Monday, February 01, 2010

COMFISCATION OF GUNS IN CANADA

LAND FOR PEACE (THE FUTURE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH)

JOEL 3:2
2 I will also gather all nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks(62X7=434 YEARS+7X7=49 YEARS=TOTAL OF 69 WEEKS OR 483 YRS) shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMAN LEADERS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.(THERE HAS TO BE 70 WEEKS OR 490 YRS TO FUFILL THE VISION AND PROPHECY OF DAN 9:24).(THE NEXT VERSE IS THAT 7 YR WEEK OR (70TH FINAL WEEK).
27 And he( THE ROMAN,EU PRESIDENT) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:(1X7=7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,(3 1/2 yrs in TEMPLE SACRIFICES STOPPED) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

ISAIAH 28:14-19 (THIS IS THE 7 YR TREATY COVENANT OF DANIEL 9:27)
14 Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in Jerusalem.
15 Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place.
18 And your covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

Berlusconi: Bring Israel into the EU By Aron Heller, Associated Press Writer – FEB 1,10

JERUSALEM – Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said Monday he hopes to bring Israel into the European Union, at the start of a three-day visit to the Jewish state.Berlusconi brought eight top ministers for a joint Cabinet meeting with their Israeli counterparts. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Cabinet ministers and a military honor guard welcomed the Italian delegation.Under Berlusconi's leadership, Italy has become one of Israel's strongest allies in Europe. Berlusconi's efforts to strengthen ties with Israel followed decades of a pro-Arab tilt by previous Italian governments.At the same time, Italy also remains Iran's largest trading partner within the EU. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest threat, accusing it of trying to develop a nuclear weapon.Iran insists that its nuclear program is peaceful, but its president has repeatedly referred to Israel's eventual destruction.Italy says it will act responsibly if new sanctions are imposed on Iran despite the vast interests of Italian companies there. Italy has indicated that halting Iranian nuclear ambitions will take precedence over commercial considerations.Speaking on arrival in Israel, Berlusconi told Netanyahu that my greatest desire, as long as I am a protagonist in politics, is to bring Israel into membership of the European Union.Israel has close trade ties with the EU but is not pressing to join the bloc.

The European Commission was unavailable for comment about Israel's possible inclusion into union.The EU has had a tricky relationship with prospective members around the Mediterranean in the past. It turned down Morocco as a candidate in 1987, saying it was not European, and has stalled negotiations with Turkey for 23 years.
Some EU nations, such as France, firmly oppose Turkey's membership on the grounds that it is also not European.Netanyahu embraced his guest warmly, calling his arrival a historic visit.Not every day do we get the privilege to host one of Israel's greatest friends, a brave leader who is a great fighter for freedom and an enthusiastic supporter of peace, Netanyahu said of Berlusconi.Netanyahu said the sides expected to sign a series of agreements during the visit, on subjects including energy, the environment and health. He also spoke of the historic common bond between the two nations.I can think of very few nations who have made such a contribution to Western culture as our two nations. In Rome and Jerusalem, the foundations for Western culture were laid,he said.Berlusconi echoed the same theme, expressing his pride of the Judeo-Christian culture that formed the base of Western civilization.Berlusconi's three-day visit is his first overseas since an assailant attacked him in Milan in December and broke his nose and two teeth. His schedule includes a stop at Israel's Holocaust memorial, meetings with leaders and the joint Cabinet session.Berlusconi said the next joint session will take place in Italy.
Associated Press Writer Aoife White contributed to this report from Brussels.

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.

US,UK,CHINA INVESTIGATION INTRIGUE
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1890
THE HEBREW LANGUAGE
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1889
BIBLE PREDICTS HAITI QUAKE,DISEASE,DEATH.(YOU NEVER HAD TO TELL ME THAT)I KNEW IT.
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1892

US military resumes medical airlifts from Haiti By JENNIFER KAY, Associated Press Writer – FEB 1,10

MIAMI – The U.S. military has resumed the airlifts that brought hundreds of Haitian earthquake victims to hospitals in the United States, ending a four-day suspension, a military spokesman said Monday.U.S. Army Col. Gregory Kane in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince said that a medical evacuation flight left Haiti for the United States on Sunday night, though he gave no details.The White House said earlier that a suspension imposed on Wednesday was being lifted because it has been assured that there is space for the patients at U.S. and foreign hospitals.White House spokesman Tommy Vietor said in a statement late Sunday that the White House received assurances that additional medical capacity exists in the U.S. and among its international partners for the patients.We determined that we can resume these critical flights,Vietor said.Patients are being identified for transfer, doctors are making sure that it is safe for them to fly, and we are preparing specific in-flight pediatric care aboard the aircraft where needed.Exactly what led to the suspension on Wednesday of medical evacuation flights was unclear, though military officials have said some states refused to take patients.

Officials in Florida, one of the main destinations for military flights leaving Haiti, say no patients were ever turned away. However, the suspension took effect after Florida Gov. Charlie Crist sent a letter Tuesday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius saying the state's hospitals were reaching a saturation point.The letter also asked for federal help paying for patient expenses — a request Crist on Sunday said could have been misinterpreted. He also said federal officials have indicated he would receive help covering the costs, totaling more than $7 million.Other flights have continued to carry U.S. citizens and other mostly non-injured passengers. Military planes carrying 700 U.S. citizens, legal residents and other foreign nationals landed in central Florida over the weekend, and three of those people required medical care at hospitals, state officials said. However, Florida had not received any critical patients needing urgent care since the halt, said Sterling Ivey, the governor's spokesman.We're welcoming Haitians with open arms and probably done more than any other state and are happy to continue to do so, Crist told ABC News' Good Morning America on Sunday.Col. Rick Kaiser said Sunday that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been asked to build a 250-bed tent hospital in Haiti to relieve pressure on locations where earthquake victims are being treated under tarpaulins.

Several hospitals in Port-au-Prince were damaged or destroyed in the Jan. 12 earthquake.U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten said about 435 earthquake victims had been evacuated before the suspension.Individual hospitals were still able to arrange private medical flights — such as one Sunday that brought three critically ill children to hospitals in Philadelphia.The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said the trio arrived Sunday afternoon. One is a 5-year-old girl with tetanus, the second, a 14-month-old boy with pneumonia. The third, a baby suffering from severe burns from sun exposure after the quake, was transferred to another area hospital.

Doctors have said the makeshift facilities in Haiti aren't equipped to treat such critical conditions and warn that patients in similar condition could die if they aren't treated in U.S. hospitals.

Haitian medical evacuation flights, schools resume By PAISLEY DODDS, Associated Press Writer – FEB 1,10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – The U.S. military has resumed urgent medical evacuation flights for Haitian quake victims, an official announced Monday, and life for survivors took a step toward normalcy as many schools reopened for the first time since an earthquake devastated the nation.U.S. Army Col. Gregory Kane said a medical evacuation flight left Haiti for the United States Sunday night, almost five days after the flights were suspended by squabbling over space and health costs at American public hospitals.They have resumed,Kane said. He said he had no details.

The U.S. military had another plane ready to go Monday with a capacity for 15 patients, said the chief medical officer at the University of Miami field hospital in Haiti, Dr. Mike Sheehan.We have a list of seven people who would probably die within 48 hours if they don't get out of here,he told The Associated Press.The White House said it was resuming the military airlift of critically injured earthquake victims after being assured that additional medical capacity exists in U.S. hospitals. The halt of flights on Wednesday worried doctors in Haiti who said hundreds could die without specialized care.Many public schools reopened Monday for the first time since the Jan. 12 earthquake, but most were still closed even in outlying provinces where damage was minimal. And in the capital, schoolchildren will likely be on the streets for months, government officials warned.The government said Monday it expected most provincial schools to reopen by Feb. 8 — instead of on Monday as anticipated by many families.Anne Rose Bouget, a primary school teacher in the southwestern city of Les Cayes, said schools reopened there with more students than usual because some 300,000 people, including many schoolchildren, fled Port-au-Prince after the quake.Also Monday, Haitian officials were trying to determine what to do with 10 U.S. Baptists who were arrested on Friday for trying to take 33 children out of the country without permission from the government.

