EVENTS IN TIME (BIBLE PROPHECY LITERALLY FULFILLED)(BY GOD)

I WRITE NEWS ABOUT AND PUT NEWS ARTICLES ABOUT ISRAEL AND JERUSALEM PERTAINING TO BIBLE PROPHESY HAPPENINGS.JOEL 3:20 But Judah (ISRAEL) shall dwell for ever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation.(THATS ISRAEL-JERUSALEM WILL NEVER BE DESTROYED AGAIN)-WE CHRISTIANS ARE ALL WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE PRE-TRIBULATION RAPTURE TO OCCUR.SO WE CAN GO TO JESUS AND GET OUR NEVER DYING BODIES.SO WE CAN RULE OVER CITIES OURSELVES.WHILE JESUS RULES FROM DAVIDS THRONE FOREVER IN JERUSALEM.

Tuesday, January 06, 2009

DAY 11 ISRAEL IN GAZA

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

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

THE WEEK OF DANIEL 9:27 WE KNOW ITS 7 YRS

Heres the scripture 1 week = 7 yrs Genesis 29:27-29
27 Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28 And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29 And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.

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

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

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

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

Gaza Crisis EU delegation in Egypt for Gaza talks 05/01/09 13:20

As the fighting in Gaza has intensified so have diplomatic efforts to end it. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has held talks with a high level EU delegation. Hamas officials were also due in Egypt for the group’s first entry into talks since the combat erupted. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is visiting the region today for discussions with Israeli leaders. He had voiced his concerns about Israel’s actions in a meeting with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni in Paris earlier. There have been many calls for a ceasefire from the international community, but the UN Security Council has so far failed to agree on a strong statement on the conflict. The UN is most concerned about the worsening conditions inside Gaza. Israel said it is letting some aid into the Strip but has rejected talk of a humanitarian crisis.

Gaza conflict spreads to Europe with Jews attacked By JOHN LEICESTER, Associated Press Writer JAN 6,09

PARIS – Signs are mounting that the conflict in Gaza is starting to spill over into violence in Europe's towns and cities, with assaults against Jews and arson attacks on Jewish congregations in France, Sweden and Britain.Assailants rammed a burning car into the gates of a synagogue in Toulouse, in southwest France, on Monday night. A Jewish congregation in Helsingborg, in southern Sweden, also was attacked Monday night by someone who broke a window and threw in something that was burning, said police spokesman Leif Nilsson. Neighbors alerted rescue services before the fire took hold.Someone also started a blaze outside the premises last week. And on Sunday slogans including murderers ... You broke the cease-fire and don't subject Palestine to ethnic cleansing were daubed on Israel's embassy in Stockholm.In Denmark, a 27-year-old Dane born in Lebanon of Palestinian parents is alleged to have injured two young Israelis last week, opening fire with a handgun in a shooting that police suspect could be linked to the Gaza crisis.France has Western Europe's largest Jewish and Muslim communities and a history of anti-Semitic violence flaring when tensions in the Middle East are high. In 2002, some 2,300 Jews left France for Israel because they felt unsafe.President Nicolas Sarkozy warned in a statement Tuesday that France would not tolerate violence linked to the Gaza crisis. A day earlier, his interior minister said she was concerned about the prospect of contagion and met with the heads of the two main Muslim and Jewish groups and police officials to stress the need to preserve national unity.

Damage to the synagogue in Toulouse was limited to a blackened gate, and there were no injuries even though a rabbi was giving a course to adults inside, authorities said. They said unlighted gasoline bombs were also found in a car nearby and in the synagogue's yard. A local Jewish leader, Armand Partouche, said he believed the assailants had planned to torch the synagogue, but fled when the building's alarm went off.It could have been very, very serious, Partouche said in a telephone interview. There were people inside; there could have been deaths.He said Jewish leaders are asking Toulouse authorities for reinforced security for the city's synagogues.We really fear that anti-Semitism will spring up again and that the current conflict will be transposed to our beautiful French republic, he said.In Britain, the Community Security Trust, a Jewish defense group, said it had seen a rise in anti-Semitic incidents since the start of Israel's offensive against Gaza. The group said it had recorded 20-25 incidents across the country in the past week that it believed were connected with Gaza, including an arson attempt on a synagogue in north London on Sunday.London police are investigating the attack, in which suspects splashed flammable liquid on the door and set it on fire.Community Security Trust spokesman Mark Gardner said that in another incident last week a gang of 15-20 youths walked along the main street in Golders Green, a largely Jewish neighborhood in north London, shouting Jew and Free Palestine at passers-by.It could get worse, Gardner said. We tend to see these things happen in waves.The government in Belgium on Tuesday ordered police in Antwerp and Brussels to be on increased alert after recent pro-Palestinian protests ended in violence and dozens of arrests. Police said burning rags were shoved through the mailbox of a Jewish home in Antwerp last weekend. Damage was limited and no arrests were made.

In the Danish shooting, one Israeli man was shot in the arm and another in the leg as they were selling hair care products in a shopping mall. Eli Ruvio, who owns the company that operated the stands, said his employees have been harassed by Muslim youths since they set up three kiosks in the shopping center in August.They kept cursing and shouting at us, Ruvio told The Associated Press. He added that the Muslim youths also threw mud and firecrackers at the employees and spat at them.Ruvio recalled an episode Dec. 27 when some of the youths shouted slaughter all the Jews.I told my employees not to speak in Hebrew and lie about where they come from, they should say there were from Spain or somewhere else. If people ask you where you are from, never say you're from Israel, he said. Associated Press Writers Jill Lawless in London, Jan M. Olsen in Copenhagen, Malin Rising in Stockholm, Robert Wielaard in Brussels and Audrey Sommazi in Toulouse contributed to this report.

Chronology of Israel's relationship with Gaza By The Associated Press JAN 6,09

• June 1967: Israel captures the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip during six-day Mideast war. An Israeli census put the population at 380,000, at least half of whom were refugees from Israel. Today the population stands at about 1.5 million. The U.N. lists just over 1 million as refugees and their descendants.

• December 1987: A clash in the Jebaliya refugee camp sets off Palestinian uprising, which lasted until 1993 and claimed the lives of more than 2,000 Palestinians and 192 Israelis. The militant Islamic Hamas is formed early in the uprising.

• September 2005: Israel withdraws its troops and all of its 8,500 Jewish settlers. It retains control of Gaza's airspace, coastal waters and border crossings.

• June 2007: Hamas violently seizes control of Gaza after routing forces loyal to rival Fatah faction of President Mahmoud Abbas.

• June 2008: Hamas and Israel reach truce to halt the cross-border rocket attacks and end Israeli offensives in Gaza.

• November 2008: Palestinians resume rocket and mortar fire into Israel after Israeli incursion.

• Dec. 19, 2008: Hamas formally declares the truce over, rocket fire on Israel intensifies.

• Dec. 27, 2008: Israel launches a fierce air offensive, killing more than 200 Palestinians in the first day.

• Jan. 3: Thousands of Israeli troops launch a ground offensive in Gaza.

Gaza fighting continues as diplomatic efforts falter
ELITSA VUCHEVA Today JAN 6,09 @ 09:35 CET

The Israeli incursion into the Gaza Strip continued on Tuesday (6 January), reaching Gaza city, despite international calls for ceasefire and multiplying diplomatic efforts in the region.Israeli troops clashed with Palestinian militants on the edge of the densely populated Gaza City, home to around 1.4 million people, on Monday night, with fighting still raging in the city in the early hours of Tuesday, news agencies report.Israeli tanks also entered Khan Yunis, the largest city in southern Gaza.The third night of Israel's ground assault - the eleventh day of the war on Gaza - brings the death toll on the Palestinian side to around 550 people, including around 100 children, according to emergency services figures reported by the AFP news agency.More than 2,500 have been wounded.For its part, Hamas has continued its rocket fire on Israel. Five Israeli civilians and one soldier have been killed so far by Hamas militants, while three Israeli soldiers died and 24 were wounded in a friendly fire incident in northern Gaza.Meanwhile, international calls for a truce have continued, with the US State Department saying it was seeking a unlimited tripartite ceasefire focussing on Hamas - including a halt to rocket firing into Israel, a re-opening of crossings on the border and addressing the issue of tunnels used for smuggling via Egypt - and a high-level EU delegation meeting both Israeli and Palestinian politicians on Monday.But Czech foreign minister Karel Schwarzenberg – whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency – said the EU's role in the conflict would be limited to trying to mediate a solution at this stage, rather than looking into the content of a possible truce proposal.

