Tuesday, January 08, 2008

POPES NEW YEARS GREETINGS

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.

Earthquake causes serious drinking water problem in Greece
8 January 2008 FOCUS News Agency


Athens. A strong earthquake, which rocked Greece on Sunday, has caused a serious problem with the drinking water in the country, the Greek radiostation Skai reports. The earthquake was registered at 7.14 local time in the region of the Peloponisos peninsula and was felt in the whole country, even in Italy. Since its depth was 60-70 km, there were no casualties, nor devastation. But now there are problems with the drinking water in the region of Leonidio. The waters of the Lerna River are murky and this river feeds several towns and villages with drinking water. Meanwhile the water in Leonidio has turned red since fresh water has mixed with soil.

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.

Cold snap kills eight in Iran by Hiedeh Farmani
Tue Jan 8, 7:46 AM ET


TEHRAN (AFP) - At least eight people froze to death in the heaviest snowfalls to have hit Iran in years, with several areas brought to a virtual standstill and 20 towns suffering cuts in gas supplies, officials said on Tuesday. The snowfalls, said to be the worst in some 40 years, have forced all schools and government offices to close in Tehran and other regions in northern Iran over the last two days. They will remain shut on Wednesday.The eight fatalities were stuck on the roads and died of cold and freezing, the head of Iran's natural disasters control centre, Hossein Bagheri, told the ISNA news agency.

He added that 20 more people were killed in road accidents attributed to the bad weather, with 290 people injured and 40,000 stranded on the first night of heavy snow on Saturday.Air travel also continued to suffer major disruption, with several flights cancelled from Iran's Imam Khomeini International Airport and hundreds of passengers stranded, the official IRNA news agency reported.Among the victims of the delays was Germany's Hansa Rostock football team, which has been stuck in Iran for the past three days after defeating the Iranian national side in a friendly game on Saturday.The lowest temperature overnight was minus 24 degrees Celsius (minus 11 Fahrenheit) in Shahre Kord in Western Iran, while the capital Tehran registered minus seven degrees Celsius (19 degrees Fahrenheit), the television said.The government announced that state offices and schools would be closed on Wednesday and probably Thursday. According to the IRNA, this decision was taken due to the drop in temperatures and gas pressure.

Around 20 towns in northern and western Iran have been hit by gas cuts during the cold spell amid a surge in demand and also an unexpected cut in imports from Turkmenistan, officials said.The authorities have urged people to cut their notoriously profligate consumption and completely halted gas exports to Turkey, the only significant importer of Iranian gas, for the second time in two years.Iran, owner of the second largest gas reserves in the world after Russia, has major hopes for its nascent gas export industry but progress is being stymied by a lack on foreign investment in gas fields.Tehran and several other cities in the north and centre of Iran lie at altitudes of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) above sea level and are regularly hit by heavy falls of snow in winter.Meanwhile, the dunes of the Kavir-e Lut desert in southwestern Iran were covered in a dusting of snow for the first time in living memory, IRNA reported.The villages elders said they had never seen or heard about snow in those areas, it said.

As Bush flies to Israel, 'rogue' tornadoes rip Midwest USBy Stan Goodenough January 08, 2008

At least two people were killed Monday night when an army of tornadoes tore across the Midwest United States, just hours before President George W. Bush departed for the Middle East where he plans to put his hand to dividing up the Land of Israel.As many as 37 rogue tornadoes - as Fox News described them - fueled by moist air from the south, tore homes from their foundations and knocked railroad cars of their tracks as it rampaged across southwest Missouri, southeastern Wisconsin, Arkansas, Illinois and Oklahoma.
The Associated Press described the storms as a freak cluster of tornados.A sheriff in Wisconsin's Kenosha County, where 11 houses were destroyed, told the news agency he had never seen damage like this in the summertime when we have potential for tornadoes.

To see something like this in January is mind-boggling to me. This is just unimaginable to me.Weathermen said record warm temperatures were being experienced across much of the United States, and forecast more wild weather to come as a result.Many pro-Israel Christians believe that God has and will use natural disasters to judge America (and other nations) for trying to steal Israel's land for the creation of a 23rd Arab state called Palestine.The Palestinian Arabs have never in history comprised a nation or had a national home of their own.

OUT of ZION Ministries
A Messianic Ministry Based on Mt Carmel
Address: Apt # 2, 9 Sachlav St, Ramat Almogi,Haifa 34792,ISRAEL. Tel: 972 4 8245590 Email: kiwi@netvision.net.il Website: www.out-of-zion.com

NEW: WATCH OUR VIDEO TEACHINGS ON GOD TUBE: http://www.godtube.com/uvideos.php?UID=12684&type=public

Special Mid-Week Comment: Could This Be Why President Bush is Intent on Destroying Israel ?

Because we dont want to overload your inbox we only send out more than 1 weekly report when it is deemed to be important enough to do so. This is one of those weeks. After I sent last Friday's Carmel Alert, I received an email that may well be the key to the reason why George Bush is so intent on dividing God's Land and giving large parts of it, including parts of Jerusalem to the so called Palestinians. This information is very radical and must be seen through the eyes of the Spirit. I have done my best to verify that the information is correct. I have not yet read the book where this information comes from, but I have ordered it, but it will not arrive in time to get this message out before President Bush arrives in Israel on Wednesday. It is important that we all understand what I am about to share so that we can all pray with understanding and with the Holy Spirit. Father I pray that you will help our brothers and sisters who love Your land and Your people to receive and understand what is really behind the current US pressure on Israel to divide Your land and give it to people that You did not promise it to - In the Name above all Names - Yeshua our Saviour and King ....... Amen

As we should all realise, the real roots of the Arab / Israeli conflict are not political but spiritual. At the heart of the conflict is the age old battle between YHVH and Lucifer over whose kingdom will be established forever on Mt Zion ( Mt Moriah ) in Jerusalem. Therefore, if the roots are spiritual we need to see the events connected to that battle through the eyes of the Spirit.

The Devil knows that it is imperative he aborts the prophetic promises of Israel's full and total restoration - restoration of all the Land.Restoration of ALL the Jewish people to the Land, and the restoration of the Jewish people to a blood covenanted intimate relationship with YHVH through the death and resurrection of His Son Yeshua. All of these dynamics have been in the process of fulfillment since the first Zionist Congress in 1897, and indeed have been greatly accelerating since 1967. And the Devil is frantic to stop it.

Over the last 100 years the Arab countries that surround the tiny Israel have done all they could to destroy the Jewish state. Sixty years ago Adolf Hilter attempted to annihilate all the Jews of Europe and beyond. Hitler was a very close to the then Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who was also the great uncle of Yassar Arafat. There is the first spiritual connection

Every recent US president has in some way or other, stuck his nose into God's business in the Middle East. But none as seriously as the current President George Bush. It seems that president Bush is totally blinded to God's covenant promises to Abraham and the Jewish people. These promises also apply to every Born Again Christian who, according to the Apostle Paul, becomes a fellow heir to all that has been promised to the natural seed of Abraham. What concerns and affects Israel also concerns and affects all Christians.

Until now I could not understand why George Bush is behaving in this way. Why he seems to be doing everything he can to placate the Muslims and destroy the Zionist dream, or at least severely hinder the promises of Israel's restoration. The answer may well be in the following article that I received late Friday afternoon ............

George Bush: Heir to the Holocaust ?
According to classified documents from Dutch intelligence and US government archives, President George W. Bush's grandfather, Prescott Bush made considerable profits off Auschwitz slave labor. In fact, President Bush himself is an heir to these profits from the holocaust which were placed in a blind trust in 1980 by his father, former president George Herbert Walker Bush.

Throughout the Bush family's decades of public life, the American press has gone out of its way to overlook one historical fact that through Union Banking Corporation (UBC), Prescott Bush, and his father-in-law, George Herbert Walker, along with German industrialist Fritz Thyssen, financed Adolf Hitler before and during World War II. It was first reported in 1994 by John Loftus and Mark Aarons in The Secret War Against the Jews: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People.

Just as the same spirit flowed down through the Grand Mufti to his great nephew Arafat, the same spirit that was behind Prescott Bush's association with Hilter and the Nazis, may have flowed down through the Bush family to the current President. Added to that is
the Bush family association with 33 degree Freemasonry, the Skull and Bones Club and the Order. President Bush's father is also connected to the CFR, the Club of Rome and other New World Order groups. This may sound like just another conspiracy theory, but these are all facts and if we look through the eyes of the Spirit, indicate that something devious and evil is going on.

Here is some information about the book and the author that I believe give the above claims credibility, at least enough credibility to investigate further ............ you can order the book from www.Amazon.com - it looks very interesting.

Secret War Agianst the Jews: How Western Europe Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People by John Loftus, Mark Aarons St. Martin's Press; copyright 1994; ISBN 0-312-11057X.)

About this title: A hugely controversial work, The Secret War Against the Jews uses thousands of previously top-secret documents and interviews with hundreds of current and former spies to present a compelling narrative claiming that many Western countries--who profess to be allies--have willfully spied on Israel over many decades in order to obtain oil from Arab countries.

