ASEAN EU TRADE BLOC BY 2015

2 YEARS AGO THE WHOLE WORLDS ECONOMY,ASSETS AND WORTH WERE WORTH A TOTAL OF $60 TRILLION DOLLARS. TODAY ITS WORTH $30 TRILLION,IN 2 YEARS THE WORLD ECONOMIES HAS LOST $30 TRILLION IN RICHES. WE ARE SEEING COLLAPSING OF THE WORLD ECONOMIES AS THE BANKERS BLACKMAIL THEIR GOVERNMENT FOR CASH,THEN BREAK THAT COUNTRY AND BUY UP ALL THE LAND. THE BANKERS THEN AFTER THEY CONTROL EVERY COUNTRY ON EARTH WILL FORCE THE WORLD INTO 10 REGIONAL TRADE BLOCS I BELIEVE,LEAD BY 7 LEADING (MOST RICH EUROPEAN BANKS)(PLUS THE VATICAN)AND THE EUROPEAN UNION TOGETHER IN UNITY WILL THEN PLACE THE WORLD INTO A ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT,ONE WORLD ECONOMY AND ONE WORLD RELIGION.AFTER THE BANKERS,VATICAN AND THE EU CONTROL THE WORLD,THEN THE MANDITORY MICROCHIP IMPLANT SYSTEM IMPLIMENTED BY THE EU,VATICAN WILL COME INTO FORCE AND WHOEVER DOES NOT ACCEPT THIS MICROCHIP IMPLANT WILL BE MURDERED. EVERYTHING IS COMING CLEAR NOW HOW THE BIBLE SAYS THROUGH THE ECONOMY THE EU CONTROLS THE WHOLE EARTHS POPULATION.

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).

THESE 10 REGIONAL WORLD TRADE BLOCS I BELIEVE WILL ALL BE TOGETHER BY 2011 OR 12 AT THE LATEST.

Southeast Asian countries plan EU-style union by 2015
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today MAR 02,09 @ 09:27 CET

The leaders of ten Southeast Asian countries have signed a declaration to integrate their economies and construct an economic and political union modelled on that of the European Union by 2015.Meeting in Thailand over the weekend for the annual Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the heads of ten Asian countries agreed to the Cha-Am Hua Hin Declaration on the Roadmap for An ASEAN Community (2009-2015). The plan looks to build a single market - although without a euro-style common currency - within six years.Thailand - the disparity of ASEAN economies will make it hard to forge a common market (Photo: Wikipedia)This ASEAN goal is made even more urgent by the global financial crisis, read the 12-page declaration.ASEAN needs to respond effectively to this financial crisis in order to retain its central position in the regional architecture. In this connection, we mandated all ASEAN organs to be guided by and to fully implement the ASEAN Charter.ASEAN, founded in 1967 to replace the Association of Southeast Asia, brings together Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.

The region is slightly bigger than the European Union in terms of population, the former being home to around 570 million people and the latter some 500 million, but their economies bear no comparison. ASEAN has a combined annual GDP of €870 billion, while the EU's GDP clocks in at over €12 trillion.Thailand's prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva, said the creation of an attractive single market for the region was urgent.The move further develops the bloc's integration, moving a step beyond the charter the nations signed in 2007 that requires consensus amongst all member states for any ASEAN-level actions.The group is also to construct a human rights unit, but the body would be largely toothless, being unable to criticise any abuses occurring in any single country.However, the wide disparities between the different economies in ASEAN makes it difficult to create common standards because our national standards remain so far apart, said finance minister Korn Chatikavanij in an interview, according to Bloomberg news.We've got to be realistic in the kind of goals that we set for 2015, Mr Korn continued.We're not talking about the level of integration that has taken place in the EU.

Celente: U.S. Has Entered The Greatest Depression Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com Tuesday, March 3, 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46MEqEgdLTg&eurl=http://www.infowars.com/celente-predicts-revolution-food-riots-tax-rebellions-by-2012/&feature=player_embedded

Trends research analyst Gerald Celente, who has risen in prominence on the back of his deadly accurate economic predictions, says that the collapse of financial markets heralds the start of The Greatest Depression.In his latest Trend Alert bulletin, Celente attacks mainstream pundits who falsely predicted a market bottom and the start of a recovery, noting that conventional analysts have been proven dead wrong again and that, There will be no turn around in the second quarter of 2009 or 2010 or 2011.The global financial system, built on endless supplies of cheap money, rampant speculation, fraud, greed, and delusion is terminally ill and will not be coaxed into remission by stimulus packages nor restored to health by government buyouts and bailouts,writes Celente.The most positive prediction that Celente makes is that the Dow will not reach zero, a tongue in cheek reaction to yesterday’s record plunge which saw the Dow rolled back to 1997 levels well below 7,000.Celente warns that the first signs of real panic are starting to set in, unrest that will cause governments to take draconian measures to prevent total economic collapse and public panic.Expect massive bank failures, runs on banks, and bank holidays, writes Celente. Even if deposits are FDIC insured, quick access to money is by no means assured. At minimum, have reserves on hand for emergencies, he forecasts.

Celente cites gold as one of the few investments that will continue to rise in value, eventually reaching $2,000 an ounce and beyond.Celente’s dire forecasts were initially scoffed at by the media but as the crisis has worsened, his credibility has soared.Celente, who successfully predicted the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis, the subprime mortgage collapse and the massive devaluation of the U.S. dollar, told UPI in November 2007 that the following year would be known as The Panic of 2008,adding that giants (would) tumble to their deaths, which is exactly what we have witnessed with the collapse of Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and others.

Bush administration memos claimed vast war powers
By Neil A. Lewis Published: March 3, 2009

The secret legal opinions issued by Bush administration lawyers after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks included assertions that the president could use the nation's military within the United States to combat people deemed as terrorists and to conduct raids without obtaining a search warrant.That opinion was among nine that were disclosed publicly for the first time Monday by the Justice Department, in what the Obama administration portrayed as a step toward greater transparency. The opinions showed a broad interpretation of presidential authority, asserting as well that the president could unilaterally abrogate foreign treaties, deal with detainees suspected of terrorism while rejecting input from Congress and conduct a warrantless eavesdropping program.Some of the legal positions had previously become known from statements made by Bush administration officials in response to court challenges and congressional inquiries. But the opinions provided the clearest illustration to date of the broad definition of presidential power that was approved by government lawyers, including John Yoo and Jay Bybee, in the months following the Sept. 11 attacks.In a memorandum dated Jan. 15, 2009, just before President George W. Bush left office, a top Justice Department official wrote that the earlier memorandums had not been relied on since 2003. But the official, Stephen Bradbury, who headed the Office of Legal Counsel, said it was important to acknowledge in writing the doubtful nature of these propositions, and he used the memo to formally repudiate the opinions.Bradbury said that the earlier memorandums were the product of lawyers confronting novel and complex questions in a time of great danger and under extraordinary time pressure.

