FBI INFORMAN SPIES ON CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT

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Photographer Ernest Withers doubled as FBI informant to spy on civil rights movement - He provided agency with insider's view of volatile period By Marc Perrusquia Memphis Commercial Appeal Posted September 12, 2010 at midnight Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.
http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/sep/12/photographer-ernest-withers-fbi-informant/

Chronicler and informant: Ernest C. Withers is shown in 1968 in front of his Beale Street studio. That same year, the respected chronicler of the civil rights era passed photographs and information to a now-defunct wing of the FBI that was spying on Americans. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)
Source documents.Follow the in-text links in the story to original source documents obtained from the FBI and annotated by The Commercial Appeal.At the top of the stairs he saw the blood, a large pool of it, splashed across the balcony like a grisly, abstract painting. Instinctively, Ernest Withers raised his camera. This wasn't just a murder. This was history.Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood here a few hours earlier chatting with aides when a sniper squeezed off a shot from a hunting rifle.Now, as night set over Memphis, Withers was on the story.Slipping past a police barricade, the enterprising Beale Street newsman made his way to room 306 at the Lorraine Motel -- King's room -- and walked in. Ralph Abernathy and the others hardly blinked. After all, this was Ernest C. Withers. He'd marched with King, and sat in on some of the movement's sensitive strategy meetings.A veteran freelancer for America's black press, Withers was known as the original civil rights photographer,an insider who'd covered it all, from the Emmett Till murder that jump-started the movement in 1955 to the Little Rock school crisis, the integration of Ole Miss and, now, the 1968 sanitation strike that brought King to Memphis and his death.As other journalists languished in the Lorraine courtyard, Withers' camera captured the scene:

Bernard Lee, tie undone, looking weary yet fiery.Andrew Young raising his palm to keep order.Ben Hooks and Harold Middlebrook gazing pensively as King's briefcase sits nearby, opened, as if awaiting his return.The grief-stricken aides photographed by Withers on April 4, 1968, had no clue, but the man they invited in that night was an FBI informant -- evidence of how far the agency went to spy on private citizens in Memphis during one of the nation's most volatile periods.Withers shadowed King the day before his murder, snapping photos and telling agents about a meeting the civil rights leader had with suspected black militants.He later divulged details gleaned at King's funeral in Atlanta, reporting that two Southern Christian Leadership Conference staffers blamed for an earlier Beale Street riot planned to return to Memphis to resume ... support of sanitation strike -- to stir up more trouble, as the FBI saw it.Next.The April 10, 1968, report, which identifies Withers only by his confidential informant number -- ME 338-R -- is among numerous reports reviewed by The Commercial Appeal that reveal a covert, previously unknown side of the beloved photographer who died in 2007 at age 85.Those reports portray Withers as a prolific informant who, from at least 1968 until 1970, passed on tips and photographs detailing an insider's view of politics, business and everyday life in Memphis' black community.As a foot soldier in J. Edgar Hoover's domestic intelligence program, Withers helped the FBI gain a front-row seat to the civil rights and anti-war movements in Memphis.Much of his undercover work helped the FBI break up the Invaders, a Black Panther-styled militant group that became popular in disaffected black Memphis in the late 1960s and was feared by city leaders.Yet, Withers focused on mainstream Memphians as well.

Personal and professional details of Church of God in Christ Bishop G.E. Patterson (then a pastor with a popular radio show), real estate agent O.W. Pickett, politician O. Z. Evers and others plumped FBI files as the bureau ran a secret war on militancy.When community leader Jerry Fanion took cigarettes to jailed Invaders, agents took note. Agents wrote reports when Catholic Father Charles Mahoney befriended an Invader, when car dealer John T. Fisher offered jobs to militants, when Rev. James Lawson planned a trip to Czechoslovakia and when a schoolteacher loaned his car to a suspected radical.Each report has a common thread -- Withers.As a so-called racial informant -- one who monitored race-related politics and hate organizations -- Withers fed agents a steady flow of information.Records indicate he snapped and handed over photos of St. Patrick Catholic Church priests who supported the city's striking sanitation workers; he monitored political candidates, jotted down auto tag numbers for agents, and once turned over a picture of an employee of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission said to be one who will give aid and comfort to the black power groups. In an interview this year, that worker said she came within a hearing of losing her job.It's something you would expect in the most ruthless, totalitarian regimes,said D'Army Bailey, a retired Memphis judge and former activist who came under FBI scrutiny in the '60s. The spying touched a nerve in black America and created mistrust that many still struggle with 40 years later.Once that trust is shattered that doesn't go away,Bailey said.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.

Unparalleled access: Withers photographed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in 1966 after King flew to Memphis to participate in the James Meredith March Against Fear. Activist Meredith had been shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)In addition to spying on citizens, Hoover's FBI ran a covert operation, called COINTELPRO, a counterintelligence or dirty tricks program that attempted to disrupt radical movements. It did this with tactics such as leaking embarrassing details to the news media, targeting individuals with radical views for prosecution or trying to get them fired from jobs. First launched in the 1950s to fight communism, by 1967 it was aimed at a range of civil rights leaders and organizations deemed to be threats to national security. Congressional inquiries later exposed it for widespread abuse of personal and political freedoms, including a fierce campaign against King.Yet much of the detail of the FBI's domestic spying, including the inner workings of its informant network in Memphis, remain untold. Tracing Withers' steps through thousands of pages of federal records reveals substantial new details about the extent of the FBI's surveillance of private citizens.In Withers, who ran a popular Beale Street photography studio frequented by the powerful and ordinary alike, the FBI found a super-informant, one who, according to an FBI report, proved most conversant with all key activities in the Negro community.He was the perfect source for them. He could go everywhere with a perfect, obvious professional purpose,said Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David Garrow, who, along with retired Marquette University professor Athan Theoharis, reviewed the newspaper's findings.Many political informants from the civil rights era were unwitting, unpaid dupes. Yet Withers, who was assigned a racial informant number and produced a large volume of confidential reports, fits the profile of a closely supervised, paid informant, experts say.It would be shocking to me that he wasn't paid, said Theoharis, author of the books Spying on Americans and The Boss: J. Edgar Hoover and the Great American Inquisition.

Once you get to this level if you're a criminal informant versus a source of information they're at a higher level. They're controlled. They're supervised,said Theoharis, who discerns a valuable lesson in the revelation of Withers' political spying.It speaks to the problem of secrecy. The government is able to do things in the shadows that are really questionable. That goes to the heart of our (democratic) society.It's uncertain what impact the revelation will have on Withers' legacy. The photographer was lionized in the final years of his life. Four books of his photography were published, exhibits of his work made international tours and a building on Beale Street was named for him. Congressman Steve Cohen proposed a yet-unfunded $396,000 earmark for a museum, set to open next month, to preserve Withers' archives.Yet, even 40 years after the fact, the FBI still aggressively guards the secret of Withers' activities. The one record that would pinpoint the breadth and detail of his undercover work -- his informant file -- remains sealed. The Justice Department has twice rejected the newspaper's Freedom of Information requests to copy that file, and won't even acknowledge the file exists.Photo by Fred Griffith

Marching with leaders of the movement: Ernest Withers (right) was there on June 7, 1966, when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (left), Rev. James Lawson (center) and others participated in the James Meredith March Against Fear. Meredith had been wounded by a sniper the day before near Hernando, Miss. He was the first African-American enrollee at the University of Mississippi in 1962, an historic act that led to a bloody standoff and the eventual integration at Ole Miss. (Fred Griffith/The Commercial Appeal)Responding to the newspaper's requests, the government instead released 369 pages related to a 1970s public corruption probe that targeted Withers -- by then a state employee who was taking payoffs -- carefully redacting references to informants -- with one notable exception.Censors overlooked a single reference to Withers' informant number. That number, in turn, unlocked the secret of the photographer's 1960s political spying when the newspaper located repeated references to the number in other FBI reports released under FOIA 30 years ago. Those reports --more than 7,000 pages comprising the FBI's files on the 1968 sanitation strike and a 1968-70 probe of the Invaders -- at times pinpoint specific actions by Withers and in other instances show he was one of several informants contributing details.Witness accounts and Withers' own photos provided further corroborating details.This is the first time I've heard of this in my life,said daughter Rosalind Withers, trustee of her father's photo collection, who said she wants to see documentation before commenting at length.My father's not here to defend himself. That is a very, very, strong, strong accusation. A son, Rome Withers, who runs his own Memphis photography business, said he, too, was unaware of his father's secret FBI work, but doesn't believe it diminishes his courageous work documenting the civil rights movement.He had been harassed, beaten, shot at. He was a victim who often faced hostile mobs and violent police forces. At that time, when you are the only black on the scene, you're in an intimidating state.Andrew Young, now 78, said he isn't bothered that Withers secretly worked as an informant while snapping civil rights history.I always liked him because he was a good photographer. And he was always (around), he said. Young viewed Withers as an important publicity tool because his work often appeared in Jet magazine and other high-profile publications. The movement was transparent and didn't have anything to hide anyway, he said.I don't think Dr. King would have minded him making a little money on the side.

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There was a time in 1968 and 1969 when Lance Sweet Willie Wine Watson was considered the most dangerous man in Memphis. As prime minister of the Invaders, a self-styled militant organization whose rhetoric included overthrowing the government, Watson frightened black and white Memphians alike. The FBI assembled a huge file on him.
Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass. Desegregation: Thirteen black first-graders entered four of Memphis' previously all-white schools Oct. 3, 1961. It was the first step to desegregate city schools, coming more than seven years after the Supreme Court ruled that separate black and white schools were unconstitutional. Ernest Withers caught the excitement of the historic day on film. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)Today, Watson, who goes by the name Suhkara Yahweh, is more conciliatory. He runs a community development organization in his impoverished South Memphis neighborhood and ministers to youths and the needy.Still, he decorates his living room with mementos: A bumper sticker reading Damn the Army, Join the Invaders; a glass case containing a military-styled jacket with Invaders emblazoned on the back; and a portrait of Ernest Withers displayed prominently over his fireplace.That's my daddy,Yahweh, 71, said one afternoon last winter, relating how Withers often gave him money and advice.If he was (an informant) I don't know anything about it ... He would call me his son. Right now, I'm still part of the family. I talked to Rome (son Andrew Jerome Withers) just the other day. I talked to (Ernest) on his death bed.It's a testament to the FBI's effectiveness that the dreaded Willie Wine had no clue that Withers was constantly informing on him.Wine was in Atlanta possibly to con money out of the SCLC, reports indicate the informant told agents. He reported Wine's girlfriend was pregnant; that Wine was a thief. That Wine and his cohorts had cat-called voting rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer at a gathering at old Club Paradise.As informant ME 338-R, Withers had plenty to tell the FBI in November 1968 when Willie Wine and others seized the administration building at LeMoyne-Owen College. What started as a dispute over student grievances escalated into rebellion when student leaders called in the Invaders and the local chapter of the radical anti-war group, Students for a Democratic Society.

