Tuesday, February 12, 2008

SHAS WILL QUIT IF JERUSALEM TALKS

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

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.

Strong earthquake shakes southern Mexico Tue Feb 12, 8:55 AM ET

MEXICO CITY - A magnitude-6.4 earthquake shook southern Mexico on Tuesday, but there were no immediate reports of major damage. The quake gently swayed buildings in Mexico City and rocked parts of Mexico's southern Pacific and Gulf coasts. In the southern city of Tuxtla Gutierrez, many people fled into the streets and then lingered outside their homes, fearing aftershocks.It was horrible, said Cecilia Gomez, standing with her family outside her home. It really scared me.Daniel Roque, of southern Chiapas state's civil protection agency, said some residents reported panic attacks, but no damage was registered.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck at 6:50 a.m. (7:50 a.m. EST) and was centered 70 miles southwest of Tuxtla Gutierrez, near the border between Oaxaca and Chiapas states.

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.

As Toronto prepares for another winter blast, some homeless not ready to head indoors Tue Feb 12, 6:31 AM

TORONTO (CBC) - Toronto is bracing for yet another winter storm.
Environment Canada says the city is in for as much as another 10 centimetres of snow on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, which will add to the snow and ice already piled up from earlier storms.
Temperatures, however, are expected to rise, returning to normal for this time of year. Since Sunday, much of Ontario has been caught in a deep cold spell with temperatures in the low negative teens, made to feel even colder by the wind chill effect.In Toronto the winter freeze led to an extreme cold weather alert - aimed mainly at getting the city's homeless into shelters. The alert brings fewer restrictions on opening and closing times at city-run shelters, more beds and increased patrols by outreach workers. The city opens an additional 80 emergency shelter spaces in an extreme cold weather alert.But not everyone says the city's approach is the right one.Some of the homeless say they feel safer out in the cold than they do inside the shelters.At the adult ones there tends to be a lot more hard drugs and thefts, and a higher crime level. A lot of people prefer to sleep outside than in shelters, said Kevin Lockie, who was panhandling at the corner of Bathurst and Queen streets on a frigid afternoon.But the city wants people like Lockie in shelters.Agencies that do outreach on behalf of the city have been instructed to get people into shelters, even if it means denying them soup or a warm blanket.We actually want people to come in off the street, said the city's manager for emergency planning Elaine Smyer.

If we give someone a blanket, or soup, or something to make them feel OK for the moment, that could end up being very dangerous later on.Longtime homeless advocate Beric German says the approach ignores people who don't want to use shelters and outreach workers are torn.They're unable to do what is sensible. If a person can't go into the shelter system then what's your response? You say then, I'll give you nothing then. I won't even feed you. I'll give you nothing more. It's a cold night, maybe you'll make it [into a shelter] if you suffer enough.The extreme cold alert is likely to be lifted sometime on Tuesday.

Welcome to the Icebox of the Nation! Minnesota town hits record 40 below zero Mon Feb 11, 12:56 PM By Jeff Baenen, The Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS - Just recently it was dubbed by U.S. authorities as the Icebox of the Nation.On Monday International Falls., Minn., lived up to that name as the mercury dipped to a record low of minus 40 degrees. And it doesn't matter if you're counting in Celsius or Fahrenheit, since -40 is where the two scales cross.
Meteorologist Mike Stewart at the U.S. weather service in Duluth, Minn., says the previous record low in International Falls was -38 Celsius, set in 1967.

So how cold is -40.

International Falls resident Nick McDougall couldn't even get his car trunk lid to close after he got out his charger to kick-start a dead battery. This is about as cold as it gets, this is bad. There's no wind - it's just cold, said McDougall, 48, a worker at The Fisherman, a convenience store and gas station in the town on the Canadian border. People just don't go out, unless you have to go to work.Residents of the area use electric engine block heaters to keep their cars from freezing. You plug in your car, for sure, and you put the car in the garage if you can, McDougall said. His garage is full of other things, so he had to park outside - a big mistake.Chilly air also spread into the U.S. Northeast on Monday and many schools in New York state between Buffalo and Syracuse closed or opened late. Philadelphia had a Code Blue alert in effect, sending outreach crews to coax homeless people into shelters. Farther south, freezing rain hit southwest Missouri early Monday, making roads hazardous and closing schools. A coating of ice up to 2.5 centimetres thick was expected across much of southern and central Missouri, the weather service said. It's treacherous. If you can stay home this morning, do it, Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Bracker said in Springfield. Thousands of West Virginia homes and businesses had no electricity Monday after the state was hit by weekend wind gusts of up to 90 kilometres an hour. At least nine counties closed schools because of power outages and the cold. Classes also were cancelled Monday for a number of schools in Michigan, which remained in a deep freeze that set in on the weekend.

Millions brave China transport chaos as more bad weather looms Sun Feb 10, 11:40 PM

BEIJING (AFP) - Millions of people braved China's overcrowded transport networks Monday as they began the long trek back to work at the end of the Lunar New Year holiday, amid warnings of more bad weather.Railway officials in the nation's three main transport hubs -- Beijing in the north, Shanghai in the east and the southern city of Guangzhou -- said the number of passengers would peak Monday and Tuesday, the China Daily reported.The two main train stations in the Chinese capital expected the number of incoming passengers -- mostly migrants returning to their dormitories -- would top 100,000 on both days, the state-controlled paper said.The railway ministry had added 226 special trains to accommodate one of the biggest movements of people anywhere in the world, but even so, tickets were sold out down to the last seat, according to the paper.

Overburdened traffic networks and inclement weather could form a deadly combination, as reflected in a weekend accident when a minibus veered off an icy road in southwest China's Guizhou province, killing all nine passengers.The Spring Festival transport season, is an annual test to the transport system serving 1.3 billion people, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.It is a test that grows more formidable every year, as more and more people travel home for what is by far the biggest festival of the calendar in all societies influenced by Chinese culture.The railways alone are expected to carry a record of 178.6 million passengers during this year's 40-day travel season, up from 156 million last year, Xinhua said, citing the railway ministry.The transport system has been under unprecedented strain not just because of the millions of extra passengers, but also because it has had to cope with the most ferocious winter weather in at least five decades.Snow storms and chilly temperatures froze key sections of the transport network just as great numbers of people were heading home for the holiday late last month and the beginning of February, leaving millions stranded.There were further warnings of more bad weather to come, exactly at the wrong time, at the start of the return travel rush. Tuesday is the last day of the week-long Lunar New Year holiday.

The State Council, or Cabinet, ordered more efforts Sunday from central and local officials to prepare for another round of precipitation mainly in south and southwest China in the next 10 days, Xinhua said.Heavy snow or even blizzards were expected in the next three days in the provinces of Qinghai, Gansu and Sichuan in the west, while sleet and icy rains were possible in most part of southwest China's Guizhou province.A severe cold snap would affect northern China, resulting in light or moderate snow for parts of the Inner Mongolia region and Heilongjiang province in the next two days, according to Xinhua.

Twenty-Five Years of Lifesaving Ministry
February 12, 2008
Dear Friend of Israel


Twenty-five years ago, I discovered that there were great numbers of Bible-believing Christians who were staunch supporters of Israel and the Jewish people. These friends of Israel had a hunger to demonstrate that support in tangible ways, to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, and to learn more about Israel and the Jewish roots of their Christian faith.

Recognizing this hunger, and drawing on the shared biblical heritage of both Christians and Jews, in 1983 I founded the Holyland Fellowship of Christians and Jews. It was time, I decided, for Christians and Jews to work together to reverse their history of discord and build bridges of understanding and cooperation.

In 1991, the Holyland Fellowship became the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, and now, twenty-five years later, our success and impact has been far greater than I ever could have imagined. Thanks to God's blessing and our partners' generosity, we have helped rescue hundreds of thousands of Jews who have made aliyah (immigrated) to Israel from the four corners of the earth in fulfillment of biblical prophecy. And we have also provided a lifeline to countless numbers of poor Jews in Israel and the former Soviet Union.

There are a number of events planned to mark our 25th anniversary. Following the remarkable success of our 2007 tour, we will launch an extended 25th Anniversary Journey Home to Israel Tour. Participants will again have the opportunity to see the Bible come to life, be with me and other Fellowship staff, and visit Fellowship projects so they can see their life-changing donations at work. We’ve planned a special event so that everyone will have the opportunity to celebrate the 25th anniversary of The Fellowship in the Holy Land, and are also offering a three-day extension for anyone interested in engaging in intensive Bible study with me at the locations where many biblical events occurred. Read the testimonials from 2007 tour participants, and prayerfully consider if God is calling you to journey home with us to Israel in 2008.

2008 will also see a Fellowship first -- in August, we're going on an Alaskan cruise. During our weeklong journey, I will lead Bible studies that will help you better understand the Jewish roots of the Christian faith. I'll share stories of the life-changing impact of Fellowship initiatives made possible through your generous donations, and on Friday, my wife Joelle and I will be privileged to share a traditional Sabbath meal with you. This is a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn from God's word together as we experience some of the most beautiful country in God's creation!

Last but certainly not least on the list of anniversary events is The Fellowship's 25th Anniversary National Conference and Celebration Banquet in Chicago. During this powerful two-day event, we'll be joined by Christian, Jewish, American, and Israeli leaders to give thanks for what God has done through The Fellowship. Please consider joining us in Chicago for this exciting event as we set a bold new course in Christian-Jewish relations and discuss how Jews and Christians can continue to work together for Israel's peace and security.

It promises to be an exciting year. But, as we make our plans to mark a quarter-century of ministry, I am humbled to realize that none our success would have been possible without God's help - and yours. It is God and our ministry partners who make it possible for us to do the work we do every day. I hope you will help us celebrate our 25th anniversary year by participating as you are able in our special events. And I hope you will continue to work with us for the next 25 years, as we seek to bless God's chosen people together.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President Inter Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

What are the signs of Christ’s return?
By Dr Jack Van Impe


Now that we have addressed several foundational questions on the pre-Rapture signs, I want to show you how the Bible provides overwhelmingly clear evidence of other pretribulational signs demonstrating Christ's impending return to earth. I will now begin to deal with every major sign in the New Testament to show that Jesus' statement, When ye shall see all these things, know that it is near, even at the doors (Matthew 24:33), is being fulfilled in our day and age. Matthew 24:3-14 declares:

And as he [Jesus] sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying. Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another, And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many. And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

This passage may be among the most misunderstood of all prophetic pronouncements. The problem has arisen because many Christians still fail to see that God has two elect groups upon earth-the nation of Israel (Romans 11:28) and the Church (1 Peter 1:2). Romans 9-11 tells the entire story of God's chosen people, Israel. Chapter 9 concerns Israel's past, chapter 10 its present, and chapter 11 its future. Regarding its glorious past, Romans 9:4 declares that Israel was given the promises, including prophetic pledges. In chapter 10, verse 16, we find: But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who [among them] hath believed our report? Presently, they are blinded to their calling and promises, but in the future, All Israel shall be saved: as it is written. There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob (Romans 11:26).

Why will God perform this? Verse 29 provides the answer: For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. God chose Israel (Deuteronomy 7:7-8) and He has never canceled His selection. Therefore, Israel remains God's chosen people and heir to His promises as stated in Romans 11:28. The signs of Matthew 24 are presented to the elect- yes, elect Israel. We know this to be true in this chapter because of the regard for the Sabbath day (v. 20), because of the connection with synagogues (Luke 21:12), and because the setting of Matthew 24 is Jerusalem (v. 1). Only Bible manipulators, antidispensationalists, and antiliteralists could make Gentiles out of these Jews.

Included in this group are the twelve tribes of the children of Israel. Twelve thousand shall be chosen from each of the twelve tribes. Twelve thousand times twelve equals 144,000. The tribes are Juda, Reuben, Gad, Aser, Nephthalim, Manasses, Simeon, Levi, Issachar, Zabulon, Joseph, and Benjamin (Revelation 7:4-8). These signs are for Israel, who is looking for the return of her King in Revelation 19. They are not signposts for the Rapture.

