AUSTRALIA FIRES KILL 100 PLUS

EU DICTATOR (WORLD LEADER)

REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)

REVELATION 13:1-10
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
4 And they worshipped the dragon (SATAN) which gave power unto the beast:(JEWISH EU DICTATOR) and they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him?(FALSE RESURRECTION,SATAN BRINGS HIM TO LIFE)
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.(GIVEN WORLD CONTROL FOR 3 1/2YRS)
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God,(HES A GOD HATER) to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.(HES A LIBERAL OR DEMOCRAT,WILL PUT ANYTHING ABOUT GOD DOWN)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR)
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.(SAVED CHRISTIANS AND JEWS DIE FOR THEIR FAITH AT THIS TIME,NOW WE ARE SAVED BY GRACE BUT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH, PEOPLE WILL BE PUT TO DEATH (BEHEADINGS) FOR THEIR BELIEF IN GOD (JESUS) OR THE BIBLE.

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

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

DANIEL 9:26-27
26 And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come (ROMANS IN AD 70) shall destroy the city and the sanctuary;(ROMANS DESTROYED THE 2ND TEMPLE) and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
27 And he( EU ROMAN, JEWISH DICTATOR) shall confirm the covenant with many for one week:( 7 YEARS) and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease,( 3 1/2 YRS) and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.

WORLD GOVERNMENT

DANIEL 7:23-25
23 Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.
24 And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.
25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

DANIEL 12:4,1
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, and knowledge shall be increased.
1 And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.

REVELATION 13:1-3,7,8,12,16-18
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
12 And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:
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.

REVELATION 17:3,7,9-10,12,18
3 So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.
9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.
10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.
12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.
18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

NORTH AMERICAN UNION - LOSS OF SOVEREIGNTY
http://www.scribd.com/doc/2194472/The-North-American-Union

BUILDING A NORTH AMERICAN UNION
http://books.google.com/books?id=lVf-k6y8y3wC&dq=wsj/north+american+union/amero&printsec=frontcover&source=
in&hl=en&ei=Y7ePSby0Opi2Mb_7_bEL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result

LESSONS TOWARDS A NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY
http://books.google.com/books?id=lVf-k6y8y3wC&dq=wsj/north+american+union/amero&printsec=frontcover&source=
in&hl=en&ei=Y7ePSby0Opi2Mb_7_bEL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=11&ct=result

THE FUTURE OF NORTH AMERICAN INTEGRATION
http://books.google.com/books?id=ofiW4Gv6kV8C&dq=wsj/north+american+union/amero&printsec=frontcover&source=
in&hl=en&ei=Y7ePSby0Opi2Mb_7_bEL&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=13&ct=result

OBAMA BACKING NORTH AMERICAN UNION - VIDEO
http://www.blacklistednews.com/?news_id=2753

AUDIO - NORTH AMERICAN UNION
http://www.archive.org/details/NorthAmericanUnion

DIALOGUE EUROPE WEBSITE
http://dialoguetv.epp.eu/

Dr. Henry Kissinger is honored as the first recipient of the Ewald von Kleist Award of the Munich Security Conference Munich, 6th February 2009

For his contributions to global peace and international cooperation Dr. Henry Kissinger is being decorated as the first awardee of the Ewald von Kleist Award of the Munich Security Conference 2009. As announced by Conference Chairman Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger, Dr Kissinger is being honored for a lifetime of achievement. The son of German-Jewish immigrants, Dr. Kissinger was born in Fürth, Germany, and moved with his parents to the United States in 1938. Prior to entering government service Dr. Kissinger had a distinguished academic career at Harvard University. From 1969 until 1977 he served as the US National Security Advisor and US Secretary of State where he played a critical role in the formulation and execution of US Foreign Policy under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. He is the holder of the Nobel Peace Prize. His voice continues to bear weight and authority throughout the globe.

According to Ambassador Ischinger, Dr. Kissinger has inspired generations of diplomats and politicians throughout the world. For me personally, Henry Kissinger is a fatherly counsel and a friend. I owe Dr. Kissinger extraordinarily much, especially during my years as Ambassador to the US from 2001 until 2006.The prize is named after Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist, who, 46 years ago, established the Wehrkunde Tagung, which is known today as the Munich Security Conference.Ambassador Ischinger said that Ewald von Kleist’s life path is characterized by personal courage, intellectual independence, and great integrity. Mr. von Kleist is the last living co-conspirator of the Stauffenberg Group, which orchestrated the assassination attempt on Hitler on 20th July 1944. With the Wehrkunde Conference, Ewald von Kleist created a forum in 1962 which initiated many important initiatives in the European and transatlantic foreign and security policy debate. It is my intention to continue the Munich Security Conference in his spirit – independent and openminded.The Ewald von Kleist award is being inaugurated in 2009 and shall be granted to participants in the Munich Security Conference who have rendered outstanding services regarding peace and conflict resolution.The award will be presented on Saturday, 7th February 2009 during an official dinner at the residence of the Bavarian Ministerpräsident, Dr. Horst Seehofer. Professor Dr. h.c. Horst Teltschik, who lead the Munich Security Conference as the immediate successor of Ewald-Heinrich von Kleist for the last ten years will also be present at this event. For press inquiries please contact:
Mr. Treude, Press Centre of the Munich Security Conference.

Merkel and Sarkozy call for global economic security council 09/01/2009

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have warned the US not to block attempts to build an international financial regulator, calling for a new economic body similar to the UN's Security Council. I've always in my political life been a supporter of a close alliance with the United States but let's be clear: in the 21st century, a single nation can no longer say what we must do or what we must think, said Mr Sarkozy at an international symposium in Paris on Thursday (8 January), shortly before US president-elect Barack Obama enters office. The French leader had originally called the Paris meeting - New World, New Capitalism - a global summit, but the idea was downgraded after few international leaders deigned to attend. We'll take our decisions on 2 April in London, he went on, referring to an upcoming meeting of the G20. Perhaps the United States will join us in this change.Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel say capitalism needs new global oversight (Photo: The Council of the European Union)Ms Merkel, also in attendance at the conference, echoed the French president's warning to Washington. No country can act alone in this day and age, not even the United States, however powerful they may be, she said, Deutsche Welle reports. She said that hopes that out of the economic crisis, governments can construct a new architecture for managing global capitalism. Our response [to the economic crisis] must be more than a few rules, she said. The crisis is an opportunity to create an international architecture of institutions.

Global economic charter

The chancellor said the world needs an economic council in the United Nations as well as the existing body that deals with security matters. It is possible that alongside the [UN] Security Council, we could also have an economic council, she said, adding that alongside the UN Charter, an economic sustainability charter for a long-term reasonable economy should be drafted establishing rules for global financial governance. Our response must be more than a few rules, she added. The crisis is an opportunity to create an international architecture of institutions.The centre-right German leader also warned businesses there was no returning to laissez-faire approaches by governments once the crisis has passed. Once everything is going better, the financial markets will tell us: you politicians don't need to get involved because everything is working again, she said, according to the Guardian. I will stay firm, we must not repeat the mistakes of the past.Mr Sarkozy warned that capitalism could collapse if it is not restructured. Either we re-found capitalism or we destroy it, he said. Purely financial capitalism has perverted the logic of capitalism ...it is amoral. It is a system where the logic of the market excuses everything.

Former UK prime minister Tony Blair, a co-sponsor of the symposium, echoed the European leaders: what is unavoidable in the longer term is a recasting of the system of international supervision.We have mid-20th-century international institutions governing a 21st century world, he added. The reform of the IMF, the World Bank, the financial regulatory system [is] long overdue.The meeting came as Germany announced it is to inject a further €10 billion into Commerzbank, in return for a 25 percent stake in the bank, while France offered another €10.5 billion for its six main banks.LEIGH PHILLIPS Today @ 09:20 CET,2009 EUobserver.com.

By Dennis L. Cuddy, Ph.D.February 9, 2009 NewsWithViews.com

[NOTE: On July 2, 2008 Barack Obama in Colorado said, We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded as the military. Obama’s attorney-general Eric Holder on NBC’s This Week(May 2, 1999) said: [The Second Amendment] talks about bearing arms in a well-regulated militia. And I don’t think anywhere it talks about an individual. Since Holder doesn’t believe you as an individual have a right to bear arms, can you envision Obama’s civilian national security force knocking on your door and asking you to turn over any weapons you may have? What would you do? Further to my recent column If War Had Not Come In Fierce and Exaggerated Form, the (London) Daily Mail on December 20, 2008 published Secret of the Lusitania: Arms Find Challenges Allied Claims it was Solely a Passenger Ship.]Continuing with the final (political/New World Order) element of the Rockefeller plan, in David Rockefeller’sMemoirs (2002) he revealed on page 405 that he’s part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States,… conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure – one world, if you will. Of course, in David Brooks’ lengthy review of this book in The New York Times on October 20, 2002, there’s absolutely mention of this remarkable admission by Rockefeller.

