NOVEMBER 27 TROUBLE DATE

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.(TR 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).

PREMEDITATED MERGER
North American Union a couple years away.Bilderberg author who 1st exposed plot in 1996 sees EU replication as imminent November 19, 2007 - 10:00 p.m. Eastern - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

WASHINGTON – The next giant step toward world government will be integration of the U.S., Canada and Mexico in European Union-style merger in the next few years, says the author of a best-selling book on the power of shadowy international organizations promoting the move. I would say [it's just] a couple of years away, reports Daniel Estulin, author of The True Story of the Bilderberg Group.

Estulin, a Canadian now living in Europe, says the original plans for a North American Union involved the U.S. and Canada as the prime participants. It was motivated primarily by the desire to harvest Canada's abundant natural resources. In his new book, Estulin reveals the first efforts in this plan date back to 1996 when the elite Bilderberg Group first discussed plans for the dismantlement of Canada as an independent nation and proposed its merger – minus Quebec – with the United States into a Greater North America. Actually, the North American Union, or rather a Canada-U.S. merger, was initially discussed shortly after the Reagan-Bush candidacy won the White House, he says in an interview with WND. Upon taking over the reins of the country, George Bush and Ronald Reagan called in the presidents of the key trans-national companies and asked them for the real picture. The money people told them that if the United States were a corporation it would have to be shut down immediately. It was bankrupt.

The solution proposed then, according to Estulin, was merger between the U.S. and Canada. Canada is virgin country with a multitude of natural resources, water, mines, oil, gas, etc., he explains. They decided that it was going to take 14 or 15 years to put the whole project together. In the interval, the economies, social programs and laws of the two countries would be quietly harmonized as much as possible.Back then, part of that harmonization plan involved the separation of Quebec as an independent state, he says. Actually, when all is said and done, it all comes down to money, Estulin says. Money makes its own rules. If your goal is to make the most money possible using Canada's natural resources, what would you ask for? Number one, give me control over the sun. Number two, give me control over the air. Number three, give me control over water. Now, we know we cannot control the sun, nor can we control the air. But we can control water. Water, after all, is the most important element that can be controlled.But the plot for a North American Union, as exposed in detail in Jerome Corsi's new bestselling book, The Late Great USA, is but a prelude, Estulin says, to the ultimate merger –one-world government.

Everything is in place, he says. Europe is now one country, one currency and one constitution. North America is about to become one. The African Union has had its working model going for over a decade. Asia is openly discussing the near-future Asian Union, being sold to us as an economic inevitability beneficial to all its citizens.Estulin sees the current focus in the U.S. on the presidential election of 2008 as something of a farce in light of this trend. Does it really matter who wins? he asks. As I make very clear in 'The True Story of the Bilderberg Group,' every politician of note and promise belongs to the Bilderbergers, CFR (Council on Foreign Relations) or the Trilateral Commission. Unless you are one of them, you can hardly hope to win the presidency. If we vote for the lesser evil, forced upon us by the secret oligarchies and the powerful men behind the curtain, we end up playing the game imposed upon us by them. Democracy, I guess what I really want to say, is a fallacy, an unattainable dream, a useless label trotted out and dusted off by the rulers every four years for the benefit of the great unwashed – us. There are two sides in this equation – the powerful elite who control the world's wealth and the rest of humanity.Estulin guarantees today's Republican front-runner Rudy Giuliani will not get the nomination of his party. With less certitude, he speculates the current mayor of New York, Michael Bloomberg, could still be positioned to head the GOP ticket. Bloomberg, according to my sources within Bilderberg, will emerge as a credible candidate of consensus for the discredited American political establishment, your virtual People's Choice candidate, he says. What is the agenda behind these groups, which Estulin says are comprised of self-interested elitists protecting their wealth and the investments of multinational banks and corporations in the growing world economy at the expense of developing nations and Third World countries"?

The policies they develop, he writes, benefit them as well as move us towards a one-world government.Those questioning Estulin's conclusion as mere speculation need only recall organizational financer David Rockefeller's own words as recorded in his Memoirs.
Some even believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as 'internationalists' and conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will, he wrote. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it.Estulin's book, first written in 2005 in Spain, has been translated into 24 languages, most recently this English edition. He has covered the Bilderberg Group as a journalist for more than 15 years. Why does he singularly devote so much attention to exposing their activities?

They cannot survive the light, and they know it, he says. This is why the powerful people have long insulated themselves from that possibility. You see, the greatest form of control is when you think you are free while you are being manipulated and dictated to. People have been disarmed through the greatest hypnotist the world has ever known – the oblong box almost everyone has in the corner of their living rooms known as the television. By persuading ordinary people that what they can see with their eyes is what is there to see, the men behind the curtain have ensured their own survival, because people will laugh in your face when you explain to them that there is a bigger picture they are not seeing.What is his personal prescription for fighting back? He offers a five-point program:

1. Understanding that governments do not represent the people nor have their best interests at heart.
2. Understanding that corporate media's main job is to hide the transgressions of the most powerful people in the world not shine the light of truth on it.
3. Understanding that the corporate media forms part of the world's elite societies such as the Bilderbergers, the CFR and the Trilateral Commission.
4. Understanding how money works and how through intelligent use of money we can destroy the Bilderbergers of this world.
5. Getting out of debt now.

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

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

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

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

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

US announces date for Mideast talks By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic NOV 20,07

WASHINGTON - The State Department announced Tuesday that the U.S. will host a Middle East conference at Annapolis, Md., on Nov. 27, less than a week before the talks that President Bush hopes will put the Israeli-Palestinian peace process back on track. The announcement by spokesman Sean McCormack came after Israel and the Palestinians confirmed having received invitations to the event, which is intended to launch their first serious peace negotiations in more than seven years.McCormack told reporters that 49 countries, institutions and individuals, including select Arab states and other key nations with a stake in the Mideast peace process were invited.

President Bush will deliver a speech to open the meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will host the talks, said David Welch, assistant secretary of state for near-Eastern affairs. Bush also will speak dinner with participants on the night before the parties head to Maryland.It will be a signal opportunity to launch the bilateral negotiations between the parties, Welch told reporters at the State Department.

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

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

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Olmert hopes for peace in 2008 By LAURIE COPANS, Associated Press Writer Tue Nov 20, 3:13 PM ET

SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert flew to Egypt on Tuesday to rally Arab support for next week's U.S.-hosted Mideast peace conference, telling the leader of the largest Arab country that a peace deal with the Palestinians can be signed within a year. Olmert's statement was the closest he has come to providing a firm timetable for a peace deal, as the Palestinians have demanded. However, Olmert suggested that implementing such a deal won't be possible as long as Hamas militants control the Gaza Strip.Olmert's one-day trip to Egypt came ahead of a meeting in Cairo on Friday of the Arab League, where key Arab governments will decide whether to attend next week's conference in Annapolis, Md.Israel and the Palestinians received formal invitations to the conference from the U.S. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas received his at his office in Ramallah, Palestinian and U.S. officials said. Olmert's office later said Israel also had been invited to the conference for discussions about advancing the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.The U.S. hopes Annapolis will launch the first serious round of Israel-Palestinian negotiations in seven years and has been pushing the sides to endorse a joint document laying out their vision for peace ahead of the conference.

But negotiators say they have made little progress, casting a cloud over the summit, which is to begin Nov. 26 with a dinner in Washington and continue with talks in Annapolis the next day, according to Palestinian spokesman Nabil Abu Rdeneh.Arab participation, particularly by governments that do not have relations with Israel, is considered critical for the summit's success. Arab countries have been reluctant to commit, seeking assurances that Israel is serious about addressing the core issues of its conflict with the Palestinians, including conflicting claims to the holy city of Jerusalem and the fate of Palestinian refugees and millions of their descendants.At a news conference with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Olmert sought to allay Arab concerns, saying that even if the summit does not address core issues, ensuing negotiations will.I want the Arab nations to know that the negotiations will tackle all the main issues, Olmert said. We won't try to avoid any problem or overlook any issue.I very much hope we can reach this agreement in the course of 2008, he said, the closest he has come to setting a firm timetable for a deal. In the past, he had said only that he hoped to make serious progress before President Bush leaves office in January 2009.He also he would take into account a Saudi-sponsored Arab peace plan — a key concern of Arab states. Israel has reacted cautiously to the plan, which offers full peace in return for a full withdrawal from all lands Israel captured in the 1967 Mideast war.Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel TV that the process is one of partition, with Israel giving up territory, while trying to maintain control of large settlement blocs in the West Bank.

However, Olmert also signaled that carrying out any peace deal would have to wait until Abbas regains control of the Gaza Strip from Hamas. The militant Islamic group, which is committed to Israel's destruction, violently overran Gaza in June and remains firmly in control there.Olmert said any peace deal must be based on the U.S.-backed road map, which requires the Palestinians to dismantle militant groups.There will be no implementation of the (peace) agreement before the road map commitments are fully implemented. These commitments apply to Gaza as well, he said. The Palestinians take for granted that Gaza is supposed to be part of the Palestinian state. So naturally, if it's part of the Palestinian state that must fight terror, that includes the Gaza Strip.Olmert's spokeswoman, Miri Eisin, said he was referring to the requirement of the Palestinians to fight terror, beyond stopping daily rocket attacks from Gaza, but she would not elaborate.In the TV interview, Livni said implementation of agreements with the Palestinians would be dependent on a war on terrorism.Abu Rdeneh would not comment on Olmert's remarks. The road map also requires Israel to freeze all construction in West Bank settlements — a step it has refused to take. Some 270,000 Israelis live in West Bank settlements, in addition to 180,000 Israelis in east Jerusalem. The Palestinians seek both areas, which Israel captured in the 1967 war, as part of their future state. Mubarak said the conference would be a beginning for serious negotiations but should ensure the talks include all the issues of the final situation within a time limit with a mechanism to monitor progress. I am looking forward to constructive positions from Prime Minister Olmert to establish the foundations (of peace) and ensure the success of the conference, Mubarak said.
Egypt plays an important leadership role in the Arab world, and Mubarak's views could influence the outcome of the Arab League meeting.