The group looking for the fulfillment of signs in Matthew 24 is preaching a different gospel in verse 14. Gospel means good news, and their good news is the gospel of the kingdom or the good news that their King is about to return (Revelation 19:16). They will be traveling around the globe, 144,000 strong, singing The King is coming! The King is coming! Although the signs will be fulfilled in their entirety after the Christians are gone, we already see the tantalizing beginning of each of these signs. Again, this means that if these signs pointing to our return with the King are already in their initial stages, we must be snatched away very soon in order to prepare for our return to earth with Christ the King.

False Christs

In Matthew 24:3, Jesus was asked, When shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming [to earth], and of the end of the world [or age of grace]? He replied, Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many (v. 5). Since the year 1900, more than eleven hundred people claiming to be Christ have appeared on the world scene. These include Father Divine, Prophet Jones, Sweet Daddy Grace, Father Riker; Daniel Swalt, Moses Guibbory, Maharaj Ji, and Sun Myung Moon, not to mention scores of lesser-known, self-proclaimed messiahs who enjoyed a few fleeting moments of media fame.

Presently, while they might not refer to themselves as false Christs, certain members of our liberal clergy are playing such a role. Take, for example, a survey of the beliefs and attitudes of the Church of Scotland ministers. They have rightfully caused a stir within the denomination as the foundational truth of the Bible-the virgin birth of Christ-was recently called into question by religious leaders. The shocking results of the survey of 150 ministers were that 16 percent did not believe in the Immaculate Conception of Christ and 15 percent said that they didn't know. An amazing 17 percent said that the Virgin Mary was not a virgin in twentieth-century terms, and 6 percent thought that Jesus was the product of Mary and Joseph having sex outside of marriage. (See Matthew 7:21-23 and 2 Peter 2:1-3.)

Such abuse of Scripture is yet another sign of the times. However, eventually, the ultimate false Christ-one who is probably alive even at this moment-will proclaim himself as the true Christ and become accepted on an international scale. The Bible predicts such an hour, when the Antichrist, who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped... sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God (2 Thessalonians 2:4) and is accepted as such. This internationally deified dictator will inaugurate a world-peace program which will hold the world spellbound for forty-two months, or three and one-half years. Then, in the middle of the seven-year period of tribulation, he will break all of his pledges and destroy his contractual obligations with Israel (Daniel 9:27). At this time, Russia will begin a world war as she invades Israel (Ezekiel 38:11). This war will eventually involve all nations (Zechariah 14:2).

This is God's outline from the Bible. First, the international dictator will establish global peace, and when the world believes that Utopia has arrived, the bottom will fall out of their hopes and aspirations: For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them (1 Thessalonians 5:3). We now move to even more dramatic signs that signify our Lord is coming soon.

What is the significance of today’s wars,
famines, and increasing pestilences?


From the proclamation of Matthew 24:6-7, we see that the world can expect nothing but rivalry and battles until the Antichrist produces the false peace of the Tribulation era. More than 176 limited wars have been fought since the end of the Second World War. Today one out of every four nations on earth is engaged in some kind of military conflict.

Soon, however, we will experience the greatest global confrontation in history, for we are marching swiftly toward Armageddon at this moment. Over a decade ago, CIA and British Intelligence reports about the Soviet Union were grim. They reported the development of new weapons systems located throughout the Soviet Union, along with expenditures of enormous sums for underground civil defense shelters that meant that Russia was preparing for war. Many did not believe these pronouncements at the time.

Even today, while there is a semblance of peace (although the signs of a reemergence of the Cold War are increasing), we must not be lulled into thinking that Russia has changed her ways-especially since enormous numbers of nuclear warheads remain hidden in underground silos throughout the southern provinces of that vast land. I've noted that people no longer laugh at the prophecies uttered by Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39 that picture the Russian hordes from the north swarming to the Middle East. Today, as the end-time clock continues to wind down, the red horse of the Apocalypse is about to appear. Revelation 6:4 states, There went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.

Famines and Pestilences

Christ continued in Matthew 24:7, And there shall be famines, and pestilences. More than two billion of the world's inhabitants go to bed hungry each night. There are nationwide famine in the Sudan and Rwanda and reports of widespread cannibalism in North Korea-with news coming from Indonesia, the earth's fourth largest nation that millions of people on those scattered islands remain on the brink of starvation. Thousands are dying painful deaths throughout our world, while scores of others are too numb with hunger to realize what is happening. One writer said it poignantly, First the belly swells, then the hair turns gray and the skin cracks, after a while the victim dies in mute misery. Such an experience will soon be the fate of millions of people. Paul Erlich, a biochemist at Stanford University, said it's already too late to prevent famines that will kill millions, because already one-half billion are starving and another billion are malnourished. He may be right. There seems to be no possible solution in the near future, because it is too late to produce enough food.

America will undoubtedly be included in this suffering in the days ahead. In fact, the number of the beast, 666 (something we'll address in a later question and answer), may come into existence through an international rationing plan. Soon the voice of Revelation 6:6 will sound, A measure of wheat for a penny. A measure in Bible times was a quart, and a penny was a day's wages. Imagine a loaf of bread for a day's labor. Pestilence, the twin sister of hunger, is also on the rampage. The swine flu scare, legionnaires' disease, AIDS, and other diseases-many already fully resistant to antibiotics and other medications-are only the beginning. Years ago I read an article in Reader's Digest, reprinted from an article in Time entitled, The Bugs Are Coming. And they have come indeed . . . and will continue to come in plague like fashion during these final days. Even as I write these words, other pestilential plagues are in their preparatory stages. The South American fire ant has advanced from its initial beachhead in Mobile, Alabama, and now infests more than one hundred billion acres in nine southern states, sometimes driving farm workers from the fields because of its fiery sting. In forest areas the gypsy moth, the spruce budworm, and the southern pine beetle have wreaked devastation on huge areas of woodland, defoliating and killing millions of valuable trees-enough, in fact, to build 910,000 houses per year! Corn borers and rootworms have attacked crops in the Corn Belt at an incredible rate. The boll weevil costs United States farmers millions of dollars in crop losses annually. The mosquito is infecting one million humans per year in Africa and killing thousands annually with malaria, while the black fly in the Volta River basin blinds hundreds of thousands each year.

The insect world is multiplying at an exponential rate. Entomologists estimate that the number has now climbed to one quintillion, representing five million different species. If a person could weigh all insects together, their combined weight would be twelve times that of the entire human race. Can there be any doubt that the pestilence Jesus predicted will soon rear its head in monstrous proportions and that world hunger will be felt by every country on earth? This, along with what comes out of the bottomless pit in Revelation 9:2 (causing the plague of verse 3), is just around the corner. Listen to the prediction: There came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. Their purpose is to destroy and kill. The Rapture is near, my friend ... the signs are all around us.

Navy Tests Incredible Sci-Fi Weapon

The U.S. Navy yesterday test fired an incredibly powerful new big gun designed to replace conventional weaponry aboard ships. Sci-fi fans will recognize its awesome power and futuristic technology.The big gun uses electromagnetic energy instead of explosive chemical propellants to fire a projectile farther and faster. The railgun, as it is called, will ultimately fire a projectile more than 230 miles (370 kilometers) with a muzzle velocity seven times the speed of sound (Mach 7) and a velocity of Mach 5 at impact.The test-firing, captured on video, took place Jan. 31 in Dahlgren, Va., and Navy officials called it the world's most powerful electromagnetic railgun.The Navy's current MK 45 five-inch gun, by contrast, has a range of less than 23 miles (37 kilometers).The railgun has been a featured weapon in many science fiction universes, such as the new Battlestar Galactica series. It has also achieved newfound popularity among the 20-something-and-under generation for its devastating ability to instantaneously shoot a slug through walls and through multiple enemies in video games such as the Quake series of first person shooters.

The Navy's motivation? Simple destruction.

The railgun's high-velocity projectile will destroy targets with sheer kinetic energy rather than with conventional explosives.I never ever want to see a Sailor or Marine in a fair fight. I always want them to have the advantage, said Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Gary Roughead. We should never lose sight of always looking for the next big thing, always looking to make our capability better, more effective than what anyone else can put on the battlefield.The railgun's lack of explosives means ships would be safer, said Elizabeth D'Andrea, Electromagnetic Railgun Program Manager.The Navy's goal is to demonstrate a full-capability prototype by 2018.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Europe foothold on deep space exploration as lab installed on space station by Jean-Louis Santini Tue Feb 12, 2:10 AM ET

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) - Astronauts on Monday installed the European space laboratory Columbus on the orbiting International Space Station, giving Europe an important foothold for the deeper exploration of space. The European Columbus module is officially part of the International Space Station, said French space engineer Leopold Eyharts, as NASA broadcast live images of the installation, which took place at 2144 GMT.The long-delayed move gives European space agencies a presence alongside US and Russian astronauts on the ISS, a preparation point for future human missions to Mars.Two astronauts from the US space shuttle Atlantis earlier made a seven-hour space walk to prepare Columbus for its hook-up to the station, orbiting 350 kilometers (215 miles) above the Earth.They fixed fittings to Columbus so it could be grabbed and maneuvered into position by a robotic arm, operated from within the ISS, for attachment to the station's Harmony module.The two billion-dollar (1.3 billion-euro), 10-tonne laboratory represents a milestone in Europe's role in space. Paid for mostly by Germany, Italy and France, it is the first ISS addition not made in the United States or Russia.

The laboratory will boost the station's research capabilities, being used for biotechnology and medicine experiments involving microgravity. It has room for three astronauts and 10 experimentation units.The spacewalkers also had to install panels to protect it from the impact of micro-meteorites.NASA plans to attach another laboratory, the Japanese module Kibo, to Harmony in March.Clearing up concerns that launch debris may have damaged the shuttle as it took off from Florida, mission chief John Shannon said Sunday that the thermal shield on Atlantis's nose and wing forward edges were in perfect condition.He also said the mission could be prolonged a second day, a decision to be taken on Tuesday.

The space walk came a day later than originally scheduled, after German astronaut Hans Schlegel, who was to take part in the walk, fell ill.The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has not revealed the cause of his illness. On Sunday, European Space Agency spokesman Markus Bauer said Schlegel, 56, appeared to have recovered and was doing very well.We are assuming that he will take part in the second spacewalk, said Bauer.Columbus had been due for delivery in 2004 but this was delayed after the Colombia shuttle disaster in 2003, which caused the fleet to be grounded for safety reviews after seven astronauts died in the flight.A technical setback with the Atlantis shuttle in December delayed Columbus' delivery further.Now it is hooked up to the station, astronauts will be able to go into Columbus from Tuesday to set up its interior and test its equipment, NASA said.A second spacewalk scheduled for Wednesday will be devoted to separate tasks on the ISS, including replacing an old nitrogen tank. On a third walk on Friday astronauts will install equipment on the new laboratory's exterior. Eyharts is to stay on the ISS for several weeks to get Columbus up and running. He replaces US astronaut Daniel Tani, who will ride back to Earth on Atlantis. NASA plans to complete the International Space Station by 2010, when its three-shuttle fleet is retired.

Israel building plans anger Palestinians By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer FEB 12,08

JERUSALEM - Israel is planning to build 1,100 new apartments for Israelis in east Jerusalem, a Cabinet minister said Tuesday, angering Palestinians who want the area as a capital of their future state and further troubling peace talks. Housing Minister Zeev Boim told Israel Radio that plans were under way to build 370 apartments in Har Homa and an additional 750 in Pisgat Zeev, two Jewish neighborhoods in east Jerusalem.Construction in Jerusalem continues as usual, said Gali Cohen, a spokeswoman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.An Israeli plan to build an additional 307 apartments in Har Homa two months ago soured the latest round of peace talks just as they were resuming after a seven-year pause.

