 4.97 billion dollars last year alone.South Korea wants to gain more access to the EU market for auto parts, electronics and textiles. The EU wants Seoul to remove barriers on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and cosmetics.
The EU cited rules of origin, services and sustainable development as sensitive issues for future negotiations, while South Korea regards environment and labour matters as the most difficult areas.
South Korea hopes the EU will ease anti-dumping rules and countervailing duties, while the EU wants Seoul to ease regulations on imported cars.The EU has called for reciprocity in services and investment, Bercero said, adding he also raised intellectual property rights.South Korea has in recent years tightened laws to tackle copyright violations. But European businessmen believe there is still no
effective deterrent and are also concerned at the theft of intellectual property in software.In an annual report this year the United States kept South Korea on its watch list for intellectual property rights, as a country not providing an adequate level of protection or enforcement.
Koreas adopt military agreement By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 11, 8:10 AM ET
SEOUL, South Korea - North and South Korea adopted a military agreement Friday enabling the first train crossing of their heavily armed border in more than half a century, the South's Defense Ministry said. The rail test, planned for Thursday, would be the first time trains have crossed the tightly sealed border since inter-Korean rail links were severed in the middle of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Two tracks have been reconnected as part of a series of reconciliation projects launched since the two sides held the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000.The test would be just a single run of trains along the restored tracks on each side of the peninsula, with regular train service between the two sides unlikely to begin anytime soon.The two Koreas had agreed in principle on security for the rail test earlier this week, but the adoption of a formal agreement came only after more than 30 hours of extended talks that stretched into Friday due to unspecified sticking points.
South Korea hopes the inter-Korean railways could ultimately be linked to Russia's Trans-Siberian railroad, and could allow an overland route connecting the peninsula to Europe significantly cutting delivery times for freight that now requires sea transport.Economic officials from both sides agreed last month to conduct the train run, but North Korea's military had the final say on whether it goes forward because such a border crossing requires security arrangements.
The security accord sets out protocols for the train crossings next week, including what areas of the border should open and for how long, as well as pledges from each side to guarantee travelers' safety.South Korea had hoped to expand the agreement to cover similar future border crossings, but the North refused.The two sides also agreed in principle to set up a joint fishing area around their disputed western sea border and continue talks on that issue and other measures aimed at preventing accidental clashes in the area, according to a joint statement summarizing the negotiations' outcome.
North Korea doesn't recognize the current sea border demarcated by the United Nations at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and has long claimed it should be further south.The waters around the border are rich fishing grounds and boats from the two Koreas routinely jostle for position during the May-June crab-catching season. In 1999 and 2002, their navies fought deadly skirmishes, killing several sailors and sinking six ships.The two sides agreed to hold the next general-level talks in July and continue discussions to set up a defense ministers' meeting, the joint statement said.This week's talks were the first high-level military contacts between the two sides in a year. The two Koreas remain technically at war because the Korean War ended in a cease-fire that has never been replaced with a peace treaty.
Ties between the two sides have warmed significantly since the 2000 summit, although they suffered during the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.Pyongyang conducted its first-ever nuclear test in October, chilling relations with the South.But the South began reaching out again to the North after Pyongyang agreed in February to shut down its nuclear reactor under an agreement with the United States and four other neighboring countries.Still, the communist regime missed an April deadline to close the reactor because of a separate financial dispute with the United States, and it is unclear when it will close down the facility.
Voting and veto issues to dominate EU constitution discussions
11.05.2007 - 17:39 CET | By Honor Mahony and Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels with diplomats already gearing themselves up for a long meeting.The German EU presidency has finished the technical consultations with member state officials - a last gathering of all of these technocrats will occur next week on Wednesday - and is now expected to enter the political phase.According to diplomats close to the talks, member states are heading towards a consensus to abandon the idea of substituting all the previous treaties by one constitutional treaty.Instead the draft constitution, rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005, will take the form of an amendment to current treaties.
Discussions are ongoing about attaching part one of the constitutional treaty containing the institutional innovations to the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht and attaching part three containing the policies of the EU to the original 1957 Treaty of Rome.
