BIG DROP ON GREECE FEARS-OIL SPILL

DEATH OF HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487363426&play=1
BEHIND THE MARKET MELTDOWN
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487347348&play=1
BANKS EXPOSURE TO EUROPE
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487332217&play=1
FUELLING THE SELLOFF
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487372587&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487305242&play=1
PANIC-PURGE OR PATIENCE
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487316166&play=1
MARKET MELTDOWN
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487281421&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487290769&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487294015&play=1
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487267417&play=1
MATRIX SELLOFF-IMPORTANT VIDEO TO WATCH
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487183693&play=1
IS TRADING TO FAST-ADMITTED RIGGED AGAINST CITIZEN TRADERS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1487175845&play=1

GERALD CELENTE ON RUSSIA TODAY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdxgWQWqsS4&feature=player_embedded
GERALD ON ALEX JONES MAY 7,10
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100507_Fri_Alex.mp3
MAX KEIZER ON JONES SUN MAY 9 OR MON MAY 10
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100509_Sun_Alex.mp3
http://rss.nfowars.net/20100510_Mon_Alex.mp3

FROM 2:46PM YESTERDAY TO 2:56PM YESTERDAY THE STOCK MARKET LOST A TRILLION DOLLARS.USA CITIZENS SHOULD BE UP IN ARMS OVER THIS SCAM BIGTIME.

Our markets crash! See what European socialism does for us? MAY 7,08 By Laurie Roth

The steepest roller coaster in the world May 6th, seems to be the US stock market. Apparently the Europeans are worried and have no liquidity so they have halted lending. Our stock market liked that news about as much as a case of AIDS and crashed 8%, 900 points, then jumped a tinge higher, still stunningly low. In fact, the DOW has a rule that when the market drops 10% between 2:30 and 3:00 pm ET, trading is stopped for 30 minutes. We were almost there.Financials, consumer discretionary and industrials were all falling sectors. Freddie Mac is asking for 10.6 billion more since they lost another 8 billion. Isn’t that splendid?

Let’s give this sick monster more money. The big, give me banks are wanting more like JP Morgan, Citigroup and Goldman Sachs, but the Senate is trying to back pedal on their earlier stance where they were forking out endless money to them saying they were too big to fail. Now, (a little late if you ask me) they are talking about taking them over and even disbanding large firms in distress.

I sure don’t like the sound of this administration and congress taking over large banks and other investment institutions, but that is where they seem to be going…..TYPICAL. This administration is committed and passionate about big, controlling Government. We are seeing this vision unfold with the Iron grip, IRS controlled Health care system, full of threats, rationing, forced insurance requirements, audits and fines. It just warms your heart and makes you feel so healthy.

Obama and this congress are always looking for ways to seize more control of our financial sector as well. This latest crash will foster many draconian regulations and new laws, disbanding, controlling and taking over banking this and banking that…..

The bottom line is apparent to all who aren’t sniffing glue. Out of control big government programs and socialism has all but ruined all of Europe. Their debt is out of control. Their liquidity is gone. Now the loans have stopped and Greece has been downgraded. While Europe has been creating welfare state after welfare state, they have been importing and allowing themselves to be taken over and intimidated by fundamentalist Islam. Sharia law here….Sharia law there; Allow a wife beating here and law suit of a school and murder there.

The European destiny seems to be our proposed fate. We also are running to the absurd big government and socialist nightmare of Europe. Now closer to their torment and lack of service with our glorious health care law from hell. This kind of sinkage, economic and social collapse is exactly what Obama dreams about, is planning and working on.

We think the 900 point fall in our stock market was bad on Thursday, reacting to European woes, wait until our gas prices go over $5.00 this summer due to the BP oil explosion that Obama all but ignored until it was too late. Wait until the trillions of additional debt and increased taxes that are coming in truck loads sink into the American people’s heads. Wait until all this registers and cap and trade is introduced to destroy and control the rest of our troubled economy. DROPPING NEARLY 1000 POINTS WILL BE A CAKE WALK. TRY 3-5000 FOR A DROP.

In the next two years we are going to see inflation go out of control, jobs continue to disappear, the stock market go significantly lower, banks get even more skidish about loaning and many businesses fail due to the over reach and expense of cap and trade.

We MUST vote these nightmares out of congress and the White House!

Wall St. rollercoaster: Stocks fall nearly 10 pct By TIM PARADIS, AP Business Writer MAY 6,2010

NEW YORK – A computerized selloff possibly caused by a simple typographical error triggered one of the most turbulent days in Wall Street history Thursday and sent the Dow Jones industrials to a loss of almost 1,000 points, nearly a tenth of their value, in less than half an hour. It was the biggest drop ever during a trading day.

The Dow recovered two-thirds of the loss before the closing bell, but that was still the biggest point loss since February of last year. The lightning-fast plummet temporarily knocked normally stable stocks such as Procter & Gamble to a tiny fraction of their former value and sent chills down investors' spines.Today ... caused me to fall out of my chair at one point. It felt like we lost control, said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago.No one was sure what happened, other than automated orders were activated by erroneous trades. One possibilility being investigated was that a trader accidentally placed an order to sell $16 billion, instead of $16 million, worth of futures, and that was enough to trigger sell orders across the market.No one was taking blame, either. The New York Stock Exchange said there was no problem with the Big Board's systems, and all the markets were on a conference call with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Nasdaq issued a statement two hours after the market closed saying it was canceling trades that were executed between 2:40 p.m. and 3 p.m. that it called clearly erroneous. It did not, however, mention a cause of the plunge.The NYSE also said it would cancel some trades on its electronic platform.There were reports that the sudden drop was caused by a trader who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock. The drop in that stock's price was enough to trigger sell orders across the market.The SEC issued a statement saying regulators are reviewing what happened and working with the exchanges to take appropriate steps to protect investors.Whatever started the selloff, automated computer trading intensified the losses. The selling only led to more selling as prices plummeted and traders tried to limit their losses.

I think the machines just took over. There's not a lot of human interaction, said Charlie Smith, chief investment officer at Fort Pitt Capital Group.We've known that automated trading can run away from you, and I think that's what we saw happen today.
The market was already wobbly because of fears that Greece's debt crisis will undermine the economic recovery. Traders watched television coverage of protests in the streets of Athens, and the Dow was down 200 when the selloff began less than two hours before the closing bell.At 2:20 p.m. EDT, the Dow was at 10,460, a loss of 400 points.It then tumbled 600 points in seven minutes to its low of the day of 9,869, a drop of 9.2 percent.On the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, stone-faced traders huddled around electronic boards and televisions, silently watching and waiting. Traders' screens were flashing numbers non-stop, with losses shown in solid blocks of red numbers.Then the market bounced back, about as quickly as it fell. By 3:09 p.m., the Dow had regained 700 points. It then fluctuated sharply until the close. The trading day ended with the Dow down 347.80, or 3.2 percent, at 10,520.The Dow has lost 631 points, or 5.7 percent, since Tuesday amid worries about Greece. That is the largest three-day percentage drop since March 2009, when the stock market was nearing its bottom following the financial meltdown.At its lowest Thursday, the Dow was down 998.50 points in its largest point drop ever, eclipsing the 780.87 lost during the course of trading on Oct. 15, 2008, during the height of the financial crisis. The Dow closed that day down 733.08, the biggest closing loss it has ever suffered.

The impact of Thursday's gyrations on some stocks was breathtaking, if brief. Stock in the consulting firm Accenture fell to 4 cents after closing at $42.17 on Wednesday. It recovered to close at $41.09, down just over $1. Procter & Gamble, generally a stable stock, dropped as much as $23, almost 37 percent, and rallied to close down only $1.41. Many professional investors and traders use computer program trading to buy and sell orders for large blocks of stocks. The programs use mathematical models that are designed to give a trader the best possible price on shares. The programs are often set up in advance and allow computers to react instantly to moves in the market. When a stock index drops by a big amount, for example, computers can unleash a torrent of sell orders across the market. They move so fast that prices, and in turn indexes, can plunge at the fast pace seen Thursday.

