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

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

Sunday, February 01, 2009

BC CAN'T EXPLAIN 3 CASES AVIAN BIRD FLU

Friday, January 30, 2009 Broadcast angers Muslims Leaders want radio station to stop airing comments by priest they say defame Muhammad.Gregg Krupa / The Detroit News

SOUTHFIELD -- Muslims and interfaith leaders in Metro Detroit are asking a local radio station owner to discontinue broadcasts in which, they say, a Coptic priest has repeatedly defamed the Prophet Muhammad over the past year. In an Arabic-language broadcast Wednesday on WNZK 680/690 AM, the Rev. Zakariah Boutros said the Muslim prophet Muhammad had engaged in necrophilia and gay sex, according to the Council on American Islamic Relations. Boutros has previously come under fire from area Muslims, who say he disparages Islam. The controversial, American-based priest can be heard on purchased time slots on radio stations internationally. His words have stirred controversy in Egypt and Great Britain, and are embraced by a number of bloggers and Web sites that criticize Islam. Amani Mostafa, who hosts the program Questions About Faith on which Boutros spoke Thursday, said Boutros was reading from an Islamic text when he said, over the air, that the Prophet Muhammad slept in the grave of a dead woman and allowed a man to kiss and caress his chest.

I am a former Muslim, said Mostafa, who is now Christian. I know exactly what I am talking about. These are the things we were taught as children. We are quoting the Quran and the Hadiths, and if the Muslims have a problem with that then they have a problem with their own book.Hadiths are Muhammad's saying or writings, as reported by his followers. Muslims say that no such wording appears in the Quran or the Hadiths. If that's their excuse, it's lame, said Dawud Walid, of CAIR, which distributed a national alert Thursday asking Muslims to contact the radio station to express concerns about the broadcast. CAIR also counseled Muslims to be firm but polite. Hostile comments can and will be used to further defame Islam and Muslims.

Sima Birach, who owns the station, said he had received some complaints on Thursday, though he said he did not know how many. In an interview with The Detroit News last summer Birach promised to end the broadcasts, upon the request of interfaith Muslim, Jewish and Christian groups in Metro Detroit. Birach went so far as to put people associated with Boutros's broadcasts on conference calls with this reporter, while he berated them for allowing what some consider hate speech. It's not right, Birach said at the time. It's not fair to use some fake or stupid books to accuse someone's religion. Do you hear me? But on Thursday, Birach said he had since heard from several prominent people in the community, that what Boutros stated in the broadcasts is true. Maybe we need to have more meetings, Birach said, referring to members of the Muslim and interfaith communities. You can reach Gregg Krupa at (313) 222-2359 or gkrupa@detnews.com.

Israeli Envoy Indicates Iran Attack Imminent Foreign Confidential....Is this a case of loose lips ... or a deliberate warning? You decide.
POSTSCRIPT: If the Ambassador screwed up, which is possible, he should be brought home and given a basic media training course, including a few fundamental lessons in journalism. There is no such thing as a private or confidential or off-the-record meeting with a roomful of people, especially when cameras are present. This reporter, who has interviewed and met privately with many heads of state--and nearly every Israeli Prime Minister since the Six-Day War, starting with Golda Meir--would be happy to offer his consulting services.

ISRAEL MIGHT BOMB IRAN - VIDEO
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cznZs-swR9k&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

SATAN COMES AGAINST ISRAEL

1 CHRONICLES 21:1
1 And Satan stood up against Israel, and provoked David to number Israel.

ISRAELS TROUBLE

JEREMIAH 30:7
7 Alas! for that day is great, so that none is like it: it is even the time of Jacob’s trouble;(ISRAEL) but he shall be saved out of it.

DANIEL 12:1,4
1 And at that time shall Michael(ISRAELS WAR ANGEL) stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people:(ISRAEL) and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation(May 14,48) even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro,(WORLD TRAVEL,IMMIGRATION) and knowledge shall be increased.(COMPUTERS,CHIP IMPLANTS ETC)

REGEV-PHILLIPS discuss International assult on Israel VIDEO
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129689

VIDEO OF TURKEY WALKING OUT OF TALK OVER GAZA
http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/turkish-pm-storms-out-of-gaza-debate-at-davos/14053821
http://videos.actu-monde.com/en/2009/01/sommet-de-davos-video-de-lincident-erdogan-peres-au-sujet-de-gaza/

Turkish Jews fearful of anti-Semitism after Gaza FEB 1,09YNET NEWS

One of largest Jewish communities in Muslim world faces threatening public atmosphere following Operation Cast Lead. I feel worried, sad and scared for myself and for my country's future, which is leaning towards racism, says Jewish journalist.Turkey's centuries-old Jewish community says it is alarmed by anti-Semitism that emerged during protests at Israel's Gaza assault, and is questioning how this reflects its status in the predominantly Muslim republic.

although Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan condemned anti-Semitism, Jews in Turkey and beyond believe the language he employed during the conflict gave some a license to translate their outrage at Israel's action into racial hatred. Heightened anti-Jewish sentiment comes at a time of rising nationalism in Turkey, blamed for the murders of several Christians in the last few years, as hardliners fight against those struggling for a more plural, multi-ethnic society. Some 24,000 Jews live in Turkey, making them one of the world's largest Jewish communities in a Muslim country, and their relations with the state, like those of other minorities, are a litmus test for Turkey's readiness to join the European Union. I feel worried, sad and scared for myself and for my country's future, which is leaning towards racism, Turkish-Jewish academic Leyla Navaro wrote in Radikal newspaper. While Turkey is officially presented as a mosaic of cultures and peoples, Navaro said this was an empty tourist slogan in a country where a rigid definition of Turkishness has been imposed from above since the state's inception in 1923. Turkey's Jewish community, which issued a typically impartial statement as the Gaza conflict began, said it has never seen anything like the anti-Semitism which emerged as public fury over the plight of the Palestinians soared. Intensifying their fear is the fact Jews have been attacked in Turkey before. In November 2003 truck bombs exploded outside two Istanbul synagogues killing 24 people, mainly Muslims. A Turkish cell with links to al Qaeda claimed responsibility. As Turks protested en masse, many with Hamas headbands, placards showing mutilated Palestinian children or baby dolls covered in fake blood, virulently anti-Jewish articles began to appear in some Turkish newspapers, and openly anti-Semitic graffiti became common.

Parents fear taking their children to school
Erdogan called Israel's operations, launched with the aim of ending Hamas' cross-border rocket attacks, a crime against humanity, deploring what he saw as excessive force, and he suggested Israel be barred from the United Nations. His rhetoric shocked Israel, usually a close ally, and has been interpreted by some as an attempt to shore up support ahead of local elections in March with an electorate deeply sympathetic to Palestinians.In a recent open letter to Erdogan a group of five US Jewish organizations told him Turkish Jews felt besieged and threatened, adding: A connection is clearly perceived between the inflammatory denunciation of Israel by Turkish officials and the rise of anti-Semitism.While Turkey's Jewish community says the daubing of a giant swastika opposite Istanbul's Israeli Consulate or the trampling and burning of Jewish symbols is probably the work of extremist provocateurs, it adds it is particularly unnerved by the messages given by the government and the thinking this reflects. One example they give is an Education Ministry decree that schools should hold a silence for the dead children of Gaza. The Education Ministry saw fit to implant the idea in children's heads that Israel is evil. Children of Turkish citizens of Jewish faith who have nothing to do with Gaza are now being targeted by other children, said a community member, who said she was too anxious to be named. Some Jewish parents fear taking their children to school. Turkey's ruling AK Party has Islamist roots and draws its constituency from the pious Anatolian heartland. It has incurred the wrath of the secularist establishment for what critics say is a hidden campaign to Islamize the country of 70million. Although the AK Party has made concessions to minority rights, including a national television station broadcasting in Kurdish, those of non-Muslim faith or non-Turkish heritage say they face discrimination.

500 year presence
Turkey's Jews are mainly the descendants of Sephardi Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition some 500 years ago for the multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire. Thousands left amid political instability as the secular Turkish Republic was founded, but those who stayed are active in all walks of life. In Istanbul's historic Galata district, small synagogues nestle alongside mosques and churches in the warren of tiny backstreets. Muslim staff work in a kosher restaurant which has operated for 50 years. But Jewish buildings have long had a police guard and tight security, and people are wary of drawing attention to themselves. An elderly Jewish man smiles as he demonstrates how he hides his Jewish skull cap beneath a flat cap on the street.

The allegations of anti-Semitism have stung the government. Since the 15th century Turkey has been a safe haven for all religious groups... there is not a single case of anti-Semitism in Turkey, Erdogan's foreign policy adviser Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists during a recent briefing on Gaza. Yet repetitions by officials of the Ottoman Empire's welcome to Jews ring hollow to today's community. Am I still indebted because my ancestors were accepted by the Ottoman Sultan? Am I still a guest in this land where I grew up, fulfill my duties as a citizen and actively contribute to its development?, wrote Navaro. The article moved Turkish President Abdullah Gul to assure Navaro he understood her anxieties and was sensitive to them.
We love this country and would not want to be anywhere else, said a Turkish Jewish woman, adding precisely because of this emotional attachment there is such concern for the future. I am trying to keep my faith in the open-minded majority of the Turkish people.

Israel vows disproportionate response to rockets
01/02 13:05 CETworld news
http://www.euronews.net/en/article/01/02/2009/israel-vows-disproportionate-response-to-rockets/

Amid fresh rocket attacks by militants in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, Israel’s Prime Minister has threatened a disproportionate reponse. There were no casualties from today’s rocket fire into Israel. Speaking at his weekly cabinet meeting, just days before a general election, Ehud Olmert took a tough stance. Vowing Israel would act according to new rules, Olmert warned its response would be harsh and disproportionate.The tense situation is also reflected at Gaza’s Rafah crossing with Egypt where security has been tightened in an apparent bid to prevent smuggling to Hamas. The group was sending a delegation to mediator Egypt to discuss permanent ceasefire proposals. Violence has flared sporadically since a truce took hold on Jan 18 at the end of Israel’s Gaza offensive.

World's First Rocket-Proof Torah Study Hall Dedicated in Sderot
by Hillel Fendel FEB 1,09

(IsraelNN.com) The world's first Kassam-proof Beit Midrash (Torah study hall) was dedicated on Thursday, in the presence of dozens of rabbis, students, parents and guests of the Hesder Yeshiva in Sderot.A hesder yeshiva is an Israeli program which combines advanced Talmudic studies with military service in the Israel Defense Forces.Sderot Yeshiva Dean Rabbi David Fendel addresses guests, on backdrop of Holy Ark. On dais, from left: MK Orlev, Rabbi Bakshi-Doron, Mr. Adolpho Picciotto, Yaakov Ne'man Israel News Photo: Bnaya F.

Sderot, the Negev city that has been home to the yeshiva for 14 years, has become the symbol of the rocket war that Fatah, Hamas and other Arab terrorists have launched against Israel over the past eight years. Throughout this period, the yeshiva has grown exponentially, and has become an important factor in the strength and resilience of the townspeople.The new building, which stands out impressively above the flat Sderot landscape, is protected against Kassam rockets - but Yeshiva Dean and founder Rabbi David Fendel says this is not a defensive posture: It is rather a display of our determination to build and expand, in the face of whatever threats our enemies present. Hamas wants to turn Sderot into ruins, and we will show them instead that it will grow even bigger and stronger, inspired by the Torah study, community involvement, army service and leadership of our hundreds of students.

Rocket-Protected
The yeshiva dedication on Thursday was described by observers as the convergence of two simultaneous national marches: The drive towards a powerful, safe nation defended by its skillful and motivated army and homefront, and the growth of Torah institutions even in outlying areas.The roof of the Beit Medrash is made of 40 centimeters of poured cement - nearly three times thicker than regular buildings - to withstand a direct rocket hit. In addition, its windows are bullet- and shrapnel-proof, and cement overhangs over every door and window.The Thursday event was attended by a striking array of rabbis and public figures from Israel and the United States. Among them were Israel's Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, former Chief Rabbi and Rishon LeTzion Eliyahu Bakshi-Doron, and Chief IDF Rabbi Avi Rontzky. Many parents of the yeshiva students from around the country took part as well.The new yeshiva edifice, the dome of which towers over the town, was donated largely by Mr. and Mrs. Adolpho and Bella Picciotto, in memory of their son Avraham who was killed in a car accident at the age of 22. The Picciottos vowed to dedicate 22 new synagogues or yeshivot in various locations, in memory of their son and his 22 years of life.

Public officials included Sderot Mayor David Buskila, Trade Minister Eli Yishai, MKs Zevulun Orlev, Nissan Slomiansky, Yaakov Litzman, and Effie Eitam, and many others. Rabbi Fendel profusely thanked Orlev, Slomiansky and Litzman for their roles in procuring public funding for the yeshiva. Litzman, for instance, as Chairman of the Knesset Finance Committee, declared at one point a year ago that he would not facilitate the approval of any budgeting for Sderot defenses unless the Yeshivat Hesder was included as well.Also participating in the day-long festivities and Torah study sessions were Rabbi Aharon Lichtenstein of Yeshivat Har Etzion, as well as Rabbis Zalman Nechemiah Goldberg, Avigdor Nebenzahl, Elisha Vishlitzky, Yitzchak David Grossman, and Yeshivat Shaalvim Deans Rabbis Meir Shlesinger and Avraham Avidan.