Israel captured east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war, annexed it, and built new neighborhoods there that are now home to 180,000 Israelis. It does not consider construction there to be settlement activity, as the Palestinians and international community do.Israel expects to retain Jewish east Jerusalem neighborhoods under a final peace deal, but the Palestinians still see construction there as compromising a final agreement. Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have set a December 2008 target date for reaching an accord.But the Israeli construction plans undermine chances of reaching a peace agreement by the end of this year, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said.We condemn these Israeli declarations, and once again we ask the Israeli government to give peace a chance by stopping all settlement activity, Erekat said.White House press secretary Dana Perino said she had not seen the report about Israel's plans to build new apartments in east Jerusalem. But, obviously, there's no doubt that an announcement of that sort would make the Palestinians concerned, she said.East Jerusalem is home to 208,000 Palestinians, according to a recent Palestinian census. The Palestinians hope to establish an independent state that includes the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as their capital.
Olmert has signaled he would be ready to cede control of some Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem.Hard-line political opponents, and some members of his fractious coalition government, oppose any compromise on Jerusalem, which Israel calls its eternal, undivided capital.As a result, Olmert has to maintain a balancing act — trying to placate the Palestinians by avoiding provocative moves while avoiding the coalition crisis that would ensue if he openly declared a freeze on construction in Jerusalem. Olmert already has declared a partial freeze on construction in the West Bank.

If Olmert openly halts construction in Jerusalem, he risks pushing the hawkish Shas party out of his government and losing his majority in parliament, said Israeli political scientist Efraim Inbar, director of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan University, near Tel Aviv.And with Israeli public opinion opposed to any compromise in Jerusalem, Inbar said, a move that would be seen as ceding Israeli sovereignty there would be politically disastrous for Olmert.Jerusalem is so sensitive that any government that touches it will fall apart, Inbar said.The new peace talks, formally launched at a U.S.-hosted peace conference last November, appear to have made scant progress.Negotiations appear to have been conducted so far at an unhurried pace, and have been marred by militants firing rocket barrages at Israeli towns from the Gaza Strip and Israeli raids and sanctions aimed at halting the fire. The sides' top negotiators, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and the Palestinians' Ahmed Qureia, met Monday and Tuesday for talks, according to Arye Mekel, a spokesman for Livni. Olmert said Tuesday that talks on Jerusalem — perhaps the stickiest issue in the peace process — would be put off. We try to move on forward through those issues which can be resolved, perhaps, faster than the others, he said in Berlin. In December, after the first Har Homa project threatened peace talks, Olmert told his Cabinet ministers not to approve new building without his approval. On Monday, Jerusalem city manager Yair Maayan told a parliamentary panel that the government was holding up construction of hundreds of apartments in Jewish neighborhoods of east Jerusalem.

But Boim denied that construction was being held up, explaining that a written directive Olmert issued applied only to settlements in the West Bank — which Israel has not annexed and has a different legal status under Israeli law — and not to adjacent eastJerusalem, which Israel considers to be under its full sovereignty. What people call delays are in fact final stages of coordination with city hall, Boim told Israel Radio. The Housing Ministry has solicited bids from contractors to build the initial 307 units at Har Homa and will move ahead with the new 370 units if there is demand, said Eran Sidis, a spokesman for Boim. The final details of the planned 750 units in Pisgat Zeev are being coordinated with Jerusalem city officials, he said.

Shas: we'll quit coalition if report of secret Jerusalem talks proves true By Israel Insider staff February 10, 2008

We will check your story and if it is true, Shas will leave the government, Yishai told the Jerusalem Post. He added that the party would also leave if the government continued to negotiate while rockets were being fired at Israel from the Gaza Strip. Meanwhile, opposition leader Binyamin Netanyahu urged Shas to leave the coalition. Following the [government's] security failures and in light of what I've read on Jerusalem being discussed in negotiations, I call on our friends in Shas: You share our opinions, our concern for Jerusalem, our concern for security - I call on you to do the right thing. And the right thing is to stop these dangerous moves and quit the government, Netanyahu said.

Earlier, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had said that negotiations are taking place between Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former PA Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei (Abu Allah) are dealing with the status of Jerusalem. Livni admitted it, and a PA officials say that much progress is being made including Israeli agreement to hand over almost all Arab-populated areas of the city. That contradicted Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's promise to the Shas Party that talks are not taking place, and would not take place till the very end of negotiations. Shas had declared that it will bolt the coalition and bring down the government the moment talks over Jerusalem ensue. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.PA official, commenting on progress in talks with Israel's diplomatic team.Abbas made the statements before meeting with European Parliament members in Ramallah Thursday. FM Livni confirmed negotiations in a meeting with foreign diplomats late last week. Hagai Huberman reports in Sunday's edition of Makor Rishon that FM Livni told foreign diplomats a few days ago that in her talks with Abu Ala (aka Ahmed Qurei) they are in fact discussing all the key issues, including Jerusalem. She admitted that this conflicts with what the prime minister said two weeks ago that for Shas to hear, that the matter of Jerusalem would only be discussed at the end of the negotiations.

A PA official went further, saying that most issues concerning Jerusalem were actually resolved in secret meetings. There are public meetings and there are secret ones, the PA official explained. The main progress has been achieved during the secret talks, particularly on the issue of Jerusalem. Today we can say that Israel is prepared to withdraw from almost all the Arab neighborhoods and villages in Jerusalem. Israel is prepared to redivide Jerusalem and this is a positive development.The cat is out of the bag, MK Zevulun Orlev (NU/NRP) told the Post. The fact that [Prime Minister Ehud] Olmert's government is not telling the truth over the negotiations with the Palestinians has been revealed. Shas will no longer be able to say they didn't know. Even if the prime minister isn't telling them the truth, they can thank the Jerusalem Post for revealing it to them. I hope Shas keeps its promise and leaves the government that is dividing Jerusalem, Orlev said. Jerusalem Municipality opposition leader Nir Barkat called on Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni to come clean: I demand that the foreign minister, who heads the negotiations with the Palestinians, publicly disclose all secret and other agreements that the state of Israel has reached with the Palestinians, Barkat told the Post. In response to the report, which quoted a senior PA official in Ramallah, Barkat said that Jerusalem had better not be the subject of secret talks. Barkat, a high tech multimillionaire who heads a campaign against the proposed division of the capital, said "any such agreement achieved on behalf of an Israeli official would constitute an absolute deviation to Kadima's basic principles, a violation to the basic law of Jerusalem, betrays the trust of the voter and undermines the sovereign basis of the Israel's Knesset.

The Palestinians must understand that neither the government of Israel, nor any other body on its behalf, have the right to promise to give up areas where Israeli law, governance and legislation has been implemented, he said. United Torah Judaism MK Avraham Ravitz said that if the story is true, then the Jerusalem's fate is being decided like a thief in the night. It cannot be that while Olmert is denying that there are any talks about Jerusalem at all, Tzipi Livni is negotiating in back rooms with Abu Ala (Qurei) about the state of our capital.Yet Shas Spokesman Roi Lachmanovitch originally dismissed the report. Nobody is talking about Jerusalem, he told Arutz Sheva. The moment Jerusalem is being discussed Shas will leave the government -- period. Asked if he was claiming that Livni is lying, he said: I am not saying she is lying -- but I am saying that absolutely nobody is negotiating over Jerusalem.Shas Party Chairman Eli Yishai told party activists in Tiberias that he expects new national elections to take place before November. Yishai's latest comments came after the reports of the secret talks over Jerusalem came out, and Shas headquarters were deluged with calls, emails and faxes urging the party to leave the government.

McCain wants more EU troops for Afghanistan
By Tim Shipman, Norfolk, Virginia 1:16am GMT 10/02/2008


John McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee for November's US presidential race, is to launch a diplomatic offensive to push France and Germany to do more to help British forces in Afghanistan.

Mr McCain has told The Sunday Telegraph that he plans to bang European heads together. I'll go over there and sit down with them, he said, to discuss what he sees as Nato's failure to do the heavy lifting in Afghanistan.Details of Mr McCain's deep concern at the state of the war against the Taliban are the first disclosure of how his approach to foreign policy would affect Britain.He is troubled that Nato allies have failed to provide sufficient troops to take on the Taliban in the south of the country. He is also concerned that some European nations do not let their troops patrol at night, or take part in offensive operations. He said: We just had to order 3,000 additional marines to Afghanistan because of the resurgence of the Taliban. Let's have some straight talk. There are some operational restrictions on some of the troops that are there. Some of the countries have not contributed what they can.But he is also critical of the failure to bring under control the poppy crop, an area where Britain has taken an ineffective lead. Most of the heroin that is produced goes to Europe, he said. In a signal that he would lead an overhaul of the fight against the Taliban, Mr McCain said he wanted to see changes to the current dual command structure, which permits some Nato members to focus on nation-building exercises in Afghanistan, while Britain and Canada are fully integrated in the US military command.Troop deployment in hostile areas of Afghanastan: Click to enlarge.It's a command structure that's not as efficient as it could be, he said.

Most significant may be his willingness to deploy his straight-talking charm on the world stage. His closest aide, Mark Salter, told The Sunday Telegraph he could be blunter in his demands on allies than President Bush as he had a well of goodwill to tap.They know him, Mr Salter said. He's obviously very direct. He can go there and get mad at the Germans and the French and they are used to that. He speaks as an Atlanticist. He has spent enormous amounts of time in Europe.This is no criticism of President Bush, but he wasn't a known quantity when he became president. John is on a first-name basis with them.A future President McCain would be expected to win favour with European governments critical of the Bush administration's approach to combating Islamic extremism, by closing the Guantanamo Bay detention camp in the first weeks of his presidency and declaring that the US will no longer tolerate torture.British and American pressure on Germany appeared to bear fruit yesterday when it emerged the German government might send an extra 1,000 troops to Afghanistan. But Mr McCain will continue to work to broaden its restrictive rules of engagement.The Afghanistan offensive will form a major plank of Mr McCain's outreach to the world, as he battles to win over conservatives in his party.McCain watchers say his presidency and his foreign policy would be shaped by the blunt force of his personality - an abrasiveness that has caused problems with fellow Republicans. Matt Welch, Mr McCain's most recent biographer, said his world view was shaped by his character and experiences as a prisoner of war in Vietnam.Mr Welch said: He's always talking about sacrifice for a cause greater than yourself. He was able to withstand torture because he found faith in country and his family and their military traditions.

His ideology is national greatness: to restore our faith in American government at home and the US as a great shining city on a hill for the rest of the world. McCain is an interventionist. He looks around the world and sees evil and he wants to back that struggle up with force.But he is more sensitively attuned than Bush to the need for America to provide moral leadership.Mr McCain, an unabashed fan of boots on the ground in military operations, is committed to a dramatic expansion of the US Army and Marine Corps.
He is avowedly sceptical of the recent US national intelligence estimate that downplayed the threat from Iran's nuclear programme. He backs intervention in Darfur and once suggested America should support rebel insurgents in North Korea.During this election campaign he has predicted that US troops could be in Iraq for a century, openly comparing the deployment with the continuing garrison in South Korea. Mr Welch said: He sees the benefits of American imperialism. He grew up studying the British Empire in the 19th century, and his dad read him Rudyard Kipling.The flip side is that I don't think he recognises any side effects to America policing the world. The target on our back is getting bigger. He has zero sense of that.But John Lehman, a senior military adviser to Mr McCain and Ronald Reagan's navy secretary, told The Sunday Telegraph he was no warmonger. He's seen war first-hand, he said. He knows the cost of war and he knows that diplomacy without the willingness to put force behind the diplomacy is useless. It's a balance that he deeply understands.He knows that wars that are best won are those that are not fought.