Egypt appears likely to send its foreign minister to the gathering, but other Arab countries — particularly U.S. ally Saudi Arabia — might balk or send only a low-level figure if they're not convinced it will produce results. Mubarak also said he thinks the foreign minister from Syria, which has hostile relations with Israel and the U.S., will attend. At Friday's meeting, Arab foreign ministers are to decide participation and draw up a unified stance on the Annapolis conference. The ministers could pressure Abbas not to make concessions in Annapolis without guarantees of progress. On Monday, Olmert and Abbas had what Israeli and Palestinian officials described as a difficult meeting as they tried to bridge differences on the pre-conference document. Israel has said Annapolis should provide a ceremonial launch for a resumption of peace talks, which broke down seven years ago, and that negotiations on final-status issues will begin immediately after the gathering. Associated Press Writer Maggie Michael contributed to this report.

ISRAELS INHERITED LAND IN THE FUTURE

And here are the bounderies of the land that Israel will inherit either through war or peace or God in the future. God says its Israels land and only Israels land. They will have every inch God promised them of this land in the future.

Egypt east of the Nile River, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, The southern part of Turkey and the Western Half of Iraq west of the Euphrates. Gen 13:14-15, Psm 105:9,11, Gen 15:18, Exe 23:31, Num 34:1-12, Josh 1:4.

ALL THIS LAND ISRAEL WILL DEFINATELY OWN IN THE FUTURE, ITS ISRAELS NOT ISHMAELS LAND.

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

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

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

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

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

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

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

US issues invitations for Nov 27 Mideast peace meet by Nasser Abu Bakr NOV 20,07

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AFP) - Washington issued invitations on Tuesday for a much-heralded Middle East peace conference in the United States next week that aims to jumpstart dormant Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas was handed an invitation for the meeting to start on November 27 in Annapolis outside Washington by the US consul general in east Jerusalem, his spokesman told AFP.President Abbas received the invitation, Nabil Abu Rudeina said.The Palestinians were the first government to announce that it had received an invitation for the conference, which US President George W. Bush called in July hoping to revive peace talks after a seven-year freeze.They were swiftly followed by Israel. Prime Minister Ehud Olmert received his invitation on his return from talks with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh aimed at shoring up Arab support for the conference, his spokeswoman Miri Eisin said.In his letter of invitation to Abbas, US President George W. Bush made clear that the Annapolis meeting was intended to pave the way for comprehensive negotiations between the two sides, a senior Palestinian official said.This conference will signal broad international support for your courageous efforts and will be a launching point for negotiations leading to the establishment of a Palestinian state and the realisation of Israeli-Palestinian peace, in accordance with the roadmap, the official quoted Bush as saying.

The last was a reference to an internationally drafted peace blueprint that has made next to no progress since its launch in 2003.A senior Bush aide said the US president would join the Annapolis meeting and would also host a three-way meeting with Abbas and Olmert at the White House afterwards.But his spokeswoman Dana Perino stressed that he was not betting everything on Annapolis.The president is not a gambler, she said. We recognize that at the Annapolis conference we are not going to have instant results.Washington was due to announce the guest list and agenda for the meeting later on Tuesday.We have our invitation list, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said, adding there would be dozens of invitees including both governments and representatives of international organisations.The two sides are expected to kick off negotiations on the thorniest issues of their decades-old conflict after the Annapolis meeting.But their negotiators remain at odds over the wording of a joint statement supposed to serve as a basis for the negotiations, despite weeks of intensive talks.Nevertheless Olmert insisted after his meeting with Mubarak in Egypt that he hoped to reach a final peace deal with the Palestinians next year.

I hope to reach a definitive deal with the Palestinians in 2008, he told a joint news conference.The negotiations will not be simple. There will be differences, crises and arguments. But if we act with caution, there is a chance that we can reach a deal. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni appealed to the Arab world to contribute to the success of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations because the significance of the Annapolis meeting lies above all in the fact that it will allow the relaunch of these negotiations.
Israel will have to accompany these talks with gestures towards the Palestinians, she told public television. But the Annapolis meeting will not prevent us from continuing our fight against terrorism and the Palestinian Authority has the duty to do the same.The joint document being worked on by negotiators is expected to mention the most intractable issues of the decades-long Middle East conflict -- borders, refugees and Jerusalem.But the two sides remain divided over how detailed the statement should be, the sequence of implementation for any agreements reached; and whether there should be a body to oversee the implementation. With some Arab states sceptical about the prospects for the meeting, Bush sought to lay the groundwork, telephoning leaders like Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi King Abdullah, the White House said. Arab foreign ministers are to meet in Cairo on Thursday to decide on their participation. Syria reiterated on Tuesday that it would stay away unless the return of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights is up for discussion. But the Israeli foreign minister said: The Golan is not on the agenda at the moment.

Sex Scandal Hits Atlanta-Area Megachurch - Nov 20, 3:15 AM (ET)By DORIE TURNER

DECATUR, Ga. (AP) - The 80-year-old leader of a suburban Atlanta megachurch is at the center of a sex scandal of biblical dimensions: He slept with his brother's wife and fathered a child by her.Members of Archbishop Earl Paulk's family stood at the pulpit of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit at Chapel Hill Harvester Church a few Sundays ago and revealed the secret exposed by a recent court-ordered paternity test.In truth, this is not the first - or even the second - sex scandal to engulf Paulk and the independent, charismatic church. But this time, he could be in trouble with the law for lying under oath about the affair.The living proof of that lie is 34-year-old D.E. Paulk, who for years was known publicly as Earl Paulk's nephew.I am so very sorry for the collateral damage it's caused our family and the families hurt by the removing of the veil that hid our humanity and our sinfulness, said D.E. Paulk, who received the mantle of head pastor a year and a half ago.D.E. Paulk said he did not learn the secret of his parentage until the paternity test. I was disappointed, and I was surprised, he said.Earl Paulk, his brother, Don, and his sister-in-law, Clariece, did not return calls for comment.A judge ordered the test at the request of the Cobb County district attorney's office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which are investigating Earl Paulk for possible perjury and false-swearing charges stemming from a lawsuit.

The archbishop, his brother and the church are being sued by former church employee Mona Brewer, who says Earl Paulk manipulated her into an affair from 1989 to 2003 by telling her it was her only path to salvation. Earl Paulk admitted to the affair in front of the church last January.In a 2006 deposition stemming from the lawsuit, the archbishop said under oath that the only woman he had ever had sex with outside of his marriage was Brewer. But the paternity test said otherwise.So far no charges have been filed against Earl Paulk. District Attorney Pat Head and GBI spokesman John Bankhead would not comment.The shocking results of the paternity test are speeding up a transformation already under way in the church after more than a decade of sex scandals and lawsuits involving the Paulks, D.E. Paulk said.It was a necessary evil to bring us back to a God-consciousness, said the younger Paulk, explaining that the church had become too personality-driven and prone to pastor worship.The flashy megachurch began in 1960 with just a few dozen members in the Little Five Points neighborhood of Atlanta. Now, it is in the suburbs on a 100-acre expanse, a collection of buildings surrounding a neo-Gothic cathedral.For years the church was at the forefront of many social movements - admitting black members in the 1960s, ordaining women and opening its doors to gays.At its peak in the early 1990s, it claimed about 10,000 members and 24 pastors and was a media powerhouse. By soliciting tithes of 10 percent from each member's income, the church was able to build a Bible college, two schools, a worldwide TV ministry and a $12 million sanctuary the size of a fortress.

Today, though, membership is down to about 1,500, the church has 18 pastors, most of them volunteers, and the Bible college and TV ministry have shuttered - a downturn blamed largely on complaints about the alleged sexual transgressions of the elder Paulks.In 1992, a church member claimed she was pressured into a sexual relationship with Don Paulk. Other women also claimed they had been coerced into sex with Earl Paulk and other members of the church's administration.The church countered with a $24 million libel suit against seven former church members. The lawsuit was later dropped.Jan Royston, who left the church in 1992, started an online support group for former members to discuss their crushed faith and hurt feelings.This is a cult. And you escape from a cult, she said. We all escaped.These days, Earl Paulk has a much-reduced role at the cathedral, giving 10-minute lectures as part of Sunday morning worship each week.My uncle is 100 percent guilty, but his accusers are guilty as well, D.E. Paulk said, declining to talk further about the lawsuits.

STORMS - ANAPOLIS - DISEASE

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.

Bangladesh storm toll over 3,000 Mon Nov 19, 1:04 PMby Anis Ahmed

DHAKA (Reuters) - Four days after super cyclone Sidr killed more than 3,000 people in Bangladesh, rescuers struggled on Monday to reach isolated areas along the country's devastated coast to give aid to millions of survivors.The tragedy unfolds as we walk through one after another devastated village, said relief worker Mohammad Selim in Bagerhat, one of the worst-hit areas. Often it looks like we are in a valley of death.The confirmed death toll from the cyclone reached 3,113 by Monday, while 3,322 are injured and 1,063 missing, Lieutenant-Colonel Main Ullah Chowdhury told reporters in Dhaka.He said two C-130 aircraft of the U.S. Marine Corp arrived in Dhaka on Sunday night with medical supplies.Media reports said the death toll had already crossed 3,500, and was likely to rise sharply.We are trying to reach all the affected areas on the vast coastline as soon as possible, then we will know how many people exactly have died, a government official said.