London: Bomb Gaza Civilians
by Hillel Fendel FEB 1,09

Left-wing television and media personality Yaron London surprised many of his colleagues during the recent war against Hamas by calling for a no-holds-barred military response against the civilian population of Gaza.London first outlined his views in an article in Yediot Acharonot, and then elaborated upon them for clearly-shocked interviewer Razi Barkai on Army Radio.It appears that we have exhausted the options of moderating Hamas fanaticism with measured responses, London wrote, and the time has come to shock the Gaza population with actions that until now have nauseated us - [such a killing the political leadership, causing hunger and thirst in Gaza, blocking off energy sources, causing widespread destruction, and being less discriminating in the killing of civilians. There is no other choice.Asked by Barkai, a veteran left-wing broadcaster in his own right, why there is no choice, London responded, The strategy of modular and gradual pressure has not brought the desired results. We cannot absorb any more Kassams, we cannot fortify the entire south, we cannot take over Gaza because the price will be too heavy, and gradual pressure has only made Hamas and the Gaza population even tougher and more fanatic. I therefore concluded that there are only two remaining options: being extra nice to them, or being extra tough – Barkai interrupts and says, There is a third option: negotiations with Hamas.London: Which will bring what? Barkai: I have no idea, but it is a possibility, at least in theory.London: Negotiations will lead only to a ceasefire, whose duration will be determined solely in accordance with Hamas interests; we will not come out of that period with a greater advantage in terms of arms and weapons…

Asked how he can guarantee that a tougher Israeli offensive will yield the desired results, London said: Experience in past wars shows me that if we are tough enough, then at a certain stage, their standing-power will break… I am referring to both the population and their leadership; they are the same, because the population voted for Hamas. I can’t separate between one who voted for Hamas and a Hamas leader.
Barkai: We will have to deal with very difficult pictures of hungry children –London: Yes.Barkai: and destroyed houses - London: Yes.Barkai: and dead unarmed civilians, etc. How will we be able to deal with this? London: Everyone in Gaza is armed… There is a consensus in Israel that the time has come to take action. We cannot fortify Ashdod, and Netivot, and Sderot, and bear this disgrace.Barkai: There might be thousands of dead? London: I hope not – I hope that one real blow will put an end to this before we get to that.Barkai: Give me an example of such a blow.
London: I don’t want to give an example, but you can go back to history and see.
Barkai: [short pau The only thing I can think of, and that you apparently don’t want to say, is the bombing of cities such as in World War II. London: Right. You don’t need to bomb a whole city; a quarter of a borough should be enough…Barkai finally asked, Tell me, have you undergone an – I don’t want to say ideological crisis because that sounds too high-brow, but perhaps a little crisis—London: My brothers in Sderot are what brought me to this.Barkai uses his trademark phrase: Ki ma? cause what London: Because I can’t take the idea of little frightened girls running around in the streets of Sderot. That’s the whole thing. You can tolerate it for a certain amount of time, like the kibbutzim of the Jordan Valley did, or if it’s only a small amount of terror organizations, or whatever. But when an entire population of 1.5 million [Gaza Arab voted for this Hamas government, then this population has to bear the responsibility. That’s the whole story.

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.

EUROPE (ESA) COSMIC VISION 2015-2025 (JUPITOR)
http://sci.esa.int/science-e/www/object/index.cfm?fobjectid=44037

WORLD GOVERNMENT STORIES - TURKISH FORUM
http://www.turkishforum.com/content/tag/one-world-government/

Hidden Agenda To Take Over The PARTS World 1 to 6 - Norman Dodd
http://britanniaradio.blogspot.com/2009/01/hidden-agenda-to-take-over-world-1-of-6.html#links

Winter storm wallops St. John's Sunday, February 1, 2009 | 11:03 AM CBC News

A powerful winter storm has brought St. John's and much of eastern Newfoundland to a standstill.Ten centimetres of snow fell Saturday night and Environment Canada meteorologist Kara Pul said 25 more centimetres could be on the ground before the storm ends Sunday evening.Winds were gusting to 60 kilometres an hour in the morning and were expected to hit 100 later in the day.Flights at St. John's International Airport were cancelled or delayed.Many church services were also cancelled, and police were advising motorists to stay off the streets unless absolutely necessary.

Guardsmen cut through fallen trees in ice-caked KY By ROGER ALFORD, Associated Press Writer FEB 1,09

LEITCHFIELD, Ky. – National Guard troops swinging chain saws made their way into isolated Kentucky communities Sunday to check on residents walloped by a winter storm that Gov. Steve Beshear called the biggest natural disaster ever to hit the state.Some 4,600 guardsmen fanned out across Kentucky to distribute food and water, remove fallen trees, go door-to-door in hard-hit areas and provide security in communities that have been evacuated.With high temperatures well into the 40s through the weekend, much of the ice that had clung to buildings, power lines, trees and roads has disappeared. And another winter storm that had been forecast to hit Monday apparently will bypass the state.Hopefully we will dodge the bullet, Beshear said. We're keeping a watchful eye on that.Kentucky was the hardest-hit by the ice storm that paralyzed wide areas from the Ozarks through Appalachia early last week. The storm wrapped a large part of Kentucky in an inch-thick mantle of ice that shattered utility poles, toppled trees and drove thousands from frigid homes to shelters, and the state had a long way to go toward recovery — authorities said it could be weeks before power was restored in some spots.More than 400,000 Kentucky homes and businesses still lacked electricity Sunday, down from more than 700,000, a state record. Officials told those still shivering in dark, unheated homes to seek safe refuge in motels and places with power or generators.

Too many people are trying to tough it out at home, Lt. Gov. Daniel Mongiardo said.The storm that began in the Midwest has been blamed or suspected in at least 42 deaths, including nine in Arkansas, six each in Texas and Missouri, three in Virginia, two each in Oklahoma, Indiana and West Virginia and one in Ohio. Most were blamed on hypothermia, traffic accidents and carbon monoxide poisoning.Finding fuel — heating oil along with gas for cars and generators — was a struggle for those trying to tough it out at home. Hospitals and other essential services took priority.In Lone Oak, a tiny community in rural western Kentucky, Angel Wyant has been eking out the days with the heat from a kitchen frier connected to a handheld propane tank.

And a carbon monoxide detector, she pointed out, mindful of the dozens of deaths caused by the storm.The makeshift heater isn't much good when night falls, so Wyant, 32, and her three children have been staying overnight at the home of neighbor Rita Kelly, 53.We huddle around the old wood stove, said Kelly, whose two-bedroom aluminum sided house now shelters six people.Associated Press writers Malcolm C. Knox and Janet Cappiello Blake in Louisville, Ky., John Moreno Gonzales in Lone Oak, Ky., and Bruce Schreiner in Mayfield, Ky., contributed to this report.(This version corrects that 700,000 was the peak outage figure, not Sunday's total.)

In western Ky., still stuck in ice storm's grip By BRUCE SCHREINER and JOHN MORENO GONZALES, Associated Press Writers – Sun Feb 1, 12:40 am ET

AURORA, Ky. – The power had been out since Tuesday at Lakeland Arbor Village, an independent-living community, and some of the food was spoiling, at least the stuff anyone really wanted to eat.I still have some potted meat, but I'm getting kind of tired of it, said resident Ann Smith, 66, wearing a stocking cap that she takes with her to bed.Across Kentucky, the state hardest hit by the deadly ice storm that has hobbled parts of several states for most of a week, people without power spent another day Saturday crammed into the homes of relatives and neighbors who did. Others unable or unwilling to seek shelter awaited sporadic visits from rescuers, and some still hadn't been reached.It wasn't all that bad at Lakeland Arbor Village, near the western shore of Kentucky Lake. Not during the day anyway. Two charcoal grills kept safely outside provided hot sandwiches and a generator hummed away, lighting the community room where several people had gathered, and everybody bundled up.At night, the apartments were pitch black but for candles, lanterns and flashlights that created a soft glow.I'm just trying to stay warm and trying to sleep, said Betty Sanders, 60, who donned extra shirts and socks. It's rough. It's very, very rough.The ice storm had Sanders longing for her old home in Florida.I don't know how much longer I can handle it, she said, her voice shaking despite Smith's efforts to comfort her. I'm not used to this.Dorothy Michaels, 87, wore gloves and had a blanket draped over her in her darkened room, where a battery operated radio gave her the latest updates on the outages. She has stayed in bed from sunset to past sunrise since the storm hit and said her hips and back are aching, on account of her lack of activity.I had a real bad night, she said. I was like whirling dervish. I turned and tossed.

She said her children live out of state, so she plans to ride out the blackout in her small apartment.In many places across the state, the poorest of the poor were doubling up their families in dwellings lucky enough to have propane heat or the $700luxury of a generator. Many were anxious about how they will rebound from the unforeseen expense of keeping their children warm in a place not expected to have power for weeks.At a command center in Reidland, along Interstate 24 about 9 miles outside Paducah, emergency officials and utility crews mapped out where resources should be sent. McCracken County Sheriff Jon Hayden dispatched one of his deputies to a town called Lone Oak, where he knew lower-income residents would have trouble getting by.There's still no cell service and we're getting calls from relatives who want us to check on them, he said.

He was right.

On rural Clinton Road, people have been hanging frozen meat from porches so it won't go bad. Angel Wyant has been eking out the days with the heat from a kitchen frier connected to a handheld propane tank.And a carbon monoxide detector, she points out, mindful of the dozens of deaths caused by the storm, several through such poisoning.
The makeshift heater isn't much good when night falls, so Wyant, 32, and her three children have been staying overnight at the home of neighbor Rita Kelly, 53. We huddle around the old wood stove, said Kelly, whose two-bedroom aluminum sided house now shelters six people. After days of searching empty shelves, she and her husband bought a generator Saturday and were trying to hook it up themselves so as to avoid the installation fee. We about tapped out of money after buying that thing, Kelly said with a weak smile. Many in Lone Oak, particularly down the more isolated roads, said they never considered going to shelters. Randy Beeler, 52, climbed the roof of his brother Steve Beeler's home to clear away fallen timber. Power was still out in the small clapboard but they planned to ride it out for as long as needed. We just don't ask for much help around here, said the younger Beeler.We're pretty tough.

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).

Experts can't explain 3 B.C. avian flu outbreaks
Updated Sun. Feb. 1 2009 10:54 AM ET The Canadian Press

VANCOUVER -- Three of four of the most recent avian flu outbreaks in Canada have broken out in British Columbia's Fraser Valley but despite years of trying to figure it out, they still can't explain why the valley attracts the virus. In the latest outbreak, 60,000 turkeys were culled on an Abbotsford, B.C., farm last week. Tests so far indicate the virus has not spread to any other poultry producers within a three-kilometre quarantine zone. That wasn't the case in the valley's first outbreak in 2004 when an H7-type flu transformed into a highly contagious strain. Farm after farm was quarantined until finally about 15 million birds -- almost the entire valley poultry population -- was destroyed. The second Fraser Valley outbreak in November 2005 saw two duck farms infected with the H5N2 strain of the virus. In 2007, a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain was found in Saskatchewan on a farm that produced hatching eggs to produce broiler chickens. Experts have difficulty explaining why the Fraser Valley has been hit so often but there are theories. We're on the Pacific flyway so there are lots of birds passing through every year, says Ron Lewis, the chief veterinary officer for British Columbia. And we know wild waterfowl carry a variety of different strains of avian influenza.People can easily walk over the areas where wild waterfowl have been. And we know avian influenza has some capability of aerosol transmission, he says. Lewis and Sandra Stephens, veterinary program specialist with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, suspect the main culprits are the wild birds moving throughout North America and the world on migratory flyways.

Avian influenza virus is prolific and when wild waterfowl have it they shed tremendous numbers of viral particles.All these birds when they get to their summer or wintering grounds they co-mingle, says Stephens. And North American flyways are not completely isolated from others. Although you tend to think of the North American flyways as being separate from Europe and Asia, in fact there is some crossover in the northern breeding grounds, she says. The huge concentration of commercial poultry producers in the Fraser Valley is also a factor in the spread. Any poultry producer faces being exposed to migratory birds. But where we have more concerns are areas like the Fraser Valley or the Niagara Peninsula where there are large concentrations of poultry farms close together, says Stephens. Calvin Breukelman of the B.C. Poultry Association estimates there are about 600 poultry producers in the Fraser Valley in an industry worth close to $1 billion. Such concentration occurred for obvious economic reasons: close access to a large market.