The church members, most from Idaho, said they were just trying to rescue orphaned victims of the quake, but their action came at a moment of rising concern that quickie adoptions could permanently separate Haitian children from their parents, or expose them to exploitation.Haiti's communications minister said the government was in talks with U.S. diplomats about sending the Baptists to the U.S. for prosecution because Haiti's court system was crippled by the quake.Most of Haiti's schools are damaged or destroyed. Many teachers are dead. And the students in starched uniforms and blue hair ribbons who were visions of hope and innocence in Haiti's capital now often live in squalid camps, their dreams and city shattered.With everything that has already happened in the past few years — the floods, hurricanes, unrest — these children cannot afford to lose more time outside school, said Berdadel Perkington, 40, a teacher giving an impromptu math lesson to a group of children outside the collapsed National Palace.The children are in shock and they are traumatized, said Marie-Laurence Jocelin Lassegue, minister of culture and communications.Some of them have lost their friends, their parents. It's like the end of the world for some of them.Kent Page, a spokesman for the U.N. children's agency UNICEF, children need to get back to class so they have a sense of normalcy.None of us like being out of school,said Ludmia Exiloud, 14, who was walking with a group of her friends at dawn on Monday, when they usually are headed to class.We miss our studies. There's nothing to do.But schools — reopening them, re-staffing them, restocking them,relocating them — are just one of many urgent priorities here. The Ministry of Education — its own building destroyed — is still assessing damage. In the long term, UNICEF hopes to boost overall school enrollment. Child welfare groups say just over half of all school-age children in Haiti don't attend school, though even the poorest of Haitian families try to send at least one child to class — hoping they will someday earn enough to support extended family.

For some, though, the quake robbed them of any hope. They've cut off my leg, said Billie Flon, 9, a quake amputee who stoically explained that he now needs to beg for money in Petionville, a hilly suburb of Port-au-Prince, to help his family because its house was destroyed. He said he can't think about returning to school now.
Another young boy who had his leg amputated after the earthquake begged on an adjacent corner.In the camps for earthquake victims, some children try in vain to keep up with their studies. I'm reading when I can, but the conditions are very bad so sometimes I read cartoons instead of my school books,said Erika Desire, a 13-year-old whose school was destroyed and who lives in a camp with her mother and sisters.I want to be a medical technician, but now it's going to take me more time.During her short life, she estimates she's lost about a year's worth of school — four months in 2004 when rebels ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, another month in 2005 because of sickness, two months in 2006 because of tropical storms and three months in floods last year.

The earthquake will force her to lose at least two months more.

High school senior Graham Fleuran, meanwhile, said he is eager to take Senegal up on its offer to relocate. Senegal's president, Abdoulaye Wade, offered free land to Haitians wishing to return to their African origins. Many of the slaves brought to Haiti came from West Africa. Practical details of how the plan would work have yet to be released. My mother died in the earthquake and my father is still missing, said Fleuran, who spoke in precise English and carried a backpack of school books — his only possessions. Leaving Haiti may give me the best opportunity to get back to my studies. I dream of becoming a lawyer.Associated Press Writer Ben Fox contributed to this report from Port-au-Prince.

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 storm that covered South heads off to sea By MICHAEL FELBERBAUM, Associated Press Writer – Sun Jan 31, 12:38 am ET

RICHMOND, Va. – A winter storm that crossed in a nearly straight line dumping snow, sleet and ice this week from northern Texas to Washington was heading off the Atlantic coast early Sunday.More than 5 inches of dry, fluffy snow was reported in Washington but it was finishing up by late Saturday night, National Weather Service forecaster Matthew Kramar said.The storm left a wake of damage beginning in northern Texas and Oklahoma, where snow and ice shut down interstates and snapped power lines to thousands of customers.It left roads icy and snowpacked across the South, and thousands were without power as ice accumulated. Although police said they had to clear hundreds of wrecks overnight, there were no deaths or serious injuries reported.A central Tennessee woman was killed when a tree weighed down with ice crashed into her mobile home early Saturday, Maury County officials said. In southern Maryland, one person was found dead after a house fire in Accokeek that firefighters said they had a hard time getting to because of the snow. Prince George's County fire department spokesman Mark Brady said the winter storm and snowfall made driving conditions hazardous.

In northern Virginia, the weather caused several multi-vehicle crashes along Interstate 81 in Shenandoah County, Virginia State Police said. Four people were hospitalized with non-life threatening injuries.The weather also cut short a farewell celebration Saturday at the National Zoo in Washington for young panda Tai Shan, who will be flown to China on Thursday to become part of a breeding program.In Smyrna, Tenn., southeast of Nashville, a high school bowling tournament was postponed after snow and ice caused the roof to collapse at the bowling alley where it was to be held, according to the Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association.

Will O'Halloran, publisher of City Social Magazine in Baton Rouge, La., got caught in the storm in both directions of his monthly trip to pick up the publication from a printer outside Louisville, Ky. At one point he thought his headlights were broken, only to find they were covered in ice.People are crazy out there, O'Halloran, 49, said over breakfast at a McDonald's outside Nashville. Cars spinning, trailers jackknifed. I just tried to keep it at 40 mph and move along.North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue declared a state of emergency as some mountain areas got more than a foot of snow throughout the day Saturday. More than a dozen emergency shelters opened across the state, Perdue said.Associated Press writers Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., Joyce Garcia in Chicago and Meg Kinnard in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

Bolivia declares national emergency after heavy rains
Fri Jan 29, 6:24 pm ET


LA PAZ (AFP) – The Bolivian government declared a national emergency Friday in response to heavy rains and flooding that have killed at least 10 people and affected some 22,000 families nationwide in recent weeks.The declaration will allow the government to more quickly deliver aid to the five of the country's nine regions that have been affected by the flooding.We are declaring a national emergency across Bolivia in response to the effects of flooding, hailstorms, landslides and rivers breaking their banks,said a decree from President Evo Morales and his cabinet.

Flooding has so far been worst in the Santa Cruz region, but the government has expressed concern that the Beni region, where Bolivia's major rivers converge, could be seriously affected.Beni's capital Trinidad, home to some 120,000 people, was on alert Friday as the water level rose within inches of breaching nearby dams.Bolivia's National Meteorology and Hydrology Service has forecast that the heavy rains will continue through February.

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).

Obama to skip EU-US summit in Madrid
VALENTINA POP Today FEB 1,10 @ 09:52 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – US President Barack Obama is likely to skip this year's EU-US summit to be held by the Spanish presidency in Madrid, as he is focusing more on the domestic agenda, according to press reports.The White House has decided that Mr Obama will not attend the summit with the European Union in May, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials. Last year, Mr Obama went to Europe six times, as he set about establishing relations with world leaders. Now that those relationships are in place,so the demands are somewhat different, a senior administration official told the US paper. Among the visits was also an informal EU-US summit in Prague, hosted by the then Czech EU presidency. The regular bilateral summit with European officials took place on 3 November last year. Mr Obama devoted three hours to the meeting itself and sent vice-president Joe Biden to have lunch with the EU officials.Mr Obama had never committed to, nor planned for an EU summit this spring. So we have not changed plans,the source told Wall Street Journal.

