ISRAEL INTERCEPTS LEBANESE BOAT

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).

France preparing return to NATO
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today FEB 5,09 @ 09:01 CET

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his advisers are in the final phase of preparing France's return to NATO's military structures, after Paris obtained US-backing for two senior command positions.US national security adviser James Jones has agreed in principle with Jean-David Levitte, a diplomatic adviser to President Sarkozy, that French officers could take over the reins of the Allied Command Transformation unit based in Norfolk, Virginia (US), according to a report in French daily Le Monde's Thursday edition (5 February), The Norfolk unit is in charge of overseeing transformations within the alliance such as its doctrine, organisation and the use of forces.The second senior post given to the French would be a regional NATO command based in Lisbon – the headquarters of the Rapid Reaction Force and of a centre for satellite-photo analysis.All we can say today is that these are the two posts the United States is ready to give up and that France is ready to take them over, a NATO military officer told French news agency AFP, confirming Le Monde's report.However, France has as yet no guarantees that it would be given the command of the structures, stressed the officer, who was speaking on condition of anonymity.

France is not necessarily the only one in line and the discussions about the revision of staff at the headquarters are not over, he said, explaining that NATO allies could make an initial decision on the issue in around two weeks.

An absence of 43 years

France has been out of NATO's military command for more than four decades.In 1966, in the middle of the Cold War, then-President Charles de Gaulle withdrew French forces in a bid to assert France's diplomatic and military autonomy and to protest against what he saw as US dominance emerging within the organisation.During last year's NATO summit in Bucharest, Mr Sarkozy - seen as the most pro-American president in France's recent history - said that Paris would soon conclude the process of taking its full place in NATO structures.Concretely, this would mean rendering some 900 French military personnel over to NATO's integrated military command, according to Le Monde.Mr Sarkozy is expected to announce France's return to NATO's armed structures at this year's NATO summit on 3-4 April in Strasbourg and Kehl, which will also mark the Alliance's 60th anniversary.In September, 2007, the French president told the New York Times: France could only resume its place [in NATO] if room is made for it ... It's hard to take a place that isn't reserved for you.Mr Sarkozy had cited American acceptance of an independent European defence capability and a leading French role in NATO's command structures at the highest level as the two conditions to be met before his country made a full return to the organisation.A previous attempt under former President Jacques Chirac from 1995 to 1997 for France to re-integrate NATO's military structures had failed due to US refusal to cede the strategic NATO Naples south command to the French.

Officials: France eyeing NATO post in US By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Feb 5, 8:46 am ET

PARIS – France is in talks on taking control of two NATO command posts, including a prestigious one in the U.S. that has never been led by a foreign commander, defense officials said Thursday.Such a move could also be accompanied by the injection of hundreds more French troops into NATO, a European defense official said. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no deal has been finalized.French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been looking to tighten France's links with NATO, particularly ahead of its April summit in Strasbourg, France, and Kehl, Germany that will celebrate the alliance's 60th anniversary.The European official and a French military official said France is in talks to put a French general in charge of two command posts: one in Norfolk, Virginia, responsible for laying out the long-term vision of the Atlantic alliance; the other an operational command based in the Portuguese capital, Lisbon.The French official also spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks are still under way.The Norfolk command, known as the Allied Command Transformation, is particularly prestigious. It is responsible for helping lay out the alliance's doctrine and for training and preparing for future scenarios, among other duties.News reports in France on Thursday said Sarkozy has won U.S. approval for the proposal for French generals to run the posts.The European official said France could accompany control of the Norfolk post with devoting up to another 800 troops to the NATO umbrella.President Charles de Gaulle withdrew France from NATO's military command in 1966 as he sought to reassert France's independence after the grueling post-World War II years. The decision has hurt trans-Atlantic ties for decades, and France remains outside the alliance's nuclear group and its planning committee.Sarkozy argues that new threats like terrorism are moving the alliance farther away from its original Cold War mindset — and that it's in France's interest to move toward greater international cooperation. But he has had to fend off political opposition at home from those who fear he would give up too much of France's freedom of decision-making on military matters.

France, which along with Britain is western Europe's biggest military power, is deeply involved in nearly all NATO operations. But its absence from the integrated military command exposes a lack of unity in the alliance.France has tried in the past — and failed — to increase its ties to NATO, such as with an effort in the mid-1990s by then-President Jacques Chirac for France to run an operational command of the alliance in Naples, Italy.

MEPs call on whole of EU to recognise Kosovo
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today FEB 5,09 @ 17:18 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – One year after Kosovo declared independence from Serbia, MEPs on Thursday (5 February) called on all EU countries to recognise Europe's newest state.The European Parliament encourages those EU Member States which have not already done so to recognise the independence of Kosovo, reads the resolution adopted by MEPs in Strasbourg today.The document was approved by a large majority - 424 MEPs voted in favour, 133 - against, while 24 abstained.Kosovo declared unilateral independence from Serbia on 17 February last year and it has so far been recognised by 54 states worldwide, including the US and most EU countries.To date, five EU member states – Romania, Slovakia, Greece, Cyprus and Spain – have not recognised its independence.In the resolution, the parliamentarians also welcomed the successful deployment of the European police and justice mission EULEX to Kosovo.

After having faced numerous delays, EULEX entered its operational phase two months ago – on 9 December – taking over police, justice and customs tasks from United Nations personnel in Kosovo.Since then the UN mission UNMIK has no longer had any residual powers in the area of police and customs and will soon hand over to EULEX all its remaining powers in the area of justice, thus ensuring that Kosovo functions under a single rule of law, the MEPs noted.

EULEX judges better than UNMIK's, says Kosovo

Dutch Green MEP Joost Lagendijk, in charge of the Kosovo dossier for the European parliament, welcomed the adoption of the resolution, which he said was of great importance.It gives solid backing to EULEX, which has a vital task in terms of policing, as well as for judicial authorities and customs authorities in Kosovo, Mr Lagendijk stated.The mission is dealing with drawn-out lawsuits concerning property and inter-ethnic violence. Both Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo will benefit from EULEX, he added.Meanwhile, officials and legal professionals in Kosovo have said say they find the EULEX-operated courts better than UNMIK's judicial authorities, according to news portal Balkan Insight.There are great differences from the previous judiciary, Osman Kryeziu, chief prosecutor in Pristina's District Court, was quoted as saying. There's less bureaucracy, more cooperation and commitment to work. EULEX judges have a completely different working culture, he added.For his part, Azem Vllasi, a lawyer in Pristina who worked in both the UNMIK and EULEX judicial systems, as well as in the local one, told Balkan Insight that EULEX was already proving to have the most professional one. My experience shows there are essential differences. There is more professionalism and greater obedience to the law and regulations [with EULEX], Mr Vllasi said.

