Saturday, May 06, 2006
ISLAMIC SCHOLARS HELP ARABS
15 But I am the LORD thy God, that divided the sea, whose waves roared: The LORD of hosts is his name.
And in Story 2 Muslim Leaders call on other Muslims to help the Arabs (Palestinians in the Mideast). I D just like to ASK the Question. WERE WERE ALL THESE SCHOLARS WHEN THE RIOTS OVER THE CARTOONS WERE BEING DONE AROUND THE WORLD BY MUSLIMS.
Where was the outcry by the Muslim leaders for the burning of embassies. These are
the questions I would like answered by so called scholars of Islam. And were is the outcry of the Muslims to call for Hamas and other Islamic groups to Quit murdering innocent Israelis.
10 O God, how long shall the adversary reproach? shall the enemy blaspheme thy name for ever?
11 Why withdrawest thou thy hand, even thy right hand? pluck it out of thy bosom.
12 For God is my King of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength: thou brakest the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14 Thou brakest the heads of leviathan in pieces, and gavest him to be meat to the people inhabiting the wilderness.
15 Thou didst cleave the fountain and the flood: thou driedst up mighty rivers.
16 The day is thine, the night also is thine: thou hast prepared the light and the sun.
17 Thou hast set all the borders of the earth: thou hast made summer and winter.
18 Remember this, that the enemy hath reproached, O LORD, and that the foolish people have blasphemed thy name.
19 O deliver not the soul of thy turtledove unto the multitude of the wicked: forget not the congregation of thy poor for ever.
20 Have respect unto the covenant: for the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty.
21 O let not the oppressed return ashamed: let the poor and needy praise thy name.
22 Arise, O God, plead thine own cause: remember how the foolish man reproacheth thee daily.
23 Forget not the voice of thine enemies: the tumult of those that rise up against thee increaseth continually.
1 David’s Psalm of praise. I will extol thee, my God, O king; and I will bless thy name for ever and ever.
2 Every day will I bless thee; and I will praise thy name for ever and ever.
3 Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.
4 One generation shall praise thy works to another, and shall declare thy mighty acts.
5 I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.
6 And men shall speak of the might of thy terrible acts: and I will declare thy greatness.
7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.
8 The LORD is gracious, and full of compassion; slow to anger, and of great mercy.
9 The LORD is good to all: and his tender mercies are over all his works.
10 All thy works shall praise thee, O LORD; and thy saints shall bless thee.
11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;
12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom.
13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.
14 The LORD upholdeth all that fall, and raiseth up all those that be bowed down.
15 The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them their meat in due season.
16 Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.
17 The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
18 The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
20 The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.
21 My mouth shall speak the praise of the LORD: and let all flesh bless his holy name for ever and ever.
Yet another round of storms for Texas Tim Ballisty, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel Sat May 6, 6:22 AM ET
Yet again, it was another dangerous night of nasty thunderstorms in parts of west and central Texas. Yesterday afternoon & early evening, powerful thunderstorms first erupted in the Lubbock and Midland areas before becoming more widespread and then pushing east into central Texas. Close to two dozen reports of hail larger than tennis balls once again did punched large dents into cars and shattered windshields. Seminole, Texas and the surrounding area was one of those towns that dealt with tennis ball to grapefruit-size hail. Waco, Texas was one city that was pounded by nasty storms last night.
A tornado reportedly touched down in the downtown area. Much of the city was left without power as power lines were torn down. The thunderstorms produced destructive winds of 70 to 80 mph. Torrential rain has also been very notable with the large complex of storms as rainfall rates were between 2 to 3 hours producing flash flooding over local roadways and interstates.
This whole nasty complex is pushing towards the Texas coast with a next stop in Houston and Galveston.
Even after this morning's storm activity, more thunderstorms will fire during the peak heating of the afternoon in parts of central and east Texas leading into Louisiana. Compared to last evening, the tornado threat today is lessened but the storms are still capable of producing very large hail, damaging winds, and torrential downpours leading to flash flooding. By tomorrow, the rain and storms will press east into the Southeast as the severe threat diminishes.
Islamic scholars to issue pro-Hamas fatwa Sat May 6, 2:39 PM
ET DOHA (AFP) - Islamic scholars are to meet in Doha next week to draw up a fatwa, or religious edict, obliging the Muslim faithful to help the internationally isolated Palestinian government headed by Hamas. Influential cleric Yussef al-Qardawi said the May 10-11 meeting would help both the Palestinian people and their government, hit hard by US and EU funding cuts because of the Islamist faction's refusal to recognize Israel. Ulemas (scholars) as well as other Muslim and Palestinian leaders will "draw up a fatwa on the duty of the ummah (Muslims) and of governments" toward the Palestinians and the Hamas cabinet, Qardawi told a press conference Saturday.
The fatwa will refer to financial aid to the Palestinians as well as offering them moral support, Qardawi said. He slammed what he called "the duality of the West, which rejects Palestinian democracy after encouraging such a democracy just because it doesn't suit them. This is political hypocrisy and we reject it," he said. Exiled Hamas supremo Khaled Meshaal, Islamic Jihad
chief Ramadan al-Shalah and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command leader Ahmed Jibril would also attend, Qardawi said of the radical Palestinian movements.
However, Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas's Fatah faction, which Hamas trounced in January's vote, would not be attending, he said, citing "difficulties with Fatah representatives ... who mostly refuse to cooperate".
Friday, May 05, 2006
MINOR GREEK QUAKE
Weak quake shakes Greek southern Peloponnese region 2 hours, 32 minutes ago
ATHENS (AFP) - An undersea earthquake measuring 4.6 on the open-ended Richter scale has shaken the Corinthian Gulf, in the southern Greek Peloponnese region, the Athens Observatory's Geodynamic Institute revealed. The earthquake, which the institute described as "weak", was recorded at 09:16 am (0616 GMT) in the northern Corinthian Gulf, some 100 kilometres (60 miles) northwest of Athens. There were no immediate reports of damage.
We are monitoring the phenomenon, in all likelihood this is not a sign of a greater quake, so there is no reason for concern," institute seismologist Alexandros Andreou told AFP. Greece is more affected by seismic activity than any other European country and bears the brunt of half of all earthquakes on the continent.
La Nina shouldn't affect Atlantic hurricanes: NASA By Deborah Zabarenko
Thu May 4, 11:00 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - La Nina, a Pacific Ocean phenomenon that can help form Atlantic hurricanes, is not expected to be a factor this season, good news after last year's disastrous storm season. La Nina, Spanish for "the girl," refers to a pattern of usually cold surface temperatures in the eastern tropical Pacific. In North America, it has been known to contribute to droughts in the West and to spur hurricanes in the East. That happens because La Nina tends to push high-altitude jet stream winds to the north, away from the customary hurricane-forming areas, David Adamec, an oceanographer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center outside Washington, said on Thursday.
Jet stream winds can rip the tops off developing hurricanes, and without those winds, hurricanes can form unimpeded, Adamec said by telephone. La Nina gives a little extra kick, keeping the jet streams away," he said. There have not been strong La Nina patterns in the past two years, Adamec said, but "it has not helped the situation. The 2005 hurricane season was the costliest and most destructive on record, with 27 named storms, of which 15 became hurricanes. Hurricane Katrina alone caused $80 billion in damage, killed about 1,300 people and devastated New Orleans and parts of the U.S. Gulf Coast.
