STOCK RESULTS FEB 28,11

MY SITE FOR SPEAKING TRUTH FROM THE BIBLE WILL OVIOUSLY BE DEEMED A LOWER SITE.NOW I KNOW WHY THEIR HASSELING ME SO MUCH TRYING TO DESTROY MY COMPUTER ALMOST EVERY DAY NOW.MAKING IT RUN ON AND ON WHEN I PUBLISH MY STORIES.GOOGLE THE CIA AGENT DOES NOT WANT BIBLE TRUTH SPEWED OUT TO THE WORLD SO PEOPLE CAN NOT BE WARNED WHATS COMING ON THE EARTH.FOR SURE.

Google tweaks search to punish low-quality sites By BARBARA ORTUTAY and MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writers – Fri Feb 25, 6:19 pm ET

NEW YORK – Google has tweaked the formulas steering its Internet search engine to take the rubbish out of its results. The overhaul is designed to lower the rankings of what Google deems low-quality sites.That could be a veiled reference to such sites as Demand Media's eHow.com, which critics call online content farms — that is, sites producing cheap, abundant, mostly useless content that ranks high in search results.Sites that produce original content or information that Google considers valuable are supposed to rank higher under the new system.The change announced late Thursday affects about 12 percent, or nearly one in every eight, search requests in the U.S. Google Inc. said the new ranking rules eventually will be introduced in other parts of the world, too. The company tweaks its search algorithms, or formulas, hundreds of times a year, but most of the changes are so subtle that few people notice them. This latest change will be more difficult to miss, according to Google engineers.

Google depends on the high-quality content created by wonderful websites around the world, and we do have a responsibility to encourage a healthy web ecosystem, Google fellow Amit Singhal and principal engineer Matt Cutts wrote in a blog post. Therefore, it is important for high-quality sites to be rewarded, and that's exactly what this change does.Google makes significant adjustments to its search formula on the same scale as the latest change four or five times a year, Singhal said in a statement Friday.What makes the new revisions so notable is that Google spent about a year trying to come up with a way to judge the quality of the content posted on the site.That focus could hurt Demand Media, which depends on search engines for about 41 percent of the traffic to its websites, with most of those referrals coming from Google, according to documents filed last month after the company completed an initial public offering of stock.Demand Media, based in Santa Monica, assigns roughly 13,000 freelance writers to produce stories about frequently searched topics and then sells ads alongside the content at its own websites, including eHow.com and Livestrong.com, and about 375 Internet other destinations operated by its partners. Articles range from the likes of How to Tie Shoelaces to How to Bake a Potato and more.Many of the ads appearing alongside those articles are sold by Google, which accounts for about one-fourth of Demand Media's revenue of $253 million last year.

Demand Media said it doesn't consider itself a content farm or content mill, but rather as a more responsive approach to addressing topics on people's minds.We believe that our platform for satisfying today's consumer demand is the most comprehensive and effective of any online publisher, Demand Media CEO Richard Rosenblatt told analysts earlier this week after the company announced the first quarterly profit in its four-year history. The standards we put in place, the process that we follow, and most important, the qualified professionals we rely on to create and copy at the solution are unprecedented in traditional and new media.definition.In a Friday blog post, another Demand Media executive said the company applauds search engine changes that improve the consumer experience. Google's revisions caused some of Demand Media's articles to rank higher and other to rank lower in search results, wrote Larry Fitzgibbon, Demand Media's executive vice president of media and operations.It's impossible to speculate how these or any changes made by Google impact any online business in the long term — but at this point in time, we haven't seen a material net impact, Fitzgibbon wrote.Investors seemed uncertain how Google's move would affect Demand Media. After falling nearly 5 percent in earlier trading, Demand Media's shares rebounded to close at $22.96, up 36cents for the session.Liedtke reported from San Francisco.Online:
Google's blog post: http://bit.ly/i3OOUx
Demand Media's blog post: http://bit.ly/fRqV5Z

Oil spike may split Fed and ECB
By Emily Kaiser – Sun Feb 27, 3:05 pm ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank may go their separate ways if Middle East unrest provokes a sustained, inflationary oil price spike.Crude prices creeping back into the triple digits have sparked concern about slower economic growth and will no doubt reignite two long-running monetary policy debates:Should central banks have a single inflation-fighting mandate, as the ECB does, or dual goals of price stability and full employment, like the Fed? Should policymakers focus on headline inflation rates or strip out volatile food and energy prices? Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke can expect questions on both topics when he delivers his twice-yearly testimony to Congress on Tuesday and Wednesday.A day later, the ECB holds its policy-setting meeting and will have to judge whether oil prices pose an immediate threat when year-over-year inflation is already above its target. Economists widely expect the ECB to hold rates steady, but they will be hanging on President Jean-Claude Trichet's every word for clues on whether he is leaning toward a hike soon.

Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist with IHS Global Insight in Lexington, Massachusetts, said persistently high oil prices would curb consumer spending and drive up the still-lofty jobless rate -- which would make the Fed less inclined to raise interest rates.The inflation-phobic European Central Bank might react differently, which may explain why the euro has been rising in recent days, Gault said.Indeed, back in mid-2008, when oil prices briefly approached $150 a barrel, the ECB raised rates while the Fed held steady.

DUAL MANDATE

In his testimony, Bernanke will probably give Congress an economic assessment that sticks closely to his recent comments that the recovery is strengthening but still not enough to bring about a significant improvement in the job market.He may also repeat a warning he gave earlier in February that sharp cuts in government spending now could harm the recovery. Republicans in Congress have pressed for deep cuts while Democrats want to keep spending at current levels.If the parties cannot agree on a spending bill by Friday, the federal government will run out of money for nonessential operations and be forced to close.Between the spending debate and oil prices, lawmakers will have no shortage of controversial topics for Bernanke. Pricey oil will draw questions on whether the Fed has overstimulated the economy and planted the seeds of runaway inflation.Bernanke was already under pressure from some in Congress who want to restrict the Fed to a single mandate of price stability. Bernanke has said in the past that the Fed was not seeking any change in its mandate but would honor any decision Congress made.He will be able to point to recent data showing inflation remains unusually low, even with volatile food and oil prices included. Figures on Monday are expected to show tame inflation for January, as measured by the PCE Price Index, a gauge the Fed watches closely.Euro zone inflation data, also due on Monday, may tell a slightly different story. Economists are expecting a headline reading of 2.4 percent year-on-year, somewhat hotter than ECB officials would like. But core inflation, excluding food and energy, is expected to be up a modest 1.2 percent.

Trichet said in January that core inflation was not necessarily a good predictor for future headline inflation, a comment that led many investors to think an ECB rate hike might come sooner than anticipated. Perhaps the most important U.S. data point -- employment -- is due on Friday, too late to bolster Bernanke's argument that the economy still has significant slack and is no imminent danger of overheating.
Economists polled by Reuters expected Friday's report to show a net 175,000 jobs created in February. But they expect the unemployment rate to inch up to 9.1 percent as some discouraged workers resume the job search. For the Fed to start hiking rates, particularly this year, we would need to see a much more rapid decline in unemployment accompanied by rising core inflation, said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.The bottom line is that we simply don't see that happening.(Additional reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Dan Grebler)

Shares dip as emerging Asia outflows may persist
By Masayuki Kitano - FEB 28,11

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Asian shares on Monday slipped back toward a three-month low hit last week, with emerging Asian equities seen likely to keep lagging developed markets as investors fret about risks from inflation.London crude prices rose by more than $2 to $114.37 a barrel and MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares fell 0.3 percent to 460.31 (.MIAPJ0000PUS), as the worsening situation in Libya stirred renewed worry about disruptions to oil production.The recent unrest in the Middle East, which pushed London crude prices to their highest level since August 2008 of $119.79 last week, has exacerbated worries about inflationary pressures in emerging Asian economies.Market players said emerging Asian stock markets may continue to underperform compared to developed markets such as Japan and the United States.

There are strong concerns about inflation based on excessive liquidity and emerging markets have been hurt more by this, said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management in Tokyo.Developed countries...are not raising interest rates while emerging markets are in the midst of doing so. That is negative for (emerging market) equities and that trend will probably still continue, Akino added.Underscoring the recent trend, MSCI's index of Japanese shares has risen 4.3 percent (.MIJP00000PJP) so far in 2011 while its Indonesian index has shed 7.7 perce(.MIID00000PID).MSCI's index of Asia-Pacific shares outside fell to as low as 454.70 last Thursday, its lowest level since December 1.Part of that divergence likely reflects position unwinding, said Adrian Foster, head of financial markets research with Rabobank International in Hong Kong.Late last year, massive liquidity driven rallies in global equity markets helped give a boost to emerging market shares, Foster said.That largely explains why (emerging) equity markets this year have been quite weak. Just the unwinding of these... particularly in India and also in Indonesia, Foster added.A growing aversion to risky assets in the week to February 23 fueled the biggest flows to global bond funds in more than three months, and turned more investors away from emerging market stocks, according to fund tracker EPFR Global.With more than $20 billion leaving emerging market stock funds since mid-January, it is the longest period of outflows since the financial crisis deepened in September 2008.

DOLLAR FINDS FOOTING

The dollar found a steadier footing, having rebounded after hitting a record low against the Swiss franc on Friday, but the mood remained cautious given tensions in Libya and fears of contagion.The dollar last stood at 0.9270 francs, down 0.2 percent on the day but above a record low of 0.9229 hit against the safe haven Swiss currency on trading platform EBS on Friday.The euro dipped 0.1 percent against the dollar to $1.3744, but the single currency was seen staying in favor ahead of a European Central Bank meeting this week.With rising commodity prices, the ECB will likely continue its tough talk on inflation, increasing the probability of early ECB tightening, BNP Paribas analysts wrote in a note. Traders said the euro ran into some profit-taking as did the Australian dollar, which fell 0.3 percent to $1.0143.

