ICE STORMS KNOCK POWER IN CAN - USA

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

Majority of Czechs want Lisbon ratified
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today JAN 29,09 @ 09:08 CET

A majority of Czechs want their parliament to ratify the Lisbon Treaty, according to a poll published on Wednesday (28 January).The number of those in favour of the treaty has grown among followers of all political parties and reached 64 percent – an increase of 19 percent compared to October, according to survey publisher STEM polling.The Czechs' opinion is not necessarily linked to their knowledge of the document, however, which remains weak – 70 percent of those asked stated they still do not understand what changes the treaty would bring and what impact it would have on their lives. Instead, the number of those against the document has been progressively decreasing out of fear that the country would lose of its prestige if it does not approve the charter, STEM has said, Czech news agency CTK reports.The Czech Republic currently holds the rotating six-month EU presidency and both those who understand the treaty and those who do not have said this fact raises their country's profile in Europe.This could explain their current stronger support for the Lisbon Treaty, the STEM analysts explain.The Czech Republic is also the only EU country that has held neither a referendum nor a parliamentary vote on the Treaty yet.Parliamentary ratification has already been delayed by several months, while the Czech Constitutional Court decided whether the document is compatible with Czech law.

But despite the Court's positive verdict in November, the process has not advanced.
Most recently, an early February vote by the foreign affairs committee in the parliament was postponed to 15 February because it said it needed more time to examine the text.Besides the Czech Republic, three countries – Ireland, Germany and Poland – have yet to finalise ratification of the Lisbon Treaty.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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

Storm brings freezing rain, snow to Atlantic Canada Thu. Jan. 29 2009 8:52 AM ET CTV.ca News Staff

Many Atlantic Canadians woke up to snow and freezing rain on Thursday morning, as a major winter storm system made its way through the region towards Newfoundland and Labrador. The storm system, which originated in Texas on Tuesday, hit much of the southern Plains and northeastern United States earlier this week, before making its way through Ontario and Quebec and into Atlantic Canada. By the early hours of Thursday morning, Environment Canada reported that the storm system was lying over New Brunswick. Early Thursday morning, the weather utility was still issuing snowfall warnings for Quebec's Gaspésie National Park and much of Northern New Brunswick, where snow was expected to still be falling on Thursday morning. In Nova Scotia, high wind warnings were in place for much of Sydney Metro and Cape Breton, Richmond and Inverness Counties. Provincial roads were not in good shape, as the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal's website showed slippery, icy or snow-covered road conditions throughout much of the Nova Scotia on Thursday morning. Wind warnings were in place for the entirety of Prince Edward Island on Thursday morning, though Environment Canada had lifted all freezing rain warnings for the province. Charlottetown had been expected to see rain or freezing rain in the very early morning, followed by potential flurries and then rainfall, before the temperature falls to -4 C in the afternoon and -11 C by Thursday evening.

Environment Canada's website said that the storm system will lie over Newfoundland by Thursday evening, dumping between 15 and 25 centimetres of snow and creating zero visibility at times.

Power outages

New Brunswick provincial utility NB Power reported on its website that more than 1,800 of its customers, mostly in the Moncton area, were in the dark as of 8:48 a.m. AT. Nova Scotia Power spokesperson Margaret Murphy told CTV.ca that about 650 customers were without power just before 10 a.m. AT, but said the storm's overall impact on the power grid was not very significant. Maritime Electric spokesperson Jim Coyle told CTV.ca that about 1,800 customers near Georgetown, P.E.I., were without power at about 9:15 a.m. AT. He said the affected customers would likely have their power restored by the late morning.

U.S. deals with storm cleanup

In the United States, at least 23 deaths were blamed on the storm that had left at least a dozen states covered in ice -- many of which are rarely exposed to such wintry conditions. More than a million Americans were still without power as of Thursday morning, hours after U.S. President Barack Obama declared federal emergencies in both Arkansas and Kentucky on Wednesday evening. National Guard members worked through the night to restore power to those in Kentucky and Arkansas.

Other states, including Oklahoma and West Virginia, were reported to be asking for emergency declarations from the president, which would pave the way towards receiving federal assistance. Some utility officials have even said that some of the hardest-hit areas may not see their power restored until mid-February. With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press

Numbers on power failures caused by the ice storm By The Associated Press – Thu Jan 29, 12:10 am ET

AccuWeather The latest figures from utility companies on the number of homes and businesses without power in the nine states hit hardest by an ice storm that stretched from the Southern Plains to Appalachia:
Arkansas: 352,000,Illinois: 6,500,Indiana: 102,000,Kentucky: 525,000,Missouri: 117,000,Ohio: 137,000,Oklahoma: 21,000,Tennessee: 10,000,West Virginia: 55,000
TOTAL: 1.33 million

Thousands may face frigid, lightless nights ahead By BRUCE SCHREINER, Associated Press Writer JAN 29,09

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – More than a million people stranded in darkness Thursday in the wake of an icy winter storm could face a lengthy wait for electricity to course through their frosty homes, even as federal help was promised to two states hit hardest by the blast.Late Wednesday, President Barack Obama signed requests from Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear and Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe for federal emergency declarations. Crews — even the National Guard in Kentucky — worked around the clock to resurrect power lines downed by thick ice in both states. Officials in states from Oklahoma to West Virginia fought to do the same.Utility officials estimated more than 1.31 million homes and businesses across a wide swath of states were powerless early Thursday, and warned it could be mid-February before some customers had power. The storm has been blamed for at least 23 deaths so far.Many flocked to shelters, while others huddled next to wood-burning fires and portable heaters to fend off the frigid night air. Some who stayed put relied on gas stoves to cook food. Meanwhile, emergency officials feared the crisis could escalate as temperatures plunged.I'm so worried that we're going to have a death due to hypothermia or carbon monoxide, said John Robinson, the severe weather coordinator for the National Weather Service at North Little Rock, Ark. Space heaters, if improperly used, can generate dangerous levels of carbon monoxide.Other communities urged people to conserve water because the outages could limit supplies.

Tony Cipolla managed to keep warm by building a fire at his powerless home near Seneca Park in Louisville, cooking a pot of soup over a gas stove. But there wasn't a long-term plan for Cipolla and his two children, ages 5 and 9, if electricity wasn't soon restored.If it'll be a couple days, then we'll be in trouble, Cipolla told The Courier-Journal in Louisville, where temperatures dipped into the 20s overnight.More than a half-million were without power in Kentucky, where the power outages produced by the ice storm were outdone only by the remnants of Hurricane Ike, which lashed the state with fierce winds last year, leaving about 600,000 customers without power.We've got lots of counties that do not have any communication, any heat, any power, Beshear, the state's governor, said Wednesday.