We didn't have a specific plan for the ceasefire because the ceasefire must be concluded by the parties. We can help it, mediate, assist a solution, but it is not up to us to propose the conditions of the ceasefire, which should be established as soon as possible, Mr Schwarzenberg said, the Jerusalem Post reports. French President Nicolas Sarkozy also met both Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in Jerusalem and Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah on Monday, and expressed his deep concern at the situation.He called the Hamas rocket attacks on Israel irresponsible and unforgivable, while calling on Israel to take the risk of peace.Following his statement that Hamas bore a heavy responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, Mr Sarkozy was accused by Hamas of being totally biased.Israel rejects immediate ceasefire.

Despite the appeals, Israel rejected the possibility of an immediate ceasefire with foreign minister Tzipi Livni saying: Hamas targets Israel whenever it likes and Israel shows restraint.This is no longer going to be the equation in this region. When Israel is being targeted, Israel is going to retaliate.Mr Olmert also later told the French president that Israel's invasion would continue as long as Hamas could fire rockets at Israel.The results of the operation must be ... that Hamas must not only stop firing, but must no longer be able to fire, he was quoted as saying by AFP.Meanwhile, an official from Mr Olmert's office told the Jerusalem Post that Tel Aviv was aware the war would end one day, while stressing the international community's role in the process.Ultimately, we understand that on the day this is over, regional and international actors will have an important role to play in maintaining the quiet, and specifically in preventing the re-arming of Hamas, the official said.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
http://www.pmw.org.il/

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 TUE JAN 06,2009

09:30 AM +42.77
10:00 AM +125.13
10:30 AM +1.52
11:00 AM +21.51
11:30 AM +19.20
12:00 PM +31.46
12:30 PM +34.09
01:00 PM +70.33
01:30 PM +27.00
02:00 PM +45.80
02:30 PM +80.05
03:00 PM +125.05
03:30 PM +54.96
04:00 PM +62.21 9015.10

S&P 500 934.70 +7.25

NASDAQ 1652.38 +24.35

GOLD 865.00 +7.20

OIL 48.56 -0.25

TSE 300 9472.09 +186.58

CDNX 913.11 +38.62

S&P/TSX/60 571.36 +10.40

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow at 4 minutes of tradlng +68 points.
Dow low today +0.88 points.
Dow high +125 points.

YEAR TO DATE
Dow +2.01%
S&P 500 +2.68%
Nasdaq +3.23%
Russell 2000 +1.12%

NYSE STATS
Advances 2100,Declines 827,Unchanged 85,New highs 7,New Lows 2.
NASDAQ STATS
Advances 1665,Declines 723,Unchanged 182.

DECEMBER CANADIAN AUTO SALES
Honda -41%,Toyota -35%,Chrysler -35%,Gm -19.5%,Ford -5.8%.

GRIM AUTO INDUSTRY NUMBERS IN CANADA (10 + YEAR LOWS)
DECEMBER SALES
(CARS) 2008:8,267,2007:9,678, -5.8%
(Trucks) 2008:12,733,2007:16,412, -22.4%
(COMBInED) 2008:21,000,2007:26,090, -18.5%
YEAR TO DATE
(CARS) 2008:175,241,2007:185,952, -5.8%
(TRUCKS) 2008:183,661,2007:217,760, -15.7%
(COMBINED) 2008:358,902,2007:403,712, -11.1%
GM will have to close half of its dealerships.
GM will eliminate 40% of its suppliers.
GM will have to cut 16 brands down to 3 and hope they sell.
Less then half of vehicles sold in canada,were GM,FORD or CHRYSLER,A new record.
Waterford Wedgwood after 250 years goes Bankrupt.8,000 workers out of work.
B.C Enviromentalists bomb Encana Gasline for 4th time,my guess.
CIGNA to cut global workforce by 1,100 positions,4% of employees.

11TH day for ISRAEL protecting its citizens from HAMAS rockets attacks.
87 HAMAS rockets went into ISRAEL since SUNDAY,10,516 Rockets into israel since 2001.
HAMAS yesterday hit an israeli market place and a Kindergarden school with rockets.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow +0.88 points at low today.
Dow +125 points at high today so far.

BENNY HINNS DREAM ABOUT ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR.

ISRAEL is facing its most dangerous time ever.
A lot of HAMAS casualties,possibly 1/3rd to die.
If 1/3rd of all GAZA dies 500,000 will be dead.
Benny believes this is the beginning of the Ezekiel 38-39 GOG-Magog war.
Benny believes America will not help Israel due to economic difficulties.
Benny believes RUSSIA is getting ready to march to israel.

THAT MAKES 3 of US,BENNY HINN,PAT ROBERTSON AND MYSELF THAT BELIEVE EZEKIEL 38+39 WAR OF RUSSIA,ARABS AND MUSLIMS AGAINST ISRAEL IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow at low +0.88 points.
Dow +133 points at high today.
Dow +0.7% today.
Dow up 2.6% over 1st-3 days of 2009 trading.
Dow closing 0.7% higher after retreating from 1.5% gain.
S&P +0.7% today.
S&P up 3.4% over 1st-3 trading days of 2009.
S&P closing 0.7% higher after retreating from 1.8% gain.
S&P highest close since NOV 5,08.
S&P,Nasdaq at 2 month highs.
Nasdaq +1.5% today.
Nasdaq up 4.7% over 1st-3 days of trading in 2009.
Nasdaq highest close since NOV 5,08.
Nasdaq closing up 1.5% after retreating from 2.3% gain.
Stocks retreat from days high in last hour of trading.
Stocks ending higher 4th day out of last 5 sessions.
Alcoa to reduce workforce by 13,500 or 13%.
Alcoa cuts smelting by 18% and 1,700 contractors.
ADOLF MERCKLE BILLIONAIRE COMMITS SUICIDE BY TRAIN.

STOCKS:POSSITIVE SIGNS
1-Modest,multi-month breakouts in Energy,Industrials,Materials,Techs.
2-Mortgage rates below 5%.
3-Corporate Bond demands picks up.
4-Reflation Signs:TIPS AUCTION,Rising COMMODITY PRICES.

Germany nears agreement on new stimulus package
HONOR MAHONY Today JAN 6,09 @ 09:16 CET

The governing coalition in Germany on Monday (5 January) indicated that its latest economic stimulus package could run to €50 billion over two years.According to Germany daily Die Welt, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) and their junior coalition partner, the Social Democrats (SPD), have still to agree which measures should be financed with the money.While both sides continue to work on the details of the package, it is expected to deliver help for business, more infrastructure spending and modest tax cuts. Tax was one of the areas causing the most difficulty. The conservatives wanted to see sharp tax cuts included in the measures while the SPD were pushing for a rise in taxes on the rich.Germany has been widely criticised for acting too slowly after the scale of the global financial crisis became apparent in the second half of 2008.Ms Merkel was dubbed Madame Non in some European quarters and a first stimulus package of €23 billion unveiled in the autumn of last year was derided for being too small.

Natural gas shortages slam some European nations By MARIA DANILOVA, Associated Press Writer Maria JAN 06,09

KIEV, Ukraine – A natural gas crisis loomed over Europe on Tuesday, as a contract dispute between Russia and Ukraine shut off Russian gas supplies to six countries and reduced gas deliveries to several others.At least two Bulgarian cities were totally without gas, and nations like Turkey were turning to Iran to bolster their supplies.In a sharp turnaround, the European Union blasted Russia and Ukraine, saying the sudden cutoff to some of its member countries was completely unacceptable. Just a day ago, the EU was trying to downplay any problems from the gas dispute.In response, Russia and Ukraine agreed to hold new talks on the contract dispute over Russian natural gas that travels to Europe through Ukraine's pipelines. The two neighbors are locked in a dispute over pricing and overdue payments. Russia cut off supplies to Ukraine on Jan. 1 but had promised to keep gas moving to Europe.

The head of the Ukrainian gas company Naftogaz, Oleh Dubina, said he would travel to Moscow on Thursday for new talks. He made the decision after speaking to Alexei Miller, chief executive of Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled monopoly gas supplier.

Given the crisis situation, we are ready to start talks at any moment, said Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov.Wednesday is Orthodox Christmas, a holiday in both Russia and Ukraine.The energy dispute sharply escalated Tuesday when six countries on the other end of the pipeline network running from Russia through Ukraine reported a complete shutoff. Russia supplies Europe with about a quarter of its gas, 80 percent of which is shipped through Ukraine.Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Croatia and Turkey all reported a halt in gas shipments. Croatia said it was temporarily reducing supplies to industrial customers and urged consumers to use gas sparingly in their homes. Bulgaria said it had enough gas for only for a few days.

