FRANCE MIGHT BAN HEAD SCARFS

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

We shall have World Government, whether or not we like it. The only question is whether World Government will be achieved by conquest or consent.James Paul Warburg appearing before the Senate on 7th February 1950

Like a famous WWII Belgian General,Paul Henry Spock said in 1957:We need no commission, we have already too many. What we need is a man who is great enough to be able to keep all the people in subjection to himself and to lift us out of the economic bog into which we threaten to sink. Send us such a man. Be he a god or a devil, we will accept him.And today, sadly, the world is indeed ready for such a man.

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

How many presidents does it take the to run EU? By ROBERT WIELAARD, Associated Press Writer – JAN 8,10

MADRID – Europe spent years trying to create the post of EU president. Now it has three.On Friday, the EU's three top executives took the stage together for the first time at a news conference that critics say makes a mockery of the bloc's stated goal to streamline its decision making process.Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero this month assumed the rotating EU presidency weeks after Belgian Herman Van Rompuy became the bloc's first permanent president. The EU also has another president in Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission chief.As they stood together at the Spanish leader's office complex, the three were peppered with different versions of the same question: Who, exactly, is in charge? All of them, it turns out.

In the EU there is not one man or one women who decides, said Van Rompuy.We each have a role.Perhaps, but it was all not supposed to be this way.The EU harbored lofty ambitions to give Europe a bigger voice on the world stage in forcing Europe to embrace a reform treaty that gives it a full-fledged president — despite repeated no votes in member state referendums.Now, while it's possible the EU will try to speak louder, it is doubtful its message will be heard any clearer amid a potential cacophony of leaders' voices competing for attention.With the November selection of Van Rompuy, the former Belgian prime minister, the EU ostensibly fulfilled its dream of creating an executive that would finally give the world somebody to call when it wanted to speak to Europe.But the decision by EU leaders was widely criticized. Few even in Europe had ever heard of the bland, professorial Van Rompuy — who appeared to have been picked over heavyweights like Britain's Tony Blair because he was the least offensive candidate to all.This week, a further twist became apparent: While the EU has a new permanent president it still hasn't gotten rid of its rotating six-month presidency, which Zapatero assumed on Jan. 1.Adding to the confusion is Barroso's role as European Commission president. He is responsible for running the EU's day-to-day agenda and has become accustomed to shaking important hands across Europe and in Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Brasilia and New Delhi.The rotating presidency has been an EU fixture since the late 1950s and the holder has often played a vital role in acting as an arbiter on contentious issues ranging from farm subsidies to the very contours of the EU's once ambitious reform plan.Ironically, the confusing wealth of presidents is a legacy of hard-fought reforms to overhaul EU institutions and decision-making powers after the bloc nearly doubled in size in 2004.The measures cut red tape, provided for simpler voting rules and gave the European Parliament a big say in shaping EU policies. But they also created Barroso's position and paved the way for Van Rompuy's unlikely ascension.The architects of the Lisbon Treaty — as the EU's reform blueprint is called — had envisioned the permanent EU president holding far greater clout than the EU's rotating presidency.

But this week, Zapatero put that notion to rest — making clear he has no intention of taking a back seat to Van Rompuy. We need to play our role, Zapatero said. He said it will be Van Rompuy's task to prepare and chair summit meetings of EU leaders and represent the EU abroad.But the rotating presidency, he told journalists, would be the EU's motor: It has to act as a factory of ideas and initiatives.As to Barroso, he said, it remains the job of the European Commission's job remains to guarantee compliance with the EU treaty.

Spain to push for binding EU economic goals
ANDREW WILLIS Today JAN 8,10 @ 09:06 CET

Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero has said the EU's new 10-year economic plan, set to be agreed over the coming months, should have binding goals and corrective measures for member states that do not comply. Speaking ahead of the formal inauguration of Spain's EU presidency on Thursday (7 January), Mr Zapatero also suggested that the European Commission be given new powers to police the fledgling plan, currently known as the 2020 Strategy.It is absolutely necessary for the 2020 Economic Strategy ... to take on a new nature, a binding nature, said Mr Zapatero.The Spanish leader suggested potential penalties for member states that fail to reach agreed economic targets could include cutbacks in payments from the EU budget.This is something we are going to put on the table. But I cannot preempt the outcome of the debate, said the Socialist prime minister, whose country is the first to hold the EU's six-month rotating presidency under the bloc's new Lisbon Treaty rules. The calls for greater and more co-ordinated European efforts to tackle the ailing economy stand next to Spain's domestic situation, where years of rapid expansion ended abruptly with the onset of the financial crisis and the implosion of the country's property bubble.

While remaining vague on many of the details, Mr Zapatero said a common energy policy and a common digital economy were examples of the priorities that should be included in the EU growth strategy.Our main aim is to introduce a qualitative leap in our economic union by means of new common policies, he said, pointing to the need for a greater role to be played by the commission. The Lisbon Treaty allows for more co-ordination, and for that to be truly effective, we need to equip the European Commission with new powers,said the Spanish leader, pointing to the absence of strong enforcement for the failure of the bloc's current economic plan, due to expire this year.

Outlook not bright, says Van Rompuy

EU leaders are set to discuss the bloc's economic situation and the 2020 Strategy at an informal summit on 11 February, convened by the bloc's new permanent president, Herman Van Rompuy. Speaking on Thursday at a Christian Social Union party conference in Wildbad Kreuth, Germany, Mr Van Rompuy said the bloc's long-term outlook is not bright, citing severe industrial decay in the wake of the deepest European recession since the Great Depression.The former prime minister of Belgium said the lingering effects of the crisis may include a drop in investment on a permanent basis and higher structural unemployment, adding that western Europe risked losing its industrial base.Germany is the exception, but the Benelux countries, Italy and the UK are de-industrialising rapidly,he told attendees. Mixed economic data would tend to support Mr Van Rompuy's pessimistic statements, with positive data this week on EU business confidence in December tempered by poor retail figures for November in the eurozone.

Van Rompuy makes debut at Turkey-sceptic gathering
VALENTINA POP Today JAN 8,10 @ 09:23 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Herman Van Rompuy on Thursday (7 January) delivered his first official speech as president of the EU council at a party gathering of Bavarian conservatives, just days after the group caused a stir in Turkey with a paper underlining its opposition to the country's membership of the EU.Mr Van Rompuy explained his decision to attend the conclave of the Christian-Social Union (CSU), the Bavarian sister party of Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, by saying that the EU needs thriving national democracies.Delivering a speech at a party gathering doesn't make you a party man, the centre-right Belgian politician argued, stressing that in his new EU capacity his only master to serve is the collection of EU leaders. The Bavarians had simply been quicker than other political parties to invite him, he added.The CSU party is a long-standing opponent of Turkey's full membership of the EU, with a position paper confirming its stance leaked ahead of Mr Van Rompuy's visit.The paper, published by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on Tuesday, called for an end to the painful EU accession negotiations and replacing Turkey's membership perspective with a privileged partnership.Mr Van Rompuy's speech avoided touching on the Turkey issue. He mentioned enlargement, but only in regard to Croatia and other Western Balkan countries. Turkish newspapers and politicians have decried the CSU's opposition to Ankara's EU membership bid. Mr Van Rompuy himself in 2004 said Turkey is not a part of Europe. But since being appointed EU president he has stressed that his personal opinions are irrelevant,as his job is to seek consensus among member states.