A meeting with European leaders is however planned for later this fall, during the Nato summit in Lisbon. Mr Obama may also travel to Europe to sign a nuclear disarmament treaty if an agreement is reached with Russia.A spokeswoman for the US mission to the EU could neither confirm or deny the information. US-EU summits have been held once or twice a year since 1991, with the venue usually alternating between the continents. This year, after the EU's new legal framework came into force, there was some added confusion over who would have the competence to host it and in which location – Brussels or Madrid, which currently holds the rotating presidency. Another US official told the Wall Street Journal that this confusion has increased US hesitance to commit to the meeting.We don't even know if they're going to have one [a summit], said the official.We've told them:Figure it out and let us know.On the European side, reactions to the possible no-show by Mr Obama have been hesitant. The EU-US summit is scheduled to take place in May in Madrid, as was foreseen and we are still preparing it,Cristina Gallach, the Spanish EU presidency's spokeswoman told this website. As to the possibility that Mr Obama may not attend the event, she said: The final agendas of high level people are usually disclosed at the last minute.Ms Gallach confirmed that Mr Zapatero will see Mr Obama this week however. The Spanish leader is due to travel to Washington this week and participate in the national prayer breakfast on 4 February, a yearly event with over 3,000 guests from 120 countries where the US president is the keynote speaker. Spanish press has previously speculated that Mr Zapatero may use the occasion to make the case for the US president attending the Madrid summit.Despite reassuring gestures mainly coming from US vice-president Joe Biden and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, the Obama administration has been focusing less on Europe than its leaders expected.In his first State of the Union speech last week, Mr Obama made only one reference to Europe, when speaking about the stimulus package, as one of its projects focuses on high-speed railways.There's no reason Europe or China should have the fastest trains, or the new factories that manufacture clean energy products,Mr Obama said.In a speech held in Paris last Friday, Ms Clinton however rejected the idea that the Obama administration is so focused on foreign policy challenges elsewhere in the world that Europe has receded in our list of priorities.

Germany says Greece has its full support
ANDREW WILLIS Today FEB 1,10 @ 09:29 CET


German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle has thrown his country's full support behind Greece, as the southeastern EU member state continues to battle its ongoing debt problem.Athens has the full support of Germany and all other European Union member states on the issue,said Mr Westerwelle in an interview with Greek daily Kathimerini on Sunday (31 January).Mr Westerwelle is scheduled to travel to Athens on Tuesday for talks with Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou and finance minister George Papaconstantinou.The public pronouncements are the latest in a complex game being played by senior European politicians as they seek to both calm financial markets but also maintain pressure on the Greek administration to put its public finances in order.Investors have grown increasingly jumpy over the possibility of the Greek government defaulting on its debt obligations, with the yield on Greek 10-year bonds last week hitting its highest level since the country joined the eurozone in 2001.This has greatly pushed up the cost of money, with the government seeking to borrow around €54 billion this year.

Bilateral rescue?

On Saturday German economy minister Rainer Bruederle ruled out the possibility of a rescue for Greece. I don't think that a bailout is the right way because German and French taxpayers can't pay for Greece, Mr Bruederle said in a interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. Maybe they will give certain help, but first it's for the Greeks to solve their problems, he added, refusing to go into details. Speculation that Germany and France would come to the aid of Greece increased last week after an article in the French daily Le Monde said the two countries were exploring the possibilities of providing bilateral loans, subsequently denied by both governments. EU officials say there are no formal talks regarding a potential Greek bailout taking place within the bloc's institutions, but privately admit informal discussions are ongoing in a number of capitals.A no bailout clause was placed at the heart of the 1991/92 Maastricht treaty setting up a European monetary union, largely at German insistence, with the aim of preventing the budgetary problems of one country spilling over and damaging the credit rating of the group as a whole.Under Article 122 of the Lisbon Treaty however, any member state seriously threatened with severe difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control could receive financial assistance from other EU members.A number of senior EU politicians have made apparent references to the clause, with the recent financial crisis likely to qualify as an exceptional occurrence.

Any financial support for Greece is likely to come with conditions however, with the European Commission set to tell the country's administration this Wednesday to cut public sector wages and improve tax collection, according to a draft opinion seen by the Financial Times.While the EU frets over how and when to provide support to euro area members such as Greece, several non-eurozone EU states have obtained funds from the bloc's balance of payments assistance facility.Latvia, Hungary and Romania have all received EU/IMF-led loans.

European Commission to back Greek deficit-cutting plan
ANDREW WILLIS Today FEB 1,10 @ 17:25 CET


EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission is set to back Greek government plans to rein in public spending when the full college of 27 commissioners meets this Wednesday (3 February). In comments made to Reuters on Monday morning, and subsequently confirmed at a new conference in Brussels, EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Joaquin Almunia said the Greek spending cuts are achievable but are also surrounded by risks. What we are saying to the Greek authorities is: your stability programme has established ambitious targets and objectives and we fully endorse these ambitious objectives,Mr Almunia told the news agency. We consider that the achievement of these objectives in the coming three years, before the end of 2012, is absolutely necessary. These objectives are achievable but they are surrounded by risks,he added.Last month, Greece's centre-lef Pasok administration submitted a plan to the commission outlining the measures it intends to take in order to bring the country's deficit below three percent by the 2012.The three percent threshold is a cornerstone under the EU's Stability and Growth Pact - a set of macro-economic rules that also limit national debt levels to 60 percent of GDP.

Greece's deficit reached 12.7 percent last year, but the barrier was also exceeded by 19 other member states as stimulus spending, rising unemployment payments and falling tax receipts took their toll on national coffers. As part of Wednesday's communiqué, the commission will also outline a tougher monitoring programme and a list of corrective measures in case Greece fails to meet its programme of budget cuts. We will not accept slippages on the path to the targets, said Mr Almunia. Every time we see slippages, because some risks materialise, we will ask for additional measures to correct these slippages.EU finance ministers are set to adopt the commission recommendations at their regular monthly meeting on the 15-16 February. Greece will subsequently have to submit its first report on the implementation of the steps by 16 March, and at three-month intervals thereafter.

Russian protest inspired by EU neighbours
ANDREW RETTMAN Today FEB 1,10 @ 09:29 CET


The leader of the largest anti-government protest in Russia for almost a decade has said that his region's proximity to EU countries is producing an appetite for political change.Between 7,000 and 12,000 people held a rally in Kaliningrad on Saturday (30 January) in a demonstration that had initially targeted local tax hikes but which ended in calls for more democracy and for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to resign.We don't get our knowledge about the world here from state television, like people in provincial Russia, but from what we see when we visit our neighbours,the protest organiser, Maksim Dorosiok, told Polish daily Gazeta Wyborcza. We see that in neighbouring Poland, where they brought in reforms, where there is democracy, it's cheaper, people earn more, civic bodies function better. Why should we be any worse? Our region is the most European in the whole [Russian] federation because we know Europe and we know how to fight for our rights.Mr Dorosiok, a 40-year-old electrician and a senior figure in the Solidarnost movement (Russian for Solidarity,named after the Polish Solidarnosc trade union), highlighted the parallels between himself and Lech Walesa, a shipyard worker from Gdansk in Poland who in the 1980s led Solidarnosc in opposition against his country's Communist regime.There is a different spirit at rule here. There is a wind blowing from your Gdansk,he told the Polish paper.

The weekend protest in the Kalinigrad exclave, a piece of Russian territory sandwiched between Poland, Lithuania and the Baltic Sea, was the largest anti-government demonstration in the country since 2001.The province, which is home to around 1 million people and a large military base, has been touted by Moscow as a model for potential EU-Russia integration, but suffers from poor living standards and high levels of tuberculosis and HIV.Mr Putin in 2005 abolished elections for the post of governor and installed a loyalist - lighting components millionaire Georgy Boos - to rule Kaliningrad, amid fears that the region was drifting away from central control.Small-scale anti-government protests also took place across Russia over the weekend, with gaggles of demonstrators in Moscow, St Petersburg and Vladivostock also calling for reforms.The main rally, in Moscow, saw police detain 100 out of the 300 or so protestors, newswires report, with senior opposition leader, Boris Nemstov, among those placed under arrest.

