AUTO BAILOUT DIES IN SENATE

Israelis and Palestinians reach secret peace deal, says Blair
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/default.aspx?tabid=178&nid=17731

International Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair told the largest Palestinian newspaper this week that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud Abbas have reached a unsigned secret peace agreement.Blair was quoted by the Jerusalem-based daily Al Quds as saying that continuous meetings between Abbas and Olmert...have produced an agreement, though he said he would abide by an decision by both leaders to keep the details of the agreement secret for the time being.The agreement remains unsigned because Israeli law forbids Olmert to make significant policy changes or decisions while he is head of a transition government.

However, anything Olmert and Abbas agreed to will be expected by the international community to form the basis for peace negotiations going forward, regardless of who wins Israel's upcoming general election.

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

MANIPULATION THROUGHT THE MEDIA AND NEW WORLD ORDER ELITES WILL MAKE A MICRO-CHIP IMPLANT SEEM COOL AND UNAVASIVE.WE ARE BEING DECIEVED!!!!

IN AUSTRALIA IT IS ALREADY MANDATORY TO MICROCHIP THEIR DOGS.

Microchip cancer report.
http://www.antichips.com/
http://www.antichips.com/cancer/index.html
http://www.antichips.com/press-releases/verichip-faq-report.html

People can't wait for ID cards NOV 7,08 BBC

Jacqui Smith is phasing in the introduction of the new ID card
Jacqui Smith says public demand means people will be able to pre-register for an ID card within the next few months. The cards will be available for all from 2012 but she said: I regularly have people coming up to me and saying they don't want to wait that long.The home secretary made the claim as she unveiled revised ID scheme plans.

Opposition parties say they would scrap the ID card scheme. The Tories call it a complete waste of money. The Lib Dems call it a laminated poll tax. They accused Ms Smith of backtracking on plans to issue ID cards in 2009 for all airside workers, by announcing they would pilot them at just two airports. The first biometric cards are being issued to students from outside the EU and marriage visa holders this month, and it had been planned to make them compulsory for all 200,000 airside workers from 2009.

Saving face

But instead the government announced there would be an 18-month trial, for airside workers at Manchester and London City airports only, from late next year. Campaigners No2ID said it was a transparent attempt to save ministerial face amid opposition from unions and airline bosses, who say it is unjustified and would not improve security. Unions had argued airside workers were already extensively vetted and believe they would have to pay £30 for a card - although it is understood they would be free during the trial period. I believe there is a demand, now, for cards - and as I go round the country I regularly have people coming up to me and saying they don't want to wait that long Jacqui Smith Home Secretary

Shadow home secretary Dominic Grieve described the decision to trial ID cards at just two airports as clearly a climbdown and just a gimmick aimed at selling the scheme to the public. But a Home Office spokesman said they had always said that ID cards for critical workers would be starting in the second half of 2009 and we are on track to meet this commitment. He added ID cards would definitely be issued to the remaining airside workers in due course, before being rolled out to the wider population.

Supermarket enrolment

In a speech to the Social Market Foundation Ms Smith said cards would be issued on a voluntary basis to young people from 2010 and for everyone else from 2012. She must be ignoring twice the number of people who are coming up to her and saying I don't want my details on any database whatsoever Phil Booth NO2ID.She added: But I believe there is a demand, now, for cards - and as I go round the country I regularly have people coming up to me and saying they don't want to wait that long. I now want to put that to the test and find a way to allow those people who want a card sooner to be able to pre-register their interest as early as the first few months of next year.
Biometric cards are being issued to some foreign nationals from this month She told the BBC: We'll see where that interest is, and then we'll see if we can issue some cards to those who've expressed an interest by the end of next year.People applying for cards and passports from 2012 will have to provide fingerprints, photographs and a signature, which Ms Smith believes will create a market worth about £200m a year.

And in changes to earlier plans the Home Office is talking to retailers and the Post Office about setting up booths to gather biometric data.

Trusted environment

The government believes it would be more convenient for people and cheaper than setting up its previously planned enrolment centres in large population centres. In her speech Ms Smith rejected claims handing enrolment over to private firms would compromise security. Provided that it is conducted in a secure and trusted environment, by service providers accredited and verified by the IPS and to high and rigorously enforced standards, enrolment should be able to happen at the convenience of the customer - on the high street, at the nearest post office, or at the local shopping centre.The overall cost of the ID card scheme over the next 10 years has risen by £50m to £5.1bn in the past six months, according to the government's latest cost report. Phil Booth, national coordinator of the NO2ID campaign, said Jacqui Smith's claim that people were saying they wanted an ID card beggared belief and would come back to haunt her. She must be ignoring twice the number of people who are coming up to her and saying I don't want my details on any database whatsoever, said Mr Booth. He said the government would struggle to find private firms willing to bid for the ID card contract. What company is going embarrass itself to the tune of millions for a contract that everyone outside the Home Office itself knows will be cancelled by a new administration? he said. For the Conservatives Mr Grieve said his party would axe the whole scheme because it was a complete waste of money and had asked for break clauses to be inserted into government contracts so it could be ended without massive cost and waste to the public purse. The government's plan to involve retailers in enrolling people was worrying given the government's IT track record, he added. Lib Dem home affairs spokesman Chris Huhne said: Ministers are choosing a limited number of guinea pigs at two smaller airports because they are aware of how unpopular ID cards are. The government is too scared to force ID cards on voters before an election because they know it would be a laminated poll tax. The problem is not the ease with which we can give up sensitive personal data, but the ease with which the Home Office loses it. The Government cannot be trusted to keep personal information safe.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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

Storm cuts power to more than 1 million customers By DAVID TIRRELL-WYSOCKI, Associated Press Writer DEC 12,08

CONCORD, N.H. – An ice storm to compare with some of the Northeast's worst made a mess of the region Friday, leaving 1.25 million homes and businesses in seven states without power as it forced schools to close and toppled ice-laden trees and power lines onto slippery roads.Most of the outages were in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine and New York, and it was expected to take several days to completely restore electricity. The storm wreaked havoc from Maine to Pennsylvania, leaving a sparkling, ice-covered landscape that was too destructive for many to find beautiful.

