2 UP DAYS - WHATS UP TODAY

EARTHQUAKES

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

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

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

Siberian quake triggers false US seismic reports Mon Nov 24, 3:22 pm ET

PASADENA, Calif. – A powerful undersea earthquake off Russia's eastern coast on Monday caused automated monitoring systems to falsely indicate small temblors in Idaho and California, scientists reported.The real quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.3 and struck the Sea of Okhotsk 195 miles west of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, on Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered at a depth of about 300 miles.That jolt caused computerized seismic stations in the western United States to send out false quake reports including a magnitude-4.8 quake in southeastern Idaho, a magnitude-3.8 in central California and a magnitude-3.4 at the Southern California mountain resort town of Big Bear.The initial automated reports were accompanied by a standard caution saying they had not yet been reviewed by seismologists.The false reports were deleted after seismologists reviewed the computer records, said geophysicist Julie Martinez of the USGS National Earthquake Information Center in Golden, Colo.The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii said no Pacific-wide tsunami was expected.A distant earthquake that is both large and deep can sometimes confuse faraway seismic stations, said Kate Hutton, a seismologist at the California Institute of Technology. A scientist is always on call to verify a computer-generated report, she said.We know it's a problem, Hutton said.On the Net:USGS quakes: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/Pacific Tsunami Warning: http://www.prh.noaa.gov/pr/ptwc/

Powerful quake strikes Russia's far east Mon Nov 24, 5:19 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – A powerful 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck early Monday an area in the Sea of Okhotsk in Russia's far east, according to the US Geological Survey.
The USGS said the epicenter of the temblor -- which occurred at 8:02 pm (0902 GMT)was located 314 kilometers (195 miles) west of the Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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

Brazil floods kill at least 59, uproot thousands By Stuart Grudgings Stuart Grudgings – Mon Nov 24, 6:26 pm ET

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) – Rescue workers rushed to help stricken residents in southern Brazil on Monday after landslides and floods caused by heavy rain killed at least 59 people and forced more than 43,000 from their homes.The state of Santa Catarina declared an emergency as rescuers used helicopters and motorboats to reach those displaced or stranded by the floods after days of torrential rain.Santa Catarina is facing its worst weather tragedy, state Gov. Luis Henrique Silveira told reporters.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called Silveira and told him the federal government stood ready to provide medicine and other supplies, the state said on its Web site.The state government said the floods and mudslides had affected 1.5 million people, leaving about 150,000 people without electricity and eight towns out of the 60 affected completely cut off by flood waters and landslides.The death toll was likely to rise as several people were missing, state officials said.The floods also shut down a branch of a pipeline carrying natural gas from Bolivia to Brazil, cutting off supplies to Santa Catarina and neighboring Rio Grande do Sul state, the company that operates the line said.Brazilian newspapers showed photographs of streets submerged by the waist-high flood waters in the state, which is one of Brazil's wealthiest and known for its large number of descendants of German and Italian immigrants.

Transport in the state was paralyzed as roads were cut off by the flooding and landslides. Television footage showed hillsides breaking away and sliding into rivers of mud. A lane of one main road collapsed after its earth foundations crumbled.Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper said at least one town was rationing water because of purification problems.Thirteen people died after being buried by landslides in the town of Blumenau, where officials declared a state of emergency late on Sunday and warned that more mudslides were possible. Eight died in Gaspar town and six more died in the town of Jaragua do Sul.The big challenge on Monday will be supplying the shelters with medicines and food, Blumenau Mayor Joao Paulo Kleinubing said, according to the Civil Defense Agency's Web site.The first deaths were reported on Saturday after two days of heavy downpours and weeks of steady rain. Forecasters said the rain was expected to ease in the coming days.The South American country is in spring season when rains in the southern part of the country are at their heaviest, ending months of usually dry winter weather.(Additional reporting by Pedro Fonseca and Peter Murphy; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Snowstorm Disrupts Travel in Finland, Sweden, Russia (Update3)
By Juho Erkheikki and Niklas Magnusson

