DUTCH CHRISTIANS GIVE BOOK TO ISRAEL

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

MEPs decry breach of trust in EU-US data deal
VALENTINA POP 16.03.2011 @ 18:55 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - With the EU's police agency Europol rubberstamping bank data requests from the US and following 'oral orders' from American investigators, MEPs have warned they may block future data transfer deals with the US.After reluctantly having given our consent to this agreement, we feel betrayed in reading this report, since it's also about the credibility of the European Parliament and the EU itself, German Liberal MEP Alexander Alvaro said during a parliamentary hearing on Wednesday (16 March).Earlier on, Isabel Cruz, the chairwoman of Europol's supervisory board presented the findings of an inspection report casting serious doubts about the usefulness of the agency checking data requests from the US.Oral explanations which inspectors could not verify and data requests too broad to be properly judged against the proportionality criterion are the main causes for concern.Europol has a role which is extremely confused. We always said it had to be a judicial body verifying the legality of data requests, not a police co-operation agency, Cruz said, in defence of the Hague-based agency.Added at the insistence of MEPs themselves when re-negotiating the agreement they first struck down, Europol had to grapple with procedural rules and when asking the EU commission for clarifications on specific provisions of the agreement, it got the reply that the commission cannot interpret the agreement.It's clear Europol has violated what we asked them to do. If it gave its okay to very broad data requests, it dis something wrong, Greek Socialist MEP Stavros Lambrinidis said.

He added that he personally opposed the Europol being given such a role, but the pressure from the US was too big.This report shows obviously there are infringements which no EU court would accept. The conclusion would be to cancel the agreement, said German Green MEP Jan Philipp Albrecht.Supporters of the EU-US deal also slammed the findings of the Europol report.It's our own institutions, not the US, that fail to provide us with the information we need. We want reassurances the data protection rules are being enforced,British Conservative MEP Timothy Kirhhope said. Initially set up as a covert program following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks on the US, the so-called Swift agreement was struck down in February last year when MEPs found there were too few data protection provisions. They later on agreed to an amended deal, which included the Europol provision.EUobserver understands that the agreement could be suspended, but MEPs would be reluctant to call for this since the non-compliance issues lie on the EU side, not the US. A final decision is also pending a report due to be published on Thursday by the EU commission about the implementation of the agreement six months after its coming into force.

Dutch Christians Give Book to Yesha Leaders, Show Solidarity
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 16,11

Members of the International Board of Dutch-based Christians for Israel (CFl) met with Jewish leaders from communities in Judea and Samaria, on Tuesday. The event was hosted by Christian Friends of Israeli Communities (CFOIC Heartland).The two Christian groups have been politically active for many years on behalf of Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. Two years ago, CFI published a photo book entitled Judea and Samaria in Dutch and today, launched the English translation of the book, which will be marketed to Christians all over the world. The book includes photographs of views and communities throughout Judea and Samaria, alongside verses from Jewish scriptures which relate to the places shown.CFI representatives from all over the world gathered in Israel this week for their annual international board meeting, dedicating the day to the subject of Judea and Samaria. After a lecture on the region from a biblical perspective by Yossi Maimon, a tour guide, the group visited the Nahalat Binyamin Winery, and then visited special needs children in Ofra.

The main event was a meeting between CFI representatives and Yesha leaders, which organizers described as powerful and moving. Yesha leaders in attendance included: Rabbi Natan Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva of Bat Ayin; Naftali Bennett, Head of Yesha Council; Hananel Durani, Mayor of Kedumim; Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Machon Zomet; Mr. Oded Revivi, Mayor of Efrat; and Moshe Goldsmith, Chairman of the Itamar Local Council.CFOIC director Sondra Oster Baras opened the meeting by introducing the leaders to one another, after which Dr. Pinchas Gerber, head of the social services department, shared his experiences over the past few days in Itamar, as he and his staff have been working intensively with the families after the heinous terrorist attack on Friday night.During the meeting Rev. Henk Poot and photographer Theo Hornemann presented their book, Judea and Samaria, to Yesha leaders as a symbol of solidarity with Jewish residents in those regions. Poot said, The Land of Israel belongs to the Jews, to the Chosen People to the People of G-d. We are here to help the Jewish nation, throughout the Land of Israel. We are witness, with our own eyes, to the return of the Jewish nation to its land and draw encouragement and understanding of the spiritual meaning of these events from the words of Rabbi Kook.

