CANADIAN THRONE SPEECH

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.

Hurricane season ending after record damage in US Wed Nov 19, 3:02 pm ET

MIAMI (AFP) – The Atlantic hurricane season in 2008 is coming to a close after producing 16 storms, including eight hurricanes, and inflicting record damage in the United States, a report by university researchers said on Wednesday.The storm activity was well above-average overall and very active in terms of storms making US landfall, a team of forecasters at Colorado State University said.The Atlantic hurricane season extends from June 1 to November 30, but experts do not expect new tropical storms to form in the closing days of the season.Of the eight hurricanes that formed, five were intense storms (category 3-5 on the the Saffir-Simpson scale), with Gustav and Ike both causing tremendous amounts of devastation in the United States and in the Caribbean, the report said.An average season has about 11 tropical storms, including five hurricanes with two of high-intensity.Even though no major hurricanes struck the United States this year, Gustav and Ike carried winds of up to 175 kilometers (109 miles) per hour, just shy of levels that define major hurricanes, at 178 kilometers per hour.The damage caused by the spate of storms in the United States was estimated at 20 billion dollars, according to the report.

The year was one of the most destructive years on record from a damage perspective, Phil Klotzbach, who led the study.Hurricane Ike, which struck the Texas coast in September after hitting oil installations, caused insured damage amounting to eight billion dollars, the report said.The team of forecasters, Klotzbach and William Gray, said their predictions at the opening season proved mostly accurate.In April and June as the season began, the team forecast 15 named storms, eight hurricanes and four intense hurricanes. In fact, there were 16 named storms registered, eight hurricanes and five intense hurricanes.

CNN NEWS VIDEO
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YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
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MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU NOV 20,2008

09:30 AM -31.54
10:00 AM -158.66
10:30 AM -152.42
11:00 AM -11.07
11:30 AM -54.82
12:00 PM -93.67
12:30 PM +70.30
01:00 PM +85.54
01:30 PM -31.30
02:00 PM +40.54
02:30 PM -124.74
03:00 PM -158.58
03:30 PM -231.14
04:00 PM -444.99 7552.29

S&P 500 752.44 -54.14

NASDAQ 1316.12 -70.30

GOLD 744.9 -10.4

OIL 49.62 -4.92

TSE 300 7724.76 -765.80

CDNX 691.95 -38.14

S&P/TSX/60 463.57 -49.31

MORNING NEWS,STATS

S&P 500 drops 20% in last 11 days of trading.
Financial sector lost 10% yesterday.
Deflation fears,Net worth can fall endless.
Deflation fears rising as last month's CPI drops 1%,most since its inception in 1947.
Fear of more Mortgage losses.
Dow -53 points at 4 minutes into trading today.
Dow -205 points at low today this morning so far.
Dow +41 points at high so far this morning.

WHY DO FINANCIALS KEEP DROPPING?
-Street believes capital raised insufficient to cover additional losses.
-Sales of assets necessary,but loans to buy are hard to come by.
HOW MUCH MORE CAPITAL IS NEEDED?
-FBR CAPITAL MARKETS:
-US financial system still needs at least $1 - $1.2 TRILLION DOLLARS.
-Private market capital raising becoming more difficult.
-Government must provide more Capital
-Bank holiday on dividends likely.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow touches lowest level since March 2003.
Dow dips below recent intraday low of 7882 points.
Dow -222 points at low today.
Dow +187 points at high today.
S&P 500 touches lowest level since October 2002.
Nasdaq touches lowest level since April 2003.

Alex Jones:China wants to buy big 3 company factories.
Alex Jones:Obama hiring Clinton,1ST Bush members,trouble for America.
GM shares fall to lowest level since June 1938.
Saudi Prince Al Waleed plans to boost Citi stake back to 5%.
The markets are goin crazy today,one minute up +60,the next minute -20.
Bipartism Group of Senators reach compromise agreement to give Emergency loans to Detroit Automakers.
CNBC'S HARWOOD:Reid,Pelosi say auto bill may have to wait until December.
AUTO UPDATE NEWS CONFERENCE AT 2:30PM THIS AFTERNOON.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Down down 5.6% today.
Dow drops 11.1% this week.
Dow falls 43.1% this year so far.
Dow drops below 7600 points today.
Dow and Nasdaq end today at fresh 5 1/2 year lows.
S&P drops 6.7% today.
S&P drops 13.8% this week.
S&P drops 48.8% this year so far.
S&P falls below 2002 bear market low of 776 points.
S&P closes at lowest level since April 1997.
Nasdaq down 5.1% today.
Nasdaq down 50.4% this year so far.
Crude oil below $50 today.
Energy and Financials brought down the Market today.
Citigroup down 26% today.
Citi option merger.
Citi stocks below $5 a share today.
Citi 800 MILLION shares traded.
Alcoa down 16% today.
J P Morgan down 16% today.
Bank of America down 14% today.
Dell Q3 EPS $0.37.
Dell Q3 revenue $15.15 BILLION VS $16.22 BILLION forecast.
US DOLLAR WEAKER.
US 2 year yield below 1% today.
US 10 year treasury yield falls to 50 year low of 3.0% Today.
Stocks plunge in last hour of trading again today.

TSX slides more than 750 points near close on weaker oil, bad financial news
By David Friend, The Canadian Press NOV 20,08

TORONTO - The Toronto stock market was down more than 750 points shortly before the closing bell as bad news ripped through key sectors of the market, including energy and banks. The S&P/TSX composite index was down 764.38 points to 7,726.18 - the first time since late 2003 that it has been under 8,000. Driving the market lower was weakness in the TSX energy sector as oil dipped under the US$50-a-barrel mark for the first time since January 2007. Metal stocks were also lower, with Teck Cominco (TSX:TCK.B) stock down 23 per cent. The company is suspending dividends, slashing capital spending and selling assets as it struggles under a massive debt taken on for the takeover of the Fording Canadian Coal Trust. And the financial sector tumbled after TD Bank (TSX:TD) disclosed it will report C$350 million in quarterly credit trading losses. Shares in the big Canadian banks were down as much as 16 per cent. The Canadian dollar was at 77.35 cents US, down 2.48 cents.

Stocks tumble for second day; Treasurys surge By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer NOV 20,08

AP – … NEW YORK – Stocks plunged for a second straight day Thursday, falling to a ranges not seen in six years as financial and energy stocks tumbled and as demand for the safety of government debt spiked to historic levels.Stocks, which had been weak for much of the session, lost ground after hopes faded that lawmakers would soon put together an aid package for the U.S. automakers and as major indexes like the Standard & Poor's 500 index broke through lows established in 2002. That breach of key technical thresholds sent a shudder through the market and touched off further selling.The pullback for the second straight day sent the Standard & Poor's 500 index down 6.7 percent to the 752 level, below the closing low of 776.76 logged on Oct. 9, 2002. The Dow Jones industrial average, meanwhile, fell 445 points, or 5.6percent. The decline brings the Dow's two-day decline to 873 points.Financial stocks plunged on worries that the government's financial rescue won't be sufficient to cover banks' losses. Meanwhile, a sharp drop in oil prices weighed heavily on energy companies.Thursday's pullback came amid heavy volume, a welcome sign for some investors who are looking for the market to experience a cathartic sell-off that could lay the groundwork for a recovery. Heavier volume can signal investors are scared enough to sell rather than simply sitting on the sidelines, which can result in relatively light volume.Observers said, however, that the selling was as much to do with entrenched pessimism about the prospects for many corners of the economy.

Unrelenting gloom has taken over the markets, said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Inc. The economic news, the concerns about some major financial institutions, the concerns about the auto sector, earnings reports, everything is coming out in a way that is just provoking a massive selling in the stock market.

Back in October we were looking at a potential catastrophic meltdown of the credit markets, and that didn't happen, he said. But that doesn't mean tremendous damage hasn't been done to the economy.According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 444.99, or 5.56 percent, to 7,552.29.Broader stock indicators also showed huge declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 54.14, or 6.71 percent, to 752.44. The Nasdaq composite index fell 70.30, or 5.07 percent, to 1,316.12.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 27.07, or 6.56 percent, to 385.31.Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 10 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 2.23 billion shares.Gus Scacco, managing director at AG Asset Management, said investors can't manage to regain confidence as the market continues to plumb new depths. Stocks fell to their lowest level in more than five years on Wednesday.

We're trying to make a bottom but we keep breaking through, he said.Bond prices showed stunning advances as investors clamored for the safety of government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell to 3.14 percent from 3.32 percent late Wednesday. Bond yields move opposite their price. The yield on the three-month Treasury bill, considered one of the safest assets around, fell to 0.03 percent from 0.06 percent late Wednesday.Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 7 percent, or $4, to settle at $49.62 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Dems delay auto bailout vote, seek plan from Big 3 By KEN THOMAS and JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writers NOV 20,08

AP – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif, second from left, gestures during a news conference on Capitol Hill … WASHINGTON – Democratic leaders in Congress sidetracked legislation to bail out the auto industry Thursday and demanded the Big Three develop a plan assuring the money would make them economically viable. Until they show us the plan, we cannot show them the money, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said at a hastily called news conference in the Capitol.She and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Congress would return to work in early December to vote on legislation if General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC produce an acceptable plan.The decision averted a likely defeat of legislation providing $25 billion loans for the industry. Reid and Pelosi said there was no plan in circulation that could pass both houses of Congress and win President George W. Bush's approval.While the decision headed off the defeat of one bill, it did not necessarily translate into passage of a different one.As a result, the fate of hundreds of thousands of auto workers and even of an iconic American industry hang in the balance.The chief executives of the Big Three automakers appealed personally to lawmakers for the loans this week, and warned that their industry might collapse without them. In testimony, they said their problem was that credit was unavailable, and not that they were manufacturing products that consumers had turned their backs on.But whatever support they found sagged when it became known that each of them had flown into Washington aboard multimillion dollar corporate jets. Reid observed that was difficult to explain to taxpayers in his hometown of Searchlight, Nev.

The automakers are on a tight timeline. Reid and Pelosi said their plan must be turned over to key lawmakers by Dec. 2 They said hearings were possible the first week of December, and Congress may return to session the following week to consider legislation.Pelosi stressed that whatever the Big Three provided to Congress, it must show they had a plan for viability and accountability, meaning that the were transforming their industry in a way that it would become competitive, and that they were clear about how the federal loan money was used.Even if lawmakers return to vote, they are likely to insist on numerous conditions on any loans. One possibility is to seek a partial ownership of the companies. Another is to limit salaries of top executives. A third is to prohibit use of the funds for any lobbying.Until Democratic leaders reached their agreement, the bailout had appeared headed for defeat in Congress, with the fate of hundreds of thousands of workers and Detroit's once-venerable car companies in the balance.Reid canceled plans for a vote on a bill to carve $25 billion in new loans out of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund. The Bush administration and congressional Republicans oppose that plan. They prefer tapping a different source of funds that is earmarked to help the industry produce vehicles that burn less gasoline. But using those funds drew opposition from Pelosi, as well as environmentalists.Efforts on a compromise unfolded earlier in the day, and a small group of legislators circulated a proposal that would divert the fuel-efficiency money to cover the industry's short-term financial needs, while guaranteeing that account would ultimately be replenished.With all sides sensing doom for a Big Three automaker rescue, the finger-pointing proceeded.White House press secretary Dana Perino on Thursday blamed Reid for not allowing the Republicans' separate auto-aid plan to come up for a vote.Unfortunately it looks like Sen. Reid just wants to pick up his ball and go home for the next two weeks — two months — for vacation, she said.Pressed on what the White House would do if Congress can't agree on a plan to rescue the automakers this week, Perino said she thought lawmakers would return after the Thanksgiving holiday for an emergency legislative session if an auto company was in imminent danger of collapsing.I can't imagine a scenario where they wouldn't come back, unless the answer is that they just don't care. And if that's the case, then the American people ought to know that.