Even if there were technical issues, concerns about the world economy are running high. The stock market has had periodic bouts of anxiety about the European economies during the past few months. They have intensified over the past week even as Greece appeared to be moving closer to getting a bailout package from some of its neighbors. The market is now realizing that Greece is going to go through a depression over the next couple of years,said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at Miller Tabak.Europe is a major trading partner of ours, and this threatens the entire global growth story.The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the index most closely watched by market pros, fell 37.75, or 3.2 percent, to 1,128.15. The Nasdaq composite index lost 82.65, or 3.4 percent, and closed at 2,319.64. At the market's lows, all three indexes were showing losses for the year. The Dow now shows a gain of 0.9 percent for 2010, while the S&P is up 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq is up 2.2 percent. At the close, losses were so widespread that just 173 stocks rose on the NYSE, compared to 3,008 that fell. The major indexes were all down more than 3 percent. Meanwhile, interest rates on Treasurys soared as traders sought the safety of U.S. government debt. The yield on the benchmark 10-year note, which moves opposite its price, fell to 3.4 percent from late Wednesday's 3.54 percent.

U.S. stock plunge raises alarm on algo trading By Matthew Goldstein – MAY 6,2010

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A spine-chilling slide of nearly 1,000 points in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, its biggest intraday points drop ever, led to heightened calls for a crackdown on computer-driven high-frequency trading.The slide, which in one 10-minute stretch knocked the index down nearly 700 points, may have been triggered by a trading error. Major stock indexes eventually recovered from their 9 percent drops to close down a little more than 3 percent.But the follow-through selling that pushed stocks of some highly regarded companies into tailspins exacerbated concerns that regulators can quickly lose control of the markets in a world of algorithmic trading.High-speed trading, which uses sophisticated computer algorithms based on specific scenarios to automate transactions at speeds in the millionths of a second, now accounts for about 60 percent of U.S. equity volume.The potential for giant high-speed computers to generate false trades and create market chaos reared its head again today, Senator Edward Kaufman said in a statement.The battle of the algorithms -- not understood by nor even remotely transparent to the Securities and Exchange Commission -- simply must be carefully reviewed and placed within a meaningful regulatory framework soon.Kaufman and Senator Mark Warner -- both Democrats -- said Congress needs to investigate the plunge, which at its deepest point wiped nearly $1 trillion off equity values.

And a House panel has slated a hearing on the causes for the market swoon for next Tuesday, with its chairman, Rep. Paul Kanjorski, urging the SEC to investigate as well.The scary afternoon in markets came at a bad time for Wall Street, already reeling from accusations that it is a rigged casino -- a criticism stoked by recent civil fraud allegations against Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS.N).The industry has been trying to stave off the Obama administration's calls for tough financial regulation, and the sell-off came as the Senate turned back a Republican effort to weaken a plan to set up a financial consumer watchdog.

SOME TRADES TO BE Canceled

Lending credence to the sense that the sell-off was exacerbated by technical errors, the Nasdaq stock exchange and NYSE-Arca said they would cancel certain trades that happened during the period in question.But only trades in stocks that moved 60 percent up or down were covered by the cancellations, leaving some investors with potentially major losses on stocks such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O) and Procter & Gamble Co, which suffered lesser, but still significant, declines.The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Commodity Futures Trading Commission said they were reviewing the unusual activity and working with the exchanges to protect investors.

Citigroup Inc (C.N) said it was investigating a rumor that one of its traders entered the trade, a spokesman for the bank said on Thursday. Citigroup, the third-largest U.S. bank, said it has no evidence that an erroneous trade has been made.
Several market participants cited speculation that a trader at Citigroup had erroneously placed an order for at least $16 billion in E-Mini contracts -- stock market index futures contracts that trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange's Globex trading platform.But a source familiar with the situation said Citigroup had traded a total of just $9 billion of the E-Mini contracts, adding that that amounted to less than 3 percent of the $319 billion traded on the E-Mini on Thursday.CME said the bank's trades in CME index futures appeared normal.

SCREWED UP

Earlier, sources told Reuters that the plunge in the Dow Jones Industrial average may have been caused by an erroneous trade entered by a person at a big Wall Street bank. During the sell-off, Procter & Gamble shares plummeted nearly 37 percent to $39.37 at 2:47 p.m. ET (1847 GMT), prompting the company to investigate whether any erroneous trades had occurred. The shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, but the significantly lower share price was recorded on a different electronic trading venue. We don't know what caused it, said Procter & Gamble spokeswoman Jennifer Chelune.We know that that was an electronic trade ... and we're looking into it with Nasdaq and the other major electronic exchanges.A different P&G spokesman had said earlier the company contacted the Securities and Exchange Commission, but Chelune said that he spoke in error. One NYSE employee leaving the Big Board's headquarters in lower Manhattan said the P&G share plunge lay at the center of whatever happened. I'll give you a tip, the employee said, speaking on condition of anonymity.P&G. Check out the low sale of the day. Something screwed up with the system. It traded down $30 at one point.A vicious market sell-off like Thursday's can be exacerbated when quickly sliding stock prices turn stop loss orders into market orders, meaning shares get sold at any price available.

WIDE SWINGS

NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) said it was a safer place to trade than its electronic rivals -- who have been taking market share from it in recent years -- because it deliberately slowed down market making when it realized there was something extraordinary happening. Triggered by unusual volatility in some stocks, NYSE brought in a mini circuit-breaker -- a liquidity refreshment point, or LRP -- to slow trading, which then jumped to other, fully electronic exchanges. It validates the decision to offer a hybrid market here where there's a human component married with the electronic, Louis Pastina, executive vice president of NYSE Operations told Reuters in an interview. The NYSE's rivals advertise lower prices or faster transaction speeds. The market plunge and especially wide swings in some individual stocks reignited some wider criticism of high-frequency trading, a strategy using lightning-fast computer programs to track market trends. We did not know what a stock was worth today, and that is a serious problem, said Joe Saluzzi of Themis Trading in New Jersey, a frequent critic of computer-driven high frequency trading.

Investors had already been on edge throughout the trading day after the European Central Bank did not discuss the outright purchase of European sovereign debt as some hoped they would to calm markets. While the exchanges' move to cancel some of the most suspect trades may mollify some, there remained more questions than answers about the market's wild afternoon. The trouble is the exchanges aren't saying what caused the erroneous trade, said James Angel, a professor at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business who specializes in market structure. What they are saying is that it's not my fault, it was somebody else's fault.(Additional reporting by Dan Wilchins, Roberta Rampton, Ann Saphir, Deepa Seetharaman, Phil Wahba and Maria Aspan; Writing by Christian Plumb; Editing by Gary Hill)

Asian stocks sharply down in opening trade
MAY 6,2010

TOKYO – Asian stock markets plunged in early trade Friday following massive losses on Wall Street amid fears over the Greek debt crisis.Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 400.06 points, or 3.7 percent, to close the morning session at 10,295.63.Investors are worried that the Greek debt problem could spread to other European countries, like Spain and Portugal, said Masatoshi Sato, market analyst at Mizuho Investors Securities Co. Ltd. They are not so sure that the European Union alone can contain the spreading financial crisis, he said.With the Greek crisis hammering global financial markets, the Bank of Japan said Friday it will offer two trillion yen ($22 billion) in short-term loans to commercial banks to boost liquidity.We would like to ensure stability in financial markets by providing ample funds to banks, Bank of Japan official Yuichi Adachi said.South Korea's Kospi dropped 2.9 percent to 1,636.51, while Australia's benchmark lost 2.1 percent Friday.

China's benchmark Shanghai index tumbled 2.4 percent in early trade, with shares in Taiwan, Singapore and New Zealand all falling sharply.Investors dumped shares across the board in Asia after the Dow Jones industrials plunged 1,000 points at one point Thursday — the biggest drop ever during a trading day — on fears that Greece's debt problems could halt the global economic recovery.Apart from Greece's debt crisis, a simple typographical error may also have contributed to the massive U.S. selloff, and the Securities and Exchange Commission said it was reviewing what happened. The Dow later recovered some of its earlier losses, closing at 10,520.32, down 3.2 percent.The root cause for the massive selloff worldwide is fears that Greece's debt crisis could spread to other euro-zone economies, said Kazuhiro Takahashi, equity strategist at Daiwa SMBC Securities Co. Ltd.In currencies, the dollar was quoted at 91.57 yen in Tokyo on Friday, up from 90.53 yen in New York late Thursday. The dollar plunged to 87.95 yen in New York Thursday at one point.

