SWINE FLU JAB LINK TO NERVE DISEASE

SAVE THE ANIMAL NUTS PREVAIL OVER PEOPLES WATER RIGHTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InelCf0tMFI&feature=player_embedded
HEALTHCARE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2OIlxUdMmY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLD-zG0_bDE&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMiwzqItLYY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8sFwIBmwQQ&feature=player_embedded
SCHIFF ON ECONOMY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P_lIfjVypw&feature=player_embedded
ALAN KEYES ON ALEX JONES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-e49GNY9yi0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRhy60m7GbI&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqMRhV0RVzg&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mudTguWYh4&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_exjmG3Icc&feature=player_embedded

HATRED OF ISRAEL ON THE RISE...BAD NEWS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfK7Yal64S0&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=saeky9I5T9c&feature=player_embedded

WHATS NEXT FOR THE MARKETS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1217092242&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1217092208&play=1

THE OFFSHORE NEW WORLD ORDER BANKERS.WERE THE $23.7 TRILLION WENT SO FAR.

END SECRET OFFSHORE BANK ACCOUNTS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA_y7ViBk4E&feature=player_embedded
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1217031897&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1217053773&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1217226908&play=1

AS OF TODAY THE IRS IS LOOKING INTO 5,000 - 10,000 OFFSHORE BANKERS ACCOUNTS.THESE ARE THE NEW WORLD ORDER EUGENICISTS THAT WANT 2/3RDS OF US KILLED OFF UNDER THEIR CONTROL OF THE WORLD.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuZMLFNHEpk&feature=player_embedded
http://www.mojvideo.com/video-alex-jones-reaches-out-to-obama-supporters/06559b82dbb47fcf2ae1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf1FM69GcCY&feature=player_embedded
NWO BUZZ ALDREN ON JONES,BELIEVES EVOLUTION,ALIENS,ROBOTS INVOLVED IN THE SPACE PROGRAM
http://rss.nfowars.net/20090817_Mon_Alex.mp3

STARTING AN INTERNATIONAL BANK
http://www.offshore-manual.com/BankOwnersTutorial.html

When a notorious bank robber was asked why he robbed banks, he reportedly replied, -Because that's where the money is!. International investors have discovered for themselves that owning a bank can be even more lucrative than a career in bank robbery. Because running one's own bank dramatically demonstrates the benefits of offshore financial operations, it is the first case study of what can be accomplished once the investor breads free of domestic confines.

U.S., Swiss feds take hard look at cash stashers By Jack Markowitz, FOR THE TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, August 16, 2009

Retired business editor Jack Markowitz's columns are published on Sundays and Thursdays. He can be reached via e-mail.Ah, the romance of the Swiss bank account. The End may soon be written on it — like the closing frames of a movie thriller.Not the ordinary checking and savings balances of the people and companies of Switzerland, of course. Rather, the half-legendary hoards of lucre stashed away in discreet European institutions that nobody knows about but the numbered account holder. Maybe not even a spouse. And especially not the IRS. Just in case things turn bad here and prudence dictates a reliable draw of cash and credit in some foreign paradise for the rest of a deserving life.Who knows how many Hollywood plots have turned on just such morally indefensible (but oh so sweet) financial schemes? It's going to be harder now to even daydream it. Two governments say no. The United States and Switzerland agreed this past week to settle a Justice Department lawsuit against UBS Ag to reveal thousands of American names. UBS is the former United Bank of Switzerland, the Alpine country's largest.

Our tax police demand the identities of every American suspected of evasion — via 52,000 secret Swiss accounts.But of course, for many, secret is just the point. If the Internal Revenue Service knows somebody's got a million or a billion over there, it might as well be in Pittsburgh.UBS has taken sizeable lumps to defend Switzerland's fabled banking secrecy. It agreed in February to pay a huge fine, $780 million, to defer prosecution for aiding tax evasion, said Bloomberg News. The bank opened up data on 250 clients.Then truth came tumbling. Three UBS clients pleaded guilty to hiding bank assets from the IRS. And several thousand others have warded off prosecution, but far from painlessly. By voluntarily disclosing their thrift among the Alps to the IRS (under a program due to expire Sept. 23) they're paying back taxes, interest, and 20 percent penalties on balances.The United States sued UBS for the account data on Feb. 19. That was a day after the bank admitted its private bankers helped wealthy Americans evade U.S. taxes from 2000 to 2007. It confessed to setting up sham offshore companies in tax havens like the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong and Panama.Switzerland has criminal, not just civil, laws protecting bank account secrecy. But U.S. law in the area is tough, too. It says Americans can't avoid income tax by depositing in vaults offshore. The two-country agreement apparently has our side respecting the Swiss secrecy while the Swiss take a liberal construction of their own rules to keep peace with Uncle Sam.U.S. tax evaders aren't the only — and almost certainly aren't the biggest — hiders of money. Thugs, dictators, tycoons and potentates of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East are thought to have fabulous fortunes, often not strictly belonging to them, socked away personally. Those muckety-mucks aren't involved in the U.S.-Swiss deal. Let's hope it shakes them up a bit.

US preparing to prosecute 150 UBS account holders
(AFP) – AUG 14,09

WASHINGTON — US authorities are building cases for possible criminal prosecution of some 150 wealthy American clients of Swiss banking giant UBS as part of a probe into tax evasion, the New York Times reported Friday.The daily, which cited a person briefed on the matter, said the likely prosecutions were part of a crackdown on tax evasion using offshore accounts.Earlier this week, the US government and UBS finalized a long-delayed out-of-court settlement to end a diplomatically sensitive tax secrecy case aimed at forcing the bank to turn over names of America account holders.Details of the settlement were not available and it was unclear how many of the estimated 52,000 Americans with UBS offshore accounts would be named.The Times noted that federal investigators received 285 names from UBS in February as part of a settlement when the Swiss bank agreed to pay a fine of 780 million dollars to settle charges that it had helped in tax evasion.

The Times, which quoted a source familiar with the UBS case, said the most recent settlement will require the bank to turn over names of clients who set up offshore entities to evade taxes and those who had contact with Swiss-based UBS bankers, in person, by telephone or by e-mail.Accounts over a certain dollar amount would be included, the source added.The Internal Revenue Service was to release the criteria next week, but the dollar threshold will not be publicly disclosed, the Times sources said.

IRS Tailing UBS Bankers and Advisors
Jul 28, 2009 1:01 PM, By John Churchill

According to a Swiss wire report, the IRS has upped the ante in its fight to gather thousands of names of alleged tax-dodging American UBS clients: By sending IRS agents to tail the firm’s bankers and financial advisors as they visit clients.It’s the latest in the ongoing cross-border dispute between U.S. authorities and the Swiss asset manager. The tax dispute has been making headlines across the world and has embarrassed the firm and its employees, particularly its bankers and financial advisors who deal with wealthy clients. But according to the story posted yesterday in the Swiss weekly, Sonntags-Zeitung, a possible compromise could end up revealing 10,000 of the American, UBS-client names the IRS is seeking. The IRS estimates that tens of thousands of American clients have hidden $20 billion in UBS offshore accounts, evading $300 million in taxes a year. UBS, meanwhile, made $200m a year in profits from its offshore banking business. The former head of UBS Global Wealth Management International, Raoul Weil, is still a fugitive from US justice, allegedly hiding in Switzerland, away from the criminal charges laid personally against him in November of last year.The Swiss have so far refused to reveal the names of approximately 52,000 American clients the IRS alleges have evaded U.S. taxes with the help of UBS advisors. The Swiss say doing so would violate Swiss banking laws.

A Few things You Should Know About Offshore Banking in 2009...
August 7, 2009

A Candid Look at Switzerland, Offshore Banking, and Financial Freedom…Without Fear or Favor.For the bulk of customers, Swiss bankers claim, tax is in any case not the main draw.Oh, no.See, I get worried when the mainstream media starts to catch on. I’d hardly define the Economist as mainstream, but their recent article on offshore banking – aptly titled Bourne to Survive – was spot on. Still, I get a little worried. Because the spotlight moved on months ago…no sense in bringing it back.As you may already know, American citizens are taxed on all global income. So in the legal pursuit of lower taxes, a Swiss bank doesn’t necessarily get the job done. So that’s not the core reason for individuals – at least Americans – to bring their wealth to offshore financial centers.Granted, a criminal might be inclined to sweep some money into a discreet offshore bank account. But recent studies show that you’ll find more tax frauds in states like Wyoming than in a tightly regulated offshore financial center.

So why go offshore then?

To use the Economist’s words, They are mainly in Switzerland for its political stability and well-run banks.Hmmm. Imagine that…

Switzerland: A Country Benjamin Franklin Would Admire
In 1291, a host of valley communities banded together to sign the Federal Charter, the founding document of the Swiss Confederacy. It was a practical compromise between relatively diverse communities. It preserved free trade, safe passage, and other common-sense goals that could benefit the Swiss as a whole.Over the next few centuries, they would be tested…Switzerland was the keystone of Western Europe, a superior tactical position for eager empire-builders. Empire-builders eager to overlook the fact that people already lived there…and that those people were Swiss. What followed was an epic drubbing, with the early Swiss state trouncing everyone from the Habsburgs to the Germans to a bold Burgundian by the name of Charles.The Swiss emerged from those early conflicts wise enough to know that war was a messy, violent and costly affair…especially for whoever was waging war against them. So it comes as no shock that Switzerland hasn’t been at war internationally since 1815.But here’s where we get to the important part…the part that would make Benjamin Franklin proud…

You see, the Swiss had plenty of opportunities…As the American government has historically appreciated, an assaulting foreign power is a great excuse for usurping personal liberties. And with virtually every European tyrant coming up with the bright idea of attacking the Swiss…well, let’s say they had plenty of opportunities to try and expand the federal government – at almost any point in the last several centuries.But that didn’t happen…

A Banker’s Role Model
Instead, the discretion we’ve come to know through Swiss banking…the solemn respect of privacy and personal liberties…this was the kind of culture that emerged. From those early, diverse valley communities, united under practical interests and a few common goals…sprang a country of men and women with a culturally embedded sense of respect, privacy and liberty.And when push comes to shove, the Swiss don’t budge…In fact, the long-standing Swiss tradition of financial privacy was finally codified into law in 1934 – as a direct response to Nazi pressure on Jewish-family-held assets in the stalwart Alpine nation.And that’s the most important thing for us to remember, as the War on Offshore will likely rage on as long as shopaholic-politicians keep getting elected.Just remember that for all the bullying, all the headlines in the New York Times, and all the hoopla about cracking down. That’s been the line for centuries. From Napoleon to the Nazis…from French politicians to Obama & Levin, they’ve been cracking down for hundreds of years now. And the line hasn’t yet moved.

Like a Weed
As the Economist is starting to realize, this isn’t over by a long shot.Indeed, without quite connecting the dots, they make a good case for the fact that the War on Offshore and the crackdown on UBS…both of these were campaigns. Efforts to convince ripe U.S. taxpayers to keep their retirement money inside the country.I’ll say that again, just to be perfectly clear; like so many other things in the media today, the War on Offshore was a game…and the loopholes don’t belong to Swiss bankers or their clients…It’s often the case that the loopholes ultimately amount to the fact that there are some real landmines buried in the U.S. tax code. And by scaring U.S. citizens into keeping their money at home, these plump taxpayers are more likely to end up forking over a major portion of their wealth for things like the Estate tax.

You try getting elected after you pass some egregious tax appropriations during your tenure in elected office.And last but not least; Switzerland and the UBS case…this isn’t the end of Offshore banking. Nor is it the beginning of the end. Instead, Switzerland serves as a beacon in the darkness to the world’s smaller, less-developed financial centers. And they’ve made leaps and bounds in recent years.In other words; it’s not just Switzerland. So even if the OECD is successful in suppressing one or several of these countries, they’ll just be driving business to another group of financial centers. We saw the same effect as they turned up the heat on UBS; driving some 30 billion francs out of UBS…and right into other Swiss banks.No, dear friend. As long as the bullies remain popularity-conscious…and as long as there are individuals with the desire and the will to improve their financial freedom…the world of Offshore will be there, waiting.Yours in Personal Sovereignty,Matthew Collins, A-Letter Editor

Canada to train Mexican police in 15-mln-dlr program
Module body Sun Aug 9, 7:55 PM

GUADALAJARA, Mexico (AFP) - Canada said Sunday that it would increase training by its Mounted Police for Mexican officers as part of a new, 15-million-dollar security program for the Americas.The announcement came as Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper arrived in the western Mexican city of Guadalajara for a summit overshadowed by Mexican drug violence.Supporting police training in Mexico is one of the most effective ways to fight organized crime and drug trafficking within Canada, said a statement from Harper's office.Thirty-two Mexican police officers would travel to Canada for three weeks' training in the fall, while eight Spanish-speaking Royal Canadian Mounted Police instructors were currently in Mexico providing basic training to Mexican Federal Police recruits.Canada would also provide training for 300 mid-level officers, the statement added.With killings in suspected drug attacks in Mexico approaching 10,000 since the start of 2008, Mexican President Felipe Calderon was expected to seek more support for his controversial military crackdown on the country's warring drug gangs during the two-day summit also attend by US President Barack Obama.The meeting came amid criticism of alleged abuses committed by some of the 40,000 soldiers deployed across the country, and reports of growing Mexican drug gang activity across the United States, Canada and beyond.

PELOSI (TWO FACES OF)
http://www.prisonplanet.com/two-faced-pelosi-if-you-protest-republicans-you%e2%80%99re-%e2%80%9cvery-american%e2%80%9d-if-you-protest-democrats-you%e2%80%99re-a-%e2%80%9cnazi%e2%80%9d.html

Beware the Counterrevolution Andrew Thomas
American Thinker Sunday, August 16, 2009

The left is already telegraphing its strategy to discredit the town hall movement. Conservatives must wise up and use a little jiujitsu of our own.moral masochism). That is just the nature of human beings.However, once the slavery of socialism is self-imposed through trickery or stealth, there are no more choices. That is the weakness of a free people.The weakness of socialism is that it cannot be revealed for what it truly is until it is too late to stop it.Like all things evil, it cannot stand the light of day.It is important to note from the start that the struggle between liberty and socialism will never end, at least not in our lifetimes.If by chance it does, it will be because evil has triumphed. As long as people are free to make their own choices, some of those choices will always be for self-destruction or slavery (The reason I say that the struggle will never end is that no matter how many times it is beaten back, the socialist left keeps returning.It is relentless.When their evil intent is revealed, the leftists retreat and then re-package it in different wrapping paper.Socialized medicine becomes Hillarycare becomes ObamaCare. Healthcare is a right for everyone, they say. Who would dare oppose that? Environmentalism becomes global warming becomes climate change.Who could be against saving the planet? The weakness of a free people is exploited.The problem for these strategies is that once people have had a chance to examine the packages, they are discovering that they are Trojan horses.They do not save the planet nor provide quality healthcare for all Americans.Their sole purpose is to dramatically expand the power of the government over its citizens, providing the potential for complete enslavement.

Americans are finally waking up to this fact, albeit almost too late.They are angry. They have been misled.Surprising the socialist left with their ferocity, they are storming into town hall meetings and confronting their dishonest legislative representatives.Hypocrisy is being exposed.We have taken the high ground and are on the offensive. Is it time to high-five each other and celebrate our victory? Au contraire, mon frère (as George Carlin would say).We are facing the most ruthless and power-hungry government in American history.They have the most effective and dedicated propaganda arm the world has ever known, i.e. the misnomered mainstream media.They are changing the face of America surreptitiously through an unelected and completely uncontrolled group of leftist radicals (including an avowed Communist) known as Czars.Congress has been relegated to the status of useful idiots.The government commands the powerful thuggish shadow armies of ACORN and SEIU, with the intent of forcibly drafting millions of our kids, brainwashing them, and inducting them into a third shadow army, AmeriCorps.Do you really believe that the next elections in 2010 and particularly 2012 will be the solution to the current socialist infestation? Do you think that people who are as addicted to power as Obama, Emmanuel, and Axelrod will passively accept their ouster in a fair general election? After fighting the good fight, will they gracefully withdraw from power? This administration currently controls the census, which can initiate creation of additional congressional districts in liberal areas of the country based on their populations as counted by leftist community organizers.The left dominates election committees and polling volunteers.If they decide to sabotage voting machines or vote tabulation software or servers, who will provide the oversight to prevent them from doing so? They run the largest organized voter fraud organization in the world (except for perhaps Iran) a.k.a. ACORN.Who knows what October surprises they have planned? Will we see the New Black Panther Party more actively menacing voters at the polls, since the Obama administration refuses to prosecute this voter intimidation?

Leftists do not see election fraud or other dirty tactics as illegal, immoral, or unethical.This is because the socialist agenda is for the good of the nation, a noble cause to promote and protect at any cost.In other words, the ends justify the means. In the final analysis, it is difficult to predict what they are capable of.The rules don’t apply to them.We can only study the actions of other socialist leaders such as Lenin, Stalin, Castro, and Chavez, and make assumptions.Not so confident now, are you? In reading the comments sections of American Thinker and other conservative websites, you can observe that the anger of the commenters is palpable and rising. People feel trapped and threatened.The natural temptation to turn to violence must be resisted.Violence is the very tactic that the left is prepared for.The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report several days ago indicating that right-wing militias and hate groups are on the rise and threatening insurrection.This is essentially a recycled article that is trotted out by the SPLC with each new presidential administration, citing many of the same tired anecdotal examples such as Ruby Ridge and Waco’s Branch Davidians as evidence of growing violence.The only thing new in the piece is blaming the supposed increase in extremist activity on alleged racism toward a black president.No evidence to support this contention was presented, however.Nonetheless, many news outlets, including Associated Press and CBS News, picked up the story and sensationalized it.A quote from the article states, All it’s lacking is a spark.All that is missing in this leftist wishful fantasy is another Timothy McVeigh.If he doesn’t show up on his own, someone may create him.They would love nothing better than capturing a group of violent right-wing crazies on video committing some atrocity.However it’s done, the entire right side of the political spectrum will be implicated, tarred with the same brush.The goal will be to shut down all dissent through intimidation, justified by righteously proclaiming a war on domestic terrorism.Conservative conversation will be squelched as hate speech.Talk radio, internet blogs, Fox News commentators, Tea Parties, and any other conservative outlets of communication or assembly will be forcibly eliminated under the guise of protecting public safety.The mainstream media will joyfully cooperate in this endeavor, and anyone identified as a conservative politician will be vilified and transformed into an instant pariah.Game over,they win.

What is the answer? I like to use the karate analogy.There are two styles of karate, hard and soft.Hard karate is employed by the more powerful fighter, using his size and strength like a bull to overwhelm his opponent.In soft karate, the fighter uses the opponent’s size and strength against him.It is more stealthy and graceful.It is the matador.The opponent is defeated by finesse rather than brute force.We need to study the weaknesses of our opponents, and capitalize on their mistakes (and there are currently many).The Obama administration is tripped up when they accidently reveal their true agenda.These mistakes need to be picked, frozen, and personalized (Alinsky’s rule #12).Another example is the Obama Joker poster that mysteriously appeared around LA and elsewhere.It was a very clever and creative means of passive resistance that delivered a powerful message.Although, as Sonia Sotomayor says, I don’t endorse this tactic.That’s great, you may say, but there’s really no way I can personally apply the soft karate method to the fight against American socialism. Again, au contraire, mon frère.There is a golden opportunity rapidly approaching for us to peacefully assemble in massive numbers and demonstrate our resolve to oppose the pure evil of socialist enslavement.It is the 09.12.09 March on Washington.This is perfect timing, as the Senate will potentially be voting on Obamacare later in September.In a truly Orwellian move, Obama is scheduled to make a major announcement concerning expansion of AmeriCorps on September 11.I will be there, and I hope to see thousands of other American Thinker fans there, as well.

DISEASES

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

MILITARY TO WORK WITH FEMA WHEN PANDEMIC HITS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtGofsHaj3M&feature=player_embedded
SAY NO TO THE VACCINES
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGyCeCiG9Kk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vqMK_yu8APg&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASibLqwVbsk&feature=related
LAB MADE FLU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYrlFMFoaDE&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fbritanniaradio%2Eblogspot%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj0gs1C83Ec&feature=channel

TAMAR TALKS TO DR DAISY J.STERN ABOUT H1N1
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/1301

Corporate Media in U.S. Ignores Report N1H1 Vaccine Link to Guillain-Barré Syndrome Kurt Nimmo Infowars August 16, 2009

A Google News search this morning returns no mention of the Guillain-Barré Syndrome link to the experimental H1N1 vaccine in the U.S. media.28,000 people in the U.S. will participate in a government trial of the experimental H1N1 vaccine.The story has made the rounds in the British press.The Health Protection Agency (HPA) has asked doctors to check for increases in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) once the national vaccination programme begins,the Telegraph reports. According to the Mail on Sunday, two letters were posted together to neurologists advising them of the concerns. The first, dated July 29, was written by Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the HPA’s Immunization Department.The Times Online, Sky News, and the Daily Mail also ran stories on the warning. Alternative news sites in the United States reported on the link but the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other corporate media sources are silent as of this morning.28,000 people in the U.S. will participate in a government trial of the experimental H1N1 vaccine. Volunteers will be checked closely for any side effects. They’ll also be monitored for Guillain-Barre syndrome, which was reported in people who received a swine flu vaccine 33 years ago. It’s a rare syndrome usually triggered by a viral infection, and no one knows for sure if the vaccine is also a trigger,KPBS reported on August 10.

