EU LACKS LEADER SCHMIDT

IT FINALLY CAME OUT YESTERDAY THAT CANADA USED THE WAR ACT AT THE G-20 SUMMIT.
PICTURES FROM G-20 SUMMIT
http://news.yahoo.com/nphotos/G-20-Protests/ss/events/bs/111010g20protests

Watchdog blasts security at Toronto G20 summit
– Tue Dec 7, 5:02 pm ET

TORONTO (Reuters) – Special security powers secretly given to Canadian police for last summer's G20 summit in Toronto were probably illegal and unconstitutional, a provincial government watchdog said on Tuesday.Police conducted hundreds of arbitrary arrests and unreasonable searches under the temporary provincial regulation, which established a security zone around the meeting of world leaders in downtown Toronto in June, Ontario's ombudsman, Andre Marin, said.(The regulation) passed to enhance security during the G20 summit should never have been enacted. It was likely unconstitutional, Marin wrote in a blistering 125-page report he titled Caught in the Act.Marin blasted Ontario lawmakers for using a World War Two-era law designed to protect public property to give police wartime powers, and doing it under the radar so the public did not know.Apart from insiders in the government of Ontario, only members of the Toronto Police Service knew that the rules of the game had changed, and they were the ones holding the deck of go directly to jail cards, Marin wrote.

The regulation, which has since expired, only became public knowledge after hundreds of people had been arrested as police -- many brought in from other areas of Canada -- went after demonstrations outside the fenced-off area where the G20 leaders were meeting.Community Safety Minister Jim Bradley said the province will follow Marin's suggestion that the law used to grant police the special powers should be reviewed.
It is clear to me that we should have communicated (the new regulation) much more directly, clearly and promptly, Bradley in a statement that did not address whether the regulation should ever have been approved.(Writing by Allan Dowd; editing by Rob Wilson)

Critics Of Big Sis/Wal-Mart Spy Campaign Branded Insane
Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com December 8, 2010

According to the driving force behind Big Sis’ creepy Wal-Mart spy campaign, if the state encouraging Americans to report each other to the authorities causes you unease, you’re insane, similar to how critics of informant programs were also branded mentally ill and persecuted in the former Soviet Union.In what has been dubbed the battle of Wal-Mart by The New York Observer, the controversy over Big Sis Janet Napolitano’s announcement that Homeland Security messages encouraging shoppers to report suspicious activity, without telling them what constitutes suspicious activity, will play at at Wal-Mart checkouts, has set off a rebellion among the conspiracy-theory crowd, a number of whom are among the store’s core customers, writes Aaron Gell.But the man behind the creepy slogan, If you see something, say something, claims that the likes of Matt Drudge and Alex Jones’ opposition to the campaign is ridiculous.

That’s absurd. The whole reason for doing it was to save lives, and I think the sane people of the world see it as a positive slogan, said Allen Kay, of Korey Kay & Partners, implying that anyone who perceives the state encouraging citizens to report on each other as a negative move towards an authoritarian society is insane.
Kay’s glib justification that the campaign is about saving lives can be demolished from two angles.Firstly, even if you believe that Muslim terrorists are creeping around every street corner with bombs in their underpants, and it’s a legitimate concern given the fact that the FBI is so keen on providing such dimwits with all the explosives they need, then why has the federal government and Homeland Security instead labeled politically aware, patriotic Americans to be the number one domestic terror threat? As we have seen from the MIAC report, DHS spying on tea Party and second amendment activists in Pennsylvania and a host of other examples in recent years, the federal government has little interest in Muslim extremists and has instead targeted Americans knowledgeable of their rights and critical of big government as the primary domestic terror threat. The feds have defined terrorist propaganda as any material critical of the state. The Department of Defense characterizes peaceful protest as low level terrorism in its own report.

Given the fact that rhetoric identifying conservative and libertarian Americans as domestic extremists has saturated the news media, don’t be surprised when ignorant Wal-Mart shoppers begin to report people who wear t-shirts with political slogans or ones that carry an image of the upside-down American flag, or merely individuals who talk about the Constitution, since federal authorities have identified all these as examples of terrorism in numerous cases over the last several years.Secondly, no matter where you look, from East Germany, to Communist Russia, to Nazi Germany, historically governments who encourage their own citizens to report on each other do so not for any genuine safety concerns or presumed benefits to security, but in order to create an authoritarian police state that coerces the people into policing each other’s behavior and thoughts.As Robert Gellately of Florida State University has highlighted, Germans under Hitler denounced their neighbors and friends not because they genuinely believed them to be a security threat, but because they expected to selfishly benefit from doing so, both financially, socially and psychologically via a pavlovian need to be rewarded by their masters for their obedience.At the height of its influence around one in seven of the East German population was an informant for the Stasi. As in Nazi Germany, the creation of an informant system was wholly centered around identifying political dissidents and those with grievances against the state, and had little or nothing to do with genuine security concerns.Even if you subscribe to the notion that Americans should be spied on, which is completely unconstitutional in and of itself, should that role be entrusted to untrained Wal-Mart shoppers? If Americans are going to be policed by a 21st century KGB, can the watchers at least be professionally recruited and trained? No, because having fat slobs report on suspicious activity that is defined by what they were told on ABC News last night or what they saw in a plot of 24 or CSI Miami makes it a lot easier for Big Sis to chill free speech and frighten Americans away from exercising their rights.

Every example in recent history of a government enlisting its population as a swarming army of spies leads to, at the bare minimum, the evisceration of freedom and the creation of an autocratic dictatorship, and in the worst case, mass political oppression, assassination of political dissidents or outright genocide.
And Allen Kay has the temerity to imply that anyone expressing concern about a similar program arriving in America is insane and that their worries are ridiculous, ironically echoing how critics of the state were also branded mentally ill and sent to psikhushkas – mental hospitals – in the former Soviet Union.Judging by Wal-Mart’s response in refusing to acknowledge the scale of the backlash they have received in reaction to the announcement on Monday, and their slavish repetition of the glib Orwellian rhetoric that the spy campaign is about safety and security, Americans are outraged, and until Wal-Mart kills this un-American insult to everything that the country stands for, their Christmas is going to be a lot less profitable than expected, with numerous boycotts already on the horizon.

TSA Agents Revolt Over Body Scanner Radiation Exposure
Steve Watson Infowars.com December 8, 2010

TSA workers are complaining about the amounts of radiation they are being exposed to on a daily basis in the wake of the mass introduction of body scanners to airports around the country.USA Today reports that TSA agents are unhappy with the fact that they are being kept in the dark by their employers, despite repeated requests for information.We don’t think the agency is sharing enough information, said Milly Rodriguez, occupational health and safety specialist at the American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents TSA workers.Radiation just invokes a lot of fear. she added.According to the USA Today report, several TSA employees have expressed their concerns to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):

…a TSA employee at an unidentified airport asked CDC in June to examine concerns about radiation exposures from standing near the new full-body X-ray scanners for hours a day. The CDC said it didn’t have authority to do a hazard assessment unless three or more current employees at one location made a joint request, according to a September letter from the CDC to the unnamed worker. The CDC provided the letter to USA TODAY.Despite claiming that the body scanners and baggage scanners emit safe doses of radiation and are routinely inspected, the TSA has refused to release its radiation inspection records.Worse still, an independent study by the CDC carried out in 2004, found that some baggage scanners were in violation of federal radiation standards, and were emitting two or three times beyond the agreed safe limit.A further 2008 CDC report noted that some x-ray machines were missing protective lead curtains or had had safety features disabled by TSA employees with duct tape, paper towels and other materials.Now there are even more x-ray devices in use, TSA workers’ concerns, as well as recent public backlash, is beginning to force the issue.This has prompted members of congress to get involved, with a group led by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass, demanding that the TSA release the documents.As the USA Today report explains, The TSA is responsible for inspecting the x-ray scanners itself, rather than the FDA, because they are not classed as medical devices.

