Prophecy, Drought, Earthquakes, Famine, Pestilence, War, and Strange Weather.

[Shammu]

'Final stage - war against Israel'

A letter found by U.S troops in Iraq sent by Bin Laden's deputy to Islamic insurgent leader in Iraq, reveals al-Qaeda's future strategies; according to the letter, terror against Israel is the final stage of al-Qaeda's plan to take control of the Middle East
Yitzhak Benhorin

Terror against Israel is the final stage of al-Qaeda's plan to take over the Middle East: The U.S. has obtained a letter sent by Osama Bin Laden's deputy Ayman Zawahiri to the leader of Iraq's insurgency Abu Musab al-Zarqawi outlining its future strategies, the Washington Post reported Friday.
 
According to the letter, intercepted during an operation in Iraq, al-Qaeda plans to broaden its activities from Iraq to Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

The 13 page document provides a thorough outline of al-Qaeda's strategies in Iraq and beyond. The document's content was authenticated by numerous sources.

Al-Qaeda's four-stage plan is clearly detailed: expelling the U.S. forces from Iraq, creating a caliphate over as much of Iraq as possible, expanding jihad to neighboring countries, specifically Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, and war against Israel.

"I want to be the first to bless you on what God has blessed you with - fighting in the heart of the Muslim world that was a battleground for large historic Islamic wars and what is now the place of Islam's greatest war in the present era," Zawahiri said in the letter.

"The 'Mujaheddin' or warriors must not be allowed to end their mission with the expulsion of the Americans from Iraq, and then lay down their weapons," he said. "Then we will return to having the secularists and traitors govern us."

Letter contains request for financial assistance
 
The letter also hints at tensions within the group. Zawahiri warns Zarqawi against beheading hostages and then distributing videotapes, which could harm al-Qaeda's popularity in the Islamic world, he writes.

He advises Zarqawi to shoot hostages instead of beheading them.

However, it sees Zarqawi has ignored al-Qaeda's deputy and his group in Iraq continues to behead their hostages - the leader beheaded a hostage two weeks ago.
 
The letter also contains a request by Zawahiri for financial assistance from al-Qaeda supporters.

'Final stage - war against Israel'

Ready, willing and looking up!

[Soldier4Christ]

Did we really need to intercept such a letter as this to know that this has been al-Qaeda's plan all along?

[Shammu]

Did we really need to intercept such a letter as this to know that this has been al-Qaeda's plan all along?

Nope, That is something all Christians should know.  Maybe it will help some non-believers, believe!

[Shammu]

Storm Drops 20 Inches of Snow in Colo.

By DAN ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 5 minutes ago

DENVER - A powerful storm that dropped up to 20 inches of snow in parts of Colorado knocked out power Monday to thousands of people, closed a lengthy stretch of a major highway and triggered rock slides in the foothills.

The storm was blamed for at least three deaths, while an elderly man who got lost while snowshoeing was found safe after a night outdoors.

Authorities said 150 miles of westbound Interstate 70 was closed from the Kansas line to Denver. The entire highway was closed for the 80 miles between Denver and Limon, where truck stop parking lots were overflowing.

More than 70 people were staying overnight in four Red Cross shelters opened for drivers stranded along I-70, spokesman Robert Thompson said.

The storm cut off power to 80,000 homes and businesses when power lines snapped and transformers failed, according to Xcel Energy.

"You could hear them popping," said Tom Hartman, who was shoveling snow outside the Schlessman Family YMCA in Denver when the transformers began to crackle and die.

Some 12,000 homes and businesses, mostly in the Denver area, were still without electricity late Monday.

Dozens of schools closed or were opening late, including three in the Denver area that closed because of power failures.

Two children were hospitalized with minor injuries after a school bus slid backward down a steep embankment south of Denver, Douglas County schools spokeswoman Carol Kaness said.

A 73-year-old Denver woman was killed Monday after a tree limb snapped off and struck her, and a man and a woman died after their van skidded off Interstate 76 northeast of the city.

The unidentified 74-year-old man who got lost while snowshoeing with his son Sunday was found safe after a night outdoors in the foothills outside Denver.

"He's fine, he's just cold," Clear Creek County sheriff's dispatcher Marty Writer said.

Hundreds of flights were delayed at Denver International Airport as planes lined up to de-ice before takeoff, an airport spokesman said. At one point, the Federal Aviation Administration grounded all Denver-bound flights for 90 minutes.