Adult volunteers for the clinical trials will be recruited at 8 separate sites including Emory University in Atlanta, the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Children’s Hospital Medical Center in Cincinnati, Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, the University Iowa in Iowa City, and St. Louis University, Deborah Shlian reported for the Examiner on July 28.The initial tests will be of vaccines made by Sanofi-Pasteur, a European company, and CLS Biotherapies, an Australian company that has supplied seasonal flu shots in the U.S. for years. Novartis is also conducting separate trials for FDA licensing.

Swine flu jab link to killer nerve disease: Leaked letter reveals concern of neurologists over 25 deaths in America By Jo Macfarlane 11:05 PM on 15th August 2009
Prevention: Is the swine flu jab safe?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu-jab-link-killer-nerve-disease-Leaked-letter-reveals-concern-neurologists-25-deaths-America.html

A warning that the new swine flu jab is linked to a deadly nerve disease has been sent by the Government to senior neurologists in a confidential letter.The letter from the Health Protection Agency, the official body that oversees public health, has been leaked to The Mail on Sunday, leading to demands to know why the information has not been given to the public before the vaccination of millions of people, including children, begins.It tells the neurologists that they must be alert for an increase in a brain disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS), which could be triggered by the vaccine.GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, causing paralysis and inability to breathe, and can be fatal.The letter, sent to about 600 neurologists on July 29, is the first sign that there is concern at the highest levels that the vaccine itself could cause serious complications.It refers to the use of a similar swine flu vaccine in the United States in 1976 when:More people died from the vaccination than from swine flu. 500 cases of GBS were detected. The vaccine may have increased the risk of contracting GBS by eight times.The vaccine was withdrawn after just ten weeks when the link with GBS became clear.The US Government was forced to pay out millions of dollars to those affected.Concerns have already been raised that the new vaccine has not been sufficiently tested and that the effects, especially on children, are unknown.It is being developed by pharmaceutical companies and will be given to about 13million people during the first wave of immunisation, expected to start in October.
Top priority will be given to everyone aged six months to 65 with an underlying health problem, pregnant women and health professionals.The British Neurological Surveillance Unit (BNSU), part of the British Association of Neurologists, has been asked to monitor closely any cases of GBS as the vaccine is rolled out.One senior neurologist said last night: I would not have the swine flu jab because of the GBS risk.

There are concerns that there could be a repeat of what became known as the 1976 debacle in the US, where a swine flu vaccine killed 25 people – more than the virus itself.A mass vaccination was given the go-ahead by President Gerald Ford because scientists believed that the swine flu strain was similar to the one responsible for the 1918-19 pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and 20million people worldwide.The swine flu vaccine being offered to children has not been tested on infants.Within days, symptoms of GBS were reported among those who had been immunised and 25 people died from respiratory failure after severe paralysis. One in 80,000 people came down with the condition. In contrast, just one person died of swine flu.

More than 40million Americans had received the vaccine by the time the programme was stopped after ten weeks. The US Government paid out millions of dollars in compensation to those affected.The swine flu virus in the new vaccine is a slightly different strain from the 1976 virus, but the possibility of an increased incidence of GBS remains a concern.Shadow health spokesman Mike Penning said last night: The last thing we want is secret letters handed around experts within the NHS. We need a vaccine but we also need to know about potential risks.Our job is to make sure that the public knows what’s going on. Why is the Government not being open about this? It’s also very worrying if GPs, who will be administering the vaccine, aren’t being warned.Two letters were posted together to neurologists advising them of the concerns. The first, dated July 29, was written by Professor Elizabeth Miller, head of the HPA’s Immunisation Department.It says: The vaccines used to combat an expected swine influenza pandemic in 1976 were shown to be associated with GBS and were withdrawn from use.GBS has been identified as a condition needing enhanced surveillance when the swine flu vaccines are rolled out.Reporting every case of GBS irrespective of vaccination or disease history is essential for conducting robust epidemiological analyses capable of identifying whether there is an increased risk of GBS in defined time periods after vaccination, or after influenza itself, compared with the background risk.The second letter, dated July 27, is from the Association of British Neurologists and is written by Dr Rustam Al-Shahi Salman, chair of its surveillance unit, and Professor Patrick Chinnery, chair of its clinical research committee.

Halted: The 1976 US swine flu campaign

It says:Traditionally, the BNSU has monitored rare diseases for long periods of time. However, the swine influenza (H1N1) pandemic has overtaken us and we need every member’s involvement with a new BNSU survey of Guillain-Barre Syndrome that will start on August 1 and run for approximately nine months.Following the 1976 programme of vaccination against swine influenza in the US, a retrospective study found a possible eight-fold increase in the incidence of GBS.Active prospective ascertainment of every case of GBS in the UK is required. Please tell BNSU about every case.You will have seen Press coverage describing the Government’s concern about releasing a vaccine of unknown safety.If there are signs of a rise in GBS after the vaccination programme begins, the Government could decide to halt it. GBS attacks the lining of the nerves, leaving them unable to transmit signals to muscles effectively.It can cause partial paralysis and mostly affects the hands and feet. In serious cases, patients need to be kept on a ventilator, but it can be fatal.Death is caused by paralysis of the respiratory system, causing the victim to suffocate.It is not known exactly what causes GBS and research on the subject has been inconclusive.However, it is thought that one in a million people who have a seasonal flu vaccination could be at risk and it has also been linked to people recovering from a bout of flu of any sort.The HPA said it was part of the Government’s pandemic plan to monitor GBS cases in the event of a mass vaccination campaign, regardless of the strain of flu involved.
But vaccine experts warned that the letters proved the programme was a guinea-pig trial.Dr Tom Jefferson, co-ordinator of the vaccines section of the influential Cochrane Collaboration, an independent group that reviews research, said: New vaccines never behave in the way you expect them to. It may be that there is a link to GBS, which is certainly not something I would wish on anybody.But it could end up being anything because one of the additives in one of the vaccines is a substance called squalene, and none of the studies we’ve extracted have any research on it at all.He said squalene, a naturally occurring enzyme, could potentially cause so-far-undiscovered side effects.Jackie Fletcher, founder of vaccine support group Jabs, said: The Government would not be anticipating this if they didn’t think there was a connection. What we’ve got is a massive guinea-pig trial.

Professor Chinnery said: During the last swine flu pandemic, it was observed that there was an increased frequency of cases of GBS. No one knows whether it was the virus or the vaccine that caused this.The purpose of the survey is for us to assess rapidly whether there is an increase in the frequency of GBS when the vaccine is released in the UK. It also increases consultants’ awareness of the condition.Panic over? The number of swine flu cases has fallen sharply in the past few weeks
This is a belt-and-braces approach to safety and is not something people should be substantially worried about as it’s a rare condition.If neurologists do identify a case of GBS, it will be logged on a central database. Details about patients, including blood samples, will be collected and monitored by the HPA.It is hoped this will help scientists establish why some people develop the condition and whether it is directly related to the vaccine.But some question why there needs to be a vaccine, given the risks. Dr Richard Halvorsen, author of The Truth About Vaccines, said: ‘For people with serious underlying health problems, the risk of dying from swine flu is probably greater than the risk of side effects from the vaccine. But it would be tragic if we repeated the US example and ended up with more casualties from the jabs.

I applaud the Government for recognising the risk but in most cases this is a mild virus which needs a few days in bed. I’d question why we need a vaccine at all.Professor Miller at the HPA said: This monitoring system activates pandemic plans that have been in place for a number of years. We’ll be able to get information on whether a patient has had a prior influenza illness and will look at whether influenza itself is linked to GBS.We are not expecting a link to the vaccine but a link to disease, which would make having the vaccine even more important.The UK’s medicines watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, is already monitoring reported side effects from Tamiflu and Relenza and it is set to extend that surveillance to the vaccine.A Department of Health spokesperson said: The European Medicines Agency has strict processes in place for licensing pandemic vaccines.In preparing for a pandemic, appropriate trials to assess safety and the immune responses have been carried out on vaccines very similar to the swine flu vaccine. The vaccines have been shown to have a good safety profile.It is extremely irresponsible to suggest that the UK would use a vaccine without careful consideration of safety issues. The UK has one of the most successful immunisation programmes in the world.I COULDN''T EAT OR SPEAK... IT WAS HORRENDOUS

Victim: Hilary Wilkinson spent three months in hospital after she was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.When Hilary Wilkinson woke up with muscle weakness in her left arm and difficulty breathing, doctors initially put it down to a stroke.
But within hours, she was on a ventilator in intensive care after being diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome.She spent three months in hospital and had to learn how to talk and walk again. But at times, when she was being fed through a drip and needed a tracheotomy just to breathe, she doubted whether she would survive.The mother of two, 57, from Maryport, Cumbria, had been in good health until she developed a chest infection in March 2006. She gradually became so weak she could not walk downstairs.Doctors did not diagnose Guillain-Barre until her condition worsened in hospital and tests showed her reflexes slowing down. It is impossible for doctors to know how she contracted the disorder, although it is thought to be linked to some infections.Mrs Wilkinson said: ‘It was very scary. I couldn’t eat and I couldn’t speak. My arms and feet had no strength and breathing was hard.I was treated with immunoglobulin, which are proteins found in blood, to stop damage to my nerves. After ten days, I still couldn’t speak and had to mime to nurses or my family.It was absolutely horrendous and I had no idea whether I would get through it. You reach very dark moments at such times and wonder how long it can last.

But I’m a very determined person and I had lots of support.After three weeks, she was transferred to a neurological ward, where she had an MRI scan and nerve tests to assess the extent of the damage.Still unable to speak and in a wheelchair, Mrs Wilkinson eventually began gruelling physiotherapy to improve her muscle strength and movement but it was exhausting and painful.Three years later, she is almost fully recovered. She can now walk for several miles at a time, has been abroad and carries out voluntary work for a GBS Support Group helpline.She said: It makes me feel wary that the Government is rolling out this vaccine without any clear idea of the GBS risk, if any. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone and it certainly changed my life.I’m frightened to have the swine flu vaccine if this might happen again – it’s a frightening illness and I think more research needs to be done on the effect of the vaccine.

Hotline staff given access to confidential records

Confidential NHS staff records and disciplinary complaints could be accessed by hundreds of workers manning the Government’s special swine flu hotline.They were able to browse through a database of emails containing doctors’ and nurses’ National Insurance numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, mobile phone numbers and scanned passport pages – all details that could be used fraudulently.And private and confidential complaints sent by hospitals about temporary medical staff – some of whom were named – were also made available to the call-centre workers, who were given a special password to log in to an internal NHS website.It could be a breach of the Data Protection Act.The hotline staff work for NHS Professionals, which was set up using taxpayers’ money to employ temporary medical and administrative staff for the health service.The not-for-profit company runs two of the Government’s swine flu call centres – with 300 staff in Farnborough, Hampshire, and 900 in Watford, Hertfordshire.
Shadow Health Secretary Andrew Lansley described the revelations as disturbing.Anne Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Unison, said: There’s no excuse for such a fundamental breach of personal security. Action needs to be taken as soon as possible to make sure this does not happen again.A spokeswoman for NHS Professionals would not confirm whether access to the confidential files had been granted.Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1206807/Swine-flu-jab-link-killer-nerve-disease-Leaked-letter-reveals-concern-neurologists-25-deaths-America.html#ixzz0OM4G5TSH

OBAMA TV LOVES HEALTHCARE RUKUS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zjBa5UCPss&feature=player_embedded
JONES SHOWS AUG 13-14
http://rss.nfowars.net/20090814_Fri_Alex.mp3 (AUG14)
http://rss.nfowars.net/20090813_Thu_Alex.mp3 (AUG13)
SOFT KILL EUGENICS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WpJtk_IG8gU&feature=player_embedded
INCESTUOUS BLACKWATER-US GOVERNMENT
http://www.prisonplanet.com/%e2%80%9cincestuous%e2%80%9d-relationships-between-blackwater-and-u-s-government.html
EVA US WILL ATTACK VENEZUELA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27hq0yel6FY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.infowars.com/eva-golinger-us-will-attack-venezuela/

Maine TV Station Airs Report on National Guard and Flu Pandemic Riots
Kurt Nimmo Infowars August 14, 2009
http://www.infowars.com/maine-tv-station-airs-report-on-national-guard-and-flu-pandemic-riots/

WMTW, a television station in Portland, Maine, owned by Hearst, has produced a slick propaganda piece as part of an emerging effort to stampede people into submitting to a toxic and cancer virus flu vaccine this autumn.On Thursday, Paul Joseph Watson reported on a National Guard riot scenario exercise conducted at Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School in Paris, Maine. The school was chosen as a distribution site for the H1N1 flu vaccine by state officials.The National Guardsmen will take on the roles of panicked citizens and military police and practice what they would do, such as using tear gas, in the case of a riot,the Sun Journal reported on August 13.

Sgt. Skip Mowatt of the Paris Police Department told WMTW 8 desperate citizens — arriving without proper ID or living outside the designated area — may overwhelm local police and engage in violence in an effort to get their soft kill vaccination. In such a situation, the television station reports, the police in Paris would team up with the National Guard to baton, pepper spray, and tase rioters.In late July, the Pentagon said it will establish regional teams of military personnel to assist civilian authorities in the event of a pandemic. The plan calls for all branches of the military to team up with FEMA. CNN reported on July 29 that the proposal is awaiting final approval from Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Northern Command’s Gen. Victor Renuart. The Pentagon, however, often announces plans after it has already moved to implement them. Orders to deploy actual forces would be reviewed later, depending on how much of a health threat the flu poses this fall,CNN reported.

Much of the groundwork for the intervention of the military has already been established,writes Michel Chossudovsky, who notes that regional teams have already been established under NORTHCOM, which has been involved in preparedness training and planning in the case of a flu pandemic.The pandemic is being presented to public opinion as an issue of National Security, with a view to triggering the militarization of civilian institutions in blatant violation of the Posse Comitatus Act,Chossudovsky noted in an earlier article (Martial Law and the Avian Flu Pandemic).

As Infowars reported on August 6 and investigative journalist Wayne Madsen confirmed on the Alex Jones Show earlier this week, an international conference on the coming flu pandemic will be held in Washington next week. Breakout sessions detailed in a brochure for the conference include discussions on mass fatality planning, business continuity planning, and COOP or Continuity of Operations and Continuity of Government Planning. Additional sessions cover enforced quarantines, mass vaccinations, and how to control and diffuse social unrest and public disorder.In short, how best to implement martial law.The WHO and CDC have played prominent roles in hyping the coming pandemic and propagandizing the public on its expected severity. On July 25, the Los Angeles Times reported the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the flu pandemic expected this autumn to kill hundreds of thousands.The number of potential deaths is much higher than that usually seen in seasonal flu, which kills an estimated 36,000 Americans a year, and is even higher than the nation’s most recent pandemic.The 1957 pandemic of Asian flu killed 70,000. The 1918 Spanish Flu claimed between 500,000 to 675,000 lives in the United States.
The U.S. government has bought 195 million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine for a possible autumn vaccination campaign, a U.S. federal official told Reuters on July 23. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department has also contracted for 120 million doses of adjuvant, a compound to stretch the number of doses of vaccine.

Micropaleontologist Dr. Viera Scheibner and others have conducted research into the adverse effects of adjuvants in vaccines and concluded that the an oil-based adjuvant known as squalene is responsible for severe autoimmune diseases and contributed to the cascade of reactions called Gulf War syndrome. A U.S. Federal Judge ruled that there was good cause to believe squalene to be harmful, and he ordered the Pentagon to stop administering it in October 2004 (see Swine Flu Vaccination Poses Serious Threat to Your Health, June 17, 2009).On July 24, Prison Planet reported that an experimental H1N1 vaccine will contain squalene. The experimental vaccine is to be tested on 12,000 children nationwide, according to the Oklahoman. The experimental vaccine will be dispensed to the public in the autumn.On August 7, a German health expert warned that the swine flu vaccine developed by pharma giant Novartis will contain cancer viruses. The nutrient solution for the vaccine consists of cancerous cells from animals and we do not know if there could be an allergic reaction, Wolfgang Wodarg told Bild.But more importantly, some people fear that the risk of cancer could be increased by injecting the cells,Bild reported.A censored WGBH public television (Boston) documentary — produced public health expert Dr. Leonard Horowitz —contains an interview with leading vaccine expert, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, who explains how Merck vaccines have spread AIDS, leukemia and other deadly plagues worldwide. The documentary provides evidence that Merck vaccines have long contained cancer viruses (including SV40 or Simian vacuolating virus 40).If we are to believe the Hearst affiliate WMTW — and Hearst is the progenitor of yellow journalism — people will be rioting this autumn or early winter in order to injected with a deadly vaccine that demolishes the immune system and causes cancer.The reporters and news staff at WMTW may not know it, but they are foisting slick propaganda on a largely unwitting public. The coming H1N1 vaccine is an engineered eugenics weapon. The promised flu pandemic will likely not be on the scale ominously predicted by the CDC and WHO, although it may be large enough to stampede people into lining up for their soft kill vaccination.

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

LUKE 21:25-26
25 And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity;(MASS CONFUSION) the sea and the waves roaring;(FIERCE WINDS)
26 Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

Hurricane Bill on Atlantic track toward Bermuda By Jim Loney – AUG 17,09

MIAMI (Reuters) – Hurricane Bill, the first hurricane of the 2009 Atlantic season, churned across open ocean on Monday on a broad track toward Bermuda, which it should reach next weekend, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.The six-month Atlantic hurricane season, which got off to a slow start this year with no storms in the first 2-1/2 months, exploded into activity this weekend as three tropical storms, Ana, Bill and Claudette, formed in just over a day.Tropical Storm Claudette, which earlier on Monday came ashore on the Florida panhandle, soaking it with rain, weakened to a tropical depression and was moving over southern Alabama, the Miami-based NHC said.

Tropical Depression Ana, moving through the northeastern Caribbean, was expected to reach the Dominican Republic later on Monday and could dissipate.But Bill was expected to strengthen. Forecasters now expected it to whip up into a major Category 3hurricane by Wednesday, with winds of more than 110 mph.Hurricanes of Category 3, 4 or 5 on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale are the most destructive type.Bill was advancing quickly west-northwest near 22 mph, and this was expected to continue for the next 24 to 48 hours.On its most likely track, Bill would be well north of the northernmost Caribbean islands, while heading toward the U.S. East Coast, forecasters said. The NHC's five-day track forecast showed it reaching the area of Bermuda early on Saturday.

CLAUDETTE MISSES ENERGY FACILITIES

At 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), Claudette was located about 85 miles southwest of Montgomery, Alabama.Its sustained winds had decreased to near 35 miles per hour and were expected to weaken.Claudette had swept through the Gulf of Mexico but bypassed the heaviest concentration of U.S. energy platforms, which stretch along the coast from Mobile Bay, Alabama, to Brownsville, Texas.The Gulf is home to almost half of U.S. refinery capacity, a quarter of oil production and 15 percent of natural gas output. Oil companies were monitoring the storm but had not shut down production.The NHC said that at 8 a.m. EDT (1200 GMT), the center of Tropical Depression Ana was estimated to be about 70 miles south of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands.Ana carried maximum sustained winds of near 35 mph but could degenerate into a tropical wave later Monday, the NHC said.The system will likely be a mere remnant of the depression when it reaches the Florida panhandle later this week near where Claudette struck the coast.NHC website: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/(Additional reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York; editing by Pascal Fletcher and Eric Beech)

Claudette, third tropical storm, closes in on Florida AUG 16,09

MIAMI (AFP) – The Atlantic hurricane season gathered pace as forecasters said Tropical Storm Claudette -- the third system to form in two days -- swirled off northwestern Florida, expected to dump heavy rains.Ana, which formed as a tropical storm early Saturday but weakened to a tropical depression, raced toward the Caribbean, prompting storm watches from Puerto Rico to the Leeward Islands, while a slower-moving but potentially more menacing Tropical Storm Bill followed in the open Atlantic.The trio had formed the season's first three named storm systems in the Atlantic. Forecasters said at least one of them, Bill, was expected to become a major hurricane late Sunday or early Monday.The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Claudette was gathering steam, with winds increasing to near 50 miles (85 kilometers) per hour, and expected to slam early Monday into the northern Gulf Coast of Florida. It was moving northwest at about 12 mph (19 kmh).Claudette appeared early Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, popping up in relatively short order compared to most Atlantic hurricanes, which usually begin far from the US coast.Some strengthening is possible prior to landfall,the NHC cautioned, with rainfall of three to six inches (7.6 to 15.2 centimeters) expected in northwestern Florida, central and southern Alabama and southwestern Georgia.