German foreign minister in Turkey

The CSU position paper caused problems for German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, who embarked this week on a tour of Muslim countries. The Liberal politician had to reassure his hosts of Germany's commitment to Turkey's EU bid, Die Welt reports. I have not come here as a tourist in shorts, but as foreign minister. What I say, counts, Mr Westerwelle said in Ankara, while underlining that his governing coalition, of which the CSU is also a member, had pledged not to block the negotiation process.Meanwhile, bickering between the Bavarian conservatives and the Liberals has prompted Ms Merkel to call for a crisis meeting this Sunday and for a fresh start for the governing coalition.

EU commissioner hearings to go ahead without staff protests
HONOR MAHONY Today JAN 8,10 @ 12:49 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The hearings of the nominee EU commissioners by MEPs next week will go ahead without disruption after European Parliament chief Jerzy Buzek indicated to staff unions that the assembly would sign up to a European Commission court case against member states over their blocking of a standard pay rise for EU officials.The secretary general of the parliament, Klaus Welle, met union officials on Thursday (7 January) to make it clear that the parliament chief supported the line of the unions.[Mr Welle] gave a very strong message to the leadership of the unions that Mr Buzek was on their side, said a spokesperson for the president.The parliament staff unions had previously threatened to disrupt the hearings of commissioners by staging protests in front of the meeting rooms if they did not get their way.They wanted a public commitment of support from Mr Buzek for the European Commission's decision last week to challenge member states before court for refusing to accept a 3.7 percent rise in pay for EU officials, instead opting for a 1.85 percent wage hike amid the ongoing economic crisis.

The annual pay adjustment for EU staff, agreed by governments in 2004, is an automatic mechanism and is based on the average of the pay for civil servants in eight member states, including France, Germany, the UK and Italy, in the previous year. This year the wage issue became headline news as some countries baulked at agreeing a wage hike while many EU citizens are having to tighten their belts.The commission, which has emphasized the legal nature of the dispute between itself and member states, on Wednesday said it would take the court route as member states were breaking EU rules. A similar case in 1973 saw the commission win. EU staff, who staged protests in December, argue that the same mechanism will likely mean that their wages go down in 2011.Tom Morgan, of the Syndicat General du Personnel des Organisations Europeennes, said unions were very happy with the parliament's support, adding that after all it is not the parliament which is the bad guy in this.As part of the commitment to the unions, Mr Buzek is next week expected to make a statement on the issue to parliament staff as well as discuss it with commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso.

French law could see fines for burqas
ANDREW RETTMAN Today JAN 8,10 @ 09:20 CET

The author of a new anti-burqa law in France has told the press he will propose €750 fines for women wearing the head-to-toe covering.Jean-Francois Cope, the leader of France's ruling centre-right UMP party, gave advance notice of the bill in an interview with Le Figaro magazine out on Thursday (7 January).He said the legislation would prohibit the covering of the face in public places and on the streets, with the exception of special cultural events or carnivals meaning that wearing a burqa would qualify for a fine, probably of the fourth class, that is to say €750.Any person forcing a woman to wear the garment would face a worse fine.

Mr Cope defended the proposals on grounds of national security and women's rights. We can measure the modernity of a society by the way it treats and respects women, he told Le Figaro.The bill is to be formally introduced in the next 15 days but will not be debated by the house until after regional elections in March. If it goes through, implementation will be phased in gradually.The French interior ministry estimates that just 1,900 women in France wear a burqa in a country home to some 5 million Muslims.Mr Cope's law has already come in for criticism from the left.The burqa is a prison for women and has no place in the French Republic. But an ad-hoc law would not have the anticipated effect, Socialist Party spokesman Benoit Hamon said on Wednesday.Some figures on the right have also come out against the scheme, with Xavier Bertrand, the secretary general of the UMP, telling French radio on Thursday that he favours a non-binding resolution condemning the garment instead.
President Nicolas Sarkozy last June said the burqa is not welcome in France but has not spoken about the law as such.France in 2004 already banned the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols, including Muslim headscarves, by pupils in state schools and by public sector workers.

http://www.wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=121310

TRAIL OF TERROR CIA bomber wanted body used as fertilizer for jihadists
Oh God, I beseech Thee that I would massacre Your enemies January 08, 2010
1:00 am Eastern By Bob Unruh © 2010 WorldNetDaily

A jihadi website posted a posthumous statement from the attacker who blew up himself and seven CIA employees in Afghanistan in which the man frets about not being a martyr and having to face judgment for his sins. I'm afraid of shameful exposure in the courts of the day of resurrection if I'm not killed by the weapon of my enemy. I'm afraid to be branded as a liar, and that my words will be the evidence for my conviction. Whenever I hear of someone who died I die, and with every illness about which I hear – I become ill,said the statement from Abu Dajana Al-Khorasani. The statement was captured from the jihadi forum site by the Middle East Media Research Institute, which has included it in a report on its subscription Jihad & Terrorism Threat Monitor report.The article,When Will My Words Drink My Blood? – I Am Now Fit For Publication,apparently was written shortly before the bomber took on his suicide mission. It is attributed to Al-Khorasani, a pen name used by Hammam Khalil al-Balawi to post jihad writings.

The bomber killed seven CIA officers and a Jordanian when a package of explosives he had strapped to his body exploded at a meeting at the CIA's Forward Operating Base Chapman in the Khost province of Afghanistan. He reportedly had been recruited by intelligence agents for Jordan and was taken to Afghanistan to act as a spy on jihadists in the region. He, however, turned out to be a double agent, launching the deadly attack on colleagues who presumed he was on their side. In the article preserved by MEMRI, the bomber wrote, I decided to avoid publishing this article, by way of precaution, in accordance with the Hadith In time of trial, seek hiding. However, the sight of the blood of Muslims in Gaza, small children, women, and powerless people, who were killed by the bombs of the brethren of apes and pigs, encouraged me to publish the article, so that it may strengthen the resolve of [even] a single Muslim in the frontlines, and that I will gain reward from Allah.