Following the congressional attention, the TSA has said that it will attempt to release the radiation records to USA Today, but has not indicated when this will be, citing the need to review the records for security reasons.Rep. Jason Chaffetz of Utah, the top Republican on a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee over federal workforce issues, has vowed to press the TSA for the documentation.It should send some flashing red lights when they won’t allow the public to review that data, said Chaffetz, who oversaw the passage in the House last year of an amendment to ban strip-search imaging at airports.You don’t have to look at my wife and 8-year-old daughter naked to secure an airplane, Chaffetz said at the time.You can actually see the sweat on somebody’s back. You can tell the difference between a dime and a nickel. If they can do that, they can see things that quite frankly I don’t think they should be looking at in order to secure a plane,Chaffetz told the House.

Frankly, more TSA workers should be concerned over the levels of radiation they are being exposed to and are being asked to expose the public to.Dr Michael Love, who runs an X-ray lab at the department of biophysics and biophysical chemistry at the Johns Hopkins school of medicine recently told AFP that statistically someone is going to get skin cancer from these X-rays.…we have a situation at the airports where people are so eager to fly that they will risk their lives in this manner,he added.John Sedat, a University of California at San Francisco professor of biochemistry and biophysics and member of the National Academy of Sciences tells CNet that the machines have mutagenic effects and will increase the risk of cancer. Sedat previously sent a letter to the White House science Czar John P. Holdren, identifying the specific risk the machines pose to children and the elderly.

The letter stated:it appears that real independent safety data do not exist… There has not been sufficient review of the intermediate and long-term effects of radiation exposure associated with airport scanners. There is good reason to believe that these scanners will increase the risk of cancer to children and other vulnerable populations.The TSA has repeatedly stated that going through the machines is equal to the radiation encountered during just two minutes of a flight. However, this does not take into account that the scanning machines specifically target only the skin and the muscle tissue immediately beneath.The scanners are similar to C-Scans and fire ionizing radiation at those inside which penetrates a few centimeters into the flesh and reflects off the skin to form a naked body image.The firing of ionizing radiation at the body effectively unzips DNA, according to scientific research by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.The research shows that even very low doses of X-ray can delay or prevent cellular repair of damaged DNA, yet pregnant women and children will be subjected to the process as new guidelines including scanners are adopted.The Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety concluded in their report on the matter that governments must justify the use of the scanners and that a more accurate assessment of the health risks is needed.Pregnant women and children should not be subject to scanning, according to the report, adding that governments should consider other techniques to achieve the same end without the use of ionizing radiation.The Committee cited the IAEA’s 1996 Basic Safety Standards agreement, drafted over three decades, that protects people from radiation. Frequent exposure to low doses of radiation can lead to cancer and birth defects, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,reported Bloomberg.

Scientists at Columbia University also entered the debate recently, warning that the dose emitted by the naked x-ray devices could be up to 20 times higher than originally estimated, likely contributing to an increase in a common type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma which affects the head and neck.If all 800 million people who use airports every year were screened with X-rays then the very small individual risk multiplied by the large number of screened people might imply a potential public health or societal risk. The population risk has the potential to be significant,said Dr David Brenner, head of Columbia University’s centre for radiological research.Despite all these warnings, The Department of Homeland Security claims that the scanners are completely safe, pointing to independent verification from the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, both federal government bodies.

CHANUKAH VIDEOS
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141033
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141030
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/141040

Israeli Flags to be Made in Israel
by Maayana Miskin DEC 8,10

The Knesset voted Tuesday in favor of a measure that will require all Israeli flags used for official functions to be made in Israel. The bill passed its second and third Knesset vote, making it an official law.The law was promoted by several MKs, among them MK Ofir Akunis (Likud) and MK Shelly Yechimovich (Labor). It aims to rectify the current situation, in which Israeli flags are often manufactured abroad, particularly in China and Turkey, while Israel's textile industry suffers.This is a law that will boost our society and our nation, said MK Akunis. We must do everything we can to encourage and develop Israeli industry, particularly in less developed parts of the country, and it is only logical to start by having public institutions buy made in Israel goods.In January, the Defense Ministry accepted a controversial bid for the manufacture of official IDF emblems from an Israeli company that planned to outsource the work to China.Noam Peleg, whose Maayan Metals plant, located in the Galilee, was one of the companies passed over in the bidding. At the time, Peleg said that the attempt to save money by accepting a lower bid would cost the state in the end. It was a difference of only 200,000 shekels – money which the state of Israel will now have to pay in unemployment for the workers that I will now have to fire.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

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

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

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

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

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

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

THE WORLD DICTATOR

REVELATION 6:1-2,13:1-3,7-9,16
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(THIS IS THE EU DICTATOR)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(7 HEADS ARE THE 7TH WORLD EMPIRE IN HISTORY (THE EU) AS WELL AS THE VATICAN WHICH IS BUILT ON 7 HILLS. 10 HORNS ARE 10 KINGS THAT ARISE FROM THE EU, THEN #11 COMES ON THE SCENE BECOMES THE HEAD OF 3 OUNTRIES AND THEN THE EU DICTATOR, COMES FROM 1 OF THE 3 COUNTRIES THAT RULE FOR THIS TERM. I BELIEVE THE 3 COUNTRIES RULING AT THE TIME ARE SPAIN AND 2 OF THE ORIGINAL 6 THAT STARTED THE EU. FROM 1 OF THESE 3 COUNTRIES COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION WHO GUARENTEES ISRAELS SECURITY FOR A LAND FOR PEACE 7 YEAR TREATY.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(THE JEWISH EU DICTATOR GETS HIS POWER FROM SATAN,HE COMES FROM THE OCCULT).
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE DICTATOR HAS A FALSE RESURRECTION. JUST LIKE JESUS HAD A LITERAL RESURRECTION THIS DICTATOR GETS MURDERED AT THE 3 1/2 YR MARK OF THR 7 YEAR TREATY AND COMES BACK TO LIFE. THIS IS HOW HE CAN CLAIM TO BE GOD AND GET AWAY WITH IT AND CONTROL THE WHOLE EARTH.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
16 And he causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

DANIEL 11:36-40
36 And the king shall do according to his will;(EU PRESIDENT) and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS A EUROPEAN JEW) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(HES A MILITARY GINIUS) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds (CONTROL HEZBOLLAH,AL-QUAIDA MURDERERS ETC) with a strange god, whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south(EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR PROTECTING ISRAELS SECURITY) and the king of the north(RUSSIA) 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.

Helmut Schmidt: Europe lacks leaders
DAVID MARSH 07.12.2010 @ 17:52 CET

EUOBSERVER / INTERVIEW - Europe lacks leaders, former German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt has said in an exclusive interview with the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. Set to mark his 92nd birthday later this month, Mr Schmidt is critical of decisions regarding the eurozone's establishment in the early 1990s and predicts a hard core of EU member states defined by common foreign policy perspectives.David Marsh: For many years Germany had twin policies on parallel lines: commitment to financial and monetary stability on the one hand, commitment to European integration on the other. With the crisis in economic and monetary union, do you think that the two policies are no longer compatible? Helmut Schmidt: Let me give you an answer first about the general political environment. I don't know about the British government – they are rather new in office and I do not know the leading people. So I exclude the British from my general answer. But I would say that, in general, Europe lacks leaders. It lacks people in high positions in the national states or in the European institutions with sufficient overview of domestic and international questions and sufficient power of judgment. There are a few exceptions such as [Jean-Claude] Juncker of Luxembourg, but Luxembourg is a bit too small to play a substantial role.More specifically, I do not think that the Germans in general or the German political class in Germany have given up on stability. The circumstances in 2008 and 09 and 10 forced them – like almost everyone else in the world - to violate their stability ideals, but this was not an act of free will, it was the result of economic downturn.Additionally, the present German government is composed of people who are learning their business on the job. They have no previous experience in world political affairs or in world economic affairs. German finance minister Wolfgang Schauble is a man whom I wish well and for whom I have great personal respect. He well understands budgetary and taxation problems. But when it comes to international money markets or capital markets or the banking system or the supervision of banks or shadow banks, this is all new to him.

