APRIL 8th PREDICTION

[rollinTHUNDER]

Nearly half of citizens want new talks on EU constitution

06.07.2006 - 17:43 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A majority of citizens across the union want the EU constitution either revised or binned, a new European Commission survey has revealed. Meanwhile, enlargement blues is increasing while Turkish EU enthusiasm has plummeted.

Almost half (47 percent) of Europeans want re-negotiations on the current text of the EU constitution, according to a new Eurobarometer survey released by the commission on Thursday (6 July).

A minority (13%) of those surveyed in all 25 member states said the charter should be completely binned, while almost a quarter (23 %) favours continued ratification in member states.

Opinions on the fate of the document only slightly differ from the results of the same Eurobarometer survey conducted last autumn.

In the survey, for which a total number of 29,230 people were interviewed in late March and April, it also emerges that support for the general idea of a European constitution remains stable.

Which constitution?

Sixty one percent of respondents across the bloc said they support "a European constitution," while 22 percent is against the idea and the rest do not know.

As was the case last autumn, Brussels did not ask in the poll what people think about "the EU constitution" as it was agreed by EU leaders and subsequently voted down by French and Dutch voters last year.

A commission official indicated that Brussels did not want to wade into member states' debate on the fate of the constitution by publishing a "political opinion poll" over the document.

Meanwhile opinions over the merits of "a constitution" for the EU diverge widely, with over 70 percent support recorded in Hungary, Belgium, Germany and Italy, while less than 45 percent like the concept in Denmark, Finland, Austria, the UK and Sweden.

Remarkably, a majority of the French and the Dutch, who rejected the EU constitution last year, still back the general idea of a constitution, with support hitting 62 percent in France and 59 percent in the Netherlands.

Enlargement unpopular

Meanwhile, EU enlargement is becoming increasingly unpopular, Brussels found in the survey.

The amount of EU citizens endorsing further expansion of the union dropped by 4 points to 45 percent, almost approaching the percentage of opponents which now hits 42 percent

[rollinTHUNDER]

North Korea missiles prompt NATO debate on defence shield

07.07.2006 - 09:59 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

NATO headquarters has been warming up to the idea of a Europe-wide missile defence system, with the alliance's ambassadors set to shortly debate a study arguing in favour of such a scheme.

The 10,000-page report was commissioned by the alliance's 2002 summit in Prague and the organisation's secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer is reportedly trying to move the discussion ahead.

"We need to have an active debate within the alliance on missile defence to ensure that we have a common view and a common way forward," his spokesman is quoted as saying by the Financial Times.

The issue has come under a new spotlight following this week's missile tests by North Korea, denounced by the 26 NATO ambassadors.

After firing a barrage of six rockets including the long-range Taepodong-2 missile on Tuesday (4 July), Pyongyang launched a seventh on Wednesday - despite international condemnation of the tests.

The US has responded by activating its anti-missile defence system, but the incident has also prompted further calls for the development of ground-based systems, according to the FT.

Washington is currently negotiating with Poland and the Czech Republic as potential locations for the missile base, with Hungary denying similar claims last week.

Hungarian press quoted the US lieutenant commander Joe Carpenter as saying that a deal on the location is far from ended.

"The decision hasn't even been made whether or not we will build in Europe. The first question is whether or not the system is viable," he added, the Budapest Times reported.

But the NATO officials are concerned that the US system might undermine the unity of the alliance as it would only protect some European countries - those that would agree to base anti-missile interceptors on their territory.

Therefore they argue a Europe-wide system should complement the American project.

A similar thought has been hinted by the French defence minister Michele Alliot-Marie at an informal meeting with MEPs from the foreign affairs committee in Strasbourg this Tuesday (4 July) who agreed that Europe-wide protection should be guaranteed.

Mrs Alliot-Marie also confirmed that French leaders discussed the issue of so called "concerted deterrence" with a kind of Europeanised nuclear force or "eurobomb" with the British prime minister Tony Blair during their summit in Paris on 9 June.

Her confirmation sparked criticism by Geoffrey Van Orden, defence spokesman for the UK conservatives in the European Parliament.

He argued "Given the importance of the independent nuclear deterrent to the national security of the United Kingdom, I am very surprised that the prime minister did not mention that such a vital issue is currently being discussed."