Elsewhere, benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries rose 6/32 in price to yield 3.394 percent, while gold edged up 0.3 percent to $1,413.10. Gold, a traditional safe haven, was on course for a 6.2 percent monthly gain, its biggest since November 2009.(Additional reporting by Osamu Tsukimori in Tokyo and Ian Chua in Sydney; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Oil up over $114 as supply woes persist after Libya cuts exports
By Florence Tan - FEB 28,11

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Brent crude rose more than $2 a barrel to a high of $114.50 on Monday as concern persisted about security of supply from the Middle East and North Africa even after top exporter Saudi Arabia boosted supply to meet the shortfall caused by a cut in exports from Libya.Violent revolt in Libya has shut down as much as three-quarters of its output, according to some estimates. As protests have intensified and spread through the Arab world, investors fear any impact on output from Saudi Arabia.Brent crude was up $1.79 113.92 a barrel by 12:35 a.m. ET. U.S. crude rose $1.45 at $99.33 a barrel.Both benchmarks posted their highest weekly close in 2-1/2 years last week.There is the continued threat that conflicts will spread in the region that produces a large amount of oil in the world, said Ben Westmore, a commodities economist at the National Australia Bank.There's been a bit of a contagion already, he said.The impact on oil supply would be severe if conflict were to spread to Iran, Kuwait and especially to Saudi Arabia, he said.Saudi Arabia is the only producer with significant spare capacity that can be quickly started to deal with supply outages. Without access to that oil the world has little slack in the global supply system to deal with disruption.The kingdom is using that capacity to plug the Libyan deficit and has boosted output to a level exceeding 9 million bpd, a senior industry source familiar with Saudi production told Reuters. That would be the highest since Saudi pumped around 8.3 million bpd in January, according to a Reuters survey, although some estimates are higher and one consultant pegged output last month 8.9 million bpd.

In Libya, armed rebels prepared for a counter-attack as the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi defied calls to quit in the hardest-fought of the Arab world's wave of uprisings so far.On Sunday, police crushed protest in non-OPEC oil exporter Oman following a wave of pro-democracy protests across the Arab world.Oman is the ninth largest producer in the Middle East and North Africa, just after Libya, with a production of 865,000 bpd, according to JPMorgan.The market is definitely bracing for the worst as it remained unclear when the situation in Libya would stabilize, Westmore said.JPMorgan increased late on Friday its 2011 Brent oil forecast to $108 a barrel, up from the previous $95, on tighter supply after Libyan output losses.

It also raised its 2011 average forecast for WTI crude by 3.2 percent to $96 a barrel.The new 2011 price forecast maps a projected outcome within a range of scenarios that could encompass the oil market over the next 12 months - ranging from a rapid normalization of geopolitical risk to the loss of output in a major oil producer, JPMorgan said in a report on Friday.Following spikes in oil prices last week, the International Energy Agency has called on OPEC to draw on excess oil production capacity if required while adding that it is also ready to release emergency stocks when necessary.But the response time meant that extra supplies would lag disruption, prompting volatility and near-term price spikes, Westmore said. Iran's Oil Minister urged Saudi Arabia on Sunday to refrain from taking a hasty decision on increasing its oil production after the popular uprising in Libya, the official IRNA news agency reported.Traders were looking ahead to manufacturing data to be released from the United States and China on Tuesday, Westmore said.
(Editing by Ed Lane)

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 MON FEB 28,2011

09:30 AM +2.52
10:00 AM +91.16
10:30 AM +94.72
11:00 AM +91.95
11:30 AM +71.07
12:00 PM +68.95
12:30 PM +74.24
01:00 PM +64.44
01:30 PM +42.84
02:00 PM +53.43
02:30 PM +69.70
03:00 PM +77.46
03:30 PM +83.67
04:00 PM +95.69 12,226.34

S&P 500 1327.22 +7.34

NASDAQ 2782.27 +1.22

GOLD 1,411.10 +1.80

OIL 96.91 -0.97

TSE 300 14,136.50 +84.40

CDNX 2391.54 +15.90

S&P/TSX/60 813.29 +4.48

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +41 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -0.30 points at low today.
Dow +103 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,409.40.OIL opens at $97.40 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.30 points at low today so far.
Dow +103 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.30 points at low today.
Dow +103 points at high today.

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

INSIDER TRADING STARTING TO BE WATCHED CLOSELY
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110225/bs_nm/us_financial_regulation_abuse

THE STORIES WILL BE LIGHT TODAY AS IT IS THE NHL TRADE DEADLINE AND I WILL BE GETTING THE HOCKEY TRADES AND TRANSACTIONS TODAY.

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.

