UN CLIMATE SCAMMER RESIGNS

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).

Freemasons keen to open office in EU capital
ANDREW RETTMAN Today FEB 18,10 @ 09:41 CET

A French freemason has said that part of the movement is keen to open a bureau in Brussels to lobby against the rising influence of religious organisations in the EU institutions.The masonic orders should practice politics in the positive sense of the term: So that despite their own partisan divisions, they speak out on the side of secularism and voice their disagreement with this or that governmental or European decision,Jean-Michel Quillardet, the former Grand Master of the Grand Orient de France, told Belgian daily Le Soir in an interview out on Wednesday (17 February).He said that masonic lodges in Europe remain divided on the subject, with some more shy than others of attracting publicity by opening an office in the EU capital. But he added that practical problems are more important than the divisions and sketched out an agenda for the future outfit.I think we will one day manage to create a general masonic delegation, for the sake of free-thinking in the European institutions. It's possible politically. It's less possible at the financial level, as we have infinitely smaller resources than the churches," Mr Quillardet explained.

The mason said that the Brussels bureau's first task would be to promote the idea of citizenship:It is necessary to impose the universal idea of the Enlightenment, which consists of the notion that people are citizens and European citizens before being Jewish, black, Maghreb, homosexual, heterosexual.Mr Quillardet explained that the Grand Orient de France has already created a cell which attempts to bring together all the lodges in Europe.In 2007 it organised a pan-European masonic congress in Strasbourg, with subsequent meetings in 2008 and 2009 in Greece and Turkey. The 2010 event is to be in Portugal.The freemason added that in 2008 European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso for the first time met with delegates from a group of lodges including his own and in the same year wrote a letter to the international congress in Athens. We told him that apart from its Christian roots, Europe owed much to Greek and Roman philosophy, Renaissance humanism and the Enlightenment. We obtained representation for masonic orders and for groups which defend secularism in Bepa, he said, in reference to the Bureau of European Policy Advisers, a high-level policy analysis unit in the EU commission. The Barroso letter was for us a recognition on the intellectual landscape,Mr Quillardet explained.

Greece facing Goldman Sachs debt deal scrutiny By Pan Pylas, Ap Business Writer – FEB 18,10

LONDON – The practice wasn't secret and it wasn't illegal, and some of it happened 10 or 15 years ago. But the practice of European governments reportedly using complex financial transactions to move debt off their books is getting closer attention from markets and the European Union.The deals, known as swaps, let some governments shrink the apparent size of their debts, unsettling news at a time when markets are taking stock of Europe's struggle with rising budget deficits.Greece has until Friday to disclose to the European Commission how it used complex currency swap deals and whether they were used to conceal the real scale of its debt — specifically a 2001 deal that Greek officials said they did with U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs.Under the deal, known as a currency swap, Greek dollar and yen debt was reportedly exchanged for euro debt for a period at an advantageous rate to be reversed at a later date. The effect was to show less debt in the near-term.The deals carry some of the hallmarks of the financial crisis — such as off-balance sheet liabilities and highly complex financial arrangements.Christine Lagarde, France's finance minister, said the EU statistics agency Eurostat would examine how Goldman Sachs helped Greece structure, postpone a certain number of debt repayments.

You have to know first of all whether it was doctoring the accounts and if this was legal or not at the time it was done, and if it was legal, it will be necessary to find out whether it was favorable for stability. Probably not. And in that case, how we can avoid a repeat, if those measures already were taken,Greece wasn't necessarily doing anything new — Italy did something similar in the 1990s while Belgium has also been mentioned by analysts as using financial derivatives to improved its reported fiscal position.Professor Gustavo Piga of the University of Rome has warned for years that more and more governments were using the complex financial instruments that mushroomed during the 1990s.Piga is amazed that in the nine years since he wrote an analysis about the growing involvement of governments in the derivatives markets that no one at the European Central Bank or Eurostat, the EU's statistics office — even journalists — got in touch with him to discuss his findings.However, he hopes that the current concern surrounding Greece's deal with Goldman Sachs finally triggers belated reforms of this opaque practice.Piga told The Associated Press that governments should not be banned from using trading in complex financial instruments as part of their debt management — he said Sweden and Denmark appear to have done so in according with good practice. But such deals should be more transparent and comply with accounting standards.The scandal needs fixing; it was never done before but I hope it will be now, said Piga.This creates further confusion about the state of the accounts and investors will be asking higher risk premia as things start to unravel again.Greece's dire debt situation has been the main driver in the markets over the last month or so as investors fret about the new Greek government's ability to slash its budget deficit from 12.7 percent to 8.7 percent of GDP this year alone.

The former head of Greece's public debt agency argues that it didn't break the rules and that it wasn't alone in employing novel financial instruments to manage its debts.Christoforos Sardelis, the head of Greece's Public Debt Management Agency from 1999 to 2004, slammed suggestions that the debt refinancing operation with Goldman Sachs was meant to mask the country's debt and insisted that it was conducted in accordance to then-existing EU accounting rules — through the deal, Greece is thought to have booked a near $1 billion profit, used to neatly trim the deficit.
Since 2002, when the rules changed, securitizations and swaps have been recorded as part of the public debt,said Sardelis.Though Greece insists it has been playing by the rules, the swap deals still require servicing at some point — the Commission will hope to get details on this on Friday. This could be costly to the country, further undermining the government's ability to get a grip on its public finances. A Feb. 1 report commissioned by the Greek finance ministry warned of significant debt revisions for 2009 partly because of the swaps. Greece isn't the only party in the line of fire — there are growing calls for the banks themselves to face an investigation in a much wider probe. Simon Johnson, an economics professor at the MIT Sloan School Management and a former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, thinks the Commission should launch a special audit of Goldman Sachs and all its European clients going back to the start of the euro in 1999, and that the U.S. Federal Reserve should cooperate with the investigation. If this were the U.S., they would get a gentle tap on the wrist but in Europe, they're more skeptical about big banks,he said. Goldman Sachs was aiding and abetting efforts to undermine the single currency rules, said Johnson. Goldman Sachs officials offered no statement on the matter. Johnson said an audit is crucial if European policymakers are going to design a better framework to help out weaker eurozone economies in the future. AP Business Writer Aoife White in Brussels, Demetris Nellas in Athens and Emma Vandore in Paris contributed to this story. (This version CORRECTS Corrects year of swap deal, minor edits.)

Eurostat denies it was influenced by lobbying pressures
ANDREW WILLIS 17.02.2010 @ 17:47 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU's statistics agency, Eurostat, has denied Belgian accusations that some of its decisions are influenced by lobbying from larger EU countries. Eurostat's role is to treat all member states equally,the Luxembourg-based agency told this website in an emailed statement on Wednesday (17 February).On Monday, the European Commission handed member states a proposal to award Eurostat auditing powers in response to doubts over Greek data. The following day, Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders said any increase in Eurostat's remit should be accompanied by an internal overhaul to increase the independence and transparency of the statistics office. Mr Reynders said he regretted the importance of lobbying in Eurostat decision-making.I have a few memories from school and, just like in the playground, one doesn't get in the way of the biggest and strongest,he said. In particular, the Belgian politician pointed to certain Eurostat decisions relating to accounting practices used by telecommunication companies in Europe.The decisions did not seem quite the same in different countries, he said.Commission economy spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said on Wednesday it was unclear whether new Eurostat powers would be accompanied by internal reforms, although he did not rule out the possibility of some increase in staff numbers. The statistics agency has not been immune from controversy in the past. In 2003, three senior officials were removed from their posts and a number of contracts with outside companies were cancelled after it was alleged that a double accounting system had been used during the 1990s to transfer large amounts of money to secret bank accounts.We shouldn't forget that we have also known problems within Eurostat,said Mr Reynders, in reference to a scandal.

Greece

The commission's call for Eurostat auditing powers on Monday follows fresh EU doubts over the reliability of Greek financial data. Having been swept to power in national elections last October, Greece's centre-left Pasok administration quickly revised the country's 2009 deficit forecast figure to 12.7 percent of GDP, more than double previous estimates. Reliability and transparency of the main indicators of public finances are a crucial factor,said Mr Tardio. In 2005, the EU executive body made a similar request for Eurostat auditing capabilities but was rebuffed by member states, who were reluctant to hand over power to the Luxembourg-based body. Observers suggest the current Greek crisis has softened government positions this time round however, although some concerns remain. Recent news that Greek governments used financial derivatives such currency swaps to hide the true extent of its debt over the last decade have added to doubts. Eurostat was unaware of the Greek use of derivatives supplied by Wall Street investment banks until news reports broke last week. The statistics agency is still in the dark regarding the scale of the problem, said Mr Tardio. This is something we do need to look at very closely. Eurostat doesn't know about these practices so they don't necessarily know what the extent of this happening is,he said.Greece has until 19 February to give Eurostat information on the currency swaps and in particular how this affected Greek reporting of its debt figures.