Congressional Democrats countered that the Treasury Department already had the power to grant emergency funds to the automakers, but the Bush administration opposed the approach. The leaders of the Big Three automakers painted a grim picture of their financial position during two days of congressional hearings, warning that the collapse of the auto industry could lead to the loss of 3 million jobs. Detroit's automakers, hurt by a sharp drop in sales and a nearly frozen credit market, burned through nearly $18 billion in cash reserves during the last quarter — about $7 billion at GM, almost $8 billion at Ford and $3 billion at Chrysler. GM and Chrysler said they could collapse in weeks. I don't believe we have the luxury of a lot of time, GM CEO Rick Wagoner told a House hearing. Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Co., said the company had enough cash reserves to make it through 2009. But United Auto Workers union president Ron Gettelfinger said a bankruptcy could spawn others.

If there's a Chapter 11 (for) one of the companies, it will drag at least one other with them, if not all of them. And I do not believe Chapter 11 is where it will end. It will go to liquidation, Gettelfinger said. Automakers ran into more resistance from House lawmakers, who chastised the executives for fighting tougher fuel-efficiency standards in the past and questioned their use of private jets while at the same time seeking government handouts. My fear is that you're going to take this money and continue the same stupid decisions you've made for 25 years, said Rep. Michael Capuano, D-Mass. The stakes are high. The Detroit automakers employ nearly a quarter-million workers, and more than 730,000 other workers produce materials and parts that go into cars. About 1 million more people work in dealerships nationwide. If just one of the automakers declared bankruptcy, some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million. Associated Press writers David Espo and Sam Hananel in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

ITS NOT YOUR CASH - VIDEO - STORY
http://wnd.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=81485

I CAN SEE SARKOZY OR BLAIR AS THE 1ST PERMANANT PRESIDENT OF THE EUROPEAN UNION AFTER THE LISBON TREATY IS FINALLY SETTLED.BLAIR AND SARKOZY ARE BOTH WANTING WORLD CONTROL,ESPECIALLY SARKOZY WANTING THE EU TO CONTROL THE FINANCES OF THE WORLD AND BLAIR WANTING FULL CONTROL OF THE ISRAELI-ARAB PEACE PROCESS,COMBINED THESE TWO CAN LEAD THE EU INTO THE COMING WORLD GOVERNMENT THROUGH ECONOMICAL CONTROL AND THE PEACE PROCESS.

France wants post-EU presidency financial summit
PHILIPPA RUNNER 19.11.2008 @ 09:28 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - France has unveiled plans for a post-French EU presidency financial summit, despite the Czech Republic's sensitivity over its upcoming chairmanship of the EU. The Elysee Palace on Tuesday (18 November) formally announced an international summit to be held in Paris on 8 January, entitled New World: Values, Development and Regulation, continuing France's ambition to create a new model for capitalism in the wake of the global financial crisis.Mr Sarkozy - known for having a high-octane personality, is to chair another major international meeting (Photo: The Council of the European Union)The meeting is to bring together international leaders as well as intellectuals such as economist Joseph Stiglitz and philosopher Francis Fukuyama and will be co-chaired by French President Nicolas Sarkozy and former British PM Tony Blair. The move comes after a G20 summit in Washington last weekend fell short of EU hopes to tighten global financial regulation.The new Paris meeting is the latest in a long line of high-powered events organised by France since it took over the EU helm in July. An EU presidency normally hosts two EU summits, but Mr Sarkozy has already added one extraordinary Georgia war summit, one special financial crisis summit, a eurozone summit and a G4 financial summit.

French officials in October proposed that the eurozone should form an economic government led by Mr Sarkozy after the French EU presidency expires in December in order to maintain the impetus, the energy of the Elysee Palace's efforts.Mr Sarkozy and Mr Blair have also been floated as candidates for the Lisbon treaty-envisaged job of permanent EU president.But the Czech Republic has resented any suggestions that a small, new EU state cannot lead the bloc in times of crisis.Prague has also rejected MEPs' accusations that it will be a lame duck presidency because it is split over ratification of the Lisbon treaty and because the ruling ODS party suffered defeats in local elections last month.Nobody can take the presidency away from the Czech Republic, Czech deputy prime minister Alexandr Vondra said in October on the eurozone government idea.Prague also plans to hold two extraordinary summits during its EU chairmanship, one on the Eastern Partnership of deeper integration with the EU's post-Soviet neighbours and one to greet new US President Barack Obama.

French public policies minister Eric Besson toned down the language of the French president's original statement on the 8 January event when talking to the Associated Press on Tuesday.The meeting will be a conference not a summit, he said. It's not an operational and decision-making colloquium.

Israel's Netanyahu pushes economic peace plan by Ron Bousso Ron Bousso – Wed Nov 19, 5:59 am ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) – Israel's hawkish opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday a Palestinian state should only be created once the economy is strengthened, adding that this would be at the heart of his peace plan if he wins February elections.Economic development does not solve problems, it mitigates them and makes them more accessible for solution, and creates a stronger political base, the former prime minister and head of the rightwing Likud party said.He went on to say that his government would continue US-backed peace talks with the Palestinian Authority in an effort to reach an agreement on agreeable issues.Polls project that Likud would gain a slight lead in February 10 elections that were called after Ehud Olmert stepped down as prime minister in September.Netanyahu rejected the current format of the peace process, saying he would not hand over the Palestinians occupied territories before strengthening the West Bank economy, fearing that radical Islamists backed by archfoe Iran would seize power there.Any area that we withdraw from will be taken over by Iran, Netanyahu said in a speech before the General Assembly of North American Jewish communities. All we are doing is creating an additional base for militant Islam.Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip in 2005, where the Islamist Hamas movement violently ousted forces loyal to secular Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas less than two years later.Netanyahu said that while continuing talks with moderate Palestinians, he would seek to weave an economic peace alongside the political process that gives a stake in peace for the moderate elements in the Palestinian society.The plan will include creating thousands of jobs and the development of infrastructure and the removal of Israeli roadblocks across the West Bank in order to allow Palestinian movement without impeding Israeli society.He would also seek to develop three or four joint Israeli-Palestinian economic projects along the West Bank border area with the support of Egypt and Jordan, with which Israel has peace agreements.

This is a definite change I intend to introduce into the peace negotiations, the hawkish MP said.But Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad has rejected Netanyahu's proposals for an economic solution to the Middle East conflict.Fayyad, a former International Monetary Fund economist, said the conflict was a political one that required a political solution.I am interested not in redefining the occupation but in ending the occupation, he said in an interview published by the Israeli daily Haaretz on Tuesday.

TSX sinks to lowest level in 4 years U.S. markets plunge to five-year low
Last Updated: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 | 4:43 PM ET CBC News

Falling financial stocks helped pull the S&P/TSX composite index to another triple-digit loss in trading on Wednesday afternoon.The Canadian benchmark index finished down 345.17 points, or 3.9 per cent, at 8,490.56.The TSX has not been this low since September 2004.The financial services sub-index was down 4.9 per cent after Bank of Nova Scotia warned a day earlier it would take a hit of more than a half-billion dollars to its bottom line due to fallout from the credit crunch.Scotiabank said the $595-million after-tax knock will include a charge of $115 million for trading revenues related to the bankruptcy of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers, plus $370 million on securities the bank holds. Another $110 million charge will go to cover derivatives, but the bank said it expects to reverse the charge over the life of the hedging products.Shares of Scotiabank were off $1.93 at $35.24, for a drop of more than five per cent.

Bank of Montreal shares dropped $2.50, or more than six per cent, to $38, while Royal Bank lost $2.35 to end at $41.19, TD slipped $2.25 to $49.93, and CIBC gave back $2.59 to finish the day at $48.29.All the sub-indices on the TSX lost ground on Wednesday, including a drop of 11.5 per cent for the mining group.While banks played a key role in the TSX's losses, the retreat also reflected general economic woes in North America.You've got pretty soft economic numbers across the board so you've got a very negative sentiment at the moment, said Bob Gorman, chief portfolio strategist at TD Waterhouse.

Dow drops below 8,000 point
On Wall Street, U.S. stocks plunged to their lowest levels since March 2003.The Dow Jones industrial average shed five per cent, or more than 427 points, to end at 7,997.28 points. Nasdaq lost 96.85 to finish at 1,386.42 and the S&P 500 tumbled 52.54 points to end at 806.58.Losses deepened on stock markets after the Federal Reserve cut its outlook for the U.S. economy.The central bank is now expecting anything from zero growth to expansion of just 0.3 per cent this year. For 2009, the Fed's prediction ranges from a contraction of 0.2 per cent all the way up to growth of 1.1 per cent.The forecasts are down from the prediction the Fed made to the U.S. Congress in July.Oil prices, meanwhile, also fell 77 cents US Wednesday, closing at $53.62 US a barrel.

EU industry commissioner backs Opel aid
ELITSA VUCHEVA 19.11.2008 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU industry commissioner Gunter Verheugen on Wednesday (19 November) signaled support for possible German government aid to Germany-based carmaker Opel, saying Opel's situation is exceptional and justifies special measures.

Opel has been experiencing sales, as well as financial, problems in the last weeks, and has asked the German government for loan guarantees in case its parent company, US car maker General Motors Corp, can no longer finance it.But as a division of General Motors, Opel's problems are not its fault, Mr Verheugen told MEPs in Strasbourg. Problems have arisen solely from the credit crunch in America, he said. I think these are exceptional circumstances which don't apply to other European constructors and which justify consideration of exceptional measures, the commissioner added.He also warned about possible consequences on the whole European car industry if Opel finds itself in serious trouble.If one big car maker disappears from the market, there will be a knock-on effect all down the line, he said.

Meanwhile, German solar panel maker SolarWorld on Wednesday said it was already preparing a €1 billion offer to buy four of Opel's plants. It said it would pay €250 million in cash and €750 million as a bank credit under certain conditions, Deutsche Welle reports.

Support for European car industry

The industry commissioner and French EU affairs minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet - whose country holds the rotating EU presidency at the moment - also spoke out in favour of more support for Europe's car industry in general.Targeted and temporary measures to support European producers might be useful, in part to increase technological and ecological performance, Mr Jouyet told MEPs in Strasbourg.Mr Verheugen added: The situation is clear, the automobile industry is a key industry, maybe the key industry. We have to champion sustainability of [that] industry.European car manufacturers have asked for a €40 billion aid in the form of loans with below-market interest rates, while the European Commission is to unveil next week a general economic stimulus plan.Mr Jouyet also said the issue would be discussed during a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels in December.

Sticking to the rules

Some of Mr Verheugen's own colleagues have spoken out against the European car industry getting special treatment, however.EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes on Tuesday stressed that aid granted to the European financial sector would not justify aid to the car sector, too.You cannot compare the car sector with the financial sector, she was reported as saying by Reuters.If your financial system is not working any more, then it is over. That was our incentive to give medicine to its blood circulation, she added.We have to be aware that if one quits the competition rules, for a very short period it is a positive point for one member state, but the very next week it will be a failure if everyone is just making his own proposals, Ms Kroes underlined.

Throne speech talks of auto aid Wed Nov 19, 6:18 PM
By Joan Bryden, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - The Harper government is promising aid to the beleaguered auto sector as part of a five-point plan it hopes will protect Canada from the global economic crisis - and insulate the minority administration from political fallout. The Conservatives used Wednesday's throne speech to warn that weathering the storm will likely mean plunging the country back into deficit, something that was unthinkable only a few weeks ago. The plan promises sound budgeting to ensure the country avoids ongoing, unsustainable structural deficits. But it appears resigned to the prospect of deficits in the short-term. In a historic global downturn, it would be misguided to commit to a balanced budget in the short term at any cost because that cost would ultimately be borne by Canadian families, Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean read from the speech in the Senate chamber. It's a long way from last year's throne speech, in which the cash-rich government - flush with a multibillion-dollar surplus - promised big tax cuts. The latest blueprint from Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government also makes an unequivocal promise to secure jobs through training and to provide further unspecified support for the troubled auto and aerospace industries. Until now, the government has hedged about helping the automotive industry. The Canadian manufacturing sector, particularly the automotive and aerospace industries, has been under increasing strain. Our government will provide further support for these industries, the speech promised.

