EU ELECTIONS

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

5 tornadoes touch down in Colorado, mall damaged Sun Jun 7, 8:18 pm ET

AURORA, Colo. – At least five tornadoes touched down in Colorado on Sunday, with one overturning benches and a car outside a mall in a Denver suburb.There were no immediate reports of serious injuries. Firefighters reported moderate damage and gas leaks at the Southlands Mall, which was forced to close.The National Weather Service said the tornado that damaged the mall touched down south of Buckley Air Force Base just before 2 p.m. and may have been on the ground for about 30 minutes, taking an 8- to 10-mile path across southeast Aurora.Heating, ventilation and air conditioning units on the mall roof were damaged. Mall spokeswoman Joyce Rocha-Brown said damage was being assessed and no decision had been made on when the building might reopen.

Julie Patterson, 36, could see the tornado from the back deck of her house in Aurora.
You could see the debris flying in the funnel cloud,she said.Many spots in the Denver area also were pelted with hail as big as baseballs. The Weather Service received reports of hail as big as 3 inches in Arapahoe County, meteorologist Robert Koopmeiners said.

Conservatives score wins in EU parliament voting By CONSTANT BRAND and ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writers – Sun Jun 7, 8:29 pm ET

BRUSSELS – Conservatives scored victories in some of Europe's largest economies Sunday as voters punished left-leaning parties in European parliament elections in France, Germany and other nations.Some right-leaning parties said the results vindicated their reluctance to spend more on company bailouts and fiscal stimulus to combat the global economic crisis.The European Union said center-right parties were expected to take the most seats — 267 — in the 736-member parliament. Center-left parties were headed for 159 seats. The remainder were expected to go to smaller groupings.Right-leaning governments were ahead of the opposition in Germany, France, Italy and Belgium, while conservative opposition parties were leading in Britain and Spain.Greece was a notable exception, where the governing conservatives were headed for defeat in the wake of corruption scandals and economic woes.Germans handed a lackluster victory to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and a historic defeat to their center-left rivals in the European Parliament vote months before a national election.The Social Democrats got an unexpectedly dismal 20.8 percent — the party's worst showing since World War II in any nationwide election.Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and a regional sister party won 37.8 percent, down from 44.5 percent five years ago. But the outcome was enough to boost Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right grand coalition that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005, and replacing it with a center-right government.We are the force that is acting level-headedly and correctly in this financial and economic crisis, said Volker Kauder, the leader of Merkel's party in the German parliament.French President Nicolas Sarkozy's governing conservatives trounced the Socialists, while an ecology-minded party vaulted to a surprisingly strong third place, according to official results.The Socialists, who dominated the last vote in 2004, suffered a stinging defeat, barely clinging to the No. 2 spot.Tonight is a very difficult evening for Socialists in many nations in Europe, said Martin Schulz, the leader of the Socialists in the European Parliament.(We will) continue to fight for social democracy in Europe.Far-right groups and other fringe parties gained in record low turnout estimated at 43.5 percent of 375 million eligible, reflecting widespread disenchantment with the continentwide legislature.

Britain elected its first extreme-right politician to the European Parliament, with the British National Party winning a seat in northern England's Yorkshire and the Humber district.The far-right party, which does not accept nonwhites as members, was expected to possibly win further seats as more results in Britain were announced.

Lawmakers with Britain's major political parties said the far right's advance was a reflection of anger over immigration issues and the recession that is causing unemployment to soar.Near-final results showed Austria's main rightist party gaining strongly while the ruling Social Democrats lost substantial ground. But the big winner was the rightist Freedom Party, which more than doubled its strength over the 2004 elections to 13.1 percent of the vote. It campaigned on an anti-Islam platform.

In the Netherlands, Geert Wilders' anti-Islamic party took 17 percent of the country's votes, taking four of 25 seats. The Hungarian far-right Jobbik party won three of 22 seats, with the main center-right opposition party, Fidesz, capturing 14 seats and the governing Socialists only four. Jobbik describes itself as Euro-skeptic and anti-immigration and wants police to crack down on petty crimes committed by Gypsies. Critics say the party is racist and anti-Semitic. Fringe groups could use the EU parliament as a platform for their extreme views but were not expected to affect the assembly's increasingly influential lawmaking on issues ranging from climate change to cell-phone roaming charges. The EU parliament has evolved over five decades from a consultative legislature to one with the power to vote on or amend two-thirds of all EU laws. Lawmakers get five-year terms and residents vote for lawmakers from their own countries.The parliament can also amend the EU budget — euro120 billion ($170 billion) this year — and approves candidates for the European Commission, the EU administration and the board of the European Central Bank. Many Socialists ran campaigns that slammed center-right leaders for failing to rein in financial markets and spend enough to stimulate faltering economies. People don't want a return to socialism and that's why the majority here will be a center-right majority,said Graham Watson, leader of the EU's center-right Liberal Democrat grouping.In Spain, the conservative Popular Party won two more seats than the ruling Socialists — 23 to 21 seats — with over 88 percent of the vote counted. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi's Freedom People's Party held a two-digit lead over his main center-left rival in the most recent polling despite a deep recession and a scandal over allegations he had an inappropriate relationship with a young model. Italian results were being released Monday. In Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown was facing a showdown with rebel lawmakers on Monday after the party's expected dismal results in the European parliament and local elections were announced. Brown has been struggling with the economic crisis and a scandal over lawmakers' expenses. The opposition Conservatives are expected to win the next national election, which must be called by June 2010.According to a BBC projection, Labour was trailing the United Kingdom Independence Party in third place. It put the main opposition Conservative Party at 27 percent, UKIP at 17 and Labour at 16, followed by smaller parties.This time we have come second in a major national election. That is a hell of an achievement,said Nigel Farage, leader of UKIP — which advocates Britain's withdrawal from the European Union. An exit poll showed Irish ruling party Fianna Fail, which supports EU plans to strengthen its authority, trailing its rival Fine Gael by 23 percent to 30 percent.