Many believe Americans will never succumb to the Rockefeller plan. However, that’s why David Rockefeller praised Chairman Mao in his August 10, 1973 New York Times article, helping to open the door to Communist China and thus increasing its economic (and military) power. More recently, Bush Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson had traveled to China 70 times and started the U.S.-China Strategic Cooperation and Communication Initiative. Paulson was formerly with Goldman-Sachs, which financially represents China in the U.S. in some important areas. In addition CFR member Paulson recently was given authority by Congress to use TARP (Emergency Economic Stabilization Act) money any way he saw fit, so Bank of America used $7 billion of their loan from Paulson to buy an interest in a Chinese bank (Citigroup used $10 billion to buy 44 Spanish toll roads).How’s any of this supposed to help homeowners in the U.S. not default on their mortgages? It’s not! And where are we now in 2009? The Chinese are poised economically to begin to coerce the U.S. to restructure our education and economy in order to compete successfully globally. Recently on the national news, it was reported that BYD Auto Company of China would introduce soon its electric car which simply could be plugged into a wall socket overnight. An auto industry analyst said there are those in Detroit who are sweating bullets over this because BYD’s car will cost only $22,000 compared to the first American electric car which will cost about $40,000 when it’s introduced.Since BYD has only been making cars about 5 years, how could they beat the U.S. with the first mass-produced electric car? It may well be because education in China is far more rigorous than in the U.S.For example, there’s a small town in China named Zhenzhou which has a high school where its 10,000 students arrive at 6 AM for calisthenics and don’t leave school until 10 PM. In China, high school students take four years of biology, four years of chemistry and four years of physics, with the Senior year integrating all three subjects. Regarding math, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus and statistics are integrated in all four years of high school. Compare this to American students who never take four years of all these subjects.In the workplace, I’ve already mentioned one town in China that specializes in the manufacture of neckties. Another town, Putian, is the largest shoe manufacturer in the world, and one-third of all shoes in the U.S. come from Putian.

In previous columns, I’ve mentioned how years ago I proposed a number of ways to improve elementary and secondary education in the U.S. Regarding higher education, about 30 years ago I proposed colleges offer courses called Contemporary Cultures, which would introduce students to the history, geography, culture (e.g., art and music), language, politics and economics of individual foreign nations. Had colleges done this, we may well not be in the dire position we are in today in terms of global competition. Now, it’s probably too late! On the other hand, Chinese institutions of higher education have Departments of Entrepreneurship. This sounds contradictory for a Communist regime, but one must realize that David Rockefeller’s promotion of China over 35 years ago wasn’t because his ideal was for a nation of just communal peasants. The Rockefeller plan was rather that China would be the fulfillment of Frederick Gates’ “dream” of docile rural folk satisfied with their own lot and led by an educated elite. This would not only be a political elite, but a technical elite as well, such as those at BYD who beat Detroit in the mass production of an electric car.There is still a large rural population in China, and those poor who move to cities such as Shanghai often live as poor workers in hovels between the modern skyscrapers. A friend of mine actually took photos of this, as well as of two women on the front lawn of a skyscraper cutting the grass with just scissors! It’s the return to feudalism described in W.J. Ghent’s Our Benevolent Feudalism (1902), which Jack London in The Iron Heel (1907) proclaimed would be the textbook the oligarchs and plutocrats would use in moulding the thought processes of the nation. At the end of my book, The Road to Socialism and the New World Order, I quote extensively from Ghent’s plan, which I project as resulting in a Techno-Feudal Socialistic New Age New World Order (including a World Socialist Government).As I’ve written before, crises are used to get the public into accepting things they otherwise would resist. In that regard, in Global Economy Hit By Massive Wave of Job Cuts (The Economic Times, January 26, 2009), one reads that British Prime Minister Gordon Brown insisted that the [current economic] crisis should ultimately give birth to a new global order.… We could view the threats and challenges we face today as the difficult birth-pangs of a new global order – and our task now as nothing less than making the transition through a new internationalism to the benefits of an expanding global society. Toward that end, the moulding of thought processes mentioned above is brought about by saying only global solutions can solve global problems.

Relevant to this, Ben Barber with Demos (which has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Rockefeller Foundation) on Tavis Smiley’s show on PBS (January 16, 2009) stated that the war on terrorism, like the war on drugs, like the war on AIDS, like the war on over-leveraged banks and markets can only be fought together, not one nation at a time…. President Obama has a chance to create a shared destiny for an interdependent world in which the United States leads but it also listens, in which the United States is a model for change and for democracy but also learns from others how it’s done. Barber has led Interdependence Day on September 12 of each year since 2003, and Tavis Smiley referred to him as a great American public intellectual.It’s efforts like those of Demos and Barber which will help bring about the fruition of the Rockefeller one world plan. And the movement toward Socialism in the U.S. will be an important part of this effort.Concerning this movement, Dick Morris in The Obama Presidency: Here Comes Socialism (January 20, 2009) wrote that We will shortly become like Germany, France, the United Kingdom, or Sweden – a socialist democracy in which the government dominates the economy, determines private-sector priorities and offers a vastly expanded range of services to many more people at much higher taxes…. Obama will so sharply cut taxes on the middle class and the poor that the number of Americans who pay no federal income tax will rise from the current one-third of all households to more than half. In the process, he will create a permanent electoral majority that does not pay taxes, but counts on ever-expanding welfare checks from the government…. In the name of stabilizing the banking system, Obama will nationalize it…. The government will impose healthcare rationing, denying the older and sicker among us the care they need and even barring them from paying for it themselves…. Obama will use the expansive powers of the Federal Communications Commission to impose the ‘Fairness Doctrine’ on talk radio…. The large stimulus package deficits will likely lead to rapid inflation, probably necessitating a second recession to cure it. So Obama’s name will be mud by 2012 and probably by 2010 as well. And the Republican Party will make big gains and regain much of its lost power. But it will be too late to reverse the socialism of much of the economy, the demographic change in the electorate, the rationing of health care by the government, the surge of unionization and the crippling of talk radio.

At that point, the U.S. will be ready for absorption into the planned World Socialist Government, and a currency transition will be key to this. Todd Harrison in “How Realistic is a North American Currency? Uniting U.S., Canada, Mexico Money Could Result From Crisis” (Market Watch, January 28, 2009) explained: As governments take on more risk – as they price assets on behalf of the market and transfer debt from private to public – the common denominator for release valve becomes the currency. Harrison continued: The New World Order is upon us…. For years, the notion of an invisible hand was conspiracy theory until we learned that the Working Group on Financial Markets was a central policy tool…. The North American Currency – called the Amero in select circles – would effectively comingle the Canadian dollar, the U.S. dollar and Mexican peso. On its face, while difficult to imagine it makes intuitive sense.The ability to combine Canadian natural resources, American ingenuity and cheap Mexican labor would allow North America to compete better on a global stage…. We may need to let a two-tier currency gain traction if the dollar meaningfully debases from current levels…. While the notion of a seismic currency shift may seem obscure, we must respect the possibility long before it becomes front-page news. Then after the North American Currency, the Phoenix (scheduled for 2018) will be the global currency of the World Socialist Government.Dennis Cuddy

Dennis Laurence Cuddy, historian and political analyst, received a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (major in American History, minor in political science). Dr. Cuddy has taught at the university level, has been a political and economic risk analyst for an international consulting firm, and has been a Senior Associate with the U.S. Department of Education.

Cuddy has also testified before members of Congress on behalf of the U.S. Department of Justice. Dr. Cuddy has authored or edited twenty books and booklets, and has written hundreds of articles appearing in newspapers around the nation, including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and USA Today. He has been a guest on numerous radio talk shows in various parts of the country, such as ABC Radio in New York City, and he has also been a guest on the national television programs USA Today and CBS's Nightwatch.

TODD HARRISON How realistic is a North American currency?
Commentary: Uniting U.S., Canada, Mexico money could result from crisis
By Todd Harrison 6:12 a.m. EST Jan. 28, 2009

World, hold on. Instead of messing with our future, open up inside. -- Bob Sinclair
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Thomas Jefferson once said: When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on. As the global financial system pushes on a string, investors are desperately trying to hold tight. The New World Order is upon us, full of hope, promise and a fair amount of fear. In our recent discussion regarding the direction of our country, we noted the risks of catering to conventional wisdom and the implications for the U.S. dollar. See MarketWatch column on New World Order.

The Minyanville mantra is to provide financial news you need to know before you know you need it. That's a fine line to walk, as foresight often flies in the face of mainstream acceptance. In 2006, it seemed counterintuitive to forecast a prolonged socioeconomic malaise entirely more depressing than a recession. See Minyanville column. For years, the notion of an invisible hand was conspiracy theory until we learned that the Working Group on Financial Markets was a central policy tool. See Minyanville column. And now, as we gaze across our historically significant horizon, we must open our minds to thoughts and ideas that may seem foreign to folks conditioned by the past and stunned by the present.