WORLD GOVERNMENT
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnq5cQMiAB8&feature=related
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2009/07/we-are-already-under-global-government.html#links
DICK MORRIS-This truly creates a global economic system. From now on, don’t look to Washington for the rule making, look to Brussels.

EPHESIANS 6:10-13
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,(DEMONIC ANGELS IN HIGH PLACES) against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.(SPIRTIUAL DEMONIC PERSONS)
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

LUKE 4:5-7(BECAUSE SATAN OFFERS WORLD POWER, WORLD ORDERERS HAVE ACCEPTED SATANS GIFT)
5 And the devil, taking him (JESUS) up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.
6 And the devil said unto him, All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.
7 If thou therefore wilt worship me, all shall be thine.

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

DANIEL 12:4,1
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
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.
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.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
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.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

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.

Fiorito: The cops came and took my gun-Published On Fri Jan 29 Columnist Joe Fiorito, dual shooter in the woods, circa 1976, armed with a camera and a single-barrel shotgun that is now in the custody of Toronto police.By Joe Fiorito City Columnist

A pounding at the door the other morning; my windows rattled. I was upstairs at work. I don't always leave my desk to hear the good news about Jehovah.The pounder was insistent. I went down, if only for the sake of the windows.Oh, jeeze, the cops.

Officers Firth and Kozar in attendance. What's up, boys? My preference was to talk to them through the plate glass door. They wanted to come inside.Not a chance.

I stepped onto the porch. Who wants two armed strangers in his house, and anyway it was a nice morning.Officer K. said, Are you aware of Project Safe City? I hate it when a guy answers a question with a question. Why do you want to know? Officer K. said,We have reason to believe you have a firearm.Oh, here we go again. The last time a representative of the city showed up at my door, she had reason to believe I had a cat. How did she know? The lady cat cop peered through the window at my curtains and said, Cat hair.I dislike being spied on.I also dislike armed men at the door. And then Officer K. mispronounced my name and asked if I still worked for this newspaper. Hmm. He'd clearly done some research on me, and I had none on him, nor was I sure why my place of employment was important. I asked Officer K. if he'd mind getting to the point. He thought I was being difficult. Not me. I am, however, uncomfortable playing 20 Questions in the morning with armed men on the porch.

The point? Officer K. reminded me that my firearms licence had expired. He said I could turn the gun over to them for storage, or they could take the gun and destroy it.My gun? It is a single-barrel .20 gauge shotgun. It is 40 years old. I used to take it into the woods up north to get partridge in the fall.The last time I used it, I was walking along a hydro cut when I surprised a deer in the long dry grass. She leapt away in slow motion, flanks rippling, nostrils flaring; too beautiful.

I haven't hunted since. I own no shells. But it's my gun, dammit. I guess, when the Feds began the long-gun registry, I should have lied and not bothered to register the damn thing.Officer K. pressed me about turning the gun over, there and then, for storage or destruction. For a brief moment I thought about handing it over, if only to get rid of him and his pal. And then it just seemed wrong: A couple of cops show up at my door, unannounced, and the talkative one says he has reason to believe, and I'm supposed to hand over my property just like that? I hate to write this. I know who's going to respond and how. Let me be clear: I am not one of those pry it out of my cold, dead hands guys. No one in the city but a copper ought to have a handgun. And so on.But I am a fellow who grew up in Northern Ontario and who was once the scourge of the clay pigeon, feared among the partridges. I told Officer K. I would not hand my gun over and he could take the next step, whatever that might be, and close the gate on the way out.Did I think they were aggressive? Yes. Was my response temperate? Not especially.An hour later Officers F. and K. showed up with their boss, Officer Nicolle. He was as angry as he was pushy and he said he wanted the gun or he'd come back with a search warrant.I was offered no options.

No one ever said, look, you have to renew your licence; we'll give you two weeks, here's the paperwork you need; and in two weeks, if you don't have the licence we'll have to ask you for the gun.In the absence of options, faced with a search warrant and outnumbered three to one, I said I'd get the damn shotgun. Officer N. got in my face then and said, using his outdoor voice, Don't you bring up any loaded firearms.
As if, copper.I presume my gun's in storage now. The receipt does not say where or for how long. Aren't you glad the city's safer? Joe Fiorito usually appears Monday, Wednesday and Friday.Email: jfiorito@thestar.ca

SINS OF PEOPLE

2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
6 For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts,
7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

1 TIMOTHY 1:9
9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
10 For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

DECIEVERS WAXING WORSE AND WORSE.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

MORE SIN SIGNS

EPHESIANS 5:5-8
5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:

1 Billion Dollar Pay Off To Taliban
Fascist Soup January 29, 2010


Al Jazeera is reporting what readers of this blog already know.Our criminal government funds and arms the insurgent movement in Afghanistan.

The US Constitution defines treason:Treason against the United States, shall consist only in levying War against them, or in adhering to their Enemies, giving them Aid and Comfort. No Person shall be convicted of Treason unless on the Testimony of two Witnesses to the same overt Act, or on Confession in open Court.

Our criminal government is proposing:…a plan is being considered to pay up to $1bn to Taliban fighters to persuade them to lay down their arms.In advance of an international conference in London to discuss Afghanistan’s future on Thursday, Japan, the United States and Britain are said to be leading the proposal.The scheme would offer cash, jobs and other incentives to the Taliban and fighters in other armed groups.The sum could be as much as between $500m and $1bn over the next five years, Al Jazeera’s James Bays, reporting from London, said.

Can any one tell me how this is not high treason?

I can actually taste the outrage in my mouth right now as I read this. Pretty much a first for me. The level of brazen hubris and open contempt for the American troops is absolutely stunning.Arming the insurgents and openly funding them by paying off supply routes just isn’t enough! We need a billion dollars in bribe money to ensure the war continues forever!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2e89jp1ykE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPwPLLi8vto&feature=player_embedded
The Sharp Dressed Man Who Aided Mutallab Onto Flight 253 Was U.S. Government Agent -Kurt Haskell Infowars.com January 30, 2010
http://www.infowars.com/the-sharp-dressed-man-who-aided-mutallab-onto-flight-253-was-u-s-government-agent/

Please note that in the article that follows, I am not claiming that the U.S. Government knew Mutallab had a bomb or intended to hurt anyone on Flight 253 when the U.S. Government let him board.Umar Farouk Abulutallab.

Since our flight landed on Christmas Day, Lori and I have been doing everything in our power to uncover the truth about why we were almost blown up in the air over Detroit. The truth is now finally out after the publication of the following Detroit News article:http://detnews.com/article/20100127/NATION/1270405/Terror-suspect-kept-visa-to-avoid-tipping-off-larger-investigation

Let me quote from the article:Patrick F. Kennedy, an undersecretary for management at the State Department, said Abdulmutallab’s visa wasn’t taken away because intelligence officials asked his agency not to deny a visa to the suspected terrorist over concerns that a denial would’ve foiled a larger investigation into al-Qaida threats against the United States.Revocation action would’ve disclosed what they were doing, Kennedy said in testimony before the House Committee on Homeland Security. Allowing Adbulmutallab to keep the visa increased chances federal investigators would be able to get closer to apprehending the terror network he is accused of working with,rather than simply knocking out one solider in that effort.

Now it all becomes apparent. Let me detail everything we know about the Sharp Dressed Man(SDM).

