ISRAEL-IRAN EYEBALL AT NUKE CONFERENCE

WE AS CHRISTIANS SHOULD HAVE OUR OWN SINGLE CURRENCY ON OUR GOLD AND SILVER COINS.A PICTURE OF JESUS MEETING US IN THE CLOUDS AT THE RAPTURE.
(EU OBSERVER PICTURE)



WITH THE GODLESS WORLD CRYING FOR A SINGLE CURRENCY,WE CHRISTIANS SHOULD HAVE OUR OWN SALUTE TO KING JESUS CURRENCY.OUR GOLD AND SILVER COINS SHOULD BE A IMMANANT REMINDER OF THE RAPTURE.HAVING ON THEM A PICTURE OF KING JESUS MEETING US IN THE CLOUDS AND TAKING US TO HEAVEN FOR THE 7 YEARS OF THE TRIBULATION PERIOD.UNTIL LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS GOLD AND SILVER WILL BE WORTHLESS WE AS CHRISTIANS MIGHT AS WELL HAVE OUR CHRISTIAN CURRENCY TO OUR GOD (KING JESUS)INSTEAD OF THE WORLD.I HAD A DREAM OF A GOLD COIN WITH JESUS ON IT THATS WHY I SUGGEST THIS TODAY.

EU states envisage new foreign policy giant-The paper envisages a final proposal on the shape of the diplomatic corps by April 2010 (Photo: ec.europa.eu)ANDREW RETTMAN Today OCT 23,09 @ 15:08 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU's new foreign minister will have sweeping powers to conduct foreign policy, propose his own budget and name his own staff independently of other EU institutions, according to the latest EU presidency blueprint. The 10-page Swedish report - obtained by EUobserver - was submitted to EU ambassadors on Thursday (22 October) and represents a synthesis of Stockholm's consultations with the other 26 EU capitals in recent weeks.The post of EU foreign minister or high representative for foreign affairs and a new EU diplomatic corps or European External Action Service (EEAS) are to be created following the entry into life of the EU's Lisbon Treaty.The Swedish paper envisages a minister in charge of a unique sui generis institution with its own section in the EU budget alongside the European Commission, the EU parliament and the Council, the Brussels-based secretariat which prepares regular meetings of EU ministers.The foreign minister is to propose how much money he needs each year, authorise spending, appoint his own staff and take charge of the European Commission's existing delegations across the world. The new institution is to manage general foreign relations as well as EU security and defence projects, such as the police missions in Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia and Afghanistan or any future peacekeeping operations in, for example, Africa. It is also set to take charge of the Situation Centre, the EU member states' intelligence-sharing hub in Brussels.The EU diplomatic corps will not be responsible for trade, development or enlargement policy, which are to stay European Commission domains. But it is to have internal cells dealing with developing countries and enlargement candidates which will "play a leading role in the strategic decision-making" on commission programmes such as the European Development Fund.

No free rein

The new foreign policy giant will be lashed down to earth by a series of little strings, however.The foreign minister is to prepare foreign policy initiatives. But decisions are to be made by EU member states at intergovernmental level, while the commission is to play an extensive role in the technical implementation of any projects. Member states' own embassies will continue to provide diplomatic and consular protection for EU citizens abroad.Any initiatives which intrude on the commission's trade, enlargement or development work are to be prepared jointly by the foreign minister and the commissioner in charge of the portfolio and adopted by the college of commissioners.

The European Parliament is also to play a modest role.

The High Representative should regularly consult the European Parliament on the main aspects and the basic choices of the CSFP/CSDP [EU foreign and security policy]. Close contacts with the European Parliament will take place at working level, the Swedish text says.

Balancing act

In terms of staffing, the diplomatic corps is to suck in people from the commission, member states' foreign ministries and the Council. One third of senior or AD level staff is to come from member states.People are to be hired keeping in mind the need to maintain geographic balance across the EU and gender balance. Staff will be rotated into the EEAS and then back out into their old jobs. And diplomats from EU states will temporarily become EU officials on equal pay and perks to colleagues from Brussels.The Swedish paper envisages the EU foreign minister making a final proposal on the shape of the EEAS by April 2010. The new institution should reach full cruising speed by 2012 and undergo a thorough review in 2014.

Klaus strikes positive note on EU treaty deal
HONOR MAHONY Today OCT 23,09 @ 13:15 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Czech President Vaclav Klaus has backed away from a major dispute with other EU leaders by indicating that he is satisfied with a proposal to modify the Lisbon Treaty following a last minute demand he made last week.Mr Klaus' surprise request - viewed with some exasperation in other EU capitals - concerned obtaining an opt-out from a rights charter contained in the treaty. The president argued the charter would expose the Czech Republic to property claims by ethnic Germans expelled from the country after World War II.It came on top of his long-standing refusal to sign off the Lisbon Treaty, an act that would complete ratification of the document in the Czech Republic and allow the new institutional rules to come into force across the 27 nation European Union.On Friday (23 October), just a week before the EU leaders will gather in Brussels for a summit they are hoping will concentrate on the immediate institutional implications of putting the treaty into force, Mr Klaus said he was satisfied with a proposal put forward by the Swedish EU presidency, in charge of negotiations.The president ...received the Swedish presidency's proposal which is a response to his request related to the Lisbon Treaty ratification in the Czech Republic, Mr Klaus's office said in a statement.This proposal corresponds to what the president has envisioned and it is possible to work with it further.

For its part, Stockholm said it welcomed the latest comments from Prague.The presidency will continue to work with this in view of next week's European Council, said Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt.In order for ratification to proceed, the treaty must also be approved by the Czech constitutional court which is looking at its compatibility with national law. It is due to have a hearing on the challenge on Tuesday (27 October) with a ruling expected shortly afterwards. The judges are expected to come out in favour of the treaty having done so in a similar but narrower challenge last year, a move that would free the way for signature by Mr Klaus.The Czech president, a strong eurosceptic who loathes the Lisbon Treaty, has worried national capitals because of his unpredictability. The charter opt-out request, made earlier this month, took other member states by surprise.However, Mr Klaus appears to have finally decided that the Lisbon Treaty battle is lost, recently telling Czech Daily Lidovy Noviny that:The train carrying the treaty is going so fast and it's so far that it can't be stopped or returned ...No matter how much some of us would want that.

EU budget overhaul draft causes anger in regions
VALENTINA POP Today OCT 23,09 @ 07:01 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – A draft commission proposal on shifting the EU's main budgetary allocations from regional aid and common agricultural policy to jobs, climate change and foreign policy has caused a stir among the top beneficiaries of the current budget.The draft, dated 8 October and seen by EUobserver, is prefaced by the head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, and is meant to serve as basis for discussions on the next multi-annual budget from 2014 on.The document makes the case for three new axes establishing a direct link between Mr Barroso's outlined policy priorities – jobs, climate change and foreign policy – and EU expenditure. A more competitive approach to community funding is promoted, focusing only on projects which really have an impact on research and technology, on greening the economy or on creating jobs.Currently, regional and agricultural policy account for the two biggest slices of the community budget, amounting to some 78 percent of total expenditure.Without floating any figures or percentages, the draft makes the case for a further reduction of the agricultural budget and for scrapping the regional aid for wealthy regions.Under the current provisions, regions with above 75 percent of the EU's per capita gross domestic product qualify for the so-called competitiveness objective, meaning they still get regional funding, but for making their economies more attractive rather than investing in infrastructure and administrative capacity.In the current budget, some 80 percent of the regional envelope goes to poorer regions, 13 percent to the well-off ones and the rest to cross-border cooperation.

The considerable administrative costs of a set-up which channels funding from well-off member states to well-off regions, without generating appropriate levels of added value compared with national funding are generally ignored,the draft points out.One suggestion is to have a so-called sunset clause in place to reduce support for member states which have failed to progress and to limit the expectation of continuing support for those member states which have achieved a reasonable degree of prosperity.Another would be to link the regional aid to the length of EU membership, a move that would disqualify current top beneficiaries such as Greece or Spain. None of these ideas, however, are likely to fly once put forward to member states.The 'convergence' threshold is so sacred to some regions in the older member states, that they purposely keep their economies below or just around 75 percent of the GDP average in order to qualify for the EU funds, one Spanish official admitted in a conversation with this website.With regard to the reform of the agricultural policy, the commission says it should stimulate a further significant reduction in the overall share of the EU budget devoted to agriculture, freeing up spending for new EU priorities.One of these new priorities is a so-called European framework programme for climate and energy, which would beef up the allocation for environment and streamline other policies in regards to climate change adaptation. Regional and agricultural expenditures, for instance, should both be climate proofed and aligned to national emission targets. The draft also foresees substantial budgetary implications for the EU if the climate summit in Copenhagen reaches an ambitious agreement, for instance in allocating resources for developing countries in reaching their targets. Investments energy infrastructure are also high on the agenda of the commission, both inside the EU – connecting national grids and pipelines – but also in neighbouring countries.Another major change in the EU budget is likely to happen once the bloc's own diplomatic corps is set, after the Lisbon Treaty comes into force. Currently, external policy expenditure accounts for six percent of the total EU budget.

