SARAH FOR ISRAEL - YES

YAY SARAH PALN I KNOW FOR SURE IS FOR ISRAEL NOW. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH KATIE KURIC SARAH WAS ASKED THE QUESTION? SHOULD THE U.S. EVER SECOND GUESS ISRAEL.

SARAHS RESPONSE: WE SHOULD NOT SECOND GUESS ISRAELS SECURITY EFFORTS BECAUSE WE CAN NOT EVER AFFORD TO SEND A MESSAGE THAT WE WOULD ALLOW A SECOND HOLOCAUST FOR ONE. ISRAEL HAS GOT TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY AND THE ABILITY TO PROTECT ITSELF. THEY ARE OUR CLOSEST ALLY IN THE MIDEAST. WE NEED THEM,THEY NEED US, AND WE SHOULD NOT SECOND GUESS THEIR EFFORT.

WE DON'T HAVE TO SECOND GUESS WHAT THEIR EFFORTS WOULD BE IF THEY BELIEVE THAT IT IS IN THEIR COUNTRY AND THEIR ALLIES INCLUDING US. ALL OF OUR BEST INTEREST TO FIGHT AGAINST A REGIME, ESPECIALLY IRAN. WHO WOULD SEEK TO DESTROY THEM FROM OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. IT IS OBVIOUS TO ME WHO THE GOOD GUYS ARE IN THIS ONE. AND WHO THE BAD GUYS ARE.

THE BAD ONES SAY ISRAEL IS A STINKING CORPSE, AND SHOULD BE WIPED OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. THATS NOT A GOOD GUY WHO IS SAYING THAT. NOW ONE WHO WOULD SEEK TO PROTECT THE GOOD GUYS IN THIS, THE LEADERS OF ISRAEL AND HER FRIENDS, HER ALLIES INCLUDING THE U.S.A. IN MY WORLD, THOSE ARE THE GOOD GUYS.

Iran students unveil book mocking Holocaust Fri Sep 26, 7:19 AM ET

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranians chanted Death to Israel as a group of Islamist students unveiled a book mocking the Holocaust in an annual parade on Friday to show solidarity with the Palestinians. Featuring dozens of cartoons and sarcastic commentary, the book Holocaust was published by members of the Islamist Basij militia.Education Minister Alireza Ali-Ahmadi was present in the capital's Palestine Square for the book's presentation during the annual Quds (Jerusalem) Day parade.

The cover shows a Jew with a crooked nose and dressed in traditional garb drawing outlines of dead bodies on the ground.Inside, bearded Jews are shown leaving and re-entering a gas chamber with a counter that reads the number 5,999,999.Another depicts Jewish prisoners entering a furnace in a Nazi extermination camp and leaving as gun-wielding terrorists from the other side.Yet another shows a patient covered in an Israeli flag and on life support breathing Zyklon-B, the poisonous gas used in the extermination chambers.Iran does not recognise the Jewish state and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attracted international condemnation by repeatedly predicting Israel is doomed to disappear and branding the Holocaust a myth.The commentary inside the book includes anti-Semitic stereotypes and revisionist arguments, casting doubt on the massacre of Jews and mocking Holocaust survivors who claimed reparations after World War II.One comment in a question-and-answer format reads:

How did the Germans emit gas into chambers while there were no holes on the ceiling? Answer: Shut up, you criminal anti-Semite. How dare you ask this question? In 2006, Iran hosted a conference of Holocaust deniers and revisionists and a mass-circulating Iranian newspaper held a cartoon competition on the subject.On Friday, tens of thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran, chanting Death to Israel, declaring solidarity with the Palestinians and calling for Jerusalem and Israel to be handed to the Palestinians.Demonstrators carried placards which read, Israel will be destroyed, Palestine is Victorious and Holy war until victory, and they torched American and Israeli flags.The protest follows a fresh verbal attack on Israel by Ahmadinejad.In an address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, he said the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.Quds Day was started by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic, who called on the world's Muslims to show solidarity with Palestinians on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan.A mother of six, Zahra Hedayat, 47, said: It is important to support Palestinians to show the world that Israel is oppressive, and, God willing, one day Muslims will get Palestine back.The demonstration was held under an official slogan: The Islamic world will not recognise the fake Zionist regime under any circumstances and believes that this cancerous tumour will one day be wiped off the face of the earth.

New terrorism risk review released Friday By EILEEN SULLIVAN, Associated Press Writer SEPT 26,08

WASHINGTON - The Homeland Security Department paid $450,000 for an independent organization to make recommendations on a classified terrorism program, but the review — which took two years to complete — is practically outdated as it's released Friday. In 2006, the department asked the National Academies to review its Bioterrorism Risk Assessment tool — a presidential mandated program that assesses millions of potential bioterrorist attack scenarios, such as anthrax that is widely dispersed in a major city. For each scenario, it defines the likelihood of the attack happening and what the consequences would be.The review took two years to complete because it took one year to hold five meetings on it, six months to do an internal review process with 10 separate reviewers, and six months for the Homeland Security Department to review it, said Greg Parnell, chair of the National Academies committee that wrote the report.Parnell said the department knew the review would take well over a year to complete.The National Academies recommended that the department simplify the formula, create a standard lexicon, and think of terrorists as intelligent adversaries who know about U.S. defenses. The formula should also be used to help make decisions and not just to rank risk, Parnell said.The Homeland Security Department has thus far used the academic formula to prioritize department research goals and detection investments, said department spokeswoman Amy Kudwa. It's been used by several federal agencies to help decide which drugs to buy for the strategic national stockpile based on what threats are considered the most serious and most likely.

But the department has already updated its program to include several of these points, Kudwa said. And in other instances, the Academies' recommendations are contrary to what the department and other leading academics consider the best methods.The $450,000 used for the commissioned review came out of the program's 2006 budget, which was $4.9 million. The department is required to review and make necessary changes to the program every two years.On The Net:The National Academies: http://www.nationalacademies.org/

Mideast peace takes center stage at United Nations By MICHAEL ASTOR, Associated Press Writer Fri Sep 26, 6:54 AM ET

UNITED NATIONS - The key international players trying to promote peace in the Middle East meet on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly on Friday as the U.N. Security Council opens a high-level debate on Israeli settlements. The so-called Quartet — the U.N., the U.S., the European Union and Russia — is meeting at a difficult period in the region.Israel is awaiting a new government, the Palestinians are seriously divided, and President Bush is looking for an agreement by the end of the year, although both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving that goal.Quartet members are also scheduled to attend an Iftar — the meal that breaks the day's fast during Ramadan — with U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Arab partners on Friday night.Ban also met with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday evening.Ban is hoping to push Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and Palestinian reconciliation between Fatah, which controls the West Bank, and the militant Hamas, which controls Gaza.Also Thursday, top EU officials met with Ryad Al Malki, the Palestinian minister of foreign affairs, in an attempt to take a greater role moving the peace talks forward.This meeting, which took place at crucial time in the peace process, and on the eve of the meeting of the Quartet, provided an opportunity to discuss the European Union's enhanced role in the peace process deepening relations between the European Union and the Palestinian Authority, the EU said in a statement.But a group of leading aid agencies, including CARE, Save the Children and Christian Aid, issued a report Thursday warning the Quartet process was failing and called for more action and less words.The Quartet has fundamentally failed to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground. Unless the Quartet's words are matched by more sustained pressure and decisive action the situation will deteriorate still further. Time is fast running out, David Mepham, director of policy for Save the Children UK, said in a statement.

On Friday, the U.N. Security Council will hold an open debate at the ministerial level on the ongoing Israeli settlement building in disputed territory. Saudi Arabia requested the debate to coincide with the General Assembly, which has brought a host of world leaders to New York.Public speeches are expected from Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, and probably Israel speaking in response, but no council resolution on the matter is expected.Continued Israeli settlement construction and Israeli security concerns have clouded Middle East peace negotiations. Both Palestinians and Israelis have expressed doubt about achieving an accord before Bush leaves office.As late as last month Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held out hope of talks succeeding.God willing, with the goodwill of the parties, and the tireless work of the parties, we have a good chance of succeeding, Rice said after seeing Israeli and Palestinian leaders and summoning top negotiators for a joint status report.Israeli President Shimon Peres told the General Assembly in his address Wednesday that despite stagnation and regression and failure in the peace process, Israelis and Arabs are marching toward peace.