Withers, who shot pictures of the crisis for Jet and was seen by newsmen going into Brown Lee Hall the night of the takeover, told FBI agents that Wine planned and directed the operation.ME 338-R said the building was held in a state of siege with school president Hollis Price inside, according to a Nov. 27, 1968, FBI report. Although local news accounts made no mention of weapons, the informant said occupants definitely had a single-barrel 12-gauge shotgun, a rifle with a telescopic sight, a bayonet, at least one Derringer, and one pistol -- details confirmed by another FBI source that night and Willie Wine 42 years later.I carried a .25-caliber pistol,the ex-militant recalled. The only time he used his gun that night was when another Invader rifled through an administrator's cabinet. I pulled out my pistol. I said we're not here for that purpose, he said.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass. Documenting the dream: Ernest Withers shot this photo of a mule train leaving Marks, Miss., for Washington during the Poor People's March in May 1968. Withers used his camera to tell the stories of the civil rights struggle, the Negro Baseball League, the vibrant Memphis music scene, and everyday life in the Mid-South. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)No charges were filed after officials at the private school chose not to prosecute.Over time, however, the FBI would break the Invaders. Utilizing tips from Withers and other informants plus three undercover Memphis police officers who had infiltrated the group, authorities prosecuted as many as 34 Invaders on charges ranging from petty street crime to arson and the sniper wounding of a police officer.Although one undercover cop was famously exposed, the Invaders seemed to have little clue about Withers, who often visited the group's headquarters on Vance and shot publicity photos for them.Ernest, he was a dear friend, said Charles Cabbage, who founded the Invaders in 1967. Like Wine, Cabbage kept a memento on the wall, a picture Withers took in 1968 of Cabbage as a radical.

Anytime he'd see us, he'd start snapping, Cabbage recalled. Cabbage, interviewed last winter, four months before his death in June at age 66, said he'd come to wonder what Withers was really doing.C'mon man. We weren't that interesting. Why would he take our pictures constantly? As the FBI cast its net, it encountered a range of people whose beliefs and personal details landed in the bureau's spy files despite little more than a tangential connection to the Invaders.An Aug. 7, 1969, report shows the FBI collected 14 photographs of Father Charles Mahoney of St. Patrick Catholic Church. Notations on the report, along with other corroborating details, indicate Withers shot the photos and handed them over to agents. The report quotes the informant as saying Mahoney is a close friend of Invaders defense minister Melvin Smith and notes that Mahoney and two other priests allowed the Invaders to use church facilities.The FBI was off base on the civil rights thing, one of those priests, Charles Martin, said in a recent interview. An urban outreach ministry brought St. Patrick in regular contact with the Invaders. And when the priests there openly supported the sanitation strike, there was a backlash, Martin said.We were for the workers, the sanitation workers. And a lot of people in the town didn't like us for that.Photos by Ernest Withers courtesy of the Decaneas Archive.

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The Rev. James M. Lawson came into the FBI's focus in early 1968 during the height of the sanitation strike. It was Lawson, then pastor at Centenary Methodist, who invited Dr. King to Memphis, where he spoke in support of 1,100 sanitation workers who had walked off the job to protest low pay and horrid working conditions that led to the deaths of two men.If one black person is down, we are all down! King told 15,000 cheering people at Mason Temple the night of March 18, 1968.Near the speaker's podium, the ubiquitous Withers snapped photos. Images he shot that night would stand as timeless icons of the strike alongside those he took of marching sanitation workers carrying I Am A Man placards and National Guard troops policing Downtown streets.But the stout photographer with a chatty personality and quick smile had another, nonpublic, appointment that day, a secret meeting in which the topic was his friend, Rev. Lawson.Earlier that afternoon, Withers met with FBI agents Howell Lowe and William H. Lawrence, who ran the bureau's Memphis domestic surveillance program. A report summarizing the meeting indicates informant ME 338-R handed over a newsletter listing names and photographs of community leaders behind the strike -- a virtual directory of strike-support organizers -- and told agents who produced it.Informant pointed out that the paper is printed or laid out by Rev. Malcolm D. Blackburn ... pastor of Clayborn AME Temple ... The main editorial work therein is done by Rev. James M. Lawson Jr.,the report said.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass. Peaceful march turns violent: A police officer whirls around to confront looters at Main and Beale following the breakup of a march led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on March 28, 1968. Black leaders accused the police of brutality; police officers said they did what was necessary to restore order. Ernest Withers was on hand to document the scene. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)Withers had a lot to say about Lawson, a veteran civil rights leader and friend who marched during the strike alongside Withers' wife, Dorothy, and his daughter, Rosalind.He portrayed Lawson as the type of left-leaning radical the government had come to fear -- active in the anti-war movement, involved with the feared Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and someone who was planning a trip to the East Bloc nation of Czechoslovakia.I'm not surprised,Lawson, now 81, said this month when told of Withers' informant work. Lawson said the police and FBI were very clever about entrapping blacks and making them informants.Any activity in the black community, Ernie was going to be around, Lawson said. It was probably done innocently: You just tell us what's going on and what you see and you get paid for it.Lawson's was one of many biographies the informant would flesh out for agents.Reports linked to Withers show he was a font of information for the FBI during the strike, handing over documents, providing details from strategy meetings, connecting dots between pastors and suspected militants.

The informant told agents on March 6 that young militants -- Cabbage among them -- passed out literature at a rally at Clayborn Temple with instructions for making Molotov cocktail firebombs. Mainstream leaders did nothing to stop them, the report said.On April 3, the day before King's murder, the informant passed on details about a high-level strategy session at the Lorraine between Cabbage and King, who begrudgingly decided to give the young militants a role in the strike.Well into the summer, after the strike was settled, ME 338-R continued to report on its impact. That July 26, the informant gave FBI agents a financial report showing the strike-leadership group, Community on the Move for Equality, had spent $2,600 of $347,000 raised for striking workers to pay attorney's fees and expenses for members of the militant Black Organizing Project, an umbrella group encompassing the Invaders.As Hoover cranked up his campaign against black nationalist hate groups,anyone giving aid -- money, jobs, political support -- could fall into the crosshairs of COINTELPRO, the FBI's dirty tricks campaign.The FBI had been spying on the civil rights movement for years, but in an August 1967 memo, backed by a more thorough order the following March, the bureau directed Memphis and other field offices to begin efforts to to expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit or otherwise neutralize a range of civil rights leaders and organizations, from the separatist Nation of Islam to King's moderate SCLC.Photo by Commercial Appeal

A bold photographer: Deputy Sheriff Ben Selby searches Ernest Withers at the trial for the accused murderers of Emmett Till in Sumner, Miss., in September 1955. Despite a ban on photography in the courtroom, Withers managed to sneak a shot of Till’s uncle pointing out the accused killers, half-brothers J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant, who were later acquitted. Till, a 14-year-old African American, had been beaten, shot and tossed in a river after he was thought to have whistled at a white woman. (The Commercial Appeal)In May 1968 a similar initiative was launched against the so-called New Left, targeting Vietnam War protesters and socialists, among others.A U.S. Senate investigation in 1975 found widespread abuse in the program, which lacked statutory or executive approval. COINTELPRO techniques ranged from contacting an employer to get a target fired to mailing an anonymous letter to a spouse alleging infidelity, leaking humiliating information to the press, encouraging street warfare between violent groups and alerting state and local authorities to a target's criminal law violations.Available records provide few details on specific COINTELPRO actions taken in Memphis. Yet, records indicate Withers fed agents plenty of raw material.A schoolteacher loaned militant Cabbage his car, the informant said. Mary L. Campbell, a supposed black-power sympathizer, was running for the county Democratic Party's executive committee. Real estate agent O.W. Pickett, who'd brought food to the Invaders during the LeMoyne takeover, was thinking of running for Congress. Pastor Malcolm Blackburn and activist Baxton Bryant were trying to find jobs for the Invaders.A May 13, 1968, report indicates Withers gave the FBI two photos of Rosetta Miller, a field worker for the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, telling an agent she is one who will give aid and comfort to the black power groups. Following up that fall, an agent typed a two-sentence report memorializing a rumor that Miller had recently married, noting the marriage broke up after just a week. The report was copied to Withers' informant file.Interviewed this spring, Miller, who now lives in Nashville, said her job with the commission came into jeopardy in 1968 when supervisors questioned her about ties to radicals.

I was never part of that crap,she said.Marquette's Theoharis, who worked with the Senate committee that exposed many of the FBI's abuses, said employment sabotage was a particularly insidious COINTELPRO tactic.Once, (the FBI) got someone dismissed as a Girl Scout leader. It was crazy, he said.Records reviewed by the newspaper offered few details of the secretive COINTELPRO initiative. Yet, frustrated by continuing support for the Invaders, the FBI clearly was considering such actions in May 1969 against the African Methodist Episcopal Church.All sources have been alerted to attempt to pinpoint any actual proof that employees of the AME Church are giving financial support to the Invaders, said a May 8, 1969, report to headquarters in Washington....If such proof is forthcoming separate communication will be written to the Bureau concerning any possible counterintelligence action which might be instituted with certain AME high church officials in this regard.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass. April 3, 1968: Ernest Withers was there to meet Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at the Memphis airport. He had been photographing King for more than a decade. In a 2002 interview for a PBS program, Withers said, I had access to Martin Luther King because we grew up together, came up together in the same social setting. He was comfortable with me. . . . As a photographer, you've got to be trusted by the people that you come in contact with. One thing I had was a level of moral life of honesty and integrity. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)

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Available files don't indicate how or when Withers first teamed with the FBI.But it would have been hard for the bureau to have overlooked him.Withers served as a city police officer, hired in 1948 along with eight other African Americans who composed MPD's first black recruit class. He didn't last long. He was fired in 1951 for taking kickbacks from a bootlegger.By the early 1950s, Withers was making a name for himself on Beale Street, where he had operated since the mid-40s, chronicling the teeming night life and the everyday life of black Memphis. By night, he hung with bluesmen like B.B. King, Bobby Blue Bland, Junior Parker and Rufus Thomas and, by day, he shot family portraits, weddings, church socials, political gatherings and sporting events, assembling one of the great Negro League baseball portfolios.He knew everybody, recalled Coby Smith, a political activist who founded the Invaders with Cabbage and who would come to form his own suspicions.Across the street from Withers' studio, attorney H.T. Lockard ran a law office. When Lockard became president of the Memphis branch of the NAACP in 1955, a visitor started coming by -- Bill Lawrence of the FBI.In an interview for this story, Lockard, now a 90-year-old retired judge, spoke for the first time about his three-year association with Lawrence, a bespectacled G-man who came to Memphis in 1945 and ran the bureau's local domestic intelligence operations in the 1950s and '60s. In the '50s, as the Red scare was at its peak, the FBI kept close watch on the NAACP and other civil rights organizations believed susceptible to communist infiltration.Because of the nature of the work I was doing, there was a suspicious feeling that I was either a communist or a communist sympathizer, Lockard said.Like so many others recruited by the FBI, Lockard said agent Lawrence showed up uninvited and made regular unannounced visits to his law office with no evident purpose. One stock question was how was I getting along, he said.Over a period, the agent asked if a certain suspected communist had joined the local NAACP. Eventually, the man named by Lawrence applied for membership. Lockard said he declined to enroll him.It's unclear if the FBI considered Lockard an informant. He said he was never paid. The FBI visits stopped in 1957, when Lockard left the NAACP helm, yet he said he developed "an amiable camaraderie'' with Lawrence that included exchanging Christmas cards for years after the agent retired in 1970. Lawrence died in 1990.Around the time Lawrence began calling on Lockard, Withers began his long and remarkable career chronicling the civil rights movement.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.