I can no longer write, and I want to be sent to early retirement. I have gone bankrupt. I have withered. I'm tired, I'm fed up. I try to write this or that article, and then, when I have written just a line or two, my words turn into something incoherent, as if I suffer from mental blindness or emotional confusion. My written lines weigh heavy on my shoulders, and my words come to besiege me whenever I close my eyes. These feelings which burden me – I can no longer bear them. I feel that my words have become pale and without effect, he continued. My heart burns to ashes because of my love for jihad. Oh, you who write about jihad and urge people to it, beware of falling in the same trap like me. What I fear most is that [when I die] I would meet a man who died as a martyr under the effect of my words, whereas I shall die in bed. This is a nightmare which makes me sleepless and it wrecks my nerves. I'm afraid that on the day of resurrection, standing before a mountain of [my] sins, I shall be asked to account for each and every one of them, and it shall be a long account, and I will be covered with sweat, while they [i.e. the martyrs] will be moving about the rooms of paradise in everlasting pleasure. One of them will say to the other: What do you say about him who used to be called Abu Dajana Al-Khurasani, who used to urge people to go to jihad? And the other one will answer: But he died in bed, a contemptible death, having stayed away from jihad. I wish for him that he had benefited by his own words. He was like a wick that burned itself to give light to the others.

He worried about the shame of not dying by an enemy's weapon.

With every passing year I grow ten years older. This is Allah's judgment regarding those who stay away from jihad… My words are going to die if I don't save them with my blood, and my emotions will be extinguished if I don't kindle them with my death. My articles will testify against me, if I don't give them the proof of my being free of hypocrisy,he wrote. It's either me or them [my articles]. The world cannot have both of us in it. One of us must die, so that the other can continue to live, and I wish it is I who shall die. By God, if the reward for martyrdom for the sake of Allah had only been forgiveness of sins and the exemption from being called to account for one's sins, I should sacrifice my property and my life for it. All the more so, since the reward includes also the uppermost paradise. How much more so since it also includes being in the company of the Prophet Muhammad. All the more so, since it includes being safe from the great anxiety [on the Day of Judgment]. All the more so, since it includes the right to intercede on behalf of seventy members of family… I looked at my extended family and counted more than 100 persons, both dead and alive, but I have not found among them any martyr, or the father, or mother, or brother of a martyr. I don't know any martyr amongst whose seventy relatives, for whom he intercedes, I can be counted. So how shouldn't I worry, and how shouldn't I be alarmed? How wouldn't my heart be shaken, since the great gate of intercession is closed in my face,he wrote. Oh God, I beseech Thee not to let me die except as a martyr for Your sake. Oh God, I beseech Thee that I would [be given the chance to] massacre Your enemies and then be killed under the ruins of a building destroyed by the Jews and the crusaders, and that the rescue people shall not take out my body, so that my corpse should turn into human fertilizer that will bring forth fruit upon which a Muslim child shall feed and become a jihad fighter when he grows up,he wrote.The Middle East Media Research Institute is an independent, non-profit organization that translates and analyzes Middle East media.

3 Malaysian churches attacked in Allah dispute By VIJAY JOSHI, Associated Press Writer - JAN 8,10

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Three churches in Malaysia were attacked with firebombs, causing extensive damage to one, as Muslims pledged Friday to prevent Christians from using the word Allah, escalating religious tensions in the multiracial country.

Many Malay Muslims, who make up 60 percent of the population, are incensed by a recent High Court decision to overturn a ban on Roman Catholics using Allah as a translation for God in the Malay-language edition of their main newspaper, the Herald.The government says Allah, an Arabic word that predates Islam, is exclusive to the faith and by extension to Malays. It refuses to make an exception, even though the Herald's Malay edition is read only by Christian indigenous tribes in the remote states of Sabah and Sarawak.At Friday prayers at two main mosques in downtown Kuala Lumpur, young worshippers carried banners and gave fiery speeches, vowing to defend Islam.We will not allow the word Allah to be inscribed in your churches, one speaker shouted into a loudspeaker at the Kampung Bahru mosque. About 50 other people carried posters reading Heresy arises from words wrongly used and Allah is only for us.Islam is above all. Every citizen must respect that, said Ahmad Johari, who attended prayers at the National Mosque.I hope the court will understand the feeling of the majority Muslims of Malaysia. We can fight to the death over this issue.The demonstrations were held inside the mosque compounds to follow a police order against protests on the streets. Participants dispersed peacefully afterward.

Malaysia is often held up as a model for other Islamic countries because of its economic development, progressive society and generally peaceful coexistence between the Malay majority and the ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities who are mostly Christians, Buddhists and Hindus.The Allah controversy, however, has the potential to shatter that carefully nurtured harmony, drive a deep racial wedge and scare away sorely needed foreign investment as the country struggles to emerge from the global financial crisis.Prime Minister Najib Razak condemned the attacks on the churches by unidentified assailants, who struck before dawn in different suburbs of Kuala Lumpur. He said the government would take whatever steps it can to prevent such acts.
Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said the country's leaders were very concerned about the situation.We don't want this to spread out into something else. ... I am not only assuring the minorities, I am assuring all Malaysians — anybody who is in Malaysia — that they are safe, he told reporters.In the first attack, the ground-level office of the three-story Metro Tabernacle Church was destroyed in a blaze set off by a firebomb thrown by attackers on motorcycles soon after midnight, police said. The worship areas on the upper two floors were undamaged and there were no injuries.Two other churches were attacked hours later, with one sustaining minor damage while the other was not damaged. Church officials had earlier said a fourth church was attacked but they later retracted the report saying they were misinformed. National police chief Musa Hassan said the report of the fourth attack was a rumor.

No arrests have been made.

The tribespeople of Sabah and Sarawak, who speak only Malay, have always referred to God as Allah, an Arabic word used not only by Muslims but also by Christians in Muslim-majority countries such as Egypt, Syria and Indonesia.Many Malaysian Muslims say its use by others would mislead people, tempting them to convert to Christianity.
Since the verdict, hateful comments and threats against Christians have been posted widely on the Internet, but this was the first time the controversy turned destructive. Kuala Lumpur police Chief Mohamad Sabtu Osman told The Associated Press that a witness saw four people on two motorcycles breaking the glass front of the Metro Tabernacle church and throwing an incendiary object inside before fleeing. He said police found a wrench, an empty gasoline can and two scorched motorcycle helmets at the scene. The backlash against the court verdict has reinforced complaints by minorities that they face institutional discrimination. They say it is almost impossible to get permission to build new churches and temples. Some Hindu temples have been demolished in the past. Court verdicts in religious disputes usually favor Muslims.Associated Press writers Julia Zappei, Sean Yoong and Eileen Ng contributed to this report.

