PERES USHERS IN NEW ISRAELI PARLIAMENT

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

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

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

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

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

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

Israel President Shimon Peres urges new parliament to pursue peace
24 Feb 2009, 2355 hrs IST, AP

JERUSALEM: Israel President Shimon Peres, ushering in a new Israeli parliament Tuesday, urged lawmakers to conclude an elusive peace deal with the
Palestinians by the end of their term — a tall order for a legislature that has shifted sharply to the right following this month's national election. Peres delivered his appeal just days after selecting the hawkish Benjamin Netanyahu to form a coalition government. Netanyahu can easily cobble together a government of lawmakers who champion settlement-building and oppose the sweeping territorial concessions that would be necessary to wrap up an accord. But he has been wooing centrist parties in an effort to give his new government greater stability and a moderate face that would be more easily embraced by the international community. At the swearing-in ceremony of the 18th Knesset, or parliament, Peres told lawmakers that peace with Palestinians would be recognized as regional peace with all of Israel's neighbours. It was time, he said, to put war aside. We countered fire with fire, yet the cessation of violence should be concluded through negotiations. Negotiations with the Palestinians need to continue until an accord will be found, he said. We don't want to rule over another people, and we don't want another people to rule over us.The 120 lawmakers elected Feb. 10 then took the oath of office. The centrist Kadima Party, led by Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, won 28 seats in the election, one more than Netanyahu's Likud. However, Peres appointed Netanyahu to put together the next government because he has the support of a majority of the elected lawmakers.Both Kadima and the smaller, dovish Labor Party have so far spurned Netanyahu's offer to join his government. Livni is key to a broad-based government because of her party's size. But after meeting with Netanyahu on Sunday, she said the two had deep disagreements regarding talks with the Palestinians. She has also said she would refuse to serve as a fig leaf for a government that did not promote peace.

Should Netanyahu fail to bring moderates into his government's fold, his major partner will be Avigdor Lieberman's ultranationalist Yisrael Beiteinu Party, which wants to redraw Israel's borders to put large concentrations of Israeli Arab under Palestinian jurisdiction and have those who remain sign loyalty oaths to the Jewish state or lose their citizenship. Another partner would be the small, religious National Union Party. After the swearing-in ceremony, party lawmaker Michael Ben Ari derided Peres for using the occasion to talk abut the illusion of two states for two peoples. This phrase is a disaster, he said. A government of nationalist and religious hard-liners could put Israel sharply at odds with the Obama administration, which has declared its intention to aggressively pursue an end to 60 years of Mideast conflict. Next week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will be making her first trip to the region since taking office. Top Mideast envoy George Mitchell, who objects to settlement expansion, will make a second trip this week.

In his remarks to the Knesset, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert echoed Peres' vision of tranquility. It is my wish that this Knesset will witness peace and security for the state or Israel, he said. He also wished the legislature something his government did not enjoy — a full four-year term. Olmert is trying to use his last weeks in office to reach a long-term truce with Gaza Strip militants and bring home a soldier held in captivity by Gaza's ruling Hamas movement for nearly three years. The war was meant to halt years of rocket fire on southern Israel but the attacks and Israeli military retaliation continue. A truce deal has implications beyond cementing the informal Jan. 18 cease-fire that ended the war. Without it, there is little chance of advancing already troubled talks to reconcile feuding Palestinian factions who maintain rival governments in the West Bank and Gaza.

100s DANCE PRAY AROUND OLD TEMPLE GATES
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/130118

18th Knesset’s 120 MKs Take Knesset Pledge
by Hillel Fendel FEB 24,09

(IsraelNN.com) Thirty-one new MKs and 89 veterans, accompanied by their invited guests, heard the addresses of President Shimon Peres and Acting Speaker Michael Eitan open the first session of the 18th Knesset, as they pledged to uphold the laws of the State.The session opened on Tuesday afternoon with King David's Psalm 121, Shir LaMaalot, sung by the Moran-Beit Yitzchak children’s choir and composed by popular Jewish music singer Yosef Kardoner. The choir, comprising many children of immigrants from Ethiopia, later also sang Song of the Journey to the Land of Israel.

President Shimon Peres gave the opening address, expressing his hopes that the incoming government would be able to solve problems such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, poverty, bureaucracy, and more. He also noted his request, and that of most of the MKs with whom I met, that Prime Minister-designate Binyamin Netanyahu form a national unity government.Peres also thanked outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for his contributions during this very difficult period for the State of Israel. He also noted with personal sorrow the recent passing of Rabbi Avraham Ravitz, a Knesset Member for the United Torah Judaism party.Just over a quarter of the Knesset are newcomers, and several others were Knesset Members in earlier terms. Among the newcomers are Yaakov Katz (Ketzaleh), head of the National Union party, Rabbi Prof. Daniel Hershkowitz, who heads the Jewish Home-NRP, Dr. Michael Ben-Ari (National Union), as well as four journalists: Tzipi Hotobeli (Likud), Daniel Ben-Simon (Labor), Nitzan Horowitz (Meretz), and Uri Orbach (Jewish Home). In addition, former IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. (ret.) Moshe Yaalon is a rookie MK for the Likud, as is Jewish Agency Chairman Ze’ev Bielski for Kadima.MK Michael Eitan (Likud), the most senior non-Minister in the Knesset, assumed the leadership of the session after Peres completed his speech. Following his swearing-in, Psalm 122 was read aloud by Israel Broadcasting Authority announcer Dan Kaner, and a segment of a speech by David Ben-Gurion was played aloud.

Acting Knesset Speaker Eitan then read aloud the Prayer for the Welfare of the State of Israel, asking G-d to bless the sprouting of our national redemption and to spread Your light upon those who stand at its head. He noted that this was his eighth consecutive Knesset term, having first entered the Knesset in August 1984. Eitan also took advantage of his lengthy speech to push, among other things, for his pet project,a constitution for Israel.Each new MK then committed him/herself, according to alphabetical order and from their seats, to keep and maintain the laws of Israel and the regulations of the Knesset. The session ended with the singing of the national anthem, HaTikvah: Our hope is not yet lost, the hope of two thousand years, to be a free people in our land, the land of Zion and Jerusalem.

Israel Sends New Negotiating Team to Egpyt for Hamas Talks
by Hana Levi Julian FEB 24,09

(IsraelNN.com) Three men have been tapped to replace Israel's top negotiator, Amos Gilad, who until now has been responsible for representing the Jewish State in talks with Egypt over arrangements for a ceasefire with Hamas terrorists and the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit.Gilad was sacked on Sunday by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for publicly criticizing the government last week in an interview published in the Hebrew-language newspaper Ma'ariv.Although technically no one has been appointed to replace Gilad as top negotiator for Israel with Egypt, sources in the Prime Minister's Office who announced that one would be appointed very shortly told reporters they already knew who had been chosen.According to the sources, the prime minister's long-time diplomatic adviser, Shalom Turgeman, who was involved in last year's indirect talks with Syria, brokered by Turkey, is one member of the team. Turgeman was appointed by Olmert last month as head of a team to consider ceasefire initiatives that were being proposed during the counterterrorist Operation Cast Lead in Gaza.Sources said Turgeman has been assigned to work on diplomatic and other aspects of the calm.

The head of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Yuval Diskin, will become the second member of the triumvirate, according to sources in the prime minister's office. Diskin, who began his service with the Shin Bet in 1978, became director of the agency in February 2005. During the worst years of terrorism, he headed the operational region responsible for destroying Hamas military infrastructures throughout Judea and Samaria, reads a Foreign Ministry profile of his credentials.

Diskin will reportedly be tasked with working on a list of Arab prisoners to be exchanged for Shalit. He will also deal in the arms smuggling aspect of the Gaza calm.Prime Minister's envoy Ofer Dekel, who handled the German-brokered negotiations with Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon for the return of kidnapped IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, will complete the team. A former deputy director of the Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet), Dekel has been already been involved in the negotiations for the return of kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue. Shalit was kidnapped less than a month before Goldwasser and Regev were abducted, and is still being held hostage by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.Dekel will continue to be the government's representative in talks aimed at freeing Shalit from captivity.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Israel worried Obama may cut aid,White House strongly opposes Jewish construction in biblical territory February 24, 2009 1:18 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2009 WorldNetDaily

President Obama promised yesterday at his Fiscal Responsibility Summit to cut the budget deficit in half.TEL AVIV, Israel – Israel's Defense Ministry is reportedly worried President Obama will scale back military aid to Israel to protest continued Jewish construction in the biblical West Bank. The defense officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to the Jerusalem Post, commented ahead of the Obama administration's anticipated release of its fiscal 2010 budget and the visit here later this week by Mideast envoy George Mitchell. Mitchell, a former Senate majority leader, is a fierce opponent of Jewish settlements in the West Bank. WND reported exclusively earlier this month Obama's White House had pledged to the Palestinian Authority it will closely monitor Jewish construction in the West Bank and will protest any new housing developments in the biblical territory, according to top PA negotiator.They told us the White House will watch for any Jewish construction, said the PA negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity. Obama knows that if (Likud Chairman Benjamin) Netanyahu is the next prime minister, he will try to expand the settlements. They pledged to us this will be strongly protested, the negotiator said. The U.S. embassy in Tel Aviv denied there would be any changes in American aid to Israel, which consists largely of funds for the purpose of purchasing U.S.-made defense equipment. The Jerusalem Post quoted defense officials here speculating if Obama cuts military aid in the future in protest of Jewish settlement growth, the White House may publicly cite the global financial crisis as impetus for the finding decrease.

