1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Deadly storms hit Australian city like a quake. 3-Three dead after storms, flash floods in Switzerland. 4-Rain lashes southern, eastern Ont. as Environment Canada warns of tornadoes. 5-Thousands without power as storm moves across Ontario. 6-Forest fire edges toward Fort McMurray. 7-Russia's Putin calls for WTO alternative. 8-Syrian paper: Israel sends mixed signals. 9-Bush administration forcing Israel to endanger itself. 10-NATO Chief Wants New Ties With EU. 11-Conference focuses on status of 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)
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.
Deadly storms hit Australian city like a quake Sun Jun 10, 2:33 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Rescue workers evacuated hundreds of people from their homes as deadly storms lashed Australia's east coast Sunday, leaving parts of one city looking like an earthquake had struck, officials said. The death toll rose to eight when police found the body of a man who died when his car was swept off a highway into a swollen creek.His wife and their three young children, aged two, three and nine, and who were travelling with him, also died when the road collapsed underneath them, but their bodies had been found earlier.Eight people have died so far since the storms hit Sydney and the Central Coast and Newcastle to the north on Friday.They include a 29-year-old man who was crushed when a tree fell on his car near Newcastle and a couple perished when their vehicle was swept off a bridge while crossing a flooded river in the Hunter Valley.
Another man from Newcastle is missing after being swept down a stormwater drain.Officials said Newcastle looked as if it had been hit by an earthquake.What I saw were parts of Newcastle that resembled the kind of damage that followed the (1989) earthquake, New South Wales state premier Morris Iemma said after visiting the city.Construction sites and scaffolding, debris on roads, abandoned cars, homes that were damaged, trees having fallen on homes, extensive damage. It was quite disbelieving, he added.The 1989 earthquake packed a magnitude of 5.6 and killed 13 people.
Newcastle resident Harry Gregory told The Sunday Telegraph he fled his home after his bed and fridge started to float in the floodwaters.Everything's ruined, he said. I have a lounge (sofa) stuck in my front fence and I have got no idea who it belongs to.
Emergency workers evacuated 400 people from their homes along the Central Coast overnight, including by boat and helicopter, and were Sunday working on convincing residents in Maitland, just to the north, to seek shelter in case the Hunter River bursts its banks.Although it has brought much-needed rain to Sydney and towns to its north, the storm has wreaked havoc.Accompanied by gale force winds, it has driven a massive freighter aground in Newcastle, prompted the suspension of ferry services on Sydney Harbour and blacked out tens of thousands of homes.State Emergency Services (SES) spokesman Philip Campbell said 200 properties in the Maitland region were being evacuated.The most serious point for the SES in terms of this flood emergency will be later on this evening, he told Australian Associated Press.Prime Minister John Howard said those affected by storm and flooding would be entitled to cash payments in addition to natural disaster funding offered by the state government. Our thoughts and prayers are with the communities who have suffered and are continuing to feel the impact of this natural disaster, he said.
Maritime officials said the 30,000-tonne vessel Pasha Bulker, still stranded on a Newcastle beach after running aground amid huge seas on Friday, had had some power restored to it and appeared to be intact. Meanwhile, power outages on the Central Coast were threatening the water supply because a black-out at two pumping stations meant that reservoirs were only 10 percent full. We're anticipating if we don't get power back today that we may lose water to some suburbs by this evening, Gosford
City Council's Stephen Martin said.
Three dead after storms, flash floods in Switzerland Sat Jun 9, 2:57 PM ET
GENEVA (AFP) - Three people were killed in central Switzerland after they were caught in flash floods overnight caused by heavy thunderstorms, police said Saturday. A couple died in the small town of Huttwil after they were swept away by a small river which turned into a raging torrent during the storms late Friday, police in the canton of Bern said at a press conference.Their son was saved by onlookers, they added.Police also said an elderly woman died in the nearby village of Eriswil when her home was flooded.Cars were swept away by the fast flowing water, several houses were flooded and two bridges in the region were severely damaged, authorities said.Local roads were also cut briefly as flood waters reportedly rose within seconds.Flash flooding and mudslides were also reported overnight during storms near Lucerne in central Switzerland and in the northern city of Basel, mainly affecting home cellars and roads. No one was injured, authorities said.
Friday, June 8th, 2007
Rain lashes southern, eastern Ont. as Environment Canada warns of tornadoes
Canadian Press
TORONTO (CP) - Tornado warnings have been issued for some parts of east-central Ontario as a very dangerous storm moves across the province. Environment Canada says the warnings include Renfrew, Arnprior, Petawawa, Pembroke and Barry's Bay. There's also a tornado watch for the Ottawa and Gatineau area, Peterborough, Bancroft, Smiths Falls, Haliburton County and Pembroke.
Funnel clouds were spotted in the Brantford and Hamilton areas this afternoon, but as of 5 p.m., had dissipated or moved out of St. Catharines, Hamilton and the northern Niagara region. Severe thunderstorm warnings remain in effect for parts of southern and eastern Ontario. Environment Canada says such storms can produce damaging winds, lightning and large hail. Emergency management officials recommend seeking shelter immediately when threatening weather approaches.
Environment Canada says a strong cold front from lower Michigan now stretches just east of Georgian Bay to eastern Lake Erie. The storm threat in eastern Ontario will likely persist into early evening. There have been reports that the weather has affected commuter transit. An eastbound GO Train from Toronto's Union station to Pickering has been cancelled due to severe weather. Another train heading westbound to Hamilton has also stopped west of the Clarkson station due to a fallen tree on the tracks.
Thousands without power as storm moves across Ontario
Last Updated: Friday, June 8, 2007 | 7:01 PM ET CBC News
Tornado warnings have ended for some parts of southern Ontario Friday, but high winds have left about 70,000 people without power in parts of the province.Hydro One says customers in Georgian Bay, Hunstville, Muskoka, Hamilton and St. Catharines are reporting widespread outages.
In Toronto, heavy rain and winds played havoc with motorists after traffic lights were knocked out. As the storm passed, the temperature in the Toronto area dropped from 30 C to 19 C in 11 minutes.The storm downed trees and power lines across southwestern Ontario as winds gusted to a peak of 95 km/h. Temperatures began rebounding in Toronto as the severe thunderstorm warnings were dropped. The storm delayed many flights in and out of Pearson International Airport.The eastbound GO Train from Union station to Pickering has been cancelled due to severe weather.Earlier, Environment Canada said funnel clouds were spotted in the Brantford and Hamilton areas, but as of 5 p.m. had dissipated or moved out of St. Catharines, Hamilton and the northern Niagara region.A tornado watch is still in effect for Peterborough, Kawartha Lakes, Bancroft, Haliburton, Renfrew and Pembroke.
Forest fire edges toward Fort McMurray
Last Updated: Friday, June 8, 2007 | 9:04 AM MT CBC News
Firefighters are busy Friday morning trying to stop Alberta's biggest forest fire from advancing toward the northern city of Fort McMurray.
The fire has spread over 150 square kilometres, making it the largest one burning in Alberta and the only blaze deemed out of control.Wind has been blowing the smoke into Fort McMurray for the past 24 hours.Fire information officer Rob Harris said the smoke hasn't been enough to cause problems, but firefighters are counting on another wind shift to clear the smoke and help them hold the line on the east side of the fire.It's going to be a test over the next day because of the winds, but after that it looks like Mother Nature will start working in our favour and start blowing that fire away from town again.
Russia's Putin calls for WTO alternative By ALEX NICHOLSON, AP Business Writer JUNE 10,07
ST.PETERSBURG, Russia - Russian President Vladimir Putin called Sunday for creating an alternative to the World Trade Organization that would favor developing economies and suggested giving a greater role to regional currencies. Speaking at an economic forum in Russia's second-largest city of St. Petersburg, Putin lamented that today's international economic organizations look archaic, undemocratic and awkward by protecting the interests mainly of developed economies.Today protectionism which the WTO is intended to fight oftentimes comes from developed economies that set up this structure, Putin told the conference.In order to stimulate trade and investment it is worth thinking about creating a regional Eurasian institute on free trade that could take advantage of the positive experience of WTO, he said. He did not elaborate.Putin said the stalled Doha round of global trade talks were a sign of the problems with the organization: Old methods of decision-making at times don't work.
The talks have stumbled repeatedly since their inception six years ago in Qatar's capital, largely because of wrangling between rich and poor countries over eliminating barriers to farm trade.Putin also said that, currently, global financial markets evolved around one or two currencies an apparent reference to the euro and the dollar and their fluctuations often have highly negative effects on many countries' economies and financial reserves.There can be only one answer to this challenge the creation of several world currencies, several financial centers, he said. Putin suggested Russia could become one of them.Russia remains the only major economy outside the WTO, the Geneva-based 150-member group, which sets global trade rules.To join, Russia still needs to reach agreement with its tiny ex-Soviet neighbor Georgia, which protests Russia's strong ties with its two breakaway provinces.
Russia also is in ongoing WTO talks with the European Union. Although the EU formally backs Russia's World Trade Organization membership, issues including foreign investors' access to Russia's vast energy sector has complicated Moscow's WTO application.Russian officials are using the two-day forum to court international capital and talk up the resurgent country, combining ambitious economic projections with promises of an open investment climate.Associated Press Writer Maria Danilova contributed to this report from Moscow.
Syrian paper: Israel sends mixed signals Sun Jun 10, 7:02 AM ET
DAMASCUS, Syria - Syria had no official reaction Sunday to Israel's announcement that it has sent secret peace feelers to the Arab country, but a state-run Syrian newspaper accused Israel of sending mixed signals.
The state-run, English-language Syria Times daily said it believed the Israeli government had no intention of making peace with Arabs, and accused Israel of sending contradictory messages.Syria has every right to doubt the intentions of (Israeli Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert and his statements regarding his desire to talk peace, at a time when his war generals and senior aides are launching warlike threats, the newspaper said. It's a blatant contradiction.Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz said Saturday that the Israeli government had put out secret peace feelers to Syria, but said there was so far no response from Damascus.Mofaz said a letter had been sent to Damascus, but refused to divulge its contents.
His public confirmation came a day after an Israeli newspaper reported that Israel had told Syrian leaders it could give up the captured Golan Heights as part of a peace deal in which Syria would distance itself from Iran's virulently anti-Israeli regime.The paper, the Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot, said Olmert had recently sent messages to Syrian President Bashar Assad, through German and Turkish diplomats, saying Israel was open to direct peace negotiations and was prepared to give up the strategic plateau, which it seized in the 1967 Mideast war.On Wednesday, Israeli Defense Minister Amir Peretz told Israeli Radio that the country's military was preparing for any scenario.The Israeli military has to be ready on all fronts, he said.
James Baker's disciples
Bush administration forcing Israel to endanger itself
by Caroline Glick June 7, 2007 JPOST
Ahead of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's trip to the White House on June 19, the Bush administration is pressuring Israel to endanger itself on at least two fronts. First the Americans are pressuring the Olmert government to agree to Palestinian Authority and Fatah chief Mahmoud Abbas's request to bring millions of bullets, thousands of Kalashnikov assault rifles, RPGs, anti-tank missiles and armored personnel carriers into Gaza from Egypt. The government has yet to respond to the request.
Those who oppose it argue that Fatah forces in Gaza are too weak and incompetent to battle Hamas forces and so any weaponry transferred to Fatah militias will likely end up in Hamas's hands. This logic is correct, but incomplete. It is true that Fatah forces are unwilling and presumably unable to defeat Hamas forces. But it is also true that Fatah forces use their arms to attack Israel. So even if there was no chance of Hamas laying its hands on the weapons, allowing Fatah to receive them would still endanger Israel.
The same limited logic informs Israel's strenuous objection to the Pentagon's intention to sell Saudi Arabia Joint Direct Attack Munition satellite-guided smart bombs or JDAMS. The government claims that while it has no truck with the Saudis, it fears for the stability of the regime. If the House of Saud falls, Osama bin Laden would get the bombs. Yet like Fatah, the Saudis aren't simply vulnerable.
They are culpable. In addition to being the creators of al Qaida and Hamas's largest financial backers, the Saudis themselves directly threaten Israel.In direct contravention of their commitment to the US, (and the US's commitment to Israel), the Saudis have deployed F-15 fighter jets at Tabuk air base located 150 km from Eilat. On May 13th, the Saudi Air Force held an air show at Tabuk for the benefit of King Abdullah and senior princes where the F-15s where ostentatiously shown. The timing of the show was interesting. It took place the day before Abdullah hosted Vice President Richard Cheney at Tabuk.
The administration is not just asking Israel to facilitate the arming of its enemies. It is also placing restrictions on Israel's ability to arm itself. As The Jerusalem Post reported on Wednesday, the Pentagon has yet to respond to Israel's request to purchase the F-22 stealth bomber. Moreover, the US seems to be torpedoing Israel's acquisition of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. The Pentagon recently voiced its objection to Israel's plan to install Israeli technology in the jets that are to be supplied starting in 2014. Israel's installation of its own electronic warfare systems in its F-16s and F-15s is how it has managed to maintain the IAF's qualitative edge over Arab states that have also purchased the aircraft. The administration's hostility towards Israel is unfortunately not an aberration. It is the result of a policy shift within the administration which occurred immediately after the Republican Party's defeat in the Congressional elections last November. After the Republican defeat, the administration embraced former secretary of state James Baker's foreign policy paradigm which is based on the belief that it is possible and desirable to reach a stable balance of power in the Middle East. As Baker sees it, the balance can be reached by forcing Israel to shrink to its natural proportions and assisting supposedly moderate and stable states like Egypt and Saudi Arabia to grow into their natural proportions. Once the states of the region (including Syria and Iran which Baker wishes to appease) have settled into their proper proportions, stability will be ensured.
Baker fleshed on his view in the Iraq Study Group's recommendations which were published immediately after the elections. Although President George W. Bush rejected the ISG's recommendations, the day after the elections he sacked defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and replaced him with Robert Gates who served on the ISG. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is a disciple of Baker's ally former national security advisor Brent Scowcroft. The problem with the Baker paradigm is that it has never been borne out by reality. It collapsed during the Cold War both as the Soviet Union worked tirelessly to destabilize countries allied with the US and when the states of East-Central Europe revolted against the teetering empire and gained their freedom with its collapse.
In the 1990s, Baker's stability paradigm failed to foresee the post-nationalist movements that swept through Western Europe and the Muslim world and embraced the Soviet goal of weakening the US. Baker still denies the phenomenon and ignores its policy implications.
