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HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI OCT 24,2008
09:30 AM -167.10
10:00 AM -325.60
10:30 AM -434.37
11:00 AM -335.48
11:30 AM -258.93
12:00 PM -264.95
12:30 PM -342.72
01:00 PM -348.94
01:30 PM -309.51
02:00 PM -439.34
02:30 PM -383.03
03:00 PM -224.85
03:30 PM -183.27
04:00 PM -312.30 8378.95
S&P 500 876.77 -31.34
NAS 1552.03 -51.88
GOLD 733.0 +18.3
OIL 64.80 -3.04
TSE 300 -120.09 9,211.26
CDNX -27.04 830.96
S&P/TSX 60 -6.54 555.98
HANG SENG -1,142.11
NIKKEI -811.90
TRADER TALK TODAY
-No Capitulation breeds frustration.
-Buyers waiting for sellers.
-Unwind of carry trade disrupts Currencies.
-Watching emerging Markets.
Analysts were expecting a gigantic drop at the open,never happened.
Nasdaq opens down 6.2% or at Limit Down.
At open markets plunge less then 500 points.
At 9:40 AM Dow down -449 points.
Dow below 8300 points at 9:40 AM.
NEW LOWS TO BREACH OCT 10 LOW/SUPPORT
-Dow has to fall 809 points or 9.3%.
-The SPX has to fall 69 points or 7.6%.
-Next support could be 10 to 20% lower if breached.
FUTURES LIMITS
-Limit extended to 10% at open.
-Trading halted for 2 minutes if reached.
-Limit then extended to 20%.
-Trading halted for 2 minutes if reched.
-Limit then extended to 30%.
NYSE CIRCUIT BREAKER
-1100 point Dow drop.
-Before 2PM: 1 hour trading halt.
-2-2:30PM: 30 minute trading halt.
-3PM or Later: No trading halt.
-290 was the least Dow was down as of 10:15AM.
-450 was the worst Dow was down as of 10:15AM.
Dows low today was 503 points so far.
All 30 Dow stocks lower today so far.
Dow has not closed below 8000 points since March 31,2003.
Dow intraday low s 7882 on Oct 10,08.
S&P intraday low is 839 on Oct 10,08
NYSE companies:NEW LOWS 732,NEW HIGHS 4.
NASDAQ dips below OCT 10,08 lows.
Volatility index reaches all time high of 89.
Argenina,Hungary,Indonesia and Turkey all are spending alot of their reserves to support their currencies that are in a free-fall today.
Hungary,Ukraine,Belarus are all in talks with the IMF for possible loans.
Chrysler to cut 1/4 or 25% it salary workforce in November.
On Nov 1,08 OPEC cuts 1.5 million barrels of Oil a day.
Crude Oil down more than $40 a barrel in the last month.
APR 1 - OCT 17,08 the Dows down 28%,but in the last hour of trading in that span its down 13%,almost half the drop came in the last hour of trading.
OILS ECONOMIC STIMULUS
-Oil price down $20/Barrel=Down $635 Billion energy spending.
-US retail gas price down $0.01=$1 Billion in consumers hands.
TODAYS MARKETS WRAPUP
-Stocks tumble on Global recession fears.
-European stocks at 5 year lows.
-Paris CAC 40 down 3.5% today.
-Russian stocks plunge 13.7% today.
-Russian Rouble at 2 year low.
-Asian stocks plunge.
-Japanese Yen at 13 year high verses the dollar.
-UKS ftse down 5% today.
-Germanys DAX down 5% today.
Nas fell 6.9% at days low.
Nas down 3.2% today.
Nas drops 9.3% this week.
Nas drops 25.8% in October.
S&P fell 6% at days low.
S&P down 3.5% today.
S&P fell 6.8% this week.
S&P down 24.8% in October.
Dow fell 6% at days low.
Dow down 3.5% today.
Dow fall 5.4% this week.
Dow down 22.8% in October.
All 30 Dow stocks down today.
Major averages hit fresh 5 1/2 year lows before cutting losses.
Crude down 4% today.
Stocks have dropped 4 times in the last 5 weeks.
TIPS
IF OBAMA WINS
-Own Generik drugs.
-own Hospital Management Companies.
-Own Clean energy Companies.
-Own Natural Gas.
-Own Wind,Solar.
If Democrates get 60 seats in the Senate,they will pass a big package and quickly including higher Taxes.
IF MCCAIN WINS
-Own Big Oil.
-Own Coal.
-Own Big Pharma.
-Own Dividend Payers.
Shock and fear gripped the market before the beggining of trading today.
LUKE 21:25
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)
Stocks fall on belief global recession is at hand OCT 24 4:50PM
By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer
AP – A couple of brokers take a break outside the New York Stock Exchange, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008 in New York. … NEW YORK – Wall Street capped another difficult week with steep losses Friday, sending the major indexes to their lowest levels in more than five years as markets around the world skidded lower on the belief that a punishing economic recession is at hand.It was a dramatic, fractious day on the Street, with the Dow Jones industrials falling more than 500 points soon after trading began and, following the pattern of recent sessions, recovering ground only to fall sharply again. They ended the day with a loss of 312.The pullback on Wall Street wasn't as steep as some observers had feared after stocks plunged overseas in response to another round of grim corporate news. A profit warning Friday from electronics maker Sony sent its shares tumbling in Japan and offered only the latest example that companies are girding for a slowing economy and a pullback among consumers worried about falling home prices and losses on their investments.And in Germany, Daimler's stock fell sharply after the automaker reported lower third-quarter earnings and abandoned its 2008 profit and revenue forecast. That followed news in the U.S. late Thursday from Microsoft Corp., which issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for its fiscal second quarter, pointing to the economy.
People have been saying that we're in a recession. This is the realization, said Scott Fullman, director of derivatives investment strategy for WJB Capital Group in New York.It is clear that many investors are convinced the world economy is headed for a severe downturn even as governments have raced to jump-start credit markets on the hope that a return of more normal lending levels by banks and other financial houses will fan economic activity.But some say the recent pullbacks have been set off by forced selling, keeping some bargain-seeking traders from entering the market.
There's nothing new going on, said Scott Bleier, president of market advisory service CreateCapital.com. This is all about the unwinding of massive leverage.
Bleier attributed the declines to margin calls and investors in hedge funds and mutual funds cashing out. A margin call occurs when investors are forced to sell holdings, like stock, to raise cash at the demands of brokers.Market participants' fear is not that the economy is slowing, he said. The fear is there is an endless supply of things for sale, regardless of price.Steve Gross, principal at alternative investment and advisory firm Penso Capital Markets, said most large hedge funds have already slashed their positions. Instead, he sees a lack of demand: There are no buyers at all.Investors were nervous going into the session after U.S. stock futures — the bets traders place on where the market will go — fell so sharply before Friday's opening bell that selling halts were imposed.By the close, according to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 312.30, or 3.59 percent, to 8,378.95 after falling 504 in the early going. Still, the blue chips remained above the 8,000 level; at its recent low of Oct. 10, the Dow traded as low as 7,882.51.Broader stock indicators also fell. The S&P 500 index declined 31.34, or 3.45 percent, to 876.77, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 51.88, or 3.23 percent, to 1,552.03.Friday's finish was the lowest for the Dow since April 25, 2003, when it ended at 8,306.35. For the S&P, it was the lowest ending since April 11, 2003 when the index finished at 868.30.The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 18.80, or 3.84 percent, to 471.12.Declining issues outpaced advancers by about 5 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 1.58 billion shares.Friday was the 79th anniversary of the day that, according to many market historians, the October 1929 stock market crash began. Selling began on Thursday, Oct. 24, and accelerated the following week on the days that have since become known as Black Monday and Black Tuesday, Oct 28 and 29. For the week, the Dow fell 5.35 percent, the S&P 500 lost 6.78 percent and the Nasdaq fell 9.31 percent.
Wall Street set for plunge on recession fears,Dow index futures drop 550 points, maximum allowed price change,Gloomy outlook for U.S. markets
Oct. 24: The Dow futures drop dramatically as overseas markets tumble on growing fears of a looming global recession. CNBC’s Erin Burnett reports from the New York Stock Exchange.
Historic bear markets
Our current stock slide joins the list of most notable bear markets in the past 80 years. BREAKING NEWS - NEW YORK - Wall Street headed for another precipitous drop Friday as fears of a punishing global recession stirred panic among investors and sent world financial markets into a tailspin. The Dow Jones industrial average futures were down 550 points, triggering a freeze in selling.The massive decline was caused by increasingly grim news from overseas. In Japan, shares of Sony sank more than 14 percent after it slashed its earnings forecast for the fiscal year. In Germany, Daimler’s stock dropped 11.4 percent in morning trading after it reported lower third-quarter earnings and abandoned its 2008 profit and revenue guidance.
Japan’s Nikkei stock average fell a staggering 9.60 percent. In Europe, Germany’s benchmark DAX index was down a massive 10.76 percent, France’s CAC40 was down 10 percent while Britain’s FTSE 100 was 8.67 percent lower after third quarter GDP fell 0.5 percent, putting the country on the brink of recession.The dour outlook convinced investors that the world economy is headed for a long and severe downturn despite a raft of government rescue efforts aimed at pulling the financial system from the brink. It also indicated that the tremors caused by the global credit crisis may have only begun to be felt in their true scope and magnitude.Fearing more carnage in world equity markets, big hedge funds and other institutional investors have been pulling out their money en masse in a bid to reduce risk and raise cash — moves that only intensify the selling.Ahead of the market’s open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell the maximum allowed limit of 550, or 6.27 percent, to 8,224. That triggered circuit breakers that automatically freeze selling until the market’s 9:30 a.m. EDT open. However, traders can still buy stocks and send the market higher. Selling eased slightly later in the morning, leaving Dow futures 548 points lower.The Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures was also down the maximum allowed 60 points, or 6.56, to 855.20, and the Nasdaq 100 index futures was down 85.00, or 6.20 percent, to 1,175.75.On Thursday, the Dow rose 172 points as investors went looking for bargains after two days of selling. Analysts have predicted that trading will remain volatile for the foreseeable future while investors test whether or not the market has hit a bottom.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 8.3 percent to 12,618. Markets in India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were also down sharply as investors bailed from emerging markets to cut their exposure to risky assets and meet redemption needs at home.The sudden gloom over growth expectations is having the added impact of putting small economies and currencies under extreme pressure. Investors are pulling money out of countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia on fears vulnerable countries will not only be hit hard by the financial crisis but may also default on debt. Tell us your retirement story How has the economic downturn affected your retirement plans? Are you putting less – or more – money in your retirement account? We are interested in your situation for an upcoming story.
In Europe, for example, Hungary, Ukraine and Belarus are all, like Iceland, in talks with the IMF to discuss possible loans.Meanwhile, credit markets remained tight but still much improved from where they were last week. The three-month bill, regarded as the safest assets around, yielded 0.95 percent, up slightly from 0.94 percent late Thursday. Last week the yield was at 0.20 percent, indicating investors were willing to trade the slimmest of returns for a safe place to keep their money.The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, plunged below 93 yen, a 13-year low, as traders reacted to dismal U.S. jobs data that spurred speculation the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates. Meanwhile, gold prices plunged.Light, sweet crude was down $4.09 to $64.37 premarket electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The sell-off, another sign that investors fear a severe recession, came despite OPEC’s announcement that it will cut production by 1.5 million barrels a day in a bid to shore up sagging prices.
States call for IMF critical role in crisis OCT 24,08 8:45 AM
BEIJING – Asian and European leaders meeting in China's capital will demand that the International Monetary Fund play a critical role in helping countries hardest-hit by the global financial meltdown, according a draft statement seen by The Associated Press on Friday.The IMF, along with other international financial institutions, should act now to help stabilize struggling banks and plunging share prices, said the draft, which is to be issued at the end of the two-day Asia-Europe Meeting of 43 world leaders that opened in Beijing on Friday.The gathering seeks to build consensus on handling the crisis ahead of a Nov. 15 meeting of the 20 largest economies in Washington D.C.Leaders agreed that the IMF should play a critical role in assisting countries seriously affected by the crisis, upon their request, the draft said.If adopted, the statement would be among the strong calls yet for a leading role in the crisis for the Washington-based IMF.Countries as disparate as Hungary, Ukraine, Iceland and Pakistan have already turned to the fund, known as the international lender of last resort, for helping bridging their liquidity crunches.
The draft statement says leaders agreed to undertake effective and comprehensive reform of the international monetary and financial systems.They agreed to quickly take appropriate initiatives in this respect, in consultation with all stakeholders and the relevant international financial institution, the statement says.In remarks Friday to the meeting's opening session, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he hoped Asia would support Europe's proposals on redrawing the system of international capitalism at the Washington meeting.Europe is going to act in a united way, and we will submit proposals that we have developed together. Europe would like Asia to support our efforts and would like to make sure that on the 15th of November we can face the world together and say that the causes of this unprecedented crisis will never be able to happen again, Sarkozy said.
World markets slump on recession fears By CARLO PIOVANO, AP Business Writer OCT 24,08
AP – An employee of the Korea Stock Exchange works in front of a screen that shows the falling Korean benchmark … LONDON – World stock markets tumbled Friday on growing alarm that a global recession will ravage corporate profits and push smaller developing economies to the brink of collapse.Futures indicated a sharp drop on Wall Street, with futures down 550 points, the maximum daily price change.In the European morning, Germany's benchmark DAX index was down a massive 10.76 percent at 4,033.27. The French CAC40 down 10 percent at 2979.95 while Britain's FTSE 100 was 8.67 percent lower at 3,733.33 after third quarter GDP fell 0.5 percent, putting the country on the brink of recession, which is technically defined as two quarters of negative growth. The previous quarter's growth was 0.0 percent.Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average slid 9.6 percent to 7,649. U.S. stock index futures were down sharply. On Thursday, the Dow rose 2 percent to 8,691.25.Quarterly earnings have been poor so far, with profit warnings coming thick and fast across all industries. Shares in Europe's automotive companies fell hard on worrying third quarter figures, with truck-maker Volvo AB down 19 percent and PSA Peugeot-Citroen falling 12.4 percent. Daimler AG and Fiat Spa also warned about profits.But heavy industry was not the only sector to feel the pain, with the likes of Sony also warning of tough times ahead. Its shares slid 14 percent in Asia.The sudden gloom over growth expectations is having the added impact of putting small economies and currencies under extreme pressure. Investors are pulling money out of countries in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Asia on fears vulnerable countries will not only be hit hard by the financial crisis but may also default on debt.Periods of panic punctuated by occasional calm appears to be the manner of things for now, said Daragh Maher at Calyon.He said that as investors flee economies they view as less stable, the repatriation of money has boosted the dollar to the detriment of smaller currencies.
For now this means much of the focus is on the International Monetary Fund and what it might have in mind to insulate emerging markets, given that they are now the clearest pressure point, said Maher.Markets are afraid that the world may see more countries go the way of Iceland, whose economy effectively collapsed this month after its financial sector went bankrupt.In Europe, for example, Hungary, Ukraine and Belarus are all, like Iceland, in talks with the IMF to discuss possible loans.
The euro, which investors consider very exposed to the vulnerable Eastern European markets, fell to a two-year low against the dollar, dipping below the US$1.25 level. The British pound dropped to US$1.5264 against the dollar, the weakest since August 2002.The dollar fell against the yen, however, as low as 90.89 yen, the weakest since August 1995. This is because the yen is used a currency to fund riskier investments — it is sold to raise cash to put in higher growth areas. When investors are scared of losing money in emerging markets, they undo those trades, buying the yen back. This flow intensified Friday, leading some to wonder whether governments and central banks may intervene in foreign exchange markets.We are getting used to wild swings in the markets, but today's moves verge on the bizarre, said Julian Jessop, chief international economist at Capital Economics.He said direct intervention in currency markets could be warranted, since a rate cut by the central bank to support stock markets would do little, considering Japan's interest rates are already at just 0.5 percent.Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 8.3 percent to 12,618. Markets in India, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were also down sharply as investors bailed from emerging markets to cut their exposure to risky assets and meet redemption needs at home.Funds are pouring out of emerging markets, said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. A lot of money that flowed into the region during the last five years from the U.S. and Europe is being cashed out. On top of all this, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Friday cut its output by 1.5 million barrels a day as of next month in an effort to keep oil prices higher. Light, sweet crude for December delivery today traded around US$64 a barrel, over 50 percent less than this year's historic heights because the worldwide economic crisis has put a huge crimp in demand for crude. Lower energy costs help economic growth at a difficult time, so the production cut's effort to boost oil prices was not welcomed by stock markets. AP writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore, Shino Yuasa in Tokyo and Kelly Olsen in Seoul contributed to this report.
OPEC agrees output cut, oil slide goes on By Peg Mackey and Michael Georgy OCT 24 8:30AM
VIENNA (Reuters) - An emergency OPEC meeting on Friday reached swift agreement to chop production by 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) as a first step toward halting a deep oil price slide.International benchmark U.S. crude has slumped by well over 50 percent from a record high of $147.27 hit in July. On Friday, it fell again to just over $63 a barrel.The decision was straightforward, Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi said after the meeting.OPEC will do whatever is necessary to balance oil markets.
Before the roughly two hours of talks, which ended just before noon, ministers had been in broad agreement about the need to reduce production, but had disagreed over the extent of any cut.They said they had to balance their own needs with those of a flailing world economy.Any cut should not affect the global (financial) market, said Kuwaiti Oil Minister Mohammed al-Olaim, adding the reduction would be a wise cut.
Kuwait and other core Gulf producers, which have relatively low price requirements and are nervous about further destruction of demand in consumer countries, had favored a relatively modest output reduction of around a million bpd, delegates said.
Venezuela, Iran and Libya, which are more dependent on higher oil revenues, were among those who had pushed for a deeper cut, with some asking for around 2 million bpd.The two sides met in the middle. They also said they could take further action if necessary before the next scheduled meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries in December in Oran, Algeria.If a further decision has to be made, it will be made and we will not necessarily wait for the Oran meeting, said OPEC President Chakib Khelil who will host the Algeria meeting.
SAUDI SETS THE PACE
Top exporter Saudi Arabia is the only exporter to be pumping significantly above its agreed target and it would be expected to lead the reduction in supplies.But it has repeatedly said other countries must play their part.Of the 1.5 million bpd being removed from the September output target of 28.8 million bpd, Saudi Arabia would pump 466,000 bpd less and Iran 199,000 bpd, OPEC said in a communique.When prices were racing toward their July record, Saudi Arabia unilaterally increased its production to try to calm a rally, which was then perceived as out of control.It has already reduced supplies slightly as global economic recession has destroyed demand and the oil price has plummeted, reviving bad memories for OPEC of the 1998 price crash when the market fell below $10.Venezuelan Minister of Energy and Petroleum Rafael Ramirez said there was a risk oil could fall back to that level.We have to handle the situation in a very, very responsible manner as OPEC.... that way we can avoid a price collapse like 1998, he said.In the near term, analysts have said whatever the group does it could struggle to influence the price.One and a half million barrels per day may not have too much of an effect, said a London-based analyst who asked not to be named.Two million would maybe have a more psychological impact, but I still don't know if it would help the price to increase.(Additional reporting by Sylvia Westall, Luke Pachymuthu and Rania El Gamal; writing by Barbara Lewis, editing by William Hardy)(OPEC newsroom)
US dollar falls to 95.32 yen, lowest in 13 years OCT 24,08
TOKYO – The U.S. dollar has fallen to its lowest level against the Japanese yen in 13years.In afternoon trading in Tokyo Friday, the dollar sank as low as 95.32 yen, the lowest since August 1995.Traders said the dollar is being pressured on worries about a recession in the U.S. economy amid the unfolding financial crisis.Dollar-selling also intensified amid speculation that the Federal Reserve would cut interest rates again to shore up the sagging U.S. economy.A strong yen hurts Japanese exporters by eroding their overseas earnings when converted back to yen.
Asian stocks sink; Sony drops on earnings revision By ALEX KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer OCT 24,08
AP – Pedestrians are reflected on an electric market board in Tokyo, Friday, Oct. 24, 2008. Japanese shares … SINGAPORE – Asian stocks tumbled for a third day Friday on persistent worries that a global recession will eat into corporate profits. Shares of Sony plunged more than 12 percent after it slashed its earnings forecast for the fiscal year.Sony's news was yet another indicator that the global economy is really slowing, said Yutaka Miura, senior strategist at Shinko Securities in Tokyo. The revision had a very negative impact on other tech-related stocks, such as Panasonic Corp.Investors remain worried over growing uncertainty about the state of the global economy, Miura said.Asian markets seemed to shrug off a rebound in European markets and the Dow Jones industrial average on Thursday. Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average was down more than 7 percent to 7,847 in afternoon trading — a 5 1/2-year low — while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 4.6 percent to 13,125.The dollar, meanwhile, fell to a 13-year low in Tokyo trading amid worries about a slowdown in the U.S. economy. The dollar sank to 95.32 yen, the lowest since August 1995.The stronger yen is hurting Japanese exports, which is a big part of that country's economy, said Linus Yip, a strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong.South Korea's stock market fell sharply for a second day as figures showed the economy there was slowing. The Kospi was down nearly 9 percent to 9,550, falling below the 10,000 mark for the first time in more than three years.Economic growth in South Korea, Asia's fourth-largest economy, was measured at 3.9 percent in third quarter, the slowest since the second quarter of 2005.Markets in Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines were also down sharply as investors bailed from emerging markets around the world to cut their exposure to risky assets and meet redemption needs at home.