Currency crossroads
As governments take on more risk -- as they price assets on behalf of the market and transfer debt from private to public -- the common denominator, or release valve, becomes the currency.If our economic condition is allowed to take medicine in the form of debt destruction, the greenback will appreciate, and asset classes as a whole will deflate. If we continue to inject drugs that mask symptoms rather than address the disease, the likelihood of a seismic readjustment increases in kind.
The deflationary forces in the marketplace are pervasive, and the other side of our current equation, hyperinflation, may be years away. Given the magnitude, breadth and pace of the global financial epidemic, however, we must explore each side of the twisted ride. Years ago, the Federal Reserve wrote a solution paper regarding the need to combat zero-bound interest rates. The concern was the flight of capital from the U.S. and an option discussed was a two-tiered currency, one for U.S citizens and one for foreigners. Canadian economist Herbert Grubel first introduced a potential manifestation of this concept in 1999. The North American Currency -- called the Amero in select circles -- would effectively comingle the Canadian dollar, U.S. dollar and Mexican peso.On its face, while difficult to imagine, it makes intuitive sense. The ability to combine Canadian natural resources, American ingenuity and cheap Mexican labor would allow North America to compete better on a global stage. Experience has taught us, however, that perceived solutions introduced by policy makers and politicians don't always have the desired effect.

Unintended consequences
I've long contended that, much like the Internet prophecy proved true -- but not before the tech crash -- so too would globalization, albeit not without painful-yet-necessary debt destruction. To get through this, we need to go through this. If we're not allowed to go through it, foreigners will seek alternative avenues. Remember, for holders of dollar-denominated assets, seeds of discontent have been sowing under the surface for years, with the greenback off 30% since 2002. More likely than not, global leaders will watch how our new administration attempts to tackle the financial crisis before taking drastic steps. They understand that co-dependent risk exists as a function of the derivatives that interweave our financial infrastructure. If they could disassociate from our economic ecosystem without inflicting massive damage on themselves, they would have done so long ago.
If forward policy attempts to induce more debt rather than allowing savings and obligations to align, we must respect the potential for a system shock. We may need to let a two-tier currency gain traction if the dollar meaningfully debases from current levels. If this dynamic plays out -- and I've got no insight that it will -- the global balance of powers would fragment into four primary regions: North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. In such a scenario, ramifications would manifest through social unrest and geopolitical conflict. This particular path isn't something one would wish for, but the cumulative imbalances that steadily built in our finance-based economy must be resolved one way or another. Therein lies the critical crossroads we together face as our wary world attempts to find its way.
Scary? Yes. Probable? Not so much, at least for the time being. Possible? Certainly, although I'll again offer that it could take years before the pieces of this prickly puzzle fall into place. Effective money management dictates weighing the entire probability spectrum of potential outcomes and factoring them into our decision making process. While the notion of a seismic currency shift may seem obscure, we must respect the possibility long before it becomes front-page news. For if we've learned anything through the last few years, proactive thought provocation is a necessary precursor to effective preparedness.

Henry Kissinger: The world must forge a new order or retreat to chaos
by MoreRockin on Jan.24, 2009, under Globalism The Independent

Not since JFK has there been such a reservoir of expectations

As the new US administration prepares to take office amid grave financial and international crises, it may seem counterintuitive to argue that the very unsettled nature of the international system generates a unique opportunity for creative diplomacy.That opportunity involves a seeming contradiction. On one level, the financial collapse represents a major blow to the standing of the United States. While American political judgments have often proved controversial, the American prescription for a world financial order has generally been unchallenged. Now disillusionment with the United States’ management of it is widespread.At the same time, the magnitude of the debacle makes it impossible for the rest of the world to shelter any longer behind American predominance or American failings. Every country will have to reassess its own contribution to the prevailing crisis. Each will seek to make itself independent, to the greatest possible degree, of the conditions that produced the collapse; at the same time, each will be obliged to face the reality that its dilemmas can be mastered only by common action.Even the most affluent countries will confront shrinking resources. Each will have to redefine its national priorities. An international order will emerge if a system of compatible priorities comes into being. It will fragment disastrously if the various priorities cannot be reconciled.

The nadir of the international financial system coincides with simultaneous political crises around the globe. Never have so many transformations occurred at the same time in so many different parts of the world and been made accessible via instantaneous communication. The alternative to a new international order is chaos.

The financial and political crises are, in fact, closely related partly because, during the period of economic exuberance, a gap had opened up between the economic and the political organisation of the world. The economic world has been globalised. Its institutions have a global reach and have operated by maxims that assumed a self-regulating global market. The financial collapse exposed the mirage. It made evident the absence of global institutions to cushion the shock and to reverse the trend. Inevitably, when the affected publics turned to their political institutions, these were driven principally by domestic politics, not considerations of world order. Every major country has attempted to solve its immediate problems essentially on its own and to defer common action to a later, less crisis-driven point.So-called rescue packages have emerged on a piecemeal national basis, generally by substituting seemingly unlimited governmental credit for the domestic credit that produced the debacle in the first place, so far without achieving more than stemming incipient panic. International order will not come about either in the political or economic field until there emerge general rules toward which countries can orient themselves.

In the end, the political and economic systems can be harmonised in only one of two ways: by creating an international political regulatory system with the same reach as that of the economic world; or by shrinking the economic units to a size manageable by existing political structures, which is likely to lead to a new mercantilism, perhaps of regional units. A new Bretton Woods kind of global agreement is by far the preferable outcome.America’s role in this enterprise will be decisive. Paradoxically, American influence will be great in proportion to the modesty in our conduct; we need to modify the righteousness that has characterised too many American attitudes, especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union. That event and the subsequent period of nearly uninterrupted global growth induced too many to equate world order with the acceptance of American designs, including our domestic preferences. The result was a certain inherent unilateralism – the standard complaint of European critics – or else an insistent kind of consultation by which nations were invited to prove their fitness to enter the international system by conforming to American prescriptions.Not since the inauguration of president John F Kennedy half a century ago has a new administration come into office with such a reservoir of expectations. It is unprecedented that all the principal actors on the world stage are avowing their desire to undertake the transformations imposed on them by the world crisis in collaboration with the United States.The extraordinary impact of the President-elect on the imagination of humanity is an important element in shaping a new world order. But it defines an opportunity, not a policy. The ultimate challenge is to shape the common concern of most countries and all major ones regarding the economic crisis, together with a common fear of jihadist terrorism, into a strategy reinforced by the realisation that the new issues like proliferation, energy and climate change permit no national or regional solution.

The new administration could make no worse mistake than to rest on its initial popularity. The role of China in a new world order is crucial. A relationship that started on both sides as essentially a strategic design to constrain a common adversary has evolved over the decades into a pillar of the international system. China made possible the American consumption splurge by buying American debt; America helped the modernisation of the Chinese economy by opening its markets to Chinese goods.Each side of the Pacific needs the cooperation of the other in addressing the consequences of the financial crisis. Now that the global financial collapse has devastated Chinese export markets, China is emphasising infrastructure development and domestic consumption. It will not be easy to shift gears rapidly, and the Chinese growth rate may fall temporarily below the 7.5 per cent that Chinese experts define as the line that challenges political stability.What kind of global economic order arises will depend importantly on how China and America deal with each other over the next few years. A frustrated China may take another look at an exclusive regional Asian structure, for which the nucleus already exists in the ASEAN-plus-three concept. At the same time, if protectionism grows in America or if China comes to be seen as a long-term adversary, a self-fulfilling prophecy may blight the prospects of global order. Such a return to mercantilism and 19th-century diplomacy would divide the world into competing regional units with dangerous long-term consequences.

The Sino-American relationship needs to be taken to a new level. This generation of leaders has the opportunity to shape relations into a design for a common destiny, much as was done with trans-Atlantic relations in the postwar period – except that the challenges now are more political and economic than military.The complexity of the emerging world requires from America a more historical approach than the insistence that every problem has a final solution expressible in programmes with specific time limits not infrequently geared to our political process. We must learn to operate within the attainable and be prepared to pursue ultimate ends by the accumulation of nuance. An international order can be permanent only if its participants have a share not only in building but also in securing it. In this manner, America and its potential partners have a unique opportunity to transform a moment of crisis into a vision of hope.

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

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

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

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

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

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

THIS LIEBERMAN WANTS ISRAEL TO JOIN THE EU,NATO, HES WITH LIKUD SO HE COULD HAVE A BIG ROLE IN EVENTS IF THE LIKUD WINS THE ELECTIONS.HES A RIGHT WINGER ALSO,THATS IMPORTANT TO DECIEVE THE JEWS TO LET THE EU GUARENTEE ISRAELS SECURITY FOR THE FUTURE 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY OF DANIEL 9:27 AND TO GET THE 3RD TEMPLE REBUILT.AND ONE FINAL THING HES IN FAVOUR OF SPANISH LAW.

