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EU-Israel relations set to stay in limbo
ANDREW RETTMAN Today MAY 26,09 @ 17:40 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU is unlikely to upgrade relations with Israel when its foreign minister comes to Brussels in June, after a six month break in normal bilateral relations. A group of EU countries including Belgium, Sweden and Portugal remains opposed to the move. The Netherlands has in the past stood almost alone in advocating it, while most member states are keeping silent.The delicate situation arises from uncertainty on whether the new Israeli government will sign up to a two-state solution on Palestine, curb settlement expansion and let more aid into Gaza.EU relations with Arab countries are also at stake, with Israel's bloody incursion into Gaza in January still fresh in the minds of its neighbours.EU states last June formally launched the upgrade process, asking the European Commission to create an Action Plan for increased diplomatic co-operation, Israeli integration with the single market and joint transport and education projects.But they quietly pushed the scheme off the agenda after the Gaza offensive. Israeli-critical EU external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner has also put the brakes on progress.

Her officials have not put forward any new Action Plan proposal. EU diplomats continue to have normal day-to-day contact with Israeli counterparts. But the commission has not organised any meetings of EU-Israel sub-committees on technical issues since January, in a period that would normally see around six such events. The upgrade question will be the main topic of discussion when Israel's hawkish new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, meets with EU foreign relations chiefs in Brussels on 15 June. Mr Lieberman is likely to be greeted with politely-worded disapproval rather than a rapprochement, however.A six page EU draft declaration for the meeting, circulated by the Czech EU presidency last week, says that political difficulties remain and declines to mention any upgrade timetable.The objective is to cover the position of those member states who want to implement the upgrade and those who think that now is not the time,an EU diplomat familiar with the text told this website.

We freeze the upgrade, but we don't say that we freeze the upgrade.

The commission's delay in putting forward the Action Plan has also thrown a spanner in the works. With just three weeks left to go to the Lieberman meeting, EU states and Israel would hardly have enough time to approve a new plan - a detailed, 20-plus page document - even if Ms Ferrero-Waldner suddenly put one out. The existing EU-Israel Action Plan expired in April, leaving the pair in limbo in terms of a common reform agenda. The old plan could be renewed for a year, but the move would effectively put off the upgrade until 2010.

Meanwhile, debate inside Brussels is beginning to get personal.

A diplomat from one of the pro-Israeli EU countries told EUobserver that Ms Ferrero-Waldner's political views are linked to her relationship with the late Austrian president Kurt Waldheim and her work in the UN in the 1990s. Mr Waldheim's reputation is tainted by his activities as a Wehrmacht officer during World War II.She spent all her time in the UN getting close to the Arab delegations and that's where all this comes from,the EU diplomat said.Ms Ferrero-Waldner's office said there is no link whatsoever between the commissioner and Mr Waldheim, except that they were both in the conservative OVP party.

Report slams widespread use of ethnic profiling in Europe
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today MAY 26,09 @ 17:35 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Ethnic and religious profiling is still widespread in Europe, although it is both damaging and ineffective, a report released on Tuesday (26 May) argues. Ethnic profiling – a term describing the use of ethnic and religious criteria in law enforcement and investigative decisions about who may have committed a crime – has intensified in recent years in Europe,according to a study by the Open Society Justice Initiative, a programme of the Open Society foundation.The practice has increased particularly since the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the US, it says.Stops and searches of British Asians have increased three times since then and five times since the July 2005 London bomb attacks.A similar phenomenon has been observed in other countries, with German police conducting mass identity checks outside major mosques, and French and Italian police raiding homes, businesses and mosques targeting Muslims, particularly those considered religiously observant.But in addition to clearly discriminating people on the basis of their religion and ethnicity, the method is highly ineffective in stopping crime, the study argues.There is no evidence that ethnic profiling stops crime or prevents terrorism. Separate studies in the United Kingdom, the United States, Sweden and the Netherlands have all concluded that ethnic profiling is ineffective,it says.

Not all terrorists are Muslim

Ethnic profiling makes things worse,argued James A. Goldston, executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative. It humiliates people, it stigmatises whole ethnic communities and ...that's not only bad for these communities, but also for the police and everybody's security, because it means that those communities don't trust the police anymore and they're not going to provide information on which police crucially depend in combating crime and terrorism,he said at a press conference in Brussels.Not all terrorists are Muslim ...There simply is not one terrorist profile. There's not one set of characteristics that can help people focus on who will be a terrorist,Mr Goldston said.The study looked in detail at France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK and while none of the countries stood out as a good performer, it found at least a platform to move ahead in the UK.The country systematically collects the [ethnic] data so it allows people to know the reality in a more complete way than is possible in any other European country at the moment.It also has an explicit legislative prohibition ...that applies its wide anti-discrimination norm to action by the police,Mr Goldston explained.

Ethnic profiling and policy making

But in other countries, such as Italy, ethnic profiling has been intertwined with policy making.In Italy and in other countries as well, it's very clear that immigration control policies ...drive a great deal of ethnic profiling,said Rachel Neild, Senior Advisor to the Open Society Justice Initiative. One of the things we were extremely concerned about in Italy was the way in which political leaders would conflate immigrants with terrorists ...There was a great deal of language at one stage about all immigrants [being] potential terrorists, all Muslim [being] terrorists, etc,etc – which I think is deeply worrying,she added.The Open Society report recommends EU-wide legislation to clearly define ethnic profiling, ban it and even introduce sanctions against it.European law on matters pertaining to ethnic profiling is [currently] a complex patchwork of protection and gaps,according to the report.Additionally, the EU and national governments should fund projects to help police work better with the minorities in question.

JUDGE SONIA SOTO MAYOR IS A RADICAL LEFT WINGER THAT THE REPUBLICANS HAVE TO FILIBUSTER AT ALL COSTS(WIN OR LOSE)TO TRY TO STOP HER FROM BEING ON THE SUPREME COURT.

Obama Betrays The Liberals
Sherwood Ross Global Research May 26, 2009

American liberals stand betrayed. Their new president, the one they sweated to elect — a brilliant, charismatic leader with a professional background in constitutional law — has transmogrified himself from the champion who denounced in his campaign the illegalities of the Bush White House into a president bent on their perpetuation.

America’s humanist Left may yet muster its forces for a last-ditch fight to preserve a bit of sanity in this epoch of messianic presidents hell-bent upon waging war.

Liberals are stunned by Obama’s plan to restart Bush-era military tribunals for some Guantanamo detainees, reviving what the Associated Press pointed out, is a fiercely disputed trial system he once denounced.(May 15). Liberals are appalled by Obama’s May 21st proposal to hold terrorism suspects in prolonged detention inside the U.S. without a trial. Such detention, Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) wrote him, is a hallmark of abusive systems that we have historically criticized around the world.If liberals chaffed over Obama’s centrist cabinet choices, they were dismayed by his decision not to release photographs depicting the sadistic tortures the Bush Gang inflicted onprisonersduring a so-called War on Terror that was nothing but terror itself. A typical reaction comes from Joe Kishore, writing on the World Socialist Website (May 22): Whatever verbal warnings Obama may make about the erosion of democracy in the United States, the actions of his administration facilitate and escalate its breakdown.Obama’s latest policy reversals come as liberals are still reeling from his April 16th speech to the CIA, ignoring its documented history of 60 years of overthrows and assassinations, and reassuring the Agency of its right to continue covert activities, as if such conduct was not prima facie illegality in the eyes of law-abiding nations. Earlier, Obama’s pledge not to prosecute CIA torturers that followed orders likely brought relief to the throne room in Langley that is a throbbing heart of the Dark Side. Obama calls upon the nation to look forward as he ignores his presidential obligation to prosecute those who, like Bush and Cheney, trampled the Constitution when they ordered torture in violation of international laws that by treaty are America’s laws as well.And if Matthew Rothschild of The Progressive magazine hasn’t accused Obama of betraying his liberal subscribers, he charged in his May 21 column the President tried to carve out an extra-constitutional arrangement for indefinite detention of some detainees without trial. Rothschild accused Obama of chiseling away at the basic habeas corpus right that has been the foundation of our jurisprudence dating back to the Magna Carta of 1215.

One campaign promise on which Obama has not reversed himself is his pledge to intensify the war in Afghanistan, which, one liberal essayist predicted, will doom his presidency. This war is already under heated attack from the liberal quarter. Justin Raimando of antiwar.com (May 20) denounces the appointment of Lt. General Stanley McChrystal to head U.S. forces in Kabul. Asserting McChrystal oversaw torture at Camp Nama near Baghdad that was notorious for its beatings, degredation of prisoners and outright, cold-blooded murder,Raimando writes:That’s what they call ‘fresh thinking’ over at Obama’s Pentagon. If Bush and Cheney ordered it, it’s reprehensible and might even be a war crime. If, however, a known torture-enabler is elevated by Obama’s secretary of defense to the position of commander of our armed forces in Afghanistan – well, then, that’s a far different matter.

The danger in Obama’s foreign policy was seen clearly by Andrew Bacevich, a Boston University historian, who described it in his best-seller The Limits of Power(Henry Holt), published the year before Obama won the White House. He quoted then Senator Obama’s view that The security and well-being of each and every American depend on the security and well-being of those who live beyond our borders. The mission of the United States is to provide global leadership grounded in the understanding that the world shares a common security and a common humanity.Of this, Bacevich states: Accept the proposition that America is freedom’s tribune, and it becomes a small step to believing that the peace process aims to achieve peace, that Iraq qualifies as a sovereign state, and that Providence has summoned the United States to wage an all-out war against terrorism.Obama’s grandiosity perhaps explains why he boosted the Pentagon’s swollen budget (about as great as all other nations combined) by four percent in the absence of any significant immediate foreign military threat. As one disappointed lifelong Democrat with a son in the Army told me,I had hoped he was going to put an end to the war.This particular liberal now trashes appeals from the Democratic National Committee, adding,In the next presidential election I may just not vote.And in a column entitled Obama’s Betrayals,author Sheldon Richman writes on MWC News,In Obama we have a new Jekyll and Hyde. From harsh critic of Bush’s trampling of individual rights, Obama has transmogrified into a champion of the omnipotent state that cannot let the niceties of the traditional criminal-justice system stand in the way of national security.Richman, editor of The Freeman magazine, concludes,It’s time for the opponents of empire to see the man in the White House for who he is. Fortunately, that is starting to happen.Yes, indeed. And as this painful recognition sinks in like iodine burning into a raw wound,America’s humanist Left may yet muster its forces for a last-ditch fight to preserve a bit of sanity in this epoch of messianic presidents hell-bent upon waging war.

ON CAPITOL HILL Plan to audit Fed steamrolls ahead,House co-sponsors now total 175, companion bill begins Senate trek May 25, 2009 8:08 pm Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, long has opposed the power held by the Federal Reserve and its ability to manipulate the nation's economy and over the years has launched proposals to get rid of the quasi-governmental agency, without significant support.

But his current plan, H.R. 1207, the Federal Reserve Transparency Act of 2009 to demand an audit of the organization, is quickly gaining steam. As of today, the proposal had collected a bipartisan coalition of 175 members of Congress who have signed on as co-sponsors.Not that Paul's ultimate goals have changed significantly. To understand how unwise it is to have the Federal Reserve, one must first understand the magnitude of the privileges they have, he wrote in a new Straight Talk commentary.They have been given the power to create money, by the trillions, and to give it to their friends, under any terms they wish, with little or no meaningful oversight or accountability.He's even said Congress should reassert its constitutional authority over monetary policy.Besides the support in the U.S. House, a companion bill, S. 604, also now has been introduced in the U.S. Senate by Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont. It has been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs.Paul said that should help the effort begin to gain momentum.A spokeswoman in Paul's congressional office also told WND that Rep. Barney Frank, the chief of the financial services committee in the House, already has expressed a willingness to hold hearings on the issue. When Paul introduced his latest proposal to audit the organization there were 11 co-sponsors, which grew quickly to 124 just a few weeks ago. The bill calls for the comptroller general of the United States to audit the private Federal Reserve and report to Congress before the end of 2010.The Constitution, Paul said, gives Congress, not the private Federal Reserve,the authority to coin money and regulate the value of the currency.Stunning Fed fraud DVD just $4.95! The Money Masters: How Banks Create the World's Money.

Paul explained his advocacy for the H.R. 1207 audit in the U.S. House:

Throughout its nearly 100-year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar,the Texas Republican said. Since 1913 the dollar has lost over 95 percent of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy. How long will we as a Congress stand idly by while hard-working Americans see their savings eaten away by inflation? Only big-spending politicians and politically favored bankers benefit from inflation,he said. Paul called oversight of the Fed long overdue.

Federal Reserve

You've never needed to understand money like you need to understand it now! Web of Debt: The Shocking Truth About Our Money System and How We Can Break Free unravels the deception of the Federal Reserve and presents a crystal clear picture of the financial abyss towards which we are heading. Since its inception, the Federal Reserve has always operated in the shadows, without sufficient scrutiny or oversight of its operations,he continued. The Federal Reserve can enter into agreements with foreign central banks and foreign governments, and the GAO is prohibited from auditing or even seeing these agreements. Why should a government – established agency, whose police force has federal law enforcement powers, and whose notes have legal tender status in this country, be allowed to enter into agreements with foreign powers and foreign banking institutions with no oversight? Paul's bill would also make the Federal Reserve's funding facilities, including the Primary Dealer Credit Facility, Term Securities Lending Facility, and Term Asset-Backed Securities Lending Facility subject to congressional oversight.His new commentary was titled,Audit the Fed, Then End It! It cited some pushback from individuals in Congress. The main argument seems to be that Congressional oversight over the Fed is government interference in the free market,he wrote.This argument shows a misunderstanding of what a free market really is. Fundamentally, you cannot defend the Federal Reserve and the free market at the same time. The Fed negates the very foundation of a free market by artificially manipulating the price and supply of money – the lifeblood of the economy. In a free market, interest rates, like the price of any other consumer good, are decentralized and set by the market. The only legitimate, Constitutional role of government in monetary policy is to protect the integrity of the monetary unit and defend against counterfeiters,he said. What has actually happened is the U.S. is that Congress has abdicated this responsibility to a cabal of elite, quasi-governmental banks who, instead of stabilizing the economy, have destabilized it,he wrote.Paul said it took less than two decades for the Federal Reserve to bring on the Great Depression of the 1930s.He also said some have been worried about bringing the Fed into the political process.The Federal Reserve is already heavily entrenched in the political process, as the Fed chairman is a political appointee. High level officials routinely make the rounds between positions at the Fed, member banks, Treasury and back again, taking care of friends and each other along the way,he said.

Note: Concerned individuals may contact members of the House Committee of Financial Services in reference to H.R. 1207 and the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs committee in reference to its companion bill, S. 604. They may also contact their respective representatives and senators.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Muslims vandalize Christian graves,Crosses smashed: We don't feel safe anymore May 25, 2009 8:15 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2009 WorldNetDaily

JERUSALEM – Palestinian Christians in a normally quiet village are reeling from a series of grave desecrations this week that they say are indicative of intimidation tactics from the town's growing Muslim population.Christians don't feel free anymore. Our way of life is changing while the Muslim population grows,a local Christian told WND. The Christian would only give his first name, Anis, for fear of Muslim retaliation if he speaks out. He pointed out there are several other Anis's in his village, Jisna, which is located near the West Bank city of Ramallah.This week, 70 Christian grave sites in Jisna were vandalized, with the crosses on top of the graves found smashed off, local Christians told WND.Jisna is primarily a Christian village, but over the last 6 to 8 years, the town has seen a steady stream of Muslims, mostly due to Jisna's good quality of life. Two years ago, the first mosque was constructed in the village. If the Islamic influx continues, Jisna might go the way of so many other Palestinian cities, like Ramallah and Bethlehem, which used to be predominantly Christian but now have large Muslim majorities.Is Israel already done for? Find out in Aaron Klein's The Late Great State of Israel.And like Bethlehem, Ramallah and other Palestinian cities that became mostly Muslim, as the Islamic population rises in Jisna local Christians are complaining of an increased atmosphere of intimidation.

