CANADA-MUST LET BANKS GO BANKRUPT

DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TR BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).

Juncker declares interest in EU president job
HONOR MAHONY Today OCT 27,09 @ 15:22 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Luxembourg leader Jean-Claude Juncker has said he would be willing to be the first president of the European Council, an as-of-yet non-existent post with a hazy job description.The leader of the Grand Duchy, the smallest EU state bar Malta, told French paper Le Monde that he would do the job if asked.I have learned that you must never declare yourself a candidate for such a post. You must let others ask you to take it. If I received such a call, I would have no reason to refuse to hear it.His comments are the first official declaration of interest in the post, which will be created by the Lisbon Treaty, a new set of rules that leaders hope to get in place early next year.To date most of the speculation has centred on British ex-prime minister Tony Blair, and, to a lesser extent, on other names such as Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende.The Luxembourg challenge will focus attention once more on exactly what member states expect from the job - either a powerful position that will give Europe a prominent face on the international stage, or a more administrative role. The loose wording in the treaty means it could go either way.

Mr Juncker, who had a public spat with Mr Blair in 2005 over the future financing of the EU, has made no secret that he does not want the former British prime minister to get the job, as recently as last week saying he would do everything to make sure a certain person did not get the post.In the Le Monde interview he restricted himself to more general opposition to a Briton becoming EU president.I can't really identify any area in which Britain has shown real European inspiration over the past 10 years, apart from a few advances on defence,he said.He said the person who holds the job should be someone whose main concern is to serve Europe and to unify it around a virtuous consensus, and who would not pretend to represent it abroad without having ensured its internal unity.Mr Juncker, the longest serving leader in the EU, is known for his wit, chain-smoking and strong federalist ideas. A fluent French, German and English speaker he in the past has made much of being a middleman between Paris and Berlin, which has allowed him and his country to punch above its weight on the EU stage.His popularity in both capitals has waned recently, however. French President Nicolas Sarkozy criticised him for not being active enough in his capacity as chairman of the eurozone during the financial crisis and he fell out with both Paris and Berlin over their push to highlight Luxembourg as a mischievous tax haven.

While Mr Juncker articulates the fear many small and medium member states have about an over-arching EU president who would only answer to larger countries, the decision about whose name ultimately emerges will likely depend on Berlin and Paris.The French president has backed away from his previously strong support of Mr Blair for the post while German chancellor Angela Merkel, while not ruling out Mr Blair, has not actively spoken out in favour of the British politician.EU leaders are meeting in Brussels at the end of the week. But decisions on this post and the post of EU foreign minister, also to be created by the Lisbon Treaty, are not likely to be taken. Ratification of the Lisbon Treaty must first be completed in the Czech Republic, where a decision on a legal challenge to the treaty is only expected next week (3 November).

Govt officials to help Blair win top EU job: report Mon Oct 26, 9:34 pm ET

LONDON (AFP) – Prime Minister Gordon Brown has asked two of his most senior advisers to lobby discreetly in Europe to help secure ex-premier Tony Blair the EU presidency, according to a report Tuesday.The report in the Guardian newspaper comes after the government officially launched Monday its campaign to see Blair installed as European Union president, as EU foreign ministers gathered in Luxembourg.Foreign Secretary David Miliband told journalists that the EU bloc needs a strong voice, amid growing opposition led by Belgium and Luxembourg to the former prime minister taking up the new post.If Blair is a candidate, he will be a good choice. He is a persuasive advocate, a genuine European and a real coalition-builder,Miliband said.

Czech President Vaclav Klaus has still to sign the Lisbon Treaty that creates the post of full-time EU president for the 27-nation bloc.Brown's most senior Europe adviser, John Cunliffe, and Britain's EU ambassador, Kim Darroch, have been asked to lobby behind the scenes for Blair, according to the Guardian's report, citing unnamed sources.Downing Street late Monday described the report as speculation.The report also quoted warnings from senior government sources that Blair needed to launch a campaign for the post or risk it slipping away to someone else.Blair, who was prime minister from 1997 to 2007, has not declared his candidacy for the job.

EU backlash as David Miliband pushes President Boney Blair
By Kirsty Walker Last updated at 3:40 PM on 27th October 2009

A foreign backlash is growing against Tony Blair becoming Europe's first president.
Despite a brazen attempt by David Miliband to drum up support, leading political figures in France, Germany, Austria and Poland warned yesterday that the former prime minister was an unsuitable candidate.The Foreign Secretary risked accusations of abusing his position as Foreign Secretary by using an official meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg to garner support for Mr Blair.The leading Blairite cabinet minister also continued to take to the airwaves to play up his former leader's credentials.He described him as the leading candidate for the job and revealed that Mr Blair - who has already earned the nickname Boney Blair for his Napoleon-like aspirations - was waiting to see what the job would entail before formally throwing his hat into the ring.Blair is stamped as being a partner of George W Bush.Hours after landing in Luxembourg, Mr Miliband told journalists: Europe needs a strong voice, and member states have to ask themselves if they want a powerful or a weak Europe.If they want to establish a strong European voice on the world stage, then the question becomes, who are the candidates? It would be good for Britain and for Europe if Mr Blair was that man.Brussels.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Miliband delivered one of the most fiercely pro-European speeches ever to be delivered by a British foreign secretary.Addressing the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, he warned the UK would lose out internationally if it tried to oppose EU foreign policy on the grounds of hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia.He added: To be frightened of European foreign policy is blinkered, fatalistic and wrong. Britain should embrace it, shape it and lead European foreign policy.Foreign Secretary David Miliband has been trying to drum up support for Mr Blair.Gordon Brown also gave his strongest message of backing to Mr Blair so far by saying he would be completely supportive if he stood for the job of president.The Prime Minister is now said to have asked two of his most senior civil servants to quietly lobby for his predecessor to get the role.His most senior adviser in Europe John Cunliffe and Britain's EU ambassador Kim Darroch are reportedly testing the water at senior levels.Their roles emerged amid warnings from Whitehall figures that the job will elude the former Prime Minister unless he starts to campaign himself.So far, he has publicly refused to be drawn on whether he wants the presidential role. It is possible he is doing so to avoid following in the footsteps of former Belgian prime minister Guy Verhofstadt.He was humiliated when Mr Blair blocked his election to president of the European Commission in 2004.Mr Miliband's behaviour in recent days suggests he is acting as Mr Blair's unofficial campaign manager.

EU leaders attending a summit in Brussels this week are expected to discuss the plan, even though the issue is not on the formal agenda.However, a string of senior European politicians yesterday warned that Mr Blair was not a suitable candidate for the job because of his involvement in the Iraq war and Britain's opposition to the euro.Franz Fischer, a former Austrian EU commissioner, said: There are big doubts about his suitability. Blair is stamped, particularly in the Arab world, as being a partner of Bush.Conservative German MEP Herbert Reul said: He doesn't fit the profile of a president of Europe at all. He doesn't reflect Europe's voice or mood.
Fellow German MEP Jorgo Chatzimarkakis, from the Free Democratic Party, added:The president has to know things about the euro and as a British politician, to be quite honest, quite clear and quite frank, he has gone against the euro.Mr Chatzimarkakis also dismissed Mr Miliband's extraordinary claim that Mr Blair would be a good president because only he could stop traffic when he arrives in foreign capitals.
Any President of the European Union being elected for two and a half years will have this reaction world wide because he will be the President of the European Union, said Mr Chatzimarkakis.French politicians added their weight to the stop Blair campaign. Jacques Myard, a member of the National Assembly of France, said increasing numbers of European-politicians and officials were now opposed to him becoming president.He said: Many say, How can we choose a chairman of a country which is not very European?.

The French politician said Mr Blair's stance on Iraq was part of the problem, but added: I think the main argument is coming from the fact he has not been advocating for Britain to join the Euro systems.Swedish EU commissioner Margot Wallstrom insisted a woman should take up the post.Look at the names mentioned. From a democratic point of view it reduces that 52.6 percent of women to a minority...and I don't think this is acceptable in the European Union of 2009. I think we have competent, good women that could be mentioned and nominated,she said.A court hearing in the Czech Republic that could remove one of the final barriers to the Lisbon Treaty's ratification and to the President job being created started today.
The country is the only one of the EU's 27 members not yet to have ratified the controversial document.Members of the Senate who are loyal to eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus have filed a complaint, claiming it is an infringement of Czech sovereignty.The court is expected to declare the Treaty does adhere to the Czech constitution - possibly as soon as today - and the group is not planning another complaint if their argument is rejected.This would mean President Klaus can sign the document to complete the ratification process there and across the whole union.
David Cameron declined again today to indicate what he will do if the Treaty is ratified before the next election and the Tories win power.He would only say:If the treaty is ratified, is implemented, clearly a new set of circumstances exists, we will have to address those, we will set it out in full and I will do that. And maybe that time is coming closer, we will have to see.

WHAT THE PAPERS SAY: THE VERDICT ON BLAIR ACROSS EUROPE...Across Europe, as in Britain, the prospect of Tony Blair becoming the first President of Europe is a divisive prospect. Some commentators believe the tide has already turned against the former prime minister, after he was initially the hot favourite for the role. Others say he has the experience and stature necessary to make Europe a greater force on the world stage. Here are a few of their views.DER STANDARD, AUSTRIA: Tony Blair as president? A bad joke.AUSTRIAN TIMES: Tony Blair would weaken the European Union. The investigations into the Iraq War are not over in Britain but everything points to the fact that Tony Blair, with his statements about a threat from Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, which were supported by no reliable data, misled the public. There are few politicians in Europe with so little credibility as he. He is a dream candidate - For all those who want to weaken the union.DER SPIEGEL, GERMANY: No enthusiasm for Tony Blair; the Blair phobia is growing across Europe. His chances of power have diminished significantly in the last week. Among Brussels politicians his chances are seen as better than zero.

LE FIGARO, FRANCE: There are many arguments not to have Tony Blair as President of the European Union. Each has its own value. But the sum of all these good reasons cannot hide the true reason for the probable failure of his candidacy: Tony Blair is too brilliant for Europe to accept him as its representative... It remains that a Europe represented, in Beijing or Washington, by a personality like Tony Blair should be appealing but there is no doubt that the 27 EU members, jealously guarding their own interests, don't want this. It is a sad spectacle when Europe flees from talent.LIBERATION, FRANCE: Quotes French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, saying : Myself, your humble servant, I wish for Tony Blair. QUEST FRANCE, FRANCE: Blair has the experience and the political clout for the job.LA DEPECHE DU MIDI, FRANCE: Tony Blair is politicking his way towards the presidency, with the support of influential figures around Europe.LUXEMBURGER WORT, LUXEMBOURG: The three Benelux countries [Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg] are not positioning themselves behind Blair.HET VOLK, NETHERLANDS: For some Blair, is not the ideal candidate.LA CAPITALE, BELGIUM: Blair will need all his political skill to try and win the contest. There are plenty who oppose him.

IL FOGLIO, ITALY: If Silvio Berlusconi, after all the furious and embarrassing controversies of these past few months, wanted to relaunch his government and give it an international profile he now has a great opportunity by backing Tony Blair as president of Europe.CORRIERE DELLA SERA, ITALY: Earlier this month, the paper described his possible election as a paradox for Europe. It said: His election as leader would not explain how someone who negotiated various opt outs for Britain at summits (including the Constitutional Treaty in Rome remember ?)would be the most appropriate man to make Europe take off.IRISH TIMES, IRELAND: Blair is playing for high stakes and could well end up badly humiliated if it does not come off when EU leaders finally decide - regardless of whether he ever puts his hat officially into the ring. The omens for him look far less attractive than first appear. French president Nicholas Sarkozy was keen, but he is a fickle suitor and his support has already begun to wane in the face of political realities. Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi’s support is as much of a hindrance as a help.