The plan includes commitments to reform global finance, expand investment and trade and make government more efficient. As usual, the throne speech offers a general direction but few specifics. Details will come in a fiscal update next week, the government said. NDP Leader Jack Layton called the plan very timid and said his party will vote against the throne speech. We expected bold action. We have an unprecedented crisis here, he said. He said New Democrats wanted to see a real stimulus package and got instead more of what they've done before.Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe said his party will also vote against the throne speech, which he criticized for offering nothing for Quebec. However, the government is in no danger of falling. Liberal Leader Stephane Dion said that, while the speech fell short of what's needed to revive the faltering economy, it would be irresponsible to plunge the country into another election over it. The speech highlighted other priorities, including Senate reform, tougher crime legislation and tighter food-safety rules, and securing Canada's energy future by developing resources, particularly in the North. The government reiterated its commitment to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions 20 per cent by 2020 - well short of Canada's Kyoto targets, which Harper has dismissed as unachievable. And it announced it will set an objective that 90 per cent of Canada's electricity needs will be provided by non-emitting sources, such as hydro, nuclear or wind power, by 2020. The speech overflowed with admonitions that Canadians need to pull together to weather the economic tsunami, recalling past challenges such as the First World War and the Great Depression. Canadians have faced times of uncertainty and renewal before and have always emerged a stronger and more united people.There were conciliatory overtures to opposition parties and provincial governments, as the administration promised to rededicate itself to working in partnership with others to bolster the economy. The speech acknowledged the Harper government won only a minority in last month's federal election and that it will have to be responsible and accountable to members of Parliament. All MPs were invited to take an active role in proposing cuts in spending, with the assurance that departments will get the funding they need to deliver essential programs and services and no more.Nevertheless, the government clearly has its own ideas about where to save money, starting with public service wages. The speech said legislation will be introduced to ensure sustainable compensation growth in the federal public service.The speech also took pains to tone down previous promises that had raised hackles among some provinces. Last year's throne speech plan to legislate limits on the federal spending power, for instance, was watered down to a simple promise to voluntarily constrain the spending power - essentially the status quo. Wednesday's speech also promised to introduce a Charter of Open Federalism, laying out the government's principles of federalism.

Gone was the threat, issued in the last throne speech just over a year ago, to use the federal trade and commerce power to force provinces to dismantle inter-provincial trade barriers. In its place this time, the government promised only to work with the provinces to eliminate such barriers. The speech also promised to work with provinces to create a common national securities regulator, an idea that is adamantly opposed by Quebec. However, Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said later that Quebec will be allowed to opt out of the new body and continue operating its own securities regulator. The Governor General was welcomed to Parliament with a traditional 21-gun artillery salute. She then inspected a ceremonial guard of honour before being led into the Senate by the Usher of the Black Rod.

EUROPEAN UNION ARMY

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (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.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: 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 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)

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 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; 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 JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) 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 with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) 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.

REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)

THE EU WANT TO PATROL THE WATERS OF SOMALIA TO KEEP TRACK OF THE PIRATES HIJACKING SHIPS ALSO,THEIR FINALLY BECOMING THE WORLDS LEADING ARMY LIKE THE BIBLE SAYS MUST HAPPEN.

Europeans call for more UN troops in Congo
VALENTINA POP 19.11.2008 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / STRASBOURG – The worsening humanitarian crisis in eastern Congo has prompted MEPs to call on the United Nations Security Council to bolster the UN peace mission by 3,000 troops, with France pledging to contribute to the reinforcements.

Beefing up the existing 17,000-strong UN peacekeeping mission (MONUC) and expanding its mandate to also tackle illegal exploitation of gold and diamond mines were the two key proposals emerging from a plenary debate in European Parliament on Wednesday (19 November), ahead of a decision by the UN security council on the matter expected by the end of the week.We have to bolster what is already there - MONUC - and send more troops. France will contribute to this increase in troops, French Europe minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet said. He added that the UN was expected to approve the proposal and was hoping India could provide more elite troops for the mission. India is already contributing the most troops - 4,372 - followed by Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uruguay.The French EU presidency, which failed to gain the support of EU foreign and defence ministers to send EU troops to Congo earlier this month, drafted the UN resolution to increase the MONUC troops by 3,000. The draft, seen by Reuters, asks the UNto approve a temporary increase of MONUC's authorized military strength by up to 2,785 military personnel, and the strength of its formed police unit by up to 300 personnel.The increase would bring the maximum permitted number of troops and police deployed under MONUC, already the biggest UN peacekeeping force in the world, to just over 20,000 to cover a country roughly the size of western Europe.Mr Jouyet stressed that the EU was unable to send a military mission to Congo because it was already committed in Chad and the Central African Republic, but stressed that the EU was contributing €56 million in humanitarian aid and providing air lift for delivering the assistance.EU commissioner for external relations Benita Ferrero-Waldner also defended the non-military involvement of the bloc, stressing: An EU force to secure humanitarian aid was the only one accepted by all sides.

EU soldiers wanted

But German MEP Jurgen Schroeder speaking on behalf of the European People's Party called for a short-term EU force to stabilise the region quickly until the new MONUC troops will be deployed.A similar position was taken by the non-governmental development group Oxfam International, which operates in Congo. The people of eastern Congo don't have the luxury of the three to four months it would normally take to deploy the additional [UN] troops. Only the EU can respond quickly enough with its special stand-by battlegroup forces created precisely to respond to this kind of crisis, Angela Corbalan from Oxfam told the EUobserver.Mr Jouyet added during the debate in Strasbourg that the matter would be brought again to the attention of EU foreign ministers at an upcoming meeting in December, ahead of the EU summit.

Gold and diamonds

Ms Ferrero-Waldner along with several MEPs called on the UN to extend the MONUC mandate to also fight illegal exploitation of gold and diamond mines.The war has its origin in the gold and diamond mines. Despite rebel fighting, production goes on, the transport routes, the airport are functioning for this purpose and people are still getting rich on the expense of these tragedies, Social-Democrat MEP Alain Hutchinson said.His remarks were echoed by Liberal-Democrat MEP Thierry Cornillet, who asked for a close scrutiny of the EU companies who buy ores from the militias.
Jose Ribeiro from the European People's Party said that a blacklist similar to the one for terrorist groups should be set up for companies who deal with these thugs, calling for their accounts to be frozen.

Cyprus backs Russia's call for new European treaty
The Associated Press Posted: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, right, and Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias embrace each other during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin on Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008. Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias enthusiastically embraced the Russian initiative during meetings with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Kremlin Wednesday. Cyprus is backing Russia's call for a new European security treaty and urging other European Union members to do the same. Russia is a strong critic of NATO, and Medvedev has made calls for a new trans-Atlantic security treaty a major foreign policy thrust of his six-month-old presidency.

MOSCOW Cyprus is backing Russia's call for a new European security treaty and urging other European Union members to do the same.Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias has enthusiastically embraced Russia's initiative during Kremlin meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev.Russia dislikes NATO, and Medvedev has made calls for a new trans-Atlantic security treaty a major foreign policy thrust of his 6-month-old presidency.Western response has been lukewarm, but Russia got a boost last week when French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed a pan-European security conference next year.The Cypriot leader's support Wednesday was the most vocal yet from an EU member nation.Christofias said he is confident that others will eventually follow suit.

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

Ireland not serving citizens on Lisbon, says Ganley
ANDREW WILLIS IN DUBLIN AND VALENTINA POP IN STRASBOURG
19.11.2008 @ 09:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN / STRASBOURG - Speaking in the Irish parliament on Tuesday (18 November), Declan Ganley, the head of anti-Lisbon campaign group Libertas, said the Irish government had encouraged other EU states to continue with ratification of the Lisbon treaty in order to increase pressure on Irish citizens. It is very clear to me that some who should be representing Ireland wish it to be isolated, he told the parliamentary sub-committee on Ireland's Future in Europe.There is a charade being played in this country right now to walk us into another referendum.The sub-committee was set up in the wake of last June's rejection of the Lisbon treaty and is due to hand in its report to the Irish government by the end of the month.

Earlier in discussions, Mr Ganley suggested that the British foreign secretary, David Miliband, had told the Irish government that they would be prepared to halt British ratification of the Lisbon treaty. By not taking them up on the offer, we lost the best negotiating chip we had, said Mr Ganley. The three-hour meeting was characterised by heated exchanges as committee members from various Irish political parties became increasingly frustrated with the Libertas chairperson. For his part, Mr Ganley said the Irish rejection of the Lisbon treaty did not amount to a rejection of the European Union, describing Irish membership as having had a profoundly positive effect. He continued by saying however that Libertas believes we have to make the citizens of Europe feel like this is their project.To do this there would need to be a pan-European election on a fresh treaty that should not exceed 25 pages, as the Lisbon treaty was an affront to democracy and embodied the worst examples of elitism, he said. Lucinda Creighton, a member of parliament for opposition party Fine Gael, said Mr Ganley talked about elites, but are you not the very idea of an elite, you use your power and money to secure influence.Beverley Flynn, a deputy for the ruling Fianna Fail party, asked Mr Ganley why he voted Yes in both the Nice referendums of 2001 and 2002 and then went ahead and spent around €1million fighting the Lisbon treaty in 2008.In those intervening years, what happened to you? she asked.Mr Ganley said the existence of a general election between the two Nice referendums had provided for a proper debate and a chance to discuss and vote on concerns. Despite the Irish Times and TNS MBRI poll published on Monday suggesting a majority of Irish voters would now support the Lisbon treaty if concessions were granted, Mr Ganley felt this was not the case. Don't hold it (another referendum) because there will be a No vote, a No vote that will probably provide the collapse of this government or at least several senior ministers, he said. Asked about his intentions to run a pan-European party in next year's European elections, Mr Ganley said: We are in the process of studying if that can be done but I would certainly like to.That democratic deficit that they've been talking about for years, this is a chance to finally fix it.

Strasbourg urges ratification before June 2009

Meanwhile, the European Parliament's constitutional affairs committee approved on Monday a report urging the Irish government to put forward concrete proposals on the way forward after the referendum to ensure that the Lisbon Treaty is ratified before the 2009 European Parliament elections.The committee also called on Sweden and the Czech Republic to complete their ratification procedures before the end of 2008. The Swedish parliament is expected to pass the treaty on Thursday.The report, drafted by German Social Democrat MEP Jo Leinen, was adopted in the committee with 16 votes in favour and six against. The plenary is expected to vote on the report in early December, before the European government heads are to meet and agree what to do with the Lisbon treaty stalemate.Asked why a second referendum in Ireland is required when this was not the case in France and the Netherlands after they rejected the Constitutional Treaty, Mr Leinen said: The situation is different now than in June 2005, when there were two Nos in one week and seven more countries set to hold referendums.But when all the countries say Yes, it's legitimate to ask [the Irish] if that's their last answer, he argued at a press conference in Strasbourg.A second No would be a No, and then of course you could forget about the treaty. But a first No is volatile, let's say, because it's not a clear No against Europe. Here you have a diffuse coalition of Nos. We respect it, but we have to respect as well the Yes of the other member states, Mr Leinen concluded.He repeated calls for the Czech Republic to ratify by 1 January 2009, the date when Prague takes over the six-month rotating EU presidency from France, otherwise claiming that the central European state would lack credibility and the ability to negotiate on behalf of the bloc.