On Thursday, key indices in Russia, Brazil and Mexico also fell.
Funds are pouring out of emerging markets, Yip said. A lot of money that flowed into the region during the last five years from the U.S. and Europe is being cashed out. The global crisis has come to Asia.Electronics giant Sony Corp. plummeted 12.4 percent to 2,005 yen after it cut its annual profit and sales forecasts. Sony said Thursday afternoon its net profit for the fiscal year through March 2009 would likely drop 59 percent from the previous year to 150 billion yen (US$1.5 billion). It blamed deteriorating sales of flat-panel TVs and other gadgets for the dismal projection.Previously, Sony had expected to post 240 billion yen (US$2.4 billion) in profit for the fiscal year.Overnight in New York, the Dow rose 2 percent to 8,691.25, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose and the Nasdaq fell.Oil rose in Asian trade Friday, with light, sweet crude for December delivery up 55 cents to US$67.39.
India's central bank meets, more easing measures eyed OCT 24,08
MUMBAI (AFP) - India's central bank was slated to hold its quarterly policy meeting Friday with analysts expecting it to signal more monetary measures to stimulate a flagging economy.The Reserve Bank of India meeting comes after India's inflation hit a four-month low Thursday, opening the door for further monetary easing, economists said.It also comes four days after the central bank cut its key short-term lending rate for the first time in four years by a surprise percentage point to eight percent to boost spending and investment and try to stabilise markets.I think we'll see the Reserve Bank saying growth needs to be propped up, Dharma Kriti Joshi, economist at ratings agency Crisil, said ahead of the meeting.On Thursday, the Reserve Bank said growth in the fiscal year to March 2009 might slow to 7.7 percent from 9.0 percent last year amidst the worst global financial crisis in decades.The forecast, taken from 13 brokerage estimates, was down from a projection of 7.9 percent in June and fanned economists' expectations of more monetary easing to boost the economy.On Thursday, annual inflation measured by the wholesale price index slipped by nearly four-tenths of a percentage point -- more than markets anticipated -- to 11.07 percent.But the rate was still significantly above the central bank's end-of-year target of seven percent.But I'm confident as these (global crude and commodities) prices moderate, it'll come down, Finance Minister Palaniappan Chidambaram said.
Some analysts said the central bank might deliver another half percentage point cut in its repo lending rate to persuade commercial banks to lower their interest rates to grease the economy.Coming on top of Monday's cut, it would send a fairly strong signal to commercial banks to drop their prime lending rates, said Abheek Barua, chief economist at HDFC Bank.However, other economists said the bank might choose other monetary tools to stimulate the economy but expected further rate cuts later.
The bank has already pumped 20 billion dollars into the financial system this month by lowering the cash reserve ratio (CRR) -- the sum commercial banks banks must keep in reserve -- by 2.5 percentage points to unfreeze credit markets.While another interest rate cut was possible Friday, Joshi said the bank was more likely to cut the cash reserve ratio rate or the statutory liquidity ratio -- the amount banks must keep in government securities.Prime Minister Manmohan Singh warned this week India was experiencing the ripple effects of the global financial upheaval and "must be prepared for a temporary slowdown.India's economy expanded by 7.9 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, its slowest since late 2004.
East Asia to create 80 bln dlr fund, US sees deeper woes OCT 24,08
BEIJING (AFP) - East Asian leaders agreed Friday to set up an 80-billion-dollar fund by mid-2009 to fight the global economic crisis, as Japanese shares again fell sharply after a profit warning from technology giant Sony.The agreement came hours after US officials warned of a rise in unemployment stemming from the credit crisis, while France unveiled plans for a sovereign wealth fund to protect key industries from turmoil, as debate raged over the cause of the global maelstrom.Leaders of South Korea, China, Japan and the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) reached their agreement at a breakfast meeting in Beijing, said the spokesman for South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.The East Asian leaders agreed to accelerate multilateral cooperation to create an 80 billion dollar fund by the end of next year's first half and establish an independent regional financial market surveillance organisation, the spokesman said in a statement.The deal, he said, was meant to strengthen regional cooperation and policy coordination in the face of the global financial crisis.The ASEAN Plus Three fund would supersede the Chiang Mai Initiative, which came into being in 2000 in the wake of the 1997/98 East Asian financial crisis to ease mainly bilateral currency swaps.Meanwhile in Washington, the White House braced the US public for a sharp rise in layoffs and unemployment stemming from the global economic crisis, amid fresh warnings of a painful and lasting recession.Spokeswoman Dana Perino said former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan was right to warn, in testimony to a US congressional panel, of what he called a significant rise in layoffs and unemployment.We're in for a rocky road on the employment front, Perino told reporters.Greenspan, who ended his 18-year stint as chairman of the US Federal Reserve before a years-long housing bubble burst, warned that a once-in-a-century credit tsunami would pummel consumer spending and jobs.In France, President Nicolas Sarkozy announced the creation of a 100-billion-euro (128-billion-dollar) sovereign wealth fund to protect strategic sectors of the economy from the global financial storm.
Declaring that the recent turmoil had killed off the dictatorship of the market, Sarkozy vowed to lead Europe towards a model in which the state will take a more active role in industry and protect firms from foreign takeover.A better world will emerge from this crisis than the one we had before, he said, adding that the fund would intervene massively in order to protect any strategically important French firms.What oil producers do, what China does, what Russia does, there's no reason that France should not do.Sarkozy's proposal however did not go down well in Berlin where the German government said any such measures must be compatible with European Union rules.Stocks markets remained volatile. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 172.04 points (2.02 percent) Thursday to end at 8,691.25 after swings in both directions and following a 514-point tumble on Wednesday.The tech-dominated Nasdaq composite however closed down 0.73 percent while the broad-market Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.26 percent.Asian stocks slid in early trade Friday, led by Tokyo's Nikkei which dropped 5.01 percent in early trade after Sony forecast a substantial drop in profits due to a weaker global economy and a stronger yen.South Korean shares quickly shed 3.5 percent, with the operator of Seoul's bourse halting trading for five minutes from 10:02 to 10:07 due to the steep fall in the benchmark KOSPI index.Taiwan share prices opened 2.78 percent lower, while Singapore shares were 2.15 percent down and Hong Kong opened 2.1 percent lower.In London, the FTSE 100 closed with a gain of 1.16 percent while in Paris the CAC 40 rose 0.38 percent. The Frankfurt Dax pared some of its losses but fell 1.12 percent.Kevin Giddis, analyst at Morgan Keegan, said a crucial benefit to the market was a drop in key interest rates such as Libor, a benchmark for interbank loans that has been at the center of the credit crisis.Mounting evidence suggests that conditions in the short-term credit markets are slowly improving, with Libor continuing to fall, he said.It's way too early to know how close we may be to normalcy, but these trends provide some sense of optimism that the great unthawing may finally be near.Governments around the world have unveiled packages over the last month totaling more than three trillion dollars, including loan guarantees and cash injections, to restore confidence to banks and reverse a drop in lending.The scale of the decline was illustrated by figures from the Bank for International Settlements, the world's biggest central banking body, which showed cross-border lending by banks fell 1.1 trillion dollars in the second quarter of 2008 -- even before the worst of the latest crisis.
CHRISTMAS STAMPS How ironic is this ?? OCT 24,08
They don't even believe in Christ and they're getting their own Christmas stamp, but don't dream of posting the ten commandments on federal property? USPS New Stamp
This one is impossible to believe. Scroll down for the text. If there is only one thing you forward today.....let it be this!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of Pan Am Flight 103!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the Marine Barracks in Lebanon !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the military Barracks in Saudi Arabia !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the American Embassies in Africa !
REMEMBER the MUSLIM bombing of the USS COLE!
REMEMBER the MUSLIM attack on 9/11/2001 !
REMEMBER all the AMERICAN lives that were lost in those vicious MUSLIM attacks!
Now the United States Postal Service REMEMBERS and HONORS the EID MUSLIM holiday season with a commemorative first class Holiday postage stamp. REMEMBER to adamantly and vocally BOYCOTT this stamp When purchasing your stamps at the post office. To use this stamp would be a slap in the face to all those AMERICANS who died at the hands of those whom this stamp honors.
FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
Wildfire near LA's Getty museum contained Thu Oct 23, 10:08 PM
By The Associated Press
LOS ANGELES - A wildfire burned 40 hectares of brush and grass near the world-famous Getty art museum before it was doused early Thursday without causing any damage or injuries, fire officials said. Nearby Interstate 405 was closed for about four hours but reopened at 6 a.m., as the morning rush was getting underway. Even so, traffic on freeways and surface streets throughout Los Angeles were clogged, jammed with motorists who had sought ways around the fire. The fire erupted around 12:50 a.m. on a steep urban hillside about three kilometres from the Getty Center. The centre, which houses one of the world's richest art collections and a research institute, was closed for the day as a precaution and nearby Mount St. Mary's College cancelled morning classes. About 400 firefighters and eight water-dropping helicopters fought the flames for about seven hours before the blaze was declared knocked down at 8:16 a.m., Fire Department spokesman Ron Myers said. Crews were expected to remain at the museum throughout the day to douse any remaining embers that could flare up if dry, hot Santa Ana winds returned, Myers said. The museum is about 15 kilometres west of downtown Los Angeles. Many areas of southern California were under U.S. National Weather Service warnings of extreme fire danger until Saturday evening because of heat and low humidity but Santa Anas were diminishing. A blaze at the base of Mount Baldy, about 65 kilometres east of Los Angeles, burned 47 hectares Thursday afternoon. It was about 30-per-cent contained by evening. The fire was burning uphill and away from nearby homes, said Jesse Estrada, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. On Wednesday, gusty Santa Ana winds drove a 100-hectare wildfire in Fontana and the canyons of Rancho Cucamonga, about 100 kilometres east of Los Angeles. The fire was 90-per-cent contained Thursday but no flames were visible and authorities expected to completely surround it by evening, state fire officials said.
DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS
REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.
REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.
Media lift lid on secret reports on drug side-effects
BRIGITTE ALFTER, MARLEEN TEUGELS AND JOOP BOUMA 22.10.2008 @ 10:51 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Adverse reactions to medication is the fifth most common cause of death in hospitals according to the European Commission, but EU agencies and national governments have until now kept secret pharmaceutical companies' reports on side-effects.The notes - known in the business as Periodic Safety Update Reports (PSURs) - are submitted regularly to national authorities and the European Medicines Agency in London.The PSURs for example detail how doctors in various countries suspect that teenagers grow suicidal when taking a certain medication against pimples, or that a diet product could lead to a stroke and what industry has to say about the medical fears.A team of Dutch, Danish and Belgian journalists has now used freedom of information legislation in the Netherlands and Denmark to get partial access to the documents, where patient gender, age and country of origin are blacked out to protect privacy and business interests. A legal decision is pending in Belgium.The move by Dutch daily newspaper Trouw, Belgian magazine Knack in cooperation with Danish magazine Samvirke to put the documents on the internet comes as the European Commission on Tuesday (22 October) decided to delay the publication of a new package of regulation for drugs producers. The commission package is not expected to mandate publication of PSURs but is likely to allow pharmaceutical companies to contact patients directly - a practice that is currently illegal and was condemned by the European Parliament in 2002.In my view, there can be no doubt that PSURs should be made public. After all this is about the side-effects on medicines that we take, Margrethe Nielsen, a researcher at the Cochrane Institute's Copenhagen branch and a specialist on pharmaceuticals told EUobserver.She added that the notes, which form the basis of government understanding of the sector, are not based on clinically controlled tests method. This is maybe the most important: this does not build on sound science, she said. I would not be able to use them for my work.
In these reports [released in the Netherlands and Denmark] much too much has been blackened. The quality is unequal. It is of big importance that these safety reports can be accessible for everybody so that scientists can debate about their quality, Canadian expert Barbara Mintzes told Knack.Reacting in a test case on PSUR publication in Denmark in 2007, lawyers for drug firm Roche threatened to sue the Danish state if disclosure harmed the company's commercial interests.A competitor can use the reports as a basis for guidance to patients and guidance to doctors. Competitors can with the help of PSUR reports obtain a basis to take care of guiding functions, that can weaken Roches position on the market and thus bring significant negative economic effects for Roche worldwide, the company's legal advisors wrote in letters to Danish authorities.Experience shows, that documents of this type are easily misunderstood and misinterpreted, for example by journalists, the letters add. Misunderstandings of this type can cause severe disturbance of the market and thus loss for Roche.The view is shared by the Brussels-based trade lobby, the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA), today.The trouble is, they have to be understandable. You need to be an expert, to understand them. I would push that back to the regulator to take proper action. When you pull information, it has to be in a form, that you and I can understand, EFPIA director Brian Ager said.The industry claims that the people wouldn't understand them. In reality making the side effects public would influence the stock exchange in a negative way, French medical journal Prescire's editor Bruno Toussaint said.
* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: WASHINGTON UPDATE * * * * HOW MUCH TIME BEFORE A NEW WAR IN THE EPICENTER? Plus: 15,000 Christians fleeing from Mosul, Iraq; and the Taliban murders a Christian aid worker in Kabul By Joel C. Rosenberg
(Washington, D.C., October 21, 2008) -- How much time do we have before war between Iran and Israel breaks out? Could it happen between the U.S. elections on November 4th and the inauguration on January 20th? A number of top U.S. and Israeli officials and analysts fear the answer could be yes. Last month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again vowed to wipe Israel and these germs of corruption off the face of the Earth. Israeli officials believe time is running out before Iran gets the Bomb. What's more, they know full well that President Bush - widely considered the most pro-Israel commander-in-chief in U.S. history - is leaving office very soon. One question, then, is whether Israel might launch a pre-emptive war against Iran's nuclear weapons program before a new American President steps in. Sen. Joe Biden, the Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, this week actually guaranteed a major international crisis would erupt within the next six months if running mate Barack Obama is elected. Mark my words - it will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy, Biden told supporters in Seattle on Sunday. The world is looking. We're about to elect a brilliant 47-year-old senator president of the United States of America….Watch. We're going to have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
Is Ahmadinejad and his regime preparing to launch such a crisis? They are certainly ratcheting up their anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli rhetoric. The Zionists are crooks, Ahmadinejad said recently. A small handful of Zionists, with a very intricate organization, have taken over the power centers of the world….Jewishness is a great lie. They have no religion whatsoever. They are a handful of lying, power-greedy people who have no religion, who only want to take over all the peoples and countries, and to trample the rights of the peoples….I've heard that one of them [Prime Minister Ehud Olmert] recently said that the idea of Greater Israel is dead. I would like to declare that the idea of 'smaller Israel' is also dead. The very notion of Israel is dead, but they are lagging behind the times. Just as the idea of Greater Israel died 30 years ago, and they did not realize this, and have continued to perpetrate crimes for 30 years…Today, I say to them: The idea of smaller Israel is dead. Ahmadinejad added that if the Jews do not end their support for Israel and Zionism, the strong arm of the [Muslim] peoples will wipe these germs of corruption off the face of the Earth.In other news from the epicenter, Libya may agree to buy more than $2 billion worth of Russian weapons during a visit by Muammar Gaddafi to Moscow this month, Interfax news agency reported on Monday. The Israeli media immediately picked up on the reports. Given Libya's historic enmiity towards Israel, there is a very real concern that should Libya receive billions of dollars of advanced new weaponry from Moscow, those arms could eventually be turned against the Jewish State. There are also prophetic implications. The War of Gog and Magog described in Ezekiel 38-39 involves a military alliance between Russia, Iran, Libya and a group of other Middle Eastern countries that surround and seek to destroy Israel in the last days after Israel has been reborn as a country and Jews have returned en masse to the Holy Land. A development worth watching closely.
DISEASES
REVELATION 6:7-8
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse:(CHLORES GREEN) and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword,(WEAPONS) and with hunger,(FAMINE) and with death,(INCURABLE DISEASES) and with the beasts of the earth.(ANIMAL TO HUMAN DISEASE).
UN: Over 12,000 cholera cases in Guinea Bissau OCT 24,08
GENEVA – The United Nations says over 12,220 people have been infected with cholera in Guinea-Bissau and 201 have died from the disease.UNICEF spokeswoman Veronique Taveau says the outbreak of cholera in the West African nation has proven exceptionally difficult to control.Taveau says the capital of Bissau has more than half of the cases, but the disease has spread to all provinces since it started in mid-May.Taveau said Friday that officials fear the disease could spread further because of an election campaign expected to draw large crowds in unhygienic conditions.U.N. humanitarian spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs says the United Nations is already spending $1 million to fight the cholera outbreak.
World ill-prepared for next flu pandemic: UN
Despite widespread awareness of the risks of the next flu pandemic, the world needs to drastically improve cooperation in preparing for what would be a major global crisis, a UN report said Tuesday.The report by the United Nations and the World Bank said that while most countries are planning for a flu pandemic, the worry was that many plans have not been tested and may well fail once the next influenza pandemic starts.Coming on the heels of a World Bank study suggesting that the economic cost of a pandemic could top a staggering three trillion dollars, this continuing lack of preparedness remains a cause of concern, it noted.According to the World Bank, a flu pandemic of moderate intensity could cut global gross domestic product by two percent, while a severe flu pandemic would slash global gross domestic product by nearly five percent, or more than three trillion dollars.The report said that even a mild flu pandemic might kill 1.4 million people worldwide, while the death toll from a severe global outbreak could reach 70 million.Considering that pandemic preparedness was largely unaddressed by the world's nations three years ago, the widespread awareness and action seen today is a major achievement, said David Nabarro, a Briton who is the UN System influenza coordinator.But more needs to be done to ensure that we are ready for this kind of major global crisis, he added.
He made the remarks ahead of an international ministerial conference on Avian and Pandemic Influenza scheduled for Friday to Sunday in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.The parley is to review global progress and plan future efforts for pandemic preparedness and bird flu control.No countries reported new infections of their poultry by the H5N1 bird flu virus in the first nine months of 2008, as compared with four in the same period last year, the UN report said.Nabarro noted that the bird flu virus was entrenched only in two countries: Egypt and Indonesia.
The study also pointed out that only 20 countries which have previously reported infections experienced outbreaks between January and September 2008, down from 25 in the same period last year.It added that to date 245 people have died of bird flu.The pace of sporadic human infections and deaths from H5N1 has slowed since last year, with 28 confirmed deaths in 2008 compared to 59 in 2007, but the threat of an influenza pandemic remains, it added.The UN is coordinating a drive by governments, donors, international agencies and corporations to stop the spread of bird flu while preparing for a fast-spreading human influenza pandemic.There have been three such pandemics in the past century.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
Europe delays airport X-ray eye OCT 24,08
The scans effectively strip passengers and highlight anything they may carry
EU lawmakers have delayed the introduction at airports of full body scanners, machines that generate images of passengers - minus their clothes. MEPs voted for a further study on the implications for privacy and health. Computer pictures generated by the scanners give an outline of passengers' bodies beneath their clothes. Supporters say they detect hidden objects not picked up by traditional metal detectors. But critics say they amount to a virtual strip search. The new scanners have already been introduced in several US airports and have been tested around the world.
Efficient measure
The European Commission - which supports their implementation - has given assurances that the scanners will not be used routinely on all passengers. And it would be a faster and less intrusive alternative to frisking or strip-searching people. Where scanners are in use, security staff can pick out individuals to stand in a booth while three pictures are taken of the person in slightly different positions. This is an offence against human dignity Martin Schulz European MP.
Within seconds, a scanner produces an image of the body. What shows up is the naked human form and anything that may be concealed, such as a gun or drugs. The Commission believes that body scanning methods can complement in a very effective and efficient way the existing security measures at airports, said spokesman Jens Mester at EU headquarters in Brussels, Belgium. European officials believe the X-ray scans could ease airport queues But others are unconvinced. It is unacceptable, if scanners are used, these are machines that see you completely naked, said Martin Schulz, leader of the socialist grouping in the EU assembly. This is an offence against human dignity, he added.
