50,000 DEAD COULD HIT CHINA QUAKE

Psalm 52:1-9 Bible in Basic English
1 To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul saying, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Why do you take pride in wrongdoing, lifting yourself up against the upright man all the day?
2 Purposing destruction, using deceit; your tongue is like a sharp blade.
3 You have more love for evil than for good, for deceit than for works of righteousness. (Selah.)
4 Destruction is in all your words, O false tongue.
5 But God will put an end to you for ever; driving you out from your tent, uprooting you from the land of the living. (Selah.)
6 The upright will see it with fear, and will say, laughing at you:
7 See, this is the man who did not make God his strength, but had faith in his goods and his property, and made himself strong in his wealth.
8 But I am like a branching olive-tree in the house of God; I have put my faith in his mercy for ever and ever.
9 I will give you praise without end for what you have done; I will give honour to your name before your saints, for it is good.

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.

China quake death toll could rise to 50,000 By WILLIAM FOREMAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 15,08

LUOSHUI TOWN, China - China warned the death toll from this week's earthquake could soar to 50,000, while the government issued a public appeal Thursday for rescue equipment as it struggled to cope with the disaster. More than 72 hours after the quake rattled central China, rescuers appeared to shift from poring through downed buildings for survivors to the grim duty of searching for bodies — with 10 million directly affected by Monday's temblor.

At least 12,300 people remained buried and another 102,100 were injured in Sichuan province, where the quake was centered, the vice governor told reporters.In Luoshui town — on the road to an industrial zone in Shifang city where two chemical plants collapsed, burying hundreds of people — troops used a mechanical shovel to dig a pit on a hilltop to bury the dead.Police and militia in Dujiangyan pulverized rubble with cranes and backhoes while crews used shovels to pick around larger pieces of debris. On one sidestreet, about a dozen bodies were laid on a sidewalk, while incense sticks placed in a pile of sand sent smoke into the air as a tribute and to dull the stench of death.The bodies were later lifted onto a flatbed truck, joining some half-dozen corpses. Ambulances sped past, sirens wailing, filled with survivors. Workers asked those left homeless to sign up for temporary housing, although it was unclear where they would live.Not all hope of finding survivors was lost. After more than three days trapped under debris, a 22-year-old woman was pulled to safety in Dujiangyan. Covered in dust and peering out through a small opening, she was shown waving on state television shortly before being rescued.I was confident that you were coming to rescue me. I'm alive. I'm so happy, the unnamed woman said on CCTV.One earthquake expert said the time for rescues was growing short.

Generally speaking, anyone buried in an earthquake can survive without water and food for three days, said Gu Linsheng, a researcher with Tsinghua University's Emergency Management Research Center. After that, it's usually a miracle for anyone to survive.

The confirmed death toll reached 19,509 on Thursday, up from the nearly 15,000 confirmed dead the day before, according to the Earthquake and Disaster Relief Headquarters of the State Council, the country's Cabinet. The council said deaths could rise to some 50,000, state TV reported.The government issued an appeal to the Chinese public calling for donations of rescue equipment including hammers, shovels, demolition tools and rubber boats. The plea on the Ministry of Information Industry's Web Site said, for example, that 100 cranes were needed.More than 130,000 soldiers and police joined the relief operation, Xinhua said.This is only a beginning of this battle, and a long way lies ahead of us, Vice Health Minister Gao Qiang told reporters in Beijing.We will never give up hope, he said. For every thread of hope, our efforts will increase 100-fold. We will never give up.Premier Wen Jiabao visited Qingchuan in northern Sichuan province, site of a collapsed school that buried dozens of children, to encourage doctors and nurses aiding the injured.

The party and the government are grateful to you. The people need you, he said in footage shown on CCTV. They see you as a relative. Every act and word of yours represents the government.After days of refusing foreign relief workers, China accepted an offer from Japan to send a rescue team, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said in an announcement posted on the ministry Web site. Taiwan's Red Cross said China also agreed to accept a 20-person emergency relief team from the island. Taiwan is also sending a cargo plane to Chengdu with tents and medical supplies. The Air Macau plane will make a brief stop in Macau. Taiwan and China, which split during civil war in 1949, have banned regular direct links and other formal contacts as political disputes persist. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies also issued an emergency appeal for medical help, food, water and tents. Gu Qinghui, the federation's disaster management director for East Asia who visited Beichuan county near the epicenter, said more than 4 million homes were shattered across the quake area. The whole county has been destroyed. Basically there is no Beichuan county anymore, Gu said in Beijing, adding the death toll was sure to rise. Roads were cleared Thursday to two key areas that felt the brunt of the quake's force, with workers making it to Wenchuan at the epicenter and also through to Beichuan county, Xinhua reported. Communication cables also were reconnected to Wenchuan. The blocked roads had prevented rescuers from moving heavy equipment to the worst-affected areas, with soldiers riding to isolated mountain villages on helicopters and small boats previously forced to dig for survivors with their hands. Hundreds of troops marched to the epicenter across the Zipingpu dam that had reportedly suffered cracks from the disaster, raising fears it could endanger communities downriver. There was no repair work or extra security seen Thursday at the dam by an Associated Press photographer, indicating the threat to the structure had likely passed. Public donations so far have totaled $186 million in cash and goods, Xinhua said.

Dujiangyan city was clogged with buses and trucks decked out with banners from companies saying they were offering aid to disaster victims. One tour bus was stuffed full of water bottles, cartons of biscuits and instant noodles. Public donations so far have totaled $125 million in both cash and goods. NBA star Yao Ming, China's most famous athlete, was planning to donate $285,000 to the relief effort, agent Erik Zhang said. My thoughts are with everyone back in my home country of China during this very dark and emotional time, Yao said in a statement from Houston, where he is recovering from a broken left foot with hopes of competing in the Beijing Olympics this August. As the rescue effort gathered momentum, the depth of the problem of tens of thousands homeless stretched government resources. North of Chengdu in Deyang, the largest town near the devastated areas of Hanwang and Mianyang, thousands of people have streamed into the city hospital since Monday, mostly with head or bone injuries. Patients heavily wrapped in bandages and with cuts and bruises were huddled in canvas tents in the hospital's parking lot. Our doctors have worked continuously since Monday and people keep coming in. We have to keep strengthening our measures to keep up, said Luo Mingxuan, the Communist Party secretary of the hospital. There were piles of donated clothing for survivors at the hospital and stands for them to make free telephone calls. Handwritten notes with names of the injured were posted on a board in front of the hospital's emergency section, where ambulances arrived every few minutes. Also Thursday, a group of 33 American, British and French tourists were airlifted from Wolong, site of the world's most famous panda preserve, to the provincial capital of Chengdu, Xinhua reported. All were in good health, Xinhua said. Associated Press writers Audra Ang in Mianyang, Christopher Bodeen in Dujiangyan, and Cara Anna and Anita Chang in Beijing contributed to this report.

Earthquake in China struck in 2 stages By SHINO YUASA, Associated Press Writer Thu May 15, 6:35 AM ET

TOKYO - The fault line that caused this week's devastating earthquake in China probably buckled in two stages, and the hardness of the terrain contributed to the wide reach of the damage, Japanese scientists said Thursday. The 7.9-magnitude quake on Monday struck in Sichuan province but rattled buildings as far away as Beijing, Shanghai and Thailand, affecting 10 million people and killing at least 15,000.Yuji Yagi, a seismologist at Tsukuba University, said data show the 155-mile Longmenshan Fault tore in two sections, the first one ripping about seven yards, followed by a second one that sheared four yards.Despite the two-stage quake, which he estimated lasted for about two minutes, it was the shallowness of the epicenter — only 6 miles — that contributed most to the temblor's destructive power, he said.The damage was very severe because the quake's epicenter was shallow, and the quake occurred in densely populated areas, said Yagi.The other distinguishing factor to the quake was the firmness of the terrain in central China, which allowed seismic waves to travel large distances without losing their power, Tokyo University seismologist Teruyuki Kato said.Kato said the hardness of the land in China contrasted with Japan, where patches of soft terrain can often blunt the reach of earthquakes.

The strata are very hard in the quake-hit region, and that allowed the seismic waves to travel far, while their strength remained intact, he said.Japan is one of the world's most quake prone nations, and media there have focused on the possible role of shoddy construction methods in the large death toll in the China quake.Japan's most destructive quake in recent times was the 7.3-magnitude temblor in the western city of Kobe, which killed more than 6,400 people in January 1995.Yagi calculated that the energy level of the China quake was 30 times that of the one that struck Kobe.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

THE TRIBULATION HAS TO BE CLOSE,GODS JUDGEMENTS ARE GETTING MORE INTENSE AS WE GO HERE. WORLD, THIS IS A WAKE UP CALL FOR US TO REPENT AND PUT GOD (KING JESUS THE GOD OF ISRAEL) BACK INTO EVERYTHING. AS WELL AS HELP ISRAEL AND NOT HATE THEM.

MYNAMAR VIDEO
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7823548&ch=4226714&src=news

Myanmar cyclone death toll soars above 43,000 MAY 15,08

YANGON, Myanmar - Myanmar's junta warned Thursday that legal action would be taken against people who trade or hoard international aid as the cyclone's death toll soared above 43,000. It was the first acknowledgment by the military government, albeit indirectly, of problems with relief operations in the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis.

The warning came amid reports that foreign aid was being sold openly in markets, and that the military was pilfering and diverting aid for its own use.The ruling junta has been blasted by aid agencies for refusing to allow most foreign experts into the hard-hit Irrawaddy delta and not responding adequately to what they say is a spiraling crisis.Relief workers also reported some storm survivors were being given spoiled or poor-quality food rather than nutrition-rich biscuits sent by international donors, adding to fears that the ruling military junta in the Southeast Asian country could be misappropriating assistance.New York-based Human Rights Watch said in a statement Wednesday that it had confirmed an Associated Press report that the military had seized high-energy biscuits that came from abroad, and distributed low-quality, locally produced biscuits to survivors.Thursday's radio announcement obliquely denied the military was misappropriating aid.

The government has systematically accepted donations and has distributed the relief goods immediately and directly to the victims, it said.The government said Thursday that the official death toll from the May 2-3 cyclone had climbed by almost 5,000 to 43,318. The number of missing has remained at 27,838 for at least two days.But the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies estimated the death toll was between 68,833 and 127,990. The U.N. says more than 100,000 may have died.The U.N. and the Red Cross say between 1.6 and 2.5 million people are in urgent need of food, water and shelter. Only 270,000 have been reached so far by the aid groups.Tons of foreign aid including water, blankets, mosquito nets, tarpaulins, medicines and tents have been sent to Myanmar, but its delivery has been slowed down because of bottlenecks, poor infrastructure and bureaucratic tangles.The junta insists on taking control of the distribution. It has allowed the U.N. and some other agencies to hand out the aid directly but prohibited their few foreign staff allowed into Myanmar from leaving Yangon, the country's main city.Police have turned back foreigners from checkpoints at the city's exits.There is a visible fence around Yangon that we don't dare cross. A circle has been drawn around Yangon and expats are confined there, said Tim Costello of aid group World Vision.He said the group has delivered aid to 100,000 people in spite of the narrow parameters. But there are tens of thousands more who haven't received help because of heavy rain and lack of helicopters and expert staff.

While you are getting aid through, it's like getting it through on a 3-inch pipe not 30-inch pipe, Costello said.The regime insists it can handle the disaster on its own — a stance that appears to stem not from its abilities but its deep suspicion of most foreigners, who have frequently criticized its human rights abuses and crackdown on democracy activists. In a clear sign that politics is playing a role, the junta granted approval to 160 relief workers from India, China, Bangladesh and Thailand, which have rarely criticized Myanmar's democracy record. With professional aid workers in short supply, ordinary citizens — including businessmen, housewives, monks, Christian priests and students — have rushed in to provide help. But even Myanmar citizens are being restricted by the security forces, said Zaw Htin, a 21-year-old medical student who visited hard-hit Bogaley town on Wednesday. They (military) don't want us to stay and talk to people. They want us to leave the supplies with them for distribution. But how can I treat them if I can't talk to them? How do we administer medical care if we can't touch them, feel their pulse or give them advice? she said. It was overwhelming even for us who have seen a lot of suffering and death, Zaw Htin said. Britain's prime minister said Thursday that an emergency U.N. summit to coordinate efforts to rush aid to cyclone victims in Myanmar will be held in Asia. Gordon Brown told a news conference the summit was being organized by the U.N. and Asian countries and would be held in the region. He said the meeting represented great progress but gave no details of when it would take place. Also Thursday, the junta announced that voters had overwhelmingly backed a pro-military constitution in a referendum that was held one week after the cyclone.