White House takes a team approach on health policy
The opinion authorizing the military to operate on domestic territory was dated Oct. 23, 2001, and written by Yoo, at the time a deputy assistant attorney general, and Robert Delahunty, a special counsel. It was directed to Alberto Gonzales, then the White House counsel, who had asked whether Bush could use the military to combat terrorist activities inside the United States.The law has recognized that force (including deadly force) may be legitimately used in self-defense, Yoo and Delahunty wrote to Gonzales. Any objections based on the prohibition against unreasonable searches in the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution would vanish, he said, because any privacy offense that comes with such a search would be less than any injury from deadly force.Yoo and Delahunty also said in the Oct. 23 memorandum that First Amendment speech and press rights may also be subordinated to the overriding need to wage war successfully. They added that the current campaign against terrorism may require even broader exercises of federal power domestically.Yoo said the Posse Comitatus Act, a statute first enacted in 1878 and since renewed, would also not present an obstacle to the use of the armed forces. The Posse Comitatus Act generally forbids the use of military forces in domestic law enforcement.Yoo and Delahunty asserted that the act's prohibition against use of the military was only for law enforcement functions and that using soldiers against terrorist suspects would be a national security function.Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, is widely known as the principal author of a 2002 memorandum that critics said authorized torture. The memorandum, signed by Bybee, was repudiated in 2004.The memorandum issued by Bradbury in January appears to have been the Bush lawyers' last effort to reconcile their views with the wide-scale rejection by legal scholars and some Supreme Court opinions of the sweeping assertions of presidential authority made earlier by the Justice Department.

Walter Dellinger, a former head of the Office of Legal Counsel during the Clinton administration who was also a law professor at Duke University, said that Bradbury's memo disclaiming the opinions of earlier Bush lawyers sets out in blunt detail how irresponsible those earlier opinions were.He said it was important that it was now widely recognized that the earlier assertions that Congress had absolutely no role in these national security issues was contrary to constitutional text, historical practice and judicial precedent.Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said Monday morning before the release of the documents: Too often over the past decade, the fight against terrorism has been viewed as a zero-sum battle with our civil liberties. Not only is that thought misguided, I fear that in actuality it does more harm than good.
Holder said that the memorandums were being released in light of the legitimate and substantial public interest.One of the opinions, issued in March 2002, suggests that Congress lacks any power to limit a president's authority to transfer detainees to other countries. Other memorandums say that Congress has no authority to intervene in the president's determination of the treatment of detainees, a proposition that has since been invalidated by the Supreme Court.Bradbury's memo repudiating these views said that it was not sustainable to argue that the president's power as commander in chief precludes Congress from enacting any legislation concerning the detention, interrogation, prosecution and transfer of enemy combatants.

Upcoming Swedish EU presidency launches logo
VALENTINA POP Today MAR 02,09 @ 17:40 CET

EUOBSERVER/BRUSSELS – Sweden's Europe minister, Cecilia Malmstrom, on Monday (2 March) presented the logo of the upcoming Swedish EU presidency as climate change and the financial crisis are set to dominate Stockholm's agenda in the second half of 2009.With the Copenhagen UN conference on climate change taking place in December, the Swedish presidency is due to begin preparations for a new global agreement on emissions reduction one of its key priorities, Lisa Dahlen Jonsson, press officer with the Swedish permanent representation to the EU, told this website.

The 27 member states take it in turns to chair the six-month presidency of the bloc, which in practical terms means organising all the ministerial and top-level meetings as well as the day-to-day agenda of the EU.Other priorities are still being worked upon, with an official launch expected later this spring, before Stockholm takes over the helm of the EU. On 1 July, the current Czech EU presidency will end its mandate.Climate, light, down-to-earth, as well as transparency and dialogue were some of the key words used in working on the logo.Unlike previous EU presidencies that used the national top-level domain name of their countries, the Swedish EU presidency will use the .eu domain. However, the .se adress will also guide the user to the presidency website, Ms Jonsson added.The Swedish diplomacy was bracing itself for the institutional uncertainty due to the Lisbon Treaty, according to the government's website. Stockholm will also have to work with a newly elected European Parliament and supervise the nomination of a new EU commission, which is to take on its mandate on 1 November. Before that date [31 October], the governments of member states must agree on the individuals who are to be nominated for the post of president and members of the commission, the website reads.The Swedish government is to allocate €77 million for its turn at the EU presidency. So far, the French EU presidency has been by far the most lavish one, spending some €190 million. The current Czech EU presidency has a budget of €124.5 million.

Financial regulation agreement

Another issue of importance for the Swedish EU presidency will be the overhaul of the international financial system. Speaking to Reuters last Thursday, financial minister Mats Odell said that a deal in this regard could be possible in the second half of this year.Sweden believed it had gained useful experience from its own banking crisis in the early 1990s and saw the current market turmoil as a golden opportunity for achieving EU-wide rules, Odell said.The report on supervision presented last week by a group headed by former Bank of France Governor Jacques de Larosiere, sets out a two-phase process towards reforming institutional supervision and would entail some loss of regulatory control by the 27 EU capitals. I think there are favourable political conditions for this, because citizens expect politicians on a European level to get together and prevent future crises like the one we are seeing now, Mr Odell told Reuters after meeting EU commissioner for internal market Charlie McCreevy to discuss the report.

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.

Northeast pounded by snowy late-winter storm By DEEPTI HAJELA, Associated Press Writer MAR 02,09

NEW YORK – A massive late winter snowstorm pummeled the Northeast on Monday, grounding hundreds of flights, causing spinouts on highways, delaying trains and buses and closing school for over a million children from South Carolina to Maine.

The same storm hammered the Southeast on Sunday as it made its way north, blanketing Civil War statues and canceling hundreds of church services around the region.By Monday, the storm was dumping snow on Maine, and most areas in the storm's wake expected to see at least 8 to 12 inches of accumulation.The blizzard-like snow — together with sleet, freezing rain and wind gusts of up to 30 mph — contributed to four deaths on roads in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and on New York's Long Island.

An accident caused a 15-mile-long traffic jam in North Carolina, where as much as a foot of snow fell, and prompted police and rescuers to go car-to-car Monday to check on the stranded motorists.The storm was blamed for 350 crashes in New Jersey between Sunday night and Monday morning, state police Sgt. Stephen Jones said. Most were spinouts and cars hitting guardrails, he said.On New York's Long Island, high winds caused 2-foot snow drifts on highways in the town of Southampton.In New York City, about 7 inches of snow was recorded at Central Park by Monday morning.New Yorkers expressed characteristic resilience, struggling to get to work and appointments, and patching together child care arrangements.Diane Lugo, 29, of Yonkers, had to leave her two children with her mother-in-law rather than drive them to day care. She got a ride with her husband to avoid trudging 10 minutes in the slush to her bus stop.