Nov. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Residents in Sweden, Finland and Russia were left stranded and without power for a second day as the year’s first winter storm pummeled northern Europe. Flights were delayed in Helsinki and Stockholm as northern winds forced airports to shut runways. Snow blanketed the region and the wind blew what had accumulated since the storm hit yesterday. Thousands were without power. The storm buried the region with up to 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of snow, catching locals unprepared after last winter, the mildest on record. The bare ground then forced Helsinki and Stockholm residents to cancel outdoor activities such as skiing and sledding. This comes as a real surprise, said Tomas Lindberg, 36, as he dug out his car in Helsinki and tried to get to work. I had to fetch my snow shovel from the attic.Flights at Helsinki-Vantaa airport may return to normal in the afternoon after most were delayed this morning and yesterday, and almost 30 were canceled, Annika Kola, spokeswoman at airport operator Finavia, said. All three runways were now open, she said. Two were closed yesterday. At Stockholm’s Arlanda airport, only one of the three runways was open, resulting in delays of as much as two hours, Karin Magnusson, spokeswoman for airport operator LFV, said. Snow is normally not a problem for us but snow in combination with strong side winds makes it difficult, Magnusson said. We aim to open the second runway as soon as the wind turns.

More Snow to Come

The storm left 2,000 Russian towns and villages with 250,000 residents without electricity, Interfax news service reported. In Moscow, seven people were injured last night, including a 26- year-old woman currently in critical condition, who was hit by a tree, state television Vesti-24 reported. In St. Petersburg, a driver was killed after a tree fell on his car. Relief was not yet in sight for the region’s residents. An additional 20 centimeters was expected today along parts of Finland’s south coast, after 30 centimeters had already fallen, causing traffic disruptions, the country’s Meteorological Institute said. More than 10 centimeters of snow was on the ground in parts of Sweden with more on the way, Swedish weather forecaster SMHI said. Long-haul and commuter trains in the Helsinki region were delayed by up to one hour, Finnish broadcaster YLE said. Some Helsinki tram lines were rerouted. About 2,000 homes were still without power this morning in the country, down from as many as 25,000 homes yesterday, YLE said.

Power Outages

More than 3,900 people in Stockholm and northern Sweden were without power, Vattenfall AB, the Nordic region’s largest utility, said on its Web site. Some of Fortum Oyj’s and E.ON AG’s Swedish customers were also without electricity. Bus services were canceled in the Roslagen region north of Stockholm and drivers were advised not to use their cars, after some drivers got stuck on snowy roads, Svenska Dagbladet reported. Hurricane-strength gusts were reported north of the Swedish capital. Residents who did not need to hurry off to the office this morning were enjoying the return of wintry weather following last year’s unseasonable warm temperatures. This is actually quite fun, said Mika Jaeaeskelaeinen, 38, as he uncovered his car this morning in Helsinki. Thankfully, I’m working from home this morning, so I can wear boots. I only have meetings with clients in the afternoon.To contact the reporters on this story: Juho Erkheikki in Helsinki at jerkheikki@bloomberg.net; Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net

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 TUE NOV 25,2008

09:30 AM +59.89
10:00 AM +71.28
10:30 AM +116.20
11:00 AM -4.38
11:30 AM +8.12
12:00 PM +16.56
12:30 PM -51.85
01:00 PM -120.03
01:30 PM -50.26
02:00 PM -57.76
02:30 PM -108.25
03:00 PM +7.64
03:30 PM +5.89
04:00 PM +36.08 +8479.47

S&P 500 857.39 +5.58

NASDAQ 1464.73 -7.29

GOLD 821.0 +1.51

OIL 50.84 -3.66

TSE 300 8442.86 +1.99

CDNX 719.96 -2.83

S&P/TSX/60 512.79 +0.87

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow +107 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +142 at high today so far.
Dow at +55 at low today so far.
Q3 GDP revised to -0.5% from -0.3%
Dow has not had a 3 day upside since AUG 26-28,2008.
S&P has not had a 3 day upside since SEP 10-12,2008.
Paulson:Twice in a century situation.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow at low today -154 points.
Dow at high +164 points.
IS THE WORST OVER?
BULLS SAY:
-Buying Mortgages/ABS a new tact.
-Obama Stimulus,Tax cuts coming.
BEARS SAY:
-Will lul traders into complacency.
-Test of lows will come again.
-Dollar crushed as FED prints money.
ISSUES:
-Whats the price to buy distressed Assets?
-Weres the money coming from?

FEDS NEW PROGRAMS
TALP - Term Asset-backed Securities loan facility.
-Loans up to $200 BILLION to holders of securitized student,Auto and Credit Card loans.
-Also covers loans guarenteed by Small Business administation.
-Treasury to provide $20 BILLION of credit protection to FED.
-Fed will buy $500 BILLION in GSE MBS through direct purchases via Asset Managers.
-Fed to purchase $100 BILLION of GSE direct obligations through auctions.