April 4, 1968: Ernest Withers, who had been actively relaying information to the FBI about King’s visit to Memphis, shot pictures of the bloody Lorraine Motel balcony where the civil rights leader's body had fallen. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)In 1955, Withers covered the murder of Emmett Till, a 14-year-old African American who was beaten, shot and tossed in a river in Money, Miss., for whistling at a white woman.The injustice of the crime -- the defendants, both white, were acquitted by an all-white jury yet later confessed in a paid magazine interview -- built the foundation of Withers' fame. Defying a judge's order that banned picture-taking during the trial, Withers captured the moment Till's great-uncle Mose Wright stood up at the witness stand and pointed an accusing finger at the killers.The Till case helped galvanize the movement, and Withers soon had a wide array of assignments covering civil rights.As a freelancer for the Sengstacke family, publishers of the Chicago Defender and the Tri-State Defender in Memphis, Withers covered many of the seminal events of the era. He was beaten by police covering Medgar Evers' 1963 funeral and harassed in small-town Mississippi following the 1964 murders of three Freedom Summer activists in Neshoba County. He snapped pictures of King and Abernathy riding the first integrated bus in Montgomery in 1956 and photographed King in 1966 casually reclining in his room at the Lorraine where he would die two years later.Trained in photography in the Army during World War II and equipped with a bulky twin reflex camera, Withers lacked technical skill yet managed to take profoundly powerful images, largely through his resourcefulness and unusual access.Locally, Withers chronicled all the significant events, the Tent City voter registration drive in Fayette County, the desegregation of Memphis City Schools and the Downtown sit-ins of 1960.It was around then that the FBI's Lawrence began showing up at the NAACP offices, recalls Maxine Smith, the organization's longtime executive director in Memphis.We thought it was for our protection. We had nothing to hide, Smith said. Somewhere along the line we began to suspect differently, she said.What Smith and others didn't know was that by 1963 the FBI had begun wiretapping King, initially because of the civil rights leader's ties to adviser Stanley Levison, a suspected communist. The FBI tapped King's phones, bugged his hotel rooms and, in one infamous episode, mailed surreptitious audio recordings including a taped sexual liaison to his Atlanta home along with a letter suggesting he commit suicide.Photo by © Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.

Iconic image: The photograph most often associated with Withers' legacy as a photojournalist shows more than 5,000 men lined up prior to the March 28, 1968 march led by Martin Luther King during the sanitation workers’ strike. Most wore their Sunday best because they believed in the righteousness of the cause. Reports from that period show Withers was a constant source of information for the FBI during the strike, handing over documents and pictures and providing details from strategy meetings. (© Ernest C. Withers Trust, courtesy Decaneas Archive, Boston, Mass.)
By 1967, as more-militant wings spun out of the movement, the FBI launched a ghetto informant program recruiting listening posts within the black community, many of them white shopkeepers and businessmen. Increasingly, headquarters pushed agents like Lawrence to develop information from black leaders.He used to come out here a whole lot, right here, Smith said in the living room of her South Parkway home. Smith told how Lawrence, a music lover, fostered a relationship through her late husband Vasco Smith's expansive jazz collection. When a 1981 book revealed the couple's relationship to the FBI, the Smiths sued -- and lost. Still passionate about the issue, Smith argues she and her husband were never paid.Nobody has ever offered Vasco or me one penny. No one dare say that, she said.Benjamin Hooks, the former national NAACP director, agreed with her assessment.I don't know if anyone is trying to say they were snitches. If that's what they're saying that is a lie, Hooks said in January, 11 weeks before he died. You couldn't stop the FBI from coming and talking to you. If you did, they'd make it up anyway. They were talking to Maxine and Vasco and Hooks all the time.When details of the FBI's domestic spy program later leaked in congressional hearings, officials said there were just five paid racial informants working in Memphis in 1968. Officials have never disclosed the identities of those informants; it's unknown if Withers was included in that group.I'd like to know who those devils are, Smith said.

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Perhaps the last man with firsthand knowledge of Withers' covert life, retired FBI agent Howell Lowe, opted to take his secrets to the grave.I won't have my name connected with this, Lowe told a reporter last year, rejecting an interview for this story. He died Jan. 1 at age 83. Although Withers had died two years earlier, Lowe said he feared that discussing the photographer's informant work might harm his survivors. Some of the things we did were sleazy. We were fighting what we thought was the possibility of uprising in this country, Lowe said.Lost, too, to history are Withers' motives. A federal source who first told a reporter about the photographer's secret life several years ago said Withers, who raised eight children and struggled financially, had a primary motive -- money.That same source said Withers' secret informant status came dangerously close to exposure in 1978 when Congress re-examined the FBI's investigation of King's assassination. At the time, revelations about COINTELPRO and the FBI's treatment of King caused many Americans to wonder if Hoover's hatred of the civil rights leader somehow morphed into an assassination plot. The U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations eventually found the FBI had nothing to do with the murder.Yet, with the FBI's Memphis office on trial, Lowe's partner, agent Lawrence, testified before the committee on Nov. 21, 1978, speaking of a valued informant who provided information on racial matters generally and the Invaders in particular. The informant, paid up to $200 a month, helped track King in the days before his murder.Lawrence said he frequently gave his informant instructions ahead of time, giving him names and topics to look out for and conferring almost daily with him during the sanitation strike.I would call him if I had occasion to alert him to something, Lawrence testified. Otherwise, I would hope that he would call me, which he frequently did. Then periodically we would meet in person under what we hoped were safe conditions to personally exchange information, go over descriptions, any photographs, things of that nature.Was Lawrence discussing Withers? The congressional record is unclear. Nonetheless, as an FBI informant with a symbol number and a large volume of assignments, Withers would have been handled in a similar fashion, experts said.These are individuals who are going to be directed and paid... They saw you as a valuable source and a continuing source,said Theoharis, the retired Marquette professor.

Researchers who study the government informant system say patriotism, desire to do police work, thrill-seeking and money often are motivating factors. Withers had served in the Army in World War II. In addition to serving briefly as a police officer, he ran successfully for Shelby County constable in 1974 and later was appointed a gun-carrying agent of the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverages Commission.
Withers' legal troubles also can't be discounted as a possible motive. Withers would claim late in life he was set up in the 1951 kickback incident while working for MPD, yet his police personnel file contains transcripts that reveal admissions by Withers and detailed witness accounts supporting the allegations. He was fired but never charged criminally.Years later, in 1979, he faced similar charges, this time in federal criminal court. Then-ABC agent Withers pleaded guilty to extorting kickbacks from a nightclub owner.Regardless of his motives, the revelation of Withers' FBI work doesn't harm his memory for some who knew him.It does not alter who he was a person, said ex-Invader Coby Smith.He did so many more things. That wasn't a fulltime thing to be an informant for them.Rev. Lawson agreed. It won't tarnish his memory for his family and friends.-- Marc Perrusquia: 529-2545 2010 Memphis Commercial Appeal.

TAKING TORAH SCROLLS TO U.S. BATTLEFIELD

SMALL BUSINESS BILL SCAM WRITTEN BY VENTURE CAPITALISTS
http://www.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1591214163&play=1

Small-business bill advances in Senate
SEPT 14,10

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A measure that would boost lending to small businesses cleared a Republican hurdle in the Senate on Tuesday, allowing Democrats to move to a final vote possibly by the end of the week.The House of Representatives has already passed a similar measure.(Reporting by Andy Sullivan and Donna Smith; Editing by Eric Beech)

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/?tabid=15839796&tabheader=false

HALF HOUR DOW RESULTS TUE SEPT 14,2010

09:30 AM -1.43
10:00 AM -25.66
10:30 AM -7.00
11:00 AM +10.67
11:30 AM +19.70
12:00 PM +37.76
12:30 PM +38.48
01:00 PM +20.20
01:30 PM +15.42
02:00 PM +1.40
02:30 PM +33.14
03:00 PM +19.03
03:30 PM +23.08
04:00 PM -17.64 10,526.49

S&P 500 1121.10 -0.80

NASDAQ 2289.77 +4.06

GOLD 1,273.60 +25.40

OIL 76.76 -0.43

TSE 300 12,193.00 +43.10

CDNX 1622.20 +16.63

S&P/TSX/60 708.66 +1.80

MORNING,NEWS,STATS

YEAR TO DATE PERFORMANCE
Dow -8 points at 4 minutes of trading today.
Dow -45 points at low today.
Dow +33 points at high today so far.
GOLD opens at $1,259.40.OIL opens at $77.05 today.
GOLD HITS ALLTIME HIGH TODAY 1,274.20

AFTERNOON,NEWS,STATS
Dow -45 points at low today so far.
Dow +44 points at high today so far.

WRAPUP,NEWS,STATS
Dow -45 points at low today.
Dow +443 points at high today.

GOLD ALLTIME HIGH $1,274.20 (NOT AT CLOSE)

Gold and Silver Explode as Banksters Abandon Market Manipulation
Kurt Nimmo Infowars.com September 14, 2020

Gold has surged to a new high as the prospect of inflation reared its ugly head in the United Kingdom on bad news from a report indicating a weaker-than-expected eurozone industrial production. Germany and France, despite sovereign debt fears, have been able to manage anemic growth but today’s data signals a slow down.Gold traded as high as $1,261.90 on Tuesday. Photo: Bullion Vault.On Tuesday the gold price traded as high as $1,261.90 and as low as $1,246. The U.S. dollar index was adding 0.03% to $81.90 while the euro was losing 0.19% to $1.28 vs. the dollar. The spot gold price was rising $14.30, according to Kitco’s gold index,writes Alix Steel for The Street.Silver also experienced a boost today. The precious metal was up 14 cents to $20.31. Earlier this month, spot silver trading reached its highest point since March 2008.

While silver has many of the same investment attributes as gold, it enjoys the added advantage of industrial demand. And as a currency alternative, silver is more practical. It’s been used as a currency, most notably by the United Kingdom (pound sterling). The French word for money is argent, or silver. In fact, the United States and Great Britain were both on a silver standard up until the 1800’s, explains Gabriel Wisdom, writing for Forbes on September 8.Market observers believe silver prices will soon rise on speculation that JP Morgan is in the process of winding down its proprietary trading operations. In the past years, compelling evidence of silver and gold price manipulation by JP Morgan has been found, writes Elisheva Wiriaatmadja.JP Morgan was not just an accommodative good corporate citizen in the illegal transfer of the manipulative silver (and gold) COMEX short position. In addition to undisclosed government guarantees against loss, JP Morgan was given free reign to liquidate the COMEX short position at their discretion, knowing full-well the regulators would look the other way, no matter what dirty tricks were necessary to cause the price to collapse,MarketWatch noted over two years ago.Now that the banksters have decided to abandon their artificially low price scheme, the price of silver will rise, making it an excellent investment.

