IRELAND LISBON TREATY VOTE

EU TREATY AT MERCY IN IRELAND VOTE
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IRELAND VOTES ON EU CHARTER
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EU TREATYS FUTURE IN IRELANDS HANDS
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#18 COUNTRY GREECE RATIFIED THE LISBON TREATY, IF IRELAND DOES IT WILL BE NUMBER 19.

Greece ratifies EU treaty ahead of Ireland referendum AFP
Published: Wednesday, June 11, 2008

ATHENS - Greece's parliament on Wednesday voted in favour of the European Union's Lisbon Treaty, hours before a crucial referendum in Ireland where the charter's future is hanging in the balance.The Greek parliament approved the treaty by 250 votes to 42, with the ruling New Democracy conservatives and main opposition Pasok socialists endorsing the text.The treaty will make the European Union more effective to meet new challenges, Greek Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis told the chamber.What we want is a Europe that becomes more structurally fortified the more it expands.

Greece hopes for a rapid ratification by all states to avoid delay in its implementation, he said.The opposition KKE Communists, Syriza leftists and the small nationalist party LAOS voted against the treaty, demanding that it be put to a referendum.Leftist demonstrations were held against the treaty in Athens and the northern city of Salonika on Wednesday.Pasok leader George Papandreou said his party supported the treaty for a more democratic and social Europe but called for a referendum to ensure that the Greek people were fully informed of the terms of the charter.All 27 EU nations must ratify the wide-ranging treaty if it is to come into effect on January 1 as planned. With Greece, 18 states have completed so far, or all but completed, that process.

The parliaments of Estonia and Finland overwhelmingly approved the charter earlier on Wednesday.The Lisbon Treaty replaces the EU constitution which was rejected by French and Dutch voters in referendums in 2005, plunging the bloc into the worst crisis in its half-century history.Ireland is the only country to hold a popular vote on the treaty, and opinion polls suggest Thursday's vote there could go down to the wire.The two last opinion polls in Ireland suggest supporters and opponents are virtually neck-and-neck, while hinting the no camp has more momentum. AFP 2008

Q&A: Ireland's referendum on the EU reform treatyHenry McDonald explains the basis of Irish opposition to the EU reform treaty, and the implications of a No vote both in Dublin and in Brussels Henry McDonald in Dublin guardian.co.uk, Thursday June 12 2008Article history

A poster in Dublin city centre encourages a no vote in Ireland's referendum on the Lisbon EU reform treaty. Photograph: AP

Is Ireland set to reject the Lisbon treaty?

Opinion polls at the weekend sent out mixed messages. One gave the No campaign a 5% lead while another put the Yes camp narrowly ahead. What all sides in the debate agree on is that the outcome will be extremely close. The Yes camp, which includes the Irish government and the republic's two main opposition parties, are hoping for a relatively high turnout. A low turnout favours the No campaigners as their voters are traditionally more likely to turn up at polling stations.

Why are so many Irish people prepared to vote against the treaty, given how well Ireland has done economically out of the EU?

The reasons for voting No are as complex as the disparate forces opposing the Lisbon treaty. Pro-free market groups like Libertas and individual Irish senators claim the deal will lead to tax harmonisation and take away the republic's advantage as a low capital tax haven that has attracted foreign, mainly US multinational investment and fed the Celtic tiger. Traditional nationalists led by Sinn Féin argue that ratifying the treaty severely dilutes Ireland's sovereignty. Along with the far left, they also claim that the treaty will commit Irish troops to future EU defence plans and thus end the state's neutrality. Ireland is not and never has been a member of Nato. The Catholic right meanwhile also opposes treaty, claiming that a strengthened European court of justice will overrule Irish laws such as the republic's outright ban on abortion.

What are the implications for Europe's 490 million citizens if the Irish vote No?

It will mean one of two things. Either the EU will exempt Ireland from the treaty for now and then invite to join at a later date (this would mean the republic having to hold a second referendum as they did with the Nice treaty) or all the EU states would be obliged renegotiate a brand new deal with its inevitable endless round of bartering between the member states. It would, either way, be a severe setback to the whole process of reforming EU structures and preparing for further expansion if Ireland fails to ratify the treaty.

What will the domestic impact be if there is a No vote?

Defeat in the referendum would be a major setback for the new Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen, coming just weeks after he succeeded Bertie Ahern as Ireland's prime minister. Conversely, a victory for the No campaign would be a boost for Sinn Féin, which suffered significant losses in last year's general election. Sinn Féin is the only party represented in the Dail, or Irish parliament, which is opposed to the Lisbon treaty.

How would Ireland be perceived in Europe if its electorate reject the deal hammered out in Lisbon?

France's foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, has warned that there would be gigantic incomprehension across the EU if Ireland votes No. Privately, senior Irish government strategists admit that failure to ratify the treaty would be deeply embarrassing and a body blow to the credibility of Ireland in Europe. They argue that slowing up the process of EU reform would fatally weaken Ireland's influence.

Would a No vote mean the Irish have become a nation of Eurosceptics?

Not necessarily. Even some of opponents of the treaty are keen to stress that they do not advocate pulling out of the EU entirely. Only a fringe element of Irish politics, both on the far right and extreme left, are in favour of withdrawing from the union. The Irish government hopes it will not have to return to the negotiating table and explain to its European partners why their electorate derailed the Lisbon initiative. Their greatest enemy over the next 24 hours could be the apathy of what commentators call middle Ireland (which is generally pro-European) and their potential failure to turn out to vote.

Dublin referendum turn-out average by midday
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today @ 16:22 CET

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN - Dublin, home to roughly half Ireland's 3 million voters, is seeing average turn-out for a referendum, according to unofficial reports.Across the capital, voting districts were reporting turnout ranging from nine percent to 18 percent of the total electorate as of midday, averaging 12.6 percent, according to spokespeople for the Dublin City Returning Officer.The highest turn-out has so far been in Northside, the northern, more working class areas of the city. (Photo: EUobserver)

The highest turn-out has so far been in Northside, the northern, more working class areas of the city. Working class voters are expected to break more strongly for the No side.Nonetheless, the turnout split across the city may yet change substantially as people from middle class with lower levels of unemployment districts return home from work.Turnout tends to shoot up a little bit more in the early evening after work, as people vote on their way home, said John Wheelan of the Environment Department, the government department in charge of the referendum.Polls are open quite late today. Having opened at 7 am, they do not close until 10 pm – in an effort to boost turn-out.If Dublin leans towards the No on a high turn-out, campaigners on both sides say this would signal a win for the anti-treaty forces, as rural Ireland is expected to break marginally for the No as well. If Dublin goes Yes, all remains in play, as the urban vote could be balanced by farmers.

At the same time, the Irish Farmers' Association last week called on its members to support the Yes side, although having made a commitment so late in the game, farmers may yet go for the No.At the Youthreach Centre polling station on Pleasants Street in south central Dublin, a mixed working class and middle class area, turnout was 11 percent.Ben Bishop, the station's chief presiding officer, said such a turnout for a referendum was slightly higher than normal for the city centre. It's normally two to three percent by this point in the day.Up the road at the Synge Street polling station, in a middle class neighbourhood, turnout was nine percent as of midday, according to the poll's officer.It's been a steady trickle all morning – about what you'd expect, said presiding officer Vincent Tierney. For a referendum, we'd expect by the end of the day about 30 percent. It's much higher for a general election.Jackie Rhodes, manning the tables at the same polling station and a veteran election worker, said: It's pretty average for a referendum, regardless of how contentious it is.It's too close to call. There've been an awful lot of people changing their minds just in the last few days – both ways.

Meanwhile, campaigners from the continent were out in force again today. The Young European Federalists setting up camp in St Stephen's Green, and a van-load of ten members of Attac, the alter-globalisation group that led the successful No campaign in France in 2005 laid out their stalls and literature outside the General Post Office, the headquarters of the 1916 Easter Uprising that presaged the country's independence from Britain.The smartly dressed Young Federalists were broadly optimistic and reported excellent support from Dubliners, while the Attac activists also reported a fantastic attitude from voters.One passer-by, Emma, a grandmother from Hayes, said: I don't trust that lot in the parliament. They'd sell you a goat and tell you it's a race horse!

Papers focus on turn-out

The Irish media for their part have focussed on the importance of turn-out. The Irish Times front page lead story described how both sides were encouraging voters to make their mark, next to a large photograph of a sword swallower street performer, who had yesterday won the Guinness World Record for the highest number of simultaneous swords swallowed – 27, each bearing a different EU member state's flag.The Irish Independent told readers that Ireland needs to vote Yes and also featured the street performer, headlined referendum On a knife-edge.The Irish Examiner also lead with government hopes for a high turn-out, while the Irish editions of the British tabloids – the right-wing and Euro-sceptic Irish Daily Mail, the Star and the Irish Sun – but not the Mirror - called on voters to choose No. The centre-left Mirror told readers they must vote Yes.The Sun's front-page, true to stereotype, bore a half-naked young woman with two X-marked voting papers covering her breasts alongside a frowning European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and a headline screaming: No Way Jose.

Ireland goes to polls over EU treaty JUNE 12,08

Europeans are looking towards Ireland tonight, where people are voting in a referendum on the European Union's proposed Lisbon treaty.The treaty provides for a streamlining of EU institutions to cope with expansions into Eastern Europe. It reduces individual countries' veto powers and creates powerful new posts for an EU president and foreign policy chief.

Ireland is the only country holding a referendum on the issue.

A No vote could derail the project as all 27 member-countries need to approve the treaty for it to come into force.

All of the main Irish parties are backing the treaty, but Prime Minister Brian Cowen, says that might not be enough to win the support of the people.

The problem is if I go to the European Council next week with a no vote obviously the preliminary discussions will have to begin as to what happens, he said.

I mean there'll be great disappointment and a great sense of uncertainty as to where we go from here.

Opponents of the treaty have been putting up a strong challenge.

Naoise Nunn, from No campaign group Libertas, says the treaty centralises power without providing accountability.

We're not running a campaign against Europe, he said.

It is against a specific treaty which is taking Europe down a road very, very fast and the passengers are kind of going, hang on a second, let's just stop for a minute and decide and get agreement amongst all of us on where we're going.- ABC/BBC

Main points of the EU's Lisbon Treaty JUNE 12,08

The main points of the Lisbon Treaty on which Irish citizens are voting Thursday and which aims to simplify how the bloc will be run in the decades ahead. The new EU treaty must be ratified by all 27 EU nations before it can take affect.

BURYING THE CONSTITUTION:

If ratified, the Lisbon Treaty would replace the aborted draft constitution voted down by French and Dutch voters in 2005. The new treaty is of a more modest charter; amends previous EU treaty rule books, and drops some of the symbolic elements of the constitution, such as formally recognizing the EU flag and anthem.

FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS:

A 50-article charter contains a list of well-established rights, such as freedom of speech and religion, but also includes the right to shelter, education, collective labor bargaining and fair working conditions. Worried by the impact on business and their legal systems, Britain and Poland obtained opt-outs.

POWER AND INFLUENCE IN AN EXPANDED CLUB:

The EU will have a president for 2 1/2-year terms and a more powerful foreign policy chief who answers to the EU governments, but is a member of the European Commission, the EU executive. That person will get control over the EU's aid budget and its extensive network of diplomats and civil servants.

SMALLER EUROPEAN COMMISSION:

The EU executive office will be cut from the current 27 members to 18 as of 2014. Commissioners will be selected on a rotation system among the states, and will sit for five-year terms.

EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT:

The European Parliament gets more power especially in justice and interior affairs to influence or reject EU legislation. The EU assembly will have its membership capped at 751 members from the current 785.

DECISION-MAKING:

The treaty will mean the EU can take decisions by majority rather than unanimous voting in 50 new areas including judicial and police cooperation, education and economic policy. Britain and Ireland get opt-outs in judicial and police areas. Unanimity is still required in foreign and defense policy, social security, taxation and culture.

NEXT STEP:

The aim is to have all EU countries ratify the treaty for EU-wide elections to the European Parliament, which are planned for June 2009.

