EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

I WRITE NEWS ABOUT AND PUT NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM PERTAINING TO BIBLE PROPHESY HAPPENINGS.JOEL 3:20 But Judah (ISRAEL) shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.(THATS ISRAEL-JERUSALEM WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED AGAIN)-WE CHRISTIANS ARE ALL WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE TO OCCUR.SO WE CAN GO TO JESUS AND GET OUR NEVER DYING BODIES.SO WE CAN RULE OVER CITIES OURSELVES.WHILE JESUS RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM.

Monday, October 27, 2008

SYRIA BLAMES THE USA FOR SHOOTING TROUBLE

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON OCT 27,2008

09:30 AM -46.43
10:00 AM -33.37
10:30 AM -48.90
11:00 AM -10.27
11:30 AM -6.29
12:00 PM -3.66
12:30 PM +10.36
01:00 PM +150.66
01:30 PM +162.31
02:00 PM +153.85
02:30 PM +37.99
03:00 PM -33.13
03:30 PM -3.03
04:00 PM -203.18 8175.77

S&P 500 848.92 -27.85

NAS 1505.90 -46.13

GOLD 731.4 +1.1

OIL 62.15 -2.00

TSE 300 -716.61 8,577.48

CDNX -21.97 808.99

S&P/TSX/60 -45.71 515.68

EARLY LOWS AND HIGHS TODAY.
Dow was down -146 at lowest so far today.
Dow was +30 at the high early today.
NYSE Advances 820,Declines 2,012,Unchanged 86 as of 10:30AM today.
NYSE New highs 4,New lows 301 as of 10:30AM today.
NASDAQ Advances 755,Declines 1,566,Unchanged 157 as of 10:30AM today.
Dow,S&P 500 have only had 4 up days this month.

AFTERNOON STATS.
-Dow was down -146 points at low.
-Dow was up +219 points at high.
-General Motors,Bankruptcy no option.
-GM,CHRYSTLER continue talking about merger.
-Will the World combine for another coordinated rate cut?
-DOW,S&P,NASDAQ all down about 25% for the month of October.

GULF FINANCIAL UPDATE AS OF 1:45PM OCT 27,08
Al Quds Index 540.75 -19.62
Doha General Index 6,762.40 -100.56
Jordan AFM 7,103.11 -542.06
BLOM Stock Index 1,310.45 -92.43
TEL AVIV 25 719.29 -24.71

Dubai real estate brokers see signs of weakness for 1st time in years.
Investors bet Regional Governments would drop currency pegs to the Dollar.
Kuwait Central Bank says ready to pump cash into Gulf Banks.
Oil prices down 50% from July highs denting Persian Gulfs growth.
Saudi-Arabia to funnel $2.3 BILLION in loans to low income borrowers.
International Investors dumped trades in late Summer,left Gulf Banks cash strapped.

FINAL WRAPUP

STOCKS slide into close. Midday gains erased.
Stocks at days lows.
S&P moves in 4.2% range today.
Dow down 2.7% today.
Dow trades in 4.7% range today.
Nasdaq fell 2% after gaining 1.5% and falling 2% today.
Nasdaq down 3% today.
Ted Stevens one count conviction on Corruption charges in Alaska.

MARKETS AT THE CLOSE
-Major indicies in wide trading range.
-Bottom line:Buyers not aggresive,but selling pressure lighter.
GOOD NEWS
-Its become real the Markets.
Coporate paper facility.
Capital infusions into Banks.
-New home sales improving.
BAD NEWS
-Europe,Asia still weak,if emerging Markets default seriously.
-Derivative losses barely scratched the surface.

EU CALLS FOR WORLD GOVERANCE - VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7D21rPpBrk

PROGRESS EUROPEAN UNION AND TRADE BLOCS
http://www.stanford.edu/class/e297b/Progress%20of%20the%20European%20Union.htm

WORLD BANK - TRADE BLOCS
http://econ.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/EXTDEC/EXTRESEARCH/EXTPRRS/
EXTRADEBLOCS/0,,contentMDK:20298012~menuPK:564688~pagePK:64168098~
piPK:64168032~theSitePK:564679,00.html

THIRD WORLD TRADE BLOC REVIEWS EU DEAL
http://www.namibian.com.na/2008/October/marketplace/08304DCBAD.html

WORLD REGIONAL TRADE BLOCS
http://ucatlas.ucsc.edu/trade/subtheme_trade_blocs.php

REGIONAL TRADE BLOCS IN THE 1930S
http://everything2.com/e2node/Regional%2520trade%2520blocs%2520in%2520the%25201930s

Egypt-WTO-Conference-Egypt wants special WTO session to discuss effects of financial crisis OCT 27,08

APA-Cairo (Egypt) Egypt had called for a special session for General council of World Trade Organization (WTO), to discuss repercussions of the global economic and financial crisis on the world trade system as it relates to developing countries.

Ambassador Hisham Badr, the Egyptian permanent delegate to the United Nations and coordinator of the Arab group at World Trade Organization (WTO), made the statement at the weekend.He said Egypt was concerned that the special session would help probe into means of tackling the present situation in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.Badr said deteriorating economic conditions in the world necessitate the WTO members to direct a clear message of maintaining market openness and avert any protectionist measures likely to affect developing countries.He said the Egyptian initiative has already received support from several countries in Africa, Asia and south America.The Egyptian demand is under cosideration at office of Pascal Lamy, the Director-General of WTO, he said.SM/tjm/APA African Press Agency.

Monday, October 27, 2008 - 11:38:11 AM GMT UN chief enters global financial fray

BEIJING - World leaders called for an urgent overhaul of international financial systems after another day of steep stock market falls led to renewed panic over the slumping global economy.Asian and European leaders meeting here promised wide-ranging and effective reforms, as UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon also called for quick and meaningful change.Leaders pledged to undertake effective and comprehensive reform of the international monetary and financial systems, the 40-member Asia Europe Meeting said in a statement released late Friday.They agreed to take quickly appropriate initiatives in this respect, in consultation with all stakeholders and the relevant international financial institutions.Leaders also called on the International Monetary Fund to play a critical role in helping countries most in trouble, should they ask for assistance.Ban joined chief executives of key UN institutions in urging co-ordinated and effective change when leaders of 20 industrialised and emerging powers meet in Washington on November 15.The market and regulatory failures that have led to this [financial] crisis must be addressed as a matter of urgency, a joint statement from the UN summit said.We reaffirm the need for meaningful, comprehensive and well-coordinated reform of the international financial system and pledge our support to this end.Nampa-AFP

Stock markets slump further on worries about the health of the global economy By Malcolm Morrison, The Canadian Press OCT 27,08