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.

16 dead from heavy rains in southwest China SEPT 26,08

BEIJING - Flash floods and landslides unleashed by heavy rains have killed 16 people in one of the areas hit hardest by the massive May earthquake in China's Sichuan province, the local government said Friday. About 20,000 people affected by the floods were evacuated and have been moved to safer places and given food and water, the city's Communist Party propaganda department said in a statement.So far, we have moved 18,000 residents who were threatened with danger to safe areas. We are now relocating the other 2,000, a government official was quoted by official Xinhua News Agency as saying.The flooding and landslides since Wednesday also have left 48 people missing and 360 people injured in Sichuan's Mianyang city, the agency said. More than 42,000 houses have been destroyed.Xinhua reported that rescuers were struggling to repair damaged roads and to restore water and electricity supplies.

The bad weather and landslides come as large parts of Sichuan province are still recovering from the May 12 quake that killed nearly 70,000 and left 5 million homeless.Since then, the government has been rebuilding schools, roads and other infrastructure in the area.Many of the counties hit by the latest heavy rains had been ravaged by the earthquake, including Beichuan in northern Sichuan, which was almost completely flattened. The quake also left another 18,000 people missing and presumed dead.Nine died in Beichuan in the flooding. Xinhua said many prefabricated houses put up after the earthquake had been washed away.

Tropical Storm Kyle gains strength in the Atlantic Fri Sep 26, 4:52 AM ET

MIAMI - Tropical Storm Kyle has gained strength as it swirls in the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda. The National Hurricane Center says Kyle's maximum sustained winds have increased to near 60 mph early Friday. And forecasters say the storm could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moves north.A tropical storm watch has been issued for Bermuda.Kyle is centered about 510 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and moving north near 12 mph.Kyle is the 11th named storm this season in the Atlantic.

No-name storm lands with rain, gusts in Carolinas By ESTES THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer SEPT 26,08

RALEIGH, N.C. - A storm that never quite gained tropical strength or a name over the Atlantic blew ashore with drenching rain Friday in the Carolinas, knocking out power and sending rain, gusty winds and high surf far up the Atlantic seaboard. Although the center of the storm was well to the south, forecasters said it was so large that rain and some wind would be felt in the Northeast. Small craft advisories, meaning strong winds and choppy seas, were issued from Savannah, Ga., to Maine.Much of the winds have diminished, said meteorologist Dave Loewenthal at the National Weather Service in Wilmington. It's a very large system. It goes all up and down the eastern seaboard.Loewenthal said the system's center would continue west throughout the day and then make a more northerly track along the Appalachians. You can have a lot of rain on the east side of the mountains, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem.

The storm was expected to continue bringing coastal flooding, rip currents and high surf to the mid-Atlantic shore over the weekend.Forecasters turned their attention to Tropical Storm Kyle in the open Atlantic, south of Bermuda. The National Hurricane Center said Kyle could become a hurricane by Saturday as it moved north.

At 11 a.m., Kyle was located about 475 miles south-southwest of Bermuda and moving north-northwest near 13 mph with top sustained winds near 60 mph. Tropical storm force winds extended out from the center up to 160 miles, mainly east of the center.A tropical storm warning was in effect for Bermuda.In the Carolinas, the storm knocked out power to about 3,400 utility customers but few serious problems were reported.A dozen houses were condemned in the Outer Banks town of Nags Head when waves exposed septic tanks, WRAL-TV reported. Officials said wind-driven tides flooded NC Highway 12 at times on Hatteras Island.Forecasters said the storm lacked the ingredients of a tropical system, but had looked enough like one that the National Hurricane Center sent aircraft into it several times to explore.This was very close to a tropical system, said Brandon Vincent of the National Weather Service office in Raleigh. Before it came inland, it had a pretty impressive radar impression that was reminiscent of a tropical storm.By 9 a.m. Friday, the storm center was about 70 miles inland from Myrtle Beach, S.C., near the North Carolina border and had weakened, said Brandon Vincent of the National Weather Service office in Raleigh.Vincent said the storm would bring up to 2 inches of rain to some parts of the Carolinas after setting a daily record of 4.16 inches in Wilmington on Thursday. Winds would gust up to 30 mph in the western Piedmont area before dying out in the afternoon.We'll see some breezy conditions, he said. No big deal, just a little breezy.

Storms kill 5 Mexicans; thousands of homes flooded Fri Sep 26, 12:22 AM ET

VERACRUZ, Mexico - Storms flooded hundreds of people out of their homes in southeastern Mexico and caused the death of a woman and four children whose car plunged into a swollen irrigation ditch. More than two dozen rivers have overflowed in the coastal states of Veracruz and Tabasco, flooding thousands of homes, damaging bridges and cutting off some villages, according to Civil Protection officials.

Maria de Jesus Riandez was driving home with her three children and their 13-year-old friend when her car skidded and fell into the irrigation ditch in the Veracruz town of Nanchital, said district attorney Juan Castro. The three siblings were 1- to 9-years-old.More than 1,100 people were in shelters in Veracruz, where the floods also forced state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos to close five wells.In Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco, some neighborhoods were under three feet of water. Furniture and other personal belongings floated in the streets.Civil Protection officials were trying to evacuate 3,000 people to shelters, but many were refusing to leave.Flooding in Tabasco last year killed at least 33 people and inundated more than 1 million homes.Two months ago, the federal government gave homes to 50 families in Villahermosa who lost their houses in last year's flooding. Their new homes were under water again Thursday.They promised us that we would not be flooded again here, that it was a safe zone. And we have lost everything again, Elodia Perez said.

MEPs kill EU blogger registry that never was
LEIGH PHILLIPS 25.09.2008 @ 18:09 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Calls for Europe to initiate a process clarifying the legal status of bloggers - a discourse many across Europe had erroneously believed was in fact EU legislation that would have seen a European 'registry of bloggers' - died on the floor of the European Parliament on Thursday (25 September).MEPs passed a resolution with 307 votes to 262 calling on the European Commission and member states to safeguard pluralism amongst newspapers, television programmes, radio and on the internet in an era of ever-concentrating media ownership.The resolution also called for an open discussion on all issues relating to the status of weblogs - much softer language regarding blogs than had earlier appeared in the report on which the resolution was based.Estonian centre-left MEP Marianne Mikko - the report's author - had wanted to call for full clarification of the legal status of webblog authors, disclosure of bloggers' interests and the voluntary labelling of blogs, all of which had been supported by MEPs across the political spectrum at the committee level.

MEPs had been worried that the legal situation of bloggers regarding source protection is unclear, as was where liability should be assigned in the event of lawsuits. The Euro-deputies had thus recommended that blogs and their authors be taken out of this legal limbo.Such language however produced a firestorm of reaction in Sweden when the report emerged in the Swedish media in June. At the time, the Swedish government had recently narrowly passed legislation that gave officials the power to open all emails and listen to any telephone conversation in the country, and Ms Mikko's proposals around blogs seemed to be of a similar nature to the government's surveillance bill.Commentators across the political spectrum confused the report, which has no legal weight, with binding legislation, and claimed it would have produced a blogger registry. One Swedish politician condemned it as another example of Big Brother snooping into people's daily lives.I've been subject to a lot of attacks from bloggers all over Europe, Ms Mikko told reporters after the passage of the resolution. I've been called Mao Tse-Tung, Lukashenko, Ceauscescu - it's not very pleasant.I understand and yet I don't understand the reaction of bloggers, she said. Nobody is interested in regulating the internet ... But I understand how a sensitivity was touched. I'm sorry that's the playground we're dealing with at the moment.She pointed out that while print and online journalists in various jurisdictions are restricted by slander and libel legislation, the status of bloggers as reporters is unclear.Are bloggers equally trusted [as journalists]? I'm getting a little bit concerned.All you journalists know how powerful the web is, she said, speaking to reporters at a press conference. But do all bloggers think the same? The web is a weapon in your hands. You can kill someone with your words.

