$50 TRILLION IS NOT ENOUGH DEBT.BERNANKE INSISTS THE BANKERS CONTINUE TO GET BAILOUTS OR THE EARTH WILL GO FLAT.THE CHIPMUNKS WILL SING SO LOUD YOU WILL GO DEAF WORLWIDE.GIRAFFS WILL ATTACK NEW YORK.EASTER BUNNYS WILL DESTROY AMERICAN CITIES BY LAYING TRILLIONS OF EGGS FROM THE SKY AND DROPPING THEM.GREMLINS WILL SNEAK UP ON PEOPLE WORLDWIDE AND BITE THEIR ANKLES IF BERNANKE IS NOT ALLOWED TO PUT THE DEBT INTO THE QUADRILLIONS AND KEEP FEEDNG THE NEW WORLD ORDER BANKERS OFF SHORE CASH FROM THE FEDERAL RESERVES PRINTING PRESS OF ENDLESS CASH TO BE PAID FOR BY TAX PAYERS WHO WILL PAY CARBON TAXES AND WHATEVER TAXES THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION DREAMS UP TO COVER THESE BANKERS TRACKS AND FUND THE ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT.
JONES THURSDAY SHOW SHOW
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110203_Thu_Alex.mp3
JONES RESPONSE TO THE WHITHOUSE LIES IN ARTICLE-SUNDAY
http://rss.nfowars.net/20110206_Sun_Alex.mp3
White House Attacks Prison Planet.com Report On Blackouts Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com February 5, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/white-house-responds-to-blackout-controversy/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wr3l4oPXiAw&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6JcNlaD2j-4&feature=player_embedded
- Lies about Texas not being affected by draconian EPA rules on greenhouse gases.
- Deception about clean burning coal-fired plants producing carbon pollution.
- Spin in denying EPA and Obama administration have publicly stated and openly embarked on mission to destroy coal industry by blocking construction of new power plants.The White House has publicly responded to the controversy surrounding the Obama administration’s agenda to bankrupt the coal industry and its connection to this week’s blackouts across the country, by attempting to deny the link in a rebuttal that amounts to nothing more than a tissue of lies, deception and spin.In a blog that appears on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer begins by claiming that the story came from a questionable source and is unquestionably false, without even naming the source. Frightened that Americans might actually read the source and make their own minds up based on the facts, Pfeiffer fails to provide a link to our original article that was subsequently picked up by the Drudge Report, Fox News and numerous other media outlets.Pfeiffer then oversimplifies the debate by building a straw man argument based around the premise that the Obama Administration is somehow responsible for the rolling blackouts in Texas, before blaming the outages on cold weather.By framing the argument to make out as if we claimed Obama flipped a switch and the lights went out is completely deceptive. Of course the cold weather has shown that the country is vulnerable to blackouts, but that vulnerability is a direct result of the Obama administration’s stated goal to bankrupt the coal industry and its proven track record, through the enforcement of EPA regulations, of blocking power plants from being built that would be able to handle the extra demand.
Pfeiffer then claims that the blackouts were a result of power plants experiencing mechanical failures, completely ignoring the fact that the blackouts were planned and were made necessary because of a lack of supply to meet increased demand. That’s why Texas had to rely on Mexico to meet its power shortfall, an offer that was subsequently suspended.Pfeiffer then attempts to counter the manifestly provable fact that desperately needed new coal-fired plants are being mothballed under the weight of draconian EPA regulations on CO2 emissions by claiming that Texas isn’t subject to such restrictions. Firstly, Texas supplies power to surrounding states that have been impacted by the new EPA regulations, leaving less energy to meet the demand of those living in the lone star state.Secondly, despite Texas’ best efforts to fight the new Clean Air Act standards, the EPA has aggressively enforced existing regulations, a process that has both delayed and prevented new plants in Texas from being built, such as the Las Brisas Energy Center, which has been the subject of a near three year battle between the EPA and state authorities.Indeed, a federal court ruling last month gave the EPA permission to proceed with greenhouse gas regulation in Texas, temporarily superseding Texas’ non-compliance with the new regulations which came into force on January 2. The White House’s claim that EPA regulations are not currently affecting Texas is a complete fabrication.The wider argument that the EPA is simply trying to implement reasonable measures to prevent carbon pollution is also a complete misnomer. Modern day clean burning coal-fired plants go to great lengths to remove all hazardous chemicals before any emissions leave the plant, through the use of sophisticated scrubbers and other techniques, to the point where the only emissions are water vapor and carbon dioxide. Watch the video below for a demonstration of these techniques.
There can be no doubt whatsoever that the Obama administration has deliberately pursued a policy of bankrupting the coal industry by means of crippling EPA regulations. Candidate Obama himself explicitly stated this objective during a January 2008 interview.So, if somebody wants to build a coal plant, they can — it’s just that it will bankrupt them, because they are going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted, he stated.This policy has led not only to new coal plants not being built, but also to existing coal plants being threatened with termination. EPA regulations are forcing power plants out of business across America – leaving the country vulnerable to more enforced blackouts and higher energy prices.
- Back in July 2008, a Superior Court judge in Fulton County blocked the construction of a coal plant in Georgia, citing global warming concerns and the need to limit CO2 emissions.
- In January 2009, the Obama EPA blocked approval for a coal-fired power plant in South Dakota, claiming the state, didn’t meet requirements under the Clean Air Act in part of its proposed permit for the plant.
- As Governor of Kansas, Obama’s current Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius slapped a de facto ban on the construction of all new coal-fired plants across the state.
- Last month, Senators in Obama’s home state of Illinois blocked the construction of a clean-burning coal gasification and power generating plant.
- As a result of the EPA’s recent remand of air permits, Shell Oil announced this week that it has dropped plans to drill in the Arctic waters of the Beaufort Sea this year and will concentrate, ensuring more shortages and higher prices for Americans.
Last month Dayton Daily News reported that, The power industry nationwide might have to spend more than $80 billion and retire 45,000 megawatts of coal-fired power plants over several years in adjusting operations to meet current and possible new EPA regulations.The shortage of power plants to meet the demands of Texans and other Americans as cold weather grips the country is down to the EPA holding local utility companies hostage and blocking them from building desperately needed new power plants.Obama’s January greenhouse gas rules restricted the amount of emissions allowable for new power plants, while giving an exemption to General Electric, an intimate financial supporter of his administration.The Obama administration has crippled US infrastructure and its ability to meet the needs of Americans by declaring war on the coal industry. While smaller independent power plant companies are being squeezed out of existence by EPA rules, transnational giants are busy creating artificial scarcity to jack up prices and eliminate their competition. Indeed, we only have to recall how Enron shut down power plants on false pretenses during the 2001 blackouts in California as a ploy to raise prices to understand how the restriction of energy is used as a political and financial tool of oppression.
Energy prices continue to skyrocket nationwide while the EPA prepares to shut down more plants, ensuring only higher prices in the years to come. The federal government’s siege against independent power companies’ efforts to build coal-fired plants is part of the unfolding globalist agenda to cripple American infrastructure even as China and Mexico build new power plants at ever accelerating speeds.The fact that the White House is so concerned that this agenda is being exposed that they feel the need to address it with a tissue of lies and deception on the front page of WhiteHouse.gov is a telling indication that the Obama administration is panicking about Americans becoming aware of the move to completely de-industrialize the United States.
You Can't Believe Everything You Read Posted by Dan Pfeiffer on February 04, 2011 at 04:55 PM EST(WHITEHOUSE RESPONSE ARTICLE)
As valuable as the internet can be in helping to spread information, most people know that you can’t believe everything you read, and they should check the source before relaying every alarming story they read. One such story is going around the internet over the past two days claiming that the Obama Administration is somehow responsible for the rolling blackouts in Texas that have caused terrible hardship for so many Texans. The source is questionable and the story is unquestionably false.According to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, these blackouts were actually the result of extreme cold temperatures and high winds, which led to a variety of mechanical failures at more than 50 power plants around the state.
Anytime communities experience major outages, it is a cause for concern, and major utilities and regulators are investigating steps that can be taken to decrease any weather related vulnerability of power generating plants in the state that, unlike their northern counterparts which experience extreme cold every winter, are often not designed to withstand such rare weather conditions.Some are trying to blame these blackouts – which the industry has already provided explanation for – on Clean Air Act standards under consideration to curb dangerous pollution, including carbon pollution. While these claims gained traction on the internet, there is a major problem with this theory – no power plant in Texas has yet been required to do anything to control carbon pollution. In December the EPA announced its intent to update important Clean Air Act standards that for decades have decreased harmful pollution and protected public health. In the coming months the EPA will work closely with key stakeholders, including industry, to develop a commonsense standard for currently unchecked, dangerous carbon pollution. Any standard, which will leverage existing technologies and only apply to the largest polluters, will not be proposed until later this year, allowing an extensive public comment period, and following that additional input no final rule is scheduled to be in place until late 2012.Despite these modest steps, many continue to mischaracterize this process – making unsubstantiated claims about the impact this will have on everything from industry to energy prices. This most recent effort simply underscores a willingness to ignore the facts to further an agenda that seeks to stop the EPA from sensible updates to the Clean Air Act.Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director.
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all,(WORLD SOCIALISM) both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON FEB 07,2011
09:30 AM +2.43
10:00 AM +49.01
10:30 AM +76.71
11:00 AM +85.64
11:30 AM +92.07
12:00 PM +75.20
12:30 PM +79.89
01:00 PM +77.73
01:30 PM +83.97
02:00 PM +85.22
02:30 PM +74.25
03:00 PM +71.26
03:30 PM +73.49
04:00 PM +69.48 12,161.63
S&P 500 1319.05 +8.18
NASDAQ 2783.99 +14.69
GOLD 1,350.50 +1.50
OIL 87.26 -1.77
TSE 300 13,811.90 +20.10
CDNX 2375.03 +4.74
S&P/TSX/60 792.01 +0.52
MORNING,NEWS,STATS
YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +20 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -0.08 points at low today.
Dow +96 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,351.00.OIL opens at $88.84 today.
AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.08 points at low today so far.
Dow +96 points at high today so far.
WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -0.08 points at low today.
Dow +96 points at high today.
GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,427.40 (NOT AT CLOSE)
Big Sis and NFL Turn Super Bowl Into Police State
Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com February 5, 2011
http://www.infowars.com/big-sis-and-nfl-turn-super-bowl-into-police-state/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbJd-E8GMpA&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RVo6HrzwLc&feature=player_embedded
Earlier this week, Department of Homeland Security boss Janet Napolitano traveled to Arlington, Texas, where the Super Bowl will be held to shill the government’s recently unveiled If You See Something, Say Something propaganda campaign.We are partnering this year with the NFL on our If You See Something, Say Something’ campaign and launching that NFL partnership right here at the Super Bowl, Napolitano said during a press conference on Monday at Cowboy Stadium.The idea is simple, she continued. We are simply asking the American people to be vigilant, recognizing that our security is a shared responsibility that all of us must participate in. If a fan at the Super Bowl or any other American at any other place sees something that is potentially dangerous, then say something about it to local law enforcement or someone in authority.DHS is also working with federal, state, local and private sector partners to support security efforts at the Super Bowl through additional personnel, technology and resources, according to a DHS press release.Public-private partnerships are the very essence of what used to be called fascism.
The DHS trained around 1,200 stadium employees as first observers and the venue has become a high profile showcase for a concerted effort by the government to expand the Gestapo zone concept from airports to stadiums and eventually malls and other public buildings.In these current times you would be shortsighted, really, not to have gone to the nth degree to design security and security equipment and security areas … and this stadium represents that, Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, told CNN on Friday.Fans attending the game this weekend can expect the same kind of intrusive procedures they might endure at an airport, including passing through magnetometers and TSA-like pat-downs.Small bags will be searched and jackets will be X-rayed, reports the Kansas City Star. A large number of items will not be allowed in the stadium, including camcorders, tripods, camera cases, binocular cases, umbrellas, strollers, grills, tents, poles, sticks, banners, noisemakers, horns, beach balls, Frisbees, laser lights and pointers, containers of any type, coolers of any size, backpacks, bottles, cans, and hairspray.Such in-your-face control is instrumental to the effort by the government to get us to accept ever increasing intrusive behavior by brutish police goons and other authorities. It is part of an ongoing effort to convince you that the dictates of the state and its phony war on manufactured terrorism negate your private space and personal liberty.
Team vehicles will have have RFID credentials and will be tracked in real-time. Frank Supovitz, NFL senior vice president, told reporters in Texas his organization will use GPS to track cars, limos, and buses that will be carrying teams, officials, and VIPs. Credentials will be checked against a database pre-loaded with names and photos.Jones said the stadium has perches for snipers. Video cameras will record every inch of the stadium. During the game the airspace for a 30-mile radius over the stadium will be restricted and patrolled by NORAD fighter jets.Private-public relationships. Mussolini defined such arrangements as fascism.Bomb-sniffing dogs, gun-toting police and cops trained to detect suspicious behavior are part of the TSA teams already deployed on the region’s DART transit system, according to CNN.
National Nuclear Security Administration teams will move through Arlington with equipment to detect radioactive isotopes of the sort emitted by a dirty bomb. Debbie Wilber of the NNSA said the administration’s sensors picked up 10 hits at the 2010 Super Bowl. It turned out the hits had nothing to do with al-Qaeda or Muslims who hate us for our freedom to watch football – they were the result of nuclear medicine.
We have 10 bomb squads and federal agencies involved in this endeavor, Stephen Lea, assistant fire marshal with the Arlington Fire Department, told Discovery News. The government has gone over the top in its effort to exploit the Super Bowl and use it as a showcase for its emerging police state – additional resources that will be available include: chemical and biological detection devices, bomb-retrieving robots, high-tech weaponry, and even a small unmanned aerial vehicle equipped with a camera capable of flying inside the stadium.The bomb-retrieving robots are made by the Northrup Grumman robotics company Remotec. One of the robots, known as the Andros F5, is sturdy enough to pull a trailer hitch and is studded with with cameras, microphones and two-way communication.There will be huge Big Brother telescreens at the game displaying DHS propaganda. Government PSAs are also now prominently displayed at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and on the local DART transit system.In its story on Big Sis and the Super Bowl, CNN mentioned the Tucson shooting and a string of absurd homegrown terror incidents provocateured by the FBI. These sensationalistic events are crucial to the propaganda campaign designed to get us accustomed to ever increasing intrusions by the state and sell us on the ridiculous idea that al-Qaeda will strike at any moment.The DHS If You See Something, Say Something campaign is the centerpiece of the latest push to turn America into a high-tech police and Stasi snoop state.
From the DHS press release cited above:Over the past six months, DHS has worked with its federal, state, local and private sector partners, as well as the Department of Justice, to expand the If You See Something, Say Something campaign and the Nationwide Suspicious Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative—an administration effort to train state and local law enforcement to recognize behaviors and indicators related to terrorism, crime and other threats; standardize how those observations are documented and analyzed; and expand and enhance the sharing of those reports with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and DHS—to communities throughout the country. The If You See Something, Say Something campaign has recently been launched in Minnesota and New Jersey, as well as to more than 9,000 federal buildings nationwide, Walmart, Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, Amtrak, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the sports and general aviation industries, and state and local fusion centers across the country.Last month we reported on the DHS effort to convert Walt-marts around the country into Stasi snoop zones. As noted above, the DHS plans to expand this program to Mall of America, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the sports and general aviation industries.We now know how that expansion will manifest itself – with Americans at every level of society being trained that activities such as using cash, not having a credit card, taking pictures or video footage, asking questions, and wearing certain items of clothing are all suspicious and should be reported, while being coerced into living in constant fear of terror, when in reality they are more likely to die from peanut allergies, lightning strikes, or accident-causing deer than terrorist attacks, Paul Joseph Watson noted on January 20.