Up to 10 inches (25.4 cm) of rain was expected in isolated areas.

The storm was located about 55 miles (85 km) west of Apalachicola, Florida at 8:00 pm (0000 GMT Monday), and 95 miles (155 km) southeast of Pensacola, Florida, the NHC said.More threatening was Bill, which strengthened in the open Atlantic and was to continue doing so through Tuesday, as the Miami-based Center warned it was expected to become a hurricane later tonight or tomorrow.Bill was still far from land, at about 1,440 miles (2,315 km) east of the Lesser Antilles. It was moving west-northwest at about 16 mph (26 kmh), with maximum sustained winds near 65 mph (100 kmh) and higher gusts.Meanwhile, much further west, Tropical Depression Ana was tacking westerly at about 25 mph (41 kmh) some 85 miles (135 km) east of Dominica, although the NHC said Ana's center was poorly defined.A turn toward the west-northwest is expected tonight and tomorrow,it said, adding that Ana could degenerate into a tropical wave.On this track, the depression will cross the northern Leeward Islands tonight and enter the northeastern Caribbean sea on Monday.A tropical storm watch remained in effect for Puerto Rico, the US and British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, Antigua, Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, Anguilla, St. Maarten, St. Martin, Saba, St. Eustatius, Guadeloupe and St. Barthelemy, it said.

In the Pacific, Hurricane Guillermo weakened and was about to cross into the Central Pacific, with its center located 995 miles (1,600 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii, moving west-northwest at about 14 mph (22 kmh), according to the NHC.With winds having decreased to near 85 mph (140 kmh), it was forecast to weaken to a tropical storm by Monday.A tropical storm, which has winds of at least 39 mph (63 kmh), becomes a hurricane when its winds reach at least 74 mph (119 kmh).The Atlantic hurricane season began on June 1 and continues through November 30.

First named storm of hurricane season forms in Atlantic AccuWeather Sat Aug 15, 6:18 am ET

MIAMI (AFP) – Tropical Storm Ana, the first named weather event of the Atlantic hurricane season, has formed in the ocean and could reach the Leeward Islands by Monday, US government forecasters warned early Saturday.A tropical storm watch may be required for portions of the Leeward Islands later today,the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory.At 9:00 GMT, the center of the storm was located 1,630 kilometers (1,010 miles) east of the islands, according to the center.But it was moving west at 26 kilometers (16 miles) an hour and an increase in forward speed" was possible, the meteorologists warned.But the forecasters differed in their views on whether Ana could ever reach hurricane status. Some said it could eventually become a category two hurricane, while other suggested the storm will dissipate on its approach to the islands.

Mourners survey typhoon wreckage of Taiwan village AccuWeather By PETER ENAV, Associated Press Writer – AUG 15,09

SHIAO LIN, Taiwan – There is nothing left in Shiao Lin. Nothing except the knots of grieving relatives mourning their dead, the red-clad rescue workers searching the ground for human remains and the tons of mud and rubble where once the village lay.

Shiao Lin was obliterated last weekend when rains spawned by Typhoon Morakot loosened the foundations of two nearby mountains and sent their facades tumbling down onto its 200 or so homes.Early Saturday morning friends and relatives of the victims gathered at the site of the village, burning incense, carrying photos of their loved ones and weeping inconsolably under a gray and ominous sky.Walking unsteadily near the remains of the Tai Tz Temple — one of only two building still standing — Liu Jin-fung shook his head repeatedly. He said the storm had changed his life beyond all recognition.

My parents, my brothers, my uncles, altogether 40 of my family members were killed, he said.How can I plan for the future? Everything is gone from my world.Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that 380 of the southern village's approximately 600 residents died in the deluge. He put the overall Morakot death toll at about 500, making it the island's deadliest weather disaster since 1959 when more than 600 perished, also in a typhoon.On Saturday, the president offered his first apology following mounting criticism that the government was too slow to provide rescue and relief services after the disaster.We could have responded faster and better, but we didn't,he said.We are sorry about that.Morakot dumped more than 80 inches (2 meters) of rain on Taiwan and stranded thousands in villages in the mountainous south. A total of 21,199 villagers have been ferried to safety and rescuers were working to save another 4,224 people.The storm destroyed the homes of 7,000 people and caused agricultural and property damage in excess of 50 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.5 billion), according to government estimates.Standing close to a relative in Shiao Lin, 12-year-old Chiu Yao-wen gazed longingly at a color photograph of Pan Hsia-yen, her eight-year-old niece, and buried her head in her hands.She's gone,Chiu said.Her and her whole family. They're all gone now.In the valley below, relatives and friends of the dead made their way unsteadily through the mud and rubble that consumed the village.Clutching each other for support, they moved back and forth across the thousands of tiny rocks and hundreds of shattered tree trunks that swept down from the mountains when they collapsed six days earlier.

Shiao Lin is located in a narrow valley formed by the Nan Tz Hsien River, which burst its banks when torrential rains began falling before last weekend.Underfoot the soil is still sponge-like and mushy, and the sound from the dozens of rain-fed streams flowing over the ground — gently now, finally gently — is strangely soft.Until the storm hit, Shiao Lin was a close-knit agricultural community, cobbling together an uncertain living growing ginger, rice, peaches, and most recently coffee, said anthropologist Chien Wen-ming, who said he had been conducting research in the area for more than 10 years.Chien, who arrived early Saturday to pay homage to the victims, said for some villagers life had already been a struggle.Living here was not easy,he said.Many people left because the area of cultivatable land was too small. It was not at all easy to get by.Just behind him Shiao Lin's two remaining structures stood broken and fractured amid a pair of tall palm trees — a dun colored house that survived the disaster because it was located on relatively high ground, and the adjacent Tai Dz Taoist temple, its walls falling apart.On either side of the valley, the mountains that buried the village were visible through a thin mist, the northern peak's once verdant face stripped clean away, and 800 feet (260 meters) of its original mass lying below on the ground.Fourty-nine-year-old Liu Suan-dz, the owner of the house, said he was in Taipei when the disaster struck and was now returning to the village for the first time.It's finished here, all of it,Lui said, inspecting the mud-encased floors, the shards of wood that were once his furniture, and the storm's high watermark, clearly visible near the ceiling.There's nothing left to come back to.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH

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

EARTHQUAKES

MATTHEW 24:7-8
7 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.
8 All these are the beginning of sorrows.

MARK 13:8
8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom:(ETHNIC GROUP AGAINST ETHNIC GROUP) and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

Strong quake rattles southern Japan, Taiwan AUG 16,09

TOKYO (AFP) – A strong earthquake jolted the ocean floor off southern Japan on Monday, triggering a brief tsunami warning for a cluster of tropical islands and shaking buildings in nearby Taiwan.The 6.7-magnitude quake struck at around 9:06 am (0006 GMT) 115 kilometers (70 miles) southwest of Ishigaki-jima island in Japan's far south at a depth of 10 kilometres (six miles), the US Geological Survey reported.

Japan's meteorological agency, which measured the tremor at magnitude 6.8, issued a warning for tsunami waves of up to 50 centimetres (20 inches) for a group of islands in the East China Sea, but later lifted the alert.There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage in Japan or Taiwan from the quake, which rattled buildings in Taipei and on Ishigaki-jima.We have no reports of damage for now, said a fire official on Ishigaki-jima.But we sent patrol vehicles to inform local residents and to survey the island.We felt strong shaking, but not enough to throw things off shelves,he said.I see no changes in the ocean level.Around 20 percent of the world's most powerful earthquakes strike Japan, which is located at the intersection of several tectonic plates.An earthquake of magnitude 6.4 struck central Japan last Tuesday, killing one woman and injuring more than 120 people.

New data: Mega-quake could strike near Seattle By Les Blumenthal, McClatchy Newspapers – Sun Aug 16, 6:00 am ET

WASHINGTON — Using sophisticated seismometers and GPS devices, scientists have been able to track minute movements along two massive tectonic plates colliding 25 miles or so underneath Washington state's Puget Sound basin. Their early findings suggest that a mega-earthquake could strike closer to the Seattle - Tacoma area, home to some 3.6 million people, than was thought earlier.The deep tremors, which humans can't feel, occur routinely every 15 months or so and can continue for more than two weeks before they die back to undetectable levels.The instruments are detecting an inch or two of movement — known as episodic tremor and slip — as the Juan de Fuca plate grinds and sinks beneath the North American plate. Closer to the surface, the two plates are locked together. When they snap, scientists say, it could produce a massive 9.0 or greater earthquake and a tsunami.By comparison, the largest earthquake ever recorded was 9.5 on the Richter scale, in Chile in 1960. The largest in North America was the 9.2 Great Alaska Earthquake in 1964, which killed nine people and spawned a tsunami that struck the Northwest coast. The 1906 San Francisco earthquake, which killed 750 to 2,500 people, was estimated to be an 8.2.Whereas the scientists once predicted that a mega-earthquake would be centered just off the Northwest coast, now — using data from the tremors research — they say that it could be 30 miles or more inland, under the Olympic Peninsula , which lies to the west of Seattle and Tacoma across Puget Sound .The closer you are to the source, the stronger the shaking,said Steve Malone , a research professor emeritus at the University of Washington .

Exactly how much stronger, and how much more damage such a quake would cause in the Puget Sound area, hasn't been calculated, Malone said.While there's still plenty of debate about the findings within the scientific community, and while they may not be consistent with the models that geologists have developed, state officials are aware of the latest studies.People are aware of the possibility,said John Vidale , a professor of geophysics at the University of Washington and the state's seismologist. We haven't exactly calculated the impact, but bringing the fault closer (to metropolitan areas) could increase the shaking.Scientists have spent years studying what's known as the Cascadia subduction zone, an area where the two tectonic plants collide that stretches roughly 600 miles off the coast of Northern California to southern British Columbia, Canada .As the Juan de Fuca plate slides under the North American plate, the two can become locked. When plates become locked, pressure builds. The pressure is released in what scientists call a mega-thrust earthquake, which easily can be magnitude 9.0. The Sumatra-Andaman Islands earthquake the day after Christmas in 2004 was a 9.2 mega-thrust quake that produced a devastating Indian Ocean tsunami that killed an estimated 233,000 people in 11 countries.The last mega-thrust earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone, estimated at 9.2, was in January 1700 . It produced a tsunami that reached Japan . Cascadia subduction zone mega-thrust earthquakes happen on average every 400 to 500 years, but they can happen as little as 300 years apart or as much as 800.A mega-thrust earthquake would be different from those that shake the Northwest occasionally. A mega-thrust quake occurs right on the boundary of two tectonic plates, while other earthquakes occur along cracks in the plate. Vidale likened what's going on beneath the earth's crust to a bunch of blocks jostling around. Where the smaller blocks collide, you can have more standard-type quakes. Where the biggest blocks, the tectonic plates, collide, you have a mega-thrust earthquake.

Since the deep tremors were first detected 15 years ago, scientists have been trying to determine what was causing them along the Cascadia subduction zone. Eventually, they concluded that the tremors reflected the slippage of the Juan de Fuca plate under the North American plate.It's a burst of noise that can go on for up to 24 hours over a period of several weeks,said Herb Dragert , a geophysicist with the Geological Survey of Canada in Victoria, British Columbia , who was among those who first developed the theory.What's unique about the deep tremors, which occur in an area stretching roughly from Olympia, Wash. , to Canada's Vancouver Island , is that they reappear about every 15 months. While tremors have been detected elsewhere along the Cascadia subduction zone, none is as regular or as prolonged as those in the Puget Sound basin, Dragert said.Every 15 months it's like tightening the guitar string a little more,Dragert said.You don't know whether it will take it beyond the break zone.According to the timetable, episodic tremor and slip should be going on just about now. Instead, it came last spring, catching scientists by surprise. Malone said that some tremors were detected southwest of Olympia last week, but that it was too soon to determine whether they were part of a new episode or just isolated ones.

If all the energy associated with tremors over two weeks were released in 10 seconds, Vidale said, it would equal a 7.0 earthquake.Similar deep tremors are being tracked at other subduction zones around the globe, including in Alaska , Japan , Mexico and Chile .

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.

Evacuation lifted from town threatened by fire By LOUISE CHU, Associated Press Writer - AUG 16,09

DAVENPORT, Calif. – Hundreds of residents returned home when an evacuation order was lifted in a Santa Cruz mountain town Sunday, even as hot and dry winds fanned nearly a dozen wildifres across the state.Bonny Doon residents trickling home along newly reopened roads were relieved to be out of immediate danger, but still apprehensive because containment lines built by firefighters are holding back only half the blaze. That fire has burned through about 10 square miles of the rugged terrain since Wednesday.A state of emergency was declared in the county. Other blazes forced evacuations and knocked out power in other parts of the state.Margaret Kliegel was at the fire command center in Davenport on Sunday afternoon dropping off bread and cookies for the fire crew when she learned she could return home. She left her house Thursday as the flames shot into the air three miles away.We've lived here for close to 40 years so you got all your mementos and family things, and you don't know if you'll have a home to go back to,Kliegel said. Second time in 14 months that these guys have saved us.The news wasn't as good for Bob McAuliffe, a carpenter who lives on a two-story home on Last Chance Road with his wife, chickens, dogs, cats and cockatiels. They all left under orders, and remained under mandatory evacuation for a third day.I'm just anxious to get home,he said.Fire crews were unable to fight the blaze by air Sunday because of the heavy smoke, but made good progress on the ground along the western and southern ends of the wildfire, said Paul Provence, a state fire department engineer.Crews planned to clear the canyon of heavy brush on Monday, he said.The danger is still real,Provence said.It still could pop up on us.Crews reinforced the firefighting effort Sunday, totaling 2,165 firefighters.Fire officials warned that the nearby community of Swanton remained threatened by the blaze. A mandatory evacuation order there continues to keep about 400 residents away from their homes.Weather conditions overnight — cooler temperatures and increasing humidity — are expected to help the firefighting effort. But authorities remain vigilant, because the drought in much of the state has created dangerous conditions.

The blaze was just one of 11 wildfires statewide that pushed firefighters into rugged terrain to contain the flames and guard against new blazes.Things are so dry out there that it doesn't take much for a spark or an ember to quickly develop into a wildfire,said CalFire spokesman Daniel Berlant.A fire in Yuba County, north of Sacramento, had burned more than 3 square miles after jumping the Yuba River and moving away from the Sierra Nevada foothills community of Dobbins, which had been threatened. About 120 residents who had left their homes were able to return, Berlant said.It's being fanned by the wind,he said.That fire, which was ignited by burning feathers from a red-tailed hawk that flew into a power line, was more than 15 percent contained, but about 600 homes were still threatened Sunday. Voluntary evacuations remain in effect for parts of the community.The Colgate Powerhouse — the oldest powerhouse in the state — and two others were powered down, along with four major power lines. Together, they produce 300 Megawatts of power for the area. About 1,385 fire personnel are in the area fighting that blaze, though the steep, rough terrain made their work difficult.In Alameda County, firefighters were able to fully contain a grass fire that burned about 19 square miles near Tracy, said Alameda County Fire department spokeswoman Aisha Knowles. Even with the fire contained, people should remain vigilant because we're still in the middle of fire season,said Knowles.

Meanwhile, winds were helping crews beat back a week-old wildfire in northern Santa Barbara County that investigators say was started by a camp fire used by marijuana growers.U.S. Forest Service spokesman Joe Pasinato said the fire was 60 percent contained Sunday morning. The blaze has burned nearly 134 square miles of timber and brush in and around the Los Padres National Forest about 20 miles east of Santa Maria.Pasinato says residents are being let back into homes in the Tepusquet Canyon area Sunday. An unknown number of homes and ranches remain under evacuation orders on the fire's eastern edge.Smoke and ash from the fire whirled into the Los Angeles area Saturday, prompting an unusual weather forecast of scattered smoke.Associated Press Writer Christopher Weber in Los Angeles and Juliana Barbassa in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Firefighters gain on Lockheed fire in Santa Cruz Mountains By Joe Rodriguez and Ramona Turner Bay Area News Group 08/16/2009 07:25:25 PM PDT

With the Lockheed wildfire still aflame but at a safe enough distance Sunday afternoon, residents of the hamlet of Bonny Doon in the Santa Cruz Mountains started returning to their homes after the region's first major blaze was brought mostly under control.The house is smoky, the whole area is smoky and there are ashes over everything,said Martha Zimet.But nothing burned! She and her partner, Debi Duhamel, made it back to their old farmhouse about 5:30 p.m. to also find one of their cats frazzled but unharmed. A fire last year came even closer to the couple's house, but Zimet said they won't abandon their slice of paradise for the safer flatlands below.

We're staying put,she said.It's all about being prepared and knowing what to do.Trish Virgadamo was heading home after staying with friends.I feel like a three-day-old fish,she said at a checkpoint. Although glad to be out of danger, I'll be edgy until everything is contained.Up to 2,400 residents had been evacuated from Bonny Doon and nearby Swanton, towns just south of Big Basin Redwoods State Park and some of the most pristine and rugged terrain on the central coast. About 2,165 firefighters Sunday continued fighting the fire, which has burned about 10 square miles since breaking out on Wednesday night.Art Weybright, a 73-year-old pharmacist who has lived in his home near Pine Flat Road since 1972, had been staying with his son, a battalion.chief for a local fire department.My son said to consider it a vacation, Weybright said,but after three or four days, it's still stressful.Several fires were burning throughout the state this weekend, but the Lockheed blaze threatened more homes and businesses, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Cal Fire officials expect to have the blaze, which was 50 percent contained late Sunday afternoon, to be fully contained by Thursday. About 40 Bonny Doon evacuees who had gathered Sunday morning at Vintage Faith Church received good news from Cal Fire officials: None of their homes had been damaged or destroyed. Only two outbuildings were damaged.There may be some old cabins in there that may have been damaged that we didn't know about, but no homes have been damaged or destroyed, said Julie Hutchinson, a Cal Fire spokeswoman. She added that four firefighters have suffered minor injuries.Meanwhile, Sunday's game plan remained the same. Firefighters helped by Sunday's cooler weather continued to work the fire lines, building more of them to contain the blaze and let it burn itself out. From a command center in coastal Davenport, Cal Fire engineer Paul Provence said the cooler weather was still in their favor.Vera and Andy McLean could only hope so. The longtime residents of Swanton, one of the towns closest to the fire, remained in their recreational vehicle at an RV park.We're twiddling our thumbs and waiting for news just like everybody else,Vera McLean said.

Five families were calling the Santa Cruz Horsemens Association show grounds home temporarily. Among them was Mary Sullivan-White, who last year led the volunteer effort to save and relocate horses when the Martin fire burned 600 acres in the same area.I was planning on moving my horses today,she said Sunday, but if we're able to go home tomorrow, I'm not going to do that.Fire officials said the McLeans, Sullivan-White and other remaining evacuees likely will be allowed to return home before the fire is fully under control.Fire updates are available at 831-335-0378 or at www.fire.ca.gov.Contact Joe Rodriguez at 408-920-5767 or jrodriguez@mercurynews.com.

OZONE DEPLETION JUDGEMENT ON THE EARTH DUE TO SIN

ISAIAH 30:26-27
26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far, burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:

MATTHEW 24:21-22,29
21 For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.
22 And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake (ISRAELS SAKE) those days shall be shortened (Daylight hours shortened)
29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

REVELATION 16:7-9
7 And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments.
8 And the fourth angel poured out his vial upon the sun; and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire.
9 And men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed the name of God, which hath power over these plagues: and they repented not to give him glory.