This is pathetic, said Bob Cott of Portland, Maine, who lost power for the first time in 10 years. I'm already sick of winter and we have nine days to go before it officially begins.At least one death was related to the storm: New Hampshire officials said a 49-year-old Danville man who lived in a camper died of carbon monoxide poisoning after turning on his generator when his power went out Thursday night.For New Hampshire, the power outages dwarfed those during the infamous Ice Storm of '98, when some residents spent more than a week in the dark.In Hampstead, N.H., Mark Cegelis, 36, said things were hectic at his neighborhood gas station, which was jammed with people trying to get gas for home generators.It's kind of lawless out there right now, he said. There's a lot of people very frustrated stacking up at the gas stations. It's pretty ugly.He bought 21 gallons for himself and tried to deliver some to friends in Derry but couldn't get there because downed trees blocked roads. So the two friends came to him instead, and were expected to hunker down with Cegelis' family, his parents and another friend until power was restored.

So nine people here. But you know what? We've got the juice, and we're willing to let these folks come in. I'm sure they'd do the same thing for us, he said. It's treacherous out there.Nearly two dozen shelters were set up across the southern part of the state, and authorities were working to get generators to several nursing homes. About 20 people, mostly elderly, had settled in at a shelter at Portsmouth High School by early afternoon, though officials expected more families with young children by evening.The big worry is really about seniors when temperatures drop in a few hours, New Hampshire Gov. John Lynch said Friday afternoon.Both Lynch and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick declared states of emergency Friday morning and called up members of the National Guard. Five hundred Massachusetts Guard members were cleaning up debris and clearing access to downed power lines. Lynch put 150 on alert and deployed 20.All of the resources at our disposal have been made available to try to get the roads clear and power restored, said Patrick, adding that it would be ambitious to think power would be restored by Monday to the 350,000 homes and businesses in his state left in the dark.This is not going to be a couple of hours, Patrick said. It's likely to be several days.Utilities reported more than 400,000 homes and businesses without power in New Hampshire, including 320,000 served by the state's largest utility, Public Service Company of New Hampshire. By contrast, the 1998 storm left 55,000 Public Service customers without power.This is the absolute, most significant power restoration effort we've ever had. There has not been a storm before that has affected more customers, Public Service spokesman Martin Murray said.

Public Service officials said they do not know yet how long it will take to restore all power, but suggested repairs for at least some homes and businesses will go into next week. They have lined up 300 crews from as far away as Maryland and Ohio to be in the state by Sunday, are looking for more, and hope to be able to give a better estimate of restoration late Sunday.Crews from Canada and South Carolina were headed to Maine, where Gov. John Baldacci declared a limited emergency allowing utility crews to work longer hours. Central Maine Power Co. said more than 215,000 customers in the dark as of late Friday morning, mostly in southern and coastal areas. Bangor Hydro Electric Co. reported more than 12,000 outages. Two people were taken to Maine Medical Center after being overcome by fumes from a portable generator in their basement. Their names and conditions were not immediately available. In eastern New York, particularly around Albany, the state capital, outages at National Grid and other utilities brought the statewide total to more than 255,000. Trees were down on all the roads, said Miguel Figueroa, 28, as he waited for coffee at a Starbucks in Colonie, N.Y. ... I couldn't even get on the Thruway today.In Vermont, at least three shelters were being set up in southern Vermont for the more than 30,000 customers who were without power Friday afternoon. It could be days before some homes and businesses get their lights back on, officials said. The ice storm extended to Pennsylvania, where about 4,700 customers, most of them in the Poconos, lost power, and Connecticut, where some 17,000 customers were without electricity at the height of the storm. Those states mostly got heavy rain or rain changing to snow. Though blue skies appeared in some areas by Friday afternoon, temperatures were expected to fall below freezing again, with single digits forecast for Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire Saturday night. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Concord, N.H.; Beth LaMontagne Hall in Portsmouth, N.H.; Mark Pratt in Boston; Clarke Canfield in Portland, Maine; John Curran and Lisa Rathke in Montpelier, Vt.; and Mike Hill and Jessica M. Pasko in Albany, N.Y., contributed to this report.

Heavy rains pound Italy, Rome declares emergency DEC 12,08
By ALESSANDRA RIZZO, Associated Press Writer

ROME – Rome declared a state of emergency as the swollen Tiber river threatened to flood Friday and the death toll from the heavy rains battering much of Italy rose to four.The Civil Protection Department said the Tiber had risen about 16 feet (5 meters) in the past two days and warned it might burst its banks.Officials evacuated Gypsy camps along the Tiber's banks and boats broke loose from their moorings in the surging water. The smaller Aniene river, which flows into the Tiber, already overflowed, forcing officials to close down some streets in Rome and evacuate hundreds of people.It is as if there has been an earthquake, Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno told the daily La Repubblica.Tourists snapped pictures as the roiling Tiber surged underneath the city's bridges. Lumir, an Afghan hound, sported a blue raincoat Friday as his owner watched the Tiber rise in Rome.Italy has been hit by days of bad weather, and TV footage has shown entire neighborhoods flooded or submerged by mud.Downpours disrupted traffic Friday from Milan in the north to Palermo, Sicily, in the south, as trains were delayed and many streets were flooded or blocked by fallen trees. A few inches (centimeters) of water again covered Venice's lowest parts, including the landmark St. Mark's Square, while Alpine rescuers saved a group of boy scouts who had been trapped on Mount Etna.Four people were reported killed. Rescuers recovered the body of a man in southern Italy who was swept away in the heavy rains, while an elderly man died after his car was hit by a tree and another one was killed in a car crash in a rainstorm, police in the southern city of Reggio Calabria said.A woman was killed Thursday after her car was submerged in an underpass in Rome.

In Rome and Venice, two of the hardest-hit cities, union officials called off local transport strikes.Shows at the Auditorium, an exhibition and concert center in northern Rome designed by architect Renzo Piano, were canceled Friday night.On Thursday, more rain fell in Rome than the usual average for the entire month of December, city officials said.On Mount Etna, eight boy scouts were rescued Friday after being trapped by a snowstorm at a refuge on the mountain's north slope at an altitude of 1,700 meters (5,577 feet).In Venice, alarms sounded early in the morning as the high tide came in and parts of the city flooded. Still, the water was far less than the unusually high tide recorded in the lagoon city last week, when residents and tourists waded through knee-high water, shops were flooded and much of the city was brought to a halt.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

FAMINE

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: 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.