Tree limbs and power lines crackled like gunfire as they snapped, crashing onto now-impassable roads that hampered recovery efforts from the Southern Plains to the East Coast.Kyle Brashears' family rode out the storm in their Mountain Home, Ark., home before fleeing to relatives after half an ice-caked oak tree fell into their home.It caved the roof in and ripped the gutter off, although it didn't penetrate inside, he said. I was walking around outside until about 1 a.m. and it was just a nonstop medley of tree limbs cracking off.Crews in Indiana had restored power to thousands of customers by early Thursday morning — but about 89,000 remained in the dark there. Power lines had buckled under three-fourths of an inch of ice. Parts of central Indiana were still digging out from more than a foot of snow.Various charities opened shelters across the region, but with the power out nearly everywhere — including at some radio stations — it was difficult to spread the word. Some deputies went door to door and offered to drive the elderly to safety.Since the storm began building Monday, the weather has been blamed for at least six deaths in Texas, four in Arkansas, three in Virginia, six in Missouri, two in Oklahoma, and one each in Indiana and Ohio. Some parts of New England were expected to see well over a foot of snow as the storm kept moving northeast, but because it turned to snow, ice-related power failures weren't as big of a concern.That didn't mean a trouble-free Wednesday for commuters. Delays or cancellations were reported at airports including those serving Columbus, Cincinnati, Philadelphia, New York and Boston. Commuters on highways encountered a slushy mess.Tracey Ramey of Waynesville, Ohio, a village about 20 miles southeast of Dayton, said her husband left for his job as a plow operator late Monday with an overnight bag and hasn't been able to return. He did call her Wednesday morning to caution her not to go to her data-entry job. He said, There's 2 inches of ice on the road and there's no way you're going to make it to work,she said. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Kantele Franko in Columbus, Ohio; Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa, Okla.; Daniel Shea in Little Rock, Ark.; Rick Callahan in Indianapolis; Ben Feller in Washington; Ben Greene in Baltimore; Dan Sewell in Cincinnati; and John Raby in Charleston, W.Va.; and Patrick Walters in Philadelphia.

OZONE DEPLETION

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

Swiss scientists say world's glaciers melting fast Thu Jan 29, 7:43 am ET Reuters

ZURICH, Switzerland – The world's glaciers thinned by an average of almost 29 inches (74 centimeters) in 2007, indicating that they are melting twice as fast this decade as during the 1980s and 1990s, Swiss scientists said Thursday.The World Glacier Monitoring Service in Zurich regularly measures 80 glaciers around the globe.It found that some Alpine glaciers lost as much as 10 feet (3 meters) of ice cover, while coastal glaciers in Norway actually thickened in 2007.The rate of decline was less than in 2006, according to Michael Zemp, one of the scientists involved.But 2007was the sixth year this decade that the glaciers lost on average more than 20 inches (50 centimeters) thickness.This means that the rate of melting during the 1980s and 1990s has more than doubled, Zemp said.The 30 glaciers that have been measured the longest have thinned by an average of 40 feet (12 meters) since 1980, he said.

Glacial thickness is directly influenced by the weather during the previous year, while glacier length is considered by scientists to be an indication of long-term climate trends.On the Net:WGMS: http://www.geo.unizh.ch/wgms/

FAMINE

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

FAMINE

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

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

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

UN: Myanmar faces food crisis because of cyclone By MICHAEL CASEY, AP Environmental Writer – Wed Jan 28, 8:33 am ET

BANGKOK, Thailand – Myanmar faces food shortages in many parts of the country, largely because of last year's cyclone and a rat infestation that destroyed crops, according to a U.N. report released Wednesday.About 185,000 tons of emergency food aid will be needed this year throughout the impoverished country, said the report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Food Program.

Cyclone Nargis, which left more than 130,000 people dead or missing in May last year, exacerbated the country's economic difficulties and raised the prospect of a humanitarian crisis.Access to food remains the critical challenge for the poorest people and for vulnerable populations in remote areas of Myanmar, said Chris Kaye, WFP's representative for Myanmar. For many of those affected by Cyclone Nargis, who are engaged in rebuilding their lives and livelihoods, the limited delta harvest means they will continue to rely on assistance to meet their food needs.About 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) of rice paddy were submerged by massive waves and 85percent of seed stocks was destroyed.Cheng Feng, an economist for the FAO, told The Associated Press rice production in the delta during the second half of 2008 fell 32.5 percent to 1.93 million tons from a year earlier. A shortage of labor, higher fertilizer prices and lower rice prices may also have dissuaded some delta farmers from planting, according to the U.N. report.

There are still problems that need to be fixed, Feng said. The farmers said they had to plant several times because the seeds they were given were not right for that area.Rats — which multiplied because of the rare flowering of bamboo in 2007 — have damaged 1,693 acres (685 hectares) of rice and 988 acres (400 hectares) of maize in 121 villages in Chin state, the U.N. report said.Citizens in Chin, Rakhine and other poor states are suffering critical food insecurities and high levels of malnutrition in children, the WFP said. People have resorted to foraging the forest for food, it said.Agriculture Ministry officials in Myanmar were not available for comment Wednesday.

Nearly 7 million Zimbabweans need food aid: UN Thu Jan 29, 7:58 am ET

HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe's humanitarian disaster is far worse than anticipated with only six percent of the population formally employed and more than half in need of emergency food aid, a UN report said Thursday.Fewer than half a million Zimbabweans have jobs, while nearly seven million need emergency aid, UN agencies said in the latest stark illustration of the once-vibrant economy's collapse.The new grim estimate by the World Food Programme means that more than half of Zimbabwe's 12 million people do not have enough to eat, WFP regional spokesman Richard Lee told AFP.The UN food agency had in June estimated that 5.1 million Zimbabweans would need aid by January, but the actual figure has proved to be 35 percent higher.The economic situation has worsened more dramatically than we had anticipated, Lee said.

The crisis has deteriorated so quickly that the agency is being forced to halve the cereal rations given to hungry Zimbabweans so that all the people in need can receive aid, he added.The WFP now plans to feed 5.1 million people, while other agencies will feed an additional 1.8 million people, Lee said.Basically the situation has deteriorated since we did the estimate in May and June 2008.Since then the economic situation has worsened more dramatically than we had anticipated, he said. On top of that, the government has not imported as much food as anticipated.

Because of the increase in the number of hungry people, cereal rations will be cut to five kilos (11 pounds) per person per month, he said.The normal ration is 12 kilos per month, but that was reduced months ago to 10 kilos in a bid to stretch the agency's resources, he added. Beneficiaries also receive beans and cooking oil.Food aid is being distributed in every district in the country, Lee said, as the crisis hits both the urban population -- which does not have enough money to buy food -- and poor farmers who have not been able to grow enough to eat.In the cities, the crisis is compounded by the dearth of employment prospects and the struggles of living with the world's highest inflation rate, last estimated in July at 231 million percent but now believed to be far higher.At close of 2008, only six percent of the population was formally employed, down from 30 percent in 2003, the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report.Out of the country's 12 million people, only 480,000 have formal jobs, down from 3.6 million in 2003, it said.OCHA released the data in an appeal for 35 agencies working in the country, seeking 550 million US dollars (420 million euros) to provide food aid and other assistance.The economy has shrunk by more than 45 percent over the past five years, leaving half of Zimbabwe's urban population relying on remittances from friends and family overseas, the report said.An estimated three million Zimbabweans have fled the country's economic and political instability, and are now supporting their families with both cash and food.

The local Zimbabwe dollar is now worthless. Even small purchases require a 100,000,000,000,000 dollar bill, and currency itself is in short supply. The economic collapse has also made it difficult for aid agencies to work in Zimbabwe, OCHA added, citing high prices for supplies, troubles ensuring payment of salaries, spotty access to food for staff and fuel shortages. Adding to Zimbabwe's woes are consecutive years of drought and a land reform programme launched in 2000, in which some mostly 4,000 white-owned commercial farms were seized and redistributed to blacks. The scheme has punched a gapping hole in agricultural production, which once accounted for 40 percent of the economy, as most of the new beneficiaries lack both farming equipment and expertise.