The World’s Source for Global Temperature Record Admits It’s Lost or Destroyed All the Original Data That Would Allow a Third Party to Model Climate Washington’s Blog Saturday, August 15, 2009 According to the Register:

The world’s source for global temperature record admits it’s lost or destroyed all the original data that would allow a third party to construct a global temperature record. The destruction (or loss) of the data comes at a convenient time for the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) in East Anglia – permitting it to snub FoIA requests to see the data.The CRU has refused to release the raw weather station data and its processing methods for inspection – except to hand-picked academics – for several years. Instead, it releases a processed version, in gridded form. NASA maintains its own (GISSTEMP), but the CRU Global Climate Dataset, is the most cited surface temperature record by the UN IPCC. So any errors in CRU cascade around the world, and become part of the science.Professor Phil Jones, the activist-scientist who maintains the data set, has cited various reasons for refusing to release the raw data. Most famously, Jones told an Australian climate scientist in 2004:Even if WMO agrees, I will still not pass on the data. We have 25 or so years invested in the work. Why should I make the data available to you, when your aim is to try and find something wrong with it.In 2007, in response to Freedom of Information Act requests, CRU initially said it didn’t have to fulfil the requests because Information accessible to applicant via other means Some information is publicly available on external websites.Now it’s citing confidentiality agreements with Denmark, Spain, Bahrain and our own Mystic Met Office. Others may exist, CRU says in a statement, but it might have lost them because it moved offices. Or they were made verbally, and nobody at CRU wrote them down.

As for the raw station data,

We are not in a position to supply data for a particular country not covered by the example agreements referred to earlier, as we have never had sufficient resources to keep track of the exact source of each individual monthly value. Since the 1980s, we have merged the data we have received into existing series or begun new ones, so it is impossible to say if all stations within a particular country or if all of an individual record should be freely available. Data storage availability in the 1980s meant that we were not able to keep the multiple sources for some sites, only the station series after adjustment for homogeneity issues. We, therefore, do not hold the original raw data but only the value-added (i.e. quality controlled and homogenized) data.Even if the Register is accurately reporting the story, I have no idea whether the motivations of the scientists at CRU are noble or not.More importantly, I have no idea whether CRU has accurately summarized the original data. A careful and ethical scientist could do so, but a sloppy or unethical scientist might end up with different values than the actual data set.My views on climate are complex. But the one thing I know for sure is that we need accurate data, because the stakes are high.

SIGNS OF THE END OF THE AGE (NOT THE WORLD) THE WORLD GOES ON FOREVER.

GENESIS 1:5,14
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:(ISRAELS HOLY DAYS AND SABBATH STARTS AT 6PM) And for SIGNS (PROPHECY SIGNS TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE, OUR DAY)

SIGNS IN THE SUN, MOON AND STARS

LUKE 21:11
11 And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven.

GENESIS 5:21-24
21 And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah:
22 And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters:
23 And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years:
24 And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.(RAPTURE)

HEBREWS 11:5
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.(HE PROBABLY TAUGHT THE RAPTURE AND PROPHECY (JESUS RETURN TO EARTH BODILY AND THE SALVATION MESSAGE) WHICH PLEASED GOD)

JUDE 14-15
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,(7 YRS AFTER THE RAPTURE)
15 To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
16 These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

2KINGS 2:9-12
9 And it came to pass, when they were gone over, that Elijah said unto Elisha, Ask what I shall do for thee, before I be taken away from thee. And Elisha said, I pray thee, let a double portion of thy spirit be upon me.
10 And he said, Thou hast asked a hard thing: nevertheless, if thou see me when I am taken from thee, it shall be so unto thee; but if not, it shall not be so.
11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.(ELIJAH RAPTURED TO HEAVEN)
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried, My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces.

JOHN 14:1-3
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

JOHN 11:25-26
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?

GENESIS 7:7
7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons’ wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood.(GOD WARNED NOAH AND PROTECTED HIM THROUGHT THE 1ST DESTRUCTION OF THE WHOLE EARTH)

GENESIS 19:14
14 And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, which married his daughters, and said, Up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law.(GOD PROTECTED LOT,HE WARNED OF COMING JUDGEMENT AND GET OUT OF THIS PLACE SODOM AND GOMORAH).

2 KINGS 2:1-2
1 And it came to pass, when the LORD would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind,(RAPTURE) that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.
2 And Elijah said unto Elisha, Tarry here, I pray thee; for the LORD hath sent me to Bethel. And Elisha said unto him, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth,(THE RAPTURE AND SOUL AND SPIRIT ARE ALL MENTIONED HERE. I will not leave thee. So they went down to Bethel.(JESUS IN THE CLOUDS as the Lord Livith,The Christians Body and Soul go up to JESUS at the RAPTURE (THE ONES ALIVE AT THAT TIME) and in the Bible another verse says-I (JESUS) WILL NOT LEAVE THEE (YOU).

1 KINGS 17:21-22
20 And he (ELIJAH) cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?(DEAD)
21 And he (ELIJAH) stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come (BACK) into him again.(INTO HIS BODY AGAIN,PROOF THAT THE SOUL AND SPIRIT LIVES ON AFTER THE BODY IS DEAD)

LUKE 14:14
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.(CRISTIANS GET THEIR NEVER DYING BODY AT THE RAPTURE.THE SINNERS GET THEIR NEVER DYING BODIES WHEN AT THE END OF THE 1000 YEAR REIGN OF CHRIST THEY GET JUDGED FOR REJECTING JESUS AS GOD.RIGHT NOW ALL THE DEAD ARE ALIVE AND WELL BUT IN A SPIRITUAL BODY ONLY IN HELL IN TORMENT OR IN HEAVEN WITH JESUS.

BUT WHEN THE RAPTURE OCCURS CHRISTIANS BODIES,SOULS AND SPIRITS ARE REUNITED IN A NEVER DYING BODY.AND FOR SINNERS THEIR SOULS AND SPIRITS ARE IN TORMENTS RIGHT NOW BUT WHEN THEY GO IN FRONT OF JESUS FOR THE FINAL JUDGEMENT,JESUS REUNITES THEIR BODY WITH THE SOUL AND SPIRIT AND THEY GET THEIR NEVER DYING BODY TO BE SENT TO THE LAKE OF FIRE FOREVER.

Put in an existential context the nephesh (SOUL) is the self or person.The nephesh (SOUL) is said to be the seat of spiritual as well as physical needs and cravings, including one’s need for God’s presence.It is the state of consciousness itself. In this connection, nephesh (THE SOUL) can be used in a general sense to stand for the seat of emotions and experiences. The soul can be sad, grieved, weep, rejoice, bless the Lord, be distressed, be anxious and troubled, hate and love.It is associated with will as well as moral and spiritual action.The Soul can stand for the full range of human needs, desires and feelings, including thought, memory and consciousness.

PSALMS 42:2
2 My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? (THIS TELLS US OUR SOUL GOES TO GOD)

PSALMS 63:1,9
1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh (BODY) longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;
9 But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

PSALMS 84:2
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.

PSALMS 119:19-21
19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
20 My soul breaketh for the longing that it hath unto thy judgments at all times.
21 Thou hast rebuked the proud that are cursed, which do err from thy commandments.

HEBREWS 9:27
27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:(IF YOUR SAVED YOUR SOUL AND SPIRIT GO INSTANLY TO JESUS AT THE SECOND OF DEATH OR FOR SINNERS THE SECOND OF DEATH YOUR SOUL AND SPIRIT GOES TO HELL AND TORMENTS.

GENESIS 35:18
18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing,(HER BODY)(for she died) that she called his name Benoni: but his father called him Benjamin.

EZEKIEL 18:20-24 (YOU CHOOSE (DECIDE) WERE YOU GO,HEAVEN OR HELL)
20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.
21 But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes,(10 COMMANDMENTS) and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die.
22 All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live.
23 Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord GOD: and not that he should return from his ways, and live?
24 But when the righteous turneth away from his righteousness,(BACKSLIDDIN,AND TURN AGAINST JESUS)and committeth iniquity, and doeth according to all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, shall he live? All his righteousness that he hath done shall not be mentioned: in his trespass that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die.

1 CORINTHIANS 15:20-26
20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.(DEAD)
21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
22 For as in Adam all die,even so in Christ shall all be made alive.(RAPTURE,OUR NEVER DYING BODY)
23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

1 CORINTHIANS 15;51-55
51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep,(DIE) but we shall all be changed,(INTO OUR NEVER DYING BODIES)
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.(THE PEOPLE LIVING AT THE TIME OF THE RAPTURE THEIR BODY GOES UP TO JESUS BUT ON THE WAY UP IT CHANGES TO THE NEVER DYING BODY)
53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
54 So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

ROMANS 5:18
18 Therefore as by the offence of one (ADAM) judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one (JESUS) the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.(JESUS IS GOD AND ONLY WAY TO BE SAVED)

REVELATION 3:10-11 (GOD (JESUS)TAKES SAVED TO HEAVEN WITH HIM)
10 Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.
11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.

REVELATION 4:1-4
1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither, and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter.
2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
3 And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.
4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold.(GOD TAKES THE CHRISTIANS BEFORE THE 2ND WORLD JUDGEMENT BEGINS.THE 7 YEAR PEACE TREATY OF DANIEL 9:27).

SO GOD NEVER LETS HIS OWN GET DESTROYED WHEN WORLD JUDGEMENT COMES.ENOCH,ELIJAH WERE RAPTURED TO HEAVEN ALIVE JUST LIKE US CHRISTIANS WILL BE ANYTIME NOW.NOAH WAS PROTECTED THROUGH THE WORLD JUDGEMENT AND ISRAEL WILL BE PROTECTED THROUGHT THE WORLD JUDGEMENT DURING THE 7 YEARS OF HELL ON EARTH COMING AFTER THE RAPTURE OCCURS.

I BELIEVE WHEN THE RAPTURE OCCURS THE EU DICTATOR WILL SAY,THE CHRISTIANS WERE TAKEN BY ALIENS SO THAT THE NEW AGE ENLIGHTENMENT COULD BRING IN TRUE,PEACE,LOVE,JOY AND UTOPIA.BUT THIS DECEPTTION WILL LEAD TO WW3.

Britain publishes more UFO files, but few answers By JILL LAWLESS, Associated Press Writer – Sun Aug 16, 7:02 pm ET

LONDON – The deputy commander of a U.S. Air Force base in England was baffled by what he'd seen: bright, pulsing lights in the night sky.Britain's defense ministry couldn't explain it either, but concluded that the unidentified flying object posed no threat.The National Archives on Monday released the government's complete file on the Rendlesham Forest Incident of December 1980, one of Britain's most famous UFO sightings.It was among more than 4,000 pages posted online Monday documenting 800 alleged encounters during the 1980s and 1990s. Over the past three years the Ministry of Defense has been gradually releasing previously secret UFO papers after facing Freedom of Information demands.The Rendlesham file contains U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Charles Halt's first-hand account of the event, which has been public knowledge for many years. The file includes the conclusions of a British government investigation and a letter from a former defense chief urging officials to take UFOs more seriously.

Halt reported that two servicemen had noticed unusual lights about 3 a.m. in the woods outside the gates of RAF Woodbridge, a U.S. base in eastern England. He wrote that patrolmen sent to investigate saw a strange glowing object in the forest.The metallic, triangular object illuminated the entire forest with a white light, he wrote.The next day, investigators found depressions in the ground and unusual radiation readings. That night many personnel — including Halt himself — saw a pulsing red sun-like light in the trees that broke into five white objects and disappeared.The Ministry of Defense could offer no definitive explanation for what the Air Force officers had reported seeing, but also found no evidence of any threat to the defense of the United Kingdom.Nothing had registered on radar, and there was no evidence of anything having intruded into U.K. airspace and landed near RAF Woodbridge.A 1983 letter in the file proposes a possible explanation involving a combination of the nearby Orford Ness lighthouse, a fireball and bright stars.

Case closed, as far as the ministry was concerned. But not everyone was convinced.

A 1985 letter from Lord Hill-Norton, former head of Britain's armed forces, to then-Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine, complained that the puzzling and disquieting episode had never been explained properly.Hill-Norton said if the sighting was genuine,British airspace and territory are vulnerable to unwarranted intrusion to a disturbing degree.The alternative explanation was that a sizable number of USAF personnel at an important base in British territory are capable of serious misperception, the consequences of which might be grave in military terms.Britain's defense ministry has charted UFO sightings since the 1950s, when a Flying Saucer Working Party was established. More files are due to be released by the archives through 2010.

Some of the newly released events came with easy explanations.

In 1993 and 1994, the ministry received numerous reports of a brightly illuminated oval object over London. It turned out to be an airship advertising a new car.More mysterious was a UFO attack on a cemetery in Widnes, northwest England, in July 1996. A police report said a young man — a sensible sort of lad and genuine — reported seeing a UFO firing beams of light into the ground. A police officer sent to the scene found a smoldering railway sleeper. It does look rather odd,reported the officer, whose name was blacked out in the document.

The files include a little grist for conspiracy theorists.

The head of the ministry's UFO desk wrote briefing notes in 1993 reporting a spate of sightings in southwest England and speculating whether they might be connected to Aurora, a secret U.S. spy plane whose existence has never been officially admitted.
Atop one of his letters, someone scrawled: Thank you. I suggest you now drop this subject.The files reveal a 1996 spike in UFO sightings: 609 that year, up from 117 the year before.David Clarke, a UFO historian and consultant to the National Archives, said it was probably no coincidence that the supernatural TV show The X Files was popular in Britain at the time, and that alien-invasion movie Independence Day came out the same year. It's evident there is some connection between newspaper stories, TV programs and films about alien visitors, and the numbers of UFO sightings,Clarke said.Aside from 1996, one of the busiest years for UFO sightings reported to the MoD (Ministry of Defense) over the past half century was 1978 — the year Close Encounters of the Third Kind was released.On the Net: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

SINCE OBAMA AND HIS ADMINISTRATION LIE SO MUCH WE WILL SEE IF THEY STOP THE PUBLIC OPTION OR NOT.

White House appears ready to drop public option By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer AUG 16,09

WASHINGTON – Bowing to Republican pressure and an uneasy public, President Barack Obama's administration signaled Sunday it is ready to abandon the idea of giving Americans the option of government-run insurance as part of a new health care system.

Facing mounting opposition to the overhaul, administration officials left open the chance for a compromise with Republicans that would include health insurance cooperatives instead of a government-run plan. Such a concession probably would enrage Obama's liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority opposed by GOP lawmakers.Officials from both political parties reached across the aisle in an effort to find compromises on proposals they left behind when they returned to their districts for an August recess. Obama had wanted the government to run a health insurance organization to help cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured, but didn't include it as one of his core principles of reform.Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that government alternative to private health insurance is not the essential element of the administration's health care overhaul. The White House would be open to co-ops, she said, a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory.Under a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate, especially in rural states such as his own.With $3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government, the co-ops would operate under a national structure with state affiliates, but independent of the government. They would be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims.I think there will be a competitor to private insurers, Sebelius said.That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing.Obama's spokesman refused to say a public option was a make-or-break choice.What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market,White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday.

A day before, Obama appeared to hedge his bets.

All I'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform,Obama said at a town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colo.This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.It's hardly the same rhetoric Obama employed during a constant, personal campaign for legislation.
I am pleased by the progress we're making on health care reform and still believe, as I've said before, that one of the best ways to bring down costs, provide more choices and assure quality is a public option that will force the insurance companies to compete and keep them honest,Obama said in July.Lawmakers have discussed the co-op model for months although the Democratic leadership and the White House have said they prefer a government-run option.Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, called the argument for a government-run public plan little more than a wasted effort.He added there are enough votes in the Senate for a cooperative plan.It's not government-run and government-controlled,he said.It's membership-run and membership-controlled. But it does provide a nonprofit competitor for the for-profit insurance companies, and that's why it has appeal on both sides.Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Obama's team is making a political calculation and embracing the co-op alternative as a step away from the government takeover of the health care system that the GOP has pummeled.I don't know if it will do everything people want, but we ought to look at it. I think it's a far cry from the original proposals,he said.

Republicans say a public option would have unfair advantages that would drive private insurers out of business. Critics say co-ops would not be genuine public options for health insurance.Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, said it would be difficult to pass any legislation through the Democratic-controlled Congress without the promised public plan.We'll have the same number of people uninsured,she said.If the insurance companies wanted to insure these people now, they'd be insured.Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said the Democrats' option would force individuals from their private plans to a government-run plan as some employers may choose not to provide health insurance. Tens of millions of individuals would be moved from their personal, private insurance to the government-run program. We simply don't think that's acceptable,he said. A shift to a cooperative plan would certainly give some cover to fiscally conservative Blue Dog Democrats who are hardly cheering for the government-run plan. The reality is that it takes 60 percent to get this done in the Senate. It's probably going to have to be bipartisan in the Senate, which I think it should be,said Rep. Mike Ross, D-Ark., who added that the proposals still need changes before he can support them.

Obama, writing in Sunday's New York Times, said political maneuvers should be excluded from the debate.In the coming weeks, the cynics and the naysayers will continue to exploit fear and concerns for political gain,he wrote.But for all the scare tactics out there, what's truly scary — truly risky — is the prospect of doing nothing.Congress' proposals, however, seemed likely to strike end-of-life counseling sessions. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has called the session death panels, a label that has drawn rebuke from her fellow Republicans as well as Democrats. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, declined to criticize Palin's comments and said Obama wants to create a government-run panel to advise what types of care would be available to citizens. In all honesty, I don't want a bunch of nameless, faceless bureaucrats setting health care for my aged citizens in Utah,Hatch said. Sebelius said the end-of-life proposal was likely to be dropped from the final bill. We wanted to make sure doctors were reimbursed for that very important consultation if family members chose to make it, and instead it's been turned into this scare tactic and probably will be off the table,she said.Sebelius spoke on CNN's State of the Union and ABC's This Week. Gibbs appeared on CBS' Face the Nation.Conrad and Shelby appeared on Fox News Sunday. Johnson, Price and Ross spoke with State of the Union.Hatch was interviewed on This Week.

Obama's Apartheid Plan For Jerusalem
Friday, 14 August 2009 06:41 News from Jerusalem

Jews have exactly as much right to Sheikh Jarrah as the U.S. government had to the Lee Plantation that became Arlington Cemetery.When Barack Obama was elected president, many around the world saw it as the culmination of decades of successful efforts by the American civil rights movement. How ironic, then, that the Obama administration has been conducting a campaign against Jews who wish to live in certain Jerusalem neighborhoods.The administration has a real problem with Jews seeking to live in two neighborhoods of Jerusalem, the Sheikh Jarrah section, at the foot of Mount Scopus, and the Simon the Righteous neighborhood, located close to the pre-1967 cease-fire lines that once separated Israel from Jordan. The latter is an area whose Jewish roots go back at least two millennia. It was Jewish when the Arabs were still moon worshippers and London just a field of mud.Even worse, the Obama people are promoting an arbitrary, selective apartheid for Jerusalem directed only against Jews - Arabs, including Arabs from the West Bank, who do not hold Israeli citizenship should be free to live in any predominantly Jewish neighborhood in Jerusalem (as well as in Jewish neighborhoods in Haifa, Tel Aviv, Beersheva and elsewhere).During World War II, Hitler's main agent for recruiting Muslims to the Nazi banner was Mohammed Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. A terrorist leader, he fled Jerusalem when the British attempted to arrest him and spent part of the war as the guest of honor of the Nazis.

The Mufti had owned some property in what is now the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah. That property was legally purchased by American businessman Irving Moskowitz, who has owned the property for 20 years now and has a permit to construct an apartment building there in place of the current structure on the site, the Shepherd's Hotel.The Obama administration is claiming that since the property once belonged to the Grand Mufti and is now in a predominantly Arab neighborhood in East Jerusalem, Israel should freeze and halt all Jewish building there. Evidently, under Obama's new affirmative apartheid policy for Jerusalem, only Arabs should be permitted to build in East Jerusalem.Now, Obama happens to lives not far from Arlington Cemetery, which sits on land confiscated from Confederate General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War. Israel has at least as much right to use the property taken from the Grand Mufti as the U.S. has to fill up Gen. Lee's plantation with graves.The idea that Israel should prevent Jews from building in East Jerusalem because Palestinians claim some sort of right to it is as absurd as suggesting that all construction in the District of Columbia be frozen because the British once claimed rights over it.Obama's people are also up in arms because Israel removed some illegal Arab squatters from land they did not own in Jerusalem's Simon the Righteous neighborhood. This was a Jewish neighborhood until the Jordanians conquered it and evicted all the Jews there in an act of ethnic cleansing. The Israeli Supreme Court has repeatedly ruledthat the land in question belongs legally to Jews.The United Nations Partition Plan of 1947 called for the creation of a Jewish state and an Arab state alongside it. The Arab state never arose because the land that had been set aside for it was gobbled up by the Arab countries that sent their armies to annihilate the Jews.The UN partition granted Jerusalem's Mount Scopus, with its hospital and university facilities, to Israel. Access by Jews to the area was supposed to be free and unfettered. But Arab terrorist militias placed Mount Scopus under siege and attacked any vehicle trying to reach it. The Mufti himself plannedthe massacre that followed.