A patch of colder-than-usual surface water in the eastern Pacific looked very much like a La Nina pattern earlier this year, Adamec said, but that had now warmed up to normal, leading scientists to believe it will not have an impact on this year's Atlantic storms. The fact that the cold water has disappeared now ... gives you a lot more confidence it's not going to come
back," he said.
LA NINA AND EL NINO
La Nina is different from the El Nino weather pattern, which starts as a patch of warmer-than-usual water in the eastern tropical Pacific, said Bill Patzert of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. El Nino, which means "the boy," can bring unusually warm weather and storms to the American West, but it pulls jet stream winds into hurricane-forming areas, Patzert said in a telephone interview. We cringe in California when somebody says El Nino," Patzert said. "El Nino is the blessing for hurricane country and La Nina is the curse. No Atlantic hurricanes came ashore in 1997 and 1998, when there were strong El Nino patterns, Adamec said.
A noted U.S. forecasting team projected this year's storms would not be as severe as last year's, with 17 named storms expected to form in the Atlantic basin during the six-month season, which officially begins on June 1. More information and images are available online at http://www.nasa.gov/vision/earth/lookingatearth/lanina_effect.html.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
DUTCH PASTOR SAYS TRUTH
A long-standing leader in the international Christian Zionist movement Thursday sent a strongly-worded warning to the brand new Israeli government of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert. Jan Willem van der Hoeven, a Dutch Christian and 40-year resident of Israel, who in 1981 founded the International Christian Embassy Jerusalem and today directs the International Christian Zionist Center, said the “convergence” plan will “explode in [the] faces” of Olmert “and those who have chosen, often out of personal ambition, to sit with you in your government.
Israel’s leadership had “been warned by many – by military experts, by political strategists, by deeply, deeply concerned leaders, both Jews and Christians – not to allow a Palestinian (Muslim) state to be created between Israel and the Jordan; not to divide this land. Van der Hoeven said that “G-d Himself has warned you repeatedly not to do this evil to your people and nation. He has even warned that He will severely judge the nations who advocate such a path.
Nonetheless, many of Israel’s leaders had “chosen to harden [their] hearts and [their] foreheads, thinking [they] know better, better than all these experts, even better than G-d Himself, what is ultimately the best for Israel. The rationale given by Olmert, who in his speech to the Knesset earlier Thursday reiterated the “need” to withdraw from 95 percent of Israel’s biblical lands in order to ensure that Israel remain a state with a Jewish majority, was, Van der Hoeven said, “a baseless argument” that would be “to no avail.
Pouring withering scorn on the whole Jewish majority issue, the Dutch pastor said if Israel had not aborted two million Jewish babies in the years since its independence, and if previous leftist government policies had not discouraged Jewish immigration and encouraged Jewish emigration, there would be no demographic threat to worry about. Go ahead,” he continued angrily. Give in to the pressures of a world which will in any case not fight for your survival. Van der Hoeven also slammed the expected willingness of the new government to allow a major international homosexual event to take place in Jerusalemlater this year.
Follow their goyish ways. Be afraid to say no and let them parade their lustful pleasures when, by the tens of thousands, they come here to your destined holy city this summer, parading in your Jewish capital their filth-ridden abominations, all with the permission of an Olmert-led government which now includes SHAS [the ultra-orthodox party], the great upholders of G-d’s sanctity!!" Do it all – and see what the Divine answer will be. When it comes, and it will surely come, it will not be peace so that, as you said, Mr. Olmert, Israelwill be a place that will be FUN to live in. It would be the opposite, Van der Hoeven said, unless Israel turned back now.
LAVA FLOWS 2ND QUAKE
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Red-hot lava began flowing from the crater of Indonesia's rumbling volcano Mount Merapi early Thursday as vulcanologists warned residents an eruption may be imminent. Burning streams of molten lava started pouring down the slopes at about 2 a.m. local time, said Subandriyo, the chief of Merapi's Volcanology and Monitoring offices, who goes by a single name. Residents still near the 9,700-foot peak were urged to leave immediately, even though officials said they were not yet raising the alert to the highest level. The volcano has shown significantly more activity," Subandriyo said.
Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia, part of the Pacific "Ring of Fire" — a series of fault lines stretching from the Western Hemisphere through Japan and Southeast Asia. It last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned 60 people to death. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930.
Aftershocks Hit Tonga; No Warning Issued Thu May 4, 1:13 PM ET
NUKU'ALOFA, Tonga - A series of aftershocks measuring up to magnitude 6.0 rocked the South Pacific island nation of Tonga into Friday morning, a day after an even more powerful quake triggered a tsunami warning. A tsunami warning was not issued Friday, and there was no sign of damage from the aftershocks. The U.S. Geological Survey said at least six aftershocks occurred near Tonga, while others were recorded near Fiji and Vanuatu. The strongest aftershock occurred at 12:25 a.m. local time at a depth of almost 24 miles.
It was located 85 miles east-northeast of Nuku'alofa and 1,310 miles northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. On Thursday, a magnitude-7.9 temblor struck about 95 miles south of Neiafu, Tonga, and 1,340 miles north-northeast of Auckland, New Zealand. A tsunami warning was issued for as far away as Fiji and New Zealand, but it was lifted within two hours after ocean buoys recorded a tsunami of less than 2 feet. No injuries or damages were reported. But word of the imminent danger never reached the tiny country closest to the epicenter. Nearly 18 months after an earthquake-driven tsunami in the Indian Ocean left at least 216,000 people dead or missing, sparking international calls for a better warning system, Pacific islanders received little or no notice of Thursday's threat.
A warning issued by the Honolulu-based Pacific Tsunami Warning Center first went out 16 minutes after the 4:26 a.m. earthquake, which occurred 34 miles below sea level. But Tonga did not receive the alert because of a power failure there, said the center's acting director, Gerard Fryer. Mali'u Takai, deputy director of the Tonga's National Disaster Office, told The Associated Press in a telephone interview that no warning was received.
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
TONGA QUAKE TSUNAMI WARNING
LONDON (Reuters) - An earthquake measuring 8.1 hit the Tonga islands, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Web site said on Wednesday and a tsunami warning was issued for Fiji and New Zealand. The warning said it was not known if a tsunami had been generated by the quake but that any such wave would hit Suva, Fiji, at 1713 GMT and Gisborne, New Zealand, at 1821 GMT.
A warning was also issued for Hawaii in the United States but no destructive threat was seen, according to the Pacific Tsunami Center. It is not known that a tsunami was generated. This warning is based only on the earthquake evaluation. An earthquake of this size has the potential to generate a destructive tsunami," said the Pacific Tsunami Center said. The earthquake was at 1526 GMT, said the Web site monitored in London. It was not immediately clear what damage it caused but a report on Sky Television said it was felt in several islands. A resident of Tonga told Sky he felt tremors lasting over 30 seconds.
The earthquake struck 95 miles south of Tonga's Neiafu island and 1340 miles north east of Auckland, New Zealand, USGS said. The Tonga islands are an archipelago east of Australia and north east of New Zealand. An earthquake in December 2004 off Indonesia caused a tsunami across the Indian Ocean that killed more than 200,000 people in several countries.
Its 1:50 PM And all Tsumami warnings are cancelled.
In this second story the Bible says the Ozone will be completely depleted in the future, not get better.
REVELATION 16:8-98 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.
