In the news...

"New EU-Mediterranean club opens in Barcelona"

In this article above, we see the continued growth and expansion of the EU/Med Union.

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"US welcomes EU's new foreign policy powers"

In this article, we see Hilary Clinton welcoming the "upgrading" of EU foreign policy "under the Lisbon Treaty". The most interesting quote from this article:

"These are historic times for the EU. I expect that in decades to come, we will look back on the Lisbon Treaty and the maturation of the EU that it represents as a major milestone in our world's history," Ms Clinton told press in Washington on Thursday (21 January)."

A major milestone in our world's history....Has Hillary been reading biblical prophecy?

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"Israel, Hezbollah inching toward military confrontation"

"Confrontation on the northern border a matter of time"

Interesting quotes:


"Also on Saturday, the Washington Post quoted analysts saying Hezbollah has moved its long-range-rocket sites deep into northern Lebanon, a move that threatens to broaden any future conflict with Israel into a war between the two countries."

"Hezbollah's redeployment indicates that the group's next clash with Israel is unlikely to focus on the border as in the 2006 Second Lebanon War, instead moving deeper into Lebanon, according to the Washington Post."

"The group "has been fortifying lots of different areas," Judith Palmer Harik, a Hezbollah scholar in Beirut, told the newspaper. With UN and Lebanese forces "packed along the border," she said, "we are looking at a much more expanded battle in all senses of the word."

There are several ominous quotes. The fact that Hezbollah has the capability to move their missile launching sites deeper and deeper into Lebanon, will indeed expand the next war with Hezbollah. It will most likely expand into Syria as well, since Syria is providing the arms to Hezbollah.

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"Mitchell pitches a new 5-Point Plan for Middle East Negotiations"

Just another pitch to get Israel to recede back to the "pre-1967" borders. Nothing to see here - this proposal has been made approximately 17,821 times previously (my sarcastic estimation)...

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Oh, since we're on the news today, there was a 5.2 quake in Bolivia early this morning. Additionally, there was a 4.7 in Costa Rica. By a glance of the map, it appears that the earthquakes are moving north from the southern tip of South America and south from Central America (converging?). I have no idea if this has any meaning, its just a casual observation. (Map)

While we're on earthquakes, it looks like Yellowstone is also experiencing significantly more activity:
"Yellowstone swarm passes 901 quakes in five days as scientists watch closely". According to this article, the current "swarm" is one of the largest ever recorded at the park. This is always worth watching as Yellowstone can produce a "super volcano".