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was sharply lower in opening trading, falling alongside overseas exchanges as recession fears mount. The S&P/TSX composite index fell 117.04 points or 1.25 per cent to 9,177.05 in early action, after falling almost three per cent last week. American markets also retreated on worries about the health of the global economy. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 85.7 points to 8,293,25 after losing five per cent last week as investors were further discouraged by bleak corporate outlooks. Glum economic prospects continued to pressure oil prices despite OPEC's announcement Friday that the cartel would cut daily production by 1.5 million barrels a day. The November crude contract in New York dropped $1.12 to US$63.03 a barrel, after going as low as $61.30 overnight. The TSX energy sector lost four per cent with EnCana Corp. (TSX:ECA) down $2.81 to $53.09 while Canadian Oil Sands Trust (TSX:COS.UN) gave back $1 to $26.99. Falling commodity prices and economic pessimism sent the Canadian dollar down 0.53 cent to 78.03 cents US after losing 5.7 cents last week. The TSX Venture Exchange edged 6.75 points lower to 824.21. New York's Nasdaq composite index lost 20.41 points to 1,531.62 while the S&P 500 index gave back 11.23 points to 865.54. The heavy stock-market selling is due to the belief that a worldwide recession is inevitable, aggravated by moves by hedge funds and other investors hit by margin calls, forcing them to sell stock to cover loans. The miserable showing on North American indexes followed deep losses overnight in Asia even as the seven leading industrial nations issued a statement Sunday pledging to co-operate as appropriate, stirring speculation of an orchestrated intervention to help stabilize currency markets.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index dropped to its lowest close in 26 years as investors worried that the high yen will hurt Japanese exports and further disrupt economic activity. The Nikkei fell 6.4 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index tumbled 12.7 per cent, its lowest finish in more than four years and its biggest single-session drop since 1991. European markets scaled back early steep losses, but London's FTSE 100 index was still down 2.3 per cent while Frankfurt's DAX lost 2.8 per cent and the Paris CAC-40 gave back 4.9 per cent. Falling prices for commodities besides oil also deepened TSX losses. The base metals sector lost 3.5 per cent as key industrial metal copper moved down two cents at US$1.67 a pound. Teck Cominco Ltd. (TSX:TCK.B) moved down 64 cents to $12.36 while HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) shed 10 cents to $4.60. The gold sector was down 3.6 per cent as the December bullion contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange declined $9.80 to US$720.50 an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) faded $1.04 to $20.96 and Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) surrendered 93 cents to $24.82 . The TSX financial sector edged up 0.2 per cent as the U.S. government announced it will begin doling out US$125 billion to nine major American banks this week as part of its effort to contain a growing financial crisis. It's the first deployment from the US$700-billion rescue package passed by Congress on Oct. 3. CIBC (TSX:CM) added 70 cents to $53. The global sell-off comes a day ahead of the start of a two-day meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve. The Fed is widely expected to cut its policy rate by a half-point to one per cent on Wednesday, and there is growing speculation about another co-ordinated cut by major central banks. Investors were dismayed at data showing improvements in lending rates among banks in the U.S. and Europe have now become negligible. The rate on three-month loans in dollars - known as the London Interbank Offered Rate - edged down to 3.51 per cent from 3.52 per cent on Friday. Libor has have fallen for 10 days but the improvements are tapering off. In corporate news, BCE Inc. (TSX:BCE) says a lawsuit against the company and the investor group buying the telecommunications giant demanding payment of a suspended dividend is without merit and will be defended in court. BCE shares declined 48 cents to $35.07. Nortel Networks (TSX:NT) fell eight cents to $1.51 after the stock was downgraded by UBS to neutral from buy citing tougher sales fundamentals and worries about liquidity.

European car makers scale back production as crisis deepens
VALENTINA POP Today OCT 27,08 @ 09:41 CET

German and French car makers have temporarily closed their factories as demand falls due to the financial crisis. Meanwhile, additional German banks are seeking state aid, while Eastern European economies have also been badly hit, with the IMF bailing out Hungary and Ukraine.German car giant BMW on Monday (27 October) stopped its production in Leipzig for four days, while Mercedes-producer Daimler announced a closure of up to five weeks in December, German media have reported. French car company Renault also temporarily shut down all of its local factories and some of its foreign plants, such as Dacia Mioveni in Romania, while Peugeot-Citroen said it would slash production by 30 percent. Christian Streiff, chief executive of Peugeot-Citroen told the Financial Times that he did not rule out shutting down factories entirely, including in France, where Peugeot operates six plants. The French car maker expects demand for cars in western Europe to plummet 17 percent by the end of the year. The slump in European car production echoes similar problems in the US, where the three big car giants, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors, are seeking federal aid as they might face bankruptcy within a year, according to the Wall Street Journal. Elsewhere, Germany's banking sector is continuing to wobble, with two additional banks seeking state aid as a result of the crisis, West LB and HSN Nordbank.Economic recession throughout the eurozone has also been signaled by the purchasing managers' index (PMI), compiled by data and research group Markit, which slid to 44.6 in October from 46.9 in September. The index's fall marked the fifth consecutive month of contraction, which is indicated by a reading of lower than 50 points.

IMF loans for Hungary, Ukraine

With Germany's growth succumbing and Ireland officially entering recession, which the Irish central bank predicts will last two years, the outlook is also grim for Eastern European countries.The IMF unveiled two new members of a growing band of countries set to receive its help in the financial crisis, announcing a $16.5 billion loan for Ukraine and a substantial package for Hungary, AFP reports.The deals, made public by IMF director Dominique Strauss-Kahn on Sunday, followed a $2.1 billion loan to Iceland on Friday and came amid appeals for assistance from other countries, including Belarus and Pakistan.The IMF said it can provide a maximum of €160 billion in loans to countries facing financial difficulties.For Hungary, Strauss-Kahn said a substantial financing package would be announced for the country in the next few days, with contributions from the IMF, European governments and other partners.Both Hungary and Ukraine have been badly hit by the financial crisis.

Cashpoint panic

Ukraine stopped early withdrawals from savings accounts this month in a bid to halt a run on banks. The central bank has bailed out several banks and the Ukrainian stock market has lost more than 70 percent of its value this year.The vast former Soviet republic is receiving less money from its main export, steel, because of a slump in global demand, and is using up foreign currency reserves to support its currency, the hryvnia, analysts say.Hungary's vulnerability is primarily due to a large current account and budget deficit, a partially overvalued currency, low stocks of foreign reserves and a high level of short-term foreign currency debt, experts say.Facing a sharp fall in the national currency, the forint, the country's central bank decided last Wednesday to raise its key interest rate by three points to 11.5 percent.Officials have vehemently rejected comparisons between Hungary and Iceland, which faced bankruptcy due to the collapse of its supercharged financial sector.

Recession fears haunt markets OCT 26,08
By Martin Howell and Andrew Roche

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Fears of a deep global recession dominated investor sentiment as financial markets in the Asia-Pacific region began to reopen on Monday after last week's worldwide slide in stock prices and currency collapses.There were early indications that governments and central banks will take further dramatic action to prop up the global financial system this week.The Japanese Finance Minister called a news conference for 9:00 a.m. (8:00 p.m. EDT), and the Bank of Korea announced an emergency meeting for Monday morning amid forecasts from analysts that it will announce an interest rate cut.But there is growing concern that intervention by authorities will not be enough to prevent companies from slashing production and jobs as sales get hit and financing remains difficult.Initially, financial markets were relatively stable in Asian trade on Monday.Standard & Poor's 500 December index futures opened the week slightly higher, gaining 3.0 points at 869.80 after about an hour, though the Australian dollar traded close to record lows against the yen and near 5-1/2 year lows against the U.S. dollar. However, Japan's stock market is expected to decline, threatening to take the Nikkei average to a 26-year low.The International Monetary Fund on Sunday reached an agreement in principle with Ukraine for a $16.5 billion loan package to ease the effects of the financial crisis.The IMF also said that it will announce a substantial financing package for Hungary in the next few days that will include financing by the European Union and some individual European governments.More such deals are expected as other emerging market governments turn to the IMF for help.The U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to announce a 50 basis-point cut in overnight rates on Wednesday that would take them to 1 percent, the lowest level since June 2004, with some expecting an even deeper reduction to 0.75 percent.Advance third-quarter U.S. economic growth data due on Thursday is expected to show a 0.5 percent contraction in gross domestic product after 2.8 percent growth the previous quarter.Increasingly, the signs point to a deep and synchronized global recession, JPMorgan economist Bruce Kasman said.

It is still too early to accurately gauge the depth of the downturn, as the outlook depends on how well policy actions contain the financial crisis.A series of warnings about worse-than-expected results from major international companies last week, including Japan's consumer electronics maker Sony, French carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen and online retailer Amazon.com, underlined the concerns that prospects are going to get a lot worse before they get better.We are now in the midst of a full-blown global financial crisis, said Citigroup analyst Robert Buckland. Policy-makers have been unable to calm the storm, although the increasingly aggressive response offers some hope. The earnings downturn looks to have much further to go.Asian and European leaders closed ranks over the weekend to bolster confidence among investors facing the worst financial crisis in 80 years.