Ozone layer shows signs of recovery: scientists By Patricia Reaney 36 minutes ago
LONDON (Reuters) - The ozone layer is showing signs of recovering, thanks to a drop in ozone-depleting chemicals, but it is unlikely to stabilize at pre-1980 levels, researchers said on Wednesday. Depletion of the earth's protective ozone layer is caused by the chemical action of chlorine and bromine released by man-made chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are used in
aerosol sprays and cooling equipment.
Ozone-depleting chemicals were banned by the 1987 Montreal Protocol which has now been ratified by 180 nations. We now have some confidence that the ozone layer is responding to the decreases in chlorine levels in the atmosphere due to the leveling off and decrease of CFCs," said Dr Betsy Weatherhead, of the University of Colorado in Boulder. Not only is the ozone
layer getting better, we feel it is due to the Montreal Protocol," she added in an interview.
The depletion of the ozone layer, which absorbs most of the harmful effects of the sun's ultraviolet radiation, increases the risk of skin cancer and cataracts in humans and may harm crop yields and sea life. Despite the signs of recovery, Weatherhead, who reported the findings in the journal Nature, said people should still protect themselves from harmful ultraviolet rays.
Weatherhead and Signe Bech Anderson of the Danish Meteorological Institute in Copenhagen analyzed data from satellites and ground stations and information from 14 modeling studies.They found that ozone levels have stabilized or increased slightly in the past 10 years. But full recovery is still decades away. The researchers said depletion has been most severe at
the poles and to a lesser extent at mid-latitudes covering bands of North America, South America and Europe.
Shifting temperatures, greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide (N20) and atmospheric dynamics, which can influence ozone levels, are going to change in the future, they added.Therefore we really don't think ozone is going to stabilize back to its pre-ozone-depleting-substance levels," Weatherhead said. Volcanic activity on Earth also has an impact. The 1993 Mount Pinatubo eruption in the Philippines caused ozone levels to backslide for several years, according to the researchers.
SICK CANADA WONT RECOGNIZE JERUSALEM
5766 (IsraelNN.com) A Canadian federal court in Winnipeg yesterday rejected the petition of B'nai Brith and a Toronto teen to have the Canadian government recognize Jerusalem as being in Israel for the purposes of its passports. Canadian citizens born in the Israeli capital are currently issued passports listing either "Israel," without a city name, or "Jerusalem," without a country name. Shortly after the young man, Eliyahu Veffer, and B'nai Brith filed their petition, the state initiated a "recall" of Canadian passports that had been issued, in what officials called an "administrative error," listing Jerusalem as being in Israel.
My religion teaches me that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel," Veffer said in his affidavit. "This is an integral part of my religious belief. Jerusalem isn't officially recognized as part of Israel under Canadian foreign policy. Lawyers for the federal government argued in court that it has been Canada's policy for over 20 years not to list "Jerusalem, Israel" in Canadian passports.
"666" sense: Date marked with caution
While some say June 6, 2006, is a day to fear for its biblical significance, officials see little to dread.By Howard Pankratz Denver Post Staff Writer
With June 6, 2006, rapidly approaching, authorities in Colorado and elsewhere are carefully watching to see if that date - 6/6/06 - spurs demonstrations or violent activity. They are aware that 666 signifies the Mark of the Beast or the Antichrist to some organizations and believe June 6 is a date that could trigger problems. It's been a conscious question among some of our folks, so they've been on the lookout for something," said Lance Clem, spokesman for the Colorado Department of Public Safety. "But they haven't seen anything. Even so, some local police are being vigilant.
"The bottom line is that our intelligence unit is familiar with 666 and its significance, but we don't have any information about anything taking place in Colorado Springs," said Lt. Rafael Cintron of the Colorado Springs Police Department. "However, we are certainly keeping our feelers out to see if anything is happening. Some dates and anniversaries can be calls to action for white supremacists, racists, and conspiracy and prophecy theorists. April 19, for example, is the anniversary of the raid on the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; the Oklahoma City bombing; and the raid on white separatist Randy Weaver's home at Ruby Ridge, Idaho.
The Number of the Beast, 666, is mentioned in the Bible's book of Revelation and is believed by some to be when the Antichrist will exercise power over Earth. The Internet is full of websites that predict terrible things could happen June 6. One website warns that the "Bible Code says 2006 A.D. is the Year of the Beast" and predicts that the Antichrist will reveal himself. It also says there may be a holy war against Israel and that the United States and Russia would be drawn into a dangerous conflict as a result. Several major law enforcement agencies in the Denver metro area have seen no signs of trouble and aren't planning to beef up manpower. Since 1970, there have been 60 terrorist attacks on June 6, with just one in the U.S., according to the Memorial Institute for the Prevention of Terrorism in Oklahoma City.
Ellis, the institute's research and program coordinator, said he has seen nothing to indicate anything bad will happen June 6. If something does develop, Ellis does not believe it would necessarily involve neo-Nazi, white- supremacist types. Rather it could be "anarchists and anti-globalists" who are tied into the counterculture and relish "the chance to stick their thumb in the eye of the establishment," he said. Laird Wilcox, a Kansas-based expert on domestic extremist groups, believes dates can be overemphasized. He cites in particular the concern about the year 2000.
"What I see happening is something like the millennium controversy where everybody was talking about it and then nothing happened," he said. "I think this has occurred on every anniversary. Everybody anticipates some catastrophe, and nothing ever occurs. But Kerry Noble, a Texas businessman whose life has changed dramatically since the days he was second in command of a paramilitary religious group known as the Covenant, the Sword and the Arm of the Lord, said June 6 carries much significance to fringe groups that may be looking to make a statement.
Numbers are important in the movement," Noble said. "So anything you could interpret as being symbolic would be even more important. So a symbolic date like June 6 of this year, being 666, would have the equivalence of a 9/11 date or an April 19 date. Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-820-1939 or firstname.lastname@example.org.
HURRICANE DESTRUCTION POWERS GLOBAL WARMING
WHAT: 591 tornadoes and 49 fatalities WHEN: 2006 tornado season
WHY: The 2006 tornado season has gotten off to a violent and early start, surpassing the national average in both number and severity. The National Weather Service has confirmed 591 tornadoes through the month of April, double the number reported at this time last year. Fatalities as a result of these killer storms are up over 20 percent and the number of devastating F3 and F4 tornadoes are also on the rise.
A continuation of our worsening weather patterns that spawned Katrina, Rita and a record number of hurricanes of unprecedented severity in 2005, leading meteorologists are predicting this trend will continue throughout the 2006 season and likely for years to come. "We are in a new and potentially deadly era for storms, one that demands new technology, new tools," says meteorologist Paul Douglas, a weather technology expert, founder of Digital Cyclone, Inc., and weather anchor for WCCO-TV in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota. "It's not enough to watch TV or listen to the radio anymore. It's a good start, but if you want to maximize your odds of surviving a storm, any storm, you need multiple safety nets. You should never be totally dependent on just one source.
We can't control the weather, but as recent events have shown reacting and responding to critical weather information is becoming increasingly important. Fortunately advanced weather technology is providing individuals a new edge in safety with critical real-time weather information delivered via the mobile phone. Low-cost services such as My-Cast(R)5 from Digital Cyclone, Inc. offer on-demand, always-on, 24-hour-a-day weather information and alerting that is personalized to the user's specific location. When severe weather is about to enter the user's immediate area, an audio alert is broadcast to the mobile phone providing an extra margin of safety to take action or take cover. Anytime, anywhere, users are able to zoom into a local map of their area and view NEXRAD radar loops, satellite images, lightning strikes, predicted storm paths, plus flashing warnings, watches, and advisories with full text from the National Weather Service, virtually as they are issued.