Israel spurns UN plea to ease Gaza blockade By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer –Wed Nov 19, 4:27 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Israel stood fast Wednesday by its decision to clamp shut cargo crossings at the Gaza Strip, brushing off pleas to ease the blockade from United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon.Israel sealed the passages two weeks ago after a 5-month-old truce between Israel and Gaza militants started unraveling in an effort to halt rocket and mortar fire at Israeli border towns.The crossings, a main source of imports to Gaza, have been cracked open occasionally to allow in fuel and vital supplies. But the closures have drastically reduced the amount of goods entering the already impoverished seaside territory of 1.4 million people, causing shortages of many basic goods.On Tuesday, Ban called Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to express his deep concern over the consequences of the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza, the U.N. said in a statement.He strongly urged the prime minister to facilitate the freer movement of urgently needed humanitarian supplies and of concerned United Nations personnel into Gaza, the statement said.Olmert said Israel was not to blame for the deterioration of conditions in Gaza, according to the prime minister's office. Gazans have only Hamas' regime of terror to blame, he said.Hamas, an Islamic militant group committed to Israel's destruction, has ruled Gaza since violently overrunning the territory in June 2007.Israel's Gaza blockade has led to frequent blackouts throughout Gaza and resulted in shortages of food, supplies and even cash.Gaza's largest flour mill halted operations Wednesday, saying it had run out of wheat, and the United Nations said it was being forced to suspend cash grants to 98,000 of Gaza's poorest people because of a shortage of Israeli currency.The Israeli closure also prompted major international media organizations, including The Associated Press, BBC, Reuters and the New York Times, to send a rare protest letter to the prime minister, requesting that foreign journalists be allowed into Gaza. Israel has barred reporters from entering the area for the past two weeks. There was no immediate comment from Olmert's office.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak told Army Radio on Wednesday that there has to be quiet for the crossings to open.At nightfall Wednesday, Palestinians reported a large explosion east of Gaza City. Hamas officials said the blast was caused by a shell, but it was not clear if it was an Israeli or Palestinian device. No one was hurt. Often homemade rockets and mortars fired by Palestinians at Israel fall short and explode in Gaza.Israel and Hamas have been observing a truce since June. The cease-fire has largely held until Israeli troops entered Gaza early this month to destroy a tunnel they said militants had dug to attack Israel. At least 17 militants have been killed since, and militants have fired about 150 rockets and mortars at Israel, by the military's count.Both Israeli and Hamas officials have said they hope to restore the calm, though Barak has said the military is ready for a large-scale operation if necessary.The Hamas prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh, met with leaders of other Palestinian factions Wednesday. He said they support maintaining the truce as long as the occupation (Israel) commits to it.Before the truce was reached, militants pelted Israel with near-daily rocket attacks, provoking sometimes harsh military retaliation that killed hundreds of Palestinians, including many civilians.U.S. President-elect Barack Obama called Abbas on Tuesday to tell him he would spare no effort to facilitate a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said Wednesday.In the West Bank, meanwhile, a court-ordered deadline expired for Jewish settlers to leave a four-story building in the volatile city of Hebron. The settlers ignored the ruling, which also said they must be evicted within 30 days if they don't leave voluntarily. Barak said the government would comply with the court order, but added defense officials would first try to persuade the settlers to leave. About 500 of the most extreme Israeli settlers live in Hebron in heavily guarded enclaves among 170,000 Palestinians. If Israeli security forces evict them from the building, violent clashes are likely. Media reports Wednesday said about 600 people have gathered around the building to prevent its evacuation. Settlers moved in early last year after claiming they bought the building from a Palestinian. The Palestinian denies the claim, and Israeli authorities have not recognized the sale as legal.

MUSLIM NATIONS

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

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

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

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

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

Syria site hit by Israel resembled atom plant: IAEA By Mark Heinrich Mark Heinrich – Wed Nov 19, 5:27 pm ET

VIENNA (Reuters) – A Syrian complex bombed by Israel bore multiple features resembling those of a nuclear reactor and U.N. inspectors found significant traces of uranium at the site, a watchdog report said on Wednesday.But the International Atomic Energy Agency report said the findings from an inspectors trip to the site in June were not enough to conclude a covert reactor was there. It said further investigation and greater Syrian transparency were needed.Obtained by Reuters, the nuclear safeguards report said Syria would be asked to show to inspectors debris and equipment whisked away from the site at Al-Kibar in the country's eastern desert after the September 2007 Israeli air raid.The United States gave intelligence to the IAEA last April that Washington said indicated the site was a reactor that was close to being built with North Korean assistance and designed to produce plutonium for atomic bombs.Syria, an ally of Iran whose disputed uranium enrichment program has been under IAEA investigation for years, says the site destroyed was a conventional military building and the uranium traces must have come from munitions used to bomb it.Damascus has dismissed as fabricated the satellite imagery, ground pictures of the site taken before Israel's attack and other intelligence underpinning the investigation.While it cannot be excluded that the building in question was intended for non-nuclear use, the features of the building, along with the connectivity of the site to adequate pumping capacity of cooling water, are similar to what may be found in connection with a reactor site, said the IAEA report, sent to its 35-nation board of governors ahead of a November 27-28 meeting.It said photographs also revealed a containment shield similar in dimension and layout to those of atomic reactors.It said Syria had not provided requested documentation to back its declarations about the nature of the building nor granted repeated IAEA requests for visits to three other sites seen as harboring possible evidence linked to Israel's target.Satellite pictures show Syria carried out landscaping of these sites to change their look and took away large containers after the IAEA asked for access to those areas, the report said.Other aerial imagery revealed Syria swept the Al-Kibar site clean after the attack and erected a new building on the spot. The IAEA will ask Syria to let inspectors take swipe samples from rubble, shrapnel and any equipment removed from Al-Kibar.

SYRIAN TRANSPARENCY NEEDED

It said IAEA Director Mohamed ElBaradei had urged Syria to provide the necessary transparency including allowing visits to the requested locations and access to all available information for the agency to complete its assessment.U.N. officials said the uranium contamination that turned up in soil samples collected at the site was a chemically processed form of the mineral that was not the enriched variety used to run nuclear power plants or as fissile bomb material.But the element found was not depleted uranium either, the type used to boost the penetrating power of munitions.

There's enough uranium here to raise questions. The onus of this verification is on Syria, said a senior U.N. official, who like others asked for anonymity due to political sensitivities.The uranium element in question was not in Syria's declared nuclear inventory. Syria's only official nuclear site is an old research reactor. It has no known nuclear energy capacity.The IAEA also intends to ask Israel for information addressing Syria's remarks about the origin of the uranium. Israel has remained silent on the matter since the air raid. ElBaradei said on Monday the uranium traces could have come on clothing of workers who had been in contact with nuclear materials somewhere, or from stored equipment. The report said Syria had told inspectors the site could not have been a nuclear facility because of unreliable, insufficient electricity supplies locally, limited available manpower and the lack of large quantities of treated water. But the report said inspectors saw enough electrical grid to power reactor pumps. Another senior U.N. official said the investigation had urgent need of high-resolution pictures of the site he said must have been taken in the immediate aftermath of the bombing. He said eight countries, which he declined to identify, had access to such imagery but had not turned it over to date. The report complained that the investigation had been severely hampered by (Israel's) unilateral use of force and by a U.S. failure to hand over relevant intelligence until seven months after the bombing. In light of (that), the agency's verification of the situation has been made more difficult and complex, as well as more time- and resource-consuming, the report said. (Editing by Janet Lawrence)

Russia edges closer to six-year presidency,Russian lawmakers vote on constitutional changes to extend presidential terms,Change could allow former president Vladimir Putin to return to power for 12 years,Putin says measure would bolster democracy in Russia NOV 19,08

MOSCOW, Russia (CNN)AP-- A bill extending the Russian presidential term from four to six years moved quickly Wednesday toward parliamentary approval, an effort some observers say could pave the way for Vladimir Putin's return to the presidency.
Vladimir Putin was barred constitutionally from seeking a third consecutive term as president.Russian lawmakers approved the second of three readings of a bill to extend the presidential term from four to six years. The final reading in the Kremlin-controlled State Duma is set for Friday, after which the bill will go to the upper house where a swift approval is also expected.The Duma voted 351-57 on Wednesday to quickly pass the bill, which was proposed by President Dmitry Medvedev.

Only the Communists voted against the legislation.

The second reading provoked loud disputes in the usually sedate lower house, with one Communist lawmaker proposing an amendment limiting presidents to just one term, while pro-Kremlin nationalist party leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky proposed extending the presidential term to seven years instead of six.

Russia set to extend presidential term
Both amendments were ignored by the head of the constitutional affairs committee, Vladimir Pligin of the main Kremlin-directed United Russia party, who argued that the current law does not allow individual lawmakers to offer changes in the constitution.The widely popular Putin, now prime minister, was barred constitutionally from seeking a third consecutive term as president in elections this year. His protege Medvedev resoundingly won the post in March.If enacted, the change would not apply to Medvedev's current term, due to end in 2012.Putin has said the term extension was not tailored for him and would help boost Russia's democracy, but many observers say that Medvedev could step down early so that Putin can reclaim the presidential seat.

OBAMA DIVISION OF JERUSALEM

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.

OH BUT I THOUGHT OBAMA THE DECIEVER SAID HE WOULD NOT DIVIDE JERUSALEM. WELL THE MUSLIM FAVORATISM IS BEGGINING TO SHINE ALREADY I SEE AND HES NOT EVEN THE PRESIDENT YET.

FROM WND'S JERUSALEM BUREAU Obama pledges state to Palestinian leader Follows report Democrat confided he supports dividing Jerusalem November 18, 2008 5:14 pm Eastern By Aaron Klein 2008 WorldNetDaily

Mahmoud Abbas
JERUSALEM – President-elect Barack Obama today phoned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and pledged to work to establish a Palestinian state as soon as possible, a senior PA negotiator told WND.Obama expressed his full support for a Palestinian state. He told the president (Abbas) he will continue to promote the peace process, which will end with a two-state solution, said the PA's second most senior negotiator, Saeb Erekat.Obama said he will keep working in collaboration with the Israeli government and PA to reach a final solution. He said he'll do everything in his power to help create a Palestinian state as soon as we can, Erekat told WND.

It was the first phone call between Abbas and Obama, Erekat added.Obama's transition spokesman Nick Shapiro did not immediately return a WND e-mail and phone request seeking comment.The call comes two weeks after a reported flair-up on Election Day in which a senior Palestinian official told WND the Obama campaign urged Palestinian officials to deny an Arab media report that the then-Democratic nominee confided to Palestinian leadership that he supports their right to a capital in eastern Jerusalem.The episode began after a Lebanese newspaper story Nov. 3 quoted sources in Ramallah who claimed that in a meeting in July with Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, the two heard from Obama the best things they ever heard from an American presidential candidate.The report in the Al-Akhbar daily, known to have close contacts to Palestinian leaders in Lebanon, claimed Obama told Abbas and Fayyad he supports the rights of the Palestinians to east Jerusalem, as well as their right to a stable, sovereign state, but he petitioned them to keep the remarks confidential.Asked for comment by WND, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat at the time would neither confirm nor deny knowledge of Obama's purported remarks. Abbas political adviser Namer Hamad subsequently issued a denial to reporters.But a senior official confirmed to WND that Obama said in a July trip to the region he favored a negotiated settlement that may grant the PA control over sections of Jerusalem.The official, a longtime reliable source, claimed to WND that Obama advisers on Election Day engaged in a series of intense conversations asking that Abbas' office issue a denial.The Lebanese report echoed a similar exclusive WND article immediately following Obama's meeting with Abbas and Fayyad in which a senior Palestinian source said Obama informed the Palestinians he supports a negotiated settlement that may grant the PA control over sections of Jerusalem.