Big Sis To Get Expanded Role In Policing Internet
Paul Joseph Watson Infowars.com September 14, 2010

Two cybersecurity bills that would hand President Obama the power to shut down parts of the Internet in the event of a national emergency have now been merged into a single unified piece of legislation that Democrats will try to pass before the end of the year, with the Department of Homeland Security being given a larger role in policing the world wide web.Janet Napolitano’s DHS will be handed broader authority to determine how to handle potential cybersecurity threats. Photo: Center for American Progress.Under the new draft bill, which is a combination of the two versions originally crafted by Senators Joe Lieberman and Jay Rockefeller, Janet Napolitano’s DHS will be handed broader authority to determine how to handle potential cybersecurity threats.DHS will get expanded authorities. I think that’s clear, said James Lewis, a cybersecurity expert with think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies, who has studied the new bill.An expanded role for Homeland Security would be somewhat ironic given the fact that the DHS itself recently failed an extensive cyber-security audit conducted by the agency’s own Inspector General.

The DHS US-CERT office is currently plagued by at least 600 vulnerabilities that could compromise sensitive data, including 202 which have been classified as high-risk, reported TG Daily.Homeland Security’s failure to adequately secure its own internal network will lead to questions about why the agency should be given vast new authority to secure America’s cyber assets and the public Internet.Democrats want to get the bill passed within the next four weeks, although sticking points could delay the legislation, according to a Senate aide familiar with the bill. However, lawmakers are determined to put the package up for a vote before the end of the year.Senate Majority Harry Reid has put the measure on his list of top-priority bills to get through the Senate this year, sources told MoneyControl.com.Lieberman’s version of the original bill includes language that would hand President Obama the power to shut down parts of the world wide web for at least four months with no congressional oversight. The combined version appears to shift that responsibility to DHS, who under the pretext of a national emergency could block all Internet traffic to the U.S. from certain countries, and close down specific hubs and networks, creating an ominous precedent for government regulation and control over the Internet.

Cybersecurity legislation is being promoted as a vital tool to defend the nation’s critical infrastructure against cyber- terrorism. However, as we have highlighted, the threat from cyber-terrorists to the U.S. power grid or water supply is minimal. The perpetrators of an attack on such infrastructure would have to have direct physical access to the systems that operate these plants to cause any damage. Any perceived threat from the public Internet to these systems is therefore completely contrived and strips bare what many fear is the real agenda behind cybersecurity – to enable the government to regulate free speech on the Internet.As we reported back in March, the Obama administration’s release of the Comprehensive National Cybersecurity Initiative, a government plan to secure (or control) the nation’s public and private sector computer networks, coincided with Democrats attempting to claim that the independent news website The Drudge Report was serving malware, an incident Senator Jim Inhofe described as a deliberate ploy to discourage people from using Drudge.Fears that cybersecurity legislation could be used to stifle free speech were heightened when Senator Lieberman told CNN’s Candy Crowley that the real motivation behind the bill was to mimic the Communist Chinese system of Internet policing.Right now China, the government, can disconnect parts of its Internet in case of war and we need to have that here too, said Lieberman.As we have documented, the Communist Chinese government does not disconnect parts of the Internet because of genuine security concerns, it habitually does so only to oppress and silence victims of government abuse and atrocities, and to strangle dissent against the state, a practice many fear is the ultimate intention of cybersecurity in the United States.Paul Joseph Watson is the editor and writer for Prison Planet.com. He is the author of Order Out Of Chaos. Watson is also a fill-in host for The Alex Jones Show. Watson has been interviewed by many publications and radio shows, including Vanity Fair and Coast to Coast AM, America’s most listened to late night talk show.

Expanding U.S.-Canada Security and Economic Partnership
Dana Gabriel Be Your Own Leader September 14, 2020

Janet Napolitano and Canadian officials met to advance a strategic dialogue on developing a shared vision for border security. Photo: United States Mission Geneva.In recent years, U.S.-Canada border issues have been overshadowed by concerns surrounding illegal immigration and drug violence on the southern border. Earlier this summer, both countries agreed to work towards a more joint approach to border security aimed at addressing common threats and promoting economic cooperation.In July, Public Safety Minister Vic Toews and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, met to advance a strategic dialogue on developing a shared vision for border security for Canada and the United States—one that will enhance security and resilience against common threats, while bolstering competitiveness and job creation. A number of initiatives were announced, including an agreement to complete a joint threat and risk assessment which, addresses drug trafficking and illegal immigration, the illicit movement of prohibited or controlled goods, agricultural hazards, and the spread of infectious disease.In addition, a memorandum of understanding on cross-border currency seizures and information sharing was signed that,will help to identify potential threats and assist in money-laundering and terrorist-financing investigations and prosecutions. Increasingly, Canada is being pressured to further take on U.S. security priorities in an effort to keep trade flowing across the northern border.

Secretary Napolitano and Minister Toews also reached an agreement to safeguard and respond to disruptions of shared infrastructure that connect the two nations such as roads, power grids and bridges. The Canada-U.S. Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure is designed to, strengthen the safety, security and resiliency of Canada and the United States by establishing a comprehensive cross-border approach to critical infrastructure resilience. This includes building partnerships, improved information sharing, as well as risk management aimed at increasing the ability to prepare for emergencies like a terrorist attack or a natural disaster. The action plan is part of ongoing cross-border collaboration and builds off a recent deal reached between the Canadian federal and provincial governments in regards to protecting local infrastructure. It also appears to be linked to the Civil Assistance Plan signed by the U.S.-Canadian military in 2008, which allows the armed forces of one nation to support the other during a civil emergency.In April, Minister of International Trade Peter Van Loan was in Washington, D.C to promote deeper Canada-U.S. ties. He met with U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and they agreed to hold twice-annual trade meetings to enhance bilateral relations. In July, they met in Ottawa to discuss greater economic cooperation and the need to avoid protectionism. Through NAFTA, both nations economies are already intimately interrelated. and integrated. While some advocate more trade between the two partners as the answer to strengthening their respective economies, it was recently reported that Canada’s trade deficit increased by a record level in July. This is related in large part to its dependence on the struggling American economy.At the trade meetings in Ottawa several months back, Minister Van Loan and Ambassador Kirk also addressed the Canada–U.S. Agreement on Government Procurement. The deal resolved the Buy American issue and is essentially an extension of NAFTA. Some believe that it is an important step in providing protection for future bilateral trade relations, but in the process it opens up provincial and municipal contracts to foreign corporations. The 5th round of negotiations between Canada and the European Union (EU) on a Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) will take place in October. One of the EU’s top objectives includes gaining access to procurement and services in areas of health, energy, water, as well as other sectors. The Canada-U.S. Buy American deal could be used to further reinforce EU demands. While Canada needs to lessen its dependence on the U.S. economy, there are concerns that CETA will be based on the failed NAFTA trade model.

The report Skating on Thin Ice: Canadian-American Relations in 2010 and 2011 released earlier this year and authored by Alexander Moens of the Fraser Institute, praised the Canada-U.S. agreement on government procurement. It suggested the deal, should encourage free traders on both sides of the line to continue pressing for deeper economic cooperation. Considering the bilateral discussions and initiatives which have progressed in the last several months, it appears as if this forecast was indeed correct. The report also emphasized that, Canada and the United States need to pursue deeper trade integration in such areas as regulatory harmonization, common external tariffs on manufactured products, free trade in agricultural products, and an overall energy and environmental accord. For the U.S. to be more receptive to increased trade and investment, it recommends establishing a, unified regime to deal with a common security threat.” In order for deeper economic integration to move forward, Canada will be further pressed to adopt a single security strategy dominated by American interests. This poses a serious threat to its sovereignty.The trilateral framework remains intact, but NAFTA partners at least for the time being, are pursuing a more bilateral agenda for advancing continental integration. This seems to be drawing less attention. The current approach is due in part to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America being exposed and discredited. It is interesting to note that there has yet to be an announcement concerning this year’s edition of the North American Leaders Summit introduced in 2005 with the launching of the SPP. Mexican President Felipe Calderón’s separate trips to the U.S. to meet with President Barack Obama and to Canada to meet with Prime Minister Stephen Harper back in May, might have served as this year’s version of the leaders summit. Calderón used the state visits as an opportunity to strengthen NAFTA ties and promote deeper North American economic integration.

The SPP appears to be dead in name only as some of its key priorities continue through other initiatives. It remains the blueprint for further expanding NAFTA. Continental integration is a permanent agenda and the vision for a North American Union has not been abandoned.Related Articles by Dana Gabriel-Passing on the Mantle of Deep North American Integration-U.S.- Canada Border Security and Military Integration-A North American Security Perimeter on the Horizon
Strengthening NAFTA Ties and the Push Towards a Common Security Front-Dana Gabriel is an activist and independent researcher. He writes about trade, globalization, sovereignty, as well as other issues.Contact: beyourownleader@hotmail.com

Competition heating up for EU intelligence chief job-The new SitCen director will have to keep the trust of member states' security services while being loyal to Brussels (Photo: EU Commission)ANDREW RETTMAN Today SEPT 14,10 @ 09:25 CET

EUOBSERVER /BRUSSELS - Eight candidates have declared an interest in becoming the permanent head of the EU's most sensitive security organ, the Joint Situation Centre (SitCen).French diplomat Patrice Bergamini, who was recently appointed as SitCen caretaker manager by EU foreign relations chief Catherine Ashton, is in a strong position to lobby for the €15,000-a-month permanent post, advertised by Ms Ashton earlier this month.His caretaker role is limited to giving political direction to the intelligence-sharing bureau and to liaising with Ms Ashton and EU ambassadors, however. SitCen's day-to-day operations are being run by a French intelligence officer from inside the bureau, who is to step down in February. The director of Austria's Federal Agency for State Protection and Counter Terrorism, Peter Gridling, is also in the running, EUobserver has learned. British, German and Italian candidates from diplomatic and security backgrounds have come forward as well.The new SitCen chief will have to keep the trust of EU member states' security services, which supply classified information to the bureau, while remaining loyal to Brussels rather than to his national capital, a contact familiar with the recruitment process said.If the EU's head of delegation in Beijing hears that SitCen has written a report about China and he says: I need it now. Send it by fax. You would have to say: No. It's coming by pony and it will take three weeks. A security breach would be an automatic death sentence for SitCen [in terms of co-operation with national services],the contact said.

He will need to do some things which need to remain between SitCen and Ms Ashton and which don't get transmitted straight back to one of the [EU] capitals. For example, if there is a pre-conflict situation where the EU might be able to play a role, she might need advice on how to go about this, all of which would have to take place before she takes a proposal to member states.The new SitCen chief will have a grave responsibility.You can imagine the impact it might have had on EU support for the Iraq war [in 2003] if SitCen had reported there were Weapons of Mass Destruction. Or, if it now says something on Iran, the contact added. The new appointment comes at a dynamic time for the 10-year-old bureau.SitCen will from 1 December become part of the European External Action Service (EEAS) under Ms Ashton's command. The heart of the bureau's work - the classified-information-sharing cell, which is composed of intelligence officers seconded from 12 old EU member states and five countries which joined the EU after 2004 - is unlikely to change. Its team of open source analysts is to be enlarged, however. An organigram circulating in the EU institutions indicates that SitCen's existing unit of 15 analysts is to be joined by six staff from the European Commission's Crisis Room. The move is designed to combine SitCen's human resources - its open source analysts between them speak Arabic, Chinese, Farsi and Russian - and the Crisis Room's IT expertise.SitCen's information security branch is to be merged with its European Commission counterpart and split off to become a separate EEAS department. SitCen currently operates the so-called Coreu system used by member states to circulate non-public EU documents, while the commission's New Communications Network handles its links with EU delegations abroad.