PROTECTING THE REAL ECONOMY

We must use every means to prevent the financial crisis impacting growth of the real economy, Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said on Saturday at the end of a two-day summit in Beijing of 43 Asian and European leaders.China's central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, was quoted on Sunday as saying that Asia's second-largest economy was in good condition but needed to be on guard to fend off risks.Investment in infrastructure and expansion of consumer demand could help cushion the impact of weakening exports, he said, adding that the central bank would work out an advance plan to provide emergency help to banks if needed.Japanese Economics Minister Kaoru Yosano said on Sunday the government should increase its bank bailout plan to around 10 trillion yen ($106 billion) from two trillion.The Japanese government is poised to announce steps on Monday to stabilize markets, including purchases of bank stocks by a government body, and is considering tougher rules on short selling and changes in mark-to-market accounting rules, the Nikkei business daily reported on Sunday.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Japan's largest bank, is considering raising up to 1 trillion yen ($10.6 billion) to replenish its capital, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.In the United States, more banks began to get or seek money from the government. Washington Federal Inc said on Sunday it would get a $200 million cash infusion from the U.S. government, while Fifth Third Bancorp announced it had applied for $3.4 billion under the capital purchase program.Earlier on Sunday, a source familiar with the Treasury Department's thinking told Reuters that KeyCorp, Zions Bancorp and Capital One Financial Corp were some of the banks that will receive cash under the program.Four other banks, including PNC Financial Services Group Inc, announced Friday they would participate in the second round of capital injections under the U.S. government's bailout program.Kuwait's central bank was forced to step in to support Gulf Bank, hit by derivatives trading losses, prompting the government to announce it would guarantee deposits at local banks.Saudi Arabia unveiled plans to deposit 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion) into the Saudi Credit Bank, established to extend interest-free loans to poor citizens.Gulf markets tumbled to multi-month lows on Sunday. Qatar's main index plunged 8.93 percent, Oman's sank 8.29 percent, Dubai dropped 4.74 percent and Saudi Arabia's index slipped 1.66 percent after an 8.7 percent slide on Saturday.And the Polish government plans soon to introduce more measures to help its banks weather the global financial crisis, including state guarantees and loans, according to the draft of a bill seen by Reuters on Sunday.

Treasury begins to deploy financial rescue plan By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer Martin Crutsinger, Ap Economics Writer – OCT 27,08

Reuters – U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson speaks at a news conference after the G7 Ministerial meeting in … WASHINGTON – The government will begin doling out $125 billion to nine major banks this week as part of its effort to contain a growing financial crisis, a top Treasury official said Monday.Assistant Treasury Secretary David Nason said the deals with the nine banks were signed Sunday night and the government will make the stock purchases this week. The deals are designed to bolster the banks' balance sheets so they will begin more normal lending.The action will mark the first deployment of resources from the government's $700 billion financial rescue package passed by Congress on Oct. 3.The bailout package has undergone a major change in emphasis since it was passed by Congress. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson decided to use $250 billion of the $700 billion to make direct purchases of bank stock, partially nationalizing the country's banking system, as a way to get money into the financial system more quickly.As the rescue program wended its way through Congress, the administration emphasized that the money would be used to purchase bad assets of banks. That effort has yet to get started although the administration expects to use $100 billion to purchase bad assets in coming months.The deployment of the first $125 billion to the major banks had been delayed while the government and the banks worked out the details for the purchases.Nason, a key architect of the rescue plan, said in an interview Monday on CNBC that those agreements had been signed late Sunday night.Treasury is also starting to give approval to major regional banks with the goal of getting another $125 billion in stock purchases made by the end of this year.One of those banks, KeyCorp, said Monday it would issue stock for a $2.5 billion infusion of capital from the government.Another major bank, PNC Financial Services Group, announced on Friday it was acquiring National City Corp. It was the first instance of a bank using resources it has been told it will receive from the government's stock purchase program to support an acquisition of another bank. PNC said it is in line to get $7.7 billion in cash from the government by selling stock and warrants to the government under the rescue program.Treasury has given the go-ahead for stronger banks to use the money it receives in the rescue program to acquire weaker banks, prompting critics to say the government should not be financing the consolidation of the banking system — in effect helping to choose winners and losers.

Nason, asked about this issue Monday, said the administration's major aim is to stabilize the financial system and that stronger institutions will be in a better position to make loans and support the overall economy.Nason also confirmed the Treasury Department is reviewing a number of requests from a range of U.S. industries for help from the bailout program. Representatives of insurance companies, auto companies and foreign-controlled banks have all petitioned for help from the $700 billion fund.Nason did not indicate when decisions on those requests might be made. He said one of the issues that Treasury had to consider was that in helping banks, which are federally regulated, the Treasury could tap into the knowledge of federal regulators in making decisions on how much money to supply and to which institutions. That type of information would not be available for non-federally regulated institutions, Nason said.

SYRIA AND THE USA TENSIONS ARE MOUNTING HANG ON FOLKS, LETS SEE WHAT COMES OUTTA THIS. I WONDER IF THE USA IS THINKING LIKE ME THAT SADAM SENT THE NUKES OVER TO SYRIA AFTER AMERICA CAPTURED IRAQ IN 2003.

ISRAEL BOMBED SYRIA AND NORTH KOREAN NUCLEAR COLLABORATION DOWN BY THE EUPHRATES RIVER IN SEPTEMBER A YEAR AGO. AND THE MEDIA AND THE WORLD WAS WASHED OF IT AS SYRIA QUICKLY CLEARED THE SITE TO COVERUP ANY NUKE ACTIVITY.

COULD THIS PROPHECY BE COMING TO PASS AT THIS TIME ONLY TIME WILL TELL.

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

US special forces launch rare attack inside Syria OCT 26,08 By ALBERT AJI, Associated Press Writer

DAMASCUS, Syria – U.S. military helicopters launched an extremely rare attack Sunday on Syrian territory close to the border with Iraq, killing eight people in a strike the government in Damascus condemned as serious aggression.A U.S. military official said the raid by special forces targeted the network of al-Qaida-linked foreign fighters moving through Syria into Iraq. The Americans have been unable to shut the network down in the area because Syria was out of the military's reach.We are taking matters into our own hands, the official told The Associated Press in Washington, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the political sensitivity of cross-border raids.The attack came just days after the commander of U.S. forces in western Iraq said American troops were redoubling efforts to secure the Syrian border, which he called an uncontrolled gateway for fighters entering Iraq.A Syrian government statement said the helicopters attacked the Sukkariyeh Farm near the town of Abu Kamal, five miles inside the Syrian border. Four helicopters attacked a civilian building under construction shortly before sundown and fired on workers inside, the statement said.The government said civilians were among the dead, including four children.A resident of the nearby village of Hwijeh said some of the helicopters landed and troops exited the aircraft and fired on a building. He said the aircraft flew along the Euphrates River into the area of farms and several brick factories. The witness spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information,Syria's Foreign Ministry said it summoned the charges d'affaires of the United States and Iraq to protest against the strike.

Syria condemns this aggression and holds the American forces responsible for this aggression and all its repercussions. Syria also calls on the Iraqi government to shoulder its responsibilities and launch and immediate investigation into this serious violation and prevent the use of Iraqi territory for aggression against Syria, the government statement said.The area targeted is near the Iraqi border city of Qaim, which had been a major crossing point for fighters, weapons and money coming into Iraq to fuel the Sunni insurgency.Iraqi travelers making their way home across the border reported hearing many explosions, said Farhan al-Mahalawi, mayor of Qaim.On Thursday, U.S. Maj. Gen. John Kelly said Iraq's western borders with Saudi Arabia and Jordan were fairly tight as a result of good policing by security forces in those countries but that Syria was a different story.The Syrian side is, I guess, uncontrolled by their side, Kelly said. We still have a certain level of foreign fighter movement.He added that the U.S. was helping construct a sand berm and ditches along the border.There hasn't been much, in the way of a physical barrier, along that border for years, Kelly said.The foreign fighters network sends militants from North Africa and elsewhere in the Middle East to Syria, where elements of the Syrian military are in league with al-Qaida and loyalists of Saddam Hussein's Baath party, the U.S. military official said.He said that while American forces have had considerable success, with Iraqi help, in shutting down the rat lines in Iraq, and with foreign government help in North Africa, the Syrian node has been out of reach.The one piece of the puzzle we have not been showing success on is the nexus in Syria, the official said.