While it would take several days to determine the number of dead and missing, about 3 million survivors who were either evacuated from the low-lying coast or whose homes and villages were destroyed would need support, the government said.Aid workers fear inadequate supplies of food, drinking water and medicine could lead to outbreaks of disease.Food, shelter and medicine are badly needed for the survivors, Renata Lok Dessallien, United Nations Resident Representative in Bangladesh told Reuters after visiting cyclone-hit areas.Grieving families begged for clothes to wrap around the bodies of dead relatives for burial. In some areas, they put corpses in mass graves.Reuters reporters said bodies were being discovered by the hour in the rivers and paddy fields and under piles of debris.The head of the army-backed interim government, Fakhruddin Ahmed, flew to devastated areas on Monday to reassure victims that his administration would provide enough aid.Your courage in facing the disasters like cyclones and floods give us strength and reinforce confidence in our ability to do the best we can, he said in Patuakhali, one of the badly hit districts.

SEEKING REFUGE IN TREES

Cyclone Sidr smashed into the coast of southern Bangladesh late on Thursday with 250 kph (155 mph) winds that whipped up a five-meter (16-foot) tidal surge.In its wake, bodies of people and animals floated down rivers and the stench of death filled the air. Relatives tried to identify and bring them ashore, before burying them hurriedly without proper ceremonies.Military ships and helicopters were trying to reach thousands of people believed stranded on islands in the Bay of Bengal and in coastal areas still cut off after the storm.The U.N.'s World Food Program and Bangladesh Air Force helicopters have begun dropping high-energy biscuits to people stranded in inaccessible areas.World Vision, one of many non-governmental groups working to help survivors, said on Monday about 1,000 fishermen were still unaccounted for.

Many of us climbed up in trees in the Sundarban forest, but I fell down in panic when I saw a tiger below, said a fisherman on Dublarchar island. The waves then swept me further into the mangrove and I found myself alive when the cyclone was over.The Sundarban forest, home to the endangered Royal Bengal Tiger and a World Heritage site, was badly hit. A forest official said Sidr had damaged trees over about 30,000 hectares (74,000 acres), but could not say how many animals had been killed.S.M. Nurul Alam, coordinator of Coast Trust, a non-government organization in Cox's Bazar, said about 5,000 fishermen from Cox's Bazar and nearby islands had gone to Dublarchar in recent weeks.Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, foreign affairs adviser to the government, said on Monday the authorities had taken all measures to prepare for Cyclone Sidr.Despite these steps, appalling damage has occurred, the assessment of which is still on-going, he said in a statement. We will welcome support from the international community.

AID PLEDGES

The Dhaka Foreign Ministry said the King of Saudi Arabia has announced a $100 million grant for the victims. Riyadh would also airlift 300 tonnes of food and relief materials.India said it would send a comprehensive relief package.Officials in affected areas say the death toll given by the ministry is far below the real numbers. Aid agencies have said the toll could rise beyond 10,000.The storm was the worst to hit disaster-prone Bangladesh since 1991 when nearly 143,000 people died in a cyclone and the tidal surge it triggered.A much improved disaster preparedness plan, including storm shelters built all along the coastline, has been credited with saving hundreds of lives.The extent of destruction is unimaginable, Reuters cameraman Rafiqur Rahman reported from a coastal village.In the 7 km (4.5 miles) I trekked this morning, I saw not a single house standing, he said. Only a few leafless trees and a couple of dogs reminded me it was once a village.(For more information on humanitarian crises and issues visit www.alertnet.org)(Additional reporting by Ruma Paul, Serajul Islam Quadir, Nizam Ahmed, Masud Karim and Azad Majumder, editing by David Fogarty)

Floods displace 2,000 in Malawi Mon Nov 19, 11:45 AM ET

CHIKWAWA, Malawi (Reuters) - Three days of heavy rains have triggered flash flooding and displaced more than 2,000 people in southern Malawi, authorities said on Monday. Lawford Palani, Chikwawa district commissioner, told Reuters that about 20 villages have been destroyed following persistent rains and hailstorms in the area, about 50 kilometers west of the country's commercial capital Blantyre.We are yet to establish whether the floods have caused any deaths and how much crop has been destroyed, Pelani said.Pelani said most of the displaced people have been housed in churches and schools. Relief was being provided by the Malawi Red Cross and international relief agencies.

Malawi's meteorological department has warned of heavy rains that may cause serious flooding in flood-prone areas such as the Lower Shire Valley district of Chikwawa.Malawi will this year receive above average rainfall that will cause heavy flooding, Donald Kamdonyo, the country's meteorological department's director, told Reuters.The government has been running advisories on state radio asking people living in low-lying areas to consider moving to avoid fatalities.(Reporting by Mabvuto Banda; Editing by Bate Felix)

DISEASES

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

Dominican disease outbreak kills 25 after storm
Mon Nov 19, 10:43 AM

SANTO DOMINGO, Nov 19 (Reuters ) - An outbreak of the waterborne disease leptospirosis has killed at least 25 people in the Dominican Republic and sickened nearly 200, the Caribbean nation's health minister said.Bautista Rojas Gomez confirmed the toll to reporters late on Sunday after talks with President Leonel Fernandez on ways to fight the disease, which spreads through exposure to water contaminated with the urine of infected rats and other animals.The outbreak, linked to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Noel last month, was initially limited to a region along the banks of the Ozama River north and east of the capital.But Rojas Gomez said cases had now been confirmed as far away as the Barahona beach resort on the southern coast.In addition to the 25 deaths, Rojas Gomez said 193 people had fallen ill with the disease.(Reporting by Manuel Jimenez; Editing by Tom Brown and John O'Callaghan)

FALSE TEACHERS,PROPHETS,DECIEVERS

MATTHEW 24:4-5,11,24-25
4 And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.
5 For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.
11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.
24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
25 Behold, I have told you before.

1 TIMOTHY 4:1-2
1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;

MARK 13:22-23
22 For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.
23 But take ye heed: behold, I have foretold you all things.

2 TIMOTHY 3:13
13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

Russia cult members in cave siege NOV 19,07

Orthodox monks have been trying to reach the cave Police and clergy in southern Russia are trying to negotiate with members of a doomsday cult barricaded inside a cave and threatening to blow it up. The group calls itself the True Russian Orthodox Church. Members are waiting for the end of the world, which they are expecting to happen next May. They say they have enough food and water to last out the winter, as well as large quantities of petrol. The cult leader did not join them, and has been arrested by police. Russian television showed pictures of black-robed Orthodox monks scaling down into a snow-covered gully in a forest in the Penza region, about 650km (400 miles) south-east of Moscow.
Cult leader Pyotr Kuznetsov is undergoing psychiatric examination
They are hoping to make contact with the 30 cult members believed to have sealed themselves in the cave . Those inside are believed to include four small children. Cult members say they have hundreds of canisters of petrol and threatening to ignite them if the authorities try to force them out. The group was founded by a former engineer, Pyotr Kuznetsov, who had fallen out with the Russian Orthodox Church. He is thought to have ordered his followers into the cave but did not join them. He is now in custody and is undergoing psychiatric examinations.




FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU
Israel to allow Palestinian refugees to return?
Official: PM made deal analysts long warned is code for Jewish state's destruction - November 19, 2007 - 1:00 a.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein - 2007 WorldNetDaily.com

JERUSALEM – Prime Minister Ehud Olmert agreed in principle to allow a number of Palestinian Arabs living in what the United Nations terms refugee camps to enter Israel as part of an Israeli-Palestinian accord, according to a senior Palestinian negotiator speaking to WND. Palestinians have long demanded the right of return for millions of refugees, a formula Israeli officials across the political spectrum warn is code for Israel's destruction by flooding the Jewish state with millions of Arabs, thereby changing its demographics. Allowing any number of so-called Palestinian refugees to enter Israel would serve as an admission on Israel's part that millions of Palestinians living in U.N.-maintained camps are indeed refugees and have a legitimate right to live in Israel. The Palestinian negotiator, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Olmert's team agreed in principle let a select number of Palestinians living in U.N.-maintained refugee camps into Israel in a series of phases that could take up to 15 years. Though the negotiator said an exact number had not yet been determined, he indicated there could be as many as 20,000 Palestinians living in U.N. camps, with an initial phase of several hundred entering Israel with one year of an agreement. He said the first batch of entering Palestinian Arabs would consist of a sampling from the oldest residents of various U.N. camps. David Baker, a spokesperson for Olmert, had no comment on the report Olmert agreed to allow a number of declared refugees to enter Israel. The Palestinian negotiator said the Israeli and Palestinians teams have been hammering out the exact language to be used at a U.S.-sponsored summit slated for Annapolis later this month at which Olmert is widely expected to outline a Palestinian state in most of the West Bank in a joint agreement of principles signed by the Israeli leader and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.

Various media reports – denied by Olmert – claimed in recent weeks Israel would also evacuate sections of Jerusalem and would negotiate what are considered core Israeli-Palestinian issues – primarily the status of Jerusalem and the so-called return of refugees. When Arab countries attacked the Jewish state after its creation in 1948, some 725,000 Arabs living within Israel's borders fled or were expelled from the area that became Israel. Also at that time, about 820,000 Jews were expelled from Arab countries or fled following rampant persecution. While most Jewish refugees were absorbed by Israel and other countries, the majority of Palestinian Arabs have been maintained in 59 U.N.-run camps that do not seek to settle those Arabs elsewhere. There are currently about 4 million Arabs who claim Palestinian refugee status with the U.N., including children and grandchildren of the original fleeing Arabs; Arabs living full-time in Jordan; and Arabs who long ago emigrated throughout the Middle East and to the West. Other cases of worldwide refugees aided by the U.N. are handled through the international body's High Commission for Refugees, which seeks to settle the refugees quickly, usually in countries other than those from which they fled. The U.N. created a special agency – the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, or UNRWA – specifically to handle registered Palestinian refugees. It's the only refugee case handled by the U.N. in which the declared refugees are housed and maintained in camps for generations instead of facilitating the refugees' resettlement elsewhere.