Getting out of the driveway was pure hell, Lugo said in Manhattan, where she works as a college admissions coordinator.Outside the Sound Shore Medical Center in New Rochelle, N.Y., Emilia Rescigna struggled to push a stroller through the snow and slush. In the stroller, asleep under a plastic tent, was her 1-year-old son Adam, who had a 9 a.m. appointment with his pediatrician.I called the doctor's office last night and this morning, to see if the appointment was still on, but no one was in, said Rescigna, a Bronx resident. After all this they better not tell me I have to come back.At the three major airports serving New York City, more than 900 flights were canceled — a majority of all flights at Kennedy, Newark and LaGuardia, according to the Port Authority. Most flights in and out of Boston's Logan International Airport were scrubbed, and the airport shut down for about 40 minutes to clear a runway. Philadelphia International Airport spokeswoman Phyllis VanIstendahl said about 44 people were stranded there overnight.Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport remained open Monday, although a number of flights were canceled or delayed. Spokesman Jonathan Dean didn't have numbers on cancellations.In downtown Boston, pedestrians negotiated slushy sidewalks and streets ankle-deep in snow as cars struggled past.Anderson Francois, 27, of Boston, was waiting for a bus and said he prepared for the snow by doubling up on socks and wearing pajama pants under his jeans.You've still got to go where you got to go, said Francois. I'm always ready for stuff like this.But Dave Richardson, 30, of Salem, didn't think the storm was such a big deal.

This is New England, after all.

More than 10 inches of snow was on the ground in southern New Jersey by 7 a.m. Monday, while South Carolina was dealing with 8 inches. Delaware had up to 9 inches by late Monday morning. Greyhound and Peter Pan bus lines canceled trips affecting travelers in and out of New York, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. Schools from North Carolina to Maine gave children a snow day. Public schools in Philadelphia and Boston did the same. In New York City, 1.1 million public school students got a snow day; the last time that happened was Jan. 28, 2004.In Fairfax, Va., Sarah Conforti, 8, said Monday's day off was just what she'd been hoping for, and planned to make a snowman or play in the snow with my friends,she said. Her mother, Noelle Conforti, said Sarah and her 10-year-old sister couldn't be happier about the school-free day. The kids are against the window, just looking out the window like a cat, she said. It's hilarious.Commuter trains in Boston and New York had some delays during the morning rush. Transportation officials in the Philadelphia area said the rush hour wasn't bad considering the slippery conditions. Amy Ledger, 30, was among many who braved the snow to attend the annual Philadelphia Flower Show, an indoor exhibition that provided a fragrant, spring-like respite from the blustery snow and wind. Ledger and two friends took the train in from Lancaster, where they said there was only about an inch of snow on the ground early Monday morning. It got progressively snowier on the hour-long ride east. At one point, we couldn't even see out the train window, said Ledger, of Bethlehem. It was really coming down.

Once at the show, winter seemed to melt away as the trio wandered past yellow daffodils, crimson azaleas and white tulips. I'm ready for spring, said Mindy Schlott, 29, of Ephrata, Pa. In New Hampshire, where snow was falling at up to an inch per hour, Transportation Department spokesman Bill Boynton said plow crews were having trouble keeping up.In Maryland, strong winds were complicating cleanup efforts as gusts were blowing just-plowed snow right back onto roads, said Lora Rakowski, a spokeswoman with the State Highway Administration. In Virginia, about 120,000 customers were without electricity, including tens of thousands in the Richmond metropolitan area. In North Carolina, more than 100,000 customers were without power early Monday. In South Carolina, there were nearly 80,000 outages.

Thousands more were without power in southern Maryland, the Washington, D.C.-area, and central Jersey. I thought it was over, New Yorker Clarissa Arroyo said of the winter weather. But it's not.Associated Press writers Frank Eltman on Long Island, N.Y.; Jim Fitzgerald in Westchester County; Ula Ilnytzky, Tom McElroy and Amy Westfeldt in New York City; Daniel Yee and Christina Almeida in Atlanta; Rodrique Ngowi in Boston; Ben Nuckols in Baltimore; Bruce Shipkowski and Samantha Henry in Trenton, N.J.; Kathy Matheson in Philadelphia; Kamala Lane in Washingtonand correspondant Matt Small in Washington contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE MAR 03,2009

09:30 AM +26.13
10:00 AM +43.17
10:30 AM +44.69
11:00 AM +20.39
11:30 AM -11.78
12:00 PM -32.17
12:30 PM +28.80
01:00 PM -19.83
01:30 PM -20.15
02:00 PM -1.11
02:30 PM +43.97
03:00 PM +85.39
03:30 PM -13.22
04:00 PM -37.27 6726.02

S&P 500 696.33 -4.49

NASDAQ 1321.01 -1.84

GOLD 916.00 -24.00

OIL 41.45 +1.28

TSE 300 7631.62 -55.89

CDNX 824.07 -4.17

S&P/TSX/60 459.93 -1.68

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -22.94%
S&P -22.41%
Nasdaq -16.12%
TSX Advances 290,declines 1,284,unchanged 242,Volume 2,573,048,216.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 271,Declines 511,Unchanged 434,Volume 179,052,551.

Dow +74 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -47 points at low today.
Dow +84 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $926.30.OIL opens at $41.67 today.
BERNANKE FUMBLES HIS WAY THROUGH QUESTIONS THIS MORNING.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -47 points at low today so far.
Dow +84 points at high today so far.
GEITHER TRYS TO TALK ABOUT THE SO CALLED BUDGET PLAN(3 TRILLION BANK MONEY GRAB)

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 1,052,declines 2,662,unchanged 109,New Highs 13,New Lows 813.
Volume 3,455,797,216.
NASDAQ Advances 968,declines 1,619,unchanged 156,New highs 4,New Lows 429.
Volume 869,879,529.
TSX Advances 393,declines 883,unchanged 254,Volume 1,068,744,329.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 206,Declines 308,Unchanged 248,Volume 69,553,199.

INSIDE THE T.A.L.F
-Begins with $200 BILLION of Financing from FED.
-$20 BILLION from TREASURY (TARP).
-Securitized credit card,Auto,student and small biz loans.
-to be expanded to $1 TRILLION,include CMBS and private - label MBS.
-First funds disbursed march 25th,for deals originated in MARCH.
-Interest rates range from 50-100 BP over LIBOR.
-Runs through DEC.2009,can be extended.

