WILL THE US FOLLOW EUROPES LEAD

OBAMA IS SURE A CHRISTIAN WHEN HE MOCKS THE BIBLE.

OBAMA MOCKS BIBLE VIDEO
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ELECTION 2008 TV ad features Obama mocking Bible,Candidate's Fight the Smears' site tries to bury video documentation October 10, 2008 11:30 pm Eastern By Drew Zahn 2008 WorldNetDaily

Screen shot from Obama's Fight the Smears' website

A television commercial showing clips of Sen. Barack Obama mocking the Bible has prompted backlash from the candidate's Fight the Smears website, which falsely accuses the ad's creator of trying to scam Christians out of their money by promising to air a spot that will never be broadcast.Under the heading Scamming the faithful, Obama's official website says of the man who made the commercial, The trickster's claims about Barack's faith are every bit as false as his claims that this amateurish video is really a TV ad.WND has confirmed, however, that – true to his word – the ad's creator purchased air time for the commercial on television stations in the battleground state of Pennsylvania. Sources at WTAE-TV in Pittsburgh and a cable company servicing Erie told WND that the ad had been aired on several occasions.Nonetheless, in an Oct. 3 update to Scamming the Faithful, the Obama website maintains its attack of the commercial's creator, Stephen Marks of the organization pH for America.Nothing has changed here, reads the Oct. 3 update, The scammer is still untrustworthy. … Making scams seem plausible is what tricksters like him are known for. In the end, he's even less credible now than he was when he first started taking people's money.It is ironic indeed, responded Marks in a statement, that this so-called Fight the Smears' website (is) not fighting smears but creating them.Get The Audacity of Deceit: Barack Obama's War on American Values

Marks insists that every dollar he has raised through his website and the appeal for support at the end of the ad has gone to pay for the media buys and minimal production costs. Marks also claims that that pH for America purchased a television as a gift for the Obama campaign so they can watch the TV and see the ads airing for themselves.Made into both a one-minute and two-minute commercial format, the shorter of the two advertisements can be seen here:Marks told WND, If this ad is seen by all the swing voters in all the key swing states, it would not only anger anyone who reads the Bible, but will make anyone who sees the ad re-think the Jeremiah Wright fiasco as well as Obama's remarks in April that small town America is so bitter that they have to cling to their guns and religion.Most Americans have thus far given Obama a pass on those two issues, but after seeing our ad, it will make many, if not most folks think, Now I finally understand why Obama would belong to such a radical church, and Now I finally understand Obama's true contempt for people of faith regarding his cling to their guns and religion remark, Marks said.Get Jerome Corsi's The Obama Nation, personally autographed – for only $4.95, available today, but only from WND!

Obama's website claims that Marks deliberately edited clips of the candidate to make Obama look bad and that the commercials don't reflect the nature of the speech from which they were taken.With such a deceptive person behind this video, it's not surprising that everything he says about Barack is deeply dishonest and wrong, too, says the Fight the Smears website. The video takes 5 sentences out of a 4,500-word speech Barack gave in 2006 completely out of context to stoke division and hatred.

The commercial features edited clips from a speech Sen. Obama made before a conference in Washington, D.C., June 28, 2006. The entire transcript of the speech can be seen here, but the immediate context is as follows:Whatever we once were, we are no longer just a Christian nation; we are also a Jewish nation, a Muslim nation, a Buddhist nation, a Hindu nation, and a nation of nonbelievers.And even if we did have only Christians in our midst, if we expelled every non-Christian from the United States of America, whose Christianity would we teach in the schools? Would we go with James Dobson's, or Al Sharpton's? Which passages of Scripture should guide our public policy? Should we go with Leviticus, which suggests slavery is ok and that eating shellfish is abomination? How about Deuteronomy, which suggests stoning your child if he strays from the faith? Or should we just stick to the Sermon on the Mount - a passage that is so radical that it's doubtful that our own Defense Department would survive its application? So before we get carried away, let's read our Bibles. Folks haven't been reading their Bibles.The group pH for America is a 527 organization – so named for the IRS designation for such groups – created by Marks, a Republican political consultant who also created advertisements criticizing 2004 Democrat candidate John Kerry. The group's website boasts it is hoping to become the Swiftboat 527 organization of 2008, referencing the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, a 527 organization that created commercials widely credited with contributing to Kerry's defeat.Evan Tracey, chief operating officer of Campaign Media Analysis Group, told CNN the appeal for money at the end of the pH for America advertisement, rather than an indication of scamming or tricking people, is common for 527 organizations trying to impress donors.Even though an ad buy might be small now, remember, these groups are auditioning right now for late donations to take these ads to a larger scope, Tracey said. Remember, the Swift Boat original ad buy was less than $1 million and ran in only a handful of small media markets.Marks echoed that strategy in a release announcing the successful purchase of air time for his group's commercial.Unlike other 527 groups who are funded by millionaires, ours has been funded by grass-roots blue-collar voters offended by the side of Barack Obama they see in our ad, Marks said. We hope that as more folks see the ad, that we will eventually get help from more affluent contributors.

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MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
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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 13,2008

09:30 AM +369.25
10:00 AM +350.21
10:30 AM +439.10
11:00 AM +465.78
11:30 AM +517.79
12:00 PM +536.19
12:30 PM +569.01
01:00 PM +571.08
01:30 PM +587.25
02:00 PM +541.90
02:30 PM +498.35
03:00 PM +616.24
03:30 PM +703.69
04:00 PM +936.42 9387.61

S&P 500 1003.35 +104.13

NAS 1844.25 +194.74

GOLD 833.8 -25.2

OIL 81.93 +4.23

TSE 300 CLOSED

CDNX -71.47 975.81

S&P/TSX 60 CLOSED

DOW HISTORIC CLOSE 936.42 5TH HIGHEST IN HISTORY.
S&P soares 11% today.
S&P'S biggest one day PERCENTAGE gain since 1932.

