JERUSALEM CONFERENCE DAY 3 2009

JERUSALEM CONFERENCE DAY 3 TODAY IN ISRAEL

JERUSALEM CONFERENCE DAY 1 2008 - AUDIO
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/125328

JURUSALEM CONFERENCE INTERVIEWS 2009 DAY 1 - AUDIO
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129625

JERUSALEM CONFERENCE 2009 DAY 3 TODAY
http://www.jerusalemconference.com/eng/
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129623

JERUSALEM CONFERENCE 2009 ISRAEL NATIONAL RADIO
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/

INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP OF CHRISTIANS AND JEWS
http://www.ifcj.org/site/PageNavigator/eng/about/

CHRISTIANS UNITED FOR ISRAEL
http://www.cufi.org/site/PageServer

CHRISTIAN FRIENDS OF ISRAEL
http://www.cfijerusalem.org/default.asp

ONE JERUSALEM
http://www.onejerusalem.org/2006/10/audio-bloggers-conference-call-3.php

FEMA CAMPS ARE A REALITY
http://www.infowars.com/new-legislation-authorizes-fema-camps-in-us/

New Legislation Authorizes FEMA Camps In U.S. Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com Tuesday, January 27, 2009

A new bill introduced in Congress authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to set up a network of FEMA camp facilities to be used to house U.S. citizens in the event of a national emergency.The National Emergency Centers Act or HR 645 mandates the establishment of national emergency centers to be located on military installations for the purpose of to providing temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster, according to the bill.The legislation also states that the camps will be used to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations.Ominously, the bill also states that the camps can be used to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, an open ended mandate which many fear could mean the forced detention of American citizens in the event of widespread rioting after a national emergency or total economic collapse.Many credible forecasters have predicted riots and rebellions in America that will dwarf those already witnessed in countries like Iceland and Greece.With active duty military personnel already being stationed inside the U.S. under Northcom, partly for purposes of crowd control, fears that Americans could be incarcerated in detainment camps are all too real.

The bill mandates that six separate facilities be established in different Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions (FEMA) throughout the country.The camps will double up as command and control centers that will also house a 24/7 operations watch center as well as training facilities for Federal, State, and local first responders.The bill also contains language that will authorize camps to be established within closed or already operating military bases around the country.As we have previously highlighted, in early 2006 Halliburton subsidiary Kellogg, Brown and Root was awarded a $385 million dollar contract by Homeland Security to construct detention and processing facilities in the event of a national emergency.

The language of the preamble to the agreement veils the program with talk of temporary migrant holding centers, but it is made clear that the camps would also be used as the development of a plan to react to a national emergency.As far back as 2002, FEMA sought bids from major real estate and engineering firms to construct giant internment facilities in the case of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack or a natural disaster.A much discussed and circulated report, the Pentagon’s Civilian Inmate Labor Program, was more recently updated and the revision details a template for developing agreements between the Army and corrections facilities for the use of civilian inmate labor on Army installations.Alex Jones has attended numerous military urban warfare training drills across the US where role players were used to simulate arresting American citizens and taking them to internment camps.

Read the new legislation in full below.

National Emergency Centers Establishment Act (Introduced in House)
HR 645 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 645 To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

January 22, 2009
Mr. HASTINGS of Florida introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

——————————————————————————–

A BILL
To direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish national emergency centers on military installations.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the National Emergency Centers Establishment Act.

SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- In accordance with the requirements of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish not fewer than 6 national emergency centers on military installations.

(b) Purpose of National Emergency Centers- The purpose of a national emergency center shall be to use existing infrastructure–

(1) to provide temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance to individuals and families dislocated due to an emergency or major disaster;

(2) to provide centralized locations for the purposes of training and ensuring the coordination of Federal, State, and local first responders;

(3) to provide centralized locations to improve the coordination of preparedness, response, and recovery efforts of government, private, and not-for-profit entities and faith-based organizations; and

(4) to meet other appropriate needs, as determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security.

SEC. 3. DESIGNATION OF MILITARY INSTALLATIONS AS NATIONAL EMERGENCY CENTERS.

(a) In General- Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate not fewer than 6 military installations as sites for the establishment of national emergency centers.

(b) Minimum Requirements- A site designated as a national emergency center shall be–

(1) capable of meeting for an extended period of time the housing, health, transportation, education, public works, humanitarian and other transition needs of a large number of individuals affected by an emergency or major disaster;

(2) environmentally safe and shall not pose a health risk to individuals who may use the center;

(3) capable of being scaled up or down to accommodate major disaster preparedness and response drills, operations, and procedures;

(4) capable of housing existing permanent structures necessary to meet training and first responders coordination requirements during nondisaster periods;

(5) capable of hosting the infrastructure necessary to rapidly adjust to temporary housing, medical, and humanitarian assistance needs;

(6) required to consist of a complete operations command center, including 2 state-of-the art command and control centers that will comprise a 24/7 operations watch center as follows:

(A) one of the command and control centers shall be in full ready mode; and

(B) the other shall be used daily for training; and

(7) easily accessible at all times and be able to facilitate handicapped and medical facilities, including during an emergency or major disaster.

(c) Location of National Emergency Centers- There shall be established not fewer than one national emergency center in each of the following areas:

(1) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions I, II, and III.

(2) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IV.

(3) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions V and VII.

(4) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region VI.

(5) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Regions VIII and X.

(6) The area consisting of Federal Emergency Management Agency Region IX.

(d) Preference for Designation of Closed Military Installations- Wherever possible, the Secretary of Homeland Security, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall designate a closed military installation as a site for a national emergency center. If the Secretaries of Homeland Security and Defense jointly determine that there is not a sufficient number of closed military installations that meet the requirements of subsections (b) and (c), the Secretaries shall jointly designate portions of existing military installations other than closed military installations as national emergency centers.

(e) Transfer of Control of Closed Military Installations- If a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Defense shall transfer to the Secretary of Homeland Security administrative jurisdiction over such closed military installation.

(f) Cooperative Agreement for Joint Use of Existing Military Installations- If an existing military installation other than a closed military installation is designated as a national emergency center, not later than 180 days after the date of designation, the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Secretary of Defense shall enter into a cooperative agreement to provide for the establishment of the national emergency center.

(g) Reports-

(1) PRELIMINARY REPORT- Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–

(A) an outline of the reasons why the site was selected;

(B) an outline of the need to construct, repair, or update any existing infrastructure at the site;

(C) an outline of the need to conduct any necessary environmental clean-up at the site;

(D) an outline of preliminary plans for the transfer of control of the site from the Secretary of Defense to the Secretary of Homeland Security, if necessary under subsection (e); and

(E) an outline of preliminary plans for entering into a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f).

(2) UPDATE REPORT- Not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–

(A) an update on the information contained in the report as required by paragraph (1);

(B) an outline of the progress made toward the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(C) an outline of the progress made toward entering a cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(D) recommendations regarding any authorizations and appropriations that may be necessary to provide for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(3) FINAL REPORT- Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, shall submit to Congress a report that contains for each designated site–

(A) finalized information detailing the transfer of control of the site, if necessary under subsection (e);

(B) the finalized cooperative agreement for the establishment of a national emergency center at the site, if necessary under subsection (f); and

(C) any additional information pertinent to the establishment of a national emergency center at the site.

(4) ADDITIONAL REPORTS- The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting jointly with the Secretary of Defense, may submit to Congress additional reports as necessary to provide updates on steps being taken to meet the requirements of this Act.

SEC. 4. LIMITATIONS ON STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.

This Act does not affect–

(1) the authority of the Federal Government to provide emergency or major disaster assistance or to implement any disaster mitigation and response program, including any program authorized by the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.); or

(2) the authority of a State or local government to respond to an emergency.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

There is authorized to be appropriated $180,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2009 and 2010 to carry out this Act. Such funds shall remain available until expended.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

In this Act, the following definitions apply:

(1) CLOSED MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term `closed military installation’ means a military installation, or portion thereof, approved for closure or realignment under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note) that meet all, or 2 out of the 3 following requirements:

(A) Is located in close proximity to a transportation corridor.

(B) Is located in a State with a high level or threat of disaster related activities.

(C) Is located near a major metropolitan center.

(2) EMERGENCY- The term emergency has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(3) MAJOR DISASTER- The term major disaster has the meaning given such term in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122).

(4) MILITARY INSTALLATION- The term military installation has the meaning given such term in section 2910 of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.
Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.

ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

WELL SURPRISE,SURPRISE HAMAS BROKE THE TRUCE FOR ABOUT THE 3RD TIME SINCE JANUARY 22,2009. ISRAEL GO GETTEM,DON;T LET THESE MURDERERS GET AWAY WITH BOMBING GOD'S LAND GIVIN TO YOU ISRAELIS,IN FACT CONQUER ALL THE LAND THE BIBLE PROMISES USE.