1. While being held in Customs on Christmas Day, I first told the story of the SDM.

2. My story has never changed.

3. The FBI visited my office on December 29, 2009, and showed me a series of approximately 10 photographs. None were of the SDM. I asked the FBI if they brought the Amsterdam security video to help me identify the SDM, but they acted as though my request was ridiculous. The FBI asked me what accent the SDM spoke in and I indicated that he had an American accent similar to my own. I further indicated that he wore a tan suit without a tie, was Indian looking, around age 50, 6′0 tall and 250-260 lbs. I further indicated that I did not believe that he was an airline employee and that he was not on our flight.

4. During the first week of January, 2010, Dutch Military Police and the FBI indicated that over 200 Hours of Amsterdam airport security video had been reviewed and it Shows Nothing.

5. The mainstream media picked up the Shows nothing story, which slanders my story. After visiting my office twice for a flight 253 special, Dateline NBC and Chris Hanson indicated that my story was Unsubstantiated rumor dispelled as myth and our story did not air during the tv special.

6. On January 2, 2010, I receive a call from a flight 253 passenger who indicated to me that it may be in my best interest to stop talking publicly about the SDM because he believes I am wrong in what I saw. He did not make any claim that he saw the SDM boarding gate incident at all. This call was made out of the blue after he made a revelation of this event on January 1, 2010. I later discover that this caller has ties to the U.S. Government.

7. On January 20, 2009, current Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Michael E. Leiter, made a startling admission. Leiter indicated that:I will tell you, that when people come to the country and they are on the watch list, it is because we have generally made the choice that we want them here in the country for some reason or another.

8. On January 22, 2010, CongressDaily reported that intelligence officials have acknowledged the government knowingly allows foreigners whose names are on terrorist watch lists to enter the country in order to track their movement and activities.

CongressDaily also reported, citing an unnamed intelligence official that Michael E. Leiter’s statement on January 20, 2010, reflected government policy and told the publication, in certain situations it’s to our advantage to be able to track individuals who might be on a terrorist watch list because you can learn something from their activities and their contacts.

9. On Janury 22, 2009, ABC News published an article that shoed a change of position in the government’s official story. Please see the following blog post for more information:http://haskellfamily.blogspot.com/2010/01/initially-discounted.html
The U.S. government provided no explanation for the reason my story was initially discounted.

10. The SDM could not be from Al Qaeda. When speaking at the counter in Amsterdam, the SDM said the following He is from Sudan, we do this all the time. Who is we? If it is Al Qaeda, you surely don’t make such a statement to an airposrt security official.

11. The SDM could not be from airport security. The SDM did not dress in any secuirty uniform and did not appear to have any security badge. The SDM did not speak with a Dutch accent. The SDM dressed in a suit coat and pants. If the SDM was a higher up security official, he would not have to convince the ticket agent to let Mutallab on the plane without a valid passport. Instead, he would just order her to do it.

12. Could the SDM have been a U.S. Government official? He dressed in a suit and not a security uniform. Check. He indicated we do this all the time. Could we be the U.S. Government? Check. He spoke Enlish with an American accent. Check. Would he need to convice the ticket agent that this was a normal procedure to allow boarding without a passport? Check. Would he have the ability to obtain such clearance? Check. Could he enter this security area even though he wasn’t a passenger? Check. Would the ticket agent likely refer this request to a manager? Check. Would the U.S. Government not want this information public and try to hide it? Check.

13. The Amsterdam security video has not been released. A much more minor airport security violation occurred at the Newark New Jersay airport several days after the flight 253 incident. That video was released shortly thereafter.

14. Senators Levin and Stabenow, as well as Congressman Dingle, all refuse to discuss the matter with me.With the information we already knew and the admission from the above referenced Detroit News article, we have evidence and claims made by government officials that the U.S. Government wanted Mutallab to proceed into the U.S. in order to obtain information on other terrorists involved with him. Once we take this statement and add it to my eyewitness account of a Sharp Dressed Man escorting Mutallab through the boarding process and allowing him to baord without a valid passport we can make the connection that the Sharp Dressed Man was a U.S. Government offical/agent.

The reasoning behind the following events now becomes very clear:

1. The reason Mutallab got through security despite the numerous warnings for months before our flight.

2. The reason why there have been so many lies from the U.S. Governemnt attempting to discredit my eyewitness account.

3. The reason why the Amsterdam airport security video is being hidden from the public.

4. The reason why the government is proposing a Failed to Connect the Dots account of the failure. The truth is too damning.

5. The reason why Mr. Wolf of the Obama administration indicated on the Keith Olberman Show that the White House was investigating a possible intentional act from within the U.S. Government as the reason for the Christmas Day attack.

6. The explanation for the cameraman and why he hasn’t been identified (Obviously, he was another U.S. Government agent) whose job was to film Mutallab for some governmental purpose.

7. The reason for the lax security after landing, which can be attributed to foreknowledge of the possible suspects involved.

8. The reason for the failure to search or secure the plane and passengers after landing, which can also be attributed to foreknowledge of the possible suspects involved.

9. The corporate media’s attempt to bury my eyewitness account.

10. Carl Levin’s, Debbie Stabenow’s and John Dingle’s intentional avoidance of my story and failure to return my calls/emails.

11. Janet Naploitano’s statement that The System Worked. From her point of view it probably did as this WAS PART OF THE SYSTEM!

IDF to Remove Jesus Gun Codes by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu

(IsraelNN.com) A Michigan company that supplies gun sights to Israel and other companies has agreed to provide a kit to remove the JN8:12 code, a reference to the New Testament passage of John 8:12 that Jesus is the light of the world. Another type of the company’s gun sights is stamped with 2COR4:6,a reference to part of the second letter of Paul to the Corinthians.The coded references are etched on the sights and are barely visible on the hundreds of thousands of rifles supplied to several countries around the world, including the United States and Israel. The IDF Rabbinate told Arutz Sheva that the codes do not violate Jewish law but that it is preferable to remove them because of the sensitivity regarding their appearance on weapons used by the army of the Jewish State.The IDF said it was unaware of the codes until the issue was raised in the United States. The coded gun sights appear on many Israeli rifles as well as 300,000 gun sights in the U.S. army and marines.

The guns with the coded gun sights have been termed Jesus rifles, and U.S. General David Petraeus, head of the American Central Command, called their appearance disturbing and said that they could create a perception that is absolutely contrary to what we have sought.Trijicon, founded by an evangelical Christian, announced it would be providing free kits for removing the coded references on the gun sights. The company stated, As part of our faith and our belief in service to our country, Trijicon has put Scripture references on our products for more than two decades. Trijicon has proudly served the US military for more than two decades, and our decision to offer to voluntarily remove these references is both prudent and appropriate.Americans have raised concerns that the sights violate a government ban on proselytizing troops. Australia and New Zealand have ordered their troops on the front lines to remove the codes, but British officials said they did not issue a similar order because it would have a detrimental effect on combat operations. The Council on American-Islamic Relations warned that the gun sights were a potential recruiting tool for anti-American forces.The codes never came into widespread notice until a former U.S. air force officer, Michael Weinstein, brought the issue to public attention. He operates the Military Religious Freedom Foundation.

Rev. Dr. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance in New York, wrote U.S. President Barack Obama, Images of American soldiers as Christian crusaders come to mind when they are carrying weaponry bearing such verses. This incident simply adds to the perception that religion rather than national security is at the heart of our military’s presence abroad.

Everything that could go bad, did not By Krishna Guha in Washington Published: January 31 2010 19:59

Look back in anger: Hank Paulson is frustrated critics do not acknowledge the disasters averted by timely actions

EDITOR’S CHOICE
Clive Crook: America can square its fiscal circle - Jan-31.Paulson claims Russia tried to foment Fannie-Freddie crisis - Jan-29.Financial crisis inquiry - Jan-14..Hank Paulson feared there would be a run on the dollar during the early phase of the financial crisis when global concerns were focused on the US, the former Treasury secretary has told the Financial Times.