About the author: As a former Justice Department prosecutor, John Loftus once held some of the highest security clearances in the world, with special access to NATO Cosmic, CIA codeword, and Top Secret Nuclear files. As a private attorney, he works without charge to help hundreds of intelligence agents obtain lawful permission to declassify and publish the hidden secrets of our times. He is the author of four history books, three of which have been made into films, two were international best sellers, and one was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.

for more information on The Political Heritage of George W. Bush go to http://spitfirelist.com/f248.html

How to Pray in Light of the Above I believe that there is a good possibility that President Bush has no idea of what he is actually involved in or how he is being controlled by external spiritual forces not of God. In just a few hours he will arrive in Israel for his first ever visit, to further the plans he concocted at the December Annapolis Peace Summit, requiring Israel to give away most of Judea and Samaria, and giving over large parts of East Jerusalem to be the capital of a Palestinian State. Millions of Bible believing Jews and Christians oppose this un-Biblical division of God's Land in exchange for an impossible promise of peaceful co-existence.

Lets join these millions and pray that while President Bush is in the Holy Land that he will have a radical Holy Spirit revelation of the truth of the Bible and the relevance of the prophecies to the return of Yeshua and the Kingdom of God. Lets pray that he will see and be deeply impacted by the signs that have been placed around Jerusalem emploring him to read his Bible ans see that God gave all of the disputed land to the Jews. Lets pray that he will be baptised in the Holy Spirit when he visits the synogogue in Capernium on Thursday or Friday.

If what I have shared above it true, then before we pray for President Bush we need to take authority over and bind the spirit that is controlling him and causing him to oppose the God he says he believes in ..........

Pray with us right now .......... Heavenly Father. Mighty God, Holy One of Israel, we thank you for the authority You have invested in us and we take up that authority, and in the name of Yeshua we bind any and every spirit not of You that is causing President George W Bush to pressurise Israel to give away Land that You promised to Abraham and his descendants as an everlasting inheritance. We bind any spirit that has come down the Bush family line from Prescott Bush and George Herbert Walker that is causing President Bush to endanger the existence of Israel and the lives of many Jewish people. Father we ask you to set President Bush free while he is in your Holy Land and that he would be open to receive revelation from your Holy Spirit concerning the importance of the land covenant with Abraham. Holy Spirit we ask you to fall upon President Bush as he enters the synagogue in Capernium where Yeshua once read from the Torah scroll. Abba we make these requests in the all powerful Name of Yeshua Ha Mashiach - AMEN & AMEN.

From Mike Evans - the Jerusalem Prayer Team
Because of the marvelous response of over 100,000 appealing to President Bush to not divide Jerusalem, Rabbis in Jerusalem have appealed that the Jerusalem Prayer Team would not stop this campaign but would continue it until a million lovers of Jerusalem signed the Petition to President Bush.

It may take several months to reach the One Million but we already have 100,000 signatures. If each person just gets ten friends to sign the petition, we will have the One Million. Vote your opinion now.

If you have the time and want to know more then read on ...............

THE SECRET WAR AGAINST THE JEWS: How Western Espionage Betrayed the Jewish People .This monumental book (658 pages) which exposes many of the dark secrets of the CIA, British Intelligence (M16), and the US State Department. Here are just a few samples of the startling revelations:

1. In order to entice Sadat to sign a treaty with Israel at Camp David, the CIA provided Egypt with satellite photos, intercepts, the location of Israel's nuclear force, and virtually every Israeli military secret. Carter had no knowledge that his Camp David Accords were supplemented by intelligence given to Egypt that betrayed Israel.
2. To evade the laws requiring proper authorization for wire taps, the CIA and M16 would bug each others targets and regularly exchange information. A favorite target of the CIA were politically active American supporters of Israel. Files were even kept on every Jewish child attending summer camp in Israel.
3. In order to spy on Arab terrorists, M16 infiltrated many organization and even took a leading role in planning and training terrorists for attacks on Israel. Although they had advance notice of a planned attack on a Pan Am or El Al plane in Rome in 1973, they forgot to mention it to the Mossad, with whom they were supposed to share intelligence.
4. The CIA set up a special Jew room in 1945-6 devoted to spying on Israel and Jewish Americans. No Jew was allowed to work there. The US Navy banned Jews from serving in their surveillance ships.
5. In 1967 Israel notified America of its planned attack. The Americans promptly tried to warn the Egypt and Syria. As the battles progressed the Americans did everything possible to spy on Israel and provide that information to Israel's enemies. The USS Liberty, a CIA surveillance ship, sailed close to the southern Israeli shore and close to northern Sinai, and began monitoring the battles there. The gathered information was sent to a British listening post in Cyprus, complete with precise electronic maps of the holes in Israeli lines. It was then relayed to the Egyptian, Syrian, and Jordanian military. Fortunately the short duration of the war prevented the Arabs from utilizing the intelligence. The fact of American perfidy remains.

David & Josie Silver
Out of Zion Ministeries
www.out-of-zion.com

* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * *
PRESIDENT BUSH HEADS TO THE EPICENTER
By Joel C. Rosenberg


(Washington, D.C., January 8, 2007) -- Politically, Americans are focused today on the New Hampshire primaries. But geopolitically, the eyes of the nations are fixed on Israel and her neighbors, the epicenter of the momentous events that are shaking our world and shaping our future.

President Bush leaves today for Israel and the West Bank where he will spend two days meeting with Prime Minister Olmert and President Mahmoud Abbas. He will then fly to Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt for meetings with President Hosni Mubarak. From there, he heads to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. I suspect he will also make an unannounced visit to Baghdad.

The trip comes at an important time for the Bush administration. On the positive side, violence in Iraq has plummeted dramatically in the wake of the U.S. military surge. Violence in Israel is at a seven-year low. Lebanon has not imploded, as has been feared for much of the past year. Syria has not retaliated against Israel for the fall airstrike that took out a North Korean nuclear facility under construction. Severe internal divisions are surfacing within Iran's government, and there are fresh reports that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad may be losing favor with the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

That said, the big question is: What will 2008 hold?

The recently-released National Intelligence Estimate on Iran notwithstanding, top Israeli officials I have spoken with are convinced Iran most certainly is pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and could have a workable device by 2010. President Bush is saying publicly that he is convinced Iran remains a serious threat to U.S. and allied interests in the Middle East, and that a nuclear-armed Iran could lead to another Holocaust.

If I were an Israeli, I would take the words of the Iranian president seriously, and as President of the United States I take them seriously, Bush said yesterday during an interview on Israeli army radio. He also vowed to defend Israel if Iran were to attack the Jewish state.

In one of the most dangeorus provocations by the Iranian regime of late, five armed Iranian speedboats approached three United States Navy warships in international waters in the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, then maneuvered aggressively as radio threats were issued that the American ships would be blown up, reported the New York Times. The confrontation, which ended after just under 30 minutes without damage, shots fired or any injuries, took place during daylight on Sunday as the three American ships were entering the Persian Gulf....Defense Department and military officials said that as the Iranian boats neared the American vessels, a radio threat was issued that the American ships would explode. The verbal warnings broadcast over the internationally recognized bridge-to-bridge radio channel said, I am coming at you, and you will explode in a few minutes,; an American official said.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has clearly chosen to ally himself with the radicals of the region, notably Iran, Syria and Sudan, and is selling these and other regimes billions of dollars worth of advanced weapons systems. And, of course, the 60th anniversary of Israel is coming May 14th, raising the possibility that Islamic jihadists and/or their state sponsors may be planning new attacks for this year.

Given that Psalm 122:6 instructs us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, let us pray faithfully that President Bush's peace mission to the region is fruitful and effective. Let's pray that he is able to strengthen the resolve of the Reformers in the epicenter to become even more unified in fighting the Radicals. Let's pray that he is able to encourage the Israeli people who feel very much alone in a dangerous neighborhood right now. Let's pray that moderate forces within the Palestinian society feel strengthened to find a peaceful coexistence with the Israelis and have the courage to oppose the Hamas extremists. Let's pray for Christians in the region to be strong and courageous amidst intense persecution (seven churches and Christian sites were attacked in Iraq over the weekend) and to find practical ways to show the love of Jesus Christ to their neighbors and their enemies. Let's also pray for the President Bush's safety, as jihadists would love to make him the next Benazir Bhutto.

Protest in Downtown Jerusalem on Thursday JAN 8,07

(IsraelNN.com) Activists are planning a massive rally on Thursday in downtown Jerusalem to protest plans to split the city and create a Palestinian Authority state in Judea and Samaria. The protest rally will take place in Zion Square (Kikar Tzion) in downtown Jerusalem at 7:00 p.m. under the title Jerusalem’s Cry.

The rally will begin with the recitation of psalms, and will include speeches from public figures and security officials. Rabbi Dov Lior will attend the rally, and is expected to read a halakhic ruling saying that a government that plans to split Jerusalem and endanger the Jewish people is invalid.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

GEORGE W SAID IN A PRESS CONFERENCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE HE WANTS TURKEY TO ENTER THE EU ALSO.