In southwestern Colorado, rain associated with the storm system was believed to have triggered two rock slides in San Miguel County, including one that shut down a lane of Colorado 145 near Telluride. No injuries were reported. Steady rain also caused two rock slides in Boulder Canyon northwest of Denver, forcing the closure of one lane of Colorado 119 and damaging a car. No one was hurt.

The National Weather Service had predicted up to 4 feet of snow in the southern Colorado mountains, but some of the snow melted and the precipitation turned to rain, leaving an accumulation of about a foot.

Snowfall amounts ranged from 20 inches in Breckenridge to 12 inches in Strasburg, about 20 miles east of Denver. Ski resorts, eager to open for the year, reported up to 24 inches of snow in the mountains west of Denver.

El Paso County Search and Rescue was called to help drivers who got stuck on snowy county roads east of Colorado Springs.

"We've got people out trying out the four-wheel-drive vehicles, and they're finding out they don't work very well," spokesman Steve Sperry said.

Storm Drops 20 Inches of Snow in Colo.

[Shammu]

Three Alaska volcanoes showing signs of unrest
Tue Oct 11, 2005 7:09 PM ET165

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Anchorage residents could see a cloud of steam over the weekend from a volcano 900 miles away -- one of three Alaska volcanoes showing signs of unrest.

The three volcanoes, including two located on remote Aleutian islands distant from any population centers, are setting off frequent tremors and minor bursts of ash or steam, seismologists said on Tuesday.

Cleveland Volcano, 900 miles southwest of Anchorage, had a small eruption on Friday, said the Alaska Volcano Observatory, which monitors Alaska's more than 40 active volcanoes.

Its ash plume rose to a height of nearly 15,000 feet (4.6 km) above sea level, observatory scientists said.

A cloud of steam from the 5,676-foot (1,730-m) volcano's peak was visible from Anchorage over the weekend.

The volcano has had periodic but minor ash emissions and some debris flow caused by melted snow, said Dave Schneider, a U.S. Geological Survey volcanologist and acting scientist-in-charge at the Alaska Volcano Observatory.

Ash emissions "are a lot easier to see now than they were in the summer because you have fresh snow," Schneider said.

Cleveland Volcano, which comprises the western half of uninhabited Chuginadak Island, last erupted in 2001. The closest community, 45 miles to the east, is Nikolski, an Aleut village of 36 people.

The other volcanoes showing unrest are 5,925-foot (1,800-m) Tanaga Volcano and 11,070-foot (3,400-m) Mount Spurr, 75 miles west of Anchorage.

A series of eruptions in 1992 showered Anchorage and the surrounding region with ash, forcing a brief closure of Anchorage International Airport.

Three Alaska volcanoes showing signs of unrest

[Shammu]

Brazil Declares Amazon River a Disaster

Tue Oct 11, 8:39 PM ET

SAO PAULO, Brazil - Authorities declared part of the Amazon River a disaster area after a drought left the levels of parts of the river too low for navigation, officials said Tuesday

The government of the jungle state of Amazonas declared the disaster on Monday, freeing up money, food and medicine to scores of river communities that now can be reached only by air, government spokesman Hiel Levy said by phone.

"All these communities are having difficulty finding supplies. We're working to make sure they don't run out," Levy said by phone from Manaus, 1,660 miles northwest of Sao Paulo.

The level of the Amazon rises and falls regularly, but this year the dry season has been more severe than normal. Officials said the water levels in areas about 35 miles upstream from Manaus have dropped several feet to about five feet, making it hazardous for river boats and difficult for fishing, a key occupation.

"We're worried," Manaquiri Mayor Jair Souto told the Associated Press. "We have about 25,000 people whose basic food is fish. We're a community of fishermen."

Officials said Amazonas Gov. Carlos Eduardo de Souza Braga spoke with Brazilian President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva about the problem and sent workers to dig wells to supply isolated communities with drinking water, which previously was drawn from the river.

Water levels are expected to rise in early November at the start of the rainy season.

Brazil Declares Amazon River a Disaster

[Shammu]

American Baptist Exodus
Scripture, homosexuality divide another venerable denomination.
by Rob Moll | posted 10/05/2005 09:00 a.m.

The Pacific Southwest region of the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) has begun defecting in the largest church exodus from any denomination over the presenting issue of homosexuality. Underlying issues, according to leaders, include the authority of Scripture and church discipline. Representing more than 300 churches, the region's board of directors voted September 8 to begin withdrawal. At least four other regions are considering leaving the ABCUSA, a member denomination in the National Council of Churches.