Drought means workers hungry in US produce capital DEC 12,08 By TRACIE CONE, Associated Press Writer

MENDOTA, Calif. – Idled farm workers are searching for food in the nation's most prolific agricultural region, where a double blow of drought and a court-ordered cutback of water supplies has caused hundreds of millions of dollars in losses.This bedraggled town is struggling with an unemployment rate that city officials say is 40percent and rising. This month, 600 farm families depleted the cupboards of the local food bank, which turned away families — more than 100 of them — for the first time.We're supposed to supply the world, said Mendota Mayor Robert Silva, and people are starving.The state's most dire water shortage in three decades is expected to erase more than 55,000 jobs across the fertile San Joaquin Valley by summer and drive up food prices across the nation, university economists predict.People being thrown out of work are the ones who can least afford it, said Richard Howitt, a professor of agriculture economics at the University of California-Davis, who estimates that $1.6 billion in agriculture-related wages across the valley will be lost in the coming months because of dwindling water.Already the wage losses have hit businesses that are the backbone of the small farm communities that sustain nearly a quarter of the nation's agriculture production.A lot of problems with this country's economy can't be fixed fast, said Alan Hansen, whose family-owned hardware store on the main drag is suffering a 25 percent decline in sales.But this can be fixed like that, he said, snapping his fingers. All they have to do is get the water here.

California's population has ballooned from 10 million to more than 36 million since water began flowing through the state's network of canals in middle of last century, delivering water from the wet north to the arid south.After years of discounting the environmental consequences, court orders seeking to protect threatened fish such as the Delta smelt have slowed the flows even as prolonged drought left some reservoirs at just 12 percent of capacity.This year federal water deliveries were 35 percent of the normal allocations, fallowing hundreds of thousands of acres and causing $260 million in crop losses statewide. The governor issued a disaster declaration for the region.Now farmers are relying on dwindling groundwater supplies and keeping their fingers crossed for 10 percent of their water allotments. Last week a coalition of farmers and urban water users filed a lawsuit claiming that state officials overstepped their authority by approving another round of potential cuts.The valley produces 80 percent of the world's almonds. But grower Shawn Coburn has held off spending $350,000 to fertilize his 1,000 acres this month because he fears he will not have enough water for a 2009 crop.If you like foreign oil, you're going to love foreign food, he scoffed.This month, the government could further restrict water deliveries during the drought — and that would mean crop loans would be harder to get.I think that's the next shoe to drop, said Sarah Woolf, spokeswoman for the Westlands Water District, which encompasses Mendota.Already the $40 million losses in Fresno County cotton production this fall permanently closed half a dozen gins. And roughly four square miles of lettuce fields went unplanted, resulting in $13 million in lost sales.Think of all of the tractor drivers, truck drivers and pickers that processing all of that lettuce would take, said Tom Nyberg, deputy county agricultural commissioner. Those jobs were lost, too.Two hundred more jobs vanished when the Spreckles Sugar plant east of Mendota closed this fall. A farmers co-op wanted to buy it but could not find water for their beets. The local hardware store lost $5,000 a month in sales to Spreckles and had to lay off one of its nine workers. Hansen, the store owner, said he understands there is an environmental balance to be struck and that the Delta smelt are a necessary link in the food chain. But if you follow that chain up, he said,eventually it leads to us.

Farmworkers, who make up the majority of Mendota's 9,600 population, are at the bottom of the employment ladder. Rosa Lopez misses her husband, who moved eight hours south to Brawley to pick lettuce. Luis Suarez, 12, tears up when he talks about his retriever Bambi, whom the family took to a Fresno shelter when they could not afford food or shots. Micaela Mendez and Maria Diaz have taken relatives into their cramped apartments so they can share expenses. At sunset Wednesday, a dozen residents of a trailer park prepared their Christmas nativity scene and prayed for rain. If we don't have faith, we've lost everything, said Otilia Suarez in Spanish. We thank God for the small amount of food that we do have, and we keep praying for a better tomorrow.

NOW THE TRUE OBAMA IS COMING OUT.

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL Obama to address Islamic world Plans major speech in Muslim capital to reboot America's image December 11, 2008 3:11 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

Jakarta mosque
JERUSALEM – President-elect Barak Obama declared in an interview he plans to deliver a major address in an Islamic capital as part of his global outreach, which he said would target the Muslim world. I think we've got a unique opportunity to reboot America's image around the world and also in the Muslim world in particular, Obama said in a free-ranging interview yesterday with the Chicago Tribune, promising an unrelenting desire to create a relationship of mutual respect and partnership in countries and with peoples of good will who want their citizens and ours to prosper together.The Tribune reported Obama spoke of a major address in an Islamic capital but did not provide specific details. The message I want to send is that we will be unyielding in stamping out the terrorist extremism we saw in Mumbai, Obama said.

In the interview, Obama went on to discuss his strategy for his first year in office as well as reflect on his role as the first African American to be elected president. Obama's comments come days after WND reported an Egyptian cleric broadcast on state-funded television a plea urging Obama to convert to Islam while claiming the president-elect has roots in Islam. You, Obama, are among those who have pledged before Allah – Allah who created you, sustained you, and brought you to this position – to be a Muslim who believes that Allah is the one God, especially since you have some kind of roots in Islam, declared Egyptian cleric Hassan Abu Al-Ashbal, speaking last week on the state-funded Al Nas religious television network.

Convert to Islam, and you will be saved. All glory and honor lie in following Allah and his messenger, Muhammad. Know that the true religion is the religion of Islam, and all other religions are fabricated religions, which are null and void – religions that were abrogated by the Shariah of Muhammad, Ashbal said.