France open to further EU enlargement
08.01.2008 - 09:07 CET | By Honor Mahony


France has indicated that it is ready to support further enlargement of the European Union, with a series of countries from the Western Balkans lining up to the join the 27-nation bloc. French Europe minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet told the Financial Times newspaper that the French government had changed its attitude to enlargement and to Europe more generally since French voters rejected the EU constitution in mid 2005.We used to believe that a federal Europe was necessary for a more deeply integrated union and that enlargement would counter this and prevent Europe from working effectively. We have now overcome this contradiction, the minister said.The thing that has most struck me since I took up this job seven months ago is precisely the capacity of an EU of 27 members, and more one day, to take decisions.Mr Jouyet also indicated that Paris would back the integration of the Balkans countries into the EU.He told the FT that in France we have not done enough to make the case for enlargement.

The words are likely to be seen as a strongly positive signal to Croatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro, and Serbia, which have been promised eventual EU membership.In recent years, the western Balkans region has been feeling the effect of a downturn in enthusiasm for enlargement among some governments after the 2004 big bang enlargement took on 10 new countries.Mr Jouyet's words are especially important as France will take over the EU presidency in the second half of 2008.But France's new fondness for enlargement does not extend to Turkey. President Nicolas Sarkozy remains firmly opposed to Turkish membership of the EU, having previously remarked that the country does not belong in Europe.The statements by the Europe minister are in line with a recent proposal to reform the French constitution.Under the draft bill, submitted last month, French approval of new EU member states could be done either by popular vote or by the French Congress - comprising the country's national assembly and the senate. The new bill has dropped the proposal of the previous government under Jacques Chirac obliging a referendum on all new EU membership bids but maintains the right of the president to decide the method of ratification - by congress or by referendum.

Israeli,Palestinian teams meet ahead of Bush visit
By Adam Entous REUTERS 7:01 a.m. January 7, 2008


JERUSALEM – Top Israeli and Palestinian negotiators, under U.S. pressure to start peace talks, met on Monday on a plan to begin tackling some of the thorniest issues after a month-long impasse over Jewish settlements. Both sides said they hoped to announce agreement on how they will conduct so-called final status negotiations – over borders, and the fate of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees – before U.S. President George W. Bush visits Israel and the occupied West Bank starting on Wednesday. The talks in Jerusalem between Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie will be followed up on Tuesday when Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meet.

Olmert and Abbas, at a U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Maryland in November, set the goal of trying to negotiate a statehood agreement before Bush leaves office in January 2009. But it is unclear how that can be accomplished with weakened leaders on all sides. Since Hamas Islamists seized control of the Gaza Strip in June, Abbas wields little authority beyond the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Olmert was weakened by the 2006 war in Lebanon and could face new calls to resign at the end of the month when a commission of inquiry issues its final report on Israel's deficiencies in the conflict with Hezbollah guerrillas. Speaking in the West Bank town of Bethlehem earlier on Monday, Abbas said he would ask Bush during his first presidential visit to the West Bank to halt Jewish settlement activity for the sake of peace. Bush has called settlement expansion on occupied land where Palestinians seek statehood an impediment and said he would raise the issue with Olmert. Olmert last week ordered a de-facto halt to new Israeli projects in the West Bank, but has not called off plans to build hundreds of new homes in an area near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim. Construction there has been the main source of disagreement with the Palestinians and has drawn fire from Washington.

Olmert has conditioned implementing any peace deal with the Palestinians on Abbas first proving his mettle against militants. While Abbas had made some progress on security, Israel said the Palestinians still had a way to go. Under the plan for negotiations under discussion on Monday, Olmert and Abbas would continue to meet about twice a month in order to make decisions on specific issues that come up during the negotiations, Israeli and Palestinian officials said. Livni and Qurie, backed by teams of experts, would conduct final-status negotiations, largely in secret. Working groups would also be assigned specific issues, such as water or economic cooperation, the officials said. (Additional reporting by Mohammed Assadi in Ramallah and Dan Williams in Jerusalem; Editing by Richard Balmforth)

Netanyahu Warns Rockets to Hit Tel Aviv if Israel Withdraws to ‘67 Borders By Amihai Zippor

(IHC News, 07 January 2008) Opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out against Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud Barak’s plans for Israel to withdraw to the pre-1967 borders. Netanyahu warned, doing so would not leave Israel with defensible borders and the result would be rocket attacks on Israel’s major population centers. It is clear that if we leave Judea and Samaria, it is Hamas that we will find on the other side of those '67 borders and they are already in possession of those Katyusha rockets, Ynetnews.com quoted Netanyahu as saying on Thursday, 03 January 2008.Labeling Olmert and Barak’s policy as blind and amateurish, he said it has already brought the residents of the Galilee and Haifa under Katyusha fire and has brought Ashkelon – and next Ashdod – and eventually Tel Aviv – into the range of fire.Though as Prime Minister from 1996-1999 Netanyahu negotiated the Wye River Accord handing over most of Hebron to the PA and held secret talks with Syria regarding the return of the Golan Heights in exchange for peace, a condition for his diplomatic moves was reciprocity.Since Olmert came to power reciprocity was shelved as his government continued negotiations with the PA under fire.

That lack of policy has now become a guiding principle on the Syrian track as well. PM Olmert told The Jerusalem Post last week there are no preconditions to talks with Damascus.Previously Israel had demanded an end to Syrian support for Palestinians terrorist groups and Iran as a pre-condition before formal peace talks could be renewed. Meanwhile, another area where Netanyahu and Olmert differ drastically is the matter of Jerusalem. Netanyahu is against any concessions on Jerusalem and Olmert believes Israel can give over Arab neighborhoods of the capital to the PA, some just meters from Jewish neighborhoods. Last week the London-based Al Hayat newspaper claimed that during a meeting between Olmert and Jordan's King Abdullah II on Thursday, the division of Jerusalem was discussed. Source: Original text contributed by the author, IHC reporter.
Israel Hasbara Committee, 07 January 2008.

ASEAN a long way from EU-style integration: Lee Kuan Yew Mon Jan 7, 10:30 PM ET

SINGAPORE (AFP) - It will take 50 years or more for Southeast Asian nations to more closely resemble the European Union including the easing of border controls, according to Singapore's former prime minister Lee Kuan Yew. He said the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was still a long way from being as closely integrated as the European Union, which in December admitted nine new countries into a no-passport zone.Well, I don't think they are comparable, Lee said late Monday on the day Singapore became the first ASEAN member to complete ratification of a landmark charter aimed at transforming the 10-member bloc.

To expect us to make this leap into a European Union will be 50, maybe more, years, he told a gathering on the 40th anniversary of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.Lee, who retains an influential position in the cabinet of his son Lee Hsien Loong, said ASEAN nations were very disparate with differing levels of economic and cultural development.I think we make progress slowly. As we rise and we converge towards a more common level there will still be differences but not so stark. Then we can make the moves to free up the borders, he said.The EU move means people will now be able to travel in 24 countries across Europe, from the Baltic Sea nation of Estonia to Portugal, without passport controls.

ASEAN's charter aims to commit the region's disparate nations to promote human rights and democratic ideals, and sets out the principles and rules for members.It also transforms ASEAN, formed in 1967, into a legal entity which will give the group greater clout in international negotiations.The ASEAN leaders are fast-tracking integration of their economies with the goal of creating a single market of more than half a billion people by 2015 to help battle competition from giants China and India.

EU President Slovenia Urges Caution On EU Treaty Ratification AFP

BRDO PRI KRANJU, Slovenia (AFP)--Slovenia urged its European Union partners Tuesday to carefully weigh how to ratify the E.U.'s new reform treaty, as Portugal considers holding a potentially perilous referendum.The treaty, signed in Lisbon last month, will streamline the way the 27-nation European bloc is run and replaces the failed constitution, which was torpedoed by referendums in France and the Netherlands in 2005.Europe is very much interconnected and we have to ask ourselves how events in one country influence events in another country where the situation may be somewhat different, Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa told reporters.All those of us now making decisions about how we intend to undertake this very delicate stage of the project...have to bear the broader perspective in mind, not only the domestic issues but also pan-European issues, he said.

Of the E.U.'s member countries, only Ireland is constitutionally bound to hold a referendum. Most nations are expected to ratify the treaty through their parliaments although some, including Portugal, are yet to commit.However, Jansa, whose country took over from Portugal as the E.U. president nation last week, expressed optimism that the treaty would be adopted there even if it were put to the vote.Even if there were to be a referendum in Portugal, it would be a positive one, he saidat a press conference with European Commission Vice President Margot Wallstroem.E.U. leaders have committed to ratify the treaty before the next European Parliament elections in 2009 to ensure that the bloc's institutional woes don't undermine the vote. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 01-08-080846ET

I FIND THIS INTERESTING THAT JUAN CARLOS IS 70 YEARS OLD WHEN IN THE BIBLE THE WORLD AT THE TOWER OF BABEL, (1ST WORLD GOVERNMENT), GOD SCATTERED THE 70 NATIONS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.