Barroso aide appointed EU ambassador to Washington
VALENTINA POP 17.02.2010 @ 17:36 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – The European Commission on Wednesday (17 February) nominated Joao Vale de Almeida, a close aide of Mr Barroso, as the EU's new ambassador in Washington, after a gap of over three months in which the executive had no representative in the US capital. Mr de Almeida, 53, served as head of cabinet of commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and was his personal envoy to the so-called G8 and G20 summits of the most industrialised countries. In June last year, the Portuguese was appointed head of the commission's external relations unit which is about to be bolstered in the form of a diplomatic service under the EU's new rulebook, the Lisbon Treaty. The Washington post had been vacant since end of October 2009 when former ambassador John Bruton ended his five-year mandate. The EU commission was unable to appoint anyone else since, because it was in caretaker mode after its own mandate expired at the same time.The decision ...to appoint the highest senior official in charge of external relations to be our representative in Washington, testifies to our political commitment to enhance and deepen the transatlantic relationship in a crucial moment for bilateral relations and global governance, Mr Barroso said in a statement.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, to whom Mr de Almeida will report directly, praised his significant experience,intellect and ability to work with all key actors in this important relationship.EU-US relations have recently been strained by the rejection in the European Parliament of a transatlantic bank data transfer deal, which Washington deems crucial for the fight against terrorism. Prior to that, US president Barack Obama declined to attend a regular bilateral meeting with EU, citing agenda domestic agenda problems.The key appointment was approved by all 27 EU commissioners during their first meeting after being confirmed by the European Parliament last week. Asked why member states did not have a say in the matter, since they are supposed to feed diplomats to the new diplomatic service, a spokesman for the commission replied that the new architecture doesn't exist yet and the executive still had the competence to make those decisions.

EU diplomats confirmed that the proposal was formally put forward by Ms Ashton and that member states were given notice in advance: It's a transitional phase, as the new service which will have posts open for national diplomats is not yet in place, an EU diplomat told this website. We're not going to get upset every time another country or the commission gets their people in place, the source added.Pending the approval of the US authorities, Mr de Almeida will continue in the following months to lead the external relations directorate and assist Ms Ashton in setting up the diplomatic service. He will also represent Mr Barroso in the preparations of the G8 and G20 summits in June.It's a bit unfortunate we didn't continue to send political heavyweights like the former Irish Prime Minister [John Bruton] to Washington, Ulrike Guerot from the European Council on Foreign Relations, a London-based think tank told EUobserver.She added that Mr de Almeida is a very prestigious civil servant and an ally of Mr Barroso, who will work to safeguard commission influence in Ms Ashton's new diplomatc corps.

Merkel denounces bank deals with Greece
ANDREW WILLIS Today FEB 18,10 @ 09:28 CET

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly criticised investment banks who allegedly helped Greece to mask the true extent of its mounting debt pile over the years from EU monitors. It would be a disgrace if it turned out to be true that banks that already pushed us to the edge of the abyss were also party to falsifying Greek statistics, said Ms Merkel during a speech in north-eastern Germany.Across the globe, the financial crisis forced governments to bail out struggling banks, and caused lawmakers to shine a closer spotlight on the nature of their activities. But reports this month suggest Wall Street investment banks also provided Greece, and perhaps other EU states, with complex derivative products that enabled the government to keep fresh debt off its declared balance sheet. Attention has focused on a deal between Athens and Goldman Sachs in 2001 which involved exchanging more than €10 billion ($13.69 billion) in dollar and yen-denominated Greek government bonds into euros.By using an artificial exchange rate that did not accurately denote the market value of the euro, the Wall Street bank effectively handed Greece a €2.8 billion loan, suggest some reports. Greece has defended the action, known as a currency swap, saying it was legal at the time. Analysts also suggest that, prior to a tightening of EU accounting rules in 2008, Greece wasn't obliged to include such loans in its overall public debt figures. The European Commission has given Athens until this Friday to provide further details on the deal as it seeks to determine whether EU rules were broken.

Speculators

Adding to the anger of lawmakers is the role similar banks have played in destabilising the eurozone by betting on a fall in the value of the euro or on the likelihood of Greek sovereign default. Politicians in EU countries such as France, Germany, Spain and Greece have attacked the speculating activities of hedge-funds and banks in recent weeks.In particular, they point to the dangerous role played by credit default swaps, insurance-like contracts that pay out when an issuer defaults, and rise in value as credit conditions deteriorate. On Tuesday, EU internal market commissioner Michel Barnier said a closer look at the effects of such instruments needed to be carried out.Goldman Sachs is among the main group of speculators that has sought to profit from the ongoing market doubts over the Greek economy, notes the influential Coulisses de Bruxelles blog, highlighting the dual role aider and attacker played by the investment bank.

Dubai killing opens diplomatic rift with Israel
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today FEB 18,10 @ 09:28 CET

The Israeli ambassadors to the UK and Ireland have been summoned to explain the use of fake passports by the hit squad that killed a senior Hamas leader in Dubai three weeks ago.While London is not publicly accusing Israel of being behind the assassination, the British Foreign Office has requested that the country's ambassador to the UK share information on how it was that six counterfeit versions of passports held by dual British-Israeli citizens came to be used in the operation.
The British passport is an important part of being British and we have to make sure everything is done to protect it, Prime Minister Gordon Brown told LBC Radio on Tuesday.The British passport is an important document that has got to be held with care, he said.The evidence has got to be assembled about what has actually happened and how it happened and why it happened.On Wednesday, the UK prime minister said he had launched an investigation of the affair by the Serious Organised Crime Agency (Soca).On 20 January, Mohammed al-Mabhouh, who was attached to the al-Qassam Brigades, the group's military wing, and, according to Israeli sources, was the lead gun-runner from Iran to Gaza, died in mysterious circumstances in a Dubai hotel.The Dubai police investigating his death have revealed that Mr al-Mabhouh had been poisoned by eleven individuals travelling on European passports from the UK, Ireland, France and Germany.Israel's ambassador to Ireland has also been requested to meet with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs to explain the situation, according to the Irish Times.Foreign minister Micheal Martin described as extremely serious any threat to trust in the Irish passport.

Actions which endanger our well-earned reputation in this area have the potential to affect the security of all our citizens travelling overseas. I am determined to maintain the good name of Irish passports,he said.The department had previously said that the numbers used on the passports were not used by the Irish system, but Dublin is now reporting that the numbers do indeed correspond to those in the valid passports. These numbers correspond to actual numbers on three legitimate Irish passports,while the identities in the images of the passports presented by the Dubai authorities do not correspond to those recorded on the valid passports carrying the same numbers,said Mr Martin. Two of the three Irish citizens named by the Dubai police as suspects lived in Ireland.All the countries whose passports were used, apart from Germany, have since said the passports were faked.Separately, the case has widened to Austria, with Vienna on Wednesday announcing an investigation into the assassination after it was revealed that the killers used mobile phones with Austrian numbers.Israeli officials are concerned that the incident has opened a diplomatic rift between the Jewish state and the UK and that similar summonses could occur in Paris and Berlin, according to Haaretz, the Israeli daily newspaper. Dublin has suggested to London, Paris and Berlin that a joint investigation be carried out, according to one Israeli official.Meanwhile, foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman said there was no proof that the Mossad was responsible for the murder, noting nevertheless Israel's policy of ambiguity regarding its intelligence service.At a memorial rally for the slain Palestinian in Gaza on Wednesday, Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal called on EU states to hold Israel to account. We call on European countries to punish Israel's leaders for violating laws,he told the rally.Israel deserves to be placed on the terror list.

EU short $19bn on development pledges
LEIGH PHILLIPS 17.02.2010 @ 17:40 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Western European countries are skipping out to the tune of $19 billion (€14bn) on the aid pledges they made to developing countries five years ago at a landmark G8 meeting, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.Aid to poor countries in 2010 will be lower than donors promised five years ago at the 2005 Group of Eight meeting in Scotland - largely as a result of the economic crisis, says a report published on Tuesday by the OECD, the international club of wealthy countries.With national budgets squeezed in the wake of the crash, many governments believe that charity begins at home, resulting in a shortfall of $21 billion (€15bn) from OECD nations. According to the OECE review of 2010 aid budget plans, donors are to disburse $107 billion (€78bn) this year (in 2004 dollars), instead of the $128 billion (€93bn) committed in 2005.Some $19 billion of the overall shortfall will come from the EU15 - the old, wealthier member states that made the original pledges. At the time, all EU15 states committed to achieve a minimum level of overseas development assistance (ODA) of 0.51 percent of the gross national income (GNI).A number of EU countries actually far surpassed this goal: Sweden, for its part, has the world's highest ODA, reaching a full 1.03 percent of GNI.

