MELTDOWN WEAKENS NYC AS FINANCAL CAPITAL

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.

Moderate earthquake shakes northern Japan Fri Dec 5, 4:09 pm ET

TOKYO (AFP) – A moderate 5.5-magnitude earthquake struck near Japan's largest island on Saturday but there was no risk of a tsunami, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, and no immediate reports of damage.The tremor struck at 5:03 am (2003 GMT Friday), with the epicentre 161 km (100 miles) east-northeast of Sendai, on Honshu, the US Geological Survey said.It was 35 kilometres below sea level.The quake was initially recorded at 5.0 magnitude before this was revised up.Japan is hit by 20 percent of the world's powerful earthquakes

5.1 magnitude quake strikes California Sat Dec 6, 1:32 am ET

LOS ANGELES, (AFP) – A moderate earthquake measuring 5.1 shook the US state of California, the US government announced.There was no immediate word of casualties or damage.The reading, issued by the US Geological Survey, was based on the open-ended Moment Magnitude scale, now used by US seismologists, which measures the area of the fault that ruptured and the total energy released.The USGS initially reported the quake's magnitude at 5.5, but later downgraded it to 5.1.The epicenter of the tremor, which occurred at 8:18 pm (0418 GMT Saturday), was located in the Mojave Desert 57 kilometers (35 miles) east of the town of Barstow, the survey said.Kate Hutton, staff seismologist at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California, told KCAL 9 television the earthquake had been downgraded to 5.1 from 5.5.It happened at 8.18 pm in the Mojave Desert. At least nine small aftershocks. The biggest large town is 35 miles away. There's really not too much out there to damage, Hutton said.

Powerful quake rocks East Timor By GUIDO GOULART, Associated Press Writer – Sat Dec 6, 7:37 am ET

DILI, East Timor – A powerful earthquake struck off East Timor's coast Saturday, shaking buildings and sending screaming residents running into the streets, geological officials and witnesses said.The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and struck 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Dili, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered 250 miles (408 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea, it said.There was no threat of a tsunami because of the quake's depth, officials said.Everything in my house was shaking, said Santina Arauja, a mother of two, as men banged on oil drums and utility poles, providing additional warning to residents. People were running from houses and from buildings.Some were screaming, others clutching onto crying children.There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.East Timor is prone to seismic upheaval due to its location on the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire, an arc of volcanos and fault lines encircling the Pacific Basin.

Rallies sparked by parliamentary crisis draw crowds in Toronto, Halifax,
By The Canadian Press Dec 6,08

TORONTO - Liberal Leader Stephane Dion told a Toronto rally Saturday he and NDP Leader Jack Layton want to help the country fight the economic crisis that is coming.
Dion said Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Finance Minister Jim Flaherty have done nothing for the economy and that's why the minority Conservative government has lost the confidence of the Commons. Dion told the cheering, flag-and sign-waving crowd outside Toronto city hall one of Harper's own forecasters said the recent Conservative fiscal update would have prolonged the pain. And he noted 66,000 workers in Ontario alone, 42,000 of them in manufacturing, lost their jobs last month. Dion said Harper took an economic crisis, added a parliamentary crisis and tried to transform it into a national unity crisis - all because he wanted to keep his job. Don't you think we should thank the Liberal-NDP coalition, with the support of the Bloc, for having stopped this bad, harmful, nonsense, so-called Conservative economic plan, Dion told the cheering crowd. It was one of several rallies, both supporting and opposing the coalition, that were organized across the country. The opposition parties were enraged when the recent economic update contained provisions to cut public funding for political parties and ban strikes by federal public servants, but no major economic stimulus packing. Dion, Layton and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe responded by uniting to try and bring down the government and replace it with the coalition. Dion said the coalition will work hard to protect and create jobs and stimulate the economy.

Layton said Harper is trying to cling to power but that power flows from the people -and they won't let Harper lock the doors of democracy.Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean granted Harper's request Friday to prorogue Parliament until Jan. 26. That avoided a non-confidence vote that was expected to topple his government. I ask Mr. Harper again, why are you standing in the way of the majority?Layton said. Just over 200 people turned out to support Harper's government on a cold and sunny day in Halifax.

Many in the crowd waved Canadian flags and held signs reading: My Vote Counts,No Secret Deals and Respect Our Votes.A small group of protesters who favour the coalition to replace the Tory minority government stood at the back of the Halifax rally, shouting: Hey hey, ho ho, Harper's gotta go.But James MacCormack of Halifax was opposed. I went to the pro-coalition rally on Thursday night and I decided that when I heard about this rally that I was going to come out and show that not all Canadians are behind Harper on this thing, MacCormack said. Those addressing the crowd included four Nova Scotia cabinet ministers and Nova Scotia Conservative MP Gerald Keddy. Keddy said Canada is facing an economic situation it hasn't seen for years and the government needs the support of ordinary Canadians and the political opposition. He also attacked the coalition, drawing cheers from the crowd, saying it's time the opposition gave its head a shake after bringing forward a non-confidence motion in the Commons without an alternative budget. Nine days from the time the house sat, they brought forth a non-confidence motion to defeat the government with no alternative, with no budget, without anything, Keddy said. Jim Christian of Halifax, carried a sign with pictures of the Three Stooges reading: Do You Want These Three Taking Over the Government of Canada? He said it would be dangerous for Canada to show political instability with the world economy in turmoil. If Duceppe and Dion and Layton take control of this country it would be a disaster, said Christian. Harper has his faults, he's made his mistakes but at this point, of the four to choose from, he's by far the better one to stay with.The rally wrapped up with the crowd singing the national anthem.

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 Bank warns of possible Gaza bank collapse Sat Dec 6, 12:06 pm ET

GAZA (Reuters) – The World Bank said on Saturday Israel's tightened blockade of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip had created cash shortages that could lead to the collapse of banks in the impoverished Palestinian territory.Gazan bank branches have been shut since Thursday because they don't have enough money to operate normally.Israel has stiffened Gaza border closures in the past month as cross-border violence rose, choking off cash supplies.The ongoing closure of Gaza and severe restrictions on the flow of goods and people continues to be a cause of grave concern, the World Bank said in a statement.A serious cash shortage had been caused by Israeli restrictions on the transfer of banknotes into Gaza, the statement said.The liquidity crisis could lead to the collapse of the commercial banking system in Gaza, it added, warning also that this could entail serious humanitarian implications.Israel was urged to move swiftly to restore cash liquidity in Gaza bank branches before the three-day Muslim Eid al-Adha feast that begins on Monday.

Israel allowed dozens of truckloads of food and medical supplies into Gaza on Thursday, but it was unclear when it would let cash into the coastal enclave to replenish currency stocks.Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, whose Western-backed government is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said this week that there was not enough cash in Gaza to cover salaries for more than 77,000 government workers.Fayyad said 250 million Israeli shekels ($63 million) was needed to pay these salaries but Gaza's banks had only 47 million shekels.Israel tightened its blockade of Gaza a year ago after Hamas wrested the territory from secular Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas.It has tightened the closure further since a deadly raid by its forces on November4, followed by a surge in rocket attacks by Gaza militants. The border closings have increased hardships for many of Gaza's 1.5 million residents.An aide to Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair voiced understanding for Israel's security concerns but said the Gaza closure appeared to be backfiring.

The creation of opportunities for militants to acquire funds is not a result of the entry of cash into Gaza, but rather a result of the thriving black market imports and operations in the strip, whose profitability has increased as a result of the closures of the crossings with Israel, the aide, Faris Hadad-Zervos, said in a statement.An Israeli military spokesman said at least 15 rockets and mortar bombs have been fired from Gaza at Israel since Thursday, but there were no casualties.
(Writing by Allyn Fisher-Ilan and Adam Entous; Editing by Matthew Jones)

Report: German Dax, NYSE considering fusion DEC 6,08

BERLIN – Deutsche Boerse AG has been secretly talking to NYSE Euronext about a combination that would create the world's leading stock exchange, a German weekly reported Saturday.Der Spiegel said the two exchanges are considering creating a Netherlands-based holding company that would take over the Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse's shares, which would then be fused with a U.S.-based subsidiary of the holding company.Deutsche Boerse declined in a statement Saturday to comment on the report. An NYSE spokesman also declined to comment in response to calls by The Associated Press.Der Spiegel cited as the basis for its report a Deutsche Bourse internal paper to be presented at an exchange meeting Monday.The new company would have current Deutsche Boerse Chief Executive Reto Francioni as its chairman, with NYSE's Duncan Niederauer as head of the board, Spiegel said in an advance release of its Monday edition.Trading would based in New York, while derivatives would remain in Frankfurt, Der Spiegel said.NYSE Euronext came out of a $9.96 billion deal that saw Euronext, which operates the Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels and Lisbon exchanges, combine with the U.S. exchange in 2007.Deutsche Boerse had also been courting the company.NYSE Euronext operates on a single platform where traders can deal in stocks, options, futures, commodities and corporate bonds across two continents — for up to 12 hours daily.Deutsche Boerse, operator of the DAX-30 index and derivatives exchange Eurex, which it owns jointly with the Swiss Exchange, reported last month's earnings of euro257.3 million ($329 million) in the July-September period, compared with euro238.2 million euros last year.

AP Interview: OPEC head predicts output cuts By ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU, Associated Press Writer DEC 6,08

ALGIERS, Algeria – Oil markets should brace for a surprise decision on output cuts when OPEC meets Dec. 17, the cartel's president said Saturday, suggesting that reductions could be deeper than expected.A consensus has formed for a significant reduction of production levels by the 14-member Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC President Chakib Khelil told The Associated Press.The OPEC head would not discuss how deep the output cut would be, but said it could be severe, and noted that some analysts are predicting cuts of as much as 2 million barrels per day.

An output decision that startles markets would help bolster plunging oil rates, Khelil said.The best way is to surprise them, he said.Oil prices settled Friday at a four-year low of $40.81 a barrel. In July, prices peaked at record highs above $140 a barrel.OPEC previously announced a 1.5 million barrel-a-day reduction in October, but the decision failed to halt the fall in prices. Markets have been expecting another cut at the Dec. 17 summit.The stronger the decision, the faster prices will pick up, Khelil said.He urged oil producers outside OPEC to help the cartel regulate prices, especially Russia, which has said it could sign a cooperation memorandum with the cartel in the Algerian city of Oran.We hope that Russia will apply (quota decisions) ... as if it were an OPEC member, Khelil said.He acknowledged the cartel has little control over prices at the moment because of the slumping world economy, which has considerably reduced demand for oil.He pointed out that cartel nations only produce 40 percent of the world's oil. The probability that we can adjust supply to demand is very weak, he said. In an unstable system, you react by trial and error.He said fixing oil output levels has become a kafkaesque situation since OPEC wants to maintain its revenue stream without worsening the recession in the U.S. or Europe.