Spain's King Juan Carlos will celebrate his 70th birthday with a formal dinner 2008-01-08 06:36:56

Spain's King Juan Carlos will celebrate his 70th birthday with a formal dinner tomorrow (09.01.08).The monarch - who quietly celebrated his actual birthday at his royal residence Zarzuela Palace, on the outskirts of Madrid, on Saturday (05.01.08) - will be guest of honour at the glitzy event, which has been organised by his family.Juan Carlos has spent 32 years as the Spanish Head of State and, despite rumours that he planned to abdicate when he reached 70, shows every sign of remaining in power.The famously outspoken monarch - who told Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez to Shut up during last November's Ibero-American summit in Chile - has been both highly praised and faced heavy criticism during his reign.Last year, the king was forced to defend the royal family following a wave of protests against the monarchy and calls for his to abdicate.

In September, hundreds of left-wing demonstrators took to the streets in Catalonia to burn images of the king in defiance against Spain's rule of the autonomous area.Juan Carlos has two daughters, Elena and Cristina, and a son, Felipe, who is heir to the throne, with his wife Queen Sophia.

REVELATION 17:1-2
1 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
2 With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.(VATICAN IN POLITICS)

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE BENEDICT XVI
TO THE DIPLOMATIC CORPS ACCREDITED TO THE HOLY SEE
FOR THE TRADITIONAL EXCHANGE OF NEW YEAR GREETINGS
Monday, 7 January 2008


Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

1. I extend cordial greetings to your Dean, Ambassador Giovanni Galassi, and I thank him for the kind words that he has addressed to me in the name of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to the Holy See. To each of you I offer respectful greetings, particularly to those who are present at this meeting for the first time. Through you, I express my fervent prayers for the peoples and governments that you represent with such dignity and competence. Your community suffered a bereavement some weeks ago: the Ambassador of France, Monsieur Bernard Kessedjian, ended his earthly pilgrimage; may the Lord welcome him into his peace! My thoughts today go especially to the nations that have yet to establish diplomatic relations with the Holy See: they too have a place in the Pope’s heart. The Church is profoundly convinced that humanity is a family, as I wanted to emphasize in this year’s World Day of Peace Message.

2. It was in a family spirit that diplomatic relations were established last year with the United Arab Emirates. In the same spirit, I was also able to visit certain countries that I hold dear. The enthusiastic welcome that I received from the Brazilians continues to warm my heart! In that country, I had the joy of meeting the representatives of the great family of the Church in Latin America and the Caribbean, gathered at Aparecida for the Fifth General Conference of CELAM. In the economic and social sphere, I was able to note eloquent signs of hope for that continent, as well as certain reasons for concern. We all look forward to seeing increasing cooperation among the peoples of Latin America, and, within each of the countries that make up that continent, the resolution of internal conflicts, leading to a consensus on the great values inspired by the Gospel. I wish to mention Cuba, which is preparing to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the visit of my venerable Predecessor. Pope John Paul II was received with affection by the authorities and by the people, and he encouraged all Cubans to work together for a better future. I should like to reiterate this message of hope, which has lost none of its relevance.

3. My thoughts and prayers are directed especially towards the peoples affected by appalling natural disasters. I am thinking of the hurricanes and floods which have devastated certain regions of Mexico and Central America, as well as countries in Africa and Asia, especially Bangladesh, and parts of Oceania; mention must also be made of the great fires. The Cardinal Secretary of State, who went to Peru at the end of August, brought me a first-hand account of the destruction and havoc caused by the terrible earthquake, but he spoke also of the courage and faith of the peoples affected. In the face of tragic events of this kind, a strong joint effort is needed. As I wrote in my Encyclical on hope, the true measure of humanity is essentially determined in relationship to suffering and to the sufferer. This holds true both for the individual and for society (Encyclical Letter Spe Salvi, 38).

4. The international community continues to be deeply concerned about the Middle East. I am glad that the Annapolis Conference pointed towards the abandonment of partisan or unilateral solutions, in favour of a global approach respectful of the rights and legitimate interests of all the peoples of the region. I appeal once more to the Israelis and the Palestinians to concentrate their energies on the implementation of commitments made on that occasion, and to expedite the process that has happily been restarted. Moreover, I invite the international community to give strong support to these two peoples and to understand their respective sufferings and fears. Who can remain unmoved by the plight of Lebanon, amid its trials and all the violence that continues to shake that beloved country? It is my earnest wish that the Lebanese people will be able to decide freely on their future and I ask the Lord to enlighten them, beginning with the leaders of public life, so that, putting aside particular interests, they will be ready to pledge themselves to the path of dialogue and reconciliation. Only in this way will the country be able to progress in stability and to become once more an example of the peaceful coexistence of different communities. In Iraq too, reconciliation is urgently needed! At present, terrorist attacks, threats and violence continue, especially against the Christian community, and the news which arrived yesterday confirms our concern; it is clear that certain difficult political issues remain unresolved. In this context, an appropriate constitutional reform will need to safeguard the rights of minorities. Important humanitarian aid is necessary for the peoples affected by the war; I am thinking especially of displaced persons within the country and refugees who have fled abroad, among whom there are many Christians. I invite the international community to be generous towards them and towards their host countries, whose capacities to absorb them have been sorely tested. I should also like to express my support for continued and uninterrupted pursuit of the path of diplomacy in order to resolve the issue of Iran’s nuclear programme, by negotiating in good faith, adopting measures designed to increase transparency and mutual trust, and always taking account of the authentic needs of peoples and the common good of the human family.

5. Turning our gaze now towards the whole of Asia, I should like to draw your attention to some other crisis situations, first of all to Pakistan, which has suffered from serious violence in recent months. I hope that all political and social forces will commit themselves to building a peaceful society, respectful of the rights of all. In Afghanistan, in addition to violence, there are other serious social problems, such as the production of drugs; greater support should be given to efforts for development, and even more intensive work is required in order to build a serene future. In Sri Lanka it is no longer possible to postpone further the decisive efforts needed to remedy the immense sufferings caused by the continuing conflict. And I ask the Lord to grant that in Myanmar, with the support of the international community, a season of dialogue between the Government and the opposition will begin, ensuring true respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

6. Turning now to Africa, I should like first of all to reiterate my deep anguish, on observing that hope seems almost vanquished by the menacing sequence of hunger and death that is unfolding in Darfur. With all my heart I pray that the joint operation of the United Nations and the African Union, whose mission has just begun, will bring aid and comfort to the suffering populations. The peace process in the Democratic Republic of Congo is encountering strong resistance in the vicinity of the Great Lakes, especially in the Eastern regions, while Somalia, particularly Mogadishu, continues to be afflicted by violence and poverty. I appeal to the parties in conflict to cease their military operations, to facilitate the movement of humanitarian aid and to respect civilians. In recent days Kenya has experienced an abrupt outbreak of violence. I join the Bishops in their appeal made on 2 January, inviting all the inhabitants, especially political leaders, to seek a peaceful solution through dialogue, based on justice and fraternity. The Catholic Church is not indifferent to the cries of pain that rise up from these regions. She makes her own the pleas for help made by refugees and displaced persons, and she pledges herself to foster reconciliation, justice and peace. This year, Ethiopia is marking the start of the third Christian millennium, and I am sure that the celebrations organized for this occasion will also help to recall the immense social and apostolic work carried out by Christians in Africa.

7. And finally, focussing upon Europe, I rejoice at the progress that has been made in various countries of the Balkan region, and I express once again the hope that the definitive status of Kosovo will take account of the legitimate claims of the parties involved and will guarantee security and respect for the rights of all the inhabitants of this land, so that the spectre of violence will be definitively removed and European stability strengthened. I should like also to mention Cyprus, recalling with joy the visit of His Beatitude Archbishop Chrysostomos II last June. It is my earnest wish that, in the context of the European Union, no effort will be spared in the search for a solution to a crisis that has already lasted too long. Last September, I made a visit to Austria, partly in order to underline the essential contribution that the Catholic Church is able and willing to give to European unification. On the subject of Europe, I would like to assure you that I am following attentively the new phase which began with the signing of the Treaty of Lisbon. This step gives a boost to the process of building the European home, which will be a good place to live for everyone only if it is built on a solid cultural and moral foundation of common values drawn from our history and our traditions (Meeting with the Authorities and the Diplomatic Corps, Vienna, 7 September 2007) and if it does not deny its Christian roots.

8. From this rapid overview it appears clearly that the security and stability of the world are still fragile. The factors of concern are varied, yet they all bear witness to the fact that human freedom is not absolute, but is a good that is shared, one for which all must assume responsibility. It follows that law and order are guarantees of freedom. Yet law can be an effective force for peace only if its foundations remain solidly anchored in natural law, given by the Creator. This is another reason why God can never be excluded from the horizon of man or of history. God’s name is a name of justice, it represents an urgent appeal for peace.

9. This realization could help, among other things, to give direction to initiatives for intercultural and inter-religious dialogue. These ever increasing initiatives can foster cooperation on matters of mutual interest, such as the dignity of the human person, the search for the common good, peace-building and development. In this regard, the Holy See attaches particular importance to its participation in high-level dialogue on understanding among religions and cultures and cooperation for peace, within the framework of the 62nd General Assembly of the United Nations (4-5 October 2007). In order to be true, this dialogue must be clear, avoiding relativism and syncretism, while at the same time it must be marked by sincere respect for others and by a spirit of reconciliation and fraternity. The Catholic Church is deeply committed to this goal. It is a pleasure for me to recall once again the letter that was addressed to me, on 13 October last, by 138 Muslim Religious Leaders, and to renew my gratitude for the noble sentiments which were expressed in it.