Theo Hornemann explained the raison d'etre behind the book:This book was our initiative, Henk’s and mine, to find an effective and passionate way to communicate the message of the communities in Judea and Samaria to Christians all over the world. We wanted them to see the pictures so that they would see that the source of the Jewish right to this land is from the Bible.Naftali Bennett accepted the book on behalf of residents of Judea and Samaria: We are dealing with great difficulties. We know how to conduct wars and we will overcome the terrorist threat. But the real battle today is one of public relations. Throughout the world, we are accused of being war criminals and our very right to exist in this land is called into question. We need you to help wage this battle.Baras closed the event with a prayer that the murderous attack in Itamar would be the last attack, and that peace and tranquility would reign in Israel, alongside international recognition of Jewish rights to all of Israel. We, you and I, share the belief that the Land of Israel belongs to the Jewish people because we see the Tanach as the living word of G-d. Thank you for standing with us.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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
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HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU MAR 17,2011

09:30 AM +2.70
10:00 AM +125.07
10:30 AM +164.58
11:00 AM +153.82
11:30 AM +130.56
12:00 PM +136.61
12:30 PM +148.91
01:00 PM +144.82
01:30 PM +107.24
02:00 PM +108.00
02:30 PM +124.31
03:00 PM +150.50
03:30 PM +129.65
04:00 PM +161.29 11,774.59

S&P 500 1273.72 +16.84

NASDAQ 2636.05 +19.23

GOLD 1,403.60 +7.50

OIL 101.41 +3.43

TSE 300 13,746.20 +221.30

CDNX 2189.36 +57.98

S&P/TSX/60 793.33 +12.75

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +138 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -0.20 points at low today.
Dow +140 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,401.00.OIL opens at $99.88 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.20 points at low today so far.
Dow +187 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.20 points at low today.
Dow +187 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,444.00 (NOT AT CLOSE)

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.

Former UK air chief wary of Libya air strikes-ANDREW RETTMAN
16.03.2011 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Lord Stirrup, a former British air chief, has warned that the UK and France need a clear objective on what to do with Colonel Gaddafi before launching air strikes on Libya.Speaking to EUobserver by phone on Wednesday (16 March) ahead of a UN Security Council vote on Libya in New York, Lord Stirrup, who commanded the British air force from 2003 to 2006, said: Before you start using military force you need to know what is the objective. Is it the removal of Gaddafi? If Yes, then clearly a no-fly zone is just one element in a long list of other elements. If it's to protect Libyan civilians, I would say: From what? For how long?As far as I can see there is no consensus, not even a growing body of opinion within international circles, not even within the EU, about what the objective would actually be,he added.Lord Stirrup noted that that any massacre of civilians in the rebel stronghold of Benghazi would likely be carried out by Gaddafi ground forces, which could not be stopped with air strikes alone.You couldn't intervene very successfully from the air. You could only intervene decisively on the ground. But then you are getting drawn into someone else's civil war ... What if there is a long-term stand-off between the east and west of Libya? Are we to engage in a long-term no-fly zone as we did with Iraq? he noted.

You must never go into these things thinking plan A is going to work. You need to think through what we call the branches and sequels, he explained.You have to have a clear legal basis from the international community which extends to details such as rules of engagement and how many casualties we are prepared to accept. You owe this to people if you are going to ask them to use lethal force.The retired pilot, who saw active service in the Dhofar War in Oman in the 1970s, also warned that Libya has an unknown quantity of Russian-made shoulder-launched (SAM)-7 surface-to-air missiles, which can shoot down jets below 15,000 feet.It's not a show-stopper, but it's a significant risk,he said.A French military source, who asked not be named, said the Libyan air-force itself would not pose a threat.Libya currently has just one active French-made Mirage jet, around 30 antiquated Russian Su 22 fighters, a handful of Russian Mig 23 planes most of which are too old to fly and some attack helicopters. They also have French-made Crotale anti-aircraft missiles but the French military can activate switches to jam the rockets.The French contact said the UK and France would need to destroy Libyan radar and anti-aircraft stations and to keep two jets, such as Mirage 2000 or Rafale fighters, in the air over Libya 24 hours a day to impose a no-fly zone.The planes could be launched from the Sigonella base in Sicily, from Malta or from the Solenzara base in Corsica. They would need support from AWACS planes and anti-aircraft frigates to jam Libyan signals, as well as re-fuelling aircraft.