Taiwan firm: China got Iran part with nuke uses By DEBBY WU, Associated Press Writer – Fri Jan 8, 8:47 am ET

TAIPEI, Taiwan – A Taiwanese company agreed to a request from a firm in China to procure sensitive components with nuclear uses, then shipped them to Iran, the firm's head said Friday. Such transactions violate U.N. sanctions imposed on the Middle Eastern nation.The admission by Steven Lin of Hsinchu-based Heli-Ocean Technology Co. Ltd. comes amid an international effort led by the United States to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons. While Lin said he didn't know whether the parts — a vital component in the production of weapons-grade uranium — were eventually used by Iran militarily, he did acknowledge that they have nuclear applications.U.N. sanctions to prevent Iran from expanding its uranium enrichment program have led it to the black market to obtain sophisticated nuclear-related equipment. Aided by these illegal purchases, the program has grown to the stage where thousands of centrifuges are churning out enriched material, which can be used both for fuel or as the fissile core of nuclear warheads.Iran insists that it wants to enrich uranium to generate nuclear power, but its attempts to evade probes by the International Atomic Energy Agency and its refusal to stop enrichment are increasing suspicions it actually seeks weapons capabilities.In a telephone interview with The Associated Press, Lin said he received an Internet order from a Chinese firm in January or February 2008 to obtain an unspecified number of pressure transducers, which convert pressure into analog electrical signals.While pressure transducers have many commercial uses, they furnish the precise measurements needed in the production of weapons-grade uranium.Nuclear proliferation expert David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security told the AP that Iran tried hard to procure the transducers in Europe and Canada, but was thwarted by a concerted international effort.However, he said, the existence of the Taiwanese-Chinese connection shows that Iran still has the ability to get what it needs by tapping alternative sources.

This equipment is likely for its gas centrifuge program, he said.Lin did not identify the Chinese company that placed the transducer order, except to say that it was involved in the manufacture of pipeline for the oil industry.He said that he obtained the transducers from a Swiss company, which he declined to name.Lin said that when he contacted the Swiss firm he had no idea where the transducers were heading.It was only at the last minute that the Chinese told me to send them to Iran, he said.Lin arranged for their direct transportation from Taiwan to the Middle East, he said, rather than sending them to the Chinese company first.Lin said that he didn't know what happened to the transducers after they arrived in Iran, though he acknowledged that they have an important role in the nuclear industry.I know that the (peaceful) nuclear research units in Taiwan use these things, he said.The equipment has multiple uses from semiconductors to solar energy to nuclear work.A Taiwanese government official told the AP on Friday that an official probe of the Taiwanese-Iranian transducer connection confirmed that 108 of the transducers had been sent from Taiwan to Iran at a Chinese request, but that the equipment was not precise enough to be placed on the island's export control list.The official, who was in charge of the probe, spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information. Lin apparently felt free to talk because the official investigation, launched last March, did not implicate him in any wrongdoing.

Beside being prohibited by the U.N. from pressure transducer purchases, Iran is also banned from buying them on the open market by the Nuclear Suppliers Group, an international body established to limit nuclear proliferation by controlling the export of materials that can be used in building atomic weapons. Asked about the circuitous route of the transducer transaction — from China to Taiwan to Switzerland, then back to Taiwan and finally to Iran — the Taiwanese official said that such deals were common in international trade. It is fairly common to do business through third parties, he said. He did not elaborate. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons secretly under the guise of a civilian atomic energy program, but Tehran insists its efforts are aimed only at generating electricity. Washington has been pressing both China and Russia to agree to stepped up sanctions to pressure Iran into stopping its alleged nuclear program, but so far without result. Over the past several years China has been accused of directly aiding the alleged Iranian nuclear weapons development on a number of occasions. Washington has enacted sanctions against several Chinese companies. China has denied involvement in Iran's nuclear programs. At the same time, Beijing has courted close relations with Iran, with Chinese state companies purchasing Iranian oil and investing in Iran's energy industry.

European rabbis worried over body scans
By MATTHEW WAGNER JAN 7,10

The notion that Orthodox Jewish women, diligent in covering their bodies in accordance with laws of modesty, will appear nude on the screens of full body scanners in airports across the globe has a group of European rabbis up in arms. A computer monitor displays a full-body scan during a demonstration of passenger screening technology by the Transportation Security Administration.
Photo: AP Full body scanners compromise women's modesty, announced the Rabbinical Centre of Europe in a press release Wednesday.Their implementation leaves us concerned.Nevertheless, the rabbis, who lead congregations in Milan, London, Paris and Antwerp, recognize the need to beef up security after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, tried to ignite an explosive called PETN as Northwest Flight 253 approached Detroit on Christmas morning. The rabbis, therefore, suggest a solution that would respect the religious sensibilities of Orthodox Jews, while at the same time maintaining optimal security standards.

Security theater, now playing at your airport
We would recommend that men are scanned by men, and women by women, like body frisks, they wrote.One of the European rabbis agreed to weigh in on the halachic aspects of using the scanner. I do not intend to give a halachic opinion and I do not know what actually is shown on the screen, but if it shows the female body then it could be against the laws of modesty, said Rabbi Ya'akov Schmahl, a member of Antwerp's rabbinical court. The rabbi explained that according to Jewish law it is permitted for a male doctor to treat female patients even if he touches them and sees parts of their body that are normally covered because presumably a doctor is focused on his work and is not inclined to prurience. But if women are not happy - and there are religious women who prefer not to go to male doctors - they should be allowed to be monitored by women. And men might also might not want to show themselves before women.The European spiritual leaders behind the initiative include Rabbi G.M. Garelik, head of the Milan rabbinical court; Rabbi Y.Y. Lichtenstein, head of the rabbinical court run by the Federation of Synagogues in London; Rabbi J.M. Kohen, head of the Paris rabbinical court; and Rabbi D.M. Liberman, chief rabbi of Antwerp. According to a spokesman for the RCE, European rabbis turned their attention to the issue after London's Heathrow Airport announced it would begin implementing the full body scans. There is a very large Jewish population in England and rabbis were concerned, said the spokesman. Canada and some cities in American have also said they would implement full body scans. Italy aims to install full-body scanners at the main airports of Rome and Milan for flights considered at high risk of terrorist attack, Interior Minister Roberto Maroni told newspaper Corriere della Sera on Saturday. In Germany, Education and Research Minister Annette Schavan told Bild am Sonntag Germany could introduce body scanners later this year. The government has made clear it is not against the scanners in principle, but is trying to guarantee privacy rights. Some legal experts have questioned whether the use of the full body scanners would violate Britain's child pornography laws, which prohibit taking nude photos of minors.