New clashes in Greece after austerity bill passed By ELENA BECATOROS, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 6, 6:01 pm ET

ATHENS, Greece – Greek lawmakers approved drastic austerity cuts Thursday needed to secure international rescue loans worth euro110 billion ($140 billion) and clashes briefly erupted in the streets outside parliament, forcing police to use tear gas.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrials plunged 1,000 points in less than half an hour on fears that Greece's debt problems could halt the global economic recovery. The Dow managed to recover two-thirds of its losses and close down 347 at 10,520.
There were reports that the sudden drop was caused by a trader who mistyped an order to sell a large block of stock. The drop in that stock's price was enough to trigger sell orders across the market.Still, the Dow was already down more than 200 points as traders watched protests in the streets of Athens on TV.The new clashes came a day after violent protests left three people dead after a bank was firebombed in Athens.Greek lawmakers voted 172-121 to approve the austerity measures — worth about euro30 billion ($38.18 billion) through 2012 — that will slash pensions and civil servants' pay and further hike consumer taxes.The rescue loans are aimed at containing the debt crisis and keeping Greece's troubles from spreading to other countries with vulnerable state finances such as Portugal and Spain. The money will come from the International Monetary Fund and the 15 other governments whose countries use the euro.

Fears of Greek default have undermined the euro, and while the current package should keep Greece from immediate bankruptcy, its long-term prospects are unclear. The country's growth prospects are weak, and the population's willingness to accept cutbacks may wane, leading some economists to predict an eventual debt restructuring somewhere down the road.Opposition parties lambasted the government for imposing measures that are too harsh for the population to bear.The dose of the medicine you are administering is in danger of killing the patient, conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras said.Clashes in Athens broke out at the end of a main protest that drew tens of thousands of people as police pushed back a few thousand demonstrators outside parliament.The violence was quickly contained with riot police firing tear gas at the protesters, who had earlier pelted them with stones, oranges and bottles. Several small fires burned in surrounding streets. No injuries or arrests were reported.Demonstrators banging drums and shouting anti-government slogans through bullhorns, unfurled a giant black banner outside parliament earlier Thursday. More than 30,000 demonstrators filled downtown streets, chanting They declared war. Now fight back.Prime Minister George Papandreou expelled three Socialist deputies who dissented in the vote, reducing the party's number of seats to 157 in the 300-member parliament.We have done what was necessary, not what was easy,Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said after the vote. Without these measures, we'd be thrown into the deepest recession this country has ever known.

Samaras also expelled a dissenting lawmaker, former Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyannis, reducing his share of parliamentary seats to 90.The bulk of Thursday's protest — organized by the Greek Communist Party — quickly dispersed, leaving about 5,000 demonstrators outside parliament before police pushed them back.Protester Thodoris Mougiakos said he was angry the IMF would control Greek finances. It's blackmail, the 32-year-old engineer said. There is money, but they spend it on things like armaments and businesses. The church has money too. If we had been drawing money from all these sources, we wouldn't be in this situation now,But the protest remained peaceful, in contrast with Wednesday's rioting that left three people dead, 59 injured and 25 people arrested. Police said 50 stores, banks and offices were damaged and seven vehicles damaged or burned. Papaconstantinou said Greece would default on debt payments this month unless it received the bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund and 15 euro-zone countries that had remained divided for months on how to aid Athens. Today things are simple. Either we vote and implement the deal, or we condemn Greece to bankruptcy, Papandreou told parliament before the vote. Some people want that, and are speculating (on it), and hope that it will happen,he said, referring to speculative attacks that have been blamed for raising Greece's borrowing costs to unsustainable levels.We, I, will not allow that. We will not allow speculation against our country, and bankruptcy to happen.European governments are now scrambling to get parliamentary approval for the Greek loans. European leaders will meet on the issue in Brussels on Friday.
Associated Press writers Nicholas Paphitis and Derek Gatopoulos contributed to this report.

Markets fear social explosion in Greece as 3 killed in riots LEIGH PHILLIPS
05.05.2010 @ 18:09 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Three people died in a fire-bomb attack on a bank in Athens on Wednesday (5 April) while protesters against an EU-IMF loan package attempted to storm the country's parliament. The violence, analysts are concluding, is very bad news for market confidence, with monitors becoming increasingly convinced that the govenment will not be able to push through its austerity measures. Three employees of the Marfin Popular Bank suffocated at its building in Stadiou Street in the Greek capital, according to a statement issued by the city's fire brigade and comments from police. The ambulance service has yet to confirm the deaths.The incident occurred as youths hurled molotov cocktails at shops and other businesses in the city centre. As the protesters battled police, marchers tried to storm the parliament where MPs are due to hold an emergency debate on the EU-IMF package. Riot police fired teargas and stun grenades at demonstrators.

Even pensioners threw rocks at the parliament building.Some eight protestors were beaten by police near the parliament and taken to hospital, according to the Athens municipal workers' union. Two are reportedly in serious condition.The unrest comes amidst a 48-hour general strike mounted to try and stop an EU-and-IMF-drafted packet of financial austerity measures designed to make Greece solvent over the next three years. According to organisers, some 350,000 people took to the streets across the country. Rioting has also spread to Thessaloniki.Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, expressed sympathy for the three casualties. When it comes to Greece, our first thoughts today are with the human victims in Athens, he told reporters after an EU-Canada summit in Brussels. He also indicated nevertheless that the austerity package should go ahead. This effort is considerable, but it it is not without precedent and will restore competitivity and growth,the EU leader said.

Costas Isychos, the vice-president of the Athens municipal workers' union, blamed the bank deaths on anarchists.At the parliament, the protesters were very angry. It was very stormy, but these were pensioners, women, young people, he told EUobserver. Today's demonstration was actually mostly peaceful, and possibly the biggest in the history of modern Greece. We thoroughly condemn whoever was responsible for the fire-bomb attack.Everyone nearby was completely shocked by the violence. There are anarchist groups who adopt violence as the only means of protest, but there are provocations between the police and these groups.It is always cat and mouse, mouse and cat, between the anarchists and the police, and peaceful demonstrators get caught in the middle, attacked by police.The country has screeched to a halt over the past 48 hours, with flights grounded, ferries blocked and public transport at a standstill. On Tuesday night, municipal employee unions also occupied the town halls of Agios Dimitrios and Vyrona, two of the capital's suburbs. The night before, teachers crashed the ERT public television station midway through a live broadcast of the evening news and forced the channel to broadcast their demands. Some 50 teachers fought with the police before leaving. The work stoppage ends at midnight on Wednesday, but further trade union marches are planned for Thursday and another 48-hour strike is likely next week. Some trade union confederations, particularly in the public sector, are contemplating an indefinite general strike, while pensioners are considering daily street demonstrations.The EU and IMF are turning the clock back a century in terms of the social conquests we have won, said Mr Isychos. Greece is a neo-liberal experiment. It must stop in Greece. If it does not, it will roll across all of Europe as the people pay for the profits of the banks and big business.

Market worries

Carsten Brzenski, a senior economist with ING bank in Brussels, said that the social explosion is the very reaction to the EU-IMF deal that markets fear the most. This is definitely not a show of support for the government, he told this website.The markets will view this as a sign that the government will not be able to push through its programme.It only contributes to worries that have been there since Sunday. The programme is very ambitious but it absolutely depends on whether the Greek people will accept it, he continued.If the situation continues as it has done in the last few days, markets will certainly begin to have doubts. This is not a good scenario for Greece at all.The plan stands or falls on two things: government stamina and public support. This is very, very bad news.

HERES ONE CITY THATS RAISING TAXES TO PAY FOR ALL THOSE IMF BALOUTS TO COME WORLDWIDE THAT AMERICA HAS TO PAY FOR 17% OF THE COSTS.

Kan. Senate approves bill raising taxes By John Hanna, Associated Press Writer – MAY 6,10

TOPEKA, Kan. – A bill increasing Kansas' sales tax cleared the state Senate late Thursday night, a victory for Democrats and moderate Republicans who hope to avoid cuts in social services and aid to public schools.Senators' 23-17 vote advances the measure to the House, where a similar bipartisan coalition is hoping for a quick up-or-down vote to send it to Democratic Gov. Mark Parkinson. If they pull it off, it will be over the objections of conservative Republicans, including the House's GOP leaders.These leaders stood up, and protected those things which make our state great: quality schools, safe communities and a society that does not turn its back on those most in need, Parkinson said in a statement after the vote. There is still work to be done and challenges ahead, but we are moving forward, protecting what we have and building for the future.The tax bill would provide $314 million for state government programs during the next fiscal year. It would raise the 5.3 percent sales tax to 6.3 percent on July 1, when the new budget year begins — boosting the cost of groceries, clothing and many other consumer goods.