The same goes for [Angela] Merkel. This is not to say anything negative about Schauble or anything negative about Merkel, but we need people in high office who understand the economic world of today.But some people would say the problem goes deeper than that. By going into a monetary union without political union, and without the perspective of a political union, some people would say that this was a fundamental birth defect.This is what the Bundesbank have been repeating it for 30 years. In their innermost heart they are reactionaries. They are against European integration.Who do you mean precisely? Who are you thinking of because people like [Hans] Tietmeyer are no longer playing an important role....But his successors, more or less with one exception, are reactionaries with regard to European integration. They are not really characterised by liberal thinking. They tend to act and react too much under the aspect of national interests and haven't understood the strategic necessity of European integration.There is this expression Beim Geld hört die Freundschaft auf [friendship stops with money]. One has the feeling that the Germans are now being asked as a collectivity to help the poorer states. And the Germans find this very difficult.The mistake was made around the time of Maastricht, in 1991-92. At this time we were 12 member countries in Europe. They not only invited everybody to become a member of European Union but they also invented the euro and invited everybody to become a member of the euro area. And this was done without changing the rules or clarifying the rules beforehand. This was when the great mistakes were made. What we are suffering now is the consequence of that failure.

Should the EU states have decided the euro just for a small group of countries?This is my view – and also they should have defined more strongly the rules on the economic behavior of the participants. The so-called Stability and Growth Pact is not an instrument of law. It's just an agreement between governments. And it was not helpful that, early in this century, both France and Germany violated the rules of the pact. Merkel would like to correct these mistakes, but her chances of prevailing are rather small, particularly because she is not a very smooth operator.In his heart of hearts, Hans Tietmeyer didn't want the Italians in EMU. You criticised him in the mid-1990s for being a German nationalist because he said then that we should have a hard core. Aren't you now backing the same argument? In the meantime many things have happened, the globalisation of speculation, the globalisation of money and capital markets, the globalisation of financial instruments. We have seen the failure of a draft for a European constitution. We have seen this complex Lisbon treaty, many things have happened and at the same time figures who could lead have become scarce.One very important figure was Jacques Delors. He has been replaced by people whose name one doesn't really know. And the same goes for permanent secretaries and the chairmen of various commissions and for prime ministers and – what is his name – van Rompuy? And he has a so-called foreign secretary - a British lady, her name is not necessary to know either. The same goes, more or less, for the European Parliament. The only figure who sticks out in the European institutions is [Jean-Claude] Trichet. I'm not sure how strong he is inside the European Central Bank, but as far as I can see, he hasn't made a major mistake so far.

But of course the clock is now ticking for him. His mandate runs out at the end of October and he cannot be renewed.Yes, I know. But of course he's totally independent. In a way this could give him the freedom to speak up, but the question is who would listen to him now that he has to leave his office in less than 12 months or so.Greece and Portugal went into monetary union with a net foreign balance more or less of zero: their foreign assets and foreign debts were more or less equivalent. Then they ran current account deficits every year for around 10 years of 10 percent of GDP. You don't need to be a genius to work out that they now have a net foreign debt of 100 percent of GDP.The question is: How come that no-one took any notice - in Basel or in Brussels or in some statistical office? No-one seem to have understood. By the way, for a long period the German political elite didn't understand that we were recording surpluses on our current account. We are doing the same thing as the Chinese – the great difference is that the Chinese have their own currency and we haven't. If we had our own currency it would have been revalued by now.To have kept the D-Mark, as Tietmeyer would have liked, would have led to speculation against the D-Mark at least once if not twice in the past 20 years in an order of magnitude worse than we have seen with Greece or Ireland. So far the idea of a common currency still has my full backing, even if the European leaders did fail to set the rules and made the enormous mistake to take in anybody.

Over the next 20 years, I think it is rather likely, at least 51 percent likely, that a hard core of the Union will emerge. And it would comprise the French, the Germans, the Dutch - I'm not so sure about the Italians. I'm rather sure than the British would not be part of it, the same may come true of the Poles. It would not be a hard core in written paragraphs of paper but it would be a hard core de facto and nor de jure.And of course the Benelux states would be part of this and Austria and probably Denmark and Sweden? Probably Austria, conceivably Denmark and Sweden. The Danes are very cautious – they would still look to London.I remember you saying many times, if the Germans keep the D-Mark we will make ourselves unpopular with the rest of the world; our banks and our currency would be the Number 1, all the other countries would be against us and that was why we should have the euro to embed us in a larger European undertaking. It's all rather ironic, because people are saying that Germany has profited a great deal from the euro because the D-Mark has been kept down and this helps German exports.I ask myself whether this profit really is a profit? I wonder whether running perpetual current account surpluses really amounts to a profit. In the long run it is not a profit...... because in the long run these assets will have to be written down because people won't pay them back ...Yes ... it means that you sell goods and what you get back is just paper money and later on it will be devalued and you will have to write it off. So you are withholding from your own nation goods that otherwise they would like to consume.Would you say that in 20 years, if we have a hard bloc, that the currency would be higher than now?

Not necessarily would this [the hard core] pertain to the field of currencies but it would probably pertain to the field of world policies whether vis-a-vis China, Iran, Afghanistan or a new coalition of Muslim states, which is one of the great dangers of the 21st century, that you get a coalition of Muslim states.If there was a president in Washington and he wanted to drop the atomic bomb on Tehran, the Europeans would be strong enough to say: We are not part of it. Right now, no one is strong enough in Europe to be in that position.And what about France ? They are always torn both ways – to the south but also to Germany. Do you think it's irrefutable that France will always opt to go along with Germany in a smaller core monetary union? It's difficult to say. I said the probability would be 51 percent – that makes 49 percent left. I am not a prophet. I don't know. It depends very much on the behaviour of the Germans. When I was in power, I would always let the French march ahead on the red carpet. I never appeared as the leader, apart from once – over medium-range nuclear missiles that were targeted against German cities - and in the end that cost me my office.And of course Mitterrand came to Bonn in January 1983 after you had left office – the invitation came from you when you were Chancellor. He made his great speech [supporting West Germany on medium-range missiles] and Kohl reaped the benefits of that French solidarity. It is ironic how history turns out...

Yes, but this has had a good effect, since in 1987 they abolished all these weapons on both sides.People always said: 'We don't want a German Europe but a European Germany.' However, there is now a belief that, because of Germany's power as the greatest Europe creditor nation, it is throwing its weight around too much in Europe.My feeling is that Merkel doesn't know she does it.Maybe if you are a creditor, maybe you're vulnerable, you feel that your assets are going to be written down. Maybe it's not good to be a creditor because it makes you unpopular. Maybe it also means that your bank balance, your reserve s are always going to be less high than you thought they would be, because people are not going to be able to repay their debts...It goes far beyond the question of currencies and currency reserves. And therefore it applies to psychology ... I am speaking of the psychology of nations and their public opinions and their published options. [Because of the Nazis and the Second World War] Germany will remain to be in debt for a long time - for all of the 21st century, maybe even for the 22nd century too. The Germans indeed sometimes behave like the strongest nation, they tend to give lessons to everybody. In fact they are more vulnerable than they think.But the Germans themselves don't feel strong, the man in the street feels, I think, somewhat uncertain, the wages in real terms have been under pressure for many years. The average Germans don't feel strong and confident, I think.That is probably correct. But that does not include the political class. That does not necessarily include the right wing of Christian Democrats. And it doesn't necessarily include the extreme Left.Europe thought it could put crises behind us by getting rid of its internal exchange rates and forging monetary union. But it now seems that, because of the globalisation of finance, the speculators will now attack the spreads [between different countries' bond markets]. Before they attacked the currencies, how they attack the bond markets.One of the weakest points in the global economy is that there is no control of the behaviour of financial managers. You can divide mankind into three categories. In the first category are normal people like you and me. We may have once, when we were boys, stolen an apple from a neighbour's trees or we may have taken a bar of chocolate from a supermarket without paying for it. But otherwise we are dependable, normal human beings.