LIEBERMANS WEBSITE
http://www.yisraelbeytenu.com/
http://beytenu.org./

Lieberman at Herzliya Conference: Loyalty is a Basic Legal Principle in the West - It's Time for Israel to Adopt It Too

At the Herzliya Interdisciplinary Center, Avigdor Lieberman discussed the reasons for Israel Beytenu’s success in the polls.The threat from within is more dangerous than the threat from outside. We did not seek the outlawing of Balad because was are anti-leftwing or anti-Arab. We sought to ban balad because it is a terrorist movement. Balad members and their supporters organized rallies in support of terror while our soldiers were fighting on the frontlines.Israel Beytenu’s requirement of loyalty is standard in other western countries. In 2003, Spain outlawed the Basque party. Only a week ago, the Spanish police recommended the banning of two more parties. We would like to adopt the Spanish law here in Israel. These are the accepted norms in the USA, the European Union and the rest of the western world.

We ask for loyalty from every citizen of Israel. Every citizen has equal rights and equal obligations.This includes the obligation to serve in the army or in the national service, loyalty to the flag and anthem. Loyalty must find expression in deeds not in mere declarations. It is unacceptable that a young man who waves the Hamas flag and refuses to serve in the national service should benefit from reverse discrimination in an institution of higher education, for example.Moreover, the State must give more to those who contribute more. We must change today’s situation in which there is a foolish minority that works, pays taxes and serves in the army. People who contribute more should get more,declared Lieberman.

Lieberman on the Next Govt. and Loyalty

Avigdor Lieberman spoke on Tuesday night on a number of central issues in the upcoming elections:Lieberman said, I will not be able to accept a situation in which Likud says that it will continue the political process [with the Palestinians]. Of course we want a stable government, but first and foremost it must be nationalistic.
Continuing with the Road Map will only lead to new clashes. We will not give up on one millimeter of the Golan Heights. This must said clearly.We want a right wing government that will speak clearly and not stammer.Regarding the loyalty of Members of Knesset, Lieberman said, I sent a letter to the head of every Zionist party, calling upon him to support a change to the Knesset oath. Every Member of Knesset should have to commit him or herself to the flag, anthem, and Scroll of Independence.This change would effect everyone – including the Ultra-Orthodox and Arab parties, respectively. I expect Likud’s support on the Citizenship Law.

The dividing line does not run between Jews and Arabs but rather between those who oppose and those who support terror.The Balad Movement openly supports terror. Their activists took part in demonstrations with Hamas and Hezbollah flags, said Lieberman.Regarding Aliya, Lieberman said, Every crisis creates an opportunity - and Israel's opportunity in the face of the world economic crisis is the aliyah of Jews from the FSU, Europe and the USA.Therefore, we will ask of the next government to give aliyah a prime position on the agenda. We will not agree to sacrifice the issue of aliyah and immigration on the altar of Shas's extortionate demands.

Lieberman could be kingmaker
Rory McCarthy FEB 7,09

Nokdim (Bethlehem): The home town of Avigdor Lieberman, the surprise star of Israel’s election campaign, sits on a hilltop deep in the Judean desert looking out over the occupied West Bank. One of Israel’s smaller settlements — home to about 700 — Nokdim was built in 1982 near the Palestinian city of Bethlehem. Beyond are caravan outposts of even more hardline settlers, the frontline in their increasingly successful territorial expansion. From here, Mr. Lieberman (50) has engineered an extraordinary rise in Israeli politics, his hardline, populist rhetoric catching the public mood and elevating his party, Yisrael Beitenu (Israel Our Home), to third position in opinion polls ahead of next Tuesday’s election. Lieberman — a former nightclub bouncer born in Moldova who arrived as an immigrant to Israel 31 years ago — is likely to secure a Cabinet position in what will probably be a rightwing dominated government. Binyamin Netanyahu, head of the opposition Likud, is projected to be Prime Minister.

Appeal

Mr. Lieberman’s broadening appeal stretches from the Russian immigrant community through the secular end of the settler movement to mainstream Jewish Israelis who are attracted to his tough manner at a time when the country feels itself under grave threat and in need of a strongman. Last month’s war in Gaza only helped deepen his support. He says things that appeal. He talks about the things people are afraid of, said a Nokdim resident who gave his name only as Doron, 29. He will switch his vote to Mr. Lieberman from the traditional settler party, the National Union. Mr. Lieberman is campaigning on the slogan Without loyalty, there is no citizenship, promising a new bill requiring Palestinians with Israeli passports to swear loyalty to the Jewish state or lose citizenship. He advocates carving out part of the Galilee that is home to Arab Israeli villages and handing it over to Palestinian control. — Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2009

FIRES AND EXPLOSIONS

REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

Australian fire zone declared a crime scene By TANALEE SMITH, Associated Press Writer FEB 9,09

WHITTLESEA, Australia – Suspicions that the worst wildfires ever to strike Australia were deliberately set led police to declare crime scenes Monday in towns incinerated by blazes, while investigators moving into the charred landscape discovered more bodies. The death toll stood at 130.Officials believe arson may be behind at least some of the more than 400 fires that tore a destructive path across a vast swath of southern Victoria state over the weekend. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, visibly upset during a television interview, reflected national disgust at the idea.What do you say about anyone like that? Rudd said. There's no words to describe it, other than it's mass murder.Police have sealed off at least two towns — Marysville and Kinglake — where dozens of deaths occurred — setting up roadside checkpoints and controlling access to the area.Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said specialist fire investigators were on the ground at one fire site, in Churchill, east of Melbourne, and would go to others.Kinglake is where the most deaths are, but wherever a death has occurred we investigate that as a crime, Nixon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.Anyone found guilty of lighting a wildfire that causes death faces 25 years in prison in Victoria. However, a murder conviction could result in a life sentence, said federal Attorney General Robert McClelland.At least 750 homes were destroyed. Officials said both the tolls of human life and property would almost certainly rise.Stunned survivors were gathering at dozens of emergency relief centers at town halls and schools.At the town of Whittlesea, 7 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Kinglake region, survivors sat in the dirt outside, accepting cups of coffee and sandwiches being handed out by volunteers. Others hugged each other with tears in their eyes.

Australian Red Cross officials were compiling lists of survivors to make it easy for family members to track them down. The Red Cross said more than 4,000 people had been listed across the state.Jack Barber said he fled his house in Pheasant Creek with his wife and a few belongings on Saturday and spent the night on a sports field dodging flames that licked at them from different directions as wind gusts blew them closer.

They drove out of the disaster zone on Sunday.

There were dead horses, live horses, kangaroos bouncing down the road with flames at their back. It was horrific, Barber said.Victoria state Premier John Brumby on Monday announced a royal commission would be held. A royal commission is among the highest-level investigations that can be called under Australian law. Usually, a former judge is appointed to take extensive evidence and make formal findings that can lead to charges or changes in the law.While weather conditions have eased since Saturday's inferno, more than one dozen fires still burned in Victoria and gusting winds threatened to fan them toward towns not previously hit. Forecasters said temperatures may rise again later in the week.Blazes have been burning for weeks in the southeastern state of Victoria but turned deadly Saturday when searing temperatures and wind blasts created a firestorm that swept across the region. A long-running drought in the south — the worst in a century — had left forests extra dry and Saturday's fire conditions were said to be the worst ever in Australia.

From the air, the landscape was blackened as far as the eye could see. Entire forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks, farmland to ashes. The Victoria Country Fire Service said some 850 square miles (2,200 kilometers) were burned out.
Only five houses were left standing out of about 40 in one neighborhood of the hard-hit Kinglake district that an Associated Press news crew flew over. Street after street was lined by smoldering wrecks of homes, roofs collapsed inward, iron roof sheets twisted from the heat. The burned-out hulks of cars dotted roads. A church was smoldering, only one wall with a giant cross etched in it remained standing.

Residents were repeatedly advised on radio and television announcements to initiate their so-called fire plan — whether it be staying in their homes to battle the flames or to evacuate before the roads became too dangerous. But some of the deaths were people who were apparently caught by the fire as they fled in their cars or killed when charred tree limbs fell on their vehicles.

POISONED WATERS

REVELATION 8:8-11
8 And the second angel sounded, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea: and the third part of the sea became blood;
9 And the third part of the creatures which were in the sea, and had life, died; and the third part of the ships were destroyed.
10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell a great star from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of waters;
11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood:(bitter,Poisoned) and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.(poisoned)

REVELATION 16:3-7
3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea.(enviromentalists won't like this result)
4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood.
5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus.
6 For they(False World Church and Dictator) have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.

65,000 gallons of oil sludge spills near Chicago FEB 9,09

ROCKDALE, Ill. – A holding tank at a Caterpillar facility in a Chicago suburb broke Sunday, spilling about 65,000 gallons of oil sludge and contaminating a 3-mile section of the Des Plaines River, officials said.The substance was reported to be hydraulic and cutting oil, said Maggie Carson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Emergency Management Agency.It is being contained, and there is no evidence of a fish kill or harm to water fowl, Carson said in an e-mail.Most of the sludge spilled on land, but 6,000 gallons seeped into Des Plaines River water, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer William Mitchell said. He said the oil waste poses no risk to human health but could be dangerous to animals in the contaminated area.The Coast Guard said barge and boat traffic along the river had been stopped.Caterpillar Inc., the Peoria-based maker of mining and construction machinery, confirmed in a statement Sunday that an undetermined amount of waste oil overflowed from a storage area at the company's manufacturing facility in Joliet.