Getting as much cleared as possible at the June summit
According to one diplomat, Germany, using its political weight as a large country as well as holding the current presidency of the EU, will try to get as much of the political issues cleared up at the 21-22 June summit so that the following intergovernmental conference on the treaty is as technical as possible.This stance has led diplomats in Brussels to assume that the summit is going to be long and
contentious, with some looking back to the Nice Treaty summit, a bad-tempered political bout that lasted several days.There is talk of a lengthy council ... I have noticed it creeping into the language of other diplomats, one EU diplomat remarked.This talk reflects the list of controversial points that need to be agreed - including two fundamental issues on voting weights among member states and the
extension of qualified majority voting.For Germany, the voting system contained in the draft constitution is something not to be touched. Whoever touches this [issue] has to know that he will not reach a compromise, state secretary Georg Boomgaarden said on Thursday in the Netherlands. But Berlin still has to reckon with an increasingly tough-talking Poland.
Sticking points
Speaking to French daily Le Monde, Polish prime minister Lech Kaczynski said we will not accept the voting system proposed in the current project. For Poland this is a crucial question.The current Nice Treaty is extremely favourable to Warsaw in terms of voting weights, a privilege it loses under the draft constitution where a re-jigged voting system takes into account population size, making it much more favourable to Germany.Britain's wish to cut down the amount of areas that can be agreed by qualified majority voting is another brewing, and potentially even tougher, fight. The draft constitution, already largely ratified by 18 member states, extends the rights of the parliament to co-legislate, thus reducing the right of veto, in 49 new areas - mainly in freedom, security and justice.London is looking to claw some of this back to make the treaty an easier sell to a sceptical public and largely anti-Europe press.But this is strongly opposed in several countries, including Spain and Italy, while Paris has also signalled it will not compromise on this topic.Alain Lamassoure, an advisor to French president-elect
Nicolas Sarkozy told the EUobserver that while the UK might be tempted to revisit the list of issues that should be decided by qualified majority vote rather than unanimity (...) for the rest of member states this is not negotiable.
Other sticking points include the Charter of Fundamental Rights with member states bickering over how to incorporate it into the treaty. Currently it is in there as a whole, but some capitals are pushing for it to be referred to only in one article which says that it will only be applicable to EU law and giving member states the right to adapt it to their own traditions and legislation.
Enlargement is another controversial factor. While enlargement criteria are likely to make it into the treaty, sources are already predicting a quarrel over whether the EU's own capacity to take on new member states should be put into the treaty. Meanwhile, the German presidency is already working on additional protocols on climate change, social Europe and energy solidarity.Remarking on the difficulties facing chancellor Merkel to balance the wishes of those already having ratified and the nine countries that have not, one diplomat noted that she has a big stick to beat member states with - that they all signed up to the contents of the constitution in 2004.It's a very dangerous tactic to sign up to something at heads of state and government level and then try and wiggle out of it, said an official adding especially when there is a big presidency in town.
My love of Jerusalem
By Sir Jonathan Sacks - Thursday 10th of May 2007
There are times when you know you are living through history: that what you are witnessing will be remembered for centuries. That is what I, and surely every Jew, felt on the day forty years ago when the word went round the world: Har haBayit beyadenu. The Temple Mount is in our hands.. That day, 28 Iyar, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces, R. Shlomo Goren, carried a Sefer Torah to the Kotel, blew shofar and recited Psalms. Yitzhak Rabin, Chief of Staff, described the scene: We stood among a tangle of battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions.
Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.When the Israelis reached the Jewish Quarter, they discovered that it had been reduced to rubble. Synagogues had been destroyed and holy places desecrated.
Moshe Dayan made an immediate public announcement that Israel would act differently: To our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples. holy places and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety. Israel has kept that promised since. No people has ever loved a city as, for 3,000 years, Jews have loved Jerusalem. The Book of Psalms calls it beautiful in its heights, joy of all the earth, city of the great King. The word Jerusalem appears almost 700 times in Tanakh.There are few laments that speak to us with such undiminished force as the words Jews said, twenty-six centuries ago, when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.Wherever Jews
prayed, they prayed towards Jerusalem. At every wedding they broke a glass in its memory. At the two great climaxes of the Jewish year, on Pesach and at the end of Yom Kippur, they sang, Le-shanah haba bi-Yerushalayim. It is said that once Napoleon was passing a synagogue and heard sounds of lamentation.
Why are the Jews crying., he asked. They are mourning the loss of Jerusalem, one of his officers replied. How long ago was that?. he asked. More than seventeen centuries ago, the officer replied. A people that can mourn the loss of Jerusalem for so long, will one day have it restored to them, Napoleon said. And so it was, forty years ago. It is worth remembering that on the first day of the war, 5 June, Israel sent three messages to King Hussein of Jordan – one through the United Nations representative, another via the American ambassador and a third directly. Israel would not attack Jordan if Jordan did not enter the war. Israel would honour the armistice agreement with Jordan in its entirety. The West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Old City, would remain under Jordanian control.