Luxembourg is just pipped by Sweden, but it also manages a full percentage point of GNI in aid delivery (1%), followed by Denmark (0.83%), the Netherlands (0.8%), Belgium (0.7%), the United Kingdom (0.56%), Finland (0.55%), Ireland (0.51%) and Spain (0.51%) - all of which meet or exceed their 2005 commitment.Other states however have welched on the pledges: France will achieve 0.46 percent of GNI, and Germany 0.40 percent. Rounding out the bottom are Austria (0.37%), Portugal (0.34%), Greece (0.21%), and Italy (0.19%).While this is disappointing, development NGOs point out that the EU states gave themselves much more ambitious targets in 2005 than other OECD members. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said of the shortfall: Some have set the bar very low and others are failing to meet their international pledges. As we head into new rounds of discussions about funding climate change and food security concerns, I encourage all donors to carry through on their development promises.Catherine Ray, the European Commission's development spokeswoman, told EUobserver: We have to remember that many countries have been put in a difficult situation by the economic crisis, but the EU already commits 60 percent of total global aid.Nevertheless, the commission will continue to push member states not to decrease or backtrack on their commitments.

Aid agency Oxfam described the result a scandal.Rich countries have no excuse for failing to deliver the aid increases they promised five years ago at Gleneagles, said Oxfam's Max Lawson.In comparison, OECD countries have spent $4.1 trillion bailing out financial institutions and major industries threatened by the economic crisis, according to a tally by the Institute for Policy Studies, a US-based centre-left think-tank.

Rabbi Moti Elon and the Takanah Forum
by Hillel Fendel FEB 18,10

(IsraelNN.com) An unprecedented situation occurred Monday night when the Takanah Forum released a statement to the general media accusing Rabbi Moti Elon of immoral behavior and of having violated the terms of the agreement it had consequently made with him.Takanah Forum is a council formed in 2003 to deal with issues of non-criminal sexual harrassment within the religious-Zionist community in a discreet Halakhic [Jewish legal] manner, following the passage of a Knesset law against such harrassment in 1998. It includes rabbinic personalities such as Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein of Yeshivat Har Etzion, Rabbi Yehoshua Shapira of Yeshivat Ramat Gan, Rabbi Elyakim Levanon of Yeshivat Elon Moreh, and Rabbi Yuval Cherlow of Yeshivat Petach Tivkah, and public personalities and academics Prof. Yedidya Stern, Mr. Benny Lehman, and Malka Pietrokovsky. Rabbanit Yehudit Shilat is director of the forum.

Rabbi Elon – arguably the most well-known and dynamic religious-Zionist rabbinic personality in the country, who gave a weekly class in Torah lessons on national television and headed Yeshivat HaKotel – was accused of having taken improper physical advantage of two youths who came to him for counseling on personal issues.

Some four years ago, Rabbi Elon took abrupt leave from his many public duties and lectures, and moved to the northern town of Migdal. It was said at the time that health issues required that he take a break from his intense schedule. He now says that the truth of the events of the past years will come out sooner than is thought,and that he now has the opportunity to fulfill yet another Divine command: that of rejoicing even while suffering.Referring to his exile to Migdal, Rabbi Elon said this week that he did illogical things several years ago, implying that the time had now come to defend himself. He called upon his many loyal students not to besmirch other rabbis. Many of them came to support him in Migdal after the media release.IDF Army Radio reported that a youth prayer session was gathered at the Western Wall to pray on Thursday morning, in light of the crisis this accusation has caused. Educators are using the issue, without taking a stand on the personae involved, to remind students that if something improper is suggested by even a respected figure, it must be rejected.Several of the Takanah forum's members gave media interviews in which they said that Rabbi Elon had acknowledged to them, several years ago, that he had overcome his problem and that it would not be repeated. However, they said, they learned a year later of another complaint, regarding actions that allegedly took place concurrently with their discussions of the first one with him.

The forum explained in a written report issued on Wednesday: We acted out of great awareness of three factors: Primarily to help the victims and prevent future cases of this nature; our obligation towards Rabbi Elon, as towards anyone who is the subject of such complaints; and the important status of Rabbi Elon in both the religious-Zionist public and Israeli society in general, his wide-ranging Torah teaching, and the many acts of kindness and charity that he did during his life… A mini-panel of five – Rabbi Lichtenstein, Rabbi Ariel, Mr. Benny Lehman, Prof. Stern, and Mrs. Yehudit Shilat – heard the first complaint and met with Rabbi Elon… After the second complaint, they decided that he must leave his position as head of Yeshivat HaKotel, suspend his public appearances, and leave other public positions. In the course of time, it became necessary to expand the panel dealing with the matter...The new members heard a full and detailed report on the entire process, gave their backing to the original members, and signed the letter demanding that Rabbi Elon adhere to the demands made of him. For years, there were disagreements between the forum and Rabbi Elon as to whether he was doing so... Unfortunately, he did not fulfill these obligations.We are well aware that this news has caused great pain and grieving, and we hope and pray that our actions will be for good and will find favor in the eyes of G-d and of people… The purpose of Takanah is not to replace the law-enforcement authorities, but rather to supplement them in cases where, for whatever reasons, the authorities cannot act – for instance, when the complainants do not want to go to the police, or when the acts are not technically criminal in nature…The Forum explained that it publicized the incident at this time because of growing fears that we had no other way to protect the public from possible future harm.It was also implied that others might publicize the story first, which they felt would led to even more damage than actually occurred.

The Takanah Forum’s abrupt announcement was greeted in the religious-Zionist public with a large measure of criticism. Charges were raised that the rabbis should have found another way to deal with the unproven suspicions against Rabbi Elon other than by ruining his life and causing a desecration of G-d’s Name.The theoretical fear that students might be harmed by him, despite the many thousands of students he counseled constructively over the years without incident and who continue to love and venerate him, was said to be outweighed by the clearly predictable negative results that in fact occurred as a result of the publication.On Thursday afternoon, the Forum members issued a statement that its actions had achieved the desired goals, and that they view the matter as closed. Not everyone agrees.Arutz-7/Israel National News, on its Hebrew and English sites, will not publish readers' comments on this matter, in order to uphold the honor of all sides involved.

Cardboard Skullcaps at the Wall - No More
by Hillel Fendel FEB 18,10

(IsraelNN.com) The cardboard yarmulkes that have long been a fixture at the Western Wall will no longer be seen. In their place have come new yarmulkes made out of white material - made in China.The Western Wall Legacy Foundation received a donation of one million of the new yarmulkes (skullcaps, or kippot), courtesy of Michael Mirilashvili, in memory of his late father Moshe. The donation by Mirilashvili, president of the Georgian Jews World Congress, was coordinated with the offices of Western Wall Rabbi Shmuel Rabinovitch. The rabbi's office announced that the old cardboard yarmulkes did not sit well on one's head, and would often have to be held there manually. In addition, the new head-coverings look much more dignified than the folded-and-stapled cardboard shapes.

25 Years for Katyusha Launcher
by Hillel Fendel FEB 18,10

(IsraelNN.com) A Be'er Sheva court has sentenced Mamdouh Altanaah to 25 years in jail for firing Grad Katyusha rockets towards Israel and for participating in a terrorist attack.Altanaa, a Gaza resident, agreed to a plea bargain, and the three District Court judges therefore sentenced him to the relatively short sentence of 25 years. He admitted to having been involved in two incidents of firing Katyusha rockets at Sderot and environs - one from Beit Lahiya, and another from Erez.
Altanaah was also convicted of preparing for a terrorist attack in 2007, in which two IDF soldiers were wounded after he and another terrorist entered an army camp near Gaza.There is no dispute that the defendant's actions were most severe, the court ruled, and that the crimes he perpetrated placed the citizens and soldiers of the State in concrete danger. The State of Israel's struggle against murderous terrorism requires that he be punished with all severity.Despite this, they honored the plea bargain and sentenced him to 25 years.