The U.N. officially restricts the definition of refugee status worldwide for nationalities outside the Palestinian arena to those who fled a country of nationality or habitual residence due to persecution, who are unable to return to their place of residence and who have not yet been resettled. Future generations of original refugees are not included in the U.N.'s definition of refugees. But the U.N. uses a different set of criteria only when defining a Palestinian refugee – allowing future generations to be considered refugees; terming as refugees those Arabs who have been resettled in other countries, such as hundreds of thousands in Jordan; removing the clause requiring persecution; and removing the clause requiring a refugee to be fleeing his or her country of nationality or habitual residence – allowing for transient Arabs who didn't normally reside within Israel to be defined as Palestinian refugees. Palestinian leaders including Abbas routinely refer to the right of return, claiming the declared right is mandated by the U.N. But the two U.N. resolutions dealing with the refugee issue recommend that Israel achieve a just settlement for the refugee problem. The resolutions, which are not binding, do not speak of any right of return, and leave open the possibility of monetary compensation or other kinds of settlements.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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, 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

Dow closes below 13,000 amid credit worries
Traders also discouraged by record low homebuilder sentimentNOV 19,07

NEW YORK - Wall Street resumed its slide Monday as investors absorbed a gloomy outlook for the banking sector as well as bleak news about housing. The major stock market indexes each fell more than 1.5 percent, with the Dow Jones industrial average giving up more than 200 points.Concerns about the banking sector dominated the session. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s downgrade of large banks, and its estimate that Citigroup Inc. would have to write down $15 billion over the next two quarters due to its exposure to risky debt, unnerved Wall Street.Other sectors suffered big hits during the session, including homebuilders and airlines.The latest concerns about the housing sector arose after a downcast survey from the National Association of Homebuilders and a lowered forecast from home-improvement retailer Lowe’s Cos. The worry on Wall Street is that the housing market is getting so weak it will crimp consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity and has helped keep the economy afloat. Ahead of the holiday shopping season, any signs that Americans are pulling back could prevent a December rally.

The NAHB’s November housing forecast remained unchanged at its lowest-ever level even after the October figure was revised to 19 from 18. Economists polled by Thomson/IFR had expected the index would come in at 18. The survey began in 1985.I think that a lot of folks are digesting the news from last week and they’re worried about the economy and the ability to grow earnings at the larger companies in America, said Rob Lutts, chief investment officer at Cabot Money Management Inc. in Salem, Mass.The Dow industrials fell 218.35, or 1.66 percent, to 12,958.44.Broader stock indicators also declined. The S&P 500 index fell 25.47, or 1.75 percent, to 1,433.27, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 43.86, or 1.66 percent, to 2,593.38.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 19.17, or 2.49 percent, to 750.33. The pullback left the Russell firmly in negative territory for the year, with a drop of 4.74 percent. Investors often view smaller companies as more likely to be hard hit in a slowing economy because they might not as easily get by on thin profit margins as would some big companies with overseas operations.With Monday’s decline, stocks have seen losses in seven of the past eight sessions. Last week, stocks ended higher after a string of volatile sessions. Many traders are wondering whether the major indexes will test the lows for the year that came in August.

Government bond prices rose sharply Monday as investors sought safety. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 4.08 percent from 4.15 percent late Friday. The 10-year note hasn’t gone below the 4.1 percent level since September 2005.The dollar fell against other major currencies and gold prices slipped.Crude oil futures for January delivery rose 80 cents to settle at $94.64 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.John Merrill, chief investment officer at Tanglewood Capital Management in Houston, contends investors are still grappling with the scope of the writedowns related to the housing market and the related ramifications, such a more cautious consumer.Certainly in the financial sector the concerns seem to be never-ending. The potential for write-offs seems to keep growing, he said. This is having to settle in and the process of settling in means you become more aware of how more meaningful and how restricting these writedowns are.One big area of concern for investors was again Citigroup, which said earlier this month it would likely write down $8 billion to $11 billion in the fourth quarter. The bank, one of the 30 stocks that makes up the Dow industrials, fell $2, or 5.9 percent, to $32 after the Goldman downgrade to a sell rating.Among other financial-services companies, Merrill Lynch & Co. fell $2.24, or 4 percent, to $53.87,while Morgan Stanley fell $1.77, or 3.4 percent, to $51.13.

Lowe’s Cos. posted a 10 percent decline in third-quarter profit Monday, slightly better than expected. But the home-improvement retailer lowered its forecast in anticipation of further deterioration in housing. Lowe’s fell $1.89, or 7.6 percent, to $23.12.Celgene Corp.’s announcement that it agreed to buy Pharmion Corp. for $72 a share in a cash-and-stock deal worth $2.9 billion failed to lighten the overall mood on Wall Street. Celgene fell 90 cents to $64, while Pharmion jumped $15.84, or 32 percent, to $65.12.Meanwhile, other sectors that could be bruised by an economic slowdown fell Monday. Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 96 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $19.01, while Continental Airlines Inc. fell $1.76, or 6 percent, to $27.82.The decline in the airlines helped push the Dow Jones Transportation index down 105.87, or 2.32 percent, to 4,457.97. The index also hit a fresh 52-week low.Among homebuilders, Lennar Corp. fell $1.67, or 8.7 percent, to $17.57 and hit a new 52-week low of $17.54. Its previous low was $18.90. Pulte Homes Inc. fell $1.04, or 8.1 percent, to $11.80. It likewise sank to a 52-week low of $11.76; the previous low was $12.15.Declining issues outnumbered advancers by 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.01 billion shares, compared with 4 billion traded Friday.Stock markets overseas also slumped. In European trading, Britain’s FTSE 100 closed down 2.71 percent, Germany’s DAX index fell 1.32 percent, and France’s CAC-40 slid 1.65 percent. In Asian trading, Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell 0.74 percent, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index decreased 0.56 percent.

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.(TR 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).

East African bloc clinches interim trade deal with EU NOV 16,07

NAIROBI (AFP) — East African nations have reached an interim accord with the European Union to replace preferential tariff agreements due to expire this year, Kenya announced Friday, sparking fury from the civil society.The much feared disruption of trade... after December 31 has been put to rest, said David Nalo, a top trade ministry official.The deal, which is in form of an Interim Framework Agreement on the EPA (Economic Partnership Agreements) covers market access, development and fisheries, said Nalo, who led a Kenyan delegation to Brussels.Under the accord reached on Wednesday, East African Community (EAC) states Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda will enjoy duty free, quota free access to the EU for all products -- except sugar and rice -- from January 1.Trade deals giving preferential market access to the African nations have to be replaced by the end of the year because the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled they are illegal.The EU had warned of imposing tariffs on goods from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) nations if there was no agreement by December 31, raising fears of widespread losses and a collapse of local sectors.

Issues that were not covered in interim agreements, including customs and trade facilitations, agriculture, trade in services, technical barriers to trade, will be negotiated next year, Nalo explained.Nalo said EAC members had given themselves 10 days from November 14 -- when they reached the agreement -- to thrash out the details of the deal before it is signed on November 24.The interim deal opens up east African markets to European products as long as they do not affect sensitive agricultural and industrial products in the region.Rwanda and Burundi, who joined the EAC bloc this year, will be excluded from the deal until December 2009 to allow them to finish implementing the EAC customs union.In addition, the deal offered a 25-year transition period to prevent loss of revenues among the east African nations.But a coalition of grassroot civil society groups bristled with anger, saying the EU bullied its way into the interim deal that will undermine development in the five nations.Both the deal on the table now and the dirty tactics employed by the EU in the negotiations process represent a step backwards for the region's development, said Ruthpearl Ng'ng'a of Accord International.East-African countries stand to lose 162.5 million dollars every year in government revenue from signing an EPA, she added.Dirty tactics like blocking civil society groups from the debate, threatening to hike tariffs on imports into the EU, blanket funding of African EPA negotiators and linking EU development funding to the actual signing have influenced the process in a negative way, said Peter Aoga of EcoNews Africa.African nations should therefore refuse to sign the accord on the final hour and reign in the negotiators who are running away with themselves and, as a result, running Africa into the ground, the civil groups said in a statement.

The new deal is designed to help EAC countries develop while diversifying their economies and meeting WTO requirements that they allow some access to European goods and services.Officials said the EAC decided to negotiate as a group since the bloc is working to establish a common market and monetary union by 2012 while also planning to form a political federation.Originally established in 1967, the EAC collapsed a decade later amid diverging economic philosophies.It was resurrected in 2000 as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda agreed to create a European Union-style common market for their 90 million citizens. Rwanda and Burundi became mebers in July this year.

JERUSALEM DIVIDED

ZECHARIAH 12:1-5 King James Bible
1 The burden of the word of the LORD for Israel, saith the LORD, which stretcheth forth the heavens, and layeth the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of man within him.
2 Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem.
3 And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it.
4 In that day, saith the LORD, I will smite every horse with astonishment, and his rider with madness: and I will open mine eyes upon the house of Judah, and will smite every horse of the people with blindness.
5 And the governors of Judah shall say in their heart, The inhabitants of Jerusalem shall be my strength in the LORD of hosts their God.

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

ZECHARIAH 14:1-9 King James Bible
1 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, and thy spoil shall be divided in the midst of thee.
2 For I will gather all nations against Jerusalem to battle; and the city shall be taken, and the houses rifled, and the women ravished; and half of the city shall go forth into captivity, and the residue of the people shall not be cut off from the city.
3 Then shall the LORD go forth, and fight against those nations, as when he fought in the day of battle.
4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south. 5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the LORD my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.
6 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the light shall not be clear, nor dark:
7 But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
8 And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be.
9 And the LORD shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one LORD, and his name one.