They (Muslims) are trying to impose their way of life,said Anis.A relative of Anis who lives in the same village said Christians don't feel safe drinking alcohol on the streets or even in private gardens that can be seen from the street. Consuming alcohol is banned in Islam.I used to go to a store owned by my friend and inside we'd drink beers together. But now we can't do it because the Muslims get offended, said the second local Christian.Our freedom and our way of life is much more limited. At times we don't feel safe for us, our families and our Christian friends,the Christian said.Just this week, a Palestinian Authority spokesman admitted to WND that Christians in the Palestinian territories are being watched.We have been watching this Christian organization and for the moment there is nothing special in their activity,said Adnan Dmeire, spokesman for the PA's security organizations in West Bank.Dmeire was referring to the Association of the Holy Book, one of the main groups that attends to the needs of Christians in the Palestinian territories. The group has been accused by both the PA and Hamas of carrying out missionary activities. A Bible store the association sponsored in the Gaza Strip – the only Christian bookstore in the territory – was attacked by Islamists several times. The store's owner, Rami Ayyad, was found shot to death in 2007, his body riddled with bullets.Dmeire was responding to a WND inquiry regarding a Hamas accusation earlier this week that the PA was allowing the Christian association to carry out missionary activity in the West Bank.

Christian persecution trend

Christians living in the Palestinian territories have not faired well under PA or Hamas rule.In 2006, a YMCA in the northern West Bank was attacked. Gunmen destroyed the locks on the YMCA's entrance gates, crushed the gates, then entered the building and set it ablaze. Local fire brigades reportedly rushed to the scene and stopped the blaze before it spread to neighboring buildings. The attack occurred just after a PA-linked preacher accused the YMCA of missionary activity.Following the YMCA attack, one Christian leader, an aide to Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch Michel Sabah who asked his name be withheld for fear of Muslim retaliation, called the rampage part of a general trend of Christian persecution in Palestinian areas.It's been happening all over the West Bank and Gaza,said the aide.There have been rampant reports of abuses and persecution in several West Bank towns taken over by the PA.Anti-Christian riots have been reported in Ramallah, Nazareth and surrounding villages as well as in towns in Gaza, where Christians have been targeted in scores of attacks, some deadly. In Bethlehem, local Christians have long complained of anti-Christian violence. The city's Christian population, once 90 percent, declined drastically since the PA took control in December 1995. Christians now make up less than 25 percent of Bethlehem, according to Israeli surveys.Christian leaders and residents in Bethlehem told WND they face an atmosphere of regular hostility. They said Palestinian armed groups stir tension by holding militant demonstrations and marches in the streets. They spoke of instances in which Christian shopkeepers' stores were ransacked and Christian homes attacked. One of the most urgent problems involves the unilateral confiscation of Christian property by local Islamists.It is a regular phenomenon in Bethlehem, Samir Qumsiyeh, a Bethlehem Christian leader and owner of the Beit Sahour-based private Al-Mahd (Nativity) TV station, told WND.They go to a poor Christian person with a forged power of attorney document, then they say we have papers proving you're living on our land. If you confront them, many times the Christian is beaten. You can't do anything about it. The Christian loses, and he runs away.In the Gaza Strip, Christians fare worse under Hamas rule. The Islamist group took over the territory in 2007. About 3,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a population of over 1 million.In December, Christian leaders in Gaza told WND they held only small, quiet Christmas celebrations after local leaders received warnings from Muslim groups against any public display of Christianity during the holiday season. Hamas claimed the Christian celebrations were muted to protest what it said was an Israeli siege of the coastal Gaza Strip.Since Hamas' rise to power, Christian in Gaza repeatedly have been targeted. Jihadia Salafiya, an Islamist outreach group with a so-called military wing, is suspected of many of the Islamist attacks, such as a May 2007 shooting against a United Nations school in Gaza after it allowed boys and girls to participate in the same sporting event. One person was killed in the attack.In the case of Ayyad, the bible store owner, WND quoted witnesses stating he was publicly tortured a few blocks from his store before he was shot to death. The witnesses said they saw three armed men, two of whom were wearing masks, beat Ayyad repeatedly with clubs and the butts of their guns while they accused him of attempting to spread Christianity in Gaza. The witnesses said that after sustaining the beating, Ayyad was shot by all three men.

Christians warned: Accept Islamic law

Sheik Abu Saqer, leader of Jihadia Salafiya, told WND in an exclusive interview after Hamas first seized Gaza that Christians could continue living safely in the Gaza Strip only if they accepted Islamic law, including a ban on alcohol and on women roaming publicly without proper head coverings.[Now that Hamas is in power,] the situation has changed 180 degrees in Gaza,said Abu Saqer, speaking from Gaza.Jihadia Salafiya and other Islamic movements will ensure Christian schools and institutions show publicly what they are teaching to be sure they are not carrying out missionary activity. No more alcohol on the streets. All women, including non-Muslims, need to understand they must be covered at all times while in public,he said.Also the activities of Internet cafes, pool halls and bars must be stopped, said Abu Saqer. If it goes on, we'll attack these things very harshly.Abu Saqer accused the leadership of the Gaza Christian community of proselytizing and trying to convert Muslims with funding from American evangelicals.This missionary activity is endangering the entire Christian community in Gaza,he said.Abu Saqer claimed there was no need for the thousands of Christians in Gaza to maintain a large number of institutions in the territory.He said Hamas must work to impose an Islamic rule or it will lose the authority it has and the will of the people.

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.

Putin to the West: Hands Off Ukraine By JAMES MARSON / KIEV – Mon May 25, 6:10am ET

Vladimir Putin, Russia's prime minister and former president, is not renowned for his love of literature. But on Sunday he gave Russian journalists an unexpected reading tip: the diaries of Anton Denikin, a commander in the White Army that fought the Bolsheviks after the Revolution in 1917. (See TIME's photos of last year's war in Georgia)He has a discussion there about Big Russia and Little Russia - Ukraine, Russian newswires quoted Putin as saying after laying a wreath in Moscow at the grave of Denikin, who is now portrayed as a Russian patriot. He says that no one should be allowed to interfere in relations between us; they have always been the business of Russia itself.Putin's words are seen as the latest in an ongoing volley of pointed warnings to the West not to meddle in Ukraine, a country with such close historical and cultural ties to Russia that the Kremlin considers it firmly within its sphere of interests. The Russian leadership is very apprehensive about what it sees as Western moves designed to tear Ukraine away from Russia, says Dmitry Trenin, director of the Carnegie Moscow Center, an independent think tank in Moscow. Their central foreign policy goal is to create a power center around Russia. Any move by the West towards the former Soviet republics is seen as damaging Russia's interests.Moscow has reacted angrily to Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko's attempts in recent years to gain NATO membership, and to a recent agreement in March for the European Union to help modernize Ukraine's aging gas transport system. This agreement is Exhibit A in Moscow's collection [of complaints],says Trenin.It's evidence that Europe is concluding bilateral deals with Ukraine that undermine Russia's interests.

Russian leaders have also expressed concerns about the E.U.'s Eastern Partnership program, unveiled earlier this month, which aims to deepen economic and political ties with six former Soviet states, including Ukraine. At the E.U.-Russia summit in Khabarovsk over the weekend, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said E.U. officials had failed to persuade him that it was not harmful to Russian interests. What confuses me is that some states... see this partnership as a partnership against Russia,he said. Putin's reference on Sunday to Little Russia - a term used during the Russian Empire to describe parts of modern-day Ukraine that came under Tsarist rule - has raised hackles in Ukraine, where many consider it demeaning and offensive. These comments by Putin should be taken very seriously,says Olexandr Paliy, a political analyst with the Institute of Foreign Policy at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Diplomatic Academy. Russia is engaged in a propaganda war against Ukraine, designed to convince the West not to support Ukraine. Russia doesn't understand cooperation with equals, only with subordinates.Putin is not known for his tact when speaking of Russia's western neighbor, which declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. In April 2008, a source told Russia's Kommersant newspaper how Putin described Ukraine to George Bush at a NATO meeting in Bucharest: You don't understand, George, that Ukraine is not even a state. What is Ukraine? Part of its territories is Eastern Europe, but the greater part is a gift from us.Such rhetoric led to fears that after its army's foray into South Ossetia in August, Russia would turn its attention to Ukraine's Crimean peninsula, which has a predominantly ethnic Russian population and is home to Russia's Black Sea Fleet. In an article in Ukraine's Den newspaper on Thursday, Yuriy Shcherbak, Ukraine's former ambassador to the U.S., wrote political analysts close to the Russian leadership were keen to portray Ukraine, which has huge economic woes and a political elite riven by in-fighting, as a failed state.Aggressive conversations are taking place concerning Ukraine and the dividing of its territory... at various levels of the Russian political, military and secret service leadership,he wrote. In fact, other experts suggest, such belligerent talk is meant more as a corrective threat than a potential course of action. But even if Moscow has no immediate designs on Crimea, the continued flow of baleful utterances from the Kremlin does reflect a desire for what Medvedev has called Russia's privileged interests in the region to be respected - in terms of politics, business and culture.

And the Kremlin certainly has plenty of levers to pull in Ukraine to make its views felt, with its control over gas supplies, alongside the popularity of Russian state-controlled TV in the east and south of the country, where pro-Russian sentiment is strongest.In certain sections of the Ukrainian political and business elite there are links with Russia stretching back to Soviet times,says Paliy from the Institute of Foreign Policy.There are also a large number of Russian-sponsored think tanks in Ukraine, which function freely and push the Kremlin's views.These levers are likely to play a significant role in Ukraine's upcoming presidential elections, set for next January. Last time round in 2004, Russia and Putin threw their weight behind then-Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, whose initial victory was overturned after massive protests after massive protests in Kiev against vote-rigging, which turned into the so-called the Orange Revolution. This time, analysts say that the Kremlin is likely to diversify its approach, with support for both Yanukovych and previously hostile Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, President Yushchenko's former Orange ally. The Russian leadership learnt one important lesson from 2004 - not to put all their eggs in one basket,says Trenin. Meanwhile Russians and Ukrainians alike will be watching for Putin's next trenchant explanation from literary history.

Iran sends six warships to international waters,Iran has sent six warships to international waters, including the Gulf of Aden, to show its ability to confront any foreign threats, its naval commander said on Monday.Monday, 25 May 2009 14:16

Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, quoted by the ISNA news agency, made the announcement five days after Iran said it test-fired a surface-to-surface missile with a range of 2,000 km (1,200 miles). Iran said on May 14 it had sent two warships to the Gulf of Aden to protect oil tankers from the world's fifth-largest crude exporter against attacks by pirates but ISNA did not make clear whether they were among the six Sayyari talked about.Iranian waters stretch along the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz and the Sea of Oman.Iran has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 40 percent of the world's traded oil is shipped, if it were attacked over its nuclear programme.Iran has dispatched six ... warships to international waters and the Gulf of Aden region in an historically unprecedented move by the Iranian Navy, Sayyari told a gathering of armed forces officials, IRNA reported. Sayyari said that preserving Iran's territorial integrity in its southern waters called for the perseverance and firmness of the navy.The move to dispatch the warships is indicative of the country's high military capability in confronting any foreign threat on the country's shores,Sayyari said. The ISNA report did not mention the threat of pirate attacks, which, fuelled by large ransoms, have continued almost unabated despite the presence of an armada of foreign warships patrolling the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Aden. In January, pirates released an Iranian-chartered cargo ship carrying 36,000 tonnes of wheat to Iran from Germany that was seized in November. In March, a regional maritime official said Somali villagers had detained another Iranian vessel.

Nearly 20,000 ships pass through the Gulf of Aden each year, heading to and from the Suez Canal. Seven percent of world oil consumption passed through the Gulf of Aden in 2007, according to Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit.Reuters

Israeli document: Venezuela sends uranium to Iran By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer – Mon May 25, 3:08 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Venezuela and Bolivia are supplying Iran with uranium for its nuclear program, according to a secret Israeli government report obtained Monday by The Associated Press.The two South American countries are known to have close ties with Iran, but this is the first allegation that they are involved in the development of Iran's nuclear program, considered a strategic threat by Israel.There are reports that Venezuela supplies Iran with uranium for its nuclear program, the Foreign Ministry document states, referring to previous Israeli intelligence conclusions. It added,Bolivia also supplies uranium to Iran.The report concludes that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is trying to undermine the United States by supporting Iran.

Venezuela and Bolivia are close allies, and both regimes have a history of opposing U.S. foreign policy and Israeli actions. Venezuela expelled the Israeli ambassador during Israel's offensive in Gaza this year, and Israel retaliated by expelling the Venezuelan envoy. Bolivia cut ties with Israel over the offensive.There was no immediate comment from officials in Venezuela or Bolivia on the report's allegations.

The three-page document about Iranian activities in Latin America was prepared in advance of a visit to South America by Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who will attend a conference of the Organization of American States in Honduras next week. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman is also scheduled to visit the region.Israel considers Iran a serious threat because of its nuclear program, development of long-range missiles and frequent references by its president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, to Israel's destruction. Israel dismisses Iran's insistence that its nuclear program is peaceful, charging that the Iranians are building nuclear weapons.Iran says its nuclear work is aimed only at producing energy. Its enrichment of uranium has increased concerns about its program because that technology can be used both to produce fuel for power plants and to build bombs.Israel has been pressing for world action to stop the Iranian program. While saying it prefers diplomatic action, Israel has not taken its military option off the table. Experts believe Israel is capable of destroying some of Iran's nuclear facilities in airstrikes.Iran, under Ahmadinejad, has strengthened its ties with both Venezuela and Bolivia, where it opened an embassy last year. Its alliance with the left-led nations is based largely on their shared antagonism to the United States but is also a way for Iran to lessen its international isolation.The Israeli government report did not say where the uranium that it alleged the two countries were supplying originated from.Bolivia has uranium deposits. Venezuela is not currently mining its own estimated 50,000 tons of untapped uranium reserves, according to an analysis published in December by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Carnegie report said, however, that recent collaboration with Iran in strategic minerals has generated speculation that Venezuela could mine uranium for Iran.

The Israeli government report also charges that the Iran-backed Hezbollah guerrillas in Lebanon have set up cells in Latin America. It says Venezuela has issued permits that allow Iranian residents to travel freely in South America.The report concludes, Since Ahmadinejad's rise to power, Tehran has been promoting an aggressive policy aimed at bolstering its ties with Latin American countries with the declared goal of bringing America to its knees.The document says Venezuela and Bolivia are violating the United Nations Security Council's economic sanctions with their aid to Iran.As allies against the U.S., Ahmadinejad and Chavez have set up a $200 billion fund aimed at garnering the support of more South American countries for the cause of liberation from the American imperialism,according to the report.Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor refused to comment about the secret report.

