STOCK RESULTS FEB 7,11

$50 TRILLION IS NOT ENOUGH DEBT.BERNANKE INSISTS THE BANKERS CONTINUE TO GET BAILOUTS OR THE EARTH WILL GO FLAT.THE CHIPMUNKS WILL SING SO LOUD YOU WILL GO DEAF WORLWIDE.GIRAFFS WILL ATTACK NEW YORK.EASTER BUNNYS WILL DESTROY AMERICAN CITIES BY LAYING TRILLIONS OF EGGS FROM THE SKY AND DROPPING THEM.GREMLINS WILL SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE WORLDWIDE AND BITE THEIR ANKLES IF BERNANKE IS NOT ALLOWED TO PUT THE DEBT INTO THE QUADRILLIONS AND KEEP FEEDNG THE NEW WORLD ORDER BANKERS OFF SHORE CASH FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVES PRINTING PRESS OF ENDLESS CASH TO BE PAID FOR BY TAX PAYERS WHO WILL PAY CARBON TAXES AND WHATEVER TAXES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DREAMS UP TO COVER THESE BANKERS TRACKS AND FUND THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.

JONES THURSDAY SHOW SHOW
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110203_Thu_Alex.mp3
JONES RESPONSE TO THE WHITHOUSE LIES IN ARTICLE-SUNDAY
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110206_Sun_Alex.mp3

White House Attacks Prison Planet.com Report On Blackouts Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com February 5, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/white-house-responds-to-blackout-controversy/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3l4oPXiAw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JcNlaD2j-4&feature=player_embedded

- Lies about Texas not being affected by draconian EPA rules on greenhouse gases.

- Deception about clean burning coal-fired plants producing carbon pollution.

- Spin in denying EPA and Obama administration have publicly stated and openly embarked on mission to destroy coal industry by blocking construction of new power plants.The White House has publicly responded to the controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s agenda to bankrupt the coal industry and its connection to this week’s blackouts across the country, by attempting to deny the link in a rebuttal that amounts to nothing more than a tissue of lies, deception and spin.In a blog that appears on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer begins by claiming that the story came from a questionable source and is unquestionably false, without even naming the source. Frightened that Americans might actually read the source and make their own minds up based on the facts, Pfeiffer fails to provide a link to our original article that was subsequently picked up by the Drudge Report, Fox News and numerous other media outlets.Pfeiffer then oversimplifies the debate by building a straw man argument based around the premise that the Obama Administration is somehow responsible for the rolling blackouts in Texas, before blaming the outages on cold weather.By framing the argument to make out as if we claimed Obama flipped a switch and the lights went out is completely deceptive. Of course the cold weather has shown that the country is vulnerable to blackouts, but that vulnerability is a direct result of the Obama administration’s stated goal to bankrupt the coal industry and its proven track record, through the enforcement of EPA regulations, of blocking power plants from being built that would be able to handle the extra demand.

Pfeiffer then claims that the blackouts were a result of power plants experiencing mechanical failures, completely ignoring the fact that the blackouts were planned and were made necessary because of a lack of supply to meet increased demand. That’s why Texas had to rely on Mexico to meet its power shortfall, an offer that was subsequently suspended.Pfeiffer then attempts to counter the manifestly provable fact that desperately needed new coal-fired plants are being mothballed under the weight of draconian EPA regulations on CO2 emissions by claiming that Texas isn’t subject to such restrictions. Firstly, Texas supplies power to surrounding states that have been impacted by the new EPA regulations, leaving less energy to meet the demand of those living in the lone star state.Secondly, despite Texas’ best efforts to fight the new Clean Air Act standards, the EPA has aggressively enforced existing regulations, a process that has both delayed and prevented new plants in Texas from being built, such as the Las Brisas Energy Center, which has been the subject of a near three year battle between the EPA and state authorities.Indeed, a federal court ruling last month gave the EPA permission to proceed with greenhouse gas regulation in Texas, temporarily superseding Texas’ non-compliance with the new regulations which came into force on January 2. The White House’s claim that EPA regulations are not currently affecting Texas is a complete fabrication.The wider argument that the EPA is simply trying to implement reasonable measures to prevent carbon pollution is also a complete misnomer. Modern day clean burning coal-fired plants go to great lengths to remove all hazardous chemicals before any emissions leave the plant, through the use of sophisticated scrubbers and other techniques, to the point where the only emissions are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Watch the video below for a demonstration of these techniques.