The White House in August approved similar special forces raids from Afghanistan across the border of Pakistan to target al-Qaida and Taliban operatives. At least one has been carried out. The flow of foreign fighters into Iraq has been cut to an estimated 20 a month, a senior U.S. military intelligence official told the Associated Press in July. That's a 50 percent decline from six months ago, and just a fifth of the estimated 100 foreign fighters who were infiltrating Iraq a year ago, according to the official. Ninety percent of the foreign fighters enter through Syria, according to U.S. intelligence. Foreigners are some of the most deadly fighters in Iraq, trained in bomb-making and with small-arms expertise and more likely to be willing suicide bombers than Iraqis. Foreign fighters toting cash have been al-Qaida in Iraq's chief source of income. They contributed more than 70 percent of operating budgets in one sector in Iraq, according to documents captured in September 2007 on the Syrian border. Most of the fighters were conveyed through professional smuggling networks, according to the report. Iraqi insurgents seized Qaim in April 2005, forcing U.S. Marines to recapture the town the following month in heavy fighting. The area became secure only after Sunni tribes in Anbar turned against al-Qaida in late 2006 and joined forces with the Americans. Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem accused the United States earlier this year of not giving his country the equipment needed to prevent foreign fighters from crossing into Iraq. He said Washington feared Syria could use such equipment against Israel. Though Syria has long been viewed by the U.S. as a destabilizing country in the Middle East, in recent months, Damascus has been trying to change its image and end years of global seclusion. Its president, Bashar Assad, has pursued indirect peace talks with Israel, mediated by Turkey, and says he wants direct talks next year. Syria also has agreed to establish diplomatic ties with Lebanon, a country it used to dominate both politically and militarily, and has worked harder at stemming the flow of militants into Iraq. The U.S. military in Baghdad did not immediately respond to a request for comment after Sunday's raid. Associated Press reporter Pamela Hess in Washington and Sam F. Ghattas in Beirut contributed to this report.

Iranian general reports arming liberation armies By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 27, 7:39 am ET

FOX News TEHRAN, Iran – Iran is supplying weapons to liberation armies in the Middle East, a top Revolutionary Guards commander said, offering the first official confirmation the country provides weapons to armed groups in the region.Gen. Hossein Hamedani, deputy commander of a volunteer militia that is part of the elite Revolutionary Guards, did not provide specific details in the report on the state-run Borna news. The U.S. military has accused Iran of arming Shiite militias in Iraq, and Iran is widely believed to provide weapons to Lebanon's militant Shiite Hezbollah group.Not only are our armed forces self-sufficient, liberation armies of the region get part of their weapons from us, Hamedani said, according to the report on Borna's Web site late Sunday.In the past, Iran — a majority Shiite country — has denied arming Hezbollah, saying it only provided political and financial support. The Iranian government has also denied providing weapons or financial support to Shiite militants fighting U.S. forces in Iraq.But the U.S. military has said it has evidence that elements of the Mahdi army, an Iraqi militia loyal to anti-American Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, have been armed by Iran.Hamedani also said Iran has no shortage of advanced missile systems.Our chemical engineers have upgraded Iran's missile capability, he was quoted as saying.Hamedani didn't elaborate, but Iranian officials have said they successfully tested a solid fuel motor for the medium-range Shahab-3 ballistic missile, a technological breakthrough for Iran.Experts say solid fuel increases the accuracy of missiles in reaching targets. But many in the West have expressed doubt about Iran's professed military accomplishments.Iran launched an arms development program during its 1980-88 war with Iraq to compensate for a U.S. weapons embargo. Since 1992, Iran has produced its own tanks, armored personnel carriers, missiles and a fighter plane.

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 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.

Nuclear Necessity in Putin's Russia Rose Gottemoeller OCT 27,08

What purpose do nuclear weapons serve in today’s Russia? More than a decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russians still deploy more than 5,000 warheads on strategic nuclear-weapon systems. Additionally, they might deploy more than 3,000 nonstrategic warheads, and there are as many as 18,000 warheads either in reserve or in a queue awaiting dismantlement.[1] This enormous capability is available to Kremlin leaders, but it is a very good question what they can do with it.Clearly, Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to see some political and diplomatic benefit to the weapons. It was no accident that in February—only one month before Putin successfully won re-election—the Russian military staged an all-out nuclear exercise that harkened back to the Cold War. Much of the short-term political payoff was lost, of course, when, with Putin in ceremonial attendance and cameras rolling, the navy twice failed to launch ballistic missiles from its strategic strike submarine. Still, the Russian president also announced plans for a new strategic weapon system, one that, from the evidence of media reports, involves maneuvering warheads that were first developed in response to President Ronald Reagan’s Star Wars missile defense system in the 1980s.By overseeing the exercise, Putin was able to look presidential, recalling the days of Soviet power for at least the portion of his electorate nostalgic for it. Also, he was able to say to the U.S. administration recently critical of him, You cannot ignore Russia. Finally, he was able to highlight for the Russian armed forces that he was paying attention, celebrating their stature as a national institution. Even with the missteps, the exercise thus was a political boon to Putin—not that he needed it in his landslide election victory. Still, Russia’s dilemmas about its nuclear arsenal extend well beyond the ramifications of these election-year events.

During much of his first term, Putin and his military and foreign policy advisers struggled with what to make of the Cold War-sized nuclear arsenal they inherited. Like Putin’s predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, they pondered whether this arsenal could offer security benefits in a world where the Kremlin’s most likely adversaries were no longer another nuclear weapons superpower, but terrorists and separatists. They tested whether Moscow could leverage these weapons to diplomatic advantage and throw its nuclear weight around. They probed whether it was possible to redirect the resources of the nuclear arsenal to other purposes.As Putin begins his second term, however, many of these questions appear to have been at least partially answered. A combination of military necessity and domestic political benefits have combined with the demise of certain constraints, specifically START II, to convince Putin and his top aides that Russia should continue to depend on nuclear weapons. In fact, the Kremlin has drawn this conclusion even though Russian officials implicitly acknowledge such weaponry will do little to counter the main threats to their security.To illustrate this point: the recent exercise mimicked one last seen in 1982, when the Soviet Union was at the height of its efforts to achieve nuclear war-fighting prowess and bolster its deterrent against the United States. Russia’s official comment, however, placed the 2004 exercise in a context quite different from Cold War deterrence. According to official sources, the exercises were planned to counter the threat of terrorism.[2] Given the massive display of nuclear capability and the evident focus on the United States, this explanation at best seemed far-fetched: would the United States somehow be involved in a terrorist attack and have to be punished for pursuing that course? More likely, the Russian military was simply reaching for its default option, a well-known threat scenario and, at least in the old days, a well-practiced response.

A Missed Opportunity

It did not have to turn out this way. Beginning in the late 1990s, the role of strategic nuclear weapons in Russian national security was at the center of a bureaucratic battle over post-Cold War military reforms—a debate that could have turned out very differently. The battle featured two key players, Marshal Igor Sergeyev, a former commander-in-chief of the Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF) who was named minister of defense in May 1997, and Chief of the General Staff Anatoly Kvashnin, putatively his senior deputy. Sergeyev favored a strong role for strategic nuclear weapons in Russia’s military policy. Kvashnin wanted the Kremlin to put its emphasis on strengthening the conventional armed forces for regional conflicts such as the war in Chechnya.Under Yeltsin, Sergeyev got his way, seeking and gaining approval from the Security Council to create a Strategic Deterrence Force. This force would combine the strategic nuclear capabilities in the SRF with those of the navy and air force, together with certain other early warning and command and control assets, including Russian reconnaissance satellites in space.[3] In this way, it would form an integrated strategic command similar to the Strategic Command being formed during a similar period in the United States.This victory for the strategic forces was short-lived. By April 2000, the fierce debate between Sergeyev and Kvashnin had broken into the open. Kvashnin apparently went around Sergeyev to suggest to Putin, who had only recently ascended to the presidency, that the SRF should be downgraded as a separate service and folded into the air force. Sergeyev responded sharply and openly to this proposal, angrily insisting that it be withdrawn.[4] Only three months after being sworn in, Putin was faced with the unprecedented task of rebuking his two top military men for their public disagreement.By August, however, Putin seemed to be deciding in Kvashnin’s favor. Through the summer, he fired several generals who were seen as allies of Sergeyev. Then, at a Security Council meeting in August, he gave lip service to the continued need for strong nuclear forces but otherwise placed emphasis squarely on strengthening the conventional forces. The notion of a Strategic Deterrence Force was officially dead; indeed the SRF were to be subordinated to the air force.This outcome to the debate seemed to foretell a permanent victory for Kvashnin. Russian military policy seemed to be heading in the direction of a profound and unprecedented denuclearization. A keystone of Kvashnin’s concept was that the Russian Federation no longer needed to maintain nuclear parity with the United States but could succeed at deterring U.S. aggression with a minimal nuclear force. Kvashnin proposed, for example, to move from 756 land-based ICBMs to 150 by 2003.[5] Although Western analysts called this idea “strategic decoupling,” Russian experts such as Vladimir Dvorkin, a retired SRF general and eminent modeler of the strategic forces, called it a gross strategic mistake.[6]