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 INCLUDES NORTH KOREA) 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)

Report: North Korea test-fires 2 more missiles By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press Writer MAY 26,09

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea reportedly tested two more short-range missiles Tuesday, a day after detonating a nuclear bomb underground, pushing the regime further into a confrontation with world powers despite the threat of U.N. action.Two missiles — one ground-to-air, the other ground-to-ship — with a range of about 80 miles (130 kilometers) were test-fired from an east coast launchpad, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported, citing an unidentified government official.Pyongyang also warned ships to stay away from waters off its western coast this week, a sign it may be gearing up for more missile tests, South Korea's coast guard said.North Korea is trying to test whether they can intimidate the international community with its nuclear and missile activity, said Susan Rice, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

But we are united, North Korea is isolated and pressure on North Korea will increase, Rice said. On Monday, President Barack Obama assailed Pyongyang, accusing it of engaging in reckless actions that have endangered the region, and the North accused Washington of hostility.Wall Street was lower in early trading as North Korea's actions kept investors on edge. Stocks later rose on upbeat economic news.North Korea appeared to be displaying its might following its underground atomic test that the U.N. Security Council condemned as a clear violation of a 2006 resolution banning the regime from developing its nuclear program.France called for new sanctions, while the U.S. and Japan pushed for strong action against North Korea for testing a bomb that Russian officials said was comparable in power to those dropped on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II.China said it resolutely opposed North Korea's test and urged Pyongyang to return to talks on ending its atomic programs.Russia, once a key backer of North Korea, condemned the test. Moscow's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current Security Council president, said the 15-member council would begin work quickly on a new resolution.But many questioned whether new punishment would have any effect on a nation already penalized by numerous sanctions and clearly dismissive of the Security Council's jurisdiction.I agree that the North Koreans are recalcitrant and very difficult to hold to any agreement that they sign up to,Britain's ambassador to the U.N., John Sawers, told the British Broadcasting Corp.But there is a limited range of options here.U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he felt frustrated by the lack of progress in the denuclearization process and said North Korea's only viable option was to return to the six-party talks on disarmament, and continue exchanges and cooperation with South Korea.Ban, on a visit to Finland, declined to comment on possible further sanctions.

I leave it to the Security Council members what measures they should take,said Ban, a South Korean who once participated in international negotiations aimed at dismantling North Korea's nuclear program.South Korea said it would join a maritime web of more than 90 nations that intercept ships suspected of spreading weapons of mass destruction — a move North Korea warned would constitute an act of war.North Korea's nuclear test raises worries that it could act as a facilitator of the atomic ambitions of other nations and potentially even terrorists.Its test of a long-range missile in July 2006 and its first nuclear test in October 2006 drew stiff sanctions from the Security Council and orders to refrain from engaging in ballistic missile-related activity and to stop developing its nuclear program. South Korean spy chief Won Sei-hoon had told lawmakers earlier Tuesday that a missile test was likely, according to the office of Park Young-sun, a legislator who attended the closed briefing.Yonhap reported that North Korea was preparing to launch a third missile from a west coast site, again citing an unidentified official. It also reported that three missile tests were conducted Monday. North Korea had threatened in recent weeks to carry out a nuclear test and fire long-range missiles unless the Security Council apologized for condemning Pyongyang's April 5 launch of a rocket the U.S., Japan and other nations called a test of its long-range missile technology. The North has said it put a satellite into orbit as part of its peaceful space development program.

Monday's nuclear test appeared to catch the world by surprise, but Won told lawmakers that Beijing and Washington knew Pyongyang was planning a test some 20-25 minutes before it was carried out, said Choi Kyu-ha, an aide to lawmaker Park. Won said Pyongyang warned it would test the bomb unless the head of the Security Council offered an immediate apology. Russia said the test went off at 9:54 a.m. local time (0054 GMT Monday, 8:54 p.m. EDT Sunday). Won confirmed that two short-range missile tests from an east coast launch pad followed. North Korea's neighbors and their allies scrambled to galvanize support for strong, united response to Pyongyang's nuclear belligerence.Obama and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak agreed that the test was a reckless violation of international law that compels action in response, the White House said in a statement after the leaders spoke by telephone. They also vowed to seek and support a strong United Nations Security Council resolution with concrete measures to curtail North Korea's nuclear and missile activities.Obama also spoke with Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, the White House said, with the leaders agreeing to step up coordination with South Korea, China and Russia. Obama reiterated the U.S. commitment to defend both South Korea and Japan, U.S. and South Korean officials said.North Korea responded by accusing the U.S. of hostility, and said its army and people were ready to defeat any American invasion. The current U.S. administration is following in the footsteps of the previous Bush administration's reckless policy of militarily stifling North Korea,the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in commentary carried by the country's official Korean Central News Agency.In Japan, the lower house of parliament quickly passed an unanimous resolution condemning the test and demanding that North Korea give up its nuclear program, a house spokeswoman said.This reckless act, along with the previous missile launch, threatened peace and stability in the region, including Japan,the resolution said.

North Korea's repeated nuclear tests posed a grave challenge to international nuclear nonproliferation,it said.Japan, the only nation to suffer atomic attacks, cannot tolerate this.Japan is considering tightening sanctions against North Korea, the statement said.Russia called the test a serious blow to efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and suspended a Russia-North Korean intergovernmental trade and economic commission, apparently in response to the test. The slap on the wrist was a telling indication that Moscow, once a key backer of North Korea, was unhappy with Pyongyang.Seoul reacted to the nuclear test by signing on to the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, joining 94 nations seeking to intercept ships suspected of carrying nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, materials to make them, or missiles to deliver them.North Korea for years has warned the South against joining the blockade. The Rodong Sinmun last week said South Korea's participation would be nothing but a gambit to conceal their belligerence and justify a new northward invasion scheme.Joining the PSI would end in Seoul's self-destruction it said.In Beijing, the defense chiefs of South Korea and China held a security meeting Tuesday, and they were expected to discuss ways to respond to the nuclear test, Yonhap quoted a South Korean official as saying. Associated Press writers Kwang-tae Kim and Jean H. Lee in Seoul, Shino Yuasa in Tokyo, Matti Huuhtanen in Helsinki, Finland, and Mike Eckel in Moscow contributed to this report.

Ruling Party Official: Japan Should Attack North Korea
Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet.com Tuesday, May 26, 2009

A ruling party lawmaker today urged Japan to break the terms of its pacifist constitution and pre-emptively attack North Korea following the Stalinist state’s nuclear bomb test.North Korea poses a serious and realistic threat to Japan, stated former defense chief Gen Nakatani in Tokyo at a meeting of Liberal Democratic Party officials.We must look at active missile defense such as attacking an enemy’s territory and bases.Nakatani said the attack could be accomplished by equipping navy ships with cruise missiles.The former defense minister’s warning arrives on the heels of an LDP panel proposal that Japan should change the terms of its pacifist constitution, written by the U.S. after world war two to prevent Japan using hostile force to settle geopolitical disputes, to enable a military attack on North Korea.

The Japanese government has built a defense network since a North Korean Taepodong-1 missile flew over Japan in 1998 that includes anti-missile batteries around Tokyo and is expanding to other major cities. Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada in March ordered the shooting down of any North Korean missile or related debris that entered Japanese territory,reports Bloomberg.It’s not an exaggeration to conclude that any attack on North Korea could eventually lead to world war three. North Korea and China are allies and both have nuclear weapons. If North Korea is attacked by anyone, its first course of action would be to strike South Korea, a close ally of the United States. This would obligate the U.S. to retaliate, bringing American troops to the Chinese border and any escalation from that point would be a disaster.As we reported yesterday, if you’re wondering how North Korea got its nukes in the first place, look no further than the U.S. government itself.Two years before North Korea was included in the “axis of evil,” former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, during his time as executive director of ABB, signed off on a $200 million dollar contract to build light water nuclear reactors in North Korea.Rumsfeld was merely picking up the baton from the Clinton administration, who in 1994 agreed to replace North Korea’s domestically built nuclear reactors with light water nuclear reactors.According to Henry Sokolski, head of the Non-proliferation Policy Education Centre in Washington, These reactors are like all reactors, they have the potential to make weapons. So you might end up supplying the worst nuclear violator with the means to acquire the very weapons we’re trying to prevent it acquiring.President George W. Bush provided another $95 million in April 2002 towards the construction of more reactors in North Korea, as well as a further $3.5 million in January 2003.Construction of the reactors was eventually suspended, but North Korea had an alternative source through which they could obtain the nuclear secrets vital to building an atom bomb arsenal - CIA asset and international arms smuggler AQ Khan.In 2004, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan, the father of Pakistan’s atom bomb program, admitted sharing nuclear technology via a worldwide smuggling network that included facilities in Malaysia that manufactured key parts for centrifuges.Khan’s collaborator B.S.A. Tahir ran a front company out of Dubai that shipped centrifuge components to North Korea.Despite Dutch authorities being deeply suspicious of Khan’s activities as far back as 1975, the CIA prevented them from arresting him on two occasions.

The man was followed for almost ten years and obviously he was a serious problem. But again I was told that the secret services could handle it more effectively,former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers said.The Hague did not have the final say in the matter. Washington did.Lubbers stated that Khan was allowed to slip in and out of the Netherlands with the blessing of the CIA, eventually allowing him to become the primary salesman of an extensive international network for the proliferation of nuclear technology and know-how, according to George W. Bush himself, and sell nuclear secrets that allowed North Korea to build nuclear bombs.Lubbers suspects that Washington allowed Khan’s activities because Pakistan was a key ally in the fight against the Soviets,reports CFP.At the time, the US government funded and armed mujahideen such as Osama bin Laden. They were trained by Pakistani intelligence to fight Soviet troops in Afghanistan. Anwar Iqbal, Washington correspondent for the Pakistani newspaper Dawn, told ISN Security Watch that Lubbers’ assertions may be correct.This was part of a long-term foolish strategy. The US knew Pakistan was developing nuclear weapons but couldn’t care less because it was not going to be used against them. It was a deterrent against India and possibly the Soviets.In September 2005 it emerged that the Amsterdam court which sentenced Khan to four years imprisonment in 1983 had lost the legal files pertaining to the case. The court’s vice-president, Judge Anita Leeser, accused the CIA of stealing the files.Something is not right, we just don’t lose things like that,she told Dutch news show NOVA.I find it bewildering that people lose files with a political goal, especially if it is on request of the CIA. It is unheard of.In 2005, Pakistani President Pervez Musharaf acknowledged that Khan had provided centrifuges and their designs to North Korea.With this history in mind, the shock, condemnation and indignation being expressed by the U.S. government in response to North Korea’s second nuclear bomb test is tinged with hypocrisy to say the least. Through their policies in aiding North Korea to build light water reactors, and via the CIA asset AQ Khan who was protected at every step of the way while he helped provide North Korea with the means to build a nuclear arsenal, the U.S. government itself is directly complicit in providing North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il with the nuclear weapons that they are now condemning him for testing.

North Korea to fire more missiles as UN Security Council condemns nuclear bomb ,North Korea is preparing to test-fire short-range missiles in the Yellow Sea, one day after it staged a nuclear test, South Korea's Yonhap news agency has said. By Malcolm Moore in Seoul and Toby Harnden in Washington 2:37AM BST 26 May 2009

The North is likely to fire short-range missiles today or tomorrow. North Korea accuses Barack Obama of hostilityFollowing the nuclear weapon test, North Korea said the US administration under President Barack Obama remained hostile and that it was fully prepared for any attack by the United States. It is clear that nothing has changed in the US hostile policy against DPRK (North Korea) ... even under the new US administration,KCNA said in an article criticising recent US moves to relocate its fighter jets. Our army and people are fully ready for battle ... against any reckless US attempt for a pre-emptive attack.News of the new missile tests came as the United Nations Security Council prepared to start work on a new range of sanctions against North Korea after issuing a unanimous condemnation for yesterday's nuclear test. In a bunker six miles-underground in the north east of the country, North Korea detonated a nuclear bomb reported to be the same size as the one which destroyed Nagasaki in the Second World War. After a one-hour emergency session, the UN Security Council said the test was a clear violation of resolution 1718, passed after the North tested a smaller nuclear device in October 2006. Even before the Security Council met, Monday's test drew widespread international rebuke. Mr Obama criticized Pyongyang's blatant defiance of existing resolutions. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown condemned the test as a danger to the world. Russia's Foreign Ministry called it a serious blow to international efforts to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Work will begin today on a new resolution, and further sanctions, but the US and its allies are likely to face opposition from Russia and China, Pyongyang's traditional benefactors, on how to punish the pariah state. Beijing said yesterday that it was resolutely opposed to the test, but weakened the tone of its statement from the strong words it issued in response to the 2006 nuclear test. It also called for a calm response to the crisis and expressed hope that the issue would be resolved through dialogue, a possible indication that China will not permit heavily-punitive sanctions.The debate at the Security Council over what action to take is likely to continue for around a fortnight.

Analysts suggested the detonation of the nuclear bomb could be an attempt by Kim Jong-il, who is 67 and ailing, to shore up support for his regime with the army and pave the way for a smooth transition of power in the Communist world's only family dynasty. The support of the North Korean army would be crucial in securing Kim's choice of successor. Meanwhile, others said that North Korea wished to confirm itself as a fully-fledged nuclear power, a status that would give it more gravitas in future talks. Seo Jae-Jin, the president of the Korea Institution for National Unification, said: North Korea wants to win recognition from the US that it has the status of a nuclear power and to be able to negotiate on those terms.In South Korea, the nuclear test may represent the death knell of the Kaesong industrial complex, a patch of land near Seoul where 140 South Korean companies had set up partnerships with companies based in the North. The South Korean government said that there are just over 1,100 South Koreans currently in North Korea but that it will now restrict all travel except at Kaesong. Seoul lies in the shadow of North Korea's nuclear ambitions. The city of ten million is a mere 120 miles from Pyongyang and a North Korean Taepodong-2 missile could reach it in 30 seconds from the test site of yesterday's bomb. However, the city remains wrapped in grief over the suicide of Roh Moo-Hyun, the former president, who killed himself after being fingered in a corruption scandal. Many Koreans feel the investigation was politically-motivated and orchestrated by the current government. President Lee Myung-bak, the current incumbent, faces a double-edged crisis of trying to deal with North Korea and contain the backlash that Mr Roh's death has triggered.

NKorea set to test-fire missiles: Yonhap MAY 25,09

SEOUL (AFP) – North Korea is preparing to test-fire short-range missiles in the Yellow Sea, one day after it staged a nuclear test, South Korea's Yonhap news agency said.North Korea has declared an off-limits area for vessels in the Yellow Sea off Jungsan county in South Pyongan province,it quoted a Seoul government source as saying.The North is likely to fire short-range missiles today or tomorrow.Jungsan is about 40 km (25 miles) west of Pyongyang.The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it could not comment on intelligence matters.The North Monday staged its second underground nuclear test, with an explosive force much larger than the first in October 2006.It also fired three short-range ground-to-air missiles from locations near its east coast, Seoul's military said.Several times in recent years, the North has test-fired ground-to-ship or ship-to-ship missiles in either the Yellow Sea or the Sea of Japan (East Sea).The launches are often staged to coincide with periods of regional tension.