Earlier this month, WND quoted top PA officials stating they received a guarantee from Obama's administration that understandings reached with Israel during U.S.-backed negotiations while President Bush was in office would be utilized as starting points for current and future talks with the Jewish state. The PA officials said they were enthusiastic about the new tone of the White House and about recent meetings with Mitchell. They said they believe that under Obama the Palestinians can extract from Israel concessions reaching much further than during talks held under the previous administration. Regarding all understandings achieved between the parties, the Obama administration told us they will give guarantees to carry them out,said a top PA official. With Obama, the number of settlers to be removed from the West Bank will much be more important than 60,000, said the PA official, referring to previous negotiations in which Israel expressed a willingness to withdraw from up to 94 percent of the West Bank and move about 60,000 settlers into central settlement blocks closer to Jerusalem. WND reported exclusively in November that then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice collected notes and documents from Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams to ensure the incoming U.S. administration would not need to start negotiations from scratch. PA sources said Rice's notes are being used by Obama's team as the starting points for new Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Documents noting agreements during previous Israeli-Palestinian negotiations have been used in subsequent talks, sometimes as starting points. According to both Israeli and PA sources, American officials took detailed notes of talks at U.S.-brokered negotiations at Camp David in 2000 and then used points of agreement on key issues, such as borders, during recent rounds of intense Israeli-Palestinian talks.

Israeli and PA sources said Rice's notes document agreements that would seek an eventual major West Bank withdrawal and would grant the PA permission to open official institutions in Jerusalem. A top source said the PA requested that the Obama administration threaten sanctions against Israel for any new Jewish construction in the West Bank. The source told WND that Obama is said to favor Israel withdrawing from nearly the entire West Bank. Israel recaptured the West Bank in the 1967 Six Day War. The territory, in which about 200,000 Jews live, is tied to Judaism throughout the Torah and is often referred to as the biblical heartland of Israel.The book of Genesis says Abraham entered Israel at the West Bank city of Shechem (Nablus) and received God's promise of land for his offspring. He was later buried with the rest of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, except for Rachel, in Hebron's Tomb of the Patriarchs. The West Bank's Hebron was site of the first Jewish capital.The nearby West Bank town of Beit El – anciently called Bethel, meaning house of God – is where Scripture says the patriarch Jacob slept on a stone pillow and dreamed of angels ascending and descending a stairway to heaven. In the dream, God spoke directly to Jacob and reaffirmed the promise of territory. Earlier, God had promised the land of Israel to Abraham at Beit El. In Exodus, the holy tabernacle rested just north of Beit El in Shiloh, believed to be the first area the ancient Israelites settled after fleeing Egypt.

REBUILT 3RD TEMPLE (THE EU DICTATORS TEMPLE)

REVELATION 11:1-2
1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod: and the angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.
2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

DANIEL 9:27
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

REBUILT 4TH TEMPLE (THE TRUE MESSIAHS TEMPLE)

ZECHARIAH 6:12-13
12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD:
13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

ISAIAH 60:9-10
9 Surely the isles shall wait for me, and the ships of Tarshish first, to bring thy sons from far, their silver and their gold with them, unto the name of the LORD thy God, and to the Holy One of Israel, because he hath glorified thee.
10 And the sons of strangers shall build up thy walls, and their kings shall minister unto thee: for in my wrath I smote thee, but in my favour have I had mercy on thee.

ISAIAH 2:1-5
1 The word that Isaiah the son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.
2 And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the LORD's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it.
3 And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem.
4 And he shall judge among the nations, and shall rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.
5 O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD.

MARK 11:9-10,15-17
9 And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord:
10 Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple.
17 And he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer? but ye have made it a den of thieves.

EZEKIEL 40 TO 48 IS THIS 4TH TEMPLE TO BIG FOR THE MOUNT I BELIEVE TO BE BUILT 25 MILES FROM JERUSALEM.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU More Bible proof: Temple relics unearthed,Archaeologists discover official seals from Kingdom of Judah February 23, 2009 10:39 pm Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists yesterday announced the discovery of a large building dating to the time of the First and Second Temples associated with Hezekiah, the King of Judah. The Israeli government's Antiquities Authority oversaw the excavation in the southern Jerusalem village of Umm Tuba. The agency said its archaeologists unearthed the remains of an ancient building consisting of several rooms arranged around a courtyard, containing pottery and other artifacts from the First and Second Temple Periods. The finds include official government seals bearing the names of Ahimelekh ben Amadyahu and Yehokhil ben Shahar, who were high-ranking officials in Hezekiah's government. The life of Hezekiah, the son of King Ahaz is detailed in the biblical books of Kings, Isaiah and Chronicles. Hezekiah was the 13th king of independent Judah. Archaeologists also found a Hebrew inscription – dating 600 years after the Kingdom of Judah seals – on a fragment of a jar neck, characteristic of the beginning of the Hasmonean period. The ancient building was partially destroyed during the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. The finds are the latest in a mountain of unearthed remains giving a clearer picture of the Jewish presence in Jerusalem during the First and Second Temple periods. Still, the Palestinian Authority, which seeks control of the Temple Mount and eastern Jerusalem, steadfastly denies the Jewish temples ever existed. In November, Ahmed Qurei, the PA's chief negotiator, who oversees all peace talks with the Jewish state, told reporters the Jewish Temples never existed and contended Israel has been working to invent a Jewish historical connection to Jerusalem. PA websites make similar claims.

Holiest site

The Temple Mount is the holiest site in Judaism. The First Temple was built there by King Solomon in the 10th century B.C. when the Kingdom of Israel was united. After the kingdom split into two entities, Israel and Judah, the temple was destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The Second Temple was rebuilt in 515 B.C. after Jerusalem was freed from Babylonian captivity. That temple was destroyed by the Roman Empire in A.D. 70. Each temple stood for a period of over four centuries.

Learn Bible history like you've never known it before! Get Shocked by the Bible: The Most Astonishing Facts You've Never Been Told personally autographed!The Jewish Temple was the center of religious Jewish worship. It housed the Holy of Holies, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and was said to be the area upon which God's shechina, or presence, dwelled. All Jewish holidays centered on worship at the Temple. The Jewish Temple served as the primary location for the offering of sacrifices and was the main gathering place for the Jewish people. According to the Talmud, the world was created from the foundation stone of the Temple Mount. The site is believed to be the biblical Mount Moriah, the location where Abraham fulfilled God's test to see if he would be willing to sacrifice his son Isaac.

Jewish tradition holds Mashiach, or the Jewish Messiah, will return and rebuild the third and final Temple on the Mount in Jerusalem. The Kotel, or Western Wall, is the one part of the Temple Mount that survived the destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and stands today in Jerusalem. Throughout all notorious Jewish exiles, thorough documentation shows the Jews never gave up hope of returning to Jerusalem and re-establishing their Temple. To this day, Jews worldwide pray facing the Western Wall, while Muslims turn their backs away from the Temple Mount and pray toward Mecca. The Al Aqsa Mosque was constructed around A.D. 709 to serve as a shrine near another shrine, the Dome of the Rock, which was built by an Islamic caliph. About 100 years ago, the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem became associated with the place Muslims came to believe Muhammad ascended to heaven. Jerusalem, however, is not mentioned in the Quran. Islamic tradition states Muhammad took a journey in a single night from a sacred mosque – believed to be in Mecca in southern Saudi Arabia – to the farthest mosque, and from a rock there ascended to heaven to receive revelations from Allah that became part of the Quran. Palestinians today claim exclusivity over the Temple Mount, and Palestinian leaders routinely deny Jewish historic connection to the site, but historically, Muslims did not claim the Al Aqsa Mosque as their third holiest site and admitted the Jewish Temples existed.

According to research by Israeli author Shmuel Berkovits, Islam previously disregarded Jerusalem. He points out in his book How Dreadful Is this Place! that Muhammad was said to loathe Jerusalem and what it stood for. Berkovits wrote that Muhammad made a point of eliminating pagan sites of worship and sanctifying only one place – the Kaaba in Mecca – to signify the unity of God. As late as the 14th century, Islamic scholar Taqi al-Din Ibn Taymiyya, whose writings influenced the Wahhabi movement in Arabia, ruled that sacred Islamic sites are to be found only in the Arabian Peninsula and that in Jerusalem, there is not a place one calls sacred, and the same holds true for the tombs of Hebron.It wasn't until the late 19th century – incidentally when Jews started immigrating to Palestine – that some Muslim scholars began claiming Muhammad tied his horse to the Western Wall and associated Muhammad's purported night journey with the Temple Mount. A guide to the Temple Mount by the Supreme Muslim Council in Jerusalem published in 1925 listed the Mount as the site of Solomon's Temple. The Temple Institute acquired a copy of the official 1925 Guide Book to Al-Haram Al-Sharif, which states on page four, Its identity with the site of Solomon's Temple is beyond dispute. This, too, is the spot, according to universal belief, on which David built there an altar unto the Lord.

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).

Big groups to retain power in EU parliament
PHILIPPA RUNNER 24.02.2009 @ 09:14 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The balance of power in the European Parliament would stay broadly the same if elections were held today, national polls indicate. The mainstream parties would lose some ground, while far left and far right parties would gain.The centre-right European People's Party (EPP-ED) group would fall from 284 seats to around 265. The centre-left Party of European Socialists (PES) faction would drop from 215 to about 195 and the centrist Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) group would dip from 103 to around 95. The results come from extrapolating 19 national opinion polls published in January and February, in the early convulsions of the financial crisis.The smaller groups - the far-left United European Left-Nordic Green Left (GUE-NGL), the Greens, the right-wing Union for Europe of the Nations (UEN) and the eurosceptic Independence/Democracy (IND/DEM) - are harder to call because they consist of more fringe party and independent members, many of which don't show up on national surveys. Despite this, polls suggest GUE-NGL would become the fourth largest faction, with about 40 seats, followed by the Greens and UEN on 35 each. The mix would leave some 70 seats to be contested out of a total of 736. Far-right groups are poised to scoop at least 20. The new anti-Lisbon treaty Libertas party is also likely to do well and may put IND/DEM out of business. Libertas' French branch alone is set to take four seats.