Mr Van Orden said that while the UK and France have been on different sides of the argument on several key foreign policy issues, "It would be the most extraordinary act of folly if we were to become in any way reliant on France for the ultimate strategic defence capability of our nation."

http://euobserver.com/9/22043

[rollinTHUNDER]

European companies fear US espionage

11.07.2006 - 09:58 CET | By Helena Spongenberg

European companies are increasingly concerned that the US, which is allegedly spying on EU cross-border bank transfers as part of its fight against terror, is also doing this in order to obtain economic data.

It recently emerged that the private Belgian company SWIFT, which manages international payments in the EU, has handed over data to Washington.

The head of German industry association Ludolf von Wartenberg told Handelsblatt "we hear from many sides that these data can also be used for economic espionage."

SWIFT, which stands for the "Society for Worldwide Inter-bank Financial Telecommunications" was thrust into the limelight when the New York Times last month reported that officials from the CIA, the FBI and other US agencies had since 2001 been allowed to inspect transfers.

The standardised SWIFT transfer format contains the names of the transferral and the receiver, the account number and bank address, as well as the amount and the intended purpose.

The transfer data can therefore give information about prices, supply and customer information.

A high-ranking German manager of a US company told Handelsblatt "A top manager of a world company with strategic importance for the USA must assume that he and his company are scrutinised by the US authorities."

Last week the European Parliament requested the European central bank (ECB) to make clear its knowledge of the affair, while also saying CIA snooping "could give rise to large-scale forms of economic and industrial espionage."

MEPs said they would organise a hearing with the ECB, in order to find out the exact role of the bank in the secret agreement between SWIFT and the US government.

US concession on anti-terror

Meanwhile in Washington, the US administration has decided on a major policy change in its fight against terrorism.

Washington will make all detainees held by the US military entitled to protection under the Geneva Conventions

[rollinTHUNDER]

US university cracks secret EU satellite code

12.07.2006 - 09:54 CET | By Helena Spongenberg

A university in the US has cracked the secret codes of the European satellite system Galileo's first satellite in orbit, making it doubtful that the

[rollinTHUNDER]

Brussels to unveil plan on EU rapid border teams

17.07.2006 - 14:20 CET | By Lucia Kubosova

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is this week set to adopt a plan to establish EU rapid reaction teams aimed at safeguarding the bloc's external borders.

At their last meeting before the summer break, commissioners are set on Wednesday (19 July), to approve a document - seen by the EUobserver - which outlines the tasks and rules under which "rapid border intervention teams" would operate.

The plan is based on a voluntary scheme where member states willing to participate in the project would be asked to draw up a list of national border guards available to other countries in critical situations.

The rapid intervention teams would work on an ad hoc basis and only be deployed in times of crises to "fill any gaps in the control and surveillance performed by the national border guard service of the requesting member states."

The joint operations would be conducted by the EU's agency for external borders management (Frontex), while the states facing the immigrant influx would need to approve the deployment of guards from other member states on their territory.

The guest officers would help out in tasks such as checking the travel documents of people crossing the border of a country at stake, conducting interviews or searching vehicles or belongings.

They may also take part in external border patrols and even act to prevent illegal crossings of borders.

"Guest officers and members of the Rapid Border Intervention Teams shall moreover be entitled to wear their own uniforms, however with insignia clearly identifying them as participating in a joint operation."

"They shall also be issued with a document identifying them and giving proof of their right to exercise their tasks," states the draft proposal.

The agency would cover the costs of joint operations - estimated at

[rollinTHUNDER]

US plays down split with Europe over Israel

16.07.2006 - 13:19 CET | By Andrew Rettman

EUOBSERVER / ST PETERSBURG - US foreign affairs chief Condoleezza Rice played down the split between Europe and America on reactions to Israel's bombing of Lebanon, as rapidly developing Middle East events threatened to hijack the energy agenda of the G8 summit in St Petersburg.

"I don't think there is anyone here who would say Israel does not have the right to defend itself," Ms Rice stated on Sunday afternoon (16 July), with the - mostly civilian - death toll from Israeli bombs passing 70 and with 8 Israeli civilians killed by rocket fire, as the UK navy prepares to evacuate its citizens.

"You can pick at a comment here or a comment there, but you should look at the strongest agreement by all the parties here, that the conflict must be resolved under the framework of UN resolution 1559 [on Lebanon]," she added. "We are all concerned about the loss of civilian lives."