I really don't think OPEC wants to hurt the world economy, he said.Oil prices that remain too low would start hurting wealthy oil producers, he warned, adding to the global recession. The International Monetary Fund and several stock markets have asked wealthy producers to reinvest some of the cash they piled up when oil was at over $100 per barrel.If oil is sold at below production costs, oil-producing nations would have to end their investments abroad and could themselves enter a recession, Khelil warned. We'd then see a debacle worldwide, he said.Oil stability is crucial to a country like Algeria, where oil and natural gas make up 97 percent of exports. Khelil said Algeria based its 2009 budget on oil at $37 per barrel, but would have to cut back on large infrastructure projects if the price goes lower.In Baghdad, a senior Iraqi official warned Saturday that current prices are not healthy for Iraq's economy. OPEC needs to take quick action to reduce the offered quantities because the market is oversupplied, said Falah al-Amiri, head of the state oil marketing arm SOMO. He said OPEC would adopt limited cuts at the Dec. 17 meeting but did not elaborate on the possible amount. Khelil predicted demand would rise by mid-2009, saying a fair price for oil would be at at least $70 per barrel. Too-low prices are not in the interest of oil-consuming countries either, he said, because they hinder investment and exploration for future production. He noted that several offshore drilling projects were already being postponed around the world. We'll need these projects to meet demand in two or three years, he said. Associated Press writer Sinan Salaheddin in Baghdad contributed to this report.

Meltdown weakens NYC as global financial capital By SAMANTHA GROSS, Associated Press Writer – Dec. 5:

NEW YORK – For the hundreds of camera-toting tourists who visit Wall Street every day, the New York Stock Exchange presents an imposing sight.The building-sized American flag draped over the exchange's towering Corinthian columns. The sculptures on the facade that symbolize the prosperity of a capitalist nation. The stern-looking statue of George Washington across the street.These icons of national pride mark Wall Street as both a site of business and a symbol of the risk-taking and financial success that have spurred American global dominance and helped shape this country's identity.But with the nation's top investment houses shuttered, sold or changing into staid commercial operations, doubts have emerged about whether the city that for generations has been known as the world's financial capital can retain that title — or the daredevil swagger that has defined Wall Street for so long.It is a transformation that some say was under way long before the meltdown of 2008.It's going to be a long, slow process and take many years for us to really restore our leadership in the world, said Ron Chernow, who has written extensively on the history of Wall Street. New York has been damaged, and some of it I think is permanent.First, Bear Stearns nearly collapsed and was bought by JPMorgan Chase in a deal backed by $29 billion in federal money. Then Lehman Brothers filed the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history and the British bank Barclays PLC swept in to buy up key units of the firm. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley opted to become commercial banks. And even Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. — long associated with Wall Street's iconic bull — announced its sale to an out-of-town commercial bank, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp. Citigroup has been crumbling day by day in the last week.At the same time, places like London, Tokyo and Hong Kong have become global financial centers on a scale that some believe already rival New York.The New York Stock Exchange still far outweighs the London Stock Exchange — with the value of shares traded at the NYSE in 2007 nearly triple the $10.33 trillion traded in London.

However, the financial sway of cities such as London has been growing faster than New York's. From 1997 to 2007, the new capital raised yearly in New York dropped by nearly one-quarter — while in London the figure almost quadrupled, according to the World Federation of Exchanges.Even the domestic market capitalization, or value of the market, has been growing faster in London than New York, the exchange federation says.In the short and medium term, the U.S. will still remain a very important financial center, and I think most likely the most important. But after the term of five years, I'm no more sure, said Lorenzo Gallai, economic statistician at the World Federation of Exchanges.A loss of status in the world of finance could hurt the city on many levels. Money is stored here, higher-income jobs come here. This creates tax revenue and supports a higher quality of life, as businesses and cultural activities — which themselves attract visitors — spring up to support these workers, said Richard Sylla, a curator at the Museum of American Finance. He is also a professor of economics and financial history at the New York University Stern School of Business.Last year, 11 percent of the city's employees worked in the finance and insurance industries, but they made nearly 40 percent of the city's income.The meltdown is expected to wipe out tens of thousands of those jobs.Even the top achievers in the financial field — the people in pinstriped suits who live on adrenaline, bet big and reap even bigger rewards — could be making less money.As the major investment banks change their focus following the crisis and evolve into commercial banks, they will be more constrained by government regulation, limiting both their risk-taking and potential profits.And the federal government's injection of hundreds of billions of dollars to bail out the banking industry also means that financial institutions will be forced to be more conservative in their investments, Chernow says. Taxpayers simply wouldn't stand for the kind of bold risk-taking that has defined Wall Street, he said. When you think of Wall Street ... one has an image of these very freewheeling, razzle-dazzle, buccaneering kinds of firms, Chernow said. That style of business is now history.David Henderson knows all about this history. He works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and is a fifth-generation Wall Street worker whose great-great grandfather started the family tradition in the 1860s. Back then, London was the global financial capital. Although Wall Street traces its roots to the 1600s, it did not become the pre-eminent global financial center until after World War I. Now Henderson wonders if he'll see that era end.

This wheeling and dealing atmosphere we've had going on for umpteen years, that's going to be more contained, he said. Others are not as ready to predict Wall Street's downfall, including Ted Weisberg, who has worked at the New York Stock Exchange for 40 years. When you walk outside the New York Stock Exchange every day, there are thousands and thousands of tourists taking pictures of a building that they're not even allowed to get inside, Weisberg said. They're not standing out in front of the London stock exchange ... they're not standing out in front of NASDAQ.
Some observers say New York has slowly been losing ground as the world capital for years. In 2006, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Sen. Charles Schumer warned that New York risked being overtaken and they blamed what they said was a burdensome regulatory atmosphere. The New York City comptroller's chief economist, Frank Braconi, warned in October that the meltdown had sped up the process of financial dispersion that was already under way, adding that in coming years, New York will have to share the financial stage.It's not just other world capitals that could benefit. One thing New York did uniquely well was investment banking, Chernow said. When they become commercial banks — well, commercial banks can do very well in Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago, Ill.; or San Francisco, Calif. They don't need the New York ambience to flourish.However the crisis plays out, Wall Street still looms large to people around the world. Visiting Wall Street during a recent vacation, Dutch tourist Maryke Heyman said she wanted to see the NYSE because of all the turmoil in the market. I don't know where it ends. Maybe it's not anymore the big place in the world, she said. Not long ago, she added, It was happening here. This was No. 1.

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.

From Times OnlineDecember 4, 2008 Israel prepared to attack Iran nuclear plants(Hasan Sarbakhshian/AP)President Ahmadinejad has defied the West by continuing to enrich uranium

Sheera Frenkel in Jerusalem and Times Online
Israel is drawing up plans to attack Iran's nuclear facilities and is prepared to launch a strike without backing from the US, it has been reported. Officials in the Israeli Defence Ministry told the Jerusalem Post that while they prefer to act in consultation with the US, they were preparing plans that would allow them to act in isolation. It is always better to coordinate, a senior Defence Ministry official told the newspaper. But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination.However defence officials played down the reports today, telling The Times that an attack by Israeli forces alone would probably fail to take out all of Iran’s nuclear facilities, which experts say are scattered across several sites, some deep underground. We could not risk an operation which would only partially succeed,one defence official told The Times. That would leave us open to a nuclear attack from Iran’s remaining weapons stock. Israel would likely need the support, the backing, of forces from a Western ally to successfully carry out the operation, he said. A senior Israeli official quotes in the Jerusalem Post said that while it would be difficult, it would not be impossible to launch a strike against Iran without permission from the US. There are a wide range of risks one takes when embarking on such an operation, a senior Israeli official was quoted as saying.

The US Airforce controls the Iraqi airspace Israel's jets would have to cross on a bombing mission and access to codes from the Americans, would significantly improve Israel’s chances of a successful strike on Iran, an official told The Times. He added that because the Iranians have been moving the bunkers deep underground, sophisticated weaponry would be needed to successfully destroy the facilities.

Responding to reports that Israel would use low-yield nuclear bunker-busters, the official said the method was largely speculative and unreliable. Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, has reportedly asked the US for a green light to attack Iranian facilities as recently as May. According to Israeli officials, the US denied the request, although it outfitted Israel with the X-band radar system which would shave several crucial minutes off Israel’s reaction time to an Iranian missile launch, and allow the United States to oversee Israel’s airspace. There is always the option of Israel going it alone. It just does not seem like a good option at present time, an Israeli MP told the Times. There are three central locations where experts believe Iranian facilities are producing goods for nuclear weapons. Israeli officials named these sites as: Natanz, where thousands of centrifuges produce enriched uranium; Isfahan, where 250 tons of gas are stores in tunnels; and Arak, where a heavy water reactor produces plutonium. Israeli officials said they were heartened that international sanctions on Iran were having an effect, but did not feel they were enough to stop Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. The most recent Israeli intelligence reports estimate that Iran will have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in late 2009, barring any interruptions in its programme.

There is still time and there is no need to rush into an operation right now, another Israeli official said. The regime there is already falling apart and will likely no longer be in power 10 years from now.On Monday, Teheran dismissed the possibility of an Israeli strike, saying it didn't take Israel seriously. We think that regional and international developments and the complicated situation faced by Israel itself will not allow it to launch military strikes against other countries, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi told reporters in Teheran, adding that Israel makes threats to promote its psychological and media warfare. Some Israeli security officials fear that the Iranian retaliation for a strike on its facilities could include a large-scale missile attack on Israel from several Iranian allies, disruption of oil supplies to the West, and terror attacks against Jewish targets around the world.

Israel's Barak asks Clinton, Gates to help face up to Iran DEC 6,08

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak spoke on Saturday to incoming US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, asking them to cooperate in facing up to Iran.Barak held separate phone conversations with Clinton and Gates and congratulated them for their appointment by president-elect Barack Obama, the defence ministry said in a statement.He called for international cooperation in order to face global challenges including efforts to halt Iran's nuclear drive, which the Jewish state and the United States say is aimed at developing an atomic bomb.The Islamic republic claims the programme is solely for civilian purposes.The free world has many challenges on the agenda, from Iran to radical Islamic terrorism, and tight international cooperation is needed to face these issues, Barak was quoted as telling Clinton and Gates.

Thursday, December 4, 2008
ISRAEL PREPARING ATTACK ON IRAN AS U.S. TROOPS PROVIDE RADAR SUPPORT

Jerusalem Post - The IDF is drawing up options for a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities that do not include coordination with the United States, The Jerusalem Post has learned.While its preference is to coordinate with the US, defense officials have said Israel is preparing a wide range of options for such an operation.It is always better to coordinate, one top Defense Ministry official explained last week. But we are also preparing options that do not include coordination.Israeli officials have said it would be difficult, but not impossible, to launch a strike against Iran without receiving codes from the US Air Force, which controls Iraqi airspace. Israel also asked for the codes in 1991 during the First Gulf War, but the US refused. There are a wide range of risks one takes when embarking on such an operation, a top Israeli official said.Several news reports have claimed recently that US President George W. Bush has refused to give Israel a green light for an attack on Iranian facilities. One such report, published in September in Britain's Guardian newspaper, claimed that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert requested a green light to attack Iran in May but was refused by Bush. . .