Regions losing confidence in commission-The draft proposal caused grave concern in the Assembly of European Regions (AER), a network of 270 regions from and outside the EU.We are at a loss to fathom why those that would be most affected by the draft communication's proposals – Europe's regions – appear to be the last stakeholders to have found out about them,Michele Sabban, president of AER wrote in an open letter to Mr Barroso.A re-think of the commission's regional policy is ironic, Ms Sabban says, as it comes only one year after starting to implement the 2007-2013 funding period – the first time when regional, not agricultural policy, is the largest EU expenditure.How can Europe's regions have confidence in a Commission that considers overhauling a policy in the first stages of implementation? she asks.The proposals also raised the eyebrow of the European parliament's budgetary committee chair, French Conservative MEP Alain Lamassoure, who asked the responsible commissioner for clarifications on this matter. A commission spokeswoman declined to comment on what she described work in progress and told this website the final proposals would be tabled by the end of the year to the European Parliament and EU ministers. The current budgetary framework ends in December 2013. Last time around, EU leaders repeatedly failed to reach an agreement over the next budget perspective. It was only at the very last moment, under British EU presidency and after intensive mediation work done by Angela Merkel, that the leaders finally agreed on a deal in December 2005.It was then in May 2006, just before summer recess, that an inter-institutional agreement between EU member states, commission and parliament was reached, so that the new framework could be adopted in time for coming into force on 1 January 2007.

ECB joins chorus attacking EU hedge fund plans
ANDREW WILLIS Today OCT 23,09 @ 09:12 CET

The European Central Bank has added its name to the extensive list of critics of EU plans to clamp down on the hedge fund sector, saying over-regulation could drive the industry out of Europe. The European Commission came forward with a draft directive before the summer to improve regulation of the hedge fund and private equity sectors, with the proposals currently being studied by the European Parliament and member states.Canary wharf, London: The city's mayor believes EU plans threaten the financial powerhouse (Photo: Malabarista Lunar)But in a statement published on its website, the ECB says that while it favours stepping up the rules for the lightly regulated sector, the new measures must be mirrored in other countries around the world or else firms in Europe will simply move.An internationally co-ordinated response is necessary given the highly international nature of the industry and the consequent risks of regulatory arbitrage and evasion,said the ECB. The ECB urges the commission to continue the dialogue with its international partners, in particular the United States, to ensure a globally coherent regulatory and supervisory framework,it added.The commission plans call for the registration and regulation of all alternative investment funds.The funds would be obliged to disclose information on the types of assets it invests in as well as provide details on their use of short selling, one of the tactics blamed for exacerbating the financial crisis.

Non-EU fund managers would also be obliged to comply with the rules if they wished to sell their products within the bloc. But consensus is growing amongst bankers and EU officials that the commission's one-size-fits-all approach for all types of funds is too simplistic and needs alteration. The Swedish EU presidency aims to have some level of agreement on the plans by the end of the year, but a full vote in the European Parliament is unlikely before the second half of 2010.Prominent Socialists such as MEP Poul Nyrup Rasmussen have attacked the commission proposals as being too weak, while the industry itself has been lobbying hard to have them watered down.
London's mayor, Boris Johnson, visited Brussels last month in an attempt to seek terms more favourable to the EU's financial capital.

CZAR WARS Sunstein urges: Abolish marriage Adviser compares institution to country club membership October 23, 2009 12:30 am Eastern By Aaron Klein 2009 WorldNetDaily Cass Sunstein

The U.S. government should abolish its sanctioning of marriage, argued Cass Sunstein, President Obama's regulatory czar. Sunstein proposed that the concept of marriage should become privatized, with the state only granting civil union contracts to couples wishing to enter into an agreement.Sunstein explained marriage licensing is unnecessary, pointing out people stay committed to organizations like country clubs and homeowner associations without any government interference.Under our proposal, the word marriage would no longer appear in any laws, and marriage licenses would no longer be offered or recognized by any level of government,wrote Sunstein and co-author Richard Thaler in their 2008 book, Nudge: Improving decisions about health, wealth and happiness.In the book – obtained and reviewed by WND – Sunstein explains his approach would ensure that the only legal status states would confer on couples would be a civil union, which would be a domestic partnership agreement between any two people.He proposed marriage not be recognized by the government. Marriages would instead be strictly private matters, performed by religious and other private organizations,he wrote. Governments would not be asked to endorse any particular relationships by conferring on them the term marriage, added Sunstein.Sunstein slammed current government recognition of marriage as an official license scheme.When the state grants marriage it gives both maternal and symbolic benefits to the couples it recognizes. But why combine the two functions? And what is added by the term marriage? he asked. Sunstein explained terminating the issuance of state marriage contracts would not affect the commitments of those in the partnership.People take their private commitments serious, Sunstein wrote. Members of religious organizations, homeowners' associations, and country clubs all feel bound, sometimes quite strongly, by the structures and rules of such organizations.

Take organs from helpless patients

Sunstein's proposal regarding marriage is hardly the only controversial section of his book. WND reported last week that in the same book, Sunstein defended the possibility of removing organs from terminally ill patients without their permission.He also strongly pushed for the removal of organs from deceased individuals who did not explicitly consent to becoming organ donors.Sunstein and Thaler discussed multiple legal scenarios regarding organ donation. One possibility presented in the book, termed by Sunstein as routine removal, posits that the state owns the rights to body parts of people who are dead or in certain hopeless conditions, and it can remove their organs without asking anyone's permission.Though it may sound grotesque, routine removal is not impossible to defend, wrote Sunstein. In theory, it would save lives, and it would do so without intruding on anyone who has any prospect for life.Sunstein continued: Although this approach is not used comprehensively by any state, many states do use the rule for corneas (which can be transplanted to give some blind patients sight). In some states, medical examiners performing autopsies are permitted to remove corneas without asking anyone's permission.Sunstein's example of medical examiners removing corneas, however, applies only to patients who are already declared deceased.

After defending the position, Sunstein conceded the routine removal approach violates a generally accepted principle, which is that within broad limits, individuals should be able to decide what is to be done with and to their bodies.Still, Sunstein did not add that the removal of organs from a living individual should be banned. Also in the same book, CNSNews.com previously noted Sunstein argued for removing organs from deceased patients who are not registered as organ donors, a policy not without precedent. Spain and some European Union countries have been debating accepting a law of implied consent.Writes Sunstein:A policy that can pass libertarian muster by our standards is called presumed consent.
Presumed consent preserves freedom of choice, but it is different from explicit consent because it shifts the default rule,he writes.Under this policy, all citizens would be presumed to be consenting donors, but they would have the opportunity to register their unwillingness to donate, and they could do so easily. We want to underline the word easily, because the harder it is to register your unwillingness to participate, the less libertarian the policy becomes.Sunstein continues: Although presumed consent is an extremely effective way to increase the supply of organs available for transplant, it may not be an easy sell politically. Some will object to the idea of presuming anything when it comes to such a sensitive matter. We are not sure that these objections are convincing, but this is surely a domain in which forced choosing, or what is referred to in this domain as mandated choice, has considerable appeal.Sunstein advocates making it mandatory for all citizens to register either as an organ donor or as unwilling to donate their organs. Mandated choice could be implemented through a simple addition to the driver's license registration scheme used in many states. With mandated choice, renewal of your driver's license would be accompanied by a requirement that you check a box stating your organ donation preferences. Your application would not be accepted unless you had checked one of the boxes. The options might include yes, willing to donate and no, unwilling to donate.

Government must fund abortion

Sunstein is not shy about his view concerning rights to life or abortion.WND reported that in his 1993 book The Partial Constitution Sunstein argued the government should be required to fund abortion in cases such as rape or incest. I have argued that the Constitution ... forbids government from refusing to pay the expenses of abortion in cases of rape or incest, at least if government pays for childbirth in such cases,Sunstein wrote.The Obama czar asserts that funding only childbirth but not abortion has the precise consequence of turning women into involuntary incubators.Sunstein argues that refusing to fund abortion would require poor women to be breeders,while co-opting women's bodies in the service of third parties– referring to fetuses.Sunstein wrote he has no problem with forcing taxpayers to fund abortions even if they morally object to their money being used for such a purpose.He wrote: There would be no tension with the establishment clause if people with religious or other objections were forced to pay for that procedure (abortion). Indeed, taxpayers are often forced to pay for things – national defense, welfare, certain forms of art, and others – to which they have powerful moral and even religious objections.

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.