Kosovo will proclaim independence on 17 February, Serbia says 08.02.2008 - 17:28 CET | By Elitsa Vucheva

The Serbian breakaway province of Kosovo intends to proclaim independence next Sunday (17 February), Serbia said on Friday, saying it has information to back up the claim.The Serbian government has received more and more significant information that [Kosovo's prime minister] Hashim Thaci will illegally declare the unilateral independence of Kosovo on February 17, Slobodan Samardzic, Serbia's minister for Kosovo was quoted as saying by press agencies on Friday (8 February).Mr Samardzic did not specify the source of Serbia's information, however.The Serbian minister's comments came after a meeting with EU official Stefan Lehne, a special advisor to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.Mr Lehne was in Belgrade to clarify the EU's plans to send a civilian mission to Kosovo, according to the Associated Press.Serbia opposes the EU mission unless it is approved by the UN, seeing it as a step towards Kosovo's independence.After the EU approved the 1,800-strong mission earlier this week, the signing of an interim political agreement with Belgrade was delayed.The EU agreement offered Serbia closer trade relations, relaxed visa requirements and educational cooperation. It was to be signed on Thursday (7 February).Serbian prime minister Vojislav Kostunica – who believes the deal is aimed at luring Serbia into recognising Kosovo - blocked a government meeting set to give the country's deputy premier, Bojidar Djelic, a mandate to sign the deal.

EU deal is double zero

On Friday, Mr Samardzic expressed similar views.The EU cannot expect that just before the unilateral declaration of independence announced for the 17th of February, that Serbia itself signs for the independence of Kosovo, he said.The minister for Kosovo went further, accusing the EU of trying to deceive Serbia by a deal without any substance.The deal is nothing. Double zero, he was quoted as saying by Serbian news site B92.net.It's unfortunate that the EU has infiltrated the Serbian political system in this way just a day after the election of a new president, Mr Samardzic added, referring to the approval of the Kosovo mission on the day following Serbia's presidential elections.Earlier this week, the EU lashed out at Serbia for delaying the signing of the political agreement, which Brussels insisted had nothing to do with the situation in Kosovo. Meanwhile, Kosovo's premier Hashim Thaci said on Friday that the province's independence is a done [deal]. Everybody knows it, AFP reports.Mr Thaci added that his government had confirmation Kosovo's independence would receive massive international recognition … [from] about 100 countries immediately after it is proclaimed.Kosovo, legally a part of Serbia's territory, has been under UN governance since 1999. The question of its future status has remained unsolved for years.Pristina wants full independence, but Belgrade – backed by its traditional ally Russia – categorically opposes it. 2008 EUobserver

Islamization of Europe and The European Union
Fjordman - 2/10/2008


Hugh Fitzgerald of Jihad Watch recently suggested a number of things Europeans can do to halt Islamization. The proposals were good, but I think we should focus on the most important obstacle: the European Union. I've suggested in the past that the EU is the principal motor behind the Islamization of Europe, and that the entire organization needs to be dismantled as soon as possible, otherwise nothing substantial can ever be done about the Muslim invasion. At the Gates of Vienna blog, I am writing a text called Ten Reasons to Get Rid of the European Union, which can be translated into other languages and be republished when it is completed.As Bat Ye'or demonstrates in her book Eurabia: The Euro-Arab Axis, senior EU leaders have actively been working for years to merge Europe with the Arab world. They are now feeling confident enough to say this openly. The British Foreign Minister David Miliband in November 2007 stated that the European Union should work towards including Middle Eastern and North African countries, as this would extend stability. He also said that the EU must keep our promises to Turkey regarding EU membership.

The EU involves the free movement of people across borders. If it expands to the Middle East, hundreds of millions of Muslims will have free access to Germany, Italy, France, Britain, Sweden, the Czech Republic and Austria. If Turkey becomes a member, it means that Greeks, Bulgarians and others who have fought against oppression by Ottoman Turks for centuries will now be flooded with Muslims from a rapidly re-Islamizing Turkey. The same goes for Poles, Hungarians, Romanians and others who fought against Muslims for centuries.The EU's Justice and Security Commissioner Franco Frattini states that Europe must relax its immigration controls and open the door to an extra 20 million Africans and Asians during the next two decades. Most of these Africans and Asians come from the predominantly Muslim countries of North Africa and the Greater Middle East. The EU thus decided to flood Europe with tens of millions of Muslims at the same time as peaceful Europeans demonstrating against the Islamization of Europe were brutally harassed by the police in the EU capital of Brussels. Frattini has also banned the use of the phrase Islamic terrorism: People who commit suicide attacks or criminal activities on behalf of religion, Islamic religion or other religion, they abuse the name of this religion. He thinks we shouldn't use the word immigration, either, we should talk about mobility. While Dutch politicians, in what was until recently a peaceful country, have been killed for being too critical of Islam, while Islamic terror attacks have murdered people in London and Madrid, while more terror attacks are planned every single day from Italy via Paris to Denmark, and while people from Sweden to Germany are subject to Muslim street violence and harassment, EU leaders want to increase Europe's Muslim population by tens of millions in a few years. This is criminal and evil, pure and simple.

In Cologne, Germany, a Muslim teenager who wanted to mug a 20-year-old German man was killed in an act of self-defense, according to witnesses. This led to angry protests from Muslims. Apparently, non-Muslims are not supposed to defend themselves from attacks. This violence is usually labelled crime, but I believe it should more accurately be called Jihad. Those who know Islamic history, as described in books such as The Truth About Muhammad by Robert Spencer or The Legacy of Jihad by Dr. Andrew G. Bostom, know that looting and stealing the property of non-Muslims has been part and parcel of Jihad from the very beginning. In fact, so much of the behavior of Muhammad and early Muslims could be deemed criminal that it is difficult to know where crime ends and Jihad begins. In the city of Oslo, it is documented that some of the criminal gangs also have close ties to Jihadist groups at home and abroad. As Dutch Arabist Hans Jansen points out, the Koran is seen by some Muslims as a God-given hunting licence, granting them the right to assault and even murder non-Muslims. It is hardly accidental that while Muslims make up a minority of the population in France, they make up an estimated seventy percent of French prison inmates.

Why would anybody in their right mind want to import Islam, the most destructive force on the planet? Are EU leaders naïve? I don't think so, at least not all of them. You cannot maintain political power in the long run if you are totally naive.We are told to treat cultural and historical identities as fashion accessories, shirts we can wear and change at will. The Multicultural society is colorful, an adjective normally attached to furniture or curtains. Cultures are window decorations of little or no consequence, and one might as well have one as the other. In fact, it is good to change it every now and then. Don't you get tired of that old sofa sometimes? What about exchanging it for the new sharia model? Sure, it's slightly less comfortable than the old one, but it's very much in vogue these days and sets you apart from the neighbors, at least until they get one, too. Do you want a sample of the latest Calvin Klein perfume to go with that sharia? I have heard individuals state point blank that even if Muslims become the majority in our countries in the future, this doesn't matter because all people are equal and all cultures are just a mix of everything else, anyway. And since religions are just fairy-tales, replacing one fairy-tale with another one won't make a big difference. All religions basically say that the same things in different ways. However, not one of them would ever dream of saying that all political ideologies basically mean the same thing. They simply don't view religious or cultural ideas as significant, and thus won't spend time on studying the largely unimportant details of each specific creed.

In The Suicide of Reason: Radical Islam's Threat to the West, Lee Harris writes that: What strikes us as irrationalities in the economic systems of Third World nations, such as the red tape documented by [Peruvian economist Hernando] de Soto, is not irrational at all from the point of view of the dominant elite: It is part of what keeps them dominant. With enough red tape, they can stay king of the mountain forever.This reminds me a great deal of what the EU is doing, attempting to create a permanent oligarchy by keeping the native population in line though a combination of confusion, bureaucracy and intimidation from imported Muslims. Far from being an irrelevant detail, religion is the heart and blood of any civilization. The greatest change (until now) in my country's history was when we adopted Christianity instead of the Norse religion. This changed the entire fabric of our culture. We became integrated into the mainstream of Western civilization at about the same time as we went from being a tribal society to a genuine state. Maybe Christianity helped in creating the foundations of nation states with an individualistic culture. If so, perhaps changing the religion is beneficial for those who want to replace nation states with authoritarian transnational entities, for instance the European Union. Islamic societies are always authoritarian. Those who want to abolish the democratic system and rule as an unaccountable oligarchy thus naturally prefer Islam.

The EU is an awful organization even if you don't take Muslim immigration into account. Former Soviet dissident Vladimir Bukovksy, who is not particularly preoccupied with Islam, fears that the European Union is on its way to becoming another Soviet Union: The sooner we finish with the EU the better. The sooner it collapses the less damage it will have done to us and to other countries.The brilliant French political thinker Montesquieu advocated that the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government should be assigned to different bodies, each of them not powerful enough alone to impose its will on society. This is because constant experience shows us that every man invested with power is apt to abuse it, and to carry his authority as far as it will go. This separation of powers is almost totally absent in the EU, where there is weak to non-existent separation between the legislative, the executive and the judicial branches, and where all of them function more or less without the consent of the public.

As Montesquieu warned, When the legislative and executive powers are united in the same person, or in the same body of magistrates, there can be no liberty; because apprehensions may arise, lest the same monarch or senate should enact tyrannical laws, to execute them in a tyrannical manner. He also stated that Useless laws weaken the necessary laws. The problem with the EU is not just the content of laws, but their volume. Law-abiding citizens are turned into criminals by laws regulating speech and behavior, while real criminals rule the streets. This will either lead to a police state, to a total breakdown in law and order, or both. At least two conditions must be fulfilled in order to prevent the arbitrary use of power. The first one is a system of formal checks and balances, giving the possibility of peacefully removing officials who are not doing their job. The second is transparency, so people know what their representatives are doing. The EU deliberately ignores both these conditions, but especially the latter. Vast quantities of power have been transferred to shady backrooms and structures the average citizen hardly knows exist. Eurabia was created through such channels. The pompous former French president Valéry Giscard d'Estaing declared that the creation of the proposed EU Constitution was Europe's Philadelphia moment, alluding to the Philadelphia Convention or Constitutional Convention in the newly formed the United States of America in 1787. The USA has its flaws, but if Mr. Giscard d'Estaing had actually understood the American Constitution, he would have discovered that James Madison, Thomas Jefferson and others took great care to implement a number of checks and balances in the new state, precisely what is lacking in the EU. The American constitution is relatively short and understandable, whereas the EU Constitution is hundreds of pages long, largely incomprehensible and displays an almost sharia-like desire to regulate all aspects of human life. After it was rejected by Dutch and French voters, the Constitution has been renamed and is now being smuggled through the back door.

Madison, Jefferson, George Washington and the American Founding Fathers acted in the open and were generally elected by their peers and applauded for their actions. Contrast this with Jean Monnet, who is credited with having laid the foundations of the EU, despite the fact that most EU citizens haven't heard of him. He was never elected to any public office, but worked behind the scenes to implement a secret agenda. I read an interview with a senior Brussels lobbyist who dubbed Monnet the most successful lobbyist in history. To this day, the EU capital of Brussels is dominated by lobbyists. The Americans in Washington D.C. have their fair share of lobbyists, too, and this can be problematic at times. The difference is that the EU capital is dominated ONLY by lobbyists and unelected bureaucrats, with little real popular influence. Those who read the excellent British blog EU Referendum regularly will know that this secretive modus operandi is still very much alive in the European Union. Frankly, I don't think the EU has the right to use the term European. Those inhabiting the European continent are first and foremost Germans, Dutchmen, Poles, Italians, Hungarians, Portuguese etc. Europe has existed mainly to protect the continent against Islamic expansionism. Charles Martel created Europe when he defeated the Arab invasion in the seventh century, aided by people such as Pelayo, who started the Reconquista in the Iberian Peninsula, John Hunyadi and Lazar of Serbia who fought against the Turks in the Balkans and John III Sobieski, King of Poland, who beat the Ottomans during the 1683 Battle of Vienna. The EU is actively trying to undo everything Charles Martel and these men achieved. This makes it the anti-European Union, an evil organization with no moral legitimacy whatsoever. The EU is gradually reducing the indigenous people of an entire continent to the likely future status of second-rate citizen in their own countries. It is quite possibly the greatest betrayal in the history of European civilization since the fall of the Roman Empire, yet it is hailed as a peace project in the media. It is shameful to witness the bullying displayed by EU leaders vis-à-vis the Serbs, who are being forced to give up their land to Muslim thugs. This template will eventually be used against all Europeans. As Srdja Trifkovic warns, even if the Serbs are robbed of Kosovo, Muslims will not thank the West: In Europe most nations want to defend themselves—even the ultra-tolerant Dutch have seen the light after Theo van Gogh's murder—but cannot do so because they are hamstrung by a ruling class composed of guilt-ridden self-haters and appeasers. Their hold on the political power, the media, and the academe is undemocratic, unnatural, obscene. If Europe is to survive they need to be unmasked for what they are: traitors to their nations and their culture. If Europe is to survive, they must be replaced by people ready and willing to subject the issues of immigration and identity to the test of democracy, unhindered by administrative or judicial fiat. For those reasons too, Serbia must not give up Kosovo. By giving it up it would encourage the spirit that seeks the death of Europe and its surrender to the global totalitarianism of Muhammad's successors. Not for the first time, in Kosovo the Serbs are fighting a fight that is not theirs alone.