Hill collapse in Bolivian capital ruins 400 homes
By CARLOS VALDEZ, Associated Press - FEB 28,11

LA PAZ, Bolivia – Heavy rains caused a hilltop to collapse in a poor neighborhood of the Bolivian capital Sunday, cracking roads, destroying at least 400 homes and burying people's belongings under mud and debris.There were no fatalities but significant damage from the landslide in the barrio of Callapa, La Paz Mayor Luis Revilla said.Edwin Herrera, a city government spokesman, called Sunday's slide the worst that La Paz has ever seen — and he said the earth was still moving downhill.

So far we are talking about 5,000 (people) affected, but the slide is affecting neighborhoods in lower areas, he said.Residents began evacuating late Saturday when the hill, saturated after prolonged rains, began sliding and cracks appeared in streets and home.My neighbors were running around and told me to get out, said Maria Elena Siles, the mother of three adolescent children. I looked out the window and there were no more homes to the left or the right of mine.Siles was able to flee before the hill collapsed entirely early Sunday.By day, amid a persistent drizzle, some residents scrambled over the unstable terrain to try to rescue furniture and other possessions from the muck.But continued earth movements brought down more homes, and police cordoned off the area, saying it was too dangerous.

Siles' home was one of those destroyed.I lost everything, she said.They won't let us go back in for fear of more slides.Meanwhile, crews with heavy equipment were trying to keep the earth from backing up a river channel.Defense Minister Ruben Saavedra said soldiers were mobilized to aid evacuation and recovery efforts.A hilltop cemetery was split in two when an enormous crack opened in the ground.Heavy rains are blamed for 44 deaths around the country in recent weeks.The 400 homes were wiped out over an area covering 200 to 250 acres (80 to 100 hectares), Herrera said.Slides are common in La Paz, perched at about 11,900 feet (3,640 meters) above sea level and surrounded by hills covered with poor communities. Another collapse a little over a week ago destroyed 20 homes.

San Francisco hill regions get dusting of snow
– Sat Feb 26, 11:20 pm ET

SAN FRANCISCO – Hilly areas of San Francisco got a rare light dusting of snow, the National Weather Service said Saturday.Snow fell briefly late Friday and early Saturday on the city's Twin Peaks neighborhood and some other areas with higher elevations, meteorologist Mark Strobin said.A little bit up in the hills, Strobin told The Associated Press. It snowed down to about 400 feet.But there was only rain downtown and in other other areas of the near sea level city, and the snow that did fall disappeared rapidly.The city last saw snow on the ground in 1976, when an inch fell.Strobin said the higher regions might have had snow dustings since that measureable snow fell 35 years ago. He said it was still too early to tell how this event will be recorded.Strobin, who is based in Monterey, Calif., said that city also got a rare dusting of snow.The storm system moving across Northern California responsible for San Francisco's snow also dumped more than 2 feet of snow in the Sierra Nevada mountains.Just the idea of possible snow had the tech-savvy city looking skyward with anticipation.One blogger posted a pretend ski map, noting possible beginner, intermediate and expert runs in the city's hilly Bernal Heights neighborhood. A newly created website — isitsnowinginsfyet.com — gives a simple answer for anyone who is wondering.

The San Francisco Chronicle posted old photos of snow from 1882, 1951, 1964 and other rare instances of city snowfall — including one photo from the 1976 storm that shows gleeful school kids throwing snowballs.On Friday, the storm prompted San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee to take precautionary measures. He urged residents to watch out for icy road conditions, and, if possible, avoid driving during the storm's peak. The city's public works department was planning to offer free sandbags and emergency crews were on stand-by.For snow to fall and accumulate in San Francisco, temperatures must drop to 36 degrees, precipitation must be falling and the ground must be chilled for several days beforehand, said Steve Anderson, also a National Weather Service forecaster.Though it rarely gets that cold in San Francisco, where the surrounding bay and Pacific Ocean generally keeps temperatures moderate, temperatures in San Francisco were expected to drop into the 30s overnight, according to the National Weather Service.

EARTHQUAKES

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

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

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

Quake hits southern Chile, a year after huge one
– Sun Feb 27, 9:36 pm ET

SANTIAGO/WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A strong quake of 6.0 magnitude struck on Sunday about 23 miles south of Concepcion, Chile, at a depth of 10.4 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.Chile's state emergency office Onemi said there were no reports of damages or injuries and no risk of a tsunami. A spokeswoman said there were partial power cuts in the area, however.One year ago today, February 27, Chile was hit with a massive, 8.8-magnitude quake and subsequent tsunami that killed more than 500 people and caused some $30 billion in damage.The worst-hit region was in the south, near Concepcion.(Reporting by Fabian Cambero; Writing by Hilary Burke, editing by Philip Barbara)