Human rights organizations and dissident groups bitterly accused the junta of neglecting disaster victims in going ahead with the vote, and have criticized the proposed constitution as designed to perpetuate military rule. State radio said the draft constitution was approved by 92.4 percent of the 22 million eligible voters. It put voter turnout Saturday at more than 99 percent of eligible voters in areas that went to the polls. Voting was postponed until May 24 in the Irrawaddy delta and Yangon areas, which were worst hit by Cyclone Nargis. But state radio said the results of the late balloting could not mathematically reverse the constitution's approval. People are dying and they are talking about the referendum? said Kyaw Muang, a small food store owner in Yangon. They (the generals) don't even care about dying people, you think they care about democracy for living people? he said. I don't care about the referendum. It doesn't mean anything, he said. Human Rights Watch also slammed the timing of the constitution announcement and questioned the accuracy of the results. David Mathieson, a spokesman in Bangkok, Thailand, said the junta hopes that by announcing the results now it would divert attention away from its handling of the disaster and its refusal to cooperate with the international community. It seems strategically timed because you would have thought with how busy they were in cleaning up the cyclone that they never would have had time to count this properly, he said.

More rain, thunderstorms hitting soggy Louisiana MAY 15,08

SHREVEPORT, La. - A line of drenching thunderstorms moved across the state from west to east Thursday after record rainfall caused flooding in water-logged parts of Louisiana. Most of Louisiana was under a tornado or flash flood watch Thursday, and up to 4 inches of rain were possible. Schools in Livingston Parish, northwest of New Orleans, were closed because the storms could produce flooding.

Strong thunderstorms that began late Tuesday socked the Shreveport-Bossier area in northwest Louisiana, causing widespread flooding, knocking out electricity, blowing over trees and closing schools.
The rainfall began Tuesday night and broke several records, including the most rain to fall in a 20-minute interval and the most rainfall in a three-hour period. More than 10 inches of rain deluged the Shreveport area, flooding at least 125 homes, officials said.I expected rain, but not this much, said Joseph Gardner, of Shreveport, who had items float from his garage across his front yard on Wednesday.There were no reports of any serious injuries.The weather system that hit south Louisiana toppled trees and washed out roads. Winds of up to 90 mph stripped roofs from a church in Baker, a school in Central and the new parish jail in Livingston.

Golf ball-sized hail also was reported as a thunderstorm moved across southeast Louisiana, said Phil Grigsby, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. It's one of the most intense storms we've had down here in quite a few years, he said.More than 20,000 residents in the St. Tammany Parish area were without power late Wednesday. That number was down to about 12,000 statewide by Thursday morning, Cleco Corp. spokeswoman Susan Broussard said. The utility hoped to have electricity restored Thursday, but it also was receiving reports of new outages after storms rolled across central Louisiana, she said.In St. Tammany Parish, there were several reports of flooded roads, and trees down. Virtually every major road had trees across it, said Capt. George Bonnett of the sheriff's office.Numerous roads were closed in the Shreveport region as well, along with the gates at Barksdale Air Force Base. Deputies checked houses for stranded residents in southern Caddo Parish, where floods cut off normal street access.Shreveport's director of operational services, Mike Strong, said the city's drainage system was functioning but was inundated by rain.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

Oil prices surge on weaker dollar, diesel demand By JOHN WILEN, AP Business Writer MAY 15,08

NEW YORK - Oil prices surged nearly $2 a barrel Thursday as the dollar fell against the euro and investors anticipated strong demand for diesel fuel in parts of China ravaged by Monday's earthquake. Gas prices, meanwhile, advanced past $3.77 a gallon. Light, sweet crude for June delivery rose $1.87 to $126.09 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The dollar's long decline has been one of the driving forces behind oil's record-setting climb. Many investors buy commodities such as oil as a hedge against inflation when the greenback falls; also, a weaker dollar makes oil less expensive to investors overseas.Oil futures were also following heating oil prices higher. Heating oil is closely related to diesel fuel, and is often traded as a proxy for diesel. Some investors are concerned that damage to China's natural gas infrastructure will lead to a temporary spike in demand for diesel. Heating oil futures for June delivery rose 4.92 cents to $3.667 on the Nymex.In the U.S., diesel fuel prices jumped 3.6 cents Thursday to a new national average of $4.455 a gallon, according to a survey of stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Diesel is used to fuel most trucks, trains and ships, and is a large part of the reason prices of food and consumer goods are rising so fast.

Mike Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research Inc. in Winchester, Mass., doubts the impact on distillate prices from the earthquake will last long. Natural gas pipelines are easy to fix, and there have been recent indications that Chinese demand for oil is waning, he said. Still, until repairs are made, you can imagine a lot of diesel generators firing up, Lynch said.At the pump, meanwhile, the national average price of a gallon of regular gas rose 1.8 cents overnight to a national average of $3.776. Prices are 67 cents higher than a year ago, and many analysts think they could rise as high as $4 on a national basis in coming weeks. Consumers in many areas are already paying that much, or more.

However, Lynch thinks gas prices will peak around $3.85 to $3.90 a gallon on a national basis just before the Memorial Day weekend.

I don't think we'll go much higher than that, he said.

Demand for gasoline has been sliding since January, and many analysts think American consumers' declining appetite for fuel will eventually pull prices down. However, that theory could prove wrong if continued dollar weakness pushes oil to new records. Oil prices reached a trading record of $126.98 a barrel on Tuesday.Oil prices may be more volatile in coming days as investors square positions ahead of the June contract's expiration next week.In other Nymex trading Thursday, June gasoline futures rose 3.89 cents to $3.2193 a gallon, and June natural gas futures rose 4.2 cents to $11.64 per 1,000 cubic feet.In London, June Brent crude rose 90 cents to $122.76 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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.(TRADE 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).

Brussels outlines plan for new Mediterranean club
14.05.2008 - 09:18 CET | By Honor Mahony

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has begun to look at the possible set-up for the planned Mediterranean union by trying to breathe life into current bilateral relations between the EU and Mediterranean countries while avoiding an unwieldy new political organisation.An internal paper discussed last week in EU commissioners' cabinets, suggests the new relationship has to be a multilateral partnership and encompass all member states of the European Union.It suggests summits at head of state and government level twice a year with the first official one to take place in Paris on 13 July, when France has the EU presidency.This maiden summit is to formally create the Barcelona Process - A Union for the Mediterranean and establish the union's structures and principle goals.The summit's conclusions should include a political declaration and a short list of concrete projects to be put in place all of which should be agreed by consensus.

The careful wording as well as the cumbersome title for the EU-Mediterranean relationship reflects its controversial beginnings when, as the brainchild of French President Nicolas Sarkozy, it was foreseen as a more exclusive club, but which would still use EU money for funding.This proposal, made during Mr Sarkozy's presidential campaign and seen as a way of wrapping Turkey up in a political structure that would keep it away from the EU, managed to offend several member states including Germany.Eventually, EU leaders in March agreed to a softer all-inclusive version with less bite and Turkey, once it received assurances that it would not be seen as an alternative to EU membership, agreed to take part.

New secretariat
The Union for the Mediterranean which envisages working on a series of issues that affect both the EU and these southern countries including immigration, security and environment issues, is to have a co-presidency and a new secretariat.The EU would be represented by the EU foreign policy chief and the president of the commission and of the European Council, while Mediterranean countries would have to choose their side by consensus. The co-president would have a mandate of two years.The paper remains unclear about whether the secretariat should have limited powers, in charge only of following up on decisions made by the summit leaders or if it be something enlarged to every day governance of the Union for the Mediterranean.

The new set-up is supposed to include all countries involved in the current Barcelona Process – Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt, Jordan, Palestinian Authority, Israel, Libya, Syria, Turkey and Albania – as well as other Mediterranean states – Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Monaco.It would revamp the current 12-year old Barcelona process which is designed to foster dialogue between the two sides but has become rather stale.The commission paper suggests that any added value that the new-set-up is to have will depend on its capacity to attract money from the private sector for regional projects. It also suggests bilateral cooperation between certain countries and international financial institutions as further sources of funds.The commission is soon to present its ideas on the Union for the Mediterranean to member states and the European Parliament. The project will then be formally discussed by EU leaders at a Brussels summit next month.

Syria: EU engagement in democratisation process needed. Jana Hybaskova MEP

Syria, a key country in the Middle East , is a vital part of the process which will lead to peace, stability and democracy in the whole region. We have to engage together for the strengthening of political pluralism, democracy, human rights, successful economic reform and good governance based on the rule of law in Syria in particular, and in the whole Mediterranean region in general, said Jana Hybaskova on the occasion of the international conference Syria in Transition, held in the European Parliament on Tuesday 13 May 2008.The conference was organised by Ms Hybaskova MEP together with the members of the Damascus Declaration and is a follow-up to the EPP-ED public hearing on Syria organised in January 2007. Recognising the importance of Syria as a possible member of the Mediterranean Union, I consider it my duty to engage further in dialogue with Syria and to keep all EU institutions open, all concerned Europeans, as well as democratic forces and the people of Syria. It was my pleasure to discuss EU involvement in the democratisation process with many young and talented democratic Syrians, said Jana Hybaskova MEP.

Syria is also important for the Barcelona Process: the Mediterranean Union and European Neighbourhood Policy in general. Unfortunately, developments after the assassination of the Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri in February 2005, as well as internal developments in Syria , did not allow the increase of dynamics of mutual relations between the EU and Syria which could have lead to the ratification of the Association Treaty. Syria remains the only ENP country without a functioning association agreement.The current complex and deteriorating situation in Lebanon, the fact that Syria will still not open its diplomatic mission in this sovereign neighbour country, does not help to develop a more positive atmosphere. Therefore, taking into account the forthcoming Mediterranean summit in Paris on 13 July, the European Parliament has to pose the question: how to engage with Syria? We support economic, political and administrative reforms which Syrian political representation had promised to undertake. However, we are very critical of the situation in the field of human rights. We support improvements in political pluralism, democracy and human rights as cornerstones of the EU's deeper engagement with Syria , concluded Jana Hybaskova MEP.ABHaber, 13-05-2008 19.00 (TSİ)

CAROLINE GLICK SPEAKS AUDIO
http://gr8casts.hipcast.com/download/432698a5-654f-9be2-2eb2-84e0a732dc38.mp3

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.

BUSH CLAIMS SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=7827853&ch=4226714&src=news

Bush envisions a democratic Middle East free of oppression By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer MAY 15,08

JERUSALEM - President Bush feted Israel on Thursday in honor of the 60th anniversary of its founding and predicted that its 120th birthday would find it alongside a Palestinian state and in an all-democratic neighborhood free of today's oppression, restrictions on freedom and extremist Muslim movements. Delivering this rosy forecast for the Middle East in 2068 during a speech to the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, Bush limited his mention of Palestinians to just one sentence. The Palestinian people will have the homeland they have long dreamed of and deserved, a democratic state that is governed by law, and respects human rights, and rejects terror, he said.This scant talk of the other side of one of the world's longest-running disputes contrasted jarringly with the more expansive treatment of the subject by Bush's Israeli hosts.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told the lawmakers that he is working hard for an accord and believes when the day comes for a historic peace agreement that both the Knesset and the Israeli public will support it by a large majority. The chamber reacted with silence and nervous laughter, which Bush briefly joined. Two hardline lawmakers walked out of the chamber in protest during Olmert's address.Bush made no acknowledgment of the hardship Palestinians suffered when the creation of the Jewish state in 1948 displaced hundreds of thousands, a fact that serves as a counterpoint to Israel's two weeks of jubilant celebrations. Though Bush has set a goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian deal before the end of his term in January, he did not mention the ongoing negotiations or how to resolve the thorniest disputes.The president also offered no detail on how the broader Mideast would move from today's realities to his vision.From Cairo and Riyadh to Baghdad and Beirut, people will live in free and independent societies, where a desire for peace is reinforced by ties of diplomacy, tourism and trade, he said. Iran and Syria will be peaceful nations, where today's oppression is a distant memory and people are free to speak their minds and develop their talents. And al-Qaida, Hezbollah and Hamas will be defeated, as Muslims across the region recognize the emptiness of the terrorists' vision and the injustice of their cause.White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said Bush made such a brief mention of the Palestinians because his purpose was to sketch broad themes and not the specifics of the process.

Johndroe also suggested that the Knesset wasn't the best place to talk in detail about the concerns of Palestinians. Bush was to meet later Thursday with international Mideast envoy Tony Blair precisely to discuss conditions in the Palestinian territories and then see Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Saturday in Sharm el-Sheik, Egypt.The best venue to go into more detail on the situation with the Palestinians is with Abbas, Johndroe said. He said Bush also is likely to speak more expansively about Palestinians during remarks to Arab leaders in Egypt on Sunday.