Some hope we can keep the positive aspects of the EU and not throw out the baby with the bath water. I beg to differ. The EU is all bath water, no baby. The EU got off on the wrong path from its very inception, and is now so flawed that it simply cannot be reformed. Appeasement of Islam is so deeply immersed in the structural DNA of the EU that the only way to stop the Islamization of Europe is to dismantle the European Union. All of it.Fjordman is a noted Norwegian blogger who has written for many conservative web sites. He used to have his own Fjordman Blog in the past, but it is no longer active.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

FRANCE 5TH TO RATIFY LISBON TREATY

WHOEVER CAN NOT SEE THAT PROPHECY IS BEING FULFILLED IN BUSHELS IS AS BLIND AND DECIEVED AS A BAT. THIS SCRIPTURE IS THE MAIN CAUSE OF ALL GODS DESTRUCTION BECAUSE VIOLENCE RULES AND US STIFF NECKED PEOPLE WANT THE 10 COMMANDMENTS AND GOD OUT OF EVERYTHING INCLUDING PRAYER OUT OF SCHOOLS. NOTHING IS AN ACCIDENT......GOD IS GIVING THE WORLD A WAKEUP CALL (REPENTENCE)BEFORE THE TRIBULATION COMES ON TO ALL THE WORLD.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

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 rocks Baja California, leaving 400,000 without power FEB 09,08

MEXICO CITY - A moderate earthquake rocked Baja California, shutting down factories near the U.S. border and leaving 400,000 people without power into early Saturday, authorities said.However, no major damage or injuries were reported.The quake that struck at 11:12 p.m. Friday had a magnitude of 5.1, according to the U.S. Geological Survey in Golden, Colo. It had initially calculated the magnitude at 5.4.The quake was centred 25 kilometres southeast of the border city of Mexicali and 160 kilometres east of Tijuana.It has been felt pretty widely in Southern California, southwestern Arizona and probably northern Mexico, said USGS geophysicist Jessica Sigala.It was followed by at least 25 smaller aftershocks.

The quake left about 400,000 people without electricity and 1.2 million without cellular telephone service, but service was restored at around 4 a.m. local time, said Fire Capt. Rene Rosado, director of civil defence in Mexicali.About 80,000 workers were evacuated from or were unable to enter local factories for Sony, Honeywell and other major corporations, he said, but the factories had all reopened by Saturday afternoon.Two bridges showed five-to seven-centimetre cracks and were closed until engineers could determine they were safe, he said.Rescue workers were examining Mexicali schools, many of which are made of adobe, for cracks and other damage, said Alfredo Escobedo, director of Baja California civil protection.Oscar Vega, the state's education secretary, said classes were expected to resume Monday, but his department would make an announcement when it knows if the buildings are safe.

Ecuador's Tungurahua volcano dumps ash by the inches on villages, destroys crops The Associated PressPublished: February 9, 2008IHTribune

EENIPE, Ecuador: Ecuador's erupting Tungurahua volcano has dumped an inch of ash on nearby villages, causing major crop damage in an agriculturally important area, officials said Saturday.Several villages on the volcano's western flanks are being destroyed by falling ash that billowed over the highland plain and darkened the sky, said Juan Salazar, mayor of farming hamlet of Penipe.Volcanic activity remains very high at Tungurahua, 95 miles southeast of the capital of Quito, although without lava flows in recent hours, according to Ecuador's Geophysics Institute.The volcano is spewing a steady column of ash up to 2.5 miles high and toward the northwest, said Patricio Ramon, volcanologist at the institute's Guadalupe monitoring station near the volcano.President Rafael Correa visited Penipe on Saturday to present 185 temporary housing units to villagers displaced by the eruptions.

Last week, the government ordered the evacuation of 3,000 people living near the volcano.Experts at the Geophysics Institute have compared the volcano's recent activity to the massive 2006 eruptions that buried entire villages, leaving at least four dead and thousands homeless.The 16,575-foot Tungurahua, which means throat of fire in the local indigenous Quichua language, has been active since 1999. It has been spitting out ash and gases intermittently since late last year.

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.

Ice storm partly to blame for Miscouche fire
Fri Feb 8, 3:40 PM


PRINCE.EDWARD.ISLAND (CBC) - A fire in a Miscouche house was caused by a propane tank leak that may have been noticed earlier if the occupants hadn't been forced out of the house by a power outage.
Power in much of the western part of the province was out for days last week following an ice storm.The cause of the fire in Miscouche was accidental, and the probable cause was the malfunction of the propane tank, deputy fire marshal Ken Campbell told CBC News Friday.

There was a leak in the propane tank outside, and it got into the basement. And when one of the electrical pieces of equipment came back on, when the power came back on, it caused the spark and ... the fire in the basement.Campbell described the ice storm as a contributing factor because no one was at home when the propane leak started. If the occupants had been home, they would likely have discovered the propane leak before it became a major fire hazard, he said.

Kashmir avalanches kill 22: police FEB 09,08

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) - Avalanches triggered by the worst snowfall in years killed 22 people and left 15 missing in Indian Kashmir, police said on Saturday, as hundreds of stranded people were evacuated.Kashmir, where a revolt against Indian rule has raged for decades, has been blanketed by snow for the past six days, cutting off the region's main highway to the outside world.The avalanche victims, who all died late on Friday, included five children and their 42-year-old mother, whose house was buried in southern Kapran village.Further south in Doda district, five women and a man from another family were killed when a snowslide flattened their house. Others killed included a woman, her teenaged son and daughter in northern Gurez district.The death toll from avalanches stands at 22,a police officer said, adding that 15 other people were missing.

Indian security forces, who have a large presence in the Himalayan state due to the revolt, airlifted on Saturday over 500 civilians and army personnel stranded in winter capital Jammu, a government statement said.Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad told authorities to gather blankets and other relief materials such as medicines to be dropped by air to reach out to the people in their hour of need as soon as weather conditions permitted.Hundreds of trucks carrying essential commodities for Muslim-majority Kashmir valley were stranded but officials said there were enough stocks for the moment.Earlier this week, officials warned that around 150,000 rare Himalayan goats whose wool is used to make Indian Kashmir's famed pashmina shawls were at risk of dying due to the heavy snow.The goats' pastures, spread over a mountainous area bordering China, have been covered by unusually deep snow and farmers were fast running out of fodder, officials said.

Harsh winter kills more than 750 in Afghanistan
Sat Feb 9, 7:45 AM


KABUL (Reuters) - More than 750 people have perished as a result of severe cold and heavy snowfalls this winter across Afghanistan, a government official said on Saturday.The cold spell, the worst in decades in the impoverished and mountainous central Asian country, has also killed nearly 230,000 cattle, said Noor Padshah Kohistani of the National Disaster Management Commission.Across the country, 763 people have died since the start of the winter due to cold weather and severe snowfalls, he told Reuters. The snowfalls have destroyed more than 500 houses and damaged more than 40,000, a disaster commission statement said.The worst affected areas were the western provinces of Herat and Badghis where some people had to have amputations because of frostbite, according to the state media.

Several families sold their children recently because they were unable to care for or feed them, media reports said.Many key roads linking districts with provincial capitals have been blocked because of snow, hindering deliveries of supplies.The deaths of cattle are regarded as a huge loss for Afghanistan, an agricultural country that largely relies on foreign aid.In the face of a harsh winter that has pushed food prices to record highs, the United Nations World Food Program last month appealed for extra food assistance for 2.55 million Afghans until the next harvest in June.
(Reporting by Sayed Salahuddin; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Floods kill six in Indonesia: officials
Sat Feb 9, 6:46 AM


JAKARTA (AFP) - Six people were killed, dozens injured and hundreds forced to flee their homes after floods in Indonesia following days of heavy rain, officials said Saturday.Water as high as one metre (three feet) had submerged Situbondo district in Indonesia's densely populated East Java since Friday evening, but started to recede Saturday, the health ministry said.Two people were killed, one hospitalised and 27 others injured in Situbondo floods, Rustam Pakaya, a health ministry official, said in a text message received by AFP.Separately, four people died and hundreds forced to evacuate their homes due to severe floods in eastern Indonesia, Sentianus Medi of the local disaster management centre said earlier in the day.

He said all four victims drowned after rivers overflowed following three days of heavy rain.Four people in three districts in East Nusa Tenggara province were killed yesterday (Friday), he told reporters. They all lived on riverbanks.The official said more than 500 people had left their homes and 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres) of rice fields were under water.Landslides and flooding are common in Indonesia during the rainy season, which hits its peak from December to February.Torrential rain across Central and East Java provinces at the start of the year triggered landslides and floods that killed more than 100 people and displaced tens of thousands.

Saudi preachers blame sinners for lack of rain
Sat Feb 9, 4:56 AM


RIYADH (AFP) - Saudi preachers on Saturday conducted prayers for rain in their desert kingdom and blamed the empty skies on sinfulness, the official Spa news agency reported.Misfortune does not befall (a country) unless sins have been committed there, said the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abderrahman bin Abdel Aziz al-Sudeiss.The sheikh, a critic of what he calls the goodly number of people who chase after forbidden pleasures, singled out as particularly responsible for the lack of rain corruption, bribery and the search for ill-gotten gain.In the capital, Riyadh, prayers were conducted by the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Abdelaziz al-Sheikh, who heads the highest religious authority in the kingdom.He also exhorted the faithful to avoid the forbidden and the illicit, before calling on God to shower the country with beneficial rains, for the good of the land and of men.In a ritual practised since the time of the Prophet Mohammed, the prayers for rain consist of a procession in which the faithful seek the generosity of heaven.Saudi Arabia is one of the most arid countries in the world and must routinely resort to desalination plants to provide enough drinking water.

WELL THE BIBLE CLEARLY SAYS BEHEADINGS WILL BECOME COMMON OCCURRENCES SO THE MUSLINS MUST GET THE UPPER HAND IN WORLD EVENTS.

Sharia law row: Archbishop is in shock as he faces demands to quit and criticism from Lord Carey FEB 08,08

Under fire: Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams
The Archbishop of Canterbury was facing demands to quit last night as the row over sharia law intensified. Lord George Carey, Dr Williams' predecessor, criticised his comments on sharia law and said that accepting the Islamic code would be a disaster for Britain.Other leading bishops publicly contradicted Dr Rowan Williams's call for Islamic law to be brought into the British legal system.With the Church of England plunged into crisis, senior figures were said to be discussing the archbishop's future.One member of the church's Cabinet, the Archbishop's Council, was reported as saying: There have been a lot of calls for him to resign. I don't suppose he will take any notice, but, yes, he should resign.Officials at Lambeth Palace told the BBC Dr Williams was in a state of shock and completely overwhelmed by the scale of the row.

It was said that he could not believe the fury of the reaction. The most damaging attack came from the Pakistan-born Bishop of Rochester, the Right Reverend Michael Nazir-Ali.He said it would be simply impossible to bring sharia law into British law without fundamentally affecting its integrity.Sharia would be in tension with the English legal tradition on questions like monogamy, provisions for divorce, the rights of women, custody of children, laws of inheritance and of evidence. This is not to mention the relation of freedom of belief and of expression to provisions for blasphemy and apostasy.