WORLD GOVERNMENT

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

DANIEL 12:4,1
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

AMERICA GOT THEIR FALSE MESSIAH,OBAMA NOW THE AFRICAN UNION HAVE THEIR FALSE MESSIAH KADHAFI.

Does Africa really need a king of kings? by Shashank Posted – Wed Feb 4, 8:18am

Muammar Gadhafi's one-man version of Extreme Makeover: Dictator Edition arrived in Ethiopia this week, where the Guide of the Revolution did his typically modest, who-me? routine at the African Union summit. Arriving for his installation in the AU's temporary presidency like a monarch in a Merchant-Ivory costume drama, the New York Times' Lydia Polgreen described it as more of a coronation than a democratic transfer of power. Colonel Qaddafi was dressed in flowing gold robes and surrounded by traditional African leaders who hailed him as the king of kings.Even when he was sponsoring terrorism and behaving as the bad boy of the Middle East, Libya's president thought of himself as a statesman. Gadhafi was too mercurial, polarizing and geographically isolated to become the next Nasser, but lately he's been looking south and trying to become a pan-African leader, sponsoring peace initiatives and the like.He's still prone to behaving badly, or at least strangely. And his interest in issues tends to flicker like a child's. But he's renounced terrorism, the U.S. has warmed to him and now he's planning to turn the presidency of the AU -- a rotating, mostly ceremonial post -- into something of substance.

I hope my term will be a time of serious work and not just words, he said. Top on his agenda is creating a United States of Africa that would include, according to the BBC, a single African military force, a single currency and a single passport for Africans to move freely around the continent.Only Gadhafi -- who's ruled for 39 years and banned opposition parties and a free press -- would think that what this continent needs is more bureaucracy. It's clear what he really wants: a mega-nation to control, a continent's worth of heads of state answering to him -- to be the king of kings. How else to explain Gadhafi's arrival at the summit, documented in eye-rolling detail by the AP's Anita Powell: Gadhafi arrived at the summit Sunday with the seven men, one carrying a 4-foot gold staff, and caused a stir when security officials did not admit them because each delegation gets only four floor passes. All seven kings were seated behind Gadhafi when he accepted the chairmanship. Africa already has enough megalomaniacs -- and even they aren't impressed by Gadhafi's plan. His proposal stymied the AU session, and his first significant act as president was to walk out of a late-night debate in a moody fit when he didn't get his way. All this would be a sideshow if the AU didn't have real work to do in Somalia, Sudan, Congo and elsewhere.

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.

Soaked northern Australia braces for more rain By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer – Thu Feb 5, 4:51 am ET

SYDNEY – Sodden residents of northeastern Australia were trying to clean up from weeks of rain that have left more than half of their state — and area twice the size of Spain — under water.Still, forecasters on Thursday delivered some good news: Two offshore storms were unlikely to develop into cyclones.The main cities on northern Queensland's coast, Townsville and Cairns, were flooded in January storms and are still receiving daily rain. The main highways to Townsville were cut off by water.

A 42-year-old man in the town of Watsonville was rescued late Wednesday night after clinging to a tree near a swollen creek for more than three hours. He was treated for minor injuries.The small town of Ingham has been hardest hit, with 2,900 homes damaged or flooded in a weekend storm and hundreds of people evacuated.Emergency Services Minister Neil Roberts told Australian Broadcasting Corp. after visiting Ingham that residents are living in a swimming pool.Television footage showed muddy water filling the streets and people using small boats to get around town.But the Bureau of Meteorology said a strong storm north of Queensland state and another low pressure system just north of Ingham were unlikely to develop into cyclones and should move south. Though before doing so, they would likely drop enough precipitation to delay a drop in river levels.It's still really wet in this area so extra rainfall will cause trouble, said bureau forecaster Brett Harrison.Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Parliament on Thursday that state and federal governments were providing money for food, accommodation and hardship grants and that a federal disaster response plan had been activated to enlist military aircraft to transport aviation fuel where it was needed.More than 60 percent of Queensland state is under water and eligible for disaster relief.

On Thursday, river levels were beginning to fall in some parts of Queensland state while emergency workers continued to evacuate people left stranded.State emergency workers have come from across the state to help clean up, but crews are waiting for the Herbert River to drop below 23 feet (seven meters) before the mop-up can begin in earnest. Weather officials said flood levels in the river had fallen just slightly from a peak of 40 feet (12.2 meters).Resident Fred Marolla said his family had lost most of their appliances and other essentials.We've lost a fridge, washing machine, freezer. We've lost a TV, we lost furniture, he said.Residents have also been warned about crocodiles and snakes roaming flooded streets and yards.November to April is tropical cyclone season in northern Australia and overflowing rivers and heavy rainstorms are normal. The Bureau of Meteorology has predicted above-normal monsoonal activity this season.Cane growers in north Queensland are waiting anxiously as rising floodwaters threaten to reduce this year's crop. The state produces about 95 percent of Australia's raw sugar. The government said storms have caused an estimated 109 million Australian dollars ($69.5 million) in damage since late December. In stark contrast to the wet weather in the north, cities in southern Australia have been sweltering through record-breaking heat waves in recent weeks.

Temperatures in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide have ranged from 91 to 113 degrees Fahrenheit (33 to 45 degrees Celsius) in the past few weeks, causing deaths and brushfires.

Fresh snow brings more chaos FEB 5,09

LONDON (AFP) – Fresh snow falls in parts of England and Wales brought more transport mayhem and school closures on Thursday amid fears of a shortage of salt and grit for the roads.Snow storms have paralysed Britain this week costing businesses millions of pounds and forcing air, rail and road links to virtually shutdown in the worst blizzards in 18 years.One person, a 16-year-old girl, was also killed in a sledging accident in Yorkshire on Tuesday while two walkers died after heading out in icy conditions in the Lake District, mountain rescuers said.There were signs that the cold snap was easing. But more snow has settled in south Wales, western England, the Midlands, counties to the north of London, Northern Ireland and Scotland -- with up to eight inches in some areas.As temperatures hit 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, forecasters warned that the freezing blast would continue into the weekend.