Repercussions of U.S. Policy

Within two years, a U.S. policy decision helped restore the status of the strategic nuclear forces. In December 2001, the United States announced its intention to withdraw from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. The Russian Federation responded with restraint, officially calling the withdrawal a mistake but not reacting with immediate political or military countermoves. The Kremlin did, however, what it had long warned it would do: it stated that it would not implement the START II treaty cutting the U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals. By doing so, Russian officials said they would have the flexibility to counter future U.S. missile defenses that might impact the effectiveness of their strategic arsenal.In deciding not to implement START II, which had never concluded its ratification process and had not entered into force, Russian officials were able to opt out of that treaty’s ban on multiple-warhead land-based missiles (so-called MIRVed ICBMs). Instead of retiring such missiles, the Kremlin decided that it would continue deploying them for at least a decade.[7] In this new strategic landscape, Russian experts began talking increasingly about strategic modernization on the cheap, looking for ways to sustain a modern strategic nuclear force and still accomplish urgently needed improvements to the conventional forces. Dvorkin, for example, spoke about putting multiple warheads on the Topol-M, the new Russian ICBM that had been designed with a single warhead to conform with START II.[8] Yet even without such measures, the failure of START II meant that the Kremlin no longer had an urgent requirement to modernize their strategic forces, because they could maintain the deployment of earlier generations of multiple warhead missiles. The Russian nuclear arsenal was very far indeed from Kvashnin’s stated goal of 150 land-based ICBMs by 2003—Sergeyev seemed to have been vindicated.Putin and his top advisers made the shift plain in October 2003. At a meeting with top-ranking military leaders, Putin seemed to be saying that the time for upheaval was over when he announced, We are moving from radical reforms to deliberate, future-oriented development of the armed forces.”[9] Sergei Ivanov, a Putin ally and civilian who had been sworn in as defense minister in April 2001, also seemed to call a halt to the roller-coaster debate over defense reform, asserting that the Russian army had already adapted to new realities. No longer, Ivanov said, would the Russian army have to consider global nuclear war or a large-scale conventional war as the most likely contingencies. Therefore, nuclear and conventional forces had already been trimmed substantially.[10] Accompanying these statements was a reconfirmation that Russia was taking steps to maintain the capability of its strategic nuclear arsenal. Ivanov underscored the fact that the strategic nuclear forces would retain essentially the same composition as they had had during the Cold War years. Russia retains a significant number of land-based strategic missiles.…I am speaking here about the most menacing missiles, of which we have dozens, with hundreds of warheads, he said.[11]

Whether October 2003 represented an accurate time to declare the reform of the Russian armed forces complete seems doubtful. Even by the evidence that Putin and Ivanov presented in their public comments, reform still was a work in progress. Nevertheless, it is possible to point to a settling out of the relationship between the nuclear forces and the conventional forces. Neither Kvashnin, in his insistence on a denuclearization of the Russian armed forces, nor Sergeyev, with his emphasis on strong strategic nuclear forces and investment to match, had been precisely right. Each, however, had been to some measure correct. The compromise path, as noted above, was engineered through the demise of START II. Relieved of START II constraints, the Russian Federation found a way to retain strategic nuclear weapons on the cheap, thus freeing up funding for conventional force modernization. With the competition resolved, perhaps progress on reforming conventional forces could accelerate.

Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons

This resolution, at least for the time being, of the debate about the relationship and primacy of strategic nuclear and conventional forces does not address the place of nonstrategic nuclear weapons in Russian military doctrine. One of the oddest aspects of the Sergeyev-Kvashnin debate was that both of those military leaders as well as other Russian military experts shared and continue to share a theoretical consensus on the utility of nonstrategic nuclear weapons to counter Russian conventional weakness.In April 2000, a new version of Russian military doctrine was issued, consistent with earlier versions except in its emphasis on the importance of using nuclear weapons to deter and counter attacks on Russian territory. This doctrine had been preceded, in January 2000, by a new National Security Concept that emphasized the same point. In describing the concept, Ivanov, who was then secretary of the Security Council, spoke about the nuclear issue: Russia never said and is not saying now that it will be the first to use nuclear weapons, but at the same time, Russia is not saying that it will not use nuclear weapons if it is exposed to a full-scale aggression which leads to an immediate threat of a break-up and [to] Russia’s existence in general.[12] The doctrine stressed that even a conventional attack on targets that the Russians considered of strategic importance on their own territory could bring forth a nuclear counterattack anywhere in the theater of military operations. The exercise Zapad-99 showed exactly the type of scenario that underpinned this doctrine. Enemy forces (and NATO was heavily implied, in alliance with regional opponents of Russia) were beginning to overrun Russian territory. At the same time, they were using high-precision conventional weapons to attack strategic targets, such as nuclear power plants, on Russian territory. In response, Russia launched bombers armed with nuclear air-launched cruise missiles against enemy territory.The greatest innovation of the January 2000 National Security Concept was the suggestion that nonstrategic nuclear weapons might be used in a limited way to counter a conventional attack, without spurring a major escalation to all-out nuclear use. The concept essentially restated long-standing policy, renewing the mission of the nuclear forces to deter any attack—nuclear, chemical, biological or conventional—against the territory of the Russian Federation.[13] The notion that a limited nuclear response could be used to de-escalate conflict was a departure from Soviet era doctrine, which tended to stress the inevitability of rapid escalation as a counter to the U.S. position. During that era, the United States stated that it might have to use nuclear weapons in a limited way to counter an overwhelming Soviet conventional attack on Western Europe. The arrival of this idea in Russian nuclear policy seems to indicate that the shoe was now on the other foot: it was now Russia that might have to contemplate the limited use of nuclear weapons to compensate for its weakness against a determined and overwhelming regional aggressor.Thus, a major new trend was emerging in Russian nuclear security policy: Nuclear weapons would not only be used in a large-scale coalition war involving exchanges with a major power such as the United States. They might also be used in conflicts on Russia’s periphery if the Russians decided that they had no other option to counter a weapon of mass destruction attack involving chemical or biological weapons. They might also be used to counter attacks by small-scale but capable conventional forces impacting targets that Russia considers to be of strategic importance.

This latter use, it is worth stressing, had earlier antecedents. As early as the mid-1980s, the Soviets were becoming concerned about what they termed strategic conventional attacks against Soviet territory. In that era, they worried about the new U.S. long-range land-attack cruise missiles that were capable of carrying either conventional or nuclear warheads. The Soviets complained at the time that they would not be able to distinguish between a nuclear and conventional attack and would therefore either have to treat the attack as nuclear or lose their opportunity to launch on tactical warning. In this way, strategic conventional weapons might deprive them of their options to limit damage from a nuclear attack.[14] At the time, the Soviets were not stressing the de-escalatory nature of limited nuclear response options. In fact, they tended to threaten that a cruise missile attack on Soviet territory, even if it turned out to be conventional, could lead to all-out nuclear war. They did claim, however, that such response options would be consistent with Soviet no-first-use policy because they would be responding on warning of what appeared to be a nuclear attack; once their opponent had launched such an attack, they were justified to respond. Even if the cruise missile turned out to be conventionally armed, they would have been responding to nuclear warning.Thus, when the Russians talk about using their nuclear forces against terrorists, they are falling back on some established traditions but also on the military reality that their conventional forces are not yet ready to confront new threats to the Russian Federation. Yet, it not likely that terrorist decision-makers will be deterred by nuclear weapons.[15] Rather than bolstering Russian defenses against terrorism, the ineffectual nature of nuclear forces for this mission only highlights the continued weakness of the Russian armed forces overall.