He assured us there was a misunderstanding when he said in [June] he supports the Israelis' rights to hold on to Jerusalem, the PA official, who took part in the meeting with Obama, told WND at the time. He told us he corrected this right away and that he supports a negotiated settlement that will give the Palestinians territory.The official was referring to a speech Obama delivered in June to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee in which he stated if he is elected president, Jerusalem would remain the capital of Israel and it must remain undivided.
Immediately following the speech, Obama reversed himself during a CNN appearance, explaining he meant Jerusalem shouldn't be physically divided with a partition.Well, obviously, it's going to be up to the parties to negotiate a range of these issues. And Jerusalem will be part of those negotiations, he said in response to a question about whether Palestinians have a legitimate claim to the city.Obama said that as a practical matter, it would be very difficult to execute a division of the city.And I think that it is smart for us to, to work through a system in which everybody has access to the extraordinary religious sites in Old Jerusalem but that Israel has a legitimate claim on that city.

THE RESULT WHEN JERUSALEM IS DIVIDED.

WW3 THE 3 WAVES THAT MARCH TO ISRAEL

DANIEL 11:40-45
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
44 But tidings out of the east(CHINA 2ND WAVE OF WW3) and out of the north(RUSSIA, MUSLIMS WHATS LEFT FROM WAVE 1) shall trouble him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.( 1/3RD OF EARTHS POPULATION)
45 And he shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

The Third and Final Wave of WW3 is when all Nations march to Jerusalem, but JESUS bodily returns to earth and destroys them,sets up his KINGDOM OF RULE FOR 1000 YEARS THEN FOREVER.

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

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

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

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

VIDEO TO GO WITH STORY
http://www.cuatower.com/2008/11/14/cardinal-at-cua-obama-is-‘aggressive-disruptive-and-apocalyptic’/

Cardinal at CUA: Obama is Aggressive, Disruptive and Apocalyptic November 14, 2008 by Elizabeth Grden

His Eminence James Francis Cardinal Stafford criticized President-elect Barack Obama as aggressive, disruptive and apocalyptic, and said he campaigned on an extremist anti-life platform, Thursday night in Keane Auditorium during his lecture Pope Paul VI and Pope John Paul II: Being True in Body and Soul.Because man is a sacred element of secular life, Stafford remarked, man should not be held to a supreme power of state, and a person’s life cannot ultimately be controlled by government.

For the next few years, Gethsemane will not be marginal. We will know that garden, Stafford said, comparing America’s future with Obama as president to Jesus’ agony in the garden. On November 4, 2008, America suffered a cultural earthquake.Cardinal Stafford said Catholics must deal with the hot, angry tears of betrayal by beginning a new sentiment where one is with Jesus, sick because of love.The lecture, hosted by the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, pertained to Humanae Vitae, a papal encyclical written by Pope Paul VI in 1968 and celebrating its 40 anniversary this year.Stafford also spoke about the decline of a respect for human life and the need for Catholics to return to the original values of marriage and human dignity.If 1968 was the year of America’s suicide attempt, 2008 is the year of America’s exhaustion, said Stafford, an American Cardinal and Major Penitentiary of the Apostolic Penitentiary for the Tribunal of the Holy See. In the intervening 40 years since Humanae Vitae, the United States has been thrown upon ruins.This destruction and America’s decline is largely in part due to the Supreme Court’s decisions in the life-issue cases of 1973, specifically Roe v. Wade. Stafford asserted these cases undermined respect for human life in the United States.

Its scrupulous meanness has had catastrophic effects upon the unity and integrity of the American republic, said Stafford.Humanae Vitae (On Human Life) reaffirms traditional Catholic teachings regarding abortion, contraception and other human life issues. Pope Benedict XVI said in May it is so controversial, yet so crucial for humanity’s future…What was true yesterday is true also today.Monsignor Livio Melina, president of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family, gave the opening address at the lecture and spoke about the importance of agape love to gain knowledge.Love itself is a form of knowledge, and this knowledge cannot be objectified, said Melina. It is a unique relationship between the believer and God.Stafford said the truest reflection of the love between the believer and God is that of the relationship between husband and wife, and that contraceptive use does not fit anywhere within that framework.According to Stafford, the inner dynamic of a spousal relationship is much like the body itself, which speaks in terms of masculinity and femininity.The experience of love introduces us in a specific way to moral knowledge, added Melina.

EARTHQUAKES

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

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

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

Indonesia says 10,000 displaced by earthquake Updated November 19, 2008 09:27:45

Indonesian authorities say almost 10,000 people have been displaced after an earthquake off the island of Sulawesi.The 7.5 magnitude undersea quake struck early on Monday, killing at least six people and injuring more than 150. Two more bodies were pulled from the rubble on Tuesday, adding to the four already reported dead.

Local officials say more than a thousand buildings were damaged across two provinces, forcing many people out of their homes.The shallow quake struck in the middle of the night off the coastal town of Gorontalo. Authorities immediately warned it was strong enough to cause a tsunami but no wave materialised.

CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/

YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video

MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F

ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461

FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074

FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045

AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529

BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918

REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704

AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091

CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS WED NOV 19,2008

09:30 AM -2.39
10:00 AM +50.82
10:30 AM -2.35
11:00 AM -133.01
11:30 AM -181.48
12:00 PM -174.35
12:30 PM -230.26
01:00 PM -160.65
01:30 PM -225.25
02:00 PM -173.08
02:30 PM -227.34
03:00 PM -200.48
03:30 PM -257.03
04:00 PM -427.47 7997.28

S&P 500 806.58 -52.54

NASDAQ 1386.42 -96.85

GOLD 734.0 +1.3

OIL 53.08 -1.31

TSE 300 8490.56 -345.17

CDNX 730.09 -20.16

S&P/TSX/60 512.88 -21.60

MORNING NEWS,STATS

Housing Starts -4.5% in October.
Crude Oil hit $53.30 over night, a 22 month low.
Auto Industry looking for $25 BILLION.
Big 3 in Washington at 10AM looking for Bail out cash.
Dow -30 points at 4 minutes into trading today.
Dow -41 points at low so far today.
Dow +15 at high so far today as of 9:40AM

PLATTS EIA ESTIMATES
-Crude Oil +1.2 MILLION BARRELS.
-Gasoline +700,000 BARRELS.
-Distillates +900,000 BARRELS.
-Utilization -0.3% to 84.3%
RESULTS
-Oil Inventories +1.2 MILLION BARRELS.
-Gasoline Inventories +500,000 BARRELS.
-Distillate Inventories -1.5 MILLION BARRELS.
-Refinery UTILIZATION +0.3% to 84.9%

Financials dropping today so far.
Fannie Mae could be delisted from the NYSE due to under $1 on exchange.
Dow -133 at low so far today.
Dow +73 at high so far today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

MARKETS AT NOON WHILE 3 AUTOS IN WASHINGTON
-Taiwan Weighted -21.09,Hang Seng -100.09,Nikkei -55.19,CAC 40 Index -129.51,Xetra Dax -225.38,Ftse 100 -202.57,DJ Utilities -5.18,DJ transports -179.60,DJ wilshire 5000 -258.93,Russell 2000 -17.35,NYSE Composite -188.38,S&P 500 -24.87,Nasdaq -44.27,Dow -181.20.

BIG 3 STATS
If bailout approved
-Chrysler will apply for $7 BILLION.
-GM will apply for $10-12 BILLION.
-Ford will apply for $7-8 BILLION.
-GM will run out of cash in early 2009 if no bail out.
-Chrysler is currently spending about $1 BILLION a month more than taking in.
-Ford is the only one that could afford not to have bailout.
-Auto companies together employ 239,000 in the USA.
-GM takes out full page add today in WSJ explaining their progress.
LOSING PR BATTLE
-CEO'S flew to washington in Private Jets.
-Wagoner's trip cost $20,000.
-Romney today let Detroit go Bankrupt.
SUPPORTERS OF BAILOUT
-2 MILLION jobs directly or indirectly tied to Auto sector.
-If industry bankrupts,loss of $100 BILLION in tax revenue over next few years.
CRITICS OF BAILOUT
-Giving money would delay inevitable.
-Bankruptcy best option to reorganize into smaller efficient firms.

WSJ:Microsoft's Ballmer says acquisition talks with yahoo finished,We have moved on,but very open to search deal with yahoo.

Dow -234 at low so far today.
Dow +73 at high today so far.

FED:Pushes off return to normal growth to 2010-11.
FED:expects above trend growth in 2011.
FED:Outlook for growth and unemployment worsens dramatically for 2008-09.

FED COR PCE PROJECTIONS
-2008 old 2.3,new 2.4
-2009 old 2.1,new 1.75
-2010 old 1.9,new 1.6
-2011 old 0.0,new 1.5

FOMC minutes:FED staff expects GDP to contract thru mid 2009,expects modest growth 2nd half 2009.Some members also concerned about funds rate hitting zero.Concerns raised over Deflation.

WRAPUP,NEW,STATS

Dow down 5.1% today.
Dow down 14.2% this month,fell 14.1% in October.
Dow drops 39.7% this year.
Dow still above intraday low of 7882 on October 10,08.
Dow moves below closing low of 8176 on October 27,08.
Dows first close below 8000 points since march 31,2003.
Dows 6th biggest percentage drop this year.
Dow,Nasdaq November drop bigger than Octobers.
Dow,S&P 500,Nasdaq lower for the 8th in last 11 sessions.
Dow,S&P 500,Nasdaq on pace for 3rd consecutive weekly drop.
S&P down 6.1% today.
S&P near 88 points today.
S&P falls below intraday low of 818.91 set on November 13th,08.
S&P's 5th biggest percentage drop this year.
S&P drops 16.7% this month,fell 16.9% in October.
S&P 500 down 45.1% this year.
Nasdaq down 6.5% today.
Nasdaq below 1400 points today.
Nasdaq down 19.4% this month,fell 17.7% in October.
Nasdaq down 47.7% this year.
Nasdaq is now 50% below most recent closing high in October 2007.
S&P,Nasdaq touch lowest levels in 5 1/2 years.
ALL 30 DOW STOCKS FALL TODAY.
Major averages have not had monthly gain since August 2008.
Stocks close near days low.
Stocks finish at 5 1/2 year lows today.
Stocks plunge again in last half hour of trading today.
Worst day for stocks in a month.
Stocks slump anew following release of latest FOMC minutes.
Treasury prices soar as investors seek safe havens.
Defaults on Commercial Mortgages are starting to rise.
General Electric down 10% today.
J P Morgan drops 11% today.
Alcoa drops 14% today.
Bank of America down 14% today.
Citigroup down 23% today.
Citigroup falls below $7 to fresh 13 year low.
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway down 12% to 3 year low.
Major Banks Market caps have declined almost $125 BILLION in last 2 weeks.
Major Banks include:Citi,Bdfa,J P Morgan Chase,Goldman Sachs,Morgan Stanley.

CMBS EXPOSURE
C $16.9 BILLION % of equity 11%.
JPM $9.3 BILLION % of equity 5%.
GS $3.0 BILLION % of equity 4.5%
BAC $7.48 BILLION % of equity 4%
BAC+MER $20.2 BILLION % of equity 8%

CITIS BALANCE SHEET
-$2.05 TRILLION in assets.
-10.4% Tier 1 Capital ratio.
-3.35% loan loss allowance.
-Citi shares fall below $7 a share today.
-340 MILLION shares traded today,twice normal volume.
-Government has put $25 MILLION in Citi already.Its losing it fast.

TODAYS ISSUES
-FED cut 2009 GDP growth forecast.
-Defationary concerns.
-Flight to treasuries.
-pressure on financials and commodities in last half hour destroyed market today.
-CDS spreads widening.
-Auto Bankruptcy worries.