Israel successfully tests Iron Dome missile shield
By Ilene R. Prusher – Thu Jan 7, 1:57 pm ET CSM

Jerusalem – Israel tested the use of its new Iron Dome antimissile system several times over the past few days, boosting the likelihood that it can neutralize or severely weaken the ability of Hamas and Hezbollah to launch successful missile strikes at the Jewish state.In recent days, the short-range missile defense system that has been developed over the past 2-1/2 years by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems, a government-owned company, has been successfully tested against Qassam rockets, Grad rockets, and mortar shells. The system is expected to be fully operational in May.But after Israel announced the successful tests on Wednesday, Hamas in Gaza appeared to answer on Thursday with a round of mortar fire from the Gaza Strip. At least 10 mortar shells hit Israel on Thursday.The Iron Dome is designed to target the weapons of Israel's most significant regional enemies. These include Hamas's mortar shells and Qassam rockets, Hezbollah's Katyusha rockets, and even Iranian Fajr rockets, some of which Israel says have been smuggled into the Gaza Strip, according to Haaretz newspaper. The program is part of an improved, multilayered defense system that Israel has been developing over the past decade. This includes the Arrow system for long-range ballistic missiles and a still-under-construction medium-range system called Magic Wand.

How it works

One of the advantages of the Iron Dome system is that it can distinguish worthwhile targets - missiles headed for a populated area – from those destined to land in an open field, for example, and not worth trying to knock out of the sky. In wartime, such a tool could be crucial. During Israel's war with Lebanon in the summer of 2006, more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets were fired into Israeli territory.The system has radar detection systems that Rafael says quickly pick up missile launches, transmit data to a computerized launch system, and can then quickly determine if a missile should be launched to intercept the rocket.If the estimated rocket trajectory poses a critical threat, a command is given within seconds and an interceptor is launched, the company writes. The interceptors themselves are maneuverable and have radars of their own to guide them to the target.Shorter-range missiles have become an ongoing threat to Israeli security, and were the ostensible reason Israel launched its war against Hamas in Gaza in late 2008. While past defense systems focused on long-range missiles, shorter-range missiles were deemed harder to hit because they take off and land so quickly. But the Iron Dome can neutralize rockets with a range between 2.5 miles and 50 miles. That would cover most of the rockets that can be fired from Gaza into Israel, as well as those from southern Lebanon. For the first time, Iron Dome faced multiple threats simultaneously. All the threats were intercepted with complete success, a statement from Israel's Defense Ministry said.To be sure, the system comes at a cost. Rafael has estimated that it will cost about $50,000 to shoot down an incoming rocket from the Gaza Strip, while Gaza rocket makers say they can make crude Qassam rockets for as little as $200.

Strategic shift

Analysts say that the new system offers a major strategic shift in how Israel can approach the missile threat.It's a fundamental change in the situation in a very broad sense, says Uzi Rubin, of Rubincon Defense Consulting. With the Qassams, Katyushas, and Sajjils, we were sitting ducks. They could fire at an Israeli city and cause no small amount of mayhem, Rubin says. Until around 2001, longer-range missiles from Iraq or Iran were considered to be the primary threat, and the main tool was an early-warning system, which sent off sirens telling people to hurry into bomb shelters. That's passive defense, which just aims to minimize fatalities. But this is a move from total helplessness to active defense, Rubin adds.Nonetheless, Rubin doesn't expect that it will change the dynamics of conflict. Hamas will still try to shoot rockets of various ranges at Israel. This is an ongoing war – they'll find other means to fight us, he says.But from their point of view, it will rob them of the ability to inflict easy casualties.

US intensifies diplomacy to restart Mideast peace talks by Lachlan Carmichael – Fri Jan 8, 7:13 am ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The Obama administration on Friday begins a flurry of high-level talks aimed at reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations, after its Middle East diplomatic debut fell flat last year.Accompanied by Middle East envoy George Mitchell, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will meet in Washington with Foreign Ministers Nasser Judeh of Jordan and Ahmed Abul Gheit of Egypt, the main Arab peace brokers, officials said.Mitchell will then leave late Sunday for Paris and Brussels for consultations with allies, including a meeting of the quartet of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia, they added.The meeting of the Middle East quartet -- which launched a roadmap for peace in 2003 calling for the creation of a Palestinian state living alongside a secure Israel -- will take place in Brussels.Mitchell will then return to the United States before heading to the Middle East by the end of the month, State Department spokesman PJ Crowley told reporters in announcing the flurry of talks.Days after entering the White House in January last year, President Barack Obama signaled that Arab-Israeli peace was a top priority, but Crowley acknowledged that efforts hit a rough patch late last year.

The Obama administration faced a barrage of Arab accusations that it failed to follow through on its demand that hawkish Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government completely freeze Jewish settlement construction.Crowley said the administration wanted to share ideas about how to get talks started.Clearly the first step in this process is to get the two sides back to formal negotiations and also find a variety of ways to address the very concrete issues concerning both sides, he said.The core issues are borders of a future Palestinian state, the fate of Palestinian refugees, and the status of the holy city of Jerusalem, the eastern portion of which the Palestinians want to turn into their capital.The United States is pushing for borders along the boundary lines where the 1967 war ended, but allowing for land swaps.In an interview with US television PBS on Wednesday, Mitchell said: We think that the negotiation should last no more than two years. Once begun we think it can be done within that period of time.We hope the parties agree. Personally I think it can be done in a shorter period of time, he said, according to a transcript of the interview.On Monday, Israel's Maariv newspaper said Washington was pushing a plan to restart peace talks that foresees reaching a final deal in two years and agreeing on permanent borders in nine months.Under the plan, the Israelis and Palestinians will immediately start final status talks that were suspended during the Gaza war a year ago, Maariv reported, citing unnamed sources.

After meeting in recent days with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, the US-backed Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas said that he was open to negotiations with Israel, but talks could only resume when Jewish settlement activity ends.Under the US plan, the two sides will first discuss the issue of permanent borders, with a deadline of nine months for reaching an agreement, Maariv said.The idea is to have an agreement on borders before the expiry of an Israeli moratorium on new settlement construction in the occupied West Bank, so Israel will start to build again only in those settlements that will be inside its borders under the final status agreement, it said. Underlying the discussions will be the principle of a land swap that has figured prominently in past peace negotiations -- Israel will keep its major settlement blocks in the occupied West Bank and the Palestinians will get land inside Israel in return. Asked if the two sides were any closer to resuming negotiations, Crowley said: I think there is still work to be done.

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.