In an ideal world we of course wouldn't have this concentration but it's not ideal and we have to do whatever we can to reduce the impact of that concentration, says Lewis. Perhaps the biggest worry facing producers and the general population is the likelihood of the highly pathogenic H5N1 virus that killed hundreds of people in Asia, Africa and Europe occurring here. Lewis suggests it's highly unlikely. In countries where H5N1 occurred there are very close living conditions between poultry and people, he says. We don't have that kind of proximity to wild and commercial ducks co-habiting in many cases that is present in those countries, he says.

Moreover, Lewis says, the intense biosecurity measures introduced in Canada after the 2004 Fraser Valley outbreak are not practised in many of those countries. We now have a mandatory biosecurity program in place for all of the commercially-regulated poultry industry, he says. The industry has achieved a very high level of compliance with those biosecurity protocols, says Lewis, estimating the compliance rate at about 98 per cent of the industry. Initial testing for avian viruses also can now be done in Abbotsford. So we have eliminated the delays in having to ship samples for testing at the federal lab, says Lewis. Poultry producers in the Fraser Valley are still awaiting tests on the latest outbreak determining how contagious the virus may be. It sometimes can take a number of weeks to get the result, says Stephens. The presence of H5 virus has been established but its specificity, or neuraminidase subtype which is the N in the virus name, isn't known yet. That H5 virus was detected in some turkeys on a property owned by two brothers last month. The avian flu has many different sub types with 16 different H's, or hemagglutinin, and nine different N's, meaning there are 144 possible combinations of the flu virus. The virus must be grown in a lab culture and the latest sample has taken longer than expected. Some viruses grow (in a lab culture) more readily than others and there's no way of knowing which virus will grow quicker than another,says Stephens.

FITNA ISLAM
VIDEO - http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7961200236915885171&ei=Unl3SYqPApPSjgKmzbilDw&q=fitna

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

HOARDING OF GOLD AND SILVER

DOCTOR DOCTORIAN FROM ANGEL OF GOD
then the angel said, Financial crisis will come to Asia. I will shake the world.

JAMES 5:1-3
1 Go to now, ye rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you.
2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are motheaten.
3 Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days.

REVELATION 18:10,17,19
10 Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! for in one hour is thy judgment come.
17 For in one hour so great riches is come to nought. And every shipmaster, and all the company in ships, and sailors, and as many as trade by sea, stood afar off,
19 And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wailing, saying, Alas, alas that great city, wherein were made rich all that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

EZEKIEL 7:19
19 They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the LORD: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumblingblock of their iniquity.

REVELATION 13:16-18
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM

FINANCIAL SENSE EDITORIALS
http://www.financialsense.com/editorials/quinn/2009/0105.html

UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES 20th CENTURY & BEYOND
by James Quinn FEBRUAR 1, 2009

The law of unintended consequences is what happens when a simple system tries to regulate a complex system. The political system is simple. It operates with limited information (rational ignorance), short time horizons, low feedback, and poor and misaligned incentives. Society in contrast is a complex, evolving, high-feedback, incentive-driven system. When a simple system tries to regulate a complex system you often get unintended consequences. Andrew Gelman.Andrew Gelman is dead on. He states that the political system is simple. I’d go a step further and say that lifetime politicians and entrenched government bureaucrats are simple. They show no indication of knowledge or expertise in American history or rational financial theory. The President, Congress, Federal Reserve, and Treasury try mightily to direct our economy. It is an impossible task. With a GDP of $14 trillion, there are thousands of inputs and outputs that feed the system. Their hubris leads them to believe that they are in control and can manipulate the gears of capitalism in a way that will produce their desired outcomes. If a desired outcome occurs, it is simply due to dumb luck. The more likely result of their manipulations of our complex system is a set of bigger problems that never occurred to them. Congress definitely fits Mr. Gelman’s definition of a simple system. I can’t think of a body of people operating with more ignorance than Congress. The information they act upon, is provided by the 17,000 lobbyists that wine and dine them on a daily basis. Corporate lobbyists, PACs, unions, and special interests buy their votes. Their time horizons are less than a few months. They are constantly running for re-election, raising money and handing out goodies to their constituents. The only feedback they care about is their standing in the polls and the amount of money they’ve raised from “donors”. Their incentives are poor and not aligned with the needs of the American people. They are not willing to do what is right for the country because they have no incentive to do so. Their only incentive is to get re-elected by insuring that their district gets as much pork spending as possible. They do this by selling their votes to the highest bidder.

Unintended Consequences of the Last 100 Years

The 20th Century is a laundry list of events that led to unintended consequences.

Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand of Austria
The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria by anarchists in 1914 was the fuse that set off World War I by causing various Treaties to cause all the countries of Europe to take sides. All sides envisioned a short painless war. The war lasted 4 years and killed 20 million people, with another 20 million casualties. It also lead to the Russian Revolution of 1917 with Lenin and Marxists gaining control of Russia.

Treaty of Versailles
The harsh terms inflicted upon Germany by the victorious Allies were so ruthless that Germany was unable to meet their reparation obligations without printing currency at tremendous quantities. This eventually led to a hyperinflationary collapse of the German Mark and weakened the Weimer Republic. This eventually led to the rise of Adolph Hitler as dictator and ultimately to the deaths of 70 million people in World War II.

Creation of Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 in order to make bank panics less likely and to manage the nation’s monetary policy. They have created persistent inflation that has caused the U.S. dollar to lose 95% of its value since 1913. Their actions contributed greatly to the Great Depression of the 1930’s. Alan Greenspan’s self serving actions, in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, led to the recent collapse of the worldwide financial system.

FDR’s New Deal
The programs created during the Roosevelt administration to combat the Great Depression, particularly Social Security, have been on automatic pilot for eight decades. A program whose purpose was to protect poor old people from starving during a Great Depression has morphed into a perceived right of all Americans and has led to an unfunded future liability of $10 Trillion.

Appeasement
As Adolph Hitler was beginning to gain power and started to flaunt the Treaty of Versailles, other European countries could have crushed him as early as 1935. His military was not yet powerful. Hitler became emboldened by his early success and took more aggressive actions with the Rhineland, Sudetenland, and Czechoslovakia. The appeasement strategy practiced by British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain to avoid bloodshed allowed Hitler to gain enough power to bring about the most destructive war in history. Winston Churchill explained the consequences after the war. I cried out but no one would listen and now Europe is devastated…There never was a war easier to win…Not a single shot needed to be fired…But, no one listened.

Manhattan Project
Robert Oppenheimer’s project was to create an atomic bomb before the Germans could invent one. The atomic bomb led to the end of the war in the Pacific as the bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. His response after the successful test was, Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds. It led to the positive development of the nuclear power industry. It also led to an arms race with the Soviet Union which almost led to nuclear war in 1962. The proliferation of nuclear weapons is one of the biggest dangers to world peace today.

Creation of Military Industrial Complex
The United States had no Defense Industry prior to World War II. The rise of this industry was essential to winning World War II. In his Presidential farewell address, President Eisenhower warned about the increasing power of the defense industry. In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist. His unheeded words have led to the Defense Industry amassing overwhelming power in Washington DC, with spending on defense in the U.S. exceeding $800 billion per year and representing 50% of all the military spending in the world. The U.S. spends as much as the next 43 countries combined.

LBJ’s Great Society
President Lyndon B. Johnson stated his goal in 1964. We are going to assemble the best thought and broadest knowledge from all over the world to find these answers. I intend to establish working groups to prepare a series of conferences and meetings—on the cities, on natural beauty, on the quality of education, and on other emerging challenges. From these studies, we will begin to set our course toward the Great Society. These noble words led to the creation of Medicare and Medicaid. The unfunded future liability of Medicare is $61 trillion, six times the unfunded liability of Social Security. The programs did not reduce poverty or improve the healthcare system. The Great Society became the Debt Society. Barrack Obama’s soaring rhetoric is reminiscent of LBJ’s vision. Beware!

Semi-privatization of Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac
Their purpose was to purchase and securitize mortgages in order to ensure that funds were consistently available to the institutions that lend money to home buyers. LBJ moved them off the government books in order to make his government deficits appear better. The two companies have been compromised for decades by the Democratic Party and were pushed to loosen their standards by politicians like Barney Frank and allowed millions of unqualified buyers to get home mortgages they could never pay off. Both companies have lost tens of billions and are now under the conservatorship of the U.S. government. The likely future liability to the U.S. taxpayer is $200 billion.

Richard Nixon takes U.S. off Gold Standard
After World War II a Gold Standard was established by the Bretton Woods Agreements. Under this system, many countries fixed their exchange rates relative to the US dollar. The US promised to fix the price of gold at $35 per ounce. Implicitly, then, all currencies pegged to the dollar also had a fixed value in terms of gold. Alan Greenspan argued in 1966 that, under the gold standard, a free banking system stands as the protector of an economy's stability and balanced growth… The abandonment of the gold standard made it possible for the welfare statists to use the banking system as a means to an unlimited expansion of credit… In the absence of the gold standard, there is no way to protect savings from confiscation through inflation. Under the regime of the French President Charles De Gaulle, France reduced its dollar reserves, trading them for gold from the U.S. government, thereby reducing US economic influence abroad. This together with the fiscal strain of the Vietnam War led President Richard Nixon to eliminate the fixed gold price in 1971. The U.S. dollar has lost 93% of its purchasing power since 1971. The welfare statists have confiscated middle class savings through inflation while being aided and abetted by Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve.

China Embraces Capitalism
The process of economic reform began in earnest in 1979, after Chinese leaders concluded that the Soviet-style system that had been in place since the 1950s was making little progress in improving the standard of living for Chinese citizens and also was failing to close the economic gap between China and Western nations. The reforms of the late 1980s and early 1990s focused on creating a pricing system and decreasing the role of the state in resource allocations. The reforms of the late 1990s focused on closing unprofitable enterprises and dealing with insolvency in the banking system. After the start of the 21st century, increased focus has been placed on narrowing the gap between rich and poor in China. The huge influx of peasants from the countryside to the cities led to a manufacturing boom in China and the gutting of manufacturing in the United States. The feedback loop of Americans borrowing at low rates and spending on Chinese made goods while China kept buying US Treasuries, which kept U.S. interest rates low, has led to an unsustainable boom that has now gone bust. Allowing this unsustainable trend to grow beyond all reasonableness is now leading to social unrest in China.

Greenspan Put
Alan Greenspan in his role as Federal Reserve Chairman attempted to solve every financial crisis by lowering interest rates and increasing liquidity. It began when he came to the rescue after the stock market crash of 1987. The Fed did the same thing after the Gulf War, the Mexican crisis, the Asian crisis, the LTCM implosion, Y2K, the bursting of the Dot Com bubble, and the 9/11 tragedy. Investors became convinced that Greenspan would always come to the rescue and keep stock prices from falling. This belief caused investors to take much greater risks and led to the colossal overleveraging that took place between 2000 and 2008. The artificial perception of safety led to the worst financial crisis in history. Ben Bernanke is now following in Greenspan’s footsteps.

U.S. Maintains Military Base in Saudi Arabia after Gulf War
Osama Bin Laden returned to Saudi Arabia in 1990 as a hero of jihad, who along with his Arab legion, had brought down the mighty superpower of the Soviet Union in Afghanistan. During this time frame Iraq invaded Kuwait and Bin Laden met the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, and told him not to depend on non-Muslim troops and offered to help defend Saudi Arabia. Bin Laden was rebuffed and publicly denounced Saudi Arabia's dependence on the US military. After the 1st Gulf War, the U.S. with the support of the Saudi rulers allowed a permanent U.S. military base in Saudi Arabia. This presence led Bin Laden to declare a jihad against the U.S. infidels and eventually led to the 9/11 attack and the War on Terror. This has led to mammoth budget deficits, thousands of unnecessary American and Iraqi deaths, and contributed hugely to the financial crisis of 2008.

9/11 Attack
The terrorist attack on the World Trade Center killed almost 3,000 Americans and provided President Bush with worldwide support to capture or kill Osama Bin Laden and his supporters. The U.S. successfully defeated the Taliban and cornered Bin Laden in the mountains of Afghanistan. The Bush administration declared a War on Terror, invaded Iraq on false pretenses wasting the lives of 4,500 Americans and damaging the lives of 30,000 Americans who were wounded, wasted $800 billion of borrowed taxpayer money, created the Department of Homeland Security at a cost of $50 billion per year, tortured captives, and has allowed the government to monitor private conversations of Americans without a warrant. An attack by 19 men with knives has led to the decline of the United States stature throughout the world and pushed the U.S. towards bankruptcy. The beacon of freedom has seen its light dim.

SEC takes Deregulation to Heart
Alan Greenspan and the free market ideologues in the Bush administration thought that no regulation was the best policy for the financial markets. They believed that markets would regulate themselves. This led to non-enforcement of existing rules and regulations. The SEC waived the 12 to 1 leverage ratios for the five biggest investment banks. Those banks then leveraged 40 to 1 and collapsed the worldwide financial system. The SEC failed to catch the Enron and Worldcom accounting frauds. The SEC was given indisputable proof that Bernie Madoff was conducting a ponzi scheme as far back as 1999. It ignored the facts and allowed a $50 billion fraud to destroy any remaining trust in the U.S. financial system. The SEC is in the back pocket of Wall Street. Its executives leave the SEC and get million dollar jobs on Wall Street. Non-enforcement of rules is not deregulation it is government corruption and incompetence.