Commission rules out mandatory sign-up to lobby registry-The commission has conceded that its financial disclosure rules were not working (Photo: CE)LEIGH PHILLIPS Today OCT 27,09 @ 09:28 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Enough lobbyists have signed up to the European Commission's lobby registry that the currently voluntary system does not need to be made obligatory, according to the commission's first annual review of the transparency scheme.The commission's Registry of Interest Representatives, more commonly known as the lobby registry, is intended to track all those who try to influence EU decision-making. It has been widely criticised by transparency campaigners for lacking strict reporting standards and having little oversight.But according to the commission's review, due to be published Wednesday (27 October) and seen by EUobserver, the process is a success, as the number of registrants has already passed the 2,000 mark.
The commission has seen a steady influx of registrations during the past 16 months, and the number is still rising,reads the report.A very large and steadily growing number of trade associations that are active in lobbying have registered, as well as in-house,corporate lobbyists, and this trend shows no sign of saturation for the time being,it continues, noting that many NGO lobbyists have also listed themselves with the registry.The commission considers that the Register has come a long way in both quantitative and qualitative terms in its first pilot year,it concludes. Overall, the voluntary approach is working and should therefore be maintained.

The voluntary approach has been the focus of criticism by transparency groups from even before the launch of the registry. In their own review of the registry in June, the Alliance for Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Regulation (Alter-EU) found that of the 2,600 lobbying entities that operate in Brussels according to a 2003 European Parliament estimate, just 22.8 percent had signed up to the registry.The number of registrants is inflated, Alter-EU argues, as it is cluttered with lobby registry spam - meaningless entities from organisations that have little to do with lobbying EU institutions, but who have signed up to the registry believing it will raise their profile or because they think it will help them access European grants or other funds.

Financial disclosure

However, the commission has conceded that the rules on disclosing what has been spent on behalf of whom do indeed need tightening up - one of the key demands of transparency campaigners.At the moment, registrants have the choice of registering how much is spent either within bandwidths of €50,000 or expressing the same figure as a percentage of turnover. If they choose to list spending in terms of percentages, they can simply do so in terms of 10 percent tranches, which the commission says allows lobbyists to hide what they are really spending on behalf of a client.This system means that registrants who choose to use the percentage brackets are not being treated equally,admits the commission in the review. Registrants with a very large turnover and many clients, who choose the percentage option, are de facto allowed to be significantly less transparent than registrants with a smaller turnover and only a few clients. They can offer their clients a much higher degree of confidentiality about the size of their contracts than smaller firms can.Entries for two of the biggest lobbying firms, Burson-Marsteller and Hill and Knowlton, simply list clients as each falling under 10 percent of their turnover. But for these two large firms, 10 percent of their turnover could mean up to €690,000 and €810,000 respectively.To do away with this problem, the commission intends to abolish the percentage option, and introduce three scales of reporting.
For firms with an annual turnover of less than €500,000 - the so-called boutique public relations outfits - they must report their spending on behalf of clients in €50,000 tranches; for mid-sized firms with turnover between €500,000 and €1 million, they must report in €100,000 tranches; and the largest firms, with turnovers of over a million, must report in tranches of €250,000.

What counts as lobbying?

Campaigners and many lobbyists in the past year have complained that the commission did not provide clear and broad definitions of what constitutes lobbying. In response, the EU executive says that the scope of what counts as a lobbying activity needs to be made more specific.Registrants should from now on disclose all expenditures covering actions initiated with the aim of influencing European policy formulation or decision-making processes, irrespective of the communication channel or medium it is using.This includes social events or conferences, the review points out.Lobbying also includes activities directed at diplomats from EU member states, the review underlines - until now, considered something of a grey area.[Lobbying] also includes activities directed at the permanent representations of the member states, including the Council presidency,warns the commission, while making an exception for activities where lobbyist try to influence national capitals or regional or city governments.

Law firms and think-tanks not playing nicely

The commission review also chastises law firms and think-tanks for refusing to sign up, with the latter strongly arguing that they do not engage in any lobbying. The commission warns that think-tanks should stop trying to play the lily-white innocent and quotes some of their own literature in which they advertise the unparallelled lobbying opportunities they offer.But the EU executive remains steadfast in refusing to demand that registrants list the names of lobbyists, saying that the names of organisations is enough. Campaigners say that without names, the registry is as useful as a phonebook without numbers.The review also offers no additional monitoring by civil servants of the registry or more robust enforcement of the rules.

Earlier this year when it was revealed that the Irish Cheerleading Federation had mistakenly signed up to the registry and an Italian businessman had bombarded the registry with a string of seemingly fake organisations, the commission admitted that it does not have the staff to investigate the veracity of every registrant's information.We don't check all the entries, obviously,a commission official told EUobserver at the time.The information comes from the registrant and we put the burden for registering on them. It's their responsibility. The European Commission does not endorse or verify what goes in.

Vatican: Talks with traditionalists will continue By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 26, 3:29 pm ET

VATICAN CITY – Pope Benedict XVI's efforts to unify the Catholic Church and reach out to Christian traditionalists took a new step Monday with the start of talks between the Vatican and a group of breakaway Catholics that includes a Holocaust denier.The Vatican said the three-hour talks with a delegation from the Society of St. Pius X were held in a cordial, respectful and constructive climate and would continue frequently over the coming months.The society, founded by the late ultraconservative Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, split from Rome over the modernizing reforms of the Second Vatican Council, particularly its outreach to Jews and Christians who were not Catholics. Pope Benedict XVI's effort to reconcile with the group is part of his overall aim of unifying the church and putting a highly conservative stamp on it. Just last week, he made a major gesture in that direction by making it easier for Anglican traditionalists to convert to Roman Catholicism.A Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said the meeting marked the beginning of a new phase of relations and there was a sense of trust for the meeting and its prospects that hadn't existed before.Lefebvre founded the Swiss-based society in 1969, opposed to Vatican II's reforms which revolutionized the church's relations with Jews and allowed for the celebration of Mass in the vernacular rather than Latin.In 1988, the Vatican excommunicated Lefebvre and four of his bishops after he consecrated them without papal consent.

Benedict has worked for two decades to bring the group back into the Vatican's fold. In 2007, he relaxed restrictions on celebrating the old Latin Mass, which the traditionalists had demanded. In January, he accepted another one of their demands by approving a decree lifting the bishops' 1988 excommunications.But on the same day the Vatican decree was signed, British Bishop Richard Williamson was shown on Swedish state television saying historical evidence is hugely against 6 million Jews having been deliberately gassed during World War II.The outcry was immediate, with both Jews and members of the Catholic hierarchy criticizing the pope's rehabilitation of a Holocaust-denier. While condemning Williamson's remarks, the Vatican defended its decision, only saying later that it hadn't known about his very public views about the Holocaust.The Vatican has set out particular conditions for Williamson to be fully brought back in, saying he must absolutely and unequivocally distance himself from his Holocaust remarks, if he ever wants to be a prelate in the church. Williamson has apologized for causing scandal to the pope but hasn't publicly repudiated his views.Monday's Vatican statement said the two sides identified the outstanding doctrinal differences between them that would be discussed in future meetings. The issues include the principles of ecumenism and the relationship between Christianity and non-Christian religions.Lombardi said the next meeting is expected in January, and that talks will take place roughly every two months.Such an intense workload shows that they want to go ahead with a certain amount of determination,Lombardi said.Prior to the start of talks, the society's delegation leader, Bishop Alfonso de Galarreta, had said negotiations may take years.

There was no immediate comment from the society.The Vatican has said the society's members must fully recognize Vatican II as well as the teachings of all the popes who came after it, if they want to be fully reintegrated into the Church.The society says it is upholding true Catholic tradition by rejecting elements of Vatican II's teachings, and says the Church's current problems, including a shortage of priests, are a direct result of the 1962-65 meetings.Lombardi said that among the issues discussed was the concept of tradition. The Rev. Robert Gahl, professor of moral philosophy at the pontifical university of the Holy Cross, said some of these Lefebvrites understand tradition as a way that everything has to be fixed exactly the way it was back in the past, using the same words in the liturgy, celebrating Mass with the same gestures.Instead Pope Benedict says we need to celebrate Mass with continuity with the past, with that tradition, but there can be changes that are dynamic, just like a living organism,he told Associated Press Television News.
Associated Press writer Daniela Petroff contributed to this report.

1/3RD OF SHIPS DESTROYED

REVELATION 8:8-9
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.

Thousands of dead fish wash up in Puerto Rico Mon Oct 26, 5:48 pm ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Thousands of dead fish are washing up on the shores of a lagoon in Puerto Rico's capital.Javier Laureano of the San Juan Bay Estuary Program says the deaths are not related to an explosion at a nearby fuel depot that burned for two days before the fire was put out this weekend.Laureano said Monday that the tilapia, sardines and other fish suffocated because of poor water circulation in San Jose Lagoon. He says the lagoon had another big fish kill about 18 months ago.The fish have been washing ashore near one of San Juan's most heavily populated areas since Friday.The U.S. Caribbean territory's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is organizing a cleanup this week.

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.

Misery for 1.5 mln a month after Philippine storms by Cecil Morella – Mon Oct 26, 5:53 am ET

MANILA (AFP) – More than 1.5 million people are struggling to live in flooded suburbs or crowded shelters one month after devastating rains began pounding the Philippines, and officials warn no quick fix is in sight.The impoverished Southeast Asian nation faces a huge long-term battle to recover from the two storms that claimed at least 929 lives in Manila and other parts of the main Luzon island, the government and relief organisations said.The storms and torrential rains... have left the people of the Philippines facing one of the greatest challenges in memory, the UN's World Food Programme director, Josette Sheeran, said during a weekend visit to Manila.After tropical storm Ketsana dumped the heaviest rains in more than 40 years on Manila on September 26, entire districts remain waist-deep in water and piles of flood debris still litter other parts of the capital.In mountainous areas of northern Luzon that were pummelled by 10 days of torrential rain from tropical storm Parma which arrived a week later, villages remain ghost towns after being hit by landslides.The World Health Organisation says 1.43 million people, mostly in and around Manila, continue to endure a dangerous existence living in flooded districts.

Those areas may remain flooded for months because chaotic urban planning has led to natural drainage systems along lakes being blocked.Already 175 people have died in those areas from leptospirosis, a bacterial disease that is contracted from contact with flood waters contaminated with rat and cat urine.The solution is to get them out of these places,Art Pesigan, an official with the WHO's emergency and humanitarian action unit, told AFP, referring to those living in the flood waters.

Another 163,000 people who lost their homes in the disasters remain in evacuation centres, according to the government, with few options but to stay there and rely on handouts.The government, which has repeatedly said it is not able to cope with the twin disasters on its own, has appealed for international help.But although foreign governments and international aid agencies have provided crucial aid, less than a third of a UN appeal for 74 million dollars has been raised.Amid the immediate relief concerns, the government is also having to grapple with longer-term reconstruction efforts.One of the main concerns is that too many people, particularly slum dwellers, in Manila have been allowed to live in flood-prone areas.
A government report last week called for 2.7 million people in shantytowns to be moved from danger zones alongside riverbanks, lakes and sewers.The plan would affect one in five Manila residents and take 10 years and 130 billion pesos (2.77 billion dollars) to implement.Economic migrants who flocked Manila's teeming shantytowns are being offered free bus fares back to their abandoned farms.But the government said just 300 families had taken up the offer, illustrating what critics say is an inept government approach to dealing with the long-term problems that exacerbated the disasters. Richard Gordon, an opposition senator who also heads the Philippine branch of the Red Cross, told AFP the government needed to do more than the stop-gap measures announced so far. He agreed there had to be an effort to move people away from vulnerable areas in Manila and elsewhere, but said a much broader perspective to the problem needed to be taken.The trick is to find new areas to put these people in, places safe from floods and landslides, but at the same time accessible to jobs and schools,he said.Gordon suggested giving tax breaks and other incentives to lure businesses to new industrial zones in areas where there is already good infrastructure, such as the former US military bases at Clark and Subic Bay.