The US lays blame on Hamas and Hezbollah militants, arguing that Iran and Syria incited and supported the groups in kidnapping Israeli soldiers to halt Lebanon and Palestine's recent moves toward democracy and peace with Tel Aviv.

Ms Rice declined to call for a ceasefire or to criticise any individual Israeli strikes. "The Israeli government is a good and democratic government," she stated, while rejecting press suggestions that the US' 2003 invasion of Iraq fomented tension in the region as "grotesque."

Mr Bush's Iraq ally, UK leader Tony Blair, broadly aligned himself with the US after a bilateral meeting on Sunday morning, blaming Iran and Syria for disrupting regional "democratisation" and saying "we have got to deal with those underlying conditions."

Iraq deja vu

But French president Jacques Chirac and Russian leader Vladimir Putin came out on Saturday night with strongly anti-Israeli statements in an international polarisation reminiscent of the divisions around the 2003 Iraq invasion itself.

"One may well ask if there isn't today a kind of wish to destroy Lebanon," he said. "I find honestly - as all Europeans do - that the current reactions are totally disproportionate. In the Middle East we are currently in a situation of great fragility and instability."

"We do get the impression that the aims of Israel go beyond just recovering their subjects [three kidnapped soldiers] and they should pursue these aims by peaceful means," Russia's Mr Putin indicated, while striving to maintain a cordial atmosphere at his St Petersburg party.

His comments came after Russian defence minister Sergey Ivanov

[rollinTHUNDER]

Solana to brief EU ministers on Middle East conflict

17.07.2006 - 09:58 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana will on Monday brief the bloc's foreign ministers following a weekend trip to assess the escalating violence in Lebanon, while the latest move by Iran on its nuclear programme is also high on the ministers' agenda.

Mr Solana on Sunday (16 July) made a surprise visit to Lebanon amid heavy fighting between Israel and the Islamist Hizbollah movement.

After talks with Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora, the EU's top diplomat called upon "those who have the possibility of influence" to press for an end to the violence and for the release of two Israeli soldiers kidnapped by Hizbollah, according to Reuters.

Lebanese political sources said that Mr Solana had not presented any specific proposal for a solution to the crisis, the agency writes.

Mr Solana, who was transported in a British military helicopter, will tell EU foreign ministers of his findings at meeting in Brussels with the agenda set to be dominated by the conflict in the Middle East.

Monday morning again saw bombardment by the Israeli air force of the Lebanese capital of Beirut and elsewhere in the country after Hizbollah-fired rockets killed eight people in the Israeli city of Haifa on Sunday.

The death toll of this month's violence stood at more than 200 on Monday morning - at least 180 in Lebanon and 24 in Israel

[rollinTHUNDER]

EU 'acutely concerned' by Middle East violence

17.07.2006 - 20:02 CET | By Mark Beunderman

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU foreign ministers have urged Israel "not to resort to disproportionate action" when defending itself against Hezbollah attacks, while member states are evacuating their own nationals after joint EU plans to bring Europeans home proved troublesome.

Foreign ministers were on Monday (17 July) briefed by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana following a Sunday trip to assess the escalating violence in Lebanon.

They met amid reports of more civilian casualties in mutual attacks between Israel and the islamist Hezbollah movement, with the BBC reporting that at least 10 Lebanese people died in an Israeli attack in the south of the country.

Ministers agreed on a statement which was as similar as possible to a text adopted by G8 leaders in St Petersburg over the weekend in order to create an "international front to press Israel, Hamas and Hezbollah," Dutch foreign minister Bernard Bot said.

The statement says that the EU is "acutely concerned" at the situation in the Middle East, "in particular at the deteriorating humanitarian situation and the destruction of civilian infrastructure, and deplores the loss of civilian lives on all sides."

"The European Union condemns the attacks by Hezbollah on Israel and the abduction of two Israeli soldiers. It calls for their immediate and unconditional release and for the cessation of all attacks on Israeli towns and cities," the text reads.

Ministers also said that The "EU recognises Israel's legitimate right to self-defence, but it urges Israel to exercise utmost restraint and not to resort to disproportionate action."

EU troops to the region?

The passage on Israeli actions is notably weaker than earlier statements issued by the Finnish EU presidency last week, which had simply called Israeli violence "disproportionate."

An Israeli diplomat told EUobserver that Jerusalem disliked this wording, asking "what do people expect Israel to do?" in face of the "indiscriminate terror" by Hezbollah rocket attacks.