Ignorance, Stupidity, and Hubris

Sociologist Robert K. Merton popularized the concept of unintended consequences in a paper written in 1936. Some possible grounds for the unintended consequences are the world’s complexity, human stupidity, self deception, hubris and biases. Merton’s five possible causes were:

Ignorance (It is impossible to anticipate everything, thereby leading to incomplete analysis) Error (Incorrect analysis of the problem or following habits that worked in the past but may not apply to the current situation) Immediate interest, which may override long-term interests Basic values may require or prohibit certain actions even if the long-term result might be unfavorable (these long-term consequences may eventually cause changes in basic values) Self-defeating prophecy (Fear of some consequence drives people to find solutions before the problem occurs, thus the non-occurrence of the problem is unanticipated) Ignorance, error, and immediate interest sound like a perfect motto for the U.S. Congress, Federal Reserve, and Treasury. When media pundits, pompous economists, self proclaimed experts, and corrupted politicians assure you that they have the solutions to all of our problems they are practicing the most evil form of hubris. The arrogance and self importance of these people is an insult to the intelligence of all Americans. They put their unproven theories into practice by committing trillions of taxpayer funds. They are only concerned about the next election cycle and not about the long-term consequences of their ignorance and ignorance of crucial facts. The accumulation of blunders over the decades by government has led to unintended consequences that could bring down our country. Recent developments will have disturbing consequences for all Americans.

Unintended Consequences of Cheap Oil

When oil reached $147 a barrel in the summer of 2008, panic was setting in among the sages in Congress. Windfall profit taxes on oil companies and government intervention to support alternative energy were the mantra of congressmen and Presidential candidates. Government intervention was going to work its magic. Instead, the markets adjusted rapidly to a worldwide decline in demand and the price plummeted to less than $40 a barrel. This drop has put an additional $200 billion of money back into the pockets of Americans. This was a needed relief in the midst of a grinding recession. The law of supply and demand worked without government intervention. The short-term focus of our politicians and many Americans will likely squander this temporary reprieve.

The pundits concluded that oil reaching $147 a barrel was due to speculators. Once the speculators were forced out, oil prices collapsed. Their view is that this temporary crisis has passed and life will go back to normal. American oil demand declined by 13% in September 2008, but Chinese demand grew by 28%. Auto financing at 0% for five years on SUVs will prevail and all will be well. The ignorance of the true facts by our leaders will lead to a future crisis that will make the current financial crisis seem like a walk in the park. The current economic downturn which has temporarily decreased worldwide demand will end. Oil demand will resume its upward slope, while supply has likely reached its peak. The facts based on exhaustive research by Matt Simmons are:

60% of the world’s oil is consumed by 10% of the world’s population.
America represents 5% of the world’s population and consumes 24% of the world’s oil.
Middle East oil use is growing more rapidly than China’s. China now uses 8 million barrels per day versus 3.5 million barrels per day in 1997. China now consumes 2 barrels per person versus 24 barrels per person in the U.S. The U.S. has 220 million automobiles for 305 million people. China has 32 million cars for 1.3 billion people. Peak supply of 86 million barrels of oil per day has been reached. Demand will grow to 115 million to 125 million barrels per day in the next 20 years.

Source: Perotcharts.com

The price of oil is now dangerously low. There are large amounts of untapped resources in non-traditional places. These include oil sands in Canada, oil shale in the Western U.S., and deep water oil. At $40 a barrel, the cost to extract oil from these sources is greater than the revenue that can be generated. Therefore, all projects in these areas will be stopped or delayed indefinitely. Drilling rigs are being shut down, employees are being laid off, and all expensive deep water projects are being abandoned. Supply has topped out at 86 million barrels per day. Mature oil fields throughout the world are in decline. Projects can take decades to bring on-line. Projects not started today will result in supply shortages in the future.

Source: Perotcharts.com

If the U.S. leaders allow today’s low prices to reduce its sense of urgency regarding energy independence, the consequences will be shocking. The existing energy infrastructure is rusting away. The estimates to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure, that is 80% beyond its original design life, run as high as $100 trillion. The Cantarell oil field in Mexico is collapsing and will lead to Mexico becoming an oil importer in the next five years. The U.S. currently gets 11.1% of our supply from Mexico, almost as much as from Saudi Arabia. Another 30% comes from unstable countries such as Venezuela, Iraq, Nigeria, and Russia. We are not in command of our energy future. By doing nothing today, we insure that $147 oil will seem like a bargain in the not too distant future. An all out effort to implement the Pickens Plan now is necessary to regain the upper hand regarding our energy future. Converting our country to wind power, natural gas, and nuclear power would decrease our dependence on foreign oil and keep $700 billion in the United States rather than transferring it to the Middle East.

Source: Perotcharts.com

Unintended Consequences of 0% Interest Rates
The Gross Domestic Product of the United States is $14.4 trillion. Consumer spending makes up $10.2 trillion or 71% of GDP. Government spending makes up $2.9 trillion, or 20% of GDP. Domestic investment makes up $2.0 trillion, or 14% of GDP. The trade deficit of $700 billion reduces GDP by 5%. President Obama has quite a dilemma in trying to revive this economy. The American consumer has borrowed from their homes and credit cards to fuel a colossal spending spree in the last twenty years. The dilemma is that the U.S. economic growth during the entire Bush administration was a debt induced fraud. From 1953 through 1983, consumption as a percentage of GDP ranged between 61% and 64%. Consumers rarely, if ever, borrowed against their houses. Paying off your mortgage was a goal of all families. A normalized level of consumer spending at 65% of GDP will require consumers to spend at least $1 trillion less per year. Less consumer spending will also contribute to reducing the trade deficit. The Federal Reserve and politicians running our country see a $1 trillion reduction in consumer spending as a disaster. Their positions of power would be in jeopardy. They will do everything in their power to not allow this to happen. The unintended consequences will commence shortly.

Source: Creditwritedowns.com

From the time Alan Greenspan took over as Federal Reserve Chairman in 1987, consumption and household debt rose at a faster rate than the economy. The Greenspan Put was a major contributor to these developments. Everyone knew that Greenspan would lower rates and inject liquidity into the system whenever an economic bump in the road came along. Greenspan’s reduction of the discount rate to 1% in 2003 led to the greatest debt bubble in history that still threatens to bring down the financial system.

Source: Creditwritedowns.com

The entrenched politician rulers of our country who are bought and sold by Big Business lobbyists, the Military Industrial Complex, and Big Media want to preserve the status quo. Their power base depends upon it. Prior to the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913, depressions were violent and short. Prices for goods and wages adjusted rapidly, which allowed businesses and workers to survive. Having the dollar pegged to gold, limited what the government could do. The Federal Reserve artificially inflated the money supply in the 1920s causing a normal depression to become a Great Depression. Government interference with wage and price controls and government make work projects did not allow the system to fix itself. It took a World War to pull our economy out of the Great Depression.

Source: Perotcharts.com

It’s the End of the World As We Know It
What is required to happen and what will happen, in the next year, will have calamitous consequences for the future of our country. What needs to take place is:

Consumers need to cut back dramatically on consuming. Spending as a percentage of GDP needs to decline to 65%, or by $1 trillion. This would be approximately $3,000 less spending per household per year. Twenty years of consumer debt accumulation must be unwound. This required deleveraging needs to eliminate $2 trillion of household debt. The result will be thousands of retail store closings, mall closings, restaurant closings, and auto dealership closings. The distinction between needs and wants will reveal itself like a sledgehammer. The consumer needs to increase their savings rate from 2% to 10%. This would provide more capital for investment. People who cannot afford the mortgage on their home need to sell or enter foreclosure. When home prices fall far enough, the market will clear the inventory. Lower prices are the only way to eliminate excess supply. Companies that have failed to prepare for this downturn by taking on excessive debt, allowing expenses to soar, and having no clear strategic plan should go bankrupt.

Unemployment will reach 9%. New businesses will be created and Americans will be hired. The Government should make sure that no one starves to death or has to sleep on the streets. The safety net of food stamps and unemployment insurance should be strengthened. The Government’s purpose is to protect its citizens, enforce the laws and maintain the public infrastructure. Our roads are crumbling, we have 156,000 structurally deficient bridges, millions of miles of pipes under our streets are rusting away, and our power grid is antiquated. The job of Government was to maintain these things. They have failed miserably. Why does anyone think a new government infrastructure plan will work? Bridges to nowhere will be everywhere.
Reducing spending dramatically on our military empire would provide funds to support the social safety net that is required during a depression. Congressmen in the pocket of the Defense industry will never allow it to happen. What needs to occur would inflict too much pain for our politician leaders to allow. A violent short depression will be traded for a decade long extended depression. A painful deflationary depression will be converted into a hyperinflationary depression that could threaten the very existence of our country. President elect Obama has begun his finely orchestrated marketing plan to spend $775 billion of borrowed taxpayer money. His rationale for the stimulus package is classic Washington politics -

Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don't act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn. That's why we need an American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan that not only creates jobs in the short-term but spurs economic growth and competitiveness in the long-term. An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn't happen today. – Laurence J. Peter

Not one economist on the face of the earth predicted the events of 2008. None of Obama’s list of blue chip economists saw a crisis coming and they have no idea how long or deep the current downturn will be. They make weather forecasters look highly accurate in comparison. Most economists are either, sellouts (Lawrence Yun), cheerleaders (Larry Kudlow), ideologues, or academic theoreticians. If Barrack Obama is depending on economists to determine our future, all is lost. Alan Greenspan was an economist. If we had done the opposite of everything he recommended in the last 20 years, the country would be on the right track. President Obama, with the overwhelming support of a Democratic Congress will double down on the trillions already poured down a rat hole by the Bush administration. The scenario that will play out is:

The $775 billion plan will grow to at least $1 trillion as Obama will need to buy off various factions within Congress with pork projects. Congress will approve the 2nd $350 billion tranche of TARP funds. Barney Frank and Nancy Pelosi will shovel billions to homeowners who should be foreclosed upon. Billions more will be given to the automakers. GMAC will get more funds from the taxpayer at 8% interest so they can then loan it to subprime borrowers at 0%. This doesn’t sound profitable, but they’ll make it up on volume. TARP funds will be given to commercial developers who foolishly overleveraged, overbuilt, and overpaid for properties. Credit card companies that handed out credit like candy for the last 20 years will see their write-offs triple to over 10% by 2010. The government will give more of your tax dollars to these incompetent bankers so they can send out another 5 million credit card offers to deadbeats. The Federal Reserve will buy mortgage debt and long-term Treasuries to artificially reduce market interest rates. With money market funds paying .25%, senior citizen savers will be forced to take on risk to get a return on their money. Penalizing savers to resuscitate reckless gamblers is the path that Ben Bernanke has chosen. When the Markets decline another 20% in 2009, more senior citizens will see their retirements destroyed by Mr. Bernanke. Consensus among the talking heads on CNBC is that markets will go up in 2009 because they went down so much in 2008. This is what amounts to analysis by business television. The people they interview have a vested financial interest in the market going up. So despite the fact that earnings will collapse in 2009, these pundits are sure the markets will rise. I’d bet against the consensus. Citicorp and JP Morgan will require additional enormous injections of capital from the taxpayer due to their looming credit card and commercial loan losses. The top 10 biggest banks are insolvent. They are being kept alive on life support systems provided by the Federal Reserve and Treasury. All the bankers who didn’t bankrupt their banks should be outraged at this misappropriation of taxpayer capital to incompetent, reckless, immoral, politically connected bankers.

Home prices will drop another 15% in 2009 and will remain depressed until 2015. The market will adjust to its natural equilibrium level despite all government efforts to keep prices artificially elevated. When you can buy a house and rent it out and generate a positive cash flow, houses will be reasonably priced. Despite the immense spending, zero interest rates, and propping up bankrupt financial institutions, consumers will not spend. Economists, bureaucrats and politicians are so focused on models and theories that they have failed to realize that the social mood of the country has changed forever. The poor economic conditions are being caused by the mood change, not vice versa. A return to frugality, saving, and simpler lives will keep a cap on spending for at least the next decade. The sum total of all that has been done and all that will be done will eventually lead to a hyperinflationary bust. The money supply is being expanded too rapidly, fiscal stimulus spending will be borrowed from foreigners, the dollar will fall as foreigners refuse to accept 2% for 10 years, and the Federal Reserve will react too late just like they did when this crisis began. This overstimulation of the economy will lead to a panic out of dollars and into real assets. The government will attempt to control the situation by confiscating gold as they did in the 1930s and Americans will be forced to surrender more liberties. In periods of economic and social upheaval - war, revolution, or dictatorship become possibilities. The average American needs to wake up from their materialistic stupor and understand the risks that lie ahead. An educated concerned citizen is our only defense against tyranny. Orwellian governmental policies will be inflicted upon the populous. Seek out those who are telling the truth. David Walker, Boone Pickens, Ron Paul, Mike Shedlock, Doug Casey, and John Mauldin are among the truth tellers.2009 James Quinn.Bio: James Quinn is a senior director of strategic planning for a major university. These articles reflect the personal views of James Quinn. They do not necessarily represent the views of his employer and are not sponsored or endorsed by his employer. He can be reached at quinnadvisors@comcast.net.