Market reversal

Dow:Biggest points gain in since 1987, and 5TH largest percentage gain in history.
Dow gains over 11%.
Dow back over 9300.
90% upside day. And the Volume on the upside.
Tomorrow the issue:will retail investors be buying as pros take profits.

PARADE OF IDEAS

1-CEO,Treasury,Fed officials meet on market stabilization initiative.
-Guarentee Interbank lending.
-Broader Deposit insurance.
-Capital infusions into Banks.
2-Congress is also considering a 2ND stimulus package.

THE EUROPEAN UNION EURO ZONE AS WELL AS BRITIAN WILL GUARENTEE LOANS BY BANKS.

Without a similar deal by the USA, funds could flow to Europe.
Few results came from the G-7 meeting over the weekend.
World Bank says govenments should still help developing nations out.
Up to 400 Billion dollars will be in line for this European Union plan.

$35 Billion plan to bailout U.KS 4 largest Banks expected today.
Head of Italy's Borsa stock exchange stresses need to protect companies from hostile bids.
Germany expected to set up a special fund to provide up to $100 Billion Euros in equity capital to its countries Banks.
Polands Finance Ministry and Central Bank leaders meet with CEOS of Countries top 10Banks Today.
Norways Government and Central introduces measures to boost Countries Banks liquidity.
Australia and New Zealand latest Countries to guarentee all Bank deposits.
IMF'S Dominique Strauss-Kahn hopes governments actions will bring an end to spreading creit crunch.

10 COUNTRIES WILL GUARENTEE DEPOSIT LIABILITIES.

Austalia
Iceland
Ireland
Germany
Greece
New Zealand
Saudi-Arabia
Spain
United Arab Emirates
United Kingdom.

Unlimited funds will be available now. So Countries might buy in these Countries because the funds will be guarenteed.

WATCH FOR THE WORLD TO BE PUT IN REGIONAL ECONOMIC BLOCS SO IF ONE BLOC FAILS THE REST WILL BE ABLE TO BAIL THEM OUT. JUST MY THOUGHT BUT GOES WITH PROPHECY.

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).

Europe puts $2.3 trillion on line for banks By ANGELA CHARLTON and EMMA VANDORE, Associated Press Writers OCT 13,08

PARIS - European governments overcame their differences to put $2.3 trillion on the line Monday in guarantees and other emergency measures to save the banking system in their most unified response yet to the global financial crisis. The pledges by six countries that use the euro and Britain helped soothe stock markets, along with a promise by top central banks to provide unlimited short term dollar credits.The amount — pledged by Germany, Britain, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal and Austria — dwarfs the $700 billion rescue package put together by U.S. President Bush's administration, although not all the European money will necessarily be spent.

It represented Europe's most unified response yet to the financial crisis, after weeks where European governments often acted at cross purposes and sniped at each other — a piecemeal approach that failed to stop steep and frightening slides on financial markets.The time of each one for itself is fortunately over, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said, following a Cabinet meeting that approved France's spending in the framework of the scheme.United Europe has pledged more than the United States, added the French leader, who has taken a lead in corralling European governments to act together.The money pledged by European governments will not go into a collective pot. Instead, governments were deciding individually how much to commit to supporting their own banks under broad guidelines agreed at a summit on Sunday. The sums are considered a maximum, and might not all be spent if the financial crisis eases.About 250 billion euros ($341 billion) of the European pledges was earmarked to be spent on recapitalizing banks by buying stakes.The money pledges put a price tag on the package agreed to Sunday by the 15 countries that use the euro currency. They agreed to individually guarantee bank refinancing until the end of next year, rescue important failing banks through emergency cash injections and take other swift measures to encourage banks to lend to each other again.Stocks markets rebounded Monday after the European decision and other weekend efforts to find solutions to the financial crisis, which has crushed major banks in both the U.S. and Europe and battered stock exchanges worldwide.Germany's DAX rose 518.14 points, or 11.4 percent, to close at 5,062.45, while France's CAC-40 was up 355.01 points, or 11.2 percent, at 3,531.50. Britain's FTSE 100 was 324.84 points, or 8.3 percent, higher at 4,256.90, despite some hefty falls in the banks that have accepted government help.

Also helping markets was a joint move by the U.S. Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank to provide unlimited short-term credit in U.S. dollars to financial institutions. The Bank of Japan said it was considering similar measures.Europe's biggest economy, Germany, put together a rescue package worth as much as 500 billion euros ($671 billion) to shore up the country's financial system. We are taking drastic action, no question about it ... so that what we have experienced is not repeated, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters.Sarkozy said the French government would provide up to 360 billion euros ($491 billion) to help banks, most of that in guarantees for bank refinancing. The Netherlands put up 200 billion euros ($273 billion) to guarantee interbank loans.