European Commission to call on member states to launch coordinated Economic Stimulus,Further details tomorrow.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow +164 points at high today.
Dow -154 points at low today.
Dow up 0.4% today.
Dow gains 12.3% last 3 days.
S&P up 0.7% today.
S&P up 14% last 3 days.
Nasdaq down -0.5% today.
Nasdaq up 11.3% last 3 days.
CISCO WILL CLOSE U.S AND CANADIAN OFFICES FROM DEC 29-JAN 2,2009
Oil erases almost all of yesterdays gains.
Stocks gain,then lose,then gain at end today.

FDIC Q3 2008 BANK EARNINGS
-Q3 earnings:$1.78 BILLION -94%.
-Security sales:$7.6 BILLION loss.
-Q3 bankfailures: 9 (INCLUDING WAMU).
-Problem Bank list:171 (ASSETS $115.6 BILLION)

MARKETS AT CLOSE:
-1st 3 day win streak since september.
-Commodities,Financials lead.
-Techs lag.
TREASURY MBS PROGRAM:
-Helps builders.
-Brings down Mortgage rates.
-30-year Mortgage rates:5.5% today,down from 6.0%.

BLAST FROM THE PAST (US GOV INVOLMENT IN BANKING)
THE 2ND BANK OF THE US (WSJ)
-Chartered in 1816 to halt inflation and a currency crisis.
-Attacked by President Andrew Jackson.
-Disbanded by 1841.
-Created in 1791 by Alexander Hamilton.
-To consolidate the country's war debts and standardize its currency.

READY TO RALLY (STOCKTON'S PREDICTIONS)
-Expect a Santa clause rally next month.
-Small caps will start to out perform in MID-DEC.
WSJ:FDA found a few infant formula samples with trace levels of melamine in them.

PREDICTIONS

JEROME CORSI - VIDEOS
http://video.google.ca/videosearch?hl=en&q=jerome+corsi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=X&oi=video_result_group&resnum=4&ct=title#
JEROME CORSI
-If stock market hits 6000 POINTS,$5 TRILLION dollars will be lost.
-Obama Supported Odinga in Kenya to promote Sharia Islamic Law.
-5 regional currencies possibly,then elites force world currency on us.
-Major Terrorism in Mideast,Samolia to play major role.
-Obama to implement Patriot act 2 change act 1.

CELANTE PREDICTS REVOLUTION
http://www.911truth.org/article.php?story=20081113133837501
TREND RESEARCH http://www.trendsresearch.com/gerald.html
GERALD CELANTE
-February break down in Banking,Banking Holidays.
-Gold in $2000 Range,Deflation increasing.
-Gold confiscated by Government,Gold to skyrocket to $6,000 possibly.
-Martial law imposed to control Riots,violence.

Stock markets relatively flat on mixed bag of news, U.S. government aid
By David Friend, The Canadian Press NOV 25,08

TORONTO - A mixture of both positive and negative news left North American markets relatively flat at close as investors faced the latest U.S. government aid plan. Toronto's S&P/TSX composite index lost 10.42 points in preliminary results to 8,430.45 and the Canadian dollar rose 0.63 of a cent to close at 81.63 cents US. The December crude oil contract fell seven per cent to US$50.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wall Street, investors reacted to an announcement that the Federal Reserve will purchase up to US$100 billion in direct mortgage obligations and another $500 billion in mortgage-backed securities. But, a flood of U.S. economic data that appeared to confirm worsening conditions kept investors from gaining too much optimism. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 36.47 points to 8,479.86. The Nasdaq composite was down 7.29 points at 1,464.73 and the S&P 500 moved up 5.59 to 857.40.