The US European Command has deployed to Israel a high-powered X-band radar and the supporting people and equipment needed for coordinated defense against Iranian missile attack, marking the first permanent US military presence on Israeli soil, Defense News wrote. The radar will shave several precious minutes off Israel's reaction time to an Iranian missile launch.In a related article at about the same time, Time magazine raised the possibility that through the deployment of the radar, America wants to keep an eye on Israeli airspace, so that the US is not surprised if and when the IAF is sent to bomb Iran, a scenario Washington wants to avoid.The US army sent 120 EUCOM personnel to Israel's Nevatim Air Base southeast of Beersheba to man the new radar.

Saudi: Millions of Muslims begin hajj pilgrimage Saturday, Dec. 6, 2008.

Hajj Pilgrimage MINA, Saudi Arabia – Nearly 3 million Muslim pilgrims from about 100 countries have converged in a valley just outside the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia as they began the 5-day hajj pilgrimage.The pilgrims left Mecca on Saturday after completing the first ritual of the hajj by circling the sacred Kaaba stone structure seven times inside the Grand Mosque, which Muslims all over the world face during their five daily prayers.Dressed in white, pilgrims piled into and on top of buses on their way to a ritual of prayer and reflection at a tent city in Mina.The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who can financially afford to is required to perform it at least once in his or her lifetime.

Panama: Canal open to Russian warships By JUAN ZAMORANO, Associated Press Writer Juan Zamorano, Associated Press Writer – Fri Dec 5, 10:24 pm ET

PANAMA CITY, Panama – Panama said its canal is open to all, including a Russian warship sailing through the transoceanic waterway on Friday.The destroyer Admiral Chabanenko is the first Soviet or Russian military ship to traverse the 50-mile (80-kilometer) waterway since World War II.The U.S. government has shown little concern about the destroyer's trip through a canal that was off limits to the Soviet Union during the Cold War.The destroyer's journey to the Western Hemisphere, however, reflects Russia's growing influence and anger with the U.S. for using warships to deliver aid to Georgia after its August war with Russia.Panamanian Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis portrayed the Russian canal crossing as business as usual.Here there is no other message than that the canal is open to all of the world's ships, he said.

The warship is part of a fleet that is the first Russian navy deployment to the Western Hemisphere since the Cold War. Before arriving at the canal, it took part in joint exercises with Venezuela's navy.Also on Friday, Russia said it was sending its sole aircraft carrier and several accompanying ships for combat training in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean.The destroyer entered the canal Friday night and was expected to take eight hours to reach the Pacific. Following its passage, the Admiral Chabanenko will dock at what was once the base for all U.S. naval activities in South America.The U.S. government handed over the Rodman Naval Station and the canal to Panama nearly a decade ago, and the waterway has since become a symbol of Panama's true independence.When it opened in 1914, the canal was a symbol of America's growing global reach and became a major U.S. military outpost for generations. The 10-mile-wide (16-kilometer-wide), 50-mile-long (80-kilometer-long) strip along the canal was considered U.S. territory — a fact that allowed Canal Zone native John McCain to run for the U.S. presidency.Lewis said the canal maintains a neutral policy in world politics. He pointed out that the ship's passage came just a few days before U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is scheduled to visit Panama.(This version CORRECTS that ship entered Friday night, sted morning)

Islamist militia seizes control of Somali town By MOHAMED OLAD HASSAN, Associated Press Writer – Sat Dec 6, 11:31 am ET

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A hard-line Islamist militia seized control Saturday of a central Somali town, raising fears that the al-Qaida linked insurgents may expand their territory before the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops supporting the crumbling government.The militant victory in the trading town of trading town of Gurael, 370 kilometers (230 miles) north of the capital, Mogadishu, adds to the recent gains of the al Shabab militia. Islamic fighters have seized control of most of southern and central Somalia in recent months, with the Al Shabab faction making the greatest gains.Ismail Ali, a nurse at Istarlin Hospital, said eight people had been killed and dozens wounded in the fighting between the extremists and a moderate local militia in Gurael.After several days of clashes, the residents' militia withdrew, leaving the militants controlling the town center. Fighters from a third faction previously allied to al Shabab withdrew without fighting, residents said.Now it seems that al Shabab is in full control, said Abdulahi Dahir Hidig, a local resident.

Somalia's crumbling government has been fighting the Islamists since December 2006, when Ethiopian troops supporting the administration chased an Islamic administration from power. Since then, the Islamists have split into several factions. One faction has signed a peace deal with the government but other fighters have been grabbing territory.The U.S. State Department says the most militant faction, al Shabab — which means The Youth — is a terrorist organization that helps protect bombers who killed hundreds of people when they attacked American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.Ill-disciplined and poorly paid pro-government fighters often run away without a fight, leaving the government's Ethiopian allies to protect the capital and the parliamentary seat of Baidoa.Last month the Ethiopians announced they would withdraw from Somalia by the end of the year, creating a potential power vacuum that could see the Islamists seize power again. Countries have been reluctant to send peacekeepers to the war-ravaged nation beyond a few thousand Burundian and Ugandan soldiers under the auspices of the African Union.Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords used their clan-based militias to overthrow a socialist dictator, and then turned on each other.

India's Singh hails ally Russia as nuclear, space deals signed by Stuart Williams s –Fri Dec 5, 12:47 pm ET

NEW DELHI (AFP) – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh hailed a landmark nuclear deal signed with Russia on Friday as a milestone in the history of our cooperation after meeting here with President Dmitry Medvedev.The allies also finalised an accord that could see New Delhi send a man and eventually its own manned craft into space, with the Indian premier describing ties with Moscow as a vital anchor of our foreign policy.It is a relationship that has stood the test of time, a relationship based on strong mutual trust, Singh said alongside Medvedev after the signing ceremonies.Medvedev praised the agreements as opening a new page in relations. He was to leave New Delhi later Friday, earlier than scheduled, to join the mourning for the death of the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, his spokeswoman said.

The nuclear deal was the third such agreement India has signed after a decision in September by the Nuclear Suppliers Group to waive its ban on trade of atomic technology with New Delhi.The United States and France are the other powers to have signed agreements with New Delhi but Russia remains so far the only state actively involved in building reactors in the country.The nuclear deal will see the building of four new nuclear energy reactors in Kudankulam in the southern state of Tamil Nadu.Moscow is already building two 1,000-megawatt light water reactors at the site. The value of the new deal was not given.The two sides also signed a memorandum of understanding that envisages Russia sending an Indian cosmonaut into space in 2013 and then launch a manned Indian spacecraft in 2015, the head of Russia's space agency Anatoly Perminov told reporters.Another deal was signed on the sale to India of 80 military helicopters, which officials said was worth over one billion dollars. The countries also reaffirmed their goal to raise bilateral trade to 10 billion dollars by 2010.The string of accords underline that ties between Moscow and New Delhi -- which date back to the Soviet Union -- continue to be strong, despite India's desire to also build relations with the United States.Medvedev was the first head of state to visit India following Islamic militant attacks on Mumbai a week ago, and he gave a strong pledge of support to India in the anti-terror fight.We are ready to work with our Indian colleagues (in the fight against terrorism) and show support in all ways, he said.The continued strength of ties between Moscow and New Delhi contrasts with the sometimes prickly relationship between Russia and India's long-time foe Pakistan.

But Russia, which supplies 70 percent of Indian military hardware, has been concerned that its slice of the Indian defence market risks becoming leaner amid disputes over costs and late deliveries.Medvedev said that the defence relationship between India and Russia like any cooperation, has problems and perspectives but he emphasised that there was no problem that is out of the ordinary.He said the sale of Russian T-90 tanks to India and the possible leasing or sale of Russian atomic-powered submarines has been concretely discussed in the talks with Singh.The fact that energy-hungry India has signed cooperation pacts with France and the United States since the nuclear ban was lifted means Russia for the first time faces competition in that market. We are not scared of competition. Russian technology can compete, the head of Russia's nuclear agency, Sergei Kiriyenko, told reporters. He said it was too early to discuss the possibility of Russia building two more reactors in Kudankulam for a total of eight but said that after Friday's signing, we can start talks about new agreements.

STOCKS FALL - RISE TODAY

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

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

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

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

AFP NEWS VIDEO
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HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI DEC 05,2008

09:30 AM -44.50
10:00 AM -140.10
10:30 AM -201.19
11:00 AM -170.12
11:30 AM -215.54
12:00 PM -147.43
12:30 PM -134.04
01:00 PM -161.12
01:30 PM -105.13
02:00 PM -27.40
02:30 PM -34.45
03:00 PM +169.02
03:30 PM +179.24
04:00 PM +259.18 8635.42

S&P 500 876.07 +30.85

NASDAQ 1509.31 +63.75

GOLD 756.8 -8.4

OIL 41.76 -2.13

TSE 300 8117.03 +59.21

CDNX 684.31 -13.55

S&P/TSX/60 494.62 +6.08

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Economy sheds 533,000 jobs in NOV,Most since 1974.
WERE THE JOBS WERE CUT:
Service Providing:370,000
Godds Producing:163,000
Retail trade:91,000
Manufacturing 85,000
Construction:82,000
Leisure/Hospitality:76,000
Healthcare added 34,000 jobs in NOV and 369,000 in past 12 months.
NOV jobless rate:Whites 6.1%,Blacks 11.2%,Hispanic 8.6%,Male 6.5%,Female 5.5%
Unemployment rose to 10.3 MILLION in nov.
1.9 MILLION lost jobs since start of recession in DEC 2007.
Long term unemployed has risen by 822,000 in 12 months.
NOV work week-0.1 hours to 33.5 hours.
7.3 MILLION part-time workers due to economic situation.
Energy and commodity stocks weaker today.

Dow -98 points at 4 minutes into trading today.
Dow -222 at low today.
Dow +11 at high today.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow -257 points at low today.
Dow +310 points at high today.

5.5 BILLION SHARES TRADED TODAY.
Dow +3.4% today.
S&P 500 +3.8% today.
Nasdaq +4.4% today.
29 of 30 Dow stocks up today.
INDICES THIS WEEK
Dow -1.9%
S&P 500 -2.0%
Nasdaq -1.7%
Q3 mortgage delinquincies ,foreclosure rates hit record.
FED buys $5 BILLION of Fannie,Freddie,FHLB debt.
10 yr treasury note falls more than a point as stocks rally.
30 yr treasury bond falls over 2 points.
Major stock Indexes down roughly 3% this week.
Crude oil dips to 4 1/2 yr low,down 70% since July high.
Congress reluctant to approve Auto bailout quickly.