Obama was quite religious in Islam

Obama repeatedly has denied he is a Muslim. His presidential campaign website contained the statement, Senator Obama has never been a Muslim, was not raised as a Muslim, and is a committed Christian.But as WND has reported, public records in Indonesia listed Obama as a Muslim during his early years, and a number of childhood friends claimed to the media Obama was once a mosque-attending Muslim. Obama's campaign several times had wavered in response to reporters queries regarding the senator's childhood faith. Commenting on a Los Angeles Times report quoting a childhood friend stating Obama prayed in a mosque. Obama's campaign released a statement explaining the senator has never been a practicing Muslim.Widely distributed reports have noted that in January 1968 Obama was registered as a Muslim at Jakarta's Roman Catholic Franciscus Assisi Primary School under the name Barry Soetoro. He was listed as an Indonesian citizen whose stepfather, listed on school documents as L Soetoro Ma, worked for the topography department of the Indonesian Army. Catholic schools in Indonesia routinely accept non-Catholic students but exempt them from studying religion. After attending the Assisi Primary School, Obama was enrolled also as a Muslim, according to documents in the Besuki Primary School, a public school in Jakarta. Laotze blog, run by an American expatriate in Southeast Asia who visited the Besuki school, noted: All Indonesian students are required to study religion at school, and a young Barry Soetoro, being a Muslim, would have been required to study Islam daily in school. He would have been taught to read and write Arabic, to recite his prayers properly, to read and recite from the Quran and to study the laws of Islam.Indeed, in Obama's autobiography, Dreams From My Father, he acknowledged studying the Quran and describes the public school as a Muslim school.

In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Quranic studies, wrote Obama. The Indonesian media have been flooded with accounts of Obama's childhood Islamic studies, some describing him as a religious Muslim. Speaking to the country's Kaltim Post, Tine Hahiyary, who was principal of Obama's school while he was enrolled there, said she recalls he studied the Quran in Arabic.
At that time, I was not Barry's teacher, but he is still in my memory claimed Tine, who is 80 years old. The Kaltim Post said Obama's teacher, named Hendri, had died.

I remember that he studied mengaji (recitation of the Quran), Tine said, according to an English translation by Loatze. Mengaji, or the act of reading the Quran with its correct Arabic punctuation, is usually taught to more religious pupils and is not known as a secular study. Also, Loatze documented the Indonesian daily Banjarmasin Post interviewed Rony Amir, an Obama classmate and Muslim, who described Obama as previously quite religious in Islam.We previously often asked him to the prayer room close to the house, Amir said. If he was wearing a sarong (waist fabric worn for religious or casual occasions) he looked funny.The Los Angeles Times, which sent a reporter to Jakarta, quoted Zulfin Adi, who identified himself as among Obama's closest childhood friends, stating the presidential candidate prayed in a mosque, something Obama's campaign claimed he never did. We prayed, but not really seriously, just following actions done by older people in the mosque, said Adi. But as kids, we loved to meet our friends and went to the mosque together and played.

Friday prayers

Obama's official campaign site contained a page titled Obama has never been a Muslim, and is a committed Christian. The page stated, Obama never prayed in a mosque. He has never been a Muslim, was not raised a Muslim, and is a committed Christian who attends the United Church of Christ.But the campaign changed its tune when it issued a practicing Muslim clarification to the Los Angeles Times. An article in March by the Chicago Tribune apparently disputed Adi's statements to the L.A. paper. The Tribune caught up with Obama's declared childhood friend, who now describes himself as only knowing Obama for a few months in 1970 when his family moved to the neighborhood. Adi said he was unsure about his recollections of Obama.

But the Tribune found Obama did attend mosque.

Interviews with dozens of former classmates, teachers, neighbors and friends show that Obama was not a regular practicing Muslim when he was in Indonesia, states the Tribune article. It quotes Obama's former neighbors and third-grade teacher recalling how the young Obama occasionally followed his stepfather to the mosque for Friday prayers.Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, notes the Tribune article cited by liberal blogs as refuting claims Obama is Muslim actually implies Obama was an irregularly practicing Muslim and twice confirms Obama attended mosque services. In an interview with the New York Times, Obama described the Muslim call to prayer as one of the prettiest sounds on Earth at sunset.The Times' Nicholos Kristof wrote Obama recited, with a first-class [Arabic] accent, the opening lines of the Muslim call to prayer.

The first few lines of the call to prayer state:

Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme!
Allah is Supreme! Allah is Supreme!
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that there is no god but Allah
I witness that Muhammad is his prophet ...
Some attention also has been paid to Obama's paternal side of the family, including his father and his brother, Roy. Writing in a chapter of his book describing his 1992 wedding, Obama stated: The person who made me proudest of all was Roy. Actually, now we call him Abongo, his Luo name, for two years ago he decided to reassert his African heritage. He converted to Islam and has sworn off pork and tobacco and alcohol.Still, Obama maintains he was raised by his Christian mother and repeatedly has labeled as smears several reports attempting to paint him as a Muslim. Let's make clear what the facts are: I am a Christian. I have been sworn in with a Bible. I pledge allegiance [to the American flag] and lead the Pledge of Allegiance sometimes in the United States Senate when I'm presiding, he told the Times of London earlier this year.

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

LAURIE ROTH SHOW 10PM-1AM MON-FRI
http://www.usaradio.com/listen_live_usa2.php

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 FRI DEC 12,2008

09:30 AM -4.06
10:00 AM -76.70
10:30 AM -111.99
11:00 AM -54.32
11:30 AM -91.04
12:00 PM -108.56
12:30 PM -59.02
01:00 PM +51.41
01:30 PM -27.16
02:00 PM -48.27
02:30 PM -81.40
03:00 PM +54.16
03:30 PM +25.72
04:00 PM +64.59 8629.68

S&P 500 879.73 +6.14

NASDAQ 1540.72 +32.84

GOLD 821.70 -4.90

OIL 46.63 +1.36

TSE 300 8515.45 +123.55

CDNX 718.54 +5.10

S&P/TSX/60 515.76 +8.03

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow -214 points at low today so far.
Dow -32 points at high so far.
Dow -214 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
WSJ:Honda cuts North American output by 114,000 additional units.
GM:Prepared to work closely with White House.

BERNARD L MADOFF
-Investment Securities,Former Nasdaq Chairman.
-Madoff Charged in $50 BILLION fraud at Investment Advisory firm.
-Sec seeking emergency relief for investors,including Asset freeze.
-Madoff told Employees Business was Giant PONZI SCHEME.