Erratic typhoon keeps Philippines on edge By HRVOJE HRANJSKI, Associated Press Writer – OCT 23,09

MANILA, Philippines – Living up to its name, Typhoon Lupit — meaning cruel in Filipino — zigzagged around the rain-soaked northern Philippines on Friday, keeping weary residents on edge and forecasters guessing about its next move.The third successive storm in a month has been hovering for several days near the coast and inland mountains, sending thousands to seek shelter following two back-to-back typhoons that killed nearly 1,000 people, most of them buried in dozens of mudslides.

Lupit's erratic direction baffled forecasters and frustrated the local media who kept predicting its landfall every day. The weather bureau said in a nationally televised briefing Thursday evening that Lupit would ram into northeastern Cagayan province early Friday.After crawling for the last two days, it barreled on course to hit shore then stalled again Friday, delaying landfall by another day — or two, or three, said chief forecaster Nathaniel Cruz.The reason is two high-pressure areas that sandwiched Lupit from the South China Sea in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the east, each pulling the storm in its direction, Cruz said.Typhoons usually slice through the northern Philippines from the Pacific and exit through the South China Sea. The archipelago nation, known as the welcome mat for typhoons, gets about 20 a year during the rainy season from June to December.Lupit weakened overnight and was packing winds of 75 miles (120 kilometers) per hour and gusts of up to 93 mph (150 kph), Cruz said. It was still a dangerous system that could drench the north of the main island of Luzon on the heels of the worst flooding in the Philippines in 40 years.Tropical Storm Ketsana on Sept. 26 inundated much of the capital, Manila, and surrounding areas, including the country's largest Lake Laguna, killing 464 people. It was followed by Typhoon Parma, which unleashed mudslides along the Cordillera mountain range Oct. 3, leaving 465 dead.For the past week, army troops and disaster-relief officials have ferried tons of canned food and clothes and moved rubber boats and helicopters along the coast and the interior.At least 1,500 residents living along the Cagayan River and its tributaries were moved to high ground, said provincial Gov. Alvaro Antonio. Another 1,000 people left their homes in Appari township, including some 200 after a wave surge collapsed a 65-feet (20-meter) high sea wall in San Antonio village early this week.

Hurricane Neki treks across the central Pacific AccuWeather Thu Oct 22, 10:57 am ET

HONOLULU – Hurricane Neki continues its trudge across the central Pacific with little change in strength expected over the next day.Neki is a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 115 mph.The hurricane was centered Thursday morning about 525 miles west of Honolulu, moving to the north-northeast near 10 mph.
The storm isn't expected to threaten Hawaii, but a hurricane warning has been issued for part of a marine conservation area northwest of the islands.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

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

EARTHQUAKES

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:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) 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.

Strong earthquake strikes Afghanistan and Pakistan Thu Oct 22, 5:00 pm ET

KABUL – A strong earthquake centered in the towering Hindu Kush mountains shook a wide area of eastern Afghanistan and Pakistan early Friday, swaying buildings in the Afghan and Pakistani capitals.There were no initial reports of damage or casualties from the quake, which struck about 12:21 a.m. Afghan time (1951 GMT, 3:51 p.m. EDT Thursday).However, the temblor was centered in a remote mountain area where communications are poor and reports of casualties take time to reach the capital.The earthquake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and was centered in the mountains about 167 miles (268 kilometers) northeast of Kabul and 140 miles (230 kilometers) west of Mingaora, Pakistan, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Buildings shook in the Pakistani cities of Peshawar and the capital Islamabad, and the quake was felt as far east as Lahore near the Indian border, Pakistani television stations reported.

The Afghan Interior Ministry said it had no immediate reports of deaths or damage.

Paul Caruso, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey, said that even though the quake was centered in a remote area, casualties were still possible given the size of the temblor. Caruso said Friday's quake was felt as far away as New Delhi, the Indian capital.Caruso said the area is capable of producing large earthquakes because of the compression created when what is now India slammed against the Asian continent millions of years ago.He said the largest quake recorded in that area was 7.8 on March 14, 1965.

DISEASES

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

CDC concedes vaccine production behind schedule Wed Oct 21, 1:56 pm ET

WASHINGTON – A top-ranking official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says production of a vaccine for swine flu virus is behind schedule and people should take precautionary steps to prevent its spread.Dr. Anne Schuchat (SHU'-kit) said more vaccine is coming out every day but production isn't where it was expected to be at this juncture. Interviewed on CBS's The Early Show Wednesday, Schuchat said we wish we had more vaccine, but unfortunately the virus and the production of the vaccine aren't really cooperating.For people anxious about getting their vaccinations, she said officials expect widespread availability by mid-November. Schuchat heads the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

WHO: Nearly 1 in 5 babies still missed by vaccines Wed Oct 21, 9:04 am ET

WASHINGTON – A record 106 million infants were vaccinated last year against life-threatening diseases, but nearly 1 in 5 babies still aren't fully protected, global health authorities reported Wednesday.To get the full round of first-year vaccinations to children in the poorest countries will take another $1 billion a year, says the report from the World Health Organization, UNICEF and World Bank.Most of the unprotected babies are in Asia and Africa, particularly in rural or strife-torn areas that are difficult for aid workers to reach.It's a good investment, the report argued. Vaccination is preventing 2.5 million child deaths a year. But if 90 percent of the world's children under age 5 got the vaccinations that are routine in wealthy countries, another 2 million deaths a year could be prevented by 2015.We must overcome the divide that separates rich from poor, between those who get lifesaving vaccines and those who don't,said Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of the WHO.The report suggests that overcoming that gap may be a bigger challenge in coming years: In 2000, the world was spending, on average, $6 per live birth on vaccinations in developing countries. That's expected to be $18 by next year and could rise above $30 as newer, more expensive vaccines become available.

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.

Ethiopia seeks urgent food aid for 6 million By ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 22, 1:22 pm ET

NAIROBI, Kenya – Ethiopia said Thursday it needs emergency food aid for 6.2 million people, an appeal that comes 25 years after a devastating famine compounded by communist policies killed 1 million and prompted one of the largest charity campaigns in history.The crisis stems from a prolonged drought that has hit much of the Horn of Africa, including Kenya and Somalia.Drought is especially disastrous in Ethiopia because more than 80 percent of people live off the land. Agriculture drives the economy, accounting for half of all domestic production and most exports.

Mitiku Kassa, Ethiopia's state minister for agriculture and rural development, appealed to donors Thursday for more than $121 million. In January, he had said that 4.9 million of Ethiopia's 85 million people needed emergency food aid.Ethiopia has long struggled with cyclical droughts, which are compounded by the country's dependence on rain-fed agriculture and archaic farming practices.In 1984, Ethiopia's famine drew international attention as news reports showed emaciated children and adults with limbs as thin as sticks. The crisis launched one of the biggest global charity campaigns in history, including the concert Live Aid.This year's drought appears to be slightly less severe than the one last year, which was exacerbated by high food prices. A year ago, Mitiku appealed for aid to feed 6.4 million people affected by drought. Many humanitarian groups have said in recent years that they believe the number of people affected by hunger is higher than government estimates.

Because of Ethiopia's large size and poor infrastructure, independent observers have difficulty collecting data. The worst-affected areas in the country's east are the site of a fierce insurgency and are off-limits to journalists. Aid groups say their movements in these areas are limited by military restrictions.Nick Martlew, an official with the aid group Oxfam in Ethiopia, said the country's east should be green and healthy now, but that crops are wilting in the sun and won't produce a sufficient amount of food.Really until June next year there is going to be insufficient food around,he said.Where we are in eastern Ethiopia you can look out and it's completely barren as far as the eye can see.Drought and water shortages are also increasing in Ethiopia's south because of a changing climate, Martlew said. Oxfam is helping villages collect rain water for long-term use.In a report marking 25years since Ethiopia's famine, Oxfam said countries must focus on preparing communities to prevent and deal with drought and other disasters before they strike, rather than relying on importing aid.According to the U.N., nearly two-thirds of Africa's agricultural land has been degraded by erosion and misused pesticides. In Ethiopia, where bad farming practices have led to massive erosion, 85 percent of land is damaged.The current humanitarian situation underlines our belief that while food aid — much of it donated by foreign donors — is important and can save lives, we need greater funding for longer-term solutions, which can begin to tackle the underlying causes that make people so vulnerable to disasters,said Oxfam's Ethiopia country director, Waleed Rauf.In eastern Ethiopia's Hararge zone, the scene of some of the worst hunger and drought-related suffering last year, health official Aliye Youya said few infants had come in to the main feeding center for treatment. A new initiative by the Ethiopian government to put health workers in every neighborhood has helped, he said.But he said he was still concerned about the lack of rain in some areas.(A month ago) there was no rain, especially in the lowland areas, he said.But nowadays there is some rain. The drought is affecting the lowland areas.
Associated Press writer Anita Powell in Johannesburg contributed to this report.