Today, the notion that stability is a realistic aim is even more far fetched. Specifically, the willingness of Muslim secularists to form strategic relations with jihadists and the willingness of Shiites to form strategic partnerships with Sunnis was unimaginable twenty years ago. Aside from that, the specter of a nuclear-armed Iran throws a monkey wrench into any thought of regional stability. A look around the region shows just how absurd Baker's notions truly are. In Lebanon today, Fatah al Islam, which is apparently allied with al Qaida, is fighting the Lebanese army in a bid to bring down the Siniora government at the behest of its sponsor — the secular Ba'athist regime in Damascus. Fatah al Islam is also aligned with Hizbullah, which shares its goal of bringing down the Lebanese government and with Iran which gives the Syrians their marching orders.
This state of affairs is also the name of the game in Iraq where Iran and Syria support both Muqtada al Sadr's Shiite Mehdi army and al Qaida's Sunni death squads. It repeats itself in Afghanistan where Iran is arming the Taliban and in the Palestinian Authority. Furthermore, the paragons of moderation and stability in Egypt and Saudi Arabia which Baker and his followers are so keen to strengthen are
neither stable nor moderate. Both Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah are old men of uncertain health.
To stabilize their regimes they wrought unholy alliances with the Muslim Brotherhood and the Wahabis which are the only forces in Egyptian and Saudi societies that have not been flattened under their jackboots. This week Channel 10 reported that the Bush administration recently informed Israel and the Gulf states that it has no intention of launching military strikes against Iran's nuclear installations. The Americans explained that they need Iranian assistance in stabilizing Iraq to pave the way for an American withdrawal from the country before Bush leaves office. Under Baker's regency, the administration apparently now subscribes to the belief that they will be better off out of Iraq with a nuclear-armed Iran than in Iraq without a nuclear-armed Iran. For their part, the Arabs have demonstrated clearly that they do not share the administration's newfound faith that a nuclear-armed Iran will reach a stable equilibrium in a Bakeresque Middle Eastern balance of powers.
Their stated aim to build nuclear reactors is a clear sign that they recognize the danger of a nuclear-armed Iran. The administration's support the Arabs' quest for nuclear reactors makes clear that it is now willing to have a Middle Eastern nuclear arms race. This brings us back to Israel, which is situated smack in the middle of the regional chaos. How is Israel contending with this threatening state of affairs?
For its part, the IDF seems to be contending with it fairly well, at least with regard to Syria and Lebanon. The IDF's decision have television crews film IDF soldiers fighting in mock-up Syrian villages this week, like Chief of General Staff Lt. Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi's announcement that the IDF is prepared to fight on two fronts simultaneously are signs that the IDF recognizes that its only safe bet is to prepare for all contingencies. Were the IDF to complement these actions with warnings to Iran and operational plans to attack Iran's nuclear installations and distribute gas masks to the public, the General Staff would go a long way towards proving that it is adopting the only reasonable strategic posture available given the cards Israel has been dealt. Yet not only is the IDF not warning Iran, the Olmert government is undermining the IDF's correct posture towards Syria and Lebanon. Indeed, on every front, including towards Israel itself, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has himself adopted Baker's failed paradigm. Rather than publicly explain that in light of Syria's position as an Iranian client state in Lebanon, Iraq and Israel, there is nothing for Israel to talk to Syria about, Wednesday Olmert announced that he wishes to open negotiations on the Israeli surrender of the Golan Heights with the Syrians. The Syrians for their part cornered Olmert Thursday by agreeing to his offer. As Karl Moor and David Rivkin explained Thursday in The Jerusalem Post, it is not true, as Olmert and his minions claim that Israel has nothing to lose by negotiating with Syria. Given Israel's perceived weakness in the
wake of last summer's war and Syria's perceived strength, speaking to Syria about an Israeli surrender of the Golan Heights will only encourage Syrian belligerence.
And as with the Syrians, so too with the Palestinians, the Olmert government acts as Baker's water boy. Rather than waging a rational military campaign to defeat the jihadist front that has seeded itself in Gaza, Olmert issues near daily statements telling the Palestinians that Israel will cause them no harm.
He defends this policy by declaiming on the importance of strengthening the stability of the Palestinian Authority. Then there is the daily brown nosing Olmert and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni engage in towards the Egyptians and Saudis. Israel praises both as moderates while Egypt vows publicly not to take action to stop the transfer of weapons from Sinai to Gaza and the Saudis bankroll Hamas and demand that Israel implement their peace plan which calls for Israel's destruction. Yet all of this incompetent bumbling pales in comparison to Israel's weakness towards Iran. Transportation Minister Shaul Mofaz's assertion this week to the Post that he does not think it is right today to talk about military options towards Iran because he thinks that sanctions can still convince the mullahs to give up their nuclear ambitions comes dangerously close to an Israeli collapse in the face of an existential threat. The fact that Mofaz made this statement the same week that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran had crossed the nuclear threshold only exacerbates the perception of Israeli strategic disarray. Sooner or later the US will pay a price for the Bush administration's decision to embrace the delusion of stability as its strategic goal. With jihadist forces growing stronger around the globe, if the Americans leave Iraq without victory, there is no doubt that Iraq (and Iran and Syria) will come to them. But whatever the consequences of America's behavior for America, the price that Israel will pay for embracing Baker's myths of stability will be unspeakable.
NATO Chief Wants New Ties With EU
By BROOKS TIGNER, BRUSSELS JUNE 10,07
NATO and the European Union must set aside their doctrinal differences and forge a new strategic partnership based on close and regular consultations, said the alliance’s leader and other security officials.New NATO-EU institutional links deserve the highest attention, but it is a question that [EU security and defense chief Javier] Solana and I cannot solve. We need higher-level resolution of this
problem, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer told a one-day security conference here.
And it is something I will fight for as long as I occupy this position. The challenges of Afghanistan and Kosovo demand that NATO and the EU redouble their effort to forge a strategic relationship. The June 8 conference heard many speakers from NATO and European national capitals call for closer relations between the two organizations. The EU has not been as forthcoming as it could to foster closer relations with the alliance. While it says it needs to reinforce its security and defense policy by working with international partners, the EU’s declarations mention NATO as an afterthought or not at all, said Tomur Bayer, head of international security affairs at Turkey’s Foreign Ministry. This spirit must become more positive.
A Greek official said EU-NATO cooperation works very well on the ground but expressed concern about the suitability today of the so-called Berlin Plus arrangement, agreed in 2003, whereby the union can borrow allied assets for its own missions. Berlin Plus pertains to military missions only and has rarely been used by the European Union.
We cannot do our work to counter terrorism under Berlin Plus. This would be a disaster if the Taliban understood this. While Berlin Plus was once a solution, it is now part of the problem [regarding the fight against terrorism and the need for civil-military approaches to failed states and other crises], said the official. We need something else [to replace it].While high-level contacts between NATO and the EU remain patchy, cooperation on the ground is healthy, according to Mihai Carp, deputy head of crisis management policy at NATO’s Operations Division.
NATO-EU interaction on Kosovo and Afghanistan is moving ahead. For Kosovo we’ve identified potential security gaps that need plugging and our staffs have completed technical negotiations regarding border management, NATO military support to [future EU] police operations, the exchange of intelligence and our response to civil disturbances, observed Carp.
Though he said these arrangements will be implemented only at the tactical level, they are nonetheless meant to link the two organizations together.Officials from EU institutions were more circumspect about the issue. While agreeing that NATO and the European Union share much in common, they also insisted that the union can apply a wider gamut of policy tools to crisis management in the form of mixed civil-military missions whereas the alliance’s focus is military.
De Hoop Scheffer was quick to squash any implications, however, this might have for squeezing NATO out of the international security picture particularly regarding its leadership role within the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.We must guard against calls, in NATO that is, for increased civilian activity becoming an alibi for reducing our military efforts. After all, the reconstruction and development of Afghanistan cannot take place if ISAF does not succeed in providing security and stability, he said.The European Union is putting together a 160-strong police monitoring, mentoring and training mission in Afghanistan, which begins in mid-July and will last three years.
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.
ZECHARIAH 12:1-3
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
Conference focuses on status of Jerusalem
By: Joseph Pinnetti 2007-06-09
WASHINGTON — On June 4, 2007, the American Task Force on Palestine, Americans for Peace Now, and the Foundation for Middle East Peace held a joint congressional briefing entitled Jerusalem on the 40th Anniversary of the Six Day War: Challenges to the Viability of a Two State Solution.
The event, featuring Danny Seidemann and Dan Rothem, focused on the problems facing the city of Jerusalem as well as the repercussions of these problems on a two state solution. Both Seidemann and Rothem went into great detail on the strife caused by the division of Jerusalem, both physically and politically.
Rothem used a PowerPoint presentation to illustrate how the incursions of Israel’s wall into Palestinian territory are used by different Israeli governments and politicians for political purposes. The wall currently being constructed in the West Bank is on hold in many areas because of legal challenges. He contrasted current plans, which would place more than 10% of Palestinian lands on the Israeli side of the wall, with a more moderate proposal by the Israeli NGO, Council for Peace and Security. Led by several retired Israeli generals, the organization provides an alternate plan which divides the city along ethnic lines. This plan would leave many more villages on the Palestinian side of the wall and is only expected to take 5% of occupied West Bank land. Mr. Rothem also noted a third plan that would connect the settlements to Israel via secure roadways.
Seidemann concentrated on the effect division had on the city of Jerusalem. He noted the small victories which the peace movement has had throughout the years. He emphasized the fact that Jerusalem will be divided because Palestinians and Israelis have never aspired to share the same city. Seidemann discussed the failings of previous negotiations on Jerusalem such as the failure to incorporate Palestinians into the process, as well as treating Jerusalem as a peace of real estate instead of analyzing its significance. Even through this analysis of past failings, Seidemann pointed out that success was possible. He cited the example stopping the construction of E-1 as an example. The E-1 plan would have created a land bridge between Jerusalem and the settlement of Ma’ale Adumim; ending prospects of a two state solution.Seidemann observed that the conflict is being reduced to its volcanic core, the old city and its environs. This point formed the center of his argument. Seidemann believes that if there was an element that was mismanaged this was it. He stated that Jerusalem itself has the capability to touch off conflict if mishandled and that recent history abounds with examples to support this claim. He addressed what he sees as a threat to the stability of Jerusalem. The Israeli Antiquities Authority, which receives more than 50% of its income from extreme religious settlers, harbors clear political goals, including displacement of Palestinians, messianic aspirations on the Temple Mount, and the sabotaging of any political process. He pointed out such plans as the opening of tunnels beneath, and relocation of ramps to the Temple Mount as possibly destabilizing to the peace process.Yet, throughout his entire presentation, there was an underlying tone of hope as illustrated by him saying that never before have the Israeli and Palestinian public been more aware of what they need to do.
During the question and answer period Seidemann stressed that he believed that a political division does not mean a physical division, an idea which differed from his counterpart Rothemen. When questioned on how to take the religious needs of the Muslims, Christians, and Jews into consideration in the dividing of the city he stated, Israel will need to cede sovereignty over the Temple Mount as part of a package of assurances of unimpeded access and respect for religious sites. He also
expressed the belief that when a final agreement will be made there will be no alternative than the extraction of settlers.
In closing Seidemann may have made the most powerful statement of the presentation, stating that as both a Zionist and a Jew my achievement can only be given to me by a Palestinian… only we can give the Palestinians what they want. This clearly illustrates the need by both sides to be validated by the other.Seidemann’s statements about the effect Jerusalem has on the Arab-Israeli conflict are important. He advocated a political rather than a physical division of the city, helping bring to the forefront a problem that has been at the center of many U.N. resolutions to date.
Attempting to make Jerusalem, more Jewish, is completely unfeasible. The location of the holy sites in Jerusalem makes it impossible to physically divide Jerusalem while respecting peoples’ religious rights. The idea that two groups can be physically kept apart is one of the most dangerous ideas confronting a two state solution, and attempts to change the existing religious status quo of Jerusalem.
Any effort to alter the demographics of Jerusalem must be seen in the same light; an effort to exclude one group from what they view as their birth right. Without respecting the rights of all, a peace initiative will again create a discontented minority, which could sacrifice the security of all, as Jerusalem is the focal point of the conflict.
Monday, June 11, 2007
Sunday, June 10, 2007
BIRD FLU IN EGYPT
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-At least six dead in Australia storms.3-Millions suffer as storms in China kill at least 23. 4-Twelve killed, 40,000 trapped in Iran flash floods. 5-Anti-terrorism Convention enters into force. 6-Russia wants freeze on U.S. missile plan. 7-Bush feels awe at Pope who urges Middle East fix. 8-Egyptian girl dies of bird flu virus. 9-The EU in the global economy: perspectives and challenges.
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 Jun 10 12:01 AM EDT
JUNE 9,07
MAP 5.0 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 COLORADO
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.1 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
JUNE 08,07
MAP 3.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN COLOMBIA
MAP 5.1 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 PAKISTAN
MAP 5.1 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 2.8 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.9 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 5.0 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MAP 4.7 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.0 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
MAP 4.9 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS 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.
At least six dead in Australia storms by Neil Sands
Sat Jun 9, 7:59 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Six people were confirmed dead and another two were missing on Saturday as wild storms continued to lash Australia's east coast, smashing boats, flooding roads and cutting power to 200,000 homes. The Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions north of Sydney were declared disaster zones after being pounded by gale-force winds and torrential rains for a second day.
Massive seas ran aground at least 12 pleasure craft moored in Sydney Harbour, although fears eased that a massive coal freighter stranded at Newcastle would break up and create an environmental disaster.Police put the official death toll at six, including a couple in their fifties whose car was washed off a bridge.Searchers also found the bodies of four members of a family of five carried away when a highway collapsed.
The four bodies found were an adult female and three children -- a nine-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a two-year-old girl. The children's bodies were recovered.Search teams were still looking for one more family member, believed to be an adult male.The Australian Associated Press news agency reported that the adult body found, a 30-year-old woman, was the mother of the children and the missing male, a 30-year-old, was the father.A Newcastle man was also missing after falling down a stormwater drain late Friday, police said.With Australia beginning a long holiday weekend, officials advised motorists to scrap plans to travel to popular tourist spots in the state's north, saying a number of major roads were closed.