Yonhap said the North is preparing to launch ground-to-ship missiles with a range of 160 km (100 miles), which use technology based on China's Silkworm missiles.The South summoned an emergency meeting of top military commanders to review its defence posture, a Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman said.The meeting would stress the need to heighten vigilance against the North's militarily provocative acts,the spokesman told AFP.

Israel Concerned over North Korea Nuclear Test
by Maayana Miskin MAY 25,09

(IsraelNN.com) The United Nations Security Council unanimously condemned North Korea's latest nuclear test on Monday. The council called the test a clear violation of a resolution passed in 2006 after Pyongyang's first atomic weapons test.Israel was among the many countries reacting with concern Monday to North Korea's second nuclear weapons test. The underground test, conducted Monday, involved a bomb that Russian officials described as equivalent in destructive power to those used by the United States in World War II.North Korea also tested short-range ground-to-air missiles on Monday.Israel views the second North Korean nuclear test with extreme gravity, and is party to the global concern caused by this event,the Foreign Ministry said Monday in response to the tests.Furthermore, Israel is concerned with North Korea's nuclear proliferation, which has negative implications in this region.The ministry statement ended with an appeal to the world to respond decisively to the nuclear detonation by North Korea, so as to transmit an unambiguous message to other countries.North Korea's bomb test garnered negative responses from around the world, with leaders in the United States, Britain, Russia, and even traditional ally China expressing complete opposition to the test. U.S. President Obama said the tests pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world.North Korea announced in April that it would restart its nuclear program despite international opposition, and would test a nuclear bomb and long-range missiles.

UN Security Council condemns NKorea nuke test By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer MAY 25,09

UNITED NATIONS – The U.N. Security Council swiftly condemned North Korea's nuclear test on Monday as a clear violation of a 2006 resolution and said it will start work immediately on another one that could result in new sanctions against the reclusive nation.Hours after North Korea defiantly conducted its second test, its closest allies China and Russia joined Western powers and representatives from the rest of the world on the council to voice strong opposition to the underground explosion.

After a brief emergency meeting held at Japan's request, the council demanded that North Korea abide by two previous resolutions, which among other things called for Pyongyang to abandon all nuclear weapons and return to six-party talks aimed at eliminating its nuclear program.It also called on all other U.N. member states to abide by sanctions imposed on the North, including embargoes on arms and material that could be used in its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and ship searches for banned weapons.In an AP interview in Copenhagen, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deplored the test as a grave violation of council resolutions and called on the council in a statement to send a strong and unified message aimed at achieving the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and peace and security in the region.Ban urged the North to refrain from taking any actions which will deteriorate the situation.Leaders in the United States, European Union and Russia also offered quick and pointed criticism. Even China's foreign ministry joined the chorus of disapproval, saying it resolutely opposed the test.North Korea is directly and recklessly challenging the international community,President Barack Obama said in a statement.North Korea's behavior increases tensions and undermines stability in Northeast Asia.In Brussels, the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, denounced the test as a flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions.Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, the current Security Council president, made clear in a statement that the council's condemnation was only an initial response, and that more will follow. He said it was too early to give any specifics.The members of the Security Council have decided to start work immediately on a Security Council resolution on this matter,he said.U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice said the 15-member council agreed that work on the new resolution will begin Tuesday.What we heard today was swift, clear, unequivocal condemnation and opposition to what occurred,she said.

France's deputy U.N. ambassador Jean-Pierre Lacroix said France wants the new resolution to include new sanctions ... because this behavior must have a cost and a price to pay.Japan's U.N. Ambassador Yukio Takasu, a non-permanent council member, said his country was pleased that the rest of the council agreed there should be a new resolution. But he noted that sanctions imposed against three North Korean companies after Pyongyang's missile test in April obviously had no effect.So therefore I think we really have to think very carefully what will be an effective way to deal with this kind of behavior,he said.We have to do something more, and the question is what is more.Churkin was asked whether Russia viewed the nuclear test as more serious than the North's launch of a missile in April.This is a very rare occurrence as you know, and it goes contrary not only to resolutions of the Security Council but also the (Nuclear) Nonproliferation Treaty and the (Nuclear) Test Ban Treaty,he replied.We are one of the founding fathers — Russia is — of those documents, so we think they're extremely important in current international relations. So anything which would undermine the regimes of those two treaties is very serious and needs to have a strong response.Before the council meeting, the five permanent veto-wielding members of the council — the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France — met behind closed doors for over an hour with the ambassadors of Japan and South Korea. North Korea claimed the underground nuclear test Monday that was much larger than one it conducted in 2006, which led to the first U.N. sanctions resolution. Russia's Defense Ministry confirmed an atomic explosion occurred early Monday in northeastern North Korea and estimated that its strength was similar to bombs that devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. After the council rebuked Pyongyang for its April 5 rocket liftoff, which many nations saw as a cover for testing its long-range missile technology, North Korea announced it was quitting disarmament talks and restarting its atomic facilities. The six-party talks, which began in 2003, had involved North Korea, South Korea, Russia, China, Japan, and the United States.Associated Press Writers John Heilprin and Jan M. Olsen contributed to this report from Copenhagen.

Analysis: NKorea widens threat, limits US options By ROBERT BURNS, AP National Security Writer MAY 25,09

WASHINGTON – North Korea's nuclear test makes it no likelier that the regime will actually launch a nuclear attack, but it adds a scary dimension to another threat: the defiant North as a facilitator of the atomic ambitions of others, potentially even terrorists.It presents another major security crisis for President Barack Obama, already saddled with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and a nuclear problem with Iran. He said Monday the U.S. and its allies must stand up to the North Koreans, but it's far from clear what diplomatic or other action the world community will take.So far, nothing they've done has worked.At an earlier juncture of the long-running struggle to put a lid on North Korea's nuclear ambitions, the administration of President Bill Clinton in the mid-1990s discussed with urgency the possibility of taking military action. That seems less likely now, with the North evidently nuclear armed and the international community focused first on continuing the search for a nonmilitary solution.Meeting in emergency session in New York, the U.N. Security Council on Monday condemned North Korea's nuclear test as a clear violation of a previous U.N. resolution banning such testing. The council said it would begin work immediately on a new legally binding resolution.The North's announcement that it conducted its second underground test of a nuclear device drew quick condemnation across the globe, including from its big neighbor and traditional ally, China. The Obama administration, which said the North's action invited stronger, unspecified international pressure, has consistently called for Korean denuclearization but seemed not to have anticipated a deepening nuclear crisis.Just two weeks ago, the administration's special envoy for disarmament talks with North Korea, Stephen Bosworth, said during a visit to Asian capitals that everyone is feeling relatively relaxed about where we are at this point in the process.If so, they are no longer.

Obama, appearing Monday in the White House Rose Garden, condemned the nuclear test and North Korea's subsequent test-launch of short-range missiles. He called the actions reckless and said they endanger the people of Northeast Asia.North Korea conducted its first atomic test in 2006 and is thought to have enough plutonium to make at least a half-dozen nuclear bombs. It also is developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads, in defiance of U.N. actions.One of the first estimates of the size of Monday's nuclear explosion came from the Russian defense ministry, which put the yield at between 10 and 20 kilotons — comparable to the U.S. bombs that flattened Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in August 1945. But a senior U.S. administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it appeared the explosive yield was much smaller, perhaps a few kilotons. The official said more technical analysis would be done in coming days.The administration official also disclosed that North Korea notified the State Department less than one hour before the explosion that it intended to conduct a nuclear test at an unspecified time. The U.S. then notified China, Russia, Japan and South Korea, the official said.

Obama made clear his intention to work with other world leaders to bring diplomatic pressure to bear on Pyongyang, and the United States could still try to resuscitate so-called six-party talks with the North as well as work with other members of the United Nations. North Korea has vowed not to resume participation in the six-party talks with the U.S., Japan, South Korea, China and Russia.Reflecting his view that only unified international action will compel North Korea to change course, Obama said that Russia and China, as well as traditional U.S. allies Japan and South Korea, have come to the same conclusion: North Korea will not find security and respect through threats and illegal weapons.The Bush administration worked hard to get China, in particular, to press the North Koreans to denuclearize, and it seems likely that Obama will push equally hard with Beijing, which sided with the North Koreans against U.S. and United Nations forces during the 1950-53 Korean War. In recent years the Chinese have openly criticized the North Koreans for the nuclear arms program.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stressed the importance of a strong, unified approach when she spoke by phone Monday to her counterparts in Japan and South Korea, Clinton spokesman Ian Kelly said.Two of the main worries about North Korea are left unsaid: Would it use a nuclear bomb to attack a neighbor or the United States? And might it continue an established pattern of selling nuclear wherewithal and missiles to foreign buyers? Graham Allison, an assistant secretary of defense in the Clinton administration and now director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, said Monday that the international community regularly underestimates North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's willingness to do the unexpected.

Could this guy believe he could sell a nuclear bomb to Osama bin Laden? Allison asked in a phone interview. Why not? EDITOR'S NOTE — Robert Burns has covered national security affairs for The Associated Press since 1990.

DISEASES

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

Puerto Rico reports 1st swine flu case MAY 25,09

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Puerto Rico reported its first case of the swine flu on Monday, making it only the second Caribbean island to confirm the virus's presence.
Lab tests confirmed that a 39-year-old Puerto Rican man had the disease, Gov. Luis Fortuno told a news conference. The man, whom authorities did not identify, apparently became infected during a recent cruise through the Eastern Caribbean.

Fortuno and health officials did not release specifics about the cruise line or where the sickened man traveled with his family. He returned to Puerto Rico last week, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control confirmed his case early Monday.The swine flu patient is recuperating at home and told health workers he is feeling fine, according to Fortuno and other officials. Authorities are monitoring his family and co-workers for any flu symptoms.Puerto Rico joins Cuba as the only Caribbean islands with confirmed swine flu cases.The World Health Organization tallied more than 12,500 swine flu cases worldwide as of Monday, with more than half of them in the U.S., and at least 91 flu deaths around the globe.Their report was issued before Illinois health authorities confirmed the first death of a Chicago resident from the flu, Mexico raised its death toll to 83 from 80, and Canada reported its second death.In the Dominican Republic, epidemiologists have been monitoring the health of 300 students and 12 teachers who traveled with three Chilean women later diagnosed with swine flu.Health Secretary Bautista Rojas said the Dominican students and faculty are not ill but authorities are taking precautions.On Sunday, a Russian man who returned last week from a honeymoon in the Dominican resort of Punta Cana was also hospitalized with swine flu.

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.

Climate change means more disasters for Mozambique Mon May 25, 8:07 am ET

MAPUTO (AFP) – Floods, droughts, cyclones and epidemics will increasingly plague Mozambique in the coming years as climate change raises temperatures, the national disaster centre said in a study Monday.Mozambique is already disaster-prone, with long stretches of low-lying coast that make it one of Africa's most vulnerable countries to climate change.As temperatures have risen over the past three decades, natural disasters and epidemic disease have increased -- a trend that is likely to worsen in the future, says the National Disaster Management Institute's new Climate Change Report.Mozambique's exposure to the risk of natural disaster will increase significantly over the next 20 years and beyond as a result of climate change,the study found.The report, funded by the United Nations and Denmark, warns that Mozambique will suffer if the world does too little, too late to curb climate change.

Mozambique's coast could shift 500 meters inland due to erosion, the study added -- a scenario the authors say will probably be catastrophic given that the country's population is concentrated along the coast.The country could suffer more severe droughts and floods, more intense cyclones, and worse outbreaks of malaria, the leading cause of childhood death in Mozambique, the study said.The report also warned that decreased rainfall in the Zambezi river basin could reduce the energy output of Mozambique's Cahora Bassa dam, one of Africa's largest hydroelectric projects and a crucial regional power source.The study advises the Mozambican government to expand its disaster preparedness far beyond current levels and develop a national strategy for responding to climate change.Mozambique is still recovering from Cyclone Jokwe, which last year slammed into the northern coast with winds at 140 kilometres (87 miles) per hour, killing at least 17 people, injuring scores and leaving thousands homeless.Mozambique also suffered deadly floods that forced tens of thousands from their homes in 2000 and 2007.

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.

MKs to Plan Alternatives to 2-State Solution
by Maayana Miskin MAY 25,09

(IsraelNN.com) Ministers and MKs will meet Tuesday to discuss alternatives to the widely accepted two state solution plan, which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian Authority state in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. The meeting will include a seminar titled, Alternatives to the Two State Perception.The seminar will be held from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m. In the office of MK Tzipi Hotobeli of Likud.The purpose of the meeting is to create a solution to the Israel-PA conflict that does not involve the establishment of a PA state, Hotobeli explained. The two-state solution has failed, she said, and the political Right must present a viable alternative so the world will know that the two-state solution is not inevitable.Among those who say they will join the meeting are Strategic Affairs Minister Moshe Yaalon, Diaspora Minister Yuli Edelstein and Interior Minister Eli Yishai. Several well-known military and diplomatic officials are expected to attend, including Major-General (res.) Giora Eiland.Yishai and Yaalon plan to present diplomatic plans, as do MK Robert Ilatov of Yisrael Beiteinu and former Yesha (Judea and Samaria) Council director-general Adi Mintz.Also expected to attend is MK Yuli Tamir of Labor. Several days ago, Tamir and three other Labor MKs told Prime Minister Bnyamin Netanyahu that he has no choice but to create a PA state. The four termed alternative proposals useless.We wanted the Left to come,Hotobeli said in response to the Labor MK's plan to attend.We wanted it to be a debate and not a monologue.In fact, Hotobeli said, the right-wing politicians who organized the event were inspired in part by former MK Yossi Beilin of the left-wing Meretz party. Beilin has promoted his own peace initiative, termed the Geneva Initiative, for several years. The initiative has failed to garner support within Israel or the PA, but has gained publicity worldwide.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE MAY 26,2009

09:30 AM -10.25
10:00 AM +5.74
10:30 AM +138.03
11:00 AM +163.36
11:30 AM +159.69
12:00 PM +175.15
12:30 PM +178.49
01:00 PM +211.20
01:30 PM +201.59
02:00 PM +205.31
02:30 PM +200.71
03:00 PM +189.40
03:30 PM +171.72
04:00 PM +196.17 8473.49

S&P 500 910.33 +23.33

NASDAQ 1750.43 +58.42

GOLD 953.10 -5.80

OIL 62.37 +0.70

TSE 300 10,280.81 +211.31

CDNX 1097.16 +0.73

S&P/TSX/60 627.37 +15.09

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -5.69%
S&P -1.80%
Nasdaq +7.29%
TSX Advances 821,declines 649,unchanged 257,Volume 791,399,821.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 366,Declines 363,Unchanged 299,Volume 216,368,733.