Hurricane destruction powers global warming debate By Jim Loney Tue May 2, 8:36 AM
ET MIAMI (Reuters) - For a brief time in October, the pressure inside 185-mph (298 kph) Hurricane Wilma dropped to an astonishing low, making it the most intense hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic and Caribbean.That historic cyclone happened during a record-shattering hurricane season that produced 28 storms and occurred only weeks after Katrina swamped New Orleans, causing $80 billion in damage. The ferocity of last year's season gave ammunition to a growing chorus of voices that says humans and their greenhouse gas-spewing cars and factories could be making hurricanes more destructive.
But it did nothing to convince a hard core of hurricane researchers who insist there's no evidence that people are responsible for the recent intensity, and growing numbers, of tropical cyclones. The stakes are high. An estimated 50 million people live along the hurricane-vulnerable U.S. east and Gulf coasts. Millions more live in flood-prone mountains in Haiti and Central America, where hurricanes take thousands of lives. The U.S. hurricane tab last year was more than $100 billion. Major storms in the 2004 season caused another $45 billion in damage. The coastal regions are in jeopardy. The Miami area and the New Orleans area are very much at risk. We have a 10-year window to do something about greenhouse gases," said Prof. Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Curry said leading scientists with published research have compelling evidence that human-induced global warming is heating the seas from which hurricanes draw their strength. In the North Atlantic -- as the Atlanic north of the equator is called -- that has increased both the number and intensity of hurricanes in the last decade, she said. They are stunning increases that are way outside the bounds of natural variability," she said. Tropical ocean temperatures have risen about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1970, said Curry. "This 1 degree is playing havoc with hurricanes. It's a lot of extra energy for these storms. When Wilma's internal pressure hit 882 millibars, beating a record held by 1988's Gilbert, climatologists took notice. It was the first time a single season had produced four Category 5 hurricanes, the highest stage on the 5-step Saffir-Simpson scale of storm intensity. The 28 tropical storms and hurricanes crushed the old mark of 21, set in 1933.
While some hurricane researchers accept that the sea is warming, they believe it's part of a natural cycle, rather than human-caused. They say the Atlantic entered a period of heightened hurricane activity around 1995 and may not settle down for another 20 or 30 years due to a cycle called the "Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. With hurricane records for only 150 years, some say there isn't enough historical data to blame the greenhouse effect. We don't have any facts because we don't have any long-term records," said Neil Frank, a former director of the U.S. National Hurricane Center. The debate has taken center-stage among hurricane and climate scientists in the United States, where President George W. Bush's rejection of the Kyoto agreement to cut greenhouse gases enraged environmental groups and foreign nations. Some U.S. scientists say Washington has stifled dissenters. Others deny it. "No one has put any pressure on me, from the White House or anywhere else," U.S. National Hurricane Center director Max Mayfield said.
After two of the worst seasons on record -- 2004 produced 15 storms -- U.S. researchers are speaking more boldly. At an American Meteorological Society conference in Monterey, California, last week, a U.S. government researcher blamed last year's record season on global warming. On the web site of the government's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the subject is broached frankly. The strongest hurricanes in the present climate may be upstaged by even more intense hurricanes over the next century as the earth's climate is warmed by increasing levels of greenhouse gases....," it says. Kerry Emanuel, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote in Nature magazine last August that the power dissipated by hurricanes in the North Atlantic has doubled in the last 30 years, possibly because storms have been more intense for longer periods of time. My results suggest that future warming may lead to an upward trend in tropical cyclone destructive potential," he wrote.
A study by Curry and her colleagues published in Science magazine last fall found the proportion of hurricanes reaching Category 4 and 5 has nearly doubled in the last 35 years. But Frank, the former hurricane center director who now is a weatherman for KHOU television in Houston, said he does not believe hurricanes are more frequent or more intense than they were in the last warming period, in the 1930s, '40s and '50s. Only since the 1970s have researchers had satellites that allow them to look directly at hurricanes. As a result, he believes, storms that might have escaped detection in mid-ocean decades ago are now tracked from birth to death. Scientists who believe human-induced global warming is linked to hurricane formation and strength rely too heavily on numerical models, Frank said. These same numerical models that I can't put faith in for a two-week forecast, we're told can be accurate out 200 years," he said. "Ridiculous. Whatever the outcome of the debate, forecasters say the damaging seasons of 2004 and 2005 could be just the beginning. I'm here to tell you it can get worse," Mayfield said.
MERAPI VOLCANO READY TO GO
ago JAKARTA (AFP) - A new lava dome has formed at the peak of Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi volcano, reinforcing indications that it may soon erupt, scientists said. The dome has been expanding since last Wednesday behind another dome that was formed in 1997, said Dewi Sri from the vulcanology office in the ancient cultural city of Yogyakarta, 30 kilometers (18 miles) south of the volcano.It continues to grow and its volume has now reached into the hundreds of cubic meters... It is a sign that the magma pressure is increasing," she told AFP.
She said the mountain has significantly increased its activity, with a higher frequency of multi-phased earthquakes as well as those caused by lava fallout. All this indicates that magma pressure is building up and an eruption could follow," Sri said.The alert status of the 2,914-meter (9,560-foot) volcano remained on "standby" however, as it has for more than two weeks, one level below that which would require a mandatory evacuation for more than 29,000 people.Ratdomo Purbo, who heads the Vulcanology Research and Technology Development Office in Yogyakarta, was quoted by the Koran Tempo newspaper as saying that the dome had now grown some 10 meters (33 feet) high.
Purbo, who could not be reached for comment on Tuesday, was also quoted as saying that should the dome break or burst, it would spew lava accompanied by pyroclastic flows, or heat clouds. In its last large eruption in 1994, heat clouds known locally as "shaggy goats" reached 600 degrees Celsius and speeds of over 100 kilometers per hour. They killed 66 people on the southern slope of the mountain. Hundreds of residents have already been relocated to temporary shelters but many living on the volcano's slopes have refused to leave.
Merapi, which has been rumbling intermittently over the past four years, looms above a plain in the south of Central Java province. Indonesia sits on the Pacific "Ring of Fire" noted for its volcanic and seismic activity. The country has more than 100 active volcanoes.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS THE HEAVENS BEING SHAKIN, LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS WOULD HAPPEN IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE AGE OF GRACE.
Climate An Introduction
According to the National Academy of Sciences, the Earth's surface temperature has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. There is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases – primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The heat-trapping property of these gases is undisputed although uncertainties exist about exactly how earth’s climate responds to them. Go to the Emissions section for much more on greenhouse gases.
Our Changing Atmosphere
Energy from the sun drives the earth’s weather and climate, and heats the earth’s surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.Without this natural “greenhouse effect,” temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth’s average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases.
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. These increases have enhanced the heat-trapping capability of the earth’s atmosphere. Sulfate aerosols, a common air pollutant, cool the atmosphere by reflecting light back into space; however, sulfates are short-lived in the atmosphere and vary regionally.
Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing? Scientists generally believe that the combustion of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide. Plant respiration and the decomposition of organic matter release more than 10 times the CO2 released by human activities; but these releases have generally been in balance during the centuries leading up to the industrial revolution with carbon dioxide absorbed by terrestrial vegetation and the oceans.