Olmert will divide Jerusalem
16/11/2007

The city of Annapolis lies on the east coast of the USA. It was the first capital city of the United States of America, and is now the seat of government of the state of Maryland. Later this month it is destined once more to enter the history books, for it has been chosen by America’s Secretary of State, Dr Condoleezza Rice, as the setting for a conference designed to pave the way for a peace agreement between Israel and its Arab neighbours. In the run-up to any such negotiation it is only to be expected that the warring parties will fly various kites — that is, they will leak or cause to be leaked various bargaining positions which they may or may not officially adopt when the real talking begins. On the one hand, therefore, one might be inclined not to take these leaks too seriously. On the other, one would be foolish to ignore them entirely.

It is with that admonition in mind that I ask you to dwell on an extraordinary series of leaks that have come from the Israeli government of Ehud Olmert, and with his silent blessing. The immediate author of these leaks — indeed, the leaker-in-chief — has been none other than Mr Olmert’s deputy, Haim Ramon.At the beginning of October, Mr Ramon gave interviews on Israeli radio. His purpose was to urge the acceptance by Israel of the partition of Jerusalem as a central element in any deal hammered out at Annapolis. He was surprisingly frank and explicit. Speaking with the authority but without the approval of his boss (Mr Olmert), he declared that Israel should cede to a future Palestinian state practically the whole of east Jerusalem — certainly those neighbourhoods with an Arab majority.As for the Temple Mount, to the whole of which the Palestinian Authority has naturally laid claim, Mr Ramon announced that, in his view, some special arrangement should be worked out; in other words, the Palestinian claim was not rejected out of hand.I gasped when I read these words, because on June 12, 2006 I had been present at an invitation-only (though hardly secret) meeting that Mr Olmert had addressed in London. Asked specifically about the future status of Jerusalem, Mr Olmert gave a categorical, applause-drawing response: as long as he was prime minister, Jerusalem, undivided, would remain the capital of the Jewish state. Later that year, in a widely publicised speech to Christian tourists visiting Israel, Mr Olmert repeated this pledge: Jerusalem would remain the united and undivided capital of Israel. Whilst emphasising that of course the city would remain open to people of all faiths, he declared: This is the city that God has chosen to be the capital of the Jewish people and it will remain the capital of the Jewish people.

So why, now, is his deputy reneging on this promise?

One reason might be that Mr Olmert is being pressured by the USA to say something that will look attractive to Arab eyes, and ensure that there is a convincing Arab presence in Annapolis. Once the talking begins, Mr Olmert can always repudiate Mr Ramon’s words: yes, Mr Ramon was speaking with his authority, but — alas — without his approval. If this is indeed Mr Olmert’s strategy, it is a highly dangerous one. If Annapolis turns out to be a failure (which is being widely predicted), Mr Olmert will be blamed, and Israel will be condemned. There is, however, a much more straightforward explanation, and that is that Mr Olmert really does intend to re-partition Jerusalem. Secular Jewish Israelis have no particular emotional attachment to the city. Anti-Zionist Charedim actually oppose Jewish control of the Temple Mount, fearing that this will pre-empt a restoration that God alone should properly determine. A poll conducted by the Jerusalem Institute for Israel Studies earlier this year, to mark the 40th anniversary of Jerusalem’s re-unification, actually suggested that 58 per cent of Israeli Jews might be willing to divide Jerusalem as part of the price for a peace accord with the Palestinians. So an agreement to re-divide Jerusalem could well be a vote-winner, bolstering Mr Olmert’s own political fortunes and earning praise from the USA into the bargain.If I am wrong, Mr Olmert still has time to say so. If he does, I will lose no time in offering a fulsome apology.

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

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

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

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

DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.

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

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

This Week with Rabbi Eckstein
November 15, 2007
Dear Friend of Israel,

Once again, Israel and the Palestinians are headed to the negotiating table. U.S.-brokered peace talks are scheduled to take place in Annapolis, Maryland, at the end of November.Israel has been down this road before. In 1993, then Israeli Prime Minister Yitzak Rabin and Palestinian Authority head Yasser Arafat negotiated the Oslo Accords, which promised to set the stage for peaceful relations between Israel and a Palestinian state. Again in 2000, another Israeli Prime Minister, Ehud Barak, sat down with Arafat at the Camp David summit to negotiate a final status settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Neither of these efforts achieved its goal.

The difficulties in negotiating peace today are even greater than in years past because there is no single entity that represents Palestinian interests. Israel is committed to dealing only with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. But Abbas and his Fatah party control only the West Bank, and Abbas’ hold on power is tenuous at best. It is unlikely that he has the political power to enforce terms of any agreement that might be reached. Meanwhile, the terrorist group Hamas, which controls Gaza and does not recognize Abbas' authority, has no interest in negotiating with Israel. In fact, earlier this week one Hamas official declared that an Israeli departure from the West Bank - which will be one of the issues on the table at Annapolis - would mean a Hamas takeover of the area.Israel's dilemma is clear. Even if Abbas were serious about wanting peace, which is by no means certain, Israel would still have to deal with the Muslim fundamentalists of Hamas, who are committed to Israel's destruction. No wonder, then, that there is an air of pessimism surrounding these talks. In fact, a recent poll showed that a majority of the Israeli people do not believe the Annapolis conference will bring peace any closer.

I believe that we must hope and pray for the best possible outcome at Annapolis. But given the history of previous negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians we must also be realistic. As yet, no Palestinians not Fatah, and certainly not Hamas have shown that they are willing to recognize Israel's right to live in peace and security as a Jewish state. So, while hoping for the best, we must prepare for the worst, knowing that the final outcome is in God's hands.Please join me today in praying for wisdom for Israel's leaders as they once again seek the peace that Israel so longs for. And keep lifting your prayers for the peace of Jerusalem up to God.

With prayers for shalom, peace,
Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein
President International Fellowship of Christians and Jews.

Bolton questions Annapolis peace talks Nov. 16, 2007 at 4:46 PM

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The former U.S ambassador to the United Nations criticized the Arab-Israeli peace talks scheduled in Maryland, calling the timing a mistake.John Bolton spoke before an audience at the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington-based think tank where Bolton now sits. He said the Arab-Israeli peace talks scheduled for late November or early December are premature, adding the situation is not ripe for a positive outcome, the Jerusalem Post reported Friday.It's a mistake to push ahead with the Annapolis peace conference in November or December, Bolton said. I just don't see this as the moment to make progress on Israeli-Palestinian matters.Bolton's criticism cited an Israeli government plagued with internal political difficulties and a Palestinian Authority broken perhaps beyond repair as handicapping any potential outcome of the scheduled talks.He criticized the lack of response by the Bush administration to the Sept. 6 Israeli strike on an alleged Syrian weapons facility. Bolton said the administration was so focused on diplomacy with North Korea, it overlooked Pyongyang's role in helping develop the Syrian facility, the Post said.Bolton also criticized U.S. handling of Iran and its nuclear ambitions, saying it was a mistake to allow Britain, France and Germany try to negotiate a solution.United Press International.

US finalizes Mideast conference plans By MATTHEW LEE and ANNE GEARAN, Associated Press Writers NOV 19,07

WASHINGTON - The United States plans to issue as early as Tuesday official invitations to a much-anticipated Middle East conference, to be held next week at Annapolis, Md., hoping for strong backing from a select group of Arab nations for the U.S. effort to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. As the U.S. finalizes preparations, the State Department will start sending out invitations overnight for the event, U.S. officials said Monday. The conference will be held in Annapolis on Nov. 27 in between meetings in Washington. The main guests are the Israelis and the Palestinians, and the Bush administration also is inviting Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Syria and key international players in the peace process, the officials said.The invitations are to be sent by diplomatic cable to U.S. embassies in the countries concerned, with instructions to Washington's ambassadors to present them to their host governments' foreign ministries, the officials said. They will ask that each nation send its highest-ranking appropriate official to Annapolis.The White House has said President Bush will attend at least part of the event chaired by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, who also will host a pre-conference dinner at the State Department on Nov. 26, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of the announcement.The State Department held off on invitations in an attempt to get as much done to prepare for the meeting before formally committing to the dates. Details about the meeting, including the guest list and agenda, are expected to be made public in the coming days.

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said preparations for the meeting were nearly complete and Rice had spent a good deal of time over the weekend calling officials in the Middle East for last-minute consultations.Among others, Rice telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit. She also called Lebanese President Fuad Saniora, with whom she discussed both peace efforts and Lebanon's upcoming presidential elections, McCormack said.Bush, who announced plans for the conference in July, and Rice hope Annapolis will launch the first serious round of Israel-Palestinian peace talks in more than seven years with the participants' endorsement of a joint document now being prepared by Israeli and Palestinian officials.We do have a sense that they are continuing to make progress, not only on the document but also on what comes after Annapolis, McCormack said.While awaiting the formal announcement of the conference, the State Department also welcomed pre-Annapolis steps announced Monday by Olmert's cabinet, including the release of Palestinian prisoners and a fresh commitment to not construct new settlements in the West Bank.