Tropical Storm Neki heading north in Pacific Mon Oct 26, 11:01 am ET

HONOLULU – Tropical Storm Neki is moving north in the central Pacific with little change in strength expected.Neki's maximum sustained winds were near 40 mph Monday morning.The storm is centered about 480 miles northwest of Lihue, Hawaii, and is moving at about 18 mph.

Rising seas threaten Australian homes Mon Oct 26, 10:34 pm ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia may have to force people to evacuate coastal areas as rising sea levels threaten thousands of homes, an official report has warned.The National Sea Change Taskforce said urgent action was needed to protect Australia's coast from seas expected to rise more than 80 centimetres (31 inches) this century.
The sweeping parliamentary report noted that 80 percent of Australians live in coastal areas with about 711,000 homes within three kilometres (about two miles) of the sea.It urged authorities to consider the possibility of a government instrument that prohibits continued occupation of the land or future building development on the property due to sea hazard.The move was among dozens of recommendations in the report including a national coastline plan, greater cooperation between different authorities and a revised building code to cope with storm surges and soil erosion.

There were some who argued ... that governments ought to take a more proactive approach,said the committee's chairwoman, Labor MP Jennie George.Some councils have implemented what's loosely described as forced retreat policies.Australia's major cities are all in coastal areas, as well as the homes of some six million people outside the main population centres, according to the report which was tabled in parliament on Monday.Last week the government reintroduced carbon trading legislation which was rejected in August and is among a package of bills aimed at cutting greenhouse gas emissions by up to 25 percent by 2020.

REVELATION 12:12-17
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
13 And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man child.
14 And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood.
16 And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth.
17 And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Tsunami Wave Likely to Hit Israel, Says U. Haifa Researcher
by Hana Levi Julian OCT 26,09

(IsraelNN.com) A researcher at the University of Haifa says there is a likely chance" that a tsunami wave could hit the shores of Israel, and that she has uncovered evidence it has happened before.Dr. Beverly Goodman, a researcher at the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences, said following a geo-archaeological study at the port of Caesarea that Tsunami events in the Mediterranean do occur less frequently than in the Pacific Ocean, but our findings reveal a moderate rate of recurrence.Goodman's original intent was to track down the remains of ships while examining the ancient port of Caesarea and its offshore shipwrecks. However, the geo-archaeologist said she was surprised to discover unusual geological layers, the likes of which we had never seen in the region before.Underwater drilling began with the assumption that local layers were related to the construction of the port. However, said Goodman, the team soon discovered that the layers were spread along the entire area, and realized that we had found something major.

Geological drilling - in areas of 1-3 meters in length and at various depths - enabled Goodman to date the underwater layers using two methods: carbon-14 dating and OSL (optically stimulated luminescence).The geo-archaeologist found evidence of four tsunami events at Caesarea: in 1500 BC, 100-200 CE, 500-600 CE, and 1100-1200 CE, which she described in an article published in Geological Society of America.
Goodman explained that the earliest of these tsunamis resulted from the eruption of the Santorini volcano, which affected the entire Mediterranean region. The later, more local tsunami waves, Goodman assumes, were generated by underwater landslides caused by earthquakes.Local does not necessarily imply small,she said.These could have been waves reaching five meters high and as far as two kilometers onshore.

Coastal communities within this range would have undoubtedly been severely damaged from such a tsunami,Goodman added, explaining that the records of the event were preserved for posterity under the sea.While communities onshore clear the ground after such an event and return to civilization, tsunami evidence is preserved under the water,she explained.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

FAMINE

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

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

UN food agency says 200 million more people hungry By ROD McGUIRK, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 26, 3:17 am ET

CANBERRA, Australia – Most of the developing world is paying more for food despite drops in commodity market prices during the global economic slowdown, with 200 million people joining the ranks of the hungry in the past two years, the U.N. World Food Program said Monday.The agency's executive director Josette Sheeran blamed climate change, escalating fuel costs and falling incomes. She said the number of urgently hungry had now reached its highest ever — 1.02 billion.One out of six people in humanity will wake up not sure that they can even fill a cup of food, Sheeran told reporters. We have to make no mistake that hunger is on the march.She said while prices had tumbled on global commodities markets due to the financial crisis, the prices of most food staples in the developing world have soared.The food crisis is not over. We have an anomaly happening where on global, big markets, the prices are down, but for 80 percent of commodities in the developing world, prices are higher today than they were a year ago, and the prices a year ago were double what they were the year before that,she said.What it means is for about 80 percent of the developing world, people can afford one third as much food today as they could two or three years ago,she said.Sheeran signed Monday a 140 million Australian dollar ($130 million) four-year aid agreement with the Australian government. The agreement includes AU$40 million to provide school meals in Southeast Asia, Africa and possibly South America and will add to the WFP's overall budget for global food aid.Sheeran, who flew to Canberra from Manila on Sunday, said the Philippines could lose up to 1.1 million tons (one million metric tons) of rice because of the recent typhoons.

Africa and India were also losing crops due to drought and floods.

She said the two back-to-back typhoons in late September and early October that killed nearly 1,000 people in the Philippines, coupled with the Indonesia earthquake that killed more than 1,000 on western Sumatra and the recent tsunami that killed 183, mostly in Samoa, were examples of natural disasters becoming more frequent and ferocious in recent decades.She said there had been a fourfold increase in the number of natural disasters in the past 20 years.All we know is that the world is facing increasingly frequent and ferocious natural disasters and the most vulnerable people and nations are getting hit hard and we better prepare now,she said.

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.

Iran wants big changes to nuclear deal with powers Tue Oct 27, 2009 10:22am EDT By Parisa Hafezi

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran wants major amendments within the framework of a U.N. nuclear fuel deal which it says it broadly accepts, a move that could unravel the plan and expose Tehran to the threat of harsher sanctions.The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Tuesday there was no need to rework the U.N. draft and he and France's foreign minister suggested Tehran would expose itself to tougher international sanctions if tried to undo the plan.Among the central planks of the plan opposed by Iran -- but requested by the West to cut the risk of an Iranian atom bomb -- was for it to send most of its low-enriched uranium reserve abroad for processing all in one go, state television said.Iran says it is enriching uranium only for nuclear power plant fuel, not for weaponry. But its history of nuclear secrecy and continued restrictions on U.N. inspections have raised Western suspicions of a covert bomb agenda.Citing an unnamed official, the Arabic-language satellite television station said on Tuesday Iran would present its response to the proposed agreement within 48 hours, a week after a deadline set by its author, U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Mohamed ElBaradei.Al Alam said Iran would agree to the general framework of the draft proposal but will request some important amendments.

It did not elaborate on the changes Tehran would seek to the draft agreement ElBaradei hammered out in consultations with Iran, Russia, France and the United States in Vienna last week.But senior lawmakers have said Iran should import foreign fuel rather than send abroad by the end of this year much of its own low-enriched uranium (LEU) stock -- its crucial strategic asset in talks with world powers -- as the proposal calls for.Iran's foreign minister said on Monday it may want to do both under the deal, hinting Tehran could ship out much less LEU than the amount big powers want to delay by at least a year the possibility of Iran weaponizing enriched uranium.The draft pact calls for Iran to transfer around 75 percent of its known 1.5 tons of LEU to Russia for further enrichment by the end of this year, then to France for conversion into fuel plates. These would be returned to Tehran to power a research reactor that produces radio-isotopes for cancer treatment.

HIGH-LEVEL UNDERSTANDINGS IN GENEVA

Understandings on the fuel plan and U.N. monitoring of a newly-disclosed enrichment site under construction were forged at Geneva talks on October 1 between Iran and six world powers -- the United States, Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain.A team of U.N. inspectors arrived in Iran early on Sunday to visit the new site 160 km south of Tehran. Western diplomats said Iran was forced to reveal the plant to the IAEA last month after learning that Western spy services had detected it.Iran's pledges in Geneva deflated pressure for wider sanctions targeting its oil sector but Western powers stressed they would not wait indefinitely for Tehran to follow through.They see the two deals as litmus tests of Iran's stated intent to use enriched uranium only for peaceful ends and a basis for more ambitious negotiations on curbing enrichment by Tehran to resolve a standoff over its nuclear aspirations.

It's not a good sign...it is a bad indication,Kouchner told reporters at an EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg, referring to the latest Iranian statements.
"Time is running out for the Iranians... This (Middle East) region is inflammable. It's an explosive circle and I do not think that in such a context the Iranians can play for time. That is very dangerous,he said.If there is the necessity -- but we might not see it until the end of the year -- we would start work on new sanctions, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said.Diplomats said the EU ministers had already asked the EU executive to look into further sanctions that could be imposed.
ElBaradei said Iran could not evade shifting most of its LEU abroad if it expected to satisfy calls to remove mistrust.That's important, absolutely. Our objective is to reduce tension and create a climate of confidence. Removing this material would provide a year for negotiating in peace and quiet, he told the French weekly l'Express.This would allow the Iranians to show that they are speaking the truth, if this is the case, that they are indeed enriching uranium for peaceful purposes,he said.Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said on Monday Iran would announce its decision on the pact in the next few days.Alaeddin Boroujerdi, head of parliament's Foreign Affairs and National Security committee, said no LEU should go abroad except in staggered, small batches as he feared there would no guarantees Iran would get it back.That is a non-starter for Western and U.N. officials since there would be no net drawdown of Iran's LEU stockpile.(Additional reporting by Hossein Jaseb, Hashem Kalanatari and Reza Derakhshi in Tehran, David Brunnstrom and Julien Toyer in Luxembourg; Writing by Mark Heinrich; editing by Samia Nakhoul)

Erdogan accuses Lieberman of threatening to nuke Gaza Strip Monday, 26 October 2009 06:11 News from Jerusalem Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman of threatening to attack the Gaza Strip with a nuclear weapon and has called Iran Turkey's friend, in an interview published Monday in The Guardian.While Erdogan insisted that the strategic alliance between Israel and Turkey still exists, he appeared at present to be in better relations with Iranian leaders than with Israeli ones.There is no doubt he is our friend,Erdogan said of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has called on several occasions for the destruction of Israel.As a friend so far we have very good relations and have had no difficulty at all.Erdogan, the paper reported, will be visiting Teheran later this week and will meet with Ahmadinejad and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, for talks focusing on commercial ties between the countries.Erdogan rejected Western concern over Iran's nuclear program, saying Iran does not accept it is building a weapon. They are working on nuclear power for the purposes of energy only.Despite his heavy criticism of Israel, Erdogan was not worried that Turkey's relations with the US would be damaged. I don't think there is any possibility of that. America's policy in this region is not dictated by Israel,he said.