01/29/2009 RICHES AT THE NORTH POLE Russia Unveils Aggressive Arctic Plans
By Matthias Schepp and Gerald Traufetter

In a new national directive, Russia has asserted claims on large sections of the Arctic Ocean. The tone of the document is openly aggressive, prompting fears of increasing international tension over who has the right to exploit the mineral-rich territory.Cold temperatures and boredom are normally the order of the day at Russia's northernmost border post on the Arctic Ocean island of Alexandra Land. Icebergs as big as houses drift past, while old diesel drums stand silent in the dry air.Everybody wants a bit of the Arctic these days. Here, the midnight sun in the Arctic Circle near the Norwegian town of Longyearbyen.Gone are the days when the engines of bombers carrying nuclear warheads droned over Nagurskoye military station. Nowadays, there is only one flight a month to the station, which is home to 30 soldiers, 16 scientists and six meteorologists who report to the FSB, Russia's powerful domestic intelligence service. They live in austere wooden huts, braving the indifference of the Arctic.In September of last year, this ghost station of the Cold War was suddenly returned to the center of geopolitical events, when two dozen government representatives were flown there, including Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. They quickly agreed that the Arctic must become Russia's main strategic base for raw materials. Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Security Council of Russia, was quick to point out: If we do not become active now, we will simply be forced out.The group of powerful men decided to have a comprehensive strategy prepared for development of the Arctic by 2020. The document will be released this week.Some of the content has already been leaked, revealing an uncompromising tone. It cannot be ruled out that the battle for raw materials will be waged with military means,the explosive document reads.

It seems that Russia, with almost one-third of its territory lying north of the Arctic Circle, is about to prove that the fears of Western nations bordering the Arctic are not unjustified. The nuclear power will soon begin flexing its muscles along the icy shores of its giant realm.The interest of nations bordering the Arctic is growing as polar ice recedes. One week before leaving office, outgoing US President George W. Bush unveiled a strategic plan for the Arctic region. Canada, Denmark and Norway have launched their own initiatives. Even the European Union announced a new polar policy in November.Meanwhile, the government-controlled newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta is preparing Russians for the notion that the fight for the Arctic will be the initial spark for a new division of the world. Artur Chilingarov, a member of the Russia parliament and Moscow's chief ideologue when it comes to conquering the Arctic, puts it this way: We are not prepared to give our Arctic to anyone.Chilingarov -- who in August 2007 used a remote-controlled submarine arm to plant a Russian flag made of titanium on the ocean floor at the North Pole at a depth of 4,261 meters (13,976 feet) -- wants to present evidence to the United Nations within one year that the North Pole belongs to the Russians. His threat to those in the West who disagree is simple: If these rights are not recognized, Russia will withdraw from the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Alexander Dugin, a political scientist and well-known intellectual backer of Moscow's neo-imperial claims to a Greater Russia, becomes so caught up in nationalist fervor that he loses his grasp on biological realities: The purpose of our being lies in the expansion of our space. The shelf belongs to us. Polar bears live there, Russian polar bears. And penguins live there, Russian penguins.

Graphic: Claims to the Arctic Ocean.
Although the Arctic may be somewhat lacking in penguins, Russia's frozen north does contain vast mineral resources. Arctic Russia is already responsible for 11 percent of the country's gross domestic product and 22 percent of its export earnings. The intended expansion of Russia's northern border by at least 150 miles (241 kilometers) and 1.2 million square kilometers (463,000 square miles), an area three times the size of Germany, promises to yield immense natural resource earnings.

INTERACTIVE MAP

SPIEGEL ONLINEStaking Claim to the North Pole: The Arctic and Bordering Nations It was precisely these riches that Russian Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Sergei Donskoy discussed at the Arctic Frontiers conference in the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø, where several hundred scientists, politicians and economic experts came together last week.We hope to find reserves of oil and gas corresponding to about 20 percent of Russian reserves, Donskoy said, outlining Russia's plans for the Arctic.Under that plan, geologists will first study the Barents Sea and the Kara Sea. They expect to find at least two to four large oil or gas fields beneath the ocean floor in each of these two seas. According to Russia's environment minister, a petroleum engineer by trade, the fields contain an estimated 3.3 billion tons of oil and up to 5 billion cubic meters of gas.If all goes according to plan, the first gas from the Arctic should begin flowing in 2013 or 2014, says Hervé Madeo, the deputy director of an energy consortium led by Russia's Gazprom that is developing the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea. Of the field, he says: It is one of the largest in the world and unique in Russia.Despite the financial crisis, preparations for drilling are moving forward at a fast pace. The project has too much potential for the global economic downturn to affect it much, Madeo claims.

DPA

A Russia icebreaker in the Arctic Ocean: Moscow has unveiled aggressive new plans to exploit the Arctic's natural resources.The gas field could become the first major milestone in the development of the energy reserves of the north. This prompted Norwegian Rear Admiral Trond Grytting to comment sarcastically in his presentation at the Tromsø conference (entitled From the Cold War to the Hot Arctic): We have lots of natural resources, military personnel and disputed borders in the Arctic. This has never been a recipe for peace.Grytting showed slides of his fleet commander exchanging gestures of friendship with his Russian counterpart. But he also showed the flight paths of Russian reconnaissance planes off the Norwegian coast.The Norwegians are worried about three unresolved territorial disputes with their eastern neighbor, and all it takes is a glance at their radar screens to witness the extent to which the former Red Army is already amplifying its presence in the Arctic Ocean. The Russian doctrine is unmistakable, warns Grytting. The army is supposed to advance the state's goals in the surrounding region.These goals openly call for expansion. As far back as 2001, Russia submitted claims to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), a panel of scientists at the United Nations that will be called upon to make decisions about expanded territorial rights in the Arctic Ocean in the coming years.To support its claims, Russia will have to compile evidence to prove that its own continental shelf extends beyond the 200-nautical-mile zone known as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The Russian request was denied the first time around, with the CLCS demanding additional geologic evidence.Even many of Chilingarov's fellow Russians doubt whether he will be able to fulfill his ambitious promises to have compiled all the necessary documents and samples before the end of the year. A little bucket of sediment won't be enough, Leopold Lobkovsky of St. Petersburg's Institute of Oceanology said caustically.Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan.

Russia Kirill enthroned as Russian Orthodox Church leader
01/02 12:17 CETworld news

Kirill has been enthroned as the 16th Patriarch of Moscow and of all Russia and as the primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. The 62-year-old was crowned at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin were in attendance along with emissaries from different branches of the Orthodox Church and foreign guests. The new Patriarch was elected to the position following the death of Alexiy II in December. Many in the country believe the new Patriarch will guide the church on a more independent path than Alexiy, as the Church tries to separate itself from the state, following the fall of the Soviet Union. In a spirit of welcome dialogue and cooperation and backed by the constitution, the Church and the state must develop their relationship for the good of the Church, state and people, he said. Pope Benedict welcomed the Church’s choice of Kirill as the new Patriarch. The Vatican sees him as a moderniser who may usher in an improvement in relations between the two churches.

OBAMA WATCH CENTRAL Congress sued to remove prez from White House
Defendants had to ensure the Constitution is upheld January 31, 2009
12:00 am Eastern 2009 WorldNetDaily

A new lawsuit is challenging Barack Obama's eligibility to be president, and this one targets Congress as a defendant for its failure to uphold the constitutional demand to make sure Obama qualified before approving the Electoral College vote that actually designated him as the occupant of the Oval Office. The new case raises many of the same arguments as dozens of other cases that have flooded into courtrooms around the nation since the November election. It is being brought on behalf of Charles F. Kerchner Jr., Lowell T. Patterson, Darrell James Lenormand and Donald H. Nelson Jr. and names as defendants Barack Hussein Obama II, the U.S., Congress, the Senate, House of Representatives and former Vice President Dick Cheney along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Where's the proof Barack Obama was born in the U.S. or that he fulfills the natural-born American clause in the Constitution? If you still want to see it, join more than 193,000 others and sign up now! As WND has reported, dozens of lawsuits have been filed over Obama's eligibility to assume the office of the president. Many have been dismissed while others remain pending. The cases, in various ways, have alleged Obama does not meet the natural born citizen clause of the U.S. Constitution, Article 2, Section 1, which reads, No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President.Some of the legal challenges have alleged Obama was not born in Hawaii, as he insists, but in Kenya. Obama's American mother, the suits contend, was too young at the time of his birth to confer American citizenship to her son under the law at the time. Other challenges have focused on Obama's citizenship through his father, a Kenyan subject to the jurisdiction of the United Kingdom at the time of his birth, thus making him a dual citizen. The cases contend the framers of the Constitution excluded dual citizens from qualifying as natural born. Several details of Obama's past have added twists to the question of his eligibility and citizenship, including his family's move to Indonesia when he was a child, his travel to Pakistan in the '80s when such travel was forbidden to American citizens and conflicting reports from Obama's family about his place of birth.

Perhaps the most perplexing detail, however, has been Obama's refusal to allow the public release of a signed vault copy of his original birth certificate. The new case was launched in New Jersey, and focuses on the alleged failure in Congress to follow the Constitution. That document, the lawsuit states, provides that Congress must fully qualify the candidate elected by the Electoral College Electors.In provides, the lawsuit said, If the president-elect shall have failed to qualify, then the vice president elect shall act as president until a president shall have qualified.There existed significant public doubt and grievances from plaintiffs and other concerned Americans regarding Obama's eligibility to be president and defendants had the sworn duty to protect and preserve the Constitution and specifically under the 20th Amendment, Section 3, a Constitutional obligation to confirm whether Obama, once the electors elected him, was qualified.Congress is the elected representative of the American people and the people speak and act through them, the lawsuit said. The defendants violated the 20th Amendment by failing to assure that Obama meets the eligibility requirements,the lawsuit said. In the Russian publication Pravda, commentator Mark S. McGrew addressed the subject: The United States Congress is required, under the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations, to count the Electoral College votes for president and vice president, ask if any member of Congress objects to the count and hear that Congressman's objection. This is under Title 3, Chapter 1, Section 15, Upon such reading of any such certificate of paper, the president of the Senate shall call for objections, if any,he wrote.

Several of the cases – including those brought by Orly Taitz, Cort Wrotnowski, Leo Donofrio and Philip Berg, already have been discussed in conference at the U.S. Supreme Court, which has failed to have a hearing on any of the merits involved.

Taitz, in fact, is requesting information from the Supreme Court about a meeting eight of its justices held with Obama, a defendant in her case, before the justices reviewed the issues of the case in a private conference. Several of the cases not scheduled for hearings at the Supreme Court still remain active at lower court levels, from which emergency requests to the high court were launched. I know that Mr. Obama is not a constitutionally qualified natural born citizen and is ineligible to assume the office of president of the United States, Berg said in a statement on his ObamaCrimes.com website. Obama knows he is not 'natural born' as he knows where he was born and he knows he was adopted in Indonesia; Obama is an attorney, Harvard Law grad who taught Constitutional law; Obama knows his candidacy is the largest hoax attempted on the citizens of the United States in over 200 years; Obama places our Constitution in a crisis situation; and Obama is in a situation where he can be blackmailed by leaders around the world who know Obama is not qualified, Berg's statement continued. A partial listing and status update for several of the cases surrounding Obama's eligibility to serve as president is below: Philip J. Berg, a Pennsylvania Democrat, demanded that the courts verify Obama's original birth certificate and other documents proving his American citizenship. Berg's latest appeal, requesting an injunction to stop the Electoral College from selecting the 44th president, was denied.Leo Donofrio of New Jersey filed a lawsuit claiming Obama's dual citizenship disqualified him from serving as president. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court but denied a full hearing.Cort Wrotnowski filed suit against Connecticut's secretary of state, making a similar argument to Donofrio. His case was considered in conference by the U.S. Supreme Court, but was denied a full hearing.Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes headlines a list of people filing a suit in California, in a case handled by the United States Justice Foundation, that asks the secretary of state to refuse to allow the state's 55 Electoral College votes to be cast in the 2008 presidential election until Obama verifies his eligibility to hold the office. The case is pending, and lawyers are seeking the public's support.Chicago attorney Andy Martin sought legal action requiring Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle to release Obama's vital statistics record. The case was dismissed by Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Bert Ayabe.