The tax bill would be necessary to balance a proposed $13.6 billion budget drafted by the same bipartisan group of senators. Their spending plan protects education funding and aid to public schools.We have to maintain the safety net, said Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley, a Topeka Democrat.The House was considering its own, bipartisan $13.6 billion budget proposal, and Democrats and moderate Republicans there believed it would be quicker and easier to push the Senate's tax plan to passage than draft one of their own.Parkinson has told the Republican-controlled Legislature he won't accept further cuts to education funding or reductions in social services. But conservatives and many business owners and groups believe raising taxes will prolong the recession in Kansas.Sen. Susan Wagle, a conservative Wichita Republican, said raising the sales tax will drive Kansas residents to buy groceries and other items in neighboring states.Forget about buying groceries in Kansas, she said.We do not have to do this to the people of Kansas. It's just the wrong thing to do.The House's conservative GOP leaders backed a plan that would have cut aid to schools by $86 million, though they said local districts could make up such a loss by tapping reserve funds or raising local property taxes. But that plan didn't have enough support in the House, and proposals to cut education funding failed in the Senate.

Legislators have considered a variety of tax proposals as they've looked for ways to sustain state spending into the next budget year. But over time, they've narrowed their options to raising the sales tax.That trend continued during the Senate's debate Thursday. Businesses, mostly manufacturing firms, had been targeted for a $17 million tax hike, but the vote was 33-5 to remove that increase from the bill.Later, the vote was 32-3 against a proposal from Sen. Roger Reitz, a Manhattan Republican, to increase the state's cigarette tax by $1 a pack, to $1.79 and its 10 percent tax on other tobacco products to 70 percent.Senators did amend the bill to expand an income tax credit for working class families. Many of them said it would help offset the sales tax hike for those families.The full sales tax increase would remain in effect through June 2013. Afterward, it would drop to 5.7 percent, with some of the revenues from the tax dedicated to highway projects.Meanwhile, the House made little progress toward passing a budget for the next fiscal year, despite three hours of debate on its bipartisan spending plan. House leaders suspended debate Thursday evening so Rep. Jene Vickrey, a Louisburg Republican, could attend his mother's funeral.Senate tax plan is Senate Sub for HB 2360. On the Net:
Kansas Legislature: http://www.kslegislature.org

POISONED WATERS

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

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

AP: Giant box lowered in Gulf to battle oil spill By HARRY R. WEBER and TAMARA LUSH, Associated Press Writers - MAY 6,10

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO – Workers late Thursday started lowering a giant concrete-and-steel box over the blown-out oil well at the bottom of the sea in a risky and untested bid to capture most of the gushing crude and avert a wider environmental disaster.A crane lifted the box from the boat named The Joe Griffin and crews from a second boat started the box on its slow journey a mile underwater. It would take hours to reach the seafloor.We haven't done this before. It's very complex and we can't guarantee it, BP spokesman David Nicholas warned earlier.The 100-ton containment vessel is designed to collect as much as 85 percent of the oil spewing into the Gulf and funnel it up to a tanker. It could take several hours to lower it into place by crane, after which a steel pipe will be installed between the top of the box and the tanker. The whole structure could be operating by Sunday.The mission took on added urgency as oil started washing up on delicate barrier islands.But the lowering of the box was delayed because of dangerous fumes rising from the oily water in the windless night, the captain of the supply boat hauling the box told The Associated Press. A spark caused by the scrape of metal on metal could cause a fire, Capt. Demi Shaffer said.

Deckhands wore respirators while workers on surrounding vessels took air-quality readings. Crews later were able to start the work. Black oil coated the white shell of the box as it was being lowered.The technology has been used a few times in shallow waters, but never at such extreme depths — 5,000 feet down, where the water pressure is enough to crush a submarine.The box — which looks a lot like a peaked, 40-foot-high outhouse, especially on the inside, with its rough timber framing — must be accurately positioned over the well, or it could damage the leaking pipe and make the problem worse.BP spokesman Doug Suttles said he is not concerned about that happening. Underwater robots have been clearing pieces of pipe and other debris near where the box will be placed to avoid complications.We do not believe it could make things worse, he said.Other risks include ice clogs in the pipes — a problem that crews will try to prevent by continuously pumping in warm water and methanol — and the danger of explosion when separating the mix of oil, gas and water that is brought to the surface.I'm worried about every part, as you can imagine, said David Clarkson, BP vice president of engineering projects.If the box works, a second one now being built may be used to deal with a second, smaller leak from the sea floor.

Hopefully, it will work better than they expect, The boat's first mate, Douglas Peake, told AP, the only news organization on board the vessel.The well blew open on April 20 when the Deepwater Horizon drilling platform exploded 50 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico, killing 11 workers. It has been spewing an estimated 200,000 gallons a day in the nation's biggest oil spill since the Exxon Valdez disaster in Alaska in 1989.Interior Secretary Ken Salazar on Thursday halted all new offshore drilling permits nationwide until at least the end of the month while the government investigates the Gulf spill.Oil slicks stretched for miles off the Louisiana coast, where desperate efforts were under way to skim, corral and set the petroleum ablaze. People in Mississippi, Alabama and Florida watched in despair. The dropping of the box is just one of many strategies being pursued to stave off a widespread environmental disaster. BP is drilling sideways into the blown-out well in hopes of plugging it from the bottom. Also, oil company engineers are examining whether the leak could be shut off by sealing it from the top instead. The technique, called a top kill, would use a tube to shoot mud and concrete directly into the well's blowout preventer, BP spokesman Bill Salvin said. The process would take two to three weeks, compared with the two to three months needed to drill a relief well.

On Thursday, oil reached several barrier islands off the Louisiana coast, many of them fragile animal habitats. Several birds were spotted diving into the oily, pinkish-brown water, and dead jellyfish washed up on the uninhabited islands. It's all over the place. We hope to get it cleaned up before it moves up the west side of the river,said Dustin Chauvin, a 20-year-old shrimp boat captain from Terrebonne Parish, La.That's our whole fishing ground. That's our livelihood.During a visit to Biloxi, Miss., Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said of the containment vessel: I hope it works. But we are still proceeding as if it won't. If it does, of course, that will be a major positive development.We are facing an evolving situation, she warned.The possibility remains that the BP oil spill could turn into an unprecedented environmental disaster. The possibility remains that it will be somewhat less.Meanwhile, a six-member board composed of representatives of the Coast Guard and the federal Minerals Management Service will begin investigating the accident next week. And a federal judicial panel in Washington has been asked to consolidate at least 65 potential class-action lawsuits claiming economic damage from the spill. Commercial fishermen, business and resort owners, charter boat captains, even would-be vacationers have sued from Texas to Florida, seeking damages that could reach into the billions. It's just going to kill us. It's going to destroy us, said Dodie Vegas, who owns a motel and cabins in Grand Isle, La., and has seen 10 guests cancel. Associated Press writers Ray Henry, Cain Burdeau, Holbrook Mohr and Vicki Smith in Louisiana, Brian Skoloff in Mississippi and Curt Anderson in Miami contributed to this story.

Crew couldn't stop oil disaster; can they fix it? By HARRY R. WEBER and GERALD HERBERT, Associated Press Writers - MAY 6,10

ON THE GULF OF MEXICO – The burly, bearded man in overalls settled into the command chair of the Joe Griffin and admired the precious cargo firmly attached to the stern of the supply boat: a four-story box jutting from the deck that will be lowered into the Gulf of Mexico to contain an out-of-control oil gusher.Sean Slim Weichel was on the same boat 16 days ago when he and his mates responded to the oil rig explosion, dousing the flames of the Deepwater Horizon in what proved to be a futile effort to keep it from sinking.Their latest assignment: Return to the scene of the disaster with a giant concrete-and-metal box designed to cover the biggest leak and funnel the oil to a tanker on the surface.We are carrying a tool that could possibly end a lot of this ordeal, said Weichel, a bespectacled 35-year-old deckhand from Rocklin, Calif.It is exhilarating to know we might be able to do some more good than we could before.The Associated Press obtained exclusive access to the transport ship and the tricky oil containment endeavor, set to begin Thursday evening. Crews planned to remove the containment box from the ship with a crane and lower the contraption to the muddy seabed, a mile below the surface. They will then lay a pipe that will funnel the oil to the surface.Crew members strapped the containment device to the ship with heavy-duty chains and rumbled out to sea in their 280-foot vessel. As they got closer to the spill site, the crackling of radio transmissions and the pungent odor of oil filled the night air. Once there, the ship was surrounded by globs of oil as far as the eye could see.