EU takes US to task for protectionism trends
RENATA GOLDIROVA Today @ 09:21 CET

The EU has voiced frustration over worrying signs of protectionism in the United States, pointing to a planned increase of US farm subsidies as well as some anti-terrorism measures such as mandatory scanning of all goods containers entering American territory. We have noted with certain concern that there are signs of growing protectionism in a number of areas, reads the union's statement to the World Trade Organisation issued on Wednesday (11 June).The document attacks mounting restrictive import requirements for security purposes as they represent a considerable burden on EU exporters. The EU has hinted it may challenge the measures in front of the Geneva-based body. The EU raised doubts about the compliance of these measures with World Trade Organisation rules and their professed intent, the statement concludes. The two sides are the world's export leaders, with transatlantic trade amounting to €3 billion per day.

Higher farm subsidies

The EU has also criticised more generous hand-outs foreseen in the new 2008 US Farm Bill, especially in the context of the ongoing Doha development round of world trade talks. The Doha development round began in 2001 with the aim of cutting farm subsidies and tariffs and boosting free trade. The bill is the work of the US Congress which is pushing higher subsidies despite opposition from President George W. Bush. The [EU], like others, remains concerned that we are seeing less commitment to multilateralism than in the past, especially since the US has always been the main proponent as well as the beneficiary of the multilateral system, the EU statement says.The WTO attack comes a show of friendship between Brussels and Washington at the EU-US summit in Slovenia earlier this week.

LAZER ROCKET TO SPACE

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TODAY TO SARA FROM THE U.S.A.

TODAY IRELAND VOTES ON THE LISBON TREATY THAT MAKES THE EU HAVE A PERMANANT PRESIDENT.17 OF THE 27 HAVE ALREADY PASSED THE TREATY.

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.

14 WARNINGS OF TORNADOES IN NEBRASKA AND AREA.

NEBRASKA TORNADOES THROUGHT THE YEARS.
http://www.hprcc.unl.edu/nebraska/TORNADOES.html

OKLAHOMA FLOODING TO CONTINUE
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FLOODS RAVAGE MIDWEST
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FOX RIVER FLOODING COULD GET WORSE
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Flood evacuations ordered along Iowa's Cedar River By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Residents were ordered to evacuate low-lying sections of towns along the overflowing Cedar River on Wednesday, and communities along the Mississippi River were warned that new rainfall would boost their expected flood crests. Officials in Wisconsin, where this month's rainfall is approaching a record, planned to drain water from one reservoir to ease pressure on a dam, and were monitoring dams elsewhere in the state. High water in Indiana burst a levee Wednesday and flooded a vast stretch of farmland.In Minnesota and North Dakota, strong winds closed a highway and even sent a cow into the air.More rain spread across parts of Iowa on Wednesday, including some flood-threatened areas. The showers came as a band of storms rippled across the northern Plains.A sandbagged levee prevented the Cedar River from flooding this northeastern Iowa city, but officials asked for extra volunteers to help shore it up. Just downstream, Waterloo ordered a mandatory evacuation of about 60 homes and half as many businesses because the ground was saturated and pumping stations couldn't keep up, officials said.

To the southeast in Cedar Rapids, more than 200 residents of a neighborhood near the river were told to seek higher ground.In Vinton, electricity was cut Wednesday morning when rising water affected the city's municipal power plant, said Steve Meyer, the assistant emergency operations center manager. He said a 15-block area near the river had already been evacuated.The water is at least three feet deep. It's still coming up, he said of the town, home of about 5,000 people between Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar River had been expected to top the Cedar Falls levee during the night and deluge the downtown area of the city of 35,000 people some 88 miles northeast of Des Moines. But city spokeswoman Susan Staudt said early Wednesday that the sandbags had held.Along the Mississippi River, the National Weather Service has predicted crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next two weeks in the Missouri and Illinois stretch of the river. Most of the towns are protected by levees, but outlying areas could be flooded.The river was 1.5 feet above flood stage and rising Wednesday at St. Louis, where the floating President Casino closed for the second time this year because of flooding on its riverfront access road.With more rain falling upriver Wednesday in parts of Iowa, crests at Missouri's Mississippi River towns could be higher than currently forecast, said weather service hydrologist Jim Kramper.It's when the rain falls upstream that it's a bigger impact on you, Kramper said. As this new batch of water comes down, the river could start creeping up again.That reflects conditions that have existed all spring, said Susie Stoner, spokesman for Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency.We have rivers that have been at flood stage since March, Stoner said.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned to close a series of locks north of St. Louis in the coming days. The locks must be closed to remove and store electric motors that move lock gates and control valves, the corps said.The weather service was predicting the worst Mississippi River flooding in 15 years, but Stoner doesn't expect nearly the impact of what's known as the Great Flood of 1993.We've done a lot of buyouts in the past so some of the areas that flood — the people aren't there anymore, she said. In Wisconsin, state and local officials monitored dams threatened by the high water from days of storms. Wisconsin officials planned to let water out of the reservoir behind Primmer Dam, in the southwestern part of the state, to ease pressure on the weakening structure, said Russell Rasmussen of the Department of Natural Resources. He said a number of homes and a highway are located downstream from the dam.

There's some seepage coming out, Rasmussen said. We're concerned the dam is weakened to the point of becoming a problem.As of Wednesday morning, Milwaukee had measured 9.21 inches of rain already this month — including a record 7.18 inches in a 48-hour period — and the June record is only 10.03 inches, set in 1917.
Officials in flood-damaged southern and western Wisconsin were worried about crop losses. One southwestern county reported losing $5.5 million in soybeans, hay and corn. The upper Plains were facing strong winds and thunderstorms Wednesday. In western Minnesota, part of Interstate 94 was closed near Fergus Falls after winds blew trucks off the road. In North Dakota, authorities were checking reports on downed trees and power outages. Winds of more than 70 mph destroyed a barn, sending at least one cow airborne, near Valley City, N.D., officials said. It wasn't clear whether the cow survived. A levee failed early Wednesday in southwest Indiana near the town of Capehart, flooding several square miles of farmland near the White River, and Daviess County authorities urged residents to evacuate. We've got about a 40-yard swath of levee that's gone, said Indiana state Rep. Dave Crooks, speaking for the county's Emergency Management Agency. Authorities also ordered as many as 300 residents north of nearby Maysville to evacuate late Tuesday after water topped a levee. Residents of southeastern Minnesota were hoping to avoid a repeat of last weekend's flooding as the rain moved in. Rain-swollen rivers there were falling, but meteorologists said they could be on the rise again Thursday morning. Associated Press writers Amy Lorentzen in Cedar Falls, Iowa; Luke Meredith in Des Moines, Iowa; and Todd Richmond in Lake Delton, Wis.; and David N. Goodman in Detroit contributed to this report.(This version CORRECTS spelling of hydrologist's last name to Kramper.)

CLEANUP IN NJ AFTER STORM
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Flood evacuations ordered along Iowa's Cedar River By AMY LORENTZEN, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - Residents were ordered to evacuate low-lying sections of towns along the overflowing Cedar River on Wednesday, and communities along the Mississippi River were warned that new rainfall would boost their expected flood crests. Officials in Wisconsin, where this month's rainfall is approaching a record, planned to drain water from one reservoir to ease pressure on a dam, and were monitoring dams elsewhere in the state. High water in Indiana burst a levee Wednesday and flooded a vast stretch of farmland.In Minnesota and North Dakota, strong winds closed a highway and even sent a cow into the air.More rain spread across parts of Iowa on Wednesday, including some flood-threatened areas. The showers came as a band of storms rippled across the northern Plains.A sandbagged levee prevented the Cedar River from flooding this northeastern Iowa city, but officials asked for extra volunteers to help shore it up. Just downstream, Waterloo ordered a mandatory evacuation of about 60 homes and half as many businesses because the ground was saturated and pumping stations couldn't keep up, officials said.To the southeast in Cedar Rapids, more than 200 residents of a neighborhood near the river were told to seek higher ground.In Vinton, electricity was cut Wednesday morning when rising water affected the city's municipal power plant, said Steve Meyer, the assistant emergency operations center manager. He said a 15-block area near the river had already been evacuated.The water is at least three feet deep. It's still coming up, he said of the town, home of about 5,000 people between Cedar Falls and Cedar Rapids.

The Cedar River had been expected to top the Cedar Falls levee during the night and deluge the downtown area of the city of 35,000 people some 88 miles northeast of Des Moines. But city spokeswoman Susan Staudt said early Wednesday that the sandbags had held.Along the Mississippi River, the National Weather Service has predicted crests of 10 feet above flood stage and higher over the next two weeks in the Missouri and Illinois stretch of the river. Most of the towns are protected by levees, but outlying areas could be flooded.The river was 1.5 feet above flood stage and rising Wednesday at St. Louis, where the floating President Casino closed for the second time this year because of flooding on its riverfront access road.With more rain falling upriver Wednesday in parts of Iowa, crests at Missouri's Mississippi River towns could be higher than currently forecast, said weather service hydrologist Jim Kramper.It's when the rain falls upstream that it's a bigger impact on you, Kramper said. As this new batch of water comes down, the river could start creeping up again.That reflects conditions that have existed all spring, said Susie Stoner, spokesman for Missouri's State Emergency Management Agency.We have rivers that have been at flood stage since March, Stoner said.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers planned to close a series of locks north of St. Louis in the coming days. The locks must be closed to remove and store electric motors that move lock gates and control valves, the corps said.The weather service was predicting the worst Mississippi River flooding in 15 years, but Stoner doesn't expect nearly the impact of what's known as the Great Flood of 1993.We've done a lot of buyouts in the past so some of the areas that flood — the people aren't there anymore, she said. In Wisconsin, state and local officials monitored dams threatened by the high water from days of storms. Wisconsin officials planned to let water out of the reservoir behind Primmer Dam, in the southwestern part of the state, to ease pressure on the weakening structure, said Russell Rasmussen of the Department of Natural Resources. He said a number of homes and a highway are located downstream from the dam. There's some seepage coming out, Rasmussen said. We're concerned the dam is weakened to the point of becoming a problem.As of Wednesday morning, Milwaukee had measured 9.21 inches of rain already this month — including a record 7.18 inches in a 48-hour period — and the June record is only 10.03 inches, set in 1917. Officials in flood-damaged southern and western Wisconsin were worried about crop losses. One southwestern county reported losing $5.5 million in soybeans, hay and corn. The upper Plains were facing strong winds and thunderstorms Wednesday. In western Minnesota, part of Interstate 94 was closed near Fergus Falls after winds blew trucks off the road. In North Dakota, authorities were checking reports on downed trees and power outages. Winds of more than 70 mph destroyed a barn, sending at least one cow airborne, near Valley City, N.D., officials said. It wasn't clear whether the cow survived. A levee failed early Wednesday in southwest Indiana near the town of Capehart, flooding several square miles of farmland near the White River, and Daviess County authorities urged residents to evacuate.

We've got about a 40-yard swath of levee that's gone, said Indiana state Rep. Dave Crooks, speaking for the county's Emergency Management Agency. Authorities also ordered as many as 300 residents north of nearby Maysville to evacuate late Tuesday after water topped a levee. Residents of southeastern Minnesota were hoping to avoid a repeat of last weekend's flooding as the rain moved in. Rain-swollen rivers there were falling, but meteorologists said they could be on the rise again Thursday morning. Associated Press writers Amy Lorentzen in Cedar Falls, Iowa; Luke Meredith in Des Moines, Iowa; and Todd Richmond in Lake Delton, Wis.; and David N. Goodman in Detroit contributed to this report. (This version CORRECTS spelling of hydrologist's last name to Kramper.)