Stocks surge as investors bet on consumer spending DEC 5,08 By Chuck Mikolajczak

NEW YORK (Reuters) – U.S. stocks jumped on Friday as investors bet that a steep drop in oil prices will boost consumer spending, lifting retail stocks and offsetting government data showing half a million jobs were lost in November.Investors snapped up shares of discounter Wal-Mart (WMT.N) and iPod maker Apple Inc as oil slid below $41 a barrel to its lowest level in nearly four years and set aside early jitters stemming from a dismal November employment report.Wal-Mart Stores Inc's stock shot up nearly 6 percent, making it one of the Dow's top-weighted advancers. The S&P Retail Index (.RLX) gained 4.4 percent. Apple (AAPL.O) helped lift the Nasdaq 100 as the stock climbed nearly 3 percent to $94.00.It means more discretionary spending for consumers, who are starting to feel better about themselves because they don't have to drop $100 every time they want to fill up their tank, said Angel Mata, managing director of listed trading at Stifel Nicolaus in Baltimore. All of this is starting to feed together. That's what counting for this rally and for the strength we've had all this week.A government report showed that U.S. employers cut payrolls by 533,000 in November, the weakest performance in 34 years, while the unemployment rate rose to 6.7 percent, the highest reading since 1993. For details, see [nN05444819]The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) gained 259.18 points, or 3.09 percent, to end at 8,635.42. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) climbed 30.85 points, or 3.65 percent, to 876.07. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 63.75 points, or 4.41 percent, to 1,509.31.For the week, the Dow fell 2.2 percent, the S&P 500 lost 2.3 percent and the Nasdaq slipped 1.7 percent.

Financial-sector shares also advanced after Hartford Financial (HIG.N) increased its 2008 profit forecast and said that it has enough capital to withstand further deterioration in the markets. The stock more than doubled to $14.59. The S&P financial index (.GSPF) gained nearly 9 percent.Shares of Boeing (BA.N), a Dow component, managed to overcome early losses despite news it may delay its new 787 Dreamliner further. Boeing added nearly 1 percent to $39.53.Investors continued to fret, though, about the fate of the U.S. auto industry, with executives of the Big Three car makers, including General Motors (GM.N), back on Capitol Hill to plead again for a $34 billion government rescue.GM shares slipped 0.7 percent to $4.08, while Ford (F.N) rose 2.3 percent to $2.72 as Washington considered whether to lend the automakers a helping hand.Rep. Barney Frank warned that it would be an unmitigated disaster if a big U.S. automaker is allowed to collapse.Volume on the NYSE was fairly healthy with about 1.62 billion shares changing hands, not far below last year's daily average of 1.90 billion. In contrast, on the Nasdaq, about 2.24 billion shares traded, above last year's daily average of 2.17 billion.Advancers outpaced decliners on the New York Stock Exchange by a ratio of about 7 to 3, while on the Nasdaq, about two stocks rose for every one that fell.(Additional reporting by Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Return to $1 gas? Energy prices evaporate DEC 5,08
By MARK WILLIAMS, AP Energy Writer Mark Williams,

AP – Regular unleaded gasoline sells for $1.32.9 per gallon at a Valero station Thursday, Dec. 4, 2008, in … COLUMBUS, Ohio – Oil prices hit four-year lows Friday as employers cut the highest number of jobs in 34 years. The continuing decline in prices is so dramatic and so sudden that it is raising the prospect that gas prices could soon fall below $1 a gallon.The worst jobs data in 34 years on Friday just added more fuel to the deepening global recession as U.S. employers slashed a far worse-than-expected 533,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate rose to a 15-year high of 6.7 percent.A gallon of gasoline can be had for 50 cents less than it cost just last month, and people are starting to talk about $1 gas.Granted, gas prices are a long way off from that magic number last seen in March 1999 when prices were at 97 cents a gallon, according to motor club AAA. Prices at the pump fell 1.6 cents overnight to $1.773 nationally, according to AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express.But consider what has happened since July 11 when a barrel of oil hit a record $147.27 and a gallon of gas was $4.117 on July 17. In less than five months, oil has fallen 72 percent.Just this week, in which the National Bureau of Economic Research determined that the U.S. is in recession, oil has fallen 25 percent.On Friday, light, sweet crude for January delivery settled at $40.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, down by nearly $3 per barrel. Prices fell as low at $40.50, levels last seen in December 2004.Gasoline futures for January delivery tumbled to 90 cents.For gas prices to get close to a $1, oil prices probably would need to fall another $10 a barrel — something that would have been impossible to fathom during the first part of this year as oil prices soared near $150 per barrel.Just seeing that 1 up there is just hard to imagine, said Kevin Keating, 65, an attorney as he filled up his Volvo S60 at a station in Phoenix that advertised prices at $1.67. Wasn't that long ago that we worried about the 4 being up there.

Prices in New York City are well above the national averages, but still well off their highs of nearly $5 this summer.When gas prices are OK, we make a little profit, said Mamady Kourouma, 36, a cab driver from Guinea who paid $2.41 a gallon at a station in Chelsea.With wages stagnant, home prices plummeting and foreclosure rated soaring, dollar-a-gallon gas may help mom fill up in the family minivan and cab drivers in New York City, but prices that low also would truly speak to how rotten the economy has become.The economy at that point worldwide would be in a serious, serious deterioration, said Geoff Sundstrom, spokesman for AAA.Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service, said Thursday on his blog that retail prices could fetch $1.25 a gallon soon in parts of the Midwest, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Missouri.Already, some parts of the country are seeing prices around that level. The Web site gasbuddy.com, where motorists can post local gas prices, motorists can fill up for $1.29 in Neelyville, Mo., a village of about 500 people near the Arkansas state line.The jobs number suggests that demand for gasoline, which has been running well below year-ago levels even with the cheaper prices in the last several weeks, will fall even more in early 2009 as work-related driving plummets, said Kloza.I believe that January 2009 will represent the most challenging and ugly economic month of my lifetime, and my first memory is of Sputnik, Kloza said. There is plenty of reason to suspect Kloza is right. Since the start of the recession, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs, the number of unemployed people has increased by 2.7 million and the jobless rate is up 1.7 percentage points. The meltdown in financial markets has crushed lending, the Detroit 3 are on the brink of bankruptcy without a big government bailout. Friday's report was much deeper than the 320,000 job cuts economists were forecasting. If there is a plus side it is that the unemployment rate did not climb to the 6.8 percent level economists were expecting. Kloza does not believe prices will make it to a $1. Gas prices neared a dollar last time on Dec. 18, 2001, three months after the terrorist attacks and the country in its last recession, when prices hit $1.08 a gallon. Though the weak gasoline prices point how bad the economy is, they also could help it turnaround. Kloza figures the U.S. gasoline bill at $1.75 per gallon average will be about $20.5 billion this month, down about $16 billion a year ago. Five years ago, the bill was $17.2 billion. That could be one important spur to some kind of economic recovery, Sundstrom said. In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures tumbled 6.83 cents to settle at 90 cents. Heating oil slid 8.26 cents to $1.4265 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery shed 24.7 cents to sell at $5.77 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, January Brent crude slipped by $2.42 cents to $39.86 on the ICE Futures exchange. AP Energy Writers Ernest Scheyder in New York and Chris Kahn in Phoenix contributed to this story along with Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria, and Alex Kennedy in Singapore.

Employers cut 533K jobs in Nov., most in 34 years DEC 5,08 By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer.

AP – Minnie Lawrence, right, works with training career coach Latrisha Payne on how to find employment at … WASHINGTON – Skittish employers slashed 533,000 jobs in November, the most in 34 years, catapulting the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent, dramatic proof the country is careening deeper into recession.The new figures, released by the Labor Department Friday, showed the crucial employment market deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid clip, and handed Americans some more grim news right before the holidays. The net loss of more than a half-million jobs was far worse than analysts expected.As companies throttled back hiring, the unemployment rate bolted from 6.5 percent in October to 6.7 percent last month, a 15-year high.

These numbers are shocking, said economist Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics Advisors. Companies are sharply reacting to the economy's problems and slashing costs. They are not trying to ride it out.The unemployment rate would have moved even higher if not for the exodus of 422,000 people from the work force. Economists said many of those people probably abandoned their job searches out of sheer frustration. In November 2007, the jobless rate was at 4.7 percent.The U.S. tipped into recession last December, a panel of experts declared earlier this week, confirming what many Americans already thought.Since the start of the recession, the economy has lost 1.9 million jobs, the number of unemployed people increased by 2.7 million and the jobless rate rose by 1.7 percentage points. More evidence that the labor pain is far from over came Friday when General Motors Corp. said it will lay off another 2,000 workers as it cuts shifts at three car factories starting in February due to slowing demand for their products.President George W. Bush, who used the word recession for the first time to describe the economy's state, pledged Friday to explore more efforts to ease housing, credit and financial stresses.There is still more work to do, Bush said. My administration is committed to ensuring that our economy succeeds.President-elect Barack Obama said the dismal job news underscored the need for forceful action, even as he warned that the pain could not be quickly relieved.

There are no quick or easy fixes to this crisis ... and it's likely to get worse before it gets better, Obama said. At the same time, this ... provides us with an opportunity to transform our economy to improve the lives of ordinary people by rebuilding roads and modernizing schools for our children, investing in clean energy solutions to break our dependence on imported oil, and making an early down payment on the long-term reforms that will grow and strengthen our economy for all Americans for years to come.To provide relief, the Bush administration will continue to concentrate on ways to bust through a credit jam that is feeding prominently into the economy's problems, Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez told The Associated Press in an interview. We're going to stay focused on that like a laser, he said.

Elsewhere Friday, the Mortgage Bankers Association said a record one in 10 American homeowners with a mortgage were either at least a month behind on their payments or in foreclosure at the end of September. The percentage of loans at least a month overdue or in foreclosure was up from 9.2 percent in the April-June quarter, and from 7.3 percent a year earlier.On Wall Street, stocks slid. The Dow Jones industrials were down 130 points in afternoon trading.Job losses last month were widespread, hitting factories, construction companies, financial firms, retailers, leisure and hospitality, and others industries. The few places where gains were logged included the government, education and health services.The loss of 533,000 payroll jobs was much deeper than the 320,000 job cuts economists were forecasting. The rise in the unemployment rate, however, wasn't as steep as the 6.8 percent rate they were expecting. Taken together, though, the employment picture clearly darkening.The job reductions were the most since a whopping 602,000 positions were slashed in December 1974, when the country was in a severe recession.All told, 10.3 million people were left unemployed as of November, while the number of employed was 144.3 million. Gary Cope, 33, this week lost his communications job at Roanoke, Va.-based high-tech research and development company Luna Innovations Inc. Cope was called into a meeting first thing Thursday morning with two administrators and a human resources representative. Their message: He was being laid off, for financial reasons, effective immediately. He left with a box of his belongings and about two months' severance. As Cope walked out the door, all he could think was, I have a 3-year-old son and I'm a single dad.I came home and did my initial pity party, then I got myself together, talked to my family and went right to work rewriting his resume and sending it out, Cope said. My family has been very supportive, they've let me know I'll get through this and they won't let me drown.

