FOOT MOUTH DISEASE 1 MILLION ANIMALS KILLED

TOP 5 HOLDERS OF AMERICAN DEBT.
1-$5.35 TRILLION - INDEPENDENT BANKER,(FEDERAL RESERVE).(THE BANKERS OWN AMERICA)
2-$1.46 TRILLION - OTHER INVESTORS/SAVINGS BONDS.
3-$896 BILLION - CHINA.
4-$877 BILLION - JAPAN.
5-$706 BILLION - PENSION FUNDS

RUSSIA,CHINA,JAPAN PLEDGE TO BUY EURO-ZONE DEBT.

Mine fields circle Jesus' traditional baptism site
By ARON HELLER, Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 1:57 pm ET

QASR EL-YAHUD, West Bank – Just months before the official opening of one of Christianity's holiest sites to visitors, the area where John the Baptist is said to have baptized Jesus remains surrounded by thousands of land mines.Israel says the sites visited by pilgrims and tourists in an area known as Qasr el-Yahud will be safe, but advocacy groups warn that crowds could be in danger.On Tuesday, some 15,000 Christian pilgrims marched between two fenced-in mine fields to reach the Epiphany ceremony led by the Greek Orthodox patriarch on the Jordan River, 5 miles (8 kilometers) east of the oasis town of Jericho at the edge of the West Bank.
Worshippers from around the world dipped themselves in the muddy waters, facing fellow believers on the other side of the small river. Orthodox clergymen dressed in dark frocks and robes chanted prayers as Patriarch Theofilos III blessed the waters, hurled branches and released white doves into the air.This site is Christianity's third holiest — after the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem, on the spot where Christian belief says Jesus was crucified and resurrected, and the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, where tradition holds Jesus was born — and the baptism marks the beginning of Jesus' public ministry.Since Israel took control of the area in the 1967 Mideast war, pilgrims have had to coordinate their visits with the Israeli military, because of security concerns and leftover land mines.The ancient churches and monasteries on the Israeli side, some dating back to the fourth century, are surrounded by signs reading Danger! Mines!

Since it was a border, the place is really littered by hundreds and hundreds of mines, and therefore the area is not open to the public and to the believers and pilgrims, said Avner Goren, an archaeologist who works with Israel's Tourism Ministry.The ministry says about 60,000 people visit each year, but with the upcoming official opening that number is expected to rise to the millions. No date for the opening has been set.The Israeli military says the baptism site and adjacent churches are located in a completely mine-free zone, and insists no danger is posed to tourists or worshippers.The (military) regularly clears away minefields in the Jordan River Valley, and in the last year alone approximately 8,000 mines have been removed from the area, the military said in a statement.Dhyan Or, the Israel director of the global anti-mining advocacy group Roots of Peace, said there are half a million mines in the Jordan Valley — an area prone to floods. He warned that land mines could drift from the fenced areas, and that overzealous worshippers could stray from the marked paths.There is no political problem to remove the mines and no technical problem to do so, he said. All that is missing is the political will.In contrast, Jordan cleared the minefields on its side of the border after signing a peace deal with Israel in 1994. Jordan has developed a cultural heritage center on its side across the narrow river from the West Bank shrine, claiming it as the site of the baptism. The center has attracted millions of tourists. Pope John Paul II visited the Jordanian site in 2000, reinforcing the Jordanian claim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epzzYQf4sBo&feature=player_embedded
China Plants Flag on Constitution Avenue Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com
January 18, 2011

On Tuesday night, Obama followed the script closely.Symbolism? The red flag on Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C.He sat down to what the corporate media describes as an unusual and intimate dinner with Hu Jintao, the CEO of the sprawling slave labor gulag and globalist dream come true in China.After dinner, Hu Jinato and Obama attended a pomp-filled gala designed to celebrate with sickening pageantry what is in essence a planting of the Chinese flag on American soil.The Associated Press admits the lavish affair with its over-the-top entreaties is designed to soften the American public’s suspicions about China, a nation that detains and tortures individuals for exercising their rights to freedom of association, freedom of religion and freedom of expression.According to the corporate media, Obama will lecture China on the persecution of Tibetans, Uhgurs, Falun Gong, environmental degradation, currency manipulation, theft of intellectual property, imbalance of and unfair trade practices, human rights violations and the release of Liu Xiaobo, the Nobel Prize winner imprisoned by China’s authoritarian leadership.