Bulgaria's President Georgi Parvanov said the country could start immediate preparations to relaunch Unit 3 of its Kozlodui nuclear power plant. The aging two 440-megawatt reactors were shut down two years ago, and Parvanov said one of them could be opened within a month.Two cities in eastern Bulgaria, Varna and Dobrich, were left with no natural gas supplies on Tuesday. In Varna, on the Black Sea coast, the shortage left 12,000 households without central heating amid freezing temperatures.Turkey's Energy Minister Hilmi Guler confirmed the gas cutoff and said the country was trying to compensate with supplies from other sources including another Russian pipeline beneath the Black Sea.During a similar dispute between Ukraine and Russia in 2006, which lasted just three days, several West European countries saw their gas supplies drop by 30 percent or more. That crisis led to criticism of Russia as an unreliable energy partner and spurred talk of finding ways to diversify Europe's energy supply.Up to Monday, the EU has said that the dispute would not affect consumers in the coming weeks. The sudden drops Tuesday, however, increased the diplomatic pressure to find a solution.In a strongly worded statement, the EU complained that gas had been cut without prior warning and in clear contradiction with the reassurances given by the highest Russian and Ukrainian authorities to the European Union.Other countries lost significant amounts of gas as well. Austria lost 90 percent of its normal Russian gas supplies on Tuesday — about half its total supply. It said it had three months' gas reserves but called an emergency meeting at its Economy Ministry.In Slovakia, gas importer SPP AS was considering declaring a state of emergency Tuesday after its gas deliveries from Russia were down by 70 percent.

The Czech Republic and Hungary also reported significant supply drops. The Czech gas company RWE Transgas said it expects only 25 percent of its normal supplies Tuesday from Russia, while Hungary predicted its cut would be greater than the 20 percent it saw on Monday. Moscow and Kiev, meanwhile, blamed each other. Naftogaz said Gazprom had sharply reduced its shipments to Europe through pipelines crossing Ukraine, triggering the cuts. Gazprom accused Ukraine of stealing gas shipments intended for other nations. Kiev denied it was stealing Russian gas. It said was using some of its own gas as fuel to transport the rest of the Russian gas to Europe. Naftogaz says Gazprom is obliged to provide this gas but is refusing. Gazprom said it was sure it could provide Europe with enough gas. We are confident that we will be able to get through this situation without any damage to the gas production and transit system, deputy chairman Alexander Medvedev was quoted as saying by RIA-Novosti. The only issue is gas transit to Europe through Ukraine.On Monday Gazprom said it would cut the amount of gas it ships to Europe through Ukraine by 65.3 million cubic meters, or about 20 percent — the amount it accuses Ukraine of diverting from its transit pipeline network over recent days. Poland was considering limits on deliveries to heavy industry, even though so far Russia has compensated for shortfalls through Ukraine by shipping extra gas to Poland through a pipeline in Belarus. Associated Press writers Veselin Toshkov in Sofia, Bulgaria, Bill Kole in Vienna, and Karel Janicek in Bratislava, Slovakia, contributed to this report.

Russian gas supplies to EU dive overnight
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today JAN 6,09 @ 09:16 CET

Russian supplies of gas to the EU via Ukraine dived by 70 percent overnight from Monday (5 January) to Tuesday Ukraine says, with Bulgarian consumers told to turn off gas stoves after an emergency government meeting.Gazprom has begun pumping gas to the EU via Ukraine at just 92 million cubic metres a day compared to 270 million cubic metres the day before, Ukraine state gas firm Naftogaz said. We do not understand how we will deliver gas to Europe, Naftogaz spokesman Valentin Zemlyansky told newswires. This means that in a few hours, problems with supplies to Europe will begin.Russian gas stopped flowing to Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia and Turkey at around 3:30 am Sofia time on Tuesday, with the Bulgarian government holding an emergency meeting at 7:00 am and urging people to switch to alternative heating sources.Bulgaria - where temperatures stood at minus seven degrees Celsius on Tuesday and are forecast to hit minus 15 this week - relies on Russia for almost all its gas, while running coal and nuclear power plants as well.We are in a crisis situation, Bulgaria's economy ministry said in a statement.The sudden supply drop marks a sharp escalation in the 2009 gas crisis, putting it on an equal footing with the 2006 gas crunch when Russian levels also dived by 200 million cubic metres overnight.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin had on Monday instructed Gazprom to cut Ukraine's EU-bound gas by a smaller amount - 65 million cubic metres - to cover volumes allegedly stolen by Ukraine.Cut it now, Mr Putin told Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller live on Russian TV, amid promises to boost EU supplies via smaller pipelines in Belarus and Turkey instead.A delegation of European Commission and Czech EU presidency officials is in Kiev on a fact-finding mission on Tuesday, with EU officials to also meet Gazprom staff in Berlin the same day.A meeting of the Gas Co-ordination Group - bringing together EU member states, Russian and Ukrainian energy experts - has also been tabled for Friday in Brussels.The commission has so far said it would not intervene in the dispute unless it affected EU consumers, calling it a commercial and bilateral matter for Russia and Ukraine.

Most EU states at a meeting of EU deputy ambassadors in Brussels on Monday took the same line, despite Lithuanian calls for the EU to help Ukraine in what Vilnius sees as Russian political bullying.It was repeated many times that this is a purely commercial dispute, Czech EU presidency spokesman Radek Honzak told EUobserver. Lithuania does not speak for the European Union.The gas row erupted on 1 January after Gazprom accused Naftogaz of not paying its 2008 bill and after Ukraine rejected a 150 percent price increase for 2009 gas deliveries.The EU gets about one fifth of its daily gas needs from Russia via Ukraine.

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.

Series of quakes hit eastern Indonesia, killing 1 By MURSIDIN ODE, Associated Press Writer – Mon Jan 5, 1:29 am ET

MANOKWARI, Indonesia – A series of powerful earthquakes killed a 10-year-old girl and seriously injured dozens in remote eastern Indonesia, briefly triggering fears of another tsunami in a country still recovering from 2004's deadly waves.One of the quakes — of magnitude 7.3 — was felt as far away as Australia and sent small tsunamis into Japan's southeastern coast.Residents near the epicenter in Papua province rushed from their homes in search of higher ground shortly after the first 7.6-magnitude quake struck Sunday at 4:43 a.m. local time (1943 GMT), afraid that huge waves might wash over the island.The epicenter was about 85 miles (135 kilometers) from Papua's main city of Manokwari and occurred at a depth of 22 miles (35 kilometers), the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was followed by dozens of aftershocks.Nearly fifty people were admitted to hospitals with broken bones and head wounds, while more than 300 were treated for minor cuts, scrapes and bruises, local health official Henri Sembiring said Monday.About 135 homes and other buildings were badly damaged or toppled in the province, the National Disaster Coordination Agency said.Officials initially reported four deaths, but later discovered three people had died from illnesses.The 10-year-old girl was killed in her home when a wall collapsed, said hospital director Hengky Tewu. Her head was crushed, he said.

Power lines fell, cutting off electricity, and the runway of Manokwari's Rendani airport was cracked, prompting the cancellation of commercial flights.The government initially issued a tsunami warning but lifted it within an hour after it was confirmed that the epicenter was on land, not water.Quakes centered onshore pose little tsunami threat to Indonesia itself, but those close to the coast can churn up large waves that sometimes reach the coastlines of other countries such as Japan.Japan reported tsunamis between 4 inches (10 centimeters) and 16 inches (40 centimeters) high hitting its shores following the temblors.A huge quake off western Indonesia caused the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed about 230,000 people. Four years on, the multibillion dollar rebuilding process is almost complete.

Residents in Papua's Manokwari — a jumble of low-lying brick and cement structures home to 167,000 people — remained wary of aftershocks.We don't feel safe, said Simon, 32, who like many Indonesians goes by one name. He was staying outside with his wife and three kids. It's just in case there are strong aftershocks.Local officials drove through the streets warning people not to return to structures that might be vulnerable if an aftershock hit.The Indonesian Health Ministry was sending an aid team to Manokwari as well as four tons of medical supplies and baby food, spokeswoman Lily Sulistyowati said.Relief agency World Vision Indonesia was flying in 2,000 emergency provision kits, including canned food, blankets and basic medical supplies, said spokeswoman Katarina Hardono. She said its team will try to reach Manokwari by plane, but if needed will make a 36-hour trip by boat. Papua — located about 1,830 miles (2,955 kilometers) east of the capital Jakarta — is among the nation's least developed areas, and a low-level insurgency has simmered in the resource-rich region for years. It is off limits to foreign reporters. The quake was felt 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) southwest of Papua in Australia's northern city of Darwin but no damage was reported there. Associated Press writers Zakki Hakim and Niniek Karmini contributed to this report from Jakarta.