With little breeze and fumes rising from the sea, fears arose that a spark could ignite a new fire and complicate the lowering of the box. Deckhands waited for hours, with respirators on, while air-quality readings were taken.The crew was eager to accomplish something positive just two weeks after they watched in horror as the inferno raged and the rig sank to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.Earlier, as they waited to lower to containment box, they watched the news in the ship's entertainment room. They ate chicken wings and pecan pie. They studied a bank of flat-screen monitors filled with navigational information. The captain, Demi Shaffer, drank another cup of coffee and looked out at the containment box through a pair of black sunglasses, his long brown hair touching his shoulders.Another ship arrived to grab the device with a giant crane and put it in the water.Men in red jumpsuits with white hard hats and life vests were lowered to the deck of the Joe Griffin from the other ship, a hulking semi-submersible drilling vessel called the Helix Q4000. They removed some sandbags from the Joe Griffin that will be used in the oil containment effort.All the while, the big box loomed in the background, ready to be submerged in the Gulf.The sides of the concrete-and-steel structure are marked with N,S,E and W to help ensure it is set down correctly. Several notches designate depth, almost like a supersized yard stick.The mission was not assured of success. This method of containing the oil has been used before, but never in such deep water.Douglas Peake, first mate of the Joe Griffin, was hoping this trip to the source of the spill would wash away the disappointment from the last one, when the crew watched the Deepwater Horizon sink into the gulf.It sounds kind of corny, he said,but it was like we just lost a fight or something.

EARTH DESTROYED WITH THE EARTH(BECAUSE OF SIN AND GODLESS PEOPLE)

GENESIS 6:11-13
11 The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.(WORLD TERRORISM,MURDERS)(HAMAS IN HEBREW IS VIOLENCE)
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)(HAMAS) through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.

LUKE 21:25-26
25 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.

Massive ash cloud closing western Irish airports By SHAWN POGATCHNIK, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 6, 7:04 pm ET

DUBLIN – Iceland's volcano has produced a 1,000-mile-wide (1,600 kilometer-wide) ash cloud off the west coast of Ireland that will force western Irish airports to shut down again Friday, the Irish Aviation Authority announced.The authority said shifting winds, currently coming from the north, had bundled recent days' erupted ash into a massive cloud that is growing both in width and height by the hour.

Eurocontrol, which determines the air routes that airliners can use in and around Europe, says the ash accumulation is posing a new navigational obstacle — because the cloud is gradually climbing to 35,000 feet (10,500 meters) and into the typical cruising altitude of trans-Atlantic aircraft. Until recent days, the ash had remained below 20,000 feet (6,000 meters).The Irish Aviation Authority said the engine-wrecking ash would skirt Ireland's western shores Friday, forcing a half-dozen airports to ground flights for much of the day. However, the airports in Dublin, Cork in the southwest and Waterford in the southeast will remain open.The restrictions are required as the increased level of recent volcanic activity has created a massive ash cloud stretching 1,000 miles long and 700 miles wide, the authority said in a statement.The latest alert came only hours after British and Irish authorities declared the all-clear after much of the same ash was blown southwest from Scotland through Ireland on Tuesday and Wednesday, closing airports all along the way. Those were the first European air closures since the initial April 14-20 crisis, when ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul (pronounced ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) volcano forced authorities across Europe to ground 100,000 flights and 10 million passengers.Britain's Meteorological Office said that, given the direction of the winds,the risk of the ash cloud affecting U.K. airspace in the next couple of days remains low.

Eurocontrol, the continent's air traffic management agency in Brussels, also announced Thursday it plans to reroute flights between Europe and North America to avoid flying over the ash cloud off Ireland's west coast.Until Eyjafjallajokul stops its emissions, the key to the future course of Europe's ash crisis will be the prevailing Atlantic winds.When they blow to the northeast toward the unpopulated Arctic — the typical pattern in springtime — the danger to aircraft is minimized. But when they shift southward, as is happening this week and in mid-April, airlines' ability to land and depart safely is jeopardized.The Irish Aviation Authority said trans-Atlantic aircraft using Irish air space were already giving the ash cloud a wide berth by shifting their flight paths south.The volcano, about 900 miles (1,500 kilometers) northwest of Ireland, has shown no signs of stopping since it began belching ash April 13. The glacier-capped volcano last erupted sporadically from 1821to 1823.In Iceland, civil protection official Agust Gunnar Gylfason said the volcano's eruption intensified Wednesday and it continued to emit that higher volume of ash Thursday. He said the ash plume's maximum altitude was oscillating between 20,000 and 30,000 feet.On the Net:Irish Aviation Authority map of ash cloud, http://tinyurl.com/39wauvt

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

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

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

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

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

WORLD MARKET RESULTS
http://money.cnn.com/data/world_markets/
CNBC VIDEOS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15839263/site/14081545/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS FRI MAY 07,2010

09:30 AM -1.25
10:00 AM -36.20
10:30 AM -118.27
11:00 AM -155.45
11:30 AM -93.18
12:00 PM -56.98
12:30 PM -51.69
01:00 PM -90.56
01:30 PM -110.94
02:00 PM -87.66
02:30 PM -143.59
03:00 PM -147.55
03:30 PM -157.34
04:00 PM -139.89 10,380.43

S&P 500 1110.88 -17.27

NASDAQ 2265.64 -54.00

GOLD 1,210.90 +13.40

OIL 75.22 -1.89

TSE 300 11,692.40 -150.00

CDNX 1549.35 -13.33

S&P/TSX/60 688.28 -7.86

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -60 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -279 points at low today.
Dow +60 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,201.00.OIL opens at $76.25 today.

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -279 points at low today so far.
Dow +60 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -279 points at low today.
Dow +60 points at high today.

VIX HITS 1 YR HIGH.
2.2 BILLION SHARES + TRADED TODAY.
CRUDE DROPS 13% THIS WEEK,BIGGEST WEEKLY DROP SINCE DEC 2008.
MAJOR INDEXES FALL FOR 4TH DAY IN A ROW.
THIS WEEK STATS
DOW DOWN 5.7%,BIGGEST WEEKLY DROP SINCE MARCH 2009
S&P DOWN 6.4% THIS WEEK,BIGGEST WEEKLY DROP SINCE MARCH 2009.
NASDAQ DOWN 8% THIS WEEK,BIGGEST WEEKLY DROP SINCE NOVEMBER 2008.
DOW TRANSPORTS DOWN 7.9% THIS WEEK.
RUSSELL 2000 DOWN 8.6% THIS WEEK.

Sarkozy and Merkel keen to show united front ahead of summit
ANDREW WILLIS 06.05.2010 @ 17:44 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - In a time-honoured EU tradition, the leaders of France and Germany have sought to present a united front ahead of a euro area leaders' meeting this Friday (7 May), despite major differences in opinion on how to deal with the Greek crisis. In a letter addressed to the presidents of the European Commission and European Council, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel outlined a list of initiatives they deem necessary to prevent a future repeat of the current turmoil currently buffeting the eurozone.For economic and monetary union to remain a success story, dealing with this crisis alone will not suffice. We need to go further in drawing all the lessons and in taking all necessary measures to avoid a repetition of a crisis of this kind,they say in the letter.This implies that we re-inforce the co-ordination of our economic policies and the internal surveillance mechanism of the euro area so that each country shares responsibility for the stability of the euro.Observers say the initiative belies recent tensions between the two sides, however.While the French government expressed its willingness to come to Greece's rescue early in the day, Ms Merkel appeared to prefer a slower approach, keeping an eye on crucial regional elections taking place this Sunday, and remaining wary of German public opposition to the Greek bail-out.It's very obvious that the two leaders would now like to take the leadership. Many commentators in recent weeks have pointed to a lack of leadership regarding the euro area crisis, Zsolt Darvas, a researcher with the Brussels-based Bruegel think-tank, told this website. Comments made by Ms Merkel in the German parliament on Wednesday suggest a new divide is opening up between Berlin and Paris over the possibility of a restructuring of Greek debt. France has argued strongly against this, in part due to the exposure of French banks, but also saying it would cause untold market turmoil. But Ms Merkel appears to be softening her stance on the issue, telling national deputies on Wednesday that she would like to develop a structured procedure regarding payment defaults.

Erosion of commission powers?