China will in turn take the U.S. to task for supposedly initiating a global depression that will undoubtedly dwarf the Great Depression of the 1930s, accumulating a staggering debt, and interfering in its internal affairs.Since the establishment of the Federal Reserve, economic depressions have become scientifically engineered affairs, as Congressman Lindberg said in the Congressional Record on December 22, 1913, after the Federal Reserve Act was passed in the dead of the night.We are told the Chinese are mighty sore about their undervalued Treasury stake, but this is a cover too. QE2 and the printing of funny money out of thin air by the Federal Reserve is a shrewd if cynical device engineered to take down the once Great United States.China owns us. There will be blood – but not before Obama, Biden, Clinton, and the political class grovel and kiss the ring and this act is covered up by a complaisant corporate media.Debt, trade, discussion, pomp and circumstance – all of this is little more than cover. Hu Jintao and his minions have arrived in the district of criminals for one reason and one reason only – to plant a red flag of corporatism – that is, fascism – on Constitution Avenue.

According to the globalists, China is the next evolutionary step in human history. Our future is a high-tech prison planet, electronic panopticon, and eventually a killing field unless we do something about it – and soon.Whatever the price of the Chinese Revolution, it has obviously succeeded not only in producing more efficient and dedicated administration, but also in fostering high morale and community of purpose. The social experiment in China under Chairman Mao’s leadership is one of the most important and successful in human history, David Rockefeller told the New York Times.Mao’s social experiment has come to America. The holy writ of Maoism was forged out of Marxism, the latter a contrivance of Wall Street and the banksters.
Cartel capitalism has enjoyed a long standing love affair with communism, as the late Gary Allen so eloquently pointed out.If one understands that socialism is not a share-the-wealth program, but is in reality a method to consolidate and control the wealth, then the seeming paradox of superrich men promoting socialism becomes no paradox at all, Allen wrote. Instead it becomes the logical, even the perfect tool of power-seeking megalomaniacs. Communism, or more accurately, socialism, is not a movement of the downtrodden masses, but of the economic elite.Power-seeking megalomaniacs built the China Miracle from the ground up over the last few decades and now it has come to claim a stake in America.Hu Jintao did not arrive here to eat dinner in the the Old Family Dining Room at the White House and talk shop with Obama the teleprompter reader and his Goldman Sachs, CFR, Trilateral Commission, and Bilderberg advisors.Hu Jintao arrived to plant the flag and initiate the next phase in a globalist effort to turn the planet into a slave gulag and ultimately a well-oiled killing machine meticulously designed by an inbred gaggle of eugenicist psychopaths.

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

EU Socialists, conservatives, play dictator badminton over Tunisia
LEIGH PHILLIPS 18.01.2011 @ 18:08 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Socialists and conservatives in the European Parliament have accused each other of cosying up to Tunisian ex-dictator Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, with senior figures in the French political establishment also tainted by association. Left-wingers and human rights organisations have been strident in their criticism of conservatives such as French President Nicolas Sarkozy for his government's close ties and support of the ousted Tunisian leader.But on Tuesday (18 January), after it was revealed that Mr Ali's political party, the Constitutional Democratic Rally (RCD), was a member of the Socialist International, the global alliance of centre-left parties, the RCD was expelled.Martin Schulz, the leader of the left in the parliament, offered a mea culpa for its embrace of the party: Now and again, we do discover that there are members of our own family and are shocked by this. They were however expelled today from the Socialist International, but it is perfectly true that he was a member.

He said that the uprising in Tunisia had been the product of dramatic inequality, with very rich elites and very poor masses and that the EU will have to work closely with other partners this side of the Mediterranean to ensure that democratic legislation can be put into place and social justice can be finalised.He added that he hoped the instability was not going to spread from Tunisia.Mr Schulz then used the opportunity to accuse his opposite numbers in the chamber, the centre-right European People's Party of cosying up to the ex-dictator.Recently there was signed a co-operation agreement with the EPP [and the RCD]. You can see it webstreamed, he said. It is a really interesting party because they were a member of the Socialist International and the EPP too.Well, this is really interesting - I think this explains for me why the EPP hasn't attacked [Ben Ali's government and his allies] yet. They're willing to take anyone and everyone. Anyone can be a member.A spokesman for the EPP told EUobserver that the Socialists seem to have only discovered now in the last two days that Ben Ali is a bad man.

If they've expelled them, well good for them, but it's been a quick conversion. The RCD was a member for decades. They were brothers in arms for the last 30 years.If you look at any of their big meetings, you see that there has been a full, wholesome partnership with the party in Tunisia all this time.Elsewhere in north Africa, the party of Egyptian hardman Hosni Mubarak, the National Democratic Party, is also a member of the Socialist International.The Socialists and Democrats in the European Parliament could not tell EUobserver whether this fact also came as a surprise or whether the NDP should also be expelled from the international Socialist alliance.

DSK: Tunisia a model for emerging countries

Meanwhile, centre-right French foreign minister Michele Alliot-Marie, who has been under sustained assault from the Tunisian community in France and human rights NGOs for her offer last week to sent riot police to help put an end to the uprising, on Tuesday complained that her words had been taken out of context and misrepresented.
I'd spent the night in an aeroplane and it's possible I did not express myself well. I began to doubt myself, but afterwards I re-read my proposal to see that it was what actually what I thought and not what was being interpreted by certain people.