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.

Guatemalan mudslide kills 35, injures 15 By JUAN CARLOS LLORCA, Associated Press Writer – Tue Jan 6, 7:19 am ET

GUATEMALA CITY – Rescuers dug through tons of mud late Monday in search of more victims of a massive landslide that buried a long stretch of highway in northern Guatemala, killing at least 35 coffee workers and travelers using the road.Vice President Rafael Espada said he feared the death toll could rise by at least a dozen more. About 15 other people were injured when the mass of mud and rock roared down a mountain Sunday near the village of Aquil Grande.Dozens of families watched anxiously as 165 rescuers dug through the collapsed mountainside, which continued to rain down rocks and dirt. Rescuers lined up the dead at a cemetery where people tried to identify them.Roadwork along the highway could have triggered the slide, said Angel Estrada, the head of the rescue effort.Authorities still do not know how many people were in the area when the landslide buried more than a kilometer (nearly a mile) of highway.At least 35 people were killed, said Hugo Arvizu, a spokesman for Guatemala's National Disaster Prevention Agency.Leopoldo Ical, mayor of the nearby city of San Cristobal Verapaz, said at least 100 people were in the area, boarding or disembarking from buses. Many of the victims were laborers from nearby communities who worked on coffee plantations, he said.We are very dismayed by this tragedy, Ical said. The landslide is so big, we don't have much hope of recovering many more bodies.

Juana Alonso, sobbing, recounted how she lost two sons in the slide. One, 22, was killed while returning to another province with his wife and daughter following a Christmas visit here with the family. The other, 26, was returning home to a nearby village.Two people were killed in a landslide along the same road two weeks ago, and the highway had been blocked since. But scores of coffee workers walked around the barricaded stretch of roadway to reach buses headed for the plantations, Ical said.

About 300 families from the tiny Mayan mountain villages of Aquil Grande and Aquil Pequeno were evacuated Monday to a nearby village to protect them in case more landslides occur in the weakened area.Police also arrested two men who were caught robbing people's homes in Aquil Grande after residents went to see if their loved ones were buried in the landslide.

Thousands displaced by floods in Philippines: officials Jan 3, 2:32 am ET

CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines (AFP) – About 5,000 families in the southern Philippines have been displaced by flash floods and large waves spawned by heavy rains, officials said Saturday.Over a hundred houses have been destroyed and many people are fleeing their homes in the face of rising waters in the northern part of the southern island of Mindanao, civil defence officials said.Regional civil defence director Carmelito Lupo said that most of those whose homes were destroyed were from Cagayan de Oro city but officials were still trying to get information on the situation in the surrounding areas.Local officials in Cagayan de Oro said that over 2,000 families had to be evacuated to basketball courts due to rising waters on river banks.Evacuations were also under way in nearby Ginoog City and other areas where flash floods have been reported, said provincial officials.Local officials said two children, aged one and two, were narrowly rescued from the floods but no casualties had been reported yet.

Floods kill five in central Vietnam Fri Jan 2, 9:42 pm

HANOI (Reuters) – Unseasonable floods brought by rains this week have killed at least five people in central Vietnam while 10 others remained missing, the government and state-run media said Saturday.Waters were now receding in main rivers in the region but three including a woman drowned in Quang Nam province and another 44-year-old man died in floods in the neighboring province of Quang Ngai, the government said in a disaster report.A 22-year-old man died in Binh Dinh province while nine fishermen were among the missing after their boats sank, Saturday's Thanh Nien newspaper quoted provincial disaster reports as saying.Floods and storms often strike central Vietnam between August and November but heavy rains since Monday caused by a cold spell hit the region widely exposed to the sea and raised river waters.The government said more than 5,000 homes were submerged and floods also inundated a combined 74,400 hectares of rice in five provinces. The affected area is not the key growing region for rice and coffee, Vietnam's main agro-products for exports.(Reporting by Ho Binh Minh; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)

Floods, mounting snow ruin buildings in Northwest Fri Jan 2, 9:12 pm ET

PORTLAND, Ore. – A mud slide destroyed a home Friday, briefly trapping its occupants, and flooding, mud and deep snow blocked roads as the latest winter storm pummeled the Northwest.Residents of a home in suburban Lake Oswego called 911 early Friday saying they were trapped after mud flowed into their home, filling the first floor. They escaped out a window and were taken to a hospital, said deputy Fire Marshall Gert Zoutendijk. He said their lives were not in danger.Authorities said 21 nearby homes were evacuated.Outside Portland in Clackamas County, about 30 families were evacuated from a mobile home park because of flooding and about 60 roads were closed. County officials declared a state of emergency.Also in Clackamas County, floods crept into the Estacada library, ruining thousands of books before the water receded. A layer of silt remained.The storm dropped just over 3 inches of rain east of Portland before the sky cleared during the morning, and 3.9 inches fell in Aurora, south of the city.In eastern Washington and northern Idaho, at least two roofs collapsed under the weight of mounting snow Friday.Jeff Roma had been up clearing snow off the roof of his Spokane business, Buck's Tire and Automotive, on Friday morning when the roof started to collapse.I heard it start to go and I had to get off, Roma told The Spokesman-Review.He was not injured.

In nearby Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, a business owner and his dog narrowly escaped from a jewelry store before the roof caved in.The risk of roof collapse caused a Spokane-area Costco to close Friday and hire a contractor to shovel its roof. In addition, three Wal-Mart stores were closed in the region while snow was cleared from their roofs, The Spokesman-Review reported.About 4 to 5 inches of snow fell in Spokane on Friday, bringing the season's total to 69 inches. More snow was expected over the weekend.

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 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.

Turkey holds suspicious Iran-Venezuela shipment By SELCAN HACAOGLU, Associated Press Writer JAN 6,09

ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey was holding a suspicious shipment bound for Venezuela from Iran because it contained lab equipment capable of producing explosives, a customs official said Tuesday.Suleyman Tosun, a customs official at the Mediterranean port of Mersin, said military experts were asked to examine the material, which was seized last month, and decide whether to let the shipment to go to Venezuela.

Authorities detected the equipment during a search of 22 containers labeled tractor parts, Tosun said. They were brought to Mersin by trucks from neighboring Iran, he said. Turkey's Interior Ministry said an investigation was under way.Experts from Turkey's Atomic Institute determined there were no traces of radioactive material, but said the equipment was enough to set up an explosives lab, Tosun said. We have asked the military to send experts to determine whether to resume the shipment.Some barrels, labeled with danger signs, contained chemicals. Tosun said details were still unclear.An Iranian embassy official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said the shipment contained nothing important.Iran and Venezuela operate various joint ventures in Venezuela, including plants to assemble tractors and cars. The two countries also have agreed to team up on petrochemical projects.Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser in Ankara contributed to this report.

DISEASES

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

Death toll in Zimbabwe cholera epidemic at 1,732: WHO JAN 6,09

GENEVA (AFP) – At least 1,732 people have died in Zimbabwe's cholera epidemic and the number of cases diagnosed has risen to 34,306, the World Health Organisation said on Tuesday.The organisation last Thursday reported 1,586 dead and 31,656 suspected cases of the water-borne disease.United Nations aid agencies have been warning for weeks that the number of cases could top 60,000, with the impending rainy season likely to facilitate the spread of the disease.All 10 of the country's provinces have been hit, according to UN statistics, which remain incomplete because of a lack of local medical personnel and communications problems.Zimbabweans are also struggling against hyper-inflation, severe food shortages and chronic political instability.

WORLD TERRORISM

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

2 PETER 2:5
5 And spared not the old world, but saved Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly;

2 PETER 3:7
7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men

LEVITICUS 26:16
16 I also will do this unto you; I will even appoint over you( sudden) terror, consumption, and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes, and cause sorrow of heart: and ye shall sow your seed in vain, for your enemies shall eat it.

GENESIS 16:11-12
11 And the angel of the LORD said unto her, Behold, thou art with child, and shalt bear a son, and shalt call his name Ishmael; because the LORD hath heard thy affliction.
12 And he will be a wild man; his hand will be against every man, and every man's hand against him; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.