Canada's economy entering deep recession: OECD
Tue Nov 25, 5:45 AM

OTTAWA (Reuters) - The Bank of Canada has more room to slash interest rates, the OECD said in a report on Tuesday, forecasting Canada's economy will shrink for three straight quarters as the global crisis bites into domestic spending.The economy is now in a recession, said the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which predicted gross domestic product would shrink 1.6 percent in the fourth quarter, 1.4 percent in the first quarter of 2009 and 0.3 percent in the second quarter, before returning to growth.The economy will contract 0.5 percent in 2009, it estimated.Excess capacity and lower commodity prices are alleviating inflation pressures, allowing the Bank of Canada to boost its expansionary stance, it said.The central bank has cut its key overnight lending rate by 225 basis points since December 2007 and has suggested it will ease rates again on December 9.Domestic demand, until recently the motor of growth in Canada as exports sagged due to the global slowdown, slowed to 2.8 percent growth in the first half of this year. That is almost half the rate of the past few years.Indicators point to further weakening in the last half of 2008 as a recession takes hold, it said.As a result, there will be a net loss of jobs in 2009 and the unemployment rate will rise to 7 percent, the highest since February 2005. The OECD sees the jobless rate peaking at 7.5 percent in 2010.

The federal and provincial governments combined will likely post a deficit in 2009 and 2010, it said, but it called the shortfall a largely cyclical outcome that is not alarming and leaves room to absorb eventualities, but underlines the need to keep a lid on discretionary expenditure increases.The OECD predicts a deficit in the current account, amounting to 1.7 percent of GDP in 2009 and 1.4 percent in 2010.
(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Rob Wilson)

Brussels puts final touches on EU recovery toolbox A close up of a euro banknote - the 10-point plan is designed to steer Europe out of its economic downturn (Photo: wikipedia)RENATA GOLDIROVA Today NOV 25,08 @ 11:40 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - To jolt the economy back into shape, the European Commission is hammering out a recovery plan consisting of 10 initiatives, including tax cuts, swifter EU funding for infrastructure and incentives to boost green technologies in the construction and automobile sectors. EU governments will also get a green light to break tight budgetary discipline during next two years due to the extraordinary circumstances. The package is a work in progress and likely to see last-minute modifications before it is unveiled by the commission chief, Jose Manuel Barroso, on Wednesday (26 November). Among other outstanding issues, the EU's executive is yet to put a price tag on individual measures as well as the entire tool box, although Mr Barroso hinted last week that it would certainly not be below 1 percent of the EU's gross domestic product.The rough calculation would amount to €130 billion.
Speaking in Paris on Monday (24 November), the commission president added that the plan would mobilise all tools available - fiscal, structural and regulatory - both at European and national level.No member state can escape the crisis by implementing only national measures. Our economies are way too interdependent, he said, advocating co-ordination amongst EU governments.

Budgetary impulse

Apart from further reductions in interest rates, the commission is keen to swiftly boost demand and stabilise the economy through a co-ordinated budgetary stimulus package, which should be timely, targeted and temporary.In practice, it is floating a number of ideas - for example, extra public spending on low income households, lower taxes on labour linked to low-wage earners so that they become a more attractive labour force, or reduced value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services. Additionally, Brussels is set to make better use of its Globalisation Adjustment Fund and European Social Fund, two financial tools designed to give a helping hand in re-training and putting people back to work. Another set of measures centers around businesses so that they have better access to financing and face a lower administrative burden. The European Investment Bank is set to provide SMEs with €30 billion in loans over the next four years - a move that Brussels believes could help encourage additional investment from private sources.

Tax cuts

To alleviate pressure on national budgets, Brussels is set to step up investments in infrastructure by speeding up payments from cohesion funds.We are thinking of ways to frontload the funding available to member states, to bring it forward, EU regional development commissioner Danuta Hubner told the Financial Times on Sunday (23 November). Such a move would not only cushion the blow to the construction sector - which is slowing down sharply in most member states - but would also boost growth in general, the commission argues. Given the ongoing debate among EU governments, the big controversy centres around proposals in the taxation area.

Apart from the commission call to reduce value-added tax rates for labour-intensive services, Brussels is not shying away from proposing reduced VAT rates for green products and services. According to one EU diplomat, such moves would have significant implications on budgets, but only a minimum stimulative effect.The commission is also throwing its weight behind fiscal incentives, grants or subsidies aimed at supporting innovation in the construction and automobile industries toward green technologies.

Budgetary discipline

The commission draft recovery plan says that in implementing the above measures, member states may be obliged to break the 3 percent reference value in 2009 and 2010 because of the extraordinary circumstances.However, the paper continues that such excessive deficits will have to be corrected in time frames consistent with the recovery of the economy.According to a Reuters source, the commission chief is currently engaged in shuttle diplomacy between the various capitals to try and reach a consensus before Wednesday on the burden-sharing linked to the package.It is not just the big states whom he has to satisfy. The smaller and eastern states for example say they cannot afford to pay one percent of GDP. So it will not be as simple as just saying one percent of GDP, the source said, the new agency reports.

