The rising cost of wheat coupled with ongoing political instability in the country is causing a severe flour shortage in Pakistan. Pakistani citizens have been queuing for hours to buy flour from government owned stores, while some can't even afford to do that due to increased costs in privately-owned shops. The government denies there is a shortage and has blamed smugglers and hoarders for exacerbating the problem. According to government figures around 1 million tonnes of flour has been smuggled across the borders, where it can be sold for much higher prices than in Pakistan. Around 1.7 million tonnes of flour has also been hoarded by those fearing further political unrest following the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. The government hopes the flour crisis will end in around 2-4 weeks. But market analysts have questioned these figures, and blame the government for the crisis which they say started a year ago. 

Quote: ""Wheat problem started emerging in May last year and assumed crisis proportion by August," a well-known commodity trader said. Wheat prices had already crossed Rs1,500 for 100 kilogramme by August as the Government was delaying wheat releases from its stocks in Punjab and Sindh. The commodity brokers were moving in Punjab and Sindh villages with bags full of money to purchase wheat from growers at Rs1200 to Rs1300 for 100 kilograms. The Punjab-based traders diverted wheat consignments from Sindh to the NWFP and onwards to Central Asian States from where they were reaping hefty profits. Once purchased from growers, wheat was stocked in ginneries and government buildings in villages.

The political instability in Pakistan is also causing problems for neighbouring states. The price of flour in Afghanistan has increased by roughly 50% compared to last year, and in some cities that figure is nearly 80%. The crisis has been compounded by the high price of oil which reached $100 a barrel for the first time last week, along with security concerns which have increased the cost for transportation of goods. It is estimated that the demand for bio-fuels in America will put an increased strain on an already poor wheat harvest next year. And in Afghanistan farmers are also finding it more lucrative to grow money-making crops such as poppies, rather than those destined for basic human consumption.

Quote: "Afghanistan is forced to rely on imports from Pakistan as vast stretches of the country's fertile land in Helmand and Kandahar provinces are being used to grow lucrative opium and marijuana crops, instead of wheat, said Nisar Ahamad, a wholesaler of imported oils, flour and sugars at the Kandahar market. "If people weren't growing poppies then we would have our own flour," he said. "We wouldn't need to import so much. "We have fertile land, we have an irrigation system, but the people feel that they must grow the poppies because they are so poor."

As we can see, the prophecy of Revelation is coming to pass. The Bible predicts that the price of wheat will continue to rise until during the tribulation period, a measure of wheat will cost around the equivalent of a day's wages. The price of wheat is already at similar levels in the country of Zimbabwe, following the government's eviction of the white farmers from their land. As we can see, with the increased price of oil and the advent of bio-fuels, perhaps the following verses may hold more prophetic significance than I first realized.

Revelation 6:5-6
And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and [see] thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

Source BBC, Dawn, Canada

Monster storm slams the Sierras, So. Calif.
A levee break flooded hundreds of homes Saturday as the storm that pummelled the West Coast with high wind and rains dropped a thick blanket of snow on the Sierra Nevada.

6.3 Magnitude Quake Hits Indonesia's Sumatra Coastline
A 6.3-magnitude earthquake rattled western Sumatra on Friday, the local Meteorological and Geophysics Agency said, causing frightened residents to flee their homes.

Strong earthquake hits Canadian west coast region
A strong earthquake registering 6.5 on the Moment Magnitude scale the western coast region of Canada early Saturday, but there were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, the US government reported.

Moderate earthquake hits western Guatemala
A moderate earthquake registering 5.6 on the Richter scale hit western Guatemala Friday night, causing only minor damage, according to reports from Guatemala City.

Two strong earthquakes strike in Pacific Ocean, west of B.C.
A pair of strong earthquakes struck early Saturday off the British Columbia coast about 142 miles west of Port Hardy.

Tropical storm damages houses in Thousand Islands
A tropical storm passed through two subdistricts in the Thousand Islands regency Saturday, destroying four houses and damaging 275 others, an Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) official said.

Syria has expressed its need for a greater share of water from the river Euphrates, during an official visit to the Turkish capital Ankara yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Dardari said prolonged droughts had hampered wheat production in the country last year, and that Syria required more water from the river to compensate. The source of the Euphrates begins in Turkey, and crosses the borders of Syria, Iraq and Kuwait. But Turkish Environment and Forestry Minister Veysel Eroğlu said his country was experiencing similar difficulties, and that Syria could only get a greater share of water if rainfall increased. Syria also relies heavily on the Euphrates for electricity generation, and experienced power cuts last year when a heat wave caused the river's water level to drop significantly.

Quote: ""Iraq could fall into crisis, especially if we don't have more information from our neighbors and an idea of the state of their projects and if we end up without a fair share of the water," Rasheed said, noting that the looming danger came from Turkey, which has been damming the Euphrates and is expected to add to the amount of land under cultivation, further worsening water quality downstream. "I hope that the water issue does not fall prey to politics. Our river levels have plummeted, and Iraq needs guarantees that projects Turkey is building won't hit us further," he also said.

The water issue will indeed fall prey to politics. The Bible states that during the tribulation period, the river Euphrates will run dry, preparing the way for the kings of the East to march on Israel. It seems that the damming of the river, along with increased agricultural use and drought, are playing their part in reducing the flow of the mighty Euphrates.

Revelation 9:13-16
And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen [were] two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them.