Strauss-Kahn

The head of the International Monetary Fund and frontrunning name to win the French Socialist Party's presidential nomination in 2012, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, was also under heavy criticism this week as his long-standing support for the Tunisian regime has been steadily revealed.The growth of extreme inequality in Tunisia may now be explained by his colleague Mr Schulz as to why the uprising has taken place, but in November 2008, Mr Kahn called on other developing nations to adopt the Tunisian economic and political model.I expect strong growth in Tunisia this year, economic policy adopted here is a sound policy and is the best model for many emerging countries, he said on a visit to Carthage.Meeting with the governor of the country's central bank, he said at the time: Our discussions confirmed that we share many of the same views on Tunisia's achievements and main challenges.Tunisia is making impressive progress in its reform agenda and its prospects are favorable.Mr Ben Ali also awarded Mr Strauss-Kahn the Order of the Tunisian Republic, the country's highest honour for his intellectual qualities and contribution to the reinforcement of economic development at the global level.

Kouchner

Straddling the ideological divide, Bernard Kouchner, the long-time Socialist who left his party to take up the post of French foreign minister in a conservative government, also frequently downplayed the authoritarian character of the Ben Ali administration.Under his watch, in April, 2009, France reached a nuclear energy co-operation deal with Tunis and delivered an €80 million aid package. The month before, criticised by NGOs for the closeness of the two governments, he said: It's true that there are human rights abuses in Tunisia, journalists who are harassed, sometimes imprisoned, and a general policy of firmness, before going on to praise the country's economic and social achievements, in particular the status of women and the values of secularism.Every year, Human Rights Watch publishes a large book on the state of human rights around the world, he said, but Tunisia hardly figures at all.However, the previous year, the most recent edition of the HRW survey contained no fewer than six pages of criticisms, detailing torture, pressure on the judiciary and press censorship.Last week, Europe One reported that Mr Kouchner could become the new UN high representative for the reconstruction of Haiti, after lobbying on the part of President Sarkozy.

Summary Box: EU looks to US for bank tests
By The Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 1:16 pm ET

SEEKING ADVICE: As Europe struggles to contain a mounting fiscal crisis, it is seeking U.S. advice on how to improve its stress tests for banks.CLEARER RESULTS: Previous European stress tests were met a lukewarm response in the markets in part because of a lack of transparency. The U.S. tests of 2009 were widely credited with helping to ease the financial crisis in the world's largest economy.LIMITED LOSSES: Ten of the 19 U.S. banks that were tested failed and were forced to raise nearly $75 billion to shore up their finances. In contrast, only seven of 91 European banks tested failed and were required to raise ?3.5 billion ($4.7 billion).

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 JAN 19,2011

09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +19.34
10:30 AM -5.30
11:00 AM -0.11
11:30 AM -2.68
12:00 PM -4.25
12:30 PM -6.17
01:00 PM -19.15
01:30 PM -9.61
02:00 PM -7.41
02:30 PM -13.54
03:00 PM -30.12
03:30 PM -32.54
04:00 PM -12.64 11,829.25

S&P 500 1281.92 -13.10

NASDAQ 2725.36 -40.49

GOLD 1,368.50 +0.30

OIL 90.79 -0.59

TSE 300 13,439.00 -120.20

CDNX 2285.02 -7.49

S&P/TSX/60 769.96 -7.35

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +16 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -17 points at low today.
Dow +34 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,376.50.OIL opens at $91.78 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -17 points at low today so far.
Dow +34 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -17 points at low today.
Dow +34 points at high today.

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

CRUDE OIL
GASOLINE
DISTILLATE INVENTORIES
REFINERY UTILIZATION

TOP 5 HOLDERS OF AMERICAN DEBT.
1-$5.35 TRILLION - INDEPENDENT BANKER,(FEDERAL RESERVE).(THE BANKERS OWN AMERICA)
2-$1.46 TRILLION - OTHER INVESTORS/SAVINGS BONDS.
3-$896 BILLION - CHINA.
4-$877 BILLION - JAPAN.
5-$706 BILLION - PENSION FUNDS

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.

Likelihood of major flooding on ND river rises
By DAVE KOLPACK, Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 6:05 pm ET

FARGO, N.D. – The likelihood of significant Red River flooding has risen in North Dakota and Minnesota, the National Weather Service said Tuesday in its latest outlook for the river that has overflowed the past two springs and sent officials and residents in the densely populated region scrambling to save homes and businesses.There is about a 20-percent chance the river at Fargo and neighboring Moorhead, Minn., will surpass the record crest set in 2009 and about a 50-percent chance it will beat last year's crest, which was the sixth-highest on record, the weather service said.Meteorologist Greg Gust said Tuesday that precipitation levels in the Red River Valley are tracking between the high mark set at this time in 1997, when floods wiped out Grand Forks, about 70 miles north of Fargo, and 2009, when the river eventually crested at nearly 41 feet. Flood stage is 18 feet.I don't know about any of you, but that starts to make a weather guy nervous, Gust said told a gathering of reporters and government officials.The probability is measured by three major factors, which Gust referred to as a three-legged stool: precipitation and moisture content in the soil, water in the snowpack and the expected spring thaw cycle.