Ancient Jerusalem Waterway Revealed at Jaffa Gate
by Hillel Fendel FEB 18,10

(IsraelNN.com) The excavations inside the Old City of Jerusalem at Jaffa Gate have turned up yet another fascinating revelation: A water canal, 40 meters long (44 yards) and 1.5 meters (5 feet) high. The excavations are being conducted by the Israel Antiquities Authority as part of a rescue operation, customary in Israel before major construction work, prior to the replacement of underground infrastructures there. It was announced last week that the ancient precursor of today's Old City road leading from Jaffa Gate to Mt. Zion was uncovered - precisely where an ancient and now-famous Mosaic map says it should be.Now, it is the turn of the upper Jerusalem waterway from the 2nd and 3rd centuries C.E. to see the light of day. Dr. Ofer Sion, director of the archaeological works at the site, explained, During the course of the work, the wall of the waterway was revealed, and when we removed some of the large stones and looked inside, we saw before us a perfectly-designed waterway, with a flat stone roof on top. People can walk inside it, bent-over, for a length of 40 meters.Dr. Sion explains that the newly-uncovered section is just a part of a waterway that was once some 13 kilometers long, leading from Solomon’s Pools. It is exciting to think that no human has set foot here for so many centuries,he added.The two-foot wide waterway was not uncovered totally by accident. At the end of the 19th century, the Land of Israel archaeologist and architect Dr. Conrad Schick (designer of the Meah She’arim neighborhood) described the location of part of the waterway.His work gave us some clues that led to this discovery,said Dr. Sion.

Originally, water was supplied to Jerusalem chiefly from the Gichon Spring. Just over 2,000 years ago, however, with the population of the city growing, a new source was sought. King Herod began work on large projects bringing water from the Hevron Mountains, using the power of gravity, to Solomon’s Pools just south of the city. From there, two waterways channeled water to the city: The upper channel brought water to the King’s palace, Hezekiah’s Pool and other areas in the higher levels of the city, while water on the lower waterway went to the Holy Temple on the Temple Mount and the lower areas. The now-revealed section is part of the upper channel.

Barkat Under Fire for Arab Building Policy
by Gil Ronen FEB 17,10

(IsraelNN.com) The Jerusalem Mayor's decision to retroactively legalize 95% of illegal Arab construction in the Shiloach (Silwan) neighborhood will lead to a catastrophe, land activist Aryeh King said Wednesday. King said the decision is a surrender that gives a prize to criminals.On Tuesday, Mayor Nir Barkat told the Knesset's Interior Committee about his plan for solving the construction dispute in Shiloach, where there are about 200 illegally-built Arab buildings and one illegally-constructed building owned by Jews – Beit Yehonatan. Barkat plans to legalize 95% of the structures but insist that they be no higher than four stories. Anything over that will be shaved off the building.In this way, Barkat will be legalizing the Jewish-owned Beit Yehonatan (except for its topmost, fifth floor), and avoiding a large scale confrontation with Silwan's Arab residents, at a time when such a confrontation will probably lead to a political storm and international censure.

King said, however, that the legalization of Beit Yehonatan is not worth the price that the city will have to pay under the mayor's proposed deal.Regretfully, the mayor is continuing a policy that is disconnected from the right frame of mind in dealing with the Arabs of the city. Instead of fighting them he is giving them his entire hand. This is a discriminatory policy that encourages them to continue building illegally. Meanwhile, as regards Jews, demolition orders are issued even against synagogues.

Stocks trade mixed after jobs, inflation reports By STEPHEN BERNARD and TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writers – FEB 18,10

NEW YORK – The stock market traded in a tight range Thursday after new claims for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly and inflation increased.Major indexes rose the past two days as investors turned their attention to domestic earnings and economic reports that showed the economy is improving. The Dow Jones industrial average has risen more than 200 points this week. Markets were closed Monday for President's Day.The Labor Department said the number of workers seeking unemployment benefits for the first time rose 31,000 to 473,000 last week. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters forecast claims would fall to 430,000. Unemployment is a major obstacle to a sustained recovery.The Labor Department also said inflation at the wholesale level rose more than expected in January. Investors are concerned that rising prices could force the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates and risk hurting a rebound in the economy.

Wholesale prices rose 1.4 percent last month, double what economists had forecast. Rising energy prices were the biggest factor behind the increase. The Producer Price Index rose 0.3 percent excluding volatile energy and food prices. Economists forecast that rate would edge up just 0.1 percent.Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Federal Reserve reported that regional manufacturing is improving. The Philly Fed's manufacturing index rose to 17.6 in February from 15.2 in January.A private research group also said that its forecast of economic activity rose for a 10th straight month. The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators gained 0.3 percent in January. The increase is smaller than in previous months.In midmorning trading, the Dow rose 11.41, or 0.1 percent, to 10,320.65. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.28, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,099.23, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 1.56, or 0.1 percent, to 2,224.73.Bond prices fell, pushing yields higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.77 percent from 3.74 percent compared late Wednesday.The dollar mostly fell against other major currencies.Gold fell, while crude oil rose 68 cents to $78.01 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

CA-CANADA Summary
FEB 18,10

Bank of Canada may retain crisis tools for future

TORONTO (Reuters) – The Bank of Canada says it may retain in its toolbox some of the emergency liquidity facilities it introduced during the financial crisis, but markets should not expect it to use them in normal times. The central bank designed a variety of instruments to support money markets at the height of the financial crisis and while it has been gradually withdrawing its support, some of those instruments could prove valuable in future crises, Deputy Governor David Longworth said in a speech on Wednesday.

Media spotlight hard for Canadian athletes to hold

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Canadian medal winners should bask in the media spotlight because it will fade sooner than if they were European athletes, the chief executive of Canada's Olympic Committee said on Wednesday. Athletes like Alexandre Bilodeau and Maelle Ricker became instant Canadian heroes at the Vancouver Games by winning gold on home soil, prompting talk of their marketing potential.

Canada's permafrost retreats amid warming trend

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The permanently frozen ground known as permafrost is retreating northward in the area around Canada's James Bay, a sign of a decades-long regional warming trend, a climate scientist said on Wednesday. When permafrost melts, it can liberate the powerful greenhouse gas methane that is locked in the frozen soil. The amount of methane contained in permafrost around James Bay is slight compared to the vast stores of the chemical found in ancient, deep permafrost in the Yukon, Alaska and Siberia.

Mitten Madness goes 24/7 in merchandise mad Vancouver

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Vancouver's Olympic Superstore will stay open round the clock for the final three days of the Winter Games to satisfy Mitten Madness -- the city's recession-busting demand for official merchandise.We've just decided we're going to extend it on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the Olympics,Dana Hall, manager of the downtown Hudson's Bay Co store, told Reuters on Wednesday.

Canada to host G8 development ministers in April

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canada will host a meeting of G8 development ministers in the Atlantic Coast city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on April 26-28 to focus on strategies for saving the lives of mothers and young children in poor countries, the government said on Thursday. The ministers will prepare proposals for a Group of Eight summit to be held in Muskoka, Ontario, in June. The G8 is comprised of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.

Canadian dollar rises after higher Canada inflation

LONDON (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar rose on Thursday after data showed inflation in the country rose slightly higher than expected. Canada's annual inflation rate in January jumped to 1.9 percent from 1.3 percent in December on higher gasoline and car prices, Statistics Canada said on Thursday.

TSX rises as Barrick results lift gold shares

TORONTO (Reuters) - Toronto's main stock market index was higher on Thursday morning as gold mining shares got a boost from firmer gold prices and better than expected results from Barrick Gold. Barrick, the world's biggest gold miner, led all heavyweight gainers, up 1.29 percent at C$40.16, after it announced plans to spin off its African assets into a new company and said its quarterly operating profit more than doubled on stronger gold prices.

Canada workers OK Brunswick zinc mine contract: Xstrata

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Union workers at the Xstrata Brunswick zinc mine in Canada have voted in favor of a three-year extension of a collective bargaining deal that will surpass the expected closure of the mine, Xstrata said on Thursday. The current agreement, which was set to expire in February 2011, will enable the firm to determine with certainty how much ore there is left to mine and what it will cost to extract it, the company said in a statement.

It's a star-spangled day of Olympic gold for U.S.

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Shaun White, Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis all struck gold on Wednesday as the United States transformed a bleak Vancouver Olympics into their own winter wonderland with a dazzling show of gravity-defying stunts, brute strength and old-fashioned courage. White showed why he is one of the most recognizable and highest paid athletes in winter sports as he wowed a new generation of Olympic fans at Cypress Mountain with a breathtaking display of somersaults, twists and aerial tricks.

Olympic silver medal? Birthday? Aisle top that!

VANCOUVER (Reuters) - Topping an Olympic silver medal as a birthday present is no easy task, so the boyfriend of Canadian short track speed skater Marianne St Gelais hinted that he is planning on giving her an even more precious metal.Maybe one day in the near future, I'll give her a ring,Charles Hamelin, also an Olympic short track speed skater for Canada, told reporters as he waited to serenade St Gelais with a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday after her race.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

THE REAL REASON WHY HES RETIRING IS THAT THE LUDICROUS CLIMATE SCAM COULD NOT BE PULLED OVER EVERYONES EYES.