Then secondly you have a small category of people with a criminal character. And thirdly you have investment bankers. That includes all the dealers and the dealmakers. They all sail under different names, but they're all the same.What about Britain? You had a very good relationship with [James] Callaghan but he didn't join the European Monetary System. Do you think we did right to steer clear of monetary union? I know you think we will be outside for a long time and I think you're right. Do you think that was fundamentally the correct decision? Fundamentally I think de Gaulle was right - long before the European Monetary System.You mean he was right in believing that the UK would always choose the US over Europe? I used to believe in British common sense and state rationale... I was brought up in a very Anglophile way. I was a great supporter of Edward Heath who brought Britain into the European community. But then we had Harold Wilson and Margaret Thatcher, who didn't always behave so sensibly. And then we had Tony Blair who brought himself into a position of far too great a dependence on America. You can't have this dependence on America and at the same time play a responsible role in Europe. The British have always been good, though, at muddling through – and this is what we are doing now in Europe, muddling through.Helmut Schmidt was interviewed by David Marsh, Co-chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF)

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED DEC 08,2010

09:30 AM -2.43
10:00 AM +25.73
10:30 AM -15.44
11:00 AM -14.30
11:30 AM -10.14
12:00 PM +5.03
12:30 PM -3.56
01:00 PM -14.42
01:30 PM -5.42
02:00 PM +6.96
02:30 PM +6.28
03:00 PM +2.91
03:30 PM -1.67
04:00 PM +13.32 11,372.48

S&P 500 1228.28 +4.53

NASDAQ 2609.16 +10.67

GOLD 1,383.30 -25.70

OIL 88.39 -0.30

TSE 300 13,152.00 -98.70

CDNX 2098.84 -18.37

S&P/TSX/60 750.73 -5.61

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -4 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -27 points at low today.
Dow +35 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,393.00.OIL opens at $88.68 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -27 points at low today so far.
Dow +35 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -27 points at low today.
Dow +35 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,427.40 (NOT AT CLOSE)

CRUDE OIL -3.8 MILLION BARRELS
GASOLINE +3.8 MILLION BARRELS
DISTILLATE INVENTORIES +2.2 MILLION BARRELS
REFINERY UTILIZATION

EU calls fresh stress tests, says Irish meltdown unique
ANDREW WILLIS 07.12.2010 @ 17:40 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has announced that fresh stress tests will be carried out on European banks next February after similar examinations this summer failed to spot huge problems at the heart of Ireland's financial institutions, ultimately forcing Dublin to accept an EU-IMF bail-out last month.
Speaking after a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday (7 December) where EU finance ministers endorsed the €85 billion Irish aid package, EU economy commissioner Olli Rehn defended the earlier tests and insisted that Ireland's banking meltdown was a one-off case that would not be repeated elsewhere in Europe. He conceded however that some lessons should be learnt after Irish banks passed the July tests, insisting that the new examination would even more rigourous and even more comprehensive.The scope and the methodology of the exercise are currently under discussion but of course we shall draw lessons from the exercise of earlier this year, for instance a liquidity assessment needs to be included in the future stress tests, said the Finnish politician.Mr Rehn added that the fullest possible transparency was needed when conducting the new tests, and appeared to lay part of the blame on Dublin's door after firms such as Allied Irish Banks sailed through the July examination, only to be found wanting several months later.There was a certain variety of application of this [July stress test] methodology because in this regard the EU is a confederation, it was a co-ordinated exercise conducted by national authorities,he said.

From January onwards we will have a new [European] regulatory and supervisory architecture of financial markets and the banking system which will provide more rigor from the European point of view, he added.Mr Rehn also said Ireland's most-troubled institution, Anglo Irish Bank, escaped the summer shakedown as it had already been nationalised at that point.Despite some positive signs in Ireland's real economy, the country's banks have soaked up roughly €50 billion in government support and remain in bad shape, saddled with billions of euros worth of toxic property loans and home mortgages.Shut off from international capital markets, the banks have relied heavily on extraordinary European Central Bank lending provisions that were put in place after the the collapse of US investment bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.Frankfurt's efforts to withdraw its array of crisis-fighting measures have been stifled in recent weeks by fresh turmoil surrounding the eurozone financial markets which failed to die down following the Irish bail-out announcement, leading ECB chief Jean-Claude Trichet to step up sovereign bond purchases last Thursday.

Concerned investors have continued to question whether the EU's multiple crisis funds, totaling €750 billion when IMF pledges are also included, would be sufficient to extend aid to Portugal and Spain if necessary.No decision to increase the fund was taken by the finance ministers on Tuesday, meaning it could potentially take up a slot on next week's European summit agenda. In a paper to eurozone finance ministers meeting on Monday, the IMF reportedly called for the fund to be topped up, with Belgian finance minister Didier Reynders also supporting the idea.Late last month, eurozone finance ministers agreed that the temporary €440 billion European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) should be turned into a permanent European Stability Mechanism (ESM) when it expires mid-2013.With investors spooked by earlier announcements from German Chancellor Angela Merkel that taxpayers should not be the only ones to shoulder the bail-out burden, the ministers said new collective action clauses (CACs) would ensure future bail-out recipients could be forced to reduce bondholder returns, but only once the permanent mechanism came into force in 2013.
This, said Olli Rehn on Tuesday, was why holders of senior bonds in Irish banks had not being asked to accept a haircut following the granting of the €85 billion bail-out to Dublin.We wanted to give a signal that [when] we said there would be no private sector involvement before 2013 ... we wanted of course to practice what we preached, and therefore no senior debt was considered to be restructured, he told journalists.The Irish government has already restructured the subordinated banking debt, less protected than other types, held by some bondholders. The country's parliament was expected to approve one of the toughest budgets in the country's history later on Tuesday, containing €6 billion in spending cuts and tax hikes for 2011.Another proposal that has recently gained prominence as a means to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, the issuance of a common eurobond, was ruled out by German, Dutch and Swedish finance ministers before it hit the table on Tuesday, due to concerns it would reduce incentives to finally enforce fiscal discipline within the currency club.

EU and Russia to sign trade memo amid US mockery
ANDREW RETTMAN 07.12.2010 @ 09:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU will partly lift its objection to Russia joining the World Trade Organisation (WTO) at a summit on Tuesday (7 December), eight days before Russian courts give their verdict in the Khodorkhovsky trial in a process described by the US as lipstick on a political pig.Medvedev (l) with EU commission head Barroso in Brussels on Tuesday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)The bilateral memorandum on the WTO to be signed at the summit in Brussels comes after Russia in November agreed to phase out tariffs on lumber and other raw materials. EU leaders are saying Russia could join the trade body in 2011. But other EU objections remain in the multilateral track of WTO talks, where Brussels wants Moscow to stop using phyto-sanitary rules to restrict imports and to improve intellectual property rights. Brussels will on Tuesday also tell Russian President Dmitry Medvedev he has a long way to go on improving technical standards, such as passport and border security, before any deal on visa-free travel.Meanwhile, EU commission official Hugues Mingarelli and Russia's deputy minister for economic development Andrei Slepnev will put forward a working programme for the Partnership for Modernisation, an initiative to improve the rule of law in Russia and to encourage high-tech foreign firms to invest.The prospect of WTO entry comes amid a broader reconciliation between Russia and its historic enemies. Nato in November invited Russia to take part in its missile defence scheme. And President Medvedev on a rare visit to Poland on Monday promised to open archives on the Soviet Union's 1940 massacre of Polish officers and intellectuals in Katyn.Speaking at a conference in Warsaw the same day, the EU's neighbourhood policy commissioner Stefan Fuele said: The EU's overarching goal is to bind Russia into a rules-based international and multilateral order, including the WTO, because transparency and predictability are the key to good economic and political relations.