10. Our society has rightly enshrined the greatness and dignity of the human person in various declarations of rights, formulated in the wake of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted exactly sixty years ago. That solemn act, in the words of Pope Paul VI, was one of the greatest achievements of the United Nations. In every continent the Catholic Church strives to ensure that human rights are not only proclaimed but put into practice. It is to be hoped that agencies created for the defence and promotion of human rights will devote all their energies to this task and, in particular, that the Human Rights Council will be able to meet the expectations generated by its creation.

11. The Holy See for its part never tires of reaffirming these principles and rights, founded on what is essential and permanent in the human person. The Church willingly undertakes this service to the true dignity of human persons, created in the image of God. And on the basis of these considerations, I cannot but deplore once again the continual attacks perpetrated on every continent against human life. I would like to recall, together with many men and women dedicated to research and science, that the new frontiers reached in bioethics do not require us to choose between science and morality: rather, they oblige us to a moral use of science. On the other hand, recalling the appeal made by Pope John Paul II on the occasion of the Jubilee Year 2000, I rejoice that on 18 December last the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling upon States to institute a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, and I earnestly hope that this initiative will lead to public debate on the sacred character of human life. I regret, once again, the disturbing threats to the integrity of the family, founded on the marriage of a man and a woman. Political leaders, of whatever kind, should defend this fundamental institution, the basic cell of society. What more should be said? Even religious freedom, an essential requirement of the dignity of every person [and] a cornerstone of the structure of human rights (Message for the 1988 World Day of Peace, Preamble) is often undermined. There are many places where this right cannot be fully exercised. The Holy See defends it, demands that it be universally respected, and views with concern discrimination against Christians and against the followers of other religions.

12. Peace cannot be a mere word or a vain aspiration. Peace is a commitment and a manner of life which demands that the legitimate aspirations of all should be satisfied, such as access to food, water and energy, to medicine and technology, or indeed the monitoring of climate change. Only in this way can we build the future of humanity; only in this way can we facilitate an integral development valid for today and tomorrow. With a particularly felicitous expression, Pope Paul VI stressed forty years ago in his Encyclical Letter Populorum Progressio, that development is the new name for peace. Hence, in order to consolidate peace, the positive macroeconomic results achieved by many developing countries during 2007 must be supported by effective social policies and by the implementation of aid commitments by rich countries.

13. Finally, I wish to urge the international community to make a global commitment on security. A joint effort on the part of States to implement all the obligations undertaken and to prevent terrorists from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction would undoubtedly strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime and make it more effective. I welcome the agreement reached on the dismantling of North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme, and I encourage the adoption of suitable measures for the reduction of conventional weapons and for dealing with the humanitarian problems caused by cluster munitions.

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

14. Diplomacy is, in a certain sense, the art of hope. It lives from hope and seeks to discern even its most tenuous signs. Diplomacy must give hope. The celebration of Christmas reminds us each year that, when God became a little child, Hope came to live in our world, in the heart of the human family. Today this certainty becomes a prayer: May God open the hearts of those who govern the family of peoples to the Hope that never disappoints! With these sentiments, I offer to each one of you my very best wishes, so that you, your staff, and the peoples you represent may be enlightened by the Grace and Peace which come to us from the Child of Bethlehem.

Monday, January 07, 2008

SCROLL TO BUSH

THE SCROLL WRITTEN TO GEORGE W BUSH

28 Tevet, 5768 / January 6, 2008
In the Name of the Lord, Eternal God

To The Honorable Mr. George W. Bush,
President of the United States of America,

Who comes seeking the presence of the Most High God, to Jerusalem, city of God, Divinely chosen site of the Holy Temple, eternal capital of our land, the joy of the entire earth (Psalms 48:3), may it be rebuilt and established speedily and in our days, Amen!

Esteemed Mr. George W. Bush, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal (Ezekiel 38:1), leader of the west!

Upon your arrival in Jerusalem you have the ability to make a declaration, as did Cyrus, King of Persia - whose memory is honored - who in the year 538 BCE returned the exiled nations to their lands and recognized the full right of the Jewish people to reestablish their Holy Temple, the house of prayer for all nations (Isaiah 56:7), and called upon them to return to their land,And in the manner of Lord James Balfour of England, who in 1917, called upon the Jews to reestablish a national homeland in the Land of Israel.And thus if you truly desire peace and benevolence, and you would be counted in the company of the truly righteous, we call upon you to declare to all the world:

The Land of Israel was bequeathed to the nation of Israel by the Creator of the world. Neither could I, as a son of my faith, nor the Muslims according to their faith, ever take away even the slightest grain from the Eternal's gift, which He gave to His people Israel, the eternal people. Thus I call upon all the nations to save themselves from certain doom, to return and recognize That this land is the exclusive rightful inheritance of the people of Israel, as is written in the Torah of Israel, which constitutes the very foundation of our faith, as well as that of Islam; and is the basis for the decisions of the community of nations. He who denies this truth endangers all life on earth.

I shall dedicate all my strength and resources towards settling the Jewish people throughout their entire land. I shall greatly encourage and empower the Jews all over the world to rise up to the Land of Israel and to settle it, to establish God's sanctuary in Jerusalem, to distance strangers from it and thus, I believe, I will be making a major contribution towards world peace.I cannot simultaneously support the establishment of a foreign state for an alien nation in the Land of Israel, and I will not lend my hand to this wrong.Or - Heaven forbid - you can choose the second option - to willfully aid in the destruction, under the guise of peace!

You certainly know what the God of Israel did to Egypt and Assyria and to all Israel's enemies from time immemorial: Do you imagine that you will be able to save yourself if you have come to implement a plan that intends to steal the land of the people that survived the sword (Jeremiah 31:1), and to cut off those who survived the Holocaust, to rob the land that was given to them by the Creator?

All of the peace treaties and initiatives which have been based upon the decisions of the government of Israel, indeed the entire Oslo process, and the Disengagement, and the establishment of a terrorist state within the Land of Israel known as 'Palestine' - regrettably, all of these agreements are the result of a lack of sufficient faith in the Divine promises that the Lord made to the patriarchs of our nation, and all that is written in the Torah of Israel. Understand this well: the nations of the world cannot excuse their actions and their decisions on account of the weakness of Israel and her government. God ordained that the role of the nations of the world is to strengthen the nation of Israel. This will benefit all humanity and bring about world peace, as the prophets have foretold.Do you imagine you can escape from the struggles in Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Lebanon, by offering up sacrifices of the Jews who are slaughtered daily by their enemies who speak of peace but live by the sword?

Upon your arrival in our land we would anticipate that you bring Jonathan Pollard home with you. Bring him home to Israel. He is an emissary of the State of Israel, and he acted on behalf of our people. Authorize his immediate release while you are yet in Jerusalem, before you return to the United States. This will be a positive step that will build confidence.Remember our forefather Abraham, who pursued the world's four greatest kings in order to redeem his nephew from captivity. We cannot forget the deeds of our patriarchs, whose example guides us through every generation.

We are the loyal representatives of the Jewish people, the New Jewish Congress, and its court of law, the Sanhedrin, as well as the Temple and Temple Mount movements, but we merely reiterate herein what is public knowledge.No government in Israel and no representative of the Jewish people has the power or right to alter, by even the slightest degree, our covenant with God and the words of our holy Torah, which are everlasting, as expressed by the prophets of Israel and even by the wicked prophet Balaam: Then he looked on Amalek, and uttered his oracle, saying: First among the nations was Amalek, but its end is to perish for ever' (Numbers 24:20). Thus any desire, plan or agreement that challenges the eternal sovereignty and active possession of the nation of Israel over her entire land is utterly worthless, and has no basis in reality.

Therefore it behooves you to declare: I, George Bush, Commander in Chief of the armies of the United States of America, will instruct all of my troops to protect the Divine rights of the nation of Israel, and remove from her any threat.Before you is a choice: You can merit to eternal life, or be inscribed for eternal disgrace. Your fate and that of all those with you hangs in the balance of the destiny of our land.and you shall choose life! (Deut. 30:19).

In Sincere Supplication - In the name of the Jewish people

Rabbi A Even Yisrael Steinzaltz
The Sanhedrin

Dr. Gadi Eshel
The New Jewish Congress

Rabbi Chaim Richman
The Holy Temple and Temple Mount Movements

TO READ THE COMPLETE DOCUMENT GO TO MY LINK THE BUSH SCROLL
http://www.templeinstitute.org/megillat-bush.pdf

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

INVENTION OF THE ATOMIC BOMB.

2 PETER 3:10-11
10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:20,30
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.