Dow -28 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -49 points at low today.
Dow +181 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $946.50.OIL opens at $59.79 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -49 points at low today so far.
Dow +215 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 2,789,declines 811,unchanged 90,New Highs 11,New Lows 40.
Volume 2,980,970,870.
NASDAQ Advances 2,009,declines 612,unchanged 91,New highs 26,New Lows 16.
Volume 933,952,254.
TSX Advances 692,declines 653,unchanged 271,Volume 1,178,231,260.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 275,Declines 324,Unchanged 299,Volume 120,215,139.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -49 points at low today.
Dow +220 points at high today.
Dow +2.37% today Volume 314,746,649.
Nasdaq +3.45% today Volume 1,936,782,779.
S&P 500 +2.63% today Volume N/A

NEW WORLD ORDER VIDEOS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5J_Sn3sbhA&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Ejeremiahproject%2Ecom%2Fnewworldorder%2Findex%2Ehtml&feature=player_embedded
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGpZcl8_-E0&feature=player_embedded
BILDERBERGS
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/nworder04.html
CLUB OF ROME
http://www.clubofrome.org/eng/home/
COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/nworder06.html
TRILATERAL COMMISSION
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/nworder07.html
UNITED NATIONS
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/newworldorder/nworder05.html
UN CHARTER
http://www.un.org/aboutun/charter/
I.M.F
http://www.imf.org/external/index.htm
WORLD BANK
http://www.worldbank.org/
FEDERAL RESERVE
http://www.jeremiahproject.com/trashingamerica/federal-reserve.html
THE RELIGION OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER-NEW AGE ENVIROMENTAL WORSHIP
http://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Cults/newage.htm
http://contenderministries.org/newage.php
http://www.victorious.org/newage.htm
http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29355
http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php/Nature_Worship

KEVIN TRUDEAU HAS FRIENDS IN THE BILDERBERGS AND OTHER NEW AGE OCCULT GROUPS.HE CONFIRMED THEY WANT 2/3RDS OF EARTHS POPULATION GENICIDED.HE SAID 3/4 OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES WANT THE GENES MANIPULATED.THE NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES WANT TO CONTROL DRUGS AND HEALTHCARE.TO DRUG DOWN PEOPLE.THE NUTCASES WANT TO CONTROL THE MONEY AND FOOD.BUT THE 2 MAIN THINGS THE NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES WANT ARE OIL AND WATER SUPPLIES.IF YOU CONTROL THE WATER,YOU CAN IMPOSE A WORLD CARBON TAX ON ALL TO PAY TO THE I.M.F,AND THE REST OF THE NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES.THIS WILL AFFECT MIDEAST COUNTRIES BIGTIME AND IF YOU CONTROL THE MIDEAST YOU CONTROL THE WORLD.

THE ANGEL OF THE LORD TOLD DR DOCTORIAN THERE WILL BE WARS OVER WATER SO THIS IS HOW THE NEW WORLD ORDER NUTCASES CAN START WW3 AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS,WW3 STARTS AT THE EUPHRATES RIVER.

REVELATION 9:14-15
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)

Angel 1 to Dr Doctorian
Catastrophic! Catastrophic! then the angel said,
Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
Angel 2 to Dr Doctorian
Men will die from thirst. Water shall be scarce all over the Middle East. Rivers shall dry up, and men will fight for water in those countries.The angel showed
me that the United Nations shall be broken in pieces because of the crisis in the Middle East. There shall be no more United Nations. The angel with the sickle shall reap the harvest.

Another Establishment News Site Confirms Obama Officials Attended Bilderberg 2009 Kurt Nimmo Infowars May 26, 2009

Politico has reported on a handful of Obama administration officials who were in attendance at this year’s Bilderberg meeting at the Astir Palace hotel in Vouliagmeni on the Aegean Sea in Greece. James Steinberg and Richard Holbrooke gave presentations on foreign policy while Paul Volcker addressed economic issues at the elitist confab, according to the news website.Richard Holbrooke, investment banker, CFR member, Trilateral Commission member and a virtual fixture at Bilderberg meetings, is Obama’s Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan.It is illegal under the Logan Act for U.S. government officials to meet behind closed doors with leaders of foreign countries.James Steinberg, Obama’s Deputy Secretary of State, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission. Richard Holbrooke is Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan in the Obama administration and is positioned at the very apex of the CFR. He is a Trilateral Commission member and a virtual fixture at Bilderberg meetings. Paul Volcker is the former chairman of the Federal Reserve under Carter and Reagan and heads up Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board. He is a Trilateral member and has had a long association with the Rockefeller family, not only with his positions at Chase Bank and the Trilateral Commission, but also through membership of the Trust Committee of Rockefeller Group.

David Rockefeller is an honorary life director of the CFR, founder the Trilateral Commission, and founding member, life member, and member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group.A source at the meetings told Politico Holbrooke briefed attendees on the Obama administration’s unified approach to dealing with Afghanistan and Pakistan. In March, Obama announced a major escalation of the war in Afghanistan and Pakistan after a review by the State Department where Holbrooke serves as point man on the region. During Holbrooke’s appointment in January, Obama declared Afghanistan and Pakistan to be the central front in the war on terrorism. In addition to Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Bilderbergers discussed how to best exploit the global recession and swine flu, according to Bilderberg reporter Jim Tucker’s inside sources.Bilderberg owns President Obama, writes Tucker.His goal, as dictated by Bilderberg, is to persuade the new Senate (to be seated in January 2010), to ratify the ICC [International Criminal Court] treaty late on a Saturday night, too late for the Sunday papers or to make changes in the Sunday TV talkies.The International Criminal Court was first proposed in 1998 at a UN treaty conference in Rome. The treaty purports to establish a worldwide UN criminal court that will have jurisdiction over every nation on earth. It currently does not have legitimate authority over American citizens because the Constitution does not permit the judicial function to be surrendered to an international body. According to Tucker’s sources, Bilderberg members hope to get the treaty ratified by the Senate in 2010 in violation of the Constitution. Other Obama administration attendees included Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, James Jones, Obama’s National Security Advisor, and Lawrence Summers, Director of the White House’s National Economic Council, according to the 2009 Bilderberg attendee list. You will not read of this in the Bilderberg-controlled Washington Post, New York Times, Los Angeles Times or hear about it on network news broadcasts,Tucker added. Politico admits the gathering produced barely a blip in the American mainstream media,with the exception of brief reports by the Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. Most of the coverage on Bilderberg meetings is provided by the alternative press, most notably the American Free Press, Infowars, and Prison Planet.

According to Politico, the Bilderberg’s ultra-exclusive roster of globally influential figures has captured the interest of an international network of conspiracists, who for decades have viewed the Bilderberg conference as a devious corporate-globalist scheme.Politico’s source said that any suggestion that Bilderberg is secretly anointing world leaders or plotting global policy is the provenance of the black helicopter crowd.As in past years, the near-absence of mainstream media coverage left Bilderberg-veil-piercing duties to a group of self-styled Bilderberg hunters whose reporting and speculation fill fringe, libertarian-leaning websites, newspapers and AM radio shows popular with those whose worldview is characterized by a deep and angry suspicion of the ruling class rather than any prevailing partisan or ideological affiliation,writes Kenneth P. Vogel for Politico. Politico is an establishment news website owned by media mogul Robert Allbritton and edited by former Washington Post scribes. Donald Graham, CEO of the Washington Post Company, was on the 2009 Bilderberg attendee list.

G8 ministers: invest in energy, keep prices stable Mon May 25, 1:32 pm ET

ROME – Energy ministers from the Group of Eight industrialized countries urged their governments and the rest of the world on Monday to keep investing in new and cleaner energy sources, despite the economic crisis.Concluding a two-day summit in Rome, G-8 ministers and officials from 15 more countries said governments and businesses must also work to keep energy prices stable or risk hampering the economic recovery.In a joint declaration, the 23 national delegations urged investments to improve access to energy in poor countries and to develop new technologies to reduce emissions that cause climate change.The current financial and economic crisis must not delay investments and programmed energy projects which are essential to economic recovery and sustainable prosperity throughout the world,the declaration said.U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu said the participants had agreed on the need for diversifying energy sources to help keep prices stable and help the economic recovery.There's a continued, renewed interest in trying to stabilize energy prices, so that the world economy, both the oil exporting and the oil importing countries, can have a stable future,Chu said at a joint news conference.Energy prices have seesawed over the last months, plummeting from record highs when the global financial slowdown hit, then rising again at the first signs of economic improvement.Delegates in Rome also condemned North Korea's reported nuclear test, with the South Korean and Japanese representatives calling on Pyongyang to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.We are here to create and not destroy, said Italian Industry Minister Claudio Scajola, who chaired the meeting.With its experiment, North Korea is going in the opposite direction,he said.We firmly condemn the experimenting and use of nuclear weapons.

Chevron says 100,000 bpd oil cut after Nigeria attack Mon May 25, 9:43 am ET

LAGOS (AFP) – Chevron in Nigeria Monday reported a 100,000 barrel-per-day oil output cut after a militant attack the day before on one of its pipelines in the country's southern Delta region.Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) ... can confirm that one of its pipelines in the Abiteye area of Delta State was breached on Sunday, May 24, 2009, the statement said.To protect the environment, the incident has led to the shut in of approximately 100,000 BOPD (barrels of oil per day) production from its swamp operations in Delta State. The incident is being investigated by the relevant stakeholders,it added.Chevron, one of Nigeria's main oil producers, said that it has reported the incident to the relevant agencies and community leaders.Chevron's total daily production in Nigeria last year averaged 376,000 barrels of crude oil, 181 million cubic feet of natural gas and 16,000 barrels of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the company's figures indicate.Nigeria's main rebel group said it destroyed several major oil pipelines in southern Nigeria overnight in response to a military offensive.The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had put out of operation a major Chevron oil storage facility by destroying the pipelines and flow stations that feed it.Fighters from MEND destroyed major trunk lines,the group said in a statement emailed to media.

MEND has staged several attacks on international oil facilities in southern Nigeria as part of its campaign to get what it calls a fairer distribution of the region's oil wealth to local people.Nigeria's oil production has been cut by more than a quarter because of the militant campaign over the past three years.Unrest in the Niger Delta region has reduced Nigeria's daily output to 1.76 million barrels compared with 2.6 million barrels in January 2006.Nigeria, which once stood outright as Africa's biggest oil producer, was overtaken some months back by Angola. Since then the two countries have vied for the position of top producer.

CAW votes to accept cost-cutting deal with GM By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press Writer MAY 25,09

TORONTO – Canadian Auto Workers members voted 86 percent in favor of a cost-cutting deal with General Motors Canada as the automaker bids to qualify for more government loans and assure its future in Canada.Union leader Ken Lewenza said Monday in a release that the new deal should provide a much-needed sense of security.Lewenza has said the deal allows GM Canada to meet the cost benchmarks set by the Canadian government, namely making cuts to become competitive with non-unionized Toyota Canada. The deal also stipulates that GM's car assembly and parts plants in Ontario will stay open.This has been a grueling restructuring process, and no one has felt that more than our members and retirees, Lewenza said in a statement.Although we were forced to make a number of important sacrifices, the support we received from our members is proof that they recognize the incredible challenges the industry is facing, but more importantly that they are prepared to stand by each other and stand with their union.Lewenza said hours earlier that there was much anxiety in the final day of voting.Workers at three GM plants in southern Ontario cast ballots Sunday on the latest concession package. Workers at the GM plant in the southern Ontario community of Oshawa voted Monday.The North American auto industry has been battered by the recession, which has cut demand for cars and trucks sharply, leaving companies with assembly plant overcapacity that needs to be shut down.In addition, the credit crunch has made it difficult for consumers to finance car purchases, squeezing demand further. At the same time, changing consumer tastes and high fuel prices have hurt demand for Sport Utility Vehicles, pickup trucks and other big vehicles, the mainstay market of the Detroit Three — GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co.

According to the CAW, the tentative deal with GM Canada provides that the start rate for new hires will be 70 percent of the established rate with increases of 5 percent per year for six years. New hires will be entitled to the same retiree health benefits, funded either through a new Health Care Trust or by the company.The deal freezes pensions until 2015, eliminates semi-private hospital coverage and ends tuition assistance for workers joining the company after Jan. 1, 2010. The CAW also said a $3,500 vacation compensation payment has been cut to offset other costs, including pensions.Under the contract, the union and the company have committed to negotiate a Health Care Trust agreement to provide retiree health care benefits in the future, much like the automaker's terms with U.S. workers. GM Canada also agreed to restructure its underfunded pension plan and move to funding the plan on a solvency basis comparable to the plans at Ford and Chrysler within a year.Lewenza said the deal delivers reductions of 15 to 16 Canadian dollars ($13 to $14) in the average hourly labor cost of GM's Canadian workers on top of a previously negotiated CA$7 ($6) cut. He said the concessions reached will make GM competitive with Toyota, which is what the governments had requested.CAW members had ratified a deal with GM in March, less than a year after settling a three-year wage-freeze contract, but Canada's federal and the Ontario provincial governments said two weeks ago that it did not do enough to cut costs.

A Factsheet - May 2009
A Changing IMF—Responding to the Crisis

As the world economy has become engulfed in the worst crisis in many generations, the IMF has mobilized on many fronts to support its member countries, increasing its lending, using its cross-country experience to advise on policy solutions, and introducing reforms to modernize its operations and become more responsive to member countries’ needs.Stepping up crisis lending. The IMF has responded quickly to the global economic crisis, with lending commitments reaching a record level of $157 billion, including a sharp increase in concessional lending to the world’s poorest nations.Providing analysis and targeted advice. The Fund’s monitoring, forecasts, and policy advice, informed by a global perspective and by experience from previous crises, have been in high demand and have been extensively used by the Group of Twenty (G-20).Becoming more flexible. The IMF has overhauled its general lending framework to make it better suited to country needs and streamlined conditions attached to loans.Creating a financial safety net. The IMF is creating a broad financial safety net to limit the spread of the crisis by garnering pledges for a tripling of IMF resources, as endorsed by the G-20.Drawing lessons from the crisis. The IMF is contributing to the ongoing effort to draw lessons from the crisis for policy, regulation, and reform of the global financial architecture.

The IMF’s new lending framework
Doubling of member countries’ access to Fund resources
Streamlined approach aims to remove stigma of borrowing
New flexible credit line for strong-performing economies
Reform does away with hard structural conditionality
New focus on objectives rather than specific actions

Overhaul of lending framework. As part of moves to support countries during the global economic crisis, the IMF is beefing up its lending capacity and has approved a major overhaul of how it lends money by offering higher amounts and tailoring loan terms to countries’ varying strengths and circumstances.New credit line for well-run emerging market economies. Disbursements are not phased and there are no conditions to meet once a country has been approved for the IMF’s Flexible Credit Line.Colombia, Mexico, and Poland have been provided credits totaling $78 billion.New rules for terms of IMF lending. Starting May 1, structural performance criteria have been discontinued for all IMF loans, including for programs with low-income countries. Structural reforms will continue to be part of IMF-supported programs, but only when they are seen as critical to a country’s recovery. And the monitoring of these policies will be done in a way that reduces stigma, because countries will no longer need formal waivers if they fail to implement an agreed measure by a specific date.

More flexibility, fewer conditions. IMF-supported programs have been tailored to individual country circumstances and focus on the most immediate issues to resolve the crisis. For example:

1. The November 2008 Fund-supported program in Iceland allows for a high fiscal deficit in 2009 to avoid exacerbating the ongoing collapse of economic activity, while taking measures to stabilize the exchange rate and restructure the banking sector.
2. The September 2008 IMF-supported program in Costa Rica uses expansionary fiscal policy to mitigate the adverse effects of the drop in private demand during 2009, including increases in the wage bill and infrastructure spending.
3. The April 2008 IMF-supported program in Guatemala seeks a moderate fiscal stimulus to support domestic demand, financed with substantial external resources from multilateral institutions, and includes a refocusing of public expenditures towards social spending and labor-intensive public works.
4. In Hungary, the October 2008 IMF-supported program was recently modified in response to worse than anticipated global economic growth and global financial market conditions. The changes seek the right balance between preserving creditor confidence in Hungary’s fiscal and balance of payments positions while avoiding measures that would further deepen the recession. Measures include a small rise in the 2009 budget deficit relative to the original program, along with additional emphasis on measures to safeguard essential social spending.