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

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

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

Largest US sting on drug cartel arrests 300-plus By ELLIOT SPAGAT and SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press Writers – OCT 23,09

OKLAHOMA CITY – In the largest single strike at Mexican drug operations in the U.S., authorities arrested more than 300 people in a sting that demonstrates an upstart cartel's vast reach north of the border.The tentacles of La Familia extend coast to coast and deep into America's heartland, with arrests announced Thursday in 38 cities from Boston to Seattle and from St. Paul, Minn., to Raleigh, N.C.Drug deals went down in Oklahoma parking lots, suppliers were advised to weld drugs into tire rims for transport, and in the Dallas and Seattle areas, dozens of children were removed from houses where authorities found drugs, guns or cash derived from drug sales.Perhaps more than any other cartel, La Familia projects a Robin Hood image. The Drug Enforcement Administration said the group is philosophically opposed to the sale of methamphetamine to Mexicans, and instead supports its export to the United States for consumption by Americans.Mexican police say the gang uses religion and family morals to recruit. The gang has hung banners in towns saying they do not tolerate drug use, or attacks on women or children.One of the gang's alleged recruiters, detained last spring, ran drug rehabilitation centers, helping addicts to recover and then forcing them to work for the drug gang or be killed, according to Mexico Public Safety Secretary Genaro Garcia Luna.La Familia is rarely mentioned in the same breath as the handful of other Mexican gangs that control the flow of drugs into the United States, fueled by Colombian cocaine suppliers. The Sinaloa, Juarez, Gulf and Tijuana cartels have roots that go back many years, even decades.

But in its short history, La Familia is believed to have emerged as the biggest supplier of methamphetamine to the United States and, increasingly, a peddler of cocaine, marijuana and other drugs.Complaints that were unsealed across the country portray an organization that spread deep into Middle America, down to small-time sales.In Colorado, authorities seized 8 kilograms of cocaine, 3 pounds of methamphetamine and $313,785.A federal grand jury has indicted 11 members or associates of La Familia from the Western Slope in Colorado, and six of them have been arrested so far, prosecutors said.In Oklahoma, authorities seized about 20 pounds of methamphetamine, two pounds of cocaine, six weapons and several thousand dollars. They identified Ruben Garcia, 29, as a major supplier in the northeast part of the state.Agents spotted Garcia and his partners dealing drugs over several months at restaurants, grocery stores and Wal-Mart parking lots in the Tulsa area, according to court documents. In one tapped phone call Oct. 9, Garcia counseled a supplier in Mexico who helped arrange a shipment in McAllen, Texas, that the easiest way to smuggle drugs is welded inside tire rims of vehicles.

Court records do not list an attorney for Garcia.

In North Carolina, targeted cells operated from the Raleigh area to the eastern cities of Rocky Mount and Greenville, a region with a large Hispanic population to help the targets blend in and quick access to three interstate highways. They made four arrests Wednesday but totaled 49 arrests over the past year.In Nashville, after more than a year of surveillance, agents converged on a home when two people arrived in a Toyota Camry from Atlanta Aug. 14, according to a complaint. A search of the vehicle discovered hidden compartments that contained nine similarly wrapped packages, each of which were the size of a kilogram of cocaine.One package tested positive for cocaine.Inside the home, agents found drug ledgers, a money counter and a loaded pistol. At another home, they found about 50 pounds of marijuana, several loaded handguns and two bulletproof vests.Texas Child Protective Services removed 20 children from houses in the Dallas area when authorities executed 44 search warrants, said James Capra, the DEA's special agent in charge in Dallas. All the homes where children were found had drugs, guns or cash derived from drug sales. The sting reached into small towns hundreds of miles from Mexico.Nine arrests were made in Monroe, Wash., with a population of about 16,000 and home to the state's largest prison about 25 miles northeast of Seattle. None seemed to be doing any retail drug dealing, Monroe police Cmdr. Steve Clopp said.I would say that they were well-integrated members of the community,Clopp said.A lot of them keep up the everyday appearance of work and family.In the Inland Empire, a cluster of east Los Angeles suburbs where 25 people were arrested and 156 pounds of methamphetamine seized, most suspects are illegal immigrants from Mexico who came to the United States to work for La Familia, said Stephen Azzam, DEA assistant special agent in charge in Riverside, Calif.Methamphetamine was shipped from the Inland Empire, an area with three interstate highways, to cities including Atlanta and Chicago, Azzam said.

La Familia is known as unusually violent, even by Mexico's standards.After the arrest of one of its leaders in July in Mexico, the cartel launched an offensive against federal forces, killing 18 police officers and two soldiers over a weekend. In the worst attack, 12 federal agents were slain and their tortured bodies piled along a roadside as a warning for all to see.They are one of the most violent, if not the most violent, cartel in Mexico right now,said Michael Braun, who retired as the DEA's chief of operations last year.La Familia operates methamphetamine superlabs in Mexico that produce up to 100 pounds of the drug in eight hours, a sharp contrast to small-time labs in the United States that have supplied American addicts, said Braun.The organization was founded around 2004 and really took off in 2006, Braun said.The arrests in places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Los Angeles suggest that its U.S. distribution network is sophisticated, said Scott Stewart, an analyst at the Stratfor consultancy in Austin, Texas, who follows the Mexican drug trade.Those are beautiful interstate (highway) hubs,Stewart said.It's looking they have ramped up very quickly.Associated Press writers Mike Baker in Raleigh, N.C., Julie Watson in Mexico City, Rochelle Hines in Oklahoma City, Travis Loller in Nashville, Tenn., Tim Klass in Seattle, Danny Robbins in Dallas and Gillian Flaccus in San Bernardino, Calif. contributed to this report. Spagat reported from San Diego.

ISRAEL-US WAR GAMES
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/133997

Thousands of Israeli, American Soldiers begin Juniper Cobra by Maayana Miskin

(IsraelNN.com) More than 2,000 officers and soldiers from the Israeli and American armies began a joint military exercise on Thursday morning. The drill, titled Juniper Cobra,is being conducted for the fifth time since 2001, and will focus on defensive measures against ground-to-ground missiles. Air, land, and sea forces from both the Israeli and United States militaries are taking part in the exercise. IDF Brigadier-General Doron Gavish said the exercise would not include aggressive maneuvers. Gavish spoke at a joint press conference with U.S. Rear Admiral John Richardson.Both Gavish and Richardson denied that the exercise was connected to recent international events, including concerns of a missile threat facing Europe and talks between Western powers and Iran over the latter country's nuclear program. The drill is the fifth of its kind, and has been in the works for a year and a half. It is not in any way tied to current regional developments,Gavish said.While the exercise was not planned in response to recent threats, the lessons learned may be implemented in developing situations, Richardson said. This exercise is not directly related to recent announcement about ballistic missile defense in Europe, but the lessons and the insights that we gain from this exercise will certainly relate to developing that capability,he explained.

Most importantly,he said,we will advance the trust and the confidence in the relationship between our two forces.Richardson: Israel Can Defend Itself
In response to a question from the press, Richardson said he is confident that Israel is capable of defending its citizens. Calling the IDF a highly capable force, Richardson expressed confidence that the Israeli military can handle whatever challenges it faces without outside help.

Expert: Iran Buying Time with Shoddy Deal
by Gil Ronen OCT 22,09

(IsraelNN.com) Dr. Emily Landau, Head of Weapons Control Project at the Institute for National Security Studies, said in an interview with Arutz Sheva that the U.S., Russia and France's agreement to a deal with Iran in which 75 percent of its uranium will be enriched outside the country allows Iran to buy more time.If you take a look at the arrangement, which has not yet been ratified, then it is true that 75 percent of the uranium will be transferred to Russia and France, but Iran on its end has not committed to stop its enrichment activity at Natanz, so even if the delivery of enriched uranium outside Iran decreases the stockpile in its possession, it could replenish it in less than a year's time.

Iranian success
The fact that such an shoddy arrangement with Iran is being set up will prevent the West from conducting effective negotiations that could halt the nuclear project, she said. Iran has actually succeeded now in defle I do not see a possibility for Israel to act in the middle of a diplomatic move.acting the world's attention from the main problem for which the talks were started on October 1 2009, namely – Iran's continued enrichment of uranium and its possible achievement of military nuclear capability in the foreseeable future. Iran, meanwhile, continues to enrich additional uranium, and even if this is done in small quantities, in the end they will succeed in replenishing their stocks. There was no statement in this arrangement calling for them to stop the activity.Iran has received greater legitimacy now, Landau said. According to this arrangement, the Iranians are now only receiving a stamp of approval for the fact that they are enriching uranium. Beyond that it needs to be said that all of these small steps that talk of a certain level of cooperation with Iran will only lower the West's motivation to fight Iran. If in the past they were talking about sanctions agsint Iran, now they are not even talking about that. This arrangement only lowers the tension. US President Obama decided on a certain direction of diplomacy, and that is why he is now trying to show that he has accomplished something, but he is stepping into a trap because he is losing in the big picture.Israel has no choice now but to let the diplomatic process play itself out, Landau opined. We need to wait and see what the US will do now. Israel can express its opinion in talks with the Americans, but as far as military action, I do not see a possibility for Israel to act in the middle of a diplomatic move.