While Israel marked its 60th anniversary, Palestinians engaged in their own annual ritual — one of mourning. In the West Bank, the anniversary was being commemorated with rallies, sirens and the launch of thousands of black balloons.Other conditions also are cause for deep concern and frustration in the Palestinian territories. The economy remains stagnant, despite a massive injection of foreign aid, in part because of Israel's reluctance to ease its restrictions on movement and trade. And the separation is deepening between Hamas-run Gaza and the West Bank, which is led by Abbas.In reaction to the speech, Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said: Bush's recognition of Palestine as the national homeland for the Jews is a very dangerous act of discrimination and racism, obliterating the right of return for Palestinians and establishing a genocide at the expense of Palestinian rights. He added: We want to tell Bush, Israel is not going to survive another 60 years. Israel's end is drawing closer, and it will take less than 60 years to achieve it.The primary theme of Bush's remarks to Israeli lawmakers was the unbreakable bond between the United States and Israel.Bush began his address by exclaiming, Yom Atzmaut Sameach, or Happy Independence Day. He denounced anti-Semitism in all forms, said Israel has a right to defend itself and earned a standing ovation for his most forceful statement of U.S. support for the Jewish state.Some people suggest that if the United States would just break ties with Israel, all our problems in the Middle East would go away. This is a tired argument that buys into the propaganda of our enemies, and America rejects it utterly, Bush said to cheers and robust applause. Israel's population may be just over 7 million. But when you confront terror and evil, you are 307 million strong, because America stands with you.Bush took special aim at Iran — the anti-Israel statements of its leaders and alleged pursuit of nuclear weapons.

With new bursts of violence in southern Israel and the Gaza Strip intruding on his trip and the anniversary festivities, Bush also said that those who carry out terror attacks serve not God or Islam, but only their own desire for power. No one who prays to the God of Abraham could strap a suicide vest to an innocent child, or blow up guiltless guests at a Passover Seder, or fly planes into office buildings filled with unsuspecting workers, he said. Without naming names, Bush criticized those who believe we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along. He called the approach the false comfort of appeasement, and one that has been discredited by history. The strong words came as the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Barack Obama, has expressed a willingness to meet with the leaders of U.S. adversaries, including Iran and Syria. However, White House press secretary Dana Perino flatly rejected the idea that the Knesset remark was aimed in any way at Obama, and Johndroe said Bush was referring to a wide range of people who have talked to or suggested we talk to Hamas, Hezbollah or their state sponsors. Former President Carter recently held talks with Hamas leaders. Obama said in a statement that it is time to turn the page on eight years of policies that have strengthened Iran and failed to secure America or our ally Israel.Instead of tough talk and no action, we need to do what Kennedy, Nixon and Reagan did and use all elements of American power — including tough, principled and direct diplomacy — to pressure countries like Iran and Syria, he said. Before appearing before the Knesset, Bush toured Masada, the ancient fortress on a plateau in the desert overlooking the Dead Sea. It is said to be the place where Jewish rebels killed themselves and each other 2,000 years ago rather than fall into slavery under the advancing Romans army.

The Masada was the last stronghold of the Jews against the Romans, and the dramatic story, while coming under question recently, has played an important role in Israel's national mythology. Remains were recognized as Jewish heroes by Israel's government in 1969, complete with a state burial, and army units used to be sworn in on the mountaintop to cries of Masada will not fall again.Said Bush at the Knesset: Citizens of Israel: Masada shall never fall again, and America will be at your side.The president was scheduled to depart Israel on Friday to continue his five-day Mideast journey, traveling on to Saudi Arabia and Egypt. Associated Press writers Dalia Nammari in Ramallah and Karin Laub in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

May 15, 2008 ARLENE KUSHNER

Nakba

The Nakba is the purported catastrophe for the Arabs brought on by the founding of Israel. They have been commemorating the 60th Nakba for some days now, but today is the official day, when thousands are marching in Judea and Samaria, Gaza and Lebanon. Sirens have sounded and thousands of black balloons, signifying mourning, have been released. Where Palestinians rallying close to the Gaza crossings became rowdy, IDF troops -- which were watching in anticipation of threatened trouble -- released tear gas and shot live bullets in the air. This commemoration will continue tomorrow. The true nakba, of course, is the failure of the Palestinian Arab community to accept our existence as a Jewish state, and to make peace with us.

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Mahmoud Abbas spoke today at a rally, and he spoke, ostensibly, on behalf of peace. After 60 years, I say again that our hands our extended for peace, that is our strategic choice.Sounds great, until you examine his words and associated actions more closely.

For Abbas also said:
Israel has failed in wiping out the memory of the Nakba from the minds of successive Palestinian generations. They [Israel] thought that perhaps the elderly would forget. But today we see that neither the elderly nor the young have forgotten. Everyone remembers the Nakba.The reason they haven't forgotten the Nakba, of course, is because of the policies promoted by UNRWA for 60 years. The UN High Commission for Refugees -- which cares for all refugees in the world except Palestinians -- promotes a policy of getting refugees settled in a new permanent life quickly, which means sometimes settling them in a new country if they cannot return home. But UNRWA has declared for all of these years that Palestinians who left the founding state of Israel are to be considered refugees -- even if they have new citizenship and have succeeded in their lives in other ways -- until they and their children and grandchildren return to Israel. For 60 years, the Palestinian refugees have been kept in legal and emotional limbo and told that their inability to get on with their lives is Israel's fault.

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I quite assure you that the promotion of return was not for peaceful purposes. It was designed quite openly as a way to destroy Israel from within. Were -- G-d forbid -- 4.5 million Palestinians who call themselves refugees, a vast number of whom have been radicalized, to enter Israel, it would finish us as a Jewish state.And so, if Abbas talks Nakba even as he talks peace, what is it that he truly has in mind? He speaks about stopping the growth of settlements and building in eastern Jerusalem, which he says destroys the hope of peace. The implication is that were we to withdraw to the Green Line, there could be peace. But the Nakba mourns the founding of the state WITHIN the Green Line. He doesn't say that it's time to release this mourning and to enter a new day, with building of a state at Israel's side. He promotes the Nakba.

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And here is the clincher: He, along with other Palestinians at the rally, signed a document today that pledges to continue the struggle until all of the refugees have been permitted to return. This is reliable information, as it comes from Khaled Abu Toameh of the Post.There is a wealth of material that gives evidence to the fact that Abbas is not a partner for peace. But every now and then some incident arises that makes the case so blatantly, so strongly, that no other documentation is needed.Abbas's signing of this document is such an incident. He is not promoting a two-state solution, but rather Israel's destruction as a Jewish state. What is more, the term struggle is a euphemism for terrorism and violence. He is not even promoting the return of all refugees via peaceful means.

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I would like to point out that, although I believe Abbas, himself, truly does favor return, he would have no option other than to support it in any event. The Palestinian political discourse is being set by Hamas -- that discourse has radicalized over the last few years with the growing influence of Hamas. If Abbas values his life (quite literally), he cannot promote compromise on this issue.

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This information needs to be shoved under the faces of both Bush and Olmert, who, in spite of all the evidence, continue to promote the notion that peace arrived at via compromise with the Palestinians is possible now.I wrote yesterday about the Bush plan to get us to agree to contiguous borders for a Palestinian state -- borders satisfactory to Abbas, which would then encourage him to modify his stance on refugees, which is considered the hot issue. Abbas's actions today expose the nonsense inherent in this plan.

While Olmert, for his part, has his own new plan, in which the control of Jerusalem (which is identified by him as the most problematic issue) would be tabled until later, while all of the other issues were negotiated first. What we see, however, is that the issue of refugees is not about to be negotiated away.What we see, in fact, is that attempting to negotiate a Palestinian state, with resolution of all of these issues, is simply an impossibility.

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The Jerusalem Post has an editorial today, Is it about borders? that I recommend. It details the history of our relationship with the Palestinians and what they've rejected over the years, making it clear that indeed borders is not the issue. This is an answer to Bush, and his suggestion that if we decide on those borders all the rest will fall into place.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1210668636834&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

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I'm going to pass at this point on further discussion of the Olmert investigation. It is still very much ongoing. But it becomes tedious to continue to focus on the minutiae of who was questioned, who accused whom of what, etc. etc. As there are major happenings, I will share.

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More talk without sufficient action. Barak has told the people of Ashkelon, You guys need to bite your lips, but not for [long]. What that really means, is anyone's guess. There are those who believe that even in the face of all that has transpired, this government will find excuses as to why it's not the right time for a major operation.All we've seen in response to what happened yesterday is the IDF targeting of one rocket launching cell, which killed two people.

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Alex Fishman, writing an opinion piece in YNet addresses this pathetic pattern of behavior:The truth is they [government officials] fear yet another military failure, lack of consensus, and commissions of inquiries. They recognize the need [for military action in Gaza] but easily give in to excuses. They’re watching their behinds. So...tomorrow morning, or maybe in two days they will do something in order to placate public opinion. They will explain to us that it cannot go on...that we’re reaching the moment of decision, and all the other clichés. Yet in a few days they will find another convenient excuse for restraint: ...we must not undermine Egypt’s president, Lebanon is burning, etc. This is not how a state should be managed. It looks more like a political science seminar rather than a government that knows what it wants.

And Fishman even has ideas about what might be done, short of an all-out invasion of Gaza, that would be more effective: As of Wednesday night, the Air Force should have been operating across the Strip against known targets, without a time limit. It should have been operating in a way that Thursday, Nakba Day, nobody in Gaza would have dared be outside. Hamas government offices, positions, and warehouse should be flying in the air. Hamas leaders, instead of delivering speeches today, should fear for their lives.If only someone were listening.

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More pertinent still, is anyone listening to IDF Intelligence chief Amos Yadlin? He has now told Haaretz that Hamas now has in its possession several dozen rockets capable of striking targets in a radius of 20 kilometers. ...every community within a 40-kilometer range may come within range of the Hamas rockets: Ashdod, Kiryat Gat, even Beersheba....If this matter is not dealt with, Hamas will bring more cities within its range of fire.

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At least we have rejected a request conveyed to the Ministry of Defense by Rice flunky, I mean American security coordinator, Lt.-Gen. Keith Dayton that PA security forces receive personal armor kits, night-vision goggles and electronic communication systems. This is because it would come too close to establishing parity between our security forces and theirs -- we must retain superiority.However,there is consideration being given, however, to turning security over to the PA in Tulkarm, Kalkilya and Hebron, if the experiment in Jenin, which was the brainchild of Tony Blair, is successful. There have been 600 troops, trained in Jordan, put in place in the Jenin area, with 400 more to follow. The IDF retains over-all coordination, and the right to go in after a smoking gun.
In other cases, Israel will transfer the names of wanted men to the PA security forces, and if the PA forces do not arrest those wanted, the IDF will be able to do so.Defense officials said the PA forces were enforcing law and order but could not (yet?) be depended upon to go after terrorists.

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Let me close with an extraordinary piece that talks about the fact the by objective measures, Israel is the happiest nation on earth.
...most remarkable is that Israelis appear to love life and hate death more than any other nation.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/JE13Ak01.html

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see my website www.ArlenefromIsrael.info


Palestinians mark 1948 uprooting with rallies By DALIA NAMMARI, Associated Press Writer MAY 15,08

RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinians marked the 60th anniversary of their uprooting with rallies, sirens and black balloons Thursday — an annual ritual made even darker this year by crippling internal divisions and diminishing independence hopes. The memorial provided a stark contrast to Israel's all-out birthday bash, which included a high-profile visit by President Bush for the 60th independence day celebration.Bush's embrace of Israel at a time when the Palestinians were mourning was bound to further harm the tainted U.S. image in Palestinian areas and across the Arab world.

Thursday's events commemorated the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians who either fled or were driven out of their homes during the 1948 war over Israel's creation. Palestinians call it their nakba, Arabic for catastrophe.The anniversary underscored the Palestinians' internal division. For almost a year now, the Islamic militant group Hamas has ruled Gaza, while the West Bank is run by moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.Hamas supporters stayed away from West Bank marches, while Hamas police in Gaza prevented rallies by their political rivals, including Abbas' Fatah movement.In the West Bank city of Ramallah, thousands stood in silence in downtown Manara Square as a siren wailed, then listened to a taped Abbas speech. Some carried black flags, and at a separate event youngsters released thousands of black balloons near a West Bank crossing into Israel.In Gaza, several thousand Hamas supporters marched toward a sealed Israeli border crossing to protest the near-complete closure of the territory since Hamas' violent takeover last June. Later, several dozen teens walked to Israeli positions on the border and threw stones. Israeli forces fired live rounds and tear gas, and Hamas police said three Palestinians were wounded.Israel's military had sent reinforcements to the Gaza border and warned that those trying to break through the border fence were risking their lives.In the Jebaliya refugee camp and the southern Gaza town of Rafah, Hamas police banned nakba marches by rivals, tearing down political posters, blocking streets and stopping cars. In Jebaliya, 20 Fatah supporters were detained and several others beaten by police, Fatah organizers said.

Also in Gaza, Hamas' smaller Islamist rival, Islamic Jihad, organized a march of about 500 elementary school children who marched in military-style uniforms, carrying models of rockets and fake rifles through Gaza City's main square.This year's nakba commemorations come at a time when hopes for a peace deal with Israel are increasingly dim.Nonetheless, Abbas pledge to push ahead with the talks. In his taped nakba speech, he warned Israel that it must not waste a peace opportunity with its continued expansion of Israeli settlements on lands the Palestinians seek for their state.