Interpol Details Plans For Global Biometric Facial Scan Database
Global security authorities are to push for a huge biometric facial scan database of international travelers so they can cross-check everyone against a database of terror suspects, international criminals and fugitives.Interpol, the International Criminal Police Organization, is planning to expand its role into the mass screening of passengers moving around the world by creating a face recognition database to catch wanted suspects, reports the London Guardian.The database will hold the records of every citizen who has ever traveled in and out of the virtually every country in the world, representing intelligence agency style bulk interception of information and sounding alarm bells for civil liberties groups.Two months ago we reported on the moves underway to phase out passport control officers at airports and replace them with biometric face scanning cameras. The automated face recognition gates match passengers to a digital image stored on a microchip in the new e-passports.Interpol wants a facial database to be linked into this technology and used in conjunction with its already existing fingerprint and DNA databases, according to Mark Branchflower, head of Interpol's fingerprint unit.We have previously noted that the vast array of databases currently being employed by intelligence agencies, government and law enforcement agencies worldwide were designed to be linked together in a system which will tie in the management and control of all facets of life for citizens to one central hub.Earlier this year we reported on the announcement of a vast intelligence program to establish a global biometric database known as Server in the Sky that will collate and provide an International Information Consortium with access to the biometric measurements and personal information of citizens across the globe in the name of fighting the war on terror.As reported by the London Guardian, the plan is being formulated by the FBI with the cooperation of the home offices and law enforcement agencies of American allies. The technology is being supplied by the US defense company Northrop Grumman.
Furthermore, the use of such technology, as we have already seen, will not be limited to the passport control office.A 2007 British government report muted an extensive upgrade to cctv systems all across the country to incorporate facial scanning technology. The report suggested a central database of every camera and a network allowing access to it could be beneficial.In the US there are several schemes that use Facial Recognition Technology in conjunction with Federal agencies, tying the technology to traditional documents such as drivers licenses, passports and credit cards.A biometric face recognition system has already been approved in China and is expected to be used at airports, customs entrances, banks, post offices, residential areas and other public places in the near future.Other proposals include placing the cameras in every seat on aircraft and installing software to try and automatically detect terrorists or other dangers caused by passengers.We are assured that cigarette vending machines will employ the technology in order to enforce smoking laws. Similarly, supermarkets in the UK have already started trialing the technology with the justification being a crackdown on underage drinking.In Japan facial scanning cameras are being installed in train and bus stations to replace tickets in a move to make the individual features of the face a unique bar code as part of an antiterrorism and anticrime initiative.Police in Tokyo are also asking home and shop owners to mount the cameras outside their properties. Police investigating an incident in the neighborhood would have access to these images. according to reports.Cell phones and computers are now also being produced with face scanning cameras.
AMERICA (POLITICAL BABYLON)
EZEKIEL 39:21
21 And I will set my glory among the heathen, and all the heathen shall see my judgment that I have executed, and my hand that I have laid upon them.
ISAIAH 18:1-2
1 Woe to the land shadowing with wings, which is beyond the rivers of Ethiopia:
2 That sendeth ambassadors by the sea, even in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters, saying, Go, ye swift messengers, to a nation scattered and peeled, to a people terrible from their beginning hitherto; a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled!
JEREMIAH 50:11,37,12
11 Because ye were glad, because ye rejoiced, O ye destroyers of mine heritage, because ye are grown fat as the heifer at grass, and bellow as bulls;(BACKSLIDERS)
37 A sword is upon their horses, and upon their chariots, and upon all the mingled people that are in the midst of her; and they shall become as women: a sword is upon her treasures; and they shall be robbed.(A NATION OF MINGLED PEOPLE)
12 Your mother shall be sore confounded; she that bare you shall be ashamed:(MOTHER ENGLAND) behold, the hindermost of the nations shall be a wilderness, a dry land, and a desert.
JEREMIAH 51:13,7,53
13 O thou that dwellest upon many waters, abundant in treasures, thine end is come, and the measure of thy covetousness.
7 Babylon hath been a golden cup in the LORD's hand, that made all the earth drunken: the nations have drunken of her wine; therefore the nations are mad.
53 Though Babylon should mount up to heaven, and though she should fortify the height of her strength, yet from me shall spoilers come unto her, saith the LORD.
REVELATION 18:3,5,7
3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.
5 For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities.
7 How much she hath glorified herself, and lived deliciously, so much torment and sorrow give her: for she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.
JEREMIAH 50:3,24
3 For out of the north there cometh up a nation against her, which shall make her land desolate, and none shall dwell therein: they shall remove, they shall depart, both man and beast.
24 I have laid a snare for thee, and thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found, and also caught, because thou hast striven against the LORD. (RUSSIA A SNEAK ATTACK)
REVELATION 18:10
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.
The Dangers of a Diminished America OCT 24,08
In the 1930s, isolationism and protectionism spurred the rise of fascism. With the global financial system in serious trouble, is America's geostrategic dominance likely to diminish? If so, what would that mean? One immediate implication of the crisis that began on Wall Street and spread across the world is that the primary instruments of U.S. foreign policy will be crimped. The next president will face an entirely new and adverse fiscal position. Estimates of this year's federal budget deficit already show that it has jumped $237 billion from last year, to $407 billion. With families and businesses hurting, there will be calls for various and expensive domestic relief programs.In the face of this onrushing river of red ink, both Barack Obama and John McCain have been reluctant to lay out what portions of their programmatic wish list they might defer or delete. Only Joe Biden has suggested a possible reduction -- foreign aid. This would be one of the few popular cuts, but in budgetary terms it is a mere grain of sand. Still, Sen. Biden's comment hints at where we may be headed: toward a major reduction in America's world role, and perhaps even a new era of financially-induced isolationism.Pressures to cut defense spending, and to dodge the cost of waging two wars, already intense before this crisis, are likely to mount. Despite the success of the surge, the war in Iraq remains deeply unpopular. Precipitous withdrawal -- attractive to a sizable swath of the electorate before the financial implosion -- might well become even more popular with annual war bills running in the hundreds of billions.Protectionist sentiments are sure to grow stronger as jobs disappear in the coming slowdown. Even before our current woes, calls to save jobs by restricting imports had begun to gather support among many Democrats and some Republicans. In a prolonged recession, gale-force winds of protectionism will blow.Then there are the dolorous consequences of a potential collapse of the world's financial architecture. For decades now, Americans have enjoyed the advantages of being at the center of that system. The worldwide use of the dollar, and the stability of our economy, among other things, made it easier for us to run huge budget deficits, as we counted on foreigners to pick up the tab by buying dollar-denominated assets as a safe haven. Will this be possible in the future?
Meanwhile, traditional foreign-policy challenges are multiplying. The threat from al Qaeda and Islamic terrorist affiliates has not been extinguished. Iran and North Korea are continuing on their bellicose paths, while Pakistan and Afghanistan are progressing smartly down the road to chaos. Russia's new militancy and China's seemingly relentless rise also give cause for concern.If America now tries to pull back from the world stage, it will leave a dangerous power vacuum. The stabilizing effects of our presence in Asia, our continuing commitment to Europe, and our position as defender of last resort for Middle East energy sources and supply lines could all be placed at risk.In such a scenario there are shades of the 1930s, when global trade and finance ground nearly to a halt, the peaceful democracies failed to cooperate, and aggressive powers led by the remorseless fanatics who rose up on the crest of economic disaster exploited their divisions. Today we run the risk that rogue states may choose to become ever more reckless with their nuclear toys, just at our moment of maximum vulnerability.The aftershocks of the financial crisis will almost certainly rock our principal strategic competitors even harder than they will rock us. The dramatic free fall of the Russian stock market has demonstrated the fragility of a state whose economic performance hinges on high oil prices, now driven down by the global slowdown. China is perhaps even more fragile, its economic growth depending heavily on foreign investment and access to foreign markets. Both will now be constricted, inflicting economic pain and perhaps even sparking unrest in a country where political legitimacy rests on progress in the long march to prosperity.None of this is good news if the authoritarian leaders of these countries seek to divert attention from internal travails with external adventures.As for our democratic friends, the present crisis comes when many European nations are struggling to deal with decades of anemic growth, sclerotic governance and an impending demographic crisis. Despite its past dynamism, Japan faces similar challenges. India is still in the early stages of its emergence as a world economic and geopolitical power.What does this all mean? There is no substitute for America on the world stage. The choice we have before us is between the potentially disastrous effects of disengagement and the stiff price tag of continued American leadership.Are we up for the task? The American economy has historically demonstrated remarkable resilience. Our market-oriented ideology, entrepreneurial culture, flexible institutions and favorable demographic profile should serve us well in whatever trials lie ahead.The American people, too, have shown reserves of resolve when properly led. But experience after the Cold War era -- poorly articulated and executed policies, divisive domestic debates and rising anti-Americanism in at least some parts of the world -- appear to have left these reserves diminished.A recent survey by the Chicago Council on World Affairs found that 36% of respondents agreed that the U.S. should stay out of world affairs, the highest number recorded since this question was first asked in 1947. The economic crisis could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.In the past, the American political process has managed to yield up remarkable leaders when they were most needed. As voters go to the polls in the shadow of an impending world crisis, they need to ask themselves which candidate -- based upon intellect, courage, past experience and personal testing -- is most likely to rise to an occasion as grave as the one we now face.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them; 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.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.
HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)
LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).
MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
US intelligence: Iran will be able to build first nuclear bomb by February 2009
US intelligence’s amended estimate, that Iran will be ready to build its first bomb just one month after the next US president is sworn in, is disclosed by DEBKAfile’s Washington sources as having been relayed as a guideline to the Middle East teams of both presidential candidates, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama.The information prompted the assertion by Democratic vice presidential nominee Joseph Biden in Seattle Sunday, Oct. 19: It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy.McCain retorted Tuesday, Oct. 21: America does not need a president that needs to be tested. I’ve been tested. I was aboard the Enterprise off the coast of Cuba. I’ve been there.)DEBKAfile’s military sources cite the new US timeline: By late January, 2009, Iran will have accumulated enough low-grade enriched uranium (up to 5%) for its break-out to weapons grade (90%) material within a short time. For this, the Iranians have achieved the necessary technology. In February, they can move on to start building their first nuclear bomb.US intelligence believes Tehran has the personnel, plans and diagrams for a bomb and has been running experiments to this end for the past two years. The UN International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna last week asked Tehran to clarify recent complex experiments they conducted in detonating nuclear materials for a weapon, but received no answer.The same US evaluation adds that the Iranian leadership is holding off its go-ahead to start building the bomb until the last minute so as to ward off international pressure to stop at the red line.This development together with the galloping global economic crisis will force the incoming US president to go straight into decision-making without pause on Day One in the Oval Office. He will have to determine which urgent measures can serve best for keeping a nuclear bomb out of the Islamic republic’s hands - diplomatic or military – and how to proceed if those measures fail.His knowledge of the challenge colored Sen. Biden’s additional words in Seattle: Remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.
Israel’s political and military leaders also face a tough dilemma that can no longer be put off of whether to strike Iran’s nuclear installations militarily in the next three months between US presidencies before the last window closes, or take a chance on coordination with the next president.Waiting for the international community to do the job of stopping Iran, as urged by governments headed by Ariel Sharon and Ehud Olmert - and strongly advocated Tzipi Livni, foreign minister and would-be prime minister - has been a washout. Iran stands defiantly on the threshold of a nuclear weapon.
Israel: We're in the midst of preparing the home front for war OCT 24,08
According to Deputy Defense Minister Matan Vilnai, the country is in one of the most complicated and dangerous periods of its history. And though he does not believe that Israel can be wiped off the map, in spite of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats, he is increasingly concerned about the current political instability here, which he blames for delays in projects he deems essential, such as the revamping of the Home Front. This week Vilnai gave The Jerusalem Post a lengthy interview, during which he covered a wide range of topics, from Labor's coalition talks with Kadima, to how Hizbullah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah is a target, to the danger of holding public demonstrations calling for the release of Gilad Schalit. The former deputy chief of General Staff and deputy commander of the elite commando unit, Sayeret Matkal, says that the IDF is at a most critical juncture. It is the only military in the world, he explains, that needs to be ready at any given moment to fight a guerrilla war in Lebanon, a terror war in the West Bank and a conventional war with Syria, and confront a possible existential threat from Iran.
Since taking up his post just over a year ago, Vilnai, 64, has been immersed in establishing the National Emergency Administration (NEA), which he founded to coordinate among all of the various emergency services, in the event of a missile onslaught. This is necessary, he says, because one of the problems encountered during the Second Lebanon War was that the cabinet had to meet several times to discuss how to get food to shelters in the North. But the cabinet needs to run the war.How do you view Israel's current strategic position in the Middle East?
There are existential threats today coming from farther away. The additional complication when dealing with Islamic radical terror is that the war is not just against terrorists, but against a population. In Gaza, you can hit Hamas, but it does not hurt Hamas, since the people there support Hamas. This is the same in Lebanon, where the civilian population supports Hizbullah. This makes the conflict much more complicated. As a result, what is needed is a combined military-diplomatic solution, as well as alliances with other countries.
Is there still a conventional threat?
It exists, and we need to prepare for it, so we can retain capabilities required for war with Syria, like on Yom Kippur exactly 35 years ago. We also need to retain the ability to fight Hizbullah and Iran over the horizon. Today, we need to know how to do different things [simultaneously], and this is difficult challenge. I can't remember such a complicated period in my 40 years in the defense establishment.
What poses the greatest threat?
The state of Israel. Establishing a new government is necessary for stability. The fact that the government changes every two years weakens us. A ministry that starts everything from scratch every two years cannot get anything done. Are there ongoing processes in the Defense Ministry that will be harmed in the event that general elections are held now? The change in regime harms and weakens us, and I believe it is of the utmost importance to continue with the same government today. We are in the midst of preparing the home front for war and this is something that the government has spoken about for decades, but never dealt with or regulated properly. If we change the leadership of the Defense Ministry, I don't know what will happen. If we don't continue what we have been doing here for another two years, it will all go to waste.
What, for example?
The NEA and the annual home front exercises we started. I fear that if we aren't here, everything will go back to the way it was in the beginning. We need continuity.
What is the concept behind the NEA?
The responsibility for the home front has always been in the hands of the municipalities or the local and regional councils, but for years they shirked this responsibility. The concept behind the NEA is for the government offices and services to assist them. The IDF, Israel Police, Fire and Rescue Service, Magen David Adom, the Interior, Welfare and Health ministries will all work for the mayors and regional council heads to make sure that life continues, even during wartime. The cabinet does not need to meet to discuss food distribution to bomb shelters. A mayor with the right assistance can do this on his or her own.
What will the next war look like?
The home front will be the main front of the war, whether it is missiles from Gaza, Lebanon, Syria or Iran.
Can Israel live with a nuclear Iran?
Israel has the strong advantage of being a resilient nation which has been through wars - and an intifada with buses blowing up. We know how to soldier on like no other country in the world. I don't believe that Israel can just disappear from the map. There were times like that in the 1950s, when we were a young and small nation. I don't accept the definition of Iran as an existential threat in the sense that Israel will disappear. I do, however, believe that we can get hit and be weakened. They can try to hit us hard, and the IDF is the only military in the world that cannot afford to lose even a single war, since doing so would be a dramatic change in the state of Israel. But the Iranian threat is not just our problem, but that of the entire free world. I was in Germany for a meeting last week and told people there that Iran should be their main focus. We need an economic siege on Iran. There are not only military solutions to threats.
Is there time for sanctions to work?
Time is against us, but I have no doubt that strong and serious sanctions could work. If the entire free world decides to stop the economic flow to Iran, it will have the desired effect. Iran is a country that is connected to the world, not like Iraq and Saddam Hussein.
Nevertheless, can Israel live alongside a nuclear Iran?
As a rule, we can't allow Iran to obtain this capability. Currently, we need to invest all our efforts in preventing it from achieving that capability. We are doing this and the US is doing this, but the entire world is not with us. When you say we can't allow Iran to achieve nuclear capability, is military force one option for preventing it? Everything needs to be seriously deliberated. I am not in favor of making warlike declarations, but I think that everything needs to be considered, so we can determine the right course of action. Military force has always been a continuation of diplomacy by other means. This was said by [Prussian military theorist Carl von] Clausewitz. Why does the world not join the economic campaign against Iran? Everyone thinks the threat is not against them. They also think in the short term, and look at the profits they are making from deals with Iran, and they think what is happening there will not affect them.
How much time is there?
I believe that 2009 and 2010 will be the critical years. There may be more time, but I think there is less. Two years is a short time for what we are dealing with.
What is going on with the gas masks?
There is a budget disagreement with the Treasury. Most of the masks have already been refurbished, and there is a plan for a civilian company to return them to people at home. However, we will not distribute to everyone at once. We will start with threatened areas - like the North and the center - and then move to other parts of the country. We had hoped to start in January, but did not receive the necessary budget. We went to the cabinet, and are waiting for the money. Hopefully, we will start to distribute in 2009.
Do we really need gas masks?
Yes. We need a protective room and a mask. This issue was studied by the NEA, and it was decided that this is the right protective envelope. We need them against capabilities that are in Syrian and Iranian hands. It is fairly easy to obtain this type of non-conventional capability, and the moment they know we have a protective envelope, they will think twice before using this capability. This serves as a deterrent against them.
Can there really be peace with Syria?
We need to break the axis of evil. It can be broken militarily, but the talks with Syria are meant to do this as well. Syria needs to cut off its ties with Iran. This is our condition, and this is the most important element. But it is not something that will happen immediately. We saw other Syrian intentions with the nuclear facility that the air force destroyed last September.I don't know what type of facility you are taking about, but that is why I said we need both elements - military and diplomatic. It has been two years since the war in Lebanon, and Hizbullah is still building up weapons. Is there a possibility of another war?
They are scared of a war, and while they pretend to be heroic, Nasrallah has for the past two years been holed up inside a bunker.
Why? Is he a target?
Of course he is. He is an enemy of Israel, and he sees what happens to Israel's enemies. Hizbullah does not want another war. It doesn't want a repeat of the destruction we caused in the Dahiya neighborhood in Beirut. Hizbullah understands it cannot survive another war and grasps what our power is. Hamas, too, is amassing weapons. What is happening with the Gaza cease-fire? They are building up all the time. The question we need to ask is what the significance of the cease-fire is where the smuggling is concerned. The answer is that they are smuggling the same amount today as they were before the cease-fire. The Egyptians are slowly improving their capabilities, and recently arrested Beduin in the Sinai who are connected to the tunnel industry. The Egyptians are an integral part of the Middle East, and peace with it has immense strategic importance for Israel. We would never have had contact with Hamas without the Egyptians. That is why I thought there was no reason for the cease-fire not to succeed. There were many on the Palestinian side who wanted to end it, but they understand the importance, and if there is not a breakdown, there is no reason not to keep it going.
Do they have weaponry that they did not have before?
There is no doubt that they have extended their rocket range. If, before, they could fire a rocket 10 km., they can now reach 20 km. But they cannot defeat us with missiles. We will not let them expand their military capability, and we may need to use military force to stop this.
Israeli air force planning answer for missile war OCT 24,08
The Israel Air Force has been preparing for massive missile strikes by Iran and Syria.Officials said the air force has sought to enhance capabilities that would enable fighter-jets to take off and land during missile and rocket strikes from such countries as Iran, Lebanon and Syria.They said the air force began the planning effort soon after the Hizbullah war in 2006, which paralyzed at least one major base. We believe that our air bases would be a key target in any war, an official said.The air force has been testing material that would enable aircraft to take off from damaged runways. Officials said the military has procured an unidentified non-asphalt substance that could restore destroyed runways within minutes. The tests were successful and would allow combat aircraft to take-off and land even under terrible conditions, the official said.Officials said the air force has determined that Hizbullah and Hamas would coordinate in an effort to paralyze bases throughout the country. They said Hizbullah would target northern air bases and Hamas would fire extended-range rockets toward bases south of Tel Aviv as well as in the Negev desert.Another Israeli option has been the procurement of a vertical takeoff variant of the Joint Strike Fighter, known as the F-35B. Under the option, the air force would procure about 10 such aircraft to ensure rapid response to any missile strike on the Jewish state.Officials said Israel's F-15I fighter-jet would serve as the most important element in any counter-strike. The air force has acquired a system that enables the F-15I — the most powerful aircraft in the Israeli fleet -- to launch several precision-guided weapons simultaneously.