Future Directions

The Russians seem to be drawing a measure of security from their nuclear capability and are doing it on the cheap. One problem will arise if that security becomes synonymous with the current high numbers of nuclear weapons and the Russian government decides it will no longer work to reduce its vast holdings of nuclear weapons and materials. At the moment, Russia seems to be taking seriously its commitments under the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT) to reduce operational deployments of strategic nuclear warheads to 1,700-2,200 by 2012. For example, despite their decision to maintain some older systems, they are eliminating SS-18s at the rate of two to three regiments a year, blowing up silos so that the reductions are irreversible. As long as the Russians remain committed to reductions, their continuing dependence on nuclear forces is not a problem.A problem will arise if the Russians decide that they must begin to modernize their nuclear capability, developing and building new nuclear warheads and possibly testing them. This direction looked possible in 2003 as high-level officials made obscure references to the need for new strategic weapons. Putin, for example, remarked approvingly about new strategic capabilities in his State of the Union address in May, but it was unclear whether he was talking about new advanced conventional weapons or new nuclear weapons.[16] U.S. policy may have had some impact on these decisions. For example, Putin announced a new strategic system in February 2004, the resurrection of a Soviet-era maneuvering warhead project that had been originally designed to counter the U.S. Star Wars program. With the United States moving toward deployment of a national missile defense system, Putin perhaps wanted to reassure his military that important technological countermeasures were in the works.Yet, U.S. plans to deploy missile defenses, and research and potentially deploy new nuclear weapons, have also prompted assertions from some Russian officials that they will not seek to match U.S. efforts. Russian officials have stated clearly, We will not chase after you. They seem to believe that existing Russian nuclear deployments could counter any new U.S. capabilities, offensive or defensive, for the foreseeable future. No need for panic, they convey, we will not be surprised or overwhelmed by new developments in the United States.[17] Thus, Russian nuclear policy looking into the future is an interesting admixture. It combines military necessity—an insurance policy against conventional weakness—with a political expression of national pride. The celebration of the nuclear forces has also served a reassurance function, conveying that the leadership, and particularly Putin, value the military’s contribution to Russia’s future.A key question for the international community, and indeed for the United States, is whether Russia’s nuclear capabilities and emotional investment in such weapons might be tapped for larger purposes than Russian domestic politics. It is often said that nuclear weapons give Russia a seat at the diplomatic table. Indeed, Russia’s status as a permanent member of the UN Security Council is linked to its status as a nuclear-weapon state under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.To be sure, Russia’s nuclear weapons give it a stronger role on the world stage than its economy or political heft would otherwise warrant, and Russia’s pride in this role should be harnessed to accomplish larger international goals. For example, the Russians might be asked to use their nuclear expertise more fully in the fight against proliferation. Recently, they have shown a willingness to take a firmer hand with Iran over the supply of fuel to the Bushehr reactor project. Can such firmness be extended both with Iran and to other proliferation tough cases? Can Russia in fact become a full partner to the United States in the fight against proliferation?[18] Consider the example of North Korea. Having provided nuclear research reactors and power technology to North Korea in the first place, Russia has significant first-hand knowledge of the foundations of the North Korean program. Moreover, Russia has indicated an interest in serving as an international repository for spent nuclear fuel. If North Korea has not reprocessed all of its 8,000 nuclear fuel rods, it might be convinced to hand them over for storage at an international site, along with whatever plutonium has been produced. Because of its involvement with the North Korean program and its geographic proximity, Russia could provide the site for these materials.The Russians, with the help of the United States, could also lead by example. For example, the Russian Federation could accelerate reductions in its nuclear arsenal and the nuclear materials that underpin it. Although the current U.S. administration does not seem interested in reductions beyond those enshrined in the SORT, there are good reasons to pursue them. In particular, controlling and eliminating nuclear assets is the best way to keep them out of the hands of terrorists and regimes inimical to the international order. This goal is particularly relevant to nonstrategic or tactical nuclear weapons. Up to this point, such weapons have not been subject to formal arms control agreements, but they are likely to be among the nuclear assets most attractive and accessible to terrorists.

Even if the United States and Russia do not immediately turn their attention to new nuclear arms reductions, they could reinvigorate joint efforts to protect, control, and account for nuclear materials. An early joint effort, called the Trilateral Initiative because of the involvement of the International Atomic Energy Agency along with the United States and Russia, made some progress on joint nuclear material protection in the 1990s but then stalled over implementation costs and related issues. Russia and the United States could quickly reinvigorate this initiative, thus providing some important impetus to international efforts to control nuclear materials.Likewise, the United States and Russia promised each other, at the time the SORT was signed in May 2002, that they would examine new measures of transparency that would facilitate implementation of the treaty. Some of the most important of such measures could relate to monitoring warheads in storage. Both Russian and U.S. experts have spent considerable time jointly developing the technologies and procedures that would be necessary to monitor warhead storage, and this agenda could quickly be developed. These steps could apply equally to strategic and nonstrategic nuclear warheads if the two countries should decide to pursue joint measures that would control and account for both types.The United States will have to make some effort to allow Russia to assume the role of a more equal partner on nonproliferation policy. Washington is accustomed, for example, to thinking of Russia more as a proliferation problem than part of the solution. Indeed, Russia’s insistence on selling nuclear reactors to unpalatable customers such as Iran and Libya has meant that it has been continually under suspicion as a proliferator itself. Nevertheless, the center of the proliferation sales network seems to have been in Pakistan rather than Russia. Thus, if the United States is willing to continue the difficult work of improving Russian export control laws and other regulations, Russia could develop into a reliable nonproliferation partner.Likewise, on the arms control front, Russian weakness and distraction have often meant that the United States has taken the lead in advancing new initiatives. The SORT, for example, was based on a U.S. concept, although the Kremlin insisted that it be signed as a legally binding treaty rather than a political commitment. In the future, Washington may find itself as the only partner volunteering new ideas, such as further reductions in strategic nuclear forces or a withdrawal of nonstrategic nuclear weapons from NATO Europe. Even if such initiatives are advanced on a voluntary basis rather than in the context of a negotiation, they can be designed to draw forth a positive response from the Russian side.The United States and Russian Federation have a long history of working together to solve nuclear problems, particularly in the realm of nuclear arms reductions. For the time being, Russian nuclear weapons must compensate in part for its weakness. However, Russia’s nuclear capabilities also mean that it can be somewhat self-confident in the international arena, turning its knowledge, expertise, and resources to serve the country’s larger goals. With sufficient U.S. cooperation and encouragement, Putin might be able to provide a new and positive answer to the question of what purpose nuclear weapons serve in today’s Russia.

NOTES

1. According to information published by the Arms Control Association, as of July 31, 2003, strategic nuclear forces of the former Soviet Union totaled 5,286 nuclear warheads (2,922 ICBMs, 1,732 SLBMs, and 632 bombers). This information is based on the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and the Russian Federation of July 31, 2003. Arms Control Association, Current Strategic Nuclear Forces of the Former Soviet Union, February 2004, available at www.armscontrol.org/factsheets/sovforces.asp. See also Natural Resources Defense Council, Table of USSR/Russian Nuclear Warheads, November 25, 2002, www.nrdc.org/nuclear/nudb/datab10.asp.

2. Ivan Safronov, Russia Will Play Out a Nuclear Game With Itself, Kommersant, January 30, 2004.

3. The inception of the Strategic Deterrence Forces is described in Jacob W. Kipp, Russia’s Nonstrategic Nuclear Weapons, Military Review, May-June 2001, available at http://fmso.leavenworth.army.mil/fmsopubs/issues/russias_nukes/russias_nukes.htm.

4. David Hoffmann, Putin Tries to Stop Feuding in the Military, The Washington Post, July 15, 2000, p. 14. A good summation of Russian commentary on the debate is contained in Nikolai Sokov, Denuclearization of Russia’s Defense Policy? July 17, 2000, available at www.cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/denuke.htm. Another good precis of the debate is Philipp C. Bleek, Russia Ready to Reduce to 1,500 Warheads, Addressing Dispute Over Strategic Forces’ Fate, Arms Control Today, September 2000.