Media concentration

The brou-ha-ha over the supposed blogger registry has overshadowed the main elements of the resolution, which focuses on corporate concentration of the media.While there has been a proliferation of new commercial outlets in recent years around the world - particularly within broadcasting and on the internet - a slew of mergers have sharply narrowed the number of companies in the media business to the point where the majority of outlets are owned by just a few major conglomerates, such as Bertelsmann, Vivendi, News Corp, Viacom and Time Warner.Media critics worry that these conglomerates lean toward a single centre-right political perspective, crowding out other views. Further, to prevent owners, shareholders or governments from interfering with editorial content, MEPs called for the creation of editorial charters.The resolution also encourages the disclosure of ownership of all media outlets. In a veiled reference to Italy, it says that within Europe, competition law and media law should be interlinked to avoid conflicts between media ownership concentration and political power.In Italy, media watchdogs are concerned that Silvio Berlusconi is not only prime minister and ultimately the boss of the public broadcasters, but is also the owner of much of the country's private media outlets.

EU ministers flesh out foreign worker Blue Card plan
RENATA GOLDIROVA 25.09.2008 @ 18:07 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU interior ministers have formally backed the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum, a French-drafted plan on how the 27-nation bloc should cope with migratory flows. We have now reached a comprehensive agreement, French immigration minister Brice Hortefeux said on Thursday (25 September), adding that the aim was to avoid building a fortress Europe, but not open Europe unconditionally either. The pact sets out common political guidelines in areas such as regular and irregular immigration, border controls, asylum policies and cooperation with countries of origin and of transit. First of all, it suggests that the organisation of regular immigration be based on a state's needs and ability to welcome people. Those staying in the EU without proper documentation could be forced to return to their home country.Additionally, refugees seeking asylum will be to a greater extent need to apply for refugee status in advance of setting foot on European territory, although the EU claims it will also boost aid to those countries from which people tend to flee. The agreement will now go to heads of states and governments when they meet next month (15-16 October) for final approval.

Blue card

Thursday's ministerial meeting was the first of its kind entirely devoted to the issue of migration, with Mr Hortefeux saying it shows how important and vital these issues are. During the meeting, EU home affairs ministers have also endorsed the idea of an EU work permit, dubbed the Blue Card after the US Green Card, allowing employment to non-Europeans in any country within the 27-nation bloc. The only objection comes from the Czech Republic, minister Hortefeux said after the ministerial meeting, referring to Prague's key demand of abolishing labour restrictions for eastern Europeans. Currently, Austria, Belgium, Germany and Denmark continue to protect their markets from cheaper labour coming from the post-communist bloc. Our citizens cannot be in a worse situation than non-EU states, Czech minister Ivan Langer told journalists. Slovak minister Robert Kalinak also threw his weight behind the demand. The Blue Card would be designed to attract specific types of foreign workers in the EU labour market, allowing them and members of their families to enter, reside in and have access to the labour market in sectors suffering from shortages. In practice, an Indian engineer could enter an EU state after presenting a valid work contract or a binding job offer, with the work permit limited to a maximum 18-months stay at first. Afterwards, he would be allowed up highly qualified employment in another EU state, although the Blue Card would not serve as a blank cheque. It would instead remain the exclusive competence of member states to set specific numbers of economic immigrants entering their territory in order to seek work.

Exceptions

The so-called new EU states have already secured one exception from the general deal - linked to salary conditions for Blue Card holders. In certain sectors, such as health care or education, they would not be obliged to earn 1.5 times the average wage, but only 1.2 times. According to commission estimates, labour shortages will peak by 2050, when 25 million Europeans are expected to retire from work and one third of the population will be over 65 years of age.But Europe has so far failed to win many highly-skilled workers when compared to other parts of the world. In Europe, non-European highly-qualified workers make up only 1.7 percent of the employed population, while they account for nearly ten percent in Australia, over seven percent in Canada and over three percent in the US.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

DOW HALF HOUR REPORTS FRI SEPT 26,08

09:30 AM -38.86
10:00 AM -80.44
10:30 AM -76.78
11:00 AM -10.19
11:30 AM -49.54
12:00 PM -78.29
12:30 PM -73.35
01:00 PM -21.42
01:30 PM -07.24
02:00 PM -02.94
02:30 PM -12.98
03:00 PM +06.61
03:30 PM +68.98
04:00 PM +124.33 11146.87

S&P 500 1213.37 +4.19

NAS 2183.34 -3.23

WACHOVIA IS TALKING WITH ANOTHER COMPANY ABOUT BUYING IT NOW (BREAKING NEWS).

Laissez-faire capitalism is finished, says France
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today SEPT 26,08 @ 09:30 CET

Both France and Germany on Thursday (25 September) said the current financial crisis would leave important marks on the world economy, with French president Nicolas Sarkozy declaring that the under-regulated system we once knew is now finished, and German finance minister Peer Steinbruck saying the crisis marks the beginning of a multi-polar world, where the US is no longer a superpower.Speaking to an audience of some 4,000 supporters in Toulon, France, Mr Sarkozy said the financial turmoil had highlighted the need to re-invent capitalism with a strong dose of morality, as well as to put in place a better regulatory system.The idea of the all-powerful market that must not be constrained by any rules, by any political intervention, was mad. The idea that markets were always right was mad, Mr Sarkozy said.The present crisis must incite us to refound capitalism on the basis of ethics and work … Self-regulation as a way of solving all problems is finished. Laissez-faire is finished. The all-powerful market that always knows best is finished, he added.He accused this system that allows the ones responsible for a disaster to leave with a golden parachute of having increased inequality, demoralised the middle classes and fed [market] speculation.

A European response

The French president also criticised the logic of short-term financial profit and said risks were hidden to obtain ever more exorbitant profits – something which, he said, was not the true face of capitalism.The market economy is a regulated market ... in the service of all. It is not the law of the jungle; it is not exorbitant profits for a few and sacrifices for all the others. The market economy is competition that lowers prices ... that benefits all consumers.The speech by Mr Sarkozy, who is also the EU's current president-in-office, echoes similar statements he made earlier this week, when he called for an international meeting to discuss the crisis before the end of the year.On Thursday, he also called on Europe to reflect on its capacity to act in case of an emergency, to re-consider its rules, its principles, while learning the lessons from what is happening worldwide.Mr Sarkozy said: For all Europeans, it is understood that the response to the crisis should be a European one.In my capacity of president of the Union, I will propose initiatives in that respect at the next European Council [15 October], he added.The world will never be the same again.Meanwhile, German finance minister Peer Steinbruck criticised the US for failing to act in the wake of the crisis and said it would now lose its status of superpower.The US will lose its status as the superpower of the world financial system. This world will become multi-polar, with the emergence of centres in Asia and Europe, he told the German parliament on Thursday.The world will never be as it was before the crisis, he added.

Mr Steinbruck's criticism of the US has been amongst the sharpest yet made since the beginning of the crisis.He notably blamed Washington for resisting stricter regulation, even after the crisis started last summer, and said this free-market-above-all attitude and the argument used by these laissez-faire purveyors was as simple as it was dangerous, the Associated Press reports.He stressed that Germany had made recommendations last year for more rules, which Washington refused to consider.They elicited mockery at best or were seen as a typical example of Germans' penchant for over-regulation, Mr Steinbruck said.Earlier this week, German foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier also said the US should have listened to the advice coming from Europe, notably from Germany, that more control was needed.It is a discussion that we have had for a long time in Europe, that the completely unregulated parts of the international financial market must be more closely monitored and that we must try to reach an agreement on common regulations, he said during a visit to the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, according to Forbes.

Troubled bailout talks restarted — with urgency By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and DAVID ESPO, Associated Press Writers SEPT 26,08

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration and Congress anxiously revived negotiations on a $700 billion financial bailout on Friday, one day after the largest bank collapse in U.S. history provided a brutal reminder of the risks of failure. There is no disagreement that something substantial must be done, declared President Bush. He urged lawmakers to rise to the occasion — and quickly.In one small sign of progress, House Republicans dispatched their second-ranking leader, Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, to join the talks after their objections to an emerging compromise had brought negotiations to a standstill the day before. They also demanded serious consideration for a plan of their own, involving less government intrusion and lower cost to the taxpayers than the $700 billion that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been seeking.The legislation the administration is promoting would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other sour assets held by investors, most of them financial companies. That should make those companies more inclined to lend and lift a major weight off the national economy that is already sputtering. But a significant number of lawmakers, including many House conservatives, say they're against such heavy federal intervention.Under their plan, pushed at a White House meeting Thursday by House Minority leader John Boehner, instead of the government buying the distressed securities, it would insure them.Presidential politics weighed heavily and unpredictably on the election-season effort to stave off a full-blown economic crisis.