Many of the ideas contained in the Franco-German letter bear strong similarities to proposals the European Commission is set to publish next Wednesday. At an informal meeting of EU finance ministers in Madrid last month, EU economy commissioner Olli Rehn presented a draft format of the plans for greater economic co-ordination and surveillance, including a toughing up of the euro area's fiscal rules. But the idea that euro area states and the commission should review each others' national budgets before national parliaments was met with a frosty reception. It is quite clear that national budget authority has to remain unrestricted, Germany's deputy finance minister, Joerg Asmussen, said at the time.Now, in the letter, Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel say the commission's proposals will need to be reviewed by a task force headed by European Council President Herman Van Rompuy. At the European Council in March, we decided to establish a task force on the measures needed to strengthen and complement the existing framework, exploring all options to re-inforce the legal framework. For this work to succeed, all contributions, including by the commission and member states, need to be assessed jointly by the task force,reads the letter.The move appears to be an attempt to restrict the commission's initiative next week. Certainly this implies that there is a risk to commission power,says Mr Darvas.You cannot interpret it differently.

EU has no objections to Gazprom-Naftogaz takeover
ANDREW RETTMAN 06.05.2010 @ 17:42 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has no objections to Russia's proposed takeover of Ukraine's national gas company, despite warnings that it would harm EU interests. The decision has to come between Kiev and Moscow and not in Brussels,EU energy commissioner Gunther Oettinger told journalists in Brussels on Thursday (6 April) after meeting Ukrainian energy minister Yuriy Boyko.We should wait and see. A deal has conditions, paragraphs, articles. It has intentions. And so we have, as in every development, to consider afterwards whether this new construction would be in line with our regulations or not ... Today there is no reason for any activity of the European Commission.Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin proposed the move in a surprise statement last Friday.Given the vast difference in size between Russia's giant state-owned firm Gazprom and Ukraine's Naftogaz, a merger between the two companies would amount to Russia gobbling up Ukraine's transit pipeline network, which is responsible for supplying some 20 percent of EU gas consumption.The move has the potential to cause political instability inside Ukraine. Russia-wary opposition parties and many people in the western half of the country see Naftogaz as a symbol of national sovereignty. A deal last month to let the Russian navy stay in Crimea led to fist-fights in parliament and talk of the country splitting in two.In practical terms, the takeover would take away Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's ability to exert influence at home by rewarding political allies with lucrative Naftogaz posts.It would also make it easier for the Kremlin to switch off gas deliveries to Ukrainian consumers or to people in former Communist EU states if their governments went against Russian interests.

It would be quite frightening for the EU, Susan Nies, a Brussels-based expert for the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI), told EUobserver. Gazprom is not just a big player, like General Motors. It's the principal political weapon of the Russian state.The EU has to become strongly engaged in this process. It should have a clear strategy. But this has come at a difficult time. Fuele is sort of in charge [of EU-Ukraine relations]. But he's a newcomer. You have Fuele, Ashton and Oettinger hanging around. It's a mess, she added, referring to the EU's new set-up, under which enlargement commissioner Stefan Fuele and EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton share the Ukraine portfolio with Mr Oettinger.Bohdan Sokolovsky, an energy and foreign policy aide to former president Viktor Yushchenko, said: I don't understand why the commission is saying this is an issue for Ukraine and Russia. This is a big mistake.If Gazprom controls the Ukrainian gas sector, the next step will be to extend control in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary. This merger is an instrument for Gazprom to extend its powers inside the EU.At a technical level, the takeover would make it harder for the EU to make good on its plan, rolled out in March 2009, to transform Naftogaz into a normal company by EU standards, with regular financial audits, reducing the risk of supply disruption caused by murky deals between Russian and Ukrainian officials and oligarchs.Naftogaz needs financial aid. So the EU says: Give us transparency and we'll give you aid. You can't do that if you are dealing with Gazprom,Tom Mayne, an analyst at UK-based anti-corruption NGO Global Witness, said. For his part, Mr Boyko sounded lukewarm on the Putin proposal, saying in Brussels on Thursday that Kiev would consider national interests and EU interests before going ahead. He also said he is pushing for parliament to ratify a new pro-EU gas law on market liberalisation in the next weeks.But if Ukraine slides further toward the risk of a Greek-type national bankruptcy or if Naftogaz risks going bust, Mr Yanukovych may have no choice, experts pointed out. Ukraine may be open to this if it meant improving its economic situation, the IFRI's Ms Nies said.

SURE BIDEN ASSURES THE EU CIVIL LIBERTY AND PRIVACY RIGHTS.BUT HIM AND BARRY SOETORO DENY AMERICANS OF THEIRS.

Biden sweet-talks MEPs on anti-terrorism deal
VALENTINA POP 06.05.2010 @ 18:29 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – In a highly-anticipated speech to the European Parliament on Thursday (6 May), US vice-president Joe Biden went to great lengths to reassure MEPs of Washington's commitment to civil liberties and privacy rights, wooing their support for a new anti-terrorist bank data deal after they rejected an earlier one in February.Recognising the "new powers granted to this parliament by the Lisbon Treaty, Mr Biden was the first top US official in 25 years to formally address the plenary session of the EU legislature since then-president Ronald Reagan spoke to MEPs in 1985.He spared no compliments on the history of EU institutions, with the bloc set to mark on Sunday the 60th anniversary of the Schuman declaration, the key document which laid the foundation of what was later to become the European Union.

Brussels has a legitimate claim to the title of capital of the free world, normally a title reserved for Washington, Mr Biden said. It is a great city which boasts 1,000 years of history and serves as capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union and the headquarters of Nato.Time and again he reassured MEPs of America's strong desire to have Europe as a strong partner, even if they sometimes disagree.The main source of current friction with the EU legislature is the Terrorist Finance Tracking Programme (TFTP), sometimes called the Swift agreement due to the name of the main company facilitating international bank transactions, which the US authorities screen when looking for terrorist leads.Back in February, the European Parliament struck down an interim agreement allowing US investigators to inspect European data, dealing a blow to Washington's last-minute lobbying efforts. The No-vote was an expression of the new powers acquired by the EU legislature in the field of justice and home affairs, and was also justified by concerns on privacy and civil liberties.

A new agreement is currently being negotiated by the European Commission and the US administration, both hoping a deal could be sealed before summer recess. The parliament will then have to give its consent or to strike it down again.Mr Biden spoke of his official and personal profound commitment to civil liberties and privacy, saying that he had championed the cause for 37 years. But he also stressed the need for governments to respect the physical safety of their citizens and to fight terrorism with every legitimate tool available that is consistent with our values.We believe that the TFTP is essential to our security as well as yours, it has provided critical leads to counter-terrorist investigations on both sides of the Atlantic, disrupting plots and saving lives, he said.But I don't blame you for questioning it. We understand your concerns. As a consequence, we are working together to address them. It's important that we do so as quickly as possible. The longer we are without an agreement on the Terrorist Financing Tracking Programme, the greater the risk of a terrorist attack that could have been prevented.MEPs listening to the speech said the Biden assurances were important as they showed the European Parliament was now on Washington's radar.The main message was that the Obama-Biden administration is listening to allies. You can't speak about partnership if one of the sides dictates to the other, Dutch Liberal MEP Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, the rapporteur for the TFTP agreement, told this website. She and other colleagues dealing with civil liberties and data protection issues returned from a visit to Washington last week and said the Obama administration was now committed to giving the European side a more equal footing in the negotiations.The No-vote was a wake-up call for the Obama administration, they suddenly realised we can block things. They've since shown willingness to co-operate, Ms Plasschaert said.Green MEP Jan Albrecht, also part of the recent Washington delegation, noted that the Biden speech was a good step forward, as it recognised the importance of the EU legislature, but that this still didn't mean the Swift agreement is a done deal.

Issues such as bulk data transfers, the definition of terrorism and the legal basis for the data being transferred to other countries could still trigger a second No-vote if not tackled in the agreement, he warned.

EU to China: Splendid isolation no longer an option
ANDREW WILLIS 06.05.2010 @ 17:42 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht has called on China to respect its global responsibilities, saying splendid isolation is no longer an option.Speaking at a conference in the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels on Thursday (6 May), Mr De Gucht said China must match its newfound economic weight with greater participation in international governance fora such as the World Trade Organisation.With size comes responsibility, said the Belgian politician who has recently returned from a visit to China where he met the country's commerce minister, Chen Deming.European businesses have increasingly expressed their frustration at a perceived slowdown in market-opening reforms in the Asian powerhouse economy, saying Beijing is succumbing to the protectionist calls of domestic producers. Despite the tensions, trade between the two sides has grown over the past decade, with Europe now the primary destination of Chinese exports, while China is the second largest market for European exporters. In 2009, the value of EU goods exported to China amounted to €81.6 billion, while Chinese imports hit €214.7 billion. Europe has pointed to the need to address this imbalance however, with Mr De Gucht returning to the theme of market access.China has greatly benefited from the openness of others,he said.Therefore it is important for the EU to push China to champion openness and reform.