Indonesia launches tsunami alert buoys: US embassy Wed Jun 11, 10:41AM ET

JAKARTA (AFP) - Indonesia launched two tsunami alert buoys with US help Wednesday to boost an early warning system for the country worst hit by the 2004 killer wave, the US embassy said. The devices are part of a 22-buoy system planned for the Indian Ocean, an embassy statement said.This work is extremely important for ordinary Indonesians who live and work in tsunami-prone areas, US Ambassador Cameron Hume said in the statement.The Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunami (DART) system uses a sensor on the seabed to send signals to a buoy on the surface, which in turn transmits the information to authorities on land.The first buoy was deployed off the Thai resort area of Phuket in December 2005, while Indonesia launched its first in September last year and now has five. A sixth went missing in January when the cable attaching it to the sea floor was severed.

Indonesia and Thailand were among a dozen nations lashed by the catastrophic December 2004 tsunami. More than 168,000 people were killed in Indonesia's Aceh province and Nias island.Indonesia sits on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, where continental plates collide, meaning earthquakes are a regular and often deadly occurrence.Offshore, shallow quakes can trigger tsunamis, which occur far less frequently, but can hit coastal areas quickly and claim a large number of lives.

China refugees move again 1 month after quake By AUDRA ANG, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 11, 3:46 PM ET

MIANYANG, China - As China marked Thursday's one-month anniversary of its deadly earthquake, some weary survivors were once again on the move, setting up tents and shelters on city sidewalks away from a threatened flood. Soldiers in Mianyang, the largest urban area directly under threat from the Tangjiashan quake-formed lake, helped survivors move their belongings yet again while vehicles drove by loaded with plastic stools and bottled water.Cutting through the city, the Fu River was running high and fast, and life remained far from normal. Many residents continue to sleep outdoors because of damaged homes or fear of aftershocks from the May 12 disaster that jolted Sichuan province and neighboring regions. Many businesses were closed, some with sandbags stacked at their entrances.Although they remained homeless, residents said conditions near their former dwellings were far superior to those in the hastily erected camps in the hills where some had been living for almost two weeks because of flood fears.Life wasn't so good up there. When it rained, the water didn't drain and sometimes it reached up to our ankles, said street sweeper Zhao Shuping, 46, who sought shelter on higher ground on June 2.Authorities had evacuated 250,000 people near the lake, which formed when landslides blocked a river above the destroyed town of Beichuan. It was the largest of 30 lakes created by the quake.

In Beijing, China showcased its massive aid effort, with soldiers, medical workers and politicians gathering in the Great Hall of the People on Wednesday to hear emotional testimonials about its success.The nationally televised event featured heroes from the quake — a teacher from devastated Beichuan, a volunteer nurse from southern Guangdong, a military commander who led troops on a 31-hour march to reach the epicenter.Organized by the Communist Party's propaganda department, it underscored the government's emphasis on positive coverage amid a long and daunting recovery effort. Nearly 70,000 people died in the disaster, with another 17,000 missing after the 7.9-magnitude quake.In the first days after the quake, China's typically harsh media restrictions were relaxed, allowing both domestic and foreign reporters unusual freedom in covering the disaster. But in recent weeks, the government has begun rolling back liberties as hard questions have continued about corruption and shoddy construction of schools.

Foreign reporters have been blocked from parts of the quake zone, with officials seeking to rein in public anger over students' deaths. In one instance, parents were forcibly removed from a public protest.The incidents highlight the challenges in store as China's leaders seek to move forward on rehabilitation and rebuilding.Senior military leaders said the threat posed by quake-formed lake has ended.As of June 10, Tangjiashan quake lake is no longer considered dangerous, said Senior Col. Wen Zhixiong, deputy director general for the Operations Bureau of the People's Armed Police Force.Wen said soldiers and police had worked around the clock for nine days to dig a 1,600-foot-long sluice to release the lake's rising water. Some 700 soldiers trekked on foot to deliver three tons of dynamite, diesel and other materials, he said.

Soldiers dug a diversion channel and blasted boulders and large debris with dynamite, bazookas and recoilless guns to speed up the drainage. On Tuesday, churning waters poured through the spillway, engulfing low-lying, empty towns but sparing larger areas downstream.Maj. Gen. Ma Jian, deputy chief of operations, said the military suffered only five deaths during rescue efforts: the crew aboard a chopper that crashed May 31 as it was ferrying 13 injured from the quake zone.On Wednesday, a relief helicopter made a forced landing near the quake-hit city of Shifang in Sichuan province after a mechanical breakdown, injuring three people, the official Xinhua news agency reported. The helicopter, carrying 13 relief workers and crew members, landed in an open field, it said. At the Taohuashan camp overlooking the town of Qinglian, about 3,000 evacuees were still waiting to return home. Authorities had told them they needed to disinfect the area before it would be safe.

Evacuees were suffering from exposure, with 10 people recovering in a clinic from heat stroke and numerous cases of the common cold.
Xu Daijin, a 56-year-old farmer, said he was eager to get back to his crops of beans, gourds, and chili, on which he relied for six months of income totaling about $723. I'm relying on the government to help me. I have no choice. I have nothing left, said Xu, who was tending to a pair of pigs he kept in a pen a short distance from the tents. China has ordered government departments to cut spending to free up reconstruction funds for the estimated 5 million people made homeless, few of whom had insurance. Citing the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, Xinhua said companies had paid $41 million on 249,000 life and property claims. In contrast, insurance companies have paid more than $40 billion on 1.7 million property loss claims linked to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Planning experts have recommended that more than 30 towns in the quake-hit areas, including the local government seat of Beichuan, be rebuilt elsewhere, according to Caijing, a leading Chinese business magazine. Beichuan may be relocated to the adjacent town of Anxian, and political divisions could be readjusted, Caijing reported.

WILDFIRES SWEEP THROUGH CALIFORNIA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8275820&ch=4226713&src=news

STOCKTON RESIDENTS LOSE HOLMES - FIRE
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8267702&src=news

Hot weather, strong wind stoke N. Calif. wildfires By DON THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A second day of hot weather and dry wind stoked new wildfires across Northern California on Wednesday, as firefighters battled blazes that have damaged at least 50 homes and threaten hundreds more. Three firefighters trapped by flames while battling a 50-acre fire near Lincoln on Wednesday were being treated at the University of California, Davis Medical Center regional burn center in Sacramento, fire officials said.Two were being treated for moderate to severe burns to their faces and arms, while the third was treated for facial burns and released, said Bill Mendonca, battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.Firefighters battled a blaze near Palermo, about 60 miles north of the state capital, that damaged about 21 homes on Tuesday and threatened about 275 others, fire officials said.I grabbed a few pieces of clothing, my purse. My daughter grabbed her important papers and some clothing, whatever we could put in the car, and we left, said Debbie Buchman, who fled her home with her daughter and granddaughter and spent the night at a shelter. We were hoping we would still have a home when we got back, but we didn't.The whole house was burnt to the ground, with everything we own, she said in a telephone interview. It's pretty rough.

Meanwhile, a Sacramento Metro Fire Department captain who suffered third-degree burns to his hands and second-degree burns to his arms while battling a grass fire southeast of the city on Tuesday underwent surgery at the burn center Wednesday.Doctors are saying he will fully recover, but it will take months, said Capt. Jeff Lynch, a department spokesman.More than 70 firefighters battled the 6,400-acre fire Wednesday to make sure the wind didn't blow sparks across fire lines, he said.We have extreme fire danger, a lot of wind, and a single spark can set it off, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman for the state fire agency. The extreme fire danger was expected to last through Thursday.Firefighters continued to battle blazes in Stockton, where 32 homes were damaged Tuesday, and near the coast in Monterey and Sonoma counties.A record-dry spring has left grass, brush and trees ready to burst into flames that can then be spread by the high winds, firefighters said.In Colorado, more than 50 firefighters were battling a lightning-sparked blaze at a remote U.S. Army training site about 160 miles south of Denver.

The fire has burned about 8,000 acres inside Fort Carson's Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, spokeswoman Karen Linne said. The vast training site stretches across 235,000 acres.Across the country in eastern North Carolina, firefighters planned to burn harvested wheat fields to clear potential fuel for a wildfire burning in and around the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.About 50 homes were ordered evacuated because of the 64-square-mile wildfire, officials said. The fire, sparked June 1 by a lightning strike, is about 40 percent contained, officials said.A fire at an under-renovation citrus processing facility in the southern Texas town of Palmview destroyed at least one building but no one was injured. About 45 workers were in the Rio Queen Citrus Inc. unit when the fire broke out and all were accounted for.Associated Press writer Samantha Young contributed to this report.

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).

17 COUNTRYS NOW RATFIED THE EU LISBON TREATY OF THE 27, AND IRELAND DOES IT TODAY.(A REFERENDUM).

Finnish and Estonian parliaments ratify EU treaty
ELITSA VUCHEVA 11.06.2008 @ 17:20 CET

The Finnish and Estonian parliaments have ratified the EU's Lisbon treaty, just a day before Irish citizens are to cast their vote on the document in a referendum being closely watched across Europe.A large majority of Finnish deputies – 151 out of 200 – on Wednesday (11 June) voted in favour of the document, while 27 opposed it and 21were absent, according to AFP news agency.A majority of EU states have ratified the EU's Lisbon treaty (Photo: Council of the European Union)

A little later on Wednesday afternoon, the Estonian parliament also approved the Lisbon treaty. Its vote was almost unanimous: 91 votes in favour and one against. Nine MPs abstained.In both countries, the presidents now have to sign off the document for ratification to be finalised.European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso welcomed both votes, saying: The treaty has now been approved by seventeen member states. The two votes today send a strong signal, confirming the desire for the treaty to be ratified in good time to enter into force by 1 January 2009.Earlier in the day, the president of the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Poettering also said that coming a day before the Irish Referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, the approval by a big majority of members of the Finnish parliament is a further important signal that this Reform Treaty is in Europe's vital interest.In addition, the Greek parliament was expected to vote on the document later in the day.Ireland is the only country that will put the document to a popular vote on Thursday (12 June) and polls suggest the result will be tight.

The EU will be hoping that Wednesday's ratification give a boost to the yes camp in Ireland as it is getting increasingly nervous about the referendum's outcome.By contrast, comments by French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner earlier this week that an Irish no vote would be a sign of ungratefulness were dismissed as counter-productive in Ireland.It would be very, very, very troubling...that we could not count on the Irish, who themselves have counted a lot on Europe's money, Mr Kouchner told French radio RTL.Mr Kouchner should have minded his own business. We have proven in Ireland that we can take our own decisions, Irish health minister Mary Harney said, according to French daily Le Figaro on Wednesday (11 June).
The Lisbon treaty was drawn up after the European Constitution was rejected by French and Dutch voters in 2005. It contains most of that document's innovations.

Bush mounts charm offensive on last EU tour
RENATA GOLDIROVA 11.06.2008 @ 09:18 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - US president George W. Bush, on a farewell tour through Europe, has won the EU's support for tougher action against Iranian banks said to be involved in financing Tehran's nuclear programme.The two sides agreed to introduce additional measures, designed to ensure that Iranian banks cannot abuse the international banking system to support proliferation and terrorism, says a joint statement issued by the EU-US summit on Tuesday (10 June). George W. Bush is on his last EU trip before leaving office in January (Photo: Irish Presidency)

The American leader described Tehran's nuclear ambitions as incredibly dangerous to world peace and spoke of an urgency to deal with the issue. The UN Security Council has approved three rounds of sanctions against the Ahmadinejad regime - asset restrictions, travel bans on Iranian individuals and companies as well as ban on sale of items, which could be misused for military purposes. At the moment, all eyes are on EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who will travel to Iran for the first time in two years this weekend (15 June). The trip is aimed at offering a set of incentives and penalties linked to its enrichment activities.Mr Bush crossed the Atlantic to meet his European partners for the last time before leaving presidential office in January 2009. The trip includes - apart from the summit host country Slovenia - allies such as Germany, France, Italy and the UK. In Slovenia, he held talks with Slovene prime minister Janez Jansa and the European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

Bilateral relations

EU-US relations under the Bush administration have not been a smooth ride, mainly due to Washington's unilateral military action against the regime of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. The 2003 war resulted in a deep rift in transatlantic relations and caused a split within the then 15-nation union. Much of the Tuesday's press conference tried to turn attention to the positive aspects of mutual ties, with president Bush evidently trying to charm his audience.He opened his speech by saying I said Slovenia was a little slice of heaven. I'd like to change my remark. Slovenia is a big slice of heaven. Mr Bush began his first European trip there after elected the US president eight years ago.Slovene leader Janez Jansa, speaking on behalf of his country's EU presidency, described transatlantic ties as solid and dynamic.Although we may have different approaches in some aspects, it should never overshadow the depth of our relations, he said, referring to the death penalty and the EU's ambition to introduce a mandatory target aimed at curbing CO2 emissions.