There can be no doubt whatsoever that the Obama administration has deliberately pursued a policy of bankrupting the coal industry by means of crippling EPA regulations. Candidate Obama himself explicitly stated this objective during a January 2008 interview.So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted, he stated.This policy has led not only to new coal plants not being built, but also to existing coal plants being threatened with termination. EPA regulations are forcing power plants out of business across America – leaving the country vulnerable to more enforced blackouts and higher energy prices.

- Back in July 2008, a Superior Court judge in Fulton County blocked the construction of a coal plant in Georgia, citing global warming concerns and the need to limit CO2 emissions.

- In January 2009, the Obama EPA blocked approval for a coal-fired power plant in South Dakota, claiming the state, didn’t meet requirements under the Clean Air Act in part of its proposed permit for the plant.

- As Governor of Kansas, Obama’s current Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius slapped a de facto ban on the construction of all new coal-fired plants across the state.

- Last month, Senators in Obama’s home state of Illinois blocked the construction of a clean-burning coal gasification and power generating plant.

- As a result of the EPA’s recent remand of air permits, Shell Oil announced this week that it has dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate, ensuring more shortages and higher prices for Americans.

Last month Dayton Daily News reported that, The power industry nationwide might have to spend more than $80 billion and retire 45,000 megawatts of coal-fired power plants over several years in adjusting operations to meet current and possible new EPA regulations.The shortage of power plants to meet the demands of Texans and other Americans as cold weather grips the country is down to the EPA holding local utility companies hostage and blocking them from building desperately needed new power plants.Obama’s January greenhouse gas rules restricted the amount of emissions allowable for new power plants, while giving an exemption to General Electric, an intimate financial supporter of his administration.The Obama administration has crippled US infrastructure and its ability to meet the needs of Americans by declaring war on the coal industry. While smaller independent power plant companies are being squeezed out of existence by EPA rules, transnational giants are busy creating artificial scarcity to jack up prices and eliminate their competition. Indeed, we only have to recall how Enron shut down power plants on false pretenses during the 2001 blackouts in California as a ploy to raise prices to understand how the restriction of energy is used as a political and financial tool of oppression.

Energy prices continue to skyrocket nationwide while the EPA prepares to shut down more plants, ensuring only higher prices in the years to come. The federal government’s siege against independent power companies’ efforts to build coal-fired plants is part of the unfolding globalist agenda to cripple American infrastructure even as China and Mexico build new power plants at ever accelerating speeds.The fact that the White House is so concerned that this agenda is being exposed that they feel the need to address it with a tissue of lies and deception on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov is a telling indication that the Obama administration is panicking about Americans becoming aware of the move to completely de-industrialize the United States.

You Can't Believe Everything You Read Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on February 04, 2011 at 04:55 PM EST(WHITEHOUSE RESPONSE ARTICLE)

As valuable as the internet can be in helping to spread information, most people know that you can’t believe everything you read, and they should check the source before relaying every alarming story they read. One such story is going around the internet over the past two days claiming that the Obama Administration is somehow responsible for the rolling blackouts in Texas that have caused terrible hardship for so many Texans. The source is questionable and the story is unquestionably false.According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, these blackouts were actually the result of extreme cold temperatures and high winds, which led to a variety of mechanical failures at more than 50 power plants around the state.