Erdogan also criticized Europe's reluctance to accept Turkey into the EU.Among leaders in Europe there are those who have prejudices against Turkey, like France and Germany…It is an unfair attitude. The European Union is violating its own rules, he said.Being in the European Union we would be building bridges between the 1.5 billion people of Muslim world to the non-Muslim world. They have to see this. If they ignore it, it brings weakness to the EU.jpost

Israel’s enemies are wrong Tuesday, 27 October 2009 06:18 News from Jerusalem IAF Over Jerusalem

Don’t count on Goldstone to curb Israel’s response to attacks on Tel Aviv.While Sderot sustained rocket attacks for eight years until the military and political conditions were ripe for a retaliatory strike in Gaza, Tel Aviv will not sustain such attacks for eight days; not even for eight hours.In order to put an immediate end to missile attacks on central Israel – regardless of where they originated: Syria, Lebanon, or Gaza – we will see massive retribution that will make Operation Cast Lead appear like a tiny scratch in the Middle East’s violent history.In order to find a defensive solution for Gaza-region residents, Israeli officials wracked their brains for about six years until the need arouse and the budget was found for the Iron Dome project, which may prove itself in the next decade. Maybe. Meanwhile, central Israel is already protected by the best anti-missile systems in the world.

The Juniper Cobra drill that recently got underway expresses not only America’s diplomatic and military commitment to defend Israel from long-range missiles; it also constitutes an impressive display of cutting edge technologies only possessed by a few states.This includes the American THAAD missiles, which became operation only two years ago and are meant to intercept ballistic missiles at a 200-kilometer range, beyond the atmosphere, as well as exotic long-range radar systems and satellite-based sensors.Yet despite all of the above, the quantity of missiles in the enemy’s arsenal at this time is so great that missiles will be landing in central Israel; this will certainly be the case if we see a surprise attack like we experienced in 1973. There will be attempts to hit strategic sites and crowded population centers. The Syrian missiles and the advanced rockets held by Hezbollah are much more accurate than Hamas’ rockets, not to mention Iran’s capabilities.

No time to waste
It is doubtful whether all our strategic sites, both military and civilian, are properly reinforced to ensure that our critical systems will not be paralyzed. There is also no solution for civilians in case of direct hits. Secure rooms are meant to protect against shrapnel, not against missiles with huge warheads. Just like what happened around Gaza, residents in central Israel will feel as though they’re taking part in a bingo contest, of an immensely more murderous scope.It is no coincidence that Hamas is making every effort to produce or smuggle rockets with a 70-kilometer range. Bringing such missiles into the Gaza Strip is also one of Iran’s greatest challenges in the region.Israel’s enemies are counting on Goldstone: They will fire missiles at Tel Aviv, and the world will stop Israel from punishing them for deterrence purposes. Yet they’re wrong.Israel would not be able to afford to wait for its ground forces to successfully operate in Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, or any other site in order to curb the fire. Time is a critical element, and a successful ground operation is a matter of days or weeks, which means more casualties and more critical hits sustained by the home front. The hundreds of rockets that will penetrate through the Israeli-American defense systems will require Israel to respond immediately.And here the formula is cruel and simple: The more effective the rocket terror war will be, the less proportional the response would be.Under such circumstances, we will see a massive retaliatory blow, from the air and from the ground, targeting various infrastructures and sites and being painful enough to prompt the enemy to hold its fire. If the world expects Israel to only hit military targets and chase every rocket or launching site, it expects Israel to commit suicide.The more painful the blow to the enemy’s critical sites, the greater the chance it will be convinced to hold the fire sooner.ynet

Force will determine Jerusalem's fate Monday, 26 October 2009 05:24 News from Jerusalem Muslim Stone Throwers in Jerusalem

Following a day of clashes between security forces and Arab rioters in Jerusalem, Damascus-based Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal on Sunday evening stated that the fate of the capital would be determined by force, not negotiations.The fate of Jerusalem will be determined only by confrontation and not by the negotiating tables, Mashaal said in a speech, according to Channel 10.The Israelis want to divide al-Aqsa Mosque, and this is not all. They want to hold their religious ceremonies in the mosque … in preparation for demolishing it and building their temple there, he reportedly said.Israel is interested in handling the Jerusalem issue unilaterally so that it is not included in negotiations with the Palestinians, Masha'al claimed.

Jerusalem is all of Jerusalem, not only [the east Jerusalem neighborhood of] Abu-Dis. The Arabs and Muslims are [the city's] residents, and the Zionists have no claim over it,he said.I call for angry protests in Palestine and in the Arab world. Today, protests began in [the] Gaza [Strip], and we hope they will spread to the West Bank. It is important for there to be a united Palestinian position. We must send a message to the world: In light of the settlements and actions in Jerusalem, there are no negotiations and we must rethink our steps,the Hamas leader concluded.

Also on Sunday evening, Jordan warned Israel against provocative behavior in the city, saying continued violence could derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region.Any new provocative attempts by Israeli troops and Jewish extremists such as what happened today in the shrine's compound represents a flagrant violation of international law and conventions and sets the stage for more tension and acts of violence,Jordanian Minister for Media Affairs and Communication Nabil Sharif was quoted by the UAE-based Khaleej Times as saying in a statement.

Jordan, out of its historical responsibilities in being the custodian of the holy places in Jerusalem, is extremely worried about what is taking place and warns against going ahead with this provocative behavior on the part of Israeli troops, he reportedly added.According to the report, Sharif urged an immediate end to such dangerous practices which threaten to derail all opportunities of peace and stability in the region.Nine police officers were lightly injured and 21 rioters arrested, during clashes that broke out between Arabs and police on the Temple Mount, in the alleyways of the Old City's Muslim Quarter and east Jerusalem in a fresh round of violence that threatened to keep already-heightened tensions in the capital simmering.A female Australian journalist was also injured during Sunday's unrest when she was struck in the head with a rock, apparently after being caught between rioters and security forces at an entrance to the Temple Mount in the Old City's Muslim Quarter. She was treated at the scene.jpost

Iran hints it could ship some uranium abroad By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 26, 9:34 pm ET

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran hinted Monday it could agree to ship some low-enriched uranium abroad for processing as reactor fuel as the world awaited its reply on a U.N.-drafted nuclear plan aimed at easing tensions with the West.But the step might not be enough to defuse the tensions, and Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki also left open the possibility Iran may snub the proposal and instead seek to buy the nuclear fuel it needs for a research reactor that makes medical isotopes.The two-sided scenario presented by Mottaki appeared part of Iran's strategy to drag out negotiations over its nuclear program and leave the West guessing about its decision expected later this week.But Iran has not closed the door on the U.N.-backed concessions and has suggested there is room for some agreement on ways to keep tabs on its nuclear fuel and uranium enrichment. The latest message came as U.N. nuclear inspectors completed their second full day examining a still-unfinished enrichment lab that was top secret until just a month ago.Mottaki said Iran could send part of its stockpile of partially enriched uranium abroad for later processing into fuel rods for reactors. It marked the first official indication that Iran could partly sign onto the U.N.-drafted plan that called for Russia to complete the enrichment process.But Mottaki did not specify how much uranium Iran would consider allowing leave the country, and the amount could be far below the 70 percent of the country's stockpile envisioned by the U.N. plan, which is backed by Washington and Iran's key ally Russia.Since the plan's goal is to delay Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon by getting a large part of its enriched uranium stock out of the country, a willingness by Tehran to ship a small amount abroad would do little good. Iran claims it seeks only a peaceful nuclear program for research and energy.Mottaki said Tehran's decision to buy nuclear fuel or ship uranium abroad will be made in the next few days.

In either case, Mottaki said Iran will continue to enrich its own uranium as well — a step opposed by the U.S. and its allies over fears they could produce weapons-grade material.Iran's legal peaceful nuclear activities will continue and this issue (Iran's enrichment program) has nothing to do with supplying fuel for the Tehran reactor,he said.Fears about the nature of Iran's nuclear program were heightened in September with the disclosure of a once-secret uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom. U.N. inspectors made their first visit to the site on Sunday as they began a three-day mission that will include taking soil samples from the site. No results on their findings were expected until they leave Iran later this week.

Iran agreed to the inspections during a landmark meeting with the U.S. and other world powers at the beginning of October in Geneva, where the idea of Tehran shipping uranium to Russia for further enrichment was first raised.The draft U.N. plan was formalized last week after Iran held talks in Vienna with the United States, Russia and France.So far, Tehran's response to the plan has been unclear. Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani earlier accused the West of trying to cheat his country with the proposal, raising doubts Tehran will approve the deal.Russia nudged Iran to accept the plan. Moscow's role is critical for Iran since Russia is a major trade partner and is finishing work on Iran's first energy-producing reactor in Bushehr in southern Iran. Under the agreement, Russia would supply the reactor fuel.Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said implementation of the proposal would allow for a cooling of emotions and a realistic assessment of the situation.

Ryabkov, who has led Russian negotiators in talks on Iran's program, made his comments in an interview published Monday in the Russian daily Vremya Novostei.The U.N. plan envisions Iran sending up to 70 percent of its low-enriched uranium to Russia, where it would be enriched to a higher degree needed for use in the Tehran research reactor. The deal is attractive to the U.S. and its allies because it would mean Iran — for a period of time, anyway — would not have enough uranium stocks to build a bomb. Uranium enriched to a low level is used to fuel a nuclear reactor for electricity, and a somewhat higher level is used in research reactors. When enriched to levels above 90 percent, the uranium can be used to build a bomb. Around 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms) is the commonly accepted amount of low-enriched uranium needed to produce weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear warhead.The Vienna plan would require Iran to send 2,420 pounds (1,100 kilograms) of low-enriched uranium to Russia in one batch by the end of the year.French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said time was running out to reach agreement over Iran's nuclear program since Israel might launch a pre-emptive strike.They (the Israelis) will not tolerate an Iranian bomb. We know that, all of us. So that is an additional risk and that is why we must decrease the tension and solve the problem,Kouchner told the Daily Telegraph in an interview published Monday.Mottaki on Monday replied that the Zionist regime doesn't dare to attack Iran because it is currently in its weakest position.

Kremlin warns against wrecking Russia with democracy Mon Oct 26, 2009 1:47pm EDT By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Kremlin's chief political strategist warned in an article published on Monday that Russia risked collapsing into chaos if officials tried to tinker with the political system by flirting with liberal reforms.Kremlin Deputy Chief of Staff Vladislav Surkov said it was clear Russia was falling behind in many areas of economic development and that the country could not simply continue being a resource power.But in answer to calls from opponents for democratic reforms to liberalize the political system built under former President Vladimir Putin, Surkov warned that the resulting instability could rip Russia apart.Even now when power is rather consolidated and ordered, many projects are very slow and difficult,Surkov was quoted as saying by the Itogi weekly magazine.If we add any sort of political instability to that then our development would simply be paralyzed. There would be a lot of demagoguery, a lot of empty talk, a lot of lobbying and ripping Russia to pieces, but no development.As the Kremlin's point man on domestic politics, Surkov rarely speaks in public.Surkov, 45, is viewed by diplomats and investors as one of Russia's most powerful officials and is credited with helping Putin to craft the Kremlin's centralized political system after the chaos of the 1990s.He worked for Putin's entire eight-year presidency in the Kremlin as a deputy chief of staff and continued under Putin's protege, President Dmitry Medvedev.Medvedev, who took power in May 2008, has repeatedly stressed the need for Russia to open up and modernize its political system.But opponents say he has made few changes to the tightly controlled system he inherited from Putin, who continues to serve as prime minister.