Dow at low today -435 points.
Dow at high today +73 points.
Loss of stocks $100 BILLION this year.

Dow plunges nearly 430 to fall below 8,000 mark By JOE BEL BRUNO and SARA LEPRO, AP Business Writers NOV 19,08

AP – Trader Michael McCabe works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. Wall … NEW YORK – Wall Street hit levels not seen since 2003 on Wednesday, with the Dow Jones industrial average plunging below the 8,000 mark as the fate of Detroit's Big Three automakers amid a slumping economy disheartened investors.A cascade of selling occurred in the final minutes of the session as investors yanked money out of the market. For many, the real fear is that the recession might be even more protracted if Capitol Hill is unable to bail out the troubled auto industry.Investors also scoured economic data that included minutes from the last meeting of the Federal Reserve in which policymakers lowered projections for economic activity this year and next. Economic worries caused across-the-board selling, with financial stocks particularly hard hit.The S&P 500, widely considered the broadest snapshot of corporate America, slipped 6.12 percent to 806.58; and the Dow gave up 5.07 percent to 7,997.28. Both closed at their lowest levels since March 2003.The financial crisis has already wiped out $6.69 trillion of value from the S&P 500 since its October 2007 high, and many fear more is to come. Stocks have traded with high volatility in the past few months, with the major indexes soaring only to plunge an hour later as the market looks for a bottom.I don't know what the catalyst is going to be where we turn the corner and people start buying stocks wholeheartedly again, said Jon Biele, head of capital markets at Cowen & Co. People got out of the way. The financial situation hasn't changed.The selling on the New York Stock Exchange was staggering — only 158 companies that trade there finished the day positive while 2,943 declined. Volume again was light, a symptom of the market's recent volatility, with 1.63 million shares exchanging hands by the close.Smaller stocks also got clobbered. The Russell 2000 index gave up 35.13, or 7.85 percent, to 412.38.

Auto aid plan heads for defeat as Big Three teeter By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer Julie Hirschfeld Davis,NOV 19,08

AP – Auto industry executives, from left, General Motors Chief Executive Officer Richard Wagoner; Chrysler … WASHINGTON – A Democratic Congress, unwilling or unable to approve a $25 billion bailout for Detroit's Big Three, appears ready to punt the automakers' fate to a lame-duck Republican president.Caught in the middle of a who-blinks-first standoff are legions of manufacturing firms and auto dealers — and millions of Americans' jobs.U.S. auto companies employ nearly a quarter-million workers, and more than 730,000 other people have jobs producing the materials and parts that go into cars. About 1 million on top of that work in dealerships nationwide. If just one of the auto giants were to go belly up, some estimates put U.S. job losses next year as high as 2.5 million.If GM is telling us the truth, they go into bankruptcy and you see a cascade like you have never seen, said Sen. George V. Voinovich, R-Ohio, who was working on one rescue plan Wednesday. If people want to go home and not do anything, I think that they're going to have that on their hands.The automakers — hobbled by lackluster sales and choked credit — are burning through money at an alarming and accelerating rate: about $18 billion in the last quarter alone. General Motors Corp. has said it could collapse within weeks, and there are indications that Chrysler LLC might not be far behind. Ford Motor Co. has said it could get through the end of 2008, but it's unclear how much longer.For now, however, with the federal emergency loan plan headed for a roadblock in the Senate, lawmakers in both parties are engaged in a high-stakes game of chicken, positioning themselves to blame each other for the failure.The Congress need do nothing during its postelection session this week, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., the majority leader, said Wednesday, although he also said he still hoped lawmakers could strike an elusive deal to carve $25 billion in new auto industry loans out of the $700 billion Wall Street rescue fund.

But it's really up to President George W. Bush's team to act, he said.If we can't do it here legislatively, I would hope that the secretary of Treasury would listen loud and clear, because they could take this into their own hands and do what I think is appropriate, the Democratic leader said.Not our responsibility, countered the White House.If Congress leaves for a two-month vacation without having addressed this important issue ... then the Congress will bear responsibility for anything that happens in the next couple of months during their long vacation, said Dana Perino, the White House press secretary.She said there was no appetite in the administration for using the financial industry bailout money to help auto companies.The White House and congressional Republicans instead called on Democrats to sign on to a GOP plan to divert a $25 billion loan program created by Congress in September — designed to help the companies develop more fuel-efficient vehicles — to meet the auto giants' immediate financial needs.Voinovich and Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., were at work on that measure Wednesday, toiling to placate skeptical Democrats by including a guarantee that the fuel-efficiency loan fund would ultimately be replenished.It is the only proposal now being considered that has a chance of actually becoming law, said Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.But there was little sign that Democratic leaders would go along. They are vehemently opposed to letting the car companies tap that money — set aside to help switch to vehicles that burn less gasoline — for short-term cash-flow needs.All of which leaves the Big Three bracing for a bleak winter without government help.GM CEO Rick Wagoner told a House committee Wednesday that the downfall of his industry would ripple through communities around the nation. Pressed by lawmakers, Wagoner wouldn't say precisely when GM would run out of money without a government lifeline, but disclosed that the company now was burning through $5 billion each month.Still, with the $25 billion emergency package, we think we have a good shot to make it through this, Wagoner said. Many lawmakers in both parties are now openly discussing whether bankruptcy might be a better option for auto firms they regard as lumbering industrial dinosaurs that have done too little to adjust their products and work forces for the 21st century. The carmakers argue that bankruptcy would devastate their companies, but proponents say it would give them a chance to reorganize and emerge stronger and more competitive. It's unclear, though, whether Democrats controlling Congress are willing to risk being blamed for letting one of the Big Three — symbols of the nation's once-mighty manufacturing sector — go under. Bailout-shy lawmakers got an earful from jittery constituents last month when the House let an early version of the Wall Street rescue fail, sending the Dow Jones industrials tumbling and erasing more than a trillion dollars in retirement savings and other investments. Congress took a deep breath and reconsidered, passing the plan a few days later.

Faced with a similar collapse in the auto industry, the Bush administration might yet decide to step in to help the auto companies, or the Federal Reserve could step in — though both have steadfastly refused to do so. If not, lawmakers have left themselves a contingency plan: Come back to Washington in December for yet another postelection session where they might be able to strike the deal that now seems beyond reach. Democratic leaders are planning to gather for an economic conference the week of Dec. 8, noted House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md. That is available, Hoyer said this week. The year has not ended.Associated Press Writers Sam Hananel in Washington and Tom Krisher in Detroit contributed to this report.

Wall Street pulls off final-hour rebound By JOE BEL BRUNO, AP Business Writer – Tue Nov 18, 6:08 pm ET

NEW YORK – Wall Street rebounded Tuesday in another turbulent session, as investors rushed back into the market after the Standard & Poor's 500 index tested a 2003 low.

The market, which had been down four of the past five sessions, has been volatile amid worries about how long a recession might be. That's driven many retail investors to the sidelines, while big institutional traders like hedge funds keep major stock indexes vacillating.That was the case on Tuesday as stocks rallied in the final hour of trading. At least some of the buying was because fund managers whose portfolios are tied to the S&P 500 had to find a replacement for Anheuser-Busch Cos. The brewer was officially removed from trading at the market's close after its takeover by Belgium's InBev SA was completed.Investors also used the market's big drop earlier in the session as chance to scoop up undervalued stocks. There was some encouragement about corporate earnings after Hewlett-Packard Co. said fourth quarter and 2009 results will sail past Wall Street expectations.But still underpinning the market were concerns that the economy has fallen into a recession that could be the worst downturn in more than two decades. A disappointing reading on wholesale prices and the housing market only confirmed this.The Labor Department reported that wholesale prices plunged a record amount in October, a drop that could indicate a rising threat of deflation. Meanwhile, homebuilders' confidence in a near-term housing recovery sank to a new all-time low this month, according to the National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo housing market index. NAHB Chairman Sandy Dunn said the report shows that we are in a crisis situation.Analysts said the market continues to search for a much-elusive bottom, and could yet again retest lows. The major indexes continued to attempt some sort of recovery from October's devastating losses.We're going to need more strength from here for a period of time to develop a convincing story that the market has bottomed, said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at RidgeWorth Investments.

The Dow ended up 151.17, or 1.83 percent, to 8,424.75.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8.37, or 0.98 percent, to 859.12, after earlier in the drifting toward its 2003 low of 818.69. The Nasdaq composite index rose 1.22, or 0.08 percent, to 1,483.27. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.79, or 0.84 percent, to 447.51.Declining issues narrowly beat advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a light 5.9 billion shares. The fact that trading volume remains low is also a concern for analysts because that tends to skew the market's moves.The uncertainty on Wall Street has kept Treasury bonds in high demand. Longer-term Treasurys also moved higher, with the yield on the benchmark 10-year note falling to 3.53 percent from 3.66 percent. The three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest assets around, remained at 0.10 percent from Monday's close.Yields that low suggest that investors are willing to earn virtually nothing on their investments as long as their principal is preserved.Analysts warn not to take Tuesday's gain as a sign the stock market is ready to stage a recovery. Many believe the economy has fallen into a recession that could be the worst downturn in more than two decades.There is no enthusiasm on the buy side right now, said Joe Keetle, senior wealth manager at Dawson Wealth Management. You got a little spurt of it today because Hewlett-Packard's earnings were good and their outlook was good.There also remains uncertainty in the financial system as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke were grilled on Capitol Hill about their management of a $700 billion financial bailout. Paulson told the House Financial Services Committee that the U.S. has turned a corner in averting a financial collapse, but more work needs to be done.Paulson also said during his testimony that the administration remains firmly opposed to dipping into the government's financial bailout fund for a $25 billion rescue package for Detroit's Big Three automakers, no matter how badly they need the help.

There are other ways to help them, Paulson said.

Executives of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC and the head of the United Auto Workers union testified at a Senate Banking Committee hearing about a potential bailout. The automakers, seeking $25 billion in government aid, have the backing of Democratic congressional leaders, but the Bush administration and Republican lawmakers are against the proposed bailout. The consensus among the three automakers is that if even one of the companies failed it would be a catastrophe to the industry. Ford shares fell 4 cents, or 2.3 percent, to 1.68; GM fell 9 cents, or 2.8 percent, to $3.09. Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli said during his testimony that the automaker needs immediate federal help or its cash could fall below of the amount needed to stay in business. The company is owned by an investor group that includes private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management. Investors found some encouragement in an unexpected announcement from Hewlett-Packard Co. that fourth-quarter and 2009 earnings will come in above Wall Street projections. The results signal HP, the world's largest-maker of personal computers, is weathering the economic crisis that has siphoned off sales at other technology companies.

HP vaulted $4.25, or 14.5 percent, to $33.59.

Yahoo Inc. shares spiked 92 cents, or 8.7 percent, to $11.55 after founder Jerry Yang announced that he was stepping down as chief executive of the Internet company. Many analysts believe the departure will accelerate an overhaul of Yahoo and lead to a sale to Microsoft. The dollar fell against most other major currencies. Gold prices also fell. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 56 cents to settle at $54.39 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In Asian trading, Japan's Nikkei index fell 2.28 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 4.54 percent. In European trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 1.47 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.49 percent, and France's CAC-40 rose 1.11 percent. On the Net: New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Big 3 carmakers beg for $25B, warn of catastrophe By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS, Associated Press Writer NOV 19,08

AP – Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli testifies at a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs hearing on the … WASHINGTON – Detroit's Big Three automakers pleaded with a reluctant Congress Tuesday for a $25 billion lifeline to save the once-proud titans of U.S. industry, pointedly warning of a national economic catastrophe should they collapse.Millions of layoffs would follow their demise, they said, as damaging effects rippled across an already-faltering economy.But the new rescue plan appeared stalled on Capitol Hill, opposed by the Bush administration and Republicans in Congress who don't want to dip into the Treasury Department's $700 billion financial bailout program to come up with the $25 billion in loans.Rank and file Republicans and Democrats from states heavily impacted by the auto industry worked behind the scenes trying to hammer out a compromise that could speed some aid to the automakers before year's end. But it was an uphill fight.Our industry ... needs a bridge to span the financial chasm that has opened up before us, General Motors Corp. CEO Rick Wagoner told the Senate Banking Committee. He blamed the industry's predicament not on management failures but on the deepening global financial crisis.And Robert Nardelli, CEO of Chrysler LLC, told the panel the bailout would be the least costly alternative when compared with damage from bankruptcy.Under questioning from skeptical senators, both said they'd be willing to consider slashing their salaries to $1 to show a willingness to sacrifice for federal help.