On this beloved land, there are two peoples, one that celebrates its independence and one that suffers its nakba, he said.Several months of negotiations have produced no tangible results, an Israeli prime minister weakened by a widening corruption probe is seen as unlikely to take daring political steps, and opinion polls show support for U.S.-backed Palestinian leaders seeking a peace deal is plummeting.The Palestinian economy remains stagnant, despite a massive injection of foreign aid, in part because of Israel's reluctance to ease its restrictions on movement and trade.

Meanwhile, the separation of Hamas-run Gaza and the Abbas-ruled West Bank is deepening. The rivals are not on speaking terms, and the two territories that were to make up the future state are cut off from one another by Israeli travel bans.The level of hopelessness is very strong, said Palestinian pollster Jamil Rabih, adding that a recent survey indicates that half the Palestinians don't expect to see a state established within the next 25 years.

There is nothing on the horizon for us, he added.

The gloomy mood has been compounded by Israeli independence day parties. Last week, Israel celebrated the Hebrew calendar anniversary of its May 14, 1948 founding with fireworks, picnics and air force flyovers. A second round of celebrations followed this week, with the participation of Bush. On Thursday, Bush addressed Israel's parliament pledging an unbreakable bond with the country while criticizing the deadly tactics of extremist groups and denouncing anti-Semitism. We believe that religious liberty is fundamental to civilized society, so we condemn anti-Semitism in all forms whether by those who openly question Israel's right to exist, or by others who quietly excuse them, Bush said. Israel's government, meanwhile, came under mounting pressure to try to oust Hamas, after a rocket fired from Gaza hit a medical clinic in an Israeli shopping mall and seriously wounded four people, including a 2-year-old girl. Israel's intelligence chief warned that within two years, Hamas would be able to extend the range of its rockets to 25 miles and put more Israeli cities at risk. Wednesday's Grad rocket, which Israeli security officials said was made in Iran, hit the coastal city of Ashkelon, about nine miles from Gaza. We have to put an end to the Hamas government, Vice Premier Haim Ramon told Israel Radio. If that decision is made, it will have clear military significance. The army knows what it has to do, it can be done in many ways that we are not doing now.Defense officials were meeting Thursday to discuss a response to the latest rocket attack. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has held off ordering a major military offensive in Gaza, in part because Israel would not have a clear exit strategy and because the fighting would likely bring peace talks with the moderate Palestinian government in the West Bank to a halt.Associated Press Writer Ibrahim Barzak in Beit Hanoun, Gaza contributed to this report.

Pope: Thank God for Israel MAY 14,08

Pope Benedict described Israel's 60th Independence Day as a sign of God's beneficence toward the Jews.I would like to congratulate the State of Israel on its 60th Independence Day, Yediot Achronot quoted Benedict as telling Motti Levy, the new Israeli ambassador to the Vatican, on Monday.The Holy See is united with you, and thanks God for the full realization of the Jewish people's aspirations to live in its homeland, the land of its forefathers.

In an interview with Israel Radio, Levy described meeting the pontiff as very moving.According to Levy, Benedict endorsed Israel's right to self-defense but also appealed for an end to Palestinian suffering. He further voiced concern about the dwindling number of Christians in the Holy Land.

Rabbis urge Bush to skip Olmert meeting Published: 05/13/2008

A group of right-wing Israeli rabbis asked President Bush not to meet with Ehud Olmert .Bush is scheduled to arrive in Israel Wednesday to mark the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state's founding.The rabbis in a letter took Bush to task for pressing Israel to make concessions to terrorists and for considering meeting with the Israeli prime minister, who is under criminal investigations from top to bottom, while his personal situation pushes him to give in to pressure.In the name of the people of Israel, the Land of Israel, the Torah of Israel and the God of Israel, we demand that his honor the president cease the pressure on the State to hand lands to the Arabs. We ask the president not to meet with Mr. Olmert to discuss these issues, particularly not at this time, the letter said.The letter was signed by the head of the Yesha Rabbinical Council and spiritual leader of Kiryat Arba, Rabbi Dov Lior, as well as Rabbis David Druckman, Yakkov Yosef, Shmuel Eliyahu and Shalom Dov Wolpe.

Peres: If it weren't for Hamas, Palestinians would have a state President addresses Facing Tomorrow conference, says Israel has no right to postpone peace any longer.Attila Somfalvi Published: 05.13.08, 21:48 / Israel News

If it wasn't for Hamas, a Palestinian state would have been established by now, President Shimon Peres said Tuesday evening at the opening of the Facing Tomorrow Presidential Conference in Jerusalem. If it weren't for Hamas, a Palestinian state would already exist, Peres said. Hundreds of guests, including presidents and ministers, will take part in the Presidential Conference. United States President George W. Bush will deliver a speech at the event Wednesday.During his address, Peres said Israel had no right to postpone any longer the peace all the world's peoples wait for.I hear around me the sighs of an era coming to a close. Look at the promises of the future, not the threats of the past, he said.

Earlier this week, Peres said that while Hamas possesses rockets, it has no future. It may take some time, but we shall reach a future without rocket threats, he said.

Olmert receives warm reception
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was warmly received by the crowd. In his speech, Olmert said that as PM he faces dilemmas and pressures on a daily basis, in an effort to balance between the long and short term. Olmert added that Israel's elected leaders will ultimately be judged based on what they leave behind them in terms of Israel's security situation and international status. The prime minister also addressed the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state, and said that Israel must aspire for a separation between the two peoples on the basis of two states

Sindh, Punjab provinces face water shortage MAY 14,08

* IRSA increases water inflow by 5,000 cusecs from Mangla reservoir for Punjab
* Authority calls emergency meeting of advisory committee on 22nd

By Zafar Bhutta

ISLAMABAD: The provinces of Sindh and Punjab are facing a water shortage of 35,000 cusecs/day, troubling the sowing of Kharif crops, a senior official of the Indus River System Authority (IRSA) told Daily Times on Tuesday.The official said that the primary reason behind the water shortage was the 25 percent less snowfall this year, as compared to previous years. He said the Metrological Department had predicted that this could result in the country having 25 percent less water inflows.The first meeting of IRSA at the beginning of the Kharif season had predicted that the country could face seven percent water shortage, but the authority has now changed its stance and believes the shortage could be closer to 20 percent. This could result in Kharif crops, especially cotton, not meeting their set targets. The official said that the country had also failed to achieve its set target of wheat during the Rabi season, receiving only 21.8 million tonnes against a target of 24 million tonnes. He said the water shortage was also responsible for the power deficit that now exceeds 3,000MW per day.

Increased flow: He said Punjab had demanded an increase in the water inflow from Mangla Dam to provide water for Kharif crops. To help the farmers, the authority increased the water inflow by 5,000 cusecs from 35,000 cusecs/day to 40,000 cusecs/day, he added. He said the water inflows were still below estimate. He said the sowing season in Punjab was at its peak and the province required more water for irrigation purposes currently, especially for cotton crops.The official said that the collective water inflow in the five rivers of the Indus River System were at a 10-year low. He said it was at 163,000 cusecs on Tuesday, while 205,000 cusecs was required for the Kharif crops. He said the reduced inflows were a result of global weather changes, adding that snowfall in Skardu has not melted because the temperature is too low.The water inflow at the Tarbela reservoir was recorded at 59,000 cusecs on Tuesday, while the outflow stood at the same level. The inflows have shown an improvement, as they had stood at 51,700 cusecs earlier. However, the water storage level in the country’s largest reservoir is still at dead level.

Similarly, the water inflow in the river Jhelum at Mangla reservoir now stands at 43,000 cusecs against the outflow of 4,000 cusecs per day. The water storage level of the Mangla reservoir also continue to rise and at present the water storage level has reached 1,095 cusecs per day against the dead level of 1,040 cusecs.Emergency meeting: IRSA has called an emergency meeting of its advisory committee on May 20 to review the water shortage in the country. The meeting was originally scheduled for May 15, but was delayed on the request of the Sindh Irrigation secretary.

Church disowns activist bishop Barney Zwartz May 14, 2008

AUSTRALIA'S Catholic bishops have disowned retired Sydney bishop Geoffrey Robinson, accusing him of failing to understand fundamental church teachings.The country's bishops have released a public statement suggesting that Bishop Robinson — as a bishop, a man chosen by the Pope to guard the teaching of Catholics — is wrong about the authority of Christ and the authority of the church to teach the truth.The statement was the first official response to Bishop Robinson's controversial book published last August, in which he said the church needed to reverse 2000 years of teaching on sex and power as part of radical reforms from the Pope down.

In Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church, Bishop Robinson suggested that while the church refused to examine some fundamental teachings — including sex outside marriage, women priests, homosexuality and papal power — it was not serious about tackling abuse by priests, only managing it.Bishop Robinson, 71, who was abused as a child, headed the Australian church's efforts to tackle clerical sexual abuse for a decade, until he retired in 2004 because he was so disillusioned.The statement by the 38 bishops who attended the bishops' meeting last week, published on the conference website, commends Bishop Robinson's contribution to the the life of the church, his years of effort to bring help and healing to those who have suffered sexual abuse, and his work in establishing church protocols.But, after correspondence and conversation with Bishop Robinson, it is clear that doctrinal difficulties remain. Central to these is a questioning of the authority of the Catholic Church to teach the truth definitively, the statement says.This led in turn to questioning Catholic teaching on tradition, scripture, papal infallibility, the priesthood and moral teaching.Bishop Robinson is in the US, on a lecture tour for the activist group Voice of the Faithful, which led the fight against clerical abuse and the cover-up culture in Boston.The book has sold more than 8000 copies, and is being published in the United Kingdom and United States.

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.

AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)

EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.

ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!

JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.

JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.

REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK)

REVELATION 18:10
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.

Jordanian: Islam will conquer Rome 5/13/2008 Catholic News Agency (www.catholicnewsagency.com)

Islamic lands that were occupied by the enemies will once again become Islamic...We proclaim that we will conquer Rome, like Constantinople was conquered once, and as it will be conquered again.

DENVER, CO (CNA) - A former Jordanian minister has seized upon commentary about the decline of Western power, saying on Arabic-language television that Islam will conquer Rome. He went on to say that Spain is an Islamic land that should be retaken and that America has begun to realize its end is near.The remarks by former Jordanian Minister of Religious Endowment Ali Al-Faqir were broadcast on Al-Aqsa TV on May 2. According to a transcript prepared by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Al-Faqir said Palestine from the Jordan to the Mediterranean is an Islamic land. Spain – Andalusia – is also the land of Islam, he said. Islamic lands that were occupied by the enemies will once again become Islamic. Furthermore, we will reach beyond these countries, which are lost at one point. We proclaim that we will conquer Rome, like Constantinople was conquered once, and as it will be conquered again. America has occupied, thundered, and foamed with rage, and proclaimed, like Pharaoh, I am your supreme God, but it will come to its end, and they have begun to realize that their end is near, he said. Al-Faqir then alluded to commentary about the declining prominence of America and Europe.

We have begun to read in American and European newspapers that our glory is on the wane, and there is nothing we can do about it, Al-Faqir said, according to the MEMRI transcript. This morning on Al-Jazeera TV, I saw American scientists and strategic theoreticians, who said that America would soon come to its end. They said it before about the USSR, and, indeed, it has come to its end, and we say now that America and the EU will come to an end, and only the rising force of Islam will prevail.American and European pundits and commentators have recently discussed the perceived decline in American power, especially economic power. Writing in the Los Angeles Times, national security columnist Fred Kaplan said President George W. Bush’s follies had accelerated the decline of American influence. For half a century, we had been a super-power, Kaplan wrote. Now we're upper-middle management in a world without bosses.Parag Khanna, a research fellow at the New America Foundation, wrote in the New York Times that the U.S. is competing—and losing—in a geopolitical marketplace, arguing that globalization has eroded American primacy. Fareed Zakaria, editor of Newsweek International, published excerpts from his new book in the May 12 issue of Newsweek.

Zakaria argued that a seismic shift in power and attitudes has transported the world into a post-American phase where the United States will not have the vastly unequal influence it has enjoyed in recent decades. Other writers argue that American economic and cultural dominance will continue. The American Enterprise Institute’s economic policy director Kevin Hassett has advised readers to ignore the obituaries.

TODAY ISRAEL 60 BY OUR CALENDAR

HAPPY 60TH BIRTHDAY ISRAEL, THE MIRACLE FROM GOD.

ISRAEL

Whose Promised Land? Psalm 78:54-55 (ISRAELS)
54 And He brought them to His holy border, This mountain which His right hand had acquired.
55 He also drove out the nations before them,Allotted them an inheritance by survey, And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.

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.

ISRAEL WILL BECOME A NATION. LITERALLY IN THE SPRING.