Shifting allegiances may complicate the picture. The UK Conservative party has promised to leave the EPP-ED and may form a new group with the Czech centre-right ODS party. Meanwhile, Italian right-wing party Alleanza Nationale is leaving UEN for the EPP-ED-linked Il Popolo della Liberta party of Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi.

Putting all this together, the new parliament could see the EPP on around 235, the PES with 200, ALDE on 90, the GUE-NGL with 40, the new British Conservative-led group on 40, the Greens with 35 and UEN just above 25. There could also be a new far-right or a new eurosceptic group. To form a political family in the parliament, a grouping must have a minimum of 25 MEPs from at least seven countries.Opinion polls in previous European elections (particularly with four months to go) have tended to slightly over-estimate support for governing parties and large opposition parties, and to underestimate support for small extreme parties, particularly anti-European movements,London School of Economics expert Simon Hix said.

Hurricane warning

The elections will take place between 4 and 7 June. With banks wobbling, factories closing and people protesting on the streets, the economic crisis is likely to cause a few more political hurricanes in Europe in the run-up to the vote.

Last week, the Latvian government fell.

National opinion polls are a crude way of forecasting EU elections however. The EU vote is largely based on list systems, where parties put out nationwide or near-nationwide lists of MEPs for voters to choose from, instead of choosing between individuals in local constituencies. Most of these lists have yet to come out.EU elections also tend to favour radical parties because of low turnout and the perception that the European Parliament has little impact on daily life. A European Commission survey in January showed that just 34 percent of people intend to vote.

Radical parties do well under low turn-out circumstances as their highly-motivated supporters make the trip to the urn in proportionally greater numbers than mainstream voters. The air of levity makes people happier to make protest votes, while still supporting a safe pair of hands in national politics.

Zooming in

Zooming in on some of the changes since 2004, EPP-ED parties have surged in the UK, Italy and Poland but have suffered in Germany, the Czech Republic, Greece and Hungary. A February corruption scandal in Spain's centre-right Partido Popular could also hurt.PES parties have gained ground in Sweden, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. But French socialists look to be down by 13 seats. The Italian centre-left Partito Democratico, which sends MEPs to both PES and ALDE, is in disarray after its leader, Walter Veltroni, resigned last week. Liberals are on the up in Germany and France. But the fate of the Polish liberal delegation - six MEPs from tiny parties - remains unclear until the Polish lists come out.The far-left has leapt forward in Germany, France, Greece and Portugal, while holding its ground in the rest of Europe, except in the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, far right supporters are one the rise. The Dutch anti-Islam PVV group is set to scoop up five seats. France's admittedly divided Front National another five and Austria's nationalist FPO and BZO are together likely to send five between them as well.

Slovenia-Croatia dispute lingers despite meeting.A patch of the Adriatic Sea close to the Slovenian city of Piran is causing particular difficulty between the two sides (Photo: EUobserver.com)ELITSA VUCHEVA 24.02.2009 @ 17:42 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Slovenia and Croatia continue to be locked in a dispute over their border despite a meeting between their leaders on Tuesday (24 February).If no progress is made in dealing with the border issue, Slovenia will not withdraw its reservations about the opening and closing of policy chapters in negotiations between Croatia and the EU, Slovene prime minister Borut Pahor told a press conference following the meeting, Croatian news agency Hina reported.Slovenia and Croatia have been unable to agree on their common land and sea border since they both seceded from the former Yugoslavia in 1991.But tension between Zagreb and Ljubljana has been increasing since December, when Slovenia blocked the opening or closing of 11 chapters of Croatia's 35-chapter EU negotiations package over the unresolved issue. It argued that certain documents and maps provided by Croatia during its accession process could prejudge a solution to their long-running dispute – a claim that Zagreb denies.Considering the current [state of] bilateral relations, today's meeting is progress in itself and a step forward, first of all because we have agreed on future contacts at the ministerial level and between the two of us personally, Mr Pahor said.According to a Reuters report, Mr Pahor and his Croatian counterpart Ivo Sanader displayed cold courtesy and forced smiles. It was the first meeting between them since Mr Pahor took office in November last year.

Time pressure

Besides disagreeing on where the border should lie, the two countries also disagree on how to eventually solve the issue.Croatia sees it as a legal matter which should be dealt with by the International Court of Justice in The Hague and also insists it is a bilateral problem which should not impede its integration into the EU or NATO, both of which Slovenia is a member.We want to resolve the dispute as soon as possible, but it cannot be a condition for our EU talks. I think an international court is the best solution, Mr Sanader said.For its part, Slovenia is in favour of an EU mediation group, which has already been proposed by the European Commission and which would be chaired by former Finnish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Martti Ahtisaari, solving the dispute.Last week, EU commissioner Olli Rehn said he expected clarity on whether the two countries would accept the group and under which conditions latest in the first week of March.If Slovenia's blockage of Croatia's EU talks is not lifted during the next EU-Croatia meeting at the end of March, Zagreb's objective of concluding accession negotiations by the end of this year may be threatened.Croatia aims to become full EU member by 2011.

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.

Crews work to restore power to Maine after storm By CLARKE CANFIELD, Associated Press Writer – Tue Feb 24, 5:53 pm ET

PORTLAND, Maine – Utility crews wearing snowshoes and riding snowmobiles trudged through chest-high snow Tuesday as they worked to restore electricity to tens of thousands of customers still in the dark a day after a wind-whipped storm barreled through Maine.Nearly 45,000 homes and businesses were still without power Tuesday afternoon, down from the 140,000 customers without electricity at the peak of Monday's storm that snapped tree limbs, power lines and utility poles and dropped 2 feet of snow on the region.Central Maine Power Co. expected to reduce the number of outages to 30,000 by Tuesday night. Electricity is not expected to be totally restored until Thursday night, said CMP spokesman John Carroll.Bangor Hydro Electric Co. said some homes in outlying areas could be without electricity into Wednesday.

The utilities blamed poor road conditions and the rural locations of many outages for slowing efforts to restore power.CMP equipped many of the workers with snowshoes and snowmobiles to help them tramp through deep snow to reach lines in need of repair, Carroll said. At one point, the utility ran out of snowshoes.We've had so many people struggling with the snow, we started calling L.L. Bean and Cabela's and Sam's Club to see who had them, Carroll said.Fifteen shelters were set up around the state Monday night, but only a small number of people spent the night there.That's typical, said Lynette Miller of the Maine Emergency Management Agency. We need to have the shelters available, but people tend to tough it out or go to family or friends.Gov. John Baldacci declared a state of emergency Monday to extend the hours that power crews can work to restore electricity. On Tuesday morning, he joined CMP President Sara Burns in touring neighborhoods in Brunswick and Bath that remained without power.Baldacci, who met with several crews who came up from Massachusetts and Connecticut, urged Maine residents once again to use caution in dealing with downed lines and portable generators.Be patient. Look out for your neighbors, your family and yourself, he said.(This version CORRECTS spelling of Baldacci.)

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

FINANCIAL MEETING IN WSH MAR 23-24
https://futurefinance.wsj.com/index.php

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 FEB 25,2009

09:30 AM -33.46
10:00 AM -109.92
10:30 AM -143.53
11:00 AM -178.18
11:30 AM -126.88
12:00 PM -125.05
12:30 PM -149.26
01:00 PM -150.70
01:30 PM -146.08
02:00 PM -26.25
02:30 PM -88.15
03:00 PM -51.24
03:30 PM +52.40
04:00 PM -80.05 7270.89

S&P 500 764.90 -8.24

NASDAQ 1425.43 -16.40

GOLD 950.00 -19.50

OIL 42.50 +2.52

TSE 300 7932.30 +72.97

CDNX 854.97 +1.38

S&P/TSX/60 477.85 +4.30

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -16.24%
S&P -14.40%
Nasdaq -8.57%
TSX Advances 707,declines 900,unchanged 244,Volume 3,325,981,500.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 265,Declines 536,Unchanged 366,Volume 226,614,993.

Dow -33 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -193 points at low today.
Dow +1 points at high today so far.
Gold opens at $965.20,OIL opens at $40.92 today.
Obama nominates Gary Locke as Commerce secretary.

EIA INVENTORY ESTIMATES 9:30AM
Crude -1.5 to -2.5 MILLION BARRELS.
Crude build 700,000 barrels (10:30AM)
Gasoline -500,000 to +500,000 Barrels.
Gasoline draws down of 3.4 MILLION barrels (10:30AM)
Distillates -1 to -2 MILLION Barrels.
Distillate a build of 800,000 Barrels.
Utilization unchanged at 82.3% capacity.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -193 points at low today so far.
Dow +1 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 918,declines 2,728,unchanged 83,New Highs 5,New Lows 229.
Volume 3,717,378,117.
NASDAQ Advances 613,declines 1,977,unchanged 114,New highs 3,New Lows 182.
Volume 1,012,436,373.
TSX Advances 568,declines 717,unchanged 283,Volume 1,356,209,605.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 290,Declines 271,Unchanged 284,Volume 97,238,343.