After announcing earlier in the week he would suspend his campaign and return to the capital until there was an agreement, Republican John McCain abruptly reversed course and departed for Friday night's debate with Democratic rival Barack Obama in Mississippi.There were fresh signs of urgency at both the White House and the Capitol, one day after an unusually tempestuous White House meeting and the collapse of Washington Mutual, the largest failure in U.S. banking history. The Seattle-based institution had invested heavily in the now-moribund mortgage market.Bush made his brief remarks in hopes of projecting calm for the financial markets. And the Dow Jones industrials were up slightly near the end of the trading day.We're going to get this done, and stay in session as long as it takes to get it done, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said afterward Bush's statement.Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H., added, I think anybody who got up this morning and looked at the markets, especially the credit market, had to take a deep breath and say, this is serious, we better do something.In days of negotiations, the administration has accepted demands from lawmakers to give Congress considerable authority to oversee the bailout. Additionally, Paulson relented to requests to limit the severance packages that corporate executives can receive from firms benefiting from the government bailout.

Also, rather than provide $700 billion upfront, as Paulson initially requested, Congress would approve $250 billion, with the president able to certify the need for an additional $100 billion on his own authority. The final $350 billion would become available with a second presidential certification, although this time Congress would have authority to block it.Any compromise is also expected to require the government to obtain partial ownership of any company it invests in.Democrats, too, signaled they were considering jettisoning some of their own priorities.Frank indicated they might ultimately drop a requirement that a portion of any profits from the rescue be funneled to a fund to build housing for low-income people. That mandate, deeply unpopular with Republicans, is not an essential, Frank said.

Additionally, Obama said earlier in the week he hoped Democrats would not press a proposal giving bankruptcy judges the power to ease mortgage terms for homeowners.

Beyond the specifics of any legislation lie political calculations in the shadow of hard-fought presidential and congressional campaigns. While Democrats control a majority of both the House and Senate, their leaders have made it clear they will not force their rank-and-file to vote without Republican support on a bailout advanced by an unpopular president on an unwilling public. In an Associated Press-Knowledge Networks poll, only 30 percent of those surveyed expressed support for Bush's package. An additional 45 percent were opposed, with 25 percent undecided. The survey was conducted Sept. 25 and had a margin of error or 3.8 percent. It was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews.

Aides to lawmakers in both parties say telephone calls from constituents are running heavily against the bailout — in some cases nearly 100-1 against, making the vote a potentially tricky one for a candidate in a competitive race. Ironically, though, many House conservatives who are most opposed to the measure are in safe seats, thus free to resist the daily calls for action — and the warnings from Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that a recession looms without a bailout. Opposed to direct government purchases of assets, they favor tax breaks and creation of a new government insurance program that would give private companies an incentive to make the purchases on their own. Our goal here in attempting to come to an agreement is to do our best to protect American taxpayers, said Republican leader Boehner of Ohio, after a closed-door meeting other GOP lawmakers. Inside the meeting, Boehner received a standing ovation from fellow Republicans, some of whom expressed anger that Bush and his administration had effectively shut them out of negotiations and tried to force them to support an unpopular bill. He got a standing ovation because he stood up to the president and Paulson, said Rep. Ray LaHood, R-Ill. Now we're a part of the game.Said Boehner, speaking of a White House meeting on Wednesday: If they thought they were rolling me, they were kidding themselves.Frank saw it differently. I didn't know I was going to be the referee for an internal GOP ideological civil war, the Massachusetts Democrat said on CBS' The Early Show.
Associated Press writers Charles Babington, Jim Kuhnhenn and Jennifer Loven contributed to this report.

Stocks decline on on bailout clash; tech slides By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer SEPT 26,08

NEW YORK - Financial markets remained tense Friday after efforts to approve a $700 billion federal banking bailout ran into opposition from Republican lawmakers. Stocks were mostly lower, with some of the biggest declines coming in the tech sector, while demand for safe-haven buying in government debt remained but eased slightly. Investors turned cautious as the Bush administration's efforts to come up with a rescue package faced setbacks. On Thursday, Republican lawmakers rejected the emergency rescue package over concerns about the price tag of the White House-backed proposal. This came hours after congressional leaders from both parties announced they were nearing agreement on a deal. Shortly after Friday's opening bell on Wall Street, President Bush said at the White House lawmakers can express doubts but ultimately should rise to the occasion and approve a plan to stave off what he sees as an economic calamity.The rescue is designed to remove billions of dollars of bad mortgages and other now-toxic assets from the books of financial firms in a bid to free up lending. Tight lending conditions make it harder and more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money, a headwind for the economy. In a last-minute shake up, some Republican lawmakers want an alternative plan under which the government would provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than have the U.S. purchase the assets.With the prospects of a deal uncertain, negotiations in Washington were continuing Friday as investors kept close watch on the proceedings.

I think the markets are on pause trying to figure out where this is going to go. Congress is still there, said Mark Coffelt, portfolio manager at Empiric Funds in Austin, Texas. Right now everyone is a little bit shellshocked.Credit markets remained strained, though they showed improvement. The yield on the 3-month Treasury bill, considered the safest short-term investment, rose to 0.83 percent from 0.72 percent late Thursday. The lower the yield on a T-bill, the more desperation there is in the market; investors are at times willing to take the slimmest returns to preserve their principal. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.81 percent from 3.84 percent late Thursday.

Stocks declined unevenly, with technology shares falling sharply after Research In Motion Ltd. warned late Thursday that its gross margins would contract in the current quarter because of the costs for producing three new BlackBerry models. The stock fell $25.45, or 26 percent, to $72.08.In the final hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrials rose 61.41, or 0.56 percent, to 11,083.47, after periodically moving into positive territory. Gains by JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp. gave support to the 30-stock index.Broader indicators showed steeper declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 3.72, or 0.31 percent, to 1,205.46, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 17.44, or 0.80 percent, to 2,169.13.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by more than 4 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 788.2 million shares.Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell $1.13 to $106.89 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Uncertainty over the bailout package left the dollar mixed against other major currencies. Gold prices rose.Coffelt said the market would take a hit if a bailout doesn't materialize, though he said the broader fear is that tightness in credit markets would make any decline more severe.If it doesn't go through I think the markets probably get slapped — probably 1,000 points — but then we'll work our way out of it, he said, referring to a drop the Dow industrials could see.The market was also uneasy after Washington Mutual Inc. became the largest U.S. bank to fail. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. seized WaMu on Thursday and then sold the thrift's banking assets to JPMorgan for $1.9 billion. It was the latest financial firm to collapse under the weight of enormous bad bets on the mortgage market.Although WaMu's failure was expected, it nonetheless underscored for investors how widespread the problems are in the financial sector.Coffelt noted, however, that the market appeared to take some comfort from the orderly fall of WaMu. Several analysts praised the move as a wise takeover for JPMorgan. JPMorgan rose $2.54, or 5.8 percent, to $46.Meanwhile, Bank of America, which last week snapped up Merrill Lynch, rose $1.78, or 5.2 percent, to $36.15. Bank of America and JP Morgan are now the first and second largest banks U.S. banks, respectively, perhaps offering investors some reassurance about the safety provided by their large asset bases in a market short on liquidity. But worries about some other banks persisted after the failure of WaMu. Wachovia Corp. fell $5.10, or 37 percent, to $8.60, while regional bank National City Corp. fell $1.43, or 29 percent, to $3.56. Still, concerns about the broader economy persist. The Commerce Department said the spring's economic rebound was less robust than previously estimated. Gross domestic product, or GDP, increased at a 2.8 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter. That fell short of the 3.3 percent growth estimated a month ago, but was still better than two previous dismal quarters. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 8.77, or 1.24 percent, to 698.98. Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.94 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 2.09 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.77 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.50 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