TSX powers higher on oils, financials Mon Nov 24, 6:08 PM
By Ka Yan Ng

TORONTO (Reuters) - The Toronto Stock Exchange's main index gained 3.5 percent on Monday, with resource issues supported by rising oil prices and the U.S. government's rescue plan for banking giant Citigroup lifting market sentiment, particularly in the financial group.The energy sector forged ahead 7.1 percent, supported by the oil price gain. Crude rose more than 8 percent as investors considered the prospect of a further OPEC supply cut and as stock markets rallied on the Citigroup news.The news filtering through the system that Citi has received some aid is a great relief to the entire banking community, said Michael Sprung, president at Sprung & Co. Investment Counsel. There was certainly severe fear of the effects of what would happen if Citi were to go down.Canadian Natural Resources gained 8.2 percent to C$45, while Petro-Canada rose 10 percent to C$24.75.But advances in the materials sector evaporated by the session's end as profit-taking ensued after gold prices hit a five-week high. The group was one of the main sources of early strength but ended modestly lower, down 0.54 percent.Goldcorp trimmed gains, ending up 1.6 percent to C$31.52. But shares of NovaGold plunged nearly 70 percent to 72 Canadian cents after it said it was facing a cash crunch and had suspended operations at its only producing mine.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 285.48 points, or 3.5 percent, at 8,440.87. Five sectors advanced, including the heavily weighted energy and financial groups. Information technology and utilities were among the decliners.The Toronto gains build on Friday's broad 5 percent rise, but some analysts were skeptical that the index could hang on to its gains given recent market patterns.I don't have the confidence that any uptick in the market is sustainable until the financial problems are cured, meaning that the banks are stabilized in the U.S., said Ian Nakamoto, director of research at MacDougall, MacDougall & MacTier.I feel that a lot of the longer-term money, for lack of a better word, is still on the sidelines.

FINANCIALS SEESAW

The Citigroup news helped ease overall investor concern that the global financial system would be in peril if the big U.S. bank collapsed, and reversed initial pressure on Toronto's banking sector brought on by an earnings warning from Royal Bank of Canada.I think people are now taking it in stride, said Sprung.In a way the market is becoming more immune to warnings in recognition that it takes times for bad loans to work their way through the system, he added.The financial group advanced 4.68 percent, as Royal Bank, the third Canadian bank to provide a warning in the past week, gained 6.91 percent to C$39.Other bank stocks followed suit. Bank of Montreal, which finished up 5.3 percent at C$34.12, is the first bank to report results on Tuesday.In the United States, Wall Street marked its best two-day run since the aftermath of the 1987 stock market crash, as the Citigroup news sparked a massive relief rally.The Dow Jones industrial average raced up 396.97 points, or 4.93percent, to 8,443.39. The Nasdaq composite index leaped 87.67 points, or 6.33 percent, to 1,472.02.(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; editing by Rob Wilson)

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Will U.S. push Israel to concede biblical heartland? Palestinians seek sanctions preventing Jewish construction in historic, holy cities November 23, 2008 6:32 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

West Bank, including cities of Nablus, Jericho, Hebron and Bethel

JAFFA, Israel – The Palestinian Authority has asked the U.S. to impose sanctions on Israel if the Jewish state continues building any new housing structures in the strategic and historic West Bank, a top PA source told WND. The source, who works from PA President Mahmoud Abbas' office, said the threat of sanctions would be part a series of Israeli-Palestinian understandings to be guaranteed by the U.S. that both sides are trying to reach before January. The understandings, the source said, would result in an eventual Israeli withdrawal from the vast majority of the West Bank, an area rich in biblical history and significance. Last week, informed Israeli and Palestinian sources told WND that despite media reports painting a dismal picture of negotiation prospects, Israel and the PA are still quietly working to conclude a major agreement before President Bush leaves office at the end of the year. Aside from a major West Bank withdrawal, the agreement would also grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem but would postpone talks on the future status of the capital city until new Israeli and U.S. governments are installed next year. A top source said the PA requested that as part of the understandings, the U.S. would threaten sanctions for any new Jewish construction in the West Bank. Israel recaptured the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. The territory, in which about 200,000 Jews live, is tied to Judaism throughout the Torah and is often referred to as the biblical heartland of Israel. The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at the West Bank city of Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He was later buried with the rest of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, except for Rachel, in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs. The West Bank's Hebron was site of the first Jewish capital.