What has changed in the last few hundred years is the additional release of carbon dioxide by human activities. Fossil fuels burned to run cars and trucks, heat homes and businesses, and power factories are responsible for about 98% of U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, 24% of methane emissions, and 18% of nitrous oxide emissions. Increased agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining also contribute a significant share of emissions. In 1997, the United States emitted about one-fifth of total global greenhouse gases.
Estimating future emissions is difficult, because it depends on demographic, economic, technological, policy, and institutional developments. Several emissions scenarios have been developed based on differing projections of these underlying factors. For example, by 2100, in the absence of emissions control policies, carbon dioxide concentrations are projected to be 30-150% higher than today’s levels.
Global mean surface temperatures have increased 0.5-1.0°F since the late 19th century. The 20th century's 10 warmest years all occurred in the last 15 years of the century. Of these, 1998 was the warmest year on record. The snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and floating ice in the Arctic Ocean have decreased. Globally, sea level has risen 4-8 inches over the past century. Worldwide precipitation over land has increased by about one percent. The frequency of extreme rainfall events has increased throughout much of the United States.
Increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases are likely to accelerate the rate of climate change. Scientists expect that the average global surface temperature could rise 1-4.5°F (0.6-2.5°C) in the next fifty years, and 2.2-10°F (1.4-5.8°C) in the next century, with significant regional variation. Evaporation will increase as the climate warms, which will increase average global precipitation. Soil moisture is likely to decline in many regions, and intense rainstorms are likely to become more frequent. Sea level is likely to rise two feet along most of the U.S. coast.
Calculations of climate change for specific areas are much less reliable than global ones, and it is unclear whether regional climate will become more variable.
HAPPY 58TH BIRTHDAY ISRAEL
8 Who hath heard such a thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth her children.
9 Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the LORD: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.
10 Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:
11 That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.
12 For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.
13 As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you; and ye shall be comforted in Jerusalem.
14 And when ye see this, your heart shall rejoice, and your bones shall flourish like an herb: and the hand of the LORD shall be known toward his servants, and his indignation toward his enemies.
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword (THE BIBLE,GODS SWORD AS WELL AS SWORD WEAPONS) will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
6 For unto us a child is born,(1ST COMING AS A BABY) unto us (ISRAELIS AND THE WORLD) a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder:( 2ND COMING AS RULING KING) and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.
NOTICE IT SAYS JESUS WILL BE RULING FROM DAVIDS THRONE, NOT ALLAHS THRONE. ISAAC'S LINE NOT ISHMAELS LINE EVEN THOUGH THE COUSINS WILL LIVE SIDE BY SIDE IN THE FUTURE, BUT THATS ONLY AFTER JESUS THE TRUE PRINCE OF PEACE AND MIGHTY GOD RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE AFTER THE 7 YR TRIBULATION PERIOD.
LIKE THE END OF THIS STORY SAYS OUR COLORS (THE WORLD) ARE BLUE AND WHITE, AND NO ONE WILL CHANGE ISRAELS COLORS IN THE FUTURE SINCE JERUSALEM WILL BE THE WORLD CAPITAL AFTER THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.
HAPPY 58TH BIRTHDAY ISRAEL
Jewish settlers mark sad Israel independence day Wed May 3, 12:21 AM ET
JERUSALEM (AFP) - Torn between a deep love for the land of Israel and a burning anger towards the state for uprooting them from the Gaza Strip, thousands of settlers will mark Independence Day with mixed emotions. As Israelis prepare for Wednesday's 58th independence anniversary, with millions of blue-and-white national flags waving outside homes and from cars, even the most trivial symbols are given a new meaning by former Gaza settlers. The months that have passed since the dramatic days of disengagement last September, when he and his family were uprooted from the occupied Gaza Strip, have done nothing to cool Eran Sternberg's anger towards the Jewish state.
It is going to be very hard for us to celebrate Independence Day this year," he says from his home, one of hundreds of caravans for evacuated families outside the community of Yad Binyamin in southern Israel. Although the catastrophe we went through should not disturb our happiness over independence, no one can escape its emotional dimension. While some settlers will wave flags tied with orange ribbons, symbolising the protest movement against the Gaza pullout, Sternberg ponders a more radical expression of what he sees as Israel's betrayal of its strongest supporters. I may wave a flag -- a black flag with the words 'we shall not forget and we shall not forgive' written on it -- to remind everyone of the state's evil acts.
The celebration of Israel's declaration of independence in 1948, which came amidst a war against seven Arab armies, is also a pledge of allegiance to the state's institutions, which Stenberg refuses to make. Because of my love for the state and my sincere intention to celebrate future independence days, we must deepen our awareness of the idea of 'we shall not forget and we shall not forgive' in order to promise such things never recur," Sternberg tells AFP. But he sees no bright future for Israel following the election of the centrist Kadima party whose prime minister designate Ehud Olmert has pledged to recall tens of thousands of settlers from the occupied West Bank.
I feel that we are on the verge of a national catastrophe and destruction which will usher in the end of the Jewish state in Israel," he says. Sternberg's views echo many other leaders of the religious Zionist movement. One prominent rabbi, Shmuel Tal, has called on his followers to completely boycott Independence Day. In many settlements across the West Bank, posters have been put up reading "we are not celebrating 'independence'" against a blue-and-white backdrop. But Avi Farhan, whose family was uprooted from the Gaza settlement of Elei Sinai, believes that hardline protest will only further distance the settlers and their cause from the majority of Israelis.
With all due respect to the crisis, the pain and the grief, the members of the religious Zionism who are thinking of boycotting Independence Day -- and those who intend to wave black flags -- are wrong again, Farhan wrote in an open letter on the Y-net Website. They are making us hated and pushing us to the edges of Israeli society. Farhan, who was also removed from his home when Israel left the Sinai peninsula in 1983 following a peace agreement with Egypt, says that despite everything he and his family went through, he will wave the flag this year.
Blue and white are my colours, and no one will take them from me," he says.
Tuesday, May 02, 2006
JIHAD BOMB ISRAELS POWER PLANT
TO ISRAEL. AND SINCE GOD DOES NOT LIE ISRAEL WILL GET MOST OF THE MIDEAST IN THE FUTURE. AND JERUSALEM WILL BE THE WORLD CAPITAL.
3 They(Arab nations) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(Israelis) 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:
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble; but he shall be saved out of it.
Islamic Jihad: Kassams Every Day; Goal to Hit Power Plant
By Scott Shiloh (arutz 7 news)
In a progress report released by the Islamic Jihad terrorist organization, the group claims it fired 56 Kassam rockets at Israeli communities during the month of April. The group said its goal was to hit Ashkelon, an Israeli city north of Gaza, and strike a large power plant located south of the city on the outskirts of the Gaza district. One half of last month’s Kassam firings were directed at those targets. Eleven rockets were fired at the IDF base at Zikim, and six at targets in Sderot, an Israeli city east of Gaza.
The report states that not a single day passed last month without at least one Kassam rocket fired at Israel. Thirty-five of the rockets were of the Kassam-3 long-range model, 10 were of medium range, and 11 were the short-range “Kuds” version.Though the long-range Kassam has only a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) range, IDF officials said last week that the terrorists have
succeeded in smuggling Katyusha rockets into Gaza.