Ambassadors from the 15-member UN Security Council will in New York on Wednesday debate and potentially vote on a joint British-French-Lebanese proposal on military intervention in Libya.The draft resolution, seen by EUobserver: Decides to establish a ban on all flights in the airspace of the Libyan Arab Jamahariya in order to help protect civilians ... [and] authorises member states to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban.At least nine Council members need to back the text and none of the five veto-wielding powers must oppose it in order for it to get through.Council members Germany and China (a veto power) have spoken out against air strikes. Italy is not a Council member, but its foreign minister, Franco Frattini, earlier on Wednesday told the Italian senate that: The international community should not and in my opinion does not want to take military action.One EU diplomat said that with Colonel Gaddafi rapidly advancing on Benghazi and with no possibility to get a no-fly zone in place before the end of March in logistical terms, the Anglo-British UN push is only a warning to Gaddafi to show restraint.France believes the UN resolution would give it the green light to launch targeted strikes against Gaddafi targets immediately, however.It also believes that Italy is opposed to intervention on the ground, but not from the air.We can neutralise its air assets in targeted strikes ... several Arab countries have assured us they would participate, French foreign minister Alain Juppe wrote in his blog on Wednesday.For his part, Colonel Gaddafi in a pugnacious speech to supporters in Tripoli on Tuesday taunted the French. Strike Libya? ... We'll be the one who strikes you. We struck you in Algeria, in Vietnam, he said, Reuters reports.His son, Saif al-Islam, in an interview with the Euronews TV channel on Wednesday said he will publish records showing that Gaddafi money funded French President Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 election campaign.

Poland to use 1989 revolution as lesson for Arab countries
ANDREW RETTMAN 16.03.2011 @ 09:27 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Poland is to use lessons learned from its 1989 revolution against Communism to help spread democracy in the Arab world during its upcoming EU presidency.Warsaw had originally aimed to concentrate on political reform in the EU's post-Soviet neighbours in the east. But a new draft programme for its six months at the EU helm adopted by the government on Tuesday (15 March) and seen by EUobserver notes that events in north Africa and the Middle East are forcing it to change priorities.Thanks to the rich experience of its own, successful political and economic transformation, Poland can bring a lot to this debate and furnish practical help for the new governments in north African countries, the paper says.In one example, Polish foreign minister Radek Sikorski is re-working plans to create a new EU foundation to help dissidents in countries such as Belarus. An international conference in December on the Sikorski project will now be devoted to supporting transformational processes in north Africa instead.The Polish government is also keen to craft a long-term complex strategy for EU relations with the Arab world, containing mechanisms to support persecuted minorities, including Christians.With deadly violence in Bahrain on Tuesday opening a new front in the Gulf states, a Polish diplomat noted that the programme is likely to see more changes in the next three months.We are only half-way through the Hungarian presidency. We will know the final Polish priorities when the government presents them to the EU Council and the European Parliament in July,he said.The provisional Polish calendar still leans toward the east rather than the south despite the political preamble.

Poland aims to hold a summit (date to be confirmed) and a foreign-minister-level meeting (in December) with the six post-Soviet countries covered by the EU's Eastern Partnership policy. Six other high-level meetings in Warsaw and Krakow will look to EU-Eastern Partner integration in tourism, phytosanitary standards, statistical reporting, infrastructure, the economy and migration.On Russia, Poland hopes to make some progress on signing a new EU-Russia treaty, but makes no mention of concluding the pact.On the Balkans, it aims to sign the accession treaty with Croatia and to hold an EU home affairs ministers meeting in Ohrid, Macedonia, in September. Rising ethnic tensions in the country are threatening to undo the Ohrid Agreement peace treaty of 2001.Poland's other top priorities will be energy security and the EU economy, with little mention of previous plans on EU military integration.The paper states that: If Europe is to become competitive on the global scale, it cannot focus only on paying back debts, it must also act decisively on growth.It predicts that average EU economic growth in 2011 will be 2 percent but that some member states will stay in recession while others get richer. It adds that: Our societies are ageing and the current model of the welfare state must change.One pet Polish project will be to help the European Commission set up a 28th legal regime for online transactions to stand alongside the 27 member states' existing laws in the area. A classic example [of existing problems] is the inability of Polish citizens to ... buy products on iTunes. In the opinion of the Polish presidency liquidating barriers in online trade could - by the year 2020 - generate an extra four percent for the EU's GDP.The first EU summit on the Polish watch is to take place in Brussels on 14 September. The last one will be in the EU capital on 9 December.

Jihadi Cosmo To Give Beauty Tips, Bombing Advice
by Gavriel Queenann MAR 16,11

Single Islamic Girl Seeking Harem, Good Looks, and Slick Bombing Techniques.Or so Al-Qaeda, now launching the glossy Al-Shamikha ['majestic woman'] Magazine, mixing tips for more fetching hijabs and bloodier streets, envisions the young Muslim women in the West. Given the sobriquet Jihad Cosmo, the 31-page first issue features a front cover with the barrel of a sub-machine gun next to a veiled woman.Al-Samikha's first editorial defines its purpose as educating women and involving them in the war against the enemies of Islam.Because women constitute half of the population, the editorial tells readers, and one might even say that they are the population since they give birth to the next generation - the enemies of Islam are bent on preventing the Muslim woman from knowing the truth about her religion and her role, since they know all too well what would happen if women entered the field of jihad.The nation of Islam needs women who know the truth about their religion and about the battle and its dimensions and know what is expected of them.