Gust called the precipitation factor very high, the liquid in the snowpack likely very high and the spring outlook likely cool, stormy, wet.The first two legs of the stool have been knocked out from under us. That third leg is awfully wobbly. I don't feel good about it all. I would not want to sit on that stool, Gust said.Deputy Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney said he was not surprised by the new figures.Everybody knows we've had 19 days of snow in a row. We've been shoveling every night, he said.City officials will be meeting prior to Monday's City Commission meeting to discuss which areas need the most flood protection, Mahoney said. Fargo and Moorhead already have built up areas and bought out homes near the river over the past decade to keep most of the area protected to at least 40 feet.The message is, we will prepare for what we have to prepare for, but we will probably start earlier preparations, he said. We're going to need some help earlier probably than later in this particular area.In 2009, the river was above flood stage for a record 61 days. It crested twice — first at 40.84 feet on March 28, followed by a crest of 34 feet more than two weeks later. About 100 homes in the area were damaged, and thousands of people were evacuated.

The Fargo area has received nearly 56 inches of snow — nearly 16 inches above its average for an entire winter season, the weather service said. That comes on top of summer and fall rainfall that was 50 percent above normal.The current flood factors are similar to those that weren't recorded until March last year, Gust said.Cass County Sheriff Paul Laney described latest flooding predictions as concerning and spooky.We've always been able to win, we've always been able to fight it, Laney said. We'll continue to fight it, but every spring brings out its own new set of rules to the game.

First burials as Australian flood crisis deepens
JAN 18,2011

BRISBANE, Australia (AFP) – Australia's flood-ravaged Queensland state on Wednesday began the grim task of burying its dead, as people in the sodden south fled a record deluge threatening to engulf homes.British Foreign Secretary William Hague toured Brisbane to inspect damage from floods that swamped 30,000 homes last week -- the peak of an unprecedented disaster which hit an area larger than France and Germany combined.People in Britain were watching this hour by hour, minute by minute, hoping and praying for you, said Hague at a barbecue with flood victims in the east coast city, Australia's third-largest.It's hard to imagine the volume of water that came up from the peaceful-looking river over there.The flooding crisis deepened in southern Victoria state, where engorged rivers threatened to breach a levee around the town of Kerang, forcing the evacuation of all 4,000 residents as engineers raced to fortify it.There is a major concern about the integrity of the levee bank which protects the town, said emergency spokesman Lachlan Quick.It has held for many, many years but we are facing an unprecedented volume of water, he told ABC Radio.

Warracknabeal, west of Kerang, was also bracing for a record inundation after experiencing half its annual rainfall in just a week, sending previously parched creeks into full flood.Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said the real pain was just beginning for those living in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, where residents were returning home after a terrifying inland tsunami that killed 20 people.This is something that happened in the space of 20-30 minutes. One minute standing in the lounge room, half an hour later literally banging a hole out of the roof and throwing your children up onto it, said Bligh, who toured the shattered region on Tuesday.People are reliving that terror as well as coming to terms with what they could see around them and what had happened to their town, she added.The first burials for victims of the disaster -- a mother and her 13-year-old son swept to their deaths in Toowoomba -- were to be held on Wednesday.Teenager Jordan Rice, afraid of water and unable to swim, has been lauded as a national hero for urging rescuers to save his 10-year-old brother and mother, Donna, first -- a sacrifice that ultimately cost him his life.If there is only one bit of comfort I can take out of the whole situation, it is that neither of them will be alone, Donna's partner, John Tyson, told the Courier Mail newspaper.

Tired of snow, Northeast adds sleet, freezing rain By ULA ILNYTZKY, Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 10:32 am ET

NEW YORK – A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain iced over roads, driveways and sidewalks from Delaware up into New England on Tuesday, making for a slippery and messy morning commute.Patricia Ricciardi, 49, used a tissue to wipe sludge off the cuffs of her slacks in a south Philadelphia subway station as she headed downtown to work at her city job.I don't want to go to work looking like I came from a garage instead, she said.It's disgusting.New York City streets and sidewalks were a slushy mess Tuesday morning, with pedestrians forced to cross large watery accumulations at street corners, and icy stretches of sidewalks were like Slip n' Slides. Cars passing by intersections threw up gobs of slush onto anyone standing too close to the street.The National Weather Service issued a winter storm advisory until 1 p.m. in New York City. The area got 1 to 2 inches of snow and sleet by early morning. It was to be followed by an inch of ice before turning to all rain by late morning.