MADOFFS VICTIMS
UBP,Banco Santander(Optimal fund),Tremont,FSG,Nomura,Kingsgate,Frontbridge,Bank Syz,Lombard Odier,Ascot Fund Limited(Ezra Merkin),Sterling Stamos(Wilpon Family),Maxam Capital(Sandra Manzke),Loeb Family,Palm Beach Country Club.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow -214 points at low.
Dow -32 points at high.
Government could be as high as $10 TRILLION DOLLARS wasted since bailouts began.
Bush Administration pushes for Auto aid,change of mind.Government may take money out of TARP.
5 of last 15 sessions have been minus if minus today.
REPORT:Wachovia bonuses cut.

WHAT IS THE P.B.G.C
-Pension benefit guaranty Cooporation.
-Protects 44 MILLION workers.
-29,000 Pension Plans.
-$11 BILLION shortfall.
-Portfolio -6.5% yeart to date (YTD).
PBGC protects 1.2 MILLION Auto workers with Detroits big 3.
The PBGC steps in to take over failed Pension funds.
PBGC concerned it might have to cover billions in Pensions.
PBGC in stronger financial condition than it was last year.
The PBGC has about $11 BILLION more in liabilities than Assets.
PBGC deficit is down over $3 BILLION this year.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow -214 poits today.
Dow +64 points today.
Stocks erase early losses.
Dow closes 0.8% higher today after erasing 2.5% drop.
Dow slips 0.1% this week.
Nasdaq up 2.1% this week.
Nasdaq +1.9% today.
S&P ends up with gain of 0.7% today after erasing 2.6% drop.
S&P up +0.4% this week.
STOCKS HIGHER DESPITE SENATE REJECTION OF AUTO BAILOUT.

LA TIMES 8.5 TRILLION - NOV 30,08
http://www.latimes.com/news/la-fi-pricetag30-2008nov30,0,5435854.story?track=rss

White House promises new last-ditch auto rescue By DAVID ESPO, AP Special Correspondent DEC 12,08
F 3.04 +0.14
GM 3.94 -0.18
^GSPC 879.73 +6.14

Friday, Dec. 12, 2008. Festering animosity … WASHINGTON – With Congress gridlocked and the economy floundering, the Bush administration declared Friday it would step in and prevent the precipitous collapse of the U.S. auto industry and the disastrous national economic impact of the hundreds of thousands of job losses sure to follow.

The day after the sudden demise of emergency legislation in Congress, administration officials said no decisions had been made on the size or duration of the new rescue plan, or what type of concessions, if any, would be demanded from the struggling automakers, their workers, stockholders or others.In a reversal, the most likely option under consideration involved billions of dollars originally ticketed for the bailout of the financial industry. President George W. Bush had long declared that money off-limits to the beleaguered automakers.General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC have warned they are running out of cash and face bankruptcy without some form of assistance. Ford Motor Co., which is in somewhat better shape financially, has been seeking access to a line of credit.Urgent requests for White House intervention to save the automakers came from President-elect Barack Obama, Republican and Democratic members of Congress and outside groups.Under normal economic conditions we would prefer that markets determine the ultimate fate of private firms, White House press secretary Dana Perino said after the failure of a $14 billion bailout bill in Congress. The legislation died when Senate Republicans demanded upfront pay and benefit concessions from the United Auto Workers that union officials rejected.

Perino added, Given the current weakened state of the U.S. economy, we will consider other options if necessary including use of the TARP program to prevent a collapse of troubled automakers. A precipitous collapse of this industry would have a severe impact on our economy, and it would be irresponsible to further weaken and destabilize our economy at this time.TARP is the $700 billion Troubled Assets Recovery Program, the financial industry bailout plan enacted in October. All but $15 billion of the first $350 billion has been dedicated to troubled banks or insurance companies, and the Treasury Department is barred from dipping into the second $350 billion without a formal notification of Congress.No decision has been reached about such a notification, administration officials said. If one is made, Congress could then vote to prevent the action, but it would be unlikely to prevail in a showdown with the president.Obama, who will inherit the problem next month, even if bailout billions are handed over in the meantime, said, My hope is that the administration and the Congress will still find a way to give the industry the temporary assistance it needs while demanding the long-term restructuring that is absolutely required.In a letter to Bush, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged the president to demand the same tough accountability and taxpayer protections from the automakers as was contained in legislation that cleared the House at midweek.

Michigan Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, a conservative Republican from a state where Ford, GM and Chrysler are headquartered, said, With the legislative opportunities now exhausted, I urge the president of the United States to immediately release Wall Street TARP funds to the domestic automakers to avoid their impending bankruptcy and its consequent devastation of working families and the depression of our American economy.It was unclear what role was left to lawmakers after an extraordinary week in which prospects for industry relief seemed to change by the hour.A week ago, the government reported the loss of 533,000 jobs in November, the worst monthly showing in more than 30 years.In the days between then and now, the White House and congressional Democrats agreed on a $14 billion measure that would have extended short-term financing to the industry while establishing a powerful new car czar to make sure the money was used to turn the Big Three into competitive companies. That bill passed the House on Wednesday but immediately ran into opposition from Senate Republicans who said it did not go far enough.On Thursday, they demanded the United Auto Workers union agree to accept a lower pay and benefits package that would be in line with compensation earned by workers at U.S. factories producing cars for Japanese companies such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan. In an unprecedented series of negotiations, lawmakers met with representatives of industry and labor on the first floor of the Capitol in hopes of striking a deal — the effort that ultimately collapsed when the UAW balked at the terms demanded.At a news conference on Friday, UAW President Ron Gettelfinger accused GOP senators who blocked emergency loans of trying to pierce the heart of organized labor.Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., who played a leading role for Republicans, told reporters at the Capitol that the talks came close to success but failed when the UAW refused to commit to lowering its pay-and-benefits package in 2009 so it would be at parity with the Japanese companies. He also laid blame at the feet of the administration. I think it being known that the White House at the end of the day would probably blink probably helped keep us from a deal, he said. Whatever the reason, the effort stalled when Republicans voted en masse against advancing the original House bill to a final vote late Thursday night.
Associated Press writers Laurie Kellman in Washington and Tom Krisher and Kimberly S. Johnson in Detroit contributed to this story.