Climate change and visas

President Bush made it clear that Washington will not commit to ambitious green goals unless emerging economies come on board as well. Unless China and India are at the table, unless they agree to a goal and to the strategies to achieve that goal, then I don't see how any international agreement can be effective, he said. The American leader also reiterated Washington's commitment to introduce visa-free travel for more EU countries as only 15 of them now enjoy this possibility. We are on our way to solving it in the way that will satisfy countries as well as the EU, Mr Bush said, indirectly responding to Brussels' recently expressed concerns that US security agencies will gain access to sensitive data via bilateral deals. Mr Jansa, for his part, confirmed that we are close to seeing new countries join the visa waiver programme soon.

But he warned against unreasonable security measures - a message linked to fresh US plans to set up an online registration system, collecting passengers' data 72 hours before they depart to the US.
We remain determined to ensure that the need for enhanced security will not restrict visa free travel for our citizens, Mr Jansa said.

Support for Turkey

US President Bush once again threw his weight behind Turkey's EU bid by saying: We strongly believe that Turkey ought to be a member of the European Union.He praised the country's political and economic reform record and called for promoting democracy in the Balkans and the Middle East. The EU and US together account for ten percent of the world population. Mutual trade amounts to €3 billion per day, the two make up 60 percent of the global GDP and provide 75 percent of world aid to poor countries.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

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

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

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

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

Irish no camp says Paris hiding plans for EU defence
TERESA KÜCHLER 11.06.2008 @ 07:52 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - On the eve of Ireland's referendum on the EU treaty, the Irish no camp has accused France of trying to hide its intentions to push for beefing up EU military capabilities and creating an EU army commanded by Brussels. According to Kathy Sinnott, independent MEP and fervent opponent of the Lisbon treaty, the French government is keeping a promised blueprint on European defence and security secret until after the crucial vote on Thursday (12 June). The French white paper on EU defence has been ready for release since May, but the French government are withholding it until after the Irish referendum, the MEP said, demanding that the text be released immediately. According to the MEP, the Lisbon treaty would force member states to contribute substantial amounts of cash and military expertise to comply with the text's provision on boosting EU military capability, a provision that Paris is ready to take up on as soon as the text has been ratified by all EU member states.

The Lisbon Treaty states that Ireland is not obliged to take part in, or be bound by, decisions in the area of freedom, security and justice, such as military cooperation. But Ms Sinnott insists that under the new treaty, Ireland could lose its long-cherished military neutrality. She points to a clause in the treaty which states that member states shall undertake progressively to improve their military capabilities.Even if the Lisbon Treaty gives us the right to keep our veto on sending Irish soldiers to the world's hot spots under an EU flag, we would not have the right to refuse to join the EU arms race, Ms Sinnott told EUobserver. In the name of solidarity with the other member states, we would have to keep our machinery up to date, send our military experts and increase defence spending. Irish tax-payers would have to pay for EU weaponry.

Irish neutrality

The Irish Labour party, a strong supporter of the treaty, in an immediate response to Ms Sinnott's accusations, on Tuesday (10 June) said that Irish neutrality had never and would not in the future be jeopardized by the Lisbon deal. Ireland has a veto on EU defence policy, and Ireland is not bound by any mutual defence commitment, nor is Ireland party to any plans to develop a European army, Eamon Gilmore, leader of the Irish Labour party said in a statement. A spokesperson for the French government, surprised by the accusations from Ms Sinnott, told EUobserver that the white paper on defence was an internal exercise and that his government had never made any promises concerning the publication date to its European colleagues.It was always said it would come out in June, but we never talked about whether it would be before or after the Irish referendum; this is an entirely French paper, he said.

French newspapers reported last month that the Irish government had explicitly asked the French government to keep its defence strategy quiet until after the 12 June referendum. The spokesperson denied knowledge of such a deal.

France pushes defence

Paris' intention to reassert itself at the centre of European politics in an area where it has considerable assets (defence) and to kick-start a new era in European security policy is well-known to European policymakers since the arrival of latest president to the Elysee palace. Nicolas Sarkozy said already in August last year that France would push for a bolder strategy on defence when it holds the rotating presidency - the political leadership - of the EU, starting on 1 July this year. Europe must progressively affirm itself as a first-rank player for peace and security, Sarkozy said, suggesting among other things to strengthen Europe's shared defence forces and set out a blueprint for the future deployment of troops from all member states, commanded from a new EU military headquarters in Brussels. Last week, French defence minister Herve Morin suggested that EU countries on a voluntary basis create a common market for weapons, an area where currently EU common market rules or rules on procurement and tenders do not apply. EU capitals have so far jealously protected their arms industries from the EU open market, claiming the defence market is a crucial matter of national security. Previous calls for a European defence have also sparked fears that it could undermine the work of NATO.

Vatican: People obsessed by Islam ,We mustn't get the impression there are first-class, second-class religions June 10, 2008 10:19 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

The Vatican says the world is focusing on Islam to the exclusion of other faiths, and there needs to be a balance among the various belief systems when issues are discussed.Yes, the people are obsessed by Islam. For example I'm going to India next month and I want to give this message that all religions are equal. Sometimes there are priorities because of particular situations, but we mustn't get the impression there are first class religions and second class religions, said Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, head of the Pontifical Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue.His comments focused on the council's recent meetings concerning new guidelines for interfaith dialogue and were in an interview with Terrasanta.net, a Website of the Holy Land Review, published by a U.S. church organization. He said the Catholic Church must have regard for all religions.What was interesting about our discussions was that we did not concentrate on Islam because in a way we are being held hostage by Islam a little bit, he said. Islam is very important, but there are also other great Asiatic religious traditions. Islam is one religion.According to the United Kingdom Mail newspaper, Pope Benedict XVI has scheduled an unprecedented Catholic-Muslim meeting in October.Tauran said the new guidelines are intended to be a kind of road map for priests, bishops and ordinary brothers and sisters.

Christians, he said have many things in common with other believers – for example that we all believe in one God, that we profess the same sacredness of life, the necessity of fraternity, the experience of prayer.But he said while Christians and the Catholic Church are working to recognize and grant consideration to Muslims, societies dominated by Islam are failing completely to reciprocate.What is good for me is good for the other, so if it's possible for Muslims to have a mosque in the West, we should have the same in Muslim countries. This is not the case in many countries, he said, specifically citing Saudi Arabia.One success story has been in Qatar, where he said he recently celebrated mass at a new church in Doha.It is a very impressive building. Now we're going to have a school there run by nuns. So this is an example of very good inter-religious dialogue with very concrete effects. In Saudi Arabia that is not the case yet, he said.Tauran said that there are indications Saudi officials may be willing to meet with Christians and Jews, but talk of actually building a church in Saudi Arabia is premature.We don't have precise information about what the [Saudi] king has in mind, but I suppose it will be a gradual evolution, for example the possibility to celebrate services in hotels, in embassies, Tauran said.The interfaith guidelines are being developed now, he said, because there are a lot of plans and initiatives around the world and we have to put them into some order.

He reserved much of his criticism for the fact Islam does not treat other religions as Islam is treated.The purpose of interreligious dialogue is to know the other better in order to understand the content of his faith, and of course the Holy Father is insisting on freedom of religion, freedom to have a religion and not to have one, and the freedom to change religion. This is something also stated in international law, and of course for the Muslims, it's not the same, he said.He also noted that disputes in the Holy Land are far from a resolution, largely because of the attitudes of those involved.And also Jews and Muslims have more of an eye for eye mentality than one of forgiveness, the interviewer asked.Yes, was Tauran's succinct reply.

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.

East Coast heat wave claims 17 lives, most elderly JUNE 11,08

PHILADELPHIA - The East Coast heat wave has claimed the lives of 17 people, and most of the victims were elderly. The Philadelphia medical examiner's office says eight people died of heat-related causes in the four days of scorching temperatures.Six others died in New York City and two died in Maryland. A 65-year-old man also died of sunstroke in the Philadelphia suburb of Pottstown, Pa., while sunbathing.The Philadelphia victims ranged in age from 65 to 95. Five of the six people who died in New York were over 70 and were found in their homes.One of the two men who died Maryland collapsed after using a push lawnmower in the heat.The region suffered through temperatures in the high 90s from Saturday through Tuesday.

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)

WORLD OFFICIALS TAKE ON GAS PRICES
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=4226712&cl=8276314&src=news

US: Gas to peak at $4.15 a gallon but stay high By H. JOSEF HEBERT, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

WASHINGTON - Gasoline prices should peak at $4.15 a gallon this summer, the government says — finally an encouraging word for motorists who might be thinking the cost of a fill-up will just keep climbing. But wait: The predicted relief is pretty modest. Prices at the pump are likely to stay around $4 a gallon much of next year, according to Wednesday's projections by the Energy Department's statistical agency.Oh, and the government tends to err on the optimistic side.Guy Caruso, head of the federal Energy Information Administration, delivered the sober news at a congressional hearing on energy prices and the future of oil.Even as he spoke, oil prices jumped again, edging for a time above $138 a barrel and putting yet more upward pressure on gasoline prices. By the end of the day the market seemed ready to set new records above $140 a barrel.

A drop in gasoline inventories, concerns about hurricanes that could disrupt Gulf of Mexico supplies, and most important the high oil prices all have contributed to a belief that the upward spiral of gasoline costs will continue at least for a few months, according to Caruso as well as private energy experts.Motorists are paying $4.05 a gallon on average nationwide, and considerably more in some parts of the country, according to a survey of gas stations by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. That's an increase of nearly $1 a gallon since January.

And little relief is in sight.

Prices are likely to remain close to or above $4 for the rest of the year and average $3.92 a gallon in 2009, the Energy Department agency forecast.Crude oil prices are expected to average $126 a barrel in 2009, or $4 a barrel higher than this year, as oil supplies and demand will remain tight, Caruso told the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming.The consensus view, said Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., the committee's chairman, is that oil above $100 a barrel is going to be with us for some time.The Energy Department's statistical agency projects oil prices declining to $86 a barrel in 2010 but then increasing to $107 by 2015. Markey said he doubted those numbers and noted that EIA projections in the past have been overly optimistic when it comes to energy prices.Predicting future oil and gasoline prices is highly uncertain with the volatile global oil markets, Caruso acknowledged.His agency bases its gasoline projections on assumptions of future oil prices, expectations of demand and economic trends. It has revised its figures upward several times since last fall — not having anticipated the huge surge in global oil costs.They usually dramatically underestimate the cost, said Eli Hopson of the Union of Concerned Scientists, which has examined annual EIA price projections going back to 2003. Each year the average price predictions were understated by 36 to 80 cents a gallon, said Hopson.A panel of energy experts, meanwhile, told the House hearing that people shouldn't expect any quick fixes to the country's energy problems.

They said one answer is more conservation and a shift to alternative fuels — transitions that would take time. Caruso told the lawmakers that new auto fuel economy requirements and the increased use of ethanol and other alternative fuels are expected to produce a substantial reduction in oil use and oil imports over the next two decades.There's no short-term fix, no panacea, said Karen Harbert, executive vice president of Institute for 21st Century Energy, a group affiliated with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Amy Meyers Jaffe, an expert on energy markets at Rice University, said there is a growing scarcity of energy commodities, relative to demand, that has pushed oil prices higher. But it's hard to quantify how much of a risk premium is built into the current price of oil, how much is based on perception of long-term fundamentals such as supply and demand, and how much reflects a speculative mania linked to negative trends in other financial markets, said Jaffe. Gasoline prices are part of the presidential campaign as well. Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama on CNBC called for a second economic stimulus tax rebate to put hundreds of dollars into the pockets of families to offset some these rising (energy) costs during this summer and into the fall.