After disputed October 11 regional elections, which official results showed Putin's United Russia party won with a landslide, opposition parties have called for electoral reforms and a rerun of the vote.We must not confuse liberal, democratic society with chaos and disorder,Surkov said, adding that Russia should avoid the excesses of both Chinese leader Mao Zedong and Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet.
Though Mao Zedong said that a lot of chaos results in a lot of order, he probably meant that tough or even totalitarian regimes are born from ruins. We do not need that. We do not need a Pinochet,Surkov said.Surkov graduated in economics and served in the Soviet army before working as a public relations and advertising consultant in the 1990s, including for tycoons such as Mikhail Fridman and the now disgraced oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky.We must understand that authority that is unconsolidated and unbalanced (and) weak democratic institutions are unable to ensure an economic revival,Surkov said.(Editing by Alison Williams)

Rabbinical ruling causes havoc on elevators By TIA GOLDENBERG, Associated Press Writer – Mon Oct 26, 2:19 pm ET

JERUSALEM – The Jewish day of rest has become a bit more labor-intensive for Yosef Ball.The Orthodox Jew and his wife are no longer using elevators custom-built for the Jewish Sabbath, ever since a rabbinical ruling last month outlawed them. Instead, they have been hiking up seven flights of stairs to get home each Saturday, lugging with them their five young children and a double stroller.It's been very hard, but we're walking up the stairs slowly and with a lot of patience,said Ball, 29, while pushing a baby carriage with two toddlers in tow on a recent day.Jewish law, or halacha, forbids the use of electrical items on the Sabbath. But for decades rabbis have allowed special elevators that automatically stop at every floor without the riders pushing any buttons, permitting Orthodox Jews to ride them and live in high-rise buildings.The ruling last month by one of Israel's leading rabbis, calling the elevators a no-go, has reignited a vigorous debate over the lifts, forcing Orthodox Jews living on top floors to decide if they're up for the steep hike home from synagogue on Saturdays.The decision stretches far beyond Israel's borders. Buildings with Shabbat elevators are common in Orthodox communities around the world, and residents in places as far away as New York are now struggling with how to interpret the ruling.Jacob Goldman, a real estate agent in an Orthodox neighborhood in Manhattan's Lower East Side, said residents are not rushing to change their routines. Landlords and building managers have to think about the decree's possible implications but aren't likely to take any drastic measures.

A landlord can't take away people's Sabbath elevators just because one person said they can't be used, Goldman said, adding that to do so could leave some people housebound on the day of rest.No single authority interprets religious law for Orthodox Jews. But Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the revered 99-year-old scholar who signed the elevator ruling, is one of the most influential voices in the Jewish world, widely considered to be one of his generation's greatest authorities on religious law.Most members of the Reform and Conservative movements, the liberal streams of Judaism to which most American Jews belong, do not strictly observe the Sabbath and would not be affected by the ruling.But even the Orthodox community has long been divided over the elevators. Opponents say that while the riders push no button, the weight of the passengers still increases the amount of electricity required to power the lift, thus violating Jewish law.Still, the elevators, in use for some four decades, have opened the door for large numbers of Orthodox Jews to dwell in modern skyscrapers.No young couple is going to move into a ninth or tenth floor building if it becomes a prison for them, said Jonathan Rosenblum, an ultra-Orthodox commentator in Jerusalem.Lila Lowell, a Bronx native now living in Jerusalem, installed a Sabbath elevator to access her second-floor apartment and won't stop using it despite the decree.My elevator is kosher, she said. And she added: My husband and I have difficulty with the stairs, so we need the elevator. Her young grandchildren also use the lift.The ruling, decreed last month, is the latest in a series by Israeli rabbis on the minutiae of applying Jewish law to daily life. Top rabbis can count tens of thousands of followers who abide by their rulings.

Elyashiv has been behind other controversial decisions before. In September, he proclaimed Jews could not wear Crocs shoes on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, because they were deemed too comfortable for the somber fasting holiday.In 2004, Elyashiv prohibited religious women from wearing Indian-made wigs because the hair may have been used in idol-worshipping ceremonies, which are forbidden under Jewish law. Religious women cover their heads with wigs or cloth as a sign of modesty. A debate a decade ago by another leading rabbi concluded that nose-picking was allowed on the Sabbath. It was under discussion because nose hairs may be plucked out in the process, and cutting hair on the Sabbath is outlawed. The elevators are just one of several electric devices that rabbis have found loopholes for, allowing their use. Religious families can use timers for their lights and special hot plates to warm food as long as those hot plates were not switched on or off during the Sabbath.

Hospitals and hotels catering to Orthodox Jews have also had to weigh how to address the elevator decree. The plush David Citadel Hotel in Jerusalem said it will leave it up to visitors to decide whether to use one of the four Sabbath elevators, but expects religious guests to request rooms on the lower of its 10 floors.Jerusalem's 10-floor Shaare Zedek hospital said it has not received any directive on the matter and will continue operating its Sabbath elevators as usual. Proponents of the lifts say followers need not change their habits.I think people understand nothing has changed technologically,said Rabbi Israel Rozen, head of the Zomet Institute, which specializes in Sabbath-appropriate electrical equipment. He supports the use of Sabbath elevators.But if people decide they want to climb 10 floors because of this, that's their choice.

Rabbi Cherlow: Human Rights Includes Jews Worshipping on Mount
by David Lev OCT 26,09

(IsraelNN.com)
Jews have a right to worship freely on the Temple Mount, says Rabbi Yuval Cherlow, head of the Yeshivat Hesder in Petach Tikvah. But they have more than a right to worship there, he says: They have a need to do so, because the Temple Mount – where the Holy Temple stood – is so much a part of Jewish tradition. And as such, preventing Jews from doing so is not just a matter of religion, but of basic human rights.The term struggle as it relates to the Jewish desire to worship on the Temple Mount does not accurately describe the desire, the longing of Jews to ascend to the Mount and worship G-d,he writes in an article in a journal distributed by the Yeshiva. Rabbi Cherlow appeals to lovers of truth and justice to identify with that desire – as a matter of freedom of worship, a basic human right.The Jewish prophets teach us that Jerusalem's rebuilding begins not with bricks and mortar, but with the rebuilding – and reforming – of society, Rabbi Cherlow writes. As the prophets said, Zion will be redeemed with justice.Each time we restrain ourselves from parking in a spot reserved for the handicapped, rescue a poor person from financial injustice, or release an agunah [a woman who is not free to remarry] from her chains, we rebuild the first layers of the Holy Temple, a place where lovers of justice and truth can join together,he writes.

Respecting others' freedom of worship is a part of the mosaic of truth and justice, according to Rabbi Cherlow: Despite our differences of opinions in other areas, I appeal to you, those with whom I have worked on such issues, to support me now. There is nothing more dangerous than hypocrisy. The power of a moral stance is only strong when there is no hypocrisy, when it is untainted by political motives. It is effective only if it is straightforward and honest. Those who seek to advance the cause of humand rights and the basic elements of justice, but do not do so in an honest manner, cause untold damage to the cause of justice and ethics.That logic applies when it comes to Jewish worship on the Temple Mount, he writes. Those who fight for freedom of worship, but are quiet when Jews are shamed and bullied when they attempt to ascend the Mount, damage the cause of justice and morality. Those who claim that terrorists should not be rewarded when it comes to a liberal cause, but here claim that we cannot ascend the Mount because of Muslim violence, those who say that the time is not right,but never seem to be able to find the right time, are committing terrible acts against the cause of justice – and still expect to be rewarded! This attitude is the same that disapproves of police violence only if you are the victim, or protests against freedom of speech when the people being kept quiet are the ones you don't like. This hypocrisy hurts us all, right and left. Anyone who does profess those values of fighting for truth and justice has an obligation to fight in this instance, as well.

Referendum Law Vote Canceled Due to Last-Minute Appeal
by Maayana Miskin OCT 26,09

(IsraelNN.com) A Knesset vote regarding a bill that would force the government to carry out a national referendum before withdrawing from Israeli land was canceled on Monday. The cancellation followed a Likud minister's last-minute appeal. MKs were to vote on the application of the law of continuity to the bill. If the law of continuity were to be applied to the referendum law, which received initial approval under the previous Knesset, it could then be brought to a second and third vote immediately, without the need to resume the legislative process from the beginning.

The Referendum Law would require national approval for any withdrawal from sovereign Israeli territory, including the Golan. It would not require a referendum in case of withdrawal from territories over which Israel has not declared sovereignty, such as Yehudah and Shomron (Judea and Samaria).MK Yariv Levin (Likud) heads the committee which prepared the referendum law. The government informed me that the vote cannot be held today, because a minister appealed against the government's plan to support the proposal,he explained Monday evening.The minister who opposed the bill was revealed to be deputy prime minister Dan Meridor of Likud. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud, said Meridor's appeal would be dealt with promptly and the cancelled vote would be held within the month.Members of the opposition criticized Netanyahu over the incident. That's how it is with Bibi – everything takes more time,said Kadima MK Yoel Hasson. Golan residents should think again about whether or not they can rely on him.

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/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/site/14081545/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE OCT 27,2009

09:30 AM +10.24
10:00 AM +38.29
10:30 AM +43.53
11:00 AM +52.00
11:30 AM +65.90
12:00 PM +70.21
12:30 PM +54.11
01:00 PM +15.19
01:30 PM +2.42
02:00 PM +6.58
02:30 PM +22.82
03:00 PM +48.67
03:30 PM +31.82
04:00 PM +14.21 9882.17

S&P 500 1063.41 -3.54

NASDAQ 2116.09 -25.76

GOLD 1,039.10 -3.70

OIL 79.32 +0.64

TSE 300 11,076.07 -158.81

CDNX 1309.18 +3.23

S&P/TSX/60 657.58 -10.53

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +12.44%
S&P +18.12%
Nasdaq +35.82%
TSX Advances 487,declines 1,064,unchanged 234,Volume 423,725,040.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 315,Declines 659,Unchanged 311,Volume 274,982,791.

Dow +45 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -31 points at low today.
Dow +79 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,039.10.OIL opens at $78.79 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -31 points at low today so far.
Dow +79 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 1,661,declines 1,920,unchanged 122,New Highs 65,New Lows 28.
Volume 2,620,650,208.
NASDAQ Advances 1,254,declines 1,270,unchanged 125,New highs 26,New Lows 23.
Volume 990,772,076.
TSX Advances 496,declines 789,unchanged 244,Volume 189,108,601.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 255,Declines 400,Unchanged 296,Volume 90,570,501.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -31 points at low today.
Dow +79 points at high today.
Dow +0.14% today Volume 237,055,730.
Nasdaq -1.20% today Volume 2,274,848,652.
S&P 500 -0.33% today Volume N/A

RON PAUL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpLdc4vMpFY&feature=player_embedded
BO TRYING TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE,WORLD GOVERNMENT
http://eclipptv.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=8051
BAIR TO BIG TO FAIL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ke1LhLlaMrM&feature=player_embedded

Galbraith: Fed is Unlawfully Withholding Information from Congress
Washington’s Blog Tuesday, Oct 27th, 2009

The Federal Reserve is unlawfully withholding information from Congress.
Says who? Says noted economist James Galbraith:To this day, Chairman Ben Bernanke has refused to disclose to Congress exactly who has received help under the many crisis measures and under what terms. The legal and constitutional situation is clear: Congress has a right to this information. There are no plausible national security concerns.

Galbraith also slams the idea that the Fed should be the main regulator:

Finally, there is the question of financial reform. In the new effort to bring systemically dangerous institutions (now called Tier One Financial Holding Companies) under effective supervision, the administration proposes to vest regulation of those entities in the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve naturally agrees. But the Federal Reserve has never been an effective regulator for the straightforward reason that it is dominated by economists and bankers and not by dedicated skeptics who make bank regulation a full-time profession.