There was no reply. Instead, Jordan attacked. Had King Hussein not hardened his heart, Jerusalem would still be in Arab hands. It is one of the great ironies of history. I remember the first time I looked down on the old city and the Temple Mount. I was standing on Mount Scopus, the original and now rebuilt site of the Hebrew University. I recalled the moment described in the Talmud when Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues stood on the same spot, looking down at the ruins of the Temple. The rabbis wept. Rabbi Akiva smiled. How can you smile? they asked.
The place that was once the most sacred spot on earth is now laid waste and fox is walking across the Holy of Holies where once only the High Priest was allowed to enter, and only on the holiest of days. I smile, Rabbi Akiva replied, because the prophets prophesied that Jerusalem would be laid waste, and they prophesied that it would be rebuilt. Now that the one prophesy has been fulfilled, can we doubt that the other will be likewise? That was when I realized the power of faith. Jews never lost faith that one day they would return. And they did. It was faith that brought the Jewish people back to Israel and rebuilt the ruins of Jerusalem. So, as we remember those events of forty years ago, let us thank G-d for the freedom to stand once again in David.s city, joining our prayers to those of our ancestors in the place the Divine Presence never left and to which the Jewish people has now returned.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
Is it 1938 all over again - May 11, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Over the last couple of years, we've seen evidence that France is becoming a less hospitable place for Jews. First, there were the 2005 riots in the Paris suburbs by Muslim youth, which gave the French Jewish community special reason to be wary—at the time, one Jewish man commented, When there are problems in this area (the suburban housing projects that are home to many Muslims), Jews are always easy scapegoats.
The uneasiness from these riots helped contribute to a record year for French aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel). The following year came the heartbreaking story of Ilan Halimi, a young French Jew abducted, tortured and ultimately killed by members of a Muslim gang, just for being Jewish. This was one of many events in 2006 which contributed to a 45% increase in anti-Semitic violence and vandalism in France in 2006.Anti-Semitic incidents since 2006 have been less spectacular, but no less disturbing. In the last month alone, attackers beat a young Jewish woman in the southern city of Marseille. She reported that they tore a necklace with a Jewish ornament off her neck, crying this is the symbol of evil, before assaulting her. On April 19, a rabbi was beaten in a Paris train station, his attackers shouting, Dirty Jew, you are looking at me—I will smash your face, dirty Jew. In the city of Villeurbanne, a Jewish man standing in front of a kosher restaurant was stabbed just last week.
The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as France's president offers some encouragement. In his role as Interior Minister, Sarkozy was instrumental in alerting the French government to the growing problem of anti-Semitic attacks and Islamic radicalism. There is every reason to believe that, with him holding the nation's highest office, France will become a better friend of Israel and the Jewish people.
However, with the continued growth of Islamic radicalism, the new French president will have his work cut out for him when he takes office next week. While some of the most highly publicized anti-Semitic incidents have occurred in France, this is a phenomenon repeated across Europe and the former Soviet Union. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia—all these countries, and more, have recorded a disturbing number of anti-Semitic attacks, desecration of Jewish cemeteries, and vandalism of Jewish institutions.
It was with these and other incidents in mind that I participated recently in a very interesting and important seminar. Held at Queens College in New York, it brought together Jewish (and some non-Jewish) leaders to discuss the question, Is it 1938 all over again? 1938 was, of course, the year of Kristallnacht, when Jewish synagogues and businesses were destroyed and Jewish men and women were attacked throughout Germany. While oppressive laws against Jews were in place years before this, 1938 is generally seen as the unofficial beginning of Hitler's Final Solution the Nazis' effort to destroy Europe's Jews. This conference looked at theconvergence of world events today—Iran's pursuit of nuclear arms and vows to destroy Israel, the strengthening of virulently anti-Jewish, anti-Israel Islamist terrorist groups, the growth of anti-Semitism worldwide—and asked if history is repeating itself.
There were a number of interesting viewpoints expressed at the conference, far too many to go into here. But one of the most compelling and arresting talks came from a non-Jew, David Pryce-Jones, an Englishman, Oxford professor and senior editor of the magazine National Review. Speaking on the subject, Europe, Islam and the Future of European Jewry, Mr. Pryce-Jones painted a bleak picture of the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish attacks and sentiment and the growth of a vocal and increasingly radicalized Muslim minority in Europe. By the time he was done, it seemed clear to me that, just 60 years after the Holocaust, the survival of Europe's Jewish community is far from assured.