Snow pushes east after fatal course across Midwest By MEGHAN BARR and JAMES MacPHERSON, Associated Press Writers – JAN 8,10

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A broad snowstorm pushed eastward early Friday ahead of a powerful cold front, complicating the morning rush and closing schools a day after contributing to a crash in Ohio that killed four people in a van carrying disabled adults.The edge of the storm, with light snow flurries, reached the Philadelphia area overnight, and up to 2 inches of snow was likely there and in the New York City area, according to the National Weather Service, which warned commuters to be careful trekking to work.People ought to take it easy when they get out on the road this morning, Weather Service meteorologist Bill Goodman said early Friday.In Ohio, where icy cold winds and snow on Thursday contributed to occasionally treacherous road conditions, the Weather Service warned of a possible lake effect: arctic air blowing over the Great Lakes, picking up moisture and carrying it inland, creating narrow bands of heavy snow. A winter storm warning was in effect until Saturday morning.

The Cincinnati and Columbus school districts canceled Friday classes.

Light snow had begun falling across Ohio on Thursday morning, gradually intensifying throughout the day and continuing through the night. Up to 6 inches was expected Friday, more in the northern parts of the state.A tractor-trailer spun out of control Thursday on a snow-slick Ohio road, killing four people.The tractor-trailer jackknifed on Interstate 70, crossed the highway median and swerved into oncoming traffic, colliding with a small bus transporting adult disabled passengers, the Ohio Highway Patrol said.Three passengers on the bus were killed, as was its driver. Six other passengers of the bus, which was carrying 11 people, were injured, as was the driver of the commercial truck, Sgt. Raymond Durant said.Much of Pennsylvania woke up Friday to at least a coating of snow Friday morning, with a total of 5 to 7 inches expected across the western part of the state.Many schools across the Pennsylvania delayed opening and a few closed in response to the winter weather. Nearly 20 school districts in New Jersey, where a light dusting of snow fell Friday, delayed opening.Snowfall was heaviest in Minnesota and parts of South Dakota, where blowing winds piled up drifts too big for snowplow drivers to clear. In Illinois, six snowplows were involved in accidents, most when other vehicles rear-ended them. By Friday morning, parts of Wisconsin could see up to 12 inches of snow.

Snowflakes fell as far south as Alabama and Georgia.

Atlanta woke to an unusual glaze of ice on the roads Friday after light snow overnight melted and refroze. Authorities urged motorists to stay home in much of Georgia, at least until daylight so they could see ice patches.A 50-year-old woman in the far northern suburb of Acworth died after skidding off a road late Thursday. About 27 vehicles were involved in a pre-dawn crash Friday at the junction of two interstates near the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and three motorists were taken to hospitals.Frostbite-inducing temperatures gripped much of the nation, and schools in at least 10 states were closed, as were roads and government offices.Nowhere was it colder than in Bismarck, N.D., where wind chills hit a frighteningly frigid 52 below zero Thursday and the temperature reached 14 below. Windchills were still near 50 below in the Dakotas for a second day.While North Dakotans get plenty of practice with bundling up, folks in other parts of the country were still learning the basics. With temperatures on the Texas-Mexico border expected to near freezing Thursday night, officials in Laredo issued an advisory telling residents to dress warmly and stay dry.MacPherson reported from Bismarck, N.D. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, and Lisa Cornwell in Cincinnati contributed to this report.

Brrr: Parents fight for sleds as Europe shivers By ANGELA CHARLTON and JUERGEN BAETZ, Associated Press Writers – JAN 8,10

PARIS – Snow settling near France's Mediterranean shores. German parents battling to buy sleds. British horse races called off over too much ice.A European cold snap — awfully cold in some places — saw snow clog roads and airports Friday, knock out electricity and induce hoorays from schoolchildren kept home from school. The low temperatures, prompted by an Arctic weather system, are set to continue through the weekend.Britain, already deep in its longest cold spell in nearly 30 years, registered its chilliest night yet this season: minus 22.3 degrees Celsius (minus 8.1Fahrenheit) in the Scottish Highlands village of Altnaharra.British authorities have used up so much grit on icy roads that on Friday they started to run out, leaving thousands of secondary roads and sidewalks untreated and turning them into sheets of black ice that stretched for blocks. Poland, too, saw shortages of salt for spilling on streets.Gatwick Airport officials said 18,000 tons of snow had been removed from runways in recent days. A dozen flights were canceled out of Marseille-Provence airport in southern France.France's weather service issued an avalanche warning for the Alps and the Pyrenees for this weekend after days of heavy snowfall and strong winds. Some travelers abandoned plans to head to the ski slopes because of closed roads.Last weekend, avalanches killed seven people in Switzerland at the start of its ski season.For desperate parents from Britain to Berlin, the biggest challenge hasn't been snow-choked roads but finding a sled.

Manufacturers of all types of snow-slipping vehicles, from traditional wooden-runner sleds to plastic bobsleds with breaks are thrilled at the boom after years of fearing they had become victims of global warming.There hasn't been a run on sleds like this one since at least 25 years, said Michael Ress, owner Ress Kutschen sled factory in Schwebheim, Germany.Ress' eight employees are currently working at maximum capacity, putting together 100 beech-wood sleds per day. The entire forthcoming production of this season's 3,000 sleds, which go for euro35 ($50), has already been sold in advance.We're running out of supplies, said Ress, adding that he was forced to order certain metal parts from Asia because his usual German suppliers were out of stock.In London, the harsh weather dominated Friday's Cabinet meeting. British union officials pleaded with employers to offer hot drinks to people working outside. A charity call center set up to help the elderly cope with the snow and ice was shut down because workers could not get to the office.Deep snow in Lanarkshire, Scotland, left Alec Allison using a tractor to clear it from the roads of his farm. But that didn't help his sheep. At one point, he used a long stick to search snowdrifts where he found and freed one of his sheep.In France, snow piled up from Normandy to Marseille on the Mediterranean shore. Some 30 centimeters (11.8 inches) of snow fell on Arles and Avignon in southern France, according to the regional traffic center, and snowdrifts piled higher than a meter (3.3 feet). Snowstorms cut electricity to thousands of homes.