Caterpillar has notified appropriate authorities about this overflow, and the company immediately began corrective action when the overflow was discovered, the statement said. The company is coordinating efforts to contain and remediate this overflow.The company also said it would investigate the incident and put in place management practices that minimize the potential for future occurrences.State and federal EPA response teams, as well as teams from Caterpillar, were working with local organizations to contain the spill and clean the area, Carson said.Federal EPA spokeswoman Ginny Narsett said the cleanup will take at least a few days.The federal agency said the oil waste leaked when a pump failed on a 40,000-gallon open-air holding tank.The Coast Guard was surrounding the contaminated water with a floating wall, Mitchell said. He said two vacuum trucks would suck up the sludge.The Joliet Police Department said it hadn't ordered evacuations in the area.

REVELATION 6:9-11
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain(BEHEADED) for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

REVELATION 20:4
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Taliban video of Polish hostage beheading by S.H. Khan S.h. Khan – Sun Feb 8, 9:36 pm ET

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AFP) – Pakistani Taliban militants released a graphic video Sunday showing the beheading of a Polish engineer whom they said was killed because Islamabad refused to free detained insurgents.The tape, seen by an AFP correspondent here, was released one day after a spokesman for Pakistan's umbrella Taliban group said its men had decapitated Piotr Stanczak, who was seized in the volatile northwest on September 28.Pakistan has seen a number of kidnappings of foreign nationals in recent months, many of them in the northwest, where Taliban and Al-Qaeda militants have been holed up since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.Authorities in Islamabad are also hunting for an American UN worker abducted a week ago in the southwestern city of Quetta. A shadowy ethnic Baluch rebel group has claimed responsibility for that kidnapping.Stanczak, who was working in Pakistan for a Polish energy company, was seized by armed men in the town of Attock, about 70 kilometres (45 miles) northwest of the capital Islamabad. His two drivers and bodyguard were killed.The video released by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) shows Stanczak sitting cross-legged on a carpet, wearing a khaki shalwar kameez.The Polish man made a brief statement in English in response to questions posed by his captors, urging his government to withdraw its contingent of about 1,100 troops from Afghanistan, where they are helping fight Taliban insurgents.In the next scene, Stanczak is sitting in the same position, but blindfolded. A masked man is shown beheading him with a knife, while two men stand guard behind him, holding AK-47s at the hostage's head.A masked militant is then shown saying Stanczak was killed because Taliban prisoners were not released and warning that other foreign hostages could meet the same fate, without claiming to have specific hostages in captivity.

A black banner seen in the beheading video reads: Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Darra Adam Khel. Darra Adam Khel is a town near Peshawar, which is on the edge of Pakistan's violence-wracked tribal areas on the Afghan border.A private Polish television station, tvn24, showed an image from the video but not the whole tape out of respect for the family of the hostage.The Polish government made no statement following the release of the video, but Prime Minister Donald Tusk previously said Poland had received informal confirmation of the engineer's death.TTP is led by tribal warlord Baitullah Mehsud, who has been accused by US and Pakistani officials of masterminding the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto in December 2007.On Saturday, a TTP spokesman told AFP by telephone that Stanczak had been killed because the Pakistani government had failed to meet the group's demands by a Friday midnight deadline.We held a meeting last evening (Friday) to consider it and the majority view... was that there should be no more time given to negotiations,said TTP official Suhail Ahmed.A purported Taliban spokesman named Mohammad later told AFP that the beheading was carried out early Saturday in tribal South Waziristan, a notorious hub of Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants on the Afghan border.We had given a deadline to the government for Friday midnight which they failed to honour and we beheaded the Polish man, the spokesman said.Security officials said the negotiations broke down because the Taliban demanded the release of a Pakistani Al-Qaeda militant known for his expertise in making explosive-packed suicide jackets.The Taliban originally demanded the release of 30 militants in Pakistani custody and then reduced it to a list of six, a security official involved in the negotiations told AFP. The Taliban said both Islamabad and Warsaw offered it a large amount of money in return for the Polish man's release but it refused to accept that without the release of the prisoners. It had also called for the end of suspected US drone attacks against Taliban and Al-Qaeda targets in the tribal areas.

Military: 2 Gaza rockets hit southern Israel By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer –Sun Feb 8, 4:06 pm ET

JERUSALEM – Two rockets fired by Palestinian militants struck southern Israel on Sunday, Israel's military said, violating an informal truce even as Israel and Gaza's Hamas rulers appeared to hurry closer to a long-term cease-fire deal two days before Israeli elections.The Gaza Strip's strongman was in Syria, consulting with his Hamas bosses about the truce talks, while Israel's defense minister warned Israelis they would have to pay a painful price as part of any deal. The flurry of activity came just two days before Israelis elect a new government expected to take a harder line in talks with the Palestinians.The Hamas representative in Lebanon, Osama Hamadan, said negotiations would continue in Cairo on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I believe it is more logical to discuss the issue of truce with a new (Israeli) government instead of one which is leaving in hours, he said in an interview on the Lebanese TV station ANB, though a new Israeli government would not take office until several weeks after the election.Israel unilaterally ended a blistering, three-week offensive in Gaza, meant to halt years of rocket fire on southern Israeli communities, last month. Some 1,300 Palestinians were killed, according to Gaza health officials, and the government said 13 Israelis also died. Vast areas of Gaza were destroyed or heavily damaged. Hamas announced its own cease-fire the same day.

While Egypt has been trying to broker a long-term cease-fire, sporadic violence has persisted. In separate attacks, Palestinian rockets exploded in the Nir Am communal farm and the southern city of Ashkelon. No injuries were reported, though cars and buildings were damaged, authorities said.There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.With Israeli elections approaching Tuesday, both sides appeared to be racing to reach some sort of arrangement. Polls show that Israel's next government would be much more hawkish than the current coalition, adding urgency to seal a deal.Israel wants militants to halt their attacks, end arms smuggling into Gaza and release an Israeli soldier Hamas has held captive for more than 2 1/2 years.Hamas wants an end to Israel's economic blockade of Gaza, which has severely restricted the movement of goods since Hamas seized power in June 2007. It also has demanded the release of more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel in return for the soldier, Sgt. Gilad Schalit. Hundreds of the prisoners have been involved in deadly attacks on Israel, and their release would likely generate unease if not outright controversy.Mahmoud Zahar, Hamas' Gaza strongman, was in the Syrian capital, Damascus, on Sunday to discuss truce prospects with the group's exiled leadership. Israel allowed Zahar, who had been in hiding since the Israeli offensive, to leave Gaza on Saturday.Mohammed Nazzal, a member of Hamas' exiled leadership, said Hamas would not rush an agreement just because of the Israeli election.We do not set our agenda according to others' calendars or schedules, meaning that we are not concerned about the Israeli elections ... we are concerned about signing a decent deal, he told al-Jazeera. He also said there was nothing new to report in the Schalit case.Speaking to reporters in Israel, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he was doing his utmost to bring Schalit home.We're not talking about hocus-pocus in which we roll the dice and get Gilad Schalit in return for a nice smile or a gesture, he said. In the end, attached to it is a heavy and painful price that we'll have to decide on.Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said media reports in recent days of an impending release were overblown and damaging.

In Gaza, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights demanded an investigation into the death of a man who appeared to have been tortured by Hamas. The man, 51-year-old Jamil Shakoura, was not believed to be affiliated with any opposition group.Rights groups frequently charge that Gaza's Hamas rulers use detentions and beatings to intimidate opponents. A Hamas official said the matter is under investigation. In the West Bank, ruled by the main Hamas rival Fatah, security officials said a Hamas loyalist, 30-year-old Mohammed Hajj, used his shirt as a noose to hang himself two days after he was arrested in the northern town of Jenin. Their brief statement did not say why he was arrested. Associated Press writer Diaa Hadid in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

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

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

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

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

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

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

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS MON FEB 09,2009

09:30 AM -10.92
10:00 AM -36.56
10:30 AM -52.73
11:00 AM +28.35
11:30 AM +1.75
12:00 PM -9.00
12:30 PM +7.08
01:00 PM +14.49
01:30 PM -4.23
02:00 PM -17.85
02:30 PM -53.13
03:00 PM -39.35
03:30 PM +7.56
04:00 PM -9.72 8270.87

S&P 500 869.89 +1.29

NASDAQ 1591.56 -0.15

GOLD 896.80 -17.50

OIL 39.85 -0.32

TSE 300 9041.04 +33.02

CDNX 901.10 -8.24

S&P/TSX/60 546.00 +2.00

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -5.65%
S&P -3.84%
Nasdaq +0.93%
TSX Advances 768,declines 401,unchanged 224,Volume 1,002,074,841.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 390,Declines 315,Unchanged 318,Volume 125,467,076.