2,227 OF DIFFERENT ANNOUNCEMENTS OF 50 OR MORE JOBS LOSSES IN JAN(MASS LAYOFFS).
Existing Home sales (JAN)down 5.3%to 4.49 MILLION rate.Slowest pace since 1997.
JANUARY inventories of homes for sale lowest since JANUARY 2007.
Agrium bids for CF Industries.Agrium makes hostile $3.6 BILLION bid for CF Industries,$72/share.
Allstate having Dividend, saving $450 MILLION a year.
20 BANKS IN FOCUS AS STRESS TESTS BEGIN.
9.7 TRILLION WASTED ON BANKS SO FAR:Bloomberg reports.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -193 points at low today.
Dow +55 points at high today.
Dow -1.09% today Volume 450,271,157.
Nasdaq -1.14% today Volume 2,147,483,648.
S&P 500 -1.07% today Volume N/A

SPECIAL CONFERENCE MAR 23-24,2009,ALL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS WILL BE THERE,ALL THE EU MEMBERS WILL BE THERE,AND THE G-20 WILL BE THERE.THIS SAME GROUP OF EU,BANKERS,G-20 WILL ALSO BE IN LONDON IN APRIL TO LAY PLANS FOR THE NEW WORLD ORDER,ESPECIALLY THE G-20.https://futurefinance.wsj.com/index.php

REBUILDING FINANCE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY FEB 25,09:WSJ

Rebuilding Finance for the 21st Century March 23-24, 2009 Washington, D.C.
The global financial system is broken. In the coming months and years, a new system will be built in its place. What are the basic principles on which that system must be founded? The Wall Street Journal is convening the top leaders and experts in global finance to deliberate on that question—and provide specific guidance for the task ahead. The meeting will be held in Washington, D.C., on March 23-24, just one week before the G-20 heads of state convene.

The subjects that we will address include regulatory structure, derivatives, controls on private pools of money (hedge funds, private equity), global coordination, financial industry compensation, mark-to-market accounting, and methods to ensure adequate access to capital.

Thus far, the talks on these issues have been conducted almost entirely among government officials. We believe there’s a need for a forum that includes the private sector in the discussion. We aim to capture the voices of business leaders on these critical topics at a time when myriad government entities will be setting new policies. Senior officials from the Obama administration, members of the U.S. Congress, and G-20 leaders will participate in the discussions, with the results to be published in a special report of The Wall Street Journal, to be released shortly before the G-20 meeting in London in early April.

OTHER CCNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044739255
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044860017

VIDEO CLINTON ON CRISIS
www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044203775

NATIONALIZE VIDEO
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29369864
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044150999
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044122449

To Nationalization, Just Say No! Posted By: Lee Brodie
FEB 24,09

With the growing call for nationalization you might be surprised to hear that a former chair of the FDIC says it’s the wrong move. In Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal Bill Isaac, chairman of the FDIC from 1981-1985 writes, bank nationalization isn’t the answer. Trust me. I’ve done this before.We were so intrigued by his perspective that we invited Isaac to be our guest on Fast Money.Unlike other pundits you might see on TV or read online, the insights provided by Isaac are clearly different – he's actually walked the walk. When I headed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) during the banking crisis of the 1980s, the FDIC recapitalized and took control of Continental Illinois Bank, which was then the country's seventh largest bank, he says.

Three major issues emerged as a result

- the bank was forced to shrink dramatically
- they had to come up with a plan to get the bank back into private hands
- they had to find a new, yet highly experienced management team.

In the case of Continental Illinois none of those issues were terribly vexing because on a relative scale – the bank was small. But, if we nationalize Citigroup [C 2.60 0.46 (+21.5%) ] and Bank of America [BAC 4.73 0.82 (+20.97%) ] (the two firms widely believed to be at the top of the list) the issues mentioned above would be much more trying. And the ripple effect would be dramatic.In fact, it could create a domino effect, forcing the nationalization of about the top 10 banks.

If that sounds dramatic, Isaac isn't the first person to make that leap. One highly followed analyst, Fox-Pitt Kelton’s David Trone says much the same. If Citi is nationalized, all bank stocks are likely to get crushed in fear.In other words nationalizing Citi is a whole different ball of wax and one that’s likely to create more problems than it solves.

What’s the solution?

Isaac says, The Obama administration should declare that nationalization of any major bank is off the table -- that the government stands behind our entire banking system; and that our banks will continue to receive a nonvoting form of equity capital, such as convertible preferred stock, from the government to the extent needed.He adds,Monday’s joint announcement to this effect by the Federal Reserve, FDIC, the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Treasury is a critical step toward healing our banking system and economy.

VIDEO BANKS CRAMMING
http://www.cnbc.com/id/29368355

Banks Cramming For Stress Test By: Lee Brodie FEB 24,09

This week will likely be remembered as a critical week for stocks, especially bank stocks. Nearly twenty of the nation’s largest banks will undergo a stress test.As of this date ... all these large banks exceed regulatory standards for being well-capitalized, so for right now they're fine, said FDIC chief Sheila Bair in an interview.But the issue isn’t really how the banks are doing now; it’s how much more they can withstand if economic conditions get even worse. I think the big issue is how much of an additional buffer they have to withstand under more adverse economic situations. And that's something we're going to try to figure out with a stress test, Bair said.The details of the test are hazy but as soon as the results are available they're expected to be made public. In fact, Bair suggests that banks could rush out with their findings -- to show a skeptical public that they are in fact doing okay.That’s great for banks that pass – but what about those that fail? Or is this one of those tests that you can’t fail? Jason Trennert, Strategas Research Partners chief investment strategist tells Fast Money if every bank passes the stress test it’s no test. If that happens, we’ll either lose confidence in the big banks or the Treasury.

So, what does happen if a bank doesn’t pass?

If the test shows that banks need more capital and are unable to raise it privately, then the government might have to act, Baird said however she cautioned against rushing to the conclusion that Washington plans to take over the industry, saying, I think there’s ambiguity in the word nationalization.

What’s the trade?

Trennert tells us in general he’s quite bearish on the economy but quite bullish on gold [US@GC.1 962.5 -6.60 (-0.68%)] and energy [XLE 42.30 1.90(+4.7%)] mainly because governments around the world will put people to work but not create growth.

BERNANKE VIDEO
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1044252206

U.S. to Get Bank Ownership Stakes Only as Losses Rise (Update3)
By Craig Torres

Feb. 24 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke rejected the idea that officials plan to use reviews of banks’ balance sheets as a pretext for government takeovers of the nation’s largest lenders. The Treasury will buy convertible preferred stock in the 19 largest U.S. banks if stress tests determine they need more capital to weather a deeper-than-forecast recession, Bernanke told lawmakers in Washington today. The shares would be converted to common equity stakes only as extraordinary losses materialize, he said. I don’t see any reason to destroy the franchise value or to create the huge legal uncertainties of trying to formally nationalize a bank when it just isn’t necessary, Bernanke said at the Senate Banking Committee hearing. The Fed chairman’s remarks eased concern among some investors that the Treasury’s capital-injection plan would hurt banks’ shareholders and lead to nationalization. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Banks Index climbed 14.8 percent, the most in more than three weeks, to 68.2 in New York. Today at least there seems to be a growing sense of relief that nationalization was de-emphasized and put into perspective, said Marshall Front, who oversees $500 million as chief executive officer of Front Barnett Associates in Chicago. There’s a bit of relief that that’s not going to happen.

Don’t Need Majority

Bernanke said we don’t need majority ownership to work with the banks to ensure they are lending to consumers and businesses. The chairman added that it will be up to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and the Obama administration to determine whether more bailout funds will be needed from Congress. How much more we’ll have to do depends on the state of the banks, it depends on how the economy evolves and it depends on the margin of safety we think we want to have, Bernanke said today. He separately warned that if we don’t stabilize the financial system, we’re going to founder for some time.Bernanke also said the so-called stress tests that regulators will run on the 19 banks will look at potential losses over a two-year horizon if the economy worsens. The stress tests will look at the balance sheets and the capital needs of each of our 19 largest $100-billion-dollar-plus banks over the next two-year horizon, Bernanke said in response to a question from Senator Bob Corker, a Tennessee Republican.

Economic Scenarios

The assessment will use “both a consensus forecast -- where we think the economy is likely to be based on private sector forecasts -- and an alternative which is worse, Bernanke said. In his semiannual testimony on the economy to Congress today, the Fed chief warned that the recession may last into 2010 unless policy makers can stabilize the financial system. The economic forecasts Fed officials prepared in January suggest that a full recovery of the economy from the current recession is likely to take more than two or three years,Bernanke said. A private survey today showed that confidence among U.S. consumers sank to a record low in February. The Conference Board’s index declined more than forecast to 25 this month, the lowest level since data began in 1967, the New York-based research group said today.

Strong Action

Bernanke urged strong action by policy makers. The message comes as the Obama administration works on fleshing out the details of its bank-rescue plan. Financial stocks had slumped further since Geithner unveiled his outline Feb. 10, amid concern a lack of details and worries over the ultimate intention of the approach.

Officials have also opened talks with Citigroup Inc. about providing further help to the lender after the company’s share price dropped to as low as $1.61 four days ago. It was at $2.43 at 1:53 p.m. in New York. Along with a new round of capital injections, Geithner’s strategy includes creating public-private partnerships to purchase toxic assets weighing down banks’ balance sheets, and a $1 trillion program to restart the markets for securities backed by consumer and business loans. The purpose of the stress tests on banks isn’t to provide a pass or fail grade, Bernanke said today. Instead, the government wants to ensure that firms can meet their obligation to lend even if the economy worsens, he said.

Sufficient Equity

The bank could convert the preferred to common to make sure that it has sufficient common equity, and only at that time, going forward, if those losses do occur, would the ownership implications become relevant, Bernanke said. Treasury officials are expected to provide further information about the stress tests tomorrow. Regulators won’t let banks hide anything as they look at how lenders have valued their assets, and will ensure that firms are using appropriate models for mark-to-market accounting, Bernanke said. We’re going to do a tough evaluation, the central banker said in response to a question from Senator Richard Shelby of Alabama, the Senate panel’s ranking Republican. Bernanke took issue with some observers’ characterization of major U.S. banks as zombie firms, kept alive only through access to federal programs. They have substantial franchise value, he said. To contact the reporter on this story: Craig Torres in Washington at ctorres3@bloomberg.net.