Power utility EnergyAustralia said 200,000 homes had no electricity and could remain blacked out until late next week.This is the worst storm and the worst damage our electricity network has seen for more than 30 years, EnergyAustralia network general manager Geoff Lilliss said.Hundreds of people were evacuated as floodwaters rose, including 65 elderly residents of a Central Coast nursing home.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm dumped 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain on some areas, with winds peaking at 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour).It said conditions had eased slightly Saturday morning, granting a reprieve to emergency services struggling to cope with more than 5,000 calls for assistance.But meteorology bureau forecaster Julie Evans said that after causing extensive flooding in Newcastle, the storm was likely to intensify as it moved south towards Sydney before heading out to sea.It will be the sting in the tail in the system before it moves off to the east, she told Sky News.Sydney ferry services were suspended for a second day amid huge swells.
Officials said at least a dozen recreational boats in Sydney Harbour had broken their moorings and run aground and that 30 more needed to be towed to safety, while a beachside wharf collapsed into to sea. But the 30,000-tonne vessel Pasha Bulker, which ran aground Friday when the storm first hit, appeared to be structurally sound and there was no sign that its 800 tonnes of oil and fuel was leaking.
A number of other ships that were also in danger of becoming stranded had managed to steam into deeper waters overnight, officials said. The Pasha Bulker sparked a dramatic rescue Friday as a helicopter braved gale-force winds to pluck its Filipino and Korean crew to safety from the ship's deck.
Millions suffer as storms in China kill at least 23 JUNE 9,07
BEIJING (Reuters) - Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. Millions of people are suffering, it said.
Storms killed seven people and left four missing in the southern province of Guizhou on Friday and Saturday. Nearly 20,000 hectares (77 sq miles) of cropland were flooded and 3,000 houses destroyed, Xinhua said.In Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, heavy rain triggered landslides killing three people and destroying 788 houses and about 1,120 hectares of cropland, Xinhua said.Storms cut off a railway link between Meizhou and Shantou in Guangdong leaving about 1,100 passengers stranded on Friday.In neighboring Guangxi, two people were killed in torrential rain that destroyed 610 homes, Xinhua said, citing flood control authorities.In Guangxi, high school students sitting all-important university entrance exams on Thursday and Friday had to be evacuated as heavy rain submerged their classrooms, Xinhua said.
Storms also broke 29 reservoirs, 362 embankments, 165 roads and forced 59 factories to suspend production, Xinhua quoted Chen Rundong, deputy head of the regional flood control office, as saying.On Friday, Xinhua reported seven deaths and nine injuries on in the Liangshan region of Sichuan province from hailstorms, lightning strikes and landslides. Xinhua did not give details of all the deaths.China's central Hunan province was on high alert after four successive days of rain swelled the Xiangjiang river to 4.6 meters above the warning level and to its highest mark in 20 years, Xinhua said.
We have stepped up our guard against flooding as two more heavy rainstorms are forecast over the next four days, Xinhua quoted Xie Kangsheng, a Hunan government official, as saying.Storms in Hunan had killed three people, left 158,000 homeless and cut off water supplies to 75,000, Xinhua said on Friday.Late last month, lightning, mudslides and floods in Sichuan province killed 43 people, state media reported.China's typhoon season is just getting under way in the south. Experts last month warned that China's Yangtze river could flood badly this year, for the first time since 1998, when floodwaters from the country's longest river killed more than 3,000 people.
Twelve killed, 40,000 trapped in Iran flash floods Sat Jun 9, 6:43 AM ET
TEHRAN (AFP) - Flash floods caused by cyclone Gonu have killed 12 people, injured nine and trapped 40,000 others in southeastern Iran, news reports said Saturday. Based on the latest information gathered, 12 people were killed as the result of floods in Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces, the head of Iran's emergency services, Farzad Panahi, was quoted as saying by the semi official Mehr news agency.He added that more than 3,000 livestock had perished in the southern port town of Jask in Hormozgan province.The Fars news agency, meanwhile, quoted another official as saying that a total of 40,000 villagers are trapped by water in Hormozgan province.
Helicopters have been dispatched to the affected areas, the official said.Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Air Force said on Friday it had delivered 40 tons of food to the rain-hit port city of Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan province.Cyclone Gonu bore down on Oman early Wednesday, creating havoc and leaving at least 49 people dead and another 27 missing before veering towards Iran.
Anti-terrorism Convention enters into force
Friday 8 June 2007
The Council of Europe has announced the official recognition of offences which may lead to acts of terrorism, under the auspices of the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, in a move aimed at preventing future attacks.
Brief News:
Following the announcement, on 1 June 2007, that its Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism has entered into force, Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis said: This new weapon provides a robust and effective response to the threat of terrorism. It allows our governments to act early and effectively to stop terrorists before they can carry out their attacks.The Convention is the first international treaty to establish as criminal offences several activities which may lead to acts of terrorism, such as incitement, recruitment and training. It also reinforces international co-operation in the prevention of terrorism by modifying existing arrangements for extradition and mutual assistance.
The Convention was opened for signature at the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Warsaw in May 2005. It has served as a precursor to counter-terrorism efforts at the global level and was followed by the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1624(2005), which echoes the Council of Europe's approach to the fight against terrorism. To date, it has been signed by 39 countries, and ratified by seven: Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Romania, Russia,
Slovakia, Ukraine.
YOU CAN'T TAKE GOD OUT OF EVERYTHING AND NOT EXPECT A REPLY FROM THE CREATOR (JESUS GOD).
NOTICE GOD USES WIND AS WELL AS NORTHERN NATIONS TO DESTROY POLITICAL BABYLON FOR ITS GODLESSNESS.
JEREMIAH 50:1-3,9 (POLITICAL BABYLON (USA) DESTROYED FROM NORTH COUNTRY RUSSIA,
1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.(I BELIEVE ITS THE RUSSIA MUSLIM HORDE THAT DESTROY POLITICAL BABYLON).
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
JEREMIAH 51:1-8,20-21,24-26,41-43 (POLITICAL BABYLON THE U.S.A)
1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.
4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
REVELATION 18:1-24 (FINAL DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL BABYLON)
1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Russia wants freeze on U.S. missile plan By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer JUNE 9,07
MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister urged the United States on Saturday to freeze plans for missile defense installations in eastern Europe during negotiations and warned that the proposal — intended to serve as a buffer against Iran could backfire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments, reported by Russian newsagencies, suggested the Kremlin is unhappy that the United States has continued discussions on its plans to deploy facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic following Russia's counteroffer of joint use of a radar station in Azerbaijan.It's necessary for Washington, at a minimum, to freeze the deployment of missile defense elements in Europe for a period of study and negotiations on the Russian proposal, ITAR-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.Lavrov also warned that the U.S. missile defense plans could hamper efforts to ease international concerns about Iran's nuclear program, RIA-Novosti reported. The United States has said the missile defense shield is intended to protect against a potential Iranian threat.Lavrov said there was no proof that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that the missile shield could further provoke the Iranian government, which is already facing international sanctions for its disputed atomic program.
The U.S. system calls for a radar screen in the Czech Republic to watch for missile threats, and 10 interceptor rockets in Poland to shoot down any missiles.
Both Bush and Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Friday the system would not threaten Russia. The Kremlin argues that the system would undermine its nuclear deterrent. President Vladimir Putin, who has led Russia's bitter objection to U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland, surprised President Bush with the offer of joint use of the radar station in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran.Meeting with Putin on Thursday during a Group of Eight summit in Germany, Bush agreed to consider the proposal. But the Bush administration made clear it was not abandoning plans for a program in Poland and the Czech Republic Cold War-era Soviet satellites that are now in NATO.
Putin added clarity to his offer Friday by suggestion locations for missile interceptors if Azerbaijan were to be used for the radar element, saying they could be placed in Turkey or Iraq, or on sea platforms.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Friday that one does not choose sites for missile defense out of the blue and that it was not yet clear whether Azerbaijan makes any sense in the context of missile defense.
Bush feels awe at Pope who urges Middle East fix By Caren Bohan and Philip Pullella JUNE 9,07
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Saturday he felt awe in the presence of Pope Benedict, who urged the U.S. leader to seek regional and negotiated solution to Middle East conflicts like Iraq. I was talking to a very smart, loving man, Bush said of his first talks with Benedict since he became Pope in 2005.After 6-1/2 years of being a president ... I've been to some unusual places and met some interesting people and I was in awe, Bush told a news conference in Rome. It was a moving experience for me.Addressing the 80-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church as sir, Bush heard the Pope's concerns about the Middle East and the plight of Christians in Iraq and told him of his efforts to combat AIDS and malaria in Africa and hunger and poverty.He told the Pope before reporters about what he called the very strong AIDS initiative at the Group of Eight summit this week which pledged $60 billion to fight diseases ravaging Africa -- although much of that was made up of existing pledges.
A Vatican statement said Benedict and Bush had discussed the Middle East and the Holy See's hope for a regional and negotiated solution to the conflicts that afflict that region.
It's good to be with you sir, Bush said as he sat before the Pontiff's private desk in the Vatican.The two men see eye-to-eye on ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia but differ on the war in Iraq, which Benedict's predecessor, John Paul, tried hard to avert.When the Pope mentioned Bush had come from the G8 summit, Bush said: I did your old country and it was successful ... A lot of different opinions, but it was good.
Asked if his dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin -- closely watched because of a number of sharp disagreements between Russia and the West -- had been good, Bush responded with a smile as reporters were being ushered out of the room.I'll tell you in a minute, he said.
SECURITY FEARS
Bush and his wife Laura, who wore a black veil, took a more circuitous route to the Vatican than usual, which disappointed thousands waiting to see him.It was not clear if this was for security reasons, although 10,000 police were deployed as a precaution in central Rome.Leftists and pacifists opposed to the war in Iraq and the expansion of a U.S. military base in northern Italy took trains to Rome for mass protests likely to echo those at the G8.Many who elected Prime Minister Romano
Prodi's centre-left coalition -- which is critical of U.S. foreign policy -- joined the rally and four communist deputies from Prodi's alliance hung a banner outside parliament that read: No Bush, No War.Bush is the biggest international terrorist. It's a disgrace that the Italian government elected by the votes of pacifists should invite him to this country, said Elio Luppoli, arriving in Rome with about 70
protesters from Milan.
The protest began peacefully but fears it could turn violent were highlighted by the cancellation of Bush's planned visit to Rome's colorful Trastevere quarter, where he was to have met leaders of the Sant'Egidio Roman Catholic community. One of Rome's oldest neighborhoods, its narrow, cobbled alleys would have been awkward for the presidential motorcade. The Sant'Egidio group, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its work brokering peace and fighting AIDS in Africa, met Bush at the U.S. embassy instead. Bush had warm words for Prodi, despite concern when he came to power a year ago that Italy would no longer be the firm ally it was under his conservative predecessor Silvio Berlusconi. I look forward to seeing Silvio. We took some important decisions together, Bush said at a joint news conference with Prodi. I have known Romano a long time too. He was president of the EU (European Union) in the early part of my presidency.(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Gavin Jones, Stephen Brown, Toby Zakaria, Deepa Babington, Roberto Landucci, Antonella Ciancio)
Egyptian girl dies of bird flu virus By Cynthia Johnston
Sat Jun 9, 6:18 AM ET
CAIRO (Reuters) - A 10-year-old Egyptian girl who contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus died on Saturday, bringing the number of fatalities from the disease in the most populous Arab country to 15, the health ministry said. The girl, identified as Mayyada Tuhami, is reported to have fallen ill on June 1 after coming into contact with infected household birds but did not enter hospital until roughly a week later, delaying potentially life-saving treatment.
Her case followed a nearly two-month warm weather lull in human bird flu cases in Egypt, where 35 people are known to have contracted the virus since it was first detected in Egyptian poultry in early 2006.The Egyptian health ministry said in a statement that the girl, from the southern town of Qena, had been admitted to hospital on Thursday with a high fever and a pulmonary infection, and was put on an artificial respirator.She died at dawn on Saturday and is considered the 15th death from bird flu in Egypt, the statement said.Bird flu did extensive damage to the country's poultry industry and the economy as a whole after its arrival in Egypt, which has more confirmed human bird flu cases than any other country outside of Asia.
Most of those who have fallen ill in Egypt were reported to have had contact with sick or dead household birds, primarily in northern Egypt where the weather is typically cooler than in the south.
But in a sign of a change in how the disease may be occurring in Egypt, all but two of the past 11 human cases have occurred in central or southern parts of the country.Bird flu experts in Egypt have said they would typically expect fewer human cases of the disease during Egypt's sweltering summer months, and in 2006 there was a summertime lull in human cases between May and October.Experts fear that the bird flu virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a deadly pandemic which could circle the globe and kill millions. Around five million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a main source of food and income and the government has said this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated. The government still finds it hard to enforce restrictions on the movement and sale of live poultry.
José Manuel Barroso
President of the European Commission
The EU in the global economy: perspectives and challenges - Brussels Economic Forum
Brussels, 31 May 2007 - SPEECH/07/346
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you, Klaus Regling, for your kind words. I'd also like to congratulate you and Commissioner Almunia for inviting me to address this 8th Brussels Economic Forum - in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.Earlier this year, European leaders celebrated this anniversary with a declaration in Berlin. We have reaffirmed their commitment to a project that has paved the way for peace and prosperity in Europe.
And we believe that economic integration is central to this European success story.A gradual elimination of economic barriers over the last half-century, and the adoption of a common currency, have helped to raise living standards, ensure a fairer deal for consumers, create new opportunities for investors and foster closer economic and political ties among Member States. As the Berlin Declaration says, the common market and the euro make us strong.This is particularly true in today's increasingly integrated global economy. Globalisation is bringing new economic and social challenges.
Implementing our framework for macroeconomic stability and our structural reform agenda is essential to deal with these challenges. The renewed economic vigour in the EU offers an excellent window of opportunity for Member States to accelerate their reform efforts. Over the past year, the EU's economic recovery has gone from strength to strength. Real GDP in the EU grew by some 3% last year – its fastest growth rate since 2000.