On April 13, 1948, a large convoy consisting mainly of Jewish doctors and nurses tried to reach the hospital on Mount Scopus. It was attacked in Sheikh Jarrah at the mount's foothills. The Jewish vehicles were hit by mines and strafed by gunfire and other weapons.Some 79 Jews and a British soldier were murdered by the terrorists of Sheikh Jarrah. The bodies were so badly burned that most of them could not be identified. The victims included the head of Hadassah hospital and the head of its medical school.In recent years, Arab-occupied Sheikh Jarrah has again been the frequent scene of terrorism and violence against Jews. During the recent Gaza campaign, Arab thugs attacks Jews driving or walking near Mount Scopus.Obama is concerned about the potential for unrest and violence if Jews move to the property they own in Sheikh Jarrah and other Arab neighborhoods in Jerusalem. But of course he would never propose removing the Arab residents of those areas in order to restore tranquility. His Klan Plan consists only of preventing Jews from moving in and ruining the neighborhood.Jews have exactly as much right to Sheikh Jarrah as the U.S. government had to the Lee Plantation that became Arlington Cemetery. And the rights in both cases were won in exactly the same way - through bloodshed.By: Steven Plaut
Frontpage

HAMAS TERRORIST HIDES BEHIND WHITE FLAG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YJgfZ9_6miE&feature=player_embedded

HRW Report on Civilian Targeting Based on Unreliable Witnesses Saturday, 15 August 2009 06:32 News from Jerusalem Terrorist Hiding Amongst Civilians with White Flags

The Human Rights Watch report which claims that IDF soldiers killed eleven Palestinian civilians holding white flags is based on unreliable witness reports.The report in question is based upon the testimony of a number of Palestinians whose credibility has not been substantiated.The soldiers and officers of the Israel Defense Forces are obliged to respect any individual presenting a white flag as a symbol of surrender or of non-combatant status and to avoid causing him or her harm. The wartime reality in the Gaza Strip was made especially complex due to the intensive nature of combat and Hamas' cynical exploitation of civilians as human shields.Furthermore, Hamas took advantage of Israel's obligation to avoid harming civilians to the greatest extent possible and deliberately chose to locate the battlefield in the middle of a populated civilian area. Sadly, Hamas terror operatives ruthlessly pervert the intent of the IDF's obligations to prevent harm to civilians by exploiting those with white flags as cover for belligerent action and to protect themselves from return fire. Any person who displays a white flag in this way acts illegally, does not enjoy protection from retaliatory action, and endangers nearby civilian populations. As a clear example of this practice, the video below shows a Hamas terrorist planting an explosive device and hiding amongst civilians who are waving white flags.Merely displaying a white flag does not automatically grant immunity, and in cases of suspicion that a person holding a white flag is endangering security forces, they are authorized to take necessary precautionary steps and, in accordance with rules of engagement, to verify and neutralize the threat.

IDF forces received unambiguous orders prohibiting fire upon identifiable non-combatants and to assist, to the greatest extent possible, injured Palestinians, even under fire.Throughout combat operations, the IDF did all it could to warn civilian populations via the distribution of more than two million flyers, more than 300,000 phone calls to Palestinian homes, and warnings issued through local media outlets in an attempt to move residents as far as possible from combat zones.The Israel Defense Forces operate without compromise in accordance to normative morals that guide them in all missions, even under difficult and complex circumstances. IDF troops were instructed prior to and during Operation Cast Lead based on standing orders, best-practices, and international law. Investigations into IDF combat operations have clearly shown that IDF soldiers acted in accordance with the rule of war as defined by international law despite the complex nature of combat.That said, the Israel Defense Forces are obligated to investigate any claim of behavior that allegedly deviates from IDF codes of conduct, commands, or international law.As the IDF has done and continues to do so, a number of incidents are currently under investigation, some of which are criminal.Within the framework of these investigations, relevant information is gathered from within the IDF and other sources with regard to the incidents.The Military Advocate General then decides whether to continue the investigations and what additional steps, if any, are to be taken.The IDF will not hesitate to thoroughly investigate any incident or testimony that provides cause for such.IDF

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 AUGUST 17,2009

09:30 AM -10.27
10:00 AM -178.43
10:30 AM -180.23
11:00 AM -193.85
11:30 AM -176.01
12:00 PM -153.72
12:30 PM -157.80
01:00 PM -171.63
01:30 PM -189.21
02:00 PM -162.10
02:30 PM -169.28
03:00 PM -168.91
03:30 PM -186.29
04:00 PM -186.06 9135.34

S&P 500 979.73 -24.36

NASDAQ 1930.84 -54.68

GOLD 935.20 -13.50

OIL 66.79 -0.72

TSE 300 10,531.59 -316.42

CDNX 1159.82 -33.60

S&P/TSX/60 633.58 -19.05

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow +6.21%
S&P +11.16%
Nasdaq +25.90%
TSX Advances 752,declines 739,unchanged 268,Volume 1,550,807,234.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 407,Declines 388,Unchanged 371,Volume 249,797,442.

Dow -142 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -197 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $933.90.OIL opens at $65.51 today.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE NEW WORLD ORDER ARE UP TO TODAY,MAYBE THEY WILL BREAK THE MARKET BEFORE SEPTEMBER OR OCTOBER NOW.WATCH THE DERIVITIVES.
NYSE ADV 279 (8%)DEC 3,089 (90%)UN 77 (2%)DOWN VOL 93,495,030 (-90%)
NAS ADV 272 (11%)DEC 2,089 (85%)UN 98 (4%)DOWN VOL 208,645,197 (-94%)
CBOE VOLITILITY 28:18 +3.91 (+16.11%)
STATS AS OF 10:10AM

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -197 points at low today so far.
Dow -1 points at high today so far.

DAY TODAY PERFORMANCE - 12:30PM STATS
NYSE Advances 453,declines 3,229,unchanged 51,New Highs 32,New Lows 32.
Volume 2,979,903,419.
NASDAQ Advances 407,declines 2,193,unchanged 88,New highs 09,New Lows 12.
Volume 926,448,392.
TSX Advances 285,declines 1,114,unchanged 221,Volume 993,186,648.
TSX Venture Exchange Advances 183,Declines 445,Unchanged 260,Volume 150,240,782.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -197 points at low today.
Dow -1 points at high today.
Dow -2.00% today Volume 207,096,674.
Nasdaq -2.75% today Volume 1,805,317,811.
S&P 500 -2.43% today Volume N/A

Euro area sees record low inflation
LUCIA KUBOSOVA Today AUG 17,09 @ 09:16 CET

One year after the global oil and food crises, which saw skyrocketing energy and food prices, the euro area is now reporting record low inflation as a result of the overall economic downturn.According to figures by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office, published on Friday (14 August), the 16 states using the euro saw negative annual inflation of -0.7 percent in July, down from -0.1 percent in June. Last summer, consumer prices rose four percent year-on-year, sparking discussions about the necessity of stabilising both oil and food prices as the two main areas boosting inflation.But the current downturn is not only due to the high difference between this and last year's prices but chiefly as a result of the economic crisis still hindering Europe's economy.Across the whole of the 27-strong bloc, consumer prices rose by a record low 0.2 percent compared to July 2009 (then plus 4.4 %) but fell by 0.5 percent when compare to figures for June this year.Ireland (-2.6%), Belgium (-1.7%) and Luxembourg (-1.5%) saw the biggest slump in consumer prices, while Romanians (5%), Hungarians (4.9%) and Poles (4.5%) had to face the highest prices increases.

The price figures poured some cold water on the last week's data on Germany and France stepping out of recession. Economists warn that long-term deflationary pressure could further hamper overall economic activity by discouraging businesses to produce more and employ more workers or at least prevent lay-offs.In the eurozone alone, the unemployment rate rose to a 10-year high to 9.4 percent in June, with 158,000 people losing their job from May to June, and some 3.17 million more people are out of work compared to June last year.But analysts argue Europe is likely to avoid the long period of deflation seen in Japan the 1990s.According to our last oil prices and exchange rate forecasts, eurozone inflation should have now bottomed out, but will remain negative until October,said Cedric Thellier, eurozone economist for French bank Natixis, AFP reported.The European Central Bank (ECB), also anxious to avoid deflation, has said consumer prices were likely to fall for a few months mid-year but that price growth would resume later on.

World stocks plunge AUG 17,09

LONDON (AFP) – Global stock markets plunged Monday, despite news that Japan has emerged from recession, as investors questioned the strength of a tentative worldwide economic recovery, dealers said.China, Tokyo and Hong Kong bore the brunt of losses in Asia as investors reacted to a weak consumer confidence survey published last week for the United States, the world's biggest economy.European equities also sank, mirroring heavy losses before the weekend in New York, as the downbeat US data overshadowed news that Japan, the world's second biggest economy, pulled out of recession in the second quarter.London lost 1.71 percent in late morning deals, while Frankfurt shed 1.84 percent and Paris dived 2.12 percent near the half-way stage.

European markets (are) tracking Asia lower as investors focus on the poor US consumer confidence figures that came out on Friday rather than the encouraging data out from Japan overnight,said trader Arifa Sheikh-Usmani at financial spread-betting firm Spreadex.Markets still feel that any potential upturn in the global economy will be short term and fragile rather than sustainable just yet.In Asia on Monday, Shanghai led the falls, giving up 5.79 percent, while Tokyo slumped 3.10 percent, Hong Kong 3.62 percent and Seoul 2.79 percent.The drop comes after several weeks of rallies, which have seen many markets hit highs not seen since late last year.The British stock market also ran into profit-taking after striking a 10-month peak last week on news that France and Germany had both emerged from recession.Dealers took their cue from Wall Street, which lost 0.82 percent on Friday after the data threw into doubt hopes of an end to the worst global economic crisis for decades.Friday's disappointing consumer data from the US has reignited fears over the pace of the US/global recovery,said Stuart Bennett, an analyst at French investment bank Calyon.

Monday's losses came on the day that Japan announced that it had moved out of recession. The country rebounded for the first time in five quarters, following Germany and France in returning to positive growth.Japan's economy grew 0.9 percent in April-June, after shrinking a revised 3.1 percent the previous quarter and by 3.5 percent in October-December 2008, the government said.The figures were helped by data showing exports rebounded 6.3 percent in April-June -- the first increase in five quarters.However, news that Japan's economy climbed out of recession had been widely expected and failed to give stocks a boost.Momentum in economic data has remained broadly positive in recent weeks as economies pull out of recession, said analyst Rossa White at Davy stockbrokers in Dublin.Last week's GDP figures from France and Germany confirmed that those economies were no longer shrinking as of the second quarter. We reckon that if we had real-time GDP data for the UK and US it would show that they have emerged from the contraction too.But the pace of consumer spending growth remains a worry for markets: Friday's up-to-date (August) consumer confidence data from the US were disappointing and led to a sell-off today in Asia.

Stocks plunge at opening on Wall Street By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS, AP Business Writer Ieva M. Augstums, Ap Business Writer – AUG 17,09

Investors' rising fears about consumer spending are turning stocks into a risky investment again.Stocks plunged and Treasury prices soared Monday as investors around the world feared that consumers are too anxious to lift the economy into recovery. The losses on stock exchanges extended the heavy selling that began Friday with a disappointing reading on consumer confidence. And bond investors, once again searching for a safe investment, bought heavily into Treasurys.The Dow Jones industrials were down more than 180 points, while overseas, the Shanghai stock market fell almost 6 percent and the major indexes in Europe were all down more than 1.5 percent.Stocks were down across all industries as investors worried that consumers' reluctance to spend will hurt corporate earnings. Many companies second-quarter results were boosted by cost-cutting, not higher sales, and the fear is that without a pickup in sales, earnings will fall.While other parts of the economy, including housing and manufacturing, are showing signs of progress, the country cannot have a strong recovery unless consumers are spending more freely. Their spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic growth.Traders got more bad news about the consumer Monday when home improvement retailer Lowe's Cos. said poor weather and cautious consumer spending caused sales to fall 19 percent in the second quarter. Lowe's missed analysts' forecasts.

Investors will be nervous as they wait for more retailers to report second-quarter earnings this week. Last week, the nation's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores Inc., said its most important sales figure, those from stores open at least a year, fell during the April-June period.Dow Jones industrial average fell 180.69, or 1.9 percent, to 9,135.57. Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 22.86, or 2.2 percent, to 981.23, while Nasdaq composite index fell 46.34, or 2.3 percent, to 1,939.18.Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 3.1 percent as investors weren't satisfied by news that the country had emerged from recession in the second quarter. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1.5 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 2.1 percent.Oil prices also extended their losses, reflecting the growing concerns about a weak economy that will curtail demand for energy. A barrel of crude oil fell $1.70 to $65.81 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.Meanwhile, bond prices rose as investors, once again wary about the stock market, sought the safety of Treasurys. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.50 percent from 3.57 percent late Friday.

China Buys Treasuries, Proving Dollar Demise Overdone (Update2)
By Daniel Kruger and Anchalee Worrachate

Aug. 17 (Bloomberg) -- For the first time since the start of the global financial crisis, the U.S. government is breaking its reliance on short-term debt as foreign buyers pile into longer-term securities. When the U.S. raised $75 billion last week, a group that includes international investors purchased a record amount of 3- year notes, the biggest share of 10-year notes since 2005 and almost half of the 30-year bonds sold, according to Treasury data. That helped extend the average maturity of U.S. debt from a 25-year low in the second quarter and showed diminishing concerns over the record U.S. budget deficit and inflation. Long-dated Treasuries are fantastic assets to have,said Stuart Thomson, a fixed-income fund manager at Ignis Asset Management, which oversees the equivalent of $100 billion from Glasgow. I have every reason to believe long bonds will rally. Inflation is subdued, and the Fed made it very clear they expect it to remain low.Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner locked in long-term borrowing costs at rates near the lowest in six decades just days before the government said the consumer price index was unchanged in July. Costs fell 2.1 percent from a year earlier, the biggest 12 month drop since 1950, even as reports on employment and homes sales showed the economy is recovering from the steepest contraction in more than six decades.Geithner, 48, a former Federal Reserve Bank of New York president, is selling a record amount of debt this year to fund the $1.85 trillion deficit widened by President Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus plan.

Emergency Funding

Treasury data shows that the government issued $1.9 trillion in debt maturing in one year or less in the fourth quarter as it pumped money into the financial system after the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in September worsened the deepest financial crisis since the Great Depression. While foreign investors such as China -- whose $801.5 billion of holdings makes it the biggest overseas holder of Treasuries --plan to diversify reserves with International Monetary Fund debt, their holdings of U.S. securities are rising, according to government data.The world’s most populous nation boosted U.S. government debt 10 percent this year after a 52 percent increase in 2008, Treasury data show. It bought $45.1 billion of bills, increasing short-term holdings by 27 percent to $210.4 billion, and acquired $28.9 billion of notes, raising longer-term investments 5.1 percent to $591.1 billion. The Treasury reports on June international investment flows at 9 a.m. today.

Out the Curve

I definitely think China’s moving out the curve,said Carl Lantz, an interest-rate strategist in New York at Credit Suisse Securities USA LLC, a unit of the Zurich-based bank and one of 18 primary dealers that trade with the Fed.It’s part relative value, partly a bit more confidence in the Fed and the Treasury and the dollar.The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 4 percent in June from 2.05 percent at the start of the year as the U.S. sold $963 billion in notes and bonds in the first half, the most ever for the period. The government will issue $1.1 trillion in the second half, according to a forecast by Barclays Plc.Foreign holdings of government debt increased 7 percent through May to $3.29 trillion, even as yields were rising and Treasuries lost a record 4.1 percent in the first half, according to Merrill Lynch & Co. indexes. Overseas investment jumped 30 percent in 2008 to $3.08 trillion as yields plunged to a five-decade low following Lehman’s collapse in the world’s biggest bankruptcy, according to Treasury data.

Dollar Demand

International buying is helping the U.S. currency as the Federal Reserve keeps rates near zero to lift the nation out of recession.The Dollar Index, which measures its value against the euro, yen and four other major currencies, is 12 percent above the record low of 70.698 reached in March 2008. The greenback will strengthen against the euro and yen this year, according to strategist forecasts in separate Bloomberg News surveys.Through August, so-called indirect bidders, which include foreign central banks, acquired 32.9 percent of the $156 billion of 10-year Treasuries sold this year, compared with 25.6 percent of the $114 billion auctioned in 2008. They also took 42.4 percent of the $282 billion issued in two-year auctions since Jan. 1, compared with 29.2 percent of $373 billion in 2008.

Falling Yields

Yields on 10-year notes fell 28 basis points last week to 3.57 percent, the biggest five-day decline since the period ended Dec. 19, according to BGCantor Market Data. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.The yield dropped six basis points to 3.50 percent today at 6:23 a.m. in New York.Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke’s decision to wind down the central bank’s $300 billion of Treasury bond purchases didn’t diminished foreign appetite for longer-term securities last week. Policy makers extended the program to October from next month to reduce its market impact, the central bank said in a statement Aug. 12.Indirect bidders bought 45.7 percent of the $23 billion in 10-year notes sold just before the conclusion of the Fed’s policy meeting. They bought 48.1 percent of the record $15 billion in 30-year bonds sold the next day, higher than the average of 32.8 percent at the past 10 auctions.

Custodial Holdings

The Fed’s custodial holdings of Treasuries for foreign central banks climbed 20 percent this year to $2.03 trillion after rising 39 percent in 2008. Over the next 10 years our average maturity would increase from roughly 50 to 49 months that we have now, to over 68 to 70 months over the next 10 years,Matthew Rutherford, the Treasury’s deputy assistant secretary for federal finance, said in Washington on Aug. 5.That’s all hypothetical,he said during a press conference. But at the same time, we are targeting the higher average maturity.The average rose to 56 months in the second quarter of 2008 before emergency bill sales pushed the level down to 49 months in the final quarter of last year. That was the lowest level since 48 months in the second quarter of 1983, when yields were dropping from their record high levels of 1981.
Auctions are likely to rise in a gradual manner in coming months, the Treasury said in an Aug. 5 statement when it announced the record $75 billion quarterly refunding.

Growth Path

They’ve put the average maturity on a growth path that’s going to be with us for a while,said Louis Crandall, the chief economist at Wrightson ICAP LLC, a Jersey City, New Jersey-based research firm. The need to fund programs such as Medicare, which will rise in cost as the elderly population increases, is a reason the government must lock in long-term debt at low rates, Crandall said. Given the uncertainty about how much the government has to borrow, the more certainty the better.Treasury investors will face more risk through 2012 as the government expands long-term debt sales, boosting price sensitivity to changes in yields, according to an Aug. 7 report by Barclays strategist Anshul Pradhan. Some international investors are avoiding extending the maturity of their holdings to curb that risk.The bottom line is we like short-dated Treasuries,said David Scammell, who helps oversee $158 billion at Schroder Investment Management Ltd. in London.Other foreign investors favor non-U.S. debt. U.K. gilts replaced Treasuries as the largest bond holding of Norway’s 2.39 trillion-krone ($393 billion) Government Pension Fund - Global, which manages the country’s oil and gas revenue, the central bank said Aug. 14.

Strategic Overweight

In both the equity and fixed-income portfolios, the fund has a strategic overweight of European investments relative to the size of the markets,Norges Bank Investment Management, which oversees the central bank’s assets, said in a statement.This means there will be a tendency for large European companies and bond issuers to dominate the list of the fund’s largest investments.Fed policy makers in their statement on Aug. 12 retained a pledge to keep interest rates near a record low for an extended period even as they said the economy is leveling out.Gross domestic product shrank at a smaller-than-forecast 1 percent annual pace in the second quarter, Commerce Department figures showed Aug. 1. The economy contracted 3.9 percent in the past year, the worst slump since the 1930s.