Hundreds of schools up and down the East Coast were closed or having delayed starts, including the Washington, D.C. area, eastern New York and southern Vermont.In New Jersey, Newark Liberty International Airport was open but the airport's largest airline, Continental, said it halted its flights there because of freezing rain and snow.The icy weather delayed and canceled flights at airports in the Baltimore-Washington region.Dozens of flights at Dulles International Airport and Reagan National Airport were canceled and a few were delayed. Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport also had a few delays and cancelations.

Speed limits were lowered on highways from Delaware to New Jersey.Dozens of collisions were reported in Connecticut, including a crash between a southbound Amtrak train and a FedEx truck that became stuck at a Wallingford crossing.
Wallingford fire officials said none of the train's 90 passengers were injured, and the truck's driver was already out before the slow-moving train hit.The eastern half of New York was expected to get up to 8 inches of snow, along with freezing rain and sleet. Coastal New Hampshire was bracing for power outages as ice was expected to build up on power lines later Tuesday.New Hampshire could get up to 10 inches of heavy snow, the weather service said. The most serious hours of the storm were expected to hit there late Tuesday and into Wednesday.Rail service was also affected due to ice. Metro-North Railroad, which serves commuters from Connecticut into New York City, reported up to 40-minute delays on some lines. The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, which serves the Philadelphia area, reported delays on its commuter rail service and bus detours.After a Christmas weekend blizzard dumped 20 inches of snow on New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg was criticized for the slow cleanup. Up to 12 inches of snow blanketed the area again last week, but the city was prepared and the streets were quickly plowed.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH(BECAUSE OF SIN AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

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

HOSEA 4:1-3
1 Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.
2 By swearing, and lying, and killing, and stealing, and committing adultery, they break out, and blood toucheth blood.
3 Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Major 7.2 earthquake hits SW Pakistan By ZARAR KHAN, Associated Press – Tue Jan 18, 5:08 pm ET

ISLAMABAD – A major 7.2 magnitude earthquake rocked a remote area of southwestern Pakistan early Wednesday, shaking many parts of the country and causing tremors as far away as India and the United Arab Emirates.The quake was centered in Baluchistan province, the country's most sparsely populated area, said the United States Geological Service, occurring at 1:30 a.m. local time at a depth of some 50 miles (84kilometers.Its epicenter was in a remote area some 200 miles (320 kilometers) southwest of the Baluchistan capital of Quetta, said chief Pakistani meteorologist Arif Mahmood, not far from the Afghan border.The closest town to the epicenter was Dalbandin, with a population around 15,000 people, and is so remote that the nearby Chagai hills were the site of Pakistan's 1998 nuclear tests.There was no word on damage in Dalbandin. But another town close to the epicenter, Karan, suffered no major damage, said Fateh Bangar, Karan's deputy commissioner. The town was some 45 miles (70 kilometers) from the epicenter, he said.Nasir Baluch, a police officer in Karan, said several mud houses collapsed or were damaged in an area outside the town called Mashkil. There was no immediate word on casualties, but the area is sparsely populated, he said.

There was no major damage in Quetta either, but the quake caused widespread panic in the city, said residents.Local TV reports said the quake was felt throughout several other provinces as well. Many residents in the country's largest city, Karachi, ran out into the streets once the quake started, said the reports.Karachi resident Mohammad Zubair said he was watching a cricket match on TV when his bed began to shake.I jumped out of bed realizing it was an earthquake, said the 28-year-old. My mom started reciting verses from the Quran, and we rushed outside.Tremors lasting at least 20 seconds were also felt as far away as Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and in India's capital, New Delhi.Earthquakes often rattle the region. A magnitude 7.6 quake on Oct. 8, 2005, killed about 80,000 people in northwestern Pakistan and Kashmir and left more than 3 million homeless.Associated Press writer Ashraf Khan contributed to this report from Karachi.

Quake shakes Pakistan, damage seems limited
By Chris Albritton – Tue Jan 18, 5:41 pm ET

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.2 shook southwestern Pakistan early on Wednesday, jolting residents of cities as far apart as Delhi and Dubai, but the epicenter was far from major population centers.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was more than 80 km (50 miles) underground, close to the town of Dalbandin in Baluchistan province, near the Afghan and Iranian frontiers.Poor communications ensured there were few immediate reports from the vicinity of the quake, but despite the major strength of the shock, the great depth may have limited damage. The USGS had first said that the earthquake was very much shallower.The USGS said the epicenter was 55 km (34 miles) west of Dalbandin, a town of about 15,000 people, and at a depth of 83 km (52 miles).In Dalbandin, several people were injured when the roofs of their houses collapsed, provincial Transport Minister Amanullah Notizai told Reuters, but so far there were no reports of fatalities in the quake which hit at 1:23 a.m. (2023 GMT on Tuesday).