FEDERAL BUDGET (DETAILS)
-$1.75 TRILLION deficit in fiscal year 2009.
-$3.6 TRILLION in spending in fiscal year 2010.
-$635 BILLION for Health Care.
-$250 BILLION for Bank Aid.
-$130 BILLION for IRAQ/AFGHANISTAN wars.

INSIDE THE CONSUMER (Current levels of Debt/GDP):
-Over 90%
-10 Years ago it was 60%.
-Implies a needed reduction of $4.5 TRILLION in Consumer Debt.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -59 points at low today.
Dow +89 points at high today.
Dow -0.55% today Volume 445,283,252.
Nasdaq -0.14% today Volume 2,147,483,648.
S&P 500 -0.64% today Volume N/A

RECORD LOWS DOW
-Sept 30,1996 5,882.17
-Oct 30,1996 5,993.23
-Nov 6,1996 6,177.71
-Dec 16,1996 6,268.35
-Apr 15,1997 6,587.16
-Apr 21,1997 6,660.21
-Apr 28,1997 6,783.02
-May 1,1997 6,976.48
-May 7,1997 7,085.65

RECORD LOWS S&P 500
-Sept 5,1996 649.44
-Sept 6,1996 655.68
-Sept 11,1996 667.28
-Sept 12,1996 671.13
-Oct 1,1996 689.08
-Oct 28,1996 697.26
-Nov 4,1996 706.73
-Nov 5,1996 714.14
-Dec 17,1996 726.04

EU COMMISSION ON MAR 1,09 PRESS CONFERENCE,MINI SUMMITT
http://video.consilium.europa.eu/index.php?pl=3&sessionno=2152&lang=EN

Canada fourth-quarter GDP slides most since 1991 By Louise Egan – Mon Mar 2, 11:35 am ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's economy shrank more in the fourth quarter of 2008 than at any time since 1991, confirming the country is now in recession, and reinforcing expectations of a central bank interest rate cut on Tuesday.Statistics Canada said on Monday the economy contracted at an annualized rate of 3.4 percent in the quarter as the global financial crisis bit into exports and curtailed consumer and business spending.It was the worst performance since the 5.9 percent contraction in the first quarter of 1991, which marked the end of the country's last recession.Still, the result was slightly better than market expectations for a 3.6 percent downturn, giving the Canadian dollar a boost.The report officially marks a recession, said Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets.It's almost as bad as expected. Most areas of spending were down, outside of government, he said.But the result was worse than the 2.3 percent decline projected by the Bank of Canada and market players expect the bank will see fit to chop another half point off its key interest rate on Tuesday to a record low of 0.5 percent.In our opinion, a 50-basis-point cut is still by far the most likely outcome tomorrow, said Eric Lascelles, chief economics and rates strategist at TD Securities.The central bank has reduced its overnight rate by 350 basis points since December 2007, and although most market dealers expect a cut this week, most also see the bank nearing the end of its rate-cutting campaign.The Canadian dollar firmed immediately against the U.S. dollar after the data from a three-month low. Markets had been bracing for the worst after Finance Minister Jim Flaherty hinted at a substantive decline in GDP in remarks to the media before the data was released.At 11 a.m. the currency was at C$1.2872 to the U.S. dollar, or 77.69 U.S. cents, up from a pre data level of C$1.2889 to the U.S. dollar, or 77.59 U.S. cents.

RETURN TO DEFICIT

Compared with the third quarter, gross domestic product declined 0.8 percent in the fourth quarter.Growth for the year fell to 0.5 percent from 2.7 percent in 2007. Statscan revised its third-quarter annualized growth estimate to 0.9 percent from 1.3percent.Nominal GDP, a key indicator for determining tax revenues, fell 3.5 percent, or 13.4 percent annualized, in the fourth quarter. That was the largest decline since at least 1961, Statscan officials said. The slide was partly due to the decline in oil and metals prices in the period.The nominal GDP signals the return to government budget deficits in 2009 after 11 straight years of surplus, a development already well flagged by Flaherty.The quarterly report revealed wide-ranging weakness in the economy, including a collapse of personal spending after 13 years of expansion.The volume of both exports and imports fell in the quarter at the fastest rate in 26 years. Business investment in machinery and equipment plummeted, as did investment in housing.And economists see an even worse scenario for the first quarter of this year. The Bank of Canada projects first-quarter 2009 GDP to contract much more sharply, by 4.8 percent, followed by another slide in the second quarter before returning to growth in the second half of the year. Guatieri of BMO Capital Markets expects a bleaker outcome. We look for an even bigger decline in the current quarter. For the first quarter we're looking at a decline of 5.7 percent annualized -- a pretty hefty drop,he said.(Additional reporting by Toronto Treasury team; Editing by Peter Galloway)

AIG posts $61.7B 4Q loss, bailout is restructured By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS, AP Business Writer – Mon Mar 2, 11:18 am ET

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – American International Group Inc., once the world's largest insurer, said Monday it lost $61.7 billion in the fourth quarter, the biggest quarterly loss in U.S. corporate history, amid continued financial market turmoil.

The results come as the U.S. government announced a restructuring of a bailout plan for the troubled insurer, extending $30 billion in additional aid to the company.

New York-based AIG said it lost $22.95 per share in the last three months of 2008. It lost $5.3 billion, or $2.08 per share, in the same quarter a year ago.Revenue fell to negative $23.8 billion, as the company had to reverse gains it recorded from investments in past quarters.The latest results include $7.2 billion in unrealized losses and credit valuation adjustments at AIG Financial Products, the source of credit-default swaps, and pretax losses of $21.6 billion tied to the declining value of AIG's investment portfolio.AIG's general insurance business swung to a loss on $2.8 billion in net realized capital losses. General insurance net premiums dropped 16.3 percent to $9.2 billion, and net premiums earned fell 5.9 percent to nearly $11 billion.Adjusted to exclude certain items, operating losses totaled $37.9 billion, or $14.17 per share, versus a loss of $3.2 billion, or $1.25 per share, last year.

The results fell drastically short of estimates. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, on average, forecast a loss of 37 cents per share on revenue of $24.82 billion. Analysts have been dropping coverage of AIG in recent weeks due to the uncertainty of AIG's future.Its shares rose 6 cents to 48 cents in morning trading but are down from $51.47 on Feb. 28, 2008 and have lost nearly all of their value since the market meltdown began in September.We have made meaningful progress in addressing liquidity issues related to AIG Financial Products and our securities lending activities and have announced several divestitures, AIG chairman and chief executive Edward Liddy said in a statement. However, the economy and capital markets remain in turmoil and we are taking additional steps to preserve the value of our businesses and maximize the ultimate proceeds for the benefit of all stakeholders, including taxpayers.The government's new financial assistance to AIG includes providing the troubled company another $30 billion on an as needed basis.In an interview on NBC's Today show Monday morning, Liddy, said: We're going to be able to pay back the Federal Reserve. The new $30 billion is a stand-by line. It's not necessarily something that we think we'll have to draw on right away.The Federal Reserve said Monday it will also take stakes in two international units.Instead of paying back $38 billion in cash with interest that it has used from a Federal Reserve credit line, AIG now will repay that amount with equity stakes in Asia-based American International Assurance Co. and American Life Insurance Co., which operates in 50 countries.AIG also announced plans to spin off part of its property-casualty business, to be renamed AIU Holdings Inc.It marked the fourth time the government has stepped in to help AIG. Its initial lifeline came in September. The action was announced jointly early Monday by the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve.