Iranian boats threatened to blow up U.S. ships, American officials say January 7, 2008 FROM ASSOCIATED PRESS

WASHINGTON — Iranian boats harassed and provoked three American Navy ships in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, threatening to explode the vessels, U.S. officials said Monday. In the most serious such incident in years, U.S. forces were on the verge of firing on the Iranian boats during the incident early Sunday, when the boats — believed to be from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s navy — turned and moved away, a Pentagon official said. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman called it a serious incident. Another U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called it the most serious provocation of this sort that we’ve seen yet.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry said Monday the confrontation was something normal and was resolved, suggesting the Iranian boats had not recognized the U.S. vessels. National Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the Bush administration urges Iranians to refrain from such provocative actions that could lead to a dangerous incident in the future.The incident raised new tensions between Washington and Tehran as President Bush prepared for his first major trip to the Middle East. A statement issued by the U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet in Bahrain said the incident occurred at about 8 a.m. local time Sunday as Navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham were on their way into the Persian Gulf and passing through the strait — a major oil shipping route. Five small boats began charging the U.S. ships, dropping boxes in the water in front of the ships and forcing the U.S. ships to take evasive maneuvers, said the Pentagon official. The boxes floated by, and officials said they didn’t now what was in them because U.S. sailors didn’t pick them up. There were no injuries but the official said there could have been, because the Iranian boats turned away literally at the very moment that U.S. forces were preparing to open fire in self defense.

The official, who asked to speak on grounds of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the issue publicly, said he didn’t have the precise transcript of communications that passed between the two forces, but said the Iranians radioed something like we’re coming at you and you’ll explode in a couple minutes.At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said he was not aware of any plans to lodge a formal protest. Without specific reference to this incident in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States will confront Iranian behavior where it seeks to do harm either to us or to our friends and allies in the region, McCormack told reporters. There is wide support for that within the region and certainly that’s not going to change.Whitman said the Pentagon will work with State and National Security Council officials to determine the appropriate way to address this with the Iranian government.But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammed Ali Hosseini played down the incident, suggesting it was an issue of misidentification. He did not comment on the U.S. claims of the Iranian boats’ actions. That is something normal that takes place every now and then for each party, and it (the problem) is settled after identification of the two parties, he told the state news agency IRNA. The incident was similar to past ones that were resolved once the two sides recognized each other, he said. An Iranian Revolutionary Guard official also described the incident as nothing unusual. No unusual confrontation has taken place between the Guard’s patrol vessels and U.S. ships, state-run television quoted the official as saying. The official was speaking on customary condition of anonymity. The Guard official said the Guard’s vessels were conducting normal patrols in the Strait of Hormuz when they saw three U.S. ships enter the waters of the region. The Guard’s navy vessels, as usual, asked the ships to identify themselves and they did so and continued their path, the TV quoted the official as saying. At the Pentagon, Whitman said the U.S. vessels were in international waters, making a normal transit into the Gulf. He said the Iranian boats were operating at distances and speeds that showed reckless and dangerous intent — reckless, dangerous and potentially hostile intent.

The episode lasted 15 to 20 minutes, Whitman said, but he wouldn’t say whether officials know for certain whether the were vessels were Iranian Revolutionary Guard or regular Iranian navy. The Revolutionary Guard forces have been known to be more aggressive than the regular navy. At least some were visibly armed. Small Iranian fastboats made some aggressive maneuvers against our vessels and indicated some hostile intent, Whitman said. Historical tensions between the two nations have increased in recent years over Washington’s charge that Tehran has been developing nuclear weapons and supplying and training Iraqi insurgents using roadside bombs — the No. 1 killer of U.S. troops in Iraq. At about this time last year, Bush announced he was sending a second aircraft carrier to the Gulf region in a show of force against Iran. The U.S. Navy quietly scaled back to one carrier group several months later. But while the two were there, they staged two major exercises off Iran’s coast. As one of the world’s most vital chokepoints for oil shipping, the 30-mile-wide Hormuz strait has been the subject of previous armed confrontations between the United States and Iran, most notably during the eight-year Iraq-Iran war of the 1980s.

BUSHES SCHEDUALE IN MIDEAST

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.

Three quakes off B.C. coast; no tsunami warning, or damage or injury reports JAN 5,08

VANCOUVER - A trio of moderate to powerful earthquakes struck early Saturday off the B.C. coast, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.Guy Urban at the Alaska and Pacific Tsunami Warning Center said a moderate quake of magnitude 5.3, perhaps a pre-shock was recorded at 5:39 a.m. EST.Two stronger quakes, the first with a magnitude of 6.7 was recorded about 20 minutes later, followed by a magnitude 6.5 temblor, in an area about 230 kilometres southeast of the Queen Charlotte Islands, west of Port Hardy, B.C.Urban said the centre had received no e-mails or calls from anyone feeling the quake, and no tsunami warning was issued.The Tsunami Center issues warnings when earthquakes are larger than magnitude 7.We're pretty much convinced that no tsunami has been generated, Urban said. We're watching our tide gauges scattered around the Pacific Coast and we saw no tsunami anywhere on any of those.However, he said there might be some slight sea-level changes.Fortunately it was out in the water, Urban said. Had it been on land, it could have caused some significant damage.

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.

Heavy snow blankets Iran, air travel hit Sun Jan 6, 11:19 AM

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran on Sunday awoke to heavy overnight snowfalls which forced schools to shut, blocked major roads and led to the cancellation of domestic flights, state media reported.Primary and secondary schools were closed for the day in Tehran and most cities in the north of the country, state television said.The authorities ordered all government offices closed on Monday and Tuesday, the official IRNA news agency said.State airline Iran Air cancelled all of its morning domestic flights from Mehrabad airport in the centre of Tehran, while roads in the northwest of the country were closed to traffic.Meanwhile international flights, which now run exclusively from Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKIA) several kilometres (miles) south of the capital, were delayed, state media reported.Tehran and several other cities in the north and centre of Iran lie at altitudes of more than 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) above sea level and are regularly hit by heavy falls of snow in winter.State television said that the snowfalls would continue in the coming days.

A spate of cold weather has already created problems in Iran with around a dozen towns suffering gas cuts last week because of a surge in demand, a shortage compounded by a cut in exports from Turkmenistan.The authorities have urged the public to reduce their notoriously profligate consumption of gas to ensure there are no further cuts amid plunging temperatures.

Winter storms batter western states Sun Jan 6, 10:18 AMBy Bob Tourtellotte

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Storms battered the western United States on Saturday with strong winds, heavy rains and a blanket of snow that caused widespread power outages, a levee break in Nevada and two deaths in California.In the Los Angeles-area city of Chino, a woman was swept away in floodwaters when she tried to abandon her stalled car, and in Yuba City, north of Sacramento, a worker was killed when a falling tree struck him, according to a spokesman for the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services.A canal levee broke near Reno, Nevada, flooding an estimated 800 homes and causing some 3,500 residents to evacuate by helicopter and boat, a Nevada Department of Public Safety spokesman said.Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski declared a state of emergency in Umatilla County in the northeastern corner of that state due to high winds that ravaged the area.The first of three storms swept through Northern California on Friday, blowing scaffolding off buildings and shutting down streets in San Francisco. Big trucks were barred from the Golden Gate Bridge, where winds reached 55 mph.Mountains in the eastern part of the state were hit by major snowfall and wind gusts as high as 100 to 150 mph.

Snow accumulations of 8 to 10 feet were expected in the Sierra Nevada range over the weekend as another storm moves through the region.(The bad weather) will continue through at least tomorrow, and then there's another round on Monday,said Jane Hollingsworth, a spokeswoman for the U.S. National Weather Service.The weather pummeled Los Angeles and communities to the south in Orange County, where roughly 3,000 people had been asked to leave their homes in hillside areas hit by wildfires and prone to mudslides.

But no major slides occurred and no significant damage was reported to homes or buildings, according to Michael Miller of the Governor's Office of Emergency Services.There were relatively few power outages in Southern California, and by Saturday most electricity had been restored to customers, according to several utility companies.The story was different in Northern and Central California where some 1.8 million customers of PG&E Corp lost power. By late afternoon on Saturday, roughly 400,000 homes remained without power, according to PG&E.Near Fernley, Nevada, an agricultural and suburban town 32 miles east of Reno, a 30-foot-wide breach erupted in a canal levee. Some homes in the lower-lying section of town stood in 3 feet of water and people were evacuated to a school.(Additional reporting by Adam Tanner; Editing by Xavier Briand)
officials said.

Ice slows cleanup in flooded Nev. town By MARTIN GRIFFITH, Associated Press Writer JAN 6,08

FERNLEY, Nev. - Hundreds of homes sat in as much as 8 feet of water Sunday following a canal rupture as freezing weather spread sheets of ice over yards and streets, hindering efforts to get the water to drain away. As many as 400 homes were damaged when the canal's bank gave way following heavy rainfall produced by the West Coast storm system that had piled snow as much as 11 feet deep in the Sierra Nevada.Thousands of customers had been blacked out in three states and many of them in California could remain in the dark for days because the storm ripped down nearly 500 miles of power lines, utility officials said Sunday.Six snowmobilers and two skiers were reported missing in heavy snow in the mountains of southern Colorado, and one hiker was missing in snow-covered mountains in Southern California.At least three deaths were blamed on the storm.The irrigation canal failure at Fernley released a wave of frigid water into the town early Saturday.