His Republican rival, Sen. John McCain, renewed his call for suspending the 18.4-cents-a-gallon federal gasoline tax to help people cope. Obama has called that a gimmick, and most economists have rejected it as a solution.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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

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

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

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

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

Stocks tumble as oil prices surge; Dow falls 205 By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JUNE 11,08

NEW YORK - Wall Street tumbled Wednesday as oil prices rebounded, fanning concerns that inflation will further pinch consumers and lead central banks to raise interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points to its lowest close since mid-March. Investors are uneasy about oil prices, which on Wednesday traded as high as $138.30 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before settling up $5.07 at $136.38. Having breached $139 a barrel last week, record-high crude has increasingly posed both an inflationary risk and a threat to growth.

Energy Department data Wednesday showed that gasoline supplies grew last week but that crude oil inventories fell more than analysts expected. The weekly report suggested no letup in U.S. energy demand, even as consumers adjust their budgets to accommodate gasoline that averages more than $4 a gallon nationally.The Federal Reserve's Beige Book, which provides readings on the U.S. economy by region and arrives two weeks before the Fed's next meeting, indicated that Americans are straining under rising energy and food costs. The Fed said the economy remains generally weak.The findings seemed to confirm many of Wall Street's concerns.That certainly was not unexpected, said Janna Sampson, director of portfolio management at Oakbrook Investments. Obviously, I don't know that the market likes hearing that, slowing spending or slowing growth and inflation at the same time.The Dow fell 205.99, or 1.68 percent, to 12,083.77. Wednesday's close was the lowest for the blue chips since March 17, when the Dow ended at 11,972.25.The biggest loser among the 30 Dow components was Alcoa Inc., which fell $3.40, or 8 percent, to $39.32 after a JPMorgan analyst said the aluminum producer is not planning to sell itself or spin off part of its business.Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 22.95, or 1.69 percent, to 1,335.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 54.93, or 2.24 percent, to 2,394.01.

Bond prices rose Wednesday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.07 percent from 4.11 percent late Tuesday.The dollar fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.Investors are worried that the spike in oil prices will dent consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity and is crucial to some investors' hopes of seeing the economy rebound from a slowdown in the second half of the year. However, the prospect of a sustained elevation of prices in oil and other commodities has dimmed some of those hopes.There are not a lot of positive things you can point to right now, said Michael Binger, portfolio manager at Thrivent Investment Management in Minneapolis. We have commodity prices higher, inflation up, the prospect of the Fed raising interest rates instead of lowering, a worldwide slowdown and an economic slowdown in the U.S.Binger noted that one weak spot on Wall Street — the financial sector — is now faced with a new worry of higher interest rates while still trying to navigate a tight credit market and fallout from bad bets on now-souring home loans.

If the Fed starts to raise rates because of inflation not because the economy is good, that is not a positive on the financial stocks, he said.Oakbrook's Sampson said her reading from the Beige Book was that there likely won't be another reduction in interest rates, but that she didn't see anything dire enough to forecast a rate hike at the Fed's next meeting, because rising prices appear to still be fairly well confined to commodities.Unless we get some kind of numbers between now and the meeting at the end of the month that tell you inflation is really out of control, Sampson said she expects any rate hike is further down the line.In corporate news, Corporate Express NV, the Dutch office supplies distributor, accepted a sweetened $2.7 billion buyout bid from U.S. office supplies retailer Staples Inc. Staples rose $1.23, or 5.3 percent, to $24.38.Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. fell for the fourth straight session. The company reported earlier this week that it lost more than $2.8 billion for the fiscal second quarter ended May 31 and announced plans to raise $6 billion in capital to help its balance sheet. The stock declined $3.75, or 13.6 percent, to $23.75. The Russell 2000 index of small companies fell 14.74, or 2.01 percent, to 717.88. Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.67 billion shares, compared with 4.51 billion shares traded Tuesday. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei 225 average closed 1.16 percent higher. Britain's FTSE 100 index closed down 1.78 percent, Germany's DAX 30 index lost 1.78 percent, and the French CAC-40 index fell 2.10 percent. Associated Press Business Writer Eileen AJ Connelly in New York contributed to this report.
On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

FDA still hunting source of salmonella in tomatoes By LAURAN NEERGAARD, AP Medical Writer JUNE 11,08

WASHINGTON - Federal health officials haven't yet traced the source of salmonella-tainted tomatoes but, amid an outcry from farmers, are clearing innocent crops as fast as possible. We're getting very close to identifying the outbreak's source, Dr. David Acheson of the Food and Drug Administration told reporters Wednesday.The outbreak, which has sickened 167 people in 17 states since April, is not over even though it has been two weeks since the last confirmed case of a person falling ill, said Dr. Ian Williams of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's because state and local health departments still are investigating possibly more recent infections.The FDA has warned consumers against eating certain raw tomatoes: red plum, red Roma or round. Grape and cherry tomatoes or tomatoes still attached to the vine aren't linked to the illnesses.Also ruled safe are tomatoes from more than 30 states or countries, including part but not all of major producer Florida, where some counties have been cleared but not others. The FDA can rule out as suspects farms and distributors that weren't harvesting or selling when the outbreak began. It is directing consumers to its Web site — http://www.fda.gov — for updated lists of safe regions.State agriculture commissioners from the Southeast, meeting in Kentucky, blasted the FDA for harming the sale of untainted crops.

The FDA needs to work with the states to pinpoint the source of the outbreak and eradicate it without unnecessarily harming producers whose products are not affected by the outbreak, Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Richie Farmer said.The FDA vigorously defended its consumer-protection warnings.We have gone overboard to try to inform consumers which tomatoes were not part of this outbreak, Acheson said.It takes a long time to even tell an outbreak has begun, much less solve it. People with food poisoning don't always go to the doctor, or have a stool sample analyzed — and when they do, getting laboratory test results can take two to three weeks. Then health officials must spot a pattern of illness.

Health officials in New Mexico were first to alert the CDC to a brewing problem on May 22. They had a cluster of salmonella cases, including seven of a rare subtype called Salmonella Saintpaul. The next day, New Mexico officials posted to a government database called PulseNet these cases' genetic fingerprint, allowing the CDC to check whether this same strain of Saintpaul was infecting people elsewhere.It was, in Texas and other states, with the first illness dating back to April 16, Williams said. CDC then began the painstaking questioning of patients to see what they had in common. On May 30, FDA formally joined the investigation, and the next day established a link with tomatoes. Initial consumer warnings were aimed at a few states, until the FDA went national last weekend.

Salmonella sickens about 1.4 million people a year. But outbreaks aren't on the rise, although public attention may make it seem so, Acheson said.We don't want to stay quiet and have consumers get sick. The downside of that is consumers say, Oh, the system is in crisis, he said.It's not getting worse.

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

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

REVELATION 12:3-10
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.(SATAN IN CONTROL OF THE EU)
4 And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth:(1/3rd OF DEMONIC ANGELS FELL WITH SATAN AT THE FALL) and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.(JESUS)
6 And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.(ISRAEL PROTECTED 3 1/2 YRS)
7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.(SATAN AND HIS ANGELS GET BOOTED FROM THE HEAVENS TO THE EARTH)
9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.(SATAN ACCUSES CHRISTIANS TO GOD)
11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.(SATAN HAS 3 1/2 YRS TO TRY TO KILL ALL ISRAELIS AND CONVERTED CHRISTIANS DURING THIS TIME).
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.(JESUS IS JEWISH AND THE EU DICTATOR DECIEVES ISRAEL AND NOW TURNS ON THEM AND SATAN INCARNATES THE DICTATOR FOR THE LAST 3 1/2 YRS OF THE 7 YR PEACE TREATY OF DANIEL 9:27. AND I BELIEVE THIS LAZER WEAPON WILL BE USED WHEN SATAN AND HIS ANGELS ARE BOOTED FROM THE HEAVENS IN THE FUTURE.

NASA TO LAUNCH GLAST TELESCOPE
http://www.space.com/missionlaunches/sfn-0806-glast-launch-day.html

GLAST Rocket Blast Off Successful - All About This Mission…With Launch Video June 11th, 2008 Posted By Bash.

GLAST (Gamma-ray Large Area Telescope) aims to glimpse the universe in high-energy, short-wavelength gamma ray light and probe mysteries such as dark matter, black holes and spinning pulsars. And scientists hope the $690 million telescope will shed light on some of the most powerful explosions ever seen: gamma ray bursts.

A United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy launch vehicle has lifted-off with NASA’s next major space observatory, the Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST). The Delta II 7920H-10C is the heavy version of the 126 foot high two stage Delta II 7920-10 vehicle, featuring a first stage booster powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A main engine and nine Alliant Techsystems (ATK) strap-on solid rocket motors.

Watch the launch…

Six ground start solids will fire at lift-off, with three air start solids firing later, to assist first stage flight. The vehicle is also sporting a 6915 payload attach fitting and secondary latch mechanism.This is ULA’s first mission for NASA for 2008 and the second Delta II launch from Cape Canaveral. The earlier Delta launch was GPS IIR-19 in March. Overall, this is the fourth launch for ULA this year.The GLAST spacecraft will study the universe’s most extreme objects, observing physical processes far beyond the capabilities of earthbound laboratories. The GLAST observatory utilizes two main instruments, the large area telescope (LAT) and a GLAST burst monitor (GBM). The GLAST LAT will provide unprecedented sensitivity to gamma rays in the energy range of approximately 20 MeV to 300 GeV.The GLAST burst monitor was selected as a complimentary instrument for the GLAST mission and will be sensitive to X-rays and gamma rays with energies between 8 KeV and 25 MeV.The combination of the GBM and the LAT provides a powerful tool for studying gamma-ray bursts, particularly for time-resolved spectral studies over a very large energy band.GLAST’s main instrument, the LAT, operates like a particle detector rather than a conventional telescope. It is 30 times more sensitive (and even more at higher energies) than the best previous missions, enabling it to detect thousands of new gamma-ray sources while extending our knowledge of previously unidentified sources.

It will study how some black holes accelerate matter to near light speed and perhaps even reveal the nature of dark matter. The other instrument, the GLAST GBM, will detect roughly 200 gamma-ray bursts per year. Together with the LAT, the GBM will enable GLAST to make gamma-ray burst observations spanning a factor of a million in energy.These two instruments and the spacecraft have now been integrated and are working together as a single observatory, said GLAST project manager Kevin Grady of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.The observatory is getting ready for the final testing in the simulated environment of space, so that any problems can be fixed to ensure that it will work when we launch it, added Kathleen Turner, the LAT program manager at the United States Department of Energy. The Department of Energy helped build the LAT in collaboration with other institutions in the United States, France, Italy, Japan, and Sweden. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, built the GBM in collaboration with institutes in Germany.(NASA)

Gamma Rays: The Incredible, Hulking Reality Charles Q. Choi
Special to LiveScience LiveScience.com Wed Jun 11, 11:30 AM ET

Gamma rays are blamed for making Bruce Banner the Incredible Hulk. But what are gamma rays and what can they really do? Gamma rays are the highest energy form of light. The rainbow of visible light that we are most familiar with is just part of a far broader spectrum of light, the electromagnetic spectrum. Past the red end of the rainbow, where wavelengths get longer, are infrared rays, microwaves and radio waves, while beyond violet lie the shorter wavelengths of ultraviolet rays, X-rays and, finally, gamma rays. A gamma ray packs at least 10,000 times more energy than a visible light ray. Unlike the Incredible Hulk, gamma rays are not green - lying as they do beyond the visible spectrum, gamma rays have no color at all that we can describe.