Our view is that the steps that the Israeli government have announced are positive confidence-building measures in the run-up to Annapolis, McCormack said, adding that such steps are points that both sides can build on, where they can build up that mutual confidence and try to improve daily lives on both sides, for both the Palestinians as well as the Israelis.Meanwhile, a large group of U.S. lawmakers urged Rice in a letter to make the most of the conference.Clearly, robust, hands-on U.S. leadership and diplomacy is necessary to frame not only on what transpires at the meeting, but on what takes place before and after it, said the letter, co-authored by Reps. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., and Charles Boustany Jr., R-La., and signed by 133 other members of Congress.Separately, former national security adviser Brent Scowcroft, a Rice mentor, and other well-known Washington advisers warned Bush and Rice in a letter last month that the session must tackle the substance of a permanent peace and that its failure risks devastating consequences.The letter is to be re-released Tuesday with more signatures, including Brookings Institution scholar Diana Villiers Negroponte, wife of Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.The Annapolis invitation list has been a poorly kept secret since mid-September, when U.S. officials first began floating ideas about who should attend.The administration is hoping for significant representation from Arab countries, whose foreign ministers are to meet Thursday and Friday in Cairo to form a joint position on the conference.The U.S. has already said the 13 nations that make up the Arab League's follow-up committee on a broad Arab-Israeli peace settlement are to be invited. Aside from the Palestinians and Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, the committee members are Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen.

Only two of the countries, Egypt and Jordan, have peace deals with Israel and some, notably Syria and Saudi Arabia, remain technically at war with the Jewish state. In September, Israel is alleged to have launched an airstrike on what some reports have said was a North Korean nuclear facility in Syria. Others expected to be invited include the members that, with the United States, make up the so-called Quartet of Mideast peacemakers — the United Nations, European Union and Russia. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair will also be asked to attend in his capacity as the quartet representative to the Palestinians. Invitations may also go to select European states with a past role or interest in Mideast peacemaking such as France, Germany and Britain, along with G8 economic powers that were not covered by other invitations, such as Canada, Japan and Italy.

US welcomes Israeli promises ahead of peace meet NOV 19,07

WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States welcomed Monday concessions to the Palestinians announced by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert ahead of a Middle East peace conference outside Washington.
Ahead of the meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, Israel vowed to stop building new settlements in the occupied West Bank and said it would free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the Israeli steps are positive confidence-building measures in the run-up to Annapolis.However, at talks in Jerusalem, Olmert and Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas failed to agree on a joint statement ahead of Annapolis. They did vow to keep hammering away at a declaration for the peace meeting.Ultimately, these have to be efforts and a document that they are both comfortable with, McCormack said, arguing that outsiders could not bring an imposed solution to the vexed issues separating Israel and the Palestinians.That said, we are of course going to, where we can, help the sides bridge any differences in terms of their thinking, and do what we can to help them move along the pathway, the spokesman said.

He added that Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke by telephone over the weekend with Olmert, Abbas, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit.The US administration has said the conference will take place in the fall but has still to name a date, creating fresh criticism in the US media Monday about its goals amid skepticism from some key players like Saudi Arabia.McCormack again refused to give a date, a list of invitees or an agenda, despite statements from some foreign leaders that the conference could take place as early as next week.But he said rest assured that the governments involved have been briefed along the way, and they have a very good idea of exactly when the conference is going to be, what they need to do to get here, and what the agenda will be.While focussed on the peace process overall, the conference would also address efforts by former British prime minister Tony Blair to build up the Palestinian economy, the spokesman said.Blair, now the international community's special Middle East peace envoy, said at the weekend that he would soon announce projects to create jobs for tens of thousands of Palestinians.

2,400 AND CLIMBING IN CYCLONE

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.

Bangladesh cyclone death toll at 2,400 By PARVEEN AHMED, Associated Press Writer NOV 19,07

BARGUNA, Bangladesh - The death toll from Bangladesh's most devastating storm in a decade climbed to at least 2,400 on Monday and relief officials warned the figure could jump sharply as rescuers reach more isolated areas. Teams from international aid organizations worked with army troops in a massive rescue effort that drew help from around the world. Rescue workers cleared roads of fallen trees and twisted roofs to reach remote villages, but tents, rice, water and other relief items were slow to arrive. Hungry survivors, thousands of whom were left homeless, scrambled for food.The official death toll from Tropical Cyclone Sidr reached 2,407 on Monday, according to the Disaster Management Ministry.District officials compile the figures, which are far from precise, based on reports from police, public hospitals, military officials, relief workers and aid agencies, said Mohammad Golam Mostafa of the Disaster Management Ministry.The Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, the Islamic equivalent of the Red Cross, said that it believed the toll could hit 10,000 once rescuers reach islands off the coast of the low-lying river delta nation.

Mohammad Abdur Rob, chairman of the society, said the estimate came from the assessments of thousands of volunteers taking part in the rescue operations across the battered region.We have seen more bodies floating in the sea, Zakir Hossain, a fisherman from the country's southwest said, after reaching shore with two decomposing bodies he and other fishermen had found.Squatting in a muddy field with his wife, 45-year-old farmer Asad Ali said their 5-year-old daughter, the couple's only child, had been fatally crushed beneath their toppled thatched hut in Barguna, one of the hardest-hit districts.He said a helicopter had dropped packages of food but he had received little assistance. Mobs swarm below the helicopters every time one is spotted.I've been here waiting for hours for something to eat, he said. What I've got so far are a few cookies. Not enough.Government officials defended the relief efforts and expressed confidence that authorities are up to the task.We have enough food and water, said Shahidul Islam, the top official in Bagerhat, a battered district close to Barguna. We are going to overcome the problem.Disaster Management Secretary Aiyub Bhuiyan met Sunday with representatives from the United Nations and international aid groups to discuss the emergency response.

We have briefed them about what we need immediately, Bhuiyan told reporters.The government said it has allocated $5.2 million in emergency aid for rebuilding houses. Many foreign governments and international groups have pledged to help, including the United States, which offered $2.1 million and the United Nations, which promised $7 million.A U.S. military medical team is already in Bangladesh and two Navy ships — the USS Essex and USS Kearsarge — each carrying at least 20 helicopters and tons of supplies, will be made available if the Bangladesh government requests them, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said.The German government offered $731,000, the European Union with $2.2 million and the British government with $5 million. France pledged $730,000 in aid, while the Philippines announced it would send a medical team.
The Rome-based World Food Program was rushing in food, and the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society was sending thousands of workers to stricken areas. Pope Benedict XVI called for every possible effort to help our brothers who have been so sorely tested during his traditional Sunday blessing from the Vatican. Many evacuees crowded onto ferries and trudged down sludge-filled roads to return home for the first time since the storm hit Thursday.

I have had no news of my family since Wednesday, as the mobile phones are down, said Golam Rasul, who was traveling to see his mother and brother in Bagerhat district. Many survivors returned to find their bamboo-and-straw huts flattened, their roofs missing, their crops ruined. We tied the corners of our tin roof to coconut trees with ropes, so it wouldn't fly away but our kitchen was destroyed and many trees around fell, said Shafiqul Islam, who works at a roadside gas station near Madaridpur, another hard-hit coastal district. Thanks to an effective early warning system, at least 1.5 million coastal villagers fled to shelters before the storm. But Islam and his family chose to stay at home. We didn't think it would be so bad, but when the wind roared over us, it was very scary. We huddled together under the bed, he said. Sidr's 150-mph winds smashed tens of thousands of homes in southwestern Bangladesh and ruined thousands of acres of crops. Every year, storms batter Bangladesh, a country of 150 million, often killing large numbers of people. The most deadly recent storm was a tornado that leveled 80 villages in northern Bangladesh in 1996, killing 621 people. Only two people were killed in Bangladesh by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was spawned off Indonesia's Sumatra island by a magnitude-9 earthquake, hitting a dozen countries and killing at least 216,858, according to government and aid agency figures considered the most reliable in each country. Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive natural disaster in U.S. history, killed 1,600 people across the Gulf Coast, destroyed or severely damaged more than 200,000 homes and made more than 800,000 people homeless overnight. Associated Press writers Julhas Alam and Farid Hossain in Dhaka and Pavel Rahman in Barguna contributed to this report.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

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

From The TimesNovember 19, 2007
Was Noah’s flood a sign of climate change devastation to come?Yepoka Yeebo Noah’s flood may have been responsible for the birth of modern civilisation across Western Europe, according to research.

A deluge 8,000 years ago in what are now the Balkans is believed by some to have given rise to the biblical story. It is being seen as a model for the social upheaval that may result from sea-level rises caused by climate change. The research, led by Chris Turney, a geologist at the University of Exeter, found that as early farmers from the Balkans travelled west because of the flooding, their culture replaced that of the hunter-gatherer tribes that they encountered. As they settled around Italy and France, they established farming communities, which eventually led to the growth of villages, towns and cities. People living in what is now southeast Europe must have felt as though the whole world had flooded, Professor Turney said. This could well have been the origin of the Noah’s Ark story. Entire coastal communities would have been displaced, forcing people to migrate in their thousands.

Those most affected by the flooding would have lived on low-lying land around the shores of the Black Sea. Professor Turney said that the rise in sea level 8,000 years ago is roughly in line with that expected between now and the end of the century. It’s quite a sobering thought, he said. Something of the order of 145 million people are living within a metre of sea level today. This research shows how rising sea levels can cause massive social change. Eight thousand years on, are we any better placed to deal with rising sea levels? Before the flood, the early farmers seemed disinclined to migrate. They didn’t expand any further across Europe, Professor Turney said. It looks like they just stopped.The flood occurred at the end of the last Ice Age when the Laurentide ice sheet covering much of North America collapsed, releasing vast amounts of water and increasing global sea levels by up to 1.4 metres. As the sea rose, it breached a ridge across the Bosphorus in Turkey, that dammed the Mediterranean and had, up to that time, cut off the Black Sea, which was a freshwater lake. Over 34 years the Black Sea filled and overflowed. Scientists from Britain and Australia simulated the Mediterranean and Black Sea shorelines before and after the sea-level rise. The research, published today in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, estimates that almost 73,000 square kilometres (28,000 square miles) of land would have been lost, displacing 145,000 people.