MK Orbach to Finance Ministry: Give Us Back Our Money
by Hillel Fendel OCT 26,09

(IsraelNN.com) Leaders of various religious-Zionist educational bodies arrived at the Knesset on Monday, protesting the draconian cuts to religious-Zionist education.
The issue was at the top of the agenda of the Jewish Home faction party meeting. Participating in the meeting were Rabbi Eitan Ozeri, Director of the Association of Hesder Yeshivot, Eldad Ozeri, Director of the Nationalist Yeshivot Association, and others.MK Orbach: This is money that belongs to the religious-Zionist public, and we demand that it be restored to us.At issue is tens of millions of shekels that have been cut from yeshiva high schools, ulpanot high schools, Torah core groups, medrashot, and hesder and other yeshivot. MK Uri Orbach told INN-TV afterwards, This is money that belongs to the religious-Zionist public, and we demand that it be restored to us. If the government does not live up to its clear coalition promises on this matter, then we will also be forced to break our coalition agreements.More Spirit, Less Substance The threat is more in spirit than in substance, in that the Jewish Home only has three MKs, whose loss would not cost the the coalition its Knesset majority.Orbach said that just as the national service problem was solved, the problem of religious-Zionist education must be solved as well – but it can only be done by inserting it into the basis of the budget, and not forcing us to beg for our funding every year. The religious Knesset Members of the Likud must know that we simply cannot go on this way.

Eitan Ozeri said, We want all the religious MKs, of all parties, to work together to solve this problem. If not, then religious-Zionist parents, who already pay double and triple of what other parents pay for their children's education, will have to pay even more.The heads of the educational institutions in question sent a letter last week to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, asking him to restore the tens of millions of shekels that were cut from religious-Zionist education.

India's central bank holds rates by Salil Panchal – OCT 27,09

MUMBAI (AFP) – India's central bank held key interest rates steady at record lows on Tuesday, but said it was time to roll back some of the unconventional measures taken to counter the global financial crisis.Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Duvvuri Subbarao said in a statement that the economy was not ready for a hike in conventional short-term lending rates, the main policy tool at the bank's disposal to influence lending.But the bank did reverse some of the unconventional monetary policy measures taken during the global financial crisis that had served to increase liquidity in the banking system when there were fears about a lending shortage.

Economists had anticipated the decision to hold short-term interest rates, saying any hike would likely come later this year or in early 2010 once a recently observed economic uptick had become entrenched.The precise challenge which the bank faces is to support the recovery process without compromising on price stability, Reserve Bank of India governor Duvvuri Subbarao said in the statement.The repo, the rate at which the central bank lends to commercial banks, was kept at 4.75 percent, while the reverse repo, the rate at which it borrows from banks, was held at 3.25 percent.

However, the RBI restored the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) -- the minimum share of bank deposits to be held in government bonds, cash and gold -- for commercial banks to 25 percent, from 24 percent.Reversing conventional measures is not appropriate for now, but the unconventional measures can be reversed immediately, said Subbarao after the half-yearly review of monetary policy.The central bank said there were definite signs of recovery and kept its earlier growth forecast at 6.0 percent with an upside bias for the year to March.Inflation has mirrored the rise in output, rising to 1.0 percent over 12 months for the week ended October 10 after a poor monsoon sent food prices spiralling across the country.The central bank has forecast that inflation could rise further in coming months, forecasting it at 6.5 percent by March next year.The RBI has cut the repo interest rate six times since October 2008, as well as introducing unconventional measures to mitigate the impact of the global financial crisis.Between November 2008 and March this year, the government introduced three stimulus packages to help revive the economy as demand for goods and services was hit by the global slowdown.Some analysts had suggested the central bank might increase the cash reserve ratio, the amount which banks have to keep aside as deposit, as another way to soak up excess banking liquidity.The rate was left unchanged at 5.0 percent on Tuesday.RBI governor Duvvuri Subbarao will speak to the media later Tuesday.

U.S. serious about getting Doha round trade deal - EU By Doug Palmer – Mon Oct 26, 11:16 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A top European Union official said on Monday she believed President Barack Obama was serious about reaching a deal in long-running world trade talks, but the time has come for all countries to show their cards.I think first of all this administration is committed to open trade. It is committed to trying to resolve the Doha round, EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton said at the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies.I'd like also to say, but I'm not certain, that we'll see significant breakthroughs in the next few weeks and months. But I do think there's no question in my mind that the energy and commitment of the new USTR (U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk) is absolutely there, Ashton said when asked if she had a clear picture of the Obama administration's trade policy.Her comments followed a warning from World Trade Organization Director General Pascal Lamy on Friday that countries will not meet their latest goal of concluding a Doha round deal in 2010 unless negotiations pick up speed soon.Many WTO members believe the blockage in the talks comes from Washington, where trade has taken a back seat to issues such as economic stimulus, healthcare, the war in Afghanistan and financial regulatory reform.The Doha round was launched nearly eight years ago with the goal of helping poor countries prosper through trade and is already longest trade round in history.In a second speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ashton called on the United States to show leadership to bring the round to close and said the EU would also do its part.The stakes are high, but the time has come to show our cards,Ashton told the business group.

NO LEATHER-BOUND VOLUME

A U.S. trade official who attended the SAIS event with Ashton and Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Bjorling said the Obama administration clearly ... has been conducting a broader review of U.S. trade policy.But there seems to be a mistaken impression "that this review would conclude with a nice leather-bound volume, which would be the Holy Bible of the Obama administration's trade policy and make everything perfectly clear," said the official, who asked not to be identified.Obama has made a number of choices that already define his trade policy, such as a decision to keep the shoulder to the wheel on Doha and to build support at home by increasing enforcement of trade pacts, the official said.But Obama and U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk also have been clear "the biggest mistake we could make is to come back with a Doha agreement that would be rejected politically by the U.S. Congress,the official said.Leading U.S. farm and business groups have said current Doha round texts do not provide them enough new export opportunities in exchange for politically difficult farm subsidy and tariff cuts the United States would have to make.Ashton and Bjorling are in Washington for the Transatlantic Economic Council meeting, which is co-chaired by White House Deputy National Security Adviser Michael Froman and European Commission Vice President Verheugen and focuses mainly on removing regulatory barriers to trade.Bjorling said she saw momentum building in Europe in support of negotiating a free trade pact with the United States, although that item is not formally on the agenda for the council meeting on Tuesday.Ashton said she was not opposed to the idea, but had not been formally requested by EU member states to pursue it.(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Bank of Canada says must let banks go bankrupt By Randall Palmer – Mon Oct 26, 8:20 pm ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The international financial system must be changed so that banks can go belly up without bringing the whole economy down, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney said on Monday.We have to have a system where you could have an institution going bankrupt. One of the problems during the crisis was that each institution that goes bankrupt had to be saved, and that's not acceptable, Carney told the French division of CBC television.It's necessary to do that (let banks go bankrupt) and it's essential that the institutions themselves think it's possible.

Earlier on Monday, he had said in a speech that the risks should return to the financial institutions and no longer be borne by the government.In his speech he reiterated that the bank retained considerable flexibility, even though its rock-bottom interest rates cannot be cut further, in keeping the economy and therefore inflation on an even keel.That is code language for saying the bank could, if necessary, engage in quantitative easing, essentially printing money, particularly if the Canadian dollar rose too far too fast.But, asked if this prospect were now closer given the strong rise in the currency, he said: Not necessarily. We just decided on our monetary policy last Tuesday and we reiterated our conditional commitment (to keep rates steady till mid-2010) and that's the appropriate policy to reach our target.In making its interest rate announcement last week, the bank said the currency's strength could more than fully offset recent developments since July.

But asked on Monday if the economy could slip back into recession in 2010 or 2011 if the Canadian dollar continued to rise, he demurred.That depends, he said.It's a question of other factors, the reasons why the dollar rose. But currently the forecast of the Bank of Canada is that our economy will grow by 3 percent in 2010 and 3.3 percent in 2011.(Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Richard Chang)

Bank of Canada chief raps banks over bonuses By Jennifer Kwan – Mon Oct 26, 10:38 pm ET

MONTREAL (Reuters) – Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney delivered a blunt rebuke to the global financial industry on Monday, saying it had shown insensitivity over high compensation and calling on it to get on board with reforms.Canada's top central banker, himself a former Goldman Sachs executive, said the financial industry had returned to profit largely as a result of public support and urged bankers use the cash to shore up balance sheets.Current bumper profits can compensate employees, be returned to shareholders, or increase capital. The clear priority of the public sector is the recapitalization of the financial system, Carney told an industry conference in Montreal hosted by Quebec's securities regulator.The industry should be in no doubt that capital requirements are going up. Those who prefund will be in the best possible position over the medium term.Recent news that Goldman Sachs Group Inc had set aside $16.8 billion for compensation after repaying $10 billion in U.S. taxpayer money fueled concerns that global banks were returning to the lavish pay practices commonplace before the financial crisis struck.Recalling the G20 appeal for sound compensation practices, Carney said the industry's current windfall, dependent on the strongest of safety nets and the policy-driven snap back from the brink, sits uneasily with that principle.It would be a mistake to underestimate the determination of G20 leaders to reshape the financial services industry,he said.

He said that risks must be returned to, and borne by, the private sector and warned the current system was awash in moral hazard, meaning players may still be taking risks on the assumption authorities can always bail them out.Policy-makers had to do many unpalatable things to save the economy from the financial system -- a financial system that begged for mercy,he said.We will not remind market participants of the many oaths they swore a year ago,Carney said.However, we do expect those fevered battlefield vows to be respected through daily peacetime concern for, and contributions to, building a better, more resilient financial system.Carney questioned whether firms have a handle on their medium-term profitability, given the profound regulatory and economic changes coming. He said the financial system must change "from its self-appointed role as the apex of economic activity to once again be the servant of the real economy.He made clear much of his disappointment with the financial industry was with global players rather than with Canadian banks, which did not receive government bailouts.I've been a little let down. Other governors have been very disappointed. On a global scale more so than in Canada, but the problems were there,he said.

SINGLE REGULATORY REGIME FAVORED

Speaking in Montreal, Quebec's biggest city and main economic center, Carney also addressed the contentious subject of domestic securities regulation, saying it would be preferable to have a single regulatory regime in Canada.Unlike most countries, Canada has 13 provincial and territorial securities regulators and French-speaking Quebec has fiercely opposed efforts to create a single, national watchdog.The federal government said this month it plans to seek the opinion of the Supreme Court of Canada on whether Parliament has the authority to put in place a single national securities regulator -- normally an area of provincial jurisdiction.This question of jurisdiction is very much before the relevant courts, so we'll leave it to them to take a view. I think we're all agreed that a single regulatory regime is preferable and there's different ways to do that, he said in response to a question following the speech.Raymond Bachand, Quebec's finance minister, told reporters he does not believe there is a need for a central regulator.In securities, we need a national policy and we have it. We're harmonized, our securities commissions move together on a daily basis when necessary. We've got to reinforce that. It's being done, it's working and we should stay that way.Bachand stressed earlier in a speech that Quebec supports a national policy, but said national doesn't mean central.(Additional reporting Jasmin Legatos, Randall Palmer and David Ljunggren; editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Rob Wilson)

Asian stocks track Wall Street lower; oil near $79 By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ, AP Business Writer - OCT 27,09

HONG KONG – Asian stocks retreated Tuesday, following losses on Wall Street amid rising concerns the markets have gotten ahead of economic realities.Every major market slid into the red, with shares in resource companies hit after a steep fall in commodity prices overnight. Oil recovered only modestly in Asia to trade near $79 a barrel, while the dollar was slightly weaker against the yen and euro following a sharp rise.Investors unloaded shares across the region after U.S. markets got pounded as the dollar strengthened and anxiety grew about the market overheating given the troubles still facing major Western economies and a number of financial companies.Some analysts said the markets, up massively since March, could get more choppy even if they continued to advance.The market has gotten high enough, so there's some profit taking right now,said Francis Lun, general manager of Fulbright Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong.The summer rally seems to be over, and I think we're facing a cold winter.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average fell 142.59 points, or 1.4 percent, to 10,220.03. Hong Kong's market, which was closed Monday, dropped 330.21, or 1.5 percent, to 22,259.52.South Korea's Kospi shed 0.7 percent to 1,645.82 a day after new figures showed the country's economy, Asia's fourth largest, expanded at its quickest pace in seven years in the last quarter.China's Shanghai index fell 61.20, or 2 percent, to 3,047.36. Australia's market lost 1.5 percent and India's Sensex was 0.2 percent lower.