Ms Asthon's intelligence hub will also use more images from EU government-owned satellites, namely France's Helios and Pleiades systems, Germany's SAR-Lupe and Italy's Cosmo-SkyMed, on top of existing data from US-owned commercial satellites. The EU member states' spy satellites can be moved more quickly to look at, say, a Syrian nuclear reactor or a North Korean rocket launch site. They also charge less for images at a time of penny-pinching on the EU budget.

Who does what?

The EU's recent handling of the Pakistan floods indicates that Ms Ashton and SitCen will concentrate on human-made conflicts and the political dimension of natural disasters. Aid commissioner Kristalina Georgieva is meanwhile staking out her turf on the humanitarian relief side of natural catastrophes. Ms Georgieva is considering changing the name of her Monitoring and Information Centre (MIC), the commission office responsible for co-ordinating EU member states' aid efforts, into the Commission Centre for Crisis Response. The CCCR would stand alongside Ms Ashton's new-model SitCen, which she has dubbed the EU's single crisis response centre in talks with member states.Ms Georgieva is also drafting proposals, due in late September or October, to create an EU rapid-reaction force for natural disasters. The project has the support of French commissioner Michel Barnier and centre-right French MEPs, such as Arnaud Danjean.The discussion is still very fluid, an EU official said, referring to the Ashton/Georgieva division of labour.

MEPs wary of Barroso's project bond proposal
ANDREW WILLIS Today SEPT 14,10 @ 17:35 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Key MEPs in the debate on the EU's future multi-annual budget have poured cold water on commission plans for an EU project bond. Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso raised the issue during his 'State of the Union' speech in Strasbourg last week, describing how the creation of such a bond could be used to to finance new European infrastructure projects.But euro deputies from a newly created committee on the future of the multi-annual budget have questioned the scheme's merits.For me, it's a real change to enter into the world of EU debt, said Socialist MEP Jutta Haug on Tuesday (14 September) at a press briefing session.I think to have bonds we would need to change the EU treaty, added the German deputy and chair of the parliamentary committee. Centre-right MEP Salvador Garriga Polledo, who will produce parliament's report on the shape of the EU's future budget (2014-2020), also queried the timing of Mr Barroso's suggestion.Bringing in a controversial issue like debt is a distraction. It will be hard enough to reach a consensus as it is,said the Spanish deputy, also speaking in a personal capacity.

The topic may be included in a list of EU budget funding options to be outlined in a commission document towards the end of October, originally intended for publication this month.Other sensitive EU revenue-raising plans that budget commissioner Janusz Lewandowski could raise include a potential EU aviation tax, plans for which commission officials are currently working on.Careful to frame the list of mechanisms as a means for member states to reduce their direct payments into the EU budget, Mr Lewandowski also signaled over the summer that the EU budget could be bolstered by taking a share of a new European financial transactions tax or the sale of carbon credits.August saw a series of member states come out in favour or against the controversial issue of the EU raising its 'own resources'. Spain, Belgium, Austria and Poland have said they generally support the idea, while the UK, France, German are frosty.Next month's commission document or 'review' will also analyse the pros and cons of the current EU multi-annual budget (2007-13), and is set to call for a greater degree of flexibility in the future.The issue is likely to chime well with MEPs who have also been frustrated by the current framework's strictures, which limit the ability divert funding from one budget category to another, for instance when rapid funding is suddenly needed following environmental or economic crises.
Member states are likely to be wary however, conscious that such a move would provide the EU institutions with a longer decision-making leash.

Additional CO2 cuts could save EU billions in health costs, NGO says
MATEJ HRUSKA Today SEPT 14,10 @ 09:27 CET

The EU could save an additional €30 billion a year in health-care costs if it deepened its cuts in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 from 20 to 30 percent, a study published by the campaign groups Health and Environment Alliance and Health Care Without Harm Europe on Tuesday (14 September) says.Taking into account anticipated improvements in life expectancy, the reduction of days of restricted activity and decrease in the number of medication and consultations, the difference of 10 percentage points in the emission targets could generate €10 billion to €30.5 billion annually, the report says.Germany would benefit the most from the reduction, with savings of up to €8.1 billion, Poland would gain €4 billion, France €3.5 billion, Italy €3.4 billion and the Netherlands €1.1 billion.The findings of this report present the EU with a much needed shot in the arm for the global climate talks next month. We would like to see these new health impact figures clinch the deal so that Europe moves immediately and unilaterally to a 30 percent internal target prior to the Cancun meeting in December, Genon Jensen, Executive Director of Health and Environment Alliance was quoted as saying in a press release.

According to the group, the maximum savings would be achieved if the EU countries cut their emissions domestically, rather than through buying emissions offsets from abroad. Flexible lowering using emissions trading would yield €5 billion to €14.6 billion.Current anticipated benefits for the achievement of the 20 percent reduction in emissions by 2020 compared with 1990 levels are estimated at up to €52 billion a year. The European Commission has estimated the additional costs of the 30 percent target at €46 billion per year.The EU is committed to reducing its CO2 emission by 20 percent and by 30 percent if other large polluting countries such as the US and China agree to do the same.In May, the commission started an informed debate on whether to increase its target to 30 percent, a move endorsed by the German, French and British environment ministers, but opposed by Poland.

MEPs to set up anti-intergovernmentalism group
HONOR MAHONY 13.09.2010 @ 18:24 CET

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Alarmed at what they see as a rise in the European Union of 'intergovernmentalism' some euro-deputies are mounting a counter-offensive to promote the importance of the EU and its institutions.To be known as the Spinelli group, after the Italian political thinker Altiero Spinelli and one of the founding fathers of the EU, the idea is the brainchild of Guy Verhofstadt, the head of the liberal group in the parliament, and his Green counterpart, Daniel Cohn-Bendit.Other MEPs involved are Sylvie Goulard, a French liberal, and Isabelle Durant, a Belgian Green. The fledgling group also has the support of Jacques Delors, the grand old man of European federalism known for presiding over the European Commission at one of the most dynamic and powerful times in its history.Mario Monti is also involved. A former competition commissioner, he recently wrote a well-received study on the importance of completing the internal market.The details of the group are to be unveiled by Mr Verhofstadt and Mr Cohn-Bendit on Wednesday (15 September).

The remit of the group remains vague, but a 500-word memo explaining the reasoning behind it laments the growth of intergovernmentalism - - the supremacy of EU member states in decision-making at the expense of more European pan-community decision-making via the European Commission and parliament - and says there should be European responses to crises.The organisation will be civil society based, bringing together think tanks, academics, writers and politicians who support the aims and principles laid out in the founding manifesto, said a statement by Mr Verhofstadt.

The group will make the case for closer European integration and stand up against encroaching nationalism and intergovernmentalism that is beginning to undermine European unity, it continues.The initiative comes on top of a tumultuous few months for the EU. The 27-nation bloc has been buffeted by the economic crisis and is still try to find its feet within the new legal architecture, the Lisbon Treaty. The European Commission, charged with finding European solutions in such areas as economic governance, has been struggling to make its presence felt as member states have been dictating the pace of discussions over the last few months.Both Mr Verhofstadt and Mr Cohn-Bendit are among the strongest critics of European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso, whom they regularly attack in plenary as not being combative enough with potentially wayward member states.

Knesset C'ttee Demands Gun Rights for Jews of Judea/Samaria
by Hillel Fendel SEPT 14,10

Following the drive-by terrorist murder two weeks ago of Yitchak Imas, whose gun was confiscated by police several weeks ago, and three other people, the Knesset Interior Committee held a stormy session today in which MKs demanded that Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria be allowed to defend themselves.The committee, by majority vote, resolved to recommend to Interior Minister Eli Yishai and to Public Security Minister Yitzchak Aharonovitch, who oversees the police force, to ease the regulations on bearing weapons for the Jews of Judea and Samaria. The committee asked that Aharonovitch report back on the steps being taken to this end, and to investigate why the weapon of Yitzchak Imas was not returned to him in time for him to possibly use it to save his life.Some committee members suggested that any resident whose weapon is taken from him be entitled to a hearing.MK Chaim Amsalem (Shas) said afterwards, The situation is absolutely unacceptable. The Interior Ministry blames the police, and the police blame the State Prosecution, and the Prosecution blames the Interior Ministry. Those who confiscate residents’ weapons that are designated for self-defense cannot say that they are blameless; it places them in danger of their lives every day – for no reason. We have to work together to change this.

MK Michael Ben-Ari (National Union) said, Today’s session showed perfectly clearly that the police violates the law and needlessly harass the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria. One arrogant policeman tried to justify his actions by telling the committee how he endangers himself for Israel – what type of hypocrisy is that? Everyone in Israel endangers himself! He acts cruelly with the Jewish residents and expects a reward?! They harass army veterans, and Yitzchak Imas, and others – there are many specific cases in which weapons were confiscated for no reason, simply because of Prosecutor Shai Nitzan… This situation must be changed, and today’s session was the beginning.MK Ze’ev Elkin (Likud): I suggest that the Interior Ministry conduct an immediate investigation why the police violated the law and did not allow an appeal of the confiscation of Yitzchak Imas’ gun within the time set by the law. I also think that the regulations should be changed, and police should not be allowed to take away weapons unless they can prove clearly that there is a reason to do so. The presumption of innocence for these residents who endanger themselves daily must be maintained.Orit Strook of Hevron, who chairs the Yesha Civil Rights Organization, said after the session, It was unbelievable to hear today that a representative of the Justice Ministry said that it’s not so bad that the police did not act within the law… It is criminal to leave the responsibility for the Yesha residents’ lives in the hands of these people… Shai Nitzan makes sure to open criminal files against residents over nothing – alleged insults to a public servant, or anti-Disengagement protests, and for this the police don’t allow a person to defend himself?!(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Building Firm Ends the Freeze, Begins Work on 2,400 Units
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu SEPT 14,10

A building firm announced it is creating facts on the ground Tuesday and is unilaterally ending the 10-month building freeze by beginning work on 2,400 units in Judea and Samaria, including 380 in Modi’in Illit. The community is located next to the old 1949-67 border and next to the city of Modi’in, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.The move may cause an uproar in the Palestinian Authority, which is demanding that Israel extend the freeze. PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas met Tuesday with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and American officials in Sharm el-Sheikh to discuss how to advance the diplomatic process in the face of the expiration of the freeze in 13 days, on September 26. U.S. President Barack Obama is pressuring Prime Minister Netanyahu to extend it, at least partially.The Naot Pisgah company said tractors started work Tuesday afternoon in Modi'in Illit and began clearing land for new housing units, where construction was frozen nearly 10 months ago when Prime Minister Netanyahu announced a moratorium on new homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria. There is no room to sit back with our arms folded and expect partial or other decisions for the resumption of construction in Judea and Samaria, the company said in an announcement.