The nearby West Bank town of Beit El – anciently called Bethel, meaning house of God – is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In that dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory. Earlier, God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham at Beit El. In Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested just north of Beit El in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt. The understandings both sides are trying to reach before January are part of an original plan initiated at last November's U.S.-sponsored Annapolis summit, which sought to create a Palestinian state, at least on paper, by January. The summit launched talks aimed at concluding a final status agreement on all core issues: borders, the status of Jerusalem and the future of so-called Palestinian refugees. But a final agreement has been hampered by several recent events here, most notably Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's decision to resign amid corruption charges, leading to general elections scheduled for February that will see a new prime minister elected. The candidate for office from Olmert's Kadima party, Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, is said to oppose reaching a deal on Jerusalem or refugees ahead of elections, fearing it will harm her prospects among center-right voters. Livni is Olmert's chief negotiator with the Palestinians. In spite of the upcoming elections and the Israeli government's subsequent political instability, teams of Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have been quietly meeting regularly the past few weeks in hope of concluding a series of understandings on key issues. Informed sources said any understandings reached will be backed up by Bush in an official letter. It is unclear how much weight such a letter will carry under a new U.S. administration. According to the sources, neither side expects to conclude any deal on the status of Jerusalem or Palestinian refugees before January, putting aside those issues for future talks. Instead, negotiations are focused on reaching an agreement emphasizing borders, particularly a pledged Israeli evacuation of the vast majority of the strategic West Bank, which borders central Israeli population centers. A Palestinian source told WND the U.S. is said to favor Israel withdrawing from nearly the entire West Bank. The source said the U.S. consulate in Jerusalem has been closely monitoring Israeli activities in the territory, which the source said has led to the Jewish state clamping down on what are termed illegal outposts, or Jewish structures built in the West Bank without government permission. Israel has recently announced a series of small West Bank evacuations, including the threatened forced removal of Jews who legally purchased a house in the ancient city of Hebron. Also being heavily negotiated is an agreement that would allow the PA to officially open institutions in Jerusalem. WND previously reported the PA already has been quietly operating in Jerusalem, apparently with tacit approval from the Israeli government. But the expected agreement to be concluded before January would give the PA official operational status in the city, likely leading to the opening of scores of Palestinian institutions there. According to Israeli law, the PA cannot officially hold court in Jerusalem. The PA previously maintained a de facto headquarters in Jerusalem, called Orient House, but the building was closed down by Israel in 2001 following a series of suicide bombings in Jerusalem. Israel said it had information indicating the House was used to plan and fund terrorism. Thousands of documents and copies of bank certificates and checks captured by Israel from Orient House – including many documents obtained by WND – showed the offices were used to finance terrorism, including direct payments to the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group.

In parallel with an understanding on the West Bank and Jerusalem institutions, the PA is pushing for a massive prisoner release to be pledged before January. A senior Palestinian negotiator told WND the PA requested that all Palestinian prisoners – meaning even convicted terrorists responsible for murdering Israelis as well as members of the rival Hamas terror group – be freed as part of the deal. While the negotiator conceded such a massive release is unlikely, he said the PA's hope is that Israel will grant a large release, possibly including the freedom of convicted murderer Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is a founder of Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades terror group, the most active Palestinian terror organization. He has boasted of planning the intifada, or Palestinian terror war, launched in September 2000, after then-PA President Yasser Arafat turned down an Israeli offer of a Palestinian state and instead attempted to liberate Palestine by force. Barghouti is serving five life sentences for his direct role in murdering Israelis. Other understandings that Israel and the PA are attempting to reach before January surround water and natural resources. While it wasn't clear whether any understanding would actually be reached, the timing apparently favors all involved leaders. With Bush set to depart office in January, sealing a deal between Israel and the Palestinians would bode well for his legacy, which some analysts say is hampered by what is described as an unpopular war in Iraq, an economic meltdown and a growing crisis with Russia. Olmert is Israel's most unpopular prime minister. Tainted by corruption charges and a heavily mismanaged war in Lebanon in 2006, Olmert would also like to depart office with a deal in hand. There is also some concern in Jerusalem that President-elect Barack Obama may push Israel into further concessions during future negotiations, so some argue a deal on key issues while Bush is in office may be in Israel's interests. Further, PA President Mahmoud Abbas' term in office expires Jan. 10. His future leadership is sure to be contested by Hamas and by some in Fatah's young guard who want him to be replaced by Barghouti. Abbas' ability to tout an agreement in which Israel is compelled to retreat from the West Bank and release Palestinian prisoners could help his fading street popularity.