It was a real concern,Mr Paulson said in an interview ahead of the release on Monday of his memoir On the Brink. A dollar collapse would have been catastrophic, he said. Everything that could go bad did not go bad. We never had the big dislocation of the dollar.When the crisis escalated and went global with the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, the dollar rallied – but Mr Paulson had to grapple with a firestorm of financial failures.He feared Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley would go down along with Washington Mutual and Wachovia.Excerpt from On the Brink, Saturday September 13 2008 (during the Lehman Brothers crisis weekend)I left the New York Fed before 9pm, optimistic about the prospects for a deal. The industry was doing its part to come up with funding, and I had reason to believe we would find a solution to Barclays’ need for a shareholder vote.

Anticipating another sleep-deprived night, I arrived back at the hotel exhausted. I went into the bathroom of my room and pulled out a bottle of sleeping pills I’d been given. As a Christian scientist, I don’t take medication, but that night I desperately needed rest.I stood under the harsh bathroom lights, staring at the small pill in the palm of my hand. Then I flushed it – and the contents of the entire bottle – down the toilet. I longed for a good night’s rest. For that, I decided, I would rely on prayer, placing my trust in a Higher Power...Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman Sachs chairman, told him that Goldman would be next if speculators succeeded in bringing down Morgan Stanley, the former Treasury secretary said. If they go, we’re next,Mr Blankfein told Mr Paulson, a former Goldman chairman who had recused himself from decisions relating to his former company.US officials explored the possibility of mergers between JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, Goldman and Citigroup, or Goldman and Wachovia, before settling on turning Morgan Stanley and Goldman into banks with access to central bank loans.

Even then, Morgan Stanley was not safe until the US Treasury helped seal an investment by Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ, Mr Paulson writes.The frenzied manoeuvring came in the three-week period between the failure of Lehman on September 15 2008, and Columbus Day weekend in early October, when the global financial system was on the verge of meltdown.Banks were going down like flies, Mr Paulson told the FT. As his book details, he was scrambling to secure Tarp bail-out funds from Congress.The timing could not have been worse since we were months or weeks from the election so you had the collision of markets and politics.Although a Republican, Mr Paulson found it harder to deal with John McCain than Barack Obama – raising the interesting (and unanswered) question of which candidate Mr Paulson voted for.Mr Paulson said that the turning point in the crisis came when – armed at last with Tarp equity – the US joined other Group of Seven nations to announce comprehensive interventions to guarantee bank funding and access to capital on October 10.Three days later, Mr Paulson pressured nine top US financial institutions into accepting $125bn (€90bn, £75bn) in Tarp capital. I do think it was the defining act,Mr Paulson said.

Mr Paulson said the US authorities lacked essential tools to deal with a crisis – above all a controlled bankruptcy regime for non-bank financial companies.He hopes his book conveys the pace at which things were moving and the number of decisions that had to be made in very short time frames.He said he was surprised by the vehemence of the public reaction against bail-outs. He told the FT there was a disconnect between the way policymakers saw their actions and the way the public perceived them.We knew, I knew that when the markets froze there was going to be a painful impact on the economy a number of weeks out.Mr Paulson is frustrated that people do not pay more attention to disasters averted by timely actions – including the move to seize control of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.Instead, most debate centres on the failure to stop Lehman from collapsing, and the decision to rescue insurance giant AIG. Critics say the Treasury should have deployed its sole pre-Tarp source of capital, the Exchange Stabilisation Fund, to backstop a rescue. However, Mr Paulson said Treasury lawyers had been through this during the Bear Stearns crisis six months earlier and concluded that it would not be lawful.Others fault top US officials for not doing a better job of preparing for a Lehman collapse.Mr Paulson said the US was taken by surprise by the UK bankruptcy administrator’s decision to seize hedge fund assets held by Lehman – a move he said was devastating.

He also admitted: I did not see the money markets moving as quickly as they did after the Lehman collapse. But he said there were limits to what could have been done in general to mitigate a Lehman failure without precipitating its immediate collapse.On AIG, Mr Paulson said he had nothing to do with the controversial decision to pay counterparties at par – and found out about it only in December when AIG made a public disclosure.The decision to rescue AIG was a Fed authority, a Fed decision and the Fed was responsible for administering that loan,he told the FT.His book hints that the Treasury was less than enthusiastic about supporting the original Federal Reserve loan with later Tarp equity – but Mr Paulson refused to discuss AIG further.Looking back, Mr Paulson is confident that – notwithstanding criticism – the big calls were the right ones. This Monday morning quarter-backing misses the point – that guess what, we did take the important actions that it took to stop the system from collapsing.The Financial Times Limited 2010.

The Fed – Just One Giant Money Counterfeiter
Tyler Durden Zero Hedge February 1, 2010


Must read perspective on the Federal Reserve, by Robert Murphy, published originally at Ludwig von Mises Institute

San Jose State economics professor Jeffrey Rogers Hummel tells all his students that the easiest way to understand the Federal Reserve is to think of it as a giant, legalized counterfeiter. I had always known that the Fed and other central banks were like counterfeiters, but I still thought that the actual mechanics of open-market operations and so forth actually provided some important distinctions.In large part because of my frequent email exchanges with Hummel, I now realize that I was being naïve. Once you understand the details of modern central banking, you are able to step back and see that it truly is a way for the government to use the printing press to pay its bills. All of the complicated process of targeting interest rates through buying Treasuries simply hides this essential point — and perhaps deliberately so.

An Old-Fashioned Monarch With a Printing Press
Before we examine Fed operations, let’s start with something simpler. Suppose there is a powerful monarch reigning over a large, industrialized country. The monarch has managed to wean his subjects off commodity money such as gold or silver, and instead they use fiat notes, rectangular slips of paper featuring the king’s portrait. The king has a printing press at his disposal, which gives him unlimited ability to create more slips of paper with which he can buy goods throughout his kingdom.At first, one might think that our hypothetical king has infinite wealth. But upon reflection, we see that there are actually pragmatic limits on how much new money he will print up each year. It’s true that there are no legal constraints on how many notes he can create, but the more monetary inflation he sows, the greater the price inflation he will reap.At some point, the monarch would actually make himself poorer in the long run by running the printing press too heavily in the present. For example, if he doubled the stock of money in one year, the resulting price inflation would destabilize his economy and cause much needless capital consumption. His subjects would be less willing to invest in their businesses and retirement portfolios, knowing that he might effectively confiscate their savings again through massive creation of new money. Foreign investors too would be wary of exposing themselves to his country if he made his fiat currency too volatile.Because of these considerations, the monarch would no doubt run off new money every year from his printing press, but he wouldn’t overdo it. He would aim for a moderate level of constant price inflation, with the purchasing power of his fiat currency slowly falling over time in a predictable manner. Each year, the new influx of money into the economy would represent a transfer of wealth from all other currency holders into the king’s possession.

{openx:49}
Now what if our monarch is really profligate? What if he wants to spend more money than the income and tribute he earns in his position as monarch, even including the amount of new money he dares to create each year with his printing press, can support? In this case, the monarch can still resort to old-fashioned borrowing. Therefore in any given year, the monarch can only spend what he collects in tribute (taxes), debt financing, and inflation.