Much of Spain was also shivering. A nature park in the normally temperate Murcia region in the southeast turned on heaters at a pen housing three giraffes more accustomed to savannah-like climes.In the Catalonia region centered on Barcelona, snowy conditions prevented 72 schools from reopening after the Christmas vacation, providing an extra day off for more than 16,000 children.Heavy rains caused flooding across central and southern Italy. Northern Italy was blanketed by snow, while Venice faced the acqua alta phenomenon — exceptionally high tides which often flood most of the lagoon city in winter. In Sweden, temperatures dropped to -38.7 C (-37.6 F). That put a strain on the country's energy supplies, as Swedes heat up their houses more and imports are down from energy-rich neighbor Norway. Norway is facing its lowest temperatures in more than two decades. The mercury dropped Friday to -42C (-44F) at Roros airport, in central Norway — the coldest temperature measured in mainland Norway since 1987. Train companies, including the cross-Channel Eurostar, were running reduced service. A Eurostar train traveling from Brussels to London broke down in the Channel Tunnel on Thursday, but the head of the French train authority SNCF, Guillaume Pepy, said it was linked to signal problems that have nothing to do with the cold.That was a relief to commuters because last month Eurostar came to a standstill for days because of train breakdowns that left thousands of passengers stranded in the tunnel. Why? The company identified the problem as unusually dry, powdery snow that got into the trains' engines. The cold is freezing out sporting types, too. Three British Premier League football matches Saturday have been postponed, and 10 of 16 matches in the Scottish Cup were called off. Two horse racing events — at Newcastle and Kelso next week — have been called off because of heaps of snow on already-frozen tracks.Baetz reported from Berlin. Associated Press writers Gregory Katz and Jill Lawless in London, Ariel David in Rome, Ian MacDougall in Olso, Louise Nordstrom in Stockholm, Daniel Woolls in Madrid, Karel Janicek in Prague contributed to this report.

Costa Rica extends evacuation near active volcano
Wed Jan 6, 7:07 pm ET

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica – Costa Rica has widened evacuations around the Turrialba volcano in response to eruptions of ash.The National Emergency Commission says all resident living within a radius of 4 miles (6 kilometers) of the peak are being evacuated. About 50 people have taken refuge at government shelters.The commission said Wednesday that ash has fallen in several communities east of the Costa Rican capital of San Jose.The 10,958-foot (3,340-meter) volcano is 42 miles (70 kilometers) east of San Jose.Activity at the volcano has increased in recent months. The last major eruption was 145 years ago.

Canada jobs recovery stalls in December
By Louise Egan – JAN 8,10

OTTAWA (Reuters) – The recovery in Canada's job market stalled in December as employers unexpectedly cut 2,600 jobs after hefty hiring in November, another sign the economic revival will be sluggish rather than in leaps and bounds.The data released by Statistics Canada on Friday showed the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.5 percent, as forecast in a Reuters poll.The job losses, which followed a 79,000-job gain in November, are small enough to be considered a flat reading but disappointed the market consensus of a 20,000 increase.The Canadian dollar fell immediately after the report but economists focused on evidence the economy is holding on to gradual gains made over the past few months.This is consistent with an economy that is on the mend but at a relatively moderate pace, said Don Drummond, chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.The Canadian dollar fell as low as C$1.0386 or 96.28 U.S. cents, from C$1.0314 or 96.96 cents just before the report.The currency fully regained the lost ground 90 minutes later, however, after U.S. data showed 85,000 job losses in December. It touched C$1.0306, or 97.03 U.S. cents after that report.The Bank of Canada is likely to shrug off the worse-than-expected numbers when it sets interest rates on January 19. It is widely expected to keep its benchmark interest rate at an all-time low of 0.25 percent until mid-year.

It reinforces their commitment to remain on the sidelines, said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at the Royal Bank of Canada.But the report keeps pressure on Prime Minister Stephen Harper as his Conservative government prepares its next budget, to be presented on March. 4.Harper has vowed not to slow down on stimulus measures until 2011 and has said, in his view, the recession is not truly over until unemployment numbers come down.

RECOVERY NOT DERAILED

Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets, found some encouraging news in the details of the report, which showed the private sector gaining marginally.I wouldn't read too much into the small drop in the headline number. I think it's a very partial giveback from the big run-up we saw in November, he said.
It's mildly disappointing but I don't think it derails the broader picture that the Canadian economy is in the early stages of a recovery.Full-time employment accounted for most of the decline. Self-employment increased and 22,100 workers fell off the public sector payroll.Employment was 240,000 below year-ago levels and remained 323,000 lower than the peak in October 2008, Statscan said.Economists at Scotia Capital predicted this week that employment levels would recover to pre-crisis levels this year, adding more than 300,000 jobs. Others were less upbeat. Stewart Hall, markets strategist at HSBC, said the economy needs to generate between 20,000 and 23,000 jobs per month just to keep up with growth in the labor force. For 2010, that may be all that we can expect from the economy, that jobs growth merely keeps pace with labor force growth, he said. The goods-producing sector shed jobs in December, dragged down by 9,700 job losses in manufacturing, which was partially offset by a 10,700 gain in construction jobs. Although the services sector overall saw gains, the heaviest declines were in transportation and warehousing services, business, building and other support services and public administration. Hourly wages of permanent employees, closely watched by the Bank of Canada for inflation trends, rose 2.2 percent in December year-on-year, up from 2.1 percent in November.
(Additional reporting by Randall Palmer in Ottawa; Scott Anderson, Jennifer Kwan and Claire Sibonney in Toronto; Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson)

Canada asks France for list of Swiss account holders
JAN 8,10

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will formally request that France share information it possesses about Canadians with bank accounts in Switzerland that may help Ottawa crack down on tax avoiders, Revenue Minister Jean-Pierre Blackburn said on Friday.

Blackburn said authorities in France have confirmed to him that they have information on Canadians. Ottawa has been trying unsuccessfully to obtain the names of Canadian clients of Swiss bank UBS whom it suspects of taking advantage of Swiss bank secrecy laws to hide assets and dodge taxes.Blackburn said it was not good news for Canada that a Swiss court ruled on Friday that it was illegal for a financial regulator to have ordered UBS last year to hand over the files of nearly 300 clients to U.S. officials. But he said Canada would continue to press for the information it needs.(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Peter Galloway)

REAL ANALYSTS SAY THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS 20%,NOT 10 AND FOOD PRICES WILL BE SKYROCKING AS A RESULT OF THE COLD WEATHER.

Economy loses 85K jobs as employers remain wary By CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER, AP Economics Writer – JAN 8,10

WASHINGTON – Lack of confidence in the economic recovery led employers to shed a more-than-expected 85,000 net jobs in December even as the unemployment rate held at 10 percent. The rate would have been higher if more people had been looking for work instead of leaving the labor force because they can't find jobs.The sharp drop in the work force — 661,000 fewer people — showed that more of the jobless are giving up. Once people stop looking for jobs, they're no longer counted among the unemployed.When discouraged workers and part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs are included, the so-called underemployment rate in December rose to 17.3 percent, from 17.2 percent in November. That's just below a revised figure of 17.4 percent in October, the highest on records dating from 1994.Many analysts had hoped Friday's report would show the economy gained jobs for the first time in two years. While the revised figures found an increase in November, it was tiny.One word sums it up: Disappointment, said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse.