Emphasis on social protection
The IMF tries to ensure that economic adjustments taken to combat the impact of the crisis also take account of the needs of the most vulnerable by developing or enhancing social safety nets. [See related Factsheet on The IMF’s Role in Helping Protect the Most Vulnerable in the Global Crisis]Social spending is being preserved or increased wherever possible. For instance, in Pakistan expenditure will be increased to protect the poor through both cash transfers and targeted electricity subsidies.About a third of programs in low-income countries include floors on social and other priority spending.Structural reforms are designed in a way to protect the most vulnerable. For instance in Hungary, low-income pensioners were excluded from benefit reduction.The IMF is working closely with the World Bank and donors to identify external financing for social protection and promote social safety net reform.

Helping the world’s poorest
The IMF envisages a doubling of concessional assistance in 2009-10 to $3 billion a year to assist low-income countries in dealing with the fallout from the global crisis.
By end-May 2009, new IMF lending to sub-Saharan Africa already topped $1.5 billion.
Country limits on access to concessional Fund financing have been doubled.
The Fund is reforming its concessional lending instruments to make them more flexible and tailored to the needs of low-income countries.
24 low-income countries have received debt relief from the IMF totaling about $6 billion.

More flexibility on fiscal policy. Because of the crisis, the IMF has generally factored in higher deficits and spending in 2008 and 2009, and has made financial assistance programs more flexible. Fiscal targets have been loosened in close to 80 percent (18 out of 23) of African countries that have an active IMF program. On average for all sub-Saharan Africa, fiscal deficits are being widened by 2 percent of GDP in 2009 (7.5 percent if oil producers are included).More flexibility on inflation. Programs for low-income countries projected an average inflation rate of 5.3 percent for 2008 in October 2007. But during 2008, as world food and fuel prices rose, this objective was relaxed. On average, by October, IMF staff expected inflation in 2008 to reach 11 percent in 2008 in countries with a Fund-supported program, and the outcome was close to 12 percent.Streamlined loan conditions. Conditionality is now more tightly focused on core objectives. The number of structural conditions has decreased in many programs, and has been increasingly limited to the most critical measures, in particular urgent public financial management reforms. For example:

1. Senegal: 12 structural reforms when the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) was approved (November 2007); reduced to 7 reforms by June 2009.
2. Zambia: Its three successive PRGFs have had 12, 11, and 9 structural conditions, successively. The strongest level of conditionality (prior actions and structural performance criteria) has been cut from 5 in the first two programs to 2 in the latest PRGF.Reform of financing instruments. In addition to the recent doubling in access limits, work is under way to overhaul the IMF’s concessional financing facilities to make them more flexible and address the diverse needs of low-income countries, as many are being hard hit by the global crisis. The reform will include steps to provide more effective short-term and emergency financial assistance.

Creating a Crisis Firewall—Tripling of IMF resources
The April 2, 2009 G-20 Summit in London supported a dramatic increase in IMF lending resources to help combat the crisis.
The G-20 agreed to triple the IMF’s lending capacity to $750 billion and enabling it to inject extra liquidity into the world economy via a $250 billion allocation of SDRs—the IMF’s quasi-currency.
An immediate doubling of IMF resources from $250 billion will come from bilateral pledges, including $100 billion each from Japan and the European Union, along with other sources.

An increase in resources to $750 billion will be achieved by expanding and modernizing its New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB). Expanding the number of participants from the current 26, enlarging the credit provided to up to $500 billion (including the roughly $250 billion of contributions provided bilaterally), and making the NAB more flexible will provide a much stronger backstop.A general allocation of SDRs equivalent to $250 billion will result in a near ten-fold increase in SDRs. It will represent a significant increase in reserves for many countries, including low-income countries. The allocation will be about 77 percent of quota for each participant.

IMF role in shaping post-crisis financial architecture
To shape the post-crisis world and try to prevent future crises, the IMF is closely working with governments and other international institutions.
Steps are being taken to enhance analysis of risks, taking a cross-country perspective, examine linkages between the real economy and the financial sector and external stability, in particular through the development of an early-warning exercise—jointly with the Financial Stability Board—and revamping the Financial Sector Assessment Programs.
More attention to the effectiveness of country surveillance is also key, requiring more even-handedness, clarity, and candor.
The IMF has also provided advice on how to revamp global regulation and supervision of markets.

IMF governance better reflecting the world economy
A top priority for the Fund’s legitimacy and effectiveness is the completion of outstanding governance reforms.
Reforms on quota and voice agreed in April 2008 need to be approved promptly.
The reforms are a first step in increasing the share of dynamic emerging markets and preserving the voice of low income countries.
Once implemented, 54 members will receive an increase in their quotas, some of the largest gains going to China, Korea, India, Brazil, and Mexico.
This is a just a first step in ongoing reforms. The G-20 has called for completion of the next step in improving representation for emerging and developing countries by January 2011, with work to start on a new quota formula by October 2009.

Prospects for Oil Market Stability,Remarks by John Lipsky, First Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund At the G-8 Meeting of Energy Ministers Rome, May 25, 2009 As prepared for delivery

It is an honor to have the opportunity to address this important meeting of the G-8 Energy Ministers. As you know, energy policy is not a direct part of the IMF’s mandate of promoting economic and financial stability, but there are important linkages between energy markets and the global economy. As recent developments have demonstrated clearly, oil market stability is important for global economic stability, and vice versa. In my remarks, I will discuss prospects for a return to global oil market stability after a period of dramatic oil price volatility, building on a review of the causes of the recent large oil price fluctuations and the lessons from the recent oil price boom and bust.

The Global Recession and Oil Market Adjustment

The dramatic deterioration in global economic conditions late last year brought an abrupt end to the combination of robust demand growth and capacity constraints that had shaped oil market developments over the past few years. Over the course of just a few months, the global economy dropped into the most severe recession of the post-World War II period.The medium-term outlook weakened as well, as the financial crisis will have lasting effects on credit and capital flows. In particular, economic growth in emerging and developing economies is unlikely to return quickly to the very high rates registered in 2003-07.The oil price response to the rapid deterioration in global economic growth prospects was dramatic. By the end of last year, crude oil prices had fallen by more than 70 percent from their earlier peaks. This represented the largest percentage drop ever experienced over such a short period, surpassing even the declines of 1986. But the severity of the recession and the speed at which global economic conditions have changed also are without modern precedent.Momentum trading became a pointed concern during the financial turmoil of September-October last year. Like others, commodity investors became increasingly wary of counterparty risks and were faced with reduced credit access. The resulting unwinding of positions reduced liquidity in oil futures and increased price volatility. While this unwinding may have contributed to the accelerated price declines at the time, the momentum did not last. Commodity financial markets broadly stabilized as early as last December.In early 2009, oil prices, stabilized. In recent weeks, they have risen to almost $60 a barrel, reflecting a general improvement in sentiment on signs that the sharpest period of decline in the global economy is over, that growth in China may be picking up, but also on expectations that the contraction in oil demand may bottom out soon.

The Lessons from the Recent Oil Price Boom and Bust for Oil Market Stability

Turning to the lessons of recent experience, the extraordinary rise and fall in oil prices over the past few years once again has illustrated how oil markets can be susceptible to high price volatility and instability. There are several reasons for this vulnerability.First, oil prices have a tendency to respond very strongly to short term shifts in the global economic outlook. Thus, changes in underlying economic fundamentals can lead to larger oil price changes in the short term than in the medium term. The main reason for this pattern in price adjustment is the low short-term responsiveness of oil demand and supply to changing global market prices. Even small demand shifts can result in large initial shifts in spot prices in order for markets to clear. Typically, such shifts subsequently unwind gradually as demand and supply eventually respond to the change in prices.An important feature of the recent boom was an apparent further reduction in the already low sensitivity of global demand to higher global market prices. This decrease can be traced partly to government action seeking to smooth the impact of the upswing in international prices on local retail prices, particularly in many emerging and developing countries.In contrast, demand in the advanced economies was more responsive to rising prices, as the pass-through of international market prices to domestic end-user prices typically is more rapid and complete. Similarly, lower world market prices in the downturn often have not been passed on to domestic prices.

Another time-honored lesson is that when market conditions are tight and buffers are low, prices respond very strongly to signals of scarcity. Temporary supply disturbances are a well-known phenomenon in commodity markets, and for this reason, price spikes occur relatively frequently. Oil markets are no exception. One of the characteristics of the most recent boom, however, was that scarcity was not just the result of the usual short-term factors, such as weather- and conflict-related outages, but also of persistent supply constraints. While there was a strong demand impetus from buoyant global growth, oil production broadly stagnated during 2006-08. Fundamentally, the oil market had entered a new regime, as spare capacity dwindled after two decades of substantial excess capacity in the system.The stagnation in global oil production reflected a confluence of factors. Some of them were obviously short-term in nature. Most importantly, however, the stagnation highlighted unexpectedly large difficulties in bringing new capacity on stream. We have discussed the main reasons extensively in past World Economic Outlook publications, so I will be brief.

Cyclical factors. With the global economy booming, and given the legacy of downsizing in the 1990s, capacity limits in the oil services and oil equipment industries led to sharply higher investment costs and project delays. This represents one reason why time-to-build lags have increased.
Geological and technical factors. New oil fields typically are smaller in size and involve greater technological and geological challenges than in the past, while the decline rates of existing fields in some regions are proving to be faster than expected. Development and exploration costs per barrel in new fields are thus higher in constant dollars than they were when older fields were developed, while time-to-build lags have increased.
Policy factors. The investment climate deteriorated in a number of countries during the boom, deterring investment., These factors include reserve access terms, and policy parameters affecting investment returns, such as tax policy environment,

During the price run-up in 2007-08, a growing consensus emerged that these supply problems would be more severe and longer lasting than had been expected previously, particularly against a backdrop of continued robust global growth. The key consequence of this prospective scarcity was that prices continued rising. Another consequence was that price expectations lost their anchor, a difficulty exacerbated by data limitations that complicate the assessment of oil market conditions.Another conclusion that we have drawn from the oil price boom and bust is that, despite often repeated claims to the contrary, there is no concrete evidence of a sustained price impact of commodity financial investment. For example, research by IMF staff and others have not detected any systematic connection between various measures of such investment and either price volatility or price changes in recent years. An important insight from the debate on the price impact of commodity financial investment is that if oil price increases were systematically driven by ill-informed financial investors and not by fundamentals, oil inventories would increase in order for spot oil markets to clear. But this was not the case during the price boom of 2007-08. This is not to say that financial investors do not have any short-term price impact. In particular, IMF analysis indicates that portfolio shifts into commodity assets in late 2007 and early 2008 represented a temporary contributing factor to the rapid rise in oil prices at the time.

Prospects for Oil Market Stability

More recently, oil price volatility has decreased from the high levels seen last year, and further near-term declines are likely, for two reasons. First, global oil demand is expected to recover only gradually, reflecting the prospect of a gradual global growth recovery.Second, buffers are higher than they were during the boom. Spare capacity in OPEC producers has risen substantially. The IEA estimates that OPEC-11 spare capacity in April was 6.3 million barrels a day, more than twice the recent average of some 3 million barrels. Inventories also are much higher than usual in the OECD economies. The inventory forward demand cover is estimated to have reached more than 62 days by end-March, substantially above the recent 5-year average of some 53 days. With buffers at such comfortable levels, upside price risks from factors such as short-term supply shortages should remain limited for some time.Of course, producer policies also will play a role in determining the market outlook. In particular, if the expected recovery in demand is not accommodated by increased capacity utilization, the price rebound is likely to be stronger than reflected in current consensus views. Price volatility would then remain relatively higher, especially if there is uncertainty about producers’ objectives or supply responses.

Turning to the medium term, buffers are unlikely to remain at their current comfortable levels. On the demand side, oil consumption eventually will return to a path of more robust growth, as economic growth recovers in emerging and developing economies, accompanied by advancing industrialization and rising vehicle ownership. Depending on capacity growth, oil supply constraints could again become binding, driving price increases.In this respect, a widely voiced concern is that the combination of financial crisis, low current oil prices, and much higher oil price volatility may represent a setback to capacity expansion. Press reports and indicators such as rig counts suggest that oil investment in 2009 will have declined. For example, the March international Baker-Hughes rig count was almost 10 percent below its September 2008 peak. These declines should not come as a surprise. Lower oil and product prices have reduced both profitability and the availability of internal financing, while external financing conditions have become more challenging. With a slow rebound in global growth and continued financial strain in prospect, investment in 2010 is likely to remain subdued as well.It is too early to assess the extent of the actual set back for oil sector capacity expansion. In fact, there are some reasons for optimism: Large international and national oil companies will continue to invest, despite some reduction in total capital expenditure. These companies had initiated significant expansion projects while oil prices were rising. The sunk costs of the many large projects already in train are simply too large for the projects to be closed down. Moreover, investors are likely to look beyond current oil market weakness. Another helpful factor is that the broad-based decline in global capital spending and lower metals prices should reduce the costs of new oil investment, partly offsetting the adverse effects of lower oil prices on investment incentives.But there also are reasons for concern. First, a good part of gross investment spending simply sustains current production capacity, reflecting the current, relatively rapid field decline rates in many parts of the world. Second, the many policy constraints on oil investment mentioned earlier remain in place. The persistence of current obstacles could again trigger doubts that the need for increased capacity will be met, which, in turn, could then lead to a renewed sense of aggravated scarcity.In sum, while scarcity is not an imminent problem, oil supply constraints remain a medium-term worry. With long time-to-build lags, significant setbacks to oil investment today could set the stage for future sharp price increases.

Policies to Foster Oil Market Stability

There is clear evidence that large, rapid oil price changes are detrimental to both global growth and to global economic and financial stability.It is therefore policymakers’ responsibility to look for effective ways to reduce oil price volatility and limit the scale and frequency of large price swings, as well as to cushion their economic impact. While perhaps attractive in theory, limiting price fluctuations through direct intervention is unlikely to be either effective or feasible in practice, especially over longer horizons, and may very well be counterproductive. Fundamentally, policies should instead address the principal factors underlying large oil price swings.Our policy recommendations remain broadly unchanged from earlier expositions. As the background paper discusses them in some detail, I will mention only some key elements. On the demand side, policy efforts should focus on strengthening the responsiveness of domestic end-user prices to changes in market conditions. Oil demand would become more responsive to price signals, even in the short term, reducing the tendency for large price movements. On the supply side, policy efforts aimed at achieving more stable and predictable investment and tax regimes will encourage adequate investment. Finally, more timely, complete, and accurate data on oil demand, supply, and inventories are critical to reducing oil price volatility, given current difficulties in assessing oil market conditions.

Conclusions

In summary, the recent extraordinary fall in oil prices reflects mainly a natural response to an abrupt, dramatic change in global economic growth prospects. Near-term factors point to relative oil market stability, as spare capacity and inventories are at comfortable levels, while the near-term rebound in demand is expected to be modest. Nevertheless, supply constraints eventually could reemerge, threatening medium-term oil market stability. To avoid excessive price swings, efforts by producers, consumers, financial investors, and market regulators alike will be needed to improve the transparency, functioning, oversight and, ultimately the supply-demand balance, in global oil markets.