Death rays, Exactly how Bruce Banner survives his transformation is unclear. Just as high doses of X-rays are typically lethal, so too would an explosion of gamma rays kill the average person. Gamma rays can knock electrons around like a bowling ball would bowling pins. These charged particles can then disrupt any chemical bond they come across, wreaking havoc on the delicate chemical machinery of the cell and generating molecular fragments that can act as toxins. To put it gently, a gamma bomb in the real world would not turn Bruce Banner into the Incredible Hulk. Rather, it would likely quickly turn him into a corpse dead from radiation sickness, if not incinerating him instantly. Still, gamma rays can have medical applications - a medical device known as the gamma knife can kill tumors by aiming gamma rays at a patient's brain. When Bruce Banner becomes the Incredible Hulk, his body swells with muscles seemingly from out of nowhere. Intriguingly, gamma rays can be so powerful that they can actually create matter. This is because, as Einstein's formula E = mc2 explains, energy can get converted to matter, and vice versa. Extraordinarily high-energy gamma rays, such as ones that black holes can generate, can yield pairs of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, known as positrons. (Whether the Incredible Hulk uses gamma rays to violate the law of conservation of matter and grow is another question.)

Gamma rays in space

Gamma rays are created under some of the most violent events in the universe, such as the death of stars. The Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), set to launch June 11, will be the first gamma-ray observatory to survey the entire sky every day with unprecedented sensitivity, and the hope is that it will open a dramatic new window onto the cosmos. (GLAST will receive a new name once in orbit, chosen from some 12,000 suggestions given by the general public around the world, and the name Hulk did come up.) In particular, GLAST could shed light on mysterious gamma ray bursts, which can unleash as much energy as our sun during its entire 10 billion year lifetime in anywhere from milliseconds to a minute or more. Just as the Incredible Hulk is the strongest one there is, as he says himself, so too are gamma ray bursts the most powerful explosions known. Indeed, just as the Incredible Hulk is strong enough to destroy the entire planet, so too can a gamma ray burst kill life on this world. A death star was recently discovered that might one day explode with a gamma ray burst directed straight at us - although it might readily miss.

Original Story: Gamma Rays: The Incredible, Hulking Reality

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Mars lander fills test oven with pinch of soil By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer JUNE 11,08

LOS ANGELES - NASA's Phoenix Mars lander was not the only one doing the shaking. Scientists operating the spacecraft broke into song and dance on Wednesday after learning that their latest effort to shake lumps of Martian soil into a tiny testing oven worked.

Mission scientist William Boynton, who leads the oven experiment, recalled how he danced to the disco tune (Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty after announcing the good news to his team.The dirt finally did start to flow and we actually got a full oven, Boynton of the University of Arizona in Tucson told a news conference. So that problem is now behind us.Scientists failed six times to get soil scooped up from the Martian arctic into one of eight miniature ovens on the lander that will test for evidence of the chemical building blocks of life. In a last-ditch effort this week, scientists vibrated the dirt-covered mesh screen a final time in hopes that bits would shake through and fill the oven.Data sent back by Phoenix early Wednesday showed its baking instrument brimming with a pinch of soil — enough to conduct the first experiment of the mission. The next step is to seal the oven and gradually heat the soil up to 1,800 degrees to measure the amount of water and study the minerals in the sample. Results from the first analysis were expected next week.In the meantime, the robot was instructed to sprinkle another scoopful of dirt into its microscope to examine the soil.The three-legged Phoenix set down near the Martian north pole on May 25 on a three-month mission to claw into the permafrost, and determine whether the polar environment has the raw ingredients to support primitive life.

Scientists have been surprised by the clumpiness of the soil at the landing site, which they described as crusty on the surface and looser below.It's apparently a very sticky material too, said Peter Smith of the University of Arizona, who heads the $420 million mission.On the Net:Phoenix Mars: http://phoenix.lpl.arizona.edu

Ancient cave linked to early Christians in Jordan By DALE GAVLAK, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

AMMAN, Jordan - Archaeologists in Jordan have discovered a cave underneath one of the world's oldest churches and say it may have been an even more ancient site of Christian worship. But outside experts expressed caution about the claim. Archaeologist Abdel-Qader al-Housan, head of the Rihab Center for Archaeological Studies, said this week that the cave was unearthed in the northern Jordanian city of Rihab after three months of excavation and shows evidence of early Christian rituals.The cave is under St. George's Church, which some believe was built in the year 230, though the date is widely disputed. That would make it one of the oldest churches in the world, along with one unearthed in the Jordanian southern port of Aqaba in 1998 and another in Israel discovered in 2005.Al-Housan said there was evidence that the underground cave was used as a church by 70 disciples of Jesus in the first century after Christ's death, which would make it the oldest Christian site of worship in the world.He described a circular worship area with stone seats separated from a living area that had a long tunnel leading to a source of water. He said the early Christians hid there from persecution.A mosaic inscription on the floor of the later church of St. George above refers to the 70 beloved by God and the divine who founded the worship there.

S. Thomas Parker, a historian at North Carolina State University who led the team that discovered the church in Aqaba, said that while he hadn't seen the Rihab site, any such claim should be taken with a degree of caution.An extraordinary claim like this requires extraordinary evidence, he said. We need to see the artifacts and dating evidence to suggest such an occupation in the 1st century A.D.Parker asked how archeologists could be certain whether the cave was actually a center of Christian worship.The archaeologist also noted that mosaics are difficult to date unless there is a precise date in the text of the mosaic inscriptions themselves and typical mosaic inscriptions with Christian themes are from the 5th to 6th century.It's quite possible that there was a cave with earlier occupation which was later converted to Christian use. But to make the jump that this was actually used by Christians fleeing Jerusalem in the 1st century A.D. seems like a stretch to me, Parker said.Australian archaeologist Kate da Costa of the University of Sydney, who works in northern Jordan where the cave was found, also said the evidence needs to be confirmed by other archaeologists.And even if the cave can be proved to have been in use in the first (century) A.D., there needs to be additional evidence that it was used by Christians, she told the AP.She also said that St. George's church is not universally accepted as the oldest church in the world. Da Costa said a date of 230 for a constructed church is over 200 years earlier than any other known church.Archimandrite Nektarious, bishop deputy of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese in Amman, hailed the discovery, calling it an important milestone for Christians all around the world and right here at home.It confirms that Christians in this region are not strangers, he said. They are real citizens who have always had roots in this region from those days until the present.

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.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Israeli leader: Next U.S. president may not be as friendly
Olmert says Jewish state must make deal with Palestinians before Bush leaves office June 10, 2008 2:10 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein
2008 WorldNetDaily

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert with President Bush at the White House last Wednesday

JERUSALEM – Israel must push to complete a deal with the Palestinians before President Bush leaves office, because the next U.S. president might not be as friendly toward the Jewish state, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned today.WND first reported last month the Israeli government estimates Sen. Barack Obama will win the presidential election and is rushing to finalize a deal with the Palestinians and possibly Syria before Bush leaves office, two top Israeli diplomats said.The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Israel is seeking to create defensible borders within months, fearing if territorial negotiations were held during an Obama administration, Israel would be pressured into more dangerous concessions.Briefing Israel's security cabinet today, Olmert said he was uncertain whether the next U.S. administration would be as sympathetic toward Israel as that of Bush. He said Israel should take full advantage of Bush's remaining time in office to seek a deal with the Palestinian Authority.There is no telling what things would look like once a new president is elected, Olmert said, adding the Bush administration is is extremely friendly and that time is of the essence in completing a deal with the PA.The element of time holds special importance. We must not lose this. [Things won't necessarily be the same] with the next [American] government, Olmert said.Olmert echoed sentiments expressed by two top Israeli diplomats speaking to WND last month.

Israel must ensure defensible borders before Obama is elected, said one Israeli diplomat. The [Israeli] leadership is motivated by many factors, but one of them is a drive to conclude a deal for a Palestinian state and talks with Syria before the likely event of an Obama administration.The other diplomat said Jerusalem is concerned by what he called Obama's questionable support of Israel.

Look, there's no doubt (Prime Minister Ehud) Olmert is rushing into talks with Syria and looking to create a Palestinian state, at least on paper, by January due to the criminal probe against him. But it is understood Israel will get a better deal and can ensure its security better with Bush in office instead of Obama. [Obama's] support of Israel is questionable. We fear he is unfriendly, said the diplomat.Olmert's government has been holding intense negotiations with the Palestinians the past few months following last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, which sought to create a Palestinian state by the end of the year. It is widely assumed Israel will attempt to hand the Palestinians most of the West Bank and eastern sections of Jerusalem in any deal.Also last month, both the Syrian government and Olmert's office announced Israel and Syria are holding indirect talks about a deal in which Israel would be expected to evacuate the Golan Heights, which looks down on Israeli population centers and was twice used by Syria to mount ground invasions into the Jewish state.Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem claimed Olmert agreed to withdraw from the entire Golan in advance of the indirect talks, while Olmert's office would only say it is in negotiations with Syria but would not comment on any preconditions or advance offers.It is widely believed here that Olmert is engaging in talks with Syria due to his implication in what is being described as a very serious criminal investigation.Politicians from across the political spectrum – including member's of Olmert's own Kadima party and other leftist Knesset members who support talks with Syria – have been quoted by Israeli media in recent days tying the Syria talks to the investigation of Olmert.

A recent poll conducted by Israel's Channel 2 found 57 percent of Israelis believe the timing of the negotiations with Syria is linked to the corruption case against Olmert. Fifty-eight percent of the respondents reportedly said Israel's leader did not have the legitimacy to negotiate with Syria.Olmert has said he would resign if he is indicted in the probe, which focuses on alleged bribes he took in exchange for political favors.The Israeli diplomats speaking to WND agreed with the estimation Olmert is in dialogue with Syria because of the criminal investigation, but they said another major factor was the prospect of an Obama's presidency.

Putting Syria aside, Bush is seen as the best chance for Israel to get a deal with the Palestinians that would have better security guarantees, said one diplomat. Frankly, we don't think Obama will favor Israeli security needs as much.Asked how an Israeli evacuation of the West Bank or Jerusalem neighborhoods under any circumstances would advance Israel's security, the diplomat replied: We are talking about whether Israel would retain certain settlement blocks and other security guarantees, like some sort of Israeli monitoring mechanism in Palestinian areas. Also, U.S. security guarantees.

Obama questioned over ties to Palestinian activist

Obama's commitment to Israel has been questioned, although he repeatedly has insisted during interviews he is a strong supporter of the Jewish state.At a Boca Raton, Fla., synagogue last month, participants in a panel discussion quizzed Obama about his relationship with Columbia University Professor Rashid Khalidi, a pro-Palestinian activist and harsh critic of Israel who has been described as a friend of the senator.Obama replied: You mentioned Rashid Khalidi, who's a professor at Columbia. I do know him, because I taught at the University of Chicago. And he is Palestinian. And I do know him, and I have had conversations. He is not one of my advisers; he's not one of my foreign policy people. His kids went to the Lab school where my kids go as well. He is a respected scholar, although he vehemently disagrees with a lot of Israel's policy.Khalidi's ties to Obama were first exposed by WND in February.According to a professor at the University of Chicago who said he has known Obama for 12 years, the Democratic presidential hopeful befriended Khalidi when the two worked together at the university. The professor spoke on condition of anonymity. Khalidi lectured at the University of Chicago until 2003 while Obama taught law there from 1993 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 2004.Sources at the university told WND that Khalidi and Obama lived in nearby faculty residential zones and that the two families dined together a number of times. The sources said the Obamas even babysat the Khalidi children.Khalidi in 2000 held what was described as a successful fundraiser for Obama's failed bid for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, a fact not denied by Khalidi, who spoke to WND in February.As WND reported, an anti-Israel Arab group run by Khalidi's wife, Mona, received crucial funding from a Chicago nonprofit, the Woods Fund, for which Obama served as a board member.When Khalidi departed the University of Chicago in 2003, Obama delivered an in-person testimonial at a farewell ceremony reminiscing about conversations over meals prepared by Mona Khalidi.