In 10 minutes the entire back yard was completely flooded. It was just nothing but water, said Kristin Watson, whose home backs up to part of the canal. We just sort of panicked because we knew we had to get out of there real quick.The canal was repaired by late in the day, but as much as a square mile of the town was still under water at least 2 feet deep Sunday as ice impeded drainage.
Our hope is over the next 24 hours to get the water out, Fernley Mayor Todd Cutler said at a briefing Sunday morning. But we still have up to 8 feet of water in some areas. We need to keep the storm drains unclogged to keep the water moving to a wetland. We also may need to do some pumping in some areas.Lyon County Fire Division Chief Scott Huntley estimated 1,500 people had been displaced. No injuries were reported in the town of 20,000 people about 30 miles east of Reno.Huntley said officials knew of 18 cases of people rescued from atop homes or cars as fire department and private boats plus four helicopters were pressed into action Saturday, but he believes there were many more.The sheer number of rescues was amazing, Huntley said Sunday.For citizens to give of themselves and to help their neighbors, I'm choked up about it, Cutler said.Despite heavy rain Friday, Gov. Jim Gibbons said the canal was not full when the bank failed. This indicates to me there might have been a structural weakness over the years. Nobody knows and we don't want to speculate at this time, he said.One possible factor that officials have mentioned was rodents burrowing holes in the earthen bank, which also was involved in a smaller collapse that flooded about 60 Fernley homes in December 1996.If you get just a tiny little break, from a rodent, from anything, it can take the rest of the soil and gravel with it, said Martha VanGeem, principal engineer with CTLGroup, a Skokie, Ill.-based consulting firm.They could have caught it early if there wasn't so much rain, VanGeem said.Rescuers in Colorado resumed a search Sunday for six snowmobilers last seen Friday, before the storm dumped 3 to 4 feet of snow near Cumbres Pass, close to the New Mexico line.

The Denver Post said the snowmobilers were two couples from Farmington, N.M., and their two children, ages 14 and 13. Donna Oney of the Colorado State Patrol said 11 search and rescue team members and three deputies were looking for the snowmobilers. Two skiers were missing 40 miles away in the Wolf Creek ski area, Oney said. Wolf Creek had reported 39 inches of snow overnight In the mountains east of Los Angeles, authorities searched Sunday for a 62-year-old man who went hiking Friday just before the storm began, San Bernardino County sheriff's spokeswoman Arden Wiltshire said. Searchers last had cell phone contact with him early Saturday, before snow began falling in the area. In the rugged Sierra Nevada range, the Kirkwood ski resort near Lake Tahoe reported about 11 feet of snow had fallen since the storm system moved inland from the Pacific last week. As much as 3 feet more snow could hit higher elevations of the Sierras by Tuesday evening, the National Weather Service said. Parts of Northern California will get a reprieve from the rain and snow on Monday, but in the mountains, there's a chance of snow and snow showers all the way through Thursday, said weather service meteorologist Angus Barkhuff.

More than 234,000 homes and businesses in Northern California were still without power Sunday, and Pacific Gas and Electric said the storm had downed nearly 500 miles of power lines and more than 500 utility poles. Repair crews in the snow-covered Sierra foothills will have to use snowshoes, all-terrain vehicles and helicopters, utility officials said. Fewer than 5,000 customers were still blacked out in the Los Angeles area. The storm also caused blackouts in parts of Oregon and Washington. In all, more than 2 million customers from the northern town of Eureka to Los Angeles had lost power since early Friday. Seven people were hospitalized at Willows, Calif., near Chico, after suffering carbon monoxide poisoning from a propane lantern they used indoors because of the blackout, Glenn County officials said. The storm was blamed for two deaths in California, including a woman whose pickup truck was swept into a flood channel east of Los Angeles, and one death in Oregon, police said. Associated Press writers Peter Prengaman in Los Angeles, Scott Sonner in Reno and Kathleen Hennessey in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

A is for the ark of the covenantBy Susan Orr

The Ark of the Covenant played a central role in early Jewish religious life, and the object still generates intense interest among archaeologists and theologians.The ark is a type of chest that contained the tablets on which the Ten Commandments were engraved.As described in the Bible, God told the Israelites exactly how to build the ark. Among other specifications, the ark was to be made of acacia wood overlaid with gold, and cherubim with outstretched wings were to be on the ark's cover (Exodus 25:10-22).The ark was considered a holy object, and the Israelites carried it with them into battle and when they traveled.After Solomon built the first temple, the ark was placed there. That temple was destroyed in 586 B.C., and researchers don't know what happened to the ark after that.

According to one theory, the Babylonians took the ark after they destroyed the temple. Another idea is that the Israelites hid the ark in a location that is no longer known. A modern-day group of Christians in Axum, Ethiopia, says it has possession of the ark, while archaeologist Leen Ritmeyer has said he believes the ark may be buried inside the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.The 1981 movie Raiders of the Lost Ark showed the sense of mystery and intrigue that still surrounds the Ark of the Covenant.Sources: Jewish Virtual Library (www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org); Encyclopedia Judaica; New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia (www.newadvent.org)

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

04-01-2008
United voice in EU unusual


The fall of the Berlin Wall could have paved the way for closer Nordic co-operation on defence and trade, but mutual competition between the countries still gets in the way. Kristeligt Dagblad has analysed the negative impact on Nordic co-operation of Denmark's inability to commit to the Nordic Battle Group because of its EU defence opt-out.A 2,800-strong joint Nordic military force for peace-making and peace-keeping missions in Europe and Africa? A mere decade ago, almost any honest Nordic enthusiast would have given his right arm for such a future dream. Imagine finally being able to convert 50 years of speeches at the Nordic Council into practical joint defence policy! The future dream turned into reality at the turn of the year, albeit with a single exception, i.e. that Denmark is unable to provide troops because of its EU opt-out. The Nordic Battle Group is part of the EU's attempts to make its mark on the international stage. It consists of troops from Sweden, Norway and Finland, as well as from the former Soviet republic Estonia and from Ireland.

It is hardly surprising then that self-avowed Euro-sceptics and opponents find it difficult to decide where they stand on the issue. The Danish People's Party, the Left and other EU opponents have traditionally called for closer Nordic co-operation, often positing the Nordic Region as an alternative to the EU. On this issue, we are faced with the unusual combination of an EU project under Nordic auspices.The Nordic countries seldom speak with a single voice in the EU, even though the countries otherwise have a great deal of common values, e.g. In terms of democracy, health, the labour market, culture and international relations. In practice, the countries pursue their own goals and regularly end up competing with each other. It is symptomatic that the Danish government's greatest misgiving about being left outside the Nordic Battle Group is apparently that the other countries will end up dominating the high command, Henrik Hoffmann-Hansen concludes.

Brussels seeks European mulitinational firefighting force
By Aimée Turner


Europe is on course to launch a common rulebook establishing a crack multinational firefighting force by early summer, building on the unprecedented level of international co-operation last year when catastrophic forest fires ravaged Greece.The new rules will mean offers of specialist firefighting assistance from EU member states - already co-ordinated through the European Commission's Civil Protection Mechanism - are now framed within 13 new response modules designed to organise a common system of readily deployable, pre-defined specialised clusters of personnel and equipment.The plan to strengthen Europe's civil SOS infrastructure, which will include the medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims, was adopted by the Commission on 20 December and Europe's 27 member states now have until 13 May to signal their willingness to sign up to the new guidelines supporting the future rapid reaction force.A senior EC source said that the latest effort to provide the most rapid and effective emergency response possible involved essentially developing a standardised technical framework with individual modules determining structure, resource and minimum capability requirements for any member state wanting to assist.

The Commission has been working with member states over the last two years primarily to define the areas where modules would be useful, meeting with experts and well-informed specialists to define a common framework, he said.The modules that have been developed all rely really on the type of pre-existing national resources offered on a voluntary basis by EU member states and so they're not so very different from what member states organise already.Modules, however, will also feature an outline of the necessary training in order for participating member states effectively to become interoperational with other EU nations' firefighting efforts and, furthermore, equivalent emergency modules. Another new feature of the standardised approach will be that aerial firefighting modules involving EU helicopters and aircraft will not only become interoperable but also capable of operating outside the European Union.There is no obligation for participation, however. There could even be joint modules featuring co-operation between member states, similar in many ways to the existing co-operation in firefighting between France, Italy and Spain, said the source.

The EC Community Protection Mechanism budget has tripled in the last year. Annual spend will rise to €30 million ($44 million) by 2013 as part of the six-year €200 million initiative, with the European Parliament understood to be ready to vote for additional budgetary resources targeted at firefighting.The added value with the new module approach is that, as well as a lot more resources going into community protection, it will also improve co-ordination, essentially through training, exercises, technical workshops where common procedures will be defined, he said, adding that an area of special focus would be ground to air communications and how their effectiveness may be compromised by language and equipment factors.The interoperability of a unified EU firefighting force will be tested this summer when FireFour, an EC pilot project led by France with the participation of Italy, Spain and Portugal, will run a full-scale joint earthquake and firefighting exercise.