ISAIAH 33:1,18-19 Woe to thee that spoilest,(destroys) and thou wast not spoiled;(destroyed) and dealest treacherously, and they dealt not treacherously with thee! when thou shalt cease to spoil,(destroy) thou shalt be spoiled;(destroyed) and when thou shalt make an end to deal treacherously, they shall deal treacherously with thee.
18 Thine heart shall meditate terror. Where is the scribe? where is the receiver? where is he that counted the towers?
19 Thou shalt not see a fierce people, a people of a deeper speech than thou canst perceive; of a stammering tongue, that thou canst not understand.

JOHN 16:2
2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.

Blast damages fourth Western Canada gas well site Mon Jan 5, 1:35 pm ET

CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) – Police are investigating what appears to be the fourth bombing of an EnCana Corp natural gas facility in the Western Canadian province of British Columbia, authorities said on Monday.The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said workers for the country's largest energy company found a partly destroyed metering shed at a well near Tomslake, in northeastern British Columbia, on Sunday.No injuries or gas leaks were reported as a result of the explosion, south of Dawson Creek, near the Alberta provincial boundary.The well was shut in as a precaution. It's a single-well site, EnCana spokesman Alan Boras said. Because of the incident, the site was turned over to the RCMP for investigation.Three other EnCana energy facilities in the region have been damaged by explosions since October, and police have yet to announce any suspects.In early December, investigators appealed to the public for help.They said the bombs could have been planted by one person acting alone or a group with some grievance toward the company. Police also said they believed the saboteur, or saboteurs, lived in the region.Gas well valves and other equipment owned by other energy companies have also been vandalized and tampered with in recent weeks.EnCana's damaged wells produce gas from the Montney tight sands formation, one of a host of unconventional gas plays in North America that the industry has targeted for billions of dollars of investment.All four were drilled within the last five years, Boras said.Tight sands and shale gas deposits, located in such regions as British Columbia, Texas and Louisiana, are known for immense size, but require prolific drilling and expensive rock fracturing techniques to maintain production.(Reporting by Jeffrey Jones; editing by Peter Galloway)

Monday, January 05, 2009

ISRAEL DAY 10 IN GAZA

ISRAEL KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK OF STOPPING THE HAMAS MURDERERS FROM KILLING INNOCENT ISRAELIS.

Gaza battle stretches into night despite truce calls By Nidal al-Mughrabi – Mon Jan 5, 2:31 pm ET

GAZA (Reuters) – Israeli troops backed by air strikes fought to seize ground from Hamas militants deep inside the Gaza Strip on Monday despite international calls for a ceasefire in a conflict that has killed more than 540 Palestinians in 10 days.

Israel's defense minister said the operation, aimed at stopping Hamas rocket attacks on southern Israel, could get more difficult before the mission was accomplished.

Hamas vowed to fight on in every street, every alley and threatened to fire more rockets across the border into Israel.French President Nicolas Sarkozy, on a peace-brokering trip to the Middle East, and U.S. President George W. Bush, in his final weeks in the White House, both appealed for a ceasefire.But disagreement on who should stop shooting first and on what terms made the chances of a pause soon remote.

Israel made clear its priority was to secure the safety of its citizens, while Hamas called for a lifting of the blockade of the enclave, crammed with 1.5 million people whose lives are growing ever more squalid. Many lack food, water or power.The death toll in Gaza rose to at least 541 people, many of them civilians. Among Monday's victims were 13 members of a Palestinian family killed in an Israeli strike on their home in a refugee camp, Palestinian medical officials said.The Israeli army said dozens of Hamas fighters had been killed since ground troops invaded on Saturday following a week-long air blitz.Israel launched the offensive after Hamas called off a six-month truce last month and stepped up its rocket attacks in response to Israeli raids and blockade of the enclave, which the Jewish state occupied from 1967 to 2005.Israeli soldiers and Islamist militants fought throughout the day and into the night on Monday. Militants fired mortars and grenades and detonated mines and tried to lure Israeli soldiers into built-up areas, witnesses said.The Israeli air force bombed dozens of targets, including homes of Hamas members used as weapons depots.As night fell, Israeli troops were trying to capture a hill overlooking Jabaliya town and refugee camp and Hamas fighters were resisting them strongly, witnesses said. Heavy Israeli air and artillery strikes concentrated on that area.

Israel's advances into Gaza have carved the 40 km (25 mile)-long coastal territory into two zones and forces have surrounded its largest urban area, Gaza City.Defence Minister Ehud Barak told parliament's foreign affairs and defense committee Hamas had been dealt a heavy blow.But we cannot say that its fighting capabilities have been harmed ... Hamas did not seek a direct confrontation with our forces and wants to drag our forces into urban areas, he said.Difficult moments lie ahead in this operation and the main test could still be ahead.

STREET FIGHTING

Hamas leaders rallied their combatants with defiant rhetoric. Thousands of fighters were waiting in every street, every alley and at every house to tackle them, Hamas military spokesman Abu Ubaida said in a broadcast speech. Hamas would increase its rocket strikes on Israel if the Israeli attacks on Gaza continued, Ubaida said. A rocket hit the Israeli port city of Ashdod, damaging a building and wounding two people, police said. Four Israelis have been killed by salvoes fired into Israel since the offensive began. An Israeli soldier was killed in fighting on Sunday and 48 have been wounded since the ground invasion began. In Ramallah in the Palestinian-ruled West Bank, French President Sarkozy called for a ceasefire as soon as possible and said that time is running against peace.The guns must fall silent, there must be a humanitarian truce, Sarkozy said. He said he would tell Israeli leaders the violence must stop but he also condemned Hamas for its attacks on Israel. Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, heading an EU peace mission, sounded more resigned to prolonged fighting. We do not have a specific plan for a ceasefire because the ceasefire as such must be concluded by the involved parties, he said in Jerusalem.

U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking in Washington, blamed Hamas for provoking the bloodshed and said any ceasefire must include provisions to stop its rocket attacks. Instead of caring about the people of Gaza, Hamas decided to use Gaza to use rockets to kill innocent Israelis, he said. Saudi Arabia said the international community should do more to stop Israeli barbarity and should not ignore the history of its occupation and settlement of Palestinian territories. Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni rebuffed European proposals for international observers in the Gaza Strip after any ceasefire, pushing instead for teams that will help search out and seal off tunnels that could allow Hamas to rearm. At the United Nations, Arab countries were drafting a resolution to demand an immediate end to Israeli aggression.The situation for Gaza residents grew more fraught. People badly needed food, medical supplies and other aid but the hostilities were hampering relief efforts, aid agencies said. In all 29 Palestinian civilians were killed on Monday, medical officials said. Bombs hit a tent where a family was mourning a paramedic killed in an air strike on Sunday. Three people were killed and 17 wounded, medical workers said. We were sitting in the mourning tent when suddenly they bombed us, we ran to rush the casualties to hospitals but they bombed again, Abdel-Dayem said.
(Writing by Angus MacSwan; editing by Andrew Roche)

EU sends mixed message as Gaza death toll mounts
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today JAN 05,09 @ 09:27 CET

The Czech EU presidency this weekend retracted its support for Israel amid the ground attack on Gaza, while France switched its criticism from Israel to Hamas.The Czech Republic on Saturday (3 January) published a statement on behalf of the EU, saying the ground assault was more defensive than offensive. But it pulled the line on Sunday, blaming it on a youthful mistake by its spokesman, Jiri Potuznik. Even the undisputable right of the state to defend itself does not allow actions which largely affect civilians, the second communique said.Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who last week complained about Israel's disproportionate use of force, laid the lion's share of blame on Hamas in an interview on Monday.Hamas, which decided to break the truce and resume rocket fire against Israel, bears a heavy responsibility for the suffering of the Palestinians, he told Lebanese newspapers An Nahar, As Safir and L'Orient le Jour. The Czech EU presidency and Mr Sarkozy are leading EU efforts to broker a ceasefire and inject humanitarian aid to Gaza, each sending a separate diplomatic mission to the region this week.The Czech delegation - comprising French, Swedish and European Commission diplomats as well as top EU envoy Javier Solana - arrived in Egypt on Sunday night and will visit Israel and Palestine later on Monday.Mr Sarkozy lands in Egypt on Monday and is also to visit Israel and the Palestinian territories later the same day, at the risk of stealing the Czech Republic's thunder as the first world leader to personally travel to the Middle East since the war broke out.Mr Sarkozy's special aide, Henri Guaino, told Le Figaro there is no competition between the two delegations. But other French politicians betrayed the feeling that the Czech Republic is not up to the job.I think he [Mr Sarkozy] is the only one capable of taking an initiative like this, French budget minister Eric Woerth said on Europe 1 radio on Sunday.The melee of EU diplomats will also be joined on Monday by Tony Blair, the former British leader and current special envoy of the Middle East quartet (the EU, US, UN and Russia).Israeli officials during the Israel-Lebanon war in 2006 complained that the EU sent too many emissaries to enable a coherent dialogue.