Hamas bombing, Israeli airstrike shake Gaza truce By JOSEF FEDERMAN, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,09

JERUSALEM – A Palestinian roadside bomb killed an Israeli soldier patrolling the border with Gaza on Tuesday, and Israel responded with an airstrike that wounded a Hamas militant in a flare-up of violence that undermined a cease-fire on the eve of a visit by the new U.S. Mideast envoy.Israel briefly sent tanks and bulldozers across the border into Gaza after its soldier was killed and three others were wounded in the bombing. Hamas said the Israeli airstrike wounded one of its militants as he rode a motorcycle in the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis.It was the worst bloodshed since the sides declared the cease-fire on Jan. 18 to end a three-week Israeli offensive.Since withdrawing its troops, Israel has threatened to retaliate hard for any violations of the informal truce.We will respond, but there is no point in elaborating, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said during a trip to a military base in southern Israel. Later, he convened an emergency meeting of top security officials. He spoke with Prime Minister Ehud Olmert after the meeting, but no details were released.Olmert later hinted that a much tougher response could soon follow, telling a gathering of senior civil servants that Israel is not bound by any formal cease-fire with Hamas. Israel's response has yet to come, he said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing, but Ramattan, a Palestinian news agency, later released a video of the roadside bombing allegedly filmed by militants it did not identify.The video showed a large explosion next to a jeep moving on the Israeli side of the border fence. A huge plume of smoke emerges as the jeep stops. Two Israeli soldiers are then seen running toward the jeep, and gunfire is directed at them before a secondary blast hits them, too.Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas lawmaker, said Israel was to blame for continuing to fire into Gaza. Al-Masri said his group had not agreed to a full cease-fire but only to a lull in fighting. The Zionists are responsible for any aggression, he said.After Tuesday's blast, heavy gunfire was heard along the border in central Gaza, and hovering Israeli helicopters fired machine gun bursts, Palestinian witnesses said. An Israeli jet set off a loud sonic boom over Gaza City not long afterward, possibly as a warning.Palestinian residents said Israeli tanks and bulldozers also entered the area where the roadside bombing took place and were tearing up some vacant land — apparently to prevent it from being used to stage attacks.Not long after the bombing, a 27-year-old Gaza farmer was killed by Israeli gunfire along the border several miles away, Palestinian medical officials said. The military had no comment, and it was unclear if the two incidents were related.The violence cast a shadow over the arrival of George Mitchell, President Barack Obama's special Mideast envoy. Mitchell arrived in Egypt on Tuesday and was set to visit Israel on Wednesday for three days of talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on how to get stalled peace efforts back on track. Mitchell is expected to meet Olmert, top security officials, and the pro-Western Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas.

Mitchell has no plans to meet with Hamas, which the U.S., Israel and European Union consider a terrorist group. Hamas seized Gaza from forces loyal to Abbas in June 2007. Hamas' control of Gaza, and its refusal to recognize Israel's right to exist, are considered major obstacles to peace efforts.The decision to appoint a presidential envoy and send him to the Middle East so early in the administration is a sign that Obama intends to take a more active approach to the region than did his predecessor. As the man who brokered Northern Ireland's Good Friday peace accord in 1998, Mitchell also brings gravitas to the job and a proven record of resolving seemingly intractable disputes.In an interview Monday with the Arab satellite channel Al-Arabiya, Obama said he felt it important to get engaged right away in the Mideast. He said he directed Mitchell to talk to all the major parties involved and that his administration would craft an approach after that.What I told him is start by listening, because all too often the United States starts by dictating, Obama said. At his West Bank headquarters, Abbas said he was looking forward to working with the new administration. Obama has said good words, he told a news conference. We are waiting and we need to see if this administration is serious on achieving peace within this year.Abbas also took aim at his Hamas rivals, accusing the group of bringing destruction upon the people of Gaza by inviting the Israeli offensive. Israel launched the operation in response to years of Hamas rocket attacks, including heavy barrages in the days before the invasion. The offensive killed nearly 1,300 people, including hundreds of civilians, and caused an estimated $2 billion in damage. The international community is trying to broker a long-term cease-fire and figure out how to rebuild the coastal territory. In Gaza, the prime minister of the Hamas government said his group would not try to claim any international construction funds. The announcement from Ismail Haniyeh, who remains in hiding because of fears of being assassinated by Israel, appeared directed at donors who concerned their funds could end up in Hamas' hands. Our aim now is to ease the suffering of our people and to remove the aftermath of the aggression in Gaza, the statement said. Therefore we emphasize that we are not concerned to receive the money for rebuilding Gaza and we are not seeking that.Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, and Mohammed Daraghmeh in Ramallah, West Bank, contributed to this report.

Sarkozy gives father of captured soldier hope By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 27, 3:00 pm ET

PARIS – The father of an Israeli soldier kidnapped by Hamas-allied militants more than two years ago said he received assurances in a meeting Tuesday with President Nicolas Sarkozy that his son is alive.Noam Schalit told reporters that he is hopeful about the outcome for his son, Sgt. Gilad Schalit.He knows that Gilad lives, Noam Schalit said after the meeting with Sarkozy at the French presidential palace.Asked if there was any recent proof that Schalit — held by the militant Hamas in the Gaza Strip — was alive, the father said, He's working in that direction, an apparent reference to Sarkozy.Schalit spoke in rough French and Hebrew through a translator.

The father said he had fresh confirmation that a letter to his son — who was captured at age 22 during a deadly cross-border raid by Hamas-allied militants on an outpost guarded by his tank unit — had been received.We already got confirmation long ago that the letter was received by Gilad. ... We have once again received confirmation that this letter arrived, Noam Schalit said.Schalit, captured in June 2006, has both French and Israeli nationality.Sarkozy's personal involvement in the case raised hopes in Israel of progress in winning the soldier's release.The hostage's fate appeared to take a turn with the three-week Israeli offensive in Gaza. Schalit was on Sarkozy's agenda during one of his recent two trips to the Middle East to launch an initiative with Egypt that has brought a temporary cease-fire. He visited Damascus, where Hamas has its exile roots, and has maintained contact with Syria, considered a key link to Schalit's freedom.There is hope, but I don't want to damage the progress of the president's (behind-the-scenes) actions, Noam Schalit said.The president's office said earlier that the meeting was part of Sarkozy's constant efforts to help free Schalit.Hamas wants Israel to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Schalit. Israel has rejected the demand, but media reports have said it is softening its position following the recent military offensive in Gaza.

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).

German court handed new complaint on EU treaty
HONOR MAHONY 27.01.2009 @ 17:40 CET

Germany's constitutional court has been handed a second complaint over the EU's Lisbon Treaty with the potential to delay the country's final ratification of the document for several months.The new legal action, running to over 200 pages, is concerned with economic as well as political issues, which the complainants say are not addressed by the Lisbon Treaty.They argue that a prognosis on European integration given by the country's constitutional court in a 1993 judgement on the Maastricht Treaty - which paved the way to the euro - has turned out to be false.

Instead, EU integration has been characterised by continuous breaches of the stability pact, a presumptuous over-stepping of power by the European Commission, unaccountable leadership and dissolution of the separation of powers, say the authors in a statement on Monday(26 January), according to German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.They say that the constitutional court cannot approve the Lisbon treaty because it strengthens the current practice of dismembering the division of powers and mixing of competences.The complaint is being brought by Markus Kerber, a commercial lawyer, Dieter Spethmann, a former chief executive of Thyssen, former MEP Franz Ludwig Graf Stauffenberg and economist Joachim Starbatty.Germany's highest court is already dealing with a separate complaint on the Lisbon treaty by conservative MP Peter Gauweiler. It is due to have a two-day hearing on his complaint - which says the treaty undermines freedoms guaranteed in the German constitution - on 10 and 11 February.But the latest complainants have refused to take part in that hearing, reports Handelsblatt newspaper, wanting to have their argumentation proofed separately by the court.The court now has to decide whether it will accept to proof their case. If it does, it is likely to take several months to come to a decision. This could delay the German government's timetable for the treaty, which it would like in place across the bloc by the end of the year.To go into force, the charter still needs to be accepted by Irish citizens, due to have their say in a second referendum later this year and be ratified in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Poland's president Lech Kaczynski has said he will only formally approve the treaty if Ireland says Yes in autumn.For its part, Germany has to hand the papers of the Lisbon treaty over in Rome for complete ratification to have taken place. The president, Horst Koehler, is waiting for the court judgement before making the move.

NATO chief admits failure in drawing EU closer
VALENTINA POP 27.01.2009 @ 09:47 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Outgoing NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has said he regrets not having been able to bring the military alliance and the EU closer together. I'm sad that at the end of my mandate as secretary general I have not been able to bring this relationship more forward than on a pragmatic basis. I hope that after the end of July my successor, NATO and the EU will have a fresh look and see how we can bring the parties together, Mr Scheffer said on Monday (26 January).In his first public appearance since the Obama administration took office in Washington last week, Mr Scheffer gave a speech and answered questions at Security and Defence Agenda, a Brussels-based think-tank.He mentioned Kosovo, where NATO and the EU work side by side, but also highlighted political reasons for the difficult transatlantic relationship, as most European countries are part of both organisations.The double membership means there are limited resources for sending troops to different EU and NATO missions.I try to be as pragmatic as I can. So does Javier Solana, my EU counterpart. I'm not going to point the finger at any capital, because I think it is a combination of factors which makes this a rather intractable and difficult problem, the NATO secretary general said.

As NATO approaches its 60 anniversary in April, marked by a special summit in France and Germany to underline the European dimension and the post-war reconciliation of the two great continental powers, EU and American allies remain divided over several issues, especially NATO enlargement to Ukraine and Georgia. The Dutch diplomat, who worked at NATO during the Cold War, suggested that allies should resume political discussions, the way they did before the fall of the Soviet Union, even on topics which do not require NATO action, such as the recent gas crisis or the Middle East.It is important that allies get a feel of each other's positions on various issues, he argued.Mr Scheffer said Europeans should not expect President Barack Obama to wave a magic wand over the world's problems and underlined that Washington needed Europe to step up its burden sharing, especially in NATO's main theatre of operation – Afghanistan.If Europeans expect that the United States will close Guantanamo, sign up to climate change treaties, accept EU leadership on key issues, but provide nothing more than encouragement, for example in Afghanistan – then they should think again, the NATO secretary-general warned.For the first time, Mr Scheffer mentioned Iran as part of a regional solution to Afghanistan's problems, echoing the change in Washington, where Mr Obama has pledged to involve his country in direct diplomacy with Tehran if certain conditions are met.