Libya seeks Russian arms, including surface-to-air missiles OCT 24,08
Libya may agree to buy more than $2 billion worth of Russian weapons during a visit by Muammar Gaddafi to Moscow this month, Interfax news agency reported on Monday, citing an unidentified source in Russia's arms industry.An agreement on concluding a major set of arms contracts for more than $2 billion could be reached during the visit of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to Moscow, Interfax quoted the source as saying.The source said Gaddafi's visit to Moscow was planned for the end of October. Both the Libyan embassy in Moscow and Russia's state arms exporter declined immediate comment.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov later said Moscow was preparing for the Gaddafi visit and that the final details of the trip would be announced soon, Interfax reported.Russian warships visited Libya this month, signalling a warming of ties between Tripoli and Moscow, which supported Libya during the Soviet era.Libya is interested in buying surface-to-air missile systems such as the S-300, TOR-M1 and Buk, as well as several fighter aircraft, dozens of helicopters and about 50 tanks, Interfax quoted the source as saying.Russia is also preparing contracts to upgrade Libya's Soviet-era weapons, the agency said.Libya wants Moscow to write off $4.5 billion in debts it owes to Russia in exchange for the purchases, Interfax said. Many Soviet-era debts are difficult to price because they were set in Soviet roubles.Libya was seen as a rogue state by Washington until it agreed to give up a weapons of mass destruction programme. Last month U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met Gaddafi in Tripoli, the first such visit in 55 years.Libya wants to expand ties with Russia, which it sees as a counterbalance to US influence in the Mediterranean.Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, while still Russian president, visited Libya in April to strengthen energy ties with the OPEC member and discuss the possibility of Russian cooperation in building an atomic power plant in Libya.Putin said at the time that Libya was also seeking to buy Russian weapons.
Large-scale Iranian Air force exercise simulates attack on Israel
DEBKAfile’s military sources report that the drill in northern Iran, is Tehran’s rejoinder to Israel’s big aerial maneuver last June. Then, more than 100 Israeli fighter-bombers went through their paces over the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas, roughly the same distance from Israel as Iran. Tehran’s media claim the exercise will test its air force’s ability to fly to Israel and back without refueling.The exercise will also test the US-made FBX-T band anti-missile radar system delivered in September and installed at the IAF Nevatim air base in the Negev. The Iranians say they will be practicing their state-of-the-art military equipment and flight tactics, meaning an attempt to jam US and Israeli electronics and radar.According to Iranian media, the entire range of Iran's fighter fleet will take part, including US-made F-4, F-5, F-7 and F-14 fighters and domestic Saegheh fighters. Mid-air refueling will be provided by Boeing 707 aerial tankers. In mid-August, Iran's Air Force chief, Brigadier General Ahmad Miqani, maintained that its antiquated fighter jet fleet had been overhauled and upgraded to fly distances of 3,000 kilometers without refueling. That would be more than double the distance between Iran and Israel.That is why Tabriz, in Azerbaijan, at the northwestern corner of Iran, was picked as the starting point of the exercise. The official communiqué said the planes would be flying from air fields in Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz and Hamadan and Dezful. Our military sources say that this means that the entire maneuver will take place over Iran and not venture out its air space. The planes will have to fly to Tabriz from bases in the south near the Pakistan border in order to replicate the more than 1,200 km distance between Iran and Israel. The Iranian Air force also aims at deploying more than 100 warplanes for the exercise, matching the number Israel used in its maneuver four months ago.Tehran has timed this large-scale drill for just weeks before the US presidential election on Nov. 4, in response to speculation rife in the West that Israel may use the window between the US election and the swearing-in of the new president in January for an attack on Iran’s nuclear installations. The Iranians aim to show they have a first and second strike capability - not just with ballistic missiles but also by aerial attack.
Russia criticizes US sanctions on arms trader OCT 24,08
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV, Associated Press Writer Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press Writer – 11 mins agoMOSCOW – Russia's foreign minister sharply criticized U.S. sanctions against Russia's state arms trader Friday, saying the move won't make Moscow shift any closer to the U.S. stance on Iran's controversial nuclear program.
The United States has imposed sanctions on the Russian arms monopoly Rosoboronexport along with a dozen of other firms from China, Sudan, Venezuela and other countries for their alleged roles in supplying sensitive technology to Iran, North Korean and Syria.If some people in Washington think that such action could make Russia more complaisant to accept the U.S. approaches to settling the Iranian nuclear problem, they are mistaken, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a news conference.He denounced the sanctions as an example of the U.S. unilateralism and Washington's attempts to apply its domestic laws to the world.It proceeds from the philosophy of the unipolar world, Lavrov said. Russia will demand an end to such practice that is absolutely incompatible with a modern world order.He added that Russia's cooperation with Iran and other countries has been in line with the international law.The U.S. decision and Russia's strong criticism of it reflected a growing chill in bilateral ties, which have been badly strained over U.S. missile defense plans in Poland and the Czech Republic, Russia's war in Georgia and other disputes.The U.S. State Department said the decision Thursday was made because a U.S. law bans the transfer of technology that may help those nations develop missiles or mass destruction weapons.The U.S. move ban government agencies from dealing with the firms targeted by the sanctions.
Russia has maintained close ties with Iran and is building its first nuclear power plant in the southern Iranian port of Bushehr, which is expected to go on line next year. Russia has backed limited U.N. sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but has staunchly opposed the U.S. push for harsher measures.Russia has also sold air defense missiles and other weapons to Iran, contracts that have drawn a strong U.S. and Israeli criticism.Lavrov added the U.S. sanctions will hurt bilateral ties. We will take this into account in our relations with the United States in the trade and economic and other spheres, Lavrov said.
Rosoboronexport spokesman Vyacheslav Davidenko criticized the move as an attempt to sideline an arms competitor.We consider it as another example of unfair competition, he said in remarks broadcast by the state Rossiya television.The United States has imposed similar sanctions against several Russian companies in the past, including Rosoboronexport in 2006.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
BROWN SAYS RECESSION
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.
EARTHQUAKE SIMULATION
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7680795.stm
World Bank: Storm-struck Haiti at tipping point By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned Wednesday that Haiti is at a tipping point after a spate of destructive tropical storms, but offered no immediate debt relief for the chronically impoverished country.Zoellick, ending a three-day visit, pledged long-term help to keep the desperately poor Caribbean nation from falling deeper into crisis but said the bank will not forgive its share of Haiti's US$1.7 billion in foreign debt for at least seven months.
Nearly 800 people were confirmed dead after four devastating storms hit Haiti in August and September. Roads and bridges washed out and more than half the upcoming harvest was destroyed, worsening a hunger crisis that had already helped fuel riots several months before.Critics say forcing Haiti to keep making debt payments of more than US$1 million a week will hurt recovery efforts and further deplete meager resources in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.It's a humanitarian disaster down there. It's kind of ridiculous that Haiti has to go through bureaucratic hoops, said Dan Beeton of the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. There's no reason these institutions can't just say, OK, cancel it now.Zoellick said Wednesday that Haiti is on track to have its World Bank debt canceled by mid-2009 once it has met qualifications such as addressing corruption and increasing public investment, but that debt cancellation is up to the bank's shareholders.Frankly, the issue is not just debt. In this case, given the interest payments it's a very small sum of money, and would be forgiven anyway over time. The key is to try and get the resources, he said.Zoellick's first visit to Haiti included a closed meeting with President Rene Preval and a helicopter tour of the flood-ravaged city of Gonaives, where he said the devastation makes your eyes pop.I sense that Haiti is at a tipping point. It could go either way, Zoellick said. We have to deal with the immediate needs, to deal with the social instability, but there's also a chance to build.He stressed the need for infrastructure and watershed-management projects to prevent similar damage from future storms in Haiti, where rampant deforestation has denuded its hills and left it susceptible to deadly floods.The World Bank has pledged US$25 million for emergency storm-relief grants that are to be approved next month. Millions more have been invested in private companies, and a US$10 million grant was approved earlier for relief from the food crisis.But Haiti owes far more in debt to multilateral organizations, including US$540 million to the World Bank. It is slated to pay US$54 million in debt servicing in the next fiscal year, even after some debt relief and rescheduling, the World Bank said.
CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/
YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video
MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F
ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461
FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074
FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045
AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529
BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918
REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704
AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091
CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU OCT 23,2008
09:30 AM +19.43
10:00 AM +5.58
10:30 AM +42.13
11:00 AM +222.09
11:30 AM +176.50
12:00 PM +182.43
12:30 PM -37.24
01:00 PM -80.28
01:30 PM -100.44
02:00 PM -98.05
02:30 PM -215.37
03:00 PM -233.13
03:30 PM -9.88
04:00 PM +172.04 8,691.25
S&P 500 908.11 +11.33
NAS 1,603.91 -11.84
GOLD 720.0 -15.2
OIL 69.39 +2.64
TSE 300 +57.16 9,294.04
CDNX -42.63 858.00
S&P/TSX 60 +5.19 559.99
Dow up 276 points at high today.
Dow down -233 points at low today.
Dow down 3% at one point today.
Dow has triple digit moves in all but 3 sessions since sept. 15,08.
Stocks slump for 3rd day.
Stocks move in 7% range today.
Stocks on track for fresh 5 1/2 year closing lows.
S&P down 3% at one point today.
Nasdaq down 4% at one point today.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq on pace for 4th weekly drop in 5 weeks.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq have fallen in 5 of last 8 sessions.
Early gains erased.
OIL RISES AS OPEC PREPARES TO CUT OUTPUT.
CLOSING STATS
Stocks bounce from lows after erasing early gains.
30 yr treasurey yields fall to at least 11 year low.
Nasdaq ends at fresh 5 1/2 year closing low.
Nasdaq finishes down 0.7% after gaining 1.8% and then falling 5.1% today.
Dow,S&P break 2 day losing streak.
Dow closes up 2% after gaining 3.3% and then falling 3.2% today.
Greenspan shocked at credit system breakdown By Mark Felsenthal Mark Felsenthal – OCT 23
Reuters – Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan testifies before the House Oversight and Government … WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday he is shocked at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was partially wrong to resist regulation of some securities.Despite concerns he had in 2005 that risks were being underestimated by investors, this crisis, however, has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined, Greenspan said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity -- myself especially -- are in a state of shocked disbelief, said Greenspan, who stepped down from the Fed in 2006.With a general election looming November 4, U.S. lawmakers were sharply divided along political lines in either blaming regulators or bickering for failure to prevent the crisis that has gripped financial markets around the world.The reasons why we set up your agencies and gave you budget authority to hire people is so you can see problems developing before they become a crisis, Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, told a panel that included Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow.To say you just didn't see it, that just doesn't satisfy me, Waxman said.Republicans, for their part, singled out government sponsored mortgage finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their role in unsettling financial markets and faulted Congress, which has been led by the Democrats since 2006, for failing to pass measures to rein them in sooner.They angrily protested a decision not to hold a hearing on the mortgage finance firms, which the government took over in September to restore financial health, until two weeks after the election.
PARTIALLY WRONG
Greenspan softened his longstanding opposition to many forms of financial market regulation, acknowledging in an exchange with Waxman that he was partially wrong in his belief that some trading instruments, specifically credit default swaps, did not need oversight.Waxman cited a series of public statements by Greenspan saying the market could handle regulation of derivatives without government intervention.My question is simple: Were you wrong? Waxman asked.Greenspan said he was partially wrong in the case of credit default swaps, complex trading instruments meant to act as insurance against default for bond buyers.While Greenspan was once hailed as one of the most accomplished central bankers in U.S. history, the low interest rates during his final years at the Fed have been blamed for fueling the housing bubble and eventual crash that touched off the current financial crisis.His strong advocacy for limited regulation of financial markets has also been called into question as a result of the crisis.The former Fed chair said that a securitization system that stimulated appetite for loans made to borrowers with spotty credit histories, was at the heart of the breakdown of credit markets.Without the excess demand from securitizers, subprime mortgage originations -- undeniably the original source of crisis -- would have been far smaller and defaults, accordingly, far fewer, he said.
A surge in demand for U.S. subprime securities, supported by unrealistically positive ratings by credit agencies, was the core of the problem, he added.
Greenspan proposed that that securitizers be required to retain a meaningful part of securities they issued. He said that regulatory reform will be necessary in the areas of fraud, settlement, and securitization to re-establish financial stability.
He backed the recently approved $700 billion bailout package, saying that without it, banks and other financial institutions would likely face a serious reduction in credit.
DOG AND PONY SHOW
Lawmakers from both parties also took advantage of the packed hearing room to take some political potshots. Democrats assailed gaps in rules and oversight while Republicans faulted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for exacerbating credit market strains. For too long, the prevailing attitude in Washington has been that the market always knows best, said Committee Chairman Waxman, a Democrat. Republicans circulated an October 20 letter asking for a government investigation of alleged fraud and mismanagement at the mortgage firms. This is a nice dog and pony show and maybe it's theater, but people want someone held accountable, they want someone to go to jail, said Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican. But Greenspan told lawmakers that regulators could not predict the future or make perfect decisions. It's a very difficult problem with respect to supervision and regulation, he said. We cannot expect perfection in any area where forecasting is required. We have to do our best but cannot expect infallibility or omniscience, he added. (Additional reporting by Kim Dixon) (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Gary Crosse)
OPEC chief foresees oil output cut despite economic crisis by Ben Perry Ben Perry – OCT 23,08
VIENNA (AFP) – OPEC's president said the oil cartel will lower output at an urgent meeting on Friday as hardline members pushed for sharp cuts despite warnings that a resulting price rise could worsen economic hardship.We are going to reduce output, Chekib Khelil said Thursday, adding: It's a concern that we could make the financial crisis worse by taking too strong a reduction.He said he did not know how big a cut would be made. Iran and Libya both called for a reduction of two million barrels per day, while Venezuela said there should be a cut of at least one million barrels.In any case, the decision should not impact the world economy which is already in pretty bad shape, Khelil, who is also the energy minister of OPEC member Algeria, told reporters in Vienna.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently said that any reduction made in a bid to push up oil prices would be scandalous at a time when major economies are close to recession.The price of New York oil dived Thursday to a 16-month low, as recession fears stoked concerns about falling crude demand, traders said.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, sank as low as 65.90 dollars per barrel -- a level last seen on June 13, 2007 -- before rebounding to 69.05 dollars on the prospect of a cut in output.Crude futures in New York and London have plunged by more than half from record highs of above 147 dollars a barrel reached only three months ago when supply concerns sent prices soaring.The market focus (on Friday) will be on the OPEC emergency meeting, said analysts at Barclays Capital in London.Khelil's observation on Wednesday that stocks were very high and some exporters were having trouble shifting their crude indicated the inevitability of a substantial cut, they said.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produces 40 percent of the world's oil and its official output quota stands at 28.8 million barrels per day.Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi refused to be drawn on talk of a scaling-back of output as he arrived in the Austrian capital on Thursday.However Libya's Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem told reporters that a huge cut of two million barrels was required to create a balance between supply and demand.
Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said there should be a cut of at least one million barrels. Ramirez added that he believed there was a consensus among OPEC's 12 members for a cut.OPEC's Gulf state members led by Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, are expected to oppose a reduction of more than one million barrels, analysts said on Thursday.Kuwait's Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim said OPEC must take the global financial crisis into account when deciding its action.There is a surplus in the market... and sooner or later action should be taken anyway, Olaim told reporters before leaving for Vienna.(But) we are concerned about the financial crisis going on and I think any action should take into consideration the financial crisis.Recent figures for US oil reserves highlighted a sharp slowdown in demand in the world's biggest energy consumer. Analysts are now estimating that OPEC would need to cut its output by more than 1.0 million barrels per day in order to reverse the recent (price) losses, said BetOnMarkets analyst David Evans. Friday's meeting on the impact of the financial turmoil and looming recession on the oil market was originally planned for November 18 but was brought forward as prices plunged. OPEC has 12 members: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. A 13th, Indonesia, has suspended membership.
Loonie dips under 80 cents US, stocks tumble
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | 5:20 PM ET
A taxi whizzes by an electronic board in downtown Toronto showing the sharp drop in the TSX on Wednesday. (Robin Rowland/CBC)The Canadian dollar fell below 80 cents US on global currency markets on Wednesday, while North American stock markets began the day weakly.The loonie closed at 79.70 cents US, off 2.69 cents US from Tuesday's finish. The dollar hasn't closed under 80 cents U.S. since the middle of June 2005.
The loonie shed 1.38 cents on Tuesday, after the Bank of Canada cut the target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of a percentage point.The Canadian dollar has been under pressure as investors move back into the U.S. dollar and oil prices continue to retreat.Light, sweet crude oil for December dropped $5.43 to settle at $66.75 US on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The U.S. dollar was trading higher against the euro and the British pound.The S&P/TSX composite index shed 558.92 points, or 5.7 per cent, to end at 9,236.88 points.The energy sub-index dipped nine per cent on the oil price drop. Petro-Canada was off 10 per cent at $25.41, while Suncor dropped eight per cent to $26.46.The financial services sub-index fell four per cent, while the gold group lost 14 per cent on a drop of $32.80 US in the price of an ounce of gold to $733.30 US.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 514 points to end at 8,519.21, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 80 points to close at 1,615.75. The S&P 500 gave back 58 points, finishing at 896.78.Global recession worries and weak earnings reports were seen as weighing on equities. On Wednesday morning, aircraft maker Boeing Co. said its third-quarter profit fell 23 per cent due to a machinists strike and production issues.
Deep recession fears slam Wall Street By Kristina Cooke Kristina Cooke – Wed Oct 22, 4:32 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks tumbled to 5 year lows on Wednesday as investors grappled with an increasingly dire outlook for the global economy following a raft of disappointing profits and outlooks from major U.S. companies.
Plummeting commodities prices sent energy and materials company shares sharply lower. Exxon Mobil was the top drag on the Dow, down almost 10 percent.Boeing Co's shares fell 7.5 percent after the aircraft maker reported a steep drop in quarterly profit and warned it might need to provide financing to some of its customers in 2009.AT&T's shares fell 7.6 percent after the top U.S. phone carrier posted a quarterly profit below Wall Street's forecasts as it grappled with pressure on wireless margins.A plunge in emerging market assets and widespread deleveraging were seen as further signs the credit crisis that has plagued the United States and Europe has begun to hit developing countries. Stock markets around the world have fallen sharply over the last two days.The themes remain the same: concerns about global recession, deflation and concerns about significantly reduced worldwide demand, said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 514.45 points, or 5.69 percent, to 8,519.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 58.27 points, or 6.10 percent, to 896.78, its lowest level since April 2003.The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 80.93 points, or 4.77 percent, at 1,615.75, closing at it lowest level since June 2003.
Boeing shares fell 7.5 percent to $42.91, where AT&T, another Dow component, slid 7.6percent to $23.78.Merck & Co shares fell 6.5 percent to $28.01 after it said it would slash 12 percent of its workforce and tempered its long-range earnings outlook.
Wachovia Corp, which is being bought by Wells Fargo & Co, posted a third-quarter loss of $23.9 billion, a record quarterly loss for a banking company during the credit crisis.Shares of Wachovia dropped 6.2 percent to $5.71, while Wells Fargo shares lost 4.1 percent to $31.30.Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp shed 9.7 percent to $64.57. Rival ConocoPhillips, which slashed its 2008 exploration and production outlook, fell 9.1 percent to $49.06.The S&P energy index slid 10.4 percent.U.S. front-month crude shed $5.26 to $66.92 a barrel.SanDisk plunged 31.6 percent to $10.09 after Samsung Electronics ditched its $5.9 billion unsolicited bid for flash memory maker, citing SanDisk's deepening losses and uncertain outlook.But Apple Inc bucked the trend, gaining 5.9 percent to $96.87, a day after the iPod maker reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.Argentina's government proposed to seize almost $30 billion of private pension funds, while Hungary hiked interest rates to defend its currency. Interbank borrowing costs fell again, but recession worries held sway as investors fretted about the extent to which the credit crisis has damaged the global economy.(Reporting by Kristina Cooke)
Britain's Brown boldly says the R word By JANE WARDELL and EMILY FLYNN VENCAT, Wed Oct 22, 5:18 pm ET
LONDON – Prime Minister Gordon Brown dared to utter the dreaded R word Wednesday, confirming what consumers have known for months — that no country can escape the global recession.Wary of making a bad economic situation worse and hemmed in by a mind-numbing formula, world leaders have steered clear of the word even as they forecast tough times. But Brown and his central bank governor, Mervyn King, broke ranks.It's not news, said Bridget Newman, 52, after hearing Brown's statement to Parliament. But it seems official now, and I know that's silly, but it somehow does make a difference.Bankers and lawmakers have feared that using the word will bring more gloom to consumers and only make it harder to boost confidence at a time when markets are plunging, the value of the euro and pound are falling against the dollar, and inflation is hitting record levels.Amid the bad news, the White House announced Wednesday that a summit of world leaders would meet Nov. 15 in Washington to address the global financial crisis.A long-standing technical definition of recession has until now bought time for leaders anxious to avoid the R word. It requires two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, according to official statistics.
But the near-steady crush of gloomy headlines has not let up.