The outcome of many Irish races was unclear early Monday. The count was halted for an hour Sunday night in Ireland's North West EU constituency after candidate Declan Ganley, founder of anti-treaty party Libertas, raised procedural questions about the opening of ballot boxes. An exit poll in Poland showed Prime Minister Donald Tusk's pro-business Civic Platform party with 45.3 percent and the nationalist and conservative opposition Law and Justice party second with 29.5 percent — a shift to the center-right for Poland at the European parliament.

The Democratic Left Alliance-Labor Union garnered 12 percent.

In Sweden, the Pirate Party, which advocates shortening the duration of copyright protection and allowing noncommercial file-sharing, looked set to take its first seat with 7.4 percent of the vote. Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands and five other EU nations cast ballots over the last three days, while the rest of the 27-nation bloc voted Sunday.Associated Press writers Geir Moulson and Patrick McGroarty in Berlin, Angela Charlton in Paris, Harold Heckle in Madrid, Raphael Satter and David Stringer in London, Constant Brand in Brussels, Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, Ryan Lucas in Warsaw, George Jahn in Vienna, Derek Gatopoulos and Elena Becatoros in Athens, Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Alison Mutler in Bucarest, Romania, Keith Moore and Malin Rising in Stockholm and Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, contributed to this report.

European Parliament vote: Extreme right poised to gain ground By Mark Rice-Oxley – Fri Jun 5, 5:00 am ET

London – Europe is bracing for a lurch toward populist, anti-European parties of the right this weekend as the world's biggest transnational elections unfold across 27 countries.Fringe parties hostile to immigration, foreigners, and the European Union (EU) in general were poised to score well in the first two countries to vote in European parliamentary elections, Britain and Holland, according to exit polls and expert projections. Geert Wilders, a populist who despises Islam, opposes immigration, and wants the European Parliament abolished, was given more than 15 percent of the vote in the Netherlands and just one seat less than the ruling Christian Democrats, according to an exit poll.In Britain, two right-wing parties opposed to the EU – the UK Independence Party and the British National Party – were predicted to get one-fifth of all votes, according to the predict09.eu website compiled by leading political scientists.It's clear from the Netherlands that the populist right is going to do well,says Wyn Grant, a politics professor at Warwick University in Central England.It's a trend across Europe, and it's not surprising in a recession,he adds.Most EU countries are deep in recession and this week unemployment figured showed almost one in 10 Europeans were jobless.Sara Hagemann, a Danish analyst with the Brussels-based European Policy Centre adds that extreme parties would get a much higher proportion of seats than in national elections. Voters who turn out [in European elections] often have quite strong opinions about the EU,she says.Though elections to the European Parliament habitually throw up a protest vote, this time around they could prove fatal to governments in at least two countries if the ruling elite perform as badly as predicted. Hungary's ruling socialists are so unpopular that a bad result could see their government fall apart.

But no leader is more vulnerable than Britain's Gordon Brown, who has seen support ebb not just from his Labour Party voters but from his own ministers. The Labour government, humiliated by revelations of mercenary expense claims by legislators, may struggle to stay afloat much longer if overall results are as poor as some predict.

On Friday, Brown was forced to reshuffle his remaining ministers after four big names quit in 72 hours. A terrible result when voting tallies are announced on Sunday evening could be the final straw, experts say.The results are going to be very bad for Labour; the question is, will they be disastrous,says Professor Grant.If he's got 20 percent of vote, though bad, that will be seen as just enough. The problem is if he went as low as 16 percent,which could leave Labour in fourth place and Brown's mandate looking anachronistic.

A giant election, but does anybody care?
The twice-a-decade European Parliamentary vote is sometimes grandiosely billed as the world's biggest multinational elections. This time, around 375 million people are eligible to cast ballots in 27 countries, sending 736 legislators to Brussels.In reality, the vote is more like a mid-term election, a chance to give national governments a bloody nose. The paradox is that while most voters couldn't care less about the European Parliament, it is becoming more and more important as an institution. When it was first elected in 1979, turnout was more than 60 percent – but the chamber was little more than just a talking shop. These days, turnout has scudded to well below 50 percent – but the Parliament has arguably become more important than national parliaments. It scrutinizes and weighs in on as much as two-thirds of all EU laws, ranging from immigration to the environment, from transport to trade, from communications to employment rights.The European Parliament is the second most powerful legislative parliament in the world after the US Congress,says Simon Hix, a professor of European politics at the London School of Economics and Political Science and an analyst for the predict09.eu website.The powers of the EU have increased enormously. The EU is responsible for regulating and creating a continental-scale market in Europe and most of that is done with equal power to the European Parliament.Caroline Lucas, a Briton who has served as a Green Party Member of Parliament for 10 years, says many voters underestimate the power of the chamber. Eighty percent of environmental policy and 50 percent of social policy comes from Brussels, so electing a politician you believe in is crucial,she says.

Parliamentary wallflowers?
The lurch to populism could bring a clutch of new obstructionist legislators into the Brussels parliament. Other rightwing parties poised to do well include the Freedom Party in Austria and Jobbik in Hungary.But Ms. Lucas says it is unclear how that will affect policymaking. The irony of sending anti-Europeans to Brussels is that when they get there they tend to sit in the corner and sulk rather than engaging with process. It all depends whether they engage in the work of the Parliament,Lucas says. She notes that UKIP, the British rejectionists, have done almost no work at all in the Parliament over the past five years.It depends whether they abstain or engage. If they do engage then there is a real risk that policy will get affected.

Voters angry about economy
Europe is not a homogenous political space and different countries will throw up contrasting trends. In some countries like Germany and France, the breakthrough party is expected to come from the far left, not the far right. In general, Hix says, the center-right will hold its ground: center-right governing parties in Italy and Poland, for example, are expected to trounce the opposition. But the center-left is going to do badly across all of Europe,Hix predicts. We are seeing the mainstream parties being punished for economic crisis. We are seeing a growing populism – it's against foreigners, against Europe, and against globalization.