Austria's government offered up to 85 billion euros ($116 billion). Spain said it would guarantee up to 100 billion euros ($135 billion) in a bank bond issuance this year. Portugal guaranteed 20 billion euros ($27 billion) euros — nearly 12 percent of annual GDP — to encourage Portuguese banks to lend to each other.Italy did not earmark a specific amount but Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti told reporters the government would offer as much as necessary.The European moves are modeled on Britain's 50 billion-pound ($88 billion) plan to partly nationalize major banks. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also promised to guarantee a further 250 billion pounds ($438 billion) worth of interbank loans to restore confidence in the financial sector.The head of the International Monetary Fund welcomed the European decision despite the high price it is expected to impose on state budgets. We must recapitalize the banks ... otherwise everyone will suffer, Dominique Strauss-Kahn said on France's Europe-1 radio Monday. And that costs money.The euro zone leaders who met Sunday have yet to sell their packages to voters at home, and analysts warned that governments and legislators could still balk. The overall cost will be heavy, especially on countries already in or on the brink of recession. Analysts from the banking sector generally saluted the euro zone measures. After a haphazard start, Europe is finally getting its act together, Bank of America said in a research note. The size and nature of the national plans suggest that they could finally make a difference.The rest of the 27-member EU will have a chance to sign up to the euro-zone measures when they meet Wednesday. Norway, outside both the euro zone and the EU, said it plans to offer new government bonds worth 350 billion kroner ($55.4 billion) to banks to help improve liquidity in the market. In Sweden, Finance Minister Anders Borg said the government plans to put forward a draft law Wednesday to guarantee new bank debt until the end of 2009 and support banks with added share capital. BusinessEurope — a group representing most European major companies — said EU governments' parallel moves to unfreeze bank lending would help reinforce confidence and contribute to a continued flow of credit to companies and households.Associated Press writers Melissa Eddy in Berlin and Malin Rising in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Euro area states harmonise bank rescue plans
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today OCT 13,08 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - An unprecedented extraordinary meeting of eurozone leaders in Paris has given the green light to a set of synchronised moves by member states to boost confidence in the financial sector and save failing banks with public money. We cannot have a healthy economy and sustainable growth unless we have a solid financial sector, said French President Nicolas Sarkozy on late Sunday (12 October), after the hastily arranged summit of the 15-strong euro area.The crisis talks aiming to adapt the bloc's financial markets to better cope with the worst financial crisis since the 1930s led to an agreement on a plan similar to that of Britain's rescue scenario. I believe that there is common ground now about what needs to be done, UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown told journalists in Paris after he explained the details of the British approach hours ahead of the eurozone session. The UK remains outside the eurozone.Under the agreed package, 15 countries plus Slovakia - set to join the euro in January - committed to provide capital for banks striving for funds because of frozen money markets and to help or directly subscribe to debt-raising by banks for up to five years.Governments are ready to guarantee interbank loans at market rates until the end of next year, while also providing previously announced deposit guarantees for savers. What we want is to give back banks the means to lend, to support the economy to enable households to borrow for mortgages or consumption and give companies the means necessary to invest for growth, Sarkozy said. This is not a gift to banks but will help them function, he added, stressing that the extraordinary measures needed to attack the immediate problem should be later followed by structural changes in the financial system in a bid to create a real capitalism, and not one of speculators.Believe me, in Europe, we will not allow the system continue working in such a way. Believe me, those responsible will need to assume their responsibility. There will be changes ... And those who put the world into this situation will have to pay back.

On the verge of financial meltdown

Ahead of the Paris euro meeting, finance ministers from the G7 club of the seven most industrialised nations - the US, Canada, Japan, Germany, France, Britain and Italy - gathered in Washington on Friday (10 October) and agreed a five-point plan to free up the flow of capital, revive the mortgage market and boost efforts by banks to raise money.Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, endorsed the plan while suggesting that previous moves by rich nations had been insufficient.Intensifying solvency concerns about a number of the largest US-based and European financial institutions have pushed the global financial system to the brink of systemic meltdown, he said, according to BBC.US President George Bush argued that the key point is to prevent contradicting actions among the superpowers. In our interconnected world, no nation will gain by driving down the fortunes of another. We are in this together. We will come through it together, he said.

Striving to prevent another Black Monday

The busy agenda in several world capitals over the weekend attempts to stauch the bleeding in global stock markets , which crashed last week, with the American Standard & Poor 500 index tumbling more than 18 percent, while European stocks plunged 22 percent and Tokyo's Nikkei tumbled 24 percent.France, Germany, Italy, Austria and several other countries are each due to hold government meetings on Monday to announce details of their national bail-out schemes, and will reveal the precise sums of public money they are ready to inject to the banking sector.German media have reported that Berlin is to propose a package worth some €400 billion, of which around €100 billion can be used in direct interventions in banks.Analysts believe this sort of co-ordinated action could indeed do the trick for the bloc's financial sector.This announcement of concrete, decisive and well-targeted measures to be deployed simultaneously by individual governments should reassure markets, Marco Annunziata, chief economist with Unicredit Markets and Investment Banking in London, told Reuters.Initial reports on Monday showed a positive reaction by Asian markets, with shares in Australia, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Singapore and India all rising , although while Taiwan's stock market has lost ground, the BBC has reported.

Dow jumps 938 as governments pledge bank aid By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer OCT 13,08

NEW YORK - Wall Street has stormed back from last week's devastating losses, sending the Dow Jones industrials soaring a nearly inconceivable 938 points after major governments' plans to support the global banking system reassured distraught investors. The Dow by far outstripped its previous record for a one-day point gain, 499, reached during the waning days of the dot-com boom in 2000.The market was likely to have a rebound after eight days of precipitous losses that took the Dow down nearly 2,400 points, but no one expected this kind of advance. Still, back-and-forth trading is likely to continue as Wall Street still contends with a crippled financial system and a struggling economy. So some of Monday's big gains may disappear when trading resumes Tuesday.The Dow is up about 938 points at the 9,389 level. All the major indexes are up more than 11 percent.