Employment growth in the EU accelerated to around 1.6% in 2006, creating close to 3.4 million new jobs. Between 2006 and 2008, 9 million new jobs are forecasted. Inflation remained around 2% in 2006 but it came down towards the end of the year as energy prices eased. This positive growth performance partly reflects the current cyclical upturn, of course. But it also suggests that structural reforms are beginning to bear fruit. The fact that in the European Union we offered Member States a common framework for those reforms – through the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs - is certainly helping this progress towards an improved economic situation in Europe.The employment effect of recent growth has been particularly intense. By February 2007, the unemployment rate had dropped to 7.4%, its lowest level in 15 years.
Labour productivity growth in the EU averaged 1.2% in 2006, compared with an annual average rate of 0.6% between 2001 and 2005. As I said, much of the recent increase is no doubt cyclical in nature.
Yet, taking a longer-term perspective, we have seen real structural gains in the labour and product markets, and the long-term decline in trend productivity seems to have come to a halt. Overall, these developments confirm that the Commission was right to send clear signals in favour of reform, and the urgent need to adjust to a more competitive environment. They also confirm that Member States are now being rewarded for their structural reform efforts.Over the past two decades, the economic environment has undergone a fundamental transformation. The integration of China, India, Russia and other developing or emerging countries into the world economy is bringing new economic and social challenges. Today, China, India and Russia are – in purchasing power parity terms – among the six largest economies in the world together with the EU, the US and Japan. This makes some people uncomfortable. But I believe globalisation presents huge opportunities for EU economies.Firms in the EU now have direct access to new and expanding markets, where purchasing power is increasing rapidly and consumption needs are expanding. Consumers in the EU benefit from cheaper and more diverse goods and services through imports.But globalisation also involves important challenges for European economies.
First, the emergence of India as a global power in services production and the consolidation of China as a manufacturing powerhouse means adapting to new and formidable global competition.
This can be done only by shifting production and trade structures in the EU into new areas of comparative advantage and by moving up the value-added chain.Second, in particular for unskilled labour, the unprecedented growth of the global labour pool might adversely affect incomes and employment, as a result of production relocation and competitive imports. This means investing in our labour force to give them the skills they need to keep up with technological change and innovation. It means shifting the EU further towards a knowledge-based, flexible economy. It means learning to benefit from, and not run away from, technological innovation.Third, there is growing pressure on global resources and the environment. Protecting the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations. The challenge is to combine this with continuing economic growth in a way which is sustainable over the long term. Adapting to all these new challenges – and adapting fast – is essential.
And the European Union has a key role to play in this.The framework and policies of the EU are very powerful tools, not just for responding to the economic challenges of globalisation, but for shaping it, according to our own European interests and values.
First, the Single Market offers European companies unrestricted access to nearly half a billion citizens of the European Union. EU internal competition enables companies in Europe to achieve economies of scale and makes them fit to compete in global markets. Second, as a complement to the Single Market, the single currency acts as an anchor of economic stability and shields us against external shocks and financial turbulence.
Supported by the euro area's weight in the global economy, the euro has emerged as the second most important international currency behind the US dollar.The single currency is now widely used as an anchor or reference currency in foreign exchange arrangements, and as an official reserve currency. Strengthening the external dimension of the euro will bring benefits not only to the euro area, but to the EU as a whole.Third, Economic and Monetary Union – which is the most advanced stage of integration to date – has encouraged sound macroeconomic policies within the EU. Since the euro was launched in 1999, EMU has delivered a high degree of macroeconomic stability, and promoted closer trade and investment ties and deeper financial-market integration in the euro area.
The figures are clear: in the early 1990s, some euro area countries were still suffering from double-digit inflation. Today, inflation is around 2%. The average budget deficit was nearly 6% - in some countries, close to 10%. Today the average is 1.6%, and for 2007 as a whole, we forecast an average deficit of around 1%.These and other benefits represent strong incentives for countries to sign up to the euro. But that is not the full story. As emphasised by EU leaders at this year's Spring European Council, the Lisbon economic reform agenda is critical for boosting growth and jobs in all 27 EU Member States. The relaunched Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs is a step towards major economic adjustment, and establishes a far-reaching programme of reforms. It aims to tackle the broader structural weaknesses of the EU economy by its sharp focus on boosting productivity and raising employment rates. The strategy promotes innovation and investment in human capital, both of which are essential components for a knowledge-based economy.Today, two years after the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy, my impression is that it has indeed added momentum to Europe's reform process.This process, it's true, has not yet received the credit it deserves. In reality, EU Member States have undertaken wide-ranging reforms in recent years. Reforms have covered some of the most difficult and politically sensitive topics such as the labour market, the welfare state - including pension systems, the liberalisation and deregulation of sheltered markets, and measures to integrate financial markets.
These reforms are intended to strike the right balance between security and flexibility of employment or flexicurity which has already proved such a successful formula for reducing unemployment in several Member States. I really believe it is important to recognise this progress. It is true that not all Member States are making progress at the same rate. But there is now no leader of a Member State of
the European Union who can continue a discourse against the reform process.In addition, our Structural Funds – which encourage economic and social cohesion in the European Union – indirectly help address some of the globalisation challenges. By focusing on bridging the gap between more and less developed regions, and generating new opportunities for economically hit areas, the structural funds promote the successful integration of European regions into the global economy.And to complement this, the EU is also providing assistance for adjustment through its European Globalisation Fund. The Fund acts as a useful shock absorber to the powerful motor of globalisation.
Not to protect uncompetitive jobs, but to protect people - by giving them the help and training they need to get back on the job ladder.But despite the clear progress made so far, there is still huge scope for improvement. To this end – and as we are approaching the 10th anniversary of the euro – we are launching an ambitious programme of studies, under the leadership of Commissioner Almunia, to further our knowledge on how EMU has performed, and to propose concrete measures to make it work even better in the future.We are also currently subjecting the Single Market to a thorough review.We need greater integration of financial markets, as well as a genuine single market for innovation. Other important areas include enhancing competition in services, increasing incentives to work in the welfare system and making labour markets even more adaptable.
The bottom line is to avoid complacency, and to take advantage of the current good economic situation to accelerate, rather than slow down, the pace of structural reforms. But many of the challenges today are global in nature and therefore require global solutions. It is important that we in Europe also focus on the responsibilities that globalisation brings.I think these two things go together. It is impossible to have global solutions with closed minds. We cannot have a protectionist Europe. You cannot be in favour of globalisation and against European integration.EMU and the euro are already delivering macroeconomic stability worldwide, and Europe is fostering closer macroeconomic and regulatory cooperation with new partners as well as with existing ones.
As the world’s biggest trader, the EU is also a leading player in efforts to liberalise world trade. In this respect, a successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks is crucial. Open markets benefit Europeans and European business; not only industry and services, but also agriculture – Europe is now a net exporter of agricultural produce to the US. A multilateral trade round is the best way to support businesses with complex supply chains operating in many countries. It is the best way to support the poorest countries. It is the best way to ensure that China continues to develop as an economic giant within a rules-based, multilateral economic system. So at the G8 Summit at Heiligendamm next week, I will urge G8 leaders to send three clear signals:
- of the potential benefits of an ambitious and balanced Doha deal;
- of the need for urgency. We have weeks, not months; and
- of the need for everyone to contribute.
Let me be clear. If this is a negotiation in which Europe pays and others do not, there will be no Doha deal. Europe has put its cards on the table. We are offering substantial cuts in our agricultural and non-agricultural tariffs, and in our farm subsidies. Others have to offer real cuts as well. Real cuts for real cuts. The prize, a Doha deal, is worth going the extra mile. That is my message to the G8. That is what we need in the coming weeks from our main partners.But there are other global responsibilities.
We are also at the forefront of international efforts to promote sustainable development. Energy policy and climate protection have become key objectives, and we intend to make important contributions to both. Let me touch on these briefly.
At their recent Spring meeting, the EU has agreed on an outline for a new Energy Policy for Europe.
Its objectives are:
to increase the security of energy supply;
to ensure the competitiveness of European economies and the availability of affordable energy; and to promote environmental sustainability and combat climate change.
But we all know that bold political declarations are not enough. Therefore, EU leaders also adopted a comprehensive Energy Action Plan, which fixes ambitious, but achievable, targets. The main ones include improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020, and increasing the share of renewable energies in overall EU energy consumption to 20% by 2020 as well.Sustainable energy policies are not just a
European problem. Therefore, in 2007 the European Commission will propose a new international agreement on energy efficiency.
On climate change, agreement was reached at European Union level an agreement to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020 compared to 1990. In addition, we have made it clear that we will go further, cutting emissions by 30% by 2020, if other developed countries join us. The G8 Summit is an important stepping stone on the way to achieving this global response. The EU will be looking for a strong signal from our G8 partners which could be the key that unlocks further progress later in the year.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me conclude. Nowhere is the old proverb there is strength in unity more true than when building a competitive economy for the global market. The framework and policies of the European Union are critical in responding to the challenges of globalisation.I am sure that the next two days of the Brussels Economic Forum will contribute to a better understanding of these challenges and of Europe's role in resolving them. I therefore wish you every success and thank you for your attention.
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 Jun 10 12:01 AM EDT
JUNE 9,07
MAP 5.0 SIMEULUE, INDONESIA
MAP 2.5 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.9 COLORADO
MAP 3.0 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 3.1 UNIMAK ISLAND REGION, ALASKA
MAP 2.6 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 2.8 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
JUNE 08,07
MAP 3.4 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 NORTHERN COLOMBIA
MAP 5.1 NEW BRITAIN REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 3.7 SOUTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.6 PAKISTAN
MAP 5.1 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 2.8 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 5.9 OFFSHORE GUATEMALA
MAP 5.0 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
MAP 4.7 HOKKAIDO, JAPAN REGION
MAP 5.0 KEPULAUAN BABAR, INDONESIA
MAP 3.0 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
MAP 4.9 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS 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.
At least six dead in Australia storms by Neil Sands
Sat Jun 9, 7:59 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Six people were confirmed dead and another two were missing on Saturday as wild storms continued to lash Australia's east coast, smashing boats, flooding roads and cutting power to 200,000 homes. The Hunter Valley and Central Coast regions north of Sydney were declared disaster zones after being pounded by gale-force winds and torrential rains for a second day.
Massive seas ran aground at least 12 pleasure craft moored in Sydney Harbour, although fears eased that a massive coal freighter stranded at Newcastle would break up and create an environmental disaster.Police put the official death toll at six, including a couple in their fifties whose car was washed off a bridge.Searchers also found the bodies of four members of a family of five carried away when a highway collapsed.
The four bodies found were an adult female and three children -- a nine-year-old boy, a three-year-old girl and a two-year-old girl. The children's bodies were recovered.Search teams were still looking for one more family member, believed to be an adult male.The Australian Associated Press news agency reported that the adult body found, a 30-year-old woman, was the mother of the children and the missing male, a 30-year-old, was the father.A Newcastle man was also missing after falling down a stormwater drain late Friday, police said.With Australia beginning a long holiday weekend, officials advised motorists to scrap plans to travel to popular tourist spots in the state's north, saying a number of major roads were closed.
Power utility EnergyAustralia said 200,000 homes had no electricity and could remain blacked out until late next week.This is the worst storm and the worst damage our electricity network has seen for more than 30 years, EnergyAustralia network general manager Geoff Lilliss said.Hundreds of people were evacuated as floodwaters rose, including 65 elderly residents of a Central Coast nursing home.
The Bureau of Meteorology said the storm dumped 300 millimetres (12 inches) of rain on some areas, with winds peaking at 120 kilometres per hour (75 miles per hour).It said conditions had eased slightly Saturday morning, granting a reprieve to emergency services struggling to cope with more than 5,000 calls for assistance.But meteorology bureau forecaster Julie Evans said that after causing extensive flooding in Newcastle, the storm was likely to intensify as it moved south towards Sydney before heading out to sea.It will be the sting in the tail in the system before it moves off to the east, she told Sky News.Sydney ferry services were suspended for a second day amid huge swells.
Officials said at least a dozen recreational boats in Sydney Harbour had broken their moorings and run aground and that 30 more needed to be towed to safety, while a beachside wharf collapsed into to sea. But the 30,000-tonne vessel Pasha Bulker, which ran aground Friday when the storm first hit, appeared to be structurally sound and there was no sign that its 800 tonnes of oil and fuel was leaking.
A number of other ships that were also in danger of becoming stranded had managed to steam into deeper waters overnight, officials said. The Pasha Bulker sparked a dramatic rescue Friday as a helicopter braved gale-force winds to pluck its Filipino and Korean crew to safety from the ship's deck.
Millions suffer as storms in China kill at least 23 JUNE 9,07
BEIJING (Reuters) - Rain storms and floods have killed at least 23 people across southern China in recent days and made thousands homeless, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday. Millions of people are suffering, it said.
Storms killed seven people and left four missing in the southern province of Guizhou on Friday and Saturday. Nearly 20,000 hectares (77 sq miles) of cropland were flooded and 3,000 houses destroyed, Xinhua said.In Guangdong province, bordering Hong Kong, heavy rain triggered landslides killing three people and destroying 788 houses and about 1,120 hectares of cropland, Xinhua said.Storms cut off a railway link between Meizhou and Shantou in Guangdong leaving about 1,100 passengers stranded on Friday.In neighboring Guangxi, two people were killed in torrential rain that destroyed 610 homes, Xinhua said, citing flood control authorities.In Guangxi, high school students sitting all-important university entrance exams on Thursday and Friday had to be evacuated as heavy rain submerged their classrooms, Xinhua said.
Storms also broke 29 reservoirs, 362 embankments, 165 roads and forced 59 factories to suspend production, Xinhua quoted Chen Rundong, deputy head of the regional flood control office, as saying.On Friday, Xinhua reported seven deaths and nine injuries on in the Liangshan region of Sichuan province from hailstorms, lightning strikes and landslides. Xinhua did not give details of all the deaths.China's central Hunan province was on high alert after four successive days of rain swelled the Xiangjiang river to 4.6 meters above the warning level and to its highest mark in 20 years, Xinhua said.
We have stepped up our guard against flooding as two more heavy rainstorms are forecast over the next four days, Xinhua quoted Xie Kangsheng, a Hunan government official, as saying.Storms in Hunan had killed three people, left 158,000 homeless and cut off water supplies to 75,000, Xinhua said on Friday.Late last month, lightning, mudslides and floods in Sichuan province killed 43 people, state media reported.China's typhoon season is just getting under way in the south. Experts last month warned that China's Yangtze river could flood badly this year, for the first time since 1998, when floodwaters from the country's longest river killed more than 3,000 people.