The magazine contains exclusive interviews with terrorist martyrs widows praising their husbands' decision to die murdering others, and marriage tips for young women seeking to marry mujaheddin [holy warriors]. Prospective readers are told it is their moral duty to give their lives for jihad, and raise children ready to do the same.From martyrdom, the believer will gain security, safety, and happiness, Al-Samikha tells readers without explaining how these benefits will be useful to readers no longer alive to purchase future issues of the magazine.The beauty column instructs women to cloister themselves indoors, with faces covered to keep a clear complexion. And, not to go out except when necessary, and then only in niqab to reap the rewards of complying with the will of Allah Almighty.More traditional women-zine content features the merits of honey face masks, etiquette, first aid, and avoiding toweling too forcibly.Al-Samikha is being distributed online by the Al-Qaeda media group behind Inspire, a similar magazine encouraging young Muslims in the West to commit terrorist atrocities. James Brandon of the anti-extremism think tank Quilliam told the Daily Mail: Al-Qaeda sees how effective magazines are at pushing the ideals of western culture and wants to try the same thing.The next issue will contain tips on skin care - and how to wage electronic jihad. (IsraelNationalNews.com)

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.

For Japan tsunami survivors, woes keep mounting
By Chang-Ran Kim – Wed Mar 16, 7:48 pm ET

OTSUCHI, Japan (Reuters) – Nearly a week after their home town was annihilated in a catastrophic tsunami, the 1,000-plus survivors of the small Japanese fishing town of Otsuchi are hanging by a thread.With no water or electricity, and scant food, survivors keep each other company at one of three emergency shelters on the outskirts of what remains of the town. You can't wash your hands or face, says 72-year-old Katsu Sawayama, seated in the middle of the high school gymnasium, the biggest of the shelters in a town where more than half the 17,000 residents are still missing.Adding to their woes, an unseasonal snowstorm sent temperatures plunging to below zero and blanketed acres of tsunami debris in white.While international attention has been focused on Japan's efforts to stop damage at a quake-hit nuclear power plant from spiraling out of control, a massive salvage and rescue operation has slowly been gathering steam.Scores of villages, hamlets and towns lining Japan's northeast coast were flattened by tsunami waves that rolled in minutes after Friday's 9.0 magnitude earthquake.While the official toll stands at less than 5,000, thousands more are listed as missing and the final tally is likely to soar.About 850,000 households in the north were still without electricity in near-freezing weather, Tohuku Electric Power Co. said, while the government said at least 1.5 million households lacked running water.Like tens of thousands of people along Japan's northeast coast, the Otsuchi survivors have nowhere else to go. Meals are barely enough to sustain them -- half a rice ball and a small bowl of miso soup is a luxury; a slice of bread might have to feed a family of three.Whatever they give us, we just gratefully receive. At least they're feeding us three times a day, said Sayawama.

RADIATION FEARS DETRACT FROM OTHER PROBLEMS

International experts say that panic over fears of radiation leaks from the Daiichi nuclear plant could detract from problems likely to affect survivors of the quake and tsunami, such as the cold, access to clean water and getting enough food.People are getting so concerned about what are at the moment pretty low levels of radiation, said Dr Richard Wakeford of Britain's University of Manchester, but the real problems ... are in dealing with the earthquake and the tsunami.If this was a developing country, we'd have people going down in their hundreds and thousands with the likes of typhoid and cholera by now. The questions should be: Where is the sewage going? What is the state of the drinking water? If I were a public health official, that would be my principle concern.Ayumi Yamazaki, 21, is already concerned and worries her 1-1/2-year-old daughter is not getting enough to eat.We rarely get to eat rice, so I'm a little concerned, she said, but it's better than not eating at all.Maths teacher, Naoshi Moriya, volunteering at the evacuation site's make-shift logistics office, says he's worried that it is only a matter of time before food runs out.Despite the privations there's a sense of order in the evacuation center. In late afternoon, a neat queue forms in one hallway of the refuge shelter for men under 60 years old to collect clean undergarments sent in through charity. Long-sleeve undergarments are reserved for the elderly, a volunteer who lost her home says, apologizing to one man.Outside help is slowly and sparingly arriving. A Self Defense Forces truck carrying a fresh supply of water arrived late afternoon on Wednesday, and two Red Cross teams arrived for the first time to treat patients.It's cold today so many people have fallen ill, getting diarrhea and other symptoms,said Takanori Watanabe, a Red Cross doctor from Himeji, western Japan. He says 80 people queued up when they arrived.Elsewhere there were signs of human touches.Two soldiers picked through the rubble and placed personal effects such as photographs in a box so that survivors might be able to reclaim cherished memories.
They belong to someone. You never know,said one.(Editing by Andrew Marshall)

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.