Sneh: A Connection Between Egypt and Gaza Would Be Dangerous
by Elad Benari FEB 7,11
Former Deputy Defense Minister, Dr. Efraim Sneh, said on Sunday that a connection between a new administration in Egypt and the Gaza Strip could be dangerous for Israel and the IDF must prepare for this option.Sneh, who spoke to Arutz Sheva’s Hebrew website, said that he is convinced that the riots in Egypt will bring about a regime change. The regime as we know it now will be no more, he said and added: No matter which regime takes over, its level of commitment to the peace agreements with Israel will be lower.Sneh emphasized that he believes a real military confrontation is a remote possibility that he himself does not think is currently an issue, but nevertheless it must be kept in mind that Egypt will not be as it was before.He added that the IDF should prepare out of this assumption. However, he emphasized that does not accept the claims that have been made that Israel erred in signing the peace treaty with Egypt. If we sat today in the Sinai many good things would not be happening, and on the other hand we would not cause whatever is occurring in Egypt not to happen. We have changed our position in the Middle East,he said.
As for the security changes that may occur in the south, Sneh said that the main concern is that a new Egyptian government would allow the Hamas movement in Gaza to easily arm itself. He estimated that replacing the Egyptian government will allow a very disturbing flow of weapons into Gaza. However he noted that in his view,Egypt will not use Gaza and Hamas against Israel. It would be bad enough if it would allow Hamas to arm themselves.Sneh added that these security concerns in southern Israel require the acceleration of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority, which he believes would ultimately create a moderate Arab axis against the radical axis being created in the south. Sneh, who was a member of the Labor Party, added that in his opinion Israel should withdraw from Judea and Samaria, since, as he claimed, there is no longer any international legitimacy to our control in Judea and Samaria. However, he also stressed that what is important in the negotiations with the Palestinian Authority is the establishment of a moderate liberal state and not one that would invite a coup. In order to do this, he says, Israel must take care to strengthen and to establish the Arab state's economy because citizens who are satisfied do not start revolutions.Sneh’s comments come as the radical Muslim Brotherhood took a giant step towards becoming a powerful force on Israel’s southern border on Sunday, after it began negotiations with Cairo's newly-appointed vice president Omar Suleiman.Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Essam el-Erian made it clear that the group’s joining negotiations does not mean that it is backing down from its demand that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak step down.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
11 Million Shekels for Nucleus Groups that Save Towns
by Gil Ronen FEB 6,11
The Cabinet decided Sunday to allot 11 million shekels to nucleus groups ("garinim") that settle in towns and communities that require social and spiritual strengthening. The nucleus groups fall into various categories, including community-based and Torah-based.Nucleus groups are typically made up of individuals and families who volunteer to settle communally in a disadvantaged location and assist it by becoming part of the local social fabric. In the case of Torah-based groups, the volunteers are usually several dozen young religious-Zionist couples, who settle in a community that is in danger of losing its Jewish character and make it their home for several years - or sometimes, for good.The budget for the nucleus groups will be transferred from several government ministries, including the ministries of education and welfare. The Prime Minister's Office will contribute its share of the funding.The government decision is largely the fruit of the labors of National Union Knesset Member Uri Ariel, who is deeply involved with accompanying nucleus groups throughout Israel. He has played a key role in bringing religious nucleus groups to Akko and Nazareth Illit in recent years. He is currently working on bringing another nucleus group - not necessarily religious - to Nazareth Illit, parts of which have been lost to an Arab 'invasion,' and enlarging the nucleus group in Arad, which is being overrun by African infiltrators.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
France: No More Arms, Riot Gear to Mubarak
by Gil Ronen FEB 6,11
France has suspended the sales of arms and riot police equipment to Egypt, the Paris government stated Saturday. Prime Minister Francois Fillon told AFP the decision was taken by the prime minister's office on Jan. 27 and conveyed to the official bodies concerned on the following day, thus confirming a report by the daily Le Monde.The exportation of explosive riot-control material such as tear gas grenades was halted two days earlier, on the day when rioting against the regime of Hosni Mubarak began. These items are under the responsibility of French customs.AFP explained that the French government recently came under pressure from the socialist opposition for continuing to approve exports of riot control products to Tunisia after the start of the uprising that toppled that country's president, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. Prime Minister Francois Fillon acknowledged that several government ministries had authorized the exports to Tunisia in November and January, but said the exports had not actually taken place, because a committee under the Prime Minister's Office did not grant them final approval.Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie caused controversy in January when she suggested France could train Tunisian police to maintain order more efficiently, following reports that dozens of unarmed protesters were shot dead there.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
Egypt VP meets opposition, offers new concessions By SARAH EL DEEB and MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press – Sun Feb 6, 8:47 pm ET
CAIRO – Egypt's vice president met with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and other opposition groups for the first time Sunday and offered sweeping concessions, including granting press freedom and rolling back police powers in the government's latest attempt to try to end nearly two weeks of upheaval.But the opposition leaders held firm to a demand the government rejects: that President Hosni Mubarak step down immediately. And the source of the opposition's sudden power — the youthful protesters filling Cairo's main square — said they weren't even represented at the talks and won't negotiate until Mubarak is gone.None of those who attended represent us,said Khaled Abdul-Hamid, one leader of a new coalition representing at least five youth movements that organized the 13-day-old protests. We are determined to press on until our number one demand is met — the ouster of Mubarak.The regime is retreating, Abdul-Hamid told The Associated Press. It is making more concessions every day.At the same time, there were signs that the paralysis gripping the country since the crisis began was easing Sunday, the first day of Egypt's work week. Some schools reopened for the first time in more than a week, and so did banks — though for only three hours, with long lines outside. A night curfew remains, and tanks continue to ring the city's central square and guard government buildings, embassies and other important institutions.Since protests began Jan. 25, the 82-year-old Mubarak has pledged not to seek another term in elections to be held in September. The government promised that his son Gamal, who had widely been expected to succeed him, will not do so. Mubarak appointed a vice president — Omar Suleiman — for the first time since he took office three decades ago. He sacked his Cabinet, named a new one and promised reforms. And on Saturday, the top leaders of the ruling party, including Gamal Mubarak, were purged.
Sunday brought another concession that would have been unimaginable just a month ago in this tightly controlled country: Suleiman's meeting with opposition groups including the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, which has been outlawed since 1954 but is the ruling party's largest rival.Egypt's opposition — essentially banned by the government for decades — has long been hampered by a lack of cohesiveness. Sunday's talks could be a sign the government is trying to divide and conquer as it tries to placate protesters without giving in to their chief demand.Mubarak is insisting he cannot stand down now or it would only deepen the chaos in his country. The protesters, skeptical of a regime they blame for repression, corruption and widespread poverty, vow to maintain their pressure until Mubarak leaves.The United States gave key backing to the regime's gradual changes on Saturday, after President Barack Obama signaled more strongly that it was time for Mubarak to leave. On Sunday, speaking to Fox News ahead of the Super Bowl football broadcast, Obama said he would not be drawn into predicting when Mubarak would leave office.Only he knows what he's going to do, Obama said.Obama said he hopes to see a representative government emerge and played down concerns that Egypt could become hostile to U.S. interests if the Muslim Brotherhood becomes the dominant political force.I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt, Obama said. They don't have majority support.The Brotherhood and another group that attended Sunday's talks said afterward that they were only a first step in a dialogue which has yet to meet their central demand for Mubarak's immediate ouster.
I think Mubarak will have to stop being stubborn by the end of this week because the country cannot take more million strong protests, said Brotherhood representative Essam el-Erian.Suleiman, who is leading the government's management of the crisis, offered a series of new concessions, saying the government would no longer hamper freedom of press and won't interfere with text messaging or the Internet.He proposed setting up a committee of judiciary and political figures to study proposed constitutional reforms that would allow more candidates to run for president and impose term limits on the presidency, the state news agency reported. The committee was given until the first week of March to finish the tasks.The offer included a pledge not to harass those participating in anti-government protests, which have drawn hundreds of thousands at the biggest rallies. One of the biggest fears of protesters is that if Mubarak or his close confidant Suleiman remain in power, they will exact revenge for the humiliating demonstrations by rounding up protesters and torturing them. Many protesters have reported seeing undercover security forces in the crowds every day, photographing the demonstrators with cell phone cameras.
Suleiman's offer to eventually lift emergency laws with a major caveat — when security permits — would fulfill a longtime demand by the opposition. The laws were imposed by Mubarak when he took office in 1981 and they have been in force ever since. They give police far-reaching powers for detention and suppression of civil and human rights.Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry hailed the talks with opposition groups and the promise to remove the emergency law as frankly quite extraordinary. Kerry called on Mubarak to lay out a timetable for transition and new elections.He must step aside gracefully, and begin the process of transition to a caretaker government. I believe that is happening right now, Kerry told NBC's Meet the Press. What's needed now is a clarity in this process.Suleiman also offered to open an office that would field complaints about political prisoners, according to the state news agency. He promised measures to fight corruption and to prosecute those responsible for the unexplained disappearance of police from Cairo's streets more than a week ago. And the government agreed to set up a committee including independent figures and members of the youth movement to monitor the honest implementation of all the new agreements.Some prominent figures from Egypt's elite have suggested that there is a deliberate attempt by the regime to cling to power by offering just enough to satisfy some established opposition groups like the Brotherhood.
Abouel Ela Madi, an ex-Brotherhood member, said the regime hopes to draw the group away from the other protesters.If the regime manages to influence the Brotherhood, it will have a shattering effect. A bulk of the protesters belong to the Brotherhood and thus their talks might play a negative role in foiling the completion of the revolution, he said. I hope they don't make this mistake.Of all the opposition groups that met with Suleiman, the Brotherhood stands to gain the most. There have been no known discussions between the group and the regime at this level since Mubarak took power in 1981.The Brotherhood won 20 percent of parliament's seats in 2005 by fielding candidates as independents, but thousands of its members were arrested in crackdowns over the past decade and it failed to win a single seat last year in elections that were marred by fraud.The Brotherhood's potential rise is a key concern of the U.S. and Israel, countries that have depended on Mubarak as an ally in the Arab world. The Brotherhood aims to create an Islamic state in Egypt but insists it would not rescind Egypt's 1979 peace treaty with Israel and would not take hardline measures such as forcing women to cover up in public.The Brotherhood did not organize or lead the protests currently under way. It ordered its supporters to take part a few days after they began, sensing that the protesters, mostly young men and women using social networks on the Internet to mobilize, were able to sustain their momentum. Now the Brotherhood's followers appear to be growing in Cairo's Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the uprising.Suleiman and Mubarak have both blamed the Brotherhood for fomenting the unrest, which turned violent for a time early last week when Mubarak supporters tried to push protesters out of the square. But opening talks with the Brotherhood is a tacit recognition by the regime of its role in the ongoing protests as well as its wide popular base.Along with the Muslim Brotherhood, a number of smaller leftist, liberal groups also attended, according to footage shown on state television. Most are little-known groups that were around before the protests began.
Mohammed Mursi, a member of the Brotherhood who attended the talks, said a second round of talks is expected within a few days.Some of the youthful supporters of Mohamed ElBaradei, a Nobel Peace laureate and one of the country's leading democracy advocates, were among those who participated. However, ElBaradei himself was not invited and his brother said the statement by those who did attend does not represent his personal view. ElBaradei is among those refusing to talk to representatives of Mubarak until he steps down.The process is opaque, ElBaradei told NBC's Meet the Press.Nobody knows who is talking to whom at this stage.Protesters in Tahrir Square numbered in the thousands Sunday morning and swelled steadily to tens of thousands by the late afternoon. Many were exhausted and wounded from fighting to stand their ground for more than a week. Hundreds performed the noon prayers and later offered a prayer for the souls of protesters killed in clashes with security forces. Later, Christians held a Sunday Mass and thousands of Muslims joined in.
Some of the worshippers broke down and cried as the congregation sang: Bless our country, listen to the screams of our hearts.In the name of Jesus and Muhammad we unify our ranks, Father Ihab al-Kharat said in his sermon. We will keep protesting until the fall of the tyranny.Elsewhere in this city of some 18 million people, life took a few steps toward normalcy. Traffic was close to regular levels and more stores reopened, including some on the streets leading to Tahrir Square. Protesters greeted some store owners and people returning to work with flowers.Associated Press reporter Salah Nasrawi contributed to this report from Cairo.
Monday, February 07, 2011
Sunday, February 06, 2011
Parshah Tetzaveh - Exodus 27:20-30:10
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 FEB 06 2011 6PM - FEB 12 6PM 2011
EXODUS 27:20 - 30:10
20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
EXODUS 28:1-43
1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
7 It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.
8 And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.
23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.
25 And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.
26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
27 And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.
38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
39 And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.
40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.
41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
EXODUS 29:1-46
1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.
27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.
29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
EXODUS 30:1-10
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
PROPHETS PORTION
EZEKIEL 43:10-27
10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
13 And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.
17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
NEW TESTAMENT PORTION
PHILLIPPIANS 4:10-20
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
TORAH PORTION FROM FEB 06 2011 6PM - FEB 12 6PM 2011
EXODUS 27:20 - 30:10
20 And thou shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always.
21 In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel.
EXODUS 28:1-43
1 And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons.
2 And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.
3 And thou shalt speak unto all that are wise hearted, whom I have filled with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments to consecrate him, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
4 And these are the garments which they shall make; a breastplate, and an ephod, and a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle: and they shall make holy garments for Aaron thy brother, and his sons, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office.
5 And they shall take gold, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen.
6 And they shall make the ephod of gold, of blue, and of purple, of scarlet, and fine twined linen, with cunning work.
7 It shall have the two shoulderpieces thereof joined at the two edges thereof; and so it shall be joined together.
8 And the curious girdle of the ephod, which is upon it, shall be of the same, according to the work thereof; even of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen.
9 And thou shalt take two onyx stones, and grave on them the names of the children of Israel:
10 Six of their names on one stone, and the other six names of the rest on the other stone, according to their birth.
11 With the work of an engraver in stone, like the engravings of a signet, shalt thou engrave the two stones with the names of the children of Israel: thou shalt make them to be set in ouches of gold.
12 And thou shalt put the two stones upon the shoulders of the ephod for stones of memorial unto the children of Israel: and Aaron shall bear their names before the LORD upon his two shoulders for a memorial.
13 And thou shalt make ouches of gold;
14 And two chains of pure gold at the ends; of wreathen work shalt thou make them, and fasten the wreathen chains to the ouches.
15 And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen, shalt thou make it.
16 Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.
17 And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.
18 And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.
19 And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.
20 And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper: they shall be set in gold in their inclosings.
21 And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.
22 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.
23 And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.
24 And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.
25 And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulderpieces of the ephod before it.
26 And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.
27 And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.
28 And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.
29 And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the LORD continually.
30 And thou shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron's heart, when he goeth in before the LORD: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD continually.
31 And thou shalt make the robe of the ephod all of blue.
32 And there shall be an hole in the top of it, in the midst thereof: it shall have a binding of woven work round about the hole of it, as it were the hole of an habergeon, that it be not rent.
33 And beneath upon the hem of it thou shalt make pomegranates of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, round about the hem thereof; and bells of gold between them round about:
34 A golden bell and a pomegranate, a golden bell and a pomegranate, upon the hem of the robe round about.
35 And it shall be upon Aaron to minister: and his sound shall be heard when he goeth in unto the holy place before the LORD, and when he cometh out, that he die not.
36 And thou shalt make a plate of pure gold, and grave upon it, like the engravings of a signet, HOLINESS TO THE LORD.
37 And thou shalt put it on a blue lace, that it may be upon the mitre; upon the forefront of the mitre it shall be.
38 And it shall be upon Aaron's forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy things, which the children of Israel shall hallow in all their holy gifts; and it shall be always upon his forehead, that they may be accepted before the LORD.
39 And thou shalt embroider the coat of fine linen, and thou shalt make the mitre of fine linen, and thou shalt make the girdle of needlework.