IMF ready to bail out swooning Hungary
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 13,08 @ 17:58 CET

Hungary may be the first member of the European Union to be bailed out by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since Britain was forced to take out a €3 billion loan in 1976.Hungary's forint slid sharply last week to its lowest level against the euro in two years, while the Budapest Stock Exchange saw heavy losses and investors were taking money out of the country.The forint did however regain some ground on Monday, largely in reaction to the financial rescue plan announced by G7 finance ministers over the weekend, analysts believe.In an attempt to staunch the bleeding, last Friday, Budapest announced sharp spending cuts to government programmes, a bank deposit guarantee similar to that announced by other member states and delays to planned tax cuts.There is a significant and strong attack against the Hungarian money and capital markets, prime minister Ference Gyurcsany declared in announcing the emergency cut-backs. [Hungary] must not spend in these times, he said.On Monday, in response to the spreading financial contagion, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the IMF - an international institution set up to maintain order in the international monetary system - said that the financial institution was ready to rapidly step in with loans to the beleaguered east European nation.We are in close dialogue with the Hungarian authorities and the EU to discuss further responses to the current challenges, including possible technical and financial support by the IMF, he said in a statement.I have informed the authorities that the IMF stands ready to assist their efforts, he added.We will provide technical assistance as needed and, in the context of a supportive policy setting, are ready to undertake discussions on possible financial assistance, responding rapidly.

All tools available

The EU said it welcomed Mr Strauss-Kahn's offer, adding that it was ready to back up IMF aid with its own support using all tools available, although representatives of the bloc did not mention any financial assistance.The Council and the Commission are monitoring the situation closely, and support Hungary' efforts in tackling current challenges, said the presidency of the council of EU economic and finance ministers [ECOFIN] in a statement on Monday.The ECOFIN welcomes the readiness of the IMF to consider providing technical and financial assistance as needed to Hungary, the statement continued.The council of ministers said that it is in close consultations with the Hungarian authorities and the IMF and will ensure that any conditions attached to IMF funds are consistent with EU policy advice.IMF bail-outs of countries have always come attendant with strict demands for sweeping austerity measures including reductions in social programmes and privatisation of public assets.In 1976, to deal with soaring inflation, the UK requested a €3 billion (£2.3bn) loan from the IMF. In return, the then Labour government was required to deliver deep cuts to public spending.

Baltics, Ukraine

Hungary however is just the tip of the iceberg, warn experts. UK economist Barry Gills of Newcastle University told the EUobserver that the crisis is set to hit much of eastern Europe more profoundly than it has Old Europe.There is a looming problem in the east - Ukraine and the Baltics in particular - where the IMF might have to be called in with very large support loans, he said.In eastern Europe, growth is weakening and in some places going into reverse. They are experiencing some of the classic problems of developing countries in the past - structural imbalances such as insufficient reserves from exports to cover import bills; accruing debt to cover debts and balance of payments.This can lead to vulnerability of the currency, so they have to use reserves to protect the currency.Mr Gills worried that the European Union may not have the funds at its disposal to come to the aid of its newest members.Does the EU have the financial reserves apart from the IMF to solve some of these regional solutions? I'm not so sure that's clear at the moment.He also fretted about the significance of the IMF coming to the aid of member states. Does the EU want countries under IMF tutelage within its borders?

European leaders agree crisis rescue at summit by James Franey OCT 12,08

PARIS (AFP) - European Union leaders hammered out a plan Sunday to confront the financial crisis which will involve hundreds of billions of dollars of new initiatives to head off a feared meltdown.Two weeks after the Wall Street collapse of Lehman Brothers unleashed a worldwide crash on stock markets, US and European leaders signalled a growing commitment to take joint action to end the turmoil.After the Group of Seven leading democracies proposed an action plan at weekend meetings in Washington, a Paris summit of the 15 nations that use the euro currency agreed a bank rescue plan , French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.Sarkozy -- who oversees the French presidency of the European Union -- said governments would buy into banks to boost their finances and guarantee inter-bank lending.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the coming week was critical.

I believe that in the next few days confidence in the banking system will be restored.... The decisions we take over the next few days will affect us for the years ahead.My opinion is that it should produce positive results, added Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. We have a serious crisis and logically when there is a serious crisis it will be difficult to overcome, but we will overcome it.Europe's economic powerhouses all prepared new initiatives to underpin the banking system. No details were released, but Sarkozy said Britain, France, Germany and Italy and others would unveil packages on Monday.Officials have said they will cost several hundred billion dollars on top of the huge sums already spent rescuing banks and supporting money markets.In Washington, the EU action won swift praise from International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who recalled how the IMF has been calling for months for coordinated international action.Nearly all advanced countries are now covered and the... eurozone provisions may be extended eventually to all of Europe, he said.The eurozone plan is also comprehensive.... Altogether we are going in a good direction.Economists were eagerly awaiting the opening of Asia's stock markets Monday to gauge how their rescue plans are received by jittery investors hoping to stem the slide in the markets.In another development Sunday, news media in London reported that the British government would be taking controlling stakes Monday in two banks hit hard by the crisis -- Royal Bank of Scotland and HBOS.Britain has already set aside 250 billion pounds (315 billion euros) to guarantee loans, in addition to 200 billion pounds in short-term loans and 50 billion to buy stakes in major banks.Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling said an announcement would come at the beginning of the week.Germany is meanwhile expected to guarantee interbank loans with 300 billion euros to 400 billion euros (405 to 540 billion dollars) as well as provide banks with fresh capital in exchange for shares.German Chancellor Angela Merkel said only the state could restore the necessary trust to the public and financial markets.