Dow -29 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -52 points at low today.
Dow +28 points at high today so far.
Gold opens at $902.90 today.Oil opens at $40.55 today.
Nissan cuts 20,000 Jobs.
Nissan will end fiscal year $2.9 BILLION in the RED.
Whirlpool -6%,2009 outlook below estimates.
NYSE EURONEX -8%,Volumes up,but market share dips.
McDonalds JAN U.S same store sales +5.4%
Barclays +12% on better than expected earnings.
Hasbro -3%,Earnings below expectations.
Futures strengthen as dollar and bonds weaken.
Critical Week:Awaiting TARP,TALF,Stimulus plans.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -85 points at low today so far.
Dow +34 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 1,930,declines 1,655,unchanged 115,New Highs 7,New Lows 47.
Volume 2,603,010,247.
NASDAQ Advances 1,169,declines 1,391,unchanged 132,New highs 8,New Lows 37.
Volume 801,046,089.
TSX Advances 579,declines 398,unchanged 233,Volume 432,871,689.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 248,Declines 255,Unchanged 256,Volume 71,816,436.

REPORT BANKER:DOLLAR TO BE HYPER-INFLATED WITHIN THE NEXT 60-90 DAYS,THEN MERGE THE DOLLAR WITH THE CANADIAN DOLLAR AND THE MEXICAN PASO.

JEROME CORSI:THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION WILL BE BROUGHT THROUGH IN STIMULUS PACKAGES BECAUSE MILLIONS ARE CATCHING ON TO THE GOVERNNMENTS TRICKS (LIES). AND THE FED WILL BE GOVERNMENTALISED AND MERGED POSSIBLY WITH THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -85 points at low today.
Dow +34 points at high today.
Dow -0.12% today Volume 289,224,203.
Nasdaq -0.01% today Volume 1,789,006,163.
S&P 500 +0.15% today Volume N/A
Fires strike Beijing's landmark.

CZECH EU PRESIDENCY WEB SITE
http://cordis.europa.eu/czech-republic/presidency/home_en.html

SPEECHES AT MUNICH SECURITY COUNCIL - AUDIO,TEXT (ALL)
http://www.securityconference.de/konferenzen/reden.php?menu_2009=&menu_konferenzen=&sprache=en&jahr=2009&

COVER STORY: BUSINESS - NEWSWEEK
We Are All Socialists Now - In many ways our economy already resembles a European one. As boomers age and spending grows, we will become even more French.

Wall Street's problems have captured the attention of Congress, the White House and the media. But ordinary folks are wondering if anyone is paying attention to them. A look at how Americans are coping with the economic crisis.by Jon Meacham and Evan Thomas | NEWSWEEK Published Feb 7, 2009 magazine issue dated Feb 16, 2009

The interview was nearly over. on the Fox News Channel last Wednesday evening, Sean Hannity was coming to the end of a segment with Indiana Congressman Mike Pence, the chair of the House Republican Conference and a vociferous foe of President Obama's nearly $1 trillion stimulus bill. How, Pence had asked rhetorically, was $50 million for the National Endowment for the Arts going to put people back to work in Indiana? How would $20 million for fish passage barriers (a provision to pay for the removal of barriers in rivers and streams so that fish could migrate freely) help create jobs? Hannity could not have agreed more. It is … the European Socialist Act of 2009, the host said, signing off. We're counting on you to stop it. Thank you, congressman.There it was, just before the commercial: the S word, a favorite among conservatives since John McCain began using it during the presidential campaign. (Remember Joe the Plumber? Sadly, so do we.) But it seems strangely beside the point. The U.S. government has already—under a conservative Republican administration—effectively nationalized the banking and mortgage industries. That seems a stronger sign of socialism than $50 million for art. Whether we want to admit it or not—and many, especially Congressman Pence and Hannity, do not—the America of 2009 is moving toward a modern European state.We remain a center-right nation in many ways—particularly culturally, and our instinct, once the crisis passes, will be to try to revert to a more free-market style of capitalism—but it was, again, under a conservative GOP administration that we enacted the largest expansion of the welfare state in 30 years: prescription drugs for the elderly. People on the right and the left want government to invest in alternative energies in order to break our addiction to foreign oil. And it is unlikely that even the reddest of states will decline federal money for infrastructural improvements.

If we fail to acknowledge the reality of the growing role of government in the economy, insisting instead on fighting 21st-century wars with 20th-century terms and tactics, then we are doomed to a fractious and unedifying debate. The sooner we understand where we truly stand, the sooner we can think more clearly about how to use government in today's world.As the Obama administration presses the largest fiscal bill in American history, caps the salaries of executives at institutions receiving federal aid at $500,000 and introduces a new plan to rescue the banking industry, the unemployment rate is at its highest in 16 years. The Dow has slumped to 1998 levels, and last year mortgage foreclosures rose 81 percent.All of this is unfolding in an economy that can no longer be understood, even in passing, as the Great Society vs. the Gipper. Whether we like it or not—or even whether many people have thought much about it or not—the numbers clearly suggest that we are headed in a more European direction. A decade ago U.S. government spending was 34.3 percent of GDP, compared with 48.2 percent in the euro zone—a roughly 14-point gap, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. In 2010 U.S. spending is expected to be 39.9 percent of GDP, compared with 47.1 percent in the euro zone—a gap of less than 8 points. As entitlement spending rises over the next decade, we will become even more French.This is not to say that berets will be all the rage this spring, or that Obama has promised a croissant in every toaster oven. But the simple fact of the matter is that the political conversation, which shifts from time to time, has shifted anew, and for the foreseeable future Americans will be more engaged with questions about how to manage a mixed economy than about whether we should have one.The architect of this new era of big government? History has a sense of humor, for the man who laid the foundations for the world Obama now rules is George W. Bush, who moved to bail out the financial sector last autumn with $700 billion.

Bush brought the Age of Reagan to a close; now Obama has gone further, reversing Bill Clinton's end of big government. The story, as always, is complicated. Polls show that Americans don't trust government and still don't want big government. They do, however, want what government delivers, like health care and national defense and, now, protections from banking and housing failure. During the roughly three decades since Reagan made big government the enemy and "liberal" an epithet, government did not shrink. It grew. But the economy grew just as fast, so government as a percentage of GDP remained about the same. Much of that economic growth was real, but for the past five years or so, it has borne a suspicious resemblance to Bernie Madoff's stock fund. Americans have been living high on borrowed money (the savings rate dropped from 7.6 percent in 1992 to less than zero in 2005) while financiers built castles in the air.Now comes the reckoning. The answer may indeed be more government. In the short run, since neither consumers nor business is likely to do it, the government will have to stimulate the economy. And in the long run, an aging population and global warming and higher energy costs will demand more government taxing and spending. The catch is that more government intrusion in the economy will almost surely limit growth (as it has in Europe, where a big welfare state has caused chronic high unemployment). Growth has always been America's birthright and saving grace.The Obama administration is caught in a paradox. It must borrow and spend to fix a crisis created by too much borrowing and spending. Having pumped the economy up with a stimulus, the president will have to cut the growth of entitlement spending by holding down health care and retirement costs and still invest in ways that will produce long-term growth. Obama talks of the need for smart government. To get the balance between America and France right, the new president will need all the smarts he can summon.

WITH SOCIALISM WILL COME THE FUTURE EU DICTATOR WHO IN TURN WILL PERSECUTE CHRISTIANS FOR GOING AGAINST HIM. BUT FIRST I BELIEVE OBAMA WILL DO THE SAME TO CHRISTIANS,MAKE BILLS TO OUTLAW RELIGOUS FREEDOMS.

GERMAN CHURCHES AND THE NAZI STATE

A religious census taken in 1925 revealed that of an overall German population of 65 million, 40 million belonged to the main Protestant (Evangelical Lutheran) church, 21 million to the Roman Catholic church, and 620,000 to various smaller, mostly Protestant denominations. The term Church Struggle refers to the strained relationship between church and state in Germany in the 1870s and then again during the Nazi regime. Although Nazi policy at first seemed to tolerate church autonomy, it soon became clear that official tolerance of Christian religious groups would last only as long as the churches accepted synchronization--the alignment of the church, along with other areas of society, with Nazi goals. The Roman Catholic and Protestant churches met the Nazi rise to power with attempts to retain control of their respective institutions and the rights of their brethren to worship freely and openly.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Catholic Center party was a pillar of the Weimar Republic. It had in general resisted the Nazi rise to power, although the right wing of the party was led by politicians at least willing to tolerate a Hitler government. Once Hitler became chancellor in January 1933, the Center party supported measures giving him dictatorial power. On July 5, 1933, the Center party--under intense Nazi pressure--dissolved itself (the other remaining political parties had been banned earlier that spring and summer).The Catholic church in Germany was controlled by the Vatican, under the leadership of Pope Pius XI, and signed a Concordat (Treaty) with the German Reich 15 days later. The Concordat confirmed the dissolution of German Catholicism's trade unions and political organizations, but guaranteed the church traditional rights to cultivate and promote the practice of the Catholic rite, to maintain Catholic schools, and to appoint Catholic clergy. Many provisions of the agreement were promptly violated, however, as the Nazis persecuted Jesuits, Catholic Action (a religious and social movement), and various other Catholic organizations.