40 And for Aaron's sons thou shalt make coats, and thou shalt make for them girdles, and bonnets shalt thou make for them, for glory and for beauty.
41 And thou shalt put them upon Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him; and shalt anoint them, and consecrate them, and sanctify them, that they may minister unto me in the priest's office.
42 And thou shalt make them linen breeches to cover their nakedness; from the loins even unto the thighs they shall reach:
43 And they shall be upon Aaron, and upon his sons, when they come in unto the tabernacle of the congregation, or when they come near unto the altar to minister in the holy place; that they bear not iniquity, and die: it shall be a statute for ever unto him and his seed after him.
EXODUS 29:1-46
1 And this is the thing that thou shalt do unto them to hallow them, to minister unto me in the priest's office: Take one young bullock, and two rams without blemish,
2 And unleavened bread, and cakes unleavened tempered with oil, and wafers unleavened anointed with oil: of wheaten flour shalt thou make them.
3 And thou shalt put them into one basket, and bring them in the basket, with the bullock and the two rams.
4 And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.
5 And thou shalt take the garments, and put upon Aaron the coat, and the robe of the ephod, and the ephod, and the breastplate, and gird him with the curious girdle of the ephod:
6 And thou shalt put the mitre upon his head, and put the holy crown upon the mitre.
7 Then shalt thou take the anointing oil, and pour it upon his head, and anoint him.
8 And thou shalt bring his sons, and put coats upon them.
9 And thou shalt gird them with girdles, Aaron and his sons, and put the bonnets on them: and the priest's office shall be theirs for a perpetual statute: and thou shalt consecrate Aaron and his sons.
10 And thou shalt cause a bullock to be brought before the tabernacle of the congregation: and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the bullock.
11 And thou shalt kill the bullock before the LORD, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
12 And thou shalt take of the blood of the bullock, and put it upon the horns of the altar with thy finger, and pour all the blood beside the bottom of the altar.
13 And thou shalt take all the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul that is above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and burn them upon the altar.
14 But the flesh of the bullock, and his skin, and his dung, shalt thou burn with fire without the camp: it is a sin offering.
15 Thou shalt also take one ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
16 And thou shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar.
17 And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head.
18 And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
19 And thou shalt take the other ram; and Aaron and his sons shall put their hands upon the head of the ram.
20 Then shalt thou kill the ram, and take of his blood, and put it upon the tip of the right ear of Aaron, and upon the tip of the right ear of his sons, and upon the thumb of their right hand, and upon the great toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the blood upon the altar round about.
21 And thou shalt take of the blood that is upon the altar, and of the anointing oil, and sprinkle it upon Aaron, and upon his garments, and upon his sons, and upon the garments of his sons with him: and he shall be hallowed, and his garments, and his sons, and his sons' garments with him.
22 Also thou shalt take of the ram the fat and the rump, and the fat that covereth the inwards, and the caul above the liver, and the two kidneys, and the fat that is upon them, and the right shoulder; for it is a ram of consecration:
23 And one loaf of bread, and one cake of oiled bread, and one wafer out of the basket of the unleavened bread that is before the LORD:
24 And thou shalt put all in the hands of Aaron, and in the hands of his sons; and shalt wave them for a wave offering before the LORD.
25 And thou shalt receive them of their hands, and burn them upon the altar for a burnt offering, for a sweet savour before the LORD: it is an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
26 And thou shalt take the breast of the ram of Aaron's consecration, and wave it for a wave offering before the LORD: and it shall be thy part.
27 And thou shalt sanctify the breast of the wave offering, and the shoulder of the heave offering, which is waved, and which is heaved up, of the ram of the consecration, even of that which is for Aaron, and of that which is for his sons:
28 And it shall be Aaron's and his sons' by a statute for ever from the children of Israel: for it is an heave offering: and it shall be an heave offering from the children of Israel of the sacrifice of their peace offerings, even their heave offering unto the LORD.
29 And the holy garments of Aaron shall be his sons' after him, to be anointed therein, and to be consecrated in them.
30 And that son that is priest in his stead shall put them on seven days, when he cometh into the tabernacle of the congregation to minister in the holy place.
31 And thou shalt take the ram of the consecration, and seethe his flesh in the holy place.
32 And Aaron and his sons shall eat the flesh of the ram, and the bread that is in the basket, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.
33 And they shall eat those things wherewith the atonement was made, to consecrate and to sanctify them: but a stranger shall not eat thereof, because they are holy.
34 And if ought of the flesh of the consecrations, or of the bread, remain unto the morning, then thou shalt burn the remainder with fire: it shall not be eaten, because it is holy.
35 And thus shalt thou do unto Aaron, and to his sons, according to all things which I have commanded thee: seven days shalt thou consecrate them.
36 And thou shalt offer every day a bullock for a sin offering for atonement: and thou shalt cleanse the altar, when thou hast made an atonement for it, and thou shalt anoint it, to sanctify it.
37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.
38 Now this is that which thou shalt offer upon the altar; two lambs of the first year day by day continually.
39 The one lamb thou shalt offer in the morning; and the other lamb thou shalt offer at even:
40 And with the one lamb a tenth deal of flour mingled with the fourth part of an hin of beaten oil; and the fourth part of an hin of wine for a drink offering.
41 And the other lamb thou shalt offer at even, and shalt do thereto according to the meat offering of the morning, and according to the drink offering thereof, for a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation before the LORD: where I will meet you, to speak there unto thee.
43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God.
46 And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the LORD their God.
EXODUS 30:1-10
1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of shittim wood shalt thou make it.
2 A cubit shall be the length thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns thereof shall be of the same.
3 And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, the top thereof, and the sides thereof round about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it a crown of gold round about.
4 And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the crown of it, by the two corners thereof, upon the two sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places for the staves to bear it withal.
5 And thou shalt make the staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
6 And thou shalt put it before the vail that is by the ark of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the testimony, where I will meet with thee.
7 And Aaron shall burn thereon sweet incense every morning: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon it.
8 And when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even, he shall burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations.
9 Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offering thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atonements: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the LORD.
PROPHETS PORTION
EZEKIEL 43:10-27
10 Thou son of man, shew the house to the house of Israel, that they may be ashamed of their iniquities: and let them measure the pattern.
11 And if they be ashamed of all that they have done, shew them the form of the house, and the fashion thereof, and the goings out thereof, and the comings in thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and all the forms thereof, and all the laws thereof: and write it in their sight, that they may keep the whole form thereof, and all the ordinances thereof, and do them.
12 This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.
13 And these are the measures of the altar after the cubits: The cubit is a cubit and an hand breadth; even the bottom shall be a cubit, and the breadth a cubit, and the border thereof by the edge thereof round about shall be a span: and this shall be the higher place of the altar.
14 And from the bottom upon the ground even to the lower settle shall be two cubits, and the breadth one cubit; and from the lesser settle even to the greater settle shall be four cubits, and the breadth one cubit.
15 So the altar shall be four cubits; and from the altar and upward shall be four horns.
16 And the altar shall be twelve cubits long, twelve broad, square in the four squares thereof.
17 And the settle shall be fourteen cubits long and fourteen broad in the four squares thereof; and the border about it shall be half a cubit; and the bottom thereof shall be a cubit about; and his stairs shall look toward the east.
18 And he said unto me, Son of man, thus saith the Lord GOD; These are the ordinances of the altar in the day when they shall make it, to offer burnt offerings thereon, and to sprinkle blood thereon.
19 And thou shalt give to the priests the Levites that be of the seed of Zadok, which approach unto me, to minister unto me, saith the Lord GOD, a young bullock for a sin offering.
20 And thou shalt take of the blood thereof, and put it on the four horns of it, and on the four corners of the settle, and upon the border round about: thus shalt thou cleanse and purge it.
21 Thou shalt take the bullock also of the sin offering, and he shall burn it in the appointed place of the house, without the sanctuary.
22 And on the second day thou shalt offer a kid of the goats without blemish for a sin offering; and they shall cleanse the altar, as they did cleanse it with the bullock.
23 When thou hast made an end of cleansing it, thou shalt offer a young bullock without blemish, and a ram out of the flock without blemish.
24 And thou shalt offer them before the LORD, and the priests shall cast salt upon them, and they shall offer them up for a burnt offering unto the LORD.
25 Seven days shalt thou prepare every day a goat for a sin offering: they shall also prepare a young bullock, and a ram out of the flock, without blemish.
26 Seven days shall they purge the altar and purify it; and they shall consecrate themselves.
27 And when these days are expired, it shall be, that upon the eighth day, and so forward, the priests shall make your burnt offerings upon the altar, and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, saith the Lord GOD.
NEW TESTAMENT PORTION
PHILLIPPIANS 4:10-20
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my affliction.
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
EGYPT IN TRASITION
JOEL ROSENBERG ON EGYPT
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/February/Rosenberg-Whats-Next-for-Egypts-Christians/
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/February/Joel-Rosenberg/
Kissinger advice to Obama on Egypt: Seem a little less frantic about getting into the news cycle Jeff Poor - The Daily Caller – Sat Feb 5, 1:03 pm ET
As a political matter, the Obama White House has been praised for its handling of the turmoil in Egypt. But on policy, the president has been criticized on both the right and the left, his critics ranging from Charles Krauthammer to Chris Matthews.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is one who has also detected the deficiencies of the Obama administration on this matter. He made an appearance on Friday’s The Charlie Rose Show on Bloomberg Television and explained President Barack Obama had completely missed the potential for this crisis, especially based on his State of the Union address last month.The administration has a huge problem. They were thrown suddenly into a crisis they obviously didn’t foresee, Kissinger said. It wasn’t even mentioned — the Middle East was not even mentioned in the State of the Union address, so it clearly was not a top issue for national consideration.During Kissinger’s stint at the State Department, he handled several international crises including the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War and revolutions in South America. But he said he had the benefit of not being held to the standard of a 24/7 news cycle and that’s where the Obama administration is fouling up.
So now they have to improvise reactions, and you couldn’t plan for something that nobody foresaw. So I recognize the administration is under tremendous pressure,” he continued. “And I’ve been in crisis situations. I have not been in crisis situations where we had a 24/7 news cycle and we therefore felt obliged to speak every evening on a fast-moving situation. And this is a particularly complicated one because it has global international implications, it has local implications, and it has domestic implications in this country. So there are many pressures on the administration, but on the whole I would prefer if they would seem a little less frantic about getting into the news cycle.
Next IDF Chief of Staff: Maj.-Gen. Benny Ganz
by Gil Ronen FEB 5,11
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is expected to announce tomorrow (Sunday) that Maj. Gen. Benny Ganz will be appointed as the 20th Chief of Staff of the IDF. The appointment will have to be approved by the Cabinet, and then by a committee headed by retired judge Yaakov Turkel, which will look into Ganz's record and give a final opinion as to whether he is fit for the job.Ganz served until recently as Deputy Chief of Staff. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Northern Command, Commander of the Paratrooper Brigade and Commander of Shaldag, a unit that - according to foreign news sources - operates behind enemy lines in directing missile strikes.Sources in the IDF estimated that Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh will stay on in his current role. Barak had named Naveh as a temporary Chief of Staff, giving rise to heated criticism from other ministers, who thought the right course of action would have been to let outgoing Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, stay on in his job for a while longer. They accused him of letting his personal rivalry with Ashkenazi get in the way of his professionalism.
Saturday evening, after the Sabbath ended, the Defense Minister's bureau confirmed reports that Ganz will be the next Chief of Staff. At this time, it stated, the Prime Minister and Defense Minister attach great importance to removing the uncertainty regarding the appointment of Chief of Staff and to stabilizing the military by appointing a Chief of Staff to lead the army against the challenges we face.Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, whose appointment to be the next Chief of Staff was torpedoed at the last moment after the Attorney General said he could not defend it in court, said in a Friday night on Channel 2 that he believed the appointment was still valid. The government will weigh my actions over the course of my career against the attorney general's words, he said.Galant's appointment was challenged in a motion filed by the Green Movement after the media created a storm over allegations that he had improperly annexed land to his private home in the past. A media appearance last week by the normally tight-lipped Galant shifted public opinion in his favor but was too late to prevent the success of the campaign against him.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Franco-German Pact for Competitiveness' hits immediate opposition-Sealed with a kiss: the far-reaching financial proposals were prepared by France and Germany and dished up to other EU states on Friday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)
ANDREW WILLIS 04.02.2011 @ 14:54 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The abolition of salary indexation systems, greater harmonisation of member state corporate tax rates and an overhaul of national pension systems are among the measures contained in a Franco-Geman 'Pact for Competitiveness' for the eurozone, put forward at the EU summit on Friday (4 February).Other elements included the insertion of a debt alert mechanism into national constitutions, the mutual recognition of educational diplomas and the establishment of national crisis management regimes for banks.The six-point plan is outlined in a draft, seen by EUobserver. Over lunch at the leaders' meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will attempt to convince their eurozone homologues of the pact's merits. Details would then be thrashed out at a specially convened summit of eurozone leaders in March, together with an already-scheduled EU summit later in the month.We need to increase competitiveness and the yardstick should be the member state that is leading the way, Ms Merkel told journalists immediately prior to the lunch. Suggestions that Germany should increase salaries, potentially harming the country's competitiveness, have irked Berlin in the past.
The German leader indicated that non-eurozone states will also be invited to sign up to the competitiveness pact if they wish.Mr Sarkozy hailed the initiative as a major step forward. France and Germany are working hand in glove to defend the euro, he told the joint briefing.The Franco-German structural plan was a way of boosting European competitiveness and ensuring the convergence of member state economies, he added.The plans for enhanced joint governance of the 17-nation eurozone economy appeared to hit a hurdle almost immediately however, with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme blasting them as being overly constrictive.There must be more economic cooperation, but member states must be left the room to carry out their own policies, Mr Leterme said on arriving at the one-day summit, originally scheduled to discuss energy issues.Each member state has its own accents, its own traditions. We will not allow our social model to be undone, he added.Critics also hit out at the pact's intergovernmental nature, with little role for the EU's institutions envisaged.We welcome the move towards greater economic governance as step in the right direction. However, the method being proposed will not provide the required result as it is purely intergovernmental, said the leader of the European Parliament's Liberal group, Guy Verhofstadt.The only effective way of ensuring the discipline and objectiveness that is required, is through the Community method and with the empowerment of the Commission to act and set real sanctions.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
EU parliament chief: energy security needs public money
VALENTINA POP 04.02.2011 @ 09:29 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Europe's multi-billion-euro needs for energy infrastructure and new technologies cannot be funded only by the private sector, European Parliament chief Jerzy Buzek has said, in a position putting him on collision course with Germany.We need both: regulation and money. The annual EU budget for energy today is €20 million. It's negligible, if we compare it to what a few kilometres of pipeline cost,the Polish politician told EUobserver in an interview on Thursday (3 February).Earlier this week, German officials said that Berlin - the largest net contributor to the EU budget - said the private sector should foot the bill, with the EU role to be limited to smart regulation.Mr Buzek is set to meet EU leaders on Friday during a summit formally dedicated to energy and innovation, but which is likely to be swamped by talk of Egypt and the financial crisis.If we want to protect the environment, we need new technologies and we should spend money together with the EU for their development, because they are a great European added value, Mr Buzek went on.He cited the 10,000 wind turbines installed last year in China and estimates by the EU commission that Europe needs a few hundred billion euros in energy infrastructure investments in the coming years. Admitting that national budgets are under pressure, Mr Buzek said that this sum can only be generated with the help of the public sector.
Certainly, most money should come from private investors. But in today's economic climate, the EU should give the financial leverage to private companies to reduce the risks they face.As some inter-connections may not be commercially viable, it is even more important to have the EU and national coffers foot the bill to some extent, he explained, giving the example of the North-South energy corridor.The North-South proposal - designed to link eastern EU countries to western ones to reduce their exposure to Russia - was finalised on Thursday night at a meeting of the so-called Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic) plus Romania, Bulgaria and EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. Mr Barroso said details will come out in the next few months and that the EU should endorse the scheme in the second semester of 2011.