Magnitude 5.3 quake shakes Chile, no damage seen
– Wed Mar 16, 7:17 pm ET

SANTIAGO (Reuters) – A magnitude 5.3 earthquake rattled central Chile on Wednesday, shaking buildings in the capital Santiago, but there were no reports of any damage or injuries, the government said.The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake struck 45 miles north-northeast of the central Chilean port city of Valparaiso, at a depth of 15.3 miles.Reuters witnesses said buildings swayed in Santiago, 75 miles miles to the east.There are no reports of any damage or injuries, a spokeswoman for state emergency office Onemi told Reuters.Quake-prone Chile's economy is still recovering from a massive 8.8 magnitude earthquake a year ago, which hammered towns, infrastructure and industries in south-central Chile and killed more than 500 people.

Japanese stocks open down; Nikkei off 3.6 percent
MAR 16,11

TOKYO – Japanese shares fell again Thursday amid jitters over the nation's nuclear crisis, erasing a portion of the gains from a post-quake rally.The benchmark Nikkei 225 shed 4.1 percent to 8,721.88 points. That wiped out a portion of gains from Wednesday's rally, which followed a sharp plunge in prices. Japan's devastating earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis last week triggered widespread selling, wiping out all of the stock market's gains this year.In currency markets, the U.S. dollar fell to a record low against Japan's yen as companies sold dollar-denominated assets to raise Japanese currency for earthquake recoverty efforts.The post-quake plunge prompted extraordinary government efforts to reassure investors and keep markets functioning to support recovery. Japan's central bank has pumped 26.5 trillion yen ($326 billion) into money markets and the Tokyo exchange's president publicly appealed for calm.Growing uncertainty over the nuclear plant really spooked investors, promoting them to adjust positions and buy back the yen, said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd.Foreign investors continued to dump stocks on growing fears over the nuclear accidents. Also investors are worried that the quake and the nuclear disaster could surely dent economic growth.The index had shed more than 1,600 points, or 16 percent, Monday and Tuesday as worries over the nuclear crisis triggered widespread selling.

Tokyo blames yen spike on speculators, G7 to discuss crisis
By Tetsushi Kajimoto - MAR 16,11

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japanese officials blamed the yen's surge to a record high on speculators and kept markets on alert for a possible intervention ahead of Group of Seven talks later on Thursday about steps to calm financial markets roiled by Japan's deepening nuclear crisis.The yen spiked to a record high against the dollar, while shares in Japan and elsewhere in Asia fell on Thursday after U.S. officials said the risk of a catastrophic radiation leak from an earthquake-crippled Japanese nuclear plant was rising.The Japanese currency bolted higher amid speculation Japanese insurers would have to repatriate funds to pay for massive claims following Friday's 9.0 magnitude quake and the devastating tsunami that ravaged Japan's northeast.But Japan's Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Economy Minister Kaoru Yosano and other officials dismissed such talk and said speculation, not fund flows, was responsible for the currency's surge, which threatens to add further pressure on the quake-hit economy.Market moves have been nervous amid speculation while trade has been thin, Noda told reporters. I will be closely watching market moves today.

Noda declined to comment on a possibility of a currency market intervention to weaken the yen, but markets interpret reminders about monitoring currency moves as a warning that the authorities could step in if they thought the yen was moving too rapidly.While government officials were stepping up their verbal intervention, the Bank of Japan continued to pump massive amounts of cash into the money market to make sure it would not seize up, with the latest offer of 5 trillion yen coming on top of 28 trillion yen offered in same-day funds earlier this week.Group of Seven sources told Reuters that G7 finance officials would discuss later on Thursday what to do to calm global financial markets after Friday's earthquake, tsunami and a subsequent nuclear crisis wiped hundreds of billions of dollars off global stock markets.A senior Japanese finance ministry official told reporters G7 finance ministers would hold a conference call and discuss, among other issues, Japan's disaster and currency market.However, there is not that much that finance chiefs can do given that the market rout is largely driven by uncertainty over how the crisis at Japan's quake-crippled nuclear power plant will play out.