Those rockets can reach targets on Israel’s coastal plain, putting much of Israel’s industrial heartland within striking distance of the terrorists. On March 28, the date of Israel’s election, Islamic Jihad terrorists fired a “Grad” rocket into Israel. The Grad is manufactured in
Russia and has a 20-kilometer range. Abu Ahamed, spokesman for the Islamic Jihad said upon releasing the report that his organization will continue fighting Israel despite attempts to weaken the “Palestinian resistance.
Ahmed said unity among the various terror groups was the way “to liberate holy Palestinian land and remove the occupier” and deter “Israeli aggression.”
And in this 2nd story Russia leads the Muslim horde against ISRAEL in Ezekiel 38+39. And the 2nd wave of WW3 has China marching to the mideast. So now you know why Russian and china are sticking up for Iran against sanctions.
Iran says Russia, China oppose punitive measures
By Edmund Blair Tue May 2, 8:18 AM ET
TEHRAN (Reuters) - Russia and China have told Tehran they will not support sanctions or military action over the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme, Iran's foreign minister said on Tuesday, before talks between major powers in France. Senior officials from the U.N. Security Council's permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- plus Germany meet later in the day to discuss the next steps after Iran rejected a U.N. call to halt uranium enrichment.
The United States, Britain and France are expected to introduce a resolution to the council this week that would legally oblige Iran to comply with U.N. demands.The three countries, which fear Iran wants to build atomic bombs, favor limited sanctions if Tehran remains defiant.
Western diplomats say Russia and China, also veto-wielding permanent council members, are not ready to back sanctions, although they might support a U.N. resolution against Iran.
"The thing these two countries have officially told us and expressed in diplomatic negotiations is their opposition to sanctions and military attacks," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told Iran's Kayhan newspaper in an interview. He said he did not believe the Security Council would put sanctions on its agenda for the moment.
China and Russia both have big energy interests in Iran, the world's fourth biggest oil exporter. Russia is also helping Iran build its first atomic power plant in the Gulf port of Bushehr. Nicholas Burns, the U.S. under-secretary of state for political affairs, said in Paris that Tuesday's meeting would seek to keep the Security Council members and Germany united before a meeting of foreign ministers in New York on May 9. Asked about Mottaki's comments, he said: "All I know is that China and Russia say that they don't want a nuclear-armed Iran. And China and Russia have voted with us against the government of Iran. So we intend to preserve this unity.
Burns said he expected a consensus to emerge over the next 30-40 days on the need to send a "stiff message" to Iran, adding that a range of sanctions had been discussed privately. These included restricting exports to Iran of dual-use technology that could support its research and development or help it fabricate fissile material or a nuclear device. Other options were travel curbs on Iranian officials and a ban on arms sales to Iran, such as a planned Russian missile deal. Oil and gas sanctions were not being discussed now.
Iran says it only wants to make fuel for Bushehr and other plants. But it kept enrichment research secret for 18 years and has not answered all the IAEA's queries on its program. The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says it cannot yet confirm that Iran's goals are peaceful, but has found no hard proof of a military program.
"There is little doubt Iran aspires eventually to be able to enrich uranium to the high level needed for a bomb," said a senior Vienna diplomat familiar with the IAEA's Iran dossier.
"But the only way to deter that is security and trade guarantees and only the Americans can offer that, via direct talks," said the diplomat.
The United States, which cut ties with Iran after the 1979 Islamic revolution, says it wants a diplomatic solution, but has not ruled out military options. A U.N. resolution would be adopted under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter that makes council resolutions mandatory under international law. Chapter 7 allows for sanctions or even war but a separate resolution is required to specify either step.
"To make a case for Chapter 7, you have to make a determination that Iran is an imminent threat to international peace and security," an IAEA diplomat, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the subject, said in Vienna. But he said a report by IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and other intelligence did not indicate Iran posed such a threat. Echoing those comments, Hans Blix, a former chief U.N. weapons inspector in Iraq, said there was still room for talks.
"Can one say that Iranian enrichment of a gram or less than a gram of uranium up to 3.5 percent constitutes a threat today or is there time for further talks?" he told BBC radio. Iran said last month it had enriched uranium to around 3.5 percent -- the level needed to power nuclear reactors -- using a test cascade of 164 centrifuges. Uranium would have to be enriched to 80 percent or more to make a nuclear warhead. Two more 164-centrifuge cascades are under construction and Iran says it start installing 3,000 centrifuges later this year -- enough to yield material for one bomb within a year.
(Additional reporting by Alireza Ronaghi in Tehran, Mark Heinrich in Vienna, and John Boyle in Paris)
PANAMA COSTA RICA QUAKE
Earthquake shakes Panama-Costa-Rica border Mon May 1, 10:38 AM ET
WASHINGTON (AFP) - An earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale shook a border region between Panama and Costa Rica. The US Geological Survey said the epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 0748 GMT, was located 57 kilometers (35 miles) west southwest of David, Panama. No information about victims or damage was immediately available.
Moderate quake hits Japan's Pacific coast Tue May 2, 6:42 AM ET
TOKYO (AFP) - A moderate earthquake, measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale, rocked the Pacific coast of Japan's main island Honshu, the Meteorological Agency said. There were no fears of tidal waves, the agency said. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage. The quake occured at 6:24 pm (0924 GMT) with an epicenter east of the Izu peninsula, some
100 kilometers (60 miles) southwest of the capital Tokyo, the agency said. The focus was 20 kilometers (12.5 miles) below the Pacific Ocean.
The intensity of the quake registered four on the Japanese scale of seven in Atami, a hot spring resort located near the epicenter, the agency said. Japan, which lies at the junction of four tectonic plates, experiences about 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes, frequently jolting Tokyo and other major cities. Last month a 5.4 magnitude quake hit near the Izu peninsula followed by two smaller tremors.
Indonesia Volcano Eruption Said Imminent Tue May 2, 2:36 AM ET
JAKARTA, Indonesia - Indonesia's rumbling Mount Merapi is growing six feet a day as ash and magma pushes up the crater, signaling an imminent eruption, a scientist said Tuesday. The volcano has a new dome and it's getting bigger and bigger, said Safari Dwiyono, a vulcanologist at a monitoring post near Merapi, 250 miles southeast of the capital Jakarta.
Magma is pushing up the crater on the southern side," he said, adding that Merapi had grown 30 feet since Sunday. An eruption could occur any day, he said. However authorities said the danger was still not so great as to require the immediate evacuate of villagers living near the 9,700-foot peak. Merapi is one of at least 129 active volcanoes in Indonesia.
It last erupted in 1994, sending out a searing cloud of gas that burned to death 60 people. About 1,300 people were killed when it erupted in 1930. It is about 20 miles from the Yogyakarta, a city of 1 million.
Monday, May 01, 2006
RUSSIAS WATER POLLUTED
If you lookup this verse in the Ukranian Bible the word wormwood (bitter) means chernobal.(Poisoned)
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.
In verse 8 it will probably be a radiated satellite that falls in to the sea and poisons the water, or a Nuclear bomb.
Then near the end of the 7 yr tribulation we see all the Sea animals are poisoned and die. And all waters are turned to blood.
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
We see in these last 2 passages all the sea animals die and God forces sinners to drink blood instead of water for killing all the saved of his during the 7 yrs of hell on earth.
Second toxic wave in Russia river Water supplies were cut off after the spill in November
A second wave of pollution from last year's toxic chemical spill in China is affecting rivers in Russia's Far East, according to environmental experts. They say chemicals trapped in a frozen river during the winter are now being released by the spring thaw.