Dealing with Russia
Mr Buzek added that while most big energy deals concern private companies, it is normal for governments to get involved on a bilateral basis and even better if the EU negotiates en bloc.Usually, big energy deals are done with the political support of governments. It is always the same - North Stream, South Stream, even Nabucco. Our companies are not alone and neither are foreign companies, he said. He noted that EU countries sometimes go against each others' interests on energy.Nabucco is a fully European project, while South Stream is developed by some member states together with Russia and independently from the EU commission. The difficulties and competition between the two show how important it is to have co-ordination and joint negotiations when dealing with external partners,he said, referring to two major gas pipeline projects in the Caspian region.The Polish politician also urged Russia to abide by EU internal market rules on unbundling - the separation of production and transmission assets in the energy sector.We want to see Russia as a transparent, coherent and predictable energy partner. The new EU rules also prevent a massive sell-out of European assets and equal conditions for all players,he said.
No Karimovs
Mr Buzek, who has taken a firm stand on human rights issues during his tenure as parliament chief, said there should be no trade-off on values and energy sceurity. We simply cannot divide the issue of human rights from energy supplies. The two must go hand in hand. When I was in Russia, we discussed this very openly with [Russia's] President Medvedev, but we know it's not easy and much more has to be done in Russia on the human rights issue and in other countries as well, he explained.Asked his view on the recent visit of Uzbek strongman Islam Karimov to Brussels to talk about gas with Mr Barroso, Mr Buzek said: I didn't meet Mr Karimov and have no intention to do so.
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.
Torrential downpours pile misery on Australia
by Torsten Blackwood – Sat Feb 5, 6:24 am ET
TULLY HEADS, Australia (AFP) – Torrential rains and flash floods trapped scores of people in homes and cars following a massive cyclone, piling more misery on Australia Saturday after weeks of record inundations.As coastal residents pieced together homes and farms destroyed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, dramatic deluges brought by cyclone activity caused chaos in the state of Victoria, some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away.Authorities urged residents of the small town of Koo Wee Rup, southeast of Melbourne, to evacuate for fear of flash floods, while more than 80 people were rescued from flood-bound houses and vehicles.An English tourist, 26, was in critical condition with serious head injuries after a gum tree came down on her tent, and a 14-year-old girl was pulled from a swollen river. Emergency services fielded thousands of calls for help.There is a simple message for everybody in Victoria at the moment: please take care, warned Victoria state premier Ted Baillieu.Whether you're near the roads, whether you're near floodwaters, please don't drive through, ride through or play through floodwaters.
Parts of Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city, were lashed by 175 millimetres (6.8 inches) of rain overnight, while flash floods hit the town of Mildura after a record downpour of 200 millimetres on Friday afternoon.The rains come in the wake of Australia's worst cyclone in a century, which left a trail of destruction and a damage bill of billions of dollars (billions US) after hitting Queensland state on Wednesday, but miraculously caused no known deaths.The category five storm -- the highest level -- laid waste to entire towns, hurled luxury yachts around like toys and shredded enormous swathes of banana and sugar crops, adding an estimated 0.25 percentage points to inflation.I'm amazed we survived it, said banana farmer Daryl Webber, 42, who stood in his house as the roof was torn off, the windows were blown out and walls fell apart.The whole house was shaking, (wall) panels were flying everywhere. It was just horrendous. You wouldn't believe the force of the winds,he told AFP.The remains of homes and debris including fridges and pool tables littered the devastated coastal hamlet of Tully Heads, while some communities remained cut off by floods and fallen trees, hampering recovery efforts.Two men who were reported missing turned up safe, along with a couple who were feared drowned after their yacht capsized and a teenager who jumped into a fast-flowing river to save his dog. The pet also survived.Looters stole thousands of dollars' (thousands US) worth of stock from a cyclone-hit Queensland pub, making off with its store of beer and the spirits from behind the bar.I think it is terrible that people take advantage in these situations. You lose faith in humans,staff member Janet Lobegeier said.
Australia's military scaled back operations to deal with weeks of floods, which affected three-quarters of Queensland, including the state capital Brisbane. But another 4,000 troops were helping clear up after the cyclone.Swiss miner Xstrata resumed its operations at Mount Isa and Cloncurry, in Queensland's north, after the downgraded storm failed to cause any damage.Power was restored to 15,000 properties in tourist centre Cairns, a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, as military aircraft prepared to fly in bottled water, tinned food and baby supplies because some roads remained impassable. Tully Heads, which was virtually wiped off the map, was closed to the public and media as dazed residents wondered how to rebuild their lives with no homes, no power and little fuel and food.Many people are living in patched-up homes with gaping holes covered by tarpaulin, and surviving hand-to-mouth until help arrives. Meanwhile, the local agricultural industry is in ruins.People say good old Queenslanders are tough and they can rebuild, but this is just too hard for us,said elderly resident Sandra Cameron.
Ten more dead in Philippine floods
– Sat Feb 5, 2:57 am ET
MANILA (AFP) – Ten more people have been killed in floods and landslides after nearly a week of heavy rains in the southern Philippines, raising the death toll to 20, according to the government.The remote, Muslim insurgency-wracked island of Jolo was the latest area to suffer from bad weather late Thursday, when flash floods and storm surges killed five people, said Jolo mayor Amin Hussin.As floodwaters ebbed on the main southern island of Mindanao, rescue workers unearthed the remains of five people who had been buried by landslides earlier in the week, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.Some 73,000 people are still in evacuation camps after the latest round of heavy rains began to lash Mindanao on January 31, the council said in a bulletin.It was the second time the region had been hit by torrential rains this year.Flooding across the southern and central Philippines last month claimed 75 lives, according to the disaster council.
Thirteen dead in fresh Sri Lanka floods
– Sat Feb 5, 12:50 am ET
COLOMBO (AFP) – Renewed rains in Sri Lanka have flooded a large number of towns and villages and killed at least 13 people, officials said Saturday.Heavy monsoon downpours have driven some 800,000 people out of their flooded homes and into state-run welfare centres or to stay with friends and relatives on higher ground, officials said.The situation in the Eastern, North and North Central Provinces is serious as monsoon rains continue, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement.Police said the number of people killed in the latest flood-related incidents had risen to 13 after five people who went missing after a boat accident on Thursday night were later declared dead.The DMC said that floods were widespread and were flowing over roads, agricultural land and town centres, worsening the damage already caused by rains that began in December.At least 43 people were killed and a million driven out of their homes last month by flooding.On Friday, a flood victim gave birth in mid-air minutes after she was plucked to safety by a Bell-212 military helicopter in the north-central region of the country, the air force said.
The woman had been among a group of villagers marooned in the town of Horowpathana, air force spokesman Janaka Nanayakkara said.A spokesman for the main hospital in the region said the mother -- identified as K. L. Malkanthi, 33 -- and the baby girl were doing well.The new flooding came after the United Nations issued an appeal for 51 million dollars in emergency aid to help up to a million people affected by floods last month. Most of them were hit once again by the latest rains, officials said.
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.
Chile hit by moderate earthquake, no damage
Last Updated: February 5, 2011 11:52am
StoryCommentsEmail StoryPrintSize A A AReport Typo.SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit central Chile Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, but the country’s state emergency office Onemi said there were no signs of damage.USGS initially said the magnitude was 5.8. The epicenter of the quake was 57 miles south-southwest of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 8.5 miles.In February 2010, central Chile was hit by a massive quake of 8.8 magnitude and ensuing tsunamis that caused widespread devastation and killed hundreds of people.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
EU to Mubarak: Begin transition now - but not tonight
LEIGH PHILLIPS 04.02.2011 @ 21:16 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - All EU leaders have backed a call for Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak to begin a transition to democracy now.But according to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, now does not mean that Mr Mubarak should step down immediately, as the West does not have the right to tell Egypt what to do, while Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi expressed his wish that Mr Mubarak stay on.At the European Council on Friday (4 February), a meeting of the EU's 27 premiers and presidents, the leaders issued a statement using similar language to that of the bloc's foreign ministers on Monday, calling on both the government and protesters not to engage in violence.All parties should show restraint and avoid further violence and being an orderly transition to a broad-based government, read the statement.The European Council underlined that this transition process must start now.The EU has been widely criticised both internally and on the streets of Cairo for its tardiness in pushing for Mr Mubarak's exit after a 30-year long rule and waiting for Washington to pronounce its changes in policy towards the regime first.France on Thursday seized the diplomatic initiative by publishing a joint statement on behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany's Angela Merkel, Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, Spanish premier Jose Zapatero and British PM David Cameron.
The process of transition must begin now, the communique said, in what until then was the EU's firmest call so far for Mr Mubarak to step down.Whether the statement could be understood as a direct call for Mr Mubarak to step down immediately remained vague however, as the leaders continued to call for dialogue with the regime and political reforms.All parties [should] engage in a meaningful dialogue, read the leaders' position.But according to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, now does not mean that Mr Mubarak should step down immediately.Speaking to reporters following a summit of European leaders in Brussels, Mr Cameron was asked whether EU leaders are siding with protesters in demanding that Mr Mubarak step down tonight.
Refusing to be drawn on the question, he said: It is not the role of leaders in the West to tell Egyptians exactly who should be running their country.I couldn't have been more clear about what needs to happen. Egyptian authorities have a choice: If they continue to go down the path of repression, they will lose their last shred of credibility. Or they can choose the path of reform. But it's up to them.Mr Cameron however criticised those who worry what democracy in Egypt might bring.I don't accept that the only choice in life is between a country that doesn't respect democracy and Islamic extremism.They have a robust democracy in Turkey. They have one in Indonesia. It's condescending to say that Egypt can't as well.Himself a conservative, he used the occasion to take a swipe at the neo-conservative view of the region.That's what the neo-cons were wrong about. Democracy is not just about elections... And we shouldn't be naive or starry-eyed that you have an election and that solves all the problems.French President Nicolas Sarkozy was less sanguine about what may happen should the Mubarak regime fall.We can not reject a democratic aspiration just because there is a risk. [But] there are examples where it turned out badly, I'm thinking of Iran.Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told his fellow leaders on Friday that Egypt's transition towards democracy should take place without breaking with President Hosni Mubarak.
He would like to see someone like Mubarak at the head of the country,said an aide who asked to remain anonymous, according to AFP.The EU summit, originally to have focused on energy security, was dominated by the turmoil in north Africa and divisions over a comprehensive solution to the ongoing eurozone debt crisis. Apart from Egypt and Tunisia, where the government fell last week and which started the domino effect of protests, Algeria, Uganda, Yemen and the West Bank have also seen anti-government rallies in recent days.The Council also saluted the peaceful and dignified expression by the Tunisian and Egyptian people of their legitimate, democratic, economic and social aspirations, which are in accord with the values the European Union promotes for itself and throughout the world.
Report: Hamas Stirring Up Violence in Egypt
by Maayana Miskin FEB 4,11
Hamas is attempting to increase the level of violence in Egyptian demonstrations, according to a report in the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabah that was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). According to the report, Hamas terrorists were recently caught on their way to demonstrations.Nine of the terrorists were nabbed in Suez City, and another two were caught in El-Arish.
Security forces believe the 11 were not alone, the paper said. More terrorists are believed to have infiltrated Sinai recently. There has also been movement in the other direction, as Hamas prisoners escape jail in Egypt while police are busy with the protests.
Hamas shares a platform with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian opposition party that supports the demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Gaza-based terrorist group is in fact an offshoot of the Brotherhood, as is the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Israel-based Islamic Movement.More than 300 people are thought to have been killed in riots in Egypt so far. The Muslim Brotherhood's favored candidate for president, former UN inspector Mohammed ElBaradei, recently told Mubarak that he must leave the country by Friday, a demand Mubarak has rejected.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
U.S. backs transition, warns of attempts to derail
By Tom Perry and Sherine El Madany - FEB 5,11
CAIRO (Reuters) – The United States said on Saturday it backed Egypt's drive for orderly reforms but warned of attempts to derail the process, as thousands continued to demonstrate for President Hosni Mubarak's resignation.Mubarak has reshuffled his government, and the leadership of his party resigned on Saturday, but the 82-year-old president insists he will stay in power until September polls.Fearing instability in the largest Arab nation where Islamists are the most organized opposition, the United States, Egypt's key ally and aid donor, is emphasizing gradual change.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw her weight behind the reform effort launched by Mubarak's handpicked vice president, Omar Suleiman, saying the government's fragile dialogue with the opposition must be given time to unfold.
There are forces at work in any society, and particularly one that is facing these kinds of challenges, that will try to derail or overtake the process to pursue their own specific agenda, Clinton told a security conference in Munich.She did not name the forces, but Washington has expressed concern about any involvement of militant Islamist elements.Which is why I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian Government, actually headed by now Vice President Omar Suleiman.The State Department scrambled to distance itself from comments made by U.S. special envoy Frank Wisner who told a Munich conference Mubarak should stay on in power, saying his comments were entirely his own views, not those of the U.S. administration.But Clinton also spoke of supporting Egypt's government to ensure an orderly handover of power.President Mubarak has announced he will not stand for reelection nor will his son ... He has given a clear message to his government to lead and support this process of transition, Clinton told the same Munich conference of world leaders.That is what the government has said it is trying to do, that is what we are supporting, and hope to see it move as orderly but as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances, she said.
RESIGNATIONS
With some protesters insisting they want not just Mubarak but also his allies out straight away, moves to keep the 82-year-old president in office are unlikely to go down well.An Egyptian army commander was shouted down when he tried to persuade thousands of demonstrators at Tahrir Square to stop a protest that has stalled economic life in the capital.You all have the right to express yourselves but please save what is left of Egypt. Look around you, Hassan al-Roweny said through a loud speaker and standing on a podium.The crowd responded with shouts that Mubarak should resign. Roweny then left, saying: I will not speak amid such chants.Egypt's economy is already suffering. Growth, which was running at 6 percent, will be hit, said Central Bank Governor Farouk el-Okdah. There will also be movement in the Egyptian pound, he said, but the bank has enough reserves to cope.Exports fell six percent in January because of the mass protests and curfew, Trade Minister Samiha Fawzi Ibrahim said. Many shops have been closed during 12 days of protests and banks have been shut, making it hard for Egyptians to stock up on basic goods. Some prices have been pushed up. The Egyptian government appears to trying to emphasize the threat to stability and the economy posed by the protests, and toughen it out, hoping the demonstrations will fade away.Friday's protest by hundreds of thousands in Cairo failed to become the Day of Departure for Mubarak they had hoped for, so the demonstrators now also have to find a way to maintain momentum if they are to achieve their goal.
Protesters were not impressed with the resignations of the Mubarak's party chief, including that of his son Gamal.These are not gains for the protesters, this is a trick by the regime. This is not fulfilling our demands. These are red herrings, said Bilal Fathi, 22.Leading Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Habib said: It's an attempt to improve the image of the party but it does not dispense with the real aim of the revolution: bringing down the regime, starting with the resignation of President Mubarak.It is an attempt to choke the revolution and gain time.Earlier, Mubarak met some of the new ministers, the state news agency said, in a clear rebuff to the hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters who rallied at Tahrir Square in central Cairo for a 12th day.Meanwhile, Vice President Omar Suleiman met prominent independent and mainstream opposition figures, state television said, to try to work out how to ensure free and fair future presidential elections while sticking to the constitution.The proposal being promoted by a group of Egyptians calling itself the The Council of Wise Men involves Suleiman assuming presidential powers for an interim period pending elections.But some opposition figures argue that would mean the next presidential election would be held under the same unfair conditions as in previous years. They want to first form a new parliament to change the constitution to pave the way for a presidential vote that is democratic.