EU hails climate deal as example for the world By ROBERT WIELAARD and ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writers DEC 12,08

AFP BRUSSELS, Belgium – European nations on Friday dared the United States, Russia and China to follow their lead on global warming after agreeing on a plan to meet the so-called 20-20-20 targets: reducing greenhouse emissions by 20 percent and ensuring that 20 percent of energy comes from wind, sun and other renewable sources by 2020.But activists said the plan was fatally weakened by a raft of concessions to eastern Europe and heavy industry at a time of worldwide economic crisis.Stavros Dimas, the European environment commissioner, said the package put the 27-nation European Union on a path to a low-carbon economy.We are the only region in the world that is reducing emissions, Dimas said on the sidelines of a U.N. climate conference in Poznan, Poland, calling the bloc an example that others should follow.

Environmentalists said the concessions made the plan ineffective.The deal is a disaster, it's disgraceful, said Stephen Singer, a climate specialist for WWF International. If the world follows the example of the EU, it is on a trajectory to disastrous climate change.The plan increased the amount of emissions Europeans could offset by sponsoring green projects in developing countries. Armed with that opt-out, Singer said Europe's actual emissions reductions would be a mere 4 percent, not the 20 percent the EU claims.The Brussels summit coincided with the end of a two-week, 190-nation U.N. conference in Poznan that worked on a global climate treaty to be adopted next year in Copenhagen, Denmark. The treaty would replace the expiring Kyoto Protocol, which required the EU and other industrial countries to cut carbon emissions by an average 5 percent by 2012.The EU leaders held out an inducement to the Poznan negotiators: If a global climate deal can be reached in Copenhagen, the EU will go even further, cutting its greenhouse gases by 30 percent by 2020.

President George W. Bush has refused to accept mandatory restrictions on the U.S. economy intended to cut carbon emissions, both as outlined in the Kyoto accord and those now being considered. While the United States signed the Kyoto agreement, it was never ratified by the Senate and Bush essentially scrapped it. Since 1990 U.S. emissions have increased by 16.7 percent.Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., who was at the Poznan conference, said he expects the United States to have a climate policy in place within a year that will allow it to join the worldwide effort to combat global warming.President-elect Barack Obama has called for Congress to establish greenhouse gas limits that would reduce emissions to their 1990 levels by 2020 and cut them another 80 percent by 2050. He also pledged to invest $15 billion a year to develop clean energy projects that produce fewer greenhouse gases.Yvo de Boer, the top U.N. climate official, said the EU deal showed that difficult roadblocks (to a global accord) can be overcome and resolved.He said the EU deal was a sign of developed countries' resolve and courage the world has been waiting for in Poznan. It shows the world that ambitious emission reduction goals by 2020 are in line with moving economic recovery in a green direction.The EU leaders spent two days sorting out differences over sharing the burden of cutting greenhouse emissions by 20 percent and ensuring that 20 percent of energy comes from wind, sun and other renewables by 2020.When it was over, they claimed global climate change leadership, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the summit chairman, declaring, No other continent has given itself such binding rules as we have just adopted.However, environmental groups called the EU deal a sellout.Claude Turmes, a Luxembourg Green Party member of the European Parliament, said EU governments were using the economic downturn as an excuse to water down climate policies.The heart of the EU agreement is a system — starting in 2013 — of auctioning industrial emission permits that are now issued free of charge. Major polluters will eventually pay $66.1 billion a year for this permission to pollute. Governments will use that income for clean energy development. But critics say loopholes allow some industries, especially in Poland, Romania, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, to get largely off the hook, with no incentive to embrace green technologies. Turmes called the selling of pollution credits ethically wrong. It implies a neocolonial approach to climate policy.Jos Cozijnsen, a carbon-trading expert for the New York-based Environmental Defense Fund, calculated Europe would meet half its 20 percent goal by cutting emissions, and half by buying credits. That's not bad, he said. It's expensive to do everything domestically.Elise Ford of the relief organization Oxfam complained that a proposal requiring some auction revenues to go to poor nations was swept from the table. The cost of the plan had alarmed eastern European countries at a time of economic slowdown. Desperate to get a deal, France backed several opt-outs to the strict reductions it wants industries to make. The opt-outs are aimed at heavy industries that might flee abroad to regions with looser environmental rules. The European Parliament must vote on the climate change package next week. They can expect a pep talk from Sarkozy, who made the climate plan the central goal of his six-month run as EU president. France's tenure ends Dec. 31. EU officials stressed Europe's pollution reduction targets could breathe new life into the U.N. climate talks. The EU plan also pushes eco-friendly cars, fewer power-draining buildings, greener consumer goods and energy deregulation. People will not follow Europe unless we set the example, said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. EU governments agreed in principle to the emissions cuts last year, but spent months working it out. Friday's resulting plan came after diplomats worked through the night for a final compromise. It is highly detailed, with targets and timetables differing from country to country. The leaders also agreed on a $258 billion European economic stimulus package to ease the effects of a recession. In the past decade, the EU has largely stayed on track to meet pollution-cutting targets of the 1997 Kyoto agreement. In November, the European Environment Agency said the 15 nations that belonged to the EU at the time are on target to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent in the 2008-12 period. Twelve nations have already surpassed or are set to meet the targets, while Denmark, Italy and Spain will not. Arthur Max reported from Poznan. Associated Press writers Constant Brand and Aoife White in Brussels contributed to this report.

Auto bailout dies in Senate By John Crawley and Richard Cowan DEC 11,08

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate failed on Thursday night to reach a last-ditch compromise to bail out automakers, effectively killing any chance of congressional action this year.The $14 billion legislation officially died in the Senate late on Thursday after supporters failed to get enough support in a procedural vote.Republican-brokered talks faltered, leaving the chamber at a dead end on an approach for extending $14 billion in loans to avert a threatened collapse of one or more automakers, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said in remarks on the floor.It's over with, Reid said.Markets across the Asia-Pacific region were down more than three percent after news the talks had collapsed, with Japan's Nikkei average and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both down more than five percent.U.S. crude prices fell by nearly $2 to $46.11 a barrel.The White House said it would evaluate its options in light of the collapse of the bailout legislation.