Abbas is also said to be greatly concerned by the prospects of February's Israeli elections resulting in opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu coming to power. Netanyahu has announced repeatedly, including as recently as last week, he would suspend negotiations with the PA.

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.

Polish President Blames Russia For Georgia Shooting NOV 24,08

WARSAW (AFP)--Polish President Lech Kaczynski on Monday blamed Russia for firing on a convoy carrying him and his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili, despite Moscow's denials.There is reason to believe that the Russians did the shooting, Kaczynski told reporters after returning from his visit to Georgia.I knew in advance that there was a Russian post there, one which shouldn't have been there under the terms of August's ceasefire between Moscow and Tbilisi, Kaczynski said.I wanted to check on site, and three or four Kalashnikov volleys were fired off - though I'm not saying they were fired in my direction, he said.The Russians, of course, are talking about a set-up by the Georgians, he added.Moscow and Tbilisi have traded accusations over the incident near the convoy carrying Saakashvili and his staunch ally Kaczynski Sunday, as Georgia marked the fifth anniversary of its pro-Western Rose Revolution.Georgia accused Russian troops near the breakaway region of South Ossetia of opening fire as the convoy carrying the two leaders drove by - a claim Russia denied. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=XArlKZdU3IpnWbzCSPbKCA%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day. (END) Dow Jones Newswires.

Russian warships approach Venezuela under US gaze by Sophie Nicholson – Mon Nov 24, 7:39 pm ET

CARACAS, Venezuela (AFP) – Russian warships approached Venezuela Monday for upcoming joint maneuvers -- Moscow's first military presence in the region since the Cold War -- as Washington closely monitored the situation.Venezuelan defense officials said the ships, including the nuclear-powered cruiser Peter the Great and destroyer Admiral Chabankenko, would arrive on Tuesday.The joint exercises were to coincide with a two-day visit by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to Venezuela, the strongest US critic in the region.Medvedev was due to arrive Wednesday and meet fiercely anti-liberal President Hugo Chavez on Thursday, before heading to communist Cuba.Analysts see Medvedev as bringing a defiant message to Washington's doorstep, in the wake of Russian outrage at US plans to install a strategic missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic, and support for the brief Georgia war in August.

The maneuvers will start on Wednesday in port and take place at sea on December 1, Venezuelan Operations Command chief General Jesus Gonzalez told journalists.It's a natural exercise that we've carried out with various countries, and many others carry out, the general added.A Russian naval spokesman said in Moscow that the exercises would include operation planning, helping ships in distress and supplying ships on the move.If the Venezuelans and the Russians want to have, you know, a military exercise, that's fine, but we'll obviously be watching it very closely, US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Monday.I don't think there's any question about who ... the region looks to in terms of political, economic, diplomatic and as well as military power,McCormack added.The US has expressed concern, however, about Russian arms supplies to the oil-rich OPEC country.The two countries have signed 4.4 billion dollars in bilateral arms deals signed since 2005, including radars, 24 Sukhoi-30 planes, 50 helicopters and 100,000 Kalashnikovs.

Medvedev was expected to expand arms deals during his visit, as well as economic and energy ties, including plans for a joint civilian nuclear reactor.Russia is a friend which held out a hand to us, Gonzalez told AFP in a recent interview.We want to be very strong, but in a highly dissuasive direction. So that any country in the world thinks not once but 10 times before coming here.In September, two Tu-160 Russian strategic bombers carried out training for several days in Venezuela.The Russian warships were due to sail into La Guaira, near Caracas, and Puerto Cabello in northern Carabobo state.The fleet includes five aircraft and several small ships, and Venezuela will provide eight aircraft and 11 ships, Gonzalez said Monday, adding that 1,150 Russian forces and 600 Venezuelans would take part in the exercises.

Nations frequently exercise with each other. Russia is free to exercise peacefully with anyone that they want to exercise with, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Monday.But also people note through these exercises the company that nations keep.