WaMu is largest U.S. bank failure By Elinor Comlay and Jonathan Stempel
SEPT 25,08

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Washington Mutual Inc was closed by the U.S. government in by far the largest failure of a U.S. bank, and its banking assets were sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co for $1.9 billion. Thursday's seizure and sale is the latest historic step in U.S. government attempts to clean up a banking industry littered with toxic mortgage debt. Negotiations over a $700 billion bailout of the entire financial system stalled in Washington on Thursday.Washington Mutual, the largest U.S. savings and loan, has been one of the lenders hardest hit by the nation's housing bust and credit crisis, and had already suffered from soaring mortgage losses.Washington Mutual was shut by the federal Office of Thrift Supervision, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp was named receiver. This followed $16.7 billion of deposit outflows at the Seattle-based thrift since Sept 15, the OTS said.With insufficient liquidity to meet its obligations, WaMu was in an unsafe and unsound condition to transact business, the OTS said.Customers should expect business as usual on Friday, and all depositors are fully protected, the FDIC said.FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair said the bailout happened on Thursday night because of media leaks, and to calm customers. Usually, the FDIC takes control of failed institutions on Friday nights, giving it the weekend to go through the books and enable them to reopen smoothly the following Monday.Washington Mutual has about $307 billion of assets and $188 billion of deposits, regulators said. The largest previous U.S. banking failure was Continental Illinois National Bank & Trust, which had $40 billion of assets when it collapsed in 1984.JPMorgan said the transaction means it will now have 5,410 branches in 23 U.S. states from coast to coast, as well as the largest U.S. credit card business.

It vaults JPMorgan past Bank of America Corp to become the nation's second-largest bank, with $2.04 trillion of assets, just behind Citigroup Inc. Bank of America will go to No. 1 once it completes its planned purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co.The bailout also fulfills JPMorgan Chief Executive Jamie Dimon's long-held goal of becoming a retail bank force in the western United States. It comes four months after JPMorgan acquired the failing investment bank Bear Stearns Cos at a fire-sale price through a government-financed transaction.On a conference call, Dimon said the risk here obviously is the asset values.He added: That's what created this opportunity.

JPMorgan expects to incur $1.5 billion of pre-tax costs, but realize an equal amount of annual savings, mostly by the end of 2010. It expects the transaction to add to earnings immediately, and increase earnings 70 cents per share by 2011.It also plans to sell $8 billion of stock, and take a $31 billion write-down for the loans it bought, representing estimated future credit losses.The FDIC said the acquisition does not cover claims of Washington Mutual equity, senior debt and subordinated debt holders. It also said the transaction will not affect its roughly $45.2 billion deposit insurance fund.Jamie Dimon is clearly feeling that he has an opportunity to grab market share, and get it at fire-sale prices, said Matt McCormick, a portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor Investment Counsel in Cincinnati. He's becoming an acquisition machine.

BAILOUT UNCERTAINTY

The transaction came as Washington wrangles over the fate of a $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry, which has been battered by mortgage defaults and tight credit conditions, and evaporating investor confidence. It removes an uncertainty from the market, said Shane Oliver, head of investment strategy at AMP Capital in Sydney. The problem is that markets are in a jittery stage. Washington Mutual provides another reminder how tenuous things are.Washington Mutual's collapse is the latest of a series of takeovers and outright failures that have transformed the American financial landscape and wiped out hundreds of billions of dollars of shareholder wealth. These include the disappearance of Bear, government takeovers of mortgage companies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and the insurer American International Group Inc, the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, and Bank of America's purchase of Merrill. JPMorgan, based in New York, ended June with $1.78 trillion of assets, $722.9 billion of deposits and 3,157 branches. Washington Mutual then had 2,239 branches and 43,198 employees. It is unclear how many people will lose their jobs. Shares of Washington Mutual plunged $1.24 to 45 cents in after-hours trading after news of a JPMorgan transaction surfaced. JPMorgan shares rose $1.04 to $44.50 after hours, but before the stock offering was announced.

119-YEAR HISTORY

The transaction ends exactly 119 years of independence for Washington Mutual, whose predecessor was incorporated on September 25, 1889, to offer its stockholders a safe and profitable vehicle for investing and lending, according to the thrift's website. This helped Seattle residents rebuild after a fire torched the city's downtown. It also follows more than a week of sale talks in which Washington Mutual attracted interest from several suitors. These included Banco Santander SA, Citigroup Inc, HSBC Holdings Plc, Toronto-Dominion Bank and Wells Fargo & Co, as well as private equity firms Blackstone Group LP and Carlyle Group, people familiar with the situation said. Less than three weeks ago, Washington Mutual ousted Chief Executive Kerry Killinger, who drove the thrift's growth as well as its expansion in subprime and other risky mortgages. It replaced him with Alan Fishman, the former chief executive of Brooklyn, New York's Independence Community Bank Corp. WaMu's board was surprised at the seizure, and had been working on alternatives, people familiar with the matter said. More than half of Washington Mutual's roughly $227 billion book of real estate loans was in home equity loans, and in adjustable-rate mortgages and subprime mortgages that are now considered risky. The transaction wipes out a $1.35 billion investment by David Bonderman's private equity firm TPG Inc, the lead investor in a $7 billion capital raising by the thrift in April. A TPG spokesman said the firm is dissatisfied with the loss, but that the investment represented a very small portion of our assets.

DIMON POUNCES

The deal is the latest ambitious move by Dimon. Once a golden child at Citigroup before his mentor Sanford Sandy Weill engineered his ouster in 1998, Dimon has carved for himself something of a role as a Wall Street savior. Dimon joined JPMorgan in 2004 after selling his Bank One Corp to the bank for $56.9 billion, and became chief executive at the end of 2005. Some historians see parallels between him and the legendary financier John Pierpont Morgan, who ran J.P. Morgan & Co and was credited with intervening to end a banking panic in 1907. JPMorgan has suffered less than many rivals from the credit crisis, but has been hurt. It said on Thursday it has already taken $3 billion to $3.5 billion of write-downs this quarter on mortgages and leveraged loans. Washington Mutual has a major presence in California and Florida, two of the states hardest hit by the housing crisis. It also has a big presence in the New York City area. The thrift lost $6.3 billion in the nine months ended June 30. It is surprising that it has hung on for as long as it has, said Nancy Bush, an analyst at NAB Research LLC. (Additional reporting by Paritosh Bansal, Christian Plumb and Dan Wilchins; Jessica Hall in Philadelphia; John Poirier in Washington, D.C. and Kevin Lim in Singapore; Editing by Gary Hill and Carol Bishopric)

Bailout deal breaks down; Paulson back to Capitol By JENNIFER LOVEN and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers SEPT 25,08

WASHINGTON - A Republican rebellion stalled government efforts Thursday to avoid economic meltdown, a chaotic turnaround that disrupted the choreography of am extraordinary White House meeting meant to show joint resolve from the president, the political parties and the presidential candidates. After six days of intensive talks on the $700 billion financial industry bailout proposed by the Bush administration, with Wall Street tottering and presidential politics intruding six weeks before the election, there was more confusion than clarity.An apparent breakthrough was announced with fanfare at midday by key members of Congress from both parties — but not top leaders. Wall Street cautiously showed its pleasure, with the Dow Jones industrials closing 196 points higher.But the good news and the market close were followed by a rash of less-positive developments.Washington Mutual Inc. was seized by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. in the largest failure ever of a U.S. bank, after which JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. came to its rescue by buying the thrift's banking assets.And a late-afternoon White House summit bringing together President Bush, presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama, and top congressional leaders, described as a full-throated discussion by one person in the room and a contentious shouting match by McCain's campaign, broke up with conflicts in plain view.Conservatives were in revolt over the astonishing price tag of the proposal and the hand of government that it would place on private markets.

Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the top Republican on the Senate Banking Committee, emerged from the White House meeting to say the announced agreement is obviously no agreement. McCain's campaign issued a statement saying, the plan that has been put forth by the administration does not enjoy the confidence of the American people as it will not protect the taxpayers and will sacrifice Main Street in favor of Wall Street. The White House, too, acknowledged there was no deal, only progress.