Twelve killed, 40,000 trapped in Iran flash floods Sat Jun 9, 6:43 AM ET
TEHRAN (AFP) - Flash floods caused by cyclone Gonu have killed 12 people, injured nine and trapped 40,000 others in southeastern Iran, news reports said Saturday. Based on the latest information gathered, 12 people were killed as the result of floods in Hormozgan and Sistan-Baluchestan provinces, the head of Iran's emergency services, Farzad Panahi, was quoted as saying by the semi official Mehr news agency.He added that more than 3,000 livestock had perished in the southern port town of Jask in Hormozgan province.The Fars news agency, meanwhile, quoted another official as saying that a total of 40,000 villagers are trapped by water in Hormozgan province.
Helicopters have been dispatched to the affected areas, the official said.Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards Air Force said on Friday it had delivered 40 tons of food to the rain-hit port city of Chabahar in Sistan-Baluchestan province.Cyclone Gonu bore down on Oman early Wednesday, creating havoc and leaving at least 49 people dead and another 27 missing before veering towards Iran.
Anti-terrorism Convention enters into force
Friday 8 June 2007
The Council of Europe has announced the official recognition of offences which may lead to acts of terrorism, under the auspices of the Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism, in a move aimed at preventing future attacks.
Brief News:
Following the announcement, on 1 June 2007, that its Convention on the Prevention of Terrorism has entered into force, Council of Europe Secretary-General Terry Davis said: This new weapon provides a robust and effective response to the threat of terrorism. It allows our governments to act early and effectively to stop terrorists before they can carry out their attacks.The Convention is the first international treaty to establish as criminal offences several activities which may lead to acts of terrorism, such as incitement, recruitment and training. It also reinforces international co-operation in the prevention of terrorism by modifying existing arrangements for extradition and mutual assistance.
The Convention was opened for signature at the Third Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Council of Europe in Warsaw in May 2005. It has served as a precursor to counter-terrorism efforts at the global level and was followed by the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1624(2005), which echoes the Council of Europe's approach to the fight against terrorism. To date, it has been signed by 39 countries, and ratified by seven: Albania, Bulgaria, Denmark, Romania, Russia,
Slovakia, Ukraine.
YOU CAN'T TAKE GOD OUT OF EVERYTHING AND NOT EXPECT A REPLY FROM THE CREATOR (JESUS GOD).
NOTICE GOD USES WIND AS WELL AS NORTHERN NATIONS TO DESTROY POLITICAL BABYLON FOR ITS GODLESSNESS.
JEREMIAH 50:1-3,9 (POLITICAL BABYLON (USA) DESTROYED FROM NORTH COUNTRY RUSSIA,
1 The word that the LORD spake against Babylon and against the land of the Chaldeans by Jeremiah the prophet.
2 Declare ye among the nations, and publish, and set up a standard; publish, and conceal not: say, Babylon is taken, Bel is confounded, Merodach is broken in pieces; her idols are confounded, her images are broken in pieces.
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
9 For, lo, I will raise and cause to come up against Babylon an assembly of great nations from the north country: and they shall set themselves in array against her; from thence she shall be taken: their arrows shall be as of a mighty expert man; none shall return in vain.(I BELIEVE ITS THE RUSSIA MUSLIM HORDE THAT DESTROY POLITICAL BABYLON).
46 At the noise of the taking of Babylon the earth is moved, and the cry is heard among the nations.
JEREMIAH 51:1-8,20-21,24-26,41-43 (POLITICAL BABYLON THE U.S.A)
1 Thus saith the LORD; Behold, I will raise up against Babylon, and against them that dwell in the midst of them that rise up against me, a destroying wind;
2 And will send unto Babylon fanners, that shall fan her, and shall empty her land: for in the day of trouble they shall be against her round about.
3 Against him that bendeth let the archer bend his bow, and against him that lifteth himself up in his brigandine: and spare ye not her young men; destroy ye utterly all her host.
4 Thus the slain shall fall in the land of the Chaldeans, and they that are thrust through in her streets.
5 For Israel hath not been forsaken, nor Judah of his God, of the LORD of hosts; though their land was filled with sin against the Holy One of Israel.
6 Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the LORD’S vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD’S hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
8 Babylon is suddenly fallen and destroyed: howl for her; take balm for her pain, if so be she may be healed.
20 Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms;
21 And with thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I break in pieces the chariot and his rider;
24 And I will render unto Babylon and to all the inhabitants of Chaldea all their evil that they have done in Zion in your sight, saith the LORD.
25 Behold, I am against thee, O destroying mountain, saith the LORD, which destroyest all the earth: and I will stretch out mine hand upon thee, and roll thee down from the rocks, and will make thee a burnt mountain.
26 And they shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for foundations; but thou shalt be desolate for ever, saith the LORD.
41 How is Sheshach taken! and how is the praise of the whole earth surprised! how is Babylon become an astonishment among the nations!
42 The sea is come up upon Babylon: she is covered with the multitude of the waves thereof.
43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.
REVELATION 18:1-24 (FINAL DESTRUCTION OF POLITICAL BABYLON)
1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.
2 And he cried mightily with a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled fill to her double.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who judgeth her.
9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for no man buyeth their merchandise any more:
12 The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all thyine wood, and all manner vessels of ivory, and all manner vessels of most precious wood, and of brass, and iron, and marble,
13 And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flour, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and souls of men.
14 And the fruits that thy soul lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more at all.
15 The merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,
16 And saying, Alas, alas, that great city, that was clothed in fine linen, and purple, and scarlet, and decked with gold, and precious stones, and pearls!
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
18 And cried when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What city is like unto this great city!
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas, that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
20 Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath avenged you on her.
21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musicians, and of pipers, and trumpeters, shall be heard no more at all in thee; and no craftsman, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee; and the sound of a millstone shall be heard no more at all in thee;
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.
24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.
Russia wants freeze on U.S. missile plan By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer JUNE 9,07
MOSCOW - Russia's foreign minister urged the United States on Saturday to freeze plans for missile defense installations in eastern Europe during negotiations and warned that the proposal — intended to serve as a buffer against Iran could backfire.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov's comments, reported by Russian newsagencies, suggested the Kremlin is unhappy that the United States has continued discussions on its plans to deploy facilities in Poland and the Czech Republic following Russia's counteroffer of joint use of a radar station in Azerbaijan.It's necessary for Washington, at a minimum, to freeze the deployment of missile defense elements in Europe for a period of study and negotiations on the Russian proposal, ITAR-Tass quoted Lavrov as saying.Lavrov also warned that the U.S. missile defense plans could hamper efforts to ease international concerns about Iran's nuclear program, RIA-Novosti reported. The United States has said the missile defense shield is intended to protect against a potential Iranian threat.Lavrov said there was no proof that Iran was seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but that the missile shield could further provoke the Iranian government, which is already facing international sanctions for its disputed atomic program.
The U.S. system calls for a radar screen in the Czech Republic to watch for missile threats, and 10 interceptor rockets in Poland to shoot down any missiles.
Both Bush and Polish President Lech Kaczynski said Friday the system would not threaten Russia. The Kremlin argues that the system would undermine its nuclear deterrent. President Vladimir Putin, who has led Russia's bitter objection to U.S. plans to deploy a missile-defense radar in the Czech Republic and interceptors in Poland, surprised President Bush with the offer of joint use of the radar station in Azerbaijan, which borders Iran.Meeting with Putin on Thursday during a Group of Eight summit in Germany, Bush agreed to consider the proposal. But the Bush administration made clear it was not abandoning plans for a program in Poland and the Czech Republic Cold War-era Soviet satellites that are now in NATO.
Putin added clarity to his offer Friday by suggestion locations for missile interceptors if Azerbaijan were to be used for the radar element, saying they could be placed in Turkey or Iraq, or on sea platforms.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told The Associated Press on Friday that one does not choose sites for missile defense out of the blue and that it was not yet clear whether Azerbaijan makes any sense in the context of missile defense.
Bush feels awe at Pope who urges Middle East fix By Caren Bohan and Philip Pullella JUNE 9,07
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - President George W. Bush said on Saturday he felt awe in the presence of Pope Benedict, who urged the U.S. leader to seek regional and negotiated solution to Middle East conflicts like Iraq. I was talking to a very smart, loving man, Bush said of his first talks with Benedict since he became Pope in 2005.After 6-1/2 years of being a president ... I've been to some unusual places and met some interesting people and I was in awe, Bush told a news conference in Rome. It was a moving experience for me.Addressing the 80-year-old head of the Roman Catholic Church as sir, Bush heard the Pope's concerns about the Middle East and the plight of Christians in Iraq and told him of his efforts to combat AIDS and malaria in Africa and hunger and poverty.He told the Pope before reporters about what he called the very strong AIDS initiative at the Group of Eight summit this week which pledged $60 billion to fight diseases ravaging Africa -- although much of that was made up of existing pledges.
A Vatican statement said Benedict and Bush had discussed the Middle East and the Holy See's hope for a regional and negotiated solution to the conflicts that afflict that region.
It's good to be with you sir, Bush said as he sat before the Pontiff's private desk in the Vatican.The two men see eye-to-eye on ethical issues like abortion and euthanasia but differ on the war in Iraq, which Benedict's predecessor, John Paul, tried hard to avert.When the Pope mentioned Bush had come from the G8 summit, Bush said: I did your old country and it was successful ... A lot of different opinions, but it was good.
Asked if his dialogue with Russian leader Vladimir Putin -- closely watched because of a number of sharp disagreements between Russia and the West -- had been good, Bush responded with a smile as reporters were being ushered out of the room.I'll tell you in a minute, he said.
SECURITY FEARS
Bush and his wife Laura, who wore a black veil, took a more circuitous route to the Vatican than usual, which disappointed thousands waiting to see him.It was not clear if this was for security reasons, although 10,000 police were deployed as a precaution in central Rome.Leftists and pacifists opposed to the war in Iraq and the expansion of a U.S. military base in northern Italy took trains to Rome for mass protests likely to echo those at the G8.Many who elected Prime Minister Romano
Prodi's centre-left coalition -- which is critical of U.S. foreign policy -- joined the rally and four communist deputies from Prodi's alliance hung a banner outside parliament that read: No Bush, No War.Bush is the biggest international terrorist. It's a disgrace that the Italian government elected by the votes of pacifists should invite him to this country, said Elio Luppoli, arriving in Rome with about 70
protesters from Milan.
The protest began peacefully but fears it could turn violent were highlighted by the cancellation of Bush's planned visit to Rome's colorful Trastevere quarter, where he was to have met leaders of the Sant'Egidio Roman Catholic community. One of Rome's oldest neighborhoods, its narrow, cobbled alleys would have been awkward for the presidential motorcade. The Sant'Egidio group, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for its work brokering peace and fighting AIDS in Africa, met Bush at the U.S. embassy instead. Bush had warm words for Prodi, despite concern when he came to power a year ago that Italy would no longer be the firm ally it was under his conservative predecessor Silvio Berlusconi. I look forward to seeing Silvio. We took some important decisions together, Bush said at a joint news conference with Prodi. I have known Romano a long time too. He was president of the EU (European Union) in the early part of my presidency.(Additional reporting by Robin Pomeroy, Gavin Jones, Stephen Brown, Toby Zakaria, Deepa Babington, Roberto Landucci, Antonella Ciancio)
Egyptian girl dies of bird flu virus By Cynthia Johnston
Sat Jun 9, 6:18 AM ET
CAIRO (Reuters) - A 10-year-old Egyptian girl who contracted the H5N1 bird flu virus died on Saturday, bringing the number of fatalities from the disease in the most populous Arab country to 15, the health ministry said. The girl, identified as Mayyada Tuhami, is reported to have fallen ill on June 1 after coming into contact with infected household birds but did not enter hospital until roughly a week later, delaying potentially life-saving treatment.
Her case followed a nearly two-month warm weather lull in human bird flu cases in Egypt, where 35 people are known to have contracted the virus since it was first detected in Egyptian poultry in early 2006.The Egyptian health ministry said in a statement that the girl, from the southern town of Qena, had been admitted to hospital on Thursday with a high fever and a pulmonary infection, and was put on an artificial respirator.She died at dawn on Saturday and is considered the 15th death from bird flu in Egypt, the statement said.Bird flu did extensive damage to the country's poultry industry and the economy as a whole after its arrival in Egypt, which has more confirmed human bird flu cases than any other country outside of Asia.
Most of those who have fallen ill in Egypt were reported to have had contact with sick or dead household birds, primarily in northern Egypt where the weather is typically cooler than in the south.
But in a sign of a change in how the disease may be occurring in Egypt, all but two of the past 11 human cases have occurred in central or southern parts of the country.Bird flu experts in Egypt have said they would typically expect fewer human cases of the disease during Egypt's sweltering summer months, and in 2006 there was a summertime lull in human cases between May and October.Experts fear that the bird flu virus might mutate or combine with the highly contagious seasonal influenza virus and spark a deadly pandemic which could circle the globe and kill millions. Around five million households in Egypt depend on poultry as a main source of food and income and the government has said this makes it unlikely the disease can be eradicated. The government still finds it hard to enforce restrictions on the movement and sale of live poultry.
José Manuel Barroso
President of the European Commission
The EU in the global economy: perspectives and challenges - Brussels Economic Forum
Brussels, 31 May 2007 - SPEECH/07/346
Ladies and gentlemen,
Thank you, Klaus Regling, for your kind words. I'd also like to congratulate you and Commissioner Almunia for inviting me to address this 8th Brussels Economic Forum - in a year that marks the 50th anniversary of the Treaty of Rome.Earlier this year, European leaders celebrated this anniversary with a declaration in Berlin. We have reaffirmed their commitment to a project that has paved the way for peace and prosperity in Europe.
And we believe that economic integration is central to this European success story.A gradual elimination of economic barriers over the last half-century, and the adoption of a common currency, have helped to raise living standards, ensure a fairer deal for consumers, create new opportunities for investors and foster closer economic and political ties among Member States. As the Berlin Declaration says, the common market and the euro make us strong.This is particularly true in today's increasingly integrated global economy. Globalisation is bringing new economic and social challenges.
Implementing our framework for macroeconomic stability and our structural reform agenda is essential to deal with these challenges. The renewed economic vigour in the EU offers an excellent window of opportunity for Member States to accelerate their reform efforts. Over the past year, the EU's economic recovery has gone from strength to strength. Real GDP in the EU grew by some 3% last year – its fastest growth rate since 2000.