Job losses in September and October also turned out to be much worse. Employers cut 403,000 jobs in September, versus 284,000 previously estimated. Another 320,000 were chopped in October, compared with an initial estimate of 240,000. Employers are slashing costs as they cope with sagging appetites from customers in the U.S. and in other countries, which are struggling with their own economic troubles. The carnage —including the worst financial crisis since the 1930s — is hitting a wide range of companies. In recent days, AT&T Inc., DuPont, JPMorgan Chase & Co., as well as jet engine maker Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp., and mining company Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. announced layoffs. Fighting for their survival, the chiefs of Chrysler LLC, General Motors and Ford Motor Co. returned to Capitol Hill Friday to again ask lawmakers for as much as $34 billion in emergency aid. Workers with jobs saw modest wage gains. Average hourly earnings rose to $18.30 in November, a 0.4 percent increase from the previous month. Over the year, wages have grown 3.7 percent, but paychecks haven't stretched that far because of high prices for energy, food and other items. Worn-out consumers battered by the job losses, shrinking nest eggs and tanking home values have retrenched, throwing the economy into a tailspin. As the unemployment rate continues to move higher, consumers will burrow further, dragging the economy down even more, a vicious cycle that Washington policymakers are trying to break. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected ratchet down a key interest rate — now near a historic low of 1 percent — by as much as a half-percentage point on Dec. 16 in a bid to breathe life into the moribund economy. Bernanke is exploring other economic revival options and wants the government to step up efforts to curb home foreclosures. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, whose department oversees the $700 billion financial bailout program, also is weighing new initiatives such as tapping the second half of that rescue money to ease the economic crisis. Obama, who takes office on Jan. 20, has called for a massive economic recovery bill to generate 2.5 million jobs over his first two years in office. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has vowed to have a package ready on Inauguration Day for Obama's signature. The measure, which could total $500 billion, would bankroll big public works projects to create jobs, provide aid to states to help with Medicaid costs, and provide money toward renewable energy development. At 12 months and counting, the recession is longer than the 10-month average length of recessions since World War II. The record for the longest recession in the postwar period is 16 months, which was reached in the 1973-75 and 1981-82 downturns. The current recession might end up matching that or setting a record in terms of duration, analysts say. The 1981-82 recession was the worst in terms of unemployment since the Great Depression. The jobless rate rose as high as 10.8 percent in late 1982, just as the recession ended, before inching down.

Given the current woes, the jobless rate could rise as high as 8.5 percent by the end of next year, some analysts predict. Still, the unemployment rate often peaks after a recession has ended. That's because companies are reluctant to ramp up hiring until they feel certain the recovery has staying power.

Deal on climate package left to EU leaders
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today DEC 5,08 @ 09:23 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Environment ministers from across the European Union met on Thursday (4 December) without reaching agreement on some of the thorniest issues bedevilling negotiations over the bloc's mammoth climate and energy package.The negotiations have reached a crucial phase, French environment minister Jean-Louis Borloo, whose country currently chairs the six-month rotating EU presidency, told reporters in Brussels. We have got 90 percent of the way there. The hardest points - the other 10 percent - are best left to the heads of state and government to conclude, he said.But hiding within that 10 percent are some of the most recalcitrant sticking points between EU member states.The issues are unlikely to sink the deal, but green groups fear that in order to get over the hump, the French EU presidency is willing to let the package be weakened substantially, all but sideline the input of the European Parliament and leave any final deal to be thrashed out by the heads of state and government next week at the European Summit.

Environment commissioner Stavros Dimas, also in attendance at the meeting, put on a brave face, saying: We have made such great progress, but nevertheless outlined the outstanding issues. Worries that the EU's Emissions Trading System (ETS) will result in the relocation of production and job losses - a process referred to as carbon leakage - remain a large stumbling block. The commission also said issues surrounding the Clean Development Mechanism are a battleground too - what part of EU-domestic emissions reductions can be pawned off to developing countries via the Kyoto Protocol's CDM architecture.Mr Dimas added that a last obstacle to a deal was the monies that the EU will commit to the third world to assist them adapt to climate change.Much of eastern Europe, led by Poland, which still depends for much of its energy production on coal - the dirtiest of energy sources - want special recognition of this fact and free allocation of emissions permits for their power generation sector.Germany for its part, wants free allocation of permits for energy intensive industries, such as steel and cement. Heading into the economic crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel has turned from a climate package booster into one of its biggest critics, and she is backed in this by many German socialists as well.

Indicative of the lack of importance accorded the meeting was how ministers from Poland and Germany did not attend the meeting, setting deputies in their stead.One potential compromise, loathed by environmentalists, would see the national leaders agree at the summit next week to a method of identifying those sectors at risk of carbon leakage and then award them free emissions permits.

Polish veto unlikely

Poland meanwhile is sending out the message that they believe they are on track to a solution.On Wednesday, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters: I think that we are close to a version acceptable for Poland ... a version that will allow us to avoid a veto.Commissioner Dimas hinted on Thursday that some amount of money from revenues in the ETS could be reimbursed back to Polish households if the system proved to indeed raise electricity prices. More radical would be a delay of the ETS in Poland for some years.French President Nicholas Sarkozy is set to visit Gdansk on Saturday and meet with the prime ministers of Poland, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Romania. The Poles have said they are expecting a present from the French leader at the meeting.There could not be a worse time for the EU to backtrack on the commitments that it made last year. The talk led by some recalcitrant EU countries is now all about competitiveness, protectionism and creating loopholes to avoid meeting climate responsibilities, said a coalition of green groups, including Friends of the Earth Europe, Greenpeace and WWF, in a statement reacting to the morass. If the EU does not get its act together, the whole world stands to suffer the consequences, said the statement.One environmentalist was spitting mad at how key issues had been sloughed off for heads of state to agree on - a level widely conceded to be closer to industry than the commission or the parliament and at which everything must be agreed unanimously.

They're shoving everything under the carpet, that's clear, he said. With the unanimity required, co-decision has become a joke. It's an affront to the parliament. I don't know why they don't stand up for themselves.Following the European summit, the parliament then must approve the package as a whole on 17 December.

McCreevy: Irish No should be respected
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today DEC 5,08 @ 09:25 CET

Irish EU commissioner Charlie McCreevy has argued that the negative result of his country's referendum on Europe's Lisbon treaty should be respected, admitting that the No campaign had won the argument against the might of media and most politicians. We live in a democracy. Mr [Declan] Ganley decided that he was going to front a campaign to get the Irish people to vote No. He was singularly successful in that against the might of all the political parties in Ireland, Mr McCreevy said in an interview with Hot Press magazine.Referring to Declan Ganley, the founder of the Libertas group, which emerged before the June vote to fight against the treaty ratification in Ireland, Mr McCreevy said that Mr Ganley had won the argument because the Irish people listened to him more than anybody else.The outspoken commissioner, responsible for internal market affairs, also argued that Ireland's referendum results should be taken as a true indication of voters' opinion as the turnout suggested that a considerable segment of treaty opponents were those who had failed to vote in last year's general election.The referendum saw 53.4 percent of participants casting their vote against the Treaty while 46.6 percent voted in favour, in a 53.1 percent turnout.People did take the issue very seriously. So that has to be respected, said Mr McCreevy, just days before the Irish government is expected to tell other member states that it is planning to hold a new vote on the Lisbon treaty next year.

At this year's final meeting of EU premiers and presidents on 11-12 December in Brussels, Irish Taoisheach Brian Cowen is expected to suggest that Dublin could organise a new referendum if it wins a declaration covering the key concerns of voters.The statement should include a clarification about the country's exclusive right to choose its tax and family law policy and maintain its strong principle of neutrality. Mr Cowen will also require a change in the package of institutional reform included in the treaty by re-introducing the right for every country to keep its member in the European Commission, the EU's key regulatory body. Mr McCreevy, Ireland's current commissioner, was widely blamed himself for playing a part in the Lisbon defeat, when, ahead of the June referendum on the treaty, he remarked on the complexity of the document.In an interview for EUobserver last May, Mr McCreevy admitted he had only read a simplified version of the treaty and did not expect many other politicians and ordinary people to enjoy reading the legal document. I would predict that there won't be 250 people in the whole of the 4.2 million population of Ireland that have read the treaties cover-to-cover. I further predict that there is not 10 percent of that 250 that will understand every section and subsection.But is there anything different about that? said the commissioner, adding: Does anyone read the finance act? referring to the lengthy documents he drew up when he was finance minister in Ireland.Following the June vote, Martin Schultz, the Socialist leader in the European Parliament called on the commission president, Jose Manuel Barroso, to have a tough word with Mr McCreevy for such disappointing remarks, adding: That is an arrogance that we cannot put up with.But in the interview published on Thursday, the Irish commissioner said he does not regret the remarks.

GG LETS HARPER SUSPEND GOVERNMENT

HARPER WAS IN THE MEETING WITH THE GG FROM 9:30AM TO 11:56AM THEN HE HAD A NEWS CONFERENCE STATING THE GOVERNMENT IS SUSPENDED TILL JAN 26,2009 WHEN HARPER WILL HAVE THE NEW BUDGET READY FOR THE COALITION TO LOOK OVER.

Auto, forestry union leaders dejected by decision to suspend Parliament
By The Canadian Press

TORONTO - Union leaders representing workers in Canada's beleaguered auto and forestry sectors are dejected by the Governor General's decision to suspend Parliament. Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean granted Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request today to prorogue Parliament. The unions say they're worried about what a possible delay in an economic stimulus package could mean for their members. Dave Coles of the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union says he believes many will now lose their jobs. A deflated Canadian Auto Workers president Ken Lewenza said he was stunned and called the decision wrong-headed.Coles and Lewenza wanted Jean to allow a confidence vote to proceed in the House of Commons which could have resulted in a Liberal-NDP coalition government, which had promised an immediate economic stimulus program.

LAST NIGHT HARPER SPEECH WRAPUP.

THE CANADIAN CONSTITUTION CRISIS,HARPER VS THE GODLESS COALITION.
7PM WED DEC 3,2008.