In the U.S. overnight, the the Dow fell 104.22, or 1.1 percent, to 9,867.96.The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 12.65, or 1.2 percent, to 1,066.95. The index, which is the basis for many mutual funds, is down 2.8 percent from its recent peak a week ago.Wall Street futures were down. Dow futures fell 15, or 0.2 percent, to 9,826.In currencies, the dollar weakened slightly after rising overnight, trading at 92.06 yen from 92.21 yen. The euro gained to $1.4886 from $1.4861.

Commission adopts further legislation on financial regulation
ANDREW WILLIS 26.10.2009 @ 17:57 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission came forward with more legislation on financial regulation on Monday (26 October), as the EU continues its drive towards ensuring that last year's financial meltdown is not repeated.The draft directive is designed to amend already existing sectoral European legislation, thereby making it compatible with last month's commission proposals to set up a European System of Financial Supervisors (ESFS).If agreed by the member states and the European Parliament, the ESFS will consist of three authorities in the areas of banking, insurance and occupation pensions, and securities and markets. Monday's proposal lays down further detail on the scope and powers of the three authorities, including the thorny issue of the authorities' mandate to settle disagreements between national supervisors.This proposal complements and re-inforces our supervision package of 23 September and provides more detail about precisely what powers are proposed for the new European supervisory authorities, internal market commissioner Charlie McCreevy said in a statement.I urge the Council and the parliament to adopt the whole supervision package in good time to allow the new authorities to come into being at the end of 2010, if not before,he added. However, the head of the European Parliament's economy committee, Liberal MEP Sharon Bowles recently indicated that her committee had no intention on being rushed to approve the legislation.Instead, she said the committee would carefully assess the cumulative effect of the commission proposals.For their part, the parliament's Socialists have warned that the three authorities must have sufficient powers to carry out their job.We want a serious monitoring operation at European level that keeps the financial markets under close scrutiny and not just an empty piece of window-dressing,said party leader Martin Schulz.

The three new bodies to supervise the financial sector should be more than a mere club of regulators. They should have real power, he added.Ultimately the Socialists would like to see a single regulator for the EU's financial sector, something European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has said is currently politically impossible.A recent meeting of EU finance ministers reached broad agreement on another proposal in last month's legislative package from the European Commission, the setting up of a European Systemic Risk Board which is designed to monitor risk in the EU financial sector as a whole.However, the UK prevented a definitive agreement on the risk board, seeking instead to maintain the option of re-opening the discussions in an apparent bid to increase its leverage in talks on the three supervisory authorities, due to take place later this year.

New pro-Russia campaign comes to EU capital
ANDREW RETTMAN 26.10.2009 @ 09:36 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Russian news agency Ria Novosti is rolling out a new public relations campaign in the political capital of the European Union which, according to sources in the PR industry, aims to justify Russia's great power ambitions and improve the image of Joseph Stalin. The state-owned news agency has teamed up with a little-known Washington, London and Zurich-based consultancy called RJI Companies and is trying to recruit one of the top 10 PR firms in Brussels to put the project in play.The primary contract involves organising a high-level conference about the Arctic to take place in Moscow in late November. The Arctic event is to portray Russia as a good egg on environmental and energy policy and is likely to be followed up by similar events in the Middle East and the Far East next year. Ria Novosti is also offering a second contract to generally improve the image of Russia abroad,a contact in the campaign team told this website.An RJI Companies agent in September in Brussels pitched the project to a major PR firm, saying that the aim of the second contract is to help portray Russia as a benign great power entitled to negotiate with the likes of the US, China and the EU on global security and energy issues.He added that part of the PR effort would be to cast a positive light on the actions of the Soviet Union before and after World War II in order to justify the idea that modern Russia should also impose its influence on neighbouring countries for the good of the world.

A senior executive at the PR firm in question recalled one particular exchange with the RJI Companies envoy: I asked him Do you want us to say that Stalin was not such a bad guy? And he said Well, I know it will be difficult. I said So, you want history to be rewritten? And he said Yes, in a way.Expect to see more articles in European newspapers saying that Stalin had his good points as well,the PR executive added.When contacted by EUobserver, RJI Companies denied that the second contract has anything to do with Stalin. And Ria Novosti denied that a second contract exists at all.Our business is not to enhance Russia's image. It's to report news,the company's spokesman Valery Levchenko said.

Normal in Moscow

Kremlin watchers, such as the Moscow-based paper Novaya Gazeta, the former employer of murdered Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya, say that a campaign to rehabilitate the reputation of Stalin is already under way inside Russia.They point to developments such as the recent state-sponsored publication of a secondary school history textbook which describes Stalin as an efficient manager and to secret police seizures of NGO documents on Stalinist-era crimes as examples of the trend. At the highest political level, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in Poland last month defended the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, a 1939 deal between the USSR and Nazi Germany to carve Europe. Russian MPs also accused Polish deputies of defaming Stalin's name by accusing him of genocide in a parliamentary resolution.Novaya Gazeta deputy editor Valery Shiriaev said that Soviet revisionism is linked to the vanity of Russia's ruling class as much as its geopolitical ambitions.It's important to the ex-KGB people, Putin and his friends, to explain why they are repeating the policies of Soviet Russia,he said. They need to say there were good things in the former Russia, so that they do not see themselves as cannibals. It's important for the psychological health of the Russian elite.Meanwhile, Russian diplomats say there is no Kremlin programme to rebrand Soviet ideology.Nobody in the Russian government is trying to whitewash what was happening then. And of course Stalin was responsible for numerous criminal acts,Russia's ambassador to the EU, Vladimir Chizhov, told this website. The ambassador added that history should be left to the historians. But he went on to give a less black and white picture of Stalin than is conventional in the West.It is of course obscene to put Hitler and Stalin on the same plane,he said. People can argue endlessly whether the Soviet Union became a great power because of Stalin or in spite of Stalin, his harsh methods of industrialisation.

Words and things

When asked by EUobserver if Stalin, who is estimated to have overseen the deaths of between 9 million and 20 million people, could be called a mass murderer,Mr Chizhov gave a relativistic answer.Stalin committed a lot of crimes, you could definitely say, so did other people. You could [point to], the battle of Mers-el-Kebir in 1940, when the British navy bombarded the French navy, and they were allies, not enemies, and the number of victims was the same as of Americans in Pearl Harbour,he said, referring to two World War II battles.Apart from RJI Companies, Russian interests also work with PR firms GPlus in Brussels, Berlin and Paris, Ketchum Pleon in London and Washington, Weber Shandwick in London and Brussels and Saylor Company in Washington and Brussels.Novaya Gazeta's Mr Shiriaev said the Kremlin's use of PR professionals was pioneered in the final years of the Boris Yeltsin presidency in the late 1990s. The first company it hired was the Moscow-based agency Niccolo M, named after the Renaissance-era thinker Niccolo Machiavelli.

Jobbik, BNP move to form pan-European far-right alliance
LEIGH PHILLIPS 26.10.2009 @ 17:39 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - A clutch of far-right political parties have cobbled together an alliance of convenience to represent their interests in the European Parliament, the leader of Hungary's extreme nationalist grouping, Jobbik, announced in Budapest over the weekend.Far-right monitoring groups however say that the coalition is made up for the most part of ultra-right wing groupuscules that have no representation in Strasbourg, meaning they will not be able to draw on any public funding for staff or research.Gabor Vona, the Jobbik party chairman, announced in Budapest on Saturday (24 October) the founding of the Alliance of European Nationalist Movements,in a declaration of common goals drafted by the British National Party's (BNP) leader, Nick Griffin.Five parties have initially signed the nine-point declaration: Jobbik, France's Front National, Italy's Fiamma Tricolore, Sweden's National Democrats and Belgium's Walloon extremists, the Front Nationalists.

Although the BNP was not in attendance at the launch, the BNP is 100 percent behind the new grouping, Jobbik's vice-president and one of three MEPs in Strasbourg Zoltran Balczo, told EUobserver. Mr Griffin could not attend the founding meeting in Hungary due to the increased demands on the British group in the wake of the publicity it received from its invitation to a BBC political talk show.The alliance is currently involved in negotiations with other far-right groups in Spain and Portugal. Austria's Freedom Party (FPO) has also expressed an intention to join, according to Gabor Vona, Jobbik's domestic leader. FPO euro-deputy Andreas Moelzer was also due to attend, but fell ill and could not go.The declaration rejects any attempts at forming an EU federal state, calls for pro-family policies and traditional values and demands Europe be protected from religious, political, economic and financial imperialism.Each of the parties are to submit one representative to a presidency body that will co-ordinate decisions. The presidency will then elect its own chief from the group.Only Jobbik, the French Front National, the BNP and the FPO have any representation in the European Parliament, missing by some degree the minimum number of MEPs the chamber requires to form an official political grouping and access EU cash.To do so, a political family, as they are known in EU circles, needs to muster a minimum of 25 deputies from at least 7 member states.While Jobbik won 14.7 percent of the vote in Hungary in the June European elections, giving it three seats in Strasbourg, and the BNP won two, most of the other parties did not even garner 1 percent.Mr Balczo says that this is only a short-term obstacle. These rules are just for a faction in the parliament. There are other possibilities: The first step is to found a European party that is recognised by the parliament. This will be done in either Brussels or Strasbourg. For a pan-European party, which is separate from a political grouping within the parliament, the rules are not as strict.The Liberals in the parliament for example, are in the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, while their pan-European political party, the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party, has members from EU and non-EU states.It's only the second step that is try to form a faction in the European Parliament, but at some point this too will be possible,Mr Balczo said.

Another Titanic

Competing visions of national supremacy have in the past presented a difficult hurdle for forming a far-right group in the parliament.In the last legislature, the far-right grouping Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty lasted only a few months before it broke up over Italian members insulting their Romanian colleagues.Notably, in the new grouping there is no representation from the Greater Romania Party, Ataka, from Bulgaria's rightist extremists or from the Slovak National Party.We will not participate in any alliance with any party that is chauvinist towards ethnic Hungarians, said Mr Balczo, and the Romanians and the Slovaks are very, very strongly against ethnic Hungarians.Even the friendly relations between Jobbik and the BNP run up against different national perspectives.There are some differences over agriculture for example, Mr Balczo said.Voting [in the parliament] last Thursday on the budget, we and the Front National voted differently to the BNP, because we have a different position on protecting family farms.The welcoming of the Walloon Front National also precludes bringing on board Belgium's much more popular Vlaams Belang, which while Belgian, is a Flemish nationalist party that opposes the idea that francophones and Flemings can live together in the same country.In all probability, this alliance will go the way of its predecessor and implode within months, and this time they can't even form a faction in the European Parliament. It's another Titanic of a group,Graham Atkinson, the European editor of British-based far-right monitoring magazine, Searchlight, told this website.