Meanwhile a group of House GOP lawmakers circulated an alternative that would put much less focus on a government takeover of failing institutions' sour assets. This proposal would have the government provide insurance to companies that agree to hold frozen assets, rather than have the U.S. purchase the assets.Inside the White House session, House Republican leader John Boehner announced his concerns about the emerging plan and asked that the conservatives' alternative be considered, said people from both parties who were briefed on the exchange. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the session was private.Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, the feisty Democrat who has been leading negotiations with Paulson, reacted angrily, saying Republicans had waited until the last moment to present their proposal.Meanwhile McCain, who dramatically announced Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign to deal with the economic crisis, stayed silent for most of the session and spoke only briefly to voice general principles for a rescue plan.

Weary congressional negotiators then resumed working into the night, joined by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in an effort to revive or rework the proposal that Bush said must be quickly approved by Congress to stave off potentially a long and painful recession. They gave up after 10 p.m. EDT, more than an hour after the lone House Republican involved, Rep. Spencer Bachus of Alabama, left the room.Talks were to resume Friday morning on the effort to bail out failing financial institutions and restart the flow of credit that has begun to starve the national economy.The Bush administration plan's centerpiece remained for the government to buy the toxic, mortgage-based assets of shaky financial institutions in a bid to keep them from going under and setting off a cascade of ruinous events, including wiped-out retirement savings, rising home foreclosures, closed businesses and lost jobs.The earlier bipartisan accord establishing principles and important details would have given the Bush administration just a fraction of the money it wanted up front, subjecting half the $700 billion total to a congressional veto. The treasury secretary would get $250 billion immediately and could have an additional $100 billion if he certified it was needed, an approach designed to give lawmakers a stronger hand in controlling the unprecedented rescue.The Bush administration had already agreed to several concessions based on demands from the right and left, including that the government take equity in companies helped by the bailout and put rules in place to limit excessive compensation of their executives, according to a draft of the outline obtained by The Associated Press.Democrat Obama and Republican McCain, who have both sought to distance themselves from the unpopular Bush, sat down with the president at the White House for the hourlong afternoon session that was striking in this brutally partisan season. By also including Congress' Democratic and Republican leaders, the meeting gathered nearly all Washington's political power structure at one long table in a small West Wing room. All of us around the table ... know we've got to get something done as quickly as possible, Bush declared optimistically at the start of the meeting. Obama and McCain were at distant ends of the oval table, not even in each other's sight lines. Bush, playing host in the middle, was flanked by Congress' two Democratic leaders, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. But neither Bush, McCain nor Obama have been deeply involved so far in this week's scramble to hammer out a package. The meeting was intended more to provide bipartisan political cover for lawmakers to support a plan in the face of an angry public and their own re-election bids in six weeks. At day's end, Frank said he told Paulson this whole thing is at risk if the president can't get members of his own party to participate.Layered over the White House meeting was a complicated web of potential political benefits and consequences for both presidential candidates. McCain hoped voters would believe that he rose above politics to wade into successful, nitty-gritty dealmaking at a time of urgent crisis, but he risked being seen instead as either overly impulsive or politically craven, or both. Obama saw a chance to appear presidential and fit for duty but was also caught off guard strategically by McCain's surprising gamble in saying he was suspending his campaigning and asking to delay Friday night's debate to focus on the crisis. Associated Press writers Deb Riechmann, Martin Crutsinger, Christopher Wills and Beth Fouhy in Washington and researcher Judy Ausuebel in New York contributed to this story. (Corrects quote in 13th paragraph, Weary congressional ..., to painful instead deep recession.)

FALSE TEACHERS,PROPHETS,DECIEVERS

MATTHEW 24:4-5,11,24-25
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

MARK 13:22-23
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

FBI: Evangelist Alamo arrested in child sex case By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press Writer SEPT 25,08

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - FBI agents arrested evangelist and convicted tax evader Tony Alamo at an Arizona motel Thursday, alleging days after raiding the Arkansas headquarters of his ministry that he took minors across state lines for sexual purposes. Alamo was staying at a hotel in Flagstaff, Ariz., when arrested, said FBI spokesman Steve Frazier in Little Rock. The religious leader — who began his career as a California street preacher in 1966 — was scheduled for a federal court appearance Friday in Flagstaff.Alamo is suspected of violating the Mann Act, which prohibits taking children across state lines for illegal purposes. Frazier described those purposes as sexual activity.Several women were traveling with Alamo when he was arrested, but no minors were with him, police said. Authorities did not say when minors were taken across state lines or which states were involved, but Alamo has ministries in California and Arkansas.Federal agents and Arkansas state police had raided the headquarters of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries in tiny Fouke on Saturday and removed six girls ages 10 to 17. They sought evidence that children there had been molested or filmed having sex.Prosecutors sought Alamo's arrest after interviewing the girls this week, but Frazier would not disclose what the children said.The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, describes the ministry as a cult. Alamo's church rails against homosexuals, Roman Catholics and the government, and Alamo has preached that girls are fit for marriage once they are sexually mature.Consent is puberty, he said in an interview with The Associated Press last week from a telephone registered in the Los Angeles area while agents raided the compound. He denied any involvement with pornography.An Arkansas judge has hearings set for Friday and Monday on whether the state Department of Human Services can keep custody of the six girls. The girls will attend the hearings.We will transport them to and from hearings. We will take part in any future hearings, agency spokeswoman Julie Munsell said. Our job right now is to basically take care of them.

State Circuit Judge Jim Hudson said two hearings would be conducted Friday and the other four Monday in Texarkana.The six hearings will be split among three judges who will decide whether the state had enough evidence to temporarily remove the children from their homes on the Fouke compound. If a judge rules against the state, the girls would be returned to the parents.Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler said that no further arrests were planned that would involve his agency.FBI agents and police in Arizona arrested Alamo as he was leaving the Little America Hotel, which is along Interstate 40, Frazier said. It wasn't known where Alamo was headed when he was picked up.The hotel, in Arizona's northern mountains near the Grand Canyon, bills itself as a luxury resort. Fred Reese, a hotel spokesman, declined to comment.Alamo and his late wife Susan were street preachers in Los Angeles before forming a commune near Saugus, Calif. Susan Alamo died of cancer in 1982; Alamo claimed she would be resurrected and kept her body on display for six months while followers prayed.Alamo was convicted of tax-related charges in 1994 and served four years in prison after the IRS said he owed the government $7.9 million. Prosecutors in that case argued that Alamo was a flight risk and a polygamist who preyed on married women and girls in his congregation.Since establishing his ministries in Arkansas, Alamo has been a controversial and flamboyant figure in the state. Snapshots often show him wearing large dark sunglasses, and he recently said he is legally blind. In his autobiography, My Life, former President Bill Clinton, an Arkansas native, described Alamo as Roy Orbison on speed.Clinton recalled traveling in 1975 to see Dolly Parton sing at Alamo's compound in the town of Alma. Remembering the fiasco after Susan Alamo's death, Clinton wrote: A couple of years later, he got involved with a younger woman. Lo and behold, God spoke to him again and told him Susan wasn't coming back after all, so he took her out of the glass box and buried her.FBI documents identified Alamo by his birth name, Bernie Lazar Hoffman, and said he turned 74 the day of the raid. Alamo has said he was born Jewish but converted to Christianity.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
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.

Russia orders upgrade of its nuclear deterrent SEPT 26,08

DONGUZ TESTING RANGE, Russia (Reuters) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Friday announced plans to create an upgraded nuclear deterrence system for Russia by 2020, including a space defense system and new nuclear submarines. He said the need for the upgrade was demonstrated by the conflict with neighboring Georgia last month, when Russia launched a massive counter-offensive to crush an attempt by Georgian forces to retake the rebel South Ossetia region.A guaranteed nuclear deterrent system for various military and political circumstances must be provided by 2020, Medvedev told Russian military chiefs after a military exercise in the southern Urals region of Orenburg.Large-scale construction of new types of warships is planned, primarily of nuclear submarines armed with cruise missiles, and multi-purpose submarines. A system of air and space defense will be created, said Medvedev.