DISEASES

REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).

Cholera kills 3,000 amid doubts on Zimbabwe deal Wed Jan 28, 12:47 pm ET

HARARE (AFP) – Zimbabwe's worsening cholera epidemic has killed more than 3,000 people and is the world's worst in 14 years, the UN said Wednesday, as the main opposition cast new doubts on a power-sharing deal.The cholera outbreak has seen more than 57,000 infected and 3,028 killed, the World Health Organisation said in its latest update.The new death toll represents an increase of more than 1,000 deaths in just the past 15 days, a stark illustration of Zimbabwe's political and economic crisis that shows little sign of abating.South Africa on Tuesday had trumpeted the latest proposed deal between Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, reached after marathon talks during a regional summit.The Southern African Development Community (SADC) told the feuding parties to install a unity government by mid-February, but Tsvangirai has warned that the deal could be derailed by long-running disputes over key ministries.On his return to Harare Wednesday, the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) leader called for unity in his party as it prepared to decide on the regional proposal.It's a historic decision, and I hope that the party will be united in ensuring that we respond to the needs on the ground and people's expectations, he told reporters in Harare.

Tsvangirai earlier told South Africa's Star newspaper that negotiators from the different parties would meet in Harare on Thursday to try to resolve the outstanding issues.Those issues include the distribution of cabinet posts, the naming of provincial governors, and the control of security agencies.The MDC's leadership then plans to meet Friday to decide whether to commit to the new timeline and form a unity government.One of the South African mediators, top presidential aide Frank Chikane, told journalists the outstanding issues around key cabinet appointments would be dealt with this week.He urged parties to form the government to tackle the cholera epidemic and to rein in a growing humanitarian crisis that has left half the population in need of food aid.The key thing is that the leadership must go back to their constituencies and report back and say this is what has come out of that process and for the sake of the people of Zimbabwe let us agree, form the government, because we can solve most problems when we are in government, said Chikane.The summit called for Tsvangirai to be sworn in as prime minister, with Mugabe as president, by February 11, and for the unity cabinet to take office by February 13.

SADC leaders hope to pressure Mugabe and Tsvangirai into a unity government, following disputed elections last year.The two rivals signed an agreement on September 15 to share power, and have remained deadlocked over the allocation of the key home affairs ministry, changes to the constitution and opposition allegations of abductions and arrests of its members.The United States and the European Union have slapped sanctions on Mugabe and his inner circle over the crisis, blaming the 84-year-old for deadly political violence and for allowing the country to crumble under the weight of the world's highest inflation.Religious leaders have also piled pressure on Mugabe, with Catholic bishops Wednesday calling on him to resign so that new presidential elections can be held. Zimbabwe has moved from a crisis to a disaster to passive genocide, the archbishop of Johannesburg, Buti Tlhagale, said in a statement.

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Egypt attacks Iran and allies in Arab world Wed Jan 28, 3:05 pm ET

AFP CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt aired its grievances against Iran, the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas and the Lebanese Shi'ite group Hezbollah, saying they worked together in the fighting over Gaza to provoke conflict in the Middle East.(They tried) to turn the region to confrontation in the interest of Iran, which is trying to use its cards to escape Western pressure ... on the nuclear file, Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit said in an interview with Orbit satellite channel broadcast Wednesday.Aboul Gheit also said that Egypt undermined Qatar's attempts to arrange a formal Arab summit on Gaza earlier this month, arguing that it would have damaged joint Arab action.Egypt made the summit fail... This summit, if it had taken place as an Arab summit with a proper quorum, would have damaged joint Arab action. We can see what others do not see, he said.The interview was broadcast Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning and the state news agency MENA carried excerpts.The comments are the first acknowledgement by Egypt that it actively sought to prevent the Doha summit on January 16, which was the subject of a bitter tug-of-war between rival Arab states.It also indicated that a reconciliation meeting in Kuwait last week between Egypt and Saudi Arabia on one hand, and Qatar and Syria on the other, had only a short-term effect.Qatar failed to win enough support to hold a formal Arab League summit on Gaza but it went ahead anyway with an informal consultative meeting of Arab leaders.The wrangling reflected deep divisions between Arab governments. On one side Saudi Arabia and Egypt, wary of the Islamist group Hamas in Gaza, favored discussing Gaza at a separate economic summit in Kuwait a few days later.

Diplomats say Egypt resents the Qatari challenge to its traditional role as leading Arab mediator and dislikes the influence of the satellite television channel Al Jazeera, which is based in Doha and owned by the Qatari government.Some people imagined that a satellite channel could bring down the Egyptian state, without realizing that Egypt is much stronger than that, Aboul Gheit said.Egypt is very big and has extensive influence despite attempts to influence this stance and role, whether in the Al Jazeera channel or other channels, he added.The Egyptian minister also criticized Hamas for what he called its coup against the forces of the Palestinian Authority in the Gaza Strip in 2007.(Writing by Jonathan Wright; Editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Davos turns from economic gloom to politics By MATT MOORE and ALEXANDER G. HIGGINS, Associated Press Writers JAN 29,09

DAVOS, Switzerland – Israeli election front-runner Benjamin Netanyahu told a session of the World Economic Forum that keeping nuclear weapons out of Iran's hands was more important than the economy because the financial meltdown is reversible — and a nuclear Iran wouldn't be.What is not reversible is the acquisition of nuclear weapons by a fanatic radical regime ... We have never had, since the dawn of the nuclear age, nuclear weapons in the hands of such a fanatical regime, he said.Iran maintains that it is seeking nuclear power for peaceful purposes and not for a weapons program. Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was to appear on a discussion panel later in the day.The annual gathering of 2,500 business and corporate leaders in Davos, Switzerland, is meeting under the shadow of the world economic crisis, with Thursday's sessions adding discussions of the Mideast and the new U.S. administration.OPEC warned it was ready to make more production cuts if oil prices don't start rising soon. The cartel's Secretary-General Abdalla Salem El-Badri, speaking at the annual meeting of business and government leaders in Davos, Switzerland, expressed hope that global oil demand would pick up by the end of this year or beginning of next year.El-Badri said OPEC members will have reached the group's pledge of a drop of 4.2 million barrels a day by the end of January.After that if we still have some downward problems, then OPEC will not hesitate to take some quantity out of the market, he said.Officials also discussed the recent fighting in Gaza, reactions to and hopes for the leadership of President Barack Obama and how to tackle efforts to fight terrorism.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan noted that Obama, who is not in Davos, should help redefine terror and terrorism in the Middle East and use it as the basis for a new American policy there.I believe that President Obama must redefine terror and terrorist organizations in the Middle East and based on this new definition, a new American policy must be deployed in the Middle East, said Erdogan, whose country has played a key role in trying to mediate among Israel and Syria and the Palestinians.The United Nations on Thursday launched an emergency appeal for $613 million to help Palestinians recover from Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza.Help is indeed needed urgently, said U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.The meeting is taking place amid economic gloom that has seen personal fortunes trimmed, companies shuttered and hundreds of thousands jobs lost. The failure of the world's financial community and of regulators to detect and deflect the spiraling crisis has left many groping for answers — and questioning what went wrong on a moral, even spiritual level.We have trusted the invisible hand so much that we forgot to bring virtue to bear on our decisions so the invisible hand has let go of some important things, like the common good, said theologian Jim Willis, CEO of Sojourners USA.The common good has not been very common in our decision-making about economics for a long time,he said.http://www.weforum.org

Hamas officials signal willingness to negotiate By STEVEN GUTKIN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 29, 3:33 am ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Senior officials in the Islamic group Hamas are indicating a willingness to negotiate a deal for a long-term truce with Israel as long as the borders of Gaza are opened to the rest of the world.We want to be part of the international community, Hamas leader Ghazi Hamad told The Associated Press at the Gaza-Egypt border, where he was coordinating Arab aid shipments. I think Hamas has no interest now to increase the number of crises in Gaza or to challenge the world.