Is it 1938 all over again? Ultimately, of course, no one knows the answer to that question. And perhaps it is less important to try to answer it than it is to continually be on the defense against the ugly forces of hate and anti-Semitism that are again rearing their ugly heads—not just in Europe, but worldwide. You can help us gather more people to join with us and stand for Israel and Jewish people around the world by sending this update to your friends and inviting them to sign up for The Fellowship's e-newsletter. Thank you for your continued concern, care, and prayers for the peace of Jerusalem.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
EARTHQUAKES
MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.
MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.
LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.
WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)
Update time = Fri May 11 12:34 PM EDT
MAY 11,07
MAP 2.6 KODIAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 3.9 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.0 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.7 GREATER LOS ANGELES AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.7 SOUTHEASTERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 5.3 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 PUGET SOUND REGION, WASHINGTON
MAP 4.3 TAJIKISTAN
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN IDAHO
MAP 2.9 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 3.2 ANDREANOF ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN IS., ALASKA
MAP 2.9 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.5 MAUG ISLANDS REG., NORTHERN MARIANA ISL.
MAP 4.9 KEPULAUAN BARAT DAYA, INDONESIA
MAY 10,07
MAP 4.6 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.3 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 5.1 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 5.3 KEPULAUAN KAI, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHWEST OF THE KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 4.7 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 3.3 OFFSHORE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 MENDOZA, ARGENTINA
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.0 VOLCANO ISLANDS, JAPAN REGION
MAP 4.6 SOLOMON ISLANDS
MAP 2.6 BAJA CALIFORNIA, MEXICO
MAP 5.3 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.9 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 4.6 SOUTHERN SUMATRA, INDONESIA
MAP 3.6 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.2 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.7 VALPARAISO, CHILE
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.0 OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
MAP 4.4 TONGA
MAP 4.3 TARAPACA, CHILE
MAP 3.3 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 2.6 HAWAII REGION, HAWAII
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.
Flooding causes state of emergency in Uruguay by Kirsty McCabe MAY 11,07
Uruguay has declared a national disaster after experiencing the worst flooding in 50 years. An exceptionally wet few months combined with a week of heavy rainfall has forced around 12,000 people to leave their homes. The floods have affected more than 110,000 people, destroying crops and infrastructure amounting to millions of dollars in damage.The central city of Duranzo has been hit the hardest, with 20% of the population being evacuated as the torrential rain continues. The Yi River rose to 14 metres above its average level resulting in flash floods and landslides, and leaving 30,000 people without access to clean water. As water is being pumped in from other cities, concerns are now being raised over the spread of diseases such as Malaria and the levels of sanitation. With the South American Met Office predicting the onset of more extreme weather, the number of people affected is expected to rise, with many now vulnerable communities fearing the worst.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfire spreads through Los Angeles suburbs. by Tomasz Schafernaker MAY 11,07
Fire fighters in Los Angeles have been battling a blaze which has been tearing through the bush covered hills of Hollywood over the past two days. The state is in the grip of the driest start to the year since records began in 1877, with the combination of high temperatures and drought conditions sparking the wildfire outbreak. The fire erupted Tuesday afternoon in Griffin Park, a mixture of wilderness and cultural sites set between Hollywood and the San Fernando Valley; already destroying the popular terraced garden of Dante’s View.
Although there have been no deaths or destruction of any homes, around 300 people have been evacuated. Councilman Tom LaBonge said it’s overwhelming, spreading through thick bush that hasn’t burned down in years.Across the state, fire fighters in northern Georgia have also been battling with wild fire for a fourth consecutive week. Deemed the largest blaze in state history, the fire has consumed over 100,000 acres of the Okefenokee National Wildfire Refuge. Conditions had begun to improve, with a drop in overnight temperatures enabling fire fighters to contain 40% of the 600 acre blaze. However with the National Weather Service stating they expect the weather reprieve to be short lived, the Los Angeles fire services may have a fight on their hands.
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)
2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL
REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).
DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
Iran seeks improved ties with N. Korea By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer MAY 11,07
TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's foreign minister said North Korea's debts stand in the way of improving ties between the two countries — both U.S. foes under international pressure over their nuclear programs.