Aerial forest firefighting module using helicopters
Capacity Three helicopters with a capacity of 1,000 litres (264USgal) each.
Ability to perform continuous operations.
Main components  Three helicopters with crew, to guarantee that at least two helicopters are operational at any time.
Technical staff.
4 water buckets or 3 releasing kids.
1 maintenance set.
1 spare parts set.
2 rescue hoists.
Communication equipment.
Deployment Within maximum 3 hours
Aerial forest firefighting module using aircraft
Capacity Two aircraft with a capacity of 3,000 litres each
Ability to perform continuous operations.
Main components Two aircraft.
Three crews.
Technical staff.
Field maintenance kit.
Communication equipment.
Deployment Within maximum 3 hours
Medical aerial evacuation of disaster victims
Capacity Capacity to transport 50 patients every 24 hours.
Ability to fly day and night.
Main components Helicopters/aircraft with stretchers.
Deployment Within maximum 12 hours

Debate on EU Reform Treaty referendum gets underway
Saturday, January 05, 2008


The debate over the new EU Reform Treaty referendum is underway.
Minister for European Affairs Dick Roche says we must vote yes or else the progress of Europe will be restricted.Mr Roche Ireland either allows the EU to reform its decision making procedures or else it will just stagnate.The Anti-Treaty Organisation Libertas says such claims by the Government are nonsense.The referendum on the new treaty is expected to take place some time this summer.

Highlights of Bush's trip to the Mideast
By The Associated Press, Associated Press
Last update: January 5, 2008 - 10:53 AM


Highlights of President Bush's upcoming trip to the Middle East, according to the planned schedule as outlined by the White House:

Jan. 9

Arrives in Israel. Meets with Israel's prime minister, Ehud Olmert, and president, Shimon Peres.

Jan. 10

Visits the West Bank to meet with the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and prime minister, Salam Fayyad, at their headquarters in Ramallah.

Jan. 11

In Israel to meet with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, now a Middle East peace envoy. Lays a wreath at the Israel's official Holocaust memorial, Yad Vashem. Travels to Kuwait to meet with the emir, Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah.

Jan. 12

In Kuwait to meet with U.S. troops at Camp Arifjan and receive updates on the situation in Iraq from the top U.S. commander, Gen. David Petraeus, and the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. He also meets with Kuwaiti women. Travels to Bahrain to meet with King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa.

Jan. 13

Visits the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain. Travels to the United Arab Emirates to meet with the president, Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan, and gives a speech in Abu Dhabi on freedom in the region.

Jan. 14

Visits Dubai and then travels to Saudi Arabia to meet with King Abdullah.

Jan. 15

In Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for meetings.

Jan. 16

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, to meet with President Hosni Mubarak before returning to Washington.

Interview of President Bush by Hisham Bourar, al Hurra TV
Contact: White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 202-456-2580


WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following text is of an interview of President Bush by Hisham Bourar of al Hurra TV:
Map Room January 4, 2008 4:22 P.M. EST

Q Thank you, Mr. President, for taking the time to do this interview on Al Hurra TV. Big trip to the Middle East. What are your objectives, and why now?

THE PRESIDENT: Now because I believe that it's possible to advance the Annapolis agenda; now because I believe it's just going to be -- that it will be a chance to be effective on my trip. I'm going to advance three things: one, the vision of two states, Palestinian-Israel, living side by side in peace; two, to convince our friends and allies in the region that it is in their interest to support the peace process; and three is to remind people that the United States is committed to helping secure the region, that we have a active presence in the Middle East and that presence is not going to wane, that we're committed to helping people realize -- deal with the threats and the problems of the 21st century.

Q What can you do, personally, to press both sides, the Israelis and the Palestinians, to reach an agreement this year?

THE PRESIDENT: Well, first of all, the agreement -- they must decide they want to reach agreement. In other words -- and so the first thing I can do is to make sure there's a sincere desire on the parts of President Abbas and Prime Minister Olmert to achieve an agreement. I believe that desire exists. The Annapolis Conference was a success because they wanted it to be a success. And it's to give them confidence and encourage them to come up with what a state will look like, to define that state so that people there in the region can have hope that this kind of a longtime conflict will finally come to an end, and the first step is the definition of a state.

I can press when there needs to be pressed; I can hold hands when there needs to be -- hold hands. And so I'm -- I will go to encourage them to stay focused on the big picture. There's going to be all kinds of distractions, and people will be trying to throw up roadblocks and people will be trying to cause these gentlemen to -- not to -- lose sight of what's possible. And my job is to help them keep a vision on what is possible.

Q Do you still believe that your vision of a Palestinian state can be achieved before you leave office?

THE PRESIDENT: I think the outlines, the definition of a state can be achieved. The implementation of a state will be subject to a road map. In other words, there's a lot of work that has to be done. Palestinian security forces have to be reformed -- which we're helping with, by the way. The entrepreneurial class of people has to be encouraged with new capital. The institutions of government need to be strengthened. And so the state will come into being, subject to, but the first step is to -- here's what a state will look like. And I believe we can get that done by the time I leave office.

Q Will you be asking Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, to normalize relations with Israel?

THE PRESIDENT: I'll be reminding the Gulf countries, including Saudi Arabia, that in order for this to be successful, in order for this process to work, there has to be strong support for both the Palestinians and the Israelis in the neighborhood. And that's why the Annapolis Conference -- another reason it was an important conference, because in that room were -- my friend, the King of Saudi Arabia, kindly sent his Foreign Minister to that Annapolis meeting. I thought it was a strong signal. And so both sides are going to need to know that they'll have support from the neighborhood.

Q Recently there has been some rapprochement between Gulf countries and Iran. Do you feel that the last NIE report makes it difficult for you to convince these countries that Iran still poses a threat to national security?

THE PRESIDENT: I'm sure this subject will come up, and I will remind them that the NIE said that, one, Iran had a military covert program. They suspended the program. I will also remind them that a regime that once had a program could easily start the program up again, and that the key ingredients to having a weapons program is, one, the capacity to enrich uranium; secondly, the ability to take that uranium and make a bomb; and thirdly, the ability to deliver the bomb by rockets.

Well, the rocket program still exists. As you know, they say they, only for civilian purposes, they're learning to enrich. Well, if you can learn to enrich for civilian purposes, you can easily transfer that knowledge to military purposes. And therefore, Iran is a threat. And so that will be my message.And my other message will be, we've got a strategy to deal with it, and that is to prevent them from learning how to enrich. And I'll explain to them the different types of sanctions and international efforts we're making, and how they can help, as well.

Q Recent visits to Damascus by U.S. lawmakers, like a recent one by Senator Arlen Specter, Republican, and Senator Kennedy, do they help or undermine your position toward Syria?

THE PRESIDENT: That's an interesting question. I don't know. But President Assad must understand that if he wants better relations with the United States -- and frankly, better relations in the region -- the first thing he's got to do is stop interfering in the Lebanese presidential process. And I would hope that those representatives sent that message to President Assad.

I don't know how he interprets these meetings, but one thing he can't be mistaken about is the position of the U.S. government, the White House. And our position is, is that you can have better relations, a better way forward with the United States, but you have got to get out of Lebanon, in terms of the presidential elections, and stop harboring Hamas, stop letting suiciders go into Iraq, and there's a better way forward.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

EU TRUCE OFFERED TO HAMAS

Hamas: We spurned European truce offer By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer Fri Jan 4, 5:02 PM ET

DAMASCUS, Syria - The exiled leader of Hamas said Friday the militant Palestinian group rejected a European offer for an indirect meeting with Israelis to discuss a possible truce, adding Palestinians have no choice other than resistance.Speaking at a rally in Damascus marking Hamas' 20th anniversary, Khaled Mashaal also called on moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah movement, to hold unconditional talks with Hamas.

Mashaal also said that some Europeans have offered us to meet indirectly with Israelis to discuss a truce and we told them no and one thousand no's. He did not say what European country made the offer.On Monday, Abbas took a conciliatory tone toward his Hamas rivals in a major policy speech, calling for a new page in relations between the bitter enemies. Fatah and Hamas have been at odds since Hamas won parliamentary elections in January 2006. Those differences boiled over into open warfare that peaked with Hamas' driving Fatah out of Gaza in June.Mashaal said that Abbas' Palestinian authority has made reconciliation talks conditional on a number of concessions from Hamas including an apology.

We are ready for a dialogue without conditions. Our hands are extended and all matters should be put on the table including elections, Mashaal said.He also made it clear that Israeli Cpl. Gilad Shalit, captured by Hamas-linked militants in a cross-border raid in June 2006, will not be released without the freedom of Palestinians held in Israeli jails.The matter of the prisoners bloodies our heart, Mashaal said, adding that Gilad Shalit will not be released unless our prisoners are released. He did not give further details.Mashaal said that a recent U.S.-sponsored Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., had not stopped the building of settlements in Palestinian territories nor improved the lives of Palestinians, noting that 560 Israeli checkpoints are still in place.He added that this leaves his people with no choice but to fight.

Give our people another alternative. As long as the horizons are closed and there are no other alternatives then there is nothing our people can do other than resistance, he said.Mashaal said that since Hamas was founded in the late 1980s, its ability to hit Israel had improved.It (Hamas) added momentum to the resistance with its special operations, whether martyrdom (suicide) operations, its performance, steadfastness or rockets, Mashaal said referring to the Israeli siege against Gaza and the group's rockets that fall on Israeli towns.

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