Medvedev ordered military commanders to present him with an action plan for implementing the changes by December this year.Just recently we have had to rebuff an aggression unleashed by the Georgian regime and, as we found, a war can flare up suddenly and can be absolutely real. And local, smoldering conflicts, which are sometimes even called frozen conflicts, will turn into a real military conflagration, he said.Russia's military endured years of under-funding following the collapse of the Soviet Union, with its warships spending long periods in port because of a lack of cash for fuel and spare parts. Russia's air force was also often grounded.But analysts say its nuclear deterrent is not subject to the same neglect and remains effective.The Kremlin, now sitting on a large cash pile after several years of high prices for its main exports, oil and gas, has already injected large sums into reviving the military.

Russia, Venezuela sign oil and gas deals By STEVE GUTTERMAN, Associated Press Writer SEPT 26,08

MOSCOW - Russia and Venezuelan officials on Friday signed agreements meant to bolster cooperation in the oil and gas industry, playing up energy ties between two nations trying to decrease U.S. influence around the world. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev watched the signing of deals between their energy ministries and state energy companies in the southern city of Orenburg.Chavez was on his second trip to Russia in just over two months, while Moscow's relations with Washington and the West have soured since Russia's war with U.S. ally Georgia.Chavez reiterated Venezuela's full, modest but very firm support for the actions Russia took in Georgia. Medvedev thanked Chavez for Venezuela's moral support over the war.The United States and European Union have denounced Russia's invasion of Georgia, which followed a Georgian offensive targeting the separatist South Ossetia region, and have urged Moscow to rescind its recognition of South Ossetia and breakaway Abkhazia as independent nations.Though Chavez praised Moscow's actions, Venezuela has stopped short of recognizing the two regions' independence claims. Only Nicaragua has done so.

Medvedev also thanked Venezuela on Friday for hosting the crews of two Russian strategic bombers dispatched there this month, and said the fact that a Russian naval squadron was on its way to Venezuela demonstrates the strategic framework of ties between the two countries.The Western Hemisphere deployments are a pointed Russian response to the U.S. use of military ships to bring aid to Georgia and aspects of what the Kremlin casts as threatening U.S. encroachment near its borders.

Chavez said before the two-day visit to Russia that he and Medvedev would watch a major Russian military exercise in the Orenburg region, but it was unclear whether that would happen.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin greeted Chavez on Thursday and vowed to make relations with Latin America a top Russian foreign and economic policy priority. He offered to discuss further arms sales to Venezuela and possibly help it develop nuclear energy.Since 2005, Russia has signed contracts worth more than $4.4 billion to supply Venezuela with arms including fighter jets, helicopters and 100,000Kalashnikov assault rifles.The Kremlin said Thursday that Russia is granting Venezuela a $1 billion credit for the purchase of Russian weaponry, and the state-run news agency RIA-Novosti quoted the director of the state holding Russian Technologies, Sergei Chemezov, as saying Russia and Venezuela are in talks on the possible supply of Russian anti-aircraft systems and armor including armored personnel carriers.The arms purchases have sparked concern in the U.S. and among some neighbors of Venezuela, such as Colombia, which has accused Venezuelan officials of supporting leftist insurgents.But Friday's talks focused on energy cooperation.The CEO of Russia's state gas monopoly OAO Gazprom and the president of state energy company Petroleos de Venezuela SA, or PDVSA, signed a memorandum of understanding that Gazprom said allowed for greater cooperation between the companies.The nations' energy ministers signed a separate memorandum calling for the establishment of a body that would oversee broader cooperation in oil and gas between the energy-rich nations.Gazprom has invested $100 million in Venezuela, Gazprom chief Alexei Miller said on Vesti-24 television after the signing.

He said agreement to create a consortium linking PDVSA with Russia's top oil and gas companies was in the works and could be signed in the coming months, with Gazprom likely leading the Russian side. Chavez also had suggested such a deal would be signed during his visit. Industry experts were skeptical about the significance of the planned consortium. Chirvani Abdoullaev, chief oil and gas analyst at Russia's Alfa Bank, said it would make little sense commercially and that the countries lack the resources and know-how to bid for global dominance. As for the development of Venezuelan heavy crude oil — none of the Russian companies has adequate technologies to offer, he said. Why would you go to Venezuela instead of developing your own industry to the world level? We should focus on the tasks we have down here.

Iranians mock Holocaust on annual Jerusalem Day SEPT 26,08

TEHRAN (AFP) - Iranians chanted Death to Israel on Friday as Islamist students unveiled a book mocking the Holocaust in an Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day annual parade to show solidarity with the Palestinians. And in Gaza City, the Islamist Hamas movement that has ruled the impoverished Palestinian territory since June 2007 marked the day by calling for more suicide attacks on Israel.The book Holocaust, published by members of Iran's Islamist Basij militia, features dozens of cartoons and sarcastic commentary.Education Minister Alireza Ali-Ahmadi attended the official launch of the book in Tehran's Palestine Square.The cover shows a Jew with a crooked nose and dressed in traditional garb drawing outlines of dead bodies on the ground.Inside, bearded Jews are shown leaving and re-entering a gas chamber with a counter that reads the number 5,999,999.Another illustration depicts Jewish prisoners entering a furnace in a Nazi extermination camp and leaving from the other side as gun-wielding terrorists.Yet another shows a patient draped in an Israeli flag and on life support breathing Zyklon-B, the poisonous gas used in the extermination chambers.Iran does not recognise the Jewish state, and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has attracted international condemnation by repeatedly predicting Israel is doomed to disappear and branding the Holocaust a myth.

The commentary inside the book includes anti-Semitic stereotypes and revisionist arguments, casting doubt that the massacre of Jews took place and mocking Holocaust survivors who claimed reparations after World War II.One comment, in a question-and-answer format, reads: How did the Germans emit gas into chambers while there were no holes on the ceiling? Answer: Shut up, you criminal anti-Semite. How dare you ask this question? In 2006, the Islamic republic hosted a conference of Holocaust deniers and revisionists and a mass-circulation Iranian newspaper held a cartoon competition on the subject.On Friday, tens of thousands of Iranians marched in Tehran, chanting Death to Israel, declaring solidarity with the Palestinians and calling for Jerusalem and Israel to be handed to the Palestinians.Demonstrators carried placards bearing slogans including Israel will be destroyed, Palestine is Victorious and Holy war until victory, and they also torched American and Israeli flags.In Gaza, a Hamas parliamentarian called for more suicide attacks against Israel as thousands of Palestinians marched to mark Al-Quds Day.We call on all the factions to undertake efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom operations, Ahmed Abu Helbiya told a crowd of more than 2,000 protesters.Friday's Iran protest follows a fresh verbal attack on Israel by Ahmadinejad.

In an address to the UN General Assembly in New York on Tuesday, he said the Zionist regime is on a definite slope to collapse and there is no way for it to get out of the cesspool created by itself and its supporters.Quds Day was started by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic republic, who called on the world's Muslims to show solidarity with Palestinians on the last Friday of the fasting month of Ramadan. The demonstration was held under an official slogan: The Islamic world will not recognise the fake Zionist regime under any circumstances and believes that this cancerous tumour will one day be wiped off the face of the earth.

Over 190,000 Muslims pray at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque SEPT 26,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) - More than 190,000 Muslims prayed in Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa mosque on the last Friday of Ramadan amid tightened security in the Holy City, Israeli police said. Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said there had been no major incidents but that security forces would remain on high alert for Lailat al-Qader, a Muslim holiday in which many believers pray through the night.The holiday is celebrated near the end of the holy month of Ramadan, during which devout Muslims the world over fast from dawn to dusk.Al-Aqsa mosque -- on Islam's third holiest site -- has been a major flashpoint in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and was the site of the outbreak of the latest Palestinian uprising in 2000.Jews believe the compound including the mosque was the site of the Second Temple -- Judaism's holiest site -- which was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD.