The church's second most senior leader, Archbishop of York Dr John Sentamu, refused to discuss the matter. But he has said sharia law would never happen in Britain. Politicians joined the chorus of condemnation, with Downing Street saying British law should be based on British values. Tory and LibDem leaders also voiced strong criticism. Even prominent Muslims were rounding on Dr Williams. Shahid Malik, Labour MP for Dewsbury, said: I haven't experienced any clamour or fervent desire for sharia law in this country.If there are people who prefer sharia law there are always countries where they could go and live.Khalid Mahmood, Labour MP for Birmingham Perry Bar, rejected the idea that British law forces Muslims to choose between their religion and their society.He said: This will alienate people from other communities because they will think it is what Muslims want - and it is not.The Muslim Council of Britain came to Dr Williams's aid, however, describing his comments in a lecture to lawyers and a BBC interview as thoughtful.

But Oxford University Islamic scholar Professor Tariq Ramadan admitted: These kinds of statements just feed the fears of fellow citizens. I really think we, as Muslims, need to come up with something that we abide by the common law and within these latitudes there are possibilities for us to be faithful to Islamic principles.The archbishop is likely to come under heavy fire next week at a meeting of the Church's General Synod. Liberal and feminist critics have been appalled by the thought of sharia law while evangelical opponents believe Dr Williams has failed to defend Christianity. The archbishop was already battling intractable difficulties within the church over gay rights, a row which began nearly five years ago and has brought him criticism from all sides. Later this year he has to face a conference of hundreds of bishops from around the world which threatens further bitter division.Dr Williams's opponents on the conservative evangelical wing - who resent his liberal beliefs on issues such as gay rights - were suggesting last night that the archbishop is finished.The Reverend Paul Dawson of the Reform group of around 500 clergy said: We are very sad that he does not seem to be able to articulate a clear Christian vision for Britain. It is true to say that there is a lot of dissatisfaction.Dr Williams defended himself in a Lambeth Palace statement saying he had been trying to tease out the issue.The archbishop had said it could help build a better and more cohesive society if Muslims were able to choose to have marital disputes or financial matters, for example, dealt with in a sharia court. The adoption of some elements of sharia law seems unavoidable.

But the statement insisted: The archbishop made no proposals for sharia, and certainly did not call for its introduction as some kind of parallel jurisdiction to the civil law.Even fellow bishops, however, think this is precisely what Dr Williams did say. Bishop of Southwark Tom Butler, a liberal who would normally be expected to defend Dr Williams, said the archbishop had been entering a minefield and added: It will take a great deal of thought and work before I think it is a good idea.He was more blunt in a circular to clergy in his diocese, saying he had yet to be convinced of the feasibility of incorporating any non-Christian religious law into the English legal system.

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)

Iran seeks closer ties with Vatican

Teheran, Feb. 7, 2008 (CWNews.com) - Iran's foreign minister, Manoucher Mottaki, met on February 6 with the apostolic nuncio in Teheran, Archbishop Jean-Paul Gobel, and suggested the formation of a permanent committee for dialogue between the Vatican and Iran.The Islamic government of Iran has been making diplomatic overtures toward the Vatican for the past year, evidently hoping that the Holy See will act as a buffer to ease tensions between Teheran and Washington. Archbishop Gobel, a French-born prelate and veteran of the Vatican diplomatic corps, was appointed as nuncio in Iran last October.

YES HELL IS REAL AND SKEPTICS WILL FIND OUT WHEN THEY DIE IF THERE IS AN ETERNAL TORMENT OR NOT. AND THATS NOT BAD ENOUGH AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT THE SINNERS LOST GET RAPTURED OUT OF THE TORMENTS OF HELL TO STAND IN FRONT OF JESUS, ACKNOWLEDGE HE IS GOD AND SAVIOUR. THEY GET JUDGED FOR THEIR MOTIVES AND EVIL DEEDS THEN JESUS SAYS TO THEM THAT THEY REFUSED TO ACCEPT HIM AS THEIR MESSIAH AND SAVIOR AND THEY CHOSE TO GO BY THEIR OWN RULES, AND THEM RULES WERE THE WRONG ONES AND THROWS THEM INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE, THE EVERLASTING BURNING THAT NEVER STOPS.

HADES OR SHEOL OR IN TORMENT IS WERE THE CURRENT LOST SOULS ARE BEING HELD, THIS IS THE LOCAL JAIL.THE TIMELINE IS AS FOLLOWS, THE 7YR TREATY OCCURS, THEN AT THE END OF THE 7 YEAR TREATY JESUS RETURNS TO EARTH BODILY TO RULE FROM JERUSALEM FOR 1000 YEARS, THEN AT THE END OF THE 1000 YR REIGN THE RAPTURE OF THE LOST OCCURS. THEY STAND IN FRONT OF JESUS AND GET JUDGED AND THROWN INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. THIS IS GEHENNA OR THE FINAL IMPRISONMENT FOREVER.

HELL IS ETERNALLY AND LITERALLY SEPARATION FROM GOD IN FIRE FOREVER AT THE FINAL GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT


Hell is real, says pope ,Hell, said Benedict XVI exists and is eternal. He called for believers to not only fast, but also abstain from excessive viewing of the media.February 08, 2008 By Spero

Pope Benedict XVI gave assurances that Hell exists and is not empty, while addressing a group of priests. Nothing new here, since in 2007 he had mentioned the existence of the Inferno as a physical place, evenwhile his predecessor John Paul II had rejected the idea. The pope, while meeting with priests of Rome to note the beginning of Lent, sent a message to the faithful: Hell exists, and salvation is not certain and will not come to all. It was for this reason that he wanted to point out the possibility of Hell as a physical reality, according to Italian daily La Repubblica.

Hell, of which little is spoken nowadays, exists and is eternal, said the pontiff in April 2007. This is an idea that appears to run contrary to that proposed by the preceding leader of the Church, as well as now-deceased Swiss theologian Hans Urs Von Baltasar. John Paul II addressed the traditional idea of Hell in the summer of 1999 when he treated on the themes of Heaven, Purgatory, Hell, and Satan, in four audiences. Said the Polish pope, heaven is not a physical place in the clouds. Hell is then not a place, but the situation of someone who has distanced himself from God. Purgatory, for John Paul II, is a provisional condition of purification and not found on a map. And as for Satan, he is defeated: Jesus has liberated us from our fear of him.One of the priests at the meeting in Rome asked whether the Church should again take up a debate about sin, Hell, and life after death. Pope Benedict XVI made it clear that salvation is not guaranteed. No all of us will present ourselves equally at the banquet in Paradise, and many will have to be purified before facing the Final Judgement.

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

The fate of the two-state solution hangs on Jerusalem
Mousa Qous, Bitterlemons.org, Feb 7, 2008


A view over the Dome of the Rock and the Old City in East Jerusalem, which Palestinians view as the capital of their future state. (Moamar Awad, Maan Images)

Immediately after last November's Annapolis conference, Israel declared its intention to construct 307 new housing units in the Har Homa settlement in occupied East Jerusalem, in addition to building new settlements in the Almatar and Sheikh Jarrah areas of the city. Thus, Israeli Premier Ehud Olmert - who announced before the conference that he had ordered a freeze on all construction in West Bank settlements - started a battle even before negotiations had got under way. He justified the building in Jerusalem by claiming that the city should be considered a part of Israel and thus exempt from any freeze.Israel occupied and annexed East Jerusalem in 1967. In 1980, the Israeli parliament passed what it called the Jerusalem Law, which considers Jerusalem the eternal and indivisible capital of Israel. However Israel alone holds this position. UN Security Council Resolution 478 deemed the Jerusalem Law null and void and determined that it must be rescinded forthwith. According to international law, the situation is quite clear: Jerusalem is part of occupied territory to which Geneva conventions prohibit Israel from moving its civilian population and on which the Hague conventions ban it from undertaking permanent changes. No country, including the United States, has recognized Israel's annexation and no embassies are located in the city. Nevertheless, Israel has pressed ahead with its settlement project.

Despite Olmert having agreed with the Palestinian leadership under Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to resume final status negotiations, it is therefore apparent that he is not yet willing and/or confident enough to include Jerusalem, one of the most important final status issues, in these talks. This was made explicit in his agreement with the religious Shas party not to discuss the fate of the city. Shas, which holds 12 Knesset seats and is thus a vital coalition partner in Olmert's government, threatened otherwise to withdraw from the coalition and thus potentially bring down the government. Moreover, this position means that Olmert is also not ready to abide by the roadmap agreement - which dictates a freeze on all settlement activity, consistent with the Mitchell report, including natural growth of settlements - as was agreed at Annapolis.

Meanwhile, Israel continues to ban any PA activity in Jerusalem and refuses to re-open the city's Palestinian institutions, including Orient House and the Arab Chamber of Commerce, which were closed after the eruption of the Aqsa intifada. In the long run, furthermore, Israel's Jerusalem municipality plans to reduce the number of Palestinians in the Old City as part of its Jerusalem Master Plan 2000 that seeks to develop the city as a center for the Jewish people and a seat for its government, in order to achieve a long term goal that reflects the future vision for the city as conceived by the city fathers.This Israeli unilateralism in Jerusalem is clearly preparation for the implementation of the Clinton doctrine that what is Jewish will remain for the Jews and what is Arab will remain for the Palestinians in any future agreement over the city. In other words, by ignoring international law and any and all UN resolutions related to the Arab-Israel conflict, Israel is working hard to secure itself as large a slice of the Jerusalem pie as it can.

On its part, a divided and weak Palestinian side is unable to exert any pressure to force Israel to stop its unilateralism. The peak of recent Palestinian activity regarding the city was last month's Popular Conference for Jerusalem (which was held in Ramallah). At the conference President Abbas declared that, we want Jerusalem to be our future capital and we will not accept other than that.... Regardless what [Israel] did or intends to do and whatever they do to change its features, the holy occupied Jerusalem is the capital of our state and we will not cede it. Organizers of the conference hoped to organize and direct Palestinian efforts against Israeli measures and practices in the city. But Palestinians - who now control only 14 percent of their land in the city - face an uphill battle.Jerusalem, which was the spark for the second Palestinian intifada during which thousands of Palestinians and hundreds of Israelis were killed and injured, remains the key to peace in the region. However, peace can only be achieved if Israel ceases to act as a settler state and moves to build trust instead of settlements. Since Israel has failed to do so in the past 40 years of occupation, it is time for the international community to act to end Israel's monopoly over the spiritual capital of the three major monotheistic religions. In fact, Jerusalem is not a Jewish city and thus cannot be the eternal capital of the Jewish state. If Israel continues with its current policies and measures in the city, it will become impossible to achieve a two-state solution for the conflict and the cycle of violence will continue. Ultimately, Israel will then finally have no other choice but to become a bi-national state that either functions by way of apartheid or ensures equal rights for all its citizens.Mousa Qous is the Arabic media coordinator of Miftah, the Palestinian Initiative for the Promotion of Global Dialogue and Democracy.

GO MIKE GO.....EVEN IF LUKEWARM OBAMA WINS THE PRESIDENCY, I WANT MIKE AGAINST HIM NOT MCCAIN.

Huckabee wins Kansas caucuses By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer FEB 09,08

WASHINGTON - Mike Huckabee trounced John McCain in Kansas' caucuses Saturday, their first head-to-head contest, and told fellow conservatives he was in the Republican presidential race to stay. I didn't major in math, the former Arkansas governor told a cheering crowd at the Conservative Political Action Conference. I majored in miracles, and I still believe in them, said the Baptist minister-turned-politician.Huckabee won some 60 percent in the Kansas caucuses to McCain's 24 percent and captured all 36 of the delegates at stake. Texas Rep. Ron Paul had 11 percent.It sends a pretty significant signal to John McCain that he's got a lot of work to do to get significant factions of the Republican Party solidly behind him, said Kris Kobach, the state Republican Party chairman.McCain has a solid lead in the delegate race with 719 to Huckabee's 234. A total of 1,191 delegates is needed to secure the GOP nomination.Huckabee told the conference he was aware of rumors that he might quit the race, but assured conservatives: Am I quitting? No.There are only a few states that have voted — 27 have not, Huckabee said. People in those 27 states deserve more than a coronation, they deserve an election.