In Paris, the French government will Monday propose a state guarantee for endangered banks, a ruling party lawmaker said. The New York Times said the Bush administration was also heading toward taking direct stakes in threatened banks in the coming days, as the crisis dominates the run-up to the November 4 presidential election.

Elsewhere, Australia, New Zealand, the United Arab Emirates and Portugal all moved to guarantee bank deposits, and Norway said it would issue up to 41 billion euros (54.5 billion dollars) in bonds to pay for measures to support banks. In Washington, Strauss-Kahn said the action plan adopted Friday by the Group of Seven was a breakthrough with the first global pledge to cooperate to stabilise the turmoil at the meetings. The G7 plan, though vague on details, commits countries to support the most important institutions, take measures to get credit flowing, assist banks in raising capital and reassure savers. World Bank president Robert Zoellick said the financial crisis, the worst since the 1929 market crash, underscored the need for coordinated action to modernize multilateralism for a new global economy.Zoellick announced that the International Finance Corp, the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, was exploring the possibility of a fund to help recapitalize banks in the developing world. US President George W. Bush said the world's richest nations are united on a serious global response to the financial meltdown caused by massive loans to US lenders with bad credit histories. Coordination against the crisis is considered vital to prevent the actions of one country harming another and exacerbating the bank solvency and credit shortage problems. In the Great Depression, so-called beggar-thy-neighbour measures taken unilaterally by countries are considered to have deepened the economic pain.

THREAT OF MARTIAL LAW VIDEO
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MONEYNETDAILY Bailout push included threat of martial law,Congressman says several colleagues got message before vote October 12, 2008 11:56 pm Eastern 2008 WorldNetDaily

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif.

WASHINGTON – During deliberations over the $700 billion federal bailout of banks and financial institutions, several members of Congress were threatened with the prospect of martial law if they did not act quickly and decisively to approve the measure, according to Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., an ardent opponent of the plan.

Many of us were told in private conversations, that if we didn't pass this bill on Monday, the sky would fall, the market would drop two or three thousand points, another couple thousand the second day, and a few members were even told that there would be martial law in America if we voted no, he said on the House floor Oct. 2.
Sherman's speech to colleagues was captured on C-Span. The video can be seen below:
The statement by Sherman added to fears raised by the announcement that the Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 3rd Infantry Division, after service in Iraq for 35 of the last 60 months, would, for the next 12 months, serve in the U.S. under the service wing of the Northern Command as part of an on-call federal response force for natural or manmade emergencies and disasters, including terrorist attacks.

G20 pledges joint action to fight financial crisis By Vivianne Rodrigues and Walter Brandimarte Reuters - Sunday, October 12 12:40 pm

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Group of 20 industrialized and developing countries called on Saturday for a joint response to the financial crisis that is snowballing into emerging markets.The G20 pledged to meet again in November and to reshape the institution to make it more agile in responding to the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.The problems we are facing today in the global economy must be solved by several countries, they can't be addressed by only one country or a single continent, Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega, who chairs the group, told a news conference after the meeting.The G20 includes the Group of Seven industrialized nations along with developing countries such as Brazil, China, India and South Korea.

In a statement issued by the group, the 20 finance ministers pledged to work together to improve the regulation, supervision and overall functioning of the world's financial markets. The group will meet again in Sao Paulo, Brazil.Mantega said the United States needed to help coordinate changes in international finance and that the Group of Seven industrialized nations should work with emerging markets.

Some G7 members support expanding that group to include some emerging countries, Mantega noted.For the first time, President George W. Bush briefly attended the G20 meeting. Mantega said it would be very important for Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to attend the group's next meeting.

Capital outflows from emerging markets have accelerated as the financial crisis deepened in the past couple of weeks.The minister said the group was not considering measures to restrict capital flight because that would be counterproductive.Growth is expected to moderate globally, but Mantega stressed that emerging market economies should still grow more than developed ones in 2009, cushioning a global recession.(Editing by Peter Cooney)

Russia's Kudrin:G7, G20 moves defined risk areas
Reuters - Monday, October 13

WASHINGTON, Oct 12 - The decisions made by financial leaders of the Group of Seven and Group of 20 leaders over the weekend have set the stage for other moves, Russia's Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin said on Sunday.The decisions may seem too general from first glance, but they strictly define areas of risk, and the scale of concrete decisions should be decided by individual governments for each economy, Kudrin said.Both the G7 group of rich countries on Friday and G20 countries on Saturday vowed to take action to stem a financial crisis that has roiled stock markets and hurt growth, but did not announce detailed plans.

Gov't eyes plan to take ownership stakes in banks By HARRY DUNPHY and TOM RAUM, Associated Press Writers OCT 12,08

WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told international leaders on Sunday that isolationism and protectionism could worsen the spreading financial crisis. With a new trading week dawning, U.S. lawmakers urged quick action by the Bush administration on measures to make direct purchases of bank stock to help unlock lending. Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, is gaining steam.I am hopeful that tomorrow, the Treasury will announce that they're doing it. And they have to do it quickly ... markets are waiting, Schumer, D-N.Y., said.The administration has not indicated when it would announce its next steps.Democrats also are lining up behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's plan to bring lawmakers back to Capitol Hill after the Nov. 4 election to work on a second economic relief plan. The idea is give the middle class and the average citizen the same kind of relief that we try to give the financial sector, said Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee.Top Democrats are suggesting a $150 billion measure that would extend jobless benefits, provide more money for food stamps and finance some construction projects, such as rebuilding bridges and roads. It would also include either a tax rebate or tax cut.Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri, the second-ranking House Republican, said he would help on a plan that makes sense but is not laden with huge public works projects or bailouts for states that overspent on social programs.In another step aimed at easing the financial crisis, the Federal Reserve on Sunday approved the $12.2 billion acquisition of troubled Wachovia Corp. by Wells Fargo & Co. Wachovia is the latest in a string of major banks and financial institutions that have been felled by the financial crisis. The Fed action was expected.