A Factsheet - April 2009
How to Increase the IMF’s Lendable Resources

The unprecedented shock confronting the global economy has led to a rapid increase in the demand for IMF financing. In order to ensure that the IMF continues to have sufficient resources to meet this demand, the Group of 20 leading economies (G-20) endorsed on April 2, 2009 measures to triple the IMF’s regular lending capacity from $250 billion to $750 billion. There are a range of options available for temporarily supplementing the Fund’s resources, including entering into bilateral loan agreements, issuing notes to the official sector, and enlarging existing borrowing arrangements. As a first step to supplement the Fund’s resources, a number of members have pledged to make bilateral loans to the IMF, and the possibility to issue notes is also being considered. At the same time, work to expand and make more flexible the New Arrangements to Borrow is underway.

How the IMF finances itself
Quota subscriptions from member countries are the IMF’s main source of financing, but the organization can supplement its quota resources through borrowing if it believes that these resources might fall short of member countries’ borrowing needs. The IMF is authorized to borrow under its Articles of Agreement in order to replenish its holdings of currencies in the General Resources Account (GRA) that are needed in connection with its lending transactions.Through the General Arrangements to Borrow (GAB) and the New Arrangements to Borrow (NAB), a number of member countries and institutions stand ready to lend additional funds to the IMF of up to US$34 billion (US$50 billion) to forestall or cope with an impairment of the international monetary system or to deal with an exceptional situation that poses a threat to the stability of that system.On February 13, 2009, the IMF concluded an agreement with Japan under which Japan committed to lend up to US$100 billion (about SDR 67 billion) as a measure to help overcome the current global economic and financial crisis.

A historical perspective on IMF borrowing
Borrowing has provided an important temporary supplement to quota resources in the past. Borrowing has been considered appropriate at times when the IMF’s current or prospective liquidity was regarded as inadequate. The Fund has also borrowed when the time and size of a general quota increase was uncertain, and to finance the operations of newly-established facilities.Examples of the latter include the oil facilities in 1974–75, the supplementary financing facility in 1979–81, and the enlarged access policy of 1981–86. Borrowing peaked in the mid 1980s, but played its most important role in relation to the size of the IMF in the late 1970s when borrowing financed over 60 percent of IMF credit, and represented almost 30 percent of total quotas.

How the IMF could borrow
The focus is now on three different ways to increase the IMF’s lendable resources:
1) through bilateral borrowing agreements with members
2) through placing notes in the official sector
3) through enlargement of the multilateral NAB

Under the Fund’s Articles, the IMF has a range of options for borrowing. It can even borrow directly from the private sector. This option has been considered on several occasions in the past but has not been pursued. Private sector borrowing would raise a broader range of policy, financial and legal issues that would take more time to address, which could limit the immediate utility of this option in addressing the current crisis. In contrast, the first two options can supplement Fund resources in a timely manner. Enlargement of the existing NAB would allow a broader range of countries to help provide a stronger backstop to the Fund’s quota resources.

Bilateral loan agreements
Bilateral loan agreements offer flexibility and could potentially be put in place quickly. Under such an agreement, the member normally commits to allow the Fund to make drawings up to a specified ceiling during the period for which drawings can be made. Japan’s bilateral loan agreement with the IMF for up to $100 billion has already been signed and others have also made pledges.

Placement of IMF notes in the official sector
Some official creditors may prefer to invest in paper or notes issued by the IMF. The Board approved a framework for the placement of notes in the early 1980s, although no notes were actually issued. A note placement agreement (NPA) would enable creditors to commit to purchase notes up to a specified ceiling during an agreed period, at the request of the Fund. The notes would be transferable within the official sector (for instance, IMF members and their central banks) but could not be held privately.

Expanding the NAB
Work on expanding and enlarging the NAB, as well as making it more flexible, is underway. Currently there are 26 participants with credit arrangements in the NAB. So this would involve increasing the size of the current participants’ credit arrangements and expanding the number of NAB participants. Increasing the flexibility of the NAB would make it a more effective backstop to quota resources. Both an increase in current arrangements or an amendment to the NAB would require the agreement of current NAB participants representing 85 percent of total credit arrangements and a decision of the IMF. Also, in some cases, legislative approval may be needed before participants can agree to increases in their credit arrangements or to other significant changes in the NAB.

Questions and Answers IMF Gold Sales May 12, 2009

Strictly limited gold sales (403.3 metric tons) are being discussed by the membership of the IMF as part of a package of expenditure and income measures to put the IMF's finances on a sustainable basis. No Executive Board decision to sell gold has been taken.

Q. How much gold does the IMF hold and how was it acquired?
The IMF holds 103.4 million ounces (3,217 metric tons) of gold, making it the third largest official holder of gold. The gold is valued on its balance sheet at SDR 5.9 billion (about $9.2 billion) on the basis of historical cost. The market value of this gold was $95.2 billion as of February 20, 2008.Most of the IMF's gold was acquired prior to the Second Amendment of the IMF's Articles of Agreements in April 1978. The main source was members' initial quota subscriptions and subsequent quota increases, of which 25 percent were to be paid in gold. Other sources were payments of charges (i.e., interest on members' use of IMF credit), repayments to the IMF for credit previously extended, and sales of gold to the IMF by members wishing to purchase the currency of another member.The IMF also acquired a portion of its gold holdings after the Second Amendment, amounting to 12.97 million ounces (403.3 metric tons), with a market value of $11.9 billion as of February 20, 2008. This gold was primarily acquired through the off-market gold transactions in 1999-2000, where the IMF received 402.6 metric tons of gold as repayments of IMF credit. The remaining 0.7 metric tons was received as a repayment from Cambodia in 1992.

Q. What IMF gold can be restituted (returned) to its members?
The Articles provide for restitution of the gold the IMF held on the date of the Second Amendment to current members that were members of the IMF on August 31, 1975. The restitution of gold to this group of members would be implemented by selling gold, at the former official price of SDR 35 per ounce (about US$56), to those members who agree to buy it in proportion to their quotas on the date of the Second Amendment. (An Executive Board decision to restitute gold requires support from an 85 percent majority of the total voting power.)The Articles do not provide for the restitution of gold the IMF has acquired after the date of the Second Amendment. Hence, the 403.3 metric tons of gold the IMF has acquired since the Second Amendment is not available to be restituted to members.

Q. Why does the IMF hold gold and what is IMF policy on gold sales?
In addition to the limitations set forth in the IMF's Articles of Agreement, the IMF's policies on gold are guided by the following five principles:The IMF has a systemic responsibility to avoid causing disruptions that would adversely impact gold holders and gold producers, as well as the functioning of the gold market.As the only asset with significant unrealized value, gold provides fundamental strength to the IMF's balance sheet. Any mobilization of IMF gold should avoid weakening its overall financial position.Gold holdings provide the IMF with operational maneuverability both as regards the use of its resources and by adding credibility to its precautionary balances. In these respects, the benefits of the IMF's gold are passed on to the membership at large, including both creditors and borrowing members.The IMF should continue to hold a relatively large amount of gold among its assets, not only for prudential reasons, but also to meet unforeseen contingencies.Profits from any gold sales should be retained, and only investment income should be used for purposes that may be agreed upon by IMF members and are permitted by the Articles of Agreement.

Q. Why is the IMF considering gold sales?
The report of the Committee of Eminent Persons chaired by Andrew Crockett (the Crockett Committee) recommended that the IMF adopt a new income model with more diverse sources of income, so that it no longer relies primarily on lending income to finance its various activities, which include public goods such as Article IV surveillance.One of the income sources the Committee proposed is the creation of an endowment funded from the proceeds of strictly limited gold sales to be carried out within safeguards to avoid disruption of the gold market (see this question).

Q. How has the April 2, 2009 G-20 Summit affected the IMF's planned gold sales?
At the G-20 Leaders Summit on April 2, 2009, world leaders proposed to use additional resources from agreed sales of IMF gold to provide $6 billion in additional financing for poor countries, in a manner consistent with the IMF's new income model, over the next 2 to 3 years.There has been no change in the amount of the planned gold sale, which remains strictly limited to the 12.97 million ounces (403.3 metric tons) of gold the IMF has acquired after the Second Amendment, which is equivalent to one-eighth of the IMF's total gold holdings.

Q. Has the IMF decided to sell gold?
No Executive Board decision to sell gold has been taken. Under the Articles of Agreement, a decision to sell gold requires an 85 percent majority of the total voting power.The United States authorities have informed the IMF that U.S. Congressional authorization by law would be required before the U.S. Executive Director could support a decision for the IMF to sell gold.The United States Treasury announced on February 25, 2008 that it will seek authority from Congress for a limited sale of gold, consistent with the Crockett Committee's recommendation. On April 16, 2009, President Obama urged leaders of Congress to support an IMF gold sale as part of a larger package of measures requiring congressional action.

Q. What is the expected volume of gold sales?
The Crockett Committee recommended that gold sales be strictly limited to the gold the IMF has acquired after the Second Amendment, which amounts to 12.97 million ounces (403.3 metric tons), equivalent to one-eighth of the IMF's total gold holdings.
As noted above, there is no provision in the Articles to restitute this portion of the IMF's gold holdings to members of the IMF.

Q. At what price does the IMF expect to sell gold?
The Fund will sell gold at the market price when the sales are conducted, and the sales could be phased over time to avoid market disruption as noted above. When the new income model was endorsed by the Board of Governors in May 2008, the price assumed for the purpose of making medium-term income projections was $850 per ounce, which was based on current and historical developments in gold prices at that time. However, in practice, the price realized for the proposed sales may be above or below this assumption depending on market developments.

Q. When are the sales going to take place?
No Executive Board decision to sell gold has been taken, so no timetable for sales has yet been set (see this question).If gold is sold on the market, rather than to another official gold holder, the Crockett Committee recommended that such sales be phased over time in order to avoid disruption of the gold market.

Q. How will disruption of the gold market be avoided?
The Crockett Committee recommended a number of safeguards on gold sales to avoid disruption of the gold market:The Committee recommended a firm limit on the volume of gold sales as a key safeguard, given the IMF's standing as the third largest official holder of gold.The Committee recommended that the IMF's gold sales should not add to the announced volume of sales from official sources. Hence, the IMF's gold sales should be coordinated with current and future Central Bank Gold Agreements (CBGA). (Under the current CBGA, a group of European central banks have agreed to limit their gold sales to no more than 500 metric tons annually).Phasing of IMF gold sales over time is also recommended by the Crockett Committee to avoid disruption of the gold market, together with careful handling of the public communications related to gold sales.

Q. Where can more information about the IMF gold be obtained?
More information on the IMF gold is available at the fact sheet GOLD IN THE IMF.

In a Historic Step, IFC Launches Subsidiary to Manage Third-Party Capital for Development Gavin Wilson Is Appointed First CEO of IFC Asset Management Company In Washington:Corrie Shanahan Lotte Pang

Washington, D.C., May 7, 2009—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has taken a historic step to maximize its ability to mobilize capital to address the effects of the global financial crisis and serve longer-term development needs, setting up a subsidiary that for the first time will serve as a fund manager of third-party capital.The subsidiary, IFC Asset Management Company, LLC, announced today that it has appointed Gavin Wilson as its first chief executive officer. Wilson, a British national, is currently a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs in London, where he has worked for the last 13 years.This new initiative by IFC will play an important part in drawing private capital to help overcome poverty and build the foundations for growth during this global economic crisis,said World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick. This venture offers a new and promising avenue to connect investment capital with developing country opportunities, to provide better jobs and livelihoods, along with good returns.The launch of the subsidiary is a significant step for IFC, the largest multilateral financial institution investing in private enterprises in emerging markets, and follows an announcement last year by Zoellick of a one percent solution for sovereign funds, which called on them to invest one percent of their holdings in equity in sub-Saharan Africa.IFC Asset Management Company will rely upon IFC’s global experience and local presence in nearly 90 countries to maximize its development impact. It will encourage investment in developing countries by allowing investors to benefit from IFC’s unique investment expertise and insights derived from more than 50 years of direct investing in emerging markets.

Lars Thunell, IFC Executive Vice President and CEO, said:By pooling resources from other investors, IFC Asset Management Company will help bring long-term capital to the world’s poorest countries and regions while maintaining the highest standards for sustainable investing and driving even greater development impact. It will also help expand the scale and scope of IFC investment activities, while sharing risks and investment returns with other investors.The new asset-management platform, which is wholly owned by IFC, will manage the $3 billion IFC Recapitalization Fund, which is designed to protect systemically important emerging-markets banks from the effects of the global financial crisis. It will also manage a new $1 billion private equity fund that will allow national pension funds, sovereign funds, and other sovereign investors from IFC’s shareholder countries to co-invest in IFC transactions in Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.At Goldman Sachs, Wilson is responsible for senior relationships with industrial, diversified, and sovereign fund clients in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has co-headed Goldman’s EMEA Industrials Group and was previously head of the firm's New Markets investment banking execution team, focused on the emerging markets of EMEA.Wilson began his career at McKinsey and Company. He joined the World Bank Group in 1988, working in the Bank’s Africa Region and then for six years in IFC's Corporate Finance Services Department, where he was a Senior Investment Officer. He subsequently served as a Special Advisor at the Bank of England before joining Goldman Sachs. He has worked on assignments in more than 50 countries worldwide.Wilson, aged 46, holds a BA from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Stanford University, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar.Wilson will represent the IFC Asset Management Company on the IFC Management Group. His appointment will be effective July 1, 2009.

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, creates opportunity for people to escape poverty and improve their lives. We foster sustainable economic growth in developing countries by supporting private sector development, mobilizing private capital, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. Our new investments totaled $16.2 billion in fiscal 2008, a 34 percent increase over the previous year. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.

EU mulls involvement in Ukrainian gas storage
VALENTINA POP Today MAY 26,09 @ 06:48 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The EU could be prepared to pay Ukraine for use of its gas storage facilities instead of building new ones itself but only if Kiev cleans up its energy sector.EU member states are to consider the idea in upcoming energy security discussions but implementation would depend on Ukraine's clear separation of storage and distribution companies, EU officials have said.In addition, EU governments have no appetite for paying the country's outstanding debt to Russia which could lead to new gas cuts.The lack of sufficient gas storage facilities in the EU became evident during the January gas crisis, when Russia turned off the gas supply through Ukraine for ten days due to a pricing row.With Ukraine hosting largely underused storage facilities of 35 billion cubic metres, almost as much as the total EU storage capacity, the question is if instead of investing in new facilities, it would not be possible for Ukraine to act as a service provider for gas storage, said Jean-Arnold Vinois, an EU commission official in charge of energy security, at a debate on Monday (25 May) on this topic organised by Security and Defence Agenda, a Brussels-based think tank.But all this will depend on the Ukrainians creating the right conditions for the gas system to be in line with EU rules of transparency and clear separation between transmission and storage,he added.Currently, Ukraine's state-owned Naftogaz provides for production, transmission and storage of both oil and gas, as well as drilling, construction and research work, according to the company's website.It also says Naftogaz has disputed contractual agreements with Gazprom and non-transparent relations with energy intermediaries such as RosUkrEnergo importing Caspian gas via Russia.

