NUKES - TRADE - MIDEAST

1-WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS. 2-Himalayan mega-quakes occur every 1000 yrs in Tibetan plateau: Study.3-Storm drops up to 10 inches of snow. 4-CREWS CLEARING SNOW ON PRIORITY STREETS.5-Palestinian Prime Minister offers to step aside. 6-French force fires Taliban units with laser-guided bomb. 7-UK spy chief fears nuclear attack. 8-Israel Gay pride in Israel goes ahead despite protest.9-From nukes to trade to Middle East, governments look to seize on Washington's new reality.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

WORLD QUAKES LAST 2 DAYS (USGS)

Update time = Sat Nov 11 1:30:13 AM EDT

NOV 11,2006
MAP 2.8 SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA
MAP 5.0 FIJI REGION
MAP 5.0 FIJI REGION

NOV 10,2006
MAP 3.1 SOUTHERN QUEBEC, CANADA
MAP 4.8 BOUGAINVILLE REGION, PAPUA NEW GUINEA
MAP 2.8 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.9 INDIA-BANGLADESH BORDER REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.6 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.5 PUERTO RICO REGION
MAP 2.8 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 4.7 SAKHALIN, RUSSIA
MAP 2.9 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.3 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 3.4 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION
MAP 2.5 CENTRAL CALIFORNIA
MAP 4.8 OAXACA, MEXICO
MAP 4.6 SOUTH OF THE FIJI ISLANDS
MAP 3.7 NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
MAP 2.8 MOUNT ST. HELENS AREA, WASHINGTON
MAP 2.9 PUERTO RICO
MAP 3.2 VIRGIN ISLANDS REGION

Himalayan mega-quakes occur every 1000 yrs in Tibetan plateau: Study

Washington, Nov 10: Using computer simulations, a research team from the University of Colorado has found that mega-earthquakes occur in the Himalayan region every 1,000 years or so to empty a reservoir of energy in southern Tibet.

According to a paper published in today’s issue of the journal Nature, earthquakes in the past 200 years in the central Himalayan region, though catastrophic, have released modest amounts of the energy that in turn has led to India''s collision with the Tibetan plateau.Colorado researchers Roger Bilham and Nicole Feldl have based their claims on GPS point motions across the Himalayas that indicate where strain energy is stored and how it was released over a period of time. Bilham and Feldl have reported their conclusions in a paper titled Great Himalayan Earthquakes and the Tibetan Plateau.

The National Science Foundation has funded the research.

In the past, experts have resorted to estimating the timing of future earthquakes from the slip that occurred in former ones. However, the new information should help scientists’ forecast future seismic activity in the region, Bilham said.We had always assumed that earthquakes in the region were driven by the release of energy accumulating near the Greater Himalaya. Our recent calculations suggest that a substantial volume of the southern Tibetan plateau plays a significant role in driving great ruptures. Exhumation of ancient archives and surface ruptures are now needed to show the details of this process in the past 2,000 years to help us forecast future earthquakes - and save lives, said Bilham.The Greater Himalaya forms a 2,000-kilometer arc separating northern India from Tibet and boasts the world''s highest peaks, including Mount Everest, at more than 29,000 feet.

The region is highly prone to earthquakes and has produced some of the deadliest on earth.Our findings show that great earthquakes - those with a magnitude of 8.2 or greater - can re-rupture regions that already have ruptured in recent smaller earthquakes, or those with a magnitude of 7.8 or below, Bilham said.Mega earthquakes, those with a magnitude of 8.4 or greater, apparently occur every 1,000 years and are driven by residual strain following centuries of smaller earthquakes, or those with a magnitude of 7.6 or lower, according to the report. Bureau Report

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Storm drops up to 10 inches of snow
KATE MCGINTY,REGISTER STAFF WRITER,November 10, 2006

An autumn snowstorm pounded parts of the state today just two days after the temperature hit 79 degrees in Des Moines.The National Weather Service issued winter storm and heavy snow warnings across the north central part of the state, where snow fall dropped 10 inches in Winnebago County. Central Iowa, including the metro area, also saw a short-lived, very intense shot of 1 to 3 inches of snow, Kinney said.Meteorologists expect the weather to dry up and warm back into the 40s across most of Iowa this weekend.

There, the weather produced snowfall, a bit of hail and plenty of lightning. The snow was part of quite a potent system for mid-November, said National Weather Service meteorologist Rich Kinney.The weather caused trouble for a men’s basketball team from Faith Baptist Bible College as it carpooled to North Dakota for a game. One of the vehicles in the caravan hit an icy spot on the road near Mason City and lost control, said Tim Nilius, vice president for enrollment and constituent services. Three students were hospitalized with minor cuts and bruises.