As the International Monetary Fund and World Bank held their annual meetings over the weekend, Paulson warned the bank's policy-setting committee of the dangers of inward-looking policies.Although we in the United States are taking many extraordinary measures to ease the crisis, we are not pursuing policies that would limit the flow of goods, services or capital, as such measures would only intensify the risks of a prolonged crisis, Paulson said.Meanwhile, the World Bank pledged to protect poor and vulnerable countries and nations with rapidly developing economies. Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, who heads the bank's policy-setting committee, said the bank and the IMF will draw on the full range of their resources to help these countries.Bank President Robert Zoellick told reporters the financial crisis has been a manmade catastrophe. The actions and responses to overcome it lie in our hands.Jittery investors awaited the reopening of stock markets — the Dow Jones industrial average just completed its worst week ever, plummeting more than 18 percent — and hoped for bold, coordinated international steps to address the crisis.

At a Paris meeting of European leaders Sunday, countries that use the euro agreed to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing to ease the credit crunch. French President Nicolas Sarkozy it would apply in 15 countries through the end of 2009 and was not a gift to banks.The United States has not yet gone that far. But President Bush met at the White House with top global financial leaders on Saturday in a display of unity and said afterward that they had agreed to general principles to combat the crisis. Bush, who had spoken about the crisis for 22 of the past 27 days, went biking at a state park in Maryland on Sunday morning and then kept to a private schedule the rest of the day.Paulson has indicated the administration will use part of the recent $700 billion bailout Bush signed Oct. 3 to have the government take ownership stakes in banks. The plan has wide support on Capitol Hill, although Democrats pressed for quicker action in spelling out specifics.Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., sounded a cautionary note. That has to be very, very carefully done, he said. We are a capitalistic system and we don't want to move away with nationalizing the banking system. So that anything that's done has to be done on a temporary basis.This plan and other Paulson moves were supported by three former treasury secretaries. This is bigger than the private sector can fix by itself, said James A. Baker III, who served under President Reagan. Robert Rubin, treasury secretary under President Clinton and now an adviser to Barack Obama, said it was important to be highly, highly proactive.Lawrence Summers, also a Clinton treasury secretary, said, Any time you have a problem with trust, you've got to deal with it in a very aggressive way.

The lawmakers and ex-Cabinet officers made the rounds of the Sunday talk shows.
On the Net: White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/economy/
Treasury Department: http://www.ustreas.gov/ World Bank : http://www.worldbank.org/
International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org/

World Bank to protect poor from economic turmoil By HARRY DUNPHY, Associated Press Writer Sun Oct 12, 5:52 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The World Bank agreed Sunday to help developing countries strengthen their economies, bolster their financial systems and protect the poor against the financial turmoil in international markets. Robert Zoellick, the bank's president, said the contagion affecting the global economy has been a manmade catastrophe and responses to overcome it lie in all our hands.He spoke as the U.S. moved to shore up Wall Street and financial institutions and the 15 countries that use the euro agreed in Paris to temporarily guarantee bank refinancing to ease the credit squeeze.

Speaking at a joint news conference with Zoellick, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the head of the International Monetary Fund, endorsed the European move and said he expected markets to react favorably, although you never can be sure what will happen.Strauss-Kahn also called for quick implementation of the $700 billion U.S. rescue plan, which includes the government buying part-ownership in an array of banks.Zoellick said that as the current crisis has unfolded, people in the United States and Europe reacted first with confusion, then anger, then fear.Those natural reactions will spread around the world as the impact spreads, Zoellick said. We need to take them seriously.He said any prolonged tightening of credit or a sustained global slowdown could cause serious setbacks to developing countries' efforts to improve the lives of their populations. Such countries are already struggling with high prices for energy and food.We need concerted global action now not just to deal with this crisis, but to put in place new architecture, new norms, and new oversight to ensure that this crisis never happens again, he said.The poorest and must vulnerable groups risk the most serious — and in some cases, permanent — damage, Zoellick said. One hundred million people have already been driven into poverty this year and that number will grow.Zoellick said the financial crisis underscored the need for concerted global action now, not just to deal with the crisis but to put in place new architecture, new norms and new oversight to ensure that this crisis never happens again.