NZ buildings' quake safety questioned as burials start
By Rob Taylor - FEB 28,11

CHRISTCHURCH (Reuters) – New Zealand authorities said on Monday they were investigating reports that buildings damaged by a quake in Christchurch last year were allowed to remain in use, compromising their ability to withstand last week's tremor that killed at least 148 people.Separately, Prime Minister John Key said the overall cost of the February 22 and the September 4 quakes combined would be about NZ$20 billion ($15 billion), with the second, more destructive, earthquake costing about three-quarters of the total.Japanese media have pressed the mayor of Christchurch on the safety inspection and standards after last September's quake at the Canterbury Television Building, which housed a language school and was where nearly half the confirmed dead were killed.We want to give you all of the information that we have about those buildings, mayor Bob Parker told reporters on Monday during one of his twice-daily briefings.Had I received any information about the integrity of those buildings being in any way compromised as a result of the events of September 4 last year? No.The bodies of dozens of students from Japan, China, the Philippines and Taiwan are still in the ruins of the six-storey building, whose floors pancaked on top of each other in last Tuesday's 6.3 magnitude quake.

The questions came as the first funeral of a victim, a five month infant boy, took place. Only eight bodies have been released because of the need to accurately identify the dead.Parker said building owners were responsible for ensuring adequate inspection and repair of buildings damaged by last year's 7.1 tremor.The condition of the CTV building had been raised by a student from India, who spoke to Reuters while awaiting news of a friend trapped inside.How was this allowed to happen? When they inspected the building after the last earthquake, why didn't they realize? asked the student named Jeewan.Police have said the death toll may rise to more than 200, with about 50 people still unaccounted for.GALE FORCE WIND, AFTERSHOCKS Authorities warned that they expected gale force winds, which could whip up storms of contaminated dust, and topple already loose masonry, as rescue teams painstakingly pulled buildings apart in the slim chance they will find a survivor.

The focus and energy of the teams on the ground is very much on rescue and looking at areas where there may be live victims, fire rescue head Jim Stuart Black told Reuters.Aftershocks of up to magnitude 4.3 were still rattling the area and forced more people from their homes in hillside and seaside suburbs as fears grew that a large number of houses and car-sized boulders would tumble onto houses below.No survivors have been rescued since mid-afternoon on Wednesday, as the search concentrated on a finance company office block, the city's landmark cathedral and the CTV building.Prime Minister Key unveiled a temporary assistance package for employers and employees, which he estimated would apply to about 42,000 people and to cost about NZ$100 million to NZ$120 million.The government will do everything we can to support the recovery and the rebuilding of the city, Key said.Life was slowly returning to normal in some parts of the city, with buses back on the streets and some coffee shops, corner stores and restaurants reopening.(Writing by Gyles Beckford; Editing by Ed Davies and Robert Birsel)

CHINA AND KINGS OF THE EAST MARCH TO ISRAEL 2ND WAVE OF WW3

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

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

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

Virtually all 30,000 Chinese in Libya evacuated
FEB 28,11

BEIJING – State media in China say virtually all 30,000 Chinese citizens living in Libya have left the turbulent North African country.The official Xinhua News Agency says the vast majority of the almost 29,000 Chinese who have departed so far are taking shelter in third countries. Monday's report cites Foreign Ministry sources.

Thousands of Chinese have traveled overland to neighboring Tunisia and Egypt, while others have been taken by chartered ferry to Greece and Malta.Chinese, most working in the construction and oil industries, make up one of the largest blocs of foreign workers in Libya.

SKorea, US begin annual drills amid NKorean threat
By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated Press - FEB 27,11

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korean and U.S. troops began annual military drills Monday that rival North Korea warned could trigger a nuclear war on the divided peninsula.Despite North Korean threats to retaliate, South Korea and the United States went ahead with the drills, which are the allies' first major combined military exercises since the North shelled a front-line South Korean island in November, killing four people.That barrage came eight months after 46 sailors were killed when a South Korean warship was sunk, an attack that a Seoul-led international investigation blamed on a North Korean torpedo; Pyongyang denies involvement. Animosity over the bloodshed drove ties between the Koreas to one of their lowest levels in decades.About 12,800 U.S. troops and some 200,000 South Korean soldiers and reservists are to participate in the drills, which are aimed at defending South Korea and responding to any attack.The main part of the drills, which will involve computer war games and live-firing exercises, will last 11 days, while some field training will continue until late April, according to the South Korea-U.S. joint forces command in Seoul.The drills are planned months in advance, and they are not connected to any current world events, the joint command said in a statement.

Hours after the exercises started, North Korea warned of a nuclear war on the peninsula.It's an anti-national scheme aimed at prolonging the stage of confrontation and tension to realize a plot to start a northward invasion, the North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. The danger of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula is deepening.On Sunday, the North said that if provoked, its military would turn Seoul into a sea of flames and start a full-scale war with merciless counterattacks.

South Korean and U.S. officials have repeatedly said the drills are purely defensive.