Anytime communities experience major outages, it is a cause for concern, and major utilities and regulators are investigating steps that can be taken to decrease any weather related vulnerability of power generating plants in the state that, unlike their northern counterparts which experience extreme cold every winter, are often not designed to withstand such rare weather conditions.Some are trying to blame these blackouts – which the industry has already provided explanation for – on Clean Air Act standards under consideration to curb dangerous pollution, including carbon pollution. While these claims gained traction on the internet, there is a major problem with this theory – no power plant in Texas has yet been required to do anything to control carbon pollution. In December the EPA announced its intent to update important Clean Air Act standards that for decades have decreased harmful pollution and protected public health. In the coming months the EPA will work closely with key stakeholders, including industry, to develop a commonsense standard for currently unchecked, dangerous carbon pollution. Any standard, which will leverage existing technologies and only apply to the largest polluters, will not be proposed until later this year, allowing an extensive public comment period, and following that additional input no final rule is scheduled to be in place until late 2012.Despite these modest steps, many continue to mischaracterize this process – making unsubstantiated claims about the impact this will have on everything from industry to energy prices. This most recent effort simply underscores a willingness to ignore the facts to further an agenda that seeks to stop the EPA from sensible updates to the Clean Air Act.Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director.

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 07,2011

09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +49.01
10:30 AM +76.71
11:00 AM +85.64
11:30 AM +92.07
12:00 PM +75.20
12:30 PM +79.89
01:00 PM +77.73
01:30 PM +83.97
02:00 PM +85.22
02:30 PM +74.25
03:00 PM +71.26
03:30 PM +73.49
04:00 PM +69.48 12,161.63

S&P 500 1319.05 +8.18

NASDAQ 2783.99 +14.69

GOLD 1,350.50 +1.50

OIL 87.26 -1.77

TSE 300 13,811.90 +20.10

CDNX 2375.03 +4.74

S&P/TSX/60 792.01 +0.52

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +20 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -0.08 points at low today.
Dow +96 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,351.00.OIL opens at $88.84 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.08 points at low today so far.
Dow +96 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.08 points at low today.
Dow +96 points at high today.

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

Big Sis and NFL Turn Super Bowl Into Police State
Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com February 5, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-and-nfl-turn-super-bowl-into-police-state/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbJd-E8GMpA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVo6HrzwLc&feature=player_embedded

Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano traveled to Arlington, Texas, where the Super Bowl will be held to shill the government’s recently unveiled If You See Something, Say Something propaganda campaign.We are partnering this year with the NFL on our If You See Something, Say Something’ campaign and launching that NFL partnership right here at the Super Bowl, Napolitano said during a press conference on Monday at Cowboy Stadium.The idea is simple, she continued. We are simply asking the American people to be vigilant, recognizing that our security is a shared responsibility that all of us must participate in. If a fan at the Super Bowl or any other American at any other place sees something that is potentially dangerous, then say something about it to local law enforcement or someone in authority.DHS is also working with federal, state, local and private sector partners to support security efforts at the Super Bowl through additional personnel, technology and resources, according to a DHS press release.Public-private partnerships are the very essence of what used to be called fascism.

The DHS trained around 1,200 stadium employees as first observers and the venue has become a high profile showcase for a concerted effort by the government to expand the Gestapo zone concept from airports to stadiums and eventually malls and other public buildings.In these current times you would be shortsighted, really, not to have gone to the nth degree to design security and security equipment and security areas … and this stadium represents that, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, told CNN on Friday.Fans attending the game this weekend can expect the same kind of intrusive procedures they might endure at an airport, including passing through magnetometers and TSA-like pat-downs.Small bags will be searched and jackets will be X-rayed, reports the Kansas City Star. A large number of items will not be allowed in the stadium, including camcorders, tripods, camera cases, binocular cases, umbrellas, strollers, grills, tents, poles, sticks, banners, noisemakers, horns, beach balls, Frisbees, laser lights and pointers, containers of any type, coolers of any size, backpacks, bottles, cans, and hairspray.Such in-your-face control is instrumental to the effort by the government to get us to accept ever increasing intrusive behavior by brutish police goons and other authorities. It is part of an ongoing effort to convince you that the dictates of the state and its phony war on manufactured terrorism negate your private space and personal liberty.