Lt. Col. Donald Sullivan sought a temporary restraining order to stop the Electoral College vote in North Carolina until Barack Obama's eligibility could be confirmed, alleging doubt about Obama's citizenship. His case was denied.In Ohio, David M. Neal sued to force the secretary of state to request documents from the Federal Elections Commission, the Democratic National Committee, the Ohio Democratic Party and Obama to show the presidential candidate was born in Hawaii. The case was denied.In Washington state, Steven Marquis sued the secretary of state seeking a determination on Obama's citizenship. The case was denied.In Georgia, Rev. Tom Terry asked the state Supreme Court to authenticate Obama's birth certificate. His request for an injunction against Georgia's secretary of state was denied by Georgia Superior Court Judge Jerry W. Baxter.California attorney Orly Taitz has brought a case, Lightfoot vs. Bowen, on behalf of Gail Lightfoot, the vice presidential candidate on the ballot with Ron Paul, four electors and two registered voters.Private investigator Douglas Hagmann of HomelandSecurityUS.com reported earlier he found 13 cases challenging Obama's eligibility still active or semi-active. In addition, other cases cited on the RightSideofLife blog as raising questions about Obama's eligibility include: In Texas, Darrel Hunter vs. Obama later was dismissed.In Ohio, Gordon Stamper vs. U.S. later was dismissed.In Texas, Brockhausen vs. Andrade.In Washington, L. Charles vs. Obama.In Hawaii, Keyes vs. Lingle, dismissed.WND senior reporter Jerome Corsi had gone to both Kenya and Hawaii prior to the election to investigate issues surrounding Obama's birth. But his research and discoveries only raised more questions.The biggest question was why, if a Hawaii birth certificate exists as his campaign has stated, Obama hasn't simply ordered it made available to settle the rumors.The governor's office in Hawaii said there is a valid certificate but rejected requests for access and left ambiguous its origin: Does the certificate on file with the Department of Health indicate a Hawaii birth or was it generated after the Obama family registered a Kenyan birth in Hawaii? Obama's half-sister, Maya Soetoro, has named two different Hawaii hospitals where Obama could have been born. There have been other allegations that Obama actually was born in Kenya during a time when his father was a British subject. A one point a Kenyan ambassador said Obama's birth place in Kenya already was recognized and honored.

Televangelism empire in chaos over family split
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer Sunday, February 1, 2009

(02-01) 00:17 PST Garden Grove, Calif. (AP) --

Once one of the nation's most popular televangelists, the Rev. Robert H. Schuller is watching his life's work crumble.His son and recent successor, the Rev. Robert A. Schuller, has abruptly resigned as senior pastor of the Crystal Cathedral. The shimmering, glass-walled megachurch is home to the Hour of Power broadcast, an evangelism staple that's been on the air for more than three decades.The church is in financial turmoil: It plans to sell more than $65 million worth of its Orange County property to pay off debt. Revenue dropped by nearly $5 million last year, according to a recent letter from the elder Schuller to elite donors. In the letter, Schuller Sr. implored the Eagle's Club members — who supply 30 percent of the church's revenue — for donations and hinted that the show might go off the air without their support.The final months of 2008 were devastating for our ministry, the 82-year-old pastor wrote.The Crystal Cathedral blames the recession for its woes. But it's clear that the elder Schuller's carefully orchestrated leadership transition, planned over a decade, has stumbled badly.It's a problem common to personality driven ministries. Most have collapsed or been greatly diminished after their founders left the pulpit or died.Members often tie their donations to the pastor, not the institution, said Nancy Ammerman, a sociologist of religion at Boston University. Schuller, with a style that blends pop psychology and theology, has a particularly devoted following, she said.Viewers are probably much less likely to give when it's not their preacher they're giving to, she said. There's something about these televised programs where people develop a certain loyalty.Today's increasingly fragmented media landscape is also to blame, said Quentin Schultze, a Calvin College professor who specializes in Christian media.Church-based televangelism led by powerful personalities filled TV in the 1980s, but now only a handful of shows remain, he said. Among the struggling ministries are those of Oral Roberts and the late D. James Kennedy of The Coral Ridge Hour TV show.

I don't see a scenario for maintaining a TV-based megachurch anymore. The days of doing that in the models of Schuller and Jimmy Swaggart and Oral Roberts are over, Schultze said. It's amazing to me that the Hour of Power was able to keep going as long as it did.Through a spokesman, Schuller Sr., his family members and other cathedral officials declined to comment. The younger Schuller, 54, did not respond to an e-mail requesting an interview.The elder Schuller, who called his weekly show America's Television Church, founded his ministry in a drive-in theater after moving to Southern California in 1955.He studied marketing strategies to attract worshippers and preached a feel-good Christianity, describing himself as a possibility thinker and spinning his upbeat style into a 10,000-member church and a broadcast watched by millions worldwide.The church's main sanctuary, the Crystal Cathedral, is a landmark designed by renowned architect Philip Johnson, with a spire visible from afar amid Orange County's suburban sprawl. Thousands make the pilgrimage to see where the broadcast is filmed before a live congregation.The Schullers consider the church a family business and the younger Schuller's 2006 appointment was sanctioned by the Crystal Cathedral's parent denomination, the Reformed Church in America.But the church announced on Nov. 29 that Schuller Jr. had resigned as senior pastor, just a month after he was removed from the church's syndicated broadcasts. In a news release, Schuller Sr. said: Robert and I have been struggling as we each have different ideas as to the direction and the vision for this ministry.The church has since instituted a rotating roster of high-profile guest preachers, including Bill Hybels of Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago-area megachurch, and evangelist Luis Palau.Schuller Sr.'s daughters and sons-in-law remain involved in the church, some in key roles. But Juan Carlos Ortiz, the interim senior pastor, hopes to appoint a senior pastor with no ties to the Schuller family within two years.On the church Web site, concerned members and TV fans have posted hundreds of comments protesting the upheaval, with some indicating they have stopped giving or will leave altogether.Several angry viewers have launched petitions to get the younger Schuller back.Melody Mook, a 58-year-old medical transcriptionist from El Paso, Texas, said she stopped her $25 monthly donation and is looking elsewhere for her spiritual needs. She said she dislikes the guest pastors.I feel hurt and confused and I'm not sure that I want to sit and watch when I know there's problems beneath the surface, she said. You feel like you're in somebody else's church every Sunday.Others said they felt betrayed that the Schullers couldn't put God before their family spat.They have not been forthcoming at all, said John Dewart, an insurance agent from New Jersey who's watched for 30 years. Why can't a father and son work together for the glory of God? That's my big question.On the Net:
Crystal Cathedral: www.crystalcathedral.org/

TORAH PORTION FROM FEB 01 - 07 2009

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

TORAH PORTION FROM FEB 01 2009 6PM - FEB 07 6PM 2009

EXODUS 13:17 - 17:16
17 And it came to pass, when Pharaoh had let the people go, that God led them not through the way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near; for God said, Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt:
18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.
19 And Moses took the bones of Joseph with him: for he had straitly sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you; and ye shall carry up my bones away hence with you.
20 And they took their journey from Succoth, and encamped in Etham, in the edge of the wilderness.
21 And the LORD went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar of fire, to give them light; to go by day and night:
22 He took not away the pillar of the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people.

EXODUS 14:1-31
1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Speak unto the children of Israel, that they turn and encamp before Pihahiroth, between Migdol and the sea, over against Baalzephon: before it shall ye encamp by the sea.
3 For Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, They are entangled in the land, the wilderness hath shut them in.
4 And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, that he shall follow after them; and I will be honoured upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host; that the Egyptians may know that I am the LORD. And they did so.
5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him:
7 And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
8 And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children of Israel went out with an high hand.
9 But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pihahiroth, before Baalzephon.
10 And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
11 And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12 Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
13 And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14 The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15 And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
16 But lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea.
17 And I, behold, I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
18 And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I have gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen.
19 And the angel of God, which went before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near the other all the night.
21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided.
22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
23 And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen.
24 And it came to pass, that in the morning watch the LORD looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the Egyptians,
25 And took off their chariot wheels, that they drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee from the face of Israel; for the LORD fighteth for them against the Egyptians.
26 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
27 And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared; and the Egyptians fled against it; and the LORD overthrew the Egyptians in the midst of the sea.
28 And the waters returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them; there remained not so much as one of them.
29 But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore.
31 And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.

EXODUS 15:1-27
1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the LORD, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
2 The LORD is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father's God, and I will exalt him.
3 The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name.
4 Pharaoh's chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea: his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
5 The depths have covered them: they sank into the bottom as a stone.
6 Thy right hand, O LORD, is become glorious in power: thy right hand, O LORD, hath dashed in pieces the enemy.
7 And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast overthrown them that rose up against thee: thou sentest forth thy wrath, which consumed them as stubble.
8 And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake, I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfied upon them; I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy them.
10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them: they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
11 Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
12 Thou stretchedst out thy right hand, the earth swallowed them.
13 Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which thou hast redeemed: thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy habitation.
14 The people shall hear, and be afraid: sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed; the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold upon them; all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
16 Fear and dread shall fall upon them; by the greatness of thine arm they shall be as still as a stone; till thy people pass over, O LORD, till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
17 Thou shalt bring them in, and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, in the place, O LORD, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, in the Sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have established.
18 The LORD shall reign for ever and ever.
19 For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and with his horsemen into the sea, and the LORD brought again the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.
21 And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days in the wilderness, and found no water.
23 And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah.
24 And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
25 And he cried unto the LORD; and the LORD shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them,
26 And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the LORD thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth thee.
27 And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water, and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there by the waters.

EXODUS 16:1-36
1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.
2 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3 And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
4 Then said the LORD unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a certain rate every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or no.
5 And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily.
6 And Moses and Aaron said unto all the children of Israel, At even, then ye shall know that the LORD hath brought you out from the land of Egypt:
7 And in the morning, then ye shall see the glory of the LORD; for that he heareth your murmurings against the LORD: and what are we, that ye murmur against us?
8 And Moses said, This shall be, when the LORD shall give you in the evening flesh to eat, and in the morning bread to the full; for that the LORD heareth your murmurings which ye murmur against him: and what are we? your murmurings are not against us, but against the LORD.
9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, Come near before the LORD: for he hath heard your murmurings.
10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud.
11 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
12 I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God.
13 And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host.
14 And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground.
15 And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.
16 This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for them which are in his tents.
17 And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.
18 And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.
19 And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
20 Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them.
21 And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted.
22 And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread, two omers for one man: and all the rulers of the congregation came and told Moses.
23 And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.
24 And they laid it up till the morning, as Moses bade: and it did not stink, neither was there any worm therein.
25 And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the LORD: to day ye shall not find it in the field.
26 Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.
27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.
31 And the house of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey.
32 And Moses said, This is the thing which the LORD commandeth, Fill an omer of it to be kept for your generations; that they may see the bread wherewith I have fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you forth from the land of Egypt.
33 And Moses said unto Aaron, Take a pot, and put an omer full of manna therein, and lay it up before the LORD, to be kept for your generations.
34 As the LORD commanded Moses, so Aaron laid it up before the Testimony, to be kept.
35 And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years, until they came to a land inhabited; they did eat manna, until they came unto the borders of the land of Canaan.
36 Now an omer is the tenth part of an ephah.

EXODUS 17:1-16
1 And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.
2 Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD?
3 And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me.
5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go.
6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
7 And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?
8 Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.
9 And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.
10 So Joshua did as Moses had said to him, and fought with Amalek: and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.
11 And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.
12 But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.
13 And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.
14 And the LORD said unto Moses, Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua: for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.
15 And Moses built an altar, and called the name of it Jehovahnissi:
16 For he said, Because the LORD hath sworn that the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.

PROPHETS PORTION

JUDGES 4:4-5:31
4 And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.
5 And she dwelt under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in mount Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judgment.
6 And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam out of Kedeshnaphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the LORD God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
7 And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the captain of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his multitude; and I will deliver him into thine hand.
8 And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not go.
9 And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour; for the LORD shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh.
10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
11 Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim, which is by Kedesh.
12 And they shewed Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor.
13 And Sisera gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred chariots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
14 And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in which the LORD hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not the LORD gone out before thee? So Barak went down from mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him.
15 And the LORD discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host, with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet.
16 But Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon the edge of the sword; and there was not a man left.
17 Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
18 And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a mantle.
19 And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk, and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and it shall be, when any man doth come and enquire of thee, and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
21 Then Jael Heber's wife took a nail of the tent, and took an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
22 And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will shew thee the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
23 So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan before the children of Israel.
24 And the hand of the children of Israel prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.