Referring to the drop in the labor force, Basile said, that tells me that Main Street doesn't believe there's a recovery yet, because they're not out looking for jobs yet.Revisions to the previous two months' data showed the economy actually generated 4,000 jobs in November, the first gain in nearly two years. But the revisions showed it also lost 16,000 more jobs than previously estimated in October.

The participation rate in the labor force — the portion of adults either working or looking for work — fell in December to 64.6 percent, the lowest since August 1985.
The drop was particularly steep in the second half of last year. That suggested that people were becoming discouraged about their job prospects even as layoffs slowed. The reason is that job openings remain far too few.The labor force has shrunk by 1.9 million people since May. Without the drop, December's jobless rate could have been as high as 10.4 percent, according to Larry Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. And some economists think the rate will near 11 percent as more job-seekers eventually stream into the work force.Friday's report caps a disastrous year for U.S. workers. Employers cut 4.2 million jobs in 2009. And the unemployment rate averaged 9.3 percent. That compares with an average of 5.8 percent in 2008 and 4.6 percent in 2007. Nearly 15.3 million people are unemployed, an increase of 3.9 million during 2009.The economy is in a rough situation, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press. She said she thinks companies are reluctant to ramp up hiring because they're waiting to see what new stimulative steps the government might take to provide relief.On Friday afternoon, President Barack Obama plans to announce more government spending to create tens of thousands of green jobs. The White House says Obama will unveil projects that will help develop solar and wind power and energy management technologies. The funding is part of the $787 billion economic stimulus package Congress approved last year.The economy has lost more than 7.2 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. And while layoffs have slowed, they haven't ended. UPS said Friday it will cut 1,800 jobs. And defense contractor Lockheed Martin Corp. said this week it's cutting 1,200 workers.

If jobs remain scarce, consumer confidence and spending could flag, slowing the economic recovery. Many analysts estimate the economy grew by 4 percent or more at an annual rate in the October-December quarter, after 2.2 percent growth in the third quarter.But the economy will need to grow faster than that to bring down the unemployment rate. And economists worry that much of the recovery stems from temporary factors, such as government stimulus efforts and businesses rebuilding inventories.Debra Winchell has been seeking work since last January, when she lost her job as an administrative assistant at a health insurance company. Winchell, 50, of Latham, N.Y., said she's seen an uptick in online job postings, giving her some hope. But they're for jobs paying as little as $10. And she's still not getting any callbacks when she does apply.With her unemployment benefits set to run out this spring, Winchell, who is single, said she will reluctantly sign up for temporary work. I'll be lucky if it pays the bills, she said. Still, some economists said a recent trend of improvement remains in place. The economy lost an average of nearly 700,000 jobs in the first three months of last year, a figure that dropped to 69,000 in the fourth quarter. And the private service sector added jobs for the second straight month, said Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist at Global Insight, though the gains have been concentrated in temporary workers. Firms are still being very cautious, so the first thing they are turning to aren't full-time employees, but temps, he said. Companies have added about 166,000 temp workers since July. The average work week remained unchanged at 33.2 hours, near October's record low of 33. Most economists hoped that would increase, as employers are likely to add hours for their current employees before hiring new workers. Job losses remained widespread: manufacturing lost 27,000 jobs and construction shed 53,000, while retailers, the leisure and hospitality industries and government also cut workers. AP Business Writers Emily Fredrix in Milwaukee and Jeannine Aversa in Washington and Associated Press Writer Philip Elliott in Washington contributed to this report.

Stocks mixed as market takes jobs report in stride By STEPHEN BERNARD and IEVA M. AUGSTUMS, AP Business Writers – JAN 8,10

NEW YORK – Stocks traded in a tight range on Friday as the market took a relatively weak December jobs report in stride.Employers cut 85,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported, worse than the 8,000 drop analysts expected. However November's figures were also revised to show a slight gain in jobs — the first such gain in nearly two years. Stocks indexes initially dipped after the report came out but made up some of their losses and were narrowly mixed in late morning trading.It's amazing how anticipated the data point was and how little the market is moving, said Eric Thorne, an investment adviser at Bryn Mawr Trust Wealth Management in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

The monthly jobs report is considered an important indicator of the economy's health, however job growth has been badly lagging in this recovery even as other parts of the economy improve, such as manufacturing, housing and retail sales.
Friday's mixed employment report reminded investors that the recovery is likely to continue to proceed in fits and starts. Data from the previous two months was revised to show that the economy generated 4,000 jobs in November, the first gain in nearly two years. But the revisions showed a loss of 16,000 more jobs than previously estimated in October.The report also signals that many jobless people are giving up on their search for work. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 10 percent.A year ago, when the economy was still reeling from paralyzed credit markets and the collapse of several large banks, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 143 points on news that the unemployment rate had climbed more than expected to 7.2 percent during December 2008. Employers cut 524,000 jobs that month.Analysts were mixed on whether the report is a sign unemployment will start continue to move higher.Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at the brokerage Avalon Partners Inc. in New York, said the unemployment data was disappointing, but it doesn't change a trend. He noted many of the job losses were in the construction sector, which is probably due to seasonal slowdowns.As you can see, the market isn't really falling apart, Cardillo said.In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 16.78, or 0.2 percent, to 10,590.08. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.01, or 0.1 percent, to 1,140.68, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 7.53, or 0.3 percent, to 2,307.58.

Mike Rubino, CEO of Rubino Financial Group in Troy, Mich., was slightly more pessimistic about the employment picture, saying the jobless rate would've been far worse had the size of the work force not declined by 661,000. That decline showed more people are giving up on even trying to find a new job.Meanwhile workers finding jobs are getting paid less, which means consumption and consumer spending isn't likely to improve to pre-recession levels anytime soon, Rubino said.The underemployment rate, which factors in discouraged workers and part-time workers who would prefer full-time jobs, rose last month, climbing to 17.3 percent from 17.2 percent in November.Interest rates held in a narrow range on the bond market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 3.83 percent compared with late Thursday.About the same number of stocks were rising and falling on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 393.6 million shares, versus 447.6. million traded at the same point Thursday.In corporate news, UPS Inc. shares rallied after the delivery service company said its fourth-quarter results would top previous estimates. UPS shares rose $2.44, or 4.3 percent, to $59.85.European markets shook off initial disappointment over employment reports from the U.S. and Europe. A new report showed the jobless rate in the 16 countries that use the euro rose to 10 percent in November for the first time since the single currency was introduced at the start of 1999. Earlier, Asian stocks rose after upbeat holiday sales figures suggested American consumers were spending more.

Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 1.1 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 rose less than 0.1 percent. Germany's DAX index gained 0.3 percent, while France's CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent. The dollar fell slightly. Gold prices also declined. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.18, or less than 0.1 percent, to 641.79. Augstums reported from Charlotte, N.C.