As wished by Jerusalem, EU ministers also recalled "the need for the Lebanese state to restore its sovereignty over the whole of its national territory and to do its utmost to prevent [Hezbollah] attacks."

Ministers also discussed the possibility of sending troops to the region as part of a new UN peace force.

UK prime minister Tony Blair said on Monday at the St Petersburg G8 meeting "The only way in my view we are going to get a cessation of hostilities is if we have the deployment of an international force into that area that can stop the bombardment coming over into Israel and therefore gives Israel the reason to stop its attacks on Hezbollah."

EU ministers agreed to in principle contribute to such a force if the UN would request so, according to Finnish foreign minister Erkki Tuomioja.

He said that "It is primarily the UN and the Security Council who would have to deal with this issue" but added that EU ministers "have made clear to favourably consider participating in such a mission."

But speaking for the Netherlands, Mr Bot this would be "for others" to do, with the Hague already overburdened by international peace operations around the globe.

EU evacuation trouble

Meanwhile, member states are individually proceeding to evacuate their nationals from the crisis region after weekend efforts at EU coordination proved troublesome.

Mr Tuomioja referred to "intensive consular co-operation co-ordinated by the presidency."

With the EU not having a consular service, "improvisation worked very well," the Finnish politician said.

But Mr Bot said that The Hague concluded on Saturday it had to rely on its "own force" when it became clear that common EU efforts were to strand.

He said that Finland has no embassy in Lebanon and had ask to use Germany's, while France would send a ship to pick up Europeans but that ship "had not arrived."

Slovak foreign minister Igor Kubis told EUobserver "Some states did provide their services to other nationals - like Czech aircrafts taking on board also Slovaks citizens."

But ministers agreed to set up a working group that "would suggest measures for even better co-ordination in future," he added.

Some European families were lucky and fitted into the helicopter flying Mr Solana from Lebanon to Cyprus on Sunday; the foreign policy chief said. "On my legs, I had a little baby."

http://euobserver.com/9/22108

[rollinTHUNDER]

Covenant of Peace

The phone rang and the excited voice said, "Did you hear what Olmert just said? He said he wants a covenant of peace!"

Although the TV was on and we were watching Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert addressing his nation, (Read about it here)>>>> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...icle%2FShowFull

we didn't catch those words. However, if Olmert used those words, the implications could be immense.

While in the background, I heard some talking head expert on Fox News attempting to answer the reporter's queries about these breaking news events and their possible relation to Bible prophecy, I was scanning the latest posts on our discussion board. Not only were others reporting the same news, a member of our board even posted a screen shot of Olmert on Fox News with these words written below him: "Olmert: We seek a covenant of peace." [Click on link at bottom to see picture.]

Shortly after the Middle East crisis began I recall seeing a picture of the EU's Javier Solana at a news conference in the UK standing beside the British Foreign Minister. Soon to follow was the report about Solana's surprise visit to Lebanon (Read about it here)>>>> http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L1675655.htm

Evidently, Solana was to immediately to return to Brussels to inform the EU heads as to the results of his trip.

In the mean time, British Prime Minister Tony Blair -- along with the UN's Kofi Annan -- was at the G-8 telling President Bush that it was necessary for the international community to send forces into the region of conflict (Read about it here)>>>> http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid...icle%2FShowFull

(And here)>>>> http://www.britishembassy.gov.uk/servlet/F...d=1152529106008

Bush, evidently, may be open to the idea.

Friends, this may be exactly what we students of Bible prophecy have been expecting. The way it looks, the stage may be set perfectly for the covenant with many foretold in the ancient book of Daniel (Daniel 9:27). For the first time that I'm aware of, the majority of the international community -- including many important Arab nations -- are on the side of Israel. One report from the G-8 even said French President Jacques Chirac was privately expressing his support for Israel's actions in Lebanon.

Added to all this, there is a seven-year period of interest fast approaching. Friends, it may be time for us students of prophecy to stop straining out gnats and seeing the camel before us.

Stay tuned!

07-17-06

http://fulfilledprophecy.com/covenant_of_peace.html

[Christ's Free Servant]

Added to all this, there is a seven-year period of interest fast approaching. Friends, it may be time for us students of prophecy to stop straining out gnats and seeing the camel before us.

Stay tuned!

07-17-06

http://fulfilledprophecy.com/covenant_of_peace.html

I agree!!