Brown took the plunge Wednesday, telling lawmakers at his weekly question-and-answer session that we must now take action on the global financial recession, which is likely to cause recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and — because no country can insulate itself from it — Britain too.Earlier, King noted in a speech that it was likely that the U.K. economy is entering a recession.The White House distanced itself from Brown's comments, saying the Bush administration doesn't forecast recessions from here, but we know that things are going to be tough on the employment side of things and on the earnings side of things.Whether it's just a downturn or a recession, I just couldn't say right now, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.Perino's comments also appeared to downplay a statement from Ed Lazear, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, who said: We are seeing what I think anyone would characterize as a recession in certain parts of the country.Britain's Office for National Statistics is expected to report on Friday that the economy shrank during the third quarter for the first time since 1992.
Still, that's a quarter short of the technical definition for recession that many economists rail against.There have been occasions in the past when the U.S. policymakers haven't said there was a recession in the country until months after it was over, said Richard Hunter, head of U.K. equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.One of the reasons we're seeing the flight to the dollar right now is that many believe the U.S. has been in recession for the last year, and the fact they've been in it for longer means they're probably going to come out of it sooner.
But for most consumers in the U.S. and Europe, there is no point waiting for an official announcement of a recession.Everybody knows the good times are over, said Peter Spencer, the leading economist on a new Ernst & Young report published this week that argues Britain has been in a recession since July and predicted the country won't see growth again until 2010. Tony Jusufi, a 47-year-old drug store worker, agreed. Of course we're in a recession, he said. It doesn't matter if the politicians say it or not.
Russia Welcomes G20 Summit In US Where Crisis Had Its Origins OCT 22,08
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia on Wednesday welcomed the White House's announcement that a summit on the global financial situation would be held in the U.S., underlining the crisis had its roots there.It is very important that this meeting takes place in the United States because the origins of the financial crisis are in the U.S. financial system, Russian presidential spokeswoman Natalia Timakova was quoted as saying by news agencies.Timakova added that Russia noted the positive reaction of the Americans to the proposal for the summit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit out at the ill effects of U.S. financial policies and said the era of U.S. economic dominance was over.The era of domination by one economy and by one currency has been relegated to the past for good, Medvedev said on a visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan.The summit, which will gather leaders of 20 rich and emerging countries to draw up an action plan, was due to be held on Nov. 15 in Washington.The Group of 20 nations accounts for 85% of the world economy and about two- thirds of the world's population. (END) Dow Jones Newswires.
Russia mulls oil reserves as prices drop, OPECchief in Moscow
Posted : Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:43:21 GMT Author : DPA
Moscow - Russia said Wednesday it could start an oil reserve as part of an effort with OPEC countries to bolstered prices down by half since July peaks. OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri met with President Dmitry Medvedev on a two-day visit to coordinate policy with Moscow Wednesday before an emergency session of oil-exporting countries in Vienna Friday to discuss stop-gap measures to halt plummeting prices. Cooperation with OPEC is a key area for our energy ministry and in forming our energy policy. It should be quite obvious why, Medvedev told journalist before the talks with al-Badri at his country residence outside Moscow. Russia is also a large crude producer and exporter and has an interest in steady and predictable prices, he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. OPEC officials have issued calls this week for Russia - the world's second-largest oil producer not a member of the organization - to join in cutting deliveries to world markets. But ahead of the OPEC head's first-ever talks with a Kremlin leader, al-Badri said, I will not ask Russia for production cuts. I will ask for data on markets and the financial crisis.Igor Sechin, Russia's energy tsar and deputy prime minister, said earlier Wednesday oil reserves were being consider to influence pricing. Reserves are necessary in volumes large enough to reach efficient pricing parameters, he said, adding export duties on oil were also being discussed. Analysts said previous attempts for Moscow to align its policy with OPEC fell through as private energy firms increased oil deliveries. They added it would be technically difficult for Russia to create reserves. Moscow's strengthening ties with OPEC coming on top of news Tuesday that Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, Iran, Qatar had moved to set up an OPEC-style gas grouping is sure to worry Western consumers.
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) also in Moscow for the industry conference Wednesday warned against gas cuts predicting global shortages. Winter is the period of highest demand and now not is not the right time to cut production, IEA chief Nobuo Tanaka said. The current market is very volatile. And for this reason we would like to see OPEC keep up their current extraction levels. In the mid-to long-term we expected there may be a supply crisis because of a greater demand from China, India and the Middle East,Tanaka added.
World Bank says West Bank land prices rocketing By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
JERUSALEM – The price of property in the West Bank is rocketing beyond the reach of most local businesses and home buyers, pushed up by a weak dollar and Israeli control of large chunks of the territory, a World Bank report said Thursday.The 41-page paper said local government data from the commercial and political center of Ramallah indicates the value of prime downtown commercial plots has doubled each year since 2005, hitting the current average of about $372 a square foot.Israel, citing the need to prevent Palestinian attacks inside Israel and on Jewish settlers in the West Bank, has kept large swaths of Palestinian land and roads off limits to Palestinians. It also maintains a complex network of checkpoints on roads that remain open to West Bankers.That leaves the vast majority of Palestinians chasing land in the remaining 41 percent of the territory, which is home to at least 90 percent of the population, the World Bank said.As a result, land prices are shooting up and in certain towns are becoming prohibitive for all but high value commercial activities, or high rise apartment buildings, the report said. Residential development is crowding out other economic activities on scarce plots available for development, yet there remains a housing shortage.The report does not cover the Gaza Strip, which Israel evacuated in 2005 and largely sealed off after the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized power there in 2007.In addition to the Israeli squeeze on the West Bank, the World Bank said, property prices in the territory are being nudged up by the many Palestinians living abroad and sending money home, some of it slated for investment.The real value of domestic cash savings, usually in U.S. dollars or Jordanian dinars, are threatened by the falling dollar, creating pressure to convert these cash savings into stable investments, the report said. With few profitable options in the productive sectors, much capital is invested in land, putting added pressure on prices.The World Bank report concludes little can be done to increase the stock of land available until the Israelis and Palestinians end their conflict.Ultimately, the restrictions on access to land (under Israeli control) will only be resolved with the final resolution of the peace process and the end of the occupation, it said.The renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at a U.S.-hosted conference last November was supposed to produce a final peace deal by the end of 2008, but the sides acknowledge that target is unreachable. With Israel in the throes of forming a new government and the U.S. presidential election in two weeks, change seems unlikely anytime soon.
YOU GOT THAT CORRECT JOHN MCCAIN, OBAMA TICKLES THE DECIEVEDS EARS FROM DAY TO DAY TO FIT THE TOWN SO HE CAN WIN HANDS DOWN.
McCain says Obama will say anything to win By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer OCT 23,08
ORLANDO, Fla. – Republican John McCain, taking a cross-state bus tour aimed at keeping vote-rich Florida from swinging to the Democrats, on Thursday accused rival Barack Obama of saying anything to get elected.The Arizona senator said Obama had added a work requirement to his proposal to grant a 10 percent universal mortgage credit. A top Obama aide said the campaign made the change two weeks ago to avoid charges that the proposal provided welfare to non-working Americans.Thirteen days to go, and he changed his tax plan because the American people had learned the truth about it and they didn't like it, McCain told a crowd at lumber yard in coastal Ormond Beach. It's another example that he'll say anything to get elected.An Obama spokesman accused McCain of distortion and said the Democrat's plan always included a work requirement, although it was discussed only within the campaign or to reporters who inquired about the particulars of the plan.Last week, Sen. McCain called Obama's tax cuts for working people welfare. Today he's claiming Sen. Obama doesn't do enough to help the unemployed, said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. The only thing consistent about these attacks is how dishonest they are. All of Sen. Obama's tax credits only go to workers and they always have.While criticizing Obama, McCain also targeted his own party. He complained the Bush administration was not yet buying up mortgages so homeowners facing foreclosure could renegotiate them at a more favorable interest rates. The GOP nominee has proposed a $300 billion plan, but a similar one is included in the $700 billion Wall Street bailout recently passed by Congress. Both McCain and Obama voted for that plan.I call on the administration to act now and buy up these mortgages and keep people in their homes, McCain said before singling out Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. And why is the secretary of the Treasury not ordering them to do that?
They also came amid signs McCain was curtailing his effort in Colorado, despite plans to make two stops there Friday.Republicans have slashed television advertising for McCain at the state's three largest television stations, according to the Denver Post. With early voting under way, McCain's campaign bought a total $305,550 worth of ads this week at KUSA-TV, KCNC-TV and KMGH-TV. That was down 46 percent from last week and down 56 percent from two weeks ago.Obama is spending almost seven times what McCain is at those stations in the final days, The Post reported.The criticism of Obama and the administration came at the start of a bus tour targeting blue-collar Florida workers who are like the Ohio plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher, who has become the central thematic element in speeches by McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.From Daytona Beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast to Sarasota on the Gulf Coast, McCain was criticizing Obama's tax plans and promoting his own proposals to cut taxes for individuals and businesses. After his stop at All Star Building Materials, he visited a dentist who said he faced the prospect of layoffs, and lunched at a Latino restaurant in Orlando. He was visiting a farm before ending with a rally.Whether it's Joe the Plumber in Ohio or Joe over here, McCain said, pointing into the crowd at All Star Building Materials in Ormond Beach, we shouldn't be taxing our small businesses more, as Sen. Obama wants to do. We need to be helping them expand their businesses and create jobs.Obama, speaking Wednesday in Virginia, rebutted such criticism, arguing that his tax plan would not raise taxes on small businesses and working couples earning less than $250,000 a year.Let's be clear who John McCain is fighting for. He is not fighting for Joe the Plumber. He's fighting for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager, Obama said. If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year — which includes 98 percent of small-business owners — you won't see your taxes increase one single dime.McCain's route covered the vote-rich I-4 Corridor through Orlando, in central Florida, and was intended to boost him in a state George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004 but which Obama is threatening to seize despite a strong GOP machine and the Arizona senator's endorsement by Gov. Charlie Crist.Florida offers 27 electoral votes, fourth-most in the country. A total of 270 is needed to win the presidency.Recent polls show Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, with a slight lead over McCain. Nationally, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows McCain and Obama essentially even among likely voters, possible evidence of a tightened race 12 days before the Nov. 4 election. McCain's first stop in Florida, for coffee with Crist and three business owners from the Daytona Beach area, proved fruitful. Mike Murray, owner of the Starlite Diner, said he was concerned about both candidates raising taxes but planned to support McCain on Election Day. He's got the experience, Murray said as the candidate sat at a nearby booth. I'm comfortable with him. I grew up knowing his name.On the Net:
McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com Obama: http://www.barackobama.com
Next US leader should get to work on Mideast: Palestinian by Patrice Novotny Patrice Novotny – OCT 23
AFP TOKYO (AFP) – The next US president, be it Barack Obama or John McCain, should get to work immediately to jump-start Middle East peace talks, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said here Thursday.Erakat was visiting Tokyo for talks with Israel's Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, in the latest meeting arranged by leading donor Japan aimed at building confidence between the two sides.Whoever will be the next president of the United States, whether Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama, they must immediately engage and continue their engagement and no time should be wasted, Erakat told reporters.Erakat conceded that the next US leader will have an overwhelming number of pressing issues, including the global financial crisis, US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a nuclear standoff with Iran.But we need them to focus and to remain engaged for their own interest in achieving peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and Israelis and Syrians, and Israelis and Lebanese, Erakat said.US President George W. Bush brought Israeli and Palestinian leaders to a summit in Annapolis, near the US capital, in November last year, which set a goal of reaching a peace accord by the time he leaves office in January.
However the Palestinian side say the target is impossible to reach because of political developments in Israel, where outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is waiting for his successor Tzipi Livni to form a government.The negotiations still need to resolve thorny issues such as the status of Jerusalem, Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian refugees and the final borders of a future Palestinian state.Obama, who is ahead in opinion polls, said on a visit to the Middle East in July that the next US administration should continue to work toward the goal of the two states living side by side in peace and security.Both the Palestinian and Israeli officials voiced hope that the global economic downturn would not set back peace efforts in the Middle East.No financial crisis should affect our efforts to achieve peace, Erakat said.As Palestinians, we depend a lot on the generous contribution of the donor community -- the US, Europe, Japan and others, he said.
Japan, the world's second largest economy, has sought a larger involvement in the Middle East peace process in line with ambitions for a greater global role.Japan has spearheaded a project to build an agro-industrial complex in the West Bank to create badly needed jobs.Sheetrit also said that the financial crisis should not interfere with the peace process.The damage that is happening without peace is much higher and bigger than any financial crisis can cause, Sheetrit said.The Palestinian Authority received aid pledges totalling 7.7 billion dollars over three years at a donors conference in Paris in December last year.
Police: Palestinian man fatally stabs Israeli By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer OCT 23,08
AFP JERUSALEM – A Palestinian stabbed two Israelis in east Jerusalem on Thursday, killing an 86-year-old man and wounding a police officer in what authorities called a terror incident.Police shot and seriously wounded the man.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attack erupted when two police officers stopped to question an Arab man during a patrol in the Jewish residential neighborhood of Gilo. The man pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the officers, who then managed to shoot him.
Israel, which annexed east Jerusalem after captured it in the 1967 Middle East War, differentiates between districts like Gilo, which have been incorporated into its city limits, and the settlements it has constructed in the West Bank.Palestinians and most of the international community reject that distinction, and consider East Jerusalem neighborhoods settlements.The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.Rosenfeld said the wounded attacker then grabbed a passer-by and stabbed him before being overpowered. The 86-year-old civilian was dead on arrival at the emergency room, said Shoham Ruvio, spokeswoman at the city's Shaarei Tzedek hospital.Medics described the policeman's wounds as moderate.The assailant was captured by a civilian as he tried to flee up a steep staircase leading to a hilltop neighborhood.He was shot but he kept running, Yoav Mizrahi told Israel's Army Radio. After a while he got tired and I caught up with him. I ran after him and caught him, wrestled him to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the stabbing.The Israeli military later searched the West Bank home of the attacker, identified by neighbors as Mohammed Albaden, in the village of Tekoa, near Bethlehem. Witnesses said two of Albaden's friends were taken away in military jeeps.Witnesses said about 100 local teenagers hurled rocks at the soldiers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Palestinian medics said three Palestinians were lightly injured. The army said a soldier was also lightly wounded, but gave no further details.The attack was the second in a month in Jerusalem and the fourth since July.Associated Press writer Nasser Shiyoukhi in Tekoa contributed to this report.
Coalition by Sunday or snap elections: Israel's Livni by Jean-Luc Renaudie Jean-luc Renaudie – OCT 23,
FOX News JERUSALEM (AFP) – Tzipi Livni, who has struggled to form a new Israeli coalition since becoming head of the ruling party last month, said on Thursday she will call for snap elections if a deal is not done by Sunday.Decision time has come, the foreign minister said in what was seen as an ultimatum to those other parties her Kadima party accuses of playing hardball in coalition negotiations.I have just spoken with the president to tell him I will meet him on Sunday to announce my decision: either we form a new government or we go to new elections, she said after talks with members of the centrist Kadima.President Shimon Peres asked Livni on September 22 to form a new government after she was elected Kadima leader to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has resigned to battle a wave of graft allegations.
Livni has until November 3 to put together a new coalition.
I have considered it my duty to try to form a new government, particularly now, in order to favour stability, and I believe it is still what is preferable for the country, Livni, 50, said in remarks to journalists.I have had negotiations with all possible partners with a view to forming a stable government by suggesting to all partners the creation of a true partnership, she added.Last week Kadima, which has 29 seats in the 120-member parliament, reached a draft coalition agreement with the Labour party, which has 19 MPs.But major differences emerged in negotiations with the religious Shas party, which has 12 deputies and has played the role of kingmaker in the past.The ultra-Orthodox party, a crucial member of Olmert's coalition, has demanded increased family benefits that would cost 400 million dollars (312 million euros) and a promise not to negotiate with the Palestinians over the future status of Jerusalem.The Pensioners party, which has seven parliamentary seats, is demanding a hike in pensions that could cost another 900 million dollars, and talks have been more difficult than expected.Kadima MP Tzahi Hanegbi, who has been leading the negotiations, said his party had gone as far as it could.There is a limit to the haggling, he told Israeli public radio. This is true for Shas, the Pensioners party and for the others who have failed to fully appreciate Tzipi Livni's determination.
Enough of this bazaar, he added.
If it proves impossible to form a new government, snap general elections will be scheduled for 2009 and polls indicate they could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.Livni is seeking to become Israel's second woman prime minister, after Golda Meir who held office from 1969 to 1974.As foreign minister, Livni has been leading US-backed negotiations with the Palestinians since the November 2007 Annapolis conference that revived peace talks.She has vowed to press ahead with the peace process if she becomes prime minister.
Peres: Arab peace initiative is an opportunity By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 23, 11:11 am ET
CAIRO, Egypt – A long-stalled Arab peace initiative could bring peace to the Middle East — still riven by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — the Israeli President Shimon Peres said Thursday, making his first endorsement of the proposal in an Arab country.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, however, openly disagreed with Peres during a joint press conference, saying Palestinians and Israelis must reach a bilateral agreement before Arab states could consider normalizing relations with the Jewish state.Peres has recently been lobbying to jump-start a 2002 Saudi proposal offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967.The plan has been endorsed by 22-member Arab League, but seen little progress since then.In tandem with the bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians, we need to promote the Arab peace initiative, Peres told reporters after his meeting with Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheik.Peres, a Nobel peace prize winner whose presidency is largely ceremonial, said the Saudi plan needs to be negotiated further, but that it was correct, in spirit.A U.S. ally, Egypt is a regional heavyweight and was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israeli in 1979, but Mubarak said discussions of wider peace agreement were off the table because the Saudi initiative is not open for negotiations.His spokesman, Suleiman Awwad, later said Mubarak dismisses the idea of all Arab countries holding talks together with Israel before the Palestinian issue is resolved.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli leaders were seriously considering the dormant Saudi plan and that he had discussed it with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni.There is definitely room to introduce a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace, Barak told Israel's Army Radio.Israel wants to retain some of the land captured in the 1967 war and objects to language in the initiative that appears to endorse a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees to lands inside Israel. Israel says a massive influx of Palestinians would destroy the country's Jewish character.Peres and Mubarak said they also discussed the fate of Gilad Shalit, a kidnapped Israeli soldier, held in the Gaza Strip.Egypt will continue its persistent efforts to mediate and ensure success of a Shalit release deal and the Palestinian prisoners deal, Mubarak said.Egypt has been brokering a potential prisoner exchange between Israel and Gaza's Hamas leaders. Hamas is holding an Israeli soldier, captured more than two years ago in a cross-border raid from Gaza into southern Israel.Associated Press Writer Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
EU's Solana targets deal with Syria next year Thu Oct 23, 10:57 am ET
DAMASCUS (AFP) – EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held talks on Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the Middle East peace process and regional issues, highlighting improved ties between them.Solana and Assad discussed bolstering links between Syria and the European Union and they agreed to pursue consultations on regional and international issues, official news agency SANA said.
Syrian-European ties continue to make progress, Solana said, according to SANA. He voiced hope that both sides might next year sign an association agreement.The EU has signed such a deal with other Mediterranean countries in a bid to pave the way for the creation of a free trade agreement in 2010.Solana said the EU strongly supports the Middle east peace process and is trying to play a constructive role, SANA reported.The EU totally backs the indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel, he said. Since May, Syria has been engaged in indirect peace talks with Israel under Turkish mediation.SANA quoted Assad as saying Europe's role in the peace process is important and essential.Peace guarantees security and stability to the people of the region and this reflects positively on Europe and the world.Solana's visit to Damascus is his first since March 2007, when his trip signaled a resumption of EU contacts with Damascus frozen after the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.Anti-Syrian Lebanese figures blamed Syria for the murder but Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement.In March 2007, Solana urged Syria, the former powerbroker in Lebanon, to help ease a protracted crisis in Lebanon.His return to Damascus comes after Syria and Lebanon formally established diplomatic ties on October 15, for the first time since independence 60 years ago.
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Assad, the EU diplomat praised the importance of developments which recently occurred in Lebanon, namely the setting up of diplomatic ties between Beirut and Damascus, SANA reported.
FAMINE
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
FAMINE
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: 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.
Beetle invasion threatens New England trees By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
Reuters WORCESTER, Mass. – A wood-devouring beetle has gained a foothold in New England, and authorities plan to cut down large numbers of infested trees and grind them up to stop the pest from spreading to the region's celebrated forests and ravaging the timber, tourism and maple-syrup industries.The infestation of Asian longhorned beetles in the Worcester area marks the fourth time the pests have been found in trees in the U.S. and the closest they have ever come to the great New England woods that erupt in dazzling, tourist-pleasing colors in the fall.This insect scares us to death because if it ever got loose in the forests of New England, it would be just about impossible to contain and it'd change the landscape dramatically, said Tom McCrum, coordinator of the Massachusetts Maple Syrup Association.Calling it a national emergency, federal authorities have committed themselves to spending tens of millions of dollars to fight the invasion. They have sent in smokejumpers, tree climbers and other experts to identify infested trees.