It was the first time an official of either country referred to their dealings, which go back to at least the 1980s but are not publicly known. The extent of North Korea's debts to Iran remain unknown.North Korea's debts to Tehran are among the obstacles in the way of cooperation, the official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki as saying Friday. The two countries can find a formula to remove this obstacle.Mottaki met late Thursday with North Korean acting Foreign Minister Kim Yong Il. He added that Iran was still interested in improving ties with North Korea in the fields of politics, economics and culture with North Korea.Kim said his country was ready to cooperate with Iran in various economic fields and support the country on the international level.
On Friday, Vice President Dick Cheney issued a warning to Iran while aboard an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf, saying the United States would join allies to prevent Iran from gaining nuclear weapons and dominating this region.
The U.N. Security Council has imposed two sets of sanctions against Iran for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or the material for atomic bombs. Iran, which denies it is secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons, has another deadline later this month to freeze enrichment or face tighter sanctions.The Security Council imposed sanctions on North Korea last year for conducting its first nuclear weapons test. North Korea has since refused to act on a February pledge to start dismantling its nuclear program in exchange for economic aid and political concessions.The North Korean government is believed to have cooperated with Iran militarily since early 1980s, when Saddam Hussein waged an eight-year war against Iran. Officials of the two countries regularly meet.
SKorea and EU hail initial free trade talks as success by Lim Chang-Won MAY 11,07
SEOUL (AFP) - Initial talks between South Korea and the European Union on forging a free trade agreement have been a success, both sides said Friday at the end of the first round. Seoul's chief negotiator Kim Han-Soo called the five days of talks highly successful while his EU counterpart Ignacio Garcia Bercero said discussions were very constructive.
Asia's third largest economy and the world's biggest trading bloc began talks Monday, focusing on rules and principles. Bercero said they aim for a very ambitious and comprehensive free trade agreement.The first round was highly successful, said Kim, the deputy trade minister. Mutual trust was built considerably between negotiators of the two sides.He said they have agreed in principle to scrap about 95 percent of each other's tariffs on merchandise. A draft text on tariff concessions would be exchanged by the end of June, with a second round of talks starting July 16 in Brussels.South Korea's average tariff is 11.2 percent compared to the EU's 4.2 percent, according to Kim's office.
South Korea has said it wants to conclude a pact within a year. Kim said it was too early to say when an agreement would be sealed, but I hope we will be able to conclude the deal as quickly as possible.South Korea, fresh from a landmark trade pact with the United States, hopes to become a free trade hub linking America and Europe and to steal a march on its export rivals China and Japan.
The European Union sees an agreement as giving it a bridgehead in Northeast Asia.The EU was South Korea's second largest trading partner after China last year, with trade reaching 78.56 billion dollars. It is the biggest single foreign investor, committing 4.97 billion dollars last year alone.South Korea wants to gain more access to the EU market for auto parts, electronics and textiles. The EU wants Seoul to remove barriers on automobiles, pharmaceuticals, chemicals and cosmetics.
The EU cited rules of origin, services and sustainable development as sensitive issues for future negotiations, while South Korea regards environment and labour matters as the most difficult areas.
South Korea hopes the EU will ease anti-dumping rules and countervailing duties, while the EU wants Seoul to ease regulations on imported cars.The EU has called for reciprocity in services and investment, Bercero said, adding he also raised intellectual property rights.South Korea has in recent years tightened laws to tackle copyright violations. But European businessmen believe there is still no
effective deterrent and are also concerned at the theft of intellectual property in software.In an annual report this year the United States kept South Korea on its watch list for intellectual property rights, as a country not providing an adequate level of protection or enforcement.
Koreas adopt military agreement By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer
Fri May 11, 8:10 AM ET
SEOUL, South Korea - North and South Korea adopted a military agreement Friday enabling the first train crossing of their heavily armed border in more than half a century, the South's Defense Ministry said. The rail test, planned for Thursday, would be the first time trains have crossed the tightly sealed border since inter-Korean rail links were severed in the middle of the 1950-53 Korean War.
Two tracks have been reconnected as part of a series of reconciliation projects launched since the two sides held the first-ever summit of their leaders in 2000.The test would be just a single run of trains along the restored tracks on each side of the peninsula, with regular train service between the two sides unlikely to begin anytime soon.The two Koreas had agreed in principle on security for the rail test earlier this week, but the adoption of a formal agreement came only after more than 30 hours of extended talks that stretched into Friday due to unspecified sticking points.