People in India's border province of Rajasthan said cracks appeared in the walls of rural dwellings.U.S. forces across the border in Afghanistan were unaffected by the quake, according to preliminary reports from the U.S. military.As dawn breaks and officials reach the affected area, more damage and fatalities may be revealed in an area where traditional simple structures may have fared badly under the strains of the powerful tremor.

PEOPLE FLEE THEIR HOUSES

In Quetta, the largest city in Baluchistan and 331 km (205.7 miles) northeast of the epicenter, a woman died at a city hospital from a heart attack following the quake, hospital officials said.And in the major Pakistani port of Karachi, 400 km (250 miles) away, people woke and rushed from their homes after the tremors. An official at Edhi Foundation, the biggest private ambulance and rescue service in Karachi, said there were no reports of any damage.I was sleeping when the quake struck and I felt like my bed was shaking. I got up and ran to check the children...and thankfully they were all okay, said Masooma Rizvi, a housewife. It was very scary. I have never felt anything like this before.The Pacific Tsunami Center said the onshore quake had not triggered a tsunami in the Indian Ocean.A major quake of this magnitude, if at a shallow depth and close to population centers, is capable of causing widespread and heavy damage. Pakistan is still reeling from devastating floods last year that left more than 10 million people homeless.In 2005, a 7.6 magnitude quake 95 km (60 miles) northeast of the Pakistani capital Islamabad killed over 70,000 people.(Additional reporting by Faisal Aziz in Karachi, Augustine Anthony in Islamabad, C.J. Kuncheria in New Delhi and Sandra Maler in Washington; editing by Diana Abdallah)

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).

Foot-and-Mouth in South Korea: 1 Million Farm Animals Slaughtered-TIME
By ALLEN WAGNER / GAPYEONG - JAN 18,11

Shin Chang-seon seems to know everyone in Gapyeong, a small town about 45 miles (70 km) northeast of Seoul. The 58-year-old president of the local beef association was once the village chief here; he now has a cattle farm with just over 100 cows. As he walks around town, residents approach him on the street to shake his hand and talk about local issues. But in farming-heavy Gapyeong (pop. 20,071), the conversation has shifted from countryside small talk to concern and shock over foot-and-mouth disease, a deadly virus to all cloven-footed animals. Since South Korea's recent outbreak took hold in late November, foot-and-mouth has been confirmed on 118 farms across the country and has led to the slaughter of close to 1.7 million farm animals. (See pictures of an oil spill in South Korea.)Now, Shin, whose own cows have not been infected, makes regular phone calls to console farmers in the area who have had their cows slaughtered by government teams sent out around the nation to try to stop the spread of the disease. Unable to do anything, farmers watch their animals and livelihood die before their eyes. It's unbelievable to see what's happening, Shin says. We have built these farms, in my case, for over 30 years. And that could all be shattered overnight.

Things could get worse. As of Jan. 11, cloven-footed animals on 3,500 farms within a certain distance of the confirmed cases have been slaughtered, according to the Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, and the disease is still spreading. The methods have been rough on farmers and distant viewers alike: in the hurry to contain the disease, more than 1 million pigs have been culled, many buried alive because euthanasia drugs have run out. The activity has earned the Korean government ire from animal-rights groups like PETA, which stated on its website that people should urge South Korean authorities to stop this massacre immediately. An official at the Agriculture Ministry told the daily Kyunghyang Sinmun that the government has temporarily run out of euthanasia drugs but is trying to find other humane ways to cull them. Meanwhile, the National Veterinary Research and Quarantine Service, an arm of the Agriculture Ministry, has been vaccinating cows and pigs all across South Korea in a bid to rid the country of the virus. Lee Byoung-guan, an official at the quarantine service, says the government has vaccinated roughly 1,450,000 pigs, cows, deer, goats and sheep and will continue to do so until every farm animal in the country is vaccinated - though the ministry says it will first focus its vaccination efforts on areas hit hardest by foot-and-mouth. We work day and night, Lee says. If there's a report [of foot-and-mouth], we go right away and confirm the case.According to the Agriculture Ministry, the mass cull has caused wholesale prices of beef and pork to rise in January: 9% and 22% over December's average prices, respectively. Imports have also risen, to make up for losses in domestic supply. South Korea is a net importer of beef, chicken and pork, getting most of its pork from the United States and most of its beef from Australia. There have also been reports that the disease has spread to North Korea, where, according to Yonhap News Agency, the North's military has been trying to stop the spread of the disease by disinfecting farms around the country. The JoongAng Ilbo, citing an intelligence official, said the disease could take a toll on the country's food supply. (See pictures of the two Koreas' exchange of fire in November.)