The Czech politician added: We need to recognise that the psychological process of reconciliation following the Cold War has to run its course ... Recent Polish-Russian efforts in this respect are of crucial relevance here and I hope further progress will also be possible between Russia and its other neighbours.The Brussels summit, a regular twice-yearly affair, falls just a few days before Russian judges on 15 December give their verdict in the trial of anti-Kremlin Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkhovsky. With a guilty verdict widely expected, a recently leaked cable by the US embassy in Moscow in 2009 described what most EU officials and diplomats dealing with Russia really think about the case. Entitled Rule of law lipstick on a political pig, the cable said: It shows the effort that the GOR [government of Russia] is willing to expend in order to save face, in this case by applying a superficial rule-of-law gloss to a cynical system where political enemies are eliminated with impunity.EU officials regularly ask questions about Mr Khodorkhovsky in the so-called EU-Russia human rights consultations which take place in Brussels two weeks before each summit. The Russian side gives boiler-plate answers and refuses to bring along relevant interior ministry officials or to give access to the talks to NGOs.An EU diplomat told EUobserver the November edition of the consultations was no different. He added that: In his annual address [on Russian TV last week] Medvedev stressed the modernisation partnership, in which they see visas and technology, but no rights. Russia is aiming at a modernisation parnership which has no clear legal framework.The lipstick on a pig cable is one of several leaked US notes which depict Russia as a mafia state where businessmen bring suitcases of cash to the Kremlin and where the secret service, the FSB, even murders non-compliant businessmen. The US note which annoyed Russia the most so far spoke of EU summiteer Medvedev as a sidekick to Mr Putin, calling him Robin after the Batman cartoons, and a Lilliputian after the little people in the book Gulliver's Travels. Another note said that Mr Putin during the 2008 Russia-Georgia war kept EU commission President Jose Manuel Barroso out of key meetings and saw him as a glorified international civil servant not worthy to be in the Czar's [presence].Fresh cables released on the morning of the EU summit also show the limits of the Nato-Russia and Poland-Russia detente. The notes indicate that Nato in November adopted a German-backed Contingency Plan on how to repel a Russian invasion from the Baltic States and Poland, involving nine Nato divisions to be deployed via Polish Baltic Sea ports.The Kremlin's main PR agency in Brussels, GPlus, is playing down the importance of the leaks.These allegations are nothing new and they contain no evidence. It's like putting old rumours in a dryer and pressing the button to spin them round again, a GPlus contact said.

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

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

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

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

DANIEL 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

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

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

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

Palestinians seek unilateral statehood recognition By KARIN LAUB, Associated Press – Tue Dec 7, 3:55 pm ET

RAMALLAH, West Bank – The Palestinians' Plan B — an alternative to the elusive peace deal with Israel — is gradually taking shape: convince as many countries as possible to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, and use that to lobby the United States not to veto recognition by the U.N. Security Council.

The issue suddenly became more urgent late Tuesday when U.S. officials said they had abandoned efforts to get Israel to reinstate a West Bank settlement construction slowdown, concluding that was not the best way to restart the talks. The Palestinians have said they would not resume negotiations without construction curbs.

With efforts deadlocked, Brazil and Argentina have recognized Palestine, expected to be followed by Uruguay next month, the result of what a senior Palestinian official described as months of campaigning. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he is now setting his sights on Europe and would ask increasingly influential Turkey to serve as a go-between. Abbas was in Turkey on Tuesday.It might be tough to persuade Western countries to take such a step, as long as there is still a chance the U.S. can restart negotiations on creating a Palestinian state alongside Israel.Israel warned Tuesday that recognizing a state of Palestine without waiting for negotiations only hurts peace efforts.Talks hit a roadblock in September, shortly after their launch, when Israel refused to extend a moratorium on housing starts in West Bank settlements.In recent weeks, the Obama administration tried to persuade Israel to agree to a 90-day extension, but two U.S. officials said Tuesday those efforts have been abandoned. Under the deal, it was to have been a one-time extension and the U.S. would not have pressed for a further renewal.While Abbas emphasizes that establishing Palestine through negotiations remains his preferred choice, he has been pursuing alternative routes to statehood with increasing vigor. The Palestinians say that underlying their need for a Plan B is the fear that they won't be able to reach a peace deal with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The option most frequently raised in recent months is to seek U.N. recognition of a state on the lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war — the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem.Winning a majority in the U.N. General Assembly would presumably be an easier task, but obtaining recognition by the U.N. Security Council would be the bigger prize, yet much harder to obtain because of a likely U.S. veto. Washington has traditionally blocked measures that Israel considers hostile.Anticipating such difficulties, the Palestinians have been trying to improve their leverage, including by lobbying individual countries to recognize a Palestinian state in 1967 borders, said Nabil Shaath, a senior Abbas aide.Brazil led the way in Latin America by granting recognition on Friday. Argentina followed on Monday, and Uruguay is to do the same in January. Shaath said Paraguay, Chile, Peru, Ecuador and Salvador are also possibilities, though to varying degrees, he said.With each additional country recognizing Palestine, it would be more difficult for the U.S. to use its veto if and when the Palestinians seek the nod from the Security Council, Shaath said.

Such recognition would not change much on the ground, but it could raise the Palestinians' international standing and enshrine their demand that the 1967 lines must serve as the basis for drawing Palestine's borders. Netanyahu opposes withdrawal to the pre-1967 lines, though he says he remains committed to negotiating a partition of the land.Israeli officials were split Tuesday on the potential impact of foreign endorsements of Palestine.Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon said the recognition by Brazil and Argentina had no practical meaning. However, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said unilateral recognition is disappointing and damaging and violates previous peace deals.Abbas, meanwhile, is going after other countries. Earlier this week, he said he would seek Turkish support for winning recognition from countries in western Europe, and that he planned to hand Turkish leaders a list of nations he needed help with.On Tuesday, after a joint news conference with Abbas in Ankara, Turkish President Abdullah Gul seemed supportive. He said that while Turkey supports negotiations, they can only resume once Israel freezes settlement construction. Turkey wants everyone to recognize the state of Palestine, with east Jerusalem as a capital, Gul said, though he did not make clear whether this should be done outside the framework of negotiations.The European Union is supporting U.S. efforts to restart negotiations, though some European states have upgraded Palestinian representation in an apparent show of support.Dalia Nammari in Ramallah, Daniel Estrin in Jerusalem and Erol Israfil in Ankara, Turkey, contributed to this report.

It's Official: Freeze Deal has Failed
by Maayana Miskin DEC 7,10

Talks between the United States and Israel over the possibility of a second ban on construction for Jews living east of the 1949 armistice line have failed. On Tuesday night, politicians from both countries will publicly admit that the freeze deal will not work, according to Channel 2 news.Israel banned Jews in Judea, Samaria and much of Jerusalem from building any new structures, or additions to existing homes, for 10 months in an attempt to bring the Palestinian Authority to the negotiating table.

PA leaders ignored the gesture for several months, then began talks as the construction freeze drew to a close – and demanded that the freeze continue. When construction resumed – solely within the city limits of existing Israeli towns - they left talks and have not returned.The U.S. pushed Israel to give in to PA demands for another freeze. Initial reports suggested that the U.S. would intervene to make a second, even stricter freeze worth Israel's while, by offering a promise that there would be no pressure for a third freeze, and giving Israel several warplanes.Later reports clarified that the U.S. was not willing to offer any of the commitments that had been suggested. One diplomat accused U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and U.S. President Barack Obama of pulling a bait and switch on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, with Clinton making promises but then rescinding them after talks of a second freeze went public, citing Obama's disapproval.While freeze talks continued between Israel and the U.S., the PA found itself off the hook, with little pressure to return to the negotiating table. Israeli journalist Uri Elitzur had previous suggested that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas had planned all along for talks to break down, and was hoping not for a negotiated settlement, but rather, for international agreement on the borders of a PA state.