The EU's chances of brokering a ceasefire have been hampered by the US, which on Saturday blocked a UN Security Council ceasefire resolution as the Bush administration counts down its last days in office.The Hamas government on Monday held out an olive branch by agreeing to send a negotiating team to Egypt, at the same time as the Czech and French delegations arrive in the country. But any EU talks with the group will be complicated by its inclusion on the EU terrorist register.

Anger in Europe

Outside the confines of high diplomacy, ordinary Europeans also voiced their opinions on the conflict this weekend as tens of thousands took part in demonstrations stretching from London to Istanbul.Pro-Palestinian marchers took to the streets of the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Spain, Austria, Sweden, Poland, Greece and Cyprus, with reports of skirmishes outside Israeli embassies. In Paris, 20,000 people marched in support of the Palestinians on Saturday, while a crowd of 12,000 showed its solidarity with Israel on Sunday.Pro-Palestinian protests also took place in Turkey, Iran, Syria, India and Lebanon, with Israel tightening security on its northern border amid fears that Lebanese militants Hezbollah may fire rockets in the coming days.Public opinion in Israel firmly supports the Gaza assault. A poll by Maagar Mochot for Israel radio on Sunday said 81 percent of people back the incursion, even though 39 percent do not believe it will bring peace.

The latest reports on Monday morning indicated that 517 Palestinians - mostly civilians - have died so far, with over 2,500 injured. Four Israeli civilians and one soldier have also been killed.

Terror list complicates EU diplomacy in Middle East
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today JAN 5,09 @ 17:45 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - As two European delegations arrive in the Middle East for talks aiming to achieve a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza Strip, governed by Hamas, EU negotiating is being hampered by its own list of proscribed organisations, which forbids the bloc's officials from having contact with groups on the register.
The political wing of Hamas, the militant Palestinian group, has been on the EU's so-called terror list since 2003. Hamas' military wing, the Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades - responsible for the rocket attacks on Israeli territory - was blacklisted in 2002.Once groups or individuals are on the list, the EU can have no official contact with them.An EU peace delegation arrived in Cairo on Monday (5 January) headed by Karel Schwarzenberg, the foreign minister of the Czech Republic, which currently chairs the six-month rotating EU presidency.Accompanying Mr Schwarzenberg, the EU's chief diplomat, Javier Solana, external relations commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt and his French counterpart, Bernard Kouchner, were later on Monday to head to Israel, Ramallah - the unofficial capital of the Palestinian National Authority in the occupied West Bank - and subsequently Jordan.Ayman Taha, an official with Hamas, told Reuters on Monday that a delegation from the militant group would also be in Cairo following an Egyptian invitation to hold discussions.However, EU officials in Brussels said that no one from the peace mission would be meeting with Hamas because it is a proscribed organisation.Asked by reporters on Monday why the EU mission was heading to Ramallah in the West Bank and not to a location in the Gaza Strip where one of the two belligerents in the ongoing war is located, commission spokesman Amadeu Tardio said: There is a list that is decided by the Council [EU member states] and ...this is our guideline.Hamas is on this list of terrorist organisations and this is the policy we are applying because it has been decided unanimously by the European Union, he continued.The EU mission when it visits Ramallah later today will have contacts with the Palestinian Authority, which is our interlocutor, he said.

A 2001 EU definition of terrorist acts describes them as seriously damaging a country or international organisation, including attacks on a person's life that can cause death; attacks on the physical integrity of a person and acts causing extensive destruction to government or public facilities, transport systems or infrastructure.To qualify, they must also be carried out with the aim of seriously intimidating a population, or unduly compelling a government or an international organisation to perform or abstain from performing any act, or seriously destabilising or destroying the fundamental political, constitutional, economic or social structures of a country or an international organisation.Similar attacks but perpetrated against actors that are not countries or international organisations are not however classified as terrorist acts.One EU official told the EUobserver: It merits reflection of what a terrorist act is in drawing up the basis for such lists.

At the time of the Hamas terror listing, Germany and France had argued that such a move would be counterproductive to the peace process.An Israeli spokeswoman with the country's mission to the EU, Avivit Bar-Ilan, told this website there are other ways that communication can indirectly occur with the Gazan government.There are other players, particularly the Egyptians. These players can speak on behalf of Hamas.The Cairo discussions are due take place as a second, unofficial delegation from Europe headed by French President Nicolas Sarkozy is set to arrive in the region.

EU aid blocked

Separately, the European Commission announced on Sunday that it had made an extra €3 million in relief assistance available for the Gaza Strip. John Clancy, a development spokesman, on Monday said that this aid was having trouble reaching Gazans as a result of the Israeli blockade of the Palestinian territory.Difficulties still remain with the border crossings principally closed, he said, adding that the EU is still appealing to the Israeli authorities to ensure a humanitarian space is made available.Ms Bar-Ilan said that the delays were due to EU announcement of aid having only been made on Sunday.

PALESTINIAN MEDIA WATCH
http://www.pmw.org.il/

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 MON JAN 05,2009

09:30 AM -40.45
10:00 AM -111.59
10:30 AM -59.34
11:00 AM -42.53
11:30 AM -68.50
12:00 PM -81.80
12:30 PM -53.12
01:00 PM -69.95
01:30 PM -57.98
02:00 PM -21.11
02:30 PM -82.27
03:00 PM -95.58
03:30 PM -136.20
04:00 PM -81.80 8952.89

S&P 500 927.46 -4.35

NASDAQ 1628.03 -4.18

GOLD 858.30 -21.10

OIL 48.57 +2.23

TSE 300 9285.51 +51.40

CDNX 874.49 +27.80

S&P/TSX/60 560.96 +4.13

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

Dow -62 points at 4 minutes of trading.
Dow -1 point at the high.
Dow -134 points at low today so far.

NYSE STATS 10:30AM
Advances 1587,Declines 1296,Unchanged 102,New Highs 6,New lows 2
NASDAQ STATS
Advances 1037,Declines 1358,Unchanged 201.

The Markets Factored in:Poor near-term economic numbers.
Not factored in:Lower 2009-10 estimates.
STIMULUS BILL
Heavier on tax cuts?
-Individual tax cuts.
-Writeoffs for Companies.
-Tax credit for hiring.

DAY 10 ISRAEL STILL AFTER ARAB MURDERERS.
10,496 ROCKETS FIRED INTO ISRAEL BY HAMAS SINCE 2001.
World calls for International armies in Gaza.
7.5 quake kills 4 in Papa on Sunday(Indonesia).
Small Tsunami waves come up in Japan.
Ontario Canada get freezing rain.
EU,sarkozy to negotiate with israel today.
Arab countries gather to take one voice against Israel.
Lookout if RUSSIA gets involved with Arab countries.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS

Dow -1 point at high.
Dow -117 points at low.

FORD to report DEC sales drop 32.3%.
FORD 4Th Quarter weakest since 1981.
FORD US DEC sales -32.4% Vs -32.3%
HONDA DEC US sales -34.7%
EU seeks ceasefire in ISRAEL-GAZA.
Sarkozy met with Egypt,Israel,Arabs.
EU deligate talked with israel-arabs.
Britain,France calls for ceasefire in Gaza.
Germany,Denmark,Israels right to defend itself.
EU presidency Cze's say Israel is defending itself from Arab rockets.
Sweden blames Israel for esculating WAR.
Arab Murderers meet with Ban kl-moon at the un today.
Pairie Saskateuan cold snap.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS

Dow -1 point at low today.
Dow -140 points at low today.
Dow -0.9% today.
S&P 500 -0.4% today.
Nasdaq -0.2% today.
Stocks had rallied 3% higher on first day of 2009 trading friday.
Stocks give back some of Fridays gains.
S&P gains 7% over last 7 sessions,best rally since 1974.

DECEMBER AUTO SALES
GM -31.4%,FORD -32.4%,CHRYSLER -53.0%,TOYOTA -36.7%.

THE SECRETARY AND MADOFF SCANDLE
-SEC'S response to complaints about Madoff.
-Investigate possible conflicts of interest.
-Inspections of BMIS.
-Did Madoffs reputation influence SEC.