Orwellian Doublethink: Nationalize the banks.Free Markets.
Michael Hudson Global Research February 26, 2009

Banking shares began to plunge Friday morning after Senator Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who is chairman of the banking committee, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television that he was concerned the government might end up nationalizing some lenders at least for a short time. Several other prominent policy makers – including Alan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina – have echoed that view recently. (Eric Dash, Growing Worry on Rescue Takes a Toll on Banks, The New York Times, February 20, 2009)

How is it that Mr. Greenspan, free-market lobbyist for Wall Street, recently announced that he favored nationalization of America’s banks – and indeed, mainly the biggest and most powerful? Has he gone left? Or are we dealing with the most recent exercise in Orwellian doublethink? We are dealing with an abuse of language of the kind that George Orwell described in 1984, a degradation of the vocabulary to mean the opposite of what it formerly meant in order to rewrite intellectual and political history along lines that serve the currently dominant vested interests.

The answer is that the rhetoric of free markets,nationalization and even socialism (as in socializing the losses) has been turned into the language of deception to help the financial sector mobilize government power to support its own special privileges. Having undermined the economy at large, Wall Street’s public relations think tanks are now dismantling the language itself.

The popular media should not let them get away with it.

Economic idealism from the left to the right wing of the political spectrum advocates a free market. But what does this mean? Is it what the classical economists advocated – a market free from monopoly power, business fraud, political insider dealing and special privileges for vested interests – a market protected by the rise in public regulation from the Sherman Anti-Trust law of 1890 to the Glass-Steagall Act and other New Deal legislation? Or is it a market free for predators to exploit victims without public regulation or economic policemen – the kind of free-for-all market that the Federal Reserve and Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) have created over the past decade or so? It seems incredible that people should accept today’s neoliberal idea of market freedom in the sense of neutering government watchdogs, Alan Greenspan-style, letting Angelo Mozilo at Countrywide, Hank Greenberg at AIG, Bernie Madoff, Citibank, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers operate freely enough to plunge the economy into crisis and then use Treasury bailout money to pay the highest salaries and bonuses in U.S. history.Terms that are the antithesis of free market also are being turned into the opposite of what they historically have meant. Take today’s discussions about nationalizing the banks. For over a century nationalization has meant public takeover of monopolies or other sectors to operate them in the public interest rather than leaving them so special interests. But when neoliberals use the word nationalization they mean a bailout, a government giveaway to the financial interests.We are dealing with an abuse of language of the kind that George Orwell described in 1984, a degradation of the vocabulary to mean the opposite of what it formerly meant in order to rewrite intellectual and political history along lines that serve the currently dominant vested interests: The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became truth. Doublethink with regard to nationalizing or socializing the banks and other sectors is a travesty of political and economic discussion from the 17th through mid-20th centuries. Society’s basic grammar of thought, the vocabulary to discuss political and economic topics, is being turned inside-out in an effort to ward off discussion of the policy solutions posed by the classical economists and political philosophers that made Western civilization Western.

Today’s clash of civilization is not really with the Orient; it is with our own past, with the Enlightenment itself and its evolution into classical political economy and Progressive Era social reforms aimed at freeing society from the surviving trammels of European feudalism. What we are seeing is propaganda designed to deceive, to distract attention from economic reality so as to promote the property and financial interests from whose predatory grasp classical economists set out to free the world. What is being attempted is nothing less than an attempt to destroy the intellectual and moral edifice of what took Western civilization eight centuries to develop, from the 12th century Schoolmen discussing Just Price through 19th and 20th century classical economic value theory.Any idea of socialism from above, in the sense of socializing the risk, is old-fashioned oligarchy – kleptocratic statism from above. Real nationalization occurs when governments act in the public interest to take over private property. The 19th-century program to nationalize the land (it was the first plank of the Communist Manifesto) did not mean anything remotely like the government taking over estates, paying off their mortgages at public expense and then giving it back to the former landlords free and clear of encumbrances and taxes. It meant taking the land and its rental income into the public domain, and leasing it out at a user fee ranging from actual operating cost to a subsidized rate or even freely as in the case of streets and roads.

Nationalizing the banks along these lines would mean that the government would supply the nation’s credit needs. The Treasury would become the source of new money, replacing commercial bank credit. Presumably this credit would be lent out for economically and socially productive purposes, not merely to inflate asset prices while loading down households and business with debt as has occurred under today’s commercial bank lending policies.

How Neoliberals falsify the West’s political history

The fact that today’s neoliberals claim to be the intellectual descendants of Adam Smith make it necessary to restore a more accurate historical perspective. Their concept of free markets is the antithesis of Smith’s. It is the opposite of that of the classical political economists down through John Stuart Mill, Karl Marx and the Progressive Era reforms that sought to create markets free of extractive rentier claims by special interests whose institutional power can be traced back to medieval Europe and its age of military conquest.Economic writers from the 16th through 20th centuries recognized that free markets required government oversight to prevent monopoly pricing and other charges levied by special privilege. By contrast, today’s neoliberal ideologues are public relations advocates for vested interests to depict a free market is one free of government regulation, free of anti-trust protection, and even of protection against fraud, as evidenced by the SEC’s refusal to move against Madoff, Enron, Citibank et al.). The neoliberal ideal of free markets is thus basically that of a bank robber or embezzler, wishing for a world without police so as to be sufficiently free to siphon off other peoples’ money without constraint.The Chicago Boys in Chile realized that markets free for predatory finance and insider privatization could only be imposed at gunpoint. These free-marketers closed down every economics department in Chile, every social science department outside of the Catholic University where the Chicago Boys held sway. Operation Condor arrested, exiled or murdered tens of thousands of academics, intellectuals, labor leaders and artists. Only by totalitarian control over the academic curriculum and public media backed by an active secret police and army could free markets neoliberal style be imposed. The resulting privatization at gunpoint became an exercise in what Marx called primitive accumulation – seizure of the public domain by political elites backed by force. It is a free market William-the-Conqueror or Yeltsin-kleptocrat style, with property parceled out to the companions of the political or military leader.All this was just the opposite of the kind of free markets that Adam Smith had in mind when he warned that businessmen rarely get together but to plot ways to fix markets to their advantage. This is not a problem that troubled Mr. Greenspan or Mr. Bush. There really is no kinship between their neoliberal ideals and those of the Enlightenment political philosophers. For them to promote an idea of free markets as ones free for political insiders to pry away the public domain for themselves is to lower an intellectual Iron Curtain on the history of economic thought.

The classical economists and American Progressives envisioned markets free of economic rent and interest – free of rentier overhead charges and monopoly price gouging, free of land-rent, interest paid to bankers and wealthy financial institutions, and free of taxes to support an oligarchy. Governments were to base their tax systems on collecting the free lunch of economic rent, headed by that of favorable locations supplied by nature and given market value by public investment in transportation and other infrastructure, not by the efforts of landlords themselves.The argument between Progressive Era reformers, socialists, anarchists and individualists thus turned on the political strategy of how best to free markets from debt and rent. Where they differed was on the best political means to achieve it, above all the role of the state. There was broad agreement that the state was controlled by vested interests inherited from feudal Europe’s military conquests and the world that was colonized by European military force. The political question at the turn of the 20th century was whether peaceful democratic reform could overcome the political and even military resistance wielded by the Old Regime using violence to retain its rights. The ensuing political revolutions were grounded in the Enlightenment, in the legal philosophy of men such as John Locke, political economists such as Adam Smith, John Stuart Mill and Marx. Power was to be used to free markets from the predatory property and financial systems inherited from feudalism. Markets were to be free of privilege and free lunches, so that people would obtain income and wealth only by their own labor and enterprise. This was the essence of the labor theory of value and its complement, the concept of economic rent as the excess of market price over socially necessary cost-value.Although we now know that markets and prices, rent and interest, contractual formalities and nearly all the elements of economic enterprise originated in the mixed economies of Mesopotamia in the fourth millennium BC and continued throughout the mixed public/private economies of classical antiquity, the discussion was so politically polarized that the idea of a mixed economy with checks and balances received scant attention a century ago.

Individualists believed that all that shrinking central governments would shrink the control mechanism by which the vested interests extracted wealth without work or enterprise of their own. Socialists saw that a strong government was needed to protect society from the attempts of property and finance to use their gains to monopolize economic and political power. Both ends of the political spectrum aimed at the same objective – to bring prices down to actual costs of production. The common aim was to maximize economic efficiency so as to pass on the fruits of the Industrial and Agricultural Revolutions to the population at large. This required blocking the rentier class of interlopers from grabbing the public domain and controlling the allocation of resources. Socialists did not believe this could be done without taking the state’s political and legal power into their own hands. Marxists believed that a revolution was necessary to reclaim property rent for the public domain, and to enable governments to create their own credit rather than borrow at interest from commercial bankers and wealthy bondholders. The aim was not to create a bureaucracy but to free society from the surviving absentee ownership power of the vested property and financial interests.All this history of economic thought has been as thoroughly expunged from today’s academic curriculum as it has from popular discussion. Few people remember the great debate at the turn of the 20th century: Would the world progress fairly quickly from Progressive Era reforms to outright socialism – public ownership of basic economic infrastructure, natural monopolies (including the banking system) and the land itself (and to Marxists, of industrial capital as well)? Or, could the liberal reformers of the day – individualists, land taxers, classical economists in the tradition of Mill, and American institutionalists such as Simon Patten – retain capitalism’s basic structure and private property ownership? If they could do so, they recognized that it would have to be in the context of regulating markets and introducing progressive taxation of wealth and income. This was the alternative to outright state ownership. Today’s extreme free market idea is a dumbed-down caricature of this position.