Marketable Debt

Obama has pushed the nation’s marketable debt to an unprecedented $6.78 trillion and the budget shortfall will reach $1.85 trillion in the year ending Sept. 30, equivalent to 13 percent of the nation’s economy, according to the Congressional Budget Office.Goldman Sachs Group Inc., another primary dealer, forecasts that the U.S. will sell about $2.9 trillion of debt in the two years ending September 2010. The U.S. deficit reached a record for the first 10 months of the fiscal year and broke a monthly high for July as the recession curbed revenue and the government raised spending to rejuvenate the economy.The shortfall for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 totaled $1.27 trillion, compared with a $389 billion year-to date gap in 2008, the Treasury said Aug. 12. The excess of spending over revenue for July climbed to $180.7 billion compared with a $102.8 billion gap in July 2008 as the government spent more than in any month in U.S. history.Record spending to restart the economy isn’t preventing Richard Batty, global investment strategist at Standard Life Investments in Edinburgh, from buying Treasury debt for the long haul. We like long-dated Treasuries,said Batty, whose firm manages $200 billion.We’ve been overweight them and see absolutely no reason to change that. Underlying inflation in the U.S. is moderating, and that makes this asset attractive.To contact the reporters on this story: Daniel Kruger in New York at dkruger1@bloomberg.net; Anchalee Worrachate in London at aworrachate@bloomberg.net

At long last, praise for our soaring loonie ,The Canadian dollar THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld Last updated on Monday, Aug. 17, 2009 08:03AM EDT

Repeat after me: A rising Canadian dollar is a good thing.Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney may beg to differ. He has pointed out regularly of late that the Canadian dollar's 18-per-cent rise against the U.S. buck since early March is slowing the economic recovery because it's murder for exporters. Many investors, looking at their brokerage statements and seeing that the currency appears to be cutting returns on assets denominated in U.S. dollars, will also disagree. Oil has almost doubled to $67.51 (U.S.) a barrel since Feb. 12, but for a Canadian looking at it in loonie terms, it's up only 75 per cent.

Bummer, right? Wrong.

For years, Canadians got used to the side effects of a dropping currency. For exporters, it made life easy; every widget sold abroad translated to more profit back home. No need to get more productive, the currency did the heavy lifting. Same for investors: All those U.S.-dollar investments went up in value daily. You often didn't even have to pick winners, because the sliding currency covered up mistakes. The reality was, though, the country got poorer every day.Now, all those Canadian dollars – your investments, your savings account, your house, your company, the loonies in your couch – are appreciating. In the big picture, savers are getting richer relative to a world that still lives and breathes in greenbacks. Add that to the seemingly lagging returns on U.S. dollar assets and things look a lot better. For Canada as a country, yeah, as your currency goes up, your exports become less attractive – we get that,says Keith McCullough, head of Connecticut-based investment strategy firm Research Edge LLC. But if you're an individual who has conservatively managed your finances, and now all those finances, all the dollars in the savings account, go up every day – don't complain about that. Make money with that.It seems counterintuitive, but he argues that one way for Canadians to make money on the trend is to buy U.S.-dollar-denominated commodities such as gold and oil. Pile in whenever the U.S. dollar rises, then ride their gains as the greenback resumes its downward spiral. It's a winner so far, because lately whenever the greenback goes down, the commodities go up, and vice versa.Canadians just have to get past the idea that a falling greenback hurts returns on commodity plays purchased in U.S. dollars. In fact, Mr. McCullough argues it's enhancing them when taken in a holistic context.

If I buy gold every day with U.S. dollars, and the gold keeps going up every day and the dollar keeps going down, I'm actually losing on the currency piece,Mr. McCullough said from his Connecticut office.Canadians, or Australians or Brazilians, they're buying things with currencies that are appreciating, so on a real basis, they are actually making more money.Mr. McCullough figures it's easier for him to push the anti- U.S. dollar trade because he's not American. He's a kid from Thunder Bay, Ont., who went to Yale on a hockey scholarship. He stayed in the United States, though he keeps a place in Thunder Bay that he visits regularly. After a successful tour helping to run some of the biggest hedge funds in the world, he set up his own business offering insight and commentary on global markets. Research Edge has a better than 80-per-cent success rate on both long and short trade recommendations, and bolsters its impartiality by not trading the stocks it tracks. (Mr. McCullough hasn't completely stopped investing, nor has he lost the hockey bug – on the side, his firm invests in distressed assets and he and some partners are making a play for the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team.) A lot of Americans are so patriotic about the thing that they can't look at it objectively,he said.People don't want to talk about this in America. It's amazing. The dollar's crashing.

In his view, the dollar/commodity trade may work as long as Federal Reserve head Ben Bernanke is burning the buck with unnecessarily low interest rates that pander to bankers, politicians and debtors. It's a policy that punishes ordinary American savers and risks creating an inflationary bubble, Mr. McCullough says, arguing that interest rates should rise soon. We're not even in the same area code as a depression. But if we were to have one, then go to zero again if that's what you think you should do,he says of Fed monetary policy,but don't stay at zero because you're going to create the bubbles that Greenspan created.The dollar/commodity correlation could also break down on its own, but so far, so good. This one is glaring and obvious, and until it stops working you stick with it, Mr. McCullough said.If anything it's accelerating. It's this one big massive global macro trade that's going on.

August 17, 2009, 10:22 AM ET Secondary Sources: Roubini on Recovery, Bernanke, Parsing GDP By Phil Izzo A roundup of economic news from around the Web.

Roubini on Recovery: Writing for Project Syndicate Nouriel Roubini warns of a weak recovery.Today’s consensus among economists is that the recession is already over, that the U.S. and global economy will rapidly return to growth and that there is no risk of a relapse. Unfortunately, this new consensus could be as wrong now as the defenders of the V-shaped scenario were for the past three years. Data from the U.S.—rising unemployment, falling household consumption, still declining industrial production and a weak housing market—suggests that the U.S. recession is not over yet. A similar analysis of many other advanced economies suggests that, as in the U.S., the bottom is quite close, but it has not yet been reached. Most emerging economies may be returning to growth, but they are performing well below their potential. Moreover, for a number of reasons, growth in the advanced economies is likely to remain anemic and well below trend for at least a couple of years.

Separately, on his blog Mark Thoma wonders about when we’ll know the economy has turned a corner. Bernanke Reappointment: Writing for Foreign Policy, David J. Rothkopf says not only should Ben Bernanke be reappointed, but the decision should come soon.Frankly, I hope that the initial success they seem to have achieved emboldens them. If anything they have seemed too deferential to the Congress and to Wall Street and once stability seems assured aggressive measures to rein in the budget deficit, further strengthen regulatory oversight and strengthen international regulatory mechanisms will be called for with the same urgency that stimulus measures were called for earlier this year. We have seen the dangers of too much deference to the markets, of regulatory indifference, of not believing that government could or should play a significant role in protecting our national interests by identifying and mitigating market risks with broader macro or social consequences. I hope the president makes the early decision to keep everyone where they are so that they can focus on the next wave of reforms that are so urgently needed.Meanwhile, on the Economist’s Free Exchange blog, the Journal’s David Wessel answers more questions about the Fed and the crisis.

Parsing GDP: On BusinessWeek’s Economics Unbound, Michael Mandel is unhappy with the way in which GDP is sometimes discussed.At a time when we are wrangling over health care reform, it’s misleading to say that consumer spending is 70% of GDP, when what we really mean is that consumer spending plus government health care spending is 70% of GDP. Second, an awful lot of those back-to-school dollars are going to imported clothing and school supplies (how many of those laptops and iPods do you think are made in the U.S.?). A dollar of consumer spending does not translate into a dollar of domestic production. In fact, the whole way that the BEA presents the GDP statistics points the public debate in the wrong direction. GDP stands for gross domestic product—that is, domestic production. But the breakdown of GDP is into expenditures categories—personal consumption expenditures, government consumption expenditures, etc. Just take a look at Table 1 of the latest GDP release. So we have grown used to thinking of spending as production—after all, that’s the way it is presented. (I’m not blaming the BEA, by the way. This is the way that GDP was designed from the beginning, 70 years ago). I think we need to move towards presenting GDP in terms of production, rather than spending. We need a shift from the consumer to the producer as our main unit of analysis. But for now, we need to stop being so darned obsessed with consumer spending.Compiled by Phil Izzo.

GOLD STAR FOR BERNANKE
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/3417757

$23.7 TRILLION GIVEN THE THE NEW WOLD ORDER OFFSHORE BANKERS AND BERNANKE IS PRAISED WITH A GOLD STAR.BERNANKE SHOULD HAVE A GOLD CHAIN TIED TO HIS FEET FOR ROBBING AMERICA BLIND.

Bernanke: Too Important to Leave 08/17/09 - 08:42 AM EDT BAC Mike O'Rourke

It's a terrible problem. It's a problem called a too-big-to-fail problem. These companies have turned out to be too big to allow to collapse because, again, if they collapse the -- when the elephant falls down, all the grass gets crushed as well.
-- Ben Bernanke, July 26, 2009

More from Mike O'Rourke Scouting the S&P's No Man's LandDisposable Tech: The New FrontierMarket Turns as Jobless Rate PeaksSpeculators Seek to Clean Up SpeculationThe Bubble of Bearishness, Part 2: BanksThe Bubble of Bearishness Bursts Market Activity NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- As the debate over Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's future enters into full swing, we find one of those typical ironies frequently encountered in the financial markets. After 20 months of recession, including nearly a year of crisis, the Fed chairman is in the same position of many of the financial institutions he helped to save: He is too big to fail, or, in this case, too important to leave.Ben Bernanke's transition from theoretician to business economist has been a trial by fire, but for all of the tumult there is an upside. Unless the president reappoints Bernanke, the Fed chairman's term will expire on Jan. 31, 2010. The debate has begun as to whether a reappointment has been earned. Since there will be a congressional confirmation of a new Fed chief if Bernanke is not reappointed, the president will need to select a replacement within the next couple of months if he doesn't reappoint Bernanke. When former Chairman Alan Greenspan voluntarily retired in January 2006, the search for his successor had already been under way since the previous August, and Bernanke was nominated in late October. Keep in mind that that was the lead time for a scheduled departure during a period of economic stability.

During the first 2 1/2 years of Chairman Bernanke's tenure I was an ardent critic. The fact that Ben Bernanke assumed the chairmanship as a housing bubble was peaking was not his fault. It was his fault, however, that he didn't recognize the seriousness of the threat. If you search the news from 2005 and 2006, you'll find that the question "Are we in a housing bubble?" was asked daily. There were more than enough warning signals. One of the clearest was that adjustable-rate mortgage (ARMs) increased to 35% of mortgage applications, indicating that buyers were stretching to pay record prices. In order to keep sales momentum, credit quality had to deteriorate. The seeds for this crisis were undoubtedly sown during Greenspan's tenure. It's also important to remember that Greenspan significantly influenced the central bank's approach during his nearly two decades at the helm. Most importantly, the Fed adopted an extreme laissez-faire approach to regulation and a willingness to provide the economy protection at the first sign of trouble. The latter trait came to be known as the "Greenspan put." As Greenspan exited at the pinnacle of his popularity it seemed likely that his stamp on the Fed would remain for a while. More from Mike O'Rourke Scouting the S&P's No Man's LandDisposable Tech: The New FrontierMarket Turns as Jobless Rate PeaksSpeculators Seek to Clean Up SpeculationThe Bubble of Bearishness, Part 2: BanksThe Bubble of Bearishness Bursts Market Activity In the if isn't broke, don't fix it world of central banking, Ben Bernanke's biggest mistakes originated from maintaining his predecessor's approach. He failed to identify the seriousness of the housing and credit bubbles. Although this is not excusable, these bubbles were also missed (and unknowingly fueled by) Greenspan. Then, as the early signs of crisis emerged, Chairman Bernanke made the mistake of implementing the Fed put incorrectly and too soon. This started two years ago when the Fed operated as an intermediary for Bank of America's(BAC Quote) initial preferred-share purchase of Countrywide, which foreshadowed the rescue merger of the mortgage giant in January 2008 and was also the start of Bank of America's problems.

In the early stages of a crisis, the cracks first appear among the weakest players. It is imperative to take a hard line at that stage, because the economy is still relatively strong and can handle the harsh medicine. The key is to eliminate the weakest participants in the system while the system can still absorb the shocks, and place their assets in the hands of the stronger players at attractive prices. Instead, Chairman Bernanke did the opposite: By trying to save everybody, he risked saving nobody. Weaker institutions like Countrywide and Bear Stearns were essentially saved while relatively stronger institutions like Lehman Brothers failed because there were no healthy acquirers left.To Bernanke's credit, he exhibited a remarkable ability to react in real time. There are rare situations where the Fed put is appropriate -- when the economy is on the cusp of a systemic breakdown. At such times it's essential for the central bank to halt the crisis. In the words of Walter Bagehot,The end is to stay the panic; and the advances should, if possible, stay the panic.Bernanke recognized this and took whatever steps were necessary to stabilize the system.More from Mike O'Rourke Scouting the S&P's No Man's LandDisposable Tech: The New FrontierMarket Turns as Jobless Rate PeaksSpeculators Seek to Clean Up SpeculationThe Bubble of Bearishness, Part 2: BanksThe Bubble of Bearishness Bursts Market Activity In this process, Bernanke has probably forgotten more details of this crisis than any replacement can ever hope to learn. The on-the-job training he received would be hard to replicate. He has encountered housing, credit and stock market busts, as well as runs on banks and money-market funds. He has witnessed the collapse of the securitized credit markets and the delevering of financial institutions. The list goes on, but Bernanke experienced all of these events in real time, and many of them happened simultaneously.

In all of the years he spent at the finest learning institutions in the world, nothing compares with the knowledge he has amassed over the past two years. Most importantly, Bernanke arose from these crises bruised but not beaten. That which did not kill him will make him stronger, and the American people will benefit from that strength if he is reappointed.The tuition this nation as a whole has paid for Bernanke's education and transition from academic economist to real-world central banker has been expensive. But in return, we now have the world's premier central banker. In a nation as indebted as ours, we can't afford to let that tuition go to waste. At this fragile juncture in our nation's economic history, Ben Bernanke should be reappointed, because he is too important to leave.-- Written by Mike O'Rourke in New York.

CIT Group wraps debt purchase, dodges bankruptcy By STEPHEN BERNARD, AP Business Writer – AUG 17,09

NEW YORK – Commercial lender CIT Group Inc. said Monday its offer to repurchase outstanding debt at a discount — a crucial step to help stave off bankruptcy — was successful.The embattled New York-based lender offered to buy $1 billion in debt that was set to mature Monday. CIT warned that if not enough bondholders were willing to sell the debt back to the company, it would likely have to file for bankruptcy protection.The company said nearly 60 percent of the debt was tendered for purchase, barely topping the 58 percent minimum needed to complete the offer. CIT is paying $875for every $1,000 tendered as part of the offer.CIT will pay off the remaining notes that matured Monday but were not tendered for purchase as part of the offer.The completion of this tender offer is another important milestone as the company continues to make progress on the development and execution of a comprehensive restructuring plan,CIT Group said in a statement.At the same time that CIT received $3 billion in emergency funding last month from its largest bondholders, it launched the offer to buy back outstanding debt in an effort to ease a cash crunch that nearly forced it out of business. CIT turned to and received funding from its bondholders only after negotiations for a government-led bailout failed.Some experts feared that if CIT collapsed it would deal a crippling blow to an economy still bleeding hundreds of thousands of jobs a month despite a nearly $800 billion federal stimulus program.

The retail sector would be hit especially hard. CIT serves as short-term financier to about 2,000 vendors that supply merchandise to 300,000 stores, according to the National Retail Federation. Analysts say 60 percent of the apparel industry depends on CIT for financing.It could continue to struggle with liquidity issues as more debt is due to mature next year.Last week, CIT reached an agreement with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York that puts the company under the oversight of federal regulators. The agreement requires CIT to submit a plan for how it will maintain sufficient cash. It must also provide budgets through the end of 2010 that include details about how the company will meet current and future capital requirements.
Shares of CIT fell 11 cents, or 7.8 percent, to $1.30 shortly after Monday's market open.

Lending to Small Business: Banks Are Still Shy By Jeremy Quittner – AUG 17,09

For months, Matthew Barnes, owner of Cider Press Tile in Portland, Me., had been seeking a $50,000 loan to help fund his day-to-day operations. His $100,000 high-end custom tile business had successfully survived the last recession, but this time, customers had drastically cut back spending on luxury items such as his $30 four-inch-square tiles. In March, Barnes threw in the towel and completed the sale of his one-person company to a competitor. Of the banks who refused him a loan, he says, Unless it was a slam dunk and you collateralized your house and spent all your own money first, they did not want to talk to you.The $787 billion stimulus package has funneled unprecedented amounts of money into the nation's financial system, but business owners like Barnes say the impact on entrepreneurs has been minimal. A June survey by the National Federation of Independent Business found that the percentage of business owners who found loans harder to get was near historic highs. Despite programs designed specifically for them by the Small Business Administration, many small business owners say banks just won't lend. And many bankers themselves concede they are seeking only the best credit risks. Banks are fighting over the most creditworthy (small businesses),Martha Seidenwand, SBA program operations manager for KeyBank in Cleveland, said in May. SBA Administrator Karen Mills says while much of the $730 million the SBA has been allocated from the stimulus package has gone to raising the maximum guarantee on its 7(a) loans to 90%, it has also helped the SBA give business owners $6.2 billion in new loans since Feb. 17.While lending in the portfolio was still down dramatically for the year as of June 30, there are nascent signs of recovery. The Administration approved nearly $2.5 billion in new 7(a) loans in its third quarter, up 55% from the second fiscal quarter.

Smaller banks that specialize in SBA lending say the Administration's changes have helped. The 7(a) market has come back quite nicely,says Reese Howell, CEO of Celtic Bank in Salt Lake City. Celtic has a portfolio of about $350 million of 7(a) and 504 loans, which small businesses can use to purchase property and equipment. Prior to last fall's market crash, the bank had more demand for equipment funding and expansion loans. Now it is seeing the most creditworthy small businesses, ones that would previously have sought conventional financing, come to Celtic for SBA loans for working capital. The better borrowers had more alternatives before the crisis,says Howell, who expects his bank's SBA loan volume for 2009 to grow by 30%.But with the SBA's new America's Recovery Capital Loan Program loans, which are emergency loans capped at $35,000 with a 100% guarantee and 0% interest, banks have taken a wait-and-see approach. During the program's first month, 180 banks originated 371 loans worth $12 million. Mills says the program, which received $255 million of stimulus money, aims to help about 10,000 businesses eventually. But Robert Seiwert, senior vice-president at the American Bankers Assn.'s Center for Commercial Lending & Business Banking, says many bankers aren't interested, even with the full guarantee. Those loans are attracting borrowers with a high credit-risk profile at a time when regulators are clamping down,he says.Bankers are not eager to add to the delinquency numbers of their portfolio.Meanwhile, conditions in the secondary market, where guaranteed portions of SBA-backed loans are sold to investors, remain tepid. That's likely to keep lending restrained for months. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs can't wait.

Auto suppliers under bankruptcy protection By The Associated Press -Fri Aug 14, 7:20 pm ET

Auto parts supplier Visteon Corp. has asked a Delaware bankruptcy judge for permission to cut health and life insurance benefits for thousands of current and former workers.Judge Christopher Sontchi said Friday that he needs time to consider the evidence and arguments.While the Van Buren Township, Mich.-based company acknowledged that cutting off the benefits would cause hardship for some people, it claims the benefits are one of its largest liabilities and keeping them in place would make it tough for the company to reorganize.

Here's where the bankruptcy cases of other auto suppliers currently stand:

DELPHI CORP.: The Troy, Mich.-based supplier, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in October 2005, won permission in March to stop providing health care and insurance benefits to its salaried retirees. More recently, Delphi received court approval to emerge from bankruptcy protection by handing control of the company over to its lenders in exchange for debt forgiveness. The company is expected to emerge from court protection by Sept. 30.LEAR CORP.: Lear Corp. filed for bankruptcy court protection in New York in July. Its next hearing is set Aug. 25.

Oil falls below $66 on worries of slow recovery By CARLO PIOVANO, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 17, 6:48 am ET

LONDON – Oil prices fell below $66 a barrel Monday as investors worried that crude demand will recover only slowly in the U.S. and brushed off upbeat economic growth data from Japan.Benchmark crude for September delivery was down $1.63 to $65.88 a barrel by late morning in European electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Friday, the contract tumbled $3.01 to settle at $67.51.Friday's big selloff was triggered by a sharp drop in the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index, a bad sign for crude demand, which has already been sluggish this summer.

Oil also followed stock markets, which fell heavily in both Asia and Europe.

Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 3.1 percent, while Germany's DAX was down 1.8percent.We've got overwhelmingly weak fundamentals in oil, said Victor Shum, an energy analyst with consultancy Purvin & Gertz in Singapore.The market has really been due for a correction.Investors brushed off evidence that the global slump may be nearing an end. Japan said Monday that its economy grew an annualized 3.7 percent in the second quarter, breaking out of a yearlong recession.The worst of the recession may be over, but for most economies, especially the U.S., the recovery may still be quite slow,Shum said.In other Nymex trading, gasoline for September delivery fell 1.7 cents to $1.92 a gallon and heating oil dropped 3.43 cents to $1.81. Natural gas for September delivery fell 7.5 cents to $3.16 per 1,000 cubic feet.In London, Brent prices dropped $1.54 to $69.90 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.Associated Press writer Alex Kennedy in Singapore contributed to this report.