NEW YEAR RALLY
Positives:
1-No selling into rally.
2-New lows fade.
3-Volatility keeps dropping.
4-Sector rotation:Less defensive.
SECTOR last 7 DAYS
Energy +13.2%,Cons.Disc. +9.7%,materials +7.8%,Consumer staples +4.4%,Healthcare +3.8%.

Investors collect profits after last week's rally By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer JAN 05,09

NEW YORK – Caution returned to Wall Street Monday as investors gave back some gains from last week's rally even as they found encouragement from President-elect Barack Obama's calls for an economic stimulus package.Some retreat was to be expected after investors sent the Dow Jones industrial average to a two-month high on Friday; investors are wary about pouring more money into the battered market with economic data still generally weak.Monday was the first real test of Wall Street in 2009 after many traders took extended vacations during the holidays, leading to light volume that may have exaggerated the market's move upward. Investors are still contending with fears about everything from the state of corporate earnings to consumers' willingness to spend during a recession.There is some optimism out there that there is going to be a massive stimulus package by Obama that is going to get passed and that will help the economy, said Greg Church, chief investment officer of Church Capital Management in Yardley, Pa.Church warned, however, that a recovery will be difficult.The economy is still very weak. Unemployment is still high and is likely to get worse, he said.Some analysts warned against drawing big conclusions from Monday's trading.We're not reading too much into this market right now, especially after Friday's big gain, said Matt King, chief investment officer at Bell Investment Advisors. There's just not a lot of conviction behind it.ink there is an element of profit taking from Friday, when the Dow rose 258 points, he said.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 81.80, or 0.91 percent, to 8,952.89 after falling as much as 142.Broader stock indicators showed more modest declines. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.35, or 0.47 percent, to 927.45, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.18, or 0.26 percent, to 1,628.03.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 0.81, or 0.16 percent, to 505.03.Despite the pullback in the major indexes, advancing issues outnumbered decliners by about 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.32 billion shares.On Friday, the Dow registered its first close above 9,000 in two months. Last week, all the major indexes gained more than 6 percent, furthering a rally off multiyear lows that began Nov. 20.Bond prices pulled back Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 2.46 percent from 2.39 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.08 percent from 0.07 percent.The dollar mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.Light, sweet crude rose $2.47 to settle at $48.81 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Analysts expect Wall Street will remain on edge in the coming months as companies release their quarterly results and, more important, their forecasts for the year. Economists are expecting terrible profit reports and cautious forecasts but anything worse than expected could rock the market. Kim Caughey, equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group, said investors are already bracing for lackluster corporate results, a stance that could help Wall Street more easily absorb bad news. Since late November, a pessimistic market has been able to write off some bad economic readings as unsurprising. I think it may put a limit on the downside because we're already expecting things to be terrible. It's not going to take a whole lot to meet or exceed terrible, she said. Caughey warned, however, that modest expectations likely won't be enough to take the market higher. It's just going to limp along, she said of the economy.

Some stocks and sectors saw selling Monday as analysts issued downbeat forecasts. JPMorgan Chase & Co., which last year scooped up ailing banks Washington Mutual and Bear Stearns, fell after a Deutsche Bank analyst late Sunday reduced his 2009 profit forecast for the company. He predicts JPMorgan will see increases in soured loans. The stock fell $2.10, or 6.7 percent, to $29.25 and was the steepest decliner among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow industrials. Another downgrade weighed on the telecommunications sector. Verizon Communications fell $2.16, or 6.2 percent, to $32.48, while AT&T Inc. fell 99 cents, or 3.4 percent, to $28.43. Both stocks are Dow components. Some energy stocks advanced as oil rose. El Paso Corp. rose 50 cents, or 6 percent, to $8.81, while XTO Energy Inc. rose $2.12, or 5.6 percent, to $39.70. Apple Inc. eased some investors' worries about the health of Chief Executive Steve Jobs. Wall Street closely associates his vision with the company's success. In a letter released Monday, Jobs acknowledged his recent weight loss, and said his doctors believe he has a hormone imbalance. Jobs, a survivor of pancreatic cancer, will continue as CEO during his recovery. Apple rose $3.83, or 4.2 percent, to $94.58. Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.39 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.22 percent, and France's CAC-40 added 0.31 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 2.07 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 3.46 percent. On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com

Cold War politics haunt EU gas crunch response
PHILIPPA RUNNER Today JAN 5,09 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Ex-Communist EU states are again accusing Russia of using energy as a political weapon in the Ukraine gas crisis, despite European Commission efforts to paint the dispute as a purely commercial matter.It's big politics from 2004 [when Ukraine broke away from Russia's control in the Orange Revolution], a senior Lithuanian official told EUobserver on Monday (5 January).Russia is saying: You have to become a vassal state, then you get what you want. All the neighbouring states of Russia are still fighting for their independence, he added. Lithuania is paying one of the highest prices for gas in Europe and this is also as a result of Russian attitudes to our policies.Russia cut off Ukraine's gas on 1 January after accusing Kiev of not paying its 2008 bill and asking it to pay $450 (€330) per thousand cubic metres of gas in 2009, compared to $180 in 2008 and compared to average European prices of $450 to $500.The Paris-based International Energy Association (IEA) has questioned the commercial logic of the move.To adjust prices so rapidly will cause problems for Ukrainian consumers, IEA expert Ian Cronshaw told this website. Russia's call for higher prices is interesting because it reflects the abnormally high oil prices at the beginning of 2008. Those prices are dropping and should keep falling in 2009.EU deputy ambassadors met in Brussels on Monday to exchange technical information about gas supply shortfalls. Ukraine transit of Russian gas accounts for one fifth (about 300 million cubic metres) of EU daily consumption.But the first political-level debate will take place at an informal gathering of EU foreign ministers in Prague on Thursday, with some EU officials expecting a renewed push for the Nabucco pipeline project, designed to bring in gas from Central Asia to the EU, bypassing both Russia and Ukraine.Russia-Ukraine rows over gas prices have taken place every winter since the Orange Revolution, with the worst spat in 2006 seeing Ukraine transit shipments to the EU plunge by 200 million cubic metres a day, compared to the current shortfall of around 50 million cubic metres.

The 2006 crisis was widely interpreted as a Russian attempt to destabilise the post-revolutionary government in Ukraine.But the European Commission and the Czech EU presidency are depicting the latest crunch as a purely commercial dispute between Russian supply firm Gazprom and Ukraine's state-owned gas buyer, NaftogaRosUkrEnergo - an intermediary company co-owned by Gazprom and Ukraine oligarch Dmitry Firtash, which buys gas from Gazprom and sells it on to Naftogas - has reportedly filed a law suit against Naftogas at an arbitration court in Stockholm to get its 2008 money.

It is a commercial dispute and it has to be solved by the two parties, European Commission spokesman Ferran Tarradelas said on Monday, adding that the commission's main concern is EU consumers, which have not yet been affected by the spat.A delegation of commission and Czech EU presidency officials is due in Kiev on Monday and Tuesday on a fact-finding mission to see how bad things might get, with another set of EU officials to meet Gazprom delegates in Berlin.Some EU officials believe a Russia-Ukraine deal will be struck by Wednesday, in time for Russian officials to settle down for the Russian Orthodox Christmas holiday.But the IEA in Paris is less optimistic, pointing out that while EU gas stocks (at 70 to 90 percent full) are higher than back in 2006, this week's cold snap in Europe will see gas demand shoot up.The bad news is the weather has turned. There's a nice little snowfall in Paris today, the IEA's Mr Cronshaw said. There doesn't seem to be a lot of momentum to resolve the issue. We're getting a little worried it's dragging on for a week already, whereas in 2006 it lasted just a few days.Correction: the article originally said an informal EU foreign ministers meeting will be held in Prague on Wednesday. In fact it will be on Thursday.

Czechs face tough time at helm of EU
HONOR MAHONY Today JAN 5,09 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - With a weak government and a eurosceptic president, the Czech Republic will have to make a Herculean effort to ensure that its six-month stint at the EU's helm does not sink into incoherency and recriminations.Its case is not helped by the fact that for the previous half year, the bloc has been run by France's Nicolas Sarkozy, a whirlwind politician who at times steered the EU through sheer force of personality. Mr Sarkozy has relinquished power only reluctantly to the Czechs, intimating that the EU would be better served under a large member state and him in particular.A small member state in charge of the EU is often seen as positive, as they generally tend to concentrate on the job. But the thought of the ex-Communist Czech Republic - only four years a member of the bloc - running the EU has been making Brussels jittery.This is mainly due to Vaclav Klaus, the Czech president and an open critic of the European Union. He regularly ruffles EU feathers, most recently by dining with Declan Ganley during a state visit to Ireland. Mr Ganley headed a successful campaign against the EU treaty that resulted in the country rejecting the charter in a referendum.