White House spokesman Tony Fratto declined to say what those options included. The Bush administration has resisted Democrats' past demands to use some money from the $700 billion bailout package approved in October to help struggling financial institutions to help the automakers.Fratto said the failed legislation had presented the best chance to avoid a disorderly bankruptcy while ensuring taxpayer funds only go to firms whose stakeholders were prepared to make difficult decisions to become viable.Lawmakers planned to move ahead with a procedural vote on a Democratic-sponsored bill negotiated with the White House that Reid admitted would not succeed.

There is too much difference between negotiators to reach an agreement, the Nevada Democrat said.The late night development followed intense discussions on a possible compromise that participants said fell apart over proposed wage concessions by the powerful United Auto Workers.We were three words away from a deal, said Sen. Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican who proposed the alternative and led the talks.Sen. Christopher Dodd, a Connecticut Democrat, said the main issue of disagreement was the date to require the Detroit autoworkers' pay parity with foreign auto manufacturers.General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC are seeking billions of dollars in immediate aid, while Ford Motor Co wants a hefty line of credit.The industry is reeling from depressed sales, made worse by the credit crunch and the recession and GM and Chrysler said government intervention was required now to avert potential failure.The House of Representatives passed its version of a Democratic-sponsored bailout on Wednesday but Senate Republicans rejected that measure.A Senate aide said congressional debate on the bailout legislation is over for this year and is now up to Secretary Paulson on whether to use Treasury Department's TARP funds to help the industry.Polls show Americans split on bailing out the Detroit automakers, widely criticized for fighting tougher fuel efficiency standards and poor model designs that have left the companies gasping for life with a stable of products losing popularity with consumers.Because of their shared suppliers and vendors, industry fears the failure of one Detroit manufacturer could drag down the other two as well as other businesses.GM, Ford and Chrysler employ nearly 250,000 people directly, and 100,000 more jobs at parts suppliers could hang on their survival. The companies say 1-in-10 U.S. jobs are related to the auto sector.(Reporting by John Crawley; Editing by Philip Barbara and Todd Eastham)

World Bank offers $2B to developing nations DEC 11,08 World Bank puts $2 billion in aid on fast track for poor nations.Fund is available to 78 nations identified as most poverty-stricken By Katy Byron

(CNN) -- The World Bank announced a fast-track assistance program for countries in dire economic straits Wednesday, aiming to make $2 billion in financial aid available more quickly for struggling nations.Under previous guidelines, a country could wait as long as six weeks to receive money from the World Bank. The new program aspires to make funds available within a month, bank officials told CNN.We want to help countries manage this downturn with financing to help minimize its impacts and by assisting them in designing supportive policies, World Bank Group President Robert Zoellick said in a statement announcing the plan.The $2 billion will come from the institution's $42 billion International Development Association program. The money will be available to the 78 countries that are a part of the IDA borrowers list, which consists of the most poverty-stricken nations worldwide.The bank said it had not received any requests yet for funds through the fast-track program, but it expected to see application in the next few days.

Commerzbank Expects EU Approval for Bailout This Week (Update1)
By Aaron Kirchfeld DEC 11,08

Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Commerzbank AG Chief Executive Officer Martin Blessing said he expects Germany’s second-biggest lender to get the European Commission’s approval for its government bailout by the end of the week. I expect we’ll get approval from Brussels by the end of the week, Blessing said at a conference in Frankfurt today. Up until now, not a cent has flown” from the capital injection. Commerzbank will get an 8.2 billion-euro ($10.6 billion) capital injection from the German government as part of the state’s 500 billion-euro bank-rescue plan. Officials from the commission, the European Union regulator, have been meeting with German authorities to discuss changes to the bailout this week. Blessing also said it could become harder for companies to get loans as the economy contracts and corporate defaults rise. At the moment there is no credit crunch in Germany, and Commerzbank and the country’s other banks are lending more, he added. To contact the reporter on this story: Aaron Kirchfeld in Frankfurt at akirchfeld@bloomberg.net

Commission seeks shorter, shallower recession by relaxing EU bank bail-out rulesDavid Gow in Brussels The Guardian, Tuesday 9 December 2008

The European Commission is relaxing state aid rules to allow EU governments to bail out companies and inject capital into financially sound banks to encourage lending to industry and individuals, it emerged yesterday.Neelie Kroes, the EU's competition commissioner, said Brussels was moving beyond shoring up banks to ensure that the recession across Europe was shorter and shallower than threatened.Her move came as the commission approved a €21bn (£18bn) French scheme for recapitalising sound banks so they could increase lending to the real economy, and indicated it would swiftly approve amended German and Austrian bank rescue plans. But companies are continuing to lay off thousands of staff and close plants for extended periods because of frozen credit lines.Kroes said she intended to announce extra measures before Christmas to enable EU governments to rescue specific companies in trouble with targeted aid.I therefore intend to authorise the quick grant of higher amounts of state guarantees and loans and to allow more aid to be given without notification, she said. This will help the financing of the real economy through investments, but also through coping with temporary liquidity difficulties and stress on working capital.EU competition rules allow governments to give aid of up to €200,000 to companies without having to notify Brussels. The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is pressing Kroes to raise this to €400,000.Kroes has been at loggerheads with national governments over delays in approving bank rescue plans, and has faced repeated demands to act tough to avoid any distortion of competition that would give rescued banks advantages over competitors.

The approved French scheme sets a benchmark for other recapitalisation plans by setting an average 8% interest coupon on any state capital, higher than France wanted. This will vary according to the solvency of each bank and will initially be fixed for five years.Kroes indicated that riskier banks would pay more interest. She said: The pricing mechanism needs to carry a sufficient incentive to keep the duration of state involvement to a minimum, for example, through a remuneration rate that increases over time.The volume of work has held up negotiations between the EC and UK government over the bail-out and subsequent nationalisation of Northern Rock. Kroes indicated there would be a decision before the holiday.