Denouncing these kinds of drills as an aggression and provocation won't be a help to South-North Korea relations at all, South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Chun Hae-sung told reporters Monday.A South Korean military official said there have been no suspicious activities by the North's military. The official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing office rules.Also Monday, about 20 anti-war activists rallied near a joint forces command near Seoul, urging South Korea and the United States to immediately halt the drills and resume talks with North Korea. Stop! Stop! the activists chanted during the peaceful rally as a U.S. armored vehicle passed.After weeks of high tension following its November bombardment of the South Korean island, North Korea recently pushed for dialogue with Seoul and expressed a desire to return to stalled international talks on its nuclear program. Military officers from the Koreas met earlier this month but failed to make progress.North and South Korea are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.

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.

In setback, Iran to unload fuel from nuclear plant
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI, Associated Press – Sat Feb 26, 8:04 pm ET

TEHRAN, Iran – In a major setback to Iran's nuclear program, technicians will have to unload fuel from the country's first atomic power plant because of an unspecified safety concern, a senior government official said.The vague explanation raised questions about whether the mysterious computer worm known as Stuxnet might have caused more damage at the Bushehr plant than previously acknowledged. Other explanations are possible for unloading the fuel rods from the reactor core of the newly completed plant, including routine technical difficulties.While the exact reason behind the fuel's removal is unclear, the admission is seen as a major embarrassment for Tehran because it has touted Bushehr — Iran's first atomic power plant — as its showcase nuclear facility and sees it as a source of national pride. When the Islamic Republic began loading the fuel just four months ago, Iranian officials celebrated the achievement.Iran's envoy to the U.N. nuclear monitoring agency in Vienna said that Russia, which provided the fuel and helped construct the Bushehr plant, had demanded the fuel be taken out.Upon a demand from Russia, which is responsible for completing the Bushehr nuclear power plant, fuel assemblies from the core of the reactor will be unloaded for a period of time to carry out tests and take technical measurements, the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying. After the tests are conducted, (the fuel) will be placed in the core of the reactor once again.

Iran always gives priority to the safety of the plant based on highest global standards, Soltanieh added.Calls to the Russian nuclear agency Rosatom for comment were not answered Saturday afternoon.The spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran said the fuel unloading was nothing unusual.It's a kind of technical inspection and to obtain confidence about the safety of the reactor, Hamid Khadem Qaemi told the official IRNA news agency. He accused foreign media of blowing the issue out of proportion.The Bushehr plant is not among the aspects of Iran's nuclear program that are of top concern to the international community and is not directly subject to sanctions. It has international approval and is supervised by the U.N.'s nuclear monitoring agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency.In a report released Friday about Iran's nuclear program, the IAEA said that Tehran informed the agency on Wednesday that it would have to unload the fuel rods. The agency said it and Tehran have agreed on the necessary safeguards measures.A senior international official familiar with Iran's nuclear program said the IAEA had no further details. He said unloading and reloading fuel assemblies is not unusual before any reactor startup. The official asked for anonymity because his information was confidential.

Soltanieh and other officials have not specified why the fuel had to be unloaded, but Iranian officials denied any link to the Stuxnet computer virus.Stuxnet has had no effect on the control systems at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Nasser Rastkhah, a senior official in charge of nuclear security, told the official IRNA news agency.Foreign intelligence reports have said the control systems at Bushehr were penetrated by the malware — malicious software designed to infiltrate computer systems — but Iran has all along maintained that Stuxnet was only found on several laptops belonging to plant employees and didn't affect the facility's control systems.Some computer experts believe Stuxnet was the work of Israel or the United States, two nations convinced that Iran wants to turn nuclear fuel into weapons-grade uranium.The Islamic Republic is reluctant to acknowledge setbacks to its nuclear activities, which it says are aimed at generating energy but are under U.N. sanctions because of concerns they could be channeled toward making weapons. Only after outside revelations that its enrichment program was temporarily disrupted late last year by Stuxnet did Iranian officials acknowledge the incident.The startup of the Bushehr power plant, a project completed with Russian help but beset by years of delays, would deliver Iran the central stated goal of its atomic work — the generation of nuclear power.

But the inauguration of the facility has been delayed for years. Iran said when it began inserting the fuel rods in October that the 1,000-megawatt light-water reactor would begin pumping electricity to Iranian cities by December. But it pushed back the timing to February, citing a small leak and other unspecified reasons. The Bushehr plant itself is not among the West's main worries because safeguards are in place to ensure that the spent fuel will be returned to Russia and cannot be diverted to weapons making.The United States and some of its allies believe the Bushehr plant is part of a civil energy program that Iran is using as cover for a covert program to develop a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the accusation.

The Bushehr project dates back to 1974, when Iran's U.S.-backed Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi contracted with the German company Siemens to build the reactor. The company withdrew from the project after the 1979 Islamic Revolution toppled the shah and brought hard-line clerics to power.In 1992, Iran signed a $1 billion deal with Russia to complete the project and work began in 1995.Under the contract, Bushehr was originally scheduled to come on stream in July 1999 but the startup has been delayed repeatedly by construction and supply glitches.Associated Press writer George Jahn contributed to this report from Vienna.