NATO resumes relations with Russia

Mr Scheffer also announced that he had met the Russian NATO envoy Dmitry Rogozin on Monday for informal talks and that the relations, severed after Russia's August war with Georgia, would be resumed on 6-8 February at the Munich security conference. We and Russia need to find a way to a new, more trusting and more rewarding relationship, he said, while stressing that no one gets a veto over NATO enlargement and maintaining his previous position that Russia violated the territorial integrity of Georgia.Mr Scheffer admitted, however, that Ukraine's and Georgia's accession to the alliance were not around the corner, but emphasised that they were performance-based. The ambassador-level NATO-Russia Council, the main forum for co-operation, was suspended after NATO condemned Russia's actions during its war with Georgia as disproportionate.

Quest for successor begins

The NATO ambassadors meeting on Monday also marked the beginning of a search for a new secretary-general, as Mr Scheffer's mandate runs out in July. A formal announcement could be made at the April summit.Early frontrunners for the top job include Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski, Norwegian foreign minister Jonas Gahr Store and former British defence secretary Des Browne. Two Canadian contenders are also being mentioned - Peter MacKay and John Manley - the country's current defence minister and former foreign minister respectively. But according to the Economist, an EU candidate is more likely to be picked in order to secure a smoother relationship between the two organisations.

GOD TELLING THE WORLD ITS THE EU (REVIVED ROMES) TIME TO TAKE WORLD CONTROL IN THESE END DAYS.

Rare 1,800-year-old figurine found in Jerusalem By KAREN ZOLKA, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,09

JERUSALEM – An 1,800-year-old figurine believed to have originated from the eastern stretches of the Roman Empire has been discovered by archaeologists outside the walls of the old city, the Israeli Antiquities Authority said. The 2-inch marble bust depicts the head of a man with a short curly beard and almond-shaped eyes who may portray a boxer, the authority said.The high level of finish on the figurine is extraordinary, while meticulously adhering to the tiniest of details, Doron Ben-Ami and Yana Tchekhanovets, directors of the excavation, said in a joint statement released Monday. Nothing similar has ever been uncovered in Israel, they said, calling it a unique find.Carved from pale yellow marble, archeologists think the figurine was most likely carried to Jerusalem by a merchant.Archaeologists believe the figurine was used as a weight for a hanging scale of a type common in the Roman period. Tiny holes drilled in its neck were likely used to attach it to the scale, and remnants of metal remain.The miniature bust was found in the ruins of a building destroyed by an earthquake in the fourth or fifth century. The same dig outside the walls of Jerusalem's Old City also recently yielded a well-preserved gold earring inlaid with pearls and a trove of more than 250 gold coins.The dig is in a former parking lot in the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan, in east Jerusalem. It is part of broader archaeological excavations at the site, known to Israeli scholars as the City of David, after the Biblical monarch who is believed to have ruled from there some 3,000 years ago.

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.

Winds topple Marie Antoinette's tree at Versailles By IVAN COURONNE, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 27, 10:04 am ET

VERSAILLES, France – It survived the French Revolution and a devastating 1999 storm, but high winds have finally toppled a towering beech tree planted for Marie Antoinette more than two centuries ago at Versailles Palace.The 82-foot (25-meter) high purple beech, one of the last trees in a hamlet dedicated to the former queen in the vast palace park, was felled Friday by an unusually fierce winter gust, the park's head gardener said.Imagine how an old tree in Versailles is vulnerable to the wind, gardener Alain Baraton told AP Television News on Tuesday. That was all it took to cause the tree to fall and crash.At least 21 people died in the winter storm that pounded France and Spain last week.The 223-year-old tree's collapse, which also exhumed a jumble of roots, earth and grass, was the latest blow to the ex-queen's Versailles vegetation after her most cherished oak tree died in a 2003 heat wave.

The beech, a facus sylvatica purpura, featured its own plaque showing that it was planted in 1786. A decade ago, it had been damaged but survived an even more destructive storm that knocked down thousands of trees at Versailles.Following that tempest, the beech's roots had grown moldy and shrunk so much that they could no longer counterbalance the weight of its 22-meter (72-foot) span of branches, Baraton said.The beech will get an unceremonious finish: It will be cut up and sold to paper makers, he said.

IN THE WINTER THEY CALL IT GLOBAL WARMING,IN THE SUMMER THEY CALL IT OZONE DEPLETION,I CALL IT WORLD JUDGEMENT FOR TAKING GOD (KING JESUS THE GOD OF ISRAEL AND THE WORLD)AND HIS WORD OUT OF OUR LIVES AS WELL AS SEPARATING CHURCH AND STATE.

Global warming irreversible for next 1000 years: study Tue Jan 27, 8:23 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Climate change is largely irreversible for the next 1,000 years even if carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions could be abruptly halted, according to a new study led by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).The study's authors said there was no going back after the report showed that changes in surface temperature, rainfall and sea level are largely irreversible for more than 1,000 years after CO2 emissions are completely stopped.NOAA senior scientist Susan Solomon said the study, published in this week's Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences journal, showed that current human choices on carbon dioxide emissions are set to irreversibly change the planet.Researchers examined the consequences of CO2 building up beyond present-day concentrations of 385 parts per million, and then completely stopping emissions after the peak. Before the industrial age CO2 in Earth's atmosphere amounted to only 280 parts per million.The study found that CO2 levels are irreversibly impacting climate change, which will contribute to global sea level rise and rainfall changes in certain regions.The authors emphasized that increases in CO2 that occur from 2000 to 2100 are set to lock in a sea level rise over the next 1,000 years.Rising sea levels would cause irreversible commitments to future changes in the geography of the Earth, since many coastal and island features would ultimately become submerged, the study said.Decreases in rainfall that last for centuries can be expected to have a range of impacts, said the authors. Regional impacts include -- but are not limited to -- decreased human water supplies, increased fire frequency, ecosystem change and expanded deserts.

Thousands blacked out as ice storm wreaks havoc By DANIEL SHEA, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,09

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Tree limbs snapped with a sound like gunshots, blacking out thousands of homes and businesses, and schools and government offices were closed Tuesday as a major storm spread a glaze of ice and snow from the southern Plains to the East Coast.At least 13 deaths had been blamed on the weather.Highway crews fought to keep up with slippery roads and in some places were blocked by fallen tree limbs and power lines. Ice had built up 3 inches thick in sections of Arkansas and Oklahoma.The National Weather Service posted ice storm and winter storm warnings Tuesday along a broad swath from Texas and Oklahoma through the Mississippi and Ohio valleys all the way into northern New England. Radar showed smears of snow and freezing rain stretching from Texas to Virginia during the afternoon.Broken tree limbs weighted down by ice crashed onto power lines, cutting service to at least 165,000 homes and businesses in hard-hit Arkansas, utilities said.I think we are about to go over the cliff, said Mel Coleman, CEO of the North Arkansas Electric Cooperative in Salem.Arkansas utilities warned customers that their power could be out for at least three days.We fully expect this to be one of the largest outages we've ever had, said Coleman. Right now, we're just hoping it's days and not weeks.

Kentucky state officials reported more than 60,000 customers with no electricity as ice up to 1.5 inches thick broke tree limbs.You hear the popping — it sounded like gunfire — and it's limbs from trees breaking, said Hopkins County, Ky., Judge-Executive Donald Carroll, who was among those with no power. He said crews in his western Kentucky county were busy trying to clear broken branches from roads.It's a serious situation, said Kentucky Transportation Secretary Joe Prather. Our crews are working nonstop, but the snow in many areas is falling faster than we can clear, so it will take time to make headway.About 6,000 customers were blacked out in Oklahoma as temperatures hovered in the teens and 20s. About 4,700 outages were reported in the southeast tip of Missouri.Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear declared a statewide emergency Tuesday; Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry did the same on Monday.Hundreds of public schools, colleges and universities called off classes Tuesday in parts of Arkansas, Oklahoma, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri and Maryland.Playing in the snow is pretty much the thing to do today, said student Sarah Bonham at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va.Every county reported school closings in West Virginia, where snow on hilly roads changed to sleet and rain in places. As much as 6 inches of snow fell in some areas.The roads are still a little bit slimy, said Paul Howard, director of operations for West Virginia's Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. The Division of Highways is knocking their socks off trying to keep the roads sort of clear.Arkansas state government offices opened two hours late because of the weather. All but essential state workers in Oklahoma were told to stay home. West Virginia state offices shut down early. And as the storm threatened to barrel into New England, utility companies and road crews in several states prepared for the worst. The New Hampshire Legislature canceled Wednesday's sessions. Up to 15 inches of snow was forecast Wednesday in New Hampshire. Since the storm began building on Monday, the weather had been blamed for three deaths in Arkansas, three in Virginia, three in Missouri, two in Oklahoma, one in Indiana and one in Texas. Associated Press writers Justin Juozapavicius in Tulsa, Okla.; Sean Murphy in Oklahoma City; Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky.; John Raby in Charleston, W.Va.; Jim Salter in St. Louis, and Randall Dickerson in Nashville, Tenn., and editor Roger Petterson in New York contributed to this report.