Employment growth in the EU accelerated to around 1.6% in 2006, creating close to 3.4 million new jobs. Between 2006 and 2008, 9 million new jobs are forecasted. Inflation remained around 2% in 2006 but it came down towards the end of the year as energy prices eased. This positive growth performance partly reflects the current cyclical upturn, of course. But it also suggests that structural reforms are beginning to bear fruit. The fact that in the European Union we offered Member States a common framework for those reforms – through the renewed Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs - is certainly helping this progress towards an improved economic situation in Europe.The employment effect of recent growth has been particularly intense. By February 2007, the unemployment rate had dropped to 7.4%, its lowest level in 15 years.
Labour productivity growth in the EU averaged 1.2% in 2006, compared with an annual average rate of 0.6% between 2001 and 2005. As I said, much of the recent increase is no doubt cyclical in nature.
Yet, taking a longer-term perspective, we have seen real structural gains in the labour and product markets, and the long-term decline in trend productivity seems to have come to a halt. Overall, these developments confirm that the Commission was right to send clear signals in favour of reform, and the urgent need to adjust to a more competitive environment. They also confirm that Member States are now being rewarded for their structural reform efforts.Over the past two decades, the economic environment has undergone a fundamental transformation. The integration of China, India, Russia and other developing or emerging countries into the world economy is bringing new economic and social challenges. Today, China, India and Russia are – in purchasing power parity terms – among the six largest economies in the world together with the EU, the US and Japan. This makes some people uncomfortable. But I believe globalisation presents huge opportunities for EU economies.Firms in the EU now have direct access to new and expanding markets, where purchasing power is increasing rapidly and consumption needs are expanding. Consumers in the EU benefit from cheaper and more diverse goods and services through imports.But globalisation also involves important challenges for European economies.
First, the emergence of India as a global power in services production and the consolidation of China as a manufacturing powerhouse means adapting to new and formidable global competition.
This can be done only by shifting production and trade structures in the EU into new areas of comparative advantage and by moving up the value-added chain.Second, in particular for unskilled labour, the unprecedented growth of the global labour pool might adversely affect incomes and employment, as a result of production relocation and competitive imports. This means investing in our labour force to give them the skills they need to keep up with technological change and innovation. It means shifting the EU further towards a knowledge-based, flexible economy. It means learning to benefit from, and not run away from, technological innovation.Third, there is growing pressure on global resources and the environment. Protecting the environment is essential for the quality of life of current and future generations. The challenge is to combine this with continuing economic growth in a way which is sustainable over the long term. Adapting to all these new challenges – and adapting fast – is essential.
And the European Union has a key role to play in this.The framework and policies of the EU are very powerful tools, not just for responding to the economic challenges of globalisation, but for shaping it, according to our own European interests and values.
First, the Single Market offers European companies unrestricted access to nearly half a billion citizens of the European Union. EU internal competition enables companies in Europe to achieve economies of scale and makes them fit to compete in global markets. Second, as a complement to the Single Market, the single currency acts as an anchor of economic stability and shields us against external shocks and financial turbulence.
Supported by the euro area's weight in the global economy, the euro has emerged as the second most important international currency behind the US dollar.The single currency is now widely used as an anchor or reference currency in foreign exchange arrangements, and as an official reserve currency. Strengthening the external dimension of the euro will bring benefits not only to the euro area, but to the EU as a whole.Third, Economic and Monetary Union – which is the most advanced stage of integration to date – has encouraged sound macroeconomic policies within the EU. Since the euro was launched in 1999, EMU has delivered a high degree of macroeconomic stability, and promoted closer trade and investment ties and deeper financial-market integration in the euro area.
The figures are clear: in the early 1990s, some euro area countries were still suffering from double-digit inflation. Today, inflation is around 2%. The average budget deficit was nearly 6% - in some countries, close to 10%. Today the average is 1.6%, and for 2007 as a whole, we forecast an average deficit of around 1%.These and other benefits represent strong incentives for countries to sign up to the euro. But that is not the full story. As emphasised by EU leaders at this year's Spring European Council, the Lisbon economic reform agenda is critical for boosting growth and jobs in all 27 EU Member States. The relaunched Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs is a step towards major economic adjustment, and establishes a far-reaching programme of reforms. It aims to tackle the broader structural weaknesses of the EU economy by its sharp focus on boosting productivity and raising employment rates. The strategy promotes innovation and investment in human capital, both of which are essential components for a knowledge-based economy.Today, two years after the re-launch of the Lisbon Strategy, my impression is that it has indeed added momentum to Europe's reform process.This process, it's true, has not yet received the credit it deserves. In reality, EU Member States have undertaken wide-ranging reforms in recent years. Reforms have covered some of the most difficult and politically sensitive topics such as the labour market, the welfare state - including pension systems, the liberalisation and deregulation of sheltered markets, and measures to integrate financial markets.
These reforms are intended to strike the right balance between security and flexibility of employment or flexicurity which has already proved such a successful formula for reducing unemployment in several Member States. I really believe it is important to recognise this progress. It is true that not all Member States are making progress at the same rate. But there is now no leader of a Member State of
the European Union who can continue a discourse against the reform process.In addition, our Structural Funds – which encourage economic and social cohesion in the European Union – indirectly help address some of the globalisation challenges. By focusing on bridging the gap between more and less developed regions, and generating new opportunities for economically hit areas, the structural funds promote the successful integration of European regions into the global economy.And to complement this, the EU is also providing assistance for adjustment through its European Globalisation Fund. The Fund acts as a useful shock absorber to the powerful motor of globalisation.
Not to protect uncompetitive jobs, but to protect people - by giving them the help and training they need to get back on the job ladder.But despite the clear progress made so far, there is still huge scope for improvement. To this end – and as we are approaching the 10th anniversary of the euro – we are launching an ambitious programme of studies, under the leadership of Commissioner Almunia, to further our knowledge on how EMU has performed, and to propose concrete measures to make it work even better in the future.We are also currently subjecting the Single Market to a thorough review.We need greater integration of financial markets, as well as a genuine single market for innovation. Other important areas include enhancing competition in services, increasing incentives to work in the welfare system and making labour markets even more adaptable.
The bottom line is to avoid complacency, and to take advantage of the current good economic situation to accelerate, rather than slow down, the pace of structural reforms. But many of the challenges today are global in nature and therefore require global solutions. It is important that we in Europe also focus on the responsibilities that globalisation brings.I think these two things go together. It is impossible to have global solutions with closed minds. We cannot have a protectionist Europe. You cannot be in favour of globalisation and against European integration.EMU and the euro are already delivering macroeconomic stability worldwide, and Europe is fostering closer macroeconomic and regulatory cooperation with new partners as well as with existing ones.
As the world’s biggest trader, the EU is also a leading player in efforts to liberalise world trade. In this respect, a successful conclusion of the Doha round of trade talks is crucial. Open markets benefit Europeans and European business; not only industry and services, but also agriculture – Europe is now a net exporter of agricultural produce to the US. A multilateral trade round is the best way to support businesses with complex supply chains operating in many countries. It is the best way to support the poorest countries. It is the best way to ensure that China continues to develop as an economic giant within a rules-based, multilateral economic system. So at the G8 Summit at Heiligendamm next week, I will urge G8 leaders to send three clear signals:
- of the potential benefits of an ambitious and balanced Doha deal;
- of the need for urgency. We have weeks, not months; and
- of the need for everyone to contribute.
Let me be clear. If this is a negotiation in which Europe pays and others do not, there will be no Doha deal. Europe has put its cards on the table. We are offering substantial cuts in our agricultural and non-agricultural tariffs, and in our farm subsidies. Others have to offer real cuts as well. Real cuts for real cuts. The prize, a Doha deal, is worth going the extra mile. That is my message to the G8. That is what we need in the coming weeks from our main partners.But there are other global responsibilities.
We are also at the forefront of international efforts to promote sustainable development. Energy policy and climate protection have become key objectives, and we intend to make important contributions to both. Let me touch on these briefly.
At their recent Spring meeting, the EU has agreed on an outline for a new Energy Policy for Europe.
Its objectives are:
to increase the security of energy supply;
to ensure the competitiveness of European economies and the availability of affordable energy; and to promote environmental sustainability and combat climate change.
But we all know that bold political declarations are not enough. Therefore, EU leaders also adopted a comprehensive Energy Action Plan, which fixes ambitious, but achievable, targets. The main ones include improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020, and increasing the share of renewable energies in overall EU energy consumption to 20% by 2020 as well.Sustainable energy policies are not just a
European problem. Therefore, in 2007 the European Commission will propose a new international agreement on energy efficiency.
On climate change, agreement was reached at European Union level an agreement to reduce EU greenhouse gas emissions by 20% in 2020 compared to 1990. In addition, we have made it clear that we will go further, cutting emissions by 30% by 2020, if other developed countries join us. The G8 Summit is an important stepping stone on the way to achieving this global response. The EU will be looking for a strong signal from our G8 partners which could be the key that unlocks further progress later in the year.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Let me conclude. Nowhere is the old proverb there is strength in unity more true than when building a competitive economy for the global market. The framework and policies of the European Union are critical in responding to the challenges of globalisation.I am sure that the next two days of the Brussels Economic Forum will contribute to a better understanding of these challenges and of Europe's role in resolving them. I therefore wish you every success and thank you for your attention.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
PERES FOR ISRAEL PRESIDENT
1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Seven feared missing as storms batter eastern Australia. 3-Severe storms pound Upper Midwest. 4-Flooding threat eases in parts of Western Canada. 5-Report: Olmert signals on Golan Heights. 6-European equities sink amid global equities downturn. 7-Syria ceded part of Golan to Israel in peace talks: Netanyahu. 8-Evangelicals denounce CNN faith and politics forum. 9-Shas Sages Decide: Shimon Peres for President.
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 Jun 9 12:01 AM EDT
JUNE 8,07
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
MAP 4.9 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
JUNE 7,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 SOUTHERN GREECE
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.5 LAOS
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.3 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.5 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
MAP 6.2 BISMARCK SEA
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.
Seven feared missing as storms batter eastern Australia Fri Jun 8, 5:51 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian emergency services on Friday said seven people were feared missing as fierce storms hit the country's east coast, with five swept away when a highway collapsed in torrential rain. The wild weather, including strong winds that forced a huge freighter to run aground north of Sydney, brought flash floods to areas of New South Wales state, cutting roads and resulting in thousands of calls for assistance.The NSW Ambulance Service said a car carrying two adults and two children was swept away when a section of Old Pacific Highway on the Central Coast collapsed after being undermined by a rain-swollen creek.A would-be rescuer who rushed to help was also believed to have been carried away by the raging waters, police said.
In a separate incident, an elderly couple were believed to have been in a car swept off a bridge in the lower Hunter Valley, also north of Sydney.Police said late Friday that they had been forced to call off the search for the couple until daybreak due to bad weather and darkness.
The storms dumped up to 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain and packed winds exceeding 90 km/h (56 mph), with forecasters predicting conditions would worsen Saturday.With Australia entering a holiday long weekend, the NSW State Emergency Services warned motorists against taking to the roads, advising them to cancel non-essential travel.It said 60,000 homes were without power and it was receiving about 250 calls for assistance every hour.
Severe storms pound Upper Midwest By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer JUNE 8,07
WAUSAU, Wis. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes tore through the Upper Midwest on Thursday, damaging homes and a resort, producing baseball-size hail and dropping more than 6 inches of rain in some areas. A twister devastated the Bear Paw Resort near Langlade in northern Wisconsin, and nearby homes might also have been damaged, the Langlade County Sheriff's Department said.The rustic resort, which runs along the Wolf River, allows camping and includes cabins and a kayaking business. There was a report of a kayak slicing through a pine tree.The resort was leveled, said Gina Panzica of Langlade County Rural Fire Control.At least five tornadoes were reported in Wisconsin, and the storms injured at least four people, none seriously, officials said.Hailstones 4 inches wide fell in Wisconsin Rapids, knocking out the windshield of a police car, said Karen Ryun, a dispatcher.
A tornado damaged several lake homes near Elizabeth, in western Minnesota, said Judy Siggerud, dispatch supervisor for Otter Tail County. No injuries were reported.My husband was pulling some lawn furniture off of our deck, when all of a sudden a black cloud came out right in front of us, said Claudia Boelter, who took cover in a neighbor's house. We ran next door, and I looked out their living room window. I could see this cloud that was down on the lake, rotating and pulling water up.
Hail the size of golf balls was reported in parts of Minnesota. Gusty winds knocked out power in parts of the Twin Cities.In North Dakota, where the storms began late Wednesday, heavy rain washed out roads. Bowman County emergency manager Dean Pearson said he had reports of 1 1/2 to 6 1/4 inches of rain overnight.We've got some roads that are washed out and some areas that are still running over the roadway, Pearson said. It's been slow getting started (to assess the damage) because it's so muddy that it's hard to get around.Most of the rain stayed to the west or north of Fargo, which was fighting back the rising Red River, said Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker. The Red River flows northward.Strong winds whipped across Chicago on Thursday, snarling air travel. About 400 flights at O'Hare International Airport were canceled Thursday evening, according to Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation.Associated Press writer Dave Kolpack in Fargo, N.D., contributed to this report.
Flooding threat eases in parts of Western Canada Thu Jun 7, 7:13 PM ET
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadian forecasters said flooded rivers in northwest British Columbia rose again on Thursday, but officials said the threat of major problems on the Fraser River east of Vancouver had eased.
Officials said the mountain snow pack that threatened to cause major spring flooding along the Fraser and Thompson rivers has now largely melted, but they remain concerned about potential problems if there are heavy rains.The unusually heavy winter snows had kept British Columbia on edge about flooding for weeks, but only the high levels of the Skeena and Buckley rivers in the northwestern area of the Pacific coast province have caused major problems.