The firm said the freeze has caused it enormous losses of more than NIS 180 million ($48 million). Continuing the freeze for a full year would harm dozens of families who have bought apartments and cannot enter them, Naot Pisgah explained.Naot Pisgah added that the government has rejected its claim for compensation and that it will appeal the decision.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

Taking Torah Scrolls to the U.S. Battlefield
by Chana Ya'ar SEPT 14,10

As Jews around the world prepare to celebrate Yom Kippur, which begins this Friday evening -- the holiest and most solemn day of the year – the United States is reporting a shortage of Torah scrolls in the U.S. military.The shortage is especially being felt overseas, where Jewish soldiers' hunger for words of Torah especially on the High Holy Days.Five American military rabbis have been sent to bases and ships serving in war zones, but not even all of them are equipped with Torah scrolls, according to Rear Admiral Harold L. Robinson. A recently retired Navy chaplain, Robinson serves as director of the Jewish Welfare Board, the chaplaincy department of the Jewish Community Centers Association of North America.Next year we want them all to have Torah scrolls, he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in an interview published Tuesday.Special Torah scrolls are required for service in war zones, Robinson explained, because they need to be small enough to be easily portable. Each one costs $36,000. Of the 60 existing Torah scrolls in the U.S. military, 20 are installed at Veterans' Administration (VA) hospitals, leaving only 40 for service worldwide. Nearly all are too big to be carried into battle.Those currently being used are also huge: the protective cases for each are more than four feet high. According to the admiral, they were designed for past wars, when Jews traveled in from the field to bases in Saigon or Paris for High Holy Day services.

The chaplains have been telling us that they need more portable Torahs, Robinson said. In Iraq and Afghanistan, the chaplains go out to the troops in order to minimize the risk to the soldiers from roadside bombs.The Jewish Welfare Board has arranged for new, smaller Torah scrolls that will be able to fit into an airliner overhead compartment and which are to be written in Israel, according to the report. Torah scribe Zerach Greenfield, who has written a number of such scrolls for the IDF, has been commissioned to write such a scroll now for the U.S. Army.For more information on the project, dubbed Torahs for Our Troops,click here.
(IsraelNationalNews.com)

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 11:21-23
21 And in his estate shall stand up a vile person, to whom they shall not give the honour of the kingdom: but he shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries.
23 And after the league made with him he shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people.
24 He shall enter peaceably even upon the fattest places of the province; and he shall do that which his fathers have not done, nor his fathers' fathers; he shall scatter among them the prey, and spoil, and riches: yea, and he shall forecast his devices against the strong holds, even for a time.

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.

JEREMIAH 6:14
14 They have healed also the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

JEREMIAH 8:11
11 For they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people slightly, saying, Peace, peace; when there is no peace.

1 THESSALONIANS 5:3
3 For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

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.

Clinton and Mitchell Bring Talks to Jerusalem Wednesday
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu SEPT 14,10

The American-mediated talks in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt got off to a rocky start Tuesday morning but concluded in the early afternoon without any disruptions. More talks are scheduled in Jerusalem and Ramallah Wednesday, but there is a chance for another meeting Tuesday afternoon before Israeli leaders return home.U.S. envoy George Mitchell kept up an optimistic tone after the three-way discussions between Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and American officials U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mitchell.He said that both Israel and the PA are making efforts to advance the diplomatic process. Regarding the building freeze that Abbas wants extended, Mitchell said it would be helpful if Israel accepts the demand but that both sides will have to decide on how to work out the disagreement.He added, We know that this is a politically sensitive issue in Israel and we believe both sides have a responsibility to see that the talks advance in a constructive manner. Mitchell specifically called for a Jewish democratic State of Israel but added that the parties will have to resolve the issues themselves. Abbas has refused to accept Israel’s insistence that he recognize Israel as a Jewish State. Prime Minister Netanyahu told the Cabinet Sunday morning that he hears the expression two states but not two peoples.

Al Jazeera said the dispute before the meeting concerned differences between Israeli and PA negotiators. It did not specify the issue of contention, but Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu have been at odds over the PA demand for an extension of the 10-month moratorium on building new homes for Jews in Judea and Samaria.Israeli officials denied that the delay was due to a disagreement, but it was reported that Prime Minister Netanyahu was incensed over PA officials' threats to walk out of the discussions if their demands were not met.The day began with Prime Minister Netanyahu talking with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before sitting down with Clinton, prior to the three-way meeting with Abbas. Clinton placed Israel at a disadvantage before she arrived, telling reporters on her plane en route to Egypt that Israel should extend the freeze.Israel caved in to American pressure last November when it instituted the freeze, the condition that Abbas imposed before he would agree to sit down with Israel for talks on establishing the PA as a country. However, he continued to avoid direct discussions, saying that the freeze was not total.Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said last week that Abbas’ time has run out and there is no reason to give him another chance.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

MUSLIM NATIONS

EZEKIEL 38:1-12
1 And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog,(RULER) the land of Magog,(RUSSIA) the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW)and Tubal,(TOBOLSK) and prophesy against him,
3 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech(MOSCOW) and Tubal:
4 And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws,(GOD FORCES THE RUSSIA-MUSLIMS TO MARCH) and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords:
5 Persia,(IRAN,IRAQ) Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet:
6 Gomer,(GERMANY) and all his bands; the house of Togarmah (TURKEY)of the north quarters, and all his bands:(SUDAN,AFRICA) and many people with thee.
7 Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them.
8 After many days thou shalt be visited: in the latter years thou shalt come into the land that is brought back from the sword, and is gathered out of many people, against the mountains of Israel, which have been always waste: but it is brought forth out of the nations, and they shall dwell safely all of them.
9 Thou shalt ascend and come like a storm, thou shalt be like a cloud to cover the land, thou, and all thy bands, and many people with thee.(RUSSIA-EGYPT AND MUSLIMS)
10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; It shall also come to pass, that at the same time shall things come into thy mind, and thou shalt think an evil thought:
11 And thou shalt say, I will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates,
12 To take a spoil, and to take a prey; to turn thine hand upon the desolate places that are now inhabited, and upon the people that are gathered out of the nations, which have gotten cattle and goods, that dwell in the midst of the land.

ISAIAH 17:1
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap.

PSALMS 83:3-7
3 They (ARABS,MUSLIMS) have taken crafty counsel against thy people,(ISRAEL) and consulted against thy hidden ones.
4 They have said, Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel may be no more in remembrance.
5 For they (MUSLIMS) have consulted together with one consent: they are confederate against thee:(TREATIES)
6 The tabernacles of Edom,(JORDAN) and the Ishmaelites;(ARABS) of Moab, PALESTINIANS,JORDAN) and the Hagarenes;(EGYPT)
7 Gebal,(HEZZBALLOH,LEBANON) and Ammon,(JORDAN) and Amalek;(SYRIA,ARABS,SINAI) the Philistines (PALESTINIANS) with the inhabitants of Tyre;(LEBANON)

DANIEL 11:40-43
40 And at the time of the end shall the king of the south( EGYPT) push at him:(EU DICTATOR IN ISRAEL) and the king of the north (RUSSIA AND MUSLIM HORDES OF EZEK 38+39) shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.
41 He shall enter also into the glorious land, and many countries shall be overthrown: but these shall escape out of his hand, even Edom, and Moab, and the chief of the children of Ammon.(JORDAN)
42 He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: and the land of Egypt shall not escape.
43 But he shall have power over the treasures of gold and of silver, and over all the precious things of Egypt: and the Libyans and the Ethiopians shall be at his steps.

EZEKIEL 39:1-8
1 Therefore, thou son of man, prophesy against Gog,(LEADER OF RUSSIA) and say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech (MOSCOW) and Tubal: (TUBOLSK)
2 And I will turn thee back, and leave but the sixth part of thee, and will cause thee to come up from the north parts,(RUSSIA) and will bring thee upon the mountains of Israel:
3 And I will smite thy bow out of thy left hand, and will cause thine arrows to fall out of thy right hand.
4 Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands,( ARABS) and the people that is with thee: I will give thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured.
5 Thou shalt fall upon the open field: for I have spoken it, saith the Lord GOD.
6 And I will send a fire on Magog,(NUCLEAR BOMB) and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
7 So will I make my holy name known in the midst of my people Israel; and I will not let them pollute my holy name any more: and the heathen shall know that I am the LORD, the Holy One in Israel.
8 Behold, it is come, and it is done, saith the Lord GOD; this is the day whereof I have spoken.

JOEL 2:3,20,30-31
3 A fire(NUCLEAR BOMB) devoureth before them;(RUSSIA-ARABS) and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them.
20 But I will remove far off from you the northern army,(RUSSIA,MUSLIMS) and will drive him into a land barren and desolate, with his face toward the east sea, and his hinder part toward the utmost sea, and his stink shall come up, and his ill savour shall come up, because he hath done great things.(SIBERIAN DESERT)
30 And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke.(NUCLEAR BOMB)
31 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the LORD come.

REAL DANGER WE FACE THIS YEAR
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Radio/News.aspx/2524

US Poll: Abbas Not Committed to Peace
by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu SEPT 14,10

A new poll by the non-partisan Israel Project shows most Americans believe Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is committed to peace and that Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas is not.The Israel Project (TIP) describes itself as an international non-profit organization devoted to educating the press and the public about Israel while promoting security, freedom and peace.The survey was released one day before Israel and PA leaders convened at Sharm el-Sheikh, where American-mediated discussions began Tuesday morning, with no expectations other than official statements describing optimism. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Middle East envoy George Mitchell are attending the one-day talks, which are scheduled to move to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Wednesday.By a six-to-one margin of 61-11, Americans think that Israel is more committed than PA Arabs to a peace agreement. The poll did not explain why support for Israel has grown from only 51 percent backing for Israel in a poll last July. However, mass media have increasingly reported Abbas’ refusal to offer any compromises to Israel while refusing to recognize Israel as a Jewish country.Fifty-five percent of the respondents said they generally support Israel, and only 9 percent stated they back the Palestinian Authority. A breakdown of the respondents' political opinions revealed that a small majority describe themselves as moderate/liberal. Their preferences in the 2008 presidential elections were evenly split between Barack Obama and John McCain.The respondents also overwhelmingly said that crossings to Hamas-controlled Gaza should not be opened without Israeli inspection.(IsraelNationalNews.com)

STORMS HURRICANES-TORNADOES

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

Hurricane Igor continues trek across the Atlantic
- SEPT 14,10

MIAMI – Powerful Hurricane Igor is moving west-northwest across the Atlantic on a track that could take the Category 4 storm toward Bermuda.The National Hurricane Center in Miami says swells from Igor will begin affecting the Leeward Islands on Tuesday and reach into Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Tuesday night and Wednesday. The swells could cause life-threatening surf and rip currents.Igor's maximum sustained winds are near 135 mph (215 kph) and the storm is expected to remain a dangerous hurricane through Thursday.Also in the Atlantic, Hurricane Julia has formed becoming the fifth hurricane of the season. Julia has maximum sustained winds Tuesday near 85 mph (140 kph) with some additional strengthening expected during the next day or so.THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

MIAMI (AP) — Hurricane Julia has formed far out over the Atlantic, becoming the fifth hurricane of the season.Julia has maximum sustained winds Tuesday near 75 mph (120 kph) with some additional strengthening expected during the next day or so.The hurricane is located about 330 miles (535 kilometers) west of the Cape Verde Islands and is moving west-northwest near 12 mph (19 kph).Meanwhile, powerful Hurricane Igor is moving west-northwest in the Atlantic on a track that could take the Category 4 storm toward Bermuda.The National Hurricane Center in Miami says swells from Igor will begin affecting the Leeward Islands on Tuesday and reach into Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands on Tuesday night and Wednesday.