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 WED JAN 28,2009

09:30 AM +18.88
10:00 AM +93.75
10:30 AM +117.96
11:00 AM +124.71
11:30 AM +131.50
12:00 PM +122.26
12:30 PM +132.70
01:00 PM +125.05
01:30 PM +157.63
02:00 PM +170.37
02:30 PM +161.77
03:00 PM +210.99
03:30 PM +139.15
04:00 PM +200.72 8375.45

S&P 500 874.09 +28.38

NASDAQ 1558.34 +53.44

GOLD 890.00 -11.40

OIL 42.16 +0.58

TSE 300 8906.23 +146.60

CDNX 869.92 +2.05

S&P/TSX/60 538.02 +10.36

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow +109 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow +153 points at high today.
Dow +89 points at low today.

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -6.86%
S&P -6.37%
Nasdaq -4.57%
TSX Advances 592,declines 574,unchanged 193,Volume 644,017,094.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 340,Declines 340,Unchanged 335,Volume 106,788,856.

Rumour has it LIBERALS will go with Canadian budget and not bring the Government down and force a new election,but we will see for sure today.
SAP says it will cut 3,000 jobs worldwide to cut costs.
SAP 1 yr performance -24.94%,Year to date Performance -4.25%
Oil opens at $41.76,Gold opens at $896.80 today.

NYSE STATS 10:30AM
Advances 2504,declines 352,unchanged 80,new highs 4,new lows 8.
NASDAQ STATS 10:30AM
Advances 1758,declines 474,unchanged 186.
TSX STATS 11:30AM
Advances 498,declines 465,unchanged 167,Volume 524,900,177.
TSX VENTURE STATS 11:30AM
Advances 219,declines 199,unchanged 229,Volume 50,258,343.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow +153 points at high.
Dow +89 points at low.
Oil prices down about 60% since mid SEPTEMBER.
US oil supplies have risen 16 of past 18 weeks.
FEB NATURAL GAS FUTURES EXPIRE TODAY.
Crude Inventories +6.2 MILLION barrels.
Gasoline Inventories -100,000 barrels.
Distillate Inventories -1 MILLION barrels.
Refinery Utilization -0.8% to 82.5%

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow +230 points at high today.
Dow +18 points at low today.
Dow +2.46% today Volume 357,935,947.
Nasdaq +3.55% today Volume 2,011,984,359.
S&P 500 +3.36% today Volume N/A

FXSTREET.COM AUDIO NEWS
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/audio-news/

NEW WORLD ORDER OTHER READS
http://www.infowars.com/how-realistic-is-a-north-american-currency/

TODD HARRISON How realistic is a North American currency?
Commentary: Uniting U.S., Canada, Mexico money could result from crisis
By Todd Harrison 6:12 a.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009

World, hold on. Instead of messing with our future, open up inside.-- Bob Sinclair
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Thomas Jefferson once said: When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. As the global financial system pushes on a string, investors are desperately trying to hold tight. The New World Order is upon us, full of hope, promise and a fair amount of fear. In our recent discussion regarding the direction of our country, we noted the risks of catering to conventional wisdom and the implications for the U.S. dollar. See MarketWatch column on New World Order.

The Minyanville mantra is to provide financial news you need to know before you know you need it. That's a fine line to walk, as foresight often flies in the face of mainstream acceptance. In 2006, it seemed counterintuitive to forecast a prolonged socioeconomic malaise entirely more depressing than a recession. See Minyanville column. For years, the notion of an invisible hand was conspiracy theory until we learned that the Working Group on Financial Markets was a central policy tool. See Minyanville column. And now, as we gaze across our historically significant horizon, we must open our minds to thoughts and ideas that may seem foreign to folks conditioned by the past and stunned by the present.

Currency crossroads
As governments take on more risk -- as they price assets on behalf of the market and transfer debt from private to public -- the common denominator, or release valve, becomes the currency.If our economic condition is allowed to take medicine in the form of debt destruction, the greenback will appreciate, and asset classes as a whole will deflate. If we continue to inject drugs that mask symptoms rather than address the disease, the likelihood of a seismic readjustment increases in kind.
The deflationary forces in the marketplace are pervasive, and the other side of our current equation, hyperinflation, may be years away. Given the magnitude, breadth and pace of the global financial epidemic, however, we must explore each side of the twisted ride. Years ago, the Federal Reserve wrote a solution paper regarding the need to combat zero-bound interest rates. The concern was the flight of capital from the U.S. and an option discussed was a two-tiered currency, one for U.S citizens and one for foreigners.

Canadian economist Herbert Grubel first introduced a potential manifestation of this concept in 1999. The North American Currency -- called the Amero in select circles --would effectively comingle the Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar and Mexican peso. On its face, while difficult to imagine, it makes intuitive sense. The ability to combine Canadian natural resources, American ingenuity and cheap Mexican labor would allow North America to compete better on a global stage. Experience has taught us, however, that perceived solutions introduced by policy makers and politicians don't always have the desired effect.

Unintended consequences
I've long contended that, much like the Internet prophecy proved true -- but not before the tech crash -- so too would globalization, albeit not without painful-yet-necessary debt destruction. To get through this, we need to go through this. If we're not allowed to go through it, foreigners will seek alternative avenues. Remember, for holders of dollar-denominated assets, seeds of discontent have been sowing under the surface for years, with the greenback off 30% since 2002. More likely than not, global leaders will watch how our new administration attempts to tackle the financial crisis before taking drastic steps. They understand that co-dependent risk exists as a function of the derivatives that interweave our financial infrastructure. If they could disassociate from our economic ecosystem without inflicting massive damage on themselves, they would have done so long ago.
If forward policy attempts to induce more debt rather than allowing savings and obligations to align, we must respect the potential for a system shock. We may need to let a two-tier currency gain traction if the dollar meaningfully debases from current levels. If this dynamic plays out -- and I've got no insight that it will -- the global balance of powers would fragment into four primary regions: North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In such a scenario, ramifications would manifest through social unrest and geopolitical conflict. This particular path isn't something one would wish for, but the cumulative imbalances that steadily built in our finance-based economy must be resolved one way or another. Therein lies the critical crossroads we together face as our wary world attempts to find its way.
Scary? Yes. Probable? Not so much, at least for the time being. Possible? Certainly, although I'll again offer that it could take years before the pieces of this prickly puzzle fall into place. Effective money management dictates weighing the entire probability spectrum of potential outcomes and factoring them into our decision making process. While the notion of a seismic currency shift may seem obscure, we must respect the possibility long before it becomes front-page news. For if we've learned anything through the last few years, proactive thought provocation is a necessary precursor to effective preparedness.

TODD HARRISON A new dawn, new fears for Obama presidency Commentary: Finding cures won't be easy for nation's new chief executive By Todd Harrison 10:06 a.m. EST Jan. 21, 2009

I don't ask for much, I only want your trust and you know it don't come easy -- Ringo Starr NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- A new dawn has arrived, full of promises, hope and a fair amount of fear. Barack Obama was sworn in Tuesday as the 44th President of the United States of America. In the storied history of democracy, there has never been a transfer of power where the fortunes of so many were pinned to the lapel of one man. I traditionally avoid the perception of political affiliation -- as a financial columnist, my motivation is to offer an unbiased assessment of the global landscape -- but I will share that I support this administration. Sobering socioeconomic seeds were sown long ago and the specter of unified change is our single best hope as we find our way through this process of price discovery. See related column. After years of reckless spending, conspicuous consumption and mismanaged policy, we, the people, must offer a collective mea culpa if we hope to regain respectability on a global stage. There aren't any magic pills, mind you, but humility, diplomacy and cooperative intelligence are intuitive starting points on the road to redemption.

It won't come easy. The incoming President inherits a fragile geopolitical landscape, record budget deficits and massive Treasury debt, more than half of which is held by foreigners whose patience wore thin long ago. Indeed, the single greatest risk to the system -- and our world -- is entirely more profound than trade imbalances or profit margins. See recent MarketWatch column. We're at a societal inflection point, one where each of us must be accountable for what we do and how we do it. While many of us weren't responsible for the hole in which we find ourselves, pointing fingers and placing blame will do little to dig us out of it. As we're apt to say in Minyanville, if you're not part of the solution, you're likely part of the problem.Conventional wisdom dictates that the only solution is to induce fresh spending with fertile credit, a last-ditch effort to shock the economy out of its coma and pave the way to better days. That is a fundamentally flawed assumption, for sustainable growth will arrive by way of debt destruction rather than credit creation. Interest rates on bank deposits are near zero and the Federal Reserve guided them there for a reason: they want to remove incentive to save and jumpstart the spending cycle. While saving is an intuitive individual solution, it's the death knell of an economic ecosystem measured by the sum of its parts and reliant on the velocity of money. What we're witnessing isn't a garden-variety, one-and-done recession; it's the cumulative comeuppance of a massive credit bubble rooted in faulty monetary policy aimed at avoiding small, corrective recessions. Conventional wisdom has been wrong about what's been happening the past 20 years, so shame on us if we rely on the same people who never saw the bubble building in the first place to guide us through it.The answer to a debt bubble isn't to create more debt. That's as absurd as saying we should have created more technology stocks in 2000 or more homes in 2006. As it stands, we'll be adding another $2 trillion to the national debt this year, an obligation that will invariably be passed to future generations. Our current course has ominous ramifications for the dollar. As the greenback is the world reserve currency, those implications extend throughout the global landscape. A currency holds a nation together and the economy -- perhaps society at large -- assumes more, not less, risk as a function of the path of our attempted fix.