Huckabee said he is comfortable with where his campaign is now, given the resources he's had, and he plans to stay in the campaign until he can win or his opponent has the delegates to claim the prize.I won't drop out until at least that happens, then we'll see, he said at a news conference later. He noted that his recent success has helped fundraising, adding: We raised more than a quarter of a million dollars in 24 hours online yesterday.His speech at the conservatives conference was attended by more than a thousand people who applauded wildly at his announcement that he is staying in the race. The ballroom was about two-thirds full, however, with rows of empty seats at the fringe. Several times supporters broke out in chants of We like Mike.Huckabee appealed to the audience by playing up conservative themes, including references to his faith, his firm opposition to abortion and his determination to replace the Internal Revenue Service with a national sales tax.However, the winner of a straw poll of the conference's conservatives was Romney.At the news conference later, he discussed McCain, an Arizona senator, noting their differences on embryonic stem-cell research, immigration and campaign finances. But he praised the tenor of their competition.We are the two candidates who haven't attacked anybody, he said. We're the two that have run a very civil, rather noble kind of campaign.He said better to save the sharpest criticism for the other guys.Asked whether he might consider the No. 2 spot on the ticket with McCain, he said: I'm not at all. I don't have any illusion that Senator McCain would select me as a running mate, or that I would automatically select him.Associated Press Writer John Hanna in Topeka contributed to this report.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

Next war will see massive use of ballistic weapons against all of Israel FEB 09,08

Retired senior officers told Israelis on Saturday to prepare rocket rooms as protection against a rain of missiles expected to be fired at the Jewish state in any future conflict.Speaking on radio as part of a military propaganda offensive, retired general Udi Shani said: The next war will see a massive use of ballistic weapons against the whole of Israeli territory.Shani was tasked recently with drawing up a report on the way the military authorities operated during Israel's 2006 summer war against Hezbollah in Lebanon.During that conflict thousands of rockets hit Israel, but were limited to the north of the country from where hundreds of thousands of people were evacuated.The character of war has changed, said the general.

Strikes to the rear must now be taken into account -- that is what will come and we must prepare in a totally different way for this eventuality, he said.Another reserve officer, Colonel Yehiel Kuperstein, added: Protection of civilians must today be assured even inside their homes.There is no absolute protection, but the best possible sort is that of a room able to provide shelter inside houses, he said, evoking the norms in force in Israel for several years which envisage each apartment having a room with reinforced walls able to serve as a shelter.Today in Israel only one third of apartments have such a room able to provide shelter... they have neither an air filter nor ventilation system enabling anyone to stay there for a long time, Kuperstein said.At the beginning of 2008 the military command in charge of passive defence began an information campaign to prepare Israelis for any future conflict in the light of lessons drawn from the war in Lebanon.

The authorities have distributed a brochure in six languages with advice on what to do, particularly in the event of missile attacks, as well as launching a campaign on radio and television.The report of a commission of inquiry into failings in the Lebanon war, which was released on Wednesday, highlighted serious errors in the protection of frontline residents.As the Israeli military bombed and shelled much of the infrastructure of Lebanon and killed an estimated 1,200 Lebanese, the Lebanese Shiite Hezbollah fired more than 4,000 rockets at north Israel during the 34-day war.Around a million Israelis took to primitive shelters or fled to safety in the south of the country.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008
U.S. anti-missile ship arrives in Israel-World Herald


TEL AVIV — The U.S. Navy has sent an Aegis missile defense ship to Israel.The USS San Jacinto has arrived in the Israeli port of Haifa as part of U.S.-Israel naval cooperation. San Jacinto contains the Aegis missile defense system, designed to intercept medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles developed by Iran and North Korea.San Jacinto, a Ticonderoga-class vessel, docked in Haifa on Feb. 4 and was scheduled to remain in the port for three days. Officials said Israel Navy officers would tour the Aegis cruiser and receive briefings on the missile defense system.

Aegis, which contains the Spy-1A radar, has been developed by Lockheed Martin. The U.S. company has briefed Israel on Aegis as an option to enhance the nation's missile defense network.In 2003, Israel and the United States held the first missile defense exercise that included Aegis. Since then, Aegis was said to have become interoperable with Israel's Arrow-2 missile defense system.
Officials expect the U.S. Navy to increase visits to Israel in wake of a decision by Russia to reestablish a presence in the Mediterranean. The first U.S. Navy vessel arrived in Israel in late 2007 after an absence of six years.

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.

Russia ditching Cold War pacts By David Blair Diplomatic Editor 2:38am GMT 07/02/2008

Russia is steadily unravelling the historic arms control treaties that ended the Cold War and became cornerstones of European security, the most comprehensive survey of global military trends said yesterday.The Military Balance 2008 portrays Russia as breaking out of the constraints imposed by treaties once considered inviolable.John Chipman, the head of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, which published the survey, said the next target of Moscow’s assertive revisionism could be the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty of 1987.Russia's defence budget is forecast to rise by 23 per cent by 2010. This crucial agreement, signed by President Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, eliminated medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe.

President Vladimir Putin has already stopped adhering to the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty (CFE), which came into force in 1992 and restricts the deployment of troops and tanks near sensitive European frontiers.Later this year, Russia is expected to formally withdraw from the CFE treaty.Taken together, these steps would allow Russia to build a new generation of medium-range nuclear missiles capable of striking Western Europe. Its armed forces would also be free to deploy near any European country bordering Russia.The end of the CFE treaty, the cornerstone of post-Cold War European security, could have negative consequences for Europe, said Mr Chipman.It will abolish an important confidence-building mechanism — including the exchange of data and an inspection regime — and introduce new tensions between Russia and its neighbours, particularly if Russia decides to redeploy its troops closer to Nato member states.advertisementIn 2002, America withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which bars the deployment of defensive missiles.Taking this alongside Russia's possible breach of the INF Treaty, Mr Chipman said: The unravelling of the infrastructure of European arms control can be seen as well in train.For this not to matter, the burden will be all the higher on diplomats and politicians to avoid an escalation of tensions that would make military dispositions in Europe again a cause of strategic concern.

Russia's total military spending is exceptionally difficult to calculate. Several ministries have defence-related budgets. Taking all this into account, The Military Balance estimates Russia's total expenditure is £35 billion, compared with Britain’s £34 billion this year. Yet last November, Des Browne, the defence secretary, claimed Britain had the second highest defence budget in the world in real terms, with only America spending more.The gap between British and Russian military expenditure is set to widen. Russia's defence budget is forecast to rise by 23 per cent by 2010.

Meanwhile, Britain's is increasing by 1·4 per cent after inflation. Elsewhere, the global military balance is shifting decisively away from Western Europe and towards Asia. China raised its military spending by 33 per cent in a single year, 2006-7. India’s defence budget rose by 24 per cent in the same period. Both countries are acquiring the ability to project power across the world. While Western Europe is steadily being overhauled, America's global military dominance is still assured. The Pentagon spent £310 billion last year, almost 10 times more than the Kremlin's defence budget.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

Brussels to tighten EU external borders
06.02.2008 - 08:00 CET | By Renata Goldirova


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission is working on a new set of measures aimed at strengthening the EU's external borders in order to monitor migrants and track down criminals. Next Wednesday (13 February), EU home affairs commissioner Franco Frattini is expected to table a border control package, consisting of three proposals.The package suggests setting up an entry/exit register of non-European visitors to the EU, and a European Border Surveillance System designed to detect those who enter the bloc between border crossing points. In addition, Brussels is set to push for better use of the EU's border control agency, Frontex, particularly via intensified joint operations between member states at sea borders.

It is now time to look ahead and develop the next generation of border management tools, Mr Frattini's paper says, while suggesting the package should become part of a priority list of the current Slovenian EU presidency. All proposed measures could then enter into force between 2012 and 2015.

Travellers to face tighter checks

The cornerstone of Brussels' plans is the proposal to establish an electronic entry/exit register, which would enable the 27-nation bloc to keep better track of who is entering and leaving its territory. In practice, the system would record the dates of entry and exit of each non-EU national admitted to the Schengen passport-free area.The commission says it wants to have a better overview of travellers from beyond the EU who do not need a visa to enter the EU bloc. It also argues that thousands of foreigners currently overstay their visa, but the union has no tools for identifying them. Apart from the entry/exit system, Brussels is also set to encourage member states to introduce automated border-crossing checks, a procedure that employs new biometric technology such as eye scanners. It will also open up a discussion on the possibility of setting up a system that requires non-EU travellers to obtain an electronic authorisation to travel before they leave for Europe - something that is already in place in Australia. The objective is to enhance security as well as to facilitate legitimate travelling, a commission official told EUobserver, underlining that crossing the external border must remain simple and quick for bona fide travellers.

Constant surveillance

Another of the commission proposals envisages the EU bloc eventually having a common European surveillance system for all land and maritime borders. This would be called EUROSUR. The idea was first floated back in 2006 in relation to the EU's southern sea borders, which have been under the biggest immigration pressure.
EUROSUR will ensure that unauthorised border crossing will not go undetected, the commission draft paper says, referring to advanced technology, including satellites, which would put Europe's borders under constant surveillance. The system should connect all EU member states and provide them with the information needed to intercept people trying to enter Europe who are bypassing regular border checks.

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).

Spanish king visits Arab League in Cairo FEB 08,08

Spanish King Juan Carlos and his wife, Queen Sofia, visited Cairo-based Arab League on Wednesday. During his visit, the Spanish king met Arab ambassadors and representatives.A memo of understanding was also reached between the league and Spanish government on the reopening of an Arab-European school for post-graduate studies in Granada.The memo of understanding was signed by Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.A joint exhibition entitled Exhibition of Arab World and Spain in Hundred Years, showing pictures of the past, was mounted on the sidelines of the visit.Moussa hailed the visit by the Spanish king as a historic opportunity that demonstrated the favorable development of Spanish-Arab relations.He also considered the visit a central point to bolster bilateral ties in light of the Spanish role in dialogue among cultures and Euro-Mediterranean partnership as part of the Barcelona Process.

Moussa hoped that the tour would push forward relations between both sides in political, trade, economic, cultural and scientific ties.Earlier in the day, the Spanish king addressed an Egyptian-Spanish economic forum, saying that Spain was willing to put its infrastructure, energy and tourist experience at the disposal of Egyptian companies.Both Spanish and Egyptian governments have provided all necessary facilities for their businesses to achieve new projects that could meet the expectations of both countries' peoples.Egypt and Spain inked a friendship and cooperation treaty earlier Tuesday, aiming to upgrade the level of bilateral ties to new horizons.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met the Spanish king on the latest developments in the Middle East region and ways and means of cementing bilateral relations in all areas. -Agencies-IZ

France ratifies EU treaty
08.02.2008 - 08:58 CET | By Honor Mahony


The French parliament has approved the new EU treaty, making France the first of the large member states to ratify the document and drawing a line under the shock 'No' vote of almost three years ago when French voters rejected the original EU constitution.Both the national assembly (336 in favour and 52 against) on Thursday (7 February) and the senate (265 in favour, 42 against and 13 abstentions) on Friday voted strongly in favour of the Lisbon Treaty, a reworking of the rejected constitution containing most of its innovations.Europe Minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet told parliament on Thursday that ratification was a historic moment for France while foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said this treaty deserves to be appreciated for its value: as an important moment in the construction of the European ideal.This is excellent news, a great victory for France which has gone from being the country holding up Europe to being the one that pulled Europe out of gridlock, said government spokesman David Martinon.