Operators of the Fukushima plant 240 km north of Tokyo again deployed military helicopters on Thursday in a bid to douse overheating reactors, amid growing fears that the crisis could spin out of control.The yen had risen 4 percent against the dollar to 76.25 yen on trading platform EBS, breaching a previous record high of 79.75 set on April 19, 1995. It later bounced back to trade around 79.60 to the dollar in choppy trade.It's mayhem out there, said one trader at an Australian bank in Sydney. The yen's been moving a big figure a second on occasions. A lot of people are crying out for the central banks to step in.Some currency strategists said the fact that the yen spiked in late New York trade suggested that Japanese officials were right and the surge was driven by speculation rather than significant fund flows.Given that time zone in which the yen's rise took place, it would be speculators that bought the yen this morning, and not much-talked repatriation by Japanese insurers, said Koji Fukaya, chief strategist at Credit Suisse.Seeking to put speculation of fund repatriation to rest, economy minister Yosano told reporters the amount of quake-related claims that Japanese insurers faced was less than 500 billion yen ($6 billion) and they had ample funds for payouts at home.The disaster struck just as Japan's economy was just picking up after shrinking in the last quarter of 2010. The yen's surge is likely to put further pressure on the country's exporters, many of which have had to shut plants in the northeast due to a lack of power or quake damage.Economists estimate the total cost of disaster relief and reconstruction could reach as much as 16 trillion yen ($200 billion), nearly 4 percent of gross domestic product.

Some warn that the world's-third largest economy could slip back into recession even if it should experience a growth spurt later in the year thanks to massive amounts spent on rebuilding of buildings, factories and infrastructure. Japan's Nikkei fell more than 3 percent in early trade, with big exporters such as tech company Kyocera and car maker Honda Motor taking the most points off the index. The market later recovered some ground as the yen pulled back.Benchmark 10-year Japanese government bond futures jumped 0.51 point to 140.23, but dropped later alongside the yen's retreat.(Additional reporting by Leika Kihara; Writing by Tomasz Janowski; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Tokyo bourse rejects calls for halt, to keep markets open
MAR 16,11

TOKYO/NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Tokyo Stock Exchange and Japanese financial regulators plan to keep markets open despite a report that some foreign financial institutions are calling for Japan's stock market to halt trading.The Nikkei news agency said officials from more than 10 non-Japanese financial firms held a conference call on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the situation in Japan, where markets have been rocked by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster over the past week.Some participants called for the market to be closed immediately, Nikkei reported, citing people familiar with the discussion.The report said that foreign firms were looking for a trading halt because the market was experiencing too much volatility, but did not elaborate.The exchange plans no changes to its day-to-day operations, Tokyo Stock Exchange spokeswoman Yukari Hozumi told Reuters on Thursday.

We are open as normal today, and will be tomorrow. We have absolutely no plan to shorten hours or halt trading, Hozumi added.Japan's stock market tumbled in the first two days of trading after an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster rocked the country. But on Wednesday, stocks soared on record volumes, despite persistent worries about overheated nuclear reactors and high radiation levels.The benchmark Nikkei index (.N225) was down 2.2 percent in mid-morning trading on Thursday.Mike Cahill, who runs OCC, the U.S. clearinghouse for stock options, said banks might urge the TSE to close down operations if they were understaffed. Reuters has reported that foreign bank employees were racing to leave Japan due to safety concerns.Yet representatives of several U.S. and European banks said they were unaware of any calls to halt trading activity. They noted that much of their trading and brokerage operations are performed online, allowing employees to perform trades on the TSE from off-site locations, such as Hong Kong.HSBC said it is business as usual in Japan,adding that offices and branches in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Yokohama have remained open for business.Representatives for other large, non-Japanese banks also said evoked similar sentiments.CBOE Holdings Inc Chief Executive William Brodsky pointed out that markets in Japan rallied after Tuesday's decline, allowing investors to express their confidence in Japan's ability to recover.When you run markets, you want to keep them open whenever possible, because you don't want to create panic that people who need to get out can't get out, said Brodsky, who was also formerly head of the World Federation of Exchanges.To voluntarily close a market makes no sense.

Exchanges have shut due to extreme circumstances, such as the New York Stock Exchange's closure after the terror attacks on Sept 11, 2001. But even after that disaster, a group of 700 traders from the American Stock Exchange relocated to the Philadelphia floor.So unless it's clear that the nuclear situation is getting worse, there's no reason to stop trading, said Chris Allen, exchanges analyst at Evercore Partners.The TSE's rules allow it to shut down trading if it is possible that brokerages accounting for more than 20 percent of volume cannot do business, Nikkei reported. The prime minister can also halt trading if there's a change of harm to the public good or investor protections, Nikkei reported.The Nikkei report said TSE President Atsushi Saito wasn't prepared to shut the exchange down yet. (Reporting by Lauren Tara LaCapra, additional reporting by Ann Saphir and Jonathan Spicer in Boca Raton, Florida, Timothy Kelly in Tokyo; Writing by Elzio Barreto; Editing by Bernard Orr and Anshuman Daga)