Team vehicles will have have RFID credentials and will be tracked in real-time. Frank Supovitz, NFL senior vice president, told reporters in Texas his organization will use GPS to track cars, limos, and buses that will be carrying teams, officials, and VIPs. Credentials will be checked against a database pre-loaded with names and photos.Jones said the stadium has perches for snipers. Video cameras will record every inch of the stadium. During the game the airspace for a 30-mile radius over the stadium will be restricted and patrolled by NORAD fighter jets.Private-public relationships. Mussolini defined such arrangements as fascism.Bomb-sniffing dogs, gun-toting police and cops trained to detect suspicious behavior are part of the TSA teams already deployed on the region’s DART transit system, according to CNN.

National Nuclear Security Administration teams will move through Arlington with equipment to detect radioactive isotopes of the sort emitted by a dirty bomb. Debbie Wilber of the NNSA said the administration’s sensors picked up 10 hits at the 2010 Super Bowl. It turned out the hits had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or Muslims who hate us for our freedom to watch football – they were the result of nuclear medicine.
We have 10 bomb squads and federal agencies involved in this endeavor, Stephen Lea, assistant fire marshal with the Arlington Fire Department, told Discovery News. The government has gone over the top in its effort to exploit the Super Bowl and use it as a showcase for its emerging police state – additional resources that will be available include: chemical and biological detection devices, bomb-retrieving robots, high-tech weaponry, and even a small unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a camera capable of flying inside the stadium.The bomb-retrieving robots are made by the Northrup Grumman robotics company Remotec. One of the robots, known as the Andros F5, is sturdy enough to pull a trailer hitch and is studded with with cameras, microphones and two-way communication.There will be huge Big Brother telescreens at the game displaying DHS propaganda. Government PSAs are also now prominently displayed at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and on the local DART transit system.In its story on Big Sis and the Super Bowl, CNN mentioned the Tucson shooting and a string of absurd homegrown terror incidents provocateured by the FBI. These sensationalistic events are crucial to the propaganda campaign designed to get us accustomed to ever increasing intrusions by the state and sell us on the ridiculous idea that al-Qaeda will strike at any moment.The DHS If You See Something, Say Something campaign is the centerpiece of the latest push to turn America into a high-tech police and Stasi snoop state.

From the DHS press release cited above:Over the past six months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the If You See Something, Say Something campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and expand and enhance the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DHS—to communities throughout the country. The If You See Something, Say Something campaign has recently been launched in Minnesota and New Jersey, as well as to more than 9,000 federal buildings nationwide, Walmart, Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the sports and general aviation industries, and state and local fusion centers across the country.Last month we reported on the DHS effort to convert Walt-marts around the country into Stasi snoop zones. As noted above, the DHS plans to expand this program to Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the sports and general aviation industries.We now know how that expansion will manifest itself – with Americans at every level of society being trained that activities such as using cash, not having a credit card, taking pictures or video footage, asking questions, and wearing certain items of clothing are all suspicious and should be reported, while being coerced into living in constant fear of terror, when in reality they are more likely to die from peanut allergies, lightning strikes, or accident-causing deer than terrorist attacks, Paul Joseph Watson noted on January 20.

Sneh: A Connection Between Egypt and Gaza Would Be Dangerous
by Elad Benari FEB 7,11

Former Deputy Defense Minister, Dr. Efraim Sneh, said on Sunday that a connection between a new administration in Egypt and the Gaza Strip could be dangerous for Israel and the IDF must prepare for this option.Sneh, who spoke to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website, said that he is convinced that the riots in Egypt will bring about a regime change. The regime as we know it now will be no more, he said and added: No matter which regime takes over, its level of commitment to the peace agreements with Israel will be lower.Sneh emphasized that he believes a real military confrontation is a remote possibility that he himself does not think is currently an issue, but nevertheless it must be kept in mind that Egypt will not be as it was before.He added that the IDF should prepare out of this assumption. However, he emphasized that does not accept the claims that have been made that Israel erred in signing the peace treaty with Egypt. If we sat today in the Sinai many good things would not be happening, and on the other hand we would not cause whatever is occurring in Egypt not to happen. We have changed our position in the Middle East,he said.