If that was Abbas' plan, he saw some success this week, as Argentina and Brazil said they would recognize a PA state on all the land east of the 1949 armistice line. The territory in question is home to approximately 500,000 Jews, along with up to 1.5 million Arabs, and includes historically Jewish towns as well as the Temple Mount, the Tomb of the Patriarchs, and Rachel's Tomb, Judaism's first, second, and third most holy sites respectively.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Julian Assange throws out bigger threats – The US must smash him like a fly By Laurie Roth DEC 6,10

What is going on here? Are we walking through the pre production set of the next big Science Fiction horror flick where the weird, nerdy bad guy threatens then takes over the world? Apparently Julian Assange thinks he is that guy and can stand up to the US, threatening our very national security. He has already released a quarter of a million of state and commercial secrets which threaten our relationship and correspondence flow with allies and other dangerous and meant to be private proprietary conversations. This has hurt us in a variety of ways and puts officials, heads of state and our national security at risk. Assange and WikiLeaks thought it was entertainment and 1st amendment rights. Relationships be dammed. National Security be double dammed. Julian Assange be dammedNow he threatens the US with a doomsday file if he is at all detained or arrested by anyone.These files have been already circulated around the Internet with an encrypted poison pill inserted in them that computer experts say can not be broken. These can only be opened by a key that Julian Assange has. Doesn’t this sound like the next Sci Fi flick? Instead it is horrifyingly real as the weird, geeky, sex pervert guy, who faces arrest in Sweden for alleged sex crimes, is flipping off the US and thinks he has us all wrapped around his finger now. Does he?

This whole scenario brings to mind more than a few critical questions. My obvious gut reaction is ‘WHO IN THE WORLD DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS AND WHY WOULD WE BE INTIMIDATED BY HIM DUE TO MORE THREATS? Regardless of his ‘mad scientist’ poison pill threats to release more uncensored documents, he should be pursued like ‘white on rice’ and arrested. If he wants and plans to damage America again he will no doubt do this whether we arrest him or not. After all, he thought the first round of releases was his right and just plain fun, without an arrest, SO WHAT DOES IT MATTER IF WE ARREST HIM OR NOT? HE WILL CONTINUE TO RELEASE DANGEROUS AND PRIVATE DOCUMENTS ANYWAY! Regardless of the 1st amendment confused/criminal actions of Julian Assange and WikiLeaks, it is clear that no one, no country, no company, no one should ever have power to trump us, blackmail us, move us around on a game board for their agendas, ever! If we have to, we must take the heat and crush him like a mad fly.

My eyes are rolling into the back of my head as I ask the other obvious question. WHY ARE SUCH SENSITIVE AND PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS/DOCUMENTS MADE PUBLIC IN THE FIRST PLACE…..ESPECIALLY IN A TIME OF WAR? I feel strongly that anyone in the domino line of gross incompetence, greed and betrayal who was part of the leaks should also be fired and arrested.Now the word is the Assange ‘poison pill’ yet to be released if he gets the heat, has to do with military papers on Guantanamo Bay, which haven’t been published yet. Once again this is alleged to have been supplied by the mad ‘gay’ soldier guy, Bradley Manning, was already arrested back in May. There are also talks Assange will release a video of a US air strike in Afghanistan which killed civilians and even Bank of America documents. There is no telling what else will explode in our faces.

What should our response be?

If we actually had a President and administration with any courage and leadership ability we would see a quick and severe reaction and challenge back to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks for the first quarter of a million released docs and now the new threats. Instead, we see a President obsessed with attacking and insulting the American people as domestic terrorists and fighting the mythological overseas contingency operation.I’m all for 1st amendment freedoms and the freedom of information act. I am protective and thrilled we are not a secretive and communist society, BUT, there is never an excuse for leaks between to top level officials or heads of state regarding sensitive national security issues. People from low down the totem poll to high up should be arrested immediately if not tried for treason.I know this may sound like Tim Helmet talk but I strongly feel that this WikiLeaks continued threat that keeps building like a time bomb will be used and manipulated by our administration to take more freedoms, first amendment and Internet speech rights away. Already some are talking about the danger and lack of privacy on the Internet.Regardless of what happens with the explorations and administrative research on all this, Obama and the progressive left hate talk radio, conservative forums and journals on the Internet and the heartland of America. Also remember, Obama is trained and has taught Rules for Radicals to Acorn workers. He and Hillary both are MOST clear about how to manipulate and create crises to achieve their controlling and draconian goals. The will if we let them. We must not and we won’t.What and who is behind Julian Assange and WikiLeaks and what will the American people have to give up more than we already have?

Arab Muslim’s exhibit sickening delight over Israel fire - Image courtesy Channel 10 Jerusalem By Douglas J. Hagmann, founder and director

Please pray for the safety of Israel and her people as the Muslims metaphorically fan the flames of hatred from all across the globe...4 December 2010: In what is being described as the most serious environmental disaster in the history of Israel, the raging fire has caused at least 42 deaths, the evacuation of over 17 thousand people and destroyed over four million trees. According to a short statement by Israeli authorities, the fire was not a case of arson but of negligence, which is somewhat at odds with initial reports that that the fire had at least three separate points of origin that is suggestive of arson.Regardless of the cause, the fire has been devastating – to the absolute delight of the Islamic communities in the Middle East.Researchers of the Northeast Intelligence Network have been monitoring Arab news sources and web sites and forums sympathetic to Muslim terrorists. There have been dubious claims of responsibility for the conflagration, with the latest coming from a previously unknown group calling itself the Lions of the Mujahideen in Palestine. According to a statement posted on a web forum used to broadcast messages allegedly from Osama bin Laden, the group stated that they started the fire. According to the statement, the group set fire to the trees and dried brush at Mount Carmel between late Thursday and early Friday, [performing] a holy and heroic expedition within the territory of the usurpers.Perhaps of equal importance consists of the Muslim response published on the forums and in response to news items, especially in the foreign press. Comments originating from all parts of the globe consist of a stomach-turning exuberance by the very people who claim their religion is one of peace. Much like the Muslims dancing in the streets in celebration of the 9/11 attacks, there is an unbridled joy among many that Israel is burning. Muslim prayers are being offered to Allah in thanks and for increased carnage, not only to Israel, but to any Arab Muslim who assists in extinguishing the fire.

The following reflect a few examples of Muslim sentiment from posters in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and even North America:Praise Allah for this new Holocaust!Allahu Akbar! This is an effective weapon. We call on our Palestinian brothers to set fire to all forests.This fire is the result of prayers from our prisoners held in occupation jails. The fire of Hell will be even stronger. May those Arabs who are helping the Jews burn with them in Hell.May Allah punish all Arabs who helped put down the fire.Oh Allah, destroy Israel and all enemies of Islam.In addition to such printed reactions, there have been numerous references to the text of some Friday sermons held in mosques in Arab countries and even some in the U.S. that are metaphorically fanning the flames of hatred against Israel and the Jews. Muslim religious leaders are claiming that Israel is being punished for their occupation, and promise more destruction and death to come.NOTE: Join the Facebook group I support Israel – Fire Disaster 2010 for updates and information (supported by but not affiliated with the Northeast Intelligence Network)

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

France: Flights to be canceled because of snow
– Tue Dec 7, 3:03 pm ET

PARIS – France's civil aviation authority says about 20 percent of flights at Paris' main airport are to be canceled Wednesday because of expected snowfall.The group asked airlines to cancel some flights at Charles de Gaulle airport between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. local time.Airlines generally try to spare long-haul flights in such cases.Snow fell in the French capital Tuesday, which is uncommon. It quickly turned into slush.

Florida groves spared from freeze damage
By Jane Sutton – Tue Dec 7, 10:07 am ET

MIAMI (Reuters) – Temperatures dipped to the edge of freezing for Florida's big orange growers overnight, but it did not get cold enough to damage the crop, meteorologists and growers said Tuesday.Overnight lows of 32 to 36 degrees Fahrenheit (0 to 2 degrees Celsius) were reported in Polk, Hendry, DeSoto and Highlands counties, the heart of the orange-growing region, the National Weather Service said.Fruit damage occurs if temperatures are 28 degrees or lower for at least four hours, and early indications were it did not get that cold in the region.