Fed extends consumer lending program through March By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer – AUG 17,09 9:30AM

WASHINGTON – The Federal Reserve has extended a program intended to spur lending to consumers and small businesses at lower rates, but the central bank will not expand the types of loans made.The Fed on Monday said extended its Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility through March 31 for most of the types of loans it makes. The program was scheduled to end on Dec. 31.The TALF started in March and figures prominently in efforts by the Fed and the Obama administration to ease credit, stabilize the financial system and help end the recession. Under the program, investors use the funds to buy securities backed by auto and student loans, credit cards, business equipment and loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration.

The program for commercial mortgage-backed securities was extended through June 30 because issuing new securities in that area can take a significant amount of time to arrange,according to a joint news release from the Fed and the Treasury Department.

The broader TALF program had gotten off to a lethargic start, hobbled by rule changes, investor worries about financial privacy and fears that participants might become ensnared in an anti-bailout backlash from the public and Congress.The program has the potential to generate up to $1 trillion in lending for households and businesses, according to the government. Spurring such lending is vital to turning around the economy.The Fed and Treasury on Monday said they were prepared to reconsider this decision if financial or economic developments conditions indicate that such an expansion would still be warranted. However, the government believes the financial system is beginning to stabilize after being hit last fall by the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.Conditions in financial markets have improved considerably in recent months, the Fed and Treasury said in their statement. Nonetheless, the markets for asset-backed securities backed by consumer and business loans and for commercial mortgage-backed securities are still impaired and seem likely to remain so for some time.The Fed last week delivered a vote of confidence in the economy, saying the downturn appeared to be leveling out.Fed officials also said they would slow the pace of a program to buy $300 billion worth of Treasury securities, an effort aimed at keeping mortgage rates affordable. The central bank said it planned to shut down the program at the end of October.

Swedbank raises $2.1B in new capital By MALIN RISING, Associated Press Writer – Mon Aug 17, 6:55 am ET

STOCKHOLM – Swedish bank Swedbank said Monday it is raising 15 billion Swedish kronor ($2.1 billion) in a new share issue to strengthen its capital position, which has been tested by the global economic crisis, particularly in the Baltic countries.

Chief Executive Michael Wolf said the rights issue should help accelerate the troubled bank's recovery without relying on the Swedish state guarantee and end any lingering perception that we will become a burden for the Swedish tax payers.He said the bank's aim was to get out of the bank bailout program as soon as possible, but pointed out it hasn't changed its outlook for any of the markets where it operates.
Swedbank — one of Sweden's four largest banks — has suffered from its exposure to the troubled economies of the Baltic countries and Ukraine and in July posted a second-quarter net loss of 2 billion kronor ($300 million). Monday's new share issue is the bank's second in less than a year and sent shares down 4.6 percent to 63 kronor ($8.76) in Stockholm.It said 46.6 percent of the new share issue has been guaranteed by current shareholders, as well as pension firm Alecta and investment fund Nektar Fonden. The remaining 53.4 percent has been guaranteed by investment firms Merrill Lynch and Credit Suisse.Shareholders representing 31.3 percent of the total share capital have assured they will vote in favor of the share issue at an extraordinary shareholder meeting to be held on Sept. 15, the bank said.The obtaining of capital will strengthen Swedbank's competitiveness in our four home markets Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania,Swedbank's board chairman Carl Eric Stalberg said in a statement.By strengthening the capital base we secure the prerequisites to carry out our strategy where we continue to focus on lowering the risk level in the bank.

Chinese fishing industry falls foul of EU rules
LEIGH PHILLIPS Today AUG 17,09 @ 09:14 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - China will have to make significant improvements to its fisheries' traceability systems if it is to meet stricter European Union requirements aimed at preventing illegal fishing, according to a new report from wildlife advocates.As of January next year, all fish products entering the EU must come with catch certificates validated by the country whose flag the fishing boat which caught the fish is flying, a move the EU hopes will aid the fight against what is called illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.But China, which in recent years has soared to the top of the list of the world's leading fish product exporting nations, has a long way to go to successfully track a product along its chain of transactions, according a report published on Monday (17 August) by Traffic, a UK-based conservation group that monitors trade in wild plants and animals.In 1993, the Chinese fish re-processing sector, primarily based in the Shandong and Liaoning provinces, was placing 2.8 million tonnes of fish products on the market. But by 2006, production had rocketed to 9.3 million tonnes, outranking other leading fish product producers Peru, Norway, the Russian Federation, the US, Thailand and Chile.

Because of China's importance within the trade, Traffic also says that the country must improve its existing traceability systems in order for the new rules to be meaningful.To meet the EU rules, China will have to issue certificates for all catches by China-flagged vessels and obtain certificates from other countries when fish is imported into China for processing.The report estimates that more than half the raw material that enters the fish reprocessing industry originates in the Russian Federation, particularly cod and salmon and large quantities of unspecified fish.The Traffic document says that customs systems both in China and in some importing countries lack sufficient detail and usually do not check whether fish imports are classified under the appropriate code.Additionally, says the report, fish may legally change hands several times while in China, further complicating product traceability.

The conservation group is principally recommends that China streamline the different monitoring systems its authorities currently use into a single, integrated and effective traceability system.Traffic would also like to see the development of formal requirements for catch certification and documentation in China.The report, which was funded by the UK's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, does not shoulder Beijing with all responsibility for making the changes, however.The group also says that the EU must deliver additional assistance to help China comply with its legislation, as well as providing Chinese fisheries enforcement authorities with intelligence on countries that may be the source of IUU fish arriving in the country.

Airbus loan fuels EU-US trade dispute
ANDREW RETTMAN Today AUG 17,09 @ 09:14 CET

US officials have criticised a UK decision to lend money to European aircraft manufacturer Airbus on the eve of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling about aircraft subsidies.The commitment of launch aid, or any other form of preferential financing, by any of the EU member states would be a major step in the wrong direction,the Office of the United States Trade Representative said on Friday (14 August). We want to resolve the problem of WTO-inconsistent aircraft subsidies, but the commitment of additional support would make that even harder.The statement came after the UK earlier the same day unveiled a £340 million (€396 million) loan to help the European company build wings for its new A350 model at two British plants.France and Germany have already pledged €2.5 billion for the €11 billion project. Spain is expected to loan around €400 million. The US and EU in 1992 signed an Agreement on Trade in Large Civil Aircraft which permits either side to lend up to a third of the development costs for new planes.But the pair have been locked in a bitter legal battle for the past five years, with the US accusing the EU of giving $200 billion (€141 billion) in illegal aid to Airbus and the EU saying the US has paid $24 billion in illicit subsidies to Boeing.The WTO is set to deliver a preliminary decision on the US complaint in early September in what analysts fear could trigger a wider EU-US trade dispute.

It is disappointing that Airbus member states should proceed with financing for the new A350 on the very eve of this ruling,Boeing spokesman Charlie Miller said in the Wall Street Journal. Airbus has no need for cash from taxpayers. It should finance the A350 on its own.British business minister and former EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson defended the UK decision on Friday. This is neither a bail-out nor a subsidy. We're not sinking money from which we'll never see a return. This is a first-rate investment in British engineering expertise,he told the UK press.We know about subsidies ...you only have to go to the United States to see the sort of subsidies that are provided to Boeing.The A350 - a medium-sized, long-range craft - is scheduled to start flying in mid-2013 and to compete with Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and 777 planes.

EU cities want bigger say in immigration debate
VALENTINA POP Today AUG 17,09 @ 09:19 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Some 130 major cities in Europe have called on the EU institutions to give local municipal authorities a bigger say in the immigration debate and recognise the economic benefits of migration.Since the impact of EU and national policies regarding migration is mostly felt in urban areas, local authorities should have a clearly defined role as partners for developing and monitoring the implementation of these strategies, Eurocities, a network of 130 European cities, says in a policy paper.The document comes in response to the Stockholm Programme tabled by the European Commission earlier this summer – a common framework for the coming five years on how member states should deal with immigration, asylum and integration. The bloc's justice and home affairs ministers have yet to agree on the plan later this autumn, with disagreements between EU member states are likely to alter some of the proposals.Eurocities stressed that the debate on immigration needs to move beyond the security aspects and recognise the benefits of migration.

If the current demographic and migration trends persist, by the mid-21st century, the EU will have lost some 65 million inhabitants. This will have effects in particular on the workforce: The ratio of persons of working age to persons of non-working age will have risen from four to two to more than four to three,Eurocities argued, citing a 2007 commission EU social indicators report.Migrants from EU countries also need to be included in the community aid schemes, for instance, for language training or access to services.The current restrictions on integration support represent a considerable risk that mobile EU citizens fall between the cracks of the European framework for integration and the mainstream support systems in member states, Eurocities points out.For instance, the EU's Integration Fund worth €825 million can only be tapped for integration measures relating to non-EU citizens.The issue is of particular relevance for instance to the English city of Bristol, where most of the migrants come from Poland and other eastern European countries.

One of the biggest problems for Bristol is that the EU's Integration Fund only funds activities with non-EU nationals. This means that we have to combine several funding streams to get a project off the ground for all migrant communities. It would be extremely difficult to develop a project just for non-EU nationals,an official from the city of Bristol was quoted as saying in the Eurocities paper.Non-profit organisations working on integration projects also find the EU commission's financial rules difficult to understand, the official said, stressing the need to raise more awareness and provide more assistance in terms of applying for EU funds.

Migrant flows shrinking

With unemployment skyrocketing in countries like Spain and Ireland, east-west migration flows are shrinking, a study by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) shows.In the United Kingdom, statistics from the Home Office indicated a dramatic fall in work applications from nationals of the new EU member states, especially Poland. Numbers decreased from 53,000 over a three-month period in 2007 to 29,000 over the same period in 2008.

However, massive returns of migrants have not been registered, the ILO study notes.

Voluntary return programmes implemented by destination countries have fallen far short of the targeted numbers. Migrant workers often choose to remain despite deteriorating labour market conditions in order to preserve social security benefits. The adverse economic and employment situation in the origin country also discourages them from returning,the ILO study shows.Back in June, Spanish and Romanian authorities had considered measures to provide incentives for umployed Romanian migrants to return home to fill public sector vacancies. With the recent austerity measures announced by Bucharest, however, including the slashing of 10,000 jobs in the public administration, such plans seem now off the table.

Balkan loan guarantors struggle to pay others' debts By Daria Sito-Sucic – AUG 16,09

SARAJEVO (Reuters) – When Alma, a Bosnian single mother of two, agreed to act as a loan guarantor for a colleague, she never imagined the day would come when she would actually have to pay the debt.Yet that is exactly what happened to the Sarajevo high school administrator who is among an estimated 100,000 Bosnians paying off loans they secured for friends and relatives to help them rebuild their lives after the devastating 1992-95 war.I am paying off a loan of an ex-colleague who has left the job and I don't even see anymore,said Alma, 52, who was too ashamed to give her family name.If only there was an end to this nightmare,she added. Alma rented her apartment for extra cash as two-thirds of her 400 euro ($567) salary goes to cover loans.In the states created after the collapse of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, people readily guaranteed loans for friends or relatives, unaware their backing was no longer a mere formality as during socialist times.Now, the generosity that helped revive the Balkan country after Europe's worst fighting since World War Two is stinging guarantors as they themselves face the impact of the global economic crisis.

Back then, jobs were secure until retirement and the dinar currency suffered frequent denomination, making loan servicing an easy task. Also, with little private property, guarantors were a key backing mechanism.While officials say overall indebtedness in Bosnia is relatively low compared with other Balkan countries, financial crisis-induced losses in its microcredit sector could bring poverty to the middle and working class people heavily dependent on such loans. That in turn could add to instability in the ethnically divided country.Before, we did not have massive lay offs and poverty such as today,said Milan Seselj, an executive in the microcredit sector where loans are exclusively guarantee-backed.His firm, Sarajevo-based Sunrise, will suffer a loss this year for the first time.Neighbouring Croatia and Serbia had faced problems with unreliable clients and unhappy guarantors but then introduced stricter controls of creditors and new protection mechanisms.It is very difficult to find a guarantor in Serbia as citizens are heavily indebted and very few can qualify as a viable guarantor,a clerk in a Belgrade bank told Reuters.

LITTLE GUY HIT BY WORLD CRISIS

In Bosnia, where the war claimed about 100,000 lives and property suffered heavy destruction, people had to rely on each other. A guarantor had been the safest instrument until the crisis.The microcredit sector, set up and funded by the World Bank and other international donors after the 1992-1995 war between the Bosnian Serbs, Muslims and Croats, has been praised as a success in reviving small businesses in the war-torn country.Such small loans have helped create more than 100,000 jobs so far, enabling many to open businesses such as souvenir shops, restaurants, food production facilities, farms and wood processing workshops.The global economic downturn has taken a hefty toll on these small businesses.Our clients are excessively indebted and any disturbance of liquidity on the market has a direct impact on them, said Seselj, who is deputy director of Sunrise which extends loans to small businesses.The microcredit sector had seen strong growth in recent years of as much as 40-50 percent in some organizations, but it will post a loss of up to 4 percent in the first half of 2009 for the first time since it was established because of the economic downturn, Seselj said.The default rate has doubled to 8 or 9 percent of all such loans since the end of 2008, he added.The Bosnian economy, which recorded solid growth of 5.5 percent in 2008 and 6 percent in 2007, is forecast to contract by 3 percent this year, according to estimates by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Bosnian central bank.It's very difficult, we certainly feel the impact of the crisis on our customers but we must try to survive,said Munira Babic, a Sunrise client anxiously awaiting customers in her souvenir shop in Sarajevo's historic Turkish quarter.In the two autonomous regions that make up Bosnia, microcredit loans range from up to 5,000 euros in the Muslim-Croat federation to 25,000 euros in the Serb Republic.

Many people piled up several loans as microcredit organizations were not obliged to report on their clients to the central credit registry until several months ago. Only the borrowers knew how deep in debt they really were. On top of their own borrowing, many microcredit clients were guarantors to each other and finally got caught in a circle of indebtedness.In the Serb Republic, where some have even committed suicide because they could not pay off loans, a new association seeks changes in legislation to protect guarantors.The main problem is the lack of regulation on forced debt collection,said Zeljka Rakocija, deputy head of the Serb Republic banking agency which supervises banks.Banks are choosing the easiest way and immediately target a guarantor instead of going through lengthy court procedures,Rakocija said.And when there is no regulation, the door is automatically opened to fraud.

Some do not wait for the courts.Sometimes you have to use force to get back your money,said Sarajevo bar owner Medo Corovic, who confiscated shop inventory of a friend whose credit he had to pay. Bankruptcy I can understand, but shamelessness I don't accept.(Additional reporting by Igor Ilic in Zagreb, Ivana Sekularac in Belgrade and Benet Koleka in Tirana; Editing by Adam Tanner and Megan Goldin)

Some Obama Promises Must Wait By Adriel Bettelheim, CQ Staff – Mon Aug 17, 6:14 am ET

President Obama sounded a bit like a weary air traffic controller on Aug. 10, when he was quizzed during a three-way summit with leaders from Mexico and Canada about a promised overhaul of U.S. immigration laws. I've got a lot on my plate, and it's very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don't all just crash at the same time,the president said in response to a reporter's question. While Obama said he expects Congress to send draft legislation his way later this year, the issue, at least for the moment, has been relegated to the back burner.Triage is a necessity in an administration confronted by a deep recession, with a president who is simultaneously shepherding big initiatives addressing health care, climate change, education and financial regulation.Obama and his aides understand there is only so much bandwidth to accommodate these efforts -- and to complete work on fiscal 2010 spending bills and second-tier issues, such as a proposed rewrite of the rules for student lending.But that means a large number of political promises Obama made during his historic campaign have been pushed to the back of the agenda. Most, in fact. The PolitiFact.com Web site, which compiled a list of 515 Obama pledges, lists 374 under the category of no action.

To be sure, Obama has begun to make good on some of his most prominent promises.

Just days after he was sworn in, he issued orders to shut the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and limit harsh interrogation methods. Initiatives to overturn federal funding curbs on embryonic stem cell research, deliver a major address to the Islamic world and stem mortgage foreclosures, to cite just three others, followed suit.Many other high-profile issues have been deferred, either because they involve time-consuming negotiations with Congress or because Obama simply doesn't want to expend the political capital. Here are five that are not likely to be acted on before year's end:Revise No Child Left Behind The 2002 education law (PL 107-110) was passed with bipartisan fanfare and promoted by former President George W. Bush as one of his most important domestic policy achievements. But its focus on standardized testing as the measure of achievement and the way it expanded the federal government's role into what has been traditionally a local issue prompted heated calls for revision. During his campaign, Obama said he would overhaul the law so that we are supporting schools that need improvement, rather than punishing them and pledged to find innovative ways to recruit and reward good teachers.However, a planned reauthorization has been crowded out by other domestic priorities, particularly Obama's push to retool the U.S. health care system, making it unlikely that a planned reauthorization will move quickly. Education Secretary Arne Duncan wants to complete a nationwide listening tour before submitting a proposal to Congress. His department is also overseeing the expenditure of about $100 billion in new funding.Confronting China Obama stated last year that China's rise posed one of the most important foreign policy challenges to the United States in the coming decade. He promised to discourage China from manipulating its currency, the yuan, to keep the prices of its goods cheap and generate trade surpluses. And he pledged to discourage China's support for genocidal and repressive regimes in Sudan, Burma, Iran and Zimbabwe.

Though Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner said during his confirmation hearing that the administration would act aggressively using all the diplomatic avenues to change China's currency practices, the White House has stopped short of making a formal declaration to Congress that China is manipulating the yuan to gain an unfair trade advantage. Such a move could spark punitive action and countermeasures from China.Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao instead launched a strategic and economic dialogue in April. Experts such as Brookings Institution visiting fellow Dennis C. Wilder sense there is more continuity than change in the administration's approach to engaging China -- characterized by non-ideological dialogue that stresses positive areas for cooperation. One difference is the administration's elevation of climate change to a top-tier issue. The administration understands that efforts to pass climate change legislation in Congress hinge, in part, on getting China to do its part in reducing the global carbon footprint.Fully Funding Veterans' Programs Obama, who as a senator served on the Veterans' Affairs Committee, spoke during the campaign about the "sacred trust to care for our nation's veterans" and complained about years of chronic underfunding of the Veterans Administration medical care system.

He pledged to fully fund the VA and make the VA budget must-pass legislation.

But it's Congress that is doing most of the heavy lifting to make the promise reality. The House in June passed a measure (HR 1016) that would put veterans' health care programs on a two-year budget cycle and make funding more predictable. The VA would receive $108.9 billion, about 15 percent more than in fiscal 2009 (PL 110-329) and equal to President Obama's fiscal 2010 budget request. Once money is released, the VA would detail to Congress any impediments to estimating future budgetary needs. The Office of Management and Budget would then request advance funding a year ahead of time and make the VA submit to Congress detailed explanations of those spending figures. The agency then would have to update Congress by July 31 of each year on whether the advance appropriations would be sufficient to meet the department's needs.

This would give the VA more certainty, but not as much as Obama pledged.

Rebuilding the Gulf Coast During the campaign, Obama said he would "keep the broken promises made by President Bush to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast" and take steps to prevent failures in emergency planning and response seen during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.Specifically, Obama would ensure New Orleans has a levee and pumping system to protect the city against a 100-year storm by 2011, free up rebuilding funds that had been allocated but not released and to rebuild hospitals and schools. Much of the work remains on the drawing boards. The administration got into a tussle with Sen. David Vitter, R-La., after he briefly stalled the nomination of Craig Fugate to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency because new federal flood maps included areas that were not previously designated flood zones, including much of Louisiana's Cameron Parish, Grand Isle, and Lafourche Parish.Federal regulations prohibit FEMA recovery funds from being used for rebuilding in areas designated as V-Zones because of their risk for future flooding.An August 2009 report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program concludes the region still faces major challenges due to blight, unaffordable housing and vulnerable flood protection.Though New Orleans' economy is weathering the recession fairly well, the report says some districts continue to have high numbers of vacant and blighted residences, and that essential service workers can't afford fair market rents. And while 16 additional schools opened in the New Orleans area in the previous 12 months, the entire area remains vulnerable to storm-related flooding. A storm-surge protection system now being built by the Army Corps of Engineers would not adequately protect against another storm of Katrina's magnitude, the report states.Importing Prescription Drugs In spite of its overwhelming focus on overhauling the health care system, the administration has been silent on one of Obama's signature health care promises: allowing consumers to import drugs made in FDA-approved facilities in countries where they are often sold for less.During the campaign, Obama charged that some drugmakers were exploiting Americans by charging premiums of as much as 67 percent higher than the prices they charge for the same medicines in Europe and Canada.But Obama's administration has since cut a deal with the pharmaceutical industry in which drugmakers promised to provide $80 billion in discounts to seniors and the government over 10 years to help pay the cost of a health system overhaul.Ironically, Obama's 2008 presidential opponent, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., offered an amendment during debate on a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee health plan that would have written such an importation provision into law. Democrats helped defeat it by a 10-12 vote, arguing that allowing access to the cheaper drugs from abroad was potentially dangerous in light of all the hazards Americans have faced in recent months from risky imported products.