WND recently noted Obama termed the Israeli-Palestinian conflict a constant sore in an interview just five days after Khalidi wrote an opinion piece in the Nation magazine in which he called the Palestinian question a running sore.In his piece, Palestine: Liberation Deferred, Khalidi suggests Israel carried out ethnic cleansing of Palestinians; writes Western powers backed Israel's establishment due to guilt of the Holocaust; laments the Palestinian Authority's stated acceptance of a Palestinian state only in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and eastern sections of Jerusalem; and argues Israel should be dissolved and instead a bi-national, cantonal system should be set up in which Jews and Arabs reside.During documented speeches and public events, Khalidi has called Israel an apartheid system in creation and a destructive racist state.He has multiple times implied support for Palestinian terror, calling suicide bombings a response to Israeli aggression. He dedicated his 1986 book, Under Siege, to those who gave their lives ... in defense of the cause of Palestine and independence of Lebanon.Critics assailed the book as excusing Palestinian terrorism and claim the dedication is in reference to the Palestine Liberation Organization, which at that time committed scores of anti-Western attacks and was labeled by the U.S. as a terrorist group.

Top Obama adviser: NYC, Miami Jews the problem

Obama also came under fire in Florida for comments made by his military adviser and national campaign co-chairman, Merrill A. McPeak, who implied U.S. politicians are afraid of Jewish voters in Miami and New York City and American Jews are the problem impeding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.The Republican Jewish Coalition recently took out ads in top Florida newspapers petitioning Jews in the Sunshine State to question Obama over McPeak's remarks, which were highlighted in March by WND.McPeak was asked during a 2003 interview with the Oregonian newspaper whether the hindrance to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict originated with the White House or the State Department.

So where's the problem? the interviewer asked.

McPeak replied, New York City. Miami. We have a large vote – vote, here in favor of Israel. And no politician wants to run against it.
McPeak went on to insist that to solve the conflict, Israelis must stop settling the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, and maybe even withdraw some of the settlements that've already been put there. And nobody wants to take on that problem. It's just too tough politically.

Obama adviser: Divide Jerusalem!

Much concern has also been expressed about Obama's top Midde East adviser, Daniel Kurtzer, who has long been seen as one of Israel's greatest foes in Washington.Three weeks ago, Kurtzer stressed Jerusalem must be included in any negotiations (link: http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64186)between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.In a speech last week to a pro-Israel lobbying group, Obama said he supports Jerusalem as the undivided capital of Israel. But following his speech, his campaign backtracked and clarified that the status of Jerusalem must be determined by Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.Kurtzer, a former U.S. ambassador to Israel, has been regarded by Israeli leaders, including prime ministers, as biased against Israel and is notorious for urging extreme concessions from the Jewish state. He was appointed as a primary Obama adviser on the Middle East earlier this year.Obama's appointment of Kurtzer raised eyebrows among the pro-Israel Jewish community.We oppose the appointment of Kurtzer because of his long, documented record of hostility to and severe pressure upon Israel, said Zionist Organization of America National Chairman Morton Klein.Kurtzer has been blasted by mainstream Jewish organizations, including the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations.He has angered Israeli leaders many times for pushing Israel into what they described as extreme concessions to the Palestinians.With Jews like Kurtzer, it is impossible to build a healthy relationship between Israel and the United States, Benjamin Nentanyahu was quoted saying in 2001 by Israel's Haaretz newspaper.Former Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir said Kurtzer frequently pressured Israel to make one-sided concessions to the Arabs; he constantly blamed Israel for the absence of Mideast peace, and paid little or no attention to the fact that the Palestinians were carrying out terrorist attacks and openly calling for the destruction of Israel.Morris Amitay, former executive director of the America-Israel Public Affairs Committee, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in 2001: Kurtzer ... will use his Jewishness as a protective cover for his anti-Israel views.

The ZOA points out Israel's leading daily, Yediot Ahronot, editorialized on Kurtzer's negative influence against Israel:
Possibly more than any other U.S. State Department official, Kurtzer has been instrumental in promoting the goals of the Palestinians and in raising their afflictions to the center of the U.S. policymakers' agenda, the paper stated.Kurtzer first rose to prominence in 1988 when, as a State Department adviser, he counseled the Reagan administration to recognize the Palestine Liberation Organization led by Yasser Arafat. The PLO had carried out scores of anti-Western attacks, but in the late '80s Arafat claimed to have renounced violence.In 1988, Kurtzer was noted as the principal author of a major policy speech by then-Secretary of State George Shultz in which the U.S. government first recognized the legitimate rights of the Palestinians.Haaretz reported in 2001 that Kurtzer had a vocal conflict with an Israeli government official in Philadelphia in the summer of 1990 after Kurtzer attacked the Israeli government for refusing to include the PLO in the peace process [and] said that this constituted the main obstacle to peace.

Hamas: We like Obama

Underscoring fears of Obama's commitment to Israel, the Hamas terror group's purported endorsement of the Illinois senator has become a major campaign theme, highlighted by news media worldwide.
Hamas' chief political adviser in the Gaza Strip, Ahmed Yousef, said in an interview in April with WND and with WABC radio that he hopes Obama becomes president.We like Mr. Obama, and we hope that he will win the elections, said Yousef. I hope Mr. Obama and the Democrats will change the political discourse. ... I do believe [Obama] is like John Kennedy, a great man with a great principal. And he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community, but not with humiliation and arrogance, Yousef said, speaking from Gaza.Obama repeatedly has condemned Hamas as a terrorist organization that should be isolated until it renounces violence and recognizes Israel.

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.

Iranian leader calls Bush a wicked man By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer JUNE 11,08

SHAHR-E-KORD, Iran - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called President Bush a wicked man Wednesday. Addressing thousands of people in this central city, he said Bush had set out to damage Iran but failed to halt its nuclear program and would not succeed in his goal of attacking the Islamic republic. This wicked man desires to harm the Iranian nation. (Bush) made plans, moved into Afghanistan and then Iraq, and announced that Iran was the third target, Ahmadinejad said.I tell him ... your era has come to an end. With the grace of God, you won't be able to harm even one centimeter of the sacred land of Iran.Bush on Wednesday repeated his stance that no options were ruled out in trying to get Iran to drop its nuclear ambitions. At a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, he said: My first choice is to solve this diplomatically, but all options are on the table.Bush, who has seven months left in office, said he won promises from fellow leaders in the European Union to tighten pressure on Tehran with more U.N. sanctions and possibly other penalties.Ahmadinejad said coercive measures won't force Iran to suspend uranium enrichment.

In the past two, three years, they employed all their might, resorted to propaganda ... and sanctions. If the enemy thinks they can break the Iranian nation with pressure, they are wrong ... With God's help, today we have achieved victory and the enemies cannot do a damned thing, he said.The U.S. and some of its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies that, saying its atomic program is aimed at using nuclear reactors to generate electricity.The U.N. Security Council has imposed three sets of limited sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can both produce nuclear fuel and turn out the material needed for nuclear warheads.Iran has not only continued enriching uranium, but says it has expanded its uranium enrichment program, installing more centrifuges used to enrich uranium.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Hamas scoffs at discussed Israeli incursion The Zionists are in retreat ... they will not dare any operation' June 10, 2008 2:49 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein
2008 WorldNetDaily

Erez crossing between Gaza and Israel
JERUSALEM – Hamas is operating under the working assumption Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will reject a proposed large-scale military ground operation being debated in the Knesset today, top Hamas sources told WND.The Hamas sources said they expect Israel to agree to a truce with Gaza-based militants. They stated they view Israel as engaging in policies of retreat with regard to its actions concerning the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights and the West Bank.We are sure the Zionists will not dare any operation in Gaza, said one top Hamas official. To show this, in recent weeks, the Israeli military forces have been lowering their level of troops operating near Gaza. If there was going to be any major operation, Israel would be sending in reinforcements, not evacuating its forces.

Hamas' stated estimations are in stark contrast to comments made to the Knesset today by a top military intelligence official from the Israel Defense Forces.Brig. Gen. Yossi Baidatz, head of the IDF's intelligence research division, stated Hamas fears a broad Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip and is expediting its preparations for such an operation.Baidatz spoke at a Knesset session attended by Olmert, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and top military officials discussing whether to sign a cease-fire with Hamas or embark on a large-scale military incursion.

The Knesset session started just after Hamas took responsibility for bombarding Jewish populations in southern Israel with at least 18 mortar shells. The Israel Air Force responded with an aerial strike that reportedly killed at least three members of a Hamas mortar crew in the northern Gaza Strip.Yesterday, Hamas pounded Jewish communities near Gaza with four Qassam rockets.Hamas has been floating a truce proposal via Egyptian mediators in which Israel is asked to release a number of Palestinian prisoners and refrain from military operations in Gaza in exchange for a halt to rocket fire. Israeli officials reportedly demanded kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit be freed as part of any deal.Perhaps in an effort to pressure Olmert into a truce, Hamas last night released a letter from Shalit through the foundation of former President Jimmy Carter. According to a report in Israel's Haaretz daily, in the letter Shalit reportedly begs for his life and requests that efforts be made to secure his release as soon as possible.Meanwhile, Hamas sources affirmed Baidatz's statement that the terror group is preparing for an Israeli military incursion but said they viewed any major Israeli operation as very unlikely.Of course we prepare for anything, but what we see is that Israel is in retreat. They are pulling their troops back, said a Hamas official.

The Hamas official was referring to an Israeli decision two weeks ago to evacuate troops stationed at the Erez crossing, a major Gaza-Israel border crossing, following repeated Palestinian attacks against Israel's side of the border station.At the time, WND quoted Muhammad Abdel-Al, spokesman and a leader of the Hamas-allied Popular Resistance Committees terror group, blasting Israel as a paper tiger.Just as the Zionists are running from the border, they will also run from Ashkelon, Ashdod, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa and Tel Aviv. ... We will keep firing until every Jew climbs back into the sh--ty hole he came from, said Abdel-Al, whose group took responsibility for scores of recent attacks against the Israeli border.Abu Ahmed, a leader of the Islamic Jihad terror group in Gaza, called Israel's troop evacuation a victory.We feel proud and determined, he said. Israelis start to withdraw from bases that are well-fortified because the Palestinian resistance proved that we are able to reach them at any point even if it is very fortified. We are proving once again that the myth of the unbeatable Israeli army is irrelevant, Abu Ahmed told WND.Days before the Israeli troop withdrawal from Erez, the Islamic Jihad terror group along with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades, the so-called military wing of Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah organization, attempted to carry out a massive bombing at the Erez crossing that, if successful, would have been the largest terrorist attack here since the Jewish state retreated from the Gaza Strip three years ago.

Alongside the evacuation of troops and discussion of a cease-fire with Hamas, Olmert last month announced he commenced negotiations with Syria over the Golan Heights – strategic, mountainous territory looking down on Israeli population centers.The Golan negotiations are taking place as Olmert faces what is being described as a very serious criminal investigation in which the prime minister is suspected of bribery and corruption. Olmert has vowed to resign if he is indicted in the rapidly expanding case.

A recent survey conducted by Israel's Channel 2 found 70 percent of Israelis oppose relinquishing the Golan Heights for peace with Syria, compared to 22 percent in favor of such a move.The poll found 57 percent of Israelis believe the timing of the negotiations with Syria is linked to the corruption case against Olmert.Fifty-eight percent of the respondents reportedly said Olmert did not have the legitimacy to negotiate with Syria.