Environment | 17.11.2007
Climate Change as Frightening as Science Fiction Movie

Großansicht des Bildes mit der Bildunterschrift: The IPCC report said global warming is manmade and already taking place
Proof of humans' impact on warming the earth's atmosphere is unequivocal, and the world faces a moral obligation to fight climate change, according to the final report by the United Nations' leading climate council. The worst-case scenario envisaged by the report was as terrifying as created in doomsday films, said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. These scenes are as frightening as a science fiction movie, he said. But they are even more terrifying, because they are real.The 23-page document by the UN-backed panel of scientists, issued Saturday, Nov. 17, contained the strongest warnings yet on climate change and answered many of our questions on climate change, the secretary general said.

IPCC Chairman Rajendra Pachauri pointed out several findings, including the threat rising sea levels posed to small island nations and hundreds of millions of people living in low-lying deltas as well as more infectious diseases and the destruction of coral reefs.Ban Ki-moon Had recently been on a trip to see ice shelves breaking up in Antarctica. We need a new ethic by which every human being realizes the importance of the challenge we are facing and starts to take action through changes in lifestyle and attitude, he said. Every country in the world has to be committed to a shared vision and a set of common goals and actions that will help us move toward a much lower level of emissions.Ban added that the international community would now have to transform its way of doing things in order to save the treasure of our planet.The final report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is essentially a summary of three reports compiled by more than 2,000 scientists and issued by the IPCC earlier this year.

EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas said the report was a milestone in our scientific knowledge about climate change and the grave threats global warming poses to the planet.The report's findings amount to a stark warning that the world must act fast to slash greenhouse gas emissions if we are to prevent climate change from reaching devastating levels, he said in a statement. The good news is that it also shows that deep emission cuts are both technologically feasible and economically affordable.Climate change won't spare any regions of the world, the IPCC report said
Governments haggled for five days over the wording of this final IPCC document, which environmentalists say will serve as a manual on how to tackle global warming and set the tone for a crucial UN climate conference in Bali, Indonesia next month.We cannot afford to leave Bali without such a breakthrough, Ban said, referring to a conference running on the Indonesian island from Dec. 3-14, tasked with setting a strategy for deepening cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions.Government representatives at the Bali conference are expected to negotiate a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, which requires industrialized countries to make targeted commitments on curbing their greenhouse gases and expires in 2012.

The new IPCC report makes clear that global warming is a man-made phenomenon and is already taking place. It warns of catastrophic and unavoidable consequences if the atmosphere warms by more than 2degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees F). Global temperatures have already risen about 0.7 degrees Celsius over the last 100 years.

Global warming can only be slowed

The UN council said greenhouse gas emissions needed to drop by at least 50 percent by 2050 To prevent that, the level of carbon dioxide in the world's atmosphere must start dropping by 2020. By 2050, global emissions must be 50 percent to 65 percent below 2000 levels. The IPCC has already said global warming cannot be stopped, only slowed.Melting glaciers and loss of snow in Alpine regions as well as thinning Arctic summer sea ice and thawing permafrost shows that climate change is already on the march, the IPCC report said.Some of the newer elements of the report include one combined graphic that at a glance lays out specifically what levels of greenhouse gases lead to what rises in temperatures -- and what consequences each temperature rise could have on society.

Environmental groups pleased

Representatives from environmental protection groups appeared pleased with the study's results.The strong message of the IPCC can't be watered down -- the science is crystal clear, said Hans Verolme, director of environmental group WWF's Global Climate Change Program. The hard fact is we have caused climate change, and it's also clear that we hold the solution to stop global warming in our hands,The IPCC was last month awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, along with former US Vice President Al Gore, for raising awareness of the threat of climate change.DW staff (sms)

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

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, 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

The dollar's decline: from symbol of hegemony to shunned currency By Andy McSmith 17 November 2007

The decline of the dollar, symbol of US global hegemony for the best part of a century, may have become so entrenched that some experts now fear it is irreversible.After months of huge and sustained turmoil on the money markets, lack of confidence in the world's totemic currency has become so widespread that an increasing number of international traders are transferring their wealth to stronger currencies such as the euro, which recently hit its highest level against the dollar.An American businessman over here who is given the choice would take anything but the dollar, David Buik of Cantor Index said yesterday. I would want to be paid in yen, and if not yen then the euro or sterling.Matthew Osborne, of Armstrong International, added: The majority would say sterling. There are a few dealers in the City who may take the view that they'll take dollars now, while they're cheap, and hold on to them for 12 months.But the problem is so serious that there are people who in July or August might have been thinking, I'm paid in dollars, how annoying for whom it's now a question of, Do you have a job; do you have a bonus?

The collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the US, which is fuelling the dollar unrest, has already brought down one British bank, Northern Rock, and has forced others to declare vast losses. Yesterday, just as it appeared that the dollar might have finally reached its floor, there was another warning that the sub-prime crisis is going to get worse. The US Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, warned an international business summit in South Africa: The sub-prime market, parts of it will get worse before it gets better. Huge numbers of US homeowners are still cushioned by introductory interest rates set when they took out loans in 2005 or 2006, he said. When these introductory offers run out, their interest payments will increase, setting off another wave of defaulting and repossessions. And the dollar is enduring its rockiest spell in recent memory.Kenneth Froot, a Harvard university professor and former consultant to the US Federal Reserve, warned yesterday: Part of the depreciation [of the dollar] is permanent. There is no doubt that the dollar must sink against periphery currencies to reflect their increase in competitiveness and productivity.Professor Riordan Roett, of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, told Bloomberg News: There is a loss of confidence in the dollar and the US. It may only reflect the widespread dismay with the Bush administration, but it is obvious that the next administration, of either party, will have a steep uphill struggle. As well as reaching its lowest level against the euro, which has been trading at more than $1.47, the dollar has also fallen to its lowest level against the Canadian dollar since 1950, sterling since 1981, and the Swiss franc since 1995.Its plight was made still worse by a jarring signal from China that it was switching to other currencies. Cheng Siwei, vice-chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, told a conference in Beijing: We will favour stronger currencies over weaker ones, and will readjust accordingly.

The warning was reinforced by a Chinese central bank vice-director, Xu Jian, who said the dollar was losing its status as the world currency.China has stockpiled £700bn worth of foreign currency, and has only to decide to slow its accumulation of dollars to weaken the currency further. Last month, in a humiliating turn of events, the central bank in Iraq, four years after the United States invaded, stated that it wished to diversify reserves from a reliance on dollars.Korea's central bank has urged shipbuilders to issue invoices in the local currency and take precautions against the weakened dollar, and three of the world's big oil exporters, Iran, Venezuela, and Russia, are demanding payment in euros rather than dollars. Iran insisted that Japan should make all its payments for oil in yen, rather than dollars.Warren Buffet, who is reputedly the richest man in the world, was asked on the US network CNBC last month what he thought was the best currency in the world to own now. He answered: Not the US dollar.The Wall Street Journal ran an online poll asking people which currency, they would prefer to be paid in. The euro came top, ahead of sterling, with others such as the Canadian dollar, yen and Swiss franc trailing far behind. One respondent wrote: Being an expat in Europe with a European employment contract, I am paid in euros, and happy to get paid in euros, and shop in the US, just as long as the cycle lasts through my retirement, so I can pick up pension in Europe and retire in the US.The Federal Reserve has cut interest rates twice since September to revive the US economy, but the cuts – combined with the possibility that more were on the way – made the dollar less attractive to investors. Yesterday, it recovered slightly when one Federal Reserve banker, Randall Kroszner, dampened speculation about further interest rate cuts, saying that rates were low enough to get the economy through a rough patch.

Problems with the greenback, combined with cheap air fares, have encouraged more Britons to go shopping across the Atlantic. British tourists spent £785m in New York last year, the city's marketing and tourism organisation said yesterday. There were 1,169,000 visitors to New York from the UK in 2006, with 54 per cent going for four to seven nights and 31 per cent staying for two to three nights. They spent an average of £112 a day. The average age of the UK visitor is 40.Christopher Heywood, director of tourism PR for NYC & Company, said he expected the dollar crisis to attract yet more British shoppers. The savvy traveller who's coming here for the shopping can really get a bargain. They're coming with one suitcase and leaving with two or three, he said.We have people coming over here even for weekend trips to shop for the famous brand names. People are coming for the department stores that everyone around the world knows, but also for the boutique stores out of the centre of Manhattan, anything from Madison Avenue and Fifth Avenue to Bleecker Street in the West Village and SoHo.

OPEC interested in non-dollar currency By SEBASTIAN ABBOT, Associated Press Writer
Sun Nov 18, 6:46 PM ET

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that OPEC's members have expressed interest in converting their cash reserves into a currency other than the depreciating U.S. dollar, which he called a worthless piece of paper.His comments at the end of a rare summit of OPEC heads of state exposed fissures within the 13-member cartel — especially after U.S. ally Saudi Arabia was reluctant to mention concerns about the falling dollar in the summit's final declaration.The hardline Iranian leader's comments also highlighted the growing challenge that Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil producer, faces from Iran and its ally Venezuela within the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries.They get our oil and give us a worthless piece of paper, Ahmadinejad told reporters after the close of the summit in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. He blamed U.S. President George W. Bush's policies for the decline of the dollar and its negative effect on other countries.Oil is priced in U.S. dollars on the world market, and the currency's depreciation has concerned oil producers because it has contributed to rising crude prices and has eroded the value of their dollar reserves.All participating leaders showed an interest in changing their hard currency reserves to a credible hard currency, Ahmadinejad said. Some said producing countries should designate a single hard currency aside from the U.S. dollar ... to form the basis of our oil trade.