Former Gov. Dean calls public option indispensable By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer – AUG 17,09

WASHINGTON – Former Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean, a leading figure in the liberal wing of his party, said Monday he doubts there can be meaningful health care reform without a direct government role.Dean urged the Obama administration to stand by statements made early on in the debate in which it steadfastly insisted that such a public option was indispensable to genuine change, saying that Medicare and the Veterans Administration are two very good programs that have been around for a long time.Dean appeared on morning news shows Monday amid increasing indications the Obama White House is retreating from the public option in the face of vocal opposition from Republicans and some vocal participants at a town-hall-style meetings around the country.The former Vermont governor was asked on NBC's Meet the Press about President Barack Obama's statement over the weekend that the public option for insurance coverage was just a sliver of the overall proposal. Obama's health and human services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, advanced that line, telling CNN Sunday that a direct government role in a system intended to provide virtually universal coverage was not the essential element.Dean, a physician, argued that a public option is fair and said there must be such a choice in any genuine shake up of the existing system.You can't really do health reform without it,he said. Dean maintained that the health insurance industry has put enormous pressure on patients and doctors in recent years.

He called a direct government role the entirety of health care reform. It isn't the entirety of insurance reform ... We shouldn't spend $60 billion a year subsidizing the insurance industry.Dean also said he doesn't foresee any Republican support for a public option. I don't think the Republicans are interested and in order to have a bipartisan bill, you've got to have both sides interested, he said.The shift in the administration's stance on a government-run insurance program leaves open a chance for compromise with Republicans that probably would enrage Obama's liberal supporters but could deliver a much-needed victory on a top domestic priority.Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., who is co-chairman of the Middle Class Caucus, said that leaving private insurance companies the job of controlling the costs of health care is like making a pyromaniac the fire chief.Officials from both political parties are looking for concessions while Congress is on an August recess. Facing tough audiences, lawmakers and the White House are looking for a way to cover the nation's almost 50 million uninsured while maintaining political standing.Sebelius said the White House would be open to co-ops instead of a public option — a sign that Democrats want a compromise so they can declare a victory.Under a proposal by Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., consumer-owned nonprofit cooperatives would sell insurance in competition with private industry, not unlike the way electric and agriculture co-ops operate, especially in rural states such as his own.With $3 billion to $4 billion in initial support from the government, the co-ops would operate under a national structure with state affiliates, but independent of the government. They would be required to maintain the type of financial reserves that private companies are required to keep in case of unexpectedly high claims.I think there will be a competitor to private insurers,Sebelius said.That's really the essential part, is you don't turn over the whole new marketplace to private insurance companies and trust them to do the right thing.

Obama's spokesman refused to say a public option was a make-or-break choice.

What I am saying is the bottom line for this for the president is, what we have to have is choice and competition in the insurance market, White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Sunday.A day before, Obama appeared to hedge his bets. All I'm saying is, though, that the public option, whether we have it or we don't have it, is not the entirety of health care reform,Obama said at a town hall meeting in Grand Junction, Colo. This is just one sliver of it, one aspect of it.Lawmakers have discussed the co-op model for months, although the Democratic leadership and the White House have said they prefer a government-run option. Conrad, chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, called the argument for a government-run public plan little more than a wasted effort.He added there are enough votes in the Senate for a cooperative plan.

Suicide bomb kills 20, injures over 100 in Russia By SHAMSUDIN BOKOV, Associated Press Writer – AUG 17,09

NAZRAN, Russia – A suicide bomber attacked a police station in Russia's North Caucasus with an explosives-laden truck Monday, killing at least 20 people and wounding more than 100 others, officials said.The bombing was the deadliest in years in the restive southern region, denting Kremlin claims that the area was stabilizing after two wars in Chechnya and mounting violence in surrounding provinces since 1994. While most fighting in Chechnya has ended, Islamic militants continue to mount regular hit-and-run attacks and skirmishes in neighboring provinces.The attacker on Monday rammed the truck through the gates of the Nazran city police headquarters, in Ingushetia province, and detonated about 200 kilograms (440 pounds) of explosives as police officers were lining up in the internal courtyard for a morning check, said Svetlana Gorbakova of the federal investigative office.Police had fired shots at the truck, but failed to stop it before it exploded in the middle of the courtyard. The blast left a huge crater and triggered a raging fire that destroyed a weapons room where ammunition detonated.It took rescue teams several hours to search for victims in the rubble. A nearby apartment building and several office buildings were also damaged, and burned-out cars littered the street. The attacker and the truck were pulverized by the blast, Gorbakova said.At least 20 people were killed and 60 wounded, she said. But Aslan Ozdoyev, a spokesman for the Emergency Ministry's branch in Ingushetia, said 118 people were injured and about 100 of them remained hospitalized.Russia's Emergency Ministry sent a special plane to bring some of the wounded to Moscow for treatment.An Associated Press reporter saw 11 badly burned bodies at a morgue in Nazran, the largest city in Ingushetia, which borders Chechnya to the west.

Local authorities announced a three-day mourning.

Ingushetia's Kremlin-appointed president, badly wounded in another suicide bombing in June, said Monday's attack had been organized by militants trying to avenge recent security sweeps in the forests along the mountainous border with Chechnya.It was an attempt to destabilize the situation and sow panic, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov said in a statement issued through his spokesman.He blamed Chechen separatist warlord Doku Umarov for the June attack on his convoy, saying the perpetrators had been be tracked down, according to an interview with Russian News Service radio. He vowed to hunt down Umarov and other rebel warlords.He also accused the United States, Britain and Israel of fomenting instability in the North Caucasus, saying the West will try to prevent Russia from restoring its Soviet-era might.He did not elaborating.Rights groups said arbitrary arrests, torture and killings by security forces had helped swell the ranks of rebels in Ingushetia under Yevkurov's predecessor, Murat Zyazikov.

Yevkurov, a former officer of the Russian GRU military intelligence service, has promised to end abuses and sought to negotiate pardons for some rebels who would agree to put down their weapons.

Nasrallah: We can hit any Israeli city Saturday, 15 August 2009 06:05 News from Jerusalem

Recent Israeli warnings were part of a psychological war aimed at preventing Hezb'allah from joining a new Lebanese unity government, group leader Hassan Nasrallah said Friday.Speaking on the anniversary of the end of the 2006 Israel-Hezb'allah war, Nasrallah said the Shiite group was now capable of striking any Israeli city.Today we are capable of striking any city or village in Israel, Nasrallah said. He promised surprises if Israel launches a new war on Lebanon. He did not elaborate.It is our right to make (Israel) understand that if it bombs Beirut or the southern suburbs, we will strike Tel Aviv,Nasrallah said, drawing the cheers of supporters.Nasrallah, appearing on a giant screen from his hiding place, addressed thousands of supporters waving yellow Hezb'allah flags who gathered for the rally in south Beirut. He said recent Israeli warnings against Lebanon do not signal that Israel is planning to attack soon.Last week, Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that in the event of renewed hostilities in the north, Israel would go after not only Hezb'allah but the entire state of Lebanon.ynet

North Korea in nuclear threat, Kim meets Hyundai boss AUG 16,09 South Korean and U.S. forces start computer simulation and communication exercises on Monday. They come in the wake of rare conciliatory moves by Pyongyang, which this month released two jailed U.S. journalists and a detained South Korean worker.

On Sunday, KCNA said reclusive North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had met the leader of the South's powerful Hyundai Group, a major investor in the North -- a move that may comfort investors worried about increased tensions.North Korea regularly denounces joint exercises as a preparation for invasion and nuclear war.Should the U.S. imperialists and the Lee Myung-bak group threaten the DPRK (North Korea) with nukes, it will retaliate against them with nukes, KCNA quoted a military official as saying. Lee Myung-bak is South Korea's president.Impoverished North Korea has been angered by Lee's policy of ending unconditional handouts -- once equal to about 5 percent of the North's estimated $17 billion a year economy -- and instead linking aid to progress Pyongyang makes in ending the security threat it poses to the region.It is the iron will and resolute stand of the Korean People's Army to go into action anytime to mercilessly wipe out the aggressors,the northern military official said.The United States stations about 28,500 troops in South Korea to support its own 670,000 soldiers. The North has about 1.2 million troops but analysts say they are ill-equipped and would be no match for U.S. and South Korean forces.The two Koreas are technically still at war since no peace treaty was signed after their 1950-53 conflict.

KIM MEETS HYUNDAI BOSS

Kim's meeting with Hyundai Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun, one of the few South Korean executives to have direct dealings with the North Korean leader, is his first major meeting with a prominent figure from the South in nearly two years.Kim, 67 and thought to be recovering from illness, also hosted Bill Clinton on August 4 when the former U.S. president won the release of two American journalists jailed in the North.

Hyun went to North Korea last week to win the release of the Hyundai worker. She also sought to reopen a mountain resort in North Korea run by a Hyundai affiliate that was shut down a year ago after a North Korean soldier shot dead a South Korean tourist who had wandered into a military area.The resort and a joint factory park run by Hyundai have been vital sources of legitimate foreign currency for North Korea. News of a possible meeting with Kim and Hyun had boosted shares in firms that have dealings with the North.The North's broken economy has been hit by U.N. sanctions imposed after a long-range rocket launch in April, widely seen as a disguised missile test, and a nuclear test in May.The sanctions were aimed at cutting off the North's trade in arms, another vital source of hard currency.Ambassador Philip Goldberg, the U.S. coordinator for implementation of the U.N. resolutions, is expected to travel to Asia this week to strengthen the measures.Last week, he said efforts to inspect North Korean vessels for illegal weapons and curb financial transactions by entities suspected of weapons proliferation were winning wide backing.(Editing by Kevin Liffey)

NKorea agrees to resume joint projects with SKorea By HYUNG-JIN KIM, Associated press Writer – AUG 16,09

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea announced Monday it would resume reunions of families separated by the border with South Korea and restart stalled tourism ventures in its latest gesture of conciliation after nearly 18 months of rising tensions.The North, however, said separately it was putting its army on special alert because of South Korea's joint military drills with the United States this week, a sign that hostility and distrust between the rival countries remain high.The official Korean Central News Agency said in a dispatch early Monday that it agreed to restart tours to the scenic Diamond Mountain resort and ancient sights in Kaesong in the North. The tours had been suspended amid rising tensions that followed the inauguration of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul early last year.The conservative Lee angered Pyongyang by taking a tougher line than his predecessors on keeping North Korea accountable to its commitments on nuclear disarmament.The report did not give exact dates for when the tours would resume, but said it would be soon.

KCNA said the North also agreed to resume reunions of families separated by one of the world's most heavily fortified borders at Diamond Mountain on this year's annual Chuseok autumn harvest holiday Oct.3. Chuseok is one of the two biggest Korean traditional holidays celebrated in both Koreas and is equivalent to Thanksgiving in the United States.The North also said it agreed to ease restriction on border traffic and energize the operation of a joint factory park in Kaesong — the last remaining key joint project between the Koreas. The future of the industrial complex was thrown into doubt after the North significantly restricted border crossings and demanded a massive increase in rent and salaries for North Korean workers at the complex.The North said the agreement was reached with Seoul's Hyundai Group, the main South Korean investor in North Korea and followed a meeting between Hyundai Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang on Sunday.Both tours to Diamond Mountain and Kaesong had been run by Hyundai's North Korea business arm, Hyundai Asan.Kim had a cordial talk with Hyun and complied with all her requests, according to the KCNA report.Hyundai Asan in Seoul said it was aware of the North's announcement but couldn't immediately confirm it.South Korea's Unification Ministry said it would disclose its position on whether to accept the North's announcements after Hyun returns home later Monday and it obtains details on the agreement from her.

Ministry Spokeswoman Lee Jong-joo also said government-level talks between the two Koreas were necessary to resume some of the stalled projects such as the Diamond Mountain tours and family reunions.South Korea suspended tours to the mountain resort after a North Korean soldier fatally shot a South Korean tourist, who allegedly entered a restricted military area next to the resort, in July last year. South Korea called for a joint investigation but the North refused.The North's announcement Monday was seen as a conciliatory gesture toward Seoul and Washington amid the standoff over its nuclear weapons program and comes after the resolution last week of a major thorn in relations.On Thursday, the North freed a Hyundai worker whom it had detained for months for allegedly denouncing the communist country's political system. Pyongyang accused the employee of denouncing North Korea's government. His return home followed by about a week the North's release of two jailed U.S. journalists after former President Bill Clinton made a surprise trip to Pyongyang.

Meanwhile, the North said Monday that its military will be on guard over South Korea's annual computer-simulated war games with the U.S. that started Monday.The Supreme Command of the (North) Korean People's Army said in a statement that its troops and the entire nation would go on special alert starting Monday, calling the drills a blatant challenge and grave threat to peace on the Korean peninsula. The statement, carried by KCNA, said the North would retaliate mercilessly at the slightest military provocation from South Korea and the U.S. The North sees the exercises as preparation for an invasion, but the U.S. and South Korea say the maneuvers are purely defensive.(This version CORRECTS that NKorea agreeing to resume family reunions on Chuseok holiday, not before it)

Iran defies condemnation, expands opposition trial By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer – AUG 16,09

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran expanded a mass trial of opposition supporters on Sunday with the addition of 25 defendants — including a Jewish teenager — in defiance of international condemnation, as France said Iran agreed to release a French woman held on spying charges from prison.The defendants are among more than 100 people charged with plotting a soft revolution against the Islamic theocracy during the postelection protests. The mass trial is part of an attempt to put an end to the protests by those who say Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June 12 re-election was the result of fraud.In apparent attempt to fend off criticism and move ahead with his second term, Ahmadinejad named three women who, if confirmed, would be Iran's first female Cabinet ministers since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.The trial, now in its third session, has included a number of televised confessions and has drawn international condemnation from human rights groups that allege the confessions are coerced. The U.S. last week labeled the event a show trial.The trial and official acknowledgments that some detainees have been abused in prison have only added to anger among both opposition supporters and some conservatives upset with the treatment of protesters.

The additional defendants brought the total number being tried to 135.

The defendants include a number of high-ranking politicians linked to the country's pro-reform movement as well as employees from the British and French embassies and an Iranian-Canadian reporter for Newsweek magazine.A 24-year-old French academic, Clotilde Reiss, who had appeared during one of the previous court sessions, was freed Sunday from an Iranian prison, the French president's office said late Sunday.She was arrested July 1 for attending a postelection demonstration. During her court appearance, Reiss apologized for attending the demonstration but said she did so because she was curious. The French Foreign Minister has said the statement was worked on,suggesting it was coerced.The French president's office said it was asking for all charges to be dropped against Reiss and that she'll be residing at the French Embassy in Tehran until she can return home.France is also asking for all charges to be dropped against another of its citizens, Nazak Afshar, who has dual French-Iranian citizenship and worked at the French Embassy. She appeared during a previous court session before being released from prison. She's now residing at the French Embassy in Tehran.French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner later said on the iTele TV station that bail was paid for Reiss but that the sum was not enormous.While she stays at the embasssy, Reiss will prepare her defense to make her innocence known, Kouchner said in a statement. He also reiterated the charges against her and the French-Iranian embassy employee, Nazak Afshar, were unfounded.At Sunday's hearing, officials showed a film of attacks on public property, cars and a mosque by protesters, and the prosecutor accused the defendants of plotting the postelection turmoil years in advance.One of the new defendants was Yaghoghil Shaolian, 19, a member of Iran's Jewish community, which numbers about 25,000 people. He was quoted by the semiofficial Fars news agency as saying that he was not an activist but that he got caught up in the moment and threw stones at a Tehran bank during a protest.Iran's only Jewish parliamentarian, Siamak Mereh Sedq, confirmed the detention of Shaolian and his Jewish identity to The Associated Press. He said the detention was not connected to his religion and that Shaolian is innocent.Ahmadinejad's decision to appoint three women to his Cabinet appeared to be an attempt to mollify the opposition and some of his conservative supporters while currying favor with women.

Marzieh Vahid Dastgerdi, a 50-year-old gynecologist, will become health minister and Fatemeh Ajorlu, a 43-year-old lawmaker, will be minister of welfare and social security, Ahmadinejad said. He said he'll nominate at least one more woman to the Cabinet, but did not give a name. Ahmadinejad's chances of using the nominations to win over the opposition seems slim as the two women he named are considered fellow hard-liners. Women took part in large numbers in the street protests that followed the disputed election. Ahmadinejad's attempts as president to enforce a strict dress code on women and the jailing of many female activists has won him few favors with women.Female politicians are not unheard of in Iran. Although they are barred from the presidency and religious posts, many Iranian women are in parliament and other political offices. Ahmadinejad currently has a female vice president. But Iran has not had a female Cabinet minister since the 1979 revolution that brought the cleric-led regime to power. The last female minister, Farrokhroo Parsay, was executed on charges of corruption after the revolution.Ahmadinejad is slated to present his new Cabinet to parliament on Wednesday. Every minister has to be approved by parliament — an uncertain prospect given that some lawmakers have criticized Ahmadinejad for not consulting with them prior to making his nominations.Ahmadinejad also named cleric Haidar Moslehi as the new intelligence minister to replace Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejehi, who lost his job in July in an apparent dispute over the handling of the clampdown on the unrest.The Iranian president on Sunday also appeared to criticize President Barack Obama in a thinly veiled reference.The excellency who talks about change made a big mistake when he openly interfered in Iran's domestic issues, Ahmadinejad told a group of clerics Sunday, according to the semiofficial Mehr news agency.

Iran has tried to taint the unrest by asserting that it is a product of international meddling rather than internal anger.Opposition leader Mir Hossein Mousavi, who claims he was the true election winner, is also consolidating his political forces. According to newspaper reports Sunday, he has announced he will form a new political organization aimed at regaining people's constitutional rights.Mousavi has not been arrested since the unrest began, although some hard-liners have called for him to be put on trial along with other opposition leaders.

Hamas: Gaza order restored after bloody weekend By IBRAHIM BARZAK, Associated Press Writer – Sun Aug 16, 9:22 am ET

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip – Gaza's Hamas rulers said they had restored law and order to the seaside territory Sunday after a bloody weekend of clashes with an al-Qaida-inspired group.The militant Palestinian group crushed a challenge from Jund Ansar Allah, or the Soldiers of the Companions of God, one of a number of small, shadowy factions that are even more radical than Hamas.At least 24 people were killed in the confrontations in the southern town of Rafah, including the group's leader, Abdel-Latif Moussa, who provoked Hamas by declaring Gaza an Islamic emirate.His death ended the greatest internal challenge to Hamas' rule since it took control of Gaza two years ago and helped distance the territory's Islamic rulers from more radical groups that seek to expand the Palestinians' battle beyond Israel to include the Western World as well.Hamas spokesman Ihab Al Ghussien said the group would not allow the return of security chaos to Gaza.Hamas authorities arrested some 100 people during the clashes and continue their search for other Jund Ansar Allah members.The crackdown solidified Hamas' strong hold on power in Gaza. However, a previously unknown group named Suyouf al-Haq, or the Swords of Truth, called for revenge against Hamas and a boycott of its mosques in a statement posted on several Palestinian sites.

Rafah remained a closed military area Sunday, and journalists were kept away as Hamas security checked vehicles in and around the combat zone.At least 150 people were wounded in the fighting, which began Friday afternoon after Moussa's fiery speech and continued throughout the night in two fierce gunbattles outside his mosque and his home.Early Saturday, an explosion went off in Moussa's home as Hamas was trying to persuade him to surrender. He was buried Saturday night, but Hamas still has his home closed off. Gaza human rights groups expect the death toll to rise once medical teams are allowed access to the remains of Moussa's home.Jund Ansar Allah first came to public attention in June after it claimed responsibility for a failed attempt to attack Israel from Gaza on horseback. The group claims inspiration from al-Qaida's ultraconservative brand of Islam, but no direct links have been confirmed.The group has been critical of Hamas for not imposing a more severe form of Islamic law and for maintaining a cease-fire with Israel for the past seven months.