He said the bank and the IMF must ensure that as governments turn their attention to domestic matters, they do not step back from their commitment to provide billions in aid to poor countries.Aid flows must be maintained, Zoellick said. Today's meeting of ministers was unanimous in that regard.The head of the bank's policy-setting committee, Mexican Finance Minister Agustin Carstens, said ministers were unanimous in their view that the World Bank had to protect the poor and vulnerable in the context of the global financial crisis. He said the Bank needs to be flexible to address the differing problems faced by poor countries and those with rapidly growing economies.In remarks to the committee, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said global unity was needed, not isolationism and protectionism, which do not offer a way to contain the spreading damage. He expressed concern about the fallout on poor countries.Although we in the United States are taking many extraordinary measures to ease the crisis, we are not pursuing policies that would limit the flow of goods, services or capital, as such measures would only intensify the risks of a prolonged crisis, he said.U.S. lawmakers, meanwhile, called for fast action — by the administration on a plan for the government to take direct stakes in certain banks, and by Congress on a new economic aid plan.Sen. Chuck Schumer, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said an administration proposal to inject federal money directly into certain banks, in effect partially nationalizing the banking system, is gaining steam.I am hopeful that tomorrow, the Treasury will announce that they're doing it. And they have to do it quickly ... markets are waiting, Schumer said. Schumer and other Democratic leaders also backed plans by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for a session after the Nov. 4 election to consider a $150 billion proposal to boost the economy. The measure would extend jobless benefits, provide more money for food stamps and finance public works projects, such as rebuilding bridges and roads. Yes, we are going to do a stimulus after the election, said Rep. Barney Frank, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee. The idea is give the middle class and the average citizen the same kind of relief that we try to give the financial sector, said Frank, D-Mass., who, like Schumer, appeared on the Sunday talk shows. President Bush says his administration is doing everything possible to halt the biggest market disruption since the Great Depression of the 1930s. Associated Press writers Chris Rugaber and Tom Raum contributed to this report. On the Net: White House: http://www.whitehouse.gov/infocus/economy/ Treasury Department: http://www.ustreas.gov/ World Bank : http://www.worldbank.org/ International Monetary Fund: http://www.imf.org/

China looking inward as foreign economies slow By GILLIAN WONG, Associated Press Writer Sun Oct 12, 11:20 AM ET

BEIJING - China's ruling Communist Party on Sunday said it would seek to expand its massive internal market to counter the global economic slowdown that has reduced international demand for Chinese goods. The party, led by President Hu Jintao, released a statement at the end of a four-day meeting of its Central Committee where it also approved a plan aimed at doubling rural incomes by 2020.We should step up efforts to boost domestic demand, particularly domestic consumption and keep the economy, the financial sector and the capital market stable, the party said in a statement released through the official Xinhua News Agency.The party also recognized inherent contradictions and problems with China's economy and said all members should prepare for greater challenges as the global financial crisis unfolds.China faces difficulties from high energy costs and inflation, but officials say the country has growth potential despite global uncertainties because of its large labor pool, vast domestic market and the increasing competitiveness of its companies.

Economists have cut China's growth forecasts to as low as 9 percent for the year, down from last year's 11.9 percent. That would be the highest rate for any major country, but Communist leaders want to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses, which could fuel political tensions.China lowered interest rates Wednesday in an effort to revive slowing economic growth and help struggling exporters.The party said it aims to double the income of the country's farmers — currently around $590 per person a year — over 12 years to ease the growing and politically explosive gulf between the urban elite who have benefited most from China's two-decade-old economic boom and its vast poor majority.The move also seeks to boost rural consumption levels by a big margin and eliminate poverty in the countryside by 2020, Xinhua said. China has an estimated 15 million people living in absolute poverty in the countryside.State media reports ahead of the meeting said the committee would review an amendment to give 750 million rural dwellers more freedom to lease or transfer their land, but the final statement did not mention the issue.Chinese economists hope the agricultural reforms will lead to larger, more efficient farms that are better able to meet the demands of the evolving economy while maintaining the country's self-sufficiency.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

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

Fire burns 750 acres, 2 homes northeast of LA OCT 12,08

LOS ANGELES - Firefighters backed by water-dumping helicopters and planes gained ground Sunday on a wildfire that destroyed two homes and forced the evacuation of about 1,200 people in a rugged area 20 miles north of downtown. The blaze charred up to 750 acres and also burned a garage, several sheds and three motor homes, said Los Angeles County Fire Department spokesman Ron Haralson. No one was seriously injured, but a firefighter and one resident reported minor breathing problems.Haralson said firefighters are getting a really good handle on the blaze, which started early Sunday. But powerful Santa Ana winds were expected to arrive in the evening, and gusts could spread embers igniting brush, grass and chaparral in the area.About 450 homes were evacuated early Sunday when the blaze moved southeast toward city limits, said U.S. Forest Service spokesman Stanton Florea.It burned right down to a couple of neighborhoods, Florea said.The fire was 20 percent contained and as it burned south of the Wildlife Waystation, an animal sanctuary and rehabilitation facility set on 160 acres. The nonprofit agency houses more than 400 animals, including lions, bears and deer. Officials were loading up the animals in case the fire switched direction.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Elsewhere in California, firefighters halted the spread of a wildfire that burned about 300 acres of heavy brush, destroyed a home and threatened several wineries in Napa Valley.More than 1,500 firefighters were called in to work the blaze, which state fire officials said was fully contained by Sunday morning.Investigators said Saturday a rock struck by a car ignited the wildfire Friday afternoon. Strong winds in the hills near the wine country town of St. Helena caused the fire to spread quickly.The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said all evacuation orders had been lifted, allowing 100 people to return home after the flames forced them to flee.