The weather also stopped a bus load of students from Hoover High School headed to St. Paul. The bus of about 35 advanced biology students left Des Moines before 5 a.m. to spend the day touring an exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota. The group was stopped for several hours in Mason City and again in Albert Lea, Minn., before deciding to turn around, principal Connie Cook said.We just feel badly for the kids because they were all excited about this, Cook said. We’ve had such a beautiful string of wonderful weather and then we have this come up so fast.The snow was actually right on track with the average first snowfall in Des Moines Nov. 11 -- according to the National Weather Service, but the recent warm weather meant Iowans were caught off guard.

Randy Boyken of Britt said he was enjoying the weather earlier in the week in Hancock County and did not expect the 9 inches of snow that dropped there this weekend. I wish we could have kept the 70-degree weather for a little longer, but we live in Iowa so we should know better, he said.He planned to dig out the snow shovels, winter coats and boots after work.I wasn’t ready for this at all, he said. It’s quite a change in quite a hurry.

CREWS CLEARING SNOW ON PRIORITY STREETS (NOV 8,2006)

Winter road maintenance crews are working around the clock with all available snow plows and graders to clear snow on Saskatoon streets, sidewalks and pathways based on the Priority System. Crews started spreading a sand mixture at approximately 2:00 a.m.when the freezing rain began. By 7:30 a.m. the plow trucks and sidewalk plows were dispatched to start clearing snow, followed by graders starting at approximately 9:00 a.m. The first priority is the movement of traffic on streets with high traffic counts followed closely by access to fire halls, ambulance sites and hospitals, as well as the high frequency BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) routes.

While every effort is being made to clear streets as soon as possible, the continuing snow means that City crews will work on Priority One and Two streets until they are clear before they start to work on the Priority Three streets. Priority Three streets include all other bus routes and streets adjacent to schools not already assigned a priority. Crews are working around the clock to provide
safe driving conditions on Saskatoon’s over 1,000 kilometres of roadways further than the distance to Winnipeg. Winter road maintenance equipment is large and slow moving. Motorists are asked to please exercise caution when passing, and to be patient.

City crews are working to make the roads safer for you. For more information on the City of Saskatoon Snow and Ice Program, visit www.saskatoon.ca look under S for Snow Removal and Sanding, and follow the links.

For more information: Paul Bracken Roadways Supervisor ,975-2304

Palestinian Prime Minister offers to step aside
From Stephen Farrell of The Times, in Gaza City

Ismail Haniya signalled the beginning of the end for his Hamas-led Palestinian government today, saying he would step aside as Prime Minister to end an international embargo.In a valedictory Friday prayers address Mr Haniya forecast agreement on a national unity government within two to three weeks, but refused to speculate on its programme or new leadership.The Islamist Hamas and President Mahmoud Abbas’s secular Fatah hope this will end Israeli and western sanctions that have left 160,000 Palestinian Authority civil servants virtually unpaid since March, amid worsening civil unrest.With Hamas retaining control of the Palestinian parliament - and almost certainly any new coalition government - it remains unclear how it will meet Western demands to recognise Israel, renounce violence and abide by previous agreements.To cheers from his supporters Mr Haniya delivered a nuanced address insisting that Hamas would not sacrifice its principles, but that he is willing to resign to end his people’s suffering.

We had this dialogue to form the new government and we reached at some point a stage where several parties came to us and told us that the Americans and Europeans and other forces in the region said that such an agreement is beautiful and we can deal with such a government, but on one condition that to end the siege there is a need to change the Prime Minister, he said.When I see it that way - that they put the siege on one hand and me being the Prime Minister on the other hand - I say ’No, let us end the siege and let us end the suffering of the Palestinian people.Taking such a decision is not a compromise, it is a struggle and a sacrifice.

There are those who have sacrificed with their blood and their souls. Is this chair more precious than that? Although Hamas deny it marks a defeat, it was a symbolic moment signifying the Islamist movement’s failure to overcome international isolation that led to growing poverty and violent in-fighting.

Hamas supporters were in no doubt of Mr Haniya’s intentions.

I am upset that we are going to lose this guy as Prime Minister, but I am also happy that things will be easier for the Palestinians, said Jihad Mohammed, 47.Hamas has come under increasing pressure in recent months, with the authority’s coffers empty and demonstrations by civil servants. There are also growing calls for a national unity government amid escalating violence, notably Israel’s shelling of Beit Hanoun in which 19 civilians were killed.Beside Mr Haniya sat Bassem Naim, the current Health Minister, who has been tipped as a possible replacement. Fatah supporters also welcomed the move, but injected a note of caution. He hasn’t gone yet, said Ashraf Shannon, 32, a journalist. It is like salaries, you don’t get paid until you have the money in your pocket.