GENESIS 12:1-3
1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram,(CHANGED TO ABRAHAM LATER) Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:(PALESTINE,ISRAEL)
2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

EZEKIEL 36:24
24 For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

EZEKIEL 37:9-28
9 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds,(ALL THE WORLD) O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.(COME TO LIFE)
10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army.(ISRAEL WILL HAVE A POWERFUL ARMY)
11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts.(BURNED BY HITLER)
12 Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel.(THE DRY BONES COME TO LIFE IN ISRAEL)
13 And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves,
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD.
15 The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying,
16 Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions:
17 And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand.
18 And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not shew us what thou meanest by these?
19 Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand.
20 And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes.
21 And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land:
22 And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all:
23 Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God.
24 And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them.
25 And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever.
26 Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore.
27 My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
28 And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for evermore.

MATTHEW 24:32
32 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When his branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is nigh:(ISRAEL WAS LITERALLY REBORN JUST BEFORE SUMMER,MAY 14,1948).

MARK 13:28
28 Now learn a parable of the fig tree; When her branch is yet tender, and putteth forth leaves, ye know that summer is near:

DANIEL 9:24
24 Seventy weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the most Holy.

ISRAEL WILL BE IN CONTROL OF JERUSALEM, THE SIGN OF THE START OF THE LAST GENERATION.

LUKE 21:24
24 And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

ISRAEL SATAN COMES AGAINST

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.

ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

12 TRIBES INHERIT LAND IN THE FUTURE

EZEKIEL 47:13-23,48:1-35
13 Thus saith the Lord GOD; This shall be the border, whereby ye shall inherit the land according to the twelve tribes of Israel: Joseph shall have two portions.
14 And ye shall inherit it, one as well as another: concerning the which I lifted up mine hand to give it unto your fathers: and this land shall fall unto you for inheritance.
15 And this shall be the border of the land toward the north side, from the great sea, the way of Hethlon, as men go to Zedad;
16 Hamath, Berothah, Sibraim, which is between the border of Damascus and the border of Hamath; Hazarhatticon, which is by the coast of Hauran.
17 And the border from the sea shall be Hazarenan, the border of Damascus, and the north northward, and the border of Hamath. And this is the north side.
18 And the east side ye shall measure from Hauran, and from Damascus, and from Gilead, and from the land of Israel by Jordan, from the border unto the east sea. And this is the east side.
19 And the south side southward, from Tamar even to the waters of strife in Kadesh, the river to the great sea. And this is the south side southward.
20 The west side also shall be the great sea from the border, till a man come over against Hamath. This is the west side.
21 So shall ye divide this land unto you according to the tribes of Israel.
22 And it shall come to pass, that ye shall divide it by lot for an inheritance unto you, and to the strangers that sojourn among you, which shall beget children among you: and they shall be unto you as born in the country among the children of Israel; they shall have inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel.
23 And it shall come to pass, that in what tribe the stranger sojourneth, there shall ye give him his inheritance, saith the Lord GOD.
1 Now these are the names of the tribes. From the north end to the coast of the way of Hethlon, as one goeth to Hamath, Hazarenan, the border of Damascus northward, to the coast of Hamath; for these are his sides east and west; a portion for Dan.
2 And by the border of Dan, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Asher.
3 And by the border of Asher, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Naphtali.
4 And by the border of Naphtali, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Manasseh.
5 And by the border of Manasseh, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Ephraim.
6 And by the border of Ephraim, from the east side even unto the west side, a portion for Reuben.
7 And by the border of Reuben, from the east side unto the west side, a portion for Judah.
8 And by the border of Judah, from the east side unto the west side, shall be the offering which ye shall offer of five and twenty thousand reeds in breadth, and in length as one of the other parts, from the east side unto the west side: and the sanctuary shall be in the midst of it.
9 The oblation that ye shall offer unto the LORD shall be of five and twenty thousand in length, and of ten thousand in breadth.
10 And for them, even for the priests, shall be this holy oblation; toward the north five and twenty thousand in length, and toward the west ten thousand in breadth, and toward the east ten thousand in breadth, and toward the south five and twenty thousand in length: and the sanctuary of the LORD shall be in the midst thereof.
11 It shall be for the priests that are sanctified of the sons of Zadok; which have kept my charge, which went not astray when the children of Israel went astray, as the Levites went astray.
12 And this oblation of the land that is offered shall be unto them a thing most holy by the border of the Levites.
13 And over against the border of the priests the Levites shall have five and twenty thousand in length, and ten thousand in breadth: all the length shall be five and twenty thousand, and the breadth ten thousand.
14 And they shall not sell of it, neither exchange, nor alienate the firstfruits of the land: for it is holy unto the LORD.
15 And the five thousand, that are left in the breadth over against the five and twenty thousand, shall be a profane place for the city, for dwelling, and for suburbs: and the city shall be in the midst thereof.
16 And these shall be the measures thereof; the north side four thousand and five hundred, and the south side four thousand and five hundred, and on the east side four thousand and five hundred, and the west side four thousand and five hundred.
17 And the suburbs of the city shall be toward the north two hundred and fifty, and toward the south two hundred and fifty, and toward the east two hundred and fifty, and toward the west two hundred and fifty.
18 And the residue in length over against the oblation of the holy portion shall be ten thousand eastward, and ten thousand westward: and it shall be over against the oblation of the holy portion; and the increase thereof shall be for food unto them that serve the city.
19 And they that serve the city shall serve it out of all the tribes of Israel.
20 All the oblation shall be five and twenty thousand by five and twenty thousand: ye shall offer the holy oblation foursquare, with the possession of the city.
21 And the residue shall be for the prince, on the one side and on the other of the holy oblation, and of the possession of the city, over against the five and twenty thousand of the oblation toward the east border, and westward over against the five and twenty thousand toward the west border, over against the portions for the prince: and it shall be the holy oblation; and the sanctuary of the house shall be in the midst thereof.
22 Moreover from the possession of the Levites, and from the possession of the city, being in the midst of that which is the prince's, between the border of Judah and the border of Benjamin, shall be for the prince.
23 As for the rest of the tribes, from the east side unto the west side, Benjamin shall have a portion.
24 And by the border of Benjamin, from the east side unto the west side, Simeon shall have a portion.
25 And by the border of Simeon, from the east side unto the west side, Issachar a portion.
26 And by the border of Issachar, from the east side unto the west side, Zebulun a portion.
27 And by the border of Zebulun, from the east side unto the west side, Gad a portion.
28 And by the border of Gad, at the south side southward, the border shall be even from Tamar unto the waters of strife in Kadesh, and to the river toward the great sea.
29 This is the land which ye shall divide by lot unto the tribes of Israel for inheritance, and these are their portions, saith the Lord GOD.
30 And these are the goings out of the city on the north side, four thousand and five hundred measures.
31 And the gates of the city shall be after the names of the tribes of Israel: three gates northward; one gate of Reuben, one gate of Judah, one gate of Levi.
32 And at the east side four thousand and five hundred: and three gates; and one gate of Joseph, one gate of Benjamin, one gate of Dan.
33 And at the south side four thousand and five hundred measures: and three gates; one gate of Simeon, one gate of Issachar, one gate of Zebulun.
34 At the west side four thousand and five hundred, with their three gates; one gate of Gad, one gate of Asher, one gate of Naphtali.
35 It was round about eighteen thousand measures: and the name of the city from that day shall be, The LORD is there.

05/12/2008 12:28 ISRAEL
For Israel's 60th anniversary, 13 heads of state in Jerusalem starting tomorrow.Bush will also arrive on Wednesday, for the conference dedicated to the theme of tomorrow. The meeting will allow Peres to present his country's point of view on the threat from Iran. Fears over possible repercussions of the Olmert affair.

Jerusalem (AsiaNews) - Entitled Facing Tomorrow, the conference that opens tomorrow in Jerusalem will be the largest ever held in Israel, with the presence of 13 heads of state or government and 3,500 participants. Organised to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Jewish state, the meeting will be attended by George Bush, who is expected on Wednesday, and by the leading authorities of Croatia, Slovenia, Lithuania, Turkey, Ukraine, Georgia, Mongolia, Togo, Burkina Faso, the prime ministers of Slovakia and Hungary, Spanish foreign minister Miguel Moratinos, and the chairman of the Federation Council of Russia. Intended to face various questions, and not only on the Middle East, the conference is seen in Israel partly as an opportunity to refresh the country's international image, but also as an opportunity for Israeli president Shimon Peres to outline for his guests Jerusalem's point of view on the Iranian threat. The Israeli media are now preoccupied with the possibility that these programmes and plans could be overturned by developments in the accusations of corruption against prime minister Ehud Olmert - which are thought might lead to his resignation - who is supposed to deliver two speeches at the conference.

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.

Aid pledges flood in after China quake disaster Tue May 13, 4:34 PM

HONG KONG (AFP) - Pledges of aid flooded in Tuesday for tens of thousands of survivors of China's earthquake, as officials warned battering rains and a risk of landslides were holding up relief in the worst-hit areas.More than 12,000 people were confirmed killed by the 7.9 magnitude quake which struck Monday in southwestern Sichuan province, a figure expected to rise dramatically with many thousands still buried under rubble.As China mobilised its 2.3 million-strong armed forces to lead the search and rescue effort, Hong Kong spearheaded a global relief drive with an offer amounting to 38 million dollars (24.5 million euros), the lion's share of the 46.5 million dollars pledged worldwide.China's Asian neighbours also put aside historic rivalries to offer help to Beijing, with Japan offering 500 million yen (4.8 million dollars) of blankets, tents and cash aid.Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province, said it would join the rescue effort, while its president-elect Ma Ying-jeou, who has moved to repair ties with China, donated 200,000 Taiwan dollars (6,500 US) from his own pocket.South Korea put dozens of rescue workers and medical staff on standby, while Australia offered emergency search and rescue help.And as China agreed to scale back the Olympic torch relay in response to the deadly earthquake -- in response to an Internet outcry -- the International Olympic Committee (IOC) pledged one million dollars for relief.

Outside the region, the White House said it was providing 500,000 dollars in emergency relief and could send more aid if needed, while Canada said it was ready to send help.A Russian transport aircraft carrying 30 tonnes of tents and blankets left Moscow Tuesday night for China, news agencies reported.European Union nations said they stand ready to provide humanitarian assistance as soon as conditions permit, while British aid agency Oxfam said it has allocated 1.5 million dollars towards dealing with the quake aftermath.In Geneva the Red Cross said it had allocated some 150,000 euros, while the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said it was ready to send aid if China requested it, but stressed that Beijing had a well-trained relief corps at its disposal.In stark contrast to Myanmar where the ruling junta was criticised for its handling of this month's cyclone in the Irrawaddy Delta, Beijing rolled out a mammoth relief effort within hours of the quake.As well as the army deployment, China launched a national blood drive to supply survivors, while private airlines were called in to transport aid, and the Red Cross Society of China appealed to all Chinese for cash donations.But officials said attempts to reach the worst-hit areas were badly disrupted by torrential rain and the sheer scale of the damage, and forecasters warned more rain would increase the risk of landslides in Sichuan in the coming days.While China kept the door open to foreign offers of help, saying it welcomed them, it warned the conditions were not yet ripe to allow foreign rescue teams into the country, citing damage to transport links.International aid experts said it was important for Beijing to be seen to be coping with the disaster alone.For China, in addition to questions of sovereignty, there is the question of national pride, said Pierre Micheletti, head of the medical charity Medecins du Monde (MDM, Doctors of the World).

This is a great country that is about to organise the Olympic Games and which probably has trouble admitting it might need outside countries to help it handle a disaster.Rony Brauman, former head of Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF, Doctors Without Borders), agreed that a natural disaster shines a light on relations between the authorities and the population, between the authorities and the rest of the world.It reveals its skills, or inability to react, he said, adding that the sheer scale of the Chinese relief effort was likely to dwarf the work of most non-governmental teams on the ground.

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.

Rebuilding unlikely in tornado-ravaged Oklahoma town, officials say Tue May 13, 6:29 PM By Murray Evans, The Associated Press

PICHER, Okla. - No government money will be awarded for rebuilding any of the 114 homes levelled by a deadly tornado that tore through one of the country's most polluted areas, state and federal officials said Tuesday on a tour of the region. Saturday's tornado was responsible for seven deaths in Picher. The severe weather killed another 20 people in the Plains and the Southeast. It really is like a small nuclear bomb went off, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said at a news conference. He was joined by David Paulison, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry. The governor asked President George W. Bush on Tuesday to provide a disaster declaration for Ottawa County, which would clear the way for federal assistance to individuals and businesses. Henry's request will be considered quickly, Paulison said. The tornado struck the heart of a federal Superfund site, where a government buyout of homes is underway in an area beset with mine collapses, open shafts, acid water that stains Tar Creek orange and mountains of lead-contaminated waste. Local children have tested with dangerous levels of lead in their blood. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun testing to determine whether the tornado scattered enough mining waste to raise lead levels in the air and soil in the 800-person town, which was once a thriving hub of 20,000 people.