Japan crisis spells jitters for global economy
by Andrew Beatty - MAR 16,11

WASHINGTON (AFP) – Experts are cautiously optimistic that the still-brittle global economy can absorb the shock of Japan's triple disaster, but major risks still loom as the crisis unfolds.As Japan has been ravaged by an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear emergency, economists have appeared confident the world's third largest economy will bounce back and that damage to the global economy will be limited.Many, like Nariman Behravesh, an economist at US-based IHS, predicts a large, but -- probably -- temporary impact on the Japanese economy, and a small impact on the rest of the world.Using previous catastrophes like the 1995 Kobe earthquake as a reference, they expect quake-struck businesses to eventually reopen.Meanwhile tens of billions of dollars will be spent rebuilding homes, factories and infrastructure, sparking a recovery boom.That process, they hope, will be replicated in Japan's links with the world.Japan's most important trading partners -- Australia, China -- will see both the most important near-term drag, and the largest medium-term benefit, said Societe Generale's Michala Marcussen.The prospect of quick economic recovery will be little consolation for the millions whose lives have been turned upside down by the disaster, but will offer some solace for those across the globe who are already worried by high unemployment and rising prices.But as the crisis rumbles on, there are increasing warnings about how spillovers could be felt by consumers and economies across the globe, even without a catastrophic nuclear meltdown.The most immediate problems are being felt in the manufacturing sector.

Japan has long ceased to be the world's factory -- surpassed by China, Indonesia and a host of other emerging countries -- but it is still a crucial part of the global supply chain for everything from cars and computer parts.With 11 nuclear plants shuttered and blackouts predicted until the end of April, a slowdown in Japanese production could quickly turn into a manufacturing bottleneck.People will be surprised by how fast prices will rise, Jesse Toprak, an auto analyst with TrueCar.com told AFP.Toprak predicted that shuttered production could push up the cost of Japanese cars by around $1,000 dollars for some US-sold models by next week, as dealers cut discounts in the face dwindling supply.A lot of this inventory won't last more than a few weeks, if that, Toprak said, citing already high demand for fuel-efficient Japanese vehicles like the Toyota Prius.Meanwhile production on non-Japanese cars could be slowed by a parts shortage.Most vehicles that are made the United States have at least one component if not more that comes from Japan, he said.

Rising oil prices are seen as another conduit for the crisis spreading. Although crude costs have fluctuated in recent days as traders weighted lower short-term demand in Japan, a protracted nuclear crisis could raise demand for oil.On Wednesday oil prices rose by 80 cents a barrel in New York and $2.10 in London, although tension in the Middle East and North Africa also played a role.An oil price shock would lower (global) growth substantially, but probably not cause an outright recession, said analysts at Swiss Re.Policymakers, still chastened by the recent economic downturn, are also focused on preventing fallout in the financial markets -- a now familiar conduit for crises.Japan's central bank has pumped $62 billion into the economy, while the Federal Reserve continued to unfurl a $600 billion in stimulus spending despite a rosier economic outlook at home.When the yen hit a post-war high against the dollar on Wednesday, speculation raged that central banks could intervene to stop a crippling rise in the price of Japan's exports.Still, the major stock markets -- a quick and quantifiable, if frequently imperfect, barometer of the crisis -- have fallen sharply in the last few days.Among other concerns, traders worry that Japanese investors could repatriate cash to Japan, destabilizing markets from Brazil and the United States.Japanese investors have poured cash into Latin America's largest markets, with retail investors estimated to hold around $35 billion in assets in Brazil alone.US bond holders meanwhile have fretted that Japan -- the second largest holder of US debt -- might trim back its $886 billion holdings to pay for rebuilding costs.Any decision to sell US bonds could force the price of borrowing up for the already cash-strapped United States, bring the country a step closer to a fully blown fiscal crisis.For now few economists are making bold predictions about how events will develop without significant caveats.It is still too early to tell what the full impact of the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and growing nuclear crisis on Japan's infrastructure, industrial base and economic growth will be -- let alone the broader global impacts,said Behravesh of IHS.

U.S. berates Bahrain, Gulf allies as tensions spread
By Lin Noueihed - MAR 16,11

MANAMA (Reuters) – The United States said Bahrain was on the wrong track in trying to crush Shi'ite protests in the Sunni-ruled island, rare criticism that highlighted concern the crackdown could ignite a wider regional conflict.Bahraini forces used tanks and helicopters on Wednesday to clear a protest camp set up by youths from the Shi'ite Muslim majority which complains of discrimination by the Sunni royal family. Three police and three protesters were killed.The unrest has brought an influx of troops to Bahrain from fellow Sunni-ruled neighbors Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, who fear the uprising that began last month could play into the hands of non-Arab Shi'ite power Iran.It has also prompted sympathy protests from Shi'ites across the region, including in Saudi Arabia's oil producing east.