The new package is designed to enhance the company's capital and liquidity to facilitate the orderly completion of the company's global divestiture program, the agencies said.They said the company continues to face significant challenges due to the rapid deterioration in certain financial markets in the last two months of the year. The additional resources will help stabilize the company and in doing so help stabilize the financial system,the agencies said. AIG has been forced to seek more help in part because of the ongoing recession and its falling stock price, now well under $1. Among its biggest problems: It can't sell assets to pay back government loans because the credit crisis is preventing would-be buyers from getting financing to complete such deals.As of Feb. 13, AIG had sold interests in nine businesses. In November, the U.S. government restructured previous loans provided to AIG, giving the company about $150 billion in total as part of a rescue package to help the insurer remain in business amid the worsening credit crisis. That package replaced earlier loans, including the original $85 billion lent in September, after it became apparent the insurer needed more funds. Problems at AIG did not come from its traditional insurance operations, but instead from its financial services units, and primarily its business insuring mortgage-backed securities and other risky debt against default.

Our insurance policy holders, they're in good shape. They're secure, they're protected, Liddy said in the Today show interview. It's all the other ancillary businesses that are causing this. And it's the decline in asset values around the globe.For the full year, AIG lost $99.3 billion, or $37.84 per share, compared with a proft of $6.2 billion, or $2.39 per share, a year earlier. Total revenue fell 89.9 percent to $11.1 billion from $110.1 billion a year ago.

Weak economic data ups pressure for ECB rate cut
ANDREW WILLIS Today @ 09:32 CET

The European Central Bank (ECB) is expected to cut interest rates when its governing council meets on Thursday (5 March) following the release of more weak economic data on the European economy. New figures released by the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, last Friday show unemployment in the 16-country euro area has reached 8.2 percent, the highest level for two years, following the loss of over a quarter of a million jobs in January. Unemployment is a clear concern right now in many parts of the euro area,ECB president Jean-Claude Trichet said in Dublin last week.Labour-market reforms are very important to counteract the economic downturn and limit its negative impact on employment.Asked whether the ECB will cut the rate by 50 or 25 basis point in March, Mr Trichet said the first figure is more likely.Eurostat figures also showed that inflation for the area fell by a record amount in January, down from 1.6 to a paltry 1.1 percent, well below the ECB's desired target of below, but close to two per cent.Inflation figures for the EU27 fell to 1.7 percent.

Analysts expect the central bank to react to the bad news by cutting interest rates by 0.5 percent when they meet on Thursday. Euro area interest rates are currently at two percent following steep cuts since the financial crisis started last autumn.

Eurostat now estimates that over 13 million people are unemployed in the euro area, with the highest unemployment rates recorded in Spain on 14.8 percent and the lowest in the Netherlands with 2.8 percent. The January figures amounted to the tenth consecutive month of rising unemployment in the euro area, as employers cut jobs in the face of falling consumer demand. The EU27 fared little better, with unemployment rising 0.1 percent in January to reach 7.6 percent. Falling commodity prices such as oil have contributed to the dramatic drop in inflation, which only last summer hit record highs of 4.0 percent. The ECB expects inflation to continue to fall until the middle of this year, before gradually starting to increase again. They are adamant however that such a decline does not signal a deflationary spiral. In the UK, where interest rates are already as low as one percent, the independent Bank of England will take the exceptional measure this week of buying corporate and government debt in a last-ditch attempt to boost the economy.

Wall Street tumbles anew as financials slide By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer MAR 02,09

NEW YORK – Investors' despair about financial companies and the recession have brought the Dow Jones industrial average to another unwanted milestone: its first drop below 7,000 in more than 11 years.The market's slide Monday wasn't nowhere near the largest is has seen since last fall, but the tumble below 7,000 was nonetheless painful. The credit crisis and recession have slashed more than half of the average's value since it hit a record high over 14,000 in October 2007. And now many investors fear the market could take a long time to regain the lost 7,000.We do feel that things can improve but it is going to be years before we get back to levels we saw in the markets a year ago, said David Chalupnik, head of equities at First American Funds.Monday's move below the milepost came as insurer American International Group Inc. posted a staggering $61.7 billion in quarterly losses and as the government agreed to inject more money into the company. AIG will get another $30 billion in loans, on top of the $150 billion the government has already invested.

Investors also grew fearful that more banks will have to raise capital and risk depleting the value of the existing shares after HSBC PLC, Europe's largest bank by market value, said it needs to raise $17.7 billion. The company reported a 70 percent drop in 2008 earnings and said it would cut 6,100 jobs.The fresh anxiety over hard-hit financial stocks pushed the blue chips below 7,000 for the first time since Oct. 28, 1997 and then below 6,900 for the first time since May 1, 1997.As bad as things are, they can still get worse, and get a lot worse, said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist for Bell Curve Trading. Strazzullo said he believes there's a significant chance the S&P 500 and the Dow will fall back to their 1995 levels of 500 and 5,000, respectively.The game-changer, he said, will be the housing market and whether it can stabilize.In midafternoon trading, the Dow fell 214.89, or 3 percent, to 6,848.04. The Dow last closed below the 7,000 level on May 1, 1997.