Mubarak said on Thursday that Egypt would descend into chaos if he gave in to protesters' demands and quit immediately.He has styled himself as a bulwark against Islamist militancy and essential to maintaining a peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.As if to underscore that, saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline in northern Egypt overnight, disrupting flows to Israel and also to Jordan, where protesters angered by economic hardship have been demanding a more democratic political system.Islamist websites had called for attacks on the pipeline.
NO EASY COMPROMISE
The United Nations estimates 300 people have died in the unrest and the health minister has said around 5,000 people have been wounded since January 25, while a Credit Agricole report said the crisis was costing Egypt about $310 million a day.
With the unrest crippling the economy in the Arab world's most populous nation, some Egyptians want a return to normal.But a bourse official said on Saturday the stock market would not reopen on Monday as originally planned, without giving a new date. Banks are due to reopen on Sunday.(Reporting by Edmund Blair, Samia Nakhoul, Patrick Werr, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed, Alexander Dziadosz, Yasmine Saleh, Sherine El Madany, Yannis Behrakis, Jonathan Wright, Andrew Hammond, Tom Perry and Alison Williams in Cairo, writing by Jonathan Hemming, editing by Ralph Boulton)
Anti-Mubarak activists bruised, tired, hungry By RYAN LUCAS and PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press - FEB 5,11
CAIRO – After nearly two weeks of going head-to-head with Egypt's authoritarian regime, anti-government protesters are bruised, battered, sleep-deprived and hungry.
But the tens of thousands massing daily in Cairo's Tahrir Square remain fired with enthusiasm — at times a euphoric fervor seems their only fuel — and vow they will not back down in their demands for President Hosni Mubarak to step down and end his nearly 30-year rule.How long they can hold out has become a crucial question in the crisis gripping Egypt, as the government appears to be digging in, reckoning that it can ride out the wave of unrest.That means the confrontation could be turning into a test of sheer endurance. Protest organizers believe they must keep up the pressure of large protests, paralyzing the downtown heart of Cairo, to force the government to make a true move to democracy and not just cosmetic changes that allow the deeply entrenched regime to preserve its grip on power even if Mubarak eventually goes.
We have to be steady to topple the government, said Ahmed Abdel Moneim, a 22-year-old student who has been sleeping in the square for days. The French Revolution took a very long time so the people could eventually get their rights. ... If we have to spend our life to get rid of Mubarak, we will.It's a sentiment shared by many in Tahrir Square, which at times feels like a bubble of optimism that the sheer will of youthful protesters can overcome all obstacles.Every day we sit out here, we gain against Mubarak,said Sharif Mohammed, an electrical engineer. Maybe we'll be tired for a month, but we will be able to live in freedom for the rest of our life.Beyond the square's tank-guarded gates, however, a decidedly more pessimistic view takes hold. Some ordinary Egyptians are upset that life has ground to a halt and will remain that way as long as there is no resolution in sight. The government has sought to fuel that image, with state TV and officials depicting the protesters as causing disorder, refusing reasonable concessions by the state and backed by meddling foreigners.Recognizing the need to keep support among the wider public, protest organizers put out a statement Saturday denying all those claims. The broad positive response by the people to our movement's goals reveals that these are the goals of the Egyptian masses in general, not any internal or external faction or entity,it said.As the crisis drags on, the protesters also face the raw physical toll of camping out, night after night, in the sprawling public square. Hunger, illness and injuries might well become a drain.
Cairo's chilly winters could also make things very uncomfortable for all but the most dedicated activists. A misty drizzle on Saturday turned the once verdant patches of grass in the square where many people have pitched their tents to mud.In the early afternoon, many protesters were just waking up after putting in long hours on the barricades keeping watch for nighttime attacks by regime supporters who assaulted the camp earlier in the week, sparking 48 hours of pitched battles.Many of the men, however, who toss off their grimy blankets and brush the strands of dead grass off their increasingly muddy clothes look well-used to a hard life.Throughout their campaign, the protesters have thrown together an impressive self-organization, with makeshift clinics to treat the wounded, security teams hunting out infiltrators and a steady supply of food, tea and cigarettes brought in by supporters and vendors.
It is easy to see, though, how the daily rigors of defending the square — the cat naps on patches of grass, the limited food, the stress of repelling attacks from stone-throwing and machete-wielding pro-government supporters — have taken their toll.Scores of men with bandages on their heads or an arm in a sling roam the square. Others hobble around on a crutch or nimbly hold out scorched hands wrapped in gauze. The health minister says more than 1,200 people have been wounded in clashes since Wednesday.Some of the difficulties the protesters try to turn to their advantage.The hunger spurs us on, said Omar Salim, who traveled to Cairo from the northern Sharqiya province and has spent the last four nights sleeping in the square. We're in this together, we are all one — that's what keeps us going.Then there is the higher price — at least 109 people have been killed in the protests since they began Jan. 25.Ahmed Mustafa, a 58-year-old plumber, said his son, Islam, 26, was shot in the stomach in front of the Interior Ministry last Saturday.He was killed about 15 feet (5 meters) from where I was standing,Mustafa said.I carried him out with the help of others and brought him here.Despite his son's death — or because of it — Mustafa said he remains unflinching in his determination to fight on. My sense of dedication only became greater and my screams louder,he said.
This country has no freedom, no plurality of opinion, he said.What kind of country is it in which a young man of 26 isn't able to marry, to make a family? In a sentiment echoed by many of the protesters on Tahrir Square, Mustafa said he and his two other adult sons — Karim, 27, and Khaled, 24 — are also ready to pay with their lives if it ensures the end of Mubarak's regime.They've come to die like him, he said. And I'm ready to go, too.
PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS
JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME
PSALMS 14:1
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE FINAL JUDGEMENT).
WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Islamists Massacre Two Coptic Families in Egypt
by Gil Ronen FEB 5,11
News of an Islamist massacre of two Christian Coptic families has emerged from Upper Egypt with the return of Internet connections to the country, after a one-week Internet blackout imposed by the troubled regime. The massacre took place on Sunday afternoon (January 30) at the village of Sharona near Maghagha, in Minya province, and is being reported by AINA, the Assyrian International News Agency.According to the report, the Islamist murderers, aided by Muslim neighbors of the Copts, stormed the homes of the families, gaining access to the houses' roofs from the roofs of the families' Muslim neighbors. They killed eleven, including children, and seriously injured four more people.Anba Agathon, Bishop of Maghagha, told Coptic activist Dr. Mona Roman in a televised interview on Al-Karma TV that the killers are neighbors of the Copts, who seized the opportunity of the mayhem prevailing in Egypt and the absence of police protection to slaughter the Copts.
The bishop said that he had visited the injured Copts at Maghagha General Hospital and that they informed him that they recognized the main attackers, who come from the same village, Sharona.The two families were staying in their homes with their doors locked when suddenly the Islamists descended on them, said Bishop Agathon, killing eleven and leaving for dead four other family members. In addition, they looted everything that was in the two Coptic houses, including money, furniture and electrical equipment. They also looted livestock and grain.One group of masked assailants infiltrated the home of Copt Joseph Waheeb Massoud and killed him, his wife Samah, their 15-year old daughter Christine and 8-year-old son Fady Youssef. Another group simultaneously accessed the house of Copt Saleeb Ayad Mayez and shot him dead, along with his wife Zakia, their 4-year-old son Joseph and 3-year-old daughter Justina, Saleeb's 23-year-old sister Amgad, his mother Zakia and a woman named Saniora Fahim.The massacre has nothing to do with the mayhem in Egypt, the bishop said, but the murderers took advantage of the lack of police protection and thought they could commit their crime and no one would notice.Why have those Islamists chosen those two Coptic families and not Muslim ones to slaughter and rob? I believe it is because they know that with Copts they can literally get away with murder,accused Coptic activist Dr. Hanna Hanna.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
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 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
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.
Quartet urges Israel, Arabs to heed Egypt risk
By David Brunnstrom and Stephen Brown – Sat Feb 5, 3:16 pm ET
MUNICH (Reuters) – Israel and the Palestinians should recognize the security risk posed by the turmoil in Egypt and urgently speed up peace efforts, the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers said on Saturday.The United Nations, European Union, Russia and the United States said further delays in resuming Israeli-Palestinian talks would be detrimental to prospects for regional peace and security.The Quartet emphasized the need for the parties and others concerned to undertake urgently the efforts to expedite Israeli-Palestinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, they said in a statement.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton took part in the meeting along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.The events we have witnessed in the region mean it's hugely important they make progress in the Middle East peace process, Ashton told a news conference.The Quartet agreed it would discuss the dramatic developments in Egypt and elsewhere in the region and the implications for the peace process as a matter of high priority.It reiterated support for concluding the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by September this year and said the Quartet would meet again in mid-March on the way ahead.Quartet envoys would seek to meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators before this in Brussels, it said.
Egypt, the Arab world's biggest and most influential country, has been a significant force in efforts to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian deal.
WESTERN FEARS OF RADICALISATION
Western governments fear unrest in Egypt could lead to Islamist radicalization that could threaten Cairo's role in the peace efforts and even its own 1979 peace agreement with Israel.Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians welcomed any meetings of the Quartet but were demanding a staunch position regarding (Israeli) settlements so that we can go to negotiations.
The crisis of the Middle East is linked to the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, he said.The Quartet statement said the group regrets the discontinuation of Israel's 10-month moratorium on settlement activity.It also strongly reaffirms that unilateral actions by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of the negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community -- a reference to campaigns by both sides to set out borders before they have been negotiated.Israeli officials had no immediate reaction, but on Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated a call on Palestinians to enter direct peace talks and announced a series of initiatives to help the civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, in line with Israel's bottom-up strategy of economic and security improvement.
Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair said on Friday Israel had also agreed in principle to cede to the Palestinian Authority security control over seven West Bank towns and to help improve the Palestinian infrastructure in East Jerusalem.Blair emphasized that agreements were not the same as implementation, but in the past two years there had been significant economic growth in the West Bank thanks to actions both by the Palestinians and the Israelis.He said a combination of progress in improving peoples lives and strong political negotiation was needed for peace and this was even more true given uncertainty in the region.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah)
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/February/Rosenberg-Whats-Next-for-Egypts-Christians/
http://www.cbn.com/cbnnews/world/2011/February/Joel-Rosenberg/
Kissinger advice to Obama on Egypt: Seem a little less frantic about getting into the news cycle Jeff Poor - The Daily Caller – Sat Feb 5, 1:03 pm ET
As a political matter, the Obama White House has been praised for its handling of the turmoil in Egypt. But on policy, the president has been criticized on both the right and the left, his critics ranging from Charles Krauthammer to Chris Matthews.
Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is one who has also detected the deficiencies of the Obama administration on this matter. He made an appearance on Friday’s The Charlie Rose Show on Bloomberg Television and explained President Barack Obama had completely missed the potential for this crisis, especially based on his State of the Union address last month.The administration has a huge problem. They were thrown suddenly into a crisis they obviously didn’t foresee, Kissinger said. It wasn’t even mentioned — the Middle East was not even mentioned in the State of the Union address, so it clearly was not a top issue for national consideration.During Kissinger’s stint at the State Department, he handled several international crises including the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War and revolutions in South America. But he said he had the benefit of not being held to the standard of a 24/7 news cycle and that’s where the Obama administration is fouling up.
So now they have to improvise reactions, and you couldn’t plan for something that nobody foresaw. So I recognize the administration is under tremendous pressure,” he continued. “And I’ve been in crisis situations. I have not been in crisis situations where we had a 24/7 news cycle and we therefore felt obliged to speak every evening on a fast-moving situation. And this is a particularly complicated one because it has global international implications, it has local implications, and it has domestic implications in this country. So there are many pressures on the administration, but on the whole I would prefer if they would seem a little less frantic about getting into the news cycle.
Next IDF Chief of Staff: Maj.-Gen. Benny Ganz
by Gil Ronen FEB 5,11
Defense Minister Ehud Barak is expected to announce tomorrow (Sunday) that Maj. Gen. Benny Ganz will be appointed as the 20th Chief of Staff of the IDF. The appointment will have to be approved by the Cabinet, and then by a committee headed by retired judge Yaakov Turkel, which will look into Ganz's record and give a final opinion as to whether he is fit for the job.Ganz served until recently as Deputy Chief of Staff. Earlier in his career, he was Head of Northern Command, Commander of the Paratrooper Brigade and Commander of Shaldag, a unit that - according to foreign news sources - operates behind enemy lines in directing missile strikes.Sources in the IDF estimated that Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Yair Naveh will stay on in his current role. Barak had named Naveh as a temporary Chief of Staff, giving rise to heated criticism from other ministers, who thought the right course of action would have been to let outgoing Chief of Staff, Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi, stay on in his job for a while longer. They accused him of letting his personal rivalry with Ashkenazi get in the way of his professionalism.
Saturday evening, after the Sabbath ended, the Defense Minister's bureau confirmed reports that Ganz will be the next Chief of Staff. At this time, it stated, the Prime Minister and Defense Minister attach great importance to removing the uncertainty regarding the appointment of Chief of Staff and to stabilizing the military by appointing a Chief of Staff to lead the army against the challenges we face.Maj.-Gen. Yoav Galant, whose appointment to be the next Chief of Staff was torpedoed at the last moment after the Attorney General said he could not defend it in court, said in a Friday night on Channel 2 that he believed the appointment was still valid. The government will weigh my actions over the course of my career against the attorney general's words, he said.Galant's appointment was challenged in a motion filed by the Green Movement after the media created a storm over allegations that he had improperly annexed land to his private home in the past. A media appearance last week by the normally tight-lipped Galant shifted public opinion in his favor but was too late to prevent the success of the campaign against him.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
DANIEL 7:23-24
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast(THE EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADE BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise:(10 NATIONS) and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.(BE HEAD OF 3 KINGS OR NATIONS).
Franco-German Pact for Competitiveness' hits immediate opposition-Sealed with a kiss: the far-reaching financial proposals were prepared by France and Germany and dished up to other EU states on Friday (Photo: consilium.europa.eu)
ANDREW WILLIS 04.02.2011 @ 14:54 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The abolition of salary indexation systems, greater harmonisation of member state corporate tax rates and an overhaul of national pension systems are among the measures contained in a Franco-Geman 'Pact for Competitiveness' for the eurozone, put forward at the EU summit on Friday (4 February).Other elements included the insertion of a debt alert mechanism into national constitutions, the mutual recognition of educational diplomas and the establishment of national crisis management regimes for banks.The six-point plan is outlined in a draft, seen by EUobserver. Over lunch at the leaders' meeting, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy will attempt to convince their eurozone homologues of the pact's merits. Details would then be thrashed out at a specially convened summit of eurozone leaders in March, together with an already-scheduled EU summit later in the month.We need to increase competitiveness and the yardstick should be the member state that is leading the way, Ms Merkel told journalists immediately prior to the lunch. Suggestions that Germany should increase salaries, potentially harming the country's competitiveness, have irked Berlin in the past.
The German leader indicated that non-eurozone states will also be invited to sign up to the competitiveness pact if they wish.Mr Sarkozy hailed the initiative as a major step forward. France and Germany are working hand in glove to defend the euro, he told the joint briefing.The Franco-German structural plan was a way of boosting European competitiveness and ensuring the convergence of member state economies, he added.The plans for enhanced joint governance of the 17-nation eurozone economy appeared to hit a hurdle almost immediately however, with Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme blasting them as being overly constrictive.There must be more economic cooperation, but member states must be left the room to carry out their own policies, Mr Leterme said on arriving at the one-day summit, originally scheduled to discuss energy issues.Each member state has its own accents, its own traditions. We will not allow our social model to be undone, he added.Critics also hit out at the pact's intergovernmental nature, with little role for the EU's institutions envisaged.We welcome the move towards greater economic governance as step in the right direction. However, the method being proposed will not provide the required result as it is purely intergovernmental, said the leader of the European Parliament's Liberal group, Guy Verhofstadt.The only effective way of ensuring the discipline and objectiveness that is required, is through the Community method and with the empowerment of the Commission to act and set real sanctions.