With little of substance to show for last week's visit, analysts suggest Mr De Gucht's hard stance in the presence of Chinese ambassador to the EU Song Zhe underlines a degree of frustration.His tough language suggests he is waiting for a sign from China that didn't come last week, Duncan Freeman, a research fellow with the Brussels Institute of Contemporary China Studies, told this website. Reminding the audience of academics and policymakers that today marks the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between china and the EU, ambassador Song denied China had yet to assume its role on the global stage, and stressed that national sovereignty had to be respected. China is an active faciliator and participator to global governance,he said.Countries have different roles in global governance ... we should fully respect the responsibilities of sovereign states.

Rehn: No other state will need a bail-out
ANDREW WILLIS 05.05.2010 @ 15:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The European Commission has upwardly revised its 2010 growth forecast for the EU, but warned that governments must clean up their public finances in order to prevent ongoing market turmoil from halting the bloc's modest economic recovery. Presenting the commission's Spring Economic Forecast on Wednesday (5 May), economy commissioner Olli Rehn also conceded that the recently agreed €110 billion bail-out package for Greece will only suffice if Athens returns to capital markets for borrowing in 2012. We assume that Greece will gradually be able to return to the financial markets, but in 2012 we will still cover part of Greece's needs,he told journalists in Brussels. Analysts say that a successful return to capital markets in 2012 is not a foregone conclusion however, even if the government manages to implement the tough package of savings measures recently agreed with the IMF, the European Commission and the European Central Bank. Rising debt levels and the possibility of a debt restructuring are two things that could continue to affect market sentiment, keeping bond yields high. Greek debt levels will continue to increase for several years despite the austerity measures, Marcel Thieliant, a research analyst with Credit Suisse told EUobserver. Likewise, debt restructuring is a risk that will remain in place for quite a long time, perhaps as much as a decade.

Mr Rehn categorically denied that other eurozone states might need to call on similar financial support, after Spanish stocks fell sharply on Tuesday amid market rumours Madrid was preparing an aid request. Experts say any bail-out for Spain would be highly problematic, with the county's debt total roughly twice the size of the one held by Greece. Greece is indeed a unique and particular case in the EU, Mr Rehn said.Greece has had particularly precarious debt dynamics and Greece is the only member state that cheated with its statistics for years and years.Portugal is also looking increasingly vulnerable however, with credit rating agency Moody's on Wednesday putting the country's government bond ratings on review for a possible downgrade.The centre-left administration in Athens was forced to call on financial assistance last month after rising borrowing costs on capital markets eventually became unsustainable. Investors have increasingly questioned the Greek government's ability to pay back bond holders, as the country labours under a roughly €300 billion debt pile and a budget deficit that reached 13.6 percent last year. The joint eurozone-IMF loan approved last Sunday is intended to run over three years (2010-2012), and comes on condition that Athens implements a tough package of austerity measures to bring its deficit down.Mr Rehn dismissed doubts over Slovakia's continued support for the deal which will see euro area states contribute a portion of the loan according to their economic size, despite recent tough rhetoric from the country's election-mode prime minister, Robert Fico.I have no doubt that Slovakia will stick to its commitments,said Mr Rehn. Euro area leaders are meeting in Brussels this Friday to assess the level of progress in obtaining parliamentary approval for the Greek loans, a necessary procedure in a number of member states, with all eyes of Friday's prior vote in the German parliament.

Improved forecast

The latest commission analysis forecasts overall EU growth of 1 percent for 2010, up a quarter of a percent on the institution's autumn forecast last year. EU growth for 2011 is now expected to hit 1.7 percent, still modest compared to pre-crisis levels.
An improved global outlook, in particular in the area of trade, is the chief factor behind the upward revision. Stronger-than-expected external demand, particularly from emerging economies ...has boosted EU exports, says the report. The outlook for global trade in 2010 is much more favourable than it was last autumn.Ironically, eurozone financial turmoil emanating from Greece's debt crisis has proven to be a boon for the bloc's exporters due to the falling value of the euro. On Tuesday the single currency slumped to a one-year low against the dollar. Germany's export-driven economy has benefited in particular from the euro's slide, with recent business indicators pointing to rising confidence in Europe's largest economy. Despite some signs of improvement on the employment front, Europe's labour market is expected to contract by a further 1 percent this year, stabilising at around 10 percent before rising again slowly in 2011. Stimulus measures, implemented in the face of last year's global economic downturn, have led to a tripling of EU government deficits on 2008 levels warns the commission report however, while increased levels of public debt will be the longest lasting legacy of the crisis.

Greece heads up the list with a forecast debt pile of 124.9 percent of GDP in 2010, compared to Estonia on 9.6 percent. Estonia is expected to secure commission approval next week to become the seventeenth member of the euro area, with 1 January 2011 the likely entry date.

Delors tables energy community plan, slams EU leaders
VALENTINA POP 05.05.2010 @ 18:03 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – Former European Commission president Jacques Delors on Wednesday (5 April) tabled proposals for a new EU treaty establishing an energy community and criticised the lack of political will in dealing with the eurozone's problems, saying Europe needed architects just as much as firefighters.The 84-year-old French economist presided over the European Commission between 1985 and 1994 and is considered one of the architects of European integration following the end of the Cold War and Germany's re-unification.The report he presented on Wednesday, drafted by a group of lawyers and academics, makes the case for an EU energy community based on a new treaty. It draws its inspiration from the European Coal and Steel Community founded in 1950, which set the ground for what later became the EU.Sixty years on, Mr Delors made the case for a unified energy community, which would also include the leap to green technologies needed to reach the climate change mitigation targets.

The proposal includes concrete measures ranging from an EU energy fund to purchasing groups of countries, so as to give them greater negotiation leverage in relations with suppliers like Russia.Although recognising the difficult circumstances for our economies and finances, in reference to the Greek bail-out and market speculation concerning other troubled euro-countries, Mr Delors emphasised the need for EU architects just as much as firefighters.We need blueprints during this period of time,he said, criticising the lack of co-operation at the EU level.The report sees three ways of achieving this energy community: via a new EU treaty, via common actions or via re-inforced co-operation, pooling together countries who want the same things and gradually attracting more members – similar to the eurozone or the border-free Schengen area.I know there is a certain fatigue of some governments to draw up another treaty, but one should value the power of treaties, which helped a lot in terms of growth of our countries, mutual understanding and peace. A treaty also implies a common set of rules everybody respects. A treaty is an element of EU architecture, Mr Delors argued.He also noted a certain allergy when it comes to reinforced co-operation, but stressed that this was the only solution in a union of 27, where some want to go faster than others.

Mr Delors' propsals were received rather coolly by EU energy commissioner Guenther Oettinger, who said that the Lisbon Treaty actually has a specific article on energy matters, allowing for EU legislation in this field.My duty is to use article 194 of the Lisbon Treaty for legislative proposals. If after analysis, this article is not enough, your proposals will come back on the table, Mr Oettinger said. A former regional politician in Germany, Mr Oettinger also stressed the principle of subsidiarity enshrined in the EU treaty, meaning that rules and regulations have to be drafted as closely to the citizen as possible – by regional or national assemblies and appeal to the EU level only when absolutely needed.

No leadership from Germany

Asked in a later press conference how he saw Germany's reluctance to help out the Greeks, Mr Delors said that weeks of tergiversation, of discussions, even if some may argue there were serious discussions, only incited market speculations and fuelled euro-scepticism.But EU's economic and monetary union has the means to face the events of yesterday, today or tomorrow. It simply lacks the will to and the spirit of co-operation,he added.