The affected area now covers 62 square miles around Worcester and four neighboring towns, and at least 1,800 trees have been tagged for destruction.The outbreak was detected this summer, after Donna Massie spotted beetles on a tree in her backyard in Worcester. She caught one, searched online to identify it, then called agriculture authorities. Now her tree is riddled with dime-size holes.It looks like someone opened fire with a machine gun, Massie, 53, said of the signature exit holes gnawed away by the bullet-shaped black beetle with white freckles, long antennae and a voracious appetite for hardwood.The beetles first appeared in the U.S. in 1996 in Brooklyn, probably arriving in the wood of a shipping crate from China, and have since shown up in New York's Central Park and parts of New Jersey and Illinois. Authorities believe that the Massachusetts infestation is unrelated but that the beetles probably arrived the same way.Eradication efforts in New York, New Jersey and Illinois have cost $268 million over the past 11 years. Thousands of trees have been cut down.The beetles have no natural predators in North America, and regular insecticides are useless once the eggs hatch in hardwoods such as birch, poplar, willow, sycamore, maple and elm.The beetles lay their eggs in small depressions they chew in tree bark. The larvae and pupae consume the tree from the inside, leaving a trail of tunnels. They eventually chew their way out as adults. The tunneling slowly kills the tree.The movement of firewood is probably, in my mind, the biggest threat in this area because so many people burn wood, so many people move wood without thinking, Oh, I could be transporting a pest, said Tom Denholm, who has set up a federal program to fight the insects in New Jersey and was sent to Massachusetts to help with efforts here. We can move the beetle a lot faster moving firewood than the beetle moving on its own.Earlier this month, Rhode Island officials found a larva in firewood taken from Worcester to Cranston.
The beetle strikes fear in tourism and maple-syrup officials.
New England accounted for more than half the maple syrup made in the U.S. last year, with Vermont out-producing all other states in the region with a half-million gallons. Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association spokeswoman Catherine Stevens said the beetle could be devastating to the industry if it were to spread.Leaf peeping, likewise, is big business in New England as thousands of visitors arrive in the fall to see forests riotous with reds, oranges and yellows. The beetle's favorite food happens to be the red and sugar maples that produce the most vivid colors.Also vulnerable would be Maine's timber industry, which directly contributes $6.5 billion to the state's economy. Of the 17.7 million acres of forest in Maine, more than half is hardwood that could be susceptible to the beetle.This is a threat we are taking very seriously, said Dave Struble of the Maine Forest Service. Experts in Massachusetts say they cannot cut down the trees until the frost kills the adult beetles. The trees will be ground up, a process that generates enough heat to kill any eggs or larvae. The wood chips can then be used as mulch or burned for energy.
Federal officials plan to replace the cut-down trees with a variety of species not susceptible to the beetle. That is little consolation to Worcester residents who fear they will see property values plummet in neighborhoods cherished for their tree-lined streets and lush backyards, City Manager Michael O'Brien said. It's going to take 30 to 40 years to get all those same characteristics back, he said.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
Kosovo mission highlights improved EU-US relations By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 22, 11:04 am ET
BRUSSELS, Belgium – A top State Department official said Wednesday that U.S. participation in a European Union mission to Kosovo — the first time Americans have taken part in a such a European project — shows the steady improvement in U.S. relations with the 27-nation bloc.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said Washington would provide 80 police officers and up to eight judges and prosecutors to the Rule of Law Mission. It will oversee the way the mainly ethnic Albanian authorities respect the rights of minority Serbs and strengthen the rule of law in Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February.
The fact that at the end of the Bush administration the United States and EU are able to conclude this kind of an agreement is a good, welcome step (that) means that the trans-Atlantic cooperation is not only strong but is producing tangible results, Fried told reporters in Brussels after a signing ceremony for the U.S. accession to the mission.The United States and most EU countries recognize Kosovo.The Rule of Law Mission originally was to start work after Kosovo's new constitution came into force June 15. But its deployment has been delayed by wrangling between the EU and United Nations over who will have the final say in Kosovo's affairs. The U.N. Security Council has been in control of Kosovo since a brief war between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serb troops in 1999.The EU mission eventually will comprise about 1,800 police officers and judges, and 200 civilian advisers — although only about a quarter of its staff have been deployed since it started operating last summer.
U.S. participation establishes a precedent for what I hope is future cooperation between the United States and the European Union, Fried said. He predicted that the new U.S. administration that is elected next month will continue to make Europe a principal focus of its foreign policy.The deployment of the mission throughout Kosovo, Fried said, will be a critical element of the supervised independence for this new state and will benefit all Kosovo citizens.Serbia, vehemently opposed Kosovo's secession, and wants the U.N. Security Council to rule on whether the EU mission can be deployed to Serb-held areas of Kosovo.Backed by Russia and a number of nonaligned nations, Serbia insists that the Rule of Law Mission itself is illegal because it was not mandated by the Security Council.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
British envoy: Russia must change policy Oct. 22, 2008 at 6:27 PM
MOSCOW, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The British ambassador to Moscow has urged Russia to reconsider its recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Tony Brenton, in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, said the Russian government's action was a big mistake.I hope that, on reflection, Russia will think again, because the precedent we have for this is the president of Turkey recognizing North Cyprus, and it has landed Turkey for a period of 30 years with a small enclave unrecognized anywhere else in the world and placing on Turkey an economic and political burden. It would be very sad to see Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the same situation, he said.The two Georgian enclaves broke away in the early 1990s in a civil war. Russia sent armed forces into Georgia when the Georgian government made efforts to bring South Ossetia back under central control last summer.Brenton said that Britain will contribute to a military observer mission in Georgia from the European Union.
Russia wants to extend Black Sea navy base lease Wed Oct 22, 6:56 am ET
MOSCOW – Moscow wants to negotiate an extension of its lease at Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Russia's foreign minister said Wednesday. The move would keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the port where it has been stationed for centuries.
Sergey Lavrov says Russia will approach Ukraine with specific proposals on the issue as time draws closer to the current lease's expiration in 2017. His statement underlined the Kremlin's desire to maintain its strategic foothold on the Crimean Peninsula, which was ceded to Ukraine in 1954.When the time has come, we will be ready to offer the Ukrainian side to discuss conditions for an extenuation, Lavrov said at a news conference. A specific discussion on the issue will start later, as 2017 draws closer. And it will be conducted with the Ukrainian government which will be in office at that moment.Moscow is clearly hoping that Ukraine's pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko will be out of power by then.Yushchenko said repeatedly that the Russian navy will have to leave the base after the current lease ends, and his desire for Ukraine to join NATO has angered Moscow and badly strained bilateral relations.Following Russia's war with Georgia in August, there have been fears that Moscow may try to encourage a separatist movement in the Crimea, where ethnic Russians make up 60 percent of its 2 million population.
Russia has shrugged off the allegations.
Russia respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and fully observes all existing bilateral agreements, Lavrov said Wednesday.Lavrov's statement followed a comment by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who said Monday that Russia will leave Sevastopol if its lease is not renewed by the Ukrainian government.
Russia modernizes missiles in response to U.S. plans
Updated OCT 22,08
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's efforts to upgrade its missile arsenals will help counter the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense sites in Europe, a top general said Wednesday.Russia's Strategic Missile Force chief, Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov said the military will commission a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile and modify the existing missiles.Solovtsov said that the new RS-24 missile equipped with multiple nuclear warheads will enter service next year.Its deployment will increase the Strategic Missile Forces' capability to penetrate missile defense systems, thus strengthening the nuclear deterrent potential of Russian strategic forces, he said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.Solovtsov said the military conducted two test launches of the RS-24 last year and will make another one before the year's end. Russian officials have said it would gradually replace Soviet-built ballistic missiles.
Alexander Vovk
Solovtsov added that the military will also upgrade the existing types of missiles to fit them with decoys intended to counter the prospective U.S. missile shield.
Russia has denounced a U.S. plan to deploy a battery of 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a related missile defense radar in the Czech Republic, saying it threatened Russian security. It has dismissed the U.S. claim that the sites were intended to counter a prospective missile threat from Iran and was not aimed against Russia.Russian officials have threatened to point nuclear missiles at the countries that will allow U.S. missile defense sites on their territory.We are fully confident that the Strategic Missile Forces will be capable of providing a guaranteed nuclear deterrent in the long time to come, Solovtsov said.He said the military will maintain the Soviet-built missiles, including those that were manufactured in Ukraine. We have agreements with Ukraine that would allow us to maintain their capability, Solovtsov said.Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday as part of regular efforts to check the readiness of Soviet-built missiles.Russia's Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk said the RS-18 missile was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He said in a statement that the launch was intended to confirm the missile's reliability as part of efforts to extend the lifetime of this type of missile.Russia's strategic forces have conducted regular test launches of Soviet-built ballistic missiles to check their performance. The military has repeatedly extended the lifetime of Soviet-built weapons as the government lacks the funds to replace them quickly with new weapons.
Russia test-fires old missile to extend lifespan Wed Oct 22, 6:22 am ET Reuters
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia test-fired an intercontinental Stilet missile on Wednesday as part of the checks needed to extend the service of the weapon until 2010, the strategic missile forces said. The missile, which belongs to a type commissioned in 1979 and known in the West as SS-19, was fired from Baikonur space center hired by Russia in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan, the forces' statement said. It did not specify where the missile landed.The results of the launch confirmed a decision to extend the exploitation time of one of the most reliable missile complexes up to 31 years, it added.Resurgent Russia views its nuclear potential as an argument supporting its claim for a stronger international role and as an effective deterrent in the face of Moscow's worsening relations with the West.Russian leaders have pledged tens of millions dollars for the military to develop new types of rockets, capable of breaking through any missile defense system, including the one being set up by the United States.Test launches of new missiles have become routine in the past few years and the Kremlin says Russia's financial crisis will not discourage it from spending as much cash as needed.However, the Russian military say that the existing types of missiles are powerful enough to be a reliable nuclear deterrent and can be used further after tests confirming their good technical condition.Earlier this month, Russia test-fired Topol missile which has been in the arsenal for 21 years.
Prolonging the exploitation time for Stilets allows to free up considerable funds for other important state needs, the statement said. The annual spending on research and construction is comparable with building one new missile.(Writing by Oleg Shchedrov)
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.
EARTHQUAKE SIMULATION
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7680795.stm
World Bank: Storm-struck Haiti at tipping point By JONATHAN M. KATZ, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – World Bank President Robert Zoellick warned Wednesday that Haiti is at a tipping point after a spate of destructive tropical storms, but offered no immediate debt relief for the chronically impoverished country.Zoellick, ending a three-day visit, pledged long-term help to keep the desperately poor Caribbean nation from falling deeper into crisis but said the bank will not forgive its share of Haiti's US$1.7 billion in foreign debt for at least seven months.
Nearly 800 people were confirmed dead after four devastating storms hit Haiti in August and September. Roads and bridges washed out and more than half the upcoming harvest was destroyed, worsening a hunger crisis that had already helped fuel riots several months before.Critics say forcing Haiti to keep making debt payments of more than US$1 million a week will hurt recovery efforts and further deplete meager resources in the Western Hemisphere's poorest country.It's a humanitarian disaster down there. It's kind of ridiculous that Haiti has to go through bureaucratic hoops, said Dan Beeton of the Washington-based Center for Economic and Policy Research. There's no reason these institutions can't just say, OK, cancel it now.Zoellick said Wednesday that Haiti is on track to have its World Bank debt canceled by mid-2009 once it has met qualifications such as addressing corruption and increasing public investment, but that debt cancellation is up to the bank's shareholders.Frankly, the issue is not just debt. In this case, given the interest payments it's a very small sum of money, and would be forgiven anyway over time. The key is to try and get the resources, he said.Zoellick's first visit to Haiti included a closed meeting with President Rene Preval and a helicopter tour of the flood-ravaged city of Gonaives, where he said the devastation makes your eyes pop.I sense that Haiti is at a tipping point. It could go either way, Zoellick said. We have to deal with the immediate needs, to deal with the social instability, but there's also a chance to build.He stressed the need for infrastructure and watershed-management projects to prevent similar damage from future storms in Haiti, where rampant deforestation has denuded its hills and left it susceptible to deadly floods.The World Bank has pledged US$25 million for emergency storm-relief grants that are to be approved next month. Millions more have been invested in private companies, and a US$10 million grant was approved earlier for relief from the food crisis.But Haiti owes far more in debt to multilateral organizations, including US$540 million to the World Bank. It is slated to pay US$54 million in debt servicing in the next fiscal year, even after some debt relief and rescheduling, the World Bank said.
CNN NEWS VIDEO
http://edition.cnn.com/video/
YAHOO NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video
MIDEAST CONFLICT NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/1874;_ylt=A0wNcxFdg6xIgbkAwD6z174F
ABC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2461
FOX NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3074
FOX BUSINESS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3045
AP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2529
BBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2918
REUTERS VIDEO NEWS
http://news.yahoo.com/video/2704
AFP NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3091
CNBC NEWS VIDEO
http://news.yahoo.com/video/3245
HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER
DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.
JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.
REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.
EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.
REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS THU OCT 23,2008
09:30 AM +19.43
10:00 AM +5.58
10:30 AM +42.13
11:00 AM +222.09
11:30 AM +176.50
12:00 PM +182.43
12:30 PM -37.24
01:00 PM -80.28
01:30 PM -100.44
02:00 PM -98.05
02:30 PM -215.37
03:00 PM -233.13
03:30 PM -9.88
04:00 PM +172.04 8,691.25
S&P 500 908.11 +11.33
NAS 1,603.91 -11.84
GOLD 720.0 -15.2
OIL 69.39 +2.64
TSE 300 +57.16 9,294.04
CDNX -42.63 858.00
S&P/TSX 60 +5.19 559.99
Dow up 276 points at high today.
Dow down -233 points at low today.
Dow down 3% at one point today.
Dow has triple digit moves in all but 3 sessions since sept. 15,08.
Stocks slump for 3rd day.
Stocks move in 7% range today.
Stocks on track for fresh 5 1/2 year closing lows.
S&P down 3% at one point today.
Nasdaq down 4% at one point today.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq on pace for 4th weekly drop in 5 weeks.
Dow,S&P,Nasdaq have fallen in 5 of last 8 sessions.
Early gains erased.
OIL RISES AS OPEC PREPARES TO CUT OUTPUT.
CLOSING STATS
Stocks bounce from lows after erasing early gains.
30 yr treasurey yields fall to at least 11 year low.
Nasdaq ends at fresh 5 1/2 year closing low.
Nasdaq finishes down 0.7% after gaining 1.8% and then falling 5.1% today.
Dow,S&P break 2 day losing streak.
Dow closes up 2% after gaining 3.3% and then falling 3.2% today.
Greenspan shocked at credit system breakdown By Mark Felsenthal Mark Felsenthal – OCT 23
Reuters – Former Chairman of the Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan testifies before the House Oversight and Government … WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress on Thursday he is shocked at the breakdown in U.S. credit markets and said he was partially wrong to resist regulation of some securities.Despite concerns he had in 2005 that risks were being underestimated by investors, this crisis, however, has turned out to be much broader than anything I could have imagined, Greenspan said in remarks prepared for delivery to the House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.Those of us who have looked to the self-interest of lending institutions to protect shareholder's equity -- myself especially -- are in a state of shocked disbelief, said Greenspan, who stepped down from the Fed in 2006.With a general election looming November 4, U.S. lawmakers were sharply divided along political lines in either blaming regulators or bickering for failure to prevent the crisis that has gripped financial markets around the world.The reasons why we set up your agencies and gave you budget authority to hire people is so you can see problems developing before they become a crisis, Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, a California Democrat, told a panel that included Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox and former U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow.To say you just didn't see it, that just doesn't satisfy me, Waxman said.Republicans, for their part, singled out government sponsored mortgage finance agencies Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for their role in unsettling financial markets and faulted Congress, which has been led by the Democrats since 2006, for failing to pass measures to rein them in sooner.They angrily protested a decision not to hold a hearing on the mortgage finance firms, which the government took over in September to restore financial health, until two weeks after the election.
PARTIALLY WRONG
Greenspan softened his longstanding opposition to many forms of financial market regulation, acknowledging in an exchange with Waxman that he was partially wrong in his belief that some trading instruments, specifically credit default swaps, did not need oversight.Waxman cited a series of public statements by Greenspan saying the market could handle regulation of derivatives without government intervention.My question is simple: Were you wrong? Waxman asked.Greenspan said he was partially wrong in the case of credit default swaps, complex trading instruments meant to act as insurance against default for bond buyers.While Greenspan was once hailed as one of the most accomplished central bankers in U.S. history, the low interest rates during his final years at the Fed have been blamed for fueling the housing bubble and eventual crash that touched off the current financial crisis.His strong advocacy for limited regulation of financial markets has also been called into question as a result of the crisis.The former Fed chair said that a securitization system that stimulated appetite for loans made to borrowers with spotty credit histories, was at the heart of the breakdown of credit markets.Without the excess demand from securitizers, subprime mortgage originations -- undeniably the original source of crisis -- would have been far smaller and defaults, accordingly, far fewer, he said.
A surge in demand for U.S. subprime securities, supported by unrealistically positive ratings by credit agencies, was the core of the problem, he added.
Greenspan proposed that that securitizers be required to retain a meaningful part of securities they issued. He said that regulatory reform will be necessary in the areas of fraud, settlement, and securitization to re-establish financial stability.
He backed the recently approved $700 billion bailout package, saying that without it, banks and other financial institutions would likely face a serious reduction in credit.
DOG AND PONY SHOW
Lawmakers from both parties also took advantage of the packed hearing room to take some political potshots. Democrats assailed gaps in rules and oversight while Republicans faulted Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for exacerbating credit market strains. For too long, the prevailing attitude in Washington has been that the market always knows best, said Committee Chairman Waxman, a Democrat. Republicans circulated an October 20 letter asking for a government investigation of alleged fraud and mismanagement at the mortgage firms. This is a nice dog and pony show and maybe it's theater, but people want someone held accountable, they want someone to go to jail, said Rep. John Mica, a Florida Republican. But Greenspan told lawmakers that regulators could not predict the future or make perfect decisions. It's a very difficult problem with respect to supervision and regulation, he said. We cannot expect perfection in any area where forecasting is required. We have to do our best but cannot expect infallibility or omniscience, he added. (Additional reporting by Kim Dixon) (Reporting by Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Gary Crosse)
OPEC chief foresees oil output cut despite economic crisis by Ben Perry Ben Perry – OCT 23,08
VIENNA (AFP) – OPEC's president said the oil cartel will lower output at an urgent meeting on Friday as hardline members pushed for sharp cuts despite warnings that a resulting price rise could worsen economic hardship.We are going to reduce output, Chekib Khelil said Thursday, adding: It's a concern that we could make the financial crisis worse by taking too strong a reduction.He said he did not know how big a cut would be made. Iran and Libya both called for a reduction of two million barrels per day, while Venezuela said there should be a cut of at least one million barrels.In any case, the decision should not impact the world economy which is already in pretty bad shape, Khelil, who is also the energy minister of OPEC member Algeria, told reporters in Vienna.British Prime Minister Gordon Brown recently said that any reduction made in a bid to push up oil prices would be scandalous at a time when major economies are close to recession.The price of New York oil dived Thursday to a 16-month low, as recession fears stoked concerns about falling crude demand, traders said.New York's main contract, light sweet crude for December delivery, sank as low as 65.90 dollars per barrel -- a level last seen on June 13, 2007 -- before rebounding to 69.05 dollars on the prospect of a cut in output.Crude futures in New York and London have plunged by more than half from record highs of above 147 dollars a barrel reached only three months ago when supply concerns sent prices soaring.The market focus (on Friday) will be on the OPEC emergency meeting, said analysts at Barclays Capital in London.Khelil's observation on Wednesday that stocks were very high and some exporters were having trouble shifting their crude indicated the inevitability of a substantial cut, they said.The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries produces 40 percent of the world's oil and its official output quota stands at 28.8 million barrels per day.Saudi Oil Minister Ali al-Nuaimi refused to be drawn on talk of a scaling-back of output as he arrived in the Austrian capital on Thursday.However Libya's Oil Minister Shukri Ghanem told reporters that a huge cut of two million barrels was required to create a balance between supply and demand.