Disruptions were reported for the fourth straight day on the roads, while trains were delayed or halted leaving commuters stranded in Wales, the Midlands, the South West and Yorkshire.Luton Airport cancelled more than a dozen flights as clearing work took place, and planes were also unable to land and take off from Belfast City airport, Robin Hood International Airport, near Doncaster, and Aberdeen.Thousands of students were told to stay at home as some schools again closed across the country including about a quarter in Birmingham and 170 in Wales.The BBC reported 6,000 schools were shut across Britain on Tuesday, including every school in Birmingham. The closures have sparked criticism from business leaders and parents forced to make emergency childcare arrangements or stay off work.A number of councils have warned of dwindling stocks of salt used to melt snow on roads as the harsh winter weather drags on, prompting calls for guaranteed supplies.This is a very serious situation with some roads becoming death traps, said Edmund King, president of AA.The government should step in to assess the situation and ensure that salt stocks are maintained in the places at immediate risk from snow and ice over the coming days.

Britain's biggest salt supplier, Cheshire-based Salt Union, said staff were working round the clock but still could not meet demand.We have been operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, since the beginning of January and are extracting 30 million kilos per week but the unexpected and unusual weather means that, even working at this level, demand is outstripping supply, the firm said.Gritters fitted with snowploughs operated through the night in many areas but consistent heavy snowfall meant some roads could not be totally cleared.Scotland recorded between six and eight inches of snow, closing many roads.There were also reports of heavy snow on the M4 and M5 in Wiltshire making driving conditions dangerous.In London, the Underground was reported to be working normally as rain replaced snow over the capital. Tens of thousands of workers were forced to stay at home on Monday in London, costing employers millions of pounds in lost work.

La Nina seen gradually weakening in 2009: NOAA FEB 5,09

NEW YORK (Reuters) – The La Nina weather anomaly will persist into the spring of 2009 but should gradually weaken during that period, the U.S. Climate Prediction Center said on Thursday.In a monthly update, the CPC said a majority of the model forecasts ... indicate a gradual weakening of La Nina through February-April 2009, with an eventual transition to neutral conditions.CPC is an office under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The body said La Nina will last into spring of this year.La Nina literally means little girl in Spanish. It results in cooler-than-normal waters in the Pacific Ocean. The more famous El Nino weather phenomenon has the opposite effect.Scientists believe La Nina spurs hurricane formation in the Atlantic basin by hindering wind shear that breaks up storms as they form.CPC said the potential impact of La Nina during February to April 2009 include above average precipitation in the Ohio and Tennessee valleys and below average rainfall in the southwestern and southeastern United States.It said the other impacts are below average temperatures in the Pacific Northwest and above average temperatures in much of the southern United States.Indonesia, the most populous country in Southeast Asia and a major producer of coffee, cocoa, palm oil and other agricultural products, could get above average precipitation, the CPC added.El Nino -- which means ' little boy' in Spanish -- wreaks havoc in weather patterns across the Asia-Pacific regions. The most devastating struck in 1997/98 when it caused withering drought in Australia and Indonesia while spawning floods in Peru and Ecuador.It was named after the Christ child by Latin American anchovy fishermen in the 19th century who first took note of the weather anomaly.(Reporting by Rene Pastor; editing by Jim Marshall)

Hudson's Bay lays off 1,000 amid downturn Wed Feb 4, 3:59 pm ET

TORONTO (Reuters) – Privately held Canadian department store chain Hudson's Bay Co. is cutting 1,000 jobs in a bid to slash costs amid a severe economic downturn.The company said the cuts represent about 5 percent of its overall full-time workforce and, when combined with other cost cutting moves, should lead to annual savings of C$150 million ($121.9 million) in 2009.Both administrative and store positions will be affected, the company said in a statement.Hudson's Bay, which operates The Bay, Zellers, Home Outfitters and Fields store chains, has more than 600 retail outlets. It was originally founded by fur traders in 1670 and is North America's oldest continuously operating company.Last year, the company was bought by U.S.-based private equity group NRDC Equity Partners from the Zucker family.(Reporting by Wojtek Dabrowski; editing by Rob Wilson)

Canada encouraged by softened Buy American plan FEB 5,09

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada said on Thursday it was encouraged by the U.S. Senate's move to soften the Buy American provision in its $900 billion stimulus bill, but said it would maintain diplomatic pressure on Washington to keep protectionist measures out of the plan as it moves forward.The Buy American provision would have required that all public works projects funded by the stimulus package use only U.S.-made iron, steel and manufactured goods.But, under the amendment passed by U.S. Senate on Wednesday, the provision must be applied in a manner consistent with U.S. obligations under international agreements.Canadian Trade Minister Stockwell Day told reporters on Thursday the amendment was a great step forward.Respecting the fact that this is their legislation, we want to continue to impress upon them the things that we think are necessary to avoid either a North American or even a global negative reaction to that legislation, Day added.The bill still has to be reconciled with the version passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, which did not include a guarantee on trade obligations.Day said Canada shipped about C$11 billion ($9 billion) in iron and steel products to the United States, in various forms, in 2007.

The Senate moved to amend the Buy American provision after several countries, including Canada, Japan and Australia, expressed concern over the legislation, and President Barack Obama warned the original language could trigger a trade war.

Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican, urged the Senate to exclude any Buy American provision as part of the stimulus package, but his amendment was rejected.
It would have been nice to see that go through, said Day. It would have put some extra weight on the amendment that's already there, but we are pleased with progress so far.The United States has made commitments under the North American Free Trade Agreement and the World Trade Organization to provide trading partners such as Canada, Mexico, Japan and the European Union with access to its government procurement market and has received similar commitments in exchange.But other countries such as China, Russia, India and Brazil are not party to those pacts so would not have any protection from the amendment passed by the Senate on Wednesday.
(Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Rob Wilson)

DISEASES

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

Ky. halts FEMA meals that may use tainted peanuts FEB 5,09

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky officials say they've stopped distributing FEMA emergency meals for winter storm survivors that may contain recalled peanut butter.The Federal Emergency Management Agency says some emergency meal kits for storm victims in Kentucky and Arkansas may include packets of peanut butter that are part of a national recall over possible salmonella contamination.Kentucky officials said Thursday they have received no complaints about illnesses from the peanut butter but are advising people to discard any packets they've received.Arkansas officials say they have located two trailers where the meals were stored and none of those had been handed out.More than 1,000 items have been recalled in the salmonella outbreak that has sickened at least 550 people, eight of whom have died.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)
12 And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth.
13 And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence (TERRORISM) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

Cheney warns of new attacks By JOHN F. HARRIS & MIKE ALLEN & JIM VANDEHEI | 2/4/09 5:56 AM EST

Former Vice President Dick Cheney warned that there is a high probability that terrorists will attempt a catastrophic nuclear or biological attack in coming years, and said he fears the Obama administration’s policies will make it more likely the attempt will succeed. In an interview Tuesday with Politico, Cheney unyieldingly defended the Bush administration’s support for the Guantanamo Bay prison and coercive interrogation of terrorism suspects. And he asserted that President Obama will either backtrack on his stated intentions to end those policies or put the country at risk in ways more severe than most Americans — and, he charged, many members of Obama’s own team — understand. When we get people who are more concerned about reading the rights to an Al Qaeda terrorist than they are with protecting the United States against people who are absolutely committed to do anything they can to kill Americans, then I worry, Cheney said. Protecting the country’s security is a tough, mean, dirty, nasty business, he said. These are evil people. And we’re not going to win this fight by turning the other cheek.Citing intelligence reports, Cheney said at least 61 of the inmates who were released from Guantanamo during the Bush administration — that’s about 11 or 12 percent — have gone back into the business of being terrorists.The 200 or so inmates still there, he claimed, are the hard core whose recidivism rate would be much higher. (Lawyers for Guantanamo detainees have strongly disputed the recidivism figures, asserting that the Pentagon data have inconsistencies and omissions.) Cheney called Guantanamo a first-class program, and a necessary facility that is operated legally and with better food and treatment than the jails in inmates' native countries.

But he said he worried that instead of sitting down and carefully evaluating the policies, Obama officials are unwisely following campaign rhetoric and preparing to release terrorism suspects or afford them legal protections granted to more conventional defendants in crime cases. The choice, he alleged, reflects a naive mindset among the new team in Washington: The United States needs to be not so much loved as it needs to be respected. Sometimes, that requires us to take actions that generate controversy. I’m not at all sure that that’s what the Obama administration believes.The dire portrait Cheney painted of the country’s security situation was made even grimmer by his comments agreeing with analysts who believe this recession may be a once-in-a-century disaster. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever seen, Cheney said. The combination of the financial crisis that started last year, coupled now with, obviously, a major recession, I think we’re a long way from having solved these problems.The interview, less than two weeks after the Bush administration ceded power to Obama, found the man who is arguably the most controversial — and almost surely the most influential — vice president in U.S. history in a self-vindicating mood. He expressed confidence that files will some day be publicly accessible offering specific evidence that waterboarding and other policies he promoted — over sharp internal dissent from colleagues and harsh public criticism — were directly responsible for averting new Sept. 11-style attacks. Not content to wait for a historical verdict, Cheney said he is set to plunge into his own memoirs, feeling liberated to describe behind-the-scenes roles over several decades in government now that the statute of limitations has expired on many of the most sensitive episodes. His comments made unmistakable that Cheney — likely more than former President Bush, who has not yet given post-White House interviews — is willing and even eager to spar with the new administration and its supporters over the issues he cares most about. His standing in this public debate is beset by contradictions. Cheney for years has had intimate access to the sort of highly classified national security intelligence that Obama and his teams are only recently seeing. But many of the top Democratic legal and national security players have long viewed Cheney as a man who became unhinged by his fears, responsible for major misjudgments in Iraq and Afghanistan, willing to bend or break legal precedents and constitutional principles to advance his aims. Polls show he is one of the most unpopular people in national life.

In the interview, Cheney revealed no doubts about his own course — and many about the new administration’s. If it hadn’t been for what we did — with respect to the terrorist surveillance program, or enhanced interrogation techniques for high-value detainees, the Patriot Act, and so forth — then we would have been attacked again, he said. Those policies we put in place, in my opinion, were absolutely crucial to getting us through the last seven-plus years without a major-casualty attack on the U.S.Cheney said the ultimate threat to the country is a 9/11-type event where the terrorists are armed with something much more dangerous than an airline ticket and a box cutter – a nuclear weapon or a biological agent of some kind that is deployed in the middle of an American city. That’s the one that would involve the deaths of perhaps hundreds of thousands of people, and the one you have to spend a hell of a lot of time guarding against, he said. I think there’s a high probability of such an attempt. Whether or not they can pull it off depends whether or not we keep in place policies that have allowed us to defeat all further attempts, since 9/11, to launch mass-casualty attacks against the United States.If Cheney’s language was dramatic, the setting for the comments was almost bizarrely pedestrian. His office is in a non-descript suburban office building in McLean, Va., in a suite that could just as easily house a dental clinic. The office is across the hall from a quick-copy store. The door is marked by nothing except a paper sign, held up by tape, saying the unit is occupied by the General Services Administration. At several points, Cheney resisted singling out Obama personally for criticism, at one point saying he wants to give him a break after just two weeks in office. He said he admires Obama’s choice to keep Defense Secretary Robert Gates on the job. But if he treated Obama gingerly, Cheney was eager to engage in the broader philosophical debate he was accustomed to with Democrats and even many in his own party about the right way to navigate a dangerous planet. He said he fears the people populating Obama’s ranks put too much faith in negotiation, persuasion, and good intentions. I think there are some who probably actually believe that if we just go talk nice to these folks, everything’s going to be okay, he said. He said his own experience tempers his belief in diplomacy.

I think they’re optimistic. All new administrations are optimistic. We were, he said. They may be able, in some cases, to make progress diplomatically that we weren’t, Cheney said. But, on the other hand, I think they’re likely to find — just as we did — that lots of times the diplomacy doesn’t work. Or diplomacy doesn’t work without there being an implied threat of something more serious if it fails.As examples of the dangerous world he sees — and one he predicted Obama and aides would find sobering — were Russia’s backsliding into authoritarianism and away from democracy, and the ongoing showdowns over the nuclear intentions of Iran and North Korea. But it was the choice over Guantanamo that most dominated Cheney’s comments.