Sympathy for the industry was sparse, however, with bailout fatigue dominating Capitol Hill. Lawmakers bristled with pent-up criticism of the auto industry, and questioned whether a stopgap loan would really cure what ails the companies.At the start of a more than four hour grilling before his committee, Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., told the leaders of GM, Chrysler and Ford Motor Co. that the industry was seeking treatments for wounds that I believe to a large extent were self-inflicted.
You're asking an awful lot, Dodd, the panel chairman, said at the close of the session. I'd like to tell that you in the next couple of days this is going to happen. I don't think it is.Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., complained that the larger financial crisis is not the only reason why the domestic auto industry is in trouble.
He cited inefficient production and costly labor agreements that put the U.S. automakers at a disadvantage to foreign companies.Ford CEO Alan Mulally told senators the auto industry was a pillar of our economy.GM's Wagoner refuted criticism that his company was not keeping pace with the times, saying it had been on the brink of a turnaround before the financial meltdown hit, reducing sales to the lowest per-capita level since World War II.Failure of the auto industry would be catastrophic, he said, resulting in three million jobs lost within the first year and economic devastation (that) would far exceed the government support that our industry needs to weather the current crisis.

Chrysler's Nardelli sought to respond to those who suggest the automakers seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, as have some airlines that later emerged restructured and leaner.We just cannot be confident that we will be able to successfully emerge from bankruptcy, Nardelli said.Chrysler was bailed out by the federal government once before, in 1979, with $1.2 billion in loan guarantees. The company repaid the loan, plus interest, ahead of schedule. Back then, former Chrysler CEO Lee Iacocca reduced his salary to $1. Under questioning from Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., Mulally didn't join the other two executives in saying he'd do the same now. I sure respect the intent of it, but the most important thing is that we not degrade our ability to be competitive and deliver this plan, Mulally said.

Joining the Big Three CEOs, Ron Gettelfinger, president of the United Auto Workers union, said the emergency loans were important for the survival of the industry and union jobs. He said the UAW recognized that in order for these companies to be competitive, we had to make tough calls in labor concessions. My sense is that nothing's going to happen this week, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said at Tuesday's hearing. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus of Montana said he also smelled a flameout. I sense that nothing is going to be passed, the Finance Committee chairman said.

Earlier, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said Congress might have to return in December — rather than adjourning for the year this week, as expected — to consider an auto bailout. Dealing with the automobile crisis is a pressing need. We are talking about a lot of people ... and a great consequence to our economy, said Hoyer, D-Md. The financial situation for the automakers grows more precarious by the day. Cash-strapped GM said it will delay reimbursing its dealers for rebates and other sales incentives and could run out of cash by year's end without government aid. In the Senate, Democrats discussed but rejected the option favored by the White House and GOP lawmakers to let the auto industry use a $25 billion loan program created by Congress in September — designed to help the companies develop more fuel-efficient vehicles — to tide them over financially until President-elect Barack Obama takes office. There is a way to do this, said Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., the minority leader. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other senior Democrats, who count environmental groups among their strongest supporters, have vehemently opposed that approach because it would divert federal money that was supposed to go toward the development of vehicles that use less gasoline. I don't think that's going very far in our caucus, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Instead, they want to draw the $25 billion directly from the $700 billion Wall Street bailout — bringing the government's total aid to the car companies to $50 billion. A Senate vote on that plan, which would also extend jobless benefits, could come as early as Thursday, but it currently lacks the support to advance. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson renewed the administration's opposition on Tuesday. Even the car companies' strongest supporters conceded Tuesday that changing the terms of the fuel-efficiency loan program might be the only way to secure funding for them with Congress set to depart for the year and the firms in tough financial shape. If in the short run the only way we have to be able to get some immediate help is to take a portion of that, I would very reluctantly do that — but only because I believe President-elect Obama is going to be focused on retooling and on a manufacturing strategy next year, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich. The White House said the government shouldn't send any more money to the struggling auto industry on top of the already-approved loans. We don't think that taxpayers should be asked to throw money at a company that can't prove that it has a long-term path for success, said White House Press Secretary Dana Perino. Associated Press Writers Ken Thomas and Tom Raum contributed to this story.

Russian Reserves Drain Away, Threatening Economy (Update1) By Maria Levitov

Nov. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Russia's foreign-exchange reserves are draining fast and may take almost a decade of economic stability with them. Russia's international reserves, the third-biggest after China's and Japan's, have fallen $122.7 billion, or 21 percent, since Aug. 8 as the central bank tried to shore up the ruble. At the same time, President Dmitry Medvedev, 43, has pledged more than $200 billion of tax cuts, loans and other measures to maintain economic growth, threatened by plummeting oil prices and investor flight. The reserves' decline increases the chance the central bank, which signaled last week it is willing to gradually weaken the ruble, will stop supporting the currency. And rising bailout costs would make it harder for Russia -- which Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, 56, earlier this year called an island of stability -- to blunt the impact of the financial crisis. The draining of reserves is dangerous, said Elena Sharipova, an economist at Moscow-based Renaissance Capital. They ensure macroeconomic stability.Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, 48, backed by then-president Putin, championed the accumulation of currency reserves over the past decade to ensure the government wouldn't default on debt as it did in 1998, the last time commodities prices plunged. The reserves, including oil funds that exclusively act as a safety cushion for the budget, stood at $475.4 billion on Nov. 7.

Lessons From 1990s

The build-up of reserves reflects Putin's determination to avoid a repeat of 1998, when reserves fell to $12.3 billion as President Boris Yeltsin struggled to defend the currency after a spendthrift seven years following the collapse of communism.

Emergency loans from the International Monetary Fund failed to prevent Russia defaulting on $40 billion in domestic debt that year. Industrial production slumped, banks collapsed leaving depositors penniless and unemployed workers marched in Moscow. The economy shrank for five successive quarters in 1998 and early 1999 and Yeltsin's rule ended with many Russians calling for a return to the more stable days of totalitarianism. So far, the nation's fiscal policy and its substantial financial reserves have protected Russia from deeper consequences of the current global turmoil, the World Bank said in a report yesterday. Short-term macroeconomic stabilization has to be the immediate priority as the authorities continue to adjust their short-term policy responses to changing economic circumstances.Capital flight has gathered pace as revenue from oil and gas, the nation's biggest export earners, declined. The Micex stock index has fallen 64 percent since Aug. 1 and the ruble is down 17 percent against the dollar. Investor anxiety over the global financial crisis has been exacerbated by Russia's August war with Georgia and a 67 percent decline in the Urals blend of crude, Russia's biggest export earner.

Biggest Test

The policy of accumulating reserves and setting aside money is now facing its most crucial test. Bank Rossii, the central bank, which manages the ruble's exchange rate against a dollar-euro basket, sold as much as $15 billion last week, after the last official figures for reserves were released, according to estimates by Moscow's Trust Investment Bank. Alfa Bank analysts including Natalia Orlova put the figure at $16 billion, predicting the central bank will likely continue losing its reserves.
Kudrin told lawmakers last week that the decrease in oil prices will in no way affect the execution of the budget next year because even if the budget goes into deficit, the shortfall can be financed by the $134.6 billion Reserve Fund, the nation's oil fund. This year's budget surplus reached $100 billion, or 7.8 percent of gross domestic product, by November.

More Losses Seen

Not everyone is convinced. The central bank will continue losing reserves if the situation doesn't change, said Anton Struchenevsky, an economist at Moscow-based brokerage Troika Dialog. Russia's economic growth, which Putin touted as a major achievement before stepping down in May after eight years as president, is set to slow to 3 percent next year after average expansion of 7 percent a year since 1999, the World Bank says. The central bank estimates net capital outflow will reach $20 billion this year, compared with a record net inflow of $82.3 billion in 2007. Arkady Dvorkovich, Medvedev's top economic aide, said last month that any value of the reserves above $100 billion is good for Russia today.

Buffer Minimum

Sharipova and other economists including Vladimir Osakovsky, senior economist at UniCredit Bank in Moscow, estimate that Russia needs more than $200 billion to maintain a comfortable buffer. Should the reserves drop far below $500 billion, the estimated level of the nation's total foreign debt as of Oct. 1, Russia runs the risk of being downgraded by ratings companies, Troika's Struchenevsky said. Standard & Poor's already has lowered Russia's long-term sovereign credit rating outlook to negative, on concern the cost of the government's $200 billion financial rescue package may increase. The government and the central bank have sufficient reserves to protect Russia's currency and the financial system, Putin said on Sept. 19. Dvorkovich reiterated on Oct. 31 that the government isn't concerned about the declines. However, central bank Chairman Sergey Ignatiev, 60, said on Nov. 10 that the ruble may have a certain tendency toward weakening, after capital outflows totaled a net $50 billion in October. The central bank allowed the ruble to fall 1 percent against its dollar-euro basket on Nov. 11 and raised interest rates. The ruble was little changed at 27.4722 versus the dollar at 12:46 p.m. in Tokyo today.

Speculative Attacks

The 1 percent devaluation feeds into capital flight, said Osakovsky. It helps fuel speculative attacks on the ruble. There will be a few small devaluations and eventually they will be forced to accept a floating currency rate.That's not necessarily bad news. The dollar-denominated revenue from energy exports would rise in ruble terms, making it easier to balance the budget even with lower oil prices. At the current level of 27 rubles per dollar, the 2009 budget would, be balanced at an average Urals price of $55 a barrel, according to Struchenevsky's estimates. The only solution is to devalue the ruble, to stop supporting it, Renaissance Capital's Sharipova said. To contact the reporter on this story: Maria Levitov in Moscow at mlevitov@bloomberg.net

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

Brussels encourages EU states to open labour markets
ELITSA VUCHEVA 18.11.2008 @ 09:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Contrary to common widespread fears, the two EU enlargements of 2004 and 2007 have not led to a massive influx of central and eastern European workers to the old member states, according to a European Commission report to be released on Tuesday (18 November).The number of workers from the countries that joined the EU in 2004 now living in the 15 old member states has only grown from 0.3 percent of their total population in 2003 to 0.5 percent by the end of 2007, with those workers mostly heading to Ireland and the UK.Meanwhile, the number of Bulgarian and Romanian workers has increased from 0.2 to 0.4 percent over the same period, with most of them opting for Italy and Spain as their destination.In total, there are still more migrants from states outside the EU coming to work in the EU-15 countries than nationals from the countries that joined the bloc since 2004, according to the commission's data.In addition to the size of intra-EU migration remaining relatively stable, the new workers have not caused serious disturbances on labour markets, the report concludes.Workers from the new EU member states have also contributed to the economic growth by bringing more workers where they were most needed, and have had little or no negative impact on wages and unemployment levels.

Brussels also stresses that most of the migrant workers are young, single and working, with 80 percent of those coming from one of the ten countries that joined the EU in 2004 - as well as 70 percent of Bulgarian and Romanian migrants - being younger than 35. Consequently, the commission encourages member states to lift restrictions to the free movement of workers as quickly as possible, and reminds that freedom of movement is a right for every EU worker and is one of the four fundamental freedoms of the European Union.It also believes that lifting the limitations would decrease the levels of undeclared work and the negative consequences on the economy, as well as the social costs that go with it.