Iran, Israel eyeball at Mideast nuke conference By STEVE WEIZMAN and SALAH NASRAWI, Associated Press Writers – Thu Oct 22, 3:48 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israel and Iran took part in an international conference on nuclear disarmament last month in Egypt — a gathering that is now prompting media reports the two foes held direct discussions that included an awkward exchange on whether the Jewish state has atomic weapons.An Israeli official confirmed Thursday the two sides attended the conference but denied they talked face-to-face. Iran also denied any direct meetings, which would be unheard of between the arch enemies.However, Australia's The Age newspaper quoted participants as saying that the rivals had a very robust exchange during the two-day event in the Egyptian capital. Israel's Haaretz daily also reported Thursday the two sides met.The meeting was held by the International Commission on Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, set up by the governments of Australia and Japan to probe ideas on how to cut the world's nuclear arms stockpile ahead of a U.N. conference on the subject next year.According to Haaretz, Israeli delegate Meirav Zafary-Odiz, chief for policy and arms control for the Israel Atomic Energy Commission, said at the Cairo gathering that Israel would only be prepared to discuss a Mideast nuclear freeze at some future date when the region is at peace.Iran's representative, Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, meanwhile, asked Zafary-Odiz point-blank if Israel has nuclear weapons, the paper said. It quoted eyewitnesses as saying she smiled but did not respond.Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear arms, though it refuses to confirm or deny it. Iran denies international allegations it's secretly trying to develop nuclear weapons.Israel Atomic Energy Commission spokeswoman Yael Doron said on Thursday that both countries stated their positions on disarmament separately during the gathering in Egypt.The two sides did not meet or speak to one another directly,she said.

The Web site of Iranian state TV quoted the spokesman of its atomic energy organization as calling reports of talks a sheer and baseless lie.The reports, Ali Shirzadian said, are a psychological war meant to affect Iran's successful diplomacy in international nuclear talks.Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that Israeli and Iranian diplomats often attend international meetings, though it is rare for them to have any interaction, even indirect.We attend a big number of international meetings and conferences. At most of them, there are Iranian representatives,he said.Israel-based Iran analyst Meir Javedanfar said that Iran's Science Minister Mohammad Mehdi Zahedi met with the then Israeli science minister Raleb Majadele last year in Jordan.Also, Israel and Iran are both members of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.Delegates from Saudi Arabia, Russia, China, India, the United States, France and Britain were among the 24participants at the Cairo conference.Iran is currently considering an internationally backed plan to ship its uranium to Russia for enrichment in a move seen as possible first toward blocking Iran's ability to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Israel's defense minister, Ehud Barak, spoke skeptically of the potential agreement on Thursday. In the first official Israeli comment on the plan, Barak said that the understanding, if signed, will delay Iran's nuclear program by only a year and will not foil what he called the country's real plan to achieve nuclear capability.Barak spoke at a conference in Jerusalem on Thursday.Nasrawi reported from Cairo. Associated Press Writer Nasser Karimi contributed to this report from Tehran, Iran.

Iranian lawmaker rejects nuke deal to ship uranium By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 22, 3:45 pm ET

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's deputy parliament speaker on Thursday dismissed an internationally backed draft plan to have Tehran ship its uranium abroad for enrichment, the official IRNA news agency reported.The remarks by Mohammad Reza Bahonar were the first reaction in Tehran on the proposal, presented Wednesday after three days of talks between Iran and world powers in the Austrian capital, Vienna.
The plan is seen by the international community as a way to curb Iran's ability to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran is expected to decide by Friday on whether to approve the plan that calls for shipping Iran's uranium to Russia for enrichment to a level that renders it suitable as nuclear fuel for energy production — not for nuclear weapons.The United States demanded Iran ship uranium abroad, in return for getting fuel back, Bahonar said, according to IRNA. But Iran does not accept this.Iran's parliament will not vote on the draft plan, and Bahonar does not speak for the government, which is to decide on the matter.But it's unclear if his comments could reflect high-level resistance to the deal or the opinions of some influential politicians in Iran.There has been no response so far to the offer from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, or President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.The proposal may meet resistance by some Iranian leaders because it weakens Iran's control over its stockpiles of nuclear fuel and could be perceived as a concession to the United States, which took part in the Vienna talks with France and Russia.In Washington, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said that although some in Iran may disagree with the proposal, the U.S. government was waiting to hear the government's final decision Friday.I'm sure there are a lot of voices in Tehran right now, but we're going to wait for that authoritative answer tomorrow,said Kelly, who has called the draft agreement a very positive step.In Jerusalem, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak expressed skepticism of the agreement in the country's first official comments. He said the plan, if signed, would delay Iran's nuclear program by only a year and will not foil what he called the country's real plan to achieve nuclear capability.Under the Vienna-brokered draft, Iran is required to send 1.2 tons of low-enriched uranium to Russia in one batch by the end of this year, French Foreign Ministry spokesman Bernard Valero said Thursday.After further enrichment in Russia, the uranium will be converted into fuel rods that would be returned to Iran for use in an aging reactor used for medical research. Valero said France would be the one making that conversion.

France is an active party to this accord,Valero said, stressing that Paris is still a player in the proposal despite Iranian criticism of any French role in the plan earlier this week.Valero, in an online briefing, also said the proposal drafted in Vienna allows Iran to pursue production of radioisotopes for medical purposes while constituting a useful gesture that could contribute to reducing tensions over the nuclear issue.Iran needs 20 percent-enriched uranium for its Tehran plant, which has been producing radioisotopes for medical purposes over the past decades.Iran is currently producing fuel at a 3.5 percent enrichment rate for a nuclear power plant built by Russia that is scheduled to begin operations before the end of the year. The head of Iran's atomic energy department, Ali Akbar Salehi, said in an interview with a local paper Tuesday that purchasing fuel for the older reactor makes more economic sense than further enriching its own uranium domestically. But Iranian officials have reiterated that the country will not give up its right to uranium enrichment, suggesting it plans to keep its enrichment facilities active, an assurance against fears that the fuel supply from abroad could be cut off. Associated Press Writer Angela Charlton contributed to this report from Paris.

Biden says shorter-range missiles threaten Europe By ALINA WOLFE MURRAY, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 22, 1:33 pm ET

BUCHAREST, Romania – U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that Europe was threatened by medium and short-range missiles and a new missile defense system would help protect it.Biden was presenting a revamped U.S. missile shield replacing a scrapped Bush-era project that would have placed 10 interceptor missiles in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic to intercept long-range missiles from Iran. His one-day visit to Bucharest was part of a swing through eastern Europe designed to reassure Poland, Romania and the Czech Republic — all staunch U.S. allies — that America's commitment to the region remains strong.The Obama plan would include SM-3 anti-ballistic missiles at a former air base in the Polish town of Redzikowo, the same site that was to host U.S. missile interceptors in underground silos under the Bush plan.Moscow perceives the new plan as less threatening because it would not initially involve interceptors capable of shooting down Russia's intercontinental ballistic missiles, experts say.Biden denied that the new approach was to appease Russia at the expense of Central European countries. He said the U.S. would never make a deal involving central European states without consulting them. Biden traveled to the Czech Republic later Thursday.Biden also called on the countries of eastern Europe to use their experience to help former Soviet republics to build greater democracy, saying the U.S. would support their efforts.Speaking to an audience political leaders and students at Bucharest University, Biden paid tribute to the revolutions of 1989 that toppled communism in the former Soviet satellites.

The example you set...inspired the world,he said.You can help guide Moldova, Georgia, Ukraine...Armenia, Azerbaijan and Belarus... Your leadership must be bold and your voices loud.But he also warned about a new season of challenges facing the world today, naming the economic crisis, security threats, ethnic tensions, the uncertainties of energy and water supplies.Associated Press writer Alison Mutler in Bucharest contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/site/14081545/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI OCT 23,2009

09:30 AM +4.57
10:00 AM +11.79
10:30 AM -31.82
11:00 AM -76.25
11:30 AM -98.32
12:00 PM -77.09
12:30 PM -84.27
01:00 PM -84.27
01:30 PM -129.31
02:00 PM -115.40
02:30 PM -107.85
03:00 PM -124.70
03:30 PM -122.89
04:00 PM -109.13 9972.18

S&P 500 1079.60 -13.31

NASDAQ 2154.47 -10.82

GOLD 1,055.60 -3.00

OIL 79.65 -1.54

TSE 300 11,382.13 -151.24

CDNX 1333.91 -0.28

S&P/TSX/60 676.67 -10.06

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +14.87%
S&P +21.00%
Nasdaq +37.30%
TSX Advances 781,declines 755,unchanged 230,Volume 441,550,443.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 392,Declines 557,Unchanged 333,Volume 275,804,447.