APNewsBreak: Top UN climate official resigning By ARTHUR MAX, Associated Press Writer – FEB 18,10

AMSTERDAM – Top U.N. climate change official Yvo de Boer told The Associated Press on Thursday that he was resigning after nearly four years, a period when governments struggled without success to agree on a new global warming deal.His departure takes effect July 1, five months before 193 nations are due to reconvene in Mexico for another attempt to reach a binding worldwide accord on controlling greenhouse gases. De Boer's resignation adds to the uncertainty that a full treaty can be finalized there.De Boer is known to be deeply disappointed with the outcome of the last summit in Copenhagen, which drew 120 world leaders but failed to reach more than a vague promise by several countries to limit carbon emissions — and even that deal fell short of consensus.But he denied to the AP that his decision to quit was a result of frustration with Copenhagen.Copenhagen wasn't what I had hoped it would be, he acknowledged, but the summit nonetheless prompted governments to submit plans and targets for reigning in the emissions primarily blamed for global warming.I think that's a pretty solid foundation for the global response that many are looking for, he said.

De Boer told the AP he believes talks are on track.He recommended the next talks take a different tack. Rather than convene several negotiating sessions involving nearly 200 countries, Mexico, which is chairing the negotiations throughout this year, should prepare the November conference to work in smaller groups to lay the groundwork of a deal.The Mexicans should engage more intensively early in the process, so that you don't only rely on formal meetings but through bilateral contacts and frequent meetings in a smaller setting and an earlier understanding of how the process can be advanced,he told AP.At the moment, it tends to be very much a stop-and-start affair with everything concentrated in the formal negotiations, where I think a much more continuous engagement by (Mexico) is needed.The partial agreement reached in Copenhagen, brokered by Obama, was very significant, he said. But he acknowledged frustration that the deal was merely noted rather than formally adopted by all countries.We were about an inch away from a formal agreement. It was basically in our grasp, but it didn't happen,he said.So that was a pity.The media-savvy former Dutch civil servant and climate negotiator was widely credited with raising the profile of climate issues through his frequent press encounters and his backstage lobbying of world leaders.

But his constant travel and frenetic diplomacy failed to bridge the suspicions and distrust between developing and industrial countries that barred the way to a final agreement at the climate change summit in Copenhagen in December.People who know de Boer say he was more disheartened by the snail-paced negotiations than he was ready to admit.I saw him at the airport after Copenhagen, said Jake Schmidt, a climate expert for the U.S.-based Natural Resources Defense Council.He was tired, worn out. The summit clearly took a toll on him.Schmidt, speaking from Washington, said the Dutch diplomat was very effective in pushing the envelope" and winning attention for climate change.He's done a powerful job ... in getting the world to focus on this.

During de Boer's tenure, climate talks rose to a standing item on the agenda of political leaders,said Oxfam International, a nonprofit group that monitors the talks and advises delegations. World leaders could learn much from de Boer's perseverance as well as his uncompromising commitment to do what's necessary — not just what's easy.The German Green Party said de Boer's departure presented a chance for a strategic reorientation of his U.N. office. The failure of the Copenhagen climate conference was due partly to bad preparation and organization,the Greens' climate change specialist Hermann Ott said in a statement.Now a credible and experienced successor has to be found to make sure the international process to combat climate change continues without delay.De Boer, 55, was appointed in 2006 to shepherd through an agreement to succeed the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which required industrial countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions an average 5 percent. He said the high point of his efforts was the agreement by developing countries, reached at the 2007 conference in Bali, Indonesia, to join in efforts to contain global warming in return for financial and technical help from the wealthy nations. The Bali meeting was so intense that during its final meeting, when he was accused of mishandling negotiating arrangements, de Boer walked off the podium in tears. He came back later to an ovation from the thousands of delegates. His assertiveness sometimes led to accusations that he was overstepping the bounds of a neutral U.N. facilitator. They are absolutely right. I did that because I felt the process needed that extra push,he told the AP. When he was hired, he said, he told U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan,If you want someone to sit in Bonn and keep his mouth shut then I'm not the right person for the job.Yet De Boer habitually put a positive spin on events. Though he occasionally chastised governments, he did it in diplomatic tones. At times when his aides were describing him as furious — especially with the administration of George W. Bush — de Boer kept his public comments so modulated that it sounded like praise. De Boer said he will be a consultant on climate and sustainability issues for KPMG, a global accounting firm, and will be associated with several universities.

I have always maintained that while governments provide the necessary policy framework, the real solutions must come from business,he said in a statement released later Thursday.Copenhagen did not provide us with a clear agreement in legal terms, but the political commitment and sense of direction toward a low-emissions world are overwhelming. This calls for new partnerships with the business sector and I now have the chance to help make this happen,he said. De Boer, who comes from a diplomatic family, was born in Vienna and traveled the world before attending a British boarding school. He studied social work at university in The Hague, and one of his early jobs was as a parole officer. He worked for the United Nations in Canada and Kenya, then joined the Dutch housing ministry. He has been involved in climate change issues since 1994, and three years later became the chief climate delegate for the Netherlands. Associated Press Writer Verena Schmitt contributed to this report from Berlin.

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.

Quake rocks China-Russia-North Korea border region
Wed Feb 17, 10:18 pm ET

BEIJING – A magnitude 6.7 earthquake rocked the region where China, Russia and North Korea meet Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.Though area residents said they did not feel the quake, office towers in Beijing — about 770 miles (1,240 kilometers) away from the epicenter — swayed slightly for about a minute.The quake occurred 335 miles (540 kilometers) below the earth's surface.With earthquakes centered deep underground, sometimes those close to the epicenter don't feel it while people further away notice some shaking, said the duty officer at the Seismological Bureau of Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in northeast China's Jilin province. He refused to give his name as is common among Chinese officials.The Korea Earthquake Research Center said there was no damage in North or South Korea and that quakes occur in that region about once a year.The USGS said the epicenter was on the Russian coast along the Sea of Japan, 61 miles (98 kilometers) west-southwest of Vladivostok, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east of China's Yanji city in Jilin province.

Haiti's quake survivors don't wait for gov't plan By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer – FEB 18,10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti's government and aid groups have been wrangling for five weeks over a plan for housing earthquake survivors, but the people haven't waited.Rows of makeshift tents sprouted in open fields around the wrecked capital, and Haitians soon began strengthening the shelters. The camps have grown into shantytowns — with bakeries and even lottery stands — that show no sign of moving soon.While the camps blossomed, officials debated what to do with the 1.2 million people left homeless by the disaster. Should they be given ready-made tents or plastic tarps? What land should be made available? The government may announce a plan Thursday.The delay has complicated the task, as seen at a former landing strip-turned-boulevard called Route de Piste, where a cluster of ramshackle villages has taken root.Row upon row of corrugated tin and wood shacks stand against the wind as dusty men walk between them carrying saws and hammers. Children look for the snow cone man at the crossroads, near where a lottery dealer named Max has set up his booth. In a shack marked Boulangerie Pep La — the people's bakery — the smell of dough wafts from the oven, and two flat rolls cost 5 gourdes, about 12 cents.

These shantytowns are redrawing the map of the capital, filling open fields with new versions of the joyful life and harsh crime and abuse that always marked existence in the slums — with an extra helping of disease, hunger and misery brought on by the Jan. 12 disaster, which killed more than 200,000 people.This means people are planning to stay in some very dangerous places: at the bottom of hillsides they know will collapse in a heavy rain or near riverbeds that are bound to flood. They are crowded into polluted areas where sanitation is limited and disease is already starting to spread.The government has said for weeks that they have identified sites, but time is getting short and there has been little progress, said Ian Bray, an Oxfam spokesman.That's one problem. Another is that people simply do not want to go far from where they always lived and worked. With property hard to come by, aftershocks continuing and 38 percent of Port-au-Prince's buildings destroyed by the magnitude-7 quake, according to U.N. satellite imagery, their options are limited.

People are displaced, they've lost their homes but they haven't lost their jobs, said Alex Wynter of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.The key issue is land.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, making the first visit ever by a French head of state to his nation's former colony, pledged 16,000 tarps and 1,000 tents to house 200,000 people while touring the ruins of Port-au-Prince's collapsed national palace Wednesday.Haiti's own leader, President Rene Preval, has been less decisive.We have to find a solution to get people under shelter — a combination of tents, tarps, corrugated tin roofs ... whatever combination it is, Preval told The Associated Press during a half-hour interview this week. He did not elaborate.For the people now living under a big flagpole, the decision has already been made.If they chase after us, we'll leave. Until then we're here,said Lens Beny, a 20-year-old water peddler who built an 8-by-9-foot 8 (2.4 by 2.7-meter) wood-and-tin shack for himself and five relatives. His front door is a lace curtain; the roof is a garbage bag that leaves a third of the shanty exposed to the sky.