Hamas urges suicide attacks as thousands march in Gaza SEPT 26,08

GAZA CITY (AFP) - A Hamas parliamentarian called on Friday for more suicide attacks against Israel as thousands of Palestinians marched through Gaza in honour of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Day, an Iranian-declared observance. We call on all the factions to undertake efforts to contain the enemy and halt its aggression by planning martyrdom operations, Ahmed Abu Helbiya told a crowd of more than 2,000 protestors.Abu Helbiya saluted recent attacks in Jerusalem, including a shooting in March at a Jewish seminary that killed eight students and an incident earlier this week when a Palestinian crashed a car into a group of Israeli soldiers, wounding 16 people before being shot dead.Neither attack was claimed by any armed Palestinian faction, and Israeli authorities said both were apparently carried out by disgruntled individuals.The demonstration was organised by Hamas -- which seized control of Gaza in June 2007 after routing forces loyal to president Mahmud Abbas -- and the more radical Islamic Jihad, both of which are sworn to Israel's destruction.It was held in honour of Al-Quds Day, an annual observance declared by Iran after its 1979 revolution that features mass protests in solidarity with the Palestinians.Ismail Haniya, the prime minister in Gaza's Hamas-run government, called on Arabs and Muslims to save the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem -- Islam's third holiest site -- which he said is in real danger from Israel.

The Al-Aqsa mosque is in real danger because of the continuation of excavations and Judaisation and the settlement-building, Haniya said, referring to the site where the latest Palestinian uprising erupted in 2000.Jews believe the mosque was built on the site of the Second Jewish Temple -- the holiest site in Judaism -- which was razed by the Romans in 70 AD.Protestors waved the green and black flags of Hamas and Jihad as young boys from local scout troops carried signs reading On International Al-Quds Day I am at your service, Jerusalem.A truce between Israel and Hamas that went into effect three months ago halted fighting in and around the impoverished territory, though Palestinian militants still occasionally fire rockets and mortar bomb over the border.

Russia warship heads to Africa after pirate attack By MIKE ECKEL, Associated Press Writer SEPT 26,08

MOSCOW - A Russian warship on Friday rushed to intercept a Ukrainian vessel carrying 33 battle tanks and a hoard of ammunition that was seized by pirates off the Horn of Africa — a bold hijacking that again heightened fears about surging piracy and high-seas terrorism. U.S. naval ships were in the area and monitoring the situation and a U.S. Defense Department official said Washington was concerned about the attack.I think we're looking at the full range of options here, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said.It was unclear whether the pirates who seized the 530-foot-long cargo ship Faina on Thursday knew what it carried. Still, analysts said it would be extremely difficult to sell such high-profile weaponry like Russian tanks.The hijacking, with worldwide pirate attacks surging this year, could help rally stronger international support behind France, which has pushed aggressively for decisive action against Somali pirates.Russian navy spokesman Capt. Igor Dygalo told The Associated Press that the missile frigate Neustrashimy left the Baltic Sea port of Baltiisk a day before the hijacking to cooperate with other unspecified countries in anti-piracy efforts.But he said the ship was then ordered directly to the Somalia coast after Thursday's attack.According to the British-based Jane's Information Group, the Neustrashimy is armed with surface-to-air missiles, 100 mm guns and anti-submarine torpedoes.Ukrainian Defense Minister Yury Yekhanurov, meanwhile, said the hijacked vessel Faina was carrying 33 Russian-built T-72 tanks and a substantial quantity of ammunition and spare parts. He said the tanks were sold to Kenya in accordance with international law.

Ukrainian officials and an anti-piracy watchdog said 21 crew members were aboard the seized ship, including three Russians. Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko ordered unspecified measures to free the crew, but it was unclear whether any of the former Soviet republic's naval vessels had been dispatched.A Kenyan government spokesman, Alfred Mutua, confirmed the East African nation's military had ordered the tanks and spare parts. The tanks are part of a two-year rearmament program.The government is in contact with international maritime agencies and other security partners in an endeavor to secure the ship and cargo, Mutua said in a statement. The government is actively monitoring the situation.A person who answered the telephone at Ukrainian state-controlled arms dealer Ukrspetsexport, which brokered the sale, refused to comment, and said all requests for information must be submitted in writing.It was unclear where the shipment originated, though Ukrainian news agencies identified the ship operator as a company called Tomex Team based in the Black Sea port of Odessa. Calls to Tomex offices went unanswered Friday.Lt. Nate Christensen, a spokesman for the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet, told the AP that U.S. vessels were aware of the seizure and said U.S. ships were monitoring the situation, but refused to say more: Obviously, we are deeply concerned.U.S. Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman said the United States was worried about the ship's cargo.A ship carrying cargo of that nature being hijacked off the coast of Somalia is something that should concern us, and it does concern us. And we are monitoring the situation and taking a look at what the options might be, Whitman said.Paul Cornish, head of the international security program at the London-based think-tank Chatham House said the tanks would be difficult to sell on to a third party — private buyers or warlords, for example — because of the logistics involved with keeping them operational. It's not like (stealing) a container full of machine guns, where all you need is a tin of bicycle oil, he said. Roger Middleton, another Chatham House researcher, said it was unlikely the pirates knew there were tanks aboard the Faina, and also said unloading the cargo would be difficult. Most of their attacks are based on opportunity. So if they see something that looks attackable and looks captureable, they'll attack it, he said. Middleton said it was unclear how the pirates might react if confronted by military action, noting that they have fled from authorities in the past. On the other hand, he said, they are usually well-armed and organized and are based in an unstable country — Somalia.

It could potentially get pretty messy, he said.

Long a hazard for maritime shippers — particularly in the Indian Ocean and its peripheries — high-seas piracy has triggered greater alarm since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States because of its potential as a funding and supply source for global terrorism. Pirate attacks worldwide have surged this year and Africa remains the world's top piracy hotspot, with 24 reported attacks in Somalia and 18 in Nigeria this year, according to the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center. The issue burst into international view Sept. 15 when Somali pirates took two French citizens captive aboard a luxury yacht and helicopter-borne French commandos then swooped in to rescue them. French President Nicolas Sarkozy this month called on other nations to move boldly against pirates, calling the phenomenon a genuine industry of crime.In June, the U.N. Security Council — pushed by France and the United States — unanimously adopted a resolution allowing ships of foreign nations that cooperate with the Somali government to enter their territorial waters for the purpose of repressing acts of piracy and armed robbery at sea.Associated Press writers Olga Bondaruk in Kiev, Jennifer Quinn in London, Tom Maliti in Nairobi and Lolita Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

New Life Found in Old Tombs LiveScience Staff LiveScience.com
Fri Sep 26, 10:55 AM ET

Talk about secrets of the crypt: Two newly discovered species of bacteria have been found on the walls of ancient Roman tombs. Bacteria often grow on the walls of underground tombs, causing decay and damaging these archaeological sites. Scientists in Italy found the two new microbes while studying decayed surfaces in the Catacombs of Saint Callistus in Rome. The Catacombs of Saint Callistus are part of a massive underground graveyard that covers 37 acres. The tombs, named after Pope Saint Callistus I, were built at the end of the second century. More than 30 popes and martyrs are buried in the catacombs. The new bacteria, part of the Kribbella genus first discovered in 1999, were isolated from whitish-gray patinas, or coatings, on surfaces in the catacombs. They have been named Kribbella catacumbae and Kribbella sancticallisti. The discovery is detailed in the September issue of the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Mircobiology. By studying the bacteria, researchers hope to develop ways to keep the microbes from destroying the catacombs and other heritage sites. The new species could also help shed light on the evolution of microbes. The special conditions in the catacombs have allowed unique species to evolve, said Clara Urzi of the University of Messina in Italy. In fact, the two different Kribbella species we discovered were taken from two sites very close to each other; this shows that even small changes in the micro-environment can lead bacteria to evolve separately.

Egypt unearths granite head of Ramses II Thu Sep 25, 4:47 PM ET

CAIRO, Egypt - Egypt's antiquities council says that archaeologists have unearthed a 3,000-year-old red granite head believed to portray the 19th Dynasty pharaoh Ramses II. The Supreme Council of Antiquities says the discovery was made recently at Tell Basta, about 50 miles northeast of Cairo.The council's statement Thursday says the 30-inch high head belonged to a colossal statue of Ramses II that once stood in the area. Its nose is broken and the beard that was once attached to the king's chin is missing.The site at Tell Basta was dedicated to the cat-goddess Bastet and was an important center from the Old Kingdom until the end of the Roman Period. Archeologists are still digging on the location for the rest of the statue.