Dow +11 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -128 points at low today.
Dow +11 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,066.50.OIL opens at $81.19 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -128 points at low today so far.
Dow +11 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 1,000,declines 2,593,unchanged 97,New Highs 216,New Lows 32.
Volume 2,260,405,453.
NASDAQ Advances 676,declines 1,858,unchanged 92,New highs 91,New Lows 12.
Volume 1,077,319,297.
TSX Advances 556,declines 741,unchanged 244,Volume 223,746,541.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 359,Declines 329,Unchanged 307,Volume 129,059,436.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -167 points at low today.
Dow +11 points at high today.
Dow -1.08% today Volume 305,672,768.
Nasdaq -0.50% today Volume 2,352,534,832.
S&P 500 -1.22% today Volume N/A

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +13.63%
S&P +19.52%
Nasdaq +36.62%
TSX Advances 635,declines 915,unchanged 241,Volume 444,468,988.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 500,Declines 443,Unchanged 374,Volume 270,505,503.

GERALD CELENTE ON JONES YESTERDAY AND JULY 23,09
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=feCcFZglUAM&feature=player_embedded
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US unveils broad effort to limit executive pay By MARTIN CRUTSINGER and STEVENSON JACOBS, AP Economics Writer – Thu Oct 22, 7:46 pm ET

WASHINGTON – The government zeroed in on corporate excess and recklessness Thursday with deep, unprecedented cuts in executive compensation at companies living on taxpayer money and a move to wield veto power over pay policy at thousands of banks to limit risk-taking.The Treasury Department ordered seven big companies that haven't repaid their government bailout money to cut their top executives' average total compensation — salary and bonuses — in half, starting in November. Under the plan, cash salaries for the top 25 highest-paid executives will be limited in most cases to $500,000 and, in most cases, perks will be capped at $25,000.The Federal Reserve came at the issue from another direction. It proposed to monitor pay packages at thousands of banks — even those that never received bailout money — to ensure they don't encourage reckless gambles.Neither plan, though, is expected to kill Wall Street's culture of lavish pay. The Fed proposal doesn't set specific limits on executive compensation, so it's unclear how it would actually affect pay. And the Treasury plan covers only 175 people, with the pay limits lasting only until the companies repay what they received from the $700 billion bailout fund.For the already struggling companies, it also introduces a new concern: brain drain. The executives targeted by pay czar Kenneth Feinberg are among the most talented and productive at their companies.These people are considered the brains of the machine, said Steven Hall, who runs an executive compensation firm bearing his name.They are who can pull you through the tough times. This will give them reason to leave.

The Treasury plan is limited to the seven bailed-out companies — Bank of America Corp., American International Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., General Motors, GMAC, Chrysler and Chrysler Financial. The Fed's proposal is much broader in scope, covering nearly 6,000 banks and a wider range of employees — from executives to traders to loan officers.Rather than set pay levels at specific banks, the Fed would review — and could veto — pay policies. The plan is subject to a 30-day public comment period.David Yermack, a finance professor at the Stern School of Business at New York University, called Treasury's pay curbs a symbolic act.I think the government is trying to make examples of some banks and hoping others will follow, Yermack said.I think that's naive. Wall Street bankers and traders are motivated by money, and they're going to work for whoever pays them the most.He predicted the seven firms would find ways to bypass the curbs through implicit promises that aren't written in contracts.They could say to someone, I'll give you a really big bonus three or four years from now. Just be patient,Yermack said. There's an understanding that if you play the game, you'll be taken care of. That's been going on as long as there have been businesses, and Feinberg isn't going to be able to stop that.Feinberg restructured the pay packages for top executives to provide a base salary and a portion described as stock salary.The employees must hold the stock for two years. They can then sell only one-third of the stock payment each year for three years.Feinberg said his goal was to tie compensation more closely to the long-term performance of the company.

In one pay plan, the three highest earners at Citigroup will receive a base salary of $475,000. Each executive also will be paid between $5.6 million and $5.8 million in company stock to be redeemed beginning in 2011. The third category of long-term restricted stock will equal $3 million for each executive.The Feinberg plan provides an escape clause that might let some executives avoid the restrictions: It says the rules allow for exceptions where necessary to retain talent and protect taxpayer interests.According to Feinberg, base salaries above $1 million were approved for the new CEO of AIG, and for two employees of Chrysler Financial.Under a package approved by Feinberg over the summer, AIG CEO Robert Benmosche will get a pay package of about $10.5 million.Feinberg became pay czar earlier this year as Congress was responding to outrage about huge bonuses being paid to AIG. Lawmakers amended the bailout law to require that executive compensation at companies getting exceptional assistance be curbed. Feinberg has been reviewing compensation packages since August.President Barack Obama welcomed Treasury's decision and urged Congress to pass legislation to give shareholders a voice in executive pay packages.It does offend our values when executives of big financial firms that are struggling pay themselves huge bonuses even as they rely on extraordinary assistance to stay afloat,Obama said.In an interview with CNBC, Feinberg was asked if he thought the restrictions would influence pay at other Wall Street firms outside his authority.

I hope so, but that would be voluntary,he said.It's not the government's business.
Some observers said the changes could have a broader influence on pay beyond the seven companies.It's going to put them in a position of having to be more aggressive in defending their arrangements now that you've got an alternative out there that's been blessed by the government,said Mark Borges, a principal with Compensia, a Northern California compensation consulting firm.It's also possible the restrictions could help govern pay at the thousands of banks that would be affected by the Fed's plan, said Charles Elson, director of the University of Delaware's Weinberg Center for Corporate Governance.It's highly probable that the Fed could use this as a model in their own guidelines, and yes, I think that would have a significant impact on pay,he said.Some analysts saw the potential for restrictions to backfire. Yermack said linking pay to long-term incentives like deferred stock can encourage more excessive risk-taking, not less.If you want people to take more risks, pay them more in stock,he said.It holds out the possibility of very big gains in a way that fixed contracts do not.Others said the restrictions reinforced what many financial observers see as a banking system divided between the haves and have-nots. They wondered whether pay caps could jeopardize taxpayer money by making it harder for bailed-out firms to retain and hire top talent.You have got the companies that are unencumbered and can offer anyone anything they want, and you've got the other companies that are stuck with what they have,said David Schmidt, a senior consultant on executive pay at James F. Reda & Associates.It creates a bit of a dilemma in banks' efforts to repay taxpayers.A Bank of America spokesman complained that the restrictions would hurt its competitiveness.Competitors not subject to the pay restrictions already are exploiting this situation by identifying our top performers and using pay concerns to recruit them away for fair market compensation,spokesman Scott Silvestri said.

GM said it will adopt the compensation changes outlined by Feinberg by shifting its pay packages toward non-cash compensation tied to company performance.CEO Fritz Henderson's base salary was cut 30 percent to about $1.3 million earlier this year when GM accepted government loans. Henderson received compensation valued at about $8.7 million in 2008, but much of that included stock and options that now are nearly worthless due to GM's bankruptcy filing.Chrysler Group LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne and other Fiat executives who work for both Chrysler and Fiat were exempted from the pay cuts as part of the agreement with the U.S. government to take over management control of Chrysler.Executives who work solely for Chrysler could be affected, but many of the top earners under Chrysler's former owner have left the company.Under the Fed proposal, the 28 biggest banks would develop their own plans to make sure compensation doesn't spur undue risk-taking. If the Fed approves, the plan would be adopted and bank supervisors would monitor compliance.At smaller banks — where compensation is typically less — Fed supervisors will conduct reviews. Those banks don't have to submit plans.The Fed refused to identify the 28 banks that will have to submit plans. But Citigroup, Bank of America and Wells Fargo & Co. are usually included on such lists. Nearly 6,000 banks regulated by the Fed would be covered.Jacobs reported from New York. Associated Press Writers Daniel Wagner, Jeannine Aversa, Ken Thomas, Jim Kuhnhenn and Marcy Gordon in Washington, Ieva M. Augstums in Charlotte, N.C., and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Stocks rise as financial, consumer stocks gain By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer – Thu Oct 22, 6:02 pm ET

NEW YORK – Investors encouraged by a good batch of earnings reports and forecasts jumped back into stocks after a two-day slide.Stocks posted big gains Thursday as investors snapped up financial shares after several banks said they weren't seeing as many loans go bad. The market extended its advance in afternoon trading when Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said it expects sales to grow this year and increase at a faster pace next year.The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 132 points and logged the biggest gain of major indexes after Wal-Mart's forecast and as several companies included in the indicator reported earnings that beat expectations.The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index advanced the least among major indicators following a disappointing forecast from online retailer eBay Inc.Tech stocks could get a lift Friday following Amazon.com Inc.'s report that its third-quarter earnings jumped 62 percent. The online retailer brought in more revenue than expected and said it expects sales will continue to grow. The company's report arrived after markets closed, and its shares jumped 15 percent in late trading after ticking up only 3 cents during the day.Consumer stocks rose after Wal-Mart said it expects sales to increase 1 to 2 percent this year and 4 to 6 percent next year. The nation's largest retailer also said it would focus on emerging markets when opening stores. Meanwhile, clothing retailer J. Crew Group Inc. raised its earnings forecast because of stronger sales and profit margins.Financial stocks rose after PNC Financial Services Group Inc. and Fifth Third Bancorp each said that bad loans weren't piling up as fast as they had been. Financials had pulled the market lower Wednesday after an analyst took issue with a profit report at Wells Fargo & Co.Dow components Travelers Cos., McDonald's Corp., 3M Co. and AT&T Inc. posted stronger results than analysts had forecast.