Six killed in Oman protests on Sunday: government hospital
FEB 27,11

SOHAR, Oman (Reuters) – Six people were killed in Oman on Sunday, a government hospital said, after police opened fire with rubber bullets at protesters demanding political reform.Earlier reports on Sunday had put the death toll at two.The roads to Gulf state's key industrial area Sohar, home to a refinery port and aluminum factory is blocked by protesters and a supermarket has been set on flames, witnesses said on Monday.(Reporting by Saleh Al-Shaibany, Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Gaddafi unflinching as rebel city fears counter-attack
By Maria Golovnina - FEB 28,11

TRIPOLI (Reuters) – Rebels awaited a counter-attack by Muammar Gaddafi's forces on Monday, after the Libyan leader defied calls for him to quit in the hardest-fought of the Arab world's wave of uprisings.Rebels holding Zawiyah, only 50 km (30 miles) west of Tripoli, said about 2,000 troops loyal to Gaddafi had surrounded the city.We will do our best to fight them off. They will attack soon, said a former police major who switched sides and joined the rebellion.If we are fighting for freedom, we are ready to die for it.Residents even in parts of the capital Tripoli have thrown up barricades against government forces. A general in the east of the country, where Gaddafi's power has evaporated, told Reuters his forces were ready to help rebels in the west.Our brothers in Tripoli say: We are fine so far, we do not need help. If they ask for help we are ready to move, said General Ahmed el-Gatrani, one of most senior figures in the mutinous army in Benghazi.Analysts say they expect rebels to eventually take the capital and kill or capture Gaddafi, but add that he has the firepower to foment chaos or civil war -- a prospect he and his sons have warned of.

Monday looked likely to see nervousness in oil markets. NYMEX crude for April delivery was up $1.12 at $99.00 barrel in Globex electronic trading by 2308 GMT on Sunday. Libya pumps only 2 percent of world oil and Saudi Arabia has boosted output, but traders fear turmoil intensifying in the Arab world.Serbian television quoted Gaddafi as blaming foreigners and al Qaeda for the unrest and condemning the U.N. Security Council for imposing sanctions and ordering a war crimes inquiry.The people of Libya support me. Small groups of rebels are surrounded and will be dealt with, he said.

STAND DOWN CALLS

European powers said it was time for Gaddafi to stand down and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States was reaching out to opposition groups.
Residents of Zawiyah told of fierce fighting against pro-Gaddafi paramilitaries armed with heavy weapons.Gaddafi is crazy. His people shot at us using rocket-propelled grenades, said a man who gave his name as Mustafa. Another man called Chawki said: We need justice. People are being killed. Gaddafi's people shot my nephew.There were queues outside banks in Tripoli on Sunday for the 500 Libyan dinars ($400) the government had promised it would start distributing to each family.

From Misrata, a city 200 km (120 miles) east of Tripoli, residents said by phone a thrust by forces loyal to Gaddafi, operating from the airport, had been rebuffed with bloodshed.But Libyan exile groups said later aircraft were firing on the city's radio station.In the eastern city of Benghazi, opponents of the 68-year-old leader said they had formed a National Libyan Council to be the face of the revolution, but it was unclear who they represented.They said they wanted no foreign intervention and had not made contact with foreign governments. The Network of Free Ulema, claiming to represent some of Libya's most senior and most respected Muslim scholars, issued a statement urging total rebellion against Gaddafi and endorsing the formation of an interim government announced two days ago.

FOREIGN WORKERS STRANDED

Western leaders, emboldened by evacuations that have brought home many of their citizens from the vast desert state, spoke out more clearly than before against Gaddafi. We have reached, I believe, a point of no return, Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said, adding it was inevitable for Gaddafi to leave power. Britain revoked Gaddafi's diplomatic immunity and said it was freezing his family's assets. It is time for Colonel Gaddafi to go, Foreign Secretary William Hague said. Three British military planes evacuated 150 civilians from Libya's desert on Sunday, after a similar operation on Saturday.Wealthy states have sent planes and ships to bring home expatriate workers but many more, from poorer countries, are stranded. Thousands of Egyptians streamed into Tunisia on Sunday, complaining Cairo had done nothing to help them.Malta said it had refused a Libyan request to return two warplanes brought to the island by defecting pilots last Monday.Gaddafi, once branded a mad dog by Washington for his support of militant groups worldwide, had been embraced by the West in recent years in return for renouncing some weapons programs and, critically, for opening up Libya's oilfields.While money has flowed into Libya, many people, especially in the long-restive and oil-rich east, have seen little benefit and, inspired by the popular overthrow of veteran strongmen in Tunisia and Egypt, on either side of their country, they rose up to demand better conditions and political freedoms.(Additional reporting by Yvonne Bell and Chris Helgren in Tripoli, Marie-Louise Gumuchian and Souhail Karam in Rabat, Dina Zayed and Caroline Drees in Cairo, Tom Pfeiffer, Alexander Dziadosz and Mohammed Abbas in Benghazi, Arshad Mohammed in Washington and Louis Charbonneau at the United Nations; writing by Andrew Roche; editing by Jon Boyle)