The Czech government is headed by conservative Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, a political enemy of Mr Klaus. Adding to Brussels' poor perception of Prague, Mr Topolanek's party is stalling on the ratification of the EU's new treaty by linking it to agreement on a separate issue. The country is one of just three that have not ratified the treaty, with larger member states tending to see it as a slight that the presidency country has not approved the EU's newest rules.Another concern hanging over the presidency is that the fact that the government could fall some time over the next six months, as Mr Topolanek hangs on to power by a thread.But despite such doubts, the international agenda has meant that Prague has been catapulted into international affairs since day one of its presidency.The on-going Israeli offensive in Gaza, which has killed more than 500 Palestinians, was already in its fourth day when the Czech Republic took on speaking for the EU, while Russia is locked in a gas dispute with Ukraine, putting EU energy supplies at risk.The Middle East conflict has been made more difficult for the Czechs to mediate because of the myriad EU officials and voices in the region, including President Sarkozy. And Prague already tripped up by issuing an EU statement in support of Israeli actions, before rapidly moving to change it.Meanwhile, finding a common approach to Russia on any issue is traditionally difficult for the bloc. A small member state, already somewhat lacking in EU credibility, is unlikely to have the clout to forge a unified line. Muddying the waters still further is the US missile defence system planned for Czech soil, which is strongly opposed by Moscow.In addition, the Czech Republic is heading the EU at a time of a global financial crisis and has the difficult task of implementing the €200 billion economic stimulus package agreed by EU leaders at the end of last year. Recent comments mocking other governments for ramping up state spending in the face of the crisis has not endeared it to some EU capitals.For its part, the Czech EU presidency has said its main priorities are the economy, energy and external relations. It has sought both to downplay expectations about what any presidency can achieve while seeking to reassure other capitals that it is capable of the job.

Sunday, January 04, 2009

TORAH PORTION FROM JAN 4 - 10 2009

SINCE WHAT ISRAEL READS WILL BE FULFILLED IN THAT WEEK I WILL BE PUTTING THE WEEKLY TORAH PORTION ON FOR ALL OF US TO KEEP TRACK OF ISRAEL HAPPENINGS.

TORAH PORTION FROM JAN 04 2009 6PM - JAN 10 6PM 2009

GENESIS 47:28 - 50:26
28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years: so the whole age of Jacob was an hundred forty and seven years.
29 And the time drew nigh that Israel must die: and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt:
30 But I will lie with my fathers, and thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and bury me in their buryingplace. And he said, I will do as thou hast said.
31 And he said, Swear unto me. And he sware unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's head.

GENESIS 48:1-22
1 And it came to pass after these things, that one told Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick: and he took with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim.
2 And one told Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee: and Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the bed.
3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me,
4 And said unto me, Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, and I will make of thee a multitude of people; and will give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession.
5 And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine; as Reuben and Simeon, they shall be mine.
6 And thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheritance.
7 And as for me, when I came from Padan, Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when yet there was but a little way to come unto Ephrath: and I buried her there in the way of Ephrath; the same is Bethlehem.
8 And Israel beheld Joseph's sons, and said, Who are these?
9 And Joseph said unto his father, They are my sons, whom God hath given me in this place. And he said, Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them.
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he could not see. And he brought them near unto him; and he kissed them, and embraced them.
11 And Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath shewed me also thy seed.
12 And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth.
13 And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel's right hand, and brought them near unto him.
14 And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.
15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,
16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.
17 And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head.
18 And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head.
19 And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.
20 And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.
21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.
22 Moreover I have given to thee one portion above thy brethren, which I took out of the hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow.

GENESIS 49:1-33
1 And Jacob called unto his sons, and said, Gather yourselves together, that I may tell you that which shall befall you in the last days.
2 Gather yourselves together, and hear, ye sons of Jacob; and hearken unto Israel your father.
3 Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power:
4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father's bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch.
5 Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty are in their habitations.
6 O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall.
7 Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel.
8 Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father's children shall bow down before thee.
9 Judah is a lion's whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he couched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up?
10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.
11 Binding his foal unto the vine, and his ass's colt unto the choice vine; he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes:
12 His eyes shall be red with wine, and his teeth white with milk.
13 Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships; and his border shall be unto Zidon.
14 Issachar is a strong ass couching down between two burdens:
15 And he saw that rest was good, and the land that it was pleasant; and bowed his shoulder to bear, and became a servant unto tribute.
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
18 I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.
19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.
20 Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, and he shall yield royal dainties.
21 Naphtali is a hind let loose: he giveth goodly words.
22 Joseph is a fruitful bough, even a fruitful bough by a well; whose branches run over the wall:
23 The archers have sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him:
24 But his bow abode in strength, and the arms of his hands were made strong by the hands of the mighty God of Jacob; (from thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel:)
25 Even by the God of thy father, who shall help thee; and by the Almighty, who shall bless thee with blessings of heaven above, blessings of the deep that lieth under, blessings of the breasts, and of the womb:
26 The blessings of thy father have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills: they shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was separate from his brethren.
27 Benjamin shall ravin as a wolf: in the morning he shall devour the prey, and at night he shall divide the spoil.
28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel: and this is it that their father spake unto them, and blessed them; every one according to his blessing he blessed them.
29 And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered unto my people: bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite,
30 In the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought with the field of Ephron the Hittite for a possession of a buryingplace.
31 There they buried Abraham and Sarah his wife; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife; and there I buried Leah.
32 The purchase of the field and of the cave that is therein was from the children of Heth.
33 And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.

GENESIS 50:1-26
1 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon him, and kissed him.
2 And Joseph commanded his servants the physicians to embalm his father: and the physicians embalmed Israel.
3 And forty days were fulfilled for him; for so are fulfilled the days of those which are embalmed: and the Egyptians mourned for him threescore and ten days.
4 And when the days of his mourning were past, Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying,
5 My father made me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I have digged for me in the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come again.
6 And Pharaoh said, Go up, and bury thy father, according as he made thee swear.
7 And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
8 And all the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house: only their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen.
9 And there went up with him both chariots and horsemen: and it was a very great company.
10 And they came to the threshingfloor of Atad, which is beyond Jordan, and there they mourned with a great and very sore lamentation: and he made a mourning for his father seven days.
11 And when the inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning in the floor of Atad, they said, This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians: wherefore the name of it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.
12 And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them:
13 For his sons carried him into the land of Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought with the field for a possession of a buryingplace of Ephron the Hittite, before Mamre.
14 And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he had buried his father.
15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him.
16 And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying,
17 So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him.
18 And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.
19 And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?
20 But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.
21 Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.
22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house: and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years.
23 And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation: the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were brought up upon Joseph's knees.
24 And Joseph said unto his brethren, I die: and God will surely visit you, and bring you out of this land unto the land which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob.
25 And Joseph took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence.
26 So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old: and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt.

PROPHETS PORTION

1 KINGS 2:1-12
1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; and he charged Solomon his son, saying,
2 I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man;
3 And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself:
4 That the LORD may continue his word which he spake concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet.
6 Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace.
7 But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother.
8 And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous curse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword.
9 Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood.
10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David.
11 And the days that David reigned over Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem.
12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly.

NEW TESTAMENT PORTION

ACTS 7:9-16
9 And the patriarchs, moved with envy, sold Joseph into Egypt: but God was with him,
10 And delivered him out of all his afflictions, and gave him favour and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt; and he made him governor over Egypt and all his house.
11 Now there came a dearth over all the land of Egypt and Chanaan, and great affliction: and our fathers found no sustenance.
12 But when Jacob heard that there was corn in Egypt, he sent out our fathers first.
13 And at the second time Joseph was made known to his brethren; and Joseph’s kindred was made known unto Pharaoh.
14 Then sent Joseph, and called his father Jacob to him, and all his kindred, threescore and fifteen souls.
15 So Jacob went down into Egypt, and died, he, and our fathers,
16 And were carried over into Sychem, and laid in the sepulchre that Abraham bought for a sum of money of the sons of Emmor the father of Sychem.

HEBREWS 11:21-22
21 By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

1 PETER 1:3-9
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

1 PETER 2:11-17
11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
12 Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.
13 Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;
14 Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.
15 For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:
16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.
17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.