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's Medvedev test fires long-range missile By Oleg Shchedrov
Sun Oct 12, 6:29 AM ET

PLESETSK COSMODROME, Russia (Reuters) - President Dmitry Medvedev oversaw the test firing of an intercontinental Topol missile on Sunday and vowed to commission new generation weapons for Russia's armed forces. A Reuters reporter said the truck-mounted Topol was fired at 3:23 a.m. EDT in drizzling rain from the Plesetsk cosmodrome, which is nestled among the taiga forests of Russia's north.Half an hour later it hit the Kura testing site, 6000 km (3700 miles) away on the Kamchatka peninsula in the Pacific.I have just been told that the dummy warhead has landed in Kura, Medvedev said from the Topol launch pad where acrid smoke from the missile still hung thick in the air.We will continue to commission new types of weapons but we will also continue testing the ones we have now, said Medvedev. Their effectiveness has been proved by time. Our shield is fine.Russian nuclear submarines also successfully test fired two ballistic missiles from the Pacific Ocean and Barents Sea on Sunday to targets inside Russia, the navy said.Medvedev, who was sworn in as president in May, has moved to beef up Russia's armed forces after a five-day conflict in Georgia this August which sparked a row with the United States and European Union.Dressed in the army's new-style leather jacket -- with a badge saying commander-in-chief -- Medvedev inspected the 21.5 meter Topol rocket before the launch.

The rocket is designed to pierce anti-missile defense systems such as those that the United States wants to build in Eastern Europe. The Kremlin has opposed Washington's plans.Medvedev's predecessor, Vladimir Putin, raised defense spending during his eight-year presidency to revive Russia's armed forces, which had been drained in the 1990s by corruption, low pay and a lack of funding.Russia's strategic bombers have restarted regular patrols over the Atlantic Ocean, irking NATO, and a group of the Northern Fleet ships is on its way to the Caribbean to take part in joint exercises with U.S. foe Venezuela.Two Russian warships and their support vessels docked in Tripoli ahead of making the transatlantic trip. Russia on Saturday test-launched a strategic missile to the equatorial part of the Pacific Ocean for the first time.

NEW WEAPONS

The RS-12M Topol, called the SS-25 Sickle by NATO, has a maximum range of 10,000 km (6,125 miles).This missile and others which will be commissioned in the next few years are capable of effectively providing the nuclear deterrent and ensuring the security of Russia and its allies, Colonel-General Nikolai Solovtsov, Commander of Russia's Strategic Missile Forces, told Medvedev.The Topol, a highly mobile missile designed in Soviet times, is a key part of Russia's nuclear deterrent.But Russia has extended their use way past the 10-year guaranteed operational life set by the manufacturer and the launch on Sunday was aimed partly at testing how the rockets would fire after having their operational life extended so far.An extension of the operational life of the Topol rocket complexes ... will allow the systematic replacement of rockets being taken out of use with new generation rockets without any peak load on the military budget, Interfax news agency quoted Alexander Vovk, an adviser to the head of Russia's strategic forces, as saying. (Writing by Guy Faulconbridge, editing by Angus MacSwan)

Russian warships call in Libya: report Sat Oct 11, 1:31 PM ET

TRIPOLI (AFP) - Russian warships bound for Venezuela, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Veliky (Peter the Great), put in Saturday at the Libyan port of Tripoli for refuelling. Only one ship was able to enter the port, which is not deep enough to allow the other vessels to dock, an AFP correspondent at the scene said.

Two other warships of the Russian northern fleet could be seen in the distance, the correspondent reported.Earlier, Russian naval spokesman Igor Dygalo said the warships also included the anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Chabanenko and support vessels, Interfax news agency reported.The frigate Neustrashimiy (Intrepid), which left Russia two weeks ago bound for Somalia where it was to join in fighting piracy in the region, was also among the vessels that put into Tripoli on Saturday, Interfax said.Dygalo said the port call was scheduled to be completed on Monday.The ships would then resume manoeuvres at unspecified locations in the Mediterranean Sea before heading to Venezuela for joint naval exercises next month, he said.Russia and Venezuela announced their joint military exercises last month amid high tensions between Moscow and Washington and Russian irritation at the presence of US warships near Russian waters in the Black Sea.The planned Russian naval presence in what the United States has long regarded as its backyard would be unprecedented since the Cold War, but Washington has mocked the move as nothing more than symbolic muscle-flexing.Russia-US tensions spiked in August during the conflict in Georgia. Russia has repeatedly criticised the United States for using navy ships for what Washington has said was delivery of humanitarian aid to ally Georgia.The Russian-Venezuelan naval exercises were scheduled to take place near the end of November.

Russia insists breakaway regions represented at Georgia talks Sat Oct 11, 6:32 PM ET

MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia indicated Saturday it would only participate in international talks on Georgia if representatives from the breakaway regions at the centre of the August hostilities were allowed to attend. The talks on security in the region will not have any results without the full participation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Russian news agencies.As for Russia, we will take part in meetings where these republics are represented as equals with all the rest, he said.Talks on the Georgia conflict are to be held in Geneva on Wednesday under the auspices of the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.According to a diplomat in Brussels close to the issue, the representatives from South Ossetia and Abkazia would participate in talks at the level of two working groups, but not at the plenary sessions.Russia recognised the two separatist regions as independent states following a five-day war in August with Georgia. The Russian army entered South Ossetia after Georgian troops tried to regain control of the region from Moscow-backed separatists.Following a ceasefire brokered by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on behalf of the European Union, Russia has been withdrawing its forces from Georgia proper but not from the rebel regions where 7,600 troops are to remain.

Lavrov told Russian news agencies Saturday that Russian troops did not have to withdraw from the disputed district of Akhalgori, as the Georgians claim.Akhalgori, northwest of the Georgian capital Tbilisi, was part of South Ossetia during the Soviet era but was under Georgian control up until the August conflict with Russia.

French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Friday the status of the disputed region would form part of next week's discussions in Geneva.