5. For a good review of Russian sources on this point, see Sokov, Denuclearization of Russia’s Defense Policy?

6. Vladimir Dvorkin, Russia Needs a Transparent Development Programme for Its Strategic Nuclear Forces, Vremya Novostei, No. 1, January 2003, translated in the CDI Russia Weekly, No. 240, Center for Defense Information, Washington, DC.

7. According to some analysts, SS-18s and SS-19s could be refurbished and maintained well beyond their guaranteed life span, perhaps until 2020 or even beyond. General Yury Kirillov, chief of the SRF Military Academy, said that, [c]onsidering Russia’s economic capabilities, the preservation of Russia’s nuclear potential requires a maximum possible extension of the service life of the RS-20 and RS-18 MIRVed missile complexes. (The NATO designators for these missiles are the SS-18 and SS-19.) Interview with Colonel General Yury Kirillov, Possibly It’s Time to Advance the Idea of a Nuclear Deterrence Safeguards Treaty, Yadernyy Kontrol, November-December 2002, translated in FBIS-SOV-2003-0114, October 5, 2002.

8. Discussion among Aleksandr Golts, Sergey Parkhomenko, and Vladimir Dvorkin, Ekho Moskvy Radio, May 21, 2002, available at www.echo.msk.ru/interview/8529.html.

9. Lenta.RU, available at http://vip.lenta.ru/fullstory/2003/10/02/doctrine/index.htm.

10. Viktor Litovkin, Security is Best Achieved Through Coalition: Russia’s New Military Doctrine Highlights Community of Goals with the World, www.cdi.org/russia/276-6.cfm.

11. Simon Saradzhyan, Putin Beefs Up ICBM Capacity, The Moscow Times, October 3, 2003. See also Jeremy Bransten, Russia: Putin Talks Up Power of Nuclear Arsenal, RFE/RL, available at www.rferl.org/nca/features/2003/10/03102003170748.asp.

12. Security Council Chief Says New Concept Unique, ITAR-TASS, February 24, 2000, in FBIS-SOV-2000-0224. The doctrine may be found at Voyennaya doktrina Rossiiskoi Federatsii, Nezavisimaya gazeta, April 22, 2000, available at http://ng.ru/printed/politics/2000-04-22/5_doktrina.html.

13. For a useful commentary on the link between Zapad-99 and the Security Concept, see Nikolai Sokov, Russia’s New National Security Concept: The Nuclear Angle, CNS Reports, January 19, 2000, available at http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/reports/sokov2.htm.

14. For a discussion of this period in Soviet doctrine, see Rose Gottemoeller, Land-Attack Cruise Missiles, Adelphi Paper, No. 226 (Winter 1987/88): 18-19.

15 It should be noted that, when the Russian government refers to terrorists, it often is describing separatists from the breakaway republic of Chechnya, who may or may not be engaging in nonstate terrorist activities. To the extent that Chechen politicians ascribe to the responsibilities of government leadership, they might be subject to some aspects of deterrence, especially of a nuclear kind.

16. President Vladimir Putin’s Annual Address to the Federal Assembly, May 16, 2003. Then-Deputy Prime Minister Alyoshin asserted after the president’s speech that Putin was talking about a new strategic command and control system to allow the use of in-depth space, air and earth systems, not new nuclear weapons. See Natalia Slavina, Deputy Premier Says Russia Government to Pursue Tasks of Putin’s Address, ITAR-TASS, May 16, 2003, transcribed in FBIS-SOV-2003-0516. See also Russian Deputy Premier Calls for Developing IT-Intensive Weapon Systems, Moscow Interfax, May 16, 2003, in FBIS-SOV-2003-0516.

17. Conversations with author, Moscow, January 2004.

18. This idea was advanced by Russian participants in a joint project of the U.S. National Academy of Scientists and the Russian Academy of Sciences on the future of nonproliferation coo=peration. See National Research Council of the National Academies, Overcoming Impediments to U.S.-Russian Cooperation on Nuclear Non-Proliferation: Report of a Workshop, February 2004, pp. 1-10.

Rose Gottemoeller is a senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where she holds a joint appointment with the Russian and Eurasian Program and the Global Policy Program. Before joining Carnegie in October 2000, Gottemoeller was deputy undersecretary for defense nuclear nonproliferation in the Department of Energy.

Bee swarm kills 3 dogs, injures 70-year-old woman in Florida Sun Oct 26, 5:28 PM By The Associated Press

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. - A 70-year-old woman is injured and three dogs are dead after a swarm of bees terrorized a neighbourhood in South Florida. Authorities say crews removed about 25 kilograms of honeycomb from the side of a home in Palm Beach County after Friday's attack. The hive has been contained. The bees swarmed Nancy Hill and her two dogs. Hill was treated at a hospital, but the dogs died. The bees also attacked two other dogs in the neighbourhood. One of those died and the other was injured. Lab tests should determine whether the bees were Africanized bees, also known as killer bees. Their stings are no more potent than an ordinary bee's, but they are far more aggressive and attack in swarms.

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Czech Republic rejects EU villain role
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today OCT 27,08 @ 09:26 CET

The Czech Republic is being unfairly painted as an EU villain ahead of its presidency next year, Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg has said as the country gears up to take over the EU chair in January.The Czech Republic's reputation as a highly eurosceptic country is false, Mr Schwarzenberg told French daily Le Monde in an interview published on Saturday (25 October).We are not more eurosceptic that other countries in Europe, and I regret that we are being presented as the bad [characters] in the play, he said.Referring to the country's outspoken EU-hostile president, Vaclav Klaus, the diplomat underlined he has his own opinions, but added that it is the government that forms foreign and European policy.According to the Czech top diplomat, Prague will also ratify the EU's Lisbon treaty - aimed at making the bloc more efficient – before the January presidency hand over.

Additionally, Mr Schwarzenberg dismissed doubts that a small country like his could not deal with major issues such as the Russia-Georgia conflict and the global financial crisis, which have dominated the French presidency agenda.We may be small but in the case of the Russians specifically, we have more know-how than anybody else since we lived with them for 40 years, he said.[For the rest,] we will of course keep a close and constant relation with each and every one of the EU member states. We are in Europe, the phone works, everybody can go within one hour to London or Paris, where is the problem? he added.

Pistols at dawn

Mr Schwarzenberg's comments come as speculations have mounted in the media that French leader Nicolas Sarkozy may have ambitions to lead the EU beyond the end of the French chairmanship of the bloc, on 31 December.Le Monde reported last week - quoting several advisors to the French president - that Mr Sarkozy would like to lead a new eurozone economic government, heading the group of countries using the euro until another EU member state using the single currency takes up the rotating EU presidency, in 2010.The Czech foreign minister said he could not believe this means Mr Sarkozy wants to neutralise the Czech EU presidency. This suspicion is unbearable, he added, joking that if Paris tried to sabotage Prague's presidency - a word used by a Sarkozy advisor in Le Monde - it would merit an old-fashioned duel.If the president used this word, I'd consider it is an insult. And if we were [living] at the times of our grand-parents, we would have to meet at 5am in the Boulogne Woods [a large park in Paris], with two witnesses dressed in black, he said.

Klaus attacks

Meanwhile, Mr Klaus over the weekend accused the French president of trying to undermine the Czech contribution.Mr Sarkozy wants to siphon off our presidency, he said during a television debate on Sunday, using a term for illegal asset stripping coined when he was prime minister in the 1990s.He added that the EU presidency was anyway meaningless.It is prestigious, but not for the countries. It is prestigious for the few politicians who go to Brussels 12 times per month, he was reported as saying by AFP.If the Czech presidency had been in office during the financial crisis, it would have had a more rational opinion …than most other European countries, Mr Klaus added, after earlier last week calling Mr Sarkozy's interventionist ideas on managing the economy old socialism.