The socialists and their allies who had criticised Mr Sarkozy for choosing the parliamentary rather than the referendum route, nonetheless largely voted in favour of the Lisbon Treaty.Vincent Peillon, socialist MEP, was one of the politicians who advocated a 'no' to the old EU constitution.He explained to La Croix daily on Thursday, ahead of the vote, that he was voting in favour of its replacement, the Lisbon Treaty, because it is neither about the same text or the same context.Mr Peillon points out that the third part of the EU constitution that constitutionalised the liberal policies of the European Union and made free and undistorted competition an objective of the Union no longer exists.While admitting that the socialist position is difficult to understand, Mr Peillon said that to say 'no' again would cut us off from our European allies and block Europe.The French ratification, which has to be formally signed and sealed by president Nicolas Sarkozy, makes France the fifth country after Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Romania to approve the treaty.

The treaty introduces a powerful foreign policy chief, a permanent president of the European Council and gives greater legislative powers to the European Parliament. It must be ratified by all 27 member states to come into force.Ratification is expected to take place through the year. Germany plans to ratify in June while others such as Spain will follow suit later in the year. Only Ireland has pledged to have a referendum.Meanwhile, the ratification saga continues in Slovakia. Its treaty approval process has become tangled up in a separate dispute between government and opposition parties over a media bill, which the opposition say is too restrictive.The government needs the opposition to secure approval of the treaty. An attempt to resolve the issue failed on Thursday, and Slovak media reports now suggest that the parliamentary vote on the treaty has been postponed indefinitely.2008 EUobserver

French lawmakers say 'yes' to EU treaty
The Associated Press February 7, 2008 IHTRIBUNE


PARIS: Lawmakers, mending wounds left by France's 2005 no vote, which helped bury the proposed European Union constitution, voted Thursday to ratify a slimmed-down treaty meant to get the union moving again.Legislators in the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, approved ratification 336-52. The Senate was expected to approve it as early as Thursday night. President Nicolas Sarkozy, who has championed the treaty, was likely to sign the ratification soon.That would make France the fifth country — and the largest so far — to ratify the document, which would give the 27-nation union a long-term president and streamline its decision-making process.French approval is seen as crucial to restoring France's European reputation and turning the page on the no vote in a 2005 nationwide referendum, which left the EU reeling.

All of Europe is waiting for this signal from France, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner told lawmakers before Thursday's vote.

Today in Europe

Sarkozy pledges aid, and more police, for French suburbsSome candid public diplomacy from U.S. defense chiefU.S. set to press Europe for help in conflict zones.Communist and other far-left lawmakers voted against ratification, saying the treaty would threaten France's generous social protections. Other opponents fear it surrenders too much French sovereignty to Brussels.The treaty's backers were led by Sarkozy's conservative UMP party, which holds a strong parliamentary majority. The opposition Socialists, who split in the 2005 vote, were divided again: 121 supported ratification, but 25 voted against and 59 did not participate.Hungary, Romania, Slovenia and Malta have already ratified the treaty — all in parliamentary votes rather than referenda. Sarkozy has been eager for France to ratify before it takes over the rotating EU presidency in July.The treaty might not sail so smoothly through the other 22 EU nations, which must approve it for it to come into force — EU leaders hope in 2009.European leaders signed what they call the Lisbon Treaty in December. It is a revised version of the proposed constitution, which was heralded as opening a new era in European integration.In 2005, then-French President Jacques Chirac championed the constitution — which was written by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing — and put it to a referendum, expecting to win. The rejection was a crushing blow to Chirac and an embarrassment to a nation that once saw itself at the heart of the European project.Sarkozy decided that this time around the parliament — not the people directly — would vote on the treaty, diminishing the risk of rejection.

French protesters have staged demonstrations against the document in recent days, but the rallies have drawn much less support than similar ones in 2005.The new treaty abandoned plans for an EU anthem and sensitive language about free competition in trade. It allows the union to engage more swiftly and decisively in foreign policy, and allows more decisions to be made by majority voting instead of unanimous consent.The treaty also foresees a long-term president for the union for the first time. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is among the people being suggested for the role.

Treaty is best option for EU, says Ahern
Tuesday, 5 February 2008 22:20


The Minister for Foreign Affairs has warned voters against rejecting a new EU treaty, saying critics were using the same myths as when the country vetoed a former pact.Dermot Ahern said Ireland could not turn its back on the European Union in a referendum on the new Lisbon Treaty this year, unlike in 2001 when the Nice Treaty was rejected.Ireland is the only state in the 27-member bloc constitutionally bound to hold a popular vote on the treaty.We firmly believe that the reform treaty is the best option for the union and that it represents a very favorable deal for Ireland, one that we played a major role in shaping, he told the Institute for European Affairs in Dublin.Our opponents - when you peel back the re-branding, re-modelling, re-financing - are the same old groups, the same tired old interests re-telling the same old myths, he said.

The extremes of Irish and European political discourse oppose this treaty as they have opposed all such treaties for reasons of dogma and narrow self-interest.It's a case of same arguments - different treaty, he added.No date has yet been set for the Irish referendum, but it is expected to be held in May or June.The Lisbon Treaty was signed amid much fanfare in the Portuguese capital in December and aims to prevent decision-making gridlock in the expanding organisation.An Irish No vote in a referendum could topple the blueprint, which replaces a rejected constitution to end years of wrangling about institutional reform for the bloc.Mr Ahern, in one of the first major speeches about alluding to the referendum, listed the advantages that EU membership has brought Ireland, in particular its economic benefits.Sinn Féin has said it sees itself as leading the charge for a No vote.Donegal councillor Padraic McLochlainn will head its campaign and despite their absence today, the party says the Northern leadership will be centrally involved.
The main thrust of the party's message is that a No vote would not have any major implications for this country.

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)

Hamas conditionally welcomes return of EU monitors to Rafah crossing www.chinaview.cn 2008-02-07 19:54:28

GAZA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- Hamas administration of Gaza on Thursday said it doesn't mind the return of European Union (EU) monitors to Rafah border crossing in line with 2005 international deal. Taher al-Nounou, spokesman for the deposed administration, added that the government also welcomes the return of civilian employees of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to the crossing point with Egypt. However, the Hamas government said the EU monitors' role should not be obstructive.The Islamic movement also denied the EU monitors the right to decide when the crossing should be opened or closed, arguing that it may affect the people's freedom of movement.

In contrast with the cautious welcome to the return of EU monitors, Hamas categorically rejected the return of Israelis. There is a national consensus, even from our brothers in Fatah, that the Israelis can not return to oversee the operations at the crossing point, al-Nounou said. Israel used to monitor the crossing point via cctv cameras while the EU monitors and pro-Abbas security forces were deployed on the crossing before it was closed in June as a result of Hamas' takeover of the Gaza Strip. Hamas failed to reopen the crossing since pro-Abbas forces cannot be deployed under the status quo that Hamas solely ruled Gaza without existence of Abbas' Fatah, even so Hamas is still reluctant to welcome the return of the pro-Abbas forces in addition to the civilian employees.Editor: Xia Xiaopeng.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

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.

Friday February 8, 05:39 AM
Blair sees Palestinians moving to implement road map


RAMALLAH, West Bank (Reuters) - International Middle East envoy Tony Blair said on Thursday Palestinian security forces had significantly improved and were starting to carry out their part in a long-stalled road map peace plan.The former prime minister urged Israel to respond by easing travel and trade restrictions for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank.The U.S. government will assess and judge whether Israel and the Palestinians are meeting their obligations under the 2003 road map as part of a push for a Palestinian statehood agreement before U.S. President George W. Bush leaves office next January.Statehood could hinge on those assessments because Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has vowed not to implement any future peace agreements until Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas meets his road map obligation to crack down on militants.

I think it is important to recognise that what has happened here in Nablus over these past few months is, of course, precisely what phase one of the road map asks for, Blair said during a visit to the West Bank city.Earlier to the south in Ramallah, he said: The Palestinian side have improved significantly their security capability.Israel has yet to fulfil its own road map commitments to halt Jewish settlement activity and to uproot outposts built without government permission in the occupied West Bank.Israeli officials said the Palestinians had a long way to go to meet their security obligations, citing a suicide bombing this week in southern Israel.We agree that the PA (Palestinian Authority) has started to move on implementing obligations under the road map, but obviously much more still has to be done, Olmert's spokesman, Mark Regev, said.It is unclear what direct influence Blair, who serves as special envoy to the Quartet of Middle East mediators, will have on the road map judging process, though he is close to Bush.

Abbas, whose authority is limited to the occupied West Bank since Hamas Islamists seized the Gaza Strip last June, started a security campaign late last year in Nablus, seizing weapons and arresting criminals as well as some militants.Citing what he called progress by the Palestinians, Blair said Israel in time should remove checkpoints and other restrictions on Palestinian travel and trade.
The single most important thing for the economy is, bit by bit, to lift the occupation, he said. But, he added: For all sorts of reasons, we know this will take time.Hamas's armed wing claimed responsibility for Monday's suicide bombing, which killed an Israeli woman. The group said the bomber and a second attacker, killed at the scene by police, came from the southern West Bank city of Hebron.(Additional reporting by Adam Entous in Jerusalem and Haitham Tamimi in Hebron; Writing by Adam Entous; Editing by Michael Winfrey)

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

AFX News Limited EU's Barroso is extremely vigilant over market turmoil - spokesman UPDATE 01.28.08, 7:09 AM ET

BRUSSELS (Thomson Financial) - European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso is taking an extremely vigilant stance over the ongoing turmoil in financial markets, but deems the fundamentals of Europe's economy to be sound, spokesman Johannes Laitenberger said.
The commission is keeping a very close eye on this, and the president is extremely vigilant (and) closely following developments, while at the same time recalling that the fundamentals of the European economy remain very healthy, Laitenberger told reporters.He said that tomorrow's gathering in London of EU members of the Group of Eight will exchange views on the situation. Barroso will attend the meeting.He noted that EU leaders will at their March summit look at the commission's work on meeting the challenges posed by the market turmoil.In Berlin, chief German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm told a press briefing that the leaders of Germany, Britain, France and Italy will search for ways to deal rapidly with the market turmoil at tomorrow's meeting. They will have a wide-ranging exchange of ideas on how they can agree more rapidly on a common path of action, Wilhelm said.

They will look at expanding international cooperation further,' Wilhelm said, adding however that the four leaders are unlikely to make concrete decisions at their talks.He said the meeting will also look at how greater transparency can be brought to global markets in the wake of the US sub-prime mortgage market crisis.The EU leaders are also expected to mull the role of banks in the world economy, following last week's revelation of massive losses allegedly caused by a trader at the French bank Societe Generale.
victoria.main@thomson.com /vm/jfr/cmr.Thomson Financial News Limited 2007.

G-8 summit agenda expands to include climate, Africa
The Yomiuri Shimbun FEB 09,08


The government has decided to add global climate change and African development as agenda issues for expanded dialogue among the Group of Eight major nations and non-G-8 representatives at the G-8 summit meeting to be held in July in Toyokocho, Hokkaido, sources said Friday.The government plans to invite China, Brazil, India, Mexico and South Africa, so-called newly rising economies that have been invited to G-8 summit meetings from 2005 to 2007, to participate in the climate change dialogue, the sources said. South Korea and Indonesia also are likely candidates for invitation, the sources said. For the African development dialogue, the government will probably invite representatives from Tanzania, Senegal and Nigeria, they explained. The fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development is to be held in Yokohama from May 28-30.

Expanded dialogues date back to 2000, when the Group of Seven summit meeting was held in Okinawa Prefecture. At that time, several African heads of state were invited for talks with the G-7 leaders. Since then, similar dialogues with selected themes have been held at subsequent summit meetings. At the July G-8 summit meeting's climate change dialogue, the main theme will be about how to set up a global framework for reducing greenhouse gases after the Kyoto Protocol that sets emission-reduction goals until 2012.

By hosting the G-8 expanded dialogue on measures to combat global warming, the government hopes to generate momentum for further discussions on the issue among signatories of the Conference of the Parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, the sources said. At last year's G-8 summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, global climate change was the main theme of talks between G-8 leaders and the newly rising economies. Countries other than the newly rising economies are invited to diversify participating nations and to keep in check the opinion that members in the summit membership should be expanded, they said.(Feb. 9, 2008)

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