If you release the hard-core Al Qaeda terrorists that are held at Guantanamo, I think they go back into the business of trying to kill more Americans and mount further mass-casualty attacks, he said. If you turn ’em loose and they go kill more Americans, who’s responsible for that? Of one alternative — moving prisoners to the U.S. prisons — Cheney said he has heard from few members of Congress eager for Guantanamo transfers to their home-state prisons, and asked: Is that really a good idea to take hardened Al Qaeda terrorists who’ve already killed thousands of Americans and put ’em in San Quentin or some other prison facility where they can spread their venom even more widely than it already is? While Cheney’s words were dire, his own mood was relaxed, even loquacious. He was not on crutches — much less the wheelchair he rode to Obama’s Inauguration — from an injury while moving a box of books into his new home. Suddenly a man of leisure, Cheney has a Kindle, Amazon’s wireless reading device, and said he used it recently to read James M. McPherson’s new Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander in Chief.About a week ago, he had a phone conversation with former President George W. Bush, the first time the two had talked since they appeared together at a rally at Andrews Air Force Base just after Obama’s swearing-in. He’s fine, Cheney said. We had a pleasant chat on the phone. It was a private, personal conversation – not about policy. We’re both citizens – civilians.

Other highlights of the 90-minute interview:

* What Cheney called the trillion-dollar so-called stimulus bill: It looks to me like there’s a lot of stuff in there that has nothing to do with stimulus – it’s a sort of a wish list of a lot of my congressional Democratic friends, he said.

* The potential consequences of $1 trillion in deficit stimulus spending: It’s huge, obviously – potentially huge. You worry about what ultimately happens to inflation. You worry about what’s going to happen to the ability of the government to borrow money. … I’m nervous.

* Whether the Bush administration should have done more about the economy: We did worry about it, to some extent. … I don’t think anybody actually foresaw something of this size and dimension occurring. It’s also global. We only control part of the world economy – a very important part.

* On the chance of progress in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in the foreseeable future: I think it’s unlikely.

After leaving office, Cheney and his wife, Lynne, went first to his home in Wyoming, then returned to Washington to enjoy their grandchildren. He’s working on a book about his career, which has included stints as a House member, White House chief of staff and secretary of Defense. His daughter, Liz Cheney, the former principal deputy assistant secretary of state for near eastern affairs, supervised the interview and at one point was looking for a tape recorder. I’m not a very good press aide,she joshed. Cheney found one on his own. See, you don’t need staff, she said.

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

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

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

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

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

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

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

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

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

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU FEB 05,2009

09:30 AM -18.48
10:00 AM -100.24
10:30 AM -106.73
11:00 AM +11.87
11:30 AM +21.82
12:00 PM +64.43
12:30 PM +87.29
01:00 PM +108.16
01:30 PM +65.15
02:00 PM +79.41
02:30 PM +124.48
03:00 PM +81.96
03:30 PM +102.90
04:00 PM +106.41 8063.07

S&P 500 845.85 +13.62

NASDAQ 1546.24 +31.19

GOLD 917.20 +15.00

OIL 40.95 +.62

TSE 300 8830.79 +137.70

CDNX 897.45 +7.40

S&P/TSX/60 533.85 +9.28

MORNING,NEWS,STATS
Dow -42 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -30 points at high today so far.
Dow -109 points at low today so far.

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -9.34%
S&P -7.86%
Nasdaq -3.93%
TSX Advances 616,declines 519,unchanged 217,Volume 1,151,738,636.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 350,Declines 308,Unchanged 319,Volume 129,227,553.
Dell down graded by JP Morgan.
Gold opens at $922.70 today,Oil opens at $40.22 today.
Natural Gas Inventories -195 BCF.
UBS calls for Gold to go to$1000.00
Madoffs clients list of ripped off go to 162 pages long.Over 6,000 names on the list.

In the last 2 days:4 Auto Supplier plants to close and 4,000 Jobs lost.
SUPPLIERS BAILOUT WANTED
-Discussions for $20.5 BILLION.
-$10 BILLION through big 3.
-Riding out the JAN EFFECT(Plant 2 week shutdown)
Big 3 spending to fall 50-60% in FEB due to plant breaks in JAN-FEB.
Lower Volume will cut Big 3 parts spending.
Teer 2&3 base will be the most affected with plant shutdowns longer.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow +87 points at high.
Dow -109 points at low.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 2,310,declines 1,275,unchanged 120,New Highs 8,New Lows 140.
Volume 3,606,505,653
NASDAQ Advances 1,743,declines 836,unchanged 114,New highs 2,New Lows 119.
Volume 1,210,979.857
TSX Advances 497,declines 474,unchanged 212,Volume 478,843,188.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 275,Declines 246,Unchanged 245,Volume 77,201,955.

MEL'S DOG WOODY IS A CUTEY WHILE LAYING ON THE DESK WHILE SHE TALKED ABOUT HER DOG SHOW TONIGHT.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -109 points at low today.
Dow +153 points at high today.
Dow +1.34% today Volume 387,060,475.
Nasdaq +2.06% today Volume 2,147,483,648.
S&P 500 +1.62% today Volume N/A

JANUARY COMPS
J C Penney -16.4% Vs -11.7% est.
Target -3.3% Vs 5.5% est.
Aeropostale +6% Vs +4.8% est.
American Eagle -22% Vs -14.1% est.
Bj's wholesale +7.6% Vs +2.7% est.
Macy's D4.5% Vs D6.3% est.
Gap -23% Vs 15.4% est.
Wal-mart +2.1% Vs 1.1% est.

TOP RETAIL PERFORMANCE IN 2009
Conns Inc,Aeropostale,Amazon.

SPENDING IS HAPPENING:JANUARY SALES
The Buckle +14.7%,Aeropostale +11%,Hot Topic +6%,Amer Apparel +2%,Mothers Work +5.1%
DEPARMENT DIVE JANUARY SALES
JC Penney -16.4%,Saks -24%,Macy's -4.5%,Kohl's -13.4%
JANUARY SALES
Wal-Mart +2.1%,Target -3.3%,Bj's -0.7%,Costco -2%.