After enduring anti-church actions for several years, in 1937 Pope Pius XI issued the encyclical Mit brennender Sorge (With Burning Concern). In the encyclical, Pius XI criticized Nazi philosophy and warned the German government to fulfill the terms of the Concordat. The Nazis responded with a wave of priest trials--prosecutions of clergy for various alleged infractions.

THE PROTESTANT CHURCH

In a further attempt to synchronize religious thought with state policy, the Nazis sought, unsuccessfully, to establish a unified national church. Hitler appointed a Reich Bishop, Ludwig Mueller, who led a German Christian movement within the church. Mueller sought to synthesize Nazi ideology and Protestant tradition and to agitate for a people's church based on good Aryan blood. This movement had gained 600,000 adherents by the mid-1930s. The Nazi government also attempted to supplant Christian worship with secular Nazi party celebrations which adopted many symbols of religious ritual but instead glorified the party and the Fuehrer. Efforts were also made to dilute clerical influence on religious instruction in the public schools, as well as to curb the activities and influence the curricula of religious schools. In 1933, a small group of Protestant clergy formed the Pastors' Emergency League. Founded by Martin Niemöller, the league took a stand against Nazi domination of the church. In 1934, the League's leaders founded the Confessing Church, representing a minority of all Protestant pastors in Germany. Its ideology was to resist Nazi coercion and to expose the moral hollowness of the pro-Nazi German Christian movement. The Confessing Church did not, however, protest Nazi racial or social policies. Although a very small number of individual German theologians--such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer--opposed the regime, throughout the Nazi era the vast majority of the Protestant church leadership did not challenge the state's discriminatory legislation and actions. Both the Catholic and Protestant churches did speak up on behalf of Jews who had converted to Christianity or for Jews married to members of their churches, and thereby saved some lives. In addition, the churches protested strongly against the Nazi Euthanasia Program and succeeded in limiting its scope. While the Nazi regime subsequently halted the visible element of this program, it continued in secret. Nevertheless, the action of the churches on this issue proved that protest could make an impact on Nazi policy. Nonetheless, neither the Catholic leadership nor the Protestant clerical hierarchy officially protested the persecution of Jews or the horrors of the Final Solution.

OTHER CHRISTIAN SECTS

Sectarian groups were considered politically dangerous because of their adventist, millennial, and international tendencies. Some were banned by the Nazi government and most were subject to constant surveillance by the secret police. The sects were an easier target for the government than the major churches. Nazi policy varied by sect. Some, such as Jehovah's Witnesses (banned in Prussia in 1933) were persecuted and many adherents were incarcerated in concentration camps. Others, such as New Apostolics, Christian Scientists (banned in 1941), and Seventh Day Adventists, experienced intermittent harassment. Finally, some groups, such as the Mormons, were ignored or even viewed with some favor. Virtually all Christian sects were at some point accused of harboring Marxists or other enemies of Germany.

EU banks' toxic assets under review By Jim Brunsden
09.02.2009 / 00:00 CET

Infrastructure spending and extension of special VAT rates for restaurants up for debate by EU finance ministers. Finance ministers from the EU's 27 member states may discuss how to deal with banks' toxic assets as part of a broader review of the EU's economic situation during a ministerial meeting to be held later today in Brussels.

Though the issue of toxic illiquid assets is not officially on the ministers' agenda, a spokesman for Neelie Kroes, the European commissioner for competition, said on 6 February that at the meeting the European Commission would present a paper setting out a number of different options or possibilities. The paper does not amount, however, to draft guidelines on how to deal with the vast volume of illiquid assets, such as defaulted loan repayments, that are burdening European banks' balance sheets and reducing the flow of credit in the economy.Ministers will also hold an ‘orientation debate' on a proposal to allow member states to permanently apply reduced VAT rates to labour-intensive local services, such as restaurants. EU leaders said in December that finance ministers should settle this issue by March, but member states are divided over how broadly national governments should be allowed to apply the reduced rates.Ministers will also discuss a Commission proposal to boost EU spending on energy and infrastructure projects by €5 billion, and the market for EU government bonds. Finance ministers from the 15 members of the eurozone will also meet separately, on 9 February, where they will discuss the impact of the financial crisis on the real economy, labour-market reforms and a meeting scheduled for 13-14 February that will bring together finance ministers from the G7 group of leading industrialised economies.2009 European Voice.

European stimulus packages lacking green investment
LISBETH KIRK Today FEB 9.09 @ 09:26 CET

European governments have announced stimulus packages worth billions over the past months to lift economies out of the economic crisis, but only a tiny fraction of the money will be invested in green growth - climate, energy and environmental measures, a new study reveals.The largest 13 EU economies have announced economic packages worth €90 billion, or 0.78 percent of their gross national product, from 1 September 2008 to 28 January 2009. But of this only €1.2 billion – 1.3 percent – will be devoted to green investments, according to a new analysis published by Danish weekly, Monday Morning. The study is based on figures from the Brussels based think-tank Bruegel.Much more could be done in the areas of energy- and climate, said Jakob von Weizsäker from Bruegel. The financial aid packages reflect a traditional and outdated way of thinking by European governments, he pointed out. The main tools in the crises kits are a mix of advancing public investments such as for renovating public buildings and transport networks, lowering taxes and aid for certain groups such as children and the unemployed. Finally, large sums are devoted to aid sunset industries such as the car industry, all considered old textbook initiatives. The picture is the same everywhere. Rescue packages are designed to give us our old lives back, said Staffan Laestadius, professor at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. It is all about saving jobs in the car industry.The European approach is quite different to plans announced by the newly installed American government, with president Barack Obama set to invest heavily in green technology over the next ten years.His financial stimulus package presented to US Congress includes $58 billion for green and climate friendly investments, which is in sharp contrast to the €1,2 billion to be invested by EU governments, concludes Monday Morning.

Economic Crisis Tests EU's Golden Rules FEB 8,09

BRUSSELS (AFP)--With U.K. strikes against foreign workers and France hinting at protectionism in the car sector, the economic crisis is putting the European Union's golden rules of free movement of workers and trade to the test.So far the European Commission has played its role as guardian of the E.U.'s treaties, defending the bloc's single, border-free market for goods, services and labor.In the face of U.K. wildcat strikes against Italian and Portuguese energy sector workers, the E.U. executive branch said last week that it's not in creating barriers now and trying to hold back the single market that we protect ourselves against the crisis.It also warned against French plans to support the car industry, after French President Nicolas Sarkozy said there would be no aid for carmakers that turn around and open a new factory in the Czech Republic or somewhere else.Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, whose country holds the E.U.'s presidency, hit back with serious doubts about political involvement in the management of commercial companies and breach of the rules of free competition.The attempts to use the financial crisis to introduce such forms of protectionism and protective measures may slow down and threaten the revival of the European economy, he warned in reaction to Sarkozy's statement.

Taking France's lead, Italy announced Friday similar conditions for aid to its automobile industry.The trend is putting growing pressure on the commission to be more flexible about government support for struggling industries just as its president Jose Manuel Barroso and other senior staff seek a second mandate.The commission is going to be under tremendous pressure and it shouldn't react in a panicky way, said analyst Simon Tilford at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think thank.We are certainly going to have more unrest than what we have had, Tilford predicted. There is a real sense of anger at the incompetence in the financial sector.While unemployment rockets, Spain, Italy and Greece have already seen riots.Meanwhile the temptation of populist policies in eastern Europe could become huge as the region's dream of catching up with western countries evaporates, Tilford said.There's pressure pushing in the direction of the nation, said analyst Iana Dreyer at the European Centre for International Political Economy, a Brussels think tank.The commission, which polices E.U. members' public finances, has already been easing up on governments about their deficits, which have spiraled in the face of costly bank bailouts and economic stimulus measures.Under pressure from several countries, the commission has accepted that governments' deficits will balloon well over the 3% of output they are supposed to respect.It also relaxed European state aid rules in December so governments could ratchet up support to credit-starved, cash-strapped companies.You won't see scrapping of the rules but you will see bending, said analyst Katynka Barysch at the Centre for European Reform. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 02-08-092126ET.