JUDGES 5:1-31
1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that day, saying,
2 Praise ye the LORD for the avenging of Israel, when the people willingly offered themselves.
3 Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes; I, even I, will sing unto the LORD; I will sing praise to the LORD God of Israel.
4 LORD, when thou wentest out of Seir, when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom, the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped, the clouds also dropped water.
5 The mountains melted from before the LORD, even that Sinai from before the LORD God of Israel.
6 In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath, in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied, and the travellers walked through byways.
7 The inhabitants of the villages ceased, they ceased in Israel, until that I Deborah arose, that I arose a mother in Israel.
8 They chose new gods; then was war in the gates: was there a shield or spear seen among forty thousand in Israel?
9 My heart is toward the governors of Israel, that offered themselves willingly among the people. Bless ye the LORD.
10 Speak, ye that ride on white asses, ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
11 They that are delivered from the noise of archers in the places of drawing water, there shall they rehearse the righteous acts of the LORD, even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his villages in Israel: then shall the people of the LORD go down to the gates.
12 Awake, awake, Deborah: awake, awake, utter a song: arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive, thou son of Abinoam.
13 Then he made him that remaineth have dominion over the nobles among the people: the LORD made me have dominion over the mighty.
14 Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek; after thee, Benjamin, among thy people; out of Machir came down governors, and out of Zebulun they that handle the pen of the writer.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah; even Issachar, and also Barak: he was sent on foot into the valley. For the divisions of Reuben there were great thoughts of heart.
16 Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds, to hear the bleatings of the flocks? For the divisions of Reuben there were great searchings of heart.
17 Gilead abode beyond Jordan: and why did Dan remain in ships? Asher continued on the sea shore, and abode in his breaches.
18 Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that jeoparded their lives unto the death in the high places of the field.
19 The kings came and fought, then fought the kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo; they took no gain of money.
20 They fought from heaven; the stars in their courses fought against Sisera.
21 The river of Kishon swept them away, that ancient river, the river Kishon. O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
22 Then were the horsehoofs broken by the means of the pransings, the pransings of their mighty ones.
23 Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the LORD, curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof; because they came not to the help of the LORD, to the help of the LORD against the mighty.
24 Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite be, blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk; she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
26 She put her hand to the nail, and her right hand to the workmen's hammer; and with the hammer she smote Sisera, she smote off his head, when she had pierced and stricken through his temples.
27 At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down: at her feet he bowed, he fell: where he bowed, there he fell down dead.
28 The mother of Sisera looked out at a window, and cried through the lattice, Why is his chariot so long in coming? why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
29 Her wise ladies answered her, yea, she returned answer to herself,
30 Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey; to every man a damsel or two; to Sisera a prey of divers colours, a prey of divers colours of needlework, of divers colours of needlework on both sides, meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
31 So let all thine enemies perish, O LORD: but let them that love him be as the sun when he goeth forth in his might. And the land had rest forty years.

NEW TESTAMENT PORTION

LUKE 2:22-24
22 And when the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord;
23 (As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
24 And to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.

JOHN 6:25-35
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
26 Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.

JOHN 19:31-37
31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.
32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him.
33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
34 But one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
35 And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
36 For these things were done, that the scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be broken.
37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.

1 CORINTHIANS 10:1-13
1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.

2 CORINTHIANS 8:1-15
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
7 Therefore, as ye abound in every thing, in faith, and utterance, and knowledge, and in all diligence, and in your love to us, see that ye abound in this grace also.
8 I speak not by commandment, but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sincerity of your love.
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
10 And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.
11 Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.
12 For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:
15 As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

REVELATION 15:1-4
1 And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God.
2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

Saturday, January 31, 2009

DAVOS 2009 HAPPENINGS

DAVOS 2009
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/live-from-davos-2009/

CNBC AT DAVOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28667981

MARIA BARTOROMO-NO WAY BACK.
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28559084/
CNBC NO WAY BACK VIDEOS PARTS 1-5
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1018354394&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1018352475&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1018354364&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1018342197&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1018342174&play=1

TONY BLAIR AT DAVOS ON CNBC
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1017529079&play=1

All Big US Banks Must Go to Fix Crisis: Economist
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28928650

HEARD IN DAVOS 2009
http://www.cnbc.com/id/16563307/

ALL CNBC DAVOS VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/28796942/

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM VIDEOS
http://ca.youtube.com/profile?user=WorldEconomicForum&view=videos

EU CLIMATE CHANGE STORIES
http://www.euractiv.com/en/climate-change/davos-experts-call-multilateral-linking-economy-climate/article-179008

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Pre-Davos Press Conference
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5J3QplauQE&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

WELCOM: Connecting Leaders to Global Issues
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaxE62SHugQ&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

The Politics of Water
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpGo0q_luTw&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

more davos stories
http://edition.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2009/news/davos/index.html

Conversation with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGdJ1-qFcLM&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

BARASSO WE ARE ALL IN THE SAME BOAT
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/business/2009/01/30/davos.quest.intv.barroso.cnn

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Advice to the US President on Competitiveness
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4Df-Dd93XE&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

The New Economic Era
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SrIQfmJ4A8&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - World Economic Brainstorming
Maria Batoromo at davos 2009 - video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQXePYFpbTg&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Rebooting the Global Economy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE8pPRnsFBc&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

The Global Economic Outlook
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPPPFMSMS-U&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Shaping the Post-Crisis World
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TO6JFI7EV-4&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Press Conference - The G20 and the Pathway Forward
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpcHELoUhng&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Scenarios for the Future of the Global Financial Systems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PA3J2DujyXw&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - The Global Compact and the Corporate Citizen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9b88Y62ipu4&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - The Values Behind Market Capitalism
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDLfCvZtnK0&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - The New US Agenda
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWQ5j4t2QUE&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Angela Merkel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xl6q_B1bFDI&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - A Conversation with Willliam J. Clinton
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlU23K3ZBNo&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Open Forum - Is There a Solution for the Middle East?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGg-uzpqLnY&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - The Middle East: Owning Its Challenges
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_GksrYoH4U&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Gaza: The Case for Middle East Peace
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR4zRbPy2kY&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - The Economic(WORLD)Governance(GOVERNMENT)of Europe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyH4gCCTrdk&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Update 2009: Europe
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jg0R48ywRg&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Why We Need a New System of Global Cooperation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8xFbOQKbM8&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

Neelie Kroes European Commissioner for Competition Policy
Avoiding the protectionist trap Address at conference Nouveau Monde, Nouveau Capitalisme: Round table on Globalisation and social justice Paris, 8th January 2009

Address at conference Nouveau Monde, Nouveau Capitalisme: Round table on Globalisation and social justice Paris, 8th January 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen, dear friends,
There is no alternative to globalisation. The current global crisis will not be solved through local regulation or through a protectionist re-nationalisation of global markets. Social justice will be achieved not only by promoting welfare equality. It will also be achieved by providing equality of opportunities, in particular through free and competitive markets. The current global crisis is an eye opener and it forces us to go back to basics, so to say. As harsh as it may be, the crisis should not cloud the fact that globalisation has contributed to pulling millions out of poverty. Yes - the market economy comes with bubbles and recessions, but the long term trend has been towards prosperity. Nobody can deny that competitive and open markets have been a main force behind the wealth and prosperity that the world has obtained so far. And few dispute that markets must play a key role if we are to maintain and extend that prosperity.The crisis has also illustrated clearly that government interventions are unavoidable and that global inter-dependency requires a new type of global governance.

First, we need governments to set the rules of the game, to regulate markets so that they do not degenerate to crony or casino capitalism and to ensure that the incentives of participants are right, so that we don’t pollute our planet or destroy our social fabric.

Second, we need governments to complement the markets. To deliver the services that are not provided automatically by the market, but which we believe our citizens deserve.

How big a role the State should play is a long and old debate. You will find plenty of devotees on both sides. One thing is certain. Blind faith is of little use, whether it is in laissez-faire or planned economies. The real question is how we frame and -if necessary- correct markets to work for the public interest. We surely need governments to intervene and provide better regulation, but it needs to be done in a way that preserves the dynamism and innovation that comes from free competition.
One of the areas at heart of this debate in the European context is our state aid rules. The recent weeks demonstrated the importance of these rules and the danger of subsidy races for the common interest. Without state aid control, governments would simply be subject to the biggest corporate blackmail in history; sound companies would be penalised and reforms put off. As a result our economic engine would run slower, not faster.It may also be tempting to panic and resort to protectionism. To de-globalise, if you will. May be not in its most naked and apparent form, but disguised and dressed up as a concern for something else.

Many people already compare the current situation to the great depression of the 1930s. Back then the crisis came hand in hand with trade barriers such as the Smoot-Hawley tariff act in 1930 and antitrust exemptions such as the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) in the US. That set off a cascade of protectionism and a steep decline in world trade. We all share a responsibility to avoid falling into that same trap this time! Let me be as clear as I can: if the survival of a company depends on whether it is well connected to politicians in a wealthy state willing to hand out taxpayers' money or to raise protective barriers, we are not getting more social justice, we are getting less.The concern for social justice should not lead us to deprive citizens of the freedom and benefits that come from flexible markets where efforts are measured in a competitive market and rewarded accordingly. But it should lead us to carefully design our social institutions so that everybody can truly participate in the economy on equal terms.

The response to the crisis or the concern for social justice should not lead us to scale down markets through protectionism, but rather to scale up the regulatory response so that it fits better to a world where we are all in the same boat.
We have lived through that experience in Europe already, albeit at a smaller scale. We moved closer together and created a Single Market. That was complemented by closer cooperation and coordination on many fronts. The European Union is in a way an ongoing laboratory for how best to allocate responsibilities at different levels.

The European response to the crisis could be replicated at a global level:
1.The fiscal stimulus to boost demand remains the responsibility of the EU Member States, but has been co-ordinated in a way that helps make them more effective. Fiscal policy has positive externalities and work better if they are synchronised.
2.The support schemes to the financial sector remained in the hands of Member States, but our state aid rules allowed the Commission to provide a framework that ensured consistency throughout the Union. If left unchecked, state aid to banks in one country would have had negative effects on banks in neighbouring countries.
Some initiatives need even more centralised structure. Our common currency, the euro, has been a strong stability factor. The European scheme for tradable CO2 emissions is a government-created market which we would be delighted to globalise to fight climate change. We need global responses. On the competition policy front the trend is in the right direction. A closer network of competition systems is slowly emerging after decades of work. Global rules on state aid would also be helpful.
Let me end by wishing that this crisis will be used as a catharsis and not as a curse. No, globalisation will not be stopped. Yes, we can build global governance structures, and not only for competition policy.Social justice does not need to be the victim of globalisation but can go hand in hand with regulated markets offering equal opportunities. The European Union is a small-scale example of this.
Thank you!

Adam Leach - Prime Minister Putin’s strong statements about the importance of non-isolationism, non-protectionism, and complementarity between economies were very important, says Adam Leach, the International Business Leaders Forum CEO.
http://www.russiatoday.com/guests/video/2059
OTHER RUSSIA BUSINESS SITES
http://www.iblf.org/regions/Russia.jsp

OTHER PUTIN SPEECHES
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=listByAuthor&authorFirst=Vladimir&authorName=Putin

Davos Annual Meeting 2009 - Opening Plenary with Vladimir Putin
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iy-el0jO1mo&eurl=http://israndjer.blogspot.com/&feature=player_embedded

The World is Facing the First Truly Global Economic Crisis
by Vladimir Putin Global Research, January 29, 2009 World Economic Forum

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s speech at the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum Davos, Switzerland January 28, 2009

Good afternoon, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to thank the forum’s organisers for this opportunity to share my thoughts on global economic developments and to share our plans and proposals.The world is now facing the first truly global economic crisis, which is continuing to develop at an unprecedented pace.The current situation is often compared to the Great Depression of the late 1920s and the early 1930s. True, there are some similarities. However, there are also some basic differences. The crisis has affected everyone at this time of globalisation. Regardless of their political or economic system, all nations have found themselves in the same boat.There is a certain concept, called the perfect storm, which denotes a situation when Nature’s forces converge in one point of the ocean and increase their destructive potential many times over. It appears that the present-day crisis resembles such a perfect storm.Responsible and knowledgeable people must prepare for it. Nevertheless, it always flares up unexpectedly.The current situation is no exception either. Although the crisis was simply hanging in the air, the majority strove to get their share of the pie, be it one dollar or a billion, and did not want to notice the rising wave.

In the last few months, virtually every speech on this subject started with criticism of the United States. But I will do nothing of the kind.I just want to remind you that, just a year ago, American delegates speaking from this rostrum emphasised the US economy’s fundamental stability and its cloudless prospects. Today, investment banks, the pride of Wall Street, have virtually ceased to exist. In just 12 months, they have posted losses exceeding the profits they made in the last 25 years. This example alone reflects the real situation better than any criticism.The time for enlightenment has come. We must calmly, and without gloating, assess the root causes of this situation and try to peek into the future.In our opinion, the crisis was brought about by a combination of several factors.The existing financial system has failed. Substandard regulation has contributed to the crisis, failing to duly heed tremendous risks. Add to this colossal disproportions that have accumulated over the last few years. This primarily concerns disproportions between the scale of financial operations and the fundamental value of assets, as well as those between the increased burden on international loans and the sources of their collateral.The entire economic growth system, where one regional centre prints money without respite and consumes material wealth, while another regional centre manufactures inexpensive goods and saves money printed by other governments, has suffered a major setback.