Adam Gould, senior portfolio manager at Direxion Funds in New York, said the market's bounce on the Wal-Mart forecast illustrates how difficult it is to keep stocks down and allow those who missed the seven-month run to buy shares at lower prices.People have wanted to see some type of correction but whenever any earnings come out and beat and whenever any economic news comes out that is decent, the market rallies,he said.The Dow rose 131.95, or 1.3 percent, to 10,081.31. The index is 11 points below its highest close of the year, which it reached on Monday.The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.51, or 1.1 percent, to 1,092.91. The Nasdaq rose 14.56, or 0.7 percent, to 2,165.29.Two stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 5.3 billion shares compared with 5.7 billion Wednesday.Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.42 percent from 3.39 percent late Wednesday.

Mixed economic and earnings reports signal that the economy remains in flux.

The Labor Department said workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time rose more than expected last week. New claims rose to 531,000 last week from 520,000 the previous week.Separately, a private forecast of economic activity rose for the sixth straight month in September. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators rose 1 percent last month after a 0.4 percent gain in August.
Jeffrey Beamer, Portfolio Manager of Lacerte Capital in Dallas, said earnings reports showing improved profits but still-weak revenue raise questions about whether the market can hold its gains. Cost-cutting, he noted, can only help so much.You may look great this quarter but what are you going to do in the coming quarters,Beamer said.If the earnings aren't just really solid we could get a decent pullback here.The S&P 500 index is up 61.6 percent from a 12-year low in March. Wal-Mart slipped 15 cents to $50.48, while J. Crew jumped $5.75, or 15.2 percent, to $43.49.PNC Financial rose $5.69, or 12.7 percent, to $50.65 and Fifth Third rose 69 cents, or 6.8 percent, to $10.80.Travelers, the insurer, rose $3.68, or 7.7 percent, to $51.70, while McDonald's advanced $1.17, or 2 percent, to $59.50. Manufacturer 3M advanced $2.46, or 3.2 percent, to $78.79, while AT&T rose 16 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $26.10.Crude fell 18 cents to settle at $81.19 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, while gold fell.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 8.27, or 1.4 percent, to 613.38.Overseas markets fell after Wednesday's slide in U.S. stocks. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1 percent, Germany's DAX index dropped 1.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1.4 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 0.6 percent.

Feds designate polar bear habitat in Alaska By MATTHEW DALY, Associated Press Writer – OCT 22,09

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration said Thursday it is designating more than 200,000 square miles in Alaska and off its coast as critical habitat for polar bears, an action that could add restrictions to future offshore drilling for oil and gas.Federal law prohibits agencies from taking actions that may adversely affect critical habitat and interfere with polar bear recovery.Assistant Interior Secretary Tom Strickland called the habitat designation a step in the right direction to help polar bears stave off extinction, while recognizing that the greatest threat to the bear is the melting of Arctic sea ice caused by climate change.As we move forward with a comprehensive energy and climate strategy, we will continue to work to protect the polar bear and its fragile environment, Strickland said at a news conference.The total area proposed for critical habitat designation would cover about 200,541 square miles — about half in the rugged Chukchi Sea off Alaska's northwest coast. About 93 percent of the area proposed for the polar bear is sea ice, with the remaining 7 percent made up of barrier islands or land-based dens of snow and ice.Designation as critical habitat would not, in itself, bar oil or gas development, but would make consideration of the effect on polar bears and their habitat an explicit part of any government-approved activity.Thursday's announcement starts a 60-day public comment period, with a final rule expected next year. Interior faces a June 30 deadline for critical habitat designation under terms of a settlement agreement between the government and three environmental groups.The Bush administration last year declared polar bears threatened,or likely to become endangered. The May 2008 order by then-Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne cited the bear's need for sea ice, the dramatic loss of such ice in recent decades and computer models that suggest sea ice is likely to recede further in the future.

Environmental groups hailed the habitat announcement, but noted that it came in the same week that the Interior Department approved a plan by a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell to drill exploratory wells on two leases in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska's north coast. The proposed drilling sites are within the area proposed for critical habitat designation.If polar bears are to survive in a rapidly melting Arctic, we need to protect their critical habitat, not turn it into a polluted industrial zone,said Brendan Cummings, a lawyer with the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, which filed a lawsuit in the polar bear case.Cummings called the Interior Department schizophrenic — on the one hand declaring its intent to protect polar bear habitat in the Arctic, yet at the same time sacrificing that habitat to feed our unsustainable addiction to oil.The announcement comes one day after the state of Alaska filed a new complaint in its effort to overturn the listing of the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.Former Gov. Sarah Palin filed suit last year, saying that Interior did not respond to the state's concerns in a timely manner before listing the polar bears as threatened. State officials say the listing could cripple offshore oil and gas development in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, which provide prime habitat for the polar bears.Gov. Sean Parnell, who succeeded Palin upon her resignation last summer, said the Endangered Species Act was being used as a way to shut down resource development along Alaska's northern coast. Parnell said he does not intend to let that happen.

Environmental groups monitoring the Arctic have long complained that federal regulators routinely grant permits for petroleum exploration without adequately considering consequences for whales, polar bears, walrus and other marine mammals. They say boats, drilling platforms and aircraft will add to bears' stress by causing them to flee and expend more energy.Conservation groups also say oil companies have not demonstrated they can clean up an oil spill in broken ice. Cleanup off Alaska's coast could be slowed by extreme cold, moving ice, high wind and low visibility.
Andrew Wetzler of the Natural Resources Defense Council said designation of critical habitat is a powerful tool to protect threatened species, but said more must be done to save the polar bear from extinction.On the Net: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: http://www.fws.gov/

Poll: US belief in global warming is cooling By DINA CAPPIELLO, Associated Press Writer – OCT 22,09

WASHINGTON – Americans seem to be cooling toward global warming.Just 57 percent think there is solid evidence the world is getting warmer, down 20 points in just three years, a new poll says. And the share of people who believe pollution caused by humans is causing temperatures to rise has also taken a dip, even as the U.S. and world forums gear up for possible action against climate change.In a poll of 1,500 adults by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, released Thursday, the number of people saying there is strong scientific evidence that the Earth has gotten warmer over the past few decades is down from 71 percent in April of last year and from 77 percent when Pew started asking the question in 2006. The number of people who see the situation as a serious problem also has declined.The steepest drop has occurred during the past year, as Congress and the Obama administration have taken steps to control heat-trapping emissions for the first time and international negotiations for a new treaty to slow global warming have been under way. At the same time, there has been mounting scientific evidence of climate change — from melting ice caps to the world's oceans hitting the highest monthly recorded temperatures this summer.The poll was released a day after 18 scientific organizations wrote Congress to reaffirm the consensus behind global warming. A federal government report Thursday found that global warming is upsetting the Arctic's thermostat.Only about a third, or 36 percent of the respondents, feel that human activities — such as pollution from power plants, factories and automobiles — are behind a temperature increase. That's down from 47 percent from 2006 through last year's poll.The priority that people give to pollution and environmental concerns and a whole host of other issues is down because of the economy and because of the focus on other things,suggested Andrew Kohut, the director of the research center, which conducted the poll from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4.When the focus is on other things, people forget and see these issues as less grave.Andrew Weaver, a professor of climate analysis at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, said politics could be drowning out scientific awareness.It's a combination of poor communication by scientists, a lousy summer in the Eastern United States, people mixing up weather and climate and a full-court press by public relations firms and lobby groups trying to instill a sense of uncertainty and confusion in the public,he said.