Swiss vote yes to free movement of labour with EU Sun Feb 8, 9:53 am ET

GENEVA (AFP) – Swiss voters agreed Sunday to prolong free movement of labour with the European Union, extending the policy to workers from EU newcomers Bulgaria and Romania, referendum results showed.Some 59.6 percent said yes to the government's motion extending the agreement, while 40.4 percent voted no, according to official results from country's 26 cantons released through the Swiss news agency ATS.The Swiss government, along with most of the country's political, business and social establishment had been pressing for the extension of the accord with the EU, which came into force in 2002.But the extent of their victory suprised obeservers, after the last opinion poll 10 days ago had indicated only a slender lead for the pro-European camp.Campaigning over the past two months had pitted non-member Switzerland's economic interests against traditional popular fears about immigration and the neutral Alpine nation's prized independence whipped up by the hard right.

The fraught global economic climate, which has hit prosperous Switzerland in recent months, had added to the uncertainty.Free movement -- which also allows Swiss citizens to freely take up jobs in the EU -- is widely credited with helping fuel Switzerland's economic boom in recent years by overcoming a shortage of skilled labour.The Swiss government and Brussels had warned that a no vote would have torn apart a wider range of interlinked agreements on trade, agriculture, and transport that add about one percent to Switzerland's economic growth.Opponents in the Swiss People's Party (SVP) had especially raised the spectre of a surge in immigration from Romania and Bulgaria, which they dubbed Europe's third world, and a threat to Swiss jobs.But many Swiss observers said the fears about the deteriorating economic climate appeared to have fuelled acceptance of the whole package instead.I think that the leap into the unknown, fears about unforeseen consquences probably prompted those who were hesitant to vote yes, SVP parliamentarian Guy Parmelin admitted on Swiss television as the results came through.More than one million of Switzerland's 1.62 million foreign residents come from the EU and western Europe.Their number has surged by nearly 200,000 since limits on employing EU citizens were gradually lifted from 2002.

MUNICH SECURITY SITE
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Barroso attends Munich security conference
VALENTINA POP Today FEB 9,09 @ 09:39 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – For the first time ever, the president of the European Commission joined the Munich security conference over the weekend, a meeting of European, US and Russian leaders.Jose Manuel Barroso's presence fell somewhat under the radar, with his lunch speech not published on the conference website, along with the stars of the event: US vice-president Joseph Biden, French president Nicolas Sarkozy, German chancellor Angela Merkel, NATO secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and Czech EU presidency representative Alexander Vondra.I believe this is the first time a president of the European Commission has been invited to speak at the Munich Security Conference. Could this mean the Commission is thinking of strengthening its divisions of bureaucrats with those of the military kind? Or in fact does it mean that the security dimension is widening beyond its hard military core? Mr Barroso said in his speech, sent to the media in a press release.He stressed the need for multilateralism, as the only way to tackle current security threats ranging from financial turmoil to terrorism and from energy security to climate change.Mr Barroso called on the US to make room at the top table for others echoing Mr Biden's earlier statements in which he pledged to involve Europe more and to push the reset button in the strained relations with Russia.

US asks more help from Europe

Mr Biden also stressed that the new US administration would ask more from its European partners, especially in Afghanistan, where president Obama is planning to send more troops and expects the same from Europe.The vice-president said the US would continue to develop missile defences to counter a growing Iranian capability, but he also promised to do so in consultation with our NATO allies and Russia.In advance of Mr Biden's speech, White House aides had said the vice president would announce that the US was prepared to reconsider plans for a missile-defence system in Eastern Europe, the Wall Street Journal reports. The final message was then toned down because of unease in Washington that Moscow was behind last week's proposed eviction of the US from an air base in Kyrgyzstan used to support the military in Afghanistan, a senior administration official travelling with Mr Biden told the US newspaper.

Sarkozy cautious about NATO

At the Munich conference, French president Nicholas Sarkozy took a rather cautious line on his country's return to NATO military command structures, a move expected to be announced at an anniversary summit hosted in France and Germany on 2-4 April.My conviction is that France should improve its links with NATO, by being an independent ally, a free partner of the United States, Sarkozy told the audience. The alliance with the United States and the alliance with Europe do not call the independence of my country into question, it strengthens its independence. This is something I am going to explain to the French people, he added.In France, the NATO plans met some opposition among the local politicians, with Francois Bayrou, leader of the Democratic Movement party calling for a referendum and Communist senator Michelle Demessine warning that such a move would limit our sovereignty and would be the sign of an alignment on the US administration that would rob France of its singular nature.Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the NATO secretary general, will address the foreign affairs and defence committee of the National Assembly on Thursday (12 February), and on 20 February Mr Sarkozy is due to give a speech on NATO to legislators.Mr Biden said Saturday that Washington backs France's intention to return fully to the NATO structures.Washington has agreed to allow French generals to be given command of NATO's Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, and a regional command headquarters in Lisbon if Paris decides to reintegrate.

Focus on European Security Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy Call for International Cooperation in the 21st Century By Oliver Rolofs,MUNICH SECURITY STORIES (NEXT 5 SHORT).

On Saturday morning, the Conference focused on security in Europe. The discussions addressed the topics of NATO, energy supply, Russia and the Middle East. With their joint appearance, Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk initiated a new edition of the “Weimar Triangle”. Ahead of the much-anticipated speech by US Vice President Joe Biden, they formulated European views and objectives in the context of future international cooperation and the future of NATO. There was also another debate concerning the relationship with Russia.

Merkel: 2009 Litmus Test in International Cooperation

Federal Chancellor Merkel called for increased international cooperation in matters of foreign and security policy, involving the U.S. in the future. The year 2009 was a litmus test for further international commitment. Today, the current global conflicts could no longer be solved by any one country alone, but we need each other, the Chancellor pointed out. In this context, the concept of networked security was the appropriate response to the crises and wars, and to their prevention in the 21st century, the Chancellor said. The concept of networked security should also be reflected in the new NATO strategy, she said with regard to the future of NATO. At the same time, NATO must be the place for political debate, said Merkel. NATO was the central anchor of the transatlantic alliance. In order to achieve progress in terms of the quality of global cooperation, it was necessary to enter into appropriate agreements, the Federal Chancellor emphasized. She also called for bolder and specific steps for disarmament with the goal of working towards a world where nuclear weapons are irrelevant.

Sarkozy: New Security Architecture with Russia

French President Nicolas Sarkozy underlined Merkel’s call for an increase in international cooperation. Security and prosperity in the 21st century could only be guaranteed by the cooperation between nations. This cooperation should not be limited to Europe and North America, but should include the emerging nations in Asia and South America. The problems and challenges caused by climate change and terrorism were so big that one country could not solve them alone anymore, Sarkozy said.With regard to European security, he spoke in favor of a rapprochement between the European Union and Russia. After the gas crisis and the crisis in Georgia, new confidence must be established, the French President said. He referred to an old vision formulated by former French President Charles de Gaulle, who associated a Europe from the Atlantic to the Urals with a common European peace order. Sarkozy renewed this vision, directed at Russia, with the goal of creating a common space for people and the economy, as it was created between Germany and France after World War II. He stressed that he did not believe that Russia posed a military threat to the EU or NATO. He wanted to reinforce the international security architecture from Vancouver to Vladivostok by explicitly engaging Russia. He said the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) would be a suitable framework.Sarkozy called the announced stationing of a Bundeswehr unit in France a national honor. It manifested the state of the friendship between Germany and France. Previously, Sarkozy and Merkel had underscored the close unity between Germany and France by revealing a plan to establish a new binational force in Strasbourg, comprising German and French elements.

Russia: A Matter of Trust

Previously, the debate revolved around the European relationship with Russia. In this context, Poland’s head of government, Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Czech Vice Prime Minister Alexandr Vondra renewed their call to site the U.S. missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. This would be an important element of European defense and a preventive step, Tusk said. Both criticized Russia’s position in the gas dispute with Ukraine. It had put a strain on relations, Vondra said. It became clear that mistrust of Russia prevails in the Czech Republic and Poland. Tusk said: Without full confidence, more openness towards Russia is impossible. NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer and EU High Representative Javier Solana also deplored the general atmosphere of mistrust prevailing against Moscow, and voiced their concern over the cooled relationship of the EU and NATO with Russia. Paradoxically, although the EU was working for common security as strongly as never before, confidence had not grown, Solana said on Saturday morning.

NATO: Call for Fairer Burden-Sharing

NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer again called for a stronger European commitment in Afghanistan. He stressed that the new U.S. Administration was not just waiting for good advice but expected Europe to take on new assignments. His comment mainly referred to the mission in Afghanistan, which had the highest priority for the Alliance. De Hoop Scheffer complained about the fact that the United States had planned a stronger commitment in Afghanistan, but some nations already ruled out the possibility to do more. This was not favorable for the Alliance’s balance and made Europe’s voice in Washington weaker than it should be. He urged the NATO members to understand that NATO’s transatlantic partnership was based on reciprocity and resembled a two-way street. The NATO Secretary General did not approve of more NATO commitment to appease the Middle East. It was not advisable to work on too many problems and be involved in front-line conflicts in the Middle East. Solana, however, called upon the E.U. to show more commitment in finding a solution for the conflict in the Middle East.