South Korea hopes the inter-Korean railways could ultimately be linked to Russia's Trans-Siberian railroad, and could allow an overland route connecting the peninsula to Europe significantly cutting delivery times for freight that now requires sea transport.Economic officials from both sides agreed last month to conduct the train run, but North Korea's military had the final say on whether it goes forward because such a border crossing requires security arrangements.
The security accord sets out protocols for the train crossings next week, including what areas of the border should open and for how long, as well as pledges from each side to guarantee travelers' safety.South Korea had hoped to expand the agreement to cover similar future border crossings, but the North refused.The two sides also agreed in principle to set up a joint fishing area around their disputed western sea border and continue talks on that issue and other measures aimed at preventing accidental clashes in the area, according to a joint statement summarizing the negotiations' outcome.
North Korea doesn't recognize the current sea border demarcated by the United Nations at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, and has long claimed it should be further south.The waters around the border are rich fishing grounds and boats from the two Koreas routinely jostle for position during the May-June crab-catching season. In 1999 and 2002, their navies fought deadly skirmishes, killing several sailors and sinking six ships.The two sides agreed to hold the next general-level talks in July and continue discussions to set up a defense ministers' meeting, the joint statement said.This week's talks were the first high-level military contacts between the two sides in a year. The two Koreas remain technically at war because the Korean War ended in a cease-fire that has never been replaced with a peace treaty.
Ties between the two sides have warmed significantly since the 2000 summit, although they suffered during the international standoff over North Korea's nuclear ambitions.Pyongyang conducted its first-ever nuclear test in October, chilling relations with the South.But the South began reaching out again to the North after Pyongyang agreed in February to shut down its nuclear reactor under an agreement with the United States and four other neighboring countries.Still, the communist regime missed an April deadline to close the reactor because of a separate financial dispute with the United States, and it is unclear when it will close down the facility.
Voting and veto issues to dominate EU constitution discussions
11.05.2007 - 17:39 CET | By Honor Mahony and Mark Beunderman
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The voting system and where member states should have a right to a veto are shaping up to be the two biggest issues at the treaty summit next month in Brussels with diplomats already gearing themselves up for a long meeting.The German EU presidency has finished the technical consultations with member state officials - a last gathering of all of these technocrats will occur next week on Wednesday - and is now expected to enter the political phase.According to diplomats close to the talks, member states are heading towards a consensus to abandon the idea of substituting all the previous treaties by one constitutional treaty.Instead the draft constitution, rejected by Dutch and French voters in 2005, will take the form of an amendment to current treaties.
Discussions are ongoing about attaching part one of the constitutional treaty containing the institutional innovations to the 1992 Treaty of Maastricht and attaching part three containing the policies of the EU to the original 1957 Treaty of Rome.
Getting as much cleared as possible at the June summit
According to one diplomat, Germany, using its political weight as a large country as well as holding the current presidency of the EU, will try to get as much of the political issues cleared up at the 21-22 June summit so that the following intergovernmental conference on the treaty is as technical as possible.This stance has led diplomats in Brussels to assume that the summit is going to be long and
contentious, with some looking back to the Nice Treaty summit, a bad-tempered political bout that lasted several days.There is talk of a lengthy council ... I have noticed it creeping into the language of other diplomats, one EU diplomat remarked.This talk reflects the list of controversial points that need to be agreed - including two fundamental issues on voting weights among member states and the
extension of qualified majority voting.For Germany, the voting system contained in the draft constitution is something not to be touched. Whoever touches this [issue] has to know that he will not reach a compromise, state secretary Georg Boomgaarden said on Thursday in the Netherlands. But Berlin still has to reckon with an increasingly tough-talking Poland.
Sticking points
Speaking to French daily Le Monde, Polish prime minister Lech Kaczynski said we will not accept the voting system proposed in the current project. For Poland this is a crucial question.The current Nice Treaty is extremely favourable to Warsaw in terms of voting weights, a privilege it loses under the draft constitution where a re-jigged voting system takes into account population size, making it much more favourable to Germany.Britain's wish to cut down the amount of areas that can be agreed by qualified majority voting is another brewing, and potentially even tougher, fight. The draft constitution, already largely ratified by 18 member states, extends the rights of the parliament to co-legislate, thus reducing the right of veto, in 49 new areas - mainly in freedom, security and justice.London is looking to claw some of this back to make the treaty an easier sell to a sceptical public and largely anti-Europe press.But this is strongly opposed in several countries, including Spain and Italy, while Paris has also signalled it will not compromise on this topic.Alain Lamassoure, an advisor to French president-elect
Nicolas Sarkozy told the EUobserver that while the UK might be tempted to revisit the list of issues that should be decided by qualified majority vote rather than unanimity (...) for the rest of member states this is not negotiable.