As for the security changes that may occur in the south, Sneh said that the main concern is that a new Egyptian government would allow the Hamas movement in Gaza to easily arm itself. He estimated that replacing the Egyptian government will allow a very disturbing flow of weapons into Gaza. However he noted that in his view,Egypt will not use Gaza and Hamas against Israel. It would be bad enough if it would allow Hamas to arm themselves.Sneh added that these security concerns in southern Israel require the acceleration of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, which he believes would ultimately create a moderate Arab axis against the radical axis being created in the south. Sneh, who was a member of the Labor Party, added that in his opinion Israel should withdraw from Judea and Samaria, since, as he claimed, there is no longer any international legitimacy to our control in Judea and Samaria. However, he also stressed that what is important in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority is the establishment of a moderate liberal state and not one that would invite a coup. In order to do this, he says, Israel must take care to strengthen and to establish the Arab state's economy because citizens who are satisfied do not start revolutions.Sneh’s comments come as the radical Muslim Brotherhood took a giant step towards becoming a powerful force on Israel’s southern border on Sunday, after it began negotiations with Cairo's newly-appointed vice president Omar Suleiman.Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam el-Erian made it clear that the group’s joining negotiations does not mean that it is backing down from its demand that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

11 Million Shekels for Nucleus Groups that Save Towns
by Gil Ronen FEB 6,11

The Cabinet decided Sunday to allot 11 million shekels to nucleus groups ("garinim") that settle in towns and communities that require social and spiritual strengthening. The nucleus groups fall into various categories, including community-based and Torah-based.Nucleus groups are typically made up of individuals and families who volunteer to settle communally in a disadvantaged location and assist it by becoming part of the local social fabric. In the case of Torah-based groups, the volunteers are usually several dozen young religious-Zionist couples, who settle in a community that is in danger of losing its Jewish character and make it their home for several years - or sometimes, for good.The budget for the nucleus groups will be transferred from several government ministries, including the ministries of education and welfare. The Prime Minister's Office will contribute its share of the funding.The government decision is largely the fruit of the labors of National Union Knesset Member Uri Ariel, who is deeply involved with accompanying nucleus groups throughout Israel. He has played a key role in bringing religious nucleus groups to Akko and Nazareth Illit in recent years. He is currently working on bringing another nucleus group - not necessarily religious - to Nazareth Illit, parts of which have been lost to an Arab 'invasion,' and enlarging the nucleus group in Arad, which is being overrun by African infiltrators.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

France: No More Arms, Riot Gear to Mubarak
by Gil Ronen FEB 6,11

France has suspended the sales of arms and riot police equipment to Egypt, the Paris government stated Saturday. Prime Minister Francois Fillon told AFP the decision was taken by the prime minister's office on Jan. 27 and conveyed to the official bodies concerned on the following day, thus confirming a report by the daily Le Monde.The exportation of explosive riot-control material such as tear gas grenades was halted two days earlier, on the day when rioting against the regime of Hosni Mubarak began. These items are under the responsibility of French customs.AFP explained that the French government recently came under pressure from the socialist opposition for continuing to approve exports of riot control products to Tunisia after the start of the uprising that toppled that country's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Prime Minister Francois Fillon acknowledged that several government ministries had authorized the exports to Tunisia in November and January, but said the exports had not actually taken place, because a committee under the Prime Minister's Office did not grant them final approval.Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie caused controversy in January when she suggested France could train Tunisian police to maintain order more efficiently, following reports that dozens of unarmed protesters were shot dead there.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Egypt VP meets opposition, offers new concessions By SARAH EL DEEB and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press – Sun Feb 6, 8:47 pm ET