BNP wins two seats in Europe JUNE 7,09

LONDON (AFP) – The British National Party on Monday won its first seats in the European Parliament, in a major breakthrough for a party reviled by mainstream politicians for its anti-immigration stance.Party chairman Nick Griffin was elected an MEP in the northwest of England region with eight percent of the vote, hours after Andrew Brons won the BNP's first ever European seat in the nearby Yorkshire and the Humber region.Both seats were at the expense of the Labour Party, which suffered a devastating result across the country.Griffin had earlier hailed Brons' win -- with almost 10 percent of the vote -- as a huge breakthrough for his party, and used the victory to reiterate his party's anti-immigration and anti-Islam stance.He denied his party was racist, but said:We do say this country is full up. The key thing is to shut the door.Griffin told Sky News television: This is a Christian country and Islam is not welcome, because Islam and Christianity, Islam and democracy, Islam and women's rights do not mix.That's a simple fact that the elites of Europe are going to have to get their heads round and deal with over the next few years.The result is a vindication of efforts by Griffin, who was educated at the prestigious Cambridge University, to recast the party since taking over in 1999, emphasising its grassroots activism over extreme-right ideology.Amid concerns about soaring unemployment and a deep recession and in particular the demise of the country's manufacturing base, the BNP has pledged British jobs for British workers.It is opposed to European integration and wants to pull Britain out of the European Union and halt all immigration to the country.In recent weeks it has also capitalised on public anger over the row over lawmakers' expenses, which has severely damaged the reputation of parliament and the mainstream Labour and Conservative parties.Health minister Andrew Burnham described the BNP's first MEP victory as a sad moment, and following Griffin's success in the northwest, local Labour MP Tony Lloyd said he was ashamed at how some people had voted.I am genuinely not just disappointed, I think it is a matter of shame, this country has a deserved reputation for a tolerant society,said Lloyd, the Labour MP for Manchester Central.Their (the BNP) vision for Britain is a nightmare for Britain. I think many people will wake up with some sense of shame.

Government ministers and the Conservative party had sought to remind voters of the BNP's policies, which include calls for the immediate halt to all immigration to Britain and the voluntary resettlement of all immigrants.

Merkel party wins German vote; rival embarrassed By GEIR MOULSON, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jun 7, 7:33 pm ET

BERLIN – Germans handed a lackluster victory to Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and a historically heavy defeat to their center-left rivals in Sunday's European Parliament vote, months before a national election.The outcome, a center-right majority, was enough to boost Merkel's hopes of ending the tense left-right grand coalition that has led the European Union's most populous nation since 2005 and replacing it with a center-right government.It also showed that Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier — her center-left challenger — faces a steep uphill struggle to oust the popular Merkel in the Sept. 27 national election.We can build on this result for the German parliamentary election,said Ronald Pofalla, general secretary of Merkel's party. People have confidence in Angela Merkel and the (Christian Democratic) Union in the crisis.Merkel's Christian Democratic Union and its Bavaria-only sister, the Christian Social Union, won 37.8 percent of the EU parliament vote, final official results showed. That was down from 44.5 percent five years ago.

Steinmeier's Social Democrats won an unexpectedly dismal 20.8 percent — the party's worst showing since World War II in any nationwide election. Their previous worst was 21.5 percent in the last EU vote, in 2004, when they led an unpopular center-left government.Germany's current grand coalition of the CDU and CSU with the Social Democrats is the result of an indecisive national election in 2005.Both hope to end it this year. Merkel's preferred future coalition partner, the pro-business Free Democrats, polled 11 percent on Sunday. That was a solid gain from 6.1 percent five years ago and, added to the conservative score, meant a center-right majority.The Greens won 12.1 percent of the vote Sunday, very slightly better than in 2004. The opposition Left Party took 7.5 percent, a small gain.Recent polls have suggested the Free Democrats are gaining support from conservative voters turned off by bank nationalizations and company bailouts.Germany had a thoroughly lackluster European election campaign, with more attention going to government efforts, concluded last week, to put together a rescue package for General Motors Corp.'s Opel unit.The Social Democrats' strong push for the rescue and their sympathy for government aid for other struggling companies — which few conservatives share — did not appear to impress voters.

Germans are a people of savers who suspect debts incurred to tackle the crisis will at some point result in higher taxes, said Tanja Boerzel, a political expert at Berlin's Free University.Merkel's conservatives were expected to lose ground Sunday compared with 2004, but the Social Democrats expected at least some gains.This is a disappointing election result — there's no talking around it,Steinmeier told ARD.

Steinmeier, however, felt his party's results in Germany's own election will be better.In the German parliamentary election, almost twice as many people (will go) to the polls and the result will be different,he insisted.Germany, with some 82 million people, has 99 seats in the EU's 736-seat parliament. Merkel's conservatives took 42 seats on Sunday — down from 49 in 2004 — and the Free Democrats 12, up from seven. The Social Democrats held their 23 seats. The Greens won 14 and the Left Party eight, each gaining one seat.Sunday's turnout of 43.3 percent was barely above the 2004 level of 43 percent.

Lebanon's pro-Western parties appear to defeat Hezbollah coalition Sun Jun 7, 7:18 pm ET