Broader stock indicators also slid. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 25.15, or 3.4 percent, to 709.94, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 40.15, or 2.9 percent, to 1,337.69.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 15.66, or 4 percent, to 373.36.About 10 stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to a moderate 1.16 billion shares.Bond prices jumped as stocks fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, tumbled to 2.91 percent from 3.02 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, slipped to 0.24 percent from 0.25 percent Friday.The dollar rose against most other major currencies, while gold prices fell.Light, sweet crude fell $4.40 to $40.36 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Mixed economic readings on Monday did little to dislodge a sense in the market that the economy's slide isn't slowing. Personal spending rose 0.6 percent in January and incomes rose 0.4 percent, while construction spending fell 3.3percent, more than twice as much as economists expected. Manufacturing contracted in February for the 13th straight month, but at a slower pace than expected.I don't think we find a bottom in the market until we see some sort of increased level of optimism and confidence among consumers and investors, said Jim Baird, chief investment strategist at Plante Moran Financial Advisors.Analysts are looking for indications in the economic numbers that businesses and consumers are starting to boost spending after making big cutbacks in the fall. But the economic readings are so alarming it weighs on sentiment. I don't think we find a bottom in the market until we see some sort of increased level of optimism and confidence among consumers and investors,said Baird. Last week the Dow and the S&P 500 index fell below their Nov. 20-21 lows, reached at the height of the credit crisis. Many traders had hoped would mark the market's low. The economy definitely has deteriorated since November, said Sean Simko, head of fixed income management at SEI Investments. It's just the fact that we haven't seen signs of improving or stabilizing, per se, which is adding to the morass of the market.Even big name investors are sounding a cautious note. Billionaire investor Warren Buffett wrote in his annual letter to investors Saturday he is sure the economy will be in shambles throughout 2009 — and, for that matter, probably well beyond — but that conclusion does not tell us whether the stock market will rise or fall.Investors try to look beyond the news of the day and place bets on what their expectations are. But that has been difficult with the economic news so grim and so little indication of when the housing market might stabilize and help banks that have been by bad mortgage debt.

In the last 60 years, the S&P 500 index reached its bottom about five months before a recession ended and nine months before corporate profits reached their low or unemployment hit its peak. The market could recover before the economy starts picking up steam but investors will need some sense that the worst is over. That was hard to come by Monday. The market didn't even see the panic selling that can signal a bottom is emerging but instead continued its grind downward. Most financials suffered again Monday. AIG was an exception, rising 4 cents, or 8.8 percent, to 46 cents a share after the government pledged the latest round of money. HSBC Holdings fell $6.50, or 18.9 percent, to $28.30. Other financials also fell sharply. Bank of America Corp. fell 10 cents, or 2.5 percent, to $3.85. Even banks that investors consider to be in better shape took hits. JPMorgan Chase & Co. slid $1.03, or 4.5 percent, to $21.82. Wells Fargo & Co. fell 80 cents, or 6.6 percent, to $11.30.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 tumbled 5.3 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 3.5 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 4.5 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average dropped 3.8 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 3.9 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

EU leaders paper over divisions on economic crisis
HONOR MAHONY 01.03.2009 @ 20:25 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Just hours after the European Commission approved a French car aid plan, EU leaders on Sunday (1 March) sought to put a lid on damaging divisions in the bloc on how to deal with the financial crisis by saying that none of its member states is being protectionist.We agreed that there is no case that we see as protectionist, said Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek, who called the informal gathering of EU leaders to discuss the threat of protectionism.Downplaying the public spat between Paris and Prague sparked by French comments against car companies relocating to eastern Europe, the Czech leader added: We agreed that this is rather more a media thing than reality.The summit had been called on the back of rising fears that internal market rules would be breached as countries sought to protect industries, particularly the car sector, from haemorrhaging jobs. Bullish talk by Mr Sarkozy in the run-up to the summit on his right to protect industry had led to tension around the EU. But the heat was taken out of the summit after a u-turn by the French government relaxing some of the conditions for its €6 billion car industry aid plan, meaning the European Commission could give its approval to the plan just ahead of the summit.

Bad word - bad idea

After Sunday's meeting French president Sarkozy told reporters that protectionism was a bad word and a bad idea.Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, who chaired a pre-summit gathering of nine central and eastern European states said: Everybody without exception agreed that protectionism is not a cure for the crisis. We also reached agreement that the EU will jointly try to stabilise currencies, no matter how many countries are in the eurozone.European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso noted that it was very clearly stated that the internal market is the engine for recovery.There was also a concerted effort to stop talk of an east-west divide as richer member states look to spend their way out of the crisis.Mr Barroso stressed that each country has to be looked at on its own merits and that the region could not be viewed as a homogenous whole, while Czech prime minister Topolanek said: I think it is clear that the EU is going to leave nobody in the lurch.

No bailout for eastern Europe

However, a push by the new member states to speed up the procedure for entering the eurozone as a way of helping them cope with the economic crisis was rejected by other EU member states. A proposal by Hungary to set up a fund of at least €160 billion for central and eastern European countries was also turned down.German chancellor Angela Merkel rejected the need for a one-size-fits-all bailout, saying the situation in Hungary - which has been hard hit by the global credit crisis - cannot be directly compared to other countries in the region.The final statement of the summit says that protectionism is no answer to the current crisis and has a line saying that support for parent banks should not imply any restrictions on the activities of subsidiaries in the EU host countries. Eastern member states fear that if parent banks in western countries get into financial trouble they could withdraw capital from their daughter banks in eastern Europe.Although diplomats said there was a harmonious atmosphere around the table, little of substance was agreed.

Business group Eurochambres complained about the results of the meeting, saying there were no tangible actions.This summit was yet another rather unproductive political showpiece, bringing no concrete solutions to the dramatic economic situation and showing a worrying lack of economic co-ordination among member states. We deeply hope that the spring European Council will do better in a couple weeks time,said secretary general Arnaldo Abruzzini.EU leaders are due to meet for their regular spring meeting on 19-20 March.

Egypt FM: $5.2 billion pledged at Gaza conference By SALAH NASRAWI and JOHN HEILPRIN, Associated Press Writers MAR 02,09

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt – International donors pledged $5.2 billion to rebuild the devastated Gaza Strip and boost the Palestinian president at a conference Monday, and they urged the Palestinians to end their divisions and revive the peace process with Israel.Still to be determined is how the money will be distributed. Most international donors won't funnel money directly to the Islamic militants of Hamas that rule Gaza. And lack of a formal cease-fire between Israel and Hamas has kept Gaza's borders sealed to most aid shipments.The conference gathered the presidents of Egypt and France, the U.N. chief and top diplomats from 45 nations — including Hillary Rodham Clinton in her first Mideast trip as U.S. secretary of state — in a high-profile attempt to show international support for reconstruction after Israel's crippling offensive against Hamas.But the broader message was that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his rivals in Hamas must resolve their dispute and form a government that can move ahead with rebuilding in Gaza and return to the negotiating table with Israel.British Foreign Secretary David Miliband warned there will be only limited physical reconstruction without political reconstruction and stressed that Palestinians need a single government across the Occupied Territories —a direct appeal for rival Palestinian factions to hammer out a unity government.