In South Korea, there is concern that the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday - when meat sales traditionally spike as families travel to visit relatives for big meals - could contribute to a strain on supply and even the spreading of the virus. Lee says the virus, though it does not affect humans, can easily be spread by people traveling to and from locations where foot-and-mouth has been confirmed. Fear of spreading the disease is the reason several cultural events, including a popular winter festival in Gapyeong, have been canceled. The local economy benefited a lot from the festival, says Victor Kye, director of Jarasum Jazz Center, the organizer of the festival. But this is a life-and-death matter for the stock farmers. In the long run, canceling the festival was the right move. But the Lunar New Year, when millions of South Koreans travel around the nation, can't be canceled. We ask people to not go into stock farms if possible,says Lee.And if they have been, they should stay away from other farms.That's hard for lifelong farmers like Shin, who made it his mission as president of his local beef association to take care of his colleagues. Every morning, I come out and, even before having breakfast, I talk to the cows, Shin says. And for some [farmers], that's all gone.- With reporting by Choi Jung-yoon / Seoul

MUSLIM NATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

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

Female Genital Mutilation Banned by Islamic Leaders in Mauritania
Wendy Rose Gould – JAN 18,11 Contribute content like this. Start here.

This week, 34 well-regarded Mauritanian religious and national leaders signed a fatwa, or Islamic law, banning female genital mutilation (FGM). The fatwa is considered a huge stride toward women's rights in the Islam world. Female genital mutilation, or genital cutting, is a form of female circumcision. It entails removing all or part of the external female genitalia, including the clitoris and labia.It is often practiced on girls between the time they're born and their early teen years. After the circumcision is complete, many experience severe bleeding, difficulty urinating, childbirth complications and, in some cases, death. According to the World Health Organization, the procedure has no medical benefits.Female circumcision is not a religion practice. However, it has become a law by custom, says Jacqueline Castledine in an article posted on the Mount Holyoke College website.She states, The practice has become important to Islam because it is associated with female sexual purity. FGM is intended by its practitioners to both control women's sexual drives and also to cleanse women's genitalia by removing the clitoris, which is seen as masculine, a female penis.The law was passed on Jan. 15, 2011, by 34 Mauritanian religious and national figures. It prohibits the practice of FGM within the country.According to Magharebia.com, The authors cited the work of Islamic legal expert Ibn al-Hajj as support for their assertion that [s]uch practices were not present in the Maghreb countries over the past centuries.

This new law will certainly curb the practice of female genital mutilation in Mauratania.It removes the religious mask such practices were hiding behind, says Dr. Sheikh Ould Zein Ould Imam, professor of jurisprudence at the University of Nouakchott in a Magharebia.com article. We do need, however, a media campaign to highlight the fatwa, explain it and expound upon its religious and social significance.Many men and women -- both Islamic and not -- declared this a victory for female rights, saying the fatwa was long overdue.Where were those imams for the past decades, when [FGM] killed dozens of girls each year? Were the imams and circumcision victims on two different planets? Personally speaking, I find no answer to those questions. All I am trying to say is that we needed that circumcision-prohibiting fatwa a long time ago. I was victimized by that brutal custom when I was seven, and it left an indelible psychological scar, said Miriam, a 30-year-old housewife circumcised as a young girl.Wendy Rose Gould is a freelance journalist who resides in Phoenix. Her work has appeared both online and in print for Hearst, Conde Nast, AOL, USA Today and other publications. Gould is an avid traveler who has lived abroad and traveled the world extensively. She holds a B.A. in Journalism and another in Philosophy.

New Year message: Geriatric EU needs vigorous Turkey
ANDREW RETTMAN 18.01.2011 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Turkish leader Recep Tayip Erodgan has lambasted the EU as a spent force on the international stage in an angry statement aimed at unlocking accession talks.Writing in an op-ed in the US magazine Newsweek on Monday (17 January) the Muslim leader said: European labour markets and social-security systems are comatose. European economies are stagnant. European societies are near geriatric. Can Europe retain power and credibility in the new world order without addressing these issues? He put forward Turkish enlargement as an antidote to the EU's problems. Turkey has been putting its imprint on the global stage with its impressive economic development and political stability. The Turkish economy is Europe's fastest-growing sizeable economy and will continue to be so in 2011, he said.Turkey is bursting with the vigour that the EU so badly needs.

The Newsweek piece noted Turkey's ascendancy as a soft power in the western Balkans, the Middle East and the Caucasus - the EU's most conflict-prone neighbourhood regions. But Mr Erdogan rebuffed EU, Israeli and US concerns that his Islamist AKP party has a dark agenda to form a new league with fellow Muslim authorities in Iran and Syria in what one member of the Israeli parliament recently described to EUobserver as an axis of evil.This is not a romantic neo-Ottomanism: It is realpolitik based on a new vision of the global order, the Turkish leader said.