We did not sustain any damage to the trees or the crop, said grower John Arnold of the Showcase of Citrus in southern Lake County.As the winter progresses, it's one cold front after the next and we have to be prepared for the worst. This was like a dry run, so we can test our irrigation measures, added Arnold, who grows more than 50varieties of citrus on 1,000 acres.Freeze warnings sent orange juice futures soaring to their highest level in 3-1/2 years on Monday. Another freeze warning was expected through Wednesday morning before temperatures started to rise.Tonight will be about the same, maybe slightly warmer, said National Weather Service forecaster Tyler Fleming in Ruskin, Florida. We're looking at low 30s.Florida's $9 billion-a-year citrus industry produces about 70 percent of the U.S. crop. Most of the oranges processed for juice are grown in the central interior counties.Temperatures briefly dipped to 28 degrees in the central east coast counties, whose crops are generally shipped as fresh fruit, but a growers' survey conducted by the Indian River Citrus League showed no damage.The fruit is just fine, said the league's executive director, Doug Bournique. Nobody cut any slush or ice in any of the fruit.Growers said the cold spell did them a favor by helping put the trees into their dormant state, which stops them from putting out new leaves that could be easily singed off by subsequent freezes as winter progresses.However, Bournique said, We don't want it any colder.(Additional reporting by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by John Picinich)

Hotels shelter Venezuelans affected by floods By FABIOLA SANCHEZ, Associated Press – Mon Dec 6, 8:40 pm ET

CARACAS, Venezuela – Venezuelan soldiers took charge at several privately owned hotels Monday to help accommodate some of the thousands of people who have been forced from their homes by flooding and mudslides following weeks of torrential rains.The occupation — which went unprotested by the hotel owners — appeared to be a show of force as criticism of President Hugo Chavez' handling of the disaster has grown. The state-run AVN news agency quoted National Guard Cmdr. Luis Alfredo Motta as saying the hotel owners were willingly collaborating with the military.We are always open to helping, but within a cordial relationship in which the rules are clear, Ricardo Cusanno, vice president of the National Federation of Hotels, told the local Globovision television channel.Cusanno said 19 hotels located throughout Venezuela's capital have already have opened their doors to people driven from their homes.Soldiers are helping organize shelter for displaced people at three tourism hotels in the coastal town of Higuerote — one of the communities hit hardest by the floods. Motta said authorities were also holding talks with the owners of eight other hotels in the state of Miranda to determine if they would join the initiative.

More than two weeks of constant rains across this South American nation of 28 million have caused flooding and mudslides that have killed at least 34 people and left more than 5,000 Venezuelans homeless. More than 100,000 people have taken refuge at hundreds of shelters, Defense Minister Carlos Mata Figueroa said Monday.
Chavez also declared a state of emergency in the states of Zulia, Merida, Nueva Esparta and Trujillo on Monday. He said his government would open some of the country's military barracks and other public institutions to Venezuelans driven from their homes.The government has declared a state of emergency in the capital and three states: Miranda, Vargas and Falcon.Rains pounded the western states bordering Colombia over the weekend. The country's wet season usually ends in mid-November.
Chavez foes have argued that the government's response has been inadequate and say Chavez has failed during his 11-year rule to meet rising demand for low-income housing. Growing numbers of poor Venezuelans have resorted to building in slums that skirt the major cities, they say.

DISEASES

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

Haiti cholera likely from UN troops, expert says By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press - DEC 8,10

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – A contingent of U.N. peacekeepers is the likely source of a cholera outbreak in Haiti that has killed at least 2,000 people, a French scientist said in a report obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press.Epidemiologist Renaud Piarroux concluded that the cholera originated in a tributary of Haiti's Artibonite river, next to a U.N. base outside the town of Mirebalais. He was sent by the French government to assist Haitian health officials in determining the source of the outbreak, a French Foreign Ministry official said Tuesday.No other hypothesis could be found to explain the outbreak of a cholera epidemic in this village ... not affected by the earthquake earlier this year and located dozens of kilometers from the coast and (tent) camps, he wrote in a report that has not been publicly released.

The report also calls for a further investigation of the outbreak, improved medical surveillance and sanitation procedures for U.N. peacekeeping troops and better support for Haitian health authorities.The AP obtained a copy of the report from an official who released it on condition of anonymity. Piarroux confirmed he had authored the report but declined in an e-mail interview to discuss his findings. Copies were sent to U.N. and Haitian officials, the foreign ministry confirmed.U.N. spokesman Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York that there is still no conclusive evidence that its base was the source of the outbreak. He said the organization remains very receptive to any scientific debate or investigation on this.The report's revelation comes on a day of high tensions in Haiti, as people anxiously await the results of the disputed Nov. 28 presidential election and potential resulting violence.Piarroux could not prove there was cholera inside the base or among the soldiers, a point the U.N. has repeatedly used to deny its soldiers brought the disease to Haiti or that its sanitation procedures were responsible for releasing it into the environment. He writes that military doctors said there were no instances of cholera within the unit.

But he also hinted strongly at a cover-up.It can not be ruled out that steps have been taken to remove the suspected fecal matter and to erase the traces of an epidemic of cholera among the soldiers, he wrote.The report also notes that septic tanks and pipes that would have helped to confirm sanitation problems and the presence of the bacteria were no longer at the base when he visited.Nepalese troops earlier confirmed they had replaced a leaking pipe, which contained a foul-smelling runoff that the U.N. denies was human waste, between two visits by an AP reporter in October. The AP also found the local contractor dumped waste into overflowing pools dangerously close to a hillside that drains into the river.Piarroux's is the first scientific report linking the base to the epidemic, though many other epidemiologists and public health experts have said for weeks that the soldiers are the most likely source of the infection.Other scientists and experts say it is possible that ocean currents or other climate-related events carried the bacteria to Haiti. Further studies on bacterial samples that could address those questions are ongoing.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed in October that the strain of cholera bacteria in Haiti matched one from South Asia, a region that includes Nepal, but said it had no further information about the cause of the outbreak at the time.Many Haitians have long suspected the Nepalese base was the source of the disease, and anger at the troops sparked a week of riots in which U.N. soldiers were injured and several Haitians were killed.The report says that the first cases of the disease were from the village of Meille, where the base is located. The first confirmed case, a 20-year-old man from the village, developed symptoms on Oct. 14 and was found by Cuban doctors at a hospital in nearby Mirebalais.

Haitian investigators indicated that the first patients were obtaining drinking water from a tributary of the Artibonite River flowing just below the (U.N.) base, he said. It notes that the rotation of soldiers began arriving days before those first cases from Nepal, where there were cholera outbreaks over the summer.It goes on to describe how the disease flowed into the Aribonite River before exploding in the delta where the river meets the sea. Hundreds of cases were reported within days, before the outbreak spiraled out of control to infect the entire county. Until this outbreak there had not been a diagnosed case of cholera in Haiti as far back as records go in the mid-20th Century, Claire-Lise Chaignat, head of the global task force on cholera control at the World Health Organization, said in October. There were suspected cases a century before, but experts say it would have likely been a different strain than the ongoing El Tor pandemic.The disease was totally unknown to today's Haitians, who had developed no immunity against it and had no information on how to fight it until aid workers mobilized after the outbreak. Terror over its fast-killing power has triggered attacks on cholera treatment centers and a witch-hunt in rural Haiti. At least 12 people were killed on accusations they used magic to spread the disease.For the first critical month of the outbreak, the United Nations, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization and others said that an investigation into how the disease arrived in Haiti was not necessary and could in fact be harmful. Those who asked questions about it were accused of playing the blame game.It was not until AP reports of sanitation problems at the base and calls by experts including Paul Farmer, a physician and U.N. official, for a thorough investigation that the matter was seriously discussed in public.Farmer said there were compelling public health reasons to find the source of the infection, including finding information to help prevent its further spread, and that avoiding the questions was a matter of politics.