Other sticking points include the Charter of Fundamental Rights with member states bickering over how to incorporate it into the treaty. Currently it is in there as a whole, but some capitals are pushing for it to be referred to only in one article which says that it will only be applicable to EU law and giving member states the right to adapt it to their own traditions and legislation.
Enlargement is another controversial factor. While enlargement criteria are likely to make it into the treaty, sources are already predicting a quarrel over whether the EU's own capacity to take on new member states should be put into the treaty. Meanwhile, the German presidency is already working on additional protocols on climate change, social Europe and energy solidarity.Remarking on the difficulties facing chancellor Merkel to balance the wishes of those already having ratified and the nine countries that have not, one diplomat noted that she has a big stick to beat member states with - that they all signed up to the contents of the constitution in 2004.It's a very dangerous tactic to sign up to something at heads of state and government level and then try and wiggle out of it, said an official adding especially when there is a big presidency in town.
My love of Jerusalem
By Sir Jonathan Sacks - Thursday 10th of May 2007
There are times when you know you are living through history: that what you are witnessing will be remembered for centuries. That is what I, and surely every Jew, felt on the day forty years ago when the word went round the world: Har haBayit beyadenu. The Temple Mount is in our hands.. That day, 28 Iyar, the Chief Rabbi of the Israel Defence Forces, R. Shlomo Goren, carried a Sefer Torah to the Kotel, blew shofar and recited Psalms. Yitzhak Rabin, Chief of Staff, described the scene: We stood among a tangle of battle-weary men who were unable to believe their eyes or restrain their emotions.
Their eyes were moist with tears, their speech incoherent. The overwhelming desire was to cling to the Wall, to hold on to that great moment as long as possible.When the Israelis reached the Jewish Quarter, they discovered that it had been reduced to rubble. Synagogues had been destroyed and holy places desecrated.
Moshe Dayan made an immediate public announcement that Israel would act differently: To our Christian and Muslim fellow citizens, we solemnly promise full religious freedom and rights. We did not come to Jerusalem for the sake of other peoples. holy places and not to interfere with the adherents of other faiths, but in order to safeguard its entirety. Israel has kept that promised since. No people has ever loved a city as, for 3,000 years, Jews have loved Jerusalem. The Book of Psalms calls it beautiful in its heights, joy of all the earth, city of the great King. The word Jerusalem appears almost 700 times in Tanakh.There are few laments that speak to us with such undiminished force as the words Jews said, twenty-six centuries ago, when Jerusalem was conquered by the Babylonians: If I forget you, O Jerusalem, may my right hand forget its skill. May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I do not remember you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy.Wherever Jews
prayed, they prayed towards Jerusalem. At every wedding they broke a glass in its memory. At the two great climaxes of the Jewish year, on Pesach and at the end of Yom Kippur, they sang, Le-shanah haba bi-Yerushalayim. It is said that once Napoleon was passing a synagogue and heard sounds of lamentation.
Why are the Jews crying., he asked. They are mourning the loss of Jerusalem, one of his officers replied. How long ago was that?. he asked. More than seventeen centuries ago, the officer replied. A people that can mourn the loss of Jerusalem for so long, will one day have it restored to them, Napoleon said. And so it was, forty years ago. It is worth remembering that on the first day of the war, 5 June, Israel sent three messages to King Hussein of Jordan – one through the United Nations representative, another via the American ambassador and a third directly. Israel would not attack Jordan if Jordan did not enter the war. Israel would honour the armistice agreement with Jordan in its entirety. The West Bank, East Jerusalem and the Old City, would remain under Jordanian control.
There was no reply. Instead, Jordan attacked. Had King Hussein not hardened his heart, Jerusalem would still be in Arab hands. It is one of the great ironies of history. I remember the first time I looked down on the old city and the Temple Mount. I was standing on Mount Scopus, the original and now rebuilt site of the Hebrew University. I recalled the moment described in the Talmud when Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues stood on the same spot, looking down at the ruins of the Temple. The rabbis wept. Rabbi Akiva smiled. How can you smile? they asked.