CAIRO – Egypt's vice president met with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered sweeping concessions, including granting press freedom and rolling back police powers in the government's latest attempt to try to end nearly two weeks of upheaval.But the opposition leaders held firm to a demand the government rejects: that President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately. And the source of the opposition's sudden power — the youthful protesters filling Cairo's main square — said they weren't even represented at the talks and won't negotiate until Mubarak is gone.None of those who attended represent us,said Khaled Abdul-Hamid, one leader of a new coalition representing at least five youth movements that organized the 13-day-old protests. We are determined to press on until our number one demand is met — the ouster of Mubarak.The regime is retreating, Abdul-Hamid told The Associated Press. It is making more concessions every day.At the same time, there were signs that the paralysis gripping the country since the crisis began was easing Sunday, the first day of Egypt's work week. Some schools reopened for the first time in more than a week, and so did banks — though for only three hours, with long lines outside. A night curfew remains, and tanks continue to ring the city's central square and guard government buildings, embassies and other important institutions.Since protests began Jan. 25, the 82-year-old Mubarak has pledged not to seek another term in elections to be held in September. The government promised that his son Gamal, who had widely been expected to succeed him, will not do so. Mubarak appointed a vice president — Omar Suleiman — for the first time since he took office three decades ago. He sacked his Cabinet, named a new one and promised reforms. And on Saturday, the top leaders of the ruling party, including Gamal Mubarak, were purged.

Sunday brought another concession that would have been unimaginable just a month ago in this tightly controlled country: Suleiman's meeting with opposition groups including the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed since 1954 but is the ruling party's largest rival.Egypt's opposition — essentially banned by the government for decades — has long been hampered by a lack of cohesiveness. Sunday's talks could be a sign the government is trying to divide and conquer as it tries to placate protesters without giving in to their chief demand.Mubarak is insisting he cannot stand down now or it would only deepen the chaos in his country. The protesters, skeptical of a regime they blame for repression, corruption and widespread poverty, vow to maintain their pressure until Mubarak leaves.The United States gave key backing to the regime's gradual changes on Saturday, after President Barack Obama signaled more strongly that it was time for Mubarak to leave. On Sunday, speaking to Fox News ahead of the Super Bowl football broadcast, Obama said he would not be drawn into predicting when Mubarak would leave office.Only he knows what he's going to do, Obama said.Obama said he hopes to see a representative government emerge and played down concerns that Egypt could become hostile to U.S. interests if the Muslim Brotherhood becomes the dominant political force.I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt, Obama said. They don't have majority support.The Brotherhood and another group that attended Sunday's talks said afterward that they were only a first step in a dialogue which has yet to meet their central demand for Mubarak's immediate ouster.

I think Mubarak will have to stop being stubborn by the end of this week because the country cannot take more million strong protests, said Brotherhood representative Essam el-Erian.Suleiman, who is leading the government's management of the crisis, offered a series of new concessions, saying the government would no longer hamper freedom of press and won't interfere with text messaging or the Internet.He proposed setting up a committee of judiciary and political figures to study proposed constitutional reforms that would allow more candidates to run for president and impose term limits on the presidency, the state news agency reported. The committee was given until the first week of March to finish the tasks.The offer included a pledge not to harass those participating in anti-government protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands at the biggest rallies. One of the biggest fears of protesters is that if Mubarak or his close confidant Suleiman remain in power, they will exact revenge for the humiliating demonstrations by rounding up protesters and torturing them. Many protesters have reported seeing undercover security forces in the crowds every day, photographing the demonstrators with cell phone cameras.