7PM HARPER SPEAKS-POINTS I WANTED STRESSED FROM SPEECH.
-Canadas government has been chosen by the people.
-Canadas government is acting to deal with the Economic crisis right now.
-Further Business and Persanal tax reductions are coming into affect.
-Were doubling spending on Infrastructure.
-Were insuring Credit for businesses and consumers by injecting liquidity into the Financial Markets.
-Were helping Seniors RIF income,securing pension plans.
-Were helping the Auto Industry.
-On Jan 26 we will bring in a budget that will contain additional measures boosting the economy.
-In preparations for that budget we are consulting widely with Canadians from the provinces and territories and working with our International partners in the G20.
-The Finance Minister will be working with the business community and intrest groups.
-Canadas Government can not enter into a power sharing coalition with a Separtist Party.
-The Coalition is attempting to appose this deal,without your say,without your conscent and without your vote.
-Canadas Government will use every legal means at our disposel to protect our Democracy,to protect our Economy,and to protect Canada.
Harper speech done at 7:05PM. (5 MINUTES).

OK,NO INFO ABOUT WHAT THE GOVERNMENT WILL DO ABOUT THE SITUATION. IT SOUNDS LIKE TO ME HE WILL CALL FOR ELECTIONS AGAIN OR SLUFF OFF THE SITUATION BY STALLING,WERE HE COULD STALL IT OFF FOR UP TO A YEAR IF HE WISHES.

HE COULD EVEN DISMISS THE GOVERNOR GENERAL IF HE WISHES AND GOES STRAIGHT TO QUEEN ELISABETH OF ENGLAND WHO COULD INTERVENE IN OUR GOVERNMENT IF SHE WISHES TO.

FOR AN IMPORTANT ISSUE THE GODLESS LIBERALS COULD NOT EVEN GET THEIR TAPE TO THE CBC ON TIME,HOW COULD THEY RUN CANADA WITH THE 2 OTHER GODLESS PARTIES AND THEMSELVES IF THEY CAN NOT BE ORGANISED ENOUGH TO GET A VIDEO TAPE ON TIME.HMM,INTERESTING.

THE ONLY THING IM INTERESTED ABOUT DION (LIBERAL LEADER)IS THAT HE SAYS HE LOOKS UP BIGTIME TO JUAN CARLOS (KING OF SPAIN)FOR THE WAY HE BROUGHT DEMOCRACY TO SPAIN. DO I HAVE TO SAY ANYMORE WHEN I BELIEVE THE FUTURE EU WORLD DICTATOR WILL BE COMING FROM SPAIN. IF DION LOVES A DICTATOR WHAT COULD HE DO TO CANADA?

HMM,AND AS WE SEE CANADA COULD BE A DICTATORSHIP REAL EASILY IF A CONTROLLER GOT IN THERE. AS WE SEE FROM THE SITUATION HARPER COULD GET RID OF(BYPASS)THE GOVERNOR GENERAL AND GO DIRECTLY TO QUEEN ELIZABETH OF ENGLAND. AND JUST THINK IF CHARLES WAS KING AND HE WOULD INTERVENE IN CANADIAN AFFAIRS. THIS COULD GET INTERESTING TO SAY THE LEAST FOR THE NEXT MONTH TO A YEAR IF HARPER CHOOSES TO DO SO.

BIG 3 IN WASHINGTON FOR ROUND 2 CASH

GG approves PM's request to suspend Parliament
Updated Thu. Dec. 4 2008 12:34 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff

Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean has approved Prime Minister Stephen Harper's request to suspend Parliament, agreeing to put the government on hold until the end of January.
Harper addressed the media at just before noon after about two-and-a-half hours of meetings at Rideau Hall. Following my advice, the Governor General has agreed to prorogue Parliament, Harper told reporters from the front steps of the building. He said the decision reflects the will of Canadians. Last Friday I asked Canadians to give us their opinion on the parliamentary situation. That feedback has been overwhelming and very clear. They want Canada's government to continue to work on the agenda they voted for -- our plan to strengthen the economy.Harper also said that when Parliament resumes, the first item on the agenda will be the presentation of the federal budget and he will spend his time working almost exclusively between now and then on the fiscal blueprint. He opened the door to co-operating with the opposition parties on the budget, saying Canadians expect all parties to get on with it.It's the opportunity to work in the next six weeks on these measures, and I invite all the opposition parties, especially those that have a responsibility to the whole of Canada, to work with us, to inform us of their detailed position and we will be there to listen, Harper said in French. Harper was seeking a suspension of Parliament in order to avoid a confidence motion scheduled for Monday that would have likely toppled his government. The Liberals and NDP have agreed to form a coalition, with the support of the Bloc Quebecois, and have signaled their intention to bring down the government over the fiscal update that was introduced last week and would have come before Commons for a vote on Monday. They had hoped Jean would deny the prorogation request and let the confidence motion go ahead. If it did, and the government fell, Jean would have to decide whether to send Canadians to the polls for another election, or grant the coalition the chance to win the confidence of the House of Commons and possibly take over government.

Jean returned home early from a central European tour on Wednesday to deal with the political crisis that has gripped the nation. The decision Thursday followed a rare nationally televised address by Harper on Wednesday night. In the five-minute pre-taped broadcast Harper said the opposition plans to oust his government and seize power would cripple the country's economy. Harper also signaled he would be willing to work with the opposition parties in order to deliver an economic plan that will help Canada navigate perilous economic times. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion also took to the airwaves Wednesday, though only after a major delay that saw national networks filling time as they waited for the tape to arrive. Stephen Harper still refuses to propose measures to stimulate the Canadian economy, said Dion. His mini-budget last week demonstrated that his priority is partisanship and settling ideological scores. The NDP's Jack Layton said Wednesday that the Conservatives have been wasting time with partisan politics instead of dealing with the economy.

Stephen Harper simply refused to act, he said, adding the Conservatives also attacked the rights of workers and women. The opposition began to cobble together their coalition after the Tories proposed last week to cut public funding for political parties as a part of their fall economic update. The update also lacked a sufficient stimulus package, the opposition has said.

Israeli soldiers drag settlers out of Hebron house By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer DEc 4,08

HEBRON, West Bank – Israeli soldiers and police stormed a disputed building in the biblical city of Hebron on Thursday, dragging out 250 young settlers in a raid meant to send a warning to Jewish extremists fighting to keep what they see as God-promised land.But activists responded with a wave of attacks on Israeli forces and Palestinians in the West Bank, even as Israeli politicians and some settler leaders denounced them.This city of 170,000 Palestinians, with about 600 of the most extreme Jewish settlers living among them in small enclaves, is the traditional burial site of Abraham, the shared patriarch of both Jews and Muslims, and has been a focal point of Israeli-Arab violence for decades.Extremist settlers say they want to expel all Palestinians from the city and have sought to expand their footholds here as part of a militant campaign to pressure Israel to hold on to all of the West Bank.

Settlers moved in to the four-story building in March 2007 claiming they bought it from a Palestinian. The man denied selling it, and Israeli authorities did not recognize the sale as legal. Israel's Supreme Court ordered the house vacated last month, but settlers refused.In the surprise raid, some 600 soldiers and officers police rushed into the house and quickly began dragging out people one by one, their hands and legs held by teams of two or four officers.Settlers, including young girls, punched and hit soldiers. Others threw acid, police said. Security officers in full riot gear fired stun grenades and tear gas.Extremists tried to force their way back inside, but soldiers, who cleared the structure in just 20 minutes, formed a human chain to keep them out.After losing the battle, the mostly teenage settlers rioted, setting fires near at least three Palestinian houses and burning nine cars, the Palestinian fire chief said.Palestinians cowered in their homes as settlers pelted the buildings with rocks. Jewish children went on a rampage breaking windows, while Palestinians on rooftops threw stones at settlers and Israeli security forces below.About 35 settlers and soldiers were reported injured during the eviction, none of them seriously. Palestinian hospital officials said 17 Palestinians were wounded, including five by bullets.The Israeli rights group B'Tselem released video that appeared to show a settler shooting a Palestinian in the stomach at point-blank range, and Palestinians pelting the settler with rocks.In other parts of the West Bank, settlers threw rocks at Palestinian vehicles and burned an olive grove, Palestinians said.The Palestinian governor in the Nablus region, Jamal Moheisen, warned that if Israeli forces did not bring the settlers under control, we will call on the Palestinian residents to go out to the streets and fight back.In a statement late Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert warned that violent elements who attack Palestinians will face a quick, stern response from security forces.After nightfall, settlers were still scuffling with Israeli forces and Palestinians.

The raid on the building that settlers named the House of Peace was the first major West Bank eviction since a 2006 confrontation that injured dozens, but the violent reaction of extremist settlers suggested it might not be the last.Settlers have built more than 100 unauthorized outposts on West Bank hilltops, but despite promises to the U.S. that they would be removed, Israel's government has failed to take them down, instead building roads and providing services for some of them.

Though the government sought to intimidate extremists with the swift assault in Hebron, further defiance is likely to be the response from militant settlers. They believe God gave the West Bank to the Jews and no one has the right to take it away.

About 275,000 Jewish settlers live among 1.8 million Palestinians in the West Bank. Israel wants to hold on to major blocs of West Bank settlements in a land-for-peace deal with Palestinians, offering to trade Israeli territory for about 10 percent of the West Bank. Hebron is a crucible of the most extreme religion-driven settlers, and the only place with settlers and Palestinians in the same city. Clashes are frequent. Many of the most violent young Jews came to Hebron from other parts of the West Bank, including their leader, Daniella Weiss, a firebrand from the territory's north. Weiss has led shrill opposition to efforts to rein in the most aggressive settlers, backing their creation of the unauthorized settlements to try to prevent an Israeli pullback and creation of a Palestinian state. Daniella Weiss and her gang should leave Hebron. They don't belong here, Pinchas Wallerstein, director of the Settlers Council, told Israel Radio just hours before the evacuation. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he ordered the army to evict the settlers after all attempts to persuade them to leave peacefully failed. Barak met with settler leaders earlier in the day, but they failed to reach an agreement. Some settler leaders reacted angrily to the raid. This could have been done peacefully and legally. Instead Barak chose violence, said Danny Dayan, leader of the Settlers Council. This surprised us completely.Associated Press writer Nasser Shiyoukhi contributed to this report.

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 THU DEC 04,2008

09:30 AM -53.44
10:00 AM -17.60
10:30 AM -41.50
11:00 AM +35.52
11:30 AM +29.95
12:00 PM -31.14
12:30 PM -75.90
01:00 PM -64.36
01:30 PM -97.89
02:00 PM -39.82
02:30 PM -39.11
03:00 PM -81.00
03:30 PM -259.49
04:00 PM -215.45 8376.24

S&P 500 845.22 -25.52

NASDAQ 1445.56 -46.82

GOLD 766.8 -3.7

OIL 43.70 -3.09

TSE 300 8058.01 -238.95

CDNX 697.86 -14.22

S&P/TSX/60 488.03 -14.21

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow -78 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -119 points at low so far today.
Dow +39 points at high today so far.