Political breakdowns in the survey underscore how tough it could be to enact a law limiting pollution emissions blamed for warming. While three-quarters of Democrats believe the evidence of a warming planet is solid, and nearly half believe the problem is serious, far fewer conservative and moderate Democrats see the problem as grave. Fifty-seven percent of Republicans say there is no solid evidence of global warming, up from 31 percent in early 2007.Though there are exceptions, the vast majority of scientists agree that global warming is occurring and that the primary cause is a buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels, such as oil and coal.Jane Lubchenco, head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told a business group meeting at the White House Thursday:The science is pretty clear that the climate challenge before us is very real. We're already seeing impacts of climate change in our own backyards.Despite misgivings about the science, half the respondents still say they support limits on greenhouse gases, even if they could lead to higher energy prices. And a majority — 56 percent — feel the United States should join other countries in setting standards to address global climate change.But many of the supporters of reducing pollution have heard little to nothing about cap-and-trade, the main mechanism for reducing greenhouse gases favored by the White House and central to legislation passed by the House and a bill the Senate will take up next week.Under cap-and-trade, a price is put on each ton of pollution, and businesses can buy and sell permits to meet emissions limits.Perhaps the most interesting finding in this poll ... is that the more Americans learn about cap-and-trade, the more they oppose cap-and-trade,said Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., who opposes the Senate bill and has questioned global warming science.

Regional as well as political differences were detected in the polling.

People living in the Midwest and mountainous areas of the West are far less likely to view global warming as a serious problem and to support limits on greenhouse gases than those in the Northeast and on the West Coast. Both the House and Senate bills have been drafted by Democratic lawmakers from Massachusetts and California.
One of those lawmakers, Sen. Barbara Boxer of California, told reporters Thursday that she was happy with the results, given the interests and industry groups fighting the bill.Today, to get 57 percent saying that the climate is warming is good, because today everybody is grumpy about everything,Boxer said.Science will win the day in America. Science always wins the day.Earlier polls, from different organizations, have not detected a growing skepticism about the science behind global warming.Since 1997, the percentage of Americans that believe the Earth is heating up has remained constant — at around 80 percent — in polling done by Jon Krosnick of Stanford University. Krosnick, who has been conducting surveys on attitudes about global warming since 1993, was surprised by the Pew results.He described the decline in the Pew results as implausible,saying there is nothing that could have caused it.The poll's margin of error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.Associated Press writers Seth Borenstein and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.On the Net:The Pew Research Center for the People & the Press: http://www.people-press.org

India: Climate deal can't sacrifice poor nations By RAVI NESSMAN, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 22, 10:10 am ET

NEW DELHI – Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Thursday that the world's poor nations will not sacrifice their development in negotiations for a new climate change deal.The issue of how to share the burden of fighting global warming has divided the developing and industrialized worlds as they prepare to negotiate a replacement to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol at a December summit in Copenhagen.Developing countries cannot and will not compromise on development,Singh told an international conference on technology and climate change.However, even poorer countries need to "do our bit to keep our emissions footprint within levels that are sustainable and equitable,he said.Developing countries argue that the industrial world produced most of the heat-trapping greenhouse gases and should bear the costs of fixing the problem. Wealthy nations say all countries — including growing polluters India and China — have to agree to broad cuts in emissions.India and China agreed Wednesday to stand together on climate change issues at the Copenhagen meeting. The two nations agreed to work on slowing the growth of greenhouse gas emissions, but resisted making those limits binding and subject to international monitoring.Developing countries want financial aid for their climate change efforts, and Singh said wealthy nations have an obligation to ensure they get access to new, clean technology that will cut emissions and increase energy efficiency.We need technology solutions that are appropriate, affordable and effective,he said.U.N. climate chief Yvo de Boer said any agreement at Copenhagen would need to include ambitious emissions cuts for industrialized countries, limit the growth of emissions from developing nations and give significant financial support to help poor nations comply with the targets.

We have very little time remaining,he said.Scientists say warming weather will lead to widespread drought, floods, higher sea levels and worsening storms.Even a 3.6-degree-Fahrenheit (2-degree-Celsius) temperature rise could subject up to 2 billion people to water shortages by 2050, according to a 2007 report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a U.N. network of 2,000 scientists. Maldives President Mohammed Nasheed warned Thursday that developing nations would bear the brunt of environmental catastrophes caused by global warming and insisted that a new deal was essential.On the issue of climate change, there is no room for compromise, no deals, no half measures. Radical change is what's required,Nasheed told the conference.Nasheed has become a leading voice on the issue of global warming, with his low-lying Indian Ocean island nation in danger of being swamped by rising sea levels.

Can the World Agree on a Stimulus Exit Plan? By Michael Schuman / Hong Kong – Thu Oct 22, 10:45 am ET

During the dark days of the global credit crunch one year ago, policymakers around the world had a generally easy time coordinating decisions. As asset prices tanked, lending dried up and growth shriveled, governments and central banks were all forced to take similar steps - pump up fiscal spending and slash interest rates to support growth and unfreeze financial markets. Now, as an economic recovery emerges, governments are hoping for another coordinated effort to exit from their massive stimulus plans, including near-zero interest rates. That intention was clearly laid out during the September G-20 summit in Pittsburgh. The leaders of the world's 20 most influential economies pledged to withdraw our extraordinary policy support in a cooperative and coordinated way.Yet what sounds so simple on paper will be far more complicated in the real world of economic policymaking. The problem is that the upturn isn't as synchronized as the downturn. Countries are emerging from recession at different speeds with each facing its own special mix of inflationary pressures and unemployment, each of which affects decisions made on monetary and fiscal policy.We won't get the kind of coordinated response that is the rhetoric of the G-20,says Paul De Grauwe, professor of economics at the University of Leuven in Belgium. Each country is going to look at its own interests.

That possibility is already becoming a reality, as signs appear that central bank policies are beginning to diverge. On Oct. 6, Australia became the first G-20 nation to raise interest rates, hiking its key rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 3.25%. With inflation close to target and the risk of serious economic contraction in Australia now having passed,Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement, the central bank decided that it was now prudent to begin gradually lessening the stimulus provided by monetary policy.Meanwhile, in other industrialized nations still suffering from high unemployment and yawning excess capacity, policymakers are in no hurry to tighten. In the U.S., the Federal Reserve has indicated that it won't act aggressively anytime soon on its key interest rate, which remains in a zero to 0.25% range.It seems likely that the recovery will be less robust than desired,William Dudley, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, said in an early October speech.This means that the economy has significant excess slack and implies that we face meaningful downside risks to inflation over the next year or two.The Fed's key interest rate target, he added, is likely to remain exceptionally low for an extended period.A haphazard exit from stimulus measures, with countries going their separate ways, could pose its own set of problems. In this era of globalization what one government does in one corner of the world can have a knock-off effect on economies in another corner. For example, countries that raise interest rates ahead of others could end up attracting money from foreign investors seeking a higher return, potentially draining funds away from economies still badly in need of investment. Or if too many governments turn off the stimulus tap too quickly, global demand could fall sharply.An unruly rush to the exits is no better in a global financial crisis than in a crowded theater,wrote Adam Posen, a member of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee, in the Financial Times in September.

Though governments are aware of the dangers of an uncoordinated exit, they also prefer to keep their options open since they must also address domestic political concerns. That means clearly defined timeframes or targets for any exit could prove hard to achieve. The financial crisis is affecting differently every country. Every country will have to define its exit strategy in its own time,Portugal's Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos reportedly said at a conference of European Union ministers earlier this month in Sweden. I don't think that we can have a precise, or a common schedule. In my perspective, we need a flexible approach,he said.Nowhere is the policy challenge bigger than in Asia. With the region's recovery gaining pace more quickly than elsewhere, it could be the first region to face inflation pressures. In China, growth is rapidly returning to pre-crisis levels. On Oct. 22, China reported that its gross domestic product grew by a healthy 8.9% in the third quarter from the same period a year earlier. Inflation in China will rise faster than in most other major economies and will therefore justify earlier and stronger-than-expected rate hikes,wrote Jun Ma, an economist at Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong, in a September note. Concerns are also mounting that continued loose monetary policy in Asia could fuel dangerous and unstable asset price bubbles, especially in property. There has been some speculation in financial markets that South Korea's central bank could raise interest rates in coming months to cool a roaring housing market. Frederic Neumann, an economist at HSBC in Hong Kong, argues that Asian central bankers might need to hike rates by four percentage points over the next year - much more than is expected from the Fed - in order to quash inflation and asset bubbles.This is the real test for Asia: The region's central banks have to hike earlier and far more aggressively than the Federal Reserve, Neumann believes.

However, Neumann and other economists question if Asia will take such action, even if it does prove necessary. By raising rates ahead of the rest of the world, Asia could attract capital flows and put pressure on its currencies to appreciate. Stronger currencies would make Asian exports more expensive - a consequence policymakers in the region's trade-dependent economies might wish to avoid.Unless you are really forced to do something independent of the Federal Reserve, you are probably not going to go that route,says Duncan Wooldridge, an economist at UBS in Hong Kong.In the end, some economists believe that a coordinated global exit strategy, especially in regard to monetary policy, will ultimately happen, but by default. The Federal Reserve holds so much influence in the world economy that other central banks might be wary of deviating too far from its policy.The nature of the coordination is not that bankers sit around a table and do things together,says University of Leuven's De Grauwe.The nature is that some of the big guys make a move and force everyone to move.In the global recovery, as in the downturn, everyone may sink or swim together.