Revelation 16:12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Source Today's Zaman

This link from my friend Barb. The head of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization, has warned that world food supplies are diminishing rapidly and spiralling prices could mean that more people will face the threat of starvation in the future. Jacques Diouf says that a number of factors are contributing to the current food crisis. Severe flooding in Europe and China along with prolonged droughts in the US and Australia have caused global wheat stocks to drop by around 11% this year. The price of wheat has also risen 52% within the same time period. The surge in demand for bio-fuels, coupled with the natural growth in world population, has put additional strain on food supplies. According to this latest assessment, these environmental pressures on world food stocks are likely to remain with us for some time to come.

Quote: ""We're concerned that we are facing the perfect storm for the world's hungry," said Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program, in a telephone interview. She said that her agency's food procurement costs had gone up 50 percent in the past 5 years and that some poor people are being "priced out of the food market." To make matters worse, high oil prices have doubled shipping costs in the past year, putting enormous stress on poor nations that need to import food as well as the humanitarian agencies that provide it. "You can debate why this is all happening, but what's most important to us is that it's a long-term trend, reversing decades of decreasing food prices," Sheeran said.

The phrase "perfect storm" is a reference to a hurricane that had formed off the coast of Massachusetts on October 31st, 1991. The "perfect storm" was formed by three different weather fronts operating in the Atlantic ocean at that time. Hurricane Grace was beginning to die out in the Atlantic when energy from the Great Lakes and an old frontal system around New England combined with it, creating the strongest hurricane in recorded history. The new hurricane was never named by meteorologists, as they weren't sure whether to classify it under the name Grace or to give it an entirely new name. And so the name "perfect storm" or the "unnamed storm" has stuck. What is interesting about the "perfect storm" is that it hit the US on the same date the EuroMed conference was launched in Madrid. EuroMed is a framework for agreements between the EU and ten Mediterranean states. EuroMed is not a peace process in itself, but aims to resolve regional conflicts at the same time as providing political and economic reforms, helping to bring about stability. It was born out of the Oslo agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, and is thought of more as a means of supporting any real peace agreement that may come about in the future.

Quote: "After extensive consultations with Arab states, Israel and the Palestinians, the United States and the Soviet Union believe that an historic opportunity exists to advance the prospects for genuine peace throughout the region. The United States and the Soviet Union are prepared to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace settlement, through direct negotiations along two tracks, between Israel and the Arab states, and between Israel and the Palestinians, based on United Nations Security Council Resolutions 242 and 338. The objective of this process is real peace. Toward that end, the president of the U.S. and the president of the USSR invite you to a peace conference, which their countries will co-sponsor, followed immediately by direct negotiations. The conference will be convened in Madrid on October 30, 1991. President Bush and President Gorbachev request your acceptance of this invitation no later than 6 P.M. Washington time, October 23, 1991, in order to ensure proper organization and preparation of the conference.

And as President Bush Senior was in Europe pursuing peace between Israel and their Arab enemies, the "perfect storm" was unleashing its fury back home...

Quote: "Former President Bush's home in Kennebunkport, ME suffered damage as windows were blown out, water flooded the building, and some structural damage also occurred. Even inland areas suffered major damage. The Hudson, Hackensack, and Passaic Rivers all experienced tidal flooding, and high winds brought down utility poles, lines, tree limbs, and signs in several states. The most extensive damage occurred in New England where federal disaster areas were declared for seven counties in Massachusetts, five in Maine, and one in New Hampshire. Off Staten Island, two men were drowned when their boat capsized. Other fatalities occurred when a man fishing from a bridge was either blown or swept off in New York and a fisherman was swept off the rocks at Narrangansett, RI by heavy surf. Offshore, six lives were lost when the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, sank. Total damage in the Halloween Storm, as it came to be known because of its date, was in the hundreds of millions of dollars. 

If there are any lessons to be learned from the "perfect storm", it is this. For the nations of the world - don't get involved in dividing God's land. For the day is coming that the Lord will plead with the nations that have scattered His people and parted His land (Joel 3:2). And for mankind in general - repent and believe the Gospel. Just like Hurricane Grace in the Atlantic ocean in October 1991, God's period of grace for mankind will soon come to a close. Soon will come the "perfect storm" of God's judgement upon this world. As we saw with the Asian Tsunami and Hurricane Katrina, the catastrophes that are coming upon the earth will be so devastating and so final, that it will become clear to all that it is God's judgement upon earth for its wickedness (Revelation 6:17). But God is a God of grace, and is not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance. God loved you so much that He sent His Son into this world, to die on the cross in your place. Jesus Christ bore the punishment due to you for your sins, just so that you might be forgiven and might not perish in the lake of fire. The Bible says all those who put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for forgiveness from sins will be saved (Mark 2:10). Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation today.

Isaiah 28:16-17
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.   

Source International Herald Tribune, Warner Brothers, Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NOAA

Storm leaves almost 1 million without electricity 

A massive storm that dropped sleet and freezing rain across the nation's midsection, leaving nearly a million utility customers without electricity, finally tapered off, but another wintry blast was forecast to develop Wednesday over the southern Plains.

Tropical Storm Olga triggered floods and landslides in this Caribbean nation Wednesday, killing at least eight people in the Dominican Republic and in Puerto Rico and forcing thousands to flee their homes

A mudslide slammed into at least four homes and blocked a highway to the Oregon coast on Tuesday in a region that was hit hard by last week's storms.