Clinton issued a blunt call for urgent action to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace.We cannot afford more setbacks or delays — or regrets about what might have been, had different decisions been made, she said in apparent reference to the failure of previous peace initiatives, including those pushed vigorously by her husband's administration.The 80 nations and international organizations at Monday's gathering in this Red Sea resort pledged $5.2 billion, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit told reporters. Most of that amount — $4.48 billion — was in new pledges, with the remainder made up of previous, unfulfilled pledges that donors recommitted to giving, he said.Aboul Gheit said the figure is beyond of our expectations.Palestinian Planning Minister Samir Abdullah said the money is earmarked for humanitarian aid to Gaza, rebuilding in the territory and budget support to the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority led by Abbas. He could not immediately say how much was going to each fund.The biggest donor is Saudi Arabia, at $1 billion, followed by the United States, which promised $900 million. A third of the U.S. pledge was for humanitarian aid to Gaza and the rest to assist the Palestinian Authority.Control of the funds is a key question. The international community refuses to negotiate with Gaza's militant Hamas rulers, considered a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union and Israel. Hamas was not invited to the conference in this Red Sea resort. But Abbas' government has little presence in Gaza after being driven out by Hamas in 2007.In a significant move, Arab Persian Gulf nations — including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait — pledged $1.6 billion, but bypassed both Hamas and Abbas. The gulf nations said in a statement they would set up a joint office in Gaza to carry out reconstruction on their own, deciding on projects and implementing them.They may be trying to signal to Hamas that the gulf nations are not favoring Abbas, hoping to encourage the militant group to moderate and reconcile with the Palestinian Authority.Karen AbuZayd, the head of the U.N. aid agency for Palestinian refugees, told The Associated Press that many donor nations had discussed possibly using the United Nations as an alternative route to avoid the sticky issue of who controls the funds.

Certain donors have come forward to ask, and some of the regional parties as well have thought that perhaps the U.N. could do more than what it's doing or what is its mandate, she said.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak warned in opening remarks to the gathering that the donors' pledges should not be treated as spoils of war — a message to rival Palestinian factions not to squabble over the funds.He also said reconstruction will depend on reaching a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, which Egypt is trying to mediate, and the opening of Gaza's border crossings, which have been largely closed by Egypt and Israel since Hamas seized control of the territory. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said responsible Palestinians should seek peace with Israel and said a prisoner exchange by Hamas to release Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit, held by Gaza militants since June 2006, is a priority. Israel has demanded Schalit's release as part of any truce deal. You must admit that there is no other road to the creation of a Palestinian state but to engage resolutely in searching for a political solution and engage in a dialogue with Israel, Sarkozy said in a clear message to the militant group. Abbas asked participants to adopt the reconstruction plan of his prime minister, Salam Fayyad, describing it as a national comprehensive development plan. He promised reconstruction would be based on transparency and justice.Fayyad prepared a 53-page plan for donors, including detailed damage assessments. For example, fixing war damage to infrastructure and homes would cost $501 million, according to the plan, which says 4,036 homes were destroyed and 11,514 damaged. Hamas spokesmen Fawzi Barhoum sought to dispel fears his group was trying to grab funds but also said the donations shouldn't be channeled through Abbas. He urged the conference to work out meaningful mechanisms to get money directly to Gazans without going into the internal Palestinian political differences.Associated Press writer Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City contributed to this report.

Clinton calls for action to forge Mideast peace By ROBERT BURNS, Associated Press Writer MAR 02,09

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday that Israel cannot just sit and take rockets from Gaza terrorizing its citizens as she stressed the Obama administration's commitment to finding a peaceful existence for Israelis and Palestinians.On her first foray into Middle East diplomacy, Clinton used an international donors conference to issue a blunt call for urgent action to forge a comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace. She also signaled a possible warming in U.S. relations with Syria after several years of division.With the Obama administration's Mideast peace envoy, George Mitchell, seated behind her at a conference meant to raise billions to help the Gaza Strip recover from its recent war with Israel, Clinton said President Barack Obama would continue the Bush administration's focus on seeking a two-state solution that involves Israel and a sovereign Palestinian state coexisting in peace.She made it clear, however, that Mideast leaders could count on Obama to take a more active approach than did his predecessor, George W. Bush.It is time to look ahead, she said, with an eye on the human aspects of what years of regional conflict have meant for the Palestinians and others.The United States is committed to a comprehensive peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and we will pursue it on many fronts, she said.The former New York senator and one-time first lady told the gathering: I have to confess I am troubled by the continuing rocket attacks coming out of Gaza. She added that Israel cannot just sit and take rockets falling on its people.The Sharm el-Sheik conference was called in the aftermath of the Gaza crisis, which remains in danger of heating up. Israel ended its air and ground assault meant to halt rocket fire coming from Gaza about six weeks ago with a shaky cease-fire by both sides. Some 1,300 Palestinians — at least half of them civilians — and 13 Israelis died in the three-week offensive, officials have said.Militants have continued to fire rockets sporadically into southern Israel, triggering retaliatory airstrikes.Asked if a peaceful settlement was possible by year's end, Clinton indicated that the process will take a long time.I personally am very committed to this. I know that it can be done. I believe that with all my heart, she said, avoiding any timetable.

In a sign of a possible warming of relations with Syria, Clinton also shook hands and spoke briefly with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem. They were not scheduled to meet but encountered each other during the daylong conference at this Red Sea resort, a U.S. official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Washington withdrew its ambassador from Damascus in 2005 to protest Syria's suspected role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Damascus denied involvement in his death, but in the uproar that followed, it was forced to withdraw its troops from Lebanon, ending a 29-year military presence.Clinton declined to discuss the specifics of her discussion but said: In consultation with our friends and allies, our partners, we are reaching out to determine what, if any, areas of cooperation and engagement are possible, and that includes with respect to Syria.

Clinton, who is scheduled to travel this week to Jerusalem to consult with Israeli government officials and to the West Bank to meet with Palestinian officials, said the United States was pledging $900 million to the international aid effort for the Gaza Strip. She gave no breakdown of the funds, but her spokesman, Robert A. Wood, said on Sunday that it included $300 million in humanitarian aid for Gaza and about $600 million in budget and development aid to the Palestinian Authority, which is based in the West Bank.We cannot afford more setbacks or delays — or regrets about what might have been, had different decisions been made, she said in apparent reference to the failure of previous peace initiatives, including those pushed vigorously by her husband's administration.Clinton conducted a rapid-fire series of one-on-one meetings with Arab and other counterparts attending the conference. In an afternoon session with the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, she expressed doubt that Iran would respond to Obama administration diplomatic overtures, according to a U.S. official who was present in the meeting. The official described the exchange for reporters on condition of anonymity because the session was private.Clinton also met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and she attended a meeting of the so-called Quartet of international mediators — the U.S., the European Union, the United Nations and Russia — seeking to forge progress toward peace between Israel and its Arab neighbors. At that session, Mitchell said that while the situation is difficult between Israel and the Palestinians he's sees opportunity for progress, according to the U.S. official. Mitchell stressed the need to consolidate a cease-fire in Gaza and he forecast that once Israel creates a new governing coalition it will be in position to improve living conditions in the West Bank. The Obama administration is casting its Gaza and Palestinian Authority contributions as a calculated effort to ensure that the money does not reach Hamas, the Islamist movement that rules Gaza and is viewed by Washington as a terrorist organization and not a legitimate governing body.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
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.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

Russia questions NKorea rocket launch: reports MAR 02,09

MOSCOW (AFP) – Russia on Monday questioned the type of rocket North Korea intends to launch and urged restraint among all interested parties, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters Monday as quoted by Russian agencies.No-one forbids anyone to launch satellites, but on the other hand, we must understand what kind of missile this is, Lavrov said.We monitor the situation and expect that everyone will employ restraint and keep to the obligations based on the UN resolutions, the minister said.