Modern Counterfeiting, Fed Style
At first glance, our present monetary system is nothing like the simple tale of a king with a printing press. For one thing, the US Treasury is a distinct entity from the Federal Reserve. When the US federal government runs a budget deficit, it can’t simply have the Fed print up enough $100 bills to cover the shortfall. No, the Treasury always covers its budget deficits by issuing debt, referred to as Treasuries. These are bonds, IOUs sold by the Treasury to outside investors who lend the Treasury money today in the hopes of being paid back in the future.But wait, there’s more to the story. One of the main buyers of this Treasury debt is the Federal Reserve itself. This phenomenon is especially pronounced during emergencies such as major wars and the current financial crisis. Indeed, in the second quarter of 2009, the Federal Reserve was the effective buyer of some 48 percent of the new Treasury debt issued that period, as part of its quantitative easing. It’s true, the Fed doesn’t show up at the Treasury auctions and directly buy the new T-bills and so forth, but private dealers pay higher prices for the Treasuries knowing that the Fed is waiting in the wings to pick them up.At this point let’s review exactly what happens when the Federal Reserve buys Treasuries from private dealers. Let’s say the Fed wants to buy $1 million worth of T-bills from Joe Smith. So it writes Joe a check for $1 million, drawn on the Fed itself. Joe hands the T-bills over to the Fed, where they end up on the asset side of its balance sheet. Joe then deposits the check in his personal checking account, which goes up by $1 million.So at this point the Fed has increased the money supply by $1 million. In normal times, because of the fractional-reserve banking system, Joe’s bank would lend out $900,000 of the new deposit to another customer, so that the money supply would grow even further. But that’s not what interests us in this article, so we’ll leave that train of thought.

What we want to focus on is the effect of the Fed’s purchase on the US Treasury. By entering the bond market and buying Treasuries (with money created out of thin air), the Fed pushes up the price of the bonds. That of course means that their yield drops. So, for example, if the Treasury issues a T-bill promising to pay the holder $10,000 in 12 months, then the auction price determines how much money the Treasury actually gets to borrow now in exchange for this promise to pay back $10,000 in one year. If the demand is such that people pay $9,901 for each T-bill with a face value of $10,000, then the Treasury gets to borrow money for a year at an interest rate of 1 percent.Already we see why the folks at the Treasury are big fans of the Fed’s quantitative easing program, in which Bernanke decided it was in the national interest to begin adding more than a trillion dollars’ worth of Treasury debt to the Fed’s balance sheet. If nothing else, the Fed’s massive buying of Treasury debt pushes up the auction price of the Treasuries, meaning the federal government can borrow at cheaper interest rates.Now, if this were the whole story, it would be fishy but not nearly as bad as our hypothetical monarch with the printing press. Sure, the Fed would create new dollars (which would push up dollar prices of goods and services) in order to keep the Treasury’s borrowing costs low. But still, the Treasury would have to pay some interest on its debt, especially for longer-dated debt with higher yields, like 10-year Treasury notes. So although the mechanism we have described would encourage the Treasury to run higher deficits at the expense of average people, who suffer from rising prices, things don’t seem nearly as crooked as they were in the case of our monarch.Ah, but we’re not done yet. Not only does the Fed’s accumulation of Treasury debt artificially push down the interest rate, but the Fed gives the interest payments right back to the Treasury! After all, interest is how the Fed makes money.It writes checks on itself (created out of thin air) and accumulates assets, and then earns the interest and (in some cases) capital gains on the assets. But after the Fed pays its employees, pays its electric bill, and throws the staff Christmas party, it remits the excess earnings back to the Treasury.

For example, in fiscal year 2008 the Federal Reserve distributed to the US Treasury some $31.7 billion (page 173) of its net earnings. To repeat, much of this money consisted of interest payments that the Treasury paid out to the holders of its debt, who just so happened to be the Fed for much of it. So not only is the official rate of interest kept artificially low by the Fed’s money-creation, but the interest payments themselves are largely refunded to the Treasury, to the extent that the Fed ends up holding the Treasuries rather than outsiders.All right, so the Fed (a) suppresses the interest rate on Treasury debt and (b) refunds virtually all of the interest payments on Treasury debt held by the Fed. And remember, the way the Fed does this is through creating new dollars out of thin air, in order to buy the Treasury debt from the original investors who lent money to the Treasury. Therefore the Fed is clearly giving aid to the US government’s deficit spending at the expense of everyone holding assets denominated in US dollars.Still, the one thing holding back the complete recklessness of the feds is that they still have to pay off the principal of their bonds when they mature, right? In other words, all we’ve really shown is that the Fed allows the Treasury to run deficits virtually at zero interest expense, at least for debt held by the Fed. But this is still a far cry from our hypothetical monarch, who had a whole component of his expenses which he met year in and year out by running the printing press.Sorry, but our own monetary system has the same feature. When the Treasury securities held by the Fed mature — so that the Treasury has to pay back the face value in principal — the Fed rolls over the debt. Over time, the nominal market value of the Fed’s holdings of Treasury debt continually grows. Barring a sudden reversal in this policy, the Treasury knows that it will never have to pay off this debt. For all practical purposes, any Treasury debt ultimately finding its way onto the Fed’s balance sheet is economically equivalent to our monarch running the printing press to pay his bills.[1]We have just one last consideration. Up till now we’ve seen that the modern US government, with its complicated central bank and fiat money system, operates essentially as a king with a simple printing press, to the extent that the Fed is willing to accumulate larger holdings of Treasury debt. But what determines how much the Fed is willing to take on? At what point would the Fed decide to ease off on its open-market operations and stop creating so many new dollars to (indirectly) hand over to the government? The ultimate constraint on the Fed’s operations is the same one our hypothetical king faced: investor and citizen backlash in response to rising prices. That is, the Federal Reserve can only absorb so much of the Treasury’s new debt each year because too much dollar-creation would lead to unacceptably high price inflation. Thus our profligate government, like the hypothetical monarch, must finance some of its spending through traditional borrowing from private citizens and other governments.

Conclusion
Stripped of its fancy terminology and confusing mechanics, modern central banking boils down to a legalized counterfeiting operation. If there were suddenly a widespread public outcry to punt the press,we can bet our hypothetical monarch would mobilize all his allies in the media to discredit the people threatening his source of revenue. In that light, we can understand the reaction today to people calling to end the Fed.

Stocks climb as manufacturing, spending increase By TIM PARADIS and IEVA M. AUGSTUMS, AP Business Writers – FEB 1,10

NEW YORK – Stock indexes rose Monday as a flurry of reports bolstered hopes that the economy is recovering.The stronger reports on manufacturing activity and personal incomes helped shore up the market's sentiment after three straight losing weeks that left stocks with a loss for January. Investors were already becoming more optimistic thanks to news on Friday that the economy grew at the fastest pace in six years in the final three months of 2009.Major indicators started higher and kept the momentum up through midday trading. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 80 points, and other indexes logged similar gains. Energy stocks led the market higher following a strong earnings report from Exxon Mobil.In economic news, U.S. manufacturing activity grew for a sixth straight month in January to the strongest level since August 2004, according to the Institute for Supply Management. The trade group said factories increased production as customers replenished inventories.The ISM's manufacturing index jumped to 58.4 in January from 54.9 in December. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had expected a level of 55.5. Any reading above 50signals growth.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said consumer spending increased by 0.2 percent in December, its third straight monthly gain. The government also said personal income increased more than expected in December.The economy and the recovery seem to be on track. The GDP number on Friday and the ISM number today confirm that, said Kevin Shacknofsky, portfolio manager of the Alpine Dynamic Dividend Fund in Purchase, N.Y.The government reported last Friday that the U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the final three months of 2009, a pace far stronger than economists had forecast.The positive signals in the economic reports lent support to a market that fell sharply in late January, marking its worst monthly performance since the bear market early last year. The Dow Jones industrials reached a 15-month high of 10,725.43 on Jan. 19 but is still down 6.1 percent since then.In midday trading, the Dow rose 80.86, or 0.8 percent, to 10,148.19. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 10.00, or 0.9 percent, to 1,083.87. The Nasdaq composite index rose 9.12, or 0.4 percent, to 2,156.47.Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.66 percent from 3.60 percent late Friday.