All sides viewed the government as society’s brain, its forward planning organ. Given the complexity of modern technology, humanity would shape its own evolution. Instead of evolution occurring by primitive accumulation, it could be planned deliberately. Individualists countered that no human planner was sufficiently imaginative to manage the complexity of markets, but endorsed the need to strip away all forms of unearned income – economic rent and the rise in land prices that Mill called the unearned increment. This involved government regulation to shape markets. A free market was an active political creation and required regulatory vigilance.

As public relations advocates for the vested interests and special rentier privilege, today’s neoliberal advocates of free markets seek to maximize economic rent – the free lunch of price in excess of cost-value, not to free markets from rentier charges. So misleading a pedigree only could be achieved by outright suppression of knowledge of what Locke, Smith and Mill really wrote. Attempts to regulate free markets and limit monopoly pricing and privilege are conflated with socialism, even with Soviet-style bureaucracy. The aim is to deter the analysis of what a free market really is: a market free of unnecessary costs: monopoly rents, property rents and financial charges for credit that governments can create freely.

Political reform to bring market prices in line with socially necessary cost-value was the great economic issue of the 19th century. The labor theory of intrinsic cost-value found its counterpart in the theory of economic rent: land rent, monopoly price gouging, interest and other returns to special privilege that increased market prices purely by institutional property claims. The discussion goes all the way back to the medieval Churchmen defining Just Price. The doctrine originally was applied to the proper fees that bankers could charge, and later was extended to land rent, then to the monopolies that governments created and sold off to creditors in an attempt to extricate themselves from debt.Reformists and more radical socialists alike sought to free capitalism of its egregious inequities, above all its legacy from Europe’s Dark Age of military conquest when invading warlords seized lands and imposed an absentee landlord class to receive the rental income, which was used to finance wars of further land acquisition. As matters turned out, hopes that industrial capitalism could reform itself along progressive lines to purge itself of its legacy from feudalism have come crashing down. World War I hit the global economy like a comet, pushing it into a new trajectory and catalyzing its evolution into an unanticipated form of finance capitalism.It was unanticipated largely because most reformers spent so much effort advocating progressive policies that they neglected what Thorstein Veblen called the vested interests. Their Counter-Enlightenment is creating a world that would have been deemed a dystopia a century ago – something so pessimistic that no futurist dared depict a world run by venal and corrupt bankers, protecting as their prime customers the monopolies, real estate speculators and hedge funds whose economic rent, financial gambling and asset-price inflation is turned into a flow of interest in today’s rentier economy. Instead of industrial capitalism increasing capital formation we are seeing finance capitalism strip capital, and instead of the promised world of leisure we are being drawn into one of debt peonage.

The financial travesty of democracy

The financial sector has redefined democracy by claiming claims that the Federal Reserve must be independent from democratically elected representatives, in order to act as the bank lobbyist in Washington. This makes the financial sector exempt from the democratic political process, despite the fact that today’s economic planning is now centralized in the banking system. The result is a regime of insider dealings and oligarchy – rule by the wealthy few.The economic fallacy at work is that bank credit is a veritable factor of production, an almost Physiocratic source of fertility without which growth could not occur. The reality is that the monopoly right to create interest-bearing bank credit is a free transfer from society to a privileged elite. The moral is that when we see a factor of production that has no actual labor-cost of production, it is simply an institutional privilege.So this brings us to the most recent debate about nationalizing or socializing the banks. The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) so far has been used for the following uses that I think can be truly deemed anti-social, not socialist in any form.By the end of last year, $20 billion was used to pay bonuses and salaries to financial mismanagers, despite the plunge of their banks into negative equity. And to protect their interests, these banks continued to pay lobbying fees to persuade legislators to give them yet more special privileges.While Citibank and other major institutions threatened to bring the financial system crashing down by being too big to fail, over $100 billion of TARP funds was used to make them even bigger. Already teetering banks bought affiliates that had grown by making irresponsible and outright fraudulent loans. Bank of America bought Angelo Mozilo’s Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, while JP Morgan Chase bought Bear Stearns and other big banks bought WaMu and Wachovia.Today’s policy is to rescue these giant bank conglomerates by enabling them to earn their way out of debt – by selling yet more debt to an already over-indebted U.S. economy. The hope is to re-inflate real estate and other asset prices. But do we really want to let banks pay back taxpayers by engaging in yet more predatory financial practices vis-à-vis the economy at large? It threatens to maximize the margin of market price over direct costs of production, by building in higher financial charges. This is just the opposite policy from trying to bring prices for housing and infrastructure in line with technologically necessary costs. It certainly is not a policy to make the U.S. economy more globally competitive.

The Treasury’s plan to socialize the banks, insurance companies and other financial institutions is simply to step in and take bad loans off their books, shifting the loss onto the public sector. This is the antithesis of true nationalization or socialization of the financial system. The banks and insurance companies quickly got over their initial knee-jerk fear that a government bailout would occur on terms that would wipe out their bad management, along with the stockholders and bondholders who backed this bad management. The Treasury has assured these mismanagers that socialism for them is a free gift. The primacy of finance over the rest of the economy will be affirmed, leaving management in place and giving stockholders a chance to recover by earning more from the economy at large, with yet more tax favoritism. (This means yet heavier taxes shifted onto consumers, raising their living costs accordingly.)The bulk of wealth under capitalism – as under feudalism –always has come primarily from the public domain, headed by the land and formerly public utilities, capped most recently by the Treasury’s debt-creating power. In effect, the Treasury creates a new asset ($11 trillion of new Treasury bonds and guarantees, e.g. the $5.2 trillion to Fannie and Freddie). Interest on these bonds is to be paid by new levies on labor, not on property. This is what is supposed to re-inflate housing, stock and bond prices – the money freed from property and corporate taxes will be available to be capitalized into yet new loans.

So the revenue hitherto paid as business taxes will still be paid – in the form of interest – while the former taxes will still be collected, but from labor. The fiscal-financial burden thus will be doubled. This is not a program to make the economy more competitive or raise living standards for most people. It is a program to polarize the U.S. economy even further between finance, insurance and real estate (FIRE) at the top and labor at the bottom.Neoliberal denunciations of public regulation and taxation as socialism is really an attack on classical political economy – the original liberalism whose ideal was to free society from the parasitic legacy of feudalism. A truly socialized Treasury policy would be for banks to lend for productive purposes that contribute to real economic growth, not merely to increase overhead and inflate asset prices by enough to extract interest charges. Fiscal policy would aim to minimize rather than maximizing the price of home ownership and doing business, by basing the tax system on collecting the rent that is now being paid out as interest. Shifting the tax burden off wages and profits onto rent and interest was the core of classical political economy in the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as the Progressive Era and Social Democratic reform movements in the United States and Europe prior to World War I. But this doctrine and its reform program has been buried by the rhetorical smokescreen organized by financial lobbyists seeking to muddy the ideological waters sufficiently to mute popular opposition to today’s power grab by finance capital and monopoly capital. Their alternative to true nationalization and socialization of finance is debt peonage, oligarchy and neo-feudalism. They have called this program free markets.

EU ministers at odds over energy and eastern projects
VALENTINA POP 24.02.2009 @ 09:20 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The bloc's foreign ministers on Monday (23 February) failed to agree on a European Commission proposal to allocate €3.75 billion to energy infrastructure projects and an extra €350 million for the EU's eastern neighbours.

The commission's idea - to use unspent money from the 2008 budget for funding energy infrastructure projects - was taken out of the running after big EU donors such as Germany, France, the UK and the Netherlands opposed it. Unspent EU money normally goes back to the member states, proportionally to their contributions. 2008 is over. You have to draw the line somewhere, otherwise in 2013 you'll still find unspent money from 2007 or 2008, a French diplomat told EUobserver.One possibility discussed was to have a case-by-case approach - an idea floated by Austria - funding projects as they mature and become commercially viable. Another was to draw money in advance from the 2009 or 2010 envelopes.More work is needed for fine-tuning the list [of infrastructure projects], Alexandr Vondra, the Czech EU presidency's Europe minister, said at a press conference.The list of projects is designed to enhance energy security in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine gas row and to help stimulate EU economies at a time of financial crisis.The commission last week increased the list from an initial €3.5 billion to €3.75, to include more money for France and Italy.

But commission president Jose Manuel Barroso and Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek have failed to convince German chancellor Angela Merkel to agree. Ms Merkel said the EU aid should not replace private sector investment, according to a Czech EU presidency statement.

France wary of eastern funding

EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner on Monday also called on ministers to agree to an extra €350 million for the Eastern Partnership. The new policy, to be launched at an EU summit in Prague in May, is designed to help Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan come closer to the EU. Belarus may also be involved, if it resists Russian pressure to recognise Georgian rebels in Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states.After the Russian-Georgian war and the gas crisis, it has become evident that we have a crucial interest in the political and economic stability of these countries, Ms Waldner told press.France was wary about allocating extra money to the scheme however, saying EU states had previously agreed to give two thirds of their so-called neighbourhood policy budget to Mediterranean countries in a Mediterranean Union scheme, and one third to East Partnership.We had decided on a two third-one third repartition, French foreign minister Bernard Kouchner said.He added that the €15 million a year earmarked for each of the six eastern countries was maybe a lot if you want to organise a conference, but not enough if you want to help an economy like Ukraine's which fell by 20 percent recently.The French minister admitted that the recent Israel-Gaza war has complicated Mediterranean Union progress.

Franco-Czech sparks

Mr Kouchner also caused controversy with a proposal to include Turkey and Russia in some Eastern Partnership initiatives, so that Russia does not have the impression that it is completely surrounded, as with NATO. Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg responded to the idea with sarcasm. We have nothing against a third country taking part in projects - not only Russia and Turkey, but maybe also Japan, the United States or China. Why not? We are open to co-operation with many countries,he told reporters.Earlier on Monday, Mr Kouchner and Mr Schwarzenberg held a special press point to show that Franco-Czech relations were on fine form, despite a recent public row over French car protectionism.