Commenting on the state of play in EU accession talks, which ground to a halt under the Belgian EU presidency last year in part due to Cypriot opposition to Turkey's occupation of the island's north, he said: This is turning into the sort of byzantine political intrigue that no candidate country has experienced previously.
Turkey-EU relations are fast approaching a turning point, he added.We are no more a country that would wait at the EU's door like a docile supplicant.Ankara believes that the Cypriot problem is being exploited for strategic reasons by anti-Turkish-accession governments in Germany and France.But two US cables published by WikiLeaks on Monday give an insight into EU fears at the popular level of what Turkish enlargement could mean. A cable from the US embassy in the Hague dated September 2004, in the run-up to the formal launch of EU-Turkey accession negotiations in 2005, voiced worries by mainstream Dutch parties that anti-immigration politician Geert Wilders will easily arouse difficult-to-manage populist sentiments based on deeply held fears and prejudices.The mainstream Dutch parties themselves expressed central worries, such as how the EU will share structural, agricultural and solidarity benefits with Turkey, assuming these programs will look the same then as they do now.The second cable, from October 2004, noted that Mr Wilders continues to attract followers from those worried about inflows of Turkish workers.

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.

Russia's Medvedev backs independent Palestine
By Alexei Anishchuk – Tue Jan 18, 5:23 pm ET

JERICHO, West Bank (Reuters) – Russian President Dmitry Medvedev endorsed a Palestinian state on Tuesday, saying Moscow had recognized independence in 1988 and was not changing the position adopted by the former Soviet Union.Making his first visit to the Israeli-occupied West Bank as Russian head of state, Medvedev stopped short of issuing a ringing declaration of recognition of Palestinian statehood by the modern Russian Federation which he represents.Russia's position remains unchanged. Russia made its choice a long time ago ... we supported and will support the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to an independent state with its capital in East Jerusalem, Medvedev said.Israel has been alarmed in the past two months by a string of recognitions by Latin American states including Brazil and Argentina, which some analysts say could be a precursor to a move by the Palestinians to seek full United Nations membership if efforts to revive moribund peace negotiations fall through.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has confirmed that is one of his options. At a news conference with Medvedev in Jericho he thanked Russia for being one of the first states in the world to recognize the state of Palestine in 1988.Communist Moscow recognized a Palestinian state declared by the late Yasser Arafat, in a move that won broad support in the Soviet bloc and developing world but had little real impact on diplomatic and political realities.

The Palestinians today say 109 states out of 192 United Nations member countries recognize their statehood. Israel has warned that a unilateral declaration of statehood would set back the peace process.A senior Israeli intelligence official told a Knesset committee on Tuesday he expected more recognitions by the time of the U.N. General Assembly in September.

UNIQUE ENTRY

Medvedev drove into the Israeli-occupied West Bank in a road convoy from Amman airport in Jordan, crossing over the historic Allenby Bridge in an unusual route for a head of state that was dictated by an Israeli foreign ministry strike, which had forced him to cancel the Israel leg of his trip.Palestinian security men were out in force and curious crowds lined the streets of Jericho to watch the convoy enter the Biblical town north of the Dead Sea, at the lowest point on earth, which has been inhabited for over 10,000 years.Officials said they could not remember when a visitor of that level had used the Allenby crossing, which was shut down to normal traffic for the occasion. The crossing is controlled by Israeli immigration and security.Medvedev drew applause from Palestinians when he noted that this is the first visit of a Russian president to Palestine not united with a visit to another country -- a clear reference to Israel which would normally have been his first stop.

Russia is a partner of the United States, European Union and United Nations in the Quartet of international powers overseeing Middle East peace negotiations.A number of former Soviet bloc east European states that are now in the EU also recognized Palestine in 1988. But the United States and west European governments do not.
Quartet foreign ministers were due to meet next month in Munich to discuss ways to revive the Middle East peace process, which has been a foreign policy priority for U.S. President Barack Obama but has ground to a halt due to a dispute over Israel's West Bank settlements policy.

Medvedev said this was the main topic of his talks.We discussed the possible prospectives of resuming the dialogue. In order to do that, we need to express maximum moderation. This in the first place relates to the freezing of settlement activity of Israel on the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, he said. Israel apologized to the Kremlin for having to cancel Medvedev's first trip when foreign ministry diplomats who would normally prepare it stepped up their strike action last month to win better pay and conditions.The last presidential visitor from Moscow was Medvedev's predecessor Vladimir Putin, now the Russian prime minister, in 2005. Medvedev expressed his understanding for the cancellation, saying it would not harm relations with Israel.He was due to meet Jordan's King Abdullah later on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Alexei Anishchuk and Tom Perry; Writing by Douglas Hamilton; Editing by Ralph Boulton)