The U.N. mission confirmed to AP last month that a French epidemiologist had met with met with U.N. peacekeeping mission chief Edmond Mulet in Port-au-Prince to discuss his findings. At the time the mission denied that he had implicated the peacekeepers, but acknowledged that it was now taking the allegations about its base more seriously than when rumors first arose. On Tuesday the mission said the report was still not definitive.We have neither accepted nor dismissed his findings, as it's one report among others,U.N. mission spokesman Vincenzo Pugliese said. The Nepalese contingent in Mirebalais is just one piece of the cholera puzzle, since there is no conclusive evidence at this point that the Nepalese camp was or was not the source of the epidemic.In roughly six weeks the disease has spread to every region of the country and sickened nearly 100,000 people. The U.N. says the death toll could be twice the official count and that up to 650,000 people in Haiti could get cholera over the next six months.Associated Press writers Angela Doland in Paris and Edith Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report.

IMF welcomes Ireland's new austerity budget
by Andrew Bushe - DEC 8,10

DUBLIN (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund has welcomed the Irish parliament's approval of its 2011 budget that meets European Union and IMF requirements to secure an 85 billion euro international bailout loan for the country.We welcome approval of the 2011 budget... This is a clear sign of Ireland?s strong commitment to tackle its problems and harness the impressive growth potential of this open and dynamic economy, the Washington-based IMF said in a statement.The IMF board of directors will take up on Friday Ireland's November 28, three-year bailout loan request of 22.5billion euros.The rest of the loan up to 85 million euros will come from the EU.News of the global financial body's endorsement of the new budget follows Ireland's announcement that it will shave a further 6.0 billion euros (8.0 billion dollars) from its expenditure next year via tax hikes and spending cuts.Finance Minister Brian Lenihan, delivering his 2011 budget to the Dail, or lower house of parliament, said he would make the savings as part of a four-year plan to slash a huge deficit by a total of 15 billion euros.As outlined in the plan, six billion euros of the overall adjustment is made in today's budget. The scale of this adjustment is demanding but it demonstrates the seriousness of our intent, Lenihan told lawmakers.

Ireland's budget comes at a critical time for the former Celtic Tiger nation, whose 85-billion-euro bailout was formally adopted by EU finance ministers on Tuesday.
Financial markets are on edge over the eurozone debt and deficit crisis, which has also sparked an international bailout for Greece.Ireland's governing Fianna Fail/Green party coalition, led by Prime Minister Brian Cowen, is clinging to power amid public anger over the eurozone nations' debt crisis.This has been a traumatic and worrying time for the citizens of our country,Lenihan said on Tuesday.They are concerned that we have to seek external support to help us with our economic and financial difficulties. They are worried about the impact of this momentous and difficult decision on their lives.The nation's cash-strapped coalition government only recently applied for the enormous bailout loan from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.Lenihan on Tuesday said Ireland urgently needed the EU-IMF cash to break out of a vicious cycle whereby international investors were rapidly losing confidence in the government's ability to control the public finances.

The Irish government wants to slash the country's public deficit from about 32 percent of GDP this year, to below the EU target threshold of 3.0 percent by 2015.
Lenihan said the cuts announced Tuesday would reduce the deficit to 9.4 percent of GDP in 2011.At the same time, he predicted that the Irish economy was set for modest growth this year of 0.3 percent after a deep recession.If the real economy is poised to grow, why do we need the help of the IMF and the EU? said Lenihan. The answer is: we need their support to break the vicious cycle that has threatened our national finances and our banking system since the second quarter of this year.The 2011 budget contains two billion euros of tax increases and four billion euros of expenditure cuts. The government unveiled measures such as cuts to ministers' salaries and child benefit, alongside increases to taxes on income and fuel.But Cowen has vowed to keep Ireland's prized low rate of corporation tax, which stands at 12.5 percent.The first of a series of votes on taxation measures was passed late Tuesday by 82 votes to 77 in the Dail, which included motions involving increases in petrol and diesel.It was just one of many votes needed to pass the budget, and the process is not expected to be wrapped up until early next year.Lenihan added that the 2011 budget represented a major down-payment to help secure the nation's recovery.We have been through a tumultuous two years culminating in our application for external assistance. Today's budget is our first step in ensuring that we can get back firmly on our own feet.It is a substantial down-payment on the journey back to economic health. We can emerge from this dark time as a stronger and fitter economy to provide sustainable jobs and decent public services for all our citizens, he said.Dublin, savaged by bank rescues, a property market meltdown and recession-hit tax revenues, is eager for EU-IMF funds to help fix its cash crisis, in an embarrassing climbdown for the small nation.

NKorea holds apparent drill as US, SKorea talk By KIM KWANG-TAE, Associated Press - DEC 8,10

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea launched apparent artillery drills Wednesday as the top U.S. and South Korean military leaders held talks on the peninsula's security worries following a deadly North Korean artillery strike last month.As the U.S. chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, and his South Korean counterpart Gen. Han Min-koo met behind closed doors in Seoul, North Korea staged apparent firing exercises near the disputed western sea border.North Korean shells landed in the country's own waters north of South Korea's Baengnyeong island, a South Korean military official said. He spoke on condition of anonymity, citing military rules.North Korea also carried out an apparent military exercise within sight of the South's Yeonpyeong Island last month following the artillery assault on the same island that killed four people. Artillery shots were heard three days later as Gen. Walter Sharp, the top U.S. commander in South Korea, toured the island in a show of solidarity with Seoul and to survey damage.Mullen and Han, their militaries' top uniformed officers, met Wednesday morning, a military official said. They had been expected to discuss ways to deter future North Korean aggression, but the official did not give details of their discussions.Their meeting came amid tensions that have erupted on the divided peninsula after North Korea's Nov. 23 artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong Island near the sea border.The attack — the first since the 1950-53 Korean War to target a civilian area — killed two South Korean marines and two construction workers, and reduced many homes and shops to charred rubble.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration announced that it would send its No. 2 diplomat and three other top officials to China next week for talks on North Korea. The trip comes as Washington presses a reluctant Beijing to do more to rein in its ally Pyongyang.Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg will lead the delegation to Beijing for the talks, the State Department said Tuesday. Earlier Tuesday, Steinberg gave a talk to a Washington think tank in which he urged China to press North Korea harder on halting provocative acts.The trip follows a meeting Monday between Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea in which they called on the North to stop belligerent behavior, including last month's attack. They also rejected China's call for immediate talks with North Korea, saying the North first needed to prove its commitment to peace and return to six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.Steinberg will be accompanied to China by the top Asia official at the National Security Council, Jeffrey Bader, the top U.S. diplomat for east Asia and the Pacific, Kurt Campbell, and the U.S. special envoy for six-party talks, Sung Kim.After meeting with the Chinese in Beijing, Steinberg and Bader will return to Washington on Dec. 17. Campbell will travel to Tokyo for talks with Japanese officials, and Kim will see South Korean officials in Seoul.

Pyongyang recently revealed a uranium enrichment facility — which could give it a second way to make atomic bombs. Despite that defiance, North Korea has indicated its readiness to resume the negotiations on providing the regime with much-needed aid and other concessions in exchange for disarmament.On Tuesday, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak promised to transform five islands that lie along the tense maritime border with North Korea into military fortresses impervious to North Korean attacks.Yeonpyeong Island is a tiny enclave of military bases and fishing communities along the Koreas' disputed sea border. The island, which went up in flames and was left a scene of destruction, remains a ghost town two weeks after the attack, with most of the 1,300 civilian residents seeking refuge on the mainland and many refusing to return.The two Koreas remain in a technical state of war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. North Korea disputes the maritime border drawn by U.N. forces in 1953, and considers the waters around the front-line islands its territory.Associated Press writers Seulki Kim in Seoul and Matthew Lee in Washington contributed to this report.

Russia says no violation near U.S.-Japan drills: agency
DEC 8,10

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian planes flew in the region of joint U.S.-Japanese naval training drills in the Pacific Ocean but did not violate airspace rules, Russia's Interfax news agency reported on Wednesday.Roman Martov, a spokesman for Russia's Pacific Ocean Fleet, was quoted by the agency as saying: They carried out their planned flights in the region of regular activity of (Russia's) fleet.There were no violations of international rules of the use of airspace or flight rules on the Russian side.