Last week North Korea, defying international warnings, said its preparations to launch a satellite are making brisk headway but gave no date for the exercise.Seoul and Washington see such a launch as a pretext to test the Taepodong-2 missile, which could theoretically reach Alaska.They say a rocket launch for any purpose would violate a UN resolution passed after the last missile test.

Manual lays out Army hopes for electronic warfare FEB 27,09

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan. (AP) — For the first time since the end of the Cold War, the Army is updating its manual for the electronic battlefield.The new 112-page Army doctrine on electronic warfare, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, was produced at Fort Leavenworth and will be released Thursday at an Army conference in Florida.The doctrine is aimed at guiding the Army as it moves to protect soldiers against roadside bombs and other nontraditional warfare used by increasingly sophisticated insurgents.The report suggests that without new training, U.S. forces may be at a deadly disadvantage.The doctrine calls on the Army to develop and deploy directed-energy weapons such as high-powered microwaves, lasers and infrared beams, as well as wireless networks and other devices to confuse enemy communication.

HENTOFF: Obama's state secrets echo Bush,U.S. wants torture of suspect kept under wraps Nat Hentoff Monday, March 2, 2009

British resident Binyam Mohamed, who was detained at Guantanamo, hides his face as he leaves a Royal Air Force base upon his recent return to the United Kingdom.

OP-ED:

Last year, Britain's Foreign Office angered the British High Court by ordering it to censor seven paragraphs from a previous ruling in the case of a British legal resident, Binyam Mohamed, who had been rendered and tortured by the CIA in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Morocco and Guantanamo. This muzzling of the High Court was caused by a Bush State Department threat to the Foreign Office, a threat renewed last month when Mr. Mohamed's case came again before the High Court. Last August, John Bellinger, then chief legal adviser to the State Department, wrote the Foreign Office: We want to affirm in the clearest terms that the public disclosure of these documents or of the information contained therein is likely to result in serious damage to U.S. national security, and could harm existing intelligence-sharing arrangements between our two governments.On Feb. 4, the British High Court wanted to finally disclose those seven paragraphs summarizing actual U.S. reports on Mr. Mohamed's treatment, paragraphs originally provided to the Foreign Office. The judges expected that the situation had changed significantly following the election of President Barack Obama, who was avowedly determined to eschew torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (That court is also interested in British involvement with Mr. Mohamed's interrogations.) Although all U.S. charges against Mr. Mohamed were dropped last year, this year the Obama administration continues to demand that those seven paragraphs remain secret and was reported by the New York Times on Feb. 18 as having thanked the British government for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security administration.As Mr. Obama's Attorney General Eric Holder has already shown in another case involving Mr. Mohamed before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, the Bush-Cheney State Secrets policy continues to reign in the Obama administration.

Even a letter sent directly to Mr. Obama by Mr. Mohamed's British lawyers to look into the truly medieval ways in which Mr. Mohamed was tortured has not changed the president's mind. (See the Jurist Legal News & Research, Web site, Feb. 12). In the 9th Circuit court papers (Mohamed v. Jeppesen Dataplan Inc.), American Civil Liberties Union lawyers for Mr. Mohamed cite his claim that in Morocco, his clothes were cut off with a scalpel and the same scalpel was then used to make incisions on his body, including his penis.It is reasonable to believe that the seven paragraphs involuntarily censored by the British High Court would be quite useful to Mr. Mohamed's case in both the British and American courts. The High Court in England reacted angrily to the Obama administration refusal to annul the Bush threat to impair relations with British intelligence about the release of the seven paragraphs. The High Court declared on Feb. 5 its acute disappointment that the United States, governed by the rule of law, would continue to censor evidence relevant to allegations of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, politically embarrassing though it might be.Mr. Mohamed, who was on a hunger strike (his only form of protest) at Guantanamo Bay, has finally been released and returned home to England where his lawyers continue to press his case concerning his treatment by the CIA. The Obama administration wanted a gag rule imposed on the returned Mr. Mohamed, but his lawyers rejected the demand (New York Times, Feb. 24). Before his release, as reported Feb. 18 by the New York Times' Raymond Bonner, a member of Mr. Mohamed's legal team - U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Yvonne Bradley - told reporters his torture by the Moroccans would make waterboarding seem like child's play.In San Francisco, at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, Mr. Mohamed is one of five victims of CIA kidnapping who are charging a subsidiary of giant Boeing Aircraft with providing planes and logistics for the harrowing CIA renditions flights. Mr. Holder sent Justice Department lawyer Douglas Letter to order the court to dismiss the case without discussing it in court.

One of the startled judges, Mary Schroeder, asked: The change in administration has no bearing? She was assured that the Obama government's echo policy on state secrets has been thoroughly vetted with the new administration. Another surprised judge, William Canby, puzzled by the invocation of state secrets, asked: You can say something is secret even when a newspaper reporter has it? (Many newspaper reporters, including this writer, have written in detail about the CIA's torture flights, including those of the shackled Mr. Mohamed.) On the same day that the attorney general's silencer addressed the court, Mr. Holder himself announced that the Justice Department will review all the pending cases in which the Bush administration asserted state secrets, to ensure they are invoked only in legally appropriate situations. I wonder if the attorney general gets extra pay for being the president's emergency public relations flack while actually commanding that this crucial case be dismissed. The ACLU's Ben Wizner, arguing Mr. Mohamed's case at the 9th Circuit, said: This administration is going to have to face the issue of accountability. [It] cannot pretend the last seven years didn't happen.Want to bet?

Barack Obama's White House counsel Gregory B. Craig on Feb. 18 was reported telling the New York Times' Charlie Savage: We have been some of the most articulate and vociferous critics of the way the Bush administration handled things. There has been a dramatic change of direction.I would sure like to see Binyam Mohamed's reaction to that talking point from the transparent Obama administration. Nat Hentoff's column for The Washington Times runs on Mondays. 2009 The Washington Times.