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez echoed this sentiment Sunday on the sidelines of the summit, saying the empire of the dollar has to end.Don't you see how the dollar has been in free-fall without a parachute? Chavez said, calling the euro a better option.Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah had tried to direct the focus of the summit toward studying the effect of the oil industry on the environment, but he continuously faced challenges from Ahmadinejad and Chavez.
Iran and Venezuela have proposed trading oil in a basket of currencies to replace the historic link to the dollar, but they had not been able to generate support from enough fellow OPEC members — many of whom, including Saudi Arabia, are staunch U.S. allies.Both Iran and Venezuela have antagonistic relationships with the U.S., suggesting their proposals may have a political motivation as well. While Tehran has been in a standoff with Washington over its nuclear program, left-wing Chavez is a bitter antagonist of Bush. U.S. sanctions on Iran also have made it increasingly difficult for the country to do business in dollars.
During Chavez's opening address to the summit on Saturday, the Venezuelan leader said OPEC should assert itself as an active political agent. But Abdullah appeared to distance himself from Chavez's comments, saying OPEC always acted moderately and wisely.

A day earlier, Saudi Arabia opposed a move by Iran on Friday to have OPEC include concerns over the falling dollar included in the summit's closing statement after the weekend meeting. Saudi Arabia's foreign minister even warned that even talking publicly about the currency's decline could further hurt its value.But by Sunday, it appeared that Saudi Arabia had compromised. Though the final declaration delivered Sunday did not specifically mention concern over the weak dollar, the organization directed its finance ministers to study the issue.OPEC will study ways and means of enhancing financial cooperation among OPEC ... including proposals by some of the heads of state and governments in their statements to the summit, OPEC Secretary General Abdalla Salem el-Badri said, reading the statement.Iran's oil minister went a step further and said OPEC will form a committee to study the dollar's affect on oil prices and investigate the possibility of a currency basket.We have agreed to set up a committee consisting of oil and finance ministers from OPEC countries to study the impact of the dollar on oil prices, Gholam Hussein Nozari told Dow Jones Newswires.Iraqi Oil Minister Hussein al-Shahristani said the committee would submit to OPEC its recommendation on a basket of currencies that OPEC members will deal with. He did not give a timeline for the recommendation. The meeting in Riyadh, with heads of states and delegates from 13 of the world's biggest oil-producing nations, was the third full OPEC summit since the organization was created in 1960. Abdullah tried to take the focus off the dollar debate, announcing the donation of $300 million to set up a program to study the effect of the oil industry on the environment. Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also agreed to donate $150 million each to the fund, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, said Sunday.

The run-up to the meeting was dominated by speculation over whether OPEC would raise production following recent oil price increases that have approached $100. But cartel officials have resisted pressure to increase oil production and said they will hold off any decision until the group meets next month in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. They have also cast doubt on the effect any output hike would have on oil prices, saying the recent rise has been driven by the falling dollar and financial speculation by investment funds rather than any supply shortage.
During his final remarks, el-Badri stressed he was committed to supply — but did not mention changing oil outputs. We affirm our commitment ... to continue providing adequate, timely, efficient, economic and reliable petroleum supplies to the world market, he said.

Saudi minister warns of dollar collapse
Saturday, 17th November 2007

The dollar could collapse if Opec officially admits considering changing the pricing of oil into alternative currencies such as the euro, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister has warned.Prince Saud Al-Faisal was overheard ruling out a proposal from Iran and Venezuela to discuss pricing crude in a private meeting at the oil cartel's conference.In an embarrassing blunder at the meeting in Riyadh, ministers' microphones were not cut off during a key closed meeting, and Prince Al-Faisal was heard saying: My feeling is that the mere mention that the Opec countries are studying the issue of the dollar is itself going to have an impact that endangers the interests of the countries. There will be journalists who will seize on this point and we don't want the dollar to collapse instead of doing something good for Opec.

After around 40 minutes press officials cut off the feed, which had been accidentally broadcast to the press room.Prince Al-Faisal added: This is not new. We have done this in the past: decide to study something without putting down on paper that we are going to study it so that we avoid any implication that will bring adverse effects on our countries' finances.Iran and Venezuela have argued that the meeting's final communique should voice concern about the level of the dollar, which has recently fallen to new record lows against the euro. They are pushing for oil to be denominated against a basket of currencies.The greenback also weakened slightly against the pound, although sterling's own recent weakness has pushed it down from $2.10 to $2.0457 during the week.

Nigerian finance minister Shamsuddeen Usman said that Opec could declare in the communique that: While underlining our concern for the continued depreciation of the dollar and its adverse impact on our revenues, we instruct our finance ministers to study the issue exhaustively and advise us on ways to safeguard the purchasing power of our revenues, of our members' revenues.Chancellor Alistair Darling will today urge his fellow finance ministers at a major G20 summit to increase investment in oil production and refinement.

Israel haven for new Bahai world order by Jennie Matthew
Sun Nov 18, 6:06 PM ET

HAIFA, Israel (AFP) - Dominating a holy mountain in Israel is the nerve centre of the world's fastest growing major religion, preaching global unity and world peace from one of the most troubled countries on earth. Founded less than 170 years ago, the Bahai faith believes that Persian-born prophet Bahuallah, who died in Israel, brought a message of unity, equality and world federation to save mankind from the plagues of the modern world.
The shrine to the Bab, a messenger whose mission prepared humanity for the coming of Bahuallah, the beautiful Bahai terraced gardens and classical-style World Centre in Israel's port city of Haifa are lauded by some as the eighth wonder of the world.Believers wait years to come on pilgrimage and 600 Bahais from more than 60 countries volunteer for unpaid service to administer the centre.

My parents worried because of the news on TV about bombs, but for me I was going to the holiest spot on the planet, said 24-year-old IT worker Bhojraj Parmar from India, a technician at the Bahai headquarters.Not even a two-and-a-half-hour interrogation by anxious Israeli security officials upon arrival put him off.I don't really mind, he said. I'm supposed to be cooperative with the government. It's for security.Numbering five million believers in every continent reading literature translated into more than 800 languages, the Bahai faith is growing faster than any other religion but Zoroastrianism with its some 200,000 adherents.Theirs is a vision of the world governed by a world legislature, world court and a world executive, all overseeing freedom of movement, disarmament and an international military to ensure peace.The central theme of Babaullah's social teachings is that humanity is one single race and the day has come for its unification into one global society, says a glossy English-language brochure.Far from creating a monstrous big brother, Bahais believe their faith is the most suited world religion to sustain modern, progressive society.They believe in promoting sexual equality, universal education and religious tolerance, and eliminating prejudice, extreme wealth and poverty, -- teachings that they say hold the answers to global warming, erosion of family life and racism.

An army of 80 paid gardeners keeps the 21 terraces on Mount Carmel next to the Mediterranean in tip-top condition. The gardens took 10 years to create, and along with two other buildings finished in 2000, cost 250 million dollars (170 million euros).

--Bahais admit 'irony' of preaching global unity in Israel --

Although they receive only modest stipends to cover food and basic expenses, Bahai volunteers describe their mission as life-changing or priceless.Kenneth Chadwick, 24, from Michigan, grew up in a Bahai household but his epiphany came as a student when he found himself briefly paralysed on the dorm-room floor after fervent prayer.

One week after graduation he came to Haifa as a volunteer.

For the first time, I understood what faith was, what love was. I felt what it was like to have a connection with God. It was a religious experience that completely changed my life. I felt like I was born again.Dressed smartly in a shirt and tie for his clerical work at the Universal House of Justice -- the nine-member, all-male world governing body, Chadwick is a serious young man whose hands tremble as he tries to explain his mission. Given that Israel has among the most insecure yet heavily-armed borders in the world in a region with no imminent prospect of disarmament, he acknowledges a certain irony over the location of the Bahai headquarters.

Parmar even sees Israel as a model for the Bahai world commonwealth.

I love Israeli people for the fact that they are very united. Israel wouldn't be a possibility if the Jewish people weren't united. We're grateful to Israelis. We wouldn't be here without them, he said. But the country, created 60 years ago as a Jewish state, is deeply opposed to any form of missionary activity. Anyone wishing to convert has to go abroad. Bahai spokesman Douglas Moore is not aware of any Israeli Bahais. It's enough for me that I'm Jewish. It's enough of a burden. Don't give me another, laughed Haifa Mayor Yona Yahav, when asked if he thought about signing up after waxing lyrical about the Bahais' contribution to his city. I'm Jewish, I believe in my God. I don't care what they do, said Zehorit Barashar, a 22-year-old security guard who kicks out those who break the rules and wears a gun "to save these guys because Bahais do not carry weapons. The Bahai-Israel relationship is mutually beneficial. Bahais promise not to convert Israelis but provide a tourist magnet keeping the local economy afloat. Unlike Christian, Muslim and Jewish organisations, Bahais keep totally aloof from politics. And none of their institutions carry out aid work in Israel or the Palestinian territories.

Israel grants them freedom to run their World Centre.

We are very proud that the holiest place for the Bahais is situated in Haifa. The way they have done the whole area, the mountain, is outstanding. It is considered the eighth wonder of the world, said Yahav. The Bahai gardens are the main tourist attraction in Haifa, he said. Dignitaries and foreign ambassadors are invited to learn about the faith and asked for help to curb persecution in Iran, where more than 200 Bahais have been executed or killed since the 1979 Islamic revolution. Bahais believe in progressive revelation, that the world's great religions trace one divine plan from Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus and Mohammed, to Bab and Babuallah in 19th-century Persia. The year 2007 is the Bahai year 167. Years are divided into 19 months of 19 days, with extra days before new year's day on March 21 devoted to gift-giving. There are nine holy days and a one-month sunrise to sunset fast. Not all are smitten. It's a bit too artificial, said Swiss tourist Egiolio Spada, pointing at the grass. For instance, if you look at the green it seems plastic.