SEC and Homeland Security need Web backup, GAO says Mon Oct 26, 2009 6:53pm EDT By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Securities exchanges have a sound network back-up if a severe pandemic keeps people home and clogging the Internet, but the Homeland Security Department has done little planning, Congressional investigators said on Monday.The department does not even have a plan to start work on the issue, the General Accountability Office said.But the Homeland Security Department accused the GAO of having unrealistic expectations of how the Internet could be managed if millions began to telework from home at the same time as bored or sick schoolchildren were playing online, sucking up valuable bandwidth.Experts have for years pointed to the potential problem of Internet access during a severe pandemic, which would be a unique kind of emergency. It would be global, affecting many areas at once, and would last for weeks or months, unlike a disaster such as a hurricane or earthquake.

H1N1 swine flu has been declared a pandemic but is considered a moderate one. Health experts say a worse one -- or a worsening of this one -- could result in 40 percent absentee rates at work and school at any given time and closed offices, transportation links and other gathering places.Many companies and government offices hope to keep operations going as much as possible with teleworking using the Internet. Among the many problems posed by this idea, however, is the issue of bandwidth -- especially the last mile between a user's home and central cable systems.Such network congestion could prevent staff from broker-dealers and other securities market participants from teleworking during a pandemic,reads the GAO report, available here.The Department of Homeland Security is responsible for ensuring that critical telecommunications infrastructure is protected.

BLOCKING WEBSITES

Private Internet providers might need government authorization to block popular websites, it said, or to reduce residential transmission speeds to make way for commerce.The Financial Services Sector Coordinating Council for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Homeland Security, a group of private-sector firms and financial trade associations, has been working to ensure that trading could continue if big exchanges had to close because of the risk of disease transmission.Because the key securities exchanges and clearing organizations generally use proprietary networks that bypass the public Internet, their ability to execute and process trades should not be affected by any congestion,the GAO report reads.However, not all had good plans for critical activities if many of their employees were ill, the report reads.

Homeland Security had done even less, it said.

DHS has not developed a strategy to address potential Internet congestion,the report said.It had also not even checked into whether the public or even other federal agencies would cooperate, GAO said.The report gives the impression that there is potentially a single solution to Internet congestion that DHS could achieve if it were to develop an appropriate strategy,DHS's Jerald Levine retorted in a letter to the GAO.An expectation of unlimited Internet access during a pandemic is not realistic,he added.(editing by Philip Barbara)

China's overcapacity: A waste but not a mortal danger Mon Oct 26, 2009 4:49pm EDT By Alan Wheatley, China Economics Editor - Analysis

BEIJING (Reuters) - At the start of the decade, perhaps only one family in three in Oufang village was growing citrus trees. They earned a good living until five years ago nearly all their neighbors piled in and started planting.The result has been predictable.There are too many oranges here. Nobody wants them and we can't sell them,said one of the growers, Peng Xiaomin.Peng, 27, who has posted an advertisement on a fruit website to try to sell his oranges, said the villagers were now just scraping by.The farmers have planted too many citrus trees,he said.Development has just been too fast.Oufang, in southern Jiangxi province, is a microcosm of China's economy: overcapacity blights an array of sectors, notably in heavy industries that are dominated by state-owned enterprises.By diverting capital from areas in dire need like health and education, unproductive investment is a drag on Chinese living standards. If manufacturers dump their excess production abroad, trade strains flare up.But is the problem serious enough to warrant all the government hand-wringing lately? Yolanda Fernandez-Lommen, an economist with the Asian Development Bank in Beijing, said excess capacity represents an opportunity cost for China, which could put the resources to better use in, say, the stunted services sector.Overcapacity is a reminder that the economy is now mature enough for China to start looking into new sources of growth,she said. But when I think of the risks facing the economy, overcapacity is not high on the list.

AN OLD STORY

For a start, the problem is not new.Excess capacity is almost hard-wired into China's economic model of industrialization based on high levels of public investment. With a host of factors suppressing spending, surplus savings are channeled to state-owned firms that gorge on cheap capital and subsidized inputs.For their part, private entrepreneurs have a gold-rush mentality, plunging headlong into the hot sectors of the day. Solar panels and electric bikes come to mind. Grabbing market share by swamping the competition, not by building brands, is the usual approach. Excess capacity is the usual outcome.We need to know that overcapacity is a necessary evil of market competition. Socialist central planning economies were marked with shortages, while capitalist economies are frequently haunted by overcapacities,Ting Lu, an economist with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in a recent note.At the macro level, profitability, sales growth and returns on investment do not suggest a serious overcapacity problem, according to some economists.The six sectors targeted in the latest government drive to curb blind expansion -- steel, cement, flat glass, chemically processed coal, polysilicon and wind turbines -- account for just five percent of total fixed asset investment, Lu noted.Doomsayers warn that it is only a matter of time before excess capacity leads to a wave of bankruptcies and sour loans.But Mingchun Sun, Nomura's chief China economist, sees things differently. Projects in the pipeline from the government's 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) fiscal stimulus as well as a revival of private capital spending could propel growth in fixed asset investment, now running at 33.4 percent, to 38 percent or higher in the first half of 2010.By then, investment demand for capital goods, raw materials and energy could be so strong that even upstream sectors with overcapacity now may experience very high capacity utilisation, or even shortages,he said.

ACCIDENT PREVENTION

Optimists also cite the composition of the pump-priming package as evidence that Beijing is at last getting serious about tackling structural defects in the economy -- including the innate tendency to create too much capacity.The lion's share of the stimulus has gone to areas where it is needed. In the first three quarters, investment in infrastructure rose by 52.6 percent from a year earlier; in railways, by 87.5 percent; in health, social security and social welfare, by 72.9 percent, according to government figures.True, parallel programs of incentives and tax breaks have boosted sales of cars and household appliances, but economists say little of the stimulus money has gone into manufacturing.There was concern when the fiscal stimulus was launched that a lot would go into sectors with overcapacity and that we'd get oversupply and deflation. But it hasn't,said Fernandez-Lommen at the ADB.

This is not to say that all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds. Chinese manufacturing is crying out for consolidation -- not for the 26.9 percent expansion in capacity recorded in the first three quarters.China, for example, makes as much steel as the next eight producers combined. The runaway rate of expansion looks like an accident waiting to happen.International experience tells us that it is very important to avoid exporting overcapacity -- steel, shipbuilding, chemicals, etc -- to prevent trade frictions that harm the political atmosphere and interrupt supply chains,said Joerg Wuttke, president of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China.A root cause of the problem is that local governments forced to attract tax-generating investment, even if there is surplus capacity nationwide, because they are starved of revenue from other sources. Unlike the United States and most of Europe, for example, China does not levy local property taxes.So getting local party chiefs to toe the line on overcapacity will be a tall order for the central government, which has struggled down the ages to impose its will on distant provinces.Implementation depends on local authorities, and it will not be easy,said Ken Peng, Citigroup's economist in Beijing.(Additional reporting by Niu Shuping; Editing by Mathew Veedon)

Rich may evolve into separate species-The super-rich may evolve into a separate species entirely in the future due to enhancements in biotechnology and robotic engineering, American futurologist Paul Saffo has said.By Amy Willis 9:19PM GMT 25 Oct 2009

The rich could all be cyborgs in the future. Mr Saffo, from San Francisco, says in the future people will be able to grow their own replacement organs, take specially tailored drugs, and use genetic research tools to alert them from any possible hereditary health dangers.He adds that tomorrow's world will be a fusion of biology and technology, where robots do the chores, cars drive themselves and artificial limbs are better than real ones.Futurologist predicts the trends that will shape the next 50 yearsMr Saffo's comments reflect claims by American scientist Ray Kurzweil who only a few months ago said immortality was only 20 years away due to the speed of advancements in nanotechnology.But Mr Saffo says these improvements would only be affordable to the super-rich. And because of this, he says, advancements may lead to a divide between the classes and eventually could lead to the super-rich evolving into a different species entirely, leaving his not-so-rich counterpart behind. In the 1980s it was the personal computer - came out of the garage, changed the world. In the 1990s it was the web. The next big device to wander into our lives is robots, he told the Sunday Times.We may find we are absolutely dependent upon these electronic insects and that we don't even know we are dependent upon them until something breaks.I sometimes wonder if the very rich can live, on average, 20 years longer than the poor. That's 20 more years of earning and saving. Think about wealth and power and the advantages that you pass on to your children.

Germany takes heat for EU decision on Uzbek arms embargo
ANDREW RETTMAN Today OCT 27,09 @ 17:53 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU ministers have lifted an arms embargo on Uzbekistan in a decision that has little to do with human rights and a lot to do with German military co-operation with the Central Asian dictatorship, analysts believe. The EU statement on Tuesday (27 October) said the union is seriously concerned about human rights abuses in Uzbekistan and would assess progress in EU-Uzbek relations one year down the line, while scrapping the arms ban.The embargo was imposed in 2005 after Uzbek soldiers machine-gunned hundreds of civilians. Tashkent has refused to hold an enquiry. It continues to put political opponents in jail, torture prisoners and force children to pick cotton.Germany says the arms move was an EU decision, not a German initiative, and that the Netherlands was the only country to voice reluctance. But Berlin made clear early on in the sanctions review process that it would not support prolongation of the embargo, which required a consensus of 27 EU states to go through.The Brussels-based NGO, the International Crisis Group (ICG), has taken Germany to task over its position, saying it has worked to unravel EU sanctions on Uzbekistan since 2005 in order to ensure that it keeps its military base in Termez, in the south of the country.The Termez base, which supplies German soldiers in the Kunduz region of Afghanistan, grew in strategic importance earlier this year after Taliban fighters began attacks on German units in Kunduz and cut off another supply route via Tajikistan.

Berlin has acted as a public relations firm for the Uzbek regime every step of the way,International Crisis Group spokesman Andrew Stroehlein told EUobserver.Termez is playing heavily on their minds. They want to be seen as a leader on Central Asia policy in the EU and this base is important for their political self-esteem, to help them see themselves as a prominent player on the international scene.The same day that the EU dropped the Uzbekistan arms embargo, it imposed an arms ban on the Republic of Guinea, in Africa, for a similar massacre in September in which 157 people died. But the Uzbek decision risks undermining the impact of the Guinea move, observers say.The EU is sending out the message: If we apply sanctions, don't take them too seriously, because if you have a protector in one of the big EU countries, you can get them lifted.It's good news for dictators,Mr Stroehlein said.Finnish liberal MEP Heidi Hautala, who chairs the EU parliament's sub-committee on human rights, added: The signal to all other authoritarian regimes is clear: we speak but do not really care about your human rights if our economic and strategic interests are at stake.

Symbolic value

The Uzbekistan arms embargo was a largely symbolic measure.Even prior to its imposition in 2005, Germany sold very little military equipment to Uzbekistan. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, some German firms began to export surplus parts for army trucks and dual-use technology, such as gadgets used to intercept people's mobile phone conversations.I doubt there are lots of deals waiting to be made now, maybe some more telecommunications equipment, that's imaginable,Otfried Nassauer, an expert at the Berlin Information-center for Transatlantic Security (BITS), an arms-control NGO, said.Mr Nassauer noted that the new German government coalition last Friday said in its manifesto that it would change its code of conduct on arms sales in order to fit in with EU norms.The German code is currently tougher than the EU code, however, which says export licences should be declined only in the case of a serious breach of human rights. The new coalition will scrap our code in the name of a level playing field, to go down to the EU level,Mr Nassauer said.Germany in 2007, in the latest data available, sold over €270,000 worth of military goods to Turkmenistan, another Central Asian regime with an egregious human rights record, despite its in-house rules.