Polish summit row heats up afresh
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today OCT 27,08 @ 09:14 CET

Bickering over who should represent Poland at the intergovernmental level threatens to spill over into a second EU summit, after the political party of Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he will stay home on 7 November if the president goes to Brussels.If the president insists, the premier won't go. Let the president put forward Poland's position on the [financial] crisis alone, a senior member of Mr Tusk's liberal Civic Platform party told Polish newspaper Dziennik on Sunday.The president has already confirmed his plans. He's spoken with the French [EU presidency]. From what we hear, there are no problems to have two chairs, said Adam Bielan, a spokesman for President Lech Kaczynski's conservative Law and Justice faction.The two leaders both turned up for the last EU summit on 15 October, with an angry Mr Tusk forced at times to send away his foreign minister and finance minister from the top table to let the president take one of Poland's official seats.

Following the fiasco, which also saw the president charter a special plane to fly to the EU capital, the prime minister has asked the Polish constitutional court to rule on who should lead the Polish delegation in future. But it is uncertain whether the court will give its opinion before the extraordinary 7 November meeting, called by French President Nicolas Sarkozy last week to discuss the global financial emergency.

Poland has so far escaped any major bank collapse. But the fears of a Europe-wide recession leading to a drop in Polish exports, as well as a currency crisis in Hungary, have seen a run on the Polish zloty, which has lost 10 percent of its value against the euro in the past few days.The president's team is widely seen as lacking financial expertise, with Polish analysts saying the EU summit-attendance row is a form of early campaigning for next year's Polish presidential elections.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

UK defence minister supports EU army
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 27,08 @ 09:25 CET

The freshly appointed UK defence secretary has publicly supported the idea of a European army, a key ambition of the French EU presidency.Speaking to the country's Sunday Times newspaper yesterday (26 October), John Hutton, who took on the defence portfolio on 3 October, was asked about the prospects for an EU force.He said: I think we've got to be pragmatic about those things. I think that's perfectly sensible. France is one of our closest allies, and the French believe very strongly in this type of role. If we can support it, we should.French President Nicholas Sarkozy, whose country currently chairs the EU's six-month rotating presidency, wants the bloc's existing military framework to have a new headquarters and each member state to commit 1,500 troops to rapid reaction forces. I'm not one of those EU haters [who think] anything to do with the EU must by definition be terrible, said Mr Hutton. There's plenty of them around. I think frankly those kind of views are pathetic.Britain's role in the world is to be part of those alliances - that's the best way to project power, strength and conviction around the world, he continued. People who don't understand that don't understand the nature of the modern world.Mr Hutton also told the British paper that he thought the plans for a European Union mission to tackle piracy off the Somalian coast is a good example of how EU forces can be used.Although the EU does not have a military, with defence remaining within the domain of each member state, Mr Sarkozy had hoped to place EU defence architecture at the heart of his country's EU chairmanship until his best-laid plans were overtaken by the global financial crisis.In 2007, during French Bastille Day celebrations in which troops from every EU member state marched down the Champs-Elysees, Mr Sarkozy said the EU should construct a unified military.The Bastille comments followed similar remarks from German Chancellor Angela Merkel in March of the same year on the occasion of the EU's 50th birthday. At the time, she said in an interview that she supported the idea of a unified EU army.However, the UK, the largest of the EU's big-three military spenders ahead of France and Germany, has until now opposed the idea of a common EU force, arguing that it would unnecessarily duplicate tasks performed by NATO.According to the Lisbon Treaty, rejected in June by the Irish in a referendum, the North Atlantic alliance remains the foundation of the collective defence of [EU] members, with NATO always headed by a US general, however.

Israeli poll bounce shows Livni leading Netanyahu By Dan Williams Dan Williams – OCT 27,08

Reuters – Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni speaks to the media after her meeting with President Shimon Peres … JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Tzipi Livni has seen a sharp turnaround in fortunes for Israel's ruling Kadima party since she became leader last month and could beat the right-wing opposition in a coming election, polls on Monday indicated.President Shimon Peres, formally setting into motion procedures for a national ballot, told the Knesset after consultations with political parties that there was no chance of reaching a deal now to form a new coalition government.Following Peres' announcement, parliament has up to three weeks to dissolve itself and set an election date, widely expected to be scheduled for January or February.Two newspaper surveys, published after Livni abandoned on Sunday her efforts to forge a coalition government and recommended to Peres a parliamentary election be held, showed Kadima just beating Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud -- a reversal of the results forecast in previous polls, published in August.Livni's Kadima colleagues attributed the gains to her image as a new kind of corruption-free politician, though few appeared to relish going to polls with an untested leader so soon.I think that we didn't want an election. We wanted to continue in the existing (coalition) configuration, Environment Minister Gideon Ezra of Kadima told Israel's Army Radio.Briefing her faction, Livni, a 50-year-old former lawyer and one-time Mossad operative, made clear she was not complacent.

We all awoke today to flattering polls, and while this is certainly important, we need a Kadima that is strong, a Kadima that is united, a Kadima that strides forward as one, she said.With Israel focused on choosing a new leadership, prospects for progress in slow-moving U.S.-sponsored peace negotiations with the Palestinians seem dim. Washington had hoped for at least a framework agreement by the end of the year.

Centrist Kadima was battered by the 2006 Lebanon war and a graft scandal that forced Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to resign last month, although he remains in office until a new government is formed. Livni replaced Olmert as Kadima leader on September 17.

CONFIDENCE

The poll in Yedioth Ahronoth daily predicted Kadima would take 29 of 120 seats in the Knesset -- the same number it has now -- while Likud would take 26, up from 12. The Labor party of Defense Minister Ehud Barak, Olmert's main ally in the outgoing government, was seen taking 11 seats, down from 19 now.A similar poll, also conducted on Sunday, for the Maariv newspaper gave Kadima 31 seats, Likud 29 and Labor 11.The results broke with past surveys that saw Netanyahu, a former prime minister whose popularity has been boosted by Israeli security jitters, easily beating Kadima and Labor.Two polls in August, before Livni replaced Olmert as Kadima leader on September 17, showed Likud winning between 31 and 33 seats against a Kadima led by Livni that would take only 20 to 23.Yuval Steinitz, a senior Likud lawmaker and Netanyahu confidant, described the surveys as selective and biased.The polls I've seen show Likud leading by six or seven seats, though that's still not enough, he told Reuters.Livni said on Sunday her efforts to form a new coalition government had failed over the demands of a key religious Jewish faction for special welfare stipends, and that she would seek an early ballot. The Yedioth survey had 500 respondents and a 4.5 percent margin of error. Maariv, which polled 900 people, gave no margin of error. (Editing by Dominic Evans)

Row simmers in Australia over Lord's Prayer Sun Oct 26, 12:29 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – The use of the Lord's Prayer in Australia's parliament came under question Sunday, after the speaker of the house called for debate on whether to continue the century-old tradition.Harry Jenkins has called for debate on whether the Christian prayer, which has been recited at the start of each parliamentary sitting since federation in 1901, should be reworded or replaced.One of the most controversial aspects of the parliamentary day I found from practically day two is the prayer, Jenkins, speaker of the House of Representatives, told The Sunday Telegraph.On the one end of the spectrum is why have a prayer? The other end of the spectrum is where we have discussions about the words of the prayer. For people outside the parliament there are a lot of things they wish to discuss.Jenkins' comments came after a new independent member of parliament, Rob Oakeshott, said he was disappointed that an acknowledgement of indigenous people was not made at the start of each session.I ask you to revisit this question of daily acknowledgement within this chamber for traditional owners, a simple symbolic but respectful act which will assist in building a better Australia, he said in his maiden speech.

Jenkins said an indigenous recognition would be in line with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's historic apology to Aboriginal Australians in January for injustices suffered during 220 years of white settlement.But Immigration Minister Chris Evans said traditional land owners were already mentioned at the opening of parliament each year and other formal Parliament House functions.We had this debate in the Senate a few years ago when there was talk about having a moment's reflection rather than the Lord's Prayer but the strong view among Senators was that the Lord's Prayer ought to remain -- I wouldn't expect any change, he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.Australia, a former colony of Great Britain, marks Christian festivals such as Christmas and Easter with public holidays.

EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

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Monday, October 27, 2008

SYRIA BLAMES THE USA FOR SHOOTING TROUBLE

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