Melting snow has produced the biggest waterflow in the Buckley since officials started keeping records more than 70 years ago, and water levels in both it and the Skeena were expected to continue rising through the weekend.Flooding closed the only major highway through the region to the port city of Prince Rupert, and prompted evacuation orders and alerts in several communities.High water also caused Canadian National Railway Co. to stop service to Prince Rupert, which handles both grain and coal exports. The railway said it was talking to the Canadian Grain Commission about diverting traffic to Vancouver.Passenger rail service along the CN line has also been halted.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Report: Olmert signals on Golan Heights By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 8, 4:25 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Israel sent secret messages to Syria recently signaling willingness to give up the captured Golan Heights in return for a peace deal that would require Syria to distance itself from Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had German and Turkish diplomats relay to Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel is willing to hold direct peace negotiations and give up the strategic plateau, seized in the 1967 Mideast war, the Yediot Ahronot
daily said, quoting officials close to Olmert.Syria did not respond to Olmert's messages, the report said.Assad has recently urged Israel to return to the negotiating table. But he has not publicly indicated a willingness to accommodate Israel's oft-stated insistence that there could be no talks unless Damascus scaled back its ties with Iran, its main ally in the region, and stopped backing Lebanese and Palestinian militants committed to Israel's destruction.Olmert's office had no comment on the Yediot report.
Yediot said President Bush gave Olmert the green light for negotiations with Syria in an hourlong phone conversation last month. The two leaders will further discuss the possibility of talks during their scheduled meeting at the White House on June 19, the report said.A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv was not immediately available for comment on the newspaper report.In the past, Israeli and U.S. officials have said privately that Washington does not want Israel to engage Syria, because of its ties to radical elements and meddling in Lebanon, a former proxy. But the Bush administration is also under pressure from allies, lawmakers and advisers who think Washington should warm ties with Syria in an effort to isolate Iran.Israel and Syria have tried several times in the past to reach a peace accord, which both sides understand would require an Israeli pullout from the Golan. The last round of talks broke down in 2000 over the scope of the withdrawal, and Israel's demand for normalized relations.Relations have steadily deteriorated since.
Syria backed Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in their war with Israel last summer, and harbors the leadership of the militantly anti-Israel Hamas, which shares power in the Palestinian government.After the Lebanon war, Assad offered to renew negotiations, but Israel dismissed his overtures as a tactic to ease his regime's isolation in the West. But abruptly last week, a senior Israeli official said Olmert
was assessing prospects for renewed talks.It is not clear what drove this change. The flawed war made Olmert too politically weak at home to advance his proposed withdrawal from large swaths of the West Bank. New negotiations with Syria could help to dispel the widespread image in Israel that he has no political agenda.
Alternatively, he might have reached the conclusion that Syria is serious about making peace, or that Israel should not, in principle, rebuff peace overtures.
Reports about possible diplomatic movement on the Syrian front have proliferated over the past week in an atmosphere charged by a recent Syrian military buildup and military preparations on both sides of the border. On Wednesday, Olmert, seeking to ease the volatility, said Israel was interested in peace with Damascus and had no belligerent intentions.Giving back the Golan, which Israel annexed in 1981, is not a popular concept in Israel. The heights dominate much of northern Israel, are adjacent to Israel's largest source of drinking water, and are home to wineries and popular tourism sites.
Olmert's weak domestic standing could make it even more difficult to push a withdrawal ahead if the current diplomatic feelers evolved into something more substantial.A poll by the Teleseker company published in the Maariv newspaper on Friday showed that 84 percent of the 500 Israelis surveyed oppose a full withdrawal from the Golan. Forty-four percent opposed any Golan pullback, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
European equities sink amid global equities downturn JUNE 8,2007
LONDON (AFP) - European stocks sank again on Friday after a sharp round of losses earlier in Asia and overnight in New York, as fears mounted that the global economy could face higher interest rates, dealers said. The falls came as worries over rising inflation and higher credit costs re-focused attention on economic growth and corporate profits, they added.In early European deals on Friday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares shed 0.19 percent to 6,492.70 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.45 percent to 7,584.32 and in Paris the CAC 40 dipped 0.39 percent to 5,867.35.In the foreign exchange market, the euro dived as low as 1.3352 dollars -- last seen April 10 -- as inflation jitters also prompted investors to consider a possible US rate hike later this year, analysts said.
Wall Street had taken a pounding on Thursday as global interest rate and inflation worries roiled the market, traders said.Japanese share prices also slumped on Friday, slipping below the 18,000-point mark, also after disappointing machinery orders data.Investors track interest rate movements closely because higher borrowing costs increase companies' loan repayments, and they slash the amount of spare cash available for consumers to spend.Interest rates are creeping higher, particularly in the eurozone, where the European Central Bank lifted borrowing costs this week to 4.00 percent.While the Bank of England paused rates at 5.50 percent on Thursday, analysts expect another rate hike in Britain is around the corner.
And although the Federal Reserve has so far kept US interest rates unchanged for a year, it has warned that it stands ready to raise rates if inflation pressures mount.In London on Friday, the mining sector was hit by falling metals prices.Shares in Vedanta Resources plunged 3.19 percent to 1,455 pence, Antofagasta plummeted 1.96 percent to 550.25 pence and BHP Billiton sank 2.0 percent to 1,260.26 pence.In Frankfurt, German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp fell 1.02 percent to 42.67 euros.
In US deals on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down a dramatic 1.48 percent at 13,266.73, marking the third straight day of steep losses.The Nasdaq composite shed a notable 1.77 percent to 2,541.38 and the Standard Poor's 500 index slumped a heavy 1.76 percent to a close of 1,490.72.
Bond prices also took a hit as the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped above five percent amid worries that higher interest rates could squeeze market liquidity.In Asia on Friday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares tumbled 1.52 percent to close at 17,779.09 points. Hong Kong's key Hang Seng index closed down 1.40 percent at 20,509.15.
Syria ceded part of Golan to Israel in peace talks: Netanyahu Thu Jun 7, 3:04 PM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad said during secret peace talks in the 1990s he was ready to leave a strategic Golan Heights stronghold under Israeli control, ex-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. People don't know that Assad ceded the Hermon, Netanyahu told the private Radius 100FM radio station, referring to a strategic mountain in the northern Golan plateau which Israel captured 40 years ago during the Six Day War and annexed in 1981.I told him I have a pre-condition, that's what I told him, I have a pre-condition -- the Hermon.
He asked me 'why do need this pre-condition? and I said 'because the Iranian threat... there is a threat from Iran, and I need to have eyes looking east. And he gave me the Hermon, the hawkish MP said. Netanyahu held indirect peace talks with Assad -- the father of current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- between 1998 and 1999, but they did not materialise into a peace treaty.Syria has demanded Israel's complete withdrawal to pre-1967 borders in any peace agreement.US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Syria later collapsed in 2000 after the sides failed to agree on the extent of Israel's withdrawal from the Golan.Netanyahu's statements came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Syria, with both sides declaring their willingness to hold peace talks but also warning of possible war.Earlier on Thursday, a Syrian official said Damascus would like to resume peace negotiations with Israel, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it did not want to go to war with its arch-foe.
The lukewarm left Democrats and CNN are trying to make the GODLESS Democrats seem like Christians so they get the Christian vote. Don't get conned into this bias malarky.
Evangelicals denounce CNN faith and politics forum
Jim Brown OneNewsNow.com June 7, 2007
Conservative evangelicals are criticizing a recent forum that featured Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. The head of the National Clergy Council says the CNN special, sponsored by the group Sojourners, tried to portray the three Democrats as being compatible with evangelical beliefs, practices, and politics.
A day after the Faith, Values and Politics forum on Monday, Pastor Rob Schenck moderated a roundtable discussion at the National Press Club called Evangelicals in '08: United or Divided? The event featured panelists who presented historical Christian positions on social and moral issues -- individuals such as theologian Dr. Norm Geisler, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, and constitutional attorney Bernard Reese.
In contrast, Schenck contends that the Sojourners panelists who asked questions of Edwards, Obama, and Clinton do not hold mainstream evangelical values.Through carefully crafted questions and the responses -- mostly rehearsed -- of the candidates, the sponsoring group hoped to convince who knows who' that issues like world poverty and corporate CEO compensation packages trump the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage and the family, and the public acknowledgement of God, Schenck declared.
Schenck said CNN and Sojourners conspired to create a fictional class of Christians -- so-called liberal evangelicals.Sojourners and their favorite candidates want us to change, to adapt, to a more popular, more acceptable, more congenial list of priorities, the National Clergy Council leader stated.
But Jesus warned, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you for so did their fathers to the false prophets.Schenck sarcastically referred to the Sojourners forum as the religious revival with Brother Barack, Sister Hillary, and Deacon John.American Family News Network
IF PERES GETS ELECTED FOR SURE PROPHECY OF LAND FOR PEACE WILL BE DONE AND JERUSALEM WILL BE DIVIDED WHICH WILL BRING IN THE LAST 7 YRS OF DANIELS 9:24-27 PROPHECY. AND HELL ON EARTH AS THE EU DICTATOR CONTROLS THE WORLD FOR THE LAST HALF OF THE 7 YEAR TREATY. HES A FALSE PEACE MAKER FOR THE 1ST HALF OF THE 7 YR TREATY.
Shas Sages Decide: Shimon Peres for President
by Hana Levi Julian (INN) JUNE 8,07
The Council of Torah Sages leading the Sephardic religious Shas Party decided Thursday night, in a unanimous vote, to throw its support behind Kadima’s Vice Premier Shimon Peres in his run to become the next president of Israel. The party’s spiritual leader, former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, is joined on the Council by three other rabbis: Rabbis Shalom Cohen, Shimon Baadani and Moshe Maya. The latter two were unable to appear in person and voted instead by phone. The Shas Party Chairman and Minister of Industry and Trade, Eli Yishai, and cabinet minister Ariel Atlas were also present. Rabbi Yosef had been pressured by various people in recent days to support Peres's main opponent in the race, ex-Knesset Speaker Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin, who is also a close friend of the party leadership. The statement issued by the Council following the meeting reflected the dilemma: The High Council has decided to support the Vice Premier. We instruct all Shas faction MKs to vote for Mr. Shimon Peres as president of the state and we wish him luck in his position for the State of Israel. We also honor and respect our dear friend Reuven Rivlin and appreciate him, and wish for him to rise upwards and upwards.That honor and respect does not extend to choosing him as president, however.
Sources said that several Shas MKs have quietly expressed their intent to vote according to their conscience, and not necessarily with the party line. At the end of the day, said one, who asked not to be named, the vote is carried out by secret ballot. I will do what I have to do, and so will others.
Many hareidi-religious communities are fiercely opposed to any support for Mr. Peres. A group called The Committee for Jewish Holiness has plastered hareidi religious neighborhoods in numerous communities with posters listing anti-Jewish statements made by Mr. Peres in the past. A list of those, plus several others, includes:
- The economic and social situation in Israel is outstanding. (Israel Radio interview, March 17, 2007)
- [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is] one of the best prime ministers that there has been. (Israel Radio interview, March 17, 2007)
- We see eye to eye with [Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud] Abbas, because he is really for peace… (Media With Conscience interview, January 31, 2007)
- What King David did was not Jewish. (Yediot Acharonot, February 15, 1994)
- I believe it is fitting that the [Nobel Peace] prize has been awarded to [PLO Chairman and arch terrorist] Yasser Arafat. His quitting the path of confrontation in favor of the path of dialogue has opened the way to peace between ourselves and the Palestinian people… (Speech upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, December 10, 1994)
- The rabbis are deceivers. (Yediot Acharonot, April 15, 1990)
- There is nothing to be proud of in Jewish history. (UNESCO conference 1990)
Thursday night's statement of support for Mr. Pers by the Shas Council of Torah Sages included a line that said the party’s rabbinical leadership had chosen Mr. Peres for his contributions to Judaism.
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 Jun 9 12:01 AM EDT
JUNE 8,07
MAP 3.1 CENTRAL ALASKA
MAP 4.9 SOUTHERN EAST PACIFIC RISE
MAP 4.9 MID-INDIAN RIDGE
MAP 2.5 ISLAND OF HAWAII, HAWAII
MAP 2.6 FOX ISLANDS, ALEUTIAN ISLANDS, ALASKA
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.2 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
JUNE 7,07
MAP 2.5 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.4 SOUTHERN GREECE
MAP 2.8 ALASKA PENINSULA
MAP 4.5 LAOS
MAP 2.8 NORTHERN ALASKA
MAP 4.7 KURIL ISLANDS
MAP 5.0 RYUKYU ISLANDS, JAPAN
MAP 4.7 MARIANA ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.3 FIJI REGION
MAP 4.5 SANTA CRUZ ISLANDS
MAP 6.2 BISMARCK SEA
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.
Seven feared missing as storms batter eastern Australia Fri Jun 8, 5:51 AM ET
SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian emergency services on Friday said seven people were feared missing as fierce storms hit the country's east coast, with five swept away when a highway collapsed in torrential rain. The wild weather, including strong winds that forced a huge freighter to run aground north of Sydney, brought flash floods to areas of New South Wales state, cutting roads and resulting in thousands of calls for assistance.The NSW Ambulance Service said a car carrying two adults and two children was swept away when a section of Old Pacific Highway on the Central Coast collapsed after being undermined by a rain-swollen creek.A would-be rescuer who rushed to help was also believed to have been carried away by the raging waters, police said.
In a separate incident, an elderly couple were believed to have been in a car swept off a bridge in the lower Hunter Valley, also north of Sydney.Police said late Friday that they had been forced to call off the search for the couple until daybreak due to bad weather and darkness.
The storms dumped up to 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain and packed winds exceeding 90 km/h (56 mph), with forecasters predicting conditions would worsen Saturday.With Australia entering a holiday long weekend, the NSW State Emergency Services warned motorists against taking to the roads, advising them to cancel non-essential travel.It said 60,000 homes were without power and it was receiving about 250 calls for assistance every hour.
Severe storms pound Upper Midwest By ROBERT IMRIE, Associated Press Writer JUNE 8,07
WAUSAU, Wis. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes tore through the Upper Midwest on Thursday, damaging homes and a resort, producing baseball-size hail and dropping more than 6 inches of rain in some areas. A twister devastated the Bear Paw Resort near Langlade in northern Wisconsin, and nearby homes might also have been damaged, the Langlade County Sheriff's Department said.The rustic resort, which runs along the Wolf River, allows camping and includes cabins and a kayaking business. There was a report of a kayak slicing through a pine tree.The resort was leveled, said Gina Panzica of Langlade County Rural Fire Control.At least five tornadoes were reported in Wisconsin, and the storms injured at least four people, none seriously, officials said.Hailstones 4 inches wide fell in Wisconsin Rapids, knocking out the windshield of a police car, said Karen Ryun, a dispatcher.