The ABCUSA officially states that "the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching." However, gay-affirming congregations remain affiliated with the denomination. When conservative regions have disfellowshiped such congregations, those congregations have simply affiliated with a more liberal ABCUSA region.
<snip>
American Baptist Exodus

Your going to have to finish reading this from it's mother site.

[Soldier4Christ]

Typhoon Nando continues to threaten Philippines
www.chinaview.cn 2005-10-12 23:00:27

    MANILA, Oct. 12 (Xinhuanet) -- The Philippine weather bureau PAGASA Wednesday said typhoon Nando (international name Kirogi) has intensified and continues to threaten the provinces of northern Luzon.

    By 14:00 local time, PAGASA said satellite and surface data tracked the weather disturbance at 1,020 km east northeast of northern Luzon with maximum sustained winds of 160 km per hour near the center and gustiness of up to 195 km per hour. It continues to move west northwest at 3 km per hour.

    The weather bureau forecast the typhoon to be 1,000 km east northeast of northern Luzon by Thursday morning and 970 km east northeast of northern Luzon by Friday morning.

    By Saturday morning, it is expected to be 980 km east northeastof northern Luzon or 680 km east southeast of Okinawa, Japan, PAGASA added.

    PAGASA said the islands of Luzon and Visayas will experience mostly cloudy skies with scattered rainshowers and thunderstorms. Mindanao will have partly cloudy to cloudy skies with isolated rainshowers and thunderstorms.

[Soldier4Christ]

Four Children in Minnesota Contract Polio

 By MARTIGA LOHN
Associated Press Writer

October 13, 2005, 7:58 PM EDT

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Four children in an Amish community in Minnesota have contracted the polio virus -- the first known infections in the U.S. in five years, state health officials said Thursday.

Dr. Harry Hull, the state epidemiologist, said the cases do not pose a threat to the general public because most people have been vaccinated against polio and are unlikely to have contact with Amish people. But he said he expects to find more infections within the Amish community because some of its members refuse immunizations on religious grounds.

None of the children have shown any symptoms of the paralyzing disease. About one in 200 people who contract the polio virus suffer paralysis because of it; others typically rid themselves the virus after weeks or months.

None of the four children had been vaccinated. Three are siblings; the fourth is a baby from another family.

The infection came to light when the baby was hospitalized for various health problems and underwent tests. Authorities then began testing other members of the community for the virus.

Officials would not identify the Amish community but said it consisted of 100 to 200 people.

Hull said the infections were traced to an oral vaccine that was administered in another country, probably within the past three years.

The use of oral polio vaccine containing the live virus was stopped in the United States in 2000. The live-virus vaccine caused an average of eight cases of polio a year in the United States. The U.S. and Canada now use an injected vaccine made from the killed virus.

State and federal officials are investigating how an infection from a vaccine given in another country reached Minnesota. Stool or saliva from an infected person can transmit the virus.

Health officials said they are working with the Amish community to determine who may have been exposed to the virus, and to encourage immunizations.

"We have been going house to house, talking with them about the risk, offering the vaccine and attempting to collect specimens to see if the virus has been spreading," Hull said. "Some families have said, `No, thank you, we do not want to interact with you at all.' Other families have said, `Sure, we'll get vaccinated. We'll provide specimens.'"

Without the community's cooperation, Hull said, there is a chance of an outbreak similar to one that occurred in 1979 in Amish communities in Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri and Pennsylvania. Ten people were left paralyzed by the disease, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The last naturally occurring case of polio in the United States was in 1979, and health officials consider the disease eliminated in the Western Hemisphere. It persists in other parts of the world, with the vast majority of cases concentrated in India, Nigeria and Pakistan, according to the World Health Organization.

According to the CDC, more than 95 percent of U.S. children are vaccinated against polio by the time they enter school.

[Soldier4Christ]

Southwestern N.H. braces for possibility of more flooding

By Anne Saunders, Associated Press Writer  |  October 13, 2005

CONCORD, N.H. --The southwestern part of the New Hampshire should escape further flood damage as long as any new rainfall stays below 3 inches, Emergency Management Director Bruce Cheney told lawmakers Thursday.

With the National Weather Service late Thursday calling for 2 to 3 inches of rain, it could be a close call.

Cheney, Gov. John Lynch and leaders in the House and Senate gave lawmakers an overview of the damage and the status of the emergency relief.

"The progress has been truly remarkable but as you know, there's still much to do," Lynch said.