BEIRUT - Lebanon's ruling pro-Western coalition appeared headed for a decisive political victory over its Iranian-backed Hezbollah rivals early Monday in the Middle East nation's most fiercely contested parliamentary election in decades.Fireworks echoed through Beirut neighborhoods as unofficial results indicated that Hezbollah and its Christian allies were dealt a surprising setback at the polls.With soldiers looking on, jubilant supporters of the ruling coalition poured into the streets, waving flags, honking car horns and chanting political slogans.We will return as the majority,Samir Geagea , head of the powerful Lebanese Forces party that is part of the pro-Western ruling coalition known as March 14 , told LBC television.Both sides had predicted no more than a narrow victory. But unofficial results, which were expected to be made final later Monday, showed March 14 politicians winning most of the close races. Analysts projected that they would secure at least 70 seats in the 128-seat parliament. The coalition held 70 seats in the outgoing parliament while Hezbollah and its allies had 58.Unofficial results showed March 14 politicians winning most of the close races. Local analysts projected that they would secure at least 70 seats in the 128-seat parliament. The coalition held 70 seats in the outgoing parliament while Hezbollah and its allies had 58.The outcome was a triumph for the March 14 coalition of Sunni Muslim, Druze and Christian politicians and a victory as well for President Barack Obama as he embarks on a daunting effort to bring new stability to the Middle East .In the final weeks of campaigning, Vice President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton both flew to Beirut , where they offered tacit support for the pro-Western parties and warned that the United States might cut off financial support for Lebanon if its allies lost.Last week, Obama flew to Cairo , where he delivered a well-received speech in which he called for a new beginning in relations between the United States and the Arab and Muslim world.With the optimism after Obama's speech to the Arab world, this will be a good victory for Lebanon and the region,said Nauron, a 38-year-old female clothing store manager who was rushing through Beirut's largely Christian Ashrafieh neighborhood, a critical battleground in the race.In the speech, Obama said America would welcome all elected, peaceful governments -- provided they govern with respect for all their people.Monday's defeat for the Hezbollah coalition, known as March 8 , allowed Obama to avoid an early challenge to his guiding philosophy.If March 8 had won, we would have been under total isolation from the whole world,said Elias Hadad , a 28-year-old university student.Lebanon is not for the Islamic resistance.While the results do not assure stability in Lebanon , Hezbollah leaders immediately signaled that they would not challenge the results.

We consider that Lebanon is ruled by partnership and whatever the results of the elections are, we cannot change the standing delicate balances or repeat the experiences of the past, which led to catastrophes on Lebanon and showed the inability of one party monopolizing power," Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah told Reuters.Heading into the election, Hezbollah and its allies held minority veto power in the 128-seat Lebanese parliament.Some analysts expect a similar power sharing arrangement for the next parliament as the best way to assure stability in Lebanon .

The road is still very long, and the project of the state will not be implemented unless by dialogue,Lebanese leader Walid Jumblatt , another critical member of the ruling coalition, told reporters after the vote. The situation in the multi-sectarian regions is very sensitive, and we should stop and contemplate the future,he said. Our future is built through dialogue.Sunday's election was one of the most fiercely contested for Lebanon in decades. Government officials said more than 52 percent of Lebanon's 3 million voters cast ballots, a high number for the nation of 4 million.
(Special correspondent Moe Ali Nayel contributed to this report from Beirut .)

Report: NKorean launch does not appear imminent By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer JUNE 7,09

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea is stepping up preparations to test-fire a long-range missile from its new launching site near China, but a launch does not appear imminent, a news report said Monday.North Korea has reportedly been assembling an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. at the new Dongchang-ni site. Such a long-range missile launch would further heighten tension following the North's May 25 nuclear test and a barrage of missile launches.Seoul's mass-circulation JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported Monday that there have been constant movements of personnel and vehicles at the site, but a missile-tracking radar system has not been installed there yet — meaning that a launch is not imminent.Reports last week had said that North Korea could conduct the launch around June 16 when the presidents of South Korea and the United States are scheduled to hold a summit in Washington. The timing is being closely watched for signs of further belligerence from North Korea amid fears it could provoke an armed confrontation with South Korea.

JoongAng Ilbo cited unnamed South Korean government and intelligence officials as saying it appears that the North is still trying to finish construction of the site while at the same time stepping up launch preparations.Separately, the North has also been forging ahead with preparations to test-fire medium-range missiles on its west coast. The paper said there have been brisk movements of up to six vehicles mounted with mobile missile launchers at the North's Anbyon region over the past week.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Washington is considering adding North Korea back to a list of state sponsors of terrorism. The previous administration of President George W. Bush removed Pyongyang from the list last year in exchange for the North's nuclear disarmament pledge.Clinton was asked on ABC television's This Week about a letter that some senators wrote Obama about returning North Korea to that list.We're going to look at it. There's a process for it,Clinton said in the interview, taped Thursday in Egypt.Obviously we would want to see recent evidence of their support for international terrorism.The JoongAng Ilbo also reported that luxury cars have been spotted moving in and out of North Korea's long-range missile site. Some South Korean media have reported that the North could hold a ceremony to mark the site's completion and the North's leader Kim Jong Il could attend.Last week, Tim Brown, a senior fellow with GlobalSecurity.org, said new commercial satellite images have shown that the North's launch site was ready for use after nearly a decade of construction. The launch tower and what appears to be construction materials on the launch pad are seen in the images, he said. He speculated that the debris may be there to make the pad appear as though it is still under construction.

SKorea: North's nuke, missile threats won't work By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer – Sat Jun 6, 9:23 am ET

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's president said Saturday his country won't give in to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, while Pyongyang accused Seoul of sending patrol boats into its territorial waters — the scene of past bloody naval clashes.In France, President Barack Obama suggested a new, stronger response to North Korean nuclear and missile testing, saying the North has tested the limits of patient diplomacy intended to persuade the reclusive communist country to accept international demands and end to its nuclear program.The North's official Korean Central News Agency alleged the patrol boats were sailing into North Korean waters daily around the rivals' disputed western sea border. The Korean-language report warned that aggressors would be dealt merciless punishment that will be beyond imagination.The claim was rejected by Seoul, which two days ago alleged one of the North's patrol boats violated its sea border in the same area. The boat turned back without incident after a 50-minute standoff with the South's naval ships, the South Korean military said.The disputed waters — where deadly clashes occurred in 1999 and 2002 — are a potential flash point for the rivals. Many fear a minor dispute could quickly escalate into a major confrontation, especially with tensions soaring after the North's May 25 nuclear blast and recent missile tests.Earlier Saturday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak delivered a stern warning to the North in a nationally televised Memorial Day speech honoring the country's war dead at Seoul's National Cemetery.I would like to make it clear that there will be no compromise against things that threaten our people and security,Lee said.Lee's words echoed those of U.S. officials, who have also said the North's former tactics of using military threats to win much-needed food and energy aid would no longer work.Obama, who was in France to commemorate the D-Day invasion, promised to take a very hard look at the next steps to take over North Korea's recent actions.Diplomacy has to involve the other side engaging in serious way, and we have not seen that reaction from North Korea,Obama said.I don't think there should be an assumption that we will simply continue down a path in which North Korea is constantly destabilizing the region and we continue to act in the same ways.