Focusing on Solutions
While efforts at job creation will result in more cash in people's pockets, that cash will be worth less as the government borrows more. Sustainable and realistic solutions require an overall reduction of government influence as we take our free-market medicine of time and price. That is, if the free-market capital structure is to survive. The underlying problem is that we have no savings to support sound lending. In their desperate attempt to fix the problem, the Federal Reserve created more imbalances and prolonged the inevitable. They are shifting private debt into public debt but their only end game is to print more currency. A balanced economy needs a savings pool commensurate with its debt pool. Any solution that deviates from that equilibrium will lower the standard of living for our children. It took years to deplete our collective fortunes and it will take years of saving, coupled with painful debt destruction, to establish a stable foundation for economic growth.
Our new leadership should encourage people to save money while rewarding productivity in the private sector. This includes allowing interest rates to rise to reward savers, drastically reducing government spending, investing tax dollars in education and passing tax cuts that rebuild the socioeconomic system from the inside out. While this approach is a bitter pill to swallow -- most medicine is -- it is the only sustainable path. Remember, we're at a critical crossroads, one that will leave an indelible impression on world history. See recent MarketWatch column.
It's not often you get a second chance at making a first impression. Given how high the stakes are, the onus is on us to stand together as one and affect that positive change.One step at a time.

World growth worst for 60 years JAN 28,09

Developed economies such as Japan, the US and UK are in recession
World economic growth is set to fall to just 0.5% this year, its lowest rate since World War II, warns the International Monetary Fund (IMF). In October, the IMF had predicted world output would increase by 2.2% in 2009. It now projects the UK, which recently entered recession, will see its economy shrink by 2.8% next year, the worst contraction among advanced nations. The IMF says financial markets remain under stress and the global economy has taken a sharp turn for the worse. In another gloomy view of the UK economy, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said Britain would be saddled with government debt for more than 20 years. IFS director Robert Chote warned that spending would have to be cut or taxes raised by more than planned to allow public finances to recover. The predictions came as Pascal Lamy, the director general of the World Trade Organization, urged countries not to react to the global economic crisis by resorting to protectionism. Speaking from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Mr Lamy said such a move would be a big mistake.

Virtual halt

According to the IMF, the outcome of the economic slowdown has been to send global output and trade plummeting. The current projection is a protracted recession and we have not reached the bottom yet Justin Yifu Lin, World Bank Protectionism haunts the economy.

UK debt will last 20 years

We now expect the global economy to come to a virtual halt, said IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard in a statement. The IMF says that despite a number of policy moves, which have been carried out by many states, financial strains remain. International co-operation is needed now to draw up new policy initiatives, and for capital injections to support viable financial institutions. Meanwhile, it predicts that the eurozone economy is poised to shrink by 2.0% in 2009 and the US economy by 1.6%.

Banking crisis

The report comes on the same day the International Labour Organization said that as many as 51 million jobs worldwide could be lost this year because of the global economic crisis. It had been hoped that growth in developing nations would continue at a steady pace and help offset the recession in developed nations such as the US and UK. The BBC's Greg Wood: The recession will also last longer than expected
But the seemingly endless crisis in the banking system has put paid to that notion.

Countries such as China are now struggling with a collapse in demand from their primary export markets. Meanwhile, developed economies such as Japan, Spain, the US and UK are in recession, with new job losses being announced on a daily basis.

Uncertainty

The IMF says that growth in emerging and developing economies is expected to slow sharply, from 6.25% in 2008 to 3.25% in 2009. It cites the main reasons for the drop as being falling export demand, lower commodity prices and much tighter external financing constraints. If the recession deepens in 2009, as many forecasters expect, the global jobs crisis will worsen sharply International Labour Organization.

Global job losses could hit 51m

The IMF points out that policy efforts to tackle the downturn so far - such as liquidity support, deposit insurance and recapitalisation - have been drawn up to address the immediate threats to financial stability. However, it says that these emergency measures have done little to resolve the uncertainty about the long-term solvency of financial institutions. The process of loss recognition and restructuring of bad loans is still incomplete, says the IMF's World Economic Outlook Update.

Bad bank

The IMF says future co-ordinated financial policies should concentrate on recognising the scale of financial institutions' losses and on providing public support to those institutions that are viable. Such policies should be supported by measures to resolve insolvent banks and set up public agencies to dispose of the bad debts, including possibly through a bad bank approach, while safeguarding public resources.The IMF says the global economy is projected to experience a gradual recovery in 2010, with growth picking up to 3%. However, the outlook is highly uncertain, and the timing and pace of the recovery depend critically on strong policy actions,it warns.

McCreevy defends record on banking regulation
ANDREW WILLIS 27.01.2009 @ 18:41 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A gathering of top-flight bankers, politicians and academics have criticised the current EU rules regulating the banking industry as being inadequate.Self-regulation alone is not sufficient in order to guarantee global financial market stability, said the German state secretary for finance, Jorg Asmussen at the Annual European Services Conference held in Brussels on Tuesday (27 January). Instead, he said banks should be forced to increase capital requirements - the shock absorbers for the whole system.Defending his record, Internal Market Commissioner Charlie McCreevy, whose job it is to propose legislation in the area, said previous reform initiatives had consistently been thwarted. Any time that proposals have been put forward over the last few years, the consensus breaks down, he said. The increasing gap between the size and complexity of the financial sector and its regulation was a cause for concern he said, and the reason why the commission had called for the setting up of a high level expert group to come up with proposals. The group, chaired by former governor of the Bank of France, Jacques de Larosiere, is due to present its findings to the commission at the end of next month. I look forward to the Larosiere group putting forward concrete proposals, said Mr McCreevy. But Dutch Social Democrat MEP Leke van den Burg, a member of the European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, criticised the commissioner.This is what we would have liked to hear when the commissioner started his mandate, she said, referring to the current reform initiatives. He says that the commission took the initiative for legislation during his mandate when it has in fact it has been the European Parliament that took the initiative, she continued.

Basel Accords

At the heart of the debate are the Basel Accords (I&II), a set of international standards produced by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision to help regulators around the world harmonize policy. Under the recommendations, banks must maintain capital reserves that are proportional to the risk of investments and loans.
Published in June 2004, Basel II compels banks to carry capital reserves of at least 8 per cent of the value of their risk weighted assets. Alberto Giovannini, CEO of independent asset manager Unifortune, says this position is ludicrous. This allows banks to have a leverage of 12.5 times [their capital holding]. Sounds like a very big number to me, he said. Basel II is translated into EU law under the Capital Requirements Directive, which is currently under review following the publication of a commission reform proposal last year. Speaking at the conference, deputy minister of finance for Czech Republic, Klara Hajkova, said that agreement on a reform of the Capital Requirement Directive was a top priority for the Czech presidency of EU. If we can deliver on these files we can send a strong message to the world, she said.

UPDATE 1-Canada budget sees C$85 billion deficit over 5 years
Tue Jan 27, 2009 4:37pm EST Market News

OTTAWA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - The government of Canada predicted on Tuesday budget deficits totaling C$85 billion ($69 billion) over five years - the result of a recession and a C$40 billion two-year stimulus package packed with infrastructure spending, tax cuts and targeted loans.The spending plan, which Ottawa says would boost gross domestic product by 1.4 percent this year and create 190,000 jobs by 2011, pushes Canada into a C$1.1 billion budget deficit in the current 2008-09 fiscal year, which ends in March, after 11 straight years of surplus.It had projected a small surplus for this year before the stimulus plan.The projected deficit for 2009-10 fiscal year is C$33.7 billion, followed by a 2010-11 deficit of C$29.8 billion and smaller deficits the two following years. Ottawa foresees a return to surplus in 2013-14, with a surplus of C$700 million forecast for that year.The government has designed its economic action plan to concentrate new spending in 2009-10 and 2010-11, when the economy is expected to be weak, the government said in its budget document.Starting in 2011-12, the fiscal position of the government is projected to improve rapidly, as time-limited stimulus measures expire and the economy recovers, it said.Canada's debt-to-GDP ratio, the lowest in the Group of Seven major industrialized economies, is expected to rise to 32.1 percent by 2010-11 from the estimated level of 28.6 percent in 2008-09. It is then projected to return to 2008 levels five years out. ($1=$1.23 Canadian) (Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Peter Galloway)

Europe down, Wall Street flat after consumer data By LOUISE WATT, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,09

LONDON – Most world stock markets rose Tuesday, tagging along with an upturn on Wall Street on relief that big companies like United States Steel Corp. managed to post profits in a recession.European stocks, however, closed with small losses, sapped by a report that U.S. consumer confidence for January hit a new low.Even a rise in German business confidence was not enough to boost sentiment in Europe, where Germany's benchmark DAX share index ended 0.08 percent lower at 4,323.42. Britain's FTSE-100 index fell 0.35 percent to 4,194.41, while the French CAC-40 ended 0.03 percent lower at 2,954.53. All the indexes had been well over 1 percent lower earlier in the day.In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.70 points, or 0.72 percent, to 8,174.73.Broader stock indicators also advanced. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 9.14, or 1.09 percent, to 845.71, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 15.44, or 1.04 percent, to 1,504.90.Even modestly upbeat corporate earnings reports were a welcome reminder for investors that some companies are still able to make money despite the worst recession in years.U.S. Steel, the largest U.S.-based producer, said fourth-quarter earnings jumped as an acquisition boosted results. And American Express Co. reported profits fell 79 percent in the final three months of 2008, but the numbers weren't as weak as some investors had feared.