A Russian diplomat present at the debate said Moscow was in general favourable to all joint efforts to increase the security of supply, but pointed to the more pressing financial issue concerning Ukraine. Unless the EU is ready to pay for Ukraine's debt together with Russia,we will see the repetition of the situation we've witnessed in January,Alexander Krestiayanov, Russia's deputy ambassador to the EU, said.Yet member states are reluctant to give in to Moscow's proposal to share Ukraine's financial burden, pointing to the existing commercial agreements with Gazprom, which stipulate that gas is traded at the EU border, meaning that the Ukrainian dispute is solely up to Kiev and Moscow to sort out.Gazprom is under the contractual obligation to sell its gas at the EU border, how you [Russia] deal with Ukraine is your problem and yours alone. This January you've tried this trick already, we refused to pay for it. We paid a fair price at the EU border and you'll have to deal with Ukraine yourself. Good luck,the Czech ambassador-at large for energy security Vaclav Bartuska said at the event.During the January gas crisis, Gazprom reportedly lost some €1.4 billion in the ten days it cut off supplies via Ukraine, which accounts for 80 percent of the Russian gas exported to Europe.

Gazprom also lacks the large storage facilities Ukraine has. These were set up during Soviet times after the gas fields in Ukraine were exhausted and new fields were developed in northern Russia. The Russian state monopoly reportedly had to flare up some of the gas it could not store or export to Europe, at a time when gas prices were much higher than now.Meanwhile, Ukraine, whose economy shrank by 20 percent in the first three months of 2009, faces new debts to Gazprom as it needs some €3.5 billion to fill its gas tanks, emptied during the January crisis.Right now, gas must be pumped into underground gas reservoirs because with gas storage facilities empty, Ukraine's economy and community services will not be able to operate in the autumn-winter period,Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday.A deal signed in March between the EU commission and the Ukrainian government to help modernise the transit and storage facilities sparked Moscow's anger, with Mr Putin now pushing for guarantees that Gazprom will take part in this undertaking.

MEPs perks under spotlight in EU elections
EUOBSERVER STAFF Today MAY 26,09 @ 13:22 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The British tabloids have shifted their shrill focus from national politicians' perks to those enjoyed by MEPs, while events in Italy have taken a farcical turn.After days of frenzied reporting on the expenses excesses employed by British politicians, UK tabloid the Sun reports that during the five-year term of the EU parliament, an MEP can clock-up over €2 million in expenses. The papers says that MEPs can claim five relaxing sessions of mudbaths, hydromassage, hydrotherapy and acupuncture every month with a doctor's note.In Italy, prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's love life continues to fill pages. Mr Berlusconi is likely to address the parliament over his alleged affair with an 18-year old model, Noemi Letizia. After attending her birthday party at the end of April and giving her a diamond necklace worth €6,000, Mr Berlusconi's wife filed for divorce, saying she could no longer live with a man who frequents minors. Mr Berlusconi and his partymen claim that the scandal is being artificially blown out of proportion ahead of the EU elections, as he supposedly attended the birthday party as a friend of Noemi's father.

Elena, the flashy daughter of Romanian president Traian Basescu admits in Cotidianul that she no longer looks like in the magazines because of the few hours of sleep she gets on the campaign trail throughout the country. Dubbed Romania's Paris Hilton, the 28 year-old former model is running as an independent in the EU elections after quitting her father's party. Polls show she will make the three percent threshold.

Turnout

Voter turnout remains a theme in several countries as governments battle with an apathetic electorate.Only one third of Finns are sure to vote in June, while another 30 percent feel that they are fairly sure about voting, a poll for Helsingin Sanomat shows. The survey indicates that the percentage of those Finns who say that they will definitely vote has fallen particularly among those aged 18 to 25. In 2004, the overall turnout for the European Parliament elections in Finland clocked in at 41.1 percent.The law deciding succession to the Danish throne is to be put to a referendum on the same day as the European elections (7 June) in an attempt to boost peoples' interest in turning up at the polling stations. The new law would give equal rights to males and females to inherit the throne. Germany's Tagespiegel reports that east Berliners are not interested in the European elections and only few are clear that many decisions which affect community issues are taken in Brussels. In the former west Berlin, voters are more familiar with the EU, remarked one CDU politician, and have therefore taken more advantage of EU programmes and funding.As many as 80 percent of the French feel positive about Europe, while 60 percent say they feel both French and European, according to a Eurobarometer survey presented by the European Commission in Paris on Monday. Some 62 percent think that the European construction costs France too much however. Seventy two percent judge Europe too far from its citizens and 57 percent say it has little impact on their daily lives. Only 28 percent say they are well informed on the functioning of the EU.

Jobs in the EP and political campaigning

UK liberal MEP Diana Wallis has thrown her hat into the ring to be the next leader of the liberals in the European Parliament, after current leader Graham Watson steps down. She told parliament.com she will bring a totally different style to the group and aims to make it a real political force.Rzeczpospolita reports that the Polish establishment is considering alternative scenarios for Polish conservative MEP and former premier Jerzy Burzek, in case he does not get the European Parliament president job. Polska XXI, a rightist faction which splintered from the Law and Justice opposition party, would like him to run as its candidate in Poland's next presidential elections. The ruling conservative Civic Platform party sees him as the potential next prime minister.With a yearning look towards the European Parliament, where they long to be represented again, Bavaria's Greens have chosen an Amnesty International campaigner as their candidate. Barbara Lochbihler, director of AI Germany, is focusing her campaign on human rights and the EU. The Sueddeutsche newspaper remarks that this was a canny choice as AI reports are eagerly read by Green voters. It also notes that the choice seems to be working in practice as well as in theory, as no one left early from the event where she was speaking. Bavaria has not had a Green politician elected to Brussels since 2000.In the first of two televised debates scheduled before Spain goes to the polls on 7 June, the two candidates that top the country's ruling Socialist and opposition Popular Party lists, Juan Fernando Lopez Aguilar and Jaime Mayor Oreja, concentrated primarily on the economy. Mr Oreja accused the Socialist party of giving the economy a heart attack,with Mr Aguilar responding that the opposition had no interest in reducing the country's high unemployment, hoping instead to use it as a way of returning to power.

In France the official electoral campaign was launched on Monday and will stop on 5 June, Liberation reports. The Interior ministry has approved 160 lists, including the anti-Zionist one of controversial comedian Dieudonne. The lists contain some 3,115 candidates competing for 72 MEP seats.Meanwhile, despite his 81 years of age, far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen is as fresh as ever and actively campaigning, Le Monde writes. Mr Le Pen is leading the list of his party, the National Front, in the south-east district, travelling across its three regions in his private jet and participating in several lunch and dinner debates.Polish daily Rzeczpospolita is alarmed by election posters put up by the neo-nazi NPD party in Saxony, Germany urging a Halt! to the Polish invasion and for criminal foreigners to Get out! NPD is campaigning in local elections, but has put up the material to provoke a reaction when Chancellor Angela Merkel visits the region on her EU campaign trail in the coming days.

Europe does feature! As does religion

While elections for the European Parliament are frequently dominated by debate on national issues, a second referendum on the EU's reformist Lisbon treaty scheduled for this autumn has pushed European issues to the fore in Ireland.Speaking at the launch of his party's European manifesto in Dublin, leader of the main Irish opposition Fine Gael party, Enda Kenny, disputed the claim made by Lisbon opponents that 80 percent of the country's national laws originate from Brussels, saying the figure was closer to 30 percent. Fine Gael support the treaty.However the manifesto of another opposition party, Sinn Fein, is against the re-running of the Lisbon referendum, calling instead for a new treaty for a new time. Party leader Gerry Adams also called for the six counties in the north of the country that are part of the UK to adopt the euro currency.Religion and shock tactics have kept the Polish press busy after Polish political parties on Monday published their election clips.The right-wing Law and Justice party opted for a touch of glamour, the ruling Civic Platform party quoted the late Pope John Paul II and fringe groups went for shock tactics with zombies and t-shirts depicting Mary, the mother of Jesus.Law and Justice have poached telegenic young actress Ania Cugier-Kotka, who publicly supported Civic Platform in Polish general elections two years ago. The actress plays a voter disillusioned with the government's promises of good wages for teachers and doctors. Law and Justice candidate Michal Kaminski in the video boasts of speaking three languages - the party's leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski speaks only Polish, a point of embarrassment when he led the country in 2007.Prime minister Donald Tusk referred to a famous quotation of the late Polish pope in saying the country needs a transubstantiation.But his religious reference paled next to a clip by independent politician Wojciech Cejrowski who wore a Holy Mary t-shirt while saying he will vote for the tiny right-wing Prawica Rzeczpospoilta party because they do not stand idly by while the pope (Benendict XVI) is being smacked in the gob by his critics.The Polish Workers' Party, a fringe leftist outfit, showed a zombie-like patient in an ambulance forced to put coins in a metre when his life support machine stops working.

New portal to translate EU dailies into 10 languages
HONOR MAHONY Today MAY 26,09 @ 17:12 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – A new website launched Tuesday (26 May) aims to get EU citizens across the 27 member states talking and reading about the same issues, something that to date has been hindered by language barriers.With €3 million of European Commission funds a year and a team of 10 journalists, www.presseurop.eu is part of the EU's drive to create a European public sphere.The portal aims to monitor around 250 titles both within and outside Europe, including all of the big national dailies, such as France's Le Figaro, Spain's El Pais and the UK's Financial Times, and put a selection of articles concerning Europe from these papers on the site.The site will be available in 10 languages with all 23 of the EU's official languages expected to be onboard within five year's time.The set-up is led by Courrier International, along with Internazionale in Italy, Forum Polityka in Poland and Courrier Internacional in Portugal.Courrier International chief Philippe Thureau-Dangin said the aim of the site is not to keep pace with the whole of current affairs in Europe but to bring Europe alive.EU communications commissioner Margot Wallstrom, who promised the site will be editorially independent, said it will broaden, enrich and expand coverage of European affairs.It has nothing to do with whether we like what the media writes or not, she said in response to a question concerning the motives of the commission for the portal, but rather aims to prolong the life of quality articles.Mr Thureau-Dangin said that the voices of eurosceptics will also feature.

For news and entertainment, these 500 million Europeans watch satellite TV, listen to the radio via internet, read newspapers in print and online versions. But wherever they are on the continent, most turn to media in their own language, or in one or two others,says an editorial piece on the site.Its organisers are hoping to have 1.5 million visitors a month across the ten sites by the end of 2010.The EU set up a similar platform for radio in 2007 and will launch a TV version next year.The moves come after the commission has for years spoken about wanting to move political discourse away from being purely national in tone to take on a more European hue.

Newspapers' correspondents in Brussels normally report on EU news through national eyes - one of the first questions in the press conference launching the site saw a Slovene journalist ask when the language of her country would be covered by the site and which of the national newspapers would be used by the presseurop.eu. The same drive to get a European perspective that crosses borders regardless of language and culture recently saw the setting up of European political parties – although they still tend to run on national theme in the individual member states – as well as European political foundations, both funded by EU money.

EU adopts Blue Card scheme for skilled migrants
VALENTINA POP Today MAY 26,09 @ 09:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The EU on Monday (25 May) adopted plans for a European Union work permit aimed at attracting highly skilled foreigners to the bloc, similar to the US' Green Card.Dubbed the Blue Card, it will allow foreign workers to be employed in any EU member state except Great Britain, Ireland and Denmark and enjoy limited social and welfare rights for themselves and their family members for a renewable period from one to four years.The 24 member states who have signed up for the scheme will have two years to transpose it into national law.They will grant Blue Card holders equal treatment with nationals when it comes to working conditions, including pay and dismissal, recognition of qualifications, the right to participate in trade unions and limited social security and pension rights, as well as access to housing and counselling.The permit allows for restricted movement between member states. After 18 months of legal residence in the first member state as an EU Blue Card holder, the person concerned and his family members may move, under certain conditions, to a member state other than the first member state for the purpose of highly qualified employment,the text reads.The original proposal, initially tabled in 2007 by the European Commission, was watered down after concerns by member states that it would allow Brussels to interfere too much in their national labour markets.

New member states also pointed out that the Blue Card would discriminate against their own workers, who still face restrictions in some old member states like Germany.

Punishment for hiring illegal immigrants

The directive was formally adopted at a ministerial meeting on Monday in Brussels. The EU ministers also approved a set of common standards and sanctions against employers – both individuals and companies - who illegally hire foreign immigrants.

The new rules aim to put an end to abuses by unscrupulous employers who make contracts with illegally-staying [workers] providing them in the labour market with low salaries and poor labour conditions.They require employers to ensure that their non-EU workers hold a valid residence permit and keep a copy of that document for inspection. Employers will also be obliged to notify national authorities when they hire a non-EU national.Failure to comply will mean fines which will increase in amount according to the number of illegally employed foreigners as well as the payment of the return costs for the illegal non-EU employees. A harsher sanction could see employers of illegal workers excluded from public funding schemes and participation in public tenders.

Macedonia a step closer to visa-free travel to EU
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today MAY 26,09 @ 09:18 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission on Monday (25 May) presented EU member states with its assessment of how well western Balkan countries have been fulfilling the conditions for visa-free travel to the bloc, with Macedonia given the best mark, and Albania and Bosnia the worst.According to the commission's report, posted on the website of the European Stability Initiative (ESI) – a non-profit policy institute known for its analyses and research work on South East Europe – only EU candidate Macedonia has met all necessary conditions for its citizens to be allowed to travel visa-free into the European Union.The commission's criteria include document security, illegal migration including readmission, public order and security, external relations and fundamental rights,with Skopje judged to meet the benchmarks on all the points.Montenegro and Serbia are said to meet most benchmarks, but both have fully complied only with the requirements regarding document security, while for the remaining criteria they have met a large majority of benchmarks.Albania and Bosnia received the lowest grade on all points and do not yet fully meet [any of] the benchmarks, while Kosovo was not included in the commission's assessment at all – a gap criticised by ESI.The most problematic aspect of the current assessments is that they [the commission] leave out Kosovo, the western Balkan state where the European Union has assumed most direct responsibility,ESI said.It is not clear why the EU would wish to forego such a powerful instrument to improve policing, border controls and the rule of law in Kosovo.

All in member states' hands

The updated commission report follows a previous one presented to member states in November and a subsequent series of fact-finding missions that were carried together with national experts from EU countries between January and March this year.Member states are now to present the commission with their views on the report, after which the EU executive will present its final assessment for their approval. I am very satisfied by the efforts made by the countries of the region in implementing the [visa liberalisation] road maps and by their excellent co-operation in the organisation of the expert missions and I am looking forward to the comments and views of the member states,EU justice commissioner Jacques Barrot said in a statement.

Bearing them in mind, I will present as soon as possible a proposal to the College to abolish the visa obligation for the citizens of the country/countries which will have met the benchmarks of the road maps. I am confident that visa liberalisation with all the countries of the western Balkans is a tangible prospect,he added.For his part, EU enlargement commissioner Olli Rehn has repeatedly said he hoped the bloc's member states could take a decision on visa-free travel for the most advanced countries in the course of the year.Under that scenario, Macedonians could travel to the EU without visas as of next year.The lengthy and difficult process of obtaining a visa to enter the EU was imposed on the western Balkan countries in the aftermath of the 1990s Yugoslav war, with the bloc promising as far back as 2003 to start talks with the countries' governments to lift this obligation.But to date, Croats are the only western Balkan citizens who can travel visa-free to the EU.