It is, in a manner of speaking, a temporary shelter — the sort officials are counting on people to build as 250,000 tarps are handed out ahead of the spring rainy season and more permanent solutions are reached.It's also an unpleasant place to live. One recent rain shower destroyed the flimsy particle boards he bought for $3.70 each, Beny said, as he ripped off a clump of wall.The new neighborhood is very densely packed; some 27,000 people live there, according to Haitian Red Cross workers. U.N., foreign and local officials are directing aid to the site, while also designating it a priority for decongestion — meaning some people must move out. The overcrowding is the chief reason officials say they don't want to give people the waterproof tents they are demanding — there just isn't enough space for them.

Missionaries freed by Haitian judge back in US By DAVID FISCHER and FRANK BAJAK, Associated Press Writers – FEB 18,10

MIAMI – Eight American missionaries charged with child kidnapping in Haiti were back in the U.S. Thursday and looking forward to homecomings, even as two others remained in a Haitian jail in an ordeal sparked by the group's attempt to take 33 children out of the earthquake-stricken country.The missionaries arrived on a U.S. Air Force C-130 just after midnight at Miami International Airport, about 12 hours after a Haitian judge approved their release. They spent a night in soft hotel beds at the airport before some were seen heading to gates for morning domestic Delta flights.

Silas Thompson, 19, of Twin Falls, Idaho, said it was great to be back on U.S. soil. Asked to name the first thing he'll do when he gets home, Thompson replied: Hug my mom.He spoke to reporters as he walked to the Delta terminal Thursday morning after emerging from the hotel with three other men, who all declined to identify themselves or answer questions.Earlier, elated relatives expressed relief, including Sean Lankford of Meridian, Idaho, whose wife and daughter were among the eight released. When asked by The Associated Press how he felt late Wednesday, he offered two words: Damn good.The group's swift departure from Haiti began Wednesday when Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said eight of the 10 missionaries were free to leave without bail because parents of the children had testified they voluntarily gave their children to the missionaries believing the Americans would give them a better life.
The parents gave their kids away voluntarily, Saint-Vil said in explaining his decision.He said, however, that he still wanted to question the group's leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter, because they had visited Haiti prior to the quake to inquire about obtaining orphans.Just after dusk in Haiti, the bedraggled, sweat-stained group of eight walked out of the jail escorted by U.S. diplomats. They waited until they were safely inside a white embassy van before some flashed smiles and gave a thumbs up to reporters. Their plane took off from Port-au-Prince shortly thereafter as a group of reporters watched.The missionaries were charged with child kidnapping for trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without Haitian adoption certificates.Their detentions came just as aid officials were urging a halt to short-cut adoptions in the wake of the earthquake. Before their release, Haiti's No. 2 justice official, Claudy Gassent, informed them of the judge's decision but said he also gave them a lecture.

They know they broke the law,he said.The missionaries say they were on a do-it-youself rescue mission to take child quake victims to a hastily prepared orphanage in the Dominican Republic, denying the trafficking charge.Silsby originally said they were taking only orphaned and abandoned children, but The Associated Press determined that at least 20 were handed over willingly by their parents, who said the Baptists had promised to educate them and let their parents visit.Saint-Vil said he did not release Silsby, 47, or Coulter, 24, because of their previous activities in Haiti during a December visit. Silsby hastily enlisted the rest of the group after the quake. Coulter, of Boise, Idaho, is diabetic and the judge signed an order Wednesday afternoon authorizing her hospitalization.He said he had planned to question both women Thursday but that Coulter's health situation could prompt a delay. She had briefly been taken to a U.S. field hospital on Wednesday for treatment after feeling faint but was then taken back to jail.Silsby's sister in Idaho, Kim Barton, said learning that her sister could not leave Haiti was difficult.

At this point I don't have any comment. I don't know any more than you do,Barton said.Gary Lissade, the Haitian attorney for freed detainee Jim Allen of Amarillo, Texas, said he expected the charges to be dropped against the eight. My faith means everything to me, and I knew this moment would come when the truth would set me free,Allen said in a statement issued by the Liberty Legal Institute in Plano, Texas.AP's Bajak reported from Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Australia's cane toads face death by cat food
Thu Feb 18, 2:52 am ET

SYDNEY (AFP) – Australia's vile and poisonous plague of cane toads may finally have met its match -- and it comes in a tin of cat food.After years spent trying to batter, gas, run over and even freeze the toxic toads out of existence, scientists say just a dollop of Whiskas could stop the warty horde.The cat food attracts Australia's carnivorous meat ants, which swarm over and munch on baby toads killing 70 percent of them.It's not exactly rocket science. We went out and put out a little bit of cat food right beside the area where the baby toads were coming out of the ponds,University of Sydney professor Rick Shine told public broadcaster ABC.The ants rapidly discovered the cat food and thought it tasted great.The worker ants then leave trails back to the nest encouraging other ants to come out there and forage in that area, and within a very short period of time we got lots of ants in the same area as the toads are.Australia is beset by millions of cane toads after they were introduced from Hawaii in 1935 to control scarab beetles.The toads, which are prolific maters, eat anything and are incredibly tough, secrete poison that kills pets and wildlife and injure humans, prompting several -- unsuccessful -- campaigns to wipe them out.Even the ones that don't die immediately, die within a day or so of being attacked, Shine said, adding that native frogs were able to dodge the hungry ants.It's a simple, low-risk way of reducing the number of baby toads coming out of those ponds.

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

IRAN HAS A MOUTH TO PUT DOWN ISRAEL.BUT HAVE I GOT NEWS FOR IRAN,THAT MOUTH WILL BE FULL OF DUST AND DEATH WHEN THEY ATTCK ISRAEL.

Iran vows to stand by Hezbollah against Israel By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer – FEB 18,10

TEHRAN,Iran – Iran's president on Thursday said that if the Israelis launch a new war against Lebanon's Hezbollah, the militant group should retaliate strong enough to close their case once and for all.Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's comments, in a conversation with Hezbollah's leader, were the latest in a heated exchange of rhetoric between Israel and Lebanon and Syria this months in which all sides have been warning the other not to start a war.Speaking by phone, Ahmadinejad urged Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah to prepare his fighters to be able to retaliate strongly against any Israeli attack.The preparations should be of the level that, if they (the Israelis) want to repeated the mistakes of the past (by attacking), then their case should be closed once and for all and the region delivered from their evil ways forever, the Iranian president said, according to the state news agency IRNA.The people of Iran will stand by the peoples of Lebanon and the region in this, he said. Nasrallah dismissed any fears, saying Israeli threats will lead to nothing.Iran is a key supporter of Hezbollah, believed to funnel it weapons and millions of dollars in funding, though Tehran denies arming the Shiite group. Hezbollah, also closely allied to Syria, boasts a heavy arsenal of rockets capable of reaching deep inside Israel.

The past month has seen increased sabre-rattling between Israel and Syria, Hezbollah and Lebanon — though there's been little apparent cause on the ground for the warnings of new war. Hezbollah and Israel fought a monthlong war in 2006 that wreaked destruction in south Lebanon and parts of Beirut. But since then, Hezbollah has refrained from firing rockets across the border.In a speech aired nationally in Lebanon this week, Nasrallah vowed that if Israel attacks again, his fighters would retaliate in kind, striking Tel Aviv or Israel's international airport on the city's outskirts.Lebanon's prime minister also warned of escalating Israeli war threats and vowed Lebanon would support Hezbollah in any fight. The prime minister, Saad Hariri, is a pro-U.S. figure and longtime rival of Hezbollah, but the group is now a member of his national unity government.Earlier in the month, Syria's president Bashar Assad accused Israel of avoiding peace, and its prime minister warned that if war broke out, Israeli cities would be attacked. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman replied that if Damascus draws Israel into a war, its army would be defeated and the Syrian regime would collapse.

Iran leader accuses U.S. of war-mongering By Reza Derakhshi And Fredrik Dahl – Wed Feb 17, 3:57 pm ET

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran's supreme leader accused the United States on Wednesday of war-mongering and of turning the Gulf into an arms depot,hitting back at U.S. accusations that the Islamic state was moving toward a military dictatorship.The comments by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei were the latest sign of growing tensions between Tehran and Washington, which are embroiled in a long-running and escalating row over Iranian nuclear work the West suspects is aimed at making bombs.The United States is leading a push for the U.N. Security Council to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran, which says its nuclear program is solely to generate electricity so it can export more of its oil and gas.Last month, U.S. officials said the United States had expanded land- and sea-based missile defense systems in and around the Gulf -- a waterway crucial for global oil supplies -- to counter what it sees as Iran's growing missile threat.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Monday the United States believed Iran's Revolutionary Guards were driving the country toward military dictatorship and should be targeted in any new U.N. sanctions.In an apparent reference to Clinton's visit to the Middle East earlier this week, Khamenei said the Americans had dispatched their agent to the region to accuse Iran's Islamic system of government.But no one believes these lies because they know that America is the real war-mongering state. They have turned the Persian Gulf into an arms depot,Khamenei said.They invaded Afghanistan and Iraq and are now accusing the Islamic Republic. Everybody knows that the Islamic Republic is for peace and brotherhood among all Islamic states in the world,Khamenei said, state television reported.