On the negative side, a widely watched barometer of consumer sentiment fell to a new low in January, as people worried about their jobs and saw the value of their homes and their retirement funds dwindle. Private research group the Conference Board said that its Consumer Confidence Index edged lower in January to 37.7 from a revised 38.6in December.And a housing index released Tuesday showed home prices in the U.S. dropped by the sharpest annual rate on record in November. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing index tumbled by a record 18.2 percent from November 2007, the largest decline since its inception in 2000.On Monday, the Dow had zigzagged to a higher close, ending up 0.5 percent. Stocks were buoyed by Pfizer Inc.'s $68 billion planned acquisition of Wyeth.In Europe, investors looked through a rise in German business confidence, skeptical that it could herald a turnaround in Europe's largest economy anytime soon. The German Ifo Institute said its forward-looking business climate index rose to 83 points in January from 82.7 in December.

Jennifer McKeown, European economist at Capital Economics in London said the rise suggests that, following European Central Bank interest rate cuts and a German fiscal package, businesses might be seeing some light at the end of the tunnel.
However, she said January's small increase provides only limited encouragement given that it remains close to a record low.The Ifo institute also warned it should not be read as a turnaround in the economy, as the figures were still weak and sentiment about current economic conditions continued to fall.Latin American shares tracked the gains on Wall Street. Brazil's benchmark Ibovespa index rose 0.5 percent to close at 38,699, Mexico's IPC index rose 0.2 percent to close at 19,616, Chile's IPSA index jumped 1.1 percent to close at 2,542 and Argentina's Merval index rose 1.1percent to close at 1,079.In Asia, where many markets had been closed for holidays on Monday, stocks rose, mostly to catch up with increases in other parts of the world on Monday.Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 378.93 points, or 4.9 percent, to 8,061.07, while Australia's S&P/ASX200 index rose 3 percent to 3,444. India's Sensex also advanced, gaining 3.6 percent to 8,982.30.In particular, a statement by Barclays PLC on Monday surprised investors by saying it had made a solid profit for 2008 and that it did not need any cash bailouts to stay in business. Its shares rose an astonishing 73.2 percent Monday. The news immediately raised hopes that banks may be able to weather the current risks facing the global financial sector, said Motomi Hiratsuka, head of sales trading at BNP Paribas in Tokyo. But it remains to be seen how long this (boost in sentiment) will last.Major Japanese financial stocks rose, with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group jumping 8.3 percent and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. rising 8.1 percent. Several Asian markets, including Hong Kong and South Korea, remained shut for the Lunar New Year holiday. Markets in mainland China, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan were also closed. Elsewhere, markets in Singapore and South Korea will reopen Wednesday, and Hong Kong's exchanges will reopen Thursday. Trading in mainland China and Taiwan will be closed all week and resume Feb. 2. Oil prices tumbled sharply with more evidence of decline in the U.S. housing industry, more job cuts and plunging consumer confidence, all of which can lead to diminished energy spending. Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost $4.15 a barrel, or 9 percent, to settle at $41.58 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In currencies, the euro drifted higher to $1.3178 from $1.3137 late Monday. The British pound rose to $1.4152 from $1.3938, while the dollar slipped to 88.90 Japanese yen from 89.02 yen late Monday. The dollar edged up to 1.2263 Canadian dollars from 1.2253. AP Business writers Carlo Piovano in London, Tim Paradis in New York, Malcolm Foster in Bangkok and Tomoko A. Hosaka in Tokyo contributed to this report.

EU chief says Ukraine won't reopen gas deal By CONSTANT BRAND, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 27, 6:18 am ET

BRUSSELS, Belgium – The European Union said Tuesday that Ukraine's president has promised he will not reopen a 2009 energy deal with Moscow that restarted natural gas service to EU countries last week.Russia halted gas shipments to Europe over Ukrainian pipelines for two weeks earlier this month amid a contract dispute over what Ukraine should pay for Russian gas in 2009.Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko indicated last week he wanted to revisit the gas deal with Russia, saying its terms will further undermine his country's economy, but he backed off that view at EU headquarters.In a joint news conference with Yushchenko, EU Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said it was now key for both sides to improve relations and help Ukraine upgrade its energy and pipeline networks so it can regain the trust of EU gas clients.Barroso said Ukraine will honor its commitment to the deal signed with Russia.Yushchenko said his country would perform its responsibility as a transit state.The agreements signed are not easy ones (but) Ukraine fully takes up full-fledged transit to the European consumers, Yushchenko said.Barroso said he was convinced the Ukraine wanted to deepen its ties with the EU and added that the EU was keen to do that as well. Ukraine has been seeking membership in both the EU and NATO.But of course in the energy sector there was a problem, and we have to solve that problem, Barroso said. We have to state very clearly that we were not happy, in fact we were very disappointed.The European Union gets a quarter of its gas from Russia, most of that over Ukrainian pipelines. The gas cutoff left many EU nations reeling, searching frantically for alternative energy sources in the midst of winter.Barroso said the EU would work with Ukraine to seek new international investors to modernize the ex-Soviet state's energy networks and to link the country into central European electricity grids. An investors meeting is planned for March 23, in Brussels.

Oil prices, recession threaten deep-sea ventures: Nigeria Tue Jan 27, 1:48 pm ET

ABUJA (AFP) – The meteoric fall in oil prices and the global economic crisis threaten the growth of west Africa's deep offshore oil sector, petroleum-dependent Nigeria warned on Tuesday.Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo, head of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), said the industry has to reposition itself if it is to survive the twin threats.Whilst significant progress is being made technically in the discovery and development of offshore potentials, all these happen against a backdrop of a highly volatile macro-economic environment, he told an annual west African offshore oil and gas conference.West Africa has in recent years become a key contributor to global energy needs, from five percent of world supplies in 2000 to seven percent projected for next year, said Barkindo, pointing out that a significant part of the growth will be from deep water.In Nigeria alone, deep water ventures now represent about 40 percent of the country's crude output.

Over 10 billion barrels of new deep water oil discoveries have been made in the past decade-and-half in west Africa, according to NNPC.But the progress recorded in new discoveries has been confronted by falling prices amid a deepening global economic slowdown.World oil prices plummeted from a record 147 dollars a barrel in July last year to less than 50 dollars by year end.Barkindo said the twin-challenges pose threats to the economic viability of future deep offshore projects, unless a paradigm shift is entrenched which allows the deep water development to be more resilient to volatilities and drop in crude prices.He expressed fears the credit crunch could complicate funding of current expansion projects and impact on foreign direct investment into Nigeria, Africa's second largest oil producer and most populous nation.The industry needs to reposition itself for a more active and out-of-the-box approach, he added.

TSX closes higher in anticipation of budget By Ka Yan Ng JAN 27,09

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto's main stock index finished more than 1 percent higher on Tuesday as optimism ahead of Canada's budget boosted financial shares and overcame a drag from commodities groups.Banks and insurers dominated the gainers. Royal Bank of Canada was up 3.9 percent at C$30.66, while Manulife gained 6 percent to C$21.40.The sector rose 3.88 percent, partly on hopes that the federal budget, released after market close, would contain measures to ensure stability in the financial system.In the event, the government said it would seek to bolster the financial system and improve access to financing by committing C$50 billion more to a program that buys insured mortgages. It also will give itself the authority to inject capital into banks and financial firms that need support.Looking ahead, analysts expect the budget to have a limited impact on stocks because the government had leaked an unprecedented amount of detail about the package in the days leading up to Tuesday's release.The plan is expected to meet with the approval of the opposition Liberals, which would ensure the survival of the minority Conservative government.The big issue is not so much the budget itself, it's more is it good enough to allow the government to survive here, said Levente Mady, a broker at MF Global Canada, in Vancouver.The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 1.2 percent, or 103.12 points, at 8,759.63. Eight of the index's 10 main groups advanced.The resource sectors, which account for about 40 percent of the index's weighting, fell on weakness in underlying commodity prices. The price of oil fell 9 percent to under $42 a barrel, while gold held below $900 an ounce as investors took profits after the last session's gains.The energy group fell 0.75 percent and materials dropped 1.54 percent.(Reporting by Ka Yan Ng; Editing by Frank McGurty)

Australian pension system reels from market meltdown By Mark Bendeich JAN 26,09

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia, long regarded as a model for global pensions reform, has some explaining to do after the markets meltdown, and not just to its own citizens.Having forced Australians over the past two decades to trust in markets to provide for their old age -- and tempted other nations to go down the same path -- it is watching horrified as a big chunk of its retirement savings go up in smoke.