A key bridge in Hinsdale was repaired to allow emergency vehicles across and may open to regular traffic by Friday afternoon, Cheney said.

The state has distributed 46,000 sand bags to Cheshire and Sullivan counties and 550 well-testing kits. State health officials were going door-to-door to collect water samples that state environmental officials will test to see if the drinking water is safe.

Fifteen inspectors evaluated area dams and determined none are in danger of breaching, Cheney said.

Power was restored to all but about 16 homes on Thursday afternoon and all were expected to be back on line by nightfall. Most homes have phone service back as well, he said.

"We've had plans in place for years," Cheney said of disaster relief planning. In all, 11 state agencies, the American Red Cross and various federal officials are in the flood-stricken area making repairs, providing assistance to victims and assessing damage.

"It worked well," he told lawmakers of the state's planning efforts. "New Hampshire is well prepared."

Maine Gov. John Baldacci said Thursday he has offered Lynch any assistance possible and Maine transportation officials say they could provide temporary bridges and personnel to assemble them.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts state police dogs are assisting New Hampshire canines in the search for three people believed swept away in the weekend floods. Officials have given up any hope of finding them alive.

Fish and Game Lt. Todd Bogardus said searchers were working their way through 16 miles of terrain from Alstead to the Connecticut River. They also are searching the Connecticut for Sally and Tim Canfield, who apparently were swept away along with their house, and Spencer Petty, who may have been washed downstream in his van.

He said teams are pulling apart debris piles left all along the flood route. The piles are made up of everything from trees to pieces of houses and cars.

Three people were confirmed dead in the flooding and a kayaker swept away in Antrim also has not been found.

Health officials are warning residents of the danger of illness and injury left behind by the weekend floods.

Cheshire County Sheriff Richard Foote said the flood waters and debris-filled areas are contaminated with human waste from destroyed septic systems, as well as gas, oil and other chemicals from destroyed homes and cars and fuel tanks.

He said people risk infection if they are cut by debris.

Cheney was confident that New Hampshire would soon get $5 million in federal aid. Additional federal money also is likely once communities can document their losses, put repairs out to bid and collect receipts that document the expenses involved in removing debris and repairing roads and public facilities, he said.

Homeowners who suffered major losses also should be eligible for some federal aid, but that could take time, he said.

In the interim, lawmakers are organizing a fundraising effort -- originally planned to help Katrina victims and now aimed at helping New Hampshire's own.

"This isn't an Alstead problem or an Acworth problem or a Walpole problem, this is a New Hampshire problem," Lynch said. "In typical New Hampshire fashion, this is all of us pulling together to help our families."

[Soldier4Christ]

 Forecasting the Next Great San Francisco Earthquake

The San Francisco Bay region has a 25 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or greater earthquake in the next 20 years, and a roughly 1 percent chance of such an earthquake each year, according to the "Virtual California" computer simulation.

The Virtual California approach to earthquake forecasting is similar to the computer models used for weather forecasting, said John Rundle, director of the UC Davis Computational Science and Engineering Center, who has developed the model with colleagues from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and other institutions. A previous forecast of earthquake hazards, the Working Group on California Earthquake Probabilities, used records of past earthquakes to calculate the probability of future ones.

The Virtual California model includes 650 segments representing the major fault systems in California, including the San Andreas fault responsible for the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The simulation takes into account the gradual movement of faults and how they interact with each other.

The researchers used the model to simulate 40,000 years of earthquakes in California. They found almost 400 major (magnitude 7 or above) earthquakes at an average interval of 101 years. The simulation data indicates a 25 percent chance of another such earthquake in the next 20 years, a 50 percent chance in the next 45 years and a 75 percent chance by 2086.

The latest work is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. Other authors on the paper are Paul Rundle, Donald Turcotte, Robert Scherbakov and Gleb Yakovlev at UC Davis; Andrea Donellan, Peggy Li and Jay Parker, Jet Propulsion Laboratory; Bruce Malamud, King's College, London; Lisa Grant, UC Irvine; Geoffrey Fox, Indiana University, Bloomington; Dennis McLeod, University of Southern California; Bill Klein, Boston University; and Kristy Tiampo, University of Western Ontario, Canada.

[Thomas1215184]

The fear of these things will be the beginning and the end.

[Shammu]

The fear of these things will be the beginning and the end.

All these things a Prophised in the Bible. Just remember to keep LOOKING UP! (To borrow the phrase from bep's.)