Q3 DRUGS SITTING ON CASH
-Pfizer $26 BILLION.
-Wyeth $11.1 BILLION.
-Bristal-Myers $7.2 BILLION.
-Merck $5.7 BILLION.
-Lilly $4.35 BILLION.

Dow +2.1% yesterday.
S&P +2.6% yesterday.
Nasdaq +2.9% yesterday.
Credit Suisse to cut 5,300 jobs,made moderate profits in NOV.
ECB & BOE expected to cut rates today.
Big 3 autos combined want $34 BILLION BAILOUT.
Sarkozy offers auto aid in $20 BILLION Stimulus plan.
Riksbank expected to cut rate by 1% today.
PAKISTAN MARCHERS ANGERED OVER BLAME OF TERRORISM.
Prime Minister Harper will ask Governor General for Prorogueation.
Harper meets with her at 9:30AM this morning.
Harper came from meeting with Governor General at 11:56AM today.
Harper:Parliament Prorogued or suspended till JAN 26,2009,BUDGET UPDATED.
OIL dips below $45 a barrel today so far.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow at low -271 points today.
Dow at high +39 points today.

BIG 3 AUTO PLANS
GM'S PLAN
-Sell Saab,trim Pontiac,sell or close Saturn.
-Cut exec.pay 20-30%,bonuses eliminated.
-Work under FED oversight cmte.
FORD'S PLAN
-Sell Volvo,sell 2 plants this quarter.
-Cancel bonuses for management,Employees.
-Hybrids on market sooner.
CHRYSLER'S PLAN
-Find partners to share development costs.
-No pay increases or bonuses.
-CEO gets no Health or other benefits.
CEO WISHLIST
GM:$18 BILLION TOTAL,$4 B end of year,$6 B by MAR 2009.
$2 B by end of 2009,$6 B credit line.
CHRYSLER:$7 BILLION by end of year.
FORD:$9 BILLION Credit line.

1.5 MILLION jobs lost in the U.S.A in 2008.
EDWARD LOEF:EXPECT 15% UP SWING OF S&P 500 IN THE NEXT FEW DAYS.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow -313 points at low today.
Dow +39 points at high today.

Street turns cautious ahead of employment report By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer DEC 4,08

F 2.66 -0.19
GM 4.11 -0.79
^GSPC 845.22 -25.52
NEW YORK – A period of relative calm on Wall Street ended Thursday as stocks tumbled in the final hour of trading on growing investor anxiety about the government's November employment report.The major indexes each fell more than 2.5 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which dropped 216 points.It was clear that investors were worrying that Friday's employment report would show a further deterioration in the job market; employers have already cut 1.2 million jobs this year through October, leaving the unemployment rate at a 14-year high of 6.5 percent. Economists expect the Labor Department will report that the jobless rate rose to 6.8 percent in November and that companies cut another 320,000 jobs.It's all about jobs and right now the outlook is pretty downbeat, said Alan Skrainka, chief market strategist with Edward Jones in St. Louis.The late-session decline followed a decent run for stocks, which closed higher in seven of the previous eight sessions. It also came as the heads of the Detroit automakers appeared before Congress with hopes of persuading skeptical lawmakers to save their troubled industry. While the market expects the Detroit companies will be able to win some aid from Capitol Hill, support for the troubled companies wasn't assured.General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC are collectively seeking $34 billion in emergency aid.Anthony Conroy, managing director and head trader for BNY ConvergEx Group, said investors are likely taking money off the table ahead of the employment report and that there was disappointment over the appearance of the heads of the U.S. automakers on Capitol Hill.There was no clarity coming out of the autos. People were expecting some clarity, he said.According to preliminary calculations, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 215.45, or 2.51 percent, to 8,376.24.Broader stock indicators also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 25.52, or 2.93 percent, to 845.22, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 46.82, or 3.14 percent, to 1,445.56.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 14.23, or 3.14 percent, to 439.53.GM fell 79 cents, or 16 percent, to $4.11, while Ford fell 19 cents, or 6.7 percent, to $2.66. Chrysler isn't publicly traded.On the Net:New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Automakers face skeptical senators on aid plan By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer DEC 4,08

WASHINGTON – U.S. automakers drew fresh skepticism from lawmakers Thursday in a rocky confrontation over their pleas for an expanded $34 billion rescue package they say they need to survive. Congressional analysts said one bailout plan under consideration would fall short of what the carmakers want.With time on the current Congress running out, opposition to the bailout appeared to be as strong as last week — before Detroit's Big Three auto chiefs returned to Capitol Hill with more detailed plans on how they would spend the money.Several lawmakers in both parties are pressing the automakers to consider a so-called pre-packaged bankruptcy in which they would negotiate with creditors in advance and downsize, then file for Chapter 11protection in hopes of emerging quickly as stronger companies. The Big Three have publicly shunned the notion, saying it would kill sales by destroying customers' confidence — but executives have indicated in recent days that it might ultimately be necessary.The executives all agreed in Thursday's hearing that a multibillion-dollar bailout deal would include a supervisory government board that could order major restructuring of the companies if deemed necessary for survival — similar to the results in many reorganizing efforts under bankruptcy law.United Auto Worker union President Ron Gettelfinger, aligned with the industry in pressing for the aid, told senators at a Banking Committee hearing that any kind of bankruptcy, even a pre-packaged one, was not a viable option. Gettelfinger said consumers would not buy autos from bankrupt companies, no matter the terms of the arrangement.

He also warned that in the absence of action by Congress: I believe we could lose General Motors by the end of this month. He said the situation was dire and time was of the essence.The Big Three CEOs told the senators they hoped to make amends for past blunders. "We made mistakes, which we're learning from, General Motors chief executive Rick Wagoner said. Ford CEO Alan Mulally also acknowledged big mistakes, saying his company's approach once was You build it, they will come.We produced more vehicles than our customers wanted, then slashed prices, he said. But as a result of these past mistakes, we are really focused, he said.Congressional Democrats have urged the administration to tap into an already enacted $700 billion financial bailout program to help the auto industry. The Bush administration has said that it has no intention of doing so, and would prefer aid be taken from an earlier $25 billion program to help the industry retool its plants to make their vehicles more fuel-efficient.But congressional budget analysts have privately told top Democrats that tapping that program wouldn't come close to covering the $34 billion that carmakers now say they need to survive.It would yield only $10 billion to $15 billion in short-term loans, the analysts claimed, according to congressional officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose the analysis.The Big Three executives made the trip from Detroit in new-model hybrid autos made by their respective companies, two weeks after a botched appeal for $25 billion in which they were chided for flying on private jets to beg for money.Chrysler CEO Bob Nardelli promised that his company, recipient of a previous government-subsidized rescue loan in the 1970s that it repaid, would repay taxpayers by 2012 and would devote itself to manufacturing fuel-efficient cars and trucks that people want to buy.Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama, the senior Republican on the panel, complained that the pricetag on the package had jumped since the trio last appeared just two weeks ago. He pressed the automakers to explain why, and to justify how such aid would not simply prop up a failed business model for a few months ... and how are you going to pay it back to the taxpayers?

Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn., supports helping the industry, but said that detailed plans submitted earlier this week on how the companies would use low-cost federal loans to reorganize still left a lot of questions unanswered.But Dodd also said that doing nothing plays Russian roulette with the entire economy of the United States.Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has said that the main $700 billion bailout program is intended only to be used for the financial industry.Gene L. Dodaro, the top official at Congress' watchdog agency — the Government Accountability Office — agreed with Dodd that the $700 billion package set up in October is worded broadly enough to permit it to be tapped for the automakers.

Dodaro testified that the Federal Reserve also has the authority under existing law to make loans to the domestic auto industry if it so chooses. Dodd said that both Paulson and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke had been invited to testify at Thursday's hearing, but had declined. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., suggested that Chrysler was trying to piggyback on the other two automakers, noting that GM and Ford were publicly held companies and cannot access cash whereas Chrysler now is a privately held company 80 percent owned by Cerberus Capital Management LP. Look, you guys are in asking us for public money today, he told Nardelli. Corker said Cerberus has lots of cash but appears unwilling to invest that money in your company...I have a little trouble with that.Nardelli said that Chrysler has left somewhat hollowed out as a result of its divorce in 2007 from the German company now known as Daimler AG. But he said that Cerberus was more than willing to provide the security and the commitment that the taxpayer do recover from their investment in this company.

Earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said prospects for Congress to act this year seemed slim. I just don't think we have the votes to do that now, he told The Associated Press. The Big Three are struggling to stay afloat during the longest economic downturn in at least a quarter century, a steep decline in sales and a tight credit market. The three burned through nearly $18 billion in cash reserves during the last quarter. The bailout remains unpopular with the public. Sixty-one percent oppose providing the auto companies with billions in federal assistance, according to a CNN-Opinion Research Corp. poll released on Wednesday. Fifty-three percent said it would not help the country's economy. Associated Press writers Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Erica Werner and Jennifer Loven in Washington, Kimberly S. Johnson in Detroit, and Joe Milicia in Cleveland contributed to this report.

ECB announces record rate cut
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today DEC 4,08 @ 17:39 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Central Bank on Thursday (4 December) cut the cost of borrowing in the 15-strong euro area by a record 75 basis points, with the institution's president, Jean-Claude Trichet, saying the eurozone's economy is expected to shrink next year, following a global trend.Global and euro-area demand are likely to be dampened for a protracted period of time, said Mr Trichet. (Photo: The Council of the European Union)The cut is obviously an important one, but it was what we had to do, Mr Trichet said at a press conference in Brussels.We considered that it was again appropriate taking into account a further alleviation to upside risks to price stability, he added.

The move comes after it was confirmed that the euro area's economy shrank by 0.2 percent in both the second and third quarters of this year, entering its first-ever recession.The ECB president also acknowledged the slowdown in the eurozone economy was set to continue.Global and euro-area demand are likely to be dampened for a protracted period of time, he said.Mr Trichet said inflation rates in the euro countries had moderated, but he stressed it was mainly due to the fall in commodity prices and a significant slowdown in economic activity, adding that global demand was expected to continue to weaken.Prior to today's decision to lower its benchmark lending rate, the ECB had already made two 50-point cuts since October.Meanwhile, the Bank of England also cut its main interest rate today from 3 to 2 percent – its lowest level since 1951.Earlier in the day, the Swedish central bank also cut its rate by a record 175 basis points to 2 percent.

Oil tumbles below $44 a barrel, gas hits new low By MARK WILLIAMS, AP Energy Writer DEC 4,08

AFP – COLUMBUS, Ohio – Oil tumbled below $44 a barrel Thursday and average gasoline prices slipped under $1.80 a gallon, both four year lows, as unemployment benefit claims hit a 26-year high and major companies announced more job cuts.The unprecedented decline in energy prices has provided some relief to consumers and businesses, it has occurred as the nation dips into recession.Fewer people have jobs to drive to. Gasoline futures for January delivery closed below a dollar, with optimism about the nation's economic health in serious decline.It was the first close below $1 since 2006, when gasoline began trading in the current format. When gasoline included the additive MTBE, it last crossed the $1 barrier in February 2004.