Last year's plunge in financial markets has wiped out around a quarter of Australia's near-$1 trillion in pension-fund savings in real terms, according to OECD data, a figure surpassed only by the vastly bigger economies of the United States and Britain.Australian pension funds lost about $200 billion in the first 10 months of 2008, compared with $300 billion for the UK and a staggering U.S. loss of $2.2 trillion, the data showed. Over 10 years, Australian data still shows positive returns but even local industry figures point to the worst decade in 30 years.As a result, Australians who never dreamt of queuing up for a state pension are now doing just that, feeding a crisis of confidence in a pension model that has served as a trail-blazer for other nations around the world, from Asia to Europe.My superannuation (pension) fund has been trashed, said Bob Partington, 60, a former bottling-industry executive who went into semi-retirement in 2006, aiming to play more golf and live mainly on a pension drawn from his retirement savings.My fund has gone down between 40 and 50 percent ... I was coming up for retirement and now I can't retire, he said from his Sydney home where he has started a business consultancy to help make ends meet and support a family of five.Partington is a baby-boomer, one of the '60s generation that is putting enormous strain on pensions systems in rich countries worldwide. He and his contemporaries are the reason Australia was among the first to overhaul its pension system about 23 years ago, shifting to a compulsory system of private savings.He isn't even among the hardest hit.

CALL FOR TIGHTER REGULATION

Unlike Partington, who is still not poor enough to qualify for a state pension, other Australians who amassed large sums of retirement savings now need state handouts to get by, a situation that the Australian system was designed to avoid.The rate at which people are resorting to the state pension jumped by about 50 percent in the December quarter, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, from around 2,000 a week in October to 3,000 last month as Australian and global markets nose-dived.

That's because self-funded retirees are starting to drop below the threshold value for receiving the age pension, said Theresa Kot, president of the Association of Independent Retirees, which is lobbying for reform of the pensions system.The age pension, available at 65, is rationed depending on an applicant's assets and income and it is worth up to about A$1,100 ($740) a month. It represents only about a fifth of workers' average final salary at retirement, according to the OECD data, which in policy terms is a sign of success.Without a mountain of private savings, it would have to be much more. But as that mountain shrinks, the question of raising the age pension is becoming a burning political issue, along with tighter regulation of private retirement savings.The retirees association has called on the government, which had already embarked on a pensions review last May, to ensure better regulatory oversight of the kinds of investment products that pension funds can invest in.Our crisis of confidence is not so much in the funds, Kot said. Our crisis of confidence is with ASIC (the securities regulator) which has not been prudent in monitoring the markets and monitoring the products, she added.

LOSING THE FAITH

Australia's pension system rests on three pillars: compulsory savings by employers who contribute the equivalent of 9 percent of wages into individual pension accounts; voluntary contributions by workers, and lastly the state pension. Many other countries have studied the Australian experience, sending fact-finding missions Down Under from Europe, Asia and South America in a search for ways to boost savings and ease the burden of aging populations on state finances.

Britain was one of them.

It legislated last year to adopt a new pensions scheme from 2012 that carries some Australian hallmarks; namely, a compulsory savings scheme where employers must contribute into workers' pension funds with the workers bearing the investment risk.
Like Australia before it, Britain is weaning workers off defined-benefit schemes -- where employers promise to pay retirees a proportion of their final salary -- and moving to a world where retirees are left with a basic state pension and their retirement savings that are at the mercy of markets. But UK-based independent pension consultant John Ralfe said faith in the Australian model was now very thin on the ground, even though an Australian industry survey last September showed satisfaction with fund returns was still running high at 80 percent, down from 87 percent a year earlier. As we approach 2012, even if we are then through the recession, people will say I'm not going to save 3 percent because I need to pay down the mortgage or I need to hunker down, and even if I do save 3 percent -- hell -look what happens when you put your money in the stock market. It disappears!. All that will encourage people to opt out.(Editing by Megan Goldin)

Russian Orthodox Church elects leader By MANSUR MIROVALEV, Associated Press Writer JAN 27,09

MOSCOW – The interim leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, seen as a modernizer who could seek a historic reconciliation with the Vatican and more autonomy from the state, was overwhelmingly elected patriarch Tuesday.Metropolitan Kirill received 508 of the 700 votes cast during an all-day church congress in Moscow's ornate Christ the Savior Cathedral, the head of the commission responsible for the election, Metropolitan Isidor, said hours after the secret ballot was over.Kirill defeated a conservative rival, Metropolitan Kliment, who received 169 votes, Isidor said. Another 23 ballots were declared invalid,It was the first vote for a Russian Orthodox patriarch since the fall of the officially atheist Soviet Union in 1991.

Kirill, 62, will be installed Sunday as the successor to Moscow Patriarch Alexy II, who had headed Russia's dominant church since 1990. Alexy II died Dec. 5, at age 79, after leading the church in a powerful post-Soviet revival.The son of a priest, Kirill has headed the external relations department of the world's largest Orthodox Christian church for nearly 20 years, making him point man for ties with the Roman Catholic Church. He met with Pope Benedict XVI in December 2007.Efforts toward a reconciliation nearly a millennium after Christianity's east-west schism have been stymied by accusations by the Russian church of Catholic missionary activity on its traditional territory and disputes over property and influence in Ukraine.Kirill has echoed Alexy's warnings that those disagreements remain obstacles to a long-awaited meeting between pope and patriarch — the unrealized dream of the late Pope John Paul II. But he has also promoted unity with the Roman Catholic Church against the secularism and immorality he says threatens humanity.The Vatican rejoiced over Kirill's election, said its spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. He said Kirill was esteemed in the Vatican and expressed hope his service would continue to deepen our path of reciprocal understanding and collaboration for the good of humanity.In Russia, Kirill is seen as a politically savvy figure who may seek a more muscular role for the church, which has served the state for much of its 1,000-year history. Church and state are officially separate under the post-Soviet constitution, but ties have tightened again since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000.Kirill will face opposition from a strong conservative movement within the church that sees him as too modern and too eager for a rapprochement with Catholics.He's perfectly aware of the risks he will be taking, political analyst Stanislav Belkovsky said. Regarding ties with the Vatican, Belkovsky said, He will go for it if he feels the moment has come, but he won't fast-track it.Kirill will be under pressure to live up to Alexy's reputation as a unifying figure.

He is a true successor of Alexy's work. Once again he will help consolidate and unite our society, said Metropolitan Feofan, a church leader in southern Russia. There is joy in my heart.The Kremlin tightened its control over all aspects of life under Putin, now prime minister, and is wary of any other institution gaining too much independence. Alexy strongly supported Putin and the government; whatever Kirill's intentions, observers say a major shift in the relationship with the state is unlikely.Some nonreligious Russians complain the church has tailored its doctrine to suit the government, which has justified Russia's retreat from Western-style democracy by saying the country has a unique history and culture.Kirill, the best-known church figure after Alexy, was the front-runner to replace him. His chances improved after Metropolitan Filaret — one of three candidates picked by church leaders Sunday — withdrew and urged supporters to back Kirill.After the announcement of his election, Kirill bowed and asked the clergy to be indulgent for my weaknesses, to help me with your wise advice, to be close to me as I perform my pastoral duties — and most of all I ask you always to pray for me.The Russian Orthodox Church counts in its congregation more than 100 million people in Russia and tens of millions elsewhere. But polls show that only about 5 percent of Russians are observant believers. State television broadcast much of Tuesday's session live. In opening remarks, Kirill thanked President Dmitry Medvedev's administration for warm and very benevolent greetings.Both Putin and Medvedev called Kirill later to congratulate him.Associated Press Writers Nataliya Vasilyeva, Jim Heintz and Steve Gutterman contributed to this report.

Uranium For Iran Nuke In 2009 6:01pm UK, Tuesday January 27, 2009
Geoff Meade, defence correspondent

Iran will have enough enriched uranium to make a single nuclear weapon later this year, the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) predicts.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits a uranium enrichment facility.The think tank's Mark Fitzpatrick made the announcement at today's launch of its annual global review of military powers.During 2009, Iran will probably reach the point at which it has produced the amount of low-enriched uranium needed to make a nuclear bomb.

Mark Fitzpatrick, International Institute for Strategic Studies. But being able to enrich uranium is not the same as having a nuclear weapon.However, the survey reports doubts over US Intelligence estimates that Iran halted its work on nuclear weapons six years ago.This points to Tehran's continued development of long-range ballistic missiles able to reach targets in Israel and beyond.The IISS recommends a mixture of carrot and stick as the best international response.It concluded a dual policy of engagement and sanctions, testing possibilities for Iranian cooperation while adopting targeted containment strategies, is the best way to deal with Iran's nuclear programme.Foreign affairs editor Tim Marshall said: Several think-tanks have come to the same conclusion.The intelligence agencies are more reluctant to put a time frame on it, and the report itself says having enough enriched Uranium to build the warhead is not the same as building the warhead itself.

Russian president orders rework of treason bill By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 27, 11:53 am ET

MOSCOW – Russia's president has ordered his administration to rework a controversial treason bill submitted by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's cabinet, a top Kremlin official was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying Tuesday.It was unclear whether the move represents a rift between Putin and his protege, President Dmitry Medvedev, or simply means that authorities have decided to back off on a bill that prompted comparisons with the era of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.Medvedev has taken note of public criticism of the bill and ordered a review to prevent the measure from curtailing human rights, his first deputy chief of staff Vladislav Surkov said, according to the state-connected ITAR-Tass and RIA-Novosti news agencies.Since Medvedev's inauguration last May, observers have been watching closely for signs of a break with the policies of Putin, a longtime KGB officer who rolled back democratic achievements and tightened Kremlin control during his eight-year presidency.Medvedev, a former law professor, has often spoken about the need to uphold the law and stressed civil rights in his inaugural address.