Hamas is trying hard to flex its muscles in the aftermath of Israel's punishing onslaught in the Gaza Strip, doling out cash, vowing revenge and declaring victory over Zionist aggression. But AP interviews with Hamad and two other Hamas leaders in the war-ravaged territory they rule suggest some of that might be more bluster than reality — and the group may be ready for some serious deal making.That raises the question of whether Hamas, which receives much of its funding and weapons from Tehran, can be coaxed out of Iran's orbit. That question looks less preposterous than it did before President Barack Obama began extending olive branches to the Muslim world and Israel's Gaza offensive reshuffled Mideast politics.The militants appear to be in the throes of an internal power struggle between hard-liners and pragmatists. Which group comes out on top will likely depend on who is able to garner the most benefits in postwar Gaza.With hawks urging more violence, the window of opportunity to boost the voices of relative moderation is likely to be short.We won this war, said Hamas politician Mushir Al-Masri. Why should we give in to pressure from anyone? Al-Masri spoke to the AP while standing next to a chair that used to serve as his seat in the Palestinian parliament, now reduced to rubble by Israeli bombing. Surrounding him were cracked cement, broken bricks, shattered glass and microphones covered in ash.Yet even Al-Masri, a staunch hard-liner, sounded a conciliatory note.

We have our hands open to any country ... to open a dialogue without conditions, he said — clarifying that does not include Israel.Hamas' pragmatists may have emerged from Israel's offensive slightly stronger, perhaps because of a perception among some Gazans that the organization's hawks overplayed their hand by provoking the wrath of Israel.Obama has repeatedly reached out to Muslims since becoming president. He assured hard-liners in his inaugural address that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist. He dispatched special envoy George J. Mitchell to the Middle East on a listening tour. And on Tuesday he chose the Arab satellite network Al-Arabiya for his first televised interview, declaring Americans are not your enemy.It's unlikely Obama would talk directly to Hamas, which the U.S. lists as a terrorist organization. However, if reconciliation talks between Hamas and its pro-Western Fatah rivals in Egypt bear fruit, Obama, unlike his predecessor, may accept a Palestinian unity government that includes the militants.It's true Hamas has yet to renounce violence and Israel's assault has hardened many hearts in Gaza. But with the territory in desperate need of recovery, the group is promising not to interfere with aid efforts and appears keen to reconcile with Fatah.No one expects the international community to drop all of its reservations about Hamas, an organization that made its name by strapping explosives onto young people and sending them to blow themselves up in crowded Israeli markets and buses.But rebuilding Gaza after Israel's onslaught is going to require open borders and a large inflow of money and material — things that Iran, whose aid to Hamas is strictly surreptitious because of Israeli restrictions, cannot provide.Hamas says it wants international recognition as much as an end to the blockade of Gaza — but it won't get either for free. For Hamas, the price may include allowing Fatah back into Gaza 20 months after it violently ousted them, along with halting its rocket fire and weapons smuggling.

The notion of engaging Hamas is anathema to Israel. A dialogue with Hamas as a terror organization would be a strategic mistake, because Israel advocates dialogue with the moderates and displaying toughness against the extremists, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told the Maariv daily this week. Israel's position is based on the fact that Hamas refuses to recognize its right to exist. However, the three Hamas leaders interviewed said they would accept statehood in just the West Bank and Gaza and would give up their resistance against Israel if that were achieved. We accept a state in the 67 borders, said Hamad. We are not talking about the destruction of Israel.Hamas' takeover of Gaza left Fatah in charge of just the West Bank. The two territories, captured by Israel in the 1967 Mideast war and located on opposite sides of Israel, are together supposed to make up a future Palestinian state. Hamas leaders in the past have spoken about a long-term hudna, or truce, with Israel. But the Jewish state sees the offer as a non-starter because it falls short of full recognition. Even so, Israel and the West appear to have leverage to get Hamas to moderate its stance. The group's demand for an open border with Egypt, for instance, could be conditioned on allowing Fatah to help monitor it. And bringing funds and materials to begin repairing the estimated $2 billion in damage caused by Israel's offensive could be conditioned on Hamas agreeing to stop its violence. One hardline Hamas politician, Yehiel El Abadsa, said his group should not reconcile with Fatah and that Hamas will be the ones to rebuild Gaza.That position may well put him at odds with the majority of Gaza's 1.4 million inhabitants, who seem to be clamoring for an end to the divisions that are distancing their dreams for a state of their own. Even if money falls from the sky and we are still divided like this, we'll never accomplish anything, said 55-year-old Mohammed Abed Rabbo, sitting outside his bombed-out house in northern Gaza.

Gaza tunnels buzz again despite strikes.Israel targeted tunnels again Wednesday with airstrikes.By Ilene R. Prusher | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor from the January 29, 2009 edition

Rafah, Gaza Strip - The white canopies that cover the entrances are like a welcome mat – to the land of the tunnels. Below the coverings, the Palestinian tunnel operators are back at work. At least, that is, those with businesses still intact after a brutal 22-day war with Israel. They are in a both lucrative and perilous position. On the one hand, they make substantial earnings from the underground march of commerce that goes on between Rafah, the Gaza Strip's southernmost town, and Egypt, which has a border town by the same name. On the other, the Palestinians who live and work here are some of the most likely targets of renewed Israeli bombing, despite a cease-fire that each side unilaterally declared 10 days ago. Early Wednesday, the Israeli air force bombed smuggling tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border in response to the killing of an Israeli soldier a day earlier. The Israeli soldier had been patrolling the border of Gaza Tuesday on the Israeli side when he was hit in a remote-control bomb attack; three others were injured. Reuters reported that a little-known Islamist group claimed responsibility. Israel's Haaretz, sourcing Shin Bet [Israel's internal intelligence agency], said that the bomb had been planted by a Hamas breakaway group identified with the Al-Qaida-affiliated Global Jihad.Adding another fissure, Palestinian militants fired a rocket at Israel's western Negev region on Wednesday, causing no casualties. Both sides have rattled the fragile cease-fire.

About 90 percent of the tunnels in Rafah have been destroyed by Israeli air raids since the war began on Dec. 27, according to the men who make their livings in tunnel town.Of those damaged, many are already in the process of repair. Others went unscathed, though people here are not sure how long that will be the case. There is nothing to do but to rebuild them again, says Abu Ahmed, chief operator and part-owner of a tunnel here. Knowing that the tunnels remain high on Israel's hit list – Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said Sunday that she supported bombing again – most here keep a low profile, reluctant to talk to journalists, give full names, or be photographed. Abu Ahmed says he has approximately 30 partners who share the profits of running one successful tunnel. This one, like most others, looks like a well. But with a system of pulleys, it allows a tunnel runner to lower himself into the earth and head across the border. All that comes in here, he insists, are needed commercial goods and household items, from cooking gas to cola to cigarettes to cellphones. Weapons don't come through these tunnels. That would be too out in the open for everyone to see and for the Israelis to strike, he says over a glass of cooked tea, waiting under his white canopy for a new delivery. He speaks loudly to compete with the din of generators needed to run the tunnels. Some of the entrances have been crushed by the airstrikes, leaving the whole area looking like a cross between a dirty sandbox and a scrap-metal junkyard. All the military factions have their own tunnels, and they bring in their weapons through those. Without these tunnels, we wouldn't have enough to eat, he says, laying responsibility on the doorstep of Israel and the international community for keeping much of Gaza closed to the outside world. We blame Israel and all the Arab countries for this mess they have made for us, he says.