The buyout will not prevent federal disaster aid from flowing to the area, Henry said, but the aid will help people relocate, not rebuild homes in the area. Rebuilding here is not going to be a real option, Henry said. Paul Sharbutt, 62, whose home of 40 years was heavily damaged, has been waiting to receive his buyout offer and said he is not looking forward to leaving. To have lived here all your life and built your home, we really hated to move and lose it, let alone to lose it like this, he said. As people in the region struggle to clean up damage and put their lives back together, another spate of severe weather approached. The National Weather Service said that the risk of severe weather was upgraded from slight to moderate for the region Tuesday, but that the main concerns were damaging winds and hail. A lot of elements have to come together to produce tornadoes, and right now it doesn't look like there's going to be an outbreak of tornadoes, said forecaster Daryl Williams with the weather service's Norman office. Even if the latest storms aren't particularly violent, they'll make for a soggy cleanup in towns such as Picher, where Tressie Gilmore and four family members emerged from a pile of debris that used to be their house Saturday evening, shaken but with nothing worse than bruised ribs. On Monday, the 25-year-old joined family and friends in salvaging what they could from what remained of her mother and stepfather's home after the tornado - with winds estimated at 265 to 280 km/h - slammed into Picher. It felt like evil, she said. It didn't feel like Mother Nature. It felt personal.

Canada sending emergency shelters to Myanmar Tue May 13, 6:51 PM

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Canada will send emergency shelter kits to aid survivors of Myanmar's cyclone, but expressed concern on Tuesday over how much the government there was doing enough to help its own citizens.Canada will send 2,000 kits that can provide emergency shelter for some 10,000 people, with the aid scheduled to be airlifted to Thailand and distributed by the International Red Cross, Canadian officials said.But Ottawa echoed concerns voiced by other countries about how the military junta in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, was handling the disaster that has left more than 1.5 million people struggling to survive.We call upon the Burmese government to move rapidly to meet the immediate needs of the affected communities, rather than pushing forward with the upcoming referendum on the constitution, Foreign Minister Maxime Bernier said in a statement.The junta in Myanmar has accepted aid from the outside world but help has only tricked in as the military rulers have made it clear they do not want outsiders distributing it.(Reporting Allan Dowd, editing by Rob Wilson)

Israel Museum puts Dead Sea scroll on rare display By MATTI FRIEDMAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 13,08

JERUSALEM - One of the most important Dead Sea scrolls is going on display in Jerusalem this week — more than four decades after it was last seen by the public. The 24-foot scroll with the text of the Bible's Book of Isaiah had been in a dark, temperature-controlled room at the Israel Museum since 1967. It went on display two years earlier, but curators replaced it with a facsimile after noticing new cracks in the calfskin parchment. The museum decided to put the scroll back on show for three months as part of Israel's 60th anniversary celebrations.The priceless manuscript, written by a Judean scribe around 120 B.C., was in a long glass case Tuesday, its neat rows of Hebrew letters distinct and legible. President Bush, visiting Israel this week for the anniversary celebration, will be one of the first to view it.The Isaiah manuscript was the only complete biblical book discovered among the Dead Sea scrolls, one of the great archaeological finds of the 20th century. The ancient documents, which include fragments of the books of the Old Testament and treatises on communal living and apocalyptic war, have shed important light on Judaism and the origins of Christianity.The Book of Isaiah is traditionally attributed to a prophet who lived in the 8th century B.C.In the book, he calls for repentance, warns of impending doom, and — in one of the most famous passages ever written — offers an idyllic vision of the future: They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Curator Adolfo Roitman called the Isaiah manuscript the gem of the Dead Sea scrolls. It is one of the most important treasures of the Jewish nation, if not the most important, he added.A far smaller fragment of another Dead Sea scroll will be on display at the Jerusalem convention center where Bush will be speaking along with other dignitaries.The segment, also rarely shown, contains the text of Psalm 133, which reads: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

Stocks mixed after retail sales report, spiking oil By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer Tue May 13, 5:39 PM ET

NEW YORK - Wall Street turned in a mixed performance Tuesday after a fresh report on retail sales and a new oil price record told investors the same old story: The economy is hurting and costs are rising, but things could be worse. The Commerce Department's latest report showed that retail sales fell by 0.2 percent in April, as expected. The data did show better-than-expected sales if automobiles are excluded, but indicated Americans are reluctant to make big-ticket purchases — especially as soaring fuel prices cut into demand.The numbers are coming out weak, but the economy's not falling apart, said Alexander Paris, economist and market analyst for Chicago-based Barrington Research. On balance, they were negative, but you'd expect them to be.Oil prices, meanwhile, spiked to a trading record of $126.98 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after Iranian news services reported Iran is considering a cut to output. They later settled up $1.57 at $125.80.Tuesday's wavering trading in the stock market reflected its ongoing uncertainty about the economy. Brian Gendreau, investment strategist for ING Investment Management, believes investors won't get a clear picture until more data is released in June and July.

We're going to go through a period where the markets are going to focus on the macro-data, and any adverse piece of news about the credit markets, he said. It will be a trendless market until the uncertainties about a contraction in economic activity are resolved.
According to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, turmoil in financial markets has eased somewhat. He noted during his speech in Atlanta that the markets for certain mortgage-backed securities, such as those backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as well as some fixed-rate mortgages and corporate debt have improved. He did say, though, that the situation remains far from normal.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 44.13, or 0.34 percent, to 12,832.18, having soared 130 points on Monday.Broader indexes closed mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.54, or 0.04 percent, to 1,403.04, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 6.63, or 0.27 percent, to 2,495.12.The technology-heavy Nasdaq got a boost as Yahoo Inc. rose after CNBC reported billionaire investor Carl Icahn was considering a proxy fight to try to push Yahoo back into merger discussions with Microsoft Corp.Yahoo rose $1.30, or 5.2 percent, to $26.56.

Government bond prices fell as the Treasury market focused on the better-than-expected details in the retail sales report. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.91 percent from 3.80 percent late Monday.The Commerce Department also reported that businesses added to their inventories in March by the smallest amount in a year. Inventories edged up a tiny 0.1 percent in March, the smallest advance since they were basically flat in March 2007.In corporate news, investors examined a number of high-profile acquisitions, including Hewlett-Packard Co.'s offer to buy Electronic Data Systems Corp. for $12.6 billion. The deal to combine Hewlett-Packard with EDS will create the second-largest technology services provider behind International Business Machines Corp.EDS shares added 26 cents to $24.34, while Hewlett-Packard fell $2.56, or 5.5 percent, to $44.27.

Office supply retailer Staples Inc. raised its hostile bid to acquire Dutch rival Corporate Express NL by 10 percent. Corporate Express said it is willing to consider the deal, and Staples rose 48cents, or 2.2 percent, to $22.44.And investors got another read on the consumer after Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailers, reported first-quarter profit above Wall Street predictions but also forecasted that the current quarter will come in below expectations.Wal-Mart fell $1.37, or 2.4 percent, to $56.65. Luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. said its preliminary results show homebuilding revenue fell 30 percent in its fiscal second quarter amid a weak spring selling season. The company also expects to continue to face challenging times ahead, given soft conditions in most markets. Shares shed 10 cents to $22.97.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 3.62, or 0.49 percent, to 736.85. Advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 8 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume came to 3.86 billion shares, up from 3.27 billion shares Monday. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.53 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 slid 0.14 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.34 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.45 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

OZONE DEPLETION

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Heat wave could bring flooding to B.C. Interior MAY 13,08

CALGARY (CBC) - While many British Columbians are looking forward to the heat wave forecasted to roll in just in time for the upcoming long weekend, for Interior residents, it could be a mixed blessing.The unseasonably cool spring weather has left a heavy snow pack still covering many mountains slopes, and now the province is warning the coming heat wave could lead to flooding in some interior areas.Doug Lindquist, a meteorologist with Environment Canada in Kelowna, said the heat expected later this week could break records.By Thursday, we are well into the warm air, and temperatures will approach the high 20s. We are looking at the low 30s for Friday, Saturday and probably even Sunday.Alan Chapman, with the river forecast centre in Victoria, told CBC News the snow in the mountains will melt rapidly once the hot sunny weather arrives.Certainly we do expect, with the kinds of temperatures we are expecting, we will see flooding in the valleys and smaller creeks. It maybe fairly widespread, he said.Anyone planning to go camping this long weekend should be cautious, Chapman warned.Don't camp along the rivers. The rivers can rise very rapidly overnight, he said.The warm weather expected just in time for the Victoria Day long weekend is not likely to last, according to CBC meteorologist Claire Martin, because of the La Nina weather pattern, which is bringing predominantly cool wet weather to the West Coast.

June and July, it [La Nina] is still around, so don't put any hopes up for a really nice end to spring and a nice summer. I just don't think it's going to happen, she said.Last month was the coldest April in nearly 40 years, with temperatures two to three degrees cooler than normal.It is turning out to be a very typical La Nina spring, Martin said. La Nina tends to cool us off and it has done so quite dramatically.Victoria had a record 12.2 centimetres of snowfall in April, compared to the previous record of 7.1 centimetres set in 1955.The temperature in Kelowna dropped to -11 C on April 21, a record low for that day.But warmer weather this weekend is a relief to gardeners after an unusually chilly April, said Scott Pearce of GardenWorks.There's no question people are taking their time planting the tender plants, he said.

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.

Sudan: 200 died in Darfur rebel raid near Khartoum By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer MAY 13,08

KHARTOUM, Sudan - More that 200 people were killed in fighting around Sudan's capital over the weekend, the defense minister announced Tuesday in the first official comment on casualties during the assault by Darfur rebels. Gen. Abdul Rahim Mohammed Hussein told parliament that the attackers sent by the rebel Justice and Equality Movement suffered a crushing defeat, with at least two-thirds of the their 180 vehicles destroyed, according to the official SUNA news agency.Sudanese were shocked by the rebel assault on the outskirts of Khartoum, hundreds of miles from their bases in the west. The raid was the closest that Darfur's rebels have gotten to the seat of the government.The defense minister said 93 soldiers and 13 policemen died in the weekend fighting in Khartoum's twin city, Omdurman, along with 30 civilians. He said 90 rebel bodies had been found so far, but more were scattered outside the city.The U.N. Security Council on Tuesday strongly condemned the rebel attack. In a statement, the council urged restraint by all parties, and in particular warns that no retaliatory action should be taken against civilian populations.

The general said his troops had been prepared to fight the rebels far from the city, but he charged that the army's location was revealed by huge numbers of fifth columnists from factions trying to undermine the government.The rebels admitted they had been defeated but promised further attacks on the capital unless the government deals with the festering situation in Darfur, where 200,000 people have died in a conflict that began five years ago.

JEM might have lost the Khartoum battle and pulled out in dignity ... but it has not lost the war, the group's deputy chairman, Mahmoud Suleiman, said in a statement given to The Associated Press on Tuesday.Life was gradually returning to normal Tuesday, with banks, shops and markets open for business for the first time since the attack. Checkpoints remained in place, however, as troops searched for any rebels remaining in the city, including their leader, Khalil Ibrahim.The government doubled its bounty for Ibrahim on Tuesday to nearly $250,000 for anyone contributing to the rebel leader's arrest.State media reported the reward was 500 million new Sudanese pounds, which is the equivalent of $246 million, but Bakri Mullah, secretary-general of the External Information Office, explained to the AP that the reward was actually in old Sudanese pounds, or about $246,000.Sudan re-valued its currency more than a year ago and the new pound is worth 1,000 times the old one.According to witnesses cited by the New York-based Human Rights Watch, at least 100 people had been arrested at checkpoints and in house-to-house searches since the attack, as security forces look for suspected rebels.Given Khartoum's record of abuse, there is grave cause for concern about the fate of those detained, Georgette Gagnon, the group's Africa director, said in a statement late Monday.

In a telephone interview with the AP on Monday, Ibrahim vowed to keep up his offensive, saying he can exhaust the army by fighting it across Africa's largest nation. He said he was in Omdurman with his troops.Ibrahim's movement has emerged as the most effective rebel group in Darfur, where ethnic Africans took up arms against the Arab-dominated government in 2003 to fight discrimination. The conflict has displaced more than 2.5 million people.

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.(TRADE 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).

Dublin launches EU treaty yes campaign
13.05.2008 - 09:07 CET | By Honor Mahony

The Irish government has launched its campaign in favour of the EU treaty with the new prime minister, Brian Cowen, calling for a yes vote in next month's referendum.It would be a very backward step to resign from the strategic political positioning we have established in 35 years of (EU) membership, Mr Cowen said on Monday (12 May). It would have very serious implications.The government push comes as the most recent poll, by the Sunday Business Post, put the yes camp in front with 38 percent, the no side on 28 percent and don't knows at 34 percent.This represents a better showing for the yes side than two weeks ago, when a poll by the same newspaper put the yes and no vote at 35 and 31 percent, respectively. The undecided remained static.To tackle modern forces such as globalisation, climate change and cross-border crime, countries cannot stand alone; and for us this means that we need an EU which has the structures, policies and procedures capable of having an impact, said Mr Cowen.The prime minister, who only came into office earlier this month, hit out at the no side for what he said was its attempts to distort the contents of the treaty.The referendum, now formally confirmed for 12 June, is set to be the first major challenge of his leadership.The Referendum Commission, tasked with informing citizens about the EU treaty, has a budget of €5 million, while the slogan of Fianna Fail, the main governing party, is "Good for Ireland, Good for Europe.