Washington is considering punishing North Korea with its own financial sanctions, apart from whatever the U.N. might decide to adopt.At the U.N., lengthy closed-door negotiations about sanctions appeared to be close to an end. The measure was being worked out by five veto-wielding Security Council nations — the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France — along with Japan and South Korea.The seven nations have sent a draft of the measure to their capitals for comment, and ambassadors are expected to continue meeting early next week to discuss the governments' reactions.The draft calls on U.N. members to immediately comply with sanctions imposed in 2006 after North Korea's first nuclear test, which include an arms embargo on heavy weapons, ship searches for illegal weapons and a ban on luxury goods.South Korea's president also demanded the release of a South Korean worker detained in late March at a joint industrial complex in the northern border town of Kaesong. Pyongyang has denied Seoul access to the man — accused of slandering the regime — and his whereabouts were unclear.

Lee said, North Korea should return our detained worker without condition.

Also held in the North were American TV journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee, who worked for former Vice President Al Gore's California-based Current TV. They were arrested March 17 while reporting about the trafficking of women along the China-North Korea border. It's unclear if they strayed into the North or were grabbed by aggressive border guards who crossed into China.The reporters' trial had been scheduled to begin Thursday, but there has been no confirmation that the proceedings have started.In Washington on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said,I have met with their families and I've shared the grave anxiety that they feel about the safety and security of these two young women. We call again on the North Korean government to release them and enable them to come home as soon as possible.
Associated Press writers William Foreman in Seoul, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Pamela Hess in Washington contributed to this report.

OBAMAS BIRTH CIRTIFICATE NOT ACCEPTABLE IN HAWAII
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=100451

Obama, Settlements, and the Missing Two-State-Solutions
by Gerald A. Honigman JUNE 7,09

President Barack Obama’s long-awaited speech to the Muslim World in Cairo had some important, positive elements in it. He is to be commended for that.Among other things, he spelled out the need for Arabs and other Muslims to get a handle on their own extremists; defined, then stressed, the importance of true democracy while speaking in a nation run by modern-day Pharaohs; emphasized the importance of equal rights for women; and so forth.When speaking of the need for all peoples to get along, the President even dared to speak the word Copt–once...then dropped it like a hot potato. But this, too, was sort of courageous–if short-lasting–given the extreme touchiness of the subject. After all, this wasn’t Israel he was speaking in–nor poor Arabs–er Palestinians–he was crying about.The Copts, after all, were/are the millions of native people who were conquered and forcibly Arabized–like much of the rest of the Middle East–after the Arabs burst out of the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century C.E. and spread in all directions.Unlike Hindus, Buddhists, and other non-”Peoples of the Book(primarily Christians and Jews),” Copts were not given an ultimatum to convert to Islam en masse or die (yet many, indeed, have been murdered).

The latter Ahl al-Kitab above were allowed to live as long as they accepted their subjugated status as dhimmis–protected people…that is, as long as they paid their special taxes and such to their Arab Muslim masters. Know your place, and it was possible to prosper.The Uncle Tom Copt supreme, the late President Sadat’s Foreign Minister and later Secretary General of the United Nations, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, offered that Israel must consent to the same Arabization if it wanted to be accepted in the Arab World. I don’t think you want to know my feelings about such acceptance.Now, of course, this all begs the question–or at least should…Why was there only one brief word by our President about Copts–without defining their plight or saying anything else about them–but, unabashedly later, he felt free to lead the Arab choir in taking Israel to task about the plight of the Palestinians (mostly Arabs whose families came from somewhere else–despite their taqiyyah, legitimate lying to the Infidel–tales of woe)? There are more native Copts in Egypt than Palestinian (however you define that) Arabs.I understand the Arabs’ demand that virtually the whole region be seen as just their own–purely Arab patrimony as they tell it. But why does an American President have to play along with this subjugating mindset ? He mentioned the word Darfur also. Does he also not know who the perpetrators of the Sudan’s genocidal actions are? But, again, one word…and dropped–like Copt–like a hot potato.While it was nice to hear the President lecture the Muslim world about the Holocaust, he played right into their hands once again–at least those, unlike Ahmadinejad of Iran and the President’s good buddy, Mahmoud Abbas, who do not deny that it ever happened.The Arab believers’ typical answer is, why should we have to pay for the sins of Europe?

Now, there was a way that Mr. Obama could have handled the subject correctly that would have been light years better–if he had really wanted to. But that’s another point where his attempt at courage failed him.One half of Israel’s Jews are from refugee families from the Arab/Muslim World. Over another million more of these folks live in France, America, and elsewhere–the refugees hardly anyone ever talks about. They were known as kilab yahud–Jew dogs–and, like Copts (only worse), also never knew what the morrow would bring living as dhimmis amid Arab Muslim masters. Massacres, forced conversions, expulsions, constant humiliations, and so forth were certainly not unknown to the killers of Prophets and the sons of apes and pigs.While the President once again lectured about those allegedly horrid Israeli settlements (how dare a Jew demand to once again be allowed to live in Judea?), which we’ll get to shortly, why was he silent about millions of native Kurds in Syria and Imazighen/Berbers in North Africa who have had their own languages and cultures outlawed and have been slaughtered if they dare to protest? The latter have been told that they can’t even name their children with their own native names and must use Arab Islamic ones instead. But, let’s all complain about settlements instead…Why demand a roadmap for the Arabs’ state # 22 (second, not first, in the original April 25, 1920 borders of the Mandate of Palestine–Arab Jordan being created after 1922 on some 80% of the total area)–but not demand likewise for some thirty-five million truly stateless, non-Arab Kurds or justice for tens of millions of non-Arab Imazighen?

The President’s focus on Muslim extremism was indeed important, but why did he yield to the assertion that the Arabs’ demand for their additional state–nearly two dozen in total– was somehow equivalent to the Jews’ demand that their own sole, resurrected nation not be destroyed in granting that Arab wish? Mr. Obama can whisper or shout sweet pleasantries all that he wants to about a two-state solution (at least referring to Jews and Arabs–forget about any rights for those others and more mentioned above), but he knows full well that that Saudi Peace (of the grave) Plan he said Israel would be crazy not to accept calls for Israel to be inundated by millions of so-called returning Arab refugees, raised on murderous Jew-hatred for decades, and for Israel to return to its pre-67 , nine-mile wide Auschwitz/armistice line–not border–existence.In other words– a plan to convert Israel into another Arab state…peacefully, the Saudi Peace Plan in a nutshell. That’s why, to this date, Abbas–the alleged good cop–swears he’ll never recognize a Jewish State of Israel. Blown buses bring bad press…so, there’s more than one way to skin the Jewish cat (especially with America supplying the pliers)!

Now think about this a minute…

President Obama demands that Jews stop building for normal growth in Jewish population centers resurrected in Judea and Samaria–aka only in the past century as the West Bank.He includes Jerusalem in this too. The area, by the way, is non-apportioned territory of the Mandate–open to settlement by Arabs and Jews alike…not Palestinian territory as is frequently claimed. Jews lived and owned property there until the Arab massacres of the 1920s and 1930s.After the Arab attempt on Israel’s life failed in 1967, the architects of the final draft of UNSC Resolution 242 did not expect Israel to return to the vulnerable ‘49 armistices line of the status quo ante.242 called for the creation of secure and recognized borders to replace those lines, and any Israeli withdrawal at all was to be in the context of true peace treaties–not hudna schmudna cease fires. The aim was to give Israel some semblance of defensible borders, which it never had before–a constant temptation to those who would cut it in half in an armored attack, and so forth. Arabs had indeed already tried this before.Here’s Britain’s Lord Caradon, chief architect of the final draft of 242, on the matter:We didn’t say there should be a withdrawal to the 67 line; we did not put the the in, we did not say all the territories deliberately. We all knew - that the boundaries of 67 were not drawn as permanent frontiers, they were a cease-fire line of a couple of decades earlier… We did not say that the 67 boundaries must be forever; it would be insanity. President Lyndon Johnson summarized the situation this way on June 19, 1967:A return to the situation on June 4 (the day before outbreak of war) was not a prescription for peace but for renewed hostilities. He then called for new recognized boundaries that would provide security against terror, destruction, and war.President Ronald Reagan, September 1, 1982:In the pre-1967 borders, Israel was barely 10-miles wide…the bulk of Israel’s population within artillery range of hostile armies. I am not about to ask Israel to live that way again.And in 1988, Secretary of State George Shultz declared…Israel will never negotiate from or return to the 1967 borders.

So, are ya ready?

Here’s my question to President Obama and the rest of the non-Arab world, lecturing Israel in Cairo and elsewhere non-stop. I leave out Arabs because they don’t accept a 9-mile wide Jewish State of Israel (but claim some two dozen Arab states–most created out of non-Arab peoples’ territory–for themselves), so nix any idea of them accepting anything bigger:Where is Israel to get that territorial compromise over the disputed territories 242 promises if not in those settlements Mr. Obama complains about in a very small portion of Judea and Samaria? I repeat…Israel was not expected to pull back to the suicidal armistice lines imposed upon it by the United Nations after it turned back the deadly assault of a half dozen Arab armies on it upon its rebirth in 1948. As would come to happen far too often later, the U.N. only stepped in after the Jews had turned the tide. It did nothing but watch when Israel was immediately attacked. Likewise, it withdrew its peacekeeping force in Sinai as soon as Egypt’s Nasser said to do so–after the latter set up his blockade of Israel at the Straits of Tiran–a casus belli.America and other nations have fought wars and acquired territories thousands of miles away from home in the name of their national defense and security interests.Is it really that hard for an intelligent American President to understand that Israel lives in a very nasty neighborhood and so requires a bit more depth to buffer itself from its committed, would-be executioners–no matter how much whitewash he pours over them? The settlements issue Mr. Obama implies is the equivalent to Arabs not blowing Jews apart really comes down to this…

Given the situation Israel constantly faces (look at a map of the world…I dare you to find Israel without using a magnifying glass), does it not have a right to have a border which makes it wider in mileage than the distance Michelle Obama has to travel to buy shoes at the local shopping mall? Finally, please watch for my book coming out shortly on these very issues and more, The Quest For Justice In The Middle East–The Arab-Israeli Conflict in Greater Perspective.

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 MON JUNE 08,2009

09:30 AM -2.15
10:00 AM -96.43
10:30 AM -122.93
11:00 AM -65.47
11:30 AM -94.89
12:00 PM -105.42
12:30 PM -120.16
01:00 PM -110.71
01:30 PM -104.97
02:00 PM -95.22
02:30 PM -95.07
03:00 PM -57.68
03:30 PM -10.04
04:00 PM +1.36 8764.49

S&P 500 939.14 -0.95

NASDAQ 1842.40 -7.02

GOLD 953.90 -8.70

OIL 68.71 +0.27

TSE 300 10,550.27 -19.02

CDNX 1131.82 -6.17

S&P/TSX/60 643.18 -1.58

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -0.15%
S&P +4.08%
Nasdaq +17.27%
TSX Advances 921,declines 618,unchanged 255,Volume 2,283,104,300.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 451,Declines 390,Unchanged 318,Volume 286.712,786.

Dow -53 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -122 points at low today.
Dow -2 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $947.10.OIL opens at $68.02 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -122 points at low today so far.
Dow -2 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 10:30AM STATS
NYSE Advances 608,declines 2,611,unchanged 93,New Highs 11,New Lows 27.
Volume 618,242,326.
NASDAQ Advances 623,declines 1,710,unchanged 112,New highs 13,New Lows 6.
Volume 228,137,796.
TSX Advances 262,declines 740,unchanged 218,Volume 308,068,288.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 152,Declines 231,Unchanged 161,Volume 53,364,288.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -126 points at low today.
Dow +42 points at high today.
Dow +0.02% today Volume 189,624,015.
Nasdaq -0.38% today Volume 1,897,472,747.
S&P 500 -0.10% today Volume N/A

Market rally hits 3 months, raising questions By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer – Sun Jun 7, 2:24 pm ET

NEW YORK – Three months can feel like a long time on Wall Street.In the stock market, where news about companies and the economy dictate buy and sell decisions in a matter seconds, the market's powerful rally is getting pretty old to some experienced players.Traders have been laying down bets on modest signs that the economy is halting its slide. That optimism has lifted the Standard & Poor's 500 index, a benchmark for many investments like mutual funds, an enormous 39 percent from a 12-year low on March 9. Those kinds of gains might normally take four years to materialize.Some analysts are asking whether ebullient investors have been too quick to shed their caution. Another round of economic data this week could help determine whether the gains will hold.Are we getting ahead of ourselves in terms of market levels? I believe that we are and I think investors would be wise to take some profits off the table,said Walter Gerasimowicz, chairman and chief executive of Meditron Asset Management.The rally has added 2,220 points the Dow Jones industrial average to put it within a dozen points of being flat for the year. But the Dow is still down 5,400 points from its high of 14,164.53 in October 2007.Green arrows began popping up on stock screens three months ago this week as traders determined that the economy was likely to sidestep a ruinous fall marked by the Great Depression and instead muddle through the worst recession in decades.But some analysts contend that investors are in danger of setting expectations too high for how quickly the economy can recover from the recession that started in December 2007.When the predictions become less dour I think that introduces the possibly of disappointment,said Jeff Knight, head of asset allocation at Putnam Investments.You don't have any evidence yet that things have actually gotten any better.Even if the worst is over for the economy, investors are still staring at a long list of worries. Housing remains in a funk and unemployment sits at a 26-year high. The government said Friday that employers shed 345,000 jobs last month, the fewest since September. But unemployment is still a high 9.4 percent after four straight months of slowing layoffs.Even brightening prospects for the economy could trip up the markets. Besides risking overconfidence, investors are helping push interest rates higher. They're selling off Treasurys, no longer in need of the safety of government debt, and that in turn forces up rates on mortgages and other kinds of loans for consumers.Where do you go from here? I think it's dangerous to take a strong view one way or the other at the moment,Knight said.Analysts say that even if the economy begins to grow, it likely will take some time before consumers hit by lost jobs, lower home values and tighter access to credit start spending more.On Thursday, the Commerce Department releases its May retail sales report. Retailers last week reported mixed results but some analysts were surprised that more shoppers hadn't returned to stores.Gerasimowicz contends consumers, whose spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, could hold back the economy's recovery if they continue to hunker down.

The consumer has to be out there,Gerasimowicz said.The Federal Reserve reported last week that consumer borrowing in April fell by twice as much as analysts had been expecting.Investors also expect to focus this week on the Fed's Beige Book, which provides readings on the U.S. economy by region. The report is due Wednesday and arrives two weeks before policymakers' next meeting. The Commerce Department on Tuesday is expected to release wholesale trade inventories for April. On Wednesday, the agency reports on the nation's trade balance. On Thursday, the Commerce Department reports on April business inventories and on Friday, the Reuters/University of Michigan issues its first reading on consumer sentiment for June.

Mugabe launches new African trade pact by Godfrey Marawanyika Godfrey Marawanyika – Sun Jun 7, 6:28 pm ET

VICTORIA FALLS, Zimbabwe (AFP) – Robert Mugabe on Sunday launched a new pact aimed at tearing down trade barriers across 19 African nations with appeals for external investors and an end to domestic conflicts.The veteran leader took over as chairman of the continent's largest trade bloc -- home to 400 million people stretching from the southern Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean -- and opened the customs union within their borders.Our message to investors worldwide and to those of our region is clear: we have a regional market for you, come to COMESA,said the 85-year-old Zimbabwe president, referring to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa.To the whole world, we want to say... that we are serious as a region.With a combined gross domestic product of 360 billion dollars (255 billion euros), COMESA's members range from oil or tourist hotspots to some of the world's poorest and most conflict-torn nations.The bloc comprises: Burundi, Comoros, Djibouti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Rwanda, Seychelles, Sudan, Swaziland, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.Most have lifted visa restrictions on travel within the bloc.Speaking as once-prosperous Zimbabwe seeks to emerge from economic meltdown and political turmoil, Mugabe earlier urged leaders to stamp out violence and make Africa a continent of opportunity for all its people.You certainly agree with me that conflict is a serious cancer in our region and indeed many parts of Africa,Mugabe told a summit of members in a Zimbabwe resort.Strife has made us lose valuable manpower through death and displacement of people. It has also adversely affected our economies in regard to productivity and prosperity.Sudan's President Omar al-Beshir, who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes in Darfur, was among the audience.Just 10 years ago, nearly half of COMESA members were embroiled in the Democratic Republic of Congo's conflict.Sudan remains in civil war, while Madagascar' elected leader, Marc Ravalomanana who is at the summit, was toppled in March.As well as simplifying trade, COMESA hopes the customs union -- which sees all 19 countries impose the same tariffs on goods from outside the region -- will strengthen integration and eventually lead to a single currency.The COMESA fund is critical as it is the only way out of our current dependence on support from external partners who in most cases attach strings to any support they give to our development programmes,Mugabe said.

Under the deal to be outlined in detail on Monday, there will a range of tariffs from zero to 25 percent applying to different categories of goods and services.Raw materials and capital goods -- such as machinery -- will travel across borders without tariffs, while intermediate products will be taxed at 10 percent and finished goods at 25 percent.The launch of the union had been set for last May, but was twice delayed because of Zimbabwe's political turmoil and to allow more time for negotiations on harmonisation of tariffs. Officials say COMESA has already increased trade within Africa five-fold since 2000 from three billion dollars to 15 billion dollars. Kenyan Trade Minister Amos Kimunya said last week that the market is now the number one export market for several members states, ahead of traditional export markets such as the European Union. But some economists doubt Africa's traditional trade patterns will change. African states don't trade among themselves,said Bongani Motsa, an economist at the Pan African Advisory Service financial consultancy. If you look at the trading account, African states trade in primary products which they mostly export to the European Union, and then they import high value products from other international countries.

Cairns Group meets on agriculture, Doha trade round By Gde Anugrah Arka – Sun Jun 7, 1:57 am ET

NUSA DUA, Indonesia (Reuters) – Nineteen leading agricultural exporting nations, including Australia, Brazil and South Africa, kicked off talks in Bali on Sunday aimed at pushing forward troubled world trade negotiations.As well as seeking to move forward the stalled Doha trade round, the Cairns Group of nations accounting for more than 25 percent of the world's agricultural exports is also expected to take aim at U.S. and European dairy export subsidies.Despite the global economic crisis sharpening pressures for protectionism, there are also hopes that political conditions for a world trade deal are improving. U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk is due to attend the three-day meeting in the resort of Bali, as well as officials from the European Union and India.According to a draft document obtained by Reuters, the talks would include How can the Cairns Group best exert influence to reinvigorate the negotiations and finish the (Doha) Round.The protection of farmers from price swings or market implosions, such as subsidies for agricultural products, has emerged as one of the trickiest topics in the Doha round.The United States in May moved to subsidize some of its dairy exports, saying it was forced to respond to new European subsidies that have made it hard to compete in global markets depressed by the economic downturn. Top dairy exporters Australia and New Zealand have led protests against the moves.Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Pangestu also said the Bali meeting would discuss obstacles preventing the 153 World Trade Organization members from wrapping up the Doha round.The Cairns Group wants to eliminate huge agricultural subsidies and export subsidies for agricultural products by developed countries which have distorted global trade and hurt poor farmers in many developing countries, Pangestu told reporters late on Friday.Trade ministers came close in July 2008 to a deal on the Doha talks, launched in the Qatari capital in late 2001 to help poor countries prosper through trade.But that meeting collapsed over differences between Washington and big emerging countries such as India and China over a proposed safeguard to help farmers in poor countries withstand surges in imports.WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy is due to be in Bali, but a more critical factor to moving trade talks forward could be an expected meeting on the sidelines of the talks between U.S. trade representative Kirk and India's new trade minister, Anand Sharma.

The new Obama administration is conducting a review of U.S. trade policy including efforts to reach a deal on Doha and some of America's trading partners have been impressed by Kirk's conciliatory style, though they are still waiting to see the substance.The Cairns Group consists of Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, the Philippines, South Africa, Thailand, and Uruguay.(Additional reporting by Yayat Supriatna in Jakarta; Editing by Ed Davies)

Japan's current account surplus falls 54.5 percent JUNE 7,09

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan's current account surplus in April fell 54.5 percent from a year earlier as exports remained slow amid the global economic downturn, official data showed.The surplus dropped to 630.5 billion yen (6.39 billion dollars) against a surplus of 1,385.9 billion yen a year earlier, the finance ministry said.It was the 14th consecutive monthly drop as exports fell at a faster rate than imports. Exports were down 40.6 percent to 3,915.1 billion yen, while imports dropped 37.8 percent to 3,730.8 billion yen.The data came amid expectation of an upswing in the coming months, with output in some sectors starting to pick up following months of painful production cuts and inventory adjustments.The account balance should stay in surplus in the coming months, with exports expected to pick up while imports are likely to remain sluggish, Mizuho Research Institute analyst Atsushi Matsumoto said.While exports are likely to get some support from the global recovery, cheap prices of crude oil -- which makes up a big part of (Japan's) imports -- could cause imports to slightly decline,he told Dow Jones Newswire.That means that Japan's current account will likely keep posting surpluses,he said.

Nigerian militants intensify oil war threat – Sun Jun 7, 9:25 am ET

LAGOS (AFP) – Nigeria's main armed group on Sunday intensified its threat to attack the oil industry in the coming days, warning that it will stand firm on a 72-hour ultimatum issued over the weekend.The ultimatum (to local and foreign oil workers) expires about midnight (Monday) ... Our focus will be the oil industry as this is an oil war,the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said in an emailed statement.Although it did not give full details on the exact nature of the attack it planned to carry out on the oil industry in the Niger Delta in the country's south, it clarified that the fight will be restricted to oil facilities.

Hurricanes are never predictable by nature. So, we cannot predict what it will entail,said MEND in an earlier statement to AFP.An oil war simply means that the focus will be on oil politics and the fight will be restricted to oil infrastructure, the group explained in another email.MEND on Saturday warned Niger Delta oil workers to leave within 72 hours to avoid an imminent attack,a threat dismissed by the military as an empty boast by a toothless gang.The militants said the attack will not discriminate on tribe, nationality or race when it sweeps across the region.The warning also applies to greedy individuals from oil communities tempted to carry out repair contracts on pipelines already destroyed,MEND said in its statement on Saturday.Several of the group's warnings in the past have failed to materialise, however, and it was unclear if MEND would make good on its threat this time.

Colonel Rabe Abubakar, a spokesman for the special military unit deployed to the volatile region, dismissed the statement.It is nonsense and (an) empty boast by a toothless gang. We are fully prepared for them,said Abubakar, spokesman for the Joint Task Force (JTF).MEND is only seeking relevance. It cannot do anything. We will checkmate them if they try anything unlawful.MEND says it is fighting for impoverished local communities in the Niger Delta region.It has been accused of being behind a spate of kidnappings of oil workers and previous attacks against the oil industry, the theft of crude oil, extortion and the vandalism of oil installations and facilities.MEND has several times acknowledged holding local and foreign oil workers as well as vandalising the oil facilities.Unrest in the Niger Delta has reduced the country's daily oil output to 1.76 million barrels compared with 2.6 million barrels in January 2006.Most of Nigeria's crude is derived from the volatile region.