EARTH WORSHIP
DEUTERONOMY 17:3-4
3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
4 And it be told thee, and thou hast heard of it, and enquired diligently, and, behold, it be true, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought in Israel:
2 KINGS 23:5
5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
EU parliament chief: energy security needs public money
VALENTINA POP 04.02.2011 @ 09:29 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Europe's multi-billion-euro needs for energy infrastructure and new technologies cannot be funded only by the private sector, European Parliament chief Jerzy Buzek has said, in a position putting him on collision course with Germany.We need both: regulation and money. The annual EU budget for energy today is €20 million. It's negligible, if we compare it to what a few kilometres of pipeline cost,the Polish politician told EUobserver in an interview on Thursday (3 February).Earlier this week, German officials said that Berlin - the largest net contributor to the EU budget - said the private sector should foot the bill, with the EU role to be limited to smart regulation.Mr Buzek is set to meet EU leaders on Friday during a summit formally dedicated to energy and innovation, but which is likely to be swamped by talk of Egypt and the financial crisis.If we want to protect the environment, we need new technologies and we should spend money together with the EU for their development, because they are a great European added value, Mr Buzek went on.He cited the 10,000 wind turbines installed last year in China and estimates by the EU commission that Europe needs a few hundred billion euros in energy infrastructure investments in the coming years. Admitting that national budgets are under pressure, Mr Buzek said that this sum can only be generated with the help of the public sector.
Certainly, most money should come from private investors. But in today's economic climate, the EU should give the financial leverage to private companies to reduce the risks they face.As some inter-connections may not be commercially viable, it is even more important to have the EU and national coffers foot the bill to some extent, he explained, giving the example of the North-South energy corridor.The North-South proposal - designed to link eastern EU countries to western ones to reduce their exposure to Russia - was finalised on Thursday night at a meeting of the so-called Visegrad group (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic) plus Romania, Bulgaria and EU commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso. Mr Barroso said details will come out in the next few months and that the EU should endorse the scheme in the second semester of 2011.
Dealing with Russia
Mr Buzek added that while most big energy deals concern private companies, it is normal for governments to get involved on a bilateral basis and even better if the EU negotiates en bloc.Usually, big energy deals are done with the political support of governments. It is always the same - North Stream, South Stream, even Nabucco. Our companies are not alone and neither are foreign companies, he said. He noted that EU countries sometimes go against each others' interests on energy.Nabucco is a fully European project, while South Stream is developed by some member states together with Russia and independently from the EU commission. The difficulties and competition between the two show how important it is to have co-ordination and joint negotiations when dealing with external partners,he said, referring to two major gas pipeline projects in the Caspian region.The Polish politician also urged Russia to abide by EU internal market rules on unbundling - the separation of production and transmission assets in the energy sector.We want to see Russia as a transparent, coherent and predictable energy partner. The new EU rules also prevent a massive sell-out of European assets and equal conditions for all players,he said.
No Karimovs
Mr Buzek, who has taken a firm stand on human rights issues during his tenure as parliament chief, said there should be no trade-off on values and energy sceurity. We simply cannot divide the issue of human rights from energy supplies. The two must go hand in hand. When I was in Russia, we discussed this very openly with [Russia's] President Medvedev, but we know it's not easy and much more has to be done in Russia on the human rights issue and in other countries as well, he explained.Asked his view on the recent visit of Uzbek strongman Islam Karimov to Brussels to talk about gas with Mr Barroso, Mr Buzek said: I didn't meet Mr Karimov and have no intention to do so.
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.
Torrential downpours pile misery on Australia
by Torsten Blackwood – Sat Feb 5, 6:24 am ET
TULLY HEADS, Australia (AFP) – Torrential rains and flash floods trapped scores of people in homes and cars following a massive cyclone, piling more misery on Australia Saturday after weeks of record inundations.As coastal residents pieced together homes and farms destroyed by Severe Tropical Cyclone Yasi, dramatic deluges brought by cyclone activity caused chaos in the state of Victoria, some 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) away.Authorities urged residents of the small town of Koo Wee Rup, southeast of Melbourne, to evacuate for fear of flash floods, while more than 80 people were rescued from flood-bound houses and vehicles.An English tourist, 26, was in critical condition with serious head injuries after a gum tree came down on her tent, and a 14-year-old girl was pulled from a swollen river. Emergency services fielded thousands of calls for help.There is a simple message for everybody in Victoria at the moment: please take care, warned Victoria state premier Ted Baillieu.Whether you're near the roads, whether you're near floodwaters, please don't drive through, ride through or play through floodwaters.
Parts of Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city, were lashed by 175 millimetres (6.8 inches) of rain overnight, while flash floods hit the town of Mildura after a record downpour of 200 millimetres on Friday afternoon.The rains come in the wake of Australia's worst cyclone in a century, which left a trail of destruction and a damage bill of billions of dollars (billions US) after hitting Queensland state on Wednesday, but miraculously caused no known deaths.The category five storm -- the highest level -- laid waste to entire towns, hurled luxury yachts around like toys and shredded enormous swathes of banana and sugar crops, adding an estimated 0.25 percentage points to inflation.I'm amazed we survived it, said banana farmer Daryl Webber, 42, who stood in his house as the roof was torn off, the windows were blown out and walls fell apart.The whole house was shaking, (wall) panels were flying everywhere. It was just horrendous. You wouldn't believe the force of the winds,he told AFP.The remains of homes and debris including fridges and pool tables littered the devastated coastal hamlet of Tully Heads, while some communities remained cut off by floods and fallen trees, hampering recovery efforts.Two men who were reported missing turned up safe, along with a couple who were feared drowned after their yacht capsized and a teenager who jumped into a fast-flowing river to save his dog. The pet also survived.Looters stole thousands of dollars' (thousands US) worth of stock from a cyclone-hit Queensland pub, making off with its store of beer and the spirits from behind the bar.I think it is terrible that people take advantage in these situations. You lose faith in humans,staff member Janet Lobegeier said.
Australia's military scaled back operations to deal with weeks of floods, which affected three-quarters of Queensland, including the state capital Brisbane. But another 4,000 troops were helping clear up after the cyclone.Swiss miner Xstrata resumed its operations at Mount Isa and Cloncurry, in Queensland's north, after the downgraded storm failed to cause any damage.Power was restored to 15,000 properties in tourist centre Cairns, a gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, as military aircraft prepared to fly in bottled water, tinned food and baby supplies because some roads remained impassable. Tully Heads, which was virtually wiped off the map, was closed to the public and media as dazed residents wondered how to rebuild their lives with no homes, no power and little fuel and food.Many people are living in patched-up homes with gaping holes covered by tarpaulin, and surviving hand-to-mouth until help arrives. Meanwhile, the local agricultural industry is in ruins.People say good old Queenslanders are tough and they can rebuild, but this is just too hard for us,said elderly resident Sandra Cameron.
Ten more dead in Philippine floods
– Sat Feb 5, 2:57 am ET
MANILA (AFP) – Ten more people have been killed in floods and landslides after nearly a week of heavy rains in the southern Philippines, raising the death toll to 20, according to the government.The remote, Muslim insurgency-wracked island of Jolo was the latest area to suffer from bad weather late Thursday, when flash floods and storm surges killed five people, said Jolo mayor Amin Hussin.As floodwaters ebbed on the main southern island of Mindanao, rescue workers unearthed the remains of five people who had been buried by landslides earlier in the week, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.Some 73,000 people are still in evacuation camps after the latest round of heavy rains began to lash Mindanao on January 31, the council said in a bulletin.It was the second time the region had been hit by torrential rains this year.Flooding across the southern and central Philippines last month claimed 75 lives, according to the disaster council.
Thirteen dead in fresh Sri Lanka floods
– Sat Feb 5, 12:50 am ET
COLOMBO (AFP) – Renewed rains in Sri Lanka have flooded a large number of towns and villages and killed at least 13 people, officials said Saturday.Heavy monsoon downpours have driven some 800,000 people out of their flooded homes and into state-run welfare centres or to stay with friends and relatives on higher ground, officials said.The situation in the Eastern, North and North Central Provinces is serious as monsoon rains continue, the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) said in a statement.Police said the number of people killed in the latest flood-related incidents had risen to 13 after five people who went missing after a boat accident on Thursday night were later declared dead.The DMC said that floods were widespread and were flowing over roads, agricultural land and town centres, worsening the damage already caused by rains that began in December.At least 43 people were killed and a million driven out of their homes last month by flooding.On Friday, a flood victim gave birth in mid-air minutes after she was plucked to safety by a Bell-212 military helicopter in the north-central region of the country, the air force said.
The woman had been among a group of villagers marooned in the town of Horowpathana, air force spokesman Janaka Nanayakkara said.A spokesman for the main hospital in the region said the mother -- identified as K. L. Malkanthi, 33 -- and the baby girl were doing well.The new flooding came after the United Nations issued an appeal for 51 million dollars in emergency aid to help up to a million people affected by floods last month. Most of them were hit once again by the latest rains, officials said.
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.
Chile hit by moderate earthquake, no damage
Last Updated: February 5, 2011 11:52am
StoryCommentsEmail StoryPrintSize A A AReport Typo.SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A moderate earthquake of 5.6 magnitude hit central Chile Saturday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported, but the country’s state emergency office Onemi said there were no signs of damage.USGS initially said the magnitude was 5.8. The epicenter of the quake was 57 miles south-southwest of the city of Concepcion at a depth of 8.5 miles.In February 2010, central Chile was hit by a massive quake of 8.8 magnitude and ensuing tsunamis that caused widespread devastation and killed hundreds of people.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
EU to Mubarak: Begin transition now - but not tonight
LEIGH PHILLIPS 04.02.2011 @ 21:16 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - All EU leaders have backed a call for Egyptian leader Hosni Mubarak to begin a transition to democracy now.But according to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, now does not mean that Mr Mubarak should step down immediately, as the West does not have the right to tell Egypt what to do, while Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi expressed his wish that Mr Mubarak stay on.At the European Council on Friday (4 February), a meeting of the EU's 27 premiers and presidents, the leaders issued a statement using similar language to that of the bloc's foreign ministers on Monday, calling on both the government and protesters not to engage in violence.All parties should show restraint and avoid further violence and being an orderly transition to a broad-based government, read the statement.The European Council underlined that this transition process must start now.The EU has been widely criticised both internally and on the streets of Cairo for its tardiness in pushing for Mr Mubarak's exit after a 30-year long rule and waiting for Washington to pronounce its changes in policy towards the regime first.France on Thursday seized the diplomatic initiative by publishing a joint statement on behalf of President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany's Angela Merkel, Italian leader Silvio Berlusconi, Spanish premier Jose Zapatero and British PM David Cameron.
The process of transition must begin now, the communique said, in what until then was the EU's firmest call so far for Mr Mubarak to step down.Whether the statement could be understood as a direct call for Mr Mubarak to step down immediately remained vague however, as the leaders continued to call for dialogue with the regime and political reforms.All parties [should] engage in a meaningful dialogue, read the leaders' position.But according to UK Prime Minister David Cameron, now does not mean that Mr Mubarak should step down immediately.Speaking to reporters following a summit of European leaders in Brussels, Mr Cameron was asked whether EU leaders are siding with protesters in demanding that Mr Mubarak step down tonight.
Refusing to be drawn on the question, he said: It is not the role of leaders in the West to tell Egyptians exactly who should be running their country.I couldn't have been more clear about what needs to happen. Egyptian authorities have a choice: If they continue to go down the path of repression, they will lose their last shred of credibility. Or they can choose the path of reform. But it's up to them.Mr Cameron however criticised those who worry what democracy in Egypt might bring.I don't accept that the only choice in life is between a country that doesn't respect democracy and Islamic extremism.They have a robust democracy in Turkey. They have one in Indonesia. It's condescending to say that Egypt can't as well.Himself a conservative, he used the occasion to take a swipe at the neo-conservative view of the region.That's what the neo-cons were wrong about. Democracy is not just about elections... And we shouldn't be naive or starry-eyed that you have an election and that solves all the problems.French President Nicolas Sarkozy was less sanguine about what may happen should the Mubarak regime fall.We can not reject a democratic aspiration just because there is a risk. [But] there are examples where it turned out badly, I'm thinking of Iran.Meanwhile, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi told his fellow leaders on Friday that Egypt's transition towards democracy should take place without breaking with President Hosni Mubarak.
He would like to see someone like Mubarak at the head of the country,said an aide who asked to remain anonymous, according to AFP.The EU summit, originally to have focused on energy security, was dominated by the turmoil in north Africa and divisions over a comprehensive solution to the ongoing eurozone debt crisis. Apart from Egypt and Tunisia, where the government fell last week and which started the domino effect of protests, Algeria, Uganda, Yemen and the West Bank have also seen anti-government rallies in recent days.The Council also saluted the peaceful and dignified expression by the Tunisian and Egyptian people of their legitimate, democratic, economic and social aspirations, which are in accord with the values the European Union promotes for itself and throughout the world.
Report: Hamas Stirring Up Violence in Egypt
by Maayana Miskin FEB 4,11
Hamas is attempting to increase the level of violence in Egyptian demonstrations, according to a report in the Egyptian daily Al-Yawm Al-Sabah that was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI). According to the report, Hamas terrorists were recently caught on their way to demonstrations.Nine of the terrorists were nabbed in Suez City, and another two were caught in El-Arish.
Security forces believe the 11 were not alone, the paper said. More terrorists are believed to have infiltrated Sinai recently. There has also been movement in the other direction, as Hamas prisoners escape jail in Egypt while police are busy with the protests.
Hamas shares a platform with the Muslim Brotherhood, an Egyptian opposition party that supports the demonstrations against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Gaza-based terrorist group is in fact an offshoot of the Brotherhood, as is the Jordanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood and the Israel-based Islamic Movement.More than 300 people are thought to have been killed in riots in Egypt so far. The Muslim Brotherhood's favored candidate for president, former UN inspector Mohammed ElBaradei, recently told Mubarak that he must leave the country by Friday, a demand Mubarak has rejected.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
U.S. backs transition, warns of attempts to derail
By Tom Perry and Sherine El Madany - FEB 5,11
CAIRO (Reuters) – The United States said on Saturday it backed Egypt's drive for orderly reforms but warned of attempts to derail the process, as thousands continued to demonstrate for President Hosni Mubarak's resignation.Mubarak has reshuffled his government, and the leadership of his party resigned on Saturday, but the 82-year-old president insists he will stay in power until September polls.Fearing instability in the largest Arab nation where Islamists are the most organized opposition, the United States, Egypt's key ally and aid donor, is emphasizing gradual change.U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton threw her weight behind the reform effort launched by Mubarak's handpicked vice president, Omar Suleiman, saying the government's fragile dialogue with the opposition must be given time to unfold.
There are forces at work in any society, and particularly one that is facing these kinds of challenges, that will try to derail or overtake the process to pursue their own specific agenda, Clinton told a security conference in Munich.She did not name the forces, but Washington has expressed concern about any involvement of militant Islamist elements.Which is why I think it's important to support the transition process announced by the Egyptian Government, actually headed by now Vice President Omar Suleiman.The State Department scrambled to distance itself from comments made by U.S. special envoy Frank Wisner who told a Munich conference Mubarak should stay on in power, saying his comments were entirely his own views, not those of the U.S. administration.But Clinton also spoke of supporting Egypt's government to ensure an orderly handover of power.President Mubarak has announced he will not stand for reelection nor will his son ... He has given a clear message to his government to lead and support this process of transition, Clinton told the same Munich conference of world leaders.That is what the government has said it is trying to do, that is what we are supporting, and hope to see it move as orderly but as expeditiously as possible under the circumstances, she said.