Veteran energy analysts were stunned as they watched light sweet crude dip nearly 7 percent, or $3.12, to settle at $43.67 on the New York Mercantile Exchange by early afternoon.Just four months ago, crude rocketed close to $150 and the average gallon of gasoline went for more than $4 per gallon. Crude has fallen nearly $27 in just one month.No one believed crude would lose $100 in value between July and December, said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service.

Some analysts believe demand could evaporate further early next year.

I think the traders are looking at that and they're saying, Well, December is OK, it's relatively balanced here and there, but my goodness all of these layoffs after Christmas, the cold weather, the cocooning, the bills coming due after Christmas, January is just going to be awful, Kloza said.Dour economic reports continue to spill out during a week when the National Bureau of Economic Research declared the economy entered a recession in December 2007.The government said the number of people continuing to claim unemployment benefits last week reached 4.09 million, the highest level since December 1982, when the economy was emerging from a recession.

Factory orders plunged a bigger-than-expected 5.1 percent in October caused by big cutbacks in demand for steel, autos, computers and heavy machinery. It was the largest decrease since an 8.5 percent fall in July 2000.The Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped to a seasonally adjusted 509,000, from an upwardly revised figure of 530,000 for the previous week. That was significantly below analysts' estimates of 537,000, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.The four-week average of initial claims, which smooths out fluctuations, increased to 524,500, also the highest level since December 1982, the department said.The U.S. work force is roughly 50 percent larger than it was in the early 1980s. As a result, the department said the proportion of workers continuing to receive jobless benefits matches a level reached 16 years ago, in September 1992, when the economy was slowly recovering from recession.Fewer jobs, fewer factory orders and slowing construction have added up to a severe drop-off in energy use, sending crude prices plunging.People are waking up to the fact that there may not be much demand, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp.There were signs that the economy continues to worsen. On Thursday AT&T said it was slashing 12,000 jobs, or about 4 percent of its work force. Chemicals company DuPont said it will cut 2,500 jobs and media conglomerate Viacom Inc. said it will eliminate about 850 jobs. Most retailers posted weak sales for November, despite a shopping boost the day after Thanksgiving. Wal-Mart beat Wall Street expectations and said falling gas prices may be bringing more people out to its stores. However, Costco Wholesale Corp., usually a strong performer, reported a bigger-than expected sales decline.

Oil prices fell even after central banks in Europe and elsewhere slashed interest rates in an effort to spark their economies. Prices at the pump continued to decline, falling 1.4 cents overnight to $1.789, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. That price is down 60.2 cents from just last month. Though there are signs that Americans are able to drive more with prices plunging, Flynn does not see enough demand to justify big increases in oil and gas prices. We have entered a new era of lower gasoline prices and oil prices, he said. The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration said in its weekly report that natural-gas inventories held in underground storage in the lower 48 states fell by 64 billion cubic feet to about 3.36 trillion cubic feet for the week ended Nov. 28. Analysts had expected a drop of between 61 billion and 66 billion cubic feet, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos. In other Nymex trading, gasoline futures fell 7.2 cents to 96.95 cents a gallon. Heating oil dropped 7.49 cents to $1.5091 a gallon while natural gas for January delivery fell 33 cents to $6.017 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, January Brent crude tumbled $3.16, to $42.28 on the ICE Futures exchange. Associated Press writers George Jahn in Vienna, Austria, Alex Kennedy in Singapore, Christopher R. Rugaber and Martin Crutsinger in Washington and Anne D'Innocenzio in New York contributed to this report.

Russia-Ukraine gas crunch could strike again, Putin says
VALENTINA POP Today DEC 4,08 @ 18:13 CET

EUOBSEERRVER / BRRUSSELS - Europe might face gas cuts anew this winter, but would get a detailed advance warning this time, if Russia decided to turn off the tap to Ukraine over their price disputes, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Thursday (4 December) during a televised question-and-answer session.We are now assuming that we will meet no problems in gas transit to Europe. If Ukraine, however, fails to comply with transit terms, or taps gas bound for Europe, we will have to cut back on our supplies to Europe, the former president said.Mr Putin's words contrasted with previous statements from both Russian and Ukrainian officials who said that they hope the gas dispute won't lead to a disruption of supplies to Ukraine or European consumers, as was the case in 2006.Ukraine carries 80 percent of Russian gas exports to Europe and has been facing serious difficulties in paying its outstanding debt to Gazprom. With its economy badly hit by the global crisis, Kiev has been forced to seek an emergency €13 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.Mr Putin, however, showed little mercy for Ukraine's economic situation and claimed Kiev still owes Russia €2 billion for previously consumed gas, a sum contested by the Ukrainians.They ask us to keep the same prices, he said. How long can we leave in place the prices of the current year? Switching into Ukrainian, Mr Putin added: Have you lost your mind?

Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state energy company, failed to pay off in full a tranche of its debt this week, in part because costs spiralled after a collapse in the value of the Ukrainian currency.Gazprom has warned that it could double prices next year if the debt is not repaid in full.While the cost of oil has fallen by two-thirds since summer, Russia can charge its gas customers more in 2009 because gas prices trail the movement of oil by six months.

No early return as president

The Russian premier ruled out the idea of organising early elections that would see him return as president. He said he would wait until 2012 - when the presidential polls are scheduled - to decide whether to run at all. Recent decisions by the parliament to extend the presidential term from four to six years have fuelled speculation that Mr Putin may return to the post soon. He was obliged to step down this year after serving two consecutive terms. Dmitry Medvedev was elected as Russia's new president in May. Mr Putin said he had a very effective tandem relationship with Mr Medvedev. We have worked together for several years,he added.

EU verdict on Iran group creates legal quandary
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today DEC 4,08 @ 13:32 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU's Court of First Instance has annulled the member states' latest decision to keep Iran opposition group, the PMOI, on their terrorist register, creating a legal quandary.The court verdict on Thursday (4 December) overturned the EU's July common position to label the PMOI as a terrorist organisation and to freeze its financial resources and fund-raising activity across the EU.Member states in July had said that new information arising from a counter-terrorism probe by the Tribunal de Grande Instance in Paris justified leaving it on the blacklist, but kept the new information secret.The refusal by the council [the member states' secretariat] and the French authorities to communicate, even to the court alone, the information ...has the consequence that the court is unable to review the lawfulness of the contested decision, which infringes the PMOI's fundamental right to an effective judicial review, the EU court said.The verdict is the first time the court has ruled on the EU terror register while it is actually in force.Member states issue a new blacklist every six months or so, with two previous pro-PMOI EU court rulings - in 2006 and 2008 - referring to lists which had already expired in legal terms.

The hearing in this case took place on 3 December and today, only one day later, the court has delivered its judgement. This one-day period is the quickest that the court has ever delivered its judgement following the hearing, the court statement added.The council's legal service is currently analysing if the timing means that the PMOI is off the register effective immediately, or if a follow-up EU common position amending the list is needed to enact the verdict.That's the key question. There's some legal doubt and we are examining it, an EU official said. There are many other groups on the list which have never complained. This is just one case and it doesn't mean the council is not doing its work properly, he added. What all this shows is that EU mechanisms are working well - people are duly protected and they can appeal against any decision.With this ruling, the PMOI is no longer on the list and cannot be kept on the list in future. It is now up to the council of ministers to state this publicly and to apologise to the PMOI and the people of Iran, Shahin Gobadi, a spokesman for the PMOI's sister group, the NRCI, said. The EU should compensate the Iranian resistance and the Iranian people for the damage it has caused.

Mojahedin changes spots

PMOI - the People's Mojahedin Organistaion of Iran - was responsible for attacks against the Islamic leadership in Tehran in the 1980s and 1990s but renounced violence in 2001 and gave up arms in 2003.The Paris-based NRCI - the National Resistance Council of Iran - has in the past accused the EU of suppressing the PMOI movement as a bargaining chip in negotiations on Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. The EU terrorist register is compiled by the so-called CP 931 working group, which consists of delegates from member states' interior and foreign ministries and is cleared to consult documents classified as secret.CP 931 decisions are then rubber-stamped by meetings of EU ministers, with the July common position enacted by agriculture ministers.

Six EU states fail to sign cluster bomb ban
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today DEC 4,08 @ 09:31 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - (corrected at 11:25) Six EU states declined to sign a historic convention against the use of cluster bombs in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Wednesday (3 December), with Finland, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Greece and Cyprus in the recalcitrant group.Signing is open until 6 p.m., but I don't think any more will sign today, a Norwegian diplomat said on Thursday. Any countries that still want to sign in the future can do this at the UN headquarters in New York. There is no final deadline.The convention - a legally-binding document banning the production, use, stockpiling or trade in cluster bombs - was signed by 92 countries and has already been ratified by four national legislatures, including Norway, which has also transposed the treaty into national law.Cluster bombs are a form of anti-infantry ammunition that contain hundreds of mini-bomblets and are fired by artillery cannons, launched by missiles or dropped from aircraft. In some models, the bomblets automatically self-destruct, but in others they act as mines, detonating upon contact and killing or maiming civilians long after ceasefire agreements are put in place. Children are frequently victims of the weapon, attracted by their typically bright colour.

The munition was first used by Soviet and German forces against each other on Soviet territory in 1943. Both Russia and Georgia used the technology in their August war this year.The true measure of [the treaty's] achievement will be how the lives of people and communities affected change in the months and years to come, International Committee of the Red Cross president Jakob Kellenberger said.The historic process, of which the signing of this convention is a part, will only end when the use of these weapons has ceased, when stockpiles are eliminated, when contaminated areas have been cleared and when victims have been helped to rebuild their lives.Of the EU non-signatories, Poland, Greece, Romania and Slovakia have produced and stockpiled cluster bombs. Latvia has also stockpiled the weapons, while Cyprus usually follows Greek foreign policy.None of the seven have used the arms in past conflicts, according to NGO Human Rights Watch.But Polish generals ahead of the Oslo meeting told Gazeta Wyborcza they will not sign the Oslo pact until Russia does so, adding that more civilian-friendly anti-infantry weapons are too expensive.The EU is currently working on its own version of a ban for all 27 states in the bloc.

EU member states aim to conclude negotiations on a legally binding instrument that prohibits the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians and which would include provisions on co-operation and assistance, an internal EU paper dated 5 November from the office of top diplomat Javier Sloana says.The US, Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Israel - the world's heaviest producers and users of cluster bombs - also stayed out of the Oslo pact, with the US, Russia and China locked in negotiations on who goes first.

Correction: the Czech Republic was originally mentioned as having failed to sign the treaty due to technical problems with paperwork. This turned out to be incorrect, with Prague having joined the list on Wednesday.