World looks to EU for leadership on climate change: UN chief Thu Dec 11, 5:20 am ET

AFP POZNAN, Poland (AFP) – The European Union summit in Brussels holds great consequences for the whole world, which looks to the EU for leadership on climate change, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned on Thursday.What we need today is leadership, Ban said at the start of a two-day ministerial-level meeting in Poznan to round off the United Nations climate talks.We look for leadership from the European Union. The decisions currently being made by European leaders in Brussels are (of) great consequences for the whole world.Ban also called for a Green New Deal under which part of the massive stimulus to tackle the world financial crisis would be devoted to weaning economies from carbon pollution.EU leaders, meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday, face rifts on how to implement a scheme to slash European greenhouse-gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020 compared with the benchmark year of 1990.It is the most ambitious target set by any advanced economy.The Poznan forum, under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is tasked with advancing towards a new global pact for braking the dangerous rise in greenhouse-gas emissions, blamed for damaging the world's climate system.The EU has championed demands for tough measures, and its internal row on how to achieve the 2020 goal has sparked fears that this could cripple momentum in the global process.Ban praised president-elect Barack Obama for declaring the fight against global warming and ending America's dependence on fossil fuels a priority of his administration.

We look for leadership from the United States, the UN secretary-general also said in his speech.It is therefore encouraging to hear about the incoming administration's plan to put alternative energy, environmentalism and climate change at the very centre of America's definition of national security, economic recovery and prosperity.

Israel's Netanyahu tells EU he will pursue peace By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Dec 11, 1:46 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israeli opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu sought Thursday to reassure Europeans that he will continue peace talks with the Palestinians if he wins February's general election, despite a rightward tilt in his Likud Party.He was speaking to Israel-based EU ambassadors in the wake of Likud primaries, which catapulted several ultra-hawks into the top 30 places on the party's slate of candidates for Feb. 10 elections.Netanyahu was the guest speaker at a lunch hosted by the European Union and arranged long before Monday's primaries. He used the occasion to try to quell concerns fueled by the outcome, which delivered significant advances for a wing of Likud seeking to halt peace talks, ban minority Arab citizens of Israel from the parliament, encourage non-Jews to leave the country and pull Israel out of the United Nations.Following the primary results, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of the rival Kadima Party warned that a victory for a Likud slate peppered with die-hard opponents of concessions to the Palestinians could plunge Israel into international isolation.Netanyahu resisted peace efforts when he was prime minister from 1996-1999 but says he will carry on existing negotiations with the Palestinians if he is returned to power, as polls indicate, though with more emphasis on encouraging Palestinian economic growth rather than a speedy transition to a sovereign Palestinian state.

I told them that a Likud government under my leadership will continue the peace talks, stressing security and economic development, Netanyahu said in a brief statement after Thursday's lunch. We intend to interlace them with economic development, rapid economic development for the Palestinians and regional cooperation with Jordan and Egypt.Likud spokeswoman Amit Koren said the party has dropped ultra-hawk Moshe Feiglin far down on its list of candidates for Feb. 10 elections despite his strong showing in the primary. Feiglin opposes peace talks with the Palestinians, encourages non-Jews to leave the country and advocates recapturing the Gaza Strip.Feiglin finished in 20th place in the voting, but Koren said Likud's court dropped him to the 36th position.

Vatican team discusses papal visit to Israel Thu Dec 11, 2:33 am ET

JERUSALEM, (AFP) – Israeli President Shimon Peres has met a Vatican delegation to discuss preparations for a possible visit by Pope Benedict XVI next year, his spokeswoman said on Thursday.We are waiting for the official declaration of this visit which must come from Rome, but the president on Wednesday started discussing with a Vatican delegation the programme of this visit which could take place in spring, said spokeswoman Ayelet Frish.During a visit to Italy in September 2007, Peres invited the pope to travel to Israel to strengthen the message of peace, reconciliation and hope throughout the Middle East.Uneasy relations between the Vatican and Israel have been further strained by plans to declare Nazi-era Pope Pius XII a saint, despite widespread criticism of his inaction during the Holocaust.The controversy, which has lingered for decades resurfaced in October as the pontiff defended the memory of his wartime predecessor and said he wanted him beatified soon -- a first step towards declaring him a saint.But, citing Jewish sensitivities, the Vatican later indicated Benedict was holding off the process of having Pius declared a saint.Peres has stressed the row should not affect plans for the proposed papal trip.Pope Paul VI was the first pontiff to visit Israel, in 1964, and Pope John Paul II visited in 2000.

New Israeli radar to pinpoint rocket launchers in preparation for conflict with Hamas

With an eye to a future conflict with Hamas and Hizbullah, the IDF's Artillery Corps is preparing to integrate a new radar system that will help locate and destroy rocket launchers more quickly than ever before, Chief Artillery Officer Brig.-Gen. Michel Ben-Baruch has told The Jerusalem Post.The radar will be operational within a few months.Under production by Elta Systems - a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries - the new radar will be able to provide artillery cannons with a 360-degree view of a battlefield and detect the exact location of rocket launchers.The location will then be transmitted digitally to the cannons or rocket systems deployed nearby, which will be able to fire at the launchers and destroy them.There is no radar like this in the world, Ben-Baruch told the Post on Monday. It can pinpoint the location of the launch and then find the range the cannons will need to aim at to fire.The new radar is one of several new technologies the Artillery Corps has been integrating into service since the Second Lebanon War in 2006.But the highlight of the Artillery Corps's recent accomplishments came in last month's IDF draft, when for the first time in the corps's history, all of its new inductees are soldiers who had asked to serve there.This 100% match beat out the Armored and Engineering Corps, and put Artillery at the same level as the Givati and Kfir infantry brigades.This is an unbelievable success, Ben-Baruch said. These are high-quality soldiers who realize that in the Artillery Corps they will operate advanced technology and have the opportunity to try out for some of the most elite units in the world.

Since the Second Lebanon War, during which the artillery featured prominently, Ben-Baruch has sent officers to schools and homes of draftees around the country to describe the corps, particularly the different technologies and opportunities that soldiers will encounter during their service.Among the hundreds enlisted, Ben-Baruch revealed that 35 of the soldiers will be trained to become operators of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for the IDF's Ground Forces.In the coming weeks, the Defense Ministry is scheduled to rule on a tender for the production of a small, lightweight UAV for field units that will be operated by the Artillery Corps. IAI and Elbit Systems Ltd. are competing for the contract.When people think of the Artillery Corps they imagine a small cannon being dragged on a wagon, Ben-Baruch said. In reality, though, we have some of the most fascinating and advanced technology in the IDF.