People in the city of Khabarovsk and other settlements along the River Amur have noticed strong chemical smells. Russian officials said higher than permissible levels of chemicals have been detected in the river.
People have been advised to stop using tap water for drinking or cooking. The original spill occurred in November, when large amounts of benzene, phenol and other toxic substances were found in China's Songhua river. The spillage followed an explosion at a chemical factory.
The incident strained relations with Russia and focused attention on pollution problems in China's rivers. The Songhua feeds into the Amur on the Russian border, affecting water supplies for more than 500,000 people in Khabarovsk. In March China said it would spend more than $1.2bn cleaning up the Songhua.
NLR records wettest day this century
NORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. The National Weather Service says the city of North Little Rock recorded its wettest day so far this century with the rains yesterday. The rainfall totaled four-point-43 inches at the North Little Rock aiport. That was the greatest rainfall total for the area in one day since October 29th, 1991, when four-point-69 inches fell.
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Nine killed in northern Afghanistan flash floods 1 hour, 49 minutes ago
KABUL (AFP) - Flash floods caused by torrential rains and melting snow have killed at least nine people and destroyed dozens of houses in northern Afghanistan. Seven people died when their village in the northern province of Faryab was washed away on Sunday, Mohyammad Khairkhwa, Afghan Red Crescent chief for northern Afghanistan, told AFP.
Two other Afghans were killed on Saturday as a result of floods caused by melting snow in Baghlan, another northern province in the Hindu Kush mountains. The police chief of Faryab, Khalilullah Ziaei, said he had sent a team to the region to assess the situation.
Israel's new government prepares to take office By Megan Goldin 32 minutes ago
JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel's new government will take office on Thursday after Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert formed a coalition to carry out his plan to redraw Jewish settlement lines in the occupied West Bank. The Knesset will convene on Thursday to vote on the new government's guidelines and to swear it in," a parliamentary official said as coalition deals reached by Olmert's Kadima party and the policy points were filed in the legislature.
Olmert's governing coalition will control at least 67 seats in the 120-seat chamber, a majority narrower than he had sought in several weeks of negotiations with political parties. He was forced to seek partnerships, signing agreements with centre-left Labor, the ultra-Orthodox Shas faction and a pensioners' party, after centrist Kadima led the pack in the March 28 election but fell short of a parliamentary majority.
Olmert has pledged, in the absence of peace talks with the Palestinians, to dismantle isolated West Bank settlements, bolster main settlement blocs and set Israel's borders by 2010. Palestinians have said such moves, described by Olmert as "convergence," would annex land they want for a state of their own in the West Bank as well as the Gaza Strip, which Israel quit last year.
Handing out cabinet portfolios to Kadima's senior members, Olmert tapped 82-year-old Shimon Peres as one of his deputies and named him minister of regional development. Peres will be the government's elder statesman, to be sent on special missions to the Arab world and European nations," said a senior official in Kadima, which Peres joined after losing a Labor Party leadership election.
Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, widely seen as a rising star in Israeli politics and a former operative of Israel's Mossad spy agency, will remain at her post. Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz did not fare as well. He will serve as one of Olmert's deputies and as transport minister but hand over the defense portfolio to Labor leader Amir Peretz, a former trade union chief.
Palestinians regard Mofaz as one of Israel's most hardline leaders, citing tough measures he has overseen -- including assassination of top militants and tight travel restrictions -- to battle anti-Israeli violence. Olmert became interim prime minister after Ariel Sharon suffered a stroke and fell into a coma in January. A former Jerusalem mayor, Olmert has said he will wait, but not for long, for the militant Hamas group, now heading the Palestinian government, to show if it will moderate its position calling for Israel's destruction and become a peace partner.
Peace prospects appear dim as Hamas has defied Israeli and international demands to renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept previous interim peace deals. In another key cabinet appointment, Abraham Hirschson, a close Olmert ally and currently minister of tourism and
communications, was named finance minister. He is expected to continue pursuing budget discipline and free-market policies. Labor will hold seven cabinet posts, the pensioners' party two, and Shas, three.
NEW RUSSIA QUAKES
New series of quakes rock Russia's Kamchatka peninsula Sun Apr 30, 4:22 PM
ET VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (AFP) - A series of earthquakes measuring from 5.5 to 6.9 on the Richter scale rocked Russia's fareastern Kamchatka peninsula, hitting the same spot where powerful tremors left hundreds of people without shelter last week, the Kamchatka seismological service said. The quakes damaged several buildings in Kamchatka's sparsely populated Koryakiya district but there were no casualties, an official with the emergencies ministry's far-eastern office said.
A bakery was damaged in the village of Korf, as a well as a power station which we had been about to relaunch after it had been repaired" following last week's quake, the official told AFP. A series of violent earthquakes measuring up to 7.9 on the Richter scale shook Koryakiya last week, affecting 12 villages with a total population of 12,000 people.
Dozens of people received mild injuries from the tremors, and hundreds were evacuated out of the quake zone. The Kamchatka peninsula, which is about the size of Japan, has a population density of less than one person per square kilometres (0.4 square miles). In 1952, the region was rocked by an earthquake measuring 9.0 on the Richter scale, the fourth-biggest since 1900, according to data from the US Geological Survey.
Violent storms lash Malaysia as the country becomes warmer: report Sun Apr 30,
5:02 PM ET KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - Rising temperatures from global warming are creating violent storms in Malaysia which have killed several people and set buildings ablaze, a report said. Malaysia has experienced an unusual run of wet weather in recent months, with almost daily thunderstorms triggering car alarms and lightning strikes setting buildings alight. The warmer weather is forcing more moisture into the air and leading to the storms, the Star daily quoted environmentalist Gurmit Singh as saying. These are the chain reactions resulting from the changes in weather as it is all part of rising temperature or global warming," said Singh, executive director of the independent Centre for Environment, Technology and Development Malaysia.
Statistics from the Malaysian Meteorological Department show an increase of 0.8 degrees Celsius in the country's average temperature from 1970 to 2005, when it was 27.3 C (81.1 F), said the newspaper. It has been accepted that the greenhouse gases effect can cause severe weather becoming more severe," said the department's director-general Yap Kok Seng.
The heavy rain is creating big traffic jams in the capital, with roads deluged by flash floods and drains overflowing, while accidents are on the increase. Last week lightning killed two men and injured two others during heavy rain, while a family was evacuated from their Kuala Lumpur home after it was struck and caught on fire. A lightning strike on Friday on a fuel storage
tank in a port depot in Malaysia's south triggered a spectacular inferno that took hours to contain. Singh said the climatic extremes were also related to the cyclical La Nina, a weather phenomenon that affects the sea surface temperature in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.
Yap, who also believed the weather could be caused by cyclical changes, said more rain was expected and warned of worsening conditions.
Cyclone Mala kills two in Myanmar Sun Apr 30, 10:22
AM ET YANGON (Reuters) - Cyclone Mala killed at least two people in Myanmar and damaged hundreds of homes and several factories before petering out over the weekend, state media and the Red Cross said on Sunday. Hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall struck a township near the capital Yangon late on Friday, tearing the roofs off five factories in two industrial parks, the Kyemon newspaper reported. Some 586 homes were damaged in Hlaing Thar Yar Township, 10 miles west of Yangon, Michael Annear, head of the disaster management unit for the International Federation of Red Cross in Southeast Asia, told Reuters.