Israel remains wary. We are following developments inside the Palestinian Authority very closely and we want to see the emergence of a government that will accept the three benchmarks, said Mark Regev, a Foreign Ministry spokesman.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:20,30
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

French force fires Taliban units with laser-guided bomb

A French Mirage 2000-D warplane used a laser-guided bomb against Taliban units in the south of Afghanistan on Oct. 30, the defense ministry in Paris said on Thursday. The Mirage's action was part of the Serpentaire air support mission, and the target on the ground was designated by U.S. and British troops engaged with Taliban fighters, the ministry said. In the past four months, French aircraft have opened fire eight times in Afghanistan, it said. They are part of France's contribution to Operation Enduring Freedom and support for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. Source: Xinhua

UK spy chief fears nuclear attack
POSTED: 1705 GMT (0105 HKT), November 10, 2006

LONDON, England (CNN) -- Britain's spy chief has said authorities are tracking almost 30 terrorist plots to kill people and damage our economy and expressed concern over future terrorist attacks using chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.MI5 Director Eliza Manningham-Buller said in a speech released Friday the secretive agency had exposed five major plots since last July's London bombings and has witnessed a steady increase in threats since the terror attacks against the United States on September 11, 2001.Today we see the use of homemade improvised explosive devices, she said, but I suggest tomorrow's threat will include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology.Manningham-Buller said officials were aware of numerous plots to kill people and to damage our economy.What do I mean by numerous? Five? 10? she said. No, nearer 30 that we currently know of.What we see at the extreme end of the spectrum are resilient networks, some directed from al Qaeda in Pakistan, planning attacks including mass casualty suicide attacks in the UK, she said.

Of great concern is that many of the attacks have and will be carried out by terrorists who have grown up in Britain.Currently, authorities are monitoring 1,600 suspects actively engaged in plotting or facilitating terrorist acts here and overseas. Many have gained training through links to al Qaeda in Pakistan.

One task MI5 has been charged with is to figure out what motivates potential terrorists.Al Qaeda has developed an ideology which claims that Islam is under attack and needs to be defended, she said.The extremists are motivated by a sense of grievance and injustice driven by their interpretation of the history between the West and the Muslim world.Manningham-Buller cited the results of opinion polls that have been conducted since the suicide bombing attacks on London's transportation system July 7, 2005, which killed 52 people and wounded more than 700. The results showed more than 100,000 British citizens considered the attacks justified.

Foiled plots

This August, police said they foiled a plot by a British terrorist cell to attack trans-Atlantic airliners. More than a dozen people, all British, are currently awaiting trial.And on Tuesday, British Muslim convert Dhiren Barot was jailed for life for plotting to attack key U.S. and UK targets with limousines packed with explosives.MI5, she said, is looking at past attacks and foiled plots to prevent the
continued increase in attacks that may in the future be more advanced and even deadlier.UK Prime Minister Tony Blair backed his spy chief's warning and said the terrorist threat facing Britain will last a generation.We need to combat the poisonous propaganda of those people that warps and perverts the minds of younger people, Blair added.Inayat Bunglawala, spokesman for the Muslim Council of Britain, said Manningham-Buller had given a very sobering warning. But he told The Associated Press it was essential that British Muslims are seen as a partner in the fight against terrorism and not some sort of community in need of mass medication.Holding a community responsible for the actions of a few would be counterproductive, Bunglawala said.

Bill Durodie, from the UK Defense Academy think tank, said statements such as those by Manningham-Buller risked exaggerating the threat that Britain faced.It's easy to pull out alarmist headlines, he told AP. What we're seeing here on the whole are lone individuals (and) small groups.CNN. ,Associated Press contributed to this report.

These mule headed people are to much, they were bound the SODOMITES were gonna still pollute ISRAEL,WOW.

10 November 2006
19:00 CET Israel Gay pride in Israel goes ahead despite protest

Homosexual groups in Israel have gone ahead with a gay pride festival in Jerusalem despite demonstrations and skirmishes.

Thousands of people packed into a stadium for music and celebration, after organisers agreed to call off a planned parade through the streets.Ultra-orthodox Jews had threatened to disrupt the march through the holy city, and there were nightly protests against the event. Police called on the festival organisers to reconsider their plans to hold the parade, saying officers would be too busy beefing up security elsewhere against threatened Palestinian attacks.Nonetheless, some 3,000 police were on hand to protect those who headed for the stadium. Security forces arrested a handful of people during skirmishes between gay people who insisted on marching and anti-homosexual protesters.