Hurricanes Igor, Julia spin in Atlantic
SEPT 14,10

MIAMI (Reuters) – Tropical Storm Julia grew in the far eastern Atlantic into the fifth hurricane of the storm season, while Hurricane Igor weakened slightly but remained a dangerous Category 4 storm, forecasters said on Tuesday.Neither hurricane posed an immediate threat to land or energy interests, but Igor could threaten Bermuda by the weekend.Julia reached hurricane status and then continued to strengthen, with top sustained winds of 85 miles per hour. It was about 355 miles west-northwest of the Cape Verde Islands at 11 a.m. EDT (1500 GMT), forecasters at the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said.Julia was moving west-northwest as a Category 1 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity, forecasters said. Its projected path would keep it out to sea.Julia could strengthen slowly over the next two days, forecasters said. But as it gets closer to the more powerful Igor, strong upper-level winds flowing out from Igor could shear off and weaken Julia.Farther west in the Atlantic, Hurricane Igor weakened slightly but still packed a punch, the center said.Igor was about 710 miles east of the northern Leeward Islands with maximum sustained winds at 135 mph, the center said.Igor had been moving west on Monday but curved to the west-northwest on Tuesday. It was expected to curl around to the north in three or four days, and eventually turn east. Its projected path would keep it away from the North American coast but it was too soon to rule out a hit.

Five- to 10-day forecasts are prone to large errors, and it is too early to be highly confident that Igor will miss hitting the U.S. or Canadian coasts, veteran forecaster Jeff Masters said on his Weather Underground blog.Igor's strength could fluctuate in the next couple of days but it was expected to remain a dangerous hurricane through Thursday, the hurricane center forecasters said.Igor was expected to weaken before nearing the British territory of Bermuda on Saturday.Ocean swells generated by Igor will begin affecting the Leeward Islands on Tuesday and will reach Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands late on Tuesday and Wednesday, causing life-threatening surf and rip current conditions, the hurricane center said.Computer models kept both storms in the Atlantic and far away from the Gulf of Mexico, where U.S. oil and gas operations are clustered.Most forecasters predicted the 2010 Atlantic hurricane season would be extremely active. The season runs from June through November and has already brought 10 tropical storms, with five growing into hurricanes. Three of those -- Danielle, Earl and Igor -- have reached Category 4 strength.We already had a full season's worth of activity, with about 45 percent of the season still to come, Masters said.(Reporting by Jane Sutton and Will Dunham, editing by Philip Barbara)

3 embassies in Israel receive suspicious letters
SEPT 14,10

JERUSALEM – Israeli police say envelopes containing a suspicious white powder have been discovered at the American, Spanish and Swedish embassies in Tel Aviv.Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said workers at the three embassies alerted police after opening the envelopes Tuesday.Rosenfeld said it is still unclear what the substance is. But he said police have said the substance was not poisonous since no one was hurt.Police are trying to find who sent the envelopes and determine whether the incidents were connected.

Iran: UN watchdog in error over nuclear program By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer - SEPT 14,10

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran's nuclear chief said Tuesday the head of a U.N. watchdog agency made a dangerous mistake by criticizing Tehran for not fully cooperating.Yukiya Amano, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Monday he cannot confirm that all of Iran's nuclear activities are peaceful, as Tehran claims, because the country has offered only selective cooperation to the U.N. nuclear watchdog and has rejected several inspectors.If Mr. Amano has expressed the remarks knowingly, he has committed a big mistake and it is very dangerous, said Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's nuclear program. He said this would amount to outside pressure on Iran.In blunt remarks, Amano suggested that it is still not clear whether Iran is developing nuclear weapons because the country continues to stonewall an IAEA probe.Salehi reiterated Iran's right to choose inspectors. Iran has rejected two inspectors, accusing them of leaking information on the country's nuclear program. The IAEA, however, has insisted on reinstating them.Iran is under increasing pressure by the West, including four rounds of U.N. sanctions, over allegations it is using its nuclear program as a cover for weapons development.Also on Tuesday, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president and head of a powerful council within Iran, warned about the rising number of international sanctions against Iran.We have never had so many resolutions against our governments by the international community including the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA, he said.

The U.N. Security Council imposed a fourth set of sanctions on Iran in June after Tehran refused to halt is nuclear enrichment activities. Uranium enriched to more than 90 percent can be used for weapon. Iran says it currently enriches uranium up to 20 percent for medical radio isotopes and up to 3.5 percent to fuel a nuclear power plant. It says its program is only for peaceful purposes.

FAMINE

REVELATION 6:5-6
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.(A DAYS WAGES FOR A LOAF OF BREAD)

FAMINE

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

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

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

UN: Number of hungry people declines By FRANCES D'EMILIO, Associated Press Writer - SEPT 14,10

ROME – The number of chronically hungry people in the world dipped considerably below the 1 billion mark — the first drop in 15 years — thanks partly to a fall in food prices after spikes that sparked rioting a few years ago, U.N. agencies said Tuesday. Still, an estimated 925 million people are undernourished worldwide, and the latest figures don't reflect the repercussions from the massive flooding in Pakistan.The Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization's report suggested some progress in the battle to end hunger, but stressed the world is far from achieving the U.N. promoted Millennium Development Goal of reducing the proportion of undernourished people in developing countries to 10 percent by 2015.The report estimated there are 98 million fewer chronically hungry people than in 2009, when the figure just topped 1 billion.That's partly because food prices have fallen from the peaks in 2007-2008, when they sparked violence in several developing countries, and because cereal and rice harvests have been strong. Cereal production this year was the third-highest ever recorded, despite a drought-fueled wheat shortfall in Russia, said FAO director-general Jacques Diouf.Also heartening, Diouf noted, is that cereal stocks are high -- some 100 million tons more than the low levels of 2007-2008, when some 38 countries shut down their food export markets in reaction. Increased demand for biofuels and soaring petroleum prices took much of the blame for the spiraling upward prices then.

Food prices are still stubbornly high, but we haven't seen the type of behavior .... panic buying that helped feed the speculation and fears of a couple of years ago, said Josette Sheeran, the executive director of the U.N. World Food Program.Earlier this month, a U.N. human rights expert urged governments to crack down on price speculation and boost food production. Deadly riots over food prices hit Mozambique recently, and FAO has called a special meeting for Sept. 24 to discuss recently rising food prices.The drop below the 1 billion mark also reflects progress China and India have made in feeding their own.Still, those two nations, with their huge populations, account for 40 percent of the world's undernourished people. Overall, two-thirds of the chronically undernourished live in either China, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo or Ethiopia, the report said.The flooding in Pakistan is also a variable that could affect future numbers. The floods have affected millions and robbed farmers of crops about to be harvested, next season's farmland and much seed.While welcoming the dip in the number of hungry, the non-governmental aid agency Oxfam attributed the improvement largely to luck and not to a change in policies or increased investment needed to address the underlying causes in hunger.The U.N. promoted Millennium Development Goal is to halve the proportion of undernourished people in developing countries from 20 percent in 1990-92 to 10 percent in 2015. FAO estimates the proportion of the hungry would have been reduced to 16 percent by this year.

There simply isn't enough agriculture investment today, said Yukiko Omura, vice president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, a U.N. agency that emphasizes helping small-scale farming in developing countries.FAO's Diouf noted that only a small fraction -- $420 million -- of the $20 billion in agricultural development assistance pledged by the 2009 Group of Eight developed nations summit and $2 billion more from a later G-20 meeting has materialized.

DISEASES

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

DRUG PUSHERS AND ADDICTS

REVELATION 18:23
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries (DRUGS) were all nations deceived.

REVELATION 9:21
21 Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their sorceries (DRUGS), nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts.

New drug-resistant superbugs found in 3 states By MARILYNN MARCHIONE, AP Medical Writer – Mon Sep 13, 9:27 pm ET

BOSTON – An infectious-disease nightmare is unfolding: Bacteria that have been made resistant to nearly all antibiotics by an alarming new gene have sickened people in three states and are popping up all over the world, health officials reported Monday.

The U.S. cases and two others in Canada all involve people who had recently received medical care in India, where the problem is widespread. A British medical journal revealed the risk last month in an article describing dozens of cases in Britain in people who had gone to India for medical procedures.How many deaths the gene may have caused is unknown; there is no central tracking of such cases. So far, the gene has mostly been found in bacteria that cause gut or urinary infections.Scientists have long feared this — a very adaptable gene that hitches onto many types of common germs and confers broad drug resistance, creating dangerous superbugs.It's a great concern, because drug resistance has been rising and few new antibiotics are in development, said Dr. M. Lindsay Grayson, director of infectious diseases at the University of Melbourne in Australia. It's just a matter of time until the gene spreads more widely person-to-person, he said.Grayson heads an American Society for Microbiology conference in Boston, which was buzzing with reports of the gene, called NDM-1 and named for New Delhi.

The U.S. cases occurred this year in people from California, Massachusetts and Illinois, said Brandi Limbago, a lab chief at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Three types of bacteria were involved, and three different mechanisms let the gene become part of them.We want physicians to look for it, especially in patients who have traveled recently to India or Pakistan, she said.

What can people do?

Don't add to the drug resistance problem, experts say. Don't pressure your doctors for antibiotics if they say they aren't needed, use the ones you are given properly, and try to avoid infections by washing your hands.The gene is carried by bacteria that can spread hand-to-mouth, which makes good hygiene very important.It's also why health officials are so concerned about where the threat is coming from, said Dr. Patrice Nordmann, a microbiology professor at South-Paris Medical School. India is an overpopulated country that overuses antibiotics and has widespread diarrheal disease and many people without clean water.The ingredients are there for widespread transmission, he said. It's going to spread by plane all over the world.The U.S. patients were not related. The California woman needed hospital care after being in a car accident in India. The Illinois man had pre-existing medical problems and a urinary catheter, and is thought to have contracted an infection with the gene while traveling in India. The case from Massachusetts involved a woman from India who had surgery and chemotherapy for cancer there and then traveled to the U.S.Lab tests showed their germs were not killed by the types of drugs normally used to treat drug-resistant infections, including the last-resort class of antibiotics that physicians go to, Limbago said.

She did not know how the three patients were treated, but all survived.

Doctors have tried treating some of these cases with combinations of antibiotics, hoping that will be more effective than individual ones are. Some have resorted to using polymyxins — antibiotics used in the 1950s and '60s that were unpopular because they can harm the kidneys.The two Canadian cases were treated with a combination of antibiotics, said Dr. Johann Pitout of the University of Calgary in Alberta, Canada. One case was in Alberta, the other in British Columbia. Both patients had medical emergencies while traveling in India. They developed urinary infections that were discovered to have the resistance gene once they returned home to Canada, Pitout said.The CDC advises any hospitals that find such cases to put the patient in medical isolation, check the patient's close contacts for possible infection, and look for more infections in the hospital. Any case should raise an alarm,Limbago said. Online:Conference: http://www.icaac.org

Obama asks for millions for oil, gas oversight
– Mon Sep 13, 10:34 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – US President Barack Obama asked Congress for more than 90 million dollars to reform oversight of the offshore oil and gas industry, following the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster.Some of the money would be raised by more than doubling the fees the government charges firms for inspecting their offshore facilities, Obama told House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter.The total would also be made up of extra budget requests and by offsetting more expenditure on oil and gas oversight elsewhere in the budget.The extra funds in the 2011 fiscal year budget would pay for an overhaul of the Interior Department agencies that oversee the oil and gas industry.The previous Minerals and Management Service was criticized after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for lax enforcement and of being too close to the industry it supervises, prompting Obama to announce an overhaul.The proposal would bring money collected by the inspection fees the industry must pay to 45 million dollars from 20 million dollars last year.