Ireland is the only EU member state to have a referendum on the new treaty and the government is coming under enormous pressure to secure a yes vote, with all 27 countries needed to ratify the document for it to come into force.Analysts suggest that much will depend on voter turnout among the 3-million-strong electorate. A low turn-out could result in a no vote, they say, while a higher turnout is set to work more in favour of the yes camp.

EU, US take on demands to remove red tape in trans-Atlantic trade The Associated PressPublished: May 12, 2008

BRUSSELS, Belgium: EU and American officials meet in Brussels on Tuesday to debate how to cut bureaucracy and boost an economic relationship that — despite the hype about emerging giants such as China — remains by far the world's most significant.Two-way trade between the U.S. and the EU reached US$1.6 billion (€1 billion) a day last year, but businesses on both sides complain about red tape holding them back.For instance, Europeans have not been eating American chicken for 11 years due to an EU import ban that costs U.S. poultry producers US$180 million (€117 million) a year in lost sales. From the other direction, U.S. red tape delays the shipping of low-voltage products such as laptops and shavers, costing producers $120 million (€77.7 million) a year.And both EU and U.S. companies pay tens of millions of dollars (euros) just to comply with duplicate rules on accounting or measures to protect shipments from terrorists.U.S. investments in Ireland alone (US$83 billion; €54 billion) exceed those in China, Russia, Brazil and India (US$73 billion; €47 billion). EU investments in the U.S. soared to US$1.3 trillion (€840 billion) in 2006, triple their mid-1990s level. Today, Germany alone invests more in the U.S. Southeastern states than the 27-nation EU does in China.

Today in Business with Reuters
Icahn said to weigh Yahoo proxy fightU.S. Congress votes to stop stockpiling oilU.S. oil refiners see profits sink as consumption fallsEurope, the world's biggest consumer market with close to 500 million people, is also by far the most profitable region for American multinationals. In 2006, the income of U.S. affiliates in Europe was nearly three times as large as total earnings from Latin America and more than double those in Asia.An enduring irritant facing Daniel Price, U.S. President George W. Bush's economic adviser, and EU Industry Commissioner Guenther Verheugen in Tuesday's talks will be the EU ban on U.S. chicken imports.Imposed in 1997, it reflects European concerns that the American practice of washing chickens in a chlorine solution threatens public health and the environment. EU food safety experts have since toned down that view, triggering expectations the chicken ban may soon go.

Unlocking more trans-Atlantic trade, investments and demand, says Adrian van den Hoven, head of international relations at BusinessEurope, the EU business lobby, is possible with better regulation through only minor adjustments.This would be most welcome in the EU, whose exports to the U.S. have taken a beating as the dollar fell in value. Euro-zone exports to the United States fell 3 percent in 2007 as the weak dollar made German cars and French champagne more expensive there.Ahead of Tuesday's meeting, an alliance of EU and U.S. businesses — armed with a study by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Trans-Atlantic Relations — said ending regulatory hurdles will generate €6.5 billion (US$10 billion) in annual cost savings and market growth.The study said the trans-Atlantic economy generates US$4 trillion (€2.6 trillion) in total commercial sales. It valued U.S. exports to Europe last year at US$250 billion (€160 billion) and imports at US$350 billion (€225 billion).Removing restrictions on airline ownership in the United States, alone, could boost trans-Atlantic air travel by 24 percent, says the report.It estimates integrating EU and U.S. securities markets will boost trading by 50 percent and aligning the car industries — among other things through uniform crash testing — will cut the cost of passenger vehicles and trucks by 7 percent.

An issue of rising concern for Washington is EU legislation that, as of 2009, will require the registration of chemicals to see how safe they are. U.S. manufacturers call this exceedingly burdensome and especially fear an EU law banning cosmetics containing ingredients that have been tested on animals.EU and American businesses want the EU and the U.S. to adopt a common stance on chemical safety and animal testing issues.

French foreign minister upbeat after Mediterranean Union talks MAY 12,08

ALGIERS (AFP) — French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday he had held very promising discussions with Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on the creation of a Mediterranean Union.We clarified a number of directions which, I think, from France's perspective, are very promising and I hope that President Bouteflika shares my feelings, Kouchner said after the two met in Algiers.Bouteflika not only asked questions but brought answers to questions and problems between Algeria and France, he added.Press reports here said Algeria was seeking clarification of the Mediterranean Union project to be announced officially on July 13 by France's President Nicolas Sarkozy at a summit of Mediterranean candidates eligible to join the proposed new bloc.The European Union project, which has met with a cool welcome from some of France's EU partners, aims to improve trade, transport and energy links between southern European countries and nations around the Mediterranean including Morocco, Syria, Israel and Turkey.Algeria has particular reservations about Sarkozy's attitude to Iran and policy on Israel, the independent newspaper Al Watan said.Mr Kouchner's talks in Algiers aim primarily to overcome Algerian reservations, it said, describing the Kouchner mission as a difficult gamble.

The independent newspaper Djazair News said Algeria would impose three conditions for joining the Mediterranean Union: France's acknowledgement of crimes it committed during its colonial rule in Algeria, a lasting and equitable solution to the dispute over the Western Sahara, and a just solution to the Palestinian question.It was not logical that Israel should be a member of a Mediterranean Union while it is the cause of Middle East problems, the newspaper said.Kouchner said the new union should and would be different from the Barcelona Process, an existing EU framework for political, economic and social ties around the Mediterranean basin, which has regularly been thwarted by confrontation between Israel and Arab countries.Sarkozy is determined to advance the new union when he takes over the rotating EU presidency in July.Kouchner also met Algerian Foreign Minister Mourad Medelci during his one-day visit.

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.

DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) 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 A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) 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 (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, 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.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) 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.

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

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

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

Bush heads back to Mideast amid fading peace hopes By Matt Spetalnick Tue May 13, 8:13 PM ET

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE (Reuters) - President George W. Bush headed back to the Middle East on Tuesday facing broad skepticism over his chances of securing an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before he leaves office in less than nine months. His second trip to the region this year will begin in Israel where celebrations of its 60th anniversary have been marred by a bribery scandal surrounding Prime Minister Ehud Olmert that could topple him and disrupt the peace process.Bush also will be mindful of another crisis brewing next door in Lebanon, where a power struggle between the pro-Western government in Beirut and Iranian-backed Hezbollah could deal a further blow to U.S. efforts to stabilize the Middle East.

With the clock ticking down on his administration, Bush will nudge Israelis and Palestinians to advance their faltering negotiations as he tries to salvage a foreign policy legacy encompassing more than the unpopular war in Iraq.But expectations for progress remain low.It's hard to remember a less auspicious time to pursue Arab-Israeli peacemaking than right now, said Jon Alterman, a Middle East expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington. The politics on the ground are absolutely miserable.

Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas agreed at a U.S.-hosted conference in Annapolis, Maryland, in November to try to reach a peace treaty, including an agreement on Palestinian statehood, by year's end.Since then, talks have bogged down over Israeli settlement expansion plans in the occupied West Bank and violence in and around the Gaza Strip, where Hamas cross-border rocket fire has drawn a tough Israeli military response.Speaking to reporters on Air Force One en route to the Middle East, U.S. national security adviser Stephen Hadley said Bush was still confident an Israeli-Palestinian deal could be reached before the end of his term in January.He thinks it still can be done. It's obviously hard . ... There's limited time left, but I think we believe the parties are making progress, Hadley said.Increasingly pessimistic about Bush's efforts, Israelis and Palestinians alike are starting to look past him to his successor who will be picked in the November election.

SCANDAL OVERHANGS PEACE PROCESS

Further clouding peace hopes are questions about Olmert's future. The prime minister, who meets Bush on Wednesday, is facing widespread calls to resign over allegations he took bribes from a wealthy U.S. businessman. Although he has denied wrongdoing, he has pledged to quit if indicted.Playing down the potential fallout, Bush told an Israeli television station that while he considered Olmert an honest man, his vision for peace would remain the same.

There is concern, however, that Olmert's resignation would trigger new Israeli elections, putting peace efforts on hold.Bush is pressing ahead anyway, although critics still view it as too little, too late after years of neglecting the conflict. He made his first trip as president to Israel and the West Bank in January but came away with little to show for it.The two sides remain so far apart that Bush has no plans to bring the leaders together during his visit.Many Israelis are ready to welcome Bush to their 60th birthday celebration, seeing him as the best ally the Jewish state has had in the White House, whereas much of the Arab world doubts his ability to be an even-handed peace broker. Palestinians hold out little hope that Bush will show sensitivity to their perspective -- that the creation of a Jewish homeland in 1948 meant the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Arab residents.

Hadley told reporters, We are going to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the state of Israel and that is a great event. But that resulted in hardship for many of the Palestinian people.Asked if Bush might make a speech about that, Hadley said: Let's see what he says. He's got some speaking opportunities.Bush will stay out of the Palestinian areas and instead hold talks with Abbas at the Egyptian resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on Saturday. Like Olmert, Abbas is weak at home. He governs only in the West Bank while Hamas Islamists control Gaza. Also on Bush's agenda in Egypt is a meeting with Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Siniora, who faces an armed challenge from Hezbollah. Bush has had little success stabilizing Lebanon as part of his democracy push in the Middle East. Bush will stop in Saudi Arabia on Friday and again try to coax King Abdullah to help curb record oil prices, an appeal likely to fall on deaf ears. (Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Eric Walsh)

Rice says Mideast peace improbable, not impossible By TERENCE HUNT, AP White House Correspondent Tue May 13, 8:02 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Ahead of a visit to the Middle East, President Bush expressed some optimism that an Israeli-Palestinian peace agreement would be struck before his term ends while holding out little hope for a major breakthrough when he arrives in Israel on Wednesday.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday reaching such a deal within the next eight months might be improbable but it's not impossible.Bush left the White House late Tuesday afternoon on the trip that will first take him to attend ceremonies in Jerusalem marking the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Jewish state. He also will go to Saudi Arabia where he promises to press King Abdullah to increase oil production to ease soaring costs on consumers. Bush made a similar plea in January but it was ignored.

As Bush prepared to leave Washington, Senate Democrats introduced a resolution that would block $1.4 billion in arms sales to Saudi Arabia unless Riyadh agrees to increase its oil production by 1 million barrels per day.The Democrats said they introduced the measure to coincide with Bush's trip to send a message to Saudi Arabia that it should pump more oil to reduce the cost of gas for Americans.We are saying to the Saudis, If you aren't helping us, why should we be helping you? said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.

The move might be largely symbolic. Congress usually has 30 days to block international arms deals once notified by the administration, and all of the sales in question were announced long ago. Still, Schumer said that Congress still has the right to intervene because the weapons have not been delivered.The president's final stop will be at the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, where he will meet over two days with a handful of leaders: Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Iraqi leaders. Bush also is scheduled to meet with Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, but that is in doubt now after clashes between the U.S.-backed government in Beirut and Hezbollah-led opposition.In an interview on Tuesday with Politico and Yahoo News, Bush said that while a grand peace between Israel and the Palestinians looks distant at this point, the big challenge in the 21st century is to advance freedom in the Middle East, for our security.Americans at home ought to care for the advance of free societies throughout the Middle East, he said. After all, this is the center of anti-Americanism and hatred.

He also criticized former President Carter's recent approach to the Middle East, suggesting it was one of blame Israel for every problem.Bush, in an earlier interview with BBC Arabic, said he was still optimistic that his goal of a peace agreement before he leaves office in January 2009 was obtainable.I think we can, I really do, Bush said. We're going to work hard for that end. Look, it's hard, I understand that.In a separate interview with the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Bush said the United States cannot impose peace in the Middle East.I will come not as somebody who demands, but somebody who encourages, Bush said. He said, I'm not running for the Nobel Peace Prize; I'm just trying to be a guy to use the influence of the United States to move the process along.

Bush said the peace negotiations would not be derailed by the corruption probe of Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, the fifth investigation into his conduct since he became prime minister two years ago. Olmert has said he will resign if indicted.This is not an Olmert plan; this is a plan of a government, Bush told Haaretz.

It's a legal matter inside the system; the system will deal with it. ... And having said that, my relations with the prime minister have been nothing but excellent, Bush said. I found him to be an honest guy. He loves his family, he's easy to talk to, he's a strategic thinker. And so we'll see what happens.Negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian officials are being conducted in secret. Rice said it was a misperception that not that much is going on in the political negotiations. Her language was tempered, however. I'm also a big believer that nothing is really impossible, she said in an interview conducted Monday and aired Tuesday on CBS' The Early Show.It might be improbable but it's not impossible.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley suggested that Bush might acknowledge the Palestinian role when marking the Jewish state's birthday. We are going to Israel to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the founding of the state of Israel, and that is a great event, he said. We also recognize that resulted in hardship for many Palestinian people.