The cyclone killed two people and injured 12, according to figures confirmed by the Red Cross, but state media put the number of injured at 21. Annear said a 4-member Red Cross team was assessing the damage in southern Rakhine state where the storm struck Gwa township, a coastal resort area. Mala lost intensity and turned into a tropical storm after it hit Myanmar's west coast, calming fears of a repeat of a 2004 disaster in which more than 100 people were killed.
Sunday, April 30, 2006
BOLIVIA CUBA VENEZUALA SIGN PACT
Leftist leaders reject U.S. trade planVenezuela, Bolivia, Cuba form economic/political alliance
Sunday, April 30, 2006 Posted: 0907 GMT (1707 HKT)
HAVANA, Cuba (AP) -- Bolivia's new left-leaning president signed a pact with Cuba and Venezuela on Saturday that rejects U.S.-backed free trade and promises a socialist version of regional commerce and cooperation. With Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez seated nearby, President Evo Morales signed an updated version of the so-called Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, adding Bolivia as a third member. In Cuba and Venezuela we find unconditional solidarity, Morales said. "They are the best allies for changing Bolivia.
The document signed included the same language of the political declaration signed last year by Castro and Chavez. That pact contained much leftist rhetoric and few specifics, but was followed by closer economic ties and boosted trade between the two vehemently anti-U.S. governments. After Bolivia was joined in the earlier agreement on Saturday, the three presidents signed a second document with more concrete proposals. Cuba promised to send Bolivia doctors to provide medical care to poor people, and teachers to conduct literacy campaigns. Venezuela will send gasoline to the Andean nation and set up a $100 million (€80 million) fund for development programs and a $30 million (€24 million) fund for other social projects.
Cuba and Venezuela also agreed to buy all of Bolivia's soybeans, recently left without markets after Colombia signed a free trade pact with the United States. Dressed in his typical olive green uniform, Castro, who turns 80 in August, said sharing the spotlight with two younger, like-minded leaders "makes me the happiest man in the world. Afterward, the three presidents were greeted by tens of thousands of cheering people gathered in the broad Plaza of the Revolution to celebrate the signing.
The agreement is "a clever mixture of politics and economics, weighted toward the politics," said Gary Hufbauer, an economist at the Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank. Venezuela-Cuba trade is expected to reach more than $3.5 billion (€2.9 billion) this year -- about 40 percent higher than in 2005. The deal signed between Chavez and Castro has Venezuela -- the world's fifth largest oil exporter and a major supplier to the United States -- selling 90,000 barrels a day of crude to the communist-run island at international market prices, but in exchange for agricultural products and other services instead of cash.
The addition of Bolivia will beef up the grouping's economic potential with the Andean nation's vast natural gas reserves.Morales, a union leader who was swept to power on a leftist platform and has railed against American economic and drug policies, vowed during his campaign to be "the nightmare of the U.S. government. He, like Chavez, has tried to maintain a vibrant private sector while claiming an ever-larger state role in managing the economy. He has also toned down his rhetoric since taking office in January. The Cuba-Venezuela deal -- known by its Spanish acronym ALBA, also the word for dawn -- provided a framework for the leaders to blast Washington's efforts to expand its free trade with Latin American countries.
The U.S.-backed Free Trade Area of the Americas hemispheric trade pact stalled last year, but Washington since has signed nine free-trade agreements with Latin American countries. The three presidents called the FTAA a U.S. effort to "annex" Latin America. Chavez and Morales have warned they could pull their countries from the Andean Community economic bloc if members Colombia, Peru and Ecuador go through with trade pacts with the United States.
Colombia and Peru have reached such agreements with Washington. Negotiations between the United States and Ecuador were suspended after nearly two weeks of street protests in March by indigenous groups in Ecuador opposed to such a pact. According to any reasonable definition of the term, this is not a trade agreement," Michael Shifter, a political analyst with the Inter-American Dialogue in Washington, said of last year's ALBA deal. "It's an attempt to pose a real counterweight to the U.S. role and agenda in Latin America.
Shifter predicted few other Latin America nations would join ALBA, instead preferring trade agreements with the United States.But he said Chavez is likely eyeing Peru as a potential ALBA member if nationalist Ollanta Humala prevails in a presidential runoff expected for May 28 or June 4. Humala was the front-runner in the April election. Their leaders' embrace of the socialist-tinged ALBA has rattled Bolivian and Venezuelan business leaders. The government should reach out more to the business sector and create a common agenda, figure out what markets interest us, where there are possibilities and separate the ideological and political from trade and economy," said Gary Rodriguez, general manager of the Bolivian Foreign Trade Institute. Cuba ranks 88 among countries that Bolivia exports to, shipping just $5,291 (€4,220) in goods to the Caribbean nation last year, according to the institute. Venezuela is Bolivia's fifth most important export market, accounting for $167 million (€133.2 million) of its $2.7 billion (€2.15 billion) in exports.
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
GAINESVILLE, Texas (AP) - Storms battered eastern Texas with wind up to 100 mph and hail the size of baseballs, damaging buildings and slamming parked airplanes into one another at an airport. When you have winds from 80 to 100 mph it can do damage similar to that of a tornado,'' said Jesse Moore, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
That can do some very, very big damage. No major injuries were reported in the storms late Friday and early Saturday, authorities said. Hundreds of homes and businesses were damaged, and some areas still lacked power Saturday afternoon, said Kay Lunnon, spokeswoman for the city of Gainesville, near the Oklahoma border. Hangars were damaged at the Gainesville Municipal Airport, and the high wind shoved airplanes parked outside, said Airport Director Matt Quick. About 15 planes were damaged at the airport, where about 70 aircraft are based, Quick said.
To the south in Waco, the storms destroyed a home and damaged other buildings, authorities said. Two homes were damaged in Coldspring, north of Houston. No injuries were reported in either place, and the weather service did not confirm that tornadoes caused the damage.
About 4,000 customers lost power in the Houston area, where streets flooded but no serious damage was reported, authorities said. In Liberty County, northeast of Houston, officials reported damaged homes and toppled trees.
Moderate quake jolts Japan, no reports of damage 43 minutes ago
TOKYO (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.4 jolted central Japan on Sunday, but the Meteorological Agency said there was no risk of a tsunami and national media said there were no immediate reports of damage.
The Meteorological Agency said the epicenter of the tremor -- which occurred at 1:10 p.m. (0410 GMT) -- was 10 km (6 miles) under the sea off the coast of Shizuoka prefecture, around 120 km west of Tokyo.
In the coastal city of Atami -- a famous hot spa resort -- the earthquake measured a lower five on the seven-point Japanese intensity scale, which measures ground motion, the agency said.
A quake with that reading can cause hanging objects to swing violently, windows to break and cause damage to less earthquake-resistant house. But NHK television quoted the Shizuoka fire department as saying there were no immediate reports of damage.
High-speed Shinkansen bullet trains were running as usual, although some regular trains in the area were operating at a slower speeds, NHK said. Kyodo news agency quoted Chubu Electric Power as saying the earthquake had had no effect on the Hamaoka nuclear power plant in Shizuoka.
Earthquakes are common in Japan, one of the world's most seismically active areas. The country accounts for about 20 percent of the world's earthquakes of magnitude 6 or above.
In October 2004, a quake with a magnitude of 6.8 struck the Niigata region of northern Japan, killing 40 people and injuring more than 3,000. That was the deadliest quake since a magnitude 7.3 tremor hit the city of Kobe in 1995, killing more than 6,400.