[Shammu]

Northeast Slogs Through 8th Day of Rain

By WAYNE PARRY, Associated Press Writer 10 minutes ago

SPRING LAKE, N.J. - Toilets backed up with sewage, military trucks plowed through headlight-high water to rescue people, and swans glided down the streets as rain fell for an eighth straight day around the waterlogged Northeast on Friday.

Overflowing lakes and streams forced hundreds of people from their homes in New Jersey and New Hampshire, and parts of New York and Connecticut also were under flood warnings.

Some spots have had more than a foot of rain since Oct. 7, and 2 to 3 more inches of rain were expected in some places by Saturday.

Across the Northeast, at least 10 people have died because of the downpours since last weekend, and four others remain missing in New Hampshire.

Acting New Jersey Gov. Richard J. Codey declared a statewide state of emergency — the first step toward applying for federal aid — late Friday afternoon.

In the shore town of Spring Lake, giant military vehicles rolled in to help carry out hundreds of residents after an inlet flooded and a pumping station overflowed, sending sewage into the water.

Jack O'Connor, 84, was rescued from his apartment by rowboat. "All the years I've lived in Spring Lake, I've never been in a boat until now," he said.

Not far away, 65 homes were evacuated because of lake flooding, and a dam at a state park failed, swamping the streets. About 100 nearby residents who evacuated overnight as the Shark River rose were being allowed to return by afternoon.

In the town of Oakland, a half-dozen swans glided down the middle of a street as neighbors watched water lap at their porches.

"It's just lousy," said Ralph Petricone. "Learn from your mistakes."

In the northern part of the state, floodwaters knee-deep and higher cut off some neighborhoods, and sewage backed up into homes in Jersey City.

In Connecticut, the ground was so soft because of the steady rain that trees toppled, blocking the railroad tracks in Naugatuck. Commuters were forced to take shuttle buses.

Up to 3 inches of rain was expected in parts of southwestern New Hampshire. State workers passed out 46,000 sandbags and 550 well-testing kits.

Officials in Keene, N.H., one of the cities hardest hit by earlier flooding, issued a mandatory evacuation for 93 residents of a trailer home park along the Ashuelot River, and a voluntary evacuation for 1,200 other residents.

In Alstead, N.H., where at least 12 homes washed away last weekend, Gov. John Lynch set up a temporary office in the town fire department, passing out laminated cards with his cell phone number and direct lines to state agencies and public utilities.

Northeast Slogs Through 8th Day of Rain

[Shammu]

Aftershock rattles Pakistan quake survivors
Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:55 AM ET

By David Fox

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (Reuters) - Survivors of the Kashmir earthquake spent a sixth night in the open in the worst-hit city of Muzaffarabad, kept awake by the rumble of aid trucks and an aftershock early on Friday that set dogs howling.

The aftershock, at around 2 a.m. (1700 EDT), measured 5.3 magnitude on the U.S. Geological Survey's sensors. Local meteorological officials said there were 70 aftershocks in a 24-hour period between Wednesday and Thursday, and the seismic activity was likely to continue for months and maybe years.

People who had been sleeping on the pavement in the Pakistani Kashmir capital leapt to the middle of the road, eyeing what was left of buildings warily before eventually drifting back.

The aftershocks added to the misery of an estimated 3.3 million people affected by the quake, more than a million of them without homes and in desperate need of food and water but also tents and mobile latrines. The approach of winter was a worry.

"This is a very major earthquake but it's really aggravated a thousand times by the topography. An earthquake is bad anywhere, in the Himalayas it becomes much worse," the U.N.'s top emergency relief coordinator Jan Egeland told Reuters in an interview.

"So it's a nightmare in trying to reach now, community after community which are homeless, roofless, without food, without water. It is this race against time I fear we are now losing for many of these outlying villages.

The official death toll of 25,000 in Pakistani Kashmir is expected to rise. Some local officials and politicians say deaths could exceed 40,000. Another 1,200 died in Indian Kashmir.

The army has been airdropping supplies to villages cut off from help in remote valleys of the Himalayan foothills of Pakistani Kashmir and North West Frontier Province.

Where valleys were too narrow and steep-sided for helicopters to fly, mule-trains are being sent to carry in the food, blankets and tents people will need to survive.

WINTER SNOWS

But for the villagers, mules and airdrops were a temporary and unsatisfactory step -- they were looking for assurances they were not going to be cut off for the winter.

<snip>

Aftershock rattles Pakistan quake survivors
Fri Oct 14, 2005 5:55 AM E