Obama also requested nearly nine million dollars more to fund research into deep water gas and oil spill containment strategies.An estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil gushed out of the well off the coast of Louisiana after it was ruptured by an April 20 explosion aboard the BP-operated Deepwater Horizon drilling rig that killed 11 workers.It took 87 days to stem the flow of oil into the sea and hundreds of miles of coastline from Texas to Florida were sullied, killing wildlife and devastating key local industries such as tourism and fishing.

U.S. groups urge Congress not pass China currency bill
SEPT 14,10

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Thirty-six U.S. farm and business groups urged Congress on Tuesday not to pass legislation threatening China with duties on some of its goods if Beijing does not revalue its currency.We strongly oppose legislation that would allow use of either the anti-dumping or countervailing duty law to address currency concerns for several years, said the group, which included the U.S.-China Business Council, the American Soybean Association and the American Meat Institute.The letter was sent to House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Chairman Sander Levin, whose panel is holding two days of hearings this week for testimony from U.S. industry, trade experts and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner about what steps the United States should take to pressure China to revalue its currency, also known as the yuan.Representative Tim Ryan, the lead Democratic sponsor of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, is scheduled to testify on Wednesday on the bill, which has 132 co-sponsors. It would authorize the Commerce Department to apply anti-dumping and countervailing duties against injurious imports from countries with undervalued currencies.The farm and business groups, which also included the Business Roundtable, Financial Services Forum and the International Dairy Foods Association, argued in their letter that the legislation calls on the Commerce Department to do a task fraught with difficulties.Estimations of the correct currency value would be inherently subjective, unilateral and potentially politicized since there is no agreed upon method to determine what a country's exchange rate should be in the absence of a market-based determination,the groups said.

The proposed bill also appears to violate World Trade Organization rules governing the calculation of anti-dumping duties and the types of subsidies that are subject to countervailing duties, they said.As a consequence, China could successfully challenge the bill at the WTO and potentially win the right to impose retaliatory duties against U.S. exports, they said.Farm goods are important to expanding U.S. exports, especially to Asia. The U.S. Agriculture Department forecast in May that China would buy a record $14.0 billion in U.S. farm goods in 2010, up 20 percent from the previous forecast, making it the third-largest export market for American farmers behind Canada and Mexico.(Reporting by Doug Palmer; Editing by Eric Beech and Philip Barbara)

Canada growth to be limited without reforms: OECD
– Mon Sep 13, 4:59 am ET

OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada's economy is in for several years of limited growth even after it fully recovers because of an aging population and damage from the recession, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Monday.

The OECD estimates that the Canadian economy won't be able to expand more than 1.6 percent a year between now and 2017, more than a full percentage point less than over the past decade.Ottawa can help raise the potential growth rate, a kind of speed limit based on how much the economy can produce, by allowing more foreign ownership of industry and reforming the employment insurance program, the Paris-based organization said.The OECD report provided a snapshot of the country's situation as of June this year.This slowdown reflects primarily lower growth in the working age population, but also likely temporary negative effects from the crisis on capital accumulation, structural unemployment and labor-force participation, it said.The OECD's outlook for growth of 3.5 percent this year and just over 3 percent next year roughly coincides with the Bank of Canada's latest projections in July.

The OECD said the central bank should continue to raise its policy interest rate at a measured pace toward neutral rates by the end of 2011. The Bank of Canada does not comment on what it considers a neutral rate but economists estimate it to be between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent.The bank nudged up its rate last week to 1 percent in the third successive hike this year, but Governor Mark Carney warned that the outlook is highly uncertain.

ONTARIO, QUEBEC DEFICITS

The federal government is running a marginal structural fiscal deficit, the OECD said, although it raised the alarm over ballooning deficits at the provincial government level.The two largest provinces, Ontario and Quebec, face especially challenging fiscal situations, it said. Many jurisdictions have relatively high debt levels, and their windows of opportunity to bring indebtedness down are closing as demographic pressures on public purses are set to intensify.Most governments should be able to balance budgets without tax hikes or spending cuts and simply restrain the rate of growth in spending, the report said, echoing the deficit reduction strategy of the current Conservative government.It urged some provinces to provide more detail on how they plan to tackle their bulging deficits.And household debt-to-income ratios and debt-to-asset ratios remain at near historic highs, the OECD warned.Household credit needs to slow down, which may well moderate private spending and residential investment in the coming quarters.(Reporting by Louise Egan; editing by Janet Guttsman)

Dubai World debt plan positive, but doubts remain by W.G. Dunlop – Mon Sep 13, 1:58 pm ET

DUBAI (AFP) – United Arab Emirates stock markets rose Monday, after Dubai World announced a debt restructuring deal with creditor banks that analysts say is positive although uncertainty over Dubai's debt remains.Dubai World announced on Friday that 99 percent of its creditor banks have agreed to its proposal to restructure some 24.9 billion dollars of debt.The Dubai Financial Market rose 2.43 percent to close at 1,630.85 points, while the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange gained 1.38 percent to close at 2,566.56 points on Monday, the first day of trading since the announcement.The local markets in the UAE responded positively toward that agreement, said Wadah Taha, chief investment officer at the Dubai-based Zarooni group.He called the agreement an important step, but added: We have about eight years (over) which we have to monitor the punctuality of the dates, the settlements, the installments, the programmes of the whole agreement. This is what we are looking for.Under the terms of the restructuring proposal, Dubai World will divide 14.4 billion dollars of debt into two tranches, maturing in five and eight years, while the government will convert 8.9 billion dollars of financial support to the company into equity.

Taha said the supportive role of the Dubai government has contributed significantly in reaching the final agreement, and that the accord boosted Dubai's credibility regarding future obligations being met.Investment bank and financial services institution SHUAA Capital also described the agreement of most creditor banks to the restructuring proposals as positive, but voiced concern about Dubai's debts, in a statement on Monday.Underlying concerns about the size of (Dubai's) debt, and the ability of some of the government-owned entities to service this debt are likely to linger, SHUAA said.The lack of transparency on this issue will, in our view, continue to undermine market confidence, it said.SHUAA also criticised UAE banks for failing to disclose their exposure to Dubai World and their provisioning against that exposure.The conclusion of Dubai World's debt restructuring saga is a credit positive development, John Tofarides, an analyst with Moody's investor service, wrote in the firm's Weekly Credit Outlook.Had an agreement not been achieved, the potential liquidation of Dubai World could have seriously increased the impairment costs that banks would have incurred, throwing confidence in the UAE banking system into havoc,Tofarides said.

But he added: The ability of Dubai World to make principal repayments in five years and eight years appears to largely depend on expected revenues from future asset sales.Therefore, a refinancing risk could occur in five years and eight years, depending on the level of Dubai World's future revenues and assuming no additional external support.He said the conclusion of Dubai World's debt restructuring also opens the door to similar action for troubled giant property developer Nakheel, a subsidiary of the conglomerate that will become a separate entity under the Dubai World restructuring agreement.Concluding the Nakheel restructuring would be another positive step towards resolving the outstanding debt issues of Dubai government-owned entities.Zarooni's Wadah Taha said he expected troubled Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group, which last Tuesday announced it had secured an extension until November 30 on a 555-million-dollar revolving credit facility, the second extension since July, to also reach a restructuring agreement with creditors.

This period is a preparation period for restructuring, and I think that, similar to what happened to Dubai World... Dubai Holding will reach an agreement with the creditors and meet its obligations, he said. Dubai World's debt, including liabilities, is around 60 billion dollars. The International Monetary Fund estimated Dubai's total debt at 109 billion dollars in a February report, but some analysts say it could be as high as 170 billion.

Oil falls to below $77 on global growth worries By PABLO GORONDI, Associated Press Writer – Tue Sep 14, 9:49 am ET

Oil prices retreated to below $77 a barrel Tuesday as the dollar gained on the euro and fresh data from Europe pointed to a lethargic global economy. The downbeat news outweighed any upward pressure on prices from U.S. pipeline leaks disrupting supplies.By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for October delivery fell 55 cents to $76.64 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract added 74 cents to settle at $77.19 on Monday.Eurostat, the EU's statistics office, said industrial production in the eurozone was flat in July, against expectations for a modest increase, and a survey of German investor sentiment was much weaker than expected.The economic conditions in the eurozone remain fragile, adding further pressure to the euro and thus to the U.S. dollar-dominated markets, said a report from Sucden Financial Research in London.It seems that there is modest resistance in the $78-per-barrel area for the near term, but crude oil prices remain in the 'healthy range' of $73-$77 per barrel.A stronger dollar tends to push down oil prices by making crude more expensive for investors holding other currencies.The euro fell to $1.2840 from $1.2867 late Monday in New York.

The head of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries suggested Tuesday in Vienna that oil production would likely stay unchanged for some time.Abdalla El-Badri said OPEC was comfortable with the current range of oil prices and did not want to rock the boat as the world recovers from the global economic downturn.Oil prices remained supported, however, by U.S. pipeline problems.Repair crews found the source of the leak of a 670,000-barrel-per-day pipeline that carries crude from Canada to the upper Midwest, but line owner Enbridge Energy Partners said it didn't know when oil would begin flowing again. The supply disruption caused a sharp spike in gas prices across that region.Enbridge also shut down a 70,000-barrel-a-day line from Westover, Ontario to New York when about a gallon of a petroleum-based product was discovered during a sewer installation project. Repair crews were working to find the source of the leak, and the company said Monday it did not know how long that line would be shut down.Oil has traded in the $70s for most of the last year as the global economy recovers from last year's recession. Some analysts expect strong crude demand in emerging economies such as China will offset sluggish consumption in developed countries and begin to make a dent in record U.S. supplies.

The tide will soon be turning in the U.S. oil market, Goldman Sachs said in a report. We expect a draw on U.S. inventories to begin in the coming weeks, which will likely serve as a catalyst for higher crude oil prices.Goldman said it expects crude to trade at $92 a barrel in three months, $91 in six months and $101 in a year.
The American Petroleum Institute will release its report on oil stocks later Tuesday, while the report from the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration — the market benchmark — will be out on Wednesday.Data for the week ending Sept. 10 is expected to show draws of 2.25 million barrels in crude oil stocks and of 400,000 barrels in gasoline stocks, according to a survey of analysts by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.In other Nymex trading in October contracts, heating oil was down 0.46 cent at $2.1181 a gallon and gasoline shed 2.06 cents to $1.9600 a gallon. Natural gas lost 0.7 cent to $3.945 per 1,000 cubic feet. In London, Brent crude fell 45 cents to $78.58 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.Associated Press writers Alex Kennedy in Singapore and Veronika Oleksyn in Vienna contributed to this report.