Venezuelan Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said there should be a cut of at least one million barrels. Ramirez added that he believed there was a consensus among OPEC's 12 members for a cut.OPEC's Gulf state members led by Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, are expected to oppose a reduction of more than one million barrels, analysts said on Thursday.Kuwait's Oil Minister Mohammad al-Olaim said OPEC must take the global financial crisis into account when deciding its action.There is a surplus in the market... and sooner or later action should be taken anyway, Olaim told reporters before leaving for Vienna.(But) we are concerned about the financial crisis going on and I think any action should take into consideration the financial crisis.Recent figures for US oil reserves highlighted a sharp slowdown in demand in the world's biggest energy consumer. Analysts are now estimating that OPEC would need to cut its output by more than 1.0 million barrels per day in order to reverse the recent (price) losses, said BetOnMarkets analyst David Evans. Friday's meeting on the impact of the financial turmoil and looming recession on the oil market was originally planned for November 18 but was brought forward as prices plunged. OPEC has 12 members: Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Venezuela. A 13th, Indonesia, has suspended membership.
Loonie dips under 80 cents US, stocks tumble
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 22, 2008 | 5:20 PM ET
A taxi whizzes by an electronic board in downtown Toronto showing the sharp drop in the TSX on Wednesday. (Robin Rowland/CBC)The Canadian dollar fell below 80 cents US on global currency markets on Wednesday, while North American stock markets began the day weakly.The loonie closed at 79.70 cents US, off 2.69 cents US from Tuesday's finish. The dollar hasn't closed under 80 cents U.S. since the middle of June 2005.
The loonie shed 1.38 cents on Tuesday, after the Bank of Canada cut the target for the overnight rate by one-quarter of a percentage point.The Canadian dollar has been under pressure as investors move back into the U.S. dollar and oil prices continue to retreat.Light, sweet crude oil for December dropped $5.43 to settle at $66.75 US on the New York Mercantile Exchange.The U.S. dollar was trading higher against the euro and the British pound.The S&P/TSX composite index shed 558.92 points, or 5.7 per cent, to end at 9,236.88 points.The energy sub-index dipped nine per cent on the oil price drop. Petro-Canada was off 10 per cent at $25.41, while Suncor dropped eight per cent to $26.46.The financial services sub-index fell four per cent, while the gold group lost 14 per cent on a drop of $32.80 US in the price of an ounce of gold to $733.30 US.On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 514 points to end at 8,519.21, while the Nasdaq composite index shed 80 points to close at 1,615.75. The S&P 500 gave back 58 points, finishing at 896.78.Global recession worries and weak earnings reports were seen as weighing on equities. On Wednesday morning, aircraft maker Boeing Co. said its third-quarter profit fell 23 per cent due to a machinists strike and production issues.
Deep recession fears slam Wall Street By Kristina Cooke Kristina Cooke – Wed Oct 22, 4:32 pm ET
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Stocks tumbled to 5 year lows on Wednesday as investors grappled with an increasingly dire outlook for the global economy following a raft of disappointing profits and outlooks from major U.S. companies.
Plummeting commodities prices sent energy and materials company shares sharply lower. Exxon Mobil was the top drag on the Dow, down almost 10 percent.Boeing Co's shares fell 7.5 percent after the aircraft maker reported a steep drop in quarterly profit and warned it might need to provide financing to some of its customers in 2009.AT&T's shares fell 7.6 percent after the top U.S. phone carrier posted a quarterly profit below Wall Street's forecasts as it grappled with pressure on wireless margins.A plunge in emerging market assets and widespread deleveraging were seen as further signs the credit crisis that has plagued the United States and Europe has begun to hit developing countries. Stock markets around the world have fallen sharply over the last two days.The themes remain the same: concerns about global recession, deflation and concerns about significantly reduced worldwide demand, said Michael James, senior trader at regional investment bank Wedbush Morgan in Los Angeles.The Dow Jones industrial average fell 514.45 points, or 5.69 percent, to 8,519.21. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 58.27 points, or 6.10 percent, to 896.78, its lowest level since April 2003.The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 80.93 points, or 4.77 percent, at 1,615.75, closing at it lowest level since June 2003.
Boeing shares fell 7.5 percent to $42.91, where AT&T, another Dow component, slid 7.6percent to $23.78.Merck & Co shares fell 6.5 percent to $28.01 after it said it would slash 12 percent of its workforce and tempered its long-range earnings outlook.
Wachovia Corp, which is being bought by Wells Fargo & Co, posted a third-quarter loss of $23.9 billion, a record quarterly loss for a banking company during the credit crisis.Shares of Wachovia dropped 6.2 percent to $5.71, while Wells Fargo shares lost 4.1 percent to $31.30.Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp shed 9.7 percent to $64.57. Rival ConocoPhillips, which slashed its 2008 exploration and production outlook, fell 9.1 percent to $49.06.The S&P energy index slid 10.4 percent.U.S. front-month crude shed $5.26 to $66.92 a barrel.SanDisk plunged 31.6 percent to $10.09 after Samsung Electronics ditched its $5.9 billion unsolicited bid for flash memory maker, citing SanDisk's deepening losses and uncertain outlook.But Apple Inc bucked the trend, gaining 5.9 percent to $96.87, a day after the iPod maker reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.Argentina's government proposed to seize almost $30 billion of private pension funds, while Hungary hiked interest rates to defend its currency. Interbank borrowing costs fell again, but recession worries held sway as investors fretted about the extent to which the credit crisis has damaged the global economy.(Reporting by Kristina Cooke)
Britain's Brown boldly says the R word By JANE WARDELL and EMILY FLYNN VENCAT, Wed Oct 22, 5:18 pm ET
LONDON – Prime Minister Gordon Brown dared to utter the dreaded R word Wednesday, confirming what consumers have known for months — that no country can escape the global recession.Wary of making a bad economic situation worse and hemmed in by a mind-numbing formula, world leaders have steered clear of the word even as they forecast tough times. But Brown and his central bank governor, Mervyn King, broke ranks.It's not news, said Bridget Newman, 52, after hearing Brown's statement to Parliament. But it seems official now, and I know that's silly, but it somehow does make a difference.Bankers and lawmakers have feared that using the word will bring more gloom to consumers and only make it harder to boost confidence at a time when markets are plunging, the value of the euro and pound are falling against the dollar, and inflation is hitting record levels.Amid the bad news, the White House announced Wednesday that a summit of world leaders would meet Nov. 15 in Washington to address the global financial crisis.A long-standing technical definition of recession has until now bought time for leaders anxious to avoid the R word. It requires two or more consecutive quarters of negative economic growth, according to official statistics.
But the near-steady crush of gloomy headlines has not let up.
Brown took the plunge Wednesday, telling lawmakers at his weekly question-and-answer session that we must now take action on the global financial recession, which is likely to cause recession in America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and — because no country can insulate itself from it — Britain too.Earlier, King noted in a speech that it was likely that the U.K. economy is entering a recession.The White House distanced itself from Brown's comments, saying the Bush administration doesn't forecast recessions from here, but we know that things are going to be tough on the employment side of things and on the earnings side of things.Whether it's just a downturn or a recession, I just couldn't say right now, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.Perino's comments also appeared to downplay a statement from Ed Lazear, the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, who said: We are seeing what I think anyone would characterize as a recession in certain parts of the country.Britain's Office for National Statistics is expected to report on Friday that the economy shrank during the third quarter for the first time since 1992.
Still, that's a quarter short of the technical definition for recession that many economists rail against.There have been occasions in the past when the U.S. policymakers haven't said there was a recession in the country until months after it was over, said Richard Hunter, head of U.K. equities at Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers.One of the reasons we're seeing the flight to the dollar right now is that many believe the U.S. has been in recession for the last year, and the fact they've been in it for longer means they're probably going to come out of it sooner.
But for most consumers in the U.S. and Europe, there is no point waiting for an official announcement of a recession.Everybody knows the good times are over, said Peter Spencer, the leading economist on a new Ernst & Young report published this week that argues Britain has been in a recession since July and predicted the country won't see growth again until 2010. Tony Jusufi, a 47-year-old drug store worker, agreed. Of course we're in a recession, he said. It doesn't matter if the politicians say it or not.
Russia Welcomes G20 Summit In US Where Crisis Had Its Origins OCT 22,08
MOSCOW (AFP)--Russia on Wednesday welcomed the White House's announcement that a summit on the global financial situation would be held in the U.S., underlining the crisis had its roots there.It is very important that this meeting takes place in the United States because the origins of the financial crisis are in the U.S. financial system, Russian presidential spokeswoman Natalia Timakova was quoted as saying by news agencies.Timakova added that Russia noted the positive reaction of the Americans to the proposal for the summit by French President Nicolas Sarkozy.On Tuesday, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev hit out at the ill effects of U.S. financial policies and said the era of U.S. economic dominance was over.The era of domination by one economy and by one currency has been relegated to the past for good, Medvedev said on a visit to the Armenian capital, Yerevan.The summit, which will gather leaders of 20 rich and emerging countries to draw up an action plan, was due to be held on Nov. 15 in Washington.The Group of 20 nations accounts for 85% of the world economy and about two- thirds of the world's population. (END) Dow Jones Newswires.
Russia mulls oil reserves as prices drop, OPECchief in Moscow
Posted : Wed, 22 Oct 2008 12:43:21 GMT Author : DPA
Moscow - Russia said Wednesday it could start an oil reserve as part of an effort with OPEC countries to bolstered prices down by half since July peaks. OPEC Secretary General Abdullah al-Badri met with President Dmitry Medvedev on a two-day visit to coordinate policy with Moscow Wednesday before an emergency session of oil-exporting countries in Vienna Friday to discuss stop-gap measures to halt plummeting prices. Cooperation with OPEC is a key area for our energy ministry and in forming our energy policy. It should be quite obvious why, Medvedev told journalist before the talks with al-Badri at his country residence outside Moscow. Russia is also a large crude producer and exporter and has an interest in steady and predictable prices, he was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying. OPEC officials have issued calls this week for Russia - the world's second-largest oil producer not a member of the organization - to join in cutting deliveries to world markets. But ahead of the OPEC head's first-ever talks with a Kremlin leader, al-Badri said, I will not ask Russia for production cuts. I will ask for data on markets and the financial crisis.Igor Sechin, Russia's energy tsar and deputy prime minister, said earlier Wednesday oil reserves were being consider to influence pricing. Reserves are necessary in volumes large enough to reach efficient pricing parameters, he said, adding export duties on oil were also being discussed. Analysts said previous attempts for Moscow to align its policy with OPEC fell through as private energy firms increased oil deliveries. They added it would be technically difficult for Russia to create reserves. Moscow's strengthening ties with OPEC coming on top of news Tuesday that Russian energy monopoly Gazprom, Iran, Qatar had moved to set up an OPEC-style gas grouping is sure to worry Western consumers.
The head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) also in Moscow for the industry conference Wednesday warned against gas cuts predicting global shortages. Winter is the period of highest demand and now not is not the right time to cut production, IEA chief Nobuo Tanaka said. The current market is very volatile. And for this reason we would like to see OPEC keep up their current extraction levels. In the mid-to long-term we expected there may be a supply crisis because of a greater demand from China, India and the Middle East,Tanaka added.
World Bank says West Bank land prices rocketing By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
JERUSALEM – The price of property in the West Bank is rocketing beyond the reach of most local businesses and home buyers, pushed up by a weak dollar and Israeli control of large chunks of the territory, a World Bank report said Thursday.The 41-page paper said local government data from the commercial and political center of Ramallah indicates the value of prime downtown commercial plots has doubled each year since 2005, hitting the current average of about $372 a square foot.Israel, citing the need to prevent Palestinian attacks inside Israel and on Jewish settlers in the West Bank, has kept large swaths of Palestinian land and roads off limits to Palestinians. It also maintains a complex network of checkpoints on roads that remain open to West Bankers.That leaves the vast majority of Palestinians chasing land in the remaining 41 percent of the territory, which is home to at least 90 percent of the population, the World Bank said.As a result, land prices are shooting up and in certain towns are becoming prohibitive for all but high value commercial activities, or high rise apartment buildings, the report said. Residential development is crowding out other economic activities on scarce plots available for development, yet there remains a housing shortage.The report does not cover the Gaza Strip, which Israel evacuated in 2005 and largely sealed off after the Islamic militant Hamas movement seized power there in 2007.In addition to the Israeli squeeze on the West Bank, the World Bank said, property prices in the territory are being nudged up by the many Palestinians living abroad and sending money home, some of it slated for investment.The real value of domestic cash savings, usually in U.S. dollars or Jordanian dinars, are threatened by the falling dollar, creating pressure to convert these cash savings into stable investments, the report said. With few profitable options in the productive sectors, much capital is invested in land, putting added pressure on prices.The World Bank report concludes little can be done to increase the stock of land available until the Israelis and Palestinians end their conflict.Ultimately, the restrictions on access to land (under Israeli control) will only be resolved with the final resolution of the peace process and the end of the occupation, it said.The renewal of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at a U.S.-hosted conference last November was supposed to produce a final peace deal by the end of 2008, but the sides acknowledge that target is unreachable. With Israel in the throes of forming a new government and the U.S. presidential election in two weeks, change seems unlikely anytime soon.
YOU GOT THAT CORRECT JOHN MCCAIN, OBAMA TICKLES THE DECIEVEDS EARS FROM DAY TO DAY TO FIT THE TOWN SO HE CAN WIN HANDS DOWN.
McCain says Obama will say anything to win By GLEN JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer OCT 23,08
ORLANDO, Fla. – Republican John McCain, taking a cross-state bus tour aimed at keeping vote-rich Florida from swinging to the Democrats, on Thursday accused rival Barack Obama of saying anything to get elected.The Arizona senator said Obama had added a work requirement to his proposal to grant a 10 percent universal mortgage credit. A top Obama aide said the campaign made the change two weeks ago to avoid charges that the proposal provided welfare to non-working Americans.Thirteen days to go, and he changed his tax plan because the American people had learned the truth about it and they didn't like it, McCain told a crowd at lumber yard in coastal Ormond Beach. It's another example that he'll say anything to get elected.An Obama spokesman accused McCain of distortion and said the Democrat's plan always included a work requirement, although it was discussed only within the campaign or to reporters who inquired about the particulars of the plan.Last week, Sen. McCain called Obama's tax cuts for working people welfare. Today he's claiming Sen. Obama doesn't do enough to help the unemployed, said Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor. The only thing consistent about these attacks is how dishonest they are. All of Sen. Obama's tax credits only go to workers and they always have.While criticizing Obama, McCain also targeted his own party. He complained the Bush administration was not yet buying up mortgages so homeowners facing foreclosure could renegotiate them at a more favorable interest rates. The GOP nominee has proposed a $300 billion plan, but a similar one is included in the $700 billion Wall Street bailout recently passed by Congress. Both McCain and Obama voted for that plan.I call on the administration to act now and buy up these mortgages and keep people in their homes, McCain said before singling out Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. And why is the secretary of the Treasury not ordering them to do that?
They also came amid signs McCain was curtailing his effort in Colorado, despite plans to make two stops there Friday.Republicans have slashed television advertising for McCain at the state's three largest television stations, according to the Denver Post. With early voting under way, McCain's campaign bought a total $305,550 worth of ads this week at KUSA-TV, KCNC-TV and KMGH-TV. That was down 46 percent from last week and down 56 percent from two weeks ago.Obama is spending almost seven times what McCain is at those stations in the final days, The Post reported.The criticism of Obama and the administration came at the start of a bus tour targeting blue-collar Florida workers who are like the Ohio plumber, Joe Wurzelbacher, who has become the central thematic element in speeches by McCain and his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.From Daytona Beach on Florida's Atlantic Coast to Sarasota on the Gulf Coast, McCain was criticizing Obama's tax plans and promoting his own proposals to cut taxes for individuals and businesses. After his stop at All Star Building Materials, he visited a dentist who said he faced the prospect of layoffs, and lunched at a Latino restaurant in Orlando. He was visiting a farm before ending with a rally.Whether it's Joe the Plumber in Ohio or Joe over here, McCain said, pointing into the crowd at All Star Building Materials in Ormond Beach, we shouldn't be taxing our small businesses more, as Sen. Obama wants to do. We need to be helping them expand their businesses and create jobs.Obama, speaking Wednesday in Virginia, rebutted such criticism, arguing that his tax plan would not raise taxes on small businesses and working couples earning less than $250,000 a year.Let's be clear who John McCain is fighting for. He is not fighting for Joe the Plumber. He's fighting for Joe the Hedge Fund Manager, Obama said. If you make less than a quarter of a million dollars a year — which includes 98 percent of small-business owners — you won't see your taxes increase one single dime.McCain's route covered the vote-rich I-4 Corridor through Orlando, in central Florida, and was intended to boost him in a state George W. Bush won in 2000 and 2004 but which Obama is threatening to seize despite a strong GOP machine and the Arizona senator's endorsement by Gov. Charlie Crist.Florida offers 27 electoral votes, fourth-most in the country. A total of 270 is needed to win the presidency.Recent polls show Obama, a first-term senator from Illinois, with a slight lead over McCain. Nationally, an Associated Press-GfK poll shows McCain and Obama essentially even among likely voters, possible evidence of a tightened race 12 days before the Nov. 4 election. McCain's first stop in Florida, for coffee with Crist and three business owners from the Daytona Beach area, proved fruitful. Mike Murray, owner of the Starlite Diner, said he was concerned about both candidates raising taxes but planned to support McCain on Election Day. He's got the experience, Murray said as the candidate sat at a nearby booth. I'm comfortable with him. I grew up knowing his name.On the Net:
McCain: http://www.johnmccain.com Obama: http://www.barackobama.com
Next US leader should get to work on Mideast: Palestinian by Patrice Novotny Patrice Novotny – OCT 23
AFP TOKYO (AFP) – The next US president, be it Barack Obama or John McCain, should get to work immediately to jump-start Middle East peace talks, chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erakat said here Thursday.Erakat was visiting Tokyo for talks with Israel's Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, in the latest meeting arranged by leading donor Japan aimed at building confidence between the two sides.Whoever will be the next president of the United States, whether Mr. McCain or Mr. Obama, they must immediately engage and continue their engagement and no time should be wasted, Erakat told reporters.Erakat conceded that the next US leader will have an overwhelming number of pressing issues, including the global financial crisis, US military operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a nuclear standoff with Iran.But we need them to focus and to remain engaged for their own interest in achieving peace between Palestinians and Israelis, and Israelis and Syrians, and Israelis and Lebanese, Erakat said.US President George W. Bush brought Israeli and Palestinian leaders to a summit in Annapolis, near the US capital, in November last year, which set a goal of reaching a peace accord by the time he leaves office in January.
However the Palestinian side say the target is impossible to reach because of political developments in Israel, where outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is waiting for his successor Tzipi Livni to form a government.The negotiations still need to resolve thorny issues such as the status of Jerusalem, Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Palestinian refugees and the final borders of a future Palestinian state.Obama, who is ahead in opinion polls, said on a visit to the Middle East in July that the next US administration should continue to work toward the goal of the two states living side by side in peace and security.Both the Palestinian and Israeli officials voiced hope that the global economic downturn would not set back peace efforts in the Middle East.No financial crisis should affect our efforts to achieve peace, Erakat said.As Palestinians, we depend a lot on the generous contribution of the donor community -- the US, Europe, Japan and others, he said.
Japan, the world's second largest economy, has sought a larger involvement in the Middle East peace process in line with ambitions for a greater global role.Japan has spearheaded a project to build an agro-industrial complex in the West Bank to create badly needed jobs.Sheetrit also said that the financial crisis should not interfere with the peace process.The damage that is happening without peace is much higher and bigger than any financial crisis can cause, Sheetrit said.The Palestinian Authority received aid pledges totalling 7.7 billion dollars over three years at a donors conference in Paris in December last year.
Police: Palestinian man fatally stabs Israeli By STEVE WEIZMAN, Associated Press Writer OCT 23,08
AFP JERUSALEM – A Palestinian stabbed two Israelis in east Jerusalem on Thursday, killing an 86-year-old man and wounding a police officer in what authorities called a terror incident.Police shot and seriously wounded the man.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said the attack erupted when two police officers stopped to question an Arab man during a patrol in the Jewish residential neighborhood of Gilo. The man pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the officers, who then managed to shoot him.