RESIGNATIONS
With some protesters insisting they want not just Mubarak but also his allies out straight away, moves to keep the 82-year-old president in office are unlikely to go down well.An Egyptian army commander was shouted down when he tried to persuade thousands of demonstrators at Tahrir Square to stop a protest that has stalled economic life in the capital.You all have the right to express yourselves but please save what is left of Egypt. Look around you, Hassan al-Roweny said through a loud speaker and standing on a podium.The crowd responded with shouts that Mubarak should resign. Roweny then left, saying: I will not speak amid such chants.Egypt's economy is already suffering. Growth, which was running at 6 percent, will be hit, said Central Bank Governor Farouk el-Okdah. There will also be movement in the Egyptian pound, he said, but the bank has enough reserves to cope.Exports fell six percent in January because of the mass protests and curfew, Trade Minister Samiha Fawzi Ibrahim said. Many shops have been closed during 12 days of protests and banks have been shut, making it hard for Egyptians to stock up on basic goods. Some prices have been pushed up. The Egyptian government appears to trying to emphasize the threat to stability and the economy posed by the protests, and toughen it out, hoping the demonstrations will fade away.Friday's protest by hundreds of thousands in Cairo failed to become the Day of Departure for Mubarak they had hoped for, so the demonstrators now also have to find a way to maintain momentum if they are to achieve their goal.
Protesters were not impressed with the resignations of the Mubarak's party chief, including that of his son Gamal.These are not gains for the protesters, this is a trick by the regime. This is not fulfilling our demands. These are red herrings, said Bilal Fathi, 22.Leading Muslim Brotherhood member Mohammed Habib said: It's an attempt to improve the image of the party but it does not dispense with the real aim of the revolution: bringing down the regime, starting with the resignation of President Mubarak.It is an attempt to choke the revolution and gain time.Earlier, Mubarak met some of the new ministers, the state news agency said, in a clear rebuff to the hundreds of thousands of anti-government protesters who rallied at Tahrir Square in central Cairo for a 12th day.Meanwhile, Vice President Omar Suleiman met prominent independent and mainstream opposition figures, state television said, to try to work out how to ensure free and fair future presidential elections while sticking to the constitution.The proposal being promoted by a group of Egyptians calling itself the The Council of Wise Men involves Suleiman assuming presidential powers for an interim period pending elections.But some opposition figures argue that would mean the next presidential election would be held under the same unfair conditions as in previous years. They want to first form a new parliament to change the constitution to pave the way for a presidential vote that is democratic.
Mubarak said on Thursday that Egypt would descend into chaos if he gave in to protesters' demands and quit immediately.He has styled himself as a bulwark against Islamist militancy and essential to maintaining a peace treaty Egypt signed with Israel in 1979.As if to underscore that, saboteurs blew up a gas pipeline in northern Egypt overnight, disrupting flows to Israel and also to Jordan, where protesters angered by economic hardship have been demanding a more democratic political system.Islamist websites had called for attacks on the pipeline.
NO EASY COMPROMISE
The United Nations estimates 300 people have died in the unrest and the health minister has said around 5,000 people have been wounded since January 25, while a Credit Agricole report said the crisis was costing Egypt about $310 million a day.
With the unrest crippling the economy in the Arab world's most populous nation, some Egyptians want a return to normal.But a bourse official said on Saturday the stock market would not reopen on Monday as originally planned, without giving a new date. Banks are due to reopen on Sunday.(Reporting by Edmund Blair, Samia Nakhoul, Patrick Werr, Dina Zayed, Marwa Awad, Shaimaa Fayed, Alexander Dziadosz, Yasmine Saleh, Sherine El Madany, Yannis Behrakis, Jonathan Wright, Andrew Hammond, Tom Perry and Alison Williams in Cairo, writing by Jonathan Hemming, editing by Ralph Boulton)
Anti-Mubarak activists bruised, tired, hungry By RYAN LUCAS and PAUL SCHEMM, Associated Press - FEB 5,11
CAIRO – After nearly two weeks of going head-to-head with Egypt's authoritarian regime, anti-government protesters are bruised, battered, sleep-deprived and hungry.
But the tens of thousands massing daily in Cairo's Tahrir Square remain fired with enthusiasm — at times a euphoric fervor seems their only fuel — and vow they will not back down in their demands for President Hosni Mubarak to step down and end his nearly 30-year rule.How long they can hold out has become a crucial question in the crisis gripping Egypt, as the government appears to be digging in, reckoning that it can ride out the wave of unrest.That means the confrontation could be turning into a test of sheer endurance. Protest organizers believe they must keep up the pressure of large protests, paralyzing the downtown heart of Cairo, to force the government to make a true move to democracy and not just cosmetic changes that allow the deeply entrenched regime to preserve its grip on power even if Mubarak eventually goes.
We have to be steady to topple the government, said Ahmed Abdel Moneim, a 22-year-old student who has been sleeping in the square for days. The French Revolution took a very long time so the people could eventually get their rights. ... If we have to spend our life to get rid of Mubarak, we will.It's a sentiment shared by many in Tahrir Square, which at times feels like a bubble of optimism that the sheer will of youthful protesters can overcome all obstacles.Every day we sit out here, we gain against Mubarak,said Sharif Mohammed, an electrical engineer. Maybe we'll be tired for a month, but we will be able to live in freedom for the rest of our life.Beyond the square's tank-guarded gates, however, a decidedly more pessimistic view takes hold. Some ordinary Egyptians are upset that life has ground to a halt and will remain that way as long as there is no resolution in sight. The government has sought to fuel that image, with state TV and officials depicting the protesters as causing disorder, refusing reasonable concessions by the state and backed by meddling foreigners.Recognizing the need to keep support among the wider public, protest organizers put out a statement Saturday denying all those claims. The broad positive response by the people to our movement's goals reveals that these are the goals of the Egyptian masses in general, not any internal or external faction or entity,it said.As the crisis drags on, the protesters also face the raw physical toll of camping out, night after night, in the sprawling public square. Hunger, illness and injuries might well become a drain.
Cairo's chilly winters could also make things very uncomfortable for all but the most dedicated activists. A misty drizzle on Saturday turned the once verdant patches of grass in the square where many people have pitched their tents to mud.In the early afternoon, many protesters were just waking up after putting in long hours on the barricades keeping watch for nighttime attacks by regime supporters who assaulted the camp earlier in the week, sparking 48 hours of pitched battles.Many of the men, however, who toss off their grimy blankets and brush the strands of dead grass off their increasingly muddy clothes look well-used to a hard life.Throughout their campaign, the protesters have thrown together an impressive self-organization, with makeshift clinics to treat the wounded, security teams hunting out infiltrators and a steady supply of food, tea and cigarettes brought in by supporters and vendors.
It is easy to see, though, how the daily rigors of defending the square — the cat naps on patches of grass, the limited food, the stress of repelling attacks from stone-throwing and machete-wielding pro-government supporters — have taken their toll.Scores of men with bandages on their heads or an arm in a sling roam the square. Others hobble around on a crutch or nimbly hold out scorched hands wrapped in gauze. The health minister says more than 1,200 people have been wounded in clashes since Wednesday.Some of the difficulties the protesters try to turn to their advantage.The hunger spurs us on, said Omar Salim, who traveled to Cairo from the northern Sharqiya province and has spent the last four nights sleeping in the square. We're in this together, we are all one — that's what keeps us going.Then there is the higher price — at least 109 people have been killed in the protests since they began Jan. 25.Ahmed Mustafa, a 58-year-old plumber, said his son, Islam, 26, was shot in the stomach in front of the Interior Ministry last Saturday.He was killed about 15 feet (5 meters) from where I was standing,Mustafa said.I carried him out with the help of others and brought him here.Despite his son's death — or because of it — Mustafa said he remains unflinching in his determination to fight on. My sense of dedication only became greater and my screams louder,he said.
This country has no freedom, no plurality of opinion, he said.What kind of country is it in which a young man of 26 isn't able to marry, to make a family? In a sentiment echoed by many of the protesters on Tahrir Square, Mustafa said he and his two other adult sons — Karim, 27, and Khaled, 24 — are also ready to pay with their lives if it ensures the end of Mubarak's regime.They've come to die like him, he said. And I'm ready to go, too.
PERSECUSSION,BEHEADINGS
JESUS PERSECUTED BIGTIME
PSALMS 14:1
1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
ISAIAH 53:4
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
MATTHEW 9:34
34 But the Pharisees said, He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils.
JOHN 8:41
41 Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.
JOHN 10:20
20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him?
PHILIPPIANS 2:10-11(JESUS GETS REVENGE)
10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.(JUDGEMENT SEAT OF CHRIST AND FOR SINNERS, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE FINAL JUDGEMENT).
WE ARE CHRISTIANS WE WILL BE TREATED THE SAME.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5 (WHY WE ARE PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD)
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good,
4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
MATTHEW 5:10-12
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.
12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.
MATTHEW 24:9
9 Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.
JOHN 15:18-20
18 If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me (JESUS) before it hated you.
19 If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.
20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
Islamists Massacre Two Coptic Families in Egypt
by Gil Ronen FEB 5,11
News of an Islamist massacre of two Christian Coptic families has emerged from Upper Egypt with the return of Internet connections to the country, after a one-week Internet blackout imposed by the troubled regime. The massacre took place on Sunday afternoon (January 30) at the village of Sharona near Maghagha, in Minya province, and is being reported by AINA, the Assyrian International News Agency.According to the report, the Islamist murderers, aided by Muslim neighbors of the Copts, stormed the homes of the families, gaining access to the houses' roofs from the roofs of the families' Muslim neighbors. They killed eleven, including children, and seriously injured four more people.Anba Agathon, Bishop of Maghagha, told Coptic activist Dr. Mona Roman in a televised interview on Al-Karma TV that the killers are neighbors of the Copts, who seized the opportunity of the mayhem prevailing in Egypt and the absence of police protection to slaughter the Copts.
The bishop said that he had visited the injured Copts at Maghagha General Hospital and that they informed him that they recognized the main attackers, who come from the same village, Sharona.The two families were staying in their homes with their doors locked when suddenly the Islamists descended on them, said Bishop Agathon, killing eleven and leaving for dead four other family members. In addition, they looted everything that was in the two Coptic houses, including money, furniture and electrical equipment. They also looted livestock and grain.One group of masked assailants infiltrated the home of Copt Joseph Waheeb Massoud and killed him, his wife Samah, their 15-year old daughter Christine and 8-year-old son Fady Youssef. Another group simultaneously accessed the house of Copt Saleeb Ayad Mayez and shot him dead, along with his wife Zakia, their 4-year-old son Joseph and 3-year-old daughter Justina, Saleeb's 23-year-old sister Amgad, his mother Zakia and a woman named Saniora Fahim.The massacre has nothing to do with the mayhem in Egypt, the bishop said, but the murderers took advantage of the lack of police protection and thought they could commit their crime and no one would notice.Why have those Islamists chosen those two Coptic families and not Muslim ones to slaughter and rob? I believe it is because they know that with Copts they can literally get away with murder,accused Coptic activist Dr. Hanna Hanna.(IsraelNationalNews.com)
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 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.
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.
JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.
1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
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.
Quartet urges Israel, Arabs to heed Egypt risk
By David Brunnstrom and Stephen Brown – Sat Feb 5, 3:16 pm ET
MUNICH (Reuters) – Israel and the Palestinians should recognize the security risk posed by the turmoil in Egypt and urgently speed up peace efforts, the Quartet of Middle East peace brokers said on Saturday.The United Nations, European Union, Russia and the United States said further delays in resuming Israeli-Palestinian talks would be detrimental to prospects for regional peace and security.The Quartet emphasized the need for the parties and others concerned to undertake urgently the efforts to expedite Israeli-Palestinian and comprehensive Arab-Israeli peace, they said in a statement.EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton took part in the meeting along with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.The events we have witnessed in the region mean it's hugely important they make progress in the Middle East peace process, Ashton told a news conference.The Quartet agreed it would discuss the dramatic developments in Egypt and elsewhere in the region and the implications for the peace process as a matter of high priority.It reiterated support for concluding the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations by September this year and said the Quartet would meet again in mid-March on the way ahead.Quartet envoys would seek to meet separately with Israeli and Palestinian negotiators before this in Brussels, it said.
Egypt, the Arab world's biggest and most influential country, has been a significant force in efforts to bring about an Israeli-Palestinian deal.
WESTERN FEARS OF RADICALISATION
Western governments fear unrest in Egypt could lead to Islamist radicalization that could threaten Cairo's role in the peace efforts and even its own 1979 peace agreement with Israel.Nabil Abu Rdainah, spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the Palestinians welcomed any meetings of the Quartet but were demanding a staunch position regarding (Israeli) settlements so that we can go to negotiations.
The crisis of the Middle East is linked to the continuation of the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, he said.The Quartet statement said the group regrets the discontinuation of Israel's 10-month moratorium on settlement activity.It also strongly reaffirms that unilateral actions by either party cannot prejudge the outcome of the negotiations and will not be recognized by the international community -- a reference to campaigns by both sides to set out borders before they have been negotiated.Israeli officials had no immediate reaction, but on Friday Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reiterated a call on Palestinians to enter direct peace talks and announced a series of initiatives to help the civilian infrastructure in the Gaza Strip, in line with Israel's bottom-up strategy of economic and security improvement.
Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair said on Friday Israel had also agreed in principle to cede to the Palestinian Authority security control over seven West Bank towns and to help improve the Palestinian infrastructure in East Jerusalem.Blair emphasized that agreements were not the same as implementation, but in the past two years there had been significant economic growth in the West Bank thanks to actions both by the Palestinians and the Israelis.He said a combination of progress in improving peoples lives and strong political negotiation was needed for peace and this was even more true given uncertainty in the region.(Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem and Ali Sawafta in Ramallah)
Saturday, February 05, 2011
THE GREAT CARBON TAX SCAM ON CITIZENS
A HIDDEN WORLD GROWING OUT OF CONTROL-AMERICAN SPY AGENCIES
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2011/02/hidden-world-growing-beyond-control-by.html#links
AKA OBAMAS-BARRY SOETOROS REAL BIRTH CIRTIFICATE-WHO KNOWS
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-this-obamas-birth-certificate-from.html#links
MELANIE PHILLIPS ON ISRAELI TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4dksiRW-Yg&feature=player_embedded
The great carbon trading scandal-Carbon allowances, Europe’s main weapon against climate change, have an impact on every household, yet the scheme is open to fraudsters and profiteers.Utility companies and heavy industrial polluters are given permits to emit carbon...By Rowena Mason 7:00AM GMT 30 Jan 2011
Within a few clicks of a computer mouse, stolen goods worth €28m (£24m) had bounced from the Czech Republic to Poland, Estonia and Liechtenstein before disappearing.
Distracting local regulators with a fake bomb scare, thieves behind the heist had made off with 500,000 carbon allowances – intangible products worth around €14 each that are the European Union's main weapon against climate change.Companies, such as those in the utility and heavy manufacturing sectors, are obliged to own allowances for each tonne of carbon dioxide they produce. The bulk are given away free by member state governments, but can then be traded between market participants to penalise heavy polluters and reward the more energy efficient.It sounds complicated and remote from everyday life, but the system has a very obvious impact on everyone living in Europe. It pushes up household bills and the price of manufactured goods in return for the wider social good of falling carbon emissions. The high economic cost to consumers and businesses is why it matters that the €90bn market across 27 European countries works effectively.In the context of such a big industry, €28m is perhaps the equivalent of stolen penny sweets from the corner shop. But part of the reason it has caused so much concern is that this is the fourth time that the carbon market has been hit with a major scandal.
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What is carbon trading? 30 Jan 2011
People thought the carousel fraud on carbon was the tin-pot scheme of small-time crooks, but over the past two years it escalated into an organised crime depriving taxpayers of €5bn in revenue. At one point, fraudsters accounted for up to 90pc of all market activity in some European countries, with more than 100 people arrested mainly from Britain, France, Spain, Denmark and Holland.Another deep controversy hit last March, when it emerged that some governments, in particular Hungary, had started recycling credits, or selling on old ones that had already been used for financial gain. Old credits can be legally sold to the so-called voluntary markets, favoured in places such as Japan, where companies that want to greenwash their image buy credits to show their environmental credentials to customers. But it is fraudulent if the allowances end up back in the official European system, as they did on this occasion.