From nukes to trade to Middle East, governments look to seize on Washington's new reality By Paul Haven,ASSOCIATED PRESS,8:13 a.m. November 10, 2006

MADRID, Spain – From nukes on the Korean peninsula to war in Iraq, illegal immigration and climate change, the new political reality in Washington is an opportunity for governments around the world to push their agendas. Allies in Europe are likely to intensify calls for the shuttering of the U.S. holding facility at Guantanamo Bay and demand more of a say in world affairs. Mexico could see a chance to alter U.S. immigration policy. Washington's enemies in Pyongyang, Tehran and Caracas could be emboldened.But analysts say not to expect Tuesday's sweeping Democratic victory to bring about a sea change in all areas of American foreign policy. In some cases, like North Korea, expectations for change may be exaggerated because the Democrats themselves are not united on a way forward. In other areas of foreign policy, even a weakened American president still enjoys more clout than a united Congress.

In Europe, many leaders are hoping for more clout in world affairs, and there is optimism that the new Democratic majority in Congress will break a deadlock on some key trans-Atlantic sticking points, notably the stalled world trade talks and climate change. Karsten Voigt, the German Foreign Ministry's top official for relations with Washington, forecast that the Democrats' victory will make U.S. foreign policy more open.

More open for the positions of the Europeans, for those who have a different opinion and different suggestions, Voigt said on ZDF television. The Democrats will say 'we need partners, we need allies, and that the Europeans are the closest and most important allies for solving many problems. EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas says there is a growing awareness in Washington in both parties of the need to tackle climate change. He said that with only two years left in Bush's term and with a Democrat-controlled Congress, he was hopeful the U.S. would join the EU in cutting emissions.

I'm confident that it's only a matter of time before the United States joins our efforts, he said. Human rights is another area where European leaders hope for change. Even staunch U.S. allies like Britain have called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay holding facility, and others have insisted on an end to the CIA rendition program and the restoration of basic rights to a fair trial for terror suspects. They are likely to push even harder now that American voters have handed the Bush administration such a strong rebuke at the ballot box.

There is no question that the midterm elections and the results in the House and Senate will encourage allies and others to approach Washington again on issues that are very important to their publics, said Stefan Halper, a political analyst at the Center of International Studies at the University of Cambridge. We'll see, for example, in England renewed efforts to try to make progress on the question of the Guantanamo facility. One area that could be complicated by the Democratic takeover of Congress is global trade talks. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso appealed to the Democrats, traditionally known not to be warm to free trade pacts, to send a signal to the EU that they want to pursue the relaunch of the WTO trade talks, which collapsed in July. He said the European Union is very much ready to work constructively with the new Congress and Bush.

Others said that was unlikely.

It's certainly too early to tell, we'll have to see what the prevailing mood on trade matters will be. That said, I must add that some elected congressmen have expressed themselves in less than reassuring terms in relation to trade matters, said Emma Bonino, Italy's minister for foreign trade and European affairs. Nowhere around the globe are expectations for a new direction higher than in Iraq.Democrats say an important step to repairing the situation there is putting substantial pressure on the Iraqi government to take more responsibility, in part by pulling out some troops to signal the U.S. commitment will not last forever.

Democrats also have called on Bush to convene an international conference on Iraq. Some may also ask the administration to consider opening a regional dialogue with U.S. adversaries Iran and Syria, or propose remaking the Iraq political federation into three largely autonomous sectarian states. Israeli and Palestinian observers say it is unlikely the Democratic takeover in Washington will mean any new Israeli-Palestinian peace initiatives – a situation that suits the Israeli government, headed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, but could prove detrimental to the region.

Frankly, I think you have two governments that don't have a clue what they're going to do, Israeli political analyst Gadi Wolfsfeld said of the U.S. and Israeli administrations. In the Middle East when things don't move forward they tend to deteriorate. ... If you're not moving forward in peace the only alternative is war. North Korea is another tricky issue. The North set off alarm bells by conducting a nuclear test in October, but has more recently expressed a willingness to restart six-party peace talks. Democrats have been critical of the Bush administration's handling of the crisis, but have not offered a specific vision on a way to defuse the crisis. The basic U.S. policy will change little, but in its approach, the Bush administration may come under pressure to talk directly to North Korea,said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul's Dongguk University. Closer to American shores, Mexico has made no bones about its deep opposition to a Republican-sponsored law that calls for construction of a 700-mile-long fence along the border to keep out illegal immigrants. America's southern neighbor could use the Democratic congressional takeover to push for legislation, supported by Bush, that would open the way for U.S. citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants.