BILL TO BUFFALO NEWFOUNDLAND

Where's The Birth Certificate? billboard helps light up the night at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas Strip.(WND PICTURE)

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.

STORM WATCH
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/storm-watch/#clip206555
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctv-national-news/aug-22/#clip206447

GOOD BILL HAS BEEN DOWNGRADED SO NEWFOUNDLAND WILL SURVIVE THIS ROUND OF STORM.

Hurricane Bill peters out as it rolls over Newfoundland Mon Aug 24, 5:46 am ET

MIAMI (AFP) – Hurricane Bill was downgraded to a mere storm on Monday as it swept over Canada's easternmost province of Newfoundland, but it was still packing a mighty punch, the US National Hurricane Center said.Bill loses tropical characteristics, declared the Miami-based center just hours after the first hurricane of the Atlantic season made landfall on the southeastern edge of Newfoundland island.As of 0900 GMT, it said, Bill was packing maximum sustained winds of 70 miles (110 kilometers) an hour as it swirled 190 miles (305 kilometers) northeast of Cape Race, Newfoundland -- below hurricane status requirements of at least 74 miles (119 kilometers) an hour.The NHC said it was now charging north-northeast at 43 miles (69 kilometers) an hour. Further gradual weakening of Bill was forecast for the next couple of days.But the center warned that even though Bill is no longer a tropical cyclone, it is expected to produce a large area of storm and gale-force winds over the North Atlantic during the next day or two.The NHC said that since Bill did not qualify as a tropical storm any longer, it will discontinue its public advisories about the event.

For meteorologists, a hurricane is said to lose its tropical characteristics when it moves over land or cooler water -- unable to draw on warm water to feed its awesome energy.Earlier in the morning, Bill passed over the southeastern part of Newfoundland, but there were no immediate reports of any casualties or damage there.

But it left behind damage in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia where strong winds and rain knocked out power to 32,000 customers.Some roads in Nova Scotia were closed and more than a dozen flights from Halifax airport were cancelled Sunday as the storm passed through. Ferry services between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were suspended as well.In the United States, a seven-year-old girl was killed Sunday when a rogue wave swept a group of sightseers into the ocean from a cliff-top overlook in the northeastern state of Maine, a US Coast Guard spokesman said.The girl, who was not identified, was with about 20 other tourists on a scenic overlook in Acadia National Park known as Thunder Hole when the huge wave struck, the spokesman said.She was recovered, but the hospital reported to us that she was deceased upon arriving to the hospital,Petty Officer James Rhodes told AFP. The precise cause of death was not immediately known.Earlier, as Bill moved along the US east coast, tropical storm warnings were put in place, including on the island of Martha's Vineyard, where President Barack Obama and his family arrived for a vacation once Bill churned by.The storm had raised concerns and the Obamas decided to slightly delay their planned Sunday morning departure to Martha's Vineyard.By Sunday afternoon, the storm warnings were lifted and the Obamas touched down safely at their holiday destination.The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and ends on November 30.Bill's progress follows one of the calmest starts to the hurricane season in a decade, which researchers for the state of Colorado attributed to the development of an El Nino effect in the Pacific.

Hurricane Bill kills 2 in U.S., drenches eastern Canada Laura Macinnis – Sun Aug 23, 10:53 pm ET

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (Reuters) – Hurricane Bill brought rain and heavy winds to eastern Canada on Sunday after pounding the U.S. East Coast with heavy seas that killed two people.A seven-year-old girl died in a hospital after she was pulled unresponsive from the sea by the Coast Guard after a group of people were swept away by a huge wave along the coast of Maine, a Coast Guard spokesman said.The group had been watching the rough seas and heavy surf from Maine's Acadia National Park, Coast Guard Petty Officer Third Class James Rhodes said.The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said the Category 1 storm was racing toward Newfoundland at 35 mph and would weaken over the next 24 hours to an extratropical storm.Large and dangerous swells generated by the hurricane will continue to impact Atlantic Canada on Sunday night, it said.Atlantic Canada is an energy-producing region, exporting oil, natural gas and refined products to the U.S. Northeast and elsewhere.The storm had caused little serious damage as it moved northeast toward the region's offshore oil and gas facilities.Still, this is not a pussycat of a storm at all, Peter Bowyer, program supervisor at the Canadian Hurricane Center, told CBC News.

Cape Breton, one of Nova Scotia's main tourist areas, was expected to be hardest hit by the storm. Forecasters expect the region to see winds of more than 85 mph. Flights were canceled there and ferry service was suspended.The storm knocked out power to more than 23,000 homes and businesses in southern Nova Scotia and felled trees but did little serious damage to the provincial capital of Halifax. No deaths or injuries have been reported in Canada.We're not seeing any severe damage, said Michelle Perry, a spokeswoman for Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office. We are seeing things like washed out roads and power outages ... but we haven't seen the worst yet and are watching it carefully as it makes its way up the province.Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 season, dumped rain on Bermuda and pushed powerful surf onto the shores of the 20-square-mile (52-sq-km) British territory, a center for the global insurance industry.It also brought heavy surf, swells and rain to the U.S. Atlantic seaboard, including the island of Martha's Vineyard, where President Barack Obama and his family were to start a summer vacation. Their departure was delayed four hours by the hurricane.In Central Florida, Volusia County Beach Patrol officials blamed waves generated by Bill for the drowning on Saturday of a 54-year-old Orlando man near New Smyrna Beach, local media said on Sunday. The man washed ashore unconscious after swimming out to bodysurf in rough waves.The Sable Offshore Gas Project, off Nova Scotia, evacuated staff, but the operator of the massive 98,200 barrel per day Hibernia platform said it would continue to operate normally.Both Sable and Hibernia, a platform built to withstand the icebergs that are common in the region, are operated by Exxon Mobil Corp. An iceberg sank the Titanic off the coast of Nova Scotia and some 150 of the ship's victims are buried in Halifax.Other oil projects in the Jeanne d'Arc basin about 185 miles southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, plan to weather the storm and have not moved employees to land.We're keeping an eye on the storm, but it's business as usual,said Brad Bellows, a spokesman for Suncor Energy Inc, which operates the Terra Nova oil project.A Category 1 storm is the mildest on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, but it is still potentially threatening. Canadian officials said they were particularly worried about heavy rain and the fact that high tides would exacerbate the storm surges that hurricanes bring.(Writing by Janet Guttsman, additional reporting by Scott Malone in Boston, Pascal Fletcher in Miami and Anthony Boadle in Washington; editing by Todd Eastham)

Newfoundland braces for Bill's wicked winds Updated Sun. Aug. 23 2009 10:55 PM ET CTV.ca News Staff

Hurricane Bill is set to roll into Newfoundland by early Monday, after lashing Nova Scotia a day earlier with fierce winds and massive waves.While the Category 1 storm appeared to be weakening as it moved north, Newfoundland was still expecting up to 100mm of rain in some areas, according to the Canadian Hurricane Centre.Wind gusts of 120kilometres per hour were also forecast for southeastern Newfoundland.By late Sunday, the eye of the storm was approximately 300 kilometres west of Newfoundland's Cape Race. It was moving northeast at about 56 km/h.Reporting from Newfoundland, CTV's Graham Richardson said the storm was approaching during high tide, sparking flooding concerns.Given this weather system, you really don't know what it's going to do, Richardson said from Trepassey, N.L., which is in the province's extreme southeast.

Earlier in the evening, it had appeared that many communities in Nova Scotia were spared from Bill's bluster.I think we can be blessed that it has moved off a bit, and we aren't getting some of the damage we thought,Craig MacLaughlan, chief of Nova Scotia's Emergency Management Office, told CTV News.Still, the storm resulted in big winds which downed trees. It also brought heavy rain which resulted in some localized flooding.According to Nova Scotia Power, more than 32,000 customers were without power throughout the province on Sunday. A number of roads along the coastline are also closed.The storm also caused the cancellation of dozens of flights at Halifax's airport. By Sunday evening, however, warnings for much of the province had been lifted.But according to the U.S. National Hurricane Centre late Sunday, tropical storm warnings were still in effect for Newfoundland.The Hurricane Centre also warned of heavy flooding in some areas, while wind could lead to downed branches and utility lines.The Centre is also warning of large waves of five to 10 metres along the Atlantic coast of southern Newfoundland.The waves could cause some erosion along the shoreline and damage wharves and other structures.Large and dangerous swells generated by Hurricane Bill will continue to impact the ... Maritimes of Canada tonight,the Centre's website read.Peter Bowyer, from the Canadian Hurricane Centre, warned residents against heading to beaches and other coastline areas to watch the waves.

Yeah, (the waves) put on a great display,Bowyer said.They're very, very dangerous and they need to be respected. If you want to enjoy them, enjoy them from a distance. Do not try and enjoy them up close and personal because your enjoyment could end very, very quickly.Early Sunday morning, Bill began moving away from the New England coastline after stirring up the surf, closing beaches and keeping boaters off the water.Bill travelled past Bermuda early Saturday, leaving behind flooded streets, debris and about 3,700 people without power. No injuries were reported.With files from The Associated Press.

Commission under fire in Irish Lisbon treaty campaign
ANDREW RETTMAN Today AUG 24,09 @ 09:15 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission's delegation in Ireland has stirred complaints by publishing a statement about the Lisbon treaty in the midst of the referendum campaign.The delegation on its website on Friday (21 August) wrote a five point refutation of Irish farmers' allegations that Lisbon would alter inheritance rights, reduce Ireland's EU voting weight and lead to Turkish accession. There are less than 40 days left to go to the second referendum (Photo: EUobserver)The statements of the Irish farm lobby group (Farmers for No) on the Lisbon Treaty and on EU policies ...are factually incorrect and misleading. They represent a totally distorted picture of the reality,it said.The Farmers for No is a breakaway group of around 50 members from the Irish Farmers' Association, which is backing a Yes vote.

The Commission's use of its web-site in this fashion is an interference with Ireland's referendum process,Anthony Coughlan, the director of the anti-Lisbon treaty National Platform EU Research and Information Centre, said. Mr Martin Territt [the commission's envoy in Dublin] should be restrained from this abuse.The editor of the protestant Church of Ireland Gazette, Canon Ian Ellis, also objected. Challenges made to whatever groups in the referendum run-up should be made by the Irish parties involved and should not emanate from the European institutions ...Because the debate is about the nature of the EU, the EU must leave the room,he wrote in an editorial.

With less than 40 days to go before the new vote on the Lisbon pact on 2 October, the pro-treaty side is carefully managing the public message.Pro-Lisbon campaigner and ex-European Parliament president Pat Cox intervened last week to get the Irish Jesuit congregation to block the anti-Lisbon group, Youth Defence/Coir, from using the image of a Jesuit-owned Caravaggio painting in an anti-treaty leaflet, the Irish Times reports.And Irish finance minister Brian Lenihan said on Sunday that the parliament will not vote on controversial Nama legislation until after the Lisbon referendum.

Nama - the National Asset Management Agency - is to be a new government body for bailing out banks which cannot pay their debts.Meanwhile, US microchip maker Intel has come out on the pro-Lisbon side, despite being hammered by the European Commission earlier this year with the largest anti-trust fine in EU history. If for the third time in less than 10 years we reject an EU treaty, we must realise this will create uncertainty in the minds of investors,the manager of the firm's Irish branch, Jim O'Hara, said.Recent polls indicate that Ireland will vote Yes on 2 October due to fears of being left out in the cold in times of economic hardship. But Irish betting agency Paddy Power over the weekend cut the odds of a No vote from 5/1 against to 5/2 against.We have seen a shift toward the No side in the last couple of weeks and it appears our punters think things could be just as tight second time around,Paddy Power spokeswoman Sharon McHugh told Reuters.

Israeli PM heads to Europe for talks on Mideast peace
By Ron Bousso (AFP) – AUG 24,09

JERUSALEM — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu headed to Europe on Monday facing international pressure over his settlement policies which are blocking efforts to revive Middle East peace talks.The hawkish Netanyahu will also discuss with his British and German hosts the campaign against archfoe Iran's nuclear drive, with the United States threatening new sanctions if Tehran fails to return to the negotiating table.Upon departure for London, the premier suggested he would take a strong stand on settlements and on Jerusalem, which Israel considers its eternal and undivided capital while Palestinians see the annexed eastern part of the city as the capital of their future state.The prime minister will make it clear that during the process Israel will not allow any limitation or restriction of its sovereignty over Jerusalem and that there must be guarantees settlers can lead a normal life,a senior official said.US President Barack Obama's administration has been pressing for a freeze on settlement construction as a key step towards reviving peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians.

Netanyahu rejects a total freeze, but has agreed to temporarily halt inviting construction tenders for Israeli homes in the occupied West Bank, which Obama termed a step in the right direction.The Israeli premier is to hold talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Obama's Middle East envoy George Mitchell in London before heading to Berlin for talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel.In his meeting with George Mitchell, the prime minister expects some progress but not a breakthrough,a senior official said.Mitchell has held intensive talks with Israeli officials in recent months amid a rare public row between the two staunch allies over Washington's demand that Israel halt all settlement activity on occupied Palestinian land.Britain and Germany are among the states that back the US demand, seen as key for reviving the peace talks which were halted last December when Israel launched a deadly offensive against the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.Netanyahu has said he hopes negotiations with the Palestinians can resume next month after the UN General Assembly.The issue of Israeli settlements, which the international community consider illegal, is one of the main obstacles in the peace process and the Palestinians have said they will not resume talks without a freeze.Netanyahu's outspoken Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has described Obama's vision for regional peace as unrealistic.The ultra-nationalist, who is known for his anti-Arab stance, said he did not see a peace agreement based on a two-state solution even in another 16 years.Mitchell, in a series of regional missions, has been urging Arab states to also make gestures towards Israel as a way of advancing efforts to forge a comprehensive peace deal.

King Abdullah II of Jordan -- which along with Egypt is the only Arab state to have a peace treaty with Israel -- held telephone talks with Netanyahu on Sunday and is due to visit Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to meet his counterpart King Abdullah.Netanyahu's talks with the European leaders are also set to focus on efforts to halt Iran's sensitive nuclear work, which Israel and the West believe is aimed at developing an atomic bomb, a claim Tehran denies.He expects to discuss the need to apply maximum pressure on Iran in order to stop its programme and efforts to develop nuclear weapons,a senior official said.Israel, considered the region's sole if undeclared nuclear armed state, refuses to rule out military action against Iran's nuclear facilities and has carried out a number of military exercises seen as a signal of its intentions.Although Washington continues to seek a negotiated resolution of the nuclear standoff, the White House this month threatened tough new sanctions on the Islamic republic if it misses a September deadline for resuming talks.Egypt has said that Germany is also playing a key role in its efforts to broker a prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, which has held an Israeli soldier captive for more than three years.

EU presidency under pressure over Israel organs story
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today @ 09:28 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - With Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu arriving in Europe on Tuesday (25 August) for talks set to focus on settlement expansion, EU presidency country Sweden is embroiled in a diplomatic crisis with Tel Aviv over a newspaper article about Israeli soldiers harvesting Palestinian organs.Mr Netanyahu on Sunday demanded that Sweden formally condemn the story, which was published last week in Sweden's top selling Aftonbladet daily.The Israeli government has said the piece is a modern form of medieval blood libel - the anti-Semitic myth that Jews killed Christian children for their blood. We're not asking the Swedish government for an apology, we're asking for their condemnation,the prime minister told a meeting of cabinet ministers, according to an unnamed Israeli official quoted in Israel's Haaretz newspaper.But while the Swedish ambassador to Israel initially denounced the article, the government has refused to follow suit.Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt wrote in his widely-read blog on Friday that the country's principle of freedom of expression means that the government is in no place to condemn any story in a newspaper.

Freedom of speech is a basic value in Sweden,his statement said.Israel's finance minister, Yuval Steinitz, increased diplomatic tension by saying that Mr Bildt, due to visit Israel on 10 September, is no longer welcome. Anyone who is unwilling to condemn such a blood libel could be considered unwanted in Israel,he said.Swedish government cannot remain indifferent, and the crisis will remain until Sweden responds in a different manner.Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman had previously said the affair is reminiscent of the state's [Sweden's] stand during World War II, when it also did not intervene.EU-Israeli relations have been on a downward trajectory since the beginning of the year, when Israel's assault on the Gaza Strip killed more than 1,400 Palestinians. In the wake of the attack, Brussels suspended a planned upgrade to EU-Israel relations and has said the move will not go ahead until Israel halts Jewish settlement expansion in the occupied Palestinian territories and accepts a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict.

Mr Netanyahu's tour of select EU capitals this week is intended to mend ties.

Mr Netanyahu is to meet UK leader Gordon Brown in London on Tuesday and US peace envoy George Mitchell on Wednesday. On Thursday, he is to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel.Asked by EUobserver if the Aftonbladet row could undermine EU pressure on Israel over settlements, a spokesperson for Mr Bildt said the minister did not want to discuss the issue through the media.

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

4:15 WILDFIRES
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctv-national-news/aug-22/#clip206452

Exhausted Greek crews battle on against fires By DEREK GATOPOULOS, Associated Press Writer – AUG 24,09

ATHENS, Greece – A Greek monastery clanged its bells in warning Monday as an out-of-control wildfire raced down a mountainside, elderly nuns were evacuated from its threatened convent and the remains of Saint Ephrem were removed to a safer location.

At the Saint Ephrem Monastery near Nea Makri, north of Athens, buildings were silhouetted against a red sky lit up by the glow of nearby wildfires. Workers shoveled sand and sprayed areas with limp garden hoses in apparently fruitless attempts to battle the inferno.The flames were 30 meters (100 feet) high,said one of the dozen nuns evacuated, wearing a black habit and a surgical mask to ward off the smoke and grit.Thankfully they came and rescued us.For the fourth straight day, exhausted Greek firefighters battled around the clock to try and contain massive blazes north of Athens. To their relief, more water-dropping planes and firefighting help arrived from other European nations.Six major fires were burning across Greece, including blazes on the islands of Evia and Skyros in the Aegean Sea and Zakynthos in the west. But the most dangerous was the fire near Athens, which started north of the Marathon plain and spread over Mount Penteli on the northern edge of Athens.Crews tried hard Monday to push the fires back from the outskirts of the Greek capital, with 17 water-dropping planes and helicopters swooping over flames near populated areas. They were joined by up to 2,000 firefighters, military personnel and volunteers.

But fed by strong winds, the flames still spread and threatened property further to the north, where the nuns were rescued and residents defended their homes with only buckets of water.We making every possible effort to limit the boundaries of the fire, said Fire Service spokesman Yiannis Kappakis.Fires north of Athens have razed about 58square miles (37,000 acres or 15,000 hectares) of forest and brush, damaged or destroyed homes, and forced thousands to temporarily flee their homes. Popular tourist destinations have not been affected.At least five people were being treated for burns and several dozen had reported breathing problems, but no injuries were serious, Health Ministry officials said.Firefighting planes and helicopters from France, Italy and Cyprus were operating outside Athens, with more planes due to arrive later Monday and Tuesday from Spain, Turkey and the European Union, Civil Protection Agency officials said.

Several other EU countries had also offered help, they said.

There were no firm estimates on the thousands of residents who evacuated or the scores of homes that were torched. Athens regional governor Yiannis Sgouros said damage would be assessed once the fires were put out.There are some signs of optimism but no letting up of the firefighting effort, he said.Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis toured the fire-affected areas on Sunday amid strong criticism of his government's response to the emergency by conservation groups and municipal officials.

Critics said the government had not reformed its forest-protection plans even after huge fires swept through southern Greece two years ago, killing 76 people.A compete overhaul is required in the way we deal with forest fires ... There is no sign the (government) is moving the right direction,Dimitris Karavellas, director of the environmental group WWF in Greece, told the Associated Press.He said state planners had made insufficient use of volunteer groups and had failed to crackdown on rogue developers who build homes illegally in burnt forest areas. Government spokesman Evangelos Antonaros insisted Monday that the firefighting effort was well coordinated,From the first moment, (we had) the presence of personnel on a large scale,he declared.Antonaros also disputed estimates by municipal officials that scores of homes had been destroyed or seriously damaged and said the number of people involved in state-organized evacuations was limited,with most having returned to their homes.Fires raged, meanwhile, at the coastal town of Nea Makri and nearby Marathon — site of one of ancient history's most famous battlegrounds — to the northeast of the capital and at Vilia to the northwest.The blaze at Nea Makri tore down a hillside toward houses, where volunteers with water-soaked towels wrapped around their necks beat back the flames with tree branches.

Fires also continued to threaten the ancient fortress town of Rhamnus, home to two 2,500-year-old temples.Over the weekend, authorities evacuated two large children's hospitals as well as campsites and villages outside of Athens.Officials have not said what started the fires. Hundreds of forest blazes plague Greece every summer and some are set intentionally — often by the unscrupulous land developers or animal farmers seeking to expand their grazing land.There is still a state of ambiguity as to where the forest starts and residential areas end. As long as this persists, there is an incentive for starting fires,Karavellas of WWF said. These are areas that are always being eyed for development.Greece's National Weather Service said strong winds are expected to ease Tuesday.

Wildfires reach Athens suburbs, thousands flee homes Updated Sun. Aug. 23 2009 10:17 PM ET The Associated Press

ATHENS, Greece -- A partial drop in gale-force winds early Monday offered hard-pressed Greek firefighters a brief respite after wildfires raged for two days north of Athens, burning houses and swathes of forest while forcing thousands to evacuate their homes.Officials warned that the vast blaze was still threatening inhabited areas on the capital's northern fringes and near Marathon -- site of one of history's most famous battlegrounds.There are fewer hazardous points,Fire Brigade spokesman Yiannis Kappakis said. But the blaze is still developing.Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis said the fire -- one of more than 90 that broke out across Greec over the weekend -- was still very hard to tackle.The situation remains very difficult,he said after a fire brigade briefing. The enormous (firefighting) effort will continue on all fronts throughout the night.Firefighters were set to gain a new boost at first light Monday, when water-dropping aircraft will resume operations, assisted by aircraft from France, Italy and Cyprus. Nearly 2,000 firefighters and soldiers are engaging the blaze on the ground, together with hundreds of volunteers.In many afflicted areas, however, despairing residents pleaded for firefighters and equipment that were nowhere to be seen.Earlier Sunday, thousands of residents of Athens' northern outskirts evacuated their homes, fleeing in cars or on foot. The fire destroyed several houses as it advanced across an area more than 30 miles (50 kilometres) in circumference.Six major fires were burning early Monday across Greece. The Athens blaze started north of Marathon plain, and spread over Mount Penteli -- on the city's limit to the north -- threatening outlying suburbs.Driven by gale-force winds, the blaze grew fastest near Marathon, from which the long-distance foot race takes its name, born from a legendary run after the 490 B.C Athenian victory over an invading Persian army.

One resident, Nikos Adamopoulos, said he had driven over a large part of the area and saw no firefighters.The Museum of Marathon is being encircled by fire and flames are closing in on (the archaeological site of) Rhamnus,he told The Associated Press. Rhamnus is home to two 2,500-year-old temples.The mayor of Marathon said he had been begging the government to send over planes and helicopters to no avail.There are only two fire engines here; three houses are already on fire and we are just watching helplessly,mayor Spyros Zagaris told Greek TV.Zagaris was among several local leaders who accused the government of having no plan to fight the fire.Finance Minister Yiannis Papathanassiou responded: This is not the time for criticism under these tragic conditions. We are fighting a difficult fight.Another official said emergency workers were exhausted.The firefighters, soldiers and volunteers fighting the fire are tired and their equipment is being used constantly and there is fatigue there too,said deputy Interior Minister Christos Markoyiannakis.

Opposition politicians have been restrained in their criticism so far.

But both Communist Party leader Aleka Papariga and Giorgos Karatzaferis, head of populist right-wing Popular Orthodox Rally, said the government had learned nothing from the catastrophic summer fires of 2007, when 76 people died and several villages were totally destroyed in southern Greece.A shift in wind helped halt the flames in the town of Agios Stefanos, a township on the fringes of Athens on the opposite side of Mount Penteli from Marathon. Most of its 10,000 inhabitants had evacuated Sunday afternoon. By nightfall, the town was empty, authorities said.The nine helicopters and 14 planes that operated during the day, including two planes sent from Italy, dumped some 4,000 tons (3,600 metric tons) of water on the fire, but apparently without much success. Television showed airplanes and helicopters dropping water on a forest outside Agios Stefanos -- and the fire re-igniting moments after they left.

About 58 square miles (37,000 acres or 15,000 hectares) of forest, brush and olive groves have burned. The highly flammable pine forests around Athens' northern suburbs helped the fire spread.Athens prefect Yiannis Sgouros said the full extent of the damage would take days to estimate.Authorities evacuated two large children's hospitals, as well as campsites and homes in villages and outlying suburbs threatened by blazes that scattered ash across Athens. The flames also approached a large monastery on Mount Penteli.Elsewhere in Greece, serious fires were reported on the islands of Evia and Skyros in the Aegean Sea and Zakynthos in the west. Another large fire that started Saturday near the town of Plataea, 40 miles (60 kilometres) northwest of Athens, was spreading unchecked toward a coastal resort in western Attica.

PESTILENCES (CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS)

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences;(CHEMICAL,BIOLOGICAL WEAPONS) and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

At least 200 sea lions found dead on Chilean coast Sun Aug 23, 2:04 pm ET

SANTIAGO, Chile – At least 200 sea lions have been found dead along Chile's northern coast.Local television stations Channels 7 and 13 are showing images of the dead and dying mammals on the rocks and in the sea near Iquique.Chile's fishing service says many of the dead apparently are young sea lions abandoned when their mothers were drawn too far offshore hunting food. It says the El Nino phenomenon has made prey scarce near shore.Environmental groups said Saturday they suspect a local molybdenum plant or other industry may be to blame.News media in neighboring Peru reported earlier this month that more than 20 sea lions had been found dead in the Chimbote region there.

Aussie town dumps Japan sister city over dolphins Mon Aug 24, 3:49 am ET

MELBOURNE (AFP) – An Australian town with deep historical ties to Japan has severed its sister city relationship with a Japanese village to protest an annual dolphin slaughter, civic leaders said Monday.Councillors in the remote West Australian town of Broome voted unanimously to end sister city ties with Taiji at a meeting on Saturday because they felt the dolphin cull was unacceptable, said Broome's mayor, Graeme Campbell.The decision was taken reluctantly, he said, as Broome's links to the southern Japanese village dated back to the late 1800s, when Japanese migrants pioneered the Australian town's pearl diving industry.It's a sad day for Broome, given the historical and cultural contribution made by many people from Japan to the town and the number of people living here who still have relatives in Taiji,he told AFP.It's very disheartening and sad for those people. It was a unanimous decision by council, none of us can condone the slaughter.Animal welfare activists accuse Japan of slaughtering some 2,000 dolphins every year in waters near Taiji by driving them close to the shore then hacking them to death.

The cull is the subject of a recently released US documentary called The Cove, in which filmmakers covertly recorded dolphins being killed near the village.Campbell said the documentary had resulted in Broome being inundated with protests against the sister city relationship.We've had a tsunami of electronic and written protest to us, both nationally and internationally,he said.We had 5,000 emails in one day.He said there were concerns the links to Taiji could lead to visitors avoiding Broome, some 2,200 kilometres (1,370 miles) northeast of the western hub of Perth, which is reliant on tourism.That was a consideration that was taken in when councillors were examining the issue, Campbell said.He said Broome would be keen to resume the sister city relationship with Taiji if the dolphin slaughter was stopped.I have no doubt that they (Taiji) will be extremely saddened and disappointed by the decision, he said. Whether or not it has any effect is up to themselves,he added.

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).

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.

REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

PLANS TAKE CHILDREN FROM SCHOOLS MASS VACCINATE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kka3K4RqcjU&feature=player_embedded
HEALTH EXPERTS WARN NOT TO TAKE TAMIFLU
http://www.infowars.com/health-experts-warn-not-to-take-tamiflu/
TEXAS - NO SHOTS,NO SCHOOL
http://www.infowars.com/texas-school-district-no-shots-no-school/

Malawi child tobacco workers exposed to nicotine By RAPHAEL TENTHANI, Associated Press Writer – AUG 24,09

BLANTYRE, Malawi – Children picking tobacco in the fields of Malawi for consumers far beyond the African country's borders are being poisoned as they absorb up to two cigarette packs' worth of nicotine each day, a children's rights organization said Monday,The extremely high levels of nicotine poisoning produces not only nausea, headaches, dizziness, difficulty in breathing and other symptoms but long-lasting changes in brain structure and function,London-based Plan International said in a report.It noted that large-tobacco production has shifted from the United States to developing countries like Malawi, where children are being exposed to exploitative and hazardous working conditions.More than 78,000 children, some as young as 5, work on tobacco estates across the southern African country, some up to 12 hours a day for less than 1.7 cents an hour and without protective clothing, the report asserted.

Entitled Hard work, long hours and little pay,the report said workers absorb up to 54 milligrams a day of dissolved nicotine through their skin. The report initially said that is equivalent to 32 cigarettes but Plan International revised it to 50.Sometimes it feels like you don't have enough breath, you don't have enough oxygen,an unnamed child tobacco worker in Kasungu, in central Malawi, told Plan International's investigators. You reach a point where you cannot breathe because of the pain in your chest. Then the blood comes when you vomit. At the end ... you remain with a headache.
The symptoms resemble "green tobacco sickness," said MacDonald Mumba, a Plan International official in Malawi. The malady comes from absorbing nicotine from the skin, particularly from wet tobacco.Mumba said the children had not been subjected to medical tests for the report. Some symptoms among the child laborers may have been caused by exposure to pesticides, highlighting another hazard they face. Children interviewed for the report described sprinkling pesticide onto plants using cups and their bare hands.The world's giant tobacco companies said they reject use of child labor, but the reality is that Malawians are so poor that many families send their children to work in the fields.Philip Morris International, one of the largest tobacco companies in the world, said it purchases tobacco from suppliers in Malawi but does not own farms there.Anne Edwards, spokeswoman for the company, said it strongly opposes child labor and requires tobacco suppliers to promise not to employ anyone younger than 15 or the applicable minimum employment age or mandatory schooling age, whichever is higher.

British American Tobacco, which buys about 5 percent of Malawi's annual tobacco crop, said it does not directly employ children and opposes child labor. However, the company said it does not supervise the farms, instead purchasing tobacco through three third-party suppliers.We would like to talk to Plan International about their findings and will examine their report with our local suppliers,the company said in a statement.Mumba said Plan International is not calling for a ban on children in the tobacco industry, explaining that the goal is unrealistic in a country where poverty forces children to work. But it wants employers to provide protective clothing and other gear for the children to reduce exposure to nicotine.The report also said supervisors on the tobacco farms sometimes hit and otherwise abuse the children

Responding to that finding, Malawian Labor Minister Yunus Mussa told The Associated Press the government is reviewing the country's work laws, which he acknowledged do not provide stiff enough penalties to those who abuse children.Tobacco is an important cash crop in Malawi, generating 75 percent of foreign exchange income. More than 80 percent of Malawians are directly or indirectly employed by the tobacco industry, which contributes up to 30 percent of the country's Gross Domestic Product.
Associated Press Writer Anita Powell in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

Next step in H1N1 scare: Microchip implants Sunday, 23 August 2009 05:15 News from Jerusalem Company developing under-the-skin devices to detect bio-threats

A Florida-based company that boasts selling the world's first and only federally approved radio microchip for implanting in humans is now turning its development branch toward emergency preparedness,hoping to produce an implant that can automatically detect in its host's bloodstream the presence of swine flu or other viruses deemed a bio-threat.VeriChip Corporation currently sells a small, under-the-skin Radio Frequency Identification capsule, or RFID, that patients can opt to have implanted, containing a number computer-linked to their medical records, enabling doctors with a special reader to access the information even if the patient is unconscious or unidentified. The company boasts its microchip, roughly the size of a grain of rice, is the only such implant approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.But VeriChip has also turned its attention to other uses for the technology, including microchips that be used to tag and log human remains after a disaster and implants the company hopes will be able to warn if their host is infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus, the H5N1 bird flu virus or other pandemic agents deemed to be a bio-threat.VeriChip is working with a Minnesota company, Receptors LLC, to develop the virus-detection technology.

As we continue to build on our partnership with Receptors, which started with the development of a glucose-sensing RFID implantable microchip, we are moving beyond patient identification to sensors that can detect and identify illnesses and viruses such as influenza,said Scott R. Silverman, chairman of VeriChip, in a statement. This is an exciting next step for the future of our healthcare division.According to a joint white paper released earlier this year by both companies called An Integrated Sensor System for the Detection of Bio-Threats from Pandemics to Emerging Diseases to Bio-Terrorism,the research's goal is to transform existing glucose-detection technology into pinpointing viruses instead, then couple it with an in vivo – meaning implanted inside a living organism – microchip that can alert others of the virus' presence.The ultimate goal is to develop an implant that can also diagnose which virus is infecting the host.VeriChip has also announced earlier this month additional forays into emergency preparedness through its VeriTrace system.According to a statement, the company sold a VeriTrace system, including 1,000 RFID microchips, to Kentucky's Green River District Health Department for disaster preparedness and emergency management needs.The company explains that VeriTrace, a separate system from its virus detection or patient records technology, was created in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, where it was used by the Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team. The system includes the microchips, a Bluetooth handheld reader, a customized camera that receives both RFID scanned data and GPS data wirelessly and a web-based database for storing information and images captured during emergency response operations.The microchips are implanted in human remains following a disaster or, according to one report from the Katrina catastrophe, duct-taped to bones, in order to maintain detailed records, particularly in events that result in hundreds or thousands of fatalities.This database ensures the precise collection, storage and inventory of all data and images related to remains and the associated evidentiary items,the statement boasts.This also allows the recreation of an accurate and complete reconstruction of a disaster setting, crime scene or similar setting where recreation is necessary.

Since Hurricane Katrina, the RFID Journal reports, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Hawaii Department of Health, the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System and the medical examiner's office in the Department of Heath in Erie County, N.Y, have also purchased the system. Earlier this year, VeriChip announced sales to Maryland's Calvert Memorial Hospital and to Mercer and Atlantic counties in New Jersey.WND contacted VeriChip seeking information on its progress in developing the virus detection technology and other emergency preparedness microchip implants, but received no response.wnd

WHO: Save Tamiflu for the young, old and pregnant By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer – Sat Aug 22, 3:37 am ET

LONDON – The World Health Organization said Friday that Tamiflu should only be given to particularly vulnerable people — a warning to countries like Britain where the swine flu drug is being handed out freely.WHO previously said it was up to doctors to decide who should get Tamiflu. On Friday, the U.N. agency said healthy people who catch mild to moderate cases of swine flu don't need the drug, but the young, old, pregnant, and those with underlying health problems surely do.If countries use Tamiflu too liberally, that could lead to resistant viruses, leaving the world with few resources to fight swine flu.WHO said people thought to be at risk for complications from swine flu — children less than 5 years old, pregnant women, people over age 65 and those with other health problems like heart disease, HIV or diabetes —should definitely get the drug.The agency also recommended all patients, including children, who have severe cases of swine flu, with breathing difficulties, chest pain or severe weakness, should get Tamiflu immediately, perhaps in higher doses than now used.The WHO guidance is quite different from what has been done in England,said Hugh Pennington, a flu expert at the University of Aberdeen.England's approach is out of step with the rest of the world on this.In Britain, the government's response to the swine flu outbreak has come under fire for allowing Tamiflu to be handed out by call center workers who have as little as three hours of training.Since the British set up a national flu service in July to deal with the surge of swine flu cases, Tamiflu has been available to anyone suspected of having the disease.

At its summer peak, British authorities guessed there were about 110,000 new cases of swine flu, also known as H1N1, every week. The number of new cases dropped last week to about 11,000, but the fall/winter flu season has not yet begun.Boasting that Britain had the world's largest supply of Tamiflu, enough to cover 80 percent of its nearly 61 million people, Health Minister Andy Burnham promised the drug would be available to anyone who needed it.Britons who call the national flu line can get Tamiflu without ever seeing a doctor — it is given out by call center workers who have no medical training. The operators' training lasts from three hours to a day. There are no health workers present at the call centers. Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales decided not to participate in the swine flu phone line.On its swine flu Web site, the Department of Health says the government has decided to offer the antivirals Tamiflu or Relenza to everyone confirmed with swine flu.To stop people fraudulently getting Tamiflu, the web site says the government is relying on the public to use the system responsibly.In its first two weeks of operation, the call center workers handed out more than 511,000 courses of Tamiflu.Some experts have criticized that approach, warning that blanketing the population with Tamiflu increases the chances of resistant strains emerging.Pennington called the strategy a very big experiment that could render Tamiflu useless. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says antivirals must be prescribed by a health care professional. Canada's Public Health Agency does not recommend Tamiflu for people with mild illness.

Pennington said Britain's national flu line should be dismantled so that Tamiflu would only be used sparingly.This approach increases the likelihood of a resistant strain and that is not a risk worth running,Pennington said.Officials have already found widespread drug resistance in seasonal strains of H1N1 flu and worry that might also crop up with swine flu. So far, only a handful of Tamiflu-resistant swine flu strains have been found.Charles Penn, a WHO antivirals expert, said it was up to countries to decide how they used their Tamiflu stocks. He said in most cases, the drug should be prescribed by a doctor or nurse, and that resistance could emerge if Tamiflu was overused.WHO said most patients infected with swine flu worldwide recover within a week without any medical treatment. Still, about 40 percent of the severe swine flu cases are occurring in previously healthy children and adults, usually under 50 years of age.WHO has estimated that as many as 2 billion people could become infected over the next two years with swine flu — nearly one-third of the world's population. At a swine flu conference in Beijing, a top WHO official predicted there would be an explosion of cases in the future.

RETURN OF SWINE FLU RISK
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224820391&play=1

Infectious disease risk in swine flu jabs Nick Miller and Julia Medew
August 21, 2009

LEADING infectious disease experts have called on the Federal Government to abandon its mass swine-flu vaccination plan because of fears the vaccine is a contamination risk that could spread blood-borne diseases.Health Minister Nicola Roxon yesterday announced that the Government would start deploying its first batch of swine-flu vaccine in coming weeks, with an aim to vaccinate as many people as possible to prevent further spread of the virus.But in a letter sent to Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Jim Bishop, the Australasian Society for Infectious Diseases expresses deep concern about CSL's use of multi-dose vials for the vaccine and urged the Government to abandon its plan until it had single-dose vials.The letter, written by the Society's president, Associate Professor Tom Gottlieb, says multi-dose vials - bottles containing many doses of the vaccine - had been shown on many occasions to transmit infectious diseases, resulting in considerable morbidity and mortality.To prevent contamination, clinicians must follow stringent infection-control guidelines and use new syringes and needles for every vaccination.Many members are concerned that there is a risk of adverse outcomes if a mass vaccination campaign was conducted using multi-dose vials,the letter says. It adds that it would be difficult to guarantee proper procedures were followed in hospitals, let alone clinics and general-practice units in the community, where there may be a lesser safeguarding of the necessary safe infection-control practices.

While the risk was slight, failures linked to the use of multi-dose vials could undermine confidence in other vaccination programs.Other mass vaccination programs in Australia - such as for infants, seasonal flu and cervical cancer - use single-dose vials.Professor Gottlieb said many bodies, including the World Health Organisation, recommend single-dose vials.Multi-dose vials in Australia had been linked to the transmission of HIV from a patient to four other people in a Sydney surgeon's rooms in 1989, he said. Overseas, they had been linked to outbreaks of hepatitis, HIV and bacterial diseases.Professor Gottlieb said that although his members - the bulk of infectious disease clinicians - supported vaccination, they wanted the Government to get this program right.A number of people are starting to wonder if we are rushing at a time when we're seeing that the peak has passed,he said.One month ago, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners issued new draft guidelines for the use of multi-dose vials.Professor Jim Bishop said the Government's pandemic plan had always included the use of multi-dose vials because they could be rolled out quickly and were more efficient.The best evidence is that the epidemic in Australia has not yet clearly peaked, so ongoing protection of the vulnerable is needed, he said. General practices peak bodies are comfortable and believe the GP workforce is competent with the use of multi-dose vials.

CSL said multi-dose vials had been chosen to help get the vaccine out more quickly.

Spokeswoman Dr Rachel David said it would take many, many more months to produce single-dose vials and that another multi-dose vial flu vaccine it exports to the US had been used safely for the last three years.If multi-dose vials are used correctly there is no increased risk,she said.Ms Roxon said it would be the biggest vaccination program in the shortest period of time that Australia has undertaken.

Lead poisoning investigation begins in China By CHI-CHI ZHANG, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 24, 12:15 am ET

BEIJING – Health and environmental officials have been sent to central China to investigate who is responsible for pollution from a manganese processing plant that caused more than 1,300 children to become sickened with lead poisoning, a local government official said Monday.The poisoning near the Wugang Manganese Smelting Plant in Wenping township in Hunan province was the second such case involving a large number of children in the last month.In Shaanxi province in northern China, at least 615 out of 731 children in two villages near the Dongling smelter in the town of Changqing have tested positive for lead poisoning.Both cases have sparked unrest and come amid growing anger in China over public safety scandals in which children have been the main victims. The ruling Communist party is worried that mass protests will threaten the country's social stability and considers the protests a serious challenge to its grip on power.Officials from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Health will try to find those responsible for the poisoning in Wenping.

Central government officials arrived over the weekend to work with local authorities to begin the investigation of the incident, said a spokesman surnamed Xiao, for the Wugang city government office.Xiao, who would not give his full name, said two officials from the city's environmental protection bureau were being investigated for dereliction of duty. He did not give details.Calls to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Ministry of Health rang unanswered Monday.The plant in Wenping opened in May 2008 without the approval of the local environmental protection bureau. It is within 500 yards (meters) of a primary school, a middle school and a kindergarten.The official Xinhua News Agency said last week that 1,354 children who live near the plant — nearly 70 percent of those tested — were found to have excessive lead in their blood. Lead poisoning can damage the nervous and reproductive systems and cause high blood pressure and memory loss.

Conservatives jump to big lead in poll AUG 24,09

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's governing Conservatives have leaped to a sudden lead among likely voters that could bring the party a majority in Parliament, according to a poll published on Monday that diverges sharply from other recent surveys.The impression that the economy was recovering from a recession helped propel the Conservatives to 39 percent support and cut the Liberals to 28 percent, the Ipsos Reid poll said. Two months ago, it had the Liberals ahead 35 to 34 percent.The Tories are now in the driver's seat,the polling firm said.Most recent polls had put the two main parties neck and neck, and a Nanos survey two weeks ago had the Liberals ahead by 2-1/2 percentage points.Next week the Liberal caucus meets in Sudbury, Ontario. The party could reach a decision at the meeting to bring down the Conservative government and force an early election.Prime Minister Stephen Harper led the Conservatives to reelection last October, with more seats in Parliament than before but still only a minority, meaning he relies on the support of at least one opposition party.

The Liberals are the party that has been keeping Harper in power, but many party stalwarts have grown impatient with that role. Others have said it was too risky to force another election without a compelling reason or a solid lead.The Ipsos Reid poll, conducted for Canwest newspapers and Global television, said Harper's rise may also reflect public support for his high-profile Arctic tour in which he asserted Canada's northern sovereignty.The survey had the leftist New Democrats at 14 percent, the Green Party at 10 percent and the separatist Bloc Quebecois at 8 percent.
Conducted August 18-20, the survey of 1,001 Canadians carries an error margin of 3.1 points 19 times out of 20.(Reporting by Randall Palmer)

MURDER

GENESIS 4:8-11 (THE FIRST MURDER)
8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.
9 And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother's keeper?
10 And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.
11 And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy hand;

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

EXODUS 20:13
13 Thou shalt not kill.(Murder)

REVELATION 9:20-21
20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils,(OCCULT) and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood: which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk:
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries,(DRUG ADDICTIONS) nor of their fornication,(SEX OUTSIDE OF MARRIAGE) nor of their thefts.(STEALING)

LUKE 21:25
25 And there shall be signs in the sun,(OZONE DEPLETION) and in the moon,(FIRST MAN ON MOON) and in the stars;(JUPITER BOMBARDED ETC) and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;
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.

MURDERER KILLS HIS SELF
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctv-national-news/aug-23/#clip206558
DANGEROUS KILLER NO REMORSE
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctv-national-news/aug-22/#clip206452
OBAMA A CORPORATE MARKETING CREATION
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C62KAmMzu0E&feature=player_embedded

Obama Tells Rabbis Government is God’s Partner in Matters of Life and Death
Ben Smith Politico August 22, 2009
http://www.infowars.com/obama-tells-rabbis-government-is-gods-partner-in-matters-of-life-and-death/

Editor’s note: Obama said we are God’s partners. Coming from the top dog bureaucrat in the district of criminals, we should assume he is talking about the government. A reader points out that President Obama’s call with the rabbis today — as recorded in Rabbi Jack Moline’s and other clerics Twitter feeds — freights health care reform with a great deal of religious meaning, and veers into the blend of policy and faith that outraged liberals in the last administration.We are God’s partners in matters of life and death,Obama said, according to Moline (paging Sarah Palin…), quoting from the Rosh Hashanah prayer that says that in the holiday period, it is decided who shall live and who shall die.The president ended the call by wishing the rabbis shanah tovah,or happy new year — in reference to the High Holidays a month from now.

CTV HERE IN CANADA IS PROMOTING RIGHTWINGERS AS BLACK RACISTS WHO WANT OBAMA DEAD.THE LIES ARE HOT AND HEAVY BY PAUL WORKMAN OF CTV WASHINGTON ABOUT GUN PROPAGANDA.
3:15 IN/RIGHTWINGERS ARE RACIST MEMBERS-HATERS OF OBAMA (MUST SEE BIAS AGAINST RIGHTS)
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/ctv-national-news/aug-22/#clip206450

Rex 84 – Your Internment Camp Awaits You
http://www.infowars.com/rex-84-%e2%80%93-your-internment-camp-awaits-you/
REX 84 EXPOSED INTERNMENT CAMPS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ug0IL7k3elQ&feature=player_embedded
KILLERS HIRED
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTrdQ9o497E&feature=player_embedded

Gun Propaganda and the Health Care Reform Illusion Szandor Blestman August 20, 2009

I'm getting very upset by what I've been seeing since this health care issue has come to the fore. I'm becoming really angry by how much my intelligence has been insulted. I'm beginning to feel like the man who has to explain to his friends that Criss Angel is not really defying the laws of physics. He's in the business of creating illusions. He does not really float above buildings, pull ladies in half, climb through closed, solid windows without breaking the glass, walk on water, or do any of the things one might see him do. These are illusions. They are parlor tricks. They are elaborate, complicated, well designed, well executed, likely expensive illusions, but they are nothing but illusions nonetheless. The power elite are also in the business of creating illusions. They use their politicians and the mass media to try to create a perception of reality they would like us to see. The illusions they create are elaborate, complicated, well designed, well executed and likely expensive, but they are illusions nonetheless. The difference between the illusions the power elite create and those of Criss Angel is that Mr. Angel creates his illusions strictly for entertainment purposes, the power elite are creating theirs so that they can control mass consciousness and hence make it easier to control the population in general. The problem for them is that many people are beginning to realize exactly what's been happening.One of the ways to create a good illusion is to get the audience to look over there while something is happening over here. Another is to keep things hidden and produce them when you want them seen. Still another way is to make the audience believe something isn't what it appears to be, or that something is what it doesn't appear to be. Or any combination of these things can help produce a good illusion. Of course, if the audience looks where the action is and detects the slight of hand, or if they see the hidden element before it is produced, or if they are not convinced that something is or is not something else, then the illusion is ruined.

There was a man in New Hampshire recently who came to a protest against the proposed health care legislation open carrying a gun. His name was Mr. William Kostric. He was also carrying a sign that read It is time to water the tree of liberty.This protest was near where Mr. Barack Obama was having a town hall meeting. What's wrong with that? We have a God given right of self defense, don't we? The second amendment of our nation's constitution still applies, right? Holding a sign at a protest is legal, so no big deal, right? Open carrying in New Hampshire is legal, so no big deal, right? Wrong. The media jumped all over it. They made it a big deal.Many of the news organizations immediately freaked out at the sight of a citizen open carrying a gun to such an event. When I first heard the news I got the impression that someone had brought a gun into the venue where Mr. Obama was speaking and was waving it around in a threatening manner, at least that's what it seemed judging by how big of a deal they were making of it. As the reports came in I began to wonder what kind of nut would do such a thing. Then I began to get the details of the situation, that it was in New Hampshire, that it was on private property, that the man wasn't in the venue with Mr. Obama, and I began to realize that, as usual, the media was making a bigger deal out of a situation than they should. Finally, I got to watch the interview Mr. Kostric did with Chris Matthews on Hardball.Mr. William Kostric, a man I met at this year's Liberty Forum who struck me as about as average a guy as there is, held up very well under the heavy handed questioning of Chris Matthews. I don't know that anyone else could have done a better job and I doubt I would have held up so well. He remained very calm and thoughtful even as Chris Matthews did his best to inject anger and emotion into the debate. As my brother observed about Mr. Kostric's appearance on the show, he made Chris Matthews look reactionary and bizarre. In his attempt to get Mr. Kostric to lose control, Chris Matthews was unable to maintain control of his own emotions.

Judging from his questions, it seems to me Chris Matthews was trying to maintain the illusions that had already been set up. The illusion is that people who carry guns are crazy, emotionally unstable, fringe, violent or anything other than mainstream. There's also an illusion as to the dangers of guns. While I wouldn't say that Mr. Kostric shattered those illusions with his interview, I would suggest that perhaps he opened the eyes of some more thoughtful people who may have seen him. Perhaps some of the viewers may have caught a glimpse of something hidden under the cloth of the mainstream media propaganda and perhaps for them the illusion is not quite as spellbinding anymore. Perhaps now some people may understand that the talking heads on television can and should ask more pertinent questions of newsworthy people in these situations rather than trying to demonize them.It seems to me that perhaps the wrong questions are being asked as these situations arise. As Mr. Kostric wisely pointed out on the Chris Matthews' television program, the question shouldn't be why would he wear a gun to the rally, the question should be why weren't more people wearing their guns to the rally. Indeed, if people don't exercise their rights then those rights will likely atrophy and perhaps die. Chris Matthews pointed out the history of presidents, guns and violence in an effort to shame Mr. Kostric for exercising his God given right, but he neglected to mention that this was a history of men who would conceal weapons and did not want attention drawn to themselves for fear their intent would be discovered. Mr. Kostric made the observation that a gun is a defensive tool. It is not a show of force as Chris Matthews would have you believe, but a warning that one is willing to defend himself should trouble arise. Indeed, if Mr. Obama feels so threatened when he goes out in public to address the American people, perhaps he should take some personal responsibility for his own safety and self defense and start wearing a gun himself. After all, he has the God given right to self defense as does any other human being.The media wishes to maintain the illusion that it is covering news in a fair and objective manner when in fact it is trying to manipulate opinions the establishment wants you to hold. They have to walk a fine line to keep the trust of their audiences, maintain or improve ratings, and keep the power elite that finance them happy and their agenda hidden. The Internet and sites like Youtube have more or less corralled mainstream media's attempt to completely control the information we receive. This could be the reason we are hearing stories of ACORN and SEIU activists showing up in busloads at these town hall meetings. The Democrats are without a doubt and with verifiable evidence doing exactly what they were accusing the Republicans of doing at the recent tea parties. Even worse, these people have been caught on video threatening and actually beating some of those who are against the proposed health care legislation backed by the Obama administration, something the tea partiers were never even accused of. They've admitted that they were paid. Do these people think we're stupid? Do they think we'd actually listen to hired thugs? Do they believe we'd pay more attention to masses of mindlessly chanting, similarly dressed people that have obviously been paid over average men and women who have taken time off work to try to get their voices heard? I don't know the answers to the above questions. It certainly would seem that the political elite do, in fact, believe these things and were hoping they could get away with creating an illusion that there was more support for the proposed health care legislation than there was opposition to it. I have to wonder, however. Even though I don't seem to have a lot of respect for politicians and their media cronies in my writings, I never thought they'd be so blatantly open about their corruption. At least, not without a reason.

There is another illusion in this country that many, many people believe. Quite a percentage of the inhabitants of this land called America believe there is actually a difference between a Republican politician and a Democrat politician. They still think that there are partisan battles taking place. It is therefore easy for some to believe that Republicans (conservatives) are against free health care for those who can't afford it and Democrats (liberals) are for providing free health care for everyone and making the rich pay for it. This situation certainly does help keep that illusion alive.Perhaps this health care debate is academic. Perhaps most politicians holding federal office couldn't care less about whether or not this particular bit of health care legislation is passed. After all, many of the common folk that are protesting this proposed legislation likely identify with neither party, while some identify with Republicans and others with Democrats. I'm certain you could find people of all political stripes standing against the health care legislation just as I'm sure you could find people of all political stripes standing for it. I think numerically the majority is against this particular proposed legislation. I believe that perhaps most people have come to realize that such a program would be too costly, would likely bankrupt the nation (as if it isn't already), and that it puts too much control of our personal health care into the hands of bureaucrats. Many people are angry at insurance companies and don't trust them, myself included, and yet they trust the government even less. In fact, I would venture a guess that most people want government completely out of their lives, and so they certainly don't want them nosing around in their personal health care business.I really don't believe that any of this theater is about health care. It seems to me that it's about control. It's about power. It's about making everyone dependent upon government and so ensnaring them in a trap that makes the common class slavish to the power elite political class. As long as the illusions that politicians care are maintained, than they can manipulate the masses, divert attention away from their previous follies and create conflict amongst different groups that they define. People are beginning to see through their illusions, however. They are catching glimpses of the hidden. The old tricks that were at one time so effective at mesmerizing aren't working as well as they once did. People are beginning to walk away from the shell game the politicians and the power elite are playing. They are spotting the slight of hand. The masses want their independence, their power, and their money back. No illusion, no matter how well thought out, elaborate or expensive, will change that.

MARTIAL LAW NEW ORLEONS 2005
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sm5PC7z79-8&feature=player_embedded

OBAMA NEW WORLD ORDER SAVIOUR HAS A 41% POPULAR VOTE.SOUNDS LIKE UNDER 50% IS UNDER THE EARTH SATANS PUPPET.

H.R. 645 and The FEMA Concentration Camps
Byron Tripp1130AMWeby August 23, 2009
http://www.infowars.com/h-r-645-and-the-fema-concentration-camps/

Throughout the 20th Century, mankind’s governments have sought to gain control over their populations with food, water, bio-warfare, guns, tanks, militarized death squads, militarized police, propaganda, mis-information, entertainment, and the good old original lie. The United States and the West are no different than the third world banana republics and dictators; its just the methods the western democracies use have been refined through trial and error. The lies become bigger and the controlled corporate media outlets push the big lie so people end up believing anything the mainstream news endorses. Point of fact – alternative news media or sources are not generally believed by the public until the story breaks on a major news outlet. Enter the FEMA Camps.Well, in order to understand the subject, we must define a few terms.What indeed is a camp? People have popularized conceptions of Dachau or Ashuwitz, gas chambers, ovens and guard towers with jackbooted thugs patrolling and killing indiscriminantly.Is that really what a FEMA camp is or would be like? Dictionary.com defines the word camp as a place where an army or other group of persons or an individual is lodged in a tent or tents or other temporary shelter. Dictionary.com goes on to define the word concentration as a state of concentrated. To be precise, the same Website defined the term concentrated as cluster or gather together closely. From these definitions, I will deduce that a concentration camp is defined as a camp where facilities permanent or temporary, provide the means of clustering or gathering together closely persons or soldiers.

Now that we have gone through the terms of subject matter and expanded our minds, lets look briefly at some past concentration camps in American history.First that comes to mind is the popular POW camp Andersonville during the War Between the States which was commanded by Confederate forces for the internment or concentration of Federal troops. The Federal or Union side of the conflict had its many concentration camps as well.Second is the many Native American Indian reservations set up by the Federal Government after the War Between the States as a means of controlling the nomadic Indians of the Midwestern and Southwestern regions of the United States. The reservation as it is still called was a piece of land reserved for the Indians by the Federal government while the US government endorsed the expansion of its citizens upon traditional Indian lands.Tensions boiled over as Federal troops would consistently come onto the reservations or concentration lands and interfere with the rituals and traditions of the Native Americans.Sometimes this conflict would lead to an all out war between the Indian tribes being concentrated on the reservations. Third, during World War 2, the United States government, fearing a threat from within from its Asian communities, collected, processed and interned or concentrated AMERICAN CITIZENS of Japanese descent in camps for the duration of the War.Can one truly argue that these events did not take place? Anyone reading this, the chances are that you are not going to get up in the morning and go through your morning routine and walk out your front door and see a FEMA concentration camp. Why is that? Remember the definitions of the terms we went over earlier? Camps are often temporary, but can be permanent.Existing structures such as a Football Stadium or even an airport hangar can be utilized to concentrate a group of dissidents or people deemed a security risk to the State.There doesn’t necessarily have to be a Nazi-styled facilities to be a concentration camp. Ask yourselves this question:We’re there any camps in New Orleans before Katrina hit? Not that I can recall.But as soon as FEMA was on the scene, any old army-air force base or public facilities capable of sheltering or concentrating refugees from the disaster area became a concentration camp. Not a death camp – a concentration camp.The most notable of these camps which became the symbol of the plight of the people in New Orleans who did not get out was the New Orleans Saints NFL Stadium. After the storm, Martial Law was declared.FEMA, The National Guard and Blackwater (as it was then called) all were utilized to confiscate guns and process refugees into these concentration camps, or relief shelters.We’re law abiding citizens rights violated? Often.We’re they exterminated systematically? No.Check out this video of the Military Police and National Guard forcing people from their homes and confiscating firearms from law abiding people. And you say it can’t happen to you? What if there is a national crisis, such as a Swine Flu outbreak and then everyone becomes a suspect.

Enter H.R. 645.The National Emergency Centers Establishment Act was submitted by Democrat Alcee L Hastings of Florida.The bill calls for Homeland Security to use KBR, a subdivision of Haliburton, to create no fewer than six national facilities for the concentration of civilian internees on military installations.Enter Field Manual 3-19-40 Military Police Internment / Resettlement Field Operations.This field manual is the basis of operations for the handling of all forms people in all situations. From the definitions section of Chapter 1, we can be labeled a CIVILIAN INTERNEE which as the manual defines is:CIVILIAN INTERNEE 1-7. A CI is a person who is interned during armed conflict or occupation if he is considered a security risk or if he needs protection because he committed an offense (insurgent, criminal) against the detaining power. A CI is protected according to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (GC), 12 August 1949.The above definition is very broad. It fails to identify the detaining power(Can you say UN Forces deployed to US in the advent of Civil Unrest?) It also states that the civilian internee needs protection because he committed an offense - who makes these laws of what an offense is? A military commander? An international treaty organization such as the UN or NATO? A Global World Government? Below is an example of a mid-level internment camp for the field of operations of the United States military.CORPS HOLDING AREAS 3-55.A CHA (Figure 3-4) can hold more captives for longer periods of times than a central CP. Depending on the availability of MP units to establish I/R facilities, corps MP units must be prepared to hold captives at the CHA more than 72 hours.If the CHA keeps captives more than 72 hours, MP must plan and coordinate for the increased logistics and personnel required to operate a long-term facility. The decision to hold captives longer is based on METT-TC and the availability of forces. Captives remain in the CHA until they are evacuated to an I/R facility or until hostilities end.

Figure 3-4: Corps Holding Area Enter the REX 84 Program:A plan for the continuity of Government in which dissidents would be rounded up and processed during the event of civil unrest in the United States.Fox New’s beloved Oliver North was involved in the planning of this operation. Representative of Oregon Democrat Peter DeFazio of the 4th District had this to say about the REX 84 Program during September of 2008 when the Stock Market crashed.Ladies and Gentlemen, there is a plan that is in place to be executed by the Federals to lock down the cities and towns across our land and to begin gun confiscation.There is a plan to deal with mass quarantining of the population and its subsequent internment and suspension of the Constitutional rights of Citizens.Now that you know, you can plan with this in mind when a national emergency is declared and some group of unscrupulous people seek to gain total control over the population or portions of political dissidents – you now know what power the Federals will not hesitate to utilize for their insidious ends.I will end my presentation with a quote from a speech that everyone knows. The give me liberty speech by Patrick Henry.What is not well known is is down to earth way of looking at the colonists situation:Ask yourselves how this gracious reception of our petition comports with those warlike preparations which cover our waters and darken our land. Are fleets and armies necessary to a work of love and reconciliation? Have we shown ourselves so unwilling to be reconciled that force must be called in to win back our love? Let us not deceive ourselves, sir. - Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775.

Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions,A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists.By Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 21, 2009 | Updated: 6:58 p.m. ET Aug 21, 2009

A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals that CIA interrogators staged mock executions as part of the agency's post-9/11 program to detain and question terror suspects, NEWSWEEK has learned.According to two sources—one who has read a draft of the paper and one who was briefed on it—the report describes how one detainee, suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was threatened with a gun and a power drill during the course of CIA interrogation. According to the sources, who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named while discussing sensitive information, Nashiri's interrogators brandished the gun in an effort to convince him that he was going to be shot. Interrogators also turned on a power drill and held it near him.The purpose was to scare him into giving [information] up,said one of the sources. A federal law banning the use of torture expressly forbids threatening a detainee with imminent death.The report also says, according to the sources, that a mock execution was staged in a room next to a detainee, during which a gunshot was fired in an effort to make the suspect believe that another prisoner had been killed. The inspector general's report alludes to more than one mock execution. Before leaving office, Bush administration officials confirmed that Nashiri was one of three CIA detainees subjected to waterboarding. They also acknowledged that Nashiri was one of two Al Qaeda detainees whose detentions and interrogations were documented at length in CIA videotapes. But senior officials of the agency's undercover operations branch, the National Clandestine Service, ordered that the tapes be destroyed, an action that has been under investigation for more than a year by a federal prosecutor.

The new revelations are contained in a lengthy report on the CIA interrogation program completed by the agency's inspector general in May 2004, around the time that the initial, most intense phase of the CIA effort began to wind down. The purpose of the report was to examine how the CIA program had been conducted, and whether Justice Department guidelines governing the use of harsh enhanced interrogation techniques had been followed. According to the sources, the inspector general criticizes some agency interrogators for exceeding official guidelines in the use of extreme tactics on detainees.Mock executions were not authorized in Justice Department memoranda that outlined the legal parameters that Bush administration lawyers believed should govern the use of enhanced interrogations. The Justice Department memoranda, once highly classified, were released earlier this year by the Obama administration in the face of strenuous objections from the CIA and former Bush White House officials. The inspector general's report, commissioned by then CIA director George Tenet, was sent to the Justice Department and congressional intelligence committee leaders shortly after it was written. But it was not shown to all members of the intelligence committees until September 2006, around the time that President Bush publicly acknowledged the CIA detention-and-interrogation program and instructed the agency, which had been holding detainees in a network of secret overseas prisons, to transfer them to the U.S. military detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.Top Bush CIA officials, including Tenet's successors as CIA director, Porter Goss and Gen. Michael Hayden, strongly lobbied for the IG report to be kept secret from the public. They argued that its release would damage America's reputation around the world, could damage CIA morale, and would tip off terrorists regarding American interrogation tactics.Justice has had the complete document since 2004, and their career prosecutors have reviewed it carefully for legal accountability,said CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano.That's already been done.

The inspector general's report is expected to fuel political debates over whether the tough interrogation methods used during the Bush administration actually worked. According to another source who has seen the document, the report says that the agency's interrogation program did produce usable intelligence.At the same time the administration releases the inspector general's report, it is also expected to release other CIA documents that assert the agency collected valuable intelligence through the interrogation program. For months, former vice president Dick Cheney has called for these documents to be released. However, a person familiar with the contents of the documents says that they contain material that both opponents and supporters of Bush administration tactics can use to bolster their case. The Senate Committee on Intelligence is now conducting what is supposed to be a thorough investigation of the CIA's detention-and-interrogation program. The probe is intended not only to document everything that happened but also to assess whether on balance the program produced major breakthroughs or a deluge of false leads.

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,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) 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.

OBAMA ADRESSES MUSLIMS FOR RAMADAN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1R4KfYuDrvU&feature=player_embedded

Obama addresses Muslims on Ramadan Saturday, 22 August 2009 08:22 News from Jerusalem ,America is not and never will be at war with Islam

In a video message to Muslims getting ready for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which begins Saturday in most of the Islamic world, US President Barack Obama on Friday cast US military efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan and Washington's support in a two-state solution as part of his drive to forge a new relationship between America and the Muslim world.Relations with the world's 1.5 billion Muslims soured after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.Obama said in the a video message that US efforts to end the war in Iraq and to isolate extremists in Afghanistan and Pakistan are in keeping with America's responsibility to build a more peaceful and secure world.He said that also includes US support for a two-state solution recognizing the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security.

All of these efforts are part of America's commitment to engage Muslims and Muslim-majority nations on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect,Obama said in the message posted on the White House Web site.And at this time of renewal, I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world.Ramadan, a month long period of prayer, reflection and sunrise-to-sunset fasts, begins Saturday in most of the Islamic world.Obama said Ramadan's rituals are a reminder of the principles Muslims and Christians have in common, including advancing justice, progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.Obama has made a special effort since taking office to repair US relations with the world's Muslims, including visits to Turkey and Cairo.Obama's visit to the Egyptian capital in June fulfilled his promise to deliver a speech in a major Muslim city.In that speech, as well as in one to another important Muslim audience, in Turkey, Obama said: America is not - and never will be - at war with Islam.jpost

INTERNATIONAL.JPOST.COM Aug 22, 2009 9:13
Text of Obama's Ramadan address to Muslim World

On behalf of the American people - including Muslim communities in all fifty states - I want to extend best wishes to Muslims in America and around the world. Ramadan Kareem. Ramadan is the month in which Muslims believe the Koran was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, beginning with a simple word - iqra. It is therefore a time when Muslims reflect upon the wisdom and guidance that comes with faith, and the responsibility that human beings have to one another, and to God.Like many people of different faiths who have known Ramadan through our communities and families, I know this to be a festive time - a time when families gather, friends host iftars, and meals are shared. But I also know that Ramadan is a time of intense devotion and reflection - a time when Muslims fast during the day and perform tarawih prayers at night, reciting and listening to the entire Koran over the course of the month.

These rituals remind us of the principles that we hold in common, and Islam's role in advancing justice, progress, tolerance, and the dignity of all human beings.For instance, fasting is a concept shared by many faiths - including my own Christian faith - as a way to bring people closer to God, and to those among us who cannot take their next meal for granted. And the support that Muslims provide to others recalls our responsibility to advance opportunity and prosperity for people everywhere.For all of us must remember that the world we want to build - and the changes that we want to make - must begin in our own hearts, and our own communities.This summer, people across America have served in their communities - educating children, caring for the sick, and extending a hand to those who have fallen on hard times. Faith-based organizations, including many Islamic organizations, have been at the forefront in participating in this summer of service. And in these challenging times, this is a spirit of responsibility that we must sustain in the months and years to come. Beyond America's borders, we are also committed to keeping our responsibility to build a world that is more peaceful and secure. That is why we are responsibly ending the war in Iraq. That is why we are isolating violent extremists while empowering the people in places like Afghanistan and Pakistan. That is why we are unyielding in our support for a two-state solution that recognizes the rights of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace and security. And that is why America will always stand for the universal rights of all people to speak their mind, practice their religion, contribute fully to society and have confidence in the rule of law.

All of these efforts are a part of America's commitment to engage Muslims and Muslim-majority nations on the basis of mutual interest and mutual respect. And at this time of renewal, I want to reiterate my commitment to a new beginning between America and Muslims around the world.As I said in Cairo, this new beginning must be borne out in a sustained effort to listen to each other, to learn from each other, to respect one another, and to seek common ground. I believe an important part of this is listening, and in the last two months, American embassies around the world have reached out not just to governments, but directly to people in Muslim-majority countries. From around the world, we have received an outpouring of feedback about how America can be a partner on behalf of peoples' aspirations.We have listened. We have heard you. And like you, we are focused on pursuing concrete actions that will make a difference over time - both in terms of the political and security issues that I have discussed, and in the areas that you have told us will make the most difference in peoples' lives.These consultations are helping us implement the partnerships that I called for in Cairo - to expand education exchange programs; to foster entrepreneurship and create jobs; and to increase collaboration on science and technology, while supporting literacy and vocational learning. We are also moving forward in partnering with the OIC and OIC member states to eradicate polio, while working closely with the international community to confront common health challenges like H1N1 - which I know is of particular to concern to many Muslims preparing for the upcoming hajj.All of these efforts are aimed at advancing our common aspirations - to live in peace and security; to get an education and to work with dignity; to love our families, our communities, and our God. It will take time and patient effort. We cannot change things over night, but we can honestly resolve to do what must be done, while setting off in a new direction - toward the destination that we seek for ourselves, and for our children. That is the journey that we must travel together.I look forward to continuing this critically important dialogue and turning it into action. And today, I want to join with the 1.5 billion Muslims around the world - and your families and friends - in welcoming the beginning of Ramadan, and wishing you a blessed month. May God's peace be upon you.

Israel slams Iran's terrorist defense minister Sunday, 23 August 2009 10:17 News from Jerusalem Ahmad Vahidi, and the Aftermath of the 1994 bombing in Buenos Aires

Israel on Saturday night slammed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's decision to name as its defense minister the man responsible for the 1994 attack in Buenos Aires against the Argentine-Israel Mutual Association (AMIA).One Israeli official pointed out that the attack was the largest single act of anti-Semitic murder since the Holocaust.Ahmad Vahidi, who commanded a unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guards known as the Quds Force at the time of the bombing, was nominated on Wednesday.The Quds Force is involved in operations abroad, including working with Hizbullah, which is accused of carrying out the Buenos Aires attack.Argentinean Prosecutor Alberto Nisman said Friday on that Vahidi is accused of being a key participant in the planning and of having made the decision to go ahead with the attack against the Argentine-Israeli Mutual Association.Nisman has led the investigation into the July 18, 1994 bombing - Argentina's bloodiest terrorist attack. The explosives detonated inside a van outside the AMIA building, killing 85 people and wounding 200.

It has been demonstrated that Vahidi participated in and approved of the decision to attack AMIA during a meeting in Iran on August 14, 1993,when he led the Quds Force, Nisman said. He added that Vahidi was never in Argentina.Argentinean, Israeli and US officials say that Iran orchestrated the attack, and that Hizb'allah carried it out. Iran has denied involvement.One senior Israeli official said the fact that the Iranian government could appoint someone indicted for their direct involvement in that ghastly attack exposes clearly the true character of this unrepentant, extremist and hateful regime.Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the appointment was more proof of the nature of the Iranian regime.They don't care what the international community thinks about them, and are showing arrogant disdain for international opinion,he said.Yossi Levy, the Foreign Ministry's spokesman for the Hebrew press, said the appointment showed that Iran has not changed a bit.Anyone who believed that the new Iranian government would bring with it new signs of a new Iran has made a grave mistake,he said.The appointment of a terrorist as defense minister sharpens the terrorist profile of the Iranian government. Iran is the largest exporter of terrorism in the world today.Ahmadinejad submitted his 18 cabinet nominees late on Wednesday to parliament, which must approve the list. Most of the nominees were close Ahmadinejad loyalists or little-known figures, while public critics of the president from his previous cabinet were purged.At least four nominees - for defense, interior, intelligence and oil minister - had ties with the Revolutionary Guards, a powerful base of support for the president.It's significant, this nomination, but not surprising,said Nisman about Vahidi's nomination. Iran has always protected terrorists, giving them government posts, but I think never one as high as this one.

The president of the Jewish cultural center in Buenos Aires, Guillermo Borger, told Argentina's Jewish News Agency on Friday that we are completely surprised and outraged by the nomination of Ahmad Vahidi... His nomination is shameless and insulting.Interpol said in 2007 it would help Argentina seek the arrest of Vahidi and four other prominent Iranians wanted in connection with the attack.Among the others is Mohsen Rezaei, who ran against Ahmadinejad in the June 12 presidential election and is a former leader of the Revolutionary Guards.The other wanted Iranians are former intelligence chief Ali Fallahian; Mohsen Rabbani, former cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Buenos Aires; and former diplomat Ahmad Reza Asghari.Interpol had also sought Hizb'allah member Imad Mughniyeh, who was killed in a car bombing in Damascus in February 2008.In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said on Friday that if Vahidi was indeed the man wanted by Interpol, it would be very disturbing to see him confirmed in the Iranian cabinet.jpost

Peres: Nasrallah speeches amusing Sunday, 23 August 2009 04:59 News from Jerusalem Peres amused

President tells Kuwaiti daily al-Rai he believes Hezb'allah will continue fighting Israel even if latter withdraws from Shebaa Farms, Ghajar; says Israel knows Shiite group has 80,000 rockets.Israel is not interested in war with Lebanon, with which all conflicts can be resolved through dialogue, President Shimon Peres told Kuwaiti daily al-Rai.In an interview set to be published Sunday, Peres said that Shiite group Hezb'allah serves nothing but its own narrow interests, and that he believes it will continue to fight Israel even if the latter withdraws from the disputed Shebaa Farms and the border village of Ghajar.According to the president, Israel is aware of the fact the organization has some 80,000 rockets, Which could lead to a catastrophe for the Lebanese people.He stressed that the weapons used by Hezb'allah had been bought with Iranian money and brought to Lebanon through Syria.Asked what he thought was Hezb'allah's raison-d'être, Peres replied that the Iran-sponsored group has set up a military force parallel to the Lebanese army and has founded a state within a state.

Referring to Hezb'allah chief Hassan Nasrallah's frequent speeches, the Israeli president claimed they have become nothing more than a source of amusement.The Kuwaiti newspaper inquired whether Israel would respond by attacking targets in Lebanon should Hezb'allah avenge the assassination of its chief of operations Imad Mugniyah. I don't know what revenge means. Mugniyah himself had killed many, and those who kill become a target for killing.If Israel is attacked, it will defend itself.The president further stated that despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's recent statement that Lebanon will be held responsible for any attack against Israel should Hezb'allah become part of the Lebanese government, he believes Israel will only strike if it faces an offensive.ynet

Hamas official: Abbas personally intervened to foil Schalit deal Saturday, 22 August 2009 18:07 News from Jerusalem ,Captured IDF soldier Gilad Schalit

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas personally intervened to foil a prisoner deal between Hamas and Israel last June, a prominent Hamas official said on Saturday.We were very close to striking a deal that would have resulted in the release of Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit,said Mushir al-Masri, a Hamas legislator and spokesman.But Abbas personally intervened to prevent the prisoner exchange because he was opposed to the release of Hamas legislators and officials from Israeli prison.

Masri said that Abbas was afraid that the release of the Hamas figures would undermine his authority and revive the debate about his legitimacy as president of the PA, particularly since his term in office expired at the beginning of this year.
The Hamas official said that the US also intervened to thwart an imminent prisoner exchange agreement out of fear that such a move would boost the Islamic movement's standing among Palestinians.He added that the deal was achieved with the help of Egypt, which has been acting as a mediator between Hamas and Israel for the past three years.Masri did not provide details about the prisoner swap that was supposed to take place last June.However, he reiterated Hamas's commitment to pursuing efforts to reach a deal that would see the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in return for Schalit.PA officials have in the past expressed fear that a prisoner exchange agreement would bolster Hamas's popularity among Palestinians.The officials appealed to Israel to release many leading prisoners such as Fatah operative Marwan Barghouti and Ahmed Sa'dat, head of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, as a goodwill gesture to Abbas and not in the context of a deal with Hamas.
jpost

GLOBAL JIHAD Ayatollah pushes Islamic resistance army,Proposes Syria-Iran axis to fight Israel, U.S. August 23, 2009 9:30 pm Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily

After calling for a regional military alliance under the banner of the Islam's messianic Mahdi,Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, along with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is continuing the push for a regional resistance army against Israel and the United States. Last week, WND reported Ayatollah Khamenei had called on the nations of Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan to unite militarily in response to the imminent coming of the Mahdi. According to a report in Al Arabiya, the purpose for uniting was to raise up a unified regional resistance to fight Israel and the U.S. – seen as the two greatest obstacles to the coming of the Mahdi and the age of Islamic justice.Now, as reported yesterday in Payvand Iran News, the ayatollah, along with President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has concluded a meeting with Syrian President Bashar Assad, who traveled to Iran last week to discuss this developing unity between Syria and Iran.According to Payvand, the ayatollah claimed that the growing relations between Syria and Iran are the result of the growing Islamic resistance to Israel and the United Sates in the region: The result of this unity and its effects are perfectly obvious in the developments in Palestine, Lebanon, and Iraq as well as the entire region.Find out what all this means in Joel Richardson's new bestselling book, The Islamic Antichrist.According to Khamenei, the present atmosphere and circumstances in the Middle East are ripe for the growth of an Islamic resistance camp.The tide is in favor of the resistance,Khamenei added.The resistance camp must use this great opportunity and further strengthen its relations and cooperation.He added that the power of the United States in the region was growing weaker on a daily basis and in spite of its propaganda campaign, the Zionist regime has faced numerous internal problems, and it is falling into a genuine decline.

The news does not bode well for President Obama, who has bent over backwards in his personal efforts to apologize to the Islamic world on behalf of the United States while taking a sharply more dovish stance toward Iran and the greater conflict in the conflict in the Middle East. Critics have repeatedly expressed that such a softening stance would communicate weakness to the Iranians. Now the ayatollah himself has clearly confirmed this.America's blade has become blunter in the region,said Khamenei, adding that Obama's new attitude was the result of the United States growing weakness as opposed to any genuine ideological differences between President Bush and Obama.Western governments, particularly the U.S., have numerous problems in their countries as well as in the region and have so far failed to make any achievements in Lebanon and the region,the ayatollah added. According to Barry Rubin in the Jerusalem Post, the official foreign policy of the Obama administration is to pry Syria away from Iran through further interaction and dialogue.Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently said, Given what's been going on in Iran and the instability that appears to be present there, it may not be in Syria's interest to put their eggs into that basket.But Rubin elaborates on all that Syria has to gain from its growing alliance with Iran:There are, of course, a huge number of benefits Syria derives from its alliance with Iran, including Islamist legitimacy, protection against being attacked or pressured, money, weapons, cooperation in anti-Israel terrorism and spreading both countries' influence among the Palestinians, Lebanese and Iraqis. Once Iran gets nuclear weapons, which is on the horizon, the alliance's value for Syria will rise dramatically.The Obama administration is also still recovering from Syria's sudden scrapping of Obama's Syrian-Israel peace plan.In last week's meeting, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad affirmed both the reelection of Ahmadinejad and his support for the ayatollah while poking further jabs at Washington:The failure of the efforts of some Western governments after the recent post-election events in Iran was a great lesson for those governments. They realized, through the vote of the Iranian people for Ahmadinejad, that the people of Iran follow Imam Khomeini (r.a.) and the path of resistance.In the meeting the call for a regional Mahdi army including Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon and Syria was once more reaffirmed.

Payvand reports:

Ayatollah Khamenei later expressed his agreement over the formation of a unified group composed of Iran, Syria, Turkey and Iraq and said that the current relations between Syria and Iraq will produce positive results. He further stated that the Iraqi government should be helped in solving the current problems of the country.
For his part, Assad agreed with the ayatollah, adding the recent visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Damascus showed that Iraq is also ready to cooperate. But the alliance between Syria and Iran is certainly not the only critical aspect of this story. After WND's article last week about the ayatollah's call for the regional Mahdi army, literally dozens of articles and television programs appeared in the Turkish media examining the Ayatollah's inclusion of Turkey among the nations to which he called for unity under the Mahdi. Some have expressed concern the ayatollah's inclusion of Turkey may be because of behind-the-scenes discussions between Iran and Turkey's Islamist leadership. Last year, President Ahmadinejad traveled to Turkey to meet with President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. After years of tense relations during the 1980s and 1990s under the leadership of the AKP Islamist party, Ankara has forged much stronger ties with both Syria and Iran in recent years. This shift toward the Middle East stands as a sharp contrast to previous administrations in Turkey, when the primary effort was to see Turkey welcomed into the European Union.In April of this year, Adem Ozkose, a writer for the Turkish Gercek Hayat magazine, interviewed Ayman Khalid from Kuds al-Arabi, one of the Arab world's most prestigious newspapers. In the interview, Ozkose asks Khalid the following question:Certain Turkish activists and writers have said that the border between Turkey and Syria should be lifted and that such a move will constitute the kernel of an Islamic Union. What does the Arab world think of that idea? Khalid's response is one that is in perfect agreement with the vision of Ayatollah Khamenei:We support the idea with all our hearts. The statesmen who make this idea a reality will go down in history. There are in any case no borders in the minds of the Turkish and Syrian peoples. The Syrian people attach great worth to the Turks and love the Turks very much. … Turks and Arabs share the same religion and culture and are children of the same lands. In my opinion, together with Egypt, Syria is the most important country in the Arab world. In addition, the Syrian government wants to further improve relations with Turkey and wants these two nations to become brothers. If Turkey can win Syria's heart, it can win that of the whole Arab world. Because Syria is the gateway to the Arab world for Turkey. The Turkish government must open that door still further, and the borders between Syria and Turkey must be lifted at once.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

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)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them; 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.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

REVELATION 9:18
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.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

US, SKorea urge NKorea to scrap nukes AUG 24,09

SEOUL (AFP) – US and South Korean officials stressed Monday that North Korea must give up its nuclear weapons, one day after its leader Kim Jong-Il made a rare peace overture to his Seoul counterpart.Senior visiting North Korean officials met President Lee Myung-Bak Sunday to deliver a verbal message from Kim.The message was not disclosed. But both sides in the presidential talks expressed hopes for warmer relations after more than a year of high cross-border tensions.International anxiety has also risen since the North's missile and nuclear tests earlier this year and subsequent United Nations sanctions.Philip Goldberg, the US diplomat tasked with enforcing the sanctions, held talks Monday with South Korean nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-Lac during a regional tour.Wi said the objective is a complete verifiable denuclearisation of North Korea.Goldberg replied: Absolutely, that is certainly our goal.The US official urged the North to return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks which it abandoned in April. He reaffirmed that Washington will hold bilateral talks only within the six-party context.Goldberg has also visited Singapore and Thailand on this trip and will leave later Monday for Japan.In Singapore he urged Southeast Asian financial institutions to closely monitor transactions that could fund the North's nuclear and missile programmes.Inter-Korean relations have been icy since the conservative Lee came to power in February 2008. He scrapped a sunshine aid and engagement policy and linked economic assistance to the North's nuclear disarmament.On Sunday Lee asked the envoys to relay to leader Kim the consistent and firm principles of the government's North Korea policy -- an apparent reference to the demand for denuclearisation.His office Monday denied newspaper reports that Kim in his message proposed another summit to settle differences.

Kim sent the delegation to join mourning for former president Kim Dae-Jung, who held the first summit in 2000. A second was held in 2007.The two sides held only general discussions on developing relations and no issues related to an inter-Korean summit...were discussed,the office said in a statement.The government's consistent North Korea policy is that we will help North Korea if the North gives up its nuclear ambitions,chief presidential spokesman Lee Dong-Kwan said Monday.Dialogue is possible at any time and at any level, but this (policy) says an inter-Korean summit or South-North dialogue similar to those of the past are not acceptable.Critics of the decade-long sunshine policy say it failed to halt the North's drive for nuclear weapons, and may even have indirectly funded it.During months of sabre-rattling, the North renounced the armistice which ended the 1950-53 war on the Korean peninsula, test-fired a volley of missiles and staged its second nuclear test. But this month it began taking a series of conciliatory steps, in what some analysts see as an attempt to ease the impact of the sanctions.Leader Kim pardoned two jailed US journalists after former president Bill Clinton visited Pyongyang.The North also freed a South Korean detainee and announced willingness to restart lucrative tourist trips and family reunions for South Koreans. It lifted tough restrictions on border crossings.

The tourism projects for South Koreans are not affected by the UN sanctions, Goldberg said.My assessment is that at the moment these are issues outside of the resolution, he told reporters after his talks with Wi.

Israel to send ship to NATO operation Thursday, 20 August 2009 05:04 News from Jerusalem ,Israel Navy gunships (Photo AP)

For the first time, IDF troops will actively participate in a NATO operation in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the Active Endeavor maritime counter-terror operation.

The decision to send an Israeli Navy ship was made recently by Defense Minister Ehud Barak, IDF Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi and commander of the Navy Adm. Eliezer Marom. It has not yet been decided which ship would participate in the operation.Last year, the navy sent an intelligence officer to sit in NATO's Active Endeavor operations room based in Naples. NATO launched Operation Active Endeavor in the wake of 9/11 and has succeeded in bringing together a number of countries from the Mediterranean, at a center in Naples to share information concerning naval terror and suspicious ships in the region.Morocco and Algeria - like Israel, members of NATO's Mediterranean Dialogue - are also seriously considering sending officers to the Naples-based project. If that happens, it will be the first time that Israeli, Algerian and Moroccan officers were cooperating at such a high level.Since its inception after 9/11, NATO forces have hailed over 100,000 merchant vessels, and boarded some 148 suspicious vessels.While Israel has over the past decade participated in numerous NATO exercises - mostly at sea - it has never sent troops or navy ships to play an operational role in the military alliance's operations.On Wednesday, for example, the INS Lahav sailed from the Aksaz Turkish Naval Base to participate in the Reliant Mermaid search-and-rescue naval exercise with the Turkish and American navies. The exercise focuses on search and rescue scenarios and is designed to improve interoperability and cooperation among participating countries.

Defense officials said that the decision to send a ship to participate in Active Endeavor has already been approved by the defense establishment and that Israel was currently waiting for final approval from NATO before dispatching the vessel.jpost

BORN IN THE USA? Congressman eyes lawsuit over president's eligibility,Republican finds birth certificate sizzling topic at Arizona town hall August 23, 2009 8:36 pm Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily

Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Arizona, told a townhall meeting in Kingman yesterday he is considering a lawsuit to establish Barack Obama's eligibility for the presidency.Franks said there is conflicting evidence on the question of Obama's status as a natural born citizen.His allusion to the possibility of a lawsuit forcing release of Obama's original, long-form birth certificate is as far as any member of Congress has gone on this issue.The eligibility issue was one of the hottest topics at the town hall meeting that included concerns about national defense, stimulus spending, health-care bills and the cash-for-clunkers program.Franks said it would take 34,000 years to pay off the indebtedness incurred by the Obama administration.

Demand the truth by joining the petition campaign to make President Obama reveal his long-form, hospital-generated birth certificate! Some 950 people attended the boisterous event in a local church.WND has reported on dozens of legal challenges to Obama's status as a natural born citizen.The Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, states, No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.Some of the lawsuits question whether he was actually born in Hawaii, as he insists. If he was born out of the country, Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time. Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born. Complicating the situation is Obama's decision to spend sums estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars to avoid releasing a state birth certificate that would put to rest all of the questions.WND has reported that among the documentation not yet available for Obama includes his kindergarten records, his Punahou school records, his Occidental College records, his Columbia University records, his Columbia thesis, his Harvard Law School records, his Harvard Law Review articles, his scholarly articles from the University of Chicago, his passport, his medical records, his files from his years as an Illinois state senator, his Illinois State Bar Association records, any baptism records, and his adoption records.

Where's The Birth Certificate? billboard helps light up the night at the Mandalay Bay resort on the Las Vegas Strip. Because of the dearth of information about Obama's eligibility, WND founder Joseph Farah has launched a campaign to raise contributions to post billboards asking a simple question: Where's the birth certificate? The campaign followed a petition that has collected over 450,000 signatures demanding proof of his eligibility, the availability of yard signs raising the question and the production of permanent, detachable magnetic bumper stickers asking the question. The certification of live birth posted online and widely touted as Obama's birth certificate does not in any way prove he was born in Hawaii, since the same short-form document is easily obtainable for children not born in Hawaii. The true long-form birth certificate – which includes information such as the name of the birth hospital and attending physician – is the only document that can prove Obama was born in Hawaii, but to date he has not permitted its release for public or press scrutiny.

Oddly, though congressional hearings were held to determine whether Sen. John McCain was constitutionally eligible to be president as a natural born citizen, no controlling legal authority ever sought to verify Obama's claim to a Hawaiian birth.

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 AUGUST 24,2009

09:30 AM +2.79
10:00 AM +51.92
10:30 AM +67.27
11:00 AM +67.49
11:30 AM +68.17
12:00 PM +50.41
12:30 PM +59.43
01:00 PM +49.50
01:30 PM +2.42
02:00 PM +8.01
02:30 PM +8.92
03:00 PM +10.05
03:30 PM +4.99
04:00 PM +3.32 9509.28

S&P 500 1025.56 -0.57

NASDAQ 2017.98 -2.92

GOLD 942.60 -12.10

OIL 73.97 +0.08

TSE 300 10,781.18 -50.00

CDNX 1186.52 -5.43

S&P/TSX/60 648.24 -3.58

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +8.31%
S&P +13.60%
Nasdaq +28.15%
TSX Advances 883,declines 549,unchanged 253,Volume 398,021,121.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 451,Declines 359,Unchanged 317,Volume 214,834,334.

Dow +19 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -6 points at low today.
Dow +79 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $955.60.OIL opens at $74.36 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -20 points at low today so far.
Dow +79 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 2,571,declines 989,unchanged 116,New Highs 120,New Lows 72.
Volume 2,898,996,404.
NASDAQ Advances 1,595,declines 989,unchanged 135,New highs 66,New Lows 05.
Volume 767,027,081.
TSX Advances 665,declines 513,unchanged 217,Volume 147,631,609.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 281,Declines 284,Unchanged 246,Volume 81,282,928.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -20 points at low today.
Dow +81 points at high today.
Dow +0.03% today Volume 190,546,472.
Nasdaq +0.14% today Volume 1,933,801,097.
S&P 500 +0.14% today Volume N/A

OIL TOUCHES 10 MONTH HIGH.

CASH FOR CLUNKERS
http://watch.ctv.ca/news/latest/cash-for-clunkers/#clip206559
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224676994&play=1
THE SECRET OF THE COPPER SCROLL (THE ARK TREASURES MIGHT BE IN KUMRON.JIM BARFIELD THE INVESTIGATOR AND THE ARK OF THE COVENANT MIGHT BE THERE TO).
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1324
MAX KEISER ALEX JONES ON ECONOMY (MARTIAL LAW BEING IMPLIMENTED)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRSkvCMqGHY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAQ2FBNKA9c&feature=player_embedded
AMERICANS SKEPTIC ON HEALTHCARE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RK-H9j6koQA&feature=player_embedded
DOUBLE-DIP RECESSION
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224798676&play=1
BERNANKES FUTURE
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224777322&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224816097&play=1
US LOSING RESERVE CURRENCY STATUS(MUST WATCH)
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224676350&play=1

THE SPECULATORS IN THE MARKETS ARE AMAZED THAT OIL AND GAS IS SO HIGH AND OUT OF WACK. I KNOW WHAT IT IS,ITS THE NEW WORLD ORDER BANKER ROBBERS DISTORTING THE MARKETS TO BRING THE WORLD TO ITS KNEES THREW MANIPULATING THE STOCK MARKETS TO THEIR OWN GREED.SETTIING THE WORLD UP FOR MASS VACCINATIONS FROM THE SWINE FLU.SETTING THE WORLD UP FOR FALSE FLAG TERRORIST ATTACKS POSSIBLY TO BRING ABOUT WORLD MARTIAL LAW.
OIL,GAS MARKETS OUT OF WACK
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224761337&play=1

REMEMBER AMERICANS WE NEED THE ROBBER AUDIT THE FED AUDITED.THE HOUSE HAS 282 SIGNED UP AND THE SENATE HAS 23 MEMBERS SIGNED TO AUDIT THE FED.LETS GET IT DONE AMERICA.

81 BANK FAILERS THIS YEAR SO FAR INCLUDING 17 IN AUGUST.PROJECTED BANKS TO CLOSE NEXT 3 YEARS 200.

WORLDS SAFEST BANKS OF 2009
http://www.cnbc.com/id/32537102
http://www.gfmag.com/tools/bank-rankings.html
http://www.gfmag.com/
http://www.scribd.com/doc/13010982/The-Worlds-50-Safest-Banks-2009-Global-Finance
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-427498761.html
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224832894&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224762824&play=1

NOTICE THE EU HAS THE LEADING BANKS LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS THE EU WILL CONTROL THE ECONOMIES OF THE WHOLE EARTH IN THE LAST DAYS OF THIS AGE.

Safest Banks CNBC AUG 24,09
In a global economy that has been plagued by troubles in the world’s financial systems, the words safe and bank are rarely put together. The shakeup of banking systems around the world raises the question: Which banks are the safe banks? These rankings are being published first on CNBC.com.For the past 18 years, Global Finance has produced a list of the World’s 50 Safest Banks, and as the markets move away from their March lows, many banks remain a point of market uncertainty, and long-term safety is of key interest. This ranking of safe banks was created through the comparison of long-term credit ratings (from Moody’s Standard & Poor’s and Fitch) and analysis of total assets owned by the 500 largest banks in the world.For ease of comparison, we’ve listed the highest ranking bank in each country, as well as key statistics for each country’s banking system. The size of the banking system was determined by value of assets held by the country's banks. It may surprise you where the safest banks in the world are located... click ahead to find out!By Paul Toscano
Posted 24 Aug 2009

Posted: Sun, Feb 1 2009. 11:04 PM IST Corporate News,World’s top 500 banks witness a 32% decline in brand valueRankings of SBI, ICICI Bank fall in the review by UK’s Brand Finance; more Indian banks figure in the 2009 listAnushree Chandran

Mumbai: The global credit crisis that has felled some of the world’s best known financial institutions and left survivors with a mountain of bad debt has also taken a heavy toll on banks’ brand valuations. The world’s top 500 banks lost brand value worth $218.1 billion (about Rs10.8 trillion), a 32% drop over the past year, while their market capitalization slumped by $3.9 trillion, or 51%, according to a global survey. State Bank of India (SBI), the nation’s biggest lender, was the only Indian institution to figure in the top 100 rankings.British bank HSBC Holdings Plc. retained its top rank and Bank of America Corp. moved to number two from number three as of 31 December, according to the third edition of BrandFinance Global Banking 500—a review of the top financial services brands in the world measured by both brand strength and brand value.Conducted by UK-based brand valuation agency, Brand Finance Plc., the survey showed Wells Fargo and Co. dramatically ascending five places to the third rank.About 209 of the brands present in last year’s list have fallen out of the new 500 after a year of unprecedented turmoil in the financial industry that has plunged the US, Europe and Japan into recession.Mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which were seized by the US government, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Bear Stearns Companies, both of which collapsed, and Northern Rock Plc., bailed out by the UK government, had a combined market capitalization of $109 billion and brand value of $14.3 billion in last year’s study.

Even HSBC’s brand value fell 40% to $25.4 billion although the lender benefited from a global reach that helped offset its exposure to the credit crisis, spreading risk both geographically and across revenue streams.Emerging market brands have significantly outperformed world brands in 2008, said David Haigh, chief executive officer of Brand Finance Plc.Many of the best known developed world banks have died in 2008. Some are walking dead awaiting a silver bullet before they finally go. Governments hold the gun. Strong brands can help some of the zombie brands return from the dead in 2009.India escaped the worst of the global financial industry bloodbath, helping give a leg-up to the charts for financial institutions from the country. Lenders such as Canara Bank and Oriental Bank of Commerce made their debut in the Top 500 list, State Bank of India remained in the top 100 and Axis Bank Ltd climbed up the charts.It’s a sign that Indian financial brands have the potential to reach the global big league, said Unni Krishnan, managing director of Brand Finance India Pvt. Ltd. From this inflection point, Indian banks can tap into a $50 billion local market opportunity in services such as microfinance and microinsurance, he said.This domestic dominance can then help them catapult in the global league, though the big challenges for Indian brands will be customer centricity and service excellence,Krishnan added.

SBI ranked 69 in the latest survey, down from 60 a year earlier, with a brand value of $1.44 billion, down from $2.852 billion. Its market capitalization fell to $9.83 billion from $12 billion.However, if SBI’s associate banks were added to the score—as was done last year—then its ranking would have jumped to 56 and brand value to $1.87 billion, said Krishnan.ICICI Bank Ltd, the country’s second largest lender, saw its ranking drop to 108 from 64 the year before, while its brand value plummeted to $939 million from $2.6 billion and market cap declined to $7.89 billion from $17.64 billion, according to the report.ICICI Bank’s heavy reliance on retail lending and lack of enough emphasis on quality may have led to the decline, said Krishnan. ICICI Bank had no comment when contacted by Mint. HDFC Bank Ltd’s rank, market cap and brand value leapt. It is now ranked 151, up from 236 a year earlier. Its brand value is estimated at $611million compared with $368 million a year ago, while market cap rose to $7.78 billion from $6.88 billion.Axis Bank also surged ahead in rankings and value, while Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd’s rank rose though its value dropped. Banks such as Punjab National Bank, Bank of India and Union Bank of India, which did not figure in the Top 500 the year before, made their entry this year.Ramesh Thomas, president and chief knowledge officer, Equitor Management Consulting Pvt. Ltd, said SBI benefited from the scale of its operations. HDFC, on the other hand, is based on sheer quality of performance. It’s the performance that speaks in terms of management of assets, quality of service, etc. And that’s not something that ICICI enjoys. Also, these rankings are not so much a function of image building because both SBI and HDFC are relatively quiet brands. So is Canara, which has made its debut in the list.

The global financial industry landscape has been permanently altered after last year’s turmoil, said Krishnan. This global change will give rise to new business models and corporate and brand values for the financial services industry as a whole.

The World's Top Banks,Who are the Winners and Losers Among the Largest and the Best Banks in the World? Where Will the Top Banks of the Next 50 Years Come From? New York, United States, 25 June, 2009 - UPDATE. The world's pre-eminent banking magazine, The Banker, is in the process of releasing its annual list of the top 1,000 world banks.

Although full details are not yet available, EconomyWatch.com understands that its broad findings support the analysis we published earlier in the month.

According to the preliminary report, JPMorgan is the top bank in 2009. The top five banks of 2009 are:
1. JPMorgan Chase (up from fourth spot in 2008)
2. Bank of America
3. Citigroup (with the second biggest loss of 2008 at $53 billion)
4. Royal Bank of Scotland (who reported the biggest loss of the year in 2008, losing $59.3 billion)
5. HSBC (down from first in 2008 - but it was the only top 5 bank not to receive government support, and would have ranked third without that)


Mistubishi UFJ of Japan came in at seventh, the highest ranked Asian bank, with ICBC of China in eight - also one of the highest gainers and the most profitable bank in the world, with estimated profits of $21.3 billion. Profits of the global banking industry plummeted to $115 billion in 2008 from $781 billion in 2007, a 85 per cent decline.Zurich, Switzerland, 3 June, 2009. The world's top banks have been through its most tumultuous period in 80 years as the subprime crisis became a full-blown meltdown.We all know the names of the deceased, the firesale fodder and the government owned, from Bear Stearns to Lehman Brothers, Wachovia to Wamu, , from Northern Rock and Bradford & Bingley to Fortis, and in pseudo bank-land from AIG to Fannie and Freddie.Much less attention to date has been paid to the large banks that have staid boring, executed tightly and grown their business prudently even as the world came crashing down around banking's ears.Being able to define the world's top banks was once very easy: whoever was biggest was best. This was usually measured in assets under management, and was built on the fatally flawed assumption that all assets are created equally, and that they won't decline in value en masse.

In these all together more prudent times, big often means bad, so quality of assets, cashflows and management become all important. There are too many variables involved, with too little information about the real price of many legacy assets, to be able to create a 2009 league table of the top banks, replete with numerical ranking formula.
Instead we will list the banks that we and our colleagues rate as having played the smartest hands and come out winners - at least with the information available to today. Tip of the hat to the Economist for their inputs.

JPMorgan Chase

In the past, banks that were conservative and focused more on minimizing risk than maximizing profits were likely to get hounded by analysts. Now they are considered stars. JPMorgan Chase is one of those entities. It stayed clear of sub-prime loans and cultivated deep client relationships and analytical tools to reduce default rates. With its massive credit card portfolio, it will need to run an even tighter ship this year - but if it pulls it off it is likely to take over the mantle of the world's top bank for Citigroup.

Credit Suisse

Credit Suisse was an early victim of toxic assets, but it moved quicker than competitors to get those off its books or write off completely. It was also quick to raise money (when money was available on comparatively better terms) and to re-structure its investment banking arm. It has left UBS in the dust.

Goldman Sachs

Its funny isn't it? Whenever the government is looking to do a deal with a financial services firm, Goldman Sachs is usually there or there-about. Called in normally by former colleagues now working for the government. With its political access and complex risk management software that has withstood the storms, Goldman has crowned its position as the best former investment bank. However the fact that it had to change from an investment bank to a deposit-taking commercial bank shows that even the mighty have weaknesses.

Blackstone Group

In any industry shakeup, new power players emerge, and the Blackstone Group may be the key mega entrant of the Financial Crisis. It is not really a bank, being a collection of funds, advisory groups and financial software solutions, but it is increasingly serving bank-like functions in funding and co-ordinating transactions, and like Goldman's it has access to Washington that is bringing in contracts worth billions, sometimes in no tender bids. Expect Blackstone to expand assets under management and services offered.

Banco Santander

Spanish financial watchdogs ensure their banks take counter-cyclical measures, building up capital during the good years. This cushioned allowed the largest, Santander, not only to survive, but to buy up banks including ABM Amro and assets at firesale prices while maintaining profitability.

Standard Chartered Bank

Standard Chartered, or StanChart, focuses only on emerging markets. After the Asian Financial Crisis, most of these countries enforced stricter lending rules, meaning no subprime. Their economies are also growing overall, so organic growth is the order of the day.

Rabobank

A 'wonderfully dull' Dutch bank that has always operated very conservatively, taking very few risks and building up long-term low leverage portfolio positions. Previously considered a laggard, now hailed as far-sighted.

Bank of New York Mellon

Bank of New York Mellon provide custodian services and do not put their own capital at risk in the same way as regular banks. Not only does that mean no toxic assets, it is also a rapidly growing arm of finance.

BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas has a major chunk of business in France, which has not suffered from the worst of the Anglo-Saxon excesses. It is also growing strongly in equity derivatives, and area that has not (yet) been hit by big losses.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)

China is now the largest creditor nation in the world, and their banks have solid books with rapidly growing assets under management. If China stays on course to become the world's largest economy, ICBC as the largest -and state owned - bank could well become the world's biggest bank.

Other major Chinese banks to watch out for include CITIC Industrial Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank and China Merchants Bank. Hosni Afleck, EconomyWatch.com

BANKS CONTINUE TO GO BUST
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224741713&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224663535&play=1
WHATS MOVING THE MARKETS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1224676336&play=1

FDIC Seeks to Attract Additional Buyers of Failed Banks August 22nd, 2009 Three More Banks Fail Friday

After 8 months into the year, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has seen over 80 bank failures and has had engineer purchases for each of the failed banks. After last Friday’s failure of Colonial BankGroup, the largest bank failure this year, the FDIC is taking steps to attract more buyers of troubled financial institutions to prevent it’s insurance fund from being drained.Federal regulatory bodies plan on making it easier for private equity firms to purchase failed banks and insolvent lenders in hopes of reducing the number of failed banks that the FDIC’s insurance fund has to support. The FDIC is also planning to attract additional buyers by agreeing to take some of the burden of the potential losses from the failed banks that are purchasing. Finally, it’s reworking one of its primary financing programs which will make it easier to purchase toxic assets of financial institutions that have failed.For the FDIC, it’s imperative that their insurance fund remains liquid. The US banking system heavily depends on the assurance to bank customers that they will be able to get their money back, even if their bank fails. To date, the FDIC has had no trouble repaying all of the customers of failed banks, but their insurance fund has dropped from $52.8 billion in assets a year ago, down to just $13 billion at the beginning of April.So far, there have been 80 bank failures in 2009, compared to just 25 in 2009. The FDIC was able to find buyers for 69 of the 80 failed institutions, but has faced significant hits to its reserve funds for banks where buyers could not be found. Since many of the banks that have failed have relatively large losses compared to their assets, the FDIC has had to dip into its insurance fund to repay many account holders and creditors.It’s likely that the FDIC will see a number of additional bank failures in 2009, especially among banks that have a significant number of sub-prime mortgages and other real estate loans on their books that might not be paid on-time or in-full.

Officials at the FDIC are very intent on protecting the insurance fund and making sure that customers of failed banks have full access to their insured funds, to the point where they are considering options that would not have been discussed months ago. There is even a possibility of the FDIC getting an emergency loan from the Treasury department in the event that its insurance fund is tapped out.FDIC officials have stated that no financial decisions have been made, but its five member board will be meeting next week to discuss the aforementioned proposals.

Banking shake-up in Nigeria sets off jitters by Joel Olatunde Agoi – Sun Aug 23, 1:20 am ET

LAGOS (AFP) – Panic withdrawals by depositors and a thick cloud of uncertainty are shaking Nigeria's financial sector after the sacking of the directors of five key ailing banks, operators and analysts said.Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi earlier this month removed the heads of Afribank, Intercontinental Bank, Union Bank, Oceanic Bank and Finbank for piling up billions of dollars in bad debts.The books of about a dozen other banks are also currently under CBN scrutiny to determine their viability, debts and liquidity status.There are apprehensions in the industry on what will be the fate of the remaining banks because of CBN's action, a treasury manager in one of the nation's banks, Sunday Adeola, told AFP.The dismissals of the bank chiefs and the anti-graft agency's threat to arrest, prosecute or seize property of the debtors of the banks if they failed to pay in a week has put the heat on the sector, analysts said.The... system has witnessed massive cash outflows in recent days. Depositors are jittery and they are withdrawing their money,said analyst Joel Allison.Bank vaults are becoming empty and if the trend continues we may have another bank failure on our hands,he said, recalling the liquidation of dozens of distressed banks in the 1990s after bad management and fraud.

Dozens of the owners and managers of those failed banks were prosecuted or jailed while others fled the country to evade arrest.The CBN chief earlier this month accused the management of the five ailing banks of giving loans to prominent Nigerian businessmen and companies without adhering to good corporate governance and risk management practices.He put the total loan portfolio of the ailing banks at 2.8 trillion naira (17.8 billion dollars, 12.6 billion euros).The CBN has also published a list of dozens of prominent Nigerians businessmen as debtors to these banks.The list includes tycoon Aliko Dangote, rated by US Forbes magazine as one of the world's richest Africans with a net worth of around 3.3 billion dollars.Dangote, 52, who is also the new president of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) has denied managing the oil and gas company listed as owing Intercontinental Bank more than eight billion naira.The Nigerian government has in the past days tried to calm the nerves of agitated bank depositors by assuring them that their money is safe and that it will not allow the debt-ridden banks to sink.The government has already announced a 400 billion naira (2.55 billion dollars/ 1.8 billion euros) bailout for the affected banks.Nigeria's central labour movement NLC lauded Sanusi's action, and urged the CBN to restore public confidence in the industry.Rasheed Yusuf of the Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria also called for proper management of the situation in a way that the market will not be jeopardised.The confusion in this important sector of the Nigerian economy is further exacerbated by the fact that three key players -- Dangote, NSE director general Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke and International Bank's ex-boss Erastus Akingbola -- were listed by the CBN as bank debtors.

Okereke-Onyiuke is also a director in Transnational Corp, a failing conglomerate, which the CBN says owes Union Bank about 31 billion naira. Five years ago, in a bid to shore up the capital base of these financial institutions, the number of banks was cut from more than 90 to 25 solid ones.The figure later dropped to 24 when two of the banks merged.But that early caution appears to have dissolved in more recent times and the global economic crisis has made the credit crunch that much tougher. Mindful of the 1990s banking crisis, weary Nigerians are being cautious.Yesterday I took all my money from my bank to avoid possible unpleasant consequences, said Femi Afolabi, a Lagos hotelier, who lost almost three million naira (19,250 dollars/ 13,500 euros) in 1995 when his bank failed.

Germany to invite GM this week on Opel AUG 24,09

BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany is ready for further talks with General Motors on the sale of European carmaker Opel and wants to avoid confrontation with the U.S. firm on the matter, a government spokesman said on Monday.It is important not to resort to confrontation, government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm said at a regular government news conference, adding the government aimed to invite a member of the GM board to Germany to discuss Opel this week.On Friday, GM failed to recommend either of two bidders for Opel -- Canadian supplier Magna, Germany's preferred buyer, or rival bidder RHJ International.(Reporting by Paul Carrel and Noah Barkin)

Asian stock jump on Bernanke comments, home sales By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer Jeremiah Marquez, Ap Business Writer – AUG 24,09

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets jumped Monday as upbeat comments from the Federal Reserve's chairman and signs the U.S. housing industry was healing strengthened confidence in a global recovery.Tokyo shares helped lead the way with a 3 percent gain as the region, taking cues from Wall Street closing Friday at its highest since November, staged a broad-based come back from last week's heavy selling. Oil prices rose above $74 a barrel and the dollar climbed against the yen.Investors poured into stocks after Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the prospects for a near-term recovery in the world's largest economy appeared to be good. Also boosting confidence was a better-than-expected rise in U.S. home sales last month that helped relieve some of the fears about American consumers that have held stock markets down lately.There was evidence of economic renewal in Asia as well. Thailand's economy emerged from recession in the second quarter thanks to increased government spending and manufacturing resuming growth after steep declines.The numbers coming through continue to show economies are in better shape,said Song Seng Wun, economist at CIMB-GK research in Singapore.But we could see more up and down in the markets as investors keep looking over their shoulder and asking themselves how much optimism is justified.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 305.76 points, or 3 percent, to 10,543.94.

In China, the main Shanghai index was up for a third straight day, gaining 0.7 percent to 2,980.35, after its steep declines last week helped trigger selling around the world. Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 1.9 percent to 20,589.97.South Korea's Kospi advanced 1.8 percent, Taiwan's index jumped 2.8 percent and Australia's benchmark was 2.8 percent higher. Thailand shares rose by 1.8 percent.Wall Street finished the week on a high note, with the Dow up 155.91, or 1.7 percent, to 9,505.96, closing above 9,500 for the first time since Nov. 4.The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 18.76, or 1.9 percent, to 1,026.13, its highest close since Oct. 6. And the Nasdaq composite index rose 31.68, or 1.6 percent, to 2,020.90, reaching its highest close since Oct. 1.Oil prices rose amid the brightening outlook for global demand. Crude for October delivery climbed 25 cents to $74.14 a barrel in Asian trade. The contract was up 98 cents on Friday.The dollar rose to 94.80 yen compared to 94.38 yen, and the euro weakened to $1.4326 from $1.4341.

Alternative energy powerhouse Brazil finds big oil By BRADLEY BROOKS, Associated Press Writer – AUG 24,09

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil, long proud of its push to develop renewable energy and wean itself off oil, has a bad case of fossil-fuel fever.An enormous offshore field in territorial waters — the biggest Western Hemisphere oil discovery in 30 years — has Brazilians saying, Drill, baby, drill,while environmentalists fear the nation will take a big leap backward in its hunt for crude.There has been virtually no public debate on the potential environmental costs of retrieving the billions of barrels of oil, a project one expert said will be as difficult as landing a man on the moon.The government is whipping Brazil into a euphoria that this is going to be a solution for all our societal problems,said Sergio Leitao, director of public policies for Greenpeace Brasil.Brazil is no longer seriously looking at alternatives.Home to the bulk of the Amazon rainforest, Brazil for decades has developed alternative energy as an issue of national security following severe energy shortages in the 1970s. It uses hydroelectric power for more than 80 percent of its energy needs, is the world's largest exporter of ethanol, and nine out of every 10 cars sold in the nation can run on ethanol or a combination of ethanol and gasoline.A U.N. study found that in 2008, Brazil accounted for almost all of Latin America's renewable energy investment, to the tune of $10.8 billion.

But since the national oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, or Petrobras, discovered the massive Tupi field off the coast of Rio de Janeiro two years ago — estimated to hold 5 to 8 billion barrels — it is the development of oil fields that has gone into overdrive.Thirty years ago, more than 85 percent of Brazil's oil came from foreign sources. Today, it is a net exporter.There have been a series of other discoveries since Tupi — each lying at least 115 miles (185 kilometers) offshore, more than a mile below the ocean's surface and under another 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) of earth and salt. Estimates of the entire area's recoverable oil range between 50 billion and 100 billion barrels.Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva hailed the finds as the nation's future, a second declaration of independence and an economic savior for 57 million Brazilians living in poverty — 30 percent of the population. The military wants new submarines and jets to protect the crude. Leftist groups want it all nationalized.The enthusiasm is also fanned by Brazil's devotion to Petrobras, routinely listed as one of the most-admired companies in national polls.Founded in 1953 to fend off an economic crisis and dependency on foreign oil, Petrobras has long embodied Brazilian nationalism and the notion of shielding domestic wealth from foreigners — particularly the United States and Europe.In 2008, Brazil's total oil and natural gas production was nearly 2.3 million barrels per day. Petrobras was responsible for more than 96 percent of it.Most Brazilians think of Petrobras like they think of their soccer stars,said Eric Smith, an offshore oil expert at Tulane University in New Orleans who likened efforts to get at Brazil's oil to a trip to the moon. Try to find Americans who support Exxon like that.Petrobras fattens government coffers with more than $30 billion a year in taxes and royalties.The company is led by Sergio Gabrielli, a bearded economics professor-on-leave, who was jailed under the nation's military regime for his political activities. He defends the company's environmental record emphatically.Our ethanol program, our biodiesel program is still there. Petrobras is allocating $2.8 billion dollars to develop our infrastructure and production capacity for producing ethanol and biodiesel,Gabrielli told The Associated Press at an economic forum in Rio this spring.

The company's record is not untarnished, however.

In January 2000, a pipeline spilled about 350,000 gallons of crude into Rio's Guanabara Bay. Six months later, there was a spill at a refinery near Curitiba in Brazil's south — 1 million gallons of oil flooded two rivers. In March 2001, explosions on what was then the company's biggest offshore platform killed 11 workers. The rig sank, releasing more than 300,000 gallons of oil.Petrobras quickly initiated a $4 billion investment program to prevent future disasters and Gabrielli says Petrobras can safely develop the difficult offshore fields.Judy Dugan, a founder of OilWatchdog.org, cautions Brazilians against embracing an oil company as a national benefactor.She said the track record of global oil companies shows none truly have the good of the citizenry first in mind. The oil business creates corruption in many governments and large sources of political influence for an oil company's benefit, not for the benefit of citizens.Brazil's Senate recently opened an inquiry into corruption at Petrobras. Opposition lawmakers say the company failed to pay more than $2 billion in taxes and that it overpays firms with ties to the Silva administration.Silva swears Brazil will not go the way of a Venezuela or Nigeria, where petro dollars routinely mix with politics.Instead, he is pushing a version of the Norwegian model, working to set up a government-controlled oil fund for social projects that he argues would operate with transparency. The opposition, however, fears giving the central government control of such a fund would give it massive new political influence.Leitao, of Greenpeace, wonders if the billions of dollars needed to develop the offshore finds will be worth it should the price of oil fall.At the beginning of the 20th century, we were the largest producers of rubber in the world. People were lighting cigars with money,he said.But the hangover came quickly because the English started producing rubber in Asia. The prices fell and our fortunes ended.
We're not looking at the lessons our own history has given us.

U.S. Helps Spanish Company to Buy Texas Bank By ERIC DASH
Published: August 21, 2009

Guaranty Bank, a deeply troubled Texas lender, was sold on Friday to Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria of Spain in one of the largest government-assisted deals offered to a foreign firm.Federal regulators seized Guaranty Bank and simultaneously brokered the sale of its branches as well as most of the deposits and assets to BBVA Compass, the Spanish bank’s American subsidiary. The government, however, agreed to absorb most of the losses on $9.7 billion, or more than 80 percent, of the Guaranty assets included in the deal.The failure is the fourth-largest since the financial crisis began, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation projects that it will cost its deposit insurance fund about $3 billion.Regulators also arranged for the sales of three smaller banks in Alabama and Georgia on Friday, bringing the total number of bank failures so far this year to 81. That compares with only 25 bank failures in all of 2008.News that BBVA had submitted the winning bid leaked out earlier this week, but regulators waited until late Friday to orchestrate the takeover. That may be another sign that confidence in the financial system is being restored, since in contrast to past leaks, regulators did not immediately seize the bank over fears of rumors stoking a bank run.

Stockholders in Guaranty Bank will be wiped out, but the deal ensures that its depositors will not suffer losses. Although BBVA did not take control of the failed bank’s $344 million of brokered deposits, the F.D.I.C. said that it would reimburse brokers directly for those funds.The government also agreed to shoulder the bulk of the losses on all of Guaranty’s loans — a deal sweetener that the government has rarely extended to overseas buyers.BBVA agreed to buy $12 billion of the $13 billion assets left at Guaranty Bank, which it will ultimately sell to private investors. The F.D.I.C. agreed to take on the remaining $1 billion of assets, as well as cover losses on the $9.7 billion pool of risky loans that BBVA bought. The agreement calls for the government to take on about 80 percent of the first $2.3 billion of losses, and 95 percent of the losses above that threshold.Loss-sharing agreements have become a standard part of the F.D.I.C.’s toolkit for resolving troubled banks, but rarely have they covered such a big portion of a failed bank’s assets.And seldom are they offered to foreign buyers. Indeed, it appears the last time that an overseas bank received federal assistance in a failed bank deal was when the Bank of Ireland scooped up four New Hampshire banks in September 1991.Analysts say the BBVA deal may signal that the F.D.I.C. will be more open to bids from foreign banks. Many of the strongest American banks are occupied with deals they did last fall, while private equity firms have struggled to meet the high bar set by regulators. Weaker banks, meanwhile, have been hamstrung by their own losses. That has left regulators scrambling to drum up buyers.

José Maria Garcia Meyer, the head of BBVA’s American operations, said in a statement that the deal provided convincing evidence of the bank’s strength and stability during the current crisis. This transaction further demonstrates BBVA’s clear commitment in building its U.S. franchise,he added.Along with its Spanish rival Banco Santander, BBVA has been ramping up its business in fast-growing American markets that have strong ties to Latin America. It made a series of expensive acquisitions in Texas over the last few years.Guaranty, which is based in Austin, will add another 103locations in Texas and 59 branches in California, where BBVA has been trying to establish a beachhead. That will give it a total of 767 locations in seven Sun Belt states and make it the nation’s 15th-largest commercial bank with about $49 billion in deposits.

Monetary reform: reclaiming $1 trillion every year through public creation of money Carl Herman Examiner.com Sunday, August 22, 2009

Without knowing how money is created and managed, all other topics concerning money are out of context. This is crucial: regarding trillions of dollars of economic power, you have no idea where money comes from. It’s time for you to learn. When people don’t know how money is created and managed, the only thing between them and tyranny is trust in ethical government. American democracy is founded upon cautious distrust of government. To compensate for temptations of power and personal profit in government, the US Constitution is designed with checks and balances. However, because checks and balances can be thwarted if politicians are unethical, the only real protection of liberty is citizen responsibility. American democracy is dependent upon our taking personal responsibility for understanding our most important economic and political issues. This is one of them.Many Americans believe in the US without understanding our major economic and government policies. Collectively, American’s trust in our government to ethically create and manage money is so pervasive that few of us ever give this multi-trillion dollar issue a moment’s thought. As a teacher of economics, this particular topic is a theme of my class. I hope this brief is helpful for your responsible citizenry.There are five topics to understand for civic competence in creating and managing money. The first four are standard to economics curriculum; the last is rational analysis:
Money and bank credit. Fractional reserve banking. Debt (public and private) and money supply. Historical struggle between government-issued money and private bank-issued credit. Cost-benefit analysis for monetary reform in your world of the present.I promise you can easily understand each topic and that your understanding will give you an informed policy voice over trillions of dollars. I encourage you to verify and supplement the information in this paper through additional research. My experience as a teacher is that the best tool to visualize this information is to literally see it through an online 78-minute video, Money As Debt II: Promises Unleashed.Of many sources: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_doYllBk5No&feature=related . For background: www.moneyasdebt.net . For transcript of Money as Debt: http://paulgrignon.netfirms.com/MoneyasDebt/MoneyasDebt1_Transcript.doc . For an excellent overview of our monetary system, Want to Know.info’s: http://www.wanttoknow.info/financialbankingcoverup . For excellent current articles: http://www.webofdebt.com/articles/ .

The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.
– John Kenneth Galbraith, Money: Whence it came, where it went (1975), p.29. Galbraith wrote five best-selling books on economics (best-selling to the public), was President of the American Economic Association, economics professor at Harvard, and advisor to four US Presidents.Please be advised that the ideas most people have about how money is created and managed are false.

European Union releases list of airlines that must limit emissions or face penalties Associated Press 08/22/09 11:20 AM PDT

BRUSSELS — Nearly 4,000 commercial airlines, business jet operators and air forces from around the world will have to join the European Union greenhouse gas emissions trading plan by 2012 or be penalize when flying to the continent, the EU said Saturday.The bloc's official gazette published Saturday the list of operators, which includes major airlines such as Lufthansa, Alitalia, Quantas, KLM, Emirates, US Airways and United.Also listed are European airplane manufacturers Airbus and Dassault, hundreds of private business jet operators, as well as a number of military services such as the U.S. Navy and the air forces of Israel and Russia.Aviation has been included into the emissions trading scheme and this list is part of a directive that was adopted in 2008 to bring the aviation sector into that scheme, EU spokeswoman Katharina von Schnurbein said.Under the program, operators will have to submit plans for monitoring their emissions by January 2010.The EU's list of airlines that must take part in the program has been controversial because, aside from European operators, it also includes scores of airlines from other parts of the world flying into Europe.

EU to draft new immigration policy by October By Paolo Biondi – Sun Aug 23, 6:13 pm ET

RIMINI, Italy (Reuters) – The European Union will issue new immigration policy proposals by the end of October, Sweden's Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on Sunday, responding to Italy's plea for more coordinated EU action.We will have a first proposal from the EU with regard to distribution criteria for immigration flows among the 27 (EU member states),Bildt said on the sidelines of a conference at the Italian seaside town of Rimini.The foreign minister of Italy, a country where thousands of migrants land each year after perilous journeys across the Mediterranean from Africa, said earlier in the day the problem must not be left to countries on the bloc's edges.

We must consider this a European problem. The EU has made many statements ... but has not yet said just what should happen when a group of migrants reaches the borders of Europe,Franco Frattini told a news conference.On Thursday Italian authorities found a boat carrying five Eritrean migrants who said 73 others had died during the crossing.
All we Europeans, all 27 countries, must bear responsibility for these people, Frattini said.Bildt said the European Commission would issue a policy draft in time for a scheduled EU foreign ministers meeting at the end of October.This would only be a first step, he said, since such a big problem cannot be solved in a single meeting.Sweden assumed the 6-month EU presidency in July.Italy has asked Malta to let it take over sea rescues in some Maltese waters, saying the tiny EU island state was incapable of doing the job properly. On Saturday Malta rejected the proposal.

Frattini said talks with Malta must continue, perhaps involving other countries.

We continue to believe the talks which have been going on for 10 years with Malta over that area of sea are indispensable for the whole international community, Frattini said.Some 36,900 illegal immigrants arrived in Italy by boat last year, a rise of 75 percent from 2007, according to the Interior Ministry.(Writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Robin Pomeroy)

EU Carbon Gains to 14-Week High as Oil Rises, Utilities Buy
By Lars Paulsson

Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- European Union carbon-dioxide permits rose to a 14-week high after oil prices climbed and utilities bought credits. German power prices advanced.

EU emission allowances for December gained a sixth day, closing up 26 cents at 15.40 euros ($22.05) a metric ton on London’s European Climate Exchange, the highest since May 11.We attribute this price rise mainly to a brief surge in buying activity by utilities,Heiko Siemann, and other Munich- based analysts at UniCredit Group, said today in an e-mailed research note. Utilities were buying emissions permits to lock in margins for September electricity, the analysts said. Carbon permits also gained along with crude oil, which is linked to cleaner-burning natural gas in Europe. Utilities require about half the permits to burn gas than coal.Baseload electricity for next year in Germany, Europe’s biggest power market, climbed 0.6 percent to 50.80 euros a megawatt-hour, according to GFI Group Inc. Baseload is electricity delivered around the clock.Brent crude for October settlement rose as much as $1.64 to $74.97 a barrel on the ICE Futures Europe exchange on speculation that the global recession is easing.Reports today showed services in Germany and manufacturing in France unexpectedly expanded this month, signaling a pickup in demand for energy. Europe’s Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index jumped 2.3 percent to 234.85 as all 19 industry groups advanced. The index has surged 49 percent since March 9.To contact the reporters on this story: Lars Paulsson in London at lpaulsson@bloomberg.net

Hedge Funds Welcome FSA Review On Cost Of New EU Regulation AUG 21,09

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Hedge funds Friday said they welcomed the U.K. Financial Services Authority's launch of a cost-benefit analysis of proposed European Union regulations on alternative asset fund managers.The E.U.'s plans have been widely criticized by the hedge fund and private equity industry in Europe and the U.S. They are critical of how the plans fail to distinguish between size and strategy, lumping all alternative asset managers of funds of more than EUR250 million together and imposing costly disclosure and reporting requirements.The Alternative Investment Management Association, or AIMA, whose members manage more than 75% of global hedge funds industry assets, said it is campaigning for the draft directive to be revised, arguing some elements such as the sections relating to leverage, depositaries and marketing have been poorly drafted and will have unintended consequences.The FSA confirmed it has commissioned consultants CRA International to undertake a cost-benefit analysis of the proposed directive to assess its impact on investors and markets.It's important for the regulator to understand the possible implications of the directive and to assess the quantity of its impact on markets,a FSA spokesman said.AIMA has also asked the CRA to address concerns the new rules will drive investment from Europe and that London will lose its attraction as a financial center.-By Marietta Cauchi, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842 9241; marietta.cauchi@ dowjones.com

Ukraine leader hits back at Russia on anniversary By Ron Popeski – AUG 24,09

KIEV (Reuters) – President Viktor Yushchenko criticized domestic and foreign detractors on Monday and said Ukraine needed strong institutions to parry threats to its future prosperity.Yushchenko, whose standing is at rock bottom as he seeks re-election in January, was marking the 18th anniversary of independence from Soviet rule as Ukraine's most modern warplanes and transport aircraft flew in formation over Kiev city center.Speaking in Independence Square, focal point of Orange Revolution rallies that swept him to power in 2004, Yushchenko made no direct reference to Russia despite a recent spat.He spoke only briefly of foreign policy issues that have generated hostility in the Kremlin -- including a drive to secure NATO membership.I choose a strong state, strength and dignity, to put in their place not only our local feudals but also foreign overlords who want to set down how we should live, Yushchenko said in his 25-minute address. I choose a full-fledged future for our country in the future of a united Europe.For the second year running, several thousand servicemen paraded down Kiev's main thoroughfare, Khreshchatyk Street, and about three dozen aircraft, fighters, bombers and large military transports, roared overhead.Tanks rolled down Khreshchatyk last year but this time were parked by the square for crowds to admire. After his address, the president rode down the street aboard an armored truck.Russian President Dmitry Medvedev this month accused Yushchenko of anti-Russian policies and said he had given up on any improvement on relations as long as he remained in power.Yushchenko denied the accusation and invited the Russian president for talks.

ROWS OVER NATO, GEORGIA, GAS

Relations have soured over Yushchenko's bid to seek NATO membership, his criticism of Russia's military intervention in Georgia and Kiev's insistence that Russia's Black Sea Fleet must leave its base in Ukraine's Crimea peninsula by 2017.The neighbors have also been at odds over gas supplies and prices.Yushchenko has little chance of re-election as his ratings have hit single figures after nearly five years of infighting.He trails former prime minister Viktor Yanukovich, the Moscow-backed candidate who was initially declared the winner of the 2004 presidential election but lost a re-run after the courts struck down the result as rigged.Lying second is current prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko, the president's estranged ally. Yushchenko twice appointed her premier, but the two have sniped constantly as Ukraine slipped into a recession, with gross domestic product plunging 18.0 percent year-on-year in the second quarter.Tymoshenko has been more moderate in her comments on Russia. both politicians have pledged to seek better ties with Moscow.In Moscow, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin sent best wishes on the anniversary to Tymoshenko.In an oblique reference to the election, Putin hoped the two governments would contribute to solving practical tasks of cooperation and create a favorable atmosphere for moving forward all aspects of relations between Russia and Ukraine.Yushchenko has long sought to overturn changes dating from 2004 that cut his power in favor of parliament and the cabinet. Nearly all public figures have proposed some sort of revision.He said he would sign a decree calling for a country-wide discussion of constitutional changes he has already proposed to settle rows between the president, government and parliament.

EU verdict on Afghan poll faces objections
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today AUG 24,09 @ 09:22 CET

While the EU has praised Afghanistan for its conduct of last week's presidential election, Abdullah Abdullah, the main challenger to the country's incumbent president, said the poll had been rigged in favour of Hamid Karzai.The official results of the vote held last Thursday are only to be released on 3 September, but the EU's chief election observer, Philippe Morillon, told journalists on Saturday (22 August) that while the poll could not be seen as entirely free due to widespread violence, it was fair.Generally what we have observed was considered by our observers with our methodology good and fair,said Mr Morillon, according to AFP.The European Union congratulates the people of Afghanistan on the holding of presidential and provincial elections under challenging circumstances, emphasising the need for a continued credible and inclusive process,the EU reacted in a statement.However, it added that Europe takes note with concern of reports of irregularities and fraud, pointing out that it is up to independent observers to investigate all suspicions.

For his part, Mr Abdullah, a former foreign minister, said on Sunday (23 August) that he had evidence that voter turnout had been significantly inflated in some areas where few ballots were cast, with the extra votes marked in favour of the incumbent president, Mr Karzai.The initial reports we are receiving are alarming,Mr Abdullah told Reuters news agency.There might have been thousands of violations throughout the country. No doubt about it.The allegations are due to be inspected by the Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), as part of the long evaluation process of the second presidential election in Afghanistan after the fall of Taliban. So far, the ECC had received more than 200 complaints about the electoral process.ECC spokesman Grant Kippen said the commission was aware of significant complaints of irregularities, including voter intimidation, violence, ballot box tampering and interference by some Afghan election officials but of no charges against individual candidates, BBC reported.According to the EU Election Observation Mission to Afghanistan, the turn-out was considerably higher in the north of the country and particularly low in the south where the Taliban insurgents are historically strong but they have no precise figures.Some monitors suggested the voter participation in the southern province of Kandahar could be as low as 10 percent.

Attack on Obama riles Beck's advertisers By David Bauder, Ap Television Writer – AUG 24,09 mins ago

NEW YORK – Glenn Beck returns to Fox News Channel on Monday after a vacation with fewer companies willing to advertise on his show than when he left, part of the fallout from calling President Barack Obama a racist.A total of 33 Fox advertisers, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., CVS Caremark, Clorox and Sprint, directed that their commercials not air on Beck's show, according to the companies and ColorofChange.org, a group that promotes political action among blacks and launched a campaign to get advertisers to abandon him. That's more than a dozen more than were identified a week ago.While it's unclear what effect, if any, this will ultimately have on Fox and Beck, it is already making advertisers skittish about hawking their wares within the most opinionated cable TV shows.The Clorox Co., a former Beck advertiser, now says that we do not want to be associated with inflammatory speech used by either liberal or conservative talk show hosts. The maker of bleach and household cleaners said in a statement that it has decided not to advertise on political talk shows.The shows present a dilemma for advertisers, who usually like a safe environment for their messages. The Olbermanns, Hannitys, O'Reillys, Maddows and Becks of the TV world are more likely to say something that will anger a viewer, who might take it out on sponsors.

They also host the most-watched programs on their networks.This is a good illustration of that conundrum,said Rich Hallabran, spokesman for UPS Stores, which he said has temporarily halted buying ads on Fox News Channel as a whole.Beck can bring the eyeballs. With the health care debate raising political temperatures, his show had its biggest week ever right before his vacation, averaging 2.4 million viewers each day, according to Nielsen Media Research.He was actually on another Fox show July 28 when he referred to Obama as a racist with "a deep-seated hatred for white people.The network immediately distanced itself from Beck's statement, but Beck didn't. He used his radio show the next day to explain why he believed that. He would not comment for this article, spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said.ColorofChange.org quickly targeted companies whose ads had appeared during Beck's show, telling them what he had said and seeking a commitment to drop him. The goal is to make Beck a liability, said James Rucker, the organization's executive director.They have a toxic asset,Rucker said.They can either clean it up or get rid of it.It's not immediately clear how many of the companies actually knew they were advertising on Beck's show. Sometimes commercial time is chosen for a specific show, but often it is bought on a rotation basis, meaning the network sprinkles the ads throughout the day on its own schedule. Sometimes ads appear by mistake; Best Buy said it bought commercial time for earlier in the day, and one of its ads unexpectedly appeared in Beck's show.One company, CVS Caremark, said it advertises on Fox but hadn't said anything about Beck. Now it has told its advertising agency to inform Fox that it wanted no commercials on Beck.We support vigorous debate, especially around policy issues that affect millions of Americans, but we expect it to be informed, inclusive and respectful,said spokeswoman Carolyn Castel.Besides the unpredictability of the opinionated cable hosts, the rapid pace of today's wired world complicates decisions on where to place ads, said Kathleen Dunleavy, a spokeswoman for Sprint. She said she was surprised at how fast the Beck issue spread across social media outlets and how quickly advertiser names were attached to it.UPS' Hallabran said the decision to pull commercials should not be interpreted as we are permanently withdrawing our advertising from Fox.He said the company wants to reach viewers with a wide spectrum of opinions.Except for UPS Stores, there's no evidence that any advertisers who say they don't want to be on Beck's show are leaving Fox. Network spokeswoman Irena Briganti said the companies have simply requested the ads be moved elsewhere and that Fox hasn't lost any revenue.

She wouldn't say whether Fox was benefiting from any anti-anti-Beck backlash, with companies looking to support him. Some Beck supporters have urged fans to express their displeasure at companies for abandoning their man. Beck supporters have suggested that retaliation might have something to do with ColorofChange.org's campaign. One of the group's founders, Van Jones, now works in the Obama administration and has been criticized by Beck. But Rucker said Jones has nothing to do with ColorofChange.org now and didn't even know about the campaign before it started. Beck's strong ratings — even at 5 p.m. EDT he often outdraws whatever CNN and MSNBC show in prime-time — make it unlikely Beck is going anywhere even as the list of advertisers avoiding him approaches three dozen.But it could mean advertising time becomes cheaper on his show than such a large audience would normally command. Some of his show's advertisers last week included a male enhancement pill, a law firm looking to sue on behalf of asbestos victims, a company selling medical supplies to diabetics and a water filter company.Rucker said ColorofChange.org has contacted about 60 companies regarding Beck, and is heartened by the response.It's causing a certain conversation around Beck, which I think is important,he said. On the Net:
http://www.colorofchange.org http://www.foxnews.com EDITOR'S NOTE — David Bauder can be reached at dbauder-at-ap.org

Indonesia police dismiss Obama plot report AUG 24,09

JAKARTA (AFP) – Indonesian police on Monday dismissed a media report that Islamist extremists were planning to assassinate US President Barack Obama when he visits the country.National police chief Bambang Hendarso Danuri said analyst Dynno Chressbon, the Indonesian source quoted in the Western news agency report, had no right to make what he described as unsubstantiated comments.He said police knew of no Islamist plot to assassinate Obama, who is expected to visit the mainly Muslim country later this year.As if there's a bomb being prepared for the arrival of the US president -- that has never existed. What observer is bold enough to say something like that? Danuri told a news conference.Dynno Chressbon had no business (making such statements). There's no such thing.Danuri was briefing reporters on efforts to crack down on Islamist extremism after twin suicide bombings on hotels in Jakarta last month that killed nine people, the first such attack in the country since 2005.Chressbon said his sources included former members of the Jemaah Islamiyah regional terrorist group blamed for the 2002 Bali bombings that killed 202 people.What the police chief said was appropriate because I have not communicated the information to the police yet, he told AFP.I made an international statement so that the Indonesian police will take preventive actions and be serious about ensuring safety when... Mr Obama comes to Indonesia.In the news agency report on August 20, Chressbon was described as an expert from the Indonesian Center for Intelligence and National Security who is close to the police investigations.Obama is expected to visit Indonesia, where he lived for some years as a child, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Singapore in November.