PUNCH IN THE MOUTH

Iran faces growing Western calls for a new round of targeted U.N. sanctions against it after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last week ordered the start of higher-grade uranium production.During her three-day visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, Clinton denied the United States planned to attack Iran and said Washington wanted dialogue with Tehran but could not stand idly by while Iran pursued a suspected nuclear weapons program.The West accuses Iran of covertly trying to build nuclear bombs. Iran, the world's fifth-largest crude oil exporter, says its nuclear facilities are part of a peaceful energy program and it would retaliate for any attack on them.

Khamenei, Iran's top authority, said the Iranian people had punched its enemies in the mouth by turning out in large numbers to rallies last week marking the 31st anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution.On Thursday, Iranian state television said tens of millions of people rallied to support the revolution across the country of 70 million, which is facing its worst domestic crisis in three decades after a disputed presidential election last June.An opposition website said security forces fired teargas at opposition supporters staging a Tehran counter-rally on the February 11 anniversary of the revolution that toppled the shah.Khamenei, who like other Iranian leaders accused the West of stoking post-election unrest and meddling in Iran's internal affairs, accused arrogant powers of opposing the Islamic Republic because of its call for justice in the world.We should mourn the day when the global imperialism praises us,he said.(Editing by Peter Millership)

Ancient Arabic inscription found in Jerusalem By SHIRA RUBIN, Associated Press Writer – Wed Feb 17, 9:25 pm ET

JERUSALEM – A home renovation in Jerusalem's Old City has yielded a rare Arabic inscription offering insight into the city's history under Muslim rule, Israeli archaeologists said Wednesday. The fragment of a 1,100-year-old plaque is thought to have been made by an army veteran to express his thanks for a land grant from the Caliph al-Muqtadir, whom the inscription calls Emir of the Faithful.Dating from a time when Jerusalem was ruled from Baghdad by the Abbasid empire, the plaque shows how rulers rewarded their troops and ensured their loyalty, archaeologists said.The Abbasids conquered Jerusalem after numerous wars with the Fatimid empire in Egypt. The Abbasid caliphs valued Jerusalem as an Islamic holy site.The caliph probably granted estates as part of his effort to strengthen his hold over the territories within his control, including Jerusalem, just as other rulers did in different periods,said excavation director Annette Nagar.The white marble plaque measures four inches by four inches (10 x 10 centimeters) and was found approximately 5 feet (1.5 meters) beneath the floor of a home in the Old City's Jewish Quarter.

The house's owner planned a renovation and — as required by law — brought archaeologists to carry out a salvage dig meant to prevent harm to valuable antiquities. The plaque has been removed from the site and is now in the hands of Israel's Antiquities Authority.The writing was deciphered by Hebrew University professor Moshe Sharon, who traced it to 910, during the early part of al-Muqtadir's 24-year rule.The finding will help scholars better understand 10th-century Jerusalem, populated by Muslims, Christians and Jews, and the methods used by Muslim rulers to solidify their control.

SEX SINS

1 CORINTHIANS 6:9,14-18
9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
14 And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by his own power.
15 Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.
16 What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh.
17 But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.
18 Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.

GALATIONS 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

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:

HOMOSEXUALS.(SODOMITE RAINBOW GROUP)

GENESIS 19:5
5 And they called unto Lot, and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to thee this night? bring them out unto us, that we may know them.

ROMANS 1:18-32
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:(HOMOSEXUALITY,AND ALL SEX SINS)
25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.
26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:(LESBIENS)
27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly,(SODOMITES) and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.(AIDS ETC)
28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Ugandan anti-gay pastor airs gay porn in church
FEB 16,10

KAMPALA, Uganda – A Ugandan pastor is showing gay pornography at church to try to garner support for a proposed law that would impose the death penalty for some gays.
Martin Ssempa showed the videos to some 100 adults during a church service Wednesday in Uganda's capital.He says he plans to show the films regularly to educate churchgoers on gay sex and also plans to show the videos to parliamentarians. He says some churchgoers cried after watching the videos, which he said he downloaded from the Internet.Ugandan gay rights activist Julian Peppe condemned Ssempa's decision to show pornography in church, saying he should be arrested and needs mental rehabilitation.The proposed bill has sparked protests in London, New York and Washington.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

AMOS 9:10
10 All the sinners of my people shall die by the sword, which say, The evil shall not overtake nor prevent us.

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

2ND WAVE CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL

REVELATION 16:12
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.(THIS IS THE ATATURK DAM IN TURKEY,THEY CROSS OVER).

DANIEL 11:44 (2ND WAVE OF WW3)
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)

REVELATION 9:12-18
12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.
13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.(IRAQ-SYRIA)
15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third part of men.(1/3 Earths Population die in WW 3 2ND WAVE)
16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand:(200 MILLION MAN ARMY FROM CHINA AND THE KINGS OF THE EAST) and I heard the number of them.
17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(NUCLEAR BOMBS)

WARS AND RUMURS OF WARS.

MATTHEW 24:6
6 And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

MARK 13:7
7 And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

Obama meets Dalai Lama despite Chinese warning
FEB 18,10

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama met the Dalai Lama at the White House on Thursday, brushing aside China's warning that talks with the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could further damage strained Sino-U.S. ties.But mindful of China's sensitivities, Obama sat down with the Dalai Lama in the White House Map Room instead of the Oval Office, a distinction that signaled the unofficial nature of the meeting. The talks were closed to media coverage. The White House planned to release a photograph later.(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick)

Whalers, activists clash again in Antarctic waters By KRISTEN GELINEAU, Associated Press Writer – Thu Feb 18, 1:11 am ET

SYDNEY – A group of conservationists threw bottles of butyric acid at Japanese whalers and blasted their ship with paint balls, while the Japanese fired water cannons in their latest Antarctic Ocean clash, both sides said Thursday.No one was injured in Wednesday's confrontation, the most recent in a string of increasingly aggressive clashes between U.S.-based activist group Sea Shepherd and the whaling fleet. Japan condemned the conservationists' actions as dangerous and violent. Sea Shepherd said they are simply doing what is necessary to protect whales.Sea Shepherd has long used butyric acid, produced from rancid butter, in their annual fight to stop the whalers and maintains that the substance is nontoxic.Earlier this month, Japan claimed three crew members on one of its whaling vessels suffered face and eye injuries from an acid attack.We don't throw acid on them — we throw rotten butter, which technically is butyric acid, Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson told The Associated Press by satellite phone from the Antarctic on Thursday.We've been throwing rotten butter at them for five years.Watson said his crew also shot paint balls at the Nisshin Maru to cover up a sign that said research.Japan hunts hundreds of mostly minke whales — which are not an endangered species — in Antarctic waters each year under its whaling research program, an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.Glenn Inwood, spokesman for Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research, which sponsors the whale hunt, called Sea Shepherd's use of paint projectiles dangerous.On Monday, Sea Shepherd activist Peter Bethune jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 from a Jet Ski with the stated goal of making a citizen's arrest of the ship's captain and presenting him with a $3 million bill for the destruction of the Ady Gil.He was taken into custody by the whalers and will face charges in Japan of trespassing and assault.If they hit somebody on the boats, they could easily kill them,Inwood said.Earlier this month, Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels. On Jan. 6, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later. No one was seriously injured in those incidents.