Nearby, another tunnel worker tells a similar story. We bring in things like rice, potato chips, other kinds of food, medications, says Mohammed Sawalni. These are not weapons tunnels. The Israelis just say that to justify their actions.In Khan Yunis, also in southern Gaza, hundred of people line up to buy cooking gas. One man is bitter about prices: A jerry can that cost $20 here is about $1 in Egypt, he says.

At least some tunnels are being used to smuggle weapons and explosives – or the materials to make them – into the Gaza Strip. But it seems clear that many tunnels have become a critical factor in the Palestinian economy. The tunnels have become wider and more professional; even large household items, such as refrigerators and televisions, come through here. Moreover, the tunnels have become such a regular facet of imports that Hamas now takes a cut – or customs duties, in its preferred parlance – of all goods that come in through the tunnels. Two tunnel operators interviewed for this article noted that their take is only a limited share of the profits. Some profit goes to Hamas, and some to Egyptian officials on the other side. The Hamas government, which took full control here after a coup in June 2007, even runs a tunnel police force – known as shurtat il-anfaq – that keeps an eye on things and makes sure tunnels taxes are paid. Some people here note that this makes for an ironic catch. While Israel was trying to throttle Hamas by keeping the borders virtually shut over the past year-and-a-half, Hamas discovered an indigenous revenue-generating mechanism by regulating and expanding the use of underground tunnels to Egypt. [Some] of the Palestinians, especially those living in Rafah, have become very dependent on that tunnel income, says Mukhaimar Abusada, a political scientist at al-Azhar University in Gaza. This smuggling was going on even under the eyes of the Israelis, which is why Hamas and others have had the ability to shoot rockets at Israel since 2000. Israel could not control it then either, but they're asking Egypt to control it now.

FITNA ISLAM
VIDEO - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7961200236915885171&ei=Unl3SYqPApPSjgKmzbilDw&q=fitna

PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
http://www.pmw.org.il/

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 JAN 29,2009

09:30 AM -44.77
10:00 AM -114.06
10:30 AM -115.25
11:00 AM -88.25
11:30 AM -113.34
12:00 PM -131.58
12:30 PM -140.26
01:00 PM -195.06
01:30 PM -178.89
02:00 PM -205.24
02:30 PM -186.94
03:00 PM -197.21
03:30 PM -198.96
04:00 PM -226.76 8148.69

S&P 500 845.14 -28.95

NASDAQ 1507.84 -50.50

GOLD 907.00 +18.80

OIL 41.44 -0.72

TSE 300 8758.23 -148.00

CDNX 880.54 +10.62

S&P/TSX/60 528.53 -9.49

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow -97 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -114 points at low today.
Dow -44 points at high today.

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -4.57%
S&P -3.23%
Nasdaq -1.19%
TSX Advances 620,declines 542,unchanged 219,Volume 1,119,555,243.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 327,Declines 329,Unchanged 313,Volume 109,061,141.

Boeing to slash 10,000 Jobs.
On Feb 1,09 California goes broke,runs out of money.
Calgary Athiests put signs on buses,Theres probably no God.
Oil opens up today at $40.83,Gold opens at $877.80 today.

NYSE STATS 11:30AM
Advances 869,declines 2,656,unchanged 88,New Highs 5,New Lows 53.
NASDAQ STATS 11;30AM
Advances 723,declines 1,737,unchanged 137,New highs 7,New lows 39.
TSX STATS 11:30AM
Advances 376,declines 517,unchanged 181,Volume 305,954,479.
TSX VENTURE STATS 11:30AM
Advances 185,declines 215,unchanged 215,Volume 32,365,740.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow -195 points at low today.
Dow -44 points at high today.
ALLSTATE
Hurt by:Lower investment income
Lower underwritting income.
Large holdings of risk assets(Mortgages).
Annuity sales costs.
Risk:Capital raise.
Large losses(hurricanes etc)on weak capital base.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

DOW -236 points today at low.
Dow -44 points at high today.
Dow -2.71% today,Volume 246,329,462.
S&P 500 -3.31% today,Volume N/A
Nasdaq -3.24% today,Volume 1,788,889,380.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq still on pace to break 3 week losing streak.
Nasdaq,S&P coming off 1st-4 day winning streak since NOVEMBER 2008.
Major averages still higher for week despite todays losses.
Financials amoung weakest performers.
Stocks fall on EARNINGS,ECONOMIC STATS.

FED VIDEO
http://www.prisonplanet.com/fed-reserve-fails-to-reflate-the-us-banking-system.html

1929 THE GREAT CRASH
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2009/01/1929-great-crash-watch-this-episode-is.html#links

LECTURE - GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2009/01/video-global-financial-crisis-montreal.html#links

Brown admits and calls for New World Order...Global Governance (Security State) we have been telling you this for years; and still you are all skeptical...g-d help you all.JAN 29,09

Brown warns against pessimism

Gordon Brown has given a wide-ranging speech on the economy
The economic crisis should be treated as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order with new rules for international trade, Gordon Brown says.The prime minister set out a series of actions designed to replace fear with confidence and warned against just muddling through as pessimists.During a speech defending his handling of the crisis he also warned against the deglobalisation threat.His speech came as a poll suggested the Tory lead had grown to 15% over Labour.The UK is now officially in recession for the first time since 1991, with many businesses blaming difficulties in obtaining loans for the crisis.

Fill the gap

Last week the government announced a scheme to offer banks insurance against losing more money from the bad debts which started the credit crunch.The Bank of England will also be able to buy up to £50bn worth of assets in companies in all sectors of the economy.Addressing the Foreign Press Association in London, Mr Brown said such measures were intended to fill the gap in lending.He added: We face a choice. We could allow this crisis to start a retreat from globalisation.It will be like turning around a supertanker.

George Osborne, Conservatives
As some want, we could close our markets - for capital, financial services, trade and for labour - and therefore reduce the risks of globalisation.But that would reduce global growth, deny us the benefits of global trade and confine millions to global poverty.Or we could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order - and our task now as nothing less than making the transition through a new internationalism to the benefits of an expanding global society - not muddling through as pessimists but making the necessary adjustment to a better future and setting the new rules for this new global order.
Meanwhile, shadow chancellor George Osborne told the Institute of Chartered Accountants that a Conservative government would make Whitehall more accountable.

Incentives

He promised to include a clause on the responsibility to taxpayers in the employment agreements of senior civil servants, with the Civil Service Code being rewritten to incorporate responsible financial management.Public sector employees should also be rewarded for suggesting waste-cutting ideas, Mr Osborne added.He said: We need a new culture of financial discipline across Whitehall. That means new incentives, new information and new powers of investigation.Mr Osborne adds: Creating a new culture of financial discipline in Whitehall is not going to be easy. It will be like turning around a supertanker.But with a determined political will and the right plans, we can do it. We can turn the Whitehall supertanker and put Britain on the right course.A ComRes opinion poll for the Independent suggests the Conservatives have increased their lead over Labour to 15 points - from five points last month.It puts the party on 43%, with Labour on 28% and the Liberal Democrats on 16%. ComRes telephoned 1,012 adults from 21 to 22 January.