The dollar mostly fell against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

On Monday, President Barack Obama sent the U.S. Congress a $3.83 trillion budget that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment and boost taxes on the wealthy. The nation's unemployment rate sits at 10 percent.In corporate news, Exxon Mobil Corp. reported its fourth-quarter earnings fell 23 percent but topped analysts' estimates. The company's shares rose $1.87, or 2.9 percent, to $66.30, helping boost energy stocks.Crude oil rose 90 cents to $73.79 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Three stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 395.5 million shares compared with 470.4 million shares traded at the same point Friday.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.93, or 0.3 percent, to 603.97.In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.1 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.8 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 0.6 percent. Earlier, Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.1 percent. Augstums reported from Charlotte, N.C.

WORLD TERRORISM

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.

2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men

LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Female suicide bomber hits Iraq pilgrims, kills 54 By BUSHRA JUHI, Associated Press Writer – FEB 1,10

BAGHDAD – A female suicide bomber mingling among Shiite pilgrims in Baghdad detonated an explosives belt Monday, killing at least 54 people, officials said.The bombing was the first major strike this year against pilgrims making their way to the southern city of Karbala to mark a Shiite holy day. It came as a security official warned of a possible increase in attacks by insurgents using new tactics to bypass bomb-detection methods.The bombing raises fears of an escalation of attacks as hundreds of thousands of Shiites head to Karbala to mark on Friday the end of 40 days of mourning following the anniversary of the death Imam Hussein, a revered Shiite figure.The bomber hid the explosives underneath an abaya — a black cloak worn from head to toe by women — as she joined a group of pilgrims on the outskirts of Baghdad's Shiite-dominated neighborhood of Shaab, said Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, Baghdad's top military spokesman.The bomber set off the blast as she lined up with other women to be searched by female security guards at a security checkpoint just inside a rest tent, al-Moussawi said.A police official said 54 people, including 18 women and 12 children, were killed and 117 were wounded. A hospital official confirmed the casualties. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.Witnesses described a chaotic scene in the minutes after the blast.Raheem Kadhom, 35, said he was standing nearby when a huge fireball erupted among the pilgrims.

Pilgrims were on the ground, covered in blood and crying for help, he said.Banners were all over the ground and covered in blood.The blast was so powerful it knocked some out of their slippers and shoes, which were scattered across the ground, he said, adding how people put the wounded in cars, taking them to hospitals rather than wait for ambulances.Despite an overall decline in violence in Iraq, al-Qaida and other Sunni extremists have routinely targeted pilgrims in an attempt to stoke sectarian strife and weaken the Shiite-dominated government.The vast numbers of pilgrims and the distances many of them must travel at predictable times of the year make it all but impossible to guarantee their safety against extremist groups. The pilgrims targeted Monday were walking from the northeast Diyala province and other areas north of Baghdad, police said.During a pilgrimage in February of last year, a female suicide bomber attacked a tent filled with women and children resting during the walk to Karbala, killing 40 people and wounding 60 others. A month before that, a suicide bomber dressed in women's clothing and hiding among Iranian pilgrims killed more than three dozen people outside a mosque in Baghdad's Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah.Security forces were put on alert shortly after Monday's attack, al-Moussawi said.We informed all checkpoints to be careful and to intensify the search procedures, he said.Iraqi authorities lack enough policewomen to conduct searches of female travelers at most checkpoints, and security forces have been reluctant to use bomb-sniffing dogs against people because of cultural sensitivities.

Al-Moussawi warned insurgent groups were using new tactics to smuggle explosives past security forces.Terrorist groups have come up with ways to hide explosive substances that cannot be detected with bomb detector sets, he said in a statement posted on his Web site. Iraq's forces have been using a bomb-detection device at checkpoints across the country that Britain banned for export after questions were raised about whether it works. Iraqi security officials have insisted it works, though they began their own investigation after the U.S. military also said the device did not work. Meanwhile, Baghdad's military command has referred 134 members of Iraq's security forces for investigation. They are suspected of negligence for the security lapses that allowed last week's suicide bombings at three hotels and Baghdad's main crime lab, al-Moussawi said. Meanwhile, Iraq's election planning has been mired in controversy over the banning of candidates for suspected ties to Baath Party, with some Sunnis claiming the blacklist is an attempt by the Shiite-led government to undermine their candidates. U.S. Ambassador Christopher Hill told The Associated Press Monday that the elections need to be widely accepted as fair otherwise protests by the losers will bog down the new government. Hill believes that a fierce controversy over a ballot purge of candidates who are suspected Saddam Hussein loyalists will likely be resolved before the vote. An estimated 450 candidates have been barred from the ballot for suspected links to Saddam's now outlawed Baath Party. Hill said he believes Iraq's government will open its vetting process to show voters why certain candidates were disqualified from running.
Associated Press Writers Chelsea J. Carter, Lara Jakes and Qassim Abdul-Zahra contributed to this report.

Jordan criticized for stripping Palestinian rights By DALE GAVLAK, Associated Press Writer – FEB 1,10

AMMAN, Jordan – A U.S.-based human rights group criticized Jordan Monday for stripping the citizenship of nearly 3,000 Jordanians of Palestinian origin in recent years.Nearly half the kingdom's 6 million people are of Palestinian origin and Jordan fears that if Palestinians become the majority, it will disrupt the delicate demographic balance. Those concerns have been heightened by some Israeli hard-liners who argue that neighboring Jordan should become the Palestinian state and that more West Bank Palestinians should be pushed into Jordan.Palestinians want to establish an independent state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with east Jerusalem as their capital.Concerned about increasing numbers of Palestinians in the country, Jordan in 2004 began revoking citizenship from Palestinians who do not have the Israeli permits that are necessary to reside in the West Bank.Human Rights Watch said Jordan stripped about 2,700 Jordanians of Palestinian origin of their citizenship between 2004 and 2008 and urged them to restore their full rights. The trend continued last year, the group said in a report released in the Jordanian capital, Amman.The Jordanian measure rendered the Palestinians stateless, depriving them of passports, voting rights, education, travel, health care and jobs, said Christoph Wilcke, HRW researcher on Jordan.Jordan is playing politics with the basic rights of thousands of its citizens, said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

Jordanian officials denied any wrongdoing.Jordan ruled the West Bank and east Jerusalem from 1950 until 1967, when Israel seized the territories in war. In 1988, Jordan renounced all claims to the West Bank. Most of Jordan's Palestinians fled successive Arab-Israeli conflicts since 1948. But there is no clear breakdown on how many Palestinians come from the West Bank.Wilcke said there is no part of Jordan's law that allows the Interior Ministry to withdraw nationality by imposing new conditions,such as having Israeli-issued residency permits for the West Bank.Those permits are extremely difficult to obtain, given Israel's restrictive policies on granting residency rights to Palestinians, Wilcke added.Interior Ministry spokesman Karim Naber claimed Jordan did not revoke anyone's citizenship but only suspended giving social security numbers pending reunification of families in the West Bank.

Most Palestinians hesitate to take their cases to the courts, fearing legal steps would only finalize their loss of Jordanian citizenship, Wilcke said.A few Palestinian Jordanians have had their citizenship reinstated, often with help from the royal court, Wilcke added, but provide no definitive figure.Defending the measure, Interior Minister Nayef al-Qadi recently said the government wants Jordanians of Palestinian origin to clarify their status by renewing permits that recognize them as West Bank citizens in order to preserve their Palestinian identity.
Wilcke warned others could be at risk from a similar measure, such as 250,000 Jordanians of Palestinian origin expelled by Kuwait during the 1991 Gulf War.

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