I would like to add that this system has left entire regions, including Europe, on the outskirts of global economic processes and has prevented them from adopting key economic and financial decisions. Moreover, generated prosperity was distributed extremely unevenly among various population strata. This applies to differences between social strata in certain countries, including highly developed ones. And it equally applies to gaps between countries and regions. A considerable share of the world’s population still cannot afford comfortable housing, education and quality health care. Even a global recovery posted in the last few years has failed to radically change this situation. And, finally, this crisis was brought about by excessive expectations. Corporate appetites with regard to constantly growing demand swelled unjustifiably. The race between stock market indices and capitalisation began to overshadow rising labour productivity and real-life corporate effectiveness.

Unfortunately, excessive expectations were not only typical of the business community. They set the pace for rapidly growing personal consumption standards, primarily in the industrial world. We must openly admit that such growth was not backed by a real potential. This amounted to unearned wealth, a loan that will have to be repaid by future generations.This pyramid of expectations would have collapsed sooner or later. In fact, this is happening right before our eyes.

Esteemed colleagues,

One is sorely tempted to make simple and popular decisions in times of crisis. However, we could face far greater complications if we merely treat the symptoms of the disease.Naturally, all national governments and business leaders must take resolute actions. Nevertheless, it is important to avoid making decisions, even in such force majeure circumstances, that we will regret in the future.This is why I would first like to mention specific measures which should be avoided and which will not be implemented by Russia. We must not revert to isolationism and unrestrained economic egotism. The leaders of the world’s largest economies agreed during the November 2008 G20 summit not to create barriers hindering global trade and capital flows. Russia shares these principles. Although additional protectionism will prove inevitable during the crisis, all of us must display a sense of proportion. Excessive intervention in economic activity and blind faith in the state’s omnipotence is another possible mistake. True, the state’s increased role in times of crisis is a natural reaction to market setbacks. Instead of streamlining market mechanisms, some are tempted to expand state economic intervention to the greatest possible extent. The concentration of surplus assets in the hands of the state is a negative aspect of anti-crisis measures in virtually every nation. In the 20th century, the Soviet Union made the state’s role absolute. In the long run, this made the Soviet economy totally uncompetitive. This lesson cost us dearly. I am sure nobody wants to see it repeated. Nor should we turn a blind eye to the fact that the spirit of free enterprise, including the principle of personal responsibility of businesspeople, investors and shareholders for their decisions, is being eroded in the last few months. There is no reason to believe that we can achieve better results by shifting responsibility onto the state. And one more point: anti-crisis measures should not escalate into financial populism and a refusal to implement responsible macroeconomic policies. The unjustified swelling of the budgetary deficit and the accumulation of public debts are just as destructive as adventurous stock-jobbing.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Unfortunately, we have so far failed to comprehend the true scale of the ongoing crisis. But one thing is obvious: the extent of the recession and its scale will largely depend on specific high-precision measures, due to be charted by governments and business communities and on our coordinated and professional efforts. In our opinion, we must first atone for the past and open our cards, so to speak. This means we must assess the real situation and write off all hopeless debts and “bad” assets. True, this will be an extremely painful and unpleasant process. Far from everyone can accept such measures, fearing for their capitalisation, bonuses or reputation. However, we would conserve and prolong the crisis, unless we clean up our balance sheets. I believe financial authorities must work out the required mechanism for writing off debts that corresponds to today’s needs. Second. Apart from cleaning up our balance sheets, it is high time we got rid of virtual money, exaggerated reports and dubious ratings. We must not harbour any illusions while assessing the state of the global economy and the real corporate standing, even if such assessments are made by major auditors and analysts.In effect, our proposal implies that the audit, accounting and ratings system reform must be based on a reversion to the fundamental asset value concept. In other words, assessments of each individual business must be based on its ability to generate added value, rather than on subjective concepts. In our opinion, the economy of the future must become an economy of real values. How to achieve this is not so clear-cut. Let us think about it together.Third. Excessive dependence on a single reserve currency is dangerous for the global economy. Consequently, it would be sensible to encourage the objective process of creating several strong reserve currencies in the future. It is high time we launched a detailed discussion of methods to facilitate a smooth and irreversible switchover to the new model.Fourth. Most nations convert their international reserves into foreign currencies and must therefore be convinced that they are reliable. Those issuing reserve and accounting currencies are objectively interested in their use by other states. This highlights mutual interests and interdependence. Consequently, it is important that reserve currency issuers must implement more open monetary policies. Moreover, these nations must pledge to abide by internationally recognised rules of macroeconomic and financial discipline. In our opinion, this demand is not excessive. At the same time, the global financial system is not the only element in need of reforms. We are facing a much broader range of problems. This means that a system based on cooperation between several major centres must replace the obsolete unipolar world concept. We must strengthen the system of global regulators based on international law and a system of multilateral agreements in order to prevent chaos and unpredictability in such a multipolar world. Consequently, it is very important that we reassess the role of leading international organisations and institutions.I am convinced that we can build a more equitable and efficient global economic system. But it is impossible to create a detailed plan at this event today.It is clear, however, that every nation must have guaranteed access to vital resources, new technology and development sources. What we need is guarantees that could minimise risks of recurring crises. Naturally, we must continue to discuss all these issues, including at the G20 meeting in London, which will take place in April.Our decisions should match the present-day situation and heed the requirements of a new post-crisis world.

The global economy could face trite energy-resource shortages and the threat of thwarted future growth while overcoming the crisis. Three years ago, at a summit of the Group of Eight, we raised the issue of global energy security. We called for the shared responsibility of suppliers, consumers and transit countries. I think it is time to launch truly effective mechanisms ensuring such responsibility.The only way to ensure truly global energy security is to form interdependence, including a swap of assets, without any discrimination or dual standards. It is such interdependence that generates real mutual responsibility.Unfortunately, the existing Energy Charter has failed to become a working instrument able to regulate emerging problems.I propose we start laying down a new international legal framework for energy security. Implementation of our initiative could play a political role comparable to the treaty establishing the European Coal and Steel Community. That is to say, consumers and producers would finally be bound into a real single energy partnership based on clear-cut legal foundations.Every one of us realises that sharp and unpredictable fluctuations of energy prices are a colossal destabilising factor in the global economy. Today’s landslide fall of prices will lead to a growth in the consumption of resources.On the one hand, investments in energy saving and alternative sources of energy will be curtailed. On the other, less money will be invested in oil production, which will result in its inevitable downturn. Which, in the final analysis, will escalate into another fit of uncontrolled price growth and a new crisis.It is necessary to return to a balanced price based on an equilibrium between supply and demand, to strip pricing of a speculative element generated by many derivative financial instruments.To guarantee the transit of energy resources remains a challenge. There are two ways of tackling it, and both must be used. The first is to go over to generally recognised market principles of fixing tariffs on transit services. They can be recorded in international legal documents. The second is to develop and diversify the routes of energy transportation. We have been working long and hard along these lines. In the past few years alone, we have implemented such projects as the Yamal-Europe and Blue Stream gas pipelines. Experience has proved their urgency and relevance. I am convinced that such projects as South Stream and North Stream are equally needed for Europe’s energy security. Their total estimated capacity is something like 85 billion cubic meters of gas a year. Gazprom, together with its partners – Shell, Mitsui and Mitsubishi – will soon launch capacities for liquefying and transporting natural gas produced in the Sakhalin area. And that is also Russia’s contribution to global energy security. We are developing the infrastructure of our oil pipelines. The first section of the Baltic Pipeline System (BPS) has already been completed. BPS-1 supplies up to 75 million tonnes of oil a year. It does this direct to consumers – via our ports on the Baltic Sea. Transit risks are completely eliminated in this way. Work is currently under way to design and build BPS-2 (its throughput capacity is 50 million tonnes of oil a year. We intend to build transport infrastructure in all directions. The first stage of the pipeline system Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean is in the final stage. Its terminal point will be a new oil port in Kozmina Bay and an oil refinery in the Vladivostok area. In the future a gas pipeline will be laid parallel to the oil pipeline, towards the Pacific and China. Addressing you here today, I cannot but mention the effects of the global crisis on the Russian economy. We have also been seriously affected.

However, unlike many other countries, we have accumulated large reserves. They expand our possibilities for confidently passing through the period of global instability.The crisis has made the problems we had more evident. They concern the excessive emphasis on raw materials in exports and the economy in general and a weak financial market. The need to develop a number of fundamental market institutions, above all of a competitive environment, has become more acute.We were aware of these problems and sought to address them gradually. The crisis is only making us move more actively towards the declared priorities, without changing the strategy itself, which is to effect a qualitative renewal of Russia in the next 10 to 12 years.Our anti-crisis policy is aimed at supporting domestic demand, providing social guarantees for the population, and creating new jobs. Like many countries, we have reduced production taxes, leaving money in the economy. We have optimised state spending.But, I repeat, along with measures of prompt response, we are also working to create a platform for post-crisis development.We are convinced that those who will create attractive conditions for global investment already now and will be able to preserve and strengthen sources of strategically meaningful resources will become leaders of the restoration of the global economy.This is why among our priorities we have the creation of a favourable business environment and development of competition; the establishment of a stable loan system resting on sufficient internal resources; and implementation of transport and other infrastructure projects.Russia is already one of the major exporters of a number of food commodities. And our contribution to ensuring global food security will only increase.We are also going to actively develop the innovation sectors of the economy. Above all, those in which Russia has a competitive edge – space, nuclear energy, aviation. In these areas, we are already actively establishing cooperative ties with other countries. A promising area for joint efforts could be the sphere of energy saving.We see higher energy efficiency as one of the key factors for energy security and future development.We will continue reforms in our energy industry. Adoption of a new system of internal pricing based on economically justified tariffs.

This is important, including for encouraging energy saving. We will continue our policy of openness to foreign investments.I believe that the 21st century economy is an economy of people not of factories. The intellectual factor has become increasingly important in the economy. That is why we are planning to focus on providing additional opportunities for people to realise their potential.We are already a highly educated nation. But we need for Russian citizens to obtain the highest quality and most up-to-date education, and such professional skills that will be widely in demand in today’s world. Therefore, we will be pro-active in promoting educational programmes in leading specialities.We will expand student exchange programmes, arrange training for our students at the leading foreign colleges and universities and with the most advanced companies. We will also create such conditions that the best researchers and professors – regardless of their citizenship – will want to come and work in Russia.History has given Russia a unique chance. Events urgently require that we reorganise our economy and update our social sphere. We do not intend to pass up this chance. Our country must emerge from the crisis renewed, stronger and more competitive.Separately, I would like to comment on problems that go beyond the purely economic agenda, but nevertheless are very topical in present-day conditions. Unfortunately, we are increasingly hearing the argument that the build-up of military spending could solve today’s social and economic problems. The logic is simple enough. Additional military allocations create new jobs. At a glance, this sounds like a good way of fighting the crisis and unemployment. This policy might even be quite effective in the short term. But in the longer run, militarisation won’t solve the problem but will rather quell it temporarily. What it will do is squeeze huge financial and other resources from the economy instead of finding better and wiser uses for them.

My conviction is that reasonable restraint in military spending, especially coupled with efforts to enhance global stability and security, will certainly bring significant economic dividends. I hope that this viewpoint will eventually dominate globally. On our part, we are geared to intensive work on discussing further disarmament.I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the economic crisis could aggravate the current negative trends in global politics. The world has lately come to face an unheard-of surge of violence and other aggressive actions, such as Georgia’s adventurous sortie in the Caucasus, recent terrorist attacks in India, and escalation of violence in Gaza Strip. Although not apparently linked directly, these developments still have common features.First of all, I am referring to the existing international organisations’ inability to provide any constructive solutions to regional conflicts, or any effective proposals for interethnic and interstate settlement. Multilateral political mechanisms have proved as ineffective as global financial and economic regulators. Frankly speaking, we all know that provoking military and political instability, regional and other conflicts is a helpful means of distracting the public from growing social and economic problems. Such attempts cannot be ruled out, unfortunately.To prevent this scenario, we need to improve the system of international relations, making it more effective, safe and stable. There are a lot of important issues on the global agenda in which most countries have shared interests. These include anti-crisis policies, joint efforts to reform international financial institutions, to improve regulatory mechanisms, ensure energy security and mitigate the global food crisis, which is an extremely pressing issue today.Russia is willing to contribute to dealing with international priority issues. We expect all our partners in Europe, Asia and America, including the new US administration, to show interest in further constructive cooperation in dealing with all these issues and more. We wish the new team success.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The international community is facing a host of extremely complicated problems, which might seem overpowering at times. But, a journey of thousand miles begins with a single step, as the proverb goes. We must seek foothold relying on the moral values that have ensured the progress of our civilisation. Integrity and hard work, responsibility and self-confidence will eventually lead us to success. We should not despair. This crisis can and must be fought, also by pooling our intellectual, moral and material resources.This kind of consolidation of effort is impossible without mutual trust, not only between business operators, but primarily between nations.
Therefore, finding this mutual trust is a key goal we should concentrate on now.
Trust and solidarity are key to overcoming the current problems and avoiding more shocks, to reaching prosperity and welfare in this new century.Thank you.