Tunisian prime minister resigns amid protests
By Tarek Amara – Sun Feb 27, 2:09 pm ET

TUNIS (Reuters) – Tunisian Prime Minister Mohamed Ghannouchi resigned Sunday after violent protests over his ties to the North African state's toppled former leader, triggering street celebrations in central Tunis.Analysts said the move could add legitimacy to an election to replace President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, ousted on January 14, but could also encourage further opposition demands.Police fired shots in the air and used tear gas to disperse hundreds of youths breaking shop windows in a commercial district of Tunis shortly after the announcement, while thousands gathered near parliament to celebrate.We're very happy, but it is not enough, said one of the cheering crowd, who identified himself as Ahmed. We want to see nothing more of this government.Critics have accused Ghannouchi of being too close to former ruler Ben Ali, toppled after a series of protests that sent shockwaves across the rest of North Africa and the Arab world and encouraged a similar uprising in Egypt.

He was replaced by Beji Caid Sebsi, a former foreign minister under independence President Habib Bourguiba, according to an announcement by interim President Fouad Mebazza.My resignation will provide a better atmosphere for the new era, Ghannouchi said, adding he wanted to prevent more deaths. Five people have been killed since Friday in clashes between security forces and demonstrators at protests against Ghannouchi, according to the government.My resignation is in the service of the country, he said during a speech on state TV. I am not a man of repression. Ghannouchi restated the government's pledge to hold elections to replace Ben Ali, widely seen by Tunisians as repressive and corrupt, by July 15.

RISK OF BACKFIRE

Analysts said Ghannouchi's resignation had the potential to ease street tensions, but may also backfire.The hope is that, with this concession, street protests will calm down and this will allow the government to get to the task of preparing elections, said Kamran Bokhari of political risk consultancy Stratfor.But the risk is that it will embolden the opposition forces to demand more concessions.A Reuters witness said Tunisian soldiers had barricaded a commercial district of Tunis where youths were breaking windows and throwing stones. They fired tear gas and rounds in the air to disperse them. There was no sign of any wounded.An official at Tunisia's powerful umbrella union UGTT, which has been demanding labor reforms since Ben Ali's removal, said Ghannouchi's resignation was a step in the right direction.A spokesman for Tunisia's main Islamist group, Ennahda, said the move could pave the way to broader participation in the interim government. Ennahda, banned for two decades under Ben Ali's rule, had complained of being shut out of the caretaker government run by Ghannouchi.(Reporting by Tarek Amara; writing by Richard Valdmanis; editing by Andrew Roche)

Yemen's parties to join anti-president protests
By AMHED AL-HAJ, Associated Press - FEB 28,11

SANAA, Yemen – Yemen's opposition parties said Sunday they are joining young protesters in their push to bring down the country's beleaguered president.The announcement marked the second major setback in two days for President Ali Abdullah Saleh, a key U.S. ally in the fight against the al-Qaida terror network. On Saturday, two powerful chiefs from his own tribe abandoned him, and hundreds of thousands called for his ouster in the largest protests yet.In recent weeks, Yemen has seen daily protests, inspired by successful uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia. The mainstream opposition parties had been reluctant to join, preferring a wait-and-see approach.However, on Sunday they said they would hold rallies Tuesday to show solidarity with the protesters.We call on all the citizens to come out Tuesday and condemn the regime for its crimes, said the Joint Gathering, an umbrella organization for seven opposition parties, including socialist, moderate Islamic and nationalist factions.The announcement is a blow to Saleh, who has been in power for 32 years, said Abdel Bari Taher, a Yemeni analyst. If they join the people in the streets, they will swiftly decide the fate of the regime, he said.Anti-government protests were held Sunday in cities across Yemen, including the capital of Sanaa, the city of Taiz and the port of Aden. In the eastern town of Malla, 18 protesters were injured in clashes with security forces, security officials said.Security officials said Saleh dispatched army units, bolstered by tanks, to Aden to help security forces in putting down the protests. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

On Saturday, Saleh appeared to be hardening his stance, after initially offering protesters to engage in dialogue and promising that the security forces would not use force against them. Yemeni TV quoted him as telling army commanders that the armed forces will not hesitate to defend the security of the nation as well as the unity, freedom and democracy.We will fight to the last drop in our blood, he said.
Saleh's government had been weak even before the protests erupted. He was faced with growing al-Qaida activity and a separatist movement in the south. At the start of the protest wave, Saleh offered not to seek re-election in 2013, but was rebuffed by demonstrators.