Earlier this week, Washington said it understood why Bahrain's Sunni rulers had called in reinforcements. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said force was not the answer.We find what's happening in Bahrain alarming. We think that there is no security answer to the aspirations and demands of the demonstrators, she told CBS. They are on the wrong track.

LIVE BULLETS, PETROL BOMBS

A medical source said dozens of people were taken to Bahrain International Hospital on Wednesday, hit by rubber bullets or shot gun pellets or suffering tear gas inhalation, all weapons used by riot police.One was hit by a live bullet in the clash, in which youths hurled petrol bombs at police.U.S. President Barack Obama called the kings of Saudi Arabia, a strategic ally of Washington in the Middle East, and of Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet and seen as a bulwark against Iranian influence, to urge maximum restraint.Political analysts say the Obama administration, which gave strong support to pro-democracy protests in Egypt and Tunisia, faced a new dilemma as violence in Bahrain appeared to dash hopes for quick political talks.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeff Feltman went to Bahrain on Monday to push for talks to resolve the crisis. The U.S. State Department said on Wednesday he had already left.Gregory Gause, a Gulf expert at the University of Vermont, said Wednesday's events showed the intent was to quash a rebellion rather than restore order to allow political dialogue to resume as Washington has urged.

Iran condemned Bahrain's response to the protests, the worst unrest there since the 1990s, and recalled its ambassador for consultations, Iranian state TV reported.
What has happened is bad, unjustifiable and irreparable,it quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying.On Tuesday Bahrain withdrew its ambassador for consultations to protest at Tehran's criticisms.Saudi Shi'ites held several demonstrations, including one in their main regional center, Qatif, on Wednesday, demanding the release of prisoners and voicing support for Shi'ites in Bahrain, an activist and witnesses said.In Qatif, security shot in the air to disperse the protest, a Saudi Shi'ite activist said. A witness said two police helicopters hovered above the demonstration. People were demanding the withdrawal of the Peninsula force and called on Saudi Arabia to withdraw from Bahrain, the witness said, referring to Gulf states' forces.Leading Saudi Shi'ite cleric Sheikh Hassan al-Saffar voiced dismay over events in Bahrain and a member of parliament from Bahrain's largest Shi'ite opposition group denounced the assault as a war on the Shi'ite community.This is war of annihilation. This does not happen even in wars and this is not acceptable, Abdel Jalil Khalil, the head of Wefaq's 18-member parliament bloc, said. I saw them fire live rounds, in front of my own eyes.A protest called by Bahrain's youth movement, which played a leading role in the protest camp at Pearl roundabout, failed to materialize after the military banned all gatherings and imposed a curfew from 4 p.m. to 4 a.m. across a large swathe of Manama.A Reuters witness saw Bahraini tanks move in the direction of Budaya Street, where the protest was set to take place.

INTERNATIONALISED

Over 60 percent of Bahrainis are Shi'ites. Most say they want only the same treatment as Sunnis and a constitutional monarchy but calls by hardliners for the overthrow of the monarchy have alarmed Sunnis, who fear the unrest serves Iran.
Analysts say the intervention of Sunni-ruled Gulf Arab states in Bahrain might provoke a response from Tehran, which supports Shi'ite groups in Iraq and Lebanon.
This was a major and a dangerous decision because this issue has been internationalized now. There are protests in Iraq, in Iran, in Lebanon, said Wefaq MP Jasim Hussein.There was no reason when our demands were local demands and nothing to do with Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates.The crackdown in Bahrain has galvanized Iraq's Shi'ite community, exacerbating sectarian tension that led to years of war in Iraq. Iraq's Shi'ite prime minister criticized the assault and Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr called for protests.In Lebanon, supporters of Shi'ite group Hezbollah also came out in solidarity with their fellow Shia.The United Nations and Britain have echoed the U.S. call for restraint and the Group of Eight powers expressed concern.When the Gulf states now send military units to the small... island state, there is a very critical risk that the situation will... be seen as part of a broader confrontation, Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said on his blog.While there was most likely initially no Iranian interference, the opportunities for Iran to take advantage of the situation now undeniably grow.Gulf expert Gause said the latest developments had given Washington a serious dilemma. This is a really sticky situation, there is no question about that.(Additional reporting by Frederik Richter in Bahrain, Andrew Hammond in Dubai and Robin Pomeroy in Iran, Caroline Cohn and Steve Slater in London, Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Philippa Fletcher; Editing by Louise Ireland)