Hungary keen to speed up euro entry process
HONOR MAHONY 24.02.2009 @ 17:36 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Hungary has called for a speeding up of the process for entering the eurozone, saying membership of the single currency offers the best solution to the current economic crisis.I think the best protective mechanism is to speed up our accession to the eurozone, said Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany on Tuesday (24 February) speaking to reporters in Brussels after meeting with European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. He questioned whether it is really necessary for countries to spend two years in the euro waiting chamber - the Exchange Rate Mechanism Two – after they have met the budget discipline and inflation rules.Without relaxing the conditions of euro accession, do we have to wait two years in the ante-room? Is it important to keep these countries in the lobby for so long? he asked. Mr Barroso, also speaking to reporters alongside the Hungarian leader, gave a non-committal response, insisting that the responsibility for euro membership conditions lies with member states.But he said that, from a political point of view, the commission would be pleased to see new countries come into the club, which currently holds 16 of the 27 member states, noting: The euro has been a very important factor of stability – a shield of protection.All central and eastern countries are obliged to join the euro, something they accepted as part of becoming EU members. The rules for joining oblige countries to keep their inflation levels and interest rates in check and their budget deficits below three percent of GDP.Tuesday's discussion came after the European Commission agreed to pay out a second installment of EU funds to help bolster the Hungarian forint by the end of March, saying Budapest was carrying out the right economic policies.In October, the commission said it would offer €6.5 billion to Hungary as part of an international rescue plan. The first €2 billion tranche was paid out last year.

Solidarity

Mr Gyurcsany also nudged Mr Barroso on the concept of solidarity, amid fears that the European Union is dividing itself into rich and poor member states. When you have problems, then you find out whether you have friends, he said, noting that the bloc's common market rules mean one region cannot be treated differently to another.

The eurozone's and Great Britain's banks, that is the investment of all these banks in the [central European] region is ...four or five times as much as the GDP of the region.If these invested assets are depreciated, then it is not only central Europe that faces problem, but it also has a negative impact on the eurozone countries.The Hungarian leader pointed out that western banks, heavily exposed in eastern Europe, have to use to same solutions in each of the subsidiaries regardless of where they are in the European Union.Hungary's message on finding a common European solution chimes with that of Austria, whose banks are exposed in eastern Europe to the tune of around three quarters of the Alpine country's GDP. Vienna wants its proposal for an EU-level bail-out discussed at the next meeting of EU finance ministers in March. Italy, Sweden and Belgium are also heavily exposed in the east.

WELL THAT WORLD CARBON TAX WOULD CREATE ZILLIONS FOR THE IMF,WORLD BANK,NEW WORLD ORDER ELITES.

Carbon dioxide emissions could last millenniums, expert says By Renee Schoof, McClatchy Newspapers – Tue Feb 24, 4:07 pm ET

WASHINGTON — Until now, most discussion of climate change has been about what scientific evidence shows is likely to happen between now and 2100. However, scientific research shows that the carbon dioxide gas released from burning fossil fuels lasts in the atmosphere much longer than mere decades.David Archer , a leading climate researcher who teaches at the University of Chicago , has written a new book that looks at carbon dioxide's long tail and what it means for changes on Earth in the future.If the world continues its heavy use of coal over the next couple of hundred years until it's essentially used up, it would take several centuries more for the oceans to absorb about three-quarters of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. In those centuries, there would be a climate storm that Archer says would be significantly worse than the forecast from now to 2100.The remaining carbon dioxide — the long tail — would stay in the atmosphere for thousands of years, leaving a warmer climate. About 10 percent of it would still be in the atmosphere in 100,000 years, Archer wrote in The Long Thaw: How Humans Are Changing the Next 100,000 Years of Earth's Climate.Ultimately, the amount of fossil fuel available could be enough to raise the atmospheric CO2 concentration higher than it has been in millions of years,Archer wrote.Because of the long life of CO2 from fossil fuels, the climate impacts would last for many thousands of years. Ice sheets would melt, raising seas high enough to swamp 10 percent or more of the world's agricultural land. Other climate impacts could include uncomfortable heat and drier continental interiors, Archer tells his readers. In the long run, it could be a steep price to pay for a century or so of fossil fuel energy.Archer studies the carbon cycle of Earth as it interacts with global climate. His slim book is a clear explanation of carbon dioxide and climate change for nonscientists. It also explains how the climate has changed in the distant past and looks ahead to the deep future.His work has been a part of what John Holdren , whom President Obama named as his science adviser, has called the tremendous effort among scientists to reach a center of gravity in the understanding of climate change. The results of that work are available in the reports of the National Academy of Sciences and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The conclusion, as Holdren summed it up at his confirmation hearing recently: Climate change is real, it's accelerating, it is caused in substantial part by human activity, it is dangerous and it is getting more so.

Like Holdren and other climate experts, Archer concludes that there's still time to cut fossil fuel emissions enough to avoid disaster.The question may come down to ethics, rather than economics, Archer wrote, much as the issue of slavery did more than a century ago. Ultimately it didn't matter whether it was economically beneficial or costly to give up. It was simply wrong.

Some questions and answers with David Archer :

Q: You write that the climate effects of fossil fuel burning will last longer than nuclear waste. Most discussions of climate change focus on this century. Why did you look farther out?

A: Everyone knows that nuclear waste lasts a long time, and it seems to make a difference to them. It makes a difference to me the longevity of global warming, too.

Q: Some people, though, don't believe it's a problem.

A: There are people who will believe anything they want to; the question is whether anyone has a scientifically credible justification for that belief. It was predicted over a century ago that rising CO2 concentrations in the air would warm the planet. Now it seems to be doing just that, just as predicted. If anyone can explain why things should not work in this way, then I'd be interested to hear, but so far there are just no completing ideas, just beliefs stemming from whatever source, and an active campaign at disinformation sponsored by the fossil fuel industry.

Q: What difference does the long view make?

A: The book makes the point that global warming from CO2 emissions will last for thousands of years into the future. To me that changes the picture, especially when thinking about the economics of climate change or the possibility of engineering the planet cooler by putting haze in the stratosphere or something like that. It also means that the eventual sea level rise from releasing CO2 could be a hundred times greater than the forecast for the year 2100.

Q: Is Earth doomed to an ice-free state, mass extinctions and rising seas?

A: No, the damage has not yet been done. We could stop releasing CO2. Technologically that is not so hard.

OZONE DEPLETION

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

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

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

Alp-sized peaks found entombed in Antarctic ice By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent – Tue Feb 24, 9:39 am ET

OSLO (Reuters) – Jagged mountains the size of the Alps have been found entombed in Antarctica's ice, giving new clues about the vast ice sheet that will raise world sea levels if even a fraction of it melts, scientists said on Tuesday.Using radar and gravity sensors, the experts made the first detailed maps of the Gamburtsev subglacial mountains, originally detected by Russian scientists 50 years ago at the heart of the East Antarctic ice sheet.The surprising thing was that not only is this mountain range the size of the Alps, but it looks quite similar to the (European) Alps, with high peaks and valleys, said Fausto Ferraccioli, a geophysicist at the British Antarctic Survey who took part in the research.He told Reuters that the mountains would probably have been ground down almost flat if the ice sheet had formed slowly. But the presence of jagged peaks might mean the ice formed quickly, burying a landscape under up to 4 km (2.5 miles) of ice.Ferraccioli said the maps were the first page of a new book of understanding how ice sheets behave, which in turn could help predict how the ice will react to global warming.Antarctica, bigger than the United States, has been swathed in ice for about 35 million years, and contains enough of it to raise world sea levels by about 57 metres (187 feet) if it ever all melted. So even a fractional melt would affect coasts around the globe.

Unless we have a basic understanding of how ice sheets work, any sort of predictive model won't match reality, Ferraccioli said.The U.N. panel on climate change says that greenhouse gases, mainly emitted by burning fossil fuels, will bring more heatwaves, floods and droughts, and raise sea levels.The team of experts from Australia, Britain, Canada, China, Germany, Japan and the United States also found water below the ice, using survey aircraft that flew 120,000 km (75,000 miles).The temperatures at our camps hovered around minus 30 Celsius (minus 22 Fahrenheit), but 3 km (2 miles) beneath us at the bottom of the ice sheet we saw liquid water in the valleys, Robin Bell, of the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University, said in a statement.Many sub-glacial lakes have been found in Antarctica in recent years.Geologists say that mountain ranges such as the Alps or the Himalayas form in collisions between continents. The last time Antarctica was exposed to such forces was 500 million years ago.The mystery here is that the Alps are only 50 to 60 million years old, while here we have a mountain range that may perhaps be as old as 500 million years,Ferraccioli said.(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

WARS AND RUMURS OF WARS.

MATTHEW 24:6
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

MARK 13:7
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

Official: North Korea launch could be weeks away By PAMELA HESS, Associated Press Writer FEB 24,09

WASHINGTON – North Korea is about a month away from launching a missile or a rocket, but U.S. officials are monitoring its coastal launch site for indications it could come more quickly, a senior U.S. intelligence official told The Associated Press.