New jobless claims jump more than expected to 626K By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer FEB 5,09

WASHINGTON – New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist.The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of newly jobless workers seeking benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 626,000, from the previous week's upwardly revised figure of 591,000. The latest total is far more than analysts' expectations of 583,000.That's also the highest since October 1982, when the economy was in a steep recession, though the work force has grown by about half since then.The numbers reflect the large spate of layoffs announced last month by companies from all sectors of the economy, including Caterpillar Inc., Pfizer Inc. and Microsoft Corp.Economists expect the government to issue a grim report Friday that will show the unemployment rate rose to 7.5 percent in January, up from 7.2 percent in December. That would be the highest rate in 17 years.The housing slump and financial crisis have hammered spending by businesses and consumers, sending the economy into a recession that is expected to continue until at least the second half of this year.The recession's impact was visible in other economic data Thursday. Factory orders fell by 3.9 percent in December, the Commerce Department said, a record fifth straight drop.For all of 2008, orders for everything from autos to computers to food rose by only 0.4 percent, the weakest showing since orders actually fell by 1.8 percent in 2002.Meanwhile, many retailers reported dismal January sales. The malaise crossed the spectrum of retailing, from department store chains to teen clothing chains.Wet Seal Inc., Stage Stores Inc. and Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. were among those posting deeper-than-expected sales declines.Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, was a notable exception, reporting sales that beat Wall Street's forecast, as shoppers continued to focus on necessities like groceries.

The financial markets were mixed in response to the news. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 63 points, or about 0.8 percent, in morning trading, while the Nasdaq rose slightly.Laid-off workers are having a harder time landing new jobs as companies impose hiring freezes in addition to job cuts.The number of people that remained on the unemployment compensation rolls increased slightly to nearly 4.8 million, the Labor Department said, most since records began in 1967. The continuing claims data lags the number of new claims by one week.As a proportion of the work force, the number of people receiving unemployment benefits is at the highest level since August 1982. But that doesn't include an additional 1.7 million people receiving unemployment insurance through an extension of benefits Congress approved last year, which brings the total to about 6.5 million.The extension provides up to 33 additional weeks of benefits, on top of the 26 weeks typically provided by states.

The Labor Department said in a separate report that productivity rose at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the final three months of last year, far above the 1.1 percent rise that economists had expected.Productivity, which is the amount of output per hour of work, jumped because the number of hours worked during the period plunged faster than output declined. That reflected the massive wave of layoffs that occurred during the fourth quarter. Unit labor costs, meanwhile, edged up at a 1.8 percent annual rate, far lower than the 2.9 percent rise that had been forecast. The results underscored how the deepening recession has removed the threat of inflation.

The layoffs continued Thursday with cosmetics maker Estee Lauder Cos. saying its fiscal second-quarter profit fell 30 percent and it plans to begin a four-year restructuring plan that will include cutting 2,000 staffers, or 6 percent of the work force. The company will also continue its hiring freeze. On Wednesday, Botox maker Allergan Inc. and Time Warner Inc.'s cable division announced large job cuts. A day earlier, PNC Financial Services Group, airplane maker Hawker Beechcraft Corp., Liz Claiborne Inc., King Pharmaceuticals Inc. and aerospace company Rockwell Collins Inc. announced layoffs. General Motors Corp., meanwhile, said it will offer buyouts to all of its hourly workers. Macy's Inc. said Monday that it would eliminate 7,00 jobs.Associated Press Writers Martin Crutsinger and Anne D'Innocenzio contributed to this report.

Stores see January sales fall; Wal-Mart posts rise By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, AP Retail Writer FEB 5,09

NEW YORK – Shoppers grappling with rising layoffs and shrinking retirement accounts dug deep into survival mode last month, leading to sharp January sales declines for many retailers. The poor results raised more concerns about the financial health of the industry.The malaise crossed the spectrum of retailing, from department chains to teen chains. Wet Seal Inc., Stage Stores Inc. and Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. were among those posting deeper-than-expected sales declines.Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, was a notable exception, reporting sales that beat Wall Street's forecast, as shoppers continued to focus on necessities like groceries.

Sales are coming in extremely soft, and we see more of the same for at least three to six months, said Ken Perkins, president of research company RetailMetrics. Shoppers continue to be under pressure. They are fatigued and tapped out. They are feeling pressure from all fronts. And there's absolutely no incentive to shop.A sales tally by Thomson Reuters found that 12 retailers it tracks beat expectations, while 11 missed projections. The tally is based on same-store sales, or sales at stores opened at least a year, which are a key indicator of retailer's health.

January is the least important month of a retailer's sales calendar, but the figures only confirmed the deterioration of consumer spending. The retail industry has posted sales declines since October, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs index, and many analysts believe that will continue through the first half of the year.Shoppers have worries from slumping home prices to tight credit and shrinking retirement accounts. But the biggest concern is job security and income — and that may only be reinforced by data Thursday showing that new claims for unemployment benefits jumped to their highest level in more than 26 years. The unemployment rate — now at 7.2 percent — is expected to jump to 7.5 percent, a 17-year peak, in January when the government releases new figures Friday.

In this environment, stores are slashing prices to try to pull in shoppers. Already many chains, including AnnTaylor Stores and Banana Republic, are discounting spring merchandise.And with shoppers retrenching, retailers and suppliers are looking for ways to cut costs. Macy's Inc., Bon-Ton Stores and apparel maker Liz Claiborne Inc. are among those that have announced layoffs in recent days.They are hunkering down, said Chris Donnelly, a partner in the retail practice at consulting group Accenture. There is this key focus on survival.The outlier in Thursday's parade of dismal sales was Wal-Mart, which had stumbled in December. It came back in January to post a 2.1 percent increase in same-store sales, excluding fuel. That was better than the 1.1 percent gain that analysts polled by expected. The company said same-store sales were strong in grocery and health and wellness.Wal-Mart predicted that same-stores sales, including fuel, will rise from 1 percent to 3 percent during the Jan. 31 through May 1 period.Macy's, which announced Monday that it would cut 7,000 jobs — almost 4 percent of its work force — reported a 4.5 percent decline in same-store sales. That was better than the 6.5 percent decline analysts had expected. The company also raised its fourth-quarter and full-year estimates for the year ended in January. Earlier in the week, Macy's said that earnings for the year that ends January 2010 will be well below analysts' expectations.Stage Stores said its January same-store sales dropped 13.1 percent, deeper than the 8.3 percent decline Wall Street anticipated. Limited Brands Inc. posted a 9 percent decline, though that was less severe than the 15.9 percent drop analysts expected.Children's Place suffered an 11 percent decline, worse than the 2 percent drop Wall Street projected. And Wet Seal announced a 14.7 percent decline, deeper than the 11.8 percent analysts anticipated.Costco Wholesale Corp., which had also been one of the few bright spots, on Wednesday reported a 2 percent drop in same-store sales, a little better than the 2.8 percent decline that Wall Street expected. But the warehouse operator warned that its profit for the quarter ending in February will substantially miss Wall Street estimates due to poor sales and margins.