Spanish EU presidency faces fresh embarrassment over Latin America summit
LEIGH PHILLIPS 05.05.2010 @ 11:09 CET

Most of the countries of South America, including Argentina and economic powerhouse Brazil, are to boycott the upcoming EU-Latin America summit in Madrid in May to protest the European Union's invitation of the President of Honduras, who won his election on the back of a coup d'etat in June last year.Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa, who currently holds the rotating presidency of the region's counterpart to the EU, the Union of South American Nations, or Unasur, made the announcement on Tuesday (4 May).There is an unease shared by the majority, which will prevent many countries from Unasur attending this summit, the left-wing leader said. Why, because we feel that we know and we act as if nothing had happened in Honduras.Mr Correa spoke for all the countries of the continent apart from the right-wing governments of Colombia and Peru, the only two states in the region to recognise the election of Honduras' Porfirio Lobo.Mr Lobo, a conservative, came to power following an election held by the coup plotters in which widespread human rights abuses against opponents of the coup regime were reported. For decades, many Latin American governments were ruled by right-wing dictatorships backed by the United States. After democracy returned in the 1980s and 1990s, administrations had hoped that they had put the era of Western-supported military regimes behind them and are furious at Washington and Brussels for recognising the new Honduran administration.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made it known [to his counterparts] that if Spain confirmed the invitation of Lobo, he would not attend, a Brazilian government minister told reporters.We do not want to boycott the summit; We want Europe to think twice, said Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.If Lobo is not invited, I'm sure most will come.The move is a fresh embarrassment for Spain, currently holding the EU's six-month rotating presidency. US President Barack Obama announced in February that he would not be attending an EU-US summit in Madrid in May. It is understood that the White House feared the event would produce little more than a photo opportunity for the Spanish Prime Minister.The European Union initially condemned the Honduran coup and refused to send election observers during the vote. However, Brussels subsequently said it was broadly pleased with the election. Spain's foreign minister, Miguel Moratinos, at the time said: Spain will not recognize these elections, but not ignore them ... We are looking for a dialogue of national reconciliation in which there are new actors and a dialogue with [former] President Zelaya. The EU position is a united position.

Human rights groups slammed the process. Amnesty International reported a series of unlawful detentions, arrests and raids of opposition groups on the eve and day of the presidential elections, while domestic human rights defenders said that in the lead up to the vote, the government carried out intimidation, torture, illegal detentions and in some cases assassinations against people opposed to the coup regime.Unasur at the time asked the EU not to recognise Mr Lobo's government.But in December last year, Spain pushed ahead and invited the Honduras to the EU-Latin American summit, angering the South American leaders.

NUCLEAR WEAPONS WILL BE USED.

PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.

REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)

ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
16 For by fire and by his sword will the LORD plead with all flesh: and the slain of the LORD shall be many.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.

ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die).

ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.

2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.

JOEL 2:3,30
3 A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.

ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet, and their eyes shall consume away in their holes, and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.

EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.

ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.

MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.

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

REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

HALF OF EARTHS POPULATION DIE DURING THE 7 YR TRIBULATION.(THESE VERSES ARE JUDGEMENT SCRIPTURES NOT RAPTURE SCRIPTURES)

LUKE 17:34-37
34 I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.
35 Two women shall be grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
36 Two men shall be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
37 And they answered and said unto him, Where, Lord? And he said unto them, Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together.(Christians have new bodies,this is the people against Jerusalem during the 7 yr treaty)(Christians bodies are not being eaten by the birds).

MATTHEW 24:37-51
37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
38 For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark,
39 And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.
40 Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
41 Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.
42 Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
43 But know this, that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up.
44 Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.
45 Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?
46 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.
47 Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.
48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

AS YOU CAN READ GOD WILL PROTECT ISRAEL WITH NUKES.THESE NUKES ISRAEL HAS WILL COME IN HANDY SHORTLY AGAINST THE RUSSIAN-ARAB-MUSLIMS TO START WITH.

Israel refuses to address world pressure on nukes By AMY TEIBEL, Associated Press Writer – Thu May 6, 6:08 am ET

JERUSALEM – Israel on Thursday declined to address the international pressure that's been mounting for it to join the nuclear nonproliferation treaty, saying only that its refusal to acknowledge or deny it possesses atomic weapons is a pillar of its military deterrence.Efforts to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone have received new attention at a U.N. conference in New York currently reviewing the treaty. Arab states are seeking to press Israel to confirm it possesses the Middle East's only nuclear warheads, disputing the West's assessment that Iran is the region's greatest proliferation threat.On Wednesday, The Associated Press disclosed that International Atomic Energy Agency chief Yukiya Amano has sent a letter soliciting proposals from the agency's 151 member states on how to persuade Israel to sign the treaty. And the world's five recognized nuclear-weapons powers — the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China — reaffirmed the goal of a nuclear-free Middle East.

A string of Israeli officials, including a spokesman for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the minister of atomic energy, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, the minister of strategic threats and the minister of communication, all refused to comment on the recent developments.The latest pressure is putting the Jewish state in an uncomfortable position. It wants the international community to take stern action to prevent Iran from getting atomic weapons but at the same time brushes off calls to come clean about its own nuclear capabilities.Israel's policy is opaque and that's a strategic advantage, one government official said, reflecting his country's belief that enemies who see Israel as a nuclear power could be deterred from attacking.He spoke on condition of anonymity in keeping with Israel's policy of nuclear ambiguity.He also noted that the treaty obligating nations to stop the spread of nuclear weapons didn't stop countries like Saddam Hussein's Iraq and now Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons programs. Tehran denies that accusation, which has also been made by the U.S. and other world powers.Israel has said it wouldn't sign the nonproliferation treaty until a comprehensive Arab-Israel peace deal is in place. But U.S. Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher told the AP that the U.S. has been working for months with Egypt on the issue. And another Western diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity about other nations' contacts, said the Americans also have been in discussion with the Israelis.

Israel wouldn't comment on these remarks.

Although Israel has given no information on its nuclear program, it is universally believed to possess atomic weapons. U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Israel a nuclear power in his 2006 confirmation hearing.Israel's nuclear program is a key sore point in international nonproliferation efforts.Arab countries have long complained of a double standard when the West asks them to stay nuclear-free while turning a blind eye to Israel's program.

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

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

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

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

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

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

After lengthy diplomacy, Mideast peace talks begin By MARK LAVIE, Associated Press Writer – Wed May 5, 3:14 pm ET

JERUSALEM – A U.S. mediator launched Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations Wednesday after a break of more than a year, starting a shuttle mission between a hard-line Israeli government and a Palestinian administration in control of only part of its territory.President Barack Obama's Mideast envoy, George Mitchell, met for three hours with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start the indirect negotiations. In a statement, Netanyahu's office said the talks would continue on Thursday. No details were released.In Washington, State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the meeting was good and productive but did not give details.Mitchell will travel between Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem and the headquarters of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah, less than half an hour's drive away.But the positions of the two sides are worlds apart, and Mitchell's shuttling would be considered a success if he managed no more than to persuade the Israelis and Palestinians to sit down at the same table — something they did for nearly two decades before the last round of talks ended in January 2009.

The two could not even agree about the technicality of whether the talks had begun. Israel labeled the Mitchell-Netanyahu meeting Wednesday as the beginning of the mediation, while Palestinians insisted they still had to give formal approval to the process over the weekend.Crowley said Mitchell's meeting on Saturday with Abbas would mark the start of the indirect talks.Restarting the talks after a year of intensive diplomacy could give the Obama administration a badly needed foreign policy achievement, but it would be a temporary gain unless progress is made.Abbas is allocating four months for the indirect talks, insisting that the main disagreements must be discussed — control of Jerusalem, Palestinian refugees, borders and Israel's West Bank settlements.Negotiations will focus on final status issues and there's no need to enter into details and small matters, because we have had enough of that in the previous negotiations, Abbas said after talks with Jordan's King Abdullah II in the Jordanian capital.We said the indirect negotiations will last only four months, Abbas said. After that, we will go to the Arab League to consult on whether to continue or what to do.The Palestinians have refused to hold direct talks with Israel until it freezes all Jewish construction in the West Bank and east Jerusalem.Netanyahu agrees to talk about everything but has made it clear that his priority is safeguarding Israel's security.Over the past decade, the two sides have come close to a comprehensive accord twice, but talks broke down both times in disagreement over core issues, especially Jerusalem, home to holy sites revered by Christians, Jews and Muslims.Palestinians demand a state in all of the West Bank, Gaza Strip and east Jerusalem, with some minor land exchanges and a link between the West Bank and Gaza through Israel.

While Netanyahu has reluctantly endorsed creation of a Palestinian state, he has posed strict security conditions, fearing that the West Bank would fall under control of Islamic Hamas militants. Hamas forces expelled Abbas loyalists from Gaza in 2007, and since then, Israeli border communities have become frequent targets for rockets from Gaza.Both sides face formidable internal obstacles to far-reaching compromise.Abbas' loss of Gaza is a major impediment because he does not control all the territory that Palestinians claim for a state. Also, Hamas has rejected any peace talks with Israel and threatens to undermine Abbas' position in the West Bank.

Netanyahu heads a coalition government that includes hard-line elements, like Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who oppose giving control of much of the West Bank to the Palestinians or removing Jewish settlements there. Associated Press writer Jamal Halaby contributed to this report from Amman, Jordan.