Canada to host G8 development ministers in April
FEB 18,10

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will host a meeting of G8 development ministers in the Atlantic Coast city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, on April 26-28 to focus on strategies for saving the lives of mothers and young children in poor countries, the government said on Thursday.The ministers will prepare proposals for a Group of Eight summit to be held in Muskoka, Ontario, in June. The G8 is comprised of the United States, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Russia.The recent tragedy in Haiti and the overwhelming global response demonstrates that by mobilizing resources and efforts, the international community can make a difference, said Defense Minister Peter MacKay, a member of Parliament for the region that includes Halifax.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced last month he would use Canada's presidency of the G8 to push for improvements to maternal and child health in the world's poorest regions. He called it unacceptable that 500,000 women die in pregnancy or childbirth every year and that 9 million children die before their fifth birthday.
Development Minister Beverley Oda called for the G8 to rally behind practical measures, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, such as providing clean water, vaccinations and better nutrition, as well as funding the training of health workers.
(Reporting by Louise Egan; Editing by Rob Wilson)

TSX rises as Barrick results lift gold shares By Ka Yan Ng - FEB 18,10

TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto's main stock market index was higher on Thursday morning as gold mining shares got a boost from firmer gold prices and better than expected results from Barrick Gold.Barrick, the world's biggest gold miner, led all heavyweight gainers, up 1.29 percent at C$40.16, after it announced plans to spin off its African assets into a new company and said its quarterly operating profit more than doubled on stronger gold prices.Other gold producers also rose, benefiting from strong results in the group. Goldcorp was up 1.5 percent at C$41.01, while Agnico Eagle rose 3.2 percent to C$63.86.Meanwhile, the price of gold turned higher, recovering earlier losses, as traders broadly shrugged off news from the IMF that it would begin sales of 191.3 tonnes of gold on the open market.The index was buoyed by earnings coming out of the gold producers. They were a gangbuster quarter with the higher gold price helping margins, said John Ing, president of Maison Placements Canada.At 10:15 a.m., the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was up 46.81 points, or 0.4 percent, at 11,682.30, after opening slightly lower.The index's materials group, home to the gold miners, was up 1.37 percent, leading eight of the index's 10 main groups higher.U.S. data showing an increase in weekly jobless claims and stronger than expected inflation growth put early pressure on equities because they raised potential barriers to economic recovery. Also putting a damper on the market was a weak outlook from Wal-Mart.(Editing by Peter Galloway)

Canada workers OK Brunswick zinc mine contract: Xstrata
Thu Feb 18, 2:34 am ET

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Union workers at the Xstrata Brunswick zinc mine in Canada have voted in favor of a three-year extension of a collective bargaining deal that will surpass the expected closure of the mine, Xstrata said on Thursday.The current agreement, which was set to expire in February 2011, will enable the firm to determine with certainty how much ore there is left to mine and what it will cost to extract it, the company said in a statement.This will also enable Xstrata to establish a more precise date for the closure, it said.The mine and a concentrator has the capacity to yield 3.6 million tonnes of ore containing zinc, lead, copper, and silver.It was discovered in 1953 and put in production in 1964, and has ranked as one of the world's largest of its kind.The agreement with United Steelworkers members includes a wage increase in 2011 and a rise in pension benefits, Xstrata said.(Reporting by James Regan)

Virus has breached 75,000 computers: study
Thu Feb 18, 6:15 am ET

(Reuters) – A new type of computer virus is known to have breached almost 75,000 computers in 2,500 organizations around the world, including user accounts of popular social network websites, according Internet security firm NetWitness.The latest virus -- known as Kneber botnet -- gathers login credentials to online financial systems, social networking sites and email systems from infested computers and reports the information back to hackers, NetWitness said in a statement.A botnet is an army of infected computers that hackers can control from a central machine.

The company said the attack was first discovered in January during a routine deployment of NetWitness software.Further investigation by the Herndon, Virginia-based software security firm revealed that many commercial and government systems were compromised, including 68,000 corporate login credentials and access to email systems, online banking sites, Yahoo, Hotmail and social networks such as Facebook.
Conventional malware protection and signature-based intrusion detection systems are, by definition, inadequate for addressing Kneber or most other advanced threats, Chief Executive Amit Yoran said in a statement.(Reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore; Editing by Eric Auchard in London)

Greek saga heightens debate on economic co-ordination
ANDREW WILLIS Today FEB 18,10 @ 17:34 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Greek drama currently being played out in financial markets across the globe has brought the eurozone's weaknesses into sharp relief, with greater economic co-ordination increasingly touted as a possible solution. The recent financial crisis has also served to highlight the multitude of structural flaws embedded in the wider EU economy, with the bloc's permanent president, Herman Van Rompuy, amongst those advocating a European economic government.Greater convergence of economic policies, it is argued, will boost EU growth and job numbers in years to come, and prevent weaker eurozone members from being forced out of the single currency. The EU's new economic 10-year plan, currently being thrashed out by national capitals and EU institutions, appears the obvious method to achieve this greater convergence, although tough implementation mechanisms are seen as key to the plan's success. Last month the Spanish EU presidency declared its support for binding mechanisms to ensure national capitals meet their allotted targets in areas such as research and innovation, although Berlin quickly poured cold water on the idea saying it risked creating further bureaucracy.

Yet with EU leaders recently indicating that a euro area bailout for Greece would be available if needed, some in Europe feel the tide is moving in the direction of greater co-ordination.Amongst them is Edouard Balladur, a former centre-right French prime minister and close associate of President Nicolas Sarkozy.We are at a crossroads,he told French daily Le Figaro on Wednesday. Mr Balladur believes each eurozone member should have to submit its annual budget to the 16-country bloc for majority approval.Others are less convinced of the significance of last week's declaration on a possible Greek bailout. They didn't spell out how they will do it. Only when they tell us this could you say it was a step towards increased economic co-ordination,Edin Mujagic, a monetary economist at ECR Euro Currency Research and Tilburg University, told this website.

Eurozone track record

Recent research conducted by Mr Mujagic shows the eurozone's track record is far from perfect. Set up in 1999, one of the currency framework's aims was to narrow economic difference between members. Instead, inflation and growth rates have diverged more significantly, shows the study, with a similar widening seen for other economic variables such as productivity, labour costs, unemployment and debt levels. The European Central Bank's one size fits all interest rate policy is partly to blame, says Mr Mujagic.The fact that interest rates in the euro area started too low has led to imbalances in southern European states,he stressed, pointing to Spain's current account deficit as an example. He agreed however that economic co-ordination is what is needed.If we don't establish some form of economic government, I wouldn't be be too optimistic for the survival of the euro area.During the 1990s, many economists questioned whether a monetary union was possible without first establishing a greater political union. They pointed, and still do, to the different fiscal systems used in member states, and the imperfect movement of labour due to Europe's many languages.Speaking in Brussels earlier this week, Greek finance minister George Papaconstantinou neatly summed up the dilemma. For a common currency area to work you need a convergence of economic policy ...or else you need compensation flows between member states,he said. In the eurozone they have ruled out option two, but at the same time we also don't have a clear path for economic policy convergence,he added. Observers say the EU's 2020 economic strategy is the clear path, but few are optimistic EU leaders will agree to the binding mechanisms necessary to make it work.

Prague outranks Paris and Stockholm among EU's richest regions
VALENTINA POP Today FEB 18,10 @ 17:43 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Prague outranked Paris, Stockholm and Vienna in a list of the EU's richest regions published on Thursday (18 February) by Eurostat, the bloc's statistics office. The chart is however based on 2007 data, at the height of an economic boom in the central European state.Prague ranked fifth among Europe's 271 regions in terms of gross domestic product per inhabitant, up from the 12th place last year. It is the only region from the new member states to feature in the upper ranks of EU's richest areas.Top of the list continued to be London, Luxembourg, Brussels and Hamburg, as it was the case in the last Eurostat ranking published in 2009, also based on three-year old data. Paris, officially referred to as Ile de France, came in sixth this year, followed by southern and eastern Ireland (which includes Dublin), the Dutch region of Groningen, Bavaria, Stockholm and Vienna.The poorest regions are still those in the newest member states – Bulgaria and Romania, but also Hungary and Poland.Prague's performance may be a one-off, as it happened in 2007, when the Czech Republic registered its record economic growth level since 1989, mostly driven by manufacturing industry and a high domestic consumption level. It was also the year when for the first time Czech exports overtook imports, production of car, electronics and computers was booming, while inflation and unemployment were at the lowest levels in 10 years.

But the situation has since worsened, and the ranking does not reflect the impact of the economic crisis, which only started to unfold in 2008.It's obsolete to have this information now, when this was data from before the economic crisis, Alena Vlacihova from the Czech business representation in Brussels told EUobserver.In 2010 and the internet era, we should be able to collect data directly and faster,she added.

Eurostat, the bloc's statistics office, only relies on data gathered from member states, which takes considerable time to be collected. The office is currently at the centre of a debate among member states pondering to bolster its powers, in response to doubts over Greek data. Eurostat should harmonise how it uses indicators, since some member states use other indicators or simply invent the statistics, like Hungary and Greece,Ms Vlacihova said.Earlier this week, Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders said any increase in Eurostat's remit should be accompanied by an internal overhaul to increase the independence and transparency of the statistics office. In particular, the Belgian politician pointed to certain Eurostat decisions relating to accounting practices used by telecommunication companies in Europe. The decisions did not seem quite the same, in different countries, he said.Commission economy spokesman Amadeu Altafaj Tardio said on Wednesday it was unclear whether new Eurostat powers would be accompanied by internal reforms, although he did not rule out the possibility of some increase in staff numbers. The statistics agency has not been immune from controversy in the past. In 2003, three senior officials were removed from their posts and a number of contracts with outside companies were cancelled after it was alleged that a double accounting system had been used during the 1990s to transfer large amounts of money to secret bank accounts.