Bank of England cuts, ECB holds steady By PAN PYLAS and GEORGE FREY, AP Business Writers FEB 5,09

LONDON – The European Central Bank halted its campaign of interest rate cuts on Thursday, leaving its benchmark at 2 percent while the Bank of England cut by a half-point to a record low 1 percent as it tries to get the ailing British economy back on track.The widely expected decisions by both banks marked their decidedly different approaches to the global economic woes that have sent financial markets plunging and led to thousands of layoffs, reduced worker hours and factory shutdowns across Europe.The ECB, central bank for the 16 countries that use the euro with their 330 million residents and euro4 trillion ($5.6 trillion) economy, has been more cautious in cutting rates, which can stimulate growth by lowering borrowing costs for businesses and consumers but can stoke inflationary pressures down the line.Though both banks conceded that their economies are in the midst of their deepest recessions in decades — Britain's 1.5 percent contraction in the fourth quarter of 2008 was the worst since 1980 — they sought to pierce the gloom by laying out the hope that the raft of policy measures since autumn will start to bear fruit some time this year.While warning reporters that upcoming fourth quarter growth figures for the euro zone will likely be very negative and that the weakness will continue into coming quarters, ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet said the single currency zone should start to reap the benefits of significant policy measures.

And the Bank of England said it expected the sharp interest rate reductions enacted since October to have a significant impact on the economy eventually.Together with the recent easing in fiscal policy, the substantial fall in sterling and past falls in commodity prices, that would provide a considerable stimulus to activity as the year progressed, the bank said.Since October, when the financial crisis sharpened, the European Central Bank has cut its benchmark rate from 4.25 percent, while the Bank of England has slashed its from 5 percent. In addition, both banks have flooded the financial markets with unprecedented amounts of money in the form of short-term credit to banks and efforts to reduce their holdings of shaky securities, while governments across Europe have loosened the purse strings.Despite that relative optimism, both banks are expected to carry on cutting interest rates in the months ahead, though the European Central Bank may not go as far as the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan by pushing borrowing costs down to, or near, zero.Zero rate doesn't seem appropriate to us at this time, Trichet told the press briefing after the unanimous decision to keep rates on hold.However, Trichet did indicate that another rate cut could be in the offing for March, and markets are pricing in a half-point cut.Two percent is not the lowest level we would have decided, he said.

Aurelio Maccario, an economist at UniCredit in Milan said Trichet's statement confirms that a half percentage point rate cut in March is absolutely in the pipeline.The Bank of England is expected to cut its main rate to, or close to, zero percent, and has indicated that it may start to expand the money supply once interest rates fall to, or near, zero percent to avoid a bout of deflation — a corrosive spiral of falling prices.The Bank now has to act to avoid deflation without fear of a further weakening of sterling; a weaker currency should serve to add to the competitiveness of exports, said Hetal Mehta, senior economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club.Both central banks said inflation could fall to very low levels this year, though prices will likely remain volatile, amid sharply lower demand for goods and services and sliding energy and commodity prices. Lower inflation gives central banks more room to cut rates without fear of worsening prices rises.Many economists have criticized the ECB for its relative caution, especially as inflation in the euro zone fell 1.1 percent in the year to January — below the ECB's mandate to target inflation below, but close to 2 percent.The ECB is clearly behind the curve, as it was in July 2008, when it raised interest rates by a quarter of a percent, said Richard Snook, senior economist at the Centre for Economic and Business Research. Global policy rates at zero and coordinated quantitative easing across all major economies is the best remedy for an unprecedented global crisis, he said. On the Net: http://www.ecb.int
http://www.bankofengland.co.uk

Netanyahu: Gaza offensive stopped too soon By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer Wed Feb 4, 12:51 pm ET

JERUSALEM – The front-runner for Israel's election next week said Israel's offensive against Hamas militants in Gaza last month did not go far enough.Benjamin Netanyahu told a security conference Wednesday the government stopped the operation before the military could halt Hamas arms smuggling through tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt.He also called for removing Hamas from power, calling it an extremist fanatic regime backed by the extremist fanatic government of Iran.He stopped short of saying he would attack Gaza again to uproot the regime if he is elected.Israel's three-week offensive on Gaza killed 1,300 people, about half of them civilians, according to Palestinian figures. Israel said it wanted to stop the years of rocket fire from Gaza into the southern part of the country.Rockets fired from Gaza went deeper than ever into Israel during the offensive, leading to concerns that more foreign-made rockets were being smuggled into Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt.

Hamas forces overran the crowded, impoverished Gaza Strip in June 2007.

Polls show that Netanyahu's hawkish Likud Party and its hawkish allies would receive a majority in the new parliament after the Feb. 10 election, giving him the best chance to be named prime minister.Netanyahu warned that any territory Israel relinquishes will be grabbed by extremists, referring to the possibility of trading West Bank land for peace in a deal with the Palestinians.Such an exchange is the cornerstone of current peace efforts backed by the U.S. and the international community. A year of U.S.-backed negotiations between Israel and the Western-backed government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which rules the West Bank, has produced no apparent progress.Netanyahu said negotiations with the Palestinians should concentrate on economic issues and policing.That is not a replacement for political negotiations toward a peace treaty, he said. It is the only path toward them.Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who helped direct the Israeli assault on Gaza, is slightly behind Netanyahu in the polls. She advocates negotiating a peace treaty with Abbas but has called for stern measures against Hamas if rocket fire continues from Gaza.The other architect of the Gaza offensive, Defense Minister Ehud Barak, is far behind, with some polls showing his center-left Labor Party in fourth place.