Israel, which annexed east Jerusalem after captured it in the 1967 Middle East War, differentiates between districts like Gilo, which have been incorporated into its city limits, and the settlements it has constructed in the West Bank.Palestinians and most of the international community reject that distinction, and consider East Jerusalem neighborhoods settlements.The Palestinians claim east Jerusalem as the capital of a future independent state.Rosenfeld said the wounded attacker then grabbed a passer-by and stabbed him before being overpowered. The 86-year-old civilian was dead on arrival at the emergency room, said Shoham Ruvio, spokeswoman at the city's Shaarei Tzedek hospital.Medics described the policeman's wounds as moderate.The assailant was captured by a civilian as he tried to flee up a steep staircase leading to a hilltop neighborhood.He was shot but he kept running, Yoav Mizrahi told Israel's Army Radio. After a while he got tired and I caught up with him. I ran after him and caught him, wrestled him to the ground and twisted his arm behind his back.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the stabbing.The Israeli military later searched the West Bank home of the attacker, identified by neighbors as Mohammed Albaden, in the village of Tekoa, near Bethlehem. Witnesses said two of Albaden's friends were taken away in military jeeps.Witnesses said about 100 local teenagers hurled rocks at the soldiers, who responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. Palestinian medics said three Palestinians were lightly injured. The army said a soldier was also lightly wounded, but gave no further details.The attack was the second in a month in Jerusalem and the fourth since July.Associated Press writer Nasser Shiyoukhi in Tekoa contributed to this report.
Coalition by Sunday or snap elections: Israel's Livni by Jean-Luc Renaudie Jean-luc Renaudie – OCT 23,
FOX News JERUSALEM (AFP) – Tzipi Livni, who has struggled to form a new Israeli coalition since becoming head of the ruling party last month, said on Thursday she will call for snap elections if a deal is not done by Sunday.Decision time has come, the foreign minister said in what was seen as an ultimatum to those other parties her Kadima party accuses of playing hardball in coalition negotiations.I have just spoken with the president to tell him I will meet him on Sunday to announce my decision: either we form a new government or we go to new elections, she said after talks with members of the centrist Kadima.President Shimon Peres asked Livni on September 22 to form a new government after she was elected Kadima leader to replace Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who has resigned to battle a wave of graft allegations.
Livni has until November 3 to put together a new coalition.
I have considered it my duty to try to form a new government, particularly now, in order to favour stability, and I believe it is still what is preferable for the country, Livni, 50, said in remarks to journalists.I have had negotiations with all possible partners with a view to forming a stable government by suggesting to all partners the creation of a true partnership, she added.Last week Kadima, which has 29 seats in the 120-member parliament, reached a draft coalition agreement with the Labour party, which has 19 MPs.But major differences emerged in negotiations with the religious Shas party, which has 12 deputies and has played the role of kingmaker in the past.The ultra-Orthodox party, a crucial member of Olmert's coalition, has demanded increased family benefits that would cost 400 million dollars (312 million euros) and a promise not to negotiate with the Palestinians over the future status of Jerusalem.The Pensioners party, which has seven parliamentary seats, is demanding a hike in pensions that could cost another 900 million dollars, and talks have been more difficult than expected.Kadima MP Tzahi Hanegbi, who has been leading the negotiations, said his party had gone as far as it could.There is a limit to the haggling, he told Israeli public radio. This is true for Shas, the Pensioners party and for the others who have failed to fully appreciate Tzipi Livni's determination.
Enough of this bazaar, he added.
If it proves impossible to form a new government, snap general elections will be scheduled for 2009 and polls indicate they could bring the right-wing Likud party to power.Livni is seeking to become Israel's second woman prime minister, after Golda Meir who held office from 1969 to 1974.As foreign minister, Livni has been leading US-backed negotiations with the Palestinians since the November 2007 Annapolis conference that revived peace talks.She has vowed to press ahead with the peace process if she becomes prime minister.
Peres: Arab peace initiative is an opportunity By MAGGIE MICHAEL, Associated Press Writer – Thu Oct 23, 11:11 am ET
CAIRO, Egypt – A long-stalled Arab peace initiative could bring peace to the Middle East — still riven by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — the Israeli President Shimon Peres said Thursday, making his first endorsement of the proposal in an Arab country.Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, however, openly disagreed with Peres during a joint press conference, saying Palestinians and Israelis must reach a bilateral agreement before Arab states could consider normalizing relations with the Jewish state.Peres has recently been lobbying to jump-start a 2002 Saudi proposal offering pan-Arab recognition of Israel in exchange for withdrawal from Arab lands captured in 1967.The plan has been endorsed by 22-member Arab League, but seen little progress since then.In tandem with the bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians, we need to promote the Arab peace initiative, Peres told reporters after his meeting with Mubarak at the Red Sea resort of Sharm El Sheik.Peres, a Nobel peace prize winner whose presidency is largely ceremonial, said the Saudi plan needs to be negotiated further, but that it was correct, in spirit.A U.S. ally, Egypt is a regional heavyweight and was the first Arab country to sign a peace treaty with Israeli in 1979, but Mubarak said discussions of wider peace agreement were off the table because the Saudi initiative is not open for negotiations.His spokesman, Suleiman Awwad, later said Mubarak dismisses the idea of all Arab countries holding talks together with Israel before the Palestinian issue is resolved.
On Sunday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Israeli leaders were seriously considering the dormant Saudi plan and that he had discussed it with Prime Minister-designate Tzipi Livni.There is definitely room to introduce a comprehensive Israeli plan to counter the Saudi plan that would be the basis for a discussion on overall regional peace, Barak told Israel's Army Radio.Israel wants to retain some of the land captured in the 1967 war and objects to language in the initiative that appears to endorse a large-scale return of Palestinian refugees to lands inside Israel. Israel says a massive influx of Palestinians would destroy the country's Jewish character.Peres and Mubarak said they also discussed the fate of Gilad Shalit, a kidnapped Israeli soldier, held in the Gaza Strip.Egypt will continue its persistent efforts to mediate and ensure success of a Shalit release deal and the Palestinian prisoners deal, Mubarak said.Egypt has been brokering a potential prisoner exchange between Israel and Gaza's Hamas leaders. Hamas is holding an Israeli soldier, captured more than two years ago in a cross-border raid from Gaza into southern Israel.Associated Press Writer Amy Teibel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
EU's Solana targets deal with Syria next year Thu Oct 23, 10:57 am ET
DAMASCUS (AFP) – EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana held talks on Thursday with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad on the Middle East peace process and regional issues, highlighting improved ties between them.Solana and Assad discussed bolstering links between Syria and the European Union and they agreed to pursue consultations on regional and international issues, official news agency SANA said.
Syrian-European ties continue to make progress, Solana said, according to SANA. He voiced hope that both sides might next year sign an association agreement.The EU has signed such a deal with other Mediterranean countries in a bid to pave the way for the creation of a free trade agreement in 2010.Solana said the EU strongly supports the Middle east peace process and is trying to play a constructive role, SANA reported.The EU totally backs the indirect negotiations between Syria and Israel, he said. Since May, Syria has been engaged in indirect peace talks with Israel under Turkish mediation.SANA quoted Assad as saying Europe's role in the peace process is important and essential.Peace guarantees security and stability to the people of the region and this reflects positively on Europe and the world.Solana's visit to Damascus is his first since March 2007, when his trip signaled a resumption of EU contacts with Damascus frozen after the February 2005 assassination of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.Anti-Syrian Lebanese figures blamed Syria for the murder but Damascus has repeatedly denied any involvement.In March 2007, Solana urged Syria, the former powerbroker in Lebanon, to help ease a protracted crisis in Lebanon.His return to Damascus comes after Syria and Lebanon formally established diplomatic ties on October 15, for the first time since independence 60 years ago.
Speaking to reporters after his talks with Assad, the EU diplomat praised the importance of developments which recently occurred in Lebanon, namely the setting up of diplomatic ties between Beirut and Damascus, SANA reported.
FAMINE
REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)
FAMINE
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: 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.
Beetle invasion threatens New England trees By RODRIQUE NGOWI, Associated Press Writer OCT 22,08
Reuters WORCESTER, Mass. – A wood-devouring beetle has gained a foothold in New England, and authorities plan to cut down large numbers of infested trees and grind them up to stop the pest from spreading to the region's celebrated forests and ravaging the timber, tourism and maple-syrup industries.The infestation of Asian longhorned beetles in the Worcester area marks the fourth time the pests have been found in trees in the U.S. and the closest they have ever come to the great New England woods that erupt in dazzling, tourist-pleasing colors in the fall.This insect scares us to death because if it ever got loose in the forests of New England, it would be just about impossible to contain and it'd change the landscape dramatically, said Tom McCrum, coordinator of the Massachusetts Maple Syrup Association.Calling it a national emergency, federal authorities have committed themselves to spending tens of millions of dollars to fight the invasion. They have sent in smokejumpers, tree climbers and other experts to identify infested trees.
The affected area now covers 62 square miles around Worcester and four neighboring towns, and at least 1,800 trees have been tagged for destruction.The outbreak was detected this summer, after Donna Massie spotted beetles on a tree in her backyard in Worcester. She caught one, searched online to identify it, then called agriculture authorities. Now her tree is riddled with dime-size holes.It looks like someone opened fire with a machine gun, Massie, 53, said of the signature exit holes gnawed away by the bullet-shaped black beetle with white freckles, long antennae and a voracious appetite for hardwood.The beetles first appeared in the U.S. in 1996 in Brooklyn, probably arriving in the wood of a shipping crate from China, and have since shown up in New York's Central Park and parts of New Jersey and Illinois. Authorities believe that the Massachusetts infestation is unrelated but that the beetles probably arrived the same way.Eradication efforts in New York, New Jersey and Illinois have cost $268 million over the past 11 years. Thousands of trees have been cut down.The beetles have no natural predators in North America, and regular insecticides are useless once the eggs hatch in hardwoods such as birch, poplar, willow, sycamore, maple and elm.The beetles lay their eggs in small depressions they chew in tree bark. The larvae and pupae consume the tree from the inside, leaving a trail of tunnels. They eventually chew their way out as adults. The tunneling slowly kills the tree.The movement of firewood is probably, in my mind, the biggest threat in this area because so many people burn wood, so many people move wood without thinking, Oh, I could be transporting a pest, said Tom Denholm, who has set up a federal program to fight the insects in New Jersey and was sent to Massachusetts to help with efforts here. We can move the beetle a lot faster moving firewood than the beetle moving on its own.Earlier this month, Rhode Island officials found a larva in firewood taken from Worcester to Cranston.
The beetle strikes fear in tourism and maple-syrup officials.
New England accounted for more than half the maple syrup made in the U.S. last year, with Vermont out-producing all other states in the region with a half-million gallons. Vermont Maple Sugar Makers Association spokeswoman Catherine Stevens said the beetle could be devastating to the industry if it were to spread.Leaf peeping, likewise, is big business in New England as thousands of visitors arrive in the fall to see forests riotous with reds, oranges and yellows. The beetle's favorite food happens to be the red and sugar maples that produce the most vivid colors.Also vulnerable would be Maine's timber industry, which directly contributes $6.5 billion to the state's economy. Of the 17.7 million acres of forest in Maine, more than half is hardwood that could be susceptible to the beetle.This is a threat we are taking very seriously, said Dave Struble of the Maine Forest Service. Experts in Massachusetts say they cannot cut down the trees until the frost kills the adult beetles. The trees will be ground up, a process that generates enough heat to kill any eggs or larvae. The wood chips can then be used as mulch or burned for energy.
Federal officials plan to replace the cut-down trees with a variety of species not susceptible to the beetle. That is little consolation to Worcester residents who fear they will see property values plummet in neighborhoods cherished for their tree-lined streets and lush backyards, City Manager Michael O'Brien said. It's going to take 30 to 40 years to get all those same characteristics back, he said.
EUROPEAN UNION ARMY
DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast (EU,REVIVED ROME) shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth,(7TH WORLD EMPIRE) which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.(TRADING BLOCKS)
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings(10 NATIONS) that shall arise: and another shall rise after them;(#11 SPAIN) and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.( BE HEAD OF 3 NATIONS)
25 And he (EU PRESIDENT) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.(3 1/2 YRS)
DANIEL 8:23-25
23 And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors are come to the full, a king (EU DICTATOR) of fierce countenance, and understanding dark sentences,(FROM THE OCCULT) shall stand up.
24 And his power shall be mighty, but not by his own power:(SATANS POWER) and he shall destroy wonderfully, and shall prosper, and practise, and shall destroy the mighty and the holy people.
25 And through his policy also he shall cause craft to prosper in his hand; and he shall magnify himself in his heart, and by peace shall destroy many: he shall also stand up against the Prince of princes;(JESUS) but he shall be broken without hand.
DANIEL 11:36-39
36 And the king (EU DICTATOR) shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every god, and shall speak marvellous things against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the indignation be accomplished: for that that is determined shall be done.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers,(THIS EU DICTATOR IS JEWISH) nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.(CLAIM TO BE GOD)
38 But in his estate shall he honour the God of forces:(WAR) and a god whom his fathers knew not shall he honour with gold, and silver, and with precious stones, and pleasant things.
39 Thus shall he do in the most strong holds with a strange god,(DESTROY TERROR GROUPS) whom he shall acknowledge and increase with glory: and he shall cause them to rule over many,(HIS ARMY LEADERS) and shall divide the land for gain.
REVELATION 19:19
19 And I saw the beast,(EU LEADER) and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse,(JESUS) and against his army.(THE RAPTURED CHRISTIANS)
Kosovo mission highlights improved EU-US relations By SLOBODAN LEKIC, Associated Press Writer Wed Oct 22, 11:04 am ET
BRUSSELS, Belgium – A top State Department official said Wednesday that U.S. participation in a European Union mission to Kosovo — the first time Americans have taken part in a such a European project — shows the steady improvement in U.S. relations with the 27-nation bloc.U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said Washington would provide 80 police officers and up to eight judges and prosecutors to the Rule of Law Mission. It will oversee the way the mainly ethnic Albanian authorities respect the rights of minority Serbs and strengthen the rule of law in Kosovo, which unilaterally declared independence from Serbia in February.
The fact that at the end of the Bush administration the United States and EU are able to conclude this kind of an agreement is a good, welcome step (that) means that the trans-Atlantic cooperation is not only strong but is producing tangible results, Fried told reporters in Brussels after a signing ceremony for the U.S. accession to the mission.The United States and most EU countries recognize Kosovo.The Rule of Law Mission originally was to start work after Kosovo's new constitution came into force June 15. But its deployment has been delayed by wrangling between the EU and United Nations over who will have the final say in Kosovo's affairs. The U.N. Security Council has been in control of Kosovo since a brief war between ethnic Albanian separatists and Serb troops in 1999.The EU mission eventually will comprise about 1,800 police officers and judges, and 200 civilian advisers — although only about a quarter of its staff have been deployed since it started operating last summer.
U.S. participation establishes a precedent for what I hope is future cooperation between the United States and the European Union, Fried said. He predicted that the new U.S. administration that is elected next month will continue to make Europe a principal focus of its foreign policy.The deployment of the mission throughout Kosovo, Fried said, will be a critical element of the supervised independence for this new state and will benefit all Kosovo citizens.Serbia, vehemently opposed Kosovo's secession, and wants the U.N. Security Council to rule on whether the EU mission can be deployed to Serb-held areas of Kosovo.Backed by Russia and a number of nonaligned nations, Serbia insists that the Rule of Law Mission itself is illegal because it was not mandated by the Security Council.
MUSLIM NATIONS
EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.
ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.
PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, and the Hagarenes;
7 Gebal, and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)
EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.
JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.
British envoy: Russia must change policy Oct. 22, 2008 at 6:27 PM
MOSCOW, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- The British ambassador to Moscow has urged Russia to reconsider its recognition of the breakaway Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Tony Brenton, in an interview with the Russian news agency Interfax, said the Russian government's action was a big mistake.I hope that, on reflection, Russia will think again, because the precedent we have for this is the president of Turkey recognizing North Cyprus, and it has landed Turkey for a period of 30 years with a small enclave unrecognized anywhere else in the world and placing on Turkey an economic and political burden. It would be very sad to see Abkhazia and South Ossetia in the same situation, he said.The two Georgian enclaves broke away in the early 1990s in a civil war. Russia sent armed forces into Georgia when the Georgian government made efforts to bring South Ossetia back under central control last summer.Brenton said that Britain will contribute to a military observer mission in Georgia from the European Union.
Russia wants to extend Black Sea navy base lease Wed Oct 22, 6:56 am ET
MOSCOW – Moscow wants to negotiate an extension of its lease at Ukraine's Black Sea port of Sevastopol, Russia's foreign minister said Wednesday. The move would keep Russia's Black Sea Fleet in the port where it has been stationed for centuries.
Sergey Lavrov says Russia will approach Ukraine with specific proposals on the issue as time draws closer to the current lease's expiration in 2017. His statement underlined the Kremlin's desire to maintain its strategic foothold on the Crimean Peninsula, which was ceded to Ukraine in 1954.When the time has come, we will be ready to offer the Ukrainian side to discuss conditions for an extenuation, Lavrov said at a news conference. A specific discussion on the issue will start later, as 2017 draws closer. And it will be conducted with the Ukrainian government which will be in office at that moment.Moscow is clearly hoping that Ukraine's pro-Western President Viktor Yushchenko will be out of power by then.Yushchenko said repeatedly that the Russian navy will have to leave the base after the current lease ends, and his desire for Ukraine to join NATO has angered Moscow and badly strained bilateral relations.Following Russia's war with Georgia in August, there have been fears that Moscow may try to encourage a separatist movement in the Crimea, where ethnic Russians make up 60 percent of its 2 million population.
Russia has shrugged off the allegations.
Russia respects Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity and fully observes all existing bilateral agreements, Lavrov said Wednesday.Lavrov's statement followed a comment by Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov, who said Monday that Russia will leave Sevastopol if its lease is not renewed by the Ukrainian government.
Russia modernizes missiles in response to U.S. plans
Updated OCT 22,08
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's efforts to upgrade its missile arsenals will help counter the planned deployment of U.S. missile defense sites in Europe, a top general said Wednesday.Russia's Strategic Missile Force chief, Col.-Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov said the military will commission a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile and modify the existing missiles.Solovtsov said that the new RS-24 missile equipped with multiple nuclear warheads will enter service next year.Its deployment will increase the Strategic Missile Forces' capability to penetrate missile defense systems, thus strengthening the nuclear deterrent potential of Russian strategic forces, he said in a statement carried by Russian news agencies.Solovtsov said the military conducted two test launches of the RS-24 last year and will make another one before the year's end. Russian officials have said it would gradually replace Soviet-built ballistic missiles.
Alexander Vovk
Solovtsov added that the military will also upgrade the existing types of missiles to fit them with decoys intended to counter the prospective U.S. missile shield.
Russia has denounced a U.S. plan to deploy a battery of 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a related missile defense radar in the Czech Republic, saying it threatened Russian security. It has dismissed the U.S. claim that the sites were intended to counter a prospective missile threat from Iran and was not aimed against Russia.Russian officials have threatened to point nuclear missiles at the countries that will allow U.S. missile defense sites on their territory.We are fully confident that the Strategic Missile Forces will be capable of providing a guaranteed nuclear deterrent in the long time to come, Solovtsov said.He said the military will maintain the Soviet-built missiles, including those that were manufactured in Ukraine. We have agreements with Ukraine that would allow us to maintain their capability, Solovtsov said.Russia's Strategic Missile Forces said it successfully test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile Wednesday as part of regular efforts to check the readiness of Soviet-built missiles.Russia's Strategic Missile Forces spokesman Alexander Vovk said the RS-18 missile was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. He said in a statement that the launch was intended to confirm the missile's reliability as part of efforts to extend the lifetime of this type of missile.Russia's strategic forces have conducted regular test launches of Soviet-built ballistic missiles to check their performance. The military has repeatedly extended the lifetime of Soviet-built weapons as the government lacks the funds to replace them quickly with new weapons.
Russia test-fires old missile to extend lifespan Wed Oct 22, 6:22 am ET Reuters
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia test-fired an intercontinental Stilet missile on Wednesday as part of the checks needed to extend the service of the weapon until 2010, the strategic missile forces said. The missile, which belongs to a type commissioned in 1979 and known in the West as SS-19, was fired from Baikonur space center hired by Russia in ex-Soviet Kazakhstan, the forces' statement said. It did not specify where the missile landed.The results of the launch confirmed a decision to extend the exploitation time of one of the most reliable missile complexes up to 31 years, it added.Resurgent Russia views its nuclear potential as an argument supporting its claim for a stronger international role and as an effective deterrent in the face of Moscow's worsening relations with the West.Russian leaders have pledged tens of millions dollars for the military to develop new types of rockets, capable of breaking through any missile defense system, including the one being set up by the United States.Test launches of new missiles have become routine in the past few years and the Kremlin says Russia's financial crisis will not discourage it from spending as much cash as needed.However, the Russian military say that the existing types of missiles are powerful enough to be a reliable nuclear deterrent and can be used further after tests confirming their good technical condition.Earlier this month, Russia test-fired Topol missile which has been in the arsenal for 21 years.
Prolonging the exploitation time for Stilets allows to free up considerable funds for other important state needs, the statement said. The annual spending on research and construction is comparable with building one new missile.(Writing by Oleg Shchedrov)
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