EU unveils proposals for global climate change deal,The EU says it wants to to limit global warming to less than 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures (Photo: Karin Beate Nøsterud /norden.org)HONOR MAHONY 28.01.2009 @ 17:42 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The EU on Wednesday (28 January) unveiled proposals for achieving a new international deal on climate change, but omitted funding commitments as member states struggle to contain the fall-out from the global financial crisis.Brussels is calling for a commitment by rich countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent by 2020, with the overall goal to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial temperatures.It is also asking developing countries, except the very poorest, to limit growth in their collective emissions to 15-30 percent below business as usual levels by 2020.

To achieve the targets, the EU, which sees itself as the world leader on environmental issues, suggests setting up a carbon market with rich countries by 2015, with poorer countries to be included five years later.The EU itself already has an emissions trading system whereby industry is allocated pollution credits which they can buy and sell according to how much they pollute.The European Commission estimates that the cost of achieving these goals will amount to €175 billion each year by 2020, with more than half of that required by the developing nations.The plans are the EU's opening gambit ahead of global talks in December on setting new pollution-reducing targets from 2012, when the current Kyoto accord expires.They still have to be approved by member states, who will discuss them at a summit in March - but money is set to be the key sticking point.

The point of no return

EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas said the international talks in Copenhagen in December represent the last chance before the environmental damage wrought by climate change passes the point of no return.He also stressed that the causes and impacts of climate change will require significant private and public investment over coming decades.However, his proposals were revised before Wednesday's publication and specific funding commitments by rich countries to help developing countries to produce clean energy and adapt to climate change were removed. The last minute changes come amid gloomy economic prospects for member states as they grapple with the effects of the global financial crisis, making it unlikely that leaders would commit to spending money on solutions to global warming. NGOs and Green politicians have condemned the omission of concrete figures and said the EU's targets lack ambition.[The proposal] completely fails to specify how much money the EU and other rich countries will make available, said Elise Ford, head of Oxfam International's EU office. Unless developing countries see hard cash on the table, there is a real danger they will simply walk away.Finnish Green MEP Satu Hassi said the plan failed to recognise the level of financing that will be required by industrialised countries in the context of an international climate agreement.

The split between rich and poorer countries is at the heart of whether international talks on reducing pollution will be successful. Developing countries, who are playing economic catch-up, feel they are being saddled with the poor environmental legacy left by industrialised countries and that they cannot be expected to make the same commitments as rich countries.But rich countries, worried that their industry will be put at an economic disadvantage by having to adhere to stricter environmental standards, say that poorer countries must also make a meaningful contribution to fighting climate change.For his part, Mr Dimas acknowledged the importance of the money question.Without a credible financial package, it's clear that there will be no deal in Copenhagen: no money, no deal, said the commissioner.

Zimbabwe government to deal in foreign currencies JAN 29,09

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Zimbabwe's acting finance minister says the government will now be able to conduct business in foreign currencies instead of the badly devalued Zimbabwean dollar.Patrick Chinamasa is presenting a budget to Parliament with figures given in local and selected foreign currencies.Zimbabwe has the world's highest official inflation and most goods are only available for hard cash. City workers, teachers, doctors and even bus drivers have gone on strike demanding to be paid in U.S. dollars or South African rand.Chinamasa said Thursday that civil servants will continue to be paid in local currency but that their salaries will be brought in line with inflation. They will also be paid a monthly allowance in a foreign currency.

U.S. protectionist pressures concern Canada: report JAN 29,09

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada's Conservative government is concerned about protectionist pressures in the United States but is confident the U.S. administration will live up to its treaty obligations, the federal industry minister said on Canadian television on Thursday.Tony Clement, speaking on the CBC program, News: Morning, said the government is building a very strong relationship with the new U.S. administration and that President Barack Obama's trip to Ottawa on February 19 will provide a good opportunity for the two countries to strengthen ties.

Canada is the United States' largest trading partner, and vice-versa.

The U.S. Congress passed a new $825 billion stimulus package late Wednesday that included a clause that said funds made available in the act can be used only on projects in which all of the iron and steel for them are produced in the United States.Clement said that is a concern for the Canadian government, which will continue to monitor the situation, and to engage both the U.S. administration and Congress.The U.S. Congress is a place where you get manifestations of protectionist pressures, there's no doubt about that, Clement told the CBC.At the same time, the United States has treaty obligations that they've signed onto, NAFTA is one, the World Trade Organization is another, and we expect the United States to live up to its treaty obligations of open and fair trade.The new U.S. stimulus package still has to be put to a vote in the U.S. Senate.(Reporting by John McCrank, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

French strike nationwide over economic crisis By Estelle Shirbon JAN 29,09

PARIS (Reuters) – Hundreds of thousands of French workers staged a nationwide strike on Thursday to try to force President Nicolas Sarkozy and business leaders to do more to protect jobs and wages during the economic crisis.The strike, in a country with a strong protest culture, aimed to highlight fears over growing unemployment, discontent over Sarkozy's reluctance to help consumers and resentment toward bankers blamed for the economic slump.It was the first such protest linked to the slump in a major industrialized nation and was backed by the majority of French voters, according to opinion polls.It did not however paralyze activity as past strikes in France have done. The black Thursday announced by media beforehand did not quite materialize.One in three schoolteachers and one in four staffers at the post office and the electricity company EDF walked off the job, and participation was high in many parts of the public transport network with erratic train, tram and bus services.

The strike cut 11,000 megawatts in power capacity, unions said, but EDF said supplies to customers would not be disrupted.

Merkel puts pressure on EU for Russian pipeline
VALENTINA POP Today JAN 29,09 @ 09:11 CET

German chancellor Angela Merkel has stepped up the pressure on the European commission and member states to back a Russian-German gas pipeline project, rejecting claims that this would increase Europe's energy dependency on Russia.In a letter sent to commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and to the chairman of the EU presidency Mirek Topolanek, Ms Merkel calls for support for the controversial Nord Stream pipeline on the seabed of the Baltic Sea, arguing that the recent gas crisis shows the need for the project, Financial Times Deutschland reports.Ms Merkel's move comes just a day after the commission pledged €250 million for the non-Russian gas pipeline Nabucco and after Mr Topolanek called Nord Stream and Gazprom's second project South Stream a threat to the construction of the European project.

The German chancellor argued that all three projects – Nabucco, Nord Stream and South Stream were needed, and that all EU member states should show political will to build them.Nord Stream was highly criticised by the Baltic states, Poland, Finland and Sweden for trying to leave them out by connecting Germany directly to the Russian gas fields, as well as for environmental concerns related to a submarine pipeline.The Nord Stream deal was sealed by Ms Merkel's predecessor Gerhard Schroeder, who has since become a member of the Gazprom board. The pipeline consortium consists of Gazprom, the German companies Eon Ruhrgas and BASF, as well as the Dutch company Gasunie. Meanwhile, in a speech delivered at the Davos business forum, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin unveiled his vision regarding a real single energy partnership with Europe, based on clear-cut legal foundation. He compared such a partnership with the treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community, which later became the European Union.