Israel ambassador is latest shoe-throwing target FEB 5,09

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Israel's ambassador to Sweden has become the latest public figure to be targeted by a shoe-throwing protester.Police said Ambassador Benny Dagan was hit on the leg by the shoe, one of several projectiles thrown when he turned up to address a student gathering at Stockholm University this week.During this seminar, someone threw a shoe at the ambassador,university spokeswoman Maria Sandqvist said.It was a student organisation that had an event and they had invited the ambassador to talk about the upcoming election in Israel.Police spokeswoman Petra Sjolander said two people, one male and one female, had been detained and then released following the incident. A public prosecutor was considering whether to charge them.Sjolander said the ambassador had been interviewed by police and that he had been struck by the shoe. Yes, on the leg, she said, adding that books had been thrown as well.Dagan himself and officials at the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm could not be reached for comment.Last December, an Iraqi journalist hurled both shoes at former U.S. President George W. Bush when he was on a farewell visit to Iraq in December.Then last Monday a protester threw a shoe at Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during a speech at Cambridge University in England.The Foreign Policies Association student group in Stockholm issued a statement on its web site deploring the incident.

Violence is never a solution,it said.A video posted on the Internet purporting to depict the event showed objects being hurled across a lecture hall towards a group of people at the front, who then hurried out of the room. A part of the video was blacked out and it was not possible to see who had hurled the objects.(Reporting by Adam Cox; Writing by Richard Balmforth)

Israeli navy intercepts Lebanese boat of Gaza aid By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer FEB 5,09

JERUSALEM – The Israeli navy intercepted a ship delivering 60 tons of supplies to the Gaza Strip from Lebanon on Thursday in the latest bid to defy Israel's blockade of the militant-held territory.The Israelis fired at the ship before boarding it and beating those on board, said reporters from Arab TV stations Al-Jadeed and Al-Jazeera who were on the vessel.Gunfire could be heard in the background of the telephoned reports aired by their stations.The Israeli navy said no gunshots were fired on the ship as it boarded and seized the vessel. The navy towed the ship, which set sail Tuesday from Lebanon, to the southern Israeli port of Ashdod where it could be seen moored at the quayside.Lebanon's prime minister condemned the blatant attack and one of the organizers of the voyage called it a kidnapping. But Israel said the ship tried to slip past its navy after agreeing to sail to Egypt instead.

The Israeli military said those on board the ship, the Tali, would be handed over to Israeli immigration authorities — and that the aid would be transferred to Gaza by land.Israel has kept Gaza's cargo crossings largely closed since the Hamas militant group seized control of the coastal strip in June 2007.Disagreements over opening the Gaza blockade led Hamas negotiators to leave talks in Egypt on Thursday on a long-term cease-fire with Israel. The Hamas team was later stopped at an Egypt-Gaza border crossing with millions of dollars and Euros in their suitcases, an Egyptian security official said.The organizers of the aid ship, Lebanese leftist political and human rights activists, said 18 people were on board and that the cargo included medicine, food, toys and basic humanitarian supplies such as mattresses and blankets.

Among the passengers was 86-year-old Greek Catholic priest Hillarion Capucci who was serving as an archbishop in Jerusalem in 1974 when Israel convicted him of using his diplomatic status to smuggle arms to Palestinian militants. He was later released from jail at the intervention of the Vatican and deported.The Free Gaza Movement, which did not organize the Lebanese voyage but has successfully sent several boatloads of activists to Gaza in the past said one of its British volunteers, Theresa McDermott of Edinburgh, was also on board.Israel says the blockade of Gaza is a response to repeated Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel and is necessary to keep arms from reaching Hamas. After Israel ended a three-week military offensive in Gaza last month with an informal cease-fire, Hamas has been trying to get the border crossings reopened as part of a long-term cease-fire.But Egyptian efforts for a formal long-term deal took a downturn Thursday when a senior Hamas official said his delegation was leaving Cairo without an agreement because of differences over opening the border crossings.Egypt is acting as mediator because Israel and Hamas do not have official contacts.Hamas officials had said they are ready to commit to a cease-fire with Israel for at least a year in exchange for a full opening of Gaza's borders.But Hamas negotiator Mohammed Nasr said Israel was trying to avoid fully reopening the Gaza borders. He said his group would wait for answers after the Egyptians talk to Israel.The Hamas delegation later was stopped from returning to Gaza with $9 million and 2 million euros in their suitcases, an Egyptian security official said.The official said the group initially refused to be searched by Egyptian authorities at the Rafah border crossing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. The money stayed in Egypt while the delegation was allowed to return to Gaza, said another security official. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity, as they were not authorized to speak to the media. The Lebanese ship was the latest in a string of vessels that tried to break the Israeli blockade. Israel has permitted several ships to reach Gaza but blocked others, including a Libyan freighter that was forced to turn around last December.

The Israeli military said the Tali's shipment had not been cleared by Israeli authorities. It said a naval patrol spoke by radio to the Tali and told its skipper the ship would not be allowed to enter Gaza. The two sides agreed that the vessel would instead sail to the Egyptian port of El-Arish. But on Thursday morning, the ship tried to double back and slip past the navy, Israel said, raising concerns that it might be trying to smuggle arms into Gaza. As a result of the actions taken by the boat crew, an Israel navy force intercepted, boarded, and took control of the cargo boat, directing it toward (the port) of Ashdod, Israel, the statement said. No gunshots were fired on board during the boarding and capturing of the cargo boat.

Interviewed on Army Radio after the ship was searched, however, a naval officer identified only as Lt.Col.A. said no weapons were found. Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora said he strongly condemned the blatant attack on the ship and held Israel responsible for the safety of the passengers. This Israeli aggression is not surprising,he said.Israel, which commits massacres against innocent civilians in Lebanon and Gaza, will not stop at committing an aggression in front of the world against a ship carrying humanitarian aid.A Syrian Foreign Ministry statement sharply condemned what it called Israel's act of maritime piracy.AP Writers Zeina Karam in Beirut, Ashraf Sweilam in Rafah, Egypt and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.