A tornado damaged several lake homes near Elizabeth, in western Minnesota, said Judy Siggerud, dispatch supervisor for Otter Tail County. No injuries were reported.My husband was pulling some lawn furniture off of our deck, when all of a sudden a black cloud came out right in front of us, said Claudia Boelter, who took cover in a neighbor's house. We ran next door, and I looked out their living room window. I could see this cloud that was down on the lake, rotating and pulling water up.
Hail the size of golf balls was reported in parts of Minnesota. Gusty winds knocked out power in parts of the Twin Cities.In North Dakota, where the storms began late Wednesday, heavy rain washed out roads. Bowman County emergency manager Dean Pearson said he had reports of 1 1/2 to 6 1/4 inches of rain overnight.We've got some roads that are washed out and some areas that are still running over the roadway, Pearson said. It's been slow getting started (to assess the damage) because it's so muddy that it's hard to get around.Most of the rain stayed to the west or north of Fargo, which was fighting back the rising Red River, said Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker. The Red River flows northward.Strong winds whipped across Chicago on Thursday, snarling air travel. About 400 flights at O'Hare International Airport were canceled Thursday evening, according to Wendy Abrams, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Aviation.Associated Press writer Dave Kolpack in Fargo, N.D., contributed to this report.
Flooding threat eases in parts of Western Canada Thu Jun 7, 7:13 PM ET
VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canadian forecasters said flooded rivers in northwest British Columbia rose again on Thursday, but officials said the threat of major problems on the Fraser River east of Vancouver had eased.
Officials said the mountain snow pack that threatened to cause major spring flooding along the Fraser and Thompson rivers has now largely melted, but they remain concerned about potential problems if there are heavy rains.The unusually heavy winter snows had kept British Columbia on edge about flooding for weeks, but only the high levels of the Skeena and Buckley rivers in the northwestern area of the Pacific coast province have caused major problems.
Melting snow has produced the biggest waterflow in the Buckley since officials started keeping records more than 70 years ago, and water levels in both it and the Skeena were expected to continue rising through the weekend.Flooding closed the only major highway through the region to the port city of Prince Rupert, and prompted evacuation orders and alerts in several communities.High water also caused Canadian National Railway Co. to stop service to Prince Rupert, which handles both grain and coal exports. The railway said it was talking to the Canadian Grain Commission about diverting traffic to Vancouver.Passenger rail service along the CN line has also been halted.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
Report: Olmert signals on Golan Heights By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer Fri Jun 8, 4:25 AM ET
JERUSALEM - Israel sent secret messages to Syria recently signaling willingness to give up the captured Golan Heights in return for a peace deal that would require Syria to distance itself from Iran, an Israeli newspaper reported Friday. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had German and Turkish diplomats relay to Syrian President Bashar Assad that Israel is willing to hold direct peace negotiations and give up the strategic plateau, seized in the 1967 Mideast war, the Yediot Ahronot
daily said, quoting officials close to Olmert.Syria did not respond to Olmert's messages, the report said.Assad has recently urged Israel to return to the negotiating table. But he has not publicly indicated a willingness to accommodate Israel's oft-stated insistence that there could be no talks unless Damascus scaled back its ties with Iran, its main ally in the region, and stopped backing Lebanese and Palestinian militants committed to Israel's destruction.Olmert's office had no comment on the Yediot report.
Yediot said President Bush gave Olmert the green light for negotiations with Syria in an hourlong phone conversation last month. The two leaders will further discuss the possibility of talks during their scheduled meeting at the White House on June 19, the report said.A U.S. Embassy spokesman in Tel Aviv was not immediately available for comment on the newspaper report.In the past, Israeli and U.S. officials have said privately that Washington does not want Israel to engage Syria, because of its ties to radical elements and meddling in Lebanon, a former proxy. But the Bush administration is also under pressure from allies, lawmakers and advisers who think Washington should warm ties with Syria in an effort to isolate Iran.Israel and Syria have tried several times in the past to reach a peace accord, which both sides understand would require an Israeli pullout from the Golan. The last round of talks broke down in 2000 over the scope of the withdrawal, and Israel's demand for normalized relations.Relations have steadily deteriorated since.
Syria backed Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas in their war with Israel last summer, and harbors the leadership of the militantly anti-Israel Hamas, which shares power in the Palestinian government.After the Lebanon war, Assad offered to renew negotiations, but Israel dismissed his overtures as a tactic to ease his regime's isolation in the West. But abruptly last week, a senior Israeli official said Olmert
was assessing prospects for renewed talks.It is not clear what drove this change. The flawed war made Olmert too politically weak at home to advance his proposed withdrawal from large swaths of the West Bank. New negotiations with Syria could help to dispel the widespread image in Israel that he has no political agenda.
Alternatively, he might have reached the conclusion that Syria is serious about making peace, or that Israel should not, in principle, rebuff peace overtures.
Reports about possible diplomatic movement on the Syrian front have proliferated over the past week in an atmosphere charged by a recent Syrian military buildup and military preparations on both sides of the border. On Wednesday, Olmert, seeking to ease the volatility, said Israel was interested in peace with Damascus and had no belligerent intentions.Giving back the Golan, which Israel annexed in 1981, is not a popular concept in Israel. The heights dominate much of northern Israel, are adjacent to Israel's largest source of drinking water, and are home to wineries and popular tourism sites.
Olmert's weak domestic standing could make it even more difficult to push a withdrawal ahead if the current diplomatic feelers evolved into something more substantial.A poll by the Teleseker company published in the Maariv newspaper on Friday showed that 84 percent of the 500 Israelis surveyed oppose a full withdrawal from the Golan. Forty-four percent opposed any Golan pullback, according to the poll, which had a margin of error of 4.5 percentage points.
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
European equities sink amid global equities downturn JUNE 8,2007
LONDON (AFP) - European stocks sank again on Friday after a sharp round of losses earlier in Asia and overnight in New York, as fears mounted that the global economy could face higher interest rates, dealers said. The falls came as worries over rising inflation and higher credit costs re-focused attention on economic growth and corporate profits, they added.In early European deals on Friday, London's FTSE 100 index of leading shares shed 0.19 percent to 6,492.70 points, Frankfurt's DAX 30 lost 0.45 percent to 7,584.32 and in Paris the CAC 40 dipped 0.39 percent to 5,867.35.In the foreign exchange market, the euro dived as low as 1.3352 dollars -- last seen April 10 -- as inflation jitters also prompted investors to consider a possible US rate hike later this year, analysts said.
Wall Street had taken a pounding on Thursday as global interest rate and inflation worries roiled the market, traders said.Japanese share prices also slumped on Friday, slipping below the 18,000-point mark, also after disappointing machinery orders data.Investors track interest rate movements closely because higher borrowing costs increase companies' loan repayments, and they slash the amount of spare cash available for consumers to spend.Interest rates are creeping higher, particularly in the eurozone, where the European Central Bank lifted borrowing costs this week to 4.00 percent.While the Bank of England paused rates at 5.50 percent on Thursday, analysts expect another rate hike in Britain is around the corner.
And although the Federal Reserve has so far kept US interest rates unchanged for a year, it has warned that it stands ready to raise rates if inflation pressures mount.In London on Friday, the mining sector was hit by falling metals prices.Shares in Vedanta Resources plunged 3.19 percent to 1,455 pence, Antofagasta plummeted 1.96 percent to 550.25 pence and BHP Billiton sank 2.0 percent to 1,260.26 pence.In Frankfurt, German steelmaker Thyssenkrupp fell 1.02 percent to 42.67 euros.
In US deals on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down a dramatic 1.48 percent at 13,266.73, marking the third straight day of steep losses.The Nasdaq composite shed a notable 1.77 percent to 2,541.38 and the Standard Poor's 500 index slumped a heavy 1.76 percent to a close of 1,490.72.
Bond prices also took a hit as the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond jumped above five percent amid worries that higher interest rates could squeeze market liquidity.In Asia on Friday, the Tokyo Stock Exchange's Nikkei-225 index of leading shares tumbled 1.52 percent to close at 17,779.09 points. Hong Kong's key Hang Seng index closed down 1.40 percent at 20,509.15.
Syria ceded part of Golan to Israel in peace talks: Netanyahu Thu Jun 7, 3:04 PM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Former Syrian president Hafez al-Assad said during secret peace talks in the 1990s he was ready to leave a strategic Golan Heights stronghold under Israeli control, ex-prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday. People don't know that Assad ceded the Hermon, Netanyahu told the private Radius 100FM radio station, referring to a strategic mountain in the northern Golan plateau which Israel captured 40 years ago during the Six Day War and annexed in 1981.I told him I have a pre-condition, that's what I told him, I have a pre-condition -- the Hermon.
He asked me 'why do need this pre-condition? and I said 'because the Iranian threat... there is a threat from Iran, and I need to have eyes looking east. And he gave me the Hermon, the hawkish MP said. Netanyahu held indirect peace talks with Assad -- the father of current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad -- between 1998 and 1999, but they did not materialise into a peace treaty.Syria has demanded Israel's complete withdrawal to pre-1967 borders in any peace agreement.US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Syria later collapsed in 2000 after the sides failed to agree on the extent of Israel's withdrawal from the Golan.Netanyahu's statements came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Syria, with both sides declaring their willingness to hold peace talks but also warning of possible war.Earlier on Thursday, a Syrian official said Damascus would like to resume peace negotiations with Israel, a day after Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said it did not want to go to war with its arch-foe.
The lukewarm left Democrats and CNN are trying to make the GODLESS Democrats seem like Christians so they get the Christian vote. Don't get conned into this bias malarky.
Evangelicals denounce CNN faith and politics forum
Jim Brown OneNewsNow.com June 7, 2007
Conservative evangelicals are criticizing a recent forum that featured Democratic presidential candidates John Edwards, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. The head of the National Clergy Council says the CNN special, sponsored by the group Sojourners, tried to portray the three Democrats as being compatible with evangelical beliefs, practices, and politics.
A day after the Faith, Values and Politics forum on Monday, Pastor Rob Schenck moderated a roundtable discussion at the National Press Club called Evangelicals in '08: United or Divided? The event featured panelists who presented historical Christian positions on social and moral issues -- individuals such as theologian Dr. Norm Geisler, Liberty Counsel founder Mat Staver, and constitutional attorney Bernard Reese.
In contrast, Schenck contends that the Sojourners panelists who asked questions of Edwards, Obama, and Clinton do not hold mainstream evangelical values.Through carefully crafted questions and the responses -- mostly rehearsed -- of the candidates, the sponsoring group hoped to convince who knows who' that issues like world poverty and corporate CEO compensation packages trump the sanctity of human life, the sanctity of marriage and the family, and the public acknowledgement of God, Schenck declared.
Schenck said CNN and Sojourners conspired to create a fictional class of Christians -- so-called liberal evangelicals.Sojourners and their favorite candidates want us to change, to adapt, to a more popular, more acceptable, more congenial list of priorities, the National Clergy Council leader stated.
But Jesus warned, woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you for so did their fathers to the false prophets.Schenck sarcastically referred to the Sojourners forum as the religious revival with Brother Barack, Sister Hillary, and Deacon John.American Family News Network
IF PERES GETS ELECTED FOR SURE PROPHECY OF LAND FOR PEACE WILL BE DONE AND JERUSALEM WILL BE DIVIDED WHICH WILL BRING IN THE LAST 7 YRS OF DANIELS 9:24-27 PROPHECY. AND HELL ON EARTH AS THE EU DICTATOR CONTROLS THE WORLD FOR THE LAST HALF OF THE 7 YEAR TREATY. HES A FALSE PEACE MAKER FOR THE 1ST HALF OF THE 7 YR TREATY.
Shas Sages Decide: Shimon Peres for President
by Hana Levi Julian (INN) JUNE 8,07
The Council of Torah Sages leading the Sephardic religious Shas Party decided Thursday night, in a unanimous vote, to throw its support behind Kadima’s Vice Premier Shimon Peres in his run to become the next president of Israel. The party’s spiritual leader, former Chief Sephardic Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, is joined on the Council by three other rabbis: Rabbis Shalom Cohen, Shimon Baadani and Moshe Maya. The latter two were unable to appear in person and voted instead by phone. The Shas Party Chairman and Minister of Industry and Trade, Eli Yishai, and cabinet minister Ariel Atlas were also present. Rabbi Yosef had been pressured by various people in recent days to support Peres's main opponent in the race, ex-Knesset Speaker Reuven (Ruby) Rivlin, who is also a close friend of the party leadership. The statement issued by the Council following the meeting reflected the dilemma: The High Council has decided to support the Vice Premier. We instruct all Shas faction MKs to vote for Mr. Shimon Peres as president of the state and we wish him luck in his position for the State of Israel. We also honor and respect our dear friend Reuven Rivlin and appreciate him, and wish for him to rise upwards and upwards.That honor and respect does not extend to choosing him as president, however.
Sources said that several Shas MKs have quietly expressed their intent to vote according to their conscience, and not necessarily with the party line. At the end of the day, said one, who asked not to be named, the vote is carried out by secret ballot. I will do what I have to do, and so will others.
Many hareidi-religious communities are fiercely opposed to any support for Mr. Peres. A group called The Committee for Jewish Holiness has plastered hareidi religious neighborhoods in numerous communities with posters listing anti-Jewish statements made by Mr. Peres in the past. A list of those, plus several others, includes:
- The economic and social situation in Israel is outstanding. (Israel Radio interview, March 17, 2007)
- [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is] one of the best prime ministers that there has been. (Israel Radio interview, March 17, 2007)
- We see eye to eye with [Palestinian Authority Chairman and Fatah leader Mahmoud] Abbas, because he is really for peace… (Media With Conscience interview, January 31, 2007)
- What King David did was not Jewish. (Yediot Acharonot, February 15, 1994)
- I believe it is fitting that the [Nobel Peace] prize has been awarded to [PLO Chairman and arch terrorist] Yasser Arafat. His quitting the path of confrontation in favor of the path of dialogue has opened the way to peace between ourselves and the Palestinian people… (Speech upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, Oslo, December 10, 1994)
- The rabbis are deceivers. (Yediot Acharonot, April 15, 1990)
- There is nothing to be proud of in Jewish history. (UNESCO conference 1990)
Thursday night's statement of support for Mr. Pers by the Shas Council of Torah Sages included a line that said the party’s rabbinical leadership had chosen Mr. Peres for his contributions to Judaism.
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