Sony's quarterly net profit tumbles 95 percent By JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press Writer – Thu Jan 29, 7:21 am ET

TOKYO – Sony said Thursday its net profit plunged 95 percent in the October-December quarter, as the holiday shopping season provided no respite for the struggling electronics giant and tepid sales of TVs, digital cameras and cell phones hit its bottom line.The Japanese manufacturing icon said its usually dependable electronics division posted its first-ever operating loss in the fiscal third quarter. It also reiterated its forecast for a net loss of 150 billion yen ($1.67 billion) for the full fiscal year through March — its first loss in 14 years.From the second half of September last year, there has been a sudden deterioration in the economy, and with the effects of foreign exchange it has had severe consequences on our business, Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda said.Sony Corp. said its net profit shriveled to 10.4 billion yen ($115.6 million) in the third quarter from 200.2 billion yen a year earlier. Revenue fell 25 percent to 2.15 trillion yen from 2.86 trillion yen.

The quarter includes the year's peak shopping season and is usually a big one for its core electronics division, which generates over half of its total revenues with well-known products like Bravia TVs, Cyber-shot digital cameras and Vaio computers.

But sales of such products fell nearly across the board as consumers held back, and Sony's electronics division posted an operating loss of 15.9 billion yen, versus a 200.6 billion yen profit a year earlier.The company has repeatedly warned of its troubled finances over the past few weeks, and the dismal numbers were in line with analysts' forecasts. But many said the weakness in electronics was a troubling sign, as the division has long been a source of steady profits, even as other areas struggled.David Gibson, an analyst at Macquarie in Tokyo, pointed to a buildup in Sony's inventories as it failed to move its products.

TVs really dragged them down during the period, he said.

The poor showing in electronics caused Sony's operating profit, which is generally seen as the best indication of a company's pure business performance but excludes taxes and other items, to fall to a 18 billion yen loss during the quarter.Sony generates nearly 80 percent of its sales abroad, making it vulnerable to a strong yen, which cuts into its profits from overseas. The dollar has hovered near 90 yen in recent months after rising as high as 117 yen last year. So far this fiscal year foreign exchange movements have taken about 216 billion yen from Sony's operating income, the company said.News from other big Japanese electronics exporters Thursday was also disappointing. Toshiba Corp. said it sank into the red in the third quarter and expects a loss for the full year, while game maker Nintendo Co.'s quarterly net profit fell 18 percent on the strong yen, forcing the company to reduce its full-year forecast.Last week, Sony projected a 150 billion yen net loss for the full fiscal year, a reversal from a net profit of 369.4 billion yen last year. The last — and only — time Sony reported a loss, for the fiscal year ending March 1995, the red ink came from one-time losses in its movie division, marred by box office flops and lax cost controls.Tokyo-based Sony has announced some restructuring measures, including cutting 8,000 of its 185,000 jobs around the world and shuttering five or six plants — about 10 percent of its 57 factories.But Chief Executive Howard Stringer told reporters last week that he had not gone far enough with cut costs and would work harder to combine the company's diverse businesses, which also include its movie division and PlayStation game console business.Sony also said that due to the poor economic conditions, it would postpone by a year establishing a joint venture with Sharp to make liquid crystal display panels for thin-screen TVs, and now aims to do so by March 2010.The company's stock rose 4 percent Thursday to 1,909 yen. The results were announced after trading closed.

Tories will provide progress updates, Clement says Updated Thu. Jan. 29 2009 7:47 AM ET CTV.ca News

Industry Minister Tony Clement says the Liberals' budget demands are reasonable and his government has every intention of co-operating. On Wednesday, one day after the fiscal plan was delivered, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff said his party would support the document but was putting the government on probation.The hitch, Ignatieff said, was that the Conservatives would be required to provide updates on the economy and the implementation of the budget in March, June and December.

Clement told Canada AM he's ok with that.

We had every intention of updating both Parliament and the Canadian people on our progress with respect to this budget, Clement said Thursday. Really it's an economic plan...it's a go-forward document that will help us deal with some of the new economic realities around the world.Ignatieff had said the budget was flawed because, among other things, it fails to extend EI eligibility, attaches strings to infrastructure dollars that may delay projects and jobs, and lacks a credible plan to get out of the deficit situation. However, he said the budget includes important concessions such as affordable housing, skills development and measures to make credit available to businesses. It also includes measures to provide a tax rebate to Canadians who undertake renovation projects. Clement said that even by the time the government is required to deliver its first report in March -- in less than two months -- there will be progress to report. Clearly by the end of March some things within the budget will be immediately available. For instance, the home renovation announcement that was found in the economic plan is already available to Canadians so we can report on that one fairly quickly. We can also report on the tax relief fairly quickly,he said. Clement acknowledged, however, that some measures such as infrastructure spending, will take longer to implement and may not be in place by the first scheduled update.

Rome wasn't built in a day nor will all of Canada's infrastructure be built in a day and I think Canadians will be realistic about that and understand these things take time.New Democrat leader Jack Layton -- miffed that Ignatieff turned his back on a coalition with the NDP, supported by the Bloc -- said the Liberals' support of the document represents a new coalition between Harper and the Liberals. Clement declined to respond to the comment, saying his party is focused on the economy, not the political games within Parliament.Ignatieff the government's updates will ensure a higher level of accountability. Each of these reports will be an opportunity to withdraw our confidence should the government fail Canadians,Ignatieff said. He said the budget does not include one word about accountability. We are putting this government on probation, Ignatieff said, referring to his amendment that the Tories provide frequent updates on the budget's implementation. should Mr. Harper fail to satisfy the expectations of Canadians, we will be ready to defeat him and lead in his place.Both the NDP and the Bloc Quebecois have stated that they will be voting against the budget. In order for it to pass, the support of the Liberals was needed.

At a press conference shortly after Ignatieff's, Layton attacked Ignatieff over his decision. This is the first really important decision in public life that Mr. Ignatieff has had to make... and what he decided to do was to stick with Mr. Dion's unfortunate voting policy of propping up Mr. Harper,Layton said. When the Liberals vote for Mr. Harper, with or without a fig leaf of an amendment, they will be casting their 45th straight vote to keep Stephen Harper in office. You can't do that and pretend to be the alternative to Mr. Harper.Layton said Canadians can't rely on Ignatieff to oppose Harper. If you oppose Mr. Harper and you want to replace him, I urge you to join with the New Democrats and support us in the next election, he said. Flaherty's budget includes $85 billion in deficit over the next five years. The deficit in the 2009-2010 fiscal year will be a shade under $34 billion. Flaherty's spending plan includes $40 billion in economic stimulus over the next two years in the form of infrastructure spending and tax cuts.

Brown promises action to restore growth JAN 29,09

LONDON (AFP) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Thursday vowed to act with purpose and determination to restore economic growth a day after the IMF said Britain would be the country worst hit by the global recession.In the face of the chaotic collapse of global financial markets, we will act with purpose and determination to fight this global recession, he said in an address to local government leaders.Although Britain faced a difficult year of great challenges, Brown insisted the economy would pull through.Let me be clear and candid: with the action we are taking both here at home and abroad we will get through this and onward to the better times beyond, he said.

His comments the day after economists at the IMF warned that Britain that would suffer the most of all the large industrialised economies, with gross domestic product (GDP) contracting 2.8 percent in 2009, after 0.7 percent growth last year.