Then came the first signs of pure carbon credit theft in the middle of last year in a wave of phishing scams, with market participants sent emails trying to persuade them to divulge their passwords.By December, criminals had stolen credits from Romania in a hacking attack, prompting the closure of its national registry, and allowances were also reported missing in Switzerland. Barclays Capital claimed the whole market had descended into fiasco – but still there was no market-wide action to tighten security.With this latest theft from the Czech Republic, the European Commission finally closed the entire spot-trading market indefinitely. But is it too late to restore the credibility of a market that Europol, the cross-border police force, claims has an international reputation for fraud and lax regulation? Andreas Arvanitakis, senior analyst at Point Carbon, says an obvious starting point is improving the security of the computer systems with encryption and more layers of protection. Some of the national registries are less safe than a hotmail account, he says.Each of the allowances has a serial number but sales happen so quickly in a few clicks that they are long gone before they can be traced. A buyer on an exchange could be completely unaware they are handling stolen goods. The big question now is what happens to the victims of this and the eventual owners of the credits. Who pays? Is the buyer left liable? Experts are most worried that the scandals could discourage financial investors trading for fear of buying credits that were stolen or used for money-laundering.
There have been warnings after warnings that regulation of the system is lackadaisical and inept, says one disillusioned broker at a big London company, who used to work in oil.It's totally affected the reputation. You expect it to be properly regulated but Europe seems to run it more like a church raffle than a professional commodities market.What makes it worse is that many predicted the current problems accurately more than a year ago, just after the UK VAT fraud attacks. Henry Derwent, president of the International Emissions Trading Association wrote an open letter urging Europe to take action.Although these problems are not inherent in or specific to the European Union emissions trading system, they threaten to damage its reputation and distract from the scheme's success at a critical moment in time, he said. [We] believe that basic security precautions, identity checks and active regulation, all familiar from financial crime prevention in other markets, could resolve the problems at once.The European Commission admits that around half of Europe's registries are not protected against fraud. Britain is meant to have one of the best and claims to conduct identity checks on everyone who registers as a carbon trader.
However, a cursory glance at the online records of the British register shows a number of unusual traders in the mix. The Sunday Telegraphfound dozens of tiny UK-based companies, whose primary business appears to be anything from selling consumer goods to electronics, sitting on the list of account holders. Many give addresses in suburban residential streets of cities in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Essex and other places not known for their links to the world of high finance. Among them are businesses with unreachable addresses and Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo email accounts for company representatives. Some of them no longer even exist, according to records at Companies House.Some have begun to question whether it would be safer to bring in much stricter regulation akin to the Financial Services Authority's approval of fit and proper people to do business.Trevor Sikorski, head of carbon markets at Barclays Capital, has put forward a radical idea: allow access to accounts only to financially regulated parties or those industrials and utilities who need allowances to comply with the law. While this is not a guarantee of no future problems, it will make such fraud more unlikely and this is certainly what the market's integrity needs, he says.Having a better grip on who is behind each account would make it easier to trace who receives the carbon credits when they are first illegally transferred out of the register. Investors argue that this goes against the free marketeer spirit of trading. But environmental groups counter that people are forgetting the ethical purpose of the market, which is not driven by fundamental human supply and demand but theoretical principles: reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Some, like Friends of the Earth, prefer the concept of a flat tax on carbon, fighting against the idea that millionaire offset investors such as Vincent Tchenguiz and Al Gore, or the proprietary trading desk at Citigroup, are likely to end up with sizeable financial proceeds from a system that adds to household energy bills.However, it's not just speculative profiteering and outright fraud that have caused outrage. There is also concern that industry is going to get huge windfall profits from the sale of carbon allowances accumulated during lower activity in the recession. One of the main problems highlighted by bodies such as the Committee on Climate Change is that there are too many free credits floating around. This means it is often cheaper for companies to just pay and pollute than invest in energy efficiency.Professor Michael Grubb, one of its members, argues that the over-distribution of free allowances by government risks creating windfall profits for some energy-intensive industries and is driving up the price of carbon for the rest of EU business". The number of free allowances is meant to reduce over time. But powerful lobbying efforts by the industrial industries meant more were handed out than needed and now steelmakers and coalburners have already stockpiled huge numbers they can sell for profit .One other serious challenge is the unreliability of offsets, a type of allowance that permits developing countries to profit from reducing their emissions. Low carbon projects, such as wind farms in Africa, are given credits to reward them for not making carbon, which can be sold on to European polluters who need allowances to cover emissions.
Critics argue that many inappropriate projects with dubious green credentials are getting handed out allowances all over the place. For example, a Chinese hydroelectric dam, for which people had to be displaced from their homes and was already planned long before trading came into force, is being showered with the high-value credits. Even high-carbon coal plants can get credits, if they can claim their technology is the most efficient type.The worst offender has been industrial gas credits which were banned by Europe last week from 2013 onwards. These were allowances for destroying dangerous greenhouse gases used as refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons. It costs 7p to eradicate gases equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide and the resulting offsets could be sold on the market for about €11, giving a total return of more than 99pc.Developers found this so lucrative they were creating the gases purely to be destroyed and adding to other dangerous by-products in the atmosphere. In the end, industrial gas credits made up 85pc of the market.
Critics say this is awarding free money to Chinese and Indian developers straight from the utility bills of European consumers with no environmental gain. In fact, Michael Wara of Stanford University estimates it unnecessarily cost billpayers $6bn.
Natasha Hurley, policy adviser at CDM Watch, says: Industrial gas credits have been totally dominating the system and have no environmental integrity. The whole problem with offsetting is that it's difficult to prove. There is a huge challenge to ensure one offset does represent reductions.Turning our backs on it would be counter-productive. But we can't condone what's going on at the moment. We're coming across more problems every day. There are vested interests in India and China fighting against change. And with UN governance a lot is left up to host countries. We're seeing the same problems that hit the financial markets emerging in the carbon market.For all those lobbying for change, there are others worried about what a radical overhaul would do for businesses which must plan how many credits they will need.Miles Austin, director of the Carbon Market and Investors Association, describes the ban on industrial offsets as a politicised decision that kept market participants in the dark. Industrials that need to buy carbon allowances were concerned about the large reduction in available credits and its potential to push up prices.
Political decisions need to be characterised as such. Doing otherwise will reduce the pool of capital that is available, by increasing the risk, and the cost of capital available, he says. The most worrying aspect is the process by which it was done. There are no objective criteria that allow investors to assess it properly. The process is a complete black box.This chaos at the heart of carbon market regulation is the most concerning thing for countries about to embark on trading.As pressure grows at international climate change conventions for the carbon market to go global, the challenge will be how to create a system without the same laissez-faire attitude to verification and monitoring as the current European one.
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2011/02/hidden-world-growing-beyond-control-by.html#links
AKA OBAMAS-BARRY SOETOROS REAL BIRTH CIRTIFICATE-WHO KNOWS
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2011/02/is-this-obamas-birth-certificate-from.html#links
MELANIE PHILLIPS ON ISRAELI TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4dksiRW-Yg&feature=player_embedded
The great carbon trading scandal-Carbon allowances, Europe’s main weapon against climate change, have an impact on every household, yet the scheme is open to fraudsters and profiteers.Utility companies and heavy industrial polluters are given permits to emit carbon...By Rowena Mason 7:00AM GMT 30 Jan 2011
Within a few clicks of a computer mouse, stolen goods worth €28m (£24m) had bounced from the Czech Republic to Poland, Estonia and Liechtenstein before disappearing.
Distracting local regulators with a fake bomb scare, thieves behind the heist had made off with 500,000 carbon allowances – intangible products worth around €14 each that are the European Union's main weapon against climate change.Companies, such as those in the utility and heavy manufacturing sectors, are obliged to own allowances for each tonne of carbon dioxide they produce. The bulk are given away free by member state governments, but can then be traded between market participants to penalise heavy polluters and reward the more energy efficient.It sounds complicated and remote from everyday life, but the system has a very obvious impact on everyone living in Europe. It pushes up household bills and the price of manufactured goods in return for the wider social good of falling carbon emissions. The high economic cost to consumers and businesses is why it matters that the €90bn market across 27 European countries works effectively.In the context of such a big industry, €28m is perhaps the equivalent of stolen penny sweets from the corner shop. But part of the reason it has caused so much concern is that this is the fourth time that the carbon market has been hit with a major scandal.
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What is carbon trading? 30 Jan 2011
People thought the carousel fraud on carbon was the tin-pot scheme of small-time crooks, but over the past two years it escalated into an organised crime depriving taxpayers of €5bn in revenue. At one point, fraudsters accounted for up to 90pc of all market activity in some European countries, with more than 100 people arrested mainly from Britain, France, Spain, Denmark and Holland.Another deep controversy hit last March, when it emerged that some governments, in particular Hungary, had started recycling credits, or selling on old ones that had already been used for financial gain. Old credits can be legally sold to the so-called voluntary markets, favoured in places such as Japan, where companies that want to greenwash their image buy credits to show their environmental credentials to customers. But it is fraudulent if the allowances end up back in the official European system, as they did on this occasion.
Then came the first signs of pure carbon credit theft in the middle of last year in a wave of phishing scams, with market participants sent emails trying to persuade them to divulge their passwords.By December, criminals had stolen credits from Romania in a hacking attack, prompting the closure of its national registry, and allowances were also reported missing in Switzerland. Barclays Capital claimed the whole market had descended into fiasco – but still there was no market-wide action to tighten security.With this latest theft from the Czech Republic, the European Commission finally closed the entire spot-trading market indefinitely. But is it too late to restore the credibility of a market that Europol, the cross-border police force, claims has an international reputation for fraud and lax regulation? Andreas Arvanitakis, senior analyst at Point Carbon, says an obvious starting point is improving the security of the computer systems with encryption and more layers of protection. Some of the national registries are less safe than a hotmail account, he says.Each of the allowances has a serial number but sales happen so quickly in a few clicks that they are long gone before they can be traced. A buyer on an exchange could be completely unaware they are handling stolen goods. The big question now is what happens to the victims of this and the eventual owners of the credits. Who pays? Is the buyer left liable? Experts are most worried that the scandals could discourage financial investors trading for fear of buying credits that were stolen or used for money-laundering.
There have been warnings after warnings that regulation of the system is lackadaisical and inept, says one disillusioned broker at a big London company, who used to work in oil.It's totally affected the reputation. You expect it to be properly regulated but Europe seems to run it more like a church raffle than a professional commodities market.What makes it worse is that many predicted the current problems accurately more than a year ago, just after the UK VAT fraud attacks. Henry Derwent, president of the International Emissions Trading Association wrote an open letter urging Europe to take action.Although these problems are not inherent in or specific to the European Union emissions trading system, they threaten to damage its reputation and distract from the scheme's success at a critical moment in time, he said. [We] believe that basic security precautions, identity checks and active regulation, all familiar from financial crime prevention in other markets, could resolve the problems at once.The European Commission admits that around half of Europe's registries are not protected against fraud. Britain is meant to have one of the best and claims to conduct identity checks on everyone who registers as a carbon trader.
However, a cursory glance at the online records of the British register shows a number of unusual traders in the mix. The Sunday Telegraphfound dozens of tiny UK-based companies, whose primary business appears to be anything from selling consumer goods to electronics, sitting on the list of account holders. Many give addresses in suburban residential streets of cities in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Essex and other places not known for their links to the world of high finance. Among them are businesses with unreachable addresses and Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo email accounts for company representatives. Some of them no longer even exist, according to records at Companies House.Some have begun to question whether it would be safer to bring in much stricter regulation akin to the Financial Services Authority's approval of fit and proper people to do business.Trevor Sikorski, head of carbon markets at Barclays Capital, has put forward a radical idea: allow access to accounts only to financially regulated parties or those industrials and utilities who need allowances to comply with the law. While this is not a guarantee of no future problems, it will make such fraud more unlikely and this is certainly what the market's integrity needs, he says.Having a better grip on who is behind each account would make it easier to trace who receives the carbon credits when they are first illegally transferred out of the register. Investors argue that this goes against the free marketeer spirit of trading. But environmental groups counter that people are forgetting the ethical purpose of the market, which is not driven by fundamental human supply and demand but theoretical principles: reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Some, like Friends of the Earth, prefer the concept of a flat tax on carbon, fighting against the idea that millionaire offset investors such as Vincent Tchenguiz and Al Gore, or the proprietary trading desk at Citigroup, are likely to end up with sizeable financial proceeds from a system that adds to household energy bills.However, it's not just speculative profiteering and outright fraud that have caused outrage. There is also concern that industry is going to get huge windfall profits from the sale of carbon allowances accumulated during lower activity in the recession. One of the main problems highlighted by bodies such as the Committee on Climate Change is that there are too many free credits floating around. This means it is often cheaper for companies to just pay and pollute than invest in energy efficiency.Professor Michael Grubb, one of its members, argues that the over-distribution of free allowances by government risks creating windfall profits for some energy-intensive industries and is driving up the price of carbon for the rest of EU business". The number of free allowances is meant to reduce over time. But powerful lobbying efforts by the industrial industries meant more were handed out than needed and now steelmakers and coalburners have already stockpiled huge numbers they can sell for profit .One other serious challenge is the unreliability of offsets, a type of allowance that permits developing countries to profit from reducing their emissions. Low carbon projects, such as wind farms in Africa, are given credits to reward them for not making carbon, which can be sold on to European polluters who need allowances to cover emissions.
Critics argue that many inappropriate projects with dubious green credentials are getting handed out allowances all over the place. For example, a Chinese hydroelectric dam, for which people had to be displaced from their homes and was already planned long before trading came into force, is being showered with the high-value credits. Even high-carbon coal plants can get credits, if they can claim their technology is the most efficient type.The worst offender has been industrial gas credits which were banned by Europe last week from 2013 onwards. These were allowances for destroying dangerous greenhouse gases used as refrigerants called hydrofluorocarbons. It costs 7p to eradicate gases equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide and the resulting offsets could be sold on the market for about €11, giving a total return of more than 99pc.Developers found this so lucrative they were creating the gases purely to be destroyed and adding to other dangerous by-products in the atmosphere. In the end, industrial gas credits made up 85pc of the market.
Critics say this is awarding free money to Chinese and Indian developers straight from the utility bills of European consumers with no environmental gain. In fact, Michael Wara of Stanford University estimates it unnecessarily cost billpayers $6bn.
Natasha Hurley, policy adviser at CDM Watch, says: Industrial gas credits have been totally dominating the system and have no environmental integrity. The whole problem with offsetting is that it's difficult to prove. There is a huge challenge to ensure one offset does represent reductions.Turning our backs on it would be counter-productive. But we can't condone what's going on at the moment. We're coming across more problems every day. There are vested interests in India and China fighting against change. And with UN governance a lot is left up to host countries. We're seeing the same problems that hit the financial markets emerging in the carbon market.For all those lobbying for change, there are others worried about what a radical overhaul would do for businesses which must plan how many credits they will need.Miles Austin, director of the Carbon Market and Investors Association, describes the ban on industrial offsets as a politicised decision that kept market participants in the dark. Industrials that need to buy carbon allowances were concerned about the large reduction in available credits and its potential to push up prices.
Political decisions need to be characterised as such. Doing otherwise will reduce the pool of capital that is available, by increasing the risk, and the cost of capital available, he says. The most worrying aspect is the process by which it was done. There are no objective criteria that allow investors to assess it properly. The process is a complete black box.This chaos at the heart of carbon market regulation is the most concerning thing for countries about to embark on trading.As pressure grows at international climate change conventions for the carbon market to go global, the challenge will be how to create a system without the same laissez-faire attitude to verification and monitoring as the current European one.
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