Most countries closed for Bulgarian and Romanian workers

EU member states have been able to restrict access to their labour markets for new EU countries' workers for a set period of a maximum of seven years, after which all of them must fully open to the newcomers.Currently, most of the EU-15 countries – with the exception of Germany, Austria, Belgium and Denmark – have lifted the restrictions for citizens from Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and Slovenia, while limitations were not imposed on Cypriot or Maltese workers.However, all of the EU-15 states but Finland and Sweden have kept those restrictions in place for Bulgarian and Romanian workers, while some of them – including France, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg – have put in place more relaxed regimes for certain jobs and for workers with certain qualifications.

The member states concerned have to notify the commission by 31 December of whether they intend to keep the restrictions in place for three more years for Bulgarians and Romanians.According to press reports, however, some of them – notably Ireland – have already indicated that this is likely to happen.For their part, Germany, Austria, Belgium and Denmark have until 31 April 2009 to inform Brussels of their plans for workers from the 2004 enlargement countries, but if they intend to keep the limitations in place for a final two-year period, they have to show that they expect serious labour market disturbances, or serious threats for the labour market balance.The commission has no answer, however, as to what it would do in case it estimated those member states' justifications insufficient, and simply says that all options are open.In contrast, all of the countries affected by the barriers but Hungary have fully opened their labour markets to workers from all across the EU.

Only a third of Croats enthusiastic for EU membership
ELITSA VUCHEVA 18.11.2008 @ 09:27 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Citizens from the western Balkans have mixed feelings regarding their countries' EU future, with Kosovars and Albanians being particularly optimistic, but barely a third of Croats consider EU accession to be a good thing, a new survey has shown.While those living in Kosovo and Albania back their countries' EU integration almost unanimously (89% and 83% respectively), only 29 percent of Croats think Zagreb's EU membership would be beneficial, while 26 percent say it would be a bad thing, according to a Gallup survey presented in Brussels on Monday (17 November).Croatia is ahead of the other western Balkan countries on the road to EU membership, with the European Commission confirming earlier this month that it could conclude EU accession talks next year. Albania, on the other hand, is much less advanced, while Kosovo only declared unilateral independence from Serbia nine months ago.But in Croatia, respondents' national pride and attachment to the country was particularly high, Robert Manchin, founder and managing director of Gallup Europe, told reporters while introducing the survey's results.Additionally, it is normal for EU enthusiasm to decrease in candidate countries the closer they get to EU membership, as it is then when painful reforms carried by their governments in order to make the accession happen are most felt by the citizens, Fabrice de Kerchove of the Belgian King Baudouin Foundation added.

The most wanted

Kosovar and Albanian respondents to the survey felt the most wanted by the EU, both by its institutions (respectively 82% and 67%), and by its citizens (75% and 55%).On the other end of the scale, 46 percent of Croats thought the European Commission wanted them to join the EU, while 42 percent felt welcome by European citizens. The figures were similar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (43% and 46%, respectively). The strong pro-EU sentiment in Kosovo in particular is a necessary naivety that people need to have in order to go through the difficult process [of EU integration], Veton Surroi, editor of Kosovo's Koha Ditore newspaper told a conference organised by the European Policy Centre think-tank later on Monday.The fact that they feel so wanted also speaks well of the European Union's PR and derives from the lack of knowledge about the whole process, he added. For his part, Giuliano Amato, former Italian prime minister and former chair of the International Commission on the Balkans, said the pro-EU feelings in the region could only be cultivated in the long run if the countries would be offered something concrete in return for their efforts to carry out the EU-required reforms.Simply keeping [them] busy in a bureaucratic way becomes too long after a while and a sense of urgency has to be restored somehow to give the whole process a real meaning, Mr Amato argued.One way to do this, according to him, would be further relaxation of the EU's visa policy towards the western Balkan countries.

Almost half of Serbs believe Karadzic is innocent

The Gallup survey also looked into the western Balkan citizens' general perception of their lives, economic situation, relations to the neighbouring countries, or their attitudes towards their respective governments.It also asked respondents about their views on international institutions and organisations – such as the International Crime Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), with which most countries of the region have to fully cooperate in order to be let into the EU.

People in the different countries were divided on the issue, with a majority of Albanians (69%) and Kosovars (68%) saying the tribunal was helping reconciliation and strengthening peace in the region.A majority of Macedonians (52%), Croats (53%) and especially Serbs (64%) disagreed however, and thought that not only did the ICTY not serve the interest of the region, but it was simply fuelling past conflicts.

Additionally, in all countries but Albania and Kosovo less than a third of the respondents thought the court's proceedings were impartial and their outcome was open.The survey also showed that the arrest of former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, who is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity by the tribunal and who was arrested in Belgrade this summer, is far from being unanimously welcomed in Serbia.Less than a quarter (23%) of Serbs thought Mr Karadzic was really guilty of the crimes he is charged with, while 47% said he was innocent. However a majority of 53 percent said his arrest was good for Serbia's EU aspirations, while 45 percent thought it was positive for the country's future in general.The survey was carried in September and October in all of the western Balkan, and some 1,000 people per country were asked their opinion in face-to-face interviews.

Dublin in talks with EU capitals to retain commissioner
LEIGH PHILLIPS 18.11.2008 @ 09:27 CET

The Irish foreign minister, Micheal Martin has said that Dublin is in talks with other European capitals to see if the retention of a commissioner for each member state is viable - a key concern of No voters in the June referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.Mr Martin made the announcement on Monday (17 November) speaking to Irish public broadcaster RTE.While abortion and gay marriage figured prominently amongst election literature, voters had other concerns about the treaty (Photo: We've had a number of discussions over the last couple of weeks, and those discussions are ongoing and have intensified in recent times, he said.Talks have looked at a range of issues, such as abortion, neutrality and taxation.The question of Ireland's traditional neutrality, which No campaigners argued was under threat from a growing militarisation of the European Union was one of the main reasons people voted No, according to a post-referendum commission poll. Taxation figured equally prominently according to the Eurobarometer survey, as did the loss of a commissioner. Abortion however did not figure prominently amongst people's concerns, being the reason for casting a ballot against the Lisbon Treaty for just two percent of No voters.

The loss of a commissioner Mr Martin highlighted as one of the more significant points of discussion with other member states.An Irish Times survey on Monday said that 43 percent the Irish would now vote Yes if the EU executive retained its current 27 commissioners.Clearly the issue of a commissioner almost signified what people perceived to be a loss of influence at the table, despite the fact that one has ministers at the table and civil servants at the table at different levels. So therefore we are in discussions on that specific issue.It's not a simple issue and is not one that can easily be wished away or dealt with, but nonetheless we're in discussions on it because I think it was a significant issue and encapsulates as it does the whole idea of people being at the table with additional influence being bought to bear collectively, he said.The foreign minister said on Sunday (16 November) that the Irish government would make a decision on whether to hold a second referendum on the treaty in the next few weeks.Before we make any decision as to what particular option we might take I think it is important that all of these issues are dealt with in the context of the discussions with our European colleagues, he said.Because if you recall when other countries had similar situations like our own, going back to the Danes in the early 90s and the French and the Dutch, other European member states and the commission engaged with those respective countries and managed to come up with solutions to their particular concerns.We're in the same process here. People have raised concerns on all of these issues and I think it is our obligation to see if we can find ways of satisfying the concerns of people and reconciling them through getting assurances, he said.The No side were quick to argue that voters concerns went well beyond those outlined by the government and that declarations alongside the same treaty text were insufficient to change minds.Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, Lisbon campaign director for Sinn Fein, the sole major political party to oppose the EU documen, said in a statement: The government needs to go to December's [EU] summit with the firm intent of negotiating a better deal that includes a social progress clause for workers, strengthening of key vetoes on public services, taxation and international trade, the removal of all self amending clauses ... secure vetoes on all aspects of common foreign and defence policies, and the retention of Ireland's permanent commissioner.Obtaining declarations on a small number of issues that the government alone perceives as central to the No vote will not be enough, he added.Declan Ganley, who headed up the Libertas group, one of the main organisations behind the No vote, rubbished the idea that declarations had any legal weight.Not a jot or tittle - not a comma - of the text of Lisbon can be changed, for otherwise it would be legally a new treaty which would have to go around all 27 EU States for ratification again.The declarations referred to in the [Irish Times] opinion poll question are different from protocols in that they are not legally part of a Treaty, he added. Protocols are legally part of a treaty. There will be no protocols for Ireland over Lisbon, for that would be to reopen the Lisbon Treaty and would require all 27 EU States to ratify the new protocol, which would in effect be a new treaty.


Medvedev Says Parliamentary Republic Like Death For Russia NOV 18,08

MOSCOW (AFP)--Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Tuesday said Russia should never become a parliamentary republic as that would be like death for the country.A new clause in constitutional reform that would oblige the government to answer in front of parliament will not transform Russia into a parliamentary republic, Russian news agencies quoted him as saying.Russia must not become a parliamentary republic, for us that would be like death, he told local reporters on a visit to the industrial city of Izhevsk.The Russian parliament is to vote Wednesday in second and third readings on a series of constitutional amendments that will oblige the government to be answerable to parliament, as well as lengthen the president's mandate.Medvedev replaced Vladimir Putin as president in May, amid hopes he would take a more conciliatory line with the West and encourage democratic development more than his predecessor, who is now prime minister.However, Medvedev has done little to show he is adopting a different line from Putin and many observers suspect that the extension of the presidential term is aimed at preparing a return to the Kremlin for Putin. Click here to go to Dow Jones NewsPlus, a web front page of today's most important business and market news, analysis and commentary: http:// www.djnewsplus.com/al?rnd=ca%2BNpgo7zosg6xjniF472A%3D%3D. You can use this link on the day this article is published and the following day.(END) Dow Jones Newswires.

Russia warns Georgia against boosting military Tue Nov 18, 8:57 am ET

ANKARA (Reuters) – Russia's Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said on Tuesday he was concerned by what he called Georgia's efforts to boost its military potential, adding this could have bigger consequences than August's conflict.The Georgian side's efforts to increase the military potential is causing concern and I think those initiatives could have bigger consequences than what we saw in August, he told a news conference in Ankara. He did not elaborate.In a five-day war in August, Russian troops launched a massive counter-attack and took control of large swathes of Georgian territory after Tbilisi had tried to retake its rebel South Ossetia region by force earlier in the month.(Reporting by Zerin and Elci and Ibon Villelabeitia)

Russia To Open Military Bases In Abkhazia, South Ossetia In 2009
Georgia. by Staff Writers Moscow (RIA Novosti) Nov 18, 2008

Russia will open military bases in two Georgian breakaway republics, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, in 2009, a source in the Russian Defense Ministry said Friday.
The source said the ministry plans to open one base in Gudauta, in the west of Abkhazia, and another in Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia.Georgia attacked South Ossetia on August 7-8 in an attempt to regain control over the republic, which, along with Abkhazia, split from Georgia in the early 1990s. Russia then launched a military operation to force Georgia to peace, which concluded on August 12, with Russian forces ending up deep in Georgian territory.In accordance with a French-brokered peace deal, Russia withdrew its forces from Georgian buffer zones ahead of an October 10 deadline. The peacekeepers were replaced by an EU monitoring mission to Georgia.Under the same agreement Russia is due to withdraw the majority of its troops currently deployed in Abkhazia, leaving about 4,000 military personnel at the former Soviet base in Gudauta.Russian General Staff chief Gen. Nikolai Makarov told journalists in Moscow in October that in line with friendship and assistance treaties, concluded with South Ossetia and Abkhazia, each base will deploy some 3,700 service personnel.Source: RIA Novosti.