Official figures released last week confirmed the economy had fallen into a recession for the first time since 1991. A recession is technically defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth.Within Britain, Belfast, Liverpool and Hull were the three cities likely to be hardest hit by the expected wave of job losses and business closures, a study found earlier this week.The three cities were all red flagged in a report which was compiled by the urban policy think tank, Centre for Cities.In 2008 over two thirds of the cities with the largest increases in people on Job Seeker's Allowance were in the North, suggesting early job losses amongst more vulnerable workers, the report said.Nearly a quarter of Belfast's working population and over a fifth in Hull have no formal qualifications -- making recovery more difficult, it said.Two thirds of cities which saw the biggest rise in numbers of job seekers are in the north, with Hull having the highest number of all.Although Edinburgh, London and Bristol were likely to be hit because of the number of people working in the financial sector, they were more likely to weather the storm due to their stronger employment rates, diverse industries and highly skilled populations, it found.The stronger city economies of the southeast, such as Cambridge, which have a highly-qualified workforce and a profusion of knowledge industries were likely to be less exposed and better placed to recover more quickly, it said.UK cities will be hit harder than they think by this recession, said Dermot Finch, director of the Centre for Cities.The recession will hit our cities in different ways -- and some will be hit worse than others.Cities will lead us out of recession, but they can't just rely on action from Whitehall. Each city needs its own front-line action plan, to keep jobs and retrain workers -- and more powers over economic development, he said.The research looked at the economic performance of the 64 largest towns and cities in the country.Cities Outlook 2009

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

Gore doubts EU leadership abilities,I think the United States is the only nation that can lead the world HONOR MAHONY Today JAN 29,09 @ 08:25 CET

Former US vice-president Al Gore has raised strong doubts about the European Union's ability to give global leadership, particularly on climate change - an area where the EU prides itself as setting an example to others.Some have speculated that sometime in the future, if the European Union actually unifies to a much higher degree, and has a president, and an effective legislative body that has real power, they might somehow emerge, with potential for global leadership. I'm not going to hold my breath, he said during a testimony to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on tackling climate change.I don't want to be too proud, you know, to be chest-beating about that, but I think the United States is the only nation that can lead the world, continued Mr Gore, according to AFP news agency.Referring to global warming, he said: This is the one challenge that could completely end human civilization.His comments come as the EU has just unveiled proposals for securing international agreement on how to tackle climate change after 2012, when the current arrangement expires.The talks will take place in Copenhagen this year. Until now, the EU has made much of the fact that it has led the field in setting up an emissions trading system – where industry trades pollution credits – and agreed to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the bloc by 20 percent by 2020.It has also been easy for the EU to date to have the moral upper hand over the US on climate change issues with the previous US administration having a poor environment record.However, US president Barack Obama has already sounded a different note and pledged that Washington will take the environment dossier in hand.

If Washington pulls its weight on climate change, it will throw Europe's green credentials into the spotlight, with individual EU member states often bickering over what green goals to set, how they should be achieved and who should pay for them.The Gore comments also touch on a wider debate in Europe on EU leadership. A reform of the EU's institutional rules, known as the Lisbon Treaty, would give the bloc a permanent president and foreign minister and increase the power of the European Parliament.But analysts wonder whether the 27 member states – particularly big players such as Germany, France and the UK – will ever be able to unite behind a president or foreign minister to give them the political room they need to be able to properly represent the European Union.

VIDEO TO STORY VATICAN
http://www.euronews.net/en/article/29/01/2009/jewish-leaders-cancel-vatican-visit/

Religion Jewish leaders cancel Vatican visit 29/01 14:39 CETworld news

Leading Jewish rabbis have cancelled talks with the Vatican after the Pope re-habilitated a Catholic bishop who denied the Nazi gas chambers ever existed. British-born Richard Williamson had been excommunicated. Last week he doubted the scale of the Holocaust, saying no more than 300,000 Jews died in Nazi camps. Williamson and three other bishops were expelled from the Catholic Church 20 years ago when they were ordained without the permission of then-Pope John Paul. The Pope has tried to distance himself from Williamson’s comments, saying the Holocaust should remind all humanity of the power of hate. However, Jews remain outraged. Many said the Pope had failed to demand that Williamson renounce his views. The Nobel Peace prize-winner Elie Wiesel said the Pope had given credence to the most vulgar aspect of anti-Semitism. Israel’s Chief Rabbinate wrote to the Vatican saying dialogue with Catholics could not continue without a public apology from Bishop Williamson.

Israel's chief rabbinate severs Vatican ties By IAN DEITCH, Associated Press Writer –Wed Jan 28, 12:01 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israel's chief rabbinate severed ties with the Vatican on Wednesday to protest a papal decision to reinstate a bishop who publicly denied 6 million Jews were killed during the Holocaust.The Jewish state's highest religious authority sent a letter to the Holy See expressing sorrow and pain at the papal decision. It will be very difficult for the chief rabbinate of Israel to continue its dialogue with the Vatican as before, the letter said. Chief rabbis of both the Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jews were parties to the letter.The rabbinate, which faxed a copy of the letter to The Associated Press, also canceled a meeting with the Vatican set for March. The rabbinate and the state of Israel have separate ties with the Vatican, and Wednesday's move does not affect state relations.Pope Benedict XVI, faced with an uproar over the bishop, said Wednesday he feels full and indisputable solidarity with Jews and warned against any denial of the full horror of the Nazi genocide.The remarks were his first public comments on the issue since the controversy erupted Saturday.The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the Vatican hoped that in light of the pope's words, the difficulties expressed by the Israeli Rabbinate can be subjected to further and deeper reflection.Lombardi expressed hope that dialogue between the two parties can continue fruitfully and serenely.

Oded Weiner, the director general of the chief rabbinate's office, welcomed the pope's remarks, calling them a big step toward reconciliation.With his comments, the pope reached out to Jews angered by his decision to rehabilitate bishop Richard Williamson, who told Swedish TV in an interview broadcast last week that evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews being deliberately gassed. He said 300,000 Jews were killed at most, but not one of them by gassing in a gas chamber.About 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators during World War II. Many were gassed in death camps while others were killed en masse in other ways, including shooting and starvation. About 240,000 Holocaust survivors live in Israel.

Jewish groups, including the American Jewish Committee, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Israel's quasi-governmental Jewish Agency, denounced the Vatican for bringing a Holocaust denier back into the fold.The Vatican quickly distanced itself from Williamson's comments and said removing the excommunication by no means implied the Vatican shared his views.Williamson and three other bishops were excommunicated 20 years ago after they were consecrated by an ultraconservative archbishop without papal consent — a move the Vatican at the time called an act of schism.Benedict said Wednesday he had lifted the excommunication because the bishops had repeatedly shown their deep suffering over the situation.The German-born Benedict expressed his full and indisputable solidarity with Jews.He recalled his visits to the Auschwitz death camp — including as pope in May 2006 — and the brutal massacre of millions of Jews, innocent victims of blind racial and religious hatred.The Vatican and the rabbinate launched formal relations in 2000 when Pope John Paul II visited Jerusalem. Since then, delegates from the Holy See and the rabbinate have met twice a year to discuss religious issues. This is the first time ties have been severed.The Vatican and the state of Israel have had their own relationship since establishing diplomatic ties in 1993.Associated Press Writer Alessandra Rizzo in Vatican City contributed to this report.