White House press secretary Dana Perino said Tuesday that the two sides have been doing a lot of good work behind the scenes, out of the glare of the spotlight and away from the microphones, which has helped them make some halting progress.It's sluggish, that's true, she said. They have very complex issues to deal with, with decades of conflict that have built up. And if this was easy, it would have been solved a long time ago.Echoing Rice, Perino said, I would put it this way ... while it's exceedingly difficult, it's not impossible. She said the U.S. did not anticipate any major breakthroughs this week but that Bush believes his one-on-one meetings are the best way to make progress. On Lebanon, Hadley said that Rice will be seeking to rally international support for the U.S.-backed government in the coming days after recent clashes with Hezbollah-led opposition. Bush and Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal have accused Iran of exacerbating the situation by supporting Hezbollah. Obviously, we are also going to talk to various countries about additional pressure that can be put on Syria and Iran because in our view they are what is behind this, said Hadley, indicating that a starting point might be the coming U.N. Security Council meeting in New York. There is obviously more to do.Regarding the possibility of more sanctions, Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams said: We'll see what happens in New York.

By a Nearly 2-to-1 Margin, Israelis Want Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to Resign By Larry Derfner Tue May 13, 5:37 PM ET

JERUSALEM--George W. Bush, Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev, Henry Kissinger, and a crowd of other heavyweights are coming to town this week for Israel's 60th birthday, but in a sense they have all been upstaged by Morris Talansky. The 77-year-old Long Island businessman and fundraiser is at the center of the corruption scandal that hangs over Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's future, Bush's visit, the birthday gathering of stars, and Israel's looming decision for war or peace with Palestinians in Gaza.Talansky is suspected by police of illegally funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Olmert before Olmert became prime minister two years ago. On Monday, fraud squad detectives raided Jerusalem City Hall looking for evidence in the files from Olmert's 1993-2003 mayoral term. The next day, they raided the government's Ministry of Industry and Trade, which Olmert headed from 2003 to 2006.Talansky and the prime minister have admitted that large amounts of cash changed hands between them, but both deny having done anything illegal, with Olmert saying the money was donations for his campaign, not his own pocket. I never took a penny for myself, he told a news conference.But by a nearly 3-to-1 margin, Israelis don't believe him, and by a nearly 2-to-1 margin, they want him to resign, according to a survey this week by Mina Tzemach, Israel's leading opinion pollster. With four other corruption investigations pending against him, Olmert has promised to resign if indicted.

However, since the wheels of justice in Israel turn slowly, his most immediately pressing challenge is political rather than legal, and Tzemach's poll didn't make it any easier. The numbers showed that under Olmert's leadership, his Kadima party would be blown away in elections by the right-wing Likud, yet if Olmert were replaced by the popular Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Kadima would win. Livni has not declared for Olmert's job, but Likud leader Binyamin Netanyahu has, and Defense Minister Ehud Barak is waiting for his chance.Bush probably didn't do Olmert any favors, either, in an Oval Office interview he gave to Israeli journalists on the eve of his trip. Declining to comment on the substance of Olmert's legal matter and describing him as an honest guy with whom he had nothing but excellent relations, the president still made clear his view that Olmert wasn't indispensable to the peace process--or irreplaceable. Hoping on his visit to spur the prime minister and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas toward agreement on the outline, or definition, of a Palestinian state-to-be, Bush said, This is not an Olmert plan. This is a plan of a government. Tzipi Livni is handling the negotiations. Ehud Barak is involved.

Olmert's gathering troubles make these talks about a shelf agreement--essentially an agreement in principle to act as a spur to further, more detailed talks--even more irrelevant than before, if that's possible. Abbas remains as powerless as ever while Olmert, whose government would most likely fall if he signed any agreement that Abbas would ever accept, has suddenly become even weaker than usual.This is a glaring obstacle now that Hamas and several smaller Palestinian militant groups in Gaza have agreed to an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire with Israel, a plan that Olmert just sent back to Egypt with his objections. In itself, the killing of two Israelis by Gazan rockets in the past week makes it harder for Olmert to sell a cease-fire agreement to an angry, distrustful Israeli public, and on top of this, the corruption investigation leaves him tapped out of political capital.After Bush heads out on Friday for the remainder of his Middle East trip, Olmert faces the decision of silencing the rockets by a cease-fire with the hated Hamas or by a ground invasion of the teeming, well-armed Gaza Strip. With fraud detectives on his tail, Olmert, 62, will be attempting quite a feat of compartmentalization, one more daunting than an Israeli prime minister should be obliged to perform.

Israel PM says agreements reached with Palestinians by Ron Bousso Tue May 13, 4:06 PM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said on Tuesday that real progress had been made in talks with the Palestinians and understandings and agreements have been reached on very important matters. The discussions we are conducting with the Palestinian Authority are serious and very significant, Olmert said on the eve of a visit to Israel by US President George W. Bush.We are making real progress and understandings and agreements have been reached on very important matters, although not on all of them.
Olmert said he hoped a comprehensive agreement could be reached with the Palestinians although he made no explicit mention of the January 2009 target date set by Bush.I hope an agreement between us will be reached, the realization of which will be gradual and in accordance with the roadmap, he said.

The latter was a reference to a five-year-old internationally drafted peace blueprint which sets out a phased path to peace starting with an Israeli commitment to halt settlement expansion in the occupied territories and a Palestinian commitment to improve security.When the two sides relaunched formal peace negotiations at a US-hosted peace conference in November, they agreed to do so on the basis of the roadmap.This agreement will ensure the future of the state of Israel as a Jewish nation, with full American and international backing, and will be an Israeli-Palestinian agreement which will also receive the blessing of the Arab world, Olmert added.The Israeli premier identified the biggest challenge ahead in the peace negotiations as the future borders of the Jewish state.

I am convinced that the greatest and most important challenge we face today in the State of Israel, and according to which the future will be set, is the challenge of determining the permanent borders of the state of Israel in the framework of peace accords with our neighbours, which will be recognized by the entire international community, he said.I have often said in the past that we must strive to achieve an agreed-upon separation between the two peoples who live in the Land of Israel (Biblical Israel -- historic Palestine), based on two nations -- a Jewish nation and a Palestinian nation, living side-by-side in peace, security and good relations.The Israeli government has made clear that it wants to retain sovereignty over major Jewish settlement blocs in the occupied West Bank, including annexed Arab east Jerusalem, under any peace deal.Olmert said that Israel was also keen to forge ahead with peace deals with neighbouring Arab states. So far only Egypt and Jordan have signed peace treaties with Israel.Achieving peace agreements with other Arab countries is also very important for our future, he said.

It goes without saying that in order to open a promising horizon for Israel's tomorrow, we must make every effort to moderate, and later on to dismantle and remove the serious security threats which darken our skies.Peace negotiations with Syria have been frozen for the past seven years after Israrel baulked at Damscus's demands for the return of the whole of the strategic Golan Heights right down to the shores of the Sea of Galilee -- Israel's main water source.

But Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev revealed earlier this month that preliminary work had been carried out on resuming the talks.We don't just want to restart only a process of negotiations, we want to start a political dialogue, he told reporters.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Security Council
12 May 2008

Statement to Security Council meeting on securing peace and development: the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform
Thank you, Mr. President.
Distinguished delegates,

It is an honour to join you for this discussion on the United Nations role in security sector reform.

This issue is of special importance to the responsibility of the UN, and of this Council in particular, for maintaining international peace and security.

I am grateful to you, Mr. President and the Government of the United Kingdom for bringing us together for this important and timely debate. I also very much appreciate the tireless efforts of the Governments of Slovakia and South Africa in promoting this discussion.

Excellencies,

This month, we mark the 60th anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping. Maintaining international peace and security remains a daunting challenge for our Organization. Despite our efforts over these six decades, conflict and violence continue to pose a threat to nations and peoples.

Unquestionably, Member States remain central providers of security for States and their populations; this is their sovereign right and responsibility, as is the work to reform their security sectors. It is, however, the responsibility of the United Nations to determine how we can best support Member States in delivering enduring security through effective institutions.

Excellencies,

In February 2007, I addressed this Council for the first time on security sector reform. The term is a relatively new one. But in practice, the UN's experience in this area goes back decades, spanning a range of activities and UN Departments, Offices, Funds and Programmes.

As early as 1989, the UN was tasked with supporting a newly independent Namibia in developing preliminary structures for its armed forces. Since the early 1990s, our peace operations have assisted national authorities in establishing new policing institutions, and in strengthening the capacity and integrity of defence structures. In Angola and Mozambique, our mandates included support for the integration, reform and training of armed forces, and partnerships with bilateral donors in coordination and delivery.

From El Salvador and Cambodia in the past to Liberia and Sierra Leone today, the UN has assisted parties in security reform in the context of good offices, mediation and peacekeeping operations. From Guatemala to Afghanistan, from Burundi to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, our experience in mediating and implementing peace agreements shows that if these agreements are to succeed and endure, the work to reform security institutions needs to be addressed from the outset.

In other words, the UN has rich and varied experience in what has come to be known as security sector reform. And yet, too often, we have remained an ad hoc partner for national and international stakeholders.

What has been lacking is a common framework and a coherent system-wide approach. Despite our hands-on record, we have only limited institutional structures to guide engagement on the ground. We need to strengthen our ability to provide consistent, well-coordinated and high-quality technical advice, during peace processes and in peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development. We need to make our approach less piecemeal and more holistic.

That is why, at the request of the Security Council and General Assembly, I issued a report in February entitled “Securing peace and development: the role of the United Nations in supporting security sector reform”. As many of you know, it was the product of broad consultations with Member States, regional groupings and organizations, as well as research centres, academic institutions and NGOs. It was also subject to wide-ranging consultations within the United Nations system, both at Headquarters and in the field.

The starting point for the report is a broad discussion of the concept, underscoring its linkages to many important processes. It makes clear that in any context, security reform must be approached both strategically and holistically. On one level, it is a highly specialized field. On another level, it is obviously linked to budgetary questions, economic development, good governance and sound public management. On yet another level, it requires prudent, measured and consistent steps, as well as a well-functioning understanding with the full range of national stakeholders and partners.

The report before you therefore defines security sector reform as a process of assessment, review and implementation, as well as monitoring and evaluation, led by national authorities. The goal is strengthening the effective and accountable security of a State and its people, underpinned by respect for human rights and the rule of law.

Allow me to underscore a few key principles that will guide our approach. These reflect the discussions of Member States in the Security Council and General Assembly.

First and foremost, the UN should engage in security sector reform at the request of national Governments, or in response to Security Council mandates and General Assembly resolutions.

Second, Member States are the primary providers of security, and national ownership is the cornerstone of our approach. As the Security Council noted last year, it is the sovereign right and primary responsibility of the country concerned to determine the national approach and priorities of security sector reform.

Third, the UN should work in collaboration with key international partners. Such partnerships are vital in ensuring expertise and resources. This is imperative already at the outset of any peace negotiation and mediation, as successful security sector reform is a necessary precursor of any peacekeeping exit strategy, and ultimately, of economic and social development.

Fourth, the UN approach must be flexible and tailored to the individual country, region or environment. States and societies define and pursue security according to their particular context, history, culture and needs. There can be no rigid one size-fits-all.

Finally, our approach must be gender sensitive and consistent with international law, with particular attention to sexual and gender-based violence. We must help ensure that the security sector assumes its responsibility in eradicating the unspeakable epidemic of violence against women that has become the common aftermath of conflict.

Excellencies,

Member States have recognized the need for a coherent system-wide approach to security sector reform, and the need to avoid duplication by creating new frameworks. Let us therefore focus, as a first priority, on professionalizing our approach.

My report proposes a number of straightforward and pragmatic measures:

-Developing UN technical guidelines and training in the area of SSR;

-Strengthening field capacity as well as capabilities and expertise for central backstopping;

-Enhancing coordination and delivery of SSR support;

-And establishing a compact SSR Support Unit at Headquarters, to serve the whole United Nations, in particular peace

operations.

These priorities represent the minimum we must do to enhance our performance. But beyond these, developing effective and accountable security institutions -- including those responsible for the provision of justice -- is more than just a goal. It is our shared obligation, especially in countries recovering from conflict.

It is an obligation intricately linked to our capacity to respond rapidly and decisively in times of crisis, and to address long-term perspectives. It is central to our ability to create an inter-related system of rapidly deployable capabilities, operating under the United Nations Charter. This is why I warmly welcome the Council's intention to debate this strategic issue later this month, with the participation of the Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom.

Mr. President, Excellencies, I am grateful for your commitment to our collective endeavour to strengthen the United Nations' role in security sector reform.

Thank you very much.