The estimate that the launch is a month away is at odds with analysis from private imagery specialists who have scoured commercial satellite imagery of the site taken Feb. 17-18.Pyongyang announced Tuesday that it is preparing to launch a satellite after vowing last week that it would press ahead with a missile test. The threats were made after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton urged the North to stop its provocative actions,saying a missile test would be very unhelpful.North Korea said last week that it has the right to space development — a term it has used in the past to disguise a missile test as a satellite launch. In 1998 North Korea test-fired a shorter-range Taepodong 1 missile over Japan, claiming at the time to have put a satellite into orbit.Jane's Defense Weekly said last week that based on the activity at the site on North Korea's east coast, North Korea could be preparing for a missile launch within days.But the senior U.S. intelligence official this week threw doubt on an imminent North Korean launch.Indicators of potential launch light up more each day, but we're still a ways off, the intelligence official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the press.The open-source images became available last week after reports from South Korean and Japanese intelligence agencies suggesting that a launch was coming.The commercial satellite images, captured by DigitalGlobe, are the most recent publicly available photos of the Musudan-Ri site. One image shows a missile launch tower but shadows obscure details.Independent analysts last year used similar commercial images to reveal a secret North Korean missile base that is being constructed on the country's west coast.No missile or rocket appeared to be on the launch platform as of Feb. 18, said Tim Brown director of Talent-Keyhole.com, an independent imagery analysis firm. A second shows a large horizontal vehicle checkout building surrounded by people and vehicles.

There's more activity here than I have seen in two or three years, said Brown. I'd anticipate a launch within weeks, not days.The North Korean announcement follows a report by the South Korea's Defense Ministry Monday that North Korea recently deployed a new type of medium-range ballistic missile capable of reaching northern Australia and the U.S. territory of Guam.These new medium-range ballistic missile can travel at least 1,800 miles (3,000 kilometers), which would put the Pacific island of Guam, the northern tip of Australia and much of Russia and India within striking distance, the ministry said in a defense assessment of North Korea issued every two years.The announcement came on North Korea leader Kim Jong Il's 67th birthday. Kim Jong Il was believed to have had a stroke last fall, but U.S. intelligence officials report he has recovered and apepars to be in firm control of the country.

NKorea prepares launch: Satellite or missile? By JEAN H. LEE, Associated Press Writer FEB 24,09

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea declared Tuesday it is making brisk headway in plans to send a satellite into orbit as part of its space program, a launch regional powers fear is a cover up for testing a long-range ballistic missile capable of striking Alaska and the western United States.Analysts called Pyongyang's announcement yet another bid for President Barack Obama's attention as he met in Washington with Prime Minister Taro Aso of Japan, a key ally in the regional push to get North Korea to give up its nuclear program.State Department spokesman Robert Wood told reporters Tuesday that North Korea should focus on its commitments to international negotiators working to rid the North of its nuclear weapons.

Intimidation and threats are not helpful to try to bring about regional stability, Wood said.North Korea's declaration came just days after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, on a trip to Asia, urged the country to put an end to provocative actions.The North has sent the ball back into the U.S. court, said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University, calling the threat a tactic to pressure Washington into opening negotiations surrounding Pyongyang's nuclear program.The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution prohibiting Pyongyang from engaging in any ballistic activity following a missile launch in 2006. North Korea could face additional sanctions if it violates the resolution.In New York, U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was monitoring the situation very closely.North Korea hinted at a plan to launch a satellite last week when it marked autocratic leader Kim Jong Il's 67th birthday by asserting North Korea's right to develop a peaceful space program — words the regime has used in the past to disguise a missile test.A statement carried Tuesday by state-run Korean Central News Agency said preparations for launching experimental communications satellite Kwangmyongsong-2 by means of delivery rocket Unha-2 are now making brisk headway at a launch site in Hwadae County in the northeast. The statement called the upcoming launch a giant stride forward for the country's space program.

The North test-fired a ballistic missile over Japan in 1998, a launch the regime also claimed was a satellite.Hwadae was the site for the 2006 test launch of North Korea's longest-range missile, the Taepodong-2, which has the potential to reach Alaska. Reports suggest the missile being readied for launch could be an advanced version of the Taepodong-2 with even greater range.It probably won't be clear if the latest launch is a satellite or a missile test until footage can be analyzed after the event; the trajectory of a missile is markedly different from that of a satellite.The KCNA report did not say when the launch would take place. Intelligence officials reported a flurry of activity at the site but no sign that a rocket had been mounted on the launch pad, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said Tuesday. Once mounted, it could take up to seven days to fuel the rocket, experts said.The satellite announcement comes amid heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak has pledged to end a decade of unconditional handouts for the nuclear-armed neighbor; the North has ramped up its anti-Lee rhetoric, warning that the Koreas are headed for a military clash.South Korea's Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee challenged North Korea to prove its intentions were peaceful, telling lawmakers the North should clearly present evidence that it is a satellite.

Either way, Seoul would consider any launch a threat because the technology for launching a missile and a satellite are similar, he said.The two Koreas fought a bitter three-year war in the early 1950s that ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. They remain divided by the world's most heavily fortified border. Relations improved as previous South Korean leaders sought to coax the impoverished North to the negotiating table with warm words and unconditional aid. But that didn't stop the country from launching missiles in 1998 and 2006, then conducting a nuclear test later that year. The first test missile went all the way to Japan, but the launch in 2006 ended in the ocean soon after liftoff. Experts believe the North has yet to master the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear warhead onto a missile. But the test spurred regional powers to hash out a 2007 pact promising Pyongyang aid and other concessions in exchange for disabling its nuclear program.

After blowing up a cooling reactor last June, the North halted disablement just weeks later. Talks in Beijing in December failed to the get the process moving again, with analysts predicting that Pyongyang would wait to see how open Obama is to establishing direct ties. Reports suggest the missile being prepared for blastoff could be an advanced version of the Taepodong-2 with even greater striking range: the U.S. west coast as well as Alaska. Analyst Koh Yu-hwan of Dongguk University predicted that any launch would take place after North Korea holds parliamentary elections March 8 and the legislature meets weeks later to re-elect Kim as leader. Kim, who reportedly suffered a stroke last August, rules the nation of 23 million with absolute authority. The North seems to be presenting all its cards in an attempt to negotiate a package deal with the U.S.,he said. Associated Press writers Jae-soon Chang in Seoul, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Foster Klug in Washington contributed to this report.

NASA rocket failure blow to Earth watching network By SETH BORENSTEIN, AP Science Writer FEB 24,09

WASHINGTON – A new satellite to track the chief culprit in global warming crashed into the ocean near Antarctica after launch Tuesday, dealing a major setback to NASA's already weak network for monitoring Earth and its environment from above.The $280 million mission was designed to answer one of the biggest question marks of global warming: What happens to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide spewed by the burning of coal, oil and natural gas? How much of it is sucked up and stored by plants, soil and oceans and how much is left to trap heat on Earth, worsening global warming? It's definitely a setback. We were already well behind, said Neal Lane, science adviser during former President Bill Clinton's administration. The program was weak and now it's really weak.For about a decade, scientists have complained of a decline in the study of Earth from space. NASA spent more money looking at other planets than it did at Earth in 2007. That same year, the National Academy of Sciences warned that NASA's study of Earth is at great risk with fewer missions than before and aging satellites.We have a very weakened Earth observing system just at a time where we need every bit of data that we could possibly get, said Elisabeth Holland, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo.She said NASA has fallen behind Europe in environmental satellites. Japan successfully launched a carbon dioxide tracking satellite just last month.

The NASA satellite — called the Orbiting Carbon Observatory — was going to explain Earth's capture of carbon dioxide, which now appears to be slowing and could accelerate global warming, said Holland, who helped write the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report.Minutes after launch Tuesday in California, the satellite fell back to Earth near Antarctica not far from where environment ministers and scientists met Monday to talk about climate change. NASA officials said a protective cover on the satellite didn't release and fall away, and the extra weight meant the satellite couldn't reach orbit.This was going to be one of the few bright spots in the Earth observing system for the last five years, Holland said.The future was starting to look better for the scientists who had felt ignored. Last year, NASA talked about being greener and gave initial approval to six new Earth observing missions. This month, the Obama administration put $400 million in the stimulus program for NASA science, and NASA's science chief Ed Weiler said it was all going to Earth sciences.It's very unfortunate that it happened just at this time when we trying to get Earth observations back on track, said Ruth DeFries, a Columbia University professor who was part of the National Academy study team.Until Japan's launch, scientists have depended on land-based stations to monitor carbon dioxide at low altitudes. The Japanese probe uses a different technique to measure carbon dioxide and does so from a different orbit compared to NASA's satellite.

Tuesday's failure put on hold the launch of another NASA satellite, Glory, which will look at solar radiation and airborne particles that reflect and trap sunlight. That satellite will launch on the same kind of rocket, the Taurus XL.NASA needs to figure out what went wrong before Glory is launched, Weiler said.It was the first major NASA mission launch failure since September 2001. An earlier version of the Taurus rocket, made by Orbital Sciences of Dulles, Va., failed and an environmental satellite was lost. But the Taurus rocket has a long history of success and has never had this type of cover problem before, said John Brunschwyler, project manager for Orbital Sciences.But now NASA is facing a big question: Should it build a duplicate of the dead satellite? Researchers on the satellite team are pushing NASA to do that, said Graeme Stephens, a Colorado State University professor who worked on the project. The project was nine years in the making, and the mission was supposed to last two years.A duplicate would be significantly cheaper than $280 million to build and launch because lots of early work doesn't have to be repeated, Weiler said. And it could be built relatively quickly. But one of the missions that NASA was considering speeding up with the new stimulus money was a more sophisticated and costly follow-up to the failed satellite. It makes more sense to go ahead with that project, said Berrien Moore III, who headed the National Academy study and is executive director of Climate Central, a Princeton, N.J. climate change think-tank. Weiler said a decision will be made over the next several weeks. Our commitment to Earth sciences is clearly unwavered by this, Weiler said. AP Science Writer Alicia Chang in Los Angeles and AP Writer P. Solomon Banda in Denver contributed to this report. On the Net: Carbon Orbiting Observatory: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/oco/main/index.html The National Academy of Sciences report: http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id11820