The move to rework the bill follows two occasions this month when Medvedev criticized the cabinet's approach to the financial crisis, prompting speculation of emerging tensions with Putin.The head of state has paid attention to the opinions on the issue that have been voiced in the media and society in general, Surkov was quoted as saying. The bill will be reworked.Human rights activists have warned that the bill, submitted to parliament last month, could potentially allow authorities to brand any government critic a traitor.The legislation would expand the definition of treason and add non-governmental organizations to the list of banned recipients of state secrets. The government has repeatedly accused foreign spy agencies of using NGOs as a cover to foment dissent.Critics warned that the loose wording would give authorities ample leeway to prosecute those who cooperate with international rights groups.It is legislation in the spirit of Stalin and Hitler, a group of prominent Russian rights activists said in a statement.Surkov acknowledged there was a danger of loose interpretation of such notions as state secret, espionage and state treason.

Putin has not publicly commented on the bill.

Barred from seeking a third straight term as president, Putin backed Medvedev as his successor and became prime minister the day after his protege's inauguration. Putin is widely seen as still calling the shots in Russia, and has not ruled out a return to the presidency.

U.S. must prepare for sudden North Korea changes: study By Paul Eckert, Asia Correspondent JAN 27,09

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States must step up work with Asian allies and regional powers to be ready to cope with sudden change in nuclear-armed North Korea, a U.S. think tank warned on Tuesday.The Council on Foreign Relations said that although North Korea defied predictions in the 1990s that it would collapse after the death of its founder, economic meltdown and a deadly famine, the state remains weak and vulnerable.Change scenarios ranged from an orderly transfer of power from leader Kim Jong-il to a successor to a possibly violent struggle for power between military factions to a breakdown in political authority that would sow chaos in a country believed to have nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and with millions of armed troops, it said.The stakes are simply too high and the risks too great for U.S. policymakers to assume that this will not happen any time soon or that very little can usefully be done in advance, said the report.The study said recent North Korean media efforts to portray leader Kim Jong-il as having recovered from a suspected stroke last August may have quelled speculation about his rule for now, but uncertainties remained in the opaque country.Kim Jong-il's condition may actually be much worse than press reports suggest and that his capacity to govern -- if it hasn't already been seriously compromised -- may be short lived, said the report.Dealing with sudden change in North Korea would also require working with the North's neighbors China, Japan and Russia, whose interests on the peninsula do not always converge with each other or with the United States, it said.How the potential challenges associated with sudden, destabilizing change in North Korea are handled will have profound consequences for the subsequent evolution of Korea, the stability of northeast Asia, and the future course of U.S.-China relations, it said.China and South Korea could end up competing for influence in a post-Kim North Korea, while a humanitarian crisis that spilled refugees over their borders would increase pressure on Beijing and Seoul to intervene, said the report.U.S. policy should defer to the wishes of South Korea in managing change in North Korea instead of risking alienating that ally with unilateral steps, it said.Washington should revive trilateral cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo and also engage with Beijing to overcome China's unwillingness to discuss its plans for North Korea in order minimize the potential for misunderstandings if a crisis erupts, said the report.(Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

Japanese boat seized by Russia off Sea of Japan By MARI YAMAGUCHI, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 27, 1:14 pm ET

TOKYO – A Japanese fishing boat carrying 10 crew members was seized by the Russian coast guard Tuesday off Japan's northern coast.The crab fishing boat No. 38 Yoshimaru was caught at night off the northern coast of the Noto peninsula in an area believed to be outside Japanese territorial waters, Foreign Ministry official Kotaro Otsuki said.Otsuki said officials have asked the Russians to provide an explanation.A Coast Guard official, speaking on condition of anonymity citing policy, said the vessel's exact location when it was seized was not immediately known.He said the ship and its crew were being taken to an unspecified location in Russia for investigation. Kyodo News agency reported they were headed to Russia's far eastern port of Nakhodka.There is a possibility the Japanese boat might have entered Russian waters without permission to fish, the official said.Seizures of Japanese fishing boats by Russian authorities in disputed waters between Japan's northern island of Hokkaido and the Russian-held Kurils are not uncommon.Russia captured the small islands at the southern end of the Kuril chain — known as the Northern Territories in Japan — during the closing days of World War II. Tokyo has demanded Russia return the islands surrounded by rich fishing grounds. The dispute has kept the two countries from signing a peace treaty formally ending war hostilities.In August 2006, Russian patrol boats fatally shot a Japanese fisherman and seized a vessel in disputed waters.

VIDEOS TO GO WITH STORY
http://www.prisonplanet.com/school-children-complain-of-obama-worship-during-lessons.html

School Children Complain Of Obama Worship During Lessons ,Giant images of president projected onto classroom walls disturb kids, parents Steve Watson Infowars.net Wednesday, Jan 28th, 2009

Several disturbing stories have come to our attention over the past weeks and days that further highlight how sections of the American population have elevated Barack Obama to a dangerously inflated messianic status normally only associated with Royalty or totalitarian leaders.What makes the following accounts so much more insidious, however, is that they all involve children.Perhaps the most insidious is to be found on the Tree of Liberty forum where a concerned parent from Las Vegas reveals that his 1st grader son has complained of having to pledge allegiance every day at school to a huge projected image of the new president.

The post reads:

My son, who is in 1st grade, came home yesterday saying that he didn’t want to go back to school anymore. So I asked him why? He said that during the Pledge of Allegiance the teacher put up a large image of Obama next to the flag. I asked him if he was sure of this and I suggested to him that maybe the teacher just put up an 8×10 photo of the president. He said, No, it is a large picture of Obama and when we are done Ms. **** turns off the image. I also asked if they did this for Bush last year? He again said, No. This was my sons first day back to school since before Christmas, he was on a 5 week track break.My wife volunteers a couple of days each week with helping out with my sons teacher doing various duties. She said that she would come in early this morning to see what was going on. She just got back and reported that this was true and then some. She said she waited out in the pod area and could see inside 3 of the 5 class rooms in this section of school. She said that when the kids stand each teacher flips on the classroom overhead and a full body image of Obama, with six U.S. flags behind him, comes up about 4 feet away from the flag that hangs on the wall. She said that the image has Obama staring straight at you with no facial expressions, just a serious look. I asked my wife if Obama had his hand over his heart? She said that she was so taken aback by this that she didn’t see it. What is worse is she said that all of the kids in each class faced Obama instead of the flag that hangs in the corner.

What the heck is going on?

Guys and gals, I need some advise on how to approach this. I can be somewhat hot headed so I need to plan accordingly with what to say to the principal when we go in to inquire about this. I am sure I will be brushed off so what is my next step? Obviously it will be the school district but then who? ACLU, Veteran groups, Christian groups? Who would be interested in this vile activity? This is happening in the Clark County School District here in Las Vegas, Henderson area. Anyone in their right mind will realize that Americans are not supposed to pledge allegiance or service to a president. The U.S. Constitution, that piece of paper that Obama clumsily swore to defend and protect, states quite clearly that elected representatives are supposed to act in service of the people’s best interests, not the other way around.Imagine the outcry that would have ensued if it had been revealed that huge images of George W Bush were being projected onto the walls of schools every day during his presidency.Indeed, a similar incident in 2006 did cause waves of consternation when video emerged of children at a so called Jesus Camp being asked to worship a life size cutout of Bush.Seemingly, now that Obama is president this activity is not restricted to wacky religious gatherings and is becoming commonplace throughout schools in America.

Another concerned parent relates a similar story on our own PrisonPlanet forum:

I live in Toledo, Ohio & my 3 kids (16, 13 &10) had to watch the inauguration & ceremony in our Toledo Public Schools. My 13 year old daughter is supposed to write a letter to President Obama & my 10 year old is supposed to write 5 facts & 5 opinions on President Obama. what do i tell them so i dont get CSB called on me?
Given that he has been described as the global leader, it is quite apt that Obama worship is apparently not restricted to U.S. schools. Two weeks ago the Toronto Star reported on how Rowntree Public School now has its own Obama curriculum complete with a theme song that blasts out the following lyrics from speakers in the school every day:Building blocks of a new vow/ A million stops and a new route.Children are asked to complete Obama video worksheets while learning all about the president’s life, but apparently not what his policies are or even what party he represents.As part of the curriculum the students were asked to write a letter to the president, which is also featured in the article (see opposite).The final paragraph states You are the best because you are the first African American president in the United States of America! and the children end by promising that they will always remember your slogan, Yes we can!.The Obama curriculum is clearly not an isolated phenomenon. We have also recently reported on how one teacher has suggested removing from school curriculums all classic novels that explore racial prejudice in society, purely because Obama is now president.When added to the footage of glassy eyed children singing beautiful melodic songs about Obama (see below) and the now infamous footage of the Obama youth brigade children blindly reciting what their elders have told them to, these stories add up to a disturbing overall trend.

The youth brigades of Nazi Germany and the former Soviet Union are obviously an extreme form of this kind of blind indoctrination, however they were more like scout organizations, their doctrines were never openly instituted in schools!Perhaps even more disturbing is that there is no significant authoritative pressure pushing this kind of activity in schools. Clearly the teachers instigating the activities in the incidents related above are doing so of their own will, the phenomenon is a cultural one.The fervor with which Obama is being received by portions of the American public is reaching a frightening level. It has come to the point where the new president is literally being hailed as the anointed savior of humanity.We have flocks of celebrities encouraging Americans to pledge service to Obama, a disturbing notion given the fact that Obama has promised to found a national civilian security force and institute forms of compulsory community service for all Americans.It is one thing for naive adults to buy into such groupthink, but to also subject young children to this, a mentality akin to the desperate prole worship of Big Brother in George Orwell’s 1984, is profoundly foreboding for any so called free society.