Bush, Merkel Say More Iran Sanctions May Be Necessary Catherine Dodge and Edwin Chen Wed Jun 11, 10:07 AM ET

June 11 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said more sanctions will be placed on Iran if the government continues to ignore demands to suspend uranium enrichment. Bush also reiterated that all options remain open regarding Iran, after talks in Germany with Merkel.All options are on the table, and my first choice is to solve this diplomatically, Bush said today at a press conference with the chancellor. If they choose to continue to be obstinate, there will be additional sanctions.Bush, on his farewell trip to Europe, arrived in Germany yesterday and held meetings with Merkel at Schloss Meseberg, a government guesthouse about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Berlin. Deterring Iran's nuclear ambitions is the focus of Bush's weeklong trip. He left Germany for Rome after his talks today and will also make stops in Paris and London.The U.S. president won backing from the European Union for tighter sanctions against Iran's banks, officials announced yesterday. European Commission President Jose Barroso told Bush that the 27-nation EU's executive branch will take additional measures to keep Iranian banks from funding terrorism.Merkel agreed that more sanctions should be placed on Iran if the government continues to ignore demands from the international community to suspend its nuclear program that the U.S. and many European countries believe is aimed at producing nuclear weapons. Iran, home to the world's second largest oil and natural gas reserves, says its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes.

Further Sanctions

If Iran does not meet its commitments, then further sanctions will simply have to follow, Merkel said. We would hope for the leadership in Iran to finally see reason.Iran ignored demands to stop producing nuclear fuel and blocked inspectors from looking at documents claiming the government in Tehran researched atomic weapons, the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said last month.The Iranian regime has made a choice, and it's a bad choice for the Iranian people, Bush said. The Iranian people deserve better than being isolated from the world.Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that Bush's administration is in its final days and won't be able to harm Iran.

Iran's Sacred Land

It's Bush's dream to harm Iran's nation, Ahmadinejad said today during a televised speech in the western Iranian city of Shahre Kord. You thought you would be able to do something but your term came to an end and you will not be capable of harming even 1 centimeter of Iran's sacred land.Bush has seven months remaining in office.In Brussels, Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi countered Bush's comments when asked about them today, saying that China, a veto-wielding member of the UN Security Council, favors a diplomatic solution to the Iranian program.We believe the Iranian nuclear issue should be solved peacefully through diplomatic channels, through joint efforts of the EU three plus three, Yang said, referring to the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany, which have pushed through sanctions against Iran.Speaking at a briefing with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, Yang also lauded the Iranian government for agreeing to take up talks with Solana. The EU diplomat, who will depart in the coming days for Tehran, said he hoped his visit would be the first of several.

Global Trade

Bush is also using his trip to promote global trade and the peace process in the Middle East with European leaders. At the news conference, Bush said he expected to complete an agreement that defines a long-term relationship with Iraq. He said the agreement wouldn't lead to permanent U.S. military bases in Iraq nor would it tie the hands of the next president on troop levels. The so-called framework agreement would replace the current legal authorization for U.S. forces in Iraq, a Security Council resolution that expires at the end of this year. Most Germans think Bush has been a poor president. An Emnid poll conducted for the N24 television network showed 77 percent think Bush has done a bad job, compared with 14 percent who say the U.S. leader has done good work.The survey of 1,000 people was conducted on June 9 and had a 2.5 percentage point margin of error. To contact the reporter on this story: Catherine Dodge in Berlin, at cdodge1@bloomberg.net ; Edwin Chen in Meseberg, Germany. Echen32@bloomberg.net.

Israel rules out Gaza invasion now to seek truce By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer Wed Jun 11, 1:49 PM ET

JERUSALEM - Israeli leaders decided Wednesday against mounting a major attack on militants in the Gaza Strip, saying they would give Egypt more time to broker a truce with the territory's Hamas rulers. But with bloodshed on both sides, including the death of a 6-year-old Gaza girl, the government said it would push ahead with preparations for a possible invasion and keep attacking Palestinian militants to try to stop daily rocket and mortar barrages on southern Israel.Israeli aircraft fired a missile at militants in northern Gaza, but it hit a house instead, killing 6-year-old Hadeel al-Smari in the backyard, according to an Associated Press Television News crew that saw her body.Israel's military said its forces identified hitting the rocket squad and it was unaware of any civilian casualties. It blamed the militants for setting up rocket launchers in crowded neighborhoods.

In other violence, a 55-year-old Palestinian civilian and two militants were killed in clashes with Israeli troops during a brief incursion in southern Gaza, and two Israeli civilians were wounded by mortar shells fired from Gaza that hit a paint factory where an Israeli was killed by a shell last week.A relative of the dead girl said Palestinian civilians are affected harshly by Israeli attacks. Our lives are hell. We cannot sleep or enjoy peace in our houses because of the army fire, Ahmad al-Smari said by telephone from the hospital in the Gaza town of Khan Younis.In parallel, Israelis who live near Gaza are clamoring for their government to take action to stop militant barrages that disrupt lives and cause casualties.

But Israel's Security Cabinet, made up of senior ministers, deflected pressure to order the army into Gaza immediately. Instead, it authorized Defense Minister Ehud Barak to exhaust the dialogue with Egypt in order to achieve all of Israel's conditions for an actual calm.At the same time, however, the Security Cabinet instructed commanders to prepare for military action in the Gaza Strip, according to a rapid timetable, should the Cabinet convene and make a decision to this effect, according to a government statement.The order added that progress toward releasing an Israeli soldier who has been held by Hamas for two years must be part of a cease-fire deal.There was no immediate Egyptian comment on the Israeli decision.Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri accused Israel of double-talk. The government wants to maneuver and blackmail the Palestinian factions while continuing its daily aggression, Abu Zuhri said.Israeli Defense Ministry official Amos Gilad was expected to travel to Cairo on Thursday to try to wrap up a truce, according to defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the contacts are secret.

Egypt has been trying to broker a truce for months, mediating between Hamas and Israel, which do not deal directly with each other. Hamas demands a truce include an end to the Israeli blockade of Gaza imposed after Hamas violently seized control of the territory a year ago.Although there is considerable public support for a large-scale invasion of Gaza, the main problem facing Israeli policymakers is that no previous offensive succeeded in stopping militant attacks for long. Even when significant numbers of soldiers entered Gaza, inflicting dozens of casualties amid severe international criticism, rocket fire resumed when the troops left.

An even wider operation with the goal of trying to overthrow the Hamas regime would mean house-to-house fighting in one of the world's most crowded and poverty-stricken territories, facing Islamic militants who have little to lose. That would virtually guarantee high casualties.Still, Israel is skeptical of a cease-fire, assuming Hamas would use any lull to rearm and regroup — particularly since the militants themselves say they would use a truce to prepare for more fighting. Hamas does not accept the presence of a Jewish state in an Islamic Middle East and has sent dozens of suicide bombers into Israel.Speaking before the Security Cabinet vote, Vice Premier Haim Ramon said there could be both a truce and an invasion. Even those who support the calm say it would only last a month or two, and then Hamas will violate it, Ramon told Army Radio. Then we will launch the military operation. Everybody agrees that it is just a matter of when.

Olmert clears party to prepare for primary Wed Jun 11, 10:04AM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Ehud Olmert on Wednesday authorised his centrist Kadima party to prepare for primaries amid calls for snap elections to replace the Israeli prime minister who is dogged by claims of corruption. Following a meeting with senior party officials, Olmert gave the green light to start the process of drafting recommendations for a party primary, a leading Kadima official told AFP.The party's steering committee will start deliberations on Monday, he said.Olmert suffered a stinging blow when the number two in his party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, called for unprecedented party elections over suspicions Olmert had unlawfully accepted vast sums of money from a US businessman.Olmert has denied any wrongdoing but said he would step down should charges be pressed against him.Kadima MP and close Olmert ally Otniel Shneller told AFP that Wednesday's decision does not mean Olmert has agreed to step down.Our party has to start preparing for the possibility that the prime minister will decide to quit the party. He nevertheless did not agree to set a date for the vote, he said.

Shneller expressed hope the move would satisfy Labour, Kadima's main coalition partner, whose chairman Defence Minister Ehud Barak, has called for Olmert to step down over the latest graft investigation.If Kadima decides it is preparing for primaries and that does not satisfy Labour, that would probably mean that Labour is just looking for an excuse to bring down this government, he said.Kadima, founded hastily by then prime minister Ariel Sharon before March 2006 parliamentary polls, does not have an internal mechanism for ousting a leader or holding leadership elections.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

TAIWAN AND CHINA STRAIGHT TALK
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8272139&ch=4226714&src=news

COMPUTERS HACKED BY CHINA
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=8278376&ch=4226713&src=news

Lawmakers say Capitol computers hacked by Chinese By PETE YOST and LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writers JUNE 11,08

WASHINGTON - Multiple congressional computers have been hacked by people working from inside China, lawmakers said Wednesday, suggesting the Chinese were seeking lists of dissidents. Two congressmen, both longtime critics of Beijing's record on human rights, said the compromised computers contained information about political dissidents from around the world. One of the lawmakers said he'd been discouraged from disclosing the computer attacks by other U.S. officials.Virginia Rep. Frank Wolf said four of his computers were compromised, beginning in 2006. New Jersey Rep. Chris Smith, a senior Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said two of his computers were attacked, in December 2006and March 2007.Wolf said that following one of the attacks, a car with license plates belonging to Chinese officials went to the home of a dissident in Fairfax County, Va., outside Washington and photographed it.During the same time period, The House International Relations Committee — now known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee — was targeted at least once by someone working inside China, said committee spokeswoman Lynne Weil.Wednesday's disclosures came as U.S. authorities continued to investigate whether Chinese officials secretly copied the contents of a government laptop computer during a visit to China by Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and used the information to try to hack into Commerce Department computers.

The Pentagon last month acknowledged at a closed House Intelligence committee meeting that its vast computer network is scanned or attacked by outsiders more than 300 million times each day.Wolf said the FBI had told him that computers of other House members and at least one House committee had been accessed by sources working from inside China. The Virginia Republican suggested that Senate computers could have been attacked as well.He said the hacking of computers in his Capitol Hill office began in August 2006, that he had known about it for a long time and that he had been discouraged from disclosing it by people in the U.S. government he refused to identify.The problem has been that no one wants to talk about this issue, he said. Every time I've started to do something I've been told You can't do this. A lot of people have made it very, very difficult.

The FBI and the White House declined to comment.

The Bush administration has been increasingly reluctant publicly to discuss or acknowledge cyber attacks, especially ones traced to China.In the Senate, the office of Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who chairs the Senate's subcommittee on humanitarian issues, asked the sergeant at arms to investigate whether Senate computers have been compromised.Wolf said the first computer hacked in his office belonged to the staffer who works on human rights cases and that others included the machines of Wolf's chief of staff and legislative director.They knew which ones to get, said Dan Scandling, who currently is on leave of absence from his job as Wolf's chief of staff. It was a very sophisticated operation, he said. The FBI verified that it had been done.Smith said the attacks on his office computers were very much an orchestrated effort.He said that after the first intrusion in December 2006, that was the last time his office put the names of dissidents on its computers.

In Beijing, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs had no immediate comment on the allegations by Wolf and Smith. Last week, China denied the accusations regarding Gutierrez's laptop and the alleged effort to hack Commerce Department computers. Wolf said he was introducing a House resolution that would help ensure protection for all House computers and information systems. It calls for the chief administrative officer and sergeant at arms of the House, in consultation with the FBI, to alert members and their staffs to the danger of electronic attacks. Wolf also wants lawmakers to be fully briefed on ways to safeguard official records from electronic security breaches. My own suspicion is I was targeted by China because of my long history of speaking out about China's abysmal human rights record, Wolf said in a draft of remarks he prepared to give on the House floor. He said Congress should hold hearings, specifically the House Intelligence Committee, Armed Services Committee and Government Operations Committee. Speaking generally in May 2006, Wolf called Chinese spying efforts frightening and said it was no secret that the United States is a principal target of Chinese intelligence services. Wolf thinks that President Bush should stay away from the Olympics because of China's human rights record. He also has been outspoken on the subject of violence in the Darfur region of Sudan, where China has major oil interests. Smith has introduced the Global Online Freedom Act which would prohibit U.S. Internet companies from cooperating with countries such as China that restrict information about human rights and democracy on the Internet. Wolf and Smith both traveled to Beijing 17 years ago seeking the release of 77 people imprisoned or under house arrest because of their religious activities. Associated Press writers Ted Bridis and Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.