The place that was once the most sacred spot on earth is now laid waste and fox is walking across the Holy of Holies where once only the High Priest was allowed to enter, and only on the holiest of days. I smile, Rabbi Akiva replied, because the prophets prophesied that Jerusalem would be laid waste, and they prophesied that it would be rebuilt. Now that the one prophesy has been fulfilled, can we doubt that the other will be likewise? That was when I realized the power of faith. Jews never lost faith that one day they would return. And they did. It was faith that brought the Jewish people back to Israel and rebuilt the ruins of Jerusalem. So, as we remember those events of forty years ago, let us thank G-d for the freedom to stand once again in David.s city, joining our prayers to those of our ancestors in the place the Divine Presence never left and to which the Jewish people has now returned.
This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
Is it 1938 all over again - May 11, 2007
Dear Friend of The Fellowship,
Over the last couple of years, we've seen evidence that France is becoming a less hospitable place for Jews. First, there were the 2005 riots in the Paris suburbs by Muslim youth, which gave the French Jewish community special reason to be wary—at the time, one Jewish man commented, When there are problems in this area (the suburban housing projects that are home to many Muslims), Jews are always easy scapegoats.
The uneasiness from these riots helped contribute to a record year for French aliyah (Jewish immigration to Israel). The following year came the heartbreaking story of Ilan Halimi, a young French Jew abducted, tortured and ultimately killed by members of a Muslim gang, just for being Jewish. This was one of many events in 2006 which contributed to a 45% increase in anti-Semitic violence and vandalism in France in 2006.Anti-Semitic incidents since 2006 have been less spectacular, but no less disturbing. In the last month alone, attackers beat a young Jewish woman in the southern city of Marseille. She reported that they tore a necklace with a Jewish ornament off her neck, crying this is the symbol of evil, before assaulting her. On April 19, a rabbi was beaten in a Paris train station, his attackers shouting, Dirty Jew, you are looking at me—I will smash your face, dirty Jew. In the city of Villeurbanne, a Jewish man standing in front of a kosher restaurant was stabbed just last week.
The election of Nicolas Sarkozy as France's president offers some encouragement. In his role as Interior Minister, Sarkozy was instrumental in alerting the French government to the growing problem of anti-Semitic attacks and Islamic radicalism. There is every reason to believe that, with him holding the nation's highest office, France will become a better friend of Israel and the Jewish people.
However, with the continued growth of Islamic radicalism, the new French president will have his work cut out for him when he takes office next week. While some of the most highly publicized anti-Semitic incidents have occurred in France, this is a phenomenon repeated across Europe and the former Soviet Union. Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia—all these countries, and more, have recorded a disturbing number of anti-Semitic attacks, desecration of Jewish cemeteries, and vandalism of Jewish institutions.
It was with these and other incidents in mind that I participated recently in a very interesting and important seminar. Held at Queens College in New York, it brought together Jewish (and some non-Jewish) leaders to discuss the question, Is it 1938 all over again? 1938 was, of course, the year of Kristallnacht, when Jewish synagogues and businesses were destroyed and Jewish men and women were attacked throughout Germany. While oppressive laws against Jews were in place years before this, 1938 is generally seen as the unofficial beginning of Hitler's Final Solution the Nazis' effort to destroy Europe's Jews. This conference looked at theconvergence of world events today—Iran's pursuit of nuclear arms and vows to destroy Israel, the strengthening of virulently anti-Jewish, anti-Israel Islamist terrorist groups, the growth of anti-Semitism worldwide—and asked if history is repeating itself.
There were a number of interesting viewpoints expressed at the conference, far too many to go into here. But one of the most compelling and arresting talks came from a non-Jew, David Pryce-Jones, an Englishman, Oxford professor and senior editor of the magazine National Review. Speaking on the subject, Europe, Islam and the Future of European Jewry, Mr. Pryce-Jones painted a bleak picture of the rise of anti-Semitic and anti-Jewish attacks and sentiment and the growth of a vocal and increasingly radicalized Muslim minority in Europe. By the time he was done, it seemed clear to me that, just 60 years after the Holocaust, the survival of Europe's Jewish community is far from assured.
Is it 1938 all over again? Ultimately, of course, no one knows the answer to that question. And perhaps it is less important to try to answer it than it is to continually be on the defense against the ugly forces of hate and anti-Semitism that are again rearing their ugly heads—not just in Europe, but worldwide. You can help us gather more people to join with us and stand for Israel and Jewish people around the world by sending this update to your friends and inviting them to sign up for The Fellowship's e-newsletter. Thank you for your continued concern, care, and prayers for the peace of Jerusalem.
With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)