Suleiman's offer to eventually lift emergency laws with a major caveat — when security permits — would fulfill a longtime demand by the opposition. The laws were imposed by Mubarak when he took office in 1981 and they have been in force ever since. They give police far-reaching powers for detention and suppression of civil and human rights.Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry hailed the talks with opposition groups and the promise to remove the emergency law as frankly quite extraordinary. Kerry called on Mubarak to lay out a timetable for transition and new elections.He must step aside gracefully, and begin the process of transition to a caretaker government. I believe that is happening right now, Kerry told NBC's Meet the Press. What's needed now is a clarity in this process.Suleiman also offered to open an office that would field complaints about political prisoners, according to the state news agency. He promised measures to fight corruption and to prosecute those responsible for the unexplained disappearance of police from Cairo's streets more than a week ago. And the government agreed to set up a committee including independent figures and members of the youth movement to monitor the honest implementation of all the new agreements.Some prominent figures from Egypt's elite have suggested that there is a deliberate attempt by the regime to cling to power by offering just enough to satisfy some established opposition groups like the Brotherhood.

Abouel Ela Madi, an ex-Brotherhood member, said the regime hopes to draw the group away from the other protesters.If the regime manages to influence the Brotherhood, it will have a shattering effect. A bulk of the protesters belong to the Brotherhood and thus their talks might play a negative role in foiling the completion of the revolution, he said. I hope they don't make this mistake.Of all the opposition groups that met with Suleiman, the Brotherhood stands to gain the most. There have been no known discussions between the group and the regime at this level since Mubarak took power in 1981.The Brotherhood won 20 percent of parliament's seats in 2005 by fielding candidates as independents, but thousands of its members were arrested in crackdowns over the past decade and it failed to win a single seat last year in elections that were marred by fraud.The Brotherhood's potential rise is a key concern of the U.S. and Israel, countries that have depended on Mubarak as an ally in the Arab world. The Brotherhood aims to create an Islamic state in Egypt but insists it would not rescind Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and would not take hardline measures such as forcing women to cover up in public.The Brotherhood did not organize or lead the protests currently under way. It ordered its supporters to take part a few days after they began, sensing that the protesters, mostly young men and women using social networks on the Internet to mobilize, were able to sustain their momentum. Now the Brotherhood's followers appear to be growing in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising.Suleiman and Mubarak have both blamed the Brotherhood for fomenting the unrest, which turned violent for a time early last week when Mubarak supporters tried to push protesters out of the square. But opening talks with the Brotherhood is a tacit recognition by the regime of its role in the ongoing protests as well as its wide popular base.Along with the Muslim Brotherhood, a number of smaller leftist, liberal groups also attended, according to footage shown on state television. Most are little-known groups that were around before the protests began.

Mohammed Mursi, a member of the Brotherhood who attended the talks, said a second round of talks is expected within a few days.Some of the youthful supporters of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and one of the country's leading democracy advocates, were among those who participated. However, ElBaradei himself was not invited and his brother said the statement by those who did attend does not represent his personal view. ElBaradei is among those refusing to talk to representatives of Mubarak until he steps down.The process is opaque, ElBaradei told NBC's Meet the Press.Nobody knows who is talking to whom at this stage.Protesters in Tahrir Square numbered in the thousands Sunday morning and swelled steadily to tens of thousands by the late afternoon. Many were exhausted and wounded from fighting to stand their ground for more than a week. Hundreds performed the noon prayers and later offered a prayer for the souls of protesters killed in clashes with security forces. Later, Christians held a Sunday Mass and thousands of Muslims joined in.

Some of the worshippers broke down and cried as the congregation sang: Bless our country, listen to the screams of our hearts.In the name of Jesus and Muhammad we unify our ranks, Father Ihab al-Kharat said in his sermon. We will keep protesting until the fall of the tyranny.Elsewhere in this city of some 18 million people, life took a few steps toward normalcy. Traffic was close to regular levels and more stores reopened, including some on the streets leading to Tahrir Square. Protesters greeted some store owners and people returning to work with flowers.Associated Press reporter Salah Nasrawi contributed to this report from Cairo.